Garth Crooks has showered heaps of praise on Diogo Jota after Liverpool won 1-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League at Molineux on Monday. Jota, who recently returned to action after a long injury lay-off, scored the only goal of the match as Liverpool picked up all three points to rekindle their top-four hopes. Crooks has suggested to BBC Sport that the Reds could still be in the title race had Jota not been injured and continued playing during their tough times. Jota joined Liverpool in the summer transfer window for a reported fee of £41 million from Wolves, and he has been simply superb in his first season at the club. Crooks has labelled him as an “inspired signing”, suggesting that he could have impacted more had he been on the pitch during their months of stru...
Jordan Pickford is set to miss England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers due to an injury, Everton have confirmed via their official website. The goalkeeper was forced to come off in the first half of Everton’s defeat at home to Burnley, having sustained an injury to his oblique abdominal muscle. Pickford receives treatment before going off early He underwent a scan on the injury on Monday to determine its extent. It has now been confirmed that he will miss the rest of March’s fixtures, ruling him out of at least four games for club and country. On Saturday, the Toffees face runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City in an FA Cup quarter-final tie. Portuguese goalkeeper Joao Virginia is expected to be the one to fill in for Pickford, having replaced the 27-year-old on Saturday. However, ...
Manchester United are looking at the possibility of signing Sporting Lisbon attacker Pedro Goncalves as they aim to bolster the right side of their attack, The Guardian claims. The Red Devils recently appointed John Murtough and Darren Fletcher as the football and technical directors respectively, and the duo have started working on transfer targets. Goncalves has caught the eye with his performances for Sporting, who are currently cruising at the top of the Primeira Liga table. The Portuguese has bagged 15 goals and five assists from 26 games this term, and he has played in different positions. While he started his career in a central midfield role, he has played in the number 10 position this term and has also been successful on the right wing. United have a long-term interest in Bo...
Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is more likely to rejoin Manchester United than Real Madrid during this summer’s transfer window, Tuttosport reports. The Portugal international is in his third season with the Bianconeri, and the campaign has been disappointing with another early exit from the Champions League. Ronaldo’s current deal with the club expires in less than 16 months, and there have been suggestions that he could head through the exit door. It is reported that Ronaldo’s preference would be to return to either Los Blancos or United, and the latter are viewed as the more viable destination. Los Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane recently said that there ‘may be’ the possibility of Ronaldo’s comeback, but president Florentino Perez has other plans. The 74-year-old has his sights on l...
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted recently that the Toffees will consider the possibility of signing a midfielder in the summer transfer window. One of the players Ancelotti could look to bring in at Goodison Park is Adrien Rabiot from Juventus. Rabiot has been consistently linked with Everton since Ancelotti took charge of the Merseyside club in 2019. The Italian boss handed Rabiot his Paris Saint-Germain debut, and the pair share a good relationship. Juventus are struggling financially and they could look to offload a few players in the summer, including Paulo Dybala who is attracting interest from Tottenham Hotspur. According to reports from Calciomercato, Juventus are looking to sell Rabiot this summer, while former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey could also be heading out of the cl...
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has heaped praise on Thiago Silva ahead of the second leg of the Champions League last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid. Silva joined the Blues on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain last summer, and he has since made 21 appearances in all competitions. He is out on the sidelines with a recurrence of a muscle injury but has made a solid impression among his teammates in a short while. Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s game, Rudiger was asked about Silva’s influence, and he described the 36-year-old as a ‘world-class defender’. The 28-year-old added that age is only a number for the Brazil international and said that he has a boss-like presence around the club. He told football.london: “For me, a world-class defender – showed i...
Chelsea host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday night. The Blues have been in fine form since Thomas Tuchel took charge as the manager in January and are unbeaten in 12 matches. They go into tomorrow’s clash with the away-goal advantage after the 1-0 win in Romania. Olivier Giroud scored the winner with a superb overhead kick. The goal was initially deemed offside, but after a long VAR review, it was adjudged that Atletico defender Mario Hermoso played the ball into Giroud’s path. Formation: 3-4-3 Predicted Line-up: Edouard Mendy kept his 14th clean sheet of the league campaign last weekend as the Blues drew 0-0 at Leeds United. He had to work hard for the shut-out after he produced two excellent saves. He is expected to continue in goal. Tuchel ...
Manchester City have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, comfortably seeing off Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 on aggregate. The Bundesliga side came into the game needing an astonishing comeback, having lost the first leg 2-0. It was almost the perfect start for Pep Guardiola’s side, who went close in the seventh minute through Phil Foden. Joao Cancelo floated a ball over the top for the youngster, but his poked effort was saved by Yann Sommer. Five minutes later, Man City found the breakthrough in spectacular fashion. Riyad Mahrez laid off for Kevin De Bruyne, who unleashed an unstoppable left footed strike in off the crossbar. Not long afterwards, it was 2-0. Foden weaved a through ball to Ilkay Gundogan, who slotted home for his 15th goal of the season. For the rema...
Liverpool are considering a summer move for Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge, according to Eurosport. Berge joined Sheffield United from Genk in the January transfer window of 2020 for approximately £22 million, becoming the club’s record signing. He impressed in his early days at Bramall Lane as the Blades finished in ninth place. Berge is one of Sheffield United’s most valuable assets However, this season hasn’t been as successful. The Yorkshire club find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, 14 points from safety with just nine games remaining. Berge has missed most of the season with a hamstring injury, suffered early in the home defeat against Manchester United. In the highly likely event that the Blades are relegated, the 23-year-old will have no lack of optio...
Ben Godfrey has impressed heavily in his first season at Everton. The Toffees spent £20 million to sign Godfrey from Norwich City during the summer transfer window. The 23-year-old has made 21 appearances in the league this season, and the defender has impressed heavily, earning rave reviews from Carlo Ancelotti and other pundits. The Everton official website shared a brilliant interview with Godfrey earlier today. Like most young players, he has had ups and downs during his formative years. But there is something we found interesting. Godfrey was on the books at Middlesbrough, but after two years – while he was in school – the club decided to let him go. York’s The Press newspaper described then 13-year-old Godfrey as “… captain and a leader passionate about the team…...
Bayern Munich will be looking to complete their mission in the Champions League when they lock horns with Lazio on Wednesday night. The Bavarians utterly outperformed the Italian side in Rome, claiming a comfortable 4-1 triumph to put themselves in firm control of the tie ahead of the return leg. Given both team’s continuous presence in major European competitions, it may come as some surprise that this is their first UEFA encounter in Munich. Bayern Munich Preview Coming into proceedings as overwhelming favourites to advance to the quarter-finals, Bayern will be looking to maintain a 100% win record in home Champions League matches under Hansi Flick. Since Flick replaced Niko Kovac in the dugout, the Bavarians have netted a staggering average of 3.46 goals per Champions League fixture, sc...
According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Liverpool have joined the race to sign Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic. He is enjoying a remarkable campaign with Fiorentina, and his performances have attracted interest from several top clubs in Europe. The 23-year-old has a contract at the club until 2022, and he is also reportedly wanted by Manchester United. SL View It is an open secret that Liverpool will be looking to sign a new centre-back in the summer. While the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are both expected to return fresh from their injuries next season, Liverpool still need depth in that department. Natt Phillips has done remarkably well for the Reds, but Joel Matip’s future is up in the air. Even if Liverpool sign Ozan Kabak ...