Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was impressed with Ben White’s display during the club’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. The Gunners ended their pre-season campaign with a defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Heung-min Son bagged the only goal in the 79th minute. Speaking after the game, Arteta was asked about White’s performance. He was full of praise for the centre-back, who played just over an hour. He told Arsenal.com: “Yeah, he was really good. But again, it’s a match where they haven’t played. “Some of them they’ve [only] trained for four or five days. So you can still see, and we didn’t want to risk many more, but it was a good start.” Sportslens view: White was confident with the ball at his feet, and he made a couple of engaging runs from the defence, drawing ...
A selection of Arsenal fans on Twitter heaped praise on Albert Sambi Lokonga following a solid midfield display against Tottenham Hotspur. The Belgian joined the Gunners from Anderlecht as a relatively unknown, but he has earned plenty of plaudits from the fans during pre-season. With Thomas Partey’s injury, he was picked to start alongside Granit Xhaka against Spurs. The 21-year-old made a good impression in his 73 minutes. He showed excellent ball control in the centre of the park. He displaced just one of his 32 passes attempted in the opening half of the friendly. The derby result did not go in the Gunners’ favour with a 1-0 defeat. They could have quite easily lost by a bigger margin on some other day. However, Lokonga’s performance was one of the big positives from the game. Some of ...
Former Norwegian international forward Jan Age Fjortoft has claimed that Chelsea did not want to sign Romelu Lukaku this summer. The Blues have agreed a £97.5 million deal to sign Lukaku from Inter Milan, with the 28-year-old set to pen a five-year contract with the club. However, Fjortoft says the Belgian international striker was not the Blues’ number one target this summer. Lukaku great signing for Chelsea of course.But just to make it clear: Haaland was 1st choice. Talks between clubs.Understand that they “agreed”: “Package too expensive” Lukaku- package expensive too.So this is more: Dortmund and Chelsea couldn’t agree https://t.co/rEGPGHLECe — Jan Aage Fjortoft 🏳️🌈 🇳🇴 (@JanAageFjortoft) August 7, 2021 SL View Fjortoft’s comment is no sur...
Atalanta officials will meet with their Chelsea counterparts to negotiate a deal for Tammy Abraham over the next couple of days. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Serie A club are keen to secure the services of the 23-year-old this summer. Atalanta board have a meeting scheduled in London with Chelsea in the next 48 hours to ask for Tammy Abraham as main target. Price tag around €40m. Arsenal and West Ham interested too 🔵 #CFC Atalanta gonna bid for Tammy if Inter will ask for Duván Zapata as Lukaku replacement. — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2021 SL View With Chelsea closing in on a deal for Romelu Lukaku, it is clear that Abraham’s days at Stamford Bridge are numbered. He was a regular starter under Frank Lampard but fell out of favour when Thomas Tuchel took over ...
Burnley could focus on signing Lyon attacker Maxwel Cornet with Ademola Lookman reluctant to join the club, The Sun reports. The Clarets are aiming to reinforce their attack ahead of the new campaign, and Cornet has emerged as one of their potential transfer targets. They have also been linked with a loan move for Lookman, but the former Everton man is reluctant to join them from RB Leipzig this summer. Cornet could be available for £15 million with under two years left on his contract. Sportslens view: Cornet has been a quality performer for Lyon. In recent seasons, he has regularly swapped between the left-back and wide attacking roles. He largely operated in the defence last season but still impressed with four goals and six assists from 39 appearances in all competitions. Cornet would ...
Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly agreed a £60 million fee with Inter Milan for Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez. According to the Times, The London club want the 23-year-old to play alongside Harry Kane next season. The England international has been heavily linked with Manchester City, but Spurs are adamant that he will not be sold. Tottenham need to bring in another striker after Carlos Vinicius’s departure and have been linked with Dusan Vlahovic and Danny Ings in recent months. However, Ings has signed for Aston Villa, while there hasn’t been any progress on the Vlahovic front. Inter are under financial pressure at the moment, and Spurs have taken the opportunity to move for Martinez. There are other conflicting reports on the situation, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that ...
After spending 21 years with FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi is moving on and will be signing to Paris Saint-Germain F.C. where he will be joining the likes of football stars Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé. The Argentinian icon has agreed to sign a two-year contract with the French franchise, and the deal includes an option for a third year. The deal has not been officially finalized yet, but the 34-year old athlete is expected to be unveiled at the Eiffel Tower in the coming days. In his FC Barcelona farewell press conference that was held on August 8, 2021, the “Atomic Flea” expressed his sincerest thoughts about his departure. “I am really sad because I didn’t want to leave because this is the club I love,” Messi stated. “I didn’t expect this. I have never lied; I have always been honest and u...
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly confident of signing Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu this summer. According to Football Insider, Spurs have reopened talks with the Italian club and hope to reach an agreement next week. The 22-year-old was away on international duty with Japan at the Olympics Games, and it is understandable why his future has not been sorted yet. Tottenham have already completed the signing of Cristian Romero from Atalanta and are looking to bring in another defender to bolster their ranks. The versatile Japanese defender could prove a quality investment for the London club as they strive to force their way back into the top four. Fabio Paratici has already agreed personal terms with Tomiyasu, and the club are now negotiating the structure of the deal. Spurs will b...
West Ham United are looking to improve their attacking options and have opened preliminary talks with Liverpool regarding Belgian striker Divock Origi. The 26-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Anfield and barely played for Jurgen Klopp’s side last season. Origi needs to leave the Merseyside outfit to play regular first-team football, and a move to West Ham could be ideal. According to Football Insider, a bid of around £15 million could be enough to sign the Belgian this summer. Liverpool wanted to sell the player during the January transfer window, but there were no suitable offers. Origi has three years left on his current deal at Anfield, but the club are willing to sever their ties with him. The Hammers need to bring in a striker to compete with Michail Antonio, and Origi co...
Celtic are interested in signing Kristijan Lovric from Gorica this summer. According to Daily Record, the winger is a target for the Scottish club, but Verona are also keen on signing him. The 25-year-old will cost around £5 million, but that could represent decent value given his recent goalscoring record. Lovric has bagged 34 goals in the past two seasons and could be an extremely useful addition to Ange Postecoglou’s attack. Celtic star Odsonne Edouard has repeatedly been linked with a move away from Parkhead, and Postecoglou must strengthen his attacking unit if the Frenchman moves on. Apart from signing a prolific striker, Celtic must also bring in a goalscoring wide forward. The Hoops made a miserable start to the new season, crashing out of the Champions League and failing...
West Ham United are keen on signing Nikola Milenkovih from Fiorentina before the transfer window shuts. According to Gianluca di Marzio, there is a gap of €3 million between the asking price and the amount West Ham are willing to offer for the 23-year-old defender. The report further adds that the Serbian is the ‘number one’ goal for the London club in the transfer market this summer. It is fair to assume that the two clubs could reach an agreement in the coming days given the fact that the difference in valuations is marginal. Milenkovic will be out of contract next summer and Fiorentina will be under pressure to cash in on him in the coming weeks. They will not want to lose the 23 year old on a free transfer next year. Meanwhile, West Ham will have to sort out their defensive vulner...
Newcastle United are keen on signing Brazilian midfielder Ederson this summer. According to Globo Esporte, Corinthians are currently waiting for an official bid from the Premier League club. The Brazilian outfit are under financial pressure, which could help Newcastle get the signing across the line in the coming weeks. The Magpies need greater creativity in their midfield, and Ederson could prove to be a wise investment. The 22-year-old bagged two goals and three assists across all competitions last season. He would bring some much-needed physicality to Newcastle’s midfield and would be an upgrade on most of their current options. Ederson can play in multiple positions, and his versatility would be extremely handy for manager Steve Bruce. The Newcastle boss is working with a limited budge...