Some Scotland and Chelsea fans have expressed their disappointment on Twitter after Billy Gilmour tested positive for COVID-19. The 20-year-old made his full international debut against England last week, and he produced a standout display in midfield. Gilmour was adjudged the man of the match, but he won’t play any part in the final Euro 2020 group stage game against Croatia. He has tested positive for coronavirus following the goalless draw and is expected to stay in isolation for 10 days at least. This has led to disappointment among some Scotland and Chelsea fans. Here are a few reactions on Twitter. Are the team in a bubble during the tournament? Like.. in a hotel or something?Does Billy have a room mate?Have they been together in training recently?Could others in the team now be in d...
Tottenham Hotspur are still searching for a new manager two months after parting company with Jose Mourinho. Spurs have been linked with several names, while deals for former Serie A bosses Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso fell through last week. According to GiveMeSport, some figures at Rangers fear the Londoners will make a move for their manager Steven Gerrard. The former Liverpool star was initially linked with the job, but those reports went quiet in the following weeks. Rangers had been keen to hand him a new deal, but that has reportedly proven difficult following an offer from an unnamed Premier League club. Sportslens View Gerrard has three more years left on his deal at Ibrox and has insisted he is not looking to leave anytime soon. Nevertheless, the temptation to manage in the ...
Aston Villa remain keen on signing the Arsenal midfielder Emil Smith Rowe this summer. According to Football Insider, the West Midlands club are preparing to submit an improved bid of around £30 million for the 20-year-old attacking midfielder. The Premier League side tried to sign the young midfielder last week as well but they had an opening offer of around £25 million turned down. It is evident that Arsenal do not wish to sell their prized asset this summer but Villa are not prepared to give up just yet. Apparently, Arsenal are trying to agree on a new deal with the young midfielder who will be out of contract in 2023 and Villa are doing their best to capitalize on the uncertainty surrounding his future at the London club. SL View: Arsenal unlikely to sanction departure Smith Rowe...
West Ham United are interested in signing the Cagliari striker Giovanni Simeone. The 25 year old Argentine forward had a mediocre season in the Italian league this past year and he would be nothing more than a squad option for the hammers. According to Calciomercato, the Premier League side are offering €1 million to loan the player with the option of signing him permanently. However, the Italian outfit are not keen on the offer. SL View: West Ham must look to sign a better striker There is no doubt that the Hammers need to sign a quality striker this summer but Simeone would be an underwhelming signing for them. Simeone scored just six goals for Cagliari last season. David Moyes has been relying on Michail Antonio for goals this past season but the West Ham star is not a specialist g...
Aston Villa are thought to be interested in signing the Argentine winger Julian Alvarez. According to reports via the Birmingham Mail, the Premier League side are all set to open talks with the representatives of the 21-year-old winger this week regarding a summer transfer. Apparently, the talented young attacker is keen on a move to Europe this summer. SL View: Ideal squad options for the wide roles Villa could definitely use more depth in the wide areas and Alvarez could prove to be a quality long term acquisition. The West Midlands club have already signed Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City and the Argentine is expected to play as the number ten behind Ollie Watkins. Villa are currently using Jack Grealish and Bertrand Traore as their wingers and Smith could definitely use more options ...
Belgium wrapped up top spot in Group B with a 2-0 win over Finland in their final group stage game. The first half was one-way traffic, with Finland evidently looking to stay in the game for as long as possible. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku were seeing a lot of the ball, but couldn’t find a way through. Those same two players combined for the best chance of the opening 45. De Bruyne floated in a wonderful cross for Lukaku, but the Inter Milan forward’s finish was uncharacteristically poor, heading straight at Lukas Hradecky. Hradecky had to be at his best shortly before half time. Teenager Jeremy Doku drove into the box and struck a shot towards the far corner, but the goalkeeper threw out a strong left arm to turn it away. The two sides went in at the break level. Finland ended the h...
Hakan Çalhanoglu’s new contract with Inter Milan is set to run until the summer of 2024, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. The deal will also see the 27-year-old earning €5 million per season with an added €1 million as a bonus, added Romano. Hakan Çalhanoglu confirms to @trtspor: “I’ve reached an agreement with Inter, yes. I’m flying to Milano tomorrow and then I’m gonna sign the contract”. 🇹🇷⚫️🔵 #Inter He’s set to sign until June 2024 for €5m/season net as salary. Also €1m bonus per season will be included. — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 21, 2021 Given that he has joined Inter from arch-rivals AC Milan, there is no doubt that the Turkey international will have lost respect in the eyes of many fans of the Rossoneri. He ...
Jurgen Klopp has weighed in on Germany’s back three system that Joachim Low has deployed at Euro 2020 so far. Germany have lined up in a 3-4-3 formation in their two group stage games against France and Portugal. Manuel Neuer is in goal, with Matthias Ginter, Mats Hummels, and Antonio Rudiger at centre-back. Robin Gosens and Joshua Kimmich line up as wing-backs, Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan are in midfield, while the front three are Thomas Muller, Kai Havertz and Serge Gnabry. So far, it has achieved mixed success. They were defeated 1-0 by world champions France in the first game thanks to an own goal by Hummels but demolished Portugal 4-2 in their second outing. The wing-backs were crucial in the victory. Gosens directly contributed to three goals, while Kimmich assisted two. However, L...
Borussia Dortmund have joined Marseille in the race to sign Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi this summer, Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna claims. Guendouzi spent the previous season on loan with Hertha Berlin after falling out of favour under Gunners manager Mikel Arteta. He had a good campaign with two goals and three assists from 24 outings, but his season ended in disappointment with a foot injury. Guendouzi’s contract with the Gunners expires in June next year, but the club have the option to extend his stay for another 12 months. However, they are keen to part company with the Frenchman and are willing to sanction his exit during the summer transfer window. Marseille have already agreed personal terms with Guendouzi, but they are yet to negotiate a transfer fee with the north L...
Arsenal have agreed personal terms with midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, and they are now in advanced negotiations with Anderlecht over the transfer fee, Football Insider claims. The Gunners are planning a major squad rebuild this summer, and there are looking at the possibility of signing more than one central midfielder. They have been linked with Ruben Neves and Yves Bissouma in recent weeks, but Lokonga has emerged as the prime midfield transfer target. The club recently failed with an opening bid worth £13 million for the Belgium international. It was reportedly short of Anderlecht’s £17m asking price. It is now reported that the player has agreed terms over a contract, and the Gunners are aiming to use add-ons to convince Anderlecht over a deal. Sportslens view: The Gunners...
Group A took centre stage at the European Championships on Sunday, with the final matches of the opening phase played simultaneously. Italy beat Wales 1-0 to confirm their place at the top of the group, while Switzerland triumphed 3-1 against Turkey. Despite being completely outplayed by Italy, the result was enough to send Wales through to the round of 16. Let’s have a look at some of the talking points from the Italy game and elsewhere. Don’t mess with Locatelli After being one of the stars of Euro 2020 during Italy’s first two games, Manuel Locatelli but was handed a well-earned rest against Wales. However, he was a little wound up on the bench during the game as teammate Nicolo Barella jokingly flung a water bottle at his head. what’s the Italian for banter pic.twitter.com/OKb4U1Qj0F —...
If England fail to advance to the latter stages of Euro 2020, Gareth Southgate’s ability to take the team forward will be the subject of scrutiny. Southgate has a talented group of players at his disposal which should be reaching nothing less than the semi-finals of major tournaments if not win them. One of the questionable stances taken by Southgate in the Euros so far is his decision not to hand starts to Jadon Sancho against Croatia and Scotland. Southgate has indicated that he needs to be realistic about the demands that he places on young players such as Sancho. “We’ve got some explosive options, and a lot of them are young players and experiencing a big tournament for the first time,” said Southgate as quoted by Sky Sports. “So, as a coaching staff, we are realistic about our expecta...