Arsenal are ‘working hard’ to secure deals for Ben White and Albert Sambi Lokong, according to The Standard. The Gunners are heavily interested in White following his impressive season with Brighton & Hove Albion. The north London club have already submitted a £40 million bid, but it was rejected by Brighton. They want a fee in the region of £50m for the England defender. Earlier this week, The Athletic claimed that the Gunners have made a formal offer for Lokonga. The Gunners are keen to bolster their midfield this summer and have earmarked the 21-year-old Anderlecht star as a potential option. Arsenal submitted an opening offer of €15 million (£12m), but the Belgian club want a guaranteed fee of €20m (£17m). Other Arsenal targets The Gunners are also looking ...
We are just a few weeks away from pre-season training for Premier League clubs, but Everton and Tottenham Hotspur are yet to appoint their next manager. The Toffees saw the surprise exit of Carlo Ancelotti earlier this month, as he took the opportunity to become Real Madrid’s manager for a second stint. They have since been linked with the likes of Nuno Espirito Santo and Rafa Benitez but are yet to decide on their new head coach. Spurs were recently in advanced negotiations with both Antonio Conte and Paulo Fonseca, but they failed to get a deal over the line for either. Gennaro Gattuso emerged as the front-runner for the role 24 hours ago, but Spurs have reportedly turned him down amid furious fan reaction. Both clubs are likely to stay patient to make the right appointment. We look at w...
If you’re following the transfer window closely you might be knowing that Manchester United are keen to sign Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid this summer. The England international, who has just got the taste of winning a league title, apparently finds that he has spent enough time on Iberian shores, and homesickness is creeping in. He wants to return to the Premier League and has started house-hunting as well. United are interested in signing a right-back and finds Trippier as the perfect option. Experienced? check. Can he play on both flanks? Check. Quality? Check. Winning mentality? Check. What more do you need? There are hurdles that need to be crossed to get the deal done, and by the looks of it, it seems improbable. The price being quoted by intermediaries is more than £30 millio...
Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho is set to put pen-to-paper on a new one-year contract with Manchester City, according to The Mail. The 36-year-old was recently included in the list of Premier League players to be released, but it was anticipated that he would extend his stay. It is now reported that Fernandinho has agreed terms over a 12-month extension, and a formal announcement will be made shortly. The midfielder is regarded as an invaluable figure in the club’s dressing room despite approaching the final phase of his career. Sportslens view: Fernandinho’s game time was limited during the first half of last season, with Rodrigo regularly preferred for the holding midfield role. The Brazilian became a more influential figure under Guardiola from February and got an equal share of playin...
Aston Villa have signed Ashley Young on a free transfer. The former Villa winger (now turned left-back) is back at the club after 10 years since leaving them to join Manchester United. The 35-year-old spent nine seasons at Old Trafford before joining Inter Milan in January 2020. He has signed a one-year deal at the club, and the vastly experienced Englishman is expected to play a key role for Villa next season. Young took to social networking site Twitter to express his reaction after completing the move. Ian Wright, former England and Arsenal striker, has responded to his post. Welcome back Ash. Great to see this happen for you ❤️ — Ian Wright (@IanWright0) June 17, 2021 SL View Young has enjoyed a stellar career. He made 190 appearances for Villa be...
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly showing interest in Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips. According to reports from TuttoJuve, Serie A giants Juventus have set their sights on Phillips who impressed during England’s 1-0 victory against Croatia. The report claims that Leeds have set a price for their talisman midfielder. Leeds are demanding £25m (a figure close to 30 million euros) for the talented midfielder, and it is very well within the budget of Spurs and Juventus. The report adds that the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid are also keen to get Phillips on board. Phillips has developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League, and it comes as no surprise that big clubs are taking keen interest in him. He has been simply outstanding for the Whites in...
Slovakia will be aiming to claim back-to-back wins at Euro 2020 when they take on Sweden at the Krestovsky Stadium on Friday. The Slovakians go into this match on the back of a tight win over Poland, looking to pick up consecutive triumphs at the European Championship for the first time. On the other hand, Sweden fought tooth and nail to avoid defeat against Spain but will have to show more urgency in the front third if they are to open their account at Euro 2020. Note: You can watch all Euro 2020 games via live streaming. Sweden Preview Despite having just 25% of the ball and failing to attempt a single shot on target, Sweden held Spain to a goalless draw in their opening game of Group E. Although a draw with Spain ended their five-match winning streak, it has seen Janne Andersson’s ...
Belgium came from behind to defeat Denmark in a thrilling Group B match at Euro 2020 on Thursday. It was the perfect start by Denmark, who took the lead after just two minutes. Jason Denayer’s pass was cut out by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who slipped the ball through to Yussuf Poulsen. The RB Leipzig man coolly rolled the ball into the bottom left corner to open the scoring. Both sides had chances within the next five minutes to add to the scoresheet. Belgium came close when Youri Tielemans’ cross was glanced towards goal by Dries Mertens, but straight at Kasper Schmeichel. Meanwhile, Denmark had three chances in quick succession to double their advantage. Joakim Maehle almost forced his way through but was smothered by Thibaut Courtois, and Martin Braithwaite also came close. Maehle was infl...
A selection of West Ham United fans reacted to Andriy Yarmolenko’s performance during Ukraine’s 2-1 win over North Macedonia at Euro 2020 on Thursday. The 31-year-old had a difficult 2020/21 campaign with the Hammers, ending up with just 362 minutes of Premier League action across 15 appearances. However, he has looked a completely different player with his return to international duty, registering two goals and one assist in his last two matches. Yarmolenko came up with a stunner against the Netherlands last week, but the game ended in disappointment as the Dutch secured a 3-2 triumph. He carried over the form to the North Macedonia game, registering a goal and an assist in a rampant first-half display for Andriy Shevchenko’s side. Yarmolenko has had an excellent record with his national ...
English left-back Ashley Young is back at Aston Villa 10 years after he first left for Manchester United. The 35-year-old spent nine seasons at Old Trafford before joining Inter Milan in January 2020. Young has signed a one-year deal with Villa after leaving Inter as a Serie A winner last season. He will be looking to hit the ground running at Villa Park when the 2021-22 Premier League campaign kicks off. Welcome back, @youngy18! 🤩 — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) June 17, 2021 The former England international has 369 top-flight appearances under his belt, and his huge experience will come in handy for Dean Smith’s side. I’M BACK 💙💜 pic.twitter.com/hBJJUnFXGp — Ashley Young (@youngy18) June 17, 2021 Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is delighted with Young’s ret...
Netherlands sealed top spot in their group after comfortably seeing off Austria in their second game of Euro 2020. The Oranje had the better of the first half, and were awarded an early penalty after a VAR check. Replays showed that David Alaba stepped on the foot of Denzel Dumfries, prompting the referee to point to the spot. Memphis Depay stepped up and slammed it into the bottom left corner. Alaba’s difficult start continued later on when he miscontrolled a throw in which allowed Depay to get into the box, but the former Manchester United man could only hit the side netting. Just before half time, Depay got another chance, and it was one that he really should have taken. Patrick van Aanholt floated a wonderful ball over the top to Wout Weghorst, who squared to his strike partner. But fr...