Premier League
Arsenal duo sidelined, Chelsea set to shuffle pack, Hammers star pushing for recall
The 2020/21 Premier League season is in its final week, and there are some crucial fixtures taking place over the next two days. The battle to qualify for the Champions League will take centre stage, with three teams holding a realistic chance of joining the two Manchester clubs in next season’s competition. Two of those are in action on Tuesday, with Chelsea and Leicester City going head-to-head at Stamford Bridge. The Foxes are two points ahead of Chelsea heading into the game, with Liverpool a further point adrift with two matches remaining. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is expected to shuffle his pack following his team’s defeat against Leicester in Saturday’s FA Cup final. Edouard Mendy is set to return in goal, while Ben Chilwell is likely to start after impressing off the bench at W...
Harry Kane tells Tottenham he wants to leave this summer
Harry Kane has reiterated his stance that he wants to leave Tottenham this summer. The 27-year-old has grown frustrated over the club’s inability to compete at the highest level, having seen his side fall out of contention to secure Champions League football for next season. Spurs have long been reluctant to entertain bids for their talisman but the England captain is hoping that they will soften their stance after his long service to the club. Daniel Levy will demand a huge fee for Kane – who prefers a move within the Premier League – as he is on a long-term deal until 2024. Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are potentially viable destinations, although it is still unclear as to whether a move will materialise. All three of the aforementioned Premier League giants have signif...
Report: £10m Leeds star rejects contract offer amid interest from PL rival
Leeds United forward Tyler Roberts has reportedly rejected a contract offer from the Yorkshire club. According to reports from Football Insider, the 22-year-old has been offered a long-term deal but he has rejected it. His future is now up in the air, with Premier League rivals Newcastle United keen on securing his services. Several other clubs are also vying for his signature. Back in the January transfer window, Roberts was linked with a move away from the club, but Marcelo Bielsa didn’t want him to leave. It has been claimed that Bielsa is keen to keep the versatile attacker. Roberts has featured regularly in the second half of the season, making 12 consecutive Premier League starts before he was dropped against Burnley. SL View Roberts would be a good signing for the M...
Premier League & La Liga giants forced to look elsewhere as Dortmund secure UCL football
Barcelona, Chelsea and Barcelona have received a blow to their summer transfer plans, with Borussia Dortmund securing Champions League football for next season. The Bundesliga outfit suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last month, which saw them seven points adrift of the top four with seven games to play. Their form has since been sensational with six successive league wins, and they recently guaranteed their Champions League spot with one match remaining. With the qualification, the club are likely to be boosted with the additional revenue, which could have a huge impact on their transfer strategy this summer. Over the past few weeks, there has been plenty of talk regarding Erling Braut Haaland’s future with suggestions that he could move on if Dortmund fail to mak...
Bernd Leno: I don’t want to leave Arsenal
Bernd Leno has insisted that he does not want to leave Arsenal while outlining his ambition to help the club reach the Champions League again. Leno completed a £23 million ($33m) move to Emirates Stadium from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018, venturing outside of Germany for the first time in his professional career in the process. The 29-year-old has since nailed down the number one spot in Arsenal’s team; however, it has been suggested that he is one of several first-team stars likely to depart in the summer transfer window. Mikel Arteta is being tipped to reshape his squad after a turbulent 2020-21 campaign, but Leno has dismissed the ongoing speculation surrounding his future while revealing he intends to see out the final two years of his contract. “I don’t want to flee here, I feel good and ...
Crystal Palace plan loan bid for Serie A centre-back, who Chelsea wanted to sign
Crystal Palace will propose to sign Juventus centre-back Radu Dragusin on a season-long loan this summer, The Sun reports. The 19-year-old’s previous contract was due to expire in June, and the Eagles were eager to land him on a free transfer. However, their plans were dashed last month as the Romanian was convinced to sign a fresh four-year deal with the Bianconeri. It is now reported that the south London outfit will look to pursue his signature on loan for the 2021/22 campaign. The Bianconeri are open to the defender’s temporary exit such that he can be guaranteed regular first-team football. Sportslens view: The Eagles currently have 16 players in their first-team squad whose contracts expire at the end of next month. The list includes centre-backs Gary Cahill, Mamadou Sakho and Scott ...
Former United and Liverpool legends back petition to save their clubs
The call by former Premier League stars for better regulation in English football will be music to the ears of fans across the country. Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards are amongst the ex-players who are urging the UK government to appoint an independent regulator. They are calling on fans to sign a petition which will force the government to debate the matter if more than 100,000 signatures are collected. The petition is already well on its way to hitting the target as people across football throw their weight behind the idea. The recent European Super League proposal highlighted the disdain with which some elements of football view the current picture. Many people within the sport believe that the appointment of a regulatory body would help to represent the interests of t...
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms double Man United injury boost, provides Harry Maguire update
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed a double injury boost ahead of the club’s Premier League clash against Fulham. The Red Devils have already qualified for next season’s Champions League, but have lost momentum with back-to-back losses to Leicester City and Liverpool. They will be aiming to return to winning ways against the Cottagers at Old Trafford tomorrow, where 10,000 fans will be in attendance. Ahead of the game, Solskjaer confirmed a boost on the injury front with both Daniel James and Anthony Martial back in training after rehabilitation. He told Manutd.com: “They [Daniel and Anthony] have done all their rehab programmes and ticked all the boxes so a couple of days of training before the game with the team, but they’re not ready to start a game yet. Let’s ...
Three Things: Shankly would be horrified, West Ham blow chance, Leeds on the rise
It’s Monday morning again, which means it’s time to roll out our latest ‘Three Things’ column. Thankfully there wasn’t much diving going on over the weekend, so we’ll have to focus on other stuff. Let’s start things off by getting stuck into Liverpool. When is the open-top bus parade? “If you are first, you are first. If you are second, you are nothing.” Former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly’s iconic comment perfectly summed up his attitude to football. If Shankly had been around today, he’d have been horrified by the wild celebrations that followed Alisson’s late winner at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Sure, a goal scored by a goalkeeper is a rare occurrence. However, this was a goal against a relegated club that moved Liverpool from fifth to, erm, fifth position in the Premier League. ...
Arsenal, Chelsea and co beware, new EPL broadcast deal needs a rethink
“The current media rights deal will preserve the status quo of an unbalanced, unsustainable and unfair financial distribution model across English football which continues to cause serious financial issues throughout the football pyramid, while continuing to distort competition between clubs and threaten the long-term viability of EFL competitions and clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two.” The EFL’s recent statement about the Premier League’s new domestic television deal certainly didn’t pull any punches. The English top-flight has been given the green light to roll over its £4.8 billion arrangement with broadcasters for another three years from 2022, on the condition it gives an extra £100 million to support football in England. The money will be distributed across differe...
Fabrizio Romano says £192k-a-week star will join David Luiz in leaving Arsenal this summer
Arsenal forward Willian is expected to follow David Luiz through the exit door this summer, reputed Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano reports. The Gunners have reportedly agreed to part ways with Luiz when his contract expires next month, and they are likely to make an announcement soon. It is now reported that compatriot Willian could also leave the north London club with interest from several European and Major League Soccer teams. Willian has two years remaining on his contract with the Gunners. The club are awaiting bids for the Brazilian, who earns around £192,000-a-week. Sportslens view: Willian made the switch across London from Chelsea last summer, and it was suggested that he would be a quality addition to the Gunners ranks. However, the move has proved far from successful, ...
Sam Allardyce: Premier League is becoming boring
Press Association Sam Allardyce has warned that the Premier League is in danger of becoming boring because teams have been “brainwashed” into using the same playing style. The English top-flight has opened up to different tactical approaches over the last decade, with an influx of coaches coming from elsewhere in Europe. However the West Brom manager fears coaches are being prevented from sticking to their preferred style and that the league is suffering as a result. He said to Sky Sports: “What’s the point of playing out from the back against Man City and Liverpool, the best high-pressing team in this country. If they drop off, you play out from the back. Where’s the space? Exploit the space. I tried to get the players to think about that. It’s a simple game that’s been complicated far to...
