Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur will move for £22.5m star, if Chelsea fail to agree extension
Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to sign Antonio Rudiger this summer if Chelsea fail to agree a contract extension with the defender, Football Insider reports. The German was on the radar of Spurs boss Jose Mourinho last summer, and he was fancied to make a loan move to the north London outfit. However, a deal failed to materialise as the Blues demanded a £4 million loan fee on top of his £150,000-a-week wages being paid for the entire season. Rudiger hardly played in the league under manager Frank Lampard, making just four top-flight appearances before the 42-year-old was dismissed in January. Since then, his fortunes have changed with compatriot Thomas Tuchel being appointed, and he has become an undisputed starter in the back three. Rudiger’s current deal expires in June 2022, but th...
Premier League Results: Can the champions fend off Tottenham and Arsenal?
The 27th round of fixtures in the Premier League features some intriguing match-ups at both ends of the EPL table. We’ll update this story with reports, results, highlights and the latest Premier League standings throughout the weekend. The action is already underway, with Burnley drawing 1-1 with Arsenal at Turf Moor. James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams got the goals as Southampton ran out 2-0 winners at Sheffield United. Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton Wanderers is next on the agenda, with Brighton & Hove Albion vs Leicester City following. There are four games on Sunday, with the Manchester derby between City and United at the Etihad Stadium the pick of the bunch. Liverpool are in action at home to Fulham, and they will be eager to return to winning ways. The Reds are currently seventh in ...
‘Very unlucky’: Bernd Leno reacts to Granit Xhaka’s blunder vs Burnley
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has reacted to Granit Xhaka’s blunder during the club’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Burnley on Saturday. The Gunners took the lead after just six minutes through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and should have doubled the advantage with the chances handed to them. However, they ended up going into the break with the scores level after a horrendous mistake from Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder asked for the ball from Leno in the six-yard box and attempted to clear across the face of goal. Instead, the ball struck Chris Wood’s hip and bounced into an empty net with Leno rooted at the far post. That happened to be the final goal of the game despite chances for both sides for the remainder of the contest. Speaking after the draw, Leno said that the club have been successful i...
Wolves aiming to beat West Ham to signing of €15m Portuguese forward
Wolverhampton Wanderers are aiming to beat West Ham United to the signature of Valencia forward Goncalo Guedes this summer, Football Insider reports. Guedes initially joined the Spanish outfit on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 before his move was made permanent 12 months later. In his three-and-a-half seasons with the club, he has fared impressively with 20 goals and 19 assists from 124 appearances while predominantly playing on the left wing. It is now claimed that the Portuguese could be sold during the next transfer window, with owner Peter Lim having withdrawn his funding for the cash-strapped club. West Ham have been credited with an interest in Guedes, but Wolves are looking to beat them to the player’s services with their close links with Jorge Mendes. The super-age...
Alex McLeish fancies Aston Villa to sign £36m striker, if he leaves PL giants
Alex McLeish believes Aston Villa will make an attempt to sign Tammy Abraham, suppose he decides to pursue a fresh challenge away from Chelsea this summer. Abraham had his breakout season with the Blues under manager Frank Lampard last term and over the past 20 months, he has netted 34 goals from 77 appearances. However, there have been question marks regarding his future lately with current boss Thomas Tuchel leaving him out of the matchday squad for back-to-back league games. The German emphasised that the decision was purely tactical and there has been speculation that Abraham could be on the move this summer. It has been claimed that Villa may be interested in re-signing Abraham, who netted 26 goals (on loan) in their promotion campaign from the Championship in 2018/19. In a recent int...
Arsenal provide update on Smith Rowe ahead of Burnley clash
Arsenal have this evening revealed a late update on the fitness of Emile Smith Rowe, ahead of their showdown with Burnley. Mikel Arteta’s men are set to return to action tomorrow afternoon, in a Premier League meeting with the Clarets. The Gunners will of course head into the Turf Moor clash with their tails up, on the back of a morale boosting pair of wins over the last couple of weeks. First, a last-gasp Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang header saw Arsenal get the better of Benfica, to book their spot in the Last-16 of the Europa League. And this was followed last weekend by a hugely impressive 3-1 downing of Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. The news, as a whole, proved of a positive nature, with only two players – including 3rd-choice goalkeeper Alex Runarsson – struggling as things st...
Bailly and Cavani start, Predicted Manchester United line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Manchester City
Manchester United are scheduled to face arch-rivals Manchester City on the road in tomorrow’s Premier League meeting. The Red Devils have lost momentum recently with three successive 0-0 draws with two of those coming in the top-flight against Chelsea and Crystal Palace. They are now a staggering 14 points behind leaders City, who are on a stunning 21-match winning run across all competitions. In reality, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are no longer in title contention, but they will be determined to put an end to the Cityzens’ winning streak. They have beaten their fierce rivals in two of the previous three Manchester derbies in the league (one draw), and will be aiming for another strong result. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: David de Gea is unavailable for the game, having recently ...
‘Good news’: Pep Guardiola confirms Manchester City fitness boost for derby
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed a fitness boost ahead of the derby clash against Manchester United tomorrow. Nathan Ake has been out of action for the past few months with a hamstring concern, but he is now available to face the Red Devils. Speaking ahead of the game, Guardiola confirmed the return of Ake and added that there are no injury concerns within the squad. He told Mancity.com: “It’s good news for us. Nathan is back. He made the training sessions and felt really good.” “Everyone is fit. It is important for us and hopefully at the international break everyone comes back really well.” The Cityzens are on a stunning 21-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and they have won 15 in a row in the Premier League. They are two victories shy of Bayern Munich’s 23 su...
Former Arsenal chief reveals club were ‘very close’ to signing £88m Bundesliga star
In an interview with Goal.com, former Arsenal head of youth recruitment Steve Morrow has revealed that the Gunners were very close to signing Jadon Sancho before he joined Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017. The Gunners have missed out on several big-name players over the years. Their failure to sign the likes of Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to be talked about. Morrow has now disclosed that the Gunners failed to pursue Sancho on two separate occasions. The club initially tried to sign him in 2015 when he was an academy graduate at Watford, but he joined Manchester City. After a couple of years, Sancho decided to pursue a fresh challenge in the bid to secure regular first-team football. The Gunners were on the cusp of finding an agreement with the att...
Liverpool’s centre-back crisis worsens as manager confirms Ozan Kabak injury
Kabak was brought into Anfield during the January transfer window following a series of injuries at centre-back for Liverpool. The 20-year-old has not made an ideal start to life in the Premier League. His debut came against Leicester City, where his mix up with goalkeeper Alisson allowed Jamie Vardy to tap home to put the Foxes 2-1 ahead late on. After a victory in the Champions League over RB Leipzig, the Turkey international was once again under fire after the 2-0 home defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby. This was followed by a victory at Bramall Lane, before a 1-0 loss against Chelsea. Kabak is now believed to be a doubt for the visit of relegation strugglers Fulham, as reported by Times journalist Paul Joyce on Twitter. The extent of his problem is currently unknown. The loanee ...
Premier League preview: Can Arsenal and Tottenham finish ahead of the champions?
The 2020/21 Premier League season rumbles on this weekend, with some eye-catching EPL fixtures scheduled over the next few days. With Manchester City looking nailed on to win the title, attention has switched onto the battle to qualify for Europe. Arsenal have the opportunity to boost their chances when they visit Burnley in the early game on Saturday. A victory at Turf Moor would move the Gunners just three points behind Liverpool, who are currently in seventh place. There are three further games later the same day, with the Midlands derby between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers the pick of the bunch. Villa are also in the running to bag a European qualification spot but may find it difficult to break Wolves down. There are four fixtures on Sunday, headlined by the Manchester derb...
‘Future captain’, ‘Best player’: Some Chelsea fans react to midfielder’s performance vs Liverpool
A selection of Chelsea fans on Twitter were delighted with Mason Mount following his impressive showing against Liverpool in the Premier League last night. The Blues went into the game needing a victory to jump into the top four and managed to do so through Mount, who scored the only goal at Anfield in the 42nd minute. The west London giants were the better attacking side over the course of the game and were unlucky to not open the scoring in the 25th minute. Werner pounced on a long ball before rounding the goalkeeper to find the back of the net, but his strike was cancelled out by VAR as he was offside by millimetres. The Blues kept on going and eventually broke the deadlock before the interval when Mount was found on the left flank through a brilliant pinpoint pass from N’Golo Kante. Mo...
