Manchester City are thought to be ready to make a bid for highly-rated Argentine youngster Paulo Dybala, who has been touted as the ‘new Sergio Aguero’, according to Mirror Football.
The Premier League champions are eager to add Robin van Persie to their ranks this summer, but are thought to be keeping an eye out for young talent, with the Instituto forward certainly fitting the bill.
The 18-year-old bagged 17 goals in 38 appearances for his home-town club in his first season in senior football, and as such is being monitored by some of Europe’s top teams.
Palermo president Mauricio Zamparini revealed that the Italian side had sealed a deal to sign Dybala three months ago, but it is thought that this is untrue as the Sicilians negotiated with an agent not authorised to represent the teenager.
As such both Inter and AC Milan are keeping tabs on Dybala, with Chelsea also credited with an interest.
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Despite this, Roberto Mancini’s men will offer £5 million for the player, who will not need a work permit as he has European grandparents.
The ‘will he won’t he stay’ transfer dilemma continues for Cesc Fabregas as the Spanish midfielder is constantly linked with an exit from Arsenal. Every summer Barcelona are bidding for Cesc and surely it’s only a matter of time until they get their man. The Spaniard is still an Arsenal player for now at least (although at the time of reading this he may have moved to Barca) and will line up for the Gunners at the start of the new season. Here is Mr Fabregas joining in the Arsenal open training session, giving fans at the Emirates Stadium something that might soon turn out to be a collector’s item: a picture of Cesc in an Arsenal training top. Can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?
Leave your suggestions below…
This week you can win a spoof newspaper front page!
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Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has been fined 10,000 pounds and warned over his future conduct for his Twitter outburst earlier this month.Babel, 24, was hit with the fine by the Football Association after he posted comments and images on his Twitter page concerning referee Howard Webb.
The comments came in the wake of Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round exit to Manchester United at Old Trafford, with a digitally altered photo showing Webb wearing a Manchester United kit.
Webb awarded a controversial penalty in the match in favour of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and also sent off Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
Babel accepted a charge of improper conduct and was hit with the fine at a Regulatory Commission hearing on Monday.
“Social network sites, like Twitter, must be regarded as being in the public domain and all participants need to be aware, in the same way as if making a public statement in other forms of media, that any comments would be transmitted to a wider audience,” the Regulatory Commission Chairman Roger Burden said.
“It is their responsibility to ensure only appropriate comments are used.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva has also been charged with improper conduct.
The Brazilian defender was charged after his outburst at referee Mike Dean in Sunday’s goalless draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Da Silva was sent off for a second yellow card and vented his disgust at Dean after his decision.
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“Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva has today been charged by the FA with improper conduct,” an FA statement read.
“The charge relates to the player’s conduct towards match official Mike Dean following his dismissal in Manchester United’s fixture at Tottenham.”
Da Silva has until 6pm GMT on Tuesday to respond to the charge.
Liverpool are ready to make an offer for Parma striker Fabio Borini, according to The Daily Mail.
The Reds are eager to bolster their playing squad this summer, with new boss Brendan Rodgers keen to bring in a few new faces to freshen things up at Anfield.
One of the main reasons for the Merseysiders’ poor eighth-placed finish in 2011-12 was the lack of a clinical edge, with a new centre forward thought to be firmly on the club’s wishlist.
Borini spent last season on loan at Roma, but is owned by Parma, and will return to the Stadio Ennio Tardini after the capital-city side decided not to make the attacker’s move permanent.
Rodgers knows Borini well, as the sprightly forward spent time on loan at the Liberty Stadium in 2011, scoring six goals in nine games for the Welsh side.
The new Liverpool boss is eager to use that link to bring the hitman back to England, however there are thought to be a raft of other interested parties.
Borini is currently on international duty with Italy at Euro 2012, but has had limited chances to play.
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Former England captain David Beckham has expressed his disgust at his nation’s failed attempt to win the rights to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.England’s bid team – consisting of Manchester United legend Beckham, England Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William – managed only one vote, losing the bid to Russia.
Beckham, who plays for Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy, said he felt ‘sick’ that England’s bid failed to attract more than the solitary vote.
“The situation we see now leaves a sick feeling in your mouth,” Beckham told the Daily Mirror.
“We were happy with the bid we put forward and it gives you a real sick feeling not getting it.”
“There was so much hard work that went into that bid. Nobody could have done any more.”
“When you factor in that we also had the weight of the Prime Minister and the future king of England (Prince William) behind us, it doesn’t get much bigger and better than that.”
Beckham, who has not retired from international duty despite having not appeared for England since October 2009, said he was still feeling good about playing club football with the LA Galaxy, and that he had plenty of life in his career yet.
“One, maybe two more years, I still feel good, I still feel healthy and I’m still enjoying getting up in the morning to go to training,” he said.
“Until I get up and don’t feel the same, I’ll continue. I still have to play at a certain level, but I think I can continue to do that.”
“I’m just going to have to see how my body feels at the end of this year. I had my (Achilles tendon) injury last year and I’m getting a bit older now.”
“We’ll have to wait and see but if I carry on enjoying my football, then I want to continue.”
Yes, it’s the Christmas season and joviality should be flooding the air, but thanks to recent results, Arsenal fans may have little reason to be ‘jolly’. Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over the Gunners at Old Trafford was further evidence that all is not right with this Arsenal squad. There may be no quick fix for all these problems, but I believe that with a few, tweaks and changes, this squad could genuinely challenge for honours. As it’s the season of giving, I scrawled a quick letter to Santa to see if he can redress some of our problems. My Christmas wish-list has five items:
1. Some big-game nous: It’s a well established fact in recent times that Arsenal simply cannot handle the bigger teams. Last season The Gunners dropped all 12 potential points in games against Chelsea and Manchester United. This season Arsenal have already lost to United and Chelsea. If Arsenal want to win the League, they’ll have to start chipping points away from their fellow title contenders. More important than the points, is the message that beating big teams sends out to the rest of the League. The message has to be: “We are good enough to take United apart and we’re going to fight tooth and nail for this title”. At the moment, the message eminating from the Emirates is that Arsenal are brittle enough to break when pushed too hard. So, please Santa – grant the Gunners a backbone.
2. A cure for Fabregas’ hamstring problems: Arsenal’s talisman hasn’t been able to play for large portions of this season. Had he been fit and ready to go against United, I have no doubt that it would have changed the landscape of the game. Unfortunately, his mysterious hamstring injury meant that he could only afford 30 minutes of game time during which he didn’t really appear at the races. Get well soon Cesc – Arsenal need you.
3. A fresh start between the posts: I’m still not convinced that Fabianski has what it takes to be Arsenal’s number one goalkeeper. For every good game he’s had this season, there’s been another game where he’s committed a howler. He doesn’t inspire confidence in front of an already shaky back-four. Wenger must work to address this. 20 year-old Wojciech Szczesny is the perfect man to fill his gloves. He was thrown in at the deep end against Manchester United, but performed admirably (especially the Schmeichel-esque save against Anderson). We know from his performances in the Carling Cup that this wasn’t just a one-off. It’s time for him to get a run of games in the first-team.
4. A pair of unbreakable legs for Robin van Persie: Chamakh has had a good start to his Arsenal career, but it’s Robin Van Persie who can provide Arsenal with that ‘something special’ upfront. Whilst Chamakh excels in out-and-out goal-scoring, Van Persie can change a game with a moment of magic. Very little needs to be said about his talent and technical ability – what Arsenal really need now is for him to get a long run of games in the squad.
5. A trophy: This one goes without saying. Winning breeds winning. A trophy could reinvigorate this club. It’s been a long wait for Arsenal fans and it’s time to pick up some silverware. Arsenal are still in the running for the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and are favourites for the Carling Cup. There can be no more excuses.
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Newcastle fans are missing Aleksandar Mitrovic this morning after the 23 year-old scored both goals in Serbia’s 2-0 friendly win over Nigeria.
There’s more than a few reasons why Newcastle fans would feel infuriated by their club, but the loaning out of Aleksandar Mitrovic has to be one of the more peculiar moves in the club’s recent history.
In a season where the Magpies are struggling to score goals, Mitrovic was sent to Fulham on loan in January, and has now scored nine times in his last 12 games for club and country.
The move has completely split fans. There are those who think loaning the 23 year-old was a dreadful mistake, there are fans who think it was a win for all parties, and there are even some who want the Serbian sold.
Of course, if Newcastle stay up and Mitrovic comes back to the club in red hot form, it can only mean good things for both player and club.
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Still, plenty of fans are annoyed about the decision to loan Mitrovic out, after he scored two lovely goals in Serbia’s win on Tuesday.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Steven Gerrard’s end of season Liverpool exit may be the result of a behind the scene’s power struggle at Anfield, according to former Wimbledon ace Marcus Gayle.
The Reds skipper announced last week that he will be signing for LA Galaxy at the end of the current campaign, where he’s likely to end his glittering career, after opting against penning a fresh contract on Merseyside.
Gerrard’s Merseyside deal is up in just under six months’ time, and the club’s decision to stall on extending his stay beyond 2015 is understood to have been a major factor in the 34-year-old’s impending exit.
WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news
And Gayle believes the whole saga may have something to do with a struggle for power off the pitch between the skipper and manager Brendan Rodgers:
“There must be something behind the scenes that has triggered the departure of Steven Gerrard, I am sure of that, because it doesn’t make much sense.” He told Zapsportz.com.
“It is only six months ago that he quit as England captain, retired as an England player, all in order to prolong his Liverpool career.
“Everyone at Anfield applauded that decision; that he put his club before his country, a tough decision for Stevie G. Yet here we are soon after that decision and he has been eased out of the club.
“Many people think that Stevie G might be managerial material, or at least be part of a managerial set up, and that might have happened sooner rather than later if the current manager was replaced in the summer.
“I am not saying this is all down to Brendan Rodgers, but there must be some underlying issues that have yet to emerge.
“There is more to it than we have been told, there is something missing. Because this player is not just a Liverpool legend, he is an England legend, not just an inspiration to his club but has been an inspiration to his country.
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“It doesn’t make sense to allow such a big influence to leave Liverpool, and I can see him back at Anfield before too long.”
Gerrard is set to join LA Galaxy half way through the MLS season, where he will be one of the reigning champions’ Designated Players, alongside former Anfield team-mate, Robbie Keane.
This season has been interesting to say the least.
Currently on the lookout for our 3rd manager of the season, having not sacked anyone, it would be fair to question what exactly is going on at Bloomfield Road. On the pitch, we went from absolutely sublime to utterly terrible in the first two months, and have since been stagnating somewhere in the middle. We have also seen a surface go from football pitch to quagmire and now fans, probably rightly so, are starting to get more than a little irritated.
As an outsider looking in, I’m not sure what you’d think of Blackpool at the minute. Having inexplicably lost Ian Holloway to Crystal Palace, Michael Appleton lasted only 10 weeks in the hot-seat before deciding he would rather ply his trade down the road, at the farcically managed Blackburn Rovers. Not surprisingly, Appleton’s time in charge was actually the shortest tenure of any Blackpool manager.
Since then, we lost at Charlton after a pretty dismal performance and then went out of the FA cup after losing to Fulham in extra time. We were hours away from appointing a manager before Sean O’Driscoll decided he would rather manage bottom of the league Bristol City than have a stint with Blackpool.
And now, well, who knows. We are talking to a lot of managers trying to find the right guy. Probably feeling a little vulnerable after choosing Appleton, who decided to walk out, the board are taking longer to weigh up the options and appoint a manager. However, every time we ask for permission to talk to anyone, Sky Sports say that he is going to be named out next manager and messageboards go into meltdown, writing him off before he has even picked up the phone to speak to us.
So yes, things are confusing and frustrating at the minute, but what we need to remember is that this sort of stuff can happen. It’s football, and we all know how detached from reality football is. Stuff happens, we move on and then more stuff happens. That’s football.
Most sane fans know that despite our varied shortcomings, we do things the right way at Blackpool when it comes to transfers. Same goes with managers. We try out best not to disclose information before a deal is done, we ask permission to speak to players and managers, and we pay what we consider to be what they are worth.
Unfortunately, virtually every other club doesn’t. Almost all of them will contact a player without speaking to his club, or chat to a manager before they have spoken to his chairman. Other clubs or players agents are so willing to give out information that we end up with a million “Sky Sources” stories linking every player west of Australia to Blackpool. And when it comes to money, clubs are far too willing to cave in and pay the player and agent whatever they want.
The thing with football fans is that they just want everything, and want it now. Yet, they spend countless hours down the pub moaning about how much it costs to watch football, how much players earn and how certain players aren’t worth their transfer fee. Well I’m sorry but, in my opinion, you can’t stand there and complain that football players are overpaid, and then in the next sentence say we should have offered a guy more money and he wouldn’t have gone elsewhere.
Who is in the wrong here? Is it Blackpool, and by that I mean Karl Oyston, or is it other clubs? Should we move with the modern game and start spending more money, or should we stick to our principals and not get dragged into the overspending that is so criticised nowadays? To be honest, I don’t know. I can see merit in doing both. I’m quite happy knowing that our players don’t earn ridiculous amounts of money and that they remain quite grounded. I take great pleasure in watching players turn us down to take more money elsewhere and then end up playing League 1 or 2 football. On the other hand, it is a shame when our players aren’t rewarded properly, like the team that gained promotion to the Premier League. And it would be nice to sign a player I’ve heard of who is in form and at a good stage in his career. Like I said, I’m not sure which way is the right way, but I don’t mind either.
I’d love football to be more like what we see at Blackpool, where players are paid reasonable wages (extortionate compared to the real-world) and then get performance related bonuses. I’d love to see transfer fees stay mainly in single figured millions, certainly for the majority of players. Is Daniel Sturridge worth £15 million? Of course not. I’m sure we would all like the game to be more rational, but it isn’t. Does that mean it is right?
What can’t be defended here is the lack of investment in the playing surface. Where transfer fees come down to greed, and I’m more than happy to tell players to shove it, but when it comes to the pitch, it is something which should always have investment. I don’t have a craving for a new training ground, or new seats in the ground, or a new stand, but the very basic thing that the players and staff need is a decent pitch. When you’re a kid all you needed was 4 jumpers, a ball and some grass. We have posts, we have footballs, but we have no grass.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it can be fixed this season. Relaying the pitch now would probably mean we have to have a new pitch every game. Nothing will be able to bed-in during this weather. Nonetheless, if it comes to the summer and there has been no investment in the pitch, I will happily jump on the moaning, groaning bandwagon.
My point, in all this ranting, is that I know there are lots of things wrong about our club, but there are lots of things right about it and at the end of it all, it is my club. I don’t mean it should be in my control, I mean this is the club I support.
And that is where a difference lies. Some people, the ‘fans’, believe this is their club and their opinion should carry a lot of weight. If they don’t like a manager, they should be able to get him sacked. When things start to go wrong, on or off the pitch, they boo and protest and eventually, stop turning up.
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‘Supporters’ on the other hand, support the club and the team. They discuss what is going on, get irate about it, argue about it and even shout about it, but when saturday comes, they will still be there. Supporters realise that even if a player or manager or owner is doing something wrong, they won’t be here forever, unlike them.
I think the best way to put it is that I am a football fan and a Blackpool supporter. I just hope there are more like me and that people can get past the politics of it all and remember why they started watching. Nobody ever came to a game based on the infrastructure and financial standing of a club and its owner, so why should that be a reason to stop going?
Let’s see how things turn out, enjoy the ride and support our club.
There is a common misconception that Sean Dyche’s greatest gift as a manager is his ability to implement a system that allows his players to perform beyond their means.
This Burnley side isn’t constructed of substandard players performing to a level that could clinch them Europa League football; Dyche has improved practically every single player he’s brought to Turf Moor, and teaching them how to play as a cohesive unit of correlating elements has been just a part of that.
Yet, there is no question that Burnley’s old-fashioned principles of relentless organisation and body-on-the-line defending does allow certain players to flatter to deceive at times, particularly the defenders. Compare the role of a Clarets centre-back to one at Arsenal, for example.
The former will usually only need to defend his own penalty box, perhaps the line bordering his final third; the latter will be expected to defend at the halfway line whenever his side are in possession and then make up the ground towards their own goal, before producing some kind of last-ditch challenge, should the opposition break through on the counter.
They’re two incredibly different brands of defending, and while one is all about the routine consistency of clearing crosses, intercepting passes and blocking shots, the other is about the focus to still fulfil those duties to the same standard during the fewer occasions they’re required while also trying to prevent them from happening in the first place, by winning the ball higher up the pitch and keeping the team in possession. In short, replacing Shkodran Mustafi with Ben Mee won’t suddenly improve Arsenal’s modest defensive record.
Soccer Football – Premier League – West Ham United vs Burnley – London Stadium, London, Britain – March 10, 2018 Burnley manager Sean Dyche Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details
Perhaps the most obvious example of that is Michael Keane. Last season, the 25-year-old looked arguably England’s most capable out-and-out defender such was his incredible form for Burnley. Two-thirds of a season on from a big-money move to Everton though, the man who replaced him in the Clarets’ starting XI, James Tarkowski, is now rather ironically replacing him within the Three Lions fold as well.
It would be wrong to claim Keane’s been ‘found out’ at Goodison – there have been mitigating factors, chiefly injuries and managerial turmoil – behind an underwhelming debut season, but he certainly hasn’t assailed parallel heights to his final term at Burnley and has rarely looked like providing the steely, Dychian influence in defence Everton have so desperately lacked throughout 2017/18.
It’s been a tough learning curve for a centre-back who is no longer protected by a deep-sitting midfield four in front and tall full-backs tucked in either side of him. Even with Allardyce at the helm, Everton are a far more open side – especially when Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines are overlapping down the flanks.
Tarkowski though, is of a slightly different breed. Whereas Keane has always been a rugged centre-back of the traditional English mould that accordingly fitted perfectly into Dyche’s system, Tarkowski by his own admission was considered a ball-playing centre-half in his younger years, particularly at Brentford where an expansive game-plan obliged him to play out of the back and take risks in possession.
Dyche has revolutionised his game at Turf Moor, but the key variation from Keane is that the 25-year-old understands the fundamentals of a different way of defending, albeit practised only at Football League level.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Watford vs Everton – Vicarage Road, Watford, Britain – February 24, 2018 Everton’s Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane in action with Watford’s Troy Deeney REUTERS/David Klein EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account repres
While that has seen Keane’s career stutter upon joining a team with more open defensive dynamics, Tarkowski’s ball-playing spell at Brentford could well allow him a much easier transition.
But the first key litmus test of that, ahead of a summer transfer window in which there will almost certainly be some interest in his services, comes during England’s coming friendlies with the Netherlands and Italy, with the 6 foot 3 defender likely to start at least one of those games.
“Before I joined Burnley no-one ever said I was an ‘old fashioned English defender’. I was more a ball-playing centre-half. Playing out from the back in a Brentford team that was expansive, open, took a lot of chances. When I went to Burnley it flipped on its head.
“We take a lot less chances but do the basics right. I’ve found that has really brought my game on, keeping it quite simple at times but doing the defending – the most important stuff – right.”
Southgate’s masterplan for this England side seemingly centres around three at the back, utilising the growing breed of modern defender who can step into midfield and carry the ball forward. John Stones and Harry Maguire are the leading contenders for starting roles at the World Cup for that reason, but the third slot remains unclear and will be up to Tarkowski to make his own.
Conquering that challenge though, will require at least one impressive performance in a different setup to the four-man defensive line Dyche has stuck to religiously during his Burnley tenure, with a much greater demand on the centre-backs to contribute in possession.
Keane has looked steady in a back three for England at times too, playing on the left in a 1-0 defeat to Germany and in the centre in a win over Lithuania, yet not exactly commanding or effortlessly comfortable either. If Tarkowski can reach those levels against Italy or the Netherlands, it will provide a key endorsement of his adaptability, which is the ultimate quality the Premier League’s top clubs must question when they consider recruiting from this particularly idiosyncratic Burnley side.
Soccer Football – England Training & Media Day – St. George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent, Britain – March 20, 2018 England manager Gareth Southgate during training Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
In terms of who Tarkowski may interest, Manchester United are perhaps the most noteworthy candidates. Many were surprised when Jose Mourinho didn’t bring Keane back to Old Trafford last summer, and the Red Devils look set for a defensive shakeup this time around with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling struggling for significant periods of the season.
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Man United have loosely resembled Burnley at times this season, during their many attritional performances against key rivals, but Mourinho needs a centre-back who can defend high up the pitch and offer quality on the ball as well.
Chelsea too, have reason to swoop for Tarkwoski. Gary Cahill and David Luiz’s time at the club appears to be coming to an end, and Chelsea are in desperate need of more English players if not for the sake of Premier League quotas alone.
Their use of 3-4-3 requires healthy depth in the heart of defence and the Burnley ace – who Transfermarkt value at just £5.4million – could be a shrewd addition to the first team squad, even if he struggles to hold down a starting berth at first.
Before anything concrete comes from those clubs though, Tarkowski must show he can succeed where Keane has struggled by replicating his performances for Burnley in a team that doesn’t offer the same protection. These England friendlies are a vital chance to do that, not only securing a place in the World Cup but also at a top Premier League club next season.