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Southampton fans have flocked to Twitter to wish young academy product Josh Sims a happy birthday as he turned 22 on Thursday.

Replying to a tweet informing fans that it was Sims’ birthday, Saints supporters sent messages in their droves, summing up their admiration for a potential future first-team star.

Despite now being a couple of years into his 20s, the man on the fringes of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first team has only been able to rack up a mere 14 Premier League appearances for Southampton.

Sims returned from an unsuccessful loan at Reading in January and has played just once at senior level since, appearing from the substitutes’ bench at half-time in the home victory over Tottenham Hotspur the other side of the international break.

However, this hasn’t stopped fans’ good-will messages on his big day, with one writing “many happy returns of the day, Josh” another, “happy birthday to Josh and his beard” and a third expressing their joy that they share a birthday with the former England youth international.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Here’s what the Saints on Twitter have had to say to Sims…

Should the dream finally become a reality this season, Jürgen Klopp will surely gain the allowance to make any demand he can imagine during the upcoming summer. Indeed, what an exciting time to be a part of Liverpool FC. 

With one hand on the title, and a favourable Champions League tie, what a time it is in and around Anfield. It can be argued that this is just the beginning of what could be a huge dominance period for the Reds, should Klopp manage to achieve the dream. It is with no doubt that a window of huge opportunity will open up for the German to create a side that can once again be labelled as a European powerhouse.

The 51-year-old will no doubt have a vision of the final product he wants at Liverpool.

Here we are going to take a look at a couple of the demands that Klopp should look to make.

Raise transfer budget 

After finally showing some real spending power during last season’s transfer window, Liverpool are beginning to show that they are not afraid to start bringing in some of Europe’s biggest names. It’s about time there aren’t anymore Andy Carroll situations, after all.

It is no surprise that the Liverpool back-up squad is nowhere near as strong as a few others in the league, so there should be a huge call for more options to come off the bench and with a rise in the transfer budget, Klopp could finally have a squad that will dominate throughout the course of an entire season, without suffering a dip in form.

They spent big summer in the summer of 2018 to huge success, so 2019 should be no different.

Invest in the youth academy 

With players like Trent Alexander-Arnold coming through the system, it is clear that Liverpool certainly have enough to bring in a strong youthful side. As a man who loves to expose senior football to the youngsters, Klopp would surely love nothing more than to increase the quality of the facilities within the academy.

Just imagine how strong Liverpool will become with players like Alexander-Arnold coming through the ranks every single season. Scary if you support any other club in the Premier League. The Reds truly are on the way up.

اُسدل الستار مساء اليوم الاثنين على منافسات الجولة الرابعة من بطولة الدوري الإيطالي، بعد تعادل هيلاس فيرونا وجنوى سلبيًا.

وشهدت تلك الجولة تعادل يوفنتوس مع كروتوني بهدف لمثله، وفوز ميلان على إنتر ميلان بهدفين مقابل هدف، وفوز كبير لـ نابولي على أتلانتا بأربعة أهداف لهدف.

وحقق ساسولو فوزًا مثيرًا على بولونيا بأربعة أهداف مقابل ثلاثة، في الجولة ذاتها، بينما فاز روما على بينفينتو بخمسة أهداف مقابل هدفين. ترتيب الدوري الإيطالي بعد نهاية الجولة الرابعة

1 ميلان، 12 نقطة.

2 ساسولو، 10 نقاط.

3 أتلانتا، 9 نقاط.

4 نابولي، 8 نقاط.

5 يوفنتوس، 8 نقاط.

6 إنتر ميلان، 7 نقاط.

7 هيلاس فيرونا، 7 نقاط.

8 روما، 7 نقاط.

9 سامبدوريا، 6 نقاط.

10 بينفينتو، 6 نقاط.

11 جنوى، 4 نقاط.

12 فيورنتينا، 4 نقاط.

13 كالياري، 4 نقاط.

14 سبيزيا، 4 نقاط.

15 لاتسيو، 4 نقاط.

16 بولونيا، 3 نقاط.

17 أودينيزي، 3 نقاط.

18 بارما، 3 نقاط.

19 كروتوني، نقطة واحدة.

20 تورينو، بلا نقاط.

ويمكن متابعة ترتيب الدوري الإيطالي مُحدث بشكل مستمر من هنا.

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Former Premier League goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has praised struggling Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on talkSPORT, and backed him to get even better when his form returns.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the 6 ft 6 colossus was asked about the England international on talkSPORT, with the 25-year-old coming under scrutiny for some of his displays for the Toffees this season following such a successful World Cup campaign with his country.

One example of that was the loss against Newcastle earlier this month, where he clearly let the occasion get the better of him as a former Sunderland man, being fortunate not to be red-carded.

Kirkland is clearly a big fan though, telling talkSPORT: “He’s an incredible goalkeeper.

“He had a great tournament in the summer at the World Cup. He’s had tough moments at Everton this year, but all goalkeepers are going to go through that.

“One thing about Jordan is he’s extremely confident in his own ability.

“I’ve got no doubt he’ll get even better.”

Is he right?

You’d like to think so.

While things may have not been going well at club level, Pickford is still relatively young in goalkeeping terms and he knows that he will need to be more mature and focused if he wants to keep on improving in the future.

Two decent performances for England across the international break will certainly ensure he returns to Everton this week in high spirits, and now he needs to take that to the pitch against West Ham United on Saturday to help his side finish the campaign positively.

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The Daily Mail are reporting that Riyad Mahrez is threatening to quit Manchester City over his lack of playing opportunities under Pep Guardiola.

What’s the word, then?

According to the report, the Algerian international is making no secret of his displeasure at his lack of minutes around City’s training ground.

The 28-year-old has been limited to just 13 Premier League starts in his debut season and has struggled to get ahead of the vast quality around him in the attacking wide areas; but he is contracted at the Etihad Stadium until 2023.

Mahrez joined the Citizens from Leicester City for a club-record fee of £60 million at the start of the 2018/2019 season, first catching the eye at the King Power Stadium during the Premier League title-winning 2015/2016 campaign after a move from Le Harve in 2014.

Let him go, for Mahrez has been frozen out

Having been frozen out in recent weeks by Guardiola, the Cityzens should let Mahrez go in the summer transfer window, just a year on from his sensational transfer.

The Sky Blues are in a fortunate situation where, unlike other clubs, if there is any nonsense from any player in the ranks, they can afford to discard of them and find a replacement or maybe even an improvement on the star with ease.

And when it comes from someone who isn’t even particularly important to the club at the moment – it’s a real no-brainer for the decision-makers.

Are Man City better than Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’? Fans discuss in the video below…

The Algeria international has no right to complain about his lack of opportunities when he has failed to take chance after chance in his first season, just look at the highly-costly missed penalty at Anfield or his absent performance starting in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.

As harsh as it may seem, six league goals and half that number of assists for the best part of a term in Manchester really isn’t going to be enough for you to be anywhere near the likes of the Raheem Sterlings, Leroy Sanes or Bernardo Silvas.

This is why Guardiola should cash in on this complaining bad egg before the harmony of the squad is at risk, and the positive all-important winning mentality of the side is affected.

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Rangers chairman Dave King has issued a bold claim during his letter to supporters renewing their season tickets, and it could be bad news for some Gers players.

Rangers will fall short of winning silverware in their first season under Steven Gerrard, with Celtic all set to wrap up the title for an eighth consecutive time.

The Gers were in the title race until the final stages of the season though, as the inconsistencies in the squad reared their ugly head and led to several dull draws and dropped points.

King though, believes Gerrard’s squad are improving and will challenge their arch-rivals very soon.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

What did he say?

“It was never going to be easy and it is extremely gratifying to have witnessed the progress that has been made over the last year. We are now within tangible reach of Rangers becoming the dominant force in Scottish football again,” he wrote to supporters, as reported by The Herald.

“Much of the progress on the pitch can be attributed to Mark Allen, Steven Gerrard and their respective management teams.

“Turning to a young manager was a risk but it was one that Mark and the Board felt we should take because of Steven Gerrard’s football pedigree.”

Speaking on transfers, he said: “The team requires a further upgrade and the Board will continue to back Mark and Steven, who fully understand that Rangers must win titles and cups and plans are already in place for recruitment in the summer window.”

Who is on the chopping block?

The first person that should be very worried about these “further upgrades” is Daniel Candeias, who somehow manages to be superb one week and then non-existent the next.

If King and Gerrard are looking to clear out any inconsistent players, then the Portuguese winger will be the first to go, especially as he is already 31 years of age.

Another who has a lot to prove after a poor season is Borna Barisic. The Croatian international, who was recently crucified by ex-Ger Kris Boyd, has great delivery into the box with his left foot, but his defending has been woeful at times.

He is clearly immensely talented, but he needs to iron out the creases in his game and toughen up if he is going to continue donning the famous blue shirt.

Finally, Joe Worrall may as well give up on getting his loan move turned into a permanent one, as he has been the picture of inconsistency this season.

The Nottingham Forest loanee has made multiple errors leading directly to goals and if King is serious about upgrading the squad to compete for trophies then there is no way Worrall should earn an extended stay at the club.

أكد أليو بادجي، مهاجم الأهلي، أن فريقه تأهل لنهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا عن جدارة، بعد الأداء القوي والأكثر من رائع الذي قدمه في لقائي الوداد المغربي في نصف نهائي البطولة.

تأهل الأهلي إلى نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، بعد فوزه على الوداد المغربي بنتيجة 5 / 1، في نتيجة مباراتي الذهاب والعودة بدور نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، فيما من المقرر أن يلتقي نظيره طلائع الجيش، في الجولة الأخيرة من منافسات الدوري المصري الذي حسم لقبه رسميًا وذلك يوم السبت المقبل.

أقرأ ايضًا.. ديانج: الأهلي على بعد خطوة لتحقيق دوري أبطال إفريقيا.. وتخطي الوداد خطوة مهمة

وأوضح بادجي أن الأهلي قطع خطوة جديدة في مشواره نحو تحقيق حلم الجماهير، وذلك من خلال الفوز على الوداد، وهناك طموح ورغبة من اللاعبين للفوز باللقب.

وأشار مهاجم الأهلي إلى أن الفريق قدم عرضًا قويًّا أمام الوداد، وأكد أحقيته وجدارته في الوصول إلى نهائي البطولة.

ووجه بادجي الشكر للاعبين على المستوى والأداء القوي في البطولة إلى الآن، كما وجه مهاجم الأهلي رسالة للجماهير، أكد خلالها أن الفريق يسعى بكل قوة للتتويج بدوري أبطال إفريقيا هذا الموسم.

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Loads of fans, players and pundits alike have had their say on the controversy surrounding Sunday’s Old Firm, but Celtic fans can’t quite believe what one journalist tweeted.

The third Old Firm of the season has been and gone and it certainly did not disappoint.

Alfredo Morelos once again fell victim to an opponent player getting in his head, as Bhoys captain Scott Brown helped get the Colombian sent off.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Odsonne Edouard had just given the home side a deserved lead before Ryan Kent cancelled it out with a wonderfully taken goal, only for James Forrest to pop up with a dramatic late winner.

The entertainment didn’t end there though, as Brown’s celebrations after the final whistle sparked more confrontation, confrontation that led to Andy Halliday receiving a second yellow card.

And Ewan Murray, a writer for The Guardian, has slammed Brown for goading the Rangers fans after full time.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are less than impressed by Murray’s verdict…

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Celtic are reportedly one of a number of teams chasing a deal for Mexican defender Edson Alvarez.

What’s the story?

Sport Witness have collated a number of reports focused on the future of Alvarez, including two that claim Celtic want to sign the explosive 21 year-old.

Alvarez, a versatile centre-back with the speed to play as a full back or in midfield, was linked with the Hoops last year.

Now, both Nacion Deportes and America Monumental include Celtic in the list of interested parties, with Inter Milan and PSV also mentioned as possible landing spots.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

Multipurpose

Valued at £6.75m by Transfermarkt, a move for Alvarez shouldn’t break the bank for the Hoops, and it could potentially kill two birds with one stone.

Neil Lennon’s side are crying out for a solid central defender, which Alvarez is primarily, but his ability to play various positions means the club don’t have to find a replacement for back-up right back Cristian Gamboa, who will likely depart when his contract ends this summer.

This is not to say that Alvarez would be signed to help out at right back, but having that option in case of emergencies will certainly be a big boost for whoever is in the dugout next season.

It also allows the club to focus on other areas of need, all while addressing a major issue in the squad at the heart of defence.

And address that issue is exactly what Alvarez would do, as he is just the type of commanding physical force that the current crop at the back are crying out for.

He is only 6 ft 1, but the 20-cap Mexican international’s mobility, athleticism and dogged determination make him just about the toughest opponent you could face in a physical battle.

Celtic are absolutely right to reignite their interest in Alvarez, and his rough and tumble play could make him an instant cult hero at Parkhead.

After a two-year stay in the Premier League, Huddersfield Town will be returning to the second tier after last week’s defeat to Crystal Palace confirmed their relegation.

Despite showing glimmers of improvement under boss Jan Siewert, a lack of quality compared to their other top-flight competitors has ultimately proved to be too much of a hurdle for the Terriers to overcome this season.

With the squad set to be overhauled in the summer, there are currently six players who have yet to agree new deals at the John Smith’s Stadium (via the Examiner). Whereas forward Laurent Depoitre is unlikely to stay at the club given his ineffectiveness in front of goal, it could be worth taking a risk on extending Jack Payne’s stay.

Currently on loan at Bradford City, the midfielder has provided a bright spark for the club in what has otherwise been a dismal season for the Yorkshire-based outfit. Although the Bantams find themselves bottom of League One and facing an almost-certain return to the fourth tier of English football in May, Payne has been individually impressive, scoring nine goals and providing five assists for his team-mates.

Giving the current state of affairs at Valley Parade, it is very unlikely that Bradford will be able to negotiate a permanent deal for the 24-year-old at the end of the current campaign and so he is expected to return to Huddersfield. If Payne continues to perform to a high standard in League One, he could build up the confidence needed to make the step up next season to the second tier with the Terriers after representing them in the division two years ago.

However, if Siewert decides to cut ties with the former Southend United ace, he is sure to attract interest from elsewhere when you consider the qualities that he possesses.

What do you think Huddersfield fans? Should Siewert give Payne a second chance to impress at the club? Or is time to let the midfielder leave in the summer? Let us know below.