All posts by n8rngtd.top

[ad_pod ]

Lots of Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to discuss John Cross’ column for The Mirror, which states that Barcelona asked about the availability of Virgil van Dijk but were quickly shot down by his representatives.

The Dutchman has emerged as arguably the best centre-back in Europe since arriving at Anfield in a £75m deal from Southampton, which remains as the world-record fee for a defender.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below…

Amazingly, the 28-year-old is also the current favourite for the Ballon d’Or award after a tremendous 2018/19 season, in which he won the Champions League and also picked up the PFA Player of the Year award for his efforts.

Given the state of the transfer market right now, in which players like Harry Maguire and Sean Longstaff are valued at £90m and £50m respectively, you would assume that it would take a new world-record fee entirely to prise van Dijk away from Merseyside.

As a result, some Liverpool fans below have decided to mock Barcelona’s interest in the 6 foot 4 defender, with one fan saying that only £1.4bn would be enough!

Let’s take a look at a few more replies from the Liverpool fans on Twitter…

It’s been another big week in world football, with some big completed moves and some huge offers being lodged. In today’s briefing, we take you through the nine biggest stories of the last five days, which includes a 19-year-old talent heading to an Italian giant, Barcelona’s bid to bring back a former star to the Camp Nou and an England international making a switch to La Liga.

Matthijs De Ligt has long been linked with a move away from Ajax this summer after a fantastic season in which he led the Eredivisie side to the Champions League semi-finals and impressed whilst playing for the Dutch national side. And this week, his next destination was confirmed – the 19-year-old has completed his move to Serie A side Juventus. The Old Lady paid £67.8m for the centre-back, who has signed a five-year deal with his new club and will earn a basic £14.5m a season.

The English player abroad is not a path well trodden in recent years, but Jadon Sancho’s performances at Borussia Dortmund appear to have inspired others to try their luck in another European league. The latest is Kieran Trippier, who has completed a move to Atletico Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur. Los Rojiblancos have paid £20m for the England international, who has signed a three-year deal to stay at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Marko Arnautovic’s departure for Shanghai SIPG has increased West Ham’s need to bring in a new striker this summer. Fortunately for the Hammers, they do not need to look any further. The Irons have signed Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of £45m, with the 25-year-old signing a five-year deal with the London outfit. The former Utrecht striker contributed to 32 goals in all competitions last season for the Bundesliga side as they reached the Europa League semi-finals.

Borussia Dortmund have had a busy summer, having already brought in five new faces. The biggest of those was the capture of Mats Hummels, who BVB re-signed from Bayern Munich. Of course, this means that some players will need to be moved on to make space for the fresh recruits. One of those who has departed the Signal-Iduna Park is Abdou Diallo, who has signed for PSG. The Ligue 1 champions have paid a fee of £29m to the German outfit for the centre-back, with the 23-year-old putting pen to paper on a five-year contract.

As a professional footballer, it should be obvious that using your position and inside information to make bets is a no-go. Not for Daniel Sturridge though, it appears. On Thursday, the former Liverpool striker was banned from all footballing activities until July 31st. He was found guilty on two of 11 counts for which he was charged –  he had instructed his brother to bet on a possible move Sevilla, and then given him insider information. The 29-year-old will also have to pay a fine of £75,000.

Neymar has not had the best of times at PSG recently, and is reportedly looking for a move this summer. A return to Barcelona seems most likely, and now there has has been an update in the saga that could run until the end of the summer. It is being said that the Catalan club have made an offer of £90m offer plus two players for the Brazil ace. The Ligue 1 outfit have apparently been given the choice of taking two of Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Ivan Rakitic, Nelson Semedo, Malcom and Samuel Umtiti. However, it is understood that the Qatar-owned side want over £200m for the 27-year-old.

Newcastle had been previously linked with a whole host of names as they looked to replace Rafa Benitez, who left his role as the club’s manager last month. Earlier this week, though, they finally filled the vacant position. The new Toon boss is none other than Steve Bruce, the former Sunderland manager. The 58-year-old has signed an initial three-year deal with the North-East side. He said upon his appointment, “I’m delighted and incredibly proud to be appointed as head coach of Newcastle United. This is my boyhood club and it was my dad’s club, so this is a very special moment for me and my family.”

RB Leipzig already have a young squad, and now they have added another up-and-coming talent to their ranks. It has been confirmed by the club themselves that they have signed Christopher Nkunku from PSG on a five-year contract. Die Roten Bullen have reportedly paid €13m (£11.7m) for the France U21 international, who scored 11 goals in 78 games from the centre of the midfield for the Ligue 1 side.

It was always clear that Salomon Rondon would no longer be a West Brom player at the end of the current transfer window. Finally, his new club has been revealed. The Venezuela international has joined former Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez at Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang. The 29-year-old has moved to China for an undisclosed fee, the Baggies confirmed on their official website. It brings an end to a four-year spell at the Hawthorns for the former Zenit St Petersburg striker.

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to Sky Sports, Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has revealed how Ed Woodward’s broken promise on allowing him to leave in the summer of 2014 left him feeling “betrayed”.

What did he say?

The recently retired defender left the Red Devils for Juventus just two months after signing a one-year contract extension five seasons ago. Now, the former France international has opened up on how Woodward’s failure to honour an agreement had left him feeling hurt, and resolved his mind into making the decision to leave.

He said: “Before the end of that season Ed told me: ‘Patrice, you’re going to stay for another year because we’ve got an option in your contract,’ but I told him I needed to leave because of family reasons. He shook my hand and said he understood.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

“Then in May I was having dinner in Dubai on my birthday and had a text from my agent. He told me to go somewhere quiet and sent me a message with the statement from United saying they were pleased to renew my contract for another year. I went mad, I was really disappointed.

“I called Ed and swore on the phone, even threatened him. He said I couldn’t talk to the director of football like that and that he was going to fine me. I’d already said to my wife we were going to leave, but inside I didn’t ever really feel I could. That gave me a little push.  I understood Ed, but I didn’t understand why he betrayed me. He should’ve called me to explain. Without that it’s difficult to know what would’ve happened.”

Another Woodward failing

As United continue to struggle on the pitch, much of the blame has been proportioned to Woodward’s inabilities to steer the ship properly. But in this instance, United’s executive vice-chairman has shown himself to be equally inept at things off the pitch.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Forget signing players, alienating one of United’s finest and most consistent players under Sir Alex Ferguson reeks of someone who perhaps doesn’t quite grasp the intricacies of dealing with footballers on a human level.

Whether Evra was on the decline or in the twilight of his career was irrelevant. The Frenchman deserved a send-off befitting of someone who had seen it and done it all at Old Trafford, but instead was left to fight a bitter war with the United hierarchy. Another blotch on Woodward’s copybook.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Following major upheaval this summer with ten new signings walking through the door, how Aston Villa will do next season on their Premier League return is relatively unknown.

We’ve seen a number of contrasting seasons from newly-promoted sides over the years.

Fulham were relegated last term after spending similar amounts of money on a vast range of players whilst some sides have performed exceedingly well, sometimes even overachieving.

Ipswich Town in the 2000/01 season finished fifth and Reading managed eighth in the 2006/07 campaign. Wolves, meanwhile finished seventh in 2018/19.

Both BT Sport and The Guardian have predicted a 15th place finish for Dean Smith’s team this coming season which would be three places off the drop-zone, leaving many fans debating their own predictions.

One supporter had lofty ambitions claiming that top ten won’t be an issue so top six should be the aim. He even went as far as saying that Villa would win the Premier League and be playing in Europe within five years. At least the latter is a tad more realistic.

Others were a lot more reasonable saying that they would take 15th in their first Premier League season in three years whilst another believed that mid-table to the top half is achievable if the team clicks and there are no injuries this side of Christmas.

You can read the best of the reaction below:

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Tottenham Hotspur have made a new bid worth €65m (£59.9m) for Sporting Lisbon attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes, per The Daily Mail.

What’s the word?

Spurs, the report states, have had two bids for Fernandes rejected already, of values of €45m (£41.5m) and €50m (£46.1m).

Sporting have now rejected this bid too, with Spurs offering €55m (£50.7m) up front in addition to €10m (£9.2m) in add-ons.

Sporting value Fernandes at €70m (£64.6m), meaning that the north London club are currently £4.7m short of the required sum.

The Mail also claims that Spurs have yet to decide whether or not they should make another offer, with the Premier League’s transfer window closing on Thursday.

Eriksen’s replacement

Spurs have to buy an attacking midfielder before the transfer deadline.

There remains uncertainty over the future of Christian Eriksen, who has expressed a desire to take on a fresh challenge.

Links with Manchester United have come to nothing, per reports, but Eriksen is said to remain hopeful of sealing a move to Spain.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Liga transfer window is open until the end of the month and Spurs cannot afford to be left short in the position if an exit is agreed for the Dane after the English window closes.

Thus, chairman Daniel Levy simply has to bring in reinforcements.

Sources have confirmed that the club are also interested in Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso and Juventus’ Paulo Dybala, but it seems as though they are an inch away from striking an agreement with Fernandes, who scored 32 goals in all competitions last season.

They should do all they can to get it over the line. £4.7m is not enough to miss the chance to land such a talented playmaker.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

West Ham United suffered a huge 5-0 defeat against the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on the opening day of the season at the London Stadium on Saturday, but the humiliating loss may have further repercussions.

The Irons signed Felipe Anderson for a then club-record fee of £36m last summer, and the Brazilian went on to score nine goals and provide a further four assists in his debut campaign in the English top flight.

The 26-year-old will be hoping to improve upon that record this term, but it was always going to be difficult against Pep Guardiola’s rampant team as they look to win a third successive title.

And so it proved to be the case, but more frustrating for Anderson than his failure to pick up a goal or assist against the Citizens was the fact that he was forced off 20 minutes into the second half.

The above image where the attacker has one short leg rolled up suggests he has a thigh issue – concerning at this early stage of the campaign – and his visibly disappointed reaction perhaps says it all.

Now we await the diagnosis.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Newcastle starlet Elias Sorensen has joined Carlisle on loan, but the Magpies are playing a very risky game by allowing the 19 year-old to leave.

What’s the story?

Sorensen has joined Carlisle United on a season-long loan, the club confirmed on Friday.

The teenager joins the League Two outfit having slammed in 20 goals for the Magpies’ U23 side last season.

He played well in pre-season, featuring in friendlies against Wolves and West Ham.

Big risk

It’s all very well and good sending a young striker out to gain first-team experience, and we will soon find out if he can take his scoring talents from the youth game into senior football.

However, Steve Bruce opted for two up front in a 3-5-2 against Arsenal, as he seems to favour a traditional striking partnership.

This means that with Sorensen leaving, Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll are the only back-ups, with Yoshinori Muto more of a versatile forward or number ten than out-and-out striker.

Carroll is out for another four or five weeks, says Bruce, while Dwight Gayle has never performed well in the top-flight and is yet to prove that he can, despite impressing in the Championship.

Then you have the fact that Miguel Almiron, who partnered Joelinton last weekend, isn’t even a striker himself but more of a winger, with Transfermarkt claiming he has only started at centre-forward once in his career.

Finally, Joelinton is new to the league and scored just seven times in the Bundesliga last season, so there’s really no telling how well the young Brazilian will adjust in his new surroundings.

So, the Magpies now have an injury-prone Carroll, a Championship player, a winger and an unproven talent as their only striking options, despite seemingly wanting to deploy two up front.

Allowing Sorensen, who let’s not forget bagged 20 goals last term, to leave seems like a disaster waiting to happen, potentially leaving the manager very short of genuine goalscoring threats.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Daily Mail, Manchester United will be amongst the contenders to sign Borussia Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho next summer.

What’s the word?

Sancho has enjoyed an extraordinary time in the Bundesliga since arriving from Manchester City, and has previously been linked with a return to the Premier League.

Now, The Daily Mail claim the England international is set to leave Dortmund next summer and the German side have already begun searching for a replacement.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The report adds United and neighbours Manchester City are at the front of the queue to sign the 19-year-old, but sources have suggested the Red Devils were the “most advanced” in their pursuit.

Statement of intent

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted United will be intent on giving youngsters a chance at the club, and it has already been seen in the Norwegian’s first starting XI of the season in the Premier League. Bringing in Sancho however, would be more than just signing a teenager with enormous potential; it would be the kind of statement signing that reminds everyone United are dining at the top table once again.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Sancho registered an incredible 13 goals and 19 assists across all competitions last season, and has belied his tender age with some impressive performances. As one of the very few English youngsters to have moved abroad, the former City ace has understandably been under the spotlight.

It’s fair to say he has thrived in it; the winger has scored and assisted in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League for one of the biggest sides in Europe, let alone Germany, and bearing in mind his age looks set to be a bona fide superstar in the coming years.

So if United can fend off the competition to sign him, not least including the back-to-back Premier League title winners across town, then they really will have something to shout about.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

So following the big-money departure of Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United continued their ruthless streak by confirming Alexis Sanchez’s loan exit from the club too.

It all means the Red Devils have just Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood as their sole options up front, and have an awful lot of expectation being placed on their shoulders.

However, speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Premier League clash against Southampton on Saturday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared to throw the gauntlet down to his young squad.

The Norwegian insisted he trusts his remaining strikers, and said the likes of Tahith Chong, Daniel James and Andreas Pereira all provide him with “loads of options”.

After hearing the manager’s comments, United fans took to Twitter to share their concerns about the matter.

Many supporters of the Manchester side admitted it is sad to see the extent of their current situation, with one fan in particular claiming it is the “most depressing thing I’ve ever read”.

Some Red Devils fans suggested Solskjaer didn’t have a plan fully worked out, and laughed off the Norwegian’s suggestions that they had “loads of options”.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Having joined from Swiss side FC Basel in January 2016, Mohamed Elneny has enjoyed a steady, if unspectacular career with Arsenal.

The Egypt international has made 89 appearances across all competitions, but has struggled to really establish himself as a starter in the Gunners’ first-team.

After the loan signing of Dani Ceballos earlier this summer, Elneny slid further down the pecking order in the Arsenal midfield, and it has now been confirmed the 27-year-old will be spending a season away from the Emirates.

The north London side revealed on their official club website that the Egyptian has joined Turkish giants Besiktas on a season-long loan.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After hearing the update on Elneny’s future, Arsenal fans took to Twitter to reveal their thoughts on the move.

Many supporters of the north London side hailed Raul Sanllehi for producing a “masterclass” in the summer transfer window, and helping to get rid of some of the deadwood in the squad.

Check out some of the reaction of Arsenal fans below:

[ad_pod ]