All posts by n8rngtd.top

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Potentially the most in-demand man this summer, it’s fair to say Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt truly has the world at his feet right now.

The 19-year-old enjoyed an impressive campaign with the Dutch side last season, leading them on a remarkable run to the Champions League semi-final.

His performances earned rave reviews and unsurprisingly he has been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent weeks and months. After suggestions that Juventus were the frontrunners for his signature, journalist Julien Laurens has told ESPN that both United and PSG have an agreement with Ajax over signing De Ligt.

Laurens added that were Ajax to lose patience with the Italian side, it could open the door for the two other clubs to come in and swoop for the centre-back.

After hearing the latest update on the defender, United fans took to Twitter to reveal their thoughts on the matter.

Some United supporters were rather pessimistic about their actual chances of signing the highly-rated prospect and wondered whether this was all a ruse.

Indeed, a few fans of the Manchester side insisted that the club should turn their attentions away from De Ligt and perhaps focus their attentions on alternative options like Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly or Leicester’s Harry Maguire.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

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Having spent last season as understudy to summer signing Alisson, Simon Mignolet’s long-term future at Anfield has been the subject of intense transfer speculation.

Reports in recent weeks had suggested that the Belgium international could be on his way out of Liverpool in search for first-team football, but it appears that he could still remain on Merseyside for the time being.

Speaking after the Reds’ 3-1 pre-season win over Bradford, Jurgen Klopp revealed that Mignolet was set to stay and that he would continue to provide competition for Alisson for the number one jersey.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After hearing that the Belgian looked unlikely to leave this summer, Reds fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter and many were seemingly happy to accept the decision being made on the goalkeeper.

Liverpool supporters suggested that Mignolet had “earned his spot” at the club and suggested he was more than a decent back-up option for Alisson.

Indeed, some fans praised the 31-year-old’s professionalism and temperament in handling the situation so well and labelled him an “absolute class act”.

Check out some of the reaction of Liverpool fans below:

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Wilfried Zaha has attracted interest from Arsenal this summer following an outstanding Premier League campaign under Roy Hodgson.

But a big discrepancy between Crystal Palace’s valuation of their star man and the price at which the Gunners were hoping to lure him to the Emirates Stadium has reportedly led Unai Emery to pursue other targets.

Indeed, the north Londoners offered half of the Eagles’ £80m asking price and were rejected outright.

Rightly so, the twinkle-toed winger is of far greater value to Palace than he would be to Arsenal, who will undoubtedly find much better value for money elsewhere.

That’s not to say that Zaha wouldn’t transform the Gunners’ attack – Arsenal are crying out for a winger with the Palace number 11’s skill-set, but his importance to Roy Hodgson’s side means that they cannot afford to budge on their eye-watering valuation.

Should Zaha leave, the unenviable task of reconfiguring an entire midfield and attack awaits Hodgson. The current, counter-attack-reliant system cannot exist without the former Manchester United man.

Steve Parish and co will need every penny of that £80m to plug the gaps left exposed by Zaha’s departure and they are right to accept nothing less, although it may cost the player his shot at European football.

With no club as of yet willing to meet Palace’s asking price, the only way teams like Arsenal are going to get the 5 foot 11 speedster for a smaller fee is if the player hands in a transfer request, thus ensuring a sour end to a legendary career at Selhurst Park.

This, of course, would mean that Zaha can reach his full potential and test his skills at the highest level, but it could cost Palace their Premier League status for the 2020/2021 season, with an overhaul of tactics and personnel impossible given a solitary pre-season. Just ask Frank de Boer.

A shot at glory for the tricky winger, then, would almost guarantee tragedy for his boyhood club, while Palace’s inability to let him go on the ‘cheap’ would cost their most-beloved player the opportunity his glittering performances of the past two seasons have deserved him.

It seems that if Zaha is to realise his potential, he must do the unthinkable by following in the footsteps of Marko Arnautovic, whose move to China this month brought an end to a bitter six months at West Ham for both he and the club.

The Austrian demanded that he be sold in January when an unnamed Chinese club came calling but, in a surprising turn of events, signed a contract extension at the end of the month and thus put an end to the speculation, for a while at least.

The Hammers eventually decided to cut their losses this summer and the rebellious forward sealed a £22.4m switch to Shanghai SIPG.

Are Crystal Palace right to slap a £100m valuation on Wilfried Zaha’s head? Check out the video below to see why they are…

The former Stoke man had netted seven league goals prior to his head being turned by a move to China in January and scored just three times thereafter.

Zaha’s performance levels have never dipped as a result of a potential exit, but he’s never spoken so openly about a move away from Selhurst Park before either.

Everyone faithful to Palace should heed the warning sent by the final chapter of Arnautovic’s West Ham career and hope that there is an amicable ending to the Zaha story.

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Newcastle have re-entered the race for Allan Saint-Maximin, according to reports in France.

What’s the story?

According to L’Equipe, via GFFN, the Magpies are chasing the OGC Nice winger after Les Aiglons dropped the asking price from €40m (£36m) to €25m (£22.5m).

The report says manager Patrick Vieira wants the 22 year-old out of the club due to his “lack of commitment, on-pitch selfishness and missing work-rate towards the end of the last campaign”.

Secondly, it adds that Nice hope to sign both Sofiane Boufal and Alexis Claude-Maurice this summer, so they need to sell Saint-Maximin to fund the moves.

Watford, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund have also shown interest.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Missing: Skilful French forward

There’s no question Saint-Maximin is an exciting player – the young winger scored six times and added three assists in 34 Ligue 1 games last season, boasting a 7.21 average match rating, per Whoscored.

And with the speed and directness of Miguel Almiron on the left flank, Saint-Maximin’s average of 4.2 dribbles per game would certainly bring some excitement to Newcastle’s attack.

However, new manager Steve Bruce has coached a player like this before – an elite dribbler with sensational one-on-one ability, but with low end product and an attitude problem.

Of course, we’re talking about former Magpie Hatem Ben Arfa, of whom Bruce famously exclaimed during their time together at Hull: “I don’t know if Hatem is in Paris, that’s the truth.

“As for not playing for Hull City again, at the moment he is not in the squad.”

Ben Arfa had joined Bruce’s side on a season-long loan in the summer of 2014. Those comments came in December of that year, and the maverick Frenchman was sent back to Tyneside in January, before being released from St. James’ Park and joining Nice. He scored no goals and contributed one assist during his stay at the KCOM Stadium.

So, given that Bruce quite literally lost the last player of Saint-Maximin’s ilk to come under his tutelage, signing the youngster, whose behaviour both on and off the pitch has driven Vieira and Nice to drop their price by over a third, just seems like a recipe for disaster.

The Magpies should steer well clear of this one.

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Rolando Aarons is once again back with Newcastle United preparing for the 2019/20 campaign, but it remains to be seen if he is given a chance under Steve Bruce.

The 23-year-old has made 27 first-team appearances for the Magpies – contributing four goals and three assists in all competitions.

Aarons has spent time out on loan at Hellas Verona and Slovan Liberec in recent seasons, though, and also represented Sheffield Wednesday on loan last term.

The attacker actually still has two years left to run on his contract at St James’ Park, which places him in a decent position.

Aarons has been involved in the team’s preparations for the new campaign, but it is still unclear whether Bruce will keep hold of him.

The Newcastle fans have been on social media reacting to an image of the former England Under-20 international.

And it seems that many are keen for him to be given a proper chance:

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Arsenal targeted a move for West Ham United star Issa Diop earlier in this summer’s transfer window, according to Foot Mercato (via Hammers News).

The North London giants were quoted a priced reported to be £59.3m when making an enquiry.

Foot Mercato (via Hammers News) are reporting that Arsenal were very impressed by Diop last season, hence their enquiry.

The Gunners weren’t the only club interested in a move for the centre-back with Premier League rivals Manchester United also said to have been interested earlier in the window.

Links with Diop could be due to Arsenal’s bad defensive record last season, as the Gunners conceded a mammoth 71 goals in all competitions. However, Diop is not the only centre-back Unai Emery’s side have been linked with this summer.

Arsenal have also been linked with moves for Benfica’s Ruben Dias, and Juventus centre-back Daniele Rugani (as per Gazzetta dello Sport, via Sportsmole) for whom they are reported to have made a two-year loan bid.

Diop enjoyed a good debut season in the Premier League, outclassing Shkodran Mustafi, who has been linked with a move away from the Emirates this summer. According to WhoScored.com, the 22-year-old beats Mustafi in every defensive statistic bar clearances and the number of times dribbled past per game.

It’s clear to see that Diop is by far the better defender when compared to Mustafi, whom Emery reportedly wants to get rid of this summer. His statistics outweighs that of the Germany international, and at just £59.3m would seem a bargain, when compared to someone like Harry Maguire for whom Leicester City want a world record £85m.

In recent days it has emerged that Arsenal are expecting players to leave the club, with BBC’s David Ornstein reporting that the north London club are in talks with a number clubs over the exit of Mustafi, so there could be money to spend even after the £72m capture of Nicolas Pepe.

Arsenal fans, is Diop the defensive signing Emery needs this summer? Comment below!

Celtic were humiliated by CFR Cluj at Parkhead on Tuesday night, and fans are furious at goalkeeper Scott Bain.

For the second year running, Celtic have suffered an upset in their Champions League qualifiers, and this one is perhaps even worse due to the fact that the second leg came at home.

After a relatively comfortable 1-1 in Romania, Cirpian Deac immediately stunned the Bhoys with a first-half header on Tuesday, and a truly remarkable second half ended with the visitors walking out as 4-3 winners, 5-4 on aggregate.

While very few players in green and white can come out of the game with any credit, fans are particularly annoyed with Bain.

It seems harsh to criticise a goalkeeper for not saving a penalty, but the spot-kick that levelled things up at 2-2 was certainly saveable, and the Romanians’ third goal of the night came when the 27 year-old palmed a shot right into the path of an onrushing striker.

Pushing shots wide and out of the danger area is goalkeeping lesson 101, but Bain seems to have skipped that class.

Fans are crucifying the 27 year-old on Twitter, as you can see from the reactions down below…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Expert Roundup feature, which provides three quotes from those in the know in order to illuminate fundamental strengths, weaknesses, quirks, stylistic comparisons and general observations of players, transfer targets and confirmed signings.

It seems like only yesterday – and in relative terms it was – when the narrative surrounding Newcastle United was laden with large doses of doom and gloom.

Fan protests aimed at Mike Ashley’s ownership of the club were dominating the headlines while another summer of under-investment was anticipated. The departure of Rafa Benitez, meanwhile, agitated an already riled Geordie contingent.

In the event five signings have been made with the £40m purchase of Hoffenheim’s Joelinton the most expensive of them all.

The second priciest was Allan Saint-Maximin, bought from Nice for £16.5m and here we find a player generally familiar in name only.

Perhaps those with good memories can recall Arsenal’s interest in the French winger when he was a teen. Maybe others have seen him in Ligue 1 action in recent seasons?

Regardless the full picture eludes us, which is why Football Fancast have explored the views of experts to discover what the Magpies can expect from their new signing in the new campaign.

Steve Bruce – Newcastle manager

With a forward line depleted of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon – strikers responsible for 79% of Newcastle’s goal tally last term – it hardly surprises that incoming manager Bruce was delighted to secure both Joelinton and a player capable of serving up chances for him.

The former Manchester United defender’s praise for his new recruit should therefore be taken in such context, while the caveat included within sticks out like a sore thumb. As per the Daily Mirror:

“Maxi is going to get the fans off their seat because he’s got that wow factor. He will drive us mad occasionally but has blistering speed and that trick which seems to have gone out of the game.”

Patrick Vieira – Nice manager

In all fairness Saint-Maximin would hardly be the first wide-man to drive his team’s fans ‘mad occasionally’. Indeed, show us a player reliant on dribbling who doesn’t frustrate and all we’ll see staring back at us is Ronaldo and Messi.

Even so, after working with the 22-year-old for a single season in France, Vieira clearly believes the player’s six goals and five assists could have been added to. With the shortfall not attributed to a variance in form but rather a mentality issue, per Get French Football News:

“Allan’s problem is that sadly he thinks that talent is enough to go to the highest level. And he needs to understand that he needs to work, to make sacrifices. He needs to suffer. And sadly, he has not yet understood that.”

Compared to Bolton and Bury, is life at Newcastle really that bad? Magpies fans discuss in the video below…

Sylvain Ripoll – France under 21 coach

A much more sympathetic assessment is made by Ripoll, who has been in charge for all of Saint-Maximin’s seven international caps at U21 level. However, while the ex-Lorient midfielder’s words offer hope it should be noted that he doesn’t necessarily disagree with Vieira. As per Chronicle Live:

“More than the individual efficiency in front of the goal, there is also the quality of his last pass, his last gesture that he can improve. But he is aware of it; he has no difficulty in analysing and recognising things.

“He has no trouble telling himself that he was wrong, he does not get lost in the analysis. This is the first base to progress, to have a good interpretation of things.”

Verdict

Frustrating. Exciting. Equally capable of the brilliant as he is to be anonymous.

Is a player more entertaining than effective what the club needs right now?

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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…

Manchester United youngster Andreas Pereira wants to be the best player in the world one day, and believes he can get there with a little bit of luck.

What’s the word?

Pereira spoke about all things football in a revealing interview with Youtube channel Pilhado.

The 23 year-old joked about his passionate support for Brazilian outfit Santos, and was then asked the difficult question of whether he could become the best in the world.

Via Sport Witness, he said: “I think it depends a lot if I start playing now at Manchester United. Be a starter. I think it has to be step by step. You have to first play at Man United, start, go to the national team, start conquering your space.

“I think I trust my ability, and I think it’s possible. But it’s a lot of work and you have to be a little lucky too. I believe. I think if I don’t believe it, I think I’m wrong.

“Playing at 23 years old at Manchester, and knowing that I can play, and don’t believe it, I think I’m wrong as a pro. I think in my position, one day, I can fight for the best in the world. And I work day to day for it.”

Healthy competitive attitude

Pereira’s verdict may be a bit optimistic, but he’s not exactly going to say he doesn’t believe in his own abilities is he?

More importantly, he actually makes a very valid point, that if he can break into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s at the tender age of 23 he has a very good chance to be considered one of the world’s best.

A long career in the heart of United’s midfield would surely yield some silverware and accolades, and he has already shown glimpses of his quality in his limited appearances thus far.

His comments also show the spirit Solskjaer has spread throughout the Old Trafford dressing room. The fact that he not only has lofty personal ambitions, but also wants to “fight” for his place in the XI, reveals the boss has fostered an excellent attitude of competition in his squad.

The Brazilian ace started the opening league fixture against Chelsea but was left on the bench until the last minute of the draw at Wolves, but fans should take promise from the fact he is so desperate to prove himself at United.

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Lots of West Ham fans have taken to Twitter to mock Ryan Fredericks for his comments about what the Hammers need to do in order to win more games.

The former Tottenham right-back said: “We’re an exciting team to watch, and there’s always a lot of goals in our games. I’m sure if we could just cut out a few of the goals that we’re conceding, we’re going to win a lot more games.”

It goes without saying that the 26-year-old is somewhat stating the obvious with his comments here.

Obviously, if you score goals and don’t let them in, you’re bound to win football games and finish at the right end of the table – forget that, you’ll win the league!

Some footballers are better than others when it comes to speaking to the media and Fredericks obviously meant well with his comments, but when jotted down in black and white, his words do lack a bit of insight, to say the least.

Find out which Premier League stadium has been ranked the worst in the video below…

One fan below called the right-back a “genius” and jokingly suggested that he should take Manuel Pellegrini’s position as manager, whilst others have poked fun at him in the form of a GIF – all in good spirits, of course.

Let’s take a look at some more of the reaction from the Irons supporters on Twitter…

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