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Portsmouth chief executive officer Mark Catlin has revealed that the club have been forced to accept a ‘limited’ fee as part of Brandon Haunstrup’s move to Kilmarnock.

With the 2019/20 season over for League One side Portsmouth, defender Haunstrup opted to leave Fratton Park and make a move to Scotland with Killie.

The 23-year-old full-back, whose contract ended in June, was said to have rejected fresh terms shortly after the play-off penalty shoot-out defeat to Oxford.

Signing a two-year deal with the Scottish side, Haunstrup – who is valued at £45,000 by Transfermarkt –  will likely expect to gain regular first team football at his new club.

Despite the move being a free transfer due to Haunstrup’s contract expiry with Pompey, the League One club were still due to receive compensation for his development over the last few seasons.

However, Haunstrup’s deal is slightly different in the fact that, due to him moving to a club across the border, a deal which falls under FIFA training compensation regulations, Portsmouth will receive a lower fee.

Pompey CEO Catlin spoke to Portsmouth News about the compensation package, saying:

‘All fees and negotiations between the clubs are confidential, however, given Brandon’s age and moving to Scotland, any compensation is limited.‘If you offer a player an improved contract and they move to another club within England, you are protected by English compensation rights.‘However, by going abroad in football terms – Scotland – it doesn’t apply. You see it every year at clubs.‘Instead, you go into FIFA training rights. Historically, they are more of a fixed level and totally different should Brandon have gone to another English club.‘How much we receive depends on his future performance, there is no fixed fee in regards of the move itself.‘It’s based on when they move again, what level they move to, it’s so complicated. It really only starts to be worth any type of money if Brandon plays at a very high level.’

Any potential compensation fee will depend solely on Haunstrup’s development and the standard at which he goes on to play during his career.

Given that he has signed for Kilmarnock from Portsmouth and not a team in the Premier League or Championship, this means that Pompey officials should not be expecting a large sum any time soon.

Do you think Haunstrup should have stayed at Portsmouth? Let us know in the comments section below…

Leeds United have done it, they are heading to the Premier League for the upcoming 2020/21 season after an incredible run in the previous campaign. But as fun and as impressive as that may seem, now comes the really difficult part – competing with the rest of England’s best week in, week out. And Marcelo Bielsa knows that as good as his team may be, he’ll need reinforcements if he’s to tango with the big boys.

According to an exclusive report from The Sun, the Whites are preparing a transfer bid for Liverpool’s young forward, Harry Wilson. The 23-year-old has now finally returned to Anfield after a season-long loan spell at Bournemouth and it seems he will be quite spoilt for choice when choosing his next destination.

The Sun outline that alongside Leeds, both Aston Villa and Newcastle United are among the admirers of the youngster. Still, staying at Anfield could be a possibility but despite him finishing the season as the Cherries’ second top-scorer, the competition in Jurgen Klopp’s squad is simply too fierce. For that reason, another loan might be on the cards.

Leeds, however, are reportedly preparing a £15m offer to permanently transfer Wilson to Elland Road but seeing how the Reds were asking double that amount last year, and he has a valid contract running until 2023, this could be easier said than done. Liverpool do have a tough decision to make but it would be extremely difficult to find a buyer who’s willing to offer them much more than that.

Verdict

Bielsa can see the talent in Wilson and this would undoubtedly be a shrewd signing for Leeds heading into the upcoming season up in the top-flight. Of course, his form was largely dictated by how much Bournemouth struggled as a whole so it doesn’t surprise that he went from the main character to supporting cast as the campaign progressed and the Cherries kept receiving blow after blow.

But under the Argentine coach, the young forward could reignite his flame and shine once more.

According to Fanatik, Celtic remain interested in Trabzonspor attacker Caleb Ekuban.

What’s the word?

Despite signing Albian Ajeti from West Ham earlier this month, it appears Neil Lennon isn’t done trying to revamp his forward line. Reports in recent days had initially suggested that the Hoops weren’t keen on matching Trabzonspor’s asking price of £7m for Ekuban, but the latest news suggests that hasn’t completely put them off.

How’s your Celtic knowledge? Always been a loyal fan? Well can you spot Stilian Petrov from John Hartson? Give it a go if you’re brave enough …



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Turkish publication Fanatik claim that the Bhoys are still interested in the 26-year-old, and that whilst they may have signed Ajeti, they have “not let go” of Ekuban.

Forget Ajeti

Whilst Ajeti may not be too happy with the news that Celtic are targeting another striker, the simple fact is that Ekuban has proven himself to be a far more prolific, and dangerous forward than the Swiss man.

Last season saw Ekuban rack up an impressive ten goals and 11 assists in 34 games across all competitions, showcasing his versatility by playing all across the front-line and even as a number ten. That could well see the Ghana international dove-tail with Odsonne Edouard rather than just be a considered a like-for-like replacement in the starting line-up.

Ekuban is an explosive player who has the ability to fashion chances for others, and be on the end of them too. As per Sofascore, he averaged 1.2 shots, 0.7 key passes and 1.7 dribbles per game in the Turkish top-flight last season, and showed off his defensive discipline by winning four duels per match.

And despite being compared to former Manchester City maverick Mario Balotelli in his younger days, Ekuban has since insisted that the two don’t share the same kind of outgoing personality or lifestyle. He said: “We are often compared. It is normal that I’d like to follow his career, but I’m Caleb Ekuban. When I go home I do nothing, believe me.”

Whilst Celtic may have their Edouard back-up in Ajeti, a move for Ekuban seems like a smart piece of business.

Plenty of Liverpool fans have been reacting to an admission from Trent Alexander-Arnold as to when he felt that the Premier League title was on its way to Anfield.

In an interview with Eight By Eight magazine, the 21-year-old said that he “started to believe” that the Reds would go on to triumph following their resounding 4-0 win at Leicester on Boxing Day, when Jurgen Klopp’s side had just returned from winning the Club World Cup in Qatar.

That was Liverpool’s ninth first-team fixture in 23 days and it came at the home of a Foxes side who, at the time, were their nearest challengers at the top of the table. Alexander-Arnold scored in that four-goal demolition as the Reds opened a 13-point gap at the summit with their biggest away win during the triumphant 2019/20 campaign.

It was also the ninth of an 18-match winning streak in the Premier League as the Merseysiders ultimately powered to their first league title in 30 years, confirmed as champions with seven matches still to play (as per BBC).

The Reds right-back told Eight by Eight: “We came back from the Club World Cup maybe the day before Christmas Eve. A lot of traveling, a lot of games. Leicester were in top form at the time, so I think everyone was expecting that to be our slip-up. Everyone wanted to see us fail.

“Many teams would have fallen at that point. It’s difficult to return to the rhythm of Premier League football and to play against Leicester, who were, I think, in second at the time. But we came back and probably put in one of our best performances of the season. After that Leicester game is when I started to believe.”

These Liverpool fans agreed that the win at the King Power Stadium was the defining moment in their charge to the title, with some supporters hailing Alexander-Arnold and his team-mates as “unplayable” that night as he also provided two assists in addition to his goal:

Liverpool fans, when did you feel that there was no way the Reds would be caught at the top of the table? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

Jason Burt does not think that the whole takeover saga with Newcastle United is over just yet after he reacted to an official statement made by the Tyneside club on his official Twitter page.

As per the tweet from The Telegraph journalist, Burt claimed: “I knew they were trying to get the takeover back on… it does not sound like it is the end of the matter either.”

Indeed, he was reacting to a statement that was released by the Magpies about the proposed £300m deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian (KSA) group.

According to the statement, the Toon confirmed that the Premier League had rejected the takeover bid made by the Saudi-led consortium, which consisted of the Middle Eastern crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), his country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), businesswoman/head of PCP Capital Partners Amanda Staveley and the billionaire Reuben brothers, originally from India but now based in London.

Newcastle claimed that this conclusion had been reached despite the club seemingly providing the Premier League and its chief executive Richard Masters with overwhelming evidence and legal opinions that PIF is independent and autonomous of the KSA government.

The statement added that the club and its owners do not accept that the EPL and Masters have acted appropriately in relation to this matter and will be considering all relevant options available to them.

As Burt suggests, perhaps this is not the end of the takeover saga just yet as Newcastle ponder challenging the decision from the EPL.

Whether this will reverse it is another question, but the saga does not seem to be over quite yet.

Geordies, do you think the takeover could be resurrected? Comment below with your views!

Aston Villa’s recruitment has been nothing short of woeful since they were promoted to the Premier League.

Over £100m was spent last summer, but the calibre of player they brought in simply wasn’t good enough, with the Villans only avoiding relegation on the final day.

The Midlands outfit will want to be more comfortable this season, and they’re on their way to building a squad capable of picking up a lot of points with both Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins joining already this summer.

Cash and Watkins seem like great signings, the former Nottingham Forest man was the 18th best player in the Championship last year according to WhoScored, while Watkins netted 26 goals.

However, despite that good work, Villa may have just made a big blunder that has cost them £20m.

Of course, we’re talking about the arrival of Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal.

Now, nobody can argue that Villa didn’t need a goalkeeper due to Tom Heaton’s ongoing injury problems, but it’s hard to put together a real argument for Martinez being the answer.

Yes, the Argentine was exceptional towards the end of last season, helping Arsenal win the FA Cup and earning a lot of plaudits along the way, but the fact of the matter is he’s a 28-year-old with only 70 league appearances to his name.

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Confidence and form is so key for a goalkeeper, and we don’t know how Martinez will recover from a setback or a blunder, and for some goalkeepers, one error is enough to derail an entire career.

Paul Robinson has admitted he was never the same after his error vs Croatia in 2007, while the trials and tribulations of the 2018 World Cup has seen a massive downturn in form from David de Gea.

Coughing up £20m for Martinez on the back of a handful of good games for Arsenal is irresponsible. The sample size simply isn’t big enough to be certain that he’s a goalie capable of keeping Villa in the Premier League, and you can’t help but feel that there were plenty of other more proven glovesmen available at that price

Many Liverpool fans have been showing their support for winger Xherdan Shaqiri after he opened up about what happened over the summer regarding his future.

The 28-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from Anfield this summer, with The Athletic suggesting that he was due to follow Rhian Brewster out the exit door.

The likes of Lazio, Roma and Sevilla were believed to be interesting in his services but the tables quickly turned as the deadline passed and nothing was announced by the club.

During a recent interview with the Swiss FA, Shaqiri reiterated his desire to stay at Liverpool and stated that he feels good about it, despite saying that the media ‘write a lot’.

The Swiss winger has scored eight times and provided five assists in 42 appearances for Liverpool (as per TransferMarkt), with three years left on his contract. However, he has started a paltry two Premier League games since August 2019.

With all of the above in mind, these supporters are hoping to see more of Shaqiri in the famous red shirt this season, as the Reds aim to defend the Premier League title that they secured last season.

Here you can find some comments from Liverpool supporters on the “underrated” winger:

Liverpool fans, should Klopp have sold Shaqiri or was he right to keep him? Join the conversation by commenting below…

It’s safe to say, Arsenal are enjoying life under former midfielder Mikel Arteta.

He’s beginning to turn things around from that tumultuous Unai Emery reign having already clinched two trophies in the form of the FA Cup and Community Shield.

There haven’t been many holes to pick at since he took the helm in December 2019.

However, the 38-year-old may have just walked into his first major mistake at the Emirates Stadium by excluding Mesut Ozil from his Europa League squad this week.

The German playmaker has rarely been seen this season and quite possibly has no future under his old teammate, but that shouldn’t mean his talents are completely worthless.

Arteta failed to land one of his key targets in Houssem Aouar during the summer transfer window, meaning there is still a creative void and a lack of a true number ten – outside of the outcasted Ozil.

It’s only really Dani Ceballos who can create such chances through the middle, though he’s not playing every game and if he were to pick up an injury or suspension, then that decision to omit the 31-year-old could look rather silly.

The Gunners’ misfit has not contributed to 12 or more goals since the 2017/18 Premier League season but his playing time in each campaign since has dramatically dropped along with his goals and assist numbers.

Long-time a favourite of legendary boss Arsene Wenger

Being on a whopping £350k-per-week has understandably increased the pressure and often puts him under scrutiny amongst the Emirates faithful, but he’s never averaged lower than 1.9 key passes per game throughout his Arsenal career with a high of 4.2 coming in the 2015/16 season, via WhoScored.

It’s on Arteta to bring that back out of him instead of simply giving up.

Once lauded as “phenomenal” by Jose Mourinho, the once £43m-rated maestro can’t become a forgotten man in north London, though it’s through no fault of his own.

Arteta may have just made his biggest blunder yet.

AND in other news, Arsenal can unearth their next Jack Wilshere with Hale End’s next “generational talent”…

Tottenham Hotspur kickstarted their Europa League Group J campaign with a bang as they thrashed LASK Linz 3-0 at home on Thursday evening.

Jose Mourinho tinkered his side to the point of Ben Davies playing in central defence among a back four with Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius making their full debuts.

And it clearly paid off as they eased to a three-goal victory and their first clean sheet of the new season. Lucas Moura and substitute Heung-min Son scored either side of an own goal from the visiting Andres Andrade.

There were solid performances from several names with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg a standout according to plenty of fans on Twitter, some lauded him as their “signing of the season” whilst others claimed he was a “warrior” having donned a bandage around his head during the first-half.

But perhaps they should consider Matt Doherty, who put in an extremely underrated display at right-back.

The 28-year-old, who arrived in a £15m deal from Wolves in the summer, has been dropped from Mourinho’s starting XI for their last two Premier League outings against Manchester United and West Ham.

In what was just his second start in nearly a month, he duly delivered and as a result, has given the Special One an interesting selection headache going into Monday’s trip to Burnley.

Per SofaScore, Doherty recorded four tackles, two clearances, two blocks and two interceptions. It resulted in a squad-high rating of 8.3, which is hardly a surprise as he did his defensive duties immensely.

The wing dynamo also won eight of his duels, had 104 touches, made two key passes and enjoyed a successful dribble, thus proving to be a nuisance at either end of the pitch.

Mourinho may now have to think long and hard about keeping the Irishman in the starting XI after such an impressive showing, even though Serge Aurier has looked rather assured in his rare two starts.

Doherty outshone Hojbjerg as the Man of the Match in N17 last night, that’s exactly why he was brought in and he ought to start more often going forward.

AND in other news, Major Levy decision would top Gareth Bale’s sensational return this season…

Leeds United have had to wait all weekend to play but tonight they are back in action as they host Leicester City for the first time in 16 years as they go to head-to-head in the Premier League.

The Championship winners have made an encouraging start to life in the big time having lost just once in their last five outings – a win here at Elland Road could see them rise into the top five.

Marcelo Bielsa isn’t usually one to make many changes to his side, but there are plenty of selection headaches going into this tie.

Here’s the lineup we’re predicting this evening…

Bielsa was able to welcome back his skipper Liam Cooper to the fold this week, so he’s in line to come straight back into the starting XI.

Luke Ayling was selected to play alongside Robin Koch during their 3-0 drubbing of Aston Villa last week with Diego Llorente and Gaetano Berardi out through injury, but Cooper’s return sees him move back to the right flank.

It also allows Stuart Dallas to take stock on the left, meaning Gjanni Alioski is axed.

The Whites boss has a tough conundrum in what would usually be Kalvin Phillips’ role.

He hauled Pascal Struijk off after just 20 minutes at Villa Park as the youngster was a liability waiting to happen – his replacement Jamie Shackleton will surely get the nod this evening after they went onto win the match.

The 21-year-old is likely to partner Mateusz Klich in the middle with Pablo Hernandez coming in for €40m-rated (£36m) summer signing Rodrigo.

Jack Harrison and Helder Costa are seemingly untouchable on the wings despite the arrival of Raphinha late in the window.

Whilst Patrick Bamford will almost certainly lead the line once again.

AND in other news, Leeds should be kicking themselves for missing out on massive Klich upgrade…