Category Uncategorized

Name: Son Heung-min

Country: South Korea

Club: Bayer Leverkusen

Age: 21

International Caps: 26

Position: Left Midfield/Striker

Labouring in their attempts at securing the signature of Adam Lallana, Liverpool may be better off focusing their efforts further afield. If Brendan Rodgers turns his attention to Leverkusen, and South Korea during the World Cup this summer, he may just find his answer in the shape of 21-year-old Son Heung-min.

It’s a phrase oft misused, but in the case of Son, he quite literally ‘plays with a smile on his face’. But don’t let his friendly exterior fool you. Son is one of the Bundesliga’s most deadly attackers.

Typically deployed as a left-sided attacker, Son is also adept at filling a central role, most often as a second-striker. He’s left-footed, but is adept with either leg, demonstrated aptly with a fine strike against Borussia Monchengladbach with his ‘wrong’ foot. Whilst possessing a burst of pace which can rival the quickest of players in the Premier League, he is unselfish with it and has a great awareness of his teammates.

His 10 goals and four assists in his first season with Bayer Leverkusen wasn’t a bad return for the Korean, but his form at Hamburg the previous season hint there is much more to come from the youngster.

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If Liverpool aspire to compete with the elite in European football, the squad needs work. Rodgers has watched Son numerous occasions this season, and if reports are to be believed, he is very much in the Liverpool manager’s thoughts.

A lack of attacking depth always threatened to derail what was an astonishing 2013-14 campaign, but thankfully for Liverpool, a lack of fixtures worked in their favour. Competing in the Champions League will require added depth. With Son on board, Rodgers will have acquired a player of high potential, able to score and create whilst fulfilling the youthful and energetic criteria his current attacking crop possesses in abundance.

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Phil Bardsley has admitted that he is unhappy with returning from injury to play his part in two matches that have ended in defeat.

Sunderland’s Capital One Cup loss to Middlesbrough last week was Bardsley’s first game back in the team since coming back from an ankle injury.

Sunderland then lost to Aston Villa this Saturday, but although Bardsley admits it is not an ideal situation, the 27-year-old feels that the Black Cats must score more to sort out their problems – something which he believes will improve the atmosphere among the club and its fans.

“It’s not the way I’d have liked to come back at all with two defeats. The fans stayed with us on Saturday, but it must be difficult for them to come and watch us at the moment,” he told the Shields Gazette.

“Some of the performances have been good, but we need to score a goal. When we get one,  that will lift the whole place. Everyone knows the problem – it’s not rocket science.

“Everyone needs to do their bit, and if we’re not scoring, we need to make sure we keep the ball out at the other end, unfortunately, we didn’t do that on Saturday.

“It was a decent performance from the lads and just a little bit of luck will do. You just wonder how we didn’t score a goal and we’re all scratching our heads.”

Bardsley also pinted to the spirit in teh dressing room, despite a run of bad results for the Black Cats so far this season.

“The spirit in our dressing room is unbreakable with the group of players we’ve got. We’ve got two tough away games coming up but hopefully we can dust ourselves down, have a little rest and start again in training. Hopefully we can get something at Everton,” he added.

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Next season is a massive one for Newcastle United. After a year of consolidation and an unexpected top half finish in the English Premier League, the Magpies are in a position to really strengthen and solidify their long-term future as one of the elite sides in the country.

That makes this summer’s transfer window vitally important. With the capacity for spending in doubt, it’s crucial that they shop for players that not only improve Rafa Benitez’s first team but also represent value in today’s market.

While multiple areas of the team need strengthened and depth added to them, what Benitez’s side arguably needs most is an elite striker who has a track record of scoring regularly at a decent level.

Not a single player reached double figures for goals in the league last season, with the entire team netting just 39 times. That total was lower than four of the teams that finished below them and all but one of the teams that finished above them in the table. It’s clearly something that can be improved upon next term.

One player that could be available for a transfer is Bas Dost, a player whose 2017/18 demonstrates that he could the man that Benitez needs to help Newcastle unlock their potential next season.

As reported by The Telegraph, he is one of a number of players in the process of cancelling contracts with Portuguese side Sporting after a dramatic season of clashes with the club’s fans and president.

The striker was injured in an incident last month that saw dozens of fans forcing their way into the team’s training center and assaulting players and staff.

Is he a player that Newcastle should now be moving for this summer, and what boxes does he tick for the St James’ Park side?

First of all, the headline grabber when it comes to Bas Dost is his scoring record of last season. With 27 goals in 30 league matches, he was in outrageous form, scoring 42% of the team’s total league goals all by himself. With another six goals in other competitions, his tally for the season came to an outstanding 33 goals. That was no fluke either given he also netted 37 goals in all competitions in 2016/17.

Delve further into his statistics of last season and you get an idea of how just how clinical he was. As shown by WhoScored, he averaged 2.2 shots per game in league action, a total of 66. That means he has a shot conversion rate of 41%, demonstrating that when provided with chances, the poacher will stick them away consistently.

It’s the kind of attacking contribution that could transform the Magpies next term, who don’t lack creative guile with the likes of Ayoze Perez and Jonjo Shelvey providing support from midfield.

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With 30 key passes across the season and 141 aerial duels won, an average of 4.7 per game, it’s also clear he is a player that can bring others into the game around him. At 6ft 5in tall, he has the physical presence that would offer Newcastle a direct option, which could prove vital, a focal point that Benitez’s side can latch onto against difficult opposition.

The benefits clearly outweigh the negatives when it comes to this transfer and given his precarious position at Sporting, he’s a player that Newcastle need to consider over the coming months, ensuring they are the English side that convinces him his future lies in the Premier League.

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The sky is blue and water is wet. In other news, Southampton fans want head coach Mauricio Pellegrino to be sacked before things potentially get worse.

Pellegrino performed miracles at La Liga club Alaves last season, but it has just not happened for the Argentine in the Premier League.

Indeed, the Saints have only won once in the league since the end of November, and that rotten run of form has seen them drop into 18th position in the Premier League table on 26 points.

Southampton picked up an impressive three points at West Bromwich Albion earlier this month, but then lost at home to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

Portuguese defender Cedric Soares, who is valued at £13.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has been attempting to rally the troops on social media, but the Southampton fans are not too interested in empty words at the moment.

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Indeed, the club’s supporters took the chance to once again reveal their views on Pellegrino, who continues to hang onto his job at St Mary’s.

It has been a tough second half of the season for Arsenal, as it wasn’t that long ago that they were clear top of the Premier League.

However, after a dreadful fixture list during February and March, they could still be well in touch with a handful of games to go in the season.

A good result at White Hart Lane today will need to be backed up by a big performance against Chelsea next week, but with the FA Cup semi-final also on the horizon there is no doubt their season is far from over.

Here is why we think the Gunners can’t be ruled out of the title race.

The Chelsea game

At lunchtime next Saturday, the Gunners go to Stamford Bridge for arguably their biggest game of the season.

A win or even a draw with league leaders Chelsea will be seen as positive result and will keep them at worst four points behind the Blues with a game in hand.

Chelsea have the Champions League to distract them as well as suspensions so who knows?

Fixtures at the end of the season

Arsenal’s toughest game in the final five fixtures is at home to Newcastle, a game they should be winning, and although others are scrapping for their lives the Gunners should get some serious points.

Rivals Manchester City and Chelsea have tougher games to contend with and so if Arsenal can pick up something against both Chelsea and City this month, confidence will grow.

The Ox

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has come back into the Gunners side and has reformed their attacking style.

Whether it be from out wide or behind the striker, the England man was immense against Bayern Munich and caused problems for Tottenham today too as he comes to form at the right time.

If Arsene Wenger can keep him fit and possibly add refreshed Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil to the side, they must start scoring plenty of goals.

Fulham kept up their formidable home record with victory over Aston Villa at Craven Cottage courtesy of Chris Baird’s goal four minutes from time.

The Cottagers have taken 32 points out of a possible 39 on their own turf but left it late to see off Paul Lambert’s men, who are now teetering just above the relegation zone after their worst start to a season in 26-years.

Villa’s lack of cutting edge in front of goal was frighteningly evident as Mark Schwarzer enjoyed a relatively incident free afternoon in the home goal.

In contrast Martin Jol’s men, spearheaded by Dimitar Berbatov, were a constant threat with the sultry Bulgarian pulling the strings from the first whistle.

Berbatov’s early snap shot forced Villa keeper Brad Guzan into a smart save before denying a close range effort from Kieron Richardson with his legs. At the other end Schwarzer remained untested as until Gabriel Agbonlahor cut inside and brought a save out of the Australian with a fierce deflected effort.

The Villa striker then failed to hit the target with two headers following crosses from Stephen Ireland and Darren Bent. After the break Fulham continued to apply pressure and looked capable of scoring every time they ventured into the Villa half with Berbatov seeing an acrobatic volley sail well over.

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As tensions begin to rise Baird popped up at the near post to allay any nerves, tapping home John Arne Riise’s in swinging corner for his third goal in 150 games for the club. Celebrations were almost short lived as Villa mounted an immediate response but Christian Benteke summed up their season in front of goal, failing to even hit the target from six-yards out after being found by Charles N’Zogbia.

According to Belgian website DH, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United are keen on signing Standard Liège winger Edmilson Junior.

What’s the story?

After signing for Standard Liège two years ago, Edmilson made a slow start but had a fine end of the campaign, scoring seven goals in the final ten games of the season for the Reds.

The 23-year-old Brazilian, who is valued at £6.3million on Transfermarkt, is comfortable playing on either wing and as a striker, and helped Liège finish second in the league.

According to DH, Edmilson is attracting a lot of interest, and with only a year left on his contract, could be available for a lower price, although a fee is not mentioned in the article.

Why he should sign for Wolves

Edmilson seems like exactly the sort of player that would slot into the Wolves set up, as a Portuguese-speaking creative attacking midfielder.

He would surely get more game time at Molineux than if he went to West Ham, whose transfer policy seems confused at best.

Wolves have an identifiable team identity which Edmilson could slot straight into, whereas Pellegrini is still working out how to mould his new team at the London Stadium.

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With Neves pulling the strings and Jota and Edmilson running in behind, Wolves could have a serious team that could really surprise people next season.

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Rumours are filling the transfer gossip pages as we enter the final seven days of the January window.

Newcastle United have been regularly mentioned in the media with regard to possible targets.

According to the bookmakers, the North-East outfit are favourites to land former Chelsea player Andre Schurrle.

The Daily Mail recently reported that Borussia Dortmund, who signed the German from Wolfsburg in 2016, are willing to send the player out on loan.

Schurrle has started just two Bundesliga games all season and it is believed that the German outfit will pay half of the player’s £150,000-a-week salary.

There are no concrete indications as yet that the former Chelsea star could become a new member of Rafael Benitez’s team, but the betting market think that out of everyone, the Magpies have a chance.

Sky Bet have offered 4/1 odds of Schurrle joining the North East outfit, while West Bromwich Albion are listed at 7/1.

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Southampton, who have also been struggling in front of goal, are outsiders at 18/1.

Inter Milan striker Diego Milito has claimed he wants to sign a new deal at the Serie A club to finish his career there, as reported by Sky Sports.

The 34 year old is out of contract at the end of the season and has been linked with a move away from Inter, with West Ham showing a major interest as their desperation for strikers goes on.

However Milito is hoping for a new deal at the San Siro which would rule out any move to the Premier League even though the Argentinean has only played once for Inter this season.

A loan move may still be a possibility however with the striker given a chance to prove to Inter that he warrants a new deal.

“For me, there won’t be any problem in putting a signature and remaining for another year,” Millito told Sport Mediaset.

“I feel at home. But for the moment I don’t think what will happen in June. I live in the moment and the only thing that interests me is to come back playing.

“My deal with Inter expires in June and my dream is to retire with this shirt. I don’t exclude the possibility of coming back to Argentina. We will see in June.”

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Everton boss David Moyes has confirmed that he is yet to be offered a new deal at the club despite their fine start to the season, but the Scot also claimed it wasn’t an issue.

Moyes celebrated ten years in charge of the Merseyside club earlier this year but he doesn’t want any speculation involving his future to affect the players’ good early season form.

“My commitment at Everton is total and it always will be,” Moyes told the Daily Mirror.

“I don’t see it as a big problem. I’ll be asked more questions the longer it goes on. But right now if you asked me if it was even in my head, it’s not even crossed my mind.

“I feel as though I am happy with the situation. The chairman is as well. And when we need to, we talk.

“We talk on the phone every day so it’s nothing that needs to be resolved by any big talks.

“We have a good relationship and when it comes to that that’s the way we will deal with it.

“I don’t want anything to get in the way of how well the players are playing,” Moyes added.

“If that became a problem, then I’d need to look at it. But hopefully it won’t. The players are focused and we all know what we are trying to do.

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“We have no real need (to talk) at the moment. I am heavily concentrating on the team and I personally don’t feel that we have to sit down and do it.

“I don’t think the club feel there is a need either, because whatever happens, I’m here until the end of the season anyway. There’s no panic.”