All posts by h716a5.icu

Oh Alberto Moreno, what happened?

After the defender scored his first goal for the club in only his second start for the Reds in which Moreno nicked the ball off Andros Townsend and sprinted 40-yards to knock the ball past Hugo Lloris gave supporters hope that they had a gem on their hands.

Of course, that was not the case.

Moreno will be remembered at Liverpool for being a momentous flop and the man who allowed Andy Robertson to come into Jurgen Klopp’s first-team and establish himself as one of the best left-backs in world football based on the fact he was named in the PFA Team of the Year and registered 11 assists in the Premier League alone last season.

But even still, there is time for Moreno to get his career back on track following his release from the Merseyside club, and it appears the Spaniard has found the next chapter in his interesting career.

According to Marca, Moreno will join Villarreal upon the end of his contract at Liverpool on the 1st July, and for the left-back, it is a golden opportunity to reignite his once-promising career at a club who will welcome the former Sevilla man with open arms.

After underperforming massively in La Liga last season by their standards, finishing 14th, Villarreal could do with a defender who can come in and offer something different both on the attacking and defensive front after a poor campaign where they were disappointing on both ends of the pitch, and that is something Moreno can do for the Yellow Submarine.

Moreno made over 60 appearances during his time at Sevilla in which the defender earned a good reputation as one of the top left-backs in Spain, and with Villarreal, there is a good chance the 26-year-old can reclaim that reputation he lost greatly at Liverpool after years of poor form and a lack of confidence.

Liverpool fans, can Moreno refind his form? Let us know!

Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in the world but it’s fair to say that the experiments of the likes of Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente haven’t worked out, with just 19 goals between the pair for the club. 

Indeed, it is looking like an all too familiar problem for Mauricio Pochettino.

With that in mind, Spurs have generally opted for more versatile attackers with the likes of Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min operating in central roles if and when the England skipper is out of action. Considering the impact of both without him (those contributions against Ajax and Manchester City in the Champions League being the most high-profile examples) it’s not hard to argue that such a strategy has largely worked.

So, will Tottenham continue to look for more players of this sort? It certainly seems so as it has recently been reported (via El Des Marque) that Tottenham have made contact with FC Copenhagen over the possibility of signing winger Robert Skov.

Promisingly, the 23-year-old Dane was prolific last season, helping his side regain the Danish Superliga title after FC Midtjylland had taken it the previous year, scoring an impressive 24 goals and assisting six in just 26 league games.

These are strong figures, regardless of what division he played in. Yes, the Premier League would be a step up but for a man who averaged 2.6 shots, 1 dribble and 0.8 key passes in the games WhoScored complied data for last season, playing in an attacking system such as the one enjoyed by Spurs could see those numbers rise.

Sky Sports’ scouting report of him some months ago did suggest he’d enjoy a right-wing role in North London and, while there might be a period of settling in, he does fit the mould it would seem.

Tottenham fans, what have you heard of Robert Skov? Would his signing show a lack of ambition? Or would you give him a go? Let us know! 

[ad_pod ]Manchester United are interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn this summer, according to The Sun.The paper reckon that background checks have been made on the player ahead of a potential bid.He won’t come cheap though, with the report stating that Villa are more keen on tying him down to a new contract and value him at a massive £50m.Could Harry Maguire be on his way to Old Trafford? Check out the video below to see why it would make so much sense…For a player who has not played above English Championship or Scottish Premiership level that’s quite a fee.McGinn was a big player for the Villans last season, winning player of the year awards voted on by his teammates and supporters while helping them gain promotion through the play-offs to the Premier League – notching up seven goals and nine assists.His industrious midfield play could well make him a hit in the top-flight, but he’s untested at that level, never mind at the level required to help United push towards a top four position.

It’s fair to say United fans are unimpressed with the transfer links, with many taking to Twitter over the weekend to share their thoughts…

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

According to RMC Sport, Aston Villa have positioned themselves to sign midfielder Baptiste Santamaria from Angers.

What’s the word?

Aston Villa look to be in the market for a holding midfield player this summer, having already targeted Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips and Club Brugge’s Marvelous Nakamba.

After the releases of Glenn Whelan and Mile Jedinak it certainly makes sense.

However, the latest player to catch their eye is Frenchman Santamaria. The 24-year-old currently plays in Ligue 1 and according to RMC Sport, Villa have positioned themselves to sign him.

Per the same report, Lazio and Lille have also shown an interest.

Gueye replacement finally on the cards

The last time Villa were in the Premier League they had one of the best holding players in the division in Idrissa Gueye, who went on to leave the club for Everton in summer 2016.

He made a remarkable 4.1 tackles per game across 35 matches but the Villans were still relegated.

The Senegalese was absolutely vital but he ended up departing to Everton as Villa were left powerless in terms of stopping him.

And since losing the 29-year-old, they arguably haven’t replaced the hole he left behind.

By landing Santamaria, though, they could finally discover a player who’s capable of having a similar impact.

Why? Because of his ability to break up the play.

In Ligue 1 last term, he won 3.1 tackles per match, proving himself to be a fabulous player in front of the back four, winning tackles on an all too regular basis.

In total, he attempted 4.6 challenges per game, completing 118 tackles in 38 appearances.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Villa didn’t necessarily need someone as tough-tackling as Gueye in the Championship because they had more of the ball.

But as they gear up for their first season back in the Premier League, having someone who can make a challenge in front of the defence will be essential.

Gueye proved in 2015/16 how important it is even if they were relegated with him in the side.

Santamaria, therefore, would be a clever addition.

Celtic have enquired into the €8 million signing of Rennes midfielder James Léa Siliki, according to reports in France.

What’s the story?

Neil Lennon has begun his search for Olivier Ntcham’s replacement as the French midfielder touts himself for a move away from Celtic after describing Scottish football as beneath him and has turned his attention to Rennes midfielder Siliki. The 23-year-old has been at Rennes since 2014 and has made over 70 appearances for their first-team and Lennon looks to be a fan of Siliki, as do Portuguese outfit Porto.

Show of faith in the Northern Irishman

Lennon was hired as the manager of Celtic after securing a third consecutive domestic treble after defeating Hearts in the Scottish Cup final but was only handed a 12-month rolling contract at Parkhead. A 12-month rolling deal seems a sensible solution in a world where manager’s contacts are being terminated sooner and sooner but it’s hardly a show of great faith in their manager, as was the apparent chase for Rafa Benitez before appointing Lennon on a full-time deal.

However, the £7 million signing of Christopher Julien from Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse and the reported interest in Siliki are signs that they trust Lennon given how heavily he’s involved in recruitment- despite the short-term nature of his deal.

Backing the Northern Irishman in the transfer market to reinvigorate a squad in desperate need of just that should show Lennon how valued he is by the club, unlike his contract. It should also allow for some long-term thinking at a club who are on the cusp of history having won eight consecutive league titles and winning the next two Premiership titles would rank as one of the greatest achievements in the club’s illustrious history.

Lennon should see this is as a positive even if they don’t bring in the Rennes midfielder that there is a mutual trust between manager and board at Celtic Park.

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

According to The Daily Star, Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma has not handed in a transfer request despite a now deleted report by The Mirror suggesting otherwise.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Daily Star have confirmed that the France international has not revealed his desire to leave Stamford Bridge, despite Everton’s interest in him being fairly well documented.

The former St Etienne centre-back shone for the Toffees last term, making 32 Premier League appearances and scoring two goals – he also struck up an impressive partnership with Michael Keane.

Marco Silva has made no secret of his desire to bring the 24-year-old back to the club on a permanent deal, although discouraging signs of late should dissuade the former Hull man and Marcel Brands from pursuing this transfer any longer.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below…

Must move on

Firstly, we have the aforementioned news that Zouma has not handed in a transfer request, whilst there also hasn’t been any noise from the Chelsea man’s corner on him desperately wanting the move.

Secondly, Frank Lampard has spoken quite clearly about his plans for the 6 foot 3 colossus, saying: “I want him here, simple as that. We are competitive with the centre backs we have in the team and he had a very good season at Everton and I can understand why they want him.

“He’s a Chelsea player and I want him.”

If that doesn’t sound like a hands off warning, I don’t know what does.

Everton find themselves in a really weak negotiating position in their pursuit of Zouma. The player himself isn’t doing anything to force the move, with The Daily Star saying that he isn’t prepared to do so, whilst the Blues are under a transfer ban and wouldn’t be able to replace the player if they did sell him.

That would leave them with just three senior centre-backs in Andreas Christensen, David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger, whilst Cesar Azpilicueta could also play there if needs be.

There are far more red rights surrounding this transfer saga than green ones, and with just a few weeks of the window left, Everton must give up and turn their attention elsewhere – especially as Silva only has Yerry Mina and Keane to choose from as senior centre-back options.

Sheffield United target Younousse Sankhare seems to have fallen out with his current club Bordeaux amid speculation surrounding his future (L’Equipe via HITC).

It was reported that the midfielder was subject to interest from three British clubs – Cardiff and Swansea being the other two – and that the side which resides in the Welsh capital were in pole position to snap up the 29-year-old.

But the Blades are still looking at him and were dealt some good news this week when the player came out and said he felt as if he was being forced by Bordeaux to go elsewhere.

The former Paris Saint-Germain man signed from Lille in 2017 but managed just four goals and five assists in 33 appearances for Les Girondins last season.

Sheffield United are continuing to try and make deals happen despite having already made five signings this summer and breaking their transfer record twice on Luke Freeman and Lys Mousset.

Sankhare had a strong season in 2017/18 as he managed to bag seven goals from central and defensive midfield in a year which saw Bordeaux finish sixth in Ligue 1.

However, there is a major style difference between how Sankhare likes to play and the current central midfielders at Bramall Lane in John Fleck and Oliver Norwood.

The man who plies his trade in the top tier of French football averaged just 0.3 long balls per game (per WhoScored) last season (as per WhoScored).

Compare that with John Fleck, who’s average is two in the Championship, and Norwood who manages a colossal 7.7.

In addition, Sankhare contributed less tackles, interceptions and clearances despite Bordeaux finishing in the bottom half of Ligue 1 and Sheffield United coming second in the Championship.

So, even if from those statistics you cannot categorically conclude that he is a poor player, what you can conclude is that he is used to a very different style of play.

And with Chris Wilder hoping to give his side the best possible chance of avoiding relegation at the first time of asking by buying smartly, this may be a deal to avoid.

Sheffield United fans, should the club steer clear of Sankhare this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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And now it’s official – Arsenal have started doing proper business this summer transfer window and their fans finally experienced some new signings coming in.

Dani Ceballos arrived on loan from Real Madrid and was the first in the line of newcomers to kiss the Gunners’ badge.

The young 22-year-old midfielder probably imagined his career with the Los Blancos going in a slightly different direction when he signed for them back in 2017.

But for whatever reason, he ended up accumulating only 56 games under his belt since then, netting five goals and assisting two in the process. It’s safe to say that he had a rather secondary role in the team and a loan deal away is the right choice.

Hector Bellerin, Arsenal’s own Spaniard, welcomed his compatriot to the team with a great throwback snap on Instagram and followed it up with a short message.

He said he can’t wait for them to link up once again, just as they have for their national team.

As for Bellerin, he is still recovering from an injury he sustained back in January.

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Xherdan Shaqiri is still one of the new faces at Liverpool.

The 27-year-old winger joined last year from Stoke and had a modest opening campaign.

In a total of 30 games across all competitions, Shaqiri managed to bag six goals and add five assists to his tally, which was a decent return considering he was often used as an impact substitute.

He also finished it strongly despite being on the bench in the Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur.

However, he suffered a setback on international duty.

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A calf injury in June meant that he could only recently rejoin the rest of the squad on the training grounds but he is now making promising progress in his recovery.

Shaqiri took to

/B0l-_SiiuHV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram to celebrate his return to the squad as he accompanied his teammates in Geneva, where the Reds won their game against Lyon.

Some of his teammates were quick to reply and welcome him back into the grind.

Dejan Lovren and Georginio Wijnaldum were among the first ones to send their best wishes and message to the returning Red.

Now that the pre-season friendlies for Liverpool are all done, they will gear up for the Community Shield game against Manchester City.

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Rangers have reportedly knocked back a £10m plus deal from West Brom for Alfredo Morelos, and it’s fair to say the supporters are far from impressed with the offer.

The Daily Record report that Slaven Bilic has identified the Colombian as one of his top targets as they look to bring in players before the 5pm deadline tonight.

Steven Gerrard has previously admitted that it would take a ‘really big offer’ to coax his star away from Ibrox, yet even with potential add-ons, the deal wasn’t acceptable for those at the club.

Morelos could still be on the way out of Ibrox with deadlines across Europe remaining open, per The Record’s report, however.

The bid hasn’t gone down too well with the Gers faithful, who can’t believe it was such a low offer.

Another complaint from the supporters is that’s he too integral to sell, which is a fair argument given he scored 30 times last season.

Here’s what the disgruntled supporters had to say about the rumoured bid on Twitter:

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