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According to reports in the Daily Mail, Aston Villa are the latest Premier League team to show an interest in Kalvin Phillips.

Norwich, Bournemouth and Newcastle are also apparently sniffing around the 23-year-old, and it seems almost inevitable that the Whites’ star man will be playing in the top flight next season.

Too good

Phillips’ performances over the past 12 months have shown that he has outgrown the Championship.

The midfielder has become one of the most valuable players in the division after the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa allowed him to show off his best attributes.

The destructive work he has done in the United midfield this season has shown his potential suitors precisely what he is capable of when he is deployed correctly, and his talents look like they would easily translate over to the Premier League.

Aged just 23 Phillips has a long career ahead of him, and if he wants to fulfil his aspirations of winning silverware and getting England caps, he has to move away from Elland Road.

Can’t keep him

Despite the fact he is a local lad and has played for the club for many years it seems impossible for United to keep hold of the midfielder.

Even though Bielsa has now signed his new deal, the rumours of Phillips’ departure haven’t subsided, and it seems just a matter of time before he leaves.

Although he has played his best football under the Argentine another season at Elland Road doesn’t come close to matching the allure that the Premier League has.

More money, chances at silverware and the potential to play international football is just too much of a pull for any young player, and unless the Yorkshire club get to the top flight soon, they will continue to see their best prospects poached by top-flight clubs.

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Honduran defender Emilio Izaguirre has left Celtic, but not before being offered a new contract to remain at the club for another season, as reported by The Scottish Sun.

He’ll now be looking for a club in Europe or in Major League Soccer, say the paper, having rejected the chance to stay in Glasgow.

The left-back made 19 appearances for the Hoops throughout the 2018/19 season, but his performances left a lot to be desired and plenty of fans believe the club can do better with back-up to regular starter Kieran Tierney.

Neil Lennon needs to recruit a quality player who can both provide competition for the Scotland international and step in to ensure the 21-year-old doesn’t need to play as many matches each season as he currently does.

The fact that the club have tried to retain the services of Izaguirre is a worrying sign for some that there is a lack of forward planning when it comes to the position.

These supporters have taken to Twitter today to share their thoughts on the situation…

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Fernando Llorente led the line for Tottenham Hotspur in Tuesday’s Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Llorente scored the goal which ultimately saw Spurs book their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Manchester City.

However, the club’s supporters were still not very pleased with the Spaniard during and after Tuesday’s game with Brighton.

It was a tough night for Llorente – a 2017 arrival from Swansea City – as he was up against two central defenders who are very, very strong in the air.

Some may have claimed that Spurs are actually better off without Harry Kane given their results and performances when he has been out of action in 2019.

Llorente struggled to make his mark against the Seagulls, though, and there was also a rare appearance off the bench for a certain Vincent Janssen.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

It seems likely that Llorente will be leaving Tottenham on a free transfer this summer when his contract expires, and the latest messages from the fans suggests that not too many will be bothered.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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A number of Manchester United fans on Twitter have questioned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, after the Norwegian took his players on a trip back in time to the club’s former training ground, The Cliff.

The Red Devils used to train at the complex before moving into their current Carrington-based facilities in 2000, which Solskjaer was keen to take them out of for a brief period of time in order to give them a ‘reality check’.

Who would win out of Man Utd’s treble winners and Man City today? Fans discuss in the video below…

The Cliff was home to a number of Old Trafford greats such as David Beckham, Gary Neville and Solskjaer himself, and helped shape some of United’s greatest ever sides.

However, whilst it is a respectable idea from the former Cardiff boss, a number of United supporters have questioned Solskjaer for the decision, with some keen to see him move away from copying Sir Alex Ferguson and define his own legacy at the club.

Let’s see what the club’s fans on Twitter have been saying on the matter…

كشفت صحيفة “ليكيب” الفرنسية موقف نادي برشلونة تجاه إمكانية رحيل مهاجم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم، أنطوان جريزمان، في الميركاتو الشتوي خلال شهر يناير 2021.

وخرجت بعض التقارير في الأيام الأخيرة لتلمح إلى إمكانية رحيل جريزمان عن برشلونة وربما تكون وجهته المقبلة هي العودة إلى أتلتيكو مدريد مرة أخرى.

ولكن تواصلت الصحيفة الشهيرة مع مصدر داخل نادي برشلونة والذي أكد على أن جريزمان مستمر مع الفريق ولن يرحل في يناير، رغم كل الانتقادات التي يتعرض لها في الفترة الماضية بسبب عدم ظهوره بمستوى جيد مع العملاق الكتالوني.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ليكيب: كومان نجح في إحكام قبضته على غرفة اللاعبين في برشلونة

وكان جريزمان قد أثار الجدل بعد مباراة فرنسا وكرواتيا في دوري الأمم الأوروبية في وقت سابق هذا الشهر، عندما صرح وأكد على أن ديديه ديشامب (مدرب منتخب فرنسا) يعرف كيف يضععه في المكان الصحيح، في إشارة إلى عدم التفاهم بينه وبين رونالد كومان في برشلونة.

هذه التصريحات هي من فتحت باب التكهنات حول إمكانية رحيل جريزمان عن برشلونة، والبحث عن فريق آخر قادر على الاستفادة من قدراته الفنية المعروفة.

وينتظر عشاق نادي برشلونة بالإضافة إلى الصحافة والإعلام الإسباني إذا كان كومان سيعتمد على جريزمان في مباراة الكلاسيكو اليوم، السبت، أمام ريال مدريد أم سيدفع بأحد مواهبه الكروية مثل بيدري وترينكاو.

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Leeds United ace Ezgjan Alioski is currently with the Macedonia squad preparing for their upcoming matches against Latvia and Slovenia.

The 27-year-old is a key player for his country, finding the back of the net on three occasions in 21 appearances since making his debut in 2013.

Alioski is also very much a key figure for his club, however, having scored seven times and provided five assists in 38 Championship matches this term.

He started the season as an attacker, but has dropped into the left-back role in recent months.

Leeds saw their automatic promotion hopes suffer a blow when they lost 1-0 at home to Sheffield United last weekend, but Marcelo Bielsa’s side are still in a strong position as they look to secure a return to the Premier League.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

On Wednesday, Alioski posted an image of himself in training for Macedonia and the Leeds fans responded by begging him not to get injured whilst on international duty:

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Everton defender Yerry Mina must start every remaining game for the Toffees this season after his colossal performance against Chelsea, but also because of the uncertainty over the future of loan star Kurt Zouma.

What’s the story so far?

Well, since signing from Barcelona back in the summer for a huge £27m fee, Mina has made just 14 appearances as a result of injury issues and a struggle to dislodge Kurt Zouma and Michael Keane from the starting eleven – 11 of those 14 games have been starts.

To spend such a fee on one player, the Toffees need to be starting the Colombian international when he is available for selection. As we saw against Chelsea on Sunday, a game that he was only playing in as Zouma was ineligible to face his parent side, Mina can be very, very good.

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His composure on the ball and dominant physical skills make him an ideal modern-day centre-back, and one that should be trusted more by Marco Silva.

Should be favoured over Zouma anyway

French international Zouma is set to return to Chelsea in the summer at the expiry of his loan deal, and with the Blues set to be under a transfer ban for the next two windows, one would assume that it will be unlikely for the Toffees to get him back.

So, as a result of that, Everton are simply nurturing Chelsea’s 24-year-old player and aiding his development, all whilst their own 24-year-old sits on the bench.

The Merseysiders are being foolish with their treatment of Mina, as he is unlikely to get to grips with English football and adapt whilst out of the side – Everton would be better placed throwing the South American defender into the team even if he does make a mistake or two, for it would benefit them more in the long term.

Zouma isn’t Everton’s player, and it feels unlikely that they’ll be able to get him back, so Silva must start putting his own first in the final few games of the season.

The chips were down for Unai Emery against Bate Borisov and in an attempt to break them, he decided to shake things up, introducing Mesut Ozil into the fray.

In only his second appearance in 2019, the Arsenal talisman proved his ability with a commendable performance in the final third.

Despite obviously not being completely fit for action after appearing for the first time in almost a month, the German’s majestic touch and clinical instincts in the final third were persisting. Right from the get-go, he created space for himself in the final third and always served as a viable option to pass to.

Rather than trying to go for glory himself, he distributed possession really well from midfield to attack, allowing his wingers to run forward. Ozil created a few glaring chances, especially in the second half when his clever through-ball wasn’t capitalized well by Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.

The German gave a very disciplined performance, rarely losing possession and recording an 89% passing accuracy from more than 80 passes! He also attempted and succeeded two dribbles (stats via Fotmob), while his off the ball movement to drag away players was also glaring at multiple opportunities.

On another day, Ozil could’ve had a goal or assist. One of his shots swung closely over the post and he showed signs of his old self as the game progressed. If not anything, he proved to be ready to immerse back into Arsenal’s starting lineup to help them achieve the Europa League success.

With Bournemouth up tonight, Emery must allow the German to roam free if he’s going to keep his team in the race for Champions League qualification.

تسبب لاعب وسط الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي آرسنال، محمد النني، في حيرة لمدربه الحالي في الجانرز، ميكل أرتيتا، قبل مباراة وست هام يونايتد في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستعد آرسنال لخوض ثاني لقاءاته الرسمية في البطولة مساء اليوم، السبت، في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءًا بتوقيت “القاهرة” على ملعب “الآمارات”.

وأفادت صحيفة “ديلي إكسبريس” البريطانية بأن تألق النني كان مفاجئًا للجميع أمام فولهام في المباراة الأولى في الدوري الإنجليزي وعلى رأسهم أرتيتا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. طرابزون التركي: لا نستطيع تحمل راتب محمد النني

وقدم النني مباراة فنية رائعة في وسط الملعب بجانب جرانيت شاكا، وهو ما يضع أرتيتا في حيرة لأن في الموسم الماضي كان الإسباني يعتمد بشكل كبير على، داني سيبايوس، بجانب السويسري.

وتشير الصحيفة إلى أن وجود سيبايوس سيمنح وسط نادي آرسنال لمسة إبداعية أكثر من النني في حالة مشاركته، وربما يكون ميزة إضافية لكتيبة أرتيتا في مواجهة ديفيد مويس.

فهل يستغنى أرتيتا عن النني أم سيبايوس في مواجهة اليوم؟، خاصة بعد نجاح آرسنال في التوصل لاتفاق مع ريال مدريد لاستمرار الأخير على سبيل الإعارة لمدة موسم آخر.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have been left gushing over their former midfielder Ryan Mason after he posted a throwback image to Twitter over the weekend.

With the United Kingdom stuck inside under lockdown, a little trend has emerged on social media whereby fans, players and whoever else that likes the sport of football get involved by uploading an image without any caption or context. Here’s what the 28-year-old put up:

The Spurs academy graduate enjoyed an eight-year spell amongst the first-team setup before leaving for Hull City, but his career would then be devastatingly cut short after he suffered a skull fracture in a match with Chelsea in 2017.

He’s clearly still adored by those in north London as loads of supporters replied to his tweet.

Here’s what has been said…

Mason played 70 times for the Lilywhites where he managed to find the net four times and also provided four assists, per Transfermarkt.

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Spurs discussion going on in the Vital Tottenham Forum! Click here to get involved!

He was lauded as everything from a Spurs “legend” to the “boss” while one supporter credited his role in kickstarting the Mauricio Pochettino revolution in north London.

Given the current circumstances sweeping the nation, some others offered up warm words to stay safe during this time…

There were plenty missing his exploits at the Lane, too. One further member of the Spurs faithful claimed he would love to have Mason in their midfield now, suggesting that he was quality on the ball and always worked his socks off.

However, it’s hard to see many central midfielders getting in the squad currently due to the vast range of options at Jose Mourinho’s disposal.

Who on earth is that?!?! Can you name all of these obscure January signings?

AND in other news, Spurs should look to sign this “outstanding natural talent” in the summer…