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.

It has been another season with more questions being raised than answers being offered for Rafa Benitez and Newcastle United, as they battle through another relegation scrap.

It seems the old adage of learning from your mistakes does not apply to Mike Ashley, as once again it is down to the last six games of the campaign, and still the club’s fate is not mathematically certain.

Two relegations and countless nail-biting years would make most people realise that something is not right.

But for Ashley, he has his ace up his sleeve — a world class manager the envy of the clubs in and around them in the table.

But for his tactical genius, Newcastle would not have survived last season, nor this.

It is, though, still all to play for this season, with Newcastle looking more comfortable than most, but still nervously looking over their shoulders, knowing they are just one bad run away from being dragged back into the mire.

So we at the Tavern have looked at the remaining fixtures for the season, and determined how the table will look in May.

Fortunately for black and white fans everywhere, we predict that Rafa’s side will finish on 45 points, which will see them 12th — a huge 11 points above the bottom three.

While that will not match their incredible tenth place of last year, it will still represent another spectacular job from Benitez.

The manager endured heavy criticism from pundits early in the season, for his negative tactics — particularly in games against the top six sides — but he is wily enough to have ignored them, and stuck to his game plan.

Of course, his tactics saw them pull off a quite brilliant turnaround against champions, Manchester City in January, and has seen them minimise the impact of defeats in most others — an undeserved 4-0 reverse at Anfield apart.

In our table, with Fulham and Huddersfield’s fates already sealed, it is Cardiff who are the unlucky losers for the last spot, finishing just two points behind fourth-bottom Burnley.

A mid-table finish would be accepted by most of the Geordie fans, but they will not want to have to go through any further seasons like this.

If Rafa commits to the club, and signs an extension to his current deal, the signs must have been made clear to him, and hence indirectly to the fans, that he will be given the budget to ensure that top half finishes can be the norm.

All fans will be relieved if that proves to be the case.

What do you think, Newcastle fans? Why don’t you try the predictor for yourself and let us know how your final table looks…

Miguel Almirón certainly had an interesting night when coming off the bench in Paraguay’s defeat to Mexico in California on Tuesday night, with what you could describe as a hot and cold few minutes.

The Newcastle record signing was brought into the action in the 57th minute. Just three minutes later he set up teammate Hernán Pérez to score and get his side back into the game, albeit still trailing 3-1.

But Almirón’s night took a bitter twist just four minutes later, with the speedster chasing Jose Juan Vazquez, he lunged at him from behind, catching the Mexican on the back of the calf in a nasty challenge.

The Paraguayan midfielder was rightly given his marching orders, and will now suffer a one-game suspension.

The suspension will only apply for Paraguay, however, meaning the player will still be eligible for Newcastle at Arsenal on Monday.

The show of frustration and temper from Almiron will be noted by Premier League rivals, who may now target him in future games against the Magpies, in the hope that he will do something similarly petulant and see red against them.

That said, it could also be seen to suggest that, despite his baby-faced looks and slight frame, he will be able to take care of himself and not be bullied by Premier League defenders, following a spate of poor challenges he has been on the receiving end of since moving to England.

As you might expect, Twitter lit up following his red card.

Does this challenge shock you, Newcastle fans? Or does it suggest to you that he has the ability to look after himself in the Premier League? Let us know your thoughts…

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According to The Sun, Roy Hodgson wants to bring Jordan Ayew, who has been on loan at Crystal Palace this season, to Selhurst Park on a permanent basis this summer despite the Ghanaian having netted just once in the league in 18 appearances.

Michy Batshuayi’s arrival has seen the former Aston Villa man slip down the pecking order but that doesn’t mean Hodgson doesn’t see him as a useful squad player for next season, with the Premier League’s oldest boss keen to make the £4m striker his first signing of the summer.

Goals remain a problem for the SE25 outfit and offensive reinforcements are clearly required in the summer – Ayew plays up front, but should he return to the Eagles once his loan move expires? Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts on a Palace swoop for the number 14 below…

Ben Goodwin

“Any amount of money spent on Ayew would be money wasted by Crystal Palace. Last time I checked, the Eagles are suffering because none of their strikers can score goals, so why on Earth would they spend part of their transfer kitty on a striker with 2 goals in 23 appearances? He is not physical enough for the Premier League and needs to be let go for his woeful form, not rewarded with a permanent deal.”

James Beavis

“While I can see why a £4m transfer may be tempting in this day and age, it would be madness to bring Ayew to Selhurst Park permanently. The Ghana international would have been signed by the south London club to score goals and give the Eagles a boost in the final third, and he has failed to do that. They have signed a number of attackers over the years that have failed to make their mark such as Yaya Sanogo and Emmanuel Adebayor, and Ayew would be an even worse signing than Adebayor in the circumstances.”

A Crystal Palace fan shares his most gutting moment of the last 10 years supporting the Eagles in the video below…

Jack Saville

“Ayew has had ample chances to prove himself at this level and he hasn’t taken them. Palace have been starved of a reliable goalscorer for the past two seasons and Ayew quite clearly isn’t a solution to the problem, he’s a major part of it. Roy Hodgson would be a fool to sanction a deal even at £4 million.”

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That Moussa Sissoko is widely fancied to win Tottenham’s player of the season award speaks volumes about how far the once ritually lambasted midfielder has come this season, but has Victor Wanyama shown him that another level can still be reached?

On the chalkboard

Sissoko’s transformation has been as compelling as it has been stunning. Simply put, nobody saw this coming, nobody. In seasons gone by it seemed the France international had no excuse for consistently underperforming in Lilywhite without the fallback of inexperience to explain his abject displays.

But the beginning of the current campaign and a move into central midfield has seen the all-action midfielder become a hub at the heart of Tottenham’s free-flowing system.

The 29-year-old now patrols the centre circle with a swagger and sense of authority which is a mind-boggling far cry from the frightened and nerve-jangling figure who used to strike every ball as if his basic liberties as a human being were at stake.

Yet the transformation does not feel complete.

This is a player who is able to flick on the jets and rapidly switch a canter into a gallop to breeze past his opponent, but one who also fails to fully utilise this skill.

Victor Wanyama, however, making a rare start for Spurs on Saturday, showed Sissoko how to perfectly time a run into the penalty area by striding forward to latch onto a loose ball, bypassing the goalkeeper with ease and tapping the ball into a gaping goal.

If anyone needed to learn a lesson from this moment of undisputed class, it was Sissoko.

Sissoko could and should score more

The manner in which Wanyama ghosted into the box was (sorry Spurs fans) almost Lampard-esque.

Timing of the run is everything, and that’s an area where Sissoko must improve to utilise every aspect of his footballing repertoire.

For a player with his speed and energy he ought to be running free of his marker and arriving in the box unmarked and ready to find the net, but he seldom finds himself in a goal scoring position.

Wanyama, valued at £22.5 million by Transfermarkt, is hardly famed for his goal scoring prowess or the intelligence of his running into the area but he still managed to showcase that side of his game against the Terriers.

If Sissoko wants to full complete his turnaround and become a truly devastating talent in central midfield, he needs to find tune that side of his game.

هاجم رئيس رابطة الأندية الإسبانية، خافيير تيباس، رئيس نادي برشلونة السابق، جوسيب ماريا بارتوميو، بعد ساعات قليلة من تقديم استقالته من منصبه يوم أمس، الثلاثاء.

وقرر بارتوميو التنحي عن مهمته بعدما رفضت الحكومة الكتالونية في خطاب رسمي، تأجيل التصويت على حجب الثقة من مجلسه خوفًا من تفشي فيروس كورونا المستجد، كوفيد 19، بين الأعضاء.

ولكن في خطاب الرحيل، أكد بارتوميو أن برشلونة قد وافق على المشاركة في البطولة المقترحة من قبل بعض الأندية وتسمى “البريميرليج الأوروبي” أو “الدوري الأوروبي الممتاز”. (طالع تفاصيل الدوري الأوروبي الممتاز)

وبالتالي، قام تيباس بمهاجمة بارتوميو على هذا القرار عبر حسابه على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر”، وكتب: “تصريح بارتوميو المؤسف في يومه الأخير حول انضمام نادي برشلونة إلى منافسة ضعيفة وخيالية ستدمرهم”.

وأضاف في النهاية: “هذا يؤكد جهله بصناعة كرة القدم، نهاية محزنة لرئيس حقق نجاحات وأخطاء كثيرة في الآونة الأخيرة”.

Victory on Monday sent Arsenal third in the Premier League for the first time this season, and the club have Alexandre Lacazette to thank for that.

The French striker assisted Aaron Ramsey’s opening goal in the first-half before rounding off the win with a delightful chip seven minutes from time in Arsenal’s 2-0 result over Newcastle.

Lacazette’s contributions brought the former Lyon frontman’s goal and assist tally to 13 and nine respectfully in the Premier League, the same number of goals Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has contributed for the Gunners this season.

Although the 27-year-old striker is beloved by the fans, it always seems like Lacazette doesn’t receive the same recognition as his Gabonese teammate does by other fans and the media despite making a good case for being Arsenal’s best player this season.

Lacazette has scored some of the clubs most important goals this season, with goals against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United earning Arsenal points in games most fans would not have expected anything, but it’s his ability to be just more than goalscorer that has made him such a vital player for the Gunners,

The striker has the most assists out of any centre forward in the Premier League this season, the closest competitor being Wolves man Raul Jimenez with eight, and it’s his ability to bring more players into the attack that has made him a revelation with Arsenal.

Lacazette is a striker who does enjoy scoring goals but also loves bringing his teammates into the game and setting them up for goals. His partnership/bromance with Aubameyang is something Arsenal fans adore, and the likes of Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey have all benefitted from the forward’s ability to link the attack and the midfield to create more chances for the team.

Arsenal are in the driving seat for Champions League, and whilst the likes of Ramsey and Aubameyang are receiving all the praise for the club’s recent run of good results, there’s no doubt that Lacazette is the key architect behind the Gunners sprint to the finish line.

Arsenal fans, has Lacazette been your best player this season?

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Unai Emery insists he did not intend to disrespect Crystal Palace in Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to the Eagles on Sunday, per The Mirror.

The Gunners missed a golden opportunity to leapfrog Tottenham Hotspur and move into third place in the Premier League.

What’s the word?

Emery’s men fell to an embarrassing defeat at the Emirates.

After beating Napoli to qualify for the Europa League semi-finals, the former PSG boss made seven changes to his team and saw them soundly beaten, with Wilfried Zaha in inspired form.

And Emery insists that the majority of his changes were injury-enforced, instead of coming about as a result of underestimation.

He said, via The Mirror: “We changed because we need to use more players because we have a lot of matches.

“We have had injuries like the one we had to Aaron Ramsey and we need to use a lot of players. Granit Xhaka came off in the second half against Napoli. He could have played today but we didn’t want to take a risk.”

Goals from Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur gave Roy Hodgson’s men all three points in north London.

A poor decision

Emery made the wrong call.

At this stage of the season, clubs simply have to play their best XIs, fitness permitting.

That the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Lucas Torreira and Alex Iwobi all started the game on the bench showed that the former Sevilla chief did not foresee this game to be a difficult one.

He was sorely mistaken and he has subsequently lost any advantage he may have had in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

Chelsea beating Burnley on Monday evening would see the Gunners slip out of the top four altogether.

If that happens, Emery will only have himself to blame.

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West Brom supporters’ relationship with Craig Dawson has been in decline ever since the defender refused to join the squad on a pre-season tour last summer.

Dawson was the subject of transfer interest elsewhere and it seemed as though he had a pretty relenting way of demanding he wanted to leave.

Almost a year later, the defender has now spoken out on the latest developments at the club which has seen the Baggies win three games in a row since James Shan took charge.

Speaking to the Express and Star he revealed he didn’t want to finish the season with any regrets.

However, Baggies fans have reacted incredibly angrily to the 28-year-old’s comments, launching an attack on the player.

One individual made an amusing remark, claiming he’d racked up more regrets than Prime Minister Theresa May.

Other fans brought up the aforementioned incident which occurred last summer whilst one said his performances clearly showed where his head was at.

Was Darren Moore’s sacking unfair? The Pl>ymaker FC squad name which Championship bosses should have gone instead in the video below…

Despite missing that training camp, Dawson has still been a key figure in the West Brom squad this season. He’s featured in 34 Championship games, scoring two goals.

Here’s the best of the reaction from Twitter.

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West Ham fans are sick of the team making the same mistakes again and again after Aaron Cresswell attributed Monday’s loss against Chelsea to a poor start in the game.

Hammers fans are getting fed up of hearing the same record over and over as poor starts have become somewhat of a habit for their side this season.

The Irons have conceded 24 first half goals in the Premier League this season whilst only scoring 18 goals in the first 45 minutes of games.

The London club currently sit 11th in the Premier League with five games to go, and their hopes of a Europa League finish now look slim despite looking to be in a good position a few weeks back.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have now lost back to back games and West Ham fans aren’t happy with the inconsistency shown this season as well as the poor starts that have become regular for the manager and his troops.

It is of course made even worse by Cresswell coming out and giving excuses for a problem everyone already knows exists, and here’s what West Ham fans have been saying on Twitter…