Newcastle United fans are eager to see the club move for Iceland striker Alfred Finnbogason this summer after his massive goal against Argentina in the World Cup this weekend.
The Augsburg forward netted an equaliser against the fancied South American outfit, securing a vital point that could go a long way towards their qualification for the knockout stages of the summer tournament.
Finnbogason has been linked with a move to the Magpies as recently as this month, with The Evening Chronicle reporting that he was one of the players the club were interested in as an alternative to Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Newcastle supporters are certainly keen, believing he possesses the qualities that could make him a hit at St James’ Park.
The Iceland star scored 12 goals in Bundesliga last season for relegation threatened Augsburg, perhaps demonstrating he can play at the level Rafa Benitez is looking for.
Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on a potential move after his Saturday performance…
Wolverhampton Wanderers are a point closer to automatic promotion to the English Premier League after a 2-2 result at home to Norwich City on Wednesday night.
Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo might feel his side should have won however after they rushed to a 2-0 lead within 25 minutes.
It was a lead they held until the final moments of the match but Nelson Oliveira’s long-range effort rescued a point for the visitors after Christoph Zimmerman had already pulled one back.
Supporters, while obviously still expecting to go straight up this season, were left frustrated with the performance and the result.
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It was another chance for fans to see Benik Afobe too, who came one for half an hour to make his fourth appearance since joining from Bournemouth in January.
It’s the striker’s second spell at the club, so supporters know what they’re getting with the 25-year-old and some believe he’s a player that will never fit into Santo’s system.
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Fans are now calling for Leo Bonatini to be given the opportunities that Afobe is currently getting.
There’s a strong case to be made that Arsenal’s most important signing this summer will come in central midfield, not centre-forward.
The team suffered for a lack of goals and ingenuity during the second half of last season. Olivier Giroud was entrusted with the burden of being the leading goal-getter for the side, but the paucity of alternatives throughout the campaign had the Frenchman running on empty when it mattered.
This team need goals if they’re to win the Premier League. The key, however, is that they need more. They also need inspiration from an individual of the class of Mesut Ozil, whose arrival at the club last summer did much for the apparent transformation, lift in spirits and trophy success with the FA Cup.
This Arsenal side aren’t lacking players who can score. Last season, Theo Walcott only made 10 league starts yet he still managed five goals. The season prior, the England international had a career-best 21 goals in all competitions. Aaron Ramsey is a player reborn, finishing this past season on 13 goals in all competitions. How much more would it have been if not for that thigh injury suffered in December?
There are concerns about Lukas Podolski’s defensive work, as well as his ability to fit in effectively to this system employed by Arsene Wenger. But if progress is made on that front, the Polish-born German international is comfortably the best finisher at the club.
The problem has been injuries. The problem has been a lack of consistency at fielding the team’s best XI. Injury causes confusion, a disruption of form and an ultimate struggle to attain the goals set out at the start of the season. It’s not to say Arsenal don’t need more goal scorers – they do, and it’s very much about depth – but central midfield is of vital importance to the continued development of this group.
WANT MORE? >> Arsenal transfer news | Latest transfer news
Arsenal were horrifically exposed in the away losses to Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea – 6-3, 5-1 and 6-0 losses. The issue wasn’t so much that the attack was poor – I still struggle to see how blame can be placed at the door of Ozil for those losses, as some have felt the need to single out the German as the prime culprit for such capitulations.
Arsenal were not only overrun in midfield through Wenger’s disinterest in flooding the centre of the pitch, but they also lacked a specialist to suitably and effectively stem the tide towards their own goal.
Mikel Arteta should be commended for his efforts for the club in what was initially thought to be an unfamiliar midfield role. Mathieu Flamini may wear his heart of his sleeve and will never throw in the towel, but the Frenchman lacks the smarts and composure of some of the leading defensive midfielders around Europe.
Morgan Schneiderlin may become a part of the exodus at Southampton this summer and Arsenal have been touted as a highly probable destination.
The French international doesn’t have the glamour of Javi Martinez, nor does he have the experience of Sami Khedira, but there are few better suited to playing the Arsenal way than Schneiderlin.
Arsenal don’t just need someone to step into the team and play a one-dimensional defensive role. Wenger is well known for wanting his players to carry out multiple duties on the pitch. The team need a player who can play effectively at both ends of the pitch; they need someone who won’t disrupt the methodical build-up play of the rest of the team.
Schneiderlin fits that description. What Arsenal need is a blend of both Arteta and Flamini, someone who can fit in seamlessly with the rest of the squad and play the possession-based game as done by Arteta, as well as add the toughness and aggression regularly associated with Flamini.
WANT MORE? >> Arsenal transfer news | Latest transfer news
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Arsenal have regularly been criticised for their soft underbelly. Maybe it can’t simply be addressed by acquiring a specialist in an area that should, in theory, prevent the opposition racking up high score lines. There’s a lot that needs to be done with the mentality in the Arsenal squad, including preparation.
But the natural step is to ensure the right pieces are in place. Schneiderlin’s advantage over others who have been linked with Arsenal this summer is his familiarity with the Premier League. There’ll be no need for periods of adaption, while there is also little doubt about his credentials, having been instrumental in Southampton’s impressive form over the past two seasons.
Arsenal’s midfield needs to get younger. Both Arteta and Flamini are in their thirties. At 24, this is the right time to bring Schneiderlin in. With Arteta currently 32, there is still time for the Spaniard to assist Wenger in helping the Southampton midfielder adjust to life in north London, specifically in carrying out that anchoring role.
With everyone fit, Arsenal won’t struggle for goals. But a fully fit squad does still lack the adequate tools to prevent on-pitch humiliation in the form of five or six-nil hammerings.
Burnley forward Charlie Austin has been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United.
It appears that both Newcastle and Aston Villa are set to go head to head in a bid to snap up the striker’s signature.
The former Swindon centre forward has been in prolific form this season scoring 12 goals in 9 appearances and has a formidable record of 37 goals in 65 outings for Burnley.
It is remarkable that despite these goals, the club are languishing in 16th place in the Championship table and with no promotion bid on the cards, the striker could be lured to the Premier League in January.
The 23-year-old has been in red hot form at the start of the season, and with goals a precious commodity in the top flight, a mooted £4million fee could represent real value for money for interested clubs.
The marksman has been on the Magpies’ radar before, but the club will have to overcome the obstacle of a chairman reluctant to sell this time round if they are to secure the player’s signature.
The Clarets’ Co- Chairman John Banaszkiewicz issued a hands-off warning when speaking to Sky Sports.
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“We would very much like to keep him at Burnley. He seems to be very focused on scoring goals for us,” he said.
Whether the chairman will have the same resolve when offers start to come in remains to be seen. If the striker were to move to Newcastle in January, he would face an immediate fight for his place with Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse set to remain at the club in January.
Liverpool should consider making a move for Sporting Lisbon forward Bas Dost if Daniel Sturridge ends his Anfield career.
What’s the word?
It would be no big surprise if Sturridge left this summer due to the fact that he has dropped down the pecking order at the Merseyside outfit.
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Injury problems have hampered the 28-year-old over the years, and when fit, he struggled to break into Jurgen Klopp’s side due to the impressive form of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
In January, Sturridge was loaned to West Bromwich Albion for the second half of the season, but he failed to make an impact due to another injury issue.
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The Reds are not in desperate need of a striker, but if they do lose one from the pack it is worth looking at a low-cost option.
Who should Liverpool target?
The Merseyside outfit could find themselves in a unique position due to the situation surrounding a handful of Sporting players.
Bas Dost is one of a handful of players who have asked to have their contracts terminated due to the recent attack on the squad.
Fifty masked fans stormed the club’s training ground in May and left some players beaten.
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A number of Premier League clubs have been linked to Dost, and Liverpool should join the party.
The striker towers at 6ft5 and does not necessarily slot into Klopp’s attacking system, but he would provide a different option as target man.
He could be useful in games when the team are struggling to break down defences, and he would be attainable on a free transfer.
Ragnar Klavan has made 20 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool during the 2017-18 campaign, but the centre-back might find first-team football difficult to obtain in the final months of the season.
Indeed, the £75m January arrival of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton has done Klavan no favours when it comes to securing a regular spot in Jurgen Klopp’s first XI.
Klavan, who is valued at £3.1m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has not actually played for Liverpool in the Premier League since the middle of last month, and he has not even made the squad for their last three league fixtures.
The 32-year-old arguably out-performed Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren in the opening months of the season, but it appears that he has now fallen behind both of those players when it comes to the race to be Van Dijk’s partner at centre-back.
The Liverpool fans have not forgotten about Klavan, however, and many have taken to social media to reveal their respect for the Estonian.
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Indeed, one supporter even claimed that he was the best centre-back of all time. A selection of the Twitter reaction can be found below:
The current campaign has been a rather taxing experience for Jack Wilshere. While the rest of the Arsenal cast have dazzled and delighted, holding top spot in the Premier League table for a good four months, the midfielder’s performances have ranged from impressive to absent, with the dynamic displays of old few and far between.
Back in the summer, if through knowledge of a crystal ball you were informed the Gunners would awaken from their dormant state and take up a pivotal role in the Premier League’s title race, you would have automatically assumed that Wilshere would be at the centre of it. Having found just three goals and four assists in 23 league appearances however, the much-heralded England international has been a sideshow attraction, leaving his Arsenal team-mates to revel in the limelight.
After picking up a variety of niggling knocks throughout the season, the regularly-crocked midfielder now faces six weeks on the sidelines after being upended on international duty by Denmark and Liverpool defender Daniel Agger. He faces a race for fitness ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Based on form and fitness throughout the season, the Gunners midfielder should not be going to Brazil. But through reputation alone, harking back to that award-winning 2010/11 campaign where Wilshere picked up the Premier League Young Player of the Year and Arsenal Player of the Year accolades, was anointed into the PFA Team of the Season and his world-class potential was obvious for all to see, the Emirates starlet’s name has already been written on Roy Hodgson’s team sheet in permanent marker.
Wait a second – doesn’t this story sound awfully familiar? An injury-striken Arsenal midfielder producing by no means his best form despite the obvious potential? In the mean time, his starting role for club and country almost virtually guaranteed? Barring the references to the England national team, for lack of a more applicable terminology, is Jack Wilshere doing a bit of an Aaron Ramsey?
The contrasting fortunes of the Welshman’s Emirates career are well known. Sourced from Cardiff City as a prominent teenager, the then-long-haired Ramsey arrived in North London as a high-in-confidence young buck, twisting. turning, creating and scoring in midfield and demonstrating the kind of promise that would make his £4.8million signing seem like absolute peanuts a few years down the line.
A leg break in 2010, courtesy of Stoke City shin-shatter enthusiast Ryan Shawcross, severely halted the 23 year-old’s development, not only due to the many months he was forced to spend out of the game in recovery, but furthermore the psychological fear of another serious injury that was left imprinted upon the youngster’s mindset.
Resultantly, Ramsey spent two years in the Arsenal first team verging upon boo-boy status at the Emirates. Arsene Wenger’s trust in the midfielder saw him miss just six Premier League fixtures in the space of two seasons, but the Wales international’s performances on the pitch failed to justify such a guaranteed role in the Gunners starting XI – much like Wilshere this season.
The breakthrough came this year – Ramsey claimed a sensational eight goals and six assists in 18 appearances in the first half of the season before being sidelined with a thigh injury in December, also averaging an astonishing 3.7 tackles per match. A far cry from his reputation just a matter of months earlier, where many suspected Ramsey’s lack of progress at the Emirates would result in an abrupt summer departure.
Back in September, Wenger told reporters regarding the Welshman’s almighty improvement; “He was resistant to go into the fights for a long, long time but now he’s over it. He had a difficult period last season where people became a little bit impatient with him. He lost confidence and sometimes, if you give the players a little rest, it can rebuild their confidence.”
Comparisons with Wilshere’s recent plight are obvious. Like his midfield team-mate, the England international burst onto the Emirates scene in a blaze of glory, heralded as a future star for club and country in his first season and his technical talents regarded as worthy enough of Barcelona’s legendary midfield. Inevitably unable to live up to that reputation since has been Wilshere’s biggest failing. The same can be said of the former Cardiff midfielder before this season.
But once again, likewise to the Welshman, the 22 year-old missed an entire campaign of his career through injury, and although he went on to make 25 Premier League appearances last term, the brief from Arsenal’s medical department was ‘to be used sparingly’ – starting runs in the first team were a noticeably rare occurrence. The following campaign – the current one – has been a period of frustrating stagnation for the Englishman, where performances have fallen some way short of lofty expectations.
With that in mind, could it be that Wilshere’s malaise in form this season can be sourced to the same psychological blockade that plagued Aaron Ramsey? Should we as fans have learnt from the Welshman’s episode not to overhype a talented youngster too soon, especially when injures are regularly involved?
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The Three Lions midfielder is often regarded as combative in nature, and although his repetitive injures may be a subliminal concern, by personal feelings are that Wilshere hasn’t been challenged enough throughout his career – his place in the Arsenal team, providing full fitness, has always been certain, and the same can be said for the midfielder’s regular participation in England starting XIs.
Either way, if in parody of Ramsey, this is Wilshere’s darkest hour before the dawn, Arsenal fans will feel little cause for concern. Wenger put his utmost faith in the Welshman and he’s become a far better player for it, after defeating his own personal demons. The Frenchman has made it abundantly clear that the Three Lions starlet will receive likewise backing.
But for England supporters, they’ll be hoping that this Ramsey-esque phase of Wilshere’s career doesn’t last too long. If they could pick between the Ramsey now and the Ramsey of the last two years to represent them at the coming World Cup, the result would be unanimous.
Manchester City are ready to make another attempt to sign Daniele De Rossi, according to The Sun.
The Italy international midfielder has been a transfer target for Roberto Mancini for some time, with Roma rejecting a number of offers from the Premier League champions in the summer.
With the signings of Jack Rodwell and Javi Garcia in the last window it was believed that Mancini had given up hope of signing De Rossi, but City may well try to tempt the midfielder once more.
De Rossi recently signed a new contract with the Stadio Olimpico club, but has clashed on a number of occasion with new coach Zdenek Zeman.
After the Giallorossi were beaten 4-1 by Juventus the pair were caught up in a heated argument, which saw De Rossi benched for the next game against Atalanta.
As such Zeman is ready to offload the Rome hero, with City prepared to pay £30 million in January for the combative midfielder.
De Rossi currently earns £180,000 per week with the Serie A club, however City are ready to match the players wages to bring him to the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea have also been linked with a move for the Italian, but it is believed that De Rossi would prefer a move to City to join countryman Mancini in England.
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City’s potential bid would not be a positive step for the clubs finances with Financial Fair Play regulations coming into effect, however Mancini believes De Rossi’s signing would be a major boost for the club mid-season.
According to an exclusive report by TEAMtalk, Southampton are one of three Premier League clubs interested in signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia, who faces an uncertain future.
What’s the word, then?
Well, TEAMtalk says that Saints, along with newly-promoted duo Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers, are all keen to sign the 26-year-old, who is keen on a move to the English top flight.
TEAMtalk says that the Argentine is keen to leave the Portuguese club to come to the Premier League after he and his teammates were attacked at their training ground by some angry supporters last month after they missed out on Champions League qualification.
The report adds that Battaglia, who would be competing with the likes of Oriol Romeu, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Mario Lemina for a spot in central midfield if he did move to St Mary’s, was also the subject of public criticism for Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho.
How did Battaglia do during the 2017/18 campaign?
It was a tough season for Sporting, but the 26-year-old was a regular fixture in the starting XI.
The Argentine midfielder made 57 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals and providing a further three assists, while he featured for all but three minutes of their Champions League group campaign.
According to WhoScored.com, he successfully completed 24 of the 39 dribbles he attempted in 45 outings in Liga NOS and in European competition, while he won 83 aerial duels.
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Would he be a good signing for Southampton?
He certainly would be.
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Saints, who should sign a 6ft 4in England colossus once Man United seal huge £50m deal, only just narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship last season and the addition of the 26-year-old would have to be seen as a huge positive, given the experience he has at playing at the highest level for Sporting.
The midfielder’s arrival at St Mary’s would surely seal Lemina’s fate with the south coast outfit however considering the options Mark Hughes would have in the centre, with the Gabon international being linked with a move to Napoli and Manchester City – among others – in recent times.
Michy Batshuayi must have felt as if the west London sun was beating down on him like a spotlight as Chelsea strolled to a convincing, almost unopposed 3-0 win over Newcastle. With so much talk about his future and the lack of faith Antonio Conte places in him over the last few months, the need for goals in the only competition that offers the Blues a likely chance of silverware this season, in the absence of £60million striker Alvaro Morata, inevitably put Batshuayi’s turbulent Chelsea career at centre-stage on Sunday.
In terms of finding the net, Batshuayi certainly didn’t let his side down. He opened Chelsea’s account after just 31 minutes, giving them a real foothold in the match, and then completed his brace just before half time to put the home side in complete control. But in truth, scoring goals has never been Batshuayi’s problem – he’s already hit double figures across all competitions this season and averaged one goal per 93 minutes throughout his spell at Stamford Bridge.
The real problem though is Batshuayi’s all-round game; his positional awareness, his intelligence when making runs, his first touch and his hold-up play; and Conte will have seen little on Sunday to really change his mind.
The 11-cap Belgium international still suffered four unsuccessful touches and was dispossessed three times (the most of any Chelsea player on both fronts) while he won just one aerial duel and didn’t provide a single key pass in the space of ninety minutes – despite the two players either side of him, Eden Hazard and Pedro, taking seven efforts at goal.
There are rumours of the 24-year-old completing a loan move to Borussia Dortmund before the transfer window slams shut on Wednesday and regardless of his impressive brace at the weekend, Conte certainly won’t stand in the deal’s way.
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