Tag Futebol

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The Newcastle United fans have been on social media discussing whether Matt Ritchie should be offered a new contract by the club.

Ritchie will see his current deal at St James’ Park expire in June 2021.

According to The Sun, the fact that an extension has not been agreed has led to Stoke City monitoring the situation.

And it will certainly be interesting to see what happens with Ritchie this summer as all is not well.

The 29-year-old contributed two goals and eight assists in 36 Premier League appearances for Newcastle during the 2018-19 campaign, which is a good return.

And a number of the club’s fans have taken to social media to urge their side to sort out an extension with the Scotland international, who was used as a wing-back on a number of occasions in the second half of the season.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

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Signed from Russian side Ufa back in 2016, a young Ukrainian by the name of Oleksandr Zinchenko was primarily an attacking midfielder – he had starred at club level in the role, and over 10 of his first appearances for the national team came in that spot behind the striker.

In addition to the fact that he was an exciting young talent, the Citizens were attracted to Zinchenko as a result of his versatility across the midfield, basically making the decision to spend a bargain £1.7m on him a no-brainer.

However, after a fruitless spell out on loan with PSV Eindhoven, his future at the club seemed uncertain – the decision to splash out £52m on Benjamin Mendy had also happened soon after Zinchenko returned from Holland to Manchester.

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The Ukrainian resisted offers of another loan move away, and eventually got his chance in the team at left-back after an injury to Mendy, having also impressed Pep Guardiola in training.

Now, almost two years on from that summer, Zinchenko has been trusted by Guardiola to start in the Manchester derby, a game that City simply had to win in order to stay ahead of an unrelenting Liverpool side vying for their crown.

Mendy was a doubt for the fixture with an slight issue, although that doesn’t take anything away from the young Ukrainian’s excellent performance; one that looked equal to or even arguably better than what Mendy could have mustered up.

Whilst hindsight is a wonderful thing, perhaps if the Citizens had thought ahead with their plans for Zinchenko, they wouldn’t have needed to spend such a huge fee in order to acquire Mendy in the first place.

The France international has impressed when he has made it out onto the pitch, although he has suffered two very serious injuries since arriving at the Etihad Stadium, whilst also testing Guardiola’s patience with his use of social media and late-night antics.

You can’t deny that City are extremely advanced in the way that they go about their business nowadays, but if they had laid out a clear strategy for their use of Zinchenko and placed a bit of faith in him, they could’ve saved millions by not needing to sign Mendy.

Look away now Leeds fans: Manchester United are apparently favourites to sign Swansea prodigy Daniel James

According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United have emerged as frontrunners to land Swansea and Wales prospect Daniel James, a man Leeds United vehemently chased in the previous transfer window.

The winger saw a deadline-day move collapse at the last in January when Swansea got cold, leaving Leeds United hanging out to dry.

He has since continued his form and any hopes of a return bid have been slashed by incoming interest from Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool, both of whom arguably possess greater pulling power (at least on paper) than Leeds – though we would question the sanity of anyone willing to go to Old Trafford at the moment.

It is no surprise that United have joined the party given James’ immense talents, as a versatile, pacey winger – he is the classic style of player the club have modelled their success on for years (until recently, of course).

With just one year left on his contract at the end of the season he is valued at around £10million.

Manchester United legend and current Wales manager Ryan Giggs said: ‘He’s a talent. When you’ve got that raw pace, you’re a threat at any level so as a winger, obviously for me playing as a winger, when I was younger, you then have to develop the other parts of your game which I feel he is doing.

‘He’s played up front as well which will help him because that gives you an appreciation of what you need to do.’

Given just how many injuries Leeds United have faced this season and the ineptitude of their current forwards, who often go missing, it would be a disaster if James linked up with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this summer instead of Bielsa.

After the automatic promotion collapse to Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, too, it’s not hard to imagine Whites fans thinking the end to this campaign couldn’t get much worse.

With Jack Harrison departing and young Jack Clarke not yet ready to take on a full season, though he is close, Leeds are desperately short of viable options on the wing. Manchester United, on the other hand, are not.

A bitter pill to swallow.

Leeds fans, would you like to see Bielsa go all out for James’ signature? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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According to Football Insider, Leeds United are lining up a £7m summer bid for Reading midfielder John Swift whichever division they find themselves in next season, but where would he fit in at Elland Road?

On the chalkboard

Well, it would certainly be no surprise if Marcelo Bielsa was looking for another option in the middle of the park given some of the issues he has had to deal with at times this season.

Injuries and suspensions have often led to the Yorkshire outfit being short in these key areas, with Tyler Roberts a prime example of this in recent weeks with the striker performing in more of a No.10 role.

Leeds signed Lewis Baker from Chelsea on a season-long loan deal last summer but the move failed to work out and he returned to Stamford Bridge early, with the 23-year-old failing to prove that he was the right fit in a Bielsa side.

Swift is different

In a team struggling at the bottom of the Championship, the 23-year-old has been a real shining light for the Royals.

As well as providing five goals and three assists in 34 appearances in the league this term, he has that turn of pace, skill and eye for a forward pass in the middle of the park that the likes of Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich sometimes lack.

The fact that he has completed 1.6 key passes and 1.4 dribbles on average every game this season compared to 1.3 and 0.7 for Klich certainly backs that up.

The Poland international has flittered between the No.8 and No.10 roles for the Whites throughout the current campaign, but he has shown for his country that he is able to play a deeper one effectively given his high work rate.

Swift, who can also play both effectively, would be able to take up the No.10 position and with Kalvin Phillips making the defensive midfield role his own, it would leave Forshaw out of the starting XI consistently.

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Everton’s Under-23 side secured the Premier League 2 title with a 1-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion’s Under-23s on Monday.

David Unsworth’s side triumphed courtesy of a first-half strike from Josh Bowler, who picked out the far corner with a super strike.

And the Everton fans have been on social media lavishing praise on the team.

The Toffees have actually triumphed at this level in two of the last three seasons, which is an indication of the type of work that Unsworth is doing.

It has been an inconsistent campaign at first-team level, but the Under-23s have put in a string of impressive performances to land the crown.

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Of course, the Everton supporters would rather that the first team were the ones picking up medals, but a number were still delighted to learn of the success, which has arrived with one game to spare.

A selection of the best Twitter reaction can be viewed below:

علق محمد أبو تريكة، نجم الأهلي ومنتخب مصر السابق، على مباراة الزمالك والرجاء المغربي، التي ستجمع بينهما مساء اليوم الأحد، في دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

يلتقي الزمالك مع الرجاء، في التاسعة من مساء اليوم، بتوقيت القاهرة، الثامنة مساءً بتوقيت المغرب، في ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، على ملعب محمد الخامس بالدار البيضاء.

أقرأ ايضًا.. تشكيل الزمالك أمام الرجاء.. أحمد عيد أساسيًا وإسلام حابر بديل ساسي

أضاف محمد أبو تريكة، خلال تواجده عبر قناة بي إن سبورت: “بالأمس البطل فاز على الوصيف، واليوم الوصيف سيفوز على البطل”.

وتوج الرجاء ببطولة الدوري المغربي قبل أيام من مواجهة الزمالك، فيما حل الوداد المغربي وصيفًا لبطل الدوري، قبل أن يفوز الأهلي عليه، بالأمس بهدفين دون رد، في ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

طالع أيضًا.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة الزمالك والرجاء في ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا

تابع: “أنا وأبن عمي علي الغريب، بالأمس البطل “الأهلي” بطل الدوري المصري فاز على الوصيف “الوداد”.

اختتم: “اليوم سوف يفوز وصيف الدوري المصري (الزمالك) على بطل الدوري المغربي (الرجاء)”. تصريحات ابو تريكة عن مباراة الزمالك والرجاء

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Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has picked up an ankle injury while on international duty with Greece, per SDNA via Metro.

The centre-back is a doubt for this weekend’s Euro 2020 qualifier between Greece and Liechtenstein; Greece also face Bosnia and Herzegovina next week.

What’s the word?

Per the aforementioned report, Sokratis has sustained an ankle injury and was unable to train earlier this week.

The news may well be a scare for Arsenal, with Sokratis having been key to Unai Emery’s plans thus far this season.

He has made 30 appearances in all competitions and has played 90 minutes in Gunners’ last four Premier League outings.

Sokratis has not returned to north London and remains with the Greece squad, which is presumably a good sign.

It remains to be seen if he will be risked by manager Angelos Anastasiadis; the former Borussia Dortmund centre-back has won 85 caps for his country.

Short-sightedness comes back to haunt Gunners

If Sokratis is ruled out for a significant period of time, Emery will be regretting the club’s decision to send Calum Chambers on loan to Fulham.

As it stands, Shkodran Mustafi is likely to step in alongside Laurent Koscielny but the German’s performances this season have left much to be desired.

Chambers has hardly set the world alight at Craven Cottage, where relegation beckons, but there is a lot to be said for squad depth.

Past Koscielny, Mustafi and Sokratis, there is only Konstantinos Mavropanos, who has played just 11 minutes of senior football this season.

Arsenal had better hope Sokratis recovers quickly.

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West Ham United spent heavily in the last summer transfer window, following the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini. The likes of Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, Lukasz Fabianski and Issa Diop have added genuine quality to the squad at the London Stadium.

However, the Hammers still have plenty of deadwood to shift out. For various reasons, the futures of Winston Reid, Arthur Masuaku and Andy Carroll should all be under consideration. Carroll’s current contract with the Irons is actually due to expire at the end of this season, which offers the east London club a golden opportunity to get the injury-prone 30-year-old forward off their books in a hassle-free manner.

However, in December, Pellegrini offered Carroll a lifeline, saying “when you need to renew your contract, of course you must demonstrate why you need to renew…We know what Andy can give to our team, now he must demonstrate he is able to do it week by week…I hope that he will be able to do it”, as quoted by Sky Sports.

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In the same month, Carroll reiterated to talkSPORT his desire to stay in Stratford, “I am focused on staying here and that’s where my head is at.” He has subsequently featured regularly for the first team in the early months of 2019.

To even seriously entertain the notion of offering the 9-cap England international new terms would be a mistake on West Ham’s part. Instead, they must already be seeking an upgrade on the 6’4” striker to bring in this summer.

Why he has to go

Injuries have ravaged Carroll’s career. Since joining West Ham from Liverpool in 2012, the attacker has managed just 141 appearances for the club in all competitions in the subsequent six-and-a-half seasons.

According to Spotrac, Carroll is currently being paid £90,000-a-week. That is a huge amount to be paying a player who is so infrequently available. At this stage in his career, his fitness concerns are not going to lessen either. 

When he has got on the pitch this season, Carroll has looked a shadow of his former self. What pace he had has gone, and he has been left so fragile and bereft of confidence that he has been unable to compete physically with the effectiveness his stature suggests he should have.

Time is up for Carroll at West Ham, and the club must recognise that now.

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Sheffield Wednesday currently find themselves as surprise outsiders to reach the Championship play-offs this season. The Owls have been revitalised by new boss Steve Bruce, who has yet to taste defeat in the hot seat at Hillsborough.

However, regardless of whether or not Wednesday get promoted this season, there remains plenty of work for Bruce to do in the summer transfer window, as the coach himself has made it clear.

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What he said

Speaking of the pressures of complying with Financial Fair Play regulations, as quoted by The Star, Bruce said: “We all know that the FFP is still with us. We’ve got a lot out of contracts so we might have to sell one or two. That becomes part of the equation but we have still got to have a team together.”

The bigger picture

It is surprising that Bruce has so freely admitted that sales may be necessary. However, it is refreshing to see the manager publicly accept that that is a realistic outcome.

Fans will certainly now be anxious to see who is retained in the summer and who is deemed surplus to requirements, however, avoiding a breach of FFP rules is vital if Wednesday are to progress positively in the long run. By making sacrifices this summer, Bruce can secure the club’s future.

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There is no getting away from the fact that Everton are currently in a very tough spot.

Head coach Marco Silva was backed in last summer’s transfer window, with Richarlison amongst those to arrive in a big-money deal.

The Toffees have had some decent results this season, but have lost five of their last six matches in all competitions.

There is simply no downplaying the importance of the clash with Cardiff City in the Premier League next week.

Indeed, a poor result in that match would crank up the pressure on Silva, who has faced a lot of criticism in recent weeks.

The Everton fans are a fairly unforgiving bunch and it would certainly be fair to say that not too many are behind the Portuguese at the moment.

Indeed, in a discussion on Twitter, the vast majority of the Merseyside club’s supporters claimed that they do not believe that their manager will be able to turn the current situation around.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: