Liverpool are making the same mistake with Lallana as they are with Lovren

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…As recently seen on Football FanCast, the issue of Liverpool hanging on to Dejan Lovren this summer amid interest from AC Milan was highlighted.The argument was that, in keeping hold of the fourth choice centre-back who turns 30 today, the Reds would only be keeping him around whilst his value decreases – now is the best time to get the maximum fee that they can for the Croatian.In addition to that, the Champions League winners are also making the same mistake with Adam Lallana.“It reminds me of a bus seat!” – Watch a damning verdict on Chelsea’s new kit in the video below…The 31-year-old is getting on a bit and played a ineffective background role last term, making only five league starts under Jurgen Klopp.The player himself has already come out and said that he sees himself staying at the club, whilst the midfielder also revealed that Klopp and his staff said that they feel the player still has a big part to play. Questionable, to say the least.

Signed from Southampton for £25m back in 2014, the 5 foot 8 midfielder finds himself seventh (yes, seventh) in Klopp’s pecking order behind Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Lallana missed seven games through injury last term and didn’t even register a single goal involvement.

The argument for Liverpool being wrong to keep Lovren in the previous article was that there are enough options in his role to get rid of him without being left short, and that there may not be a better time to cash in on him whilst his stock is yet to decrease significantly – the same can be said of Lallana.

Klopp only tends to play with three midfielders in his preferred 4-3-3 system, and he will have double that amount if Lallana is sold – that is more than enough options for the former Borussia Dortmund boss to have.

Last season wasn’t an anomaly for the England international either. Lallana made just one league start in 2017/18 from a total of 12 league appearances in all – he simply doesn’t offer enough to be kept on.

Former side Southampton have been linked with a £13m move for him this summer, and Liverpool may not get a better offer for him in the future than they will if they cash in now.

Pundit View: Ian Wright’s calls for De Rossi signing are bang on the money

[ad_pod ]After wasting the January transfer window and apparently having very little money to spend this time around, it seems like Unai Emery’s hands are tied at Arsenal. It looks like the Spaniard needs to find some inspiration on the transfer front, and some sound advice can be found on Twitter as Ian Wright has fired his views across on what is needed this summer.Loads of Arsenal fans will have their own views, and the defence and wings are the main problem areas for most Gunners. However, Ian Wright has picked out a respectable and experienced veteran, available on a free transfer this summer, and the more we think about it, the more sense it would make.

What did he say?

You can often find yourself logging onto Twitter to be faced with some horrendous hot takes from fans and pundits alike, but not this time around. Ian Wright has sensationally claimed that Emery should sign Roma’s departing hero, Daniele De Rossi. The Gunners’ 2nd highest goalscorer in history claimed:

“Arsenal need to bring in De Rossi from Roma!”

“We’ll get 15 games out of him, it won’t cost hardly any money, and the experience he could pass on to the likes of Willock and the other youngsters could be invaluable and money well spent.”

Couldn’t be more Wright

Excuse the pun, but Wright is bang on the money here. Now 55-years-old, the former Arsenal hitman knows his stuff and is often found on Match of the Day with Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker, so he’s regularly watching Arsenal and knows what they need.

A defensive midfielder was signed last summer when Emery forked out £26m on Lucas Torreira, yet it makes full sense for the Gunners to sign De Rossi on a free. The Italian may be 35-years-old but as Wright claims, they’d get 15 games out of him and the experience he could pass on would be invaluable.

The Gunners have relied heavily on Torreira but it must be remembered that the Uruguayan is still young and to have him paired alongside De Rossi for a season would work wonders for 23-year-old’s development, not to mention what his presence would also do for Willock and other up-and-comers.

It makes it a lot easier that De Rossi is now available on a free seeing as he said an emotional goodbye to Roma after 18 years, having featured 616 times, stats via Transfermarkt. His race is not yet run, though, and whilst he has a year or two left in him, it would be an Emery masterstroke if he secured the veteran for the 2019/20 season.

West Ham poised to offer Manuel Lanzini new five-year contract

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West Ham United are set to offer Manuel Lanzini a new contract this summer, per the Daily Mirror.

What’s the word?

Lanzini has attracted interest from Fenerbahce in recent weeks and the Hammers are keen to ensure that he remains in east London.

The Argentina international struggled with injury throughout the 2018-19 season and did not make his first appearance for the club until February.

Thereafter, however, he made 10 appearances in the Premier League, scoring once, and the Hammers do not want him to depart for Turkey.

They are subsequently said to be lining up the offer of a five-year contract, with his current deal set to expire in 2020. The Hammers do hold a two-year option to extend that, however.

Football FanCast understands that Liverpool have kept tabs on Lanzini in the past and could formalise their interest with a bid this summer, adding to the club’s desire to tie the playmaker down to fresh terms.

An example for Arnautovic

This should serve as a lesson to striker Marko Arnautovic.

The Austria international wanted to leave the club in the January transfer window and was press-ganged into signing a new deal that includes a £45m release clause.

He downed tools, thereafter, though, and went 11 Premier League games without a goal.

Lanzini has done the exact opposite, emerging from injury hell to get back into the team, prove his worth, and he capped it with a fine goal in the final game of the season against Watford.

Arnautovic could learn a thing or two from his team-mate, who has shown loyalty and earned the reward of a new contract instead of being forced to sign one merely to save face.

The image that showed just how embarrassed Paul Pogba was after Huddersfield

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It was a truly embarrassing result and one that summed up the current state of affairs at Manchester United right now.

Huddersfield, a side who have earned just 15 points, conceded a whopping 75 goals, lost 28 out of 37 games and won just a measly three league fixtures all season managed to hold the Red Devils to a 1-1 draw – to make matters worse, the Terriers had nothing to play for, whilst United needed to win in order to keep their faint top four hopes alive.

As a result of their inability to qualify for the Champions League, a number of United’s top earners will be forced to take a 25% wage cut due to their heavily incentivised contracts at Old Trafford, but no-one will be hit as hard as Paul Pogba.

Will the real David De Gea please stand up! The Flying Pig wonders what’s happened to the world’s best keeper in the video below…

The French international is among those who will suffer most from not securing entry into Europe’s best club competition, as his £300,000-a-week deal with the club contains a £1.8m bonus for Champions League qualification.

Enough about money, however. This is a player who has given match-winning team talks in the dressing room before helping his side win the World Cup. This is a player who has played in the Champions League final. A player of Pogba’s pedigree will undoubtedly, and rightly so, be embarrassed at the result against Huddersfield and the consequences that come with it.

With that in mind, there was one image from after full-time at the John Smith’s Stadium that showed Pogba was humiliated with his and his teammates’ inability to break down one of the league’s worst sides.

The former Juventus man couldn’t even dare to show his face after the shameful result.

It was a moment which proved that, despite the media’s constant belittling of the 26-year-old and his loyalty, he does care about the club and was truly embarrassed to even stand before the travelling supporters and look at them in the eye.

Well, that, or the fact his bank balance just took a major hit…

نبأ صادم لـ ليستر سيتي.. فيديو | إصابة قوية لـ كاسبر شمايكل قبل صدام ليفربول

تعرض الدولي الدنماركي كاسبر شمايكل، حارس مرمى ليستر سيتي، لإصابة قوية، خلال مشاركته مع منتخب بلاده ضد آيسلندا في دوري الأمم الأوروبية.

الدنمارك تواجه آيسلندا، على ملعبها “باركن”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الخامسة من مباريات المجموعة الثانية بالأمم الأوروبية.

وتعرض شمايكل لإصابة في الدقيقة 46، أجبرته على الخروج من المباراة، حيث كان يحاول المسك بالكرة من حافة منطقة جزاءه، لكن اصطدم به أحد لاعبي آيسنلدا في الرأس، ولم يتمكن من التحرك.

وليس معروفًا حتى الآن، طبيعة إصابة الحارس صاحب الـ34 عامًا، ومدى تأثيرها عليه، وموقفه من التواجد في المباراة القادمة مع ليستر سيتي.

ليستر سيتي، الأسبوع المُقبل، يحل ضيفًا على ليفربول، مساء الأحد 22 نوفمبر، على ملعب “آنفيلد”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة التاسعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز. شاهد لحظة إصابة كاسبر شمايكل

الاهلي يعترض على استكمال دوري اليد بالقوائم القديمة

تقدم مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي، برئاسة محمود الخطيب باعتراض لاتحاد كرة اليد المصري على قرار استكمال الموسم بالقوائم القديمة.

وكان الاتحاد المصري لكرة اليد قد أعلن قراره باستكمال موسم 2019-2020 الذي لايزال معلقًا بقوائم اللاعبين القديمة، وذلك بعد الحصول على فتوى من الاتحاد الدولي برئاسة حسن مصطفى.

طالع أيضًا | اتحاد كرة اليد يقرر استئناف الموسم الماضي بالقائمة القديمة للأندية

وبذلك القرار يصبح فريق النادي الأهلي محرومًا من عددٍ من الصفقات، وهم عمرو سامي، وأسامة الجزيري، ومحسن رمضان، ومحمود نعمان، وعمرو ياسين، وأحمد سيسا.

الجدير بالذكر أن نادي الزمالك يتصدر ترتيب الموسم المعلق بفارق نقطتين عن الأهلي، ومتبقي مباراتين لكل فريق، تجمع المباراة الأخيرة لهما الفريقين في قمة دوري اليد.

The Chalkboard: Nuno must use previous Man United victory to get key league result

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In his preparations for Tuesday evening’s key clash with Manchester United at Molineux, Nuno Espirito Santo must revisit his team’s last encounter with those opponents for inspiration.

What’s gone wrong at Wolves, recently?

Whilst it’s rather tricky to put a finger on what’s gone wrong for Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent times as they’ve slipped to just one win in five Premier League matches, it’s not hard to work out what the problem was last Saturday afternoon.

A misfire in team selection hugely hampered the Midlanders away at Burnley and led them to an embarrassing result, a 2-0 defeat to Sean Dyche’s men at Turf Moor.

Key figures Matt Doherty and Raul Jimenez were relegated to the substitutes’ bench in favour of Adama Traore and Ivan Cavaleiro as captain Conor Coady put through his own net and Dwight McNeil sealed the deal for the hosts late on.

The disastrous starting Xl changes cost Wolves dearly with the weakened team dominating possession but lacking any real cutting edge, which is evidenced by 62.8 percent possession and just one shot on target throughout the whole match.

It really is that simple

Funnily enough, Wanderers’ last match before the international break was against the Red Devils, a 2-0 triumph that booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

On that night in Wolverhampton, there were only two outfield differences in the starting team from that of Saturday – yes you guessed it, Doherty and Jimenez were involved over Traore and Cavaleiro.

This not only offered Wolves more protection on the right wing, pivotal against a “Big Six” team, but more firepower in the final third in the form of a born finisher to play up-front alongside Diogo Jota.

West Brom fans will want to cover their ears for the video below…

In this match, Nuno’s men, the hosts like they were in mid-March, will be hoping for a replica performance from their last home game and they can only do that with the same side – especially when the necessary alterations are needed anyway.

Ahead of the biggest matchup of their season at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, there will be an obvious temptation to rest key players. But the Midlands side desperately need to find some form and momentum for the weekend by winning for the first time in the Premier League since early last month.

مينلر وألكانتارا ولابورت يدعمون فان دايك بعد إصابته المؤسفة أمام إيفرتون

تلقى فيرجيل فان دايك مدافع ليفربول الإنجليزي، دعمًا كبيرًا من زملائه اللاعبين، بالإضافة لمنافسه إيمريك لابورت لاعب مانشستر سيتي.

وتعرض فان دايك للإصابة في مواجهة إيفرتون خلال ديربي ميرسيسايد يوم السبت الماضي، وأكد أنه يركز بشكل كامل على العودة إلى اللياقة البدنية في أقرب وقت ممكن.

طالع أيضًا.. كلوب: سنفعل مع فان دايك ما تقوم به المرأة الصالحة تجاه زوجها المسجون!

وغرد لابورت عبر حسابه الشخصي على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر”: “أشعر بالأسف تجاهك يا أخي، أتمنى لك حظًا سعيدًا في التعافي السريع، لا متعة ولا ابتهاج حتى لنا كـ منافسين”.

وقال زميله تياجو ألكانتارا: “نتمنى لك الشفاء العاجل يا أخي”.

بينما كتب جيمس ميلنر: “سنكون معك في كل خطوة أيها الرجل العملاق، سوف تعود أقوى من أي وقت مضى”.

Southampton fans react to Jan Bednarek’s call up to Poland national team

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Southampton’s recent form is an indicator of just how much they have improved as a team since Ralph Hasenhuttl took the wheel in December, although certain individuals have come on leaps and bounds too.

Jan Bednarek is just one of a number of Saints players to be rejuvenated under new management – the 22-year-old was shown little faith by former boss Mark Hughes while the Welshman was at the helm, but Hasenhuttl has given him an extended run in the starting XI.

The defender has been immense and rightfully attracted plaudits for his performances in the Premier League, and his displays have once again caught the eye of the Poland, who have called Bednarek up to the squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Austria and Latvia.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

The former Lech Poznan man has already won 12 caps for his national side, scoring one goal – he will surely be hoping to add to both tallies in the coming weeks.

Here’s what the St Mary’s Stadium faithful had to say on Twitter…

Injury News: Liverpool set to be without Lovren for Manchester United clash

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Jurgen Klopp has indicated that Dejan Lovren is unlikely to return to fitness in time to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, as reported by the Reds’ official website.

What’s the word?

As quoted in the aforementioned report, the Anfield boss said of the sidelined centre-back, “Dejan had no chance for the game today [against Bayern Munich] actually, I don’t think he even has a chance for the next game. He will take his time.”

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

With Virgil van Dijk also unavailable for the Champions League last 16 clash with the Bundesliga giants, Brazilian midfielder Fabinho was called upon to fill in in the heart of the defence alongside Joel Matip.

Though van Dijk will be eligible to play against the Red Devils this weekend, with Lovren and Joe Gomez still sidelined, Klopp’s squad will be put under strain to get through their crucial upcoming fixtures unscathed. 

Resources at full stretch

With Manchester City in the league title race picture, Liverpool cannot afford to slip up against their bitter rivals at Old Trafford. However, Matip is far from the Reds’ most reliable defender, and could easily prove a weak link against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s resurgent United side.

Klopp will be desperately hoping that he gets away with fielding Matip again, as he did on Tuesday. However, the return of 29-year-old Lovren cannot come soon enough. 

At this stage in the season, Liverpool’s squad cannot afford to become fatigued or overstretched. If their lack of quality defensive depth proves their undoing this weekend, then it could haunt them for the rest of the campaign and break fans’ hearts. 

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