With a proper overhaul surely required to take West Ham United to the level Manuel Pellegrini wants them at, there have to be some sacrifices. That’s just life.
Cruel, cruel life.
In order to sign new players, some of the existing lot surplus to requirements have to make way.
It seems like the Hammers are already preparing for a busy summer window and have come to terms with Reece Oxford’s seemingly imminent departure. The youngster is keen on moving permanently to Bundesliga outfit Augsburg, according to reports (via Sky Sports) and, to be fair, it’s all a bit meh.
Indeed, the 20-year-old, who made history in becoming the Hammers youngest ever Premier League player, is enjoying life in Germany and a deal is said to be close.
He’s grown fond of the Bundesliga as his current employers are keen on making him an important cog in their defence. Oxford might’ve only made 6 appearances so far, but impressive stats like 2.3 clearances and 1.8 interceptions per game (stats via WhoScored) have made Augsburg fond of his talents.
It’s not as if his talents have ever been questioned. It’s just that things haven’t worked out since his stunning debut and everyone has, well, moved on.
With Pellegrini now trusting Issa Diop as his future defensive general and keen on making some signings to reinforce his back-line, Oxford’s services aren’t really required anymore. Despite his early debut, he never fit into the intensity of the Premier League, costing West Ham quite a few times.
While it’ll be disappointing to see an academy graduate leave so early, it won’t really sting the Hammers. They won’t really be in trouble without him and can take advantage of his sale, bringing funds back into the club.
West Ham fans, would you be disappointed to see Oxford move away next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…
According to a report in The Scottish Sun, Neil Lennon is keen to re-sign striker Gary Hooper for Celtic if he gets the job permanently this summer, and the link is exactly what he shouldn’t be handed the role.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Scottish Sun report that the 31-year-old, who is available on a free having been released by English Championship club Sheffield Wednesday, is on the former Hibernian boss’ transfer wish-list.
The Scottish Sun report that the centre-forward would be keen on a return to Parkhead, where he scored a remarkable 82 goals in 138 games during his previous spell with the Glasgow giants.
Of course, Lennon is still to find out whether he will be Brendan Rodgers’ long-term replacement, having steered the club to the Scottish Premiership title following the Northern Irishman’s mid-season decision to depart for Leicester City.
Exactly why he shouldn’t get the job
The fact that Lennon reportedly wants to bring Hooper back to the club is one of the reasons why the Bhoys should be looking elsewhere for their new manager.
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With Steven Gerrard and Rangers set to be stronger next season, and with the club needing to make big improvements in the Champions League, Lennon and Hooper are not the men to help them do that.
The latter has been plagued by injury issues during the latter part of his spell with the Owls, making just five appearances in all competitions this term.
Celtic need to look to the future instead of the past and add a younger and more exciting striker to their frontline for the 2019/20 campaign if they want to progress – re-signing Hooper would ultimately be a backwards step.
It’s time for Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell to show some ambition, and if they do then the 31-year-old won’t be lining up in a Hoops shirt for the second time in his career.
Gary Neville recently afforded Marcus Rashford a high-end compliment by insisting that the Manchester United forward was England’s most promising talent. This was in stark contrast to the pundit’s comments less than a month prior: “Marcus these last couple of weeks has been nowhere near. I went to both Barcelona games and he looks off it at the moment. He looks like he’s carrying an injury at the moment, or something is not quite right, or the season has caught up with him.”
There is of course nothing contradictory about these remarks – one refers to form, the other to potential – yet even so praise for the 21-year-old this season from anyone with United in their blood sounds a little bit forced. Like a parent who once confidently claimed their little boy was an angel, a cherub, now prevaricating as that child grows up and goes off the rails: “He’s a good lad really. At heart.”
And speaking of going off the rails – or at least, as close to that as a thoroughly decent individual like Rashford is ever likely to sour – an anonymous team-mate has also reportedly insinuated that he is ‘not quite the humble figure he used to be’.
So what gives? Is there a problem with England’s most promising talent? Is he not quite as promising as we were promised?
When the Manchester-born striker first broke through in early 2016 he astonished. He scored twice on his league debut. He scored twice on his European debut. He scored on his international debut. More than his goals though his electric bursts and clinical demeanour marked him out as a possibly special find, one who few beyond Old Trafford even knew existed until he began dominating the back pages.
The uncertainly was exciting because nobody knew where the ceiling was in his development.
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Now, three years on we are still not dealing in absolutes and after 170 United appearances and over ten thousand hours of professional football perhaps we should be. Instead, queries persist, big queries too such as wondering if this season’s underwhelming displays – along with a reputation for skying free-kicks as the norm – is simply a sustained period of poor form or if Rashford has levelled out after proverbially bumping his head on the ceiling.
Not that many dare air these queries. Earlier this month 360Sources tweeted…
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge and almost immediately reverted his young charge to the centre ground things began to make sense. It was Jose Mourinho who was to blame, clearly. Because look at him, scoring for fun again. Involved and impactful.
But then the levels dropped once more, dramatically so. He was anonymous against West Ham. He was woeful at Everton. He was outshone by Mason Greenwood against Cardiff.
While the media continue with their nonsensical speculation that Barcelona are willing to splash out over a £100m on a player who is no longer burning bright the truth is that next season is key for Rashford. He must prove definitively once and for all whether he is indeed England’s most promising talent. Or just a good lad really.
Dedryck Boyata is a quality player at Parkhead, but the Hoops all know that they can do a lot better with what’s out there. One man who would improve their defence no end would be young Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori. The 21-year-old has spent this season on-loan at Derby and he has one game left for the Rams in the play-off final at Wembley.
Already the youngster is being looked at by a number of clubs. Celtic are apparently eyeing up a cheeky bid for the Chelsea man, but if he helps Derby to promotion then Frank Lampard will want to hold onto the £6.3 million man, as valued by Transfermarkt. Then there’s Chelsea, who with their impending transfer ban could be set to use the defender themselves, and he’d be more than capable of doing so.
Whatever happens, someone needs to come in at Celtic to help out the backline. Recent events at the Glasgow club have made this summer a massive one. A large number of players could be set to follow Brendan Rodgers and Lee Congerton out of the club this summer, and whoever comes in will have a big task on their hands. Bringing in Tomori, though, would go a long way to settling the Bhoys’ nerves.
This season we’ve seen a new side of the young Chelsea defender. Throughout the 2017/18 campaign, Tomori had two loan spells as he turned out for Hull City and Brighton, but neither were as successful as his time playing under Lampard, where he’s missed just two of the Pride Park faithful’s 46 Championship clashes and it’s no surprise that the Hoops want to snap him up on current form.
If Fikayo Tomori does wind up at Parkhead it will be a genius move from those at Parkhead, and it may not be as expensive a swoop as you might think. The 21-year-old has just two years left on his current Chelsea deal, and should Lampard’s Derby fail to overcome Aston Villa and miss out on promotion then the Scottish giants could find themselves in the driver’s seat for a move for the young stopper.
A number of West Ham United fans want forgotten man Edimilson Fernandes to be given the chance to impress for the Hammers during the 2019-20 season.
Fernandes moved to England from Sion in 2016 and has made 48 appearances for his Premier League club in all competitions.
The midfielder was deemed surplus to requirements ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, however, ultimately being sent on loan to Fiorentina.
The Switzerland international has been in good form this term – scoring twice and contributing two assists in 28 Serie A appearances.
As it stands, the 23-year-old will return to the London Stadium this summer with the view to battling for a spot in the XI next season.
And it would be fair to say that the majority of West Ham fans are keen for Fernandes to be given the chance to prove his worth under Manuel Pellegrini.
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A selection of the Twitter reaction in relation to the 6 ft 3 midfielder’s future can be seen below:
35 minutes into Arsenal’s Premier League season there will have been a familiar feeling for their supporters. 1-0 down at home to Manchester City, Ainsley Maitland-Niles was forced to come off with an injury.
The Gunners had a new manager, yet seemingly hadn’t banished the fitness concerns from the days of Arsene Wenger.
Maitland-Niles had suffered a hairline crack in his calf bone. For someone so young it was a devastating setback.
However, after missing multiple months of the opening stages of the campaign, the youngster battled back to become a regular in Unai Emery’s Arsenal side.
The versatile 21-year-old started the term at left-back but has recently become the benefactor of Hector Bellerin’s own long-term setback, featuring on the right side of the defence.
It’s a position he’s been able to make his own, also benefiting from a lack of competition. Stephan Lichtsteiner has fallen further down the pecking order, whilst the less said about Carl Jenkinson the better.
But Maitland-Niles’ future at right back isn’t the concern. Instead, it’s his potential as a whole that should be worrying supporters.
When Arsenal signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton back in 2011 the player was an exciting young winger whose career was heading down a similar path to that of Theo Walcott.
However, he never truly realised his potential in north London. Oxlade-Chamberlain had visions of playing in central midfield, an area of the team he was rarely afforded a chance in. Instead, he was forced to play as a more defensive minded player on the right.
As a result, he decided to pack his bags to join a far better team. His spell at Liverpool has been injury-hit but his glistening potential in the middle of the park was shown on a regular basis last term.
His best performance in an Arsenal shirt came in the middle of the park, scoring twice against Crystal Palace in February 2014.
It’s ironic, therefore, that one of Maitland-Niles’ best displays in the red and white of Arsenal have also come from that area of the pitch.
Against Manchester United in April 2018, he starred for Arsenal in a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford. Playing next to Granit Xhaka, he looked the more comfortable player. In the 90 minutes he was on the pitch, Maitland-Niles showed excellent discipline in both attacking and defensive phases of play.
Per WhoScored, he completed one key pass and boasted a pass success of 92%. He also completed two dribbles and made three tackles. It was an early glimpse of his quality.
But since that moment, he’s rarely been given a chance in midfield. Consequently, he’s been an inconsistent figure at right-back.
This has specifically been the case away from home. Against Leicester this term, he picked up a red card after being repeatedly beaten down the left by Ben Chilwell and James Maddison. He also looked out of his depth when the Gunners were beaten by Everton at Goodison Park.
But there have been some encouraging performances in that position too. When Arsenal beat Valencia at the Mestalla he was phenomenal.
His athletic ability was evident as he beat his man down the right before whipping the ball in for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to prod home one of Arsenal’s goals.
The worry, though, is that with Maitland-Niles regularly playing out of position, he may never realise his true potential. For all the wrong reasons, he’s at huge risk of becoming another Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Soccer Football – Europa League Semi Final First Leg – Arsenal v Valencia – Emirates Stadium, London, Britain – May 2, 2019 Valencia’s Jose Gaya in action with Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
He never settled in one position and, when Bellerin returns, Maitland-Niles’ role in the team could be up in the air again.
With Aaron Ramsey leaving Arsenal, they’ll need an athletic midfielder. Maitland-Niles boasts traits capable of replacing him in that aspect and there will be no better time for him to try and force his way into the Gunners’ midfield.
The former Ipswich loanee has a bright future but Arsenal must ensure it isn’t put in more danger. Another Oxlade-Chamberlain situation can be avoided but only if they work out where his future lies.
Arguably, it should be in midfield. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if the club tried to save money by keeping him as Bellerin’s deputy in defence.
Leeds United confirmed on Tuesday that Marcelo Bielsa would remain at the Championship club for at least another season.
The Argentine – who has inspired the likes of Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino – nearly returned Leeds to the Premier League for the first time since 2004. The Elland Road side, though, fell just short of promotion, losing 4-3 to Derby County in the playoff semi-final.
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Leeds have not messed around and got the former Marseille boss to commit to trying to get the Lilywhites back into the Premier League again next season. Bielsa has re-energised the city, the club and the fans. The sense of doom has been lifted and if appropriately backed Leeds will be strong favourites for promotion next season.
The Leeds squad this season overachieved. A lot of the players they have are not good enough to challenge at the top of the Championship and Bielsa managed to squeeze every last drop of talent out of them.
Rafael Benitez – like Bielsa – has transformed his club. The feeling of misery has been lifted on Tyneside by the Spaniard’s presence and he has performed miracles to keep Newcastle in mid-table.
In 2017/18 Benitez used almost exactly the same squad that he got promoted with and finished tenth, last season the 59-year-old mainly relied on loan deals, free transfers and budget signings, while teams such as Fulham and West Ham United spent millions on new players.
The rest of the league spent while Newcastle stood still. He still managed to get the Toon to finish 13th, and they were safe from relegation a month before the end of the season.
A takeover appears on the cards at Newcastle and the first thing the new owners must do is follow Leeds’ lead, by tying down Benitez to a new contract.
Working under financially tight conditions he has performed miracles, so Magpies fans can only dream of what Benitez could do if he is given a competitive budget.
He could feasibly turn Newcastle into the team who challenge the top six. They have the stadium and infrastructure and under Benitez’s guidance – backed by owners who want to improve the team – the sleeping giant that is Newcastle United could finally wake up.
Newcastle will not get a better manager than the former Real Madrid boss and if the Toon are to leave mid-table mediocrity behind Benitez must be at the helm.
Leeds acted quickly to ensure they kept their world-class manager while Newcastle have messed around, seemingly waiting to see how the takeover plays out. It’s time for the Magpies to follow the Whites’ lead and get Benitez tied down to new terms as soon as the new owners are through the door.
Arsenal supporters have been suffering plenty with undoubtedly one of the worst defences they’ve had in their illustrious Premier League history. If Unai Emery is to make that worse then it would take some doing, although if he makes a move for Liverpool’s free agent full-back Alberto Moreno, he would be doing just that.
What’s the story?
According to The Mirror, Moreno is one player who Arsenal are interested in this summer. The fact that he’s available for free, coming off of fairly reasonable £65,000 p/w wages (Spotrac) and has got a history of working with Emery means this one makes complete financial sense.
Unfortunately, the financial aspect of this move is the only part that makes much sense at all. After five years at Anfield, the 26-year-old has become something of a joke amongst supporters. His performances have been poor and his game time reflects that.
Massive downgrade
Emery already has two left-backs at the club. One of those is Moreno’s countryman, Nacho Monreal, and at 33-years-old he’s not quite the player he once was. That doesn’t mean that he’s not better than Moreno, though, and the Gunners would pick their Spaniard over the departing Liverpool one every day of the week.
The other left-sided defender that Emery has at his disposal is Sead Kolasinac, and whilst the Bosnian defender is much more of a wing-back than a full-back, he can certainly do a good job playing on the left side of a back five, bombing up and down the flank creating chances and helping out at the back.
Meanwhile, in the now-free-agent Moreno, the Gunners would be signing someone who can’t really play either role as well as the two left-backs that already reside at The Emirates.
Transfer business does need to be done at the Emirates this summer without a doubt. On the bright side of the Moreno news, at least the club are shopping around and looking for full-backs to improve Emery’s back line.
If they decide Moreno is the right candidate to do that though, it’s going to be an awfully long season for Bernd Leno and all Gunners fans.
Everton boss Marco Silva will no doubt have been disappointed to see his Toffees team miss out on Europa League football last season. In the end, his side finished three points off Wolves, who clinched seventh spot. It should be a busy summer at Goodison Park as the side look to climb further up the table, so let’s take a look at the latest speculation involving the Merseysiders…
Kenny embarks on Bundesliga adventure
The first big news in this roundup is not of a new arrival, but of a departure. Earlier today, it was revealed that defender Jonjoe Kenny will spend next season on loan at Bundesliga side Schalke 04. The German team struggled last season as they finished in 14th place, and will be hoping that the arrival of Kenny will help shore up their defence.
Gonalons to Goodison?
In terms of incomings, AS Roma’s Maxime Gonalons is on Everton’s radar according to L’Equipe. The Frenchman spent last season on loan at Sevilla but managed only 10 appearances and will therefore be sent out on a temporary basis once again. West Ham are also interested.
Mateta interest
L’Equipe are also reporting that Everton are interested in Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. The former Lyon striker scored 14 goals in the Bundesliga last season and has attracted the attention of several clubs in Europe. The Toffees will need to beat Marseille, Monaco and others to his signature.
According to Calciomercato.com, Everton have submitted a €30m (£26.8m) for Juventus striker Moise Kean.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Toffees seem to be interested in signing the Italian international and have lodged an offer to the Italian champions for the youngster’s services.
Kean enjoyed a breakthrough 2018/19 campaign with the Turin-based giants, netting six goals in just five Serie A starts to showcase his prolific scoring rate – the teenager found the back of the net once more in a Coppa Italia game as well.
The 19-year-old is currently starring for Italy at the Under-21 European Championships, despite already having three senior appearances to his name.
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After his hugely successful 2018/19 season, Kean is amongst some of the hottest youngsters in Europe and his price tag will only soar from now on – Juventus are trying to tie him down to a new contract amid Everton’s interest.
Marcel Brands is wasting his time
We are talking about a young player with scary amounts of potential here.
Kean has already hit 55 goals in 102 career games across the Juventus youth ranks and the first-team, scoring 29 in 36 for the Under-17 side a few years ago.
He is quite simply prolific in front of goal and the sky is the limit for a player with a very lofty ceiling indeed.
In that respect, Marcel Brands and Everton may as well give up on this one immediately and pursue other targets; it is far too ambitious to pursue.
Kean is at a Champions League club, getting a good amount of game time for his age and has everything needed to succeed at the highest level – it would take an astronomical fee for Juventus to even considering letting their prized youngster leave.
Even if a fee was somehow agreed, Kean doesn’t have many reasons to leave the club he has been at since he was 10 years of age – Everton should walk away and stop wasting their own time.