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A number of Sunderland fans have been speculating on social media ahead of the club’s Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal on Tuesday evening.

Both Sunderland and the Gunners managed to play on Saturday, with Lee Johnson’s side drawing 1-1 with Ipswich and Mikel Arteta’s men beating Leeds 4-1.

There were plenty of games called off, however, with a number of teams suffering due to positive virus cases. Only six out of 12 games were played in League One, whereas just four managed to go ahead in the Premier League.

At this moment in time, Sunderland’s trip to north London is going ahead as scheduled despite a positive case within the squad, but as we know with Aston Villa’s weekend game with Burnley being called off just over two hours before kick-off, that could change very quickly.

Sunderland fans react

Sunderland posted a picture of the Emirates Stadium on their official Twitter channel on Sunday evening with the caption ‘next stop’.

Here is what these Black Cats supporters had to say in reply, with a number of fans speculating whether the game will even go ahead due to the sheer number of cancellations over the weekend.

“Getting called off Tuesday afternoon when we’re an hour away from London, watch”

Credit: @TomNixon03

“Hopefully…. I keep wondering if I’m half way down and getting told to turn around”

Credit: @twangmackem

“Scared”

Credit: @MackemDuck

“Class, now it’s gonna be off”

Credit: @spj7104

“Jinxed it now”

Credit: @RyanC2408

“Can we be told today if going on not tomorrow when everyone’s left”

Credit: @michaelcopelan9

The Athletic’s Sam Lee has given his verdict following the news that Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo has signed a contract extension.

The Lowdown: Cancelo’s rise at City

The Portuguese defender became the most expensive full-back of all time in 2019 when he signed for Manchester City from Juventus in a deal worth £60m, with Danilo heading the other way for £34m.

Since arriving at the Etihad Stadium, the 27-year-old has played an integral part in Pep Guardiola’s side, having totalled 106 appearances for the Citizens. That includes 22 Premier League outings this season, where he has amassed one goal and five assists in becoming one of the team’s best performers, according to WhoScored metrics.

Cancelo signed a six-year deal when he joined the Sky Blues, keeping him at the club until 2025.

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The Latest: Cancelo signs contract extension

Despite having three years left on his contract, City have been looking to tie down Cancelo on a long-term deal. On Tuesday morning, the club announced that the full-back has signed a two-year contract extension, which will keep him at the Etihad until 2027.

The Athletic’s Man City reporter Lee shared this news on Twitter along with a link to his corresponding article, beaming that it is ‘a fitting reward’ for the 27-year-old’s impressive form.

He proclaimed: “New deal for Joao Cancelo, a fitting reward for his emergence as a key City player and his phenomenal form over the past few months in particular”.

The Verdict: Great business

Cancelo is currently one of the most valuable full-backs in world football, with Transfermarkt estimating his value at a cool £54m.

When the initial lockdown happened, the defender struggled to adapt to life in England and thus wanted to leave the club. However, he overcame this to duly become one of the key components of Guardiola’s side.

Former City midfielder Nigel de Jong has offered some effusive praise of the 27-year-old, saying: “We can have a healthy discussion and debate on who is the best right-back in the world and Cancelo is certainly up there for me. It’s not only his versatility but also the fact he is as strong defensively as any right-back or left-back in the world.”

Taking everything into account, this seems like a brilliant bit of business by City, and it’s no wonder that Lee has voiced his firm approval of Cancelo’s contract extension.

In other news: These Manchester City fans approved of one prospective successor to Pep Guardiola

After earning a draw against Manchester United last week, Leeds return to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon when they take on Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side picked up five points from a run of tricky games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City respectively, and an unbeaten run against the Premier League’s heavyweights should hold them in good stead for their trip to face the Seagulls.

The Leeds manager will once again have to do without Raphinha after confirming in his pre-match press conference that he is not yet back from his injury, while he will also have some big calls to make over players who have been out of form.

With that in mind, below is a look at how Leeds might line up when they travel down to the coast to take on Graham Potter’s Brighton.

In goal, Illan Meslier will be hoping to keep back-to-back clean sheets after helping to shut out the Red Devils last weekend at Elland Road.

The back four should also remain unchanged, with Liam Cooper serving the final match of his suspension against the Seagulls today after the three-match ban he received for his tackle during the City game.

In midfield, Tyler Roberts could make way for Mateusz Klich, while Helder Costa’s poor form in recent weeks surely warrants him being dropped from the starting line-up.

Ian Poveda has been the man to come on for the Portuguese ace during the last couple of games and the 21-year-old will surely be pushing Bielsa for a rare start – he has yet to feature from the off in the Premier League this season.

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They could be the only changes Bielsa makes, but with Whites picking up some great results against the league’s top teams, it would be a big gamble for the Leeds boss to start tinkering with his side excessively.

Predicted XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips, Poveda, Klich, Dallas, Harrison; Bamford.

Meanwhile, Leeds can finally bin this “liability”…

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Matt Targett to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by 90min, who claim that sources have revealed Victor Orta is hoping to hijack Newcastle United’s £15m signing of the Aston Villa loanee this summer, by launching an offensive of his own for the 26-year-old left-back.

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The report goes on to state that both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City are also keen on the former England U21 international, however, Targett’s preferred destination is thought to be St. James’ Park.

Orta must move

Considering how impressive Targett has been following his January switch to Newcastle, coupled with Junior Firpo’s struggles on the left of the Leeds’ backline following his own £13m move to Elland Road last summer, it is not difficult to see why Orta would be keen on a deal for the Aston Villa defender at the end of the season.

Indeed, over his 12 Premier League appearances for the Magpies, the £15.3m-rated full-back has been in fantastic form for Eddie Howe’s side, making an average of 2.3 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 2.3 clearances and 0.2 blocks per game.

The £35k-per-week defender has also impressed in a creative capacity, making an average of 1.3 key passes, 1.6 crosses and 1.8 long balls per fixture, in addition to completing 0.6 dribbles and taking 0.5 shots per outing.

These returns have seen the player who Aaron Stokes dubbed a “tremendous” signing and James Hendicott labelled a “beast” average a WhoScored match rating of 6.99, ranking him as Newcastle’s fifth-best player in the top flight.

Meanwhile, over Firpo’s 19 league fixtures for the Whites, the £10.8m-rated left-back has been rather less impressive, averaging an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.59, ranking him as Jesse Marsch’s seventh-worst performer in the division.

As such, it is clear to see that the signing of Targett would be a huge upgrade on the 25-year-old Dominican Republic international, leading us to believe that Orta must do all he can to land the former England youth international this summer.

However, with Newcastle also appearing extremely keen on making the defender’s temporary stay at St. James’ Park a permanent move at the end of the current campaign, the Spanish sporting director certainly has a battle on his hands for the Aston Villa sensation.

AND in other news: Forget Rodrigo: “Pathetic” Leeds dud who lost ball every 2 touches failed Marsch again

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Marcelo Bielsa’s presence at Leeds United should have a major impact on the club’s transfer business.

What’s the story?

The Argentine led the Whites to promotion to the Premier League, and in the club’s first season back in the top flight, they have more than held their own – they currently lie just outside of the top ten.

The summer transfer window will surely see Bielsa’s side look to further strengthen ahead of the new campaign, and it has now been suggested that the Leeds manager could hold the key to pulling off big deals.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Romano said: “When you have Marcelo Bielsa on your bench, you can attract a lot of players. A lot of players are attracted by the project. Leeds have an amazing project, with Marcelo Bielsa, the ownership, the partnership, the stadium, and what they are doing on the pitch.

“When you have Marcelo Bielsa you can attract players for just one season. It’s part of the person and the mystery, and they know about it. Having him with South American players and in this market, it is important to sign great players.  Look at Raphinha for example, he’s a great player, but having Marcelo Bielsa was key for Leeds to go for him.”

Radrizzani should be buzzing

As Romano suggests, Leeds find themselves in that very advantageous situation of having a manager at the helm who’s a real pull and lure for players around the world.

Even in the Premier League, you could probably count on one hand the number of managers who could just use the appeal of their name to sign players, and Bielsa surely figures among those given the respect he has earned over his long and illustrious career.

It’s exactly why Andrea Radrizzani should be absolutely buzzing with Romano’s claim, as it really sets Leeds up for a potentially important summer transfer window.

Transfer targets should already be excited at the prospect of making a switch to the Premier League, but when you add in the so-called ‘Bielsa factor’ then the Whites may well have a notable advantage when it comes to negotiations.

Meanwhile, Leeds must surely regret selling this star…

Graham Smyth has delivered some behind-the-scenes insight into the start of Leeds United’s pre-season, and it may come of interest to the club’s supporters.

What’s the story?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have begun their pre-season preparations ahead of the new Premier League campaign, and Smyth has revealed the kind of work that the players are doing as they look to get up to speed.

He wrote in the Yorksire Evening Post: “Twenty-four of Marcelo Bielsa’s squad and a host of Thorp Arch medical staff descended on Leeds Beckett University’s £45m Carnegie School of Sport for the first day of pre-season testing.

“Players were screened and assessed at a range of stations as head of medicine and performance Rob Price and his team worked with university staff to ensure their footballers are all fit and healthy and to uncover base lines from which to maintain and recover fitness over the season.

“From strength assessment, to movement analysis and gait examinations – Max Dean ran on a treadmill so his form could be captured – staff of the club and the university left no stone unturned to paint a picture of each individual’s fitness and equip Leeds with the knowledge they will need when attempting to return players to action following injuries.”

Fans may be intrigued

Dr Stacey Emmonds, a reader in sports performance at Leeds Beckett and former staff member at Thorp Arch who was also involved at Carnegie, added: “Players have been really enthusiastic today and they’ve all got straight stuck into everything. They are world-class facilities that we have now and that’s probably something that we weren’t able to offer previously.

“It allows the club to come down to utilise the state of the art facilities and the top-of-the-range testing to hopefully get the best profiling at the start of pre-season that they can.”Every little detail counts, and any advantage that Leeds can get, however small, could be crucial in either the short-term of one-off games, or even over the long-term of a full season.The work being done by the players at Carnegie looks as though the Whites are setting themselves up as best as possible ahead of the new Premier League campaign, extracting every last nugget of information to enhance their performances.For someone like Bielsa, that kind of micro-level management is surely right up his street, as he looks to work out the strengths and weaknesses of his players to the absolute minute detail.Given the kind of intense pressing game Leeds play, ensuring that players don’t pick up muscle injuries through wear and tear by giving them the chance to train well in pre-season could be the key to keeping everyone fit and firing over a whole season.It’s exactly why Leeds fans might be quite interested, if not intrigued, to hear of Smith’s behind-the-scenes reveal.Meanwhile, Leeds receive major update on Marcelo Bielsa’s future…

Declan Rice has reportedly rejected two contract offers with West Ham, with both offers being below the weekly wage of Andriy Yarmolenko, according to ExWHUemployee. 

This update comes after The Telegraph’s Matt Law reported that the West Ham midfielder has turned down two contract offers from the club.

Rice was an important member of David Moyes’ squad in the 2020/21 season, with the 22-year-old making 32 league starts from his 38 appearances in the Premier League.

West Ham finished sixth in the top-flight standings last term, and will be keen to build on that strong campaign heading into the new season, which gets underway on Sunday 15th August against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

Rice has had interest from Chelsea in recent months, whilst Liverpool are also believed to be keen on landing his signature this summer, after this recent update on his future with West Ham.

The midfielder was labelled as ‘top drawer’ by Wolves’ all-time top goalscorer Steve Bull in an exclusive interview with Football Transfer Tavern.

Plenty of West Ham supporters took to social media after this update, with the majority being hugely frustrated.

Take a look at the best of the reaction from Twitter below….

“Wait so the “big bumper contract” that we’ve offered him is less than £100k a week. We’re run by clowns.”

Credit: @ninkjones02

“We’re an absolute joke of a club. Good luck to him deserves more and better than this club. Would love to see him and go on and win titles.”

Credit: @DannyP2795

“Insulting. Should be the best paid player at the club. We’ve shaved about £600k a week off the wage bill last few years.”

Credit: @irons85858585

“Get rid of Yarmalenko and Anderson that’s 200k per week saved and make Rice the highest earner. Simple solution. Get it done WHU.”

Credit: @Lord_Irons

“Disgrace, its as if they almost want to upset him so he asks for a move. He should be the highest paid player at the club no question about it If they value him at £100 million pay then pay him accordingly.”

Credit: @RichardGSBOUT

“Offer him what he wants.”

Credit: @consmith26

“Then good for him. Deserves to be our highest-paid player. Should be building a team round him.”

Credit: @GameRiotArmy

“Bit insulting that he has been offered lower than both of those players!”

Credit: @IanWebber78

“That’s fair enough imo. So pay him more.”

Credit: @____DeclanRice

Despite having had their UEFA Champions League journey ended on Wednesday evening against Real Madrid, Liverpool went out of the competition with a fight.

The Reds turned in a fantastic showing at Anfield, the only thing missing was the goals – their 3-1 defeat in Madrid eventually saw them eliminated.

One man who was key to Liverpool’s performance was right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was a constant thorn in the side of Los Blancos.

Having netted the winner against Aston Villa at Anfield last time out, the 22-year-old turned in another scintillating attacking performance.

Throughout the 90 minutes, he provided a huge 17 crosses from the right-flank, five of those being accurate, according to WhoScored.

Whilst that looks somewhat wasteful, six of his passes did end up being key passes. For comparison, the entirety of the Real Madrid team could only produce five key passes of their own, emphasising just how effective Alexander-Arnold was from an attacking standpoint for the home side.

Indeed, but for better finishing from his Liverpool teammates, such as Georginio Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, the England man might have racked himself up a handful of assists in what would have been a brilliant comeback win from his side.

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Whilst Alexander-Arnold was exhilarating from an attacking sense, he did not allow his defensive responsibilities to be forgotten.

Throughout the game, he produced two tackles and three interceptions. In the end, only centre-back Nathaniel Phillips produced more than his total five defensive contributions.

Previously dubbed “wonderful” by Jurgen Klopp, the right-back’s performance was certainly befitting of that praise and of course the occasion.

It was just a shame that his teammates could not match that as Liverpool’s Champions League fight came to a bruising end against Real Madrid.

AND in more news, take a look at our player ratings from the Reds’ 0-0 draw against Los Blancos on Wednesday…

Burnley boss Sean Dyche will start looking around for a new club like Crystal Palace, says former Premier League manager Lawrie Sanchez.

Dyche is in fact being strongly linked with the job in the Selhurst Park dugout, with Football Insider reporting that Palace have made contact with Burnley to find out the exact cost to get the 49-year-old out of Turf Moor.

Frank Lampard is one manager who was thought to be one of the leading candidates to replace Roy Hodgson, so this development may come as a surprise to some.

Sanchez, though, would not be shocked to see Dyche land the job and fully expects the Englishman to at least consider the opportunity.

“I think Sean Dyche will be looking around now,” the former Fulham manager exclusively told FFC.

“[He’ll be] thinking well if he’s not going to have great money to spend despite the new people taking over and he’s just got to keep it going for them so they can earn the Premier League money that can be paid over to them to pay the debt, I think he’ll probably be thinking, ‘Where’s a better opportunity?’

“I think Palace would be a great opportunity for him. It’s obviously a little bit further up the pecking order, despite the league position, than Burnley in regards to wages and suchlike. He’s obviously worked in London before at Watford, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

It is common knowledge that Burnley operate on one of the lowest budgets in the Premier League, really putting into perspective the job Dyche has done there.

However, you would have to imagine that there will come a point where the ex-Watford boss may want to work with better resources, perhaps at a club such as Palace.

West Ham will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the 2021/22 season when they make their Europa League group stage debut later today.

David Moyes’ side head to Croatia to face Dinamo Zagreb and they are not a side to take lightly, having knocked the Irons’ rivals Tottenham Hotspur out of this very competition in stunning fashion last season.

And the Scotsman has plenty of crucial decisions to make, especially with the small matter of facing league leaders Manchester United on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League in his thoughts.

None of his summer additions have made their full debuts, so this encounter could represent an opportunity for a shuffle to the starting XI, affording some key names a bit of rest as the games start to come thick and fast.

One player who underwhelmed during the Hammers’ draw with Southampton at the weekend was Said Benrahma. The winger started the season on fire, providing two goals and two assists across their opening two games but is yet to record any more since.

At St Mary’s, he struggled to have much of an influence on the game and lost the ball more than any other West Ham player (16 times), so perhaps he could do with a little refresh before the weekend.

In his place, Moyes should unleash his new playmaker, Nikola Vlasic, who made a cameo from the bench at the weekend.

He could prove to be a game-changing influence, in more ways than one.

The Croatia international will be heading back to his home country, where he once played for Zagreb’s top-flight rivals Hajduk Split. He has come up against the league giants on 14 occasions, so that experience could be crucial in what could be a hostile atmosphere.

Furthermore, the £27m-rated maestro will offer the Hammers some much-needed creativity, perhaps something they lacked in abundance during the Saints stalemate.

Last season at CSKA Moscow, Vlasic delivered 11 goals and five assists, adding to his 17 direct contributions in 2019/20, whilst the 23-year-old averaged a whopping four shots and 2.8 key passes per league outing, via WhoScored.

By comparison, his predecessor, Man Utd loanee Jesse Lingard, averaged just 2.6 shots and 1.1 key passes per game, also per WhoScored.

Moyes has already talked up Vlasic’s presence on the training pitch, so it’s surely time to see what he can do from the off.

“We’ve been really impressed by Niko. His attitude as a professional is first-class,” the Irons boss told the club’s official website before later adding:

“He can play 7, 10 or 11, so can play several roles for us which is important, and will be important through the season, but we also want to give him the chance to adapt and adjust. He’s only been really impressive since he’s been at the Club and we’re really hopeful that he’ll turn into a really good player for us.”

It’s time to see what Vlasic can offer West Ham and there won’t be a better environment to do it than in his home country. Moyes must turn to the Croatian playmaker over Benrahma.

AND in other news, Signed for £15m, now worth 140% more: Moyes struck gold over “unplayable” West Ham gem…