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It’s safe to say that the Premier League has started off with a bang and then some.

Manchester United’s new campaign opener looked to be a potentially tough task. The Red Devils welcomed Chelsea and debutant Frank Lampard to Old Trafford, however they took home all three points quite comfortably.

Even though the first half was really tight and only one goal separated the two English giants, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men ran away with the game in the second half.

Marcus Rashford bagged two of their four goals and was named man of the match for it.

After the game, he quickly took to

/B1CG-nMnn31/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram to share his delight and happiness.

Of course, it didn’t take long for his teammates and other stars to flood to his social media profile and post replies of praise for Manchester United’s forward.

Naturally, other team members were among the first ones to gush over the star’s performance and both Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka left a couple of emojis to show their support.

And they were not the only ones, not by a long shot.

For their next challenge, Manchester United will face Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home on August 19.

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Unfortunately, Dalot couldn’t have picked a worse kit to pose in.

The famous grey away shirt from the 1995/96 season is infamous in United lore for being one of the worst kits the club have ever produced.

United actually never won a game in that strip, and its most notable appearance came in a 3-1 loss to Southampton.

Alex Ferguson found his side 3-0 down at half-time against the Saints, and in one of the Premier League’s classic moments, he forced his team to change into another strip at half-time.

The kit supposedly made it difficult for players to see each other, and United were subsequently fined £10,000 for switching at half-time.

Although Dalot will have wanted to invoke memories of a happier time at Old Trafford with his Instagram post, he has chosen the worst possible kit to make that statement, and any old-school United fan who comes across the snap will be tormented by the memories of their club’s worst ever kit.

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Crystal Palace’s official Twitter account posted a video on Wednesday of an impressive tackle from youngster Tyrick Mitchell, and it’s fair to say that Eagles fans on the popular social media platform were impressed with what they saw.

The 19-year-old is yet to make his competitive first-team debut for the south London outfit having signed a contract extension back in January, but the left-back has been regularly training with Roy Hodgson’s first-team squad.

He was handed a chance by the 71-year-old manager after replacing Patrick van Aanholt in the 65th minute of his side’s pre-season friendly against FC Luzern on Tuesday evening.

He may have only been on the pitch for 25 minutes, but the teenager made a big impression and his well-timed tackle in the penalty area on Christian Schneuwly was quite brilliant.

Palace supporters were quick to respond to the video posted by the club, and unsurprisingly many were quick to compare him to another young full-back in Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who of course left for Manchester United for an initial £45m fee earlier in the summer.

Are Crystal Palace right to slap a £100m valuation on Wilfried Zaha’s head? Check out the video below to see why they are…

While one fan demanded to “get him in the first team”, another commented suggesting that he too could be worth “£45m in 12 months”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Javier Hernandez has confirmed that he is attempting to leave West Ham United this summer, per a YouTube video titled Naked Humans.

The striker scored a total of eight goals across the 2018/19 season but made just 14 starts in the Premier League under Manuel Pellegrini.

Football FanCast reported before the transfer window that the Hammers deemed the former Real Madrid and Manchester United ace expendable in this transfer window, with an overhaul of the striking department likely.

He has now confirmed as much, saying in the video: “He’s (Hernandez’s agent) searching for a club, if we can move. If not I will stay with West Ham easy, happy. I have one year left, but West Ham and I have decided it would just be easier to go out.”

His quotes come after both Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez were moved on by the Irons, leaving the club with two senior strikers: Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic.

If he is to depart, Pellegrini will have just the Austria international at his disposal as a genuine out-and-out forward, although Michail Antonio can fill in there as backup as well.

Can the Hammers afford to lose him, then, given the paucity of options within their squad?

Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts below!

Matt Dawson

“I think West Ham would be safe losing Hernandez. At the end of the day, the Mexican only found the back of the net on eight occasions last term and after losing Perez and Carroll, the Hammers could do with rebuilding their stroke force entirely. Chicharito is a natural born poacher but if he goes into the next season still an Irons player but out of favour again, it will have been completely pointless keeping him. The fact is that he only made 14 starts last term in the league. That’s all the evidence you need that they wouldn’t actually miss him that much. West Ham should definitely sell.”

Ben Goodwin

“West Ham absolutely cannot afford to lose Hernandez this summer, due mainly to the situation with Arnautovic. After a lengthy January transfer saga that saw him gain interest from the Chinese Super League but eventually sign an extended deal, a release clause was included in his contract that could well be activated this summer.

“But whether or not the Austrian is still at the club come the start of the new campaign doesn’t really matter, as he was a shell of his former self in the second half of last season – failing to score in February, March and April. The tacit suggestion being that Arnautovic’s head was turned by interest from the Far East.

“So, with the star man seemingly either wanting out or just declining badly and two strikers already departing this summer, holding onto the only other proven goalscorer in the squad should vital for Pellegrini.”

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

James Beavis

“I think West Ham can completely afford to lose Hernandez this summer as the two simply aren’t a good fit for each other.

“The Mexico international has been with the east London outfit for two years now, and despite his impressive record of goals for club and country throughout his career, he has never been able to hold down a regular spot in the starting XI – 11 of his 25 Premier League outings in 2018/19 came from the bench.

“His situation hasn’t really been any different under Manuel Pellegrini, who seems to prefer to have someone like Arnautovic given the Austrian more than often got the nod in the starting XI when he was fit, making 24 Premier League starts in total last term.“With rumours suggesting that Maxi Gomez is a top target, Hernandez would likely be a third-choice option should the Uruguayan end up arriving at the London Stadium.“All in all, they probably wouldn’t even notice he had gone.”

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Nigeria have done an excellent job at the 2019 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

After barely beating Tunisia in a tight one-nil affair that took place a couple of days ago, the Super Eagles have claimed the bronze medal, which they will take home with pride.

Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, one of Nigeria’s star players, has taken to

/B0CaM7QgDg9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram in the aftermath of the tournament to send a short but effective message to the fans.

Iwobi just stated that they will take the bronze, implying that the squad can take some satisfaction from their effort this summer even if they were hoping to clinch a different colour medal.

The image, or rather the whole of Nigeria’s AFCON run, prompted some of Iwobi’s teammates to reply to the snap, sending their best wishes to their fellow Gunner.

Both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were quick to send some support Iwobi’s way.

Lacazette just posted a series of emojis while Aubameyang told him he earned his respect.

The 23-year-old has already played a total of 36 games for his country, scoring six goals in the process.

In the seven games he took part in this summer, he netted one goal along the way.

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When Kortney Hause left Wolves for Midlands rivals Aston Villa on loan in January not too many eyebrows will have been raised.

However, just months later a transfer fee of £3m has caused dismay among supporters at Molineux.

Understandably they aren’t happy. Hause showed in his minimal time at Villa that he does have what it takes, meaning that a measly option to buy in the terms of his loan agreement is now arguably a mistake.

Had the fee been larger Wolves would be doing good business, but there are plenty of reasons to suggest that this is one of their worst deals since being promoted.

Next season Wolves will need all the depth they can get ahead of what could potentially be an arduous season on the domestic front and in Europe.

As a result, Hause could still have been of use to Nuno Santo. At 23 years of age, he still has a huge amount of potential and could have been the ideal defender to help them through the 2019/20 campaign.

The versatile player isn’t blessed with the greatest technical abilities but his physical attributes stand chief among those already in the Wolves squad.

To Villa he’ll be a fabulous addition and he showed as much in the back end of the previous campaign.

Boasting the ability to play at left back and in the middle, the fact he can play in more than one role makes him a valuable asset.

Hause would never be one of the first names on the teamsheet but Wolves should arguably have done more to keep him. His stats from last term shows exactly what they’ll be missing.

In 12 Championship outings, he won a colossal 4.7 aerial duels per game. Coupled with that, he made a further 3.8 clearances every 90 minutes.

Gareth Bale to Wolves? Wolves Fan TV discuss how ambitious Nuno Espirito Santo will be this summer in the video below…

The numbers he clocked up may have come at a level below but he was key in solving his loan club’s defensive problems.

If he does depart Molineux this summer he could end up going down as one that got away.

Only time will tell whether they got their stance right or wrong. However, should he go onto star for Villa in the Premier League, Wolves may well end up cursing their decision making.

أصدر نادي يوفنتوس بيانًا رسميًا بشان إدانته بسبب لويس سواريز، مهاجم أتلتيكو مدريد الإسباني، وحصوله على الجنسية الإيطالية.

البيانكونيري أكد في بيانه، إبلاغ فابيو باراتيشي، المدير الرياضي، بحق الدفاع في قضية لويس سواريز.

وأكد مكتب المدعي العام في إيطاليا، إيقاف جوليانا جريجو، رئيس جامعة بيروجيا، 8 أشهر، والمدير سيمون أوليفييري والأساتذة الذين اختبروا لويس سواريز مهاجم أتلتيكو مدريد الإسبانى في اللغة الإيطالية، بعد طلب من إدارة يوفتوس بمساعدته في تخطي الاختبار (طالع التفاصيل كاملة من هنا).

يوفنتوس أصدر بيانًا رسميًا جاء على النحو التالي: 

“يؤكد نادي يوفنتوس لكرة القدم أنه تم اليوم إخطار فابيو باراتيشي (المدير الرياضي للنادي) بمعلومات تتعلق بالضمان وحق الدفاع”.

“الجريمة التي يدعيها مكتب المدعي العام في محكمة بيروجيا هي حصراً المادة 371 مكرر من القانون الجنائي”.

“النادي يؤكد بقوة على صحة عمل باراتشي وهو واثق من أن التحقيقات الجارية ستساعد في توضيح موقفه في غضون فترة زمنية معقولة”.

وكان يوفنتوس يسعى للتعاقد مع سواريز في السوق الصيفي من صفوف برشلونة، وفي ظل اكتمال عدد اللاعبين من خارج الاتحاد الأوروبي في صفزف البيانكونيري، كان يتوجب حصول الأوروجوياني على جواز سفر إيطالي.

وفي نهاية الأمر أغلق اليوفي باب التعاقد مع سواريز وانتقل المهاجم من برشلونة إلى أتلتيكو مدريد.

Nota della societàhttps://t.co/xVbbIRdpjU pic.twitter.com/t0NJimdBfi

— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) December 4, 2020

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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.

One point separated City and Liverpool but twenty-five separated them from the rest! Fans discuss who could reduce the deficit next season in the video below?

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.

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Speaking to the Examiner, departing Huddersfield Town chairman Dean Hoyle has offered his replacement Phil Hodgkinson some advice on how to run the club, but his comments may give greater insight into why he has chosen to sell up.

What’s he said then?

Hoyle didn’t sound overly optimistic when passing his wisdom on to the new owner.

He heeded the warning that the club needs to be financially sensible rather than throwing cash at the squad in order to give them a steady footing in the second tier next year.

Hoyle said, as quoted by the Huddersfield Examiner: “So look at next season. What we can’t afford to do is boil our brains – a decision after we have a fire sale, a decision we hope for survival – it can’t happen.”

Furthermore, when asked if returning to the Premier League was a priority he said:

“I think if you make it a priority you are doomed for failure.”

How can that be interpreted?

Talking about survival after just being relegated from the Premier League is never a good sign.

The more you think about it, the more Hoyle’s sale of the club seems like a captain jumping from a sinking ship.

There is a severe danger that Huddersfield could go the way of Sunderland and suffer back-to-back relegations and end up in League One.

The former owner knows that and has surely sold up before the value of the club depreciates upon their downfall. Hoyle was under no illusions; he is aware that the Terriers’ best players will have to depart this summer, but he’s worried that the squad will be left bare.

The 52-year-old has warned Hodgkinson about the perils of a considerable squad turnover, but it remains to be seen as to whether or not the new man follows his advice.

He didn’t seem confident that the Yorkshire club will be back in the big time anytime soon and he seems to just want stability in the Championship rather than a Premier League return.

This should be a huge red flag for any Huddersfield fans, that a man who knows the club inside out isn’t looking for a Premier League return and has sold the club.

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The new owner may come in overly ambitious and undo all the hard work that was put in by Hoyle during his decade in charge at the John Smith’s stadium.

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Everton’s official Twitter account, somewhat strangely, decided to post a random image of Michael Keane on Monday afternoon.

Social media can be a dangerous place when teams or players are not playing well, but Keane has been impressive for the Toffees in recent months.

And it was therefore probably a safe post.

That said, it was still a little bit strange.

As it transpired, nothing followed, despite some believing that a contract extension would be announced.

It did give a good indication of how the Everton fans are feeling about Keane at the moment, though, and the reaction was positive.

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It has been a strange season for the Toffees for a number of reasons, but they have won five of their last seven in the Premier League and will be looking to put another three points on the board when they head to Tottenham Hotspur on the final weekend.

A selection of the Twitter reaction, which saw a number debate what could follow before the end of the season, can be seen below: