[ad_pod ]Chelsea goalkeeper Jamal Blackman has provided an update on his recovery from a broken leg, which has sparked a reaction from the Leeds United fans.Blackman joined Leeds on loan from Chelsea last summer and made two appearances for the Whites in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign.The 25-year-old suffered a broken leg in an Under-23 fixture against Birmingham City in November, though, which ended his loan spell at the club, returning to Chelsea to recover.Blackman will not play again this season, but has posted a positive update on his recovery.The Leeds fans have been on Twitter reacting to the post and as expected, there were a number of kind messages for the goalkeeper.Pl>ymaker FC’s Theo Ogden found two rebelious Leeds fans in the home end at Loftus Road in QPR’s 2-1 FA Cup win. Find out what happened next in the video below…Some of the Championship club’s supporters even said that they were hopeful of seeing Blackman back at Elland Road once he has fully recovered from the injury.A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Loads of Tottenham fans have been reacting to the latest transfer rumour, as reports claim the Lilywhites are eyeing a summer move for midfield enforcer Franck Kessie.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Tottenham have contacted Kessie’s agent about a summer move.
The report claims Spurs would have to pay AC Milan £35m to sign the midfield ace.
The north London outfit lost Mousa Dembele last month, and Eric Dier’s injury woes have left Mauricio Pochettino with just Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko to choose from in the middle of the park.
Kessie is currently at AC Milan on loan from Atalanta, though the San Siro outfit are expected to activate a clause that will make the move permanent for £17.5m, which would then allow them to sell him on and double their money.
The 22 year-old is a full Ivory Coast international, and is an all-action midfielder who will break up play, move the ball around and chip in with the odd goal.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
قال مدرب فريق إيفرتون، كارلو أنشيلوتي، أن رؤية اللاعب الإسباني تياجو ألكانتارا وهو ينتقل إلى صفوف فريق ليفربول، حطمت قلبه.
وكان ليفربول قد أعلن، أمس الجمعة، حصوله على خدمات تياجو ألكانتارا من صفوف بايرن ميونخ بعد سلسلة من المفاوضات بين الناديين.
وقال أنشيلوتي، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “ليفربول إيكو” الإنجليزية: “انتقال تياجو ألكانتارا إلى ليفربول؟ لقد حطم قلبي (مازحًا)”.
وأضاف: “تياجو صديق، إنه لاعب رائع، لاعب خط وسط رائع، لقد حالفني الحظ في مسيرتي لتدريب أفضل اللاعبين، وتياجو واحد منهم”.
وسبق لـ تياجو ألكانتارا اللعب تحت قيادة أنشيلوتي، عندما كان الأخير مسؤولًا عن تدريب بايرن ميونخ الألماني.
اقرأ أيضًا.. كيف تحولت بوصلة ألكانتارا من التجديد مع بايرن ميونخ إلى ليفربول؟
وواصل: “الشيء الجيد الوحيد في هذا التوقيع هو أنه أصبح جارنا في المدينة وهذا كل شيء، أعتقد أنه اختار الفريق الخطأ، يمكنه اختيار الفريق الأزرق وليس الفريق الأحمر، أنا أمزح، إنه لاعب رائع وكلوب صديقي سيكون سعيدًا”.
Laurie Whitwell has spoken about Fred’s performance during Manchester United’s 3-0 win against Watford, during a Q&A on The Athletic.
What did he say?
It was a comfortable win for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team in the end, thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood.
There will be plenty of individuals receiving plaudits for their performances considering how one-sided the scoreline was, but that seemingly isn’t the case for Fred.
There were questions asked of the Brazilian by fans during the Q&A, with Whitwell replying to one fan who specifically picked at the Brazilian’s quality on the ball.
The Athletic journalist responded saying: “Yes in that sense he had a poor game – so many stray passes – but he brings energy and discipline.”
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Improvements still needed
Fred has become an important player for United this season, making 20 Premier League starts in their midfield and coming off the bench on a further three occasions. That does not necessarily mean that he has perfected his game though.
The midfielder is still yet to record a single goal or assist in the Premier League, hitting some terrible shots from near the edge of the box, such as the one that he attempted to side-foot into the top corner during the weekend fixture.
He made the second-highest number of bad touches of any player in red and executed various “stray passes” as Whitwell put it, even if he did end the game with a pass success rate of 85.1%. The 26-year-old also didn’t make any dribbles throughout the game.
Is life under the Glazers really that bad? Maybe this quiz will change your minds, Man United fans…
Now that Scott McTominay is coming back, as signified by the fact he came off the bench, while Nemanja Matic is still available, it will be interesting to see whether Fred is able to keep hold of his place in United’s starting lineup.
He may need to improve his quality on the ball if he is to put his position in the midfield beyond any doubt.
Meanwhile, United have their eyes set on a Europa League talent.
Tony Cascarino, writing in The Times, has claimed that Leeds United would get battered were they a Premier League outfit, if they continued to play in the same way they are now.
What he said
The former Republic of Ireland striker wrote that the Whites “would be smashed to pieces” in the top flight.
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Promotion to the Premier League is a very real proposition for Leeds this season, as Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently find themselves in second place in the Championship table – on goal difference, behind Norwich City – having led the pack for the much of the campaign so far.
However, Cascarino believes that their no-holds-barred, intense style would see them come unstuck in the upper reaches of the English league pyramid. He told The Times: “I like the way that Marcelo Bielsa plays but if Leeds United are promoted to the Premier League, they are going to be like Fulham this year — they would be ripped to pieces. Bielsa’s game is very adventurous but it comes with risks, as Norwich City showed on Saturday.”
What Cascarino has missed
What Cascarino has not appeared to consider though is the fact that no current Championship side would thrive in the Premier League as things stand.
When teams get promoted from the second tier they receive a not insignificant cash injection, which they then use to strengthen accordingly. Failure to improve adequately or smartly in the summer almost always results in an immediate relegation from the Premier League. Why should things be any different for Leeds?
Of course their current side would struggle in the top flight – so would Norwich City and Sheffield United, both also in the promotion hunt. It has nothing to do with style of play, but rather the quality of their players. Only promotion will give them the chance to put together a Premier League quality side by adding the extra talent they’d need to survive.
Everton earned an excellent point away to Chelsea in the English Premier League on Sunday, holding the Blues to a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Having beaten Brighton & Hove Albion last week at Goodison Park, the Toffees headed into yesterday’s encounter full of confidence that they could frustrate Maurizio Sarri’s side and did exactly that, with a towering defence performance keeping world class talents like Eden Hazard quiet all afternoon.
One of the top performers was centre-back Michael Keane, who appears to have completely turned around fans’ perception of him as an unreliable defender.
There’s no doubt he’s had a slow start to this Everton career but if he can keep producing resolute performances like Sunday’s then he will no doubt become a fan favourite in time.
Any criticism of him has dried up, with many now amazed at his recent form.
These Everton supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…
Rangers fans will be delighted to see Celtic crash out of the Champions League at the hands of AEK Athens.
The Hoops were defeated on aggregate against the Greek side meaning they will now drop into the Europa League qualifiers alongside the Gers. Steven Gerrard’s team will be looking to secure their place in the next round in their second-leg against Maribor. The Light Blues take a healthy 3-1 lead to Slovenia, but Gerrard will be cautious of complacency.
The former Liverpool captain has made an impressive start to his tenure and picked up his first win in the SPFL against St. Mirren at the weekend. Unlike English clubs, the Gers can sign players until the end of August and Gerrard is keen to add to his squad. The boss is desperate to bolster their firepower and land another striker.
One man he should consider is Stoke City forward – Peter Crouch. Valued at £900k by Transfermarkt, Gerrard played alongside the striker during his time on Merseyside, and the 37-year-old could look to reunite with his ex-teammate up north following Stoke’s relegation. Crouch made 31 appearances in the Premier League last season, scoring five goals.
The former Portsmouth man has plenty of experience that could be vital if Rangers are to finally knock Celtic off the top of the table. Crouch also has experience playing in Europe which will benefit Gerrard’s side if they reach the Europa League group stages. He could link up perfectly with Alfredo Morelos in the Rangers forward line to create a big and small partnership.
With just one year remaining on his contract, signing Crouch wouldn’t break the bank and give Gerrard a useful striking option.
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper took to his official Twitter account to apologise after he was sent off in the first half of his side’s 3-1 defeat to Cardiff City in the Championship on Tuesday night, but Whites fans were quick to back the defender.
Already trailing 2-0 thank to goals from Kenneth Zohore and Junior Hoilett in the top-of-the-table clash at the Cardiff City Stadium, Cooper picked up two yellow cards in six minutes to see red before the interval and give his teammates an even more difficult task to get back into the game.
The 26-year-old has been one of the Yorkshire outfit’s most impressive performers this term though, and he will hope to bounce back once he has served his one-match ban in the derby against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Sunday.
Leeds supporters were quick to react to Cooper’s apology via social media, and while some told him to “forget” about it, others pointed out that he ‘wasn’t the only one at fault’.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman is not best pleased with his midfielder James McCarthy after he aggravated a hamstring injury while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland, reports The Telegraph.
What’s the problem?
Despite missing Everton’s last two games with a hamstring problem, McCarthy declared himself fit for the recent international matches.
Unfortunately for the midfielder, his injury flared up and was forced out of The Green Army’s lineup minutes before Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Wales, which ended in a goalless draw.
Everton do not have the best relationship with the Irish coaching staff due to similar issues in the past, but now The Telegraph claims that Koeman is unhappy with McCarthy’s decision-making.
What could this mean for his Everton future?
Well, injury problems have restricted the midfielder to just seven Premier League starts and five appearances off the bench.
In fact, McCarthy has played a full 90 minutes on just two occasions this season, so he may not be a huge miss if moved on.
In January, Daily Mail reported that Newcastle United had a £16m bid rejected by the Toffees, but there is no indication as yet that the Magpies will try to sign him at the end of the season.
Due to his constant injury problems, it is difficult to rely on McCarthy, particularly when there are other injuries hampering the midfield.
The Irishman joined Everton from Wigan Athletic in 2013, and it may be time for both parties to say their goodbyes.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would have been a little bit taken aback this week when target Mario Gotze sensationally ruled out a transfer away from the Allianz Arena this summer.
The German was thought to be a top transfer priority for the Reds, but with the former Dortmund man set to stay in Germany, Liverpool will have to turn their attention elsewhere.
The need to improve at Anfield has never been greater and if Klopp wants to build a Liverpool squad that can compete for the title or domestic glory, he’ll need to get the right players in, and attacking midfield is a big priority. Whilst both Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho have both been solid this year, squad depth is essential if you’re to challenge at the top.
So with Gotze ruled out, here are FIVE options Liverpool should be targeting instead of the German.
Oscar
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The Chelsea midfielder is a solid option and generally a sure-fire performer. Whilst this season hasn’t been his most fruitful in England, the Brazilian international has still managed eight goals in 37 appearances in a fledgling Chelsea side.
With Antonio Conte coming in this summer, the futures of many first-team players is well and truly up in the air, and Oscar could be left on the fringes of the squad. A move to Anfield? Who knows!
Isco
IS it me your looking for?
This Real Madrid playmaker has struggled for competitive game time at the Bernabeu this term, frequently being used as an option from the bench rather than as a full-time starter. Competition at one of the best clubs in Spain is always going to be intense, but at 24, this is the time for Isco to well and truly shine. If he wants to cement a place in the Spain squad for years to come, he needs to be playing regularly and Liverpool might be the answer for him.
Sadio Mane
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The Premier League record holder for the fastest ever hat-trick, Sadio Mane has been on fire for Southampton this season.
15 goals and a flurry of assists later, and the Senegal international has done his reputation no harm with a an extremely impressive season, helping the Saints into Europe along the way. He can play on the wing or behind the striker and would be an excellent addition to Jurgen’s side.
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Nabil Fekir
Unfortunately for this talented Frenchman, he’s was ruled out for a large part of the season just gone with a long-term injury but you only have to rewind a few months to see what the 22-year-old can do.
He was the 2015 Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year, in a season that saw him feature of 40 times, scoring 15 goals. He generally plays behind the striker and has an excellent ability to bring his colleagues into the game. Keep an eye on this talented youngster.
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Nathan Redmond
A former Birmingham City youngster, Nathan Redmond has been one of Norwich City’s most consistent performers for a few years now. He’s quick, can cross in an excellent ball and loves an effort from long range. He’d be something different, for sure.