Manuel Pellegrini is surely expected to strengthen his options at right-back during the summer transfer window.

The Hammers signed Ryan Fredericks from Fulham in the summer but the Englishman has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League. Instead, Pellegrini has used Pablo Zabaleta on the right flank for the majority of the season. However, his long-term future at the club remains unclear with the ex-Manchester City man fast approaching the end of his career.

The 34-year-old has reportedly (as per Claret and Hugh via City Watch) been offered a coaching role at the London Stadium but is yet to confirm whether he will retire from the professional game. Nevertheless, Pellegrini must bolster his options on the right side of defence. Reports from the Daily Mail suggest West Ham are lining up Manchester United veteran Antonio Valencia on a free transfer.

Instead, the Hammers should make a move for Strasbourg flyer – Kenny Lala. Valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, the 27-year-old has proved to be a fantastic addition since signing on a free from Lens in the summer of 2017. Lala has been one of the most consistent performers in Ligue 1 this season which should make the West Ham scouts sit up and take notice.

The Frenchman has been a constant threat from the back, scoring an impressive four goals as well as registering nine assists from defence. His blistering pace and dribbling ability make him a nightmare to deal with and would cause plenty of headaches for Premier League defenders. Not only does Lala excel offensively, he doesn’t neglect his defensive duties, averaging an impressive 2.5 tackles per game in Ligue 1 this season (WhoScored).

With his contract set to expire in the summer, West Ham should grab themselves a bargain.

West Ham fans, thoughts?

Steven Gerrard’s quest in winning back the Scottish Premiership has been tarnished with their recent draw to St. Johnstone.

While Gerrard made the Gers dream big with an encouraged fight to Celtic, they’ve fallen short of the mark.

However, all is not lost for Gerrard’s side. There’s still the prestigious Scottish Cup to play for, which has evaded the Gers for almost a decade. If not anything, the narrow win against Celtic before New Year’s proved that Gerrard’s taught them how to win the big matches, something they’ll need in the Cup.

With dominating victories in the earlier rounds, Rangers have proven they’re taking the competition seriously. Considering it’s the only remaining cup they could win, Gerrard will now instil his focus into winning it. Being trophyless for a long time, having last won the Scottish second-tier in 2016 and a proper competition in 2011, Rangers fans are desperate to see some gold.

If Gerrard’s thrilling football’s proved anything, they can definitely dream to expect silverware at the end of the season. Having brought in the experienced Jermaine Defoe in the winter and goal-machine Alfredo Morelos having scored 27 goals in all competitions (stats via WhoScored), The Gers look favourites for the Cup.

They face bitter rivals Aberdeen in the quarter-finals and beating them at the Pittodrie Stadium would be the icing on the cake. However, unlike other seasons, Rangers aren’t convinced at considering a derby win as a trophy. They’re going all out this time, as Gerrard will make sure this sizzling attacking football ends their trophy-drought.

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Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Moussa Sissoko after the midfielder’s performance against Leicester, as they reflect on what has been an excellent season for the 29-year-old having previously been considered something of a laughing stock.

Sissoko arrived in north London on deadline day back in 2016 for a huge £30m fee, rejecting Everton’s advances in favour of linking up with Mauricio Pochettino at the old White Hart Lane.

However, he made just eight Premier League starts in his first season with the club, and the Argentine manager even admitted in 2017 he would have sold the midfielder last summer if there had been an acceptable offer on the table.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

This season, in stark contrast, the France international has found himself in a Spurs shirt, emerging from the shadows to replace the injury-stricken duo of Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele – the latter of whom left the club in January.

Sissoko has become a workhorse in the middle of the park and has stepped up in their time of need, much to the admiration of Tottenham fans on Twitter who thought they’d never see the day…

According to the Independent, Chelsea are monitoring Philippe Coutinho, with the Blues interested in the prospect of bringing him in as a potential replacement for Eden Hazard.

Certainly, if Hazard were to leave, Chelsea would need a top replacement – but would Coutinho be the best option? It’s hard to suggest that he would.

After all, Coutinho isn’t best suited to a role on the flanks. In fact, he’s the very definition of a central attacking midfielder, and that’s not a role that Chelsea tend to utilise at present. He doesn’t have the work ethic or the drive to play as a winger, and in truth, his talents would simply be wasted in the role.

Sure, he’s a great player, and he may be able to play in place of someone like Mateo Kovacic in the middle, but would he be an upgrade? It’s hard to say so.

Of course, he’s currently in the midst of a really poor season with Barcelona. He’s picked up just 4 league goals and 2 league assists this term, and for a player of his quality, that’s just not good enough. In truth, he looks out of his depth in Spain, and he’s really struggling to hit the heights that his transfer fee demanded. It might be a case of the system not quite fitting him, but as mentioned, that would be something that he’d have to deal with at Stamford Bridge, too.

He’s also rated at a whopping £126 million, and so he wouldn’t be a cheap signing for the Blues at all, despite his recent form.

That’s all without considering the Chelsea fans and their feelings towards Coutinho, too. Owing to his Liverpool history, the Brazilian isn’t a popular man at Stamford Bridge – and so this isn’t a move that would quell the inevitable fan fury if Hazard were to leave.

In truth, this move doesn’t tick any boxes for Chelsea – and it’s one to be avoided.

Thoughts?

أعلن ميكيل أرتيتا، المدير الفني لفريق آرسنال، تشكيل الجانرز أمام ليستر سيتي، في المباراة التي تجمعهما بعد قليل.

ويحل آرسنال، ضيفًا على ليستر سيتي، بملعب “ووكرز”، ضمن منافسات الدور الثاني من مسابقة كأس رابطة المحترفين الإنجليزية “كاراباو”.

ودفع أرتيتا، بـ محمد النني، لاعبنا المحترف في صفوف الفريق اللندني، أساسيًا أمام ليستر سيتي. تشكيل آرسنال أمام ليستر سيتي

حراسة المرمى: لينو.

الدفاع: نيلز، لويز، هولدينج، كولاسيناك.

الوسط: النني، ويلوك، ساكا، بيبي، نيلسون.

الهجوم: نيكيتياه.

Things just can’t go right for Alexis Sanchez at Manchester United, can they?

The Chilean is the latest victim of their “cursed” number 7 jersey, failing to impress even in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s rejuvenated system. Despite improving nearly everyone else, even the ever-smiling Norwegian’s admitted to being unable to do nothing to improve him.

The Chilean’s latest setback is the knee injury he picked up in United’s thrilling win over Southampton. The fact that the players kept on playing trying to get the equalizer, despite seeing him in pain itself spoke volumes of his reputation. After he was replaced with the sizzling Diogo Dalot, United were able to turn things around and record a crucial home win.

Sanchez now faces another two months out with an injury and will return when United’s other injury problems are solved. By consistently underperforming this season, where he’s scored 2 goals in 27 appearances, Sanchez’s completely lost supporters’ faith.

Nobody will want him selected ahead of either Anthony Martial or Jesse Lingard, with many even preferring Dalot ahead of him. Being plagued with so many injuries recently, it’ll be nearly impossible for him to find back his lethal form which lit up Arsenal all those seasons ago.

By piling on United’s wage bill and causing controversies with his enormous wages, Ed Woodward would want to write him off the club’s expenses. We think Sanchez will probably be allowed to leave in the summer, thus ending a frustrating tenure which was never meant to be.

A premature end to one of United’s biggest wastes of money is surely likely. The curse of the number of 7 strikes again.

Manchester United fans, will you be disappointed by Sanchez’s departure? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

Newcastle will know they need to continue performing if they want to fully distance themselves away from the relegation zone.

It’s been another season of ups-and-downs for Rafa Benitez and his team but that comes as no surprise because of the lack of investment in the club during the Mike Ashley era.

That has since changed slightly, now that Newcastle have finally broken their record transfer fee for Miguel Almiron but nevertheless, the Magpies need to do more in the transfer market to improve their league standing.

Goal-scoring has been Newcastle’s problem ever since they returned into the Premier League and that could be solved by linking Almiron with his partner at Atlanta United Josef Martinez.

Martinez, (who is valued at £9 million on Transfermarkt) was a goal-machine in the MLS last season as he recorded 35 goals in 39 outings.

Yes, you could argue that it’s an inferior league to the Premier League but his attributes could allow him to make a good impact in England.

With scintillating pace and an eye for goal, the Venezuelan international would be a huge coup for Newcastle, based on his incredible statistics.

Alongside his fellow countryman Salomon Rondon, the two could form quite the bond at club level, with Martinez using his pace to get in-behind and latch onto Rondon’s knock-downs.

The idea of a two-striker partnership hasn’t been a regular occurrence in the top flight for some time but with those two and Miguel Almiron in behind, goals won’t be such a lunar eclipse at St James’ Park.

Goals are needed to stay in the Premier League and although they seem to be managing it this season, Newcastle have to spend if they want to improve and Josef Martinez is the signing to make.

Do you agree… Let us know!

Arsenal haven’t done themselves any favours recently letting players leave on a free. Alexis Sanchez, albeit a flop now, almost left for nothing; Ozil, who’s also now coming to the end of his Arsenal career, the same; and Aaron Ramsey has recently agreed a mega-deal with Juventus which sees him join at the end of the season.

Indeed, it’s a bad sign for a “big” club.

Former Manchester United man Danny Welbeck is the next man reportedly (as reported by Sky Sports back in December) set to depart the Emirates when his contract concludes at the end of the season.

The Englishman managed 32 goals and 15 assists in 126 appearances which isn’t great, but not the worst considering he was often being played out of position on the left-hand side of the pitch.

In fact, just before suffering an injury late last year, Welbeck scored a very respectable 5 goals in 14 games for his club. So, we ask ourselves: why exactly are Arsenal so willing to let him go?

Yes, there are some glaring technical holes in his game, but he provides some much-needed experience and guile in a team who are relatively starved of it. He’s clearly willing to own a role on the periphery of the team as well, having seen his minutes reduced significantly in recent years, which spares manager Unai Emery a major headache.

Arsenal haven’t exactly been spoilt for choice either with their team selections. The need to pick eternally absent Mesut Ozil in almost every squad is testament to that struggle.

By renewing Welbeck’s contract they’d have an option both on the wing and in the striker position; a chance to freshen things up, create competition and add another string to Arsenal’s bow.

What do you think Arsenal fans?

In a surprisingly goalless night at Anfield, only a handful of players produced majestic attacking moments during Liverpool’s 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich.

While Mohamed Salah looked dangerous in his hunting ground and Sadio Mane missed crucial chances, Serge Gnabry’s sizzling work caught everyone’s eyes.

Niko Kovac had a cautious approach to the game and knowing Liverpool’s attacking threat, pegged his men backwards. However, the German winger wasn’t restricted at all, being allowed to trouble Andy Robertson with his movement. Having scored thrice in his last four appearances (stats via WhoScored), Gnabry arrived back in England a confident figure.

Right from the get-go, he looked menacing and showed real urgency to take on his man. He made quite the impact in the 12th minute when he skipped past Andy Robertson before fizzing in an inviting cross which struck Joel Matip. before Allison somehow saved with his body.

Gnabry didn’t stop after the strong start, always trying to create opportunities for his side and took a few swipes which blazed past the goal. He kept an 80% passing accuracy while completing two dribbles and winning eight duels as well (stats via Fotmob). Despite being unable to break the deadlock, Gnabry’s performance is telling of his talent.

Arsenal must be lamenting letting him go prematurely. They should’ve trusted his talent and played him more regularly, as he proved himself to be tailor-made for succeeding in the Premier League. What’s the Gunners’ loss is Bayern’s success, with the Bavarians possessing a ready-made replacement for Arjen Robben.

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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…