Manchester United and Chelsea are both keeping tabs on young Lille defender Lucas Digne, according to The Daily Mail.
The 19-year-old left-back broke into the Ligue 1 side’s first-team last season, and has impressed with standout performances for Les Dogues so far this term.
The teenager has represented France from under-16 to under-19 level, and is adjudged to be one of the most promising prospects in the game in the country currently.
Both Premier League giants sent scouts to watch Digne play for Lille against Rennes on Friday, and were suitably intrigued to provide positive reports on the energetic full-back.
Chelsea are looking for long-term options at left-back with Ashley Cole in the last year of his current deal and ageing, with Ryan Bertrand marked as the England man’s successor.
United meanwhile signed Alexander Buttner in the summer to provide competition for places for Patrice Evra, but are still considering strengthening in this area.
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Tottenham fans are not too happy with the latest transfer rumours, after reports in Italy suggested Joao Mario could be used in as a makeweight to send Mousa Dembele to Inter Milan.
Spurs fans absolutely loved last week’s reports on Dembele, as reports claimed Inter Milan would use Ivan Perisic to beat their Serie A rivals to the signing of 30 year-old Belgian.
The latest reports aren’t going down so well though, as Tuttosport (via TalkSPORT) have claimed it is actually Mario who will be used in the swap.
The attacking midfielder earned his big money move to Inter after an impressive Euro 2016 run with Portugal, but has struggled with the San Siro club, scoring just three times in 44 league appearances.
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He moved to West Ham on loan in January so he does have some Premier League experience, but he is not exactly the type of signing Spurs fans want to see.
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Pochettino’s fantastic young squad is in need of just one or two superstar signings to push them to the next level, and Mario just simply isn’t that.
Fans certainly don’t want the 25 year-old, who has 35 Portugal caps, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
According to reports in the Evening Standard, Tottenham Hotspur are keen to sign highly-rated Norwich City attacking midfielder James Maddison before the January transfer window slams shut, although they face competition from Premier League rivals Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester City.
The Evening Standard says that the Canaries don’t want to sell the 21-year-old having already seen Alex Pritchard join Huddersfield Town in an £11m deal, and they would demand £20m for any club that wanted Maddison this month.
The report suggests that as Spurs have loaned Marcus Edwards to the Championship outfit until the end of the campaign, they could be in pole position to get the former Coventry City man on a permanent deal before also sending him back to Carrow Road on a temporary basis – as they did when they bought Dele Alli from MK Dons in 2015.
While Maddison has been an impressive performer for Norwich this season with seven goals and five assists in 25 league appearances, Brentford’s Ollie Watkins has also caught the eye following his £1.8m summer transfer from Exeter City, and bringing the 22-year-old to Wembley could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Tottenham must forget Maddison and sign the forward instead…
His ability
If Brentford thought that Watkins may take a while to adapt to Championship football having made the move from League Two Exeter, they have been proved completely wrong.
The 22-year-old settled into life at Griffin Park immediately and has been one of the most impressive performers in the division this season.
The attacker has scored seven goals and provided a further three assists in 26 league appearances this term, and according to WhoScored.com he has had 87 shots, successfully completed 67 of the 110 dribbles he has attempted, and made 58 key passes – some of the highest numbers in England’s second tier.
Versatility
While Maddison usually plays as a central attacking midfielder, Watkins has a bit more versatility about him than his 21-year-old counterpart.
The 22-year-old is able to play on either wing – although he has usually been picked on the left-hand side for Brentford – while he also has the physical attributes, strength and pace to play as a centre-forward too.
Given that Spurs have little competition in wide areas and no one really backing up Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente up top, Watkins could prove to be an interesting addition to their attack considering the raw talent that he has and the fact that he hasn’t been fazed by jumping up two divisions.
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Price tag
Considering Norwich are reportedly only willing to let Maddison leave for £20m this month, Tottenham would certainly be better off making a move for Watkins, who would be available for a much lower fee than that.
When you compare the two players’ statistics this season there is certainly nothing much that suggests that Spurs should sign the Canaries starlet over the 22-year-old, and the more reasonable price tag should convince the north London outfit to forget Maddison and sign Watkins instead.
Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has revealed the club will consider extending the contract of controversial striker Luis Suarez at the end of the season, according to the Daily Mail.
The Uruguayan forward publicly tried to engineer a move away from Anfield during the summer, and was the subject of two official bids from Premier League rivals Arsenal.
Spanish giants Real Madrid were also rumoured to be interested, and some reports have suggested they may attempt to lure the forward to the Bernabeu in January.
However Liverpool have remained adamant Suarez will be staying at Anfield, and the forward has looked in impressive form since returning from his 10-match ban.
Suarez has scored three goals in three matches since his return, and helped Liverpool to second place in the table – where they are only behind Arsenal on goals scored.
When questioned on whether the Uruguayan would be offered a new contract, Ayre replied: “It’s too early to say that. We deal with every player in the same way. We review all our contracts with two years to go.”
Suarez only signed a new deal at Anfield in the summer of 2012, which was bound to keep him at the club until 2016.
But last summer he claimed a lack of Champions League football meant he wanted to leave Anfield, and a summer long transfer saga ensued.
However Ayre insists all has been forgiven and the Reds are delighted with the form of their number 7.
“Anfield never fell out of love with Luis Suarez,” he added.
“He is at his best when he is playing football and scoring goals. His record speaks for itself.
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“He is a very talented individual who shows fantastic commitment every time he pulls on a Liverpool shirt. I’m not surprised he is back firing on all cylinders.”
Adam Johnson could miss Sunderland’s Premier League home tie with Wigan Athletic despite making a return from injury against the MK Dons in the Capital One Cup.
The 25 year old was kept out of first team training on Thursday and may not be ready for Saturday, regardless of his five minute cameo at Stadium MK.
Manager, Martin O’Neill said to safc.com: “Adam did a bit of training yesterday and came off feeling okay, then just had what I’m hoping is a superficial problem.
“He had some x-rays and everything seemed fine, or certainly there’s been no new damage. He didn’t train today; we’ll see how he is with a late assessment.”
Already stretched on the injury front, the Wearsiders were handed some boosts ahead of Saturday, rested centre back pair: John O’Shea and Titus Bramble trained, while Seb Larsson also came through the session after the hamstring injury he picked up away at West Ham.
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O’Neill added, “Titus trained today, Seb did a bit, so did John. I’m hoping Carlos [Cuellar] can come through too.”
Leeds fans are desperate for their club to sign David Stockdale, after Birmingham City told the goalkeeper he can leave the club.
It was a pretty long season for Leeds fans, as what looked like it could be a potential playoff push quickly died out after Christmas.
The arrival of Paul Heckingbottom had little to no effect, but the 40 year-old did make one majorly successful decision by dropping Felix Wiedwald for the impressive Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Peacock-Farrell had to wait until the final day of the season for his first Leeds clean sheet, although through no fault of his own, and now Leeds fans are calling for a new signing to give him some competition.
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According to reports, David Stockdale has been told he can leave Birmingham this summer, as former Leeds man Garry Monk rebuilds the squad.
The 32 year-old made 36 starts for Birmingham this season as they battled relegation, and would be an excellent deputy to Peacock-Farrell.
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Not only would his arrival mean the club have two quality players fighting for one spot, the Leeds-born Stockdale could certainly teach the youngster a thing or two.
With Wiedwald surely certain to leave, the fans are all saying the same thing about Stockdale’s availability, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Liverpool face Arsenal in a big Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night, and Reds fans have demanded forward Sadio Mane is recalled and named in the starting XI.
Jurgen Klopp’s men come into the clash in north London on the back of a 4-0 win against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last weekend, and they are one place and one point above the Gunners as they are currently situated in the last remaining Champions League spot.
Mane found himself on the substitutes’ bench for the trip to the south coast last weekend having suffered the same fate away at Brighton a fortnight before, and the Senegal international will hope he can retake his place in the team against Arsene Wenger’s side on Friday.
Liverpool supporters were quick to have their say on the 25-year-old via social media, and while one said he “won’t watch the game if Mane does not start”, another said “Mane surely has to start”.
Manchester United Football Club is enduring a testing and win less time that is strange and alien to them. They are now further adrift of the top of the league than they were ahead at the end of last season, and have gone four games without victory. Poor David Moyes is sure to have understood the scope of his challenge at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson left him with an aged squad short of quality midfielders.
The current state of things have naturally lead people to doubt Man United will even qualify for the Champions League. Moyes offered some explanation on Saturday, saying his side is in transitional period. There’s little doubt there are issues to address at Old Trafford, and I believe things will get worse before they get better. The mighty United might be looking at one or two trophyless seasons before they reassemble their strike force, something I think most fans are bracing themselves for. Former United manager Ron Atkinson, however, thinks that’s not an option.
Fergie’s predecessor has rubbished Moyes’s excuse that the team is going through a transition, saying that he can’t afford that as Manchester United manager. Atkinson even stated that the minimum requirement every season is a Champions League spot – something I think we all can agree on – and a trophy, the latter of which seems unfair on Moyes, as Fergie had the odd trophyless season himself.
But at the centre of Atkinson’s argument, we find his claims that Man United cannot afford to go through a transitional phase. Real Madrid and Barcelona never go through transitions, why should United?
Now, for the sake of the argument I’m going to pretend Barcelona didn’t go six years without winning a trophy between 1999 and 2005, because it seems like Mr Atkinson has chosen a similar approach.
Although United should consider themselves on level with Barca and Real Madrid in terms of international influence and size, it is near impossible to ever compete with the Spanish club’s pulling power. Especially in recent years the two clubs have displayed their merit by attracting the biggest names away from the Premier League.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale’s departures to the Spanish capital illustrates the prestige Real Madrid enjoy around the globe. Manchester United themselves have struggled to attract big name-signings ahead of the the south European giants before. It seems that few clubs can really challenge them. As an example, United were in a prime position to sign Alexis Sanchez in 2011. The deal was all but done, until Barca hijacked the deal at the last second. Alexis barely blinked, his choice was that easy. The same thing that happened with Ronaldinho in 2003.
Man United doesn’t even boast superior pulling power over fellow English clubs. The likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and arguably Liverpool will all compete on level ground in the transfer market. Despite their massive dominance the last twenty years, the Red Devils will probably never enjoy the infamous stature of the two Spanish teams.
And now back to the point about Moyes not being allowed to go through a transition. Most Man United fans are clever enough to accept that the period immediately succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson – the man who took the team from mediocrity to immensity, built a new club virtually with his bare hands and established reign of power that spanned across three decades – might prove to be slightly less fruitful. The fact that the entire entire back room staff is replaced as well will only further prolong the process.
Even Fergie himself experienced a transition in the mid 00’s. After three seasons without a trophy between 2004 and 2007, Ronaldo and Rooney suddenly released their ability upon the world. The reward for having patience with Ferguson back then was four league titles and a Champions League win.
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Manchester United are in the middle of a transitional period. The board knows it, David Moyes knows it and the fans know it. As with every transition, it will be unpredictable, and things might seem worse at times than they actually are.
No Ron, Manchester United have no choice but to endure the transition. We will just all have to be patient.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reiterated that youngster Jack Wilshere will not be rushed back into the first-team after spending 14 months on the sidelines with injury, according to The Daily Mail.
Wenger had dismissed speculation that the Arsenal ace could be in line for a return against Chelsea on Saturday and says Wilshere will play for the Gunners’ under-21 side against West Brom on Monday.
The Frenchman believes that Monday’s game is another important step in the recovery from the 20-year-old’s persistent ankle problems, “It is another important step, but he has not played for 14 months so we have to calm your impatience a little bit.”
Wenger says that he is personally delighted that Wilshere is on the mend, “It is fantastic for him, especially for him.” Wenger also remarked that it had taken a lot of mental strength for Wilshere to recover from his injury woes which subsequently saw the midfielder miss the whole of last season and Euro 2012, “When you are that age and are out for such a long time, that is absolutely massive to take.”
With the international break forthcoming, England have a double-header in which Wenger is reluctant to let Wilshere partake in. The Gunners boss joked that whilst he would have reservations letting his starlet feature in the Poland match, he would happily let him play in the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifier, “I think that will be too early for him. He has not played for 14 months. Who does England play, San Marino? I think he can play in that game.”
The return of Wilshere will certainly come as a welcome addition for Arsenal. Now 20, the talented Wilshere is the youngest ever league debutant for the Gunners after making his debut aged 16 at Blackburn, and is also only the fifth sixteen-year-old to play in a Champions League game.
Meanwhile, the Arsenal boss has received further injury boosts this week after confirming that captain Thomas Vermaelen will return for the Chelsea game after missing last Sunday’s draw at Manchester City due to illness.
Additionally, dogged midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong came off the bench in Arsenal’s 6-1 victory over Coventry last night following a serious knee injury he sustained whilst on loan at Championship outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers last season. He is expected to once again start from the bench for the arrival of the European champions.
Despite this, Saturday’s London derby will come too soon for Frenchman Bacary Sagna, who like Wilshere, is back in full training.
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Cardiff secured their 2nd place finish in the Championship on the final day of the season after a 0-0 draw with Reading, assuring the Bluebirds of Premier League football next season.
Neil Warnock’s side pipped third placed Fulham to the final automatic promotion spot after Fulham lost their final fixture 3-1 to Birmingham.
There were jubilant scenes at Cardiff City Stadium at the final whistle as ecstatic fans invading the pitch to celebrate with the players.
The club have arranged a celebratory open-top bus parade this Sunday to mark their return to England’s top division.
And to put the cherry on the cake for Bluebirds supporters, just a few days after Cardiff secured their place in the Premier League, their local rivals Swansea City all but guaranteed their relegation to the Championship, with their home defeat to fellow strugglers Southampton.
Barring a 10 goal swing in the final fixture, Swansea will play in the Championship next season much to the delight of Bluebird fans who were quick to celebrate the Swan’s demise on social media.
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