According to reports in the Evening Standard, Inter Milan would prefer to sell midfielder Joao Mario to West Ham United for a permanent £26m fee, with the east London club said to be more interested in another loan deal.
The Portugal international was solid, if unspectacular, having moved to the London Stadium on a temporary basis from the Serie A giants during the January transfer window, but the Euro 2016 winner certainly showed more than a few glimpses of the quality he has in his locker.
The £26m fee would surpass the club-record deal that saw the Irons buy Marko Arnautovic from Stoke City last summer, although it would potentially be a big hit in new manager Manuel Pellegrini’s transfer budget as he looks to significantly strengthen his squad.
We asked West Ham supporters to vote on our poll to see whether they thought their club should splash the cash on the 25-year-old, and a huge 79% said they would.
The Irons have also been linked with a move for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore, who like Joao Mario prefers to play in an attacking midfield role, and it could prove to be one or the other for the east London outfit before the transfer window slams shut on August 9.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
If Alexis Sanchez leaves Arsenal in the coming days, then the fans will need a big transfer boost.
Not only will they be losing their best player, but it will be at a time when things are going wrong on the pitch.
After Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, the Gunners dropped further in the race for top four.
The team are now seven points adrift of a Champions League spot, and they may have to finish the season without Sanchez.
The Guardian reports that the Chile international is closing in on a move to Manchester United after he did not travel with the Arsenal squad to Bournemouth.
As a replacement for the attacker, it seems that Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is on Arsene Wenger’s radar.
Bundesliga expert Lee Price has told The Express that the Gabon international has agreed a move to Arsenal, but the deal will only go through if Sanchez leaves.
Aubameyang did not feature for the German club over the weekend as he was dropped for disciplinary reasons – the second time this season.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Arsenal fans have been having their say on the latest rumours.
manager Brendan Rodgers says that his current squad is not big enough to cope with their current injury woes.
The Reds slipped to a shock 3-1 loss to newly promoted Hull over the weekend, a clash they entered without Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho in their starting XI.
The duo have been two of the Anfield side’s top performers over the course of the season so far, and appeared to be sorely missed at the KC Stadium.
Coutinho made a brief cameo appearance from the bench and is expected to be fit for the midweek clash with Norwich, but Sturridge is set to miss the festive period with an ankle injury.
Following the loss, Rodgers bemoaned his side’s fitness concerns, stating that he feels his squad is currently not big enough to cope with multiple injuries to key personnel:
“There’s no doubt the quality in our squad, with all due respect, isn’t big enough to cope with two big players like that missing,” he is quoted by The Guardian.
“We still have some very good players. Daniel could be out for up to eight weeks. Philippe [Coutinho] hasn’t trained all week, he has a high ankle strain and had some injections to get on the bench. He did very well to get on the field.
“You take those two out and they are two very good players who have been very efficient for us. This period now will test us. For the players who come in, it will be a great opportunity to stake their place in the team and hopefully we can get back to winning games.”
Rodgers is expected to delve into the transfer market in January with a striker and a wide midfielder thought to be priorities.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Is Liverpool’s squad not big enough? Or is Brendan Rodgers just making excuses after a below par display?
Scott Sinclair cannot wait for tomorrow’s match as he travels with the Manchester City to squad to face Real Madrid, Sky Sports reports.
The former England Under-21 international arrived at the Etihad on deadline day, and says that it is this type of game which saw him decide to leave Swansea and join the Premier League champions.
He said: “This is why I came here – to play with the best and be in a world-class team.
“I don’t know if I’ll play – I’ve just made my debut and all I can do now is concentrate on the next game, and on training every day, and give 100%.”
The 23-year-old made his City debut in the 1-1 draw at Stoke on Saturday and has seemingly been brought in to fill the void left by Adam Johnson, who joined Sunderland in the summer.
It is Sinclair’s second chance at the big time, after failing to force his way into the Chelsea team following a frustrating five-year spell between 2005 and 2010.
He was loaned out to six different clubs during his time at Stamford Bridge and eventually decided to join Swansea- where he scored the club’s first-ever Premier League goal in a 3-0 win over West Brom last season.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Sinclair admits he is uncertain whether he can keep his place in the starting line-up for tomorrow’s match, but will just keep working hard to stay in Roberto Mancini’s plans.
“I am just looking forward to playing any games, to be honest, whether it’s my City debut in the Premier League or a Champions League game. All I can do is try to make an impact,” he added.
Everton fans are crucifying Sam Allardyce, after their former manager said “most fans†did not want him to be sacked.With the exception of Alan Pardew at Newcastle, you’d be hard pushed to find a more toxic relationship between fans and manager in recent years than Sam Allardyce at Everton.Allardyce did exactly what he was brought to the club to do, making them harder to beat, saving them from a relegation scrap, and stabilising the club.The former England man alienated the fans though, failing to sympathise with their frustrations about his style of play and even throwing in a few bizarre boasts along the way.Fans were delighted when the experienced manager left the club on Wednesday, and they’re once again bashing their former leader for his departing comments.[ad_pod ]”I would say most of them (Everton fans) didn’t want me out. Not everybody has the same opinion as some few,†Big Sam told talkSPORT.“The fans who show discontent are always more vocal.“The club was in a very difficult position, but it improved as time went on.“If it wasn’t enough for the Everton fans at that time who were showing some discontent, I think there were certainly more fans who were happy with what we were doing than the ones that weren’t.â€It’s safe to say Everton fans don’t agree with this, although there are certainly a few who appreciate what Allardyce did for the club.Fans have been absolutely destroying him on Twitter, and some of the best reactions can be found below…
According to reports in The Mirror’s live transfer blog at 7:23pm on December 20, Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on Lyon winger Maxwel Cornet, who has a £7m buy-out clause in his contract and has scored 24 goals in 116 games for the French club.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Mirror says that Spurs are monitoring the 21-year-old carefully with a view to making a move for the forward in the future, although they could face competition for his signature from Borussia Dortmund.
Even though Erik Lamela has recently returned to action following a long injury lay-off, the north London outfit still don’t have many wide options and that is something that manager Mauricio Pochettino may look to put right either during the January transfer window, or next summer.
How has Cornet done this season?
The 21-year-old really burst on to the scene with Lyon during the two previous campaigns, and he has made a decent – if unremarkable – start to proceedings this term.
The winger has scored two goals and provided a further four assists in 21 appearances in all competitions – including the Europa League – with around half of those coming from the substitutes’ bench.
The Ivory Coast international has been more of a regular starter in Ligue 1 in recent weeks though, and according to WhoScored.com, he has successfully completed 12 of the 25 dribbles he has attempted in France and Europe this season, although the same website also lists one of his weaknesses as his crossing – not ideal for a wide-man.
Would he be a good signing for Tottenham?
If they could get him for £7m, then he certainly would be.
The 21-year-old certainly isn’t the finished article but with 16 goals and six assists in 83 Ligue 1 appearances for the Lyon, the potential is very much there.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The winger – who can play on either flank – would add some much-needed pace to the Spurs frontline, but he would more likely be a substitute at first if he does move to north London anytime soon.
Arsene Wenger dealt with a lot of criticism by frustrated Arsenal supporters during this summer because of the lack of signings. But it seems like the Mesut Ozil transfer has restored a good relationship between him and the fans.
Football Fan Cast went to the Emirates yesterday and got to hear the supporters thoughts about the 63-year-old manager. The Gooners still seem to have faith in him; however they do realise that he could have done more when the transfer window was wide open.
“He’s pushed me to the edge to be honest,” said Alex who had just bought an Ozil shirt and started taking photos of it. “But I think it’s not solely his fault because the club have a lot to answer for as well.
“But he’s definitely done what the club needs with a marquee signing and got a lot of people off his back and everyone is really happy. He’s got my belief at the moment.”
It seems like the late transfer of Germany international Mesut Ozil restored serenity at the Emirates as the fans calmed down and the media are no longer giving Wenger a hard time.
Just like all other fans, Andrew believes that the Frenchman has always been a formidable manager; however this summer he did manage to push a few buttons.
“I’ve always thought he is a fantastic manager,” said the Arsenal fan. “I know he is a little bit of trouble because he hasn’t signed anybody else in the whole transfer window, for any money anyway. But I think he is an experienced manager and we’ll definitely qualify at the Champions League again and finish at the Top 4.”
Miles and Michael were both very thrilled with the signing of the former Real Madrid footballer but when they were asked about the Gunners’ manager they both sighed.
“Wenger will be Wenger,” said Miles. “He is trying to get the cheap buys. Fellaini and Sanogo are not really what I was looking for.”
His friend Michael seems less critical and more faithful to Wenger: “We could have got a couple of more players but I think the Ozil transfer has done more than enough. It has balanced it out.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The 63-year-old has been the coach of Arsenal since 1996, he has won the Premier League three times, and the FA Cup as well as the Community Shield four times. He led the Gunners into an unbeaten Premier League season in 2004 as well as the final of the 2006 Champions League.
It looks like the ‘Wenger Out’ supporters are falling short to the ‘In Wenger We Trust’ slogan as the North London club has probably made the biggest signing of the summer and have also improved on the pitch, especially after a win against rivals Tottenham. It also seems that Arsenal are indeed more than capable to rise above the challenge of their Champions League opponents.
“He’s a great manager. He can be a bit frustrating at times but he always knows what’s best” said Ben who was already walking outside the Emirates with an Ozil shirt.
Referees, you either loathe or hate them. Their very presence on the football pitch fills you with rage, safe in the knowledge that they’re just moments away from a complete lapse in judgement or inexplicably getting in the way of a sweeping counter-attack.
I will confess to having launched a few foul-mouthed tirades in their direction, remarking about how they should have gone to Specsavers or joining in when the crowd refer to them as Wayne Kerr (whoever he is). Perhaps we are too quick to criticise those men in black, especially when their job is made impossible by the playacting antics of a select few. It’s always been my belief that referees are hampered rather than helped by Fifa’s governing directive, constantly trying to justify their mistakes with the phrase, ‘the letter of the law states…’
If you analyse the beautiful game long enough you soon discover that it’s based predominantly on opinion. Was that challenge ‘reckless’? Did that centre-forward ‘intentionally’ thrust his forearm into the face of the onrushing defender? Hopefully the advent of goal-line technology will soon be upon us but this will only solve factual circumstances like whether the ball has crossed the line. Therefore, officials must rely solely on the undervalued skill of placing themselves in the best position to accurately interpret the events that rapidly unfold around them.
Even when referees are perfectly placed mistakes can be made, human error is part and parcel of the game but their lives could be made infinitely easier if they were allowed to apply common sense in their decision making. At present, the phrase “common sense” only materialises once in the most recent edition of Fifa’s Laws of the Game, in reference to goal celebrations.
“Referees are expected to act in a preventative manner and to exercise common sense in dealing with the celebration of a goal.” (Guardian)
Most officials tend to disregard this ruling and appear only too keen to dish out cards like it’s Christmas, but referee Darren Deadman earned nationwide praise when he chose not to book Billy Sharp when he revealed a tribute to his son, who had passed away just two days after he was born. This is the kind of behaviour we should be encouraging, it’s incredible how rarely we see logic and reason applied to scenarios when it contradicts rules and regulations. There seems to be very little consistency in the decisions we view across a typical weekend, so why not effectively leave the referees to their own devices?
The dismissal of Tom Huddlestone in the recent fixture against Norwich is the perfect case in point. Technically the player entertained the tackle with both feet, but contact was quite clearly made with the ball using only one outstretched leg, before colliding with Jonny Howson. It’s also quite clear that Mark Halsey’s decision was prompted by the Norwich midfielder’s exuberant reaction, who happened to execute the tackle in exactly the same fashion.
Huddlestone and his nearby team-mates seemed baffled by the decision, with Halsey almost too embarrassed to look him in the eye as he revealed the red card. The FA’s verdict to uphold his case for wrongful dismissal will provide a small crumb of comfort for Andre Villas-Boas, but he may feel the decision ruined any hope of a late winner. Halsey’s ‘opinion’ of the tackle remains unclear but he may have avoided making this mistake had he not felt compelled by the ‘letter of the law’.
Another area that could be significantly improved surrounds the issue of handballs. How often do we see players appealing for penalties when the ball cannons off a defender a mere two yards away? In most circumstances it would be impossible to avoid any contact – unless you were playing Neo from the Matrix at left-back – and yet the rules do not allow any room for manoeuvre. The mere essence of discretion would cast such infuriating decisions into the past and allow for a much more enjoyable spectacle.
During Udinese’s recent 4-1 hounding at the hands of Juventus, chairman Giampaolo Pozzo launched a scathing attack on referee Paolo Vareli after he dismissed their goalkeeper when the game was just 14 minutes old.
“Before making a decision so severe, that ruins a game, you should have a little common sense and balance.“
“It makes me angry, ruins the game and a Sunday of fun.” (Goal.com)
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The last man rule has inspired plenty of debate with many echoing the view that awarding a penalty should be satisfactory punishment, unless of course the tackle would warrant a red card regardless. One mistake leads to one decision that leads to one dismissal, which abruptly changes the course of the match and perhaps could be avoided if referees would demonstrate an ounce of restraint.
I personally believe the game would benefit from placing the trust in referees to use their own knowledge and experience to make decisions. If the Fifa handbook allowed enough flexibility to be used as guidelines rather than strict commandments then perhaps officials could go one week without suffering ridicule from the stands or in the press. It’s certainly a better solution than having two wand carrying statues at each end of the pitch.
Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I am currently reliving the Jonjo Shelvey masterclass in the England U’21s 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan
Hugo Lloris is in no serious danger of losing his position as Tottenham Hotspur’s number one goalkeeper, but he has been criticised by fans following some poor performances.
The Frenchman has made a few notable mistakes in between the sticks, but for the majority of the campaign he has been solid.
Despite this, Tottenham could be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer.
Current number two, Michel Vorm, is out of contract at the end of the season and it is unclear whether he will be offered fresh terms.
The former Swansea City shot-stopper has struggled to provide serious competition for Lloris, so perhaps Spurs should find a goalkeeper that can.
Pepe Reina is in a similar position at Napoli in that he, too, will be a free agent this summer.
The Spaniard is well-versed in Premier League football having spent nine years at Liverpool between 2005 and 2014.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Given that Reina still competes at the top level suggests that he would not be entirely satisfied being number two, but we asked you whether Tottenham should swoop for the 35-year-old, and judging by the results, his arrival would divide supporters.
This report from the Daily Mail may have slipped a little under the radar. The Hammers’ potential move for Carl Jenkinson is not exactly a ground-breaking story, but tapped on the end is talk of a trial for a highly-rated youngster who goes by the name of Daniel Agyei. The 17-year-old has been earning rave reviews for his showings in AFC Wimbledon’s youth ranks, where his talent has been becoming more and more obvious as the months pass.
But any West Ham fans wanting to know more about this teenager have been left bitterly disappointed. After all, he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page! But we’ve delved into the far reaches of the internet to find out a little more about this young lad, and here are our findings…
[interaction id=“none”]
Prolific striker
Although AFC Wimbledon’s youth set-up gets very little attention, Agyei’s exploits have generated quite a bit of hype. Goal returns from young players can be a little misleading – just look at Cherno Samba – but the teenager’s exploits are very impressive. Despite his tender age he’s already netted six for his side’s U-21 set-up, while 29 in his own age range, U-18s, shows that he’s got a fair amount of talent!
Very skilful
From the bits of footage there are of Agyei (most of which is not quite Sky Sports quality!) it’s clear the youngster’s game is about pace, power and skills. The forward has a solid frame and appears to be lightening quick across the turf, and while both characteristics are a good foundation, he matches his physicality with flashy skills and good technique. His approach may be a bit raw right now, but his ability to bamboozle defenders at his current level is impressive.
Has been attracting the ‘big boys’ for a while…
While West Ham appear to be the side most willing to offer Agyei a step up, there has been attention directed towards the teenager from other top clubs. Championship outfit Fulham are thought to have been paying close attention to his development, while Chelsea have also been aligned with him. However, with the Dons down in League Two, the promise of a quick step up to the first-team may be enough to keep him in Kingston upon Thames.
West Ham have been watching him for some time
Breaking reports of West Ham’s willingness to offer Agyei a trial seem to be the result of some extensive monitoring of the player. Back in February is was claimed that the Hammers were watching the teen sensation, and now it looks as if they’re building on the scouting work put in.
Loves some fun on Twitter
Agyei seems like a very normal teenage boy. When he’s not tearing up youth football he loves getting involved in some ‘lolz’ on Twitter. His page is a stream of funny vines and memes, much like most young lads’ efforts. Here are some of the better ones: