Liverpool are through to the fourth round of the FA Cup and Virgil van Dijk is the best defender in the universe.
No doubt Martin Keown will agree with everything in that sentence judging by his over enthusiastic praise of van Dijk on the BBC last night, although the reality is only the first bit of it is true.
In football circles, “bargain” usually refers to a player who has come on a free transfer, or in today’s super inflated times, someone who cost less than £15m.
It is a bit of an anomaly that N’Golo Kante, who cost Chelsea just around £32m has been the biggest bargain of the season.
Arsenal may be in for a very busy January transfer window indeed. Their top priorities will, of course, be to look and tie Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil down to the club. Both players are out of contracts in the summer, and the Gunners face a conundrum over cashing in now versus risking losing them for free in 6 months.
Few can argue that football has gone absolutely mad nowadays, with the amounts being thrown around for players in transfer markets.
It seems like Barcelona aren’t yet satisfied with how they’ve splashed out the £198 million in transfer fees received for Neymar last summer. They spent £97 of those in bringing in Ousmane Dembele, the Borussia Dortmund man who certainly has a lot of talent but is miles away from being the finished product.
Manchester City recorded an unprecedented 16th straight win at the weekend, with a 4-1 thumping of Tottenham Hotspur. This was after a win at Old Trafford the previous week over their nearest title rivals and neighbours Man United. The manner in which Pep Guardiola’s men dominated these games was incredible.
Toby Alderweireld’s contract situation with Tottenham Hotspur looks set to be latest transfer saga to hit the Premier League.
Alderweireld’s agent cranked things up with his “a contract or a transfer” demand to chairman Daniel Levy issued through the Belgian press.
“If you only look at his figures, Toby is impressive and for his performances, he deserves either a better contract from Tottenham or a transfer,” whined Stijn Francis.
Newcastle United and Southampton’s embarrassing exits from the Carabao Cup on Wednesday leaves both clubs with just the FA Cup as a realistic target this season.
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez made ten changes to his line-up against Nottingham Forest, while Saints’ manager Mauricio Pellegrino made six against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The race for the Golden Boot in the Premier League next season is going to be very enticing indeed. In the running are some old faces and some new. Arsenal and Chelsea have spent big on marksmen overseas, while Manchester United have splashed the cash on a tried and tested goalscorer in England.
All in all, the route to be crowned top scorer is going to be fiercely contested.
Chelsea have got their pre-season tour of Asia off to a flyer with a 3-0 thumping of London rivals Arsenal. Willian scored the opener on 40 minutes before two stunning strikes either side of the half from Michy Batshuayi sealed a comprehensive win for Antonio Conte’s men at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing.
Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk is unhappy at Southampton. According to new manager Mauricio Pellegrino, the Dutchman’s heart is not at the club and has therefore not been taking part in training sessions. According to The Guardian, Soton have made it clear that they will not sell the player, but van Dijk is desperate to play his football elsewhere next season.
Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic has inched closer to a move to Manchester United. The Serbian international is set for a reunion with Jose Mourinho, after it was reported by the Telegraph last night that Blues owner Roman Abramovich has given his thumbs-up. United will pay a whopping £50 million to land Matic to Old Trafford.
Chelsea have agreed a £34 million deal to sign Antonio Rudiger from AS Roma, according to Sky Sports. The German will take a medical in Los Angeles this week before being officially announced as a Blues player. The defender could become Chelsea’s first summer signing of the window, ahead of Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alex Sandro.
Manchester United are about to hijack Chelsea’s bid to sign Romelu Lukaku. According to the BBC, the Red Devils have agreed a £75 million fee to land the Belgian to Old Trafford next season. The report states that this is a standalone deal and will not be a swap deal involving Wayne Rooney.
Chelsea legend John Terry has completed a move to Championship side Aston Villa and will be unveiled by the club today. According to the Telegraph, the Englishman has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Midlands club.
It is understood that Terry will sign a contract worth £60,000 per week, plus bonuses.
Everton’s spending spree in the transfer window continues. According to Sky Sports, the Toffees have completed the signing of Malaga striker Sandro Ramirez on a five-year deal. The Spaniard will join the Merseyside club for £5.25 million, becoming Everton’s fourth acquisition of the summer after Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaasen and Henry Onyekuru.
Juventus are targeting Manchester United right-back Matteo Darmian as a replacement for the outgoing Dani Alves. According to Sky Sports, Darmian is one of three players on Juve’s wish-list, along with Monaco’s Fabinho and Real Madrid’s Danilo.
It was confirmed today that the Seria A champions had terminated Dani Alves’ contract by mutual consent.
Leicester City certainly enjoyed their moment in the big time after winning the Premier League in 2016. They reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League last year, and even though the fairytale did end there, they certainly took us all on a magnificent thrill ride.
Judging by the way The Foxes are going in this summer’s transfer window though, it looks like they want to get back among the elite pretty quickly.
West Bromwich Albion have made the first move to sign striker Jay Rodriguez from Southampton, according to Sky Sports. The Baggies troubles in front of goal last season have seen them enter the market for a front man, and the Saints’ hot shot is high on Tony Pulis’ list.
Last season, not a single West Brom reached double figures for goals scored.
Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore could very well be on his way out of Stamford Bridge. West Ham United recently expressed interest in signing the 21 year-old. Now, Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Lyon have put their name in the hat as well. According to a report from French source L’Equipe, Traore is also interested on making this switch across the English channel.
Leicester City are moving to seal the deal for highly-rated defender Harry Maguire from Hull City, according to Sky Sports. The Foxes are reportedly willing to pay £17 million to secure the Englishman’s services. The move could be completed and announced by the coming weekend.
Maguire was one of the shining lights in the Hull team that got relegated last season.
Bayern Munich have emerged as favourites to sign Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez, according to The Telegraph. The Bundesliga giants are willing to splash £40 million to secure his services, along with offering wages worth £280,000 per week.
If reports from the Guardian are to be believed, Slaven Bilic’s future as West Ham manager will be decided how his team fares against Tottenham and Liverpool in the North London club’s last two home games of the current Premier league season.
After finishing seventh last campaign, West Ham fans would have expected their club to push on for the Champions League spot this time around, however, the Hammers have failed to live up to the expectations.
If reports from English media outlet Somerset Live are to be believed, newly promoted Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion could sign Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham in the upcoming summer transfer window. Abraham who is on loan at Bristol City from Chelsea has scored 23 times this campaign, thus a big move might follow after his recent exploits.
According to reports from the trusted and reliable Italian media outlet TMW, Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero could move to Inter Milan in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The report claims that Inter have tabled a two-year deal for the Argentine goalkeeper who has made just 17 appearances for the Red Devils this season.
Newcastle United are back where they belong. The Magpies have qualified for the Premier League next season at the first time of asking after being relegated last season and could also win the Championship on the last day of the campaign should results go their way.
Manager Rafa Benitez has already build a cult status for himself at the Sports Direct Arena, however there are tensions in Tyneside that the Spaniard might leave the club if things doesn’t go his way in the coming days.
Torino President Urbano Cairo has claimed that any potential suitor for Andrea Boletti would need to pay €100m to secure the services of the Italian striker. The 23 year old has been in stunning form, scoring 27 goals in all competitions this season.
The ever trusted Italian website Gianluca Di Marzio have cited Cairo’s interview with Corriere della Sera, who on being asked about the future of Belotti said, “Will Belotti stay?
Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace still keeps them seven points above Tottenham, who sit in the second place, but considering they play Manchester City in less than four days, the end of the season may have some surprises for us in store.
This week will be massive for Chelsea as well as Tottenham, who sit in the second place.
Roma’s Kostas Manolas could be one of the hottest properties in the transfer market this summer. The Greek centre-back has been subject to huge interest in the past couple of years among Premier League clubs including Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
In October 2016, he rejected at extension on his contract in the Italian capital over wage disagreements.
As football clichés go, “winning ugly” is a severely overused one. On Sunday against Burnley, many said Liverpool “won ugly”; however, there is a certain respect for those who manage to do it in games, those who manage to grind out wins. Liverpool could hardly garner any respect for the display they produced.
Arsenal duo Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey have returned to first-team training. They are both in line for returns against Liverpool this Sunday at Anfield, the Telegraph reports. With two defeats in their last three Premier League games, the Gunners will drop out of the top 4 if they get beaten by the Reds.
Chelsea are on course to land their fifth Premier League title. Under Antonio Conte, they have had the most incredible campaign, going from 8th at the end of September to runaway leaders at the end of February. They are currently 10 points clear at the top, and even though Manchester City can close the gap to 8, the Blues are huge favourites.
Chelsea winger Victor Moses has extended his contract at Stamford Bridge, keeping him at the club until 2021. The Blues reported the news via there official website today. The Nigerian has signed a two-year extension, after becoming a regular in the first team this season under Antonio Conte.
Moses’ future seemed destined to be away from Chelsea at the start of the campaign.
The entire world seems to have united in support of Claudio Ranieri, who was sacked as manager of Leicester City on Thursday. The affable and cheerful Italian was liked and respected by friends and foes alike. It’ll take some effort to find someone that has a bad word to say about him.
There’s been a lot of banter among the Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea fans in recent times over whether London is red, white or blue respectively. North London though, has unequivocally been red. The Gunners have finished above Spurs in each of the last 21 seasons, and have all the bragging rights in the area.
The world of football has been spiralling out of control in the last few years, with insane amounts being spent on players. Manchester United’s purchase of Paul Pogba last summer for £89 million set a new record. The way things are going now though, it won’t be long before that amount is surpassed.
According to Spanish newspaper Diario Sport, Barcelona are ready to make a summer move for Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho. On a day where Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines with his stunning hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, it’s strange to see a Spanish Daily dedicate more than a majority of their front page for covering the transfer rumour.
Chelsea marched into the FA Cup Final with a 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in a pulsating contest at Wembley yesterday. The Blues survived an onslaught from their London rivals, before being clinical with their own chances. These two are locked in a fascinating battle in the Premier League title race as well, with Chelsea currently 4 points ahead with 6 games left to play.
“Sport and politics don’t mix” or so the saying goes, but ex-international striker George Weah has gone a long way to disproving that theory.
Liberians danced in the streets as they waited to see the inauguration of the former footballer as their new president, but Weah has a massive job on his hands to turn around the country’s fortunes.
