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Tottenham Hotspur could make a £50million summer bid for Fulham full-back Ryan Sessegnon, per the Daily Mirror.

Spurs have long been linked with an interest in Sessegnon and could pounce in the summer as he continues to drag his heels over the prospect of signing a new contract at Craven Cottage.

What’s the word?

Sessegnon’s current deal expires at the end of next season and he has yet to commit to fresh terms in west London.

Fulham are surely doomed to relegation but have been trying to tie the 18-year-old down to a long-term contract.

Sessegnon has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League but has made a total of 27 top-flight appearances in 2018-19, scoring two goals and laying on five assists.

And the Mirror claim that the likes of Spurs, Manchester United and PSG are all monitoring the teenager.

He would, they state, like to stay in London, however, and Spurs are at the head of the queue, with a £50m bid prepared.

There is the possibility too that Sessegnon could be signed and loaned back to Fulham for a season to continue his development.

The sums don’t add up

This deal doesn’t make sense for Spurs.

With Sessegnon out of contract next summer and also out of form this season, there is very little reason as to why Spurs would be willing to make him their club-record signing.

Chairman Daniel Levy has not bought a single player in the last two transfer windows and it is inconceivable to suggest that he could splash £50m on a player that would be sent straight back to the Championship.

There is an attraction to Sessegnon, of course; he is young, English and could blossom into a truly exceptional player under the management of Mauricio Pochettino.

But the figures mentioned are likely to price Spurs out of any potential bidding war and they should not be too disheartened if that is the case.

There is far better value out there if they go looking for it.

Not all of Man Utd’s transfers have been very good over the last few years. Indeed, despite signing some top talent, much of which has done well at points, you can count the number of successful Man Utd transfers from the last few years on two hands.

One man that, certainly, has had a tough time is Ivorian defender Eric Bailly. Despite a good start to life in England, his form since that point has been up and down – and now it appears as though the Red Devils have had enough.

Indeed, according to the Mirror, Man Utd are ready to listen to offers for Bailly this summer, with the club apparently looking to bring in Toby Alderweireld at the end of the campaign. 

Now, whilst Bailly has underperformed throughout his time in Manchester, it’s hard to look at this deal as one that makes sense for Man Utd.

After all, on his day, Bailly is a tremendous player. He’s strong, he’s quick, he’s good on the ball, and he’s aggressive when seeking possession, which makes him a terrifying defender for attackers to come up against.

Sure, his day hasn’t come all that often, but that hasn’t always been his fault. Indeed, the Ivorian’s bad luck with injuries hasn’t helped, whilst his time in Manchester has been incredibly stop-start, with management sometimes refusing to give him regular minutes.

It’s always going to be hard to perform when you aren’t given a regular platform to do so. It took so long for Victor Lindelof to earn his stripes, yet he was given a run in the team – and he’s repaid the faith.

Bailly’s out of form, but Man Utd saw during his early days that he’s got a lot of talent, and if he’s given a run in the team with a view to getting back in form, he could repay the faith.

It’s too soon to cash-in on the Ivorian.

Man Utd fans should the Red Devils sell Bailly? Does he have more to give? Join the discussion below!x

قيّم رونالد كومان أداء فريقه برشلونة، بعد التعادل (1-1) أمام إشبيلية في الجولة الخامسة لليجا على ملعب “كامب نو”.

ونشرت صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، تصريحات المدير الفني لبرشلونة عقب المباراة أمام النادي الأندلسي.

وقال كومان: “لقد كانت مباراة صعبة لقد ضغطوا علينا بشكل جيد، كانت مشكلتنا أننا لعبنا بالكرة لم يكن بالطريقة التي نرغب بها”.

وأضاف: “إنهم يلعبون كرة قدم جيدة، ويضغطون جيدًا وهم أقوى من الناحية البدنية منا، إشبيلية فريق كبير”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كومان يلمح لإمكانية رحيل ديمبلي إلى مانشستر يونايتد

وواصل كومان: “أعتقد أننا لعبنا بشكل جيد، لكننا فقدنا الكرة كثيرًا في الشوط الثاني، لذلك من الصعب تحقيق إيقاع في المباراة”.

وأكمل: “أنا سعيد بأداء الفريق، كان الفريق متعبًا، لكننا قاتلنا حتى النهاية، لكن لعبنا ضد خصم كبير”.

كومان أشاد بأداء لاعبه فيليب كوتينيو، صاحب هدف التعادل، مواصلا: “كوتينيو يحتاج إلى مساعدة وثقة مدربه، لكن يجب أن يقدم أداءً، لقد قدم مباريات جيدة، لقد أظهر أنه لاعب لاعب عظيم”.

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In the latter stages of the January transfer window, it was announced that Newcastle United had signed defender Antonio Barreca on loan from Monaco for the remainder of the season.

The 23-year-old played four minutes of Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at the start of February, but has not been seen since.

The Chronicle reporter Chris Waugh has revealed that Barreca is not injured, but is simply down the pecking order, which is the reason for his absence at the moment.

It does seem a touch strange that the 5ft 11in Italian cannot even make the bench, but that is the situation as things stand in March.

Newcastle actually have the option to sign Barreca on a permanent deal this summer, although that seems extremely unlikely due to his current struggles.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

The Toon Army fans have been on social media offering their views on the situation and a selection of their reaction can be seen below:

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Leicester City’s 4-1 loss to Crystal Palace proved terminal for Claude Puel’s tenure at the helm as the Frenchman was given the boot just two days later. It was soon apparent who was being lined up to replace the former Southampton manager and Brendan Rodgers quickly quit Celtic in favour of a sensational return to the Premier League.

The Northern Irishman was in attendance for the Foxes’ 2-1 win over Brighton on Wednesday and was no doubt assessing his group of players ahead of his first training session.

While he would have been impressed what he saw from the likes of Jamie Vardy and Demarai Gray, who both scored on the night, there may be a few players he should already be planning to axe.

Who, then, are the three players Rodgers needs to give the boot if he is to take Leicester to the next level?

Shinji Okazaki

Okazaki will go down in Leicester history for the part he played in the Foxes’ 15/16 title-winning campaign, but that was three years ago now and, if the club is to progress, they must offload the Japan international.

The 32-year-old has made 18 appearances this season but has failed to net, instead chalking up just one assist – a poor return for any Premier League forward, let alone one playing for a team that are chasing top half success.

Leicester signed the industrious attacker from Mainz in the summer prior to their wonder-land season but he has hardly set the world alight and is now into his twilight years. Rodgers should sell the fan-favourite in the summer.

Danny Simpson

A similar case to Okazaki, 32-year-old Simpson is far past his best and, despite being a fixture in the Leicester side three years ago, is now a spare part at the King Power Stadium.

The right-back has made just five Premier League appearances this season, instead getting most of his football playing for the development side or in the domestic cup competitions, in which Leicester were poor.

Ricardo Pereira has nailed down the starting spot on the right of the back four and the Portuguese is going nowhere any time soon – he has chalked up seven goal contributions in 25 league appearances for the Foxes and is a serious challenger to James Maddison for the East Midlands outfit’s signing of the summer.

In October, Puel said that former Manchester United man Simpson must be respected for his exploits under Claudio Ranieri but that he couldn’t guarantee the defender game-time. The Frenchman stuck to his word but perhaps it’s time Rodgers finished the job and showed him to the exit door.

Nampalys Mendy

Ranieri surely thought he was getting the perfect N’Golo Kante replacement when Nampalys Mendy arrived at the King Power Stadium in the summer of 2016 – both are of a similar build and mould with fantastic work-rate – but the 26-year-old has struggled to fill the void left by Kante.

Check out a Celtic fan perspective on Brendan Rodgers leaving Celtic for Leicester in the video below…

The Frenchman was a firm favourite under Puel and has made 24 league appearances this season but his numbers don’t stand up – Mendy is statistically one of the worst players in the squad, averaging a match rating of 6.43. If Rodgers is to take Leicester to new heights, finding a quality defensive partner for Wilfred Ndidi in the middle of the park is a priority.

Should the dream finally become a reality this season, Jürgen Klopp will surely gain the allowance to make any demand he can imagine during the upcoming summer. Indeed, what an exciting time to be a part of Liverpool FC. 

With one hand on the title, and a favourable Champions League tie, what a time it is in and around Anfield. It can be argued that this is just the beginning of what could be a huge dominance period for the Reds, should Klopp manage to achieve the dream. It is with no doubt that a window of huge opportunity will open up for the German to create a side that can once again be labelled as a European powerhouse.

The 51-year-old will no doubt have a vision of the final product he wants at Liverpool.

Here we are going to take a look at a couple of the demands that Klopp should look to make.

Raise transfer budget 

After finally showing some real spending power during last season’s transfer window, Liverpool are beginning to show that they are not afraid to start bringing in some of Europe’s biggest names. It’s about time there aren’t anymore Andy Carroll situations, after all.

It is no surprise that the Liverpool back-up squad is nowhere near as strong as a few others in the league, so there should be a huge call for more options to come off the bench and with a rise in the transfer budget, Klopp could finally have a squad that will dominate throughout the course of an entire season, without suffering a dip in form.

They spent big summer in the summer of 2018 to huge success, so 2019 should be no different.

Invest in the youth academy 

With players like Trent Alexander-Arnold coming through the system, it is clear that Liverpool certainly have enough to bring in a strong youthful side. As a man who loves to expose senior football to the youngsters, Klopp would surely love nothing more than to increase the quality of the facilities within the academy.

Just imagine how strong Liverpool will become with players like Alexander-Arnold coming through the ranks every single season. Scary if you support any other club in the Premier League. The Reds truly are on the way up.

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Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a doubt for Arsenal’s deciding Europa League second leg last-16 tie against Rennes, per the London Evening Standard.

The midfielder has struggled with injury all season and has made just 18 Premier League appearances.

What’s the word?

Mkhitaryan missed the weekend’s win over Manchester United due to a back injury that he continues to struggle with.

Prior to that problem, the Armenia international was absent from eight games due to a metatarsal injury.

The Standard report that Mkhitaryan will be assessed on Wednesday and is a doubt to play in a game that the Gunners simply have to win.

Unai Emery’s men lost 3-1 in France in the first leg last week, meaning they need to record a 2-0 victory, at least, to have any hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Mkhitaryan has played in six Europa League games thus far this season, providing two assists in total. In all competitions, meanwhile, he’s netted six times in 2018/19.

Risk him

If Mkhitaryan is fit enough to move freely, at least from the outset, this may be a risk that Emery has to take.

Arsenal were risible in France, playing absolutely terribly to leave their Europa League hopes hanging by a thread.

Mkhitaryan may not have averted the disaster but he could well be vital to the club fighting their way back into the tie.

At the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners will be expected to win and Mkhitaryan has been in the kind of form that could swing the game.

Prior to his injury, he scored once and laid on an assist in the 2-0 win over Southampton, as well as scoring once and providing two assists in the 5-1 thumping of AFC Bournemouth.

Emery may not be able to ignore him.

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Tottenham fans have once again taken to Twitter to declare their desire to see Gareth Bale return to the club, amid talk of Real Madrid offering the Welshman and cash in exchange for Christian Eriksen, as reported by The Mirror.

Things have turned sour for the Southampton academy graduate at the Santiago Bernabeu, after he was booed off the pitch in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Barcelona in El Clasico.

Bale has hit 13 goals and recorded five assists this season despite struggling to maintain a consistent run in the team, as he battles against injuries.

The 29-year-old bagged 26 goals and set up a further 10 in his last season in north London before his then world-record move to Madrid, which, aside from Harry Kane’s exploits, is one of the best individual campaigns from a Spurs player in recent memory.

Tottenham fans were quick to jump on social media earlier this week to declare their hopes of a Bale return this summer, and they’re certainly in favour of The Mirror’s claim that there could soon be a swap deal involving Eriksen.

Here’s a look at what Spurs fans have been saying on Twitter…

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Scott Parker tasted defeat in his first game as Fulham caretaker manager after replacing Claudio Ranieri, as his side were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea at Craven Cottage.

The west London derby was an exciting, end-to-end affair, and the Cottagers’ character was on full display.

After falling behind to an excellent Gonzalo Higuain strike, Fulham equalised through defender Calum Chambers. However, Jorginho scored what proved to be the winner with a languid effort from the edge of the box just three minutes after the leveller.

Fulham continued to push, however, and Ryan Sessegnon appeared to have earned his side a point in the final minute, only for the linesman to correctly flag the winger offside.

Despite the defeat, which leaves Fulham languishing in the relegation zone and a staggering 10 points off safety, fans were impressed with Parker’s impact on a team that is surely doomed.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

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In an exclusive interview with Planet Radio, Gabriel Agbonlahor revealed that he has retired from professional football.

Agbonlahor has been without a club since leaving Aston Villa at the end of the 2017-18 campaign and has now officially hung up his boots, despite suggestions that the attacker could look to continue his career abroad.

The 32-year-old scored 86 times in 391 appearances for Villa in all competitions, including 73 goals in 322 Premier League games.

The former speedster (not anymore, sorry Gabby), who also won three England caps during his career, saw his relationship with Villa sour following their relegation from the Premier League in 2016.

Off-the-field issues and injuries meant that Agbonlahor’s appearances have been limited in recent seasons, but he has still been an excellent servant to the club since making his first-team debut in 2005.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

The Villa fans have been on social media offering their views on the announcement.

And a selection of their reaction can be seen below: