All posts by h716a5.icu

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Tottenham Hotspur have slapped a €35million (£30.2m) asking price on Kieran Trippier amid interest from both Napoli and Manchester United, per Gianluca Di Marzio.

What’s the word?

Trippier has already been the subject of a bid from Napoli, per the aforementioned report, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side “insisting” on the signing of the England international.

An offer worth as much as €20m (£17.9m) has been submitted to the Premier League side, but they have demanded a fee of £30.2m to countenance a sale.

However, United are also said to be monitoring developments and Trippier, who was born in Bury, is said to prefer a possible move to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

The right-back, who enjoyed a fantastic 2018 World Cup, has struggled for form this season but he has still made 34 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, who are third in the Premier League and in the Champions League semi-finals.

Levy’s greatest trick

Receiving over £30m for Trippier will only further enhance the legend of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

The right-back has been a liability for much of this season and proved that with a truly shambolic own goal in the Premier League clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

It is crazy that both United and Napoli, two clubs of great European renown, are even contemplating the idea of signing Trippier.

If they actually meet Levy’s asking price – he is a feared negotiator and has a reputation for squeezing every last penny out of buying clubs – then perhaps the game truly has gone mad.

On this form, Trippier is worth a third of his purported value.

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The spygate scandal back in January created one of the greatest stories of the season, but could it yet work in Derby’s favour five months later.

The Rams were completely thrown off their game when they played Leeds at Pride Park in January and the Whites dominated in a 2-0 win.

Before the match Marcelo Bielsa held a press conference where he went through a powerpoint presentation, detailing everything he knew about Frank Lampard’s team.

The incident and fallout surrounding it may now come back to bite Leeds as it may bring about both a tactical and mental disadvantage.

Mental disadvantage

Both teams will undoubtedly be determined to get to Wembley for the playoff final, but the incident earlier in the year may spur the Derby players on even more.

Mason Bennett has already spoken about spygate telling the Derbyshire Telegraph: “We were fuming about the whole (Spygate) situation with Leeds. The (Derby) fans have been singing, ‘We’re coming for you’ – I think that’s the message. That’s what we need to do.

“The gaffer (Frank Lampard) is buzzing for those games and we are as well as a team. Hopefully, we can go and put on a performance.”

Tactical disadvantage

Whereas Bielsa got an insight into Lampard’s preparation in January, the Chelsea legend has had five months to prepare for a potential rematch.

The Argentine’s powerpoint presentation showed everything that he knows about Derby, and more importantly, it showed the Rams boss what he needed to adjust if the two sides met again.

The 63-year-old can’t spy this time after his club received a £200,000 fine from the EFL following the first incident.

Lampard will have watched back the presentation the Leeds boss put on in January, and he will surely have a plan B to throw the former Marseille boss off in the playoffs.

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Manchester United fans on Twitter can’t seem to agree over whether or not Ander Herrera will be missed or not, and also can’t seem to decide over if the decision to let him go was the right one.

The Spanish international will leave Old Trafford at the end of the season upon the expiry of his contract, and it has been reported that he will join Paris Saint-Germain.

Will OGS still be in charge of Man Utd come next May? The Flying Pig discusses in the video below…

United announced on their Twitter account that the former Athletic Bilbao man would be leaving the club in a farewell video. The Red Devils couldn’t get the 29-year-old to agree to fresh terms, as Herrera was reportedly demanding a weekly salary in excess of £200,000-a-week.

He is, however, one of the few players who seem to actually care about the club and gives his all on the pitch, the same of which cannot be said about a number of current first-team stars at the club.

Some aren’t fussed about his departure seeing as he basically held the club to ransom, whilst other supporters on Twitter feel that the decision to let him leave was a terrible one…

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A back-up keeper is rarely called upon, but for Marcelo Bielsa, his could be a secret weapon.

Kiko Casilla is the solid first choice at Elland Road, but Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s spot on the bench should be given to someone else.

Miazek on the bench

Playoffs are often won and lost based off of the slightest of advantages gained by either manager.

Changing your back-up goalkeeper may seem like a trivial adjustment to make in the playoffs, but for Leeds United it could prove to be the difference between playing in the Premier League or the Championship next season.

Bielsa should call upon 22-year-old Polish stopper Kamil Miazek to replace Peacock-Farrell on the bench, in case of emergency if the game goes to penalties.

Following Leeds’ 1-0 win at Pride Park, spot-kicks are a possibility heading into their second leg tie against Derby County, and the Whites must prepare for this eventuality.

Emulate Van Gaal

Louis van Gaal utilised the tactic of swapping goalkeepers before a shootout at the 2014 World Cup, and it worked to great effect.

Tim Krul replaced Jasper Cillessen in the last minutes of extra time before saving two penalties against Costa Rica to book the Netherlands a place in the quarter-finals.

Van Gaal then didn’t put Krul in as the same scenario unfolded in the semi-finals, as the Dutch fell to Argentina

Bielsa must learn from one of the only managers in history more experienced than himself and emulate this secret to find success if a shootout looms.

Casilla has stopped just three penalties in his career while Peacock-Farrell has kept out only one of the spot-kicks he has faced.

Miazek was between the sticks when Leeds’ U23 outfit won the PDL National Cup on pens, and the Pole saved two strikes from 12 yards to seal the title.

The 6 ft 4 goalie is a much more imposing figure in net, and if the game is level heading into the final minutes of extra time, then Bielsa should bring on Miazek as his secret weapon.

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Liverpool fans have called on their club to make a move for Ajax attacker Hakim Ziyech in this summer’s transfer window.

The Eredivisie champions’ sporting director Marc Overmars recently confirmed that Ziyech would be allowed to leave the Dutch giants this summer ‘when a top club comes in’.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant 2018-19 campaign – scoring 21 times and registering 24 assists in 49 appearances for a wonderful Ajax team.

In many ways, it is going to be sad when the Netherlands outfit get pulled apart this summer.

That was always going to be likely due to the talent in the team, though, and Ziyech certainly played a key role in his side landing a league and cup double.

Has Alisson been Liverpool’s most important signing of the season? Check out the video below to find out why Jurgen Klopp thinks so…

Liverpool have been credited with an interest in the attacker.

And a number of the Merseyside outfit’s fans have called on sporting director Michael Edwards to secure a summer deal for the Morocco international.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

[ad_pod ]Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter in fury after former PSG man Habib Beye had some harsh words to share on midfield trio Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner.Beye told Canal (via GFFN): “Liverpool are about to go into a Champions League final with Milner, Henderson & Wijnaldum. We need to stop thinking that PSG can’t do it because of the players that they have.â€Has Alisson been Liverpool’s most important signing of the season? Check out the video below to find out why Jurgen Klopp thinks so…Now, this is massively disrespectful to the midfield trio in question, who have worked their socks off to get Liverpool in some extremely exciting positions over the last few years.The funny thing is that Liverpool have already beaten PSG in the Champions League this season using that very same midfield, so Beye really doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

They may not be as exciting as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Isco, but Milner, Henderson and Wijnaldum will guarantee you commitment, hard work and an abundance of effort; around players such as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, their graft goes a long way to helping the flair players perform.

Beye’s comments are extremely unfair on the Liverpool trio, and have quite rightly been met with anger from some of the Reds supporters on Twitter…

The fate of Marko Grujić, the young Serbian prodigy is still up in the air. His extremely successful loan spell at Hertha Berlin has come to a close but according to Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), Liverpool are unlikely to leave the player in their squad as numerous suiters lurk around and are interested in a permanent deal. While the Reds may currently be on the market for some bigger fish to fry, losing Grujić would be a big step in the wrong direction and would mean losing out on a potential superstar in the making.

Sending out a player on loan could be hugely beneficial for both the player in question and for the parent club. But there’s also the other side of the coin – the grittier and, at times, more difficult one. Sometimes, the players develop best when immersed in their parent club’s philosophy, their routines and atmosphere, meaning that they would develop best if they stayed put, even if it meant less game-time and more just training with their future teammates.

This might just as well be the case with Marko Grujić and Liverpool. When he arrived at Anfield in 2016, he was seen as a great potential coming out from his hometown but one that needed polishing before being thrown into the fire. Well, he’s been in the “foreign fire” for long enough and spells at Cardiff and especially Hertha Berlin, have moulded him into quite an impressive player already. His market price has skyrocketed to £16.20m which is almost quadruple of what he was worth when he first joined the Reds.

So yes, Grujić is still pretty much a work in progress but shipping him out on yet another loan or, even worse, selling him permanently, would only increase the chance of him eventually not being able to fulfil that huge potential. If he stays, however, Jurgen Klopp would have the best tools to groom and polish his gem into the kind of player he thinks would suit the young Serbian, and the team, best. After all, the Reds are quite short on quality midfielders and missing out on one that would not even make a dent in your warchest or your wage bill would be unacceptable.

Purely looking at their squad, Liverpool are pretty much set for the right here and right now, with maybe some minor tweaks to be done here and there, and that gives them the perfect excuse to take some time aside for a future project that could yield them a much bigger return in a couple of years’ time. Not to mention that Grujić has already developed into a fine player who could at least slot into the rotational squad and bring about some competition around the middle of the park.

His tendency to find the net, which he has done five times for Hertha Berlin, and his slightly attacking mentality will suit their overall style and mindset. If Klopp feels Grujić has to improve on certain things, which he certainly will, Anfield is the best place to get that done.

Sort it out, Jurgen, or you just might lose out on a brilliant player.

Kopites, would you give Marko Grujić a chance in the team or do you think that he is not good enough for Liverpool? Let us know in the comments below…

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Here we are again, then. The summer transfer window is open and as per usual Manchester United are linked to every name under the sun.

The Red Devils have a number of areas that need improvement and with one of those being at the back, it’s no shock that they’re in for Harry Maguire, per The Daily Mail.

The Leicester City defender didn’t have the best of times against the Netherlands for England in their UEFA Nations League semi-final, but he’s still more than good enough to start at Old Trafford, especially considering he’d be competing with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling for game time.

What’s the story?

The Daily Mail have claimed that Maguire is a United target, but there are other interested parties. The England man is Gareth Southgate’s number one choice at centre-half and it’s hardly surprising that there’s plenty of interest in him.

Alongside United, the other team in Manchester are also supposedly after Maguire, and the Mail believes that if Maguire was to have a straight pick between the two clubs then he’d pick Man City, which isn’t too hard to believe given the two clubs’ current circumstances.

Homegrown talent

We all know how important it is to the top English clubs to have a wealth of homegrown talent on their books, and whilst the current crop of English players at Old Trafford is far from exciting, Maguire could go a long way to changing that.

The England man came through the ranks at Sheffield United before going onto play for Hull City and now Leicester, so he’s as homegrown as they come. All the Red Devils need to do is convince the 26-year-old that Old Trafford is a more attractive option than the Etihad, although that might be hard to do.

At the moment Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only has one reliable defender who can truly be trusted at the heart of his backline and that’s Victor Lindelof. If the Swedish international had someone like Maguire next to him, though, then Old Trafford would instantly become a tough ground to get a result from as a travelling side.

There will be loads of options for Solskjaer to improve his defence with this summer, but Maguire is likely high up the priority list due to his experience in England.

Whilst their chances of signing him look very thin considering the rival interest from Man City, you only have to look to Alexis Sanchez and Fred as examples of when the Red Devils have beaten their noisy neighbours to a transfer. Let’s just hope this one goes a little bit better than those two.

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Moussa Sissoko has been showered with praise by Tottenham Hotspur fans despite the club’s heartbreaking Champions League final defeat to Liverpool on Saturday.

The France international conceded a penalty after less than a minute at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, having been adjudged to have handled Sadio Mane’s cross.

Mohamed Salah stepped up to score from the spot, instantly putting Spurs on the back foot in Spain.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men attempted to find an equaliser but were ultimately consigned to defeat by Divock Origi’s late goal, handing the Reds a sixth European triumph in their history.

Sissoko was substituted in the 74th minute after appearing to sustain an injury and he took to Twitter on Sunday, insisting that he and his team-mates will return better than ever.

He wrote: “Disappointed to not bringing the cup to Tottenham. We gave everything, but the sport is sometimes cruel.

“We have to accept it and work to come back stronger. I’m very proud of my teammates and our season. We remain motivated to win trophies.”

And fans have taken to Twitter to respond to the 29-year-old, praising him for an exceptional season in north London.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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According to Football Insider, Leeds United have rejected a loan offer for their wantaway playmaker Samu Saiz.

It’s no secret that the Spaniard wants to leave Elland Road this summer, but the Yorkshire club are absolutely making the right decision in holding out for a permanent deal.

What’s the story?

Football Insider have reported that Leeds have turned down a loan offer for Saiz from an unnamed La Liga side. It had previously been said that Getafe, Alaves and Valencia were interested in his services, but it is unknown at this moment which team has made a move for him.

The 28-year-old spent the second half of last season out on loan at Getafe, but Leeds seemingly don’t want to let him go unless they’re getting a fee.

Right decision

Leeds are undoubtedly making the right decision on their former talisman’s future.

The midfielder’s contract has two years left to run on it, so if the Whites don’t sell him in this transfer window, they may not get as high a fee next season.

The Whites need to recoup as much cash as possible as their recent transfer policy has shown that they aren’t able to spend money unless they sell players.

Saiz is still one of the most talented players in the Championship, and even though he’s unhappy at the club he should still fetch a decent price.

Allowing him to go out on loan only to sell him 12 months later would be a stupid decision as it looks like he is well and truly finished in English football.