Wolverhampton Wanderers face Leicester City on the opening day of the upcoming Premier League season, and neutrals may well be hoping for a repeat of the dramatic 4-3 thriller.
The game saw Diogo Jota score a 93rd minute winner to complete the first top flight hat-trick scored by a Wolves player in 42 years.
Lee Chapman, who can be seen in the video above filling out his Panini Tabloid, believes that the Foxes will get their revenge on the opening weekend.
Check out Lee’s thoughts on Wolves in full in the video above.
The Premier League Panini Tabloid is a special commemorative newspaper sticker collection celebrating the exciting new partnership between the greatest league in the world and the legendary name in football publishing, Panini. As the official collectable licensee to the Premier League, Panini are delighted to bring consumers a new era of collectables and the best collecting experience. See more here: http://bit.ly/PaniniFFCEditorial
Could Philippe Coutinho make a spectacular return to Liverpool this summer? It seems unlikely.
However, recent reports suggest it could actually be on the cards. Le10 Sport claimed towards the back end of last month that the Reds were pondering a possible return for the creative star, which was then relaid by The Express on Sunday.
With that in mind, the question was posed to Liverpool fans on Twitter of whether they’d take him back at Anfield.
Some responses, rather surprisingly, were in favour of what would be a controversial return for the 27-year-old.
One supporter said that bringing him back would be a no-brainer whilst another said he couldn’t argue with Jurgen Klopp if he decided to make a move for the Brazilian.
A further supporter commented that Coutinho should be brought back because he knows the club’s philosophy, suggesting he was exactly what Liverpool needed.
The Barcelona man left under a cloud of smoke back in January 2018, paying £9m of his own money to force through a move to the Catalan club.
Consequently, he hasn’t been held in the highest of regards since.
Having moved from Premier League rivals Manchester City to join Liverpool back in the summer of 2015, James Milner has well and truly established himself as part of the Anfield furniture.
The versatile midfielder has been used in a number of positions in his Reds career and was a vital part of the Merseyside club’s success in the Champions League last season.
The 33-year-old has entered the final year of his contract at Anfield though, and according to The Liverpool Echo, Jurgen Klopp’s side are keen to reward him with a fresh new deal.
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After hearing the news Milner’s long-term future could be to remain at Liverpool, many fans took to Twitter to voice their opinion on the matter.
Some Reds supporters felt that the midfielder’s performances for the club absolutely warranted him being given a new deal and urged the club to get it done.
Indeed, some felt that his personality off the pitch was a major added bonus to the side and that as a “model professional”, he would have the right influence on some of the other players in the squad.
Check out some of the reaction of Liverpool fans below:
According to a report by The Sun on Sunday, Leeds United star Mateusz Klich is a surprise target for Burnley this summer, and Whites fans on Twitter are largely divided about the rumour.
The Sun on Sunday reported that the Clarets are eyeing up a move for the goalscoring midfielder, although the Premier League club is split on how much they should offer for the Poland international.
The 29-year-old was certainly in impressive form for the Yorkshire outfit last term seeing as he was the only player to appear in all 46 of their Championship fixtures, although he did go through both good and difficult spells of form.
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Only two of his 10 league goals in 2018/19 came between October 20 and March 12, following a strong start and end to the campaign.
Leeds supporters certainly seem split on potentially losing Klich before the transfer window slams shut in less than a month.
Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…
While one said “I’d sell him” and another thought “£7m would be a good price”, another said they were “praying that Klich doesn’t go”, with a further individual appearing really confident that “he’s going nowhere”.
The mix of opinion isn’t too surprising given his age, how mad transfer fees are going this summer and his apparent inconsistencies on the pitch, and it will be interesting to see what Leeds do should a bid for his services be submitted.
Last summer Fulham brought 12 new players through the door of Craven Cottage.
Their spending, on the face of it, appeared to be a sign of intent. This was a newly promoted team who looked ready to take the Premier League by storm alongside Wolves.
However, they couldn’t have experienced more contrasting seasons. One was relegated whilst the other became one of the best promoted sides we’ve seen.
Nuno Santo’s men took to the Premier League like a duck to water, taking 16 points off the sides in the top six as they qualified for Europe.
But with Aston Villa now returning to the top-flight, they could go one of two ways. They could either come crashing back down to earth and end up in the Championship again, or they may well end up establishing themselves.
Only time will tell what happens but in Dean Smith, a manager who likes to develop players, they have every chance of staying up.
At the heart of their business this summer is Christian Purslow, a man who has been keen to establish some form of excitement in the team after declaring they wanted to add young players. Indeed, with the arrivals of individuals like Wesley and Matt Targett, they’ve done that.
But alongside him every step of the way, have been Jesus Garcia Pitarch and Smith.
They’ve worked tirelessly this summer, adding eight fresh faces to their squad in preparation for the new campaign. It doesn’t look like they’re done there either with Douglas Luiz another name being touted, alongside wingers Trezeguet and Said Benrahma.
But their activity during the summer has taken their outlay to nearly £100m, a tally that comes close to what Fulham shelled out only a year ago.
It’s easy to see why comparisons have been drawn, therefore.
But this is an unfair and completely unwarranted tag that Villa are being labelled with.
They are not like Fulham at all, and here’s why.
Last summer, Fulham invested and handed loans to countless players who had never played in the Premier League. In came Sergio Rico and Luciano Vietto on loan whilst Fabri and Maxime Le Marchand were also welcomed.
But there were more expensive additions in the form of Andre Zambo Anguissa who cost them £22.3m and Jean Michael Seri for £25m.
None of them were proven at the top level but here Fulham were, stood with an armoury of new players who had little time to settle in.
By the middle of July, only Le Marchand and Seri had arrived. The final week of that month and a period in August was a frenzy with Aleksandar Mitrovic, Alfie Mawson and Joe Bryan all coming in alongside Anguissa on permanent terms.
As for temporary deals, they had three players who arrived just days before the season commenced.
On that evidence, is it any real surprise that it took Fulham so long to adapt and adjust? Arguably not. Likewise, when you sign players on loan and survival is the priority, you always have to question whether they’re really committed enough for a relegation battle. Some of Fulham’s loan acquisitions clearly weren’t.
Villa, on the other hand, have already signed eight new faces by mid-July.
They’ve landed players with experience in the top-flight, as well as adding young footballers they can develop further.
But key to what the Villans have done in 2019 is that they’ve kept the spine of their team together.
They’ve brought back people they had on loan by bringing in Tyrone Mings, Kortney Hause and Anwar El Ghazi, three crucial members of their promotion-winning campaign.
After all, this is a team who over the summer released eight players as well as finally ending Ross McCormack’s contract. Villa were hardly going to sit idly by and do nothing.
Purslow, alongside Pitarch and Smith, has done a fantastic job so far. They’ve been aggressive in the transfer window and most of their deals seem to have been done swimmingly.
At the end of last season, Villa fans took great comfort in the fact Fulham were relegated, so it’s rather ironic that they’re now being compared to the Cottagers.
Yet, the Midlands outfit have been clever.
They haven’t stalled and waited for the summer to drag on, they’ve got players in and they’re already adjusting to Smith’s playing methods.
If you consider that key factor, Villa will be far better prepared for life in the Premier League than recently relegated Fulham ever were.
On this occasion, Villa’s spending isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Comparisons that have been made in recent weeks are wide of the mark and assuming Villa’s shrewd recruitment pays off in terms of survival, Purslow and Smith will have the last laugh.
Lots of Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to defend Ryan Shawcross from some simply abhorrent responses after what appeared to be a severe injury was suffered by the Stoke centre-back.
Shawcross challenged Leicester’s Marc Albrighton in a friendly game with a slide tackle, but his back leg unnaturally buckled under his body when going to make the attempted block – the Potters are unsure of how serious the issue is right now.
Amazingly, some Arsenal fans saw an opportunity to mock the 31-year-old after the incident.
If you’re unaware of the details, let me fill you in. It was Shawcross who was responsible for Aaron Ramsey’s horrific leg break back in 2010, an injury which led to some Stoke fans chanting: “Aaron Ramsey, he walks with a limp” in a game back in 2016.
There has been bad blood between the two clubs for years because of the incident, but Shawcross’ injury is no reason for the Arsenal fans to behave just as badly as the Stoke supporters did.
Let’s take a look at a more measured reaction to the terrible incident…
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Speaking in a pre-match press conference (as quoted by Football Italia), Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi has admitted that Manchester United target Sergej Milinkovic-Savic could be allowed to leave the club this summer as long as an “important offer” arrived.
What’s the word?
Reports in recent weeks have suggested that United are very much interested in bringing the Serbia international to Old Trafford, and that the midfielder himself wished to leave Lazio.
Now, the Italian side’s manager has confirmed that whilst he would like Milinkovic-Savic to stay, he wouldn’t stand in his way if offers were to arrive.
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He said: “My thoughts are that I’d like Milinkovic-Savic to stay, but I also believe the club has to consider offers when they come in and then make a decision. We know that if he was to leave, we’d have some important shoes to fill. I hope he remains, he had a great pre-season training camp, but the market is open and we are ready for any situation.
“Milinkovic is 24-years-old now, he’s no longer a kid. I can give him advice, he is at our disposal and hasn’t missed a training session, but then I don’t know what will happen. I hope he stays. If an important offer arrives, it is only right that the club take it into consideration.”
Time for United to make their move
As the transfer deadline approaches, United are running out of time to get their act together and start making serious moves in the transfer market. The early deals for Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka got things going, but it has been relatively slow progress at Old Trafford since then.
Clubs are far less likely to want to do business with the deadline approaching, and would be keen on leaving themselves enough time to secure a replacement themselves. Dithering on an offer for Milinkovic-Savic would simply create more problems than it needs to, and United are not exactly in a position to keep adding to the transfer stresses they already have with the likes of Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.
Inzaghi’s comments are essentially a plea to United to get the ball rolling and is perhaps the first step in the midfielder eventually ending up at Old Trafford. Now it’s United’s turn to make their move.
Carl Jenkinson probably didn’t really have the Arsenal career he had hoped for back when he joined the team from Charlton Athletic way back in June 2011.
The 27-year-old defender spent most of his time with the Gunners actually jumping from loan to loan before finally making a permanent move to Championship side Nottingham Forest, as now officially confirmed by the club.
Jenkinson spent the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons on loan at West Ham United and was then moved out on a temporary basis again to Birmingham City during the 2017/18 campaign.
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In total, he made 70 appearances for Arsenal, scoring one goal along the way.
And now, he has taken to
/B03LkM7lQ7j/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram to send a heartfelt goodbye message to all of the fans out there.
It was an in-depth message with a lot of emotion in which he stated his desire to look for more regular football elsewhere.
Still, he was proud to represent the Gunners and also said he always gave his all for the shirt.
Jenkinson represented both England and Finland internationally at youth levels before making the step up for the senior England team in 2012.
The following article is a special report; all information presented has been gleaned from Football FanCast sources unless otherwise stated.
Mauricio Pochettino began the summer calling on Tottenham Hotspur to revamp the squad and endure a “painful” rebuild.
As the deadline closed on Thursday at 5pm, one has to ask: Did they achieve it?
First things first, as there really is only one place to start, Spurs pursued Paulo Dybala. The Juventus forward, an elite striker who has scored a hatful of goals in Serie A, was deemed a shockingly attainable target.
Pochettino likes him and sources have confirmed to Football FanCast that he informed Daniel Levy, his chairman, of his desire to sign him.
Those inside the club always felt they were outsiders, that Manchester United’s interest could put the kibosh on them having any chance of bringing Dybala to north London. But then something strange happened: United pulled out. Reports suggest that the image rights issue – they are owned by a separate company – was too big a hurdle to overcome.
Nevertheless, Spurs continued to try right up until deadline day. One source at the club, as late as Thursday morning, told FFC that there was “confidence” a deal could be reached.
It all fell apart. A multitude of reasons have been quoted elsewhere but FFC was told that it was the image rights again. There was simply no way to disentangle the wires. Dybala was keen to play under Pochettino and Levy wanted to make it happen; Juventus were willing to sell, too. It just fell away at the last moment.
If it feels like a disappointment, perhaps it shouldn’t.
Spurs exceeded their club-record transfer to sign Tanguy Ndombele earlier in the transfer window, paying around £55m to Lyon for the midfielder’s signature. His capture was announced on the same day as Jack Clarke, the young winger who has been loaned back to Leeds United.
Ndombele, by all accounts, was the top target this summer, the player Pochettino most wanted. His early acquisition has allowed him the benefit of a full pre-season and he essentially replaces Mousa Dembele, who left the club in January. Sources at the club are very excited about the Frenchman and believe he could be a key asset this season.
The other deals, those for Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon, were far more complicated. Both were confirmed on deadline day but this came about after months of talks and negotiations.
The former was another top target but Real Betis, the club from which he has been signed, were in no real mood to negotiate, at least not initially.
Sources at the club have claimed that the Spanish club twice moved the goalposts, with Levy having agreed a fee for the 23-year-old.
As recently as Wednesday evening, the deal was being reported as being worth £55m but instead, Spurs have brought Lo Celso in on loan.
This could, in part, be due to the sell-on clause that Betis owe PSG for a player who struggled at Parc des Princes, but it also explains why negotiations were so lengthy and so complex.
There was even a suggestion from some sources that the club considered pulling out of talks at one stage to pursue Sporting Lisbon’s Bruno Fernandes but that never went anywhere and, obviously, it was Lo Celso who was holding his Spurs shirt up for the cameras on Thursday.
Soccer Football – Europa League – Round of 32 Second Leg – Real Betis v Stade Rennes – Estadio Benito Villamarin, Seville, Spain – February 21, 2019 Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo
Sessegnon’s deal dragged, too, with sources claiming that the club were initially hoping to sign both Ryan and his brother Steven. In the end, the negotiations came down to Fulham taking a player in part-exchange plus a significant fee, believed to be an initial £25m.
Josh Onomah was ultimately the sacrificial lamb and he will link up with Scott Parker on a permanent deal.
All four players, including Clarke, were targeted at the beginning of the window and all have been signed.
There has been less good news on the departures, however.
Kieran Trippier, of course, has gone, as has Vincent Janssen. That’s about it.
Fernando Llorente’s contract expired but sources insist he could still come back, while Michel Vorm, the goalkeeper, was released.
The likes of Georges-Kevin N’Koudou and Victor Wanyama, both deemed expendable at the beginning of the summer, are still around, while uncertainty clouds the futures of Christian Eriksen, Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld.
Eriksen has previously expressed a desire to move and it is believed he has a preference to join a Spanish club as he seeks a lifestyle change. As yet, there has not been a bid from either Real or Atletico Madrid, though the transfer window in Spain does not close until the end of the month.
Rose was at the centre of a strange deadline day saga as he travelled to Watford’s training ground, only for Spurs to reject two bids from the Hornets for him.
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Alderweireld’s £25m release clause has expired but interest in him remains and, as with Eriksen, the club now face a decision: They can either cash in now and bank the money, or run the risk of losing them on a free transfer next summer.
In the end, the club have ended up with four players coming in – three, in real terms, with Clarke’s loan – and, really, only one first-team player going out.
In terms of squad depth, that can be seen as a good thing, but it probably falls some way short of what Pochettino meant when he said he wanted to rebuild this squad.
At least his targets are in though, and with the European window remaining open for another few weeks, he may still get his wish.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Aston Villa’s start to the Premier League season has begun with back-to-back defeats.
They opened the campaign with the tough test of the Champions League finalists, Tottenham, where for the best part of an hour they looked a solid side that could have potentially caused the upset of the weekend.
John McGinn’s early first-half strike was cancelled out in the 73rd minute by a Tanguy Ndombele thunderbolt before England’s Harry Kane netted a brace inside the final four minutes to put to bed any chance of a result.
On Saturday, they faced their first home game since returning to the Premier League and that ended in defeat at the hands of Bournemouth after a brace of blunders gave them a world of work to do for the rest of the match.
Find out which 33-year-old could help keep Aston Villa in the Premier League this season in the video below…
On the Chalkboard
It’s something that Dean Smith and Villa are going to have to eradicate as quickly as possible or their Premier League journey will be merely a Championship honeymoon and then they really would be repeating Fulham’s exploits.
In the game against Spurs, Jack Grealish lost possession to hand Kane the goal to take them to 2-1 in the match whilst at the weekend, Douglas Luiz’s poorly thought-out dummy gifted Harry Wilson an attempt at goal which he duly smashed home.
That wasn’t before Tom Heaton’s challenge on Callum Wilson inside the first two minutes handed the visitors a penalty and the opener.
Those are nasty signs to be having but at least they are coming now and not at the back end of the season.
However, when your Premier League experienced goalkeeper is looking uncomfortable on his home debut then you should be worried. Heaton has played 98 times in the Premier League and he needs to be leading from the back, not setting an example through mistakes.
Had there not been these three individual errors then there’s little to suggest Villa wouldn’t have been able to see out the Tottenham game for a draw at 1-1 and that they might not have had a mountain to climb against Bournemouth after being two down after just 12 minutes.
In the Premier League, you just simply cannot afford such individual errors, especially with the quality increasing after coming up from the Championship.
It’s a harsh lesson but one they must learn from. How they do that may well define their season.