Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will hope to bring in talent that will take the club to the next level.
The Merseyside outfit had a positive season as they secured a top-four position in the Premier League and reached the final of the Champions League.
The campaign ended in a low note, though, as the team were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in the Kiev showpiece.
Two new faces have already been secured, with Naby Keita joining from RB Leipzig, while Monaco midfielder Fabinho was a surprise recruit last week.
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Liverpool’s attack is already strong, with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane leading the way, but some fans think that it would be boosted even further if Timo Werner joined the clan.
In an interview with Die Welt, the Leipzig forward, who is valued at £54m by Transfermarkt, admitted that he is a few years away from being world class.
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The 23-year-old did, though, suggest that his teammate Keita will make it to the top level while playing for the Reds.
Twitter account Empire of there Kop claimed that Werner is not right for Liverpool at this moment, but plenty of fans disagree.
Paul Heckingbottom was unable to reverse the downward trend that had set in at Leeds United under Thomas Christiansen and he paid with his job in the weeks following the conclusion of a Championship season that saw his side’s play-off hopes peter out completely.
It was a campaign of regression after Garry Monk took Leeds within touching distance of the play-offs in 2016/17 and the club is in need of genuine star quality, stability and someone to generate a feel-good factor again.
That is much, much easier said than found however, but the man who has reportedly emerged as a genuine contender to take over at Elland Road is 62-year-old former Argentina manager Marcelo Bielsa.
On the face of it, the move looks like a madcap manager being linked with a madcap club, but we’ve decided to take a closer look at the genuine potential consequences if the move did go through…
Leeds would play attacking football
There is a lot of snobbery around defensive football these days but if it got Leeds back into the Premier League, you’d be hard-pushed to find a fan at Elland Road who gave a hoot.
However, it has been a while since the club’s fans were treated to an adventurous style of play but Bielsa would change all that.
His approach to strengthening sides is to embolden them with confidence to play expansively, making chances and utilising smart tactical systems to put opponents on the back foot.
This Leeds squad is currently very workmanlike, which is something of a hangover from the Monk days when results were as good as they’ve been for a while but it wasn’t pretty at times but Bielsa would try to squeeze every last ounce of attacking intent from them. It would certainly be entertaining.
Abel Hernandez would score for fun
The departure of Chris Wood was a hammer blow to Leeds’ chances of promotion last season and in the club’s attempts to keep him or wrangle a larger fee out of Burnley, they didn’t leave themselves enough time to replace him.
That means that securing a genuine goalscorer must be a priority this summer and reports linking them with Hull City striker Abel Hernandez should be music to the ears of Leeds fans.
He has had his injury problems, but when fit, he is more than capable of scoring goals for fun in the Championship.
We’ve touched on above how Hernandez would get no shortage of chances due to Bielsa’s aggressive attacking style, and over a whole season that should see him bag 20 goals, if he and Bielsa both arrive.
A play-off push is on the cards
Obviously, Bielsa and Leeds are two such combustible elements that their relationship could all end in tears and come to a very premature close but imagine that the 62-year-old manages a whole season at Elland Road.
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With his attacking style of play, managerial nous and profile to attract quality to one of England’s biggest clubs, a genuine play-off push should not be ruled out.
Leeds flirted with the top six in the opening part of last season and should have made it the season before; they are not a million miles away and Bielsa has more than enough quality to help them bridge the gap.
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Newcastle fans all agree it would be a big mistake to let Ayoze Perez leave this summer, after a report linked the Spaniard with both Napoli and Real Sociedad.
According to the Chronicle, Perez wants to stay on Tyneside this summer, but both Sociedad and Napoli will try to change his mind.
New Sociedad boss Roberto Olabe wants both Perez and Mikel Merino to help shape his side, after Perez found form towards the end of last season.
Napoli are also in the race, as the Italian giants are likely to undergo a major squad overhaul this summer with Europe’s elite sniffing around their best players.
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Perez has been massively inconsistent since his move to Tyneside, but he is one of those players that just gets what fans expect from their stars, and has finally hit the form to reward his hard work in recent months.
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The clever Spaniard grabbed eight goals and five assists, and at 24 is just about to enter the prime of his career.
Rafael Benitez is pursuing another creative number ten to compete with Perez this summer, but fans are clearly hoping it doesn’t force him out, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere announced on Tuesday night via his official Instagram account that he would be leaving the north London club when his contract expires at the end of this month, and Manchester United fans have urged their club to sign the England international, rated at £18m by Transfermarkt.
The 26-year-old revealed that having spoken to new Gunners boss Unai Emery he had made the decision to leave the Emirates, having been told that he wouldn’t be regular starter if he accepted the reduced terms he had been offered.
Now Wilshere is free to move elsewhere, but it remains to be seen whether Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho could be tempted seeing as he already has the likes Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Fred, Scott McTominay and Ander Herrera in the middle of the park.
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Man United supporters, who have been quick to react to a link with a £44m centre-back with one saying the club would be “buying another Phil Jones”, were quick to have their say on the potential of signing Wilshere via social media, and while one said “he’s twice the player Herrera is”, another said they “would love Wilshere at United paired with Pogba”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock may seem like an overtly attritional manager, and in the main that’s a fair assessment.
But throughout his lengthy managerial career, the Yorkshireman has always found room in his sides for a maverick winger – whether that’s QPR’s Adel Taarabt, Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie, Leeds United’s El Hadji Diouf or, as Bluebirds fans saw last season, Junior Hoilett.
And upon the Welsh outfit’s return to the Premier League, garnering extra top flight experience this summer is a must to give them the best chance of survival for 2018/19.
Sunderland forward Wabhi Khazri, who has impressed in glimpses for Tunisia at the World Cup, would appear to meet both remits – offering proven pedigree at Premier League level and also the kind of unorthodox creativity from out wide Warnock has demonstrated a recurring capacity to effectively tap into.
The Black Cats forward – who spent last season bagging nine Ligue 1 goals for Rennes – didn’t have much of an impact against England such was the defensive nature of Tunisia’s performance.
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But on Saturday, Khazri was a real thorn in the side of the Belgium defence, whipping in a sizzlingly delivery to assist Dylan Bronn and then scoring himself in stoppage time, tucking home a Hamdi Nagguez cross to ensure the underdogs went home with two goals in an otherwise hefty defeat.
Khazri is valued at just £9million by Transfermarkt but considering how desperate Sunderland will be to get him off their books now they’re in League One, Cardiff could well end up signing him for significantly less should they make a bid this summer. So, Bluebirds fans, would you back a swoop for Khazri? Let us know by voting below…
In recent years, Southampton have become known to most as a selling club.
Since promotion to the Premier League, the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Nathaniel Clyne to name a few, have all been sold. In the Saints’ defence, they’ve managed to do extremely well in English football’s top division considering how many of their star players have been pinched.
Despite the constant array of departures at St. Mary’s, one player that the Saints have been able to retain, is the £18m-rated (via Transfermarkt) Ryan Bertrand.
Bertrand has reportedly attracted interest from former club Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham during his time at Southampton, but a transfer to one of the Premier League giants has failed to materialise. Considering all three clubs have the resources to sign Bertrand, one reason for the England international’s stay may simply be down to a worry of playing time elsewhere.
In Marcos Alonso and Benjamin Mendy, Chelsea and Manchester City have two of the best left-backs in the division, while despite speculation surrounding a move away from White Hart Lane, Danny Rose has remained at Tottenham to battle Ben Davies for a first-team spot in Tottenham’s starting XI.
However, Bertrand himself is one of the Premier League’s leading left-backs and has the ability to cement a place in any top six side.
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At 28, Bertrand is in the prime of his career and is running out of time if he wants to relive success similar to what he enjoyed at Chelsea when he helped the club win their first Champions League trophy back in 2012.
Former Indian allrounder chosen for highest honour the BCC can bestow
Cricinfo staff10-Nov-2009Mohinder Amarnath, the former Indian allrounder, has been chosen for the CK Nayudu lifetime achievement award, the highest honour the Indian board can bestow on a former player. It will be presented to him later this month in Mumbai.The CK Nayudu award comes with a trophy, a citation and a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh (approx. US$ 3w,000).Amarnath – or Jimmy as he prefers to be known – scored 4,378 runs at an average of 42.50. Yet he will perhaps most be remembered for winning Man-of-the-Match awards in the 1983 World Cup semi-final against England and in the final against West Indies, when India achieved one of the game’s most unexpected victories.A technically accomplished and orthodox right-hander, he saved his best performances for the fearsome West Indies pace attacks. He made 85 in Trinidad in 1975-76 as India made the highest ever fourth innings score to win a Test (406 for 4) and was the brightest start of the 1983 Lord’s final, scoring 26 and taking 3 for 12 with his useful medium-pacers.The preceding winter Amarnath showed remarkable consistency in making 1182 runs at 69.53 in 11 overseas Tests, five of which were in the Caribbean and none of which India won, although the following winter he made just one run in six innings as the West Indian fast bowlers wreaked their revenge.The son of the great Indian captain Lala, Amarnath also captained Delhi to the Ranji Trophy in 1981/82 – he scored 185 as they overhauled Karnataka’s 705 to win an extraordinary final – and made a century before lunch against Northants in 1986.
A round-up of the fourth day’s action from the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy Super League
Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009
Group B
Scorecard Ashok Thakur took six wickets for Himachal Pradesh•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Karnataka continued their domination of the league phase with a resounding victory over Saurashtra. Set 241 to win, they knocked off the runs in 52.2 overs to finish on 28 points, 10 clear of the second-placed Uttar Pradesh. It was half-centuries from their young batsmen, G Satish and Manish Pandey, that steered Karnataka to their fourth win of the season. Captain Robin Uthappa gave the chase a cracking start, slamming nine fours in a 36-ball 47, after which Satish and Pandey took over. Satish dropped anchor while Pandey was more adventurous during their 126-run stand that nearly took Karnataka to the finish line. It ends a dismal season for Saurashtra, who end with a paltry seven points after reaching the semi-finals in the previous two seasons.
Scorecard Expectedly, the game between Delhi and Bengal petered out to a dull draw. After Delhi’s first innings came to an end at 378 – Puneet Bisht remaining unbeaten on 128 – Bengal helped themselves to some batting practice. The Bengal openers piled on 187, with Arindam Das going on to a breezy century but his partner Rohan Banerjee was run out on 77. Das also retired hurt after the run out, and Bengal extended their score to 223 before the game was called off. Delhi made it to the quarter-finals by one point, where they will take on a strong Tamil Nadu.
Scorecard Baroda completed a straightforward win over Maharashtra, but will be ruing their inability to chase down 101 without losing a wicket. Had they managed that, they would have made the quarter-finals ahead of Delhi but the loss of the bonus point means they finish in fourth place. Baroda only took 25 overs on the day to reach the target, thanks largely to Kedar Devdhar’s unbeaten half-century. There was a bit of a hiccup for Baroda when legspinner Digambhar Waghmare struck twice in an over, but Maharashtra had little else to celebrate on a day when they were relegated to the Plate League.
Group A
Scorecard In a tame draw at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, C Ganapathy made his second century in two games to power Tamil Nadu to a massive 785 against Hyderabad. There was no respite for the home side’s bowlers after Tamil Nadu resumed on 594 for 6, with Ganapathy receiving solid support from tailenders R Ashwin and R Jesuraj. Hyderabad’s Abhinav Kumar helped himself to one of the easiest centuries of the season, blasting the part-timers – S Badrinath, Abhinav Mukund, S Anirudha and Dinesh Karthik – Tamil Nadu used for the 27 overs that remained. Tamil Nadu finish on top of the table and now face Delhi in the quarter-finals, while Hyderabad were relegated to the Plate League for the first time.
Scorecard In one of the most exciting matches of the round, Himachal Pradesh came within two wickets of pulling off a dramatic victory over Orissa. Overnight batsman Vinit Indulkar made 28 more before being dismissed on 165 and in No. 10 Vikramjeet Malik’s company helped stretched HP’s second innings score to 486. That left Orissa needing 296 to win, but thoughts of victory were quickly abandoned after their top order folded to the pace of Ashok Thakur. From 11 for 3 it was a question of escaping with a draw, and first-innings hero Halhadar Das nearly saved them by resisting for more than three hours for a 47. However, he was the eighth man out with 15 deliveries remaining; the tailenders didn’t look to play safe after that, thrashing 16 runs in those deliveries, but managed to stave off defeat.
Scorecard Gujarat’s plucky chase of Mumbai’s huge first-innings total fizzled on the third day, with their lower order folding meekly. Once they were bowled out for 502, giving Mumbai the first-innings points, the match rambled towards a draw. Both Mumbai openers, Sahil Kukreja and Sushant Marathe, raced to 80s but fell short of reaching a century in the inconsequential second innings. Despite not having the most convincing of seasons, Mumbai are through to the quarter-finals where they clash with Harayana.
Scorecard With little to play for after Punjab took the first-innings lead on the third day, Railways crawled to 230 for 4 off 86 overs in their second innings on Friday before the match was called off. Sanjay Bangar took nearly six hours to reach an unbeaten 115, his 12th first-class century. His strike-rate of 43.72 was the quickest of the Railways batsmen. The other Railways player to make a contribution was Harshad Rawle, who laboured to 40 off 138 deliveries.Group A
John Lyon, the former Lancashire wicket keeper, died in South Africa over the Christmas holidays.
Cricinfo staff04-Jan-2010John Lyon, the former Lancashire wicket keeper, died in South Africa over the Christmas holidays. He was 58.Lyon played 84 matches for Lancashire between 1973 and 1979, initially as a replacement for Farokh Engineer before becoming the first choice for his last three seasons, taking 159 catches and making 12 stumpings. Although he was a limited lower-order batsman, he did score a first-class hundred against Warwickshire in 1979 along with Bob Ratcliffe, who also made his only first-class century.Lyon then had a marked impact on Irish cricket, initially with Bangor and then Clontarf where he proved highly successful as a coach.He subsequently emigrated to South Africa where he ran a sports bar while continuing to coach.
The ECB will begin their search for a replacement bowling coach after Ottis Gibson was released from his contract to take up the head coach’s role with West Indies
Cricinfo staff02-Feb-2010The ECB will begin their search for a replacement bowling coach after Ottis Gibson was released from his contract to take up the head coach’s role with West Indies. England leave for Dubai in mid-February for two Twenty20s against Pakistan before heading onto Bangladesh for a one-day and Test tour, and it seems unlikely a full-time appointment will be made in time for that trip.Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, and head coach Andy Flower will lead the search for Gibson’s replacement. “There has been much speculation in the last few days about the role of fast bowling coach,” Morris said, “but now Ottis has confirmed his departure, Andy Flower and I will begin the process of identifying the right individual who can join the England set up and build on the foundation laid by Ottis.”Gibson had become a well-respected member of England’s growing backroom staff and had been credited with the improving performances of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graham Onions. The England quick bowlers often spoke highly of Gibson who was the first man to successfully fill the hole left by Troy Cooley’s departure following the 2005 Ashes series.”I think Ottis has done a pretty good job,” the former England seamer, Angus Fraser, told Cricinfo. “He’s been quiet and undemonstrative, and he’s just gone about his business. He never sought the limelight and he had the respect of his players, which you do when you’ve had a good career yourself, and he dealt with them in a very mature way.”The ECB will want a high-calibre appointment to fill the vacancy and their search could well lead them back to South Africa, a country that has proved a popular source of players and coaches in recent times. Allan Donald is likely to be sounded out over his availability and is certainly one of the stand-out candidates currently not in a role, having missed out on the India bowling role that recently went to his fellow South African, Eric Simons.Donald held an interim role with England in 2007 but turned down the full-time position because of the touring commitments involved, and instead returned to Warwickshire. However, he left county cricket at the end of the 2009 season because of family reasons and returned home, and it remains to be seen whether he would be willing to uproot his young family again.Another option the ECB may consider is Donald’s former team-mate Shaun Pollock, who has taken his first steps into coaching with the Mumbai Indians at the IPL. It is also possible that South Africa’s current bowling coach, Vincent Barnes, could well be looking for a new job after the tour of India if the upheaval in the South African coaching structure continues.There aren’t many candidates from closer to home making huge cases to be considered. Kevin Shine held the position after Cooley departed and is now in charge of the fast bowling programme at the National Academy in Loughborough, but remains tainted by his back-room role during the 2006-07 Ashes whitewash in Australia.From those not currently in the coaching set-up, Darren Gough would make an interesting choice, particularly when it comes to the art of one-day cricket, although his lifestyle has moved away from cricket since retirement. Meanwhile Phil DeFreitas, the former England seamer, was in the running when Shine got the job in 2006.”The most important factor in who they pick now is that they find someone who fits in with what Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower want to achieve,” added Fraser.