French football programme Telefoot claimed this weekend that Tottenham have joined the race to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, but Spurs fans are having none of it.According to Telefoot, Spurs have added their name to the list of competitors for Lemar, with the Frenchman admitting he was disappointed not to get a move in January.“I am not going to hide it, I was a bit disappointed,†Lemar said. “But there is no point fixating on that.“I have continued to work so that these clubs might come back for me in the following transfer window.â€https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/fm2mc-badboyxi.mp4Arsenal and Liverpool have also been linked to the talented French attacker, but Spurs are supposedly looking to hijack the deal as Mauricio Pochettino aims to build an attack to be feared throughout Europe.Lemar has two goals and seven assists for Monaco in 20 league starts this season, after he broke on to the European stage last year as an integral part of Monaco’s title winning season.Spurs fans were surprised by links to Gareth Bale last week, with reports suggesting he could be offered to Premier League clubs for €120 million.Similarly to the Bale rumours, fans can’t even comprehend Daniel Levy splashing out such a big fee on one player, and they’re dubious of the links to Lemar.Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Roberto Martinez undoubtedly had an excellent first season at Everton. The Toffees finished fifth in the Barclays Premier League and qualified for the Europa League. This season though, despite comfortably progressing into the Europa League knockout stages, Everton have struggled to replicate their fine league form from last term, and currently occupy 11th spot.
It seems to be a case of one step forward and two steps back for the Toffees. Everton have secured just one win in their last six games in all competitions. After an impressive 3-1 home victory over Queens Park Rangers a week ago, the Toffees travelled to St Mary’s, to face a Southampton side, who were also struggling for consistency. The Saints ran out comfortable 3-0 winners, leaving Martinez bemoaning his defensive woes in his post-match interview.
Everton, who were tipped to ruffle the feathers of the top four this season, certainly have to pick up their form if they are to better their 5th place finish from last year. Too many of Martinez’s senior players have let him down so far this term. We take a look at the FIVE players who have disappointed the most at Goodison Park.
Sylvain Distin
First and foremost, Sylvain Distin has been a great servant to Everton over the years. The defender has been at Goodison Park for over five years and has played over 160 league games for the Toffees.
Unfortunately for Distin, at the age of 37, his best days seem to be well and truly behind him. Anyone at his age would struggle to keep up with the pace of the modern game, especially the relentlessness and speed of the Premier League. Due to John Stones’ injury, the 37-year-old is probably playing more games than he would have anticipated this season. Martinez has also utilised him in the Europa League and the Capital One Cup this term.
On Saturday, Distin struggled to keep up with the pacey Shane Long, and the Saints’ striker is not the first, or the last, who will give the Frenchman a tough time this season.
Phil Jagielka
Staying with the current defensive problems, if Distin is going to come under scrutiny, then so should the Everton skipper too.
Phil Jagielka hasn’t been anywhere near his best for the Toffees this season. The England international issued a public apology after the disastrous 3-0 defeat at St Mary’s on Saturday. He and his defensive partner Distin had a difficult time against Southampton, and they were both caught out on a number of occasions.
Like Distin, Jagielka is another player who’s been an excellent servant at Goodison Park. But the Toffees skipper needs to stand up and be counted, and prove why he’s the captain of Everton and England’s first-choice centre-back.
Steven Pienaar
The South African has struggled to make an impact at Goodison Park this season. The 32-year-old has only made eight Premier League appearances for Martinez’s side so far.
With the emergence of Ross Barkley, and players such as Kevin Mirallas, Muhamed Besic, Gareth Barry, Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy – all packing the midfield, Pienaar, who’s in his second spell at Goodison Park, could be on his way out of Everton sooner rather than later.
When he has had his chance to shine this term, he hasn’t done enough to make a significant impression to stamp down a place in the Everton starting line-up. Pienaar can expect some appearances in Everton’s cup exploits, but his Premier League chances are surely going to be very few and far between.
Tim Howard
Tim Howard is another senior player who has underperformed for Everton this season. The American stopper hasn’t been as consistent as the Goodison Park faithful have become accustomed to.
Howard seems to be struggling with the defence in front of him and is majorly suffering as a consequence. The 35-year-old, who has been an ever-present for Everton thus far, has conceded 27 goals in 17 Premier League games – only Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City have let in more. That’s a worrying stat for the Everton fans, and it just confirms Everton’s current defensive frailties.
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Howard has now failed to keep a clean sheet in his last seven Premier League outings, and it’s certainly an area that Martinez’s side have to improve on drastically – if they are to hunt down a European spot.
Gareth Barry
Despite being one of Everton’s better performers in the 3-0 defeat at Southampton, Gareth Barry hasn’t been as effective for the Toffees this season as he was last.
Barry was suspended for the match against Queens Park Rangers last week – but Everton barely missed him – and won the game comfortably. But Martinez shuffled his team around against the Saints to accommodate the former England international. When on-loan from Manchester City last term, Barry flourished in the heart of Everton’s midfield. But the 33-year-old has yet to score since making the permanent move to Goodison Park, and seems to be far less effective in the Everton side.
Barry was a huge part of Everton’s success in the last campaign, but if the Toffees are going to start climbing the league, he must start replicating his form as soon as possible.
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is adamant that star striker Christian Benteke will not be sold in January.
Excellent recent form has put Europe’s major clubs on alert as the deadly striker is single handily keeping Villa above the relegation zone.
The Belgian international moved to Villa Park for £8million from Genk in the summer and took a few weeks to settle into Premier League life. However a stunning individual display at Anfield last week along with another six goals in 16 appearances have made him a fans favourite with the claret and blue faithful.
Benteke’s fellow Villa striker Darren Bent has been on the fringes of Lambert’s recent Villa squads and it is widely expected that he will move on in January, leaving Benteke to lead the line.
Lambert has reiterated that he needs to keep his key players in order to progress up the table and achieve his long term goals.
“There’s no point in us even being here if it’s a case of bringing people in and then letting them go,” Lambert told talkSPORT.
“What’s the point in that?
“We’re trying to build something here which can take a few years and you need good players with you to achieve that.
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“There’s no point in them coming for half a season or a year and then we let them go.
Former Chelsea forward Adrian Mutu is likely to raise eyebrows with his claim about Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s situation at Manchester United.
The former Sweden international was a massive hit at the North-West club last season as he scored 17 goals in 28 Premier League performances.
The 36-year-old was proving that age is just a number until he suffered a serious knee injury in the closing stages of last season.
Many questioned whether the striker would ever play again, but he did recover and signed a new one-year deal at United, much to the delight of the supporters.
However, it has not quite gone to plan for the Swede as he has made just seven appearances in all competitions this season and has scored just the one goal.
Ibrahimovic suffered an injury blow in December and has not played since United’s draw with Burnley on Boxing Day.
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Mutu, who played under Mourinho at Chelsea, has now made a bizarre claim that the only reason the former Paris Saint-Germain star is not playing is because he has fallen out with the manager.
In an interview with Telekom Sport Romania, Mutu said:
“I do not care about Mourinho. Mourinho doesn’t care about the performance, only the result. I have the information that Ibrahimovic is not injured, he’s just cold with Mourinho right now.”
Burnley are a ‘nice’ team, but is that worth anything during a relegation battle? Sean Dyche seems like a respectable manager, and he doesn’t get drawn into any slanging matches with other managers or ever try to pass the blame. His squad is built entirely of British and Irish players with one English born Austrian – a remarkable achievement.
Except the quality of their squad quite simply isn’t good enough for the division that they have found themselves in. As expected, of any promoted side, the majority of the squad are of a ‘Championship level’ and it can take a season or two of hard-fought survival to turn that around. In their 25-man squad for the Premier League season only 13 have any previous experience of playing in the Premier League, with most playing around 10 games or fewer in the competition. Compared to that of fellow promoted team QPR who’s 26-man squad contains 19 players who have previous Premier League experience, and a further two loanees from Italy’s top division, Serie A.
Credit where credit is due, Burnley finished 2nd in the Championship last season and fully deserved their promotion. However, after being the final team in England’s professional divisions to pick up a victory this season, it’s clear they are in for a season of struggle. With eleven games gone the Clarets are rock bottom of the league having scored just six goals. One positive note for them so far this season is the fact that they can effectively shut off some opponents, so the lack of goalscoring isn’t completely painful. Early on in the season Dyche’s men managed three bore draws in a row against Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Sunderland, before conceding four to West Brom. After scoring in the opening weekend defeat to Chelsea, they went six games in all competitions without another. And to be fair to them, they’ve hardly had the easiest run of fixtures to start off with.
Having a squad with no standout quality isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as a squad of team-players can sometimes be enough to survive in the top division. But should Burnley stick with Sean Dyche through what seems like an impending relegation?
Any manager who gains promotion from the Championship will be very much aware of the trouble that the following season will create, and although one of the promoted sides usually overachieves the other two ultimately struggle to survive. Then again, is football all about surviving? Burnley supporters will cherish the victories in the Premier League this season even if they are relegated, more than they cherished the 26 victories during the last campaign in the Championship. Dyche led his men up and with little resources made the best squad that he could. It was a fantastic achievement and automatic promotion in the Championship shouldn’t be undervalued.
I believe that Dyche has taken this squad to it’s absolute peak by reaching the Premier League and they inevitable relegation is looming. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that his days are numbered. The money earned and the players gained will only make Burnley stronger for next season should relegation arrive, and the problem isn’t of anyones fault. It’s a rare thing in football for nobody to pick up the blame for poor performances, but the manager is aware of how difficult the Premier League is and how much greater all the other sides are in terms of quality – and he’s right.
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If Burnley do get relegated – as seems most likely – it will be through no fault of the players or the manager. Not the fault of any trouble maker or lazy individuals. But a squad of almost entirely British and Irish players just not being good enough. Perhaps the best way to go down, but still, come on Burnley – it would be one of the greatest triumphs in the Premier League if Sean Dyche can mastermind this rather average squad of players to survive relegation this season.
Peter Crouch was quoted in the papers morning that with no front teeth and a brace in place that it was a good job he was married as he looks a bit of a mess at the minute. It was also he who famously gave the answer “a virgin” – when asked the question ‘What would you be if you weren’t a football?’
The Stoke City striker is married to arguably one of the most beautiful woman in the country, who unlike many other WAGs has a successful career in her own right and breaks the mould that they are simply money grabbers happy to bleed their partner dry. Indeed Rafa van der Vaart said that his Mrs was actually more famous than him, while it is hard to dispute that Helen Flanagan has been getting more air-time at this moment than her Manchester City boyfriend Scott Sinclair.
WAGS come in all shapes and sizes and the Premier League’s player lounges has see some absolute beauties mingle through them over the years. The following list is a collection of the best England’s top division has witnessed over the years.
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.
Manchester United returned to second position in the Premier League table with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Willian sent the Blues ahead in Manchester, but Romelu Lukaku netted to equalise against his former club before Jesse Lingard headed a winner for the home team.
It was actually Anthony Martial that departed the field for Lingard, but the former had already played his part having provided the assist for Lukaku to level the scores.
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Martial caused Chelsea all sorts of problems with his movement in the final third as he switched from left to right in a bid to free Alexis Sanchez.
The 22-year-old, who is valued at £58.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, is enjoying a fine campaign with the Red Devils having scored 11 times and registered 10 assists in 38 appearances in all competitions.
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The United supporters absolutely love the former Monaco youngster, and many took to social media in the aftermath of the Chelsea result to pay tribute to the in-form attacker.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock has revealed that Wilfried Zaha is desperate to prove his worth to Manchester United this season.
The young winger returned to his boyhood club late on during the last transfer window on a season-long loan after being told that his game time at Old Trafford would be limited by manager Louis van Gaal.
Zaha had only made his switch to the Red Devils proper a year before, but a disastrous season under David Moyes saw him barely given a starting opportunity before he was shipped out to Cardiff for the latter half of the campaign.
WANT MORE? >> Manchester United transfer news | Crystal Palace transfer news
After a difficult spell, the 21-year-old is back in regular action with the Eagles, and speaking ahead of today’s win with Everton, Warnock made it known that Zaha is desperate to ensure that he has a future with his parent club:
“I don’t think his career is in jeopardy,” he is quoted by the London Evening Standard.
“I wouldn’t say we need to save his career, we just need to get games under his belt now and he needs to put himself back in the shop window (for England).
“To do that he has got to consistently be good, week in, week out. That has to be his aim this season.
“He is in that age-group that is breaking into the England squad. He is definitely looking at all these young lads – they deserve it, they have worked hard and done consistency well. It will motivate him.
“The problem has been he has not had enough games. He needs games, last week he ran out of steam a little bit but he is putting the work in on the training ground. Ability and confidence is nothing he has ever been missing.
“He has come here to try and convince the (Man United) manager that he works for that he is good enough to give him a go – that is his aim.
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“His attitude has been spot-on since I met him – there were three or four clubs after him and we got him, but his intention is to try and go back there and get in the team and I think that is great for the young lad.”
Southampton’s summer signing Gaston Ramirez has admitted that he would be open to a move back to Italy in the future and that Fiorentina would be his preferred club, as reported by Sky Sports.
The Saints paid Bologna a club record £11.8million for the Uruguayan this summer and the talented midfielder is starting to come good at St Mary’s. However, with Southampton clearly facing a relegation battle this season, Ramirez is clearly already thinking about his long term future.
“In Bologna I was fine, but now I think about Southampton,” Ramirez told Tuttomercatoweb.
“Coming back to Italy? In England I discovered a fantastic football.
“But in life never say never, in Italy, as well as in England, there are many important teams.
“Me to Fiorentina? It would be nice, they are playing very well and I like coach (Vincenzo) Montella.
“In every game the team are having fun, they have great quality. Why not? I’d come back in Italy, I like it and I was fine there.”
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