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According to The Mirror, Aston Villa are thought to be interested in Brentford’s Neal Maupay. But considering Scott Hogan’s failings after arriving from the same club, should Villa really be looking to do business?

What’s the word?

Aston Villa are one of three club’s who are thought to have an interest in Maupay according to The Mirror.

Those who are also pondering a move for the potent attacker are Middlesbrough and recently-relegated Huddersfield.

Back in February, the forward spoke about the interest he’d attracted in the winter: “There were rumours this winter, but I wanted to finish the season here. We’ll see in the summer what happens next. Why not play in a Premier League side?”

Villa could well be a Premier League side next season as they currently sit in the play-off places, so the Frenchman’s dream may soon become reality.

Although no fee has been reported, it’s likely a big bid will have to be submitted considering he’s scored 23 league goals this term.

Forget Hogan

Dean Smith clearly has a great love for the player, having been the man to bring him to English football in the first place.

However, the last time Villa paid big money to bring a Brentford forward to the club, it turned out to be a huge failure.

Scott Hogan has struggled for any consistency among a series of injuries in the Midlands and as such, could move to Bristol City this summer.

He’s only scored seven goals for Villa since moving and has since been moved out on loan to Sheffield United.

But, they must ignore the fact Hogan’s become a flop after arriving from the Bees and move for Maupay, confident that lightning won’t strike twice. With Tammy Abraham’s future uncertain and other strikers at the club struggling for goals then the Frenchman’s arrival would be timely.

At just 22, the 5 ft 7 striker has a huge amount of potential and if Villa were to get promoted there should be no concerns over whether he’d able to do it at a higher level.

Lady luck just isn’t favouring West Ham United.

On another day, they could’ve easily come away from Old Trafford as victors. However, a cruel stroke misfortune struck the Hammers, who despite being the better side suffered a crushing loss.

To make things worse, influential midfielder Manuel Lanzini limped off after a great showing He’s reportedly (as per Claret and Hugh) suffered a groin strain and the extent of his lay-off is yet to be determined. In any case, it seems like this curse is hovering around the Hammers at the moment.

Manuel Pellegrini never seems to have a fully fit squad and must be frustrated with mounting injuries. Indeed, the Chilean must be worried about how his creative flow is being disrupted by constant injuries. Lanzini was menacing at Old Trafford, bamboozling Manchester United’s defenders with his tricks and flicks before putting in a sublime assist for Felipe Anderson’s equalizer.

It seemed like the Argentine wizard had found his best touch after returning from injury. Yet, the script had something else in mind. As the season draws to a close, the Hammers find themselves without a proper creative link in attack.

Frankly, Anderson can’t be relied upon to do everything. Even Samir Nasri, brought on to add that touch of guile to their attack, sits on the sidelines.

It’s almost as if the Hammers are cursed in attack. Their strikes are misfiring and now their creative stars are forced out through injury. This cannot go on for long and a big summer must lie ahead for David Gold and David Sullivan, whether or not they’re planning to spend as much money as last season.

Clearly, attacking reinforcement needs to arrive if Project Pellegrini is to hit the next level.

West Ham fans, do you think the Hammers need to sign a reliable creative midfielder next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، موعد عودة النجم النرويجي، مارتن أوديجارد، صانع ألعاب فريق ريال مدريد، لمباريات النادي الملكي، مرة أخرى، بعد إصابته مؤخرًا.

ريال مدريد، كان قد أعلن يوم الجمعة قبل الماضي إصابة أوديجارد، في العضلة النعلية بالساق اليمنى.

في ريال مدريد كان هُناك تفاؤل حول إمكانية تواجد أوديجارد في مباراة الكلاسيكو ضد برشلونة، التي أقيمت أمس عصر السبت، وفاز بها النادي الملكي على “كامب نو”، بنتيجة 3-1.

لكن أوديجارد، لم يتواجد في مباراة الأمس، ولم يتم استدعاؤه لخوض مباراة الثلاثاء ضد بوروسيا مونشنجلادباخ في الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات بدوري أبطال أوروبا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. قائمة ريال مدريد أمام مونشنجلادباخ في دوري الأبطال.. استدعاء هازارد لأول مرة هذا الموسم!

وذكرت شبكة “فوتبول إسبانيا”، أنّ أوديجارد لن يكون قادرًا على التواجد في المباريات الأربع القادمة للنادي الملكي.

وأوضحت الشبكة أنّ أوديجارد، سيعود لـ ريال مدريد، بعد نهاية فترة التوقف الدولية في نوفمبر القادم.

ريال مدريد بعد فترة التوقف الدولية في نوفمبر، سيتوقف عن اللعب مُنذ يوم 8، وسيعود لاستئناف اللعب يوم 22 من الشهر ذاته، بملاقاة فياريال خارج قواعده.

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Tyrone Mings has gone from being a spare part at Bournemouth to a huge hit with the fans at Aston Villa, where his performances have earned rave reviews almost every single week. Clearly the defender is enjoying his spell in the Midlands, perhaps partly because of how tough his time at the Vitality Stadium was prior to his January loan move.

The behemoth centre-back’s Cherries career has been plagued with long-term injuries in recent years – knee ligament and back injuries have accounted for 608 days out and 81 games missed between August 2015 and September 2017 – however he is proving to be a fantastic signing for the Villans, who have climbed into promotion contention.

Having rejuvenated his career at Villa Park and referred to his recent time at Bournemouth as ‘jinxed’, the 26-year-old expressed how much the past couple of months have meant to him:

“This loan is massive for me. I don’t think I could underestimate how big it is and how big a decision it was to choose where to go because everything had to click immediately.

“The aim is obviously to make the play-offs, but coming here and playing games, and feeling wanted was so important. Personally, it was a big choice and I 100 per cent believe I made the right one.”

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

Certainly, the Bath-born big man wasn’t all that useful on the south coast – he accumulated just 140 Premier League minutes last campaign, but has played the full 90 minutes in each of his eight appearances under Dean Smith since joining Villa in January.

Now a firm fan-favourite further north, the 6-foot-5 brute will surely be reluctant to return to Bournemouth in the summer if these comments are anything to go by.

Tottenham were unable to do the job over Manchester City, Everton dismantled Manchester United, all Arsenal had to do was win, and they bottled it.

Easter weekend will be looked back on as a frustrating few days for Arsenal fans. Not only did every one of their top-four rivals place drop points, but they themselves were unable to gain valuable ground in the race for a Champions League spot by losing at home to Crystal Palace, ending a 10 game winning run at home in the league.

If the Gunners are to miss out on top four entirely and fail to win the Europa League, this will be the game supporters look back on and think ‘imagine if we didn’t lose that game’.

The loss to Palace was a damming result after such a good seven days for the Gunners that saw Unai Emery’s side win 1-0 away from home against both Watford and Napoli, two games most Arsenal fans and neutrals would not have expected the Gunners to get anything out of, which is what makes this latest defeat more painful.

There are a lot of things you can blame for the defeat. Emery’s tactics and squad selection, players yet again not turning up when the club and fans needed them too and Palace simply wanting the three points more all played a role in what was one of the most embarrassing results for Arsenal this season.

And with Wolves next in the league, a team who have built a reputation for getting results over the top-six, Arsenal have put themselves in a potentially dangerous position if they want to return to the top-four.

Arsenal fans, can the Gunners still get a top-four finish? Let us know!

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According to UOL, via Sports Witness, the agent of Everton forward Richarlison has recently met with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who is a huge fan of the Brazil international.

What’s the word, then?

Well, this is a very interesting one.

The Liverpool Echo recently quoted Everton boss Marco Silva as saying that Richarlison would not be sold this summer amid reports of interest from AC Milan.

However, according to UOL, Richarlison’s agent, Renato Velasco, has recently met with Liverpool boss Klopp at his house.

The report goes on to claim that the Reds head coach is a huge fan of the 21-year-old, suggesting that a bid could arrive from Anfield.

It is some claim and it would also be some story if the South American did leave Everton for their bitter rivals in this summer’s transfer window.

UOL report that the Toffees do not want to sell Richarlison, but would consider an offer in excess of £70m for the player that they signed from Watford last summer.

Should Liverpool make a move?

There is no question that Richarlison is a talent.

The versatile attacker has struck 12 Premier League goals for Everton this term, which is a good record when considering that Silva’s side do not create bundles of chances.

Mo Salah has been brutally mocked for his recent diving antics in a new video by 442oons. Check it out below…

There is every reason to believe that the Brazilian will continue to improve, but paying in excess of £70m this summer would be bad business by Liverpool.

Indeed, if Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino all stay this summer then Richarlison would not even make the first XI next season.

And spending that sort of money on a player who has been erratic at times is not something that the Reds should consider in this summer’s transfer window.

Silly season is truly upon us, and Arsenal are leading the rumours with two huge names being linked with the Gunners.

According to the Independent, World Cup winner Samuel Umtiti and Bayern Munich star David Alaba are both priority signings for Unai Emery this summer, with both players in with a chance of leaving their clubs to make way for new players.

Arsenal are in need of a defensive restructuring this off-season as they look to challenge for the Premier League in the future, and in Umtiti and Alaba the north London side will have the foundation to genuinely challenge for the title. However, the fact of the matter is that they don’t need both to achieve this as Umtiti has established himself as one of the world’s best defenders, so he could easily steady the ship and get them on the right path.

Ask any Arsenal fan what position of the pitch they believe needs the most improvement, nine times out of the 10 they will say the centre-back position, and this is why the club should be going all out for Umtiti whilst maybe avoiding going for Alaba as well.

Whilst the Gunners do need attention in the left-back position and Alaba provides a significant improvement over Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal as well as being able to play in central defence, Arsenal need a natural centre-back far more urgently, and Umtiti would be the perfect man.

The French international has achieved a lot in his short career for both club and country. The former Lyon academy graduate was a starting defender for Les Bleus in this summer’s World Cup where he scored the winning goal in the semi-finals against Belgium.

Interestingly, Umtiti has even been labelled as the ‘best centre-back’ by Barcelona legend Xavi (as per So Foot), so there’s an added incentive to spend Stan Kroenke’s money on bringing in the defender.

As well as making Umtiti the priority over Alaba, it is likely that Arsenal will only be able to afford one or the other. The 25-year-old is valued at Barcelona at £63 million (as per Transfer Markt), whereas the Austrian international is valued at £49.5 million (as per Transfer Markt)

With the Gunners only having a reported budget of £40 million, as previously reported by the Mirror, Emery needs to make the smart decision and make Umtiti a priority signing for the club whilst looking elsewhere for alternatives for Alaba. It’s vitally important that the Gunners are smart this summer as they look to build on the season so far.

Arsenal fans, who should the club sign this summer? Let us know!

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Dele Alli turned in a truly woeful performance as Tottenham Hotspur fell to a dismal 1-0 defeat to West Ham United on Saturday.

Spurs were handed their first-ever defeat at their new stadium by the Irons.

On the chalkboard

Alli is clearly a very talented midfield player who offers the versatility to play in attacking midfield and in the centre of the pitch.

But, on Saturday, he was either half-fit or disinterested as he turned in a performance that actively limited his team.

Per WhoScored, Alli had 62 touches of the ball, fewer than both Christian Eriksen and Eric Dier alongside him in central midfield.

With those touches, he had one shot on goal, which was blocked, while he was also dribbled past once and was dispossessed twice.

He also failed to make a single tackle, clearance or interception.

It remains unclear exactly which role Alli was expected to play throughout the game; if it was making an impact in the latter third of the pitch, he failed, while he also had no discernible effect in defence either.

With two games against Ajax looming, in the Champions League semi-final, Alli’s dip in form has come at the worst possible time.

Need an answer

Spurs need to find an answer to this riddle.

The club are in danger of falling out of the top four – they may need to win both of their remaining games, against Bournemouth and Everton, to qualify – but their recent performances do not inspire confidence.

Alli has been a major symptom of the illness plaguing the club; he has not scored since January, in the 2-1 win over Fulham, and since then has struggled with injuries.

He is playing because there is no real alternative. Oliver Skipp is too young to play regularly, Victor Wanyama is too defensive to play alongside Eric Dier while Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko are both currently injured.

But it is clear that there is something wrong; he is no longer making those forward runs from deep, or skipping past challenges, or spotting the incisive passes, or testing the opposition goalkeeper.

It is not necessarily his fault. Mauricio Pochettino’s reserves are depleted to the point of crisis.

But Spurs face a seriously difficult task to achieve their aims between now and the end of May if Pochettino cannot inspire a turnaround in the England international’s form.

Transfer ban or no transfer ban, one area Maurizio Sarri needs to try fine-tune at Chelsea in the summer is right-back.

This season, Cesar Azpilicueta has been on a rapid decline, while Davide Zappacosta has just not cut it at Stamford Bridge.

Bearing that in mind, Sarri would be crazy to overlook Reece James next term after the incredible campaign he has been having in the Championship with Wigan Athletic.

And thankfully, to the relief of Chelsea supporters, it does not look like that is going to be the case.

The Sun reports the Blues have rejected a £10m bid from Brighton for James, with the 19-year-old now being tipped to challenge Azpilicueta for that right-back position, a challenge he could so easily win.

Compared to the 29-year-old, James comes across as a much better fit for the way Sarri wants to play.

Technically, the Wigan loanee is a far superior footballer to Azpilicueta. To put things into perspective, his ability on the ball is so good that Paul Cook has been playing him in midfield.

Considering that ability, James is exactly the sort of player you want at right-back during attacks. Defensively, many will argue that Azpilicueta’s experience and 1v1 defending still makes him No.1, though.

But after a season where he has actually been poor in that area, as well as in attack, now looks the perfect time for him to make way for someone like James.

Therefore, insulting £10m bids like the one Brighton have reportedly made, must continue to be rejected.

James, an incredibly gifted footballer, is Chelsea’s present and future.

Chelsea fans, would you like to see James in the first team next season? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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Arsenal fans on Twitter have been offering Unai Emery some pre-match advice as they call for the quartet of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey all to start Thursday’s match against Napoli.

Arsenal’s key players have been rotated often this season with the four rarely appearing on the pitch all at the same time.

The fanbase have been calling for Arsenal to field their strongest 11 for their crucial Europa League tie against Napoli and they believe that these four players all have to be selected.

The Gunners have often opted to field a second string squad in Europe this season, with youngsters such as Joe Willock, Emile Smith-Rowe and Eddie Nketiah all getting starts in the competition.

With a tough quarter-final draw against Napoli and the prospect of qualifying for next season’s Champions League if they win the trophy, Arsenal fans have been hoping that Emery starts all four players in a bold attacking move.

Here’s what Arsenal fans have had to say on Twitter…