Tag Futebol

[ad_pod ]

According to L’Equipe, Roma midfielder Maxime Gonalons is in talks with Everton over a potential move to Goodison Park ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

The same report has also credited West Ham United with an interest, though, suggesting that the Toffees will not have a free run at the 30-year-old’s signature.

Gonalons was once regarded as one of the brightest young talents in France.

However, it would be fair to say that injuries have not really allowed the midfielder to reach his full potential.

Gonalons has still had a decent career, though, playing over 300 times for Lyon before a switch to Roma in the summer of 2017.

The midfielder also spent time on loan at Sevilla last term and could be leaving Rome once again in this summer’s transfer window.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

The Everton fans have been on social media reacting to the transfer report.

And it would be fair to say that not too many of the supporters believe that the 6 ft 2 ace will be arriving this summer, as shown in the tweets below:

[ad_pod ]

Leeds United fans on Twitter have made it clear that they don’t want their club to make a move for Michael Frey this summer.

A Yorkshire Evening Post article written by Phil Hay claimed that the Yorkshire side are interested in the services of the Swiss forward.

The striker has been plying his trade in Turkey this season where he has been less than prolific. Frey has scored just three Super Lig goals this term, and form like that has raised a massive red flag amongst the fanbase.

Leeds do need reinforcements in the striker department this summer, but it’s hard to believe that the misfiring 24-year-old is the answer to their problems.

Despite being such a young age, a move to Leeds would see the attacker playing football in his fourth different country having already played in Switzerland, France and Turkey since the beginning of his career.

Here’s what the Elland Road faithful have been saying about the potential signing…

[ad_pod ]

According to Chronicle Live, Newcastle United will be given the opportunity to sign AC Milan defender Diego Laxalt at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

Laxalt has made 28 appearances for Milan this season, but it is being reported that the Uruguay international will be available this summer.

The Newcastle fans have been on social media commenting on the transfer speculation, and it would be fair to say that a number are desperate for their club to bring the South American to St James’ Park.

It remains to be seen what type of budget the Magpies will have this summer, but Laxalt could well be available for a cut-price fee having struggled to hold down a regular spot at the San Siro this term.

Left-back is an area that the Premier League outfit are seemingly looking at ahead of this summer’s transfer window, with Matt Ritchie often filling in at left-back or left wing-back in recent times.

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Pl>ymaker FC…

And the club’s supporters are hopeful that Laxalt makes the move.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

[ad_pod ]

International Liverpool fans on Twitter are not best pleased after a major announcement by the club regarding preparations for next season.

The Reds confirmed on Tuesday evening the destination for their pre-2019/2020 summer tour, heading to the USA for the second consecutive year after journeying to North Carolina, New Jersey and Michigan to encounter Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Manchester United in 2018.

This time around, Jurgen Klopp’s men will first clash with Borussia Dortmund at the Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana on 19 July, before facing off with Sevilla at Fenway Park in Boston two days later, and rounding off the trip against Sporting CP at the Yankee Stadium in New York on 24 July.

Chelsea fans were giving it large at Anfield on Sunday. Watch their afternoon get slowly ruined in the video below…

However, the exciting news has upset some unhappy Reds supporters from all four corners of the globe, complaining that the Premier League title contenders didn’t choose destinations such as South Africa, Singapore and Switzerland amongst others.

Check out the pick of their replies below…

Barnsley had gone a remarkable total of 118 days unbeaten in League One before they faced Burton Albion on Saturday.

During this period, Daniel Stendel’s Tykes played 20 games and amassed a total of 44 points which saw them move into second place behind runaway leaders Luton Town. With only six games to play before the end of the season, it was looking increasingly likely that the Yorkshire-based outfit were going to extend their run up to May.

However, the Brewers had different ideas at the weekend as goals from Jamie Allen, Liam Boyce and Marcus Harness secured the victory for the home side at the Pirelli Stadium and thus snapping Barnsley’s streak.

Although the defeat to Burton was compounded by victories for promotion challengers Sunderland and Portsmouth, it may have been a blessing in disguise for the Tykes. During their run, they dropped points in no fewer than eight of their games which allowed their rivals to keep within striking distance of them.

It could be argued that the value of remaining unbeaten during this period inadvertently prevented Barnsley from going all out for victories and so by losing at the weekend, they may in fact benefit over the next month.

Indeed, the fact that Sunderland have the same amount of points as the Tykes but still have two games in hand means that Stendel’s side no longer are in control of their own destiny yet they remain in a good position to secure automatic promotion if the Black Cats slip-up.

However, even if they are usurped from the top two positions in May, the Tykes will still have a second chance of achieving promotion via the play-offs, which they have a great recent relationship with. In 2006, Barnsley achieved promotion from League One by defeating Swansea City in the final whilst a decade later they repeated the feat by emerging victorious over Millwall. A third consecutive victory in the knock-out competition therefore would not be entirely out of the question, especially when you consider how well Stendel’s side have been playing this season.

What do you think Barnsley fans? Can your side bounce back from defeat at Burton? Would you be confident of them securing promotion via the play-offs this season? Get in touch below.

[ad_pod ]

Portsmouth do not hold an option to buy Omar Bogle this summer, manager Kenny Jackett has confirmed per portsmouth.co.uk.

Bogle joined the club on loan from Cardiff City in January and has already impressed in front of goal.

What’s the word?

Pompey have enjoyed Bogle’s talents thus far, seeing him score four times in just eight outings.

The 25-year-old has not played for Cardiff this season and instead spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Birmingham City.

During his time with the Championship club, he scored once in 15 outings.

He is enjoying a more prolific spell at Fratton Park as Pompey look to secure promotion to the second-tier – they are fourth, four points behind second-placed Barnsley and nine behind leaders Luton Town.

Manager Jackett, though, says the club do not have the option to purchase Bogle, who has a year remaining on his current Cardiff contract, in the summer transfer window.

He said, per portsmouth.co.uk: “He’s got a year left on his contract at Cardiff.

“There have been no discussions with what we do in the summer.  Cardiff will obviously see which division they’re in but he has got a year left at Cardiff and we will see which division they’re in.

“But he has a year left and there have been no discussions yet.”

Promotion required

Portsmouth will likely need to win promotion to convince Bogle to stay.

The 25-year-old may not want to remain in League One for another season, particularly if his parent club are relegated from the Premier League.

As it stands, he is enjoying a purple patch but Pompey are unlikely to be able to afford him if they are again in the third-tier in 2019-20.

Plus, if the Bluebirds go down, they may need to call on Bogle’s talents to take them back up.

Jackett claims he will see which division Cardiff are in before making a decision; it may have to be the other way round this summer.

Everton fans certainly won’t be excited by this weekend’s transfer rumours! The Sun on Sunday (page 59, via HITC) are reporting the club sent their top scout to watch Birmingham forward Che Adams. Great, right?

Well, no.

If this is the level of player they’re looking at, there’s no chance they’ll join the big six.

The Everton hierarchy have talked a good game for a few years now. There’s the promise of attacking football, a new stadium and money being available, with a huge amount being spent already. It’s looking positive, but they need to start investing more heavily if they’re to bridge the gap to the big boys.

Marco Silva’s attacking intentions are clear, and they’ve got a young squad. They now need to add some world-class talent to push them into the European spaces, particularly a striker. Che Adams is not world class by any stretch of the imagination and signing him would be a punch in the face to Evertonians who are hoping for success.

He could be a great prospect for the future, and he’s scored 21 goals for Birmingham this season, but Everton shoudn’t be the place where he’s tested in the Premier League. They need an established striker with experience at the highest level to take the club to new heights.

The 22-year-old, who is valued at £6.3 million (by Transfermarkt), would be a major disappointment to the Goodison faithful who need some big signings in summer to prove their club are planning on going places. If Everton did sign Adams there’d be so much pressure on him to perform like a Premier League star that he’d most likely crumble under it all.

If the Toffees are serious about catching up with the top six, they need to stop scouting in the Championship and cast their net across the best teams in Europe’s top five leagues. Buying players at the level you aim to grow to is the only way to reach the top.

Everton fans, who do you think your club should sign in the summer to help bridge the gap to the big six. Join the discussion by commenting below.

[ad_pod ]

Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has the perfect opportunity to make amends for his previous display at Old Trafford when his team face Manchester United at ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ on Sunday.

On the chalkboard

The 20-year-old has established himself as the Merseyside outfit’s first-choice right-back, but question marks were certainly raised over the England international following his outing in the 2-1 defeat against the Red Devils in March 2018, when Jurgen Klopp’s men found themselves 2-0 down after 25 minutes.

Marcus Rashford scored twice from the left-hand side and gave Alexander-Arnold a torrid time as Jose Mourinho’s men ran out victors, and the youngster will surely be keen to improve on that performance this time around.

The stakes are high this term with the Reds well in the title race and the hosts enjoying a rejuvenation period since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer succeeded Mourinho, and the Liverpool right-back should be in good shape having made his first start since his return from injury against Bayern Munich in midweek.

Can he succeed?

He certainly can, and he will feel much more confident against Rashford, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and others than he may have done previously.

Is the emergance of a ‘big 6’ good news for English clubs in Europe? Pl>ymaker FC’s Ed Tarlton certainly thinks to in the video below…

While Alexander-Arnold will once again be in for a tough afternoon at Old Trafford given the form United are currently in, there is no doubt that he has matured and improved just under 12 months after that nervous showing.

As well as being strong from a defensive point of view, as he showed by helping his side keep a clean sheet in the Champions League on Tuesday, he can also give Luke Shaw something to think about from an attacking point of view as well.

[ad_pod ]

According to Sky Sports, Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi is reportedly on the radar of Bundesliga side Schalke, who are said to be monitoring the forward’s availability amid doubts over his chances of obtaining a work permit.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Nigerian international has been on the Reds’ books since 2015, but he is yet to make a senior appearance for the club as he does not qualify for a work permit.

The 21-year-old has had loan spells with FSV Frankfurt, NEC Nijmegen and Gent since signing for Liverpool, and is currently out on loan with Belgian side Royal Excel Mouscron – his second stint at the club.

Who has the loudest fans in Europe? PSG certainly state their claim in the video below…

Awoniyi has impressed for the Pro League side this season, notching six goals in seven games since returning to the club in January after spending the first half of the campaign with Gent.

Liverpool would want a fee in excess of £13m for the youngster if his work permit status is not resolved, whilst they are also open to another loan deal.

Bad news for English clubs

The Merseysiders offered Awoniyi an improved five-year contract extension last summer, which he duly signed, but the Reds’ hopes of seeing the young Nigerian in action for them will surely be dealt a blow by the impending introduction of Brexit.

Under the incoming rules, players such as Jorginho, Riyad Mahrez and Alexandre Lacazette would have struggled to qualify for a work permit to play in the Premier League – it would be near impossible for the Algerian international Mahrez to have made the move to Leicester he did back in 2014 under the incoming restrictions.

For players of that calibre not to be allowed to play in England speaks volumes about young prospects such as Awoniyi ever getting the chance to play here, which is bad news for English clubs but great news for teams such as Schalke who are monitoring Awoniyi’s situation.

Liverpool fans may never get to see the youngster wear the badge in front of them, despite their obvious high hopes for him.

Hampshire captain Dimitri Mascarenhas has criticised the pitch at SuperSport Park in Centurion, calling it “no good for 20-over cricket” after his team was knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers having played only one match. Hampshire posted 121 on a surface with inconsistent bounce that did not allow the ball to carry through quickly, and Auckland reached the target with 33 deliveries to spare.”When we saw the pitch yesterday, we thought there was no way we could play on the wicket,” Mascarenhas said. “We knew that whoever won the toss would win the game. I heard there was a chance the match would be moved to the Wanderers but obviously that didn’t happen.” There has been no confirmation that a request was put in to change the venue and the second match continued as scheduled in Centurion.When the Hampshire team saw the pitch on Monday it was being watered, which groundsman Hilbert Smit said was “standard practice.” He admitted he may have “misread the weather,” when he watered the pitch during last week’s heat wave in anticipation of no rain early this week. Instead, 38 millimetres fell on Monday in the summer’s first storms, and the water table rose substantially.”Because of that [the rain] we knew the pitch would be slow and a few deliveries would hold back. But one team still scored at more than eight runs to the over and there is nothing wrong with that,” Smit said, referring to Auckland’s chase.Mascarenhas said the pitch had eased after the heavy roller was used in the innings break and it “definitely got better” to bat on. He thought his team had lost the match because of the batting performance. “Not many teams defend scores of around 120. When you are, you’re desperate for wickets and in doing that, you will give a few away.”Rather than a low-scoring game, Mascarenhas would have preferred a strip with runs in it. “In 20-over cricket, you want a flat wicket and you want to see runs on the board. You don’t want the ball to be dominating the whole time,” he said. “I am a bowler and even I don’t want the ball to dominate.”Auckland captain Gareth Hopkins was less scathing about the surface. “The toss did play a little part in it and it was easier to bat on second, but I don’t think it was too tricky up front,” he said. “It was a little bit slower than the pitch we had last night at the Wanderers and one or two balls did something funny.”Hopkins was the happier of the two captains not just because his team won but because Auckland have now qualified for the main draw. Their victories in both group matches mean they will progress irrespective of the result between Hampshire and Sialkot tomorrow.Hampshire were gutted not only to be out of the competition in the space of a day but because, as Mascarenhas said, “The most disappointing thing is that it was all in the toss, it was decided on that.”