Manchester United midfield duo Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba struggled in their side’s 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Wednesday night, and Red Devils fans have urged the club to sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, rated at £49.5m according to Transfermarkt, in the summer as a result.
The duo started as the deep-lying midfield players in Jose Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system, but they were overrun and lethargic against the likes of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min, with the former giving Spurs the lead after just 11 seconds.
Matic was also left on his own far too often as Pogba looked to break forward, and the Old Trafford faithful know who they want to see arrive at the club at the end of the campaign to solve the issue – Milinkovic-Savic who has been an impressive performer for the Serie A outfit with nine goals in 29 games this season.
Man United supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the situation, and while one said “this game was a clear reflection of why United need to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the summer”, another simply said “Matic out, Mili-Savic in”.
Tottenham are considering a move for Roma’s American midfielder Michael Bradley, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Italian giants have recently completed the signing of Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan, which could see Bradley made surplus to requirements.
The 26-year-old is currently behind the likes of Kevin Strootman, Miralem Pjanic and Daniele De Rossi in the pecking order at the Stadio Olimpico, and could look for a January move following the arrival of Nainggolan.
This could alert Tottenham and their Technical Director Franco Baldini, who took Bradley to Rome in 2012.
Bradley has previously played in the Premier League, where he had an unsuccessful loan spell with Aston Villa.
London rivals Fulham have also been linked with a move.
Tottenham could be in the market for a new midfielder, following the news Etienne Capoue could be on his way out of White Hart Lane, less than six months after signing.
The French midfielder has failed to impress during the first half of the season, and has often been played out of position at centre back.
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Napoli are reportedly ready to test Tim Sherwood’s desire to keep the midfielder, after manager Rafael Benitez missed out on moves for Lyon’s Maxime Gonalons and the previously mentioned Nainggolan.
Is there such thing as footballing karma? As most supporters will tell you, the answer to that is probably a resounding no. As much as Martin Tyler would like to tell you otherwise, dodgy refereeing decisions never seem to level themselves out. Seeing a potential relegation-staving goal ruled wrongly offside or a fans’ favourite dubiously sent off on derby day will simply be eased be the odd penalty here and there.
But is the fate that some of these gentlemen are currently undertaking, offer hope to fans far and wide? After plying their trade conning refs and enraging fans up and down the nation, are we finally seeing a few players reaping what they sow?
Some of these players are notorious thespians others may seem misunderstood. But have a flick through, cast your own judgement and then air your grievances when your finished.
Click on Andy Johnson to unveil the top 10
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Fuming at the sight of your favourite player in our top 10? Or is there someone on the wrong end of footballing justice that you think has been missed out? Let me know on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and get involved.
There is certainly no love lost between local rivals Manchester City and Manchester United, particularly now that the former have become a powerhouse in English football.
United dominated the game for decades under Sir Alex Ferguson, but the tide changed following the Scotsman’s retirement in 2013, and now City are the ones on top.
Not only have the two clubs been battling it out on the pitch, they have been at it in the transfer market, as well.
In January, City’s pursuit of Alexis Sanchez ended in disappointment as he opted to join the Red Devils in a late dramatic twist.
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It seems as though United will gazump another of City’s deals as Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Jose Mourinho’s club have agreed a £43.7m fee with Shakhtar Donetsk for midfielder Fred.
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In January, the blue half of Manchester were linked to the Brazilian, who is valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, but most of the fans think that the club are more interested in securing the services of Jorginho from Napoli.
According to online bookmakers Ladbrokes, Southampton have been installed as the 7/4 favourites to sign Bristol City attacker Bobby Reid, and Saints fans have been quick to have their say on the 24-year-old.
Ladbrokes reports that the south coast outfit are leading the way in the race to sign the Championship star, with their Premier League rivals West Ham United, Leicester City, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion also said to be in the running.
Reid scored from the penalty spot for the Robins in their 2-1 defeat against Manchester City in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, and he has also netted 12 league goals this term – just under half of his total tally of 25 during his career.
Southampton supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the rumour, and while one said his goalscoring record “would give Shane Long a run for his money” with the Irishman not known for being prolific, another said “why not just give Sam Gallagher a go”.
Former Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish is adamant that main man Luis Suarez will stay at the club this winter, as reported by Sky Sports.
Speculation has grown in recent weeks over the future of Suarez with admirers Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich all in the hunt for a new striker in January.
The Uruguayan helped his country to a thumping victory in Jordan on Wednesday, all-but clinching their place at the World Cup next summer.
Dalglish claims that Suarez knows how vital he is to Liverpool and that the 26 year old will stay at Anfield to help the Reds push their way into the top four and finally back into the Champions League.
“There will be speculation about Luis Suarez leaving the Reds. There always is. But I don’t think he’s going anywhere,” Dalglish wrote in the Daily Mirror.
“He’s thriving in this Liverpool team and everyone at Anfield knows he is crucial to maintaining a challenge.”
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Cardiff City kicked off at Selhurst Park in their new black and red third strip for the first time, too much excitement amongst The Bluebird supporters – a win today would take Cardiff City to the top of the league an given recent results there was every reason to expect that outcome, however it wasn’t to be. A simply dreadful, amateur performance by Cardiff City’s defence in the second half saw to that!
It had all started so brightly, Cardiff had looked composed on the ball, enjoying some early possession in the opposition half. The Bluebirds even earning the first corner of the game as Helguson knocked down to Gunnarsson who caught the ball on the half volley, which was deflected wide, the ensuing corner came to nothing.
However, the warning signs were fired early by Palace who created the first chance of the game as Zaha’s trickery on the left flank created a shooting opportunity for Brazilian attacking midfielder André Moritz. The City defence hacked the ball away. The ever lively Kagisho Dikgacoi, it seemed, was shooting every time he got the ball – he forced David Marshall into an excellent save, as his deflected long range effort was heading towards the top corner.
It was all The Eagles earning a string of corners to no avail, but against the run of play The Bluebirds took the lead when Aron Gunnarsson showed a burst of pace to break through several Palace defenders, taking advantage of a fortunate bounce of the ball, before slipping the ball past Speroni in to the bottom corner, to the utter delight of 1,300 plus of the Bluebird faithful.
The Bluebirds then repeated their midweek feat at The New Den, by scoring two goals in a couple of minutes. In the very next attack, Bellamy’s powerful and goal bound shot was deflected up in to the air, and Don Cowie met the ball on the half volley, firing it into the far corner. The goal was met by complete exhilaration from the City supporters, full of song and belief for their team. While the Palace fans and their team were shell shocked after City’s quick fire double and resorted to long range efforts from Jedinak and Dikgacoi, much to manager Dougie Freeman’s chagrin. Then The Bluebirds nearly made it three when after a spot of head tennis on the edge of the box, Craig Bellamy pounced on the ball he unleashed a ferocious volley that shaved the top of the bar.
Dougie Freedman responded by replacing Joel Ward for Peter Ramage. Helguson won an aerial battle against the Palace centre halves, Gunnarsson ran on to the knock down and was promptly brought down, but his claim for a penalty was waved away. It was end to end stuff, the Eagles’ wingers Zaha and Bolasie always lively, but Palace struggled to create any clear-cut chances on goal, and the desperation to create something somehow resulted in Zaha being booked for diving after taking a tumble in the box. Half time and City supporters had good reason to be in strong voice, as things stood they were heading for the top of the table.
The second half started in a scrappier fashion and it seemed like a different Cardiff City team had run out into the pitch! Palace won themselves a central 25 yard free kick with a few minutes played, André Moritz left-footed effort was deflected behind, but the referee adjudged that it had come off Andrew Taylor’s hand in the wall. Penalty to Palace, but the replay would later show that Taylor – The Cardiff City pin up – was merely trying to protect his face, it was a harsh decision, Glenn Murray stepped up and slotted the ball home sending David Marshall the wrong way.
Glenn Murray forced Marshall, to palm away his effort the rebound was comfortably picked up and then sent up field by Mark Hudson it was from this pass that City carved out a great chance, Bellamy and Helguson played a one two, before laying the ball off to Cowie, who blasted his shot well over.
The Eagles then went straight up the other end and punished the Bluebirds for wasting that chance. The ball fell to Glenn Murray a couple of yards out, Marshall did well to keep the ball out, but with the ball bouncing on the line, Matthew Connolly merely knocked it into the goal when trying to run back to clear the ball.
Cardiff City then completely went to pieces defensively – Connolly partly made a last ditch challenge on André Moritz after Hudson had let the Brazilian past him with ease, Cardiff were hanging on. The game swung completely in the favour of The Eagles at 72 minutes Helguson launched in with a late sliding tackle right just outside of the box, but despite protestations the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot once more, giving Glenn Murray the opportunity to score his second of the afternoon. The former Brighton front man made no mistake again, to complete the comeback for Palace. It pains me to say this but it was no more than Cardiff City deserved the second half performance was woeful from a team capable of far, far better!
Double Substitution; Cardiff: Craig Noone on for Don Cowie and for Crystal Palace: Jonathan Williams on for André Moritz, just a few minutes later MacKay sent on Joe Mason to replace Craig Bellamy
City looked to the youth to provide the answer, hoping Joe Mason and Craig Noone could get them back in to the game but Palace still looked the much more dangerous side with Zaha and Bolasie causing all sorts of problems for the full backs, while Dikgacoi continued to shoot on sight. The match became ever more scrappy bogged down in midfield a long range drive by Peter Whittingham was the only chance that The Bluebirds created in the last 15 minutes of the match.
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Substitution Crystal Palace: Dean Moxey on for Yannick Bolasie while Cardiff again went for youth with Kim Bo-Kyung on for Tommy Smith – MacKay had taken off players with a combined age of over ninety-five!
Five minutes of injury time ensued – it was dire stuff, the sky had gone dark there was a chill in the air, but the Cardiff City dressing room post match, was about to get very hot, as Malky MacKay set about giving his Bluebirds a roasting.
Everton fans are bashing Wayne Rooney, after a report claimed the veteran striker is disappointed by the club’s willingness to let him leave.
According to Paul Joyce of the Times, Wayne Rooney is hurt by Everton’s willingness to let him join MLS side D.C. United this summer, but he will speak to the new manager before making any decision.
Rooney returned to his boyhood club on a free transfer last summer, but after a solid start his first season back on Merseyside faltered after Christmas.
The 32 year-old was ill over the Christmas period, and hasn’t registered a single goal or assist in 2018, after grabbing ten Premier League goals before the illness.
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The arrival of Sam Allardyce saw a change in position for the veteran, as he moved back into midfield alongside the likes of Tom Davies and Idrissa Gueye.
While there’s no question he still has ability, the Manchester United legend simply doesn’t have the pace and energy to play in a Premier League midfield, and he did take some flak for his performances towards the end of the season.
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Fans are clearly annoyed by his feelings towards the exit links, saying if he wanted respect he should have come back sooner.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
According to reports in The Mirror, Everton manager Sam Allardyce wants to offer Arsenal winger Theo Walcott an escape route of the Emirates Stadium during the January transfer window.
Despite scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions last season, the 28-year-old has only featured for 46 minutes across three substitute appearances in the Premier League this term, with the majority of his outings coming in the Europa League and the EFL Cup.
The Mirror says that Allardyce believes the forward can add a goal threat and some pace to his Toffees side, but the potential arrival of the England international at Goodison Park would cast plenty of doubt over the future of Aaron Lennon.
Meanwhile, Leeds United have bounced back from a sticky patch of form to remain in the promotion race in the Championship, and the Whites currently lie one point outside of the play-off positions.
Manager Thomas Christiansen will already be thinking about additions he could make in the New Year to help them secure a top-six finish come what May, and bringing Lennon back to Elland Road 12-and-a-half years after he left for Tottenham could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Leeds should re-sign the 30-year-old if Everton buy Walcott…
They need more depth out wide
While summer addition Ezgjan Alioski has impressed and been a regular for Leeds this season – he has scored five goals and provided a further four assists in 20 Championship appearances this term – it’s also fair to say that he hasn’t exactly had lots of competition for his spot in the team.
The 25-year-old has played on both flanks during the current campaign, but with Pablo Hernandez injured in recent weeks and Kemar Roofe starting up top, Pawel Cibicki was given a rare start on the right against Norwich City last weekend despite usually playing as a striker.
It showed the lack of depth that the Yorkshire outfit have out wide, and if Thomas Christiansen could bring Lennon back to Elland Road then it would go some way to improving the issue.
He will want to play regularly
Lennon looked to be out of favour under former Everton manager Ronald Koeman, but the appointment of David Unsworth as caretaker boss and then Sam Allardyce permanently as seen the 30-year-old return to the first-team fold.
The winger has appeared in the Merseyside outfit’s last nine Premier League games – starting the majority of those – but that regular game time could become less and less if the Toffees sign Theo Walcott in January.
With fellow winger Yannick Bolasie edging closer to a return from injury and the club also being linked with another wide-man in PSV Eindhoven’s Hirving Lozano, Lennon may look to move on next month.
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Price tag
Lennon has just six months left on his Everton contract and with no signs yet that he will be offered a new one, he will either leave for a fee in January, or on a free next summer.
That is certainly a fact that will interest Leeds and Christiansen, who may relish the opportunity to bring the 30-year-old back to the club for a cut-price fee to boost their promotion push in the second-half of the campaign, as well as exciting the Elland Road faithful by bringing one of their own back home.
Ajax manager Frank de Boer believes Christian Eriksen will be a hit in the Premier League ahead of his proposed £10million move to Tottenham Hotspur, reports the Metro.
The 21-year-old Danish playmaker has agreed a five-year deal at White Hart Lane and is expected to complete his move by the end of the week.
And de Boer believes Eriksen will be a big success at Spurs, but admits he will leave a big whole in his Ajax side next season.
He told de Telegraaf: “Eriksen will go and he can be a success at Spurs.
“But this is a huge loss for us. He is very important to the squad.”
Eriksen’s arrival is thought to be as an alternative to former target Willian, who opted to sign for Chelsea despite already passing a medical with Spurs.
Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas has spent over almost £90million in improving his Spurs side this summer as he attempts to build a side capable of finishing in the top-four ahead of London rivals Arsenal, while it is expected that Gareth Bale will complete his world-record £85million move to Real Madrid by the end of the week.
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Meanwhile, Spurs have also been linked with Lazio’s Brazilian playmaker Hernanes, who is yet to sign a new contract at the Stadio Olimpico.