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After yet another injury-hit campaign last season, Jack Wilshere will surely be hoping that he can finally enjoy a full season in the Premier League with West Ham.The former Arsenal starlet played just ten times across all competitions in the 2019/2020 campaign, and played just 35 minutes of football following the top-flight’s restart.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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Against Brentford in Saturday afternoon’s pre-season clash, Wilshere was given the chance to impress David Moyes from the off, lining up alongside Mark Noble in the middle of the park.

After seeing his performance against last season’s Championship play-off finalists, Hammers fans took to Twitter to share their reactions.

A couple of supporters urged the club to get rid of the midfielder, with one fan saying that he “offers absolutely nothing to our club”.

Another couple of Hammers fans even slammed Wilshere as being “anonymous” during the game.

Having barely done anything of note since joining the Hammers, it’s no surprise to see West Ham fans have little confidence that Wilshere can turn his career around at the London Stadium.

Tomas Soucek’s arrival has dropped him further down the pecking order, with the Czech Republic international actually scoring the match-winner against Brentford on Saturday.

It’s difficult to see how Wilshere gets back into the starting line-up.

Chelsea are gearing up to face reigning Premier League champions Liverpool as they vie to snatch the title from their grasp this season.

The Blues have already got their campaign off to an ideal start after banking maximum points against Brighton on Monday night. A 3-1 win showcased the talents of goal scorers Jorginho, Reece James and Kurt Zouma. 

Their next assignment should make for a very exciting fixture. However, a lot of Chelsea fans don’t want to see Mason Mount involved in the starting lineup.

The club’s official Instagram accoun shared an image of Mount and new signing Ben Chilwell during a session at Cobham. Whilst some fans are thrilled to see the left-back in action, others are taking aim at the 21-year-old midfielder and are calling for him to be dropped.

/CFM4ad4sgda/

Mount earned a 6.9 Sofascore rating for his performance against Brighton. Despite making two key passes, he lost possession 11 times and was unable to register any shots on target. Indeed, the England international hasn’t been involved in any goalscoring opportunities for Chelsea’s last four fixtures.

With Kai Havertz now on the scene, some fans could be looking to see the German replace Mount in midfield. With Mateo Kovacic returning from suspension, it’s likely that Frank Lampard could opt to bench the underperforming midfielder for the visit of the champions to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Do you think Mason Mount should start against Liverpool? Have your say in the comments below…

Jose Mourinho has a choice to make if Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier leaves north London in the summer, reports say.Â

The 60-cap Ivory Coast international wanted to leave last year but a move to AC Milan failed to materialise.

Now Tottenham are reportedly trying to get rid of the right-back as talks have ‘intensified’ between the two clubs over the past week or so.

Stefano Pioli’s side will have to sell either Andrea Conti or David Calabria to make room for the ex-Paris Saint-Germain ace.

Aurier is a controversial character who has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons more often than not, after his conduct came under scrutiny from the club for making a string of high-profile mistakes.

The Lilywhites have been linked to Turkey full-back Zeki Celik, but he is apparently “just one of the names on the list” if Aurier leaves, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Italian transfer guru claims Spurs are considering several options, which makes perfect sense, as they are also in the running to sign Norwich City’s Max Aarons and have recently registered their interest in Arsenal academy graduate Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Kyle Walker-Peters has already left the club, so Mourinho will have to fill two right-back spots if he decides to sell Aurier in the summer.

As Alasdair Gold pointed out, Spurs need to improve the amount of homegrown players in the squad and losing Walker-Peters and potentially Danny Rose as well could lead the Lilywhites to taking a look at some of the British talent on offer like Aarons and Maitland-Niles.

On the other hand, Celik has played Champions League football, which might put him at an advantage over his Premier League counterparts. The 23-year-old, who is only slightly older than Aarons and Maitland-Niles, is an aggressive tackler and potent counter-attacking threat on the right flank for Lille, who has plenty of experience at the top levels of the game despite his young age.

However, Spurs face stiff competition from Everton to sign the£18m-valued defender, so it remains to be seen if Daniel Levy can get a deal done in the summer.

Tottenham fans, do you think Levy should sign Celik? Let us know your views in the comments below!

Defender Christian Burgess has been named Portsmouth’s Player of the Season as his move to Belgium edges closer.

Kenny Jackett’s side will meet Oxford United on Friday evening in the first of their two-legged League One play-off semi-final. A potential promotion to the Championship is very much a possibility for Pompey, but they will not have central defender and first team regular Burgess available for the 2020/2021 season.

Available to help his side during the play-offs, the 28-year-old, who moved to Fratton Park in 2015, will depart the club at the end of the season to join Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise.

Having made 32 appearances for the League One side this season, Burgess will be missed next term and it has now been confirmed that he has been named Portsmouth’s 2019/2020 Player of the Season.

Burgess received 69% of the votes from readers of both local newspapers The News and Sports Mail, whilst winger Ronan Curtis came second and Tom Naylor finished third (as per portsmouthfc.co.uk).

The Barking native has signed a deal with Les Unionistes until 2023 and will link up with fellow Englishman Anthony Bloom, who also owns Brighton and Hove Albion.

Burgess has had a superb final season with Portsmouth and it could get even better if he helps them seal promotion to the Championship.

If the 28-year-old can do that, he will at least get to sign off at Fratton Park in the best possible manner but it will be a shame that he would not then be a part of their team in the second tier.

How much will Portsmouth miss Burgess next season? Let us know in the comments section below…

The agent of Allan Saint-Maximin has given a rather worrying update on the future of the Newcastle United ace, as he has claimed that his client would like to play in the UEFA Champions League, according to Calcio Napoli 24.

As per the outlet, Kurtys Saint-Maximin, who is his brother as well as his agent, told the publication that he does not know where the future of the 23-year old lies but admitted that he would like to play in Europe’s elite competition.

Indeed, this could be worrying for members of the Toon faithful, as they are very unlikely to be able to offer him that for the next season at least given their current position in the Premier League table, and if the proposed takeover of the Tyneside club falls through, then Champions League football may well be a long way away.

In addition, other clubs who have qualified for the competition for the next campaign may well come in for Saint-Maximin given just how well he has performed so far in this term, and the possibility of playing in the Champions League may arguably be too much to turn down. Paris Saint Germain have already been reported as a potential destination, as have Arsenal (Le10Sport).

The Frenchman has arguably been very impressive so far in the top flight, scoring three goals and four assists in 22 games, while also creating eight big chances and averaging 4.6 successful dribbles and 1.3 key passes per match (via Sofascore).

The winger is surely going to attract some interest from big teams in the upcoming summer transfer window, and it will be up to the Magpies as to whether they can keep hold of him.

Geordies, will ASM stay beyond this season? Comment below!

In a Q&A session for The Chronicle, Mark Douglas has delivered a worrying update on Newcastle midfielder Matty Longstaff.

What did he say?

The Magpies starlet is approaching the end of his contract at St James’ Park, and recent reports have suggested that Serie A side Udinese have offered him a far more lucrative deal than the one initially offered by the Tyneside club.

Now, after being asked on what the latest is on Longstaff’s situation, Douglas admitted that the 20-year-old’s future now appears to hinge on whether the club’s proposed takeover goes through or not.

Think you’re a big Magpies fan? Can you name these former players by looking at their careers? Go on, give it a go…

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He said: “Nothing new after the latest reports this week. I’m not sure he will play again until it’s resolved – and I think only a takeover can really see this one properly resolved.”

Catch-22

Douglas’ update suggests that Newcastle are in a bit of catch-22 situation with Longstaff at the moment.

The Magpies are reportedly keen on tying him down to a fresh new deal and stave off any potential suitors, but with it now seemingly being dependent on the takeover going through, Newcastle are having to wait for one of the two dominoes to fall.

If the Saudi consortium’s takeover bid collapses over these coming days and weeks, then Newcastle could be hit with the double blow of having to stick with Mike Ashley and losing one of their talented, homegrown starlets.

Rangers must be wondering when the saga that has engulfed Scottish football will end.

By now, the story is likely to be clear for you, but just in case it isn’t, it all started with Dundee. With the season suspended due to the current pandemic that has wreaked havoc across the planet, the SPFL put forward a resolution proposal in an attempt to decide what should happen with the rest of the campaign. The Dark Blues’ vote, though, was originally not registered and, when it was finally counted, it had changed.

This has led to accusations of corruption from Rangers, and an almighty chaos north of the border. An Emergency General Meeting has been set up for May 12th, and now the SPFL has released an open letter to all clubs in the top four divisions. In the letter, it insinuates that an independent investigation, which Rangers have requested, would be a waste of time.

As you can imagine, the Ibrox outfit’s supporters are raging at this latest update – one fan even called the organisation “a stain on Scotland”. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

Some call him a genius of a businessman, others have more colourful language to describe the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy.

Love him, or hate him, no one can deny that a man once described by Lord Sugar as the hardest businessmen he has worked with knows how to strike out a deal. I mean, anyone that managed to get £18m for Kevin Wimmer deserves our respect, right?

What frustrates the Tottenham faithful more than anything is that why he is more than capable of driving a hard bargain when it comes to selling players, buying players becomes equally painstaking, much to the annoyance of the previous managers and head coaches that have worked under him.

For every genius signing like Raphael Van der Vaart there have been far too many Ricardo Rocha’s to arrive in N17 for the liking of the supporters.

So how well do you Spurs fans know Levy’s transfer track record?

Good luck…

Jose Mourinho has arrived at Tottenham Hotspur and he’s ready to stir the pot, quite literally. Of course, with Mauricio Pochettino now gone, it’s fairly safe to assume there will be changes happening at Spurs and hopefully, Daniel Levy knows what he signed up for when he chose the Special One to lead his troops.

Be that as it may, it also wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Mourinho will likely want some reinforcements in order to get this team firing on all cylinders once again.

But which of his former pupils could the Portuguese coach actually bring to Spurs that would fit his system nicely?

Let’s take a look…

Luka Modric – Real Madrid

Mourinho’s stay at the Spanish capital was very much a success, regardless of how it ended. The Special One managed to rival Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, who were arguably one of the best teams in world football at that time, and even claimed some silverware for his trouble.

Modric, granted, wasn’t such a big figure back then as he is now but with 34 years already in the locker and new faces emerging from Real Madrid’s midfield, the Croat could possibly be prized away from the Galacticos.

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Not to mention that he appears to still have something of a soft spot for Spurs from his days in London and when you take all of that into account, this transfer suddenly doesn’t seem like a reach at all.

Besides, Mourinho could use someone of Modric’s pedigree, skill and experience in his team.

Why not give it a go?

Nemanja Matic – Manchester United

Matic is definitely one of the players that thrived under Mourinho’s stern but just hand while the Special One was at the helm of Manchester United.

The 31-year-old defensive midfielder enjoyed playing for the Portuguese and he also enjoyed a really important role in his system as Mourinho values a good pivot for defensive cover for his preferred style of play.

Matic’s contract expires in the summer and seeing how he’s fallen out of favour at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad and was even reported to be close to a January exit, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Mourinho come back for his man.

Even though he is already past his 30s, Matic surely has a couple more good seasons in his legs.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Manchester United

By this point, you’re either extremely excited by this pick or you can’t believe you’re actually seeing what you’re seeing.

But yes, Ibrahimovic and Mourinho worked well together while the Special One was at Old Trafford, similarly to his relationship with Matic, and the great Swede did have a good spell under his guidance as well.

Of course, he scored 29 goals and assisted a further ten in the 53 games he played for the Red Devils, but was hampered by a serious injury just when he finally got going.

With Harry Kane still in the squad, there doesn’t seem to be a need for an additional striker, especially one that would hardly play second fiddle to the Englishman. However, Kane has no senior competition for his spot and has been linked with an exit to Real Madrid, and Ibrahimovic is the prototype Mourinho striker.

It sounds crazy at first but in some scenarios, it wouldn’t be outrageous to think he decides to scoop up the Swede for free after his MLS adventure has come to its conclusion.

Can you imagine these two hot-heads working together again? Neither can we but it would definitely be a blast…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Moussa Sissoko is insistent that Tottenham Hotspur can still finish in the top four this season, per The Daily Telegraph.

What’s the word?

Spurs have endured a horrific start to the campaign and are currently 11 points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s team are joined by Liverpool, Leicester City and Chelsea in the top four but Sissoko remains positive about the chances of Mauricio Pochettino’s side climbing the table.

Indeed, Spurs have won just three times in the Premier League thus far this term and have not won away in the league since January.

Sissoko said: “Of course we are far, far behind the top four, but the season is long and we can still win a lot of games.

“It will not be easy but we know we have the qualities to do it.

“When we come back [after the international break] we will try to catch the teams in front of us and see where we are at the end of the season.”

Sissoko believes that the key to an upturn in results could be the club’s home form – they have already drawn twice and lost once in north London in 2019/20.

He added: “We have to make our home a fortress. Normally we have to take most of the points at home against every team, but we have a bit of a problem with that. It is a shame for us because the fans are pushing us along with their support, but at the end we don’t win.”

Misdiagnosis

Spurs need to improve their away form instead of focusing on winning at home.

They last won on the road in the league against Fulham in January. That’s the Fulham team that have since been relegated and begun the season anew in the Championship.

Thus far this season, Spurs have taken three points from six games on the road. They have a goal difference of minus five and would be in the bottom three if only away games counted. Burnley have an identical record of three draws and three defeats, while only Norwich City, with five losses, have worse.

Compare that with the current top four. Liverpool are unbeaten and have 16 points away from home, Chelsea have 15, Manchester City 12 and Leicester 10.

It is no surprise that the top four overall is also the top four on the road.

But if Spurs are to heed Sissoko’s words and climb the league, they need to start turning up on their travels and taking the points back to London as a matter of urgency.

Their home form, by comparison, has seen them take 11 points, only one fewer than Pep Guardiola’s side, who have the third-best home record in the league.

Sissoko, then, has managed to miss the point by a convincingly wide margin.