Martin O’Neill may allow first team members to represent Sunderland Under 21s in their derby clash at the Sports Direct Arena.
David Vaughan has already represented Kevin Ball’s side in his quest to re-find fitness following a hernia problem, while Connor Wickham and Ji Dong Won may also be made available by the Ulsterman. Both strikers have dropped down the pecking order at the Stadium of Light, with the arrivals of Steven Fletcher and Louis Saha, meaning neither have seen first team action, yet.
Vaughan is eligible for the team as one of three overage players while Wickham and Dong Won are still young enough to play. O’Neill told The Sunderland Echo, “I was pleased to see David get 45 minutes under his belt for his country – for the moment he needs as many minutes on the pitch as he can get.
“He’ll come into contention for the reserves games but were continuing to monitor him and make a decision on the day.”
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Sunderland triumphed over their bitter rivals at under 18 level this weekend and would welcome the increase in quality to their under 21 side.
Shkodran Mustafi had a season to forget at Arsenal, particularly in the closing stages of the campaign.
The Germany international was caught out a handful of times in the last few remaining matches under Arsene Wenger’s tenure as manager.
Unsurprisingly, his performances caused many fans to rant and rave on social media, with some calling for the club to sell the centre-back.
The 26-year-old – valued at £25.2m by Transfermarkt – will have an opportunity to prove that he deserves a place in the team following the arrival of Unai Emery as manager.
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The Spaniard adopted various formations during his spells in charge of Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain, but he has consistently used a back four.
While at Parc des Princes, he deployed similar tactics to that of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp by instructing his defenders to press high.
Emery will assess his defensive options before making a decision on Mustafi, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014.
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Judging on past form and the defender’s ability, will he end up being an important member of Emery’s team?
According to Le10Sport, Newcastle United are interested in signing Troyes attacker Samuel Grandsir in the January transfer window.
What’s the story?
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is still unsure what type of budget he will have in next month’s winter window, but it is understood that the Spaniard is hoping to be able to sign a couple of players at the start of 2018.
The Magpies need some fresh blood after going stale in recent weeks, and it would be fair to say that the club could do with a fresh impetus in the final third of the field.
According to Le10Sport, Newcastle are interested in signing Troyes attacker Grandsir, who helped his French club gain promotion to Ligue 1 during the 2016-17 campaign.
This season, the 21-year-old, who is valued at £1.4m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has scored twice and registered four assists in 17 Ligue 1 appearances.
How likely is the move to occur?
Well, according to Le10Sport, Troyes are adamant that they will not sell Grandsir at the mid-point of the season.
However, the same report claims that the French outfit are simply playing hard ball as they know that there is a host of interest in the attacker.
Bournemouth have also been credited with an interest, although it is understood that Newcastle are prepared to make a significant offer in order to secure a deal next month.
Newcastle’s transfer plans have been thrown into doubt due to the fact that it is still unclear whether Mike Ashley will be in charge when the January window opens for business.
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Benitez has a number of targets in mind, but the Spaniard might yet be frustrated due to the uncertainty surrounding ownership.
Grandsir has certainly shown his potential in Ligue 1 this season, and it will be very interesting to see whether talk of interest from Newcastle sparks a bidding war next month.
Arsenal’s hopes of landing Newcastle ace Yohan Cabaye have suffered a further set-back, with news that Paris Saint-Germain are now interested, according to reports from The Independent.
The Gunners lodged a £10million offer for the Frenchman yesterday, but their bid was instantly dismissed and branded as derisory.
As well as angering the Magpies, the Londoners bid only served to alert PSG, who have now made a £15m move for Cabaye.
The big spending Ligue 1 champions have been keen on the playmaker for some time, and are desperate to lure him back to his homeland.
With an almost guaranteed shot at challenging for silverware and continental honours, Cabaye could be tempted by a switch to the Parc des Princes.
The news is a real blow for Arsenal, who have missed out on a number of transfer targets already this summer.
Only rookie striker Yaya Sanogo – a free transfer – has arrived at the Emirates Stadium, as deals for both Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney look to have passed the Gunners by.
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has also made an audacious offer for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.
The 20-year-old – who moved to Italy from Manchester United – is rated highly in Turin after a series of impressive displays.
Arsenal fans, would it be a blow to miss out on Yohan Cabaye?
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Leighton Baines has admitted to being surprised at the lack of interest Manchester United showed in signing him.
Early in the transfer window lots of speculation linked the 27 year old with a move to Old Trafford but Sir Alex Ferguson opted for Alexander Buttner instead.
Buttner signed from Vitesse and appears to have been signed as back up to Patrice Evra, who will remain United’s first choice at left back, despite a sloppy start to this season, and sub-par performance last year.
Baines told The Metro, “People were asking me and yet I didn’t know anything. It was getting mentioned that often that I was getting puzzled by it and yet I heard nothing.”
The England international stated he is content at Everton, but wants to play Champions League football and would be unlikely to turn down a move to United.
“I’ve never been one to rock the boat. I appreciate the position I’m in life and I love what I do. At the same time you do have to have ambition because it doesn’t last long and before you know it’s over.
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“The main thing in football at club level is the Champions League which is always going to be an aim and if you can do that it strengthens your chances at International level as well.”
Everton fans have been debating the future of Leighton Baines, and an overwhelming majority want to replace the left back this summer.
It’s been a weird season for Everton and their fans, as the summer spending spree that was supposed to push them into the top six only pushed them further down the table.
Sam Allardyce was brought in to rescue the Toffees from a relegation scrap, and the former England manager did the job, although not exactly to the satisfaction of most fans.
Perhaps the biggest problem at times for Everton was the injuries in defence, where veterans Seamus Coleman, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines all missed time through injury.
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Cuco Martina struggled to replace the iconic Everton full back duo, and Ashley Williams took plenty of stick for failing to fill Jagielka’s boots.
The Toffees have certainly been a better team since the return of their experienced heads at the back, but that hasn’t stopped a whopping 68 per cent voting to replace Baines this summer.
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Espanyol youngster Aaron Martin has been linked with a move to Goodison, and it seems fans are looking to freshen things up at the back despite the positive impact of their experienced trio.
You can check out the full poll results for yourself below…
2014/15 certainly has to go down as a rather disappointing campaign for Newcastle United, not just in front of goal, but across every area of the pitch and among the coaching staff as well.
Despite a brief run of results mid-way through the season, last term ultimately proved frustrating for the St. James’ faithful, who nonetheless managed to fill out their over 50,000 seater stadium on an almost week-to-week basis. Mike Ashley and the rest of his cronies behind the scenes on Tyneside must therefore make amends this summer and at least try and turn the club’s fortunes around for the new campaign.
However, with young Serbian hot-shot – Aleksandar Mitrovic – looking increasingly likely to sign on at St. James’ for a reported fee of £13 million, perhaps the Magpies may eventually be able to see light at the end of the tunnel next season after all. Gini Wijnaldum has already put pen to paper on a deal with Newcastle this summer, and with Steve McClaren looking to make the most out of his Dutch contacts whilst in the North East, more signings could well be on the way to St. James’ sooner rather than later.
So then, although the attention gathering 20-year-old hasn’t quite yet sealed his move to Tyneside on an official basis this summer, just what can the Newcastle United faithful ultimately expect from their imminent new signing?
First things first, Aleksandar Mitrovic seemingly arrives as a goal-scorer above all else. In reminiscent style to fellow Belgian Pro League favourite Romelu Lukaku, before he made his debut in the Premier League, the bustling Serbian youngster topped the charts with an impressive 20 goals for Anderlecht last season, and certainly made himself a few new fans whilst he was at it.
The rapidly emerging striker – who has already represented his side at Champions League level, as well as on the international scene – is somewhat Carlos Tevez-esque in his approach. Mitrovic isn’t quite the most balanced striker we’ve ever seen by any means, yet what he seemingly lacks in stature is more than made up for through his powerfully aggressive nature in front of goal.
When it comes to proving a dangerous aerial threat in an around the box, constantly testing the opposition’s defence inside the final third, and making bustling runs straight through the middle of the pitch to great affect – this latest Magpies target has very rarely disappointed. 2014/15 was simply a great year for the young striker, who has subsequently witnessed his reputation grow dramatically this summer.
He may have previously looked slightly over-weight in the past, and one good year in the Belgian league isn’t exactly the most valid cause for excitement in all honesty – but in possessing such a promising level of potential for the not too distant future – Newcastle United fans certainly have reason to be quietly optimistic regarding this latest Tyneside transfer saga.
However, there is just no escaping the fact that £13million is quite sizeable amount of money to spend on a largely unproven 20-year-old, who has only just made a name for himself on the wider European footballing scene. Newcastle don’t often splash the cash with every passing transfer window, so in witnessing the Magpies being so frivolous with their resources in this instance, a few curious question marks have inevitably been raised.
This particular transfer seemingly has the ability to fall flat on its face next season, potentially condemning Aleksandar Mitrovic to the unfulfilled talent category on Tyneside, previously filled by the underwhelming likes of Albert Luque and Xisco in the past.
With his signing perhaps offering last season’s somewhat lost figure of, Papiss Cisse, a recognised strike partner to do the business with up top throughout 2015/16 however, its ultimately hard to view this purchase as anything other than positive in the cold light of day. Aleksandar Mitrovic could just as easily revitalize Newcastle’s shape next season, and finally help get the goals flowing once again before the Tyneside faithful truly give up on their increasingly struggling club.
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As the youngster’s potential arrival would nonetheless signal another attacking marque move from Steve McClaren this summer though, the chances of Newcastle signing QPR’s Charlie Austin are certainly weakened – especially with Aston Villa recently joining the hunt for the striker’s signature in the run up to the 2015/16 campaign.
Emanuele Giaccherini said it best when he moved from back-to-back Serie A winners Juventus to Sunderland, that the Premier League’s allure allowed him to make the easy decision to swap Turin for the north of England. And let’s not assume that the Italian was a disposable member of Antonio Conte’s side, because he wasn’t. Where star names and match winners are a necessity for any title-winning side, those in the engine room are just as vital. Giaccherini was a jack of all trades, willing to play anywhere his manager placed him and with absolutely no fuss.
Though that doesn’t mean the Premier League holds something within its boundaries that can’t be found elsewhere on the continent. Both Chelsea are Arsenal have or are in the brink of losing out on transfer targets this summer, with Radamel Falcao joining up with the rising project at Monaco, and Gonzalo Higuain possibly walking into a very smartly built Napoli side, though I wouldn’t place 100 per cent value in what Aurelio De Laurentiis says during the summer months; the Napoli president likes all the fanfare.
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The thing about the Premier League is that it very rarely buys the biggest names in world football. For those from Europe and South America, Real Madrid and to an extent Barcelona are seen as the pinnacle of European football, though the former much more so. If you’re a youngster or even an established international in Germany, it’s more than likely you’re going to end up Bayern Munich, despite Borussia Dortmund getting one over on the Bavarians in the race for Marco Reus.
Clubs like PSG are rapidly changing the face of European football, allowing “lesser” leagues like the French Ligue 1 to quickly gain a reputation as one of the leading destinations in Europe. No longer is France surrendering the Zidanes, Makeleles and Thurams to Italy or Spain, but rather it’s using its new-found financial muscle to establish French football as a force in European competition once again.
It’s not that English football is losing its allure, but we have to question how much of other nations’ appeal we’ve been allowed to witness. Even now, Serie A is on an upward trajectory, the Bundesliga’s two Champions League finalists have proved that Germany is as exciting as anything, while even La Liga has its benefits away from the top two.
In England, we’re often led and encouraged to believe that only our league matters, as if it’s an unbelievable backhand that a player opts for somewhere else. Something about “why would he want to go there?” is one of the most likely exclamations, only to be better by, “we never really wanted him in the first place,” all the while completely inconsolable that one of the top names has chosen to go elsewhere.
It’s also about familiarity and history for players. For example, if Higuain were to choose Napoli over Arsenal, it’s not really because the Premier League club couldn’t offer him a lot (and probably everything), but that the tradition of the Naples club has been taken into account. Its history with Argentinians in the past; the fact that Edinson Cavani went close to equalling Diego Maradona, both in scoring and in landing the club a league title, as well as the unconditional love he was offered by supporters. Higuain was never really loved at Real Madrid; he was never made to feel like he was their star striker. At Napoli, he would get all of that and more.
Mario Gomez too, a touted option for Chelsea in the past. He has it all now: Bundesliga titles with two different clubs, domestic cups, the Champions League. He has a reputation as one of the best forwards in Europe. Why Fiorentina then? Why not Chelsea and the Premier League, where he will undoubtedly have the opportunity to enhance his trophy cabinet, possibly with another European Cup?
Well Fiorentina are a different prospect altogether. No one in Serie A played better football than them last season. The turnaround from relegation candidates to the top four in Italy within a year was astounding. The owner has cash to burn, too. It’s not as if to say Gomez has signed for a club with little hope for the future.
For those who took a quick glance at Florence and the rest of the Italian league, there is every chance Fiorentina could win the Serie A title within a few short years, even without Stevan Jovetic. Gomez would be the star propelling them to such heights. He’s won the lot so he can afford to have a year out of the Champions League. It’s a new project but one with a little more respect and dignity attached to it over the relentless spenders elsewhere in Europe.
If Arsenal and Chelsea, and the rest of the Premier League, continue to miss out on targets it’s because everywhere else has something to offer just as much as English football. The Premier League isn’t the be all and end all, as much as we’d like to think.
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Rickie Lambert hopes if he continues to score goals he will get opportunities to play for his country.
At times in Southampton’s 3-2 loss to Manchester United Lambert bullied Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. The 30 year old has also scored against the two top Premier League clubs already this season.
The frontman who has served a long apprenticeship in the Football League before grasping the opportunity to play in England’s top division, is refusing to be disheartened by England’s decision not to replace injured striker Andy Carroll.
Last season’s Championship top-scorer discussed his chances with The Daily Mail, “Maybe not right now but hopefully in the future.
“That’s my dream. That’s everyone’s dream. It’s a serious ambition. I just want to improve every single day at this club.”
The target-man in a similar fashion to former strike-partner at Rochdale, Grant Holt has worked his way to this opportunity establishing himself at Macclesfield, Rochdale, Stockport County and Rochdale, before Southampton gave him the launching to play at the top level.
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Lambert added, “I’ve always believed in myself it’s not a different game. You still try and score in the same goals and you still play with a round ball it’s not too much different.”
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a very disappointing 2017-18 campaign for Leeds United, with the club currently down in 14th position in the Championship table.Paul Heckingbottom’s side have only won one of their last six in the Championship, and suffered a 2-1 defeat at Norwich City on Saturday afternoon.Kalvin Phillips has been a constant for Leeds this season, and he has actually managed six goals and three assists in 42 appearances in all competitions.They are not exactly poor statistics, and Leeds’ official Twitter account retweeted a graphic earlier this week looking at the midfielder’s form throughout the season.https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/leeds-relegation.mp4There were a number of Leeds supporters who praised the 22-year-old, although there were also those who surprisingly criticised Phillips – and not for the first time – with one fan even claiming that he should be sold in this summer’s transfer window.A selection of the Twitter reaction in relation to the midfielder’s form can be seen below: