As reported by The Sun, Manchester United are lining up a move for Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann during this summer’s transfer window.
What’s the story?
Griezmann has been in a sensational form for the Spanish side for years now, the envy of most big clubs in European football and Manchester United are no different.
The Sun report the Red Devils are ‘desperate to sign’ the French international and are lining up an £89m move at the end of the season.
However, United have been told he is looking for a staggering £400,000-a-week to make the move to Manchester and snub Barcelona, who are also interested in his services, according to the paper.
Is that too expensive, even for the Old Trafford side?
Worth the outlay?
In an ever expanding transfer market, to secure the best talents available that win you major honours you have to shell out for it and if United can possibly afford his reported wage demands then it’s something they have to pursue.
The French player has scored over 20 goals for Atletico Madrid in every season since moving there in 2014, also contributing plenty of assists, the kind of direct goal contribution that could transform Jose Mourinho’s attack.
He could be the ideal player to deploy on either the left hand side or through the middle of support of Lukaku, also possessing great versatility without compromise to performance.
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At 26 years of age he’s entering his prime and is one of the few talents in world football worth stretching their resources for, especially when he can inspire a return to winning the major honours the Old Trafford side crave so badly.
Undoubtedly the story of the week has been Wayne Rooney’s new £300,000-per-week contract. The England international finally put an end to the sage that has been his Old Trafford future on Friday by penning a new deal to make him the highest paid player in the Premier League. Naturally, Rooney found the net in his first appearance since putting pen to paper, rasping home a sweet effort in the 2-0 win at Crystal Palace – which may be a vital three points when the season ends. It’s hard to justify such a salary for essentially kicking a ball around in a field, but such is the forward’s importance to United that he may just be worth the massive outlay. Here are three reasons to validate Rooney’s contract.
Goals, goals and more goals
Rooney took his tally to nine in the Premier League against Palace, making him the club’s top scorer in the competition. Although his record is not on a par with Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero or even Yaya Toure, he has a habit of netting big goals at big moments, and with United’s tendency to throw away points late on, his strike at Selhurst Park was a huge one.
Captain material
With Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic set to leave at the end of the season, both the vice and full captain could be no more at Old Trafford, leaving a massive void in Moyes’ team. Rooney is undoubtedly a big character on and off of the field, and is widely being backed to take the armband and be ‘Mr Man United’.
Work rate
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Silky skills and top goals may be attractive, but any manager would tell you that work rate is just as important. Rooney is by no means a man that shirks his responsibilities, as he proved against Palace with an all-action display. Both before and after the goal, ‘Wazza’ was up and down the pitch supporting his midfield and fellow attackers.
Liverpool and Stoke played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield on Sunday.
Neither side could break the deadlock, with the visitors putting in a stern defensive display to deny Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis criticised Reds forward Luis Suarez after the game for what he perceived as a dive by the Uruguayan international in an attempt to win a penalty.
“You have got Suarez falling over in the box second half which was really, really disappointing,” Pulis told Sky Sports.
“I think that should be highlighted, as I have said before.”
However, the Potters’ trainer did praise Glen Johnson for his attitude and reaction to a Jonathan Walters challenge.
“There was a challenge in the first half in front of us, Jon Walters and Glen Johnson both went up for a header, it was a proper old-fashioned challenge.
“Glen Johnson did absolutely fantastic, just bounced back up on got with the game, it was a proper, proper challenge.
“I went over to him and said ‘well done, brilliant’ – not only did he play exceptionally well but his behaviour was fabulous,” Pulis concluded.
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The result leaves Liverpool with one solitary win this season, down in 14th place.
Leeds fans are praying their club doesn’t repeat the mistakes of last summer, after Carpi’s club president said they have until the end of June to sign Jerry Mbakogu.
Leeds have been heavily linked with a summer swoop for Mbakogu, who grabbed eight goals in all competitions this season, but fans are adamant they don’t want the Nigerian striker.
Abel Hernandez is the preferred striker option for most fans, but the Carpi president is now heaping pressure on Leeds to jump into a deal for Mbakogu, and even hinting that it’s basically a done deal.
“We have signed a pre-contract with Leeds and by end of the 30th June we will have to close it,” team president Stefano Bonacini said.
“Unless there are some unexpected traps, he will play there next season.”
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The towering striker, dubbed “the new Didier Drogba” by his agent, missed part of the season through injury, but his pace and power does seem quite well suited to the Championship.
That said, fans are desperate for a proven goalscorer in the division like Hernandez, and they aren’t too happy about the Mbakogu deal, which is already done if you believe the Serie B club’s president.
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It does seem rather bizarre that a player’s agent and club would push so hard to sell him, and it’s certainly raised the red flags amongst Leeds fans, who are still reeling from signing the likes of Felix Wiedwald and Caleb Ekuban.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
The West Ham owners, former manager Slaven Bilic and the club’s supporters were understandably delighted when they brought Javier Hernandez to the London Stadium in a £16m deal from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer, and he was arguably their best signing on paper since the arrival of Dimitri Payet two years earlier.
The Mexico international, who has 49 goals in 99 caps for his country, arrived in east London having scored 39 goals in 76 matches for Bayer Leverkusen following a spell with Manchester United in which he netted 59 times in 158 appearances in total for the Red Devils.
The Hammers finally looked to have the goalscorer they had been craving for many years, and a successful campaign looked to be on the cards.
However, it hasn’t turned out that way for West Ham, or for Hernandez.
The Irons’ tough start to the season under Bilic saw them lose their opening three Premier League matches, and the 29-year-old was given little to work with up top alone in the 4-0 and 3-0 defeats against Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively, although he did score a brace in the 3-2 defeat against Southampton at St Mary’s – with the second goal coming when he moved to a wider role.
However, Hernandez has only scored two goals in 15 top flight matches since that encounter on the south coast, and he hasn’t found the net in his last seven Premier League games.
In fact, the Mexican has fallen way out of favour under new boss David Moyes – whom he also worked with during his spell at Old Trafford – only coming off of the substitutes’ in five of the last six league games.
The situation certainly won’t have impressed the former Red Devil, who has sometimes seen Marko Arnautovic and Michail Antonio – neither of which are natural strikers – start in the position even when he has been available.
Basically, West Ham are struggling to find a role in the team for Chicharito, and it has been a problem ever since the start of the season.
While the 29-year-old started up top at the beginning of the campaign, the return of Andy Carroll from injury saw him revert to a position on the left flank and even as a central attacking midfielder – two roles that he didn’t look particularly comfortable playing in.
And that is the problem. Hernandez is a penalty box poacher and needs balls to be fed to him in the box – ideally along the ground unless he is unmarked for a cross in the air.
As a lone striker, he struggles from an aerial point of view and to hold the ball up to allow his attacking teammates to get up the pitch and support him, and he has already become something of a luxury player that can’t be risked by Moyes as West Ham look to avoid being involved in a relegation battle in the second-half of the campaign.
The 29-year-old’s limitations and his inability to play alone up top were highlighted even further in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last week and the goalless draw against League One Shrewsbury Town in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Hernandez struggled to have any impact at all and was substituted off in the 64th minute against Spurs – being replaced by Andre Ayew who went on to play a big part in Pedro Obiang’s goal – while he came off in the 71st minute against the Shrews.
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While the general situation, lack of form and confidence may not be solely down to Hernandez as he had little to work with during his time on the pitch, sometimes you have to work that little bit harder to make something happen and he often doesn’t seem to be willing to do that graft.
Nearly six months after the Mexico international signed for West Ham it is already looking like a move that won’t work out for the club or the player in the long-term, and the Irons should consider cashing in on the 29-year-old before the transfer window slams shut at the end of this month.
Despite his disappointing season his stock will still be relatively high tight now and the Irons should be able to recoup most of the £16m they spent on him in the summer, which would then allow Moyes to bring in a new striker that is likely to fit more into his and the east London outfit’s style of play.
For some clubs the international break was a nightmare, coming at the worst possible time due to good form, but for Millwall it came at the perfect time.
After successive drubbings away at Birmingham then Bournemouth, it gave the team and staff two weeks to reflect on recent events and maybe the fans needed this too.
After the break the Lions will start up the season again with games against QPR, Burnley and Reading. These three games will be make or break for Steve Lomas as to whether he keeps his job. If we play like we did in the first half at Bournemouth we might pick up some decent points – but play like we did in the second half, and we’ll have three rugby scores from those games.
There must be some good points as Lomas’s reign as manger, something must be going right somewhere, after all look at the performances against the likes of Leeds and Blackpool.
But to me, Lomas coming in to Millwall seems like a little kid getting his first play of “Football Manager”. He signs all the players he possibly can and then when the tactical side goes astray, tries to solve it by signing even more players.
Look at the signing of Paul Connolly – signed on a free transfer from Leeds until January. It’s been obvious that since Lomas came in he wanted a new right back but signing Connolly isn’t even a short term solution. We all know that Alan Dunne is a bit card happy, but what about Jack Smith? Comfortable player at this level but doesn’t get a look in.
Then there is the supposed signing of Stephen Hunt, rumoured to happen this week. Now this is an utterly pointless signing! If we needed to sign players, left wingers is nowhere near where we need to start. Plus he was rejected by Blackpool in the summer for massive wage demands and being unfit.
If Lomas is still here come January you can guess what’s going to happen. Lomas will want to sign even more players, but won’t have the wages to do it due to pointless signings like these. Why not save the money and make a real push to sign Martyn Waghorn in January?
We now move onto Saturdays game against QPR at the Den. A team high in form, but seem to only be winning games by small margins. These are the type of games where the crowd plays a massive part. Look at the last time QPR visited the Den, the crowd was electric that night.
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To be honest, most fans are expecting a beating and a handsome one at that, but wouldn’t it be just typical Millwall to get three points out of it?
Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following an incident with Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli.
Wilkinson is alleged to have elbowed Balotelli during Stoke’s 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. The incident was missed by the match officials, but after reviewing television footage the FA has decided to charge Wilkinson, who has until 6pm on Wednesday to respond to the charge.
If he is found guilty Wilkinson is likely to be handed a three-match ban. The FA’s statement read:
“Stoke City’s Andy Wilkinson has been charged by The FA with violent conduct following an incident in his side’s game against Manchester City on Saturday 15 September 2012.
“Wilkinson was involved in an incident with City’s Mario Balotelli, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. Wilkinson has until 6pm on Wednesday 19 September 2012 to respond to the charge.”
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Stoke face a tough fixture at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, and Tony Pulis will need his defenders fully focused against an in form Chelsea side.
According to reports in the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United are waiting to see if left-back Tom Pearce will accept the new contract he has been offered, and Whites fans have been quick to have their say on the situation.
The 6ft 1in tall left-back’s current deal is due to run out next month, and the Yorkshire Evening Post says that the club are set to confirm on Friday that he has been offered new terms to stay at Elland Road having become a regular in the XI towards the end of the campaign.
The 20-year-old made five Championship appearances in total, and scored his first senior goal for the club in the 2-1 win against Barnsley last month.
Leeds supporters, who have been fearfing the worst about the discussions between the two parties on Twitter, took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and they were clearly unhappy.
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While one said they “really would not be too bothered if he went”, another said “who does he think he is?”
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Arsenal supporters have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts following the Gunners’ highly entertaining 3-3 draw with Liverpool.
One of the main criticisms that have been aimed at Arsene Wenger in recent times has been Arsenal’s inability to perform and dictate in the ‘big fixtures’.
The Gunners’ fans must have thought that they were going to witness another defeat against one of the more accomplished teams in the Premier League, as Philippe Coutinho’s early goal was coupled by Mohamed Salah’s 21st goal of the season.
However, much to the sheer amazement of everyone watching, the Gunners responded in style. The FA Cup winners scored three goals in the space of four minutes and 45 seconds to take a surprising lead.
Nonetheless, the North London side were unable to secure all three points as Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool’s third goal of the evening.
Here’s how the Arsenal supporters responded to the draw on Twitter…
Liverpool and Tottenham are both emerging as potential heirs to the Champions League throne. Both have undertaken something of a rebirth in recent seasons, and the future looks unusually bright for clubs at opposite ends of the country.
Money drives success in the Premier League, and it comes as no surprise that Rodgers appears envious of Spurs’ £100m+ transfer crusade. Success for both clubs will not be imminent, and this will represent much more of a long-term project that most would have you believe. A recent report in the Metro would suggest the Northern Irishman very much has his eye on dealings down in North London:
“We still need to make improvements. Tottenham have spent £100m to try and get in the top four. It will take another few windows to get that quality in the group.”
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“We can be better. We have shown in stages the quality we can have with the passion, resilience and desire. We just need to keep getting results. It is important to maintain that and we have to be vigilant. We need to keep the feel-good factor going.”
Rodgers here alludes to the excellent start that Liverpool have made, and many may question as to whether the squad really needs much work. The reality though as it stands is that Liverpool do not possess the strength in depth to maintain a push for titles, and even a Champions League qualification race will be a close run thing. Rodgers doesn’t mention the need for improvements as a means for just lowering expectations; I think he is actually spot on here.
Spurs have spent over £100m on what looks like a genuinely quality crop of recruits, and many still tip them as outsiders for the top four, surely Liverpool have a long way to go?
Both clubs have a similar financial outlook it would seem; not averse to spending but keen to balance the books in some way. Few have been keen to mention that Spurs turned a transfer profit this summer and actually cut their wage bill, if Liverpool want to make these so called improvements I believe the same thing will have to happen.
The bulk of Spurs’ summer spending power was due to the loss of their talismanic winger Gareth Bale for a world record fee. My opinion is that Liverpool may look to fund future transfer acquisitions through a potential sale of their star man Luis Suarez.
Suarez is a man of undoubted class and ability, but whose off field debacles and general demeanour have made him something of hassle for the ‘reds’. Still viewed highly on the continent, bids in the region of £50-60m have been bandied around and from a Liverpool perspective in January this may be a wise move.
Criticised as a one man team for much of last year, the Liverpool side that has started this season looks to have flourished without the Uruguayan. World-class players are few and far between but is Suarez really that crucial to Liverpool in the next few years, or would the signature of 3-4 quality players be more prudent for the club?
The acquisitions of Aspas, Coutinho and Moses would suggest that Rodgers is very much preparing for the loss of Suarez by bulking out his attacking options. As a manager he would surely prefer the potential to remould his squad in January, than having to re-integrate the troublesome Uruguayan.
50 odd million in the hands of Rodgers at a club with the prestige of Liverpool’s opens the door for all manner of potential captures. Many approached the Bale saga with a sense of despondency, but as time has passed it has seen Spurs develop the strongest squad that I can actually remember. As difficult as it may be for fans to accept, would the sale of Suarez be the stepping-stone back to greatness for Liverpool?
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The re-integration of Suarez after his ban will be an interesting one. He looks to have put his differences with the club behind him, but is this more of a show than any real substance. The Uruguayan may be world-class but as it stands it will be difficult for him to break into such an in form side.
Who knows Suarez may be the one to fire Liverpool back to the upper echelons of European Football, but for me his sale will be the turning point in Liverpool’s future.
Should Rodgers look to mirror Spurs and sell their star man?