Liverpool mustn’t spend £20m on Jamal Lewis

Liverpool aren’t going to be doing any blockbuster transfer deals this summer.

That’s the line we’re hearing about the Reds time and time again this summer, Kaveh Solekhol said it on Sky earlier this week, while James Pearce confirmed that they won’t be going for an elite attacker this summer.

However, they are apparently looking into the possibility of signing Jamal Lewis from Norwich, but the problem is that the Canaries want around £20m for their left-back.

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This comes just weeks after the Reds were hesitant to get their wallet out for Champions League-winning midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who’s asking price is apparently around €33.5m (£30m).

It would be simply preposterous for Liverpool to spend 66% of Thiago’s asking price on an unimpressive left-back from the Premier League’s worst defence, and it’s not even as if he’d fit the Reds’ mould of full-back.

Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are two of the Merseyside club’s most important players, providing 25 league assists between them this term, and playing a huge part in Liverpool having the best defence in the league.

Lewis, on the other hand, is coming from the league’s worst backline, and to make matters worse, he didn’t provide a single assist for Daniel Farke’s men last season, and if Jurgen Klopp does want to sign a backup to Robertson they’ll need someone who can provide more attacking impetus than Lewis.

Spending £20m on a backup left-back isn’t a bad idea for the Reds, as it’s an area that does need bolstering, but splashing that amount on a player such as Lewis when they supposedly they can’t afford Thiago who would cost just £10m more is simply foolish.

The Anfield need to think long and hard before they decide to pull the trigger on this one.

Spurs may regret Serge Aurier decision amid Matt Doherty’s arrival

According to The Athletic, Milan have pulled out of the race to sign Tottenham defender Serge Aurier this summer.

What’s the word?

The Ivory Coast international has been linked with a move away from north London all summer, with earlier reports claiming that the likes of Milan and Bayer Leverkusen were after his signature.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…





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Now, with The Athletic confirming that Wolves right-back Matt Doherty is closing in on a switch to Spurs, it is also revealed that Milan have pulled out of negotiations for the right-back.

The news comes just after Milan’s sporting director, Frederic Massara, insisted that the “conditions” imposed on Aurier’s transfer were far too restrictive, and thus making it too difficult for them to continue their pursuit.

Unforgivable from Levy

Whilst Daniel Levy playing hardball and getting the best possible deal can reap some rewards – reports are even claiming that Spurs are set to sign Doherty for around £15m (£5m less than the original asking price) – it can also have some major consequences too.

Aurier has been a player Spurs have been looking to move on all summer, and just when things seemed like they were beginning to pick up pace and that the former PSG right-back could finally be on his way out of the clubs, Levy’s stubbornness has come back to haunt them.

With around a couple of weeks before the start of the new Premier League season, Levy’s penny-pinching over the £70k-a-week defender means Jose Mourinho could well have an unwanted player during first-team training. And if Leverkusen don’t follow up their own interest in Aurier, then Spurs may have to contend with the Ivorian simply staying put in north London.

So whilst Doherty’s signing may be a major plus point, Levy’s handling of Aurier’s exit is something unforgivable.

Sheffield Wednesday: Fans react to images of Atdhe Nuhiu and Fernando Forestieri

Atdhe Nuhiu and Fernando Forestieri were just two of the standout names who left Sheffield Wednesday in the summer transfer window, and many Owls fans have been replying to a tweet from Joe Crann about the ex-Hillsborough duo.

The Star journalist posted images of Forestieri playing for Udinese and Nuhiu playing for APOEL Nicosia and said: ‘Doesn’t look right. I don’t like it.’

Nuhiu had a decent career at Wednesday, featuring 276 times for the Owls in all competitions and scoring 50 goals whilst registering 27 assists, perÂTransfermarkt. This highlights that he has been good a servant for the club, although the Hillsborough outfit may have moved him on at the right time now that he is 31. Forestieri was at Wednesday for five years, per Transfermarkt, scoring 40 goals and supplying 18 assists in 134 appearances.

They both had good spells at the club, so it understandable for Crann to feel uncomfortable seeing them in different kits, but his tweet nonetheless provoked polarised reactions from some Owls supporters.

Here is what these Wednesday fans said in response to the journalist’s tweet:

Owls fans, what are your thoughts on this tweet? Comment below with your views!

West Ham fans rave about Jarrod Bowen’s masterclass against Wolves

After being incredibly unfortunate not to pick up anything last time out against Arsenal, West Ham delivered an emphatic response as they thrashed Wolves 4-0 at the London Stadium.

The Hammers looked as good as they have been in a very long time, and some clinical finishing saw them run away with it by the end. And with two goals to his name, there was no doubting Jarrod Bowen stole the show for David Moyes’ side.

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The former Hull City man looked inspired out on the right-hand side, and his opening goal was the perfect example of the confidence running through his veins. Slipped in by Pablo Fornals, Bowen drove at Roman Saiss before bending one into the bottom corner.

And after seeing his goal-scoring display, West Ham fans took to Twitter to share their reactions.

A couple of Hammers fans compared Bowen to former Bayern Munich superstar Arjen Robben, with one supporter just hoping that he isn’t as injury prone as the Dutchman.

If West Ham can get Bowen firing on all cylinders, then they stand a good chance of enjoying a very successful campaign this season.

At Hull, he was someone who could chip in with plenty of goals, with his final full season there seeing him net 22 times in 46 Championship games.

His display against Wolves may just have lit the blue touch paper.

Everton: Fans slam Jordan Pickford after another error v Brighton and Hove Albion

Plenty of Everton fans have been slamming Jordan Pickford as the 26-year old made yet another error in between the sticks for the Merseyside club in their 4-2 win at Goodison Park against Graham Potter’s Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.

Pickford was not able to hold onto the ball and thus gifted the opportunity for French striker Neal Maupay to tuck home an equaliser for the Seagulls in the first half.

Luckily for the England international, his mistake did not cost Carlo Ancelotti’s side any points as the Toffees maintained their 100% start, with four wins out of four in the top flight so far.

However, this is not the first time that Pickford has made a mistake that has lead to a goal in England’s highest division, as he made four errors that lead to goals in the EPL in the 2019/20 term, according to Sofascore.

These EFC supporters slammed the goalkeeper on Twitter, with one Toffee even claiming that he is ‘atrocious:’

Evertonians, would you drop Pickford? Comment below!

Loris Karius must accept he will never be Liverpool’s first-choice again

Outcast goalkeeper Loris Karius was shipped out on loan for the third consecutive season last month after agreeing terms for a one-year stint with Union Berlin. The German will return to his home country to try and remake a name for himself after his nightmarish Champions League performance two years ago.

However, it seems that all this loaning out has gotten to Karius, who recently admitted he isn’t sure what lies ahead at Anfield.

“I still have a few more years of contract with Liverpool, and I don’t know what the situation will look like next summer,” he told BILD (via Sport Witness). He also said that he is looking to be selected every week and realistically, that isn’t something he can expect to happen at Liverpool.

Love lost between Liverpool and Karius

Many Reds fans still haven’t forgiven Karius for his catastrophe inbetween the posts on that fateful day in 2018. As soon as he gifted Karim Benzema Real Madrid’s opening goal, everything began to spiral for the former Germany U21 international. His calamitous errors would go on to see him dropped indefinitely by the manager, before bringing in long-term replacement Alisson.

Indeed, Karius hasn’t played a single minute of football in a Liverpool shirt since the Champions League final. That’s a whopping 871 days away from the action and it’s hard to see any sort of comeback for him at this stage. Even with Adrian’s recent worrying form, Liverpool are outsourcing for a replacement rather than calling upon Karius again.

The German was slammed by pundits for his infamous errors, with many judging his decision-making as far below the quality it should be.

The shot-stopper’s current contract expires in 2022, which gives Klopp a good amount of time to decide if they are looking to cash in on him or just let the months tick down. With a measly Transfermarkt value of just £2.8million, it’s unlikely Liverpool will get much of a deal for him. However, the Merseysiders signed him for a fee of £4.7million, so Michael Edwards may be satisfied with just taking the loss this time.

In other news, Huge player blow could pave the way for Curtis Jones in Merseyside derby…

One-time Pochettino target Wilfried Zaha is one that got away for Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur have missed out on plenty of big names over the last few names, most notably Paulo Dybala and Jack Grealish, but one former Mauricio Pochettino target has just shown why the north Londoners must rue not clinching his signature…

What was the word?

During the 2016 summer transfer window, Spurs lodged a £12m bid for Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha but it was quickly rebuffed by Steve Parish, who dubbed the offer “ridiculous” to talkSPORT, via the Guardian.

It’s not the first time that the Lilywhites have had to opportunity to secure the enigmatic forward after ex-Spurs scout David Webb spotted Zaham, aged just ten, playing for Whitehorse Wanderers in west Croydon.

“I think he scored four or five goals. We invited him in for a six-week trial and for the first five he didn’t play. The coach couldn’t get him to do the sessions properly because he wasn’t used to it. He’s not going to come in and pick up structured training sessions at 10. He won’t understand. What he understands is being on a football pitch. He played against Tottenham’s academy and scored all six goals.”

And then again in 2018, Zaha was hoping that a move to N17 would come to fruition but Spurs balked at the Eagles’ £70m asking price, as per The Times.

One that got away?

During a weekend in which Spurs did not feature – they play Burnley tomorrow night instead – Zaha excelled as Palace’s star man against Fulham, playing a part in both goals in their 2-1 victory.

The 27-year-old slipped in Jairo Riedewald with a sublime through ball within the first eight minutes for the opener before tapping home the easiest of finishes courtesy of Michy Batshuayi picking him out.

Per SofaScore, Zaha duly took home a match-high rating of 8.8 after recording seven dribbles, four key passes and an 82% passing accuracy from 22 attempts.

After the match, Roy Hodgson lauded his talisman, he said: “He reminds us that when he’s on top of his game he’s a very hard player to stop. He’s an excellent player and that’s what he’s capable of doing. He deserves all the praise he’s going to get.”

Back in 2016, Parish revealed that Pochettino thought the Ivorian international could be the “next [Cristiano] Ronaldo” – speaking to talkSPORT, via the Guardian, he added: “I was told that the manager there [at Tottenham] thinks he’s the next Ronaldo. Well, I’d like to get the next Ronaldo for £12m.”

It remains to be seen how much it would’ve taken to snag him from their London rivals, but with his value shooting up to £70m as recently as the 2019 summer window, Daniel Levy must rue not pulling out all the stops to land him, especially in a time before the arrivals of Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and obviously, Gareth Bale.

Zaha has bagged five goals in six league games already this season, averaging 2.5 shots, 1.7 dribbles and 1.5 key passes per game, via WhoScored, could you imagine his one goal every 108 minutes ratio in this current Spurs team? He’d be electrifying.

He could’ve left the Eagles for £30m in the window just gone, so there’s surely no chance of picking him up that cheap again now.

Levy should have listened to Pochettino instead of wearing his usual tough-negotiator hat. To miss out on the “next Ronaldo” is simply inexcusable.

AND in other news, Released by Redknapp, ex-Spurs graduate is now worth a WHOPPING £90m…

Crystal Palace: Fans rave over Ian Wright following club video on Twitter

Many Crystal Palace fans are raving over Ian Wright following the club tweeting out a video of the forward.

It was a special occasion for Wright yesterday as he turned 57 years-old and the club posted highlights of his special moments as an Eagles star. The forward made 277 appearances in red and blue and scored 117 goals, including a brace for Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final.

He is clearly remembered fondly by the South London side faithful, as many flooded to the tweet to rave over his career. One said: ‘He was raw & hungry for it, probably at his best, was almost unstoppable, very similar to Rooney when he came on the seen. Played with a great @CPFC side at the time’

It is understandable to see so many praise him as he averaged a goal every 2.37 games (Holmesdale.net). He also is the third top goal scorer in the history of the club.

Of course, Roy Hodgson has had some issues in the striking department in the last few years, so it is perhaps no surprise to see supporters fawning over a former great.

Here is how Palace fans reacted following the tweet:

In other Palace news, have a read of the latest club update that has the fan base very excited here!

Zungu beware: Glasgow Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield sends Steven Gerrard timely reminder

Glasgow Rangers ran riot over Aberdeen in a 4-0 rout at Ibrox to take an eleven-point lead over their arch rivals Celtic at the Scottish Premiership summit.

Steven Gerrard’s side took the lead by way of a long-range strike from Ryan Kent, which was followed by a well-timed finish from Kemar Roofe, before Scott Arfield’s shot took a deflection off Shay Logan and James Tavernier struck the final blow.

The Ibrox boss handed Bongani Zungu his first-team debut in the second half of the 8-0 victory over Hamilton Academical and he had been in contention to start against Aberdeen until the 28-year-old suffered a knee injury whilst away on international duty with South Africa.

In his absence, Arfield was once again an integral part of Gerrard’s side as Rangers routed the Dons at home to secure their 18th win and 17th clean sheet in all competitions so far this season.

SofaScore awarded the 32-year-old with a high statistical score of 7.7 for his performance – he made one tackle and one clearance, whilst he made three key passes, completed 76 out of 89 passes (85%), took one shot on target and had two shots blocked.

Arfield also took a staggering 105 touches of the ball whilst he was an influential part of the Gers side as he provided one goal and set up another which shows that his hard work paid off.

Gerrard clearly rates the Canadian very highly indeed, once calling the powerhouse the “perfect professional” and adding that he is an important figure in the dressing room after a string of fine performances last season.

In 116 games for the Gers, the centre-midfielder has scored 26 goals and supplied 17 assists in all competitions, whilst he is the club’s third-highest top scorer in the Premiership this season behind the likes of Tavernier, who has scored nine so far this season, as well as Kent and Roofe (who are tied on five goals apiece).

By comparison, Zungu has failed to find the back of the net so far for the Light Blues, although admittedly it is still early days yet.

Rangers are enjoying a 21-game unbeaten streak, with the win their 13th of 15 league games, which is their best start to the season for over fifty years.

However, Celtic have two games in hand and are four points clear of the third-placed Dons in the Premiership. If the Gers are to regain the coveted trophy for the first time in almost ten years, we suspect that Arfield will still have a part to play in spite of Zungu’s arrival in the summer. One thing’s for sure, his influence cannot and should not go unnoticed.

AND in other news, Ryan Kent: Wilson must answer Gerrard’s call to give Englishman a new deal as Leeds are on red alert…

Newcastle can find their next Longstaff success story in Elliot Anderson

After a rather mixed start to the new Premier League season, Newcastle could desperately do with an injection of optimism.The Magpies have seen over the past couple of seasons what a couple of young, homegrown talents can do to life the mood. You only have to look at the two Longstaff brothers to see how the fan-base can rally around the team – Matty’s stunning winner against Manchester United last year will no doubt live long in the memory for example.And whilst Steve Bruce has yet to introduce any new rising stars to his Premier League side just yet, he must surely be tempted to throw Elliot Anderson into the team very soon.The versatile midfielder has started the new campaign on fire for the U23s, bagging four goals in four games and providing one assist too. And his latest performance in the EFL Trophy where he scored twice against Bolton Wanderers surely whetted the appetite of Magpies fans.His knack for breaking into the box and grabbing a goal is something Newcastle currently don’t have in their central midfield options, and it even led to The Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder to suggest that Anderson is “knocking on Steve Bruce’s door now” thanks to his performance.

Reports have further suggested that he has impressed those involved in first-team training, with Allan Saint-Maximin said to be one who has been particularly vocal in his praise of the starlet.

Bruce has already shown he isn’t averse to giving young players a chance like he did with Longstaff last season against United. Doing the same with Anderson may be the key to giving the Toon Army another local face to get behind, and maybe even springing a welcome surprise on Premier League opponents too.

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