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There was once a time when Cesc Fabregas was a hero at Arsenal.

Across eight seasons with the Gunners, the 110-time Spain international made 306 appearances in all competitions, scoring 59 times from their midfield.

However, in 2011 he returned to Barcelona. Whilst there were not many who could hold a grudge against him for that, his move to London rivals Chelsea in 2014 was not to be forgiven.

It appears that the 32-year-old could have made another big move as well, and a lot earlier than the eventual switch to Barcelona. In an interview with Spanish outlet AS, Fabregas has been speaking about a potential transfer to Real Madrid when he was just 18.

“They have the bigger mentality” – Spurs fans come to blows after the North London Derby in the video below…

He explained, “There were a lot of talks with Florentino, and with [Ramón] Calderón. They called me more than once or twice. The first time I was very young. I was 18 and they offered me a big salary, but I felt like I belonged at Arsenal. Wenger had bet the farm on me. I couldn’t leave.”

Whilst it may have been intended to show his loyalty to Arsenal at the time, it appears that the Gunners fans are unwilling to let sleeping dogs lie. Some have taken to Twitter to slam their former number four, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

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أعلنت شبكة قنوات “بي إن سبورتس” الناقل الحصري لمباريات دوري أبطال إفريقيا، عن معلق مباراة الأهلي والمريخ السوداني.

ويستضيف الأهلي نظيره المريخ مساء الثلاثاء المقبل، في خضم منافسات الجولة الأولى من دور المجموعات ببطولة دوري أبطال افريقيا.

طالع | الأهلي يهدد لاعبيه بـ غرامة مالية ضخمة قبل مواجهة المريخ في دوري أبطال إفريقيا معلق مباراة الأهلي والمريخ السوداني

أسندت “بي إن سبورتس” التعليق على مباراة الأهلي والمريخ للتونسي عصام الشوالي.

ويسعى الأهلي حامل لقب البطولة للمضي قدمًا نحو حصد كأس الأميرة السمراء العاشرة في تاريخه، وللمرة الثانية على التوالي.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Tottenham Hotspur have an incredible midfield.

On Tuesday, the club confirmed the signing of Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, with the French club revealing that Spurs had paid a club-record fee to acquire his signature.

The deal is worth an initial €60m (£53.8m) plus a prospective €10m (£8.9m) in add-ons.

Ndombele’s signing is a significant one for many reasons, not just the price, as he solves the Mousa Dembele problem at a stroke. The Belgian was once the club’s go-to dynamic option in midfield but he departed in January and was not replaced, placing the burden solely on the shoulders of Moussa Sissoko.

Now that the 22-year-old has arrived, there is an extra layer of running ability and technical dribbling in Spurs’ midfield.

And the options that Mauricio Pochettino has to call on, as it stands, are excellent.

Along with Ndombele and Sissoko, the club also have Harry Winks, an England international who, per WhoScored, averaged a pass completion rate of 91.8% in the Premier League last season. He is a remarkably effective passer of the ball.

They also have the attacking talents of Dele Alli, who has scored 53 goals in 184 games for the club – that’s a rate of over a goal every four games – and Christian Eriksen, who registered 12 assists in the Premier League and hit the back of the net eight times last season.

Now, of course, the Denmark international could well depart, with Real Madrid the mooted destination.

Even if that happens, reports suggest that Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso, who netted 16 goals in all competitions in 2018/19, could be brought in.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Add to the equation the brawn of Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier, two rugged defensive midfielders, and one feels that Spurs have an exceptional balance.

There is the running and energy of Sissoko and Ndombele, the craft of Winks, the muscularity of Wanyama and Dier and the vision and goalscoring of Alli and Eriksen.

This is not to say that such a midfield trumps that of Manchester City – they have the likes of David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho and have now added Rodri to that mix – but it is almost certainly as good as anyone else’s in the league.

Next season promises to be an exciting one for Spurs, and it could all be thanks to that remarkable midfield.

يواصل فريق الكرة الأول بنادي الزمالك تدريباته الجماعية، على ملعب عبد اللطيف أبو رجيلة بمقر القلعة البيضاء استعدادًا لمواجهة غزل المحلة.

ويستعد الزمالك لمواجهة غزل المحلة في اللقاء المقرر له الثلاثاء المقبل، في إطار منافسات الجولة الحادية عشرة للدوري المصري الممتاز.

وشهد المران انتظام كل اللاعبين في التدريبات الجماعية، بعد أن أدى الأساسيون في لقاء مصر المقاصة الأخير تدريبات استشفائية على هامش مران أمس.

طالع | هداف الدوري الغاني ومهاجم مصري.. الزمالك يُعلن الثنائي الأقرب لتعويض رحيل مصطفى محمد

وركز الجهاز الفني على رفع معدل اللياقة البدنية للاعبين، ومعالجة الإرهاق، والوصول إلى المستوى البدني المطلوب.

وانتظم محمود حمدي الونش مدافع الزمالك في تدريبات الفريق بشكل طبيعي، بعد أن غاب عن لقاء مصر المقاصة الأخير، بسبب حالة وفاة لأحد أقاربه.

وحرص عبد الحليم علي، مدير الكرة بنادي الزمالك، على عقد جلسة خاصة مع محمود عبد الرحيم “جنش” حارس مرمى الفريق، للتأكيد على أهمية دوره في الفترة الحالية.

وأكد عبد الحليم علي لـ”جنش” خلال الجلسة أن دوره في الزمالك ليس فنيًا فقط، باعتباره أحد قادة الفريق، مطالبًا إياه بضرورة استمرار حالة التكاتف الحالية في ظل المنافسة على مسابقة الدوري وتصدر البطولة.

فيما حصل محمود عبد الرازق شيكابالا صانع ألعاب الزمالك، على راحة من المران الجماعي للفريق واكتفى بأداء بعض التدريبات البدنية، على أن ينتظم غدًا بشكل طبيعي.

كما حرص البرتغالي جيمي باتشيكو على تقسيم تدريبات الزمالك لمجموعتين، أدت المجموعة الأولى التي تشارك بشكل أساسي، بعض الجمل الفنية وسط تعليمات ومتابعة لحظية من المدرب، فيما خاضت المجموعة الثانية تقسيمة فنية لتجهيزهم للمباريات المقبلة.

وخضع أحمد سيد زيزو صانع ألعاب الزمالك لتدريبات منفردة خاصة بالإطالات وبعض التدريبات التأهيلية على هامش مران الفريق، من أجل تخفيف شعور الإجهاد العضلي بسبب تلاحم المباريات.

ويتصدر الزمالك جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري، برصيد 23 نقطة.

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A selection of West Ham United fans have expressed an interest in signing West Bromwich Albion attacker Jay Rodriguez in this summer’s transfer window.

According to The Telegraph, Rodriguez can leave the Baggies for £5m ahead of the 2019-20 campaign due to a clause in his contract.

And the West Ham supporters have been on social media calling for their club to move for the 29-year-old, potentially as a replacement for Lucas Perez.

Rodriguez, who was capped by England back in 2013, scored 22 times in 48 appearances for West Brom during the 2018-19 campaign.

Meanwhile, the attacker has netted 33 goals in 90 appearances for the Championship club since arriving from Southampton in 2017.

Losing Rodriguez would be a big blow for West Brom, who will be looking to launch another challenge for promotion next season.

However, a number of Hammers fans are keen for the versatile attacker to arrive at the London Stadium this summer.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Football is about comebacks, character, resilience and drive.

These traits can get a player to levels that their talent shouldn’t normally see them reach. It can make a player who is far from world class become a cult hero at a club, and that is exactly what has happened to Divock Origi at Liverpool.

The Belgian arrived at Anfield as a skinny, unassuming young striker who had played only one full season of professional football when Liverpool splashed out £10m to sign him, before loaning him back to Lille for the following campaign.

You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…

He has since scored goals that will go down in the club’s history and will live long in the memories of Liverpool supporters, but it hasn’t always been plain sailing for the man who wears the No.27 shirt at Anfield.

Let’s take a look at some of the setbacks that Origi has had to overcome throughout his Liverpool career…

Voted into Ligue 1’s Worst Team of the Season

At the end of his first season as a Liverpool player – despite not pulling on the shirt yet – Origi was named in L’Equipe’s Ligue 1 Worst Team of the Season.

This unfortunate incident happened after his campaign on loan at Lille. Having signed for the Reds in the previous summer, he went on a 20-game goal drought and scored just eight goals in 33 league appearances.

Humiliated by Wolfsburg 

In what was Origi’s second spell away from Anfield on a loan deal, he suffered yet another setback, this time in the Bundesliga.

The Belgian signed for Wolfsburg in the summer of 2017, and started off well with four goals in his first nine league appearances. However, things quickly went sour.

After Martin Schmidt replaced Andries Jonker and Origi was moved from a central position to the right-wing, his form nosedived.

He managed just one goal in his last 17 games, but was humiliated after being subbed off with just 42 minutes on the clock in a 3-0 defeat to Hoffenheim.

Origi’s father later revealed that his son was ‘very disappointed after the game.’

Transfer listed by Liverpool 

The Reds may not have added a sixth major European Cup to their trophy cabinet if someone had submitted a suitable offer for Origi.

The Merseysiders were reportedly willing to listen to offers for their seemingly surplus to requirements frontman, but after no such bid arrived, the 24-year-old knuckled down and eventually played a humongous role in their 2018/19 season.

You can’t help but feel so bad for the Reds this season. The highest achieving second-placed side the Premier League has ever seen, and what a title race it was. However, the campaign isn’t over yet and Jürgen Klopp will have to ensure his team is ready for the highly-anticipated Champions League final.

Despite the excitement of that European final, Klopp and his backroom staff will certainly have questions on their mind as to how they didn’t capture the Premier League trophy. Being 10 points clear at Christmas, it truly was theirs for the taking.

There will no doubt be discussions as to where they went wrong and how they can improve on that for next season. Here’s a couple of mistakes the German will no doubt bring up.

Finding a draw a good result on the big occasions

On multiple occasions this season we have seen Liverpool succumb to a draw when in reality they should have won the game, most notably, the matches against Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford and the Goodison, both ending in a 0-0 draw.

Throughout both games, Liverpool dominated and should have really taken the lead. However, towards the end of those fixtures, Klopp decided to make defensive changes and looked as if he was scared to lose the game, therefore possibly costing his side the four points they needed to win the league title.

Falling out of domestic cups too early 

After failing to proceed past the third round in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, it can be argued that dropping out of these competitions may have just cost Liverpool this season.

Losing to Chelsea and Wolves in the cup fixtures left Liverpool with less games than City, but was that really a good thing? Challenging in all competitions for as long as possible gives you more of a chance to have an off-game that doesn’t impact any chance of a title challenge, even if it does come at the cost of being knocked out of the cup.

But let’s face it, if you could choose between the Carabao Cup or Premier League, I know what I would be choosing.

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According to TEAMtalk, Newcastle United’s interest in Leeds United pair Kalvin Phillips and Jack Clarke could lead to the Whites moving for Dwight Gayle.

Gayle scored 24 Championship goals whilst on loan at West Bromwich Albion during the 2018-19 campaign but will return to parent club Newcastle this summer.

Indeed, West Brom cannot afford to pay Gayle’s £55,000-a-week wages.

TEAMtalk have claimed that Leeds will also struggle to meet the centre-forward’s wage demands after failing to earn promotion to the Premier League.

The same report has claimed that Newcastle’s interest in Phillips and Clarke could see something ‘arranged’, although it goes on to say that Gayle’s wage demands would still be a ‘stumbling block’.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

Nonetheless, the Leeds fans have been on social media discussing a potential swap.

And it would be fair to say that a number have differing opinions on whether it would be a good deal for the club.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Loads of Rangers fans have been reacting to some transfer news, as Chris Jack of The Evening Times delivered a huge update on three summer targets.

According to The Evening Times, Steven Gerrard still wants to bring Greg Stewart, John Souttar and Jake Hastie to Ibrox this summer.

There have been conflicting reports about the moves particularly when it comes to Hastie, who one day is set to sign on the dotted line and the next day the deal is off if the never-ending rumour mill is to be believed.

According to Jack’s report though, all three are still on Gerrard’s wish-list for the summer.

The report claims Rangers are “closing on” on a move for Stewart, who will be available for free when his contract expires this summer.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

It also states that a move for Hastie could “now be back on the cards”, while Hearts defender Souttar is still a target as well.

Loads of fans have been reacting to the news, and it seems to be a mixed response from the Ibrox faithful. Take a look at the best from Twitter down below…

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Sheffield United fans on Twitter are bewildered after the announcement of the PFA’s Championship Team of the Year.

Blades fans felt aggrieved because none of their defenders were involved in the team despite their club keeping the most clean sheets in the division, as well as conceding the least number of goals.

Fans of the Yorkshire club felt that at least one of John Egan, Dean Henderson, Jack O’Connell or Enda Stevens deserved a spot in the Team of the Year.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

It’s hard to argue against the points made by the United fans, Chris Wilder’s side have conceded just 39 goals all season whilst their star goalkeeper Henderson has kept a staggering 20 clean sheets.

In place of Henderson was Darren Randolph whilst Pontus Jansson, Liam Cooper, Max Aarons and Jamal Lewis got into the back four.

Wilder’s side did have two representatives in the team with Billy Sharp and Oliver Norwood earning spots in midfield and attack, but it is the lack of defenders in the team which has Blades talking on Twitter.

Here’s what Sheffield United fans have been saying on Twitter…