What had felt like a triumphant return soon turned into another misery for Eric Bailly in his 50th Premier League appearance on Sunday.
He was doing a solid job in neutralizing Gonzalo Higuain’s threat, before an unfortunate challenge saw him suffer a nasty looking knee injury.
Just as Manchester United were regaining somewhat defensive stability, Bailly’s injury undoes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s planning. He’ll be out for the season and needs to work hard to return before next season, depending on just how serious his ailment may be. It’s no secret that the Red Devils will look to reinforce their defence with stronger players next season, but Bailly shouldn’t be used as a sacrificial lamb to make way.
Granted, his style of defending is unconventional and he’s too aggressive occasionally, but he’s more effective than multiple other defenders. Bailly isn’t as error-prone as Marcos Rojo nor does he turn off like Phil Jones, but his lack of fitness plagues his development. However, Bailly’s impressive chemistry with Victor Lindelof proves there’s something potentially special between them.
The Ivory Coast international’s only made around 17 appearances in all competitions this season, but United haven’t lost many with him. Be it a luck charm or what not, his stats prove he’s a reliable figure. In limited appearances, Bailly’s averaged 3.1 clearances, 1.3 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game in the Premier League (stats via WhoScored).
Bailly’s distribution is also miles ahead of the other shaky figures. He’s confident, ruthless and in due time can become a defensive pillar who can be suited alongside any newcoming defenders with ease.
United fans, do you think Bailly can be a regular next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…
Newcastle United signed Yoshinori Muto from Mainz last summer.
The 26-year-old arrived off the back of a 10-goal season in Germany, and having represented Japan at the 2018 World Cup.
It would be fair to say that Muto struggled to make his mark in England, though, scoring just once in 17 Premier League appearances during the 2018-19 campaign.
Muto only started five league fixtures for the Magpies, meanwhile, but he took to social media on Monday to thank for the club’s fans for their support.
It is not the worst move in the world after a difficult campaign, and as expected, the Newcastle supporters were out in their numbers to praise the attacker.
It remains to be seen whether Muto is able to make his mark in English football.
However, judging by the reaction of a number of Newcastle fans, he still has the support of the St James’ Park faithful.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Lee Bowyer has established himself as one of the top young managers the EFL has to offer this season, with his Charlton side on an unbelievable run in 2019 and pushing for automatic promotion.
The former midfielder is ready and willing to bring youth players through to the first team if they have earned it and the likes of George Lapslie, who has made 25 league appearances this campaign, have benefited greatly.
With Roland Duchatelet likely to be reluctant to provide Bowyer with much in the way of funding this summer, the Addicks boss may be forced to comb the academy for his next first team star: that could well be Alfie Doughty.
The left-sider was in sensational form for the Addicks Under-23’s on Tuesday as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Burnley and will surely have caught Bowyer’s eye at The Valley.
The 19-year-old opened the scoring after the returning Jake Forster-Caskey pinged a free-kick over to the left, allowing him to get his knee over the ball and unleash a howitzer of a half-volley past Aiden Stone in net for the Clarets, who had absolutely no chance.
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Mere moments later, the teenager nearly had his second but fired wide, although his excellent all-round showing would see him get the brace he deserved in the latter stages, with yet another left-footed half-volley.
Clearly he has a knack for scoring special goals; some Charlton fans may remember the 60-yard, first-time strike he score for the Addicks Under-18’s in the FA Youth Cup in December 2017.
The former Kingstonian loanee was heavily involved in his side’s creation on Tuesday and was a constant threat down the left wing with his trickery and vision. Despite being listed as a defender on Charlton’s official website, his two-goal performance in a more advanced position suggests the youngster has a lot more to offer on the front foot.
One thing is for certain, if he can keep registering displays of that calibre, it will only be a matter of time before he makes his first team bow.
Queens Park Rangers were beaten 2-1 by Blackburn Rovers on Friday and fans are frustrated with the team’s inability to find form, as well as the whole direction of the club.
The R’s are now 17th in the Championship, having won just one of their last five games.
QPR have endured a tumultuous season, sacking manager Steve McClaren at the beginning of the month. John Eustace is currently in charge.
They have won 13 of their 43 games thus far this season and, while they are surely safe, their season is drifting.
Indeed, they lie eight points clear of 22nd-placed Rotherham and, with three games of the campaign remaining, it is highly unlikely they will be dropping through the trapdoor.
QPR were relegated from the Premier League in 2014-15 and have remained in the Championship since.
While fans, obviously, hoped to be promoted at the first time of asking, they finished 12th in 2015-16 and in the two seasons following, finished 18th and 16th.
This season has not been much better – they cannot finish higher than 13th.
And fans have ripped into the club and the team on Twitter after their latest loss.
It may not be a great time to be a Nottingham Forest fan at the moment. The club find themselves in poor form and have fallen away from the play-offs after previously having hopes of potentially gaining promotion.
If there was a positive to take from it though, then it would the fact Arvin Appiah has just made his first-team breakthrough. However, there is a player who potentially has the ability to surpass his development.
Forward Brennan Johnson has been in magnificent form of late and is showing plenty of tricky attributes that could make him a force to be reckoned with in the Championship in the near future.
At 17 years of age, he is still exceptionally raw but his latest performances have shown just how promising he is.
This week, he scored a hat-trick for the club’s U23 side as they hammered Ipswich 4-1. All of his goals were of extreme quality. He first displayed his dead-ball technique, striking a free-kick home from 25 yards, before his second came courtesy of a sweetly struck long-range effort.
If that wasn’t enough, he then found the back of the net once again from a cleverly worked set-piece, coming short, before bouncing the ball over a crowd of players.
It was three goals that showed the confidence of the player, having scored twice against Millwall a week previous too.
It’s no surprise that the attacker has attracted the interest of Everton before. The Premier League side were sniffing around the player in March 2017, only for Forest to issue a hands-off warning.
And they will be counting their blessings that they were able to keep him.
All of the debate surrounding the youth academy at the moment appears to be whether he can become better than Appiah.
Only last week, Chris Cohen, Forest’s U23 assistant coach said this: “The debate in the staff room for a number of years has been who is going to be better, Brennan or Arvin. And not everyone always says Arvin, so that probably shows you the level that we believe Brennan can get to.”
Johnson already has Forest pedigree running through his blood. His father, David Johnson was a huge hit at the City Ground between 2001 and 2006 but if his son continues at the rate he’s going, he may well be able to surpass him.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has travelled to Amsterdam ahead of the club’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Ajax, leading fans to speculate over the possibility of the star being involved on Tuesday.
The England international has been out since sustaining a ligament injury in the first leg of the quarter-final clash with Manchester City.
He was absent from the second leg encounter with City and also the first leg clash with the Dutch giants, which Spurs lost 1-0.
The result means that Mauricio Pochettino’s men need to win in the Netherlands to have any chance of reaching the final in Madrid.
And fans remain hopeful that the England international, who has scored 24 goals in all competitions this season despite his injury woes, could be available for the encounter, with many even calling on manager Mauricio Pochettino to name him on the bench, regardless of his fitness.
According to The Sun, Leicester are showing an interest in James Tarkowski as a possible replacement for Harry Maguire should he leave the club. However, the Foxes need to forget about searching for an external successor.
What’s the word?
With Maguire again attracting the interest of one of the Premier League’s top clubs, Leicester are eyeing up Tarkowski as the man to replace him according to The Sun.
The publication suggests that City may have to pay up to £75m for the England defender but the Foxes are not keen on selling one of their star men.
Tarkowski has been selected in England squads alongside Maguire and as such, Brendan Rodgers looks to have identified him as a like-for-like replacement.
The Burnley central defender was excellent last season as the Clarets finished in the top half but has struggled for the same sort of consistency this term.
At 26, the player is entering his prime years and would still be an astute acquisition. Throughout the 2018/19 campaign, he’s played 33 times in the Premier League and has won 4.8 aerial duels per game.
External replacement not needed
Tarkowski represents a near ideal replacement for Maguire. Both players are the same age and possess similar ball-playing abilities. However, the latter is proven at a higher level.
It looks as though it’ll take a considerable sum to prise the Leicester man away from the King Power but any money they did receive from a potential deal should be invested in other areas of the squad.
With Filip Benkovic waiting in the wings after impressing on loan at Celtic, the Midlands club already have a Maguire successor in their own hands.
The 21-year-old has a huge amount of potential and his physical attributes, coupled with his composure on the ball makes him an ideal Premier League defender.
He’s already adjusted to the British game and the fact he developed so well under Rodgers when he was still managing Celtic is something that should excite Leicester fans.
Everything looks rosy at Liverpool right now. Jurgen Klopp has turned them into genuine title challengers against one of the best teams we’ve ever witnessed in Premier League history: Pep Guardiola’s record-breaking Manchester City.
The Reds are also in the final of the Champions League for the second season in a row, where the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been in world-class form yet again to fire them through to the latter stages of Europe’s elite competition.
So, after this memorable campaign comes to a close, who should Klopp sell, loan out or keep? Football FanCast assesses the Liverpool squad…
[snack_break title=”Goalkeepers – Alisson Becker, Simon Mignolet, Caoimhin Kelleher”]
Soccer Football – Champions League Semi Final First Leg – FC Barcelona v Liverpool – Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain – May 1, 2019 Liverpool’s Alisson gestures REUTERS/Sergio Perez
Alisson Becker – Keep, obviously.
Simon Mignolet – James Milner recently spoke of his admiration for Mignolet’s professionalism despite being benched in favour of Alisson. The Belgium wanted to leave back in the summer, but the Reds refused his wishes; maybe he should be granted his wish as a result of his commendable attitude.
Caoimhin Kelleher – Loan. The young Irishman is very highly rated at Anfield, but is in need of some first-team football elsewhere to truly test himself.
[snack_break title=”Full-backs – Alberto Moreno, Andy Robertson, Adam Lewis, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Nathaniel Clyne”]
Alberto Moreno – Out of contract in the summer, and not a big favourite at Anfield anyway.
Andy Robertson – One of the world’s best. Keep.
Adam Lewis – Klopp is clearly excited at the exciting youngster’s potential having included him in his squad for the warm weather camp in Marbella earlier this year. A loan would be a smart move for an obviously talented left-back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Also one of the world’s best, and a scouser. Looks set to stay for the long term.
Nathaniel Clyne – Loaned out to Bournemouth in January and could command a decent fee. Sell him and get cover for Alexander-Arnold in.
[snack_break title=”Centre backs – Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren”]
Virgil van Dijk – Arguably the world’s best defender. Do I even need to say it? Keep him and build that statue.
Joe Gomez – A fantastic young defender with incredible potential. Keep.
Joel Matip – Has shown in Gomez’s absence that he can be an excellent defender and a reliable presence; his ability to bring the ball out from the back has been impressive. He should be kept around.
Dejan Lovren – Nearing his 30th birthday and has struggled with injury problems this season. Probably best to move him on and get a decent fee for him whilst they still can.
[snack_break title=”Central midfielders – James Milner, Gini Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita”]
James Milner – Milner is almost 34-years-old, and his current deal expires in just 12 months. His leadership and versatility have been key, but it might be time to move him on now Oxlade-Chamberlain is back fit and Keita has settled.
Gini Wijnaldum – Liverpool’s unsung hero. Wijnaldum is a fan favourite at Anfield and has come up with some big moments for the club. He is also a tidy footballer who never lets anyone down. Definitely keep him around.
Jordan Henderson – Captain fantastic. Maybe in the first half of the season you could have argued that the England international should be moved on but, after a chat with Klopp, he has become a key figure in Liverpool’s run to the Champions League final. Has to be kept.
Fabinho – The £39m summer signing has given Liverpool’s midfield some bite and a new dimension. The No.3 sets the tempo in Klopp’s gegenpressing system and is arguably one of the most important players in the side. A must keep.
Adam Lallana – Lallana has made just 16 appearances this season as he once again struggles to maintain his fitness. With the amount of midfielders Klopp has at his disposal, maybe it’s time for the former Southampton man to be moved on. Does he even get in the side when fully fit? Probably not.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – The Englishman’s return to action after roughly a year out was one of the moments of the season. He is a popular figure at Anfield and offers something different in midfield for Klopp. Keep.
Naby Keita – The Guinean was just starting to find his feet at Anfield before suffering a groin injury against Barcelona – Keita had three goals in six games before the incident inside the Camp Nou. After a good pre-season, he should be more like the player we saw at RB Leipzig.
Soccer Football – Champions League Semi Final Second Leg – Liverpool v FC Barcelona – Anfield, Liverpool, Britain – May 7, 2019 Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates after the match REUTERS/Phil Noble
Xherdan Shaqiri – Had a strange period out of the team after January, where he played just 40 minutes in almost three months. Showed his obvious quality against Barcelona, but there are some doubts over his work ethic. An improvement could easily be found, so Shaqiri should be moved on for a decent profit on the £13m Liverpool spent on him.
Sadio Mane – Keep. Obviously
Mohamed Salah – You’re joking right? Keep.
[snack_break title=”Strikers – Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi, Daniel Sturridge”]
Soccer Football – Champions League Semi Final Second Leg – Liverpool v FC Barcelona – Anfield, Liverpool, Britain – May 7, 2019 Liverpool’s Divock Origi celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Xherdan Shaqiri and Trent Alexander-Arnold REUTERS/Phil Noble
Roberto Firmino – Klopp’s No.1 choice for the centre-forward role and the man that makes Liverpool’s attack tick like clockwork – he must be kept.
Divock Origi – The Champions League semi-final hero, Origi’s status at Anfield has very quickly turned from bit-part player into a heroic figure. However, he hasn’t been needed for large parts of the campaign and Liverpool should use his newfound form to whack a few extra quid on his price tag and sell him on.
Daniel Sturridge – Is out of contract in the summer, and should rightly be let go. Looks a shadow of his former self.
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…