Wayne Rooney’s new book, entitled “Wayne Rooney – My decade in the Premier League” released six weeks ago, has proved to be a huge flop, according to the Daily Mail.
Last Friday made it ten years since Wayne Rooney shot to footballing fame following his unforgettable goal against Arsenal back when he was a 16-year-old at Everton. Since then, Rooney has been an integral cog for Manchester United and England, developing into the world class player many expected him to. However, it appears the literary world has little interest in what Rooney has to say about his thrilling ten-year career.
The book’s release couldn’t have come at a better time for Rooney, whose media stock has been high of late. The striker has been in the headlines for his 200th club goal, the 10th anniversary of his first league goal, being appointed England captain and his wife Coleen expecting a second child. Despite this, the England international’s book has only sold 6,000 copies in six weeks since being published.
Publishers HarperCollins held an emergency meeting with the United Striker before his newest book went to print. Currently the two parties have agreed a record breaking 12-year deal, worth £5 million for five books, however it is now believed that the remaining three books are likely to be scrapped.
HarperCollins publishing director Nick Canham has recently spoken in defence of the deal, and insists it is not being terminated: “It’s a long-term agreement with the guy. Wayne is one of the top three players in the world, alongside Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.”
When asked about the topic of future books, Canham reasserted the deal with Rooney was one of longevity.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“The simple thing is we have a long-term agreement with Wayne and that affords us a number of opportunities,” he added.
Marco Reus has often been linked with Premier League clubs but his anticipated move to the English top flight could finally materialise this summer, following reports that the Borussia Dortmund star has stalled contract talks at Westfalen.
News of the German international’s apparent £20million release clause, set to come into effect in summer 2015, was brought to light during the off-season by none other than Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. It was assumed however, Reus’s loyalty, despite his availability, remained firmly with Jurgen Klopp’s side.
But with discussions over a new deal – that would eradicate his remarkably cheap buy-out fee -reportedly hitting a sour note, potential suitors will feel their chances of signing Reus have dramatically improved. And according to the tabloids, Arsenal and Liverpool have emerged as the most interested parties.
It won’t be the clear-cut choice the British press are currently making out. After all, Reus is regarded as one of the most exciting attacking talents in European football, and at just 25 years of age, virtually every major club on the continent will look to capitalise upon the opportunity to sign the forward for his best years.
But in the interests of debate, the question must be asked; who should Marco Reus choose – the Mersey outfit or the Gunners?
Liverpool need a new hero after losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona this summer and Reus is more than capable of filling that void with a paralleled talismanic tone.
It may not be an achievement of recognised value like trophies or titles, but maintaining the tradition of world-class attacking talent at Anfield is an honour in its own right. Reus possesses the quality to rival the likes of Michael Owen, Luis Suarez, Robbie Fowler, Fernando Torres and Kenny Dalglish in Liverpool’s history books, and one can already envisage him in the famous No.7 jersey.
That nostalgic prestige won’t be enough on its own however, and at this moment in time, it remains to be seen just where Brendan Rodgers can take the club in terms of silverware. Following their subdued start to the season, even Liverpool’s Champions League status is currently under threat.
History tells us too that Anfield is more of a stepping stone than a final destination. Many of the aforementioned names left for huge money to the world’s top clubs. Having already more than proved his worth at Borussia Dortmund, it’s not as if Reus needs the platform Liverpool would provide to attract attention from Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Philosophically however, Liverpool’s style of play suits the Germany star well. The Anfield outfit share many characteristics with the Black-Yellows; particularly, their industriousness, desire to defend from the front and the ability to move the ball at breakneck pace going forward. In theory, Reus would transition to life on Merseyside with few teething pains.
Not that he’d be in any way alien to Arsenal’s brand of football. Reus is best famed for his electric pace but the forward’s technical qualities are equally astounding. And the level of talent on the display at the Emirates is arguably more alluring than Anfield- the prospect of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Reus operating in attacking tandem verges upon orgasmic. You could throw Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere into that equation too.
The recent plight of Mesut Ozil however should serve as a warning to Reus. Arsene Wenger spent around £80million to bring Ozil and Sanchez to the Emirates, but he’s yet to truly mould the team around either of them – something the Dortmund star would surely expect should he join the Arsenal ranks next summer.
Of course, Reus is an exceptionally versatile footballer but that same characteristic has served his countryman poorly, who now finds himself regularly lingering in an unaccommodating role on the right hand side. The core of the issue is Arsenal’s depth of quality in midfield; Wenger struggles to find room for all and, as is the case with Ozil, eventually settles on an uneasy compromise.
Comparatively, at Liverpool, Reus would be uncontested for his habitual role on the left hand side; currently, the Anfield roster is absent of established wide options. How he would fit into a strike-force that already contains two elite strikers in Mario Balotelli and Daniel Sturridge however, or how Rodgers would balance gametime between the German, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in the No.10 role, remain further conundrums.
Admittedly, the differences between the two clubs are rather minimal. Both will be competing for the same aims in the league this season, both will be challenging regularly for auxiliary silverware, and both employ a style of football that suits Reus’ natural strengths as a footballer.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
In terms of the starting Xi however, I feel that there would be a natural role for Reus at Liverpool, or at least, Brendan Rodgers will feel obliged to carve one for him. For Arsenal on the other hand, he’d only be exacerbating a situation that Arsene Wenger is already struggling to resolve.
That being said, a year in the world of Premier League football is a very, very long time.
[ffc-quiz ]
It could be worse Nando, you could be one of these guys…
There was an almost macabre element to endure as you sat back and watched the Robin van Persie transfer story unfold. It wasn’t anything to do with the ambitions of the player nor even the acceptance of the club to sell to one of their greatest rivals. It’s more the simple principle that Arsene Wenger has been perceived to have done the best he could, to squeeze £24million out of his star acquisition.
Because even if circumstances dictated Van Persie’s sale was inevitability, it still doesn’t mean it’s right. Sir Alex Ferguson personally intervening to make the sale stick, felt akin to the school bully walking over and nicking Wenger’s lunch money. Wenger was powerless and even though he may view the avoidance of a beating -in this case, a potential RVP Bosman- as something of a victory, the truth is he’s still been forced to give up something he so dearly wished to keep.
Wenger achieved the best possible deal he could for the football club and time may even dictate Van Persie’s sale to be something of a masterstroke, given his injury history. But even if it does turn out to be a blinder, it’s one that should never have been played.
As the Gunner’s failed to net in their Premier League curtain raiser against Sunderland on Saturday, the hacks of Fleet Street probably couldn’t believe their luck.
The Sun took it upon themselves to spell it out as bright as day for Arsenal fans with the overzealous “NO RVP = NO GOALS,” hammered their back page, adjacent to the rather apt image of Arsene Wenger burying his head in his hands. The task of replacing 37 goals may have started in earnest during the weekend, but it’s clear that the replacement duo of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud are going to be under massive pressure to perform from the off this season. Foreign signings need to be allowed a fair period of adjustment to bed into the trappings of English football. The stirring has begun and it feels as if it their purgatory period may have already defined by the shadow of their predecessor.
Because they’re not just replacing any run of the mill striker. It feels very clichéd to describe Van Persie as irreplaceable but how do you go about replacing a player who at times last season, almost dragged his team kicking and screaming back into the top four? Talismanic is one thing. Scoring 30 league goals, creating another nine and urging your team on as club captain is quite another. You may not be able to put a definitive value on those traits, but £24milion certainly doesn’t cover it.
However, the sale of Van Persie was dictated under the looming circumstance of his rapidly expiring contract. The Dutchman had one year left to run on his deal at the Emirates. The reality was of course, that should Wenger refuse to sell his prize asset now, that he would go for nothing the following summer. Barring an absolute catastrophe, it’s hard to envisage that he’d have had a lack of clubs to pick from with a non-existent transfer fee. He wanted out and he had to go this summer.
And considering the situation, Wenger did a cracking job to get the amount of money he did for his skipper. At 29, Van Persie is at the wrong end of his twenties, had a contractual situation that drastically effected his transfer fee and most prominently, had only managed more than 28 league games in a season for the first time in his career last term. He represents a substantial risk to Fergie, but should they win a Premier League or a Champions League off the back of his mercurial left foot, the fee is all but forgotten.
But the point is that the elements of risk in this deal would be a hell of a lot more prominent, had he not cost £24miilion. And if his deal had say three years left to run as opposed to one, there’s no way he’d have left the Emirates for a penny under £30million, at the very least. As a simple matter of risk management, would Manchester United, Juventus or any other club for that matter, have been willing to risk a potential £35million plus on a striker of Van Persie’s age and with his injury record? It doesn’t matter that he’s nearly 30; he was arguably the best out-and-out striker in Europe last season. If Wenger didn’t want to sell, clubs would have had to cough up that sort of money.
But the length of his contract distorted the circumstance and however you frame the £24million, it could have been so much different. It feels like Groundhog Day again at the Emirates. Similarly with the Samir Nasri deal to Manchester City in 2011, no one can deny that £25million was a good bit of business. But yet again, it was dictated by his contract situation; Nasri had one-year left to run on his latest deal.
It remains to be seen what their North London rivals attain for their prized asset, but as we are seeing with Luka Modric’s protracted move away to Real Madrid, no one is pushing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy around. His philosophy has been to regularly top-up Spurs’ players with new deals when their stock has incrementally risen. You can’t prevent the likes of Modric and Van Persie from wanting to move, but you can ensure that the club remains in a degree of control. However you may critique their transfer activity, Spurs have ensured everything has been done to ensure they get maximum value out of their players.
But as Alex Song becomes the latest Arsenal player to jump ship, following his £15million move to Barcelona, it feels like something of a tipping point has emerged. Here was a player who, according to recent reports, showed a lack of professionalism in training towards the end of last term and the club has subsequently been happy to let him move on. But conflicting stories have suggested that Song was in fact, desperate to commit his future to the Gunners and his advisors initiated contact with the club in January, in the hope of renewing his £55,000-a-week deal that had three years left to run.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
It’s difficult to make a staunch analysis on such conflicting reports and who you believe will greatly determine what viewpoint you take on Song’s departure. As immoral as footballers wages may be, was Song really asking too much in looking for parity with the club’s top earners? A salary of £55k a week for a man who chipped in with 11 league assists as arguably Arsenal’s second most influential player last season, doesn’t seem particularly reflective with the rest of the market. Have Arsenal flogged a greedy, unprofessional player to Barcelona and avoided the next Nasri/Van Perise? Or is this transfer the legacy of having their fingers burnt for two summers on the trot?
The term watershed season is wheeled out a little too often this season, but it feels like it could definitely be slapped on Arsenal’s term this season. Arsene Wenger is trying to run the football club in the mould of sustainability, not reckless investment. But as important as it is to acquire new players, he equally needs to find a way to keep the ones he already has. Next up is Theo Walcott. Let’s hope the script isn’t already written.
How can Arsenal buck the departures of their finest players? Are the club right to not hand new contracts out like confetti or does something have to change quickly at the Emirates? Tell me how you see it on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me all your views.
Anderson admits that despite finding life hard at Old Trafford he is happy there and denies reports of wanting to leaving the club.
The 24-year-old player joined Manchester United in 2007 in a £17million deal from Porto. Over the years of his career he has suffered a few injuries and concerns were raised about his conditioning. He has made just 4 Premier League starts this year and 12 altogether.
Last week it was rumoured that Anderson had said that he wanted to leave Old Trafford, fearing that he would risk his place in the Brazil national team next year during the World Cup.
However, Anderson spoke to The Daily Mail about his injuries and dispelled the rumours as nonsense.
“It’s not true. Everyone knows I’m happy at the club. I’ve had a lot of injuries but I’ve never let the smile go from my face. I try to help the team all the time,” he said.
“I have had some serious injuries, some problems. But when I don’t have these problems I know my quality. I know I can play. When I take two steps forward I seem to take three back. It is sad but I have to do my job. I need to play games and not to have any injuries.
“When I want to leave I will have to talk to the boss first. I don’t have any issues.
“The only places you could go to from here are Real Madrid and Barcelona. You can’t have another choice. The level at Manchester United is so big. You come here and you are definitely going to win titles. I have won the Premier League three times. I have won the Champions League once and lost two finals. I have always been there.”
The midfielder also admitted that he has struggled in the UK and says it is quite hard for South American players to settle here and play well
“I came to Manchester United as a Brazilian and I have been here six years,” he added.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“It’s not easy to stay here. I love it here. But it is hard.
“It is not easy to play for Manchester United. A lot of top players came here and couldn’t do it – Juan Veron, some big players. Kleberson came here and didn’t play.”
England boss Roy Hodgson has brought in a sports psychiatrist to aid them in their preparations for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Sky Sports reports.
Psychiatrist Dr. Steven Peters is well renowned for his previous work with snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, as well as English cyclists and currently employed by Liverpool.
Hodgson, who was speaking at the press conference before the England friendly with Denmark, declared his delight at the services of Dr. Peters.
“Yes we are (bringing a sports psychiatrist in),” Hodgson said. “It’s not just any psychologist either, it’s Dr Steve Peters who is a very famous man in that area.
“He has a great CV of working in different sports and has been doing some work with Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers so Steve knows him quite well.
“It is something we have spoken about for some time but we wanted to get the right man – luckily Brendan let me talk to Steve and he has accepted our invitations so we are happy with that.”
Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard also stated that he’s work with Dr. Peters since 2010.
“He’s helped me an awful lot from a personal point of view,” Gerrard said. “I’ve been seeing Steve for three years even though he’s only been at the club for a year.
“I first saw him when I had a big groin problem back in 2010 – I had a groin avulsion where it had come off the bone. I feared for my career so I went to see him in a one-on-one situation a couple of times.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“I really liked the work he did with me so I went back to see him a couple of times and I have seen an awful lot more of him since he has been with Liverpool.
“I feel as though he can help the players if the players buy into what he’s trying to do.”
Arsenal seem quite literally cursed by frequent injuries to important players. Since 2002, Arsenal lead the way for injuries in the Premier League by a comfortable margin, and they’re under stress again at this very moment.
The Gunners have had 891 injuries in the past 12 years of the Premier League, Manchester United are a not-so-close second with 794. Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Everton make up the top five with 788, 777, and 666 respectively. I can’t even begin to suggest a reason why Arsenal seem to get more injuries than anyone else but we’ll just go with a curse for now.
Perhaps when Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996 a curse was placed upon him that he will never go a season without a chain of injuries affecting his side. Or maybe he buys crooked players who are then run into the ground and eventually break under his guidance?
It does seem that the curse is more present in modern times at The Emirates stadium and there are some statistics on past players which are quite astounding:
Samir Nasri – has missed 50 days with Manchester City in the past three seasons. Missed 180 days in the same time period with Arsenal. Alex Song – picked up no injuries with Barcelona during his two seasons at the Nou Camp. Missed 75 days during his time with Arsenal (four seasons). Gael Clichy – No injuries with Manchester City over the past three seasons. Missed 130 days in three seasons with The Gunners. Cesc Fabregas – Missed 42 days in three seasons with Barcelona, compared with 299 days in the same time period with Arsenal. Lukas Podolski – Out for 74 days with FC Koln during three seasons. Out for 117 days so far during just two seasons at The Emirates. Mesut Ozil – Never injured during three seasons with Real Madrid. Already missed 52 days and facing up to 80 more with his current long-term injury.
Say what you like about these statistics but they look a little more than coincidental. However, these players of recent years only equate to a tiny amount of the total amount on Arsenal injuries during the past 12 years. So why is it that Arsenal not only continue to pick up a vast amount of injuries, but they also cannot seem to prepare for such eventuality.
It seems that Arsenal’s squad depth is never quite strong enough, and when every Gunners fan knows that they are bound to face some painful injuries throughout the season, why aren’t they seemingly prepared for what everyone else is waiting for?
Arsenal have a squad of 28 players, that seems a decent amount. However currently The Gunners have nine players out through injury so Wenger can only pick from 19. Of those nine players, six are not expected to return inside this calendar month. Arsenal’s crisis continues and with less players now having to play more often, Arsenal will be expecting more injuries soon. The Gunners may have the most current players out injured in the Premier League but they’re not far ahead of the pack – in fact, they’re joint with Newcastle United on nine. Burnley, Everton, Liverpool, Man United, and West Ham are all currently missing eight players – so is there even an excuse to be had, or can Arsenal just not cope with their lack of squad depth?
Every team has key players and you’d argue that none of them can afford to lose them for a long amount of time, but not having a squad with depth incase of these injuries is suicide. The lesser sides of the Premier League don’t have the strongest of squads in general but they usually have back-up players of similar quality to their first team. However, the bigs clubs tend to have a larger gap between their first choice players and their back-up players. Arsenal for example will experience a bigger drop in performances without nine first-team players than a team like Burnley or West Ham would – not to say that they’ll do well, but they weren’t expected to do particularly well in the first place.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Arsene Wenger is spending more money during transfer windows and is signing excellent players, however, due to injuries plaguing his squad again, he’ll be under pressure from the Arsenal fans come January to sign even more – can’t he do anything right?!
Darren Bent has indicated that he is keen to depart Aston Villa at the end of the season in order to secure first-team football.
Bent has been largely restricted to substitute appearances for Villa this season under boss Paul Lambert and the 29-year-old has admitted he may be forced to move on to pastures new at the end of the campaign.
“It is about playing and, at my age, I can’t have another season like this one,” he told the Daily Star. “Time is running out.
“I’m not really one of these guys who wants to sit there, not do anything and get paid.”
Bent has two years left on his current deal at Villa Park and it has been reported that the club are keen to recoup a “large portion” of the £24million they paid for his services in January 2011.
However, the likelihood is that Villa will have to accept a significant loss on a player who is clearly out-of-favour under Lambert and has barely featured since the turn of the year, with his last Premier League start coming in the home defeat to Newcastle in January.
Bent’s chances at Villa Park this season have been restricted by Christian Benteke but the forward believes he could have developed a deadly partnership with the Belgian star had he been given more opportunities over the course of the campaign.
“He was a big guy and it looked as if the partnership would form,” he added. “But it’s not meant to be. I don’t quite know why.”
It remains to be seen who will come in for Bent in the summer but the striker’s comments are likely to alert a number of potential suitors given his impressive scoring record in the Premier League.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Fulham have been linked with Bent in the past but any move from the Cottagers could depend on whether or not they can keep hold of Dimitar Berbatov, who has been linked with a switch to Russia in recent weeks.
Regardless of how many West Ham United fans that may have been rejoicing about today’s news that the club’s Olympic Stadium dream is set to become a reality in the 2016/17 season, for Tottenham Hotspur supporters, it represents a very bitter pill to swallow indeed.
Superficially of course, the sight of seeing one of your London rivals handed a 99-year lease on a shiny new stadium – not to mention one that they once looked to acquire themselves – is enough on its own to merit a feeling of seething frustration.
Furthermore, the painful irony that all taxpaying Spurs fans will be in some small way funding the £60million that the government has fronted up to help turn the stadium into an arena fit for football has not been lost amongst the Lilywhites’ support.
But perhaps the most prominent feeling of distress isn’t within the potential benefits that West Ham will reap and to some extent, already have, out of the Olympic Stadium conversion. It’s more the pressing reality upon how desperately the club has to get their own stadium development under way.
There will be undoubted bitterness – not just amongst Spurs fans – but perhaps the greater footballing public, upon how a football club plying its trade in the richest professional league in the world, has just received a £60million foot-up from the taxpayer to help convert a stadium they already shelled out £428million to build in the first place.
Given the economic realities the country is facing up to, on face value Spurs supporters are going to find it hard to stomach the notion that while they struggle to find an estimated £400million for their own development project, West Ham are going to provide a mere initial £15miillion towards the conversion cost and a further £2million annual rent on the Olympic Stadium.
From a taxpaying perspective, the intricacies of the tenancy most certainly do concern those on the white half of North London, but from a sporting one, it matters very little to fans as to quite how successful they are. Because regardless of how many seats they do or don’t fill or how successful the implementation of retractable seating may or may not be, it’s not going to help them build their stadium any quicker. And that’s where the real issue lies.
Should West Ham United’s move to the Olympic Stadium be completed on schedule for the 2016/17 season, theoretically, the same campaign would also herald the full completion of Tottenham’s Northumberland Development Project. When The Mirror reported that the tender was set to go out for the main stadium element back in September, whispers were abound that the club may even be set to move into the partially completed structure for the 2015/16 term, with the completion date for the following season.
But as we head towards the end of the 2012/13 season, while the adjacent development to complete a supermarket, commercial and educational space towards the north of the stadium is well under way, not a single brick has yet to be laid on the stadium itself.
The onus within North London is that it is a matter of when, as opposed to if the stadium gets underway. But with Tottenham MP David Lammy recently stating that chairman Daniel Levy suggested Christmas as the earliest possible start date, hopes of a summer start already seem somewhat optimistic.
The complexities upon getting what it essentially a small regeneration project of the ground, ensures that the timescale for such a scheme is always going to require a level of patience that is something of an alien commodity within a sport that waits for no man.
To gauge an idea of quite what Spurs are looking to devise, you only need to look at the three years it is going to take West Ham to move into a stadium that’s already been constructed, once conversion has been completed and the several miles of red tape overcome.
By the same note, Tottenham are looking to build a new stadium on the footprint of their current one, make serious renovations to the surrounding infrastructure as well as dig up anything between £300-£400million to make it happen. If it felt like it took an awful long time to devise such a development, then putting it into practice is a completely different beast altogether.
But while the impatience that resides amongst some quarters of the Tottenham support towards the stadium project is unjust, the ever-growing financial chasm between themselves and the gentlemen in red down the road serves as a painful reminder to just how desperately the Lilywhites need to increase their matchday revenue.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
There is little more either Levy or anyone at Spurs can do to try and speed up the stadium development process, but with West Ham now set to be rehomed before themselves, it might not just be Arsenal that will give them cause for concern.
The Hammers might have to share hospitality revenue with the London Legacy Development Corporation, but with ticket revenue set to go straight to their own coffers, there is real capacity for them to start making some serious gains in the capital. They might not be able to sell out 54,000 seats as it is, but with their new stadium on the doorstep of one of the most well connected transport hubs in Europe, the capacity for growth is unprecedented.
Should work not begin till the New Year, the best Spurs can perhaps hope for in terms of making their own strives towards matchday revenue, now looks like an entry into a semi complete White Hart Lane for the 2016/17 campaign. Any later, and the race to play catch-up with those around becomes increasingly more difficult.
According to reports on The Mirror’s live transfer blog on Thursday , Everton’s January transfer window plans may have changed after they were offered the chance to sign Sunderland defender Lamine Kone in a cut-price deal.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Mirror says that the Toffees can bring the Ivory Coast international to Goodison Park for £10m in the New Year, just 18 months after they bid £19m to bring him to Merseyside, and it could prove to be an attractive proposition considering they have been linked with a £30m move for West Brom’s Jonny Evans and a £20m move for Lille’s Adama Soumaoro.
Everton boss Sam Allardyce knows Kone well having brought him to Sunderland in 2016 during his spell in charge at the Stadium of Light, and the 63-year-old could jump at the chance to be reunited with the centre-back after he played a key role in keeping the Mackems up in 2016.
How has Kone done this season?
The 28-year-old was unable to prevent Sunderland being relegated from the Premier League for the second successive campaign, and he made 11 Championship appearances for them before picking up a knee injury which has kept him on the sidelines since.
However, Kone showed the ability that he has earlier in the season and according to Squawka, the centre-back has won 33 of the 48 aerial duels he has faced in England’s second tier this term, while he also made 103 clearances, 18 interceptions and seven blocks.
Would he be a good signing for Everton?
He certainly would be, yes.
While some Toffees supporters may be put off by the fact that Kone was part of a poor Sunderland team and defence last season, the 28-year-old has shown on an individual basis that he is more than good enough to perform at a high level in the Premier League.
The Merseyside outfit need a younger but experienced defender to replace the likes of Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka in the long-term – and with summer addition Michael Keane struggling and left out of the team in recent weeks – and the Ivory Coast international could certainly do that.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
If Allardyce could bring Kone to Goodison Park for around £10m, he would probably be more than happy to do it considering some of the high prices they may have to pay for other targets next month.
Make no mistake about it, transfer fees have gone through the roof over the last few years. While that’s unquestionably true at the top end of the transfer market, the world-record fee being broken three times in the last four years, it’s affected those lower down the pecking order as well.
Reported West Ham target Alfie Mawson represents a fine example. The Swansea centre-back is yet to be capped by England, plies his trade with a relegation-threatened side and only has 18 months’ worth of experience in the Premier League. But according to The Sun, signing him this January would set the east London club back a whopping £40million.
That would constitute a record transfer fee for the Hammers but it appears Irons supporters have become accustomed to such extortionate deals. When we asked West Ham fans earlier this week whether they’d back a £40million swoop for Mawson, our poll revealed that almost half – 48% – would.
Would Mawson be a good signing for David Moyes’ first transfer window at the London Stadium? Let us know by commenting below…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.