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According to Football Insider, Leeds United have set their sights on Southampton striker Sam Gallagher after he was put up for sale by the Premier League club.

Football Insider report that the Yorkshire outfit are monitoring developments surrounding the 23-year-old, who looks set to leave St Mary’s having found first-team opportunities hard to come by under Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Just 30 minutes of Premier League football under the Austrian in 2019 is proof of that, but his previous spells in the Championship suggest he could be an intelligent buy for a team that was beaten in the play-offs having looked destined for a long-awaited top-flight return for so long.

The centre-forward scored seven goals in 34 appearances in all competitions for Birmingham City in 2017/18, while he netted an even more impressive 12 in 47 for Blackburn Rovers the previous year.

It was for the former where the below picture originated from – Gallagher showing his strength in the air to easily beat Leeds centre-back Liam Cooper to the ball.

While Marcelo Bielsa has two decent strikers available to him in Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford, neither are particularly strong in the air, and the Southampton man would therefore provide a different option in that respect.

The 6 ft 4 attacker provides far more than just that though, as he has proven he is a capable finisher and he is pretty quick for his height.

An interesting few weeks lie ahead to see where the 23-year-old ends up, but there is no doubt that he could prove to be a shrewd acquisition for Leeds.

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In recent months there hasn’t been a great amount for West Brom fans to cheer about.

Following the sacking of Darren Moore in March, the club failed to achieve promotion and are now still searching for a new manager.

Although talks with Slaven Bilic are in their final stages, there’s been some negative news in terms of backroom staff.

John Percy confirmed on Twitter that academy manager Mark Harrison would be leaving Albion to join Aston Villa this summer.

It was an update that left supporters of the Baggies extremely concerned as they left a host of replies expressing what they thought about the situation.

One fan simply said that the shambles at the club was now continuing whilst another claimed that West Brom were falling apart.

A further supporter expressed concerns over Rekeem Harper, speculating that he could follow Albion’s former academy boss to Villa.

Harrison spent 13 years at the Hawthorns in the role he’ll now leave behind, bringing through the likes of Saido Berahino, Izzy Brown and Kemar Roofe.

Considering the position the club’s academy is in, this will come as a bitter blow to lose him to a rival.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

كشف أولي جونار سولشاير المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر يونايتد سبب استبدال اللاعب إدينسون كافاني في مباراة اليوم أمام وست هام، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتلاقى الفريقان في الجولة الحادية عشر، حيث فاز مانشستر يونايتد بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدف.

واضطر سولشاير إلى استبدال إدينسون كافاني في الدقيقة 46 حيث نزل بدلًا منه ماركوس راشفورد.

وقال سولشاير في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “مترو” الإنجليزية: “من المؤسف أن تُصاب بإصابات عضلية، كان على كافاني أن يغادر المباراة بسبب الإصابة”.

وأثار النرويجي القلق، حيث قال: “نأمل ألا يكون الأمر سيئًا للغاية”.

وعن تأثير البدلاء، أجاب سولشاير: “من واجبك أن تكون جاهزًا عندما يُطلب منك المشاركة، جاء برونو فرنانديز وراشفورد وقاما بعمل جيد”.

واستكمل: “كان لدينا الكثير من الاستحواذ في الشوط الأول، ولكننا لم نذهب إلى أي مكان مع الكرة، في الشوط الثاني ركضنا وكانت الجودة أفضل بكثير، وكانت الأهداف ممتازة”.

وتابع: “جرينوود مميز في إنهاء الهجمات، نحن في انتظار أن يبدأ موسمه، لقد أصبح أكثر رشاقة في التعامل مع الكرة”.

واختتم: “الهدف الأول أيضًا كان جودة عالية من بول بوجبا، أنا سعيد من أجله”.

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Leeds United announced earlier this week that Niall Huggins had signed a one-year professional contract with the club.

And that led to a number of the Championship club’s fans taking to social media to congratulate the 18-year-old on the deal.

Huggins, who is a centre-forward, found the back of the net on 12 occasions in 29 appearances for the club’s Under-18 side during the 2018-19 season.

The teenager will now be making the step into the Under-23s with the view to progressing to the first team.

It might have been a disappointing end to the season for Leeds, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side losing to Derby County in the semi-finals of the playoffs.

However, there is no question that the Whites have a number of talented youngsters just waiting for the opportunity to impress.

Huggins is very much an unknown quantity when it comes to Under-23 level and beyond, but there does seem to be a bit of excitement surrounding the striker.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the contract news can be seen below:

Newcastle fans, it seems that there may actually be some fact behind the takeover rumours this time then? Past failed takeover attempts from Amanda Staveley and Peter Kenyon have left the Geordies dejected, but this time it looks different. Sheikh Khaled could be set to buy the club for £350 million, and if he does Rafa Benitez has to stay.

The most important thing for the new owner to do if he comes in is ensuring that Rafa Benitez gets a hefty new contract and can start to work in the transfer market. The Magpies have been very vocal in their backing of Rafa Benitez and if the Spaniard leaves St James Park this summer then there will be uproar from the supporters as Rafa is the only reason they’re still in the Premier League.

Money will almost certainly be spent should the Sheikh buy the club, and it’s not hard to see why. This is a man who failed to purchase Liverpool last summer despite tabling a bid of £2 billion and with that kind of money to hand there’s no way that the Geordies will pull a Mike Ashley and throw low-ball offers at their fourth and fifth choice transfer targets.

Getting away from transfer targets, the players mean little when they haven’t got the right manager in place to make sure things are running smoothly and playing to the system. Benitez has masterminded 13th and 10th placed finishes in the top flight and a Championship winning season in his three campaigns, so getting him tied down before looking to the market is what should be on Sheikh Khaled’s to-do list.

Newcastle fans, how happy would you be if Sheikh Khaled secured Rafa’s stay? Comment below!

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A number of Liverpool fans are keen for their club to begin their 2019-20 Premier League campaign with a clash against Manchester United.

The fixtures for the new season will be released on June 13 and the Liverpool supporters were asked by the club’s official Twitter account who they would want to tackle on the opening weekend.

A large amount named their biggest rivals, Man United, as the team that they wanted to go head-to-head with in a bid to collect an early three points.

Jurgen Klopp’s side ultimately missed out on the 2018-19 Premier League title due to the incredible form of Manchester City.

However, the Reds managed to gather 97 points to finish second, whilst Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s men ended the season down in sixth after struggling for large periods.

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

It would certainly be some start for both clubs if they were to lock horns on the opening weekend.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Liverpool supporters can be seen below:

أكد أشرف قاسم المشرف العام على فريق الكرة بالزمالك أن لجنة الكرة منحت للبرتغالي جيمي باتشيكو المدير الفني للفريق حرية احتياجات الفريق للموسم الجديد.

وأوضح أشرف قاسم – في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي لـ الزمالك – أن باتشيكو حصل على قائمة الزمالك في الموسم الجديد من أجل دراستها، بجانب تحديد احتياجاته بشأن التدعيمات والمراكز التي يحتاجها الفريق، وسيرد على لجنة الكرة في الأيام الأولى من الأسبوع المقبل.

وعن تجديد عقد فرجاني ساسي أوضح المشرف العام على فريق الكرة أن الدولي التونسي رحب بالتجديد للزمالك، وأنه سيتم حسم تجديد عقده خلال اليومين المقبلين، بعدما أكد اللاعب رغبته بالاستمرار في صفوف القلعة البيضاء.

طالع | الزمالك: باتشيكو أبلغنا برغبته في الاستمرار.. وسنواصل دعمه

وكشف أشرف قاسم عن تمسك أحمد سيد “زيزو” نجم الفريق الكروي بالاستمرار مع الزمالك، قائلًا: “عبد الحليم علي مدير الكرة بالزمالك تواصل مع زيزو”.

وأكد اللاعب لـ عبد الحليم أنه حاليًا في مسقط رأسه للاطمئنان على والده ولم يتحدث مع أحد بشأن مصيره مع الزمالك أو الدخول في أي مفاوضات مع أندية أخرى؛ وتمسكه بالاستمرار مع النادي.

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When Frederic Guilbert signed for Aston Villa in January, the idea that he may have been playing Premier League football would have been a distant fantasy.

Signing to play for what he thought was a Championship club, he’ll now return after being loaned back to Caen as a Premier League player.

For everyone at Villa it’ll come as a surprise given their performances for nearly three-quarters of the campaign. However, after Guilbert was relegated from Ligue 1 last weekend, he was also celebrating promotion with Villa.

It must have been a surreal weekend for the Frenchman, but going into next season, how can he benefit the Villans?

On the chalkboard

Given the fact Guilbert is a right back, the player who is most at threat from his imminent arrival is Ahmed Elmohamady.

The Egyptian played a vital hand in Villa’s run to the play-offs and then laid on an assist for Anwar El Ghazi’s opener at Wembley.

For a man who claimed eight assists during 2018/19, it wasn’t a surprise to see him involved in an attacking phase of play.

Yet, Guilbert is a player who can easily surpass him next campaign. The 24-year-old had a brilliant season in France despite Caen’s relegation and the experience he gained from a relegation battle could prove important in the Premier League.

It’s unlikely Villa be one of the favourites to go down but they’ll certainly need a defender that can keep their concentration.

The French defender is someone who is able to do that, something that’s particularly evident in the numbers he’s averaged in terms of stats. In Ligue 1 this term he made 2.9 tackles per game, the nearest defender in the Villa side to that is Neil Taylor who won on average 1.7.

As for interceptions, Guilbert made 2.3 interceptions per match. To put that into context, Tyrone Mings made 1.2.

The impact he has in the defensive third is particularly impressive and given the fact Villa will have more work to do in that area of the pitch in 2019/20, he’ll be particularly suitable.

As for going forward he’s also effective, completing 1.2 dribbles per game. In comparison, Elmohamady only manages 0.3 on average.

Finding the right men for the job over the summer will be crucial for Villa. But judging on this evidence, Smith should have no concerns about Guilbert fitting in, and now has two solid options on the right side of defence.

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The Premier League transfer window continues to be surrounded by lots of speculation and rumours as each club aims to bring in their top targets. Today’s Premier League transfer roundup includes an update on the future of Spurs’ Christian Eriksen, an offer from Manchester City for Kalidou Koulibaly and Juan Mata’s future at Old Trafford.

Real to make Eriksen bid

Eriksen clearly has little interest in staying in North London this summer, and Real Madrid would be amongst his top choices for a switch if his recent comments are anything to go by. And it seems the La Liga club would like to add him to their growing list of incoming stars. According to the Sun, Los Merengues are preparing to offer £45m plus Dani Ceballos in exchange for the attacking midfielder. Ceballos is currently playing at the U21 European Championships and scored Spain’s only goal as they lost 3-1 to Italy last week. Ceballos has told manager Zinedine Zidane he wants to leave the Bernabeu this summer, which is why he will be included in the offer for Eriksen.

City bid for Koulibaly

Manchester City already have a star-studded squad. As such, you would be forgiven for believing that they wouldn’t need to do much business this summer. Pep Guardiola and co think otherwise, however. Gazzetta Dello Sport is reporting that the Citizens have bid €95m for Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly. The Italian side have their eyes on James Rodriguez and Kostas Manolas, and so the sale of Koulibaly would give them the funds to target both.

Juan Mata signs new deal

Juan Mata looked set to leave Manchester United with his contract running out at the end of the month, but the Red Devils have confirmed that the Spaniard has signed on for another two years with the club, who have the option of a further year.

“It is a real honour to continue to represent this amazing club and our incredible fans. I am looking forward to working with Ole and his fantastic coaching staff; the vision that they have for the club is truly exciting and I am so happy that I will be a part of that,” he told the club’s official website.

The transfer window is yet to officially open in Scotland for another few weeks, but that hasn’t stopped Steven Gerrard from going full-steam-ahead into the market.

The Rangers manager has already secured three deals, with Steven Davis’ loan deal becoming permanent this summer and both Jack Hastie and Jordan Jones joining he Glaswegian club on pre-contracts, and more are expected to follow.

According to Football Insider, the club are set to announce the signings of three new players in the form of Birmingham City attacker Greg Stewart, Oldham Athletic prospect George Edmundson, and Liverpool attacker Sheyi Ojo on loan, and these signings are a serious sign of intent from Gerrard.

With Celtic claiming their third domestic treble in a row, Rangers are in a race to close the gap on their city rivals and assert themselves as the top dog in Scotland again, and these signings will more than help Gerrard reach that aim of toppling the Hoops.

Stewart has proven this season in the Scottish Premiership to be a reliable stream of goals and assists, scoring 10 and assisting 10, and both Edmundson and Ojo will add a spark of excitement and security for the future, with the Oldham defender likely to man the Rangers defence for years to come and the Liverpool winger aiming to emulate what Ryan Kent achieved in Glasgow.

Gerrard has laid the benchmark down of what he wants his team to achieve next season, and in these three news players heading north of the border, Rangers stand in a good position to make next season one hell of an entertaining one.

Rangers fans, will Gerrard make more deals this summer? Let us know!