According to reports in the Northern Echo, Middlesbrough are keen on signing on-loan Everton midfielder Mo Besic on a permanent deal this summer, but Toffees fans are split on whether their club should cash in on the 25-year-old.
Former boss Roberto Martinez brought the Bosnia and Herzegovina international to Goodison Park in 2014, but while he made 35 Premier League appearances in his first two seasons with the Merseyside outfit, injuries and lack of form mean that he has only played eight games for them since the start of the 2016/17 campaign.
Besic joined Boro on temporary basis during the January transfer window even though some of the Goodison Park faithful were keen on a permanent deal, and while he only has six outings to his name so far he has already made a big impression on the fans and manager Tony Pulis, although the Toffees are looking for more than the £4.5m they signed him in 2014, according to the Northern Echo.
Everton supporters have been quick to have their say Besic’s future via social media, and they are divided.
While one said simply said “don’t sell him”, another said “sell sell sell”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Seamus Coleman has only just returned to action for Everton after recovering from the horrific leg break that he suffered whilst representing Republic of Ireland in March 2017.
The full-back has five Premier League appearances to his name this term, however, and is expected to be involved in Everton’s Premier League clash with Manchester City this weekend.
In terms of popularity with the Everton fans, few Toffees players come close to Coleman.
The 29-year-old joined the Merseyside club from Sligo Rovers in 2009, with the Premier League club paying just £60,000 to complete a deal.
These days, Coleman is considered to be one of the best right-backs in the Premier League.
Earlier this week, the topic of Everton’s captaincy was put to the club’s supporters, and many were in agreement that Coleman should take on the armband next season.
Poor old Phil Jagielka, Wayne Rooney and Leighton Baines did not really get a look-in as the fans demanded that Coleman be appointed the new first-team skipper.
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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Newcastle United have the opportunity to take a huge step towards Premier League survival as they host Huddersfield Town in a match that could see them go seven points clear of the drop zone.
It could well be a tense and cagey affair, although the Magpies did blow Southampton out of the water in their last home match and a similar result today would see Rafa Benitez’s side become all but safe.
Huddersfield have approached their maiden Premier League season with bundles of enthusiasm and will try their best to exploit any nervousness in the home ranks with their heavy pressing and boundless energy.
The Terriers would leapfrog their hosts with a win, further shuffling the pack in the bottom half, so Benitez has to ensure he gets his team selection absolutely right.
Magpies fans reacted to the Spaniard’s selections and while he selected an unchanged team, they spotted something on the bench they liked a lot – Islam Slimani. We’ve taken a closer look at the best of the reaction as the forward is a surprise inclusion on the bench…
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Eric Bailly is a real character, and it certainly helps that he has been an absolute revelation since making the move to Manchester United in the summer of 2016.
Indeed, the Ivory Coast international was United’s best centre-back last term, and has recently returned to the fold following a period on the sidelines with an ankle problem.
The 24-year-old, who is believed to be on £75,000 a week at Old Trafford, is a little bit crazy, but that is exactly the reason why he is so popular with the United supporters.
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That said, his performances on the field have also been outstanding, and Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho will not be regretting making the defender his first ever signing at Old Trafford.
It was actually Bailly’s birthday on Thursday, and United’s official Twitter account paid tribute to the defender.
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As expected, the United supporters were out in force to express their views on the Ivorian, with many claiming that he is the best centre-back in the Premier League.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
When Arsenal bought Petr Cech from Chelsea in 2015, it was widely perceived that Arsene Wenger had finally solved his long-standing goalkeeping issues with an experienced and calm presence between the sticks at the Emirates.
Under three years later, and the former Chelsea man is showing signs that he is on the decline – just as Wenger has been for quite some time – which raises the prospect that both men might leave North London this summer.
The goalkeeper – valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt – is now 35 and some Arsenal fans are becoming disillusioned with his performances in recent weeks.
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It has been the case for quite some time that the majority of Arsenal fans want a change in the dugout and we’re asking you whether that should be accompanied by a change between the goalposts.
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Should Arsenal sell Cech in the summer? Let us know by voting in the poll below and keep your eyes peeled for the results…
Liverpool fans are absolutely crucifying Alberto Moreno, after the Spaniard struggled in his return to action against West Brom.
Everything looked rosy for Liverpool fans around 14:00 on Saturday afternoon, but in the space of ten minutes their comfortable 2-0 lead at the Hawthorns evaporated.
The capitulation felt all too familiar to Liverpool fans, who until the arrival of Virgil van Dijk suffered through plenty of late collapses.
Van Dijk has made a huge difference for the Reds, but he wasn’t enough on Saturday as several key players were rotated, leaving the likes of Moreno to prove themselves.
Unfortunately for Moreno, he only proved himself as unreliable, as late goals from Jake Livermore and Salomón Rondón ruined the Reds’ party.
Liverpool are still in a very strong position to secure top four despite the 2-2 draw, but fans are absolutely furious with Moreno’s performance.
The flying full back has certainly had a fair few ups and downs at Anfield, but he was playing his best football since coming to the club before his ankle injury.
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It’s not hard to see why Andrew Robertson has kept him out of the team even since he’s returned to fitness though, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has looked at the positives from this afternoon’s Premier League stalemate against Stoke City.The fans were not entirely happy, particularly with Joe Gomez’s performance, due to the fact that Jurgen Klopp’s attacking stars misfired.In the end, the club recorded a goalless draw, although they should have been awarded a penalty when the ball struck Erik Pieters’s arm in the box.Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson were among the first XI, despite the fact that the Reds have a huge Champions League semi-final second leg against Roma next Wednesday night.Salah unusually missed an opportunity that he normally would have buried as his attempt missed the target despite being through on goal.Even though it was not the desired result against relegation battlers Stoke, the team still picked up a point and are three away from securing a place in the top four of the table.Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson suffered knocks, but the injuries are not thought to be serious enough to affect their chances of playing in Italy next week.After the final whistle, Aldridge took to Twitter to post the positives, and he could not help but throw a cheeky dig at Stoke.
There’s no way to get around it, Rangers have had another abysmal season.
While challenging Celtic for the Scottish Premiership was always going to be a big ask, the manner in which they surrendered the fight both in direct competition with the Hoops and over the course of the season has not been good enough for Rangers supporters.
Added to that, they are again struggling to even finish second ahead of teams with resources far less than theirs. There is even a chance that they finish fourth if results go against them this week. That’s unthinkable.
The appointment of Steven Gerrard has added a bit of much needed optimism, but the realities of the job ahead of him will be difficult to navigate.
While bringing in fresh talent is obviously a priority, just as important is shedding players from a squad that simply hasn’t been good enough.
These are the three players that must be first out of the door this summer by any means necessary…
Bruno Alves has been a massive disappointment and flop since arriving as Pedro Caixinha’s first signing in last summer’s transfer window.
His signature was supposed to be a signal of intent, but his spell at the club has turned into more of a symbol of failure.
Reported to be one of the squad’s highest earners, he simply hasn’t delivered a return on that investment, starting less than half of Rangers games in all competitions this season.
When he has played he’s often failed to impress, looking a shadow of the towering defender who won so many trophies with Porto, FC Zenit and Fenerbahce.
Getting him off the wage bill must be a priority for Steven Gerrard, whose resources will be stretched to the limit as is. Sadly for the Liverpool legend, Alves has another year on his contract at Ibrox, so he’ll have to hope that a buying club comes in for him.
If Bruno Alves’ spell at the club has been a disappointment, Carlos Pena’s has been nothing but a disaster.
Heralded as one of the club’s marquee signings last June, he took over three months to make his first start for the club and ended up making only eight in total before being sent on loan to Cruz Azul in his Mexican homeland in January, unbelievably signed by Pedro Caixinha for the second time in a single season.
However, the shambles didn’t end there, with the midfielder reportedly sacked last month for urinating in a fountain in the team’s hotel while drunk.
With two years left on his current Rangers deal, his status at the club is in limbo but it’s fairly clear he has no future at Ibrox in the short-term and the Gers must look at every option to ensure he is moved on.
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Completing the trio of disastrous Pedro Caixinha signings is Eduardo Herrara, who was announced as a Rangers player on the same day as Carlos Pena.
A 9-cap Mexican international, there was a keen sense of intrigue about the target man striker when he arrived and after scoring four games into the league season, there was some hope he could do a job.
With just one solitary League Cup goal since then though, it’s fair to say he’s failed to make an impression and hasn’t even played in a league match since December despite being fit for the vast majority of the time since.
He needs to go to make way for other signings and strikers that Steven Gerrard wants to pursue.
According to reports in Chile, West Ham United are ready to appoint Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager as early as the beginning of next week despite Rafa Benitez seemingly being their number one target, and Irons fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.
The Irons have been heavily linked with Newcastle United boss Benitez this week as they look to find a replacement for David Moyes, who it was announced would be leaving the club on Wednesday following the expiry of his contract.
However, it may well be 64-year-old Pellegrini that takes over the reins from the Scot, with the Chilean certainly able to bring plenty of pedigree and experience with him to the London Stadium having won the Premier League title with Manchester City previously, and having never finished outside of the top seven during his time managing in Europe.
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West Ham supporters, the slight majority of which would be happy to sell one of their attackers to Crystal Palace this summer, took to social media to give their thoughts on the possible appointment of the former Citizens boss, and while one said “this will end badly”, another described it as “unknown territory for West Ham”.
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Manuel Pellegrini was officially unveiled as the new West Ham manager on Tuesday morning, and fans have already lined up a move for one of his former players.
There will be plenty of links to former Manchester City players once Pellegrini starts his transfer business this summer.
Yaya Toure is one such name, and Pellegrini could surely get the best out of the veteran Ivorian, who is odds on to join the Hammers.
Matija Nastasic is the name on fans’ minds this morning though, as they debate a possible move for the Serbian centre back.
The Hammers are in desperate need of reinforcements at the back this summer. James Collins’ future is still uncertain, but even if he stays the Welshman will turn 35 this year. Winston Reid seems to have completely lost his form and confidence, and young Declan Rice has impressed recently but is still learning his craft.
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The fans seem to be getting out ahead of the transfer rumour mill, looking at the 25 year-old Nastasic as a possible quick fix for their defence.
Nastasic played under Pellegrini at Manchester City, and is averaging an impressive two tackles and 3.2 clearances per game at Schalke this season.
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The feisty centre back will be out of contract in the summer of 2019, so the German club could look to offload him for a fee this summer.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…