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…
Unai Emery and Sven Mislintat’s shared mission to rebuild Arsenal’s backline this summer won’t end with the imminent arrival of Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund.
In fact, The Independent believe the north Londoners will attempt to bring in up to four defenders this summer, but improving a side that conceded 51 goals last season, the most of any team in the top seven, is about changing the structure of the starting XI as well, to ensure a defence that was often left painfully open under Arsene Wenger is given the adequate protection it’s previously lacked.
Perhaps that’s a big part of why Emery has been brought to the Emirates. The Spaniard favours a 4-2-3-1 formation that puts two defensive-minded midfielders in front of the back four, and it’s not too dissimilar to Arsenal’s setup during the Invincibles season when Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva occupied deep pockets in the engine room and Denis Bergkamp tucked in behind Thierry Henry.
The problem though, is the lack of candidates at Arsenal naturally suited to those defensive midfield roles. Arsenal’s only real out-and-out holding midfielder is Mohamed Elneny, but even he struggles to convince at times. Then it becomes a matter of asking the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka to fulfil roles that don’t play to their natural strengths and often end up highlighting their weaknesses, the latter being the most repetitive example of that last season.
And while Arsenal’s recruitment drive during the last transfer window and the current one has hinged almost entirely on Mislintat’s Dortmund connections, the solution could well rest in Emery’s contacts within the game, linking up again with one of his former players in midfielder Steven Nzonzi. The Frenchman, known to Premier League fans from his time with Blackburn and Stoke City, was at the heart of his Europa-League-winning Sevilla side as the playmaking powerhouse anchoring the midfield.
The 6 foot 5 midfielder showed what he can bring to this Arsenal team on Monday night, as France began their World Cup preparations with a 2-1 win over the Republic of Ireland. It was a performance that saw Nzonzi demonstrate his power, authority and ability to control the game with the ball, winning five aerials and completing four possession gains while making the most passes of any player on the pitch, a whopping 102.
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In many ways too, Nzonzi represents the transition Arsenal need to make this summer. He has the calmness and quality on the ball which was integral to the Gunners’ definitive style of football under Wenger, a philosophy the club obviously wish to maintain, but he brings with it strength, height and discipline too. Transfermarkt value the France international at £27million, so should the Gunners swoop for the Sevilla man? Let us know by voting below…
Newcastle are one of several Premier League clubs interested in taking Marcus Rashford on loan, and fans would absolutely love a swoop for the youngster.
According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle, Leicester and Everton are all eyeing a summer swoop for Rashford if Manchester United send the youngster out on loan.
The report from the Mail says Jose Mourinho has yet to decide whether or not to keep Rashford at the club next season, and the three clubs are all “among those lining up to take him on loan”.
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The 20 year-old scored a sensational goal for England in the 2-0 win over Costa Rica, and grabbed seven goals and five assists in the Premier League last season, despite starting just 17 games.
The Red Devils’ wonderkid, valued at £58.5m by Transfermarkt, needs to be playing week in week out, and would love to be playing more centrally, where Romelu Lukaku is currently ahead in the pecking order at Old Trafford.
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Rafael Benitez is on the hunt for a new goalscorer this summer, so could a loan deal for Rashford be perfect? Mike Ashley wouldn’t have to spend too much money, and the Magpies would get a hungry young star with bags of pace.
Fans have been having their say on Twitter, and you can find some of the best reactions down below…
Sheffield Wednesday fans are praying they can secure Frederico Venancio on a permanent basis, after reports claimed the Owls are “in dialogue†over a move.According to a report from The Star, Sheffield Wednesday have held discussions with Vitoria de Setubal over a permanent move for Venancio.The report claims several Championship clubs are sniffing around the defender, but the Owls have the upper hand after his successful loan spell at Hillsborough last season.“I want to stay at Sheffield Wednesday. I love the club, the city and everyone who works at the club,†the 25 year-old said on the final day of the season.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255574″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Four World Cup myths debunked”]“I did all I could during the season. I tried my best in all the matches. Every match was an opportunity for me to show my quality and talent.â€The Owls have not yet submitted a formal bid for the Portuguese defender, but it is thought a fee in the region of £800,000 should be enough to secure his services.Venancio, who is valued at £1.8m by Transfermarkt, made 25 Wednesday appearances last season, averaging an incredible 7.3 clearances per game along with 1.9 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game.Fans would love to have him back again next season, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…