Man United fans go wild for Valverde update

Flocking to Twitter, many Manchester United fans have gone wild for a managerial update involving former Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde.

It has only been a few days since the Red Devils officially parted company with former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a move which was arguably long in the making given their dismal run of results.

A humiliating 4-1 loss away to Watford cemented the Norwegian’s fate after equally humbling losses at home to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.

Much has been made of who will come into replace Solskjaer as a managerial update emerges involving ex-Catalans boss Valverde.

Indeed, as per Jamie Jackson, United have now made contact over potentially appointing the 57-year-old on an interim basis until the end of 2021/2022.

According to his information, talks have already been held with Red Devils chief John Murtough as the club eye him as a temporary solution to fill the role.

Man United fans go wild…

Erupting over this claim, plenty of fans are excited on Twitter to say the least – and they may have a reason to be judging by his managerial record.

A five-time title winner across two different clubs in Barca and Greek giants Olympiacos, footballing superstar Lionel Messi has also previously praised the Spaniard’s tactical game plans.

A free agent also, meaning his appointment would be of little cost to United, it’s little wonder some supporters believe this update comes as a ‘perfect’ one.

Find all of their best verdicts from social media down below:

“Get him in!!! He his a winner! Ernesto Valverde was coach of the FC Barcelona first team for 163 games, winning 108 .35 draws and 20 defeats During that time he has claimed four trophies as coach: two La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super cup”

Credit: @ajayioluwayem17

“Nahhhh no way we make a smart decision”

Credit: @zeref_109

“I’ve got my joy back”

Credit: @algemenecpt

“This day just keeps getting better”

Credit; @cetk0_

“YESSSSS GET INNN”

Credit: @falseni9e

“A top manager. I’ll take him”

Credit: @CyaptamTMT

“Finally some sensible names”

Credit: @shyzzlescope

“literally perfect. interim now. Ten haag next summer”

Credit: @Mufc_first_son

Finding the top of off

Plays of the day from day four at Durban

Andrew McGlashan in Durban29-Dec-2009Down on his knees
Nothing is going right for Makhaya Ntini at the moment. He can’t buy a wicket and when Matt Prior sent an outside edge flying past the outstretched hand of Ashwell Prince at gully it was almost too much to cope with as he sank to his knees in his follow through. It takes a lot to stop Ntini smiling, but he’s wearing a permanent frown these days and despite being given a crack at England’s lower order he still ended wicketless. In fact, he’d just bowled one of his fieriest overs to Graham Onions – striking the No. 11 on the helmet – when Andrew Strauss declared England’s innings. A wicket wasn’t meant to be.Out…no six
Prior’s punchy innings was just what England needed to build momentum on the fourth morning and he really opened his shoulders against JP Duminy. However, it was probably a good thing there was a decent breeze blowing across Kingsmead when he got a big top edge onto a sweep that looked to heading to deep square-leg. But the ball kept on going and just cleared the boundary to bring up Prior’s fifty and the hundred partnership with Ian Bell.Bell’s emotion
Ian Bell now has nine Test centuries and each time they have come in an innings that has included another ton. He still struggles to shake the reputation of someone who reacts to situations rather than sets them up. But all he was able to do on this occasion was score as many as he could and it was an innings that clearly meant a lot. After stepping down the pitch and driving Paul Harris straight over mid-on to reach three figures he punched the air with both arms and tugged on his England badge. It’s been a decent game for England’s under-pressure batsmen.Dot, single. Make it five
Paul Harris isn’t the best South African fielder so that, coupled with the fatigue of being in the field for two days and bowling more than 30 overs, may have played a part in an embarrassing lapse on the boundary. It all started with a push to point by Bell and hesitancy over a quick single. Bell and Graeme Swann had initially declined the run, but after the throw misses the stumps it went for a long over-throw. It shouldn’t have been any more, but Harris on the deep midwicket rope made a complete hash of the backing up and what could potentially have been a dot ball ended up costing five. And it was off Ntini to boot.Swann’s 50th and counting
Graeme Swann should bowl in one-over spells. For the third time in the series he struck in his opening over – and his removal of Ashwell Prince was the second time he’d grabbed the left-hander in his first over of an innings having done the same on the opening day at Centurion. He really has had a stunning year and Prince’s wicket was his 50th for 2009. He is second on the wicket-taking list for the last 12 months behind Mitchell Johnson and it wasn’t long before he had wicket No. 51 and Graeme Smith became scalp 52.Top of off
After his Ashes-winning spell of 5 for 37 at The Oval, Stuart Broad said he’d learnt what length to bowl in Test cricket, but his opening spell at Centurion suggested the lesson hadn’t fully sunk in as he wasted the new ball. He has lost opening privileges to Graham Onions now, but relocated that perfect length today. The ball that jagged back at Jacques Kallis was a beauty, then another caught AB de Villiers shouldering arms before JP Duminy dragged on a leave. It was The Oval all over again. Stick to top of off, Stuart.

Kamran Akmal axed for UAE series

Kamran Akmal has paid the price for his fumbles in Australia by being dropped from Pakistan’s Twenty20 squad to take on England in Dubai

Osman Samiuddin08-Feb-2010Kamran Akmal has paid the price for his fumbles during the Australian tour, as well as his repeated statements to the press in the run-up to the Hobart Test, by being dropped from Pakistan’s Twenty20 squad to take on England in Dubai on February 19-20.The team will be led by Shoaib Malik, who captained in Shahid Afridi’s absence in Melbourne, for both games. Afridi, Pakistan’s regular Twenty20 captain, has been banned for two matches after being found guilty of ball-tampering in the fifth ODI against Australia in Perth. Having already sat out the Melbourne game, he will miss the first match against England on February 19.Akmal was vice-captain for the tour, but dropped four crucial catches during the second Test in Sydney as Pakistan crashed to a shattering defeat. Until the last international of the tour, he didn’t produce much with the bat either, a 33-ball 64 in the Twenty his only international fifty on the entire tour.A series of belligerent comments to the Australian press in the aftermath of the Sydney Test, when he insisted he would be retained for Hobart, despite the PCB already having sent Sarfraz Ahmed as replacement and stated that he will play, has also not been looked upon kindly and is expected to lead to further sanction. The matter will be investigated by a board evaluation committee later this week, pending the submission of the tour manager’s report.There are other significant changes to the squad that toured Australia. Abdul Razzaq has replaced Naved-ul-Hasan, and Yasir Arafat has also returned. The fast bowlers Mohammad Talha and Wahab Riaz, with the Pakistan A side to play against the England Lions in Dubai, are also part of the squad, and Mohammad Aamer has been named in the reserves. Aamer picked up a groin injury that ruled him out of the last three ODIs and the Twenty20 in Australia. The selectors have also kept middle-order batsman Aamer Sajjad in the UAE with the senior squad – he is vice-captain of the Pakistan A team – as a reserve along with pacer Rao Iftikhar Anjum.Pakistan are currently without a chief selector, Iqbal Qasim having stood down last week after Pakistan’s Australian whitewash. He was asked to continue but refused to do so. This squad was selected, it is believed, with inputs from PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, the board’s chief operating office Wasim Bari, and the existing selection committee. It is believed that Yawar Saeed, a former manager of the side and close to Butt, was also involved in the process, leading to speculation that he might be the new head of the committee.Mohammad Asif will not be able to enter the UAE due to the authorities having refused to revoke the travelling restrictions imposed on the Pakistan fast bowler.Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Khalid Latif, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Talha, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul.Reserves: Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Aamer Sajjad, Mohammad Aamer.

WBA make Snodgrass available for transfer

West Brom are struggling to take three points from a game right now, with just one win in their last five games putting them further adrift from an automatic promotion spot currently fulfilled by Fulham and Bournemouth.

Valerien Ismael’s side are struggling to score and two of their midfielders are now out on red card suspensions after both Jake Livermore and Jayson Molumby were red-carded in the space of less than a week.

With a lack of goals and diminishing depth in the squad thanks to injury and suspensions, there has been no better time for the transfer window to come along, and Ismael will be wanting to boost his chances to get the very best players in to cover key areas and get Albion back into the conversation for automatic promotion.

One player that Ismael seems prepared to get off the books to boost his transfer funds is 34-year-old midfielder, Robert Snodgrass.

According to Express & Star West Brom have made Snodgrass available for transfer in the upcoming window, and will be hoping that somebody will come in to sign him so that Ismael can focus on the future of the team.

The £24k-per-week midfielder was missing again from the side on Friday night, and Ismael was asked why he wasn’t included, not even on the bench;

“I picked the squad, as usual. I take the decision, the final decision, and this is the situation at the minute.” He responded.

“There is nothing more to say about the situation.”

Snodgrass has been with the Baggies less than a year after joining from West Ham United for an undisclosed fee under Sam Allardyce but has failed to secure a starting position in the team, and since a change in hands of management, Snodgrass has fallen out of favour to even get on the bench currently under Ismael.

Former Hull City manager, Steve Bruce, once said hailed Snodgrass for the “sparkle” he adds to the team but we’ve clearly not seen that at the Hawthorns. Since his arrival in the Midlands, the scot has failed to score or assist a single goal.

It is not known what Snodgrass would be valued at and what West Brom would be willing to accept as an offer for him but it is clear he is no longer in the plans of the manager and thus, he should be axed over the winter.

In other news: Johnstone tipped to stay at West Brom until summer

We've no reason to fear Australia – Styris

A day after Shane Bond predicted New Zealand would give Australia “their biggest test of the summer”, the allrounder has said the tourists are not as good as they might think they are

Cricinfo staff21-Feb-2010A day after Shane Bond predicted New Zealand would give Australia “their biggest test of the summer”, the allrounder Scott Styris has said the tourists are not as good as they might think they are. Like Bond, Styris was recalled to the New Zealand squad for the limited-overs squad against Australia starting next week and he believed the home side had every reason to believe they could beat a red-hot side.”When I started playing against Australia 10 years ago, one of the big things was believing you can beat them. From a young age we get Australian cricket on TV here and we look up to these guys and think they are supermen. It’s not the case,” he told the . “They are fantastic cricketers in their own right but they are no better than we are, and it just takes a little while to believe you are good enough and can beat them.”Certainly, when they had great players like the Waugh brothers, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, we sometimes put them on a pedestal, but it’s not the case with these guys. Even though they are destroying Pakistan and West Indies, they have nothing we should be fearful of. I’m at a stage in my career where I love beating them and I think New Zealand has every right to beat them in this series.”Australia’s pace attack has been critical to their unbeaten home summer. Shaun Tait, who recently his 160.7kph on his return to Australia’s Twenty20 side, was one player about whom much has been expected but Styris chose to downplay talk of a speed challenge.”I didn’t see the game on TV when they were supposedly bowling very quickly,” he said. “It’s not easy to bat against that pace, but we’ve played against Shaun Tait in the past and we know we can get hold of him. The same with Mitchell Johnson, we’ve done well against him in the past. We just have to keep believing we’re good enough to take these guys down.”Styris, 34, had fared poorly in New Zealand’s limited-overs contests against Pakistan in November and was left out of the home series against Bangladesh recently. There have been media reports attributing Styris’ exclusion from the national side to an attitude problem, but head coach Mark Greatbatch has scotched those rumours.Styris was one of the standout players in the Twenty20 domestic competition, the HRV Cup, scoring 274 runs at a strike-rate of 133 besides chipping in with 12 wickets. Apart from that tournament, Styris has also led Auckland to the ongoing one-day competition final, and his form has been impressive.”A few selection things haven’t gone my way this season,” he said, “and I was starting to think 2010 was a shit year. I’m only in for the first two ODI games, but it’s better than nothing, isn’t it?Seriously though, it’s pleasing because I’ve been in good form since Christmas.”

Celtic leading the race to sign Markanday

Celtic are leading the race to sign Dilan Markanday in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Alan Hutton, with the former right-back suggesting in a recent interview with Football Insider that the 20-year-old Tottenham Hotspur forward, who has been linked with a move to both Celtic and Rangers this winter, would receive more game time at Parkhead than at Ibrox – something that would seem to give Ange Postecoglou’s side the edge over their Old Firm rivals in the race for the youngster.

Speaking about the interest in Markanday, Hutton said: “The fact they’re in Europe, it will boil down how much playing time is he going to get. If he’s going to come up to Rangers, maybe sit on the bench and be a bit-part player, that’s not ideal. If he’s going to go to Celtic and play more minutes – it’s all about the player’s development.

“His plan is to come up, do well, play games to go back and be a Tottenham Hotspur player. It’s whatever’s going to suit him the best game-wise. That will be the team that he fits.”

New Robbie Keane

Considering just how impressive Markanday has been for Spurs’ U23 side so far this season, it would very much appear as if the 20-year-old would make a fantastic addition to Postecoglou’s current options in attack.

Indeed, over his 13 Premier League 2 appearances this term, the versatile winger has scored a whopping 11 goals – including a brace against Manchester City U23s and a hat-trick against Leeds United’s youth side – and registered five assists, as well as providing a further two assists over his three fixtures in the EFL Trophy.

Furthermore, Celtic boast a rather successful history in loaning forward’s from the North London side, landing Robbie Keane on a three-month temporary spell back in 2010 – with the former Republic of Ireland international going on to bag a rather astonishing 16 goals and three assists over his 19 fixtures for the Hoops.

As such, while Markanday is by no means a forward as mature as Keane was upon his short-term switch to Parkhead 11 years ago, the 20-year-old dubbed a “bright” player by football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, nevertheless looks to possess the ability to be a roaring success for the Bhoys, much like the Irishman.

In other news: Celtic could be making a huge mistake on £720k-rated flop who Ange “sees something” in

Settled teams line up for interesting clash

Cricinfo previews the 14th match of the IPL, between Mumbai and Bangalore at Brabourne Stadium

The Preview by Sriram Veera19-Mar-2010Match factsMumbai v Bangalore in Mumbai
Saturday, March 20
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Big pictureWatch out for former India U-19 captain Ambati Rayudu to impress (file photo)•Getty ImagesSachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians have been the team to beat so far. Even a stunning hundred by Yusuf Pathan wasn’t enough to derail them. Neither could Virender Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils rein them in. Tendulkar has been playing like a dream and unlike last year, the Indian youngsters, such as Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu, have begun to respond. They have two fast bowlers of quality in Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga, two canny medium-pacers in the West Indians, Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard, and they have Harbhajan Singh and Sanath Jayasuriya for spin.Royal Challengers Bangalore had a false start to their campaign when their batting collapsed in the first game, but have since gone from strength to strength. Their bowlers have shown a tendency to try and bounce out the opposition, especially the domestic Indian batsmen, and their batting too has grown more potent once they got their order right. In their first game, they had Shreevats Goswami to open, and it messed up the whole order. Goswami tried to slog every ball, Manish Pandey didn’t look settled and once Virat Kohli too perished early, their batting just fizzled out. They corrected it in the second game, promoting Pandey to the opening slot but what must have given them a real boost is Robin Uthappa’s return to form with a whirlwind fifty against Punjab.That both the teams look the most settled of the units should make it an interesting match.Team talkTendulkar constantly backed the Indian youngsters and they are beginning to repay his trust this year. Expect no major changes in either team, for both look to possess well-settled combinations.Previously…Both teams have won two games apiece, sharing fortunes in both seasons. In 2008, Bangalore won the first match at the Wankhede Stadium by five wickets, and Mumbai crushed Bangalore in the return leg by nine wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. In 2009, Bangalore won the first encounter easily in Johannesburg, and Mumbai came back to clinch a 16-run win in Port Elizabeth.In the spotlightDale Steyn starred in the last game against Rajasthan Royals. He was consistently pacy and cramped the batsmen with short-pitched deliveries. In the past, his speed has been his enemy in the Twenty20 format, and it would be interesting to see how he shapes up against Tendulkar and Jayasuriya. Expect him to test Jayasuriya with bouncers.Ambati Rayudu has made a good start to the competition, and has looked the part in the middle order. Ever since his return from ICL, he has been really ambitious and hungry to make a name for himself and try to get into the reckoning for the Indian team. This IPL is as good as platform as any for him to come back into public imagination.Prime numbersJacques Kallis is yet to be dismissed in this IPL. He has scored 198 runs at a strike-rate of 140.42 and has been the pillar of Bangalore’s batting.Mumbai’s R Sathish has the unflattering record for conceding the most number of runs in an innings – he went for 51 runs from three overs against Rajasthan Royals.The chatter”It is a way of working together. I would like to help the youngsters in the team. It’s not that only the senior players can help. Even a junior player’s view is important. I’ve learnt that the more you talk cricket, the more you learn about the game.”
“Mumbai have done very well and we will be playing at their home ground, but our confidence is high and we are in great shape. The middle order has not spent significant time at the crease, but we have experienced players there in Rahul Dravid and Mark Boucher.”

Celtic: Kieran Devlin makes Dembele claim

The Athletic’s Celtic correspondent Kieran Devlin believes that Hoops youngster Karamoko Dembele may have actually broken a bone in his ankle over the summer.

The Lowdown: Dembele’s Celtic career

Labelled as ‘special’ by former Bhoys manager Neil Lennon, the teenager has struggled to make a major impact at Parkhead since penning professional terms at Parkhead back in 2018.

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Now 18 years of age, the winger has turned out just eight times for the Hoops’ first team and is yet to make a competitive appearance under Ange Postecoglou.

He injured his ankle in the club’s pre-season tour of Wales and underwent surgery back in October following complications. However, Devlin believes that the youngster may have broken a bone in his ankle despite reports suggesting that it was a fracture.

The Latest: Devlin claim

Devlin ran a Q&A on The Athletic prior to Celtic’s meeting with Motherwell on Sunday afternoon.

He was quizzed on Dembele’s situation, replying with an interesting admission:

“He’s also injured, *think* it turned out to be a break in the end but conflicting information on that.”

The Verdict: Summer departure?

Dembele has had his struggles in Glasgow and is out of contract in the summer, so there’s every possibility that he’ll pursue a new challenge next year, should his situation remain the same over the coming months.

You’d expect that he wouldn’t be short of suitors either despite his injury issues, with the likes of Lille, Nantes and Danish side FC Nordsjaelland all linked with the teenager earlier this year.

Hopefully he’ll be back in the New Year and will get a chance under Postecoglou, but getting fit will be his main priority for the time being.

In other news: ‘Game-changer’ – BBC Radio 5 Live man ‘surprised’ as Celtic get closer to biggest signing of the Postecoglou era

Tendulkar powers Mumbai to the top

Sachin Tendulkar was the rudder, Shikhar Dhawan provided propulsion, and they combined for a 92-run opening partnership which charted Mumbai Indians’ course for success at the Brabourne Stadium

The Bulletin by George Binoy25-Mar-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Harbhajan Singh dismissed the dangerous Matthew Hayden•Indian Premier LeagueSachin Tendulkar was the rudder, Shikhar Dhawan provided propulsion, and they combined for a 92-run opening partnership which charted Mumbai Indians’ course for success at the Brabourne Stadium. The victory helped the hosts steam past Royal Challengers Bangalore and take top spot in the league with a game in hand. The absence of major setbacks during the pursuit of a formidable target, on a day their usually efficient bowling attack failed, emphasised Mumbai’s status as one of the tournament favourites.Chennai Super Kings also had several things going for them as they sought to nip their budding losing streak: MS Dhoni had returned, Matthew Hayden bludgeoned Zaheer Khan to seize the initiative, and Suresh Raina and S Badrinath forged a partnership of 142, the second-best of all IPLs. However, their bowling attack is perhaps the competition’s weakest and Dhoni had too many chinks to find cover for against a ruthless batting line-up. Muttiah Muralitharan apart, none of the others caused a flutter, and Mumbai cruised home with an over to spare. The defeat was Chennai’s third in a row and their fourth in six games.Mumbai’s start wasn’t fluent. There were few boundaries in the early overs, and a healthy helping of extras were needed to stay abreast of the asking-rate. Tendulkar’s timing wasn’t there, though that had little to do against the bowling of Albie Morkel and L Balaji. Then Dhoni gave the fifth over to Joginder Sharma, who did not play the previous game, and Dhawan cut loose, peppering the leg-side boundary with two pulls and a flick. The 50 was up in the fifth over and Dhawan accelerated further in the next by pulling Balaji for consecutive sixes.Dhoni tried left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati after the fielding restrictions were lifted, but Dhawan greeted him with a reverse-swat to the boundary. In Jakati’s second over, Dhawan charged and lofted him straight to reach a 31-ball fifty with a six. He holed out three balls later, but had already caused serious damage. Morkel had been satisfactory but the rest, especially the unthreatening medium-pace of Balaji and Joginder, had leaked runs.Murali, who had come on in the eighth over, trapped Saurabh Tiwary lbw in the tenth during the only phase when Chennai reined Mumbai in. They scored 94 off nine overs and only 12 off the next three. Mumbai needed 75 off 48 balls and it was now that Tendulkar decided to hit his first six of the season, stepping out to Murali and lofting him over long-on. He didn’t demolish the bowling during this half-century, brought up off 40 balls, but stayed in long enough to ensure there would be no hiccups during the chase.The introduction of Thissara Perera sealed Chennai’s fate. The debutant started with a full toss – on offer aplenty from Balaji and Joginder too – that Tendulkar put away to fine leg for four. He then bowled two more, and Tendulkar glanced them both off his pads effortlessly. While Tendulkar was being steady, Pollard muscled 20 off 9 balls to hack away at the asking-rate, and Dwayne Bravo ended it with typical Caribbean flair, flicking Balaji for four before getting the winning run.Mumbai’s batsmen rose to the challenge on a day their bowlers under-performed. Only Ryan McLaren, who took the new ball for the first time, and Harbhajan Singh exerted control over Chennai’s scoring-rate, while Zaheer, Bravo and Lasith Malinga, who was first used only in the 11th, went for over ten an over.Hayden wielded his bat like a club from the start. He missed the first ball, a wide from Zaheer, and hit the second to mid-on. The next four, all length deliveries with width, disappeared to different parts of the off-side boundary, each placed straighter than the previous one and dispatched with immense power off the front foot. Those hits were with a regular bat but Hayden called for the little one when Harbhajan came on in the third over. He lasted two balls before a slider caught him in front, leaving Chennai on 32 for 1.Parthiv Patel followed soon after, bowled off his pads by a McLaren yorker, which brought together Raina and Badrinath. Raina was severe on Bravo, hitting his first two balls for a six and a four, chipping him over the slips before dealing him another six and four a few deliveries later. He brought up his half-century off 32 balls, Badrinath lofted Zaheer over his head to reach 50 off 41. They added 142, but towards the end were unable to find the fifth gear. Chennai had plenty of wickets in hand and looked set for 200-plus, but Malinga returned and conceded only seven off the final over to keep them to well below that. In the end, 180 wasn’t enough.

Newcastle transfer news on Werner

Newcastle United reportedly ‘reckon’ that they now have ‘a chance’ of signing Timo Werner, according to Christian Falk.

The Lowdown: A disappointment

For a player that promised so much after scoring £47.7m move to Chelsea in July of last year.

Considering the money that they have spent on him, the striker has only managed to score 17 goals in 66 games in total over all competitions for the Blues, including just five so far this season (Transfermarkt).

Thus, given that he is still at a good age at 25, Thomas Tuchel’s team may want to consider selling him now in order to recoup as much of that money back as possible.

The Latest: Newcastle swoop?

Speaking to BILD (via Sport Witness), Bundesliga journalist and transfer expert Falk has now revealed the latest on the St. James’ Park faithful’s hope of signing Werner in the January transfer window:

“With Werner, they reckon they’ve got a bit of a chance. They’ve got contacts with the management. One of their players (Fabian Schar) is also managed by the German agency that represents Werner.

“Whether Werner will end up feeling so frustrated at Chelsea and then say ‘I’ll give it a go in Newcastle’ is the big question.”

The Verdict: Avoid

The move for Werner to English football has clearly not worked out thus far, and so he may struggle even more in the North East compared to title hopefuls Chelsea.

Even though the new Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium have the money to spend, Werner is simply too inconsistent to justify paying his whopping £268,000-per-week wages, on top of a potentially hefty transfer fee given his age and position.

Nonetheless, their attack is not the main problem, with their 41 goals conceded by far the most in the top flight so far this term, and so the Tyneside outfit should be looking to prioritise strengthening the defence first of all.

In other news, find out what ‘worrying’ NUFC injury claim has now been dropped here!

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