All posts by h716a5.icu

How good has Salomon Rondon been this season? Without the big Venezuelan there are arguments to suggest that the Geordies wouldn’t be in the Premier League for next season and Ayoze Perez certainly wouldn’t have hit the form he has.

The issue with Rondon is that the big West Brom man is only on-loan at Newcastle, and Rafa Benitez hasn’t been given the news he wants that the 29-year-old striker will be signed permanently. However, Benitez is desperate (as per the Daily Star) for Rondon to be signed and claims that signing the target-man is vital for the Magpies to progress.

Should West Bromwich Albion not come up from the Championship via the play-offs then they’ll find it even harder to hold onto Rondon, and the striker, who they signed for £15.3 million, fee via Transfermarkt, would surely be off. The other issue here is the future of another Newcastle forward Ayoze Perez, and should Rondon stay put Rafa Benitez could kill two birds with one stone.

Ayoze Perez’s 12-goal haul this season in the Premier League has seen the 25-year-old’s stock rise to levels that it’s never been at before. The Spaniard has claimed recently that he could be set to look for a new challenge soon, and The Northern Echo is talking of interest from Napoli. If the Spaniard could see some ambition at St. James’ Park then he may be tempted to stay.

Indeed, the man Alan Pardew signed from Tenerife back in 2014 claimed towards the back end of April (quotes sourced by the Chronicle) that now may be the time to leave and the same outlet have recently reported that the club could face a battle to keep him.

Still, should Rafa Benitez get a new contract, Salomon Rondon be signed permanently and cash get spent then Ayoze Perez would be an idiot to leave the club. His future is something the Magpies are worried about considering how incredible the ex-Tenerife man has been whilst partnering up with Rondon and Miguel Almiron, and should that trio be kept together then the club could well be set to battle for 7th next season.

Newcastle fans, do you want Salomon Rondon to sign this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

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Leeds United will need to call on their key men to put in solid performances if they are to secure promotion to the Premier League through the playoffs.

Speaking to Football Insider, former England defender Danny Mills has highlighted the four players he believes will need to be at their best if the Whites are to be triumphant in the post-season.

Which players?

Mills has highlighted the central spine of the team as the area which needs to step up and make an impact in these matches.

“My fear for Leeds is whether they can perform when the pressure is on,” Mills told Football Insider.

“The big players need to deliver against Derby, starting on Saturday.

“Kemar Roofe needs to have a good game. Scoring goals and converting chances has been a bit of a problem for Leeds.

“The two central defenders, Jansson and Liam Cooper, need to play well. Kalvin Phillips is key. If he gets dragged out of position, Leeds are very vulnerable.

“The full-backs and midfielders bomb on, and if Phillips is not there to protect the centre-backs, there is suddenly a huge gap to exploit, and they are outnumbered.”

Spot on

The ex-Leeds player is spot on with his summary of who needs to step up.

Kalvin Phillips, in particular, has absolutely no margin for error in these games. The 23-year-old has been the most dependable player at Elland Road all season.

Derby have an incredible amount of creative talent going forward, with Frank Lampard having Mason Mount, Harry Wilson and Tom Lawrence at his disposal.

Coming up against players of that calibre represents a daunting task for any defensive midfielder in the league. If Phillips is at his very best, he should be able to cope, but he can’t afford a single slip up when he comes up against the Rams.

Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper have been a solid centre-back partnership this season, but the Swede’s tendency to make brash decisions could be costly for the Whites.

Marcelo Bielsa needs to make sure that his centre-half keeps a cool head against Derby and doesn’t make any stupid mistakes.

Kemar Roofe’s poor run has been well documented, and it’s clear to see where he needs to improve. The striker is still the club’s top scorer this season, so he is more than capable of finding the back of the net.

These four players may well have the deciding say on whether or not Leeds go up, but they will have to step up amidst the pressure of the playoffs.

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West Brom’s weakness this season has been against pace. It’s caught their defence out time and time again. Therefore, Dean Smith’s decision to start Andre Green in a game which was likely to be open looked a wise one.

The winger has been rather enigmatic since coming back to Aston Villa after a loan spell with Portsmouth, but in the club’s play-off win on penalties against Albion he was particularly poor.

Green didn’t start the first leg. Instead, Albert Adomah was preferred. The two wide men then swapped places on Tuesday night but it was a call that backfired.

The 20-year-old looked a good choice on paper. West Brom needed to score and Green would have been a fantastic option on the counter-attack with space in behind.

He stretched Leeds to near devastating effect when he tormented Stuart Dallas at the back end of April, however, didn’t turn in anywhere near the same level of performance at the Hawthorns.

In truth, Green was incredibly poor and after this performance is highly unlikely to start in the play-off final later in the month.

The 5 ft 11 winger was scarcely involved in the clash, touching the ball on just 22 occasions. His pass success was also terrible and provides evidence of the difficult night the youngster endured.

It was hardly a surprise, therefore, to see him substituted after 75 minutes.

Villa didn’t do much attacking throughout the game as the Baggies found themselves on the front foot instead. When the visitors did go forward, he never once looked to get at his man. The only time he did find a bit of space, he was dispossessed.

Since returning in January, Green has scored just once for the Villans. He’s clearly got the talent but this display showed just how out of his depth he is at a higher level.

Another loan spell could be exactly what he needs to find confidence again next term and if Villa go up, it’s a near certainty he wouldn’t have the quality for the Premier League.

The youngster has shown glimpses of how dangerous he can be, but his play-off display was deeply concerning.

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Crystal Palace have announced that Connor Wickham has signed an extension to his current deal at Selhurst Park, meaning that he will stay at the club until 2021. The former Sunderland man putting pen to paper is Palace’s first bit of business of the window and it’s hardly inspiring.

Despite having spent much of the 2018/19 campaign on the treatment table, the crocked striker appears to be a part of Roy Hodgson’s plans next season, although his appearances will likely be limited to the cup competitions or off the bench.

Considering what happened at SE25 in January, it’s a surprise that the big hitman will remain at the club beyond the summer but it’s a total shock that the Eagles chiefs have decided to offer him an extension.

What’s the word?

Well, the 26-year-old, who has made just 42 appearances since signing in August 2015, had this to say after signing his one-year extension:

“I’m pleased to have got everything sorted, so I can now fully focus on working my way back into the team during pre-season and the upcoming campaign. I hope I’ll be able to show that when fully fit I’m capable of playing a key part.

“It meant a lot that the club backed me after such a serious injury and I hope I’ll be able to repay that faith shown in me.”

The number 21 managed just 6o minutes of Premier League football in 2018/19 but it would seem that those were enough to see his future at the club secured for another two years, remarkably.

January fire-sale a one-off

Having offloaded Jonny Williams, Jason Puncheon and Jordon Mutch in January, Palace looked to be finally clearing out their deadwood in order to free up their wage bill, although this ruthless attitude seems to have already been discarded – Eagles fans will wish Wickham had gone with it.

The one-goal flop rakes in an astonishing £60,000-a-week and is the club’s joint-seventh-highest earner, level with Scott Dann and Vicente Guaita. At present, the decision to extend his current deal seems foolish and will likely prove costly in the coming years unless the forward can put his injuries behind him and repay the faith, as he says, that has bizarrely been shown in him.

Wickham certainly isn’t the striker signing Palace fans are surely hoping for this summer and they will be crossing their fingers that he isn’t the only one.

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Crystal Palace fans who went to Selhurst Park for most if not all of their beloved side’s home games in 2018/19 were, far more often than not, sent home with frowns on their faces and steam coming out of their ears, such was the Eagles’ poor form at SE25.

The Croydon outfit won just five games at home all season but were saved from certain relegation to the second tier by their sensational away from – Palace beat sides such as Leicester, Arsenal and most notably Manchester City on the road.

It doesn’t get more paradoxical, then, than Jeffrey Schlupp, Andros Townsend and Bakary Sako’s insistence that the atmosphere at Selhurst Park only makes them perform better.

What did they say?

Well, speaking in eToro’s latest Player Insights episode on Palace’s official club website, the trio were full of praise for the SE25 faithful. Former Spurs man Townsend said:

“The noise [that the fans are] making they’re going to be ready and you know it’s down to you to get a result for them”.

January arrival Sako followed with:

“100% the fans make the difference.”

Then 2015/16 Premier League winner Schlupp stated:

“You know they’re so passionate it makes us want to perform extra well to give back to them.”

Form doesn’t lie

Palace were often apathetic at home and took far too long to wake up and realise that, if they don’t do something about it, then they’d be giving their visitors free points.

Should Crystal Palace keep hold of Max Meyer this summer? Harvey Jones discusses in the video below…

Fortunately, season ticket holders finally got some of their money’s worth when Bournemouth travelled up from the south coast to play out a 5-3 thriller with the Eagles, but this captivating contest was pretty much a one-off amidst plenty of borefests.

Roy Hodgson has previously insinuated that the atmosphere at Selhurst Park has a negative impact on his players due to the expectation to perform, so which is it? Blaming the fans when things don’t go well and praising them when they do isn’t a good look, that’s for sure.

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Liverpool are reportedly interested in James Rodriguez, but the Reds should steer well clear of the Colombian international.

What’s the story?

Well, according to The Mirror, both Liverpool and Arsenal want to sign Rodriguez.

The 2014 World Cup sensation has been on loan at Bayern Munich from Real Madrid for the past two seasons, but the German outfit will not make the move permanent, confirmed chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

According to the report, the Reds want the 27 year-old as a replacement for Philippe Coutinho.

Not a Klopp signing

There’s no question that Liverpool need more creativity in midfield, and Rodriguez certainly has it.

Across 324 appearances in Europe with Porto, Monaco, Madrid and Munich, the playmaker has set up 115 goals, while also grabbing 93 of his own, per Transfermarkt.

However, he has struggled with fitness, focus and consistency since his move to Madrid in 2014, and there must be doubts over his ability to perform at a big club.

Jurgen Klopp values the spirit and mentality of his players as much as their footballing ability, and quite frankly, Rodriguez only ticks one of the boxes.

A luxury player with tremendous talent, huge wages, a bad injury history and no promise or evidence of truly performing at the highest level, perhaps a certain club 30 miles down the M62 may be interested.

[ad_pod ]James Pearce, a reporter for the Liverpool Echo, has provided an update on Robert Firmino as Liverpool trained ahead of the Champions League Final.

The main positive for Liverpool fans is that Firmino looks in fine form, suggesting he’ll lead the line as the Reds look to repair the damage of last season’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid after a recent injury scare.

This news should worry Spurs fans as the Brazilian is crucial to how Jurgen Klopp’s side play – he creates space for Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

What one weakness can Spurs exploit against Liverpool in the UCL final? Fans discuss in the video below…

Couple this with the news that Harry Kane has claimed he’ll be fit for Tottenham; the final will have two top-quality strikers on the pitch and that should make for excellent viewing for any neutral.

For fans of both teams though, it is unlikely to be pleasant viewing and will likely be ninety minutes of nail-biting tension.

To win this most prestigious of trophies would be massive for either club and it could also trigger a trophy run.

It certainly feels that Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino need that first title to act as a catalyst for a haul of trophies for their respective clubs.

Firmino’s fitness and sharpness will be an excellent boost to Klopp’s chances of winning that elusive first trophy.

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According to ExWHUemployee, West Ham United have identified Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey as a potential transfer target this summer.

However, it would be fair to say that the majority of the Hammers fans are against their club moving for the 27-year-old.

Shelvey only made 18 appearances for Newcastle during the 2018-19 season.

The midfielder will see his contract at St James’ Park expire in little over two years, meanwhile, and according to ExWHUemployee, Shelvey is a target for West Ham.

The six-time England international struggled with injury last term and missed 22 of his team’s 38 Premier League matches.

There is no question that the former Charlton Athletic youngster is a talent. However, his career appears to have stalled over the last 12 months or so.

The West Ham fans have been on social media offering their views on his potential arrival.

And it would be fair to say that not too many want their club to move for the Romford-born midfielder – a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Sheffield Wednesday fans on Twitter are desperate for the transfer report linking Atdhe Nuhiu with a move to Macedonian champions KF Shkendija to be true.

The striker hasn’t impressed during his stint playing for the Steel City club, and many supporters want to see the back of him after a poor season for the Owls.

The Kosovan appeared in 34 games for Steve Bruce’s side last campaign, but he scored just four goals and set up a further two.

Returns like that have seen Wednesdayites turn on him, and on social media they have been showing their excitement about his potential departure.

Find out which stadiums fans have nominated for the worst atmosphere in football in the video below…

Bruce got the Owls playing some great football after his appointment in February and they will certainly be targeting a top-six finish next term. However, Nuhiu’s recent form has shown that he isn’t good enough to lead the line for a playoff contending side.

Here’s what the Hillsborough faithful have been saying on Twitter…

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Celtic fans are saying goodbye to Mikael Lustig after the player and club confirmed he will be moving on to a new club this summer.

The Swedish veteran posted a farewell message to supporters on Instagram, with the club later paying tribute to the player on their official website, with Neil Lennon and Peter Lawwell giving statements.

Lustig joined Celtic in January of 2012 and went on to win a sensational 16 trophies at the club, amassing 276 appearances for the club in total.

How can Celtic improve next season? A Hoops fan tells us how in the video below…

He has become synonymous with the success that the Hoops have enjoyed over the last few years, always finding new and creative ways to celebrate and delight supporters.

Although a defender, his most memorable moment in a Celtic shirt came in 2017 when he scored a ridiculously good solo effort against Rangers at Ibrox.

Celtic will now be on the hunt for a new first-choice right-back, with Anthony Ralston the only recognised player in the position right now.

Fans have been paying tribute to the 32-year-old ever since the news broke on Wednesday, with many taking to Twitter to share their thoughts…