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Potentially the most in-demand man this summer, it’s fair to say Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt truly has the world at his feet right now.

The 19-year-old enjoyed an impressive campaign with the Dutch side last season, leading them on a remarkable run to the Champions League semi-final.

His performances earned rave reviews and unsurprisingly he has been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent weeks and months. After suggestions that Juventus were the frontrunners for his signature, journalist Julien Laurens has told ESPN that both United and PSG have an agreement with Ajax over signing De Ligt.

Laurens added that were Ajax to lose patience with the Italian side, it could open the door for the two other clubs to come in and swoop for the centre-back.

After hearing the latest update on the defender, United fans took to Twitter to reveal their thoughts on the matter.

Some United supporters were rather pessimistic about their actual chances of signing the highly-rated prospect and wondered whether this was all a ruse.

Indeed, a few fans of the Manchester side insisted that the club should turn their attentions away from De Ligt and perhaps focus their attentions on alternative options like Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly or Leicester’s Harry Maguire.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

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According to The Independent, Unai Emery’s Arsenal are close to agreeing a deal to sign young Dynamo Dresden goalkeeper Markus Schubert.

What’s the word, then?

The 21-year-old is set to arrive at the Emirates Stadium on a free transfer this summer and he’s rated as one of the best starlet shot-stoppers in European football, per the original source.

Nothing is set in stone yet but the Gunners are already looking for clubs that would be willing to take the ‘keeper, found by Sven Mislintat, on loan next season either from the Championship or back in Germany.

Schubert is a product of Dresden’s academy and his contract at the club will run out this summer – he’s been capped at every level from under-16 to under-21 by the German national team.

Unbelievable business despite overcrowding

The signing of the hotshot Schubert on a free transfer would be an unbelievable piece of business by the north Londoners despite clear overcrowding in the goalkeeper’s position.

Should the German join the club this month he’ll be one of six goalkeepers in the first-team squad, including Petr Cech who will retire at the end of the month, and David Ospina who is due to return from his loan spell in Italy.

They include the current holder of the number one jersey Bernd Leno, Argentine Emiliano Martinez and the slightly younger duo of Matt Macey and Dejan Iliev.

The futures of the latter two are uncertain beyond the end of June with their current deals up on the last day of the month, but even if they leave Schubert will be surrounded by three goalkeepers all vying for that first-choice spot in Emery’s team.

Given this fact, it seems like this fantastic transfer makes no sense for Arsenal. However, they simply can’t afford to miss the opportunity to capture this talent for nothing.

Moving forward, if Schubert is really as good as many in German football think he is, he’ll be the future number one of the Gunners and he’ll get to learn from one of the best in the world from his nation.

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According to Belgian news outlet Het Belang van Limburg (via Sport Witness), linked-away Crystal Palace flop Christian Benteke is reluctant to leave England this summer – if the 6 ft 3 striker wasn’t difficult enough to budge already, this may have thrown a major spanner in the works for the Eagles’ summer plans.

The big Belgian is surely deemed surplus to requirements in SE25 but Palace will undoubtedly be keen to recoup some of the £27m they paid for him in 2016 if they can so they absolutely have to sell him before the end of January, otherwise he will leave on a free next summer.

Benteke’s stubbornness therefore could become a huge problem for Palace as they look to make additions to the squad in the coming months.

What’s the word?

Well, The Times reported this week that Chinese outfit Shandong Luneng Taishan have offered £15m for the 28-year-old’s services, although Het Belang van Limburg understand that ‘the player himself would prefer to stay in England’.

According to The Times, the 34-cap international would earn £150,000-a-week should he trade Selhurst Park for the Far East – an improvement on his current £130-000-a-week earnings in SE25.

With stadium development plans ongoing, Palace are surely reluctant to spend big on any new signings while the likes of Benteke are burning unjustifiable holes in their wage budget, although if he doesn’t want to cross the channel in search of a new club, then the Eagles could struggle to find a suitor.

There’s some exciting changes happening at Crystal Palace next summer. Find out what in the video below…

Can’t get rid of him that easily

The number 17 has netted just four times since the start of the 2017/18 campaign and has been plagued with a recurring knee injury – having seen his goalscoring exploits, or lack thereof, in the past couple of seasons, it’s unlikely that any other Premier League clubs will be willing to take the highly-paid flop off Palace’s hands any time soon, particularly if he could be available on a free next summer.

With Michy Batshuayi set to return to Chelsea at the end of the month, Palace may have been hoping that their lightened payroll could have helped them to adjust to the number 23’s demands if they were to make a permanent move, although Benteke’s stubbornness could deal a damaging blow to their chances of bringing his compatriot back to Selhurst Park this summer.

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Yacine Brahimi is set to leave Porto this summer, with West Ham United interested in securing his signature, per O Jogo.

What’s the word?

Brahimi has been with the Portuguese club since 2014, making 214 appearances in total.

He has scored 54 goals in that time, winning one Portuguese title, but O Jogo report that his departure is “inevitable”; his current contract expires at the end of next season and he has yet to renew it.

Porto face Sporting Lisbon this weekend in the Portuguese Cup final and that encounter is likely to be Brahimi’s final appearance in a Porto shirt.

The report claims that the 29-year-old has not “hidden his desire” to play in the Premier League, while Marseille are also interested, with Brahimi having previously played for both Clermont and Stade Rennais in France.

A perfect supplement

West Ham are chasing a striker this summer, with Aleksandar Mitrovic a major target and Salomon Rondon also linked.

Their pursuit of a pacey winger who can fire crosses into the box, then, makes complete sense.

Brahimi is a tricky player with the ability to beat his man, deliver the ball well and cut inside, and he offers everything the Hammers need on the flanks.

It remains to be seen, of course, if the competition from France can be fought off.

But if it can, they will deepen their attacking reserves with a player of genuine quality and surely ensure that either Mitrovic or Rondon – depending on whom the Irons manage to sign – get plenty of chances next season.

Everton are surely looking to build a young squad capable of challenging for the top six in the next few years. To that end, Daniel James would become a Goodison Park hero if he joined this next generation.

The Swansea winger has impressed clubs across the country this season, and it’s seen The Sun (28 April, page 59, via HITC) claim his club have slapped a £10m price tag on him. Indeed, it’s not surprising considering he’s just 21-years-old but has played with such class.

He’s made 33 appearances for the Swans this campaign, scoring four and assisting nine. His confidence on the ball is clear and the excitement he’d bring to Goodison is too. Football Insider claimed as recently as the 6th of this month that the Toffees are already eyeing up a summer swoop.

The full Wales international has performed well on that stage too. It shows he’s clearly got the mentality to succeed at the top level and that’s where himself and Everton aim to be very soon. Silva will be admiring him from afar, no doubt.

He’s got one year left on his contract, so this summer is massive. Swansea could cash in on him or persuade him to sign a new deal because there’s no way they’re letting him run down the contract and leave for free. Everton need to convince him now.

Surely that shouldn’t be too hard. Come and join this hugely exciting project and grow with it, offer some excitement to a raucous home crowd all too often deprived of joy and spearhead a team looking to cause serious damage in the race for the top six.

Sounds perfect, right?

The Welshman could be the next hero at Goodison Park. They’ve been begging for exciting wing play for years and this lad has it in abundance. If Marcel Brands can secure him for just the £10m mentioned late last month, then that could be one of their greatest ever signings in the long-term.

Everton fans, which winger do you think your club should sign this season? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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Leeds United’s hopes of securing a top-two finish in the Championship were harmed on Saturday when they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Birmingham City.

And the Leeds fans took to social media to criticise Ezgjan Alioski for his performance.

The 27-year-old was once again deployed in the left-back position, but picked up a booking during a disappointing 90 minutes on the field.

According to WhoScored, Alioski made three tackles and had a pass success rate of just 84% at St Andrew’s.

But there were a number of occasions where the Macedonia international wasted promising positions, which led to frustration amongst the Leeds fans.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

And a selection have taken to social media to criticise a player who has seven Championship goals to his name during the 2018-19 campaign.

Leeds are now in serious danger of having to go through the playoffs this term.

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

The Old Firm game is always a massive occasion, but on Sunday, it is fair to say that it is more significant for Steven Gerrard’s Rangers than it is for Celtic.

If Celtic win, it will see them with a virtually unassailable lead of 13 points, with just seven games to go.

But a Rangers win will close that gap to just seven points, and will give the blue half of Glasgow a chance — albeit a slim one — of overhauling their rivals.

Former Celtic player, Paul Hartley, told Sky Sports that Rangers have simply “got to win” and that Gerrard can not afford “any more slip ups”.

He said: “They’ve got to win. Ten points behind, eight games to go, they’ve got to go there and try to win the game.

“There’s no point in going there and trying to sit back. Celtic can afford the draw but they’ll be going to try to win the game. If they win it looks like that’s the title over.

“Rangers know they can’t afford any more slip ups. They are out of both cups, they may not have any more silverware for another year so it’s a massive game for them.”

We think, realistically, the game is more a case of Rangers consolidating a Europa League spot, than harbouring chances of winning the title.

A loss for Gerrard’s men, coupled with wins for Aberdeen at Hearts and Kilmarnock over Hamilton the previous day, will see the gap over third and fourth shrink to just five and six points respectively.

With only two games after this weekend until the split, it is vital that Rangers maintain their advantage over the chasers behind them, as failure to secure a top-three finish would be disastrous for the club.

What do you think about Rangers’ chances against the Auld Enemy on Sunday? Is it more important to look over your shoulders instead of ahead? Let us know your opinion…

حقق مهاجم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول، محمد صلاح، إنجازًا فريدًا يوم أمس في مباراة إيفرتون في الجولة الخامسة من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ووصل محمد صلاح إلى الهدف رقم 100 مع ليفربول في جميع البطولات المختلفة، بعد تسجيله الهدف الثاني لصالح الريدز في المباراة التي انتهت بالتعادل الإيجابي 2-2 على ملعب “جوديسون بارك”.

واحتاج هداف ليفربول في آخر ثلاثة مواسم إلى 159 مباراة فقط من أجل تسجيل 100 هدف مع الفريق الإنجليزي، ليحتل المركز الثالث بين أسرع اللاعبين الذين حققوا هذا الإنجاز.

وإليكم ترتيب اللاعبين من حيث تسجيل أسرع 100 هدف مع ليفربول بحسب ما نشرته شبكة “Give Me Sport” البريطانية:

1- روجر هانت في 144 مباراة

2- جاك باركينسون في 153 مباراة

3- محمد صلاح في 159 مباراة

4- روبي فاولر في 165 مباراة

5- سام رايبولد في 165 مباراة

اقرأ أيضًا.. كلوب: لست في مزاج جيد للحديث عن محمد صلاح

6- آيان راش في 166 مباراة

7- جوردون هودسون في 170 مباراة

8- مايكل أوين في 184 مباراة

9- هاري تشامبرز في 186 مباراة

10 كيني دالجاليش في 241 مباراة

شاهد أهداف محمد صلاح الـ100 مع ليفربول

It might have not always been pretty at times, but Everton got the job done in their 0-0 draw against Liverpool at Goodison Park last Sunday, dealing a satisfying blow to their rivals’ Premier League title chances.

Gaining something from the game for themselves, however, was also important for their own aspirations for the season, which right-back Seamus Cole has been speaking about.

The Breakdown

“It was important to give our fans a performance and it was a good point for us in the end,” Coleman told Everton’s official club website after the game. “The manager wanted us to focus on ourselves and what we are about. We want to be doing more in an Everton shirt and, ultimately, competing for European places.”

With six points separating the Merseyside club and seventh-placed Wolves, qualifying for the Europa League still remains a possibility.

That being said, Everton might have just left a bit too late in the race for European football given the form of Nuno Espirito Santo’s men and Marco Silva’s former side Watford.

Both teams have been more consistent than Everton this season and look capable of maintaining that six-point gap between themselves and the Toffees.

Everton fans, however, will undoubtedly welcome the fighting talk coming from Coleman, fired up from their team’s derby display, though they will be left feeling frustrated with the fact that such a performance has not been a regular theme this term.

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Charlie Wyke has desperately struggled to live up to expectation at Sunderland this season, but Keith Curle’s admission suggests that the reasons behind his form lie within Jack Ross’ approach.

What’s the word?

Wyke has struggled to find his feet at the Stadium of Light since completing his transfer from Bradford City last summer.

His decent goal scoring record at both Bradford and Carlisle hinted that Jack Ross had secured the services of a future talisman, but he has been incredibly underwhelming so far.

Curle, who managed the 26-year-old during their time together at Carlisle, has suggested that his struggle to find the net is symptomatic of the Sunderland manager’s preferred playing style, as per Sunderland Echo.

“Charlie needs a run of games and to be able to build up a relationship with a strike partner, and the team needs to put balls in the box.

“He’s better playing in a two. Charlie hasn’t got pace, so he won’t get away from people and run the channels.”

Ross’ preference for a lone striker is bad news for Wyke

The Black Cats are well in the hunt for automatic promotion this season as they seek to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking, and that’s largely down to Ross’ influence since taking charge last summer.

If Curle’s recent comments are anything to go by, it would appear that the Sunderland manager’s preference to operate with a 4-2-3-1 formation is serving as a detriment to Wyke’s form.

Naturally, the striker’s form can partly be explained by the injury problems he has experienced this season, but without a strike partner to bounce off he may continue to disappoint on Wearside.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

Time will tell whether Curle has a point, but there is plenty of evidence from Wyke’s time at Sunderland so far to prove there is a weight of substance behind his claim.