Arsenal: Malcom is a gamble worth taking for Unai Emery

Barcelona’s signing of Malcom last summer was seen as an astute bit of business from the Catalan club, but nearly 12 months later, things haven’t gone to plan.

Signed from Bordeaux for a reported fee of £36.5 million, the Brazilian winger has been a momentous flop since his move to Spain, scoring just one goal and assisting two in 15 La Liga appearances this season, and reports are emerging that Arsenal are willing to go back in for their former transfer target.

According to AS via the Sun, the Gunners have been put on alert for the 22-year-old winger with Barcelona keen to already ship off Malcom despite just one season at the club, and that the Brazilian prefers a move to the Premier League.

Although the Brazilian has been poor this season, there is no question that if Unai Emery is to make a move for the attacker that it will be a positive signing for the club, who are in need of wingers this summer, and given previous links to the Brazilian before his move to Barcelona, there is reason to suggest it is a realistic transfer.

But, with a reported price tag of £60 million, Arsenal could be priced out of a move for Malcom due to budget limitations if the Gunners are unable to return to the Champions League via Europa League glory, however, European glory will all but put a move for the Brazilian on the table.

Malcom might have been a disappointment this season at Barcelona, but at 22, the winger still has room to grow into a player who can thrive at Arsenal and could be a risk worth taking for Emery this summer.

Arsenal fans, would Malcom be a risk worth taking this summer? Let us know!

Not a chance: Everton fans laugh off West Ham’s reported Gomes bid

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A number of Everton fans have laughed off suggestions that West Ham United have made an offer for Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes.

Indeed, according to The Times, West Ham have made a £18m bid for the Portugal international, who spent the 2018-19 campaign on loan at Everton, impressing for Marco Silva’s outfit.

The Irons are crying for a midfield partner for the extremely impressive Declan Rice, who was mostly partnered by an ageing Mark Noble or an out-of-form Pedro Obiang this term.

The same report has reiterated that the Toffees want to sign the 25-year-old on a permanent deal, suggesting that a battle is about to take place.

However, the Goodison faithful are not worried by reports of West Ham’s interest.

Indeed, a number have taken to social media to hint that the Hammers have absolutely no chance of landing the Barcelona ace.

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The capital outfit seem some way off agreeing a deal with the Spanish champions anyway as they are reportedly £18m short of his transfer valuation.

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

Spurs fans mixed over potential Aurier exit

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Tottenham Hotspur fans have been lift split over the prospect of right-back Serge Aurier departing the club this summer, with France Football claiming that Monaco are interested in signing the defender.

Aurier has struggled for game time this season at Spurs, with Kieran Trippier more often than not nailing down the right-back position under Mauricio Pochettino.

The Ivory Coast international has struggled with injuries this term and has not featured for the club in the Premier League since February, when Pochettino’s men lost 2-1 to Burnley at Turf Moor.

Spurs, of course, are currently preparing for the Champions League final on Saturday, when they will play Liverpool in Madrid.

He played 90 minutes in both legs of the last-16 clash with Borussia Dortmund but was ruled out of the quarter-final against Manchester City and the semi-final against Ajax due to a hamstring injury.

It remains to be seen if he will be fit to play against the Reds in the biggest game in the club’s history but, as it stands, Aurier could well have made his final appearance for Tottenham.

And fans are mixed over the prospect of the 26-year-old departing this summer.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

Arsenal: Amadou Diawara could be bargain of the summer

After a disastrous end to the season, Arsenal’s attention can now be turned to how to improve the squad ahead of August.

Fans will be demanding big moves this summer as Unai Emery has the tasking of recruiting new players on a shoestring budget of just £40 million, with defenders and wingers likely to be the most likely areas that will be improved upon this summer, as well as a midfielder.

With such little money to work with, Arsenal will need to play the market smartly, and if reports are to be believed, the club are doing just that with Il Mattino reporting via Sport Witness that the Gunners are interested in Napoli midfielder Amadou Diawara, who could be available this summer for just £17.5 million.

The 21-year-old defensive midfielder is one of the best players in his position for his age group, being a regular feature in the Napoli squad for the good part of three seasons, and if the Gunners are able to sign the Guinean international it could be one of the bargains of the summer.

Valued at £14.4 million on Transfermarkt, Diawara has a respectable amount of experience in a top league for someone at his age, and although Arsenal fans are currently excited about youth prospect Joe Willock, the Napoli midfielder will top the hype Gunners supporters have for their starlet.

Diawara could man the Arsenal midfield alongside Lucas Torreira for years to come, and with a price tag that fits well into what the club can afford this summer, Emery will be mad not to go in for the Napoli man this transfer window.

Arsenal fans, would Diawara be a good signing? Let us know!

Sad to see: Everton fans will be disappointed by latest Henry Onyekuru report

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According to Football Insider, Galatasaray are in advanced talks with Everton over the signing of Henry Onyekuru on yet another loan spell, after the forward spent the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign with the Turkish side.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Toffees signed the Nigerian from KAS Eupen back in 2017 in a deal worth £7m, although they had to immediately loan him out to Anderlecht as he didn’t have a work permit.

Those issues are still yet to be resolved, and Onyekuru was loaned out again after returning back to Merseyside after his spell in Belgium.

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He performed well over the course of his two years away from Goodison Park, notching 10 goals in 2017/18 and then an impressive 16 strikes last term – at the age of just 22, he is definitely an exciting prospect and one that Marco Silva could do with having in his team right now.

Everton fans should be devastated 

Naturally, the supporters had every reason to get excited about Onyekuru’s arrival in 2017 after he had hit a whopping 24 goals in the 2016/17 campaign.

Back in August of last year, the supporters expressed their excitement at the player’s return and some couldn’t wait to see what the diminutive forward could bring to the Toffees lineup.

So, upon hearing this news, the supporters will most likely be devastated at the fact that they will have to wait for at least a whole season yet again to see the exciting striker actually play for them – it could end up being three years until they see him in the blue of Everton.

The fans have also already expressed their desire to see someone else come in to compete with Dominic Calvert-Lewin this summer, so the news that Onyekuru will be loaned out once again will be even more of a hammer blow to the Toffees faithful.

Tottenham transfer roundup: Lloris targeted, Lo Celso report, Sakai on radar

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There is plenty of news currently surrounding Tottenham Hotspur. The main reports so far are in regards to Christian Eriksen, who may be on the move this summer after telling Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet he would be open to a switch to Real Madrid. Spurs, meanwhile, are looking to bring in some new faces, and may yet even lose another star name. Here’s a look at the latest rumours involving the north Londoners…

Bizarre Lo Celso report

Despite BBC Sport reporting that Spurs have already tabled a £53million offer, ABC Sevilla claim Spurs have bid just €40m (£35.66m) for Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso – which the La Liga club, allegedly but also understandably, scoffed at. Lo Celso joined the club from PSG in April following an initial loan period and after a stunning season in the Spanish top flight appears to be one of Tottenham’s main targets this summer. The ABC Sevilla update is certainly a strange one and doesn’t appear to fit the majority of the information given on Tottenham’s pursuit so far this summer.

Sakai to solve right-back problem?

Spurs are currently light at right-back, with neither Kieran Trippier or Serge Aurier looking to have a secure future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. As such, Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly interested in Marseille’s Hiroki Sakai according to Sky Sports. At 29 years old, he does not fit the club’s usual transfer target profile, but the Japanese international has still made the shortlist as a reliable option.

Lloris on PSG shortlist

Along with Eriksen, Tottenham may also lose captain Hugo Lloris this summer, according to the Sun. PSG are fans of him, and may make a move for the Frenchman if a deal for first-choice target David De Gea cannot be completed.

Very good player: Liverpool fans urge club to move for Spurs ace Son

[ad_pod ]Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has claimed that the Reds should look to sign Son Heung-min from Tottenham Hotspur this summer.And it would be fair to say that the Merseyside club’s fans like the sound of the 26-year-old turning out for Jurgen Klopp’s side next term.Son enjoyed a fine 2018-19 campaign for Spurs – finding the back of the net on 20 occasions in 48 appearances, in addition to contributing 10 assists.Aldridge actually also mentioned Son’s teammate Lucas Moura as a potential target for the Champions League winners this summer.However, the South Korean is the player most wanted by the Liverpool fans.You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…Now, it seems incredibly unlikely that Tottenham would be prepared to sell one of their key men this summer, particularly to a domestic rival.That said, stranger things have happened in the world of football.A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Liverpool fans can be seen below:

The stats that show what Leeds would be missing if Forshaw left

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According to reports from Football Insider, Leeds United are in negotiations with Fulham over the potential transfer of Adam Forshaw.

The former Middlesbrough man has been one of the most dependable midfielders in the Championship over the past few years with successful spells at Wigan, Boro and Leeds.

The Whites would be losing a useful member of their squad and his stats show how what he brings to the squad.

As the above infographic shows, the Whites will be losing one of the hardest working and most dependable midfielders in the division.

Forshaw does an unbelievable amount of defensive work. He attempts 4.5 tackles per 90 minutes, which is more than Kalvin Phillips.

Many of those tackles that are attempted are successful as well, but what is most impressive is how well he manages to time his challenges. The 27-year-old commits just 1.1 fouls per 90, showing how good he is at putting a foot in.

Although the midfielder isn’t really a flashy player he rarely puts a foot wrong – he is dispossessed just 1.1 times per 90 mins, and a dependable player like that can prove invaluable in this division.

On top of this 88.2% of his passes find their mark which is the highest pass completion percentage of any player who played consistently for Leeds last season.

All of these positive statistics have seen Fulham pursue the 27-year-old, and if the Yorkshire club lose him to their promotion rivals they may miss his consistency in the middle of the park.

Crystal Palace fans laugh off talkSPORT tweet about Wilfried Zaha’s future

[ad_pod ]TalkSPORT’s Twitter account produced a poll on Monday asking if Arsenal should make a move for £55m-rated Crystal Palace attacker Wilfried Zaha, and Eagles fans were quick to reply and subsequently laugh it off.

They presumably got that figure from The Sun, who reported on their live Gunners transfer blog on Monday evening that the south London outfit would want at least that figure if they were to sell the Ivory Coast international.

The 26-year-old has certainly just come off of an impressive campaign for Roy Hodgson’s men, scoring 10 goals and providing a further 10 assists in 34 Premier League outings.

There is no doubt that the hugely talented and influential forward would be a big miss if he were to leave, and the Selhurst Park faithful on Twitter clearly believe they would be demanding a lot more than £55m if potential suitors arose.

While one replied to the post saying “do me a favour”, another quipped “surely they will want to buy both of his legs, not just one of them”.

If Palace sell Wan Bissaka and Zaha, will they be in another relegation battle? One fan gives his opinion in the video below…

A clear message to the Palace board that they must not sell Zaha on the cheap.

Here is just a selection of the social media reaction…

Aston Villa target Webster is far greater in the air than Mings

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Aston Villa would do wonders for their chances of survival next season by resigning Tyrone Mings.

The latest on his situation is that Villa are working on lowering his asking price, but it doesn’t appear as though there’s been a breakthrough in negotiations.

Mings was exceptional for Villa after signing on loan in January, significantly improving their defence as he helped them to go ten matches without dropping a point towards the back end of the campaign.

Playing 18 times, he lost just two matches after joining as he established a fine partnership alongside the likes of Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe.

However, in the eventuality that he doesn’t sign, Adam Webster could well be on his way to the club in a £12m deal after The Sun reported that they were eyeing a move for the defender.

The centre-back stands at 6 ft 3, two inches smaller than Mings but he boasts a stat that may be somewhat surprising.

Despite Mings being taller, it is Webster who is better in the air, and it’s that trait which could make him a valuable asset if he does walk through the doors at Villa Park this summer.

In 2018/19, the Bristol City man won a massive 6.4 aerial duels per game, a tally that is streets ahead of Mings who only averaged three every 90 minutes.

The 24-year-old is nothing short of a colossus when it comes to winning headers and in one game he won as many as 17 last term.

It’s a statistic that nearly defies belief as his side somehow still lost 2-1 to Birmingham back in February. In a further game against Bolton he successfully won 13 aerial duels and in two games against Villa, he won another 14.

It was a remarkable season in terms of his numbers and across the 44 games he played, he won 392 aerial duels in total.

Only Mark Beevers from a defensive perspective finished the season with a higher average, 6.8, whilst Jake Cooper, 418, was the only defender to win more duels across the entire campaign.

So in terms of Webster’s ability to win headers, he’d certainly be a stellar addition. Whether he’d actually be better than Mings, however, would have to be determined if he signs.

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