Crystal Palace fans are unsure over a move for Gary Cahill this month

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Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after The Sun revealed that Gary Cahill is being considered as a late loan target for the Eagles, as Fulham eye a centre-back of their own in Scott Dann.

Dann has made just one appearance this season, playing 90 minutes in the FA Cup against Grimsby having made a full recovery from a serious knee injury suffered against Manchester City last season, although he is now struggling to dislodge James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho from the starting lineup.

Fulham were keen on a deal for Cahill originally, as the 33-year-old is seemingly surplus to requirements at Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri, but the England international was not keen on a move to Craven Cottage.

No one is safe from the Playmaker FC’s American Soccer Fan. Check out what happened when he watched West Ham v Crystal Palace on Saturday in the video below…

Roy Hodgson’s Palace are supposedly eyeing a loan move with the potential to make the deal permanent in the summer, however eyebrows have been raised at the news of their interest as they are still in desperate need of a striker.

The south London-based side have seen just three goals scored between their senior striking options this season in Jordan Ayew, Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham – the former has two, Benteke none, and Wickham one.

Understandably, Palace fans aren’t too happy about the club’s reported interest in Cahill…

Tottenham fans delighted with Ben Davies return

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Ben Davies has not featured for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League since the team’s 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United on January 13.

The Wales international has had a lot of criticism this season, but the Tottenham fans are pleased to see that the left-back has returned to the training field.

Indeed, after missing the games against Watford, Newcastle United and Leicester City, the Spurs supporters are now asking if Davies might be available to face Burnley this weekend.

Tottenham have won their last four games in all competitions, including a 3-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on February 13.

Jan Vertonghen has been playing left wing-back in the absence of Davies, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino now has another option in a key area of the field.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

Davies’ form this season has not always been terrific, but Tottenham need a strong squad at this stage as they are fighting on two fronts.

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

Lost and Won: Chelsea vs Manchester United

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Chelsea host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Monday night in an FA Cup fifth round clash.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will be looking to bounce back with a win, with the Norwegian coach having suffered his first defeat as Red Devils boss against PSG in the Champions League last time out. However, the loss of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial to injury will come as a real blow to the visitors.

Maurizio Sarri needs a positive result too. The Blues have lost three of their last four Premier League games. The Italian manager now finds himself under pressure in west London, but the boost of cup progression could spark his ailing side back into form.

Monday night promises an exciting encounter between two of the heavyweights of English football. Ahead of the game, Football FanCast have taken a look at the key tactical factors that could decide the outcome of the match…

The Key Battle – David Luiz vs Marcus Rashford

Solskjaer has made it plain that he prefers Marcus Rashford to Romelu Lukaku, so it will almost certainly be the 21-year-old Englishman leading the line against Chelsea. The striker has been in fine form in recent weeks and will fancy his chances against the Blues’ unconvincing backline.

With his pace, Rashford can offer a constant threat by running in behind the Chelsea defence and his athleticism and intelligent movement will surely test David Luiz in the heart of the home side’s backline.

The Brazilian defender is more than capable of losing focus and committing a costly error, and Rashford will be alert to that fact.

However, Luiz also has the capacity to hurt United. The 31-year-old has great creativity and vision and the ability to play accurate long balls over the top of the opposition defence with regularity. Rashford must be diligent in harrying, pressing and closing down Luiz to ensure that he isn’t given the time and space to pick out these potentially killer passes.

Jurgen Klopp has gotten quite inventive with his excuses this season. FFC’s James Jones think he has no one but himself to blame for Liverpol’s poor form in the video below…

The Deciding Factor – Removing Chelsea’s Lynchpin

Sarri’s team have a very defined style that the manager trusts. This system is heavily dependent upon midfielder Jorginho. The 27-year-old sits at the base of the Blues’ midfield, where he can see a lot of the ball, dictate the pace of the game, and orchestrate play.

If allowed to perform this role unchallenged, the 13-cap Italy international can pull the Red Devils apart. However, when Jorginho has been targeted by opponents this season, Chelsea have often come unstuck.

As Arsenal recently demonstrated, tasking a man with the duty of constantly marking Jorginho and putting the midfielder off his rhythm has a devastating effect on Chelsea. With Jorginho’s limited mobility and physicality exposed, Chelsea lose their lynchpin and then begin to look listless and bereft of fresh ideas.

Solskjaer must appropriate this tactic himself and set one of his men on Jorginho. Ander Herrera would be the perfect candidate for this task, as he possesses the requisite pace, agility, stamina and work rate to unsettle Jorginho for 90 minutes.

The Impact Subs – Olivier Giroud vs Alexis Sanchez

Olivier Giroud’s reputation as an impact substitute is as stellar as they come. The Frenchman has a knack of coming off the bench and reinvigorating his team by bringing a new dimension to their attack.

Giroud is an extremely effective target man, able to hold up the ball and bring his teammates into play in the final third. The likes of Eden Hazard and Willian can then thrive off linking up with the former Arsenal striker.

United’s injury worries mean that Alexis Sanchez and Lukaku are both now likely to feature in the starting XI, the Belgium international reprising his role on the right. This will of course mean a weakened bench for Solskjaer to be able to call upon, but Juan Mata still offers a lot of quality if he is needed.

The former Chelsea midfielder lacks pace, so won’t offer the Red Devils a great deal of threat on the counter-attack. However, if Chelsea begin to sit deep, then the Spaniard’s vision and creativity could prove key to breaking down the Blues’ lines of defence.

The introduction of Mata may change the pace of game, but that could play into Solskjaer’s hands. The addition of Mata’s guile and invention offers the United manager a plan B he could decide to turn to – a decision which could turn the tide of the battle on the pitch.

تقارير: باريس سان جيرمان يقترب من كوليبالي بدلًا من مانشستر سيتي

أفادت تقارير صحفية إيطالية، أن نادي باريس سان جيرمان يقترب من خطف صفقة مانشستر سيتي المنتظرة، خاليدو كوليبالي مدافع نابولي الإيطالي.

كوليبالي كان قريبًا للغاية من مانشستر سيتي، ولكن النادي الإنجليزي لم يستطع أن ينفق أكثر من 70 مليون يورو للنادي الإيطالي.

صحيفة “توتو سبورت” الإيطالية، أفادت أن باريس سان جيرمان عرض 52 مليون يورو للمدافع السنغالي، بالإضافة إلى 7 مليون يورو إضافية في شكل مكافآت.

عرض باريس سان جيرمان أقل من الذي قدمه مانشستر سيتي، لكن النادي الإنجليزي كان انسحب من السباق للتعاقد مع اللاعب بسبب مطالب النادي الإيطالي.

وشددت الصحيفة على أن نابولي قد يقبل بعرض باريس سان جيرمان، لعلاقة الناديين ببعضهما، على عكس ما بين دي لورينتيس رئيس البارتينوبي ومانشستر سيتي..

 

 

سواريز يتمسك بحقوقه للرحيل عن برشلونة وأتلتيكو مدريد يترقب

يتمسك الأوروجوياني لويس سواريز مهاجم برشلونة الإسباني، بحقوقه كاملة من أجل الرحيل عن صفوف فريقه.

سواريز خارج حسابات رونالد كومان مدرب الفريق، وكان قريبًا من الانتقال لـ يوفنتوس، بعدما تم عرضه على السيدة العجوز.

وخرج سواريز من حسابات يوفنتوس الآن، بحسب ما أوضح فابيو باراتيتشي المدير الرياضي (طالع تصريحاته).

وبحسب إذاعة “كادينا سير” الإسبانية، برشلونة أوضح لـ سواريز أنه سيدفع نصف راتبه 7 ملايين يورو مُقابل فسخ العقد.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ميسي يودع فيدال: فاجأتني وسنلتقي مرة أخرى!

وأوضح التقرير أن سواريز رفض وطلب المبلغ كاملا (14 مليون يورو) قيمة راتبه آخر عام.

من جانبه، ينتظر أتلتيكو مدريد فسخ عقد سواريز ليتحرك لضمه مجانًا، بحسب ما أوضح الصحفي “فابريزيو رومانو”.

Opinion: Weekend display showed just exactly why Chelsea must keep hold of 28-year-old

Chelsea got back to winning ways in emphatic fashion this weekend as they saw off Huddersfield with ease to run away 5-0 winners.

The Blues were in fine form, as new signing Gonzalo Higuain got himself on the scoresheet with two goals, while Eden Hazard got back to his best with a couple of efforts.

It was the performance of the Belgian midfielder which caught the eye thought in particular, and it once again showed just how much the Chelsea man means to the Blues, and what a worry it will be if he does indeed make a move to Real Madrid in the summer as has been mentioned.

Hazard is simply the man who makes everything tick for Mauro Sarri’s men, and if he is sold on to Madrid, then Chelsea have quite the hole to fill in the attacking third of the field.

The Belgian has developed in his time in England into one of the finest attacking midfielders on the planet, and talent like he possesses does not come along too often.

Madrid are of course a massive lure, but Chelsea have to be doing all they can to convince Hazard he has a future with Chelsea, and to do so, they might just need to splash some cash in the summer months.

Regardless of if he goes or stays though, Hazard will go down as a Chelsea legend, and his performance this weekend was a further reminder of the talent we get to see on offer from the Belgian on a weekly basis over here in the Premier League.

Blues fans, what do you think? How good was Hazard? Let us know in the comments!

Arsenal simply have to secure the summer signing of this brilliant 25-year-old French star

Arsenal’s season has been an up and down one as has been the usual in the last few years.

Some big wins have been overshadowed by the same sort of problems we have become accustomed to seeing, much of which was evidenced during last weekend’s loss to Manchester City, where the Gunners were simply too easy to sweep aside.

However, there is cause for some optimism for manager Unai Emery, who will be pleased with some of his work and will no doubt be looking forward to the summer where he will be hoping to have some cash to spend on the first team squad.

And one man we feel the club and Emery would be wise to make a move for is 25-year-old France and Lyon winger, Nabil Fekir.

The former Liverpool target has once again been in fine form over in Ligue 1, and looks all set and ready to made to make an impact in the Premier League if given the chance.

Fekir possesses brilliant skill on the ball, and his ability to beat defenders with ease and at pace makes him a dangerous and welcome addition to any squad.

A regular in the French national squad, Fekir would add an element to Arsenal which they currently lack in wide areas, and would allow the likes of Aubameyang to operate in favoured roles in the middle of the attacking third.

Gunners fans, what do you think? Would this be a good signing? Let us know in the comments!

Sergio Ramos saga should show Ed Woodward how to deal with David De Gea

All is right with Manchester United again.

They’re playing winning football under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the majority of the squad motivated again under his watch. That being said, internal matters are seemingly in a complicated situation. Indeed, after tying Anthony Martial to a long-term contract, Ed Woodward is now looking into extending David De Gea’s stay at Old Trafford while the club’s hunt for a long-term manager rumbles on.

After the Red Devils triggered a one-year extension clause in the Spaniard’s contract until 2020, they’re now desperate to sign him to a long-term one. According to reports (via The Evening Standard), they’re prepared to hand him a mammoth £350,000-a-week contract, but the Spaniard is believed to want more.

Alexis Sanchez is currently United’s highest paid at around £400,000-a-week and the La Roja international is said to want a similar contract.

A no-brainer, right?

Well, not only would granting him that impact their balance sheet, it could also cause an uproar within the squad. While De Gea’s been their saviour many a time during the difficult, post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, United need to be wary of not dancing to his tunes. If they do, it could open up a whole can of worms.

Sergio Romero’s uprise in the cup competitions proves not only De Gea, but any talented goalkeeper can thrive at United’s world-class goalkeeping structure. While letting him leave would be a huge risk, paying him excessively will also pile external pressures on the Red Devils.

The Spaniard might’ve kept his 100th clean-sheet recently, but is taking advantage of his situation at United right now. United need to be cautious not to be conned into dancing to a player’s tune, regardless of how big he might be.

Ed Woodward has been taken for a ride by Sergio Ramos – who used United’s 2015 interest to manoeuvre a new deal at Real Madrid – during his stint in charge of footballing matters at Old Trafford, he must learn from his mistake or risk wasting even more money.

Southampton should keep faith in Valery despite Elabdellaoui links

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Southampton are eyeing a move for Olympiacos right-back Omar Elabdellaoui, according to the Daily Mail.

Cedric Soares left the club to join Inter Milan on loan, per BBC, earlier this month and the Saints are now trying to recruit a replacement before the transfer deadline on Thursday.

On the chalkboard

The aforementioned Mail report claims that the Saints are ready to pay £6million to sign Elabdellaoui, who previously played for Hull City on loan in the second half of the 2016-17 season.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is said to believe that the full international has more experience than current right-back Yan Valery, but it remains to be seen if the Norwegian will be able to dislodge the 19-year-old from his starting position.

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Pl>ymaker FC…

The 27-year-old, who has won 34 caps for Norway, made just eight appearances in the Premier League, per Transfermarkt, and was on the winning side twice, in a shock win over Liverpool and a 2-1 victory over Swansea City.

Elabdellaoui also played 90 minutes on the final day of the season, as Hull lost 7-1 to Tottenham Hotspur.

Just for depth?

Previous showings do not bode well for Southampton, here.

His last performance in English football saw his side ship seven goals, and this may merely be a move for a back-up.

Elabdellaoui has been almost ever-present for Olympiacos this season, missing just one Turkish Super League game, but his history in English football is such that it is difficult to foresee him being thrown straight in by manager Hasenhuttl.

Valery has impressed when given the chance to play at St Mary’s and can only benefit from an extended run in the first-team, regardless of transfers.

Hasenhuttl would be wise to place his faith in the 19-year-old, and use Elabdellaoui as little more than cover.

Sheffield Wednesday fans are fuming with Adam Reach’s showing vs Millwall

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Steve Bruce’s opening to life as Sheffield Wednesday manager has been underwhelming and predictable so far, as was the case on Tuesday night.

Bruce is unbeaten after recording one win and two draws, but a distinct lack of firepower and creativity have given supporters plenty of cause for concern.

A return of just one goal from three very winnable games is exactly the type of blunt record which riles up supporters, so it’s no surprise that they have turned on one of their more creative-minded players in light of their 0-0 draw with Millwall.

Indeed, the Owls faithful have taken to Twitter to slate Adam Reach for his latest showing, although it must be considered that he was deployed on the right-wing rather than in his preferred position on the left.

Supporters have slated his predictability and ineffective display and suggested that the early season hype surrounding his development was misplaced.

If the reaction to his latest performance on social media is anything to go by, Bruce may well need to consider moving him back to the left side of midfield to help the 26-year-old  rediscover his electric best form that saw him score goal and after goal from outside the penalty area.

Here’s what a handful of Wednesday fans had to say about Fletcher’s performance on Tuesday night:

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