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Liverpool have just won their first league title in 30 years, and it doesn’t look as though they’re going to rest on their laurels after their success.

Indeed, the Reds have been linked with a number of players that will improve their squad with the Thiago Alcantara rumours running rampant, while links to Kalidou Koulibaly still bubble under the surface.

However, despite all these targets from mainland Europe being reported, the Reds are now apparently looking domestically at one player.

What’s the story then?

The Daily Mirror are reporting that Liverpool are interested in signing Leicester’s Harvey Barnes.

The paper’s story says that Barnes fits Liverpool’s transfer strategy of signing young players with high sell-on potential, and you can understand exactly why the Reds are in the market for him.

The 22-year-old has been pivotal in Leicester’s success this term, contributing to 14 league goals, despite only starting 24 games throughout the campaign.

Perfect Shaqiri replacement

Liverpool’s front three is almost impenetrable, and any attacking player that is brought in may have to offer something a little different if they want to see a lot of first-team action, and Barnes is that man.

Not only can he play on either wing, but he can also slot into a midfield role, and that sort of versatility is exactly what Liverpool need, especially if Xherdan Shaqiri leaves as he’s expected to.

Shaqiri has played in five different positions since joining Liverpool, and despite Barnes’ career still being in its infancy, he has played in six different roles for Leicester.

The Swiss international is far from a key player at Anfield, but he does offer something valuable, and it seems as though his versatility won’t be missed all that much if Barnes joins this summer.

كشف مدافع يوفنتوس ليوناردو بونوتشي، عن كيفية الدفاع ضد مهاجم تشيلسي روميلو لوكاكو، بعدما واجهه من قبل كثيرًا مع إنتر ميلان وبلجيكا.

يستعد بونوتشي لمواجهة أول فريق إنجليزي بعد الفوز ببطولة يورو 2020 أمام إنجلترا، عندما يلاقي تشيلسي مساء اليوم، ضمن الجولة الثانية من مجموعات دوري أبطال أوروبا على ملعب أليانز.

طالع أيضًا: بونوتشي: يوفنتوس عائلتي الثانية.. وكنا نحتاج للفوز على سبيزيا

وتحدث بونوتشي لصحيفة “ذا أتلتيك” البريطانية: “لقد أثبت روميلو لوكاكو نفسه بأنه مهاجم متكامل، يمكنه الفوز بالمباريات بمهارته الفردية”.

وأضاف: “عند مواجهة لوكاكو يجب أن تكون في قمة التركيز لمدة 90 دقيقة، لسوء حظنا نحن المدافعين مواجهة لاعبين مثل روميلو، لا يمكننا فك ارتباط أدمغتنا حتى لمدة 10 ثواني، لأنها قد تكون قاتلة”.

وأشار: “مواجهة لوكاكو لن تكون سهلة، ولكن الشيء الأهم ألا تشتبك معه في معركة جسدية، ولكن كن مستعدًا لتوقع تحركاته، لأن عندما يستلم فريقه الكرة، يحاول الركض إلى الخلف”.

وشدد صاحب الـ34 عامًا: “في منطقة الجزاء، إنه رائع في اللعب رجل لرجل، لذا عليك أن تكون في المقدمة، وتحاول قراءة أفكاره، إذا سمحت له باستلام الكرة، لن تكون قادرًا على الخروج أو الحصول على الكرة بسهولة”.

لوكاكو لعب 95 مباراة مع إنتر ميلان وسجل 64 هدفًا خلال الموسمين الماضيين، لكنه فاز مرة واحدة فقط ضد يوفنتوس في 6 مباريات.

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية عن قيام مانشستر سيتي الإنجليزي بمحاولات للتعاقد مع الجناح الإسباني الشاب، أنسو فاتي، خلال نافذة الانتقالات الصيفية الماضية.

وقالت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية في تقرير لها، اليوم الجمعة: “عندما كان خورخي مينديز في مانشستر للتفاوض حول إعادة كريستيانو رونالدو إلى يونايتد، تلقى مكالمة من مانشستر سيتي للاستفسار عن أنسو فاتي”.

ونقلت الصحيفة نص ما جاء في المكالمة حيث قال أحد المسؤولين لـ مينديز: “كيف حال أنسو؟ لقد تعافى تقريبًا، أليس كذلك؟ ماذا عن عقده؟”.

وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن مينديز أجاب عن الأسئلة بشكل ودي ولم يقدم مزيدًا من التفاصيل، لأنه يرى أنه لا يوجد نادٍ لـ فاتي أفضل من برشلونة، كما أن صاحب الـ18 عامًا لا يريد الرحيل عن “كامب نو”.

وأضافت الصحيفة: “فاتي مجددًا بعدما رفض ريال مدريد، اختار برشلونة مرة أخرى بعيدًا عن المال، حيث يريد التألق في كتالونيا”.

اقرأ أيضًا – تقارير: برشلونة كان يُفكر في بيع أنسو فاتي بسبب ميسي.. ولابورتا تراجع

وأوضحت الصحيفة أن مينديز وفاتي يرغبان في التوقيع على عقد جديد، ويعرف الثنائي الوضع الاقتصادي السيء للنادي، وسيوقع صاحب القميص رقم (10) على عقد متغير.

واختتمت الصحيفة تقريرها قائلة: “مينديز يريد أن يفوز فاتي بالكرة الذهبية مع برشلونة، ويرغب أن يكون بطل العقد القادم، كما أن أنسو لا يفكر إلا في البقاء”.

فاتي في الموسم الماضي لم يتمكن من المشاركة إلا في 10 مباريات فقط بسبب الإصابة، وسجل خمسة أهداف وقدم أربع تمريرات حاسمة.

يُذكر أن فاتي لديه عقد ينتهي مع برشلونة في العام القادم 30 يونيو 2022، ويملك النادي حق تجديد عقده بشكل تلقائي لمدة عامين.

Despite football being in a state of uncertainty at the moment, that hasn’t stopped the world of transfer rumours continuing to spin new stories by the day.

And according to German publication Express, Liverpool have set their sights on a teammate of long-term target Denis Zakaria.

The report claims that Jurgen Klopp’s side have earmarked winger Marcus Thuram as a potential target for this upcoming summer transfer window, and that the Reds are “keen” on both the Frenchman and Zakaria himself.

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Based on his performances this season, it’s easy to see why Liverpool are so interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach ace Thuram. The versatile forward who can play anywhere across the front-line, has been in impressive form for the Bundesliga side, and shown a penchant for scoring big goals in big games.

The 22-year-old has netted against the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in the German top-flight, and against AS Roma in the Europa League group stages.

Despite playing out wide, Thuram has been at his most clinical when playing through the middle, notching eight strikes and six assists in 18 games as per Transfermarkt. That record of setting up his teammates is something that will no doubt please Klopp, who has his own selfless centre-forward in Roberto Firmino.

The Reds simply don’t have anyone who is of a similar mould to the Brazilian, but bringing Thuram to Anfield would help address that – as per Whoscored, he makes one tackle and one key pass per game which goes to show how he is keen to do the defensive work and bring his teammates into play too.

It’s no wonder that he has been widely hailed for his impact at Monchengladbach, with Zakaria reveling about how “phenomenal” he is. In fact, the club’s sporting director, Max Eberl, described him as a “fast, robust and dangerous assailant who fits very well in our squad”.

Whilst Firmino is the undisputed number nine at Liverpool, Thuram’s arrival could give Klopp a much-needed alternative to the Brazilian. There wouldn’t be too much of a step-down in quality, and his proven ability to both find the back of the net and set up others means he could be the perfect foil to the Anfield side’s front-man.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to transfer link with this Ligue 1 ace.

كثف نادي ريال مدريد الإسباني من مفاوضاته مع ماسيمليانو أليجري، مدرب يوفنتوس السابق، ليتولى مهمة تدريب الفريق خلفًا لـ زين الدين زيدان.

زيدان اتخذ قرارًا بترك منصبه بالفعل وأخبر لاعبي الفريق، وسيجتمع مع رئيس النادي فلورنتينو بيريز للإعلان عن الرحيل رسميًا عن ريال مدريد خلال الساعات المقبلة (طالع التفاصيل من هنا).

وأكدت صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية أن أليجري هو المختار من قبل ريال مدريد، وكثف النادي مفاوضاته لحسم التعاقد معه.

يأتي ذلك في ظل وجود مفاوضات جادة أيضًا من جانب يوفنتوس، الذي يسعى لضم أليجري لتدريب الفريق من جديد وخلافة أندريا بيرلو.

وأشارت شبكة “سكاي إيطاليا” إلى أن يوفنتوس يفاضل بين استمرارية بيرلو أو التعاقد مع أليجري، ولم يتفاوض مع مدرب آخر.

وأفادت “آس” أن أليجري يؤجل في مفاوضاته مع الفرق الإيطالية، وعلى رأسهم يوفنتوس، مترقبًا الموقف في ريال مدريد.

كان أليجري هو الخيار الأول لريال مدريد في جميع الأوقات، قبل أن يترك زيدان مقاعد البدلاء.

أراد ريال مدريد احترام زيدان حتى اللحظة الأخيرة، ولم يقم بإجراء اتصالات حتى قال المدرب الفرنسي كلمته.

أكدت “آس” أيضًا أن ريال مدريد استبعد التفاوض مع أنطونيو كونتي، الذي فسخ تعاقده مع إنتر ميلان في وقت سابق يوم الأربعاء.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter Milan are looking into the possibility of incorporating Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen into their squad come next summer. If true, that could put the Nerazzurri right back on track.

What’s the word, then?

The Italian sources claim Eriksen is a big dream of Antonio Conte’s team.

Of course, seeing how it would be rather difficult actually getting the Danish playmaker to sign for them, with the likes of Manchester United prowling around, he is currently not the priority heading into the transfer window.

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But they will definitely study this option as Eriksen’s relationship with Spurs is also deteriorating, as per Gazzetta’s claims, and separation with the out-of-favour star is pretty likely in the near future.

Even though he hasn’t been at his brilliant best, the midfielder could complete Inter Milan’s jigsaw if the transfer were really to go through.

Wind in their sails

After a rather resurgent start to the 2019/20 campaign, the Nerazzurri have slowed down in recent times.

Of course, they managed to remain unbeaten in their first seven games of the season but couldn’t sustain it all the way. Now, they are in danger of not making it out of their Champions League group and they have to fend off the advances of Juventus over in Serie A.

But Conte’s men certainly look rather formidable as it is and maybe they just need one small boost to actually complete their jigsaw.

And by all means, Eriksen could definitely be that missing link to finally get the Nerazzurri going as they used to in the good old days.

Despite his limited game time this season – he has failed to start three of the north London outfit’s previous five fixtures in all competitions – the Danish playmaker has managed to bag one goal and one assist in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, while also tallying 1.5 shots and 1.4 key passes per game.

Of course, Inter have a great playmaker in the form of Sensi but maybe pairing him up with current Tottenham Hotspur star could take the team to another level.

After all, last season when both Spurs and Eriksen were firing on all cylinders, the great Dane bagged eight goals and got 12 assists under his belt, which is something Conte could definitely use in his squad.

But as the original report made clear, Inter are not sure whether they can actually secure his signature, although they will definitely pounce on it if the opportunity arises.

Who knows, maybe Serie A would be a welcoming change for the struggling star.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Even though they were linked to a number of different targets already, it seems that Real Madrid won’t be splashing the cash in the upcoming transfer window, as per new reports coming from AS.

While that’s likely to come as a minor disappointment to supporters, this could still be a good thing for Zinedine Zidane’s squad.

On the chalkboard

As we approach the opening of the January transfer window, rumours start pilling up.

And this is especially true for the biggest European clubs who are always on the hunt to add to their squad with mega-signings, if reports are to be believed.

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Of course, Real Madrid are definitely one of those clubs but it seems that Florentino Perez, their president, has decided to “cancel” the winter market and skip it entirely, giving Zidane the chance to make something out of the squad they assembled last summer.

And even though this Real Madrid team does need reinforcement in certain areas, this should be seen as a positive because it could give the Frenchman a chance to solve one of his key issues of the ongoing campaign.

Finding the perfect formula

Zidane and the troubles of finding his starting XI are nothing particularly new.

After all, this issue seems to be a persisting one that has haunted the Frenchman ever since the beginning of the 2019/20 campaign.

And unfortunately for Real Madrid, it’s something he still hasn’t been able to solve to this day.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

In fact, the game against Galatasaray in the Champions League saw the Frenchman use his 12th unique lineup in as many games the Galacticos played until that point.

Clearly, injuries and suspension have played a part in that but it’s still quite a big problem.

Adding new players to that squad mid-season, however, could potentially unbalance it even more.

But with Zidane getting a full season to work with the players that he already has at his disposal, he should have enough time to find the perfect formula he’s been searching for all along.

After all, the Galacticos have spent quite a lot of money on signings already and there is definitely quality in that squad.

Getting them to gel and dance to Zidane’s tune are the details that are currently missing and that sort of thing cannot really be fixed with new people joining them.

If anything, that would make the Frenchman’s job that much more difficult at this particular point in time.

So looking at it from that point of view, this transfer update might still be a blessing in disguise for Los Blancos.

Let’s see if Zidane can make the best of it.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

QPR welcome Brentford to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Monday evening, where Mark Warburton will presumably be looking to get one over on his former employers.

The Bees have had an average start to the 2019/20 Championship campaign, currently sitting 12th on 18 points with five wins from their 13 games.

In QPR’s case, the Londoners are performing above expectations and currently find themselves in the playoff places before the weekend’s action kicks off – they are just three points off league leaders West Brom at the time of writing.

If Warburton is hoping to get a result against his former side, then there are two Brentford players who could prove to be a thorn in the 57-year-old’s side…

Said Benrahma 

The Algerian attacker is an exceptionally gifted player who has been a lively presence in the Championship this season.

Benrahma hit an impressive ten goals and recorded 14 assists in the 2018/19 season, and has proven to be a useful outlet in the current campaign with one goal and two assists in 11 appearances.

The 24-year-old averages an impressive three shots per game, 3.1 dribbles per game and 2.5 key passes per game – he has also won the WhoScored Man of the Match award in his last two league games, against Millwall and Swansea.

Ollie Watkins 

The 23-year-old has started this season on fire.

After scoring ten league goals in the entirety of last term, Watkins has already hit eight in just 13 appearances this season.

Brentford’s No.11 also averages three shots per game, while registering 1.5 key passes per game.

Additionally, Watkins is fouled by the opposition 1.2 times per game in the Championship, and he really has been a lively attacking presence in the centre-forward role so far this season.

It is no wonder that clubs like Crystal Palace are interested in the striker, and Warburton has a job on his hands to contain two of his former side’s most dangerous players.

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter aren’t happy following the news that midfielder Christian Eriksen is back in training ahead of their Champions League clash with Red Star Belgrade at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Denmark international missed the weekend draw with Watford with a dead leg, but the club confirmed on Monday that he is back in training ahead of the clash with the Serbian outfit in north London, and is presumably in contention to start.

Spurs certainly could do with a morale-boosting three points given they have taken just one point from their two European fixtures to date this term, and they were of course beaten 7-2 on their own patch by Bayern Munich previously.

Eriksen is one of a number of players who hasn’t been at his best in 2019/20, with Football London only handing him out a 2/10 rating for his performance in the 3-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion prior to the international break, suggesting it might have been his worst display in a Tottenham shirt.

Supporters certainly aren’t happy that a player that reportedly is determined to leave when his contract expires in the summer is back available, with one saying “announce Red Star loss”, and another simply adding “just get rid”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

The future of Mauricio Pochettino is up in the air at the moment with both him and his team looking in despair following a run of one win in seven games.

He admitted himself that he could be out of a job if results don’t pick up soon and that has led to speculation about who could possibly take over, with Rafa Benitez one name some fans are keen on, and Jose Mourinho amongst those linked.

The latter appeals to some fans and after seeing him paired alongside the outspoken Roy Keane on Sky Sports’ coverage of Manchester United vs Liverpool, with the former Republic of Ireland international saying the Red Devils should sign Harry Kane, some fans have imagined the pair working together.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Their no-nonsense attitude and high expectations of players is exactly what some feel the current squad needs, with one fan stating he is tired of the “Mr Nice Guy” approach from Pochettino.

Spurs’ recent downturn in form is a result of players underperforming, in part, and that is why Mourinho is viewed as an ideal replacement, as players who don’t meet his standards often find themselves out of the team, such as Luke Shaw during the Portuguese’s tenure at Old Trafford.

Here are some of the reactions from fans who would like to see a partnership of Mourinho and 48-year-old Keane at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.