Top Premier League Strikers in 2017-18 – Harry Kane (Tottenham)

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Over the course of last four seasons, Tottenham star Harry Kane has established himself as the best striker in Premier League.

He further cemented his position with his performances last season. The England international was consistently among goals and a favourite of fantasy football players. Continue reading

Roma eye Ajax double-swoop

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After the arrivals of Ante Ćorić and Ivan Marcano, Roma sporting director Monchi is still hard at work to improve the Giallorossi this summer after a successful season. The latest chatter regarding potential arrivals in the Eternal City involve Ajax pair Justin Kluivert and Hakim Ziyech. The respective situations of the pair are unique, but nonetheless, Roma Continue reading

Rodrigo Moreno set for World Cup shop window

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The World Cup always offers players a unique opportunity to showcase their talent, and potentially engineer a move away from their current club.

Transfer sagas are regularly an intriguing sub plot to international tournaments, and this summer’s World Cup promises to be the same.

Spain manager Julen Lopetegui caused ripples of controversy with his final 23-man squad for Russia, although given the plethora of options available to him, there was always going to be some tough choices to make.

In attack, Lopetegui has opted for form and freshness, rather than experience, with Diego Costa the only experienced striker in the squad.

The inclusions of Iago Aspas and Rodrigo Moreno raised a few eyebrows, as they meant the exclusion of Alvaro Morata and Vitolo, but form dictates that they deserve their place.

Aspas has had another fine goal scoring season with Celta Vigo, whilst Rodrigo has fired Valencia back into the Champions League for 2018-19.

The Brazilian born front man made only his second competitive appearance for Spain in 2017, scoring against Albania.

His role in the squad if likely to be as an alternative to Costa’s style, either alongside the Atletico Madrid man, or in his place.

This season with Valencia his has offered a versatility, not always seen in previous seasons, developing a fantastic relationship with Simone Zaza and Goncalo Guedes.

With Zaza playing as a central forward, Rodrigo adapted and played wide of a front three, using his pace and directness to run beyond the Italian international.

In other games, in Zaza’s absence, he has played through the middle, his favoured position, providing a goal threat through his willingness to make runs and stretch defences.

His calmness in front of goal, registering 16 in La Liga, is also a real mark of his continuing development, proving he can be efficient and ruthless when chances fall his way.

In Russsia he will have the eyes of the world on him, and as a striker for Spain he will have the additional pressure of being the final piece of the jigsaw to their possession based play.

If he impresses, there will be links with other clubs, with efficient strikers, with pace, always on the radar of Europe’s top clubs.

Rodrigo will be mindful of the issues that former teammate Paco Alcacer has endured after moving to Barcelona, but he is more experienced and approaching the peak of his career.

Machin’s switch to Sevilla is filled with risk

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With the La Liga season finished for 2017-18, clubs are already making moves to secure their transfers targets, ahead of the new campaign.

With gossip columns already filling up on who is going where, Sevilla moved quickly to make their first signing of the summer – a new manager in the form of Pablo Machin.

He leaves Girona, following a excellent first season in the top flight for both club and manager in 2017-18.

Machin established the Catalan side in La Liga, pushing for a Europa League spot at one stage, before eventually finishing in a respectable 10th place.

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Euro Fantasy League Podcast – #18 – Toke Theilade on Russia’s World Cup Expectations

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In the first of the podcast’s World Cup episodes, Dave and Jamie guide you through groups A-C of this summer’s World Cup. Toke Theilade (www.russianfootballnews.com) joins the show to discuss Russia’s expectations at the tournament, and explains just what it means to the people of Russia.

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Sevilla appoint Pablo Machin promises bright new chapter

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A host of managerial changes have dominated the headlines in the close-season of La Liga, with the highest profile switch being Pablo Machin swapping Girona for Sevilla. The 43-year-old has signed a two-year contract at the Andalusian club and the move prompts a new chapter for both clubs.

Early reports suggest one of the Coach’s first signings at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan could be to raid his former club for the services of forward Cristian Portugues Manzanera ‘Portu’, who netted 11 top-flight goals last term. It should be another busy summer at Sevilla with a new Coach attempting to stamp a new playing philosophy on his squad. Continue reading

Chelsea must start signing players soon

It was around this time last year, with the ticker-tape on Chelsea’s Premier League title triumph only just settled, that suggestions surfaced that Antonio Conte wasn’t happy at the club. It’s a situation that was drawn out over the course of the 2017/18 season and now, finally, the Italian is expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

And yet, nothing has been announced. Conte remains the Chelsea manager. There have been reports that Maurizio Sarri, who left Napoli earlier in the month, has held talks with the Blues about taking over, but for the time being Conte is still the man in charge. Chelsea seemingly can’t find a way to get rid of him.

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The season has only just finished, but this situation is already hindering Chelsea’s preparations for the 2018/19 campaign. Many of their rivals are already making moves in the transfer market, with Liverpool completing a deal for Fabinho on Monday and Manchester United expected to sign Fred in the coming days, while the Blues are still working out a way to make a change in the dugout.

This summer must be a transitional one for the Stamford Bridge side. Chelsea have just endured an atrocious season, falling out of the top four and putting up a feeble defence of their Premier League crown. Their squad isn’t good enough and fundamental changes must be made before the start of the new campaign.

And so Chelsea must start signing players whether or not they have a new manager. The Blues operated with a technical director for the best part of a decade, so they have previously signed players without the green light from a manager. They must do it again because time is already starting to get away from them.

The World Cup makes it harder for all clubs to sanction transfers, with players involved with the tournament unlikely to leave their national teams to seal a move to a club. But this season more than any other before, it’s crucial for Premier League sides to get their business done early with the summer window set to close on August 9 for the first time, just over three weeks after the World Cup final.

There are a number of different issues for Chelsea to resolve before the window shuts. Eden Hazard has yet to sign a new contract, with speculation linking him with a move to either Manchester City or Real Madrid. Thibaut Courtois is another who has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal and he too could be on his way out of the club.

Then there’s Alvaro Morata, the £60 million striker who failed to make much of an impression in his first season at Chelsea. There are reports that he could return to Italy this summer. This is before we even get to the reinforcements that are needed at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea can’t wait around any longer for a new manager. They must start making moves now.

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Girona move for Arteta makes perfect sense

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Speculation is growing that Girona are set to appoint Mikel Arteta as their new head coach.

The Catalan side enjoyed an excellent debut season in La Liga in 2017-18, eventually finishing in 10th place, after putting up a challenge for a Europa League spot.

However despite their excellent progress this season, manager Pablo Machin has been lured away to take over the vacant manager’s role at Sevilla, leaving Girona on the hunt for a new boss.

Arteta, who was heavily linked with taking over as manager of former club Arsenal, before Unai Emery was given the job, looks ready to take on his first role in management.

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SERIE A: 5 Players Who Could Leave Abroad This Summer

The football season all across Europe is officially over, so the transfer rumours and speculation have already commenced. With English teams having heavy pockets as always, and the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich looking to upgrade, a few stars of Serie A could look to move for a pay raise, or a chance to win a club trophy. Here are five players that could depart Italy in this summer transfer market.

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1. Jorginho (Napoli)

The regista has been on many teams’ radar over the past season, including the likes of reining Premier League champions Manchester City, as coach Pep Guardiola has reportedly kept a close eye on the 26-year-old. Right when the season ended, rumours began to swirl around Italy and England linking the Italian-Brazilian to Manchester, for a fee in the vicinity of 50 million Euros. His agent has also come out and spoke on his client’s behalf, saying they haven’t yet spoken to new coach Carlo Ancelotti yet, and that they will see what happens in the coming weeks. Roberto Mancini is using Jorginho as a pivotal part in his Azzurri midfield, as he played the full 90 minutes against Saudi Arabia in the 2-1 win on May 28th, 2018. Insiders have already revealed who Napoli could potentially replace the midfielder with, and this adds to the speculation of a potential summer move.

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2. Sergej Milinković-Savić (Lazio)

Is he worth 130 million Euros? According to reports in Italy, this is what Lazio president Claudio Lotito is apparently demanding for teams who want to purchase the young, Serbian starlet this summer. The 23-year-old had a dominant season in 2017-2018 Serie A, scoring 12 goals and adding 3 assists to boot. In addition, he scored 2 goals and provided 3 assists in Lazio’s Europa League campaign. Over the past few years, Milinković-Savić’s name has been in transfer rumours throughout Europe, with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, and even Juventus all said to be interested in the midfielder. His performances, especially this past season has put the world on notice, and he will have the 2018 World Cup with Serbia to either increase his value, prove his worth or even potentially lower Lotito’s demands for the summer. “Minko” has been looking like Paul Pogba in his time at Juventus over the past two seasons, and he may be paid like the Frenchman too.

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3. Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria)

The 22-year-old Uruguayan has played an integral role for Marco Giampaolo and Sampdoria over the past two seasons, becoming the outright starter in the central midfielder role. Torreira’s game is one that you get to appreciate by actually watching him, not through stats. Against the likes of Milan and Juventus this season, the youngster was one of the best players on the pitch; winning possession, covering tons of space, and starting attacks with a pass in-between the lines. Over the last few weeks, it’s been reported that Arsenal and new boss Unai Emery like his style of play and will ask Sampdoria for their price demands this summer, sparking several rumours over his future. He was included in Uruguay’s World Cup roster, so if he performs well, his name will be on many wish lists this summer.

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4. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan)

Over the past 12 months, there’s been nothing but drama surrounding the 19-year-old, and his popular agent, Mino Raiola. His agent has added to the speculation during the season and transfer market, saying if it was up to him Gigio wouldn’t be a Milan player anymore, but his will is to stay at the club he’s grown at. There has been many teams across Europe interested, including Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool who have apparently kicked tires on the goalkeeper. Milan management have stated their will to keep him at the club for a long time, but if a miraculous offer comes in the summer transfer market, the Rossoneri will have to consider and re-invest in other areas.

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5. Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus)

After two seasons with the Bianconeri and winning two scudetti, the Argentine striker may be on his way out this summer. During the season, there were not many rumours surrounding the experienced centre-forward, but after Juve’s last match and scudetto celebration, there has been plenty of speculation around his future. In a shocking move, some reports said he could move to Inter with money in exchange with countryman Mauro Icardi, which would be one of the most crazy swap deals in Serie A history. Former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri may be moving to Chelsea in England, and may recall his former player to join him in London. After investing over 90 million Euros on the striker two summers ago, Juventus will surely not make a profit on him, so the highest bidder would most likely acquire his services this summer.

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World Cup 2018: Lukaku and Hazard to guide Belgium through

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Continuing our series of looking ahead at this summer’s primary contenders in the World Cup in Russia, attention now focuses on Roberto Martinez’s Belgium. Often considered underdogs and outside bets, the Belgians have been improving regularly over the course of the past decade or so, and enter the competition this time around favoured ahead of the likes of former world champions England and Uruguay. While the improvement has been steady, it could be argued that this Belgium squad will be among the finest the nation have ever produced. A raft of stars ply their trade in one of Europe’s top flights, including several Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 stars.

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