Premier League Game of the Week: Tottenham 4-0 Sheffield United

Gareth Bale was the hero of the weekend for Tottenham as the Welshman scored a superb hat-trick as Tottenham thumped bottom side Sheffield United 4-0.

Bale was the talk of the game of course and after getting the nod to start by interim manager Ryan Mason he grabbed that chance and did all of his talking on the pitch. Too often this season Bale was used as a scapegoat for some of Tottenham’s poor performances but if he goes back to Real Madrid this summer it is almost certain that he will leave the Premier League being able to look at himself in the mirror.

There’s been a lot of criticism thrown at Bale since his loan back move to Tottenham but let’s remind ourselves that with the three goals at the weekend he has scored 9 times in the Premier League and 14 times in all competitions not a bad record when you read some of the accusations thrown at the 31 year old.

The goals did not start until the 35th minute as the Blades had frustrated the home side up until then. Serge Aurier assisted in the first goal with a fine lobbed pass which caught out Sheffield United’s defence and the ball found a charging Bale who neatly lobbed the goalkeeper. Tottenham deserved their goal and that had been their 5th shot on target for the half against the Blades who had had zero. The half ended 1-0.

Heung-Min Son thought that he had made it 2-0 a few minutes into the second half but his effort was ruled out for offside. However just pass the hour mark Tottenham had doubled the lead when Son broke clear and squared the ball to Bale who only had the keeper to beat, still from 20 yards out Bale composed himself at speed and smashed the ball into the top right corner.

Bale completed his hat-trick seven minutes later with a shot from the edge of the area. Pumped full of confidence Bale was more than happy to take his chances and everything was turning into gold for the midfielder.

Son who had worked so hard the entire game got the goal of the game to make it 4-0 soon after. He turned wickedly beating his defender and smashed the ball home, a fine goal that will get better and better with each viewing.

The win for Tottenham puts them on 56 points and they are 5 points behind 4th placed Chelsea. The club have a small chance of a top four finish and at least with this victory have kept that dream alive.

As for interim coach Ryan Mason that’s 2 league wins from two and 6 goals scored and 1 conceded not such a bad start for him.

Tottenham will try to make it 3 wins in a row in the league when they play Leeds United away from home this weekend.

Sheffield United are relegated already and they will play Crystal Palace at home next. The Blades are 9 points behind 19th placed West Bromwich Albion and look set to finish last in the Premier League for this season.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players of Week 34

Manchester City are on the cusp of winning the Premier League title and all they need to do now is beat Chelsea next weekend to confirm it. City won their 25th game of the season when they beat Crystal Palace 2-0.

Leicester could only draw but they still look good for a top 4 spot and Chelsea in 4th are only 2 points behind them. Perhaps the big winners at the weekend were Tottenham who have won both league games under Ryan Mason. Gareth Bale scored a fantastic hat-trick to give Tottenham a boost of a top four finish and they have 56 points.

Everton lost at home for the 8th time this season and that defeat against Aston Villa has more than confirmed they won’t be finishing in a top four position. Relegation looks set in stone for the likes of Fulham and West Bromwich Albion and next weekend could well confirm their returns to the Championship.

Let’s check out the players that dazzled us this past weekend and the ones who earned all the points.

Goalkeeper: Ederson Moraes- Manchester City 7pts

Credit should go to Crystal Palace who lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City but in fact had more shots on target than the champions in waiting. Ederson had to be alert and pull off some fantastic saves to help his team and keep his 18th clean sheet of the season. He now has an incredible 109 points and has been well worth his value of 9m.

Defender: Benjamin Mendy- Manchester City 7pts

Benjamin Mendy now has 27 points from just seven starts and he had a solid weekend as he helped to keep a clean sheet as Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 2-0. Mendy earned extra points for assisting in the clubs first goal of the game also.

Defender: Joao Cancelo- Manchester City 5pts

One of the best defenders this season earned another 5 points and Cancelo has now helped to keep 15 clean sheets. With 78 points he is joint top with Ruben Dias as City’s best defender this season.

Defender: Lewis Dunk- Brighton 5pts

Lewis Dunk had a great game as Brighton beat Leeds United 2-0 and that was Dunk’s 11th clean sheet of the season- not bad for a team who have struggled near the bottom of the league for the majority of the campaign. Dunk has a total of 48 points, with his value set at 7m.

Defender: Thiago Silva- Chelsea 5pts

The veteran defender has blown hot and cold this season and has had some set backs with injuries but he showed all of his maturity and experience as Chelsea won the west London derby 2-0 over Fulham.

Midfielder: Mason Mount- Chelsea 4pts

Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0 to emerge as one of the favourites to finish in the top four and Mason Mount is always a danger. He didn’t score at the weekend but he did assist in the Blues first goal and that was his 5th of the season so far.

Midfielder: Gareth Bale- Tottenham 16pts

Gareth Bale hasn’t always been the dream ticket for Tottenham since he re-joined the club back on loan but when he shines, he really shines. Bale scored a memorable hat-trick as Tottenham thrashed Sheffield United 4-0. With 49 points Bale is ranked as the best midfielder for Spurs and his goal tally for the season now stands at 9.

Midfielder: Kai Havertz- Chelsea 10pts

What a game for Kai Havertz who earned a fantastic 10 points for Chelsea as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0. Havertz  scored both of Chelsea’s goals to give the player a boost of confidence in what has been an up and down debut season for the Blues so far.

Midfielder: Pascal Gross- Brighton 5pts

Pascal Gross scored Brighton’s opening goal against Leeds and the Seagulls never looked back as they recorded a great 2-0 win over Leeds who were in form coming into this game. Gross now has 41 points overall and has been one of the club’s best players.

Striker: Heung-Min Son- Tottenham 6pts

It’s not been a great 2nd half of the campaign for striker Heung-Min Son so he would have been delighted to have got on the score sheet especially as his earlier goal was ruled out by VAR. Son now has 16 goals this season and 86 points in another solid season for him.

Striker: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- Arsenal 6pts

Aubameyang scored an important goal in a season which has not been vintage for the striker through a series of injuries and illness. It was a good 6 points earned though as Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 away from home, in a great result for the Gunners. Aubameyang has scored 10 goals now this season.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players of Week 27

Manchester City finally lost a game and to all of the teams who could have been against they wouldn’t want to lose to their arch rivals Manchester United but that’s exactly what happened as United ran out 2-0 winners. It doesn’t change the league standing much and City are 11 points in front of their rivals. Nevertheless it was a great result for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side and they now look a shoe in for a top 4 place.

Liverpool lost their 6th game at home in a row in what is now a stunning downfall for the current champions. They have dropped to 8th place as Fulham beat them 1-0.

Let’s take a look at the players who made the grade this week in the fantasy football team for the Premier League, the formation being used is 4-4-2.

Goalkeeper: Alphonse Areola- Fulham 7pts

Fulham didn’t just beat Liverpool at Anfield they also kept a clean sheet as they won the game 1-0. Areola had to make some good saves and keep focused throughout and that was the keeper’s 9th clean sheet so far and he has a total of 39 points.

Defender: Matt Doherty- Tottenham 6pts

Matt Doherty put in a strong performance for Tottenham as his confidence grows as they easily beat Crystal Palace 4-1. On top of his performance the player also assisted for the clubs 3rd goal and set his side well onto victory. Doherty’s value is 6m.

Defender: Luke Shaw- Manchester United 8pts

Luke Shaw had a weekend to remember as Manchester United beat their rivals in the famed derby 2-0. Not only did United win but they won at the Etihad and also Shaw scored the 2nd goal to win the game. It was Shaw’s first goal of the season and what a time to get it. The defender now has 45 points so far.

Defender: Ola Aina- Fulham 5pts

Especially in the second half of the season Ola Aina for Fulham has come on, if he isn’t scoring goals which he can do from the back four he is doing his prime job of defending. The player was under considerable pressure against Liverpool but put in a sterling job to shut the champions out. Aina has 41 points and has helped to keep 8 clean sheets so far.

Defender: Michael Keane- Everton 5pts

Michael Keane has been one of Everton’s best defenders and helped to keep his 7th clean sheet of the season as Everton beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in their last game. Keane has been in good form this year and has 32 points so far.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 6pts

Bruno Fernandes is so pivotal to Manchester United and he proved once again how important he is by scoring a very early penalty as Manchester United beat Manchester City 2-0 away from home. That was Fernandes’ 16th goal of the season so far.

Midfielder: Gareth Bale- Tottenham 9pts

Gareth Bale is on fire right now and following his fantastic performance against Burnley, Bale turned it on again to score another 2 goals as Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at home. Bale now has 5 goals and has amassed 29 points.

Midfielder: Mason Mount- Chelsea 6pts

Mason Mount keeps scoring important goals for Chelsea and he has been one of the Blues’ most important players so far in this campaign. Mount has scored 5 goals and has 48 points in one of his best seasons as a professional.

Midfielder: James Ward-Prowse- Southampton 6pts

James Ward-Prowse started the season very positively but in recent months had taken a step back and of course a few weeks out due to injury didn’t help. But he stepped up to open the scoring with a penalty as Southampton recorded a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.

Striker: Harry Kane- Tottenham 12pts

It was another stunning weekend for England’s number 1 striker Harry Kane. Kane scored 2 goals and also assisted in another. Kane has now scored an incredible 16 goals but also assisted in a further 13 and he has 89 points. That makes Kane the best player in all of the fantasy leagues competitions so far.

Striker: Kelechi Iheanacho- Leicester 4pts

Kelechi Iheanacho scored his 3rd goal of the season to help Leicester come back against Brighton and eventually win the game 2-1. The forward isn’t normally a regular but has been given the chance because of injuries and has scored a few goals lately. He currently has 10 points overall but could get more opportunities and his value is 6m.

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Premier League Game of the Week: Tottenham 4-0 Burnley

Of course before a ball was kicked at the weekend Tottenham were the odds on favourites to win this game, but it hadn’t been a kind few weeks for a club who first slipped out of the title race and then seemed to slip out of a top 4 place.

Reports of behind the scenes shenanigans including manager Jose Mourinho happy to publically criticise players and then not play the £220,000 a week salaried Gareth Bale felt like club owner Daniel Levy and Mourinho could come to blows.

Mourinho was told by ex football players that all Bale needs was a friendly reminder of how good he is and a talk. So, when Mourinho announced before this game that he had done just that and would start Bale, like he had in the Europa League games, there was even more of a positive feeling surrounding this one. Add to the fact that Tottenham destroyed Sean Dyche’s team here last season 5-0, and surely we were looking at three points for the Londoners. We wouldn’t be wrong.

Bale took all of 120 seconds to score the opening goal swiftly shooting from a pass by Heung- Min Son. That was Bale’s 3rd goal for the club this season, despite missing a lot of game time and Son’s 8th assist.

This game felt over 12 minutes later when an energetic and rampant Tottenham side had made it 2-0 through none other than Harry Kane scoring his 14th goal of the season, sure there was a slight deflection one could say but it was all Kane’s. The misery of the first half was not over for Burnley and soon it was 3-0 this time Lucas Moura from an acute angle.

The first half wasn’t all Tottenham and to be fair Burnley had a couple of good chances too but then again the home side had 9 shots at goal and were 3-0 up and Mourinho would have been delighted in the dressing room.

In the second half the threat of more goals followed because Bale had scored his brace for the day just before the hour mark to make it 4-0. Son again assisted and Bale in the area shot low into the bottom left hand corner.

There would be chances for Son and Kane to add to the score but the game stayed at 4-0 and it didn’t matter because Tottenham had put in a superb and commanding display.

The club now have 39 points and are in 8th place and have a game in hand over 4th place West Ham. So there is still all to play for in the race for that final Champions League position.

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Premier League: Best 11 Players from Week 26

Manchester City have now won 20 games in a row in all competitions as they beat West Ham 2-1 at the weekend. City are 12 points clear from their rivals Manchester United as they could only draw 0-0 away to Chelsea. The Blues are still unbeaten under new manager Thomas Tuchel and West Ham stay in 4th place in their incredible quest for a Champions League spot.

Gareth Bale scored 2 goals in perhaps his best game for Tottenham since his loan switch from Real Madrid as the London club walloped Burnley 4-0. It was a welcome win for Jose Mourinho.

At the bottom things are getting more exciting as Fulham claimed a draw and they are just 3 points behind Newcastle and Brighton in what could end up being quite a relegation battle.

Let’s check out the 11 players who made the difference in the Premier League this past week.

Goalkeeper: David de Gea- Manchester United 7pts

A whole host of other goalkeepers kept clean sheets and were able to also earn seven points. But the nod goes to de Gea as Manchester United claimed a 0-0 result at Chelsea. The Blues have been brilliant under new manager Thomas Tuchel and they had six shots on target and de Gea really had to be at his best. He has kept 9 clean sheets so far.

Defender: Kyle Bartley- West Bromwich Albion 9pts

Kyle Bartley has had a poor campaign for West Bromwich Albion and his 9 incredible points at the weekend only take the defender up to +1 point. Never mind as Bartley had a weekend to remember as he scored what would turn out to be the winning goal as the Baggies beat Brighton 1-0. 
Defender: Cesar Azilpilicutea- Chelsea 5pts
The talented defender and veteran now at Chelsea made some brilliant decisions in a huge game with Manchester United to keep Chelsea’s unbeaten run under their new coach in tact. The defender has now helped to keep 9 clean sheets.
Defender: Davinson Sanchez- Tottenham 5pts
Davinson Sanchez had an assured game as Tottenham ran out 4-0 winners against Burnley, in what felt like a must win game for the London club. Sanchez earned 5 points for the clean sheet and he now has 2 for the side though he has played less games than the other defenders. His value is 6.5m.
Defender: Luke Shaw- Manchester United 5pts
Luke Shaw is having a solid season and again he showed his qualities as Manchester United were able to take a point from Chelsea away from home. Shaw has helped to keep 8 clean sheets for the Red Devils and is valued at just 6m, he has 32 points so far.
Midfielder: Gareth Bale-Tottenham 12pts
This is the version of Gareth Bale that Tottenham fans have perhaps been missing since he arrived back from Real Madrid. Bale scored 2 good goals as Tottenham crushed Burnley 4-0 and played well throughout. He had an aura about him and looked super confident and the club will hope he can keep this up. Bale has 20 points so far for the club.
Midfielder: Michail Antonio- West Ham 4pts
Michail Antonio has been one of West Ham’s best players this season and he scored his 7th goal of the season as Manchester City beat the Hammers 2-1. Though on the losing side scoring away to the champions-elect would have given him a good boost and his value is 7m.
Midfielder: Lucas Moura- Tottenham 6pts
Lucas Moura scored his 3rd goal of the season as Tottenham easily overcame Burnley by 4-0. Moura had a good game and was very assured in midfield and he now has 30 points.
Midfielder: Ruben Neves- Wolves 4pts
Ruben Neves scored the all important equaliser as Wolves came back from 1-0 down away to Newcastle. That was Neves 5th goal of the season and he is ranked 2nd best in Wolves’ fantasy midfield so far this season.
Striker: Harry Kane- Tottenham 4pts
Harry Kane was there again to notch in his 14th goal of the season as he was on fire and his team beat Burnley 4-0. Kane is having another terrific season and he will hope that his goals can fire Tottenham into a top 4 place. Kane’s value is 14.5m and he has 77 points so far and is 4th in the Premier League player rankings overall.
Striker: Nicolas Pepe- Arsenal 4pts
And from the other half of north London is Nicolas Pepe and Arsenal. Pepe has looked more impressive as the season goes on and he scored as the Gunners came back from 1-0 down to beat Leicester away from home 3-1. This could be a real turnaround for the club. Pepe now has five goals so far.
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Jose Mourinho is right to quash talk of a league title as the media put needless pressure on Tottenham

Everyone’s at it, and it is something that the press dearly love- raising up a team, selling the fans the hype and then watching when it all goes wrong. Everton fans have already witnessed it this season. After winning their first 3 games of the season and then holding the champions Liverpool to a 2-2 draw, there was talk that Carlo Ancelotti was about to deliver Everton their first league title since 1987. After four games….

Aston Villa were next on the agenda because, at one point, a team that escaped the clutches of relegation on the last weekend of the season were now the only side left in the Premier League with a 100% record. Because Everton and of course Liverpool were in the mix we were reminded that there was a 1980s vibe to the league campaign- that’s all very well but were the media jumping the gun? just a bit it seems.

Now attentions have turned to Tottenham, because even though the club have dropped a few points, they are starting to find the goals and form and have crept up to 2nd place, swishing past Liverpool who dropped 2 points with a draw at Manchester City this past weekend.

From their first 8 games Tottenham have won 5, drawn 2 and lost 1 and that defeat came in the opening weekend of the season against Everton, so they haven’t tasted defeat in the league for 2 months. That is impressive, the club have scored 19 goals and only Chelsea with 20 have more. Spurs also have the joint best defensive record in the league conceding 9 so far.

The talk is beginning that the club could be title challengers and for a brief moment the club did go top of the table after their 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the weekend. That victory came courtesy of a Harry Kane goal- his 150th league goal for the club.

Jose Mourinho has been asked the inevitable question that Tottenham are league contenders and quite rightly he has had to bat the question away. Even if in his mind this is how he feels, he will know so well how quickly football changes, that one week you can be 2nd and just a point behind the leaders and within two be down to fifth place and looking over your shoulder at who is sixth and seventh.

Also talking of the title is no good for the players- forget about Liverpool having to wait 30 years, for Tottenham this season it will be 60. That is an incredible weight to carry and it is something that Mourinho will be all too aware about. However even if Tottenham had won league titles in the past decade and had enjoyed much trophy success there has to be some perspective, only 8 games have been played and the gap from 2nd where they currently reside to 6th is just 2 points. There are no big gaps and nothing to suggest that this league title can be wrapped up by any one team.

Let’s look at last season it was Jose Mourinho who was then out of a job who called Liverpool to win the league title and it was November, just like now. Of course the biggest difference was that Liverpool had pulled out an 11 point gap, challengers Manchester City were looking fatigued, and they were the only challengers that season and the campaign of course had started in August and was 3 months old.

Of course there have been moments that have made anyone who loves football sit up and take notice. The first quarter of an hour against West Ham was an exercise in supreme attacking which saw Tottenham score 3 goals. And no one will forget the 6-1 mauling they have Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Tottenham also have the deadliest strike partnership in the league in Harry Kane and Heung- Min Son who have scored between them 15 goals of the 19 the club have netted so far. And Kane has been involved either scoring or assisting in 15 of the 19 goals.

Matt Doherty in defence is current ranked as the clubs best defender with 10 points and he has shown over the past weeks of being a brilliant buy in the summer, it’s as if he has been with the club for a few seasons. Special mention should also go to another defender in Sergio Reguilon who has assisted in 2 goals this season. And of course the return of Gareth Bale with his experience will be very welcomed. The Welshman has already secured 3 points for the club with his winning goal against Brighton earlier this month.

But talk of the title does seem very premature, the club are in the mix but then again so is Leicester and Southampton and the Foxes have actually won the league in 2016 and yet no one is quite talking them up just yet. The ever looming threat of Liverpool remains and the champions are in 3rd place only denied taking over Tottenham by goal difference. And everyone expects that Manchester City will recover to go on a run and we haven’t even mentioned Chelsea who are in 5th and undefeated in 9 games in all competitions.

Perhaps we will have a clearer picture in the next month when Tottenham will have what looks like a nightmare fixture list- Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Leicester. Get through those mostly unhampered and there could be cause to start talking of league run ins. But as anyone who has followed football for years will tell you, in most seasons title talk should be reserved until just after the Christmas period, that is the vantage point where we can see which teams have it and which teams look likely to fall off.

Admittingly Tottenham are heading in the right direction, this is something that Mourinho is fully aware of, he just doesn’t at this point of the season need reminding from the media. He needs himself to remain grounded as do his players as the games are going to come thick and fast, as they say it is one game at a time.

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5 of the best Premier League transfers during the window

The summer transfer window is now closed and Premier League clubs have made a lot of business during the opening couple of weeks of action.

New arrivals were landed as late as deadline day on Monday and managers have a difficult job to integrate their new players into the team ready for next weekend’s action as many squad members are currently jetting off all over the world for international duty.

Here’s a look back over the transfer window to five players we believe could have the biggest impact on your fantasy team this season:

1. James Rodriguez (Everton)
The Colombian star has taken the Premier League like a duck to water with four goals and an assist in his first four starts for Everton. As a result, the Toffees headed into the break as the only team with 12 points.

James Rodriguez has been outstanding as the number 10 in Carlo Ancelotti’s attacking side that have scored a league high 12 goals through four rounds of action. Although he’ll set your fantasy team back £9.50m he has so far been worth every penny.

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Real Madrid set to reduce wage bill further

Zinedine Zidane looks set to clear some more dead wood from his Real Madrid squad this summer with reports suggest James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale are on their way out of the club.

Bale has been out-of-favour under Zidane but still has two years left on his deal at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, worth a staggering £30 million a season. The Wales international is believed to want to see out his contract in the Spanish capital, is already 31 years old and has a long history of injuries, making it difficult for the club to sell.

However, the winger has come out today and said he is open to a return to the Premier League, even claiming that Real Madrid blocked a move last year. If the club can get him off their wage bill it would be huge for the future.

Likewise, James Rodriguez is another big earner who is not in favour with the current head coach. But the Colombian is believed to be headed to Everton in a £20 million deal.

Money for the attacking midfielder and getting him off their wage bill would be a huge bonus for Real Madrid moving forward.

The world footballing giants have already moved Achraf Hakimi on to Internationale in a €40 million move this summer, with Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola as the options at right-back.

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Could latest Gareth Bale episode finally force his exit from Real Madrid?

It was hardly a surprise when Gareth Bale was left out of Real Madrid’s matchday squad to face Manchester City in this week’s Champions League last 16 second leg at the Etihad Stadium. After all, the Welsh winger has been something of a peripheral figure for the Spanish side this season, only making a handful of starts over the 2019/20 campaign.

What was surprising, though, was the reason Zinedine Zidane gave for Bale’s absence in Manchester. “It was a personal conversation I had with him. He preferred not to play,” the Frenchman responded when asked why the 31-year-old hadn’t travelled with the rest of the squad for the crunch match. “The rest remains between me and him but he said he didn’t want to play.”

The true nature of the conversation between Bale and Zidane is not known, but it doesn’t reflect well on the former that he has decided against even travelling to one of his team’s most important games of the season so far. Bale has earned some sympathy of late for the situation he finds himself in in the Spanish capital, but this episode might see him lose some of his defenders.

Until now, the relationship between Bale and Real Madrid had cooled. While the two parties have been tethered together through inconvenience for years, there was an acceptance on both sides that nothing was about to change. The most recent noises out of the Bale camp are that he will see out the rest of his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu while Real Madrid have seemingly run out of ways to get the player out of the club.

The in-fighting had stopped, but this latest episode has the potential to stoke tensions once more. Last summer, Real Madrid came close to moving Bale on to the Chinese Super League only for them to demand a transfer fee at the last moment. It’s a stance they have kept ever since, but if they feel Bale is becoming a toxic influence, rather than just a passive one, in the dressing room it’s possible they could change that stance and forego any fee.

It’s a shame for all concerned that Bale and Real Madrid have ended up in this situation. Until this week, it appeared set to continue until the summer of 2022, when Bale’s contract in the Spanish capital will expire. But what has now happened has the potential to shift the landscape.

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5 more players Real Madrid could sell this summer

Zinedine Zidane guided Real Madrid to the 2019-20 La Liga title earlier this month in his first full season back at the Spanish giants.

The French manager had an aging squad to play with but managed to blood a number of younger players, including Federico Valverde, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Eder Militao and Luka Jovic.

Next season could see further youngsters given a chance in the first team, with Martin Odegaard and Takefusa Kubo returning from loan spells in La Liga this past season.

So far the club have yet to announce any new signings but somewhat surprisingly sold Achraf Hakimi in a €40 million deal for Internazionale. The 21-year-old had looked very impressive in his two-year loan at Borussia Dortmund.

Zidane may simply be happy with Dani Carvajal and the returning Alvaro Odriozola as his options at right-back next season.

Five other players in the first team squad that I wouldn’t be surprised to see leave the Bernabeu this summer are:

James Rodríguez

Following a two-year loan spell at Bayern Munich that saw the German champions pass on the opportunity to make the deal permanent, James Rodriguez returned to Real Madrid at the start of this past season.

The Colombian made just eight La Liga appearances (5 starts) with only one of those coming after the restart. He was originally sent on loan to the Bavarians during Zidane’s first spell in charge of the club, so don’t be surprised to see him leave Madrid this summer.

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