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Borussia Monchengladbach are standing in the way of any Liverpool move for Florian Neuhaus, according to Fabrizio Romano [via Anfield Watch].

The lowdown

The Athletic reported in June that Neuhaus was a more ‘realistic target’ for Liverpool than Premier League options Yves Bissouma and Youri Tielemans if indeed they intend to replace PSG-bound Georginio Wijnaldum.

Liverpool have scouted 24-year-old Neuhaus ‘extensively’ with a view to a potential transfer, according to The Athletic.

The Germany international played 33 Bundesliga matches for Monchengladbach last season, scoring six times and setting up five goals (via WhoScored). He averaged 1.5 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, 1.3 dribbles and 3.6 accurate long balls per game.

He previously had a €40m (£34.2m) release clause in his contract, but that has now expired. His deal still has another three years left to run (via The Athletic).

The latest

Romano corroborated The Athletic’s claims, adding that Liverpool had been in contact with his representative, but the ‘problem’ is Monchengladbach’s stance. They want to extend his stay at Borussia Park for another 12 months, at which point Bayern Munich could emerge as a rival in the race for his signature.

“Neuhaus is a player who is highly appreciated with different skills to someone like Renato Sanches, so he could bring something different to Liverpool and they’ve scouted him, but the problem is his current club,” Romano told Anfield Watch.

“Borussia Monchengladbach are trying to keep him for one more season and he knows about the potential opportunity to join Bayern Munich next summer for 2022.

“Liverpool were in touch with his agent some weeks ago but there’s nothing imminent.”

The verdict

The clear question here is why didn’t Liverpool just pay the release clause. Clearly, they don’t believe that Neuhaus is worth just shy of £35m and hoped to negotiate a lower fee.

Instead, Monchengladbach are now back in control of the situation and they may even have raised the price tag. If that’s the case, then there’s little the Reds can do now.

He would seem to be an excellent signing to replace Wijnaldum, but Liverpool can’t really afford to play the waiting game. They need to bolster their midfield depth this summer to guard against the threat of an injury pile-up, something which afflicted them elsewhere last season.

In other news, this Liverpool star’s tweet delighted many Reds supporters.  

Southampton fans have been reacting to the news that they are leading the race to sign Adam Armstrong from Blackburn Rovers this summer.

The Saints are preparing for the upcoming 2021/22 season after what was a mixed previous campaign – they finished 15th in the Premier League table but did also reach an F.A Cup semi-final. As they look to improve, they are likely to be looking to bring in new players, and it seems they may be targetting a new striker.

According to The Telegraph, the Saints are leading the race for Armstrong, who currently plays for Blackburn in the Championship. Last term, he enjoyed a fantastic campaign, scoring 29 goals in all competitions (Transfermarkt), and this latest report has suggested he will be moving to a club in the Premier League during this transfer window.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Armstrong news below

“Will it happen tho”

Credit: @Farmadelic

“No chance”

Credit: @redsaints106

“this makes me very happy”

Credit: @vestergodSFC

“We’ll probably trip over on the finish line.”

Credit: @wes_cox

“Unless the quoted fee is 8m then I Have more chance of building a rocket and blasting off to venus”

Credit: @MashySaint49

“Saints are in the chase for loads of players and land very few. Getting sick of people crying wolf.”

Credit: @jgj1972

In other news, Southampton are interested in this Euro 2020 man.

Andros Townsend is reportedly subject of interest from Turkish champions Besiktas, according to Sport Witness.

The Lowdown

Predictably, the Besiktas interest in the 29-year-old England international is enhanced by his favourable contractual situation. His deal is due to expire at the tail end of this month, meaning the former Tottenham man is now free to talk to other clubs [Transfermarkt].

Signing from Newcastle United in 2016 [Crystal Palace FC], he has gone on to rack up 185 appearances for the Eagles notching 16 goals and 28 assists [Transfermarkt].

   The Latest

Intriguingly, this potential pursuit may hinge on whether Besiktas succeed or fail to secure Rachid Ghezzal from Leicester City. Following a successful loan spell at the club, Besiktas are said to be keen to secure his services permanently [Leicester Mercury].

Should this deal fall through, the European powerhouses could make their move for Townsend.

Open to a move away, Townsend has spoken this year in an interview with talkSPORT breakfast about one particular offer he has received from abroad, admitting he had spoken to a club from ‘around’ Turkey.

Verdict: Losing Townsend would be a blow to Crystal Palace

Losing players is never easy and Townsend is no different in that regard – even if he has not been a consistent feature in the team at times this season, his experience and quality is an asset to behold for any dressing room.

Once labelled a ‘flying winger’ by previous manager Roy Hodgson, he has provided plenty entertaining moments for the Palace supporters – perhaps most notably the stunning strike at Manchester City in 2018.

Despite this, his departure could pave the way for some younger talent to break through the ranks in South-East London. Having recently parted company with Hodgson, it may be time for large-scale replenishment encompassing all departments of the football club.

David Wagner will not become the new West Bromwich Albion manager this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that The Hawthorns club look set to miss out on the 49-year-old coach, who now appears to be taking over at Swiss side Young Boys.

The former Huddersfield Town and Schalke manager had emerged as the surprise front runner to become Sam Allardyce’s successor at West Brom, after Guochuan Lai blocked the club’s move to appoint Chris Wilder, with the Chinese owner also ruling out a number of other targets due to his lack of willingness to pay a compensation fee.

According to The Athletic, the Baggies hierarchy will now have to turn to a left-field choice or convince Lai of returning to a previous candidate, such as Wilder.

Dodged a bullet

While Wagner does have experience in guiding a team from the Championship to the Premier League behind him, the German coach has not exactly had a great deal of success since.

Having taken Huddersfield to the top flight via the second-tier play-offs in the club’s 2016/17 campaign, and subsequently guiding the Terriers to a 16th place finish in their debut season in the Premier League, the 49-year-old left The John Smith’s Stadium by mutual consent after 22 games in 2018/19, having picked up just 11 points.

Wagner was then appointed on a three-year deal at Bundesliga side Schalke, whom he led to a 12th place finish in his first season in charge, winning nine, drawing 12 and losing 13 of his 34 league games that term.

However, after just two fixtures of the club’s 2020/21 campaign, Wagner was sacked, leaving Schalke while on a run of 18 league games without a victory – with his penultimate game in charge of Die Konigsblauen being an 8-0 drubbing by Bayern Munich.

As such, it could easily be argued that West Brom may have dodged something of a bullet by missing out on Wagner, as the 49-year-old may well have brought his form from his time at Schalke to The Hawthorns, rather than his record with Huddersfield.

In other news: West Brom given huge transfer boost over “magnificent” 28 y/o gem that’ll delight fans

Some Liverpool supporters have been left hugely excited after a report claimed Kylian Mbappe wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

The Frenchman is arguably one of the best players in the world at the moment, starring for both PSG and France in recent years.

Mbappe has scored 132 goals in just 171 appearances for his club side, and at 22, he looks set to enjoy a legendary career, assuming he avoids serious injury.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The youngster has been linked with a stunning move to Liverpool a number of times, with his PSG future seemingly up in the air.

According to RMC Sport [via Marca], Mbappe has told his current club that he wants to leave this summer, with his current deal there expiring at the end of next season.

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Liverpool fans react to big Mbappe update

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter (via LFC Transfer Room) to speak of their excitement at the news.

“@John_W_Henry you know what to do…”

Credit: @BBRYANT98

“HELLO HELLO HERE WE GO”

Credit: @tsrbys

“Well then”

Credit: @Liverpo87055988

“GET HIM TO ANFIELD”

Credit: @Cannsss_

“AND NOW YOU’RE GONNA BELIEVE US”

Credit: @umarver1point2

“Look @John_W_Henry just get this done. Just this one. Just this one exception”

Credit: @Bami_Mave

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to a report linking the Reds with a current Premier League player. Read more here.

In a piece of huge transfer news, it has been reported that Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is prioritizing a move for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho this summer, despite Jack Grealish catching the eye of United’s players.

What’s the story?

According to The Telegraph, Grealish is privately admired by many members of the Red Devils first-team squad, although Solskjaer favours a move for Sancho instead.

The report claims the England international pair are both set to be available for around £75m this summer as United look to strengthen at the top end of the pitch.

Fans will be buzzing

German World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthäus previously described Sancho as the “perfect footballer” in a column for The Sun, and the 21-year-old has continued to live up to that billing ever since.

A quite remarkable record of 50 goals and 65 assists in 137 appearances for the Bundesliga giants has attracted the attention of many of the continent’s top clubs over the last 12 months.

However, it’s United who have continuously been linked with a move for the highly-rated forward after a long-running transfer saga ended in failure last summer when the Old Trafford outfit baulked at Dortmund’s £108m asking price.

Grealish has also been outlined as a potential target for the 20-time English champions after impressing for boyhood club Aston Villa throughout 2020/21.

Despite missing three months of the campaign through injury, the 25-year-old playmaker provided an incredible 12 assists in just 26 Premier League outings for Dean Smith’s side, bagging six goals to boot.

It’s claimed that Grealish impressed United’s England contingent while they were together on international duty, but his good impression hasn’t been enough to persuade Solskjaer to change his transfer plans.

The Norwegian boss is keen to bolster his attacking options as the English giant’s plan for an assault on the title, with Sancho the preferred target.

While the likes of Marcus Rashford, Dan James and Anthony Martial are all comfortable on the left-hand side of the front three, preferring that side so they can cut in on their stronger right foot, only Mason Greenwood appears to find the opposite flank preferable.

And even then, the teenage talent is playing out of position, with many believing a role through the middle awaits the youngster in future years.

Therefore, a move for Sancho over Grealish makes sense and if United do move for hi, it will surely have the club’s supporters buzzing.

As per Transfermarkt, Sancho scored five goals and provided 10 assists in 14 games on the right-wing last season. If the Manchester City academy graduate can replicate that sort of productivity at Old Trafford then a first Premier League crown in eight years could well be on the cards in 2021/22.

And, in other news…Forget Lindelof: Man United must swoop for “quality” £50m prodigy 

Manchester City will become Premier League champions on Sunday if Liverpool beat Manchester United at Old Trafford after they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Selhurst Park this afternoon.

In typical Sergio Aguero fashion on the big occasion, the Argentine scored a superb goal to give Pep Guardiola’s side the lead shortly before Ferran Torres’ well-taken second made things comfortable for the Citizens, who had to be patient before eventually forging in front.

Although the Spaniard had one of his best games in a Manchester City shirt, it was arguably his international teammate Rodri who ran the show against Roy Hodgson’s side. As per SofaScore, the former Atletico Madrid man earned a superb 8.1/10 rating for his performance, which was the best of any player who featured in the match.

During the 90 minutes, the £63m-rated defensive midfielder had a remarkable tally of 133 touches, which was comfortably the most of any player, whilst he completed 109 of his 119 passes at Selhurst Park, resulting in a 92% accuracy rate.

Considering he has averaged 83 passes per game in the Premier League so far this season, it is clear that he produced an excellent display against the Eagles. The 24-year-old was allowed to dictate the play and didn’t disappoint, completing 18 of his 21 long balls during the game, which allowed City to stretch the game and get at the home side’s defence.

Playing in a double pivot alongside Fernandinho, rather than his usual more attack-minded partners Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, meant that Rodri could push further forwards and have an impact in the final third, which helped him contribute one key pass and one dribble, which again is above average for the midfielder.

He was also excellent from a defensive perspective, contributing four tackles during the game, which is twice as many as usual, emphasising just how important he was to City’s victory in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Therefore, whilst Torres was impressive and scored the clinching goal, Rodri’s superb performance should earn him a lot of credit.

In other news… Txiki heading for Man City disaster over 26-goal “winner”, Pep will be fuming

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa could reignite Harry Winks’ career amid Paul Robinson’s suggestion that the Whites should sign the Spurs midfielder.

What’s the story?

The England international has endured a difficult campaign in north London this year, falling out of favour under former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho and making just 12 appearances in the Premier League.

And now, former Leeds and Spurs goalkeeper Robinson has claimed he “would love to see” the midfielder join Bielsa’s side this summer, and insisted he could add a real bit of quality.

He said: “One player I would love to see at Leeds in the Kalvin Phillips role is Harry Winks. He’s not been given his opportunity at Spurs, I think he is a fantastic player. Not only can he do the Phillips role, he can play in midfield as well,

“Someone with Winks’ quality would really add something to that Leeds side. He is able to play more advanced but can do the Phillips role when he’s not available. I would love to see Winks at Elland Road next season.”

Bielsa could transform him

While Winks’ career might have stalled somewhat at Spurs, Bielsa has proven in his incredible work with getting Leeds promoted that he’s a truly exceptional coach who can get the most out of his players.

And in the still 25-year-old Winks, the Leeds boss could find the kind of pet project that excites him, with the midfielder coming for huge praise from former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino.

He said: “Harry has the profile of the perfect midfield player. His characteristics are perfect. When we talk about midfielders like Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta, he’s like this type of player. He has this capacity but he needs to take my words in a very positive way — he needs a lot of work.”

And, Dean Windass has previously thrown his weight behind a potential Leeds move for Winks, saying Bielsa’s coaching ability could be exactly what Winks needs.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I think if Bielsa does stay and brings in his own players, they will be a top four or top six side, and Harry Winks could get into any of them teams. He’s Bielsa’s sort of player.

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“Is he going to play to two sitting midfield players? But Winks can get forward as well. Phillips was once a right-back and now he’s turned him into an England international sitting midfield player. The manager is obviously good on the training ground at developing players.”

A revitalised Winks under Bielsa could see the midfielder once again be the established England international that he once was.

Meanwhile, Bielsa could light up Elland Road with this £26m-rated magician who’s “something special”…

Matheus Pereira is likely to be sold this summer by West Brom as the Brazillian made it very clear that he can certainly cut it in the Premier League, and former Premier League defender Steve Howey believes that he could be a good alternative for West Ham if they fail to land Jesse Lingard.

David Moyes has made it very clear that Lingard will be his number one priority signing this summer but after the England international impressed in the second half of the season, the Hammers are unlikely to be the only potential suitor.

Pereira certainly earned his stripes this season after making the step up into the Premier League seamlessly. The attacker finished the season as the Baggies’ top scorer with 11 goals, which put him ahead of players such as Timo Werner, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling.

West Ham fans will be desperate for the club to pay Manchester United whatever they’re demanding for Lingard to keep him at the London Stadium, however Howey believes that Pereira could be a good alternative if he are unable to do a deal, telling Football FanCast exclusively:

“Yeah, I think he would cost a lot less than Jesse Lingard and would want a lot less in wages, so he’s certainly an option for them.”

Lingard was a driving force behind the Hammers being able to qualify for the Europa League this season as he netted a very impressive nine goals and registered five assists despite not starting a single league game until February.

If West Ham are going to compete at the right end of the table again next season as well as in Europe, Moyes will know that he must improve not just his starting lineup but also his entire squad so they can cope with the added fixtures.

Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has revealed his excitement after a recent report suggested that new Black Cats owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is willing to spend £60m this summer if the club earns promotion to the Championship.

Phillips loves Louis-Dreyfus news

Louis-Dreyfus recently purchased Sunderland from former owner Stewart Donald, a move which delighted many of the Wearside outfit’s fans (Roker Report).

A recent report from The Sun suggested that he was willing to part with £60m this summer if Sunderland move up a division, and this news has delighted Phillips. Speaking to Football Insider, the 47-year-old said:

“It would be massive.

“It would be one of the biggest budgets in the Championship, if not the biggest. It is huge money.

“Let’s hope that they get there so Lee Johnson has the chance to spend that kind of money.

“If Sunderland do get promotion, and that money is spent wisely, with a full crowd back in the Stadium of Light, you start to get a little bit excited.

“We need to get there first though. There is still a lot of work to be done on the pitch this season.

“It is really exciting to hear that though. From Lee Johnson’s point of view, hearing that those sorts of funds could be available, he will be absolutely delighted.”

Huge

As Phillips says, this would be a huge boost for all involved at the club, especially manager Lee Johnson. With such a budget, the Black Cats could put together a squad capable of not only staying in the second tier, but even trying to return to the Premier League.

Of course, Sunderland must not get ahead of themselves. After all, they are third in League One and their hopes of automatic promotion are no longer in their own hands after losing 2-1 to Charlton Athletic last weekend. However, it is very positive to hear that Louis-Dreyfus is willing put his hand into his pocket in order to return the good times to the Stadium of Light.

In other news, many Sunderland fans slam this man’s performance against the Addicks.