Eagles flying high: The remarkable rise of Crystal Palace under Roy Hodgson

Roy Hodgson and Crystal Palace is the perfect match (Photo: Crystal Palace FC)

Stability is a word that is commonly used all around the world, in all jobs and in the life of all people. In football is no different, and Crystal Palace have been in the search for this in many years. It may sound boring to be stuck in the same mid-table place, but it’s also not pleasant to see your team fighting against relegation every season. Stability is something that the majority of Crystal Palace fans are crying for.

Since the club got promoted back to the Premier League in 2012/13, Palace have had six permanent managers, including the likes of Sam Allardyce, Alan Pardew and most recently, Frank De Boer. We all know that changes of managers can help players, but this is not a guarantee. Changing managers most of the times means changing ideas and players usually take time to adapt to a different style of play.

The closest Palace came from the so-wanted consistency was under Alan Pardew. Before the former Newcastle man took over in 2014/15, Palace only managed to win three league games in 20. At the end of the season, Pardew guided Palace to a 10th placed finish, their best in the Premier League era. After a disastrous 2016, Pardew left the club after almost two years.

This season, Frank De Boer was sent packing from Selhurst Park after just five games, four of them in the Premier League. Crystal Palace at that point were not able to win a single point and also unable to score a goal, but it was understandable. For a team used to play a direct, physical and counter-attacking football, the transition to a complete different style can take time but, at some point, pays off.

De Boer showed in his first few games in the dugout what he had in mind for Palace. Some people say he tried to turn Palace into the Dutch Total Football team. At Ajax, De Boer played a fluid and possession based style that clearly worked out, winning four league titles in row in six seasons.

Frank De Boer became the manager with shortest managerial spell in the Premier League (Photo: Sky Sports)

Something to keep in mind when speaking of De Boer’s tenure at Crystal Palace is that the squad was basically built by former managers, players that on paper, are suited to a different footballing approach. One transfer window isn’t enough to build a squad with players of choice, although Palace already had good technicians in Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic.

I spoke to Jim Daly, formerly of football.london and ESPN, and host of the Five Year Plan, a Palace podcast which is one of the biggest club podcasts in England. Jim told:

I think Frank De Boer needed to learn about the Premier League, needed to learn how to manage games in the Premier League, needed to become tactically a bit more aware. I think that would’ve come, he would’ve learn those things through more games.

Obviously four league games and one cup game is not a lot of time at all and actually, at his last game at Burnley when we lost 1-0, we really should’ve won, we were all over them. I remember coming away from that game thinking: “Okay, I think he is starting to learn now”. We played much better, a lot more organised and I thought he might have been turning the corner at that point. Of course, the next day, he was fired.

When the dutchman got the sack, Palace made it clear they wanted one man and one man only. Born in Croydon, a Palace fan and experienced manager who did the trick of saving a club from relegation previously. A perfect match isn’t it? One day after De Boer’s departure, the club announced Roy Hodgson.

Being involved with the managerial scenario since 1976, Roy is often remembered for his rather unsuccessful spell as England manager, which lasted four years. With The Three Lions, Roy’s side got knocked out on the group stage in Brazil and later followed a disappointing elimination to Iceland in the Euros.

He is way to long in the tooth, he is too experienced, he has been through all this too many times to care about what happened with England, Jim said.

If anything, everytime he talks about England, he is very proud about the fact he got to manage his country.

I think that in football, managers and players, mostly, they look forward. They never look back. Because they can get bogged down in nostalgia and it can stop you from pushing forward.

This was the main thing for Roy: Look forward. Palace came knocking on his door knowing that he was unsuccessful with England, but that was Crystal Palace not England. Jim said that Roy felt Palace was the place for him to be, and this is exactly the case.

I’ve said it before, it’s the perfect match. Roy Hodgson started his lackluster playing career at Palace, before going down the leagues. If anything, Roy sees this jobs as an opportunity to getting back to the roots, helping a club that have always had a meaning to him. Palace was the right place to him move forward and this is proving to be right.

Since his arrival at South London, Palace are 8th in the Premier League by recent form, including a run of just one defeat in 13 games, with a great game against Manchester City that ended in a 0-0 draw. Making Roy’s impact even more clearer, since he took over, Palace’s defence is the 5th best in the league. Since his appointment, Palace have conceded 16 goals in as many games, a huge improvement compared to the 17 conceded under Frank De Boer.

Certainly that improvement on the defensive side has a touch of Roy’s player management. Talking with Jim, he said that one of the main changes made by Roy was getting players believing in themselves again, being more organised on the pitch and working hard on the training ground. Danny Murphy told on Match of the Day how Roy demands in the training. He pushes the players to their limits and as for Palace, it’s definitely playing off.

Players improving

Bakary Sako is arguably the player who took the most of Roy’s taking over. Signed from Wolves on a free transfer in 2015, the former Saint-Etienne man had a prolific season in the Championship and appeared to be a player that would improve Palace with pace and strength.

Despite dealing with injuries in his time at Croydon, missing 20 games in total, Sako wasn’t given a chance to prove himself under previous managers. Last season, the Mali international played only seven times in the Premier League, a tally he has doubled this season.

Another number that stands out are his goals. In the seven games he’s played in the Premier League under Roy Hodgson, Bakary Sako matched his goal total for Palace in the whole of the two previous seasons. Despite starting just five games, Sako is Palace’s top scorer this season in all competitions.

This recent and big improvement by Sako is not an accident. Here is what Jim had to say about him:

Sako is the perfect example of a Roy player getting confidence. He kinda believes he is better than he is, he is a sort of decent Championship winger/striker, but he plays like he thinks he is Ronaldinho and it works. He has scored in the last few games, was brilliant against Burnley in the weekend and it all comes from this big self-confidence and clearly Roy helped getting it into him.

Yes, Sako may not be the best winger in the Premier League and not even in the Championship but, as Jim said, this is what Roy does with players. He gets them believing in themselves and as an attacking player, if he gets a bit confidence, he can get going and have a big impact.

On Palace’s last game against Burnley, which ended in a 1-0 for Roy’s side, Sako gave Palace the winner, taking the ball on the left and making a great run inside before putting it away. Despite from scoring the goal, Sako helped Palace pressure Burnley from the front and pay back the trust given by Roy.

Embed from Getty Images

Another thing that stands out for Palace in this recent run is their defence. I’ve already said it, they are the 5th best defence in the Premier League since Roy came in. Maybe the biggest answer for this is that Roy got his players ready, do the job whenever they are called upon. That’s been the case with Crystal Palace’s defenders.

Palace have the second most injuries in the Premier League, with eight. From these eight, four of them are defenders, most notably Scott Dann and Mamadou Sakho, probably Palace’s best centre-back duo. With Dann out indefinetely and Sakho only scheduled to return in February, the injuries left Roy with James Tomkins, Martin Kelly and Damien Delaney as centre-back options.

Despite not being starters by any means, these players are doing a great job. Tomkins and Kelly started together in the last two games and Palace ended up winning both, games that considering the league table, Palace were underdogs.

Wilfried Zaha didn’t get to see much of De Boer, being injured in the whole tenure of the dutchman. However, Zaha has been one of the most influential players under Roy Hodgson.

So far this season, Zaha have scored four goals, including an important one against Chelsea at Selhurst Park, Palace’s first Premier League win of the season back in October. With his goals this season, Zaha bettered all of his Palace seasons since rejoining the club from Manchester United, apart from the last, where he scored seven times.

With pretty much half of the season left, Zaha can have is best goalscoring season in his career at Palace, being the main attacking threat in the team. With pace, skill and physicality, Zaha can lead Palace to their best times in recent history. Also, Zaha is adored by the fans, another reason why he’s always been brilliant in South London.

What Palace expect moving forward?

January will have a big impact in the rest of Palace’s season (Photo: Press Association)

After turning Palace’s fortunes around, all Roy needs to do is keep going. Keep growing the confidence of the players and working hard, then all will come.

Injuries have been a thorn in the side for Palace this season and it won’t be surprising to see Palace active in the rest of the transfer window. Recently, Roy Hodgson said the club would be ideally looking at signing four players and according to reports, a striker and goalkeepers are the priority.

Steve Parish was in the last episode of Jim’s podcast and told what was the plan for the club in the transfer window:

The striker thing is well documented, but the striker market is unbelievably difficult. Everybody is out there looking for one. It isn’t the force of your will that gets these things done, and we have to bring the right characters as well.

Everyone is looking for first-teamers in January. If we’re sitting in our boardroom then Swansea and Southampton will be talking about the same players in many respects.

People know about the odd player we’re linked to, and you pretty much get offered every player.

Jim also told me that Palace planned to do a major shake-up in the squad, but the club changed their stance due to Roy’s incredible turnaround. But we still can expect the club to make some bussiness due to high number of injuries to important players, with Scott Dann, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jeffrey Schlupp as examples.

The main name linked with Crystal Palace is West Ham forward Diafra Sakho, who saw game time limited recently. Other forward names that are being discussed by the media are Kouma Babacar, playing his trade in Fiorentina, and there is rumoured interest in Liverpool’s Danny Ings.

The goalkeeper is another position that Palace may be looking to strength, with only Wayne Hennessey and Julian Speroni as first-teamers. According to swedish paper Expressen, Palace are interest in Copenhagen’s goalkeeper and Sweden international Robin Olsen.

As for the expectations from the fans, Jim told me that all Palace supporters want is stability.

As Roy not being a long-term prospect, all he can do is put Palace in confortable situation to his successor. With Palace now in 12th, keep the good run going is vital to stay up in a season that they looked to be destined for the Championship. Stability is the key word for Palace fans and what Roy has been able to do so far gives them big hopes of that.

Gabriel Coelho

 

PS: Huge shout-out to Jim Daly for helping me with this piece. His insight on Crystal Palace and Roy Hodgson was vital to give life into this. I’ll leave his links down below:

Youtube

Twitter

Five Year Plan podcast

 

Coutinho’s journey to Barcelona is finally over and Liverpool should move on

It’s over, at least a big part of Liverpool fans can say that with some happiness. The story of speculations, newspapers talking nonsense for a big part of the season and faked injuries is over. Philippe Coutinho had his wish granted and got his dream move to Barcelona, becoming the second most expensive player of all time, being sold for £142m.

Honestly, I can say this transfer was good for both sides. Barcelona got their man and Liverpool got the money they wanted, after holding the deal in the summer transfer window. Besides of the great player Coutinho is and the fact that he was adored by many Liverpool fans, we can say Coutinho was never the most decisive player in his five years at Merseyside. He played alongside Suarez, Gerrard and now with Salah and Mané, players who usually deliever in big moments. Not that Coutinho didn’t, but he went missing in many big occasions in his time at Liverpool.

The brazilian leaves Liverpool, after a whole season of speculation (Photo: Getty Images)

At the start of the season, Liverpool showed that they can get results without Coutinho. In fact, in stats shown by Sky Sports, Liverpool have won more games when Coutinho wasn’t playing. When he didn’t play, The Reds won 71% of their 14 games, compared to just 44% when he was on the field. It’s obvious that when Coutinho played, the midfield got more creativity and magic, but these qualities can be found in other players and this is how Liverpool think and hope to reinvest the money received from the transfer.

As I said before, Coutinho is a great player and possesses an ability hard to find, but he is also a player that can be replaced. The main name mentioned by the Liverpool Echo is Thomas Lemar. Despite Sky Sports claiming Liverpool won’t go for him, The Echo says he is top of the list to replace Coutinho. Lemar’s season has not been the greatest so far, with only four goals and four assists, but last season he was influential in Monaco’s title campaing, scoring nine goals and contributing with 11 assists.

According to the Liverpool Echo, Thomas Lemar is the main name to replace Coutinho, with Draxler and Brandt as options (Photo: Getty Images)

Other names mentioned are Julian Draxler and Julian Brandt, a player that interested Liverpool last season. Both, similarly to Coutinho, can play in midfield or as wingers. Draxler started 17 games for PSG this season, scoring seven goals and making four assists. The german is also known by Klopp, having played in the Bundesliga for Schalke 04 and Wolfsburg, being a player with similar playing of Coutinho.

Now going back to the transfer itself. The way Barcelona and the media, especially the spanish, behave in the whole journey was a disgrace. We saw Nike, Barcelona’s kit supplier, announcing Coutinho before he joined and newspapers creating stories through the whole season. After all that, we even heard Barcelona players speaking about Coutinho in public, something that can be seen as an illegal practice, once Liverpool didn’t give them permission to talk about Coutinho in the way they did and try to convince him to join them.

Many people questioned Liverpool about selling Coutinho midway through the season. There are a few differences that made Liverpool sell Coutinho now. Firstly, they got the wanted money, something that didn’t happened in the summer and held the transfer back. And also, Coutinho made it clear he wanted to leave now and, despite all eforts, Liverpool were not able to convince him to stay.

Anyway, this whole situation shows the power the player has compared to the club. Through the whole season, Klopp and Liverpool made it very clear that Coutinho was an important player and he wouldn’t leave. However, we saw that at the end, the player power prevail and that no player can be bigger than the club, as Klopp says in a declaration regarding the transfer on Liverpool’s website:

Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen. Despite that, we managed to keep the player here beyond the summer window, hoping that we would be able to persuade him to stay and be part of what we are looking to do.

I can tell the Liverpool supporters that we, as a club, have done everything within our means to convince Philippe that remaining part of LFC was as attractive as moving to Spain, but he is 100 per cent certain his future – and that of his family – belongs at Barcelona. It is his dream and I am now convinced there is nothing left at our disposal to change his mind.

Of course, it is totally understandable that supporters will be disappointed; this is always the case when you have to say goodbye to someone special. But, as hard as it is sometimes to accept, it is part of life and part of football – individuals have their own dreams and their own goals and objectives in life.

The club received big money from the move, making a profit of £133m. All Liverpool have to do now is reinvest the money smartly and bring more talent than what’s already available.

Coutinho leaves Liverpool having made 201 appearances, scoring 51 goals and became the brazilian with more goals in Premier League history. Liverpool is losing a big and key player for the team. We’ll miss his long range shooting, the passes to Salah, Mane and Firmino, the free-kick and magic, however, as I said before, no one is bigger than the club and Liverpool had to let him go.

Adios Philippe.

 

Van Dijk: Will he be the defensive solution for Liverpool?

Many raised their eyebrows when hearing the news that Liverpool had completed the £75m move for Virgil Van Dijk, from Southampton, making the dutchman the most expensive defender of all time. Many said that Liverpool could’ve signed someone better, that it was too much money. However, something that many people ignored is that Van Dijk was the man Klopp wanted, it was the man Liverpool were pursuing since July, it was Van Dijk or no one. And, after much persistence, he has arrived.

Van Dijk became the most expensive defender in football history, also The Reds’s club record (Photo: Liverpool FC)

Liverpool’s defence have been discussed and slated by the media and, I must say, it should. The Reds defensive line now are one of the best six in the league, just behind Tottenham, Burnley, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City. The picture was totally different until the loss that ended up being a turning point in their season, a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham, at Wembley in November 22nd. After that, Liverpool are 16 games unbeaten, conceding just nine goals in the process, a significant improvement compared to the 24 conceded in the 16 matches previously.

Despite a big improvement, we’ve still seen lapses of their defensive fragilities, like in the 3-3 draw against Sevilla, a game that Liverpool had a three goal lead, and in the 3-3 draw against Arsenal, when they had a two goal advantage. To become a title winning team, these mistakes are often not acceptable, even if they are not frequent. Liverpool are close to become a top team, with explosive attacking power. However, the defensive fragilities shown through the season are holding Liverpool back. And it’s with this mentality that Van Dijk has arrived, to organize and stop Liverpool losing unnecessary points due to individual defensive mistakes.

It’s evident Van Dijk won’t fix Liverpool’s defense by himself, but it’s worth mentioning that the dutchman has been one of the best defenders in the league since his arrival from Celtic in 2015. In more than 60 Premier League games for Southampton, Van Dijk did not make a defensive error leading to goal, compared to Dejan Lovren’s three in the same period. Liverpool’s individual defensive errors were the main problem and Van Dijk is already proven as a more consistent player and less error prone than the defense Liverpool have now.

Captain at Southampton, it’s expected that Van Dijk be the commanding voice at Liverpool’s defense (Photo: Getty Images)

An important ability that the former Celtic man has shown in his time in England is the capacity of playing from the back. Van Dijk himself told Liverpool’s official website: ” I like to command the defensive line and have the ball as well. I like to play out from the back and be comfortable on the ball”. This quality is extremely important for Jürgen Klopp, because in many situations the centre-back will be the man responsible of starting the counter-attack when the team regains possesion.

Miracles in football don’t happen through just one man. However, Van Dijk has brought more quality than any other Liverpool defender at the moment. He was the man wanted by Klopp to command his defense. A leader, a vocal and imposing player. Only time will tell if Van Dijk is the solution, but the hopes are that looking back, this is one of the most succesfull transfers ever made by the club. The Dutch internation might make his debut in the Merseyside Derby, in the FA Cup , on January 5th.

Neil McGuiness, the man responsible of finding Van Dijk when he played for Groningen in Netherlands, spoke to BBC Sport: “I think he is in the top 10 centre-backs in the world – and I honestly believe he can go on to be a great at Liverpool”. McGuiness’s words are all what Liverpool fans hope to happen.

What Liverpool’s summer signings can bring?

In the start of the summer, Liverpool fans expected a big transfer window. With Champions League football back at Anfield and with a big name manager, a bunch of top class players were linked with Liverpool, as the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk, Naby Keita and more.

As we all know, Van Dijk ended up not signing with The Reds and they really needed a defender. However, apart from that, Liverpool fans can look at this transfer window as a turning point, managing to sign some really good players and I’m going to take a look at each one of them.

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool fans can expect big things from the egyptian man (Photo: Liverpool FC)

Mohamed Salah joined Liverpool in June, for a fee of £36m that could rise to £43m depending on his performances. The egyptian already showed in his first few games in the red shirt, especially against Arsenal, what he is capable of. Salah is a tricky winger, who has bags of pace, creativity and has an eye for goal.

He really fits Klopp’s style of play, as he can run in behind the defenders, can press high on the pitch and drive Liverpool forward on the counter. We have already seen this season what Liverpool’s attack is capable of and part of that power and skill comes from Salah.

Last season Salah scored 17 goals and made 12 assists in all competitions, proving that he can be both a goalscoring threat and someone who can create chances. £36m these days isn’t a huge fee and Salah can prove to be one of the signings of the season.

 

Andrew Robertson

Robertson is looking to be a bargain by the end of the season (Photo: Liverpool FC)

For most Liverpool fans, signing a left-back this summer was a priority. Last season, James Milner did a brilliant job but Jürgen Klopp knew that someone natural in the position would be huge for Liverpool’s success this season. Andrew Robertson signed for Liverpool from Hull in late July, for a fee of £8m rising to £10m.

Robertson is player who is young and already has Premier League and international experience. He has signed for a fee that is not too significant and Liverpool made a great job bringing him in.

The scot made his debut for Liverpool against Crystal Palace in the Premier League and he was great. He made a lot of good crosses into the area, pressed really well when he was high up on the pitch and didn’t let too many spaces in behind. By the end of the season, Robertson can prove a lot of people wrong and show what a good player he is.

 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The england international rejected champions Chelsea in order to play for Liverpool. (Photo: Liverpool FC)

The Ox was linked with Liverpool since the beginning of the transfer window and had interest from Chelsea too. Arsenal offered him a new contract that was rejected and apparently Chamberlain was set to join Chelsea. However, the deal fell through because he wanted to play in midfield and Liverpool made a late bid and ended up signing the young englishman.

He is talented, skillful and versatille. He has joined Liverpool for £35m that could eventually rise to £40m and has been followed by Klopp since he was at Borussia Dortmund. Under Jürgen, Chamberlain can reach his potential, playing in his prefered position and can be part of something special that is building up at Anfield.

Ox has bags of pace, is really young, has a lot of Premier League and Champions League experience, and can play in multiple positions. Chamberlain was a starter at Arsenal, which means that Liverpool weakened a rival, which is good for them. We can expect Ox to be a great addition and I’m pretty sure that he will be a success at Liverpool.

 

Dominic Solanke

Signing from Chelsea, Solanke’s addition is a smart piece of business (Photo: Getty)

Dominic Solanke was Liverpool’s first signing of the summer, joining from Chelsea after his contract expired at Stamford Bridge. He is a youth England international, really talented and has a lot of qualities a top striker needs to have.

Dom scored his first goal with a brilliant finish against Crystal Palace in the Premier League Asia Trophy and have shown in pre-season what a great talent he is. In the summer, Solanke won the U-20’s World Cup with England, winning the golden boot award.

With Divock Origi out on-loan for the season, Solanke is expected to get game time at Anfield and show what he is capable of in the big stage. This will be a big season for the talented englishman

Is Andrew Robertson the answer for Liverpool?

A left-back is a position that Liverpool seriously need improvement. Last season, Klopp was fortunate enough and didn’t have many problems in that position, with Milner doing a great job. However, with The Reds in the Champions League and looking to be strong contenders for the title, a left-back is something that Liverpool must go for.

A few days ago, was reported that Liverpool agreed a deal to sign Hull City’s and Scotland international Andrew Robertson, for a fee of £10m, including add-ons. The 23-year-old could turn out to be a bargain, but some doubt if he is capable of playing a big part in Liverpool’s season and in this article, I’ll analyse him and give my opinion if he is good enough for the job.

 

Style of play

Something that may called Klopp’s attention is Robertson’s attacking desire and that he could be a valuable player in Klopp’s style of play. The scot likes to overlap and with his pace and fairly good technical ability, he could be another attacking threat for Liverpool and add more in the team than Milner is doing.

For a defensive player, Robertson creates a fair amount of chances and has great passing, something that could turn out to be great for Liverpool. He also has good defensive awareness and is a though tackler, not affraid of putting himself on the ball’s way.

 

Stats

The former Dundee United player was important on Hull’s relegation campaign and arguably, was one of the side’s best players. He scored once and gave two assists in a side that was one of the least scoring teams in the league.

He managed to do 17 key passes in 33 appearances in the Premier League and created 19 chances across the campaign. He completed 920 passes, with an accuracy of 76%, which is less comparing to Marcos Alonso’s and Danny Rose’s.

In the defensive side, Robertson is a good player and could be improved working with Klopp.  He won 36 tackles and completed 26 take-ons in the Premier League. He also had 59 interceptions, 15 blocks and didn’t make an error leading to a goal, an impressive stat considering he played in a relegated side. His defensive stats ranks him better than Danny Rose, who was in PFA’s team of the season, and Marcos Alonso, who won the title with Chelsea.

 

My thoughts

£10m doesn’t mean nothing for the Premier League sides, with the TV money and sponsorships. Liverpool are getting a pretty decent left-back, who could become one of the most important signings in Klopp’s era for a fee that is not significant at all.

Maybe Robertson won’t be able to make an impact right in his first season, but his stats and what I’ve seen him play show that he is a promissing and talented player, who could become a key part of a title contender Liverpool. He is an improvement and an option that Liverpool need to have, considering they are playing in the Champions League.

I would rate this transfer 8/10.

 

Sources: WhoScored and Squawka

January transfer window guide- Final

So, there it is the final five teams of this guide. I hope I gave you the right information about who your club should sign. Anyways, let me finish it.

Swansea City

Swansea had an awful start to the season with Francesco Guidolin and after appointing Bob Bradley, it looked like things would get better. However, Bradley didn’t work out and now Swansea have appointed Paul Clement, who had a manager experience at Derby County and was assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Despite being fifth-place in the Championship with Derby, Clement was sacked and continued to work with Ancelotti. Clement had the reputation to be one of the best coaches in the world and working with a great manager like Ancelotti, Clement surely has plenty of fresh ideas and experience. He has a perfect opportunity to build his squad in the transfer window and has full support from Swansea’s board.

Someone who could heading to Swansea is Robbie Brady, who currently plays for Norwich. The Eastearn Daily Press claims that Swansea are one of the six Premier League clubs that are interested in Brady, with Leicester as favourites to land him. The Ireland international would be available for around £12m.

Paul Clement is also planning a move for PSV’s Luciano Narsingh, who is out of favour at the Dutch side. According to reports in Netherlands, Swansea talked to Narsingh’s agent Mino Raiola about a move and PSV did give permission for Swansea to start talks over a transfer. PSV would accept a fee of around £5m, with Narsingh’s contract set to expire in the summer.

Two more rumors for Swansea. Firstly is Steven Caulker, who is linked with a move back to Swansea, where he played in 2011/12 season while on loan from Tottenham. With a pretty awful defensive display in the recent weeks, it would be great if Swansea could sign a centre-back. Swansea’s caretaker boss Alan Curtis has revealed that Caulker would be a great addition to the squad and Clement could take this advice.

Last for Swansea, they are interested in RB Leipzig’s forward David Selke. The Daily Mail claim that Swansea, together with Everton are interested in bringing Selke, who represented Germany youth ranks. Leipzig are said to be open for a loan offer.

 

Tottenham Hotspur

After an unbeaten run in the start of the season, Spurs continue a big run of good results, despite losing two games by now. Manager Mauricio Pochettino made big business during the course of the season, offering new deals to his most important players. However, Pochettino had problems dealing with the absence of Harry Kane, even with new signing Vincent Janssen playing, so we can expect Spurs going on the market for an attacker.

There is two attackers that are currently linked with Spurs. According to the Mirror, Spurs are monitoring Hoffenheim forward Mark Uth. The german scored six goals in 11 appearances for Hoffenheim this season and Southampton are also rumored to be monitoring him. The forward would cost around £6m.

Another attacker that could be on his way to White Hart Lane is Bruma, who currently plays for Galatasaray. According to reports in Turkey, Bruma has told his club that he wants to leave for Tottenham. Recently, Bruma liked Instagram posts of him in on a Tottenham shirt, suggesting a move to Spurs.

Everton’s Ross Barkley has been linked with a move to Spurs recently. According to several sources, Barkley wants a move to Spurs to revive his career, after losing space in Everton’s squad. Speculation in the past said that Spurs could use Moussa Sissoko as a makeweight for Barkley, considering Everton’s interest on Sissoko in the summer. Steven Gerrard said on BT Sport that Barkley can fulfil his potential if he leaves Everton, maybe he can take his advice.

On the departing side, Dele Alli is heavly linked with moves away from Tottenham. Some time ago, several sources told that Real Madrid were planning a £50m move for the young englishman. However, after Alli’s impressive performance against Chelsea, plenty of Chinese clubs are looking to offer Alli a wage of £809,323 a week to leave Tottenham. I don’t think Alli will leave Spurs, specially to China, he has a bright future ahead of him and he should stay at Tottenham.

 

Watford

After having a pretty good last season under Quique Flores, reaching the FA Cup semi-final, Watford’s board decided to sack him and hire Walter Mazzarri, who managed several teams in Italy incluiding Inter Milan. Mazzarri’s Watford should not worry about relegation, as the team sit in 14th on table, but they should be aiming higher after finishing 13th and surviving confortably last season. The Watford Observer tells that Watford are looking to add depth in the central midfield area and Mazzarri could invest in this window.

Henri Lansbury is linked with plenty of clubs, including Derby County, Aston Villa and Watford. According to Sky Sports, after Nottingham Forest rejected a £2.5m for the former Arsenal man, they claim that Watford were looking to made an offer for him. Lansbury is out of contract in the summer and could be useful for Watford, considering their search for a central midfielder.

Watford are also linked with another Championship player. Scott Hogan, who currently plays for Brentford was subject of a £10m bid from West Ham and Watford could be another possible destination for the 24 year-old. Possibly, he could serve as a replacement for Ighalo, who apparently is on his way to China. Hogan scored 14 goals so far this season and Watford are looking to offer £8m for him, with Hogan having a price tag of £15m.

According to reports in Norway, Watford are looking to make a move for Olympiakos’s full-back Omar Elabdellaoui . The former Manchester City player is also linked with Bournemouth, West Ham and Hull, who is now managed by Elabdellaoui’s former manager Marco Silva.

The final rumor for Watford is Keisuke Honda, from Milan. According to Tutto Mercato Web, Watford are interested to bring the player to Vicarage Road, but they face interest from Southampton. Honda just started one game this season and is likely to leave.

 

West Brom

Tony Pulis is doing a great job with West Brom this season, with the Baggies hoping to be fighting for European football this season. With a really solid defense as always, the attack is looking to be improving, with Matt Phillips and Salomon Rondon banging some goals for them. However, Pulis is likely to be going into the market in the seach of a central midfielder.

They are linked with three central midfielders. Morgan Schneiderlin, who is more likely to be moving to Everton, after Man Utd rejected an £18m bid from West Brom, William Carvalho and James McCarthy.

According to reports in Portugal, Sporting Lisbon rejected a £30m bid for William Carvalho. The defensive midfielder was linked to West Brom in the past and Sporting rejected a £25m bid for him in the summer. Today, the Daily Mail reported that West Brom have made an enquiry for Everton’s James McCarthy, who fell out of favour under Ronald Koeman.

Another midfielder that has been linked with West Brom is Morgan Sanson, who plays for Montpellier in Ligue 1. The 22 year-old is also linked with the likes of Bournemouth, Roma, Marseille and Borussia Dortmund, according to reports in France. The former france youth international is second placed in assists in Ligue 1 and is having a great season.

Lastly, West Brom are also interested in bringing Barnsley defender Marc Roberts to the Premier League. According to the Daily Mail, West Brom and Burnley are interested on Roberts, who is a regular in Barnsley’s starting 11.

West Ham

It has been a terrible season for West Ham, after moving to the London Stadium. West Ham are 13th, when they were expected to be fighting for European football, struggling in both attack and defense and with their best players underperforming. West Ham fans, this will be a very busy transfer window for the Hammers.

An article in West Ham’s website emerged this week, claiming that West Ham made bids for several players. One of them is Jermain Defoe, who was subject of a £6m bid from West Ham. However, Sunderland want £25m for him, suggesting that West Ham might be out of the race for him.

Another striker linked with the East London club is Scott Hogan, who was subject of a £10m bid. Hogan plays for Brenford and is having an outstanding season for the Bees. West Ham is likely to be offering £12.5m for him in the coming days, a valuation that is close from Brentford’s price tag of £15m

Yet another striker that West Ham apparently made a big is Celtic’s Moussa Dembele. According to the article, West Ham have made a bid of £20m for a player in Scotland with Dembele expected to be that player. However, West Ham’s co-owner David Sullivan dismissed transfer talks about Dembele, saying that the Hammers didn’t make a bid for him.

Yes, West Ham are linked with a lot of players. According to reports, West Ham are also on the search of a right-back. Glen Johnson is one of them, who played at Upton Park in the past and is linked with a £6m move back to West Ham. However Mark Hughes denied this rumor on his press conference and Johnson is reluctant of leaving Stoke.

The other right-back targets for West Ham are Kieran Trippier from Tottenham, Ahmed Elmohamady from Hull and Olympiakos’s Omar Elabdellaoui. However, Trippier’s transfer is really unlikely to be happening, as Tottenham refused to sell him in this transfer window.

The last player I will cover for West Ham is Robert Snodgrass, who is in impressive form playing for Hull. According to Sky Sports, Hull City rejected a £3m offer from Slaven Bilic’s team and have set a price tag of £20m for the Scotland international. Snodgrass is linked with plenty of clubs and Hull’s new manager Marco Silva believes he is valuable player for the Tigers.

January transfer window guide- Part 3

The transfer window is opened for a couple of the days now and I have already done parts one and two of this guide, where I covered some of the big teams in the league and some teams that are fighting for their lives. In this part 3 I will cover Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland.

 

Manchester United

Manchester United fans were hopeful that this season would be a complete change. With world class signings in Ibrahimovic and Pogba, and with a new and experienced manager in José Mourinho, I must say most of people expected Manchester United to be fighting for the title. However, despite a really good run of five wins in the Premier League, Manchester United are 6th, only three points behind 4th placed Manchester City. With room to improve in his squad, José Mourinho is more likely to see some of his players leaving rather than joining.

The duo Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin are both set to leave Old Trafford, with Depay linked with moves to Nice and Everton and Schneiderlin linked with an Everton move too. Man United rejected a £18m bid from West Brom for Schneiderlin and the player is set to reunite with his former manager, Ronald Koeman, in deal that will be around £24m. As for Depay, Everton and Nice were interested in bringing the player on loan before buying him, but Manchester United want the player to leave on permanent basis.

There are some players that could join United too. One of them is Nilsson Lindelof, who currently plays his trade for Benfica. The swedish international was heavly linked with a £38m transfer to Old Trafford, but with Mourinho’s defenders performing well he cooled off his interest. However, it appears that Mourinho has revived his interest in the Swedish defender, after the chairman of Lindelof’s former club Vasteras revealed that Benfica and United are working on a deal.

Another rumor that has emerged on the recent weeks is that Manchester United are willing to give a wage of £220k a week to lure Atlético Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to Old Trafford. Reports says that Mourinho has Griezmann on his shortlist and wants to bring the attacker to Manchester. Apparently, Griezmann has a release clause of £85.5m on his contract.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough’s season has been pretty decent so far, with a better defense than expected but with an attack struggling to create chances. Boro already purchased Rudy Gestede, from Aston Villa for £6m, hoping that the former Blackburn striker will finish the chances as it comes. However, there are some other areas that Aitor Karanka is looking to improve.

According to The Mirror, Aitor Karanka is planning a move for Stoke’s midfielder Bojan Krkic. The former Barcelona academy player reportedly attracted interest by Karanka’s part and Middlesbrough are willing to make a move for the spanish, who made 11 appearances for Stoke so far this season, scoring four goals.

Other attacking player that Boro are looking for is Gerrard Deulofeu, who according to The Mirror, Middlesbrough told Everton to keep them aware of his situation. However, a move for the spanish is unlikely to happen, with Deulofeu prefering to join Italian giants A.C Milan on loan this January.

Boro are also interest in taking Borussia Dortmund’s defender Neven Subotic, who nearly joined the Riverside club in the summer. With speculation about the futures of Ben Gibson, who is linked with Everton and Ayala, who apparently is a target for Galatasaray, a new central defender would be a good addition for Karanka. Subotic suffered the last two years with injuries and is looking to get back into play, with Middlesrbough as a possible destination.

Lastly, Middlesbrough are planning a move for Lyon’s midfielder Clement Grenier, who was a transfer target in the summer. Grenier recently revealed that he had contact from english clubs over a move this January. The former french international revealed that is hungry for playing time and wants to be useful somewhere, with Middlesbrough as possible suitors.

 

Southampton

After a pretty good start to the season with a new manager, Southampton’s good run started to slow down recently. With really impressive defensive work, Claude Puel’s side are struggling upfront, after Charlie Austin got injured and due to that, Puel is likely to go to the market for a striker.

According to reports in Italy, Southampton are planning a £15m bid for Napoli’s attacker Manolo Gabbiadini. The striker was heavly linked with a move to Everton in the summer and is expected to leave in this transfer window. However, the Saints face challenge from Stoke, who are planning to make a £24m bid for him and Wolfsburg, who are willing to offer the same value as Southampton.

Another player who could be heading to Saint Mary’s is Keisuke Honda, who currently plays for Milan. According to Tutto Mercato Web, Southampton are interested in bringing the japanese midfielder to England but face challenge from Premier League rivals Watford, who are also keen on the player.

On the departing side for Southampton is captain José Fonte, who according to Les Reed wants to leave the club in this transfer window, with Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United interested in the player. Another player who’s seen a lot of speculation is Van Dijk, who attracts interest from Chelsea, Manchester City and PSG. However, Van Dijk is really unlikely to leave this January.

Stoke City

After a shaky start to the season, Stoke City finally started to pick up their pace and now sit in 11th, just a point behind Bournemouth, who sit in 9th. Impressive performances from goalkeeper Lee Grant saw him earn a permanent move to Stoke and now Mark Hughes is planning to make some few additions to his squad.

A player that is heavly linked with Stoke is Saido Berahino. According to the Stoke Sentinel, The Potters are waiting West Brom to name their price for the player. When linked to Spurs, Berahino had a huge price tag of £20m but he would be a lot cheaper now as he is out of contract in the summer.

As I said before, Stoke are also interested in bringing Manolo Gabbiadini for £24m and face challenge from Southampton and Wolfsburg. However, also according to the Stoke Sentinel, Mark Hughes will not sign any foreign players for now, something that makes the move for Berahino more realistic.

Stoke are also said to be interested in bringing a defender, with Burnley’s James Tarkowski linked with Stoke. According to the Daily Star, Stoke face challenge from West Brom and plenty of Championship clubs, with Wolves, Fulham and Blackburn all interested on the player. The defender hasn’t seen too much playing time at Burnley and a move would make sense.

 

Sunderland

It’s not been the greatest of seasons for Sundeland, as the team lost their manager on pre-season and didn’t make big signings to keep them out of relegation trouble. The Black Cats sit in the 18th place on the table, with manager David Moyes not having a big budget available to make signings, something that will make Sunderland’s stay really difficult.

According to the Daily Mirror, Sunderland are interested in signing forward Leonardo Ulloa, from Leicester City. The argentinian is not seeing too many minutes and could be on his way to Sunderland, with Swansea City also interested in the player.

Talking about forwards, Sunderland are also willing to sign Emmanuel Emenike, from Fenerbahce. According to the Sunderland Echo, Emenike could serve as a makeweight for Jeremain Lens, who is currently on loan at the turkish giants. However, even if they send Emenike to Sunderland, Lens’s signing would need a fee.

Sunderland are also linked with former Liverpool player Momo Sissoko, who is currently a free agent. According to the Sunderland Echo, David Moyes has held discussions with the Mali midfielder, who had a trial at West Brom in September.

A player who is heavly rumored to be departing Sunderland is Jermain Defoe, who scored 60% of Sunderland’s goals this season. According to Sky Sports, West Ham made a £6m bid for Defoe, but the bid was rejected and West Ham asked Sunderland to set a price tag. Apparently, Sunderland wants £25m for Defoe, while West Ham wants to pay around £15m.

The January transfer window guide- Part 1

As the month of January approaches, the excitement of the transfer window also arrives, with multiplous clubs preparing to do their business, looking to strengthening their sides for the rest of the season.

In this guide, I will provide you information about the players that all Premier League clubs have been linked with and if it will be good for them if they sign the player. I will do the clubs in alphabetical order and the guide will have four parts, covering five teams in each of them.

Arsenal

It has been a tough month for Arsenal so far. They have lost to Everton and Man City, both in away games, while all they title rivals have collected points. Injuries hasn’t been a problem for Arsenal so far this season but Arsene Wenger will have to deal with business in January.

According to various sources, Arsenal are looking to sign Sunderland’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who is valued at £4m. If the deal happens, it’s likely that the keeper will join Sunderland back on-loan for the rest of the season and then settling at the Emirates. The England international have been in a really good form, being vital to Sunderland’s fight against relegation.

As seen on recent speculation, both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have stalled on contract talks and could leave Arsenal. Ozil has been linked with a move back to Real Madrid and Sanchez has attrached interest from China. With these rumors, Wenger is reportedly lining up moves for both Marco Reus and Antoine Griezmann to replace the players. Griezmann have a release clause of £100m in his contract while Reus is really unlikely to leave Dortmund, but they would be amazing signings for the gunners.

Also, According to The Mirror, Arsenal are plotting a move to Valencia’s left-back José Gaya. The spanish has a €50m release clause in his contract, which was signed in May 2015. Considering the options Arsenal has at left-back, Gaya would be good a good signing, but won’t be cheap.

 

Bournemouth

It has been a decent season for Eddie Howe’s men, as The Cherries sit on mid table with no relegation risk whatsoever. However, Bournemouth’s defence needs to be improved. Of course there is some quality players in that area, with Steve Cook, Adam Smith and Nathan Aké, but if Bournemouth wants to make a step forward they need to improve.

There is some quality options available for them. Mamadou Sakho could be one of them, a player who hasn’t been getting play time at Liverpool and is looking to move on.

On the departing side, Everton and West Ham are reportedly looking to sign Bournemouth’s forward Callum Wilson, who would cost them around £20m. Wilson has been one of Bournemouth’s key players and it would be a really big hurt if he leaves in this transfer window, but I believe Eddie Howe will be able to keep him.

 

Burnley

It has been a fairly good season for Burnley, as they sit in mid table, an achievement for a team that was expected to fight against relegation. Sean Dyche has been doing a good job with Burnley’s squad, with impressive home form but with awful away form. The team have just one point away from home and Dyche will need to fix this quickly.

After having his contract with Rangers terminated, Joey Barton has been training with the Clarets recently and is likely to receive a contract offer in the transfer window. He was one of Burnley’s best players in the 2015/16 season and would add a lot of experience and depth to the midfield.

Someone who is reported to leave is defender Michael Keane, who recently got his first cap for England. The former Manchester United man has been putting impressive performances and caught the attention of his former club Manchester United and Chelsea. In the summer, Keane nearly joined Premier League champions Leicester, but Burnley turned down two bids, one for around £11m and the other for £17m.

Chelsea

What great run Chelsea has been having, with twelve wins in a row for Antonio Conte’s side and a big gap on the team below them. However, despite having a really strong side on his hands, Conte is looking to make his squad even stronger with some additions in January.

After the Blues sold Oscar to China for £60m, Chelsea have been linked with a move for Genoa’s Diego Laxalt, formerly of Inter Milan. The 23 year-old is valued at £4m but he won’t be a cheap purchase for Chelsea. Also, Laxalt’s agent has revealed that Antonio Conte is a long time admirer of the uruguayan, claiming that he is really valuable to Genoa, but they would willing to sell him for the right price.

As mentioned before, Chelsea are also looking to sign Michael Keane from Burnley to add more strength on defence, something that is a big part of Conte’s game. Another defender who is rumored to be heading to Stamford Bridge is Ben Gibson, from Middlesbrough. The englishman has been an outstanding performer for Boro so far and is said to be John Terry’s replacement in the future. According to reports, Gibson has a £35m price tag, while Keane would be available for around £20m.

Lastly, according to spanish newspaper AS, Chelsea is looking to exploit Real Madrid’s interest in Thibaut Courtois and make a swap deal for midfielder James Rodriguez, who is unsettled at the European Champions. In my view that transfer is really unlikely to happen, considering how well Courtois is performing for Chelsea but I wouldn’t discard this transfer to happen in the future.

 

Crystal Palace

Just two days after Alan Pardew’s sacking at Crystal Palace, Sam Allardyce was unveiled at their new manager. The former England coach was sacked as national team manager, following investigations from The Telegraph over corruption. Palace are on a really bad run of results but with Big Sam and some good business they could get out of this situation.

There are some players linked with Palace, one of them is Everton’s midfielder James McCarthy. The Irishman is unhappy at Everton and could be heading out of Goodison Park, with Palace as possible destination. However, Palace face challenge from other clubs, such as West Brom and Aston Villa.

Another midfielder who could be heading to Selhurst Park is Morgan Schneiderlin but again, Palace face challenge from Everton, who is more likely to aquiring the Frenchman services. Schneiderlin hasn’t got too much game time under José Mourinho and a move for him would not be a bad thing.

Finishing this first part, Palace have also been linked with two strikers: Aleksandar Mitrovic from Newcastle and Jermain Defoe from Sunderland. According to the Croydon Advertiser, Sam Allardyce would like to reinforce his attacking options with Defoe, who played under Allardyce at Sunderland and was vital to keep them in the league. However, David Moyes has revealed he has no intention to sell Defoe and West Ham has also been linked with 33 year-old.

What Paul Pogba will bring to Manchester United

Manchester United announced earlier today that Juventus have granted permission to Paul Pogba complete his medical ahead of a £89m move to Man United, a move that would break the world-record deal.

Everyone knows that Manchester United are one of the richest teams in the world and they have the money to buy Pogba just by selling Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s shirts, but will he worth the money? Let’s see on his stats.

Stats

After leaving Manchester United in the summer of 2012, the 23 year-old went to Juventus on a free transfer and turned out to be one of the best and most promissing young players of his generation. He made more than 100 appearances for Juventus, winning 4 Serie A titles, 2 Coppa Italia titles and was a finalist of the 2016 Euros and of the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League.

Last season he has played 49 times for Juventus, scoring 10 goals and making 16 assists. In the league, he has created 54 chances of goals and has an average of 1.6 key passes per match. He has an average of 3.3 shots per game and a total accuracy of 37%.

Pogba can be a really good passer as well. Usually, he has 53 passes per game and has a pass completion success of 84%. He has an average of 3.5 long balls per match and 0.2 through balls.

Defensively, he has an average of 2.2 tackles per match, 1.4 interceptions and usually makes 2.2 fouls per game. He has an average of 0.8 clearances and gets past by in an average of 0.8 per match.

His stats are better than any other Manchester United midfielder, as his assists are more than all of the assists of Manchester United’s midfield combined. He will be a huge boost to the team, as his work rates and stamina are shown in a heat-map down bellow:

Pogba’s movement on Juventus’s 5-0 win against Sampdoria

 

Style of play

Pogba would suit everywhere in the midfield area, but his prefered position is as a box-to-box midfielder, where can defend and on the same time help the attack. His defensive skills have improved a lot recently, so he can win the ball and set counter-attacks, something that is a key part of Jose Mourinho’s game.

His shooting is something that a lot of people appreciate on him. For a central midfielder 8 goals is something to be proud of, considering his potential and skills, he still can improve that.

His passing range is incredible and with quick players like Martial and Mkhitaryan, Manchester United can take advantage of that. His vision is really good and he can be a vital player in the creative role for United.

He is a physically powered player, who can hold the opposition with his strenght and get forward using his power too. His concentration is something really needed, his focus is always on the win and this will be key for Manchester United’s push for the title.

 

Does he worth this much?

Letting a player leave for free and buy him back for £89m is a bad piece of business, but is a risk worth taking. He is a really capable player and is one of the most promissing players in the world.

At the age of 23, he is already considered one of the best central midfielders in the world and if you want to sign a player of his caliber, you won’t pay less than the value of his transfer.

 

 

 

Sources:

WhoScored

Transfermarkt

Squawka

OneFootball

 

The Summer Transfer Window Guide- Part 1

After the season ending, the most exciting time for all football fans is the summer transfer window. All the big money transfers happen in this period and will be an exciting time until its end.

As I did in the January transfer window, I want to make a guide, telling you which transfer can happen and who each Premier League club will want to sign during the summer. I will cover five teams in four different days and give you all the information about transfers.

Arsenal

That man in the picture has been criticized for a long time due to not spending on players as the fans would like. Now it seems that criticism will have an end, as Arsenal already purchased two players: Granit Xhaka and Takuma Asano.

The signing of Xhaka was heavily praised by the Arsenal fans, but the signing of Asano left doubt into their minds. He is a talent that comes from a league that Wenger knows well, but the last japanese players that Arsenal have signed didn’t turn out to be anything special.

However, Wenger is still looking to power his attack, with the french striker Alexander Lacazette and Germany international Julian Draxler linked with the club.

After failing to sign Jamie Vardy, Lacazette looks the right player for Arsenal. But it seems that the London club is reluctant to sign the 25 year-old, as the price asked by Lyon is about £42m.

If Arsenal want to sign Draxler, they will have to make a big bid for the german midfielder. Manchester United and Liverpool are linked with the player, but it seems that Arsenal is the most likely destination for him. The fee would be about £43m, which is a big transfer.

 

Bournemouth

After an impressive campaign in the 2015/16 season, Eddie Howe is looking forward to make big transfers and bring some estability for Bournemouth in the Premier League. However, his future at the club could be in the doubt, after the englishman urged as one of the candidates to replace Roy Hogdson as England manager.

The club have spent some money on young players. Lys Mousset joined from Le Havre for £5.4m, Emerson Hyndman joined from Fulham, Nathan Ake joined on loan from Chelsea and Leeds wonderkid Lewis Cook joined for £7m.

The south coast club is still looking to find a replacement for Matt Ritchie and Tommy Elphick, who joined Newcastle and Aston Villa respectively. Liverpool’s winger Jordon Ibe is likely to join the club, after sources reported that both clubs have agreed a £15m deal.

Bournemouth are monitoring Bolton defender Rob Holding, who is linked with Arsenal and Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason, but face competition from Premier League rivals Hull. Both players would cost in a region of £10m.

 

Burnley

After getting relegated in the 2014/15 season, Burnley have won promotion straight back to the Premier League and are looking to stay in the high level for a long time. With Championship top scorer Andre Gray and Leicester target Michael Keane, manager Sean Dyche is looking to strenght his team for the upcoming season.

A viable option for Burnley is take players from the lower leagues and the players that they have been linked with shows that. Iceland international Johan Gudmundsson is linked with a £1.5m move and reports says that the player have agreed personal terms with Burnley.

The Clarets are also linked with Leeds defender Liam Cooper, but the defender would cost around £6m and is also linked with West Brom. Another player that could be heading to Burnley is Aston Villa’s midfielder Ashley Westwood, a player that showed decent football in a horrible campaign for Aston Villa.

Chelsea

New boss Antonio Conte is looking to rebuild the Chelsea squad, after a disastrous campaing last season. After signing Michy Batshuayi for £33m, the next areas Conte wants to bring players are defence and midfield.

A £40m bid was rejected for Valencia midfielder Andre Gomes, who is pushing a move away from the Mestalla, after the club failed to qualify for European football. It seems that  italian champions Juventus are the favourites to sign the Portuguese, who left a good impression during the Euro.

Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci is also linked with the Blues, but they face competition from Manchester City, who had a £51m bid rejected.

Also, Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly could join Everton instead of Chelsea. Reportedly, the Merseyside club made a £38m bid for the senegalese, a fee that could make him one of the most expensive defenders of all time.

 

Crystal Palace

Alan Pardew have made some really good signings for Crystal Palace. The arrivals of Andros Townsed for £13m, James Tomkins for £10m and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda on free, showed the ambition of Crystal Palace for this season.

After Chelsea hijacked the £31m bid for Batshuayi, Pardew is looking to find another striker and this striker can be Christian Benteke. The Belgium international have a under performing season for Liverpool and Palace look set to pay £31m for the striker.