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QPR fans have seen plenty of players come and go in their time but, for most, none come close to Adel Taarabt, who was an absolute world-beater at Loftus Road until things turned sour.

The Moroccan managed 164 appearances for the W12 outfit, chalking up 34 goals and 42 assists, while also dazzling with his close control and trickery.

Unfortunately, the fan-favourite would be criticised for his weight and attitude before having his contract terminated by mutual consent in 2015, when he crossed the channel to Benfica.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

The midfielder has made just seven appearances for the Portuguese outfit since, though, and has lined up for Genoa (on loan) and Benfica’s B-side more frequently.

It’s a shame when a player who possesses such natural talent goes to waste but some just aren’t meant for the big time – you can check out the best of the discussion on Twitter below as messages poured in on the former fan favourite’s 30th birthday, with some saying he’s the best they’ve ever seen in blue and white…

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Manchester United fans on Twitter have been left bemused by the club’s decision to target Swansea winger Daniel James as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to overhaul United’s uninspiring attacking unit.

With questions marks surrounding the futures of numerous United forwards including Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku, the Red Devils are in need of additional attacking impetus and have been strongly linked with Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.

However, according to The Evening Standard United are not hopeful of completing a deal for the Dortmund sensation and have instead turned their attention to the cheaper and more realistic target in James, who would likely cost between £15-£20m initially.

The 21-year-old Welsh winger has had a commendable Championship season, scoring four times and contributing nine assists in 33 appearances although those numbers pale in comparison to Sancho’s 11 goals and 17 assists in 33 Bundesliga matches this term.

After selling Christian Pulisic to Chelsea, Dortmund have no interest in losing their 19-year-old star leading to Solskjaer’s alternate pursuit of James, a development that has incurred the wrath of United fans on Twitter who feel the club is not showing enough ambition.

Check out the best of the reaction below!

The grind never really stops for Jurgen Klopp.

Not only is he responsible for delivering Liverpool’s present success, he’s also responsible for making sure they maintain their dominance in future. Klopp’s clearly a big believer in promoting youth and has some impressive talents whom he can’t wait to start working on next season.

Among those leads is a certain Ryan Kent, whose excellent work at Rangers won him many plaudits over this season. The 22-year-old’s enjoyed a prolific season under Steven Gerrard, scoring six goals in the Scottish Premiership. The former Liverpool captain’s given him free will to do as he pleases, something Kent’s really benefitted from.

He’s been an irresistible figure in the attacking third for the Gers, with his electric movement and tricky dribbling ability bamboozling defenders. The 22-year-old’s caused nightmares thanks to his ambitious nature, which has allowed him to score stunning goals and trouble opponents with his fiery movement.

Kent (valued at just £1.58m by Transfermarkt) is more than ready to glitter up Liverpool’s attack, being a prolific squad option for Jurgen Klopp next season. The German gaffer must recognize the excellent potential in this exciting talent and slowly integrate him into his style for maximum effect.

Knowing his excellent work with youngsters over the years, Kent’s the perfect player for him to mould into something special. The 22-year-old possesses bags of potential, showcasing confidence moving forward with the ball while also causing destruction in the final third.

If moulded well enough, he could become Liverpool’s leader in attack and keep their attacking flare raging on for years to come.

Liverpool fans, do you want to see more off Kent next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

When Sheffield United announced their retained list earlier this week, the decision not to offer a deal for one player in particular would have come as a shock to many of the club’s supporters.

Having joined the Blades last summer following a brief spell with Middlesbrough, Martin Cranie had to wait until November to make his debut for the club in a clash with Nottingham Forest.

Although his side would go on to lose 1-0 at the City Ground, the central-defender’s impressive individual performance saw him grab the attention of boss Chris Wilder who chose to include him as part of United’s team rotation policy in the second-half of the season.

With the Blades fighting for automatic promotion in the Championship, Cranie used all his experience to help the club overcome the challenge of Leeds United as he played a prominent role in the run-in by featuring in seven of the final ten games of the year.

Therefore, by producing key contributions to the club’s success during the 2018/19 campaign, the defender must have thought that he had done enough to earn a new contract at Bramall Lane. Yet along with Conor Washington, Daniel Lafferty, Paul Coutts and Caolan Lavery, Cranie was released by United on Wednesday (via BBC Sport).

Although Wilder would argue that in the form of Chris Basham, John Egan and Jack O’Connell the Blades already have better options for next season in comparison to the 32-year-old, it may turn out to be a mistake letting him leave.

Having already played at Premier League level before for Huddersfield Town and Southampton, Cranie could have used his experience to help his team-mates make the necessary adjustments needed in order to compete at a higher level.

However, with the club deciding to cut ties with the defender, it would not be at all surprising if they face a season of struggle in the top flight in his absence.

What do you think Blades fans? Was it the right call by Wilder to not offer a new deal for Cranie? Are you confident that your side survive in the Premier League next year? Let us know below.

أعلن يورجن كلوب مدرب فريق ليفربول التشكيل الأساسي لمواجهة ليستر سيتي، مساء اليوم، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويلتقي الفريقان في الجولة التاسعة من البطولة، في ملعب الأنفيلد، في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.

ويغيب النجم المصري محمد صلاح عن مباراة الليلة بسبب إصابته بفيروس كورونا.

ويفتقد ليفربول كذلك أكثر من لاعب للإصابة، مثل فيرجيل فان دايك وجو جوميز وترينت ألكسندر أرنولد وجوردان هندرسون، وغيرهم. تشكيل ليفربول الأساسي أمام ليستر سيتي

حراسة المرمى: أليسون.

خط الدفاع: ميلنر، فابينيو، ماتيب، روبرتسون.

خط الوسط: فينالدوم، كيتا، جونز.

خط الهجوم: جوتا، ماني، فيرمينو. بدلاء ليفربول أمام ليستر سيتي

أدريان، مينامينو، تسيميكاس، أوريجي، فيليبس، كلاركسون، نيكو ويليامز.

[ad_pod ]Rob Elliot was at Wembley to see his beloved Charlton Athletic seal their return to the Championship thanks to a dramatic 2-1 win over Sunderland.

Elliot expressed his delight for fellow goalkeeper Dillon Phillips, who managed to overcome his unexpected error at the start of the game to help see the Addicks through to a crucial win for the club.

The match had started so badly for Charlton when a Naby Sarr back-pass rolled past Phillips’ foot and into the net.

The keeper should have dealt with the pass but he lost his concentration and was punished for it.

Many 23-year-old’s would have crumbled under the pressure – especially with jeers ringing around Wembley every time he received the ball – but he showed immense character to carry on and he made a vital save to deny Grant Leadbitter a killer second goal.

That the victory was at the expense of Newcastle’s fierce local-rivals certainly added to the Newcastle stopper’s delight.

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Rangers are interested in signing Bolton Wanderers’ midfield prospect Luca Connell, according to The Daily Mail.

If you didn’t see what the likes of Mark Goldbridge and Expressions Oozing got up to at the Football Blogging Awards you need to check out the video below…

What’s the story?

With Connell’s contract set to expire at the end of June, the paper say a number of clubs are keen on his services, including Steven Gerrard’s side.

Bolton are not in a position to extend his contract given their current financial problems, according to the report, and the club’s administrators are set to recoup any compensation fee available for the 18-year-old.

Bursting into the first-team this season and making a dozen appearances in the English Championship and FA Cup, any interested party could be getting an exciting talent on their hands for a budget price.

Should Rangers bite?

Such a deal may be tempting for a club like Rangers, especially since Gerrard seems keen on building a young squad full of players who know what it takes to play in British football.

However, Connell plays in central midfield and that’s one of the last positions that needs to be strengthened at Ibrox right now.

With classy operators like Ryan Jack, Scott Arfield, Steven Davis and Glen Kamara all impressing in the middle of the park this season, competition for places is already fierce.

Young guns

Rangers also have young players like Greg Docherty and Jordan Rossiter returning from loans in the English lower leagues, both of whom have won plaudits for their performances.

Docherty in particular appears to be a real talent, shining in English League One with Shrewsbury Town. He played a massive 50 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and assisting 11 times.

Gerrard simply must reward progress like that with an opportunity in pre-season and early European qualifiers this summer, rather than going out and signing more bodies to compete for places.

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Joao Moutinho has been brilliant this season. Signed for a bargain price of £5m, he’s been one of the best additions this term and his performances have typified the fight Wolves have had in 2018/19.

They’ve been stylish and hard-working, two attributes that describe Moutinho perfectly. But in a game which so nearly saw Liverpool win the title, the midfielder failed to find the inspiration capable of helping Wolves to yet another victory over a top-six side.

Fortunately, this was a game with nothing riding on it for Nuno Santo’s men. They’d already wrapped up seventh place so there was merely pride at stake.

However, Moutinho’s display gave an indication of potentially what’s to come next term. It’s been a long season for the club and with a slim squad, that looked to take its toll last Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool’s midfield dominated Barcelona last week in the Champions League and this was the same story against Wolves.

Moutinho rarely got on the ball, making just 37 passes. Whilst for a man with eight assists, the most of any Wolves player this term, a lack of key passes was alarming.

Next season, the Portuguese winner will be 33. At that age, you have to wonder whether he’d be to play the 44 matches he has this season. If you add European football to that, the weight only becomes even larger.

Wolves fans have been great value this season and now they’ve added another couple of belters to their arsenal of songs. Check them out in the video below…

His tired display, which was evident in losing possession twice, shows why the club must find more depth next season.

It’s been a lingering problem throughout much of the second half of the campaign, and after the club lost against Watford in the FA Cup semi-final there were question marks over how small the squad was.

Wolves have been reliant on Moutinho and Ruben Neves in midfield for much of the season but that’ll have to change next term. At some point they’ll need a rest, but if they can find other players to replace them in certain games then they could do even better in 2019/20.

[ad_pod ]Mauricio Pochettino has appeared to call for Tottenham Hotspur to invest in their playing squad, per El Partidazo de Cope.Spurs have finished in the top four of the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, having beaten the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax, where they will play Liverpool on June 1.That is despite the club failing to sign a player in the last two transfer windows and Pochettino has now appeared to send a message to chairman Daniel Levy that new additions are needed.He said: “I will not make decisions about my future (until) after the final, it is important to know what the club’s future plan is.“If we want to return to the Champions League final next year and fight withÂManchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title, we need reinforcements.”

His quotes come amid fevered speculation over Pochettino’s future; he has been heavily linked with the Juventus job in recent days after it was announced that Massimiliano Allegri would be leaving the post.

But fans are confident that he is merely keen to strengthen his squad and that an exit remains unlikely this summer.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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According to Spanish outlet AS, Liverpool are interested in signing Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos.

The news comes after the experienced Spanish international had a falling out with club president Florentino Perez after the Champions League last 16 defeat at the hands of Ajax; Ramos had purposely gotten himself suspended for the second leg so he could be available for the quarter-final.

As a result, the Reds and Juventus are interested in taking the 33-year-old off Real Madrid’s hands, whilst there is also some interest from China.

Luis Suarez certainly had no qualms about celebrating against his former employers in the video below…

Ramos has asked to leave on a free transfer as a side from China have submitted a ‘very good offer’, but they cannot pay a transfer fee.

It would be a hugely controversial move if Ramos arrived at Anfield, given the incident in Kiev between the defender and Mohamed Salah which saw the Egyptian leave the Champions League final early through injury.

So, if Ramos is allowed to leave on a free, should Liverpool get involved? Football FanCast’s writers have their say…

Matt Dawson 

“This would be one hell of a transfer and I’d dread to think what Salah would feel like if Liverpool brought in Ramos. It’s difficult to sit here and say he wouldn’t be a good signing. I’d be lying if I said that. The fact is that the Spaniard is one of the greatest centre-backs out there. If there is a chance to sign him then they can’t afford to pass up the chance. It may hinder Gomez’s game time but just imagine what he could learn from both Ramos and van Dijk. He’d be in dreamland.”

Harry Sherlock

“It’d be very funny; one wonders how Mohamed Salah would react. But he’s not the player Liverpool need. They do need to secure a world-class partner for Virgil van Dijk but Ramos doesn’t really solve the problem; he’ll need replacing in just a couple of seasons. Liverpool would be better off focusing their attentions on a younger acquisition that can play alongside the Dutchman for the next five or six seasons.”

Luke Glanville

“Sergio Ramos is perhaps the greatest European centre-back of all-time. So if any team can capture him on a free transfer, they should – it’s a pure, pure no-brainer. The Spanish international captain may be more of a veteran now, but is only 33 and still able to perform consistently at the highest level. In addition, Virgil van Dijk is crying out for a permanent world-class partner. The only issue is, of course, the friction between the player and Mo Salah, though it’s nothing that a simple handshake can’t solve. Liverpool shouldn’t let it put them off what could be the deal of the century.”