Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to score for Belgium in their 5-2 win over Tunisia at the 2018 World Cup on Saturday afternoon.
The 24-year-old is very much second choice to Romelu Lukaku when it comes to the Belgium national team, but he will be hoping to play a part against England on Thursday night.
Batshuayi was deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea in the second half of last season, but he went on loan to Borussia Dortmund and scored seven times in 10 Bundesliga appearances for the German outfit.
It remains to be seen whether the forward is part of Chelsea’s plans next season, and a number of clubs have been credited with an interest this summer.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257647″ player=”12034″ title=”Three reasons we love to hate… Brazil and Argentina”]
Batshuayi, who is valued at £36m by transfermarkt.co.uk, might well be the perfect centre-forward acquisition for West Ham United in this summer’s transfer window.
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However, it seems that a number of Everton fans are desperate for the Belgian to make the move to Goodison Park in this summer’s transfer window.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the club’s supporters can be seen below:
Tottenham Hotspur managed to rescue a draw against Liverpool on Sunday after a dramatic 90 minutes at Anfield in the English Premier League.
With the Reds scoring within 3 minutes thanks to Mohamed Salah, Spurs had to remain patient for their equaliser, which came through a rocketed Victor Wanyama goal of the season contender in the 80th minute.
Liverpool looked like they had grabbed the three points when Salah scored again injury time, but Harry Kane netted a penalty to score his 100th Premier League goal and bring a point back to London.
Spurs fans were pleased with the result in the circumstances, but had hoped some of their players could have performed better across the 90 minutes including the likes of Eric Dier and Kieran Trippier.
Trippier’s performance rankled many, the belief being that he doesn’t possess enough quality in the wide areas to be an effective full-back force, especially in games against the top six sides in the country.
Supporters took to Twitter to discuss his performance…
It recently emerged that Newcastle United attempted, at the end of the 1996/7 season, to coax Sir Alex Ferguson away from the illustrious and decorated colours of Manchester United to the black and white ensigns of the Tyneside club.
And though the move failed to materialise, to the misfortune of Newcastle and their irrepressible fan following, the affiliation between the two sides has been longstanding.
Newcastle were one of Manchester United’s main rivals for Wayne Rooney’s signature in 2004, and the two clubs have been linked in various ways since well before Ashley’s time. Indeed, their battle for the Premier League title in 1996 remains one of the most exciting seasons of all-time even if the Manchester club did win out on that occasion.
And now, 14 years on, though Manchester United have grown in stature considerably, winning 18 major trophies in the process, they currently sit 7th in the league, having endured their most unsuccessful Premier League campaign in 24 years, and are in danger of losing their seat of eminence in the footballing sphere.
Today, David Moyes has fallen victim to the unforgiving machine of managerial tenancy, and with Alan Pardew’s position as Newcastle manager looking increasingly untenable, the club having lost their last five Premier League games, I think Moyes would be an ideal fit for the Tyneside club.
Pardew currently has the lowest win percentage out of any manager in the history of the club (or as far back as Wikipedia tracks, anyway). That says it all.
His tactical nous is, in my opinion, the worst of all managers in the league – even the intensely dull stratagems of Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes are proving more successful that Pardew’s this season.
His stubborn refusal to deviate from his instantly-recognisable 90s-esque long-ball style has been the source of Newcastle’s downfall, and he seems to completely disregard the seemingly obvious positional strengths of our players who, under the right direction, would definitely warrant a top 8 finish.
The angry protests permeating the Newcastle blogosphere right now should not be branded as another example of impatience or heightened estimations of grandeur from Newcastle fans, as was recently remarked by the bothersome Michael Owen: the grievances are very much justified, and there is a desperate need for change: this is where Moyes steps in.
First, Moyes’ style of play would very much suit the players Newcastle have on their books. Yohan Cabaye may now be gone, but in Moussa Sissoko, Vernon Anita and Cheick Tiote, the Scot would have the kind of athletic and technical players he loves to coach.
Newcastle’s squad is also packed with physically powerful players who can easily go for a more blunt, direct style of play when required. Many of their best results this season have actually come from hitting opponents hard rather than out-playing them, such as the win over Chelsea in November.
While managing Everton, Moyes helmed the team to nine top 10 finishes and five top 6 finishes in the eleven years he was there. Furthermore, European qualification was achieved four times in five seasons between 2004 and 2009. And all of this was attained on a shoe-string budget.
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Though managerial involvement in transfer dealings has declined, Moyes has developed a reputation for scouting intuition, and had been solely accredited for many of Everton’s successful acquisitions over the years. The recent purchases of John Stones, Steve Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo have all proved major successes, having been brought to the club for relatively small fees.
Added to that, Mirallas, Coleman and Baines, as well as club captain Phil Jagielka, senior defender Sylvain Distin and Darron Gibson, all provide a testament to the eye for talent that Moyes evidently has. Hand him the keys to the Magpies transfer kitty and the expertise of Graham Carr and great things could happen at St James.
It is very easy to overplay Newcastle’s stature within English football: the side no longer commands the respect that it boasted in the 90s, as many fans like to maintain, nor can it realistically, right now at least, stake a claim as England’s ‘fifth’ biggest club as it has often been self-branded. Unfortunately, whilst Mike Ashley is still in charge of the club’s running, Newcastle are a long way off that.
Nevertheless, with its irrepressible fan-base, and its longstanding history, it does deserve better. And if the club hopes to restore some much-needed stability, a managerial change is a necessity. David Moyes, therefore, most certainly could help Newcastle to become, once again, a force in English football.
Northern Ireland have returned from Portugal with a favourable result, after the home nation drew 1-1 with the Iberian side on Tuesday night.
Niall McGinn put the visitors into a shock lead in the first-half, and dogged defending kept the away team in the lead until 79 minutes, when Helder Postiga tied things up for the hosts.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill was proud of his players after the game, and felt that it was as good a display as he has seen in his tenure with the nation.
“It’s up there. This is as difficult a place to come, certainly in Europe, against a world class team,” he told Sky Sports.
“All credit goes to the players. They were magnificent. Their work rate, desire, the way they worked for each other – you cannot ask for more than that.
“It was very harsh to lose a goal at the end. Of course, we had to weather severe pressure but at times I thought we passed the ball well, scored a fantastic goal and we’re coming out disappointed with a draw.
“The shape of the team was excellent, the work rate, the way they went about the game, was fantastic.
“To go ahead and stifle Portugal was fantastic. I’m disappointed for the players because they deserved a wee bit more than a draw from the game.
“They have to take confidence and belief from what they did tonight. Their togetherness and spirit has been unquestionable. At times it has been questioned, but certainly tonight they answered that.
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“There is more in this team, because we were down a few bodies.
“We’ve got younger players coming into the team all the time. If they can continue to improve and grow and obviously have more performances like tonight, then if you have that spirit you will always get something in football,” he concluded.
After various reports linking the Hammers with a move, West Ham fans are desperate for their club to sign Xherdan Shaqiri this summer.
The destination of Stoke City’s Shaqiri will no doubt be one of the transfer stories of the summer, as the fiery little winger has an astounding £12m relegation clause in his contract.
The Swiss international, who will be in action this weekend against Brazil, grabbed eight goals and seven assists in a pretty torrid Stoke side last season, so he could certainly make a big impact in a better side.
West Ham are thought to be one of several teams lining up to activate his release clause, with Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool also interested in a move.
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Last week, a report from Football London added to last month’s claims from The Sun that the Hammers are on the hunt, and fans would love to have the 26 year-old in East London.
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Manuel Lanzini’s injury means Manuel Pellegrini needs to bring in some attacking pace and flair this summer, and signing both Shaqiri and Felipe Anderson would be excellent for the Hammers.
You can find the full poll results below, as a whopping 80 per cent of fans backed a £12m move…
According to Sky Sports, Everton are confident of agreeing a Deadline Day deal for Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala.
What’s the word?
Sky Sports claim Everton have been on the prowl for a left-sided defender since the summer – most likely because they have limited cover for Leighton Baines at left-back – and Manchester City’s deal for Aymeric Laporte, confirmed yesterday, appears to have freed up Mangala, who has been a marginal figure at the Etihad Stadium since Pep Guardiola’s appointment in summer 2016. He spent last season out on loan at Valencia and has made just four Premier League starts so far this term.
Why hasn’t it worked out for Mangala at City?
In truth, Mangala was probably never worth the £32million City paid for him and it’s a classic case of a club signing the wrong player for the way they like to play. Even under Manuel Pellegrini, City employed a high line and looked to keep the ball as much as possible, but that philosophy only highlighted the France international’s weaknesses – he’s never been the most convincing on the ball and when the defence is pushed up so high, any mistakes in possession inevitably lead to counter-attacking opportunities. As Mangala’s confidence waned amid heavy criticism of his performances, City reached a point where opposing forward lines were targeting him as a vulnerability.
Can Everton get more out of him?
Most definitely. The 26-year-old isn’t a poor footballer by any stretch of the imagination and Sam Allardyce is the perfect manager to show what he’s really about by reducing his game to a far more basic level – namely, using his beastly physicality to protect the box. There’s a similarity here with Mamadou Sahko; unconvincing and sometimes a liability during his time at Liverpool, but an absolute monolith at the back during Big Sam’s six months at Crystal Palace where vastly improved defensive performances spared them from relegation.
Unlike City, Everton won’t use a high line and they won’t constantly look to build from the back, so there will be far less pressure on Mangala when he’s in possession, and far more support for him if he does lose the ball. That should, in turn, restore Mangala’s confidence and move him something closer towards the powerful defender that was so widely revered during his time at FC Porto. It’s a smart signing from Allardyce and certainly isn’t the first time he’s sought to get the best out of a player whose stock has reached a disappointing low.
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Reading manager Nigel Adkins has ruled himself out of the running for the vacant West Brom job, as reported by Sky Sports.
Numerous betting firms narrowed the odds on Adkins taking over at the Hawthorns in the past 48 hours but the Reading boss has admitted he is not even thinking about leaving the Royals.
West Brom have still not appointed a new manager, despite Steve Clarke being sacked almost six weeks ago.
Caretaker manager Keith Downing has won two league games on the bounce for the Baggies, although the Midlands club were toppled by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup yesterday.
Reading also lost in the cup and Adkins used the opportunity to distance himself from talk of leaving the Royals.
“The bookmakers are covering themselves and this has come out of the blue,” Adkins said.
“West Brom don’t have a manager but all my focus is to try and improve Reading. All the energy and focus is to us.
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“We’ve got a fantastic board and the chairman will do everything that is right for the club. We’ve got to let the board get on with it.”
Reading captain Jobi McAnuff says he has taken some positives out of the Royals’ 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.
The winger was pleased with his team’s second half performance, but admits that the Royals need to play well for 90 minutes to get results.
Reading are yet to record a win in the Premier League, and were put to the sword on Saturday with a single goal from Liverpool’s talented youngster Raheem Sterling after 29 minutes. McAnuff, 30, believes the defeat can be put down to their poor first half performance.
“In the first half we weren’t anywhere where we needed to be to get a result in this league,” admitted the Reading skipper.
“We didn’t really pose any problems and we made it too easy for them.
“We came out in the second half and gave it a really good go. We were a lot more like our usual selves – but we can’t just expect to turn up for 45 minutes and get a win, especially at Anfield.”
The Jamaican international is searching for his first Premier League goal and came close with a long-range effort that was parried away by Liverpool keeper Brad Jones.
“He [Jones] made some decent saves today and it just wasn’t meant to be – but I’ll keep plugging away!
“We feel we’re good enough to get results in this league – in patches we’ve shown that. It’s all about putting it together now,” he added.
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Reading face Fulham this weekend at the Madejski Stadium and will be determined to get their first Premier League win.
Portsmouth confirmed on Monday morning that they had secured the signature of experienced defender Lee Brown on a two-year contract.
The 27-year-old will officially join the League One club when his contract with Bristol Rovers expires at the end of June.
Brown started his professional career with Queens Park Rangers, but only made one league appearance for the R’s before joining Bristol Rovers in 2011.
The Englishman has made over 300 appearances for Bristol Rovers – including 33 League One appearances during the 2017-18 campaign.
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Brown has followed Tom Naylor in making the move to Fratton Park as Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett looks to put together a squad capable of challenging for the playoffs next season.
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The Portsmouth supporters have been reacting to the signing on social media, and it would be fair to say that the bulk are pleased with their club’s transfer business.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the League One club’s fans can be seen below:
Reported Liverpool target Manuel Lanzini scored a brace for West Ham United in their 4-1 win against Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday, and Reds fans have urged their club to sign the 24-year-old.
The Sun reported earlier this month that the Irons playmaker is Jurgen Klopp’s first-choice target to replace Philippe Coutinho this month, and he certainly did his chances of earning a move no harm at all with two goals against the Terriers.
The Argentina international has become a key player for the east London outfit across the past couple of seasons, and he certainly looks to have the ability to play for a bigger Premier League club.
Liverpool supporters were quick to have their say on his latest display via social media, and while one said ‘I’d rather sign Lanzini than Mahrez’, another said he “seems extremely suited to our style of play”.