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”.
There was a lot of pre-match amble about the decision to include Demichelis against such an attacking Barcelona side, especially when he was going to be babysitting Messi for the match. That pre-match joking became a reality in the second half when he took down Messi in the area (debatable) and got sent off. 1-0 Barcelona and an uphill struggle for Man City.
2 But playing Silva in a more advanced midfield role was spot on
David Silva showed his class all night long and relished his more advanced midfield role. To be fair you can put him anywhere and he will look world-class, but against Barca he was a leading light. I mean, if Chelsea fans are even saying they would like him, then he’s gotta be doing something right.
3 Kolarov and Clichy didn’t click. Where was Nasri?
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Pellegrini decided to start Kolarov and Clichy on the left but the combination never really worked. It’s obvious he saw Dani Alves as a threat but by not starting Nasri City lacked that attacking impetus.
Arsenal FC chiefs have written off £5.5 million in their accounts to cover the wages of Park Chu Young after the striker failed to make the grade.
The South Korean flop joined Arsenal from Monaco on deadline day in the summer of 2011, but has barely been featured in the Premier League or first team.
The transfer is not one of Arsene Wenger’s key signings at the club, although he first described the striker as a “valuable addition” who would bring “true quality to the squad.” The striker did not live up to his billed reputation, however, only scoring one goal in six appearances.
After spending a season long loan last season at Celta Vigo, the South Korean is now in search of a new club, as the Emirates club have put a £5.5 million ‘impairment fee’ into their recently published accounts.
Despite reducing Arsenal’s profits last financial year, during the last 12 months leading to 31st May, the club have still made an extra £36.6 million, which will give them extra leeway in regards to the financial fair play rules.
Despite taking the loss on Young, Arsenal are still understood to be in a strong financial position, and could acquire two marquee signings in January.
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It is thought that Wenger could buy 2 players worth £25 million each and give them six figure contracts if he wished, come the opening of the next transfer window.
Rangers supporters are hugely in favour of trying to get rid of Bruno Alves this summer, after he was linked with a move away from Ibrox earlier this week.
The Daily Record reported that Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes were interested in signing him in the upcoming transfer window.
Alves earns a reported £28,000-a-week, which is an enormous wage in the context of the Rangers squad, but in 2017/18 failed to show the kind of form that satisfied fans, part of a dreadful defensive line that conceded more goals than any other in the Scottish Premiership top six.
Fans have grown more and more frustrated with him ever since he was signed by Pedro Caixinha and it appears they are not at breaking point with the World Cup star.
A massive 82% of respondents to a poll we published earlier this week want Rangers to axe him this summer.
With a year left on his contract, can they now find a club willing to take him off their hands?
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After a successful training camp in Florida, Rangers return to competitive action this weekend with a visit to Highland League side Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup.
Light Blues fans are currently enjoying an exciting January transfer window in which they’ve seen a number of first team improvements made to Graeme Murty’s squad at Ibrox.
On paper it should be a routine victory for the club against part-time opposition, but as has been shown throughout football history, knockout cup competitions can often through up huge surprises.
While Murty must guard against a humiliating cup upset, it’s still a chance to make multiple changes to his tried and tested first team eleven and perhaps hand out some debuts to some of the stars that have arrived at the club this month.
Rangers fans are eager to see what their new men have in store and what better opportunity than in a match they should dominate possession and chances in.
These are the THREE players that Murty must play on Sunday…
Sean Goss
Former Manchester United academy talent Sean Goss has headed north for the second half of the season to gain some valuable first team football on loan from Queens Park Rangers, having only ever made six senior appearances in his career so far.
That’s a low number at any age, but now 22, he desperately needs experience under his belt if he’s ever going to forge a successful career for himself and after featuring for Graeme Murty’s side in friendlies during the mid-season break, he’s well placed to make his debut against Fraserburgh on Sunday.
Given the lowly status of the opposition, it’s the perfect chance to blend him into the Rangers starting eleven and introduce him to competitive action at the club.
Murty spoke earlier this month about his ability to dictate the tempo of matches and given the Light Blues more composure in the middle of the park, so it’ll interesting to see if the loanee can put this into action from the off.
Jamie Murphy
Jamie Murphy is arguably the January signing that has excited Rangers supporters most this month, with fans desperate to see whether he can inject a bit of life into a left flank area that’s badly needed reinforcement all season.
Murphy is a proven attacking talent and has history in the Scottish Cup itself, scoring five goals in his last five appearances in the competition before making his move from Motherwell to Sheffield United.
He hasn’t had much game time this season so Graeme Murty needs to give him time on the pitch to get him up to speed for tougher Scottish Premiership matches ahead, not least Wednesday night’s huge encounter against Aberdeen.
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Jason Cummings
Another player who Rangers are excited to see in action is former Hibs man Jason Cummings. Many supporters wanted the club to sign him before he made the switch to Nottingham Forest last summer and now he’s finally at Ibrox, they’ll be hoping he can replicate his Scottish Championship scoring form.
There’s the potential he could form a formidable partnership with Alfredo Morelos and fans will be expecting him to score plenty of goals in the second half of the season.
He has a lot to prove at Ibrox given he’s never excelled in the top division of Scottish Football, but Sunday could be the perfect confidence booster, with an opportunity to grab a debut goal or two against Highland League opposition and start his Rangers career in perfect fashion.
It’s the year of the comebacks at the Emirates. Arsenal are finally back in the Premier League title race, Mathieu Flamini is back doing his running man act in central midfield and Nicklas Bendtner is back on Capital One Cup duty.
Flamini was a signing I snarled, laughed, bit my thumb and turned my nose up at after Arsene Wenger snapped him up on a bosman move from AC Milan in the summer. But I’m now eating my words. The same goes for Arsenal’s title ambitions this season.
So with it being already proving to be a season of glorious returns for the Gunners, should Arsene Wenger add to his list of comeback kings in January in the form of former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song? The Cameroonian could provide a simple, obvious and relatively cheap solution to the North Londoners’ physical imbalance in the middle of the park.
Things haven’t gone too well for Song since he left the Emirates for Barcelona in summer 2012. Playing for the most successful club side in the history of the beautiful game is the kind of heavenly calling a professional player at any club can’t ignore, but the 26 year-old’s La Liga tenure has become more of a hell – or rather a melancholy purgatory that the ex-Gunner is trying desperately to escape from.
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Since arriving at the Nou Camp, the Cameroon international has made just 41 appearances in all competitions, most of which have been from the bench and in Song’s less favoured centre-back berth. Cameo contributions to the Catalans’ title-winning triumphs last season means that Song’s Barca tenure can be hardly judged as a failure, on paper at least, but at a personal level, being a regular bench-warmer and part time defender is not what he’d signed up for.
He’s now considering a January departure just 18 months after he left North London for a £15million fee. At the same time, reports in the Spanish media have suggested the Barca management are now preparing to flog Song to the highest bidder in the January transfer window.
So availability is no issue for Arsenal, and neither is finance; Arsene Wenger still has plenty left in the transfer kitty from the summer, and with the Catalans now looking to get rid, they’ll undoubtedly let Song leave for less than the £15million they splashed out on him a season and a half ago.
But would the Gunners gaffer actually want the powerful Cameroonian back? Or rather, should he want him back?
As previously mentioned, everybody at the Emirates is over the moon with the hard-working efforts of Mathieu Flamini in the middle of the park. The Frenchman is aggressive and tenacious, tireless and committed, and he goes a long way to address the flair player bias in Arsenal’s midfield.
Consistent displays against the Premier League rank-and-file clubs are expected – that’s what he’s paid for – but performances against Serie A leaders Napoli in the Champions League, and a second-half showing during the Gunners’ 1-0 North London derby win have been particularly pleasing, to such an extent that some pundits are claiming the returning running man could prove to be a better summer signing than Arsenal’s new messiah Mesut Ozil.
In terms of quality, perhaps not, but pound for pound, you can’t argue that a player who was a 29 year-old free agent just a matter of months ago is already exceeding expectations.
That being said, the Frenchman has come off early in his last two Premier League appearances through injury, and was sorely missed during heavyweight clashes with Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea as a result. Baring that in mind, it’s unlikely a midfielder who has made just 24 appearances over the last two seasons in Italy will be able to make it through an entire Premier League campaign without regular bouts on the sidelines.
Gunners fans will be eager to point out Mikel Arteta has done a fine job in holding midfield over the past few seasons at the Emirates. But I’m of the opinion that Song could be doing much more for the Arsenal first team than the Frenchman or the Gunners vice-captain.
Arteta has transformed from a wide man at Rangers, to a central midfielder at Everton to a defensive midfielder for Arsenal throughout his career. And there’s certainly something to be said for his manner of anticipating loose balls and neatly distributing them from deep midfield.
But in the traditional, English, Premier League sense, a defensive midfielder he is not – he’s certainly more Andrea Pirlo than he is Claude Makelele. Tough tackles, putting his body on the line and marking opponents out of the game are not integral parts of his footballing nature, and in my opinion at least, it’s an intrinsic flaw that will cost the Spaniard and subsequently Arsenal on numerous occasions throughout the season.
Song can provide that natural defensive awareness that Arteta is lacking, and the physical prowess that both the Arsenal vice and Flamini can’t provide. Overall, none of the Gunners midfielders measure in at over 6 foot, or don any particular brute strength or power. Admittedly, since the days of Patrick Viera, that’s not been the North Londoners’ style.
But compare it to the powerhouse engine rooms at Chelsea and Manchester City – the likes of Yaya Toure, Javi Garcia, Fernandinho, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Ramires – and it’s not hard to envisage Arsenal being outmuscled and trumped for height against their title rivals. Last night’s Capital One Cup defeat to the Blues provides a classic example, although it should be mentioned that the Gunners were by no means at full strength.
Similarly, far from physicality taking away from Arsenal’s aesthetic and technical footballing ethos, which has often been the logic behind Arsene Wenger opting against signing conventional holding midfielders in the past, Song represents the perfect balance. The 26 year-old recorded 14 assists during his final season in North London, and his ability on the ball can only have further improved at Barcelona.
On the other hand, there are plenty of Arsenal fans who wouldn’t welcome the Cameroon international back with open arms, and their point of view is certainly understandable. There were countless occasions during his Emirates tenure where Song was found wanting when screening his back four.
The 26 year-old’s positional sense is arguably his weakest attribute, often caught out too high up the pitch and exposing significant gaps behind him. At the same time, his tackling was hardly clinical. During his final campaign with the Gunners, the Barcelona midfielder picked up ten yellow cards, nearly double the amount Arteta gave away donning the same holding midfield role last season. Some would even argue, despite Song being often deployed at the heart of defence during his time with Barcelona, that the former Gunner shouldn’t even be referred to as a holding midfielder at all, with too much free-roaming and positivity on the ball to ever fulfil the services of an anchorman to their proper extent.
Furthermore, Song was a part of an Arsenal side that contained Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, and despite the wealth of fantastic quality, the Gunners were still some distance behind their divisional rivals in the title race. And with Arsene Wenger currently spoilt for choice in the middle of the park, admittedly with several variations of the same type of creative player, there’s arguably no room for the want-away Catalan at the Emirates.
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Even more so, although Arsene Wenger does have a significant sum in reserve for January expenditures, his transfer kitty is by no means endless. Seeing as the Gunners’ midfield is already packed with top talent, even if it’s lacking a player of the physical and powerful Song mould, the leading priority for the Gunners in the coming transfer window remains a striker who can compete with Olivier Giroud and is capable of sharing goal-scoring responsibilities adequately.
But the current campaign remains Arsenal’s greatest chance to break their silverware duck for some time, be it in the form of the Premier League title or one of the auxiliary tournaments. To do so however, to effectively fight on all fronts and keep their title bid intact for the duration of the season, you need an Alex Song ,a physical and combative figure, in your squad. Perhaps not every game, but certainly for the heavyweight, season-defining affairs against quality opposition.
He addresses a number of the issues with Arsenal’s midfield, that has already been found wanting without enough athletic and aggressive presence on two occasions in the last week. Furthermore, with Barcelona ready to sell and Song already planning on leaving, Wenger could snap up the midfielder for significantly less than the £15million he left the Emirates for two years ago – yet another piece of astute business for the Frenchman to add to his wise dealings at the end of the summer.
They say you should never go back in football, but Arsene Wenger has broken that taboo twice already this season. Doing it again for a midfielder established at Premier League, Champions League and international level, that will also provide a positive equilibrium for Arsenal’s lack of physicality in the middle of the park, can hardly be considered an illogical move, although there are certainly more risks than first meet the eye.