Celtic fans react as Forrest is snubbed at club awards night

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Loads of Celtic fans have been running the rule over their end-of-season awards, and plenty of them feel James Forrest was robbed.

After limping past Kilmarnock on an emotional Saturday, Celtic enjoyed their annual awards night on Sunday.

The Bhoys’ goal of the season went to Scott Brown for his thunderous effort against St Johnstone, while Kristoffer Ajer scooped the young player of the campaign award.

Next came the all-important ones of players’ player of the year and player of the year, both of which were won by Callum McGregor.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

There’s no doubting the midfielder has enjoyed a phenomenal season, but fans can’t believe Forrest didn’t win one of the two big accolades.

The winger has 17 goals and 20 assists in all competitions, and has scored some huge goals including a beauty against Aberdeen in the cup and an Old Firm winner.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans can’t believe the club’s decision to snub the 5 ft 9 ace…

Dwight Gayle hints he wants to stay at West Bromwich Albion

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Dwight Gayle has hinted his future could be away from Newcastle United by revealing he’s enjoying life in the Midlands with West Brom, according to The Express and Star.

The 29-year-old striker is on a season-long-loan from the Magpies, in a deal which saw Salomon Rondon go the other way – both men have excelled for their respective clubs.

What did he say?

Asked if he saw his future at the Hawthorns, Gayle replied: “Yes of course. I’ve really enjoyed the season and the fans have taken to me and showed great support. I’m going to see what happens in the summer, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here.”

These quotes could give Newcastle a big boost in their pursuit of Rondon. With Gayle hinting he sees his future at the Hawthorns, maybe a swap deal can be done rather than the Toon paying the reported £16.5million release clause for Rondon, which would rise to £20million if the Baggies are promoted.

Championship is Gayle’s level

Gayle has played 99 Premier League games scoring 21 goals over a period of four seasons with both Newcastle and Crystal Palace.

His Championship record meanwhile is 95 appearances and 54 goals while he also has assisted 15 – this comes from three seasons in the Championship with Newcastle, Peterborough and West Brom.

The stats clearly show that Gayle is more suited to the Championship than the Premier League in every way, he simply scores twice as many.

Gayle played a key part in the Newcastle side that was promoted as champions from the Championship, scoring 23 goals in 32 appearances. However, once they were promoted Gayle only missed three games all season and managed to only score six goals. He also had less shots per game, going down from 2.8 to 1.6.

This could be down to the fact defending is better in the Premier League, but it also seems likely that Gayle has less confidence than he does in the Championship.

The ex-Peterborough man will be remembered fondly by Newcastle fans for helping secure promotion but he is better in the Championship and the Toon have upgraded with Rondon, who has scored nine goals and registered five assists in the Premier League.

Gayle’s quotes are likely to help Newcastle in their pursuit of the Venezuelan, or at the very least push himself a little closer to the exit door. Clearly not at the required standard, his comments have done the Magpies a welcome favour.

تقارير: نقل فرجاني ساسي إلى المستشفى بعد اشتباه إصابته بكورونا

كشفت تقارير صحفية عن نقل فرجاني ساسي لاعب فريق الكرة بالزمالك إلى أحد مستشفيات مدينة الدار البيضاء عاصمة المغرب بسبب الاشتباه في إصابته بفيروس كورونا.

ويستعد الزمالك لخوض مباراته أمام الرجاء المغربي، في التاسعة من مساء الأحد المقبل بتوقيت القاهرة، الثامنة بتوقيت المغرب، في ذهاب دور نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

أقرأ ايضًا.. بعد الأهلي | كاف يغلق مران الزمالك أمام الإعلام.. ومسحة طبية للفريق

وأفاد موقع “البطولة” المغربي وفقًا لمصدر خاص، أنه تقرر نقل فرجاني ساسي لأحد المستشفيات بمدينة الدار البيضاء بعد الاشتباه في إصابته بفيروس كورونا.

وأوضح أن هناك شكوك حول إصابة اللاعب التونسي بكورونا قبل وصوله إلى المغرب مساء أمس، بعدما نفى في وقت سابق تعرضه للعدوى في بلده، مشيرًا إلى أنه قرر الدخول في “حجر صحي اختياري” لبضعة أيام قبل اللحاق ببعثة الزمالك في المغرب.

يذكر، أن فرجاني ساسي قد تخلف عن المشاركة مع منتخب تونس في اللقاء الودي أمام نيجيريا في النمسا بسبب الاشتباه بإصابته بفيروس كورونا.

The international break can be Mo Salah’s best friend

Football fans everywhere have come to hate the international breaks, as it disrupts the momentum of some teams and players.

However, Liverpool star Mo Salah must have relished some breathing room after falling under the hammer of not performing up to the mark.

The Egyptian is now goalless in his last seven games in all competition for Liverpool and the painstakingly obvious fact that he’s missing clinical nature in the final third is quickly becoming a worry. While Sadio Mane’s risen up in tough times to keep Liverpool’s hunt for glory alive, Salah needs to score goals soon to find back his lost confidence.

Having benefitted from a 10-day resting period as Egypt weren’t involved in the break, Salah now returns with a fresh mind. Fatigue was having a toll on him, as his goalless streak came during seven matches between a one-month span. Now a refreshed figure after getting some rest, the Egyptian can now properly focus on his task ahead.

Now his job is to break the myth of being ineffective against top-quality oppositions. He’s only scored a single goal in matches against top-six oppositions this season, which has brought him heavy criticism. However, he boasts a pretty good record when it comes to facing Tottenham Hotspur and any suggestions that he’s a ‘fraud’ are surely baseless.

Clearly, he’s a top class player but he looks to be running on empty. With perhaps the most important run of his fixtures in his Premier League career coming up, the break is invaluable.

Salah’s scored 5 goals in 7 appearances against Spurs, including a stunning effort last season, so he loves facing the North London unit, operating with added intensity and flair to bamboozle their topsy-turvy defence.

Refreshed from a much-needed break, Liverpool fans could soon experience plenty of fireworks at Anfield as the Egyptian’s now primed to get back to his menacing goalscoring ways and silencing his doubters.

Liverpool fans, do you think Salah will be back among goals this weekend? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

Opinion: Lascelles is the leader Everton are crying out for

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Everton are crying out for a leader in the heart of defence, and Jamaal Lascelles’ latest interview suggests he could be the perfect transfer target.

Why do they need him?

Well, Everton have signed three centre backs in the last 18 months, adding Michael Keane in 2017 before signing both Yerry Mina and Kurt Zouma last summer.

While Zouma is only at the club on loan, it is clear that Marcel Brands and Marco Silva have identified the defence as an area that needs massive improvement, but their big problem at the moment is they don’t have a leader.

With Phil Jagielka coming to the end of his reign in the heart of the Toffees’ defence, Silva and Brands must look for leadership qualities in the transfer market above all else, and Lascelles has been linked with a move to Merseyside before.

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…

What has he said?

Lascelles was visibly furious with Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka on Monday night, as the pair clashed after Dubravka’s error gifted Wolves a late equaliser.

Speaking with Sky Sports about the incident, the Magpies skipper said: “On the pitch there and then, I was just angry with everything.

“It wasn’t necessarily to do with him, it was just to do with everything. They scored at that minute but when I looked back at it, it was as clear as anything that it was a foul.

“So I apologised to him and I shouldn’t really be doing that to him. I hold my hands up but at the same time I’ve got a job to do.

“I haven’t got the armband because I’m technically the best or gifted. It’s because I’m honest and I’m hard-working. I won’t change in that aspect.”

The perfect leader?

Lascelles touched on three things there that Everton simply don’t have at the moment – anger, honesty and work ethic.

Lascelles may not be the best centre back at Newcastle, and in fact he may not even be the second or third-best given how well Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez have played this season, but this sort of commanding leadership does not come around too often.

The 25 year-old is brutally honest, extremely passionate and hard-working, and will give his life for the fans who support him and his teammates around him.

This is exactly the attitude currently missing to give a talented Everton squad that killer instinct needed to kick on to the next level, and the Toffees should absolutely re-visit their interest in Lascelles this summer.

Benjamin Mendy can prove he’s worth the money as Man City look for domination

The Carabao Cup victory might’ve been a delightful one for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City but they are far from done.

The Citizens are still involved in three remaining competitions and fighting hard to try to achieve history in winning a treble or even more. However, injuries to Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Fernandinho come as a blow.

Despite watching three crucial defensive aspects being sidelined, Pep Guardiola will gladly welcome Benjamin Mendy’s return. The left back’s been sidelined with a knee injury since November, but could be fit to play West Ham United tonight (via Sky Sports). Before his injury, Mendy was in blazing form for the Citizens on the left, helping them with his determined work-rate.

In the nine league appearances he’s made for City this season, the Frenchman’s helped them keep four clean-sheets and recorded five assists. Not only that, but he’s also created four big chances along with sixteen accurate long-balls (stats via Premier League).

He’s also been an asset defensively, keeping tidy on the left,  not allowing attacks to mount from his side. With Oleksandr Zinchenko still quite raw, Mendy will add that attacking bite to City through the left-side and be an ace in the hole for Guardiola.

While the World Cup winner hasn’t done a huge amount to prove he’s worth the huge amount of money the club invested in his services last summer through injury, the former Lyon man can pay it all back by having a huge say in City’s chase for a further three trophies.

He definitely has the ability to light up their game with his pace and drive through the left making him an asset in the final months. While Guardiola will immerse him into the team slowly, Mendy’s passionate work is exactly the kind of boost City’s needs with a tough schedule looming.

Wolves must strengthen in key areas says Tim Spiers

Wolves will look to build on yet another successful season next term and to do that Tim Spiers of The Athletic suggests that Nuno Espirito Santo should look to upgrade two positions in the squad.

What did he say?

The Midlands outfit are on course to achieve yet again could even end the year with silverware and Champions League qualification.

It is therefore a big test for them to continue their upward trajectory, but with the current manager and squad in place there is no reason why that can’t happen, particularly if they make the most of the transfer window.

In recent windows Wolves have looked to youth with signings such as Luke Matheson, Pedro Neto and Bruno Jordao, so it will be interesting to see if Nuno changes direction and brings in players that are first-team ready.

In a Q&A for The Athletic, Spiers spoke about recruitment strategy, and outlined what the club should be searching for:

“Personally I think they need a top class centre half, a ‘number 10’ as an alternative option (although Nuno may think they’ve got this covered with Gibbs-White, Jordao and maybe even Neto like we saw at Southampton away) and a back-up to Jimenez, if Campana isn’t that man.”

Much of Wolves’ transfer plans could depend on the outcome of the current season, as whether or not they will be competing in Europe next season can affect finances as well as squad size, though they have coped well with the amount of players they have currently.

Time for youngsters to breakthrough?

Wolves have had tremendous joy thanks to their first-team this season but the young players making strides in the team is another huge positive to take.

While Morgan Gibbs-White enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last season with 31 appearances it has been the turn of summer signings like Pedro Neto and Max Kilman to shine this time around, and they have looked at place in the Premier League.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Nuno could envisage a long-term future for the pair in his starting line-up, and that may mean the Portuguese boss may not need to chase big-name signings all summer long.

However, although he has spent three months out injured Gibbs-White has not enjoyed much game time this season – featuring just four times in the league in total.

For true Wolves fans only: How much did each of these players cost?

That may indicate a lack of trust from Nuno in the big matches, and therefore he may look to add experience to his squad, particularly if his side is competing in the Champions League – which remains a distinct possibility if the remaining league matches are fulfilled.

Despite that, Neto and Kilman should get their chance given their impressive performances in 2019/20.

One thing for sure is that Nuno has some big decisions to make.

In other news, one Wolves player has flown under the radar this year but is worthy of a great deal more recognition…

Leeds’ mindset will be tested over the next few weeks

A couple of weeks ago Phil Hay stated on his podcast that the attitude towards promotion at Elland Road is that many of the players in the dressing room don’t feel like it’s a done deal.

At the time we stated that this could be interpreted in a couple of ways. It either shows that Leeds players don’t fully believe in themselves, or that they’re not allowing complacency to set in.

Mindset and attitude are two huge factors when it comes to getting promoted from the Championship, and Leeds’ will be hugely tested over these next few weeks.

United have already seen their 11-point lead cut down to eight after failing to win either of their last two games, and their fixture list doesn’t get any easier from here on in as they have to play three of the top five in their next four games.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest this is a season-defining period. If they win those fixtures, they’ll be well in the hunt for promotion, if they don’t however, they may well have spurned their lead.

If we’re being realistic, there’s a big chance that Leeds drop points over this period, but it’s how they react to that which is important.

Yes, it’s a daunting task having to play these top sides one after another, but they must take each game as it comes or else if they lose one it could start a domino effect that leads to another late-season collapse that we have seen time and time again.

Leeds are still eight-points clear, and they’re still playing promising football, they dominated the possession and shooting stats against Fulham, so they’re still in good shape to be in that top two by the end of the season.

These next few weeks may see Leeds drop points, but one thing they can’t allow to happen is for doubt to start setting in.

Meanwhile, it seems as if Leeds have identified an alternative to signing Rhian Brewster.

Revealed: 87% of Liverpool fans want to sign Aouar

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to a huge transfer story, as reports claim they are eyeing a move for Lyon wonderkid Houssem Aouar.

According to RMC reporter Mohamed Bouhafsi, both Liverpool and Chelsea are chasing Aouar, who has five goals and four assists in his last 12 Lyon appearances.

Bouhafsi was one of the first reporters to break Fabinho’s move to Liverpool in the summer, and he claims both title contenders are keeping a keen eye on the versatile youngster.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”334357″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Fixture in Focus Tottenham v Chelsea”]

The Reds were of course heavily linked with a move for Nabil Fekir in the summer, but his teammate Aouar represents a significantly better long-term investment.

The 20 year-old was handed a new contract and the number eight shirt this summer, so he certainly wouldn’t come cheap, but the Reds have already shown they will splash the cash for the right player.

Aouar is an excellent dribbler and works tirelessly in Lyon’s high-tempo press, so he could be the perfect man to replace Philippe Coutinho on the left side of Klopp’s midfield three.

A whopping 87 per cent of fans want to move for the youngster, and you can view the full poll results down below…

West Ham should consider January bid for Jack Grealish

Following a poor season last year, West Ham spent heavily in the summer as the board backed new manager Manuel Pellegrini.

The former Man City boss has been given a raft of new players who in time look like they could turn the club’s fate around.

It will take time for the team to paying dividends but looking ahead to January Pellegrini should be looking at signing another midfielder.

One of the best players in the Championship, Jack Grealish had been a target for Spurs over the summer and should be one for the Hammers in the winter window.

The Breakdown

Valued at £4.5 million by Transfermarkt, Grealish had a fantastic season with Villa last year and was a key reason why the club reached Championship Playoff Final.

A rare player that can receive the ball in tight areas but also has the ability to beat players, Grealish looks ready to make the move to the Premier League and West Ham could be a great start.

It could be argued that Jack Wilshere is going to be the man to play in the 10 role for Pellegrini but with Mark Noble’s poor form, the former Arsenal could well be moved further back. Indeed, having Wilshere further back could actually help West Ham in their play going forward as he is the only midfielder they have that can take the ball under pressure while also playing forward.

It may take a heavy bid in January but West Ham should consider it.

West Ham fans – agree?

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