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They may have continued their unbeaten streak, but Rangers will surely feel their 2-2 draw against Hibernian on Sunday was two dropped points.

The Gers enjoyed 70% of the possession at Easter Road, and took 12 more total shots than the home side (19-7). And yet, even despite the dominance, they couldn’t convert their opportunities in front of goal, and a couple of defensive lapses at the other end cost them big time.

Are you a massive Rangers fan? Know everything about the club? Well do you know your Gary Stevens from your Michael Ball? This quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…

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And whilst Ianis Hagi played a key part in Scott Arfield’s lovely team goal, the Romanian struggled to impose him on the game, and ended up losing six of his nine total duels.

After seeing his performance, Rangers fans took to Twitter to share their reactions about the attacker.

A couple of Rangers fans insisted Hagi was miles off the pace, and urged Gerrard during the game to take him off.

The 21-year-old has scored just the once in nine games for Rangers this season, and there’s no doubt Steven Gerrard’s side need a lot more from the talented Romanian.

Getting him to be consistent even during a game could be key to whether the Gers can finally lift the league title, and if he can add goals to his locker like his manager did, then the Ibrox side will fancy their chances of ending their long wait.

The impossible is slowly but surely turning into likely or even expected – Lionel Messi is set to leave Barcelona after almost 20 years of service and playing under the same banner his whole career. And Manchester City are waiting to take him to the Premier League.

The Argentine has now missed the initial pre-training tests at the camp and is likely to also miss Ronald Koeman’s first training session today as well. All of this certainly points towards an almost definite separation.

But Man City should also be really optimistic because according to Terry Gibson, Barcelona themselves would love nothing more than to actually sell the Argentine in the ongoing summer transfer window.

Here’s what he said for Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk podcast: “It’s a sign now that there is going to be a war between Barcelona and Messi. If you’re asking me what is going to happen eventually, I think Manchester City are the favourites now. But part of me thinks (Josep) Bartomeu and Ronald Koeman want to see Messi out of the door now.

“They want to eradicate his wage bill, Luis Suarez’s wage bill, the team needs rebuilding. If Barcelona can get the transfer fee from Manchester City, get Messi off the wage bill and try to pin the blame on Messi, that’s the outcome which suits Bartomeu, Ronald Koeman, and the outcome that will suit Manchester City.”

The Catalans have been struggling with their wage bill and do have enormous financial issues. Selling Messi, however weird that may sound, could potentially throw them a lifeline.

Of course, Pep Guardiola is just waiting for that to happen and then he’ll pull the trigger.

Verdict

There have been various different discussions of whether Messi would fit in at Man City. He’s 33 now and doesn’t exactly run too much and the Citizens are all about intensity, speed and aggression.

But are we really discussing whether adding the world’s best player to a team would indeed make that team better? It does seem like a no-brainer.

Inter Milan have signed Alexis Sanchez from Manchester United on a three-year deal, reports say. 

Sanchez, 31, has spent the past season on loan at the San Siro since joining the Serie A side in August 2019. The 132-cap Chile international scored four goals for Antonio Conte’s side in all competitions.

Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed he will move to Milan on a permanent deal.

Speaking after United’s Europa League win over LASK, Solskjaer said the deal would be announced today.

According to the BBC’s Simon Stone, Inter expect to be able to use him for the Europa League last eight. Goals from former Premier League players Romelu Lukaku and Christian Eriksen saw the Nerazzurri reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday night.

“I can confirm that he’s agreed and we’ve agreed,” Solskjaer said. “Alexis enjoyed his time there.

“They’ve liked him, so of course that’s a good move for him. Wish him all the best. He’s a top player, that we want to see play his best football.

“For whatever reason we didn’t see the best of Alexis, but he’s a top professional and we just wish him all the best.”

The Chilean will receive a payout from the Red Devils for cancelling his contract at Old Trafford, which still has two years left to run in theory.

His departure will bring to an end the long-running saga which has plagued the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward for years.

United beat Manchester City to his signature, signing him from Arsenal on a four-and-a-half year deal with wages worth £400,000-a-week.

Sadly Sanchez failed to live up to expectations, having only scored five goals in 45 games for the Red Devils, and the board will be glad to get him off the books for good.

The veteran was involved in a bust-up with academy graduate Mason Greenwood during pre-season training (The Sun).

However, Sanchez has shown early signs of a revival under Conte, scoring in the 3-0 victory over Genoa last month.

Regardless, finally ridding themselves of a player who has done more harm than good could pave the way for United to sign Solskjaer’s top target Jadon Sancho instead.

United fans, are you happy to see Sanchez leave? Let us know down below!

No doubt one of the more sensationalist transfer stories involving Newcastle in recent weeks, but the Gareth Bale rumours appear to have been dead and buried already.

With the Magpies in the midst of a potential takeover, and some big-money signings possibly on the horizon, the Real Madrid star was one of the marquee names linked with a move to St James’ Park.

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But now, according to journalist and sports correspondent in Spain for AFP, Tom Allnutt, even if the takeover goes through and Newcastle do show some interest in luring Bale away from Los Blancos, the Welshman is “not interested” in the making the switch.

After hearing about the update on Bale, Newcastle fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the news.

A couple of Newcastle fans insisted that they didn’t want another “overpaid” star to turn up at St James’ Park.

Well that didn’t take long.

Just as the Bale to Newcastle rumours started emerging, the story has effectively been killed off. And even fans of the Tyneside club don’t seem too surprised or bothered.

Whilst new signings and big names could be on the cards, there is also an air of realism to the kinds of players the club would be able to attract. And Bale just doesn’t fall into that category.

Newcastle United could well be in for a huge windfall if their prospective takeover goes through.

The Saudi Royal Family have been linked with the purchase of the north-east outfit for the last few months, and should the deal go through, it would see the Toon become arguably the richest side on the planet. The transfer rumour mill has been going into overdrive, and the Magpies have been linked with a whole host of world class players – Kylian Mbappe and Kalidou Koulibaly are to name but two.

However, Dan Barlaser does not seem too fazed by the speculation – he appears to be relishing the chance to return to St. James’ Park. He has been playing for Rotherham this term in League One, and has impressed with an average WhoScored rating of 7.24, and he has taken to Instagram to share that this was the best year in his career and that he is leaving the club as a better player.

The Chronicle has picked up on the post and asked their supporters whether they believe Barlaser has a future at the club – the Toon supporters don’t appear to think so.  One even said that there ‘must be no takeover’ if Barlaser is being considered – they are probably right in as much as the midfielder probably wouldn’t get an opportunity if the new owners came in.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

Wolves have taken to the Premier League like a duck to water and are arguably one of the top eight clubs in the country right now, if not the top six.

The incredible work in the transfer market, ably assisted by Jorge Mendes’ client list, has seen Nuno Espírito Santo create an exciting, vibrant team and a squad that is the envy of many within the Premier League. There really is no end to what this team can achieve, providing they can keep this whole setup together.

Like all clubs, Wolves’ journey has been a work in progress and for every successful signing like Raul Jimenez, there has been a Jamie O’Hara that hasn’t duly delivered over the past 10 years.

In the latest Wolves quiz, we are challenging you supporters to see if you can remember how much you spent on a collection of players; some that were good, some that were bad and some that were damn right ugly.

There are 15 transfer fees to navigate, let’s see how good your Wolves knowledge is…

Sunderland fans were left to throw the blame on a variety of people after their defeat against Burton on Tuesday evening.Phil Parkinson received the brunt of the abuse, taking stick from supporters who hoped Kevin Phillips would replace him.Midfielder Grant Leadbitter was also the subject of frustration from fans but Joel Lynch has been made another scapegoat.[ad_pod ]The defender put in a rather strange performance as his mentality didn’t look right for large portions of the game.One fan suggested he went to bits in the second half, citing a backpass to goalkeeper Lee Burge with Sunderland trailing in the dying embers.A further individual accused him of not being switched on for the goal that eventually cost Sunderland a point.Lynch completed a measly 63.5% of his passes but did record a colossal six interceptions. That being said, he failed to deliver in some of the key moments.The 32-year-old has featured eight times for Parkinson’s side in 2019/20, winning 5.4 aerial duels per game along the way.Here’s the best of the reaction to his display in midweek.

Meanwhile, check out what Sunderland fans have been saying about Kevin Phillips…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness.

Macauley Bonne has been cleared to play in Charlton Athletic’s match against Cardiff City, as reported by London News Online.

What’s the story?

The 24-year-old striker had been forced to pull out of international duty with Zimbabwe due to what he referred to as “unforeseen medical grounds” on Twitter.

He has had cardiac tests since releasing his statement, which have cleared the Charlton man to carry on playing, though he will continue to be checked on.

Charlton’s statement on the matter, via London News Online, stated: “The club’s medical team can confirm that Macauley Bonne underwent some planned cardiac investigations last week following a recent routine cardiac screen.

“The results of these investigations have been discussed with the sports cardiologist and the player will continue to play and train as normal. The club will continue to regularly screen his heart as recommended, as we do with all our players from U15 through to the first team.”

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Vital inclusion

Bonne has become a vital player for Charlton, having signed from Leyton Orient in the summer and coming to prominence in the absence of Lyle Taylor.

The 24-year-old has made 8 Championship starts this campaign, coming off the bench twice, scoring 5 goals, including the only strike of the game in a victory against Leeds United.

He has dealt with the step up from the National League to Championship football admirably and he can definitely play his part against Cardiff.

It is uncertain whether or not Taylor will be able to feature in the game, as he looks to make his return from injury, but Bonne should be able to impact the game regardless of whether that is from the start or off the bench.

More importantly though, they will be relieved to know that Bonne is okay and able to carry on with his career without any potential health issues looming over him.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Jonjo Shelvey has enjoyed mixed fortunes this season, but he could begin to find more consistency and become more important for his side if played in a more advanced role.

On the chalkboard

When Steve Bruce first arrived he made the former Liverpool man a central part of his plans, deploying him in a deep-lying role in midfield behind Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff.

The Magpies boss likely designed that system to make the most of Shelvey’s long-range passing ability, but it was quickly found out and cost Newcastle points early on.

Since then the 27-year-old has proved his worth with displays against West Ham and Bournemouth, but he’d be a lot more effective if he was able to play further forward.

It is an alteration that could work given Newcastle’s preferred 5-2-3 formation, as it would allow both Shelvey and Hayden to focus on the best aspects of their game, with the latter excelling defensively this term.

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Playmaker

In his typical inconsistent fashion Shelvey has underperformed with a pass accuracy of 71% this season, but in averaging 3.1 successful long balls per game he is an important factor in the Magpies’ attack.

Playing closer to Joelinton could work wonders. It would help the Brazilian get more involved in play and increase the number of opportunities he would receive, as Shelvey would likely be able to improve on his 1.4 key passes per game.

That return highlights the midfielder’s skill at producing chances, with the wingers often the beneficiaries, and suggests Newcastle are already a little reliant on his quality.

In a more attacking role Shelvey would have his defensive responsibility reduced, which also suits him. He has managed just 0.9 tackles per game compared to Hayden’s 2.9, so there is little point in restricting him to play alongside his midfield teammate.

Shelvey has also shown that he knows where the goal is. He has two goals this term from just six league starts, and his power could allow him to rifle home chances in and around the penalty box.

The key here is Joelinton though. There is a clear lack of service for the 23-year-old, who ranks 50th in the league for shots per game, with a measly 1.7. Shelvey would help to address that issue, and if he can get the striker scoring more then Newcastle should become a strong attacking team.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers.

Marco Silva says Mason Holgate’s return to the starting XI is fully deserved after watching the 23-year-old training.

What did he say?

Holgate has found some rare game time this past week, starting against both Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford. Manager Silva has had nothing but praise Holgate for his actions thus far and even claimed he visited his office for advice.

Silva told Everton: “Mason understood our defensive idea really well from the first day I came. He is a clever player.

“But it is one thing if you know [what is required], another if you practice every single day.

“Mason came to my office not just because he wasn’t playing, he wanted to know what he should do in a different way to improve.

“It is easy for Mason to understand the job we have been doing with the central defenders since we [Silva and his staff] joined the Club. We will do the same with Mason.

“Sometimes it is up to them to work every single day in the way I think is best to perform and develop football players.

“Mason has a very good profile as a central defender, in my opinion, he has the talent and quality.”

Time for a permanent role

Holgate may have come back into the side because of injuries, but he has applied himself better than most this season. The form of both Michael Keane and Mina has been questionable all season, as the club still sits just two points above the drop zone.

Keane has also been at fault for goals conceded on international duty, as he put in poor performances for England. Indeed, all of these signs point towards a starting role for Holgate in replace of either Keane or Mina.

The former Barnsley defender has also pitched in on the goals since his return to the side. His smart assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin against the Seagulls gave Everton the lead at that time. Plus, in midweek, his first goal for the club broke the deadlock against Watford, helping progress the club to the next round.

It is clear with yet another injury scare to Mina that he needs rest, so maybe it is time for a permanent starting role for Holgate.