Wolfsburg midfielder Diego could be on his way to England after both Liverpool and Aston Villa have registered an interest in the player, according to Sky Sports.
The 26-year old is out of favour at the German club and could be shown the door. He only joined the side from Juventus for €15.5 million last summer but has had several high-profile fallings out with manager Felix Magath. He was fined earlier in the season when he missed a penalty he was not instructed to take whilst, more recently, he was fined €500,000 for failing to turn up for the final match of the season having been told he would be on the bench.
Despite winning 33 caps for Brazil, the midfielder has had a rollercoaster career. He was originally brought to Europe by Porto as a replacement for the Barcelona-bound Deco in 2004 before moving to Werder Bremen in 2006. After 52 goals in 128 games he moved to Juventus in a €24.5 million deal on a five year but his spell in Italy was unsuccessful and he returned to Germany after only a year.
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Diego would be available for less than Wolfsburg paid last summer and now it seems Liverpool and Villa could make a move for the playmaker as they look to rebuild for next season’s Premier League.
Paul Kitson was a striker who played in the top flight of English football for 12 years and the most distinguished clubs of whom he played for were Newcastle United and West Ham United. His spell at Newcastle was one of limited appearances due to the quality of the strikers already present and the one’s that were to come at the club. It was at West Ham that Kitson really shone through, showing his worth in excess by teaming up with John Hartson, creating a formidable strike force. His career was one of unfortunate brevity from Newcastle onwards, owing to injuries, circumstance and inconsistent performances.
Kitson secured his move to Newcastle from Derby County, where he had scored 36 goals in 105 appearances. He cost around £2.25 million and was reportedly paid £3,500 a week which nearly caused the deal to be put in jeopardy, as Newcastle didn’t want to restructure their payment system. The deal eventually materialised and Kitson’s debut came against Manchester United in what is now the Carling Cup, he scored one of the goals which helped produce a 2-0 win.
More gifted players started in-front Kitson in the forms of Andy Cole and Peter Beardsley, leaving the striker to be used sparingly as a squad player. Yet being behind prolific players isn’t necessarily a negative thing, you learn and improve in their presence and there is always the possibility they will move on, as was the case with Cole moving to Manchester United. Kitson would fill his boots admirably and scored 8 goals in 26 appearances due to it being the second half of the 1994-95 Premier League season. The season culminated in disappointment as Newcastle slumped to 6th after having been one of the title favourites.
During the 1995-96 season Kitson was again finding himself second best after Les Ferdinand was drafted in and so was Faustino Asprilla mid-season. This gave Kitson little opportunity to start or even feature for Newcastle, managing only seven league games and two goals. With incentives dwindling Kitson somehow found enough motivation to stay, that is until Alan Shearer was signed and sealed Kitson’s fate to seek football elsewhere.
West Ham chose to buy him for £2.3 million, giving Kitson a new lease of life with his exit going fairly unnoticed due to Kevin Keegan’s exit just weeks earlier. At Upton Park Kitson would form a renowned strike partnership with John Hartson, both scoring on their debut against Tottenham in a 4-3 victory. In his 14 games Kitson would succeed in scoring 8 goals which helped West Ham to avoid relegation.
Kitson’s story descends into less glamorous depths from here on in, by only playing 20 games combined from the next two seasons, hence only scoring a dismal 7 goals. The next three seasons were even worse and resulted in Kitson playing his last game after having not started in 21 months, nor scored for a year longer. This game saw him score a hat-trick against Charlton to sign off in style.
Five lower league clubs were to give Kitson playing time, with Charlton and Crystal Palace taking him on loan from West Ham. Brighton & Hove Albion would sign him on a free and so would Rushden & Diamonds, he then trialed for St. Albans City which proved futile because he finished his career playing for non-league side Aldershot Town. A career of brief jubilation coupled with team mates that kept him on the bench would ultimately end in Kitson never giving up his passion, football.
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On-loan Arsenal midfielder Yossi Benayoun has stated that Robin van Persie is one of the world’s best strikers and that it is an honour to play alongside him.
The Netherlands international has fired a transitional Gunners side into third place this season, and scored in the north London club’s 1-1 draw with Stoke on Saturday.
Benayoun feels that Van Persie is one of the best that he has played with, and stated the importance that Arsene Wenger’s men don’t lose their star player this summer.
“I was lucky to play with some of the great strikers in my career and Robin at the moment is one of the best in the world,” The Israeli playmaker told The Telegraph.
“It was the same for me when I was with Fernando Torres and he was on fire at Liverpool, scoring a lot of goals. For me, they are at the same level – two of the best strikers in the world. They are very similar because you can look at their record of scoring goals.
“Fernando at Liverpool, he scored in a lot of goals, especially when he had a player like Stevie Gerrard playing behind him helping him.
“With Robin, we know we must give him the ball to the right place and he will score like he has done all season. Everyone knows it’s important to keep him. Each club wants to keep their best players and Robin is our best player,” he confessed.
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It is 50 years since Tottenham Hotspur were last champions of England – and you wouldn’t bet on them winning the title for another half a century. I arrived at White Hart Lane a few months after the double-winning success of 1961 and for the next couple of years we continued to be a genuinely great side, becoming the first British club to win a European trophy in the process. This season was Tottenham’s first European Cup campaign since I played for them in the 1962 semi-final – now they have lost their top-four status, it looks like being a hell of an uphill battle to win it back again.
Spurs fans are already calling for the head of Harry Redknapp, which is a long-held tradition at the Lane, dating back to my playing days. Harry is old enough and ugly enough to ignore that sort of nonsense. He is well and truly right to point out that Spurs have not enjoyed any sort of consistent success since the early ’60s.
Ever since that double-winning team started breaking up around 1964, with a series of injuries along with the tragic death of the great John White, Spurs have consistently under-achieved. And I am speaking as a member of the first great under-achieving Spurs side – that of the late 1960s. A team which included Pat Jennings in goal, Cyril Knowles, Joe Kinnear and Mike England in defence, Terry Venables and Alan Mullery in midfield and myself and Alan Gilzean up front really should have won titles and European trophies, not just one FA Cup in 1967. It wasn’t even a case of needing an extra player or two – that team was good enough to achieve a lot more than it did. But we set the tone for decades of flattering to deceive at White Hart Lane.
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The Keith Burkenshaw team which won back-to-back FA Cups, the David Pleat team which came second in everything, the side which Terry Venables built around Paul Gascoigne, then the Gerry Francis team which boasted Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola and Les Ferdinand – they all could have won titles. Until the last couple of months, Spurs had enjoyed an excellent two and a half years under Redknapp. But they still haven’t won anything. Now it seems as though this season’s Champions League campaign could be little more than a glorious flash in the pan. One that ended so cruelly in a men-against-boys trouncing by Real Madrid.
Manchester City are only going to get stronger, while Liverpool are on the rise again, with money to spend. The only way I can see Spurs competing for the top four next season is to back Redknapp in the transfer market – and flog Gareth Bale. Bale was magnificent in the two matches against Inter Milan. He is a great kid, but I don’t think he is a worthy Player of the Year and he is not the sort to win you titles. If someone offered £35million or more, I’d bite their hand off.
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Like Rafa van der Vaart, Bale has tailed off severely in the second half of the season. I’ve seen many players like him, who can look world class on their day, but simply cannot do it consistently enough. Whether it is a mental or physical fragility, I’m not sure. The truly great players tick every box and I’m not sure that Bale, though still young, will ever do that.
Whenever Bill Shankly was told about some great potential signing, he’d ask: “Can he always make an accurate 12-yard pass and will he give me a full season?”For him, those were the two essentials. I am not sure Bale would pass the Shankly test, and Shanks was a man who built a club which won titles. Not a club like Tottenham Hotspur, I’m sorry to say.
Saturday saw one of the most controversial goals scored in Premier League history, and discussion is well and truly underway and showing no signs of relenting. The furore that has surrounded this incident highlights the magnitude of the decision whether wrong or right!
Before we head into every detail I’d like to make it known that I feel for Tottenham Hotspur and all those with an affinity to the football club. Nani’s goal on Saturday was harsh and the Portuguese winger showed no sportsmanship whatsoever.
However in the rules of the game, the goal was perfectly legal. Play had not stopped and therefore Nani was entitled to slot the ball past a bewildered Gomes. Should Gomes take a slice of the blame cake or should Clattenburg have stopped the game when there was so much uncertainty that led to the incident?
The fact the whistle had not been blown would suggest that Gomes was incredibly naïve to roll the ball out to the feet of the United winger, Nani. Everybody knows you play to the referee’s whistle and I can’t help but feel Gomes has let himself and his side down by carelessly handing the ball to the opposition.
This said, there are a large number of people that are of the belief that “Clattenburg should have disallowed the goal on the basis that Tottenham had not received an advantage after Nani’s handball that preceded the incident.” This belief can be undermined completely as Gomes had the ball in his hands, showing Tottenham to have possession and therefore gained an advantage. This would once again show that Gomes has had an absolute mare in so much that he has basically passed the ball to Nani.
Some might say that the incident should never have come to be. In the lead up to the goal it was clear that Nani had handled the ball. This is both acknowledged by Spurs keeper Gomes and the linesman. Why the whistle was not been blown here for a Tottenham freekick I do not know. It must be said that football is not and should not be a game of what ifs, we all have to live with the decisions whether they are right or wrong.
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When pushed for an answer I would have to say that the goal correctly stood. I say this for the one reason that the whistle was never blown indicating that play had stopped. It is fundamental for a professional footballer to play to the referees whistle, Gomes’ naivety is shocking. However I do not believe that referee Mark Clattenburg is completely innocent, nor are his fellow officials. There was a case of clear handball moments prior to the goal that was seen, yet went unpunished, thus creating an air of pure uncertainty amongst the players leading to the controversial goal.
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Michael Carrick has admitted that his Manchester United side are pleased to be back top of the Premier League, but is expecting a difficult game against Wolves this weekend.
The reigning champions moved to the top-flight’s summit on Sunday after a 2-0 win over West Brom and a Manchester City slip-up against Swansea, and the England international is glad to have an advantage in the race for the title.
“There is no hiding the fact that it is nice to be top of the league. This is a big week for us but I think we’ll be saying that for the rest of the season,” he stated to The Sun.
“Wolves has been a tough place to go over the last few years. It has been hard for us down there, so we are not taking anything for granted.
“We are top of the league at the moment but we still have to pick up enough points between now and the end,” he admitted.
Meanwhile, Danny Welbeck knows that there is no room for complacency, and is taking the fixture list one game at a time.
“I think we’ll get confidence from our recent results but we know there is no room for complacency at all.
“We’re getting to the end of the season and winning is vital. We need to get as many points as possible.
“We are just focusing on ourselves and knowing the next match is always the most important.
“You can’t afford to slip up at any point, so it’s always the next game that’s on my mind,” he said.
Finally, Ashley Young confessed that the shift in power at the top means that added pressure is on Roberto Mancini’s men.
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“A lot of people might not have said that we’d be in front of City but we’ve got the belief that, as long as we’re winning our games, the pressure’s on them,” he stated.
United travel to take on Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League on Thursday, before returning to domestic action at Molineux on Sunday.
On-loan Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani remains likely to make a permanent move to Juventus, according to his agent.The 26-year-old has made 32 league appearances for Juventus since being loaned out by the Reds in August 2010, and the two clubs have been negotiating to make the deal permanent.
Although the Serie A side missed their May 15 deadline to complete the agreed 16 million euro signing, Aquilani’s agent Franco Zavaglia is still confident the move will happen.
Zavaglia said on Wednesday Juventus were hoping to lower the English Premier League side’s asking price.
“We’re waiting to see how things evolve,” he told Radio Sportiva.
“Juventus didn’t take up their option to sign him, but I’m still confident because I think that Liverpool are ready to do a deal. I believe an agreement will be found eventually.”
“He’s still a Liverpool player and if an agreement with Juventus is not reached then he’ll respect his contract. Liverpool are one of the best clubs in the world.”
Zavaglia said he did not believe Juventus had sufficient cover in midfield, even with their rumoured interest in numerous other players.
“He’s had an important season and has been present. It’s not true that Aquilani is always injured and he’s proved that this term,” he said.
Juventus sit in seventh in the Serie A and need to win their last game of the season at home to Napoli on Sunday, while hoping sixth-placed Roma lose to the relegated Sampdoria, to clinch a Europa League spot.
Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon has been forced to drop out of Fabio Capello's squad for England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on Tuesday because of a sore back.
The former Leeds United player has returned to White Hart Lane for treatment and has been replaced in the England squad by Aston Villa's Stewart Downing.
Lennon is the second player to drop out of the squad in the last 24 hours after Everton defender Phil Jagielka picked up a hamstring injury on Friday and was replaced by Bolton Wanderers' Gary Cahill.
Jagielka missed a training game at Arsenal's London Colney complex on Friday morning after experiencing some tightness in his hamstring during the session beforehand. He then underwent a scan before being ruled out of the match.
Jagielka impressed in last month's victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland but his absence now means that Capello will almost certainly start with Rio Ferdinand and John Terry in central defence.
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Meanwhile, Gareth Barry has joined up with the squad after being given additional time at home due to personal reasons.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Sunderland fans were in high spirits when Jack Rodwell looked to be nearing an exit, and they are hilariously bashing the midfielder now his contract has officially been terminated.
Sunderland announced yesterday that Rodwell will leave the club at the end of June.
The club said the decision was by mutual consent, though it seems fans suspect the 27 year-old would be happy to keep picking up a wage packet if it were up to him.
According to BBC, the ex Manchester City man earned £70,000 per week in the Black Cats’ season in the Championship, and would earn a further £43,000 per week in League One for the remaining year on his deal.
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Rodwell swapped Manchester for Wearside in 2014 after making just 16 league appearances for Manchester City, but didn’t exactly impress fans at the Stadium of Light either.
The 27 year-old went an incredible 1,370 days without a win, and played just twice in the Championship last season.
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Roker Report have made a superb Twitter thread of Rodwell’s finest moments, and you can find eight of the best reactions to his departure down below, along with one hilarious meme…
Everton are keeping a close eye on Atalanta midfielder Josip Ilicic ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Calciomercato.
What’s the story?
Everton have been very busy in the past two transfer windows; under former manager Ronald Koeman the club spent in excess of £100m on several new faces.
With Sam Allardyce at the helm, the buying continued in January as Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun joined the party, while Eliaquim Mangala arrived from Manchester City on loan.
According to Calciomercato, another player has been added to Everton’s transfer wishlist, in the form of Ilicic from Atalanta.
The midfielder has made 33 appearances in all competitions for the Italian club so far this season, scoring 11 goals and creating eight assists.
Do Everton need another attacking midfielder?
That is one area where the Merseyside outfit are certainly not short!
Even though the 30-year-old’s statistics are impressive, there are more pressing matters that the Toffees should be focusing on.
During the January window, supporters demanded a left-back, but the Merseyside outfit did not deliver.
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Right-footed Cuco Martina has been taking on the role in Leighton Baines’s injury absence.
With the latter turning 34 next year, the club should priorities bringing in another man to fill his boots, rather than an attacking midfielder.