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Newcastle United enjoyed an incredible season under Eddie Howe's tutelage and returned to Champions League qualification with a top-four finish, and have now identified Chelsea's Marc Cucurella for transfer.

What's the latest on Marc Cucurella to Newcastle?

According to the Mirror, Magpies technical director Dan Ashworth has added the Spanish full-back to the club's list of transfer targets after signing Cucurella while the pair for €18m (£15m) were both at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Having completed a stunning season with the Seagulls, the 24-year-old was signed by Chelsea for a mouth-watering £63m last summer, but after an uninspiring year Newcastle could look to provide him with a fresh start on English soil.

The Magpies have been in fine fettle indeed, but with the introduction of European football, the depth of the club will need to expand, and Cucurella could be the perfect choice to enrich the left flank, especially given that the Blues are considering a cut-price sale of just £30m.

How would Marc Cucurella perform at Newcastle?

Despite failing to produce the desired results at Chelsea, Newcastle could reignite a player who demonstrated he is Premier League quality and then some on the south coast.

Recording an average rating of 7.11 (Sofascore) with Albion over the 21/22 campaign, Cucurella completed 82% of his passes, averaging 1.2 key passes, 2.7 tackles and 1.9 clearances per game, also winning 61% of his ground duels, hailed for his "brilliant" performances by former teammate Leandro Trossard.

The disparity to his time at Stamford Bridge could not be greater, branded a "defensive liability" by journalist Okon Nya and at the core of the west London outfit's woes as they finished 12th.

However, provided a license to flourish at St. James' Park, Cucurella could return to the top of his game and leave observers waxing lyrical in their throngs once again.

Linking back up with his former teammate Dan Burn, who completed a £13m move from Brighton to Tyneside in January 2022, the £175k-per-week Chelsea ace could snatch the defensive left flank from the 31-year-old, cementing a starting berth for the most pivotal of encounters next season.

A centre-half by trade, Burn played 39 times at left-back this year after impressing in the makeshift role, with the 6 foot 5 colossus being heralded as "solid as a rock and immense" by journalist Aaron Stokes, but his stagnancy in transition is undoubtedly a weakness and the variation that Cucurella would bring is an enticing thought, with Burn having been 'dragged all over the place' on occasion, according to journalist Jude Summerfield.

As Newcastle progress and creep closer toward the forefront of European football, Cucurella's progressive presence could lead to him taking the baton and transcending Burn's performances in the team, proving to be the ultimate attacking heir down the left-hand side.

And given that the former Barcelona youngster can also play as a central defender, he could offer the dynamic assurance to win Howe over and play a pivotal role in a thriving Premier League outfit once again.

أوضح بيب جوارديولا، المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر سيتي، السبب وراء غياب النجم كيفين دي بروين عن مباراة الأمس ضد برينتفورد.

وفاز مانشستر سيتي على برينتفورد بهدف دون رد، في مباراتهما المؤجلة من الجولة الثامنة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي على ملعب “الاتحاد”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. جوارديولا: هالاند يغلق أفواه المشككين.. وليفربول وآرسنال سيواصلان المنافسة حتى النهاية

ولم يتواجد كيفين دي بروين في التشكيل الأساسي لـ مانشستر سيتي، حيث ظل على دكة البدلاء طوال المباراة.

وأثار دي بروين الشكوك حول إصابته حيث لم يجرِ أي عمليات إحماء، سواء قبل المباراة، أو خلال سيرها، مما تسبب في قلق المشجعين.

وقال جوارديولا في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “لم نتمكن من استخدام دي بروين لأنه كان يعاني من آلام في أوتار الركبة ولم أرغب في المخاطرة”.

وأضاف: “إنه بخير، كان الأمر يتعلق بالوقاية أكثر، لقد قال إنه لا يشعر بالارتياح، وقال الأطباء إنه لا ينبغي عليه المخاطرة”.

Neymar would be Manchester United's best player if he was to join the club in the summer transfer window, presenter Terry Flewers has claimed.

What's the latest on Neymar and Man United?

The Brazil superstar looks set to depart Paris Saint-Germain this summer, and the 31-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Newcastle and Man United two possible destinations.

Neymar has suffered with a lot of injury problems over the years, but has still provided 18 goals and 17 assists in 29 outings across all competitions this season.

Speaking on The Football Terrace, Flewers claimed that Neymar would be the best player at United as soon as he walked through the door, in terms of ability and status, but injuries may be of some concern.

"Ability, yes. Output, yes. The name, the man, the magic the skills, I want Neymar at Manchester United for all of these reasons," he stated.

"He would be the best player at the club by a country mile as soon as he arrives, whether he plays on the left instead of Rashford, whether he plays in a kind of 10, off the striker role instead of Bruno Fernandes, if he plays on the right instead of Antony or Sancho, this guy is better than all of them."

"The injury problems though, that's my worry. The injury situation surrounding Neymar is my only concern around him."

Should United pursue Neymar?

United are in the market for a forward, and have reportedly made Harry Kane their top target.

Neymar is a wide attacker rather than a central striker, but should he arrive, Rashford could move to a striker role to accommodate the 31-year-old.

His injury problems, combined with his £941k-per-week wages, means that Neymar looks more like he could follow the route of other big names who arrived and failed at Old Trafford, such as Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Bastian Schweinsteiger, but if he can stay fit, he could help raise United's level.

Erik ten Hag's side have made good progress this season, winning the Carabao Cup and securing a third-placed finish, but someone with Neymar's quality and experience could help turn them into title challengers.

Wingers Antony and Jadon Sancho have scored a combined 15 goals in all competitions, less than Neymar alone, and the Brazilian would be a significant upgrade on both in terms of end product.

If the finances on any deal for Neymar are reasonable, then the Red Devils could benefit in the short term, by having an attacker with Neymar's quality in the squad, even if he isn't available for the whole season.

Watch more of The Football Terrace on YouTube now!

ScorecardGyanendra Malla top-scored in Nepal’s triumph at Lord’s•Kaushal Adhikari

Nepal inscribed another noteworthy entry in their cricketing history by winning on their first visit to Lord’s on Tuesday in front of several thousand delighted fans. On a sweltering day in north London, a Nepal XI defeated MCC by 41 runs after which the Nepal captain, Paras Khadka, led his players around the outfield to pay tribute to their typically exuberant supporters.Having chosen to bat first, Nepal’s every run was cheered to the rafters by a crowd of around 5000 that spread itself out across the Mound, Tavern, Edrich and Allen stands. Boundaries and wickets brought even greater outbursts of adulation and chants of “Ne-pal! Ne-pal! Ne-pal!” echoed around the old ground as Sompal Kami and Basant Regmi cleaned up the tail to dismiss MCC for 176 in pursuit of 218 in 50 overs.The fixture was arranged as part of celebrations to mark the 200-year-old relationship between Britain and Nepal, with proceeds from the match going towards rebuilding work in Nepal after last year’s earthquake.MCC opener George Adair did his best to spoil the visitors’ party by scoring an even 100 but the left-hander was eighth man out, caught behind off Regmi, with the asking rate rising towards two runs a ball. Nepal’s main contributor was Gyanendra Malla with 39 but there were useful scores throughout the order as they built a match-winning total beneath clear blue skies, a Nepali flag above the pavilion fluttering in the occasional breeze.”Boys were excited, a little bit nervous as well – you can understand, playing at Lord’s just doesn’t happen everyday,” Khadka said. “I think we managed to hold ourselves pretty well.”Everybody contributed bits and pieces, overall it was very good. Batting, we were 20-30 runs short but the boys kept digging in, the wicket wasn’t that easy and the bowlers were very, very disciplined and that was one of the key factors for us to win today.”The result gave the majority of those who had paid £10 for a ticket the perfect summer’s day out – Nepal shirts were de rigueur, although those attempting to unfurl a flag in the stands received a gentle talking to from the stewards, as per Lord’s rules.MCC were captained by former Middlesex and Somerset allrounder Keith Dutch and included former Queensland batsman Clinton Perren and South Africa-born fast bowler Chad Barrett, who made his only first-class appearance for Northamptonshire two years ago.Dutch and Barrett picked up two wickets apiece and Nepal did well to get up to 217 for 8 in their 50 overs after slipping to 174 for 7. Khadka swept the only six of the innings as he and Malla took the score to 104 for 2 but the experienced pair fell in successive overs, as Dutch and left-arm spinner Marc Reingold established a stranglehold on the scoring.Kami and Regmi bolted together a resourceful 42-run stand for the eighth wicket and the Nepal bowlers then proved adept at defending a score. Sagar Pun picked up 3 for 35 with his offspin as only Adair, fellow MCC opener Steve Clark and No. 7 Richard Wilkinson managed to get into double-figures – and, in the case of Adair, a 28-year-old who plays for Hampstead, beyond. His well-paced century, from 122 balls, was warmly applauded by players on both sides.Pubudu Dassanayake, who stepped down as Nepal coach last year after being involved in some of their greatest moments of recent times, joined the celebrations in the dressing room afterwards. Dassanayake has been back working with the side recently as a consultant, arranged by the ICC, and his pride in their achievement was obvious.”These boys, the amount of work they put in, they deserve this, to come and play a game here,” Dassanayake said. “They make a lot of sacrifices and fight always.”

Arsenal have been urged to make a summer move for RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol by journalist Paul Brown, who recently spoke to GiveMeSport.

Will Arsenal sign a new centre-back this summer?

The Gunners were in a fantastic position to win the Premier League title prior to the back injury suffered by defender William Saliba, which has ruled him out of the last eight league games, indicating new signings will be required this summer.

Journalist David Ornstein has recently claimed Mikel Arteta will "definitely" look at bringing in additional reinforcements at centre-back, and the manager has started to run the rule over a number of options.

Although he has primarily featured as a right-back this season, Ivan Fresneda is also able to play centrally, with his versatility impressing Arteta, while Marc Guehi has also been identified as a potential target.

There may be stiff competition for Gvardiol, who is said to have a €110m (£97m) release clause included in his contract, which becomes active in 2024, but there have now been calls for Arsenal to join the race for his signature.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, Brown said: “They should go and get Gvardiol. I think he'd be perfect. Whether he'd go there, we don't know. But Arsenal are going to be a Champions League team.

“They might win the league this season and will be an attractive club. Why not make an offer?”

Should Arsenal sign Josko Gvardiol?

It is clear the Gunners need to strengthen at centre-back, given that they have struggled ever since Rob Holding came into the side to replace Saliba, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last seven games, having kept three in the four games prior.

Journalist Charles Watts claimed the Englishman was "exposed woefully" against Manchester City, while GiveMeSport's Alex Batt has previously branded him a "liability".

Gvardiol, on the other hand, is one of the most exciting young centre-backs in Europe, being hailed as a "gladiator" by journalist Ryan Taylor during the 2022 World Cup, a tournament in which he was ranked by Sofascore as Croatia's fifth-best performing player.

The 6 foot 1 defender is a threat going forward, ranking in the 90th percentile for non-penalty goals per 90 in the past year, when compared to his positional peers, also averaging more tackles, interceptions and blocks than Holding during that time period.

As such, the Zagreb-born centre-back would be an excellent addition for Arsenal, but his £97m release may make it a difficult transfer to orchestrate this summer.

Liverpool, Manchester United, and Newcastle United have all joined the race to sign Chelsea's star player Mason Mount. The England international's contract at Chelsea is set to expire in the summer of 2024. According to reports, a contract extension hasn't yet been agreed upon.

The questions being asked here are, where will Mount go next, and if he does sign for Liverpool, how would he fit into their midfield?

Who is Mason Mount?

Mason Mount is a 24-year-old attacking midfielder/central midfielder who currently plays for English Premier League side Chelsea. Since playing for the London club, he has scored 27 goals in 127 games across all competitions.

He made his debut playing for Chelsea's senior team after coming through the 'Blues' youth system in 2017 and his international debut for England came in 2019.

While playing for England, he has so far scored 5 goals in 36 games. Mount was born in Portsmouth, England, in January 1999; the right-footed attacking midfielder wears the number 19 shirt for Chelsea.

Where would Mount fit into Liverpool's midfield if he makes the switch?

If Liverpool were to sign Mount this year or next year, it would be purely to strengthen the current midfield, which currently consists of the following players:

• Fabinho
• Harvey Elliot
• Curtis Jones
• Jordan Henderson
• Alexander Oxlade-Chamberlain
• James Milner
• Thiago Alcantara
• Naby Keita
• Stefan Bajcetic

If he does sign for the 'Reds,' he would definitely be an asset to the club. He would n easily fit into the middle of the field without Klopp having to make too many changes. Liverpool will no doubt be keeping a close eye on Mount's contract situation over the coming months.

Mason Mount's next club odds

If you look at some of today's major soccer betting websites, you will see that Manchester United have a slightly better chance of signing Mason Mount than Liverpool.

Some of the other clubs he could also potentially sign for are Newcastle United (English Premier League), Manchester City (English Premier League), Paris Saint-Germain (French Ligue 1), or Inter Milan (Italian Serie A).

Let's take a quick closer look at the odds:

• Manchester United – Mount is currently priced, on average, at around 4/1 in the UK fractional odds format to join the Red Devils. This works out to 400 in the American/moneyline odds format or 5.00 in the European decimal odds format. This also means that there's a 20% chance of him joining Man United
• Liverpool – To join Liverpool, you're currently looking at odds of around 6/1 (which is 600, or 7.00), with a 14.30% chance of joining
• Manchester City – To join the Sky Blues, you're looking at average odds of around 12/1 (1,200, or 13.00), with a 7.70% chance of joining
• Paris Saint-Germain – To join Ligue 1 side PSG, you're looking at odds of around 16/1 (1,600, or 17.00), with a 5.90% chance of joining
• Inter Milan – To join Inter, the market is priced at around 25/1 (2,500, or 26.00), with only a 3.80% chance of joining

What's next for Mason Mount

Mason Mount is currently worth somewhere in the region of €55 million to €92 million. Whether Chelsea extends his contract to keep him there for a few more years or decides to cash in on their prolific star player while he's in the best form of his life remains to be seen.

Chelsea are currently in tenth place in the Premier League. They have just 34 points after 25 games, having won only 9 games, drawn 7 and lost 9. They have scored 24 goals and let in 25.

On Saturday, March 11th, they travel away in the Premier League to play Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Their next league game is a home game against Everton on March 18th, and then on April 1st, they have another home game, this time against Aston Villa.

Image Source: Pixabay

Chelsea are expected to make contact with Mauricio Pochettino over the coming days as their search for their next permanent manager rolls on.

Could Chelsea land Pochettino?

The Argentine manager has now been available since leaving his post with Paris Saint-Germain last summer but is garnering attention from elsewhere.

London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, have also been credited with an interest in their former manager, although there are believed to be some reservations behind the scenes.

But it is apparent large sections of their fans would like to see the 51-year-old make his return to N17 as they sang his name from the stands on Monday night.

The Argentine has a big affiliation with Chelsea's rivals so it would be intriguing to see whether that could potentially get in the way of a potential move to Stamford Bridge.

However, there is also the matter of the potential opening at Real Madrid in the summer in which Pochettino is believed to be one. of the main candidates ahead of the summer.

Speaking to NBC Sports, David Ornstein has claimed he now expects contact to ramp up between the Blues and managerial candidates with the 51-year-old being one of them:

(0:30) "There will be contact with a number of others as well, such as Mauricio Pochettino. And those contacts are now starting to be initiated as Chelsea look to move on.

"And the reason they want to move on is because of the potential competition. Tottenham Hotspur are also looking for a manager, Paris Saint-Germain could be in the market in not too long too. Real Madrid possibly at the end of the season.

"And from what we hear the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Julian Nagelsmann may be interested in the Real Madrid post. So I think Chelsea are trying to steal a march on their rivals."

Would Pochettino be a good appointment for Chelsea?

What the Argentine would have going in his favour is his knowledge of the Premier League having spent over five years in London with Spurs.

And in that time he was able to develop Spurs into a consistent top-four side who were challenging for trophies over the course of his reign.

However, the main issue many Chelsea fans will likely have is that the Argentine was not able to get Spurs over the line in terms of trophies with his tenure effectively proving fruitless despite their respective achievements.

Another potential concern that may be evident for some is that Pochettino has proven himself to be somewhat of a project manager having looked to develop talent at Spurs with the funds not widely available over his time at the club.

And as Graham Potter has found out, time is not on your side as the Chelsea manager with Todd Boehly clearly looking for quick success after the money he has spent.

Pochettino – hailed a "master tactician" by BBC's Mina Rzouki – previously managed a side full of superstars during his time at PSG and his tenure will probably go down as mediocre with Lille winning Ligue 1 in his first season.

So it will be intriguing to see whether Pochettino would be open to a potential move to Stamford Bridge and whether the vacancy would even prove to be something that would appeal to a manager like the Argentine.

How Chelsea could have done with a forward of Armando Broja's abilities in front of goal as their offensive woes continued on Saturday after falling to a disappointing 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa.

What are Armando Broja's statistics?

The Blues mustered 27 shots on goal but failed to find the back of the net once again, with a lack of clinical finishing a significant factor behind their bottom half standing in the Premier League.

Therefore, It is unfortunate that young forward Armando Broja suffered a season-ending injury during the World Cup break, as he could have been a big player for the west London outfit in the remainder of the campaign.

However, there is no doubt that the Albania international could be influential again under a new manager if he can rediscover the form that he showed out on loan at Southampton in the 2021/22 season, where he managed eight goals in all competitions.

Although he managed just one goal for the Blues in the first half of the campaign, he is still only 21 and looks set for a bright future, whether that be at Stamford Bridge or elsewhere.

Fortunately for Todd Boehly, if he ever opts to cash in on the young striker, he looks certain to make a significant profit, as the young striker, who earns £40k-per-week, would join the club at U9 level.

How much is Armando Broja worth now?

Unsurprisingly, Broja's impressive form out on loan in his first taste of senior football in England, as well as the new long-term contract that he signed earlier this season, have seen his market value shoot up in recent years.

According to Football Transfers, the former Vitesse loanee is now valued at €33.9m (£30m), which represents an impressive rise given he was valued at less than €10m (£9m) only a year ago.

The disappointing form of Kai Havertz, which has returned just seven league goals this season, as well as the ostracisation of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, suggests that any new appointment could still look towards Broja as the long-term goalscoring solution in the side when he returns from injury.

The young forward was notably praised by Albanian coach Sergio Porrini last season, saying:

"He's grown a lot since last year and he's exploded at Southampton. His greatest qualities are in his progression, especially ball and chain.

"With the necessary comparisons, he's somewhat reminiscent of [Rafael] Leao in how unstoppable he becomes if he stretches the ball into space On the other hand, he is less good with his back to goal, in the construction of the action, but in the spaces he is devastating."

Thus, if he can live up to his obvious potential at Stamford Bridge, then his market value will only continue to rocket, which emphasises that the club well and truly struck gold by unearthing such a promising young player from their academy.

Newcastle United midfielder Elliot Anderson has responded on social media after VAR opted to controversially rule out his goal for offside on Friday night.

What's the latest on Elliot Anderson and NUFC?

In the first Premier League game of the latest round of fixtures, the Magpies travelled away from home to take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

In the end, a brace from Alexander Isak was enough to see Eddie Howe and his side pick up all three points in a 2-1 win despite Emmanuel Dennis' opener.

Seeing as the game was won by a last-minute penalty, it's easy to understand how tight the match was, but things could have been very different had Anderson's goal stood.

Evidently upset by the decision, after the game the player took to Instagram to offer up a disappointed "Cheers, mate" in response to Sean Longstaff's show of support.

Why was Elliot Anderson's goal ruled out for Newcastle?

As per The Athletic, it seems the goal was ruled out because Longstaff was deemed to be offside in the build-up, even though he only touched the ball after it had been played by a Forest defender.

However, with the help of VAR, referee Paul Tierney decided that defender Felipe had not intentionally played the ball and so Longstaff’s subsequent involvement was from an offside position.

On top of his story, Anderson also added in a separate Instagram post that he is "gutted it hasn’t stood" but still delighted to have helped out in the "huge" three points.

After the game, manager Howe seemed baffled by it all as well. He told the press: “I’m not sure what happened there, I’ve got no idea, so I need to sit down and see what happened and what the thought process was.

“I was surprised to see the referee go over to the screen and make that decision and that call. It was what it was, and I think the big thing from that is that the players responded really well.”

Manchester United remain interested in making a move for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice this summer despite reports to the contrary, according to a fresh transfer update.

The Lowdown: Rice rumours swirling

The England international will be a wanted man at the end of this season, with his current Hammers deal expiring in 2024 and no sign of him extending his stay at the club.

Rice has continued to be a vital player for West Ham this season, starting all 24 of their Premier League matches and averaging 2.1 tackles per game.

United had been linked with a move for the 24-year-old a number of times but a recent report from GiveMeSport claimed Erik ten Hag isn’t keen on signing him.

However, the saga seems to have taken another twist with this latest news…

The Latest: United still keen

According to Football Insider, the Red Devils are in fact ‘still hopeful’ of acquiring Rice’s services this summer, even though he would prefer to ‘stay in London’.

United believe they ‘can still convince’ the West Ham star to join them, with the midfielder described in the report as ‘one of the most sought-after players in world football’.

The Glazers apparently want to blow rival suitors Arsenal away with a monster move – Rice is expected to cost upwards of £100m.

The Verdict: Could be a sensational signing

Rice has already become such a dominant and influential player for England across two major tournaments, winning 39 caps to date, and he could be a fantastic signing for United.

The £60,000-a-week midfielder could complement Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes beautifully, possessing the box-to-box energy that someone like Christian Eriksen can’t provide week in week out.

Not only that, but Rice is someone who has the potential to become world-class in the coming years, with 24 still such a young age in a footballing sense, so United could be signing a future captain and real rising star in the middle of the park.

The price tag is likely to be eye-watering, which isn’t ideal, but with Ten Hag looking to turn his side into an even stronger outfit moving forward, it is hard not to see Rice improving them further, having been described as ‘magnificent’ by journalist Joe Chapman during the 2022 World Cup.