أبدى البرتغالي دييجو جوتا، مهاجم ليفربول الجديد سعادته بالانتقال إلى صفوف الريدز.

وأعلن ليفربول منذ قليل الحصول على خدمات جوتا رسميًا من وولفرهامبتون (طالع التفاصيل).

وقال جوتا في تصريحات لموفع “ليفربول” الرسمي: “إنها لحظة مثيرة حقًا بالنسبة لي ولعائلتي”.

وأضاف: “كنت أحلم منذ طفولتي بالانضمام إلى ناد مثل ليفربول، فهو بطل العالم، أنه أمر لا يصدق، أنا فقط أريد أن أبدأ في اللعب”.

وتابع: “ليفربول واحد من أفضل الفرق في العالم، عندما تنظر إلى الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، تراهم دائمًا بين أكبر فرق البريميرليج، لذلك من المستحيل أن تقول لهم لا”.

وأوضح: “لذلك أردت فقط القدوم إلى هنا، لتقديم أفضل ما لدي وآمل أن أصبح خيارًا جيدًا لليفربول في المستقبل”.

وأفاد: “أعتقد أنني لاعب جماعي، ألعب في خط الهجوم وعملي هو إيجاد طريقة لتسجيل وصنع الأهداف، وهذا ما يمكن أن يتوقعوه مني”.

وأكد “سأبذل قصارى جهدي دائمًا، سأحاول دائمًا مساعدة الفريق بأفضل طريقة ممكنة”.

وأتم: “يمكن للجماهير الاعتماد عليّ، لأنني الآن واحد منهم وسأبذل قصارى جهدي”.

For the second successive transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur opted to keep their chequebook closed, making no signings.

Mauricio Pochettino made history in the summer as Spurs became the first side to not sign a single player during the summer transfer window’s history. The Argentine once again admitted that signings were unlikely in January despite a host of players leaving the club. Even with many key players currently sidelined with an injury, there were no new arrivals at Wembley.

Indeed, with their new stadium completed, the summer transfer window should be a completely different story. With more funds available, there could be a massive revamp at the club with many players linked with an exit. With Toby Alderweireld expected to leave and Jan Vertonghen approaching the end of his career, defensive upgrades should be a priority.

One man Pochettino could target is Benfica rock – Ruben Dias. Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the 21-year-old is a product of the club’s youth academy and has blossomed into a key player for his side. Despite his young age, Dias is a natural leader in the back four and has captained his side on multiple occasions.

His leadership qualities would add some much-needed stability into the Spurs back four and Dias’ professionalism means he would thrive under Pochettino’s leadership. The Portugal international is also a dominant force in the air, winning 3.6 aerial duels per game in Liga NOS, meaning he should have no problem dealing with the Premier League’s physicality. As well as his defensive prowess, the youngster also excels with the ball at his feet.

Improving with every game, Dias could prove to be a mainstay in the Spurs back four.

Tottenham fans, thoughts?

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Manuel Lanzini made his comeback from a serious knee injury in West Ham United’s Premier League clash with Fulham at the London Stadium on Friday night.

Indeed, the attacker replaced Felipe Anderson in the 76th minute of the clash, which ended in a 3-1 home win.

Ryan Babel actually sent Fulham into an early lead in the London derby, but goals from Javier Hernandez, Issa Diop and Michail Antonio secured the points for West Ham.

For many, though, the big story was the return of Lanzini.

Indeed, the 29-year-old had been on the sidelines since suffering a serious knee injury last June, which saw him miss out on the chance to play in the 2018 World Cup for Argentina.

Lanzini has also missed the entire 2018-19 Premier League campaign to date, but made his return to action against Fulham on Friday night.

And it would be fair to say that the West Ham fans were absolutely delighted, with a selection of their Twitter reaction available to view below:

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Lots of Leeds fans have been running the rule over Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference, and they’re starting to suspect that Izzy Brown was a totally pointless signing after the gaffer’s latest comments.

There was plenty of big injury news for Leeds fans to take in on Thursday, as Phil Hay delivered an update on Jack Clarke while Kemar Roofe is eyeing a return before the end of the season.

Perhaps the most interesting fitness update was about Brown though, as the midfielder is still not ready to feature in the first team, or so it would seem.

“(He is making) constantly positive steps,” said Bielsa at his pre-Bolton press conference, as reported by Hay.

“We have to link his improvement to the needs of the team to see when he will start a game.”

Brown joined the Whites last summer on loan from Chelsea, but the midfielder was still recovering from a knee injury sustained in January 2018.

He has since returned to action for the Under-23’s, picked up another injury and then recovered again, finally appearing in a matchday squad for the first time against Middlesbrough.

Bielsa’s comments suggests he is no rush to get Brown back though despite the manager’s options becoming seriously depleted, so it is more than possible he simply doesn’t rate the 22 year-old.

At least that’s what the Twitter reactions down below think…

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Rafa Benitez is confident that Sean Longstaff will receive an England call-up sooner rather than later, despite the midfielder making just seven Premier League appearances for Newcastle after being called up to the first team this term. Should the Magpies boss’ words be of concern to Jonjo Shelvey though?

What did he say?

Speaking prior to Tuesday night’s clash with Burnley, the Spaniard said:

“Sean wouldn’t look out of place with England, there are not too many young English players with his quality.

“I think he will go, he’s doing well and playing in the Premier League. I like to see my players going to the national team.

“I don’t care if it’s the Under-20s, Under-21s or even the senior side but I think he needs to go one step at a time. If we start talking too much about how well it’s doing, it’s a risk.”

Benitez, however, doesn’t seem to be worried that his words will inflate the 21-year-old’s ego, as he followed up by saying:

“Sean’s humble, professional and focused. He’s a player who can be consistent.”

The reasoning behind Jonjo Shelvey’s exclusion?

Longstaff’s incredible showings alongside Isaac Hayden at the base of midfield – both have earned plaudits from even Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City side were beaten by the Magpies in January – mean that they have forced their way to the forefront of Benitez’s thinking in the absences of Ki Sung-Yueng, Mo Diame and Jonjo Shelvey.

The latter has made just 11 league appearances for the St James’ Park outfit this term, largely thanks to injury, but, now that that the 26-year-old is back fit, he may still have to wait for a run in the starting XI.

Have the new Newcastle home and away kits for next season accidentally been leaked? See for yourself in the video below…

Benitez described Longstaff as “humble, professional and focused”, surely none of which are qualities that would be attributed to his 26-year-old teammate by many – the 6-cap England international has been involved in all sorts of controversies over the course of his career.

Perhaps the fact that the youngster is so highly thought of by his manager for those reasons, besides his obvious quality, is a sign that Shelvey’s Newcastle career is drawing to a close. Has the boss run out of patience with the frustrating playmaker?

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Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed by the Eagles’ official Twitter account that Wilfried Zaha is eligible to face West Ham, after his FA suspension was delayed following an appeal.

The Ivorian received a one-game ban and a £10,000 fine from the FA for improper conduct, after sarcastically applauding referee Andre Marriner in the 1-1 draw against Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium last month.

However, Zaha retained the right to appeal, which he has taken up and consequently seen his ban suspended.

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…

This means that he will be set to take on the Hammers at Selhurst Park in an enticing London derby, and then potentially serve his ban for the following game against Doncaster in the FA Cup if the FA reject his appeal.

For now though, most Palace fans on Twitter are happy with the fact that the 26-year-old is available for the crunch clash having initially feared that he would miss it…

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Southampton came within seconds of picking up another vital three points and a clean sheet in their battle against relegation before the last-gasp penalty they conceded in their 1-1 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.

The south coast outfit looked on course to pull away from the bottom three following Nathan Redmond’s superb second-half strike, but after Jack Stephens handled in the area Ashley Barnes calmly converted from 12 yards with what was pretty much the last kick of the encounter in Lancashire.

The guilty party for the goal was once again deployed alongside Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek in a three-man defence against Sean Dyche’s men, and it was the latter that once again caught the eye having been a regular fixture in the starting XI since Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived at St Mary’s at the beginning of December.

The Poland international is clearly benefitting from the number of minutes he is getting on the pitch and appears to be getting better and better every match, and it was no different against the Clarets.

From a defensive point of view, the 22-year-old was certainly faced with plenty of balls over the top and crosses into the box, but he dealt with them admirably and provided another mature performance across the 90 minutes.

His showing was made even better by the fact that he also provided the assist for Redmond’s strike with a fine pass to the attacker from deep, and that wasn’t his only key pass of the game, as per stats-based website WhoScored.

Bendarek also won eight aerial duels and made two interceptions and five clearances, and you would be hard pressed to find a Southampton fan that doesn’t think he is the club’s best centre-back option right now.

If he can start to impact the match in the final third with clever incisive passing as he did against Burnley, then there is no doubt that he can be the team’s key player in their battle against the drop – one which is very much alive as their next opponents Cardiff City’s win over Bournemouth at the weekend means Hasenhuttl’s men are just two points above the drop-zone despite their recent good form.

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…

يأمل نادي ليفربول الإنجليزي في الإعلان عن صفقة جديدة، الليلة، وفقًا لآخر التقارير الصحفية الواردة.

ليفربول أعلن اليوم التعاقد رسميًا مع الإسباني الدولي تياجو ألكانتارا، من صفوف بايرن ميونخ الألماني.

وبحسب صحيفة “تيليجراف” البريطانية، يقترب ليفربول من التوقيع مع دييجو جوتا من وولفرهامبتون.

تحرك فريق ليفربول سريعًا لضم البرتغالي وهناك ثقة متزايدة بإتمام الصفقة في أقرب وقت.

كان ليفربول مهتمًا بإسماعيلا سار لاعب واتفورد، لكن يبدو أن سعره البالغ 40 مليون جنيه إسترليني الذي فرضه ناديه، جعل الريدز يغير أولويته.

جوتا البالغ 23 عامًا، أصبح الآن أولوية ليفربول بعد أن أكملوا توقيع تياجو ألكانتارا في وقت سابق يوم الجمعة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كلوب: حلمت كثيرًا بضم ألكانتارا ولن نستقبله على السجادة الحمراء!

وتم استبعاد مهاجم وولفرهامبتون من تشكيل فريق في مباراة يوم الخميس في كأس كاراباو ضد ستوك والتي أثارت الشكوك حول مستقبله هناك.

كان بنفيكا البرتغالي حريصًا أيضًا على ضم جوتا لكن اللاعب يريد البقاء في الدوري الإنجليزي ويركز على الانضمام إلى حامل اللقب.

يريد يورجن كلوب، المدير الفني لليفربول، أن يضيف لهجوم الفريق، ورفض كلوب استبعاد إمكانية التعاقد المزيد من الصفقات بعد إتمام صفقة تياجو، وأوضح ذلك اليوم في تصريحاته خلال المؤتمر الصحفي الخاص بمباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي، المقرر لها الأحد القادم.

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Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter in order to cry out for some refereeing consistency, after Burnley striker Ashley Barnes escaped a second yellow card for dissent despite screaming aggressively in the linesman’s face.

Before the weekend’s round of fixtures, the Eagles took on Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium, where talisman Wilfried Zaha picked up a yellow card after an incident with James Ward-Prowse.

The Ivorian was then given an immediate second yellow and his marching orders for sarcastically applauding referee Andre Marriner’s decision.

Which player with “no potential” has just been named Crystal Palace’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video below…

To compare, in the Clarets’ game against Southampton, Barnes was booked for diving, before confronting the linesman in an overly aggressive fashion, but somehow failed to receive the same treatment as Zaha did for his act of dissent.

Naturally, Palace fans are baffled as to why Barnes wasn’t sent off as well, and have called out for some consistency in the rules in frustrated fashion if their reactions on Twitter are anything to go by…

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to react after a former transfer target for the club in Nabil Fekir reportedly closes in on a new contract with Lyon, as reported by the AnfieldHQ.

The France international and World Cup winner came extremely close to becoming a Liverpool player back in the summer before failing a medical, after concerns arose over his knee which saw his £53m move collapse almost immediately.

Given the fact that the 25-year-old is a sensational player and one fans viewed as a potential Philippe Coutinho replacement, most of the Reds’ fanbase have continued to track the Lyon playmaker’s situation in the months following his failed move.

However, the latest news regarding a new contract for the diminutive No.10 could all but put an end to the fans’ obsession with Fekir.

Naturally, the Liverpool supporters have taken to Twitter to react following the news of a potential new contract…