Tag Futebol

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Liverpool’s 2019 summer pre-season fixtures are now behind them as they gear up for the start of the new Premier League campaign.

But the Reds have one final challenge before they face off against Norwich in the new campaign opener.

On 4 August, Jurgen Klopp’s troops will head to Wembley where they will clash with last year’s champions of England Manchester City in the Community Shield match.

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And if their latest game is any indication at all, Liverpool are ready to face their big rivals.

The English team played against Olympique Lyon in their last friendly match and they won 3-1.

Their youngster Rhian Brewster also played a part in the clash and has now quickly taken to Instagram to share a post-match snap.

Soon enough, some other youngsters replied to his photo.

Tariq Uwakwe, Chelsea’s young player, told Brewster it is now “go time” and Harvey Elliott, the Reds’ newest signing, called him his “brother”.

There were also some other players and friends who commented below the snap and from the looks of it, Brewster seems to be quite a popular figure among the younger crop of players.

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Xherdan Shaqiri recently admitted that he was far from happy with his current situation at Liverpool.

Indeed, the 27-year-old has only played 11 minutes of first-team football in the early weeks of the 2019-20 campaign, with his sole outing coming in the Community Shield against Manchester City earlier this month.

Shaqiri has not featured in any of Liverpool’s three games since, though, and there is currently a bit of speculation surrounding his future.

On Wednesday afternoon, Liverpool’s official Twitter account posted a video of Sadio Mane, Joel Matip and Shaqiri showcasing their skills.

And the footage led to a number of the Merseyside club’s fans showing their support for Shaqiri, with many using the hashtag #FreeShaq.

It will certainly be interesting to see whether the Switzerland international plays any part in this weekend’s huge Premier League game against Arsenal.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the club’s fans can be seen below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

20-year-old Andrew Dallas has left Rangers for Cambridge United on a permanent deal, signing a two-year contract with the League Two side.

What’s the story

The striker had been on a two-week trial at Colin Calderwood’s side and impressed enough for the club to part with an undisclosed fee for his services. He had spent the second half of last season at Morton, but only scored once in 13 appearances for the Ton, despite the Gers’ departure announcement calling him a “prolific goalscorer”.

Dallas joins fellow strikers Ryan Hardie and Kyle Lafferty in departing Steven Gerrard’s men this summer as the manager reshapes his squad. The changes mean, as things stand, the Gers can call upon Jermain Defoe, Alfredo Morelos and Zak Rudden to lead the line at Ibrox for the coming season.

Some Rangers fans weren’t happy to see one of their most promising stars depart the club, but they shouldn’t sulk for too long.

Zak is back

While losing a highly thought of youth product is never nice, Dallas’ departure opens the door for Rudden to stake his claim to be the back-up to Morelos and Defoe. Rudden starred on loan at Falkirk last season and despite the side getting relegated to League One made a name for himself.

The 19-year-old was prolific, particularly as it was part of a woeful Falkirk side, scoring 13 times and assisting a further five in his 35 appearances for the Bairns. Compare this to Dallas’ one strike in 13 in Greenock and you can begin to understand why the decision was made to sell the 20-year-old.

Check out what happened when Thogden mixed with some of Montenegro’s craziest ultras in the video below…

In Rudden, Gerrard has a player who is admittedly still raw but can be trusted if he’s to earn some first-team minutes this season. 13 goals for a side who struggled from the get-go last year shows he’s no fair-weather scorer.

A loan to a lower-end Premiership outfit or promotion-chasing Championship side might yet be on the cards, but if Rangers hang on to Rudden this summer and give him a real chance behind the first-choice duo then the concerns around Dallas’ departure could be forgotten in an instant.

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أكد سيف الدين الجزيري، المنضم حديثًا إلى صفوف الزمالك، أنه شرف لأي لاعب ارتداء القميص الأبيض، لافتا إلى حبه الشديد للقلعة البيضاء.

وكان الجزيري قد انضم إلى القلعة البيضاء لمدة 6 أشهر على سبيل الإعارة بنية الشراء، قادمًا من المقاولون العرب.

وقال الجزيري خلال مداخلة ببرنامج “نهارك أبيض”، عبر قناة “الزمالك”: “الزمالك من أكبر أندية إفريقيا وشرف لأي لاعب أن يرتدي قميصه ويتواجد داخل أسواره”.

وتابع: “حلم أي لاعب أن يتواجد في الزمالك، كان هناك ضغط من الجماهير في تونس ومصر كي أنضم للقلعة البيضاء”.

طالع أيضا.. سيف الدين الجزيري يكشف عن حديثه مع فرجاني ساسي قبل انضمامه لـ الزمالك

وأضاف: “انا أحب الزمالك، تعلمون جميعًا أنني إبن النادي الإفريقي التونسي، والمعروف أن جماهير الإفريقي تحب الزمالك، وإن شاء الله أقدم أفضل ما لدي”.

وأتم: “أكثر لاعب أحبه في الزمالك هو شيكابالا، وأتمنى أن نعمل ثنائية معا”.

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According to Spanish outlet AS, Liverpool are interested in signing Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos.

The news comes after the experienced Spanish international had a falling out with club president Florentino Perez after the Champions League last 16 defeat at the hands of Ajax; Ramos had purposely gotten himself suspended for the second leg so he could be available for the quarter-final.

As a result, the Reds and Juventus are interested in taking the 33-year-old off Real Madrid’s hands, whilst there is also some interest from China.

Luis Suarez certainly had no qualms about celebrating against his former employers in the video below…

Ramos has asked to leave on a free transfer as a side from China have submitted a ‘very good offer’, but they cannot pay a transfer fee.

It would be a hugely controversial move if Ramos arrived at Anfield, given the incident in Kiev between the defender and Mohamed Salah which saw the Egyptian leave the Champions League final early through injury.

So, if Ramos is allowed to leave on a free, should Liverpool get involved? Football FanCast’s writers have their say…

Matt Dawson 

“This would be one hell of a transfer and I’d dread to think what Salah would feel like if Liverpool brought in Ramos. It’s difficult to sit here and say he wouldn’t be a good signing. I’d be lying if I said that. The fact is that the Spaniard is one of the greatest centre-backs out there. If there is a chance to sign him then they can’t afford to pass up the chance. It may hinder Gomez’s game time but just imagine what he could learn from both Ramos and van Dijk. He’d be in dreamland.”

Harry Sherlock

“It’d be very funny; one wonders how Mohamed Salah would react. But he’s not the player Liverpool need. They do need to secure a world-class partner for Virgil van Dijk but Ramos doesn’t really solve the problem; he’ll need replacing in just a couple of seasons. Liverpool would be better off focusing their attentions on a younger acquisition that can play alongside the Dutchman for the next five or six seasons.”

Luke Glanville

“Sergio Ramos is perhaps the greatest European centre-back of all-time. So if any team can capture him on a free transfer, they should – it’s a pure, pure no-brainer. The Spanish international captain may be more of a veteran now, but is only 33 and still able to perform consistently at the highest level. In addition, Virgil van Dijk is crying out for a permanent world-class partner. The only issue is, of course, the friction between the player and Mo Salah, though it’s nothing that a simple handshake can’t solve. Liverpool shouldn’t let it put them off what could be the deal of the century.”

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Celtic fans have been enjoying poking fun at defender Joe Worrall this week after he said goodbye to Rangers on social media.

The 22-year-old defender is heading back to English Championship side Nottingham Forest after the expiration of his loan and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back in Glasgow anytime soon.

Worrall has had a difficult season at Rangers playing alongside Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic, regularly attracting the ire of Ibrox supporters who have not enjoyed his error strewn performances.

Celtic fans though, as you can imagine, have quite enjoyed his presence in the Scottish Premiership and don’t appear to be too much in a rush to let him go back to England.

Worrall will now be looking to break into Martin O’Neill’s first-team next season in an effort to become a regular at his boyhood club.

These Hoops fans ruthlessly mocked his heartfelt message earlier, taking to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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What is Jurgen Klopp going to do?

The German will be without two of his star men in Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah for the visit of Barcelona, who arrive at Anfield with a comfortable 3-0 lead under their belts.

Firmino is out with a ‘muscular injury’, the same issue that has seen him miss the recent wins over Huddersfield and Newcastle, as well as the first leg loss at the Camp Nou.

Has Salamon Rondon had a better season than Bobby Firmino? Matt from The Magpie Channel discusses in the video below…

In Salah’s case, the Egyptian cannot play due to the concussion he suffered in the 3-2 win over Newcastle last Saturday.

So, how will Liverpool line up? Let’s take a look at how we think Klopp will line up without two of his biggest stars…

We think that the former Borussia Dortmund boss will draft Saturday’s match-winner, Divock Origi and the man that set up the last-gasp goal against Newcastle, Xherdan Shaqiri, into the side to replace Firmino and Salah.

Some fans have called for 19-year-old Rhian Brewster to be handed his senior debut against the Catalans, and that is definitely an option for Klopp as the teenager is in the squad – we think that the Reds boss will repay Origi for his impacting performances from the bench this season with a start in this showpiece event, however.

Shaqiri’s inventiveness, and similarity to Salah in the way that they are both left-footed but cut in from the right, will see him start in order to maintain the balance of the side, and will allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to overlap into the space created by the Swiss international coming infield.

On the topic of Alexander-Arnold, he should come into a side who need to score at least three goals to have any chance of progressing into the final as he offers more of an attacking threat than Joe Gomez, who started the first-leg.

Whoever Klopp chooses to start, one thing is for certain; Liverpool face an absolute mountain of a task to overcome their first-leg failings.

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Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to respond to a baffling transfer report from The Sun, which suggests that Gabriel Jesus may need to be sold to Atletico Madrid in order to land defensive midfielder Rodri.

The report states that the Spanish midfielder has a £65m release clause in his contract with Atletico, which the Citizens can easily meet and surely wouldn’t need to sell Jesus to raise funds for.

Are Man City better than Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’? Fans discuss in the video below…

Diego Simeone’s side are keen to sign Jesus and armed with funds from the sale of Lucas Hernandez and the departing Antoine Griezmann, but that is irrelevant in City’s pursuit of Rodri – once a release clause is met, the club who own the player is out of the equation and talks will be held with the buying club and the player’s representatives.

Jesus has scored 21 goals and recorded six assists this year despite playing second fiddle to Sergio Aguero, which is very impressive.

City won’t want to lose him, and the fans definitely don’t want to lose the Brazilian international, so they have taken to Twitter to react to the odd transfer report…

After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival as Manchester United’s manager, the Red Devils philosophy has changed towards emphasizing more on youth.

The Norwegian’s already given debuts to multiple youngsters and has his sights on signing some world-class young talents (Jadon Sancho, Declan Rice and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were all linked by the Sun) in the summer.

United have been linked to many young players over the months and Hirving Lozano is one they’ve been scouting for many years. According to reports (via TeamTalk), the Mexican winger is also ready to move to Old Trafford if they pursue him. He’s apparently asked his compatriot Javier Hernandez about life at United, getting only received positive responses.

Lozano’s having a stellar season with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, having scored 17 goals and assisted 4 in 27 appearances. He also excelled in the UEFA Champions League, providing some bright performances to prove what a rousing talent he really is. With only a release clause of £30 million, the Mexican could be signed by them in the summer.

Solskjaer would ravish a blooming talent like Lozano, who loves to take his chances in moving forward, creating chances while also getting into prime goal-scoring positions. The 23-year-old, who is valued at £36 million (by Transfermarkt), can operate with ease from the right, having the ability to cross the ball well and also cut into the box to cause real threat.

In many ways, he’d go some way into finally replacing Javier Hernandez at Old Trafford. Not since the Mexico legend have United had such an unpredictable fox in the box to bring on late in games, really sticking it to any opposition and creating such an element of danger in the dying embers of close games.

The Mexican’s a pacy, cunning figure who knows how to break defences and score goals. Lozano can be everything Alexis Sanchez couldn’t at Old Trafford, as he’ll ravish operating in the youth set-up and help get them back into playing like the old days.

United fans, would you be excited by Lozano’s potential arrival in the summer? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

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Loads of Newcastle fans are begging Isaac Hayden to stay at the club after he gave a revealing interview to The Evening Chronicle.

Hayden’s season has been quite the redemption story. If truth be told, few would have expected him to ever make a real mark in the Premier League.

The midfielder looked every bit of the Championship player he was signed to be, struggling to bridge the gap in quality to the top flight.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

Since January though, when he openly admitted he wants to leave the club due to personal reasons, he has been sensational, forming a brilliant midfield pairing with Sean Longstaff until the youngster got injured.

The 24 year-old is now one of the first names on the team-sheet, and his comments about the club’s ambitions, or lack thereof, have only further endeared him to the Toon Army.

“A club of this stature, the target shouldn’t be just to finish above the relegation zone but at the minute that is where we’re at,” he said.

“We have to deal with that as players, coaching staff and as fans who support the football club but that isn’t the ambition in the dressing room.”

That is exactly what fans on Tyneside want to hear from their players, and the interview has been met with dozens of comments begging the Englishman to stay on Tyneside.

Take a look at the Twitter reactions down below…