Newcastle fans fume as Rondon deal stalls

Loads of Newcastle fans have been reacting to the latest transfer news, as a deal for Salomon Rondon has reportedly stalled.

According to Sky Sports, Rondon’s move to Tyneside has stalled, as Rafael Benitez continues the hunt for a new number nine.

The Magpies were in talks with West Brom over a swap deal that would send Dwight Gayle to the Hawthorns in exchange for Rondon.

A reporter from Sky Sports claims the Baggies are “keen to keep their existing squad” though, and that they are unwilling to pay Gayle what he makes at Newcastle.

While Rondon isn’t the marquee striker signing both Rafa and the fans have been crying out for, he certainly has the traits to be the perfect partner up front for Yoshinori Muto.

Rondon, who has 19 goals in 66 Venezuela caps, could thrive off the service from the likes of Matt Ritchie and Kenedy, so fans are understandably annoyed that the deal has stalled.

The 6 ft 1 beast reportedly has a £16.5m relegation clause in his contract, so it does seem rather bizarre to haggle over swap deals rather than just trigger his release clause.

You can find some of the best Twitter reaction down below…

Jonjoe Kenny needs to move to West Brom right away

West Brom picked up their first win of the season against Norwich to carry on their mixed start to life in the Championship.

The Baggies drew their first game of the season away to Nottingham Forest before defeating the Canaries in a five-goal thriller. Jay Rodriguez grabbed a brace with Harvey Barnes, and Hal Robson-Kanu also got on the scoresheet during the 4-3 win. Darren Moore will be pleased with three points, but there is plenty of work to done to secure a return to the Premier League.

The transfer window may be closed, but Albion can still sign players on loan until the end of August. One area of concern will be right-back. Allan Nyom was dreadful against Norwich and arguably at fault for two of the goals conceded. Moore needs to sign a replacement before the end of the month.

A perfect signing could be Everton youngster – Jonjoe Kenny. Valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, the 21-year-old enjoyed an extended spell in the first-team during the absence of Seamus Coleman. He 19 appearances in the Premier League and three in the Europa League.

However, with Coleman back at full fitness, first-team football is likely to be scarcer this season following the arrival of Marco Silva. The Portuguese may decide a loan move is best for his development, and the Hawthorns could be the perfect destination.

Kenny would be a fantastic replacement for Nyom and solidify the Baggies’ backline. He has experience at Premier League as well as representing England at U20 level. A temporary switch to the Championship would benefit all parties.

West Brom fans, thoughts?

Arsenal fans are not happy with the Lucas Perez deal

Arsenal forward Lucas Perez has joined West Ham United for a fee believed to be in the region of £4million.

The 29-year-old joined the Gunners from Deportivo La Coruna back in 2016 for a reported fee of £17.1million.

He has since gone on to make just 11 league appearances for Arsenal and then returned to Deportivo on loan last season, where he scored eight goals in 35 games.

He has joined Manuel Pellegrini’s Hammers on a three-year deal, becoming their eighth signing of the summer and the second from the Gunners after Jack Wilshere signed on a free earlier in the summer.

New Arsenal manager Unai Emery is preparing for his first season in the Premier League and has brought in a number of new faces to the Emirates, while Perez joins Wilshere, Calum Chambers and Chuba Akpom in leaving this summer.

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Arsenal fans have been reacting to Perez’s departure on social media and here’s a selection of what they’ve had to say.

Revealed: 54% of Leeds fans want Alioski to start over Harrison against Rotherham

The majority of Leeds fans that voted in our poll want Macedonian winger Ezgjan Alioski to start over loan signing Jack Harrison in Saturday’s Championship game against Rotherhan United at Elland Road.

Youngster Harrison, who signed on a temporary basis from Manchester City in the summer, started the Carabao Cup tie with Bolton and impressed with some neat touches and quick feet as Leeds ran out 2-1 winners. However, there is no doubt that the England Under-21 international is still a raw talent and Whites fans would prefer the experience of 26-year-old Alioski.

Alioski has started the first two Championship games of the season during which Leeds have been hugely impressive in adapting to new boss Marcelo Bielsa’s high tempo style of play. The Macedonian international provided an assist in the opening weekend over Stoke, before netting a goal and creating another in the Whites’ 4-1 drubbing of Derby County.

This impressive form led to 54 per cent of Leeds fans voting for him to start over Harrison on Saturday. Check out the full results below.

QPR signing Agyemang and ex-Tottenham man Oduwa would hardly be inspiring

Queens Park Rangers have taken Montel Agyemang and Nathan Oduwa on trial in the wake of their 7-1 drubbing against West Brom, West London Sport reports.

What’s the word?

QPR boss Steve McClaren is frantically searching for answers to solve his woes at Loftus Road after a troubled start to the season has seen the R’s sit rock-bottom of the Championship table after four consecutive defeats.

Saturday’s 7-1 drubbing at the hands of West Brom and the 3-0 defeat to Bristol City on Tuesday has significantly increased the pressure on him, with a testing fight against relegation looking set to lie ahead over the course of the 2018-19 campaign.

McClaren’s side will hope to strengthen their ranks before the loan market closes on August 31st and are also taking advantage of free agents, with West London Sport reporting that Montel Agyemang and Nathan Oduwa have been taken on trial.

Both players featured for the entire 90 minutes of a thrilling 3-3 draw between QPR’s U23 side and their Nottingham Forest counterparts, where Sebastien Bassong, Grant Hall and Chris Paul were also in the squad as they maintain their fitness levels while they search for new clubs.

Should they be signed?

QPR should definitely be exploring every avenue they possibly can over the course of the coming weeks as they need all the help they can get, but McClaren’s plan to potential sign the duo on permanent deals if they impress on trial is hardly inspiring.

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22-year-old winger Oduwa is probably the more exciting options as the former Tottenham Hotspur man earned experience on loan with SPL giants Rangers, Luton, Colchester and Peterborough before being released by the Lilywhites last year.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old midfielder Agyemang has played for a host of non-league sides since leaving Leyton Orient in 2016 and remains largely untested at a high level, which raises questions as to whether he can cope with the rigours of Championship football.

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Liverpool fans shouldn’t forget about Taiwo Awoniyi

Liverpool will focus on offloading a number of fringe players as the transfer window draws to a close for European sides.

The Reds conducted the majority of their business in the early weeks of the window after clubs voted last year to bring deadline day forward before the season starts. Jurgen Klopp wasted no time in strengthening his squad, spending £170m to bring Fabinho, Naby Keita, Alisson Becker and Xherdan Shaqiri to Anfield. The Reds kicked off the campaign with wins against West Ham and Crystal Palace.

Klopp will now focus on selling players who no longer feature in his plans. Ragnar Klavan was sold to Caliguri while Loris Karius has joined Besiktas on a two-year loan. A host of youngsters could be set to follow Harry Wilson, Ben Woodburn and Ovie Ejaria on temporary deals away from the club.

One man who was also sent out on loan is Nigerian forward – Taiwo Awoniyi. Valued at £1.35m by Transfermarkt, the 21-year-old joined the club back in August 2015 but was immediately loaned to FSV Frankfurt. Awoniyi was subsequently loaned to NEC Nijmegen and Royal Excel Mouscron to get regular football under his belt. He penned a new long-term contract in July before joining Gent in his latest loan move.

Awoniyi netted ten goals for Mouscron – Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were the only Liverpool players who scored more. The young forward also managed to pick up seven assists for his team-mates. After another spell in Belgium, he could finally be ready to make his mark on the Premier League.

Liverpool clearly see a future for the striker at the club, who will get experience in Europe with Gent. With Dominic Solanke and Divock Origi failing to find the back of the net consistently and Daniel Sturridge yet to prove he can be relied on – his chance may come quicker than expected.

Liverpool fans, thoughts?

HYS: Should McNair be starting regularly for Middlesbrough?

Middlesbrough have had a positive start to the season having gone on a six-game unbeaten run in the Championship.

The main objective for Tony Pulis and his side is to secure promotion to the Premier League, and at the moment they are on track, albeit being very early days in the campaign.

Boro currently sit second in the standings on level points with leaders Leeds having recorded four wins and two draws.

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One of the club’s summer signings has not been an influential part of this run due to the lack of game time.

Paddy McNair signed for the second tier club from Sunderland in the summer transfer window, but has struggled to earn a starting spot.

In fact, the 23-year-old has made four league outings, but only as a substitute, and has started just twice – both in the EFL Cup.

In fixtures against Notts County and Rochdale, the former Manchester United player has impressed.

McNair has proven that he can score goals from midfield, which could end up being an asset for Boro, but should Pulis throw him into the lineup from now on?

Let us know by voting below.

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Rangers need a central midfield player on Olivier Ntcham’s level

Steven Gerrard experienced his first taste of the Old Firm derby on Sunday afternoon as his side suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at Celtic Park thanks to a 62nd minute strike from Olivier Ntcham. 

In truth the scoreline flattered the Gers on an afternoon in which they were second best in virtually every department.

The Hoops were rampant throughout proceedings and with a little helping hand from lady luck they could have been out of sight by half-time.

Gerrard was quick to point the finger at the referee in the aftermath of proceedings, but in truth his side didn’t deserve anything from the game against a vastly superior Celtic side.

Perhaps the main difference between the two teams was in central midfield where the eventual match winner Ntcham (valued at £2.7 million by Transfermarkt) dictated proceedings and enabled Celtic to mount wave after wave of attack with his extensive range of passing.

Rangers struggled to cope with his desire to get on the ball at every opportunity and they effectively game him the freedom of Celtic Park to roam into.

If the Gers are to bridge the gaping gulf in class between the two sides they will need to sign a midfield lynchpin who not only can provide the level of quality which Ntcham gives Celtic, but also ensure that the 22-year-old does not enjoy that level of space in future encounters between the Glasgow rivals.

The fact that Celtic managed to secure Ntcham for just £4.5 million from Manchester City proves there are bargains to be had, even in the current economic climate.

Rangers’ midfield trio of Ryan Jack, Scott Arfield and Ovie Ejaria worked diligently all afternoon long but between them they failed miserably to prevent Ntcham from single-handedly bossing the game, and if Gerrard wants to pull his side out of Celtic’s shadow he will need to add a player who can go toe-to-toe with their match winner.

Rangers fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Aaron Ramsey performance slammed following Wales’ defeat to Denmark

Wales suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Denmark in their second UEFA Nations League match on Sunday, with Aaron Ramsey receiving vast levels of criticism for his performance from football fans.

Two goals from Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen was enough for the Danes to pick up their first win of the new international competition, but the Arsenal midfielder was slammed for his display.

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The 27-year-old, who joined the ranks at the Emirates from Cardiff City in 2008, played the full 90 minutes for Ryan Giggs’ side, but failed to make much of an impact on the game.

Ramsey has featured in all four of Arsenal’s Premier League fixtures this season, which has seen the Gunners pick up two wins and two defeats thus far, impressing throughout.

But, following a somewhat underwhelming display, and with uncertainty surrounding the Welsh midfielder’s future at the club, football fans took to Twitter to give their opinions on Ramsey.

Here are some of the tweets…

Opinion: Leeds must sign Jan Kirchhoff to provide the perfect defensive cover

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Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa should look to sign free-agent Jan Kirchhoff to bolster his defensive options and provide cover should the Whites suffer any injuries.

Current Situation

Leeds are sitting at the top of the Championship table with 14 points from their first six league matches under their new boss Bielsa, who has successfully introduced his high-tempo and high-pressing style of play to the Elland Road side.

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Despite the strong start though there have been moments of worry for Leeds fans, including the 2-0 loss to Preston in the second round of the Carabao Cup and the recent knee injury sustained by new signing Patrick Bamford, who will be out for four months.

If a similar injury is suffered by a defender at the club though it could be a far bigger issue for Bielsa, with full-backs Gaetano Berardi and Luke Ayling both having had to fill in at centre-back already at times during this campaign.

Perfect cover

Bielsa then should look to bring in a free-agent to provide the cover that his squad is crying out for, and Kirchhoff would be the perfect signing. The German’s former clubs include Sunderland, Mainz, Schalke and Bayern Munich, and at 27 years of age he is considerably younger than a lot of the other free-agents out there currently.

Kirchhoff spent the second half of last season with Bolton, making just four appearances before leaving the club this summer. The 6ft 5in centre-back/defensive midfielder was also a youth international for Germany and played for the U18, U19 and U21 national sides.

As the Whites look for promotion back to the Premier League, Kirchhoff could provide the necessary quality and versatility to cover both the midfield and defence should Bielsa suffer any more bad luck.

So, Leeds fans, would you like to see Bielsa sign Kirchhoff? Have your say by voting in our poll below.

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