Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has again pledged his future to the club, amid speculation of a move to Barcelona.
The Spaniard has been heavily linked with a transfer away from Merseyside in recent months, with the likes of Barca and Arsenal believed to be keen.
Despite claiming on multiple occasions that he has no desire to leave Anfield, rumours regarding his future have failed to disappear.
La Liga leaders Barcelona are said to see him as the ideal replacement for Victor Valdes, who is set to leave the club sooner rather than later, but Reina distanced himself from the speculation:
“I believe that is conjecture. It’s not in my hands and the rumour mill is part of this,” he is quoted by talkSPORT via AS.
“It’s a great club (Barcelona) but I’m happy at Liverpool.”
Reina has been some way off of his best this term for Liverpool, turning in a number of shaky performances earlier in the campaign, as the Reds struggled to adapt to new manager Brendan Rodgers’ playing style.
But, in recent times the stopper has upped his game, becoming one of the club’s most consistent performers.
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He has also talked of his positive relationship with Rodgers, hinting that his stay at the club will extend beyond this summer.
Not many times this season have Manchester City been seen as the underdogs, but they will have that title when they take on Liverpool in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been flying high this season, and they are on the verge of wrapping up the Premier League title race as they hold a 13-point advantage.
In the last six days, though, it has been doom and gloom for the North-West outfit as the team were played off the park against Liverpool in the first leg of their tie.
Jurgen Klopp’s men earned a 3-0 victory at Anfield, leaving City with a mountain to climb in order to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
On Saturday, the club threw away the chance to secure the league crown when they relinquished a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Manchester United on home soil.
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After the first-leg loss, some City supporters prayed that Raheem Sterling would be the hero in the return fixtures, and now they are considering who will make the first XI.
Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.Comment from discussion What should be the ideal Manchester City lineup to face Liverpool?.
When ex-Stoke and Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis arrived, West Bromwich Albion were sat in 16th and only one point above the relegation zone.
Nearly three months later, the Baggies are now comfortably in 13th in the Premier League and look almost certain to have avoided relegation. So how has Pulis turned the club around?
Pulis is a highly respected manager having coached for over 20 years, where he has honed his ability to rejuvenate failing clubs on only a very small budget. This, coupled with his focus on shoring up defensive lines, made him an ideal fit for West Brom. The Welshman can be described as an old school type manager who will endeavour to make each of his players feel valued, focussing on their individual strengths rather than weaknesses.
In a short amount of time the Pulis effect is already apparent at the Hawthorns. February was particularly good for both manager and players as Albion went through the entire month unbeaten, including three clean sheets and a Manager of the Month award.
Now with only a handful of games to go, including fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester United and a final day of the season trip to Arsenal, the 57-year-old will need to keep his squad focussed, particularly in defence.
Considering Albion only just avoided relegation last season by finishing 17th, anything higher after a season of uncertainty can be deemed a success. Pulis is already said to be looking to the future, with plans to reshape the squad come summer where he’ll look to strengthen key areas. After all, it hasn’t been plan sailing recently with the Baggies being knocked out of the FA Cup and suffering a 2-1 defeat, both at the hands of bitter local rivals Aston Villa.
One of Albion’s best signings under the guidance of Tony Pulis has been the acquisition of ex-Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher. Already given the captain’s armband, Fletcher has added some stability to the heart of Albion’s midfield and his arrival has unsurprisingly coincided with their resurgence.
Another positive has been the changes seen in Brown Ideye. The striker cost the club a record fee of £10million last year, but the Nigerian had little impact until Pulis started working with him. Ideye now looks a changed man who is slowly finding the net again, and crucially scored West Brom’s winner against Stoke.
Citing lack of support in the transfer market as his reason for quitting Palace hopefully Pulis will get the money to make the signings he needs in the summer and come the 2015/16 season he can focus less on staying up and more on pushing West Brom up the table.
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If any manager has the experience to guide a club like Albion to stability it is Tony Pulis so the powers that be would do well to keep him happy if they don’t want a new manager come August.
Tottenham are readying a summer move for Braga front-man Eder, after seeing their recent attempts to sign Leandro Damiao rebuffed, according to reports from the Daily Mail.
Spurs are believed to be in the market for forward options, with manager Andre Villas-Boas only possessing Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe for the latter stages of the club’s Premier League and Europa League campaigns.
They made a late offer on deadline day for long-term target Damiao, but a £17m proposal was knocked back by Internacional.
It was expected that the Londoners would return with another offer over the summer, but reports are circulating that they may scrap their pursuit of the 23-year-old.
One option AVB is thought to be considering is Eder of Braga, who has been in fine form for the Portuguese side this term.
The 22-year-old, who has netted nine times this season, is believed to be available for around £8m, a considerably lower sum than Damiao.
His buyout clause is thought to be £26m, but Braga would accept a much lower figure due to financial difficulties.
Eder has also attracted the attention of both Norwich and Swansea, but it’s likely that Spurs would be his favoured destination.
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Although he was born in Guinea-Bissau, the striker has represented Portugal at international level, winning four caps.
Champions Chelsea welcomed Tottenham to Stamford Bridge for one of the most important games of the Premier League season so far on Sunday.
The London derby is always spicy but this time it had extra importance as a game that would be decisive in deciding which of the local rivals would take their place in the Champions League next season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side went into this one with the better form and confidence and were buoyed by the early return of talisman Harry Kane, who was named among the substitutes for the visitors.
Antonio Conte has overseen quite a steep downturn in form in 2018 and knew his side were in greater need of the victory and despite Alvaro Morata putting them ahead, they contrived to lose 3-1.
That loss means that the distance between the two sides is now eight points and gives Chelsea an absolute mountain to climb if they are to get back into the Champions League next season.
In such a crunch clash, it was the performance of Eden Hazard, valued at £90m by Transfermarkt, that took the attention of the home fans and we’ve examined some of the best reaction…
Arsenal have officially confirmed the signing of 17 year-old defender Krystian Bielik this afternoon, but he’s by no means the only talented teenager on the north London club’s radar.
Indeed, Arsene Wenger has an insatiable appetite for young and talented prospects, harking back to his acquisition of Patrick Vieira way back in 1996 and Theirry Henry in 1999 – two youthful signings that would go on to change the course of Gunners and Premier League history.
There’s plenty of speculation linking Arsenal with teenage prodigies from across the globe once again, so, being the lovely bunch we are at Football Fancast, we’ve listed FOUR of them.
So, without further ado…
JEAN KEVIN AUGUSTIN
According to the Metro, Arsenal are plotting a move for PSG prospect Jean Kevin Augustin, whose Parc de Princes contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
Those of you ITK with all things Parisian might be somewhat surprised that his contract is being allowed to wind down, having made Laurent Blanc’s bench on four occasions already and regularly represented France at U18 level. But it appears Augustin has grown so frustrated with PSG’s prolific spending blocking his path to the first team that he’s now considering offers from abroad.
The 17 year-old striker’s availability has attracted interest from Porto, Juventus, Benfica, Roma and West Ham, according to Mirrror Football, but ESPN moot the Gunners as the front-runners, claiming they’ve already made contact with Augustin’s agent.
MAX MEYER
Germany’s academy system is perhaps the healthiest in Europe at this moment in time, evident enough through their World Cup triumphs during the summer with a squad that boasted an average age of just 24, including eight players of that age or younger.
And the latest product to emerge from the Mannschaft conveyor belt is Schalke starlet Max Mayer, compared to Mesut Ozil, Mario Gotze and Lionel Messi, amongst others, for his dribbling speed and technique, allegedly generated via his love for playing Futsal whilst progressing through the Miners’ academy.
Unlike the majority of the teenager showstoppers on this list, the 19 year-old has already seen plenty of action at senior level – 68 appearances-worth to be precise, amassing a return of ten goals, in addition to picking up his first cap for Germany in a pre-World Cup friendly against Poland last May.
Arsenal were strongly linked to the attacking midfielder’s services during the summer, along with Liverpool and Chelsea, as reported by The Express. Ever-increasing in his importance to Schalke however, this term claiming two goals and one assist in 11 Bundesliga starts, the Gunners would likely have to pay an arm and a leg to prize Meyer away from the Veltins Arena this month.
KEITA BALDE DIAO
Another Arsenal-linked teenager with plenty of first team football under his belt is Lazio striker Keita Balde Diao, who boasts a promising return of 15 goals in 48 Serie A appearances for the Stadio Olimpico outfit. This season, he’s netted three goals from three outings in the Coppa Italia.
The Spanish striker began his career at Barcelona’s famous La Masia set-up, but elected to leave the club in 2011 by way of a bizarre ice cube prank that resulted in him being sent out on loan to Cornella, where he racked up an incredible 47 goals for their youth team.
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He then joined Lazio for just £300k and has been attracting interest from Arsenal and Liverpool ever since, with the Daily Star reporting a £15million transfer tussle between the Premier League clubs as recently as the start of the January window.
Blessed with pace, brawn, firepower and a uniquely direct style of play, the 19 year-old certainly possesses the natural requisites to be a success in the Premier League. Whether the Gunners will make good on their interest this month however, or allow the Keita transfer saga to continue, remains to be seen.
MALCOM SILVA
As reported by The Daily Star and Talksport, Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea are fighting it out for the signature or Corinthians prodigy Malcom Silva.
The 17 year-old forward has only scored twice in 25 appearances for the Brazilian outfit thus far but, as shown in the video above, appears to be blessed with an eclectic mix of pace, power and creativity that would certainly serve him well in England.
Resultantly however, the Brazil U20 has already been slapped with a rather outrageous £20million price-tag, per The Daily Star once again, whilst other reports claim Barcelona already have a first refusal option on the young striker.
and Venkys have issued an apology over former manager Steve Kean’s embarrassing verbal assault relating to Sam Allardyce’s departure from Ewood Park on 13 December 2010, reports the Daily Mail.
Rovers have apologised for a false allegation levelled in Allardyce’s direction by Kean, who said that the West Ham manager’s sacking in 2010 was the result of his “crooked” nature as a man.
Kean was caught unaware as he spoke to fans in a bar. The fans captured footage of the whole conversation which was posted, and still available to view, on YouTube.
A club statement read: “During the summer of 2011, Mr Steve Kean was this Club’s manager and accompanied the players of Blackburn Rovers on a pre-season tour of the Far East.
“Whilst in Hong Kong, Mr Kean was in a bar and falsely alleged that Sam Allardyce, our previous manager, was sacked by us because he was a crook.
“This is completely false and we apologise to Mr Allardyce for the embarrassment and distress caused to him by Mr Kean.”
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Sibley’s 25th century came up alongside Curran’s second during a 170-run stand between them
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay29-Jun-2025Surrey 407 for 3 (Sibley 169*, Curran 108, Lawrence 58*) vs DurhamDom Sibley and Sam Curran scored excellent centuries as champions Surrey made Durham rue their decision to field first on day one at the Kia Oval.Sibley’s batted all day for his unbeaten 169, his third century of the campaign, while Curran’s 108 from 117 balls was his first Championship ton of the season. The duo added 170 for the third wicket as the hosts piled up 407 for 3.Prior to their mammoth stand Rory Burns lit up the morning’s play with a half century full of trademark shots and laced with 12 fours and Dan Lawrence (58*) too passed 50 at better than a run a ball before stumps were drawn.Durham were without the services of Ben Raine from early afternoon and there was a nasty moment for England quick Matthew Potts, who collided with the advertising boards in stopping a boundary shortly before lunch. He didn’t appear at the start of the afternoon session but returned to bowl later, seemingly without issue.Shorn of the services of Brydon Carse, Mark Wood and Codi Yusuf, Durham nevertheless followed the accepted practice of bowling first at the Oval even with the Kookaburra ball in play.Burns soon caused them to question the wisdom of that decision, producing his full repertoire of strokes. Durham aided this process, guilty of bowling either short and wide to feed the cut shot or drifting onto the pads whereupon the former England opener would drive them through mid-on and mid-wicket.There was the odd cover-drive too, all of which meant Burns was not required to exert himself with too much running on a hot day. His 12th four raised his 50, at which point he’s scored only three aside from his boundaries.A loose stroke brought his downfall shortly before lunch and when Ryan Patel went cheaply soon after the resumption there seemed a tiny window of opportunity for the visitors. However, Raine (1 for 32) left the field in the wake of taking the wicket and Curran and Sibley soon slammed that window shut again.Curran bristled aggression from the start, taking a particular liking to the spin of George Drissell, clouting his first ball, a full toss back, over the bowler’s head and later muscling him over the ropes for six.Against seam he was ruthless given any width, his first 50 coming in only 48 balls. Only a tight spell from Will Rhodes dragged him back below a run a ball, but his sparkling hundred containing a six and 14 fours was completed soon after tea before Drissell gained a measure of recompense by having him caught in the deep.Sibley, who edged short of wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson on four in the second over of the day, was content to play second fiddle, though he did unfurl three boundaries in one Jimmy Neesham over, the former New Zealand Test bowler pressed into service with a red ball for the first time in three years.A lovely pull shot was among eight fours in his first fifty and while there were only two more on route to 100, reached in 238 balls, he was a man transformed thereafter.Two short-pitched balls were expertly guided to the fence at third, while a punch through mid-wicket, his 19th four in all took him past 150.A ramp shot and a drive on the up came out in the death throes of the day as he dominated a stand of 131 with Dan Lawrence, who in turn scored his 1000th run for Surrey as the 400 was raised shortly before the close.
Nishant Sindhu, Aditya Sarwate, and Bhargav Bhatt were among the top performers of the week
Shashank Kishore14-Jan-2024
Pujara the lone ranger as Jayant and Sindhu spin out Saurashtra
Saurashtra, the defending champions, have had a tough start to the 2023-24 Ranji season. After being denied an outright win in their opening game by Jharkhand, they slumped to a four-wicket defeat to Haryana in the second round of matches after being spun out on home turf by Jayant Yadav and Nishant Sindhu.Jayant picked up a five-for in the first innings to bowl Saurashtra out for 145 on the opening day. Only Cheteshwar Pujara, who struck his 17th first-class double ton last week, offered resistance by top scoring with 49. Haryana were on course for a bigger lead than the 55 they managed, especially at 132 for 1, with Ankit Kumar and Himanshu Rana hitting half-centuries.From there, Haryana lost 9 for 68, with Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, the offspinner, along with the left-arm spinners, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Parth Bhut, picking up all the wickets among them.Saurashtra’s second innings was once again punctuated with solidity from Pujara and Arpit Vasavada, who made 43 and 45 respectively, but there was very little of note from the others until Bhut and Jaydev Unadkat, the captain, hauled them from a precarious 150 for 8 to 220 all out.Set 166 for victory, Haryana were in a hint of trouble at 78 for 3 before being guided over the line courtesy a half-century from Ashok Menaria, the captain. He was unbeaten on 58, while Sindhu contributed a handy 24 to round off an impactful game with both bat and ball. The win gives Haryana massive legroom in Elite Group A, after they started the season with a weather-affected game against Rajasthan in Lahli, where even the first innings couldn’t be completed.File photo: Aditya Sarwate picked nine wickets against Manipur•PTI
Sarwate’s nine-wicket haul and half-century help Vidarbha top Group A
Vidarbha currently top Group A, having put together two big wins; their latest in round two being fairly one-sided with Manipur lasting all of 66.3 overs combined in both innings. Aditya Sarwate, the left-arm spinner, picked up a match haul of 9 for 16.Having bowled Manipur out for 75 shortly after lunch on the opening day, Vidarbha secured a 155-run lead thanks to Sarwate’s 69, the highest score of the innings. That would prove to be more than enough as Vidarbha won by an innings and 90 runs to secure a bonus-point win.
Baroda give Puducherry a reality check
Puducherry began with a stunning win over Delhi last week, but twin batting failures cost them big as they slumped to a 98-run loss to Baroda on a red-soil deck at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara.Playing in only his sixth first-class match, Mahesh Pithiya, the offspinner, picked up a match haul of seven wickets. Pithiya had made headlines last year when he was picked by Australia as a net bowler for the Border-Gavaskar series to try and simulate scenarios against R Ashwin. As it turned out, Pithiya was the sidekick to the main hero, Bhargav Bhatt. The left-arm-spinner ended with eleven wickets in the match as Puducherry folded for 119 while chasing 218.It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Puducherry, though. If Gaurav Yadav, the fast bowler, hit the high notes in their opening win with a ten-for, offspinner Sagar Udeshi was at the forefront of their bowling performance this time, taking 13 for 152.
Hyderabad – runaway Plate toppers
Rohit Rayudu, cousin of Ambati Rayudu, struck his third first-class century as Hyderabad beat Meghalaya with a bonus point to top the Plate group after two rounds. Last week, they’d begun the new season with an innings win over Nagaland.Like they’d done in that win, Hyderabad pressed the accelerator and accumulated 346 for 7 in 80 overs before declaring. The 235-run lead was more than comfortable to secure victory; Meghalaya did a tad better in the second innings to make 154 in 36.1 overs as opposed to the 111 they made in 33.1 overs in the first innings.In another plate game, Ankur Malik’s century and five-for helped Sikkim secure an innings and 288-run win over Arunachal Pradesh.
Wasim has been released from the squad, and is expected to be out of action for around three weeks
Umar Farooq26-Aug-2022Mohammad Wasim will miss the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 after picking a side strain. He is being released from the squad, that’s currently in the UAE, and will be out for at least three weeks. Hasan Ali, who was one of the notable omissions when the squad was announced, has been brought in as Wasim’s replacement.Wasim had complained of back pain while bowling in a net session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Thursday, and was taken for an MRI scan shortly afterwards. In the PCB’s update on Friday, it has emerged that he had suffered a side strain. He has also been reviewed by a specialist. The team’s main physiotherapist, Cliffe Deacon, is working with Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been ruled out of the Asia Cup because of a knee injury but is travelling with the team.Hasan was dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the ODI series in the Netherlands as well as for the Asia Cup following a poor run of form with the ball. Hasan’s form across formats in the last year has been middling at best. He has picked up eight wickets in eight T20Is in this period. In the three ODIs he has played in the last 12 months – all at home between March and June this year – he averaged 76.50 with the ball, picking up two wickets. Earlier this year, in the PSL, he had a bowling average of 40.55 and had an economy rate of 10.84 as he got nine wickets in nine games for Islamabad United.PCB confirmed that the team management had asked for Hasan as a replacement and chief selector Mohammad Wasim accepted the request. When the 16-man squad had been announced earlier this month, Naseem Shah had been called up to replace Hasan. Now, with Afridi and Wasim out, Pakistan’s pace-bowling unit has Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shah and Hasan. Their campaign at the Asia Cup starts on August 28 against India.In a bid to regain his form, Hasan had been preparing for the National T20, starting on August 30. He was named Southern Punjab captain, having moved away from his regular team, Central Punjab. He had been at the PCB’s high-performance centre in Lahore training after being dropped.