[ad_pod ]Newcastle visit West Ham on Saturday where they will be hoping they can secure a third consecutive win having dispatched Huddersfield last week and then Burnley on Tuesday. Rafa Benitez surely made at least one selection decision with the thicket of fixtures in mind, but one man’s performance will have given him some food for thought.

On the chalkboard

Rafa and his Magpies squad seem to have struck gold with their 5-4-1 approach, with January signing Miguel Almiron already looking like being the final piece in the jigsaw and a perfect balance between defensive solidity and attacking potency having been found.

The key to success with such a formation is often the wing-backs, who are tasked with providing width but also preventing the centre-backs from being exposed.

Fortunately, Rafa has a plethora of options to choose from in that role and, while prior to the Clarets clash this may not have been the case, the Spaniard has been given a tough decision to make on the right for the next game.

Mighty Manquillo

DeAndre Yedlin seems like the perfect fit for the right-wing-back role – perhaps only due to his blinding pace – but Tuesday’s game saw Javier Manquillo deputise for the USA international.

The former Liverpool man recorded some impressive numbers in the win, completing 2 tackles and 2 clearances, as well as an assist – should Rafa give the sometimes suspect Spaniard the nod for a second consecutive game despite what the fans have made of his past performances?

Yedlin offers far more on the front foot and, due to his speed, may be a better match for Hammers danger man Felipe Anderson, although the 58-cap international’s defensive positioning can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Manquillo’s latest showing, though, may have earned Rafa’s repaid faith and he is far better physically.

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

One presumes that Rafa intends to rotate his wing-backs again this weekend to keep his XI fresh but perhaps he should leave 24-year-old Manquillo in after his fine performance in midweek.

أعلن المدير الفني السابق لنادي بلاك ليوباردز، كافين جونسون، الانضمام إلى الجهاز الفني للنادي الأهلي بطل الدوري المصري بقيادة، بيتسو موسيماني.

ورحل جونسون عن تدريب فريق بلاك ليوباردز بعد انتهاء موسم 2019/2020، وسبق له أن درب أندية قوية في جنوب إفريقيا مثل بلاتينيم ستارز وسوبر سبورت يونايتد خلال مشواره التدريبي.

واستقر موسيماني على جونسون ليكون مساعدًا له بعد اعتذار رولاني موكوينا، المدرب العام السابق له في ماميلودي صن داونز الذي فضل البقاء في النادي الجنوب إفريقي وعدم الانتقال إلى الأهلي. (طالع التفاصيل)

وتواصل “بطولات” على الفور مع المدرب المساعد الجديد، كافين جونسون، للتأكيد على الاتفاق، وأجاب المدرب صاحب الـ 61 عامًا: “سأنضم للجهاز الفني للنادي الأهلي بقيادة، بيتسو موسماني، قريبًا”.

وعن موعد وصوله إلى القاهرة: “سأصل تقريبًا بحسب موعد الطائرة مساء يوم غدًا الثلاثاء”.

وأرسل جونسون رسالة مختصرة لجماهير النادي الأهلي في النهاية، وقال: “سنحاول تقديم أفضل ما لدينا للنجاح مع الفريق خلال الفترة المقبلة”.

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West Ham want to sign Jonjo Shelvey in the summer transfer window, and Newcastle United would be foolish to stand in their way.

What’s the story?

According to The Northern Echo, Shelvey is a target for Manuel Pellegrini this summer.

The report claims the Hammers made “a number of enquiries” during the January window, but their approaches were rejected.

Rafael Benitez was “extremely reluctant” to allow the midfielder to leave, claims the aforementioned report, but Pellegrini will come again for the 6-cap England international.

And Benitez won’t stop the move from happening this time, as the Spaniard has “doubts about his work rate and willingness to buy in to the team ethic” reports The Northern Echo.

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….

Boost for Longstaff

It’s not surprising that Benitez was desperate to hang on to Shelvey even despite the 27 year-old making just 14 appearances in all competitions this season.

At the time, Sean Longstaff had not really made the impression that he is going to be a long-term starter, which he now has, and Ki Sung-yueng was away on international duty and struggling with a hamstring injury.

Now though, the gaffer knows he has the full summer to replace Shelvey, and if the midfielder is not buying into his ideology then there is really no point keeping him around.

The Magpies should bleed West Ham dry for the ex-Liverpool midfield and put the money to good use in finding a long-term partner for Longstaff.

In fact, selling Shelvey might just be the best thing to ever happen to Longstaff, as the 21 year-old’s path to the first team was previously blocked by the ex-Liverpool ace, with both attempting to fill the same role in Benitez’s midfield.

If West Ham are so desperate to secure the long-shot master that they overpay the Magpies, providing the money is put to good use, it would pave the way for Longstaff to have an even better career than he already looks destined for.

[ad_pod ]Gary Hooper last played for Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day 2017. The striker was taken off injured against Nottingham Forest in the first half and hasn’t been seen on the pitch at Hillsborough in the 15 months since.However, on Friday, the 31-year-old striker played 45 minutes for the Owls’ under-23s side against their Crystal Palace counterparts.

Ready to return?

He may still be some way short of first team level match fitness, but the former Celtic hitman is certainly getting there.Â

Did Chris Wilder get it wrong in the Steel City derby? Check out the thoughts of Ingood Nick below…

After so long on the sidelines, he’s bound to be rusty, but Steve Bruce should still be excited to have such a competent finisher on the verge of swelling his ranks.Â

If Hooper is able to get back to full fitness in time to play a significant amount of Championship football this season then he has the capacity to have a huge impact for the Owls.

All to play for

The experienced centre-forward will be desperate to return to the fold before the end of the season, and will be keen to impress on the pitch if he can. With his current contract due to expire this summer, the No. 14 will need to prove his worth, and that he still has what it takes at this level in order to secure a new deal.

Wednesday, too, will be hoping that the 5ft 9in forward can hit the ground running. The Owls currently have an outside chance of making the play-offs, and Hooper’s goals could fire them to a historic promotion.Â

The Carabao Cup victory might’ve been a delightful one for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City but they are far from done.

The Citizens are still involved in three remaining competitions and fighting hard to try to achieve history in winning a treble or even more. However, injuries to Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Fernandinho come as a blow.

Despite watching three crucial defensive aspects being sidelined, Pep Guardiola will gladly welcome Benjamin Mendy’s return. The left back’s been sidelined with a knee injury since November, but could be fit to play West Ham United tonight (via Sky Sports). Before his injury, Mendy was in blazing form for the Citizens on the left, helping them with his determined work-rate.

In the nine league appearances he’s made for City this season, the Frenchman’s helped them keep four clean-sheets and recorded five assists. Not only that, but he’s also created four big chances along with sixteen accurate long-balls (stats via Premier League).

He’s also been an asset defensively, keeping tidy on the left,  not allowing attacks to mount from his side. With Oleksandr Zinchenko still quite raw, Mendy will add that attacking bite to City through the left-side and be an ace in the hole for Guardiola.

While the World Cup winner hasn’t done a huge amount to prove he’s worth the huge amount of money the club invested in his services last summer through injury, the former Lyon man can pay it all back by having a huge say in City’s chase for a further three trophies.

He definitely has the ability to light up their game with his pace and drive through the left making him an asset in the final months. While Guardiola will immerse him into the team slowly, Mendy’s passionate work is exactly the kind of boost City’s needs with a tough schedule looming.

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Max Meyer was once regarded as one of the most precocious and exciting midfield talents on the continent, but he has failed to hit the heights of his role model and 98 cap Germany international, Michael Ballack.

What’s the word?

It’s often easy to forget that footballers, like everyone else, have a life away from their place of work.

Plenty of players avoid making their presence felt in the public eye and that naturally contributes to the aforementioned false perception, but Meyer spoke to Crystal Palace TV this week in a refreshing interview with Chris Grierson, as per Youtube.

The former Schalke prodigy, who joined Palace on a free in the summer, opened up about veganism, his move to England and the 2006 World Cup amongst other things.

While discussing the 2006 World Cup, which was hosted by Germany, Meyer revealed (01:30) that Ballack, the German captain for the competition, was his favourite player at the time.

“My favourite player was Michael Ballack. He was my role model. He was a perfect player for Germany, he was the captain and he was my favourite player.”

Too late to follow in Ballack’s footsteps?

As role models go, Ballack is a phenomenal talent to aspire to.

Considering Meyer is now 23 and struggling to cement his place in Roy Hodgson’s starting XI, it’s fair to say that he has a mountain to climb if he wishes to emulate the success of the 2010 Premier League title winner.

However, he could learn a lot from his role model’s box-to-box style of play and ability to regularly find the back of the net for club and country.

Meyer’s positional transition from a number ten to a number six has been the defining narrative in his career during the past eighteen months, but perhaps he needs to strike a balance between the qualities needed in both of those positions in order to realise his huge potential, just as Ballack did during his esteemed career.

Manchester United remain in good form meaning their chance of securing Champions League football once again is increasing.

Their saviour – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – has definitely enhanced his reputation even more with the Old Trafford faithful after now delivering on the managerial front as well.

Of course, his work is far from done this season, those loving fans would be extra adoring should he deliver Champions League football and potentially the FA Cup.

It’s a lot to ask but in the build-up to next season, whether Ole is still there or not, Manchester United are now in a far better position compared to a few months prior.

Still, improvements this summer will be required, silverware or not, with a dominant midfielder being a slot United will want to fill.

A player who could fit that exact specification is Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey, who could be an influential signing for Manchester United.

Partey, (who is valued at £36 million on Transfermarkt) is more of a rotational player for the Spanish giants but with a move to Manchester United, could become even better next to the likes of Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera.

The 25-year-old would definitely be described as a powerhouse and he operates in a brilliant way across every area on the pitch.

Having played 31 times this season, Partey has contributed two goals and a further five assists, showing he is more keen to give his team-mates the glory.

With great vision for passes whether it’s short or long, Atletico Madrid arguably underuse him, with their midfield already being very good.

He’s started just 13 times in La Liga this season, so if game-time is a concern for the Ghana international, a move to Manchester United would suit him perfectly.

Do you agree… Let us know!

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Fabian Balbuena has not featured for West Ham United since picking up a knee injury against Watford in December 2018.

The centre-back has missed the club’s last nine league fixtures, but was back in training with his teammates on Monday morning.

The 27-year-old was an ever-present for the Hammers in the opening months of the season following a summer move from Corinthians.

Balbuena’s return is big news for the London club, especially considering that Manuel Lanzini is now back and Winston Reid was also able to train on Monday.

Neither Balbuena or Reid will be available to face Manchester City on Wednesday night, but Lanzini is certain to play a part.

Check out the video below to see Pl>ymaker FC’s American Soccer Fan give his take on all six ‘field goals’ in West Ham v Burnley…

The West Ham fans have been on social media offering their views on Balbuena’s return, which has come ahead of what is an important March.

And a selection of the Twitter reaction from the supporters in relation to the South American can be seen below:

تؤكد تقارير ألمانية وإيطالية أن دوجلاس كوستا سيغادر يوفنتوس للعودة إلى بايرن ميونيخ على سبيل الإعارة هذا الموسم.

وبحسب صحيفة “كيكر” الألمانية، وشبكتي “سكاي سبورت إيطاليا”، و”سكاي ألمانيا”، توصل بايرن ميونخ ويوفنتوس لاتفاق بشأن عودة البرازيلي للفريق البافاري.

ويوضح التقرير أنه لا يوجد خيار للشراء، لكن بايرن سيغطي راتب دوجلاس كوستا ومن المحتمل أن يدفع مبلغًا صغيرًا ليوفنتوس لفترة الإعارة.

ويشير التقرير إلى أن يوفنتوس يفسح المجال للتعاقد مع فيدريكو كييزا من فيورنتينا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. رسميًا | بايرن ميونخ يتعاقد مع مارك روكا

سيصل كييزا من فيورنتينا على سبيل الإعارة مقابل 10 ملايين يورو مع التزام بدفع 50 مليون يورو أخرى، موزعة على عدة أشهر.

كوستا صاحب الـ30 عامًا سبق ولعب لصفوف بايرن ميونخ في الفترة من 2015 إلى 17.

تم إعارته في البداية إلى يوفنتوس مقابل 6 ملايين يورو، ثم بيع نهائي في عام 2018 مقابل 40 مليون يورو.

[ad_pod ]Tottenham Hotspur have been drawn against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the quarter finals of the Champions League. The first leg of the tie will be a home fixture for Spurs, taking place on April 9th, whilst the return leg will be staged at the Etihad Stadium on April 17th.The north London outfit are certainly the underdogs, but Mauricio Pochettino will believe his side have what it takes to overcome Pep Guardiola’s men. Spurs’ talismanic No. 10, Harry Kane, is certainly in bullish spirits ahead of the clash.Check out the video below for pure scenes at the North London Derby on Sunday…

What he said

The England captain took to Twitter to deliver a simple, straightforward three-word response to the outcome of the draw: “bring it on.â€

Such a confident response will give Spurs fans heart and hope heading into the encounter, but they’ll be relying upon Kane to back up his words with a fine performance on the pitch.

Living up to the billing

If Spurs are anything short of their best then City will likely tear them apart. However, if Kane is on song then he has the capacity to hurt the opposition.Â

The 25-year-old striker is one of the best goalscorers in world football. He must now live up to that billing, on the biggest domestic stage, when his side meet City in April.