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Tottenham Hotspur fans have lavished praise on midfielder Moussa Sissoko ahead of the Champions League final on June 1.

Spurs will play Liverpool in Madrid as they bid to win club football’s biggest prize for the first time in their history.

Sissoko has been integral to their run to the final, playing a total of nine times in the competition thus far.

Having laid on the assist in the last-16 second leg win over Borussia Dortmund in Germany – Spurs won 4-0 on aggregate – and played a key role in the two-legged win over Ajax in the semi-final, Spurs’ official Twitter account posted a video showing the former Newcastle United man’s highlights in the competition on Thursday.

And fans were quick to praise the 29-year-old, who has turned his career at the club around, going from a figure of fun to perhaps the first name on Mauricio Pochettino’s teamsheet.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that West Ham’s midfield is on lock for the foreseeable future with Declan Rice.

The Hammers academy product has been one of the stories of the season, establishing himself as a first-team player in the West Ham starting XI and becoming a full England international with Gareth Southgate’s exciting Three Lions squad, but there is something Rice has been missing, a true midfield partner.

Mark Noble has been solid enough but can be improved upon whereas Pedro Obiang has been lacklustre at best this season, and Jack Wilshere has missed the majority of his debut year with the Hammers with injury, shocker I know.

For Rice and West Ham to truly excel, there needs to be a creative powerhouse in the midfield that can dictate the play and bring the best out of everyone around him in the team, and according to reports, Manuel Pellegrini is looking at just that.

According to the Times, West Ham have submitted an £18 million bid for Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes, who has had a successful season out on loan at Everton, and securing the Portuguese international will be massive for the Hammers.

Valued at £25.2 million on Transfermarkt, the playmaker would be a coup for Pellegrini, elevating the quality in the West Ham team and directly installing added creativity into the midfield that the Irons have lacked over the past season.

There will be competition for Gomes, but if West Ham can win the race for the midfielder it could be one of the signings of the summer and solve the long-term problem of who could be Rice’s new midfield partner.

West Ham fans, would Gomes be a good signing? Let us know!

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Rangers are very close to securing a deal for Jake Hastie, but will the Motherwell winger shine at Ibrox?

As reported by The Scotsman, Rangers are “on the verge” of completing the pre-signing of Hastie.

The young winger will be out of contract this summer, and the report claims the Gers will pay a small fee as compensation to Motherwell, due to the player’s age.

Hastie, 21, has an impressive tally of goals and assists in all competitions, but what do the writers at Football FanCast think about the move? Keep reading to find out…

Billy Meyers

“I do think Jake Hastie will be a hit at Ibrox. The 20-year-old appears to be a tall, powerful player with the finesse to make an impact in the final third, reinforced by his impressive goal tally in the second half of the season. With time on his side and plenty of room for growth and improvement, Hastie will become a huge fan favourite under Steven Gerrard at Rangers.”

Matt Dawson

“I think Hastie has all the tools to be a hit at Rangers and is exactly the type of player they need. He’d be a far better option than Ryan Kent who would cost a considerable amount if he were to make a permanent move to Ibrox. The Motherwell man would, therefore, represent far better better value and his goals to games ratio this season just shows how impressive he’s been. Considering his age, it would be a no brainer.”

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Pl>ymaker FC…

James Beavis

“Given that he is so inexperienced at a top senior level it’s difficult to give a definitive answer, but the potential and quality is clearly there. At the end of the day you have to feel that Steven Gerrard has an eye for a good player having only recently come out of playing the game himself, so fans should trust in Gerrard on this one. Hastie is clearly talented and has shown he delivers when on the pitch – in that respect he can impact the title race in 2019/20 as Rangers look to stop Celtic’s dominance.”

Arsenal’s season is heading towards being a fairly successful one if they can pick up two wins in their final two games and cement a Champions League place. 

The Gunners, under the management of Unai Emery, have adapted well to life without Arsene Wenger and will be pleased overall with their performances throughout the season.

The Europa League also remains on the cards for the club in terms of winning a trophy, something which would add that something extra to Emery’s first year in charge.

The season has not been without it’s problems though, and there have been some harsh comments and opinions directed at various members of the Gunners squad, in particular, Mesut Ozil, who has often flattered to deceive with his performances in a Gunners shirt this year.

However, Ozil has turned round this week and made it clear he wants to stay with the club rather than move on in the summer, but we here in the Tavern feel he needs to be doing more if he does indeed stay put.

Ozil has enough ability to be the sort of player who is really impacting games, and really should be one of the first names on the team sheet for Emery when he is on form.

Something needs to change though for the German in all honesty, and he needs to quickly get back to his best if he is to aid Arsenal’s cause.

You don’t play for Real Madrid and have the career Ozil has had without being a quality operator, and if Arsenal are to be successful, they need him back to his creative and brilliant best.

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Loads of Newcastle fans have been running the rule over Monday evening’s defeat to Arsenal, and they think they’ve noticed a problem on the left side of their team.

Monday night went about as bad as it possibly could have for Newcastle and the travelling Toon Army, and we’re not just talking about the ridiculous scheduling that forced them to travel to London on a weekday.

The Magpies have been in terrific form recently, more so at home of course, but the lynchpin of their turnaround has been their fight and cohesiveness, neither of which shone through at the Emirates.

Arsenal had a goal disallowed early on, but quickly made up for it when Aaron Ramsey danced into the box and squeezed his effort past Martin Dubravka.

Alexandre Lacazette doubled the lead with a lovely goal, with a little help from his partner in crime Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, before the Gunners had another one chalked off.

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….

Rafael Benitez’s front three were hardly involved at all, and fans think in Miguel Almiron’s case that is the fault of Matt Ritchie.

It sounds ridiculous, but more than a few fans have noticed the Scotsman’s tendency to ignore Almiron’s lung-busting runs and turn and play backwards instead.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans suspect an internal problem plaguing their left flank…

يرى جيمي كاراجر أسطورة ليفربول الإنجليزي، أنه على يورجن كلوب المدير الفني للفريق، التعافي من الخسارة أمام أستون فيلا، في مواجهة إيفرتون بعد قليل ضمن الجولة الخامسة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وخسر ليفربول بسباعية مقابل هدفين من أستون فيلا، قبل فترة التوقف الدولي، ويسعى للاستفاقة في ديربي ميرسيسايد أمام إيفرتون اليوم السبت.

وقال كاراجر في تصريحات لصحيفة “ليفربول إيكو” الإنجليزية: “الأمر محرج حقًا لـ ليفربول، شعرت عندما كنت لاعبًا أنه لا يوجد أسوأ من الحصول على نتيجة سيئة قبل فترة التوقف الدولي”.

طالع أيضًا.. تشكيل ليفربول أمام إيفرتون

وأضاف: “كان هناك وقت طويل، أود أن يعتقد ليفربول أنه سيكون حيوانًا مصابًا، وعليه أن يظهر رد فعل أمام إيفرتون، دائمًا ما تفعل الفرق الكبيرة هذا”.

وأكمل: “عليك أن تحسن الأداء، في مباراة أستون فيلا الأمر كان سيئًا للغاية، كان استثنائيًا أيضًا، أعتقد أنه في مواجهة إيفرتون لا بد من تغيير العديد من الأشياء”.

وواصل: “في آخر 80 مباراة قبل مواجهة أستون فيلا، ليفربول خسر 4 مباريات فقط، وهو أمر مخيف، عندما تفكر في الأمر”.

واختتم: “أتوقع أن يقدم ليفربول أداء أفضل ضد إيفرتون، لأن ليفربول أفضل ويتفوق بشكل كبير عليهم، أنشيلوتي في حالة جيدة، ولكن فريق يورجن كلوب سيحقق الفوز”.

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Jack Grealish has revealed via his official Twitter account that he is raring to go ahead of Aston Villa’s return to Championship action this weekend.

The Midlands outfit will be looking to put their fifth straight Championship win on the board when they welcome Blackburn Rovers to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.

Grealish has been in outstanding form since returning from injury and the Villa supporters are hoping that the 23-year-old will put in another impressive performance against Rovers.

There continues to be speculation surrounding the future of the attacker, which is not a surprise when considering his talent.

Grealish is currently leading his side’s charge up the table, however, and he will be fully focused on helping his team secure at least a playoff spot in the coming weeks.

To be honest, the Villa fans absolutely adore the 5 ft 9 ace and a selection of their Twitter reaction to his post on social media can be seen below:

Brendan Rodgers was announced as Leicester City manager on Tuesday, and the fact he’s left treble-chasing Celtic goes some way to prove the Scottish top division is a ‘pub league’.

The news came as a shock to most, particularly as it was expected the Scotsman would stay at Celtic Park until the end of the season to try and win his third straight SPL title. Instead, he’s decided to jump ship and climb aboard a mid-table Premier League side with no chance of silverware this season. It seems strange, but that highlights the attraction of England’s top flight.

Yes, Leicester won the title in 2015/16, but the chances of doing something similar again is almost impossible, so he’s not here to win lots of trophies. It’s clear he wants to become one of the best managers in the world and be back at a club like Liverpool where he nearly won the title in 2013/14.

He surely sees this move as a step up from the SPL and as a rung higher on the ladder to returning to one of Europe’s great clubs. After all, it was his impressive stint at Swansea City that brought him to Anfield in the first place. He was sacked in the 2014/15 season and strangely Premier League clubs avoided him like the plague, so he headed to Scotland.

The SPL may indeed be the victim of its own perception, because there are some great games being played across the division, but if big clubs don’t see it being good enough for someone to prove themselves capable of managing or playing for them, it’s irrelevant. The ‘it’s only Scotland’ put-down is clearly something top Premier League sides believe in.

Celtics fans may not agree leaving their club would be a step in the right direction but it’s clear to everyone else that it’s the only way Rodgers can make his way back to where he’s capable of managing – at the top.

How do you think Brendan Rodgers will fare as Leicester manager?

Leeds United now sit third in the Championship behind Norwich and Sheffield United, but they must focus on winning their own games rather than looking around them.

A weekend off from the title race has allowed their rivals to snatch a lead in matchday 33, where Norwich battered Bolton 4-0 away from home and Sheffield United beat Reading by the same scoreline. Points on the board are indeed better than a game in hand, so the pressure is on Leeds to make up for lost ground.

There are 16 games left for the top two and 17 left for Leeds, so although the title race can be declared as on, there’s still so much time left. The issue with Leeds is their inability to finish the chances they create, and the pressure of not being top of the tree won’t help the players to keep calm in front of goal.

If Leeds win all their remaining games, they’d win the league– simple as that. None of these three sides are invincible as we all know, but a vital trait of a champion team is putting in a solid run of wins as May draws nearer.

The style of football Leeds play is what many consider to be the best in the league, and if they can improve on how they play and forget about the teams around them, they won’t have an issue winning the league. Problems arise when a team is more concerned about what the other sides are doing, and how they’re playing to concentrate on their own game.

Look at Liverpool over the last few decades in the Premier League. Similarly to Leeds, they have high expectation from fans to win their division, and that, mixed with the pressure of the team below or on top of them winning, has been their downfall.

Having a game in hand is not easy physiologically because it feels like you’re playing catch-up, so the best thing Leeds can do is focus on winning each game is it comes, because that’s what would make them champions. While that sounds rather obvious, they must avoid an emotional collapse and take each game at a time, rather than imploding.

Forget the others, it must be all about Leeds United.

Which of the top three do you think is in a better position to win the Championship?

According to Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol, Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho could end up at Arsenal next season.

What’s the word?

Solhekol has been discussing Coutinho’s future as part of a Transfer Talk Q&A and deemed a switch to the Emirates Stadium as “possible”, largely because the Brazilian’s agent has contacts at the club.

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However, he also warned that Barcelona would have to drop the attacking midfielder’s price-tag dramatically, with the La Liga giants rating him at in excess of £100m, or it would need to be a loan deal with an option to buy.

Coutinho is currently on loan at Bayern Munich and has scored or assisted on 17 occasions this season, but Solhekol says the Bundesliga champions are unlikely to make the move permanent.

Here’s what Solhekol said in full…

“Coutinho’s agent has a big job on his hands. Barcelona want to sell him this summer. He is on loan at Bayern Munich but they are unlikely to make the move permanent. Barcelona want more than £100m for a player who will be 28 in the summer. That means there will be little resale value for any interested clubs.

“Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian has good contacts at Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs. A move to those clubs is possible, but Barcelona would have to drop their asking price dramatically or it would have to be a loan with an option to buy deal.”

Ozil replacement?

Mesut Ozil is never far away from discussion and with his contract due to expire in 2021, the subject of his future will no doubt crop up again this summer.

Considering he’s on track to go a fourth consecutive season without reaching double figures for goals or assists in the Premier League and turns 32 in October, the time does feel right for Arsenal to finally part company with the World Cup winner.

Coutinho, then, represents a like-for-like replacement – someone who can also occupy the No.10 role and provide direct goal threat from the tip of midfield. Even for Barcelona, Coutinho’s contributed to almost one goal every two games, so he’s certainly the calibre of player Arsenal should be considering to succeed their creative lynchpin.

Of course, whether they can agree a deal with Barca remains to be seen. The Spanish giants clearly still value Coutinho very highly as a financial asset, even if his time on the pitch with them appears to be over.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans are furious about a reported transfer target…