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According to the Express, Manchester United are finding it difficult to offload the troublesome Alexis Sanchez this summer due to his non-existent form and huge wages.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Red Devils signed the Chile international back in January 2018, but he has endured a miserable 18 months at Old Trafford and has managed to score just five goals for the club.

He hit just two last term, all whilst raking in £25m-a-year; a figure that even the filthy rich Chinese clubs have turned up their noses at this summer.

Could United be in the hunt for an £85m blockbuster signing this summer? Check out the video below…

Sanchez has hit two goals already at the Copa America, somewhat showing that he still has talent, but it very much seems like his United career is over if the club can find anyone to take him off their hands.

Solskjaer’s hopes dashed, but what did he expect?

The former Arsenal man suffered four separate injuries in the 2018/19 campaign and missed a whopping 20 games in total.

Add in the fact he scored just twice and earns a reported £25m-a-year salary, and United were always going to struggle in their attempts to offload the 30-year-old this summer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had reportedly hoped to get rid of players like Sanchez in order to bring in young, hungrier options, but it doesn’t look as if he will be able to offload his problematic No.7.

But what did United expect? Who would want to take the washed-up forward with his current injury problems, awful goal record and astronomical wages?

United have been kidding themselves if they thought they’d be able to find a buyer for their expensive flop – their failure to find a new home for him should come as no surprise.

Solskjaer was naive to think he’d be able to just cast the forward aside and use the funds to rebuild a team. Maybe it’s time for a change in approach and thinking about how to reintegrate the Chilean at Old Trafford.

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Newcastle fans were stunned on Monday as the Magpies confirmed the impending departure of manager Rafael Benitez.

Benitez will leave St. James’ Park when his contract expires at the end of the month, Newcastle confirmed on their official site.

Now, the fact that their much-beloved Spaniard is leaving may not come as a huge surprise to a fan base who have become increasingly cynical the longer they have suffered under Mike Ashley, but the abruptness of Monday’s announcement was a huge shock.

Benitez has been strongly linked with a move to China, and it remains to be seen whether that will be his next destination.

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The Toon Army are now blasting the club on Twitter, unsurprising considering how highly they regarded their gaffer.

“Rafa” joined in 2016 with the club in free-fall, winning the SkyBet Championship in his first full season before guiding two really poor squads to tenth and 13th-place finishes in the last two campaigns.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions to the Magpies’ stunning announcement down below…

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Newcastle’s preparations for the forthcoming season have been hampered significantly by Rafa Benitez’s departure. The Magpies failed to agree terms on a contract extension with the Spaniard, which in turn has left supporters worrying about their prospects of remaining in England’s top-flight next season.

Despite having limited financial resources in an inflated market, the 59-year-old performed heroically to initially bring Newcastle back to the Premier League and then to steer the club away from relegation for two consecutive seasons. He also succeeded to unify the support, as most fans have become massively frustrated with Mike Ashley’s ownership.

Not only does Benitez’s departure evoke uncertainty ahead of the new Premier League campaign, but it also threatens to further sour the relationship between the supporters and the club.

Naturally, in light of a managerial departure, there have been several names linked with the vacant post at St James’ Park, and we have identified three linked successors that would undo Rafa Benitez’s commendable work.

Steven Gerrard

The Liverpool legend and Rangers manager, Steven Gerrard, is one of the frontrunners for the Newcastle job. According to the Telegraph, Gerrard alongside Patrick Vieira and Mikel Arteta, are at the top of the club’s managerial shortlist.

While the 39-year-old has performed admirably to cut Celtic’s advantage at the top of the Scottish Premier League from 12 points in the 2017/18 season to nine points in the last campaign, the Englishman made several signings only to limit Celtic’s dominance marginally. In fact, as of March 2019, Gerrard had made 19 signings during his time as Rangers manager.

In the last three seasons, Newcastle have earnt marginally more money from sales than what they have spent on new signings, which complicates their ability to compete in an age of heightened financial strength. Only Tottenham, Watford and Bournemouth had a better net expenditure than Newcastle last season.

Gerrard’s success at Rangers – he has a win ratio of over 50% – has been primarily fuelled by numerous signings, something that wouldn’t be granted to the same degree at Newcastle, which could represent an impediment to any potential success with the club.

Rafa Benitez, a man of esteemed managerial pedigree and tremendous experience, succeeded in exacting circumstances at Newcastle. Steven Gerrard’s limited managerial experience and dependence on an excessive number of signings would make him an unsuitable candidate to assume first-team responsibilities at Newcastle.

Patrick Vieira

Another individual linked with the managerial position at Newcastle, as reported by the Telegraph, is Nice boss Patrick Vieira. The Arsenal great and former Manchester City midfielder assumed first-team duties at Nice at the start of last season, having previously spent two years with New York City FC in the MLS.

Despite progressing from the MLS to Ligue 1 and earning a creditable seventh-placed finish with Nice last season, his first season in France failed to capture the imagination of supporters.

Despite finishing one place higher with an additional two points on the previous 2017/18 season, Nice had one of the worst attacking records in the division, scoring only 30 goals in 38 games – only relegated Caen and Guingamp had worse records with 29 goals and 28 goals respectively.

Furthermore, Nice had the worst goal difference in the top half of the table, and they were defeated in the first round of the Coupe de France against Toulouse.

This isn’t an attempt to deligitimise Vieira’s achievements, and it’s worth considering that Nice had the second-best defensive record in the league (equal with PSG on 35 goals conceded), but stepping up to the Premier League – a division renowned globally for its competitiveness – and operating under the restrictions of an Ashley-run organisation could prove too challenging for the Frenchman.

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Garry Monk

According to the Northern Echo, Garry Monk has been touted as a candidate to succeed Rafa Benitez.

The Englishman had a very promising start to his managerial career at Swansea, where he guided the Welsh club to their best-ever finish of 8th place in the Premier League in the 2014/15 season.

He also did well at Leeds United and came close to guiding the club to the play-offs during his only season with the Whites. However, he has struggled since.

Despite spending a mammoth total of more than £50,000,000 on eight players during his brief stint with Middlesbrough, Monk was sacked less than six months into his spell with, having only won 12 of his 27 games in charge.

At Birmingham, much like Benitez at Newcastle, Monk faced obstacles that weren’t of his own making, as he addressed in his departing statement, but avoiding relegation to League One is a far cry from competing in the Premier League.

Monk would require a club of greater stability than Newcastle to rekindle his best managerial form, and equally the Magpies need a manager capable of providing favourable results instantly.

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Yesterday’s West Brom transfer roundup included news on a target from Benfica, interest in a Senegalese player and a new club joining the race for Salomon Rondon. Today’s edition features more news on Filip Krovinovic, eyes on a Chelsea youngster and interest in a Championship striker.

Krovinovic move “at risk”

Thursday’s print edition of Portuguese outlet O Jogo (via Sport Witness) is reporting that the deal to take Krovinovic on loan is “at risk” after a “last-minute setback”. The midfielder has reportedly rejoined the Benfica squad as he waits for a solution to be found.

Chalobah of interest

Express and Star is reporting that West Brom are interested in taking Chelsea’s Trevor Chalobah on loan next season. The 19-year-old spent the last campaign at Ipswich Town and made 43 appearances in the Championship for the Tractor Boys.

Baggies eye Diedhiou

West Brom are interested in Bristol City’s Famara Diedhiou according to Get French Football News. Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town are reportedly already in active discussions in regards to the striker, with a number of Turkish clubs also looking at the 26-year-old. He scored 13 times in the Championship last season.

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

Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that Axel Tuanzebe has a “great chance” of featuring for Manchester United next season.

What’s the word?

The 21-year-old enjoyed an impressive campaign whilst on loan at Aston Villa last season, and lead the Midlands side’s back-line as they earned promotion to the Premier League.

Reports in recent weeks had suggested Dean Smith was keen on bringing him back to Villa Park for the upcoming campaign, but Solskjaer appears to have dampened those rumours.

Ahead of United’s latest pre-season clash in Australia against Leeds, the Red Devils boss said: “Axel has got a great chance of staying here and playing. He had a great season last year, albeit a stop-start season with injuries, but he’s really proven that he’s capable of playing at this level.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

“He got promoted with Aston Villa and he’s come back very strong and focused. He did well in the first game here in Perth, so he’s one of the young exciting players I can’t wait to see more of.”

The right decision

Despite reports suggesting that United are very much alive in the chase for Leicester star Harry Maguire, Tuanzebe’s displays on loan last season certainly warrant him being given a chance in the first-team at Old Trafford.

The England U21 international is quick, strong and is improving with his positional reading of the game by the week. As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to commit to giving United’s youth a genuine chance of making it with the senior side, Tuanzebe certainly has the experience at his age of playing in competitive football and in high-pressure situations.

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Being an academy product will also give him some undeniable leeway with the fans, were his standards and performances begin to slip; the same cannot be said of established stars like Chris Smalling and Phil Jones however. In potentially playing alongside a formidable presence like Maguire, Tuanzebe could improve his own game no end and really stamp his authority on the team.

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According to Sky Sports News, Fernando Llorente could return to Tottenham Hotspur on a one-year contract before the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

Llorente is currently a free agent having left Spurs following the expiration of his deal.

According to Sky Sports News, Fiorentina are interested in the 34-year-old, but the possibility of returning to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is still very much open.

Earlier this month, a number of the London club’s fans demonstrated that they were against the striker returning in this summer’s transfer window.

However, many of the supporters have now claimed that they would be interested in Llorente returning for one more campaign.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Spurs are in desperate need of some back-up for Harry Kane and Llorente did manage a respectable eight goals in 35 appearances last season, including two in the Champions League en route to the final.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the report can be seen below:

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A host of Leeds fans have responded negatively to a transfer claim made by Phil Hay on Twitter.

The journalist took to the social media channel to respond to questions from certain segments of the fanbase, and he laid hints that Leeds were done in the window when it came to defenders.

Leeds’ defending against Manchester United in their first pre-season friendly of their tour of Australia left a lot to be desired as they lost 4-0, whilst their only new arrival in that area of the pitch has been Ben White.

With Pontus Jansson also leaving, this update has left many fuming with the club for the direction they’ve taken.

One fan suggested that they should now wave goodbye to promotion as a result, whilst a further supporter was so gobsmacked all they could reply with was the word ‘wow’.

Another individual said it was mental considering the lack of depth in defence as one fan was concerned that White wouldn’t have a good enough partner.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Director of Football Victor Orta already claimed this week that he thinks Leeds are 90% done in terms of the plan they had this summer.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

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On Thursday, Aston Villa announced that they had completed the signing of midfielder Douglas Luiz from Manchester City, subject to a work permit.

The 21-year-old made the move to City from Vasco da Gama in 2017.

He never actually played a game for the Premier League champions, though, spending each of the last two seasons on loan with Spanish outfit Girona.

Luiz will now be given the chance to make his mark in the Premier League, providing that Villa are able to secure a work permit.

It has been an incredibly busy summer transfer window for Dean Smith’s side, who have now spent over £100m as they prepare for a return to the Premier League.

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

As expected, the Villa fans have been out in their numbers offering their views on the move and it would be fair to say that the majority are delighted to welcome Luiz.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Loads of Crystal Palace fans on Twitter are feeling negative after Sky Sports’ live transfer blog (August 6, 11:25am) saying that the club still want to bring Everton midfielder James McCarthy to Selhurst Park before the deadline on Thursday.

Sky Sports say that having already had a bid rejected, the Eagles are understood to be trying to restructure a payment schedule for the Republic of Ireland international.

The Sun says that the Toffees plan to include the 28-year-old in a cash-plus-players deal for Wilfried Zaha, but the latest report says that the south London outfit want him regardless.

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Palace have also been heavily linked with a move for Real Betis midfielder Victor Camarasa, and one Eagles supporters who has had their say on the popular social media platform believes that the deal for the Spaniard could be off if this latest report is true.

There has been plenty of other negative reaction too, with one calling the renewed interest in McCarthy as “so, so, so frustratingly pointless”.

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Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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The following article is a special report; all information presented has been gleaned from Football FanCast sources unless otherwise stated.

West Ham United have included recall clauses in the loan deals that have seen Josh Cullen move to Charlton Athletic and Grady Diangana join West Bromwich Albion, per Football FanCast sources.

The two players were moved on in the final week of the transfer window, with the latter completing his move in the final hours of Thursday.

A figure with knowledge of the Hammers’ recruitment has confirmed that both players could return in January if West Ham see fit, with recall options a requirement to any deal.

Cullen’s move to Charlton has been coming all summer, with sources confirming that Lee Bowyer’s side expressed an interest at the beginning of the transfer window.

The midfielder did take part in the Irons’ pre-season but the move was confirmed on Wednesday, taking Cullen back to the Valley, where he spent last season as the Addicks won promotion to the Championship.

Diangana meanwhile is highly-rated in east London and there is a feeling that he will return and fight for his place next season.

Indeed, Baggies manager Slaven Bilic managed the Irons between 2015 and 2017 and it is understood that his good relations with the club smoothed negotiations.

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Diangana has made 21 senior appearances for the Hammers, scoring two goals.

The recall clause, FFC has been told, is to protect against the possibility of an injury crisis, and the Hammers are not expected to exercise them, despite their inclusion in the deals.

Nonetheless it is extremely clever from the club to end a busy summer on a good note, ensuring their young players get plenty of playing time while also protecting themselves from a total meltdown if the injury curse strikes.

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