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Manchester City are reportedly considering a move for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot this summer and the Frenchman would arguably be a better fit in Pep Guardiola’s side than Borrusia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria.

What’s the word?

According to Calcio Mercato (via Sport Witness), Juventus are planning on selling the former PSG man this summer, which has alerted both Barcelona and Manchester City, who have ‘begun to follow’ the French international.

Despite finding his feet in Turin after a difficult start, it is claimed that Andrea Pirlo wants to make improvements to his midfield in the summer, so Rabiot could be one who is moved on in order to raise some funds for transfers.

A better fit than Zakaria?

Man City have also been heavily linked with a move for Swiss international Denis Zakaria ahead of the summer window and since they both play in midfield, you would imagine that it would be one or the other, rather than both, for the Citizens ahead of next season.

Zakaria is more of a defensive-minded midfielder, whereas Rabiot can play further forward, and yet the 25-year-old Juventus man seemingly has had the edge when it comes to defensive statistics this season.

He has averaged 2.1 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 1.2 aerials won per game in Serie A so far this season, whereas Zakaria has averaged 1.1 tackles, 0.6 interceptions and 0.6 aerials won per game in the Bundesliga.

The 24-year-old has also struggled with injury problems in recent seasons which seem to have had a serious impact on his performances, as this season has seen him earn a poor 6.4 average rating compared to last season’s superb 7.15/10 average rating in the German top-flight.

Rabiot also triumphs over Zakaria when it comes to passing, as he has averaged far more passes and key passes per game than the Swiss midfielder, whilst his pass accuracy rate, in general, is higher than the Monchengladbach midfielder.

The £28.8 million-rated Rabiot has earned a lot of praise from Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon in his time at the club, with the ‘keeper suggesting in 2019 that:

“He is a fantastic mix, he has the physical strength of Pogba, who is like a wardrobe, has the personality of Vidal and potentially the dynamism of Marchisio.

“He is incredible, extremely strong. He needs to improve his timing when approaching the opponent’s penalty area but he can become a player with 10 goals per season.”

Given Rabiot’s solid performances in Serie A and in the Champions League this season, therefore, you could argue that he would be a better signing than Zakaria this summer, so sporting director Txiki Begiristain should try and bring him to the Etihad.

And, in other news… Txiki should seal City swoop for £31.5m-rated beast who broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record

Many Rangers fans have been left to slam the display of Joe Aribo despite their 1-0 win over Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening.

The Ibrox faithful clinched all three points right at the end of the game thanks to a goal from Alfredo Morelos, who was controversially booked for simulation in the first half.

Steven Gerrard consulted the officials at half time and was consequently sent off for his protests, but that did not matter in the end as the Glasgow club managed to get the vital win and edge closer to the title.

However, while there were some very good performances in a Gers shirt, Aribo’s flattered to deceive several of the supporters.

The former Charlton Athletic man lost out on no fewer than seven of his duels, and also failed to record a single shot, accurate cross or long ball (Sofascore).

He also lost possession of the ball 23 times, and given that he registered 59 touches of the ball in total (Sofascore), that means the 24-year-old lost it roughly every 2.6 touches on average.

Rangers fan reaction to Aribo display

These Rangers fans slammed his performance on Twitter, with a few supporters even going as far to say that the Nigeria international was ‘terrible’:

“Aribo been incredibly poor”

Credit: @UNCHAINEDMENTAL

“Aribo has been terrible”

Credit: @Alan_Paton2020

“Get Aribo off man. He’s been terrible.”

Credit: @scotteldxr

“Why is Joe Aribo sitting 3 yards in front of the defence when we are attacking? Him and Kent are outrageously frustrating.”

Credit: @RabVanLadMan

“Aribo off for Hagi, just nothing coming off for him tonight and Itten for Morelos as he now looks scared to make any contact as he knows refs out for him”

Credit: @StephenLouch

“Has Aribo ever played well in a front 3?”

Credit: @MichaelMasson1

In other news, find out whose display was also slammed against Livingston here!

When you think of the great Celtic wingers, a few spring to mind. The likes of Jimmy Johnstone, James Forrest and Paolo Di Canio are all there front and centre.

However, another is undoubtedly Aiden McGeady. The Irishman is now in the twilight of his career at Sunderland, but he was a rampant force during his stay at Parkhead.

McGeady scored 37 times for the Bhoys, playing 252 games in a seven-year association. He won the SPFL title on four occasions and won the fans Player of the Season in 2007/08.

The dazzling winger won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year for the same campaign, a period of time where the recorded 14 assists, more than anyone in the league.

Capable of beating a defender with pace, ingenuity and trickery, he is like very few players we’ve seen in Scotland. At his peak, he was described as “unstoppable” by a certain Gordon Strachan.

Celtic have had players like Forrest and Scott Sinclair take his place on the left since, but they’re now being linked with someone that could usurp them both; Aaron Boupendza.

It’s thought that both Celtic and Rangers are chasing the winger, but they face competition from plenty of clubs in England for the Hatayspor attacker’s signature.

A winger by trade, Boupendza is currently playing in Turkey where he’s very quickly become a goal-scoring sensation.

The 24-year-old has racked up a phenomenal 18 strikes this term, a campaign where he’s shown all the wily characteristics that McGeady brought to Paradise.

One of Boupendza’s strongest traits is his dribbling ability, something McGeady has made a living from down the years.

For context, during his stay at Spartak Moscow, the 34-year-old racked up 2.3 dribbles per game. Celtic’s target, meanwhile, has managed a mighty 2.7 during the current campaign.

To further contextualise how good he is at beating a defender, he has attempted no fewer than 109 dribbles this term.

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That record is remarkable and shows he could be a force if he moves to Glasgow, just as McGeady was all those years ago.

The 15-cap Gabon international would clearly be a valuable addition. Nick Hammond and co must stomach up the funds to bring him to Parkhead.

AND in other news, Forget Laxalt: Celtic must unleash never-seen 19 y/o next term, he’s “very talented”…

West Ham United have been urged to not continue their chase of Blackburn Rovers striker Adam Armstrong.

Former Premier Leauge striker Kevin Phillips has recently talked about West Ham’s links with a move to sign Armstrong and he believes that the Hammers shouldn’t sign the Blackburn forward.

Armstrong may not fit West Ham

Phillips was recently talking to Football Insider and he talked about the club’s links with a move for the forward. He believes that Armstrong is not the sort of forward that David Moyes’ would be looking for. He feels that Moyes is looking for a forward who is taller than Armstrong, as they are looking to replace Sebastian Haller.

He said: “I do not think Adam Armstrong fits the mould at West Ham. Would Moyes even consider it? If I am being totally honest, I do not think he would.

“I think Moyes would be going down the route of a 6 foot plus striker. Of course, Haller was that type of player and it did not work, but Armstrong? I do not think he would suit the way Moyesy wants to play.”

Armstrong, currently 23, has made 27 appearances in all competitions this season. He has scored 17 times, getting seven assists. In the Championship, he has scored 16 goals while picking up three assists. This is a reflection of how he is a prolific contributor to goals.

Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Warburton has praised Armstrong quite a bit. He said:

“He’s a top quality player. I’m sure Tony was desperate for him to get on the teamsheet, as much as we were desperate for him to not be on the teamsheet.

“But that’s what he can do to teams. I thought we done well to stop him in the opening half but you can’t afford to give someone of that calibre any decent opportunities. That’s the quality of the Championship.”

West Ham can make do with Armstrong

Armstrong boasts of a very good record for Rovers. In 144 games for the Lancashire-based side, he has scored 52 goals while also picking up 17 assists on the way. This is a reflection of the qualities of the player and he is only valued at £9 million.

This shows that if West Ham did make a move for him, he might not be a costly investment and he is still only 23 right now. He has a very good goalscoring record but Phillips thinks that he is not the type of player that Moyes would want, but time will tell if he’s correct.

In other news, West Ham are eyeing a move for a Danish international – read more here.

Manchester City continued their impressive winning run with a 2-0 win against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday night, giving themselves an excellent chance of progressing through to the quarter-finals as a result.

Goals from Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus gave Pep Guardiola’s side the win, in a game that was completely controlled by the confident Citizens.

Although Joao Cancelo will earn a lot of the plaudits for his fabulous display, with the Portuguese defender playing a key role in both goals, it was perhaps the performance of his international compatriot Ruben Dias that stood out the most in Budapest.

As per SofaScore, the summer signing would earn an impressive 7.2 match rating for his display, with only Aymeric Laporte, Kyle Walker, Cancelo and Silva rated higher of the City players on the evening.

City dominated possession against Marco Rose’s side, having 61% of the ball, and that was largely down to Dias’ efficiency with the ball.

The 23-year-old, who reportedly earns £115k per week at City, would have the most touches of any player on the pitch with 132, whilst he also completed a superb 125/27 passes, resulting in a near-perfect 98% pass accuracy.

As a result of Dias’ superb ball retention, Monchengladbach were unable to trouble City, with their only real opportunity of the game coming in the final moments after a loose pass from Rodri, forcing Ederson into his only save of the game.

The former Benfica man has averaged 84.6 passes per game and a 93.1% pass accuracy in the Premier League this season, which demonstrates that he took his passing game to another level in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

For comparison, Monchengladbach’s centre-back pairing of Nico Elvedi and Matthias Ginter would complete 131 passes between them, only six more than Dias managed on his own.

Therefore, whilst Cancelo was the difference going forward, Guardiola once again has Dias to thank for why City were able to be so defensively sound and effective in possession on Wednesday.

AND, in other news… Txiki must hand a new deal to £150k-p/w City star Pep dubbed “the best”; even if he rarely plays 

Everton fans have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed footage of Robbie Savage and Chris Sutton, who labelled Dominic Calvert-Lewin a diver.

Speaking on BBC Five Live Sport, Sutton stated the Everton forward was the winner of the ‘simulation game’, going on to say that Calvert-Lewin was ‘better than that’ and to ‘just stop it’ when it came to simulation, before Savage also repeated the call that the £40.5 million-rated 23-year-old was ‘better than that’.

So far this season, Calvert-Lewin has been in incredibly fine form over his 16 league appearances for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, scoring 11 goals and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.40 – ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in the top flight.

And, after BBC Five Live Sport shared the footage of Savage and Sutton on Twitter, fans of Everton flocked to have their say on the matter, with many left furious by the pundits’ remarks.

So, what exactly did these Everton fans have to say in reaction to Robbie Savage and Chris Sutton’s comments regarding Dominic Calvert-Lewin?

“Staggered by this. DCL wouldn’t even be in the top 100 divers in the Prem! Look at Man U diving to get pens every week! Liverpool get them every other week! Leicester are trying it, Jose has got Kane doing it at Spurs…and you choose to highlight DCL. Absolutely bonkers!”

@DannyBrodders

“Really weird take this. Calvert-Lewin isn’t even renowned for going down and he didn’t even claim for a penalty. So many more obvious examples than any of the players mentioned there.”

@matt8284

“Utter embarrassments, the state on this pair. One player who oozes integrity..and you rate him as a cheater or and a diver. You lack class… But hardly surprised. You spout bile to try and stay relevant… But you are utterly irrelevant. Not surprised that BBC is going downhill”

@Rexellis75

“So funny. This is pathetic you have started with someone who would struggle to make the top 100 premier league divers #pathetic #boring what are the chances the actual cheaters such as Harry Kane, Mo Salah, Bruno Fernandez don’t make this list”

@jonty1878

“This is utterly absurd.”

@EmmaHanko

“sack them now absolute joke. Never been booked for simulation.”

@LHenney06

In other Everton news, find out which Everton man has been linked with a move to West Brom here!

When Slaven Bilic brought Michail Antonio to West Ham in 2015 few would have expected him to make the impact he has.

The £7m signing from Nottingham Forest has been a revelation for the Irons and alongside the likes of Tomas Soucek, is leading David Moyes’ men towards European football.

It’s been quite the season for the Hammers who have bounced back remarkably well from a relegation-threatened term in 2019/20.

Antonio has been vital, making everyone stand to attention by knocking four goals past Norwich last season. The forward has since shown this season that wasn’t a one-off.

The Englishman has been tremendous, racking up a tally of five strikes in 12 outings. He’s missed a period of time through injury but has offered plenty to West Ham.

He is a bustling energetic striker, one capable of hassling opponents until they’re on their knees begging for mercy. Antonio is relentless, pressing from the front and providing tireless work rate.

Those attributes were typified by comments from Graeme Souness earlier this season. He said: “He’s one of those centre-forwards you wouldn’t enjoy playing against. You get in a race with him, he’s going to beat you, physically if you have a tangle with him, he’s going to beat you.”

Though, Moyes could be on the verge of luring a similar sort of player to West Ham. That’s because they’re monitoring the situation of Spezia forward M’Bala Nzola. Foot Mercato reported this week that Fulham had a bid rejected for the 24-year-old, but mentioned the Hammers were interested too.

Those claims were furthered by West Ham insider ExWHUemployee who made an eye-catching comparison between Nzola and one of the Premier League’s greatest players. He said: “He’s meant to be a bit like Didier Drogba in his physique and playing style.”

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For a closer indication of his style, you only need to consult words from Metropolitan Magazine who described him in the following way: “[Nzola is] a very fast central striker who manages to attack space with absolute effectiveness. He is also difficult to deal with because he has enviable physical strength which makes him an extremely uncomfortable customer.”

That couldn’t be closer to Antonio, someone who also uses his powerful nature to bulldoze his way past defenders.

Nzola isn’t just about physicality either – he can also find the back of the net on a regular basis. The Frenchman has racked up an impressive tally of nine goals in just 13 Serie A appearances this season.

Bearing in mind how well Antonio has done in east London, Nzola would surely fit Moyes’ style of football. With West Ham craving a new forward after Sebastien Haller’s departure, they could do far worse than signing Nzola as his replacement.

AND in other news, WHU sealed dream deal over “top quality” £27m-rated gem “playing out of his skin”…

Liverpool produced another superb home display on Sunday night, winning 4-0 at Anfield against Wolves.

Goals from Mohamed Salah, Georginio Wijnaldum, Joel Matip and an own-goal from Nelson Semedo secured a resounding win for Jurgen Klopp’s side to put them back into second place in the Premier League behind Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference.

However, the performance of Curtis Jones may be a cause for concern for the German manager, as he was one of few Reds players who struggled somewhat on the evening, which may lead the former Borussia Dortmund boss to consider reinstating Naby Keita or Diogo Jota in his starting team for Liverpool’s next big game, which sees them face Fulham in the Premier League next weekend with Wednesday’s clash against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League now a dead rubber.

As per SofaScore, the academy graduate won just five out of 12 of his duels during his 90 minutes on the pitch, earning him a disappointing success rate of just 42%.

Jones’ performance earned him an overall 6.8 rating, which was better than just two other Liverpool players who started the game, with both Neco Williams and Roberto Firmino earning a 6.7 rating.

Although the 19-year-old’s passing was fairly solid during the game, with 95% of his attempts finding a Liverpool shirt and him losing possession on just eight occasions, it was his defensive contribution that might have Klopp worried.

The English midfielder was dribbled past on two occasions and had one error leading to a Wolves shot as his poor pass gave Wolves a clear strike at goal, suggesting that the was somewhat fortunate not to be punished by Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

Jones grabbed the winner in the midweek 1-0 win against Ajax, which led Klopp to praise him after the game, saying:

“Curtis Jones – what a game for a 19-year-old boy. If I would be sure he couldn’t watch my interview, I would say something else!

“He is a really good kid to be honest and a really good player. I’m really happy to have him around.

“That’s how it is sometimes. When we have problems there is always an opportunity for somebody else. He took it, exceptionally well. I’m really, really happy with him.”

However, he was unable to match this level of performance against the Old Gold, as he never really looked like adding to the six goals he has for Liverpool’s senior side in his career thus far and he wasn’t able to de as defensively strong as Klopp would want in his midfield.

Therefore, it might be best for Klopp to consider resting Jones for their upcoming fixtures, as you worry that if he were to produce a similar display in the Reds’ next home Premier League fixture, which sees them take on top-of-the-table Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield a week on Wednesday, he could well be punished.

And, in other news… Bye Bye Gini: LFC can sign their Wijnaldum replacement in PL midfielder expected to “get better and better”

Mark Douglas has shed light on the latest development that may well hinder the chances of the proposed £300m takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium from happening.

The Premier League have agreed to extend their current Middle East/North Africa (MENA) TV deal with beIN Sports to cover the period between 2022 and 2025, with it being worth $500m (£367.8m) over the course of the three years.

It also means that the people of the KSA will have to continue to watch games from the Premier League on illegal streams given that the Qatari broadcaster is currently banned in their country.

Douglas has since shed light on the breakthrough news, with The Chronicle journalist claiming that the announcement of the MENA TV deal “feels significant” while highlighting that the fact that the Saudis have not engaged with it shows that ill feeling between the two parties still remain.

He also added that while the resolution to this conflict does not seem to be close at this particular moment in time, the KSA group are not going away and Mike Ashley remains committed to getting the deal done.

Significance to Newcastle takeover

The fact that there is still ill feeling between the Saudis and England’s top flight may hinder the chances of the prospective takeover at St. James’ Park from happening, and given the already fragile relationship between the KSA and Qatar, the Kingdom may be encouraged to stamp out all forms of piracy in their country once and for all.

In other news, find out which NUFC ace blasted his team’s display versus Leeds here!

Crystal Palace’s inconsistent start to the season continued with a 2-0 defeat to Wolves in the Premier League, a result which will no doubt remind Roy Hodgson that he still has his work cut out at Selhurst Park.

It was the second time in as many matches that Palace failed to keep a clean sheet, only this time, the Eagles failed to find the back of the net.

You could pick several holes in Hodgson’s side, namely their inability to turn a slight advantage in possession into goals, as Michy Batshuayi had an early effort ruled out for offside. Without wanting to rub salt in the wound, Wolves debutant Rayan Ait-Nouri opened the scoring shortly afterwards, before Daniel Podence doubled the lead a few minutes later.

However, this doesn’t excuse the shocking display by some of the senior players like Luka Milivojevic, who was red-carded in the closing stages of the game, although arguably none more so than Palace left-back Patrick van Aanholt, who turned out to be a total liability. In fairness, the 9-cap Netherlands international has only recently returned from injury, but that doesn’t hide the fact that it was far from his best performance.

SofaScore graded the 30-year-old as the worst player on the pitch with a lowly 6.2 rating – he lost possession 11 times, won just one ground duel out of six attempts, was dribbled past once and failed to make a single tackle all game.

Van Aanholt, who earns £55,000-a-week according to Spotrac, received a similar score from football.london, who insisted he was “thrust into the starting line up, perhaps a week or two earlier than Hodgson would have hoped”, whilst 90Min were far more scathing in their assessment as they gave him a grade of 3/10, claiming “like Clyne, was completely overwhelmed by the overload”, although the outlet admitted he “had no help but didn’t do himself any favours with some sloppy positioning.”

Despite the disappointing display, the Dutchman, who is currently valued at £7.2m via Transfermarkt, still played the full 90 minutes to mark his first start for the club this season.

However, he hardly did himself any favours whatsoever as Palace academy product Tyrick Mitchell has impressed in recent weeks, so his place is by no means safe and secure, although the Eagles are still waiting to receive the results from a scan after the 21-year-old picked up a knock in training which ruled him out of the trip to Wolves.

Hodgson will be hoping the veteran will be able to quickly find his feet before they welcome Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United to Selhurst Park next weekend.

AND in other news, Steve Parish must convince Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell to sign new contract…