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With Leicester City chasing a seventh-place finish and Newcastle United still not safe from the drop, Friday’s clash under the floodlights at the King Power Stadium is a relatively big one.

Brendan Rodgers’ men will be in confident mood following four successive Premier League wins, but the same can’t be said for the visitors who have lost two on the bounce and lie just seven points from Cardiff City in the final remaining relegation spot.

A miserable 2-0 defeat in their previous match on the road against Arsenal was hardly a good sign for them when it comes to picking up points on the road, and they need to perform much better against their in-form opponents.

The appointment of Chris Kavanagh as referee isn’t good news for them considering their record when the 34-year-old has been in charge of their matches this season, although Leicester find themselves in a similar boat.

The official has been the man in the middle for three Foxes fixtures, as per WhoScored, with them losing two and drawing one.

Those two defeats came away against Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers on miserable days for former boss Claude Puel, and obviously fans of the east Midlands outfit will hope that their fortunes have changed under Rodgers.

Newcastle actually have exactly the same record under Kavanagh as Leicester, although all of those have come when Rafa Benitez’s men have been on their travels.

Reverses against Chelsea and West Ham United were accompanied by a goalless draw at Southampton.

That means in six attempts the 34-year-old official is yet to oversee a win for either side, and if history is to repeat itself a draw may well be the most likely result on Friday.

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

Of course it could also mean that something finally gives with both teams in need of the points at this stage of the season.

One thing is for sure, neither club will have been happy when they saw Kavanagh’s name next to the fixture on Tuesday.

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One Rangers fan on the forum of the Follow Follow fanzine believes that the club should consider using Glenn Middleton as a centre-forward.

The comment came on the back of a reserve outing for the 19-year-old where he scored two goals, taking his tally to eight in his previous five matches.

In his 28 first-team appearances in all competitions for the Glasgow giants this term, the teenager has largely featured on either wing, but primarily on the left-hand side.

So is this supporter on to something, and does Steven Gerrard need to listen?

The positives

Firstly, he can obviously finish as shown by his recent goal glut, as well as the fact he has five in 28 outings for the first team – the large majority of which have come from the substitutes’ bench.

Middleton is clearly a clever player with good movement who can drag defenders around, and if he was playing in attack with Alfredo Morelos for example he would surely create more space for the Colombian to work in.

He also has the pace to cause centre-backs big issues and to be played in behind, while he is deceivably strong, too.

The negatives

While he has been in great form for the reserves, putting in those consistent performances with the seniors is a completely different story – but then unless he is given an opportunity how will we know?

The other issue is that Gerrard would likely have to play two up top to make it work given he also has Morelos and Jermain Defoe in his ranks.

Pairing those two together earlier in 2019 failed miserably and he has since returned to his favoured 4-3-3 system, so the former Liverpool captain would have to take a big risk by reverting back to that and then leaving one of his more experienced players out.

Verdict

It would be a gamble, but Gerrard has the perfect opportunity to deploy it right now.

With Morelos injured and the league title gone, he should name Defoe and Middleton together and see what happens – it could even result in an effective plan B for next season.

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Defender Shkodran Mustafi could lead a clearout of Arsenal players this summer, according to the Daily Mail.

Manager Unai Emery is set to sell as many as seven players when the transfer window reopens.

What’s the word?

The Germany international turned in another error-strewn display as the Gunners lost 3-2 to Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Sunday.

And Mustafi will be placed in the shop window this summer claims the Mail’s report, though Arsenal may struggle to find a buyer given his performances this term.

Emery has a budget of just £45million this summer but he will be allowed to top that kitty up with player sales, and the struggling German won’t be the only one to go.

Along with Mustafi, both Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan could leave the club – the Germany international earns £350,000-per-week and the Gunners are keen to shift him off the wage bill.

Carl Jenkinson and Mohamed Elneny may also depart, while loanees Calum Chambers and David Ospina – on loan at Fulham and Napoli respectively – will likely be sold once they return to north London.

Aaron Ramsey is set to move to Juventus once the season ends, while Petr Cech is retiring. Danny Welbeck, who has endured an injury-prone spell at Arsenal, is unlikely to be offered a new contract, with his deal set to expire in the summer.

Hand over to Emery

Arsenal need to rebuild from the ground up.

And this is a perfect opportunity to give Emery the reigns in the summer transfer window.

The club, of course, are without a director of football or a technical director after Sven Mislintat departed the club.

Allowing Emery to bring in his own targets can only be a good thing.

Arsenal will subsequently have an identity of their own once again, with players brought in surgically, to ensure the club have a very specific playing style.

That should, in turn, help the club achieve their goals, as they again look to finish in the top four in 2019-20.

Wolves have been superb on their return to the Premier League this season, with Nuno Santo’s men right in the thick of the action in the top half of the table.

The Molineux club have adapted to life back in the top flight with ease, and some shrewd signings and good coaching from Santo have ensured there has been no danger of an immediate drop back into the Championship.

The club will once again look to add new players in the summer you would assume, and with Marca reporting this weekend that Real Madrid man Brahim Diaz could be sent out on loan, we here in the Tavern feel he’d be a brilliant signing for Wolves.

The 19-year-old has settled in nicely in Madrid but with manager Zinedine Zidane tasked with overseeing a summer overhaul at the Bernabeu, he will want players who are already ready for full first team action, meaning Diaz might not see much game time.

However, he would be a good signing for Wolves, who play with an expansive and open style which would suit the former Manchester City ace.

Diaz’s ability to break down tight defences and play in small areas is something which will appeal to Santo and his coaching staff, and while he does have plenty to prove, there is definitely a top talent in there with Diaz.

Wolves need to keep strengthening to ensure they keep the momentum going, and signing someone like Diaz on a short-term deal could be a shrewd move for the club.

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Manuel Pellegrini’s first season at West Ham has been inconsistent and downright confusing at times, but the Hammers proved on Saturday that they have successfully obtained the most important thing in football – a spine.

Tottenham were yet to concede a goal or drop a point at their new stadium, but that all changed when West Ham rocked up on Saturday afternoon, as Michail Antonio’s second half strike was enough for all three points.

The Irons have been frustrating this season due to their ability to look like world-beaters one week and Sunday league players the next, but the five most important players on the pitch all performed admirably against Spurs.

Lukasz Fabianski, Fabian Balbuena, Issa Diop, Declan Rice and Marko Arnautovic, three of whom were signed by Pellegrini and Mario Husillos last summer, have formed a backbone to the team that every fan should be proud of.

Who is your club’s worst ever January signing? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have picked theirs in the video below and they didn’t disappoint…

On the chalkboard

Every top team has a world class spine. For Manchester City it is Ederson, Aymeric Laporte, Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero. For Liverpool it is Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk and Roberto Firmino.

And while the Hammers may not quite have the quality of England’s finest, Pellegrini and Husillos have shown their experience by addressing what is undoubtedly the most important aspect of any team.

Fabianski, Diop and Balbuena were all brought in last summer by the South American pair, and you’d be hard pushed to find three better performers in the Hammers’ squad.

Then there is Rice, who has not only had a breakout season under Pellegrini but has transformed into one of the league’s most technically sound central midfielders in a matter of months.

Finally, Arnautovic looked like the Arnautovic of old on Saturday, but even if the Austrian international does force a big money move away this summer, Pellegrini and Husillos will waste no time signing a replacement.

For far too long the Hammers have taken a scattergun approach in the market, signing any half-decent player with a bit of flair and excitement around them.

In just one season under their new leadership however, they have provided the foundation to build a truly top team in east London. Hammers fans should be very, very excited about the future.

Ashley Young surely brings back very fond memories of the days when Aston Villa were good.

Those were the days, weren’t they? When Ashley Young and James Milner were commanding the wings for Aston Villa, with big John Carew dominating the middle and Gareth Barry commanding the midfield alongside Stiliyan Petrov and Nigel Reo-Coker.

Once upon a time when he wasn’t taking flak from Manchester United fans on a daily basis, Ashley Young was the jewel of the Villa squad. The man who made things happen from the wing, and never looked short of answers.

If someone asked you who was better out of Young or Messi, you would likely laugh in their face, right? Well, back in the good old days of 2008 when the Argentine wizard had only collected 16 goals and 15 assists in 40 appearances, Martin O’Neill claimed Ashley young to be, and I quote, “on par with Lionel Messi”.

Although uttering this statement would earn someone a one-way ticket to an asylum nowadays, at the time we could sort of, maybe, kind of understand where O’Neill was coming from as the tricky wing wizard had accumulated a career-best 16 assists during the 2007/08 campaign.

His ability to sit on the left-wing and cut inside on his right peg and swirl in a well-calculated howitzer of a cross for his teammates was, dare we say, unparalleled at the time, and Villa, for the most part, enjoyed their most prosperous campaigns in recent memory around the time he was donning the claret and blue.

Young was twice named in the PFA Team of the Year thanks to his efforts at Villa Park before eventually joining Manchester United in 2011 for a reported £17million.

While six goals and 11 assists is about as good as it will ever get for the Englishman, who has only managed to make 30+ league appearances for the club once in eight years, he has enjoyed his most successful years at Old Trafford in terms of silverware – winning four major trophies, including the Premier League and Europa League.

At the tender old age of 33, Young is seeing out his days as a Manchester United player as a target of fans frustration, as the club go from one misery to the next (he hasn’t been great, to be fair). Whether he survives the upcoming exodus as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer attempts to change United’s fortunes remains to be seen.

Note: Ashley Young still hasn’t managed to surpass his Villa stats at Old Trafford (37 goals & 59 assists in 190 appearances compared to 18 goals and 48 assists in 241 appearances).

Aston Villa fans, what are your standout memories of Ashley Young? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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West Ham United are set to discuss Samir Nasri’s future this week, per the London Evening Standard.

What’s the word?

Nasri joined the Hammers at the end of December.

The former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder signed a six-month contract upon his arrival but the report claims that the Irons have the option to extend that by a further season.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini is poised to speak with the Frenchman prior to the club’s final game of the season, against Watford at Vicarage Road.

Nasri has played just six times in all competitions this season and has never once completed the entire 90 minutes for the Irons.

A liability

Nasri’s deal never seemed to make any sense.

This was a player who had not played for 18 months due to a doping ban and, unsurprisingly, upon his move, he has been a wreck.

The 31-year-old has been out with a calf strain and is unlikely to play against the Hornets this weekend.

Why, then, would Pellegrini even countenance the prospect of keeping the playmaker?

He is nowhere near the required quality for the Irons – he is worse than Manuel Lanzini, Marko Arnautovic and, actually, Grady Diangana.

Letting him leave and putting the whole thing behind them is the only sensible thing for the Irons to do at this point.

It was a concern at Old Trafford when Jose Mourinho was at the helm that Manchester United had to strengthen their backline if they were to compete at the top of the Premier League table again.

Red Devils chiefs opted against giving the Portuguese manager the men he desired, and, in the end, it proved to be one of the many factors which cost the title-winning head coach his job.

Even an initial surge under then-caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer failed to hide the fact that centre-back is a problem area for United, who would go on to end the season with just two victories in their last 12 games in all competitions.

Now, Ed Woodward is tasked with bringing the next colossus at the back to Old Trafford and provide Solskjaer with a defender who can instil what the Red Devils lost when Nemanja Vidic left for Inter Milan five years ago.

Oddly, the men he will likely target in 2019 are some of those Mourinho had his eyes fixed on a year ago, with reports tirelessly linking United with the likes of Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Leicester City’s Harry Maguire, Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld and Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar.

Ajax sensation Matthijs de Ligt is another name frequently on Woodward’s speculated shortlist, just under a year after he had the chance to sign the teenager for half the £75million he is now thought to be worth. No deal was reached in 2018, though, as Dutch scout Marcel Bout – a man brought to the club by Louis van Gaal – feared the defender would follow in his father’s footsteps and lose his pace and power by putting on the pounds.

Character, good attitude, fitness, consistency, and sheer quality are all characteristics United must identify in their new centre-back, and depending on what report you read, that man is either thought to be Koulibaly or Maguire.

Some claim Koulibaly is considered too expensive at £90million, while others state the 27-year-old is the number one target at Old Trafford, as he is seen as one of the best in the business having been a rock in Serie A for Carlo Ancelotti.

If the choice boils down to making Koulibaly the most expensive defender in football history, or settling for Maguire, Woodward cannot baulk at the price he must pay for the towering Senegal international instead of England’s World Cup hero.

Unlike Maguire, Koulibaly would be able to instantly give those around him in Red a lift, and lead the likes of Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling, who have on far too many occasions shrieked back into their shells instead of puffing out their chests and refuse to be beat.

David de Gea, likewise, would benefit from having someone of Koulibaly’s calibre lining up in front of him at Old Trafford come the start of the new Premier League season, and not head into the summer pondering a future where he could either have Phil Jones gormlessly meandering around his box or head back into the continent with either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain.

Additions need to be made to the West Ham United squad this summer if they are to build on a reasonable campaign under Manuel Pellegrini.

If they can replicate last year’s transfer window with some more high-profile signings, the Hammers would certainly be on track to achieving their ambitious aims.

Central midfield could be an area that is looked at over the coming months as a position that could do with strengthening and added depth.

It seems one club are prepared to act on that, but West Ham should look to avoid any temptation they might have to do a deal with them.

According to a report by Sky Sports, Olympique de Marseille have offered Kevin Strootman to the London Stadium outfit, as well as Manchester United and Everton this summer.

It is stated that the Ligue 1 side are keen to cut costs after a poor season by their standards, despite having only signed the experienced Holland international for £23million this time last year from AS Roma and being a mainstay in the side.

However, as mentioned, West Ham should look to avoid striking a loan deal for the 29-year-old.

Although there may be nothing to lose when it comes down to a temporary move, it must be noted that Strootman is no stranger to the medical room and has a record that could leave a certain Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll’s records looking better than his.

A number of injury problems have destroyed his career over the past five years and have really stalled the progress he has been able to make and subsequently becoming a shadow of his former self.

The Hammers have had their fair share of injuries over the past few years and certainly do not need another injury-prone member in their squad.

Also, the fact that Marseille are already prepared to allow him to leave the club just 12 months after a big-money move should have alarm bells ringing.

Pellegrini may have limited options in the middle of the field at the moment and the transfer window will provide him with the perfect opportunity to bolster them, however, with doubts whether Strootman can return to his very best, this is one that West Ham should think about avoiding.

West Ham fans, what do you think about Strootman? Would you sign him or pass on him? Let us know below!

It is without question that the upcoming transfer window is one of Arsenal’s most important to date.

Unai Emery and his team have the task of finding new wingers, replacing Aaron Ramsey, and most importantly, improving the defence.

Arsenal’s backline has at times been comical this season as the Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League table and left a trail of embarrassing defensive displays in their wake.

Improvements are needed in the Gunners defence, and according to Goal, Arsenal are looking at a more youthful approach to signing a new centre-back in the form of Saint Etienne defender William Saliba.

The 18-year-old defender, who is valued at £2.7 million on Trasnfermarkt, has been one of the teenage breakouts this season in European football having made 16 appearances for Le Verts in Ligue 1 and helping the French side to a European finish in the league table, and for Arsenal, Saliba is exactly what the club needs this summer.

At 6’4”, the centre-back will add some much-needed height in the Arsenal defence that has been lacking since Per Mertesacker retired last season, and having impressed in a top league at such a young age, Saliba will have the confidence to impress in the Premier League.

As well as physicality and the proven quality to succeed, playing alongside the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis will mature Saliba into a more composed defender, and with Rob Holding set to return from injury next season, Emery could have his defensive duo for the next few years set already.

Arsenal fans, would Saliba be a good signing this summer? Let us know!