[ad_pod ]According to The Sun on Sunday (05/05: page 59), West Brom are showing an interest in Swansea manager Graham Potter as the club steps up its efforts to bring in a permanent boss next season.

What’s the word?

Potter has been earning plaudits ever since he was with Swedish side Ostersunds. The job he did with them was exceptional, taking the club from the fourth division all the way to the Allsvenskan, the top tier of football in Sweden.

Not only that, but he also achieved victory in the Swedish Cup and took them to the Europa League, defeating Arsenal along the way.

His previous record is phenomenal, and he could now be set for the biggest move of his career if The Sun are to be believed.

Their report in Sunday’s print version of the newspaper claims that West Brom are showing an interest in the 43-year-old. However, it could take as much as £2m to prise him away from Swansea with the Welsh club laying down a marker for any team who wants to bring him in over the summer.

Albion aren’t the only ones who could make a move, though, with Celtic also monitoring the Solihull born man.

Perfect long term appointment

West Brom have lacked stability in recent years. They’ve gone through a flurry of managers without really finding someone capable of keeping them in the Premier League.

Though, with the Baggies on the verge of possibly being promoted back to the top-flight at the first time of asking, Potter would represent the perfect appointment if the board don’t choose to stick with James Shan.

He was given the reins until the end of the season but it isn’t clear what the plan of action is beyond that.

However, by appointing Potter, West Brom fans would finally have reason to praise their heavily criticised Chief Executive, Mark Jenkins, who was the topic of much debate on Twitter last month.

Jenkins could go some way to making up for past mistakes by striking gold with the potential appointment of Potter. The former West Brom player already knows the club and the way he built a legacy in Sweden should be hugely encouraging for the Hawthorns faithful.

Was Darren Moore’s sacking unfair? The Pl>ymaker FC squad name which Championship bosses should have gone instead in the video below…

He stayed with Ostersunds for eight years which is somewhat of a rarity in football nowadays. With that in mind, he could be the man to really ensure Albion flourish in the years to come with a long-term vision in place.

It is probably fair to say Eddie Howe has struggled to settle on a first-choice goalkeeper at Bournemouth this season.

The Cherries boss had been alternating between Asmir Begovic and Arthur Boruc before throwing Mark Travers into the equation towards the end of the Premier League campaign, with the 19-year-old impressing in his debut against Tottenham.

Next term, however, Howe could have an undisputed No.1, with the Daily Mail reporting earlier this month that Bournemouth are planning to make a move for Stoke City’s Jack Butland.

How, though, does the England international compare to the man he could be replacing, Begovic?

Jack Butland

It has been a poor season for Butland and his Stoke team-mates in the Championship, while the 26-year-old has not always covered himself in glory after a poor start to the campaign.

Even so, Butland is still a top goalkeeper, who is too good to be playing in English football’s second tier.

The former Birmingham City man is a fantastic shot-stopper and is a No.1 who can marshal his defence well.

Had it not been for injuries, he probably would have been at a higher level right now.

But at 26, he can still get there to give Jordan Pickford a real challenge in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

TT Grade: B- Asmir Begovic

Howe would not have imagined having to chop and change keeper after Bournemouth signed Begovic from Chelsea back in 2017.

However, after error after error, Howe has had to do just that, dropping Begovic for the 39-year-old Boruc.

Too often this season the Bosnia and Herzegovina international has flapped at crosses and made the sort of mistakes someone with his experience should not be making.

He has given Bournemouth’s opponents opportunities time and again and it has cost his side.

On his day, Begovic is still a very good goalkeeper. Unfortunately for Howe, though, he has not seen enough of those days this term.

TT Grade: C- TT Verdict:

Begovic’s return to the Vitality Stadium has not worked out as planned, and now is a good time for Bournemouth to move on.

And they can do just that by replacing the former Chelsea man with his ex-teammate Butland.

The Stoke No.1 would represent a huge upgrade on Begovic; the Cherries would be silly to let this opportunity pass them by.

Bournemouth fans, who is the better shot-stopper, Butland or Begovic? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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Tottenham Hotspur fans are not happy with the club allowing their contingent of England internationals to link up with the Three Lions ahead of the Nations League finals.

England play the Netherlands on Thursday, with Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Harry Kane and Dele Alli all included in Gareth Southgate’s squad.

All four players featured in the Champions League final on Saturday as Spurs lost to Liverpool in Madrid.

And fans are less than enthused about the prospect of the foursome being involved with the Three Lions as they bid to win silverware this month.

England will play either Portugal or Switzerland in the final if they manage to beat the Netherlands.

And Kane, Alli and Rose are all likely to play, though Dier may not be involved after the inclusion of Declan Rice in the squad.

The majority of concern is of course for Kane, who only recently returned from months on the sidelines with yet another ankle problem.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Last summer Aston Villa were staring at potential turmoil. Embroiled in financial trouble, the club failed to achieve promotion and were at risk of losing their coveted star Jack Grealish.

To see Villa now back in the Premier League just a year on is incredible.

During the reign of Tony Xia, Villa’s financial situation became dire. The mass spending on player wages in the Championship just hadn’t paid off.

Therefore, the arrival of Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris was a welcome relief.

In July 2018, they essentially saved the football club. Without the American and Egyptian businessmen, Villa would have been in deep trouble.

The reality is that it’s incredibly unlikely they’d now be sitting among the big boys of English football again. But here we are. One of the oldest football clubs in England, first established in 1874, are back arguably where they belong.

Gone are the days of Xia’s spending. The club are now lead by individuals who seemingly have their act together. Considering what’s gone before, it’s a stark contrast.

However, Villa still need to throw caution to the wind, particularly this summer.

Edens and Sawiris, alongside CEO Christan Purslow, will be eager to display their financial muscle over the transfer window. Considering they’re now preparing for life in the Premier League, it would be understandable if they decided to throw some big sums of money at players.

In recent times they’ve been targeting Brentford’s Neal Maupay in a deal which could cost £20m whilst Joe Lolley is expected to receive a bid of £10m.

Maupay, in particular, represents a large deal but signing those types of players could prove pivotal despite the fees.

What the club can’t afford to do though is fall into the trap Fulham did. After achieving promotion last season they spent over £100m. That was the first time a newly promoted side had ever spent nine figures over the course of a transfer window.

They brought in some highly regarded players, including Jean Michael Seri and Andre Schurrle, but it proved disastrous. Dean Smith’s men will have to spend this summer, there’s no question about that, but they’d be playing a considerably dangerous game if they were to do what the Cottagers did.

Fulham’s methods made a statement, but they brought in far too many players who simply weren’t prepared for life in the top-flight of English football.

If Villa were to follow this same model, then they’d be waving a swift goodbye to the Premier League. That’s why caution must be at the forefront of their minds during the off-season.

It would also suit Smith too. He’s used to working on tight budgets and did so to great effect at Brentford.

The former Bees manager signs players with scope to improve and this method would be of far greater benefit to Villa. In signing Maupay and Lolley, he’d have two players he can certainly develop further.

One is 22 and the other is only just entering his prime years. They’re key examples of the players the club must be looking at.

Completing shrewd deals should be the order of the day, not splashing over £100m on players who simply don’t cut it.

The fact this debate is even possible says something about just how far the Midlands side have come. The thought of spending £20m on a player during the final year of Xia’s reign would have been impossible.

Yet, Edens and Sawiris have worked wonders. They are the embodiment of how all good football owners should be.

Far too many in the modern game stand idly by and fail to invest in the club they have control over. You only need to look a matter of miles down the road to see the lack of investment West Brom owner Guochuan Lai has provided.

Villa, therefore, have everything to be thankful for. The fact they’re now back among the country’s elite is a testament to how hard they worked this season.

Back in March, they sat 13th in the Championship, not even in the frame for promotion. Their rise in recent months has been phenomenal.

They’ll go into this summer knowing they can keep hold of Grealish, the man the club is now built around.

If you told a Villa fan that was feasible just a year ago, they’d have laughed in your face. However, Edens and Sawiris have made that possible.

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After a thrilling run of form through March and into April, Southampton looked set to soar away from the drop zone with plenty of breathing room in their final games, although their stellar string of results wouldn’t last – the Saints would take just three points from their last five matches in what was an ending as disappointing as their start to the season.

It’s clear that Ralph Hasenhuttl needs to get the right signings in to prevent a slow start next term but Oriol Romeu thinks it’s down to them as a team to do so, although he points the finger in a strange direction.

What did he say?

Well, in comments taken from The Daily Echo, the big Spaniard stressed the importance of curtailing the number of points they drop from winning positions and hinted at how he thinks the south coast outfit can improve in that aspect:

“We didn’t get enough points in our last few games and we weren’t creating enough chances either. That is something that, as a whole team, we are going to have to improve.

“I’m not the one to say we need players here and there, as we need to improve a lot as a team. We have improved a lot defensively over the last few months and I think we are a lot stronger now.

“It’s harder to beat us now and it’s harder for us to concede goals but we are probably not making enough chances to score. We need to better with that.”

Romeu’s wrong

The 27-year-old might say that he’s ‘not the one to say’ if Southampton need to sign specific types of players, but he does suggest that the Saints need to be creating more chances, which is interesting considering that his side could have been out of sight in the first half against Huddersfield if their finishing was better.

Shane Long is the only Southampton striker to have scored in 2019 and the Irishman is the epitome of unreliable – he hadn’t netted prior to his goal against Leicester in January.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Perhaps the focus should be on putting the opportunities away rather than creating them, because as Hasenhuttl said after Saints’ final-day disappointment, they “had the chances to kill the game” before an individual mistake gifted the Terriers an equaliser.

With James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond in the side, the St Mary’s Stadium outfit are always going to carve out openings, but it’s all on Danny Ings, Charlie Austin or Long to finish them.

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Reliable West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee has confirmed on his official Twitter account that Hammers attacker Marko Arnautovic will be staying at the club, and Irons fans have been quick to react on Twitter.

The Austria international of course came close to leaving the London Stadium during the January transfer window before eventually signing a new contract, but there still would have been some doubts over his future following the end of the season.

The 30-year-old, whose current deal runs until 2023, hardly set the world alight from the start of February onwards, scoring three goals in 11 Premier League appearances up until and including the final day – all three of those came in the final two fixtures, too.

After a picture emerged on Twitter of Arnautovic and his other half in front of a house being built with a suggestion that it meant the Austrian was staying, Ex’s message was clear: “He is”.

West Ham supporters have taken to social media to have their say on the big update, and while one said they had “mixed feelings”, another was sceptical and believes it is only “until a bid comes in for him a week before deadline day”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

أعربت جماهير ليفربول الإنجليزي عن اندهاشهم الشديد من قرار المدرب الألماني يورجن كلوب المدير الفني للريدز بإشراك محمد صلاح نجم هجوم الفريق في مباراة أتالانتا الإيطالي بدوري أبطال أوروبا، خاصًة وأنه تعافى من الإصابة بـ فيروس كورونا قبل يومين من المواجهة.

ليفربول سقط على ميدانه في “آنفيلد” بهدفين أمام أتالانتا مساء الأربعاء، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الرابعة من دور المجموعات في دوري الأبطال (طالع تقرير المباراة).

صلاح شارك في المباراة كأساسي ولعب مُنذ ضربة البداية وحتى الدقيقة 61، وحل البرازيلي روبرتو فيرمينو بدلًا منه، وظهر بشكل سيء. ملخص لمسات محمد صلاح ضد أتالانتا

جماهير الريدز عبر موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر” أبدت استيائها بسبب مشاركة صلاح، لكون النجم المصري لم يلعب مُنذ أكثر من أسبوعين بعد إصابته بكورونا خلال تواجده القاهرة، استعدادًا لخوض مباراتي تصفيات كأس الأمم الإفريقية. بطولات رصد ردود أفعال جماهير ليفربول والتي جاءت كالتالي:

البداية مع مُشجع كتب: “يورجن كلوب، يا له من خطأ، أنت تعلم أن محمد صلاح ليس بحالة جيدة، فلماذا نبدأ به إلى جانب أوريجي، وتركت فيرمينو وجوتا على مقاعد البدلاء!”.

وكتب آخر: “محمد صلاح لا يزال بحاجة إلى المزيد من الوقت، ولا يزال خط الوسط بحاجة إلى أداء أفضل، لم نظهر بشكل جيد مُنذ البداية اليوم، لم يكن هناك أي سيولة من الخلف إلى الأمام”.

وغرد أحدهم: “كلوب يجرى تجارب كثيرة جدًا، أجلس جوتا وفيرمينو على مقاعد البدلاء، وبدأ بمحمد صلاح الذي تعافى للتو من كوفيد – 19”.

وكتب مُشجع: “كلوب لماذا فعلت ذلك؟ محمد صلاح يجب ألا يبدأ، بينما جوتا وفيرمينو يسجلان، اللعنة!”.

وغرد آخر: “صلاح لم يقم بعمل رائع في المباراة”.

وانفعل آخر بسبب قرار إشراك صلاح مُغردًا: “ما زلت أتأمل لماذا بدأ كلوب مع صلاح في يومه الأول بعد الشفاء من كوفيد؟ في بعض الأحيان، أعتقد أن كلوب يريد أنّ يجعلنا مجانين”.

وكتب أحدهم: “كان يجب ألا يبدأ كلوب بـ صلاح أو نيكو ويليامز و أوريجي في المباراة”.

واتفق مع آخر مُغردًا: “ويليامز، صلاح، أوريجي، ماني، جميعهم كانوا سيئين جدًا اليوم”.

وسخر آخر كاتبًا: “صلاح عاد للتو من الشفاء من كورونا، (لول!) (طريقة سخرية)، كيف هو المسؤول عن ذلك؟”.

وكتب أحدهم: “صلاح مُتعب جسديًا بسبب الغياب لمدة أسبوعين”.

وكتب مُشجع: “تلك الهزيمة يتحملها كلوب، بعد التشكيلة التي لعبت بها ضد ليستر سيتي، لماذا هذه الفلسفة؟، لماذا مع تبدأ بجوتا وصلاح وفيرمينو وروبوتسون”.

وغرد أحدهم: “ما فعله كلوب ليس جيدًا، أتساءل ما هو عذر يورجن الليلة؟ إصابات، مباريات كثيرة، صلاح مصاب بـ كوفيد، توقفات دولية….!”.

ونختتم بمُشجع كتب مُعلقًا على أداء محمد صلاح في المباراة: “يبدو أنه ما زال في مصر!”.

Liverpool Jurgen klopp what a mistake… You know MO Salah is not in good state in terms of form… So why start him alongside Origi whiles Bobby and Jota were at bench… They came in too late!!, You guys has made me loose a lot of money damn… A humble opinion from a fan @LFC — Omar_Billo (@BilloOmar) November 25, 2020

We’re not in the game from the start. No fluidity from the back to the front. Mo Salah still need time , and our midfield needs to do better. We go again next time 💯 — Hendo (@muhammadnaimali) November 25, 2020

This Klopp sef. Too many experiments. You bench Jota and Firmino and start Mo Salah who is just recovering from COVID-19 — Odin’s Son ❁ (@lothruk) November 25, 2020

Klopp wey cause am…Mo Salah no dey form like that so why he for start Origi…whiles Jota and Bobby dey tap like wtf😪 — Omar_Billo (@BilloOmar) November 25, 2020

I’m still traying to understand why klopp start with Salah in his day 1 after recovery from Covid ?
Sometimes, I think Klopp wanna make us crazy… — Abdo Twist (@tmiqabderrahim1) November 25, 2020

Neco salah and origi should not start the match — Eizum (@UzumakiEizum) November 25, 2020

Salah just came back from recovering from covid lol how is he responsible for this? — 🌵 (@alcantarahoe) November 25, 2020

Neco, Origi, Mane, Salah all very poor today — 🔴James 🔴 (@FootballHotTakz) November 25, 2020

Salah is physically tired due to the two-week absence☹️☹️

This loss is borne by Klopp why he did not start
With the starting line-up you played against Leicester,
Why this philosophy? Why didn’t Gotha start with Salah, Verminho, and Robson😏😕😕 😏 pic.twitter.com/tM1ZMJkMtL — #Liverpool 1Nassif ayahy (@AyahyNassif) November 25, 2020

Ooh that’s not good, I wonder what Klopp excuse will be tonight? Injuries, too many games, Salah had Covid, international break….! It is just so unfair! — Habs1967 (@Habs19671) November 25, 2020

By the looks of it Salah is still in Egypt 🙄 — TJ (@ThatGingerFella) November 25, 2020

Salah isn’t doing a great job this game, it is a good choice to take him off for now — Mohamed (@liverpool_fond) November 25, 2020

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Tottenham Hotspur are running the risk of missing out on Tanguy Ndombele.

The supremely talented Lyon midfielder has long been linked with a move to the London club and a Daily Mirror report on Thursday claimed that Spurs were willing to break their transfer record to sign him.

However, in the same breath, the report also states that chairman Daniel Levy is not willing to pay his asking price of £71m. They are, nevertheless, said to be confident a deal can be agreed.

And yet one feels that they are playing a remarkably dangerous game.

Telefoot journalist Julien Maynard claims that both Manchester United and Juventus are also in talks with the midfielder and that no agreement has been reached with any suitor as of yet. PSG, naturally, have also communicated their interest, though no bid has been tabled.

The London Evening Standard, in a separate report, claim that Spurs “face a battle to convince” Ndombele, as he favours a move to Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester City. Nevertheless, the club are again said to be “confident of reaching an agreement”.

This, though, is a once in a lifetime chance and it cannot be left to fate.

Ndombele is a generational talent, a genuinely world-class central midfielder who could be a game-changing acquisition for a club who have been forced to deal in cast-offs, youngsters and bargains for too long.

At this point in time, Spurs have the money to spend. They may have built a new stadium but they haven’t invested a penny into the playing squad since January 2018 and also have the benefit of the prize money from reaching the Champions League final.

There has been no greater time to invest; it is an old adage but to accumulate, one has to speculate.

Buying Ndombele is the definition of speculating and it feels as though Spurs are approaching a tipping point in their pursuit of the player.

If they leave it too long, a club with considerably greater pulling power could gazump them. Yes, Spurs reached the final, but very few players say no to Real or Barca.

This, then, is not the time for Levy to negotiate. Sometimes, he can feel like the Monty Python market trader, insisting that the buyer haggles despite offering to pay full price.

Now, though, is the time for him to merely slap the money on the table. If Lyon want £71m, he simply has to pay it.

Yes, it’s a massive fee, but Ndombele is good enough to be worth double it in four or five years. And that’s when he could move to a La Liga giant.

Now, though, Levy has to ensure he ends up in north London.

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Last summer Fulham untangled themselves from the brambles of a ferociously competitive Championship season and prepared for a triumphant return to the Premier League after a four year absence.

They did so with a highly astute coach in Slavisa Jokanovic and a squad that was perfectly blended with youth and experience with plenty of quality throughout. Most of all they had two facets that are priceless to any ambitious club: momentum and togetherness. Had they kept everything exactly as is and made no signings the suspicion is that the Cottagers would likely remain a Premier League club right now.

Only they didn’t. Insecurities set in, that or impatience to quicker get where they ultimately wanted to be. In the last summer transfer window, Fulham brought in 10 new players at a combined cost of over £100m and that’s when their dream imploded.

The incoming talent – seven of which were from overseas – struggled to settle and the unforgiving top flight doesn’t offer up rehearsals. Jokanovic meanwhile struggled to find his best eleven as momentum halted and any togetherness in the camp dissipated. Their relegation was confirmed in early April but bluntly they were down from the get-go.

The three clubs that have reached the promised land this time out would do well to learn from Fulham’s mistakes and that applies mostly to Aston Villa. Why? Because the respective squads of Sheffield United and Norwich City each contain just a handful of players with Premier League experience and, with the greatest of respect, those players hardly set the division alight.

Take nothing away from how exceptional the Blades and Canaries have been this past year but you still feel they will need to add a bit more established quality to their ranks in order to survive, even thrive at the highest level.

Whereas Villa already have that top flight experience. They already have that quality. Even factoring in the recent releases of Alan Hutton and Mile Jedinak, the Villans still boast a multitude of players who have previously represented themselves well in the top tier and this number includes defensive stalwarts Neil Taylor, captain James Chester, and Ahmed Elmohamady, along with the seasoned Glenn Whelan.

As for the quality Jack Grealish obviously stands out, having easily made the Championship Team of the year through a series of outstanding individual displays. Also in that team was young striker Tammy Abraham whose 26 goals in 40 games last season proved so vital to Villa’s success.

The 21-year-old hotshot is pertinent here because he is, of course, a loanee set to return to his parent club, as too are Tyrone Mings and Axel Tuanzebe in addition to their play-off hero Anwar El Ghazi.

It is the nailing down of these four to permanent deals that should be Aston Villa’s main priority this summer and then, with the sensible recruitment of one or two new faces, the club can retain its momentum and keep the all-for-one mentality that has got them to this point.

Most importantly of all they can learn from the horrible failures of others who sailed in the same boat before them.

All bow for Juan Pablo Angel.

Every club has its cult heroes. Football would be nothing without them; soulless, pointless, passionless and all the other less’s out there. Southampton had Matt Le Tissier, Liverpool had Dirk Kuyt, Manchester United had Diego Forlan, Blackburn had Tugay and, most importantly, Aston Villa had our man in question, Juan Pablo Angel.

The Colombian may not have got off to the best start following a record £9.5million move from River Plate, but surely that makes what follows so utterly special? A comeback tale we can all get behind. Honestly, who doesn’t love that?

Sometimes all it takes is one goal to book yourself a spot in club folklore and Angel’s first and perhaps most memorable goal for the Villans arrived on the final day of the 2000/01 campaign against Midlands rivals Coventry.

The Sky Blues had been competing in the top flight of English football for 34 years before the South American popped up at the back post and half-volleyed home the goal that would ultimately hand the club a sentence of eighteen years (and counting) of football league mediocrity.

Their misery was, and still is, oh so sweet in the morbid kind of way us football fans seem to love.

Villa’s No.9 hit the ground running from thereon. The Premier League bore witness to a man who commanded an absolute talent for heading the ball, as well as the usual generic traits we all love to see in our favourite players; speed, strength, passion and willingness.

While statistics aren’t the be all and end all when it comes to securing cult hero status, it helped that the South American grabbed himself 16 league goals during the 2003/04 season – and 23 in all competitions.

The following campaign wasn’t as fruitful we admit, but he still hit double figures and a fine goal against Chelsea ensured that he will remain a prominent figure in Villa’s history.

Villa fans, what are your standout memories of Juan Pablo Angel? Let us know in the comments below…