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Granit Xhaka has come on leaps and bounds since the arrival of Unai Emery, who opted to make the Swiss international one of his five captains going into the new season.

However, things are forgotten very quickly in football as Xhaka’s form has dipped dramatically along with Arsenal’s, who look on course to finish outside the top four for the third season in a row.

Interestingly enough, the north London outfit haven’t finished in the top four since Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi signed for the club.

Arsenal have suffered three defeats in a row, starting with Crystal Palace at the Emirates and away losses at Wolves and Leicester City quickly following.

Despite the rut, the Gunners amazingly could still finish in the top four, if results go their way. However, this isn’t comfort enough for Arsenal fans, who took issue with the latest quotes coming from the midfielder in the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat…

Assessing Bournemouth’s squad, it is quite clear where the south coast club need to strengthen in the summer.

If Eddie Howe does not believe the promising Mark Travers is ready to become the Cherries’ No.1 yet, then he needs to go out and buy a new goalkeeper.

Asmir Begovic has made too many errors between the sticks this season, while Artur Boruc is 39 years of age.

That explains Bournemouth’s interest in Jack Butland, with the Daily Mail reporting that Burnley’s Nick Pope is also a target for the Premier League outfit.

Seen as a cheaper alternative to the Stoke City shot-stopper, Pope is exactly the sort of goalkeeper the Cherries need.

Should they be unable to land Butland, then they should go all out for the 27-year-old.

Pope has obviously featured very little this season due to injury. But prior to that, the former Charlton man enjoyed a highly successful 2017/18 campaign where he went on to win his first senior England cap.

Reliable between the sticks, Pope offered Burnley even more security behind a sturdy central defensive partnership of Ben Mee and James Tarkowski.

That reliability is something Howe has not seen nowhere near enough of from Begovic.

Bearing that in mind, ditching the Bosnia and Herzegovina international for Pope is certainly the play here for the Bournemouth boss.

Bournemouth fans, would you welcome the addition of Pope in the summer? Join the discussion by commenting below.

Middlesbrough’s roller-coaster of a season was brought to a halt yesterday as Tony Pulis’ side narrowly missed out on reaching the play-offs in the Championship.

Having entered the final round of fixtures just one point behind Derby County in the league standings, the Smoggies needed their rivals to slip up home against West Bromwich Albion to have any chance of securing a top-six finish.

However, despite beating Rotherham United 2-1, Boro were left to rue their horrendous drop-off in form during March and April as Frank Lampard’s Rams guaranteed their place in the play-offs with a 3-1 victory at the Pride Park stadium.

Although it is unclear whether Pulis will be at the club next season, it is imperative that in order for the Yorkshire-based outfit to launch a sustained bid for promotion, they must bolster their squad during the upcoming transfer market.

With the likes of Stewart Downing and John Obi-Mikel approaching the twilight of their careers, it is clear that Boro could benefit from freshening up their options with the arrival of one of the most promising young talents in League One.

According to the Sunday People (as quoted by the 72), Boro have been linked with a summer swoop for Coventry City star Tom Bayliss with Leeds United and Newcastle United also reportedly keen on securing his signature.

A fantastic central-midfielder, the 20-year-old enjoyed an incredibly fruitful campaign with the Sky Blues this season as his three goals and three assists helped the club secure an eighth-place finish in League One.

Although he has only played two full years of senior football, it is clear that Bayliss is more than ready to make the step up in level and has all the ingredients needed to become a future hero at the Riverside Stadium if the Smoggies can convince him to join the club.

What do you think Boro fans? Would Bayliss be a good addition to your side? Or is it too much of a risk to bring in the England under-19 international? Let us know below.

أعلن الاتحاد الصربي لكرة القدم، اليوم الأربعاء أن 4 من أعضاء البعثة، قد ثبتت إصابتهم بفيروس كورونا في اختبار PCR الأخير الذي خضعوا له.

وأصيب لاعبو الفريق، سيرجي ميلينكوفيتش سافيتش ونيكوليتش ​​ولازوفيتش وأحد أخصائيي العلاج الطبيعي.

وخضع لوكا يوفيتش، مهاجم ريال مدريد الإسباني، لفحص مع منتخب بلاده صربيا، ووفقًا لصحيفة “آس” الإسبانية، جاءت النتيجة سلبية.

ااقرأ أيضًا.. كاسيميرو يُعلق على تعافيه من كورونا والعودة لتدريبات ريال مدريد

ويأتي ذلك قبل مباراة صربيا أمام روسيا، المقرر خوضها مساء اليوم الأربعاء، ضمن منافسات دوري الأمم الأوروبية.

ولا تزال فترة التوقف الدولي تمثل صداعًا للأندية بسبب فيروس كورونا، والذي أصيب به عدد كبير من اللاعبين مؤخرًا.

Alfredo Morelos must be sold this summer, but his 29 goals this season would take some replacing. Andre Gray would step into his shoes and tear-up the Scottish Premiership if Rangers managed to sign him.

The Herald claimed the Gers are attempting to do just that as summer approaches. The Watford striker is far too good for the Scottish league, so if they can lure him to Glasgow it could make the difference in the title race next season.

He’s scored seven goals and assisted two in 27 games for Watford in the Premier League this season. If that’s what he can do in arguably the most competitive league in the world, imagine what he could do for Rangers in Scotland. He could become an Ibrox hero within a year.

The Englishman’s rated at £13.5m on Transfermarkt, so he certainly wouldn’t be cheap. That’s usually a fee Rangers wouldn’t be able to afford, particularly as they need to add quality all over the pitch to challenge Celtic next season. The money raised from Morelos’ sale can cover this though.

He signed for Watford for £18.36m and his reputation would excite Ibrox no end. The 27-year-old is in his prime, and he’d relish being the main man for such a massive club. He hasn’t had that privilege at Watford, so he could be tempted to Scotland.

If they can convince him to come, it’d be a game-changer for the title race. He’d strike fear in any Scottish Premiership centre-back, and that’d certainly worry their arch-rivals into taking them seriously as title contenders next season.

Rangers fans, who do you want to see replace Alfredo Morelos if he’s sold this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below.

Time to say goodbye: Joselu to be shown the door at Newcastle United

The Magpies are prepared to let flop striker Joselu fly this summer, as per Footballer Insider reports.

It genuinely defies belief that the big man has been considered a key member of the squad during the previous two seasons, but he has – and only recently has the club apparently made the decision that he is surplus to requirements.

A source close to Newcastle has apparently revealed to Football Insider that Rafael Benitez is keen on offloading the player this summer and has urged the club to consider any incoming offers.

Once a man of Celta Vigo, Frankfurt and Hoffenheim Joselu was Newcastle’s first choice centre-forward last season, which explains a lot, after signing from Stoke City in the summer of 2017, which also explains a lot.

Having scored a pitiful four goals in 32 appearances last season and began this campaign in equally fruitless fashion as the starting striker until king Solomon Rondon established himself as a number one, it is obvious why Benitez has absolutely no intention of keeping him on next season.

As Newcastle have looked to defend their Premier League status, Joselu has not started a single league game since the Boxing Day massacre by Liverpool and has failed to even make the matchday squad for the past seven fixtures.

The writing is most certainly on the wall for Joselu, and we can hardly blame Benitez and Newcastle. Genuine quality is needed if they want to improve on simply scraping by, and the Spaniard is evidently so far behind the required standard.

Newcastle fans, do you think Joselu’s time is up at Newcastle or does he deserve a chance? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Obviously, Tottenham need to make a statement signing this summer, and who better than their hero Gareth Bale? As you’ll remember all too fondly, he lit up White Hart Lane during his youth and would surely do the same in their new ground.

The Welshman has had a hit-and-miss time at Real Madrid, and it seems him and Zinedine Zidane just don’t see eye to eye. Now the Frenchman is back in charge it looks like he doesn’t have a future at the club. So, that’s where Daniel Levy needs to step in.

Marca, via Sport Witness, have claimed Spurs are an option for Bale but the club won’t go near Madrid’s valuation. That’s very typical of Levy, but if Bale forces a move, a loan back to where he made his name could reportedly be an option.

Certainly, he’d raise the excitement levels if he came back.

The mood is fairly high considering Spurs’ brave Champions League showing and their move to the new stadium. Now, the club need to prove they’re going to move forward and challenge for the title, though. Undoubtedly, signing Bale in his prime, at 29-years-old, would do just that.

It’s a romantic notion and the Welshman is often linked away but why not consider it? Alongside Harry Kane, the former most expensive footballer of all time could bring with him a winning mentality to really challenge the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.

To truly push the aforementioned giants for a sustained amount of time, the club need to pull a rabbit out of a hat. They have the foundations in place but clearly need a big power play to jump that final hurdle. Bale, despite his injury issues, could be a big enough statement to do that.

He’s scored a whopping 102 goals and made 64 assists in 231 games since his move to Spain. That’s quite incredible, but he just doesn’t seem valued by anyone surrounding the club. At Spurs, he’d be the main man again and would have nothing to prove.

Bale would be their best signing since Heung-min Son and would undoubtedly improve this Spurs side. If Levy can sort the move, it’ll be one the fans look back on as a major turning point in the club’s history.

No pressure, Daniel Levy!

Spurs fans, who do you think your club should sign to bolster your attacking capabilities? Join the discussion by commenting below…

If only Sunderland had cashed in when they had the chance, Lamine Kone would never have been a problem. The Black Cats thought they had a real gem on their hands when they turned down an £18 million bid for the defender back in 2016, but only now do they realise how costly that move was three years ago.

Kone, who is now 30-years-old, has been a massive pain for Sunderland since they suffered the first of their back-to-back relegations in 2017. The French-born Ivorian international spent this season on-loan in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg and the good news is that, according to The Chronicle, that loan move has become a permanent one, but how the Mackems would have wanted him out of their hair before that.

There have been some pretty rotten players rock up on Wearside in recent years. Without even thinking about it, the likes of Jack Rodwell, Didier Ndong and Papy Djilobodji spring to mind, and now the club have got that particular trio off their books and Kone has also secured a permanent switch away things look a lot brighter at the Stadium Light.

From day one, Jack Ross made it very clear that Lamine Kone was not in his plans and that he had to find a future elsewhere, which the 30-year-old has now gone and done. It’s been a long time coming, but at least the Black Cats can prepare for yet another season in League One without having to worry about getting rid of Kone on yet another loan move for yet another season.

Are you pleased to be rid of Kone, Sunderland fans? Let us know!

Manchester United’s miserable season came to an end this weekend with a terrible 2-0 loss at home to Cardiff City.

The Red Devils finished their campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in fitting fashion to sum up their entire campaign, and there is now a long summer ahead for the club as they look to overhaul a squad which is in desperate need of change.

Manager Solskjaer will no doubt have a clear picture of what he wants to do over the summer, and it’s clear that certain players will need to be moved on while new faces will be a must at the club too.

One man who has been linked with a move to the club this weekend is Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye, who has been in fine form for the Toffees this season as he has cemented his place as a key name on the first XI team sheet.

However, here in the Tavern, we feel this is another example of a signing which just does not do enough for United, and Gueye is a player who the club should not be looking to shell out the reported £40m on.

While Gueye has proved himself a capable midfield player in the top flight, he is hardly of the quality to drive United forward into a new era, and at 29, doesn’t exactly have time on his side in terms of development and improvement.

United need either proven world class talent or younger players who will g develop into valuable assets for the club. Sadly for Gueye, he doesn’t quite fit this mould and is someone who should be avoided by United in an ideal world.

تأهلت المصرية ميار شريف لاعبة التنس الأرضي إلى نهائي بطولة جران كاناريا التي تقام حاليًا في مدينة لاس بالماس بإسبانيا.

وكانت ميار قد تخطت نصف النهائي بالفوز على الألمانية جول نيماير بنتيجة 2-1 في مباراة ماراثونية استمرت 3 ساعات.

طالع | بعد مباراة ماراثونية.. ميار شريف تتأهل إلى نهائي جران كاناريا

ومن المقرر أن تلعب ميار شريف ضد الأستونية كايا كانيبي المصنفة 15 عالميًا في المباراة النهائية. موعد مباراة ميار شريف في نهائي بطولة جران كاناريا

تبدأ مباراة ميار شريف وكايا كانيبي اليوم في تمام الساعة الواحدة ونصف ظهرًا بتوقيت القاهرة.