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Real Madrid want to use Gareth Bale as a makeweight in any potential deal for Manchester United’s Paul Pogba this summer, as reported by The Mirror.

What’s the story?

Having just completed the capture of former Chelsea star Eden Hazard, the Spanish giants are clearly on the hunt for expensive talent they feel can usher in a new successful era under manager Zinedine Zidane.

No surprise then that they’re looking at Pogba, one of the outstanding midfielders in European football right now.

The Mirror say Zidane is eager to make the French World Cup winner his next signing, with the surplus-to-requirements Gareth Bale set to be used to tempt United into biting on a potential deal.

The paper say that Bale, who earns £600,000-a-week, could drive down Man United’s £130m asking price for Pogba if an agreement can be reached on the Welshman’s mega-money contract.

Could Harry Maguire be on his way to Old Trafford? Check out the video below to see why it would make so much sense…

Would this move suit United?

Despite Pogba’s problems at Old Trafford, he is a player who has enough talent for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to build a side around over the next few years.

They simply can’t be thinking of selling him this summer, even if Bale is included in any deal.

The Welsh icon is obviously an exceptional player and there would be little doubt about his ability to make an attacking impact in the United team if he did return to the Premier League, but Pogba is simply the kind of talent who can offer more in the long-term.

Where would United have been last season without his 16 goals and 11 assists from central midfield? Far worse off than they ended up.

Pogba rebirth

Having persevered through the mire of the Jose Mourinho years, the Frenchman now has the opportunity to finally be the leader that United need to get back to the top of the game.

If Solskjaer can surround him with ambitious young talent then progress can be made.

Ultimately if the player is not happy staying in Manchester that might dictate a club decision, but if all is well and he remains committed, biting on any Real Madrid deal for him could prove disastrous to the ambitions of the Old Trafford side next season and beyond.

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Lee Bowyer’s achievements as Charlton manager cannot be understated – the former midfielder has guided the Addicks to a play-off final despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding his own future plus those of his players and the club as a whole and for that he deserves enormous credit.

The 42-year-old has got the SE7 outfit playing quality football with goals flying in from everywhere, although, if his interview on TalkSport is anything to go by, he’s done a lot more since being appointed in September than just get the best out of the 18 players in the dressing room each week.

What did he say?

Well, speaking on Wednesday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, Bowyer said:

“At the start of the season, the big thing for me was to try to bring the fans and players together because everyone knows there was a lot of negativity around the football club before I came in.

“I wanted to bring them back together and make sure they were part of the journey that we were going to go on. I honestly did believe that we had a good chance (of promotion) this season and to make our home ground a bit of a fortress.

“When you’re playing and you’ve got good crowds behind you, all the fans want to see is the players giving 100 per cent and that was something I demand from my players.

“The fans see that and then they come back and the place is erupting. The other night (against Doncaster), we filled The Valley for the first time in I don’t know how many years. It’s just been great from start to finish.”

Bowyer binds it all together

Indeed, before Bowyer took the helm, the club was in disarray – the genuine hatred towards owner Roland Duchatelet was tangible and The Valley was a toxic place to be, but he has almost single-handedly turned that around.

Check out what happened when two of Charlton’s best players faced-off in a game of ‘Splat’ in the video below…

Of course, the players deserve plaudits for the performances on the pitch but Bowyer’s positive attitude has, as he was hoping, brought the fans back onside, which may be even more important than simply improving the playing squad.

It’s looking likely that tickets for the crunch clash with Sunderland this weekend will sell out and that’s a prospect that most Charlton fans wouldn’t dare to even dream of when the season started.

Lee Bowyer has been more than just hero in the dugout, he’s been the lifeline the club was crying out for.

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Huddersfield’s failings on the pitch this season can easily be attributed to their errors off the pitch before the campaign even began.

In an interview with the Examiner, Town’s chief executive Julian Winter revealed that a lack of communication between the manager and the board led to an ineffective transfer window.

Wasted transfers

The main takeaway from the interview was that David Wagner had been provided with signings that didn’t suit the style of play he wanted to utilise going forward.

The men in charge of transfers at the John Smith’s Stadium recruited based on the system that kept the Terriers up in the 2017/18 season. Their main targets were fast, tricky wingers that would be able to provide service for target men such as Steve Mounie and Laurent Depoitre.

Unfortunately for the board, Wagner was planning on changing his style of play, and failure to communicate that with the higher-ups meant that he was left with a group of players who didn’t suit his philosophy going forward.

Winter said: “From a football perspective we had the idea of doing what we do better and recruiting players into that system.

“David (Wagner) decided to change the system, and I think we lost a little bit of our identity if I am honest with you.”

Can’t make the same mistakes

It is an absolute shambles that nobody from the transfer team liaised with Wagner ahead of Town’s second season in the Premier League.

It was a case of square pegs in round holes once the season kicked off and from that point onwards the Yorkshire club were doomed.

They can’t afford to repeat this error ahead of Jan Siewert’s first full season in charge. They must have a meeting as soon as possible with the German and establish what he wants to do on the pitch, then go out and make signings to accommodate that system.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

There’s no use in signing players who don’t fit a system, no matter how good they may be. It is amateurish for Huddersfield to have made such a schoolboy error, and they must now change their ways as they prepare for life back in the Championship.

[ad_pod ]Tottenham Hotspur somehow managed to beat Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.On a night that saw a flurry of early goals, VAR controversy and the agony and ecstasy of football brought into sharp focus, Spurs squeezed past the Premier League champions at the Etihad Stadium.Raheem Sterling scored the opening goal of the night in the third minute, but Son Heung-Min hit back, scoring twice to give Spurs a 2-1 lead on the night and a 3-1 aggregate advantage. In the 11th minute, remarkably, the fourth goal came, Bernardo Silva firing home.Sterling then made it 3-3 on aggregate and 3-2 on the night, turning an excellent Kevin De Bruyne cross past Hugo Lloris. City still needed another, however, and Sergio Aguero provided that with a powerful finish just before the hour mark.Fernando Llorente, though, turned a corner past Ederson with his hip in the 73rd minute, though replays appeared to show that the ball had struck his elbow. A VAR review allowed the goal to stand.Sterling, remarkably, appeared to win the game in injury time, leading to wild celebrations among the City players and staff. However, a VAR review ruled the goal out, amazingly sending Spurs through to their first Champions League semi-final in a generation after a genuinely classic encounter.

And a video circulating on social media has shown the Spurs players and staff enjoying their triumph in their dressing room, even chanting the name of the revived midfielder Moussa Sissoko, who has enjoyed such a brilliant season but was injured against City.

Spurs fans are sure to love the video which shows Mauricio Pochettino in particularly good form.

The team spirit on show will also warm the hearts of many supporters, with a semi-final clash with Dutch giants Ajax looming.

Indeed, the brilliant young Eredivisie side have beaten both Real Madrid and Juventus in the knockout stages this year.

It remains to be seen, however, if they will be able to get past Pochettino’s Spurs.

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QPR finally gave their fans something to – somewhat – be happy about as they came back from two down to draw away at Hull on Saturday, having been the Championship’s punching bag for the last couple of months.

The result was much-needed after loss to Rotherham, in which Darnell Furlong gave away a free-kick in the dying seconds, from which their visitors were allowed to score a winner.

The young right-back has, like many of his teammates, been poor in recent weeks so the surely nearing return of Angel Rangel to the ranks will be a huge relief to fans.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

The veteran defender tore a tendon during the win over Leeds in February and completed a solid 45 minutes for the R’s in a friendly against Southampton this week. Geoff Cameron, who has also been injured, got through the whole game.

Here’s what the Hoops faithful had to say on Twitter, with many relishing the 5 ft 10 Spaniard’s comeback…

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A wave of Arsenal fans on Twitter think that their club shouldn’t sell on-loan defender Calum Chambers when he returns to the Emirates Stadium in the summer.

The former England international moved to Craven Cottage for the season in the summer 2018 transfer window, but hasn’t been able to prevent Fulham from sitting precariously in the Premier League bottom three with just seven matches left to play.

However, despite the Cottagers’ struggles, Chambers has stood out playing in both defence and midfield and he will be pleased for the game time he’s received in west London, making 24 league appearances in 2018/2019 so far.

This has prompted some Gunners to crave seeing the 24-year-old in red again, with one stating that they are “looking forward to seeing Chambers in an Arsenal shirt again next season.”

Which team is the dominant force in London right now? Playmaker FC’s Tom Skinner has a very unpopular opinion on the matter. Check it out in the video below…

He’s also impressed a selection of Arsenal supporters so much that they are not only making comparisons between him and current first-choice centre-back Shkodran Mustafi, they think he’s better than the German and would like to see him gone instead of Chambers when the transfer window arrives.

Below is our list of the best Tweets from fans of the North London club on the 6 ft utility man…

As things stand, Arsenal are surely set to release Denis Suarez back to Barcelona in the summer after failing to impress manager Unai Emery or making no real impact so far in his time in the Premier League. As per the terms of his loan agreement, the former Manchester City youngster will be making the trip back to the Camp Nou having achieved a whole lot of nothing in north London. 

To be honest Arsenal fans, he’s been even more invisible than Mesut Ozil in a big game.

Still, having played only 67 minutes in total in the league and 28 minutes in the Europa League it is a bit unfair from the club to say or suggest that he hasn’t pulled his weight – something he recently hit back on – or offered Arsenal anything yet to get excited about.

The Gunners completed a loan move for Suarez in January, with the option to buy him on a permanent deal in the summer and given the big names currently at Barcelona, it is hard to see him go back to the Spanish giants and claim a spot in the first-team. Arsenal, though, are a club who might actually benefit from his services in the long run and could still find him of high value should he be at the club for a full season.

It was also always going to be difficult for Emery to hand Suarez regular starts in order to prove himself to the manager given it’s a stage of the season where the Gunners can’t really afford to experiment with new players.

Emery has done an excellent job in getting Arsenal back into the top-four but still has a couple of big matches away from home to focus on before the end of the season, meaning it is highly unlikely that the manager would use those matches as an opportunity to start Suarez and let him complete a full 90 minutes.

The timing of Suarez having to show his worth to the manager has just been wrong, which makes it unfair of the club to say he hasn’t done enough to warrant a permanent contract at Arsenal.

Of course, sealing a permanent deal for the Spaniard could be seen as risky as he hasn’t exactly done that much of late but that can be put down to the lack of minutes he’s received on the field.

Although, whether Arsenal play in the Champions League next season or not, they should consider the future of the club and make him part of Emery’s plans to make Arsenal a powerhouse once again.

Arsenal fans, do you think Suarez has been treated harshly? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Both Birmingham City and Aston Villa have, unsurprisingly, been charged by the Football Association for failing to ensure that their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during Sunday’s Second City derby.

The charges relate to an incident following a poor challenge on Villa’s Jack Grealish, by City’s Maikel Kieftenbeld, which resulted in a melee involving a number of players from both teams.

BBC Sport report that both clubs have until Monday to respond to the charge.

The FA action was largely expected, and the fact that it may have perpetuated the disgraceful assault on Grealish by a City fan, meant the charge was somewhat inevitable.

It would be a surprise to hear that either club will contest the charge, which will more than likely result in a hefty fine.

Certainly the fracas set the tone for a feisty opening, and the FA are right to lay down the law on the rivals.

It is certainly not the example that players are expected to set for young fans, and their responsibilities as role-models need to be considered at all times.

Grealish, of course, went on to get the winning goal, and secure a precious three points in their push for a play-off spot.

Was the FA’s action correct? Should the club accept the charge and move on? Let us know what you think…

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Arsenal have made contact with Real Madrid over the potential loan signing of James Rodriguez this month, as per The Independent.

The Gunners are keen to strengthen their squad this summer and have explored the possibility of recruiting the Colombia international, who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich.

What’s the word?

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has admitted that there is little money for Arsenal to spend in the January transfer window, accepting that the club are likely to be restricted to loan signings.

According to The Guardian, he said on January 10th: “We cannot sign permanently.

“We can only loan players. I know the club is working on possibilities of which players can help us with big performances like we need now. I cannot say more.”

Rodriguez is set to return to Madrid at the end of the season, but Bayern are not averse to allowing him to move to a new club on loan now, according to The Independent.

Arsenal and Napoli are both interested, with Real set to sell up in the summer, having spent £71million to sign him on the back of his excellent performances at the 2014 World Cup, as per BBC Sport.

Real are interested in signing both Eden Hazard and Christian Eriksen in the summer, from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, according to The Independent, and that will leave Rodriguez surplus to requirements.

However, the report claims that the club could potentially send the 27-year-old to Spurs instead in order to smooth over their mooted bid for Eriksen.

One man’s trash is another’s treasure

Arsenal fans can be forgiven for expressing their reservations over this transfer window when Emery revealed there was little money to spend. However, the acquisition of Rodriguez would go a long way to placating the baying hordes.

It has become clear that Emery does not believe Mesut Ozil can play a key role in his system, so the signing of the Colombian would help the Gunners click into a higher gear, where there is creative support for their two potent front-men – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Pl>ymaker FC believes Arsenal fans won’t have to wait long to see Unai Emery’s long-term ambitions for the club come to fruition. Watch the video below to find out why…

A six-month loan deal could potentially come with an obligation to buy, too, and that could prove to be a very smart piece of business for the club.

Supporters will hope this one gets over the line.

Liverpool are undoubtedly one of the best teams in the world.

The European champions are breaking records left, right and centre, and to be honest, there’s not much you’d change about their team at the moment.

Indeed, everything seems to be perfect at Anfield at the moment, and you’d think that may not bode well for some of the Reds’ loanees looking to force their way into the team.

One man who has been impressing during his loan spell away from Anfield is Harry Wilson.

The 22-year-old has netted seven goals in 22 Premier League appearances at Bournemouth.

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Understandably, this good form has us wondering what type of future he may have on Merseyside, and James Pearce had the latest on Liverpool’s plans with the Welshman.

What’s been said then?

The reporter was hosting a Q&A session on The Athletic, and one fan asked about Liverpool’s summer plans, they asked about the transfer budget, any potential incomings and sales, suggesting Wilson as one player who could potentially be sold.

“The owners always say they don’t put a figure on the budget, it’s down to what deals are there to be done and whether Klopp/Edwards/Gordon believe it makes sense financially,” Pearce said.

“Last summer showed they don’t ever buy just for the sake of it. I can’t see LFC shelling out £100m plus for either Sancho or Havertz. Werner is more realistic.

“For the likes of Wilson and Grujic, the plan currently is to give them a chance in pre-season and assess it then. However, if a big bid came in that could change matters.”

Needs to show something

If Wilson wants to make it at Liverpool he really needs to show something huge in pre-season.

As well as he’s doing for Bournemouth, it’d take something really special for him to compete with Mohamed Salah on the right side for the Reds.

Of course, Wilson can also play through the middle, but he’s made the right-wing his home this term starting 18 games on that flank.

Luckily, he is getting the chance to prove himself to Jurgen Klopp, and it’s an opportunity he simply has to take.

Pearce says that something could change if a big bid came in, and that isn’t too unrealistic.

His Transfermarkt valuation has increased by almost £12m since last summer, and if he keeps up his good form until the end of the season a team may want to take a punt on him once the window reopens.

In other news, Jamie Carragher has suggested that Liverpool should make two signings.