Newcastle could have signed the perfect partner in crime for Allan Saint-Maximin in Lille’s Jonathan Ikone.
What was the story?
Reports from France earlier in the summer suggested that both Newcastle and fellow Premier League side Tottenham had made enquiries for Ikone, and that he could have left Lille if a considerable bid had been made.
In the end, Ikone stayed put, with the Magpies completing a free transfer for Ryan Fraser, who had left Bournemouth after the expiration of his contract.
When you look at what Ikone could have brought to the table, however, there’s a real argument that he could have been the dream partner for Saint-Maximin.
Bye-bye Almiron
With his ability to play anywhere across the front-line, including on both flanks, Ikone would have comfortably fitted in well with Saint-Maximin, giving Newcastle boss Steve Bruce the option of deploying the duo at the same time.
Valued at £32.4m by Transfermarkt, the Frenchman is incredibly direct, either with the way he can drive forward or get his shot away. Last season, as per Whoscored, the 22-year-old averaged an impressive combination of 1.3 shots, 1.1 key passes and 2.6 dribbles per game.
Having Ikone on one wing and Saint-Maximin on the other could have seen Newcastle have a twin threat, and opposition defences wouldn’t have been able to double up on the latter and nullify the Magpies’ biggest danger.
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His arrival in the summer could also have been a hammer blow to Paraguay international Miguel Almiron. The former MLS ace has really struggled to hit the heights at St James’ Park, managing just nine goals in 61 games since joining.
If Ikone had made the switch to Tyneside, then Almiron may have been the one pushed to the side with even fewer opportunities to shine.
Ezgjan Alioski is in talks for a new Leeds contract, according to Football Insider.
The Macedonian started his second league game of the season against Aston Villa on Friday as Leeds had to rejig their backline in order to deal with a litany of injury problems, and while Alioski didn’t do much wrong against the Villans, there was another player on the bench that we’d rather have seen playing at left-back.
Of course, we’re talking about Leif Davis.
Davis has been touted as a future star at Leeds for some time now with Bielsa reportedly a big fan of the 19-year-old, but if he is going to fulfil his potential, he needs to get some more game time.
Alioski seems to have nailed down the backup left-back spot at the moment, but we can’t help but feel that this situation needs to change in the near future.
We all know what Alioski is about, he’s a high-energy player who will put everything on the line for the team, but he’s nothing special, with Noel Whelan recently describing him as “ineffective”, and it’s hard to make a case that he’s the long-term solution at left-back.
Stuart Dallas is clearly the man to start there week in, week out, but when he is unavailable, or having to play in another role, it should be Davis getting a chance. Even more so after the departure of Barry Douglas.
The young left-back will only improve with more experience while Alioski is already close to his peak and he isn’t likely to rip up any trees in the Premier League anytime soon.
Davis, on the other hand, has the dynamism to be an exciting attacking modern full-back, he’s previously been compared to Gareth Bale, and the fact that Liverpool were scouting him last year is an absolute testament to how highly he is rated.
United need to stop wasting time with Alioski at left-back and fast-track Davis to a more key role in the squad.
AND in other news, Leeds should regret not signing £80M monster back in 2014…
After enduring a disappointing debut campaign with Tottenham, this summer feels like a potentially huge one for Ryan Sessegnon.
The 20-year-old featured just 12 times for Spurs last season, and there were even suggestions that clubs were keen to lure him away. But following a report from The Athletic that Jose Mourinho had rejected a loan offer from Barcelona, and that he is ready to unleash him this year, Sessegnon took to the field against Ipswich on Saturday and showcased just what he can do.
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The Lilywhites ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against the League One side, and it was Sessegnon who got Spurs off and running, collecting a fine ball from Dele Alli, before cutting on to his weaker right foot and firing past the Ipswich goalkeeper.
And after the game, Spurs fans took to Twitter to share their reactions about Sessegnon’s performance.
A couple of supporters simply insisted that there is a lot more to come from the former Fulham youngster, and that the “sky is the limit”.
One Spurs fan even suggested that if Mourinho has a brain, Sessegnon will actually be starting for the side come the start of the new campaign next month.
At just 20, it’s difficult to expect Sessegnon to just hit the ground running and start showing world-class potential.
Having been one of the breakout prospects in recent years at Fulham, the starlet arrived at Tottenham as a much smaller fish, in a much bigger pond.
But with a season now under his belt, this could be the year for him to really kick on and show why Spurs spent big-money to bring him in last summer.
Sunderland are interested in making a move for former Rangers defender Jon Flanagan, according to Football Insider.
Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson faces a tough task this summer as he looks to build a squad capable of gaining promotion to the Championship.
Finishing eighth in the League One standings last term, Parkinson is under increasing pressure to deliver and a number of deals have already been completed this summer with Bailey Wright and Aiden O’Brien, whilst also agreeing new terms with Tom Flanagan.
With Parkinson keen to further improve his squad, interest in ex-Rangers defender Flanagan has now emerged.
The defender, who was released by Steven Gerrard’s side earlier this summer, is available on a free transfer and Football Insider have claimed that Sunderland are interested.
That interest is also said to be matched by Fleetwood Town with boss Joey Barton keen to bolster his squad options ahead of next term in League One.
Flanagan, who is valued at £855,000 by Transfermarkt, last played in English football with Bolton Wanderers, whom he left to join Rangers in 2018.
Signing Flanagan on a free transfer this summer would be a good move for Sunderland and would add experience and quality to their defence. Indeed this is a player who not only made 16 appearances in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers, but who also played 46 times in the Premier League for Liverpool whilst also winning the League Cup whilst at Anfield (Transfermarkt).
Fleetwood’s interest will provide stiff competition for Phil Parkinson but you have to feel that if a promotion rival are keen, Sunderland should go all out to make a move.
Do you think Flanagan would be a good signing for Sunderland? Let us know in the comments section below…
The Daily Record has suggested that Glasgow Rangers’ Steven Gerrard could make a move for out-of-contract winger Jordon Ibe.
The 24-year-old recently left Bournemouth after his deal at Dean Court ran out, and he would now be available on a free transfer. The newspaper has acknowledged that Ibe has been linked with a move to Celtic (The Sunday Mirror, 28/06, p74) but has suggested that, given his previous associations with Liverpool, he could be a player that Gerrard could have his eye on.
Ibe’s time with the Cherries was far from successful. The south-coast side spent £15m on his services, despite him scoring just four times in 58 matches with the Reds. And that record didn’t exactly get better with Bournemouth, with him scoring just four times in 95 matches for the Premier League side.
There must be something to his game, though, if he is able to play almost 60 matches for one of England’s biggest clubs, and a further 95 for a side also in the country’s top flight. It is clear that he is yet to match his potential, but at the age of just 24 he has the time to rejuvenate himself.
Before he left the Cherries, he was on £38,000 a week, and so the Gers would likely need to negotiate a smaller salary. Still, the lack of a transfer fee would make it a more interesting deal, and Gerrard could certainly do with a new right-winger after the departure of Sheyi Ojo, who has returned to Liverpool after his loan spell.
As such, this is indeed a deal that the 54-time Scottish champions should consider if the opportunity arises.
Marcelo Bielsa has previously been touted as the best coach in the world, but despite this, he’s never really managed a truly elite European club.
Yes, he’s been at some top-class outfits such as Marseille, Lazio and Athletic Bilbao, but these aren’t teams that are competing for the Champions League year in, year out.
You’d think that someone of his stature would have had a number of top jobs, but instead, he’s spent the last two years managing in the Championship.
Unfortunately for Leeds, he’s seemingly caught the eye of one of football’s biggest stars.
What’s the story then?
The Sun are reporting that Lionel Messi wants Bielsa to be the next Barcelona manager.
Of course, a player wanting something isn’t quite the same as the club being interested, but it’s certainly fair to say that Messi isn’t in the same boat as most players.
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As much as the Argentine hates the notion that he runs Barcelona, he has more sway than most players could ever dream of, with a director getting sacked for making negative comments about him.
One insider spoke about Messi’s sway at the club stating: “Messi has unspoken veto power over most player transfers, coach appointments or major tactical decision.”
If the £500k-a-week star wants Bielsa, the board may just have a look into that possibility, and with his Leeds contract being up, he is technically available.
Impossible to turn down
As much as Bielsa seems to love Leeds, you can’t help but feel that it’d be impossible for him to turn down Barcelona if they came calling.
The 65-year-old may never get another chance to manage a club of that calibre, and after completing his primary goal of getting the Whites promoted, it’d be understandable if he felt it was time to close this chapter of his career.
We’re due to hear about the gaffer signing a new deal at Elland Road sooner rather than later, but if Barcelona do come in for him, that could put the cat amongst the pigeons.
Chelsea are firmly in the running to sign Ben Chilwell from Leicester, but David Alaba could be a much more sensible option.
According to The Athletic (via Sportsmole), the Blues have approached Bayern Munich to discuss whether they would be open to selling the left-back in the upcoming transfer window.
Frank Lampard and his side are on the hunt to seemingly replace Marcos Alonso ahead of next season, who has been linked to a Stamford Bridge departure. The Athletic has reported that Chilwell is the club’s ‘leading target’, but he will command a hefty transfer fee. According to the Evening Standard, Leicester have valued the 23-year-old at £80million, which could be out of the question if the Blues also want to secure big money target Kai Havertz.
As a result of the mammoth asking price, Chelsea are starting to scout out other targets, with Bayern Munich’s Alaba on the list. His current Transfermarkt value is £46.8m, which is a much friendlier amount for a defender with a lot of experience.
The Austria international boasts 380 appearances for Bayern, contributing to 78 goals in that time. He also has a Club World Cup and Champions League trophy to his name, along with nine Bundesliga titles (via Transfermarkt).
For a side pushing to compete in the Champions League next season, Alaba would be a good fit for Chelsea. If they keep up their current Premier League form, they will finish inside the top four. A veteran of the domestic game and an international star could be exactly the kind of presence the Blues need to help take them to the next level.
Chelsea will also be saving a large sum of money which they could put towards bolstering other areas of the team.
For almost half the price and with a history of silverware, the Blues would be missing a trick not to pursue a move for Alaba in the upcoming window.
Do you think Chelsea should sign David Alaba ahead of next season? Join the conversation in the comments below!
Despite arriving from Spanish side Valencia back in 2013, Pedro Chirivella has struggled to make a real impression on the Liverpool first-team in the years since.
The midfielder has made just 11 appearances in total for the senior side at Anfield, spending the majority of his time with the youth teams or out on loan to the likes of Willem II and Go Ahead Eagles.
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Reports in recent weeks had suggested that Nantes were poised to finally end his stay on Merseyside this summer, but now, it appears Jurgen Klopp’s side have had second thoughts about allowing him to go.
According to Goal, the Reds have offered Chirivella a new five-year deal after having “been by his performances and application this season” – his current contract is set to expire at the end of June.
After hearing about the update on the 22-year-old, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.
One Liverpool fan however seemed to be a big fan of Chirivella’s talents, even suggesting that they saw the “next Xabi Alonso in him”.
At 22, Chirivella can no longer be seen as an up-and-coming prospect, and if anything, should have shown by now that he is ready to make the grade.
Giving a new five-year contract to someone who has barely played at all in his time at Anfield, simply blocks the path of a more promising academy product trying to make their way through into the senior set-up.
Arsenal haven’t always covered themselves in glory in the transfer market over the years, with arguably more flops than successes coming through the Emirates Stadium doors.
Even great manager Arsene Wenger wasn’t immune to signing the odd flop, although he often got it right as well, with Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and several others going on to do great things for the Gunners.
Unai Emery bought his fair share of flops during his short spell, too, and no doubt Mikel Arteta will make mistakes during his tenure, too.
So we’ve taken a look at back at the 20 biggest Arsenal flops in the Premier League era, although admittedly it could’ve been a lot more…
Mikael Silvestre
We start with a great player who the Gunners just decided to prise away from Manchester United way too late in his career, versatile French defender Mikael Silvestre.
The 31-year-old at the time of his Emirates Stadium arrival really struggled to have the same impact he had at Old Trafford in north London and featured a mere 43 times in two years.
Andre Santos
Arsene Wenger scouted the former Brazil international at Fenerbache and decided to take a near £5m punt on the left-sided star, it was one that failed to pay off with Santos only able to provide three goals and no assists in 33 outings.
He also hardly endeared himself to the red army, see Robin van Persie incident.
John Jensen
Curly-haired Danish 1992 UEFA European champion John Jensen became something of a cult hero at Highbury right at the beginning of the Premier League era.
However, that doesn’t really take away from the fact that he never really delivered in the tricky pre-Wenger period for the North Londoners and he was signed as a result of an agent giving George Graham a back-hander – at least he’ll always have that seminal goal against Queens Park Rangers to remember.
Denilson
Football – Leyton Orient v Arsenal FA Cup Fifth Round – The Matchroom Stadium, Brisbane Road – 10/11 – 20/2/11
Arsenal’s Denilson lies on the picth after appearing to sustain an injury
Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Tony O’Brien
Livepic
When the Gunners forked out £3.4m to sign little-known 19-year-old Brazilian Denilson in the summer of 2006, there was a feeling of excitement and bemusement around the club.
The latter one turned out to be the more appropriate reaction.
Despite making over a century-and-a-half of Arsenal appearances, the central defensive midfielder never really lived up to his potential and comfortably makes it onto this list.
Sebastien Squillaci
Taking about easily being one of the Gunners’ worst signings in Premier League history, Sebastien Squillaci is right up there and could even be the worst.
The ill-disciplined ex-France centre-back never really settled into English football, struggling from the off and the fact that his international career was brought to a halt after he moved to north London says it all really.
Denis Suarez
Denis Suarez’s loan from Barcelona to Arsenal in the second half of 2018/2019 was certainly one of the most pointless transfers of the Premier League era.
The agile attacking midfielder played just six times, a cameo role from the bench on each occasion, before picking up a groin injury a month before the end of the campaign and spending the rest of it on the sidelines.
Junichi Inamoto
There was definitely something fishy about Japan legend Junichi Inamoto’s switch to Highbury in 2001 as he was plucked out of the microscopic J-League on loan only to ever feature four times in cup competitions.
Looking back now it very much appears that there were other motives behind this move, perhaps the Gunners wanted to raise their profile and sell more shirts in Japan ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup? And maybe the transfer was successful in that sense?
Nevertheless, Arsene Wenger’s face above doesn’t in the least suggest suspicion…
Yaya Sanogo
Former Golden Boy nominee Yaya Sanogo is a classic example of that player who impresses hugely in pre-season and turns out to be a flop when they start to sink their teeth into some competitive action.
The French youth prodigy did what Arsenal’s official social media accounts are still referring to as a “madness” against Napoli in the Emirates Cup in just his second pre-season, scoring four times in a 5-1 victory.
However, his form competitively was a world apart from this as Sanogo pathetically never scored a Premier League goal in four years before a free transfer back to his homeland with Toulouse.
Richard Wright
Arsenal’s goalkeeper Richard Wright watches the ball bounce past him
during their English Premiere League match against Charlton Athletic at
Highbury November 4, 2001. Arsenal lost the match 4-2. REUTERS/Russell
Boyce “No online/internet usage without FAPL licence. For details see
www.faplweb.com”
RUS/AA
It’s simply laughable that not only did the Gunners spend £2m, some sum in 2001, to bring goalkeeper Richard Wright in from Ipswich Town, Arsene Wenger saw him as the long-term replacement for ageing club legend David Seaman.
Wait, it gets better, Wright actually managed to earn a Premier League winners’ medal during his mistake-laden Highbury spell but unsurprisingly, he didn’t even come close to establishing himself as the new first choice in north London.
Andrey Arshavin
Andrey Arshavin is a man who will always polarise opinion in world football – there was no doubting his talent though he could never really get over his frustrating inconsistency.
The fact remains, however, that the Gunners never really got anything more than THAT performance against Liverpool at Anfield out of the controversial Russian for their lofty £14.85m.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Before heading to the Valley, Sheffield Wednesday had failed to win any of their five most recent Championship matches, but they were able to end this run with a 3-1 victory over Charlton Athletic.
It is Steve Fletcher who will rightly walk away with many of the plaudits, having scored the Owls’ first two goals of the game, but Barry Bannan, valued at £2.7m by Transfermarkt, deserves plenty of recognition for his contribution.
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Most notably, it was the Scotland international who put in the cross that led to Fletcher opening the day’s scoring.
The midfielder was a brilliant creative presence in the middle of the pitch, making four key passes throughout the game.
It also offers an indication of how influential the 29-year-old was that he completed more passes than anyone else on the pitch, with a total of 56, while he was also in the top five for his pass completion rate with 82%.
Despite not managing to beat Dillon Phillips, Bannan was accurate with his shooting, as two of his efforts went on target, while the other was blocked.
The 29-year-old also made a telling defensive contribution, completing all three of his attempted tackles and also making one interception.
Overall, this was a superb performance from Bannan, which showed just how well he can link up with the team’s forwards when a 4-4-2 is played.
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