West Brom need to tie down key duo Shane Long and Youssouf Mulumbu to longer term deals, according to Gareth McAuley.
The Northern Ireland international central defender, who picked up the Player of the Year awards at the Hawthorns following an excellent Premier League campaign, pledged his own future to the club on Friday when he signed a new one-year extension to keep him at the club until summer 2015.
And the 33-year-old has been quick to point out that the priority now is to ensure influential striker, Long, and key midfielder, Mulumbu, are tied down to deals beyond two years’ time.
Long has been heavily linked with a move away over the course of the past season, but the Republic of Ireland international has always maintained that he is happy at the club, while Mulumbu has already said he is keen to sign a new deal.
McAuley told the club’s website: “They are big and important players for us and I’m sure it will be sorted out.
“It’s like my situation. I had next year as well so there’s no rush or real pressure on it.
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“But everyone will want it sorted out and the sooner it happens, probably the better it is for the lads and for the club.”
Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark is the latest international to publicly criticise manager, Giovanni Trapattoni’s selection policy.
Villa’s young centre back admitted to being baffled by the Italian’s continuation to over-look him for Ireland squad’s despite the fact he is Premier League regular, unlike most of Ireland’s defenders.
The 22 year old made his international debut in 2011 but has since made just one appearance being snubbed in favour of a plethora of players such as Darren O’Dea, Paul McShane and Sean St Ledger who all ply their trade in the Championship.
Speaking to ESPN the Villa defender conceded his surprise, “I have to be honest and say I have no idea what is happening for me with Ireland because the manager and his staff seemed to be very keen to get me on board at the start and now nothing seems to be happening for me.
“There are not too many Irish centre backs playing in the Premier League at the moment, so you would think that would stand me in good stead.”
His comments follow a miscalculated tweet from Ireland and Sunderland winger James McClean slamming the Italian’s decision to over-look him in favour of playing striker Simon Cox out of position against Kazakhstan.
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Last week, rumours that Everton could move for PSV winger Hirving Lozano were heating up, and Everton fans are absolutely loving the links.
According to the Daily Mirror, Marcel Brands is certain to become the new director of football at Goodison this summer.
Brands is currently at PSV, where he bought Lozano last summer, and the pieces are all falling into place for the Mexican winger to follow his sporting director to Goodison.
Lozano has recently signed with super agent Mino Raiola, who according to reports is set to work with Farhad Moshiri and Everton to rebuild the Toffees squad this summer.
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Without wishing to add two and two together and make one hundred, it seems written in the stars that Everton will revisit their interest in Lozano, after missing out on his signature last year.
Fans around Goodison are tired of their dull attacking play with no real intent, so the arrival of a pacey, direct winger with bags of tricks and an eye for goal is certainly music to fans’ ears.
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Lozano has 17 goals and eight assists in 28 league appearances this season, and a whopping 95 per cent of fans said they would back a summer swoop.
For every great signing, there seems to be at least one disappointing one It’s impossible to get every deal right – just ask Fergie who signed some absolute stinkers during his glorious Manchester United reign – but some deserve a ribbing more than others. So, here are the top five flops after lengthy discussions in FFC HQ, so have a look and vote below…
Mario Balotelli
Hailed as the successor to Luis Suarez at Liverpool, Balotelli has been a disaster in the red shirt, notching just four goals in all competitions – only one of which came in the Premier League (albeit it was the winner in a 3-2 home clash with Spurs). At £16m a greater return was expected from the Italian, who is surely now at the end of the road in terms of big clubs…
Eliaquim Mangala
Signed as one of the world’s most highly-rated defenders for a massive £31.8m, The Frenchman was expected to add some presence and solidity to Manchester City’s backline. However, the former Porto ace has been a one-man error machine, with his wayward positioning and nervousness having made him a complete flop.
Angel di Maria
The most expensive footballer ever signed by a British club could not get a game ahead of Ashley Young during the latter months of the season… let that sink in. Di Maria was Man of the Match in the Champions League Final and played in the World Cup Final just months before joining Manchester United, but he appeared to struggle to truly settle, perhaps because he never actually wanted to be at Old Trafford… just a thought!
Brown Ideye
West Brom’s club record signing is barely known outside of the The Hawthorns. If you blinked at any stage of the season there’s a good chance you missed the Nigerian’s handful of goals, with the man signed from Dynamo Kiev having been quiet to say the least.
Remy Cabella
Courted by some of Europe’s biggest sides, it was a bit of a shock when Newcastle won the race for Cabella last summer. But, it quickly became evident as to why the larger sides had avoided the playmaker, whose slight frame and hot and cold playing style frustrated through the season.
Vote for your Premier League Flop of the Season below…
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Tottenham are considering a summer swoop for Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez, according to reports from The Metro.
The German international is believed to be out-of-favour at the Allianz Arena, after losing his starting berth to Mario Mandzukic last season.
Despite having a prolific goalscoring record – 159 goals in 279 appearances for Bayern and Stuttgart – Gomez’s hopes of forcing his way back into the European Champions’ first-team look slim, with reports suggesting that Robert Lewandowski is on the verge of completing a stunning move from Borussia Dortmund.
As a result, Spurs chief Andre Villas-Boas has made the 27-year-old one of his top transfer targets, as he looks to add a guaranteed source of goals to his team.
The Londoners narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification last season thanks, in part, to struggling to find the back of the net on a regular basis.
AVB is confident that Gomez can provide the firepower needed, and that he will create a fine attacking partnership with Gareth Bale.
The Portuguese coach is willing to offer around £7m for the hit-man, a figure that may tempt Bayern to sell.
Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen are also in the race, and could oppose any bid submitted by Tottenham.
The north London outfit are also keen on Leandro Damiao of Internacional, a player they saw an offer for rejected in January.
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Could Mario Gomez get the goals Tottenham need for Champions League qualification?
Roberto Mancini has claimed Manchester City must spend money on new players to reclaim the Premier League title.
City were second best against Liverpool and fortunate to draw 2-2 on Sunday. Both of the Blue’s goals came courtesy of individual errors, not the defending champion’s enterprising play.
Jose Pepe Reina and Martin Kelly were both culpable when Yaya Toure scored and Martin Skrtel gifted the Manchester club an 80th minute equaliser, with his dreadful pass back, which fell straight to Carlos Tevez.
The only summer arrival on Eastlands has been Jack Rodwell from Everton and while a deal to bring Scott Sinclair to Manchester is close to completion, the Italian still believes he is short of new recruits.
Speaking to The Guardian, the former Inter Milan boss stated, “We need to bring in more players and we have five days to do it.”
All summer, the 47 year old has been bemoaning his club’s lack of transfer activity, publicly attacking club executive, Brian Marwood.
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Southampton are out of the FA Cup after being defeated at the semi-final stage by Chelsea on Sunday.
Goals from Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata were enough to secure the 2-0 victory, with Saints unable to offer anything in reply despite having a number of chances.
Charlie Austin hit the post, Nathan Redmond went close with a low shot and Shane Long missed a chance to score after miscontrolling a pass from his strike partner.
While Mark Hughes’ side were obvious underdogs heading into the match, fans were left frustrated with the performance, believing some players could have performed to a higher standard.
One of the most criticised was striker Long, with many fans feeling he has under performed in the Saints first team for far too long. Some even believe he doesn’t have what it takes to feature even if they are relegated to the English Championship.
They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his display…
The dust has now settled on another enthralling Premier League season, with highs and lows and thrills and spills having been commonplace across the entire campaign. Although it was ultimately the players for the 20 sides that decided the title race, the relegation battle and all the spots in between, the managers in charge of their sides should not escape the limelight. Here are the FIVE we at FFC Towers believe to have been the best… Vote below to have your say!
Alan Pardew
A season of two halves for Pardew saw him come under increasing levels of pressure at Newcastle before relocating to Crystal Palace at the turn of 2015. At the time the Eagles were hovering round the relegation zone, but 28 points from 18 games saw the south Londoners end the campaign in the upper half of the table – they leapfrogged Everton on the final day. Known for being a bit brash and not always the most well-behaved of coaches, Pardew still deserves serious recognition.
Jose Mourinho
A stroll to the Premier League title sums up what Mourinho is all about. The Portuguese manager’s side somewhat limped over the line, but blistering form over the opening half of the campaign left the Blues with the foundation on which to build a successful title-winning season. The ‘Special One’ got the best from Diego Costa (when fit) and nurtured Cesc Fabregas’ talents to turn his Chelsea outfit, despite its critics, into an attractive and ruthless unit.
Garry Monk
A highest ever points tally and a record finishing spot (56 and eighth respectively) is some going for Swansea, who owe much of their success to Monk. The former Swans defender is one of the youngest coaches in English football at 36, but his lack of experience hasn’t been an issue, with the Englishman well-versed in the philosophy of the South Wales club – attractive football with sound organisation. And he achieved all of this after losing Wilfried Bony in January.
Mark Hughes
While Stoke are not always seen as a fashionable side, Hughes’ work should not go unappreciated this term. The Potters chief guided the club a joint record highest finishing spot on ninth and increased on last term’s 50 point-haul by four, all while spending £3m net on new players and continuing to alter the club’s long-standing reputation as long ball merchants.
Ronald Koeman
The work of Koeman over the season was little short of miraculous. Parachuted in over the summer to replace Mauricio Pochettino and then quickly faced with the loss of five first-team players, little was expected from the Saints boss over the campaign. However, despite early talk of a relegation scrap, the South Coast club spent much of the season battling for a top four finish, before eventually the demands on their small squad told. Europa League football is the reward, while the form of players such as Sadio Mane, Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic is a positive heading into next season.
Vote for your Premier League Manager of the Season below…
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Sergio Aguero is a doubt for Sunday’s game at Tottenham after picking up an injury during City’s win over Wigan on Wednesday.
The Argentina striker was replaced at half-time after suffering from a tight hamstring during City’s 1-0 Premier League win over the Latics and faces a battle to be fit in time for Sunday’s trip to London.
David Platt indicated the 24-year-old was only withdrawn as a safety measure and did not sustain serious damage.
But the City first-team coach admitted that Aguero remains a doubt to face Spurs at White Hart Lane.
“He has got a problem, but it was a slight problem,” he told reporters. “It was more of a precaution than anything else. He felt his hamstring tighten up.
“Just the sheer proximity of the game on Sunday would say he is a doubt.”
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Aguero will be monitored and assessed over the next couple of days, before City make a decision as to whether he will join the squad at the weekend – but the club feel the problem is unrelated to the hamstring tear the Argentine suffered in January.
The countdown is on to Rangers’ massive Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic this Sunday.
For the Light Blues it’s not only their last chance to win silverware this season but also to stop the Hoops’ march to a second successive treble. Having not beaten Celtic since Brendan Rodgers arrived in Glasgow, it’s a monumental task.
Rangers boss Graeme Murty must get his team selection spot on and after a dominant 4-0 win over Dundee at Ibrox he has something of an attacking selection headache on his hands.
Veteran Kenny Miller – who Transfermarkt value at £315k – returned to the Rangers starting eleven for the first time since December in that match, predictably opening the scoring.
In the wake of that performance some former Gers heroes have tipped him to start Sunday’s clash, but is it a risk?
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Rodgers’ side are capable of performing at a different level to Dundee and Miller’s record of just one goal in five months isn’t the most inspiring to head into a crucial semi-final with.
Other options would include Jason Cummings, Michael O’Halloran or going with another man in midfield like Sean Goss.
However, the 38-year-old’s history in these matches is superb, scoring 10 times in 18 appearances against the Hoops.
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