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The recent influx of new faces at Liverpool this summer has simultaneously served to reignite optimism amongst the club’s fans and place doubts over the futures of several members of the playing personnel.

Among the players rumoured to have the Anfield axe hanging above his head is forgotten man Alberto Aquilani. Aquilani, a marquee signing two summers ago, has returned to Merseyside after Juventus failed to stump up the fee needed to turn his loan deal into a permanent one.

The player’s agent Franco Zavaglia has dampened speculation that his client will be the next player to follow Paul Konchesky out of the club. Speaking to milannews.it, he said: “The possibility of seeing Alberto back in the Italian championship is very small at the moment. At the moment I believe Aquilani will be wearing the Liverpool shirt next season.”

The former Roma man featured in both of Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies last week, and turned in a particularly noteworthy performance in the second half of the side’s 6-3 win over a Malaysian All-Star XI on Saturday. Indeed his display was deemed to be so impressive that it prompted a complimentary tweet from club owner John W. Henry, who said: “One missing link last year: Acquilani. Put the ball near Ngog and the goal and it’s going in. Too much talk of them somewhere else.”

Whilst pre-season friendlies against vastly inferior opposition are seldom the barometer of a team or player’s quality, Aquilani’s contributions sought to reassure the club’s management of his undoubted ability and class. Many, including the player himself, will be hoping that these recent performances and Henry’s ringing endorsement will prove to be catalysts for a revival in his Anfield fortunes.

A successful transition to life in the Premier League is an accomplishment that has eluded some of the continent’s most distinguished footballers. The high-profile examples of Andriy Shevchenko and Juan Sebastián Verón illustrate how hard adapting to English football can be. Aquilani’s initial introduction to the Premier League was made even harder by several aggravating factors.

The midfielder arrived at Anfield carrying an injury, and may have forced his recovery in order to hasten his return to first-team action. Aquilani’s return from injury also coincided with a dismal run for the Reds, which included an ignominious early Champions League exit. Most tellingly, many erroneously saw Aquilani as a direct replacement for the much-loved and much-missed Xabi Alonso, despite earlier suggestions by then manager Rafa Benitez that the two were very different players.

Speaking after the Italian’s arrival, Benitez said: “Alberto is a player who has quality, game intelligence and can pass the ball quickly. He can play more offensive than Alonso did in the final third, and he has more accuracy in his final pass.”

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After enjoying a sustained run in the team towards the end of 2009/10, Aquilani actually ended the season with the best assists per minute rate of any player plying their trade in Europe’s top five leagues, vindicating Benitez’s earlier assertion.

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Since replacing Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish has emphatically demonstrated his mastery of man-management and motivation. Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel were two notable beneficiaries of the Scot’s return, whilst youngsters John Flanagan and Jay Spearing can also attribute their first-team ascensions and subsequent success to the faith of Dalglish. Should he stay, Alberto Aquilani could be the next player to reap the rewards of a little bit of King Kenny confidence.

Do you see an Anfield future for Alberto Aquilani? Let me know below or on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul

Continuing our look into the foreign wags that put the Premier League ones to shame…

Bernardo Corradi, as Man City fans will testify, is a pretty unremarkable footballer who is currently plying his trade with Serie A side Udinese; however the same certainly cannot be said of the experienced striker’s other half, the beautiful Elena Santarelli.

Miss Santarelli is a model and TV personality in her native Italy and I’m sure you’ll agree by flicking through the gallery that she more that puts the Premier League WAGs firmly in the shade.

While Mr Corradi currently does little than warm the bench at Udinese these days, I’m certain Bernardo must take a lot of comfort knowing the little lady he has waiting at home for him.

Click on Miss Santarelli below to see her in all her glory

Both Tottenham and Arsenal are set to go head-to-head for the services of Sochaux midfielder, Marvin Martin.

The 24-year-old, who has made it into the final 23-man France squad for Euro 2012, has indicated he may be ready to move abroad and talkSPORT believe the North London rivals are both set to make their moves.

Martin, who scored twice on his début for Les Bleus last year, told France Football that enquiries have already been made for his signature, but that there was no rush to move before the European Championships.

“I’m ready to go play overseas, but I have not made a decision about my future,” said the diminutive midfielder.

“I know there has been contact but I’m 100 per cent focused on France and the Euros.

“I do not know if something can be done before the Euros. If not, we will wait and see how things develop.”

It is believed that Borussia Dortmund, Valencia and Fenerbahçe are also interested in Martin, but it appears that they may have to wait until after Euro 2012 before making any moves.

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Martin has made 143 appearances for Sochaux since coming through their youth ranks, scoring 11 goals in his four seasons there.

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The arrivals of Ashley Young and Phil Jones so far this summer have proved that United are willing to spend big to retain their Premiership crown next season and secure title number 20.

While they undoubtedly want to win more titles next year, the signings at Old Trafford this summer bode well for the future, to put United in good stead when Sir Alex Ferguson leaves the club.

Is that what Fergie is doing then this summer then – focusing on the next generation of United’s team and cementing his legacy so the team can continue to perform at such a high level when he retires?

Last season Ferguson finally achieved his ultimate goal by beating Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles, winning United’s 19th league title and the 12th Premiership title of his illustrious reign. But Ferguson will be 70 in December, and realistically he won’t be around forever.

With Ferguson gone, there is a chance that United could struggle without him, Sir Alex is the best and most successful manager in the world – and any manager would struggle to even try and emulate his success at Old Trafford.

But by signing young players with high potential, Ferguson is giving United a solid core of young talent to build around in the future. With Paul Scholes’ and Gary Neville’s retirement the “old guard” and the legendary class of 1992 are all but gone. Ryan Giggs is the only remnant of that great batch so Ferguson is now signing players and blooding in talent that will form that next great dynasty for the club.

That’s what United’s policy of signing young players under 25 is all about. Players that can come in, develop and contribute for years. If they don’t make the grade, they at least have a high re-sale value, so United don’t lose out financially.

If you look at United’s most recent signings, it points to Fergie building a legacy at the club, so they have a good side when he steps down. The vast majority –Nani, Valencia, Smalling, Chicarito, Ronaldo, Rooney, Carrick, Hargreaves, Anderson, Evra, Vidic – all were 25 or younger when they signed for United and yet to reach their peak as players. I can only think of a few players over the last few years – Edwin Van der Sar, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen – that were the exception to the rule.

The arrivals of Ashley Young and Phil Jones are just continuing this trend. Young is 25 and Jones is 19; both players haven’t reached their peak yet and have great potential to be a big part of United’s plans for the next few years.

They will help establish a legacy for Ferguson as creates a solid core of young, exciting talent for his successor. United have a host of players are all still 25 or younger; Rooney, Valencia, Nani, the Da Silva twins and Chris Smalling are all young and will continue to get better.

And with the likes of Ryan Tunnicliffe, Ravel Morrison, Will Keane, Paul Pogba, Kiko Macheda, Danny Wellbeck and Tom Cleverley on the fringes of the first team and ready to contribute next season in some capacity, Ferguson is simply creating a new generation of young players who are familiar with each other, have played together for a while and can excel together, just like the golden generation of Beckham, Scholes, Giggs and the Nevilles nearly 20 years ago.

And that’s why I ultimately can’t see United signing Wesley Sneidjer this summer. The Dutch playmaker is 27 and is in the prime of his career, and is without doubt a world-class player. While I would love to see Sneidjer in a United shirt, I can’t see Ferguson willing to spend the £40m+ it would take to sign him from Inter Milan, when they would likely not be able to recoup that money in a few years time.

Obviously, there are exceptions (Berbatov being the main example), but a new keeper is a more pressing and important matter this summer (even in that case we are looking at youth in Spain’s David De Gea).

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It would be more likely for United to give Anderson or someone a bigger chance to fill the void left by Scholes, or promote a player from the reserves to come in and contribute next season.

What do you think? Is Sir Alex building his final dynasty?

Article courtesy of Tom Jinks from The Busby Way

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Harry Redknapp could be excused for thinking there is some sort of curse against him as Tom Huddlestone’s injury setback makes it 11 first team players on the sidelines for the Tottenham boss. Huddlestone is out for three months as he has an operation on a long standing ankle problem.

Elsewhere the Glazers look to pay off PIK loan, Nasri criticises Ancelotti’s squad and Di Canio is ready to answer West Ham’s SOS.

Glazer family to pay off £220m PIK loan – Guardian

Nasri criticises Ancelotti’s Chelsea squad – Daily Telegraph

Comolli claims no Hodgson threat – Sky Sports

Di Canio ready to answer Hammers SOS – Mirror

Huddlestone out for three months – Daily Telegraph

Wenger hit by Afellay snub – Sun

Hodgson eyes up Fanni as Johnson replacement – Mirror

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Cap on agents’ fees may save clubs £60m – Guardian

Theo: My Gun-ho pals for England – Sun

Carroll honoured by England call – Daily Telegraph

Tottenham captain Ledley King has rejected claims that his side are in crisis, and is determined to have a strong end to the season.

Spurs were sitting pretty in third place with a ten-point advantage earlier in the year, but defeats to Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton and Norwich over the last two months has seen the Gunners overtake them in the top four.

Despite an unexpected defeat to the Canaries on Monday, King believes that Harry Redknapp’s men can end the season well.

“We will have to look at a few things and have a few words and try to move on from there,” he told The Guardian.

“I think that the earlier we kind of have a speak together about it, the better it will be. The only thing that needs to be said is that we need to stick together at this time, keep going until the end of the season and keep working hard for each other. There is not a crisis in any way.

“It’s up to the senior lads to lift the spirits of the rest of the lads and keep them there. It has been a long season and there are some tired legs but we have to keep pushing.

“We have top players. We have lost to Norwich but we have another big game that we have to get up for,” he concluded.

Spurs face London rivals Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final this Sunday.

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By Gareth McKnight

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The Newcastle United fans are hoping to see the arrival of a new striker to the club over the summer and I would expect to see that happen, but is the future of Newcastle’s attack already at the club? In the penultimate Premier League game of the season at Stamford Bridge Newcastle finished the game with Sammy Ameobi, Nile Ranger and Kazenga Lua Lua all on the pitch. These youngsters are all clambering to prove themselves in the first team and while they will have to bide their time, could next season be their opportunity to shine?

Nile Ranger is further ahead in his progression than Lua Lua and Ameobi, having featured throughout this season’s campaign and he is more likely to be the one who pushes for a regular place on the bench next season. Lua Lua had an impressive loan spell at Brighton last season where he scored four goals in eleven games, but it was unfortunately cut short as he broke his leg. It may be that Ameobi and Lua Lua are still not ready in their development to push for the first team and would be better suited going out on loan next season. These are decisions Alan Pardew will have to make in an attempt to blend recognised first teamers and promising young players into the first team squad.

Pardew seems willing to give his young players a chance and he is clearly well aware of what they are capable of, as this quote from Pardew about his young players on NUFC blog shows, “They have been in the right environment and they are ready to step in if needed. They are coming up from a development pool that is well looked after with people like Peter Beardsley, Steve Stone, Willie Donachie and of course John Carver and myself having an input into that.” It’s too premature to say whether these young guns are going to be the future of Newcastle’s attack as they have only dipped their toes into the Premiership waters so far but there are promising signs.

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What I have seen of Nile Ranger this season is encouraging in terms of his work rate, pace and movement, but he doesn’t seem to have that natural finisher’s instinct in front of goal. If he is to be a Newcastle striker of the future I think it’s something he needs to work on, but it’s not unattainable and he could have a promising future ahead at the club. I have seen very little of Ameobi and Lua Lua, other than their cameos against Chelsea, to really cast judgement on the players. However, if they continue to excel for the reserves, they will get more chances like they did at Stamford Bridge to prove themselves.

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It will be interesting to see how these three attack-minded players develop over the course of next season, the activity in the summer transfer window will play a major part in whether or not they are given the opportunity to make the step up. While all Newcastle fans will be expecting and hoping to see new attackers come in to St James’ over the summer, I imagine Ranger, Lua Lua and Ameobi won’t be as keen to see new forwards joining the club as it will inevitably stunt their chances of making the first team. If they have what it takes, their time will come though and there would be nothing better than to see academy developed players making the grade.

Could one of the most turbulent weeks in recent history at Manchester United actually turn the club around in a very positive way. After convincing Wayne Rooney to say, the Glazer family have pledged to give Sir Alex Ferguson a reported £100 million to spend on new players. Top class players being back on the radar of Sir Alex Ferguson is exactly what Manchester United fans want to be seeing. In the next couple of transfer windows, Manchester United are going to be under the microscope, to see what players they can attract with the cash released by the Glazers.

Here, we table where Manchester United would be wise to spend the cash, and who are the best alternatives. These are the players that Sir Alex Ferguson should be looking to sign.

Without a doubt Sir Alex Ferguson has to seriously consider the successor to Edwin van der Sar. The obvious choice is Igor Akinfeev. The 24 year old goalkeeper is a phenomenal shot stopper and has been on Ferguson’s radar for some time. Akinfeev has impressed Ferguson first hand, after an exceptional display during CSKA Moscow’s 3-3 draw at Old Trafford in November 2009. Ferguson has publicly stated his admiration for the keeper and with Edwin van der Sar due to retire at the end of the season, it seems now is the time for Ferguson to make his long awaited move for the goalkeeper.

With the imminent retirement of Paul Scholes and injury to Owen Hargreaves, Manchester United need a dynamic midfielder – Sneijder fits the bill perfectly. Sneijder has yet to sign a new deal with Inter Milan and has two and a half years remaining on his contract. Sneijder will be seen as a long term replacement for Paul Scholes and will offer United a great deal in the middle of the park. The Inter Milan midfielder would suit the English game with his dynamic approach, as well as a great eye for a pass. His performance in last seasons Champions League tie at Stamford Bridge was as close to perfection as a midfielder will get. The Dutchman would bring a new dimension to United’s midfield and would add goals from that position.

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Even with Wayne Rooney signing a new deal, United need to invest in another top quality striker. At present they have Berbatov and Rooney, and behind them rising stars. United need strong alternatives and another top class striker would alleviate the goal scoring pressures from Wayne Rooney. Luiz Suarez is hot on Manchester United’s radar. What Luiz Suarez will offer Manchester United is goals. Suarez has an incredible goal scoring record for Ajax netting 81 goals in 104 appearances. Suarez proved his abilities at this summer World Cup Finals – scoring three goals in six World Cup matches, and was a star for Uruguay as they reached the semi finals. As well as goals, the Uruguayan has a very decent assist record and would fit into the Manchester United ethos. Suarez has continued his form this season, scoring 11 times in 14 appearances. Suarez should be on the top of Ferguson’s shopping list.

Manchester United need to enter the transfer market as soon as possible. With the golden generation at Old Trafford coming to an end, its time for Sir Alex Ferguson to create a new team once again. The squad as it stands has a lot of potential but it needs a couple of key signings to push the club forward. If Manchester United can alleviate the pressures of loosing such key individuals by buying well, the future looks very bright for Manchester United.

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Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill has admitted that he feared the side would be relegated as he took the job on earlier this season.

The Northern Irishman replaced the sacked Steve Bruce back in December with the Black Cats in big trouble, but he has steered them away from relegation and towards the safety of mid-table.

However, O’Neill looks back on the earlier part of the season and admits that it could have been different for the Wearside club.

“It’s a completely different outlook from my first game. We should now start to look up the table a wee bit,” he told Mirror Football.

“I was genuinely fearful for our position back then.

“I’d been at Wolves and watched the game [when Sunderland lost 2-1 to two late goals after Steve Bruce’s sacking], and watched us take the lead, but I knew from the minute we missed the penalty that we might lose the game. You just felt it.

“And of course they lost that match, and Wolves went on to 14 points and we were stuck on 11.

“They [Wolves] have not moved on greatly since then and if we’d had another loss, particularly at home to Blackburn, they would have shot up the table and that would have really concerned us.

“I’ll go in a lot less nervous than I did at the time – though I’ll still be nervous, knowing me. It was such a big game for us, which obviously we wanted to win.

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“With 37 points on the board, I’d love to have 40 just to be safe – 37 might keep teams up. With 10 games to go, if you’d said to me with 11 points on the board before Blackburn, if you’d given me 37 I’d probably have rushed out and taken it,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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As a nation we are very quick to pass judgement on players who don’t instantly deliver, have a blip in form or have a few bad games. Andy Carroll is the latest recipient of unjust criticism after the striker’s display against Tottenham at the weekend earned him bad press from some quarters. Are one or two bad games enough to justify criticism of a player just starting out at a new club, or should fans be more patient to see the best from players? It was only month ago in the game with Manchester City that Carroll was rattling two goals in and was being highly acclaimed as a Liverpool star in the making. Now after inexplicably missing a guilt edge header in a Liverpool loss he is all of a sudden condemned as the wrong man for Liverpool! It’s quite baffling how quick some people are to judge and to demand instant fruition from players.

Fernando Torres is a fine example of a player who twelve months ago many people rated as a contender for the best striker in the world. A poor World Cup campaign and a disappointing Premiership season and now Torres is suddenly a bad player, well not in my book, I think football fans and the press are too quick to write players off. I’m not defending Torres, as I agree he has looked lacklustre since joining Chelsea and he hasn’t even shown glimpses of the sort of form he produced at Anfield. This leads to people constantly looking for answers as to why and the easiest way seems to be by handing out criticism, whereas a little faith and patience in players will often prove to be the best formula to success. On the other hand it could be questioned when clubs are paying out the sort of money that was spent on Carroll and Torres should they be delivering instantly?

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I seem to remember Thierry Henry being written off in his early days at Arsenal after he didn’t make a flying start to his career with the Gunners and look what he went on to achieve at the club. It’s not a new phenomenon in football and it will always go on, but as to pinpointing why we are so quick to judge is not easy to depict. I think it’s mainly as a result of the high expectations fans and the media place on players, which leads to an expectance for continual top draw performances from players. If these performances aren’t instant or consistent then you can be sure a barrage of criticism is waiting around the corner, along with premature claims of players not being good enough, or not being what the club needs.

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It’s funny because in the same way we are quick to write players off who are under performing, we are just as quick to hype players up when they are performing, then once the inevitable dip in form comes around the cycle starts again. I’m sure there are many opinions as to why we are so quick to write players off who aren’t instant successes or have a bad patch and all I would say is, the key is to have a little more patience.