Reports suggest Everton midfielder Dan Gosling has left the club and is available on a free transfer after a tempestuous saga.
The Premier League were asked to make a ruling after the highly-rated 20-year-old midfielder was not given a new contract offer in writing.
The club claimed that they offered Gosling a new deal verbally, but nothing was put down in writing by the required date.
The Premier League have now ruled that Gosling is free to move on as Everton did not make a written contract offer.
Newcastle United, Sunderland and West Ham United have all been linked with Gosling who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury.
The England Under-21 international is rated at £4million but Everton are not expected to earn a penny for his services because of a legal loophole.
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The former Plymouth Argyle youngster is free to speak to any club and negotiate his own terms, which are likely to include a huge signing-on fee.
He scored six times in 18 starts and 19 substitute appearances for Everton since making his debut on Boxing Day 2008.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has stated that he is disappointed to have conceded a late equaliser against Newcastle on Sunday, as a Shoala Ameobi goal meant spoils were shared at St James’ Park.
Spurs were looking for their fifth straight Premier League win, and goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Jermain Defoe looked to have clinched an impressive away win for the White Hart Lane outfit.
However the Newcastle substitute pounced to equalise after 86 minutes, much to Redknapp’s frustration.
“When you’re 2-1 up in the 80-whatever minute you’re looking for the three points, that’s for sure,” he told Sky Sports.
“This is always a tough place to come and they’re unbeaten this year so they’re a tough side, but we were in a position to finish them off and at 2-1 I felt very comfortable.
“We were looking to get forward more and I thought we could go on and nick another goal. We got in some great positions on the break, but didn’t pick the right ball or whatever,” he stated.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew however has heralded his team’s fighting spirit, and feels his side could have won the game also.
“It just shows the spirit in the group and the character that we have,” the home coach said after the game.
“We’re feeling confident and we played very, very well today against one of the top teams. We walked off slightly disappointed that we hadn’t won it. We had a couple of great chances towards the end,” he concluded.
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The draw means that Newcastle remain unbeaten after eight Premier League fixtures, whilst Spurs sit in sixth place after the result.
Barcelona’s lead in La Liga has been cut to just five points after the Spanish champions were held to a 1-1 at Sevilla on Sunday.But the visitors will rue a costly mistake from Sergio Busquets, whose infringement during Lionel Messi’s eighth-minute free kick ensured the resulting goal would be ruled out.Substitute Bojan Krkic had put Barca ahead on the half hour with his first goal in three months, but Sevilla midfielder Jesus Navas stole a point for the hosts with an equaliser four minutes after the restart.Bojan, who replaced injured striker Pedro in the 14th minute, calmly slotted into the net after Dani Alves brought down Andres Iniesta’s high cross and slid his pass across for the 20-year-old starlet.Barca should have gone into the break more than one goal ahead given the chances they were afforded, and Navas made them pay early in the second half after rising highest to meet Alvaro Negredo’s floated cross.The Spanish champions again had the better of the opportunities, with Iniesta hitting the bar and Sevilla clearing a shot off the line, but Barca’s lack of finishing touch proved their undoing as they surrendered two valuable points.The result means Real Madrid are now within five points of the league leaders, while Sevilla remain eighth but move within two points of the Europa League places.Elsewhere, Villarreal suffered a setback in their pursuit of the top three when they were held 1-1 at home by nine-man Sporting Gijon.Giuseppe Rossi put Villarreal ahead in the 29th minute, but despite losing defenders Jose Angel (65th minute) and Rafael Sastre (90) to red cards Sporting were still able to match it with their opponents.Not only that, they were also able to level in the dying seconds thanks to a spot kick from Diego Castro.Villarreal remain three points behind third-placed Valencia and a Champions League berth.In other results, Mallorca’s unlikely European hopes were dented with a 1-1 draw at Levante, while Espanyol trumped 10-man Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 to climb to fifth on the table.Ten-man Osasuna kept their dream of top-flight survival alive by defeating Racing Santander 3-1, and Malaga also boosted their hopes of staying up with a plucky 2-0 win at Real Sociedad.
Diego’s at it again. The world’s foremost media-savvy manager (move over Jose) has responded to criticism aimed at him from both Michel Platini and Pele, urging the Brazilian to “go back to the museum” and claiming that Platini “is French, and he believes he is better than rest.” Far from unprovoked acts of verbal assault, the notoriously outspoken Maradona’s retorts may highlight the faults of both Platini and Pele.
The rivalry between Pele and Diego Maradona is a long-standing one, and the Brazilian is no stranger to anti-Maradona sentiments. With the duo frequently topping polls to find the best footballer of all-time (indeed FIFA decided to share their player of the century award between the two), amusing levels of animosity have developed between the pair, with Maradona once infamously claiming that Pele lost his virginity to a man. Humour aside, Maradona’s instruction for Pele to “go back to the museum” highlights the fact that the great Brazilian is noted for his proclivity to pass comment on matters that are of no real concern to him – in this instance, there was no need for Pele to state that the reason Maradona took the Argentina post was because he needed the money.
However, Maradona’s assessment of Platini may be of greater relevance. Since becoming UEFA President in January 2007, Platini has managed to irritate many within European football, with the domestic media accusing the Frenchman of having an ‘anti-English agenda’. Platini notoriously described Manchester City’s £100 million bid for then AC Milan midfielder Kaka as ridiculous, whilst greeting Real Madrid’s £80 million acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo by stating, “The big clubs always want the best players and I can understand why Real would love to have him. It is normal for a club to want a player if they have the finances.”
Maradona’s recent barb at Platini stems from the UEFA President’s defence of the Adidas Jabulani ball. Speaking of the much-maligned World Cup ball, Maradona said, “And, of course, there’s the ball. I don’t want to go into the ball again because everyone is talking about it, but it is important and it does play a part and I would ask Pelé and Platini to go out there and play with the ball and take a closer look at it to see if it’s a good one or bad one, and to stop talking rubbish about me.”
Maradona’s reservations about the Adidas Jabulani do not appear to be unwarranted, especially when considering the vast number of people within the game that have criticised the ball. As well as receiving criticism from the likes of Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, the ball has not been favourably received by outfield players and coaches, with Denmark defender Daniel Agger stating (of the Adidas Jabulani) that, “It’s frustrating…it makes us look like drunken sailors.” England coach Fabio Capello, a hugely respected figure within the game, said “I think it’s the worst ball we have played with at a World Cup. It’s impossible to control the ball for the keeper. For the players it’s not easy. I’ve seen that the ball arrives really fast and the players are having problems controlling it. For the keepers it is terrible because it is always moving.”
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Portrayed as a walking sound bite in some circles, Maradona is undeniably prone to provocative nonsense. However, this time, it seems as though Argentina’s greatest ever player actually has a point to make.
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It’s that time of the year again, the transfer window is open and the rumour mill is in full flow, but who should Everton sign this summer?
Last season was a major disappointment for Everton fans, as the summer transfer window that was supposed to push them towards the top six only pushed two managers out the door.
Sam Allardyce replaced Ronald Koeman and did exactly what he was asked to do by keeping the Toffees up, but at the expense of his relationship with the fans.
Big Sam has of course now left the club, but the lack of a new manager appointment isn’t stopping the constant flow of transfer rumours.
Marcel Brands joined the Toffees last week, which could hopefully mean a new dawn for the club, with the Dutch transfer wizard looking to fix the mistakes of last summer.
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Brands has an excellent reputation for spotting talent on the cheap, so with a larger budget than his previous clubs he could work wonders, but who should the Toffees actually target this summer?
Links to Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri and Watford’s Richarlison seem to suggest the Toffees are after a new winger, perhaps no surprise given the form of Yannick Bolasie. Brands would be much better served looking to his former club though, with the electric Hirving Lozano, who has 19 PSV goals this season, a far superior player to the other linked wingers.
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One would have to think the new manager will want a new central midfielder as well, with Sporting CP’s William Carvalho one of the names linked with a move to Goodison.
So, Everton fans, who do you want to sign this summer? Let us know by voting in the poll below…
Alexis Sanchez’s form has been pretty dire this season as the Chilean prepares to run down his contract with Arsenal before leaving the club on a free transfer.
The majority of Arsenal fans seem to have accepted that Sanchez will leave, but the situation surrounding a certain Mesut Ozil is a little bit more complicated.
Ozil, who is valued at £45m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has been impressive for the Gunners in recent weeks, and he scored the only goal of the match in the team’s 1-0 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League last weekend.
Manchester United have been strongly linked with the German international, but it does appear that he could yet sign a new contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Ozil, like a number of his teammates, paid tribute to the retiring Tomas Rosicky on Wednesday with a message on his Twitter account.
As expected, the talk among Arsenal fans was whether Ozil would indeed sign a new contract with the Gunners.
He has been urged to do so by a number of the club’s supporters, but it seems that an awful lot still has to fall into place for that situation to occur.
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A selection of the Twitter reaction in relation to Ozil’s future can be seen below:
The sale of Steven Caulker to Cardiff City saw the most promising Tottenham academy star in recent times leave the club. A deal that appeared strange by way of exposing the bare bones of an ailing Premier League defensive line; it also begged serious questions about the faith the club places in its youth setup. Do Spurs take their academy system seriously?
Spurs’ academy appears to be in the best shape in recent memory. A recent move to the state of the art Hotspur Way has provided the ultimate proving grounds for the next crop of talents. A U-21 Premier League final and an impressive run by the U-18s in the European NextGen series would suggest that prospects are very much on the rise. But if you look back at the last 10 years who has really ever made it? Club legend Ledley King appears to be a one off, and currently the only player to be retained beyond their early 20s is Jake Livermore. Hardly the class of player to get fans pulses racing is it?
The issue for me is either that the academy simply isn’t good enough, so in that case scrap it, or that it just simply isn’t being utilised in the right way. It would be unfair of me to pass judgement on the current pool of players’ futures because they are all at early stages in their careers. However, what I do know is that Spurs have a long history of seeing future talents placed on the lower league scrapheap. The likes of Johnnie Jackson, Dean Parrett and Lee Barnard are names that are never likely to be heard again at the summit of English football.
My view is that in general the academy players just simply aren’t used or integrated properly. Too often a loan to lower league opposition is deemed sufficient, but in my mind there comes a point where this stops being effective. Players like Jon Obika and Adam Smith appear to just be on a continual cycle of loans, when will their time ever come?
This isn’t a dig specifically at Spurs because I believe the majority of academies are guilty of the same failings. In an era where instant-gratification dominates club policy, it is easy to see why that multi-million pound instant hit is the more enticing ahead of an academy graduate who may take a number of seasons to grow into a role. The hope is that the inception of FFP may go some way to changing the onus back towards an academy focus, but I believe the willingness must be there from clubs as well.
Or perhaps the perception of an effective academy needs to be changed? Do players necessarily need to make the first team squad to be deemed a success? A number of players have made their name for other clubs having graduated from Spurs and the Caulker transfer just represents the most financially fruitful of the lot. Personally I don’t see the financial or footballing benefit to the club being enough to justify the investment as it stands. So what can be done to help encourage academy players into the first team?
It would be ridiculous to suggest that 18-year-old academy players should be fielded for 90 minutes in games, as that would probably do more harm than good for their future. What I do think is pragmatic is a phasing in of prospects over a number of years. Currently the academy just looks like a road to nothing apart from maybe a career down in League 2.
I think it will be interesting to see how the career of Tom Carroll progresses in this regard. Probably the most promising that remains of academy graduates, his first team opportunity has been on the increase in the last few years. My worry is that he will eventually hit a wall where he becomes no more than a second string squad player. For a man of Carroll’s ability this would be a waste and would no doubt see the young Englishman move on.
So no of course Spurs do not take advantage of their academy, millions of pounds invested to see only a tiny return on that investment is actually quite bizarre. It sometimes occurs to me that an academy is just a PR requirement of any football side these days, but its use is not a necessity. The rumoured link-up with Swindon Town could be curious in this respect. Would having Swindon Town as a feeder club act as a replacement to an academy if the relationship were to grow?
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Spurs along with the majority of top English clubs fail to capitalise on the plethora of talents their respective academies afford them. As much to do with the environment as individual club beliefs, the current situation is a sad indictment of our game.
Should Spurs be making better use of their academy system?
Mauricio Pochettino has always seemed completely committed to the project he has built on a slender budget at Tottenham Hotspur, even in the absence of trophies at present.
That has been a major factor behind the willingness of both players and fans to buy into the as yet potless project under the Argentine but following the 2-1 Wembley defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup, the mask began to slip for the very first time.
Pochettino’s comments that Spurs need time “under him or another” to further their progress belied for the first time the previously unthinkable prospect of the former Southampton manager walking away from the project he appears so committed to.
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In the wake of that, French outlet Presse Ocean have reported that former Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri, 66, has emerged as a contender to replace Pochettino, following his departure from Nantes.
So, that’s why we’re asking Spurs fans a question that would have been unthinkable a month ago; should Ranieri replace Pochettino?
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Let us know by voting in the poll below and look out for the result in the days around Spurs’ meeting with the Foxes on the final game of the season…
Free spending French giants Paris-Saint Germain look set to add Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria to their squad in the very near future. The flying Argentine failed to settle at Old Trafford and seems ready to make the move across the Channel and sample life in the French capital. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has welcomed the move, suggesting the former Real Madrid midfielder’s stock hasn’t plummeted that much despite a disappointing year in England. Angel the Red Devil could take Paris to Champions League heaven it would seem.
On the face of it, selling your record signing after one year at a loss suggests the player has been a complete and utter flop. However, Di Maria has been plagued by niggling injuries and his family have not been able to get settled in England after they were burgled at the start of the year. It is hard to doubt his class after his stellar final season in Madrid, and a spectacular start to life at Old Trafford, though. The Parisians’ Qatari owners clearly see the value in the 2014 Champions League final Man of the Match, and are set to splash the cash to secure his services.
Much like the situation at Chelsea, the men in charge in Paris are hell bent on securing the top European prize for their club. After three consecutive domestic title wins, the European Cup has become the Holy Grail for Laurent Blanc’s men. Viewed mainly as a typical quarter final team, PSG undoubtedly have the class to hold their own against Europe’s elite – think Chelsea last year – but lack that extra something to win the cup outright.
Adding a player like Angel Di Maria will go a long way to rectifying that. The squad assembled since their takeover is top class, blending a mix of exciting younger internationals and world class talent. However, players like Ezequiel Lavezzi and Lucas Moura can be exposed when squaring up to the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The impending arrival of Man United’s No.7 adds another layer of class to an otherwise stellar squad. The sight of him lining up alongside the maverick Swede Ibrahimovic is a lot more menacing, even for the best defences in the world.
Another potential team-mate in David Luiz praised Di Maria as he prepares for life in Paris, describing him as ‘one of the top three wingers in the world.’ The prospect of lining up with him clearly excites the Brazilian centre back: ‘Di Maria is a player who can help us go up another step.’
In fact, he is exactly the sort of player Manchester United are missing, funnily enough. Louis van Gaal earlier this week declared his intention to buy a game changer. ‘We at Manchester United have to compete with these clubs’, the Dutchman mused as he discussed the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester City, ‘so we have to look also for those kind of players.’
The Argentina international is that kind of player. He’s a fast, technical winger who can conjure up something out of nothing. The Manchester United manager earlier this week lamented his lack of world class players, praising the ‘fantastic’ Ashley Young (who replaced Di Maria for much of last year), but adding ‘he is not Neymar.’
It is a great shame that Di Maria move never truly worked. If United are going to take on Europe’s big boys, a Di Maria on song lining up with the likes of Mata, Rooney and Schweinsteiger would no doubt add that extra quality.
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Both PSG and Manchester United appear to be a step below Europe’s elite in their quest for the ultimate prize. Securing the services of an in-form Angel Di Maria may allow the latter to take that step, though.
Newcastle United may have to sell striker Papiss Cisse this summer, due to the forward’s religious beliefs, according to the Daily Mail.
The club have signed a new sponsorship deal with money lenders Wonga. But Cisse informed the club several weeks ago that he does not want to wear the sponsors branding on his shirt next season because of his beliefs as a Muslim.
Under sharia law, it is prohibited to benefit from lending money to another person, which is how payday loan company Wonga operate, who have an annual percentage rate of 4,214 per cent.
However, fellow Muslims Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote haven’t protested the deal so far, meaning Cisse is the only player to do so.
The club may offer Cisse an unbranded shirt to wear to avoid the forward leaving the club. But the Toon have no interest in cancelling the sponsorship deal, something that Bolton Wanderers did with similar company QuickQuid.
Cisse, who has been linked with a move to Anzhi Makhachkala this summer, could well leave the club because of the sponsorship deal. Managing director Derek Llambias intends to discuss the issue with Cisse when he returns from World Cup qualifying duty with Senegal.
The forward came off the bench in Senegal’s 1-1 draw with Angola, and could feature in their next match against Liberia on Saturday.
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Would you be devastated to see Cisse leave? How should Newcastle solve the issue? Join the discussion below.