Aston Villa and Wales defender Neil Taylor was sent off for a horror challenge on Republic of Ireland right-back Seamus Coleman on Friday night, in an incident that saw the Everton star stretchered off and needing oxygen.
The early indications are that the Toffees man had suffered a broken leg, and it certainly overshadowed what was an important international fixture for both nations as they look to qualify for the 2018 World Cup – it was a feisty fixture that ultimately ended in a goalless draw.
It was a moment that sparked an instant reaction from football fans, who were quick to have their say via social media on what was a really poor tackle from the Villa left-back, and they were brutal with their opinions on the 28-year-old and what the consequences of it might be for Coleman.
Here is just a selection of some of the Twitter reaction to the incident…
According to reports in The Sun, Newcastle United are said to be targeting a £10m summer move for Guingamp winger Marcus Coco if they are promoted to the Premier League.
Despite losing 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, the Magpies are still 10 points clear of third-placed Huddersfield Town with five matches of the season left to play, and they look set for an instant return to the top flight.
If they do, manager Rafa Benitez could reignite his interest in the 20-year-old – who he tried to sign last summer – but the story suggests that he could face competition from Premier League duo Southampton and Stoke City for the youngster’s signature.
Toon supporters will want the Spaniard to get things right in the transfer market to ensure that they aren’t in a relegation battle again next term, but there will be a few fans that are unsure of whether Coco would be a good addition or not.
Here are three reasons the signing of Coco would be a risky move for United…
He’s coming from Ligue 1
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While Newcastle have signed some players from France in recent years that have proved to be a big success – like Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy – they have also had their fair share of flops too.
Players like Florian Thauvin, Yoan Gouffran and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa struggled to make the impact they perhaps should have after making the move to St James’ Park, and it could be seen as risky move to spend £10m on another player from the French league.
His stats
In 24 Ligue 1 appearances this season, the 20-year-old has scored four goals and provided two assists for his teammates, which doesn’t exactly suggest that he would come and set the Premier League alight.
Sofiane Boufal had more impressive stats when he moved to Southampton from Lille last summer, but he has struggled to get up to the speed of the English top flight thus far.
Coco has also completed just 30 of the 64 take-ons he has attempted for Guingamp in the league this season, and he would likely come up against a better standard of defenders in England.
Lack of experience
If Newcastle are to avoid finding themselves in another relegation battle in the Premier League next term – if they are promoted this season – then Rafa Benitez might want to have a core of players who have English top flight experience.
It’s a difficult to balance to find and while you can of course have a few flair individuals that don’t have that, it would certainly be a risk for Coco to be a starter straightaway seeing as he has only made 72 club appearances in his career.
With John Terry moving on from Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, a great deal of speculation has begun on where the Blues captain will end up next season.
Terry, who has been with the club for over 19 years, released a statement earlier this season thanking the club and fans for their support over the years.
Odds released by online bookmaker 888sport have the odds on favourite with a 1/2 shot that Terry winds up playing for a club in the Portugal next season.
The favourite destination if Terry is to remain in the Premier League is West Brom at a short 2/1 price. The other two Premier League clubs given the best chance to land Terry are Bournemouth at 4/1, followed by Stoke City at 10/1.
It’s very possible that Terry follows in the footsteps of other Premier League greats heading for the end of their careers and decides to move abroad. Terry is priced at 3/1 to sign for any MLS club and, like former Chelsea teammate Oscar, 5/1 to decide to see his playing days out in the Chinese Super League.
According to reports from The Daily Mail, Chelsea are set to hand goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois a new contract amid transfer interest from Real Madrid.
What’s the word?
Make no mistake about it, Real Madrid are on the prowl for a new goalkeeper – despite the impressive form of Keylor Navas since arriving at the Bernabeu in summer 2014. They’ve been linked with Courtois and Manchester United counterpart David De Gea for much of the campaign, but with the summer transfer window now looming, it appears their focus has shifted more towards the latter.
Indeed, Sky Sports have even described De Gea as ‘expected’ to move to the Spanish capital this summer after his planned switch to Real Madrid in 2015 was scuppered by the La Liga transfer deadline and a dodgy tax machine.
As a consequence, Chelsea are now planning to extend their glovesman’s contract, which currently has just two years left to run come the end of the season – the awkward period where clubs have to start considering the prospect of selling up.
Great news for Chelsea then?
No doubt Courtois, who is valued at £34m by transfermarkt.com, drew some criticism last season, along with the majority of his team-mates, as the Blues’ form constantly tanked. But we all know how talented a goalkeeper the Belgium international is, if not through the sheer size of his imposing frame alone, and he now looks set to be Chelsea’s No.1 for a second successful title bid in three years following a series of affluent seasons at Atletico Madrid.
In fact, with De Gea seemingly set to fall out of the picture, Courtois will be virtually unrivalled in discussions over who the Premier League’s best goalkeeper is. Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris and former Chelsea man Petr Cech may feel they’re in with a shout, but Courtois is on a different level through his stature, consistency and composure.
Furthermore, Courtois strikes as the kind of goalkeeper who’ll be remarkably consistent over a long period even when he’s not quite as flexible when it comes to shot-stopping, a lot like his former team-mate Cech. Indeed, should De Gea leave this summer and Courtois sign a new deal, Chelsea may end up boasting the best goalie in England for the best part of the next decade.
Gus Poyet has called on Tottenham Hotspur to stop other clubs from taking their best players.
The North London outfit have some shining stars in their ranks, including Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.
Their impressive performances have pushed the club into Premier League title contention as they currently reside four points behind Chelsea with five games left to play.
There is so much promise surrounding Mauricio Pochettino’s team but they are yet to win a trophy. In fact the club has not picked up any silverware since 2008 when they won the League Cup.
Alli is one player who has made the headlines this season, scoring 16 goals and creating five assists in the top flight.
As expected, talk has emerged about his long-term future at White Hart Lane, and Poyet believes that Spurs must hold firm and not let him get lured away.
In the past, the London club have lost the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Luka Modric ad Gareth Bale when they were at the height of their game.
Poyet, who previously played for Tottenham and worked as a coach there, told talkSPORT:
“It is time to stand up. It is time for Spurs to stand up and show the world you are able to keep them [the best players]. If not, it is going to be practically impossible to win the league, even more difficult to win a cup.
“It is very difficult to win [the title], there are very good teams. If somebody like Dele Alli leaves, then you start from zero again, so it is very important [to keep him]. I imagine Mauricio Pochettino is doing everything possible to keep the player.”
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure celebrates his 34th birthday on Saturday but rather than give him cake, fans are keen for the club to extend his contract which is due to run out at the end of the season.
The Ivory Coast international looked to be on his way out of the Etihad last summer when Pep Guardiola took charge, and he was left out of the City squad until their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in November.
After scoring twice in the 2-1 win, Toure has been a key part of the team since and has netted six times and provided a further three assists in 28 appearances in all competitions this term.
Famously in 2014, the Ivorian’s agent Dimitri Seluk was upset that the star didn’t receive a birthday cake from the club on his 31st birthday.
Man City supporters were quick to give Toure their best wishes via social media, and this year they want the club to give him a new deal.
West Ham United and Umbro unveiled the away kit the team will be wearing for the 2017/18 season on Friday, and it was their first ever all black number.
With the shorts and socks all matching with the black shirt, it is quite a simplistic design but it does have some nice touches as well.
There is a blue strip on the shoulders and at the top of the socks, a blue club crest on the front while the shirt also features Umbro’s classic diamond pattern.
Irons boss Slaven Bilic will certainly be hoping the club picks up some impressive results in it on the road next season.
West Ham supporters were quick to have their say on the kit via social media, and while many were impressed with the minimalistic and slick design, others felt it was boring, looked like a training top and took another step away from the heritage of the club.
Fans at Goodison Park know this is an important season for their club as Everton sit in a strange state of limbo. Seventh-placed Everton finished 15 points about eighth place but eight off sixth.
Ronald Koeman and company are surely going to do everything they can to break into the top six and that all starts with a home fixture against Stoke City, who the Toffees beat 1-0 in match week three last season.
August doesn’t get any easier for Everton, however, as they travel to both Manchester City and Chelsea by month’s end. They took a point at the Etihad but were embarrassed 5-0 at Stamford Bridge, so two wins would be a huge boost to the club’s top four hopes. A trip to Old Trafford comes three weeks after the Chelsea game, so Ronald Koeman will have to have his club firing on all cylinders as quickly as possible.
Fans and players have already circled the first Merseyside Derby on their calendars, and the 9 December matchup at Anfield cannot come any sooner for them.
A Boxing Day trip to West Brom, where Everton left 2-1 victors last season, is followed on New Year’s Day by a huge home game against Jose Mourinho and Manchester United.
The second Merseyside Derby come on 7 April and the Toffees will be looking to put Sadio Mane’s 94th minute winner in last years fixture behind them.
In the final week, Koeman hosts former club Southampton before finishing the season at the London Stadium against West Ham United…
According to reports from Mirror Football, Tottenham are eyeing Southampton defender Cedric Soares as a potential replacement for Kyle Walker – although they could face some sizeable competition from Juventus and Barcelona by the time they actually place a bid.
At this point, the 21-cap Portugal international is probably amongst the more underrated right-backs in Europe. He was part of the squad that unexpectedly lifted the Euro 2016 title in France and now has two solid Premier League campaigns under his belt after rising through the ranks at Sporting Lisbon – not bad for a 25-year-old.
Indeed, Soares was a key part of the Saints starting XI last season and produced consistent form, finishing up with over one chance created and one interception per match alongside two tackles. But if there’s one concern in comparison to Walker and the England international’s current understudy Kieran Trippier, it’s that he’s not an attacking force in quite the same way.
No doubt, Soares can overlap and has the stamina to do so for the vast majority of any given game. But he’s more a defender first and a wing-back second – something that seems to contradict what Mauricio Pochettino has asked from his full-backs since arriving at White Hart Lane.
That being said, a more defensive option on the right, especially when contrasted with the more offensive-minded Trippier, wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. So Spurs fans, would you back a summer swoop for Soares? Let us know by voting below…
According to Corriere dello Sport, Manchester United have agreed a fee with Monaco for their versatile Brazilian Fabinho.
The fee is rumoured to be around £30.8 million with another £4.4 million in performance related bonuses. Personal terms are also believed to have been agreed as the 23-year-old edges ever closer to becoming Manchester United’s second signing of the summer.
After a fantastic season with Monaco, the Brazilian has been linked to a number of elite clubs around Europe. Scoring 9 goals in 37 competitions, Fabinho was a revelation in midfield and helped his side achieve unexpected domestic glory.
Jose Mourinho is looking to improve his squad at Old Trafford and has already added Swedish defender Victor Lindelof to his ranks this summer.
Now, it appears that Fabinho could well be the second arrival at the club this summer and Manchester United fans took to twitter to urge their team to push the deal for the Brazilian through as quickly as possible…