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One of the hottest properties in European football, Erling Haaland has lit the footballing stage alight. The Norway international has struck an incredible 26 times in 18 games this season, and that form has seen the likes of Manchester United, Juventus and Barcelona, amongst others, continue to monitor his progress.

With such intense competition for his signature, trying to be the team that eventually seals his signature will undoubtedly be a tall order. And in an update from Norwegian outlet Dagbladet, United are the side that are currently “far ahead” in the race to sign the 19-year-old.

After hearing the development on their pursuit of the starlet, fans of the Manchester side took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Many Red Devils supporters revealed their absolute delight at the update, with one fan in particular claiming that he would be the perfect replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who left the club earlier in the summer.

Another fan insisted that they simply cannot miss out on a potential superstar like Haaland, claiming that he is a “generational talent”.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min played the full 90 minutes as South Korea suffered a 3-0 defeat to Brazil in Tuesday’s international friendly.

The 27-year-old also played the whole game against Lebanon on November 14, meaning that it has been a fairly intense international break for the attacker.

As a result, he will not have much time to recover for Tottenham’s Premier League clash with West Ham United on Saturday afternoon, which is a huge fixture for a number of reasons.

Spurs have announced ahead of the derby that head coach Mauricio Pochettino has left the club, with Jose Mourinho being appointed as his successor on Wednesday.

And it will be fascinating to see what type of performance last season’s Champions League finalists produce against the Hammers.

A whole host of Spurs fans have been on social media reacting to the fact that Son played the full 90 against Brazil and some were not overly pleased whilst others simply offered their views on his outing.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

Speaking on the latest episode of The Athletic’s 1874 podcast (March 26), former Aston Villa defender Martin Laursen has suggested that the club was right to sell Gary Cahill to Bolton Wanderers in 2008, despite the fine career he has gone on to have.

What did he say?

Well, the centre-back made just 31 appearances for Villa before Martin O’Neill decided to move him on from Villa Park 12 years ago, and it of course looks like a bad decision given what the now 34-year-old has gone on to achieve.

Asked whether he thought Cahill would go on to have the career that he did, Laursen said (26:05): “No, not really. He was a young player when I was there, but it was not like ‘Wow, he will go to Chelsea and have a great career there or he will go to play with the national team’.

“No, you couldn’t say that so I would say you can’t blame anyone for letting him go because he was not finding space to play for Aston Villa. I don’t think he was that good when he played for us when I was there.”

No blame on O’Neill

What you have to remember is that this was a Villa who finished sixth in the Premier League standings during the 2007/08 campaign, so it was no surprise that they had big ambitions under O’Neill.

If the Northern Irishman didn’t see a player who hadn’t really impressed for the first team playing a part in that, it was no surprise that he was let go.

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Villa discussion going on in the Vital Villa Forum! Click here to get involved!

The fact that he went on to captain Chelsea, win the Premier League title twice and play 61 times for England has surprised even Laursen, so it shows that the Crystal Palace defender has clearly worked on his game and improved.

Perhaps given more of a chance at Villa he could have done that, but ultimately it wasn’t to be.

>Red Herring or Real Hero: Only hardcore Villa fans will get all of them right….

What is clear is that the Midlands outfit could do with someone like him at the heart of their defence right now, with Dean Smith’s men in the relegation zone having conceded more goals (56) than any other Premier League team in 2019/20.

Meanwhile, only Liverpool, Leicester, Man City, Sheffield United and Man United have conceded fewer goals than Cahill’s Palace (32), with the Englishman clearly having a big impact having joined on a free last summer.

In other Aston Villa news, Martin Laursen has criticised one of Villa’s best players this season…

Arsenal have been graced with many fantastic Spaniards in the modern era of the game, ranging from the exuberant Cesc Fabregas early in his career to their current boss and ex-skipper Mikel Arteta.

But one player they haven’t really been able to replace yet is Santi Cazorla, who departed the club in 2018 after six years.

The little magician regularly racked up goals and assists in an attacking midfield role under Arsene Wenger before injuries blighted his Gunners career. Across the 2013/14 and 2014/15 campaigns, Cazorla notched a total of 11 goals and 21 assists across the Premier League and the Champions League, via WhoScored.

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That void is still felt today with the north Londoners knocked out of the Europa League and sat in ninth place in the top-flight.

This week, Sky Sports have claimed that Arteta is an admirer of Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler, who was once dubbed the next David Silva – a player very much in the mould of Cazorla.

Soler could cost Arsenal around £36m, which is a price mentioned by the Express in a recent report.

His addition would mean that the Gunners wouldn’t be making Dani Ceballos’ loan move permanent this summer – something mooted by the Daily Star, but they do race interested from a couple of La Liga clubs, too.

The Madrid man hasn’t really done anything of note since his full debut against Burnley, those two assists have been his only since whilst he hasn’t got on the scoresheet either. Ceballos also went missing in big games against Liverpool and Manchester United, failing to recorded above a 6.51 WhoScored rating.

Allowing Ceballos’ loan to come to an end and swooping for Soler could be the best solution for Arteta to fill that playmaking void, especially given the 23-year-old’s exploits this term.

He’s bagged three goals this term, including one against Chelsea, which bodes well for his chances of making a better impact than his national counterpart.

One scout report has lauded Soler’s skilful natural ability along with other attributes such as his ‘smart positioning, good dribbling and ability to combine in a tight space.’

That sounds exactly like a certain Cazorla.

Arsenal can surely do no wrong in swapping Soler for Ceballos this summer.

AND in other news, Arsenal fans would happily SWAP Pepe for this winger…

Newcastle United fans have been reacting to one aspect of their imminent takeover this week as reports suggest that Steve Bruce could be replaced at the helm.

According to L’Equipe, via Sport Witness, there has been “concrete contact” between the Magpies’ prospective owners and former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

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The Saudi-led consortium are believed to also want both a sporting and academy director – and are willing to invest massively into the northeast outfit once the deal goes through.

And while many at St James’ Park would love to see the Champions League runner-up take charge next season, some are a little worried at such claims coming before an official announcement of the takeover.

Pochettino was sacked by Premier League rivals Tottenham back in November and has been out of work ever since. The north Londoners will be due £12.5m in compensation should the Argentine find a new club before the end of the month, as per ESPN.

Though Bruce is still under contract for the next two seasons.

Here’s how the Magpies faithful have been reacting to the report…

AND in other news, George Caulkin provides encouraging info on Newcastle takeover…

Some Wolverhampton Wanderers have welcomed a transfer link to William Carvalho after Transfer20 reported that the Midlands club are interested in signing the Real Betis man.

As per the report, Leicester, Tottenham and West Ham are also interested in the ace who is valued at €30m (£26.3m). Carvalho is apparently tempted to play in the Premier League and the article claims that Betis would welcome a capital gain if they are to sell him to a British club.

Being from Portugal, the 28-year old would arguably suit a move to Wolves, with their Portuguese contingent as strong as ever. Carvalho may relish playing with players like Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho in the heart of midfield, as well as having compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo as manager.

In a season scuppered by injuries, the central midfielder has only made nine appearances in La Liga this campaign, according to Sofascore.

Nevertheless, these Wolves supporters welcomed the transfer link on Twitter:

Wolves fans, what do you think of Carvalho? Comment below with your views!

Lots of Manchester City fans revelled in the club’s Twitter throwback to a “sublime” Kevin De Bruyne moment from 2017.

The club tweeted footage from the 7-2 win over Stoke in the 2017/18 season (via @ManCity) which showed the Belgian at his best, threading a perfectly-weighted diagonal ball through a gap between four opponents to pick out the onrushing Leroy Sane, who coolly slotted it to the net.

That was Manchester City’s sixth goal of a memorable afternoon at the Etihad Stadium and De Bruyne’s second assist of the day, having earlier set up Gabriel Jesus for his goal. Such was his performance that day that then-Stoke manager Mark Hughes said afterwards: “For me he is the best player in the Premier League by a country mile”. [via BBC]

De Bruyne ended the 2017/18 Premier League with eight goals and 16 assists as City racked up a record points total of 100, with the Belgian being named the club’s Player of the Season and being included in the PFA Team of the Year.

These Manchester City fans on Twitter loved looking back at his magnificent assist for Sane from October 2017:

Man City fans, is De Bruyne the best player in the Premier League right now? Comment below with your views!

Speaking to Football Insider, Alan Hutton has urged Rangers to hand Connor Goldson a new deal amid interest from elsewhere.

What did he say?

Reports had claimed that the likes of Leeds and West Brom were interested in securing Goldson’s signature this summer, but Hutton has urged the Gers to extend his stay at Ibrox unless “the price is right”.

He said: “It’s going to be difficult if some of the bigger teams come calling but I think maybe it’s time that Rangers look to offer him a new contract, maybe hold him down if you like.

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“He’s 27 now, he’s obviously getting to the peak, he’ll probably be looking to tie himself down for the next few years so hopefully it is Rangers because he has done excellently well.

“However, I think if the price is right then maybe it’s one Rangers will look to cash in on.”

Priority

After getting a permanent deal for Ianis Hagi over the line, Rangers need to switch gears and turn their attentions towards giving Goldson a new contract.

The £3.6m-rated centre-back has been a virtual ever-present for Steven Gerrard’s side, making 51 appearances across all competitions, including playing the full 90 minutes in every league games this season.

Despite being in the peak years of his career as Hutton alludes to, with the current climate the way it is, trying to get big-money for a key player will prove to be a very difficult task.

Rangers would simply be better off giving Goldson a new contract and ensuring a vital cog of Gerrard’s starting eleven remains in tact.

The rumour mill at Manchester United keeps on spinning with seemingly no end in sight. 

Man United have been pursuing Jadon Sancho for more than three years now, although recent reports suggest they are no closer to signing him.

Barcelona star Antoine Griezmann is considering a move to the Premier League, amid interest from United and Manchester City. According to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, as relayed by @ManUnitedZone_, the Frenchman wants to play in the Premier League.

After arriving at the Nou Camp last summer, the former Atletico Madrid forward has struggled for consistency this season. Griezmann, who plays as a second striker, has scored eight goals in 32 games in La Liga under Quique Setien. Furthermore, he has earned a below-par WhoScored rating of 6.9 for his performances up until now.

In comparison, the French World Cup winner bagged 15 goals in 37 appearances in his final season at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Both Manchester clubs have registered their interest in the 29-year-old, who is currently valued at £86.4m via Transfermarkt, as he could now leave Barca this summer. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made it clear that Sancho remains his top priority in the transfer window.

As it stands, it is unlikely that the Red Devils will be able to afford both players, as Ed Woodward has warned that the board’s summer spending may be restricted as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Loads of United fans blasted the “bang average” Griezmann as the news emerged, with one supporter tweeting that he is “overrated” due to his underwhelming statistics this season.

Scroll down through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, should the board sign Antoine Griezmann this summer? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

After their 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United, Chelsea are in desperate need of a win at Stamford Bridge.

Frank Lampard’s side had a good hold of a top four finish at the end of this season, however their most recent slip up could prove costly unless they rectify their errors.

The Blues are preparing to host Norwich City this evening and will be hoping for another win against a side that have already been mathematically relegated. The Canaries put up a fight in the reverse fixture, but Chelsea came out on top in a 3-2 win.

Transfer Tavern has predicted how Lampard might set up his side against Daniel Farke’s men…

Tammy Abraham was awarded a start against the Blades but failed to make any sort of impact in front of goal. It’s likely that Olivier Giroud will return to the starting XI after scoring three goals since the Premier League restart.

Mason Mount put in a subpar performance in midfield last time out, failing to win any of his attempted duels and registering no shots towards goal (via Sofascore). Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be given the nod in his place, supported by Ross Barkley to his right and Jorginho in the deeper holding role.

Although Reece James played well against Chris Wilder’s side, Lampard may opt for seniority against Norwich. Cesar Azpilicueta could return to his more natural role on the right flank with Marcos Alonso rejoining the starting lineup for the first time in three games.

Andreas Christensen struggled to keep out the Blades’ attack and could also drop to the bench with Antonio Rudiger coming in to partner Kurt Zouma. According to Sofascore, Christensen failed to register a single interception, tackle or clearance at Bramall Lane before being hauled off at half-time and that might be enough to see Lampard drop him for Norwich.

How do you think Chelsea will lineup to face the Canaries? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!