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West Ham United risk repeating the errors made by Manuel Pellegrini in 2018 by adhering to Carlton Cole’s suggestions of signing Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil.

What’s the word?

Speaking on talkSPORT (22/10, 08:15), Cole suggested he would happily welcome Ozil to the London Stadium after the 32-year-old was omitted from Arsenal’s 25-man Premier League squad.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has conceded he feels guilty of failing the German after overlooking the 2014 World Cup winner for his confirmed squads in both the Premier League and Europa League, but stated that “it is just a football decision”.

Ozil has not featured for the Emirates Stadium natives since March 7 and has not been named in any of Arsenal’s matchday squads this term, with Arteta happy to persist without the £350,000-per-week midfielder the Gunners signed for a then club-record £42.4m in 2013.

But the situation is not one Ozil is willing to just walk away from, having stated that he will see out the final year of his contract.

“Things have been difficult but I love Arsenal,” he told The Athletic. “I’ll decide when I go, not other people.”

Ozil’s situation has not prevented Cole from suggesting the midfielder would suit the calibre of players West Ham have sought to sign in recent years.

“Of course, of course,” Cole told talkSPORT when asked if he’d sign Ozil. “West Ham have always liked those kind of players, those magician-like players. Arsenal would have benefitted from having him in their squad, but he clearly doesn’t fit in at the moment.”

Wilshere 2.0

Once upon a time, Ozil was one of the best attacking midfielders in the world and has enjoyed a trophy-laden career with Real Madrid and Arsenal, featuring glory in La Liga, the Spanish Cup and the FA Cup.

But the days where the 32-year-old flourished are well behind him, leading former Gunners boss Unai Emery to drop the German and Arteta to do likewise after Ozil earned a reprieve during Freddie Ljungberg’s spell as caretaker boss last season.

Altogether, Ozil managed to record just three assists across all competitions last term, adding to three in 2018/19 after 14 in 17/18, and would arrive at the London Stadium far from match fit if West Ham were able to fulfil Cole’s desires and reach an agreement with the FC Schalke 04 product.

Ozil would also stand to demand a lucrative contract given his career despite the events which have developed in north London, something West Ham would be wise to avoid or risk repeating the mistakes Pellegrini made in signing Jack Wilshere in 2018.

The Chilean went against the Irons board in acquiring the Englishman following his release by Arsenal and handing him a three-year, £100,000-per-week contract, with the Hammers hierarchy reluctant to lock themselves into paying vast sums to a player who boasted frequent injuries.

West Ham had hoped to sign Wilshere only to a one-year deal, and were proven right earlier this summer when they agreed to mutually terminate his contract 12-months early after just 19 games for the club thanks to a groin injury and multiple ankle issues.

If West Ham learnt anything from Wilshere’s time at the club, they would know better than swooping in to salvage the twilight years of Ozil’s career – no matter what the German once brought to the field.

AND in other news, West Ham frustrated a rival club with one of their summer deals and could spark greater anger by reviving efforts to sign a 6 ft 1 ace.

Glasgow Rangers have already sold out their home shirt for the 2020/21 in some sizes, according to The Daily Record.

On Wednesday, the Gers released their new kit for the upcoming campaign, which was the first one to be made by new manufacturing partner Castore after their £25m deal was signed off. The anticipation for any new kit is usually palpable – the fact that a new company was making this shirt has only added to that.

The initial numbers have been revealed and, according to one Ibrox insider, some sizes of the shirt have already sold out. Only 50,000 shirts were available on the opening day and, with a retail price of £60 per unit, the club appear to be closing in on a very cool £3m windfall in less than 24 hours.

This is just the latest indication that the Gers supporters cannot wait for the next campaign. Recently, the club has confirmed that 40,000 people have bought season tickets for the new term despite it still not being clear when fans can return to stadiums, while 20,000 have also signed up to their new MyGers membership scheme.

This latest news is just another boost to the club from a financial point of view, but it is something that manager Steven Gerrard will be keeping an eye on. The expectation amongst the supporters is as high as it has ever been in the last few years – he cannot afford to let them down.

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The Athletic have revealed some of the reasons behind Newcastle’s takeover collapsing, including the claim that both Liverpool and Tottenham were “strongly against” the takeover.

What’s the word?

After months of deliberation and waiting, the consortium attempting to buy the Magpies finally pulled out of their bid, revealing that they were withdrawing from the process with “regret”.

Now, The Athletic have broken down some of the reasons behind that decision. They claim that: “multiple sources from the consortium had told them the Premier League had given them “private assurances” before the deal was signed; the Premier League has been “unduly influenced by politically motivated attacks from third parties”; they suspect some of their top-flight rivals, believed to be Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in particular, were strongly against the takeover and made their opposition evident to administrators.”

Takeover heartbreak

For Newcastle fans, seeing the takeover collapse after months of waiting patiently for it to go through must sting immensely.

The Magpies faithful were sold a dream of Mike Ashley’s tenure as owner finally coming to an end, so for it to all blow up in their face at the final hurdle is a bitter pill to swallow.

Think you’re a big Magpies fan? Can you name these former players by looking at their careers? Go on, give it a go…

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The Athletic’s claim that both Liverpool and Spurs were “strongly against” the takeover suggests some of the Premier League’s established sides were wary of a new competitor arriving on the scene, much like Manchester City and Chelsea have done in recent years.

The traditional ‘big six’ in the top-flight have already seen both Leicester and Wolves in particular try and challenge them in the 2019/2020 season, and having another club seek to break that up would have naturally met with some resistance.

It remains to be seen whether Newcastle will have new owners at the helm anytime soon now.

A transfer report has sparked fresh debate amongst the Tottenham Hotspur fanbase this week.

According to Tuttosport, which has been relayed by several accounts on Twitter, Spurs boss Jose Mourinho sees Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan as a priority in the summer.

Soccer Link have also claimed that the Ligue 1 ace has been offered to the north London outfit.

This backs up previous reports that emerged in May, linking the shot-stopper with a move to north London (as per La Voix du Nord via Sport Witness).

And there are plenty of supporters who would like to see the Frenchman replace his fellow countryman, Hugo Lloris.

The 24-year-old has been Lille’s first-choice glovesman this campaign, playing in a total of 37 matches in all competitions, where he has helped keep 13 clean sheets, via Transfermarkt.

Meanwhile, Lloris’ season has been a struggle through both inconsistent performances, which has led to the odd clanger as seen against the likes of Southampton, Brighton and Villa whilst injuries haven’t helped his cause either.

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Which might be why some are absolutely desperate for an upgrade between the sticks this summer.

The 33-year-old veteran has played just 18 times this term, keeping only two clean sheets.

However, not all of the Spurs faithful were particularly keen on Maignan whilst some simply played down the report completely.

One fan even suggested that the Lille man was worse than Lloris, quite a bold claim with Spurs currently ranking tied-worst for goals conceded in the Premier League’s top ten.

It remains to be seen whether the interest in the Ligue 1 keeper is legitimate, but evidently, his arrival would cause a bit of a divide amongst the Spurs faithful.

Lloris will need to be replaced at some point, and there’s little to suggest that Paulo Gazzaniga is ready for a regular starting berth, so Mourinho could do little wrong in bolstering his goalkeeping department this summer.

AND in other news, Spurs fans go wild over Giovani Lo Celso footage…

Norwich City midfielder Kenny McLean confirms that Glasgow Rangers were interested in his services when he was at Aberdeen, but that nothing concrete came of it.

The £3.15m-valued 28-year-old – as per Transfermarkt – was an important part of the Dons’ squad during his time at the club, making 152 appearances in all competitions. In 2018, he made the move to the Canaries for £203,000, and has since gone on to feature 54 times, including on 28 occasions in the Premier League this season alone.

Speaking to Open Goal, he discusses the previous interest from the Gers, saying:

“It could have been. There was talk a couple of times about Rangers, but nothing ever came of it. Nothing was ever in front of me, even when I was out of contract at Aberdeen, I had six months left on my deal and there were talks but nothing too big to be honest with you, nothing for me to get excited about, because there was nothing ever in front of me.

“I don’t know if it was Graeme Murty in charge at the time when I was leaving Aberdeen, but they didn’t look to have any stability at the club. Obviously, since Gerrard has come in, it seems to have changed a little.”

Given that the 10-time Scotland international has now been able to put together a solid career in England, it seems that the Gers missed out on a player that could have been useful to them. Whilst not the most prolific scorer at Pittodrie, he still managed 25 goals, which equates to between five and 10 strikes each campaign.

When he made the move to Carrow Road, he was effectively a free agent, as well – Norwich paid the aforementioned fee to sign immediately in January, but they could have waited six months and not paid a penny. It is perhaps a deal the Gers should have looked into more.

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Loads of Rangers fans have been reacting to the club’s decision to begin selling season tickets from next week.

The Ibrox outfit have opted not to delay season ticket sales despite the current chaos surrounding football.

The Gers are one of few clubs to have made no wage cuts or announcements about plans to save money during the suspension of the Scottish Premiership, something which led to heavy criticism from Chris Sutton this week.

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However, it now appears as though they have found their route to easing finance concerns by allowing fans to start buying season tickets for next year from next week.

Fans have been split on the news, as one supporter said it is an “absolutely shambolic decision from the club if true” when the rumours first began on Twitter, and it has since been confirmed true by The Daily Record.

Other fans have been agreeing with the decision as they take pride in supporting the club financially in a time of need.

Either way, you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Rangers fans were in full agreement with Simon Jordan’s damning comments yesterday…

Leeds have nurtured some true talent over the years, with Chris Wood being one of the most recent stars to find new pastures and line the pockets of the Yorkshire club.

The now Burnley forward joined Leeds back in 2015 from Leicester for £3million, a price which worked out to be a bargain based off what his future performances would bring. He totalled an impressive 44 goals in his 88 appearances for the Whites across two seasons.

Wood and Leeds both struggled in their first season as a unit, with the club finishing 13th in the table and the striker just getting warmed up in front of goal. However, his performances saw him in the top 20 highest goal scorers for the 2015/16 season with 13 to his name. The following season, however – which would be Wood’s last with the Championship side – saw the New Zealand star come out on top after banging in 27 goals, scoring ahead of the likes of Tammy Abraham and Dwight Gayle (via Worldfootball).

Despite Wood’s incredible goal-scoring efforts, Leeds only managed to finish seventh in the league table, and their star man left shortly after for greener grass.

Burnley were crowned Championship winners in the 2015/16 campaign, securing promotion into the top flight, where Wood clearly needed to be. He gave his all to United but he grabbed a move into the Premier League with both hands. Since moving to Turf Moor, the 28-year-old recently became a Burnley centurion and has tallied 35 goals for the club.

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In his move away, Leeds pocketed a cool £12m profit after the Clarets made a record £15m swoop for the New Zealand international. It’s a tough pill to swallow when a team loses their best player but any kind of profit in today’s game is nothing to be sniffed at, and it has arguably helped the Whites along the way as they look to return to the Premier League in the upcoming season.

The arrival of Patrick Bamford came the season after Wood’s departure, who has scored 13 goals for Leeds this term and is the side’s top scorer so far this campaign.

Sky Sports News journalist Keith Downie has claimed that Sunderland have regressed since the sacking of Jack Ross, and some supporters have been quick to point out that things were far from rosy under the Scot.

Ross has been linked with the vacant managerial position at Hibernian, with Downie suggesting his arrival in Edinburgh is imminent, whilst also taking the opportunity to put a positive spin on his time at Sunderland.

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Though the Black Cats have won just two out of eight games since his departure, some fans are adamant that it was the right decision to let him go, pointing to failures in various transfer windows and of course the play-off final.

Parkinson is still yet to convince many in the north-east but one fan believes it is harsh to judge him already, and given he’s been in the job a little over a month that is a fair assessment.

Here are some of the reactions to Downie stating that Sunderland have regressed in recent weeks.

Well, it seems that a number of Newcastle United fans are just starting to lose faith in Miguel Almiron as the attacker continues to struggle.

Many of the supporters hoped that his goal for Paraguay over the international break would inspire the January arrival against Aston Villa on Monday night.

However, it proved to be another disappointing performance from the South American, who only managed one shot before being substituted late on, according to WhoScored.

Almiron has now made 13 Premier League appearances for the Magpies this season without contributing a goal or an assist.

More worryingly, though, Monday’s clash with Villa proved to be the attacker’s 23rd outing for Newcastle, and he has not managed a goal or an assist.

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Something surely has to give when it comes to Almiron’s spot in the side.

And it does appear that many of the club’s fans are fast losing patience, as can be seen by the selection of tweets below:

Earlier this month, a number of Newcastle fans insisted that they were very much behind Almiron despite his troubles, but it remains to be seen whether that is still the case.

Raheem Sterling might’ve claimed three goals on Tuesday night, but Benjamin Mendy wasn’t entirely satisfied.Manchester City’s social media enthusiast has spent the majority of his career in England on Twitter or recovering from various injuries, which have seen him miss a combined 87 goals since he joined from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco for £52m in 2017.Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, with two appearances in City’s previous two games, the first coming against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, the Frenchman will boost Pep Guardiola’s title hopes as he tries desperately to patch his injury-stricken defence.

And what an addition he will be – especially if he holds Sterling to the standards that he appeared to last night. Imagine his future performances…

Sterling bagged a hat-trick and an assist in Tuesday night’s match against Atalanta, earning the man of the match award in the process. It doesn’t get much better than that – unless you score four, of course.