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Arsenal have finally made their first signing of the summer transfer window as Gabriel Martinelli joins from Brazilian side Ituano Futebol Clube. What else does Unai Emery have up his sleeve? Today’s Gunners transfer roundup includes La Liga interest in a star striker, the pursuit of a Barcelona star and the potential departure of a club veteran.

Atletico eye Lacazette

According to the Daily Mirror, Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Alexandre Lacazette from Arsenal to replace Barcelona-bound Antoine Griezmann. Champions League football may be of interest to the Frenchman, who scored 13 goals in 35 Premier League games last season.

Arsenal want Malcom on loan

Spanish outlet Sport is reporting that Arsenal are interested in taking Barcelona’s Malcom on loan for next season. However, the Catalan club are more interested in letting the 22-year-old Brazilian go on a permanent deal rather than on a temporary basis.

Bordeaux interested in Koscielny

Bordeaux have made Arsenal centre-back Laurent Koscielny their priority this summer according to L’Equipe. The report also states that the 33-year-old has told Les Girondins that he is interested in making a move to the Ligue 1 outfit.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Neil Lennon is looking to further trim his first-team squad this summer despite the departure of a number of players already, as reported by Sky Sports.

What’s he said?

Familiar faces such as Mikael Lustig, Emilio Izaguirre and Dedryck Boyata all said goodbye to Celtic at the end of last season, with other deadwood such as Marvin Compper and Cristian Gamboa being moved on too.

It’s a summer of change at Celtic Park and from the look of Lennon’s comments on Friday, more are on their way out the door.

Leigh Griffiths is ready and raring to go for Celtic next season. One fan discusses what we can expect from him in the video below…

As quoted by Sky Sports, the Hoops boss said:

“I think there’s some trimming to do, yes.

“We have to be mindful with the amount of games we play, so the squad has to be of a decent size.

“We don’t want to have players on the periphery of the squad on a decent wage being left out.

“The squad is too big for my liking and I think it’s important that we [trim] it.”

Given so many have left the squad already, it begs the question – who could possibly be next?

Defensive rethink

One player whose status at Celtic looks decidedly shaky is Jack Hendry, who continues to be largely frozen out of first-team affairs.

Signed in January 2018, the player managed to make just three league starts last term, struggling to break into a side that had been suffering from significant injury problems in his position.

With his lack of appearances, it’s fair to say the 24-year-old has been something of a flop signing and not up to the standard that Celtic require, something fans are absolutely certain of.

Lennon has already moved to strengthen the position with the signing of Christopher Jullien.

With Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic also available, Hendry is well down the pecking order as it is.

The Hoops boss also revealed earlier this week he is looking to further strengthen the centre-back area having been forced to utilise midfielder Nir Bitton in defence against FK Sarajevo, again snubbing Hendry.

If Lennon gets his wish, there will be four defenders ahead of the former Dundee man and potentially Bitton too.

There’s just no room for Hendry anymore and with Lennon looking to trim the squad further, he could be next out the door.

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Friday’s Manchester United transfer roundup noted an update in the pursuit of a 21-year-old Newcastle midfielder, a prepared offer for a Turkish international and a Brazilian being scouted. Today’s edition brings you an agreement for a 26-year-old defender, news on a Portuguese star and a goalkeeper’s new contract.

United agree Maguire fee

According to The Sun, United and Leicester City have agreed a fee for England centre-back Harry Maguire. The Red Devils will apparently pay £60m upfront for the former Sheffield United defender, with an extra £20m to be given in add-ons.

Fernandes news

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been pushing to sign Sporting Lisbon’s Bruno Fernandes but is having difficulties getting the Old Trafford outfit’s board to increase their offer for the Portuguese international according to Saturday’s print edition of Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness). The sale of Paul Pogba would force the club to up the bid the report adds.

De Gea contract close

David De Gea is expected to sign a new contract once Manchester United return from their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia according to The Telegraph. The Spain international will sign a new long-term deal that will likely be worth more than £350,000 a week.

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The Red Devils’ squad is once again on the move.

After finishing their first two challenges of the 2019 summer pre-season tour and after saying farewell to Australia, Manchester United have now landed in Singapore.

There, they will face Inter Milan on July 20th. But before that, there are some training sessions to be completed and their stars have already been taking to their social media accounts to keep everyone updated on what’s going on behind the scenes.

David de Gea, United’s star between the sticks, has been one of those as the Spaniard shared a new

/B0FqEB4AtF9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram snap from the training ground.

The snap displays the goalie in mid-air, making what seems to look like a brilliant save and, naturally, it attracted some attention from his teammates and friends.

Juan Mata was the first one on the scene, alongside Joel Pereira, and both Red Devils were really impressed with what they saw, posting a series of emojis to show it.

Antonio Valencia, the ex-Manchester United player, was also there and he simply called De Gea the best.

[ad_pod ]As with any awards ceremony, there are bound to be some controversial selections. And the 2019 Best FIFA Football Awards certainly has one glaring omission that has got people talking.In the ten-man shortlist, Manchester City – champions of England – had no players recognised, and it was the absence of Bernardo Silva that certainly got tongues wagging on social media.The 24-year-old helped the Citizens win the domestic treble last season, before taking it one step further and helping Portugal clinch Nations League glory this summer.However, it appears those responsible for the award felt those achievements with both club and country didn’t warrant a mention, and that saw City fans flood to Twitter to vent their frustrations.[ad_pod ]Many felt that the snub was simply another piece of evidence showing that people outside the club failed to truly appreciate Silva’s quality, and bemoaned the fact that nobody else seemed to recognise it.Indeed, some even suggested that there was somewhat of a conspiracy going on, and felt unsurprised that Silva and his City teammates went unrewarded for their efforts last season.Check out some of the reaction of City fans below:

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Fellow stars flocked to the comments section to send their congratulations and spoil him with compliments:

It may have been a Premier League season to forget for De Gea last year – having conceded an inexplicable 54 times, with just seven clean sheets to his name – but the Spaniard has all the quality to turn his form around, and we fully expect him to do so.

Next stop: Old Trafford to face Chelsea.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Despite his long absence because of injury last season, it was still something of a surprise to see West Ham United attacker Andriy Yarmolenko fail to make the matchday squad for the opening day Premier League clash against Manchester City.

The Ukraine international looks set to battle with the likes of Michail Antonio, Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Robert Snodgrass for a spot out wide in manager Manuel Pellegrini’s preferred 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 formations this term.

He deployed the former against the English top flight holders at the weekend with Antonio and Anderson taking their places on the wing, and new boy Pablo Fornals forced to sit among the substitutes.

Three attack-minded players made up the rest of the 18 in the form of Fornals, Snodgrass and Javier Hernandez, with Yarmolenko and Arthur Masuaku among those to miss out completely.

Doubts may have been raised about whether the duo had picked up knocks before the visit of the Citizens, but the respected Claret & Hugh confirmed that they had been omitted for selection reasons, with others preferred on the substitutes’ bench ahead of them.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That competition is only going to increase too, with recent summer arrival Albian Ajeti looking to make his mark.

Yarmolenko made a decent enough start to his career in England with two goals – both away against Everton – and one assist in nine Premier League outings before he suffered a ruptured Achilles in against Tottenham in October 2018.

It was an injury that kept him out of action until the summer, and now he will surely be determined to regain his spot and prove that he can be a big player for West Ham.

Even though he was excluded by his manager last time out, the 29-year-old should be back and vying for a starting spot for the visit to Brighton this weekend.

While Anderson – who appears to be ok having been forced off against City himself after picking up a niggle – is probably almost guaranteed a spot in the XI due to his price tag, the fact that Antonio was hooked at half-time suggests he is in danger of losing his place on the right.

Realistically, Snodgrass and Yarmolenko are the only out-and-out wide players who could come in and replace him, and the latter should fancy his chances of getting the nod even after what happened just a few days ago.

Two-Footed Talk | Neymar quits PSG – Top 3 players who forced transfers away

Neymar wants out of PSG and he’s not exactly being professional about it! Check out 3 other players tried to force a transfer away in the video below…

137 goals and 90 assists in 340 matches for Dynamo Kiev, as per Transfermarkt, show exactly what he is capable of in the final third, and he is undoubtedly someone who can hurt the Seagulls on Saturday with Mario Husillos saying when the club signed him last summer how he is “fast on the counter-attack”.

If he can take his opportunity to impress Pellegrini in training this week, he is the one who should be starting above any of his competitors at the Amex.

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After all of the madness of the transfer window, the new Premier League campaign is finally upon us! Arsenal will kick of their season with a visit to Newcastle.

With some players out injured, Unai Emery faces some difficult decisions, and may be forced to make some unfamiliar choices. To get the best out of the players currently at his disposal, we look at how his team should line up at St.James’ Park on Sunday.

In goal, Bernd Leno picks himself. Following the departure of Petr Cech, he is the only experienced goalkeeper left.

New signing David Luiz is fit and ready to start, and should slot right into the heart of the defence to be flanked by Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis. With Rob Holding still on the sidelines, these three would be the perfect combination to start as the Emirates outfit set-up in a flexible 5-4-1 formation.

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Hector Bellerin is still missing, so Ainsley Maitland-Niles should take up a position at wing-back. On the other side, Sead Kolasinac would be the best choice. Kieran Tierney is also still in recovery, and so is not yet ready to play.

In the centre of the park, Emery has plenty of options. Lucas Torreira is almost certain to play, whilst Dani Ceballos could make his debut since moving on loan from Real Madrid. Granit Xhaka should be the other player in a three-man midfield.

Slightly further forward, Mesut Ozil should appear on the team sheet. Although he has been linked with a move away, he is still at the club and remains one of their most creative options. Emery has often set up with wingers in a 4-2-3-1 line-up but, with new arrival Nicolas Pepe yet to play and Alex Iwobi moving on to Everton, there is a lack of experience on the flanks, which may lead to a switch-up. Alexandre Lacazette is also doubtful and is still being assessed ahead of the match. The former Sevilla boss should not take any risks.

Up front, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should lead the line. He scored 31 goals last season and is the Gunners’ biggest threat. He is also there only fully-fit option, which makes his inclusion straightforward.

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Tottenham Hotspur fans have wished Georges-Kevin NKoudou well after he completed his move to Besiktas.

The French winger struggled to make any sort of impact at Spurs following his move from Marseille in 2017.

He made a total of 27 appearances for the club, scoring once, and perhaps his most telling contribution came last season, when he provided the assist for Harry Winks’ injury-time winner against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Nkoudou has spent the past two seasons out on loan, playing for Burnley in 2018 and Monaco in 2019.

His move is reportedly worth close to £4.6m, with a clean break finally found for the pacey forward.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Besiktas finished third in the Turkish Super League last season, four points behind eventual champions Galatasaray, and will play in the Europa League this season.

And Spurs fans have sent their goodwill to the 24-year-old as he looks to get his career back on track in Turkey.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Nottingham Forest’s season so far has been somewhat respectable.

They have responded to an opening day defeat against West Brom by going unbeaten in all competitions, as they currently sit ninth in the Championship.

On Tuesday evening, they regained the Brian Clough Trophy by clinically seeing off arch-rivals Derby County 3-0 with goals coming from Albert Adomah, Joe Lolley and a returning Joao Carvalho.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Sabri Lamouchi made eight changes to his side for the match, including Lewis Grabban who has featured for the full 90 minutes in all five of their league fixtures this season, per WhoScored – with Wolves loanee Rafa Mir coming in to deputise.

Even though he assisted their opener on Tuesday night, the 22-year-old copped some flack from some members of the Forest fanbase.

With doubts over their striking options, it raises question marks over why young striker Tyler Walker was sent out on loan to Lincoln City this season.

On the Chalkboard

The Forest academy graduate is currently on his sixth loan spell away from the club after making his professional debut at the City Ground in March 2015.

Last season he showcased his talents in a Mansfield Town shirt, where he scored 26 goals in 52 appearances as they were defeated in the League Two playoffs.

Derby fans got too cocky, too early in their Carabao Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

That clearly wasn’t enough to impress the Reds hierarchy as he’s gone out on loan again.

The 5 foot 10 prospect has continued to display his goalscoring traits, netting two goals in six appearances for the Imps, per Transfermarkt.

Games like the one against Derby in midweek would have been the perfect opportunity to see how Walker could cope, with it being against opposition from the same league but with much less on the line – depending on how you rate the Carabao Cup.

They’ve missed something crucial to his development here, so let’s hope it doesn’t affect their season should anything bad happen to first choice Grabban.

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