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West Ham fans have taken to Twitter to criticise the officiating in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool at the London Stadium on Monday night, after a shoddy decision from the linesman ultimately cost them all three points against the league leaders.

With the scores level at 0-0, James Milner crossed for Sadio Mane to control inside the box, before slotting in the opener to give Jurgen Klopp’s men the lead.

However, replays showed that Milner was offside, and that the linesman wasn’t anywhere near to being up to speed and in line with the play.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

The Hammers did go on to grab an equaliser through Michail Antonio, although they will rightly feel aggrieved after a poor piece of officiating potentially robbed them of a historic win.

The draw now means that Liverpool sit precariously above Manchester City by just three points, although West Ham fans on Twitter don’t care about the title race one bit after being hard done by…

Unai Emery is reportedly (via the Daily Mail) set to be handed limited funds to strengthen his squad during the summer transfer window.

The Spaniard was forced to settle for loan signings in January, landing Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez on a temporary deal. There is plenty of work to be done if Arsenal are to challenge Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs at the top of the table next season. Emery may be forced to offload many fringe players in order to boost his finances.

The long-term future of Mesut Ozil remains unclear after the German was left out of the matchday squad yet again against BATE Borisov. After falling out of favour under Arsene Wenger, the ex-Real Madrid man has struggled for form and fitness under the former Sevilla boss.

To replace him, Arsenal should make a move for PSV Eindhoven maestro – Gaston Pereiro. Valued at £12.6m by Transfermarkt, the Uruguay international has been a mainstay in the side since moving from Nacional back in the summer of 2015. Pereiro was crucial to the side that lifted the Eredivisie title last season and has been in fantastic form yet again during the current campaign.

The 23-year-old has been lethal in front of goal, netting ten goals in all competitions. As well as his goalscoring exploits, Pereiro has also been the creative force for his team, registering seven assists for his team-mates. Averaging 1.5 key passes per game in the Eredivisie, his arrival at the Emirates could mean even more goals for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the attack (WhoScored).

The playmaker possesses the quality to carve open defences and would be an excellent Ozil replacement if the former Germany international does leave England.

Arsenal fans, thoughts?

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Mohamed Diame is seemingly edging ever closer to a contract extension at Newcastle United, but the midfielder reportedly wants a longer deal with the club.

What’s the story, then?

According to The Chronicle, Diame is just three Premier League appearances short of earning a new one-year extension at Newcastle.

Indeed, the midfielder has made 22 league appearances for the Magpies this term and another three will earn him an extension to his current deal.

However, according to The Chronicle, Diame would like a contract until the end of the 2020-21 campaign to reflect his importance to the team.

Diame has actually only played four minutes of Premier League football since the 2-0 home defeat to Manchester United at the start of the year due to injury.

However, with the 31-year-old now fit and available, it seems almost impossible that he will not make another three league appearances before the end of the season.

Does Diame deserve a new contract?

Undoubtedly. And Newcastle should be offering a new deal until the summer of 2021 rather than being happy with the activation of an extension.

Diame is not the most talented of footballers in the Premier League, but he can certainly cope with Rafael Benitez’s physical demands.

He is also incredibly experienced, having made 96 appearances in all competitions for Newcastle since arriving in 2016, whilst he has made 232 appearances in the Premier League during spells with Wigan Athletic, West Ham United, Hull City and Newcastle.

Diame will be 32 heading into the 2019-2020 campaign, but he certainly has a couple more seasons of Premier League football in his legs.

Sean Longstaff has earned the plaudits in recent weeks, but Diame is another important figure in the Benitez machine.

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Newcastle’s good performances in recent weeks have hardly earned them the results they’ve deserved but that changed completely against Huddersfield on Saturday, who were truly put to the sword by the Magpies.

The Tyneside outfit ran out 2-0 winners, with Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez getting on the scoresheet in quick succession after the break to secure all three points for the home side.

Miguel Almiron, making his St James’ Park debut after signing for a club-record fee in January, nearly capped off a fine move but his chipped effort struck the post 11 minutes in.

Have the new Newcastle home and away kits for next season accidentally been leaked? See for yourself in the video below…

With the Paraguayan making a promising start, his afternoon was nearly cut short by Terriers defender Tommy Smith, whose dangerous challenge nine minutes later could easily have had catastrophic consequences for the Newcastle man.

The Huddersfield captain was deservedly shown a straight red card – making him the first player to be sent off against Newcastle since 2014 – for his horror tackle and, fortunately, Almiron was able to carry on.

Here’s what the Toon Army had to say about 26-year-old Smith’s red card on Twitter, with some relieved that they had finally seen a red card awarded to their opposition, while others were simply pleased that Almiron wasn’t injured…

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to discuss Naby Keita’s recent spell out of the starting XI, after a good run of form in which it appeared like he had finally settled in at the club.

The Guinean international arrived at the club to much fanfare after a £52.75m move from RB Leipzig, but struggled to acclimatise and bring his Bundesliga form over to the Premier League.

In recent weeks, however, the 24-year-old looked to have turned a new leaf, with the 3-0 win over Bournemouth at Anfield a real indicator that Keita had finally found his feet in a Liverpool shirt.

He had made four successive league starts for the Reds from the end of January to the middle of February, but has since been dropped inexplicably – Keita has played just six minutes of league football since the aforementioned victory over the Cherries.

Jurgen Klopp’s decision to omit him seems unfair, and Liverpool fans have been discussing the matter on Twitter…

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Bournemouth visit Huddersfield in a game that is far more important for the hosts – as every clash will be for the Terriers from now on as they look to evade the drop – and Eddie Howe can ensure their opposition don’t secure another shock win by prioritising the importance of Charlie Daniels and Ryan Fraser.

On the chalkboard

Jan Siewert’s side’s surprising victory over Wolves last week, in which they won in stoppage time, showed the Premier League that even the team that is rock bottom of the standings can prove to be a stumbling block.

The Cherries, meanwhile, will be hoping that they can bounce back from their gutting 1-0 loss to Manchester City last weekend and move closer to a top-half finish.

Howe can ensure that all three points are taken back to Dorset by snuffing out Huddersfield’s favoured avenue of attack, to which Daniels and Fraser will both be crucial.

Predictable Terriers

WhoScored names the Terriers’ frequency of attacks through the middle as the lowest in the Premier League (21%) while their assaults down the right flank are a league-high of 43% percent.

Bournemouth must force their hosts to come inside and narrow the pitch as best possible as they clearly aren’t comfortable if they cannot get the ball out wide – Daniels and Fraser will be essential to ensuring that the Cherries’ left-flank is impenetrable.

Fraser has come on leaps and bounds this season, with his pace a huge asset to the Vitality Stadium outfit going forward – he can be of equal importance on the back foot next time out, though, if he can chase back and help out Daniels when Huddersfield inevitably look to whip balls into the box from the right wing.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

The Cherries have plenty of talent to take this game well out of their opponents’ reach but they should not be so foolish to assume it will be an easy win – making sure the aforementioned pair are on their A-game will be a huge step towards guaranteeing a victory.

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Eric Dier made his first Premier League start of 2019 on Saturday afternoon as Spurs suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Southampton.

What’s the word?

There was a time when Dier was regarded as one of the best young players in English football.

Combining a rugged hard-man attitude with a percentage-based approach to passing football, the midfield enforcer was regarded as a player with the potential to establish himself as the first-choice option in England’s pivot role.

His exciting development even prompted Premier League icon and serial trophy winner Xabi Alonso to label him as his favourite young English player in 2017, as per The Times, citing his versatility and composure as two defining characteristics of his game.

That a player of Alonso’s immense standing in the game chose Dier as his favourite young player spoke volumes about the enormity of the former Sporting Lisbon man’s reputation at the time.

But nearly two years on it’s fair to say that Dier has struggled to match the hype which surrounded the formative stages of his career.

Huge point still to prove

The 25-year-old, who is valued at £36 million by Transfermarkt, can be brilliant on his day. Every side needs a player to crunch into challenges and keep things ticking over between the lines of defence and midfield, but Dier has struggled to develop in the manner which many predicted him to.

Cutting-edge through balls are stashed away in his locker but not released regularly enough, while his lack of mobility often leaves him vulnerable in one v one situations.

Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko have established a formidable midfield partnership this season and Dier will face an uphill battle to win his place back when both players are fully fit.

And with Declan Rice staking the strongest claim to slot into Gareth Southgate’s midfield anchor role, it’s clear that Dier has failed to justify why Alonso singled him out for such esteemed praise in 2017.

After a promising run in the FA Cup, Crystal Palace’s dream of silverware this season is over.

The Eagles were dumped out of England’s oldest football competition on the weekend by Watford as Andre Grey’s 79th-minute winner sealed Roy Hodgson’s fate in the FA Cup in a 2-1 loss.

It was a disappointing loss for the south London side, who fancied themselves as dark horses of the competition after knocking out Tottenham in the fourth round and making it to final of the FA Cup three years prior.

Ultimately, it was a fair result, but what would the consequences be if Palace were to win against Watford and make it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup?

Palace face tough tie against Wolves

In our reality, Watford were drawn with Wolves in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, so for argument’s sake, we will say Palace are drawn against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as well.

Wolves have been the giant killers in the Cup this season, knocking out both Liverpool and Manchester United comfortably, making them outside favourites for FA Cup glory this season, and in the league as well the West Midlands-based club have been great against teams in the top-six.

Palace would go into this game at Wembley as the underdogs given their earlier result against Wolves this season, a 1-0 loss at Selhurst, and one of Nuno’s most impressive wins of the season was against Tottenham at their temporary home, a 3-1 win over the Christmas period.

However, with Palace having experience at this stage in the competition, Hodgson’s side will be confident of causing an upset and making their second FA Cup final in three years.

Hodgson keeps job, for now

Speaking of Hodgson, making it to a FA Cup semi-final would have kept the oldest manager in Premier League history in the job for at least another season.

Palace have had an underwhelming season despite the level of quality the Eagles have in the squad, and with the scars of Frank de Boer’s horrific managerial appointment more than healed over, the Palace board might be reluctant to replace Hodgson for an ambitious coach.

Hodgson could have strengthened his argument to be given another season to salvage more than a below midtable finish for Palace on the merit he made it to a FA Cup semi-final.

Crystal Palace fans, would a FA Cup semi-final appearance be a high-point this season?

[ad_pod ]Sunderland fans have been heaping praise on Luke O’Nien during the international break.The Black Cats made a rip-roaring start to their League One campaign, losing just once in their first 20 league matches.Jack Ross’ side went off the boil at the turn of the year though, registering score draws in six out of seven games, but they have now won four of their last six with the two failures being draws in difficult away games. Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….And it’s no coincidence that the recent return to form has coincided with O’Nien hitting a purple patch, as the 24 year-old’s energy from right-back has made a huge different to the side.O’Nien, who is capable of playing pretty much anywhere across the midfield or on either defensive flank, has five goals and five assists to his name this campaign.

On top of that, the versatile ace just seems to “get†Sunderland, constantly interacting with fans and showing off his passion for the badge.

Loads of fans have been discussing his form, and judging from the Twitter reactions down below the summer signing is already a fan favourite at the Stadium of Light…

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The vast majority of Rangers fans will be hoping they can sign Ryan Kent on a permanent deal in the summer, but a recent report from the Daily Record suggests they could be priced out of the deal.

What’s the word?

The Daily Record claim that Steven Gerrard, who is hoping to make Kent’s move permanent in the summer, feels he is already fighting a losing battle to keep the 22-year-old at Ibrox, with clubs at the lower end of the Premier League as well as Championship clubs potentially willing to meet Liverpool’s asking price.

Speaking of the asking price, the same report claims that his parent club will demand a fee between £8m and £10m – a huge sum of money for a club of Rangers’ limited financial power.

And sources have claimed that Liverpool believe this summer represents the perfect opportunity to sell a player who has failed to boost his stock in four previous loan spells.

Is Kent overpriced?

From Liverpool’s perspective, Kent’s season couldn’t have gone much better. He is clearly below the standard required to break into the first-team at Anfield and his loan move was merely a feasible way of placing him in the shop window.

However, for a club of Rangers’ stature and torrid financial history, it’s fair to say that the reported price-tag is extortionate, especially when considered in the context of his past failures.

Sky Sports journalist Charles Paterson has described Kent as a player who “has shown flashes of brilliance when he’s been fit”.

Relatively speaking, that verdict is not one which you would attribute to a player commanding a price-tag of up to £10 million.

Kent has been electric on his day and a devastatingly creative spark when in full flow, but how often does that day come round?

If Rangers are to progress and genuinely challenge the status quo in Scottish football they need more than just sporadic bursts of quality from a £10 million player; they need consistent quality and preferably at a modest price.

The Gers faithful will undoubtedly rue Kent’s departure but, as Paterson has hinted, he is overpriced for a player whose brilliance has been limited to flashes.