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Reports by Chronicle Live earlier this week suggested Newcastle United could yet offer Kyle Scott a new contract, after the outcast midfielder snubbed a move to Major League Soccer franchise FC Cincinnati.

The 23-year-old had been offered a two-year deal to join Jaap Stam’s West End Stadium natives after impressing the Orange and Blue during a trial with the Ohio-based outfit.

But the former Chelsea trainee rejected the deal and has returned to the UK, as the terms presented fell just shy of his expectations.

Stam was keen for Scott to move to Cincinnati and it was expected that the Stamford Bridge product would join the MLS franchise on a free transfer ahead of the first game of the 2021 season on April 17.

Yet Scott is now expected to explore alternative options, as his heart is set on staying in Europe with a top-flight side where first-team minutes will be available.

Scott is believed to feel that senior game time is a must for a player of his age, which has never been on offer at St. James’ Park since his arrival in 2019 having never been included in one of Steve Bruce’s matchday squads.

The Chronicle note that Scott has never even spoken with Bruce, making it unlikely that the Bath-born midfielder will be offered a new deal with the Magpies.

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Newcastle hold an option to extend Scott’s current contract by a further year to avoid losing him on a free, but it is expected that his United career will end in the same manner as his Chelsea days.

The former United States Under 20s international made just one outing for the Blues before snubbing a lucrative four-year deal, feeling that first-team opportunities were not going to be on offer had he remained at Stamford Bridge.

But Scott’s decision to join Newcastle instead, against an approach from FC Barcelona and interest from a host of top European sides, has turned out to be a disaster for his career as the 23-year-old is back at square one still looking for a breakthrough.

As Bruce is claimed to have never even spoken to Scott, it makes sense for all parties to end their relationship this summer, with United’s Managing Director Charnley blocking any consideration of taking up the Toon’s option to extend his contract.

Scott had glowing endorsements from Eden Hazard and David Luiz when he left Chelsea in 2019, who were said to have encouraged the £45,000-rated dud to try his luck with Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain, but the Magpies have never seen that player.

Injuries played a key role in Scott’s progress stagnating after a “very frustrating” first 12-months on Tyneside, though the following year has only returned four appearances with Newcastle’s U23s in the Premier League 2.

The last of his appearances came back in November, and it speaks volumes that Chris Hogg has never recalled Scott given United have won just three of their last 11 PL2 fixtures and losing on six occasions to sit 12th of the 13 sides in their division.

Scott may not have felt that Cincinnati was the right home for him, but it is clear that Newcastle is not either, making it absolutely necessary for him to leave St. James’ this summer.

AND in other news, a £40k-p/w Newcastle star is facing a race against time to feature again this season…

Southampton are one of a number of Premier League clubs reportedly taking an interest in Barnsley youngster Callum Styles, and the 21-year-old could be an excellent addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

According to Football League World, Southampton, Leeds United and Norwich City are all keen on the Barnsley man, who has been a key part of their impressive season in the Championship.

After featuring as a midfielder earlier in his career, Styles has been converted to a left wing-back this season by Barnsley boss Valérien Ismaël and has enjoyed a lot of success in his new position.

This season has seen the former Bury youngster contribute four goals and two assists in 36 Championship appearances, whilst he has averaged a solid 6.86 WhoScored rating for his performances.

Although Styles is contracted at Barnsley until 2023, you would imagine that unless they can pull off a shock promotion to the top flight, he will depart the Tykes this summer, given that all three of Southampton, Leeds and Norwich are looking highly likely to be in the Premier League next season.

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During his time with the Yorkshire club, Styles earned himself the nickname of ‘The Bury Baggio’ from supporters, with the club themselves regularly likening their young defender to the Italian legend on Twitter.

Given that Ryan Bertrand is yet to sign a new deal at Southampton, it seems clear that the Saints are looking into bringing a left-back to the club this summer, and Styles’ superb performances with Barnsley this season certainly suggest that he would be a worthwhile addition.

Hasenhuttl is renowned for loving versatile players and therefore he should definitely appreciate someone such as Styles, who is comfortable playing in midfield and defensive roles.

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Therefore, vice-chairman Martin Semmens should certainly consider bringing the 21-year-old Barnsley ace to St Mary’s this summer, as he looks destined to be playing in the Premier League next season.

In other news… Southampton could sign a Diallo upgrade in £4.05m-rated “class act”

Fans of Glasgow Rangers have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which Rangers shared a club statement regarding the recent bans handed to Glen Kamara, Kemar Roofe and Ondrej Kudela.

In the statement posted on the club website, Rangers claimed that they “welcome the suspension” given to the Slavia Prague’s Kudela, after UEFA found him guilty of racially abusing Glen Kamara, with the governing body handing the 34-year-old a ten-game ban.

However, with Kamara and Roofe also being handed three and four-game suspensions respectively, Rangers went on to say that they feel these sanctions are “severe” and have requested clarification regarding UEFA’s decision, before confirming that they intend to appeal the suspensions of both players.

And, after the club then relayed their statement on Twitter, fans of Rangers flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing to be furious with the club’s acceptance of the length of Kudela’s suspension – it is the minimum ban that can be given out for a racist offence, per The Guardian.

So, what exactly did these Rangers fans have to say in reaction to the club statement?

“Sorry I have to disagree he should have been banned for far more, players get more for betting.”

@gazzabuck1972

“Disgrace that it’s only 10 matches.”

@alanmac36869545

“Weak statement, it’s a pathetic ban for Kudela!”

@PurpleStandard

“How can we be happy with a 10-match ban, Rangers? It’s disgusting.”

@RossVickers1

“Poor statement Mr Rangers.”

@vCazh

“You must be joking.”

@Mike_Abr

“Underwhelmed by this.”

@Weerthepeople

In other news: Gerrard set to pull plug as rivals near £300,000 move, claims Gers source – find out more here!

Ralph Hasenhuttl has shared his anger with Moussa Djenepo and Kyle Walker-Peters after Southampton’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

Hasenhuttl livid at Saints duo

The Saints were on the losing end of the result against Spurs on Wednesday despite taking the lead through Danny Ings in the first half. £11.7m-valued Djenepo (Transfermarkt) and £16.2m-valued Walker-Peters were both heavily involved for the two Spurs goals for all the wrong reasons.

Speaking after the match, Hasenhuttl shared his anger. He said (via Hampshire Live):

“The way we give games away, it is hard to understand to be honest.

“We are looking for ways to stop it but it is always the problem

“We stop pressing high, we stop winning the ball, we stop playing hard football, then we come under pressure and we make mistakes at the moment.

“We are unlucky but the final clearance of the ball is not there.

“It is an absolute disaster how we gave this away.

“With the second goal, Kyle can clear the ball and then Moussa makes a stupid tackle.

“I am not sure it was a penalty. He didn’t really touch him but yes, okay. They decided it was a foul. This is how it is.”

Mistakes regularly costing Saints

Once again, mistakes are costing Southampton points on a regular basis. To be 1-0 up and fail to even get a draw from the game is quite simply not good enough for the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit. It now means the Saints have won just two of their last 15 Premier League matches (Sky Sports), a truly abysmal record.

With a nine-point cushion over 18th place in the table with just six games left to play, Southampton should be safe this year in the top flight. However, given they started relatively well, this season has not been good enough and they could find themselves in a genuine fight for survival next term if this form continues.

Hasenhuttl is now under real pressure and, if he wants to keep his job on the south coast, he must help eradicate these ‘stupid’ mistakes as soon as possible.

In other news, Southampton eye this Serie A midfielder.

Some Liverpool fans are terrified at the prospect of Jurgen Klopp quitting as manager amid reports of a European Super League forming.

The German has transformed the Reds since taking charge in October 2015, improving matters both on and off the pitch and becoming a legendary modern figure at Anfield.

Klopp has masterminded a glorious period in the club’s history, winning both the Champions League and Premier League, along with working wonders in the transfer market by signing the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk among others.

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On Sunday, news broke regarding the Premier League ‘big six’ breaking off and being part of a new European Super League, which has prompted widepsread fury. In the past, Klopp has spoken of his displeasure at the proposal actually coming to fruition, claiming that he sees few positives behind the idea.

Liverpool fans fear Klopp exit

A number of Liverpool supporters have taken to Twitter to voice their concern about Klopp’s future, with those in question fearing that he could walk away based on the furore over the new Super League and his vocal opposition to the concept in the past.

“The horrible thing about all this I can see Jurgen Klopp walking away, and that’s not something I’m ready for”

Credit: @ScouserChrisLFC

“Genuine concern Klopp could walk away”

Credit: @DFImpressionist

“Jurgen Klopp appreciation post. If he walked, I wouldn’t blame him one bit”

Credit: @TheKop_com

“If Klopp leaves we’re all following, right?”

Credit: @AnfieldMagic

“Genuinely concerned as to how Jurgen Klopp reacts to this. 100% does not align with his views”

Credit: @BenWebbLFC

“Klopp could leave any minute, I feel sick”

Credit: @archielfc

In other news, one Liverpool player is thought to have told friends he wants to leave this summer. Find out who it is here.

Mark Douglas has dropped a big claim on the Newcastle United takeover consortium involving Rafa Benitez.

Asked in a Q&A session for The Chronicle whether he thinks that Steve Bruce still has the chance of being the manager of the St. James’ Park faithful if the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group were to go through, the football journalist claimed that a takeover would ‘likely push Rafa Benitez back into the picture’, given his connection with the consortium.

Newcastle return for Benitez?

If the takeover bid were to eventually go through, then it is possible that the prospective new owners would be looking for a new manager to take charge, given that they did not hire Bruce.

Benitez would certainly be a popular choice to replace the former Aston Villa and Sunderland boss in the North East, as there are many fans on Tyneside who simply adore him and would love to have him back, making it an easy way for the potential new owners to get the Toon Army on side.

The Spaniard guided the Magpies to promotion back to the Premier League and then managed to keep them in the top flight for two consecutive terms, boasting 62 wins from 146 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt), a 42.5% win ratio.

With extra funds available to spend in the transfer market, Benitez may well be interested in a potential return to the Toon, should Bruce leave if the takeover were to go through.

In other news, find out what big NUFC transfer claim has been dropped here!

Said Benrahma has found game-time hard to come by since his October switch to West Ham United but, on Monday night, he fired a huge message to David Moyes with a phenomenal showing.

The Irons defeated Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor to move back into top-four contention and the Algerian winger played an integral role in the result. Moyes’ men are now just three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who defeated them last week to leapfrog them into the Champions League qualification berths.

Benrahma, who cost a combined total of £30m, was starting only his 12th league game of the season after a string of cameos from the bench.

Moyes may well want to consider his involvement from the off in their final four games after such a creative performance, certainly if Monday night’s outing is anything to go by.

Whilst he is yet to score a league goal for the Hammers since arriving from Brentford, Benrahma added his fifth assist of the campaign when Michail Antonio poked home his low cross from close range to seal the three points at Turf Moor.

As per SofaScore figures, the 25-year-old winger was graded amongst West Ham’s star performers with a rating of 7.7, which was only bettered by the aforementioned goalscorer (9.0), who bagged a brace, and Vladimir Coufal (7.9), who delivered the assist for the opener.

Similarly, the Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser claimed that it was “one of his best performances” for the club. Benrahma recorded a squad and match-high five key passes, which included one big chance created as he proved to be a major attacking outlet for Moyes’ side. He also recorded four shots on the night.

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He is averaging just 0.9 key chances per match in the league this term, so he was certainly making a point with these impressive returns during a cold evening in Lancashire.

The tricky winger was a constant nuisance, often cutting in to try and find that elusive maiden goal. He recorded four shots, made 93% of his passes and successfully pulled off 100% of his dribbling attempts, via SofaScore.

Burnley right-back Matthew Lowton, who lost 50% of his battles with him, and his fellow defensive teammates simply struggled to contain the sensational Algeria international.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Moyes lauded his the £18m-rated dynamo, saying (via TEAMtalk): “He played well tonight but he has even more consistency to come – asking the boys to succeed in their first season in the Premier League is not easy. I hope he adds that [goals and assists] to us. I always thought it would take him a little longer. He’s a really good team player.”

Benrahma will undoubtedly be disappointed by the lack of action he has received this season but he has just made one hell of a statement with that display, especially as he was fasting for Ramadan, which makes it all that more spectacular.

It’ll be hard for Moyes to omit him from the starting XI in the coming weeks.

AND in other news, Forget Antonio: Irons dynamo who had 90 touches was Moyes’ unsung hero vs Burnley…

Queens Park Rangers defender Todd Kane has been charged for directing abusive and/or insulting language towards an opponent.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a statement posted on the QPR website, which relayed the news that the FA have charged Kane for directing abusive and/or insulting language regarding the nationality and/or ethnicity of an opponent towards Brentford midfielder Sergi Canos, with the 27-year-old having until May 17th to respond to the charge.

Kane must go

This latest charge is not the first time that Kane has been involved in controversy this season, as, during an interview with ‘R’ Generation back in April (via West London Sport), the defender stated his belief that he is a “better” right-back than Osman Kakay.

Since this incident, the former Chelsea man has played just 45 minutes of Championship football, coming on at half-time as a replacement for the injured Jordy de Wijs against Rotherham.

Meanwhile, Kakay has been turning in a number of impressive performances at right-back, most noticeably when earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.2 against Coventry City, receiving a 7.0 rating against Rotherham United and when picking up a 7.9 rating last time out against Stoke City.

In contrast, over his 28 Championship appearances for QPR this season, Kane has been distinctly average, with his seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.75 only being enough to rank him as the club’s 15th best performer in the second tier.

So, when considering the performances of the right-back so far this season, in addition to his disrespectful claim regarding a teammate, as well as the latest shameful incident the £7,000-per-week man now finds himself involved in, it would appear highly advisable that Mark Warburton should look to move the defender on this summer, as he appears to be a far greater hassle away from the pitch than his performances on the pitch are worth.

Indeed, following the news of his recent FA charge, fans of QPR appear to want rid of the 27-year-old, with some calling for the club to “terminate his contract” while others stated their belief that Kane should “not be anywhere near our first team.”

In other news: “No doubt” – QPR man drops claim on £8k-p/w ace amid exit links, fans could be gutted – opinion

Nottingham Forest left-back Yuri Ribeiro looks set to leave the City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

Despite the fact that a recent report by The Telegraph claiming that the left-back looked to be the only of Forest’s out of contract players to receive the offer of a new deal this summer, a recent post on Twitter by the 24-year-old himself appeared to suggest otherwise.

Ribeiro said: “Playing in England has always been a dream. Thanks [Nottingham Forest] for allowing me that. We wanted more this season but it’s not always possible. I’m sure this club will achieve what it deserves in the future. For me, it was an incredible experience! I’ve learned a lot this year! Thank you all for the support!”

Worrying news

While Ribeiro has in no way enjoyed the best of seasons for Forest this term, as has been the case for a number of their players throughout a disappointing league campaign, the £7.3k-per-week defender has proven in his time at the City Ground that he is more than capable of doing a job in the Championship.

Over the 24-year-old’s 25 league appearances last season, he helped his side keep seven clean sheets, as well as making an average of one interception, 0.8 tackles and 0.7 key passes per game, culminating in a respectable average SofaScore match rating of 6.71.

In the season prior, in which the Reds narrowly missed out on securing a play-off place, the left-back also returned decent metrics, helping his side keep nine clean sheets, providing three assists and creating four big chances, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.77.

As such, the former Portugal U21 international has been a reliable option for Forest at the back as well as going forwards, and his apparent departure seems to have left a number of the club’s fans gutted, with some taking to Twitter begging Chris Hughton to “give him a contract,” while others stated their belief that Ribeiro “should be staying” as he is a “brilliant player.”

Indeed, with the 62-year-old Forest manager also reportedly telling fellow left-back Gaetan Bong to find a new club this summer, releasing Ribeiro would seem to leave the club short of options in the position ahead of next season, and could be something that Hughton comes to regret.

In other news: Encouraging update emerges on Forest’s “leader” that’ll surely have fans buzzing – opinion

Southampton fans are gutted after it was confirmed Ryan Bertrand will leave the club on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The £9m-valued former Chelsea man (Transfermarkt) made the move to St. Mary’s Stadium from Stamford Bridge permanently in 2015 after a six-month loan spell and has gone on to be fantastic servant for the Saints since then. All in all, he has made 240 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals and providing 20 assists (Transfermarkt).

However, his performances have frustrated supporters in more recent times, and with his contract set to run out at the end of this term, he reportedly turned down a new deal at Southampton (Hampshire Live). As such, the club have confirmed that he will be leaving at the end of the campaign.

The news was shared on the club’s official Twitter page, and it attracted plenty of attention from the fans. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Bertrand news below

“Knew it was coming, doesn’t make it any easier. Was our best player for 2 or 3 seasons and easily our most consistent along with Steve Davis. A great shame but it’s probably the right time. Hope he does really well and gets a decent contract somewhere.”

Credit: @L1minus10

“Gutted but he’s been incredible for us wish him all the best”

Credit: @thorpey_10

“Real shame, great player. Proper grafter.”

Credit: @Hoylesey59

“Gutted to read this. Good luck for the future @ryanbertrand3 thanks for everything”

Credit: @SFC_Debs

“I’m really sad to read this. He’s been a fantastic player for us & I shall miss him. Best of luck to you, Bertie.”

Credit: @SaintCirce

“Gutted at this announcement as he remains one of my favourite players in recent years. A great player with a good character and was very reliable at left back. Will miss him certainly.”

Credit: @LiberalSaint85

In other news, Southampton are interested in this Serie A winger.