Roll up, roll up, the EFL Cup Final is almost here, and by the time the sun sets on Sunday we’ll know who is the first victor in the battle for English silverware this season.
Southampton and Manchester United will face off at Wembley as they compete for the trophy, and it’s fair to say that this is a massive game for both teams – which is why it’s our Fixture in Focus here are FootballFanCast.
Claude Puel’s Saints have risen up through the divisions of English football, losing managers and key players on an almost annual basis, so claiming a trophy would really be testament to the well-run nature of the Hampshire club, while Man United will be desperate to secure just their second trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2013 departure. Jose Mourinho himself is a veteran when it comes to winning the League Cup with three victories on his CV from his Chelsea days, so he knows all about getting over the line and the advantages it brings, which could be vital.
In the build-up to this intriguing tie we asked Southampton fans which Manchester United players they would like to have most in a purely hypothetical exercise, and here are the top THREE…
3) Eric Bailly
In at No.3 we have summer addition, Bailly. The Ivorian has had his injury issues since arriving in England, but the former Villarreal man has really impressed following his big money switch, with his pace and brute strength well-suited to the Premier League’s style of play. Given their injury woes, Saints fans would clearly love to have the commanding centre-back in their camp heading to Wembley.
2) Marcus Rashford
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s fine start to life in England, Rashford has been somewhat forgotten. The pacey striker was, arguably, the standout performer in what was an underwhelming 2015/16 for Manchester United, but Mourinho has been reluctant to thrust him into his XI with regularity. However, the 19-year-old has still impressed when called upon this term, and, interestingly, a move to Southampton actually makes real sense. One to think about for all involved ahead of this summer…
1) David de Gea
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Even though Fraser Forster has been a big hit at St Mary’s Stadium, Saints fans would love to have De Gea between the sticks in Hampshire. The Spaniard is one of the finest goalkeeper on the planet, with his shot-stopping second to none – we cannot imagine where they club would have finished last season without him.
Enner Valencia has told Everton’s official website that he wants to stay at Goodison Park beyond the end of his loan deal from West Ham United.
What’s the word?
The Ecuadorian joined Everton on a season-long loan in August with the option of a permanent move.
So far in the campaign, though, the 27-year-old has started just three Premier League games, and coming on as a substitute in 11 others.
In those appearances, Valencia, who has been on West Ham’s books since his 2014 switch from Pachuca, has registered two goals.
Despite the lack of regular game time under manager Ronald Koeman, Valencia wants to join the Toffees permanently.
He told Everton’s website:
“It’s all about focusing on the present rather than the future. I’m focusing on getting the best performances in these 10 games and then that will be the time to look ahead in the future. But I can say from my point of view that I would love to stay. It’s a top, top club.”
Should Valencia get a permanent deal?
It is unclear whether specific targets were inserted in the loan deal that can trigger a permanent switch, but Valencia has not shown enough to warrant a contract.
As mentioned, the attacker has started just three top-flight games, and in fairness to him, the challenge of getting into the team has been made harder due to Romelu Lukaku’s impressive form.
In 401 minutes of league action, Valencia has scored just twice and he has so far failed to get an assist on the board.
Having said that, if the player is happy to stay at Goodison then he is a positive option for the bench, but there are aspects of his game he needs to work on.
In terms of in front of goal, Valencia’s finishing is not the best, but he is good at tracking back and carrying out defensive duties.
It will all depend on how much West Ham will demand for him.
According to reports in the London Evening Standard, Chelsea have added former Blues defender Ryan Bertrand to their list of summer targets.
Antonio Conte is looking for competition for both Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses in the wing-back positions, and he believes the Southampton star can provide that on the left-hand side.
The Premier League leaders only sold the 27-year-old to Saints for £10m in 2015, but now their Italian manager wants to bring him back to Stamford Bridge – although the south coast outfit are said to value him at more than £25m.
Bertrand made just 27 Premier League starts during his time with the Londoners, but he did become the first player to make his debut in a Champions League final when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in 2012.
Blues supporters were quick to have their say on the rumour via social media, with many backing the attempt to bring the England international back to the Bridge.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction to the story…
Some questioned whether he is needed by Chelsea right now…
There are few footballers who are more beloved by a club’s fans than Robbie Fowler is by Liverpool’s.
Nicknamed “God” by the Anfield faithful, Fowler brought an intense, physical style to the game that helped make him one of the best goal scorers the Premier League has ever seen.
Ever since signing with the Liverpool youth team in 1991, Fowler has exhibited quick and opportunistic striking abilities. He could score from anywhere on the pitch, with either foot, and was especially effective in the air. A complete scorer like Fowler only comes around so often.
After breaking through to the first team in 1993, it did not take long for the Liverpudlian to become a star for the Reds. He scored more than 30 goals in three consecutive seasons, and scored the Premier League’s second-fastest hat trick ever at the time, in just four minutes and 33 seconds.
The 2000-01 season was by far Fowler’s most successful, as he helped captain Liverpool to a unique cup treble, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and Worthington Cup. His inspirational performances, like scoring in the League Cup Final against Birmingham City, were instrumental to the Red’s success.
Fowler’s former midfield wizard teammate at Anfield, Steve McManaman, said that Fowler was the “greatest goalscorer of all time.” Stan Collymore, a strike partner of Fowler’s at Liverpool, wrote in his autobiography that Fowler was the best player he had ever played with. When footballers like Collymore and McManaman speak so highly of him, it is a great indicator of the immense talent Fowler possessed.
Liverpool v Aston Villa FA Cup Semi-Final 31/3/96 Robbie Fowler celebrates his goal Pic:John Sibley/Action Images Football
He played for four other Premier League teams, including Leeds United and Manchester City, but despite playing for a handful of clubs outside Merseyside (and, in the case of his stinst in Australia and Thailand, outside the UK), Fowler and Liverpool will always go hand-in-hand. He ended up returning to Anfield in 2006, before his stint abroad, playing one more year for the Anfield faithful who adored him so much.
The striker wound up finishing sixth in Liverpool’s all-time scoring ranks with 183 goals. He also finished sixth in the all-time Premier League goal charts with 162 in 379 appearances despite an unfortunate history of injuries.
Of course, as an elite footballer, Fowler had a presence at international level too. He first appeared for the England team in 1996 and was called up for Euro 96, Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup England squads. He ended up earning 26 caps and scoring seven goals for his country.
Fowler retired in 2012. He still attends Liverpool games, an example of the strong bond between club and star.
Robbie Fowler will look to bring his accuracy and power to the golf course for the ICONS of Football 2017 Tournament at Belfry on 23rd-25th June. The 41-year-old will play for the England team, captained by Lee Westwood.
Tickets for Icons of Football 2017 are available now at icons-series.com
After impressing in an FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea at the weekend, Tottenham seem to have shown the world that they are capable of challenging repeatedly at the very top of the English footballing pyramid, yet at the very same time proved their Wembley curse is still alive and kicking.
The next day, another impressive young side, Monaco, dealt with the pressure to see off a tricky fixture away to Lyon and keep themselves right in the box seat of the Ligue 1 title race.
At a glance, these are two very similar football teams right now. Both are filled with young players who form a nucleus of talent and who will become some of the sport’s biggest stars over the course of the next decade. Both have young and hungry managers whose philosophies revolve around combining high intensity pressing with a modern, vibrant attack and width coming from full-backs. Both are also taking on the moneyed elite in this year’s title race, looking to break into Europe’s big time with youth development and a solid strategy rather than financial dominance.
And yet there is one subtle difference which may just make the difference later in the season, at the crucial moments when trophies are lifted and medals are won.
At Parc OL on Sunday night, Monaco won 2-1 to go back level on points with PSG at the top of the table; ahead on goal difference but with a game in hand, their first title since 2000 is more than just a possibility. It’s in their own hands.
They didn’t have it all their own way, though. After two goals late in the first half from Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe, Leonardo Jardim’s side looked out of sight: they led 2-0 at half-time, having scored as many goals as Lyon had attempted shots. The second half was a different story as Lucas Tousart pulled on back for the hosts and almost equalised with a late header. It was a nervy ending for the league leaders.
But despite their youthful team, what Monaco had on the bench was a man who has vast experience at the top level of the game. With Lyon pushing for an equaliser, and with just three minutes left on the clock, Jardim called for Joao Moutinho, a man who has played in two Europa League / UEFA Cup finals, has won three league titles and three Portuguese cups and a European Championships. Portugal’s Liga Nos may not be the most glamourous league in Europe, but the experience of getting over the line is vital, especially to a team of young players who are still raw at such a level.
They may still have seen the game through without him, of course. But his presence was a calming one.
On Saturday, Tottenham could have done with Moutinho’s experience. The two situations at the weekend were very different, of course. Spurs were always chasing the game and didn’t throw away the lead. They were the better side and probably should have won, but few would argue they bottled it, they were simply beaten by a team of hardened winners.
But maybe with an older head, Spurs would be, too. And that’s probably the next step.
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They say the first trophy is the most important one in the development of a squad. But when your squad is as young as Tottenham’s is, that takes on extra significance. The first one for this team will be the first for so many of the squad, though it’s not like there’s no-one in the squad with experience of winning a trophy, even if triumph in England or in Europe would be a step up for all.
Hugo Lloris won a French Cup with Lyon, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen won league titles with Ajax, while Victor Wanyama has winners’ medals in Scotland with Celtic. But only Alderweireld has won a league title in one of Europe’s top leagues, winning La Liga with Atletico Madrid in 2014, though he only played 12 times in the league that season before being loaned to Southampton the following year.
There’s no one who has been around quite as much as Moutinho has at Monaco, even if Spurs can count some more experienced players.
To take the next step, Spurs should look to add an older head to the team. Not necessarily as a starter, and not to take the place of any of the young players coming through, but as someone who can help lead at the most crucial times of the season.
Monaco’s strategy is one that Spurs are espousing, too. It’s even harder to do in England than it is to do in France, though success in the Champions League is something that has eluded Spurs, partly thanks to the brilliance of the Principality club. But the know-how of Moutinho and even Radamel Falcao is priceless, and might well be the reason Monaco win a trophy this season and Spurs don’t.
It took Henrikh Mkhitaryan longer to settle at Manchester United than some might have expected, but it would be fair to say that the 28-year-old has developed into a star at Old Trafford.
The 28-year-old has scored five times in eight Europa League appearances for the Red Devils this season, whilst he has managed four goals in 19 Premier League matches during the 2016-17 campaign.
The former Borussia Dortmund attacker appears to be a key part of Jose Mourinho’s plans moving forward at Old Trafford, and he will be key to the club’s challenge for the Europa League title and a top-four finish in the Premier League in the final weeks of the season.
The Armenian international is also expected to be in the Man United XI that takes to the field against Manchester City in the Premier League clash on Thursday night.
Victory for the Red Devils would see them go above their rivals into the top four, in addition to moving level on points with third-place Liverpool.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mkhitaryan posted a tweet looking ahead to the Manchester derby, and the Man United supporters were in no doubt as to the attacker’s importance this week.
According to reports on Sport Witness, West Ham United are said to be battling with some of their Premier League rivals to sign Ludogorets forward Jonathan Cafu this summer.
The 25-year-old is said to be available for £10.2m after another impressive campaign for the Bulgarian outfit, and the Hammers, Leicester City and top flight new-boys Brighton and Hove Albion are all said to be keen on bringing the Brazilian attacker to England.
Irons manager Slaven Bilic is keen to strengthen his squad this summer in what has been a disappointing campaign, with his team struggling to adapt to life at the London Stadium as well as putting in a number of poor performances throughout the campaign.
One area he will be looking at in particular is in attack, where the club has sometimes struggled this term because of the injury problems for Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho.
Here are three reasons West Ham should steer clear of signing Cafu…
His lack of European football experience
While the Brazilian forward has impressed for Ludogorets this season – scoring 14 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions – there will be some concerns that his spell with the Bulgarian side is his first in Europe following a move from his homeland and that he is yet to play in one of the continent’s major leagues.
It would be something of a risk to bring the 25-year-old to England and hope that he would quickly hit the ground running – especially with some of the bad luck the Irons have had with attacking signings in recent years.
His career to date
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Despite being just 25 years of age, Ludogorets are the Brazilian forward’s seventh club in his career and that could prove to be a worry for Irons boss Slaven Bilic.
The Croatian will be looking for an attacking player that will join the Hammers and make a long-term impact at the London Stadium this summer, but Cafu’s record suggests that he doesn’t have the loyalty to be with the team for more than a couple of years.
The club’s track record
As we alluded to previously, the Irons haven’t had a lot of luck with the attacking players they have brought to the club from clubs abroad in the last couple of seasons and Cafu would be another risk.
Last summer, hopes would have been high that loanees Simone Zaza and Jonthan Calleri could make a real impact in the Premier League, but the former failed to score a single goal before his move was cut short and he returned to parent club Juventus in January, while the latter has only recently become a regular in Slaven Bilic’s matchday squad.
According to reports from Mirror Football, Monaco’s Thomas Lemar is one of Arsene Wenger’s top midfield targets for the summer transfer window.
The 21-year-old has been a key part of a Monaco side performing far beyond expectations this season, progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League and honing in on the Ligue 1 title ahead of serial winners PSG.
In the process, Lemar has notched up eleven goals and eleven assists in both competitions, whilst emerging in the France fold with two caps since the start of the campaign.
Arsenal could well be on the lookout for attacking and midfield additions this summer, with the futures of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil still unclear.
But is Wenger jumping the gun by trying to bring yet another young talent of limited experience, or are the club right to pursue the midfielder – who is rated at in excess of £25million?
Let us know whether or not you’d back a summer swoop for Lemar by voting below…
World record signing Paul Pogba has had a tough ride from fans and the press since arriving at Manchester United for a fee of £89m last summer.
The former Juventus man, who left United for Turin in 2012 before returning a world-beater last year, was signed to make the difference and did so on Wednesday night when he broke the deadlock with a deflected strike from range in Stockholm against Ajax on the way to winning the Europa League final and earning a spot at the top table, the Champions League, next season.
The strike from the France international set Jose Mourinho’s side on their way to a second major trophy of the season, with the flick of a toe from this season’s Europa League star, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, doubled the lead and almost took the wind out of the Dutch opponents.
Pogba has not delivered quite what was expected in a Manchester United shirt so far, however, fans will be hoping that an important goal on an important stage will have given him the platform to go forward and succeed next season, and they were not holding back their love on Twitter…
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is said to be looking to sign a left-back this summer in order to provide competition for Marcos Alonso, and he could a lot worse than to take a closer look at Juventus star Alex Sandro.
While the Spaniard was probably one of the Blues’ most consistent players throughout their Premier League winning campaign, the Italian boss may feel that he can sign an upgrade in the coming weeks as the west London outfit look to retain their league title and make an impression in the Champions League next term.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian has enjoyed an impressive season with the Old Lady and he continues to make a huge impact following his move from FC Porto in 2015, but the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid last weekend could turn out to be his last appearance in the famous black and white shirt.
Here are three reasons Chelsea must go all out to sign Alex Sandro this summer…
His performances
The 26-year-old has quickly become one of Juventus’ most important players over the course of the last two seasons and he made 43 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A champions this term.
He has scored three goals and provided a further seven assists and while Alonso has enjoyed an impressive goalscoring campaign himself, Alex Sandro looks to have the ability to make a bigger impact in the Premier League and Europe than perhaps the Spaniard has and will.
His versatility
The Brazilian has played at left-back, left wing-back, left midfield and left wing for Juventus this season, and that versatility could prove to be an attractive trait for Antonio Conte.
With the Italian preferring to deploy a 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2 formation, Alex Sandro would certainly be able to play in the left wing-back role, while he could also play further forward at the beginning of the season if he moved to Stamford Bridge with Eden Hazard set to miss the start of the campaign having broken his ankle on international duty.
His pace
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While Alonso has proven to be a consistent performer on the left-hand side this season, he doesn’t have the pace that Victor Moses does on the opposite flank and that could be something Antonio Conte looks to change this summer.
In the Champions League especially, the Blues may be forced to play on the counter attack more often than not and that is where the pace of Alex Sandro could come in handy.
The 26-year-old certainly has the energy to get up and down the pitch and be a real attacking threat – all of which would mean that he would strengthen the Chelsea side next term.