If Liverpool are to win the Premier League this season, they will have Jurgen Klopp and Virgil van Dijk to thank for it.

The signing of van Dijk has been one of the best bargains in football this decade, which is impressive considering the Dutch international remains the most expensive defender in history.

His physicality and style turned Liverpool from a solid top four side to genuine title contenders overnight, but despite his impact on the Reds, he shouldn’t be labelled as the ‘Premier League Player of the Season’ just yet.

There’s no doubt that van Dijk has been the best defender in the Premier League this season by a country mile and has been amongst the best performing players in the league, but to call him as the ‘Player of the Season’ when there is still six games of the season left to go is a stretch.

The title race is yet to be concluded, and run-in for a Champions League place has only just started, and players are and have been performing on par with van Dijk, mainly Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling of Manchester City, are also in contention for the Player of the Season award.

The trio will likely be the favourites for the award, and if you are to argue who will likely be the player to get the accomplishment come award season you can make a good case for either of the City players claiming the prize.

We live in an era where defenders are the underrated stars, but in van Dijk Liverpool have a defensive superstar who has taken the Merseyside team from potential league chasers to genuine title contenders, and if the Reds can make it to the end of the season still top of the pile and unbroken by the pressure, the former Southampton man will emerge as the favourite for Player of the Season.

Liverpool fans, will van Dijk win Player of the Season? Let us know!

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Newcastle are reportedly in the race to sign Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser.

What’s the story?

According to The Daily Record, Newcastle will battle Arsenal to sign Fraser this summer.

The Scottish international, capped six times by his country, will enter the last year of his contract next season, meaning Bournemouth could well be tempted to cash in this summer.

According to the aforementioned report, Arsenal are weighing up a £20m bid for the winger while the Magpies take a different approach, plotting to use Matt Ritchie as “bait” in a player-plus-cash deal.

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….

A senseless swap

On the surface, a swap deal does makes sense for Newcastle, upgrading a winger who rarely adds goals or assists to one who has 18 goal involvements in 37 games this season.

However, even if the Cherries do indeed fancy taking Ritchie back, this swap would actually weaken the Magpies’ squad more than it would strengthen it.

Due to low quality and poor depth available to Rafael Benitez, players like Ritchie are used in multiple positions. He has already played left-midfield, right-midfield and left-wing-back this season.

Fraser meanwhile is an out and out winger, and would not offer the versatility or leadership that Ritchie adds to the side, even if the latter vey rarely gets on the scoresheet.

Fraser is also at his best on the left flank, where Miguel Almiron has surely got the first choice spot nailed down for the considerable future.

Quite simply, this move makes no sense for the Magpies, and if this is the type of deal Mike Ashley is going to spend the summer shopping for then it would be no surprise if Benitez walks out the door.

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Rangers will look to make it two Scottish Premiership wins on the bounce and stop Celtic winning the league for at least another week when they travel to Motherwell on Sunday.

The Glasgow giants lie 13 points behind their arch-rivals in the standings with just six fixtures of the campaign remaining, and a defeat for them couple with victory for Neil Lennon’s side would see them crowned champions this weekend.

Gers manager Steven Gerrard spoke to the press ahead of the trip to Fir Park, and these were the two most important things he said.

Frustrated Jermain Defoe

When the veteran striker moved north of the border during the January transfer window he probably would have been expected to be a regular starter, but instead he has often been in and out of the starting XI because of the form of Alfredo Morelos and Gerrard’s preferred formation which only incorporates one centre-forward.

However, the Colombia international’s fifth red card of the campaign has given Defoe a starting opportunity, and his manager said he knows the 36-year-old will have been champing at the bit to play more.

He said: “We’ve got every confidence that Jermain is capable of that [stepping up to the plate in Morelos’ absence]. Knowing him better than most, he’s probably been a bit frustrated with me in terms of game time and minutes.

“He’s come in and done really well, and I’ve every confidence that he’ll build upon last night’s performance.”

His goal against Hearts in midweek certainly showed what he is capable of, and he will want more goals – starting against Motherwell.

Summer changes

The former Liverpool midfielder was also asked about his players, complacency and the work he could look to do the squad during the summer transfer window, and he replied:

“You find out a lot about players when things are going well, when setbacks happen. When individuals maybe drop form or aren’t at their best you learn an awful lot about every single individual.

“Some have thrived on it and been with me all the way, through the good and the bad, and I’ve always had a good feeling that they want to be part of this moving forward.

“Some have fallen short. At the right time, when it’s possible, they’ll be moved on.

“The only thing I can say is we will try and add more quality to make our XI stronger. There won’t be wholesale changes like there was last season.”

While there isn’t as much work needed on the squad as was the case last summer, it is clear to see that Gerrard has already made his decisions on who isn’t good enough and needs to leave.

It will certainly be interesting to see the departures from Ibrox in the coming months, to see who didn’t live up to the 38-year-old’s standards.

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Loads of Rangers fans have been running the rule over Sunday’s action, and they’re delighted with the form of Nikola Katic.

Rangers appeared to have found a centre back duo for the future at the beginning of this season, pairing the young and inexperienced Katic with the commanding leadership of Connor Goldson.

Barring a few rough patches, Goldson has been excellent throughout the campaign, but things have not gone so smoothly for Katic.

The young Croatian lost his place to Joe Worrall, much to fans dismay, and to say Worrall didn’t exactly impress would be an understatement.

Steven Gerrard has recently done what fans wanted all along though and brought Katic back in to partner Goldson, and the 22 year-old has not disappointed.

He won both penalties in the 2-0 win against Aberdeen on Sunday, and between he and Goldson they headed away absolutely every ball that the Dons lumped forward.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where the fans have proved the gaffer’s earlier preference of Worrall to be dead wrong…

تحدث جمال محمد علي نائب رئيس اللجنة الخماسية المُكلفة بإدارة الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، عن موعد إجراء انتخابات الجبلاية، تمهيدًا لإنهاء مهمتهم.

وقال جمال محمد علي في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “أون تايم سبورتس”: “الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم أرسل لنا خطابًا يُطالب بإجراء انتخابات، ونحن بالفعل أرسلنا للاتحاد الدولي مقترحاتنا بأن تجرى الانتخابات بنهاية شهر نوفمبر”.

اتحاد الكرة: لم نطلب تأجيل نهائي أبطال إفريقيا.. وتحديد موعد مبدئي لاستكمال كأس مصر

وأضاف: “يكون ذلك بعد انتهاء مهمتنا، حيث أنه لابد من عقد جمعيتين عموميتين، الأولى خاصة باللائحة والثانية تخص الانتخابات”.

وأردف: “التصور الذي تم وضعه أن تكون عمومية اللائحة قبل 15 نوفمبر، ثم عمومية الانتخابات في 30 نوفمبر أو 15 ديسمبر، حتى يتثنى للمرشحين عمل الدعاية اللازمة”.

وتابع: “هذه تصوراتنا والمقترحات التي أرسلناها إلى الفيفا، ولم نتلق أي خطابات رسمية منهم حتى الآن”.

واختتم متحدثًا عن مد فترة القيد: “القرار بمد الفترة الأولى للقيد حتى 11 نوفمبر بعد مناقشات مع الأندية، وهذا القرار سيساعد على تسويق اللاعبين، وبالأخص الأجانب قبل غلق القيد”.

After Leeds United suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Birmingham City on April 6th, Marcelo Bielsa needed his players to step up to the mark in their clashes against Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday.

Patrick Bamford responded to the call by firing in a super brace at Deepdale which set up the possibility for the Whites to move three points clear of their automatic promotion rivals Sheffield United. Despite dominating their clash with the Owls, Leeds were frustrated at Elland Road by a superb display by Keiran Westwood before finally making the all-important breakthrough in the second-half.

In need of a hero, it was Jack Harrison (who has previously talked up the notion of a permanent deal at Elland Road when speaking to fan site We All Love Leeds) who provided a moment which could quite easily be looked back at in May as the goal which secured a top-two finish for the Yorkshire-based outfit. After receiving a cross from Pablo Hernandez, the Manchester City loanee placed a wonderful strike into the bottom corner.

Although it could be argued that Harrison, who is valued at £3.15 million (as per Transfermarkt), has been one of the best players for Leeds this season, his lack of consistency in the final third has, and still is a major stumbling block that could impact where his future lies next season. Unlikely to get into a City side who boast the likes of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez in his position, it may suit the 22-year-old to seek a permanent move to Leeds in the summer.

However, Bielsa must hold fire on such a deal until he knows what division that the Whites will be playing in next year. Whereas another campaign in the Championship may suit Harrison’s development as a player, the jury is out on whether he is ready to make the step up to the top flight.

With Leeds just four games away from securing their return to the Premier League, they must weigh up the risks and potential rewards in bringing in a winger who has yet to prove himself at the highest level, but has the potential to do so.

What do you think Whites fans? Would you welcome Harrison on a permanent deal in the summer? Or is there someone else that Bielsa should consider signing? Let us know below.

يعتقد جاري نيفيل أسطورة مانشستر يونايتد، أن يورجن كلوب المدير الفني لنادي ليفربول الإنجليزي، سيكون متوترًا في مواجهة مانشستر سيتي الأسبوع المقبل.

بطل الدوري الإنجليزي يتصدر المسابقة بعد الفوز الأخير على وست هام، وخسارة إيفرتون أمام نيوكاسل، قبل أسبوع من مواجهة مانشستر سيتي، في قمة الجولة الثامنة.

طالع أيضًا.. أسطورة ليفربول يدافع عن محمد صلاح ضد الانتقادات القاسية: ليس غشاشًا ويغيب عن ليفربول الثلاثي فان دايك وماتيب وفابيينو، ما جعل المدرب الألماني يدفع بالثنائي الشاب ناثانيل فيليبس وريس ويليامز، من أجل المشاركة في قلب الدفاع بجانب جو جوميز.

لذلك، قال نيفيل في تصريحات لشبكة “سكاي” البريطانية: “يمكنهم جلب مدافع جيد من فريق الشباب، وربما بعد أسابيع قليلة مع فتح سوق الانتقالات الشتوية، سيتم استعارة لاعب أو التعاقد معه، لتغطية مكان فيرجيل”.

وأكمل: “سيعود فابيينو أيضَا وجويل ماتيب قبل فان دايك، لكن فيرجيل لا غنى عنه بالتأكيد، وهو ما يجعل يورجن كلوب متوترًا ومضغوطًا طوال الوقت”.

واختتم: “كلوب سيواجه مانشستر سيتي يوم الأحد المقبل، وهو متوتر، لأنه فريق جوارديولا سيكون مرشح أكبر للفوز”.

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Liverpool’s front three of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have been consistently brilliant this season firing 65 goals between them to ensure the Reds continue to accrue an astonishing points haul in the Premier League while reaching too the Champions League semi-final.

Almost as pertinently as this number however is the amount of minutes the trio have played: a colossal 11,386 in all competitions. Mo Salah has singularly played 3093 minutes and that’s just in the league. Only Alisson and Virgil Van Dijk have been employed more.

There has been nothing fortuitous about Liverpool’s lofty achievements this term but in this regard they can be considered lucky. To have your three best attackers fit, available and on song for pretty much the duration of a long campaign – a few strains and niggles aside – is a boon and especially when the back-up roster contains inferior fare and the injured.

This brings us to Adam Lallana, a player who is certainly in the latter camp, not the former. The ex-Southampton creative has proven himself in the past to be a favourite with Jurgen Klopp, liked for his versatility and ability to make things happen in the final third yet persistent groin and thigh problems have increasingly cast him as a peripheral figure at Anfield with appearances becoming rare even when fully fit. It begs the question then: is there any way back for the 34 cap England international? Can he once again become an integral part of the Reds’ make-up?

The answer alas is that it’s seriously doubtful and largely for the reasons above. Because what we can ascertain with near certainty is that Klopp won’t go into next season requiring his formative stars to remain free from injury throughout – a risk he has taken through necessity this time out – and with the fortunes lavished on his club from their consecutive Champions League adventures he will surely be furnished with the funds to secure a long-overdue like-for-like replacement for Philippe Coutinho.

But what about deployment for Lallana in Liverpool’s midfield? After all many fans believe that is where he is most effective. Again though the fate of the 30-year-old appears to be as an occasional sub – at best – due to being crowded out.

Naby Keita may have underwhelmed for much of this season but a notable improvement post-Christmas suggests there are better things to come from the Guinean in his second term. Elsewhere an engine room that looked functional but in need of a creative spark for much of 2018/19 has recently flourished and with Fabinho and Jordan Henderson impressing and Georginio Wijnaldum now established as the driving force of the team, there is very little room for a player who was only a couple of years ago a pivotal figure for both club and country.

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Crystal Palace host Manchester City this weekend in a clash that doesn’t look too promising for Roy Hodgson’s side – their visitors are strolling through games at the moment without getting out of second gear, while the Eagles’ woeful home record this campaign speaks for itself.

Despite the shocking result at the Etihad Stadium in December, this game looks more or less like a write-off for Palace, but it could give Hodgson the epiphany he needs to turn Palace’s Selhurst Park fortunes around.

On the chalkboard

Pep Guardiola’s side are masters of ball retention and pinning their opponents’ backs to the wall for the full 90 minutes and are confident enough to do it wherever they go, SE25 included.

Palace will likely be forced to sit back and soak up pressure, denying all the intricate runs and passes made by their opposition for much of the game, despite it being on their own ground.

It will most likely be damage limitation for the Eagles, who will look to keep the score down and get some joy on the counter – sound familiar? It’s what they’ve been doing on the road all season and it has yielded results.

Hodgson’s epiphany

No matter how much Hodgson tries to turn Palace into an attractive footballing side, the Eagles are a counter-attacking outfit – they were much better under Sam Allardyce and even Alan Pardew at times when they played direct.

There’s some exciting changes happening at Crystal Palace next summer. Find out what in the video below…

At home, Palace tend to be the aggressors and they always get caught out on the counter – the roles will be reversed on Sunday though, and the Eagles can turn it into an away game.

They have the pace – and Wilfried Zaha – to cause the Premier League champions all sorts of problems on the counter and, should they get anything close to their Boxing Day result, then Hodgson might finally realise where his side’s true quality lies.

The Croydon outfit desperately need to improve their home form if they are to avoid another relegation battle next year, and this could be the game after which the turnaround begins.

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It would be fair to say that the West Ham United fans were not pleased with what they saw from Manuel Lanzini in Monday night’s 2-0 loss at Chelsea.

Lanzini played the full 90 minutes for the third Premier League match in a row, having recovered from the knee injury that forced him to miss the 2018 World Cup, in addition to the majority of the 2018-19 campaign.

The 26-year-old is a brilliant footballer when in full flow, but the West Ham supporters appear to be losing a bit of patience when it comes to the Argentina international.

According to WhoScored, Lanzini did not have a single dribble during his 90 minutes on the field against Chelsea.

It was a tough night for West Ham against a team inspired by the brilliant Eden Hazard, but the club’s fans were really upset with what they saw from Lanzini.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be viewed below: