Bournemouth thought they sorted out their dilemma between the sticks when they signed Asmir Begovic from Chelsea back in the summer of 2017.

However, the 31-year-old has since fallen out of favour under Eddie Howe, and the Englishman now appears to be on the lookout for a new goalkeeper.

The Breakdown

According to Football Insider, Bournemouth recently sent scouts to go and watch Stoke City’s Jack Butland with Howe making the signing of a new shot-stopper a priority for the upcoming transfer window.

And looking at some of Begovic’s performances this season, especially of late, it is not hard to see why.

For as good as Begovic can be on his day, the former Chelsea man simply has too many errors in his game.

Bearing that in mind, ditching him for his ex-Stoke City team-mate could be a smart move.

Butland can also be guilty of making the odd mistake but, at 26, he still has plenty of time to eradicate those errors in contrast to the ageing Begovic.

While, overall, the England international remains a talented goalkeeper who has just been unlucky with injuries down the years.

He is a solid shot-stopper and a No.1 who has has the confidence to marshal his defence and take responsibility.

Had it not been for a serious ankle injury he suffered, the Birmingham City academy graduate could have so easily been England’s first-choice between the sticks ahead of Jordan Pickford.

All is not lost, however, and a move to a Premier League outfit like Bournemouth could just be thing to help him increase his standing in the England squad.

Bournemouth fans, would you like to see Butland replace Begovic in the summer? Join the discussion by commenting below.

Following the recent euphoria at Arsenal, inconsistency plagued Crystal Palace once again as they failed to overcome Everton and improve their concerning home form.

However, the fact that they kept out the side who thrashed Manchester United a week earlier, some positive signs could be taken from the otherwise frustrating encounter.

Roy Hodgson’s attack was toothless on the day with disappointing striker Christian Benteke having another day to forget. However, one who had a match to remember was goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. With the Eagles in need of a reliable goalkeeper all season, Guaita’s impressive work has spearheaded to pole position in that regard.

The Spaniard was on song against a terrorizing Everton attack, who hounded forward looking for goals. While Palace’s defending remained stable, the Toffees still managed to breach it and get through on goal. However, Guaita stood like a rock who wouldn’t let anything go past him on the day.

He made a few stunning saves, including one crucial one off Cenk Tosun in the second half to keep the hosts in the game. The Spaniard might need to work on his lacklustre distribution, yet his impressive shot-stopping ability and agility in goal is a positive trait for Roy Hodgson’s side.

Guaita kept his sixth clean-sheet this season with a solid display and kept Palace’s impressive defensive record in check. Now that he’s performing so well in pulling off terrific saves, keeping out oppositions and rarely making mistakes, the Eagles have found a trustworthy #1 to rely upon for the near future.

While his signing did prove to be a lot of hassle for the Eagles across two transfer windows, the £60kp/w star (as per SpotRac) looks worth it.

Palace fans, do you think Guaita can be trusted in the long-term? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Joao Moutinho has been brilliant this season. Signed for a bargain price of £5m, he’s been one of the best additions this term and his performances have typified the fight Wolves have had in 2018/19.

They’ve been stylish and hard-working, two attributes that describe Moutinho perfectly. But in a game which so nearly saw Liverpool win the title, the midfielder failed to find the inspiration capable of helping Wolves to yet another victory over a top-six side.

Fortunately, this was a game with nothing riding on it for Nuno Santo’s men. They’d already wrapped up seventh place so there was merely pride at stake.

However, Moutinho’s display gave an indication of potentially what’s to come next term. It’s been a long season for the club and with a slim squad, that looked to take its toll last Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool’s midfield dominated Barcelona last week in the Champions League and this was the same story against Wolves.

Moutinho rarely got on the ball, making just 37 passes. Whilst for a man with eight assists, the most of any Wolves player this term, a lack of key passes was alarming.

Next season, the Portuguese winner will be 33. At that age, you have to wonder whether he’d be to play the 44 matches he has this season. If you add European football to that, the weight only becomes even larger.

Wolves fans have been great value this season and now they’ve added another couple of belters to their arsenal of songs. Check them out in the video below…

His tired display, which was evident in losing possession twice, shows why the club must find more depth next season.

It’s been a lingering problem throughout much of the second half of the campaign, and after the club lost against Watford in the FA Cup semi-final there were question marks over how small the squad was.

Wolves have been reliant on Moutinho and Ruben Neves in midfield for much of the season but that’ll have to change next term. At some point they’ll need a rest, but if they can find other players to replace them in certain games then they could do even better in 2019/20.

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Arsenal take on Napoli on Thursday evening.

The Gunners take a 2-0 lead to Italy as they look to qualify for the Europa League semi-finals.

Unai Emery has been ebullient in his pre-match statements, insisting, per the Daily Telegraph, that they will attack the Serie A club in the Stadio San Paolo.

He said: “We want to play tomorrow thinking to win, thinking to score, thinking to push, thinking to stop them. Thinking also tactically to be together and thinking when we have the space, to attack the space.

“They have a lot of players with a big quality to push against us and give us a lot of problems but we also have the players to fight against them with our quality.”

There is a likelihood, then, that there will be no shortage of firepower on the pitch when the game kicks off.

Football FanCast has taken a look at the possible XI Emery could pick.

This is a bold selection, with only five players – Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – retaining their places in the XI from the Watford win.

Petr Cech, of course, has played in each knockout game for the Gunners in the Europa League, and kept a clean sheet in the first leg. He is likely to replace Bernd Leno.

Both Shkodran Mustafi and Konstantinos Mavropanos should drop out, with Sokratis drafted into a back three.

Utilising wing-backs adds an extra dimension to the club’s attack, with Mesut Ozil charged with supplying the chances to both Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

It is very much a win or bust XI, but it could well pay off for the risk-taking Emery…

[ad_pod ]Aston Villa fans have attributed their incredible run of form in recent weeks to Jack Grealish’s return from injury.The Villans have now won 10 games in a row and confirmed their place in the play-offs at the end of the season. Before Grealish came back into the side Villa were eight points off of the top six, but since his return the Midlands club have been flying.The English midfielder was given the captain’s armband upon his return against Derby County, and since then Dean Smith’s side have picked up 30 points from 30 available.Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…The 23-year-old has played a key part in Villa’s recent run of good form, scoring four times and setting up a further two.Grealish also scored two winning goals against Rotherham and fierce rivals Birmingham City. Villa fans believe it is no coincidence that their best run of the season coincided with the return of their best player.

Here’s what Villa fans have been saying on Twitter…

If you were to tell a Leeds United supporter two weeks ago that their final day clash with Ipswich Town would end up being a meaningless fixture, they would have understandably been puzzled.

However, with the Whites faltering at the final hurdle in their battle with Sheffield United for a top-two position in the Championship, Sunday’s draw at Elland Road with Aston Villa confirmed that in order to achieve promotion this season, Marcelo Bielsa’s side will have to prevail via the play-offs in May.

Although momentum is key heading into this particular knock-out competition, Leeds may benefit more in the long-term if they give one of their most impressive academy products the chance to impress on Sunday.

Having signed for the Whites from York City in 2017, Ryan Edmondson was initially assigned to the club’s under-18 side last season yet a number of impressive performances saw him quickly move up to under-23 level where he has thrived this year.

Under the guidance of head coach Carlos Corberan, the forward’s development as a player has improved considerably as he has become more composed in-front of goal during the current campaign with his 19 goals playing an influential role in helping his side clinch the Premier League Development League North title in March.

After yet another superb outing in the under-23’s 3-2 victory over Coventry City on Monday, it is surely time for Bielsa to consider handing Edmondson his first ever Championship start.

Although the 17-year-old made two brief substitute appearances for the first team in 2018, it is surely worth seeing if he is ready to make the step up in level against a Tractor Boys side who have already been relegated to the Championship.

Having already reaped the rewards from giving the likes of Jack Clarke, Jamie Shackleton and Bailey Peacock-Farrell the chance to prove themselves this season, Bielsa could unearth yet another gem if he is willing to take the risk at the weekend.

What do you think Leeds fans? Should Edmondson start against Ipswich following his recent performances for the U23’s? Or is it still too early to play the 17-year-old? Let us know below.

No Lejuene? No problem!

On the face of it, this seems to be have been the motto as Newcastle United pulled off an impressive win at Leicester City. However, it was mostly due to Martin Dubravka’s excellence in goal which actually earned them all three points.

Indeed, the towering goalkeeper was like an impenetrable rock in goal, saving everything the Foxes threw at him throughout the ninety minutes. The Magpies didn’t even have 30% possession all game, yet their incisive attacking and warrior-like work at the back earned them three crucial points to statistically confirm survival.

However, Dubravka was made to work hard quite a few times. He made five saves in the game (stats via Fotmob), keeping the Leicester onslaught at bay. While the Magpies have much to credit their goalkeeper for, this cannot become a trend in their game.

While Dubravka might be a promising goalkeeper capable of winning points, he’s also capable of losing them. If his fluffs against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves earlier this season points anything, he’s definitely error-prone. Further up the field, Newcastle’s defenders poured their heart into the game on Friday night, their work in limiting shots on goal needs to improve.

Rafa Benitez really needs to get them to dig deep into pressing opposition and frustrating them into releasing possession. At their best this season, the Magpies have harried and hustled the opposition and, going forward, the Toon have to make that the norm.

Dubravka’s impressive shot-stopping ability can save them every now and then, yet relying too much on him to save them can come back to haunt the Magpies big time.

Newcastle fans, are you impressed with Dubravka’s development this season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

أشاد الإيطالي فابيو باراتشي، المدير الرياضي لنادي يوفنتوس، بمُهاجم الفريق الإسباني ألفارو موراتا، بعد تألقه مع السيدة العجوز هذا الموسم.

موراتا والذي سبق له اللعب مع يوفنتوس قبل ثلاثة أعوام، عاد إلى السيدة العجوز من جديد، في الصيف المنصرم، قادمًا من أتلتيكو مدريد.

اقرأ أيضًا.. رونالدو لا يفكر في الاعتزال وقد يرحل عن يوفنتوس بعد نهاية عقده

وقال باراتشي في تصريحات عبر “سكاي سبورت إيطاليا”: “رونالدو بإمكانُه اللعب مع أي مهاجم، كنا نريد أنّ يكون لدينا مهاجم لديه قدرة أكثر على الحركة، مثل موراتا أو ديبالا”.

وأضاف: “موراتا كان دائمًا خيارنا الأول، كان في أذهاننا، نعرفه جيدًا، قدم معنا من قبل موسمين جيدين للغاية، نعرف شخصيته وأنه يُمكنه تقديم المزيد مع يوفنتوس”.

وأتم تصريحاته قائلًا: “إنه يتحرك كثيرًا، ويبحث عن المساحات، وخصائصه تناسب أسلوب كرة القدم التي يريد مدربنا (أندريا بيرلو) لعبها”.

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Watford were stunned when Shane Long put Southampton ahead after just seven seconds at Vicarage Road on Tuesday, and it looked like the Irishman’s astonishingly early strike would be the game’s decisive goal until Andre Gray netted at the death to ensure the Hornets kept a point.

Javi Gracia’s side were pretty poor in the first half and the Saints could have been out of sight by the end of it, although the half-time break presented the Watford boss with the opportunity to make a change that would transform the game.

Watford were being run ragged by Southampton’s high-tempo approach and Gracia’s decision to bring on Kiko Femenia for Craig Cathcart, whose mistake gifted Long with the opportunity to open the scoring, and switch to 3-5-2 made it a much more level playing field.

The Spaniard was excellent down the right flank, making a joint-game-high four interceptions while also completing one tackle, and his introduction was another example of excellent in-game management from Gracia, who is establishing himself as one of the best managers outside the top-six.

Gerard Deulofeu came on to single-handedly drag Watford back into the FA Cup semi-final with Wolves, while Andre Gray has repeatedly proved himself dangerous off the bench. Rarely do Gracia’s substitutes fail to make an impact and 28-year-old Femenia was no exception.

Wolves Fan TV place the blame for Wolves’ FA Cup semi-final collapse on John Ruddy in the video below…

The former Alaves man has made 25 league appearances for the Hertfordshire outfit this term but has largely had to compete with Daryl Janmaat, who teed up Gray for the late equaliser, for a starting berth.

Fortunately, though, the 5 ft 9 defender can be confident that there will be consistent opportunities to impress, with Gracia far from afraid to make bold changes during the game and having also showcased his tactical flexibility in the draw with Southampton.

Let us know in the comments below, Watford fans, as to who you think should be Gracia’s first choice right-back: Femenia or Janmaat?

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Arsenal fans have been left devastated after Aaron Ramsey sustained a potentially season-ending injury in the Europa League quarter-final against Napoli.

The Wales international was substituted in the first half after suffering a muscular injury.

And BBC Sport have since reported that Ramsey may well have played his last game for the club after Unai Emery revealed he could be out for three weeks. As things stand, Arsenal’s last fixture of the season is on the 12th of May – exactly three weekends away.

Of course, Ramsey has agreed a deal to move to Juventus on a free transfer once the summer window opens.

It would be a particularly low-key end for such an impeccable servant to the Gunners cause – Ramsey has won three FA Cups during his time at the club and made over 370 appearances – and his immediate absence will inevitably be a blow to Arsenal’s top four hopes.

But fans may well have seen the last of him in a red shirt and they have expressed their sadness and frustration on Twitter.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!