As reported by The Scottish Sun, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has played down the prospect of attacker Scott Sinclair leaving the club this summer.

What’s the story?

Earlier this week reports emerged that the 29-year-old was angling for a move back down South to have another crack at the English Premier League.

However, Brendan Rodgers appeared to pour cold water over that suggestion in his pre-match press conference yesterday.

When asked about the player, as quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Hoops boss said:

Scott is very happy, he is a fantastic player for us and, again, he is coming into a part of the season where he was really effective last year.

He has got 17 goals, a lot of assists and this is as a wide player. He is a very important member of our squad and importantly he is very happy.

Clearly he is still rated at Celtic Park, but he has found himself on the bench in recent matches, so can he hit the heights again that made him such a favourite with supporters?

Can he still play a role?

There’s no doubting that Sinclair has failed to replicate his form of last season this term. On their way to an unbeaten domestic treble, Sinclair scored an impressive 25 goals, also creating 11 assists, making himself a hero with fans.

While his performance levels have dipped in his second season, his direct goal contribution is still beyond every other Celtic player. So far this term he’s banged in 17 goals and assisted 15 times. Nobody else in Rodgers’ squad has scored more.

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Perhaps pre-mature then to completely write off his Hoops career. He may have been poor in recent months, but he still has a big role to play in the tail-end of the season and beyond. Celtic are unlikely to want to let him leave any time soon when he is still producing.

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A lot more is riding on Arsenal’s Europa League campaign than just simply picking up a piece of silverware.

The club are likely to be in a position where they need to win the tournament in order to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

As it stands, the club are 13 points adrift of the top four in the Premier League, with just six games left to play.

In Europe, Arsene Wenger’s side have looked relatively comfortable, although they were given a scare on Thursday night in their quarter-final second leg against CSKA Moscow.

The North London outfit headed into the fixture with a commanding 4-1 lead from the contest at the Emirates, but nerves began to jangle when CSKA went 2-0 up after 50 minutes.

Arsenal recovered, though, with goals from Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey, but it was Mohamed Elneny who received most of the plaudits from fans.

The Egyptian international assisted both goals and put in a display that proved he was worth his recent contract extension.

Earlier today, Arsenal were drawn against Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition.

The Spanish outfit were arguably the toughest opponents that the Gunners could have drawn given that RB Salzburg and Marseille were also in the hat.

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Supporters have since given their reactions to the draw.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp faces a team selection dilemma this weekend as he has one eye on next Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Roma.

The Merseyside outfit have one foot in the final following a 5-2 victory over the Italian giants at Anfield.

For around 70 minutes, the Reds were at their scintillating best as Mohamed Salah brought his goal tally up to 43 in all competitions, while Roberto Firmino scored twice and Sadio Mane also got on the scoresheet.

Liverpool were initially 5-0 up, but there was a twist in the tale when Roma struck two late away goals to give them a glimmer of hope.

Despite the Champions League being the Reds’ main focus, they still have work to do to qualify for next season’s competition as they currently sit third in the Premier League table, eight points above fifth-placed Chelsea with three games left to play.

On Saturday in the lunchtime kickoff, Liverpool will take on Stoke City at Anfield, and Klopp has a conundrum to solve in midfield.

During Tuesday’s match against Roma, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the campaign, as well as the World Cup in Russia.

This means that Liverpool have just three experienced midfielders available in Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum.

With Klopp likely to want fresh legs for the trip to Italy in midweek, he may opt against starting all three against the Potters.

Instead, perhaps 18-year-old Ben Woodburn should be given a chance to feature this weekend.

The seven-capped Wales international predominantly plays in a forward role, but for the Under-23s this season, he has featured numerous times in midfield.

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Woodburn has had very limited game time under Klopp in the 2017-18 campaign having failed to rack up a single minute in the Premier League, and instead featuring just once as a substitute in the Carabao Cup.

With the enormity of the Champions League semi-final second leg around the corner,  should Liverpool put faith in Woodburn for this weekend’s match against Stoke?

Let us know by voting below…

As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United have opened talks to sign Kyle Bartley from Swansea City in this summer’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

With their season petering out from play-off hopes to mid-table grumbles, Leeds fans are hoping they can rebuild this summer and have a go at pushing the teams at the top end of the table next term.

One potential signing that would be sure to please them is Kyle Bartley, who had a successful spell on loan at the club last term.

The Yorkshire Evening Post say that Leeds are now looking to sign him on a permanent basis, with Swansea ready to entertain offers for the defender and Leeds already in talks to secure his signature.

The 26-year-old is rated at £3.15m by Transfermarkt and is said by the Evening Post to be open to a return to Elland Road.

Would he be a good signing?

Leeds United have conceded 64 goals in the English Championship this season, more than all 13 of the teams above them in the table currently. It’s fair to say then that the Elland Road side need defensive improvement.

Bartley was a stand-out at centre-back in 2016/17, making 45 appearances in the second-tier for Leeds, helping keep 15 clean sheets and even scoring six goals in the process.

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He’d be an excellent option next season and could help them in their bid to reach the play-offs massively so this is a deal definitely worth pursuing further.

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It feels as if Massimiliano Allegri has taken Juventus almost as far as he can take them and it is reaching the stage of the Italian’s career where the money and scrutiny of the Premier League begins to look appealing.

London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal certainly hope so; both the Blues and the Gunners have been linked with a summer swoop for the 50-year-old Italian, who led Juve into the Champions League final last season.

With a stark choice to make – he could also stay at Juventus – between two teams within the same city but who run their operations in the polar opposite way, we’re asking you which way he should go.

Should Allegri plump for the riches but instability of Stamford Bridge or the task of taking over from a legend in Arsene Wenger with a squad that could use major surgery?

Let us know by voting in the poll below and keep your eyes peeled for the results…

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Many would agree that football is a rollercoaster of emotions, and that has certainly rung true for Southampton over the last few weeks.

The coastal club have been embroiled in a relegation battle for the majority of the campaign, but they had a glimmer of hope less than two weeks ago when they overcame Bournemouth 2-1 at St Mary’s.

The result put the club one point adrift of safety with three games left to play, and on Saturday it looked as though they were going to climb out of the bottom three.

Just before the hour mark, Nathan Redmond nudged the coastal club ahead against Everton and they were on course to claim all three points when Maya Yoshida was sent off.

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As the clock ticked down, Mark Hughes’s side tried to hold on, but it was not meant to be as Tom Davies struck an equaliser six minutes into injury time.

The result means that the Saints are now level on 33 points with Swansea City, who they face in midweek before taking on champions Manchester City on the final day of the season.

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On Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s side were restricted to a goalless draw by Huddersfield, who in turn pulled three points away from the  drop.

Southampton fans posted their thoughts on the result via Reddit.

Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.

West Ham are the heavy favourites to land Yaya Toure this summer, and one journalist has even claimed it’s a done deal already.

What’s the story?

According to Mootaz Chehade, writer for VAVEL, Yaya Toure will move to West Ham this summer to reunite with Manuel Pellegrini.

The bookmakers certainly agree with his judgement, with some places offering odds as low as 1/2 that the former Manchester City man joins his old manager at the London Stadium.

West Ham are of course desperate for some more quality down the spine of their team, and likely managerial appointment Manuel Pellegrini could be just the man to get Toure ticking again.

Too good to pass up?

At his best, Yaya Toure was truly one of this generation’s great midfielders. The Ivorian would simply glide past players with the ball at his feet, and his effortless but clinical finishing at Manchester City was a sight to behold.

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The colossal midfielder has of course dropped down a level since his incredible 2013/14 season, and played just 228 Premier League minutes for Pep Guardiola this season, although he still managed two assists.

Despite losing his pace though and seemingly his motivation though, Manuel Pellegrini can certainly get the latter of those back, as the 35 year-old played some of his best football under the veteran manager.

Pellegrini could even opt to use Toure how Steven Gerrard played his later years at Liverpool, deeper in midfield with more time on the ball to use his quality to pick forward passes.

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Either way, Toure is an instant upgrade on the struggling Cheikhou Kouyate, and being available on a free transfer it would be foolish for the Hammers not to take a punt on him.

So, West Ham fans, would you back the free signing of Yaya Toure this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

According to Italian media outlet Gianluca Di Marzio, Manchester United are considering making a move for West Ham United forward Marko Arnautovic this summer, and Red Devils fans have been quick to react.

Di Marzio report that Jose Mourinho is looking for a tall attacker and as well as identifying Juventus’ Mario Mandzukic as a potential target, Arnautovic could be an alternative with the Portuguese boss seemingly unhappy with the contributions of the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata.

The Austria international, who the BBC said dominated Chris Smalling in the two sides’ 0-0 draw at the London Stadium this month, certainly enjoyed an impressive debut campaign for the Irons following a slow start, and he finished the season as their first-choice centre-forward with 11 goals and six assists in 31 Premier League appearances.

Man United supporters, the majority of whom want the club to re-sign their former attacking flop, took to social media to give their thoughts on the rumour, and many were keen on the potential deal.

While one said “he’s shown he’s better than Alexis, Rashford and Mata”, another described him as “levels ahead of Ibra”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Manchester City certainly have the cash to spend on world-class talent, but there is one transfer rumour that has left everyone scratching their heads.

According to Premium Sport, the Premier League champions are prepared to pay £87.5m to sign Douglas Costa from Juventus.

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Normally, a rumour such as this would not be a huge shock, but the Brazilian only signed a permanent deal with Juventus on Thursday.

The publication claims that the Italian giants parted with around £35m to secure the winger’s services from Bayern Munich, so they would immediately make a hefty profit if they sold on to City.

Judging by the media reports, the North-West outfit’s manager Pep Guardiola is keen to recruit a new winger in order to provide competition for Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane.

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Costa would certainly be an impressive addition to the squad given how fast he can burst through the channels, but it would be a huge surprise if he left Juventus so soon after agreeing a permanent deal.

It seems that the majority of City fans share the same sentiment.

It has been a thrilling World Cup 2018 so far and despite the fact that none of the pre-tournament favourites have covered themselves in glory so far, the standout result is surely Mexico’s 1-0 win over world champions Germany.

El Tri had clearly done their homework and produced a devastating counter-attacking performance to exploit the exposed German defensive duo, bursting in behind at will in a first half after which they should have gone in more than just one goal to the good.

Talisman Javier Hernandez was at the heart of it but PSV wideman Hirving Lozano was the most threating Mexican on show, capping his performance with the winner where he showed impressive pace and composure to race clear of Mesut Ozil and slot him.

As it inevitable, Premier League clubs will be scouring the tournament to pick up any gems and the winger’s display on the biggest stage of all against an elite nation will have attracted attention.

Everton have lofty ambitions this season and need to engineer reliable creativity from wide. Theo Walcott and Yannick Bolasie have pace but are ageing, inconsistent and increasingly incapable of creating something from nothing.

Lozano has boundless desire and energy, which would surely get the Goodison Park crowd excited, while also firing the bullets for Cenk Tosun, who is set for a big year if his late-season performances are anything to go by.

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