One could point out that problems started to occur in West Bromwich Albion’s game after Harvey Barnes was recalled from his loan by Leicester City.

The Baggies fired manager Darren Moore afterwards, somewhat scraping into the play-offs, in which they were dominated by Aston Villa.

Barnes was a big reason for their early dominance, proving an important figure in their attack. Indeed, even his team-mates think his premature departure in January affected (Old Baggies via the Leicester Mercury) their chances of Premier League promotion.

Why wouldn’t it?, after all He scored 9 goals and assisted 6 times in his five-month loan spell, bringing energy and flair to spice up their attack.

If anyone is to be blamed, it’s West Brom’s fairly incompetent management. The way their partnership with Barnes ended prematurely should be a reality check for Luke Dowling. He should recruit the targets the right way from now on. Loaning players isn’t wrong, but it’s the manner in which you do it.

From now on, West Brom should look for the kind of loan deals according to their own benefits. They need to make sure players cannot be recalled again next season, leaving a big void in their system.

How West Brom’s attack mellowed down after Barnes’ departure was very surprising. However, the Baggies should take this as a lesson learnt to loan in more devoted players to go all the way into lodging a better push for Premier League promotion.

West Brom fans, do you think losing Barnes so prematurely was a mistake? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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He may not have enjoyed consistent first-team starts for Jurgen Klopp’s side in his first season at Anfield, but Xherdan Shaqiri will surely feel justified in making his move to Liverpool.

The Switzerland international left relegated Stoke to join the Reds in a £13.5m move last summer, and finished his debut campaign on Merseyside by lifting the Champions League trophy.

Following his country’s Nations League disappointment, Shaqiri can finally jet out on his end of season break and took to

/BynaSRMiar4/” data-lasso->Instagram to thank his fans for their support.

Liverpool teammate Georginio Wijnaldum responded to the post with a short and sweet message, including a trophy emoji to mark the Reds’ triumphant campaign in Europe.

In 30 games across all competitions for Klopp’s side, Shaqiri registered six goals and five assists with two of those set-ups coming in the Reds’ Champions League journey.

With Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane understandably making their places in the first-team their own, Shaqiri was predominantly forced to make his impact off the bench or as an unconventional central midfielder.

But having had a full season to get used to his teammates and his manager, the Swiss star could really showcase his true potential next season when Liverpool will no doubt look to dethrone Manchester City as champions of England.

There are certain players who feel like they have been around for an absolute lifetime and former Crystal Palace man Victor Moses is one of them.

Fans outside of Selhurst Park would be forgiven for forgetting that, once upon a time, Victor Moses turned out for the Eagles. And we say that because, as eluded to above, it feels like he has been around for an absolute lifetime.

Moses was handed his debut against Cardiff City as a fresh-faced 16-year-old in November 2007 and went on to play an extraordinarily key role in their climb towards the much-revered play-offs in his first season. Some of the more weathered and experienced fans amongst you may remember the days of the Football League Show, which aired on Saturday nights (we miss you). Indeed, a run of six goals in eight games in 2010 would’ve likely made Steve Claridge and co explode.

Moses donned all the typical characteristics you’d expect from a young player bundling their way onto the professional scene. Quick, powerful, brave and effective – is the kind of generic drivel we hate to produce, but in the Nigerian’s case, it rang so very true.

Sadly, with financial issues rife and Palace’s future uncertain, Moses’ head was turned when the mighty Wigan came knocking in the summer of 2010 – which shows just how far Palace have come in the past few years. Imagine making that move now. Jeepers.

Despite struggling to reach anywhere near the form showed at former club, Moses somehow attracted the attention of Chelsea. And when we say somehow, what we really mean is that the Blues were more than likely trying to fill their quota of homegrown talents.

Anyone who knows anything about football will know that Stamford Bridge isn’t exactly the safest choice for youngsters, and Moses sadly fell victim to this trend. One disastrous loan spell after another, Moses found himself making temporary moves around the country before, somehow, breaking into the first-team under Antonio Conte and earning himself a Premier League trophy as a converted wing back in the process.

The dream didn’t last too long, though. With the arrival of Sarri came a new system, and before Moses could plea “b-b-but…Antonio liked me!” he was warming the Stamford Bridge bench.

Moses escaped the club in January to join Turkish side Fenerbahçe, and though he is due to return in the summer, we doubt very much that there is a place for him back in the squad.

Palace fans, what are your standout memories of Victor Moses? Let us know in the comments below…

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Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday night.

Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi scored the goals for the Reds, who shaded what was a disappointing match in terms of entertainment.

As expected, Son Heung-min was handed a starting role for Tottenham, having enjoyed an impressive season for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

It did not happen for the attacker at the Wanda Metropolitano, however, as Liverpool stayed strong at the back to keep a clean sheet.

According to WhoScored, Son had a pass success rate of just 68% against the Reds, whilst he managed just one successful dribble.

And there were a number of Spurs fans who took to social media to criticise the South Korean for his performance on the night.

Check out the video below for a Spurs fan’s emotional Champions League journey from their group stage struggles to that triumphant night in Amsterdam…

However, plenty of others insisted that the 6 foot attacker was one of few players in a Tottenham shirt who turned up for the capital side.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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With the 2018/19 domestic season now fully done and dusted, international tournaments are starting to dominate the football world.

At the moment the European U21 Championships are taking place, a tournament Wolves’ own Morgan Gibbs-White is part of.

Meanwhile, Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Diogo Jota were also among Portugal’s Nations League winning squad.

A further member of the Wolves side is on national duty at the Gold Cup too. Raul Jimenez scored twice in Mexico’s opening game which happened to be a 7-0 win over Cuba.

However, one of the club’s transfer targets has also been playing his part.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On the chalkboard

Earlier this month, Mediotiempo reported that Wolves had an interest in Edson Alvarez, a player who has been a shining light for Club America in Liga MX.

The 21-year-old has been playing alongside Jimenez in the Mexican national team for a while now, earning 22 caps for his country and his latest one came in their second Gold Cup clash against Canada.

During that tie, Alvarez played the full 90 minutes after initially missing the opening game.

Mexico went onto win the match 3-1, brushing aside the Canadians with Alvarez providing the platform from a holding midfield role.

Originally a centre-half, the youngster continues to show his versatility. At the beginning of last season, Alvarez was preferred in defence but as the campaign went on he then featured in midfield.

It’s in that area of the pitch that he’s now being trusted for Mexico too.

Against Canada on Thursday night he helped his country keep 69% of the possession, something which dictates how useful he could be to a Wolves midfield.

Gareth Bale to Wolves? Wolves Fan TV discuss how ambitious Nuno Espirito Santo will be this summer in the video below…

Being able to feature in midfield as well as defence shows he’s certainly useful in more ways than one and that’s something that Nuno Santo clearly favours in his side.

A number of his squad are versatile footballers with Romain Saiss and Leander Dendoncker two similar individuals to Alvarez.

The pair can both play in midfield and defence so the Mexican would fit the mould of players already at the club perfectly.

After a woeful World Cup for the Wolves target, he now seems to be on the right track in terms of his development.

أكد أيمن يونس رئيس اللجنة الفنية بنادي الزمالك، أنه لم يتم الاستقرار على الأسماء التي تردد أنباء عن ترشيحها للجنة، مشيرًا إلى أن الأمور لم تحسم بعد، بالرغم من الإعلان عن القرار عبر قناة “الزمالك” الرسمية.

وقال أيمن في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “الزمالك”: “لم ننته بشكل نهائي من اللجنة الفنية والقائمة قد تكون أقل أو أزيد، حتى الآن أنا رئيس لجنة الكرة، واعتذار محمد عطية خسارة، لأنه زملكاوي أصيل ويجتهد وكنت أتمنى ان يستمر”.

وأردف: “كلما حاول الناس إزعاجنا نعلم أننا نسير في الاتجاه الصحيح، الزمالك بخير وغني ولن يسقط، القناة تدخل لنا أموال بجانب الإعلانات”.

وتابع: “لا يمكنني إقحام لاعب على الفريق ليس على المستوى الدولي، حاولت قبول أي لاعب ولكن لم أستطع، يصعب على الفريق الذي يضم لاعب بجودة ومستوى طارق حامد ومحمود حمدي الونش وفرجاني ساسي وعبد الله جمعة وأشرف بن شرقي ومصطفى محمد نجم منتخب مصر والذي سنراضيه وسنعطي له قيمته وحقه”.

خالد الغندور يكشف عن تغييرات جديدة في اللجنة الثلاثية وجهاز الكرة بـ الزمالك

وواصل: “نحاول حل مشاكل يوسف أوباما، وسنعيد مصطفى فتحي لمستواه مرة أخرى، وعبد الله جمعة أفضل ظهير أيسر في إفريقيا، ولن أضم أي لاعب إلا عندما أضمن أن لاعبي الفريق الحاليين حصلوا على حقهم”.

وأتم: “أتمنى أن تتوحد الجماهير على مساندة الفريق، أول أربع جولات بالنسبة لي هم الدوري، ونحتاج من الجماهير الهدوء وتهتم بتشجيع الزمالك، أما القضايا الفرعية والشائعات والفتن نرد عبر قناة الزمالك”.

واختتم: “الزمالك بخير وقوي ويستطيع أن يجدد لكل اللاعبين وأتمنى الفريق ينافس على إفريقيا والكأس والدوري وهذا لن يعود إلا بمساندة الجماهير مرة أخرى”.

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According to The Guardian’s Dominic Fifield, Crystal Palace are hoping to remove, or at least reduce, a sell-on clause inserted into Wilfried Zaha’s contract when he joined from Manchester United in 2015, should Aaron Wan-Bissaka end up moving to Old Trafford this summer.

The Guardian reported that the two clubs were due to meet again on Monday in order to try and thrash out a deal following an improved bid from the Red Devils over the weekend for the 21-year-old, with the Eagles looking for a guaranteed £50m for their academy graduate.

While he is clearly a player with huge potential, to get that money for an individual who has only made 46 appearances for the south London outfit would be too good to turn down.

If Palace sell Wan Bissaka and Zaha, will they be in another relegation battle? One fan gives his opinion in the video below…

The Guardian adds that cancelling the Zaha clause could be worth as much as £15m to Palace should the Ivory Coast international leave – something that has clearly worried some of the Selhurst Park faithful given their Twitter comments.

However, not everyone as looked at it in a negative way, with one believing that getting rid of the clause “would actually be really big for us”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Arsenal are interested in signing Mario Gotze, according to Bild.

What’s the word?

The 63-cap German international has endured a rough time since his signature World Cup-winning goal in 2014, struggling with form and injuries during a dismal spell at Bayern Munich.

The former prodigy left Bavaria in 2016 to re-sign with his boyhood club where he has enjoyed something of a renaissance, scoring seven goals and providing seven in assists in the Bundesliga this season.

With just one year left on his current deal, Arsenal are reportedly keeping tabs on his situation.

Prepare for the explosion

Gotze’s dramatic fall from German football’s poster child to irrelevant understudy can be at least partially explained by horrendous luck.

Muscular injuries hampered his time at Bayern and a rare metabolic illness sidelined him for seven months, essentially forcing the attacking midfielder to hit re-start on his career.

Despite his fall from grace now is the time for Arsenal to pounce on the perfect Mesut Ozil replacement. Unai Emery’s frustrations with their top-earner are well documented, but a lack of financially viable replacements has helped make any departure difficult.

Gotze is that affordable and talented option.

Finally injury-free and still yet to truly enter his prime years, the Bayern flop has another opportunity to realise his potential. Criticised for his attitude in the past, the midfielder’s injury struggles and poor form seem to have had a humbling effect and made him determined to succeed.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

The Dortmund playmaker’s team-first comments after struggling for playing time earlier this season under Lucian Favre support this mental growth.

Gotze’s failed explosion of seven years ago could finally be ready to take flight and Arsenal need to grab hold before it’s too late.

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Former Scotland international Jackie McNamara thinks Alfredo Morelos won’t be at Rangers next season, as reported by Football Insider.

What’s he said?

Morelos has had an excellent season at Ibrox, netting 30 goals in all competitions for Steven Gerrard’s side.

It’s the kind of attacking output that makes him an attractive transfer proposition for teams all over Europe and many expect that interest to firm up when the summer window opens for business.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

McNamara is one of those who thinks he may leave, believing that the player’s desire to play elsewhere, along with his record in big matches, will tempt Rangers into cashing in.

As quoted by Football Insider, he said:

“From what I hear and read, he’s off. Morelos has made it clear with what he’s said publicly that’s what he wants.

“I think Rangers will have a valuation and if that’s met he will go, maybe £10million, a bit more perhaps.

“Don’t think he’s [Gerrard] lost patience, I think he’ll look at it about reliability in certain games. He’s not scored in any Old Firm games, where he’s judged, he’s been sent off a number of times.

“If they get the right money for him, you imagine they take that money and try to invest it in other positions they’ll need to try and get closer to Celtic.”

Keep or sell?

Before Rangers consider selling Morelos they need to have an elite replacement ready to come into Ibrox.

His goal contribution needs to be replaced and although Jermain Defoe has shown his class since arriving in January, another top striker will be needed to net on a regular basis.

Still, Morelos’ sale should definitely be considered.

Unless he goes on to have a stellar season in Europe next season, he is arguably at his peak transfer value as it stands right now. It’s important Rangers take that into account and cash in on that market value when it’s available.

That allows them to invest in a new wave of talented young players that again can be sold at peak value. It’s that kind of cycle that will allow the Gers to truly progress in the long-term.

In the short-term it would of course allow Gerrard to strengthen in other positions too.

Morelos will be a big miss for Rangers supporters, but letting him go may be the best thing for the club.

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Last season’s late collapse once again hinted at Leeds’ utter lack of mental toughness as they failed to win any of their final four games of the season on route to losing in the playoffs.

Before this nightmare run the Whites were in the driving seat in terms of automatic promotion, but they slipped down to third and were then beaten in the semi-finals of the end-of-season lottery that is the playoffs.

Their opponents were Derby County, and the recently released Championship fixture list has given Leeds a chance to get revenge at the back end of the 2019/20 campaign – April 25th as things stand.

Rivalry

Over the last six months we have seen the birth of a newly-formed rivalry between Leeds and Derby.

Spygate started it, while the chants of ‘stop crying Frank Lampard’ from the Derby players saw the Rams having the last laugh – at least until they were beaten by Aston Villa in the final, that is.

Neither side has forgotten what happened last term and when the two sides meet towards the end of the season, it will surely be a fiery affair.

The need to keep cool

If Leeds are still battling for promotion by the time they head to Pride Park, Marcelo Bielsa must make sure his team head into the game with clear minds.

If they allow themselves to get caught up in the occasion, then the result could very easily be a repeat of the playoffs.

The Whites lost their heads when it came down to it at Elland Road in May. Gaetano Berardi was sent off and poor decision-making from Kiko Casilla and Liam Cooper gifted Derby a goal and a penalty.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Argentine must make sure his team only thinks about what’s happening on the pitch rather than the history between the sides off it, or else another dodgy performance against Derby could cost them for the second year running.