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Former Premier League striker Noel Whelan insists that Marko Arnautovic is a “disgrace” and has urged West Ham United to sell the Austria international, per Football Insider.

What’s he said?

Arnautovic scored twice at the weekend as West Ham beat Southampton 3-0 in their final home game of the season.

The Austria international’s goals broke a streak of 11 games without a goal from the striker, who flirted with a move to China in the January transfer window.

His dalliance with the Far East led to a new contract that contains a £45million release clause.

And Whelan, who played for a number of clubs during his career, including Leeds United, Coventry City and Derby County, insists that the Irons simply must cash in on the 30-year-old when the transfer window reopens.

He said: “If he was my teammate, I would want him out.

“Where’s he been since January? Sulking and going missing in action. Get rid of him, he’s a disgrace.

“His lack of professionalism has made him West Ham’s weakest link. You can imagine the rest of the players looking at him and thinking, ‘if you want to go, then go’.

“Sure, he’s a very talented player who’s a real handful for defenders when he’s in the mood. But you can’t rely on him. Get him out.”

Who would want him?

It remains to be seen whether a club will be willing to come in with an acceptable bid for Arnautovic.

When on form, he is perhaps the best forward outside the top six. His potent cocktail of strength, pace and eye for goal offer a massive headache for any opposition defender.

But Whelan is right to question his attitude. It is no surprise that, with the transfer window looming, he is again starting to hit the back of the net.

Unless there is another bid from China – it was not entirely clear which CSL club made the offer at the turn of the year – one cannot see another outfit looking to trigger his £45m clause.

For a player who has gone missing across the second half of the season, it simply isn’t worth the money.

West Ham, then, may well be stuck with him.

It has been quite a year to be a Sheffield United supporter, hasn’t it?

Under the guidance of Chris Wilder and Alan Knill, the Blades have exceeded all expectations this season with last week’s victory against Ipswich Town confirming their automatic promotion to the Premier League.

With a massive summer ahead for the club, it is clear that they will need to strengthen their squad in the transfer window in order to give themselves the best chance of competing in the top-flight.

One area that Wilder will be targeting specifically is central midfield as he will need to find a sufficient replacement for Kieren Dowell whose loan deal at Bramall Lane expires at the end of the month.

According to reports in the Sun (as quoted by HITC), the former Northampton Town boss may have already found his man as he has been linked with a move for Chelsea ace Kelsey Palmer.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant loan spell at Bristol City this season and is one of the key reasons to why Lee Johnson’s side are still in contention for a play-off place in the Championship.

An exciting, skilful young prospect, Palmer has all the ingredients needed to succeed at the highest level yet in order to fulfil his potential, he may have to leave Stamford Bridge as staying at the Blues could hamper his development.

Therefore, if the £1.35m-rated midfielder (via Transfermarkt) is made available for transfer, Wilder must go all-out to secure his signature. Although Palmer has only been directly involved in four goals this season for the Robins, he could be the perfect fit for the Blades’ 3-5-2 system and it may be worth the risk to bring him in.

What do you think United fans? Should Wilder do everything he can to bring in Palmer in the summer? If not, who do you think he should be targeting when the transfer window opens in July? Let us know below.

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Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to voice their displeasure at Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ performance against Everton, as the Gunners slipped to a 1-0 defeat and damaged their top four hopes in the process.

Unai Emery’s side were undone by an early strike from Phil Jagielka, and didn’t look like scoring throughout the rest of the match.

Would you take a job at your fiercest rivals stadium? The Spurs fan in the video below wasn’t going to let football stand in the way of a bit of dollar…

A number of players performed poorly, but Maitland-Niles’ showing was especially bad – at one point, he even inexplicably threw the ball straight out of play from a throw-in.

The youngster was given a torrid time by Bernard on the flank, and struggled to make any kind of impact on the game both defensively and going forward.

He very nearly made a huge error when his headed back-pass to Bernd Leno didn’t have enough on it and was intercepted by Bernard, but the Brazilian couldn’t finish the chance.

Let’s see what the Arsenal supporters have been saying on Twitter about the 21-year-old’s performance…

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Nottingham Forest cult hero John Metgod has left the club, but not for the first time.

During his playing career, the Dutchman enjoyed a three-year spell with the Reds in the 1980s before leaving to join Spurs. However, after becoming a part of the board of directors at the club in 2017, he has now gone again.

He’ll be moving to the Far East where he’ll join the U.A.E as the assistant manager of their national team.

In response, Forest fans have shared a mixed reaction. Some left GIFs which suggest he’s only left because of the money, but there were some more positive tweets sent in the direction of their former player as well.

One supporter claimed they were still in awe of his free-kicks whilst another said they were his first ever favourite player.

Metgod had a successful playing career, especially in his native Netherlands where he won major honours with AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord.

Is The Championship the most exciting league in the world? Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max discusses the recent run of crazy results with Sky Sports’ Michelle Owen in the video below…

The 61-year-old earned 21 caps for his country whilst also playing for Real Madrid before joining Forest.

Here’s how the City Ground faithful have reacted to him leaving.

That was a relief, wasn’t it? Manchester City looked leggy at times in the FA Cup on Saturday, and it was clear they just can’t carry on at the intensity they have been to win the unprecedented quadruple.

Pep Guardiola’s men know they’re now 15 games away from winning everything, but that task looks to be too much for City’s squad, and probably any squad that’s played the English game. On Saturday, passes were going astray and tempers flared.  It almost seemed like a pre-season friendly, not in intensity but in how sloppy the Blues were.

This is the result of quite the opposite of a summer break though. It’s a by-product of playing nearly every three days since Christmas, something even a squad of City’s size simply can’t cope with. If they do manage to win every trophy, it won’t be in the emphatic style we saw them win the Premier League in last season.

It could get scrappy.

City most talented player, Kevin De Bruyne has only started seven times this season, their captain Vincent Kompany is injury prone and defensive partner John Stones is out injured. The club’s only natural left-back Benjamin Mendy acts more as a social media co-ordinator than a defender and their most influential player, and only trustworthy holding midfielder, Fernandinho, is out too.

City seem like the walking wounded at the moment, but they’re battling on somehow. Saturday was a near miss, but they’ll have plenty more as they chase immortality. The performance proved they need the international break desperately, so they can regroup and prepare for the most difficult month of the season.

The signs aren’t looking good, so despite only 15 games lying between them and the quadruple, it looks impossible for the club to live up to inflated expectation dumped on them by the media.

City fans, how close do you think City will get to winning an unprecedented quadruple this season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Leeds United returned to winning ways on Wednesday evening with a priceless 2-1 victory over Swansea City at Elland Road courtesy of goals from Pontus Jansson and Jack Harrison.

It was a timely return to form on an evening when Norwich City were thumped 3-1 away at Preston, a result which allowed the Whites to return to the top of the Championship table.

Leeds’ opener was well placed by Jansson following a scrappy pinball moment in the penalty area, but there was plenty of craft and guile about the crucial second.

Luke Ayling, who was making his 100th appearance for the club, sprayed a cross-field ball into Ezgjan Alioski’s path, and the Macedonia international’s perfectly placed cross was guided into the net off the head of Jack Harrison.

A fine return to form for Ayling was slightly marred by a clumsy challenge which allowed Oli McBurnie to half the deficit from the penalty spot, but that did not prevent the supporters from heaping praise on the 27-year-old in the aftermath of proceedings.

Indeed, Ayling posted an emotional message on his Twitter page to express his delight at playing 100 games for Leeds, and the response to the post was overwhelmingly positive.

Ayling has taken his fair share of criticism in recent weeks during Leeds’ dip in form, but his critics were nowhere to be seen as the Whites faithful poured their hearts out in response to the post.

On his day there is no question that the full-back is one of Leeds’ most influential players, so Marcelo Bielsa will need both his leadership and his all-action quality to shine through to give the promotion hopefuls the best possible chance of ending their top-flight exile.

Here’s what the Leeds fans had to say in response to Ayling’s tweet:

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Lots of Sunderland fans have been reacting to a promising piece of transfer news, as the Black Cats have signed Tottenham wonderkid Kazaiah Sterling.

Sunderland were dangerously close to ending the transfer window with just one fit centre forward, and while they may have left it late, fans have to be happy with the arrival of Sterling.

The Tottenham youngster will join on loan until the end of the season, the Black Cats confirmed on Thursday evening.

Sterling has made two senior appearances for Spurs despite only turning 20 in November, making his debut back in December 2017 in a Champions League clash against APOEL Nicosia.

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

The 20 year-old has scored four times and added two assists in seven youth Premier League games so far this season, per Transfermarkt, and was also on the bench for the senior side’s recent win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Sterling is extremely fast, very intelligent for such a young player, and most importantly of all he knows how to stick the ball in the back of the net.

Leading goalscorer Josh Maja left the club this month of course, so Sterling has a lot of ground to make up.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Marc Overmars has been issued with a one-year permanent ban from the Dutch football league for sending lewd photos and videos to female employees.

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• Overmars banned from Dutch football
• Cannot operate within Dutch FA-related activities
• Can continue at Royal Antwerp

• PROSHOTS
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former Dutch winger stepped down from his position as director of football at Ajax in February 2022, citing his regret for his actions and acknowledging that he had sent a "series of inappropriate messages" to female coworkers. A month later, he was given a "second chance" at Belgian side, Royal Antwerp, when he was named the team's technical director. Overmars has now been ordered by the Dutch Sports Tribunal (ISR) to refrain from "exercising any function" with any Dutch FA-affiliated organisation for a period of two years, one of which is suspended.

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• PROSHOTS
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Since March 2022, Overmars has been employed by Antwerp, for whom he is still eligible to work. Overmars' activities in Belgium are unaffected by the decision, but in the upcoming year, he will be unable to work for the KNVB or any other Dutch football association-affiliated organisations.

• WHAT THE ISR SAID

  "In view of his position as a statutory director and de facto manager within the Ajax organization, Van Overmars could have been expected to have been aware of the exemplary role he had and that he had abstained from such behaviour,” the ISR said, according to NOS. "Even when he thought it was done on the basis of reciprocity and voluntariness."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR OVERMARS?

  Antwerp has not yet commented on the ISR's decision. The club administration has accepted Overmars' appointment with grace and does not anticipate that he will make another mistake in Belgium.

The Red Devils' attack and midfield were completely toothless as the Magpies got the win at St James' Park.

Manchester United were deserved losers as they went down 2-0 against Newcastle on Sunday.

The Red Devils were second best all over the field and were made to pay for their complete lack of fight as Joe Willock and Callum Wilson fired the home team to three points.

While Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay and Marcel Sabitzer offered no dig in midfield, attackers Marcus Rashford and Wout Weghorst were no threat to the Newcastle back line in what was a grim display from Erik ten Hag's men.

GOAL rates United's players from St James' Park…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  David de Gea (7/10):

  Pulled off an excellent double save 15 minutes into the game and a vital stop late in the second half.

  Diogo Dalot (5/10):

  Did not do well up against Allan Saint-Maximin, who was a constant threat.

  Raphael Varane (6/10):

  Cleared off the line at the half-hour mark but should have put Willock under pressure before the opening goal.

  Lisandro Martinez (7/10):

  Made an important block on an Alexander Isak shot and was solid overall once again.

  Luke Shaw (6/10):

  Stepped up to leave space behind for Newcastle to attack and get the goal, but was fine in possession.

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  Midfield

  Marcel Sabitzer (4/10):

  Played in a deep midfield role and hardly had much of an impact. Looked better when he got forward but could not create anything.

  Scott McTominay (5/10):

  Absent for large spells of the game, but won a tackle on the edge of the box before Newcastle's first goal.

  Bruno Fernandes (5/10):

  A rather wasteful performance as many passes went wayward and was no danger for the hosts.

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  Attack

  Antony (6/10):

  Tried his hardest to create something down the right wing but was taken off after 60 minutes.

  Wout Weghorst (4/10):

  Had one shot that missed the target just 10 minutes into the game and did very little afterwards.

  Marcus Rashford (4/10):

  Unusually tame performance from the England star but Ten Hag opted to keep him on in the hope he would spark into life.

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  Subs & Manager

  Jadon Sancho (6/10):

  Played the last 30 minutes and helped give United's attack a bit more life.

  Anthony Martial (6/10):

  Cleared off the line and tried to create a counter attack but had no joy against a strong Newcastle back line.

  Fred (5/10):

  Only introduced for the final 10 minutes and could not make much of an impact.

  Facundo Pellistri (5/10):

  Came on late and had little to do as Newcastle doubled their lead shortly afterwards.

  Victor Lindelof (5/10):

  Tasked with leading the United defence for the last 10 minutes but was beaten to the header for Newcastle's second goal.

  Erik ten Hag (3/10):

  His team were poor all over the field and his changes only seemed to make things worse. He took off both centre-backs and sent one on, leaving them at odds in the final stages as Newcastle went on to double their lead.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na quarta-feira, o Palmeiras estreou no Campeonato Brasileiro sub-17 impondo 5 a 0 sobre o Botafogo, em jogo que marcou uma sequência de seis dias seguidos com atividades do clube no Allianz Parque. Entre treinos e jogos do time principal masculino e atividade aberta à torcida da equipe feminina, a grama sintética tem sido intensamente testada e “assentada”.

A sequência começou com treino comandado por Vanderlei Luxemburgo, na manhã de sexa-feira – à tarde, ainda houve evento comercial. No sábado, o Verdão empatou por 1 a 1 diante da Ferroviária, pelo Campeonato Paulista. No domingo, treino aberto à torcida do time feminino, em ação motivada pelo Dia Internacional da Mulher. Na segunda-feira, novo treino da equipe masculina, que venceu o Guaraní, do Paraguai, por 3 a 1 no dia seguinte, pela Libertadores. Enfim, o último ato foi no Brasileiro sub-17.

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Essas atividades se acumularam logo na semana seguinte ao primeiro show na grama sintética, realizado pelo Maroon 5, no dia 1. No dia 2, foi colocada mais uma camada de areia no campo, de olho no teste realizado pela Fifa no dia 3. A entidade deu o aval necessário apenas para partidas internacionais, liberando o estádio para receber o duelo diante do Guaraní pela Libertadores.

A Soccer Grass, empresa responsável pela implantação da grama sintética no estádio alviverde, já apontou que o palco estava em boas condições. Mas a colocação de mais areia torna útil, também, uma nova sequência de atividades no campo, como ocorreu pouco antes da estreia, no dia 16, e também depois.

Emendar dias consecutivos na arena também é uma novidade para o Palmeiras exatamente por conta da retirada da grama natural. Até o ano passado, havia a preocupação de preservar o local, principalmente em dias posteriores a shows. Agora, se não tiver evento, o Allianz Parque fica à disposição do clube, o que aponta mais partidas das categorias de base na casa do Verdão.

A expectativa agora é para a conclusão da instalação do campo de grama sintética na Academia de Futebol, local de treinamento do elenco comandado por Luxemburgo.Depois de um trabalho mais longo no piso, agora foi iniciada a montagem do campo. A expectativa é de que o Palmeiras possa usar ainda neste mês o campo 3.