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It goes without saying that Liverpool needed an exhilarating attacking performance in order to stand any chance of progressing in the UEFA Champions League.

3-1 down to Real Madrid after the first-leg, that was exactly what they produced at Anfield on Wednesday but there was just one thing missing: goals.

Jurgen Klopp’s men wasted a number of opportunities as their attacking triumvirate did not just seem quite up to the task – with Sadio Mane one of those who underperformed.

Deployed on the left-flank alongside Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah, it was another extremely quiet evening from the Senegalese forward, who has now scored just one goal since the start of March in all competitions.

According to WhoScored, the former Southampton man only had one shot throughout the entire 90 minutes, not even managing to get it on target.

He just seemed not quite up to speed in promising situations for Klopp’s men, an aspect that was encapsulated with a situation in the first-half as he trapped Trent Alexander-Arnold’s centre expertly but lost his footing just yards from goal when attempting to spin and fire towards the net.

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Faced up against Federico Valverde, who was shoehorned in at right-back due to an injury crisis at Real Madrid, Mane also only managed to complete one dribble.

He did manage ease away from the Uruguayan early in the first-half as Liverpool started quickly but that was about as good as it got for the Liverpool forward.

Mane’s passing was also not too inspiring. Despite completing a key pass, he could only accumulate a poor 68% pass success rate throughout the game, with only substitute Diogo Jota producing worse for the Reds.

Considering the huge importance of the match, Jurgen Klopp will certainly have been expecting more from his £100k per-week forward, whose woeful form continues. Mane has been a superstar for Liverpool since his arrival, but he’s in very poor form and his inept dispaly at Anfield let his manager down on Wednesday night.

AND in more news, take a closer look at our player ratings for the game…

Mike Ashley should sanction a summer swoop for Newcastle United to sign Norwich City playmaker Todd Cantwell and acquire a second Allan Saint-Maximin type.

What’s the word?

According to Football League World, the Magpies are monitoring Cantwell’s situation at Carrow Road as they are keen to bring the 23-year-old to St. James’ Park at the end of the season.

Cantwell will enter the final year of his £16,000-per-week contract in June, and is expected to be one of the more sought-after players should the England U21 international not agree on a new deal with the Canaries.

Cantwell’s future in Norfolk is likely to hinge heavily on Daniel Farke leading Norwich to an automatic return to the Premier League, with the midfielder anticipated to prioritise a top-flight future after his promising 2019/20 campaign.

Newcastle remaining a Premier League side will also be a factor in the Tyneside outfit making a move for Cantwell, as well, with his services unlikely to be explored should Steve Bruce fail to maintain the Toon’s current status.

Tottenham Hotspur are also noted to hold an interest in Cantwell, who Leeds United had sought to sign ahead of the current season but refused to up their £15m offer to meet Norwich’s alleged £20m valuation.

It remains to be seen how highly Norwich will value their academy product in the next off-season, and what impact promotion will have on Cantwell’s future, with Farke’s side currently 10 points clear at the top of the Championship table.

Cantwell has started 19 of his 22 second-tier outings this term, scoring four goals and providing four assists while deployed as a left-midfielder for 90% of his outings to date.

Should Newcastle sign Cantwell?

There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Cantwell’s future as Norwich look set to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, with Farke’s men on a seven-game winning run to put distance between themselves and promotion rivals Watford, Swansea City and Brentford.

Newcastle are well and truly in the Premier League relegation dogfight, too, with Bruce’s side just a point above 18th-place Fulham and the drop zone, albeit with a game in hand, having won just two of their last 16 top-flight fixtures.

But should United limp through their final 11 games and stay in the Premier League for another year, Ashley should sanction a move for Cantwell, even though funds are expected to be small.

Doing so could see Ashley bring a second Saint-Maximin type to St. James’ Park, for Cantwell is showing in the second-tier the quick-footed and fast-thinking style that the Magpies star displays week in, week-out in black and white.

Working in small pockets of space to good effect was exactly what Saint-Maximin thrived at against Wolverhampton Wanderers last month, having produced a great piece of skill to take on three players and set up Joe Willock before later sustaining a groin injury.

Cantwell – who Darren Huckerby once lauded for always being “the most gifted” player in any side he played for – also found it within himself to bounce back from a complex 2020, having taken responsibility for Norwich’s relegation to go on and lead their promotion push.

If the chance to sign Cantwell is there for Newcastle this summer, Ashley must dig deep into his pocket and present the funds United need to strike a deal for a young, hungry, English talent like this.

AND in other news, Newcastle United eye £2m titan who “makes the people he’s playing with better”…

Raul Jimenez’s absence from the Wolves team while he recovers from a fractured skull has been all too clear.

Since he’s been out injured, Fabio Silva has scored just twice while Adama Traore and Willian Jose are yet to find the net all term in Wolves colours. Thus, new recruits are needed in the summer.

What’s the word?

Wolves tried their best to replace the goals of Jimenez in January but Jose clearly hasn’t done that very well.

Whether they enter the market for another striker remains to be seen but they are targeting a wide player if you believe reports.

Football Insider claimed over the weekend that the Midlands outfit have set their sights on signing Goncalo Guedes from Valencia.

It’s understood that the Spanish side are likely to sell him in the summer after they had funding withdrawn by owner Peter Lim.

West Ham are also reportedly interested in the player who is currently rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt. The Portugal international may have to significantly reduce his salary in order to complete a move though. The Jorge Mendes client currently earns £101k-per-week in La Liga.

Pedro Neto 2.0

A young Portuguese player on the books of Mendes appears to tick all the boxes when playing Wolves transfer bingo.

Some players are often wide of the mark but Guedes has the potential to be a real star at Molineux. His style of play suits the Old Gold and he’d fit into a side who like to operate with crafty playmakers and dazzling dribbles.

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Guedes certainly fits that mantra and if you combine his qualities and the positions he plays in, he has Pedro Neto written all over him.

The Valencia attacker has the ability to play on both flanks while he’s also incredibly capable of starring in a number 10 role.

He has predominantly played off the left flank in 2020/21 but only has four goals to his name in all competitions. That being said, his contributions have arguably merited more.

Guedes has managed 1.5 shots per game this term, a tally only bettered by Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez and indeed Neto at Wolves. Meanwhile, his 1.9 dribbles per match is just 0.3 fewer than Neto’s tally.

Wolves’ Portuguese sensation has had a stellar campaign but they need more numbers in attack if Nuno is to ever take this team to the next level. He has tried and failed to do that by switching the club’s normal formation so perhaps new recruits could change their fortunes instead.

Speaking about the winger, Luis Figo once said: “Guedes is a fast, irreverent and unpredictable player, who himself builds actions for his teammates and is also able to finish well.”

Possessing eye-catching levels of pace, he has the abilities to stretch defences just as Neto does. This would be a smart move from Wolves providing they can afford the finances.

A glowing review from Figo tells you all you need to know.

AND in other news, Wolves must wield the axe on £22k-p/w flop who “defied the laws of physics” yesterday…

Luke Shaw has been labelled the "most unreliable player to ever wear a Manchester United shirt" after leaving the pitch before half-time at Luton.

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• Shaw injured at Aston Villa
• Returned in time to start Luton game
• Went down tunnel before half-time whistle

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Shaw went off at half-time as a "precaution" during United's 2-1 win at Aston Villa last week, but recovered in time to return to Erik ten Hag's starting XI at Kenilworth Road on Sunday. However, the England full-back tweaked something with seconds to go until the interval, and signalled to the bench before making his way down the tunnel, with Victor Lindelof brought on as his replacement in defence.

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  WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

  Fans took to social media after the incident to criticise Shaw, who also missed the majority of the first half of the season due to injury. One account named @zeeshankxz wrote: "Luke Shaw subbed off. The most unreliable player to ever wear a Manchester United shirt. Protected by the fans like he is something special. The sooner we move on the better."

  Another account, called @TenHagEra, said: "Love him as a footballer and a person, but we might have to buy a Luke Shaw replacement with all these reoccurring injuries.."

  With the 28-year-old's latest injury having yet to be specified, fan account @BillyMeredithMU simply asked: "What's wrong with Luke Shaw?"

  The same account then added in a separate post: "Left Back needs to be a priority next season. Luke Shaw isn’t reliable at all."

  Meanwhile, @UtdXclusive asked: "If Luke Shaw wasn't 100% fit why risk making the injury worse?"

• WHAT TEN HAG SAID

  United went on to win the game 2-1 without Shaw, and Erik ten Hag confirmed after the final whistle that it wasn't just a "knock" that forced the left-back off. The Dutch coach added to BBC Radio Five Live when quizzed on the severity of Shaw's injury: "I can’t tell. We have to wait minimum until tomorrow to see what’s going on. Clear, when you come off, it doesn’t look great."

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Shaw was one of the most important players in the United squad last season as Ten Hag guided the team to a third-place Premier League finish and Carabao Cup glory in his debut season at the helm. However, the Red Devils have only been able to call upon Shaw for 14 appearances to date in the 2023-24 campaign, and he might be facing another spell on the sidelines after this new blow.

Jamie Carragher has questioned the hold up in whether Everton's appeal against their 10-point deduction has been successful.

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• Everton deducted 10 points for FFP breaches
• Toffees appealing Premier League's decision
• Carragher questions delay

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Toffees were docked 10 points in November for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules. Everton branded the decision "wholly disproportionate and unjust" and announced they would appeal the verdict. Months on from the announcement, the Merseyside outfit are yet to receive an answer to their appeal, and Carragher has questioned the delay.

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• WHAT JAMIE CARRAGHER SAID

  Carragher wrote on X: "What is the hold up on the appeals decision regarding Everton's 10pt deduction? Two weeks have passed, this is surely a matter of urgency for Everton and the clubs around them. I'm sure they and the PL know their decision by now.

  "Are the PL waiting until after Everton's home game on Monday because they fear the reaction?"

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Everton await the verdict, they currently sit 18th in the table – one point from safety. If they are able to have their 10-point deduction reduced, that could provide a huge boost in their bid to stave off relegation. However, the Toffees could reportedly face another points deduction – which could plunge them even deeper into the mire.

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Sean Dyche's lowly Everton, who next face fellow Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace at Goodison Park next Monday, will reportedly learn whether their appeal has been successful or not later this month.

Manchester City fans have been reacting to the news that the Citizens are set to make a late move for Bayern Munich defender David Alaba.

Alaba has been one of the best defenders of the 21st century. He has made 419 appearances for Bayern throughout his career to date (Transfermarkt), helping the Bavarians win nine Bundesliga titles as well as two Champions League trophies, while he has also been named the Austrian Footballer of the Year on no less than seven occasions.

However, he will be playing for another club next season after confirming he will leave Bayern (Goal.com). A number of clubs have been linked with a move for the £49.5m-valued 28-year-old (Transfermarkt), including Real Madrid (The Guardian), but The Daily Star is now reporting the Citizens are to make a last effort to sign him. The Austrian is said to be looking for a salary of £400,000 a week.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Chief, and the fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Alaba news below

“Am not sure we need this guy at City he is 28yrs now soon hitting 30 that’s why he wants a club with money so that he can pile up some money for himself, trust me he will not be committed in playing for City, he is just looking for money bcos soon he is hitting 30”

Credit: @Rex05633603

“Almost half a million pounds a week. That’s a crime. Sometimes I want to stop watching football just for this reason.”

Credit: @faitcher82

“that salary is absurd……would wreck the whole teams salary structure…..”

Credit: @CaliBearcat

“We need to be careful with our wage bill , if haaland or messi on the cards too”

Credit: @cst1894

“400k a week..I’d say sign him because his free transfer anyway..his valued at 45M plus.. this will compensate his wages anyway if city were to sign him on a 3 to 4 year contract.”

Credit: @phillip23193875

“Wouldn’t mind having him plus Zinny and Mendy would learn a lot from him”

Credit: @Ortega04187965

In other news, Man City fans have been reacting to this £128m transfer claim.

Emi Martinez made a costly mistake for Aston Villa a matter of days after winning the Yashin Trophy, but he will not face any punishment.

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• Named the best goalkeeper on the planet
• Made uncharacteristic error against Forest
• Still boasts the full support of his manager

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Argentina international, who helped his country World Cup glory at Qatar 2022, was recognised as the best goalkeeper on the planet at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony. Martinez has, for the most part, been a model of consistency for club and country over a long period of time.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The enigmatic 31-year-old did, however, drop a clanger during his latest Premier League appearance. He contributed in a negative way to Villa suffering a 2-0 defeat away at Nottingham Forest, with Martinez palming a speculative strike from Orel Mangala up into the air before seeing the ball loop behind him and over the line.

• WHAT THEY SAID

  Errors such as that are few and far between in Martinez’s game, and Villa boss Unai Emery will not be taking any action against the South America. The Spanish tactician has said: “We are human and we can make mistakes. I am never punishing the mistakes of the players because I want to try to get confidence in everybody, practising, trying to do everything well. Of course, when we are facing other teams we have to get better than them, but we are never punishing the mistakes. Not only for Emiliano, that is for everybody.”

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Martinez will likely keep his place between the sticks for a Europa League outing against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, before then facing Fulham in Villa’s final Premier League fixture before the next international break is reached.

Leeds United have been linked with central defender Nicolas N’Koulou as they head into the summer transfer window. The Whites are browsing for new defensive personnel to stack up their options after injury woes have left them short this season.

For a large chunk of the 2020/21 campaign, Marcelo Bielsa has been without summer recruits Robin Koch and Diego Llorente due to their respective fitness problems. This has forced the boss to deploy Luke Ayling at centre-back and whilst he has been reliable in an unfamiliar role, Bielsa cannot rely on him for the inevitable. It’s paramount that Leeds assert their dominance once again on the transfer market and make sure that they are fully prepared for another exciting season in the Premier League.

Calciomercato reports that N’Koulou is on Bielsa’s radar, having already worked with him in Marseille (via TEAMtalk). Currently at Torino, the defender is close to running down his current contract and will become a free agent in the summer, nulling his £6.3million valuation. Despite racking up a total of 128 appearances for his current club, he has somewhat struggled for game time this season, being demoted to the bench for 11 Serie A fixtures, as per Transfermarkt.

Should Leeds sign Nicolas N’Koulou?

With Bielsa already clued up on N’Koulou’s attitude and style of play, he is an ideal scoop for Leeds. With 72 caps for his native Cameroon as well, he is a typical veteran of the game both domestically and internationally.

Looking closer at his stats, WhoScored shows that the 30-year-old has averaged more interceptions and clearances than both Liam Cooper and Koch this season, as well as giving away the least amount of fouls per game. He averages the same amount of blocks as Koch and N’Koulou also boasts a higher passing accuracy out of the three.

For Andrea Radrizzani, it should be an easy decision when looking at a proven international who has already worked with Bielsa and won’t cost him a penny come the summer. The Whites need to add depth to their squad and it should be easy work to entice a free agent to the Premier League to play for a very exciting club that could push for Europa League football.

In other news, Leeds must prepare to sign replacement for exit-linked Struijk…

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a huge double injury boost ahead of their trip to Leeds United this lunchtime…

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-game press conference on Friday, interim manager Ryan Mason revealed that Tanguy Ndombele and Lucas Moura were back in contention after missing Sunday’s 4-0 victory over Sheffield United.

He told reporters, via football.london’s Alasdair Gold: “Ben Davies is the only one that has not been training, Tanguy and Lucas didn’t train for the majority of last week, they trained the day before the game but this week we have had a fully fit squad.”

Gold then added in a separate tweet: “Asked Mason about those Lucas and Ndombele injuries and he said Lucas had a knock from the cup final that took a little while to shake off and Ndombele a muscle problem. Both fine now.”

Mason’s massive call

Both Ndombele and Moura have largely been a regular presence in Spurs’ starting XI throughout the season, but after their resounding win last weekend, it will give Mason a rather tough dilemma.

In the Brazilian’s absence, the 29-year-old caretaker opted for Gareth Bale on the right flank in a move which paid serious dividends as the Real Madrid loanee bagged himself a hat-trick.

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It’s now four goals in his last two league games for Bale and a total of 14 for the season – a rate of one goal every 105 minutes – so it would certainly be a bold call to axe him from the starting XI at Elland Road.

Similarly, Dele Alli stepped up to the plate with the French dynamo missing, although luckily for Ndombele, he could well come back in due to his ability to play in a deeper role, meaning Giovani Lo Celso may be at risk instead.

Alli’s performance against the Blades drew glowing praise from teammate Eric Dier, who lauded his work rate off the ball, and Mason claimed he saw a “hunger to compete in training,” which earned him a rare start – only his third of the season.

He has every reason to keep his place in the starting line-up, so again it leaves the interim coach with plenty to ponder in terms of team selection.

However, having everyone at his disposal is certainly a nice boost, with a top four finish a genuine possibility.

AND in other news, “I was told”: Worrying claim emerges on future of Spurs “monster”, Levy will be livid…

Southampton fans are delighted after it was revealed two Premier League clubs are interested in signing Mario Lemina this summer.

Lemina made the move to the Saints in 2017 from European giants Juventus – such a transfer meant there was much expected from the Gabon international. However, he ended up making just 52 appearances across two seasons, and didn’t manage to play more than 25 games in either of those campaigns (Transfermarkt). Since then, he has been on loan at Galatasaray and is now at Fulham on a temporary basis.

It seems he has no future at St. Mary’s Stadium. Fortunately, both West Ham United and Newcastle United are believed to be interested in purchasing the midfielder. The Guardian says that the south-coast outfit are looking for about £7m to let him go.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsfcViews, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their delight, with fans clearly feeling the absolute best thing they can do now is cash in and forget he ever existed…

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Lemina news below

“Result”

Credit: @SpencerHoughts

“Feel free”

Credit: @RichardStowell2

“£7m? please please please”

Credit: @Chris_FN_Ward

“I will drive him there”

Credit: @snwilliams10

“On my knees”

Credit: @IngsIsKing

“Money in the bank – get the deal done.”

Credit: @justinaminute

In other news, Ralph Hasenhuttl reveals this failed Southampton swoop.