Author: cimi

?Real Madrid are fearful that signing Manchester United’s Paul Pogba could create problems in the dressing room, as the Frenchman’s salary would likely be the highest at the club.

Zinedine Zidane is thought to have identified Pogba as vital part of his squad overhaul in the summer, but he is aware that signing the World Cup winner will certainly not be an easy task.

One of their main concerns is ?Pogba’s wages as, according to ?AS, ?Real are aware that they would have to make Pogba their highest earner to tempt him to make the move to the Santiago Bernabeu, which could upset the current playing staff.

The Frenchman is said to earn €17m per year with ?United, and would likely insist to be paid at least the same amount if he moved to Real. This wage is higher than the likes of ?Gareth Bale and ?Sergio Ramos, and Los Blancos do not want to cause any friction behind the scenes.

Preserving the harmony of the squad is said to be one of their top priorities this summer and, with so many potential blockbuster signings being lined up, Real want to minimise the impact on the team morale as much as possible.

Real officials are also wary of getting involved with Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola. The Dutchman does not exactly see eye-to-eye with Los Blancos, and they fear Raiola would demand a sizeable sum for his role in any potential deal.

Away from economic concerns, Real also fear United may refuse to do business this summer as they look to make a statement for the future. 

The Red Devils are keen to begin rebuilding following a series of disappointing seasons, and want to boost the mood around Old Trafford following a downturn in results since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s permanent appointment.

The 4-0 defeat at the hands of ?Everton on Sunday has left many fans questioning the direction of the club, and United do not want to risk further angering their supporters by allowing Pogba to leave at such an important period in their recent history.

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?Arsenal have joined the race to sign Borussia Mönchengladbach winger Thorgan Hazard, with Unai Emery set to battle with Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund for his signature.

Hazard has been the subject of interest from both Liverpool and Dortmund for several weeks, but it is thought that the Belgian ?would prefer to remain in the Bundesliga and seal a switch to Lucien Favre’s side.

However, according to ?The Sun, ?Arsenal are said to be watching closely in the event that ?Dortmund cannot agree a fee with Gladbach, hoping to steal the 26-year-old away from under the noses of their rivals.

Emery is a huge fan of Hazard, who is the younger brother of ?Chelsea star ?Eden, and he will be on the lookout for creative reinforcements in the summer after being unimpressed with ?Barcelona loanee Denis Suarez.

Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl has ?confirmed that Hazard will leave the club in the summer after refusing to extend his contract, which expires in the summer of 2020. They are reluctant to lose their star for free, so will instead grant him a transfer at the end of the season.

A price tag of around £35m has been suggested, and Arsenal may have to sell some players to raise such a fee. Granit Xhaka has been linked with an expensive move to ?Inter, whilst money will also be freed up by the imminent departures of both ?Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck.

This season, Hazard has racked up 12 goals and 11 assists in 32 appearances, establishing himself as one of the ?Bundesliga’s finest attacking talents.

Since leaving Chelsea to join Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, he has gone on to make 178 appearances for the club, operating in a variety of positions. He is comfortable on either wing or as a central attacking midfielder, whilst he has even been used as a striker on several occasions, and this versatility could prove to be incredibly enticing for Emery.

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?Roy Hodgson praised his side for a ‘very satisfying performance’ and insisted that Wilfried Zaha is happy at Crystal Palace, expressing that he expects him to stay following Sunday’s 3-2 win over Arsenal.

The Eagles stunned the Emirates as they raced into an early lead through Christian Benteke, before Mesut Ozil levelled shortly after the interval. Palace hit back emphatically with goals from Zaha and James McArthur, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s late strike came in vain.

Only two teams have beaten Arsenal at the Emirates in the Premier League this season:

? Man City
? Crystal Palace

Roy Hodgson knows how to spoil the party. pic.twitter.com/8tpIpZI6aO

— Coral (@Coral) April 21, 2019

After the game, Hodgson praised his side for earning victory against the odds in the Premier League encounter and insisted that his star man was going nowhere. As quoted by ?Palace’s ?website, Hodgson said: “It was a very satisfying performance.

“Even a draw’s a result but to come and get a victory you have to give a really good performance. 

“Your defending is going to have to be top-notch right through until the 95-96th minute and then you’ve got to make certain that when you do get the ball, you’ve got to hope that your two front players do what our two did today.

“The Crystal Palace team today deserves an awful lot of credit today for winning against that team.”

Despite the euphoria of victory over ?Arsenal, the future of star man ?Zaha remains a cloud over Palace’s plans ahead of next season and, via the ?Evening Standard, Hodgson said of the forward: “The bottom line is he’s a Crystal Palace player and he’s happy here.

5 – Mohamed Salah has won five penalties this season in the Premier League, only Wilfried Zaha (6) has won more. No other Liverpool player has earned more than one. Precarious. #CARLIV pic.twitter.com/xhpR94zhU1

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 21, 2019

“He’s on a four-year contract, he’s one of our highest-paid players. I am looking forward to working with him in the near future and for many years to come. But we’ll see what happens.”

Zaha has ?recently admitted that he has ambitions to play for a Champions League club, and is ?reportedly the ?subject of a potential £65m tug-of-war between ?Tottenham and PSG.

“I don’t place so much importance on those stories, I should do,” Hodgson said of Zaha’s admission. “Maybe I should do but sometimes you get asked questions and when you answer, you can find yourself in the wrong.”

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?Marco Silva praised his side’s performance and insisted that Everton still have plenty to fight for this season after the Toffees thrashed Manchester United 4-0 at Goodison Park.

Sunday’s emphatic left Silva’s side seventh in the Premier League with three games still to play, after goals from Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lucas Digne and Theo Walcott blew Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side away on Merseyside.

?Everton largely outplayed ?United in all aspects of the game and, after the victory, Silva said via the Toffees’ ?website: “It was a very good performance and we were the best team from the first minute.

“I am really pleased with what we did. We scored good goals and had fantastic support from our fans. We worked as a team from the first minute and scored in important moments of the game.

“We played with quality, were solid without the ball and earned an important three points. It was a strong answer after our last result and performance [2-0 defeat to ?Fulham].

“We have to keep looking at this season. We have our goal to achieve and it has never changed. We have to keep fighting, to prove our quality in every match,

“But it is important to give this good feeling to our fans. I want our players to enjoy the moment – and our supporters also.

Everton 4 Manchester United 0. Thunderous roar at the final whistle. Magnificent display from Marco Silva’s side and an utterly heartless and abject one from Manchester United.

— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) April 21, 2019

“I want our players resting tomorrow and preparing to work really hard to get ready for the next game. We have many things to keep fighting for. It is important for us to keep this run, to keep playing well and achieving good results – and to finish the season in a good spot.”

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Neil Warnock grudgingly admitted Liverpool’s second half penalty was valid, but accused Mohamed Salah of diving nonetheless, following Cardiff’s 2-0 defeat to the Reds on Sunday.

Cardiff defended diligently for the vast majority of the game, but two lapses in concentration saw Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner secure the three points for Liverpool.

The second goal of the game came from the penalty spot after Sean Morrison was adjudged to have manhandled ?Salah in the box and, unsurprisingly, Warnock was unafraid to share his thoughts on the incident after full time.

?“I thought it was a soft one.” the ?Cardiff boss said, via ?BBC Sport. “We gave him an opportunity. He’s got his arms around him and everything.

“I think the end of it was a 9.9 Tom Daley job. I don’t think he could have got much higher off the diving board at the end of it. I am sure you will be saying Warnock’s a moaning so and so again.”

Neil Warnock shouldn’t be too disheartened that his Cardiff side could potentially be relegated from the Premier League, it’s the kind of thing that gets you the Manchester United job these days.

— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) April 21, 2019

Warnock was also keen to discuss another incident which went against Cardiff, where Morrison had his shirt pulled in the Liverpool box by Andy Robertson just before Liverpool found their opening goal.

“Just after half-time, the tug on Morrison’s shirt, which should have been spotted. When Graeme Souness [former Liverpool captain and current TV pundit] and that says letter of the law it’s a penalty because he stopped him having a clear header goal, nothing much is said about that.

“Morrison has been pulled from post to post, and we haven’t had one penalty. We are not going to start getting them now.”

Inject the upcoming Neil Warnock interview directly into my face.

— Ste Hoare (@stehoare) April 21, 2019

?Cardiff’s defeat leaves them stuck in 18th place in the Premier League table, three points shy of Brighton (who have a game in hand) with three games left to play.

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