Author: cimi

?Italy manager Roberto Mancini has suggested that the Azzurri’s faultless start to their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign has helped to win back supporters who became disillusioned with the national team following their failure to qualify for last summer’s World Cup.

A rotated Mancini team, which contained a mixture of experienced players and debutantes easily brushed aside Group J minnows Liechtenstein at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Tuesday night, with previously uncapped Simone Sensi and Leonardo Pavoletti amongst the scorers in the huge 6-0 win in Parma.

Following the Italians’ absence from the World Cup in 2018, Mancini feels as though their impressive performances and victories will help his team win over the expectant Azzurri fans.

As reported by ?ForzaItalianFootball, Mancini said: “There has been a bit of detachment from the team in recent years but after what happened last year and this year, there is a lot of love for the national team.

“We must try to feed this appetite of love from the fans for the team. They were very good in Parma again, as they always have been. We hope to see many full stadiums for the national team.

“It has been many years since we enjoyed a 6-0 win. Being top of the group after the first two games is a good thing.”

The former ?Manchester City manager also praised attacking duo Fabio Quagliarella and Moise Kean for their goal-scoring performances during the sizeable victory, with both players at hugely contrasting stages of their international careers, with Kean earning his third cap for the national team, whilst Quagliarella scored his first goals for the Azzurri since 2010.

Mancini added: “I’m pleased for them and I hope they can go on like this. It would be very important for us and to see Kean performing like he is at the age of 19 is a good thing for us.

“Quagliarella is here on merit and for no other reason. At the moment, we don’t know what is going to happen and we can’t predict things but I think that he can certainly continue like this.”

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Premier League giants Liverpool are considering making a £10m move for Norwich City defender Ben Godfrey at the end of the season.

Jürgen Klopp’s side have been impressed with the versatile 21-year-old defender ever since he established himself in Daniel Farke’s first team at Carrow Road in December.

Godfrey has gone on to make 22 Championship appearances for Norwich this season, including as an ever-present for the Canaries for over three months during a 17 game run before the most recent international break.

Football Insider reports that Liverpool chief Michael Edwards instructed the club’s scouts to keep a close eye on the centre-back this season, and they’re now considering making a move for the England Under-20 international.

Godfrey, who can also play on the left or in defensive midfield, first moved to Norwich from York City in 2016 and he signed a new four-year contract with the club following a loan spell at Shrewsbury Town last season.

He predominantly played as a midfielder at New Meadow and was even involved in their EFL Trophy final defeat to Lincon City at Wembley, finishing the season with 53 appearances under his belt.

£10 million? Laughable. Times that by 2.5 and you’re close. And it’ll be more than that this time next year if we go up.

— Edward Couzens-Lake (@EdCouzensLake) March 24, 2019

Despite only scoring two career goals combined for York and Shrewsbury, Godfrey has shown his prowess in the attacking third this season by scoring three goals and claiming two assists in 28 appearances in all competitions for the Canaries.

Norwich City are desperate to hold onto Godfrey beyond this season as they’re pushing for promotion, but the club are wary of losing their promising defender as Arsenal and Manchester United have also made their interest known this season.

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Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola will demand that the World Cup-winning midfielder becomes one of the highest paid players on the planet if he leaves Manchester United this summer.

The 26-year-old is entering the second half of his current contract at Old Trafford having re-signed from Juventus in 2016 in a deal which has since risen to £94.5m.

But Pogba is now attracting interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs following his turbulent season with Manchester United, where he was pushed into the fringes of their setup under former manager José Mourinho.

Real Madrid and Juventus are the frontrunners for Pogba’s signature this summer, and Tuttosport claims Raiola has told the midfielder’s suitors that it will cost them €16m a year in wages to convince him to leave Old Trafford.

That would see Pogba move ahead of Gareth Bale (€14m) and Sergio Ramos (€11m) as the highest earner at Real Madrid, while only Cristiano Ronaldo is being paid more than that at Juventus.

Tuttosport adds that Juventus could actually have the inside track on Pogba even though the midfielder admitted joining Real Madrid would be a “dream for anyone” last week.

Pogba’s purple patch ending isn’t getting talked about enough. Was great against bottom 8 teams when we sacked our manager. Still taking Eriksen over him every day of the week.

— ? (@utdrj) March 24, 2019

That’s because the Bianconeri have already had extensive dealings with Raiola regarding Pogba, while they’re also already in discussions with the infamous super agent as teenager Moise Kean looks for a contract extension in Turin.

Although Pogba was heavily linked with a move away from Manchester United at the start of the season, his form under caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes it seem ?unlikely that he will be sold at the end of the season, especially without the all clear from their next permanent manager.

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Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has backed the club’s chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League and admits that the race for the top four will be “exciting” for the fans in north London.

Lacazette has been one of Arsenal’s most consistent players this season even though he’s spent most of his time in the shadow of top goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The 27-year-old has reached double figures in both goals and assists for the first time in his professional career this season, helping Arsenal take the driving seat in the race to finish in the top four as well as in the latter stages of the Europa League.

“It’s going to be difficult of course, but exciting as well,” Lacazette told Sport 360 (via The Metro). “It’s been a good battle all season so we just want to win every single game and finish third or fourth. It will be good for us and our fans.”

The former Lyon striker was speaking after he scored in a friendly match against Al-Nasr during Arsenal’s warm weather training camp in Dubai.

Lacazette praised the club’s decision to have their mid-season camp in Dubai, but he stressed that the players are now eager to get their heads down ahead of their match at home to Newcastle United on Monday.

lacazette is fully a world class player but y’all not grown enough for that conversation so I’m schleep

— jbg (@JBdreezy) March 19, 2019

“It was a good idea by the club to bring the players available here to Dubai,” he added. “It’s been good weather, it was a good pitch, great facilities. 

“Everyone enjoyed it and we worked well for one week. Now we have to come back to London and stay focused on the Premier League and Europa League.”

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?Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly tracking former Manchester City winger Nolito, as they look to strengthen their attacking options in the summer transfer window. The Spanish attacker, now plying his trade at Sevilla, can player either as a winger or a centre-forward.

After a strong first season with the Andalusian club last year, the Spaniard’s second season has been hampered by injury and seen him make just three La Liga appearances. As time is running out on his contract at the club, Sevilla may be keen to cash in on the attacker this summer, rather than lose him on a free the following year.

As reported by ?TeamTalk, this sentiment is shared by the player himself as he has said, “if they do not see me in their future plans then I will move on”.

At the age of 32 and with one year left on his current deal, Nolito is not likely to demand a big transfer fee. Having not spent any money on signings in the previous two windows, Mauricio Pochettino may see this as an ideal fit for the north London club, as they will be tight for cash amidst the completion of their stadium redevelopment.

With Tottenham set to lose at least one of ?Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente in the summer, they could be on the lookout for a player like Nolito in order to provide strength in depth in their attack.

Despite this, there remains a few barriers to the deal, which will not make the transfer as simple as the ?Spurs boss may like. Sevilla recently sacked their manager Pablo Machin. With Joaquin Caparros taking over as caretaker manager for the remainder of this campaign, this could pave the way for the attacker’s return to the first-team.

Furthermore, the player has expressed his desire to remain at the club, stating: “I want to continue playing here, I want to show what I can do when fit. I have a year left on my contract and I want to stay at Sevilla”.

However time is ticking on Nolito’s career and he appears to be hungry for regular first-team football. If the Spaniard does not get the assurances he is looking for from Sevilla, Tottenham certainly look ready to pounce. 

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