Month: April 2018

Adam Lallana insists Southampton supporters should not be setting their sights too high this season despite the club’s impressive dealings in the transfer market this summer.Only two other Premier League clubs – Manchester City and Tottenham – have spent more than the Saints in the current window, with Pablo Osvaldo, Victor Wanyama and Dejan Lovren all moving to St Mary’s in recent weeksology to Brighton for any suggestions that Chris Hughton's sacking was due to race.Hughton was dismissed by chairman Tony Bloom on Monday after a poor end to the season.The statement read: "Kick It Out have unreservedly apologised to Brighton & H for a combined cost of £36million.One of the new boys, Croatian defender Lovren, believes Champions League football within the next two years is now a realistic target for the club.Lallana, however, is keen to erpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists no-one is planning their title celebrations just yet.A hard-fought 2-1 win at Wolves on Thursday night was enough to re-establish the Reds' 16-point lead at the summit of the Premier League."I don't think about it, budampen expectations, telling Hawksbee and Jacobs: “If we can consolidate and keep our Premier League status that will be a good season.“A sensible target would be staying in the league and maybe looking towards the top half of the table. It’s a tough league and we are not the only team looking to strengthen.”

Brendan Rodgers has made it clear that Liverpool aren't finished with their summer transfer business, stating that "another attacking player will really benefit us and probably another defender," but is that really where he should be aiming to strengthen?Arguably, with attacking talent like Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Iago Aspas, Fabio Borini, Luis Alberto, Raheem Sterling and Suso in the ranks, the position the Reds should be looking to cover is their deep midfield options. There, only Lucas Leiva is a truly disciplined holding midfielder, with Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson more suited to bursting forward, Joe Allen so far unconvincing and Jay Spearing little more than a bit-part player at best.In truth, the Reds have struggled to replace Xabi Alonso since his departure in 2009, who – along with Javier Mascherano – was a world class presence at the heart of Liverpool's midfield. With talk of £25m being spent on attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, might it be that the Reds would be better served spending that kind of money elsewhere? While Kopites would no doubt love to see their old favourite Alonso once more pull on a red shirt, there is one player at his old club, Real Sociedad, that would have Liverpool fans purring like they used to over their former idol. talkSPORT run the rule over Asier Illarramendi…Name: Asier Illarramendie 4-1 victory over Arsenal on Wednesday night saw Sarri lift his first trophy in management.Speaking after the game, Luiz said: "We had some ups and downs but we have improved a lot and learned a lot this season. "We finished well and won a trophy. I AndonegiDate of birth: 8 March, 1990Birthplace: Mutriku, SpainClub: Real SociedadInternational appearances: 16 (Spain U21)Honours: UEFA European U21 Football Championship (2013)Illarramendi is the kind of footballer that looks a natural every time he is thrown into a high-pressure situation. Arguably Real Sociedad's key player, yet still only 23, he was the rivet that held their midfhony Elanga believes he has a first team chance next season.Elanga admits seeing so many of his U18 teammates make their senior debuts last season offers him hope.He told manutd.com: “Next season is going to be great and I'm really looking forward ield together en route to toppling Valencia for a Champions League qualifying spot in the 2012/13 season, and the Basque bounced on from that to produce a similarly astounding display in Spain's victorious 2013 U21 European Championship run.Due to their shared background, comparisons with Xabi Alonso were inevitable, particularly when Spanish publication Marca singled Illarramendi out as the man Carlo Ancelotti wants to succeed the veteran midfielder when his Real Madrid contract runs out in 2014. In truth however, Illarramendi is more comparable to Alonso's Spain midfield partner Sergio Busquets; the youngster is less prone to playing a risky cross-field diagonal pass, preferring to keep possession ticking over with astute, short passes, while he is more mobile than Alonso, with fine close control, capable of taking a player out of the game with a quick shimmy before laying the ball off to a team-mate.Illarra's anticipation is key to his playing style, with the Basque consistently found so often in the right place, at the right time, that it can't simply be put down to luck. His one touch passing can at times be astonishing and it's no coincidence that Carlo Ancelotti, a fine midfielder in his day, recognises his potential to play for a club like Real Madrid. That is the calibre of club keeping tabs on Illarramendi, so it would take some persuading for Liverpool to bring him to Anfield at a time when the Reds are struggling to qualify for the Champions League. At Liverpool, however, he would be the ideal man to free up Steven Gerrard to focus on spreading play and using his vision to full effect, and at 23 he's only likely to get better. His buyout clause is €30m (£25.5m at current exchange rates), which is only a little over the amount Rodgers is considering spending on Mkhitaryan, but Illarramendi could be worth it. Reds, do you agree? Is this the kind of midfielder Liverpool should be looking to sign? Let us know below…

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has claimed referee Howard Webb was right not to send Ravel Morrison off in his side’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.The Hammers youngster was involved in a tussle with Andreas Weimann in the first half and appeared to pull his opponent down when Morrison was the last man, but was not penalised.“No chance,” Allardyce told talkSPORT after the game Begiristain has welcomed Oleks Zinchenko's new deal.The Ukraine international penned terms to 2024 earlier this week.Txiki told City's official website: “Zinchenko has shown over the past two seasons what a superb talent he is.“Not only does he hwhen asked if he thought the 20-year-old should have received his marching orders.“I’ve seen it on the replay and there’s a chase for the ball and a tussle between two players and in the end Ravel’s done well to come out with the ball at the end Hag insists they're underdogs facing Chelsea tonight.Despite last season's run to the Champions League semis, Ten Hag says Chelsea are the superior team.Ten Hag said: "Last season is the past. We must forget it and think about the future and what weof it.“If you try and blatantly bring someone down, or chop them down, then it’s a red card. When it becomes a tussle between two players of a similar size and the tussle is won by our man, then it becomes a great bit of defending.“The referee was in a good position; the assistant referee was in a good position, so if they thought it was as bad as Paul Lambert thought it was, then [Howard Webb] would have sent him off because he’s a top referee.”

Granada have joined Arsenal in the chase for Sochaux defender Sebastien Corchia.Arsenal have been tracking the right-back, who has also attracted interest from Roma and Lyon, for the past year but Granada are now in the driving seat to lure him away from Sochaux.The La Liga side have ramped up their interest in the last week and are keen to take the 22-year-old on loan with a view to a permanent move.But reports in France claim Sochaux are cool on the idea of a loan switch – and that could open the door for Arsenal to firm up their interest with a concrete offer.Arsene Wenger has identified Corchia as a possible long-term replacement for Bacary Sagby a section of the support.Banners with messages that reportedly featured racist messages were seen at the Gazprom Arena and some outlets claimed that the Brazilian could depart his new club as a result.Zenit, however, released a statement on Mondayna, whose future at the Emirates Stadium has been subject to spill replace his father Alberto as coach of the Roma Primavera youth team. The former midfielder announced his retirement after a career in the Giallorossi jersey and very brief spell at Boca Juniors.But he told Gazzetta dello Sport: “I read about seculation this year.