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Leeds United’s season ended in misery as they were seen off by Derby County in the semi-finals of the play-offs after missing out on automatic promotion.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men now face an uncertain future, with the Argentinian still yet to commit his future to the club.

There are other pressing issues within the Leeds camp too to address, with the futures of key players like Kalvin Phillips and Pontus Jansson also up in the air, as well as youngsters like Jack Clarke, who is reportedly attracting interest in the form of a £10m bid from Premier League side, Spurs.

Clarke will no doubt welcome interest from a club like Spurs, but we here in the Tavern feel that Leeds simply have to say no to Mauricio Pochettino if he comes calling.

For one, the £10m fee is not nearly enough for a player who is still a teenager and has the potential to go on to great things in the game. Players in the modern game go for inflated fees all the time, and the Elland Road club should be demanding towards double that price to even consider selling Clarke.

Secondly, Leeds are building, and if Bielsa does indeed stay in charge, then Clarke could well feature prominently next season after a pre-season under the guidance of his experienced manager.

Clarke has already impressed this campaign just gone, and there is more where that came from you would have to assume going forward.

While Spurs would be the ideal sort of landing spot for a player like Clarke, Leeds should hold their ground and ensure they are finely poised to win promotion next time round – with Clarke firmly cemented as an integral cog within the starting XI.

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West Ham United fans have savaged Andy Carroll after the club posted a tweet showing all of his goals for the club.

The Hammers have confirmed that he will leave upon the expiration of his contract.

It brings to an end a seven-year spell in east London; Carroll originally joined on loan from Liverpool in 2012 prior to the deal being made permanent for a fee of £15million.

His spell was ravaged by injury, however, and he managed to score just 34 goals for the side across a total of 142 appearances.

In the 2018-19 season, indeed, Carroll enjoyed 12 Premier League outings but completed the 90 minutes just once in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in February.

Ankle surgery meant that he missed the final 10 games of the campaign and he is now searching for a new club.

But fans have hit out at his time at the club, insisting that he did nothing to repay any of the £15m lavished upon him, plus his wages.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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West Ham United announced on Monday evening that Lucas Perez had joined La Liga outfit Alaves on a permanent deal ‘for an undisclosed fee’.

Perez only joined West Ham from Arsenal in last summer’s transfer window, penning a three-year contract with the Hammers.

The 30-year-old managed a respectable six goals in 19 appearances for Manuel Pellegrini’s side during the 2018-19 campaign.

However, the attacker has now been moved on as West Ham prepare for the new season.

And it would be fair to say that the majority of the London club’s fans are pleased that Perez has departed at this early stage of the transfer window.

In fairness to the 5 ft 11 ace, he was not given much of an opportunity to make his mark at the London Stadium.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

But the deal does make sense for all involved as Perez has enjoyed previous success in Spanish football.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the confirmed exit can be seen below:

The dust is starting to settle after Tottenham’s Champions League final defeat to Liverpool. Yes, of course, it was a painful loss, made more so by the controversial penalty given in the first 30 seconds of the match. However, the situation regarding the future of Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t really changed, has it?

Regardless of the result, Pochettino had exhausted every last ounce of his squad. Just reaching the final was a phenomenal achievement, something that may never again be replicated. In terms of the future, the result was almost unimportant, as daft as that may seem.

With a win, Pochettino would rightfully argue that he can do no more with the current system in place. With the loss, Pochettino can now argue that Tottenham are not at the required level to win, and won’t be with the current system. Prior to the result, one thing was clear – a change would be needed to keep Tottenham’s main man. But perhaps Pochettino is looking for more than we first anticipated.

Football.London have reported that Tottenham are to hand Pochettino the finances needed to rebuild his squad in preparation for next season. However, they added that the Argentinian will need to be convinced that the club will continue to push on in the long-term, rather than a one-off ‘gesture’ this summer.

This is a crucial factor for the Tottenham manager, who has emphasised the need for a clear plan now that Tottenham have reached the elite level in European football. They now have training facilities of the highest quality, a stadium to match any and now the attention from the rest of Europe. The infrastructure is set and Tottenham can really push on. With backing from the board, anything is possible. But without, it could all unravel.

This summer, therefore, represents one of the most important periods in the history of the club. According to BBC Sport, Tottenham has already lodged a £53m bid for midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, a real sign of intent. They are also reportedly interested in bringing Tanguy Ndombele to the club, another transfer that would shatter the current transfer structure (as per Le10Sport).

Obviously, it remains to be seen whether any of these will actually come off, but it’s positive signs so far.

While the likes of Ndombele and Lo Celso would be quality incomings, the most important thing for Tottenham’s progression is that their manager stays. Arguably none of the success they have experienced would have been possible without the phenomenal Pochettino. It truly would be a disaster if he were to leave.

It’s up to you, Daniel Levy. Keep him and build on this era, lose him and risk it fading into the past.

Tottenham fans, what do you think? Will Levy back Pochettino this summer? How would it impact the club should the Argentinian leave? Comment below…

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According to Sky Sport reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, AC Milan have contacted Liverpool over a potential move for Dejan Lovren.

Lovren has made 170 appearances for Liverpool since a 2014 move from Southampton – including 18 in all competitions last term.

The 29-year-old played a key role in Croatia reaching the final of the 2018 World Cup but it would be fair to say that he is behind Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip in the pecking order when it comes to Liverpool centre-backs.

And the Merseyside outfit’s fans have reacted positively to the claim that Milan could sign the 52-cap ace in this summer’s transfer window.

Lovren has his critics but could certainly thrive in a different setting.

You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…

And losing a player of his experience would weaken the European Cup holders unless Jurgen Klopp’s side bring another centre-back to Anfield this summer.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the club’s fans can be seen below:

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Celtic fans have been left in disbelief after a dramatic twist in the David Turnbull transfer saga, with the player now looking like signing for the Hoops later on Friday.

The Daily Record reported late on Thursday that the player has rejected the chance to play for Norwich City after extensive discussions, turning down higher wages to make the decision that his footballing future is best served at Celtic Park.

How can Celtic improve next season? A Hoops fan tells us how in the video below…

It comes after an extensive tussle for his signature that resulted in Celtic reportedly pulling out of the deal earlier this week after the Canaries had a bid accepted by Motherwell.

Celtic had even announced last week that Turnbull had turned down an initial contract offer.

The 19-year-old emerged as one of the most exciting young stars in the Scottish Premiership last season, netting 15 goals from midfield and winning awards such as the Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player of the Year.

If the latest reports are accurate, he’ll now have the opportunity to show what he can do for the Scottish champions.

Celtic supporters have taken to Twitter over the last 24 hours to share their thoughts on the fresh developments…

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A number of Rangers fans have been on social media discussing Borna Barisic.

The Croatian joined Rangers from NK Osijek last summer and made 22 appearances for the Scottish giants during the 2018-19 campaign.

The 26-year-old failed to score and registered just four assists, however, as he struggled to make his mark during his first season in Scottish football.

A seven-time Croatia international, Barisic will be looking to impress head coach Steven Gerrard in pre-season with the view to securing more minutes next season.

On Monday evening, Rangers posted a video of a training-ground exercise, which saw Barisic produce an excellent cross for Greg Stewart to head home.

And that led to a number of Rangers supporters commenting on the defender.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Some believe that Barisic will enjoy a strong 2019-20 campaign for the club and others are more hopeful than certain that will be the case.

The Gers kick off their pre-season campaign against English side Oxford United on July 7 and Barisic will be hoping to get some early minutes in the tank.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

[ad_pod ]As was already announced earlier last month but has now been confirmed by the big man himself, Rafael Benitez is leaving Newcastle United upon the expiry of his contract.The Spanish coach took over the Toon Army in March 2016 and has since led the team to some decent results in his 146 matches as their coach.Initially, he couldn’t save them from relegation upon his mid-season appointment but then got them promoted back into the Premier League under his vigilant watch.Since then, they have had two good seasons in the English top flight, finishing 10th and 13th in the next two respective campaigns.Now that July is finally here and Benitez is officially a free agent, he took to social media to post a heartfelt message to his fans.

Newcastle have still not announced his successor but are largely expected to do so soon, as they have already stated themselves in their official post.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The ex-Liverpool manager seemingly left in good spirits and on good terms with the club but he does state that Newcastle have not shared his vision so an agreement could not be found.

We still await any news regarding his future ordeals, though reports have suggested his next destination could be China.

It was always going to be hard to see Marko Arnautovic at West Ham for the foreseeable future after the transfer fiasco last January, and this summer could finally see the Austrian head for the exit.

The drama that engulfed the winter transfer window nearly saw Arnautovic walk from the London Stadium to the Far East of China, where the Telegraph reported that the striker wanted to move to Shanghai SIPG, only for the former Stoke City man to remain in Stratford and sign a new deal with the club, and this summer has seen more links of a move away for the attacker.

The Daily Mail reports that Arnautovic has caught the eye of a trio of Serie A clubs; Inter Milan, Roma, and Fiorentina, so perhaps they’d be wise to cash in.

Of course, a deal would be difficult with Arnautovic’s new contract running to 2023, meaning it would likely take a big offer from any of these sides to lure the striker away from east London, but with the likes of Callum Wilson (OneFootball) and Maxi Gomez (The Evening Standard) being rumoured with a move to West Ham, perhaps there’d be scope to let him go if a new man does arrive.

Indeed, a move back to Italy could be good for Arnautovic after the year he has had with West Ham. Sure he impressed on the pitch with 10 goals and four assists in the league, but his relationship with the fans has been severely damaged (Adrian Durham of talkSPORT claimed in March that supporters were ‘done’ with him) since the China transfer fiasco, and maybe it would be for the best for him depart, allowing the club to benefit both financially and with an extra spot for a new attacker next season.

West Ham fans, would you sell Arnautovic this summer? Let us know!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill is backing Rangers signing Jordan Jones to be a hit at Ibrox this season, as reported by The Scottish Sun.

What’s he said?

Jones has featured in Northern Ireland’s last four qualifying matches, so O’Neill is clearly a fan of the new Gers man’s talents.

The former Kilmarnock star joined on a free transfer this summer after signing a pre-contract with the club in January.

O’Neill is now backing his player to excel at club level, believing he can have the kind of crowd-pleasing impact that players such as Ryan Kent and Daniel Candeias have delivered over the last 12 months.

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the 49-year-old said:

“When you sign a player from Kilmarnock on a free transfer, he maybe doesn’t have the profile of some other players.

“But Rangers may be pleasantly surprised in what they have got in Jordan.

“He has made a big impact in a short space of time and I have a feeling he is someone who will be around the international team for a long time to come.

“The early European games will be good for Jordan because the opposition won’t be as tough.

“He will get the Rangers fans off their seats. I watched a lot of Rangers last season and I saw how the fans react when Ryan Kent or Daniel Candeias get on the ball. Jordan is a player who brings that excitement.”

Improvement needed

Jones plays on the left win so will certainly be eyeing making Kent’s spot last season his own this term.

However, if he’s to be a big hit with Rangers fans then he needs to up his attacking output from his last few seasons at Rugby Park.

The winger has never scored more than four goals in a single season in Scottish football, netting just 11 in 119 appearances for Killie.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

His assist record hasn’t been much more impressive, creating 22 in three seasons, but only four last term.

If he is to win a regular place in Steven Gerrard’s side he will need to up that considerably even if his style of play, as O’Neill claims, is easy on the eye and exciting for supporters.