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Leeds United didn’t do much on domestic deadline day, but one thing that caught the attention was the return of Gaetano Berardi to the club.

The Swiss defender had been out of contract since the end of last season, but with an ACL injury keeping him out for the next nine months, it was unknown what the fate of his career would be.

Leeds have decided to support their man throughout these problems, signing him until the end of the season to help him through his rehabilitation, and that is just a brilliant gesture.

Let’s be real for a moment, Berardi isn’t likely to play for the club ever again. He’s out for the majority of this season and competition is rife at centre-back with Robin Koch, Diego Llorente and Liam Cooper all way ahead of him in the pecking order. But even if he doesn’t play a game, this was the right move to make.

Berardi did Leeds a massive favour by signing a short contract extension at the end of last season, but a cruel twist of fate saw him sidelined with a very serious injury, jeopardising any hopes he had of finding a new club after his deal expired.

The 33-year-old is Leeds’ longest-serving player, and if anyone at the club was deserving of this sort of treatment, it’s Berardi.

There are no two ways about it this contract is a waste of money. Leeds are employing Berardi to do a job he may never actually do, but there can’t be any complaints about them offering the defender support through his injury as well as some financial stability.

Everything is so uncertain at the moment in the midst of a pandemic, and while other clubs are laying off staff or putting them on furlough, Leeds are giving Berardi the help he needs even though it’s going to cost them.

It’s thousands of pounds down the drain, but it’s probably the best way any club can waste money.

Manchester United have gone seven years without winning a Premier League title, the club’s longest dry-spell since the league’s rebrand in 1992.

It’s no secret that many believe that the big issue at the club is a weakened mentality since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, with Gary Neville or Roy Keane seemingly ranting about that exact issue on Sky Sports every couple of weeks or so.

United seem to be getting back on track when it comes to talent on the pitch, they’ve won six of their first eight league games since the restart, and one player they’re reportedly looking into signing could help bring back the winning mentality that has seemingly been lacking.

The Athletic have reported that the Red Devils are looking into the possibility of bringing in Kingsley Coman as an alternative to Jadon Sancho.

On face value, Coman doesn’t look to be as good as Sancho, the Frenchman has 26 fewer goal contributions in the league than the Dortmund star this term, but despite that, the 24-year-old can bring something that Sancho may not have.

Indeed, the Bayern man may not score or assist as much as the England international, but it’s impossible to deny the fact that he is a born winner.

Coman has won eight league titles in a row throughout his spells with PSG, Juventus and Bayern Munich, and being in a title-winning dressing room that often is bound to breed a winning mentality.

The winger has what it takes to play a part in a title-winning side, and that could be huge in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s quest to lead United back to glory in the coming years.

If Coman can come in and bring that sort of attitude to the squad, it could be huge for the Red Devils.

Chelsea are hoping to offload Michy Batshuayi this summer and have offered his services to Championship winners Leeds.

According to Get French Football News (GFFN), the Blues are hoping to cash in on their forgotten striker and are looking to strike a deal with Marcelo Bielsa.

Frank Lampard has shown that he is serious about pushing for success next season after already welcoming Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner through the door. More new signings look to be on the table as the Stamford Bridge legend trawls the transfer market.

It seems only a matter of time before heavily-linked Kai Havertz make the move to West London, after agreeing personal terms with Marina Granovskaia. Lampard has also outlined that Chelsea are in need of a defensive makeover and is particularly eager to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal.

Despite Roman Abramovich offering a £120m summer budget, the former England international clearly has more lavish spending in mind. As a result, he is hoping to offload some fringe players in order to make up the funds.

Whilst Batshuayi could suit a newly-promoted club like Leeds, Chelsea have very little chance of doing business with the Elland Road outfit. According to the GFFN report, the Whites are being bombarded with offers from French agents looking to send their clients to the Championship winners.

Leeds’ last season in the Premier League was back in 2004 and they will be taking extra care to ensure that they don’t slip back into the second tier any time soon. Bielsa and co are going to be diligent in selecting new personnel to ensure that they have the best men for the job in the top flight.

With Batshuayi currently earning £100,000 per week, according to Spotrac, the Yorkshire side may be unable to accommodate such high wages.

Chelsea must therefore consider other options for the Belgian if they are hoping to ship him out on a permanent deal this summer.

Do you think the Blues should keep or sell Michy Batshuayi? Have your say in the comments below…

Timo Werner’s performance for RB Leipzig this weekend against Mainz will have done little to put Liverpool fans off wanting the Germany international to make the move to Anfield.

The 24-year-old bagged a hat-trick as Die Rotenbullen won 5-0, with them winning 13-0 against the same opponents across their two games this season. The trio of strikes takes Werner’s Bundesliga tally for the season to 24, which has only been bettered by Robert Lewandowksi, whilst he became the first player to score a hat-trick twice against the same opponent in one season since Ulf Kirsten in 1999.

The Reds have been heavily linked with the £57.6m-valued striker – as per Transfermarkt – and now Raphael Honigstein has offered another update on the situation. He says that the forward and Jurgen Klopp have had a virtual meeting to discuss his future (BT Sport via The Daily Express).

Unsurprisingly, this has attracted the attention of many Reds supporters. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, with one imploring sporting director Michael Edwards to get the deal done, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

Liverpool fans, are you confident that Werner will be a Reds player next season? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

Key Information about The Valley

Charlton Athletic Football Club have historically played all of their home matches at The Valley since it opened back in 1919.

The 27,111 all-seater stadium is located South East London and comprises four stands; the Covered End, the Jimmy Seed Stand, and the East and West Stands.

A history of The Valley

Following the First World War, the Addicks thought it was the best time to move to a new ground that could host their home matches. The Valley formed a natural bowl; however, there was not enough space to play football on a subtable pitch, therefore many volunteers helped to dig out what would become the famous Valley pitch. Amongst the volunteers was the grandfather of future Chartloton legend Brian Kinsey, and the new turf was finally ready in time for the first-ever game at the ground on 13 September 1919.

The first match was between Summerstown as the Addicks came out 2-0 winners and subsequently won election to the Kent League ahead of October. At the time, The Valley was one of the largest Football League grounds in the UK, and its highest maximum capacity sat at 75,000. It was unfortunate for Charlton, that their long-awaited absence from the top flight of English football prevented them from commencing needed redevelopment of The Valley as budgets were tight.

The club’s debts almost went too far in the early 1980s, though The Valley remained under the ownership of the club’s former owner. Despite this, Charlton were unable to finance the improvements needed in order to meet new safety requirements for fans, and shortly after the start of the 1985-86 season, the Addicks left The Valley, as they made an agreement with Crystal Palace to ground share at Selhurst Park. This was the first official ground-sharing arrangement in the Football League in 36 years.

In 1991, work began on renovating The Valley after approval was gained from the Greenwich Borough Council. During this time, Charlton moved on to ground share with West Ham United at Upton Park for one season, and they moved back to their old home during the 1992-93 season with many redevelopments of stands and capacity.

The club had many ambitions to further expand The Valley during their seven-year stay in the Premier League from the start of the millennium, though these plans were hindered by their relegation from the top flight in 2007, and from the Championship two years later. The all-time record attendance at The Valley stands at just over 75,000 from an FA Cup Fifth Round tie against Aston Villa back in 1938.

Tickets to Watch Charlton Athletic at The Valley

Adult season tickets for The Valley range from £260-575 depending on which seating zone is chosen. Single adult matchday tickets are priced from £23-37, over-65/under-21s from £21-33, students from £18, under-18s from £10, and under-11s go free.

Related Links

https://www.cafc.co.uk/ – Official website of Charlton Athletic

https://booking.cafc.co.uk/ – Charlton Athletic Ticket Office

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans have been reacting on Twitter after a report by Foot Mercato, via Sport Witness, suggested that Spurs manager Jose Mourinho and chairman Daniel Levy disagree over the future of midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

The report by the French media outlet says that the 23-year-old’s future at the north London outfit may be in doubt because of Mourinho, who of course publicly criticised the Frenchman following the draw against Burnley at Turf Moor at the beginning of March.

Paris Saint-Germain are said to be keen on the former Lyon player according to Foot Mercato, but they may face a battle with not only another club keen in Barcelona, but also with Levy.

The report says that the chairman believes Ndombele can still have a big future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium despite what has been a tough debut campaign, having cost £53.8m less than 12 months ago.

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Spurs discussion going on in the Vital Tottenham Forum! Click here to get involved!

While there are a couple of Spurs supporters who have taken the side of Levy – something that probably doesn’t happen too often – the majority understandably are backing their experienced manager instead.

Here is a selection of the reaction…

In other Tottenham news, Spurs fans have identified the 6 ft 4 colossus they want if Harry Kane leaves the club…

Glasgow Rangers and the Daily Record newspaper do not have the best of relationships.

Over the past few weeks, many ‘Gers supporters have unleashed their wrath on some of the writers at the publication, including Keith Jackson, over their coverage of the Ibrox outfit’s attempt to see an independent investigation into the SPFL being conducted. It seems that it is not a paper that many of a Light Blues persuasion will be buying in the future.

Club1872’s statement today will only add to that. A year ago, the Daily Record published an article about ‘Gers fans saying that, at one match, they had displayed a banner that showed sex acts being performed, and they also claimed that there has been other unsavoury depictions at a game against their fierce Glasgow rivals Celtic. However, after a complaint from the supporters’ group, it has now been confirmed that this grievance has been upheld, effectively declaring that the newspaper lied.

As you can imagine, ‘Gers supporters have been reacting in their droves to this news – one fan even called the paper a “national embarrassment”. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

‘Gers fans, what did you make of this development? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

Leeds United fans on Twitter aren’t too worried about rumours resurfacing linking Kalvin Phillips with a move to Manchester United.

The move was originally reported last month, but BBC Sport brought up the prospect of a move happening again when introducing their gossip column on Tuesday.

On the whole, United fans have made it clear that they’re not buying these reports as they believe Phillips will stay loyal to the Whites due to the fact that he’s supported them from a young age.

Of course, club affiliations can go out of the window once the big clubs come knocking, and Leeds fans know this all too well after Alan Smith joined the Red Devils back in 2004 despite once saying that he’d never play for the English giants.

Whether or not the midfielder does swap Elland Road for Old Trafford remains to be seen, but many supporters believe that these rumours are nothing more than gossip.

Here’s what Leeds fans have been saying on Twitter…

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…

Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Joao Moutinho has already vindicated his new long-term contract extension after he was named in Alan Shearer’s Premier League Team of the Week.

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What’s he said?

The west Midlanders defeated AFC Bournemouth 2-1 on Saturday afternoon to move into fifth place in the top-flight after goals from Moutinho, who fired home a sublime free-kick, and Raul Jimenez, who notched his 14th of the season.

Earlier in the day, the 33-year-old committed his future to the club by signing a three-year deal, meaning he’ll be at the club until at least the summer of 2022.

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His performance at the weekend caught the eye of Shearer, and the one-time Premier League champion has given Moutinho a glowing review by naming him in his Team of the Week.

He said:

“[Moutinho] produced a passing masterclass, playing short balls between the lines and longer ones out wide to stretch AFC Bournemouth, while his free-kick was of the highest quality.”

Vindicated

The Portuguese playmaker may be getting on a bit, but he’s shown no signs of decline whatsoever, making the decision to tie him down long-term a very wise move.

Moutinho has featured in all but two of Wolves’ competitive matches this term while also continuing to cement his spot in the national team as defending champions Portugal qualified for next summer’s European Championship.

The midfield maestro scored his first of the season with that free-kick on Saturday, but he’s already on course to surpass last season’s exploits having notched seven assists in all competitions, one short of his total for 2018/19.

Given Fosun’s long-term ambitions to build from within and transition into a fully functioning club from the roots up, such a decision to grant an ageing player a mega-contract was a bold call, but ultimately, his recent showing and subsequent plaudits have proven exactly why it was correct.

Meanwhile, there has been a major update over the progress of Willy Boly…

Manchester United fans on Twitter haven’t lost all hope in Fred yet after he put on an impressive performance against Norwich City on Sunday.

The Brazilian midfielder was rather impressive against the Canaries as he had an 86.4 per cent pass completion rate on his way to picking up a 7.31 WhoScored rating.

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It’s fair to say that Fred had a rather underwhelming debut campaign at Old Trafford after his £47m move from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Indeed, the midfielder was labelled as one of the worst signings in the club’s history earlier this month, but now it seems as if he’s on the right track in terms of winning over the Old Trafford faithful as he received a lot of praise for his performance at Carrow Road.

Whether or not Fred can become a star in Manchester remains to be seen, but these fans certainly have faith in him.

Here’s what Manchester United fans have been saying on Twitter…