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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Spurs legend, Graham Roberts, has revealed that Mauricio Pochettino was told he had to win the Champions League this season with PSG.

Pochettino saw his side fail to trouble Manchester City during the second leg of their Champions League semi-final as Angel Di Maria saw red for a stamp on Fernandinho during the second half.

PSG reached the final of Europe’s elite competition last season but they were outclassed and ultimately, beaten by Bayern Munich and their league form is also concerning, with the Parisians one point behind Lille with just three games left.

Speaking on how Pochettino will already be under pressure at PSG and what Levy must now do, Roberts exclusively told FFC:

“I’ve been told that Pochettino had to win the Champions League this year and don’t forget that they could lose the league for the first time in years this season so they’re not going to be happy.

“If it was me, I would drive over to France and ask him to come back.”

Pochettino reached the Champions League final with Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 but were beaten by Liverpool, and the Argentine was sacked by Levy the following November.

Spurs’s chief scout, Steve Hitchen, is reportedly set to recommend Brighton’s Graham Potter to Levy as his number one choice for the job.

Leeds United centre-back Robin Koch has admitted that he is happy at Elland Road at the moment, but has hinted at the possibility of moving on eventually.

The Lowdown: Key signing for Whites

The Whites signed the German from Freiburg last August as Marcelo Bielsa prepared his squad for their first season back in the Premier League.

Koch has been an impressive performer for Leeds, making 17 appearances in the top flight and being hailed as a ‘leader’ by Noel Whelan.

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The Latest: Koch happy at Leeds

Discussing his future in an interview with Kicker [via Sport Witness], Koch expressed his happiness at Leeds, although he didn’t completely rule out the possibility of moving on one day, saying:

“I’ve only been here a year now, and I’m very satisfied. The club’s journey is far from over. Of course, you always have big goals, but at the moment my focus is entirely on Leeds United and the Euros”.

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The Verdict: Important figure moving forward

Koch may not have been a regular starter for the Whites this season, but his potential has shone through, with the 24-year-old doing well at both centre-back and in central midfield, averaging an 86.2% passing completion rate and winning 2.2 aerial duels per game in the league (WhoScored).

He should only mature further with age, potentially becoming a key figure over time and acting as a possible long-term replacement for Liam Cooper at the heart of the Whites’ defence.

Koch’s comments regarding his “big goals” for the future further down the line could worry some Leeds fans, with the defender making it sound like he may consider a move elsewhere one day, but for now we can rest assured that he is wholly committed to the Elland Road cause.

In other news, one Leeds player has been tipped to sign a new deal – find out who it is here.

Former Liverpool midfielder Paul Stewart has exclusively told Football FanCast that he’s surprised Thiago Alcantara has struggled to adapt to English football.

The Spanish midfielder arrived last summer with a weight of expectation on his shoulders following a glistening career with both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, where he won more than 20 major honours, including 11 league titles and two Champions Leagues.

A knee problem and Covid-19 saw Thiago restricted to just two appearances before Christmas, with that knee issue sustained in the Merseyside derby ruling him out for more than two months.

Since returning in late-December, the 30-year-old has started all but three of Liverpool’s Premier League matches, and scored his first Reds in the crucial victory over Southampton earlier this month, although he’s yet to assist in 29 games in all competitions.

Thiago, who was loved by Pep Guardiola during their time at Munich, has improved of late, though, and would have most likely claimed the man of the match award at West Brom on Sunday had it not been for Alisson’s dramatic last-gasp winner.

“He came with a lot of hype behind him, and I thought he would slot straight in,” Stewart told Football FanCast.

“But a lot of these players find the Premier League difficult because the game isn’t the same week in, week out.

“They might be playing Arsenal, who pass the ball around one week, but then you might be at Burnley at Turf Moor and if you don’t fight you are coming away with nothing. And I haven’t seen that in Thiago. Some of these players, and Thiago being one of them, find that side of the English game difficult.”

According to Calciomercato, West Ham United are interested in signing Wout Weghorst from Wolfsburg this summer.

The Lowdown: West Ham need a striker

David Moyes has led the Irons through a wonderful campaign – they ended up finishing in sixth place in the Premier League, which secured them a spot in next term’s Europa League.

If they want to be competitive both in Europe and domestically next year, though, they will need to bring in a new striker – they only have Michail Antonio available as a natural number nine option at the moment.

The Latest: Hammers eye Weghorst

Now, it is being reported the Irons are interested in Wolfsburg forward Weghorst.

Serie A outfit AS Roma are also believed to be in pursuit, via the Italian outlet.

The Verdict: Good option

Weghorst has been in magnificent form with German outfit Wolfsburg, who secured Champions League football via the Bundesliga this campaign. He netted 25 goals in all competitions for the club, taking his career tally at the Volkswagen Arena to 63 strikes in 120 (Transfermarkt). Add in the 45 in 86 he managed at previous employers AZ Alkmaar, and he has 108 goals in his last 206 matches.

He is currently valued at £27m, and given his form, he could cost even more than that. Some West Ham fans will be hesitant to capture the 28-year-old given the experience they had with Sebastien Haller, a similar kind of player who lasted just 18 months at the London side before moving to Ajax. However, Weghorst has shown enough on a long-term basis now to indicate he would be more dangerous than the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward.

In other news, David Ornstein makes this Harry Kane claim.

West Ham United fans are livid after it was revealed Pep Guardiola won the LMA Manager of the Year award ahead of their own David Moyes.

This past campaign was a magnificent one for the Hammers. After narrowly avoiding relegation to the Championship last season, they were able to secure qualification for the Europa League after finishing sixth in the Premier League table – they weren’t too far off a place in the Champions League either.

Guardiola’s Manchester City, meanwhile, clinched the league title as well as the League Cup, while they are also in the Champions League final. However, the Citizens boss has a far bigger budget to play with than Moyes, and a league title is far from unexpected. This term, Moyes was perhaps worthy of the accolade.

The news was shared on Twitter by @WestHam_Central, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Moyes snub below

“ROBBED!”

Credit: @sejanus_

“What a joke that is”

Credit: @pbanks17

“Absolute Rubbish!”

Credit: @Persianwall

“disgusting”

Credit: @alexelliison

“What a joke. Shows wot £££ can buy”

Credit: @bicks99

“Pfft. Bloke finished 5 points better off then last season when they had a shocker.”

Credit: @leebrown22

In other news, West Ham fans want to sign this midfielder.

Southampton have recently been linked with Everton midfielder Tom Davies recently but he would be a poor addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Southampton have reignited their interest in the 22-year-old midfielder, having failed to sign him last year, and they will move for him this summer if they are given any encouragement by Everton.

The report suggests that Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti is a big fan of the England U21 international, which suggests that the Toffees would not be willing to part ways with the youngster for less than his current market value of £14.4m.

Would he be a good signing?

Davies’ performances in recent seasons do little to suggest that he would be a good signing at Southampton this summer.

This season saw the Englishman make 25 appearances in the Premier League, in which he failed to contribute a single goal or assist, averaging a woeful 6.46 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This would rank him as the 17th-best performer in Everton’s side this season, whereas if he had produced the same level of performance at St Mary’s, he would’ve been ranked as the 15th-best player this season.

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Considering Hasenhuttl has suggested that Southampton will target players under £10m this summer, it is difficult to see the Austrian shelling out more than that on a player who would surely struggle to oust Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse in the Saints midfield.

Earlier in the season, Sky Sports journalist Alan Myers was full of praise for Davies, saying:

“Tom Davies has been a player who’s increased performance-wise incredibly over the last few months. He’s had a lot of stick from fans and other areas, and he’s come back really well and is playing really well, so I’m glad to see him back.”

However, it is difficult to see how he would be an improvement on the options currently available to Hasenhuttl in midfield and considering how much he would likely cost, this is a transfer that the Austrian should definitely avoid this summer.

And, in other news… Hasenhuttl could evolve his Saints attack with swoop for “unbelievable” star

Plenty of Celtic fans have been left fuming at the latest update on the club’s managerial target Ange Postecoglou.

The 55-year-old has been the man in the frame ever since the Hoops’ talks with Eddie Howe collapsed last month.

And, according to Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph, Celtic have agreed on a compensation fee with Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos for Postecoglou’s services.

Joseph went on to add that Celtic are now hoping to get a deal finalised swiftly and revealed it is unsure if Postecoglou will be in the dugout for Yokohama F. Marinos’ clash with Hokkaido Consadole on Sunday.

Should a deal go through, Postecoglou would have to undergo a 10-day period of isolation when he moves to Scotland, with Celtic’s players set to return for pre-season on June 17.

Celtic fans react

Joseph shared the news late on Friday night on Twitter. These Hoops supporters weren’t exactly thrilled, with one describing the news as ‘embarrassing’.

“A disgrace. Our club is failed by a socialist approach.”

Credit: @mmln55

“Make it stop”

Credit: @mushroomracer

“Embarrassing”

Credit: @weedoughball

“How much are they paying us?”

Credit: @HereCelts

“Massively underwhelming. Hopefully he proves most of us wrong and brings some success to the club.”

Credit: @FAC321

“Nobody wants this no mark anywhere near the club. The club is so out of touch it beggars belief”

Credit: @MD__KV

In other news: Celtic make bid for 24 y/o at the top of his game, find out more here. 

Leicester City’s transfer plans have suffered a potential blow after it was revealed that Newcastle United are also keen on signing Schalke defender Ozan Kabak.

What’s the story?

The 21-year-old impressed during a six-month loan spell at Liverpool last season, however, the Reds decided not to take up their option to buy the Turkey international for £18 million.

Now though, Kabak is the subject of interest from Premier League sides Leicester and Newcastle, according to German outlet Bild.

Rodgers will be gutted

Brendan Rodgers’ charges have been linked with a move for Kabak for several weeks as the Northern Irish manager looks to strengthen his first-team squad over the summer.

The departure of experienced defenders Wes Morgan and Christian Fuchs means the Midlands outfit need to bolster their backline over the coming months, with a Europa League campaign on the horizon.

After a shaky start to his Liverpool career – ironically against Leicester – Kabak grew in confidence after each game for the Anfield outfit, receiving a very respectable 6.72 WhoScored rating from his nine Premier League outings.

His solid displays earned praise from Jurgen Klopp as the 19-time English champions clawed themselves back into a Champions League qualification spot.

“Ozan came in at 20 from Germany, was a big prospect but wasn’t lucky with the last two teams he played for; one went down (Stuttgart), and the other will probably go down (Schalke). But nobody really doubted his quality,” said Klopp.

However, with the likes of Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana and Caglar Soyuncu potentially ahead of Kabak at the King Power Stadium, the promise of first-team football may be enough to persuade the £22.5m-rated centre-back to join Newcastle instead of moving to the King Power.

The Magpies recovered from a disastrous run of form in the middle of the campaign to win five of their final nine league games, and Steve Bruce is looking to build on their end-of-season momentum in the transfer market.

News that one of his key transfer targets may be poached by a domestic rival, one who may be a more attractive proposition due to the game time on offer, will surely leave Rodgers feeling gutted as he attempts to build a squad capable of breaking into the top-flight’s top four.

And, in other news…Huge LCFC transfer update emerges on “outstanding” £34.5m ace, Rodgers will be gutted 

ExWHUemployee has delivered an intriguing update on West Ham’s search for a new striker this week…

What’s the word?

According to the anonymous but ever-reliable source, David Moyes appears to be interested in three main attacking targets.

Speaking on his ‘The West Ham Way’ podcast, he said:

“As I’ve said repeatedly, Tammy Abraham is the first choice.

“With him, again, there’s a lot of interest. Notably Aston Villa, I think Crystal Palace possibly – although I can’t see them paying the sort of fee that is wanted by Chelsea. At the moment Chelsea, want around £40m.

“We need to decide whether we think that’s an acceptable fee or not. I think we value him more at £25-30m – so we shall see what happens there but we are definitely keen on him.

“The other one is Sima, who is at our feeder club effectively [Slavia Prague]. We believe he’s got a lot of potential and also he’s from a club that we like dealing with.

“Another forward that got mentioned recently was (Patson) Daka.”

Time to act

As Ex explains, the Chelsea outcast may well be the Scotsman’s top target but with his value set at an extortionate price – much above what they are willing to pay – it could be wise for the Irons to look elsewhere.

This is where Sima fits the bill.

Not only have the club had success dealing with Slavia Prague before but he’s touted to have big potential on the back of a very lucrative debut campaign.

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Across all competitions, the 19-year-old gem bagged 20 goals. He also provided eight assists, meaning he averaged a direct goal contribution once every 98 minutes, via Transfermarkt.

It’s no wonder the Senegalese international has been lauded as a “huge talent” and a “wonderful player” throughout the season.

Moyes is in dire need of additions to his frontline this summer as he cannot afford to go into the new campaign with just one option, an injury-prone Michail Antonio, but they shouldn’t stump up the cash for Abraham at that £40m asking price.

It’s thought that Sima would be a lot cheaper at just €25m (£22.5m) and considering he’s been likened to both Thierry Henry and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the past, that could prove to be a bargain.

In fact, Abraham has only scored ten more goals across his whole Chelsea career (80 appearances) than Sima has bagged in one season. It would just make more sense to take a punt on the 19-year-old wonderkid instead, leaving further funds to bolster other areas.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Lingard: West Ham could form dream duo with “very complete” £20m monster…

After a less than impressive second half of the 2020/21 campaign which saw Southampton collapse after an impressive start to the campaign, plenty of signings will be required if Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are to improve next season.

Full-back will be the main priority for the Austrian manager this summer after the departure of Ryan Bertrand, whilst reinforcements on the wing and up front may also be required if the Saints want to push on.

Injuries played their part last season and in the absence of Danny Ings, Kyle Walker-Peters, Jannik Vestergaard and Oriol Romeu at various points in the season, the South Coast side struggled, so you could definitely argue that they need to add more first-team ready options to their side this summer.

Here’s how Football FanCast predicts Southampton’s strongest XI could look next season after Martin Semmens and the manager have concluded their business…

Despite links to Freddie Woodman and Thomas Strakosha, Hasenhuttl has suggested that Alex McCarthy and Fraser Forster will remain as the two main goalkeeping options next season, with the former perhaps more likely to start as he is stronger with his feet.

Romain Perraud is looking likely to be the man to replace Bertrand at left-back, with the Brest defender seemingly on the brink of making the switch to St Mary’s.

Despite an impressive end to the campaign, Mohammed Salisu will likely provide back-up to Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek at centre-back, whilst Marc Guehi could also join on loan from Chelsea to compete at the heart of Hasenhuttl’s defence.

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Kyle Walker-Peters is almost nailed on to start at right-back after an excellent first full campaign as a Southampton player, although Brandon Williams could challenge both him and Perraud for game time at full-back should he join from Manchester United.

Stuart Armstrong, Romeu and James Ward-Prowse are all likely to keep their place in midfield, should Southampton be able to see off interest from Aston Villa in their influential captain, but left-midfield is certainly an area in which the Saints can improve.

Both Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond disappointed there last season so Bournemouth winger Arnaut Danjuma could arrive as an upgrade after his superb season in the Championship, with Djenepo perhaps likely to be axed amid reported interest from Fenerbahce.

Finally, Danny Ings and Che Adams will continue their partnership up front unless Southampton receive an offer for the former Liverpool man which they cannot refuse, although Daryl Dike or Randal Kolo Muani could potentially arrive as backup.

Should they keep hold of their keep players and make key improvements to the squad, Southampton should avoid being dragged into a relegation fight again next season.

And, in other news… Southampton signing “exciting” talent could allow Hasenhuttl to axe “weak link”