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Son Heung-min is the type of signing that every scout, sporting director and coach would normally clamour to claim. But at Tottenham Hotspur, there is no argument over who should take the credit for the arrival of the South Korean seven years ago. Chairman Daniel Levy got more stick over failing to land Saido Berahino, now of Sheffield Wednesday, from West Bromwich Albion than any credit he received for signing Son for £22 million in the summer of 2015. But, just as missing out on Berahino proved to be a lucky escape, Son must rank as Tottenham’s best signing of the last seven years and it was the hands-on approach of Levy, which has not always worked out for the best, that proved to be vital. Levy did not have an invite to Bayer Leverkusen’s BayArena stadium to meet Son, when he turned up unannounced with the intention of signing him. He waited until Son and his representatives consented to talk to him and would not leave until an agreement had been reached. That persistence … [Read more...] about Why Son Heung-min is the most under-rated striker on the planet

Premier League stars Cheikhou Kouyate and Ismaila Sarr appear to have offered backing to Idrissa Gueye after the Paris Saint Germain midfielder allegedly refused to wear rainbow colours on his shirt. Gueye failed to show for PSG's 4-0 win over Montpellier over the weekend, with manager Mauricio Pochettino confirming that his absence was due to 'personal reasons'. The Senegal international, who is a devout Muslim, subsequently came under fire following reports that his refusal was motivated by the club's use of the special rainbow shirts - which were being worn to mark the upcoming International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. But it appears Gueye has support from a couple of Premier League-based international colleagues, who have both offered support for the former Everton man on social media this week. Watford forward Sarr posted a picture of himself standing next to Gueye on Instagram, with a fist emoji, three heart emojis and the caption: "100 … [Read more...] about Cheikhou Kouyate calls Idrissa Gueye a “real man” after he ‘refused LGBT shirt’

Parents were left 'outraged' after Muslim school pupils were served banned pork instead of vegetarian sausages after a catering blunder. Ryders Green Primary in West Bromwich said it had demanded an explanation from its supplier over the error, which happened on Thursday last week. Muslims are prohibited from eating pork and the mistake led to a protest outside the school on Friday morning, Birmingham Live reports . A Muslim parent said she was refunded the cost of the meal but was left upset. She said: "I went to pick my daughter up from school on Thursday and the teacher said she needed to speak to me. Read More "I was told there had been a mix-up when my daughter had ordered veggie sausage and mash. She had a look at the sausage and thought it was different to what she normally had. "She took a bite and knew it tasted completely different to what she was used to. I queried it with the teacher who then got in touch with the catering company. "The teacher said … [Read more...] about Fury as Muslim children given pork in lunchtime ‘mix up’ at primary school

After the second draw of the season between Manchester City and Liverpool an unimaginative idea began to take root. The two title-chasers were so far ahead of the rest of the Premier League that surely both would win all of their remaining fixtures? Two London clubs in two weeks have intervened to kill that dubious notion. Clinching the title is still in City’s hands but their slip at West Ham has given Liverpool a chance. West Ham were their usual combination of feisty and well-drilled, but City made it more difficult for themselves than necessary. How did they resurrect a title race which had been missing, presumed dead? Curious crossing tactics At the beginning of the game, City found their range with a series of deep crosses and long shots, as if parsing dimensions of a battlefield ahead of a meticulous military operation. As the half progressed it became clear that high balls into the box were actually City’s main weapon to unlock West Ham's defence. Craig Dawson and … [Read more...] about Manchester City’s five key failings have given Liverpool hope in the title race

Mohamed Salah declared himself on course to be fit for Liverpool’s Champions League final against Real Madrid on May 28, after the Premier League’s leading goalscorer was substituted in the first half of his team’s FA Cup final triumph . Jurgen Klopp’s team claimed the FA Cup, their second domestic trophy of the season, with another penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea at Wembley after a 0-0 draw over 90 minutes and extra-time. The substitute Kostas Tsimikas scored the decisive penalty, the 14th of the shootout, after Cesar Azpilicueta and then Mason Mount had missed for Chelsea , as well as Sadio Mane for Liverpool. Asked later whether he would be fit for the game in Paris in two weeks’ time, Salah responded, “Of course”. Virgil Van Dijk also came off on 90 minutes although Klopp said that both were not carrying serious injuries and any impact would be assessed when the team train on Sunday. “I would be surprised if they were involved [in training],” Klopp said. Klopp … [Read more...] about Mohamed Salah declares himself fit for Champions League final after Wembley injury

Rafa Benitez has taken aim at Liverpool's spending in his time at the club in comparison to how they now operate with Jurgen Klopp at the helm. The Spaniard who was in charge of Liverpool between 2004 and 2010, made the point about the lack of "world-class players" he had in his team and how he turned players including Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso, Jamie Carragher and Fernando Torres into better players with just a £20million spending budget. Since Klopp's arrival in 2015, the German boss has spent £225m on transfers . The current Liverpool team is one of the most expensive squads in the world, with Trent Alexander-Arnold said to be valued at around £112m alone. When comparing his former squad to Klopp's, Benitez told AS : "If you analyse my Liverpool when I arrived in 2004, who were the best players? [Steven] Gerrard who was a young kid and played in different positions. There wasn’t much else in terms of world-class players. "Now they tell you about Xabi Alonso, but … [Read more...] about Rafa Benitez takes aim at Liverpool spending with Jurgen Klopp comparison

Former Chelsea and Liverpool ace Joe Cole hilariously demanded BT Sports to move him closer to the camera so he does not “look like a mascot” when he is standing next to former Tottenham ace Peter Crouch. Cole has entrenched himself as one of the most loved and respected pundits in the country, regularly starring on BT Sports’ Premier League , Champions League , and Europa League coverage. Unfortunately for Cole, he regularly finds himself in the all-too familiar position of having to look up to the people he is working with. The 40-year-old was regularly pitched against defenders and midfielders significantly taller than he was, at a time when football in England was more direct and supposedly ‘route one’. And Cole suggested he should be moved closer to the attention so the height difference between himself, Crouch, and BT Sports presenter Jake Humphrey is not so obvious. “Whenever they set us up, I should always be closest to the camera,” Cole staunchly demanded … [Read more...] about Joe Cole issues BT Sports demand as he looks like “a mascot” next to Peter Crouch

Pep Guardiola has stoked the fires of the title race by claiming the whole of the country wants Liverpool to beat Manchester City to the Premier League crown. City responded to Wednesday’s crushing Champions League semi-final collapse against Real Madrid by thrashing Newcastle 5-0 to move three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table and also overtake their rivals on goal difference. Victory came at a cost, with Ruben Dias suffering a hamstring injury that means City will be without the Portugal centre-half, plus fellow defenders Kyle Walker and John Stones, for their final three games of the campaign. But Guardiola sought to create a siege mentality among his players by suggesting City will prove unpopular winners if they pip Liverpool - who were held to a 1-1 draw against Spurs on Saturday - to the post to claim a fourth title in five seasons. “Everyone in this country supports Liverpool, the media and everyone,” the City manager said in the first sign of mind … [Read more...] about Pep Guardiola stokes title flames: ‘Everyone in this country wants Liverpool to win the Premier League’

A collective hysteria has gripped English football and it looks deeply unpleasant. Or, as Liverpool’s equality manager Rishi Jain put it last month: “I think people have forgotten how to behave.” The natural inference is that it is a post-lockdown phenomenon. It certainly feels long ago that we talked with wild optimism about coming out of Covid restrictions and being not only kinder to each other but more appreciative of live sporting events. Fans promised to value their clubs more highly; clubs pledged to treat their supporters more fairly. How ridiculous that now sounds. Instead, people have forgotten how to behave, or believe that anything appears to go. Criticise and you are ‘woke’, a ‘snowflake’ or, conversely, sticking up for the establishment rather than just reasoning that this has gone too far. Take Everton as a case in point. On one level, the way in which fans have redirected their energy towards the team has made a huge difference to the club's survival chances - … [Read more...] about From hotel fireworks to racism scandals, English football is in the grip of a collective hysteria

Sevilla’s president has confirmed that the Spanish club need to sell players and raise funds this summer, handing Chelsea a massive boost in their pursuit of Jules Kounde. The west Londoners have made signing a new centre-back their top priority, with both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen set to leave the club on free transfers. Although the club are currently unable to engage in any transfer talks due to the sanctions imposed on them by the UK government, they are primed to move as soon as Todd Boehly’s consortium have completed their takeover. Kounde is believed to be their number one target and a lot of the groundwork for the deal was already done last summer when they failed to prise the Frenchman away from Seville. The Spanish side were adamant he would not be sold unless his £67million release clause was met, but Chelsea felt that was too much to pay. A year on and the situation has changed significantly, with Sevilla needing to raise around £38m … [Read more...] about Sevilla president confirms summer exits amid Chelsea’s pursuit of Jules Kounde