Playing games at Everton
Romelu Lukaku and his agent Mino Raiola are furious that Everton chairman Bill Kenwright will not agree to a clause in Romelu’s new 5-year contract which would mean rich clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea could poach him by paying between £60million and £70million in a buy out clause. Kenwright wants a £90million buy out clause and that is enough to put off most clubs in the world. Chelsea made enquiries before this season and offered £70million for the striker but Everton turned it down. Chelsea are definitely in the market for a new striker and probably two because it is looking very likely that Diego Costa will leave at the end of the season.
I asked a delicate question of Arsenal this week which was why the form of lead assist player, Mersut Ozil has been below his normal high standard lately. Manager Arsene Wenger believes that it is the absence of teammate Santi Cazorla which is making the difference. Santi is excellent at picking up the ball deep in midfield and threading it through to Ozil who then feeds the striker. Santi has been absent since Arsenal’s 6-0 thrashing of Ludogorets in the Champions League in October where he sustained a serious ankle injury..
I experienced an upbeat feeling at Spurs this week and there is good reason. Mauricio Pochettino is sitting second in the Premiership as he strives to build a lasting dynasty in North London. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Jan Vertonghen have all extended their contracts and now Ben Davies has agreed to a further four years. Davies’ said this week, “The way we’re working on the training pitch and the way we’re playing, you can only see it getting better and better. Since the gaffer came to the club he has taken us from strength to strength and as a team I think it’s showing on the pitch.”
Talking of Mauricio Pochettino, I had to laugh when I heard that he has currently banned his wife from White Hart Lane matches. She takes a big interest in Spurs and was a regular at home matches. However, she missed two matches and Spurs haven’t lost since! So Mauricio has banned her for a while as good luck! However, she watches the matches on TV and when her husband returns home she questions him about the game, pointing out what he did wrong and querying his decisions...”Why did you do that, why didn’t you do that and you must calm down when you score or you will damage yourself!” That is what you call a wife who is committed to her husband’s career.
West Brom manager Tony Pullis believes in experience and age doesn’t worry him. His centre back, Gareth McAuley is 37 years old and the big man has rewarded his manager with solid performances and goals from set pieces. Now Pullis is looking to bring in 36 year-old John Terry from Chelsea when his contract expires at the end of this season. Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said he will think about Terry’s role at the club in May/June but the solid Chelsea back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill have become the backbone of the side which means that Terry will get very little, if any, playing time. Pullis in the meantime has done a great job at West Bromwich Albion and whereas he says he does not wish to rush into a new deal at The Hawthorns, when his own contract expires at the end of this season, Chairman John Williams has recommended a new deal to the club’s Chinese owner Gouchuan Lai.
The Crystal Palace striker has said that he wants to think about his future at the club even if they beat the drop down to the Championship. Christian Benteke said this week how frustrated he is since moving to the club in a £32 million deal from Liverpool last year. That frustration boiled over recently when he was involved in a row with team-mate Andros Townsend when the winger did not pass him the ball and he felt he could have scored. Christian has scored just one Premier league goal since Sam Allardyce arrived as manager and that is clearly not acceptable.
Life is not looking rosy for Manchester City’s former No1 goalkeeper Joe Hart. Talk at the training ground this week confirmed that Pep Guardiola does not intend to offer Joe a return to the Etihad Stadium any time soon. Joe thought a possible return to the Premiership might come from Liverpool but Jurgen Klopp has said that he is happy with Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius despite their recent poor form which resulted in easy goals for opponents. Hart is still on loan at Italian club Torino but he is anxious to return to the UK. Mauricio Pochettino still remains convinced that Spurs can catch Chelsea if the Blues slip up and lose a couple of games. The gap is a big ten points and Chelsea are clear favourites to win the Premiership but Mauricio said at Spurs training ground this week, “If we keep going and Chelsea fail, then it is possible. “It’s up to us to keep our form and be a little bit lucky. We are still there. We are comfortable and can feel our fans and our players are confident.” Harry out for at least four weeks Spurs tell me that the injury sustained by Harry Kane, in last Sunday’s FA Cup win against Millwall, is ankle ligament damage similar to, but not as severe, as the injury he suffered against Sunderland in September. Spur’s medical staff said that Harry would probably be out of action for four weeks but they hoped he would make the FA Cup semi-final on April 22nd. I like to finish the column for you with an amusing story if possible and this week I heard one that made me laugh…Since the big falling out between Ya Ya Toure’s agent and Pep Guardiola, bridges have been mended and the big midfielder is very much the rock of Manchester City’s midfield. To show how close Ya Ya and Pep are these days, the manager, with a smile on his face, constantly refers to Ya Ya as “grandad!”...”Come on grandad!” you can hear Pep call out in training and the big man just laughs back. Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane call Ya Ya “uncle”. Again on the training ground Ya Ya will shout, “Come on, pass the ball to uncle and get a move on upfield”. There is plenty of fun and spirit at the Etihad Stadium these days.