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Newcastle fans have taken to Twitter to react after The Chronicle revealed that talks are underway over the signing of Benfica defensive midfielder Andreas Samaris, who would join the club on loan if a deal were to materialise.

The 29-year-old is a player of some pedigree, having played for the Greek national team for many years now, and would be a welcome addition to a squad in desperate need of fresh faces to give them a boost in their battle for survival. Samaris is an excellent passer of the ball and poses a threat from set pieces.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

The Tynesiders have until 11pm on Thursday to wrap up some deals that they desperately need, as well as ones that would ensure that their Spanish boss remains at the club having grown tired at Mike Ashley’s reluctance to back him in the market, as per The Daily Mail.

Let’s see how the club’s fans reacted to the news on Twitter…

ScorecardCallum Ferguson carried on from the first day to bring up his highest first-class score•Getty Images

Queensland’s Wade Townsend and Joe Burns scored half-centuries and shared an unbeaten 80-run fourth-wicket stand to end the second day 267 runs behind South Australia in Adelaide. Queensland were jolted at the start of their innings when they lost their opener Alex Kemp in the sixth over. They were in a tricky situation early in the third session at 3 for 55 after Dan Christian struck in quick succession to remove Usman Khawaja, who scored 19, and Peter Forrest.Further damage in the day was prevented, as Burns and Townsend put up a fight in the last session. Burns was the more aggressive of the two and hit eight boundaries in his half-century. Townsend, who was dropped in the slips earlier in the day, remained unbeaten on 50 off 132 balls.Queensland had a tough session in the morning. After keeping a tab on the scoring rate on the first day, Queensland bowlers were unable to control the flow of runs as Callum Ferguson brought up his highest first-class score of 164 and shared an attacking 162-run sixth-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman, who scored 78. Both batsmen were out early in the second session and the tail helped South Australia past 400 and declared immediately after the fall of the ninth wicket. Ben Cutting was the most successful bowler for Queensland with 3 for 73.

A home game against Brighton offered Wolves the perfect opportunity to keep pace with those looking to clinch a Champions League spot for next season.

After all, the Seagulls had conceded 40 goals in 28 Premier League games prior to the weekend, and were hovering just above the relegation zone.

Instead, what looked like it could potentially be a routine victory for the hosts, ended up being a draw, and damaging 0-0 draw. And one man who looked well short of his usual standards, was Raul Jimenez.

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The Mexico international has been a revelation once again this season, striking the back of the net 22 times across all competitions. But sadly for both him and Wolves, his shooting boots were not on against Brighton, and his disappointing display overall proved to be the death knell for his side’s chances of victory.

As per Sofascore, his 6.6 match rating was the joint-worst of any Wolves player on the pitch, and when looking at his underlying numbers, it is easy to see why. Out of the four total attempts he had on goal, three of them were off target, whilst he also missed one big chance too.

And his lack of luck in front of goal perhaps affected his confidence when it came to other areas of his game. As per Whoscored, the 28-year-old has averaged 0.6 tackles, 0.5 interceptions and 2.2 aerial duels won per game in the top-flight. But this defensive work-rate and physical approach was not on display against Brighton.

He made no tackles or interceptions whatsoever, losing ten of his 17 total duels (including losing half in the air). He was also far too easily bullied, conceding possession a staggering 24 times over the course of the game – by far the most of any Wolves player.

His usually tigerish self deserted him, and it would have left Nuno flummoxed as to why. Wolves had the perfect chance to get all three points, but failed to do so because the man who they have relied upon all season to get them their goals, let them down so much. The Molineux side’s boss will hope that it was just a bad day at the office, and nothing more.

Meanwhile, Nuno can work his magic again by transforming this ace like he did with Conor Coady.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a move to sign Manchester United flop Chris Smalling this summer following a string of impressive performances on loan to Roma this campaign.

What’s the word?

It’s believed that the north Londoners have already spoken to the 30-year-old’s agent as well as his parent club as they aim to beat Everton to his signature ahead of next season.

Utd’s executive vice-chairman and de facto chief executive Ed Woodward has reportedly set his price tag at €20m (£16.6m).

It is also claimed that Spurs can offer a considerably better financial packet than Roma, but Smalling would ideally like to remain in Italy if possible.

History at United

This would be quite the dubious raid if Daniel Levy and co can pull it off considering the history between the centre-back and current Spurs boss Jose Mourinho.

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Smalling was publicly questioned by the Portuguese manager during his two-year stint at Old Trafford, essentially criticising him for an apparent unwillingness to play through the pain barrier.

“It’s not just about them. It’s about the philosophy and mentality around them,” he said about Smalling and Jones in April 2017 and after being asked to elaborate, he added: “cautious, cautious, cautious.”

Mourinho then argued that Smalling needed to “be brave – to [take a] risk – because for the team you have to do everything.”

Within a month of these comments, the Englishman responded and vowed to prove his manager wrong, and after the 57-year-old was sacked, Smalling launched a small dig at Mourinho as he claimed that confidence had dropped under his stewardship whereas Ole Gunnar Solksjaer had brought back a feel-good factor, as per an interview with the Times.

Therefore, a move for the centre-back would ultimately be a strange one given their past, although it could possibly hint towards a change in attitude from the new Spurs boss.

Money talks: How much did Levy pay for each of these Spurs stars?

Smalling played 100 times under Mourinho, more than any other manager, so you’d imagine there’s no one that knows him better.

And in other news, Spurs have this UNLIKELY HERO to thank for his influence in Steven BERGWIJN’s arrival…

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after The Guardian’s Ed Aarons revealed that the Eagles are interested in signing Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan, who is valued at €25m (£21.3m).

Two more Premier League sides in Southampton and Watford are also interested in signing the 19-year-old, who had never made a senior appearance before the current campaign.

Simakan has made 19 appearances across all competitions for the Ligue 1 side this season, including five outings in the Europa League.

The teenager can also play in a number of different positions, having appeared at centre-back seven times this term, while also enjoying four outings at right-back – additionally, Simakan has made one appearance at right-midfield and another in defensive-midfield.

Incidentally, the south Londoners are currently quite light in the right-back department, as Roy Hodgson has just one natural right-back in Joel Ward within his squad – even he is currently out injured with Martin Kelly covering for him.

It would be a real statement to spend over £20m on a player as inexperienced as Simakan, so let’s see how the Palace fans on Twitter reacted to the news.

These two supporters seem to be in favour of the move.

One fan named Daniel said that Simakan “would be a top signing” before telling Steve Parish to get him before he becomes “unreachable”.

Another supporter named Alex simply said “bring the boy in” – a short and sweet verdict.

Elsewhere, these fans expressed doubt over Palace actually shelling out as much as £21.3m for the defender, with one saying that the Eagles won’t pay anything over £10m, while another said “that’s Palace out then” before suggesting that the club’s transfer budget is merely “£2.50 and a can of Fanta”.

Lastly, this Palace fan doesn’t seem too keen on spending a lot on Simakan.

Can you remember how much each of these transfer icons cost? Only experts will get 100% on our quiz…

The supporter named Ben said that he’d only want to sign a defender for about £10m – £15m.

In other news, take a look at the Crystal Palace XI we think Hodgson should play against Derby in the FA Cup…

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As they continue to pick up results against the odds, Neil Warnock’s Cardiff will need a bit of added firepower in January if they are to beat the drop and continue to prove the doubters wrong.

What’s the word, then? 

After a dismal start to life back in the Premier League, the Bluebirds have started to find their feet again, sitting in 16th place on 11 points as they stay truly well in touch with the surrounding pack.

However, their squad is arguably the worst in the top-flight. Their fellow promoted sides in Fulham and Wolves strengthened significantly in the summer, with the former spending almost £100m on new recruits.

Cardiff look to be staying in touch at the moment, but any win they get appears to be a huge ask for them and one that never really looks to be a convincing one that makes you think they’ll pick them up enough to survive; a goalscorer in January is a must.

Who could they realistically get in?

Cardiff barely spent anything in the summer, so they should have some money in the bank as they attempt to survive at the first time of asking. One man who knows English football well and is currently one of the best goalscorers in Europe could well be open for a return if the right offer comes along – former Middlesbrough man Cristhian Stuani.

Playmaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he often received racist abuse after North London Derbies – Check out the video below…

The Uruguayan is currently topping the goalscoring ranks in La Liga with 11 goals in 10 starts – more than the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann and so on.

At 32 years of age, he may want to return to England and prove those who watched him struggle in England’s top-flight that he is capable of mixing it with the big boys.

If Cardiff are still in with a decent chance of survival come January, and if they can tempt the Girona star with a good financial offer, then they could well pull off a huge coup.

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Watford currently sit third in the Premier League table and, at first glance, it may be shocking to some to see them doing so well.

They’ve scored nine goals across their first four games, which is the third most in the division, and only conceded three goals – the second least so far.

However, there are clear signs of impending regression from the club. First off, they are currently ranked 11th in the league in terms of expected goals but are scoring at a rate much higher than that.

Roberto Pereyra himself has scored three goals this season, outperforming his expected goals number of .58. Historically, the team does not regularly outperform their expected goals projection. The last time this occurred they outscored their projection by four to score 40 goals in the 2016/17 season.

Additionally, during their last three seasons in the Premier League, Watford have scored a maximum of 44 goals in a single season and this may prove to be a problem for a team that has aspirations to finish in the top seven this term.

Over the last three years no team in the Premier League has finished between 5th and 7th without scoring at least 49 goals. In order for them to continue to perform this way, they are going to need to start getting some sort of contribution from Gerard Deulofeu, who has yet to play a single minute this season following his £14million move from Barcelona during the last transfer window. Deulofeu is not the only attacking player who needs to contribute for Watford, though.

Both Troy Deeney and Andre Gray must be very effective throughout the campaign for Watford to maintain their current form, or to finish in a European place. In their games thus far Deeney has scored twice and Gray once, but only Deeney ranks in the top 30 for expected goals for individual players.

In order for Watford to reach the aforementioned number of 49 goals, Deeney will need to improve or at least match his career high total of 13 goals in a single season.

Similarly, Andre Gray will certainly have to exceed his career high goals total of nine, which he accomplished for Burnley in the 2016/17 season – that led Watford to spend a new club transfer record of £18.5m for the striker. Thus far, Gray has scored just six goals in 35 appearances for Watford and is scoring a goal once every 292 minutes.

The overarching problem for Watford seems to be the amount of shots they have on goal. In the last three years Watford haven’t finished higher than 12th in the Premier League in terms of shots taken.

While shots taken is not a direct indicator of the amount of goals a team scores, a team like Watford cannot rely on their defence to lead them to a record finish in the league.

Watford boss Javi Gracia will learn a lot about his squad and what it’s capable of in the coming games, which includes tough fixtures against the likes of Man United and Arsenal. If they can come through those unscathed, then perhaps Watford can continue to overachieve for a little while longer.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”291236″ player=”12034″ title=”Jose Mourinho Has Turned Into Arsene Wenger”]

One of Tottenham Hotspur’s objectives for the season would have been to challenge for the Premier League title.

Last season, Mauricio Pochettino’s side finished second – one position higher than their previous campaign in the top flight.

Going that one step further was always going to be a difficult task for the North London outfit considering the level of opposition.

Now, according to Pochettino, the English crown is already out of their grasp due to the dominance of Manchester City, who have gone 13 points clear of fourth-placed Spurs after beating Huddersfield Town 2-1 this afternoon.

Tottenham had an opportunity to keep pressure on the leaders when they took on West Bromwich Albion at Wembley on Saturday.

However, they were dealt an early blow when Salomon Rondon netted inside the first five minutes, putting the North London outfit immediately on the back foot.

Harry Kane managed to find an equaliser, but the winner never came and Tottenham had to settle for a point.

According to The Telegraph when asked if the gap between themselves and City is too much to make up, Pochettino said:

“Yes, it’s true now that the gap is 10 points and it’s massive in the Premier League. But now we need to be focused and try to improve ourselves and be more consistent at Wembley, and try to win more games here like last season at White Hart Lane.”

On this day in 2005, an underdog rabble of pieced-together Liverpool stars pulled off arguably the greatest comeback in the history European football. Barcelona’s incredible turnaround against PSG earlier this season may have set pulses racing, but the La Liga giants beating their lesser French counterparts on their home turf had nothing on the unlikeliness of the Miracle of Istanbul.

Indeed, what can only be described as an unexceptional Liverpool side containing a few genuinely exceptional players found themselves three goals down to arguably the greatest team of their generation, Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan, at half-time. From a near-impenetrable back four to Andrea Pirlo and Kaka in midfield and Andry Shevchenko, at that time the most lethal goalscorer in world football, up top, Rossoneri’s cast was as star-studded as it was talented and their healthy lead after just 45 minutes was by no means surprising.

But then something special happened; Liverpool dusted themselves off, got back out there and pulled themselves level by the hour mark. Suddenly, momentum had shifted and by the time the penalty shootout came to an end it was the Merseysiders who emerged victorious. Certainly not the most convincing European title in the club’s history, but unquestionably the most special. So, where are that gang of unlikely heroes now, twelve years later? FootballFanCast takes a look…

GK – Jerzy Dudek

Perhaps the unlikeliest of all heroes in Istanbul considering the doubts that lingered over his goalkeeping abilities for much of his Liverpool career, Jerzy Dudek’s flailing legs were the difference in the penalty shootout, putting off Serginho and Andrea Pirlo before shutting out the deciding spot kick from Andriy Shevchenko. Fast forward twelve years and Dudek is now a racing driver, believe it or not, trading the thrill of football for the adrenaline of 24-hour automotive endurance challenges. From 33 races thus far, however, he’s made the podium just once and is still waiting for that all-important first win.

RB – Steve Finnan

Steve Finnan worked his way up from the depths of non-league with Welling United to make the Champions League final, the highest pinnacle of club football. He was taken off just after half-time, leaving Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard to fill in at right-back for much of the match, but is remembered fondly by Liverpool fans as the hardworking, unsung hero of their starting XI. After making his final professional appearance for Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup final against Chelsea, the Irishman disappeared off the face of the earth, leading The Liverpool Echo to launch their ‘missing’ campaign in 2015. Finnan turned up shorty after, now living as a property developer in London.

CB – Jamie Carragher

This is an easy one. After retiring as one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players, ranking second in their all-time appearances chart, Jamie Carragher moved into punditry, partnering up with former adversary Gary Neville to cement his status as one of the best in the business when it comes to scathing whiteboard analysis. There are still many who beg him to move into management, putting that defensive nous and industriousness to good use, but for now he remains one of the jewels in the Sky Sports crown.

CB – Sami Hyypia

By the time the 2005 Champions League final came around, Sami Hyypia was a declining favourite, edging towards his 32nd birthday and no longer the dominant centre-half of his lesser years. Nonetheless, he played the full 120 minutes and is remembered fondly by the Anfield faithful for his decade at the club. After retiring in 2010, the Finland international turned his hand to management but has struggled to prove successful thus far; during spells with Bayer Leverkusen, Brighton and FC Zurich, he failed to last more than two seasons, leaving the latter club at the end of last season after winning just nine of his 30 games in charge and consequentially relegating them to the second division. He’s still waiting for his next chance.

LB – Djimi Traore

A strong candidate for the least talented and therefore most fortunate player to ever start a Champions League final, Djimi Traore is equally famed for his comical own goal against Burnley, backheeling the ball into his own net. Unsurprisingly, the Mali international’s Liverpool career only spanned a year after the night in Istanbul, joining Charlton Athletic, then Portsmouth, then Monaco, then Marseille and finally testing himself in the MLS. Somewhat surprisingly considering his lack of common sense on the pitch, the left-back now works as assistant manager at Seattle Sounders, backing up Brian Schmeltzer. That partnership seems unlikely to end any time soon, after Seattle lifted the MLS Cup at the end of last season.

DM – Xabi Alonso

Winning the Champions League with Liverpool was just the start of Xabi Alonso’s incredible career. Equally incredibly, Rafa Benitez saw fit to sell him to Real Madrid in 2009 and buy Alberto Aquillani instead. A year later, he won the World Cup with Spain. Two years after that, he won La Liga. And two years after that, he lifted Europe’s top honour once again. That heralded a move to Bayern Munich, whom Alonso made his final appearance for last weekend. He’s now officially retired, but here’s hoping we see the playmaking maestro return to football as a manager or coach in the near future.

RM – Luis Garcia

The owner of the ghost goal that took Liverpool to the final, Luis Garcia didn’t have such supernatural luck in Istanbul but added real class and netting prowess to Liverpool’s midfield. After leaving Anfield in 2007, aged 29, he went on to represent a further seven clubs, his most recent being Central Coast Mariners – featuring for them ten times in 2016. He now works as a pundit for beIN Sport, but regularly pops up at Anfield to take in the odd game.

LM – John Arne Riise

Once famed as the man with the hardest shot in football, John Arne Riise’s left-footed drives created countless memories for Liverpool fans down the years. The Norway centurion didn’t enjoy the best of finals and even missed in the penalty shootout but remains a cult hero on Merseyside. After a prolonged spell at Fulham, the defender-come-midfielder split the remainder of his career between playing in his native Norway, Cyrpus and the Indian Super League – one can only imagine the amount of sun cream he needed. Riise retired in 2016 but has since signed for SK Rollen in the fourth division of Norwegian football, so the 36-year-old may not be done just yet.

CAM – Steven Gerrard

The Man of the Match in the Champions League final and the star who ignited Liverpool’s comeback, scoring their first to make it 3-1 and winning the penalty to level the scores at 3-3. Of course, Gerrard went down in the history books as Liverpool’s greatest ever player, leaving after 710 appearances and 186 goals to enjoy a brief swansong in the MLS. After hanging up his boots in November last year, he became a youth coach at Liverpool in January.

SS – Harry Kewell/Vladimir Smicer

An undoubted talent who never quite proved it at Anfield, Harry Kewell’s 23-minute Champions League final appearance, coming off through injury, was symptomatic of his Liverpool career. He was replaced by Vladimir Smicer who netted Liverpool’s second with a delicately-placed shot into the far corner and later the penalty that proved to be the decider. Whereas Kewell took the head coach job at Crawley earlier this week after being dismissed as a youth coach by Watford, Smicer’s last great act of note came in 2014 – when he took an anti-obesity stance in the Czech Republic’s EU elections.

ST – Milan Baros

Milan Baros was notorious for his inability to score goals and that’s exactly what happened in the Champions League final, making a muted impression before being eventually subbed off for penalty converter Djibril Cisse. Rather incredibly, however, the flopped striker is still just 35 years of age and continues to ply his trade in the beautiful game, spending the 2016/17 season at Slovan Liberec. He scored one goal in two Europa League appearances this term, but his domestic form – just three goals in 23 Czech First League outings – has left a lot to be desired. No surprises there.

According to reports from The Sun, Real Madrid are planning a £25million transfer bid for Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

What’s the word?

It seems even a FIFA-imposed transfer ban can’t stop The Sun from speculating about Real’s plans for the coming windows, claiming the European champions are looking to prise away the Arsenal ace in a bid to unite him with Wales team-mate Gareth Bale.

Los Blancos believe they have a chance of signing the midfielder – whose versatility they view as a huge potential asset for their squad – for the relatively modest price of £25million because his contract expires in under two years and he’s grown frustrated with increasingly limited opportunities to impress in central roles.

Should Arsenal sell?

There’s no doubt Ramsey is a hugely talented player, evident enough through his talismanic performances for Wales and a 2013/14 campaign that saw him bag a career-best ten goals in 23 appearances – with plenty of absolute stunners on the way.

But fitting the 25-year-old into the starting Xi has proved an eternally difficult task for Arsene Wenger, who has utilised Ramsey as a right winger, a deep-lying midfielder and a No.10 without settling on any position long-term. His chances of holding down any of those roles are currently rather slim, with Theo Walcott scoring for fun on the flank, Mesut Ozil undisputed at the tip of midfield and the likes of Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka all vying for places in the double-pivot.

At the same time, proneness to injury has affected Ramsey’s development and his importance to Arsenal’s fortunes. He’s managed more than 30 appearances in a single Premier League season just thrice from nine campaigns in north London, albeit the most recent instance coming last term.

So with Ramsey reportedly disillusioned by the situation and his contract winding down, there’s plenty of weight behind the argument to sell. But £25million is hardly an outstanding return on the Welshman’s ability and to make matters worse, The Sun claim Real Madrid could end up paying just over half of that because Arsenal still owe them £11million from Mesut Ozil’s transfer in summer 2013.

Stats courtesy of Squawka.

How likely is a deal?

In Football FanCast’s opinion, not that likely. Wenger’s clearly a huge fan of the midfielder, shown through the determination in which he’s attempted to shoehorn Ramsey into his starting XIs when available. If Ramsey were to leave the club, he’d probably have to push for an exit himself, rather than Wenger simply accepting Real Madrid’s bid.

At the same time, the stumbling blocks from Real’s perspective are impossible to ignore. They’re optimistic of overturning the transfer ban according to The Sun, but FFC aren’t quite so convinced. FIFA have been toughening up in this regard and showed Barcelona no mercy for a similar crime, banning the Catalans for two transfer windows in 2015.

Furthermore, Real Madrid’s midfield is already rather congested; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Toni Kroos, Isco, Casemiro, James Rodriguez and Marco Asensio are all fantastic talents, whilst Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo remain indisputable options on the wing. Would Ramsey really be interested in leaving Arsenal to become a squad option at the Bernabeu?

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