English Premier League

ISMAILA SARR’S agent has revealed the Watford star agreed a move to Liverpool last month – only for the Reds to fail to come up with his transfer fee.
Boss Jurgen Klopp is a longtime admirer of the Senegal winger, 22, who scored twice as the Hornets beat his side 3-0 last February.

Manchester United have also been linked to Ismaila SarrCredit: Rex Features

Anfield officials showed interest in Sarr, Watford’s £30million record buy, during the summer – and made a new approach before the January deadline.
Senegalese advisor Thierno Seydi insisted the deal was close enough for him to urge compatriot Sadio Mane to help Sarr find a flat.
But he maintained the Premier League champions failed to meet Watford’s £35m asking price at the last moment.
Klopp has voiced his dismay at Liverpool’s lack of mid-season transfer activity as their grip on the title loosens week by week.

Seydi told PanAfricanFootball: “A few days ago we were at the stage of Ismaila Sarr signing a contract with Liverpool.
“Everything was fixed, his monthly salary and the length of the agreement.
“I even asked Sadio Mane to find an apartment for him to live in.
“But in the end Liverpool were unable to put the necessary 40 million euros on the table to finalise the deal.

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is a huge admirer of Ismaila SarrCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd

“English clubs have driven the transfer market in recent times.
“The fact that they are now struggling to come up with funds shows how deeply football is in crisis.”
Seydi also shed light on Manchester United’s abortive bid to capture Sarr during the close season.
The Paris-based middleman added: “United wanted Sarr during the summer window, and at the last moment they proposed a loan without the option to buy.
“But Watford didn’t accept it.  They wanted the loan to be accompanied with a sale option, with United having pre-emptive rights.”
Sarr has scored five goals in 25 games this season to help Watford to fourth in the Championship.

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THIS time last season Liverpool were charging towards their first league title in 30 years.
After the same amount of games this term, Jurgen Klopp’s struggling side have picked up 27 fewer points.

Here’s how this season compares to the 2019-20 campaign

Liverpool won 67 points from their first 23 matches in the Premier League last season.
But Klopp’s men have failed to have the same impact during the current campaign.
After 23 matches, the Anfield club are slumped in fourth place with 40 points.
The drop of 27 points is the biggest by any reigning champion at this stage of the season in English top-flight history.

However, it’s a different story for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United side.
The Red Devils have 11 more points now than they did at this stage of last season.
United – who finished third last time – are five points behind league leaders City.
But club legend Rio Ferdinand claimed they are out of the title race after ‘choking’ in the 3-3 draw against Everton.

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Manchester United are second in the league table after 23 gamesCredit: Reuters

Everton, Aston Villa and West Ham have also improved significantly this term.
Liverpool have suffered the biggest drop in points, but Sheffield United have the same issue.
The Blades – who finished ninth last term – have 22 points fewer this time around.
Chris Wilder’s side are slumped at the bottom of the table with just three wins.
Wolves, Newcastle, Leicester, Crystal Palace and Burnley have also dropped points.
Chelsea, now managed by Thomas Tuchel, are level on points compared to this stage of last season – despite over £200million invested in new players.

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A FOOTBALL vlogger joked he might set up an ‘OnlyFans’ – after viewers mistakenly thought he was ‘pleasuring himself’ during a live stream to 40,000 viewers when he scratched his leg.
Popular online Arsenal commentator Chig appeared on Lee Gunner’s YouTube ‘watchalong’ to commentate on Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Southampton late last month.

The clip – featuring Chig (right) and Lee Gunner (left) racked up more than 40,000 views before it was removed

Footage shows Chig leaning backwards on either a bed or sofa while watching his phone when his body begins to repeatedly shake.
The commentator can be heard panting and ‘moaning’ while his left hand remains out of view, before his camera is turned off.
When the camera turns back on around four minutes later, the co-host could be seen reaching for a tissue – prompting even Chig to brand the incident ‘phantom w*nkgate’.
Viewers who got the wrong end of the stick regarding what Chig was up to quickly became angry – with some slamming the behaviour as ‘disgusting’ as ‘young kids’ watch the channel.

However Chig, who commands almost 11,000 subscribers on his Gooner Eagle Eye YouTube account, was able to see the funny side of the misunderstanding.
He claimed he was ’embracing’ the controversy and joked that he would have to charge for his ‘OnlyFans material’.
The clip racked up more than 40,000 views before Lee removed it from his YouTube account around nine days later.
As the clip began circulating on social media, Chig took to Twitter with a public statement to clarify what had actually been happening in the clip.

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Chig (right) claimed he was just itching his leg while watching the match

Chig said: “For the dumb ar**s who actually think I was watching p*rn during a f***ing watchalong, I was watching the game and my leg was itching but no one cares about the truth when the lie is more entertaining!
“Some common sense guys please. I love Lee Gunner but I can’t afford to waste these b****s at my age staring at Lee.”
When one user said the situation looked bad, Chig added: “It looks terrible lol. I can’t lie, I looked at it and thought wtf am I doing lol? But it weren’t w***ing.”
FULL EXPLANATION
Chig later posted a video further explaining what had gone on for those who had been ‘living under a rock’ and not heard about it.
He said: “I was literally scratching my leg and the sound that accompanied it was me just having some satisfaction of grabbing the itch.
“There’s also a separate clip of me grabbing a tissue paper, like I’m not allowed to. It just fitted in with the narrative. I know why I grabbed the tissue paper.
“I can’t even be bothered to explain because it sounds like I’m lying, so I don’t want to feed into that. It was a separate clip of me grabbing a tissue paper right after this.
“There are some people who don’t know me who actually thought I would be capable of that. Those people are ignorant, they don’t know me, and they can be forgiven for that.
“There are people who I least used to speak to that actually thought I did that. I thought ‘who masturbates like that?’ and ‘why is there no common sense from certain people’.
“Twitter was the funniest and saddest place [the night of the livestream].”

Some fans were convinced that Chig was pleasuring himself on camera

The incident happened during Arsenal’s win over SouthamptonCredit: EPA
‘CHILDREN WILL HAVE BEEN WATCHING’
However fellow YouTuber and football fanatic Adam Brown blasted both both Lee and Chig as ‘irresponsible’ for leaving the clip online for at least nine days after everyone pointed out how it looked, believing they were using the misunderstanding as ‘clickbait’.
Adam, who is from Cardiff, South Wales, and runs the footy channel Football With Brownie, said: “They have a pretty big following, and some children will have been watching because you don’t know if they’re all over 18. It’s irresponsible.
“Because of the outcry on Twitter people have been wanting to have a look for themselves, and there’s advertisements on these videos so they’re earning money from it.
“He’s deliberately outspoken and doing things for clickbait. They should have taken it down [sooner].”
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Lee Gunner even thanked those who spoke out about the incident for increasing the number of visitors to his channel.
Replying to a tweet including the controversial clip, Lee said: “Maybe if you had the same energy for your YT channel as you do your Twitter account you wouldn’t have to promote mine.
“Thanks though as between all the usual Twitter clout chasers you’ve driven more traffic to my channel.”
When confused viewers pressed him for an explanation, Chig was happy to explain he was ‘moaning’ from ‘relief after grabbing an itch’.
He added: “I make noises when I scratch, sue me.”
Chig tweeted: “The irony about this whole thing is I don’t even moan when I actually w**k lol.”
However eventually he said he was ‘sick of defending this phantom w**kgate’.
Chig and Lee Gunner were both contacted for comment.

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MANCHESTER UNITED’S famed academy has produced a long list of club legends.
David Beckham and Marcus Rashford are among the players to have progressed through the ranks.

Marcus Rashford has scored eight Premier League goals this seasonCredit: Eddie Keogh Telegraph Media Group

Tom McDermott has picked his top ten academy graduates from the Premier League era.
But have Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and Rashford made the cut?
Ryan Giggs
United’s most decorated player was outstanding as a winger, midfielder or forward, for over 24 years.

There weren’t many that could cope with Giggs when he was in full-flow.
Pace, trickery, good in the air and deceptively tough in the tackle, the Welshman wasn’t just the ‘new’ George Best, he was the first Ryan Giggs.
Paul Scholes
United’s greatest player actually started as a forward but settled in central midfield where he dictated games.

His range of passing and vision looked effortless and if you speak to many of the world’s best players during Scholes’ era, they’ll tell you just how good the boy from Oldham was.
Mentally, Scholes was three steps ahead of everyone else on the pitch – regardless of the opposition.
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Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs achieved legendary status at Old TraffordCredit: Getty Images – Getty

David Beckham
Now one of the most famous people on the planet, it was Becks’ pinpoint accuracy with his right foot that helped catapult him to such heights.
He wasn’t just a one trick pony though because each week he was the hardest working player on the pitch.
Gary Neville
‘Red Nev’ has plenty to say as a pundit, but first and foremost he was a world class full back who maximised his skills.
Neville also worked on the attacking side to his game and forged an outstanding partnership down the right with Beckham.
Neville was a leader who understood and embraced the demands of playing for his boyhood club.
Phil Neville
Phil is probably a better ‘footballer’ than brother Gary which is why as his career advanced we saw him move into midfield.
He started as a full back and when he left United went on to have a good career with Everton where he captained the Merseysiders.

Becks scored 85 goals in 394 appearances for the Red DevilsCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Nicky Butt
Butt was a clever and tenacious midfielder who also represented England.
In the 1995-96 season Butt played over 40 times for United and was an important part of the side that completed the league and cup double.
In 2004, Butt was sold to Newcastle United and made 130 appearances for the Magpies.
Marcus Rashford
Rashford has been described as the ‘hero of the pandemic’ because of his outstanding work with the Government in helping vulnerable children receive free school dinners.
He made his United debut in 2016 under Louis van Gaal and hasn’t looked back since.
He’s expected to carry the hopes of the nation on his shoulders this summer as England head into the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament.
Wes Brown
Brown made his United debut in 1998 and made over 230 appearances for the club.
He could play at centre half but enjoyed his best spell as a right full back.
Brown played regularly for the club over a period of time that included great defenders such as Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Wes Brown left Manchester United in 2011 to join SunderlandCredit: Getty – Contributor
Darren Fletcher
The Scot started wide right but as his influence grew, moved inside to a more central position.
Fletcher was vastly underrated outside of Old Trafford, but was always one of the first names on the team-sheet during his peak years at the club.
He was a far better footballer than many gave him credit for, and had a desire and work rate that few in the game could match.
Mark Hughes
Hughes was in the United academy before the start of the Premier League era, but did play for United in the Premier League, so on that basis, he’s in.
He actually left United in 1986 for Barcelona and returned two years later via Bayern Munich.  
Only Dimitar Berbatov had a first touch to match.
Hughes was brave and if you haven’t seen his collection of finishes, treat yourself to them on YouTube during lockdown.

Darren Fletcher played for Manchester United’s senior squad for 12 yearsCredit: Getty – Contributor

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