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      Newcastle’s Saudi owners plotting four HUGE transfer signings this summer including Barcelona star

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      NEWCASTLE are reportedly plotting a move for Barcelona star Raphinha as they target “three or four” major transfer signings.The Magpies took a huge leap towards securing Champions League football by thrashing top four rivals Tottenham 6-1 on Sunday.
      Newcastle are plotting a swoop for Barcelona’s RaphinhaCredit: Alamy
      Newcastle’s Saudi owners are set to ditch their cautious approach in the transfer marketCredit: EPA
      We had already revealed that Newcastle’s Saudi owners were set to abandon their cautious approach in the transfer market by attempting to bring in four “elite” stars.
      A massive outlay of around £250million across the last three transfer windows gave rise to the club’s owners wanting to err on the side of caution to stay within Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
      However, the rapid progress made under Eddie Howe has seen this plan scrapped.
      Now one of those being targeted is former Leeds winger Raphinha, according to Mundo Deportivo.
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      The North East side were keen on the Brazilian winger last year before he opted to leave Elland Road for the Nou Camp.
      The 26-year-old is desperate to stay with Barcelona.
      But this fresh update states that the financially stricken club must reduce their salary budget by £176m and bring in at least £88m from transfer sales to balance the books.
      Raphinha has scored nine goals and produced nine assists in 41 appearances this season.
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      But he has been left frustrated at not being deployed in his preferred right-hand side position.
      He is allegedly not viewed as a priority player by boss Xavi Hernandez and Barca are believed to be open to his departure.
      And now it looks like Newcastle are readying a swoop to try and bring him to Tyneside. More

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      I managed Arsenal for three weeks and it was the shock of my life – it was so overwhelming it put me off being a boss

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      MIKEL ARTETA and Per Mertesacker arrived at Arsenal on the same day but never imagined that 12 years later they would be running the club from top to bottom.When Arteta hung up his boots to become a coach at Manchester City, he wrote a letter to the board telling them to make sure they didn’t allow Mertesacker to also slip through their fingers.
      Mertesacker is now Arsenal’s Academy DirectorCredit: Getty
      The former defender spent three weeks as Arsenal’s interim assistant manager when Unai Emery leftCredit: Getty
      And when Arsenal were looking to replace Arsene Wenger as manager, it was Mertesacker who recommended they give the job to his former team-mate.
      Now the former German international defender is charged with securing the club’s long-term future as head of their academy.
      And ahead of tomorrow’s FA Youth Cup final against West Ham, he is desperate to bring the glory days back to the Emirates.
      He says: “When me and Mikel were playing together we had a few Champions League seasons and won a couple of FA Cups, but we couldn’t get it done in terms of League titles. So it was OK but not outstanding.
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      “But now we want to be more successful in terms of trophies and major titles and hopefully build the next generation of players who can make the difference.
      “I had three weeks in charge of the team with Freddie Ljungberg when Unai Emery left and it was the shock of my life.
      “It was overwhelming for me and I quickly realised that management was not something I wanted to pursue so I was pretty happy to go back to my job in charge of the academy.
      “Mikel had quite a tough task when he came in as manager. He wanted to develop the squad based on values to set the tone for the whole club.
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      Arsenal are now challenging for the Premier League title under the management of ArtetaCredit: Getty
      “He’s clearly changed the direction of the club and he’s taken us into a wonderful position fighting for the League title.
      “And the way he dealt with some of the players, that set the standards and made it so much easier for me.
      “Now I can ask the young academy players ‘what will Mikel say about this behaviour? Do you think he’ll accept this? Do you think it will make it easier to get into the first team?’ That has a big impact.”
      The last time Arsenal reached the FA Youth Cup final in 2018, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were members of the team beaten by Chelsea.
      Now those two are established first team stars and the fact that Arsenal have the youngest team in the Premier League is going to make it even harder for the next generation of youngsters to break into the big time at the Emirates.
      Mertesacker admits: “Next season we’re going to be in the Champions League and I’m sure it will be even more difficult to get into that squad.
      “It’s a bigger challenge but we have to keep producing home-grown youngsters within our first team,  so it’s down to the players to convince Mikel that they can play a part.
      “If they’re good enough, no-one will be rejected because these boys are watched and assessed  on an almost daily basis so they constantly have to be on their toes and jump on every opportunity that comes their way.
      “I remember when Alex Iwobi couldn’t go to a youth cup game for whatever reason and Arsene Wenger saw him in one training session and was immediately interested.
      “These youngsters have multiple chances to impress and show they can be trusted. But it’s not going to be the rosy pathway that everyone sees on social media.
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      “There are going to be tough moments and disappointments but coping skills are the biggest talent and my job is to equip everybody in the academy with the right tools.
      “Obviously developing young talent is why we are here but we believe we can also teach a lot of values and still be a fantastic person in the future.” More

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      Man Utd joined by City in transfer battle for Napoli ‘Monster’ Kim Min-jae – and defender has bargain release clause

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      MANCHESTER CITY will battle Premier League rivals to sign £40million Napoli centre-back Kim Min-jae — dubbed ‘The Monster’.The South Korean, 26, is attracting interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham.
      Kim has enjoyed a brilliant season for Napoli and the Italian league leaders have a job on their hands to keep himCredit: Rex
      But SunSport understands City boss Pep Guardiola is an admirer of Kim, who only moved to Napoli from Fenerbahce last summer for £15m.
      Strong, aggressive Kim is one of Serie A’s hottest stars following a stunning season and has a fairly low £40m release clause.
      The Italians are keen to offer him a new deal but he is believed to fancy a move to England.
      City are well stocked at centre-back with Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Aymeric Laporte.
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      But Guardiola will let Laporte leave while Stones and Ake have excelled as inverted full-backs.
      Guardiola is also a fan of RB Leipzig bruiser Josko Gvardiol, who has a £97m release clause.
      The Croat, 21, is likely to leave the Bundesliga.
      He had been extensively linked to Chelsea last year but no move materialised.
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      Kim Min-jae has become one of the best defenders in Italy
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      But Gvardiol’s reputation has continued to grow and several large clubs will be in the market.
      The Blues may not need more defenders having already bought young talent Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana this season. More

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      Leeds vs Leicester LIVE: Foxes take on Gracia’s side in a huge Premier League relegation six-pointer – latest updates

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      LEICESTER travel to Leeds in a tasty relegation battle with three huge points up for grabs.The Foxes came from behind to beat Wolves in their most recent outing.
      But Leeds will be wounded as they suffered a marginal 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Saturday.

      Date: Tuesday, April 25
      Kick-off time: 8pm BST
      Live stream: BT.com
      TV channel: BT Sport 2

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      Rio Ferdinand was ‘so embarrassed’ after Man Utd fans’ ‘unheard of’ gesture during famous defeat

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      MANCHESTER UNITED legend Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he was “embarrassed” by the reception fans gave Ronaldo during the 2003 Champions League.Ferdinand starred for the Red Devils when they hosted Real Madrid in the second leg of the quarter-final 20 years ago.
      Ronaldo scored at Old Trafford and was applauded by Man UtdCredit: AFP
      Ferdinand has admitted that he was embarrassed by the reactionCredit: Youtube.com / FIVE
      Los Blancos went into the game with a 3-1 advantage over Sir Alex Ferguson’s side thanks to goals from Luis Figo and Raul at the Santiago Bernabeu.
      They added to that goal tally just 12 minutes into the second-leg clash at Old Trafford as Brazilian striker Ronaldo fired the ball into the bottom corner of Fabien Barthez’s goal.
      Despite United’s impressive fight back, which saw them earn a 4-3 victory on the night, Real Madrid progressed to the semi-finals thanks to Ronaldo’s now-iconic hat-trick.
      The Brazilian’s performance left the Old Trafford crowd in awe, so much so that he received an overwhelming round of applause from Man Utd fans while making his way over to the bench after being replaced by Santiago Solario.
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      However, the response from Man Utd fans left Ferdinand furious.
      The former England international told BT Sport: “A pleasure to be on the same pitch as the great man. But he’s getting a standing ovation, look.
      “The opposing striker is getting a standing ovation at our own ground. Unheard of. Nah, I was embarrassed, man. I was so embarrassed.
      “It’s [Ronaldo’s first] not a great goal. It ain’t. I don’t care. Zidane plays into Guti. What a run from Ronaldo.
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      “He’s running across there, he shoots an angle, he knows he can’t get away from me there. He knows he’s got to take it early.
      “Barthez, he can only go in the near post. I’ve got him where I want him, going away from goal. He can only go near post… Fabien? Fabien, man! Have you got Fabien’s number? Can we get it? We need to go back over this.
      “Let’s dissect this goal [the second]. He’s in the six-yard box. There’s no defender within touching distance. But I could have stopped it at the source. My fault, man. I take that. It was me. I take that.
      “We’re dropping off [for the third]. I’ve got to get up. I’ve got to squeeze the play a bit. But… Fabien, what are you doing?!”
      Real Madrid were eventually knocked out of the Champions League following a 4-3 defeat to Juventus on aggregate. More

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      Supercomputer predicts final Premier League table with title race going down to wire and historic relegation

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      THE Premier League title race and relegation dogfight will be decided on the final day of the season.That is according to a supercomputer’s predictions on how the standings will look come May 28.
      Manchester City trail Arsenal by five points but have two games in handCredit: Getty

      Arsenal currently have a five-point lead at the top of the table, on 75 points from their 32 games – but have drawn their last three.
      But Manchester City have two games in hand – with the title rivals meeting at the Etihad on Wednesday night.
      Now the bettingexpert.com BETSiE data machine has crunched the numbers using pre-season expectations, results and xG to simulate the remainder of the season 100,000 times.
      And the results make for pretty reading for City fans – with Pep Guardiola’s side pipping Mikel Arteta’s men by the narrowest of margins to win a fifth title in six years.
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      The supercomputer’s results show City ending the season on 86.6 points with 27 wins, 5.6 draws and 5.4 defeats.
      That is just 1.3 points clear of Arsenal on 85.3 points thanks to 26 wins, 7.2 draws and 4.8 defeats.

      Manchester United (72.9) and Newcastle (72.5) complete the top four and qualify for the Champions League.
      Surprise-package Brighton bounce back from their FA Cup heartache to claim fifth and are joined in the Europa League by Liverpool as Tottenham are forced to settle for the Conference League.
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      At the other end of the table, though, there is a historic relegation.
      Everton have been in the top flight since 1954 – including the entirety of the Premier League – but that incredible streak looks set to end in five weeks’ time.
      Sean Dyche’s Toffees are tipped for the drop on 33.4 points – 0.9 behind 17th-placed Leeds.
      Southampton (31.8) and Nottingham Forest (31.7) occupy the bottom two spots in the table as Leicester escape.
      In the middle of the table, Chelsea finish bottom of the three-team West London mini-league.
      The struggling Blues slump to 11th on 47.6 points with Fulham ninth and Brentford tenth.
      Arsenal dropped key points against Liverpool, West Ham and SouthamptonCredit: Getty
      Everton have never been relegated out of the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty More

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      Wolves vs Crystal Palace LIVE SCORE: Premier League latest as Hodgson looks to extend unbeaten run – TV, stream

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      CRYSTAL PALACE travel to Molineux to take on Wolves as Roy Hodgson looks to extend his unbeaten run since he returned to the hot seat.The Eagles could only draw against Everton last week despite the Toffees being reduced to ten men late on.
      Wolves took an early lead against Leicester on Saturday, but they couldn’t hold on as they were beaten 2-1 by relegation-threatened Foxes.

      Date: Tuesday, April 25
      Kick off: 7.30pm UK time
      TV channel: BT Sport 3
      Live stream: BT Sport app
      Stadium: Molineux

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      Aston Villa vs Fulham LIVE: Premier League latest as Cottagers take on Emery’s men as both teams eye a spot in Europe

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      ASTON VILLA host Fulham in a tasty Premier League match – and both side’s have Europa League ambitions.Douglas Luiz’s late strike helped Unai Emery’s men escape Brentford with a point on Saturday.
      While Fulham edged past relegation-threatened Leeds in their recent outing.

      Date: Tuesday, April 25
      Kick-off time: 7:45pm BST
      Live stream: BT.com
      TV channel: BT Sport 2

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