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      West Ham star Said Benrahma lined up for Premier League transfer switch but also has Saudi interest

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      BRENTFORD are looking into a shock cheap return deal for West Ham attacker Said Benrahma.The Bees sold Benrahma to the Hammers but would like him to come back in a bargain move before the window shuts.
      Brentford want to re-sign Said BenrahmaCredit: Getty
      Benrahma can leave West Ham if the price is right but he seems to have interest in Saudi Arabia and has recently changed agents to find him a move.
      French sides Lyon and Marseille also tried for Benrahma but Brentford are now in the mix after deciding Sunderland winger Jack Clarke is priced too high.
      Benrahma joined West Ham in a £25million transfer from Brentford in 2021 and has since made 155 appearances for David Moyes’ side.
      However, the winger has struggled to find his form this season.
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      He is yet to score a goal despite making 22 appearances across all competitions.
      Moyes has favoured Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen on the wings over Benrahma this season, meaning many of the 28-year-old’s appearances have come off the bench.
      Fornals is also understood to be on the verge of a move away.
      Real Betis are pushing to sign him in a £10m transfer this month.
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      West Ham completed the signing of Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips on a six-month loan on Friday.
      There is no option or obligation to buy included in the deal, but the two clubs are expected to discuss a potential permanent transfer in the summer. More

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      Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta ‘on three-man shortlist for Barcelona job’ as search begins for Xavi’s successor

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      MIKEL ARTETA is among a three-man shortlist to succeed Xavi at Barcelona, reports in Spain say. Nou Camp legend Xavi announced he will be stepping down as Barca boss at the end of the season.
      Mikel Arteta is linked with the Barcelona jobCredit: Getty
      And according to Spanish reporter Gerard Romero, Arsenal manager Arteta is among those the LaLiga giants will eye as a replacement.
      It is claimed Barca sporting director Deco started speaking to the agents of potential candidates over the last few weeks.
      Jurgen Klopp – set to leave Liverpool in the summer too – and Julian Nagelsmann, who is in charge of the German national team, are also linked with the role.
      Barca considered Arteta after sacking Ronald Koeman in October 2021 but Xavi was instead appointed.
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      But Arteta did sign a new contract in 2022, which keeps him tied to the Emirates until the summer of 2025.
      Spanish World Cup winner Xavi led his club to the league title last season – but will leave at the end of this campaign.
      He said: “I think the club needs a change of dynamic.
      “For the good of the players, I believe that they will free themselves. We play with a lot of tension.
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      “For the good of the board of directors, it is best that I leave. I will give my best. I think all of that will help the dynamic change.
      “This is the message I would like to give. I think I am doing the right thing.”
      Xavi made the shock announcement following a 5-3 home loss to Villarreal, which leaves them ten points off leaders Real Madrid.
      Xavi is stepping down as Barcelona bossCredit: Getty

      A look at Barca’s managerial targets

      Mikel Arteta
      The Spaniard learnt his coaching craft under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before taking over at Arsenal in 2019.
      He turned the Gunners into title contenders, only narrowly missing out to City last season.
      And having come through Barca’s youth set up, Xavi’s exit could give Arteta the perfect return to the Nou Camp.
      Jurgen Klopp
      The German established himself as one of the finest coaches in the world after joining Liverpool from Borussia Dortmund in 2015.
      He led Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years and also lifted the Champions League in 2019.
      His resignation caused shockwaves around the footballing world and there will be no manager in greater demand than Klopp next season.
      Julian Nagelsmann
      Nagelsmann announced himself at RB Leipzig and his success earned him a dream job at Bayern Munich.
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      With the German giants, he won the league title in 2022 but a year later he was suddenly dismissed.
      And despite links to Chelsea and Tottenham, he instead succeeded Hansi Flick as head coach of the German national team in September. More

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      Chelsea jump into transfer race for Blackburn starlet Adam Wharton after sporting director goes on scouting mission

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      CHELSEA are jumping into the race for Blackburn starlet Adam Wharton and will battle Crystal Palace for the midfielder.Blues’ sporting director Paul Winstanley watched Wharton in action last week after the 19-year-old’s performance against the club in the Carabao Cup earlier this season sparked their interest.
      Chelsea want to sign Adam Wharton from BlackburnCredit: Getty
      Winstanley is in the market for even more talent, despite spending heavily on midfielders and Chelsea may be open to a buy and loan back arrangement.
      Rovers snubbed an £18.5million offer from Palace this week and want up to £25m, although they could take that in a down payment and extras.
      Wharton — who signed a five-year deal at Ewood Park last month — will also want to know his career path, so Chelsea need to be persuasive and any plans to loan him out next season would not appeal.
      Palace are unlikely to go higher than their offer of £15m plus £3.5million in add-ons for Wharton and are already making inquiries about alternatives.
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      They include Birmingham’s Jordan James, 19, who is available at around half the price.
      Serie A side Atalanta have been bidding for James but came up short so Palace could swoop in with an acceptable offer for the Welsh teenager.
      Birmingham want Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on loan — and the 21-year-old may yet become part of the deal.
      Blues have made contact about the wideman, who needs to leave Eagles for regular game time and could go if they bring in a new player or two.
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      Rak-Sakyi is back after two months out with a torn hamstring but unable to get into Roy Hodgson’s squad.
      He has been limited to just eight first team appearances this season. More

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      I didn’t want to eat or see or speak to anyone as a Premier League manager… I understand Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool exit

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      TO the outside world, Jurgen Klopp looks like a manager who’s got it made.Adored by the fans, his team on top of the table, already in one final with maybe more to come and a fantastic journey that’s been full of highs and very few lows.
      Jurgen Klopp has announced he will quit as Liverpool managerCredit: Rex
      So if anything tells you about the pressures of the job, it’s Jurgen’s decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
      I must admit I never saw it coming . . . but I can also totally understand him, because it’s impossible to explain what every manager works under every day.
      I’ve been there. I know what it’s like. I know that feeling of carrying the responsibility of an entire club on your shoulders. Everyone who’s been in Jurgen’s position does.
      It’s difficult for people to understand. They just see a manager — especially at a big club — and think ‘he’s earning so much money, how can that be true’. But it is, believe me.
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      The pressure is incredible. It’s relentless, constant, every minute of every day. The buck stops with you, not your assistant, not your players, but you.
      In the early days when I’d first gone to West Ham, and we were in a relegation battle, I’d be lying on the settee, just staring at the ceiling.
      Sandra was still living back home in Bournemouth, I was in a little flat by the training ground, and at times I’d be really, really low.
      I didn’t want to eat, didn’t want to see anyone or speak to anyone. It was absolutely crazy. I honestly think I was close to cracking up.
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      When you get a win on a Saturday, there is no feeling like it. It really is the best in the world.
      I’d be driving home punching the air, the radio would be turned up and I’d be singing along to anything and everything.
      But when the opposite happened, I’d be absolutely at rock bottom. I couldn’t face going out because I didn’t want to see anyone, to bump into people.
      I look back and think ‘my god, how low was I getting?’
      When I think about it, I must have been very close to having a breakdown.
      Sometimes I’d go home and be so down. Only now do I realise how close I must have been to the edge, because it’s a feeling you come to accept as being part of the job, part of your life.
      In one spell when I was away from the club, my assistant was running things for a while and it aged him ten years!
      I didn’t want to eat, didn’t want to see anyone or speak to anyone. It was absolutely crazy. I honestly think I was close to cracking up.Harry Redknapp on managing West Ham through relegation battle
      You have your assistant, you can be really close, but they don’t feel it the same. The buck stops with the manager, end of.
      And however much a player cares, it really doesn’t compare. Of course you’re down if you lose, but then you go out with your mates or for dinner with your family and that’s it.
      As a manager, it stays with you. Every day is a real challenge, and not just what happens on the pitch.
      Maybe a player who’s got an issue at home, a kid from the youth team who’s smashed his car up or in trouble . . . there’s always something beyond football.
      It’s the fans, the club, the whole business. Everything is on your shoulders and there’s no escaping it, it’s scary.
      And it doesn’t matter if you’re standing there in front of 50,000 or a few hundred, at whatever level the pressure is the same.
      You want to win, you want to be a success, you dread being seen as a failure. That’s on you all the time.
      ‘I certainly didn’t see the signs’
      Well there’s no way Jurgen has been a failure. Yes, there have been some disappointments, some defeats, but really it has been all about the ups, not downs.
      I looked at him after the Carabao Cup game at Fulham in midweek, and he was laughing, looking forward to going to another final.
      He’s been bringing the kids through, beaming that big smile of his, and you’d imagine his life as a football manager couldn’t be better.
      Liverpool are top of the league and he’s absolutely adored by the fans. He’s done an amazing job, built an incredible team, and everything is going forwards.
      Maybe Jurgen thinks the players need to hear a new voice, and now wants a break to recharge his batteries and enjoy life for a year or so.
      There’s no doubt that when he does come back, he’ll have the choice of some of the best jobs in the business.
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      He’s certainly leaving a great club in a great position.
      It just goes to show that you never know what is going on underneath. I certainly didn’t see the signs. More

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      Premier League legend texted Roy Keane while stood metres away from him to tell Man Utd legend he was joining rival club

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      ROY KEANE has revealed he was brutally snubbed by a former Premier League star in bizarre fashion after trying to sign him. The Manchester United legend was managing Sunderland at the time of his odd rejection.
      Roy Keane tried to convince Matt Taylor to join SunderlandCredit: Getty
      Taylor instead signed for Bolton and rejected Sunderland with a brutal text messageCredit: PA:Press Association
      Keane was in charge of the Black Cats for two years when he tried to sign Matt Taylor in 2007.
      The versatile midfielder was on his way out of Porstmouth and had offers from Sunderland as well as Bolton.
      Taylor was invited to the Stadium of Light for transfer discussions so Keane could convince him to join the club.
      However, Taylor – who was sacked as Shrewsbury boss this week – didn’t even wait to get out the car park before sending the Irishman a rejection text message.
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      Keane told Stick to Football from Sky Bet: “I was trying to bring Matty Taylor to Sunderland, but he didn’t want to move up.
      “I spoke to him up in the boardroom at Sunderland late at night.
      “I talked during the sales pitch about Sunderland are going places.
      “He told me, I’ve got this Bolton [offer]. I was like, ‘Sunderland is a better club than Bolton’.
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      “I thought the chat went really well, we went outside, his car was over there, shook his hand – brilliant, good lad.
      “He said: ‘It’s a big decision, I’ve got my family to think about’. I said: ‘No problem, of course’.
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      “So I shook his hand outside the Stadium of Light, I see him get in his car and I get a text from Matt.
      “He wrote: ‘Thanks for the chat, I’m going to Bolton’. And the car drives past me.
      “He said afterwards, his wife wanted to live in Manchester, which is fine – but you could’ve told me that two hours ago.”
      Taylor spent three-and-a-half years at Bolton before sealing a switch to West Ham in 2011.
      He then went on to play for Burnley, Northampton and Swindon. More

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      Ex-Man Utd star HEADBUTTS Robert Lewandowski and then scores own goal as Barcelona suffer epic collapse

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      BARCELONA superstar Robert Lewandowski locked horns with a former Manchester United ace during an intense clash against Villarreal.Barca and the Yellow Submarine faced off in a crunch LaLiga clash at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium that saw Marcelino’s side picking up a stunning 5-3 win following an incredible comeback.
      Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski and Villarreal ace Eric Bailly headbutted each otherCredit: bein sports
      Lewandowski and ex-Manchester United ace Bailly locked horns after Pedri’s equaliserCredit: bein sports
      Bailly then scored an own goal as Barcelona temporarily turned the game aroundCredit: EPA

      Gerard Moreno opened the scoring for the visitors after 41 minutes and La Masia graduate Ilias Akhomach doubled the lead just nine minutes into the second half.
      However, Xavi’s side fought back and levelled things up within eight minutes.
      First with ex-Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan within the hour mark and then with Pedri.
      And it was after the midfielder’s goal that Lewandowski went nose to nose with Villarreal ace Eric Bailly.
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      The star striker and Bailly headbutted each other for a split second until the visitors’ goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen ran towards them to separate them.
      It became a much more eventful evening for the ex-United defender as he netted an own goal just three minutes later.
      Gundogan delivered a crisp free-kick from the left and found Ronald Araujo who got the slightest touch and that led to a deflection off the Ivory Coast international.
      However, Goncalo Guedes saved the centre-back’s blushes with an equaliser on 84 minutes.
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      And Alexander Sorloth turned the match on its head in the ninth minute of stoppage time.
      Jose Luis Morales capped off a fantastic evening for Villarreal just three minutes later at Barcelona.
      Barcelona are now third in the LaLiga table with 10 points separating them from leaders Real Madrid.
      Atletico Madrid are only three points behind the Blaugrana and have a game in hand. More

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      Fans all switch over from Luke Littler to ITV4 after realising who is presenting Fulham vs Newcastle FA Cup clash

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      LAURA WOODS took away darts sensation Luke Littler’s viewers during her FA Cup coverage.Teen revelation Littler, 17, defeated Luke Humphries 6-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Dutch Masters.
      Darts fans switched from Luke Littler to watch the FA Cup
      Darts fans preferred to watch Laura Woods’ coverage
      Woods is covering the FA Cup clash between Fulham and Newcastle
      Woods took away Littler’s viewers during the Dutch Masters
      Woods and the panel discussed the Fulham boycott at Craven Cottage
      Woods is among the most popular presenters
      Darts enthusiasts watched from the edge of their seats until they found out who’s presenting the match between Fulham and Newcastle.
      And it was none other than Woods who has undertaken hosting duties for the FA Cup fourth round clash at Craven Cottage,
      And a number of fans switched the channel to watch the popular journalist on ITV4.
      One fan tweeted: “Sorry darts didn’t realise Laura Woods is presenting the game.”
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      Another commented: “Good idea…I like the build up…TBF Laura Woods..is a decent presenter.”
      A third posted: “Laura Woods doing FA Cup coverage… I NEED THAT.”
      This fan said: “Laura Woods you are magic, thank you.”
      And that one stated: “Good stuff from Laura Woods.”
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      This comes as Fulham fans planned to boycott the game against Newcastle due to ticket prices in West London.
      The cheapest adult ticket for tonight’s tie is priced at £40, which was also the case for Wednesday’s 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final defeat against Liverpool.
      Some Fulham fans also praised Woods for mentioning the boycott during the preview show.
      Fulham and Newcastle are facing off in the FA Cup fourth roundCredit: PA More

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      Three Premier League bosses ‘on Liverpool shortlist’ to replace Jurgen Klopp as search begins for successor

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      THREE current Premier League managers are allegedly on Liverpool’s shortlist to replace Jurgen Klopp.Kopites and the football world were shocked yesterday when the German, 56, dropped the bombshell that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
      Jurgen Klopp will wave goodbye to Liverpool at the end of the seasonCredit: PA

      Klopp had informed Liverpool chiefs of his decision to step down in NOVEMBER but players and staff only learned of his exit on Friday.
      The ex-Dortmund manager has transformed Liverpool back into one of the game’s top sides since taking charge in October 2015.
      He achieved legendary status when ending their 30-year title drought in 2020 while he also led the Reds to three Champions League finals – tasting success in 2019.
      Now there will be huge change with his assistants Pepijn Lijnders, Peter Krawietz and Vitor Matos also confirmed to be leaving while interim sporting director Jorg Schmadtke will depart his job next week.
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      Liverpool’s chief executive Billy Hogan has already confirmed that the process to find a replacement for Klopp will start immediately.
      Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, 42, is the favourite with bookmakers to become their new boss with Reds legend Jamie Carragher believing that the Spaniard would be the ideal choice.
      However, The Athletic have now thrown several more names into the mix – and three of them are already managing in the Premier League.
      They claim that “the plan is to appoint a new sporting director before identifying a new manager”. 
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      But a shortlist has already been drawn-up of men that the Reds have been impressed with.
      They state that “Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou, a boyhood Liverpool fan, are also on the radar” along with Alonso.
      They added that “Thomas Frank also has his admirers after his body of work at Brentford, allied to the fact there are stylistic similarities between his side and Liverpool’s high-pressing, ultra-energetic approach”.
      And another person mentioned as a potential successor was Klopp’s compatriot Julian Nagelsmann.
      This report states that he “may also be of interest” but he is firstly tasked with leaving leading Germany at this summer’s European Championship on home turf.
      Former Reds star Xabi Alonso is the bookies favourite for the jobCredit: Getty
      Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi is also allegedly on Liverpool’s shortlistCredit: PA
      Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou was a boyhood Liverpool fanCredit: Getty
      Brentford’s Thomas Frank also reportedly has admirers at AnfieldCredit: Getty More