Month: July 2021

Gareth Southgate wants to lead England into next year’s World Cup but says he needs time to reflect on Sunday’s gut-wrenching Euro 2020 final loss before even considering an extended deal.

Three years to the day after the World Cup semi-final loss to Croatia, another unforgettable summer came to a crushing conclusion for the Three Lions.

England’s clash with Italy ended 1-1 after extra-time, with Roberto Mancini’s men silencing Wembley by triumphing 3-2 on penalties after Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka failed from the spot in the shoot-out.

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England’s Euro 2020 heartbreak: The inquest opens in the Mailbox…

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Crestfallen Southgate will eventually be able to take positives out of this summer’s run and says he intends to go again next winter when Qatar hosts the 2022 World Cup.

But talk of extending his deal beyond that tournament, as Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham recently said he wanted the manager to do, could not be further from his thoughts.

“I don’t think now is an appropriate time to think about anything,” Southgate said at Monday post-tournament press conference.

“We’ve got, of course, to qualify for Qatar but I need some time to go away, watch last night’s game again, reflect on the whole tournament. I need a rest.

“It is an amazing experience but to lead your country in these tournaments takes its toll and I need a break now.

“I said at the time it was great to have that internal support. You hugely value that as a manager.

“But there’s a lot to think about. It’s not about finance in any way or commitment.

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“I don’t want to commit to anything longer than I should and I never want to outstay my welcome so all of those things need consideration before I’m even thinking about sitting down and talking.

“But as I sit here today I would want to be taking the team to Qatar. I feel that we’ve made progress over the four years.

“We’ve had a fourth place, a third place and a second place – it’s probably as good as any other team in Europe bar those that have won the tournaments themselves.

“But for consistency it’s right up there. A lot of things we’ve done right and we know this team isn’t at its peak yet.

“But that doesn’t guarantee winning because we know how difficult it is to get back to the stage we got to last night. That’s why it’s so painful to get so close.”

 

Jack Grealish has hit back at Roy Keane after the ITV pundit suggested the England midfielder refused to take a penalty.

Bukayo Saka’s penalty was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand Italy victory as England lost in a penalty shoot-out with some pundits and fans questioning Gareth Southgate’s decision to allow a 19-year-old to take the decisive kick.

Keane was one to speak out on the decision but decided to criticise Raheem Sterling and Grealish for not taking the responsibility away from the Arsenal youngster.

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England’s Euro 2020 heartbreak: The inquest opens in the Mailbox…

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“If you’re (Raheem) Sterling or (Jack) Grealish, you cannot sit there and have a young kid [Saka] go up for a penalty ahead of you, you can’t,” Keane said on ITV.

“You cannot let a shy 19-year-old go up in front of you. They have a lot more experience, Sterling has won trophies, they had to get in front of the young kid and stand up.”

But Grealish called Keane’s comments out and claimed that he wanted to take one but Southgate didn’t pick him.

Grealish wrote on Twitter: “I said I wanted to take one!!!! The gaffer has made so many right decisions through this tournament and he did tonight! But I won’t have people say that I didn’t want to take a peno when I said I will…”

Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho was critical of Southgate’s choice to give Saka such a crucial penalty, he said: “The decision of the penalty talkers, I think it is hard to leave Saka as the last one. I think it is hard for a kid to have everything on his shoulders at that moment. I just feel very sorry for him.

“In this situation where was [Raheem] Sterling, where was (John) Stones, where was (Luke) Shaw?

“I feel that Gareth is such an honest guy. Such a protective coach of his players. I don’t think he would ever say players were not ready [to take a penalty].”

 

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Atletico Madrid are demanding €50m from Liverpool if the Premier League side want to take Saul Niguez to Anfield, according to reports.

Saul is not short of suitors this summer, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich all linked with the 26-year-old.

Back in June, Atletico reportedly wanted €80m for the midfielder but the same report commented that they would ‘welcome the sale’ this summer.

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Gossip: Arsenal open Neves talks; Rafa wants Koulibaly

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Man United have perhaps been the most heavily linked side over the last couple of years and a report at the end of May said the Premier League outfit had ‘knocked on the door’ again for Saul.

However, it is Liverpool who are now understood to be the leading contenders to sign Saul with Barcelona also very interested.

Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness) that Liverpool have ‘entered very strongly’ to sign Saul this summer while they also credit Catalan giants Barca with interest.

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The Reds’ initial €40m offer was turned down by Atletico Madrid but the La Liga side are willing to accept an improved offer of €50m.

However, Barcelona have put a ‘brake’ on those negotiations with Atletico ‘especially seduced’ by the prospect of getting Antoine Griezmann in return.

Barca are understood to be keen to get Griezmann off their wage bill as they try to balance their books and hand Lionel Messi the deal he wants.

The report concludes by claiming that ‘negotiations are underway’ with both Barcelona and Liverpool.

Meanwhile, John Barnes doesn’t think Liverpool need to make anymore signings after Ibrahima Konate joined from RB Salzburg earlier this summer.

Barnes told BonusCodeBets: “Liverpool being cash strapped because of Covid-19 may not be an issue this summer. If they don’t lose any players through injury or transfers, they don’t need to sign anyone.

“They brought in Diogo Jota and Thiago last season and signed Ibrahima Konate. Plus, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are coming back. Liverpool know their best players, so they don’t need to make signings or to promote from within, unless they get into an injury situation like last season.

“There will be the odd occasion when players like Harry Wilson and Harvey Elliott need to come into the side, as Nat Phillips and Neco Williams did this season. If they are playing for three months that’s probably not what you want, but two or three games is manageable.”