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The two Spanish giants have recruited teenage talent from across the world – here are some of the best from the category 2000 and below

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  1Miguel Baeza | Real Madrid

  Baeza has been ever-present for Real Madrid in the 2018-19 Youth League, scoring two goals on the way to help his side become the first to qualify for the quarter-finals. 

  A talented young midfielder with a rocket for a shot, the 18-year-old has impressed all the right people at the Bernabeu. Towards the end of last season he was invited to train with the senior side by Zidane and should be knocking on the doors of the first team sooner rather than later.

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  2Alejandro Marques | Barcelona

  At just 18 this Venezuelan wonderkid is still some way from making his mark on the first team. But he has wasted no time in endearing himself to Barcelona fans after engineering 2018's UEFA Youth League final victory. 

  Marques, who has lived in Spain since he was 13 and previously played in the Espanyol youth set-up, scored a fine double in his club's victory over Chelsea to seal Barca's first-ever title in the competition. He is eligible for both Spain and Venezuela at international level, with both nations keen to secure the services of this natural young goalscorer. 

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  3Juan Miranda | Barcelona

  Miranda's road to the Barca first team will not be easy. In front of the 19-year-old left-back is none other than Jordi Alba, one of the best in the world in his position. 

  The fleeting signs he has shown so far though are encouraging. Miranda made his debut at the tender age of 17, and appeared for the first time in the Champions League in December to hold Tottenham to a draw. 

  He has also been a regular face for his club in their journey to the Copa del Rey final this season, and much is expected of this young prospect.

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  4Mateu Morey | Barcelona

  Right-back Morey celebrated his 19th birthday at the start of March, and is among a select group of Barcelona prospects that have already achieved success at club and international level. 

  He was part of Spain's triumphant Under-17 European Championship team in 2017, and the following year played as Barca took the UEFA Youth League title. Bayern Munich have been linked with the teenager's services in the past, but for now Morey looks set to pursue his career at his hometown club.

Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that he expects his old side to get £100m for Jack Grealish if they do decide to sell him in the summer.

Grealish has really excelled for Villa this season, with 16 goal contributions in the Premier League.

He is now being linked with a move to Manchester City, who have reportedly made the attacking midfielder their top target.

Getting him out of Villa Park, however, will not be easy, with the Midlands club managing to tie him down to a five-year contract at the start of the campaign.

In fact, Hendrie believes it could cost Manchester City or any other club that is interested in Grealish as much as £100m to acquire his signature.

Speaking exclusively to TT on the player’s future, the ex-Villa star said:

“Jack’s possibly going to go for, if he does go, he’s going to go for probably around £100m. That’s the sort of bar the top players are sitting at, if not more.”

Transfermarkt currently value Grealish at £54m but, given the England international’s importance to Dean Smith’s side, it would not be a surprise to see Aston Villa demand a fee closer to £100m.

Glasgow Rangers fans are far from happy with the reported £6m fee they are said to be looking for if they are to sell Filip Helander this summer.

As per Football Insider, both Aston Villa and Leicester City are believed to be interested in making a move for the  £1.8m-valued 27-year-old Sweden international (Transfermarkt). He signed for the Ibrox outfit in the summer of 2019 and, even though he is now approaching the end of his second full campaign at the club, Steven Gerrard’s side are yet to lose with him in the starting line-up (Transfermarkt).

He has plenty of football left ahead of him, while he represents a strong country internationally – as such, the £6m fee the Gers are said to be looking for does feel surprisingly low, even if Transfermarkt rate him significantly lower at just £1.8m.

The Gers supporters, clearly, do not believe the fee mentioned is a true reflection of what he is really worth. The fans took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Helander news below

“Laughable”

Credit: @gingernator88

“No chance”

Credit: @wilber1955

“That’s an insult. 6 million? Everyone knows for sure if he went to either English team and was outstanding his first season 27/28 or no he’d be off again for crazy money”

Credit: @Scotty24891

“How is it when Rangers players are rumoured with other clubs the fee is always far too low yet when it’s that mob across the city the fees are hicked through the roof, 6 million is a joke we should be looking at least 15million he’s a full international and league winner”

Credit: @gers1973

“Never heard so much nonsense. £6m for a Swedish international… They want his left ear? Not happening”

Credit: @s26mcm

“When Maguire went for £85m it raised eyebrows, £6m for Helander is derisory.”

Credit: @bigaljnr

In other news, Rangers fans are livid at this billboard vandalism.

As the summer transfer market heats up, Goal looks at the big names likely to switch clubs before the start of the new season

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  Gonzalo Higuain

  Gonzalo Higuain's agent may have been talking up the prospect of his brother forming a formidable striking partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo but, in truth, it was obvious from the moment that the Portuguese superstar arrived in Turin that the Argentine attacker's days at Juventus were numbered.

  The only outstanding issue is his next destination. A move to Chelsea would make the most sense, given it would mean a reunion with Maurizio Sarri, under whom Higuain broke the Serie A single-season goals record with Napoli.

  However, AC Milan are desperate to land a prolific goalscorer after Andre Silva's struggles in Serie A last season and are now apparently willing to give Leonardo Bonucci back to the Bianconeri, just a year after the defender joined from Juve, as part of a sensational swap deal.

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  Miralem Pjanic

  Miralem Pjanic is undoubtedly one of Juve's most important players, the creative hub of the Bianconeri midfield, but speculation is mounting that the Bosnian could depart before the close of the transfer window.

  Juve stand to make a huge profit on the €32 million they paid to release Pjanic from his Roma contract in 2016. Indeed, while Pep Guardiola has insisted that Manchester City are not interested, Chelsea, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are all huge admirers of the 28-year-old playmaker.

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  Daniele Rugani

  Ronaldo's arrival in Turin for over €100m means that Juve now have some book-balancing to do and Daniele Rugani is one of the Old Lady's most valuable assets.

  The 23-year-old has never quite exhibited the requisite grit to establish himself as a regular member of the Bianconeri's backline but the two-footed centre-half is as elegant and classy as they come, and would doubtless excel if reunited with former mentor Sarri at Chelsea. 

  As Goal has confirmed, the Blues are locked in talks with Juve over the former Empoli defender and all that remains to be decided is the transfee fee, with the Italian champions pushing for €50m.

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• Alex Sandro

  Juventus refused to allow Alex Sandro move to Chelsea last summer, a decision which undeniably affected the Brazilian's form during the first half of the 2017-18 season.

  However, the Old Lady's stance has now softened, not least because of the return of Leonardo Spinazzola after a successful loan spell at Atalanta.

  Coach Massimiliano Allegri would still like to keep Alex Sandro but Juve would be willing to consider a colossal offer for the versatile 27-year-old left-back, especially if the player doesn't sign a new contract which expires in two seasons.

France's top flight has long been a source of low-cost, high-quality players for some of Europe's biggest clubs. Here's some who could be on the move.

• Gael Kakuta (Amiens)

  Once a highly rated prospect in Chelsea’s youth academy, Gael Kakuta has since globetrotted his way around a variety of clubs from Vitesse to Lazio and Sevilla to Hebei China Fortune. He is at little Amiens on loan from the CSL side and has already stated that he wants to move back to the big time, and after scoring five Ligue 1 goals and broadly impressing upon his return to Ligue 1, there is every chance that he could get his wish.

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  Karl Toko-Ekambi (Angers)

  In January, eyebrows were raised when the 25-year-old Cameroon international striker elected to turn down the opportunity to move to Brighton in the Premier League, where he was being offered four times his salary with Angers. He felt he had unfinished business at Stade Raymond Kopa, where he has scored 13 goals this season – the highest tally for a player outside Ligue 1’s top four. More interest is sure to come in the summer.

• Malcom (Bordeaux)

  One of the breakout talents in Ligue 1 this year, Malcom is his side’s leading scorer with eight tallies, several of them spectacular. The young Brazilian has seen plenty of interest from the Premier League over the course of the season, as well as numerous other big clubs elsewhere. Bordeaux resisted offers in January, but they will not be able to in the summer as well.

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  Damien Da Silva (Caen)

  With only four years top-flight experience under his belt, it may be a little late for the centre-back to secure a really big more, but there is no doubt that the 29-year-old has been one of Ligue 1’s outstanding defensive players for several years. Not only is he solid at the back, but he carries a goal-scoring threat form set pieces and has tallied four times this season. It would not be entirely surprising to see him follow N’Golo Kante’s footsteps with a move to England.

Steve Bruce is setting Newcastle United up to fail long-term as Dwight Gayle will be forced to reconsider his future amid rumoured interest from Galatasaray.

What’s the word?

According to the Sunday Mirror (14/3, p. 68), the Super Lig giants, who signed DeAndre Yedlin on Deadline Day last month, are now keen on a move to snap up Gayle this summer.

Yedlin sealed a free transfer to the Turk Telekom Stadium having otherwise been a free agent at the end of the season, and could be reunited with Gayle who similarly is in the final months of his United contract.

Galatasaray are interested in bolstering their offence with a move for Gayle, but may face strong competition from Turkey’s other elite clubs with a host of Super Lig outfits also thought to be monitoring the 31-year-old’s situation.

Gayle also has admirers in Qatar and Saudi Arabia with his £40,000-per-week contract set to expire in June, while The Athletic claimed earlier this month that the forward is unlikely to be offered a long-term deal to remain at St. James’ Park.

Tentative talks have taken place over new terms, but Gayle’s age and record of injuries that have sidelined the striker for a third of the past two seasons combined have brought hesitancy from the Toon hierarchy.

Gayle, for his part, is open to staying on Tyneside and is aware that any new deal is likely to be his last at the club, despite attracting interest from the Middle East, Turkey, Europe and Major League Soccer franchises recently.

Championship sides are also likely to look fondly on the skill of a forward, whom Bruce lauds as a “natural finisher”, should Gayle hit the market as a free agent at the end of the season, but the £7m-rated attacker would favour a fresh start if another Premier League spell is off the table.

Should Newcastle let Gayle leave?

Gayle has often left a lot to the imagination with his performances this season and has struggled to find any real form due to Bruce rarely playing the striker and when he does, it is often not in his favoured position.

Gayle has only made five of his 13 outings in all competitions this season as an out-and-out striker and of those appearances, only two have come in the starting line-up with opening calls against Chelsea and Aston Villa in the absence of Callum Wilson through injury.

Bruce’s decision to start Gayle on the left-wing before a move into a false nine role for the second half against Aston Villa last Friday particularly backfired, as the London-born forward cut an invisible and frustrated figure often too far out to pose any attacking threat.

The Toon boss argued following the 1-1 draw that the decision to play Gayle out of position was so Newcastle could continue with the system developed around Allan Saint-Maximin, Wilson and Miguel Almiron. And showed no signs that he intends to change that.

“We’ve played a certain way now for the past six, seven weeks. I spoke briefly on it last week, of not trying to change the shape of us, the way we’ve gone about how we’re trying to play,” Bruce said, via quotes by Chronicle Live.

“I’ll be a bit more technical and say we’re playing with split strikers if you like, but that’s the way we’ve gone about our work and I changed him and Ryan just after half-time. That’s the way we’ve set up and that’s the way we’re going to continue.”

But sticking with square pegs for round holes is not working for Newcastle, and Gayle will surely start to reconsider his willingness to stay at a club where chances to feature are slim if Bruce is not open to playing the man who Noel Whelan calls a “weapon” where he performs best.

Bruce allowing Gayle – who has more goals over the past two Premier League seasons (5) than Andy Carroll (1) and Joelinton (3) combined – to leave will also set Newcastle up to fail long-term, as the club are expected to be light on funds to sign replacements and have plenty of other starts set to be out of contract in the off-season.

AND in other news, Steve Bruce must unleash a “fantastic” Newcastle gem who delivered a statement performance vs Aston Villa…

Many Everton fans have been welcoming the news that the South American FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to take place in March have been cancelled.

As per Sky Sports, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has decided to suspend March’s double header of qualifiers for Qatar 2022 amid concern over the impact of the global pandemic and quarantine restrictions.

The tightening lockdown and quarantine regulations mean that numerous European-based players will be unable to travel, which may come as a benefit for the Goodison Park club.

The likes of Allan, James Rodriguez, Richarlison and Yerry Mina would have all joined up with Brazil and Colombia if not for the restrictions, which now means that they will all get two weeks’ worth of rest instead.

It means that the Merseyside club will be able to have all of their players fresh and ready for the end of the 2020/21 campaign as Carlo Ancelotti’s men look to chase automatic qualification for the Champions League for next season.

Everton fan reaction to South America news

These Toffees supporters lauded the news on Twitter, with one Blues supporter even going as far as to excitedly claim that it was the ‘best news ever’:

“Yaaaas.”

Credit: @JohnDiazTheOne

“Perfect”

Credit: @cjohno1001

“Huge. Absolutely huge, for our season.”

Credit: @GrantyBoy78

“Wonderful! They could all use a rest and get fully fit!”

Credit: @MrSherminator8

“This is a blessing”

Credit: @ComedianConn

“Best news ever!”

Credit: @Eric_Howell

In other news, find out which two Champions League aces Ancelotti wants to sign!

Ilkay Gundogan has been voted the GMS Fans’ Premier League Player of the Month for January. In a poll run by fan engagement experts Snack Media, the midfielder took 24% of the vote after scoring five goals and making 10 dribbles. Burnley’s Nick Pope was in second place with 20%. 

In the first of five votes carried out over seven days via Snack’s digital and social networks, the 5 foot 11 German’s performances clearly struck a chord with Premier League fans up and down the country. 

The full list of contenders from the final shortlist polled as follows: 

• Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City) – 24% 
• Nick Pope (Burnley) – 20% 
• Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – 18% 
• Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) – 15% 
• Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 13% 
• Craig Dawson (West Ham) – 11% 

The Championship vote opens at 11 am on Monday 8th February. To vote go to: 

http://bit.ly/36EBNZ6   

As the January transfer window draws nearer, huge international names continue to be linked with a move to the Premier League. One side looking to bolster their ranks in aid of keeping their place in England’s top flight is Leeds United.

The Whites have been connected with a move for Paris Saint Germain star Julian Draxler and would, given his contract situation, be able to agree pre-contract terms with the midfielder this month, whilst a loan move has not been ruled out either. Fabrizio Romano recently tipped the Whites to be “looking for this kind of player” as they potentially enter the transfer market once more.

Draxler would be ideal signing for Leeds

Draxler oozes creativity and flair. The German international has experience in abundance and a sharp eye for setting up a goal. For Leeds, he is the ideal addition to their recently promoted squad.

Marcelo Bielsa relies heavily on stalwart striker Patrick Bamford to score goals, which may cause a lot of problems against more defensively sound teams. The Whites seem to be in need of a bit of a mix up when it comes to their attacking options and it could be wise to add a creative spark from midfield.

The end of Hernandez

Whilst signing Draxler on loan, and perhaps even on a permanent deal down the line, is arguably a no-brainer for Andrea Radrizzani, it could lead to him letting go of 35-year-old Pablo Hernandez.

The Spaniard has been a loyal contributor to the Yorkshire outfit since his arrival in 2017, but his age and lack of contribution could spell the end of his time at Elland Road. So far this season, Hernandez has added just two assists to Leeds’ tally and has started on only two occasions, according to Transfermarkt.

He is the club’s only recognised attacking midfielder, which, in terms of squad depth, isn’t rally good enough for a side looking to stay and thrive in the Premier League. Leeds would benefit a whole lot from adding a player like Draxler, who has 22 goals and 33 assists for PSG, as well as 56 caps for his country, as per Transfermarkt.

According to WhoScored, the 27-year-old has averaged a higher passing percentage this season (89.5%) and more key passes (1.2) per match when compared to Hernandez’s totals of 78% and 0.6, respectively.

This highlights that Draxler’s capability to pick out important passes and build up play from the middle of the park is better than the veteran Leeds star. Quite simply, his creative flair is clearly more threatening than that of the Leeds man, whose days could be numbered at Elland Road.

Hernandez is contracted until 2022 with the Whites so by the time that expires, he will have turned 37. Now, is the time for Leeds to be brave and move out the old dogs in order to make way for younger, fresher legs.

If Leeds can do a deal to get Draxler to Elland Road, and get him playing to his best, it would be a huge coup for the Yorkshire-based club.

In other news, Leeds can land Alioski successor in Fredrik Andre Bjorkan…

During Everton versus Newcastle United in the Premier League this afternoon, many Toffees supporters weren’t happy with opposition midfielder Jonjo Shelvey for his tough tackling – resulting in plenty of fans making their feelings known on Twitter.

Shelvey committed a few fouls in the first half on the likes of James Rodriguez and Alex Iwobi, with the Englishman attracting criticism from these supporters for his antics against Everton at Goodison Park.

Rodriguez in particular was on the receiving end of plenty of challenges, and was later booked himself in what was a clear show of frustration.

Reacting to that aspect of Shelvey’s performance during their encounter with Newcastle, plenty of Toffees voiced their discontent with the 28-year-old – taking to Twitter and blasting the Toon midfield player.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

Everton fans blast Shelvey

“Shelvey again. He will be sent off soon. The freak.”

Credit: toffeeman1971

“Shelvey trying to end James’s career here. Shocking”

Credit: @CaitWilliams10

“Shelvey is a red card waiting to happen.”

Credit: @charles_stevo

“Horrible is Jonjoe Shelvey”

Credit: @efc_bible

“Wow…Shelvey is playing like a thug! I guess he went to the Diego Costa school of football!”

Credit: @c_zsoldos

“Shelvey is the absolute worst. Should be off already. Hope Siggy and James continue running at him every chance they get.”

Credit: @jstroud3

“I hate literally everything about Jonjo Shelvey…”

Credit: @MrLeesRamblings

In other news: Everton fans were left hailing a transfer update, find out more here.