NEWCASTLE are stepping up their search for a new manager with Steve Bruce reportedly on borrowed time.
The new Saudi owners are reported to have identified former Arsenal boss Unai Emery as their top target.
But other options include Belgium boss Roberto Martinez and Rangers' Steven Gerrard.
Elsewhere, Chelsea reportedly rejected the chance to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma on a free transfer over the summer as they opted to keep the faith in Edouard Mendy.
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- Anthony Chapman
STOP IT
Gary Neville reckons Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes need to stop ‘waving their arms in the air’ at team-mates.
He said: “I watched Ronaldo and Fernandes up front… nothing.
“I saw them flailing their arms at team-mates, which I didn’t like, and that needs to stop.
“This Man Utd team are also poor in how they react to goals.
“If they concede a goal, they start acting like babies and do their own thing.
“If they score a goal, they puff their chest out and their egos come out.”
- Anthony Chapman
STAY AWAY
Barcelona suffered a new low this weekend as their fans stayed away from the Nou Camp.
The struggling Catalans failed to sell out even half of their stadium for the LaLiga clash with Valencia.
Sunday’s game at the Nou Camp marked the first time since the pandemic began that Barcelona were allowed a full 99,354-capacity crowd.
The stadium had a limited capacity ever since March 2020 under Catalonia government restrictions.
But the official attendance for Sunday’s LaLiga contest was just 47,317 – meaning the Nou Camp was just 47 per cent full.
- Anthony Chapman
IN WITH THE NEW
Danny Murphy believes moneybags Newcastle are at serious risk of going down unless they bring in three new recruits in January to improve their defence.
He told the Mail: “Newcastle’s priority has to be becoming damned hard to beat for the rest of the season.
“I’d say Newcastle require four new signings in the next window to guarantee safety.
“And three of those need to make them defensively better – with one additional glamour name to share the scoring burden with Callum Wilson.”
- Anthony Chapman
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Odegaard; Saka, Smith-Rowe, Pepe; Aubameyang
Crystal Palace XI: Guaita; Ward, Guehi, Andersen, Mitchell; Milivojevic, McArthur, Gallagher; Ayew, Benteke, Edouard
FOLLOW THE MATCH HERE
- Anthony Chapman
OLE OK
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a BETTER win record at Manchester United than Jurgen Klopp did at Liverpool after the same number of games.
But 85 PER CENT of fans still think the Norwegian should be sacked.
Take a look at how Ole compares to Klopp and Man City boss Pep Guardiola below…
- Anthony Chapman
RACISM INVESTIGATION
Newcastle are investigating an alleged racist gesture made towards Tottenham fans during yesterday’s 3-2 defeat at St James’ Park.
A club statement said: “Newcastle United will pursue the strongest possible action against anyone involved in discriminatory behaviour and will support any efforts by the authorities to secure a criminal conviction.”
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Enquiries are ongoing with the club to identify anyone involved and ascertain whether criminal offences have been committed.
“As a Force, we do not tolerate hate crime of any kind within our communities and are committed to taking swift and robust action against perpetrators.”
- Anthony Chapman
EARLY START
Leicester’s Europa League game against Spartak Moscow has been moved from Thursday to Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Celtic’s match with Ferencvaros will take place TOMORROW.
The switches are the result of match clashes that break Uefa rules that do not allow more than one match in the same city on any day.
And with Champions League games on, both matches will start at 3.30pm.
- Anthony Chapman
ON THE BOX
Fixtures for the Premier League’s hectic Christmas and New Year period have been released with fans in for a treat.
The top-flight have confirmed the matches scheduled to be broadcast, which will be shared between Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime Video.
Supporters should be braced for a feast of fantastic football with games from November 30 to January 3 coming thick and fast.
Manchester United will have eight of their games broadcast – the most out of any Premier League side.
SEE THE FULL LIST HERE
- Anthony Chapman
HEN DO
Former Celtic flop Jack Hendry has already stopped Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in their tracks this season.
Now the 26-year-old defender is preparing to take down Manchester City’s attack when Club Brugge face Pep Guardiola’s heavyweights.
The Glaswegian said: “I gave Scott McTominay and Andy Robertson a good few questions on City during the international break.
“But me telling the answers might give too much away so I’ll keep that to myself.
“I asked them about Man City, how they play and how they set up, to try and pick out their weak points. I’ve got a good insight about them.
“It’s probably hard for people to believe, but I was level headed [playing against PSG]. I didn’t get too emotional in it.
“It was a massive privilege to play on the same pitch and compete, but this is why I came here.”
- Justin Lawrence
JAMIE TIES THE KNOT
Jamie Redknapp married his fiancé Frida Andersson-Lourie at Chelsea Registry office today.
The ex-Liverpool star was joined by his dad Harry and wife Sandra Harris, along with his brother Mark for the ceremony.
- Justin Lawrence
TOON UP
Jesse Lingard’s agents reportedly attended Newcastle’s game against Tottenham as his Instagram appeared to hint at a possible transfer from Manchester United.
Sky Sports claim the England midfielder’s representatives were present at St James’ Park on Sunday for Newcastle’s first game since their £300million Saudi takeover.
A picture posted on Instagram Stories via Lingard’s ‘jlingz’ account showed Newcastle’s pitch shortly before their 3-2 defeat to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
And it’s reckoned Lingard’s representatives were in attendance to ‘keep an eye’ on proceedings.
Sky’s Pete Graves tweeted: “Interesting to see this pop up on Jesse Lingard’s ‘jlingz’ account on Instagram.
“I understand Lingard’s representatives were at St James’ Park yesterday keeping an eye on developments at NUFC.”
- Justin Lawrence
RED MIST
Former Tottenham player Jamie Redknapp has launched a scathing attack on Daniel Levy for not sticking to his verbal agreement to sell Harry Kane in the summer.
Kane was strongly linked with a move to Manchester City in the summer but an initial £120million offer was rebuffed by Spurs.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Redknapp seemingly confirmed the striker had an agreement to leave the club if a £130m bid came in.
He fumed: “I found that surprising this summer because every other time they’ve had a real asset, you think Modric, Bale, Carrick, Daniel Levy has decided to sell, took the money.
“The one time that they get an incredible amount of money, great offer to a player who obviously wants to leave, I think there was a verbal agreement £130million, they decide to say no.
“I didn’t understand that, it didn’t make any sense to me and I know you’ve got to keep your best players but I think they could’ve invested again.”
- Justin Lawrence
NO JONES
Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Liverpool will be without Curtis Jones for their Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid.
The midfielder remains sidelined with the minor injury that forced him to sit out the victory at Watford on the weekend.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference today, Klopp said: “Unfortunately Curtis was only with us in the warming up and will be here in Liverpool to hopefully make the final steps to full training.
“Today he did only warming up and then did his stuff, but still individual training and we decided to leave him here to continue that. And then hopefully he is ready for United.”
- Justin Lawrence
HOLY MOLY
POPE FRANCIS has received a signed Lionel Messi shirt.
The Argentine, 84, is a football fan – and supported Buenos Aires side San Lorenzo as a boy.
And on a special visit from French Prime Minister Jean Castex, the Holy Father was treated to a very special gift.
Castex, 56, visited the Vatican to commemorate 100 years of diplomatic relations between France and the Holy See.
And he didn’t come empty handed.
In the first reception of a serving French minister since 2009, Castex brought along a PSG shirt signed by Messi for the star’s holy compatriot.
- Justin Lawrence
DROG ON
Ex-Chelsea star Didier Drogba has been appointed as the World Health Organization’s Goodwill Ambassador for Sport and Health.
The Chelsea legend’s role will promote the benefits of physical activity, healthy lifestyles and sports, especially for children.
Speaking on his new role, Drogba said: “I am honoured to team up with the World Health Organization and support its work to help people reach the highest level of health possible, especially young people in all countries.
“I have benefitted first hand from the power of sports to lead a healthy life and I am committed to working with WHO to share such gains worldwide.”
- Justin Lawrence
MOUR DRAMA
A livid Jose Mourinho was involved in a spat with Juventus players and staff after his Roma side lost 1-0 in Turin on Sunday night.
The 58-year-old later lashed out and challenged his opponents to say ‘in public’ the words that were directed towards him at the Allianz Stadium.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss was left in disbelief when Roma had a Tammy Abraham goal ruled out and were instead awarded a penalty by referee Daniele Orsato.
To make matters worse Jordan Veretout stepped up and missed the spot-kick.
It led to a post-match clash in the tunnel to which Mourinho later fumed: “All the words we heard from Juventus in the tunnel and the locker room, I hope they say it in public too.
“They know how much they struggled against us. I won here many years ago without playing so well, today we lost when playing very well.”
- Justin Lawrence
VIOLENT RIVALRY
Ex-Manchester United star Roy Keane and former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira’s rivalry was so intense that violence was always on the cards.
According to ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, the pair hated each other so much that he never ruled out them coming to blows.
But despite the threat of an altercation, Wenger explained that he enjoyed their clashes.
The Frenchman said to talkSPORT: “I enjoyed the rivalry.
“You speak of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira; Keane was always on the fringe of violence even if he was a great player.”
- Justin Lawrence
HASSLE HOFF
Premier League chairman Gary Hoffman faces a growing threat to his reign as angry clubs seek a scapegoat for their frustrations.
Hoffman bore the brunt of club chiefs’ fury at last week’s hastily-arranged and fiery “shareholders” meeting.
SunSport revealed how one club boss shocked his boardroom rivals by calling for the resignation of the entire board.
It has since been revealed that new Burnley owner Alan Pace put his head above the parapet and no other clubs backed him up.
But behind the scenes, negativity towards former banker Hoffman is growing.
Clubs accused Hoffman and his colleagues of leaving them in the dark over the rapid progress of the £305m Saudi takeover at Newcastle.
- Justin Lawrence
HISTORY REPEAT
Diego Simeone hopes history will repeat itself tomorrow.
Atletico Madrid entertain Liverpool in a Champions League group stage and the La Liga champions would settle for a 1-0 win, like their last 16 first leg victory in February 2020.
Atletico knocked the reigning champions out of the competition at Anfield in the second leg with a 3-2 win after extra-time.
Simeone, whose team were given an incredible reception by their fans before the first leg. said: “The last time we faced Liverpool, we won the game at home before we even entered the stadium. I want that to be remembered.
“What do I expect? I expect a team full of good footballers with clear ideas and we will try and hurt them. But we will need to match their intensity.”
Luiz Suarez returns against his former club Liverpool and Simeone added: “He is such a decisive player for us. He is excited about the game.”.
- Justin Lawrence
SERGEJ IN INTEREST
Liverpool are one of a number of European giants eyeing a move for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, according to reports.
Serie A champions Inter Milan and Italian rivals Juventus, along with LaLiga heavyweights Real Madrid, are also interested in the 26-cap Serbia star, according to Calciomercato.
We reported in the summer how Manchester United have also reignited their interest in Milinkovic-Savic, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen to team him up with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
Chelsea, Tottenham, Juventus and Paris-Saint Germain have also been linked with the 26-year-old Serb.
It is thought Liverpool view Milinkovic-Savic as an ideal replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, who left as a free agent to join Paris Saint-Germain in June.
- Justin Lawrence
‘INTO OVERDRIVE’
The doctor who helped save a fellow Newcastle fan’s life opened up on the dramatic events.
And he added having St James’ Park chant for him as a hero was ‘one of the best moments of my life’.
Sunday’s match against Tottenham was suspended during the first half when the elderly gentleman suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands.
Dr Tom Pritchard was sat 30 rows away in the Gallowgate end and rushed to help by performing CPR before Newcastle club doctor Paul Catterson joined in the effort to resuscitate the supporter.
Dr Pritchard – who was given a standing ovation upon returning to his seat – appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to share his experiences.
- Justin Lawrence
STAND CRASH
A stand in NEC Nijmegen’s Goffertstadion buckled on Sunday as Vitesse Arnhem fans celebrated their side’s 1-0 Eredivisie victory.
As supporters jumped up and down in unison in front of the players at full time, the stand gave way – although reports say no-one was injured.
Hubert Bruls, the mayor of Nijmegen, was in shock and has called for an investigation to find out what happened.
Bruls said: “Fortunately, as far as is known, no-one was injured. I want an investigation into what happened here as soon as possible.”
- Justin Lawrence
CANCER DIAGNOSIS
Norwich goalkeeper Dan Barden has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The 20-year-old will be taking a break from football after having follow-up tests.
And he will be monitored during his treatment stage.
Speaking on the ordeal, Barden who’s on loan to Livingston said: “It has been a very difficult and challenging period, but the support of my family, friends and colleagues has helped get me through the last few weeks.
“I can’t thank the medical departments at both Norwich and Livingston enough, as well as everyone at the Royal Marsden Hospital.”
- Justin Lawrence
GUNNER BATTLE
Arsenal and Chelsea fans have both pleaded with their clubs to sign Napoli star Victor Osimhen.
The striker’s been on fire in the Serie A this season, netting eight goals in just nine games, and his contribution hasn’t gone unnoticed by Gunners and Blues supporters.
Both sets of fans took to Twitter to ask their respective sides to sign the 22-year-old.
One Gunners fan wrote: “Víctor Osimhen delivering again today. Not surprised, he’s the best option for us next year.”
While a Blues supporter said: “Victor Osimhen…that guy is a monster. What a player. Chelsea start tracking him now. We need him.”
- Justin Lawrence
CHAMPIONS TUCH-PRINT
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel wants his side to follow in the footsteps of Liverpool and Manchester City to become a great side.
The Blues won the Champions League last season and lead the pack in the Premier this term after eight games played.
But Tuchel reckons his squad need to be consistent like their Prem rivals to be crowned champions.
He said: “In general, Liverpool and Manchester City have proved throughout the last years that they are the benchmark in terms of quality and consistency.
“They have shown us in the last years what it takes to be able to become champions.”
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