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According to the Daily Mail, Stoke City will battle Southampton for the signature of Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

It is understood that Sturridge is desperate to quit Liverpool next month as he targets regular football, and Southampton have been strongly linked with a move for the forward.

It is believed that the Reds would be prepared to sell for £25m next month, and according to the Daily Mail, Stoke boss Mark Hughes is ready to rival Southampton.

Sturridge, who only has 18 months remaining on his contract at Anfield, needs regular football in the second half of the campaign to stand a chance of making the England squad for the 2018 World Cup.

Spanish duo Valencia and Sevilla have also both been linked with the 28-year-old, but it seems that the forward wants to remain in the Premier League.

Why does Sturridge want to leave Liverpool?

It is quite simple – a lack of first-team football. Sturridge’s record of 63 goals in 133 appearances for Liverpool is extremely good, but the striker’s fitness problems mean that he has struggled to completely win the trust of head coach Jurgen Klopp.

Sturridge has made 14 appearances in all competitions this season, but has started just five Premier League matches with Roberto Firmino and seemingly Dominic Solanke both ahead of him when it comes to the centre-forward position.

If the striker is to win a spot in the England squad for next summer’s World Cup, he simply has to be playing and indeed scoring in the second half of the campaign.

A fit and confident Sturridge would be an asset for any team in the Premier League, and it is not a surprise that there are clubs battling for his signature.

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Southampton were the first team to show their hand, but it appears that Stoke are ready to battle for the Liverpool forward, who is valued at £18m by transfermarkt.co.uk, next month.

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Last season: The Cottagers had a mediocre season as they finished in 12th place, just one point ahead of Stoke.

Martin Jol’s team only managed to win 11 out of 38 games and lost an astonishing 17, with nine of them being at Craven Cottage. This shows that the home advantage didn’t work very well for the Whites as they also just won seven matches in their own stadium. The away games were not very different as they lost half of them and won only four.

Furthermore, Fulham managed to score just 50 goals in total and conceded 60, which proves to be a very problematic figure for the 2010 Europa League runners up who also managed just four clean sheets. The club though did manage to win both legs against West Brom and one away match against Spurs but also lost both games to Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd.

Transfer Ins:

Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma)

Sascha Riether (Cologne)

Fernando Amorebieta (Athletic Club)

Derek Boateng (Dnipro)

Transfer Outs:

Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea)

Simon Davies

Mladen Petric

Corey Gameiro (Sydney)

Chris Baird

Csaba Somogyi

Alex Smith (Swindon Town)

Mahamadou Diarra

Richard Peniket (Tamworth)

Player to watch: One would assume that the Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov will, for one more season, steal the show at Fulham. The Bulgaria international is no stranger to high positions in the goal scorers’ list as he finished on 7th place with 15 goals along with Southampton’s Ricky Lambert and Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Demba Ba.

This is a player that has plenty of experience in the Premier League as he was extremely vital for Spurs, during his time at White Hart Lane, as well as Manchester United, during his time at Old Trafford.

The 33-year-old made 33 appearances for the Whites and had three assists. He will be expected to score the tough goals for his team and also hold a leading role this season at Craven Cottage. He could be the player that, thanks to his goal-scoring abilities, could change Fulham’s image and push them to higher positions in the league. The right-footed forward will need help from his team though to get the job done.

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Player needing to improve: Hugo Rodallega was signed from Wigan last year and made 112 appearances with the Latics and netted 24 goals. However, in Fulham he played 27 games but scored only 3 goals for the Whites. This year can be a huge opportunity for the Colombian to improve as Berbatov could need some help up front and the team might need to fight harder to avoid the danger zone.

Prediction: The numbers of last season certainly don’t look promising for Fulham however the owner Shahid Khan looks to be trying to create some improvement for the team. For example the signing of Holland international goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg from Roma can be very important for Jol as the team had a problem with maintaining clean sheets.

Nevertheless, the Cottagers need to improve their game in order to hit the higher places and cause damage to the big clubs that finished on the first seven places last season. They need to make the most out of the home games as well as reducing the losing ratio.

But for now, FFC can’t see Fulham going to Europe the season after this one and can still see them somewhere around the middle just like last year.

Our prediction: 13th place.

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Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal will continue to challenge at the top for many years to come, despite struggling to compete with the financial resources of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, The Daily Mail reports.

Gunners fans have often been left frustrated with the lack of activity in the transfer market in recent years, especially as key players seem to leave every year with the promise of greater wages and better prospects of winning trophies.

But Wenger believes they will be rewarded for their careful spending, insisting that the big-spending of their rivals could come back to haunt them.

The Financial Fair Play rules are coming into force, meaning clubs are now restricted on how much of a loss they can make each season.

“We are run in a very responsible way. We make a profit every year and I think that’s where nearly everybody is struggling in Europe. We find ourselves in the situation of Germany in Europe.

“They ignored it until now, but finally we see that they are getting concerned,” Wenger said.

Arsenal fans may take some comfort from being in a stable financial situation, but they will not be happy to see their former star players succeeding elsewhere, especially now that Robin van Persie has made a cracking start to his time at Manchester United.

Wenger admits it was difficult to watch van Persie scoring for their bitter rivals and noted how disappointed he was to lose a player of such quality.

“It felt a bit strange. I was thinking, ‘He has the wrong shirt on. Why does he jump around like that in that shirt?’ Deep down I knew but I didn’t like it too much.”

Arsenal have invested in the likes of Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud to help fill the goal-scoring berth left by Van Persie.

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After two goalless matches, the North Londoners finally broke their duck to beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield, with Cazorla and Podolski scoring their first goals for the club.

Wenger however, still believes he has enough firepower to challenge for the title: “The aim is to win the title. I’m the first to be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. But we have a fantastic squad with fantastic quality and I think it’ll work out.”

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According to The Telegraph, Juventus manager Max Allegri is one of the frontrunners to take over from Arsene Wenger when he leaves Arsenal this summer, with talks between the two parties already planned.

The Frenchman announced last month that he would be leaving the north London outfit at the end of the season following 22 years at the helm, and he signed off at the Emirates Stadium with a 5-0 win against Burnley on Sunday.

The Arsenal board will already be considering who they turn to next, and The Telegraph says that Allegri, who is on the verge of winning the Serie A title with Juve, is one of their preferred targets.

With three league titles – and soon to be four – as well as reaching the Champions League final twice during his time with the Italian side, the 50-year-old has shown the ability that he has, and he has all of the credentials to make the Gunners great again following a tough few years.

The former AC Milan chief, who could be handed a sizeable transfer budget, would be looking to make some big changes to the squad if he was appointed this summer, and he could look to bring some players he is already familiar with during his managerial career to north London.

Here are four players with a connection to Allegri that Arsenal could sign this summer if they get the Italian…

The Italy international may be 33 years of age and getting no younger, but if he is willing to leave his home nation for the Premier League at this stage of his career, then Arsenal simply have to sign him up.

The 33-year-old is a leader and a centre-back that is willing to put his body on the line for his club, and that is something that the Gunners have been missing in recent years.

Adding someone like Chiellini to their backline would galvanise them and would hopefully improve a defence that has been far too leaky in the Premier League – especially on the road – this season.

The left-back/left wing-back has long been linked with a move to the Premier League with Chelsea and Manchester United the clubs interested in the Brazilian in the past, but no move has ever materialised.

While Arsenal currently have Nacho Monreal, who was slammed by his own fans on Twitter for his display in the Europa League semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid last week, and Sead Kolasinac available to play on the left-hand side, the former is getting no younger while the latter perhaps doesn’t have the quality to be starting every week for the north London outfit.

Signing Alex Sandro, who is as capable from a defensive point of view as he is at getting forward, would provide the Gunners with some stability on the left.

It’s fair to say that the Frenchman’s second spell at Old Trafford hasn’t quite gone to plan since the Red Devils signed him in a club-record deal from Juventus in 2016.

The France international is coming to the end of another campaign when he has struggled to make an impact on a consistent basis, and he has often been left on the substitutes’ bench by manager Jose Mourinho in 2018.

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If the 25-year-old did leave Old Trafford this summer he could be keen to link up with Allegri again having impressed under the Italian from 2014-2016, and it would give Arsenal the powerful presence in the middle of the park that they have often missed – convincing United to sell to them would be difficult, however.

Strengthening at centre-back looks to be one of the priorities for whoever the new Arsenal manager is going to be, and if it is Allegri he could choose to bring Daniele Rugani with him to north London.

The Italy international has been in and out of the Serie A outfit’s starting XI this season, but he has been more of a regular in recent weeks and at 23 years of age, has plenty of time to grow and improve – especially if he was partnered by someone like Chiellini at the Emirates.

Do you agree, Arsenal fans? Let us know below.

And so the dust settles on Louis Van Gaal’s first season as Manchester United manager. We’ll say he’s done a decent job. He’s done exactly what was asked of him – deliver Champions League football – with quite a few injuries to deal with along the way.

But one thing that you notice about Van Gaal is how he sees the game. He’s an educator and wants everyone to see the game how he sees it. The ‘long pass’ rant springs to mind here, but in all of his press conferences he’ll spend a lot of time enlightening the assembled journalists on some matter of tactics or footballing philosophy. An audience with Van Gaal is a seminar led by the Dutch master.

And that translates into how he sees the English game too.

It’s obvious that Van Gaal is a very talented man, fiercely intelligent and very astute. But maybe his vision of the English game colours the way his team is set up this season.

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He started the season with a 3-5-2 – something a little different in the Premier League, it must be said. So that sparked a little bit of a media frenzy as pundits debated the merits of the system, especially asking whether or not United’s defenders were up to the task of playing in it.

He moved onto another inventive system with a diamond. Not just any old diamond though, and that’s why United found it hard to play in that system – because Michael Carrick would slot between the centre backs and pick the ball up from very deep. Daley Blind just wasn’t cut out for playing that role in Carrick’s absence, and so United looked weak at the back.

The truth is, though, that United weren’t weak at the back, they were weak up front. They had so much possession in games without being able to break down the opposition. And that’s where I think Van Gaal was a little bit naive in his first season.

The Premier League loves pace and power, and in many ways it’s what makes the league exciting. It’s also what makes teams deadly on the counter attack. And that’s where Van Gaal’s team found themselves conceding goals last season. When they couldn’t break teams down, they just tried to pass more. And when one pass was inevitably misplaced, a counter could begin.

But instead of trying using his own pace and explosivity to break down the stubborn defences, Van Gaal opted for the height and strength of Marouane Fellaini.

During the World Cup, Belgium manager Marc Wilmots used Fellaini to great effect as an impact sub later on in the game when Belgium needed something different to break down a defence. He was a great plan B.

But Van Gaal seems to have decided that his initial tactic didn’t work for most of the season, and that Fellaini should become his new ‘plan A’. Fellaini became the end point for almost all of United’s attacks in the final few weeks of the season, like an old-fashioned English target man.

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And that’s the naivety from Van Gaal. He should have stuck to his guns and used Di Maria or Valencia or Young to be the end point of United’s attacks. Instead, he fought power with power – something the Premier League has been doing for years. The difference is, the teams with the power in their side are the ones who don’t have the silky passers like Herrera and Carrick. Van Gaal wanted both and came unstuck.

It’s a nice idea to play ‘long ball football’ within a passing game, it’s a nice touch to try to incorporate directness within a sophisticated system, an attractive system. But Van Gaal should stick to his guns.

Next season we might still see Fellaini up front, but with the arrival of Memphis Depay there’s more pace and explosivity on its way to Old Trafford, and that might just be a sign that Van Gaal is changing his mind again.

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is happy to sell failed striker Marouane Chamakh for just £1million this summer, according to the Daily Mail.

Spanish side Levante are set to make an approach for the Morocco international this week and are willing to match the £1million asking price.

Chamakh started his career well at Arsenal but has failed to ultimately live up to the hype and is nowhere near the Arsenal squad at present.

The 29 year old spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham but again failed to make any impact and so Wenger is certain that the Premier League is not the place for the tall forward.

Clubs may find it hard to match Chamakh’s current wage as a £65,000 a week is not the norm in the likes of La Liga or Serie A.

Chamakh may be one of a number of squad players to leave the Emirates this season as Wenger prepares for a title push.

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England and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has expressed his excitement towards the future of the England midfield after a 5-0 win in Moldova.

Tom Cleverley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stood out as boys reforming into men as the game went on, and Lampard clearly feels that this England team has potential.

The in-form Chelsea midfielder scored twice for his country in a comfortable win at Moldova that is certain to prove any doubters wrong over his own personal selection. Lampard played alongside Gerrard in a mythical paring that was deemed impossible by former managers, and the two combined well to allow the youngsters to enjoy the occasion that Lampard and Gerrard thrived in.

“They’re brilliant; of course they’re good enough. Tom is a pleasure to play with and with him being at such a young age, he’s going to be right in the middle of the team for years to come,” Lampard told the Daily Mirror.

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“Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was brilliant. He lit up the first half and it’s great to see players like that coming through,” he added.

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Southampton went into their clash with south coast neighbours Bournemouth at St Mary’s on Saturday knowing that they realistically needed to win to keep alive their chances of preserving their Premier League status, and that is exactly what they did.

Mark Hughes’ men moved to within one point of safety as a brace from Dusan Tadic saw the hosts run out 2-1 winners on the afternoon, and the Serbia international was one of a number of players that stood up and was counted in front of a sell-out crowd.

The £13.5m-rated playmaker – like many of his teammates – has struggled to find his best form in what has been a hugely disappointing campaign, but he certainly did on Saturday and his improved showing didn’t go unnoticed by the fans on Twitter.

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Firstly, he latched on to Mario Lemina’s through ball before calmly slotting past Asmir Begovic, and then after the break he netted the winner with a brilliant toe-punted effort with the outside of his left boot from outside the penalty area.

The Serbia international scored from both of the two shots he had on target before he was substituted off for James Ward-Prowse in the 87th minute, while he showed his quality in possession by making five key passes, as well as having a passing accuracy of just over 89%, as per WhoScored.com.

While the 29-year-old was a huge threat in the final third, he also showed that he doesn’t shy away from his defensive responsibilities by also making two tackles.

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On this performance, he will be Southampton’s key man in their final three fixtures of the season, with their survival potentially depending on him being at the top of his game.

There are reports that interim manager John Carver has banned players from accessing the internet in a desperate attempt to prevent negative media coverage from getting into their heads and, I guess, getting them relegated. This sounds so pointless as no matter where you go everyone is talking about how wretched the Magpies season has been and ultimately that a club being managed horribly do actually deserve to drop into the Championship.

Fortunately for Newcastle one team (well, three) have been even worse than them and only a win against Manchester United will keep them from relegation. That team is of course Steve Bruce’s Hull. Only a few weeks ago Hull looked likely to avoid the drop after Queens Park Rangers, Burnley and Leicester City seemed to have run out of time to save themselves, but the Foxes masterminded a truly great escape drawing one more team down into the battle.

Newcastle will have to hope that Hull can’t beat the 20 times domestic champions or that they themselves claim a final day victory over West Ham. With Sam Allardyce fighting to save his job you’d expect him to insist his players battle for a win over the Magpies once again as the Hammers won 1-0 when the two teams met earlier in the season. Likewise Manchester United have had a decent season but are definitely nowhere near the form of the Sir Alex Ferguson years, though they did beat Hull 3-0 when the teams met at Old Trafford back in November. The outcome is still very much up in the air with final day drama a mouth-watering certainty.

Hull’s last few fixtures which included meetings with Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs left most football fans sure that the Tigers would drop out of the Premier League but with just United to go, Bruce’s men still have a fighting chance – though their fate is not in their hands. Newcastle had a much easier run and yet they have squandered numerous chances to pick up vital points.

John Carver became interim manager in January when Alan Pardew jumped ship to manage Crystal Palace. The Eagles have flourished while Newcastle haven’t won a match since late February. That is an run in their last ten games which makes it no wonder that they are hanging so close to the bottom three. The Magpies looked as if they were starting to fight back after finally registering a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion but they quickly went back to their losing ways when they met relegated QPR last weekend.

At this point it is hard to believe that Newcastle haven’t just given up and switched off. I’m sure that more than a few of their players wish this season was over already so they could leave the disappointment behind and start enjoying their summer break. But with supporters more angry than ever the team really need to give their all in the final game which also happens to be at St James’ Park. Anything less is sure to cause a riot!

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When a club decides to fork out just over £17m, the incoming players usually create an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement among fans.

However, Tottenham have reportedly spent that much money on two 17-year-old Croatians from Dinamo Zagreb. Ever heard of Alen Halilovic or Tin Jedvaj?

For Spurs fans that hear “Zagreb” and think ‘a replacement for Modric’, Halilovic could supposedly be just that, having been labelled the new version of the ex-White Hart Lane man.

As for Jedvaj, he is a central defender currently representing his country at U19 level, once courted by Roma.

Both players will remain with the Croatian champions until they turn 18 at least, which for Jedvaj is at the end of November and for Halilovic is in June 2014.

That will give them an opportunity to build on the little senior experience they boast.

After becoming Croatia’s youngest ever debutant last season, Halilovic featured 21 times for his club, including three Champions League appearances. Impressively, he also has a single senior international cap to his name.

Jedvaj broke on the scene at Zagreb last season as well, playing on 13 occasions throughout the campaign.

As seems to be the case with many a starlet today, both players have been talked about as the next superstar of world football.

Halilovic in particular though, has received so much attention that, in a display of humbleness which might impress Tottenham fans, he asked the Croatian media to stop likening him to Lionel Messi.

“Just don’t call me Messi,” he said last year. “I admire Leo, but I am a long way from him. For now my goal is to play well and to show the coach he can count on me.”

To understand the hype surrounding the son of former international midfielder Sejad Halilovic, you need just watch the video of him in action below.

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It appears Halilovic possesses the ability to glide past defenders with effortless ease, as well as a deft goalscoring touch and a canny knack of drifting out wide before driving inside to cause havoc.

Certainly, it is understandable that he was being chased by Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and a host of other European giants.

What of Jedvaj then? Again, the video below really says it all about him.

He looks to demonstrate all the traits of a stereotypical centre-half, strong in the air and bullish in a tackle.

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At the same time though, his aggressiveness seems to be coupled with an instinctive sense of when to time a tackle. What’s more, Jedvaj appears to be able to carry the ball forward, a quality players at the back are expected to have more often than not these days.

Although both are still young, Spurs fans would be hard pushed to suggest they are not the type of players Andre Villas-Boas would want in his side.

As an interchangeable outfit playing fluid football, surely the dynamic game brought to the pitch by each youngster would make them a perfect fit at White Hart Lane?

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