Barcelona Ask Veratti To Force His Way Out!

   New Barcelona coach, Ernesto Valverde, who was appointed last month hopes to leave his mark by signing new players to bolster the squad. Reports say that Marco Verratti is from the club's priorities.

   According to The Sun, Verratti wants to move away from PSG, but the club isn't willing to sell the player, whose contract ends in 2021. Barcelona could also face financial complications, for Juventus and Chelsea are also interested in the star, and are ready to pay £55 million. Reports in Spain indicate that entering a bidding war isn't a choice for Barca who "are aware of the economic limitations" they face in the transfer market. The club may be one of the richest clubs in the world, but at the same time its the highest-wage-paying club.

   Verratti, who once declared he's happy at Parc de Princes, is now desperate to take his career to next level and win more trophies. And Barcelona happens to be the right place for such dreams. Meanwhile, the Catalans are having hard time replacing Xavi, and soon enough aging Iniesta,33. This means the Italian will be the perfect fit in the Blaugrana's suffering midfield, and could be the solution for their problems.

   The 24-year-old's desire is Camp Nou, deducing from Blaise Matuidi's question to Iniesta if Verratti is his successor, during the famous UCL game which ended 4-0 in favour of the Parisians. Iniesta gave Matuidi a positive answer! Therefore, if Verratti really wants Barca switch, he should force his way out, by informing the board of directors of his wishes, so that the Catalans can start negotiating, lowering the price. Chelsea's interest in Monaco's Bakayoko, could open the doors for Nemanja Matic to leave for Juventus who are interested in signing the Serbian, thus the battle for Verratti won't be fierce, and Barca would land him easily.

   Barcelona used this strategy before with Cesc Fabregas, who ended his transfer saga by joining his former local club. Arsenal refused to sell back then, but Fabregas revealed his desire to leave the club, so the deal took place eventually. Reports also claim that the Spanish giants will repeat the same scenario with Hector Bellerin.

   

Dybala on Manchester United's radar

   Jose Mourinho is desperate to strengthen his attacking options for next season. He's on the hunt for a new forward, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruled out for the rest of the season because of his horrific knee injury, and Wayne Rooney rumoured to leave Old Trafford.

   Starsport reports that Mourinho cooled his interest in Atletico Madrid's man Antoine Griezmann, who was the 1st on the wishlist. And according to Mundo Deportivo, Dybala is the next target who's viewd as Wayne Rooney's heir, and identified by Mourinho as the perfect fit for Manchester United.

   This deal could be easier than ever, after Real Madrid shifted their interest to Monaco's starlet Kylian Mbappe, and Chelsea close on reuniting with Romelu Lukaku.

    The Argentine signed for Palermo in 2012. Dybala had his breakthrough season in the 2014–15 Serie A where he scored 10 goals in the first half of the season, forming a successful striking partnership with fellow Argentine–Italian Franco Vázquez and being linked with several top European clubs. He finished the season with 13 goals and 10 assists, which made him one of the top assist providers in the league. After this impressive season, Juventus announced the signing of Dybala on a five-year deal for a fee of €32 million (plus €8 million in add-ons).

   Since then, the 23-year-old has proved himself as one of Europe's best players, scoring 35 goals and providing 16 assists for the Old Lady. News about his transfer to top clubs in Europe bursted especially after his  2 valuable goals against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter final, despite signing a new deal last month which keeps him in Turin until 2022, earning €7 million per year.

   The versatile, skillfull player has been linked to Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, in addition to other EPL teams. But few hours ago, his agent played down speculations about the rising star's move to another club, and declared that he is happy in Torino, and that he has a long term deal with a team that can win things.

   But can we see Dybala play alongside Pogba, again?

 
 

   

Done deal!

Arsenal sign Schalke full-back Sead Kolasinac

   Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Schalke left-back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer. The 23-year-old charmed europe's top clubs into signing him. Chelsea tried to sign him first but their bid was rejected back in January. Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Juventus, and AC Milan were keen on the defender. But when Arsene Wenger joined the race to sign the Bosnia and Herzegovina international in April, he made it hard for other teams to compete. Wenger was monitoring the starlet for quite some time before getting into business with him.

   

   Kolainac is a versatile player. He plays in different positions on the field. He started his career as a center back, and a defensive midfielder. But his talent was employed in other places on the left side of the pitch, and soon became a leftback. 

   Wenger has moved to strengthen at left-back after using Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs there this season. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was even deployed to great effect at wing-back in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea. And Kolasinac offers a strong option in the position if Wenger decides to retain the 3-4-3 next season especially when Gibbs departs to newly promoted Newcastle United for €17 million as indicated by The Sun. In other news Daily Express claims the new arrival is now one of the top earners in the North London club.

  Arsenal seem to be going all in this season, after the club has allotted £100 million for transfers, and Arsene's declarations that Sanchez and Ozil are not going anywhere, in addition to the tremendous Mbappe bid, and now Kolasinac's wage!

Aggressive Pepe leaves sentimental message for Real fans and slams Zidane as he says farewell!

 After 10 seasons leading the defence at Santiago Bernabeu, Pepe's journey nears to its end. He stepped in the club on 12 july 2007, made 334 appearances and won 14 trophies. His contract ends on 30 june 2017, and there's no sign that the club wants to renew. So he posted some photos on instagram with a goodbye note (@official_pepe).

   A few hours after the Champions League win against Juventus, the Portoguese defender spoke to Cadena Cope explaining why he has to leave the Spanish capital, without confirming any agreement with PSG. 

  "It is clear that I will leave Real Madrid , an important stage of my career has come to an end. It is time to look ahead and advance to the next step. At the moment I have not signed anything with anyone, there are many clubs interested in me, some even in the Premier League. We'll see what happens."
   
      So Pepe spoke about his future. Arriving at Real Madrid from Porto in 2007 for just over 30 million euro figure, the Portuguese had immediately won the title in central defense, becoming a reference point for the team and one of the symbols of the fans. He also spoke how he struggled under Zidane, so he added:
  
 "Zidane and the club knew that I would leave after the Champions League final. The coach has done spectacular things but he behaved in a haphazard manner with me. They disappeared from the field without even knowing why, I'd be really curious to know the reasons for his choices. On the contrary, I enjoyed the sincerity that Rafa Benitez has had on me."

  And about his relation with Florentino Perez, he added:

   "With the president it has always been a professional relationship but not friendship. It was very painful to see the club lose interest in my problems. I had to resolve them alone with the authorities.The board of directors it's just screwed. For Real Madrid I gave blood and sweat in every game I played, I will be forever linked to this city and to the fans."
  
The 34-year-old has been linked with a move to the French giants PSG. The club is looking forward to sign new quality players to bloster their squad after a disappointing season. 

Cardiff, a date with destiny!

   The champions league  final kicks off in 2 hours! Everyone wants to know how it's going to end, you're also wondering how it's going to start.

   Here's the predicted lineups for both teams:

    Real's 4-3-1-2 with Isco featuring which was a surprise for many when Zidane announced it. Its seems like the midfielder got Zizou's attention due to his improving form int the past couple of games. He was picked instead of Bale who was injured and maybe not 100% ready.

   This formation could change throughout the play to 4-3-3 with Isco on the right wing which will create more attacking options for Zidane's side.

   Juve's formation is hard to predict with their capability in changing tactics, with players playing different roles, like Dani Alves and Mandzukic. It's probably a flexible 4-2-3-1 which varies during the game to a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 accordingly.

   The odds are 50-50. Both teams played like champions from the beginning of the tournament. They performed well in every single match. Today the 2 teams are willing to give everything they have to be champions of europe. Real dream of bringing La Duodecima their 12th title to make history, again! And Juve want their 3rd UCL cup and also want to write history by winning the treble.

   Now how will the 2 teams play?

   Juve will try to play a physical battle, which they are already trained to play and can win it easily. In addition to that, Allegri will want Dani Alves and Dybala to take advantage of Marcello's attacking style and surprise Real with an early goal that would change the whole scenario. Higuain has to face Ramos his ex-teammate whose form is not so promising this year (defensively) and score from half chances to kill the game. Dybala will cause many troubles for Real's defence, and pjanic, if free, will break the defence with his accurate passing. Mandzukic will have a defensive role for his astonishing physique which can win him duo battles with almost any player. Khdeira could be lethal in corners and set pieces and should take care of Isco and Modric and prevent them from passing easily without pressure with the help of Pjanic . Sandro will help in the attack which will give Mandzukic time to relax. The back 3 should be careful from Ronaldo and Isco who will make them uncomfortable.

  Real will try to use Juve's defensive weaknesses. Yeah! Juve have weaknesses in their defence. Their defence may look impenetratable, but in fact it is. Juve's defence has a problem when it comes to back runs. When the opposition player makes a run behind the defenders back , and with Real Madrid's players, pace is not an issue! Moreover, Juve have some holes in their marking system where the player marking the opposing player has 2 choices, either block the pass/shot or stay with the marked man. These factors will help Real win the match, although their righ side won't be that effective with Mandzukic performing his defensive duties.

  A sure thing is that the game will be great, with the 2 teams fighting to win with any possible way. It would be great if Zidane won his 2nd UCL title in a year and a half, but would be greater to see Buffon win it before he retires. Anyway the game would be dramatic and on fire, so ENJOY!

 
 

 

   

Juve sign Arsenal's Wojciech Szczęsny!

Wojciech Szczęsny spent the last 2 years on loan in Roma FC. The keeper was out-of-favour at Arsenal and had to fight for his place in the starting XI with David Ospina , so he preferred a move to Roma to be #1 instead. He had a first good season so Roma decided to extend his loan.

Now after he finished his loan spell, Juventus made an offer to get the 27-year-old  from the Gunners and prepare him to be heir to their legend Gianluigi Buffon, who is set to retire next year, at age 40 after 18 years at the club.

According to Sky Sports the Bianconeri sealed the deal for 16 million euros for 4 years, earning 4 million euros a year.

The Polish is a good keeper, but a team like Juventus must aim bigger. Would he be able to cover the gap that Gigi leaves? I guess not. There are many better keepers out there, like Buffon's namesake Gianluigi Donnarumma. The latter is still young and able to improve more over the years. I mean he's excellent right now! Anyway, it is a good signing for the club. And who knows, he could become Juve's next legend!