
'I don't think it will save him his job'

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Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Crystal Palace weigh up move for LaLiga star as they consider replacements for Arsenal-bound Eberechi Eze
Crystal Palace are exploring a move for Villareal attacking midfielder Yeremy Pino as they continue to evaluate options to replace Eberechi Eze. Spain international Pino, has been on the radar of the likes of Tottenham, Bournemouth and Everton in recent months and Palace are the latest to check on his availability. Key will be whether they can match his valuation and convince him to move to Selhurst Park. So far Palace have made offers for Christos Tzolis at Bruges and El Bilal Khannouss of Leicester City. They have also discussed Liverpool 's Harvey Elliott among others internally but recognise the difficulty of keeping deals within their financial constraints while matching Oliver Glasner ambitions at the same time. Getafe attacking midfielder Christantus Uche is another who has been floated with West Ham and Brentford also showing degrees of interest in the Nigeria international. Palace are working on a deal for Wolves forward Hwang Hee-Chan and will continue to assess what is available in the last weeks of the window. Eze looked bound to join Tottenham Hotspur after they spent 10 days negotiating a deal with Palace worth around £55m plus add-ons. But the England midfielder made a dramatic U-turn on Wednesday when Arsenal expressed their interest in him as a possible replacement for Kai Havertz, who is set for an extended period on the sidelines. Eze favours a move to Arsenal and the deal is believed to be moving quickly. Despite the sudden development, in actuality Arsenal have been laying the groundwork for the move for some time. Sporting director Andrea Berta and manager Mikel Arteta met Eze last month, and he was sold on the idea of moving to the Gunners but an offer failed to materialise at that time. Eze is a boyhood Arsenal fan and was in their youth system before he was released at the age of 13. His release clause of £60m, plus £8m in bonuses, lapsed last week. Daily Mail Sport understands Spurs agreed to Palace's demands on Wednesday and also agreed terms with Eze. At that stage, the player was keen to finalise the move. However, Palace are understood to have insisted Eze remain available for their Conference League play-off first leg against Norwegian side Fredrikstad on Thursday night. The Gunners had earmarked signing the 27-year old England international earlier in the window and knew they were his preference but, following their £63m outlay on Viktor Gyokeres, they had wanted to concentrate on outgoings before adding another left-sided attacker. There is dismay at Tottenham at how things have unfolded, but a belief that there is little more that they could have done. Tottenham moved for Eze after James Maddison was ruled out for the majority of the season with a serious knee injury. Talks had been progressing but stalled as Palace scrambled for a suitable replacement, with Spurs even understood to have proposed offering forward Richarlison as part of the deal to help negotiations progress. Spurs' inability to close the deal will prompt further criticism from fans, after the club missed out on Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White this summer. The club remain interested in Manchester City winger Savinho and Brentford's Yoane Wissa but both clubs are reluctant to sell. Eze has been training with Palace ahead of tonight's game, along with Liverpool target Marc Guehi. Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner said: 'They will play a crucial part for as long as they're here.'


Metro
28 minutes ago
- Metro
Man Utd targeting three goalkeepers but unknown star could be the answer
Manchester United emerged from their opening game of the new Premier League season showing some overdue promise but were undone by the same old problems. The club have spent almost £200milliion rebuilding their attack with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha starting brightly against Arsenal as Benjamin Sesko made his debut off the bench. United are still in the market for a midfielder before the summer transfer window closes in 12 days. But Altay Bayindir's calamitous error that allowed Riccardo Calafiori to nod home Sunday's winner heightened concern over an issue that threatens to undermine any progress for Ruben Amorim's side this season. In the wake of Sunday's defeat, Amorim defended Bayindir after his error, suggesting the Turkey international had been impeded. Andre Onana, left out of the squad that day, inspired little confidence last season with nine errors leading to goals– at fault in the Europa League final against Tottenham. At 39 years old having not played a competitive game in almost four years, Tom Heaton is not the answer. Messages out of United this week have been there are no plans to sign a new goalkeeper. Another calamity this weekend against Fulham could change that. Metro's weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal. United have already explored a move for Emiliano Martinez this summer with reports suggesting Amorim personally requested the arrival of the World Cup winner, twice voted the best shop stopper on the planet. With a penchant for delivering on the biggest stages, Martinez certainly has the personality to be the commanding leader in goal United need. In shot-stopping, his distribution and aerial presence, the Aston Villa star has been among the best in the Premier League in recent years with only Jordan Pickford (569) making more top flight saves than Martinez (530) since the Argentine joined Villa in 2020. But judging him solely on the eye test, there appeared to be a decline in his performances last season following on from a sublime 2023-24 campaign with the data supporting it. A save percentage of 67.9 per cent is only good enough for 14th best in the English top flight, declining from 74.4 per cent in 2022-23 when he scooped his first Lev Yashin Trophy. Only four goalkeepers conceded more than the former Arsenal youngster (45) last season. On Sunday, Bayindir was bullied in the United goal with William Saliba putting him under pressure and forcing the error in a relatively straight forward manner. Onana's reluctance to come off his line for crosses has been a constant theme during his struggles and it highlights the need for United to bring in a commanding and dominant threat in the air. In that respect, Martinez could be their man. No other goalkeeper in the Premier League stopped more crosses than the Argentine during the 2024-25 season. If you put aside the huge salary it might take to lure him in, Gianluigi Donnarumma would be the obvious candidate for United. Still just 26 years old, the Italy international is also the very definition of a big-game player for club and country with his string of saves in the knockout stages of last season's Champions League just as important as the magic woven by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele. But there is reason for caution aside from the financials. Despite his huge frame, Donnarumma can struggle with high balls with his crosses stopped percentage last season at 5% a, marginally worse than Onana's and some way short of that of Martinez. The Italian managed just four clean sheets in his 24 Ligue 1 appearances despite PSG's domestic dominance, recording a save percentage of 66.7 which leaves him right down in 15th place compared the rest of the division's shot stoppers. Signing Donnarumma on a huge salary would been in fitting of previous regimes at Old Trafford but perhaps not anymore. Instead of targeting one of Europe's established goalkeepers, an emerging name is perhaps more in line with INEOS' thinking. With that in mind, Senne Lammens could be the answer. More Trending The 23-year-old has drawn comparisons with his countryman Thibaut Courtois and is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers operating outside Europe's top five leagues, still plying his trade in Belgium with Antwerp. Similarly to Martinez, the Belgian would offer United a huge improvement dealing with crosses, boasting near identical stats to the Villa shot stopper in crossing metrics, also outranking the likes of Onana, Alisson Becker, Ederson, Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson. Averaging more saves per match than both Martinez and Donnarumma with a huge save percentage of 81.4 per cent, Lammens has excelled across a number of different areas. While Donnarumma and Martinez might be regarded as the penalty saving kings on the grandest stage, the Belgian is building his own fearsome reputation, stopping five spot kicks since the start of last season – more than any other goalkeeper in Europe's top 10 leagues during that period. United have three very viable targets in front of them, all within a fairly modest price range. But they are running out of time to address a problem they cannot afford to let fester any longer. MORE: Ruben Amorim has already named 'complete' midfielder Man Utd must sign MORE: Fulham vs Man Utd: Predicted lineups, latest team news and injuries MORE: Will Arsenal's £60m transfer hijack of Eberechi Eze signal the end for one Gunners star? Your guide to the week in football. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk – sign up, it's an open goal.


The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Givan among the nervous early risers on GCSE results day
Among those nervously waking early on GCSE results day was Northern Ireland's Education Minister Paul Givan. The DUP minister said his early nerves were replaced by excitement after one of his daughters received her results on Thursday. Mr Givan said: 'I was like many a parent today, up earlier than normal, anxious to see how one of my own children had got on. 'I think my first emotion was one of relief and then excitement for my own daughter. 'I know that is the case for many parents out there.' Once he had recovered his poise, Mr Givan paid a visit to Saintfield High School in Co Down, where students had been gathering at the sports hall from shortly after 8am to receive their envelopes and begin planning for the future. Among those celebrating was Ruby Dempster, 17. She said: 'I got on really well, I passed everything. I got two Bs, four C*s and then four Cs, I am happy with what I got. 'I am going next to Belfast Met to do my A-levels. I am doing sociology, government and politics, and RE. 'It's too early to say what I will do eventually. I do want to go to uni and have that experience. I'll take it as it comes.' Mia McMullan said she was 'super happy' after receiving an unexpected A in RE. She said: 'I got a B and then the rest were all C*s 'I got the A in RE. I got 97% so I was really happy. 'I am going to Belfast Met to do the Football Academy and a personal training course alongside that. I hope that leads to something in sports.' James Wightman, 16, was pleased to receive the grades which will allow him to go to Greenmount agricultural college. He said: 'I am going to study garden design and landscapes. I will enjoy that.' For the pupils at Saintfield, the celebrations were tinged with sadness as it was their final day at the school, which offers education up to Year 12. Ruby said: 'It is quite sad but we have been off since May, I suppose we are all prepared to move on now.' In Belfast, among the pupils celebrating at St Dominic's Grammar were Kate and Emily Fanning. Kate received five A*s and five As while her sister got seven A*s and three As. Kate said: 'I want to do my A-levels here in St Dominic's. I want to do maths, biology and history and politics. 'Hopefully I will go on to study law in the future. 'I was so nervous, I didn't really know what I was looking at, there are three different pieces of paper. Emily added: 'I want to chemistry, biology, maths and drama. Hopefully I will go on to study veterinary in university. 'I was so nervous but I was so happy at the end. Our mum was delighted, she was overjoyed.' Julia Hegarty said her nine A*s and two As were a 'lot better' than she was expecting. She said: 'I am proud that I did the work, I am glad it all went very well. 'I am considering staying here to do A-levels. 'I am very interested in law, a couple of my relatives are barristers so I am really interested in that, but I am also interested in music so teaching is also an option.' Anna Rice received nine A*s and one A. She said: 'I thought I had done OK, I didn't think I had done that well. 'My mum is delighted, on the phone to all the family members now. 'I want to do all the sciences and maths A-levels next year.' At Lagan College in Belfast, Rory McQuoid said he was surprised after receiving an A in maths. He said: 'I want to stay on to do A-levels in sport, RE and applied science. 'I'd like to eventually do sports physio. I think that is something I would enjoy.' Tula Babes said she was 'very happy' after receiving three A*s, four As and a B. She said: 'I was a bit nervous but I felt confident in myself. 'I am staying on for sixth year so I am doing maths, biology, chemistry and sociology and I hope to do healthcare. 'I like nursing, I like midwifery. My mum is a midwife so I am kind of inspired.' Matthew Grogan said he was relieved after receiving 'mainly As'. He said: 'A-levels is next, chemistry, biology and RE. 'I am really interested in medicine, but I am not sure, I'm not set on it yet.' Grace Doherty said she had worked 'really hard' and received five As and five A*s. She said: 'My mum came to collect the results with me and she was really pleased because she knew I had worked hard. 'I am coming back to Lagan to do my A-levels and then I am hoping to go to Stranmillis to become a teacher. 'My mum is a primary school teacher and it is something I've always wanted to do.' Alexander Chibanda said he had done 'pretty well' after receiving A*s in maths, geography and music. He said: 'I was shocked by music, I didn't expect that at all. 'I will do A-levels, Spanish, geography and maths. 'I want to go down the commercial airline route, I want to apply for the flier programme with British Airways and easyJet and see where I can go with that.'