Football Transfer News

With most of the league seasons in Europe ending to with their last football fixtures set to be played today, teams are already planning for next season and are lining up players to buy in the summer to fortify their teams ahead of next league season. There are many football transfer news making rounds these days. Some of this news is not confirmed hence are just rumors while others are confirm. Football gists will try to bring you some of the football transfer news making wave these days.

Arsenal transfer news

Latest reports flying around indicate arsenal is close to the signing of Swiss international midfielder Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach for a fee thought to be 33 million pounds. The report even goes on to say the player is really interested in joining arsenal and want the deal to be wrap up as quickly as possible. The gunners are also rumored to be interested in signing argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli in a fee believe to be in the 37.8 million pounds region. The gunners are In the market for a world class striker. Though it’s not clear if these transfer news about the gunners are true, but with the gunners expected to let three players leave in the summer, then one should expect new faces at the emirate.




Man utd transfer news

There is news that says man utd want James Rodriguez. It also says that his agent Mendes has offered the player to united. Mandes was the agent that worked on deals that brought Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao to old Trafford so one will have to take this news seriously. Though it is believe Real Madrid value the player at 60 million pounds but united has the money to spend so I don’t think money will be an issue here. United will embark on a huge summer spending spree to the tune of 300 million pounds according to starsport. It is said that the player want to move away from Madrid and united is a perfect destination.

Man city transfer news

City has launched a transfer move for Dani Carvajal according to the mirror. The paper also says it was due to the orders from incoming manager Pep Guardiola. The 24 year-old Madrid righ back is highly rated at Madrid and I don’t think Madrid are willing to sell unless city make a huge offer. Report also say city have entered the race to sign Leicester city midfielder Kante and that talks are in advance stage according to the Manchester evening news. It is also believe that incoming manager Pep Guardiola is targeting two arsenal players; Jack Wilshire and Alexis Sanchez.

Liverpool transfer news

It is reported that Liverpool have made a formal offer of 20 million pounds for Bayern and German midfielder Mario Gotze. He is a target that club manager Jurgen Klopp has been eying for some time now, with the Liverpool manager wanting to bring his former Borussia Dortmund protégé to the anfield. It is reported that the player has been told by Bayern Munich and Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer to join Liverpool.

Bayern Munich transfer news

Bayern Munich has sign Mats Hummels from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund alongside Renato Sanches from benfica. The German champions confirm the deals on Tuesday.
These are some of the latest football transfer news around the net.

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Why Manchester City Fans Should Be Happy That Manuel Pellegrini Is Leaving.

image of Pellegrini. photo by joshjdss

With the Barclay’s premier league season coming to an end with just one game remaining, a lot of clubs in the premier league are already planning for next season with a lot of transfer been line up during the summer . A lot of clubs will have new faces; both players and managers as they head to next season. One club that is sure to make changes to their team and bring in new players is Manchester city fc. With the capacity of the club to spend huge amount of money to bring in new players they want, we should be expecting a lot of changes. If recent news is anything to go by, then it is clear that club manager Manuel Pellegrini will be the first to walk out through the exit door after three years of service to the club.

A lot of fans may not be happy with his departure given that he has given so much to the club, but I think it is best for him to leave the club, and since he will be replace by one of the best managers In Europe in the person of pep Guardiola, I think the club is in safe hands as we all know what pep is capable of. He has transformed big teams in Europe to the very best teams in Europe and the world in general. He managed fc Barcelona of Spain and transformed them to the best team in the world, also wining trophies with them before moving to Germany to manage Bayern Munich. At Bayern, he did the same thing and I think he will also do the same thing with Manchester city



Back to Pellegrini, he has manage to bring trophies to Manchester city having won the premier league once and two league cup for the citizens in his three years stay in the club. He also made sure Manchester city qualify for the champions league in his three years stay in the club, though this season, they are yet to secure a champions league spot given their 2-2 draw with arsenal last week. And with Man united behind with just two points separating the two teams, a lost by city and a win by united will change everything. Not qualifying for the champion’s league next season will be a big blow to the club and the manager. Here is a man, who inherited a team that could win things, then he spent 200 million pounds to bring in new players, if they are not in the champions league next season, then city have really gone backward rather than going forward as a big club. Though they did reach the semi-final of this year champion league in which they were knockout by Real Madrid.
 Manchester city poor performance this season can’t be wholly blamed on the manager alone as the board also has a part in it. City’s season was disrupted by the board’s announcement in February that manager Pellegrini would be replace by Pep Guardiola in the summer. The decision to announce Pellegrini’s departure mid-season really played a part in the club’s poor performance. As it worked in the opposite and had a negative effect on the team performance, given that the manager’s power was weaken.

With Manuel Pellegrini leaving at the end of the season, Manchester city fans should be happy as he will be replace by a better and tactically sound manager.

To say thank you, Manchester city owner, Sheikh Mansour and Chairman Khaldoon Al Muberak presented Manuel Pellegrini an original L.S.Lowry painting as a gift prior to the 2-2 draw with arsenal last week. Pellegrini is a big art fan and Lowry was a die heart man city fan.

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Why Leicester city won the league

Few weeks ago, I wrote a post why I think Leicester city may win the league. Well they did it!!! Leicester city fc were confirm as the champions of the English premier league. A feat that surprise many football fans and pundits all over the world.  A team that only last season were fighting to avoid relegation or should we say barely escaped relegation.  They did not even spend money as some of the heavyweight in the premier league did. They only significant change in the club was the appointment of Claudio Ranieri as the manager of the club and he did very well with the club and they went ahead to achieve this incredible feat.
Some may say Leicester city don’t deserve to win the title or that they were lucky to win it given that the big clubs and tittle favorites all slip up and were inconsistent throughout the season. Whichever one you want to believe, one thing is quite clear; there are many reasons why the fox are champions of England. I will try and point out some of the obvious reasons here:


The appointment of Claudio Ranieri
Well this is not the first time ranieri will be managing an English team. He did manage Chelsea some years back and honestly he wasn’t cut out for that job. He has managed clubs in different leagues in Europe and even national teams and fail woefully. But ever since the Italian took charge as manager of Leicester city, their game change, I don’t know if the manager wanted to proof that he can do it in English football or that he wanted to show the English fans especially Chelsea fans that he has what it takes to be champion. His team was playing an entertaining and a high pressing football. His tactics were top notch and he balances defense with attack.

Good and quality players
A good player doesn’t necessarily have to cost a fortune as Leicester city prove. Before this season, nobody knew most of their players that much. personally I only knew a few of them, players like Kante, ollia, and the rest are strange names to me. But their performance this season is nothing short of brilliant. The players were very hungry to win. They also have players like Jami Vardy, Mahrez, Drinkwater and the rest who outstanding all through the season. 

The big clubs all mess up
Well this was one very hard season to predict, I mean the big teams like Chelsea, arsenal, Manchester united, Manchester city were all inconsistent and were dropping points like bombs been drop from a fighter jet. This prove costly for them as small club like Leicester city who were place at 200/1 odds to win the league by bookmakers took advantage of the big clubs inconsistency to climb up the premier league table and won the league for the first time in the clubs existence.




They were consistent
While the big clubs were well not consistent and busy dropping points through the cause of the season, Leicester city were playing with so much consistency that it was very difficult to beat them. They only suffered three defeats all through the season, two in the hands of arsenal and one from Liverpool. Even in games were we thought they will either lose or draw, they somehow manage to pull a win and claim all three points. They even won games that look like they will end in a goalless draw, by winning it in the dying minutes of the game by a lone goal, typical characteristics of potential tittle winning sides in the premier league over the years.

They believed
Well it is no secret that everything one tend to achieve in life starts with the believe that one can achieve it. The Leicester city players believed that they can win the league, their manager believed they can and their fans too. It was these believe that guide them into each game they play. They play with the believe that they can win the game and they keep on believing still they finally achieve their goal.
I think these are some of the reasons why Leicester city won the English premier league. Feel free to add yours in the comment section.
We all here at football gist congratulate Leicester city fc on this great achievement.

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Arsenal news : the rise of youngster Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi. photo by joshjdss

In a season of disappointment for arsenal fans all over the world, once again their club has fail to win the the premier League tittle after they had started very well early in the season. With some players form dropping and due to injuries to key first team players,  manager Arsene wenger gave some reserved players a chance to play for the first team and even start matches. In this article, i will be focusing on one such player who had the chance to start matches for the gunners and really performed very well. He is no other person than younger Alex Iwobi.


Alex iwobi was born in Lagos to Nigerian parents on the third of may 1996, he celebrated his birthday just yesterday. Akex has a duel nationality, he can either choose to play for Nigeria or England. Though he chose to play for Nigerian national team. He is a nephew of for super Eagles captain, the legendary Jay Jay Okocha.
Alex was given the chance to play for the first team by manager arsene wenger and the lad is proofing the manager right for trusting him with the job and is repaying the manager's faith in him. He impress the manager, fans and football pundits all over the world with his exceptional style of play. He is liken to Spain and Barcelona fc midfielder Andres Iniesta. He is very good with the ball on his feet, can dribble very well and has a strong passing ability like his uncle Okocha. He also can stier up an attack with his layoffs and like to cut inside defenses with his frightening pace,  something that wenger likes in his players. Though the lad is very poor when it comes to ariel dual which is understandable given his hight  and seldom contribute to defense. Apart from these weaknesses, the boy has been a great revelation so far this season for the gunners.
He has played 19 games so far this season, scoring 2 goals and assisting 2. Has a pass accuracy of 84.6%.
I think if the lad continue this way, he will be a very good footballer like his uncle Okocha, he has been great for the gunners and they could only hope he gets better, improve as he grow older mature.

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Leicester city are champions of the English premier league

Leicester city football of England have won the Barclay’s  English premier for the first time in the club’s history after Tottenham were held to a 2-2 draw by Chelsea. Tottenham were already two goals up before Chelsea put up  a brilliant performance to destroy tottenham’s hope of winning the tittle.
With all the big sides playing badly this season, it was one of the small sides Leicester city that with playing with consistency and truly deserve the tittle.




The fox who surprise all football fans throughout the season with their fine performance won the league with 77 points with just two games remaining. Their closest challengers’ tottenham are on 70 points.
Claudio Raneiri’s side who only were promoted to the premier league two seasons ago and were battling to avoid relegation last season surprise every football fans with this achievement, and they did it without spending huge amount of money to buy players. Players like jemie vardy, rahad mahraz, kante and co. were bought for a little fee, but their performance throughout the season has been nothing but outstanding, and one of their players rahad mahrez was rewarded for his performance this season by been voted as the PFA player of the year.
With this feat, Leicester city have proof to the all football world that winning trophy is not all about spending money and acquiring big name players.
We here at futballgists congratulate Leicester city football club of England.

You may also like to read what we wrote about  Leicester city and why we thought they could win the league before now.

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Why Arsene Wenger Should Leave Arsenal

photo of arsenal manager Arsene Wenger photo by Gordon Flood

With the Barclay’s English premier league coming to the closing stage, arsenal football club fans are once again left frustrated with their club’s position in the premier league table. Once again the club is now standing in fourth place in the table after they had performed well early in the season. They were tip by bookmakers and football analysts as one of the tittle favorites but instead they are currently languishing in fourth place with two games remaining. With west ham united and Manchester united closing in on the gunners with fast pace, one may say first place is not even guaranteed for the gunners, and this could be the season they lose out of the top four and hence not play in the champions league next season.

Though there are a lot of reasons for arsenal’s inability to challenge for the premier league title for over a decade now; these include the way the club is been manage by the board and the club manager Arsene Wenger. In this post, I will be focusing on the club manager Arsene Wenger and how he has contribute to the club’s woes and why I think it is best for him to leave the club now for someone else to take charge of the club.




Arsene is no doubt a good manager, but below are the reasons I think he should leave arsenal fc by the end of the season for someone with new ideas and zeal to manage the club:

 He Is Not A Good Coach Anymore

No doubt Arsene is a good manager given that he is a professor in economics and has manage arsenal football club very well ever since he was appointed to take charge of the club. He even oversees arsenal’s movement from Highburry to the Emirate stadium and managed the financial crisis that came with that movement very well, something that all arsenal supporters are grateful for. But like I said earlier, he is not a good coach, his tactics are outdated and he has no plan B when the match is not in his favor. How many times have we seen him change tactics in a game, even his substitutions are predictable and timed as he does his substitutions in the 70th minutes or so not minding weather the team is losing or not. Maybe that was why former Chelsea coach José Mourinho called him a specialist in failure.

Arsenal need change

Arsenal fc really need a change of management, arsene has been in charge of arsenal for close to two decades now, making him the longest club manager currently serving in the EPL and even in Europe. May be this is affecting the team performance since many managers now know how to set up their team to player wenger’s arsenal team and given that he rarely changes tactics even if things are going wrong, he always fall into their trap and make arsenal  drop important points. I know most people will disagree with me on this and will say that Alex Ferguson serve as manager of Manchester utd for more than 20 years yet his team was winning the tittle till he retired. But what we need to consider is that does Ferguson changes his tactics if all goes wrong and he usually buy good players? The answer to this question is yes. Arsene on the other hand doesn’t.

His refusal to strengthen the team

There is only one thing that is more annoying than watching arsenal play without plan B and losing a game, it is watching arsenal play with average players simply because wenger refuse to buy good players for the team. He keep on telling us that his team is good and that he has players with quality when it is clear to everyone even the blind that is not true. Arsenal needed at least a new striker, a defensive midfielder, a defender and a goalkeeper going into the season, it was clear to everyone but wenger instead bought only a goalkeeper and then told the whole world that arsenal don’t need more players that the players in the club are good enough. Ok let’s assume that they are, what happen when they are out injured as is always the case with arsenal players, who will replace them? Imagine arsenal losing a game and then wenger brings in players like Walcott, Flamini, Arteta, chambers and co. who are average players and should not be playing for a big club like arsenal fc. It is so painful to watch them play when we are losing. It is not  lack of funds that is the course of this since we have been told many times by the board and the manager that the club has money to spend, but it is just wenger’s refusal to spend the money and bring in the players needed that is the course.




Fourth place is not enough

I don’t know about you but personally for me, fourth place is not enough for the club and the fans. Arsenal as a big club should be competing and winning the EPL, the champion’s league and other available trophies. But instead they got bundled out of the champion’s league in disgrace for the past decade now, always finish fourth in the epl and end the season without a trophy to boast about. The club’s fans are getting bored with the fouth position that wenger, the board and the players cherish so much. The fans need more than fourth place; they need trophies to compensate them for the high ticket price that they pay to watch their beloved club play every week.

The fans have lost faith in him

Arsenal fans stage protest against Wenger 

I think the most important reason why wenger should leave the club is that he no longer have the faith and confidence of the fans. The fans are getting tired of watching their club play a whole season and end up winning nothing, they are tired of watching arsenal play with mediocrity players because wenger refuse to spend money to buy players. They are tired of watching their team lose games without any plan B. they want him out of the club, hence the “wenger out” placards in the stadium. They want a new manager to replace him, and I think he should do the honorable thing and resign from the club. Though a lot of fans will miss him, even me too but the club comes first before any personal ambition.

These are the reasons I think wenger should leave arsenal. Feel free to add yours in the comment section. Or let’s know if you still want him to stay and why.

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photo credit: Protests via photopin (license)

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