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Mike Ashley has dropped a clanger amid claims Dwight Gayle is set to sign a new three-year contract to remain at Newcastle United.

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, Gayle has committed his immediate future to the Magpies by agreeing to sign a new deal but on lesser terms.

The 31-year-old was due to be a free agent at the end of the current campaign, but has put pen to paper on a deal that will see that he remains at St. James’ Park through to at least the summer of 2024.

Gayle’s contract status had seen Galatasaray emerge as one of several Super Lig sides to be credited with an interest, along with potential moves to the Middle East, Europe or Major League Soccer.

Gayle was earning £40,000-per-week at Newcastle on his previous deal, which placed him level with captain Jamaal Lascelles and above Martin Dubravka (£38k-p/w) in the Toon’s wage bill, per Spotrac figures.

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce had been pushing for Gayle to receive a new contract despite rarely favouring the forward, with the £4.5m-rated dud only staring two of his 11 Premier League appearances this season.

“We’ll do everything we can to get him tied up,” Bruce said, via quotes by Chronicle Live, in December. “Obviously, he’s been struggling with an injury, but I think we’ll do our best and I hope that he can stay.”

Yet the United head coach has often overlooked Gayle despite a hamstring injury for 10-goal top-scorer Callum Wilson, with the London-born frontman left an unused substitute on nine occasions in the top-flight this term – including the 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion prior to the international break.

Should Newcastle retain Gayle?

Newcastle are expected to operate on a shoe-string budget in the summer transfer market due to the loss of revenue from games being played behind closed doors all season, making the retention of those set to become free agents key.

Yet retaining Gayle, even on lesser terms, should be seen as a mistake by Ashley should Bruce manage to keep Newcastle in the Premier League, as the striker has rarely met the standard required of him since leaving Crystal Palace in 2016.

The Magpies paid £10m for Gayle five-years ago and his efforts fired Rafa Benitez’s side to an immediate top-flight return with 23 goals in 32 Championship fixtures. But the following term only featured six goals in 35 Premier League games, before spending the 2018/19 campaign back in the second-tier on loan with West Bromwich Albion.

He was on fire at The Hawthorns with 24 goals in 40 league games, including the Play-Offs, but returned to Tyneside to strike home just five times in 31 Premier League fixtures over the past two seasons – only one of which has come this term.

Gayle’s performances under Bruce, during what have been two injury-ravished campaigns, have ensured that he was namechecked by Micky Quinn recently when listing some of the players responsible for Newcastle’s fight for top-flight survival.

“They’re on that slippery rock. You look at some of the players: Jonjo Shelvey and Dwight Gayle… Andy Carroll – past his sell-by date – Joelinton – couldn’t hit a barn door with a pea. These are guys I think fall below Premier League class,” Quinn told talkSPORT last month.

To now retain Gayle would suggest that Ashley has accepted relegation and is confident in the striker repeating his 2016/17 season, and is rewarding him for the commitment to stay and help secure another immediate return to the top-flight.

AND in other news, Newcastle are planning an £8m move for a “great character” with an amazing skill set…

While Oli McBurnie might be wearing a Sheffield United shirt right now, the Scotland international was actually on the books as a youngster at Leeds United.

McBurnie was with the Elland Road for some time in his formative years before being released at under-14 level, and the striker himself delivered an insight why the club decided to let him go.

He told Leeds Live: “Me and my brother were both there when we were kids. Growing up in Leeds, it’s nice to score against them, but the result is a bit disappointing. I got released for not being tall enough, believe it or not. I was quite small when I was 15.

“I could never hold a grudge against them for that. I wouldn’t be where I was today if that hadn’t happened to me. It’s made me a lot mentally stronger and stuff like that, so it’s nice to score a couple against them.”

Of course, there’s no telling how young players can develop, especially at that age, but the way McBurnie has progressed is a real tale of where hard work and determination can get you.

After plying his trade in the lower leagues and working his way up the ladder, Sheffield United forked out around £20m to sign him from Swansea in the summer of 2019 in what was then a club-record deal for the Blades.

Noel Whelan, who of course played for Leeds a few seasons ago, raved about what McBurnie brings to the table.

He told Sporting Life [via Football League World]: “His overall performances as a striker upfront – big, strong, holds the ball up, wins the ball in the air. He is a player that I kind of underestimated, and he could be a real, real surprise.”

Former Scotland striker Chris Iwelumo insisted that, when McBurnie gets the service, the 6 foot 2 marksman is “unplayable” – fine praise for a player who’s had to work his way to the big time of the Premier League.

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Now valued at £17m by CIES, McBurnie has carved out a fine professional career since being let go by Leeds; and given how he’s now playing at Premier League level, his release surely goes down as a howler.

Meanwhile, this Leeds target is shades of Mark Viduka…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans are far from happy with a tweet from broadcaster Jim Spence once again questioning whether the Gers are the same club as before their financial difficulties in 2012.

This season has marked the end of a long journey for the Gers. Nine years ago, they entered administration (BBC) and were demoted to the fourth tier of the Scottish footballing pyramid. Since then, they have worked their way up the leagues, watching on as their fierce city rivals Celtic have conquered all before them, before finally getting themselves back to the summit of the Premiership table this term and winning their 55th league title.

Spence has been a big critic of the Gers in the past and he has once again taken to Twitter to insinuate that the Ibrox outfit are no longer the same club they were prior to their 2012 liquidation. This is a sore topic for many Rangers fans, and they were far from happy with his comments.

These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on Spence’s latest remarks.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Spence below

“I can feel the pain and hurt in your heart from down here in Leicestershire. They say time is a healer but personally I think you’re too far gone. Which is absolutely lovely”

Credit: @nor_gov

“The fact we have won won our 55th league title and we’re the worlds most successful club must be killing you inside eh Jim, I’m overjoyed”

Credit: @RicksenRip

“just you keep trying to convince yourself”

Credit: @jigster9

“who would have thought all those years ago when he was on the radio there was all that hate burning away below the surface. I’m sure he isn’t the only one in the Scottish media.”

Credit: @soul2dole

“JUM aid irrelevant 55 has destroyed him also”

Credit: @braveschomberg

“Jum has totally lost the place. After the opening game of the season he tweeted about the bheasts that with “French Eddie” in such devastating form Terry Munro was a certainty. He doesn’t like being reminded of that.”

Credit: @Fleetblue

In other news, some Rangers fans disagree with these comments from Steven Gerrard.

David Moyes must put his foot down and reject a rumoured swap deal involving West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice and Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

What’s the word?

According to the Express, Loftus-Cheek is one of three players the Stamford Bridge outfit may look to present in exchange for Rice’s signature this summer.

Chelsea failed to sign Rice last year when West Ham held firm at an £80m valuation, and the Irons are thought to have since increased their asking price to £100m.

Frank Lampard’s sacking was expected to bring a halt to the Blues’ interest in taking Rice back to south west London, yet Thomas Tuchel has not scrubbed his predecessors’ plans.

But the German is prioritising the arrival of a new striker and has Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku under consideration, which would leave the Blues clutching at straws to fund a pursuit of Rice.

As such, Chelsea are tipped to potentially offer West Ham their choice of Loftus-Cheek, Andreas Christiansen or Tammy Abraham in hopes of bringing down the Hammers’ asking price.

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The London Stadium natives have been linked with a potential move for Abraham recently, while £60,000-per-week Loftus-Cheek is considered to be a direct replacement for Rice.

Should West Ham accept Loftus-Cheek for Rice?

Rice’s services are bound to be highly sought-after among the Premier League’s established elite clubs this summer, after once again proving to be a key part of West Ham’s plans and further establishing himself on the international stage.

The 22-year-old was named as the Man of the Match during England’s recent World Cup qualifying wins over Albania and Poland, despite playing the closing stages of the latter tie with a lateral knee ligament injury.

Rice’s issue meant he missed West Ham’s wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City last week, the first Premier League games that the Irons’ vice-captain had sat out since May 2019 after 68 straight starts.

He already has interest from Manchester United as well, who could use Jesse Lingard to negotiate a lower fee, but reports by The Sun claim West Ham have no interest in selling one star to retain the one they have on loan.

Rival interest will also ensure the Hammers are not in a position where they must accept a downgrade to sell Rice to Chelsea – a player Moyes claims suitors would need “the Bank of England and the Royal Bank of Scotland” to sign.

Loftus-Cheek would certainly be a step down in quality for the Irons, and send out the wrong message to the rest of the squad and potential summer targets over their aspirations of sustaining this season’s remarkable challenge for European football.

The Chelsea man – who Gary Neville claims is “a massive talent” – has struggled to impress consistently this season while on loan with relegation-threatened Fulham, having offered just a single goal and no assists in 26 Premier League games for the Cottagers.

His defensive contributions pale into insignificance beside Rice’s, too, with Loftus-Cheek trailing for tackles (1.9 to 0.9), interceptions (2 to 0.2), fouls committed (0.7 to 1.1) and clearances (1.2 to 0.5) per game in the top-flight this term, per WhoScored.

If Rice is to leave West Ham at the end of the season, they need to be earning top-dollar to sign a ready-made replacement – not accepting discounted approaches for players that will stagnate their progress as a club.

AND in other news, West Ham eye 23-year-old talent once backed to become “world-class”…

Manchester United head into their Premier League clash against Burnley with an undisputed first-choice defender firmly back in the ranks.

Having been suspended for the Red Devils’ recent UEFA Europa League success against Granada, Harry Maguire is eligible to return as United host the Clarets, in what will be a huge boost to the team and, of course, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Since his record-breaking move from Leicester City in 2019, Maguire has become one of the club’s most consistent defenders.

The £36m-rated centre-back has made 102 appearances for United, keeping 44 clean sheets in all competitions. Now the club’s firm choice as captain, too, his performances have been amongst the highest at Old Trafford and the statistics support that.

Of the current crop at the club, Maguire completes more interceptions per game than any other player with 1.9, whilst also racking up a huge 3.7 clearances per match in all competitions, according to WhoScored, once again the highest in the entire United squad.

Meanwhile, only fellow central defender Eric Bailly has more blocks to his name per game this season than Maguire’s 0.6.

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Whilst the 28-year-old has in some quarters earned criticism for some erratic displays on occasion, there is no doubt that he has an influence on the team.

He has played in every single Premier League match for the club since his arrival and in that time the Red Devils have conceded just 0.91 goals per game.

Meanwhile, in the preceding season before his arrival at Old Trafford, United had conceded 1.4 goals per game in the league – a huge rise.

Whilst that impact cannot simply be put firmly on the shoulders of Maguire, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka having also arrived in the off-season following the 2018/19 campaign, it would be naïve to suggest that he has not played a big role in that improvement.

Having labelled his captain as “top” on numerous occasions, Solskjaer will surely be delighted to have a player of Maguire’s quality back in contention following his suspension.

AND in more news, find out why United have been handed a huge boost in their pursuit of a World Cup winner…

Sunderland fans appear to be very happy after Lee Johnson revealed ahead of the Blackpool clash that Dion Sanderson will not miss the rest of the season as initially expected.

The Black Cats’ hopes of automatic promotion are in trouble following a couple of disappointing results. First, they were beaten by Charlton Athletic 2-1 before losing by the same scoreline to Wigan Athletic, who are currently struggling to stay in League One. They currently trail second-placed Peterborough United by five points with six games left to play (BBC).

They were then hit with another blow when it appeared Sanderson would miss the rest of the season due to injury (Roker Report). However, prior to the Wearside outfit’s clash with Blackpool this weekend, manager Johnson has revealed Sanderson should be fit before the end of the season (James Hunter).

The news appeared to please the club’s supporters, and they were quick to take to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter when the news broke.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Sanderson news below

“Just save Sanderson until the play offs. No need to risk him in the next 6 games”

Credit: @SAFCNewsFeed

“Needs to get himself to Seaham hall for a couple of weeks”

Credit: @AdrianMagson

“Ah – so him being out for the season was just a lie? Gotcha.”

Credit: @LeBenjiboo

“better off resting him than trotting him out there injured…looked off the last 2 matches”

Credit: @Spina13Colada

“Oh thank goodness for that”

Credit: @bamgboyeolu

“YESSSSSS”

Credit: @KINGMAGUIRE1

In other news, Kevin Phillips is delighted with this Kyril Louis-Dreyfus update.

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Jose Mourinho’s treatment of his players led to his sacking at Tottenham.

After just 17 months in Tottenham dugout, the Special One was relieved of duties on Monday after a run of just one victory from six matches in all competitions.

Spurs topped the Premier League back in December, but their inability to protect leads has left them unlikely to finish in the top four, with the risk of missing out on European football on the whole.

Following Tottenham’s wretched run of results, Mourinho started speaking publically about his players – notably saying ‘same coach, different players,’ when his team conceded a late equaliser against Newcastle earlier this month, before accusing his players of hiding after the north London derby defeat.

And Windass told Football FanCast that Mourinho’s constant scrutiny of his players left Daniel Levy with no choice but to sack him:

“For me if a manager came out and criticised me, I would be banging on his door saying ‘why would you do that?’. If you’ve got a problem with me, tell me face to face, don’t tell the rest of the world.

“That’s the reason why he’s gone. I think Daniel spoke to a lot of the players, or the club captain and Harry [Kane] and said ‘what’s the dressing room like? Is it divided?’ Yeah. That’s why we’re not winning football matches and in the top four and Daniel has gone, ‘rubbish to this, he’s got to go’.”

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he doesn’t think Tottenham will beat Manchester City in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, even if Harry Kane plays.

Spurs go in search of their first major trophy since winning the same competition in 2008 when they face the seven-times winners and three-times defending champions at Wembley.

But Tottenham’s chances of ending their 13-year trophy drought could rest on the fitness of their star man Kane.

The England striker has been in scintillating form throughout the season, but hobbled off against Everton on Friday with his latest ankle problem, and faces a race against time to be fit.

But Windass believes that with Manchester City out for revenge following their FA Cup exit last weekend, it’ll be too big of a task to beat Pep Guardiola’s men, who haven’t lost in the League Cup for more than four years.

“I don’t think they’ve got any chance of beating City even if Harry Kane is fit,” Windass told Football FanCast.

“Ryan Mason has got to get everybody on board. But it’s going to be a tough game against Man City, especially after them getting beaten in the semi-finals, so they’ll be wounded. 

But with Jose Mourinho no longer in charge, and the squad on a clean slate, Windass made no secret as to who should be their front-three moving forward.

He added:

“I would like to see Gareth Bale get a number of games from now until the end of the season with Son and Kane upfront.

“You’ve got more chance of winning football matches with them three upfront than with them not in the team.”

Hands up if you remembered that Henri Saivet was still a Newcastle player?

The Senegal international arrived at St James’ Park back in the summer of 2016 and has since endured one of the most forgettable careers of any player to have worn the black and white shirt.

With a paltry eight appearances to his name, it’s certainly fair to say that Saivet has arguably been one of the worst signings – if not the worst – of the Mike Ashley era.

Costing a reported £5m when they first signed him from Bordeaux, Newcastle may have been forgiven for thinking they had bagged a real midfield star.

Speaking at the announcement of his signing, then-Magpies manager Steve McClaren said: “Henri is someone the club have been watching for a while, and he has developed into an excellent player at Bordeaux. This is someone with a very good mentality, who is a tough player and a winner. Those are key qualities you need in the Premier League and we are looking forward to seeing him pulling on the Newcastle United shirt.”

Reports last summer suggested that the Tyneside club were struggling to find a buyer for Saivet as they looked to get him off the books, and it was then no surprise that he was eventually omitted from the Premier League squad for the season.

Earning a reported £35,000-a-week at St James’ Park, the 30-year-old’s only football this season has been with the under-23s, playing four times at Premier League 2 level – in fact, it’s a damning statement that he has actually made the same number of appearances for the reserves as he has for the first team over his Newcastle career.

All in all, Saivet’s transfer fee and wages, have meant that he has now cost a whopping £10m in total for the Magpies over the years that he has been at St James’ Park – a truly ridiculous amount for someone who doesn’t even feature anymore.

However, with his contract coming to an end this summer, Steve Bruce has the chance to finally wave goodbye to Saivet and end his misery on Tyneside.

Considering his costs to the club, it will surely leave Mike Ashley very relieved as well.

Meanwhile, Newcastle must unleash this “supremely driven” talent…

Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that he would not swap Ollie Watkins for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Both England strikers were on the scoresheet in Villa’s recent 2-1 win over Everton, with Calvert-Lewin grabbing his 15th Premier League goal of the season in what has been a brilliant campaign for the 24-year-old.

Watkins himself, though, has also been in stunning form this term, picking up his 13th league goal in that fixture. And Hendrie has made it clear he would not swap the former Brentford man for Calvert-Lewin if he had the chance.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about the two strikers, the ex-Villa player said:

“I think if I put the two together in comparison, they’re very similar in certain aspects. if I had to choose one, I’ve been pleased with what Ollie Watkins has produced this season since coming to Villa.

“He’s also got that versatile sort of position where he can go and drift out into a left or right side of the three, so I’d certainly stick with Ollie Watkins.”

Indeed, looking at their goalscoring records this season, Watkins and £40.5m-rated Calvert-Lewin are two talented centre-forwards.

The campaigns they are having will come as a big boost to Gareth Southgate and England ahead of the European Championships in the summer.