Sheffield United Considering Ben Foster Swoop Amid Uncertainty Over Dean Henderson’s Future

​Sheffield United are considering making a move for Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster at the end of the season.

The Blades have enjoyed an exceptional start to the season, conceding the second fewest goals in the Premier League this season with on-loan Dean Henderson between the sticks.


The Manchester United loanee has been extremely impressive and their are concerns that he may be out of the Blades’ price range come the end of the season, leaving Chris Wilder to search for alternatives.

Now, The​ Sun report that former England international Foster, who has shone for Watford in what has been a desperately disappointing season, is one option for Wilder.

Foster could be available on the cheap if the Hornets are relegated to the Championship and it’s thought his inclination towards a short-term deal may be appealing to the Blades, given he is now 37 years old.

That would allow Wilder more time to identify a long-term successor to Henderson, although he may be back on the club’s radar if he remains at ​Old Trafford as an understudy to David de Gea for any length of time.

Ben Foster,Christian Pulisic

Foster has enjoyed a distinguished top flight career with Birmingham City, West Brom and now Watford, appearing eight times for his country before announcing retirement from the international game in 2014.

Despite being part of a Watford side that has conceded the third most goals in the league – including the 8-0 defeat to ​Manchester City – the stopper has won plaudits for his consistency in tough times at Vicarage Road this campaign.

His career bares something of a resemblance to Henderson, given that both had to go out on loan in search of first team football after struggling for game time at Old Trafford.

Henderson has been a fundamental part of Sheffield United’s unexpected success in the Premier League this season, conceding just 13 goals in 14 games as the Blades have risen to seventh place.


His form has earned him an England call-up, and with the Three Lions’ number one spot far from secure in the hands of ​Jordan Pickford, the 22-year-old may fancy his chances of making Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2020.

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Looking Back at the Last Time Real Madrid Players Were Not Involved in Ballon d’Or Race

As arguably the best club in the history of world football, Real Madrid have had more than their fair share of success, both on a team and an individual level.

With so many superstar names in their ranks over the years, Real have had plenty of representatives in the running for the Ballon d’Or since its inception back in 1955, but this year looks like it could be a different story.

According to ​leaked results of the final standings (which we must stress are completely unverified), ​the only representative from the club in the top ten is ​Eden Hazard. While there is no way to know if that is true just yet, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given ​Real’s struggles over the last year.

In fact, the only years this century in which Real players have had worse representation in the Ballon d’Or running were 2004 and 2005, in which no Los Blancos representatives finished in the top ten.

Back in 2004, Real had just finished fourth in ​La Liga, and no player was deemed good enough to even come close to eventual winner Andriy Shevchenko of ​AC Milan.

Andrei Shevchenko

However, their performances in 2005 were noticeably better. They finished second in the league, thanks to the stellar showings of Ronaldo (the original), but their failure to advance past the round of 16 in the ​Champions League hurt their case. ​Barcelona‘s Ronaldinho took home the award that year, with no Real player in sight when all was said and done.

Since 2011, Madrid have had one player in the top two of the voting, and the last time they failed to achieve a podium finish was way back in 2010, when ​Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas finished sixth and seventh respectively as Lionel Messi and Spain’s World Cup winners dominated the rankings.

There were also no Real players in the top three in 2003 and 2007, but Los Blancos have otherwise been ever-present in the running for the individual award. 

Cristiano Ronaldo

As noted by ​AS, Real players have won the Ballon d’Or 11 times – a record shared with rivals Barcelona. 

Along with Ronaldo’s five, club legend Alfredo Di Stéfano managed to win two himself, while there have also been successes for​ Luka Modrić, Fabio Cannavaro, Brazilian Ronaldo, Luís Figo and Raymond Kopa, who won the award all the way back in 1958.

However, this year, it looks almost certain that Real will be well down in the standings, with ​Lionel Messi, Virgil van Dijk and ​Mohamed Salah thought to be leading the race for the individual prize.


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Jordan Pickford Insists Everton Players Are Behind Under Fire Boss Marco Silva

Jordan Pickford has said that ​the Everton squad are backing manager Marco Silva to turn their fortunes around after suffering another defeat.

A loss at home to ​Norwich last weekend set in motion strong rumours that Silva could be sacked, but the former ​Watford boss held on to oversee the ​2-1 defeat to ​Leicester on Sunday.

Silva insisted in his prematch press conference that he has the backing of the board, but the loss at the King Power Stadium has only ramped up the pressure on him.

Jordan Pickford

But goalkeeper Pickford was keen to point out that despite the team’s poor form, Silva has not lost the dressing room.

“The only way forward is by sticking together,” Pickford said, as quoted by the ​Guardian. “We have good strength in depth and a lot of talent at this club and there’s plenty of fighting spirit in the dressing room. The manager has been great with us and we are behind him 100%.

“A few bad performances shouldn’t put a manager under pressure but that’s the industry we are in. I don’t want to see the manager sacked. I was here when Ronald Koeman lost his job and it was horrible, not nice to see at all.

“We players have to take our own share of the responsibility and try to put in a good performance. We just have to keep going and hope the negative results will bring the best out of us. We might be in a sticky patch but the squad is still together.”

Richarlison

Despite another summer of spending, the Toffees sit 17th in the league table following a disappointing start to the season which has seen them lose to all three newly promoted sides.

Things will not get any easier for them this week though, as they face unbeaten table toppers ​Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday, before hosting Frank Lampard’s resurgent ​Chelsea side on Saturday.

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Frank Lampard Hints at Potential Position Change for Christian Pulisic at Chelsea

​Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has admitted that winger Christian Pulisic could feature more as a central striker in the future.

With first-choice forward Tammy Abraham injured for the 1-0 loss to West Ham United, Olivier Giroud started the game. However, the Frenchman was subbed off in the second half, with Pulisic moving to striker instead of Michy Batshuayi.

Christian Pulisic

Speaking after the game (via ​Goal), Lampard confessed that he believes Pulisic has all the characteristics to play as a striker, although he stopped short of confirming that it would be a permanent change.

“We’ll see,” Lampard said. “He’s got an ability to run behind the line and to be sharp in central areas, which will naturally get him more goals but I’m not going to say right now that’s the solution. We’ll see going forward.”

The 21-year-old has managed six goals and six assists in his first 17 appearances for ​Chelsea, proving that he does indeed have the eye for goal which Lampard is looking for.

He has played in a central attacking midfield role on occasion in the past, but rarely has been deployed as an out-and-out striker like he was against ​West Ham. However, Lampard clearly feels as though it could be an option.

Pulisic did seem to struggle in attack for Chelsea, who strangely decided to fire in cross after cross towards the American, despite not really doing so when ​Giroud was on the pitch.

The unsettled Frenchman was certainly off his game for Chelsea, but Lampard insisted that it had nothing to do with his lack of match fitness.

FBL-ENG-PR-CHELSEA-WEST HAM

“It was a difficult game for him,” Lampard added. “He didn’t get enough of the ball and then the couple of chances he had didn’t go in for him. It was a tough match for him but he wasn’t the only one who came into the team and the performance was slightly off it. It was not the easiest game.

“We train hard. Some players, with the nature of how squads are in the modern game, we have to train hard to be at a level to come in. I wouldn’t want to point it to match fitness. Michy has had a lot of performances to come on lately and has made a difference in certain games but it was just a choice for this game.”


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Philippe Coutinho Admits He Would Love to Seal Permanent Bayern Munich Move

​Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho has admitted that he would love to make his loan from Barcelona to Bayern Munich permanent next summer.

Having been desperate to play for Barcelona, Coutinho endured a nightmare 18 months at Camp Nou, prompting La Blaugrana to ship him out on loan last summer. Bayern won the race for his signature, agreeing an option to sign him for €120m at the end of the season.

Speaking during a visit to a local fan club (via Marca), Coutinho confessed he is not thinking about a return to Barcelona and instead wants to extend his stay in Germany.

Philippe Coutinho,Mateo Garcia

“I’m very comfortable,” he said. “I plan to stay here for the year and I’m focused on my time here. If everything fits, then I’d love to stay.”

After an exciting start to the season, Coutinho’s performances dropped off and he struggled to hold down a place in Niko Kovač’s side. Even when the boss was sacked and replaced by Hans-Dieter Flick, Coutinho is yet to earn a permanent spot in the team.

He did score in the 4-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf, but that was just his third goal in 18 appearances this season. He has contributed five assists as well, but ​Bayern might be reluctant to part with a whopping €120m for a player who is yet to fully impress – especially as they are still pursuing other blockbuster wingers like Leroy Sané.

Should he return to Barcelona, it would give Ernesto Valverde another headache. La Blaugrana have so many superstar forwards, so there is by no means a guaranteed place in the matchday squad for Coutinho at Camp Nou anymore.

Philippe Coutinho

Under contract until 2023, Coutinho would likely have to find a new home next summer even if Bayern do not choose to make his loan permanent, but Barcelona may have to lower their asking price to offload him.

Having spent £142m to sign him, Barcelona do not want to make a significant loss on the Brazilian, but he is simply not playing like a player who is worth that kind of money these days.


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