Manchester United will look to strengthen their defence this summer as their back-line has looked frail at times this season and may not be able to cope with the demands of potentially playing in the Champions League next season.

Whilst United’s attacking line is breaming with star players, the defence isn’t quite at that level with question marks over a number of their squad. Jose Mourinho has a plan to improve his options though and that could include bringing Raphael Varane, a favourite of his from his time with Real Madrid, to Old Trafford.

Spanish outlet Don Balon claim Real Madrid are prepared to offer the French defender in their attempts to land David De Gea and whilst losing the Spanish goalkeeper would be a big blow, Varane stat’s make for interesting reading.

In 18 La Liga appearances, Varane boasts an impressive 89% passing accuracy that would see him link-up perfectly with the rest of the Manchester United squad. On top of that, his defensive numbers in clearances, aerial duels and interceptions are particularly impressive.

The 23-year-old could dominate Premier League defences for years to come and United may just have a decision to make regarding the future of De Gea. If the Spaniard does make it clear he wants to leave though, a swap deal is something United should certainly consider.

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Four of Scotland’s biggest teams won their Scottish Cup Quarter-Final ties this weekend to set up a final four in the competition that whets the appetite and should capture the attention of the wider footballing world.

Aberdeen, Celtic, Hibernian and Rangers all made it through their matches this weekend with no problems to take their places at Hampden, vying for a place in Scottish football’s showpiece final in May.

The Dons will play Hibs while old foes Celtic and Rangers go head-to-head in two matches that have the potential to be sell outs at the national stadium.

The draw means that by the season’s end the Hoops and the Gers will have played each other a massive six times across the campaign, however this one will mean a bit more than all the others.

For Celtic it’s all about keeping dreams of a treble alive whereas Rangers are hoping to deliver the major honour that their supporters so desperately crave.

As you can imagine the draw provoke a fair bit of reaction with both sets of supporters and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the match-up…

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With the Premier League increasingly becoming a global brand, it’s little surprise to see a growing number of American players make waves in the division after crossing the pond to play in it. Rather excitingly indeed, with football on the rise stateside, we’re likely to see more of a crossover of USMT stars landing on these shores.

Indeed, any one who does will find himself in some rather esteemed company. American stars have a strong presence throughout Premier League history. Since John Harkes became the first American player to play in the division with Sheffield Wednesday back in the early 90s, there have been a number of top class players to follow suit.

Visit Britain are looking to find the biggest Super Football Fan in the world, people to watch the USMNT stars strut the stuff in the Premier League over the years. While you weigh up whether or not you think you have what it takes, here’s a closer look at some of the stars we’ve been talking about.

Clint Dempsey vs Sunderland 

One of the most prolific American players to have starred in the Premier League, former Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Clint Dempsey will be fondly remembered for his time in both west and north London.

Able to operate either in midfield or attack, the Seattle Sounders man scored 57 goals during his time here, including this fine effort against Sunderland.

Joe Max-Moore lights up Liverpool 

Back in the late 1990s, Everton took New England Revolution forward Joe Max-Moore to England on a trail and he impressed so much, the Toffees made his move across the Atlantic a permanent affair.

While injury may have hampered his time on these shores, no one will be in any rush to forget the fact he managed to score FIVE goals in his first FIVE appearances for the Goodison Park club. Few will have had better starts to life in the Premier League.

Brian McBride – a London legend

Though there have been more prolific strikers in the Premier League, former Everton and Fulham striker Brian McBride is one of the most loved cult-heroes who’ve made a move across the pond. This goal against Manchester United is a career highlight, though his time at Craven Cottage is still talked about to this day.

His hard-working approach to the centre-forward role has seen Fulham name a bar after him outside the ground, while he was also asked to chime in on a managerial appointment for the club back in 2014.

Carlos Bocanegra breaks Blues hearts 

Continuing in the Fulham trend, defender Carlos Bocanegra had spells with the Cottagers, as well north of the border with Rangers, and proved a popular figure with those in west London. Perhaps his best moment came against bitter rivals Chelsea, where his last minute equaliser ensured their noisier neighbours didn’t take home all the bragging rights.

Tim Howard defies physics 

The Premier League is littered with great ‘keepers, with Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel joining Tim Howard as legendary figures between the sticks. Former Everton and Manchester United stopper Howard gave around 10 years of service to the Premier League, with few better saves than this one over his decade here.

So think you have what it takes to be their Super Fan? Click on the link below to find the details.

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As reported by The Daily Mirror, Manchester United have appointed a key staff member in their search to add top new talent to their squad.

What’s the story?

Modern football revolves around scouting and the world’s big clubs are under more pressure than ever before to find the best talent as early as possible in their career.

Manchester United and Jose Mourinho have taken a big step towards securing some of that talent with a scouting appointment that can open a door for them in South America, say The Mirror.

The report says that former Chief Scout with the Brazilian FA, Paulo Henrique Xavier, is now on the books at United and represents a renewed focus from the club and Mourinho himself to tap into the vast amount of talent coming out of Brazil.

Despite a chequered past when it comes to Brazilians, Mourinho is said to be doubling down on United’s efforts to work that market.

Brazilians of the past

Rafael, Fabio, Kleberson, Anderson – United have had a mixed history with Brazilians at the club but that shouldn’t necessarily exploring the country for top talent in the future. Perhaps they’ve just never had the right scouts in place to successful bring through the best the country has to offer.

There’s a Brazilian currently at United and he’s thought to have a bright future. Andreas Pereira is a regular on loan at La Liga side Granada and with 3 goals in his last 8 games, the 21 year old attacking midfielder is doing his best to help stave off relegation.

Perhaps with Paulo Henrique Xavier now in place, United fans can look forward to more Brazilians making their mark in Manchester in the future.

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Of all the top six clubs, Liverpool are the outfit set for the toughest summer.

Without the financial power of the Manchester giants and with a squad that possesses several clear weak spots, Anfield needs to be a hectic place during the mid-year months if they are to realistically compete the top four next season.

Jurgen Klopp has worked wonders with this current crop of players and played some enthralling football along the way, but we all know that isn’t enough for a club with the rich history of winning like Liverpool.

Whether the owners are willing to spend the big bucks it takes to bring in world class stars or not, upgrades on current squad members are available. They are there staring them straight in the face, in fact.

Now it’s up to the club to deliver Klopp with a squad that can really become a force domestically and eventually in Europe.

Simon Mignolet

Liverpool need a new goalkeeper this summer. That is a fact, it is a fact that has been glaringly true for a couple of years now, actually. A failure to adequately improve their stopper situation (Loris Karius’ arrival has not helped) has held them back at times this season and magnified the flakiness of their defence.

The backline has been at fault throughout this season, but without an improvement between the sticks, Liverpool are fighting a losing battle. A battle that will eventually stop any progression towards the summit of the Premier League, as has been seen in 2016/17 already.

Lucas Leiva

An experienced head at his best and a liability at his worst. Unfortunately for Klopp, Lucas has been more of a problem than a calming influence this season. Occasionally effective at centre-back, but a clear target for pacey players, his position in the midfield is untenable. Unable to keep up with the intensity of his team-mates, Lucas’ lengthy Liverpool career must finally be coming to an end.

New central defenders and a natural defensive midfielder are needed at Anfield, which – should they make sensible signings – make Lucas obsolete.

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge, because of injury and the form of Roberto Firmino, has started only five Premier League matches this season. He is still a lethal finisher when fit, but it is clear that Jurgen Klopp has no interest in relying on a player who misses so many matches.

There is a need for a natural centre-forward as an option for Liverpool at least, but Sturridge is clearly not going to be that guy for Klopp. The former Chelsea man will be a star at many clubs around Europe, but his career will quickly fizzle out if he remains at Anfield. Liverpool should sell at the earliest opportunity and bring in a striker who Klopp can really trust to lead the line.

Bayern Munich have every right to feel aggrieved at not making it to the Champions League quarter-finals. Even though Real Madrid were great across both legs of the European giants’ epic quarter-final bout, some shaky officiating contributed to Los Blancos winning out in the end, leaving the Bavarians to wait once again for a shot at a European trophy.

Manchester City fans would have been watching on enviously as the tournament reached it’s crunch phase and not just because they themselves would have wanted their team to be playing, but due to Thiago Alcantara’s performance. The Spaniard is reportedly a player Pep Guardiola is keen to link up with at the Etihad Stadium and he put in a stellar showing…

As the numbers show, Thiago ran the show for his team, having 119 touches of the ball – the most of any player on the pitch – while also playing 103 passes, completing 88% of those. The playmaker contributed four key passes, fired two shots and completed one dribble, too.

Guardiola has coached Thiago at Barcelona and Bayern – taking him between the two clubs – and a third reunion may make sense.

Chelsea fans wasted no time in taunting Premier League title rivals Tottenham Hotspur following their 1-0 defeat to West Ham United at the London Stadium on Friday night, which all but ended their hopes of lifting the prestigious trophy.

The Blues were aware that Spurs would close their advantage at the summit to just a point if they picked up all three points against the Irons, but Manuel Lanzini’s second half goal for the hosts left Antonio Conte’s side in pole position to regain the title they last won in 2015.

The leaders now know that they if they beat Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge on Monday night and then West Bromwich Albion on Friday that they will be crowned as the champions before Mauricio Pochettino’s men even kick another ball.

Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on the latest twist in the title race via social media, and they taunted Tottenham in what looks set to be another trophy-less season.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Arsenal are set for their worst ever final standing under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage this season and as is often the case in the hyperbolic world of the Premier League, the Gunners’ biggest talents are bearing the brunt of the criticism.

Alexis Sanchez’s body language has been dissected by pundits and newspapers alike following virtually every appearance since the turn of 2017, whilst the debate over whether Mesut Ozil does enough for the team off the ball or produces enough on it continues to rumble on.

Overall, it’s not been a fantastic season for the German international despite starting the campaign in red-hot form, notching up a decent if somewhat unspectacular seven goals and six assists in 28 Premier League outings.

But scratch a little deeper, and the statistics suggest Ozil is largely holding up his end of the bargain. According to data courtesy of EA SPORTS, the 2014 World Cup winner has completed the most passes in the opposition half of any Premier League player this term – a whopping 1227. His pass success rate in the opposition half, meanwhile, is an equally impressive 85.62%.

Of course, statistics can be a little misleading at times – the attacking midfielder may have simply seen a lot more of the ball in such scenarios than his Premier League counterparts. After all, Arsenal rank fourth throughout the top flight for possession with an average of 56.7% this season.

But the above numerals are backed up by the fact 80.04% of all Ozil’s passes have come in the opposing half this term, the highest ratio out of the 15 players to have completed the most passes in the Premier League this year. It’s not simply a case of Ozil getting plenty of the ball; it’s a matter of him picking up the right positions and moving the ball on effectively in dangerous areas.

That paints a rather different picture of Ozil’s season – but let us know how you’d handle the 28-year-old’s reported demands for a £300k per-week contract by voting below…

Data Courtesy of EA SPORTS, the Lead Partner of the Premier League. 

In one of the most nerve wracking nights at Old Trafford for some years, Manchester United claimed their place in the Europa League final after a 2-1 aggregate victory over Celta Vigo.

Despite a bright first half from the home side, in which Marouane Fellaini gave United the lead, the Spanish visitors came to life in the second half.

Facundo Roncalgia grabbed an equaliser with 5 minutes to spare, before former Manchester City striker John Guidetti missed a sitter to win the tie for Celta with the last kick of the game.

The sense of relief around Old Trafford was palpable at the end of a tie in which Manchester United yet again looked far from their opulent best.

Plenty of United fans took to Twitter after the final whistle to express their joy and relief at reaching the Europa League final, which will take place later this month in Stockholm…

There have been mixed reactions to the news that Arsene Wenger has signed a new contract at Arsenal, and for Thierry Henry, he believes that the pressure has ramped up a notch.

Wenger was the subject of criticism from some fans throughout the season due to another failed title campaign in the Premier League and getting humiliated by Bayern Munich in Europe.

With his contract due to end this summer, groups of supporters called for a change, but instead, the club offered the Frenchman a new two-year deal.

This means that the 67-year-old’s tenure at the North London outfit will extend to at least 23 years.

Henry, who spent eight years of his playing career at the Gunners, believes that Wenger’s new contract will be justified if Arsenal win the league title soon.

The former Barcelona star told Sky Sports News:

“As an Arsenal fan, and as a guy who had Arsene as a coach and have maximum respect for him, I’m happy to see him at the club. But time will tell [if the decision was right]. They finished the season strong, although they have done that before. Raising yourself for the FA Cup final, to beat one team on one day is one thing. To do it over 38 games is a different story.

“Everyone is waiting for the title; the club, the players, the fans and Arsene himself. That’s what I want to see because raising your game for one day is one thing, but everybody is waiting for that to be done over 38 games.”

Arsenal, who won the FA Cup but failed to finish inside the top four this season, have not won the league crown since 2004.