Mondays Football Headlines

[bennythedip2]

Monday's football gossip and transfer rumours (February 26 2018)

Chelsea lead the race for Robert Lewandowski while Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool are battling it out for the same player.

THE SUN

Chelsea are the frontrunners to sign Robert Lewandowski - who is keen on a move to the Premier League - although Manchester United are also interested.

Pep Guardiola is ready to sign a new deal at Manchester City that will keep him at the Etihad until 2021 and will be worth nearly £19.5m per season.

Manchester United's transfer plans have been scuppered after Liverpool and Arsenal joined the race for Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri.

Jurgen Klopp wants Bournemouth midfielder Lewis Cook to replace Emre Can, who is likely to leave in the summer, and has targeted a £20m deal.

Tottenham are negotiating with Sheffield United over the signing of young forward David Brooks, who they believe could be the next Harry Kane.

Scott Arfield is a target for MLS clubs Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact.

THE EXPRESS

Jurgen Klopp has told his Liverpool players to 'stay angry' if they want to finish the season on a high.

DAILY MAIL

Arsene Wenger has cast fresh doubt on his future after refusing to deny this season would be his last as Arsenal manager.

Mauricio Pellegrino believes the spirit in his side can help Southampton avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.

Joe Allen has said he does not care if team-mate Jack Butland goes to the World Cup with England and has urged him to concentrate on his performances with Stoke.

MIRROR

Chelsea are ready to do battle with Barcelona for the signature of Yann Karamoh, the Caen winger who is impressing on loan with Inter Milan.

Sol Campbell could be set to become the new Grimsby manager after chairman John Fenty said he would be willing to talk to the former England defender.

DAILY RECORD

Barcelona legend Xavi has urged Celtic to splash the cash if they are to be more competitive in Europe.

Rangers winger Daniel Candeias has insisted his heart is with his club and not former manager Pedro Caixinha, who brought him to Ibrox.

TELEGRAPH

Rafa Benitez is concerned a lack of experience in his Newcastle squad may prove pivotal as they seek to avoid the drop.

[bennythedip2]

Football news and talking points:

Alan Pardew latest, Gary Neville's Arsenal fury and Premier League top four (February 26 2018)

After another eventful weekend in the world of football, we take a look at the top stories dominating Monday's headlines.

Alan Pardew's West Brom lifeline

West Brom have opted to stick with manager Alan Pardew for now, and he will be in charge for Saturday’s game against Watford, according to reports.

It is understood the team's performance at Vicarage Road at the weekend could be key in deciding whether Pardew remains in charge for the rest of the season.

Pardew has won just one of his 14 Premier League games since taking over at The Hawthorns in November. Defeat at home to Huddersfield on Saturday left the club seven points adrift at the bottom.

Meanwhile, in managerial news elsewhere, Grant McCann left Sky Bet League One side Peterborough on Sunday and current caretaker David Oldfield is favourite to be his replacement.

Gary Neville’s Carabao Cup rant

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was highly critical of Arsenal's "spineless" display as they were crushed 3-0 in the Carabao Cup final by Manchester City.

Neville, working as a commentator for Sky Sports, labelled Shkodran Mustafi's positioning for Sergio Aguero's opener as "pathetic" and then aimed fire at Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil.

"Ramsey. Xhaka. Ozil. You're walking on a football pitch at Wembley," he said.

"Why are you walking? You're a disgrace. An absolute disgrace.

"I don't even want to talk about them because they've been an absolute disgrace. Ramsey and Xhaka walking on a football pitch. Absolutely spineless."

He added: "I don't even like the football anymore. The last bastion has gone. Liverpool play better, Tottenham play better - there's three or four teams that play better football than them now.

"This is a dark, dark day - the team have just not shown up."

Arsene Wenger’s League Cup wait goes on

Gunners boss Wenger was aiming to become only the eighth manager to win all three top-flight trophies by lifting his first League Cup.

While he has often used this competition to blood youngsters, resulting in plenty of early exits, he has now reached three finals - 2007, 2011 and 2018 - without success.

Arsenal have not lifted the trophy since beating Sheffield Wednesday in the 1993 final. With constant speculation about the 68-year-old's future and the fact he is the second oldest manager in the Premier League, it remains to be seen how many more opportunities he will have.

Top four race: Tottenham leapfrog Chelsea

Wins for Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham boosted their hopes of a top-four finish as Chelsea dropped to fifth with ten games to go.

Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils went back to second with a 2-1 win over Chelsea, after Liverpool’s 3-1 win over West Ham kept the Merseysiders in the running for a second-placed finish.

Tottenham are now fourth and two points ahead of Chelsea, while sixth-place Arsenal are nine adrift of their north London rivals with a game in hand – v Man City on Thursday.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery is hopeful Neymar's injury is "nothing serious" after the Brazil superstar left his side's 3-0 win over Marseille on a stretcher.

Neymar brilliantly set up PSG's third goal for Edinson Cavani but later rolled his ankle and was forced off in clear discomfort with around 15 minutes remaining - leaving PSG with 10 men, having just sent on their final substitute Julian Draxler.

Emery told the Ligue 1 leaders' official website: "We showed that this game is special for us and the result was positive - a clear 3-0 win.

"The injury to Neymar was the only black mark. We hope it is nothing serious, we will wait for the scans."

PSG's Champions League round of 16 second leg with Real Madrid takes place on March 6 at Parc des Princes.