Salah still on Real Madrid’s transfer list, says Calderon (Picture: Getty)
Real Madrid remain eager to sign Mohamed Salah but cannot afford the fee needed to bring the Liverpool forward to the Bernabeu, according to former club president Ramon Calderon.
Salah, 28, fuelled speculation of a switch to La Liga in December when he gave an interview with Spanish publication AS suggesting he was open to the idea of playing for either Barcelona or Real Madrid in the future.
However, the Egypt international, whose contract at Anfield expires in 2023, has since admitted that he is happy to stay at the Merseyside club ‘as long’ as he can.
Calderon believes Real are still keen to bring the forward to the Spanish capital but doubts his former club, who have been hit hard by the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, will not be in any position to meet Liverpool’s demands for the player if they choose to cash in.
Calderon told ON Time Sports: ‘He is a great player and a goalscorer.
Salah remains the league’s top scorer this season. (Picture: Getty)
‘He helped Liverpool by giving his best, but I don’t think they will let him go.
‘It is expected that, if they were to think about it, they would only let him go for a lot of money.
‘Salah is wanted, of course, by Real Madrid, but Liverpool would ask for a lot of money and, if that deal were to be completed, it would be crucial.
‘Salah is a great player with fantastic potential, and any club wishes to acquire such talents, but for Real Madrid I do not think they have the financial means to sign Salah.’
Rene Meulensteen, right, has revealed where Manchester United need to strengthen (Picture: Getty)
Rene Meulensteen has urged Manchester United to hand Edinson Cavani a new contract but says the Red Devils still need to sign another striker for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this summer.
Solskjaer’s side climbed to the top of the Premier League table in early January, but less than two months later they find themselves 12 points behind a Manchester City side who have won 20 matches in a row.
With the title seemingly beyond United – but a top-four spot on the cards – Meulensteen has looked ahead to next season and says the club he coached between 2007 and 2013 need another striker.
Solskjaer signed Edinson Cavani on a free transfer last summer and the Uruguay legend has done enough to earn a contract extension, according to Meulensteen.
But Sir Alex Ferguson’s former coach says Solskjaer should still attempt to bolster his attacking options in the summer transfer window as Cavani, 34, is unlikely to play more than 40 games next season.
‘For me, Edinson Cavani has done enough to warrant another year,’ Meulensteen told Stadium Astro. ‘He’s a top, top professional and very fit.
Meulensteen believes Edinson Cavani will need some support next season (Picture: Getty)
‘But they need to look beyond Cavani. He’s not going to play 40 games a season so they need to look into that and strengthen that.’
Meulensteen was speaking after Manchester United’s goalless draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, in which Red Devils midfielder Bruno Fernandes again failed to make a significant impact in a match against a fellow top-six club.
‘When he influences games, he’s on the ball and drifts everywhere,’ Meulensteen added. ‘His passing today was a little bit off. That’s unlike him.
‘When you play against those bigger teams, they know if they can stop Fernandes, you basically stop Manchester United from creating anything.
‘You could see he was getting frustrated and that’s because he didn’t get a grip of the game.’
Manchester United face struggling Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening before visiting arch-rivals Man City next weekend.
Luiz scored a superb header off the training ground against Leicester (Picture: Getty)
Ian Wright has hailed Mikel Arteta’s decision to bring in a specialised set piece coach at Arsenal, insisting work on the training pitch is now paying off.
Arsenal fell behind early on against Leicester on Sunday but launched a superb comeback to leave 3-1 winners courtesy of goals from David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe.
Luiz’s header six minutes from half-time got the Gunners on their way with Arsenal unlocking the hosts with a superb set play, delivered by Willian and wonderfully headed home by his countryman.
Andreas Georgson was one of a number of coaching appointments made by Arteta during the summer with the Swede brought in following a successful spell a Brentford as Head of Set Pieces and Individual Development.
And Wright believes there has been huge improvement from Arsenal in that department.
Arsenal’s equaliser on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
‘It’s no secret Arsenal have a set piece coach,’ Wright told Premier League Productions on Sunday.
‘When you look at how that [Luiz’s goal] was worked, it was worked brilliantly, you can see that Lacazette was there to clear out the space and pin their best header of the ball which is Jonny Evans.
‘And that is the space where you see David Luiz definitely waiting for the space to be cleared. The ball has to be pinpoint and it’s fantastic.
‘That’s why you get a set piece coach, to get those things working on the training pitch.’
Victory at Leicester moves Arsenal up to 10th, just six points behind sixth place Liverpool. Arteta’s side are next in action away to Burnley next Saturday.
John Higgins claimed the Players Championship in supreme style (Picture: WST)
John Higgins is setting his sights on plenty more big titles after his stunning Players Championship victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan on Sunday evening.
The Wizard of Wishaw dominated the tournament in Milton Keynes, seeing off Jordan Brown, Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson to reach the final, dropping just one frame along the way.
The Rocket looked likely to present a sterner test to him, but it only barely proved to be the case as Higgins strolled to a 10-3 victory over the world champion.
One of the finest players the sport has ever seen, it is no surprise to see the 45-year-old play well, but it was something of a shock to see him turn it on to that extent and absolutely decimate competition of the highest level.
The four-time world champion had not won a ranking event for three years, but after getting his hands on the trophy in such spectacular fashion on Sunday night, the Wizard fancies adding plenty more silverware to his already vast collection in the near future.
‘Amazing, if somebody had said to me that I was going to win it, I’d have thought it would be tough,’ Higgins told a press conference after lifting the title.
‘But the way I felt all week, the way I was in control, I’m thinking I can go on and win more now. It’s a funny feeling. I’ve got that monkey off my back of the last three years so now I can try and push on and add more titles if I’m feeling like this.
‘Throughout my career there’s been peaks and troughs but right now there’s no better feeling than sitting here. It’ just a shame your family and your friends are not here and the crowd’s not in. That’s the only downside.
‘I was coming here trying to get into the Tour Championship so I’ve managed to do that. This opens things up, gets me in the Champion of Champions, gets my ranking up there for the following year. You don’t want to lose touch with the top boys. It gives you a boost knowing that I’m going to be there for a couple of years now.’
Higgins will not play the Gibraltar Open this week but returns for the Tour Championship at Celtic Manor later this month and then attention will turn to Sheffield and the World Championship in April.
If the Wizard can conjure up more form like he did last week then he will be extremely hard to stop in South Yorkshire.
He feels that he has just produced the tournament of his life at the Players Championship, but is aiming to top it at the biggest event of all.
‘This is the best week so far in my career, but to win the Worlds for a fifth time, that would obviously top it,’ he said. ‘It’s going to be really difficult but listen, I’m going there now in a better frame of mind than I’ve done in previous years, so that’s a good thing.
‘I think it must have [sent a message]. I was maybe a player in the last couple of years that the top boys would come against thinking “well if he plays well he’s got a chance but if he doesn’t play well I can knock him over pretty easy.” So this must let everybody know that I’m still a contender.’
Ronnie O’Sullivan will certainly consider Higgins a contender for the World Championship after being on the wrong end of the one-sided scoreline on Sunday night.
The Rocket was not playing his best stuff and took on some fairly reckless shots at times, but was full of admiration for his conqueror at the conclusion of the contest.
‘John was just unbelievable, I’ve been watching his games all week. John was solid, scored well today and was just too good,’ O’Sullivan said on ITV.
O’Sullivan has now lost four ranking event finals this season (Picture: VCG via Getty Images)
‘John was strong, I knew I had to play well today and maybe I put a little bit of pressure on myself thinking that I had to play as well as I could to have a chance.
‘Once you don’t punish John when he’s playing as well as he is, you do a lot of sitting in your chair.
‘There’s not a lot you can do sometimes when someone’s as good as John and he’s tying you up in knots and making hundreds, you just have to sit it out and wait for an early night.
‘John was unbelievable this week fantastic, masterclass tonight and it’s great to see such a good player back winning. It’s good for snooker because that you don’t see very often. So I’m happy for John and his family.’
