The Croatian posted a WhatsApp conversation he and his teammate had after the winger mistakenly sent him the image that he would later upload on Instagram himself.

Lovren had a bit of a joke with the two-time Golden Boot winner as he claimed that he was flexing his muscles and breathing in to enhance his physique.

The centre-back certainly does have a point in his messages. Salah has no reason to be posing topless in mid-September as the weather in the north of England definitely doesn’t warrant stripping off.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

James Forrest is a target for Zenit St. Petersburg, as the Russians prepare a £12m bid for the winger, according to The Scottish Sun.

What’s the story?

Zenit are looking to bring Forrest to Russia for a £12m fee and a staggering £70,000 per-week deal for the player.

Per the report, those at Parkhead won’t welcome any bid for such an important player in the wake of losing another star man, with Kieran Tierney heading to Arsenal.

With Forrest stating how he happy he is at Celtic Park and having a contract until 2022, it’s unlikely that this deal will go ahead. Yet, given the money already splashed by the Russian side this summer, it would be no surprise if they at least try to test Celtic’s resolve with a bid.

Irreplaceable

Forrest has already shown his importance to the side the season, scoring a pivotal leveller against CFR Cluj in the Champions League qualifiers and the killer strike in Celtic’s topsy-turvy 5-2 win against Motherwell last weekend.

And this is no purple patch. The 28-year-old has been a key player for the Celts and was their player of the season last term, an incredible achievement when you consider the competition around him.

Not only has he developed into a match-winner in the past few years, but he’s been a manager’s dream too.

He’s shown he’s not afraid to sacrifice himself as a right-wing back if Neil Lennon looks to play three in defence. The boss has opted to use Forrest in this role a few times this season, and he’s done well each time.

The reason he’s had to play out of position is to help Lennon ease in new arrivals. Hatem Abd Elhamed has just begun to establish himself in the side, but for the opening few games of the season, Forrest was the only player trusted on the right-hand side.

Now though, he can help ease the Israeli into the side and revert back to his more dangerous role as an out-and-out winger.

In a period of great change this summer, keeping hold of the likes of Forrest and Callum McGregor is so important to a club on the cusp of history.

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Following Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp had some positive words for Magpies forward Joelinton.

Indeed, in quotes carried by The Chronicle, Klopp said that the striker was “outstanding” at Anfield and is “100% made for the Premier League”.

The 23-year-old has scored once in five Premier League appearances for Steve Bruce’s side in the early stages of the 2019/20 campaign.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And a number of Newcastle fans have been on social media discussing the Brazilian.

There are those who feel that Joelinton will prove a success at the club – ultimately scoring the goals to keep the team in the Premier League.

That said, there are also plenty of Newcastle supporters who feel that the South American is not the answer to the club’s goalscoring problems.

It will certainly be interesting to see how many times Joelinton manages to find the net between now and the end of the campaign.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Declan Rice has faced criticism from England supporters following his performance against Bulgaria, as reported by The Daily Star.

He was also given a rating of 6 by The Telegraph, who added: “Possibly a surprising selection ahead of Harry Winks, Rice does not offer the quality of passing of the Tottenham man but he is a disciplined performer.”

However, the statistics provided by FootballTalentScout dispel some of the things claimed, showing how instrumental he actually was:

It was also added that Rice made the most tackles and interceptions of any England player, though what will be most surprising to the doubters is that he made more forward passes than anyone else.

There weren’t many Hammers fans who were doubting him, so it is good to see this backed up with hard statistics – impressive ones at that.

As well as FootballTalentScout’s statistics, his performance was backed up by WhoScored, who had him down as the fourth-best player on the pitch with a rating of 8.1, behind Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley.

A selection of Twitter reaction to the statistics, including posts from supportive West Ham fans, can be seen below:

West Ham fans, how integral is Rice for club and country? Join the discussion by commenting below…

سجل فريق فولهام الهدف الأول في مباراته أمام ليفربول في الجولة السابعة والعشرين من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز لموسم 2020/2021.

ويحتضن ملعب “أنفيلد” المباراة بين ليفربول وفولهام، بدون حضور الجماهير تحت قيادة الحكم، كيفن فريند.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كلوب يعلن سبب إجراء 7 تغييرات في تشكيل ليفربول أمام فولهام

وجاء الهدف بعد خطأ ساذج من مهاجم ليفربول ومنتخب مصر، محمد صلاح، الذي فشل في التحكم في الكرة على حدود منطقة جزاء الريدز.

واستغل لاعب وسط فولهام، ماريو ليمنيا، خطأ محمد صلاح وخطف الكرة وسجل هدف فريقه الأول قبل نهاية الشوط الأول.

شاهد هدف فولهام الأول في مرمى ليفربول

Celtic fans would love to see former loanee Filip Benkovic back at Parkhead, after he was left to play with Leicester’s Under-23 side.

The defender spent last season on loan at Celtic Park, impressing in a spell that was blighted by an ankle injury. The centre-back played 27 times for the Celts, and plenty of supporters would like to see him add to that tally in this campaign.

The former Dinamo Zagreb man played the full 90 minutes for the Foxes’ U-23 team on Monday, but could only inspire his side to a 1-1 draw with Blackburn, and the Hoops faithful simply can’t believe that such a talented player isn’t in the senior side.

Watch Celtic Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

With just under two weeks left of the window, Neil Lennon’s men are likely to add a few new faces before the September 2 deadline, and with the defensive deficiencies rearing their ugly head last week against Cluj, fans are hoping Benkovic is one of those faces.

These fans would love to see him back in the Hoops, even if it does mean dealing with former manager Brendan Rodgers. It’s safe to say their ex-Boss isn’t on the best of terms with the Parkhead faithful after his exit in February.

Here’s what they had to say about a potential Benkovic reunion on Twitter…

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What does the future hold for Shkodran Mustafi and Mohamed Elneny?

If it wasn’t already clear that they were not part of manager Unai Emery’s plans after they hadn’t featured at all in the first two games of the campaign, the former Sevilla boss’ recent comments have made it absolutely crystal what he thinks of them.

The 47-year-old said, “Really, I want players to be happy here. I want players to be protagonists here. Last year, for example, with Mustafi and with Mo, when they did not play, they were not happy.

Is the Arsenal player in the video below the man Liverpool should fear most on Saturday?…

“I spoke with them a lot of times last year and in this pre-season. I think it’s positive for them to leave and to sign for another team where they can be protagonists, they can be happy and they can continue in their careers as very big players. They are very big players.”

As such, it seems clear that the two will be leaving the Emirates Stadium before the end of the transfer window. Should they depart, it would bring an end to three years in north London for Mustafi and three-and-a-half for Elneny.

The two are not huge favourites with the club’s supporters, the Germany international in particular receiving criticism for his performances in the past. Therefore, some Gunners fans are delighted with the update, and have praised Emery for his ruthlessness and honesty.

They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments below.

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Unfortunately, Dalot couldn’t have picked a worse kit to pose in.

The famous grey away shirt from the 1995/96 season is infamous in United lore for being one of the worst kits the club have ever produced.

United actually never won a game in that strip, and its most notable appearance came in a 3-1 loss to Southampton.

Alex Ferguson found his side 3-0 down at half-time against the Saints, and in one of the Premier League’s classic moments, he forced his team to change into another strip at half-time.

The kit supposedly made it difficult for players to see each other, and United were subsequently fined £10,000 for switching at half-time.

Although Dalot will have wanted to invoke memories of a happier time at Old Trafford with his Instagram post, he has chosen the worst possible kit to make that statement, and any old-school United fan who comes across the snap will be tormented by the memories of their club’s worst ever kit.

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عزز صلاح محسن، لاعب فريق الكرة الأول بالنادي الأهلي، تقدم المارد الأحمر على حساب مضيفه الإسماعيلي في اللقاء الذي أقيم بينهما اليوم.

المباراة أقيمت على ملعب استاد برج العرب بالإسكندرية في اطار مؤجلات الجولة 12 من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز.

فيديو | بدر بانون يسجل هدف الأهلي الأول أمام الإسماعيلي

وأحرز صلاح محسن هدفه في الدقيقة 87 بعد انطلاقة سريعة من وسط الملعب لينفرد بالحارس محمد فتحي، ويسدد على يسراه مسجلًا الهدف الثاني لفريقه.

وكان بدر بانون قد سجل هدف الأهلي الأول في الدقيقة 71 من عمر اللقاء، عن طريق ركلة جزاء نجح في تنفيذها بعدما احتسبت بعد اللجوء لتقنية الفار لصالح محمد شريف.

ويخوض الأهلي مباراته وهو محتل المركز الثالث في ترتيب الدوري برصيد 24 نقطة، فيما يقع الإسماعيلي في المركز السادس عشر برصيد 10 نقاط. هدف الأهلي الثاني أمام الإسماعيلي

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

As quoted by The Liverpool Echo, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he got his team selection and tactics wrong for the win over Newcastle on Saturday.

What did he say?

The German sprung a surprise in his selection by choosing Divock Origi ahead of Roberto Firmino, and then using Sadio Mane as the central striker.

Origi’s injury forced him off before half-time, and Firmino’s introduction turned the game in the Reds’ favour. Speaking after the game, Klopp revealed the Brazilian’s “creative edge” made all the difference, and acknowledged his mistake.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “It is significant he (Firmino) provided a creative edge when he came on. It was my idea to start with Sadio in the centre. That didn’t work really well. It has done in the past but today against such a deep defending side, it was a bit different. That’s why we changed it already in the game (before Origi’s injury). Then Bobby came on in his natural position. Sadio really flexible in that space, Mo really strong in one-on-ones all day.

“When we use Mo more often for balls in his feet and one-twos in and around the box we were really in charge of the game. We won a lot of second balls and there weren’t as many counter-attacks. It was then a really good game.”

Unnecessary experimentation

Whilst winning the Champions League again would be a remarkable achievement, surely ending the club’s long wait for the Premier League title is the priority this season? It is that debate that makes the decision to drop Firmino to the bench all the more baffling. Surely the Reds would be better off picking their strongest line-up in the league, and then rotating for European games? Especially when outside of Napoli, one would expect them to coast through a relatively easy group.

If Klopp has any plans of overhauling Manchester City this year, they simply cannot afford any slip-ups. Origi may forever be etched into Anfield folklore for his exploits last season, but he is a serious downgrade on Firmino. The Reds looked a shadow of their real selves when the Belgian was playing against the Magpies, and so Liverpool must be far smarter in deciding which competitions they look to rotate for.

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