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Chelsea took one step closer to the English Premier League title on Saturday evening with a comfortable 3-1 victory away to Bournemouth.

Goals from Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso came after an Adam Smith own goal had given them the lead. Bournemouth equalised just before half-time but the Blues were too strong in the second half and maintained their seven point lead over Tottenham Hotspur.

With just seven games remaining in the season, Chelsea are now on the brink of glory in Antonio Conte’s first season in charge at the club.

Central to their success across the majority of the season has been Diego Costa, whose lightning form in the first half of the campaign fired the Stamford Bridge side into such a strong position heading into 2017.

However, he’s now gone five matches without a goal for the club and definitely looks a different player compared to those swashbuckling performances earlier in the season that left supporters delighted.

After rumoured rifts and potential moves to China, he hasn’t quite been the same player.

Another particularly poor performance against Bournemouth on Saturday got Chelsea tongues wagging about his future.

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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With just eight games of their Premier League campaign remaining, Manchester United fans are likely already looking ahead to a summer transfer window which should see Jose Mourinho break all kinds of spending records once again at Old Trafford.

Indeed, the Red Devils have made real progress under the Portuguese this year but they’re still some way off being the perfect Mourinho side, so expensive additions this summer seem largely inevitable should the Special One aim to bring United back to the dizzying heights of the Sir Alex Ferguson era next season.

One target mooted by the tabloids is Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, who won a La Liga title under Mourinho during their three years together at Real Madrid. The United boss is reportedly eyeing a reunion this summer, capitalising on the 84-cap German international’s ongoing contract saga in north London.

But Ozil hasn’t convinced everybody since arriving in the Premier League four years ago, so we asked United fans earlier this week whether they’d back a swoop for the attacking midfielder. And according to the results of our exclusive poll, a significant 57% would rather Mourinho spent his money

elsewhere.

Do you agree? Let us know by commenting below!

Manchester United discovered on Friday afternoon that they will face La Liga side Celta Vigo in the semi-final of the Europa League.

Jose Mourinho’s side avoided Ajax and Lyon in the draw as they attempt to win their second piece of silverware of the season.

The EFL Cup winners will face a team that will be competing in the semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history.

Celta edged into the final four with a 4-3 aggregate triumph over Genk, while United left it late to seal their progression.

A 1-1 draw with Anderlecht in Brussels set the quarter-final second leg up nicely, but it took just 10 minutes for United to score at Old Trafford and put themselves in the driving seat.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s opener was cancelled out by Sofianne Hanni just after the half-hour mark, and after a few disallowed goals from United, the match moved into extra time.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s knee injury caused some concern, but Marcus Rashford took on the responsibility and found the winner.

The fact that the winner of the competition earns a spot in next season’s Champions League adds more importance to the campaign.

Once the draw was announced, United fans tweeted their thoughts.

According to reports from The Sun, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is eyeing a shock transfer swoop for Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma.

The France international had established himself as arguably the most promising young defender in the Premier League during Jose Mourinho’s second spell at Stamford Bridge, but he’s barely featured since picking up a serious injury at the tail-end of last season.

Indeed, even with Antonio Conte deploying three centre-backs this term, Zouma has made just two Premier League starts – and it appears Mourinho is now looking to capitalise on the situation.

As a collective, United have defended well on the most-part this season. But Mourinho has struggled to find a dependable option at the heart of defence, with Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind featuring there throughout the campaign.

So, United fans, would you back a summer swoop for Zouma, or should the Old Trafford gaffer steer clear of the injury-plagued 22-year-old? Let us know by voting below…

Celtic are just three matches way from going the entire league season unbeaten. It sounds absurd to say, even in a league that isn’t as competitive as most others in Europe, but it’s true.

Along the way they’ve picked up a League Cup, they’re into a Scottish Cup final and they have thrashed their arch-rivals Rangers on multiple occasions.

All that and more in Brendan Rodgers’ first season in charge. Not bad eh?

There is one team left that can spoil it all though and that’s Aberdeen. Not only do the Dons host Celtic on Friday night, but will go head-to-head with the Hoops at Hampden at the end of May in that showpiece final.

Pittodrie is never an easy place to go and for Celtic it’s one of the last big challenges between themselves and history.

Having fielded a more experimental team last week, it’s time for Rodgers to return to his strongest possible line-up.

Here are four changes the Celtic Park boss must make if he’s to get a result against a determined Aberdeen side…

Sinclair in for Johnston

Michael Johnston barely put a foot wrong last week against St Johnstone, excelling for the hour he was on the pitch. Ultimately though you can’t deny Scott Sinclair is by far the most effective attacking midfielder at the club and Brendan Rodgers needs his best players on the pitch if they are to secure a result against Aberdeen.

Sinclair has been in lethal form this season picking up player of the year awards at both club and national level.

With 25 goals in total in all competitions, he actually has an outside shot of ending up the club’s top goalscorer for the season. With Moussa Dembele out injured and on 32 goals, Sinclair may be extra motivated to chase that total down in the four games remaining.

Regardless, he is the Hoops’ big danger man and must start on Friday night.

Gamboa in for Ralston

Only Scott Brown and Craig Gordon have started more games than Mikael Lustig this season and as such he was rested for the clash against St Johnstone last week. With the Hoops needing him at peak form and fitness for the Scottish Cup final, we see no reason to bring him back in for the Pittodrie clash although the Hoops likely need a bit more experience at right-back than the young Anthony Ralston.

Ralston was a stand out in that match against St Johnstone, playing the entire 90 minutes and receiving plaudits from his manager and supporters after the game.

Aberdeen away is a different kettle of fish though and Cristian Gamboa is more than able back-up for Lustig. The Costa Rican international has done a job when required this season and in a match where the Dons may seek to take the initiative, Gamboa’s pace and ability to counter-attack quickly could prove vital.

McGregor in for Rogic

Tom Rogic had a terrific first half of the season but in the vacuum of his three month absence, Callum McGregor has stepped up and made the attacking central midfield area his own. Rogic was looking back to his best for the most part against St Johnstone, starting the game and looking a menace in the first half.

However, it was when McGregor came off the bench to replace him that the Hoops clicked into another gear and the Scottish midfielder went on to score a beautiful mazy run goal to the delight of supporters.

That made it three goals in three weeks and he’s surely done enough to win a spot in the starting line-up at Pittodrie.

McGregor also offers more defensively than Rogic, always tracking back and tackling effectively. That could be key in what will likely be a big midfield tussle in the absence of Scott Brown.

Forrest in for Roberts

Patrick Roberts is arguably at the peak of his form in a Celtic shirt right now but in the rough and tumble of a Friday night fixture at Pittodrie, we see James Forrest as a more pragmatic choice on the right hand side of midfield.

Forrest has improved greatly in a defensive sense this season, finally putting the hard work required in to help his team out when out of possession.

It’s an area of Roberts’ game that isn’t the strongest and given Aberdeen may see more possession than Celtic are used to from the opposition, it makes sense to bring in a player who will do the hard work off the ball.

Forrest is no slouch in an attacking sense either and has proved consistent across the campaign.

Roberts coming off the bench could also prove to be a game changing moment should Celtic be struggling. When best to unleash the young winger than when legs are tired and space is opened up in the closing stages of the game?

Last week, the Premier League’s transfer rumour columns were awash with reports of Manchester United being offered Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez in a £50million transfer deal.

No doubt, the Colombian international is a fantastic talent, proving as much at the 2014 World Cup, but spending big since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement hasn’t got the Old Trafford outfit very far – in fact, it’s seen them regress.

Likewise, the more United target Galactico-style signings, the less chances they’ll be able to afford young players looking to break into the first team, such as Andreas Pereira who has enjoyed a decent loan spell with Granada this term, despite them plummeting out of La Liga.

With that in mind, we asked Manchester United supporters last week who’d they prefer to be Jose Mourinho’s main No.10 next season, considering the Portuguese doesn’t always use the role when making his team selections.

And according to our poll, more than two thirds would prefer to see the young Brazilian be given a chance at his parent club next term, rather than United splashing out £50million on Rodriguez this summer.

Is Mourinho ready to allow the young midfielder that opportunity, however? We’ll have to wait and see.

Newcastle United have been linked with a shock swoop for Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi, and the fans have given mixed reactions.

The Mirror has reported that Magpies boss Rafael Benitez is keen to sign the Belgian on a season-long loan.

The 23-year-old joined Chelsea from Marseille last year for a fee thought to be in the region of £33m, but he struggled for first-team action under manager Antonio Conte.

Batshuayi made 27 appearances in all competitions, but started just one Premier League game, which was handed to him after Chelsea had already secured the title.

Nine goals were scored by the Belgian, and if reports are to be believed, Benitez thinks that Batshuayi can spearhead Newcastle’s attack in the club’s return to the top flight.

The club seem to be firm admirers of the striker as The Mirror claims that the Magpies have been keeping tabs on him since he was at Marseille.

Plenty of Newcastle fans are excited by the reports, while others are not convinced that the rumours are genuine.

The coming summer transfer window is unquestionably a vital one for Liverpool. Whilst they showed fantastic form in the first half of the season, the Reds slowed up throughout the remainder of the campaign – and they now have the congestion of Champions League fixtures to contend with as well.

In a nutshell, Jurgen Klopp must improve a squad that had to wait until the final day of the campaign to qualify for the Champions League and will now take part in it too, with the central striker role perhaps being the most obvious position requiring his attention.

Whilst Roberto Firmino has proved an incredibly effective unorthodox option, Liverpool lack that out-and-out goalscorer with the exception of Daniel Sturridge – whose future on Merseyside appears to be unclear.

Two names have already been mooted in the press. While The Express claim Liverpool could swoop for Alexandre Lacazette after netting 28 times for Lyon this season, The Independent have reported on their interest in Red Bull Leipzig prodigy Timo Werner.

With that in mind, we asked Liverpool fans earlier this week who their club should sign – the eleven-cap Frenchman or the free-scoring German. And according to our poll, the majority of Liverpool fans – 60% – would prefer to see Klopp swoop for Lacazette this summer.

A huge twist in the transfer window has left some Manchester United fans feeling slightly disappointed.

BBC Sport, along with a handful of other media outlets, have claimed that a £75m deal has been agreed between United and Everton for striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian international had been heavily linked to his former club Chelsea, but it seems as though the Red Devils are leading the chase.

The reports have claimed that manager Jose Mourinho wants the transfer finalised before the club jet off to the United States for pre-season training this Sunday.

As a result, the club have now reportedly ended their pursuit of Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata.

Earlier this week, Marca reported that the Spanish attacker was closing in on a move to Old Trafford after United upped their bid to €75m (£65.7m).

However, today’s reports have indicated that the proposed deal is dead, which has left some fans feeling disappointed.

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Romelu Lukaku isn’t the only top talent Everton look set to lose this summer. As well as the potentially Manchester United-bound Belgium international, midfielder Ross Barkley has decided against extending his contract at Goodison Park – with his current terms due to expire at the end of next season.

That suggests the 22-cap England international will be moving on before the summer transfer window slams shut; the problem, however, is that Everton are reportedly demanding £50million for his services.

According to The Sun, Tottenham are interested in signing the 23-year-old, who bagged six goals and eight assists in the Premier League last season, but don’t have any plans to meet Everton’s lofty valuation.

With that in mind, we asked Spurs fans earlier this week how much they think their club should pay for Barkley and according to our poll, the majority believe his current worth lays somewhere between the £20million and £30million mark.

Whether Everton will eventually come down on their valuation remains to be seen, however – so who would you target as an alternative to Barkley, Tottenham fans? Let us know by commenting below…

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