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Simba SC's Erasto Nyoni was left a disappointed man after the newly crowned Mainland Premier League champions suffered a shock 3-2 defeat against Mbao FC at National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Thursday.

The Wekundu wa Msimbazi went into the league fixture beaming with confidence having beaten rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and also having been presented with the league trophy for winning the title for the third season in a row.

However, Mbao did not have any mercy for the champions as they scored goals courtesy of Rajab Rashid, Waziri Junior, and Donald John for the win while Simba scored via Meddie Kagere and Miraji Othman.

“In football, there is no big or small team, and the way we prepared this game was different from the way we did against Young Africans,” Nyoni is quoted by Daily News.

“All in all, we have lost and the next thing is to focus on Sunday’s match. “As a defender, I am upset with the outcome but Simba fans should not lose hope since we have other games coming ahead for us to do well.”

Meanwhile, Mbao coach Felix Minziro was happy with his charges for playing according to instructions and managing to come out with a huge win, their fifth straight league win this campaign.

“If we had lost today’s [Thursday] match, our chances of remaining in the league next season could have been over that is why we need to thank God for helping us to win,” Minziro also told Daily News.

“I have partial celebrations because despite winning five games in a row, we are still 19th on the table hence we need to produce another spirited performance against JKT Tanzania Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma in our next match.”

Simba will now take on Alliance at the National Stadium on Sunday while Mbao will come up against JKT Tanzania.

Mbao must win their remaining matches to be assured of keeping their status in the top-flight or else they will follow Singida United, who have already been relegated to the lower division.

Kalusha Bwalya and Toulouse winger Max Gradel have showered encomium on Leeds United after securing promotion to the Premier League on Friday.

The Peacocks’ return to the English top-flight was confirmed following West Bromwich Albion’s 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town at John Smith's Stadium.

The loss helped Marcelo Bielsa’s men to open a five-point lead at the top of the Championship table and with two games left to play, it is, thus, impossible for them finish below the top two.

The Peacocks last featured in the Premier League 16 years ago and have since struggled to return to the top-flight with no success.

Gradel featured for the side between 2009- 2011, initially on loan before the deal was made permanent and made 77 league appearances, scoring 25 goals for the side during his stay.

After leaving Leeds, he played for Saint-Etienne and Bournemouth before joining Toulouse in 2018, where he has featured in 57 games.

The 32-year-old winger has taken to social media to congratulate his former club on their return to the English top division.

“What a day for all Leeds United fans all over the world this is a special day today. Well done to all the players, coaches and staff and of course all the supporters for this amazing day,” Gradel tweeted.

Bwalya, meanwhile, has also joined millions of football enthusiasts in the world to praise the achievement of Leeds and his former manager Bielsa, who guided them to success.

“Congratulations to Leeds United for promotion to the Premier League. Congrats to my former coach Marcelo Bielsa who was always ahead of his time,” Bwalya tweeted.

Bwalya enjoyed success during his career, where he played for Cercle Brugge, PSV Eindhoven and America among other clubs.

The 56-year-old had 87 caps for Zambia and scored 39 goals before he ended his playing career and was named the 1988 Africa Player of the Year.

Simon Kjaer says that completing a permanent move to AC Milan is the realisation of a career-long ambition.

The 31-year-old centre-back has spent his career playing around Europe at the likes of Wolfsburg, Lille, Fenerbahce and Sevilla, but his goal was always to return to Serie A, where he made his breakthrough at the top level with Palermo.

Although he had subsequently spent temporary spells with Roma and Atalanta, on Wednesday it was confirmed his switch to Milan, where he had been since January after being loaned from Sevilla, has been made permanent.

“Milan is simply Milan. It has always been a special club for me,” Kjaer explained to Goal. “Since I went abroad as a young player 12 years ago and arrived in Palermo, this was simply the club for me. 

“Back then I told my agent that one day I would love to play in that red and black jersey. 

“It has been close a few times before, but now the timing was right. Milan is a gigantic club with a gigantic history. 

“I honestly believe that it is a privilege to play here and at the same time have the opportunity to help bring this club back to where we belong: to the top of Italian and European football.

“I had some good years in Sevilla, and it was great playing in La Liga and in the Champions League with this club. Sometimes things just change, and when many players come in, many players must leave, and that happened last summer. I wish everybody in and around the club all the best, and I know that they feel the same about me.”

That Milan moved to sign the Denmark international is perhaps no surprise given the success they have enjoyed with him in their side. Prior to Saturday's fixture with Bologna, eight of the 10 Serie A matches in which he has played have been won by the Rossoneri, who have suffered only one loss in the 14 competitive fixtures in which he has featured.

“Since I arrived in January, we have been working hard, developing as a team, and I have seen great progress,” he said. “We have a very young team with a lot of potential, and I believe that here in 2020 we have shown the way back to the top. It will demand a great deal of work from everybody, but I believe in a bright future for AC Milan. We have the history, the winning mentality, the passionate support of our fans, and great ambitions.”

Kjaer has been left particularly impressed by the atmosphere around the club and the city, and he explained that the players are missing the influence of the support in the stadium currently.

“You can sense football in the air in Milan - San Siro, Milanello, Casa Milan as the headquarters, supporters everywhere. Everything tells you that AC Milan is a great club, one of just a few global clubs with an amazing history and a great future,” he said. “I am happy that I will now be a part of this future, and I will give everything for this club.

“The fans have received me so well. Right now, because of the corona crisis, we miss them in San Siro, and everybody in football knows how much a great home crowd means to the players. But still we manage to get the great results even without their support in the stadium. We still play for them, even when they are not there.”

As one of the older members of the squad, Kjaer is shouldered with additional importance, but it is a challenge he embraces, having performed a similar task at international level.

“My role in Milan is pretty much the same as for Denmark,” he explained. “With my experience - also from being the Denmark captain - I am expected to take responsibility both on and off the pitch, and I enjoy that both as a person and as a player. When Milan came for me, I believed that I could help the team, and I immediately got the confidence from my coach.”

Meanwhile, he is excited what the future holds, particularly at international level, where he is set to lead a Denmark side undefeated in 90 minutes since 2016 (excluding a fixture in which an amateur side faced Slovakia), into a rescheduled Euro 2020 next summer.

“It is a great thought, especially after all these years in international football, that the next two years could actually be the most exciting of my whole career; playing for my dream club and with Denmark facing the Euros with our group games back home in Parken Stadium and then the World Cup in 2022,” he said.

Former Bidvest Wits midfielder Phumlani Ntshangase is close to completing a permanent move to Maritzburg United.

The 25-year-old player impressed while on loan at Maritzburg from Wits in the current season which has been suspended since last March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ntshangase is now a free agent after the Clever Boys decided against renewing his contract which expired at the end of last month.

His agent, Sizwe Ntshangase, who is not related to Phumlani, has now confirmed they have reached an agreement with Maritzburg as the club prepares for the 2020/21 campaign.

“I met with Farook Kadodia [the chairman of Maritzburg two weeks ago. We have an agreement between us but on principle," Sizwe told IOL.

“All there is left now is to put everything in writing. For now, we’ve had verbal agreements."

Wits have agreed to sell their Premier Soccer League (PSL) status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM), who are currently campaigning in the National First Division (NFD).

Tshakhuma will relocate the club from Gauteng to Limpopo once the deal is approved by the PSL.

Ntshangase has managed to revive his career at Maritzburg having fallen out of favour at the Clever Boys with coach Gavin Hunt preferring Cole Alexander, Phathutshedzo Nange and Thabang Monare ahead of him.

The former South Africa under-23 international, who also spent some time with SuperSport United on loan from Wits, has reunited with coach Eric Tinkler at Maritzburg.

Tinkler nurtured Ntshangase as a youngster in the Wits academy until he graduated to the senior side ahead of the 2014/15 campaign.

The defensive midfielder struggled with injuries in the first round of the current season after joining the KwaZulu-Natal side.

However, once he regained his fitness, Ntshangase enjoyed regular game time under Tinkler and he has since made 13 appearances across all competitions for Maritzburg.

The Durban-born player will be hoping to pick up where he left off when the season resumes soon in a Biologically Safe Environment (BSE) in Gauteng.

Maritzburg have a chance to finish in the top three as they are placed fifth on the PSL standings and they are only a point behind third-placed SuperSport.

The Manipur state government is set to hand a major financial boost to the three major clubs from the state - NEROCA, TRAU, and KRYPHSA FC.

The two I-League sides (NEROCA and TRAU) will be handed over INR 50 lakhs each for the upcoming season, while KRYPHSA will also receive a significant amount to participate in the IWL (India Women's League). 

"We have been told that we will receive INR 50 lakhs from the government. We are yet to receive the money, but hopefully, it will be credited soon," stated Manimohan Moirangthem, secretary of NEROCA, to Goal. 

The Orange Brigade has already started planning for the next season and the team-building process is in progress. The  All Manipur Football Association (AMFA) has mandated that players playing in I-League cannot play in the state league.

Hence, NEROCA is planning to field two separate teams that would compete in the two tournaments. While the more senior players will definitely play their trade in the I-League, it is likely that the academy players would form the team that would play in the state league. 

Liberian defender Varney Kallon will continue to feature for the club along with Ghanaian striker Philip Adjah in I-League. The rest of the foreign players are likely to be released.

The club is in advanced talks with another central defensive midfielder, who is extensive experience of playing in India. Coach Gift Raikhan will continue to lead the team. 

Marvin Philip (Trinidad), Boubacar Diarra and Ousmane Diawara (both from Mali) continue to be in Imphal as they are stuck due to the Coronavirus pandemic, unable to travel to their country.

Gokulam Kerala FC have signed Zodingliana Ralte and Chigakham Roshan from NEROCA, Goal can confirm. 

Ralte is a versatile player who can slot in a variety of positions in midfield and defence. In the previous I-League campaign for NEROCA, he was used by coach Gift Raikhan as a left-winger, left-back, and even at times as a central midfielder. He played in 11 matches and racked up 959 minutes. 

Although hailing from Mizoram, he made his professional debut with Shillong Lajong in 2013 in an I-League encounter against Mumbai FC. He also has a fair bit of experience of playing in the Indian Super League (ISL) as well. 

In 2014, he was loaned out to NorthEast United where he made 10 appearances for the Highlanders. In the following season, he was signed by Delhi Dynamos and where he took to the pitch 12 times getting over 1000 minutes under his belt. He was also part of FC Pune City.

He has also been part of the India under-14, under-16, and under-19 set-ups. 

Whereas, Roshan is a centre back who had his first share of top tier experience with NEROCA in the 2019-20 season. He has played NACO and KLASA in the Manipur state league. He has also represented Manipur in the Santosh trophy. It will be second season in I-League with Gokulam. 

The Malabarians have also agreed terms with 23-year-old winger Ngangom Ronald Singh. His I-League debut was in the 2017-18 season against Gokulam at Kozhikode, in which he scored a goal. In the previous season, he scored three goals in I-League for NEROCA. 

Do you consider yourself a huge fan of the Indian football? How abreast are you when it comes to developments in and around the Indian football ecosystem?

Quess has terminated their partnership with East Bengal. However, how much do you know about the two years that the Red and Golds had partnered the business service provider?

This edition of Goal 's 'Sharp Minds' quiz is for the fans of the Red and Golds.

As we see football take a backseat among the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, here's your chance to while away some time.

We will bring you a set of 10 questions, a mixture of easy and tough ones, every week on Indian football. Try answering them on your own (without googling, we hope) and see how much you know about Indian football.

Share your scores with others and showboat. The latest edition of Sharp Minds is right here. Have fun.

NOTE : You are welcome to contact us through social media, if you need any clarification on the answers. We will try, to the best of our abilities, to explain.

Jose Mourinho believes Tottenham need to be realistic when it comes to what they can do in the transfer market in the close season.

Spurs will miss out on Champions League qualification and, as it stands, need to finish sixth to be sure of Europa League qualification.

Tottenham trail sixth-placed Wolves by a point with two games to go but are on a four-game unbeaten run, which includes a North London derby win over Arsenal, who could deny Spurs European football by winning the FA Cup.

Asked about trying to attract players to the club without the lure of Champions League football, Mourinho said: "For some clubs it's easy, you break the rules, you spend the money and you get the players.

"For some, it's more difficult. You follow the rules. For this profile of club, the situation is more complicated.

"I knew what Tottenham is before I signed my contract. I had meetings with different people in the club. I think at that time we were 10-15 points behind the Champions League positions, so there are no surprises for me.

"We need to be realistic. I know where the best players in the world are, if we sit and have a coffee I can give you a shortlist of best players in the world by position.

"The most important thing is to be realistic, analyse the transfer market opportunities – the clubs that are willing to sell, the players in the last years of their contract. Clubs willing to have creative deals.

"I know exactly what we need and what we would like and I know how to be realistic.

"The club also knows me better than before, I think only [chairman] Mr [Daniel] Levy can say, but I think it's very easy to work with me.

"I am open, pragmatic. I like to do my reports to the club, project the future, so for me everything is written. It's quite easy to work with me.

"And when I am respectful and realistic, I think we are fine because we understand each other."

Spurs' final two Premier League matches come against Leicester City (home) and Crystal Palace (away).

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar said he was concerned about injuring himself in the 7-0 friendly rout of Waasland-Beveren as the Ligue 1 holders stepped up their preparations for the Champions League quarter-finals.

Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi were all on target in PSG's demolition of Belgian outfit Waasland-Beveren at Parc des Princes on Friday.

After Ligue 1 was ended prematurely in April amid the coronavirus pandemic and with the Champions League set to resume in August, PSG have returned to the field in a bid to be ready for the knockout tie against high-flying Atalanta – crushing Le Havre 9-0 last week.

PSG continued their flawless preparation at home to Waasland-Beveren in Paris, where Aleksandar Vukotic's own goal put the hosts ahead in the 21st minute before Neymar converted a penalty seven minutes later.

Icardi and Neymar combined for an audacious penalty attempt in the 47th minute, while Mbappe, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's brace and Loic Mbe Soh's last-gasp effort completed the scoring in the second half.

Reflecting on the result, Neymar was asked about the aggressive nature of Waasland-Beveren and he told beIN SPORTS: "Yes we were a little scared. We are here for a friendly match so those types of things should not have been happening.

"We are here to prepare ourselves, but also to be careful. But us too, we gave them a little bit back, so there are no problems."

Neymar added: "I was very happy to come back and play at home, with some fans as well. We are preparing little by little to get to the maximum then we will be in the finals [Champions League]. The rest is not very important."

PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, confirmed veteran defender Thiago Silva will remain captain until the end of his contract and the Champions League next month.

Silva, who renewed his contract to feature in the postponed Champions League, is set to leave PSG after eight years but the 35-year-old will keep the captain's armband before departing.

"Thiago Silva remains the captain until the last day when he is on the ground," Tuchel said post-match. "He's my captain!"

Kelechi Nwakali made a cameo appearance as Huesca secured their promotion to La Liga for the 2020-21 season on Friday.

Huesca defeated Numancia 3-0 to seal the second spot in the Segunda division table after their closest rivals Almeria and Real Zaragoza dropped points.

Following a goalless first-half at the Estadio El Alcoraz, Rafa Mir's brilliance in the second 45 minutes guided the hosts to triumph, scoring two goals and providing an assist for Shinji Okazaki's goal in the 78th minute.

Nwakali was introduced late in the game as an 89th-minute substitute for David Ferreiro - his fourth appearance for Michel's team since his permanent signing from Arsenal in September.

The 22-year-old who was named the Best Player at the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup, has played 57 minutes of football for Huesca across all competitions so far this season and they all came after the coronavirus lockdown.

After securing their 20th win in the second division, Huesca join league leaders Cadiz in grabbing the two slots for automatic promotion to La Liga with two points separating both teams.

They gathered 67 points from 41 matches and they visit Sporting Gijon for their final league match of the season on monday.

A few weeks ago, Nwakali who did not make any competitive appearance for Arsenal during his three-year stint at the club said he was committed to helping Huesca gain promotion after playing competitive action.

The Nigeria youth international previously had loan stints in the Netherlands with MVV Maastricht and VVV-Venlo, and in Portugal with Porto reserve team.

Frank Lampard has admitted to concerns that Manchester United are getting a run of VAR decisions in their favour ahead of Chelsea's FA Cup clash with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side at Wembley.

United have had a number of high profile decisions go in their favour this season, the most recent coming on Thursday when Crystal Palace's Jordan Ayew had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, before Victor Lindelof appeared to bring down Wilfried Zaha in the box but no penalty was given.

Palace chairman Steve Parrish complained on Twitter, saying “Is VAR broken?”

After Man United's 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge in February, Lampard complained about VAR ruling out a Kurt Zouma goal and missing a potential Harry Maguire red card incident.

"People said it would favour big teams maybe, because of the pressure or fan influence," Lampard told reporters on Friday. "But those days are gone. VAR has come in to try and change that, not just favouring teams but just to get the right decision.

"But there is always a human element to VAR, still, and clearly they have to make a decision. The confusing thing about some of the recent ones, and the one on Thursday night, is that it’s a very, very clear and obvious decision that was wrong and didn’t get reviewed and changed.

"A few of those have happened and that is strange. I would like to think that with VAR you have to be level headed. Some might go against you or not, but we seem to be in a period where, in terms of Manchester United, they’ve got a few in their favour. It would be nice if VAR worked in our favour in this one."

Indeed, Lampard had previously complained that Bruno Fernandes' penalty against Aston Villa shoudn't have been given, with VAR not overturning a contentious decision just over a week ago.

It was the third penalty United have won since the restart and Lampard admitted that he will tell his defenders not to dive in against their speedy attack.

"They have to be careful because when players of such high level, quality and speed of the Manchester United forwards travel quickly, you have to move your feet and not dive in on them," he said.

"That’s an important part of defending at any point in time, but [especially] when you understand the qualities of the opposition, with players like that.

"The players don’t have to give that. As a player, we can talk about VAR decisions and whether they’re right or wrong but if a player is going to dangle a leg and not move their feet, then you obviously do leave yourself open to penalties, VAR or no VAR."

Chelsea were knocked out of the Carabao Cup and lost both league games to Man United this season. However, Lampard wants his side to put revenge out of their minds and disagrees it is similar to the rivalry that developed between his previous club Derby County and Leeds United last season.

“That was a different circumstance; there was a lot more to that, a lot of off the field stuff," Lampard concluded. "When I say I’m not too concerned about it, of course, the detail of the game and knowing the quality of their players.

"They counter-attacked us at Old Trafford to great effect, pretty similar at the Bridge, so I won’t go short on those details. What I don’t want to get caught up in is that we must have revenge because of that.

"Because at the moment in the league we are fighting, we are one point ahead, it’s going to be tight, those three defeats are just part of our season, the Carabao Cup is long gone, the FA Cup is what is in front of us and we just respect them for what they are, a very good team with very good individuals, playing in great form.

"The Leeds one was clearly different because of outside things that happened, with Manchester United, it’s two big teams, going against each other and we want to win the game for what it is.”

Mikel Arteta says he has "full faith" in the Arsenal hierarchy ahead of what he accepts will be an "unique" transfer window.

Arsenal’s head coach was responding to comments made by former Gunners captain Tony Adams, who blasted the club’s recent record in the market and claimed that head of football Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu were "out of their depth" in north London.

“My fundamental issue is with recruitment,” Adams told talkSPORT. “I think the club is going through such a recruitment issue at the moment.

“Edu, I love him, he’s a beautiful man, it’s not personal, but he has no experience of building European squads. Even Raul Sanllehi, came from Barcelona, all the money in the world, it don’t look like he’s going to get money. Those people are out of their depth, I’m sorry.”

However Arteta has backed both men amid the criticism from Adams and says the club is united in what it wants to do when the transfer window opens later this month.

“I have full faith,” he said. “I have a really good relationship with Raul, with Edu, with Vinai [Venkatesham] and direct contact with the owners. We know what we want to do. That’s not the issue for sure.”

Arteta has spoken many times in recent weeks about the need to strengthen his squad to close what he has described as the ‘enormous’ gap that currently exists between Arsenal and the Premier League’s top two sides.

The Spaniard sees a central midfielder as a priority, with Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey his top target. He would also like to add another centre-back and an attacking midfielder before the start of next season.

Yet with so much uncertainty surrounding finances at present due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and with the club currently unsure of whether it will qualify for next season’s Europa League, Arteta accepts that concrete decisions can’t yet be made.

“We don’t know exactly what is going to happen or what we are going to be able to do, or not to do, to keep players or not to keep,” said Arteta.

“It will depend a lot on what we do on the pitch in the next three or four games. That is in our hands so we have to maximise that. After that we start to put all the question marks out as quick as possible to try to do what we want to do.”

Arteta added: “We don’t know the type of transfer market we are going to find. It is something unique, it never happened [before] and there are a lot of question marks around that.

“So we cannot stick to something that maybe is not possible to do, so we have to be flexible and creative in order not to react when that happens but to have clear ideas of: in that scenario, what do we need to do and how are we going to do it.”

Manchester City finished the Premier League season as runners-up to runaway champions Liverpool, but will try and reclaim their throne next campaign with their brand-new jersey collection.

Goal has the latest information about the Citizens' 2020-21 shirts - home, away and third - as well as when they're expected to be fully released and more.

New 2020-21 football kits: Chelsea, Bayern Munich & all the top clubs' shirts & jerseys revealed

Man City's 2020-21 home kit

The Etihad club released their latest home strip under Puma on July 16, the signature light blue design inspired by the artwork of legendary figures as seen in Manchester's iconic Northern Quarter.

The kit sports the club's trademark sky blue hue with a mosaic pattern alongside navy accents, with the look completed by white shorts and light blue socks.

“We did our research,” Puma's senior designer, Ulrich Planer, told Goal. “We dived into the history of Manchester and there are so many things we can pull out of the city.

“We want to give the fans a design that only Manchester City can wear - and not any other team around the world.”

Man CIty will debut their brand-new kit during Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, with purchase available to fans potentially in late July.

Lifelong City supporter Mark Kennedy is the artist responsible for the artwork around the city's Northern Quarter, telling Goal: “All my childhood was spent watching City. To get out of working in a factory, if you had anything about you, you had to be a musician, a footballer or a boxer.

“I went to see The Fall and The Buzzcocks and I made the commitment to be a musician. During the '80s my whole stock was music. I used to go to matches with [The Fall lead singer] Mark E Smith and never thought for one minute that my love for them would take me back to sport. But I ended going to City matches with him and that’s what happened, it all came back to City.”

Man City 2020-21 away kit & release date

Pep Guardiola's side have not unveiled their away kit yet, but judging from leaks circulating online, it is set to be predominantly blue and black with yet another mosaic-inspired pattern.

The blue pattern is likely to have been inspired by the buildings found in the Castlefield area of Manchester, with the logos emblazoned in gold.

Man City's away kit is expected to be announced in late July, along with the third kit.

Man City's 2020-21 third kit & release date

The Sky Blues' third strip has not been announced but online leaks suggest that the club will be continuing the patterned look - this time with paisleys against a dominantly white background.

Their third kit is expected to be launched in late July.

Martin Keown says Arsenal should be looking at Danny Ings in case Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaves the club this summer.

Aubameyang has hit 64 goals in 104 games for Arsenal since moving to Emirates Stadium from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018.

The Gabon international has solidified his reputation as one of Europe's top strikers in the process, but as it stands, he will become a free agent in 2021.

Arsenal have yet to tie the 31-year-old down to fresh terms, and he gave a non-committal update on his future following the team's 4-0 win over Norwich on July 1.

He told BT Sport: "We’re going to talk to the club and we’ll see what happens.

"First of all I'm really focused on the games and the end of the season so we'll see."

Ex-Gunners defender Keown is still hoping that Aubameyang extends his stay in north London, but if not, he believes Southampton talisman Ings would be the ideal replacement.

Ings has found the net in 20 of his 36 Premier League outings in 2019-20, emerging as arguably the finest centre-forward outside of English football's top six clubs.

When asked to discuss the possibility of the 27-year-old ending up at the Emirates, Keown told Talksport: “Danny Ings has been outstanding. He presses really well, he’s hard-working, Southampton are lucky to have him.

“I think while Ralph Hasenhuttl is there they’ll keep him, because the two together are a little bit special. Ings is rewarding Southampton for the way they stood by him and gave him another chance and now he can’t stop scoring.

“He could slot in anywhere, there would be a lot of clubs that would be interested in this fella if he became available. He’s doing it now at the highest level.

“If Aubamyeng left would Arsenal be an option? When you’ve got 20 goals to your name then everybody is interested in you, especially if suddenly you need a striker.

“There’s no doubt the top clubs will be really interested in what he does and he’s still young enough to get better and develop.

“I would rather have Aubameyang, but if Aubameyang is gone you need goals, you’ve got to have players in your team that give you belief you will win games, and Ings is one of those.

“So yeah, I don’t think I’d be turning him away. I’d be definitely looking at him as a player Arsenal should be interested in.”