Out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur defender Kevin Wimmer sent out a social media post on Sunday thanking the fans for their support and stated that he was looking forward to next season.

The Austria international was speaking after Spurs beat Hong Kong Premier League champions Kitchee 4-1 in a post-season friendly, and he praised the north London outfit for another impressive campaign in which they once again came close to winning the Premier League title.

It wasn’t such a successful personal campaign for the 24-year-old though, who made just 11 appearances in all competitions as he struggled to compete with the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier in the backline.

Tottenham supporters were quick to have their say on the post from the centre-back, and they asked him to stay at the club and believe that he will get more opportunities under Mauricio Pochettino next season.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Bolton Wanderers boss Phil Parkinson has emerged as frontrunner to succeed Garry Monk as Leeds United manager.

The Yorkshire outfit were shocked by the resignation of Monk last month with the 38-year-old and new owner Andrea Radrizzani unable to come to an agreement over extending his initial 12-month rolling contract, and it means the Whites are looking for their seventh permanent manager in just the last three years.

After a number of disappointing seasons of finishing mid-table in the Championship, Leeds found themselves in the play-off positions for the majority of the campaign before a poor run of form at the end of the season saw them finish seventh.

Radrizzani will be aware that his new man needs to be able to build on that progress if the club are to finally return to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

Here are three reasons Leeds must not appoint Parkinson as their new manager…

Wasted opportunity

Having only narrowly missed out on the play-off positions and with key players like Chris Wood and Pontus Jansson in their ranks as well as a new owner, it seems like a great opportunity for Leeds to make a statement and try and appoint a high-profile or experienced manager at this level.

If they do, the new candidate would be able to build on the progress of this season and add new faces to the squad to freshen it up and have another crack at promotion.

Parkinson certainly wouldn’t fit under that criteria and with all due respect, he would probably be something of an underwhelming appointment for the supporters and the players.

Championship experience

While he may have won promotion on three occasions – once from League Two and twice from League One – Parkinson has little experience and success of managing in the Championship.

When he has with Hull City and Charlton Athletic he didn’t fare too well, only winning four league matches with the Tigers before being sacked in December 2006 with the club in the relegation zone.

Then he was handed the job with the Addicks on a permanent basis in December 2008 despite failing to win any of eight caretaker matches in charge previously, but he couldn’t prevent the Londoners suffering relegation to third tier for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Expectations

While he did brilliantly with Bolton this season and finally succeeded in bringing Bradford City back to League One in 2013, Parkinson’s spells in charge of Hull City and Charlton are worrying.

The 49-year-old would have been under pressure to get results at both clubs but that is nothing to what would be expected of him at Elland Road.

The passionate supporters travel in their thousands away from home and demand and deserve good performances, and it takes a strong manager to deal with that.

Question marks certainly remain over whether Parkinson has the character and charisma required to be a success with Leeds.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.

West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell has said that Pablo Zabaleta will bring ‘quality, loyalty and experience’ to the Hammers after joining from Manchester City earlier this summer.

Zabaleta spent nine years with Man City between 2008 and 2017, making more than 330 appearances and winning two Premier League titles during his time at the Etihad Stadium.

West Ham won the race to sign the 32-year-old following his release from Man City, and Cresswell has revealed that he cannot wait to play alongside the Argentine at the London Stadium during the 2017-18 campaign.

Cresswell told West Ham’s official website:

“Watching him throughout his time with Manchester City, which was nearly a decade, the things Pablo Zabaleta did for that club were fantastic, winning Premier League titles cups and the like.

“He will now bring those qualities, his loyalty and experience to West Ham and his presence will only help us, not only his fellow defenders but the whole team.

“His quality is there for all to see, so he is a great addition to the squad. Pablo will not only make his presence felt on the pitch, but his experience will rub off on the young lads around the training ground.”

Man City paid just under £7m to sign Zabaleta from La Liga outfit Espanyol in the summer of 2008, with the versatile defender said to have turned down an offer from Italian giants Juventus to move to England.

The Argentine international only started 11 Premier League games last season after struggling with injury, although he did start five times in the Champions League.

According to reports in The Sun, Leeds United are in talks to sign free agent midfielder Vurnon Anita after he was released by Newcastle United last month.

Despite featuring 31 times for the Magpies as they won the Championship title and made an immediate return to the Premier League, Rafa Benitez decided it wasn’t enough to hand the versatile 28-year-old – who can also play at full-back – a contract extension.

The Dutchman is now looking for a new club and The Sun says Whites boss Thomas Christiansen is keen to bring him to Elland Road this summer, as he looks to build on Leeds’ seventh-place finish last time out by mounting a promotion push next term.

Leeds supporters were quick to have their say on the potential deal via social media, with many questioning whether they needed another central midfield or full-back option.

However, while some acknowledged that he would be a good signing, others felt that he could be “another waste of space” in the squad.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Former Manchester United player Dion Dublin has claimed that the club’s new signing Romelu Lukaku is not quite the finished product just yet.

The Red Devils announced at the weekend that they have agreed a deal with Everton to sign the Belgian forward.

Lukaku was heavily linked to his former club Chelsea, but he will now fill the void left by Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Old Trafford.

The striker was Everton’s main man last season, eventually ending the campaign with an impressive 25-goal haul.

While Dublin believes that Lukaku is a great “prospect”, he is not convinced that he possesses the same threat as that of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

The England forward picked up his second consecutive Golden Boot at the end of last season after finding the back of the net 29 times in the Premier League.

He told talkSPORT:

“As a centre-forward, I don’t think there’s a box [Lukaku] doesn’t tick. Harry Kane, for me, ticks every single box. Lukaku is maybe just half a notch off Harry Kane. I believe Lukaku is the biggest prospect in the Premier League, and can get better – a lot better.”

Meanwhile, Everton did not leave empty-handed as they secured the return of their former player Wayne Rooney from United on a separate deal.

The 31-year-old, who began his career at Goodison Park, has signed a two-year deal with the Merseyside outfit.

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As reported by The Daily Mail, Newcastle United are interested in signing West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian this summer.

What’s the story?

The Magpies have already signed four players this summer but Rafa Benitez still has a bit of work to do on his squad if they’re to be capable of a comfortable finish in the English Premier League next term.

One position it looks like he’ll be strengthening is between the sticks, with a potential move for a top-flight goalkeeper in the offing.

That’s according to The Daily Mail, who say that Newcastle are interested in signing West Ham United man Adrian.

Despite Darren Randolph moving to Middlesbrough, The Mail reckon that the Hammers are willing to let the Spaniard leave too after completing a season-long loan deal for Joe Hart.

Rated at £6.8m by Transfermarkt, the goalkeeper will find his chances limited at the London Stadium now Hart has arrived.

The right choice?

Shopping for goalkeepers can be notoriously difficult but in Adrian, Newcastle would at least be signing a number one with a proven track record in the English Premier League.

He’s made 106 top-flight appearances since joining from Real Betis in 2013, keeping 29 clean sheets, which isn’t a half bad record for a team that isn’t exactly pushing for top four places.

He started the majority of Premier League games last term, 22 in total, and although West Ham have seemingly moved onto other options, he could be a quality pick for Newcastle United in their quest to bolster depth in the position and bring out the competitive streak in their existing goalkeepers.

Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur to the signing of Willian in the summer of 2013, with the Brazilian making the move to England after a short spell at Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.

The attacker has scored 31 times in 181 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, managing 23 goals in the last two seasons after becoming a key part of the club’s first XI.

It would be fair to say that Willian is extremely popular with the Chelsea supporters, not just because of his goals, but also his attitude. Indeed, when a number of his teammates went missing during the 2015-16 season, the 43-time Brazil international came to the forefront.

Willian turned 29 on Wednesday, and as is often the case with club’s Twitter accounts these days, there was a happy birthday message waiting for the versatile attacker.

As expected, there were some responses from Chelsea fans signalling the need for more new signings ahead of the start of the Premier League this weekend, but the majority came from those paying their respects to the popular forward.

To celebrate 25 years of the Premier League, FootballFanCast are looking back each week at a memorable game that took place on the corresponding date. This time out we revisit the most unexpected of massacres.

On August 28th 2011 one of the most fractious, fiercely fought and utterly engrossing divisions in British football was over. It had spanned two decades with the first shots fired at the Battle of Old Trafford in 1990, a 21-man brawl that resulted in both clubs being docked points. War broke out soon after ultimately leading to famous and ugly skirmishes involving Peter Schmeichel and Ian Wright then Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira. Oh, and Martin Keown doing his best impression of a demented werewolf.

The generals of their respective armies sniped at one another across the barricades while the players racked up the reds and ratcheted up the hatred. This was that rarest of things: a protracted enmity born not from the terraces but from the pitch.

This was north v south; giant vs giant. This was Manchester United v Arsenal in the Premier League era.

And now the hostilities ceased with the Gunners so soundly beaten they could barely raise a white flag on the final whistle. Just three games into the season the third favourites for the title that year had travelled up the M1 severely weakened by injuries but coming off the back of a spirited victory in Udinese to ensure Champions League football via the play-off. They left Old Trafford emasculated and broken, defeated by the startling score-line of 8-2.

This was Arsenal’s heaviest reverse since 1896 and though there had been six previous occasions when eight or more goals had comprehensively decided a Premier League contest, all had at this point been against teams doomed to relegation or mired in extreme crisis. This was an Arsene Wenger eleven spearheaded by Robin Van Persie at his most imperious: that season he scored 37 goals across all competitions. This was a team that had their very own monogrammed key to the top four’s executive washroom.

That the humiliation came against United of all adversaries must have been mortifying beyond imagination for the French manager. For his part Alex Ferguson realised victory was so complete that anything other than empathy would come across as classless crowing. Incongruously and somewhat unnervingly, he removed the edge from his words and went full on Jerry Maguire: “It’s a cynical world now. Lose a few games and the judges come out.”

It has to be said though that for all of Arsenal’s woefulness, United were sensational. Spurred on by Manchester City’s thrashing of Spurs 5-1 away the previous day, they responded with relentless attacking verve as an unforgettable all-Manchester title race got underway.

Amidst the avalanche of goals Wayne Rooney got a hat-trick made up of two nonchalant free-kicks and a pen. There was also a chip by Nani so audacious the ball made a scoffing sound as it gallivanted through the air. Summer signing Ashley Young, meanwhile, grabbed the Man of the Match award, terrorising Arsenal’s own summer recruit Carl Jenkinson so remorselessly that the rookie right-back picked up two yellow cards in abject exasperation. Prior to his early departure Jenkinson was openly admonished by Theo Walcott for deserting his post. When the placid Walcott snaps, you just know it’s an awfully bad day at the office.

Elsewhere Andrei Arshavin committed a foul on Phil Jones so egregious it suspiciously looked like he was urging the ref to end his misery prematurely while players bickered among themselves; casting aspersions, positionally in disarray.

A glance at the Arsenal bench that Sunday afternoon revealed the nature of their injury concerns: Henri Lansbury, Ignazi Miquel, Oguzhan Ozyakup, and Gilles Sunu along with a raw, untried Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. A glance back at their summer revealed the nature of their deeper woes. While Manchester United had enjoyed a transfer window of rejuvenation – releasing the ageing Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Paul Scholes and Edwin Van der Sar and bringing in Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea – Arsenal had seen their captain Cesc Fabregas lured to Barcelona and their quixotic talent Samir Nasri poached by City.

Gooners demanded a big name and each and every day the media chimed in too tightening the screws on a board and manager under extraordinary pressure. Three days after this Old Trafford massacre and mere hours before the window closed, the Gunners made their move tempting over Chelsea’s out-of-favour Yossi Benayoun. You can guess how that went down.

What happened next

United went on to lose the title in incredible circumstances to a late, late Sergio Aguero strike. The cruel manner of the near-miss prompted Ferguson to postpone his retirement for another year to ensure that he signed off as a winner.

Arsenal admirably recovered from this horror-show and finished third in the Premier League. Carl Jenkinson still has nightmares about Ashley Young step-overs.

After several weeks of speculation, Chelsea finally announced Danny Drinkwater’s arrival on Twitter in the early hours of this morning.

The England international has completed a permanent transfer from former Premier League champions Leicester City, where he made 219 appearances across all competitions after signing from Manchester United in January 2012.

The 27-year-old is expected to boost Antonio Conte’s squad rather than come straight into the starting XI, but the Blues boss will be more than aware of how effective his partnership with fellow Blue N’Golo Kante was when the Foxes unexpectedly claimed the Premier League title in 2015/16.

Drinkwater now faces heavy competition from Kante, Cesc Fabregas and fellow summer signing Timeoue Bakayoko for a regular spot in Chelsea’s midfield. But with the Blues facing a title defence and a return to the Champions League, he’ll likely get his fair share of opportunities to impress over the course of the season.

Here’s a look at how Chelsea fans reacted to Drinkwater’s arrival on Twitter:

Alan Shearer is a Newcastle United legend and favourite among the club’s fans, but he may have got slightly ahead of himself after watching the team beat Swansea City on Sunday.The North-East outfit headed to the Liberty Stadium as slight underdogs, mainly due to some of the players that they were facing.Bayern Munich star Renato Sanches, who joined the Swans on loan on deadline day, made his debut, but he failed to impress.Wilfried Bony entered the field of play in the 69th minute, but he was unable to make a difference as Newcastle ended up winning 1-0.Jamaal Lascelles was the scorer on the day, and it came as a surprise to many given that Swansea were tipped to come away with all three points.Shearer was clearly buoyed by the result as he took to Twitter claiming that the Magpies are going to win the league, although it’s safe to say his comment was tongue in cheek.

Rafael Benitez, who was not present at the game as he is recovering from a hernia operation, has guided the team to two victories and two defeats so far.