REINA LINKED TO AZ

Napoli manager Rafa Benitez has not ruled out the possibility of the club making an offer to Liverpool for the permanent transfer of goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who is on loan at the club till the end of the season. After falling out of favour following the arrival of Simon Mignolet, Reina joined Napoli in the summer on a season-long loan deal. He has performed exceptionally well during this period. It has prompted rumours that he may stay at the Italian club on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, the have been rumours about Reina becoming a transfer target for Barcelona, who were searching for a replacement for Victor Valdes.

After they have decided to bring in Marc-Andre ter Stegen for around £ 10 million, their interest in Reina has come to an end. The presence of Mignolet as the number one at Liverpool also makes a return to Anfield impossible for the Spaniard. As a result, it is quite conceivable that he may stay at Napoli provided the club makes a € 6 million offer for the 31-year-old. Benitez was the manager responsible for bringing Reina to Liverpool. However, after his exit, the performances of the Spaniard have dropped considerably, but it has improved once again after being reunited with Benitez.

“He reads the game very well and is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Will he stay at Napoli? He has a clause and we know it – meanwhile he should continue to do well until the end of the season,” said Benitez after a recent match. It is also understood that in recent weeks that Reina has a release clause that allows him to join other clubs provided they pay a fee of around £ 4 million. It is highly likely that Napoli will not think twice about paying this fee.

HIGHS AND LOWS

Az Alkmaar is going through some highs and lows in the current season of the Eridivisie but more recently it is becoming evident the lack of consistency which the team of Martin Haar and Dick Advocaat are going through. The latest 7 matches has seen them claiming 3 triumphs as they are starting to fall behind in the league due to the number of points being dropped.

In one week, Alkmaar managed to overcome a club located at the top of the league (Vitesse) but the next match saw them suffering a 2-1 defeat against a team which is struggling on the bottom section of the league (Go Ahead Eagles)

The surprising victory against Vitesse has now put in danger the chances of them securing the league title of this season and allowed Ajax on clearing the way at the top of the league with 54 points with their nearest rivals, FX Twente having only 48 points.

Even with the recent number of negative results, Alkmaar still are enjoying a fairly better season than the previous one which saw them ending the last campaign at the 10th spot while now they are located at the 7th position.

Ajax got their way to the top of the Eridivisie league after scoring 4 goals past Alkmaar in a match that saw both teams going head to head at the Amsterdam Arena and Ajax got ahead in the scoreboard since the 4th minute of the game when Siem de Jong gave his team the early lead.

Goals from Lerin Duarte and Ricardo Kishna extended the lead of Ajax to 4 goals on an encounter that the home home side had dominated since the opening few matches of the encounter and Alkmaar Zaanstreek could do little to deny them the victory.

ARSHAVIN BACKS ARSENAL

Former Arsenal striker Andrei Arshavin, who was once the club’s record signing, has stated that he feels confident that Arsenal will finally be able to end their trophy drought and even win the Premier league title this season. After struggling with consistency for most of the last decade, Arsenal have finally been able to put together a run of form that has seen them go top of the table just a month before Christmas. Arshavin was one of the important players of the team only a few years ago, but his poor performances led to the club allowing him leave on a free transfer to Zenit St Petersburg. Continue reading “ARSHAVIN BACKS ARSENAL”