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Newcastle now planning face-to-face talks to sign "unbelievable" £30m star

by rastrear-estafeta.com Uncategorized

Newcastle United are now planning to hold face-to-face talks over a summer deal for an “unbelievable” forward this week, according to a report.

Magpies eyeing new forwards with Wilson heading for exit

It would be fair to say Callum Wilson has been a fantastic servant to Newcastle, with the striker making 129 appearances for the club, but it looks as though his time at St. James’ Park is now set to come to an end when his contract expires this summer.

The Englishman has suffered with injuries throughout the campaign, while often being limited to appearances as a substitute, and he is now starting to attract attention from elsewhere, with Leeds United believed to be leading the race for his signature.

As such, Eddie Howe’s side have now started to run the rule over potential replacements, with the manager particularly keen on signing versatile Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo, who is among the Premier League’s top scorers this season.

Player

Premier League goals

Mohamed Salah

28

Alexander Isak

23

Erling Haaland

21

Chris Wood

19

Bryan Mbeumo

19

Mbeumo is not the only Premier League forward of interest, however, with a report from talkSPORT revealing Newcastle are now planning to hold face-to-face talks over a deal for Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap this week.

Delap is planning to hold in-person discussions with all his potential suitors ahead of the summer window, and the Magpies are the latest English side to express an interest in triggering the £30m release clause in his contract.

Howe is keen on bringing in another striker to ease the goalscoring burden on Alexander Isak, with the manager looking to strengthen his squad in a number of different areas this summer.

He'd be their new Gordon: Howe wants Newcastle to sign "deadly" £60m star

Newcastle are looking to upgrade their attack

ByJoe Nuttall May 20, 2025 "Unbelievable" Delap could push for Isak's starting spot

Understandably, Wilson’s game time has been very limited this season, given that Isak has enjoyed his best season to date in a Newcastle shirt, leading his side to EFL Cup glory and scoring 27 goals in all competitions.

However, the Ipswich star has also started to make a name for himself this season, finding the back of the net 12 times in the Premier League, with teammate Luke Woolfenden lauding him as “unbelievable”.

Howe has also been impressed by the start the 22-year-old has made to life in the Premier League, saying: “He’s a pivotal player for [Ipswich], there’s no denying that. I think he’s had a very good season. “He’s got big strengths, very strong, powerful runner.”

The only concern for Newcastle will be that Delap may not be tempted to move to St. James’ Park this summer if he doesn’t have guarantees of being a regular starter, and that is unlikely to be the case unless Isak decides to move on.

Farke's next Tanaka: Leeds preparing summer move for "extraordinary" star

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Leeds United have a huge summer ahead of them in the coming months, needing to build a side capable of surviving the drop in the Premier League throughout 2025/26.

The Whites will be attempting to do something which no side has managed in the last two seasons, in maintaining their top-flight status after securing promotion from the Championship.

Southampton, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Luton Town, Burnley, and Sheffield United have all tried and failed, handing Daniel Farke a huge task to prevent the club from being added to such a list.

Leeds United manager DanielFarkecelebrates after the match

The German has already had questions asked about his future at Elland Road, with the Whites manager potentially being replaced before the start of the next campaign.

Regardless of the situation, the foundations have already been laid for the summer window, with numerous players already linked with a summer switch to Yorkshire.

An update on Leeds’ hunt for new signings this summer

Over the last few weeks, rumours have emerged over Leeds making a potential move for Newcastle United’s midfielder Sean Longstaff, but could face huge competition from other top-flight sides for his signature.

Everton have been named as the latest side to enter the race for his services, with the Magpies only demanding a £10m fee to part ways with the 27-year-old.

Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff

His experience in the division could be vital for the Whites’ chances of securing survival next season, potentially being joined by Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, if recent reports are to be believed.

It was reported by BILD via Sport Witness that the Whites are keen on a move for the 27-year-old this summer, looking to cement his place as number one under Farke.

It also states that no asking price has yet been set for his services, but that he could be open to a move to the Premier League to further his career at the top level.

Why Leeds’ target could be Farke’s next Tanaka

The 2024/25 season has been a hugely successful one for Leeds, ending their stay in the Championship, but also landing key talents such as Ao Tanaka in the process.

The Japanese international joined from Fortuna Düsseldorf last summer for a reported £3.5m fee, cementing himself as a key player in Farke’s starting eleven throughout the last few months.

He’s managed to rack up 44 appearances across all competitions, notching six combined goals and assists – even being named in the Championship Team of the Season.

Such a deal has been one of the club’s best in recent years, playing a pivotal role in their success and hopefully taking the Premier League by storm after his debut year in Yorkshire.

However, the manager could be about to land his next version of the star this summer in the form of Dahmen, who could follow in Tanaka’s footsteps by joining the Whites from a German side.

Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick in action with FC Augsburg'sFinnDahmen

If he manages to get anywhere near the level of the Japanese star, he will be a fan favourite in no time, potentially playing a vital role in their chances of staying up.

The German has excelled in recent months, making 16 appearances, keeping nine clean sheets and conceding just ten goals during such a period – leading to journalist Christian Pohlmann labelling him as “extraordinary”.

Games played

16

Clean sheets

9

Goals conceded

10

Save percentage

85%

Saves made

3.5

Errors leading to goals

0

Pass accuracy

68%

His staggering numbers don’t stop there, saving 85% of the efforts that he’s faced this campaign, averaging 3.5 saves per 90 – handing Farke that added solidity he needs at the back.

Dahmen has also not made a single error leading to a goal, and is more than capable of playing out from the back, 68% of the passes he’s attempted throughout 2024/25.

Whilst it’s unclear how much a deal for the shot-stopper would set the club back this summer, the stats he’s produced are incredible, certainly bolstering the ranks at Elland Road.

Their dealings with landing players from Germany in recent months have been successful, as seen with Tanaka, which could lead to Dahmen being the next star to make the switch to England.

Bad news for Byram: Leeds want to sign "outstanding" £34k-per-week star

Leeds are reportedly interested in signing a Premier League defender, and it is bad news for Sam Byram.

ByDan Emery May 1, 2025

Aston Villa want to sign £67m star who Man Utd are preparing an offer for

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

Aston Villa face a transfer fight with Manchester United to sign an “incredible” £67m star this summer, according to a new report.

Aston Villa chase new defender as Rogers gains admirers

The Villans strengthened their bid to finish in the top four over the weekend as they beat Nottingham Forest 2-1. Unai Emery will be keen to secure another season of Champions League football, as it will help their finances when it comes to the summer, and perhaps more importantly help them keep players such as Morgan Rogers.

NSWE prepared to spend: Aston Villa plot move for "aggressive" £50m star

He’s a wanted man.

ByTom Cunningham Apr 7, 2025

The midfielder has been one of Villa’s best players this season, and that has earned him the reward of an international stage. It may also not be a surprise to see Rogers’ performances have “attracted admirers”, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein. No specific teams are mentioned, but it is clear that huge clubs have taken notice of the Villa midfielder.

On the incomings front, Villa are looking to make an offer to sign Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP. Emery is keen on signing a new defender this summer, and Diomande has emerged on their radar, as Sporting are willing to sell as long as they receive a £50 million fee.

Aston Villa looking to beat Man Utd to Maignan deal

As well as looking to sign a new defender, Emery is also planning on strengthening his goalkeeper department, as according to journalist Niccolò Ceccarini, relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa are interested in signing AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, gathering information on the player and the chances of a deal.

AC Milan's MikeMaignanreacts

The report states that Villa have taken an interest in Maignan and could now make a concrete approach to sign the France international this summer, as he will enter the final 12 months of his contract at San Siro. Maignan has agreed a new contract with Milan in principle but has yet to sign the deal, so he could be moved on by the Italian team this summer, but would still cost around £67 million.

Villa, who already have Emi Martinez between the sticks, are not the only team from the Premier League to take a close look at the shot-stopper, as Chelsea are also interested, despite having several goalkeepers on their books.

Manchester United are also keen on Maignan and are said to be preparing an offer to bring the Frenchman to Old Trafford as a replacement for Andre Onana. Maignan, who has been hailed “incredible” by former Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, was asked about his future on Saturday after Milan’s 2-2 draw with Fiorentina.

Mike Maignan’s AC Milan record

Apps

154

Goals conceded

163

Clean sheets

55

The Frenchman was unwilling to talk about his contract situation at AC Milan: “As I said, I feel good at Milan; I give everything for the shirt every time I put it on, every day. At this moment, I tell the truth; I don’t want to talk about the contract; I want to talk about football.

“Milan deserves more; we want more. My personal case is not the most important thing at this moment.”

How to make wickets happen in T20s – the Ashwin angle

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

His spell of 2 for 19 against RCB in the Eliminator was a masterclass in understanding the angles

Karthik Krishnaswamy23-May-20243:12

Big match-ups: Ashwin vs Head and Abhishek, Cummins vs Samson

On Wednesday night in Ahmedabad, Rajat Patidar, batting on 1 off 2, may have tapped his bat, looked up, and found himself flummoxed by the picture in front of him. Everything was in its usual place, but where was the bowler?Then R Ashwin emerged from behind the umpire, ran up diagonally, towards the off side, and delivered from the very edge of the crease.Only a handful of cricketers in the sport’s history have had Ashwin’s feel for angles. In November 2021, in a Test match in Kanpur where the pitch was so slow and low that bowled and lbw were virtually the only dismissals in play, Ashwin used an extreme example of playing with angles to maximise the likelihood of both pitching and finishing within the line of the stumps. He went around the wicket, ran up at an out-to-in angle that put him in danger of colliding with the umpire, and followed through in front of the stumps and across them.Related

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For that one ball to Patidar, Ashwin ran up the way he did, and delivered from as wide of the crease as he did, to create as much of an angle into the batter as he could, and shut out the off side as a scoring area. He did this because he was bowling at a ground with uneven square boundaries, and he was bowling from the end with the long leg-side boundary for the right-hand batter.Playing with his run-up angle was one of many things Ashwin did in Wednesday’s Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to use the asymmetry of the ground to his advantage. He bowled at speeds hovering around the 95kph mark and tried to deny batters room to free their arms, while either firing the ball into the pitch, on the shorter side of a good length, or pitching it right up near the batter’s toes. There wasn’t a lot of grip on offer, but he hit the pitch hard enough with his carrom and reverse-carrom balls to get them to straighten and induce mis-hits. When batters tried to create room to hit through the off side, Ashwin was almost always in step with their intentions, following them down the leg side as if he had installed a magnet in the ball’s core.He ended a masterclass of defensive bowling with figures of 2 for 19 in four overs and his first Player-of-the-Match award of IPL 2024. He took the wickets of Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell, off successive balls, and created a chance off Patidar too, getting him to slice one into the night sky only for Dhruv Jurel to spill the chance.Ashwin stymied RCB with his 2 for 19 from four overs in the Eliminator•BCCIAshwin will be the first person to tell you, of course, that wickets are only incidental. He attracted flak for his comment on his YouTube channel that “wicket-taking is becoming irrelevant in T20 cricket”, and he has since gone on to elaborate on what he meant.To boil his argument down, there’s a difference between what he calls “wicket-taking” – trying to force wickets through attacking bowling, which, for a spinner like Ashwin, might mean flighted deliveries looking to beat batters on the drive – and “wicket-happening” – where wickets come about as the by-product of denying batters quick runs.”T20 is where wickets happen,” Ashwin said. “Wicket-taking is a little over-rated. You can’t bowl in a wicket-taking way. There are certain phases when you can do wicket-taking. For example, if you’ve taken a wicket, you can go searching for a wicket off the next ball. With the new ball, when Trent Boult bowls, or Mitchell Starc bowls, there’s a window to swing the ball. The first two-three overs. And if it doesn’t swing, you’re pretty much looking for wicket-happening – how do I make the batsman uncomfortable?”Over the first half of IPL 2024, wickets didn’t happen to Ashwin: just two in nine games at an average of 159.00. His fortunes have turned since then, though, with his last four innings bringing him seven wickets at 15.57.Ashwin may have made several micro-level changes to his bowling over the course of the season, as he no doubt does in every series or tournament he plays, in any format. In broad terms, however, he has bowled in exactly the same way when wickets have happened to him as he has when they have not. He has tried to build pressure by drying up boundaries, making batters hit the ball where he wants them to, and tried to bring his team some sort of scoreboard control via the steady drip of singles to deep fielders.It isn’t spectacular to watch, and the numbers he generates tend not to be spectacular either. He sits low down among IPL 2024’s spinners if you measure them by wickets taken, and even his economy rate (8.31) isn’t remarkable. Sunil Narine (6.90) is in a league of his own by that count, but even traditional fingerspinners like Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Harpreet Brar have gone at below 8.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();

Ashwin stands out from the crowd, however, in a subtle but crucial way. He has completed his four-over quota in 12 of his 13 games this season, and sent down three overs in the other match. This puts him right on top of the pile, alongside Narine, for balls bowled per innings, and this is remarkable in a number of ways. It shows that he has the defensive skills to get through spells relatively unscathed when batters come after him, and it shows that his captain is ready to throw him the ball no matter what combination of batters is at the crease: right-right, right-left, or left-left.This is the case even though Ashwin isn’t a wristspinner, and he isn’t a mystery spinner either; for all his variety, he doesn’t rely on deception like Narine or Varun Chakravarthy do. Ashwin doesn’t operate in the IPL like a traditional fingerspinner either, so he belongs, quite simply, in a category of his own.And he’s needed to do this, because traditional offspinners only feature in the IPL as bit-part players who make the odd appearance against line-ups full of left-handers. Ashwin gets criticised for not bowling offspin in T20s – even RR director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara said this once, back in 2022 – but he knows that he won’t be playing every game, and bowling every available over, if he bowled in his Test-match manner.Ashwin knows his results can fly under the radar, and that he can go through stretches of games where the wickets just don’t happen, but he’ll take it. Especially if it helps his team go deep into tournaments.

“T20 is where wickets happen… you can’t bowl in a wicket-taking way”R Ashwin

On Friday night, he will be part of an RR line-up that’s one match away from the final. He will be a key member of their attack, quite likely a powerplay operator against a left-left combination that’s among the most frightening opening pairs the IPL has ever seen. He will be playing on his home ground.Ashwin’s done all those things before, of course. He has taken out the world’s most dangerous left-hand opener with the new ball, in a Qualifier, and in a final in Chennai. He has taken 50 wickets here in the IPL, while going at just 6.15.He can probably find his way around the MA Chidambaram Stadium blindfolded, and he knows that the crowd here, with no home team to cheer, will greet his every move rapturously.Two months ago, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association felicitated Ashwin at Chepauk, after he had completed the milestones of 500 Test wickets and 100 Test caps. Ashwin gave a speech at the event, and concluded it with these words about this ground: “Tomorrow I might not be alive, but my soul will be hanging around this place. That’s what this place means to me.”On Friday night, Ashwin will be at Chepauk once more, body, soul and all.

Haseeb Hameed: 'I always find a way back from rock bottom'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

England opener focussed on fightback after grim campaign in Australia

Matt Roller31-Mar-2022It was hard not to be drawn into the romance of Haseeb Hameed’s England recall last year. His rise as a teenager – a thousand-run season, a fifty on Test debut, praise from Virat Kohli – preceded a dramatic fall, which saw him released by his home county, Lancashire, at 22 after his form had vanished.Reinvigorated by a move to Nottinghamshire, he started the 2021 season with twin hundreds against Worcestershire before making 112 for a County Select XI against an India attack led by Jasprit Bumrah. That was enough for him to win back his Test spot and after a false start via a first-baller on his return at Lord’s, he made half-centuries at Leeds and The Oval to earn his place on the winter’s Ashes tour.But the shine soon wore off. Before he had even arrived in Australia there were doubts as to whether Hameed’s game – in particular, his strength against spin, rather than high pace – would be suited to the conditions. He batted for nearly four hours across the first Test in making 25 and 27 but as England’s tour began to disintegrate, so did he: scores of 6, 0, 0, 7, 6 and 9 saw him dropped for the final Test, and then again for the “red-ball reset” trip to the Caribbean.Now, Hameed is back on the outside, looking out on a snowy Trent Bridge from the pavilion long room and reflecting on a tough winter. He only turned 25 in January, but his career has already had more ups and downs than the price of bitcoin.Broad to miss Notts’ Championship opener

Stuart Broad will not play in Nottinghamshire’s opening game of the County Championship season away at Sussex next week as the club look to manage his return to cricket after a break from the game.
“He certainly won’t start, then we’ll see where we go after that,” Peter Moores, Notts’ head coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “We’re always careful with bowlers, especially after breaks. He was a real influence for us last year and having Stuart around is always positive for us.”
“I’m very hopeful that we’ll see him for the second or third game and hopefully we’ll have a full squad to pick from,” Steven Mullaney, the club captain, added. “If it was my decision, he’d have been on that tour, but it’s not. It would not surprise me one bit if he’s England’s leading wicket-taker by the end of the summer.”

“I’ve had a lot of setbacks in my short career – and even growing up as a junior I had setbacks – but one thing I’ve always been able to count on, thankfully, is finding a way to get back up from rock bottom,” Hameed says. “I guess this is another opportunity to do that.”Of course, getting dropped out of the team, and not getting selected for this most recent tour is difficult but hopefully I can count on those experiences to come back again. In my head, there is no doubt that, being 25 years old, I have got so much more to give and I’m looking forward to the future.”Hameed’s technique – and specifically his low hands, which appear better suited to low, slow pitches than those found in Australia – came under the scanner as the series wore on. He retreated further and further into his shell, repeatedly edging through to Alex Carey behind the stumps.Mark Ramprakash, who was England’s batting coach when Hameed first broke into the side, hinted in a newspaper column this week that they had picked the wrong horse for the wrong course, saying he was “absolutely convinced he would have been successful in the West Indies – certainly in Antigua and Barbados”. Hameed’s own appraisal is that the pitches in Australia were “extremely challenging”, and that his lean returns should be viewed within that context.”A lot of people speak about games being suited to certain conditions and we saw there were a couple of pretty good wickets – in the first Test matches in particular – in the West Indies,” he says. “Do I feel like I could’ve done well there? I do. As a player, of course you do. But they made that decision and it was not in my control.”I ended up speaking to Mike Hussey [who was working on the series as a broadcaster] when I didn’t play in the last Test match and he was saying he’d never seen conditions like it. I think that’s been neglected a little bit, actually – how challenging the conditions were. It was like being in England, but with an extra 10kph in the wickets… because it was nipping and seaming off the deck quite considerably.Hameed scored 80 runs in eight innings in the Ashes•Getty Images”You’ve got to add a bit of realism to it. That’s not excuses, that’s just pure facts. At the same time, do I feel like I could have done better? Of course. There were a few mistakes made, individually and as a group. We went into our shells a little bit after the first two Test matches and focused a little bit more on surviving or batting time as opposed to looking to score runs. Looking back now, I don’t think that was the right mindset, either for me or for the team.”Peter Moores, head coach at Notts, agrees with Hameed’s assessment. “It was about as tough as it gets. [He was playing on] pitches that had a bit in them for the bowlers, against one of the best attacks that’s been around for a long time, so it was tough to go in first. He learned a huge amount. I’ve said to him that it won’t get much tougher than that.”A lot of the England players, they got exposed in certain ways. No-one will ever question Has’ commitment to want to do well. Often it’s more of a technical thing that they’re getting exposed at that level, and they’ve got to come away and adjust but I’ve been really pleased with his approach. He’s a student of a game and a craftsman. He wants to master the craft of batting and he’s thrown himself right back into it and taken those lessons from that tour.”Related

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England are in transition, looking for a new managing director, head coach (or two) and potentially a captain, too, ahead of their next Test against New Zealand in June. Hameed knows that a strong start to this Championship season is the only way he can present a case for selection, and insists his focus is on the here and now.”The way I see it is that I’ve now had the opportunity to play against India and Australia in their home countries and most people would say it doesn’t get much tougher than that,” he says. “That’s a great experience for me to have in my first ten games. To have seven of those away from home, in the opposition’s backyard, will mean that I can count on those experiences to propel me forward.”There’s a series against New Zealand in June and then India are coming for that one Test they missed last year, and the likelihood is with the new people coming in, there might be a few changes again. But I’m focused now on doing as well as I can for Notts. Keeping things simple is important; you can’t aim to get into teams or put timelines on things.”It’s been good just being back. Of course it was difficult straight after [Australia] with everything that happened but I’m lucky that I’ve got good people around me and I’ve got to a place now where I’m just looking to the immediate future. I can’t think about June right now, even though I’ve obviously got that ambition to be there. I’m just trying to keep everything as simple as I can.”

قرار هام من إدارة ليفربول تجاه سلوت بعد التعادل أمام ليدز يونايتد

by h79snht.top Uncategorized

كشفت تقارير إعلامية اليوم الأحد، عن قرار اتخذته إدارة نادي ليفربول تجاه المدير الفني للفريق آرني سلوت، وذلك عقب تعادل الريدز مع ليدز يونايتد بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وفشل ليفربول في تحقيق الانتصار على ليدز يونايتد وتعادل معه بثلاثة أهداف لكل فريق يوم أمس السبت، مما زاد من حجم الضغوطات على سلوت.

ويتواجد ليفربول في المركز الثامن في ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، ليبتعد الريدز تمامًا عن مراكز الصدارة في البطولة المحلية.

وذكرت صحيفة سبورت بيلد الألمانية، أن مستقبل سلوت مع ليفربول بات محل شك، حيث يعتبر المدير الفني الهولندي مهددًا بالإقالة عن تدريب النادي الإنجليزي خلال الفترة المقبلة.

أقرا أيضًا .. ميرفي عن تصريحات محمد صلاح: وضع ليفربول في موقف محرج

وأضافت الصحيفة، أن إدارة ليفربول قررت منح سلوت مهلة حتى أعياد الميلاد في نهاية الشهر الجاري وذلك بشأن تغيير الوضع الحالي في الفريق.

وأوضحت بيلد، أن إدارة ليفربول تؤمن أن سلوت عليه أن يبدأ في اتخاذ خطوات إيجابية تجاه تغيير الوضع في الفريق، لكن إذا استمرت الأمور على حالها فسوف يتم إقالته.

وأتمت الصحيفة قائلة، أن إدارة ليفربول لم تتواصل حتى الآن مع يورجن كلوب بشأن عودة محتملة إلى ملعب آنفيلد.

وكانت بعض الأنباء قد أفادت بعد نهاية مباراة ليفربول وليدز يونايتد، أن إدارة الريدز تفكر بشكل جدي في إقالة سلوت وتعيين أسطورة النادي الإنجليزي، ستيفن جيرارد، بدلًا منه بشكل مؤقت.

كما ورد أن جوليان ناجيلسمان، مدرب منتخب ألمانيا، على رادار ليفربول لتدريب الفريق بدلًا من سلوت.

Arsenal may be forced to sell ‘frustrated’ player as Man Utd plot audacious move

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Man United are reportedly planning a bold move to sign one Arsenal sensation who’s now shot to the very top of Ruben Amorim’s transfer agenda.

Arsenal maintain perfect Champions League record after Brugge win

Arsenal extended their flawless Champions League campaign to six consecutive wins after dismantling Club Brugge 3-0 at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday evening, moving three points clear atop the league phase standings.

Noni Madueke delivered a match-winning performance with a sensational brace, whilst Gabriel Martinelli added a spectacular third to virtually guarantee automatic qualification for the last 16 with two fixtures remaining.

Mikel Arteta made five changes from Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa, with Christian Norgaard deployed as makeshift centre-back alongside Piero Hincapie due to Arsenal’s current defensive injury crisis.

Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera were all unavailable, forcing Arteta to improvise.

Madueke opened the scoring with a piece of absolute brilliance after 25 minutes, collecting the ball just inside the Belgian side’s half before embarking on a mazy run, shrugging off multiple challenges and unleashing a venomous long-range strike that crashed off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

The England international doubled Arsenal’s advantage just 80 seconds into the second period, arriving unmarked at the back post to power Martin Zubimendi’s cross beyond goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel.

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Martinelli then etched his name into Arsenal history nine minutes later by becoming the club’s first player to score in five consecutive Champions League matches.

The Brazilian cut inside from the left touchline, weaved past a Brugge defender and curled an exquisite right-footed effort from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner.

David Raya preserved Arsenal’s sixth clean sheet of the competition with seven saves, dealing comfortably with Club Brugge’s pressure despite the hosts creating numerous opportunities throughout the encounter.

The Belgian champions, under new manager Ivan Leko following Nicky Hayen’s surprising Monday dismissal, tested Arsenal’s makeshift defence regularly but lacked clinical finishing.

Gabriel Jesus also made his emotional competitive return after 332 days sidelined with an ACL injury, entering as a second-half substitute.

The Brazilian striker nearly marked his comeback with a goal too, smashing the crossbar after being found by Ethan Nwaneri.

Speaking of Nwaneri, who was introduced by Arteta to replace Martin Odegaard in the second-half of their Brugge triumph, a surprise report has emerged on his long-term future.

Man United plan 'audacious' move for Arsenal gem Ethan Nwaneri

The Hale End sensation is now attracting serious interest from Old Trafford, according to a report by CaughtOffside in their Daily Briefing.

Nwaneri has struggled for consistent minutes this season, starting just three matches so far with two of them coming in the Carabao Cup.

He’s an incredible player, one hailed as “Arsenal’s version of Phil Foden and Jamal Musiala” by one analyst on social media, but Arteta is also yet to hand the 18-year-old a single Premier League start this term, with Nwaneri said to be growing ‘frustrated’ and ‘fed up’ with his lack of opportunities.

CaughtOffside state that United are planning an ‘audacious’ January move for Nwaneri to take full advantage of this, with the Englishman now among their top winter transfer priorities.

The report also claims that Arsenal’s ‘financial position has quietly become far more precarious’ than they’re publicly admitting, and they may be ‘forced’ into a high-profile sale.

United believe that they can prise Nwaneri away from the Emirates as a result of this and the player’s own desire for game time, but it is very hard to imagine Arsenal greenlighting any permanent transfer to a direct rival.

There are far better candidates to balance the books, and if Nwaneri is to leave, the far more likely scenario is a dry loan to help further his development elsewhere.

Man City flop was "one of the PL's best players", now he's the new Phillips

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Since Pep Guardiola was appointed Manchester City manager in 2016, the club have spent around £1.276bn on more than 50 new recruits.

Some have, of course, been a massive success, none more so than Erling Braut Håland, arriving from Borussia Dortmund for £51m in the summer of 2022, so far scoring 143 goals in 164 appearances for the Sky Blues, which isn’t bad.

However, others have not lived up to the expectations set upon their arrival, disappearing into the proverbial wilderness without a trace.

So, is one of Man City’s summer signings, not so long ago labelled one of the best players in the Premier League, in danger of becoming the latest man to follow this path?

Kalvin Phillips' Manchester City career

When Kalvin Phillips joined Manchester City from Leeds United for £42m in the summer of 2022, he was a first-choice starter for England and widely considered to be one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League.

However, to date, he has made just 32 appearances for the Sky Blues, totalling a miserly 921, accumulating only six starts, while 12 of his outings have lasted ten minutes or fewer.

After unsuccessful loan spells at both West Ham and then Ipswich, Phillips is back at Manchester City now, featuring in the Carabao Cup in September, entrusted with a seven-minute cameo towards the end of the victory over Huddersfield Town.

This was his first appearance for the Citizens for 645 days, his last before that coming against Urawa Red Diamonds in Jeddah in the Club World Cup semi-finals of 2023.

Having not represented England for over two years, fair to say this move has wrecked Phillips’ career, going from international star to complete obscurity, yet to even appear on a Man City bench in the Premier League or Champions League this season – including in Saturday’s 3-2 win over his former club.

So, which of Guardiola’s summer recruits is in danger of repeating this trajectory?

Manchester City's next Kalvin Phillips

For the majority of Guardiola’s tenure at the Etihad, the left-back spot has been up for grabs.

First, Fabian Delph and Oleksandr Zinchenko were deployed as midfielders in that role while, more recently, a rotating cast of centre-backs have filled the position, including Joško Gvardiol and Nathan Aké.

So, when Rayan Aït-Nouri arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported fee of £31.8m in June, supporters were delighted as the left-back conundrum appeared to have been solved.

The Algerian international joined Wolves from Angers in 2020, making 157 appearances for the club, and becoming one of their most outstanding players.

In the Premier League last season, the 24-year-old registered seven assists, a tally only bettered by 16 players and just one defender, namely Antonee Robinson.

As a result, Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley described him as “one of the Premier League’s best players” last season, while Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana praised his “quality” upon his arrival.

Having switched allegiance from France, Aït-Nouri will be looking forward to representing Algeria at both next month’s Africa Cup of Nations, the Desert Foxes among the favourites to triumph in Morocco, as well as the World Cup in the summer, but he may not be going into those competitions all guns blazing.

Despite earning rave reviews for his performances in old gold, the full-back has made very little impact in sky blue thus far, as the table below documents.

Aït-Nouri’s Man City stats

Stats

Aït-Nouri

Man City rank

Minutes

315

22nd

Appearances

7

21st

Starts

5

20th

Completed passes

153

20th

Tackles

10

10th

Ball recoveries

10

20th

Touches

222

19th

Stats via FBref

As the table documents, Aït-Nouri is yet to make his mark since joining Manchester City.

Since starting two of three Premier League matches in August, he has seen just one minute of action in the competition, partially as a result of an ankle injury.

He was handed his full Champions League debut against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, but was hooked at half-time as Guardiola made a triple substitution, with his team a goal down, ultimately beaten 2-0 by the Bundesliga side.

Aït-Nouri’s performance in that one did not earn rave reviews.

Richard Martin of Goal noted that he lacked ‘awareness defensively or creativity going forward’, awarding him a 4/10, while Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News believes he was at fault for die Werkself’s opening goal, criticising his ‘heavy touches and poor passes’.

The Algerian was replaced by Nico O’Reilly at the interval, and the form of the 20-year-old is also a problem for him.

The youngster has been outstanding this season, thereby starting both England World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania earlier this month, and will not be an easy man to displace at left-back, for club or country.

Thus, unlikely to be given regular starting opportunities any time soon, Aït-Nouri is in danger of slipping into the Phillips vortex of being forgotten and cast aside by Guardiola.

Man City in talks to beat Man Utd to gem who's been "magic at U17 World Cup"

The Citizens are now looking to strike a deal before clubs from England and on the continent.

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 23, 2025

Rangers Name Former Three-Time All-Star New Hitting Coach

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Amid an abysmal offensive start, the Texas Rangers are turning to a former player who knows hitting well.

The Rangers are hiring ex-MLB second baseman Bret Boone as their hitting coach, the team announced on Monday afternoon.

Boone, 56, played 14 seasons with five teams. He is primarily known for his two stints with the Seattle Mariners, and particularly for his performance in 2001—when he slashed .331/.372/.578 with 37 home runs and 141 RBIs.

Texas will task Boone with turning around an offense slashing .228/.285/.359; its batting average and on-base percentage would both rank in the bottom 10 in the franchise's six-decade history.

Boone is a member of a prominent baseball family; his brother Aaron manages the New York Yankees, while is father Bob and grandfather Ray were both also MLB All-Stars.

The Rangers are currently 17-18, four games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the American League West race. Texas is scheduled to open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox Tuesday.

Farke can unleash Stach by dropping Leeds star who's "not good enough"

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Leeds United travel away from West Yorkshire and Elland Road to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Whites are looking to win back-to-back matches in the Premier League for the first time this season, after they beat West Ham United in their last outing.

Daniel Farke’s side won, thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon, and Anton Stach did not play a single minute of the match at Elland Road.

Why Leeds should unleash Anton Stach

Despite beating the Hammers, Leeds can improve on their performance from last time out because they failed to put the game out of sight for the away side, which led to a nervy ending when they pulled a goal back.

After Rodon’s goal, the Whites did not create a single chance that was worth more than 0.14 xG, per Sofascore, and they allowed West Ham to get back into the game, albeit they were able to hang on for all three points.

Stach, who did not get on the pitch, has proven that he can provide a threat at the top end of the pitch from a midfield position, with one goal, 1.8 key passes per game, and two ‘big chances’ created in eight appearances, per Sofascore.

The summer signing from Hoffenheim has shown that he can be a difference-maker with his individual quality, which could help Leeds to capitalise on a shaky Brighton defence that has conceded 15 goals in the Premier League.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

In order to bring Stach into the starting line-up, though, Farke would have to ruthlessly ditch Ao Tanaka, whose performances he has recently defended.

Why Leeds should drop Ao Tanaka

After the win over West Ham, the Japan international stated that he is “not good enough at the moment” and that he will be using these experiences to improve as a player.

Asked about Tanaka’s honest admission, Farke said: “He had a really good start to the season with us. I didn’t expect him to be man of the match [vs West Ham], being in his first match after injury back in the starting line up, but I think he was quite solid and showed a really, really good performance.”

In spite of his defence of the central midfielder’s comments and performance, the German head coach should drop the midfield maestro from the XI because Stach may be able to offer more quality against Brighton.

Appearances

7

8

xG

0.16

0.79

Goals

0

1

Key passes per game

0.6

1.8

Big chances created

0

2

Ground duel success rate

18%

52%

Aerial duel success rate

43%

77%

Tackles + interceptions per game

0.7

2.3

As you can see in the table above, Tanaka has struggled to influence games in the Premier League this season, as he has offered little in the final third whilst being dominated by opposition players physically.

The Japanese midfielder is seemingly still adjusting to the step up from the Championship, which is understandable, but Stach has shown that he can make an impact offensively and hold his own defensively in his eight starts in the division.

Given Brighton’s defensive struggles this season, conceding 15 goals in nine games, it could be the right time to bring the German central midfielder back into the starting line-up to give the Whites the best chance of causing their defence problems.

Aaronson 2.0: Phil Hay saw no way back for Leeds flop, now he's "ruthless"

This Leeds United star was the original Brenden Aaronson at Elland Road.

ByDan Emery Oct 30, 2025

Therefore, Farke should ruthlessly drop Tanaka from the XI, despite his defence of the midfielder’s display against West Ham, because it may improve the team’s chances of winning this afternoon, given the context of the opposition.

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