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Chelsea are displaying notable signs of ambition under the new ownership of Todd Boehly, and could make an audacious move for Neymar Jr. this year…

What’s the word?

Neymar has been one of the most salient name’s in world football since his arrival onto the scene with Brazilian club Santos almost one decade ago, and now, playing for Paris Saint-Germain, could finally grace the Premier League with his enigmatic presence. 

According to reports stemming from Spain, the west Londoners are intrigued by the possibility of signing the fleet-footed artiste, and could look to instigate a transfer this year. 

Having starred for FC Barcelona and PSG, raining a thunderous collection of goals and assists and an abundance of major honours, Neymar would be a stellar addition to kickstart the new era at Stamford Bridge. 

“Phenomenon”

Since his £49m transfer to Barcelona from his South American homeland in 2013, the 30-year-old whiz has prospered as a truly generational talent, one of the greatest attackers of the modern age.

And as per FBref, he ranks within the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers for rate of non-penalty goals and progressive passes, the top 1% for shot-creating actions and the top 3% for rate of assists across major leagues over the past year.

Once hailed as a “phenomenon” by compatriot and ex-Blues defender David Luiz, there are very few professional footballers that yield as much natural talent and physical brilliance as Neymar, who could take the reins at Chelsea, lead them away from obscurity, and pave the way for a successful future of immense proportion.

Indeed, with the club losing six of their first 17 Premier League matches this term and consequently languishing in tenth place, a flair of creativity, an introduction of resounding ingenuity could prove to be the key to unlocking defences and returning the Blues to their full-firing excellence that lies dormant beneath Stamford Bridge.

Neymar’s introduction would be a stellar and auspicious improvement on winger Christian Pulisic, who has struggled to live up to the £57.6m price tag since arriving from German outfit Borussia Dortmund in 2019, scoring only 26 goals and serving 21 assists across 136 competitive outings.

And over the current campaign, the American flanker has netted just once across 21 outings, providing two assists; his floundering form has resulted Chelsea in looking to initiate a transfer away from Stamford Bridge, with The Athletic reporting that £35m would be considered sufficient to part with the player.

Neymar, in retrospect, has recorded 15 goals and 13 assists this season, and is indeed one of the most prolific wingers of the last decade, tallying a total of 220 goals and 149 assists from 351 showings at club level since his arrival in Catalonia.

And his international record is also not to be sniffed at: scoring a remarkable 77 goals across 124 appearances for Brazil, tied as the record alongside the legendary late Pele, the “artist” – as dubbed by PSG boss Christophe Galtier – would likely pump vibrant life into the Chelsea engine.

Potter must swoop for the phenom, a deal may prove strenuous to see over the finish line, with PSG likely to repel any advances for one of their most coveted assets, a sensation they signed for a world-record fee of £200m in 2017, but with Boehly already demonstrating convincing signs of targeting big, bold transfer manoeuvres, Neymar could be the marquee move to take the Blues right to the very forefront of the global rankings.

Aston Villa sporting director Johan Lange is battling to keep hold of his job, according to a significant off-field update from Villa Park.

The Lowdown: Lange in key role at Villa

The 43-year-old became Villa’s new sporting director back in 2020, having previously been the technical director in his homeland at FC Copenhagen.

Over the past two years, Lange has been a key figure at the club, helping bring in some big name new signings and working alongside managers Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard.

Unai Emery is now in charge at Villa Park though, and it could be that a major change is happening behind the scenes ahead of the Spaniard’s first transfer window.

The Latest: Job under threat

According to Football Insider, Lange’s job is hanging by a thread currently, with ‘question marks’ surrounding the work he has done in the transfer market.

Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are thought to be ‘assessing’ his position, with a replacement potentially being eyed up at the same time.

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The Verdict: Time for a change?

Jobs in football often come in cycles, whether it be players, managers or high-profile off-field roles, and it could be that a change is required with regard to Lange.

His work in the transfer market has arguably been hit-and-miss – the Philippe Coutinho gamble hasn’t really worked, for example, while Matty Cash is his only major success story – and some fresh ideas to work alongside Emery could make sense.

Cash is actually mentioned in the report as the only ‘unqualified success’ during Lange’s tenure, and perhaps Emery had a specific appointment for the role in mind when he agreed to take the job.

Glasgow Rangers boss Michael Beale may only be a matter of weeks into the job at Ibrox although the Englishman already appears keen to put his stamp on things, with the 42-year-old seemingly making plans for the long-term at present.

That has been evidenced by the fact that the up-and-coming manager is believed to be overseeing a new contract for 18-year-old starlet, Leon King, with The Athletic reporting that the Rangers centre-back is close to sealing a four-year deal to keep him in Glasgow for the foreseeable future.

The academy graduate has begun to establish himself in the first team this season after making 11 Scottish Premiership appearances and also featuring in all six Champions League group stage games, with such an impact having even sparked reported interest from Europe’s top clubs.

This latest news that a contract extension is on the cards should well ease those fears over a departure, with it looking likely that King will now remain with the Light Blues over the next few years.

Having already had 18 months to run on his existing deal at the club, however, there is perhaps less urgency to get the defender tied down to a new deal compared to other members of the squad, with the future of Malik Tillman potentially a more pressing issue as far as Beale is concerned.

The United States international joined the Old Firm outfit on a season-long loan deal from Bayern Munich over the summer, although it remains to be seen if the Gers will trigger the buy option included as part of that switch for a fee of around €7m (£6m).

Beale himself has only recently outlined his desire to get that permanent agreement wrapped up, with the former Queen’s Park Rangers boss having stated:

“We’re lucky to have him playing here in Scotland. He’s just 20 and I think he’s got a huge future in front of him – hopefully for this football club.

“It’s a pretty obvious one. I really like Malik. He is a fantastic talent. He wants to play slightly higher. We’re going to give him the freedom to run out of that midfield and get into the positions he was in today.

“You can see what he could grow into. He’s the exact type of player that we want at this football club. I don’t know the exact fee, I don’t know where we’re going to go and get it from, but if we can do it, I would definitely sign Malik Tillman, yes.”

While the 20-year-old has faced criticism for his form so far this term – having been dubbed a “frustrating figure” by pundit Neil McCann – the American gem has received notable backing from those at the club, with teammate John Lundstram dubbing him “one of the best young talents I have seen”.

That quality has been evident in flashes during his time in Glasgow thus far, with the four-cap dynamo having scored four goals and provided three assists in 23 games this term, including five goal contributions in only 13 league outings.

There may be a need to find greater consistency in his game, although that will likely come with the German-born star earning a more prominent role in the side over an extended period, something which would well be aided if his future is secured beyond the end of this season.

With Beale’s recent praise suggesting that the playmaker could have a big part to play in the remainder of the campaign, it could well be a real masterstroke to get a permanent move wrapped sooner rather than later, helping to end any speculation as the season progresses.

Liverpool scraped through to the next round of the Carabao Cup at Anfield last night after knocking Derby County out during a penalty shoot-out and Jurgen Klopp will surely be relieved that his team managed to take the positive result in the end.

The current trophy holders were held to a stalemate with the League One visitors on Wednesday evening, however, with Caoimhin Kelleher offering the safest of hands in goal Liverpool inevitably progressed to the next stage of the domestic competition.

Despite having a whopping 74% possession, 19 shots on goal, three big chances and far more accurate passes completed (86% v 64%), the Reds struggled to break down the Rams throughout the clash.

Klopp made 11 changes with an entirely fresh starting XI from the team that beat Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and handed five full senior debuts to some of the hottest youth prospects in the Merseysiders’ academy.

Layton Stewart, Melkamu Frauendorf, Bobby Clark, Calvin Ramsay and Stefan Bajcetic all started in the first team for the first time, with Ben Doak coming off the bench to make an appearance too in the 74th minute, giving the German coach a good look at some of the rising stars the academy has to offer.

However, it wasn’t just youngsters who were given the opportunity to prove their worth with many fringe senior players also making rare appearances in the starting line-up like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Nathaniel Phillips.

Although Liverpool struggled to take the game by the scruff of the neck, there was one player who worked tirelessly throughout the clash to set an example to his younger peers alongside him on the pitch.

Joe Gomez was another of Klopp’s heroes on the night, seemingly relishing his duties as captain, a role he took very seriously when applying himself on the pitch, something that will surely please the Liverpool boss.

The 25-year-old centre-back, who has previously been described as a “monster” by Jack Sear, was certainly that on Wednesday evening.

Indeed, his influence was seen in a whopping 120 touches and 100 accurate passes of the ball.

The centre-back was keen to progress play from the back, delivering 18 long balls throughout his confident and dominant display, as well as winning six out of ten defensive duels, completing two clearances and making one tackle.

Incredibly solid, this was a much better performance from a player who cost Liverpool in the defeat to Leeds, playing a blind pass back to Rodrigo who found the net.

With that being said, Gomez’s performance will have proved to Klopp that the player is keen to fight for a regular spot in the Liverpool backline over the season ahead and he is clearly a member of the squad the manager can rely on.

Journalist Jorge Nicola has revealed a potential Wolverhampton Wanderers manager hint as the Premier League club continue their managerial search.

What’s the news?

The hint concerns Corinthians manager Vitor Pereira, who Nicola has revealed is set to leave the Brazilian club at the end of the season, saying: “An important source of mine at Corinthians assured me that Vitor Pereira has already informed the president, Duilio Monteiro Alves, the football coordinator, Alessandro Nunes, and director of football, Roberto de Andrade, that he is not staying for the next season. He has a number of reasons that justify his decision.”

Pereira was linked with the vacant role at Wolves not long after Bruno Lage was sacked from the post, and this update on his future might tempt Fosun into acting sooner rather than later.

Pereira could be ideal for Wolves

With the Midlands club confirming that Steve Davis will remain in charge until the start of next year, it gives Jeff Shi time to bring in the ideal candidate, and Pereira should be high on the list.

The 54-year-old has won four league titles during his managerial career, and this winning mentality could do the Wolves squad the world of good. They have won just twice in the Premier League all season, and having a multiple title-winning manager leading them might inject some confidence.

His spell at Porto was arguably his most impressive, winning an average of 2.26 points per match while losing just 12 of 92 matches at the club.

With Wolves’ goalscoring woes arguably their biggest weakness at the moment, Pereira might be able to get the Old Gold back amongst the goals.

Referring back to his stint at Porto, in which they scored a total of 139 league goals during his two seasons in charge, this could well be another key aspect that Fosun may consider when appointing a permanent successor to Lage.

Pereira’s experience is certainly impressive, and with the news that he is looking likely to leave his post in Brazil, Wolves must now act to bring him to Molineux in the not-too-distant future.

Australia keeper, currently in England for the World Cup, will be available for full Blast campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2019

Sussex have signed Alex Carey, the Australia wicketkeeper-batsman, for their Vitality Blast campaign. Carey will link up again with Jason Gillespie, his coach at Adelaide Strikers, for the tournament in England, which begins after the conclusion of the World Cup.Carey is Australia’s vice-captain and first-choice gloveman for the 50-over tournament, and has been capped 38 times in the white-ball formats since debuting in 2018. He helped Strikers to the 2017-18 Big Bash title and has experience of playing club cricket in England with East Grinstead.”I’m very excited to get the opportunity to play with Sussex,” he said. “I played for East Grinstead in the Sussex Premier League a few years ago and now to play for the Sharks in the Blast is super exciting.”I’ve heard the fans are the best in the country and I can’t wait to join Dizzy and the guys in July.”A pocket-rocket batsman and tidy keeper, Carey has a T20 career strike rate of 128.93 and scored his maiden hundred in the format last year. His arrival comes after Sussex allowed Michael Burgess, who kept wicket during the club’s run to Blast Finals Day last season, to leave for Warwickshire.”We’re delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to Alex and excited for him to be linking up with us,” Gillespie, Sussex’s head coach, said. “He’s been impressive opening the batting for the Strikers in the Big Bash and now he’s getting experience in the middle order with Australia.”He can certainly clear the ropes but he’s also able to read and adapt to different conditions. That versatility will give us options on how best to utilise his batting in this year’s Blast. Alex is also a world-class keeper so to have a player like him joining the Sharks is a real coup for the club.”I know Alex well from the Adelaide Strikers and he knows Sussex well from his time playing league cricket in the county, so I’ve no doubt he’ll fit in nicely in our dressing room.”

Sunderland are reportedly exploring the free agent market to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch before the January transfer window rolls around.

The Black Cats are said to be looking at a potential deal for an out-of-contract striker after Ellis Simms and Ross Stewart suffered injuries.

Tony Mowbray is currently going through Championship matches without a natural number nine option in the starting XI or on the bench, with the likes of Elliot Embleton and Alex Pritchard, among others, being used as makeshift forwards.

Sunderland lined up with two up front in the early parts of the season but Kristjaan Speakman opted against signing a third striker in the summer transfer window.

He brought in Simms on loan from Everton to play alongside Stewart, or to compete with him for a starting place, and ultimately decided that the club did not need a third option in that position.

The sporting director may now rue that decision and could regret not bringing in another one of the striker targets they looked at ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Back in June, it was reported that the Black Cats were one of a number of Championship clubs interested in signing Cameron Archer on loan from Aston Villa.

The Premier League side decided to keep hold of the centre-forward and a lack of a convincing proposal from any of the teams eyeing him up may have played a part in that, given that he has only played ten minutes of action in the top-flight so far this season.

He is not getting game time with the Villans and Steven Gerrard’s use of him thus far suggests that he could have been convinced to part ways with the striker on a temporary basis.

Therefore, Speakman may rue not pushing harder to sign the England youth international, particularly given the current striker situation at the Stadium of Light.

Archer, who journalist Ryan Taylor previously dubbed a “goal machine”, could have been a superb signing alongside Simms, with the pair providing competition for Stewart.

Simms has scored three goals and failed to provide an assist in eight Championship starts this season, which means that he has scored 0.4 goals per start.

Last term, the Villa man scored seven goals and set up one in 18 starts for Preston North End, scoring 0.38 goals per start for Ryan Lowe’s side.

That came after he scored ten times and assisted two in eight appearances for his parent club in the EFL Trophy and EFL Cup combined in the first half of the season, scoring 1.25 goals per start.

Archer’s statistics for Preston and Villa suggest that he could have been a slight upgrade on Simms in front of goal, whilst neither of them are particularly creative in terms of what they offer their teammates at the top end of the pitch.

Now, imagine him and the Toffees man pushing Stewart hard for his position in the team. Sunderland could have had a terrific set of forward options and the 20-year-old could have thrived as the main man in the current injury crisis, which is why Speakman may rue failing to snap him up in the summer.

Leeds United have brought through a host of talented young prospects via their academy set-up at Thorp Arch throughout their history.

In the modern era, the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Pascal Struijk, Tom Cairney, Lewis Cook, and Charlie Taylor have all come through the youth sides before making it into the professional game.

The likes of James Milner, the late Gary Speed, Aaron Lennon, and Paul Robinson are among some of the players who made their way through the ranks before the current crop.

As with a lot of things in football, luck plays a large factor in how an academy graduate gets on at the club. How well they do depends on the manager, the financial situation, and the league they are playing in at the time they make the breakthrough.

For example, one player who came through at an unlucky time was central midfielder Jonny Howson. The gem burst into the first-team whilst they were in League One and racked up 225 appearances in all competitions for the Whites, with 111 of those coming in the third tier.

He played one-and-a-half seasons in the Championship before he was snapped up by then-Premier League side Norwich City for an undisclosed fee, leaving Elland Road after captaining the team.

Howson went on to play over 100 matches in the top-flight for the Canaries in his career, scoring eight goals and providing six assists at that level, and helped them to win promotion from the second tier in the 2014/15 campaign.

Now, just imagine if the now-Middlesbrough captain had come through at Thorp Arch in the last few years and was now strutting his stuff in the Premier League under Marsch.

The American head coach has deployed a pressing style of play at Elland Road and Howson, who was once described as a “Rolls-Royce” by Radio Norfolk’s Rob Butler, would have thrived in this set-up.

In three of his four Premier League seasons at Carrow Road, he made at least three tackles and interceptions per game and this shows that he had the mobility, and ability, to cut out opposition attacks regularly in the top-flight. This also suggests that he could have thrived in a pressing system as he could have pushed up the pitch to utilise his talents in the middle and final third to force errors out of the opposition.

Former Yellows boss Alex Neil previously claimed that he is a “joy to work with” and said that he provides “good energy” on the pitch, which further illustrates how well he would fit into a pressing style of play.

Howson, who has played 656 club career matches to date, also proved that he could chip in at the top end of the pitch as he managed 14 direct goal contributions for Norwich in the Premier League.

Therefore, he could have thrived under Marsch at Elland Road as he could have been an effective pressing machine in the middle of the park. Instead, he came through at an unfortunate time and was forced to leave Leeds in his search for top-flight football in the summer of 2012.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have joined the race to sign Watford striker Joao Pedro, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Watford standing firm

The Hornets aren’t currently under any pressure to sell the 20-year-old given his contract at Vicarage Road doesn’t expire until 2025, but they are open to any proposals that arrive over the summer.

Fellow Premier League outfit Newcastle United have already had two bids worth £17.5m followed by an increased £30m rejected, with Rob Edwards’ side believed to value their forward at £35m.

Despite the Magpies remaining in talks for the Brazilian, that hasn’t stopped them from facing competition, and several clubs now seem to have put their name forward, one of those being the Wanderers.

The Latest: Wolves monitoring Pedro

According to 90min, Wolves are ‘keeping tabs’ on Pedro’s situation, alongside Nottingham Forest, Leicester and Leeds.

Sources close to Watford have ‘confirmed’ that Everton have also ‘made contact’ regarding the availability of the attacker, while Bruno Lage’s team’s interest hasn’t developed to the stage of a formal enquiry just yet.

It’s stated that the player is still ‘keen’ on making the switch to Newcastle and has ‘made his feelings known’.

The Verdict: Not enough experience

Wolves will be desperate to add another centre-forward to their ranks before the end of the window as a result of Raul Jimenez only just returning from injury and Fabio Silva having left to join Anderlecht on loan, but Pedro isn’t the answer.

The 5 foot 9 starlet, dubbed ‘sublime’ by sports journalist Josh Bunting, is certainly talented, but has only made 33 appearances in the top-flight, netting just three goals since arriving in England two years ago, as per Transfermarkt.

Lage needs a proven goalscorer who can slot into his starting XI immediately, but it feels like Pedro is still in his development stage, so therefore the boss should focus his efforts on signing either Sasa Kalajdzic or Goncalo Ramos, both of whom have been heavily linked with a move to Molineux.

Christian Benteke left Crystal Palace earlier this week but Patrick Vieira may already have a natural replacement for the Belgian in Luke Plange.

After six years at Selhurst Park, the former Liverpool man departed for D.C United, leaving Vieira with Odsonne Edouard, Jordan Ayew and Jean-Philippe Mateta as his main striking options at Selhurst Park.

However, the Frenchman could call upon 19-year-old Plange, who featured in pre-season and remains in the squad, taking his place on the bench for the opening day defeat against Arsenal.

The youngster is yet to make his first team debut for the Eagles, and only has one appearance for the academy side thus far, so it is no surprise that Vieira gave him a chance in pre-season to get a proper look at him, and he certainly impressed, scoring a hattrick in a 4-2 win against Ipswich Town

Last season saw the teenage forward join Derby County on loan, where he made 26 appearances in the Championship, contributing four goals and two assists.

Wayne Rooney was a big fan of the former Arsenal forward and sang his praises after he scored on his full debut against Blackpool.

He said:

“Luke Plange has a bit of everything in his game.

“He can run in behind teams, he’s quick and he is also strong enough to hold the ball up. As well as that, he’s a clever player and also a finisher.

“With players like that, you know that if they get a chance that they are more than likely going to score.”

Rooney certainly knows what he is talking about when it comes to strikers, considering he was one of the best of his generation in the Premier League, so to hear him talking so highly about Plange will no doubt delight Palace fans.

Rather than Vieira spending millions on a new striker to replace Vieira, the French manager might consider promoting Plange to his first team and giving him some chances this season.