Tag Futebol

Leeds haven’t particularly had the rub of the green in 2021. Fortunately, a transfer window is here for Victor Orta to try and correct things.

The Whites are yet to win this year, neither have they scored a single goal. It would appear that Marcelo Bielsa is beginning to suffer a few headaches.

One of the worst aspects of their play this term has undoubtedly been their defence. They’ve shipped seven in their last three games and have conceded a league-high ten goals from set-pieces this season.

In total, Bielsa’s men have let in 34 goals – a tally only worse than West Brom in the Premier League.

That being said, it’s difficult to judge a backline pillaged so much by injury. Diego Llorente has played just once for the Whites while Liam Cooper and Robin Koch were both missing throughout the festive period.

Though, one place they could easily have improved in recent transfer windows is their left-back position.

Since Charlie Taylor left in 2017, the Whites have been missing plenty of consistency in that area of the pitch. After his departure, Leeds relied on the likes of Gaetano Berardi and Vurnon Anita in that third of the pitch.

Anita’s spell was far from successful at Elland Road while Berardi – also capable of playing at centre-half – has one of the worst disciplinary records in the club’s history. In total, the Swiss defender has been sent off on seven occasions for Leeds.

Orta brought Wolves promotion hero Barry Douglas in 2018 but alongside Gjanni Alioski, the left side of Leeds’ defence was again met with inconsistency. He was a set-piece wizard in the Midlands but failed to score for the Whites and was also met with plenty of fitness and injury concerns.

Stuart Dallas and Alioski were the main contenders for the left-back role last season and although Leeds were promoted, neither are naturals in that position.

With Alioski demonstrating yet more defensive inaptitude this term, a new left-back is clearly needed. Fortunately, they could find the answer to all of their prayers in Jordan Amavi.

The £25k-per-week earner has been linked with a switch to Leeds in recent days, and if they can prise him away from Marseille, it would end their four-year-long problem.

That’s because not only is Amavi a natural left-back, but he has Premier League experience and he’s a very capable player.

For context, the Frenchman has won a colossal 2.9 interceptions per game this term. That record is better than every single player at Leeds in 2020/21.

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On top of that, he gets forward and is strong in the tackle. Amavi has completed 1.1 dribbles per match in Ligue 1 this season, a record that beats each player in the squad besides Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling and Raphinha.

It’s defensively though where Leeds supporters will be most keen to know of his qualities. He is incredibly well suited to dealing with one-on-one situations, being dribbled past by an opponent just 0.24 times a game.

That would make him the best outfield player at Leeds for that statistic. Alioski is dribbled past 1.48 times per game while Dallas is surpassed 1.79 times a match.

It’s clear why Amavi would be a good signing for the club. He is better defensively than the North Macedonian and he’s a natural at left-back – something Leeds haven’t always had in the last few years.

AND in other news, Augustin 2.0: Orta set for more January misery if Leeds sign “inconsistent” 4-goal ace…

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية أن نادي باريس سان جيرمان يستهدف التعاقد مع صفقة هجومية قوية من ريال مدريد مع نهاية الموسم من أجل تدعيم صفوف الفريق الأول لكرة القدم تحت قيادة المدرب، ماوريسيو بوتشيتينو.

ويمتلك باريس سان جيرمان العديد من الأسماء الكبرى في الخط الهجومي على رأسهم ليونيل ميسي، نيمار دا سيلفا وكيليان مبابي وآنخل دي ماريا وغيرهم.

وبحسب شبكة “ABC” الإسبانية، يريد نادي باريس سان جيرمان التعاقد مع جناح ريال مدريد ومنتخب البرازيل، فينيسيوس جونيور، والمتألق منذ بداية الموسم مع المدرب، كارلو أنشيلوتي.

اقرأ أيضًا | أنيلكا: ميسي يُعيق باريس سان جيرمان.. فائز بالكرة الذهبية ولكنه ليس استثنائيًا

وزعم التقرير أن باريس سان جيرمان يقوم بإغراء فينيسيوس براتب سنوي قيمته 17 مليون يورو صافية من الضرائب في فرنسا والتوقيع على عقد لمدة 6 سنوات.

ومع ذلك، أكدت الشبكة أن فينيسيوس يريد الالتزام بعقده مع ريال مدريد ولا يفكر في الوقت الحالي بالرحيل عن ريال مدريد وكل شيء يشير إلى اقترابه من تجديد العقد.

يحصل فينيسيوس في ريال مدريد على راتب قيمته 3.5 مليون يورو في الموسم الواحد، والتجديد الجديد سيرفع هذا الراتب إلى 10 ملايين يورو سنويًا.

ولكن باريس سان جيرمان سيحاول إقناع البرازيلي بالرحيل خاصة إذا انضم مبابي إلى ريال مدريد والذي سينافس فينيسيوس بكل قوة في مركز الجناح الأيسر.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks is back in the England squad but he has struggled under Jose Mourinho so far this season, putting his place in danger long-term.

It’s no secret that Maurico Pochettino was a huge admirer of the 24-year-old after he handed him his Premier League debut back in 2016, coming on as Christian Eriksen’s replacement in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.

But the academy graduate’s position would soon be found as a no.6 or no.8 rather than as a creative influence behind the striker. The former Spurs boss told the Evening Standard that Winks “has the profile of the perfect midfield player,” and added:

“His characteristics are perfect. When we talk about midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta, he’s like this type of player. He has the possibility and the potential, of course, but now it is up to him.”

Mourinho, however, has favoured the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, who was a forgotten man at times last season, and Moussa Sissoko, who is now the wrong side of 30.

Winks started all six of Spurs’ final top-flight matches last term but has been restricted to just four appearances this season, missing the matchday squad entirely in two of their last three outings, which is only further damning on where his future may lie under the Special One.

The €40m-rated (£36m) midfielder is now at a career crossroad – stay and fight for his place? or even potentially leave? It’s a European Championship year after all and given that he’s rarely impressed this term, his place on the plane is by no means certain.

Earlier in the summer, he was even linked with a shock £40m move to Premier League rivals Manchester City, as per The Sun

Winks possesses the lowest average rating of any Spurs player that has featured in four or more matches, managing just 6.22.

The number of key passes per game on average has halved, from 0.6 to 0.3, whilst the deep-lying playmaker has also regressed in terms of tackles per match too, with the figure decreasing from 1.3 to just one, when comparing last campaign to 2020/21, via WhoScored.

It seems like Winks is very much on the outside looking in under Mourinho and that means he’s at risk of becoming another Tom Carroll or Sandro, who neither hit the heights that they should’ve in N17.

In fact, the Brazilian’s game time diminished season by season at Spurs, very much in a similar nature to Winks right now. They too have played similar roles but will often be remembered for their sideways and backwards passing, more so than any sort of lasting legacy.

That is something that Pochettino could never have imagined.

AND in other news, Spurs must regret losing “explosive” speed demon who is the next Jadon Sancho…

Sunderland’s capture of former Plymouth Argyle defender Callum McFadzean finally came good when handed his Black Cats debut in defeat to Mansfield Town during Saturday’s FA Cup First Round tie.

McFadzean moved to the Stadium of Light at the end of the transfer market to answer manager Phil Parkinson’s search for depth, having been released by the Pilgrims earlier this summer after 30 appearances during a one-year spell at Home Park.

Parkinson had opted against awarding the 26-year-old his chance to impress in the North East during his first weeks as a Sunderland player, despite hinting the wide defender who can also play at centre-half could feature in October’s defeat to rivals Portsmouth.

McFadzean finally saw game time in red and white this Saturday when the Black Cats visited Mansfield hoping to kick off their FA Cup campaign with a win. But while Sunderland lost, he was the clear silver lining.

Sunderland bowed out of the FA Cup after a poor second-half display from too many of Parkinson’s men, with chances to score few and far between from a side featuring the likes of Will Grigg and Danny Graham – two players with a combined 192 career goals.

Mansfield defended well to thwart the Black Cats in most, and eventually broke the deadlock through George Lapslie in the 49th-minute to begin Nigel Clough’s reign with the League Two Stags’ first win in any competition this term.

McFadzean presented a consistent threat during an impressive debut as he strived to help find a way back into the tie, with his series of excellent deliveries worthy of more than seeing Graham smash the crossbar from a few yards out.

The former Bury wing-back also forced Stags shot-stopper Marek Stech into action late in the first half, and impressed Parkinson during his time on the field.

“He’s only been with us a couple of weeks but with Denver [Hume] and Goochy [Lynden Gooch] being out, we decided to play him,” Parkinson said, via quotes by the Sunderland Echo.

“I had to protect him by bringing him off towards the end, because we don’t want him getting injured going forward. But he showed what he’s all about, and put in three or four top-class deliveries.

“He’s different to Denver in the way he gets into those areas, but he can be equally effective. I think he’ll be a good signing for us.”

Parkinson will no doubt be hopeful of seeing similar performances from McFadzean down the stretch, and may consider fielding the 26-year-old enforcer again when Sunderland visit Fleetwood Town in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday night.

AND in other news, Phil Parkinson has confirmed a major blow for a Sunderland gem he begged to “let his football do the talking”.

Jarrod Bowen was far from his best at Anfield on Saturday night as the winger struggled to make an impact for West Ham United in their 2-1 loss to Liverpool, leaving manager David Moyes short-changed on Merseyside.

Moyes brought Bowen to the Premier League in January when the Irons struck a deal worth up to £22million with Championship side Hull City, and has reaped some rewards from the move with the winger currently the Hammers’ joint-leading goalscorer in the top-flight.

Only Michail Antonio (three) has the found the net as much as the Leominster-born 23-year-old, who earned his 18th straight Premier League start on Saturday having now opened each of the east London’s top-flight fixtures since February’s 3-2 loss to Liverpool.

Moyes will be hoping that Bowen is as capable of impressing the week after losing to Liverpool this time around as he were earlier in the year, having scored his first West Ham goal in the London Stadium outfit’s following fixture, a 3-1 win over Southampton.

The Irons host London rivals Fulham next time out, a side Bowen faced on four occasions in the Championship and struck three goals but only beat once, with Hull losing two and drawing one of their other encounters with the Craven Cottage natives.

Moyes did not anticipate Bowen being West Ham’s saviour when the former Manchester United head coach welcomed the forward to the club in January, though would have hoped for a better showing this weekend in their defeat to Liverpool.

“I’ve got to use my experience,” Moyes said, via quotes by Sky Sports. “Players like Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka took six months to settle into the Premier League, but others like Tim Cahill made an impact straight away.

“I want him [Bowen] to be for the long-term. If we are signing a player from Hull and hoping him to be a saviour, I think that’s unfair, but he’s looking very good and very sharp.”

Bowen was far from sharp at Anfield on Saturday, as the £80,000-per-week attacker continuously struggled to get the better of Andrew Robertson and failed to use his boundless energy to produce any quality when on the ball.

Moyes eventually hauled the 23-year-old off in the 89th-minute to hand Said Benrahma his West Ham debut following Diogo Jota’s match-winning strike, with Bowen only recording a 25% duel success rate having lost each of his two aerial contests and four of his six battles on the ground, per SofaScore.

Bowen further failed to register a single shot on Alisson Becker’s goal, made just one attempted dribble, offered no tackles, interceptions, clearances, was dribbled past twice, committed one foul, lost possession eight times and misplaced each of his four crosses.

His efforts ensured Bowen left Merseyside having warranted SofaScore’s lowest match rating for any player on either side at 6.1 out of 10, marking a continued decline after a 6.4 showing at Tottenham Hotspur and a 6.3 at home to Manchester City.

AND in other news, West Ham’s injury nightmare will only amplify David Moyes’ regret on failing to sign an “extraordinary” hitman.

Manchester United were dealt a huge blow as Jude Bellingham decided to sign for Borussia Dortmund to bring the long-running transfer saga to an end in the summer. If Ed Woodward wasn’t already regretting his failure to sign the former Birmingham City teenage prospect, he will surely be doing so right now after Bellingham came off the bench to earn his first senior cap for his country in the 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland this week.

What’s the story?

According to The Mirror, the fully-fledged England international is expected to stay with his teammates in order to continue his development as a player.

The Dortmund dynamo, 17, became the third-youngest player to represent the Three Lions after he was handed his debut by Gareth Southgate.

Southgate is apparently so impressed by his attitude that Bellingham has been included in the senior squad to face Belgium and Iceland in the Nations League.

 Woodward disasterclass

Bellingham burst onto the scene at Birmingham City, where the teenager enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with the Blues, scoring four goals and supplying two assists in the Championship, whilst he averaged 2.2 clearances, 1.2 shots and 1.1 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

German giants Dortmund signed the Stourbridge-born central midfielder from Birmingham in the summer for a fee believed to be somewhere in the region of £20.7m, which could rise to £30m depending on performance-related bonuses.

Comfortable in possession and confident on the ball, the talented teen has immediately picked up where he left off last season with Lucien Favre’s side, having made six appearances in the Bundesliga so far this season, registering one assist, whilst he has made 2 tackles, 1.2 shots and 1.2 dribbles per game, as per WhoScored.

By comparison, his United counterpart Donny van de Beek has endured a frustrating start to life at Old Trafford, whilst he is averaging fewer than one tackle and one shot per game in the Premier League, via WhoScored.

It’s perhaps hardly surprising Bellingham was recently described as a “fantastic talent” by Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings, after he was promoted to Southgate’s senior squad following injuries to Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse. It’s worth remembering he bagged more times than United first-team regulars Nemanja Matic and Fred last term, even if you combine both their scores together.

Whilst hindsight is a wonderful thing, Woodward should’ve pulled the trigger whilst he still had the chance to sign him in the summer, as he may have become a club legend in the mould of his childhood hero Wayne Rooney.

The future seems bright for Bellingham, whose market value is €40-50m (£36-45m) as per Football Observatory, but we can’t say the same for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Woeful Woodward: Manchester United will forever regret not signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund…

Chelsea have been in the market for a new holding midfielder all summer.

Declan Rice has been the name at the top of their list for the longest time, but as deadline day approaches, it may be time for the Blues to take a look at a few other options, having not made a breakthrough with Rice yet.

Apparently, they’re doing just that, with reports claiming that Thomas Partey is now a potential option for Frank Lampard’s side.

Partey has been one of the most coveted players in this window, with the Ghanaian consistently linked with a move to Arsenal, but now it seems as though he could end up at another London club with Chelsea interested.

With Partey being a key man for one of the best defensive teams in Europe, one would imagine that this move would immediately solve Chelsea’s current midfield problem, but a look at his stats shows that he’s scarily similar to another man who has previously flopped at Stamford Bridge.

Indeed, Partey’s statistical profile is strikingly similar to Tiemoue Bakayoko’s was during his first spell with Monaco, and in some cases, he’s actually worse.

Bakayoko actually made more tackles and interceptions per game during his final season before joining Chelsea than Partey made last season, and while Bakayoko made 0.1 more fouls per game, the Atletico man seems to be a lot more rash, picking up 13 bookings last season, while Bakayoko has never had more than five in a single league campaign.

Going forward, the pair are also very similar, Bakayoko’s pass success rate during the 2016/17 campaign was actually better than Partey’s in 2019/20, while only 0.1 key passes per game separate the pair.

Of course, arguments can be made about the quality of Ligue 1 vs La Liga, but if you’re just looking at the data, it seems as though Chelsea could be tracking a player who won’t actually solve their midfield issues if he follows the same trajectory as Bakayoko – who is now on the verge of a Stamford Bridge exit with Napoli interested.

Napoli have lowered their asking price for Tottenham Hotspur target Arkadiusz Milik, as reported in the Sunday issue of Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness).

They had previously been demanding €40m (£37m) for the Poland international, a fee Spurs were not willing to match, though they have now reduced that to €25m (£23.1m).

Can you name every one of Spurs’ top goalscorers from the past 15 seasons? It’s a tricky one…

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This decision comes after Roma came in with an offer of €15m (£13.9m) plus a couple of youth players in an effort to sign the 26-year-old, who scored 14 goals across all competitions for Napoli last term.

Spurs are looking to sign a frontman who can act as back-up to the talismanic Harry Kane, and it is claimed they have already sent an offer to Milik’s entourage in the hope it will help to bring about a move.

The offer is said to relate to wages, which could see the former Ajax man sign a pre-contract agreement and join next season, when his contract comes to an end.

However, Napoli want to get rid of Milik, the player is keen to leave and Jose Mourinho feels he needs another striker as soon as possible, so it is likely that work will be done to make the move come about sooner.

As things stand, Spurs don’t have a single recognised senior striker to fill in if anything were to happen to Kane.

Following another stellar campaign for Celtic over in the Scottish Premier League, the 22-year-old Odsonne Edouard could once again get the spotlight in the transfer window. If the recent reports that were forwarded by Birmingham Mail are to be believed, both Leeds United and Aston Villa are set to battle for the young striker’s signature this summer.

The French forward is seemingly attracting a lot of interest from the Premier League with the likes of Arsenal and Leicester City also keen to try their luck at acquiring his services in the immediate future.

Seeing how Edouard has scored an incredible 49 goals in 60 domestic league starts since joining Celtic along with 11 goals in just six appearances for France’s U21 side, this is hardly a surprise to anyone, least of all to Chris Sutton.

However, the coach insists Celtic will fight to retain their young star and there’s reportedly a £40m price tag on his head should any team really try to snatch him away any time soon. With Villa’s struggles in attack and Leeds’ need of quality reinforcement ahead of their Premier League return, both teams seem to have a need of Edouard in some capacity.

Who will get the final nod, we do not know, but one thing is for sure – teams are set to duke it out in the ongoing transfer window and the Frenchman is sure to be spoiled for choice should he decide to indeed leave Scotland soon.

Verdict

It goes without saying that Edouard is an incredible talent with a seemingly high ceiling too. His progress ever since arriving at Celtic has been nothing short of sensational and looking at everything he’s done so far, £40m does seem like a fair price.

But it will be up to Dean Smith and Marcelo Bielsa to battle it out for his signature and whoever wants it more and has deeper pockets could emerge as the victor.

What must Jurgen Klopp be thinking watching the news that Timo Werner looks set to join Chelsea this summer, instead of Liverpool?

Reports in recent weeks had suggested that the Reds manager had informed the club’s board that the RB Leipzig striker “would be perfect for his team”, and the fact Werner himself has spoken publicly about his admiration for the Merseysiders surely put Liverpool in the driving seat for his signature.

Instead, the Germany international is on his way to Stamford Bridge, and Klopp looks set to face another summer transfer window in which the club may not splash out on big-money signings.

Can you spot your Xabi Alonso from your Bruno Cheyrou? This Liverpool quiz will have you questioning your knowledge…

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Last year saw them only bring in Sepp van den Berg for a fee, and whilst the Reds are closing in on the Premier League title this season, Klopp would surely be keen on strengthening his squad to ensure they don’t just stand still.

But now, The Athletic have revealed that the Liverpool manager was overruled by FSG in his quest to land Werner this summer. The report claims that Klopp spoke to the owners to discuss whether the deal would happen, and was promptly told that they simply didn’t have the money to do so.

That then saw Klopp phone his German compatriot to inform him of the club’s decision, paving the way for Chelsea to steal a march.

After everything Klopp has done in rebuilding Liverpool into the reigning Champions League holders, and current Premier League winners-elect, surely the least FSG could have done is find a way to signing Werner.

If that was the German’s one big wish this summer, then it was up to the owners to work their magic to make sure they granted it. However, despite reportedly making it clear to them that he was a player that he very much wanted, he has been oh-so badly let down.

Make no mistake about it, whilst the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson have played their roles in Liverpool’s triumphs over the past couple of seasons, it has been Klopp who has been the ultimate figurehead.

Can you name every one of Liverpool’s top goalscorers in the PL era?

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The economic success that FSG probably look at with pride when they see the accounts sheet every year, has a lot to do with Klopp and the extraordinary job he has done in turning Liverpool’s fortunes around since permanently replacing Brendan Rodgers.

For the owners to deny Klopp a request is nigh-on unforgivable, and raises some serious questions at Anfield. Will the Liverpool manager simply brush aside the matter, or will it have hit him more personally?

How will his relationship with the club’s board have been affected, and how does missing out on Werner affect the Reds’ performances on the pitch next season? Only time will tell, but if things turn sour, then Klopp would be perfectly within his rights to point the finger of blame at FSG.