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Chelsea are reportedly keeping a close watch on striker Gift Orban ahead of the summer transfer window as Mauricio Pochettino is set to bolster his squad.

What’s the latest on Gift Orban to Chelsea?

According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea are one of the teams, alongside Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham who have sent scouts to watch Orban in action for Gent recently.

Fabrizio Romano claimed last month that the 20-year-old is “expected to be on the move this summer” while detailing that his price tag could be more than €20m (£17m) and with his current contract not due to expire until 2027, Chelsea may have to stump up a lot more in order to land him.

Could Gift Orban be a Victor Osimhen alternative for Chelsea?

It’s no secret that Chelsea are keen on signing Napoli hitman Osimhen this summer, but with a price tag of €150m (£132m) being demanded by the Serie A side according to Sky Sports Italia reporter Gianluca Di Marzio (via football.london), the Blues may want to move onto other targets who could come at a significantly lower outlay than the Nigeria international.

With 23 league goals this term, Osimhen led Napoli to their first Scudetto since 1990 and with the Premier League certain to be his next step, will it be Chelsea who win the chase for his signature?

Pochettino may decide the aforementioned fee is too much and focus his energy on someone such as Orban, who could arrive for a much lower fee and could develop into a striker of Osimhen’s level after a few years in England.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig recently lauded the striker, stating that he is “born to score” and is a “superb finisher with both feet” while his statistics in front of goal this term certainly justify this lavish praise.

Since arriving in Belgium from Stabaek in January, the youngster has netted 19 goals in just 19 matches for Gent which has included three hat-tricks, and you would imagine he is only going to get better.

He already ranks as Gent's best player this term with a Sofascore average of 7.54/10, while underlining his importance to the club by ranking second for goals scored (14), first for shots on target per game (2.2) and third for successful dribbles per game (0.9), while he has certainly hit the ground running since moving to Belgium.

His talent is limitless considering these figures at such a young age in his career, and with Pochettino aiming to build his own squad ahead of next season, Orban could be an excellent investment.

تعادل المنتخب السعودي سلبيًا مساء اليوم الخميس مع المنتخب التايلندي في ختام مواجهات دور المجموعات في كأس آسيا 2023 في قطر.

وتضم المجموعة السادسة من بطولة كأس آسيا 2023، كلًا من السعودية وعمان وتايلاند وقرجيكستان.

اقرأ أيضًا..من يواجه السعودية في دور الـ16 من كأس آسيا؟

وتواجد منتخب السعودية في صدارة المجموعة السادسة برصيد 7 نقاط من 3 مواجهات بينما المنتخب التايلندي في وصافة جدول ترتيب المجموعة برصيد 5 نقاط.

وكان منتخب عمان اكتفى بالتعادل بهدف لهدف أمام قرجيكستان ليحتل منتخب عمان المركز الثالث برصيد نقطتين مقابل نقطة وحيدة لمنتخب قرجيكستان. ترتيب مجموعة السعودية في كأس آسيا

1- السعودية 7 نقاط من 3 مباريات.

2- تايلاند 5 نقاط من 3 مباريات.

3- عمان نقطتين من 3 مباريات.

4- قرجيكستان نقطة واحدة من 3 مباريات.

Newcastle United are amongst the clubs heavily interested in a move for Marcus Thuram, according to a report.

What's going on with Marcus Thuram?

The France international is out of contract at the end of the season and is set to leave Borussia Monchengladbach, with clubs ready to fight for his signature.

Newcastle are ready to compete with AC Milan and Inter for his services, but they are all currently waiting for him to return from a long-term injury before making a decision.

Sport Witness has relayed a report from CalcioMercato.it, in which it is claimed that the player is yet to decide where he wants to end up, and that he wants to join a club where he could be the "leading player" in a project.

This could present Eddie Howe's Newcastle as a very attractive destination, particularly if they secure Champions League football next season.

This could provide a problem for both of the Milan-based giants. Indeed, either club's best hope of reaching the elite competition next term could yet be winning it in just over a month's time – with one team guaranteed a slot in June's final. Otherwise, they may find themselves losing out on a target to Newcastle – something which would not have been considered possible even two seasons ago.

What would Thuram bring to Newcastle?

Thuram, who can play on the wings as well as a central striker, could link up with the likes of Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes to lead Newcastle into Europe for the first time in over ten years, and given how impressive the Magpies have been this season, he could help them challenge at the top of the table beyond the current term.

Newcastle have the best defensive record in the Premier League, conceding just 27 goals in 33 games, but they have failed to score in nine of these matches.

Labelled "a little crazy" by current Chelsea loanee Denis Zakaria, Thuram could help add another dimension to their attack and help support Isak and Callum Wilson in front of goal. The 25-year-old has scored 16 and assisted six times in 30 games this season, but is set to miss most of the campaign's remainder with a torn muscle fibre.

The arrival of Thuram could end up being a concern to Allan Saint-Maximin. The winger has already seen his game time reduced with Joelinton often playing a wide role, as well as Anthony Gordon arriving in January.

Another wide attacker coming through the door could mean Saint-Maximin departs, but given his poor form in front of goal, with just one strike in 26 this season, Thuram will likely provide a significant upgrade on his countryman.

Liverpool are keen to bring in a new right-back in the summer as they aim to provide Jurgen Klopp with some upgrades for the new campaign.

Do Liverpool need a new right-back?

The 2022/23 campaign has been one to forget so far for the Reds with their usual title charge put on hold with their struggles seeing them fight for a spot inside the top four.

It has been a turbulent campaign for Liverpool and ending the campaign inside the Champions League spots will still be a huge challenge with a nine-point gap to Newcastle United.

Liverpool's defence has come under criticism this season with the likes of Virgil van Dijk coming under fire for his displays throughout the campaign.

Another player who has been heavily criticised is Trent Alexander-Arnold with the right-back also being slammed continuously within the media.

And it seems as if the £180k-per-week ace could potentially be in line to be replaced over the coming months with Fabrizio Romano alluding to a possible new right-back coming in on his Here We Go podcast:

(14:20) "Then for a new full-back. I'm told that Liverpool are exploring the full-backs market and so this is a possibility."

(36:10) "Also the full-backs because I think they could go for a new right-back, this is the expectation, so this is a possibility."

Could Alexander-Arnold play in central midfield?

Alexander-Arnold has been a player who has received a lot of criticism this season for his defensive ability in the right-back role.

Just last month, Jamie Carragher spoke about the 24-year-old's displays this season and has even suggested he is unlikely to improve at this stage of his career:

"We all know his defending isn't good enough. I don't think it will ever be good enough. We're talking about a player who's played 260 games. It's not going to massively improve… They've got to go and buy a right-back," he said.

And he raises the notion that potentially Alexander-Arnold has actually grown too comfortable in his role at Anfield with no real competition for his spot at right-back.

This could possibly be the case with the prospect of a new right-back could send a message to the England international that his displays need to improve or he will be replaced in the starting XI.

However, there is also a suggestion that perhaps the 24-year-old could excel in a central midfield role with his passing ability potentially outweighing his defensive skills.

Alexander-Arnold ranks inside the top percentile for progressive passes made among other full-backs and inside the upper second percentile for passes attempted (via FBref).

In comparison to Jordan Henderson (1.12), Alexander-Arnold has (2.20) almost provided more than double the number of key passes this season and has recorded more shot-creating actions (3.72) than the Liverpool captain (2.85) (via FBref).

Liverpool's midfield has also been heavily criticised this season and having reportedly dropped out of the race for Jude Bellingham, maybe they have a possible upgrade already in the side.

Arsenal journalist for football.london Kaya Kaynak says that academy winger Amario Cozier-Duberry is ‘like’ Bukayo Saka.

The Lowdown: Cozier-Duberry profiled

Cozier-Duberry is a 17-year-old right-winger coming through the Arsenal Academy, where he has already played 51 times at youth level in total over all competitions, scoring 15 goals and making a further 11 assists (Transfermarkt).

He has not yet made a competitive senior appearance for the Gunners, but has been named on the Premier League and the UEFA Europa League this season, while he also looked lively during a 2-0 mid-season friendly loss to Juventus at the Emirates Stadium back in December.

Nonetheless, Cozier-Duberry will be hoping to get his chance to impress in the senior team, much like Saka has over the years coming from the Hale End as well.

The Latest: Cozier-Duberry is ‘like Saka’

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Kaynak says that Cozier-Duberry is ‘like Saka’ in the way he plays, and also compared his transition from a left-back to a right-winger, much like Saka did in his early Arsenal career:

“He’s a similar player in the sense that he’s left-footed, can drift central, and can play a creative midfield role.

“He generally tends to play on the right-wing but he’s very versatile and can play a lot of different positions.

“Much like Saka did when he first broke into the team. He started off at left-back, now as a right-winger and who knows, Cozier-Duberry is definitely someone who could do that.”

The Verdict: His time will come

As shown with Saka and the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe among others, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta are willing to give youngsters from the academy chances in the first team if they are good enough.

After the path that Saka has taken, where he now currently has 24 times and gone to a FIFA World Cup with England, Cozier-Duberry can have ambitions that he can eventually do the same if he is given the same chance to impress.

An alternative for him would also be to go out on loan next season, much like Charlie Patino and Folarin Balogun have done in this campaign, and try to impress enough to be recalled into the senior squad.

Nonetheless, Cozier-Duberry is certainly another exciting talent that supporters will hope can also come through over the next few years.

Manchester United will be hoping to pile even more misery on Liverpool today as they will look to secure the first Premier League double over them since the 2015/2016 campaign.

Back then, both sides were very much struggling, yet in the six full seasons since the end of that campaign, the Anfield side have won the Champions League and Premier League while also winning a variety of other trophies to cement themselves as one of Europe’s finest sides, whereas United only had a League Cup and Europa League trophy to show for their efforts.

This term, however, the tides have turned, with Erik ten Hag rejuvenating United, already winning the Carabao Cup while the Merseysiders have struggled and may miss out on Europe altogether. Following a midweek FA Cup win over West Ham United, the manager will be looking to make a few changes, and Casemiro should certainly be unleashed from the start against Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Will Casemiro start against Liverpool?

The Brazilian has arguably been Ten Hag’s most important signing this season, adding some much-needed experience to his midfield while the player’s winners mentality – securing 18 major honours at Real Madrid –  has already helped the club secure their first piece of silverware in six years, playing a starring role in the League Cup victory last weekend after netting the game’s opening goal at Wembley.

Ten Hag only gave him 45 minutes in midweek, coming on for the second half, with the Old Trafford side scoring two late goals to sneak through to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win, yet the 31-year-old must start this time around at Anfield, especially with the midfield battle so important.

The 69-cap sensation – who has been dubbed “unreal” by journalist Liam Canning recently – will surely terrorise Fabinho at the heart of the Reds midfield, with his compatriot having an off-season so far.

His performances led Graeme Bailey to describe him as “an old man” following his lack of urgency in the midfield and Casemiro could pounce on this today.

The 29-year-old has lost possession on average 6.7 times for Liverpool in the league this season, and being this sloppy against United will only give Casemiro a major advantage. The United star ranks in the top 7% across Europe’s big five leagues for tackles (3.12 per 90) and he could take advantage of Fabinho’s sloppiness which could go a long way to winning the midfield battle and gaining control of the match.

Ten Hag finally has finally built up some momentum recently, with the Red Devils losing only once since Christmas and a victory over their rivals this afternoon could potentially end Klopp’s magnificent era on Merseyside while allowing Ten Hag the opportunity to begin his own dynasty just a few miles along the road.

Arsenal conceding the early goal during the Premier League game vs Bournemouth was ‘far too easy’, according to journalist Simon Collings.

The Lowdown: Five-goal thriller

The Gunners were the hosts at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon where Mikel Arteta and his side secured an emphatic 3-2 victory over the Cherries thanks to goals from Thomas Partey, Ben White and Reiss Nelson.

Gary O’Neil’s visitors, however, took the lead in N7 after just nine seconds when Philip Billing latched onto a cross into the box from Dango Ouattara which missed everyone where he was waiting to smash it home past Aaron Ramsdale.

The Latest: Collings’ reaction

Taking to Twitter, Collings reacted to Arsenal letting Bournemouth go ahead inside the opening seconds of the game by suggesting that the hosts could have done a lot more to prevent it from hitting the back of the net. He wrote:

“Wow. What was that? 8 seconds? Bournemouth score straight from kick-off.

“Far too easy.

“Arsenal 0-1 Bournemouth.”

The Verdict: Outstanding comeback

Arsenal were under pressure to get a result coming into this game with Manchester City having initially reduced the gap earlier today, but luckily for Arteta, his team displayed yet another fighting spirit to produce the comeback and secure all three points.

Captain Martin Odegaard was the player to receive the highest match rating of 8.2, but Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka also all received scores above 7.0 (SofaScore).

Leandro Trossard had to be removed from the pitch on 22 minutes after sustaining an injury which will be a massive blow to the boss, but today’s focus, for him, has to be on the result.

The Gunners still have to play their rivals at the top of the table in the reverse fixture next month so there’s all to play for, though Arteta will be buzzing to have maintained his side’s lead over their competitors.

Ben Jacobs believes that an opportunity may well present itself and allow Newcastle United to land Serbian international Dusan Vlahovic.

The Lowdown: Newcastle to target a new striker

Despite the Magpies going out and splashing a club-record fee on Alexander Isak less than 12 months ago, the worrying form of Callum Wilson this season could well be a cause for concern.

Newcastle’s number nine hasn’t found the back of the net since the end of October, which has coincided with the Magpies being part of several 0-0 games post-World Cup, so PIF may look to do business in the summer.

If Newcastle are wanting to be competitive in the league and potentially Europe next season they will need strikers who are clinical and proven, something Wilson isn’t at European level, but Vlahovic certainly is.

The Latest: Vlahovic to look for a quick exit

The Serbian international has only been at Juventus for just over 12 months but is already being tipped with an exit due to the Old Lady’s off-field issues and that could leave the door open for Newcastle according to Jacobs who was speaking on his latest Twitter Space.

He said: (59:45) “I also think that there is an opportunity for Newcastle to enter into certain races that they wouldn’t have predicted at the beginning of the season because of Champions League football. Whether that’s for, example, a player like Dusan Vlahovic.”

The Verdict: PIF to make a statement of intent

It has been reported that Vlahovic, who has been hailed as a ‘ridiculous’ player by Micah Richards, has a price tag on his head of around £80 million according to Corriere dello Sport (via Football Italia), which is quite hefty but given he signed a long-term deal just 12 months ago and has been firing in the goals in Turin, it’s not a surprise.

Vlahovic’s arrival would likely signal the end of Wilson being the main man on Tyneside given his age and the fact he’s struggling for form and has a horrific injury record following him around.

However, it would indeed be a hefty deal for PIF to splash out on especially when they have a young striker in the form of Isak within their ranks, but if the opportunity presented itself it would be madness to not sign someone so young, an international for his country and has a record of 57 goals in 124 Serie A games.

Leeds United could look at a late move for Leicester City’s Ayoze Perez, according to reporter Ben Jacobs.

The Lowdown: McKennie move

The Whites look set to seal another marquee January signing in Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.

The USA international has agreed on personal terms with Leeds, who have reached an agreement with the Serie A giants over an initial loan deal with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.

The Latest: ‘Keep an eye on’ Perez

Perez is now into the final six months of his contract at Leicester and can play as a centre-forward, second striker or right winger. The Spaniard was once valued at €30m (£26.3m) by Transfermarkt in 2019 but that figure has dropped to €6m (£5.3m) after making just three starts in the Premier League this season.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jacobs said that Leeds could look into a move for Perez, who he believes could be a ‘valuable’ player if he can return to his best form.

The CBS Sports reporter said in relation to possible incomings at Elland Road: “I think that one name to keep an eye on, potentially, could be Ayoze Perez. He hasn’t done well at Leicester but proved that, if given a run of form, he could be valuable to a Premier League club from his Newcastle days.”

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The Verdict: Not needed

The Whites have added to their attacking ranks this month by bringing in Georginio Rutter for a club-record fee. The 20-year-old made his first appearance for the club in the FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley and looked sharp considering that he hadn’t played since November.

Jesse Marsch now has plenty of attacking talent at his disposal over the coming months, including Jack Harrison, Wilfried Gnonto, Brenden Aaronson, Crysencio Summerville, Luis Sinisterra, Rodrigo, Patrick Bamford and Rutter.

Leeds even decided to send Joe Gelhardt out on loan to Sunderland due to their strength in depth in the final third, so you could say that a move for Perez won’t be needed, despite Jacobs’ claim.

Edu has a week left of the month to go to complete any remaining Arsenal business that the sporting director wants to do during the January transfer window.

The Gunners have already brought in Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior, from Brighton and Spezia respectively, but that may not be the last of their winter dealings.

When asked about possible interest from the club in Barcelona forward Raphinha, after Spanish media recently reported that they are keen on the Brazilian attacker, journalist Ben Jacobs told GIVEMESPORT:

“The admiration from Arsenal for Raphinha is absolutely no secret. They wanted him during the summer, they were the first of three clubs to make a bid to Leeds United before Chelsea and Barcelona. They never really wanted to go above about €50m [almost £44m].”

After signing Trossard to compete with Gabriel Martinelli out on the left flank, Edu could land Mike Arteta a dream alternative to Bukayo Saka on the right side by signing the Barcelona attacker this month.

The current Arsenal winger has been in terrific form in the Premier League this season. He has scored seven goals and assisted seven for his teammates in 19 appearances – averaging a Sofascore rating of 7.28.

Saka excels at driving at the opposition’s left-back before cutting inside onto his favoured left foot to score and assist goals, as he did to great effect against Manchester United – beating Luke Shaw and curling into the far corner from distance.

Raphinha could come in and provide similar qualities on the right wing as a left-footed magician who has proven that he can provide goal contributions in the Premier League.

Journalist Seb Stafford-Bloor once hailed the Brazil international as “magic” and said that the gem “raises the temperature just by shifting the ball onto his left foot”, which you could liken to the way supporters at The Emirates leap out of their seats in excitement whenever Saka touches the ball in a promising position out wide.

The forward, who joined Barcelona for £55m last summer, scored 17 goals and created 22 ‘big chances, assisting 12 goals, in two seasons in the English top-flight for Leeds prior to his move to Spain.

These statistics show that Raphinha has the quality to deliver goals and assists on a regular basis in the Premier League and that, along with his similar style to the current Arsenal dynamo, is why he would be a dream alternative to Saka on the right wing during the second half of the season.