Category Uncategorized

After seeing a resurgence in form from Gareth Bale, it’s now time for Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho to unleash forgotten star Dele Alli in the final third of this campaign.

The league season has not gone to plan for Spurs overall.

They find themselves eighth in the Premier League table, six points behind the top four and behind all but one of their main rivals, though they have advanced into the last 16 of the Europa League and have a genuine shot at winning silverware with the Carabao Cup final on the horizon.

But this means that games will be coming thick and fast every week, and thus, the Portuguese stalwart will need his entire squad to be at the races.

Bale had barely featured for the north London club until recently – indeed, the Welsh superstar has only played 1,000 minutes in all competitions for a total of 20 appearances (just 12 starts), as per Transfermarkt.

But in his last four appearances, the 31-year-old has delivered four goals and three assists to help arrest the poor run of form Spurs had found themselves in.

This, ultimately, needs to be the masterplan for Alli to refind his feet in N17.

The 24-year-old, who is valued at €30m (£26m), has played fewer minutes (737) but he too showed flashes of his old ability in their 4-0 win over Wolfsberger last week, delivering one goal and a brace of assists.

SofaScore graded that display a 9.2, his highest since a win over Bournemouth in December 2019 (9.0).

After the game, the Spurs boss waxed lyrical about the rarely-seen playmaker, he said (via the Evening Standard): “He is playing very well” before adding: “The goal was beautiful, but the meaning of the assists and hard work for the team means more to me. That work of continuity in the performance is what makes me really happy.”

Mourinho has largely relied on the goalscoring exploits of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son as the duo account for xx% of their league goals this term, whilst no player has stepped up to fill the void left behind by Christian Eriksen in the no.10 role.

And with Tanguy Ndombele being deployed in a deeper position, alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, there is a spot up for grabs alongside Bale, Son and Kane.

Both Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela have been deployed there, but it is Alli who is the better and more natural fit – just imagine him and Bale if he manages to rediscover form.

The £100k-per-week midfielder was once dubbed a “freak of a talent” and compared to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes by ex-Spurs star Darren Anderton in an interview relayed by Goal.com.

In three of his last six Premier League campaigns, Alli has delivered at least nine goals and seven assists and throughout his Spurs and competitive England career, the attacking maestro has averaged 1.4 key passes per game, even despite playing only 138 minutes this season, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Moura averages only 0.7 in the role, while Lamela can only muster up 0.4 per game across all positions played. Similarly, Kane and Son are the only players managing above one key pass per league outing.

There is evidently a need for creativity, and this is something Alli can provide, if Mourinho can get him back to his best and considering Bale’s drastic turnaround, it is certainly possible.

Alli must now be unleashed alongside Bale, Kane and Son. That’s a front four capable of striking fear into any side.

AND in other news, Mourinho must make U-turn over “special” £18m-rated Spurs gem who’s “better than ever”…

MatériaMais Notícias

O Santos recuperou os 70% dos direitos econômicos que tinha perdido do volante Alison para o Banco de Minas Gerais. O clube acertou pagar os 1,5 milhão de euros (cerca de R$ 4,8 milhões, segundo a cotação da época), de forma parcelada, conforme noticiou o site Globoesporte.com. O acordo foi fechado há cerca de um mês.

A perda aconteceu no fim de 2014, quando a gestão do então presidente Odílio Rodrigues pegou o valor emprestado do BMG e colocou o percentual como garantia bancária em contrato. Como o Peixe não pagou o empréstimo, perdeu os direitos que tinha do jovem volante.

RelacionadasSantosCrispim, Bueno e Ronaldo marcam, e Santos goleia em jogo-treinoSantos22/03/2016SantosApós ‘denúncias’, Santos tenta conter pirataria em venda de camisasSantos22/03/2016SantosSerginho reconhece clássico ‘difícil’, mas confia em time misto do SantosSantos22/03/2016

Agora, com os 70% de volta, o Santos só não os 30% restantes, que pertencem ao próprio jogador e a empresários.

O Alvinegro já chegou a recusar uma oferta para vender o jogador para o Internacional em 2015. O camisa 5 também recebeu sondagem do Corinthians.

Alison tem 23 anos e foi revelado no próprio Santos. Ele chegou a ser titular em 2014 e 2015, mas rompeu o ligamento do joelho por três vezes. Na última partida, ele foi improvisado como lateral-direito.

A fresh update over the future of Dele Alli at Tottenham Hotspur has emerged as the 11pm transfer deadline rapidly approaches…

What’s the word?

According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the 24-year-old’s move to Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain is definitely ‘not happening’ despite the player pushing to leave north London this window.

It’s claimed that Spurs have refused to let him go as they couldn’t find a suitable replacement.

“It’s over,” said Romano on Twitter.

Another Levy masterclass?

It has been quite the January transfer saga with Alli.

Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG had been interested in the summer and reignited their pursuit earlier this month, but there had been a contrast in views in the Spurs camp over his potential departure.

On the one hand, manager Jose Mourinho was happy to sanction his exit – it’s easy to see why given he’s restricted him to only 472 minutes all season – whilst chairman Daniel Levy was completely opposed to it.

That was the word from talkSPORT’s Jim White earlier today.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!”]

This stance is almost a mirror image to the Tanguy Ndombele situation throughout the end of last season and into the summer, as reported by the Express.

So, Romano’s latest update should have the tough-negotiator delighted as he’s once again fought against a key Mourinho decision and now it’ll be on him to convince the 58-year-old into playing him more often.

No one could have predicted the sheer turnaround in form from the club-record £55m Frenchman as he now ranks among Spurs’ best players, he’s joint-third for average WhoScored rating this term (7.03).

He’s also already surpassed his two-goal tally from last season too.

Spurs remain in all league and cup competitions, of which they have a Carabao Cup final and the Europa League knockout stages to contend with, so Mourinho is going to need plenty of options throughout the remainder of the season.

An injury to Ndombele could certainly open the door to Alli becoming involved more often, especially with Giovani Lo Celso still on the treatment table.

If that does occur at some point, then Mourinho can thank Levy for keeping hold of the English attacking midfielder.

Even then, Spurs’ recent performances leave you pondering if Alli could make an impact. Alasdair Gold at football.london believes “Tottenham could do with a firing Dele Alli right now” – and indeed they could after two successive defeats in the league.

Now valued at €40m (£36m), Alli must repay Levy’s faith in him by putting his head down and delivering in training even despite the likely disappointment of not sealing a reunion with Pochettino.

AND in other news, £35m-rated monster could become Jose Mourinho’s Van Dijk

Liverpool have reportedly turned their attention towards signing Juventus centre-back Merih Demiral in the January transfer window, as they look to solve their current injury crisis in defence.

What’s the word?

According to Turkish news outlet Fanatik, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City are all interested in signing the Juventus defender this month.

It is suggested that the 22-year-old is keen to be playing regular football ahead of the European Championships with Turkey this summer, something which he is not currently getting under Andrea Pirlo with the Serie A side, as he has made just nine appearances in all competitions this season.

Bad news for Phillips?

If Liverpool were to sign the defender, who joined the Old Lady for €18 million (£16.5m) in 2019, this month it could be bad news for Nathaniel Phillips. It seems unlikely that the 23-year-old would be offered an extension to his contract that is set to expire at the end of this season, despite him stepping up this season in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.

With the likes of Joel Matip also set to return soon, whilst Rhys Williams and Billy Koumetio may both be knocking on the door of the first-team squad again next season, it seems likely that Phillips would quickly become surplus to requirements once Liverpool’s usual starters are back fit.

Demiral would certainly come with high expectations, with Turkish football expert Emre Sarigul full of praise for the defender, saying:

“Demiral was a Vidic fan growing up and he is a similar stature to the former Manchester United man. The Turkish international towers above most players, is physical, strong in the air and surprisingly technical with the ball for such a big man. He is a natural leader and cool under pressure.”

This is glowing praise for the former Sassuolo man and judging by the description of Sarigul, he could be the ideal man to replace Van Dijk whilst the Dutchman recovers from his injury.

Certainly, we saw Liverpool’s defensive frailties exposed at times in the 1-0 defeat against Southampton on Monday night, with Jurgen Klopp fielding two defensive-midfielders at centre-back in Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, so signing a centre-back such as Demiral must surely be a priority for sporting director Michael Edwards this month.

And, in other news… Forget Trent: Klopp will be fuming with “world class” LFC star who made just 11 passes vs Southampton…

To put things kindly, Sunderland’s transfer business in the last few years has been nothing short of disastrous.

Although there have been some good acquisitions in the form of Luke O’Nien and Bailey Wright – two of the first names on the team sheet – there has been some appalling transfers.

Chief suspect in this is Stewart Donald, someone who has never really got things right in terms of recruitment.

He has worked through tough circumstances – having to keep budgets in check for a big club in League One – but he hasn’t helped his cause either.

When the Black Cats were led astray by Josh Maja’s agent when he left the Stadium of Light, desperate measures were taken.

Sunderland needed a new striker and they forked out £4m to sign Will Grigg. On paper, it was a good signing given his record for Wigan in the same division, but he has scored just eight goals in nearly two years.

Therefore, it will be interesting to see what kind of approach is taken under prospective new owners Kyril-Louis Dreyfus and Juan Sartori.

It’s already been suggested that Dreyfus could look to operate in the French market but have we received another inkling of how they could operate?

Well, according to France Football (via Sport Witness), the 22-year-old is looking to build a portfolio of clubs in France and Uruguay after taking over at Sunderland.

Now, this sounds a lot like the kind of process that’s in play at both Manchester City and Watford. Their respect owners – Sheikh Mansour and Gino Pozzo – have both ploughed investment into a host of clubs throughout world football.

The City group has a stake in Melbourne City, New York City and Girona in Spain among others. As for the Pozzo’s, they famously used their ties with Udinese to their advantage at Watford.

But why is this relevant to Sunderland? That’s because if Dreyfus takes influence from the Pozzo’s, then he could save millions in the transfer window.

By building a network of clubs, he can easily negotiate either sales or loan deals to benefit the Black Cats going forward.

When Watford were in the Championship, they signed no fewer than nine players from Udinese in the 2013/14 season. All of those deals were on free transfers. Had that link not been there, their squad will have looked vastly different and it is unlikely promotion would have been achieved.

If Dreyfus can invest in other clubs around the globe, it should only benefit Sunderland in the transfer market.

This is a cunning plan from the young businessman.

In other news, Forget Wyke: “League One cheat code” with 97 touches was Johnson’s real hero last weekend…

Fresh off the back of their win over Watford in the FA Cup, Manchester United return to Premier League action when they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Tuesday night.

A first half-strike from Scott McTominay was enough to give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side an unconvincing victory at home to the Hornets at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Substitute Marcus Rashford looked lively after the break after he replaced Daniel James on the right wing as he came close to scoring on several occasions, only to be denied by the outstretched arms of Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.

Sir Alex Ferguson recently heaped praise on Rashford for the “fantastic” work he has done away from football after he campaigned for free school meals for children during the holidays.

Despite bursting onto the scene as a striker, the 23-year-old started alongside Anthony Martial on the right wing during the 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer previously admitted he has been impressed by Rashford’s recent displays after he started on the right wing for the first time in 18 month sand scored against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League last year.

Martial also started on the bench for the FA Cup clash with Watford, which means it’s likely he will lead the line against Sean Dyche’s side.

But Rashford may, in fact, be better suited to starting upfront against Burnley as the games continue to come thick and fast for the league leaders, who currently near the top of the table, tied with defending champions Liverpool on points.

Although Martial did score against Aston Villa at Old Trafford, he has arguably struggled to replicate the form that saw him voted the Players’ Player of the Year last season.

That is also down to game-time, as the 25-year-old has battled his fair share of injury problems over the past couple of years alone, although he seems to have discovered a resurgence in form in recent weeks.

But the fact of the matter remains that Rashford has been in red-hot form, bagging seven goals and six assists in the Premier League this season, via Transfermarkt. Martial has also only recently recovered from a minor knock and it’s surely not worth the risk.

Against Newcastle – who, like the Clarets, can also be difficult to breakdown – the 39-cap England international assumed the role of lone striker and contributed to three goals, scoring once and setting up two others.

Whilst Bruno Fernandes will also be expected to start, having been rested by Solskjaer against the Hornets, redeploying Rashford as a centre-forward could cause Burnley several problems at the back.

AND in other news, Luke Shaw slammed by Carlton Palmer for decision-making during Man Utd’s defeat to Man City…

أكد أولي جونار سولشاير مدرب فريق مانشستر يونايتد أنه على تواصل مستمر مع مسؤولي النادي الإنجليزي، في ظل التكهنات المنتشرة حول مستقبله في الأولد ترافورد.

ويواجه سولشاير موجة عنيفة من الانتقادات بسبب تراجع مستوى مانشستر يونايتد وسوء النتائج هذا الموسم.

وخسر مانشستر يونايتد في آخر مباراتين على أرضه في الدوري الإنجليزي، وذلك بخماسية نظيفة أمام ليفربول ثم ثنائية من مانشستر سيتي.

وتسبب كل ذلك في إثارة التكهنات حول مستقبل سولشاير مع مانشستر يونايتد، حيث طالب الكثير بإقالته.

وعندما سئل عما إذا كان هناك تواصل بينه وبين إد وودوارد الرئيس التنفيذي للنادي، قال سولشاير: “بالطبع، لقد كنت على اتصال بالنادي وتواصلت معه كما أفعل طوال الوقت على أي حال”.

وأضاف في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “مترو” الإنجليزية: “لقد كانت استراحة دولية طويلة لكننا استغليناها لمصلحتنا، نشعر أن هناك استجابة جيدة من اللاعبين ونحن مستعدون لمباراة واتفورد”.

وحول ما إذا كان لا يزال يشعر بالأمان في الوظيفة والدعم، تابع سولشاير: “نعم، اللاعبون، الطاقم، أنا، النادي، نحن نعمل على هدف واحد للتحسين، والحصول على نتائج أفضل”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مانشستر يونايتد يتخذ قرارًا حاسمًا بشأن مستقبل بوجبا

واستكمل: “لا يزال المشجعون يدعمون الفريق والنادي، لقد دعموا الفريق خلال تلك الفترة من أجل إعادة البناء”.

 واختتم: “عندما تخسر مباراة، تشعر دائمًا بخيبة أمل وتكون تحت ضغط، نتواصل بصراحة وصدق، كان هذا الأسبوع جيدًا حقًا للتدريب”.

Mark Robins will look to make it back-to-back wins this coming weekend as Coventry City travel to face Barnsley in the Championship.

The impressive 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers last weekend saw the Sky Blues gain their first three points of the new season.

Gaining promotion from League One to the Championship last term, Robins has made significant changes to his squad via the transfer market, bringing in a whole host of new faces, including Gustavo Hamer from PEC Zwolle and Callum O’Hare on a permanent deal from Aston Villa.

For the trip to Barnsley, Robins is unlikely to make any changes to the starting 11 which will ultimately be a key decision as he looks to gain a second win in three games.

Having three names on the injury list at the present time in Liam Kelly, Wes Jobell and Julien Dacosta, Robins has a fairly fit side. Whilst Kelly is back in training, it has been confirmed that the Barnsley game will come too soon.

Marko Marosi will continue in between the sticks, behind a back three of Dominic Hyam, Kyle McFadzean and Leo Ostigard.

The left wing back role will be taken up by Ryan Giles and Fankaty Dabo could keep his place on the opposite side.

Jamie Allen and Gustavo Hamer looked comfortable together last weekend and they will be deployed in the holding midfielder roles, allowing the likes of O’Hare and Jordan Shipley to play in advanced midfield roles.

The lone striker role will be taken up by Matt Godden, who has netted twice in two Championship outings, but Tyler Walker will be desperate to get on the pitch and be handed a chance by Robins.

Do you think Coventry can get all three points against Barnsley? Let us know in the comments section below…

Leeds United have just had a deal for a highly-rated youngster fall through at the last minute.

Where have we heard that before?

Of course, Michael Cuisance’s deal falling through has brought back memories of Daniel James’ failed transfer in January 2019, when Leeds United had gone as far as to take pictures of the winger with his new shirt before the deal collapsed.

James didn’t sign, and Leeds didn’t have a plan B lined up for if things went awry, and this ultimately may have cost United promotion to the Premier League in the 2018/19 season, with fans blaming Andrea Radrizzani’s lack of investment that January on their late-season collapse.

Once again, the Yorkshire club find themselves in a similar position with a transfer that looked all but done, falling apart late on, but this time they need to make sure to learn from their mistakes.

United have been pursuing a midfielder all summer long with Rodrigo De Paul and Cuisance being the most concrete links, and with just days of the window to go, they still haven’t managed to land their man.

Fortunately, there is plenty of time for a signing, and if Victor Orta has learnt from his mistakes from the Dan James deal, United should have other options already lined up.

Orta has done a great job with his signings so far, bringing in a number of experienced players to plug the gaps in United’s squad including Diego Llorente and Rodrigo. But with the Cuisance deal falling through being such a setback, he now has to prove his worth and find an adequate midfielder as an alternative to the Bayern Munich man.

Fingers crossed, Leeds have learnt from their mistakes, or else this is a transfer disaster that could haunt the club for years to come.

In other news, find out which Leeds man has been ruled out of their clash against Manchester City…

أشاد الإنجليزي مارتن كيون، مدافع آرسنال السابق، بالدولي المصري محمد صلاح نجم ليفربول الحالي، مطالبًا الريدز بتجديد عقده.

محمد صلاح ينتهي عقده في صيف 2023، بعدما انضم إلى الريدز في 2017 قادمًا من روما الإيطالي.

وقال كيون في تصريحات لشبكة “BBC” البريطانية: “محمد صلاح موهبة رائعة، هذا الهدوء الذي يتمتع به أمام المرمى مُذهل للغاية”.

طالع أيضًا.. كاراجر يطالب ليفربول بالتعاقد مع مهاجم لتعويض غياب محمد صلاح وماني

وأضاف: “بهذه الجودة، يحول الدفاع رأسًا على عقب، ويجعل جميع المدافعين يخشون مواجهته، إنه لاعبًا رائعًا ويمتلك قدرات خاصة للغاية”.

واختتم: “محمد صلاح الآن يتفوق على الجميع، أصبح أفضل من أي لاعب في الدوري الإنجليزي، لذلك، على ليفربول أن يوقع معه عقدًا جديدًا في أسرع وقت ممكن”.

محمد صلاح هذا الموسم خاض مع ليفربول 9 مباريات وسجل 9 أهداف في مختلف المسابقات، بالدوري الإنجليزي ودوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويتواجد النجم المصري ضمن قائمة المرشحين للفوز بالكرة الذهبية، المقدمة من مجلة فرانس فوتبول الفرنسية.

ويتصدر محمد صلاح قائمة ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز برصيد 6 أهداف، متساويًا مع جيمي فاردي مهاجم ليستر سيتي.