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According to The Chronicle, former Newcastle left-back Jetro Willems would be open to a return to St James’ Park.

What’s the story?

The Netherlands international signed for the Magpies on a season-long loan in the summer of 2019, and after producing some flashes of brilliance, including a thunderous strike away at Liverpool, saw his campaign cut short by a knee injury.

Willems is only just closing on a return to full fitness, and with his contract at Eintracht Frankfurt coming to an end once this season is over, could be available on a free transfer.

The Chronicle claims that the left-back could even be available for a nominal fee in January when Newcastle might assess their options, and that Willems himself is open to the idea of making a return to Tyneside.

Nightmare for Bruce

Whilst Willems was a regular starter for Steve Bruce last season, making 19 appearances in the Premier League, a knee injury like the one he is recovering from just puts a major question mark over any potential move for him.

The Dutchman has yet to play a competitive game since going off injured against Manchester City, and until the Magpies see him at least get up and running at Frankfurt, they shouldn’t even consider spending any money on a transfer fee and/or wages in trying to sign him.

Former Netherlands manager Dick Advocaat also raised questions about his defending, saying that he “does crazy things too often”. Jamal Lewis has proven himself to be a superb summer signing, and is the undisputed number one left-back at St James’ Park.

The £3.5m-rated Willems would have to settle for a place as his back-up, and with his lack of fitness at the moment, it just doesn’t make sense for Newcastle to go after him right now.

MatériaMais Notícias

A torcida do Fluminense já sabe que verá Ronaldinho Gaúcho defendendo as cores de sua equipe novamente, por um curto período. E, nesta terça-feira, o jogador reforçou a ligação com o clube. Em sua página numa rede social, ele postou uma foto referente à Florida Cup e comentou o “retorno” ao Tricolor.

– Muito legal participar da Florida CUP, este brilhante torneio que está acontecendo nos EUA. Grandes times envolvidos e toda aquela energia e paixão pelo Futebol que está sempre presente em todos os lugares!! Voltar a vestir a camisa do Fluminense vai ser muito bacana e espero que todos se divirtam e aproveitem muito nesses 10 dias de #FloridaCUP – escreveu.

Sem marcar gols nem dar assistência, o R10 teve passagem apagada pelo clube das Laranjeiras entre julho e setembro de 2015. Ao todo, foram 80 dias na equipe, em um casamento que terminou com o pedido de rescisão do atleta.No entanto, um acordo entre ambos garante a participação de Ronaldinho nos dois jogos em que os comandados de Eduardo Baptista farão nos Estados Unidos, contra Shakhtar Donetsk (UCR) e Internacional.

A primeira partida do Flu pela Florida Cup acontece no próximo domingo (17). Já o duelo com o representante do Rio Grande do Sul está marcado para três dias depois. Atlético-MG e Corinthians são os outros times brasileiros no certame.

RelacionadasPalmeirasJean não vai ao Cruzeiro e Verdão é procurado para retomar negócioPalmeiras12/01/2016Futebol NacionalQual jogador tem o cabelo mais estiloso? Vote no Duelo!Futebol Nacional12/01/2016CruzeiroDirigente diz que Jean está fora dos planos do Cruzeiro ‘por enquanto’Cruzeiro12/01/2016

David Gold and David Sullivan could have finally solved David Moyes’ defensive crisis this summer had the West Ham United ownership dug a little deeper in their pursuit of RC Strasbourg’s rising star Mohamed Simakan.

What’s the word?

According to Le10 Sport, West Ham scrambled to France at the end of the international transfer market in search of Moyes’ next centre-half, but came up short in efforts to lure Simakan to the London Stadium.

The Irons are believed to have been behind a rejected €17million (£15.4m) bid for the 20-year-old, also courted by Southampton and AC Milan who likewise saw approaches rebuffed.

Strasbourg held firm in their asking price of no less than €20m (£18.1m) in the face of Euro-wide interest, with Milan only offering as much as €15m (£13.6m) while Rennes, Lyon and Marseille never formalised their intrigue.

Simakan, described as a “great professional” by agent Badou Sambage earlier in 2020, as per Transfer20 via HITC, is thought to have been left disappointed by a potential move – particularly one to England – falling through with Strasbourg rejecting all approaches received, having been keen to try his hand in another league following 25 appearances across all competitions last season.

Thierry Laurey’s Meinau stadium natives must now persist with an unhappy player in the camp, but have felt fit to start the 6 ft 1 talent in each of their six Ligue 1 fixtures played to date this term.

Strasbourg have kept one clean sheet and taken one win in their league matches held prior to the international break, coming in a 1-0 result over Dijon before conceding six times in two games to AS Monaco and LOSC Lille.

Missed opportunity?

Simakan’s potential is there to see in the number of top-tier sides to have been linked with his services this summer, with reports in Germany also suggesting that RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund were closely monitoring his situation earlier in the year.

Leipzig’s belief in Simakan’s talents reaching another level in the Bundesliga were seemingly so strong that they potentially considered the Marseille-born prospect to be of a standard good enough to replace Dayot Upamecano – who they informed Bayern Munich would cost €40m (£36.2m) after lowering a €60m (£54.4m) asking price.

West Ham could always return to Strasbourg in January with the market only a few months away, knowing the Irons were only €3m (£2.7m) shy of reaching an agreement this month. But Strasbourg’s asking price was already put to the Hammers when the east London outfit emerged as a potential suitor.

Gold and Sullivan presenting the extra funds would have secured Moyes a rough diamond in Simakan, who stood out last season with his pace at full stride, talent on the ball and ability to lead the backline.

AND in other news, West Ham could land David Moyes’ ideal defensive partner for Angelo Ogbonna in a Championship talent his current side landed for £4m.

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Joel Carli é a novidade no Botafogo. Diego Giaretta foi embora na primeira barca. O clube vai se mexendo para a próxima temporada e tem na zaga uma das suas prioridades. Renan Fonseca e Roger Carvalho, importantes no acesso e título alvinegro da Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro, ainda não renovaram seus contratos e estão em compasso de espera.

Roger Carvalho tem vínculo até 5 de janeiro de 2016. O acordo com Renan Fonseca termina no próximo dia 31 de dezembro.

Com a camisa do Botafogo, Roger Carvalho disputou 30 partidas e fez sete gols. O último, na vitória sobre o ABC, em Brasília, foi de fundamental importância. O triunfo por 2 a 1 sobre a equipe potiguar garantiu o título da Série B do Brasileiro.

Renan Fonseca, por sua vez, balançou as redes dos adversários apena duas vezes e todas pelo Campeonato Estadual. O zagueiro, entretanto, disputou muito mais partidas que seu companheiro. Foram 56 jogos pela equipe alvinegra.

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Talks between Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund to sort out a deal for Jadon Sancho have stalled.

That’s according to Sky Sports, as per @utdreport, who claim that Man United will not meet Dortmund’s demands for the 11-cap England international. However, the Red Devils are not ready to give up on trying to sign Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s top target this summer, despite missing Dortmund’s artificial deadline on Monday.

Sancho was the Bundesliga club’s top scorer last term, having finished the season with a total of 20 goals and 18 assists (via WhoScored).

United chiefs Ed Woodward and Matt Judge are frustrated that progress is so slow, although time is on their side as the transfer window won’t close until October.

The board have made it clear they are not prepared to pay Dortmund’s €120m (£108m) valuation, with Woodward insisting that he is not willing to pay over the odds. Nevertheless, they will have to splash the cash if they want to sign Sancho in the summer, or they may miss out on him altogether in the future if interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool resurfaces next year.

Naturally, many United fans slammed Woodward on social media, with one supporter tweeting “Woodward is finished” if he cannot get a deal done in time for the upcoming season. Several others branded the transfer news “awful” and “rubbish” in reference to the fact the club have been chasing Sancho for some time now, with seemingly no end in sight.

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, do you think Woodward will sign Sancho this summer? Let us know your views in the comments below!

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O Cruzeiro venceu o São Paulo, por 2 a 1, no Mineirão, pela 34ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro.O time comandado pelo técnico Mano Menezes não tem mais chances de lutar nem ao menos pela Libertadores do ano que vem, mas já livre de riscos de rebaixamento, podendo assim planejar 2016. Willian, autor do gol da vitória foi um dos destaques da equipe celeste e recebeu a melhor nota do time.

CRUZEIRO

Jogador com a melhor nota L! – Willian (8,0)
Jogador com mais chutes certos a gol – Willians (2)
Jogador com mais desarmes – Manoel, Henrique, Fabrício, Willians e De Arrascaeta (3)
Total de defesas do goleiro – Fábio (3)
Jogador mais faltoso – Gabriel Xavier (2)
Total de posse de bola do time no jogo – 13’19 (41%)

Arsenal and Manchester City go head-to-head at Wembley this weekend for a place in the FA Cup final.

For the Gunners, who have won the trophy a record 13 times, it acts as a welcome distraction from what has been a difficult Premier League campaign.

But for Man City, the FA Cup acts as the perfect opportunity to bring some success to a campaign which has seen them toppled from their Premier League throne by Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta’s North London outfit are in weird form, having following up a 2-1 defeat to rivals Tottenham with a victory over Champions Liverpool by the same scoreline, and this inconsistency is threatening their participation in any continental competition next term.

Man City, meanwhile, are in search of a yet another piece of silverware under Pep Guardiola and with second place in the league all wrapped up, their attentions will now be on this competition and, of course, the Champions League.

Form

As we’ve already established, Arsenal’s form has been a bit inconsistent over the last week, which has led to them currently wondering whether lifting the FA Cup will be their only route into the Europa League.

In this competition, Arsenal are undefeated in 27 of their last 30 FA Cup matches, while in all competitions they’ve lost just once in seven outings.

Pep Guardiola’s side are bidding to retain the FA Cup, and they’ll be the first team to do so since their opponents Arsenal did it between 2013 and 2015.

They should be confident of at least making the final given their recent record against the Gunners – they’ve won their last seven matches against the North London side.

Team News

Arsenal will be without the cup-tied Cedric Soares, but also have a number of key first-team players out injured, including Bernd Leno, Gabriel Martinelli, Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari.

Eddie Nketiah is suspended and, as is almost always the case, there are doubts over Mesut Ozil’s involvement.

Man City’s only doubt for this game is Sergio Aguero, and it’s expected that Guardiola will be looking to field a very strong XI after rotating heavily over his last couple of league outings.

Cup goalkeeper Claudio Bravo is expected to replace Ederson between the sticks.

How to Watch

Fans can tune in to watch the FA Cup live on TV this weekend via BT Sport, with the game scheduled to kick-off at 7:45pm.

He may not have spent too many years with Rangers, but Nikica Jelavic certainly left a major mark at Ibrox.

The Croatian played 56 times for the Gers, scoring an impressive 36 times and providing a further 15 assists. His form with the Scottish side eventually earned him a move to the Premier League with Everton, where he went on to enjoy another few successful years.

Stuck in isolation? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

But after Rangers’ official Twitter account posted a clip of Jelavic’s strike against Hearts as part of their ‘Goal of the Day’, fans flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts about their former star.

One Rangers fans even suggested that Jelavic was under-rated, and that the club haven’t had anyone as good as him since.

It certainly says a lot about the kind of impression that Jelavic made, that he is compared favourably with strikers both past and present in the club’s history.

He may not be the most high-profile name, or a man with a marquee reputation, but Jelavic banged in the goals for fun at Rangers, and his contributions won’t be forgotten.

Rumours linking Manchester City star Raheem Sterling with a move to Liverpool have been firmly quashed by James Pearce.

What’s the word?

Indeed, the highly respected journalist has rubbished the prospect of Sterling making a stunning return to Anfield.

City’s talisman recently claimed that Liverpool are “always in my heart”, a quote which preceded a transfer story from L’Equipe.

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The French media outlet suggested there was a possibility that Sterling could return to Liverpool amid Real Madrid’s interest in Sadio Mane, but Pearce has staunchly denied any truth in those rumours.

Writing in an article published on The Athletic, the former Liverpool Echo journalist confirmed a Liverpool deal for Sterling is “a non-starter on every possible level,” before offering a theory on why the England international spoke of his admiration for his former club.

“Maybe Sterling regrets the way he handled his exit and is just trying to build bridges and show his appreciation for the club who launched his professional career. He has previously talked about how his young daughter Melody remains a Liverpool fan and sings Mohamed Salah’s “Egyptian king” chant around the house.”

Building bridges

Following years of tension and vociferous booing, underpinned by strong feelings of animosity, it is little surprise that Sterling is trying to build bridges with Liverpool supporters, as Pearce suggests.

With the benefit of hindsight and years to mull over how his exit materialised, it’s only natural that the 25-year-old forward may feel a touch regretful over how the relationship became so strained.

After all, he enjoyed a stunning emergence at the club and rapidly established himself as a genuine fan favourite among the Anfield faithful, and memories of his time under Brendan Rodgers, working in tandem with the likes of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in attack, will ultimately have a special place in his heart.

Perhaps in time the Reds faithful can learn to forgive him for the manner in which he departed.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton’s set-piece king James Ward-Prowse and the striker in-form in Danny Ings were the two Saints players grabbed for an interview on Amazon Prime straight after the club’s important 2-1 win against Norwich City on Wednesday night, but there was an unsung hero in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men’s ranks who deserved some attention too.

On the chalkboard

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg may have been an ever-present member of the south coast outfit’s starting XI when he has been fit this season – he was only on the bench against Burnley on the opening day having suffered with illness, while he missed the 2-1 defeat against Everton with concussion – but he hasn’t been at his best.

The captain has become well known for his committed, all-action displays in the middle of the park, but he has been particularly sloppy in possession throughout the campaign and hasn’t been particularly good at protecting a defence that has now conceded 33 times in 15 matches following the victory against the Canaries.

The Dane only has a rating of 6.73 as per WhoScored so far this term, with a pass accuracy of less than 80%.

Different story vs Norwich

Normally Hojbjerg is one of the Southampton players that stands out on the pitch, but it was an unusually understated performance from the Denmark international on Wednesday night – it wasn’t a bad thing either as he is someone who can let his emotions get the better of him.

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The 24-year-old went about his business quietly and efficiently alongside Ward-Prowse in the centre of the pitch, and while the Englishman played a key role in the two goals and Ings netted his ninth goal in his previous 10 outings in all competitions, the former Bayern Munich midfielder was also key to the three points.

According to WhoScored, not only did he make three key passes and force Tim Krul into a good save with a long-range effort, but he also won four aerial duels and had more touches – 83 – than any of his teammates.

His most impressive contribution came defensively however, where he won a remarkable eight tackles against Daniel Farke’s visitors, as well as making two interceptions.

Hojbjerg may have an even more important role to play with Hasenhuttl seemingly ditching the five-at-the-back system to deploy a 4-2-2-2 in recent weeks, and he will need to do exactly what he did against Norwich to help Saints keeping picking up vital results.

In other Southampton news, Hasenhuttl singled out a 27-year-old for praise after Norwich win, but also revealed his frustration with him last season.