Sheffield Wednesday are looking to get back on track this afternoon as they face a trip south to face Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

The Owls have suffered a run of five straight matches without a victory having needed to salvage a point in midweek against Birmingham City.

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Meanwhile, the Addicks are having a patchy spell themselves due to the injuries manager Lee Bowyer faces at the club. He has over 12 first-team players missing for this one.

Garry Monk needs to make some changes in order to bring more success back to his side, here’s what we are predicting…

A change back to a 4-4-2 system could bear serious fruit for Wednesday.

Not too long ago, the 40-year-old opted for such a formation and they scored four goals inside half an hour against Middlesbrough. This should be enough inspiration to revert back to it this afternoon.

Such a decision would mean a striker spot is up for grabs and given Fernando Forestieri’s impact on Wednesday night, he should be handed an opportunity over Atdhe Nuhiu.

The only other change is an enforced one as Julian Borner faces suspension so skipper Tom Lees should come back into the starting line up – he came on at half-time against Birmingham so he should be good to go.

It means Moses Odubajo will continue at right-back while it is Kieran Lee that makes way for the system change in midfield.

Cameron Dawson is expected to remain between the sticks after veteran goalkeeper Keiren Westwood picked up an injury last weekend.

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أعلن وحيد خاليلوزيتش المدير الفني لمنتخب المغرب عن قائمة لاعبيه لمواجهتي غانا وبوركينا فاسو الوديتين خلال فترة التوقف الدولي المقبلة.

ويلتقي المغرب أمام منتخبي غانا وبوركينا فاسو يومي 8 و12 من شهر يونيو المقبل.

وشهدت القائمة ضم أشرف بن شرقي لاعب الزمالك، واستبعاد بدر بانون لاعب الأهلي وحميد أحداد مهاجم القلعة البيضاء.

وكان أشرف بن شرقي قد تغيب عن قائمة أسود الأطلس الماضية أمام بوروندي وموريتانيا ضمن تصفيات كأس الأمم الإفريقية. قائمة المغرب لمباراتي غانا وبوركينا فاسو

حراسة المرمى: ياسين بونو (إشبيلية) – منير المحمدي (هاتاي سبور) – أنس الزنيتي (الرجاء) – رضا التكناوتي (الوداد).

خط الدفاع: رومان غانم سايس (وولفرهامبتون) – جواد يميق (بلد الوليد) – أدم ماسينا (واتفورد) – أشرف حكيمي (إنتر  ميلان) – نايف أكرد – (رين)- سفيان شاكلا (خيتافي)- أشرف لزعز – أيوب العملود (الوداد) – سامي مايي (فيرنكفاروس).

خط الوسط: سفيان أمرابط (فيورنتينا) – سليم أملاح (سطانداردولييج) – أيمن برقوق (إينتراخت فرانكفورت) – عادل تاعرابت (بنفيكا) – يحيى جبران (الوداد) – إلياس شاعر (كوينز بارك رينجرز).

الهجوم: يوسف النصيري (إشبيلية) – منير الحدادي (إشبيلية) – سفيان رحيمي (الرجاء) – أيوب الكعبي (الوداد)- أشرف بنشرقي (الزمالك) – حكيم زياش (تشيلسي) – زكرياء أبو خلال (ألكمار).

The team is complete 🇲🇦
Here is the Squad list for the next friendly games against Ghana 🇬🇭 & Burkina Faso 🇧🇫#DimaMaghrib pic.twitter.com/DFmPNTja2Y

— Équipe Nationale du Maroc (@EnMaroc) May 27, 2021

Adam Forshaw’s injury at Leeds has been a puzzling situation, so much so that Phil Hay described it as strange following the club’s draw with Cardiff.

The midfielder suffered a hip injury in August and returned to play 45 minutes against Charlton in late September.

However, he hasn’t been since and it appears as though he’s really struggling with a constant niggle.

Marcelo Bielsa has previously claimed the situation is complicated but there has at least been some positive news on his recovery.

It’s been stated that he isn’t far away from a return but his battle with the sidelines has seen him take on a huge amount of flack.

Fans have called for him to be sold while some supporters have wondered whether he’ll ever play again.

Although some of those remarks may be tongue in cheek, it appears as though the constant barrage of comments has finally got to Forshaw.

The 28-year-old took to Instagram on Tuesday night to post an image of the squad out on a Christmas meal.

A true test for any Leeds fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?

However, one supporter called him out on his injury-hit spell, to which Forshaw issued a sarcastic one-word response.

The former Middlesbrough man was a vital part of Leeds’ early season form, playing six times and registering the best pass success rate of anyone to start for the Whites in 2019/20.

Whether or not he’ll be able to continue where he left off when he returns remains to be seen. Either way, it’ll be important for certain segments of the fan base to get off his back.

In other news, Leeds have been missing their “explosive” prodigy…

Name: Michael Obafemi

Club: Southampton

Date of Birth: 6 July 2000

Position: Centre-forward/Winger (Right)/Second-striker

Michael Obafemi – his career so far

Michael Obafemi is now already a fully-fledged senior team member at Southampton and given his pedigree and success at youth level, that statement doesn’t really come as a big surprise at this point. But the Irish centre-forward is not exactly a product of the Saints’ academy but has had quite a colourful path towards it.

Before joining Southampton’s own development squads, Obafemi spent some time in revered academies at Chelsea, Arsenal and even Watford as he progressed through the ranks, impressing the right people and turning some heads along the way as well. Still, he would have one more stop after all those spells before he could join his current team.

The now 19-year-old talent played for Leyton Orient for a while before he was scouted and scooped up by the Saints in the summer of 2016, first joining up their U18 squad in the U18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup during the 2016/17 campaign.

But he was quick to impress his new club as well and the following season brought more success his way with Obafemi splitting his time between the U18 and U23 squads and even getting his first senior team exposure as well.

As a whole, however, the now 19-year-old centre-forward would tally a total of 32 appearances for Southampton’s U18s, scoring 15 goals and assisting further two and then recording 21 appearances for the U23s with eight goals and five assists under his belt in the process as well.

Needless to say, his stay in the academy and the development squads was quite successful and was rewarded with his professional debut as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in January 2018, aged just 17 years and 199 days.

Since then, he’s made a total of 27 senior team appearances, scoring four goals and assisting two on the side as well. Interestingly enough, his first goal meant he would become the club’s youngest scorer in the Premier League to date, at 18 years and 169 days old.

Even though he’s already reached the heights of the first-team squad, there is more to come from this talented young centre-forward.

Transfer latest

At the moment, there don’t seem to be any transfer rumours or transfer news surrounding Obafemi and the young player is likely to stay at Southampton at least for the time being. Seeing how his contract is still valid until 2022, the 19-year-old could be looking to impress even further once football finally resumes.

Of course, with the summer transfer window rapidly approaching, no one is really exempt from transfer rumours but so far, it’s been quiet on that front in regards to Southampton news on possible exits from the club.

But that should be a blessing for the Saints since Obafemi certainly has a lot more to offer in the near future and they should do what they can to ensure he stays at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Player profile

Obafemi is clearly far from a finished product but he’s been showing glimpses of his brilliance throughout the stay at Southampton. The youngster’s natural fitness is certainly what immediately catches the eye and his raw pace, agility and strength are definitely one of the highlights of his player profile.

Despite not having a very big frame, the Irish striker has the power to engage and win duels but will mostly use his acceleration to blaze past defenders and get into favourable positions. While he also has a great mentality, the technical side of his player profile could still be improved.

He is decent on the ball but is still far away from a modern striker who regularly links up with his teammates and supports the build-up phase of their attack. But seeing how he’s only 19, there is still time for him to polish some of the traits and keep progressing even further.

Aston Villa need to let Keinan Davis go this summer.

The 22-year-old striker is clearly a talent, and there is surely a reason that Villa decided to snap him up from non-league Biggleswade Town in 2015.

But he hasn’t shown it at all.

The Athletic reported earlier this season that Davis’ strength is such that even John Terry, Villa’s assistant manager and the ex-Chelsea and England captain, hates defending against him in training.

That is all well and good, but his opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and become Villa’s first-choice striker has well and truly passed him by.

Indeed, Davis has made 33 appearances for the U23s in his career and, in that time, has scored a grand total of seven goals, while providing eight assists.

Those goals have come between the 2015-16 season and the 2018-19 season at a rate of 1.75 goals per season.

Davis has scored goals for the first-team, it must be said, netting four in 57 outings.

But, again, the hit rate there is abysmal – it equates to a goal every 0.07 games.

He last scored a senior goal in August 2019, in the 6-1 win over Crewe Alexandra in the EFL Cup. His other three goals for the first-team came in 17-18, two of which were in the Championship, while the other came in an FA Cup tie against Peterborough United, which Villa lost 3-1.

It must be said at this point that injuries have held Davis back; he was ruled out for three weeks in February of this year with a hamstring injury, and the aforementioned Athletic report makes mention of a niggling hip injury that has troubled him throughout his career.

Did he really play for us?! No Villa fan has managed to name all of these obscure Villans….

However, the stats paint a clear picture: This is a striker who doesn’t score enough goals.

Davis’ contract expires at the end of the season and Villa do have the option to extend it if they so wish.

So poor has he been, and given he has played just 129 minutes of Premier League football this season, they should merely let him go instead.

Meanwhile, Villa could land their Jack Grealish replacement this summer!

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.

One of the hottest talents in German football, Kai Havertz marked Bayer Leverkusen’s return to Bundesliga action with an inspired display on Monday night. And Liverpool fans at home were left very impressed.

The 20-year-old has been in impressive form for his club side this season, finding the back of the net ten times in 34 games across all competitions.

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Away from home against Werder Bremen, Havertz took centre stage, scoring twice and earning 8.4 match rating from Sofascore – only teammate Kerem Demirbay fared better.

The attacking midfielder has been previously linked with a high-profile move to Liverpool, and after seeing his performance, fans of the Merseyside club flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts on their former transfer target.

One Liverpool fan even suggested that he “could easily see him replacing Firmino”.

If Havertz continues to put in the kind of performance that he put on Monday night, then it seems inevitable that he will eventually leave Leverkusen for pastures new.

And with his fellow German, Jurgen Klopp, in charge at Anfield, Liverpool would surely be a very attractive proposition for him, and one that would be difficult to turn down.

One thing that is for certain is that Havertz looks destined for the top.

After joining from Blackburn Rovers all those years ago, Phil Jones has really struggled to live up to the hype that surrounded his early rise at Ewood Park.

This was a player who enjoyed a superb debut coming up against then Chelsea striker Didier Drogba back in 2010, and Manchester United no doubt thought they were getting someone to really build their team around.

Instead, form and fitness have completely deserted him, and he’s made just 224 appearances in total, in almost a decade worth of time at Old Trafford.

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And now, his teammates are ribbing him too. In a Q&A session wih SPORTbible (via The Metro), Paul Pogba trolled Jones by claiming that the centre-back is the most likely player to score a bizarre own-goal.

After hearing the Frenchman’s dig, United fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on what the midfielder had to say.

A couple of fans however seemed rather unimpressed with what Pogba had to say, with one supporter calling him “very unprofessional” and another raising his eyebrows at why the Frenchman felt the need to answer the question in the first place.

Pogba and United fans may not have the most strongest of relationships, but this is clearly one of those times where they’re in agreement.

The Frenchman’s hilarious dig at Jones was no doubt all in jest, and at a time like this, being able to laugh and smile is something we should all treasure.

Jones may be the only one not seeing the funny side of it.

Meanwhile, Man Utd would be making a foolish mistake by snubbing this star.

MatériaMais Notícias

A promessa francesa El Arouch, de 20 anos, foi uma das surpresas do Botafogo nesta janela de transferências. Sem espaço no Lyon, o meia deve desembarcar no Rio de Janeiro na próxima segunda-feira (5) e assinar por dois anos com o Glorioso.

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➡️ Tudo sobre o Fogão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Botafogo

Revelação da base do Lyon, El Arouch desejava mudar de ares para retomar a carreira e ter uma nova motivação. O jogador pode atuar também como ponta-esquerda e até mesmo como segundo volante. O atleta tem passagens pela seleção sub-20 da França e fez apenas um jogo pelo Lyon na última temporada (2023/24). Como profissional, o francês tem apenas três jogos disputados.

Botafogo pode formalizar proposta por campeão da Eurocopa

Buscando reforços para seguir bem na temporada, o Botafogo deve oficializar, nos próximos dias, uma proposta para contar com o lateral português Cédric Soares, de 32 anos. Experiente, o jogador está livre no mercado.

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O Glorioso deve enfrentar a concorrência de clubes da Turquia e da Espanha, que também monitoram a situação. O atleta disputou 34 partidas por Portugal, vencendo a Eurocopa de 2016 e participando da Copa do Mundo de 2018.

Foto: Reprodução

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يرفض نادي برشلونة الإسباني، التخلي عن سعيه للحصول على داني أولمو لاعب لايبزيج الألماني، رغم أنه تم رفض عرض بقيمة 50 مليون جنيه إسترليني للاعب خط الوسط في يوم الموعد النهائي للانتقال.

وتلقى أولمو عرضًا متأخرًا من برشلونة يوم الثلاثاء الماضي، لكن رفض لايبزيج العرض، حيث قدر فريق البوندسليجا اللاعب الدولي الإسباني بحوالي 65 مليون جنيه إسترليني.

وفقًا لصحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية، نقلاً عن “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، سيعمل برشلونة على الفور لحسم الصفقة في انتقالات الشتاء القادمة في يناير المقبل.

وزعم التقرير أيضًا أن أولمو كان مصممًا على العودة إلى برشلونة، ووافق على صفقة مدتها خمس سنوات في انتظار قبول لايبزيج للعرض.

ولكن مع وصول العرض في وقت متأخر جدًا، رفض لايبزيج قبول عرض أقل من تقييمه البالغ 65 مليون جنيه إسترليني، لأنه لم يترك لهم أي فرصة أيضًا لإيجاد بديل.

في فترة انتقالية، يحرص برشلونة على تجديد فريقه الأول واستهداف اللاعبين الذين تدربوا في أكاديمية لا ماسيا بالنادي، حيث أعاد بالفعل التعاقد مع قلب الدفاع إريك جارسيا من مانشستر سيتي هذا الصيف.

اقرأ أيضًا.. يوفنتوس وريال مدريد وبرشلونة يواصلون العمل على إعادة مشروع دوري السوبر الأوروبي

ورغم أن أولمو لا يزال حريصًا على الانضمام لبرشلونة، إلا أنه ملتزم مع لايبزيج، حيث لديه عقد حتى عام 2024.

ومع إغلاق نافذة الانتقالات الصيفية الآن، سيصبح الاتصال بين الفريقين بشأن الصفقة أكثر هدوءً.

تمكن لايبزيج من التعاقد مع إيليكس موريبا البالغ من العمر 18 عامًا من برشلونة مقابل 14 مليون جنيه إسترليني.

وبحسب ما ورد، التقى موريبا مع توتنهام، الذي كان برشلونة على استعداد لقبول عرض بقيمة 13 مليون جنيه إسترليني منه، لكن المراهق لم يقتنع باللعب في دوري المؤتمر الأوروبي، والدور الذي سيلعبه تحت قيادة نونو إسبيريتو سانتو، وفقًا لتقارير الصحف الإسبانية.