Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways on Sunday night as they defeated Brighton & Hove Albion at home but for the very first time this season, superstar Heung-min Son looked underwhelming and largely anonymous.

Perhaps Spurs’ congested fixture list has finally caught up with the South Korean favourite as he was invisible up against the impressive Tariq Lamptey.

Jose Mourinho’s side took the lead through a Harry Kane penalty early in the first half before they were pegged back by the aforementioned Seagulls defender.

Gareth Bale then saved their bacon within three minutes of coming on to seal all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Son, who had scored eight goals and provided two assists prior to this seventh league outing, wasn’t at the races at all – failing to contribute with a goal in any form.

He also managed to fire off just one shot, which was off target, as well as winning only 45% of his duels, being dribbled past twice and failing to provide a single cross from four attempts.

The €90m-rated (£82m) star managed to only make ten of 16 passing attempts too.

Football.London’s Alasdair Gold graded him a lowly 5/10 and claimed that he “struggled to make an impact for much of the game.”

Whether it was an off-night due to fatigue or just in general, it must come as a massive concern to Mourinho as one of his most influential players failed to make much of an impact.

In recent weeks, the Telegraph reported that the club were going to prioritise tying him down to a new contract, which would see a significant raise to his current £110k-per-week deal.

With performances like that, it certainly wouldn’t be justified, though it was so out of character for Son.

Lamptey, on the other hand, won six of seven duels and recorded two dribbles up against the Spurs fan-favourite, per SofaScore.

The 28-year-old was withdrawn five minutes early, which was hardly a surprise given how poorly he let his manager down – and that only goes to suggest that maybe it was him running out of steam having come on earlier than expected in midweek.

AND in other news, Gary Mabbutt slams Mourinho decision on 23 y/o who’s “got a great future”…

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.

أعلن الاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم عن اللاعبين الأربعة المتنافسين على جائزة أفضل لاعب في الجولة الرابعة لدور المجموعات بمنافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وأقيمت منافسات الجولة الرابعة لدور المجموعات بدوري الأبطال يومي الثلاثاء والأربعاء، وشهد كل يوم منهما 8 مباريات. المرشحون لجائزة أفضل لاعب في الجولة الرابعة لدور المجموعات بدوري أبطال أوروبا

يتنافس على الجائزة كلًا من باولو ديبالا وكريستيانو رونالدو وروبرت ليفاندوفسكي وبيدرو جونسالفيس.

🔝 Who gets your vote?

🌟 Pedro Gonçalves
🌟 Cristiano Ronaldo
🌟 Paulo Dybala
🌟 Robert Lewandowski#UCLPOTW | @PlayStationEU | #UCL — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 3, 2021

كريستيانو رونالدو قاد مانشستر يونايتد للتعادل بهدفين لمثلهما أمام أتالانتا، وقد سجل هدفي فريقه، وهدف التعادل الثانِ أحرزه في الوقت المحتسب بدلًا من الضائع. أهداف مباراة مانشستر يونايتد وأتالانتا

ديبالا تألق وقاد يوفنتوس للفوز على دينامو كييف برباعية لهدفين، وقد أحرز هدفين أحدهما من ضربة جزاء وصنع هدفًا لزميله موراتا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ديبالا يكشف سبب احتفاله على طريقة بلاتيني.. ويحذر تشيلسي أهداف مباراة يوفنتوس وزينيت في دوري أبطال أوروبا

وليفاندوفسكي ساهم في فوز بايرن ميونخ على بنفيكا بخماسية لهدفين، محرزًا ثلاثة أهداف (هاتريك) في المباراة وصنع آخر. أهداف مباراة بايرن ميونخ وبنفيكا في دوري أبطال أوروبا

وبيدرو أحرز هدفين في فوز سبورتينج لشبونة على بشكتاش التركي برباعية دون رد.

Tottenham Hotspur romped to a resounding victory in the Europa League on Thursday evening, defeating Ludogorets in their own back yard 3-1, and whilst Jose Mourinho will be happy with his side’s reaction, he himself is playing a rather risky game.

The north Londoners finally ended their hunt for a back-up striker after they brought in Carlos Vinicius on loan from Benfica, paying £2.7m in fees with an option-to-buy thought to be around €45m (£40.5m).

Although, the Brazilian powerhouse has struggled thus far but he isn’t the man to be blamed.

The 25-year-old scored 18 goals in 32 league appearances last season and has failed to get off the mark for his new club in three Europa League matches, per WhoScored.

On Thursday night, Vinicius was granted another opportunity – replacing Harry Kane at half-time – but failed to impress. Football.London’s Alasdair Gold graded his second-half display a 4/10, and said:

“Another 45 minutes for Spurs’ number 45, he skied an opportunity moments after the hosts’ goal which perhaps summed up his night. Worked hard but his quality was sorely lacking in the final third and this was the least promising of his three appearances so far.”

Well, it’s no surprise that he’s lacking in confidence after he was wrongly part of the four players that were hauled off during last week’s defeat to Royal Antwerp.

Mourinho launched a scathing attack on his squad, claiming that his future choices would now be “very easy,” It was a warning shot at the likes of Vinicius, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn.

The Benfica loanee would then be left out of their Premier League win over Brighton at the weekend.

At Ludogorets, Vinicius at three shots – none on target – and also won just 33% of his duels, was offside once and lost possession five times, via SofaScore.

Dubbed “exciting” by Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle on BT Sport (via the Daily Mail), Mourinho is on verge of making a huge blunder over his no.2 striker – they surely do not want another Dele Alli situation on their hands.

Nor will they want Vinicius to follow the same path of Roberto Soldado or Vincent Janssen. That would be inexcusable after Daniel Levy backed him to the hills this summer.

AND in other news, Spurs chasing “fearless” BEAST who has outperformed Milan Skriniar this season…

Michael Brown has questioned the fitness of Moise Kean after his loan move to PSG was finalised in the summer transfer window.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Tottenham and Leeds midfielder also claimed that the Italy international needs to play regular first-team football this season. He said:

“It’s difficult, he never looks mega fit.

“For me, what would do him great, wherever it was, would be to play 40 games, I think it would.

“I think it really would do him good, if you can ever think of a player who needs to play, it would be him for me. Just to continue to play ever week, a place where he’s just picked and he’s playing but it’s not always that simple.

“That’s what he’s crying out for, for me.” 

Kean struggling at Everton

Indeed, Kean has struggled during his time at the Merseyside club so far, as the 20-year old has only managed to score four goals and provide two assists in 37 games in all competitions for the Goodison Park side, as per Transfermarkt.

With the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison as options up front for Carlo Ancelotti at the moment, Kean fell down the pecking order, and so a move away from the Toffees would have perhaps been best for all parties for the rest of the season.

Will Kean get game-time at PSG?

As Brown quite rightly points out, Kean needs to play matches this term to try and prove himself to the Toffees.

However, with the likes of Angel Di Maria, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar as options in the forward line for this year’s Champions League finalists, one may question just how much game-time the on-loan Everton man will actually get.

Kean fighting for his Everton future

Kean will surely now have to perform on the big stage if he is to have a future at the Blues, or else he may be a player that EFC look to offload in next summer’s transfer window.

Evertonians, would you keep or sell Kean after his loan spell? Comment below with your views!

MatériaMais Notícias

O Jogo das Estrelas promovido por Zico alcançou a 12 edição, neste domingo, no Maracanã, numa tarde marcada por amigos e craques do presente e passado. Com casa cheia (40.898 pessoas), o Galinho comandou a festa no seu palco preferido e ainda recebeu o carinho dos torcedores. Confira as imagens mais marcantes da festa de encerramento do futebol no Brasil neste ano.

Burnley have taken their interest in Harry Wilson to the next level after submitting an official bid of £12million for his services.

However, the Clarets will need to revise their offer if they want to win over Michael Edwards, who reportedly knocked back the bid. The Liverpool sporting director is looking for at least £3million more in order to let the Wales international leave the club this transfer window (via Football Insider).

It’s unclear whether Burnley will revisit with an improved amount, but time is running out and a player like Wilson could help transform Sean Dyche’s side.

How would Harry Wilson benefit Burnley?

After the Clarets finished in a respectable 10th place last season, they will be eyeing up their chance to close the gap on the top six. With 54 points at the end of the term, they were just five points behind Spurs in sixth place, who managed to claw back a solid finish despite their sticky start.

Top scorer Chris Wood would benefit from a playmaker like Wilson operating either in the engine room or on the wing. The 23-year-old has enjoyed three loan spells away from Liverpool and has made himself known as a superb free-kick taker with the ability to net from long-range.

This is a trait that could also transform Burnley’s attack, for matches where they are unable to break down the opposition’s defence.

Harry Wilson stats

Despite only breaking into Liverpool’s first team twice in his career, Wilson has impressed in the youth leagues and also during his loan stints. In 60 appearances for the Reds’ reserve side, the Welshman boasts a superb 32 goals and 14 assists. His first short-term move away was with Hull, where he racked up seven goals and four assists in 14 matches (via Transfermarkt).

His eagle-eyed vision means he has scored eight goals through a direct free-kick, winning the match on one occasion with his frightening accuracy.

Two of those free-kicks came during his time on loan with Bournemouth, which seriously impressed Eddie Howe.

In an interview with the Bournemouth Echo last November, the Cherries boss hailed Wilson as being “hugely impressive” after he notched a total of seven goals and two assists.

If Burnley are serious about bringing the playmaker to Turf Moor, they must rally their funds as fellow Premier League sides Southampton, Leeds and Newcastle are also very interested in his services.

In other news, Michael Edwards shows Liverpool worth amid potential transfer profit

It looks as if Southampton got a great deal in selling academy graduate Sam Gallagher for around £5 million to Blackburn Rovers in 2019, with the striker having struggled to find the back of the net in his time at Ewood Park.

The forward progressed through the Saints academy, having joined from Plymouth’s U’18 side in 2012 and enjoyed loan spells with the likes of MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City during his Saints career (per Transfermarkt).

He would go on to make 26 appearances for the first-team at Southampton, in which he was only able to score two goals, suggesting that he is not the most prolific of forwards.

However, a promising spell on loan at Blackburn in the 2016/17 season saw him grab 12 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions and he clearly did enough to convince those at the Lancashire club that he was worth paying around £5 million for in the summer of 2019.

Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, scoring goals has continued to be a problem, as he has now made a further 53 appearances for Rovers, in which he has managed just nine goals, taking his tally to 21 for the club (per Transfermarkt).

This has seen his market value tumble to just £1.8 million, suggesting that Southampton got a great deal in selling him for as much as they did.

Much of the credit must go to chief executive Martin Semmens therefore, as he has joined the club in June 2019, with Gallagher departing less than a month later, so selling him will have surely been one of his first points of action as CEO of the South Coast club.

However, Gallagher has made a fairly promising start to the 2020/21 campaign, having contributed two goals and an assist in nine Championship appearances (per Transfermarkt).

Still, this is nowhere near the level of Danny Ings or Che Adams, and when you consider the young talent Southampton have available to them up front, with Michael Obafemi and Daniel N’Lundulu both pushing for minutes in the first-team, it could definitely be argued the Saints made the right decision in letting Gallagher go.

And, in other news… Southampton can sign long-term Salisu partner in wonderkid compared to Vincent Kompany

It’s not very often we say this, but Steve Parish has a rare chance to give Crystal Palace their dream attack for years to come, if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the story?

According to Sport, as quoted by Sport Witness, Roy Hodgson’s side have entered the race to sign Mariano Diaz from Crystal Palace.

It’s claimed that Diaz has refused to leave the Santiago Bernabeu for the past two seasons despite being considered surplus to requirements by Zinedine Zidane.

However, he could be offered a way out of Madrid in the not too distant future, with several clubs from across Europe vying for his signature.

Palace will face stiff competition from Premier League rivals Everton and West Ham, as well as French Ligue 1 side Lyon for his services.

Dream attack

Wilfried Zaha is the club’s top scorer in all competitions so far this season, but Hodgson still needs a prolific striker who can shoulder the burden of scoring goals, as Michy Batshuayi has been unable to hit the ground running at Selhurst Park. Diaz is a player who can do precisely just that.

The 27-year-old burst onto the scene at Lyon, where he scored 21 goals and supplied 6 assists in all competitions, before he returned to the Spanish capital in 2018.

Whilst Batshuayi is also right-footed and plays on the right, Diaz, who is the same age as the Belgium international, is a natural goal threat all over the pitch who seems to have no problems at all finding the back of the net.

In just 42 minutes in La Liga last season, he scored one goal, whilst he averaged 1.2 shots per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, Batshuayi has failed to score in the Premier League so far this season, despite the fact he is averaging one shot per game, as per WhoScored.

Meanwhile Zaha has managed 2.3 shots and 1.6 key passes per game in the top flight this term, outscoring the Belgian striker by five goals so far.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas once lauded Diaz as a “powerful” finisher, saying “in the opinion of Zinedine and Karim, he is a player of a very high level. He’s young, powerful and very ambitious. It would be a great coup for Lyon to sign him, and there would not be too much expected of him.”

A strong counter-attacking threat who likes to play short passes and shoot from distance, he could be the final piece of the puzzle to complete Palace’s attack for the years to come, especially when you consider the fact that he would be able to combine with summer signing Eberechi Eze at almost free will, which would give the Eagles another attacking option, as they have often been accused of being too one-dimensional in recent seasons.

However, Sport suggest the outcast won’t come cheap, as Real are refusing to sell him for anything less than their original £25m valuation, whilst he reportedly receives wages worth £142,000-per-week. Whether or not Parish will dip into his pockets remains to be seen.

AND in other news, Bye Benteke: Parish must sign Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud for Crystal Palace…

MatériaMais Notícias

Destaque na campanha de acesso à Série A em 2015, o zagueiro Alemão acertou sua renovação de contrato com o Santa Cruz até o fim desta temporada. O defensor elogiou a postura da diretoria, que manteve a base do elenco da temporada passada.

– Não tem como negar que o trabalho da diretoria vem sendo bom. É muito importante a manutenção de uma base, da comissão técnica. No começo do ano passado sofremos com muitos jogadores novos que não se conheciam. Agora será diferente. A diretoria está mantendo jogadores importantes e contratando aquelas peças que vem pra suprir a saída de alguns atletas. Estou confiante para 2016 – afirmou Alemão, agradecendo o carinho da torcida coral:

– Sempre falei que queria renovar e um dos motivos era a torcida. Vim pra cá no fim de 2014 e gostei muito do clube, das pessoas que trabalham no dia a dia. E a torcida é sem palavras, empolgante demais. Acredito que o carinho comigo é pela minha entrega dentro de campo. Não tem como não dar a vida com uma torcida dessa. Desde já convoco todos para nós apoiarem nesse 2016.

Apesar da grande alegria e da importância do retorno à Série A do Brasileirão, Alemão afirma que o Santa que buscar os títulos do Campeonato Estadual e na Copa do Nordeste, competições que, na opinião do zagueiro, devem ser a prioridade deste momento.

– Temos que brigar pelo título estadual e da Copa do Nordeste pois somos favoritos. O Brasileiro temos que esquecer neste momento mesmo sendo o campeonato mais importante. Vamos pensar nele só em maio quando começa – afirmou o zagueiro.