Tag Futebol

Leeds United have been in a torrid run of form of late, picking up just six points from a possible 30 in their last 10 Premier League games.

These results unsurprisingly have left Jesse Marsch’s position looking somewhat unstable, as he has led a side that invested £93.91m over the summer to 18th place in the top flight standing, two points adrift from safety.

As the pressure ramps up and potential candidates begin to be sounded out by the media, it is worth looking back at who they could have got when they dismissed Marcelo Bielsa back in February of this year.

Although he was yet to be sacked at the time of this report, The Telegraph nevertheless claimed that Ernesto Valverde was one of three candidates in line to replace the Argentine who was revered across Yorkshire.

The Spaniard has flitted across Europe with his managerial exploits, earning vast experience before being offered the Barcelona job in 2017.

During his three-year stint in Catalonia, he managed to win four trophies including two La Liga titles, before being sacked due to issues regarding his play style.

Since then, the club have won just one Spanish Cup.

He has earned most of his praise for his various work with Athletic Bilbao, in which he secured Champions League football and brought them their first trophy in 31 years with a Supercopa de Espana win over the side he would later manage.

It marked a monumental task completed for a club that relies so heavily on signing players solely from the Basque region.

Perhaps under constraints at Leeds, he could have been the man to keep them safe and ensure a stronger start to the season than the one they are currently suffering.

In a recent interview, Xavi was full of praise for a man he dubbed “extraordinary” who had completed “excellent work” at the club.

Enjoying a bold and attacking brand of football, Valverde would surely have become an instant fan favourite were he to have brought even a modicum of his previous successes to Elland Road.

It seems like given their current form, Victor Orta dropped a clanger when he opted for Marsch instead of his compatriot.

Over the past few years, Leeds United have enjoyed a great deal of success in bringing exciting youth prospects into Thorp Arch in the transfer market, before unleashing the most talented of these players in their first-team squad.

Indeed, the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Crysencio Summerville, Illan Meslier and Pascal Struijk have all made the move to Elland Road in recent seasons, before going on to establish themselves as regulars in Jesse Marsch’s senior side.

However, while there has been a great deal of fanfare regarding the first four of these aforementioned starlets, one player whose development at Elland Road has perhaps been overlooked somewhat is that of 23-year-old defender Struijk.

Upon joining Leeds from the Ajax academy back in January of 2018, The Express ran a report which highlighted the Whites supporters’ unhappiness with the former Netherlands U17 international’s signing – with many stating their belief that Victor Orta should have been focusing his attention on improvements to the first team, rather than signing youth prospects.

Now four-and-a-half-years on from his arrival, you would be hard pressed to find a supporter of the belief that the centre-back’s signing was a bad one by the Spanish director of football, as Struijk is now very much a key part of the Whites’ starting XI.

The defender first started to catch the eye over his 27 Premier League appearances back in 2020/21, a campaign in which the £16.2m-rated talent helped his side keep seven clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as made an average of 1.8 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, 3.1 clearances, 41.3 passes, 2.3 long balls and won 3.9 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per game.

These metrics not only saw the Dutchman average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.94 that season – ranking him as the club’s joint 10th-best performer in the league – but also demonstrate both the 23-year-old’s solidity when defending and his ability to play the ball out from the back.

Furthermore, club captain Liam Cooper quite clearly believes that Struijk has an extremely bright future ahead of him in the game, with the 31-year-old stating of his teammate back in February this year:

“Pascal has absolutely everything to be one of the best centre-backs out there, he really has. He’s unbelievable on the ball, he’s strong, good in the air. I always knew. We all know now. His improvement speaks for itself.”

This season, the youngster’s impressive positional versatility – being able to operate from centre-back, left-back and defensive midfield – has already proven useful for Jesse Marsch, who has deployed the former Ajax starlet on the left of his back four in each of the Whites’ six Premier League fixtures in 2021/22 – as a result of Junior Firpo and Stuart Dallas’ respective injuries.

As such, while the cost of Struijk’s signing was never officially released, considering his age and the fact that Ajax appeared more than happy to part with the youngster, it can be reasonably assumed that the transfer did not break the bank for the Whites – leading us to believe that Orta very much hit the jackpot when landing the £7k-per-week sensation back in 2018.

Newcastle United have entered the final week of the summer transfer window and time is running out for them to finish their business.

Dan Ashworth recently smashed the club’s transfer record to bring in Swedish striker Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad, making him the fourth arrival on Tyneside.

Nick Pope, Sven Botman, and Matt Targett have also joined the Magpies on permanent deals from Burnley, Lille, and Aston Villa respectively.

The ex-Brighton chief now has until Thursday to make any further additions to Eddie Howe’s squad and one area in which they may look to strengthen in is the middle of the park.

ESPN recently reported that the club are one of the teams interested in signing midfielder Matt O’Riley from Scottish giants Celtic, who could be available if a bid of up to £20m is lodged.

Newcastle must now push to sign the Denmark U21 international before the deadline passes as he could form an exciting pairing with Bruno Guimaraes in midfield.

First and foremost, would the 21-year-old suit the way Howe wants his team to play? It has been noted that being able to counter-press by reading the game is one of his skills and this suggests that he would fit in with the manager’s aggressive pressing system.

This shows that O’Riley is capable of pushing on from midfield to engage in a high press and this could help the Magpies to force mistakes in the opposition third.

He also has the quality to be a creator for his team. Former Hoops boss Paul Lambert previously heaped praise on the midfielder’s ability in possession, saying:

“The space he can generate for himself is really good, and he makes the game look easy by doing the simple things well. That’s not always an easy thing to say to footballers, to just keep it simple, they want to do the flashy side of the game. But he does the simple side of the game really well.”

In the Premiership this season, the ex-MK Dons machine has created three chances per game and assisted three across five appearances. This comes after he provided 2.2 key passes per outing in the Scottish top-flight last term and ended the campaign with four goals and three assists in 16 matches, whereas no Toon player managed more than 1.6 key passes per game in 2021/22.

The young talent has the potential to be a creative force in the Magpies midfield and Brazilian dynamo Bruno Guimaraes could benefit from that.

In the 2021/22 Premier League campaign, the Brazil international scored five goals in 11 starts and having a player alongside him who is capable of consistently creating opportunities could allow him to add to his Toon goal tally.

The ex-Lyon man has also shown that he can be a creator. In the last 365 days, Guimaraes ranks in the 96th percentile out of players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues for expected goals assisted at 0.19 per 90, which suggests that he is one of the best midfielders around when it comes to creating high-quality chances.

Now, imagine him and O’Riley playing alongside each other in the English top-flight and ripping teams open with their terrific ability on the ball.

Tottenham Hotspur could dip their toes back into the lower leagues of English football again this transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown, who dropped an exciting claim to GIVEMESPORT this week, where he said:

“Daniel Levy quite likes a young player, he got Djed Spence in, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to sign another one from the Championship, just to fit into the squad, but Spurs have a lot of players to get rid of.”

Indeed, the north Londoners signed Spence in a £15m deal from Championship outfit Middlesbrough and have been linked to Ashley Phillips of rival club Blackburn Rovers in the past few days.

Planning for the future

This change in transfer strategy shows that the chairman and his sporting director Fabio Paratici are planning for the long-term and not just the immediate future under manager Antonio Conte.

Of course, there is going to be a ‘win now’ mentality from the trophy-hungry Italian, having clinched some of England’s top accolades over the course of his managerial career, but he has hinted that he’s in it for the foreseeable.

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“This is a young team and we can work for many years together to improve and fight with the best teams in England and in Europe,” he claimed during pre-season.

That’ll be music to the ears of many supporters around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and their moves in the transfer market are starting to reflect that.

Earlier this month, the Lilywhites confirmed the signing of Destiny Udogie, 19, from Udinese, where he will remain on loan for the 2022/23 campaign, adding to players like Pape Matar Sarr and Bryan Gil, who were signed by Paratici last summer.

Spence is a hugely exciting young talent and one that’s ripe for Conte’s wing-back system.

Last term, he secured promotion to the Premier League, via the playoffs, with Nottingham Forest after a successful loan stint that saw him register three goals and five assists across 46 appearances in all competitions.

He also averaged 1.5 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game, via WhoScored, which highlights his capability to defend, on top of his obvious threat in the final third.

It’s why he was lauded as a “Rolls-Royce” by ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown and “swashbuckling” by fellow Gunners legend Ian Wright.

As such, Spurs should definitely be on the lookout for more talent in the EFL and whilst Spence is still an unknown quantity, it can’t hurt to sign more young, English gems in preparation for the future.

AND in other news, Spurs could seal perfect Conte signing in “complete” £50m gem, he’s shades of Kevin De Bruyne…

Rangers winger Ryan Kent has the potential to be a ‘game changer’ for Aston Villa if he joins them this summer, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Kent shines for Rangers

The 25-year-old has shone in Scotland since making the move to Ibrox in 2019, scoring 3o goals and registering 49 assists in 175 appearances overall.

Kent has been linked with a return south of the border throughout the summer transfer window, with Villa one of the clubs who are eyeing him up, being deemed in some quarters as the favourites to land him.

it appears that more attacking reinforcements are needed at Villa Park, especially after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth in their Premier League opener.

The Latest: Kent could be a ‘game changer’ for Villa

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke talked up the idea of Steven Gerrard signing his former player this summer.

The journalist claimed:

“I think we saw the best of Ryan Kent under Steven Gerrard and I’m sure Gerrard would be confident that he would get the best out of Kent as well if he was able to bring them to Aston Villa.

“He’s a potential game changer, Ryan Kent, on his day, a really skilful, tricky winger who can score goals, create goals as well. So I’m sure it’d be a signing that would excite the fans as well with this style of play. I think it could be a win-win situation.”

The Verdict: Perfect match

While Kent remains unproven in the Premier League, he has the potential to be an exciting signing for Villa if they move for him, especially with Gerrard knowing him so well after their time together at Rangers.

The ex-Liverpool forward would bring pace, trickery and end product in wide areas, something which has been lacking at Aston Villa. Incredibly, none of their natural wingers scored more than once in the league last season.

Kent would offer something different to a Villa team already under pressure after a dreadful result on Saturday, with the 25-year-old giving the Midlanders a fresh impetus in the final third.

Therefore, he and Villa could be a perfect match, especially under a manager who the player already knows well.

Southampton journalist Jacob Tanswell has shared an update regarding the current fitness situation of James Ward-Prowse.

What’s the news?

In a recent tweet prior to the Saints’ 0-0 pre-season draw against Austria Klagenfurt, The Athletic journalist shed some light on the matter.

He said: “No James Ward-Prowse again for #SaintsFC this evening as he sits out through injury. Coaches felt it was best not to take the risk. Understand the injury isn’t too bad and he is likely to start training in the coming days, either tomorrow or when the team return home.”

Last season once again showed just how vital Ward-Prowse is to Southampton on the pitch. With 36 Premier League appearances to his name and more minutes played than anyone else in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad, the Englishman also ended the campaign with more goal contributions (15) than any of his team-mates.

In fact, the 27-year-old also topped the list for the number of shots at goal (51), shot-creating actions (113) and progressive passes (135) at the south coast club.

His overall performances in the league earned him a solid season rating of 7.01/10, making him the highest-rated player at Southampton according to WhoScored.

Now that this update has emerged regarding the Saints captain and his current fitness situation, it will surely be great news for Hasenhuttl and Southampton fans to hear that the injury is not serious.

Bearing in mind how the Saints will begin the upcoming Premier League season with a tough away fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, having Ward-Prowse fit and ready to play could be crucial for them in potentially getting their campaign off to a positive start.

Before that, Southampton still have two pre-season friendlies left to play at St Mary’s against Watford and Villarreal.

If the England international can get some minutes under his belt in either of those two matches, this should put him and the rest of the team in a good place to attack their opening league game of the season in north London.

Moving forward, the best thing that everyone at Southampton can hope for is that Ward-Prowse overcomes his current injury issue and gets up to speed in terms of his fitness ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign.

AND in other news – “Southampton have…”: Teasing summer claim should leave Saints supporters excited

Every transfer window throws up something of a left-field rumour, with Premier League outfit Aston Villa currently at the centre of the latest, surprise transfer claim, amid reports that the Midlands side are interested in Inter Milan forward, Alexis Sanchez.

According to La Tercera, Villa have been named as one of the clubs who are believed to be keen on signing the 33-year-old, with the Chilean ace set to be allowed to depart the Serie A side this summer despite having a year remaining on his existing deal.

Having already wrapped up four major deals in the current window, manager Steven Gerrard and owners NSWE could be set for their next marquee addition in the form of the former Arsenal man, with the veteran attacker potentially the solution in their quest to add an experienced forward this summer.

Although it may be a bold move to recruit an ageing, £175k-per-week asset, the one-time Barcelona man has seemingly done enough in his career previously to warrant the gamble – particularly if he is to be available on a free transfer.

Much like the recent capture of Philippe Coutinho – who has signed on a permanent deal after a six-month loan stint last term – Sanchez’s arrival could help rejuvenate a once-great figure who has perhaps fallen by the wayside in recent years.

The £3.15m-rated “maverick” – as described by one source – has previously set the Premier League alight during his time at the Emirates Stadium, having joined the club on a £35m deal from Catalonia in the summer of 2014.

Under the guidance of Arsene Wenger, he would go on to score 80 goals and provide 45 assists in 166 games in all competitions for the Gunners, proving a constant menace from his left-wing berth.

Once dubbed a “warrior” by Liam Canning, the 148-cap maestro was able to combine his devastating attacking output with a humble, hard-working approach, emerging as something of a talismanic figure in north London as a result.

With his subsequent move to Manchester United in January 2018 failing to work out – as he scored just five goals and laid on nine assists in 45 games in total – the fleet-footed forward was shipped off to Italy just 18 months later, although has again been reduced to just a bit-part role at the San Siro.

That being said, he has still chipped in with 20 strikes and 23 assists in all competitions for the Serie A side thus far, while he also ranks highly in a string of attacking and defensive metrics, as per FBref, most notably in the top 1% for progressive carries and the top 2% for dribbles completed among those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues.

Although his lack of game time is a factor in that favourable comparison, it perhaps illustrates that the diminutive gem can still provide lethal, brief cameos when required.

That may be all Villa are potentially in need of, a player to come on and impact the game in the closing stages, particularly when a figure is needed to create a moment of magic to unlock the door.

Coutinho has already shown early signs that he can do just that, perhaps Sanchez can follow suit.

AND in other news, Lange eyeing Villa move for £30m “goalscoring machine”, he’d be their own Darwin Nunez

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle United’s interest in Nathan Ake in the summer transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Transfer insider Dean Jones has revealed that the Magpies head coach is a big fan of the Netherlands international, having worked with him at Bournemouth. The reporter also added that the Tyneside club are likely to make a move if Manchester City give teams the green light to come in for the 27-year-old.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT about Ake: “Eddie Howe loves him, he’s had him on his mind for quite a while now.

“He recommended him as a signing for the summer and he’s potentially going to be available, so of all the people being mentioned, look out in the background, if anything starts to happen with Nathan Ake, Newcastle will probably be in the conversation.”

Howe’s own Ruben Dias

If the Premier League champions decide to cash in on the £41m tank, the Magpies must snap him up as he can be Eddie Howe’s own version of Ruben Dias, who is listed as a similar player to the former Cherries defender on FBRef.

The Portugal international was named the English top flight’s Player of the Season for the 2020/21 campaign, as his impact at centre-back was judged to have played a big role in City winning the title after losing out to Liverpool in the previous campaign.

Whilst Newcastle may not be expecting to win the league next term, they can land their own transformative centre-back signing in the sense that Ake could elevate the style of play that they are able to deploy next season.

The gem, who was dubbed “underrated” by Liverpool machine and international compatriot Virgil van Dijk, is a ball-playing defender who can use his quality to build play out from the back for the Magpies. 

In Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days, Ake rank in the 96th percentile amongst centre-backs for progressive carries, the 98th percentile for passes attempted, the 93rd percentile for pass completion percentage and in the 99th percentile for non-penalty Expected goals and assists, as per FBRef.

Meanwhile, Dan Burn ranks in the 58th percentile or lower in those statistics, which includes him being in the 19th percentile for pass completion percentage. This suggests that, whilst the January signing from Brighton has been a rock in defence, he does not have the quality to progress the play out from the back to a high standard.

On the other hand, Ake’s statistics show that he is exceptional at carrying and passing the ball out from defence to initiate attacks for his team.

Therefore, the Dutchman could transform the way that Newcastle play and have a major impact on Howe’s team next season, much like the signing of his current team-mate Dias had on Pep Guardiola’s side. The 27-year-old can instigate moves from centre-back and quicken their build-up through the thirds when needed, allowing Newcastle to play a more possession-based style.

AND in other news, Forget Ekitike: Newcastle now “close to” landing second summer signing, Howe will be elated…

Leeds United could be set to receive an approach from Barcelona regarding a potential transfer move for Raphinha this summer.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Sport (via Leeds Live), the La Liga club are ready to launch a move to sign the Leeds winger during the current summer transfer period.

Given Barcelona’s recent record of signing players from Premier League clubs such as Ferran Torres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Adama Traore, it seems as though the Leeds star is the next figure they want to take from England.

After having spells in Brazil, Portugal and France, the 25-year-old joined the Yorkshire club back in October 2020 from Rennes in a deal worth £17m.

Leeds fans would be fuming

The Brazilian has become a crucial figure for the Whites since signing, having scored 17 goals and delivered 12 assists in 67 appearances across all competitions.

To further highlight his importance to Jesse Marsch’s side, the winger ended his latest campaign with the club as their top goalscorer in the league with 11 goals to his name as well as three assists in 35 outings.

Meanwhile, Raphinha topped the list for the highest average of shots, key passes and dribbles per game at the club.

His overall performances earned him a solid season rating of 6.97/10, making him the highest-rated outfield player at Leeds according to WhoScored.

Taking all of this into account, it’s easy to see why Barcelona would want to add a player like Raphinha to their ranks but it also shows why Leeds supporters would not be happy to see him leave this summer.

Should Xavi’s side make an approach to Leeds to sign their winger in the coming weeks, it would surely take a mega-money deal to take the Brazilian out of Elland Road with a £47m being mooted.

Couple that with Barcelona’s financial difficulties, and could be of some comfort to Leeds fans that a potential move to the Camp Nou may not be straightforward.

The Leeds hierarchy should be doing all they can to keep Raphinha at the club and convince him to continue his journey with the Whites and help Marsch take the team forward.

In other news: Deal close: Leeds on the verge of signing “impressive” dynamo, Marsch will be buzzing

Aston Villa could have a big say on where the Premier League title ends up this season as they prepare to take on Manchester City on the final day of the campaign.

If the Villans can stop Pep Guardiola’s side from winning on Sunday and Liverpool win at home to Wolves, then Steven Gerrard’s former club will be crowned champions.

While the Midlands club will undoubtedly be aiming to get a result for themselves and their own fans rather than anyone else, it seems as though the Villans have been dealt a double injury blow which could impact their chances of doing just that.

What’s the news?

City’s defensive duo of John Stones and Kyle Walker are reportedly in contention to feature in Sunday’s clash after returning to training, having recently been sidelined with injuries.

Taking into account how Guardiola’s side have the best defensive record in the Premier League with just 24 goals conceded in 37 games, having two of their main defenders back in the frame will undeniably make them a tougher opponent for Villa to try and beat.

With Stones having one of the highest percentages for passing accuracy (93.2%) and has the highest percentage for aerial duels won out of players to be involved in more than two per game in the top flight this season, he will be a welcome addition back in City’s line-up.

The England centre-back is also listed higher than the likes of Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake in terms of overall performances this season according to WhoScored, with a rating of 7.13/10.

As for Walker, the fact that City have conceded 10 goals in the league throughout the 17 games in which he hasn’t played this season suggests that they are much better defensively when he’s in the team.

Taking this into account, if the league leaders are able to play both England internationals this weekend, it will be worrying for Gerrard and undoubtedly make it harder for Villa to end their season on a high note with a win against the title-chasing Citizens.

The Villa manager must now be hoping that his attacking players have what it takes to trouble City’s defence and give their travelling fans something to shout about after the 1-1 draw against Burnley on Thursday.

In other news: Gerrard already heading for big summer disaster at AVFC over £13.5m-rated “magician”