Former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is reportedly in discussions with Mexican club Monterrey regarding a possible transfer.

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Ramos could return to action with Liga MX sideDiscussion over wages and contract length is underwayDefender eager to secure a two-year termFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Reports from suggest that Ramos is open to accepting an annual salary of approximately $4 million (£3.22m/around 80 million Mexican pesos). However, negotiations have hit a roadblock regarding performance-related bonuses, which the former Spain international wants to be included in his deal. Another significant point of contention is the contract duration. Ramos’ representatives are pushing for a two-year agreement, whereas Monterrey are only willing to offer a one-year deal.

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Monterrey’s president, Antonio Noriega, confirmed that Ramos is indeed one of the options the club are considering.

“He is on the list and is a real option among other possibilities, anything can happen as always in negotiations. Yes (negotiation is on the way) along with others. The final arrangement (is what is missing)," he said while speaking to

“I never talk about those details (about whether there is any specific time of contract offers to the player), there is no point. There are several options (for reinforcements).”

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This is not the first time Ramos has been linked with a move outside of Europe. Last summer, it was suggested that the former Real Madrid defender was in talks with MLS side San Diego FC regarding a potential transfer to the United States. However, no deal materialized at the time.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Having started his career at Sevilla’s youth academy, Ramos made a high-profile switch to Real Madrid in 2005. Over the course of 16 seasons at the club, he cemented his legacy as one of the best defenders in football history. He captained the team to four Champions League triumphs and five La Liga titles, among numerous other honours. After leaving Madrid in 2021, Ramos spent two years with Paris Saint-Germain, winning two Ligue 1 championships before briefly returning to Sevilla.

It’s been a while since Everton have boasted a top-class, always-reliable striker. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a fantastic talent and excellent at leading the line, but fitness issues have pulled him away from a place among the finest that the Premier League has to offer.

Armando Broja has been signed on loan from Chelsea this summer with the option to make the move permanent next year, but he’s yet to feature as he recovers from injury and, aged 23 with eight Premier League goals, has plenty still to prove.

The recent past is littered with failed centre-forwards on the blue half of Merseyside, with the bid to sign Neal Maupay in 2022 among the blunders – especially as there was another talent who’s now thriving on English shores who would have been the better pick.

Neal Maupay's time at Everton

Everton signed Maupay from Brighton & Hove Albion for a £15m fee in 2022, with then manager Frank Lampard coloured impressed by the Frenchman’s aggression and consistency on the south coast, where he had played after impressing with Brentford while Thomas Frank’s side were still in the Championship.

2023/24*

Brentford

29

6

3

2023/24*

Everton

2

0

0

2022/23

Everton

27

1

0

2021/22

Brighton

32

8

2

2020/21

Brighton

33

8

2

2019/20

Brighton

37

10

3

It didn’t go well. While Maupay maintained a degree of fluency in his attacking performances for the Seagulls, he flattered to deceive in Liverpool, even branded a “disaster” by journalist Paul Brown.

Calvert-Lewin languished in the deepest pits of his injury issues and Richarlison had been sold to Tottenham Hotspur in a deal worth £60m. It’s no surprise that Everton struggled that year, with their frontal recruit contributing toward only one goal. Disaster indeed.

And when considering that Everton missed out on Nicolas Jackson, thus turning to the AMEX, it becomes all the more clear that Moshiri and co made a big howler that could have staved off the problems that have engulfed the club over the past few campaigns.

Everton must regret not signing Nicolas Jackson

Jackson has been on fire for Chelsea this season, forming one of the finest partnerships that the Premier League has seen in a long while with the imperious Cole Palmer.

Across six appearances in 2024/25, the 23-year-old has scored four goals and added three assists across six appearances, leading pundits such as Peter Crouch to hail his “unbelievable” growth after the middling efforts of last season.

Chelsea signed Jackson from Villarreal last summer after paying the La Liga side above his £30m release clause. He scored 14 top-flight goals and showed plenty of promise, but was tugged back by profligacy, wasting 24 big chances in front of goal.

Jackson’s new-found clinical level makes a telling comment on his future on the European scene, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, as you will see below, believing that he could become one of the highest-valued superstars in the business.

Oh how Everton must rue the missed chance in 2022. Richarlison had alighted in the capital and the Toffees’ frontline was decidedly lacking. Scouts had provided Lampard and co with regular reports on Jackson and urged swift action from the powers that be.

Alas, Chelsea would get their man one year later, with Jackson’s brilliant purple patch toward the end of the 2022/23 season, scoring ten goals and placing two assists from his final 11 matches in the Spanish top flight, raising his stock and swivelling the English superpower’s head.

As for the Toffees, Maupay arrived instead. One can’t help but think that the recouped money from the Richarlison deal might have warranted an extra £15m expenditure to sign a top talent, instead of one who fell from the wagon as soon as he had stepped on. Alas.

Everton gem who left in 2023 is now "insane" and outscoring Dwight McNeil

He’s starting to show his worth…

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 4, 2024

The fast bowler faced widespread abuse on social media following India’s 10-wicket defeat to Pakistan

Deivarayan Muthu30-Oct-20214:00

Virat Kohli – ‘Our brotherhood and friendship within the team, nothing can be shaken’

India captain Virat Kohli has hit back against the abuse that fast bowler Mohammed Shami faced on social media following India’s 10-wicket defeat to Pakistan in their T20 World Cup opener last Sunday. Shami was India’s most expensive bowler on the night, with figures of 3.5-0-43-0, and his social-media accounts – particularly on Instagram – were subjected to widespread abuse, much of it tinged with Islamophobia.”There’s a good reason why we are playing on the field and not some bunch of spineless people on social media that have no courage to actually speak to any individual in person,” Kohli said in Dubai, a day before India’s next fixture, against New Zealand. “They hide behind their identities and go after people through social media, making fun of people and that has become a source of entertainment in today’s world, which is so unfortunate and sad to see because this is literally the lowest level of human potential that one can operate at, and that’s how I look at these people.Related

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“To me attacking someone over their religion is the most, I would say, pathetic thing that a human being can do. Everyone has the right to voice their opinion and what they feel about certain situations, but I personally have never ever even thought of discriminating [against] anyone over their religion. That is a very sacred and personal thing to every human being and that should be left there.”Kohli stressed that the entire team has rallied behind Shami, and that the team culture was so strong, these sort of attacks had no chance of having an impact.”People take out their frustrations because they have no understanding of what we do as individuals – they have no understanding of how much effort we put on the field,” Kohli said. “They have no understanding of the fact that someone like Mohammed Shami has won India ‘n’ number of matches in the last few years and he’s been our primary bowler with Jasprit Bumrah when it comes to making an impact in games in Test cricket. I mean, if people can overlook that and his passion for the country, I honestly don’t even want to waste one minute of my life to give any attention to those people. Neither does Shami and neither does anyone else in the team. We stand by him fully. We are backing him 200%, and all those who have attacked him can come with more force if they want to: our brotherhood, our friendship within the team, nothing can be shaken. I can guarantee you that as the captain of the team, that we have built a culture where these things will not even infiltrate into this environment 0.0001%. That is an absolute guarantee from my side.”Kohli said that those who indulged in such attacks lacked courage, and these barbs were coming out from a place of frustration and lack of compassion.Virat Kohli: “We play sport and we understand exactly how sport goes. How people think on the outside has no value whatsoever within our group”•ICC via Getty”We, as individuals, understand what we want to do on the field and the strength of character and mental toughness that we have and precisely doing what we are doing on the field,” he said. “None of these people are even in the vicinity to even imagine doing something like that. They don’t have the courage or spine to do that. So that is how I see things and this drama created on the outside is purely based on people’s frustrations, their lack of self confidence, their lack of compassion, hence they find it so amusing to go after people.”So, we, as a group, understand how we need to stick together, how we need to back individuals, how we need to focus on our strengths. And whether people on the outside portray it: being that India can’t afford to lose a game… That’s none of our business. We play sport and we understand exactly how sport goes. How people think on the outside has no value whatsoever within our group. We’ve never focussed on it, we will never focus on it going forward either because as I said last time as well, people don’t understand what it takes to do the job on the field at the international level. We’re not going to go around and just announcing to everyone what we do and how we do it. We just carry on doing the business we’re supposed to do, and if the game goes off, you take the learnings from it and move forward.”

Aston Villa settled back into Premier League life well after the international break with a convincing 3-1 away win at Fulham, with all attention now shifting back to Champions League action.

Villa have also picked up confident victories in Europe’s most prestigious competition, namely last time out when Jhon Duran’s late strike was the difference between the West Midlands side and the might of Bayern Munich on a famous night at Villa Park.

Still, despite Unai Emery’s men boasting some impressive recent form, the ex-Arsenal manager could be tempted to make some changes to his XI for the test of Bologna tonight.

Those potential changes could well see Leon Bailey drop out of the first-team fold, as the Spaniard contemplates two alterations…

1 GK – Emiliano Martinez

Emiliano Martinez came up trumps in that away win at Craven Cottage, saving a penalty when the game was finely poised at 1-1, and will get the nod to start in between the sticks again.

After all, the Villa ‘keeper did make a mind-blowing seven saves versus Bayern to keep Vincent Kompany’s men at bay.

2 RB – Ezri Konsa

The first change could see Matty Cash drop out of the XI for Ezri Konsa to fill in at right-back, with Cash just back from an injury layoff.

The Poland international might not be risked for the showdown with Bologna, with Konsa a capable replacement having kept a clean sheet from this spot against Bayern.

3 CB – Diego Carlos

Diego Carlos will likely keep his spot even if Cash is sacrificed, as the Brazilian centre-back impressed versus Fulham.

The 31-year-old’s calm passing out from the back saw him only misplace three of his 51 passes on the day and he will be eager to follow up this top Premier League showing with a shutout in midweek.

4 CB – Pau Torres

Pau Torres also shone against Marco Silva’s men in patches, despite allowing Raul Jimenez to score early on for the hosts.

Torres is also one for these big occasions in the Champions League, having now amassed 14 games in the competition, with his last outing seeing him assist Duran’s dramatic winner.

5 LB – Lucas Digne

Yet to miss a game in the Premier League or Champions League for his side this campaign, Lucas Digne feels like a shoo-in for a start.

Digne has also picked up two assists from his ten games this season, with the potential for him to make it three against the visitors from Italy.

6 CM – Amadou Onana

Amadou Onana has been a fantastic summer buy for Emery’s men so far, having impressed with his goalscoring ability with three goals from ten clashes to date.

One of those strikes came in the Champions League up against Young Boys in Villa’s opening taste of the competition, with Onana potentially hungry for more goals when Bologna come to town.

7 CM – Youri Tielemans

Onana will also give Villa some needed grit in the holding midfield positions, with his partner in crime and fellow Belgian Youri Tielemans a creative force for the top-flight club when on his A-Game.

He certainly was playing at the peak of his powers against Fulham, amassing 92 touches of the ball with an assist coming his way courtesy of Ollie Watkins finding the back of the net for 2-1.

8 RM – John McGinn

The second alteration Emery will ponder making is dropping Bailey for a fresher right midfielder to enter the team, with Bailey poor at Craven Cottage.

The Jamaican winger would see the game pass him by, with possession squandered 17 times in total, which could open the door for John McGinn to come in down the right flank.

Jaden Philogene is also in for a shout, but after his quickfire red card at Fulham, Emery might opt to play his “relentless” Scotsman instead, as he was once labelled by football journalist Mat Kendrick.

9 CAM – Morgan Rogers

There will be no doubts in the air as to who starts in the attacking midfield spot tonight, with Morgan Rogers continuing to excel for Villa in recent games.

The ex-Middlesbrough ace fired home Villa’s first goal of the clash against Fulham and will want to leave his mark on Europe’s grandest stage tonight.

10 LM – Jacob Ramsey

Jacob Ramsey also entertained the Villa away masses in West London by putting in a top-drawer showing, with the Villa number 41 assisting Rogers’ opener among other bright moments.

The homegrown Villa prodigy will hope he can unlock Bologna tonight in a similar manner, as his boyhood employers potentially make it three victories from three.

Leyton Orient's Jordan Graham has sent a hilarious message to Manchester City's Jack Grealish, who he played with in Aston Villa's academy.

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• Grealish catches up with old friend Graham
• Duo played together at Aston Villa's academy
• Catch up after Man City's win over Leyton Orient

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Manchester City barely squeaked past League One side Leyton Orient in the fourth round of the FA Cup as the Premier League champions came back from a first-half deficit with goals from Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin de Bruyne. Grealish started the clash and played the full 90 minutes at Brisbane Road.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

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  Leyton Orient's Graham has not been a major part of Richie Wellen's plans this season and was not in the O's squad for their Manchester City clash. However, the 29-year-old was able to watch on from the stands at Brisbane Road as his former teammate Grealish took on his side. Graham and Grealish played together in Aston Villa's youth system from 2002 to 2013 before the two were promoted to the Villains' first team but never played together with the senior side as Graham went out on multiple loans.

• WHAT GRAHAM POSTED

  Grealish and Graham were able to catch up after Manchester City's win and the latter then posted their photo from the tunnel along with a photo of their youth team at Aston Villa and wrote: "A whole 20 years ago we started this journey!!! We was some bad lookin’ youts bro, actually, I was alright still I can’t lie. It was a pleasure to see you play live yesterday family. I wish I could have been out there with you. Wholesome stuff. Where does the time go? Keep doing your stuff my boy I’m proud of you."

  Grealish reposted the photo and commented on his Instagram story: "Time flies, son!"

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• WHAT NEXT FOR GREALISH?

  The 29-year-old has not been a major part of Pep Guardiola's plans at Manchester City this season either and Grealish could end up opting to move away from the Etihad in the summer.

Chelsea were knocked out of the League Cup on Wednesday night after they travelled from Stamford Bridge to St. James’ Park to lose 2-0 to Newcastle United.

The Blues had beaten Eddie Howe’s men 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday on their own turf, but could not complete a double over the Magpies.

A composed finish from Alexander Isak, after an error in midfield gifted the ball back to Newcastle, and an own goal from Axel Disasi sealed the victory for the away side.

Enzo Maresca selected Disasi in the right-full-back position, with Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile in the middle, and the Frenchman endured a difficult evening.

Axel Disasi's performance in numbers

The biggest talking point about his performance is, of course, the own goal that made it 2-0 to Newcastle before the end of the first-half, which turned out to be the last goal of the evening.

It was somewhat unfortunate in the sense that the first ball is not dealt with by his teammates and the ball dropped into a dangerous position between him and Filip Jorgensen, but he simply did not sort his feet out to make the clearances and sliced it into his own net.

Aside from that error, Disasi also lost four of his six duels and was dribbled past once, which shows that he struggled with his physical battles against Joelinton – who played on the left flank for the Magpies.

He did, however, create two chances for his teammates and the former Monaco man was far from the only underperformer on the pitch for the Blues, as captain Enzo Fernandez was just as bad as him.

Enzo Fernandez's performance in numbers

Handed the armband for the game, the World Cup winner produced a disappointing display in the middle of the park with his lack of creativity and quality in possession.

Whilst it was an error from Renato Veiga to produce a sloppy pass under pressure for the opening goal, Sandro Tonali was on the front foot ahead of Fernandez, who put his arms up in the air to call for a foul rather than challenging for the ball.

The Evening Standard handed him a rating of 3/10 for his performance, referencing that incident as part of their reasoning, and criticised his lack of leadership in the first-half when Newcastle scored their two goals.

Vs Newcastle

Enzo Fernandez

Touches

138

Key passes

1

Big chances created

0

Crosses completed

1/8

Possession lost

23x

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Fernandez had plenty of opportunities to make things happen on the ball, with a whopping 138 touches, but lost the ball 23 times and only created one chance.

His failure to create a single ‘big chance’ from 138 touches and eight attempted crosses illustrates his lack of quality in the final third, and he set the tone for himself early on with a wayward long switch on his weak foot that went straight out of play for a throw-in.

Therefore, Fernandez was just as bad as Disasi, as he was a liability in the midfield with his loose play, and Maresca will be hoping for far better from both players moving forward.

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Iyer averages 52.18 in first-class cricket, and scores them at an astonishing strike-rate of 81.54

Sidharth Monga24-Nov-20212:10

Rahane – ‘In India we all know we are backing our bowlers to take 20 wickets’

Shreyas Iyer is all set to be India’s 303rd men’s Test cricketer. Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed a day before the Kanpur Test against New Zealand that Iyer will be debuting after KL Rahul was ruled out with a muscle strain in the thigh. Rahane said India hadn’t yet decided a day out if Iyer would be the only debutant or if they might play an extra batter given India are without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.India have preferred to go into home Tests with just the five specialist batters, which is probably why Hanuma Vihari was not selected in the squad and was sent to South Africa for the A tour, but Rahul’s injury on the eve of the Test series has forced a late reshuffle. Rahane said India would miss all the big names, but that the youngsters stepping in were good enough to compete at Test level.Iyer averages 52.18 in first-class cricket, and scores them at an astonishing pace of 81.54 per 100 balls. Against New Zealand A’s attack comprising Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi, Iyer scored 108 and 82, both at better than a run a ball, in the two unofficial Tests in Vijayawada in 2017.Related

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Iyer is set to slot into the middle order, leaving, in all likelihood, Shubman Gill to open with Mayank Agarwal. India did want to try Gill in the middle order in the one Test that usual captain Virat Kohli was missing, but the injury to Rahul has put rest to those plans unless they still ask Cheteshwar Pujara to open once again.Rahane said India would miss all the big names, but that the youngsters stepping in were good enough to compete at Test level. “It is a big blow obviously,” Rahane said of the Rahul injury. “He did really well in England, he was in good form, obviously we will miss him. But we have guys who can do that job, guys who have done well for us in the past. So not too worried about the opening slot.”Rahane didn’t give out the final combination but there was strong indication to expect three spinners. He said the pitches were likely to assist spin because every team is maximising home advantage given the World Test Championship points at stake in every match.”We are not too sure of the combination,” Rahane said. “But in India you generally get spin-friendly wickets, the ball generally keeps slightly low and slow. We expect that but not too sure how the wicket will play. We will have to wait till tomorrow and assess from there.”Right now we are into the ICC Test championship. You have to make the most of the home advantage. In India we all know we are backing our bowlers to take 20 wickets. We are going to play on spin-friendly wickets. Batsmen will have to apply themselves. If they get set, they will have to convert it. That is the challenge as a batsman. You have to adapt to the situations and conditions. And then once you are set, try and get a big one. Yeah in future we are going to play on wickets that are spin-friendly.”Big names missing and the expected challenging conditions put the onus on the two senior batters, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane. The latter has averaged 25 over the last 15 Tests. Rahane said he was not too concerned about his numbers.”No concern,” Rahane said. “My job is to contribute for the team. And contribution doesn’t mean you score a hundred every game; 30-40-70 at a crucial moment is also an important contribution. I always think about the team. I have never thought where I am going. It is an honour for me to lead the team. What happens in the future is not of concern to me. I am focusing only on how I can give my best at a given particular moment.”

As they prepare for the return of Championship action against Hull City this Sunday, Sunderland have been handed a welcome boost on the injury front with one star now back in training after seven months out.

Sunderland injury news

Sitting top of the Championship, Sunderland will be desperate to pick up where they left off before the international break and turn their early push for promotion into serious title contention. Last time out, Regis Le Bris’ side certainly proved that they can cut it against the very best that England’s second tier has to offer, earning a point courtesy of Illan Meslier’s moment to forget against Leeds United.

The international break has only offered the Black Cats further positives too, as they prepare to square off against Hull City in pursuit of yet another impressive performance under Le Bris, who has proved to be an instant hit at the Stadium of Light.

As reported by the Sunderland Echo, Jenson Seelt is now back in Sunderland training and in line to make his return to action for the first time since suffering a knee injury against Southampton all the way back in March.

Missing seven months as a result of that injury, Seelt will be raring to go and desperate to get back involved. This weekend’s meeting with Hull will likely be a step too soon, however, given the amount of time that the centre-back has been sidelined for.

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What’s more, when he is ready to feature, the Dutchman will have a battle on his hands to jump ahead of Chris Mepham and the ever-versatile Luke O’Nien in Le Bris’ pecking order.

"Talented" Seelt's return will be key

Whilst O’Nien has adjusted to life as a centre-back incredibly well in the last year or so, Seelt’s return should hand Le Bris a fresh option to turn to if he wants to move his utility man back into the heart of midfield. Still just 21 years old, the Dutchman can slot straight into O’Nien’s role and, in doing so, finally make his mark at the Stadium of Light after just 11 starts in the Championship last season.

Among those who have praised Seelt during his time in Wearside is former manager Tony Mowbray, who dubbed the defender “so talented” on the ball after victory over Birmingham City, telling reporters via Sunderland AFC News: “I thought Jenson was good.

“In our minds, we’ve been wanting to get him on the pitch but it’s difficult [with Ballard and O’Nien’s form]. Really, he was going to come on and play.. he can play holding midfield and we thought he would come on and roll into midfield like we do with Trai Hume often. Jenson can do that because he’s so talented with the ball at his feet.

“Today he stood up to the test, you could see at times that it was a bit quick when they really jumped on us and pressed, there were times when it was a fraction of a second away from us being caught on the ball.”

There are exciting times ahead at Manchester United, with Ruben Amroim set to be imminently confirmed as Erik ten Hag’s replacement. The Portuguese boss is set to take over following the international break in November, with his first game away from home against Ipswich Town.

He will inherit a squad short of confidence but surely buoyed by a Carabao Cup thrashing of Leicester City on Wednesday night. Led by interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Red Devils put five past the Foxes to set up a Christmas quarter-final clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

It will be fascinating to see which players excel under Amorim, and who might leave the club upon a change of manager. One of the players who could leave is Antony.

Antony’s record at United

It is fair to say that Antony’s £81.3m move to Old Trafford from Ajax has been a disaster. There were high hopes for the winger when he first joined, having scored in his first three Premier League games, against Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton.

Since then, however, the winger has declined massively. He has now played for United 87 times but has managed just 12 goals and five assists.

He scored two memorable goals in that time, a Europa League winner against Barcelona and a crucial equaliser against Liverpool in last season’s remarkable FA Cup quarter-final.

However, he has underwhelmed in a United shirt for the most part. Red Devils legend Paul Scholes described him as a “one-trick pony” early on in his Old Trafford career. The Brazilian tends to cut inside on his left foot and get a shot off but does not seem as comfortable on his weaker right side.

This term, the winger has been poor. Even under Ten Hag, the man who fought to bring him to Old Trafford, the United number 21 did not get much of a look in. He has played just five times so far, starting once in the Carabao Cup against Barnsley. Across those five games, he has had just 155 minutes.

According to a recent report from talkSPORT, the Red Devils are set to ‘cut their losses’ on the 24-year-old, with former club Ajax and Brazilian side Flamengo interested in him. It does not seem like Amorim will have the winger in his squad much longer.

Of course, that has led to speculation about who United could sign as a replacement, and they have been linked to one of their incoming manager’s Sporting stars.

United’s Antony replacement

It is unsurprising to hear that the Red Devils are linked with the Portuguese manager’s players. Viktor Gyokeres is one man who could move to Old Trafford, with rumours flying that they could bring in the deadly striker and beat Arsenal to his signature.

The towering Swede has netted 59 goals in just 65 games under Amorim’s watch in Lisbon, making him the perfect solution to United’s centre-forward woes.

The man to replace Antony could be Gyokeres’ current teammate, Marcus Edwards. According to a report from TEAMTalk, the former Tottenham academy ace ‘could be signed as a replacement’ for United’s Brazilian winger.

The Sporting number 10 is an impressive player who has benefited from Amorim’s system, where he plays as one of two number 10s behind Gyokeres. The 25-year-old has superb technical ability and is a superb dribbler.

As per FBref, he averages 5.93 progressive carries per 90 minutes and completes 2.76 take-ons. That places him in the top 2% and 9% of wingers in Europe’s next 14 leagues respectively.

Stat (per 90)

Number

Percentile

Progressive carries

5.93

98th

Carries into final third

3.27

92nd

Carries into penalty box

2.86

98th

Take-ons attempted

5.93

93rd

Take-ons completed

2.97

91st

Take-on success rate

46.6%

63rd

The “electric” winger, as broadcaster Jack Collins has described him, has a superb record under Amorim already and is a player the 39-year-old can trust. In 116 games playing for the new United boss, Edwards has scored 22 times and registered 28 assists.

His most productive league season was 2022/23, where he managed 16 goal involvements in 33 games.

As per Transfermarkt, he is valued at just £15m, and whilst he could well fetch more than that, it seems a safe bet from United’s point of view. Not only would Amorim be signing a player he trusts, but also someone who would not break the bank.

It could be a smart addition to the squad and a great replacement for Antony, with the prospect of bringing both Edwards and Gyokeres into the fold at Old Trafford certainly an exciting one.

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كشف جناح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي برشلونة، فيران توريس، عن طموحاتهم في الموسم الحالي تحت قيادة المدير الفني، هانز فليك.

ويتصدر برشلونة جدول ترتيب الدوري الإسباني حتى الآن مع استمراره على المنافسة ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا ووصوله للدور ربع النهائي ومواجهة بوروسيا دورتموند.

وبطولة كأس ملك إسبانيا لديه مباراة إياب ضد أتلتيكو مدريد على ملعب “سيفياس ميتروبوليتانو” بعد التعادل ذهابًا على أرضه بملعب “منتجويك” بنتيجة 4-4.

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وأجرى توريس حوارًا مع صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الكتالونية وقال عن طموحاته مع برشلونة: “نحن فريق يحلم بالثلاثية، لا زلنا ننافس في جميع المسابقات ونؤمن بقدرتنا على تحقيقها في النهاية”.

وعن دوره في الفريق والمنافسة على مركز أساسي: “لكي تكون بين النخبة، لا يمكنك الاكتفاء بالقليل، هناك ثلاثة لاعبين في الهجوم يعتبرون كأساسيين، لكنني هنا في برشلونة دائمًا لاستغلال كل دقيقة وإثبات أنني أستحق اللعب كأساسي”.

وثقته في نفسه ودعمه من المدرب هانز فليك: “منحني الثقة منذ اليوم الأول، وهو مدرب يهتم كثيرًا بجعل لاعبيه يشعرون بأهميتهم، أشعر بالراحة في مركزي الجديد، وأؤمن بقدرتي على أن أكون المهاجم الأساسي لبرشلونة”.

وعن التفاهم مع زملائه داخل الفريق: “نحن مجموعة من الأصدقاء، وهذا ينعكس على الملعب، عندما ترى صديقك بجوارك، يكون لديك دافعاً أكبر للركض والقيام بأشياء مؤثرة لمساعدته”.

والريمونتادا أمام أتلتيكو مدريد: “هذه المباريات تصنع الفرق الكبيرة التي تتحلى بعقلية الفوز، أثبتنا أننا نمتلك الشخصية لقلب النتائج، وهذا يعزز ثقتنا بأنفسنا”.

وعن دوره القيادي في الفريق: “أنا لاعب شاب لكني أملك الخبرة، أحاول نقل ما تعلمته لزملائي، خاصة الشباب، ومساعدتهم على أن يكونوا أقوياء ذهنيًا، لأن كرة القدم مليئة بالتحديات”.

وحلمه مع منتخب إسبانيا: “اللعب للمنتخب هو أعظم شيء بالنسبة لي، أطمح لأن أكون من بين أفضل الهدافين في تاريخ إسبانيا، وأؤمن بقدرتي على تحقيق ذلك”.

وعن زميله بيدري وفرصه في الفوز بالكرة الذهبية: “عندما تراه يلعب، لا تحتاج للكلام، فقط تستمتع، إذا واصل على هذا المستوى، سيكون مرشحًا قويًا للكرة الذهبية”.

واختتم حديثه عن جدول المباريات المزدحم: “نحن مثل الجنود في النهاية، مهما اشتكينا، هناك أمور لا يمكننا تغييرها، علينا أن نستعيد طاقتنا ونكون جاهزين لكل مباراة”.