Category Uncategorized

The departure of Mason Mount to Manchester United is a topic that has rocked the Chelsea fanbase and has left many to question the judgement of the new ownership.

On one side, the Englishman is a two-time Chelsea Player of the Year, who also provided the Champions League-winning assist for Kai Havertz in 2021.

However, those against Mount have questioned his quality and commitment to the club, with suggestions that he had rejected contract proposals, which left no option but his unwanted sale.

It is an endless debate, steeped in speculation and controversy, but the 24-year-old has gone and Mauricio Pochettino must pinpoint a suitable replacement to fill the void he has left in the squad.

Such is the nature of the chaotic and headline-addicted regime of Todd Boehly, an array of names have been linked, and one of the latest to add to the list is Paolo Dybala.

Is Paolo Dybala joining Chelsea?

According to Matteo De Santis, the Roma star is attracting the attention of Pochettino, who could be available for £10m, a deal which is valid until 30 July.

Back in March, the 29-year-old spoke on his release clause and the interest being shown in him: “Surely, we’ll talk about this later on. My future is here, I want to bring Roma as high as possible and I think we can do it. I don’t know what will happen in the future.”

However, the tweet details that Roma is not currently not worried, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on.

How many goals has Paolo Dybala scored?

The Argentine is a jewel of Italian football. He has played in southern Italy since 2012 and has recorded 168 goal involvements in 296 appearances in Serie A appearances.

This ridiculous record included netting 115 times for Juventus and ranks as the ninth-highest scorer in the club’s history.

The 38-cap international moved to the Giallorossi last year and has continued his dazzling reputation as the magisterial nucleus of the side, recapturing the mesmerising form that endeared him to the hearts of all Old Lady supporters.

For Jose Mourinho’s side last term, he was the top-scorer (12) and best assister (6), also registering the best average rating (7.2) within the squad, as per WhoScored.

In contrast, Mount endured his most troubled campaign at Stamford Bridge, scoring just three times and missing 11 league games through injury.

Described as a “magician” by reporter Alex Seixiero, the former Palermo star has displayed that he can be a more prominent creative spark than Man United's new man.

Indeed, this is best demonstrated by the fact that Dybala outperforms Mount for shot-creating actions per 90 (5.39 vs 3.58), shots per 90 (3.22 vs 2.02), successful take-ons per 90 (1.53 vs 0.86), and progressive carries per 90 (2.7 vs 2.41) throughout the last year of football.

The signing of a player with the experience, technical impudence, and glittering repertoire of Dybala would be a huge boost to a side in desperate need, and it would also help the recovery from the damaging departure of ‘one of their own.’

An update has emerged on Manchester City and their plans to bolster their defensive options in the summer transfer window…

What’s the latest on Kim Min-jae to Man City?

According to Football Insider, Pep Guardiola is now plotting a move to snap up Napoli central defender Kim Min-jae ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

The report claims that the Citizens could hijack Bayern Munich’s attempts to sign the South Korea international, although the German side remain in pole position as it stands.

It states that the Serie A titan has a release clause in his contract, which will become active in July, that would allow the Premier League champions to snap him up for around £50m.

Where would Kim fit in at Man City?

Football Insider’s report adds that Aymeric Laporte would become surplus to requirements if the club bring in a new centre-back and Kim could be the dream replacement for the Spain international.

Although he is a right-footed player, the Napoli star has mainly been deployed on the left of a central defensive pairing with this indicating that the towering ace could slot in where the left-footed City outcast plays.

The South Korean colossus would, therefore, be an ideal signing from a positional perspective as Guardiola would be replacing a left-centre-back with another one, rather than bringing in a defender who is used to playing on the right side of the back four.

Kim's performances for the Italian champions also suggest that the 26-year-old would be an excellent signing for City this summer as he has proven himself capable of delivering superb displays week-in-week-out.

The £53k-per-week ace averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.22 across 35 Serie A outings and won an impressive 62% of his duels, whilst also having a pass success rate of 91%.

Laporte, on the other hand, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94 across 12 Premier League matches and was able to complete 93% of his passes while also winning 60% of his physical contests.

This suggests that Kim has the potential to be an upgrade on the current City centre-back in terms of the average standard of his performances and his ability to dominate opposition attackers in individual battles.

Both players also rank in the top 11% of players in their position for progressive passes and progressive carries per 90 over the last 365 days in Europe's top competitions.

This shows that Kim, who was once described as an "iron barrel" by teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Laporte both excel at progressing the ball out from the back, which is another reason why the Napoli star would be the dream replacement for the 29-year-old.

Nathan Lyon’s place in the Australian team has been in doubt since the series loss to South Africa, but Usman Khawaja thinks he’s bowled much better than the numbers suggest

Melinda Farrell in Brisbane17-Dec-2016

By stumps on day three, Nathan Lyon’s statistical contribution to the Test was a modest total of one wicket and 29 runs, but his theatrical contribution has been far greater, to the point where his Australian teammates have dubbed him a “cult hero”.In his first-innings tenth-wicket partnership with Jackson Bird, Lyon frustrated Pakistan but delighted the crowd with clips off the pads, strong drives and one particularly powerful pull shot off Mohammed Amir.Since then the number of shirts bearing his nickname, ‘Garry’, ballooned at the Gabba. When Australia have been in the field, fans have roared with delight each time Steven Smith has brought him on to bowl, in a manner usually reserved for most explosive fast bowlers.Lyon’s place in the Australian team seemed to be in doubt when Australian selectors made a raft of changes in the wake of heavy losses in the first two Tests against South Africa. But Usman Khawaja felt Lyon had been unlucky in recent matches.”I think he’s been bowling well for a while now and just hasn’t been getting rewards,” he said after play on day three. “I’ve seen a couple of dropped catches here and there and what not, and that’s just a part of cricket. If you just look at his stats, yeah they didn’t look great, but I always felt like he was still bowling all right and just wasn’t getting the rewards.”He’s bowling pretty well at the moment and he bowled quite well last game, the pink-ball game. The crowd is on his side, which I’m sure always helps, which is always fun. I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s pretty good.”Lyon hails from New South Wales, which makes his popularity with the famously parochial Queensland crowd even more unusual. The two states are fierce rivals in all sports, but Lyon has been given a more boisterous reception than Queensland Bulls players, Khawaja and Matt Renshaw.”He’s been playing it up a little bit,” Khawaja said. “We’re calling him Queensland’s new favourite son. I’ve been booted out, me and Renshaw are gone. It’s been awesome how the crowd has been getting behind him. We keep trying to get ‘nice, Garry’ in there at some point. It’s been good.””We love it. It’s good fun. It’s nice to see the crowd get amongst it. It’s random. Social media’s funny, how things can just blow out of proportion. I call him the new cult hero. Everyone just seems to love him. It’s good fun. Hopefully he can take a few wickets tomorrow and get the crowd up again.”

Tottenham Hotspur are a side who have been mentioned in the expected pursuit to sign James Ward-Prowse this summer following Southampton's relegation.

How much is Ward-Prowse worth?

It was a season to forget for both Spurs and the Saints with both hugely underwhelming their fanbases, however, Southampton's will provide bigger consequences.

The Saints ended the campaign rock bottom of the Premier League table and, therefore, will play second-tier football next season and likely lose some of their star players.

Although Spurs will have to go into the new campaign without any European football to look forward to, it will provide Ange Postecoglou with an opportunity to instil his philosophy at the club.

And it will be intriguing to see what changes he brings over the coming months in the transfer window as he will likely be keen to stamp his influence on the starting XI.

One player who is expected to bring in big money for the south coast side is the Englishman, Ward-Prowse, with reports (via SportBible) suggesting the Saints will be looking for a bid in the region of £52m for his services.

Whether or not a team will be willing to part with that sum of money for him is another question, though.

However, it is apparent he will have a lot of potential suitors as insider Alex Crook explained when speaking about the 28-year-old on TalkSPORT:

"Newcastle have got him on their list, as I understand it. I don't believe he's at the top of that list. And again, Southampton I think are asking for quite a substantial fee.

"Tottenham have been mentioned as well and you could see him improving their midfield. Wolves would like to sign him, as I understand it, but they think he might go to a club higher up the food chain."

How much does Ward-Prowse earn?

The £100k-per-week England international has played a huge role in Southampton's side for a number of years now having started every single game in the Premier League this season (via Transfermarkt).

And during his time on the south coast, Ward-Prowse has established himself as one of the league's most fierce free-kick takers.

But it is not just free-kicks in which he scores with the 28-year-old chipping in a total of nine goals in the Premier League alone this season (via Transfermarkt).

Upon his arrival at Celtic, Postecoglou made some major changes in the Bhoys' midfield with the additions of Reo Hatate and Matt O'Riley.

So it will be interesting to see if he also looks to do similar at Spurs when he has the chance to assess his options of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp.

However, if the Saints are holding out for in excess of £50m this summer, then perhaps this is a deal which Spurs may have to forget about considering they are reportedly in talks to sign the £60m-rated James Maddison.

But this is a player who has been hailed as a "machine" by some in the media despite the struggles Southampton endured over the course of the 2022/23 campaign.

South Africa’s ODI captain AB de Villiers will sit out the one-off match against Ireland on September 25 as he completes his recovery from an elbow injury

Firdose Moonda22-Sep-2016South Africa’s ODI captain AB de Villiers will sit out the one-off match against Ireland on September 25 to allow himself more time to recover from the elbow injury that kept him out of the New Zealand Tests. Faf du Plessis will captain the team in his absence while Rilee Rossouw, who has recovered from a shoulder injury sustained in the triangular series in the Caribbean in June, was added to the squad as batting cover.De Villiers’ participation in the first ODI of the five-match series against Australia, which follows the Ireland game, hinges on a fitness test which he will undergo early next week. Should he fail that test, not only will he be ruled out of the remaining matches in that series, but he will have to undergo surgery which will keep him out action for six to eight weeks and force him to miss South Africa’s Test tour of Australia.”AB has an impingement syndrome, so when he plays certain cricket shots, he gets excruciating pain in the left elbow. Sometimes, it does settle with a conservative approach, but unfortunately, in AB’s case it hasn’t been so,” Mohammad Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said. “We are giving him another week, and thereafter a call will be made. He needs to pass the fitness test, the elbow needs up to stand up to the rigours of international cricket. If he does not come through the fitness test, a date for surgery will be set. We don’t want to pre-empt that, we want to give him every opportunity to try and recover from that injury. But if he has surgery, he will be out of the Test series.”When asked whether de Villiers’ injury was a result of overuse, Moosajee conceded that the cluttered cricket calendar may have had something to do with the problem. “We refer to it as overload, whether that’s doing too much and playing different shots, or related to overuse. The fact that there have been some other tournaments like the IPL has added to the load, but we need to understand that having played more than 10 years of international cricket, there are going to be challenges where you will have some sort of injury.”As a consequence, Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, who blamed the schedule for player fatigue after South Africa failed to reach the final of the Caribbean triangular series in June, was forced to reiterate the impact of mushrooming T20 leagues on the national side. “When I said so after the West Indies tour, I took a beating from a lot of people in public and the media, but I am saying again, there’s no doubt guys are playing too many games, too many formats and too many competitions,” Domingo said. “And at the end of the day, we, as a national side, sit with issues because we are sort of keeping guys fit to go and play in other tournaments, which sometime can be a bit painful for me.”De Villiers is not South Africa’s only major absence. Morne Morkel also missed the New Zealand Tests with a back problem and has not been included in the ODI squad at all, while Hashim Amla will not play the Ireland game and may not be available for the first ODI against Australia as he awaits the birth of this third child. Temba Bavuma, one of South Africa’s three new caps, will open the batting in Amla’s place, as South Africa look to groom him for that role in future.”Temba has got really good attributes for an opening batter. He is really good in terms of his technique. He is a guy that can bat for long periods of time, he can hit the bad ball for four,” Domingo said. “Maybe, at this stage in his one-day career, he is probably not suited coming in at 5 or 6 and trying to hit fours and sixes at the back end. This allows him a nice start in international one-day cricket because he can just pay normally. If he hits a good cricket shot in the first five or six overs, it will go for four, whereas if he hits a good cricket shot in the last ten overs, it might go for one. It’s a nice spot for him to try and find a niche in one-day cricket. I am very excited to see what he can offer.”Bavuma, allrounder Dwaine Pretorius, and bowler Andile Phelukwayo are all looking to make their debuts against Ireland, with only Phelukwayo being retained for the Australia matches.

يواصل نادي الزمالك تحركاته في سوق الانتقالات الشتوية الجارية وفي الأيام الأخيرة منها بهدف تعزيز صفوف الفريق.

وقال أحمد سالم المتحدث الرسمي لنادي الزمالك في تصريحات خاصة لـ”بطولات” إن النادي قرر التراجع عن فكرة ضم لاعب الوسط الشاب مصطفى أشرف.

إقرأ أيضًا..بعد عبد الله السعيد.. الزمالك يعلن ضم 3 صفقات جديدة

وأضاف: “الزمالك قرر التراجع عن إتمام التعاقد مع مصطفى أشرف من بوروسيا مونشنجلادباخ بسبب المزايدة المالية في الصفقة خاصة أن والد اللاعب يزايد في الأمر، وهذه الطريقة لا تتناسب مع سياسة النادي في ملف التعاقدات”.

وأكمل عن صفقة السوري محمود الأسود: “الصفقة لم تنته، ونسب حسمها 50%، لكن النادي يحاول حتى الآن”.

وكان الزمالك أعلن عن التعاقد مع ناصر ماهر لاعب فيوتشر ومحمد عاطف لاعب طنطا ومهاب ياسر لاعب خط وسط الداخلية وعبد الله السعيد صانع ألعاب بيراميدز.

يذكر أن الزمالك قد تعاقد مع البرتغالي جوزيه جوميز لتولي تدريب الفريق في المرحلة المقبلة.

Anil Kumble, India’s new head coach, has said he will back Virat Kohli’s aggression and desire to push boundaries to secure wins. He also said India would approach tough situations positively during the long season, which starts with a four-Test series in the West Indies.”I love his aggression. I was no different,” Kumble said at the team’s pre-departure press conference in Bangalore. “I was also aggressive, but very different in terms of how I probably came across on the field. I’ll be the last person to curb someone’s natural instincts, but of course we all know how important it is to be ambassadors of India and be a part of the Indian cricket team. That everybody in the team understands. There is a fine line and we will ensure that everybody knows that. I certainly won’t curb anyone’s instincts.”Kohli, a picture of composure, wore a sheepish smile as talk of his “over aggression” did the rounds, but insisted that India’s mindset change wasn’t one-off, and that it was something they planned when he took over the reins of the Test team in January 2015.”Our first intention is to win – that won’t change,” he said. “Yes, there have been situations from where we’ve lost, but we know we were in that position because of the positive brand of cricket that we played.” The reference, clearly not lost on anyone, was the Adelaide Test in December 2014, which India lost trying to chase down 364 on the final day.”We need to realise we got there in the first place because we played at 80%, so the focus is on the remaining 20%. Anil ‘s mindset was the same during his playing days, so the mindset makes a difference. If you are hesitant, you don’t explore a different side to your ability as a team. Our motive is the same. We will play with the same mindset of trying to win the series and not just being satisfied with solitary Test wins.”As a follow-up, Kohli was asked about Test rankings, which he said were merely a byproduct of consistent cricket, and not the team’s primary aim. “High standards have different definitions,” he said. “The main goal is to play good cricket. Even if we’re No. 1 and someone else does better, there’s a chance they can overtake you. So that’s not our aim. The season is long, and we’re playing the same format over a length of time. So there’s an opportunity to use this stretch to challenge ourselves. That will give us a chance to assess ourselves and will determine how we play Test cricket over the next few years.”Where Kohli felt the team had benefited most during the week-long camp in Bangalore was in the players’ personal interactions with Kumble and the manner in which he may have broken down barriers within the group.”We haven’t had too many camps before, but I feel there’s already a lot that the team has benefited from,” Kohli said. “If you have experience of facing different situations in the past, you are better equipped. Understanding of skills and understanding of mindset are two different things. Mindset can’t be taught, but it comes only when you have faced tough situations, and that’s one big difference.”The information we’ve got from him about mental adjustments needed to win has been a big boost. He’s been more than willing to speak to everyone equally – the pacers, spinners, batsmen – and address their concerns. There’s an emotional connect with the coach, no doubt, but it’s about how he makes the players feel comfortable. That’s what I believe.”Anil has all those qualities in abundance. There’s huge respect within the group for what he’s achieved and also because he’s been Test captain. He understands that and makes them comfortable, so I feel the combination has settled in beautifully. He’s been involved with the players in some way or the other throughout.”Kohli brushed aside concerns over an elbow injury sustained by R Ashwin while batting during the camp, saying he had only suffered a bruise.When asked about Mohammed Shami’s return to the Test side for the first time since recovering from a long-term knee injury, Kohli enthused about his ability to generate reverse-swing. The skill was on display on his debut against West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where he returned match figures of 9 for 118 – the best figures by an Indian fast bowler on Test debut.”Shami is a skillful guy, we all know that. The way he bowls, the way he releases the ball, pitches the ball, it’s more or less perfect for Test cricket,” Kohli said. “The lines and lengths he bowls are always attacking. The best thing is when it’s seaming and swinging, he can bowl conventional lines and lengths. If it’s reverse-swinging, he knows exactly where to bring in the ball from. He has a great sense and feel of how to get batsmen out. We have been working with him on the mental strength aspect of his game. More consistency is something we push for him.”He’s eager to prove himself and come back after injury. We’ve seen when West Indies came to India in 2013, how he brought out his reverse-swing skills. Even in Adelaide in one of the sessions he brought us back into the game with two wickets. So he’s always someone on whom we can bank in terms of picking wickets. In short bursts, if you want a good attacking spell, Shami can deliver that for you. He’s got pace, a great bouncer – so he’s someone we always back because he knows he can take two-three wickets for us at any stage. I’m glad to have him back.”

The four-person independent panel assigned to review South Africa’s national teams performance last season has disbanded without completing its work. Sports physiologist Ross Tucker, who was on the panel, confirmed the news to ESPNcricinfo, although he declined further comment until the message had been communicated to CSA’s board. Tucker and his fellow panelists informed CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat of their decision last week.The investigation, which was due to be headed by CSA’s head of HR, Dawn Mokhobo, and also included former Test cricketer Adam Bacher and World Cup winning Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, was announced in the aftermath of South Africa’s men and women exiting the World T20 after the first round. It was to include an examination of the men’s team’s poor Test summer, in which they lost back-to-back series to India and England and the national Under-19 side, who failed to defend their World Cup title. The job of Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, was expected to come under particular scrutiny.The panel held preliminary meetings at the end of April and discussed the scope and the process of their review, which included identifying timeframes and cost. On Twitter, in conversation with another user, Tucker confirmed that they, “Couldn’t agree terms, times and scope/process, so it didn’t begin. Pity.”With CSA yet to announce the cessation of the review process, it is uncertain what steps it will take to conduct an analysis of the past summer. An option would be to ask the 14-person panel that is conducting a review into domestic cricket to include the national teams in its scope as well. The findings of the domestic review are set to be revealed in the next two months, with CSA also due to hold its AGM over the winter.The cancellation of the review process means that Domingo may feel he can breathe a little easier but only just. With his contract expiring at the end of April next year and a Champions Trophy looming, he is still under pressure to prove he can turn the team’s fortunes around to stop CSA from starting to search for his replacement.

Rangers are believed to be one of the clubs going into the summer transfer window with the Ecuadorian midfielder Jose Cifuentes on their radar.

Who is Jose Cifuentes?

Michael Beale's arrival at Ibrox was seemingly too late to change Rangers' fate in the race for the Scottish title with their city rivals looking set to retain the crown.

However, attention is seemingly already turning onto the summer transfer window as they look to close the gap to the league leaders ahead of the new campaign.

And one player who has seemingly caught their attention is the Los Angeles FC midfielder Cifuentes who has been playing his football in the United States for just over three years now.

The 24-year-old was included in Ecuador's World Cup squad over the winter, however, his game time was minimal as he played just 58 minutes over two substitute appearances (via Transfermarkt).

However, his role in the MLS squad has been much more significant having started three of his six appearances in the earl stages of the new campaign.

And speaking on his Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano has claimed the Gers are one of the sides who are interested in bringing him to Europe over the summer:

(14:30) "Also I wanted to mention Jose Cifuentes. This midfielder playing for LA FC out of contract in December, from what I understand, in the summer, he has a chance to leave because European clubs want him.

"Brighton have been tracking him in the last few months. But also Rangers want him. So keep an eye on Cifuentes."

Would Cifuentes provide Rangers a big upgrade?

The 24-year-old has been hailed as "ridiculous" by Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic and it is clear to see why when he ranks inside the top third percentile for successful take-ons (via FBref).

Cifuentes also has provided LA FC with an average of 7.78 progressive passes per game which has him ranked inside the top 10th percentile.

However, Rangers may find it difficult to land the £5.6k-per-week ace with a reported interest coming from the Premier League ahead of the summer.

The interest from south of the border could potentially see his price rise over the coming weeks/months and this may leave Rangers with a decision to make.

If the price was to rise significantly it could leave Rangers with a decision to make of whether to go all out for the Ecuadorian or whether to focus their attention elsewhere.

And perhaps the question to be asked is whether the potential signing of Cifuentes would provide them with enough to close the gap on their city rivals.

Given the likely departure of Alfredo Morelos, Beale is expected to have more than one position to address over the summer and, therefore, will have to manage his budget wisely.

Newcastle United are the current joint frontrunners to sign Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha this summer, according to reports.

What's the latest on Zaha's future?

Eddie Howe already has Anthony Gordon, Allan Saint-Maximin and Ryan Fraser as his options on the left wing but The Telegraph have reported that the boss has his sights set on securing a new versatile wide forward during the upcoming window, with the 30-year-old identified as a potential candidate.

The Ivory Coast international will be out of contract at Selhurst Park at the end of the season meaning that he will become a free agent on the market should he not put pen to paper on fresh terms, and being Roy Hodgson’s top-performing offensive player, has caught the eye of the boss, but not for the first time.

The Daily Mail (via SportsMole) credited the Magpies with an interest in the forward two years ago where it was claimed that they were lining up a big-money offer following the takeover, and despite a deal failing to materialise at the time, PIF have remained long-term admirers and are wanting to make a second attempt.

According to the Daily Star, Newcastle and Premier League rivals West Ham are currently “leading the race” to sign Zaha ahead of the 2023/24 term. The St. James’ Park outfit and the Irons are the “frontrunners” to land the top-flight veteran but the former might hold the advantage as a result of their target being “eager to test himself” in Europe. The Eagles talisman signing a new deal isn’t fully “out of the question”, but it’s stated that he is set to “listen to offers” and is “prepared to move” elsewhere should a good opportunity arise.

Would Zaha be a good signing for Newcastle?

Newcastle have clearly been long-term admirers of Zaha having tried and failed to sign him before but should they be successful if they take another bite of the cherry, he would be a great asset to the attacking department in the northeast.

Palace’s standout performer has clocked up 165 goal contributions in 455 appearances in the capital, including nine in 25 across all competitions this season, via Transfermarkt, where he’s currently averaging 2.4 shots and 1.9 dribbles per top-flight game, form which has seen him lauded “unplayable” by talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino (WhoScored).

Zaha would also add plenty of versatility to Howe’s squad having operated in six different positions since the start of his career, including anywhere across the frontline, making this a no-brainer of a deal to complete should the chance present itself.