Tag Futebol

Celtic are intent on signing AC Milan’s Diego Laxalt permanently at the end of the season, according to a report from Italian outlet Tutto Mercato.

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph reported when the loan deal for the £57,000-a-week defender was struck back in October that Milan wanted a fee of around £9m to let him go for good.

Tutto Mercato claim that Celtic have been convinced by the Uruguayan’s performances and may now enter negotiations to drive down that price tag. A £9m deal would almost equal the club’s record outlay – they paid £9.27m to sign Odsonne Edouard from PSG in the summer of 2018 (via Transfermarkt).

How has Laxalt fared at Celtic?

Versatile left-back Laxalt has made 24 appearances this season and started all six of Celtic’s Europa League matches.

He has only scored one goal, but his numbers going forward are still reasonably good. He has averaged 1.1 shots, 0.6 key passes and 1.1 dribbles per game; while going the other way, he boasts 1.7 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 1.4 clearances per 90 minutes (via WhoScored).

Although ex-Hoops striker Chris Sutton said Laxalt hadn’t done enough over the season as a whole to ‘warrant a big fee’, the Uruguayan’s former manager Neil Lennon raved about his performances at Parkhead.

As per Daily Record, the ex-Celtic boss said of the 28-year-old: “Diego has been an excellent addition, a superb asset to the squad…He’s aggressive in his play and in his passing. I’ve been absolutely delighted with him.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

Laxalt has been decent at Celtic, but unless they can convince Milan to significantly lower their asking price, they shouldn’t pursue this deal.

It would be reckless to nudge transfer records for a 28-year-old left-back in this market, particularly when they’ll have to come through three qualifying rounds just to secure Champions League group stage revenue.

In other news, Frank McAvennie is worried about this planned move.

MatériaMais Notícias

Rodrigo Gral, ex-atacante de Flamengo, Grêmio, Bahia, Chapecoense, Juventude e Sport e Seleção Brasileira, alcançou uma marca memorável no último domingo. Segundo suas contas, o atacante, atualmente no FC Djursland, um pequeno clube da Dinamarca, chegou aos 600 gols na carreira.

A marca veio após ele marcar o segundo gol do empate em 2 a 2 com oAabyhøj IF, também da Dinamarca. A contagem também inclui os gols marcados na categoria de base.

-Estou muito feliz aqui. Fazer aquilo que mais amo e Deus tem me proporcionado experiências fantásticas pois ainda tenho saúde para seguir jogando. Foi um gol bacana. Recebi o cruzamento do Guga Dambros, companheiro da equipe, brasileiro também, jovem promissor, daí me livrei da marcação e entrei de peixinho para cabecear a bola. Eu havia dado o passe para nosso primeiro gol também. Mais um dia inesquecível- contou o atacante.

Aos 39 anos, a inevitável aposentadoria se aproxima. Ele contou que ainda não tem previsão de pendurar as chuteiras, mas já tem planos do que irá fazer depois que deixar os gramados.

-Me cuido bastante. Estou com um percentual de gordura que não chega a 10. Para quem tem 39 anos é bem interessante. Quero seguir jogando, fazendo meus gols, ajudando a equipe aqui do Djursland até o final da temporada, me dedicar também aos estudos, um dos objetivos pelo qual vim para cá, para poder pensar na transição da carreira do campo para fora. Tenho aprendido muito nas aulas e quem sabe breve possa estar como manager também. Até lá, que os zagueiros tenham trabalho- divertiu-se.

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وجه النجم البرتغالي كريستيانو رونالدو، انتقادات إلى زملائه الشباب في صفوف فريقه مانشستر يونايتد الإنجليزي، بشأن سلوكهم.

رونالدو عاد إلى مانشستر يونايتد في انتقالات الصيف مغادرًا يوفنتوس، ويشهد مستوى الشياطين الحمر تذبذًا دفع الإدارة لإقالة المدير الفني سولشاير والتعاقد مع رالف رانجنيك بصفة مؤقتة لنهاية الموسم.

وقال رونالدو في حديثه لشبكة “سكاي سبورتس”: “وأنا بعمر 18 عامًا، بعض اللاعبين القدامى تحدثوا إليّ وكنت أنصت لهم لكي أتحسن، لأنهم يعرفون أكثر مني”.

وأضاف: “هذا الجيل الجديد لا يتقبل النقد، إذا كنت لا تريد مساعدتي ونصيحتي، قم بعملك إذن، انظر لنفسك، قدم أفضل ما لديك من أجل الفريق”.

رونالدو واصل تصريحاته: “لا أريد أن أكون هنا لأكون في المركز السادس أو السابع أو الخامس، أنا هنا لأحاول الفوز والمنافسة، أعتقد أنه لبناء أشياء جيدة، عليك أحيانًا تدمير بعض الأشياء”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. رونالدو: رانجنيك يحتاج لوقت في مانشستر يونايتد.. وشعرت بخيبة أمل لرحيل سولشاير

وأكمل: “فلماذا لا – عام جديد، حياة جديدة، وآمل أن يكون مانشستر يونايتد بالمستوى الذي يريده جماهيره، إنهم يستحقون ذلك”.

البرتغالي أكد: “نحن قادرون على تغيير الأشياء الآن، أعرف الطريقة ولكني لن أذكرها هنا، لأنني لا أعتقد أنه من الأخلاقي أن أقول ذلك”.

وشدد: “ما يمكنني قوله هو إنه يمكننا القيام بعمل أفضل نحن جميعًا، مانشستر يونايتد ينتمي إلى أشياء مهمة، لذلك علينا تغيير ذلك”.

وأردف رونالدو: “أعتقد أننا نتنافس ولكننا لم نصل بعد إلى أفضل مستوياتنا، ولكن لدينا طريق طويل للتحسين، وأعتقد أنه إذا غيرنا عقليتنا سيمكننا تحقيق أشياء كبيرة”.

Alfredo Morelos fittingly scored his 55th Rangers league goal in the 1-1 Old Firm derby draw at the weekend and in order to keep him at Ibrox this summer, Steven Gerrard and Ross Wilson should offer him a new deal.

The Colombian international has impressed for the Ibrox outfit since joining from HJK Helsinki in 2017, having made 176 appearances for the Gers, in which he has contributed a superb 93 goals and 46 assists.

The 24-year-old has played a huge part in Rangers’ title success this season, with 11 goals and three assists to his name in the Premiership so far this season.

Across his 25 appearances in the Scottish top-flight, he has averaged an excellent 7.20 rating, which is enough to see him rated as the sixth-best player across the league campaign thus far.

He was also one of Rangers’ star performers in their impressive Europa League run, as he managed three goals and five assists in just 10 appearances, averaging a 7.17 rating.

These goals were enough to see him overtake Ally McCoist as Rangers’ top scorer in European competitions with his goal against Benfica his 22nd in Europe for the Gers, although he has now extended that tally to 23 with his goal against Royal Antwerp in the 5-2 win earlier in the season.

If Rangers want him to continue scoring goals in Europe in the Champions League next season, then they should be looking to tie him down to a new deal in order to fend off some of the interest that will undoubtedly be shown in him during the summer after another successful season at Ibrox.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-rangers-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Rangers news, transfer rumours and more!”]

Morelos’ current deal is set to expire in 2023 and with him valued at £10.8 million by Transfermarkt, interested clubs may well see the potential fee they’d have to pay as a bargain when considering his excellent goalscoring record both domestically and in Europe.

Gerrard was full of praise for Morelos back in 2019, saying:

“He deserves to be praised. I’ll never get bored of talking about him. He’s a fantastic player.”

Although the Colombian is already reportedly the highest earner at Rangers, the club should be boosted by Champions League revenue next season and will want to keep hold of their best players as they look to retain the title and challenge in Europe again next season.

[freshpress-quiz id=“588789″]

Therefore, although it could be an expensive deal for Rangers to complete, Gerrard will undoubtedly want to keep him around his squad ahead of next season, so Wilson should consider offering him a new deal.

And, in other news… Forget Boupendza: Wilson can save millions with Rangers swoop for 28 y/o international

West Brom’s survival bid took a drastic turn for the worst on Tuesday night as they were beaten by rock-bottom Sheffield United.

It leaves Sam Allardyce’s men some nine points away from safety, and ultimately, one point against the two sides above and below them is simply not good enough and could suggest that the writing may already be on the wall.

And it’s hardly a surprise given the performances of some of his current players, they’re simply letting him down in these crucial games. None more so than young defender Dara O’Shea.

The 21-year-old has been deployed at centre-back and right-back this season without settling on a true position, which tells you that Big Sam likes him enough to keep him among the starting XI despite some questionable performances – not least against the likes of West Ham and Arsenal in recent weeks.

Once again, he struggled to deal with top-flight opposition, and that’s a worrying sign given the Blades are not just below them in the table but also one of only two teams the Baggies have actually beaten.

In terms of overall performance, the Irishman graded as Albion’s worst defender with a 6.5 rating on SofaScore, and when delving into the numbers deeper, it’s easy to see why.

O’Shea lost possession more than anyone else on the pitch (23 times), meaning he was sloppy and wasteful in giving the ball back to the opposition. Indeed, he lost the ball once every 3.9 minutes and once every 2.5 touches (59 total).

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/west-brom-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest West Brom news, transfer rumours and more!”]

He was also hugely lightweight in his battles, allowing match-winner Jayden Bogle in frequently along that right flank. O’Shea won 55% of his duels, including just twice on the ground, which only shows how the Blades wing-back dominated him.

In addition to his inability to keep hold of possession, O’Shea was diabolical with his passing, managing to make only 54% of his passes – the worst of any Albion outfield player, via SofaScore.

It begs the question to just why skipper Jake Livermore received so much flak on social media when evidently, it’s that leaky backline that’s causing their downfall again. No team across Europe has conceded as many goals as West Brom.

As BirminghamLive’s Joseph Chapman said in his post-match ratings, O’Shea ‘lost a crucial duel which United scored their winner from,’ and that’s perhaps why they lost such a vital encounter.

The calamitous O’Shea badly let his manager down with such a weak display and that’ll surely have Big Sam pondering his place going into the weekend.

Livermore may be the fans’ scapegoat, but it was Albion’s defender who looked completely out of sorts on Tuesday night.

AND in other news, West Brom eye bargain deal as Big Sam reveals “good news”…

Celtic continue to find themselves linked to potential new managers as, with the Hoops struggling this season and looking like they will be surrendering their title to arch rivals Rangers, Neil Lennon could soon find himself out of a job.

Their Glasgow neighbours are running away with this season’s Premiership, leading the reigning champions by a mammoth 23 points. Celtic have struggled to climb through the gears as the campaign has ticked by and now change could be on the horizon.

Speculation around Lennon’s future continues to be rifeand one man who could, reportedly, come in and take his place is Rafael Benitez. According to The Mirror, the former Liverpool and Newcastle boss is in the picture to take over at Celtic after leaving his position in China and even at the age of 60, Benitez is reportedly still keen to find a new role.

Speaking to Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer gave his thoughts on whether he could picture Benitez at the hilt of the Scottish outfit.

“Well he’s gone to China, so I could see him going anywhere,” the pundit said. “So yeah, of course, Celtic is a massive club.”

Indeed, the Premiership heavyweights have had an uncharacteristically poor season and are in need of a boost. Not only have they seemingly thrown away their chances of a tenth consecutive league title, but they also had an early exit from the Europa League.

The Hoops were dumped out of the competition following a disappointing group stage, which saw them finish bottom of their group having accumulated just four points. They also conceded the joint most goals (19) of the group stages, with only Ludogorets and Dundalk shipping as many.

“I suppose Benitez would want to know what funds he would have available in the transfer market,” Palmer continued. “I think he found it very difficult with the owners at Newcastle in trying to progress the club forward. But I could see that [move to Celtic] being a fit.”

The former midfielder went on to discuss Lennon’s position at the club, praising his stature as a “top manager”, but ultimately admitting his days are numbered.

“He’s done great things at Celtic, but once you’re fighting the tide, you’re fighting the tide. You’re never going to get out of it again.”

It remains to be seen if Lennon is sacked, and if Benitez ends up in the Parkhead hotseat but if those things do happen, it seems that Carlton Palmer would not be shocked.

In other news, Lennon has sealed his own Celtic fate by not bolstering his squad…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has reacted to West Brom closing in on their first signing of the January transfer window.

According to the Telegraph’s John Percy, the Baggies are poised to land veteran winger Robert Snodgrass for a minimal fee as he’s in the final six months of his current contract at West Ham.

It’s claimed that the 33-year-old, who was on loan to Albion’s rivals Aston Villa during the 2017/18 season, will have a medical in the next 48 hours before sealing a permanent move to The Hawthorns.

Sam Allardyce is also targeting a move for Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury, whilst outcast duo Charlie Austin and Kamil Grosicki have been told they can leave the club this window.

Bournemouth forward Joshua King is another name linked with a switch to West Brom this month.

Speaking to FFC, Windass lauded Big Sam’s move for the Scotsman…

He said:

“Snodgrass, people like that on the bench at West Ham, you can see those sorts of players under Big Sam. That sort of type.

“[He will bring] just a little bit of quality. I think he’s coming towards the end of his career, but I know Snoddy really well. In a sense, he’s got that quality, but I know him as a lad as well.

“He will want to play. He won’t want to sit on the bench for West Ham.”

Snodgrass has played just two minutes in the Premier League this season as he has fallen heavily out-of-favour under David Moyes.

He would arrive in the Midlands with something that Allardyce’s squad lacks in abundance – top-flight experience.

For the likes of Norwich, Hull City and of course, the Hammers, Snodgrass has racked up 163 appearances in the Premier League, where he has contributed 26 goals and 25 assists, per Transfermarkt.

It remains to be seen what the exact figure the Baggies will have to pay, but it is thought that the midfielder is on around £40k-per-week in east London so a similar wage would put him among Albion’s highest earners.

AND in other news, West Brom could find their next Odemwingie in £9.9m-rated “complete package”…

Said Benrahma let David Moyes down terribly after turning in an indifferent display as West Ham United beat Burnley 1-0 through a Michail Antonio goal.

Moyes opted to hand Benrahma only his fourth Premier League start following the forward’s summer arrival on loan from Brentford, partnering the Algerian with Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals in behind Antonio at the London Stadium.

Benrahma began promisingly when his pass split the Burnley defence to find Bowen on the edge of the box, who kept play alive well with a ball out to Fornals for the Spaniard to deliver a teasing delivery that found Antonio to score an easy tap in after nine minutes.

Benrahma continued to look lively in the opening stages with his confidence clearly up, yet saw his input reduce the more the game wore on and departed the field in the 68th-minute having failed to score his first goal in claret and blue.

The 25-year-old saw his afternoon end after offering just a single shot which, while on target, failed to cause Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope any issues with the four-time England international able to able to deal with the danger posed without leaving his spot.

Despite carving the Clarets defence open in the lead up to Antonio’s match-winning effort, Benrahma also left the field without a key pass beside his name on a day Declan Rice would bag four from the holding midfield role, Bowen would provide two and defenders Craig Dawson and Vladimir Coufal each offered one, per WhoScored.

Moyes will have been further frustrated to see Benrahma only manage to register a mere two touches inside the Burnley box, plus five on the periphery, as the attacker (16) ended his match having been outpassed by Irons shot-stopper Lukasz Fabianski (17) on his return from a thigh injury.

Benrahma will need to improve his end product and time spent in the visitor’s box for his move to east London to be a success, with the £20m-rated attacker further misplacing five of his six attempted crosses, per SofaScore.

Tame efforts from the wide positions have been a custom of Benrahma’s time at the London Stadium so far, with today’s successful cross his first in claret and blue after eight prior misdirected attempts in nine Premier League appearances.

His major redeeming quality from the Burnley affair came on the ground with success in four dribbles for a joint game-high record with Bowen, and having attempted fewer (5) than the former Hull City star (7).

It was by far and away Benrahma’s best day in terms of dribbling, having averaged just 1.5 successful runs from 2.2 attempts a game in the top-flight this term, but ultimately proved to be another day without any direct output and true time spent in the area that will have left Moyes feeling let down again.

AND in other news, West Ham may be targeting a new Modibo Maiga in their search of Sebastien Haller’s replacement.

Crystal Palace had a remarkable stroke of luck under Roy Hodgson last season, losing seven of their last eight games in the Premier League but surviving relatively unscathed as they narrowly avoided a relegation battle at the bottom of the table.

After a solid start to the season, Palace’s recent run of good form was abruptly cut short by an embarrassing 7-0 defeat by Liverpool at Selhurst Park before the Christmas break.

This has somewhat put a dampener on proceedings but with the transfer window set to open in a couple of weeks, Palace chairman Steve Parish will be expected to splash the cash to ensure Roy Hodgson’s side avoid the drop.

The Eagles have been credited with an interest in various players, including Reading midfielder Michael Olise, but so far no moves have materialised as of yet, while a number of first-team regular starters like Patrick van Aanholt and Scott Dann have been linked with a move elsewhere.

It’s safe to say Palace need at least a couple more signings to ensure their survival, but will the board be prepared to spend big in order to meet their targets during a time of such economic turbulence?

While Eagles fans indulge in Christmas festivities, take a trip down memory lane and see how much you can remember about Crystal Palace’s top 10 most expensive signings of all time? We bet you can’t get 10/10 in this fiendishly difficult quiz…

تلقى نادي بيراميدز إخطارا رسميا من الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم “كاف”، بشأن تحديد موعد مباراة إيه إس مانياما الكونغولي وطاقم حكام اللقاء.

ويلاقي بيراميدز نظيره إيه إس مانياما الكونغولي في ذهاب دور الـ32 التكميلي من بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية الأفريقية، في كينشاسا. موعد مباراة بيراميدز وإيه إس مانياما في الكونفدرالية

وأكد “كاف” في خطابه أن مباراة بيراميدز وإس مانياما تم تحديد الثالثة عصرا بتوقيت كينشاسا موعدًا للقاء، الرابعة عصرًا بتوقيت القاهرة، على أن تقام بملعب الشهداء في مدينة كينشاسا العاصمة الكونغولية.

طالع أيضا.. صور | ريفرز يونايتد يختار ملعب أنيمبا لاستضافة مباراته أمام المصري بالكونفدرالية حكم مباراة بيراميدز وإيه إس مانياما في الكونفدرالية

ويدير المباراة طاقم حكام من إثيوبيا بقيادة الحكم، بيلاي تاديسي، ويعاونه كيندي موسي المساعد الأول، وجيزوا بيلباو، المساعد الثاني، وليمي نيجويسي الحكم الرابع.

ويراقب المباراة، أليكسيس ناشيمانا من رواندا، ويراقب الحكام، عبده علي محمد من جيبوتي، ويراقب تطبيق إجراءات فيروس كورونا الطبيب جيسيلي ديميا من الكونغو.