Marcus Rashford is unlikely to wear the Manchester United shirt again in future after completing a loan move to Aston Villa on Sunday.

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Rashford unlikely to play for Man Utd againCompleted loan move to Aston VillaHas not featured for Red Devils since DecemberFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Rashford, who had fallen out of favour under new United boss Ruben Amorim and last made an appearance for the club on December 12, finally ended his nightmare as he completed a loan move from Old Trafford to Villa Park. Aston Villa have agreed to sign the forward on a short-term deal but they have the option to buy him outright for £40 million ($49m) in the summer.

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reports that while Rashford's present move is temporary, it is highly unlikely that the player will ever return to the Red Devils and play another match for the club. The England international's current contract runs until 2028 but the player is expected to move out on a second loan spell next summer if the Villans refuse to buy him permanently. The report adds that the 27-year-old's relationship with his boyhood club has completely broken down and he won't return to the club in the future even if manager Amorim leaves the team.

DID YOU KNOW?

While the club happily approved Rashford's move away from the club, a section of their fans have reacted to the news with disdain towards co-owners INEOS and their handling of the situation, as well as criticism of the player.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MARCUS RASHFORD?

The star forward could make his debut for his new club this Sunday as Unai Emery's side take on Tottenham in a fourth-round FA Cup clash at home.

Leeds United may well need to dip into the free agent market for a new midfielder following long-term injury blows to both Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev.

Leeds injury latest – Ampadu and Gruev

The Whites and Daniel Farke began a busy week of Championship action last weekend against Coventry City, and a 3-0 victory came at a cost with club captain Amapdu suffering a knee ligament issue.

The Wales international has been ruled out until 2025, which left Gruev, Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell as Farke’s senior midfield options. Next up was a trip to Carrow Road to take on Norwich City, and despite picking up a 1-1 draw, Gruev became the latest injury for Leeds. The club has now shared that the Bulgaria international also needs surgery on a knee injury and will be facing months on the sidelines.

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Plans are being put in place behind the scenes.

ByCharlie Smith Oct 3, 2024

Teenager Charlie Crew could be in line to make a debut in the near future, but Farke revealed in a recent press conference that while he isn’t a fan of signing players who are out of contract this far into the season, the free agent market may be something they look at.

“First of all, we wait a bit for the outcome with Ilia’s injury and how long he will be out. If it would be really a long-term injury I think it’s one of our professional duties to be aware and also to check who is perhaps available and what we could do.

“If I’m really honest, I’m not a big friend of signing players who are out of contract in the beginning of October, because it means, more or less, they are out of team training since May. That means they are out of team training since whatever, five months.

Players

Return dates

Max Wober

November/December

Ethan Ampadu

New Year

Ilia Gruev

Unknown

Daniel James

October

Manor Solomon

October

“And even if you bring them in, it lasts also a while until they are really ready to go and fully fit and really could play first team football and then, quite often the player who is right now injured for the next few weeks, he’s even back in perhaps and ready to go earlier than the players who are out for since five months.

“I think quite often it’s a bit like a panic buy or like to pretend to do something anyhow. I think it’s professional to check it, and sometimes, out of coincidence or out of a special situation, there could be someone out who really suits the needs in this moment.”

Jake Livermore touted as free agent option for Leeds

The Yorkshire Post’s Tom Coates looked at six midfield free agents who Leeds could target, one of which is Jake Livermore. The 34-year-old, who had a spell on loan at Elland Road from Tottenham back in 2011, has been without a club since leaving Watford in the summer.

He has 244 appearances under his belt in the Championship and 196 to his name in the Premier League, as per Transfermarkt, so his experience and availability could be something Leeds need at this moment in time. As Farke alludes to, he may need some time to get up to match fitness, but the upcoming international break presents the perfect chance to get a head start on that process if the club acts quickly.

The lower order dug in but Victoria wrapped up victory midway through the final session

AAP30-Oct-2021Marcus Harris’ magic touch continued at Drummoyne Oval, where the opener snaffled a one-handed catch to help Victoria secure a 204-run Sheffield Shield victory over NSW.NSW, set a target of 339 when Peter Handscomb declared late on day three in Sydney, resumed at 1 for 33 on Saturday morning. The hosts were bowled out for 134, with top-scorer Peter Nevill fighting hard to almost drag the contest into its final hour but eventually running out of partners.Former Test keeper Nevill remained unbeaten on 29 from 129 deliveries, with Tanveer Sangha’s dismissal to Jon Holland ending the match.On-song paceman Scott Boland, who snared the key scalp of captain Kurtis Patterson with a delivery that kept low and struck off stump, finished with a match haul of 7 for 73. Boland also removed Gilkes and Jack Edwards on day four. Edwards, Sean Abbott, Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon faced a combined 209 balls during NSW’s stonewall.Related

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Friday’s centuries from Harris and Handscomb put their side in the box seat for victory, while also sending a timely reminder of their talent to national selectors. Harris then held catches to dismiss Matthew Gilkes and Abbott on Saturday, with the former a sensationally sharp effort at gully.”I’m not sure he saw that,” Handscomb said. “It happened to stick…it was awesome. In terms of his batting, he’s picked up where he left off last season for Victoria and also in England this year.”He’s in red-hot form. Great for him to come out here and do this in the first game. Especially with the Ashes coming up, he can take a lot of confidence going into that.”Handscomb noted he would relish a chance to play for Australia A or Australia in coming months but was looking no further ahead than the MCG clash with NSW that begins on Friday.”If that opportunity came, I’d grab it with both hands,” Handscomb said.Prodigy Will Pucovski, who sat out this match because of concussion, and express paceman James Pattinson, who recently retired from international cricket, are likely to return next week.”What a good problem to have. You have a win then two Australia players coming back into the fold,” Handscomb said. “I’m sure all the right protocols are happening [with Pucovski] and when he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there.”NSW coach Phil Jaques indicated allrounder Moises Henriques was an unlikely starter in the next Shield match. Jaques praised the venue-record stand of 261 runs between Harris and Handscomb, while lamenting his own charges’ batting.”We were on the wrong end of a pretty good partnership between two pretty good players at the top of their game,” former Test opener Jaques said. “I know they’re hurting. We’ll bounce back really quickly…we’ll be looking to try to get some revenge on them next week.”

For a long time, Arsenal had a reputation for being frankly rubbish at selling their star players, and in all fairness, it wasn’t entirely unwarranted.

For example, superstars like Mesut Özil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had to be forced out of the club after signing mega-money deals and the sensational Alexis Sanchez was moved on in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan come to North London.

However, in recent years, Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have slowly turned the Gunners into a club that can, and often does, get significant fees for their stars and unwanted players.

In fact, the pair have overseen some big sales in the last couple of years, including a frustrating player who netted the club a much larger fee than Granit Xhaka did.

Arsenal's recent notable sales

So, starting with the Swiss international’s sale to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2023, the Gunners earned a cool £21.4m.

Now, that might not seem like a massive sum of money for a player that was so important to Arteta’s side, but at the time, he had just a year left on his deal, was 30 years old, and by all accounts, the manager wanted to give him the chance to take on a new challenge after spending six incredibly intense seasons in North London.

However, while the tenacious midfielder’s exit was a big one that summer, it wasn’t the most profitable, as a month later, the club announced the sale of American academy graduate Folarin Balogun, who joined Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco for a fee in the region of £35m, which for a player who had made just ten appearances for the club was seriously sizable.

The club continued to pick up hefty fees for fringe players this summer as well, with Aaron Ramsdale joining Southampton for a fee that could reach £25m, while Emile Smith Rowe joined Fulham in a deal that could see the North Londoners earn up to £34m, which is seriously impressive considering the minuscule amount of minutes he received last season.

However, while both these sales are impressive, Arteta and Edu oversaw another significant exit this summer that was arguably the most remarkable sale of them all.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

Eddie Nketiah's Arsenal exit

Yes, the player in question is Eddie Nketiah, who finally left Arsenal this summer after joining the club as a 14-year-old.

The talented “beast”, as dubbed by Arteta, endured a mixed career in North London, as while he showed glimpses of real quality here and there, he was ultimately more frustrating than anything else, and despite earning a new £100k-per-week contract and the number 14 shirt in the summer of 2022, he couldn’t establish himself as a regular starter.

For example, despite stepping up in the latter half of the 21/22 campaign, scoring ten goals and providing one assist in 27 appearances, he could only muster an underwhelming tally of 38 goals and seven assists in 168 first-team appearances across his entire career in North London.

Appearances

168

Goals

38

Assists

7

Goal Involvements per Match

0.26

That means that the once-capped Englishman averaged a goal involvement every 3.73 games for the Gunners, and while that certainly isn’t abysmal, it is nowhere near good enough to lead the line for a club looking to win the Premier League title.

So it felt more like when and not if he would be sold, but given his lack of form and game time over the last couple of seasons, there was concern that he wouldn’t bring in much of a fee, a concern that proved wrong.

In the dying embers of the transfer window this summer, and following multiple failed moves to Marseille and Nottingham Forest, Edu and Co finally got the fee they were after when Crystal Palace agreed to pay up to £30m for the 25-year-old forward, which is a seriously impressive fee considering the far more important Xhaka was sold for just £21.4m just a year prior.

Ultimately, Nketiah’s sale this summer worked out for everyone, as Arsenal got a sizable sum for a player who wasn’t good enough to play for them, Palace got a striker with Premier League experience, and the player himself has the chance to establish himself as a starting striker for a first-tier club.

£32m star's Arsenal career looks done & dusted after Shakhtar

The talented international looks a long way from the Arsenal first team.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 23, 2024

Chelsea have made some big money moves since the arrival of their new owners, the two biggest being midfield duo, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernández.

Third on the list is Romelu Lukaku, who was signed in 2021 by Thomas Tuchel, coming back to Chelsea for his second stint at the club. It didn’t end well, with lots of controversy from an interview he did just months after joining the club, and the Belgian has recently been sold back to Italy, joining Napoli for £30m.

Enzo Fernández

£101.1m

Moises Caicedo

£96.9m

Romelu Lukaku

£94.4m

Wesley Fofana

£67.1m

Kai Havertz

£66.8m

Kepa Arrizabalaga

£66.8m

Mykhailo Mudryk

£58.5m

Álvaro Morata

£55.1m

Marc Cucurella

£54.5m

Christian Pulisic

£53.4m

Seventh on the list is Ukrainian winger, Mykhailo Mudryk, who was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023. Now, Chelsea are now being linked with a move for one of Mudryk’s international teammates.

Chelsea eyeing up another Ukraine international

According to reports from inews earlier this week, Chelsea are among the clubs interested in the Ukrainian superstar talent, Georgiy Sudakov. Other Premier League clubs interested include Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City.

The 22-year-old has made 111 appearances for Shakhtar, scoring 27 goals, providing 20 assists, and totalling 7,883 minutes played. He also already has 23 international caps under his belt, scoring three goals for his country.

So far this season, Sudakov – who possesses a release clause of £128m – has made ten appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing two assists.

His ability to facilitate others in that attacking midfield position, crash the box, and provide output, could be the perfect recipe for success at Chelsea, and could even bring the best out of his international teammate.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

How Sudakov would benefit Mudryk at Chelsea

Since joining Chelsea, Mudryk has underwhelmed, making 66 appearances, scoring just seven times and providing an equal number of assists across 3,188 total minutes.

The frustration for many Chelsea fans has been the clear talent the Ukrainian possesses, often met with inconsistency and a lack of efficiency on the pitch.

One thing we know about Mudryk is he has blistering pace, and this was apparent from day one. In his debut year, the Ukrainian became the quickest player in the Premier League that season (2022/23), clocking a speed of 36.63km/h. However, the challenge now is for him to develop consistency in his actions, and improve his output on the pitch. That’s where the supremely talented Sudakov comes into the equation.

Goals

0.17

0.63

Assists

0.34

0.16

xG

0.00

0.42

xAG

0.58

0.00

Progressive Carries

6.32

2.63

Progressive Passes

3.16

5.79

Shots Total

1.86

1.80

Key Passes

2.11

0.53

Shot-Creating Actions

4.21

1.58

Successful Take-Ons

1.58

0.53

An addition like Sudakov, who has been highly praised as a “sensation” by scout Jacek Kulig, could help to unlock Mudryk, who is already posting some very nice creative numbers. His progressive carries in order to get into dangerous areas are high, whilst he is offering 2.11 key passes per 90, and 4.21 shot-creating actions per 90.

One of the biggest issues, is Chelsea are currently full of other playmakers, with Cole Palmer often taking the responsibility of making things happen in the final third, Nicolas Jackson often drops in to link play, and Fernandez, who is a pass-heavy midfielder also helping the supply line.

This often means Mudryk’s creative numbers are going to waste, with a lack of box crashers, and little to aim at.

Adding Sudakov, you already have an established relationship from international football, and you are adding an attacking midfielder who wants to attack the box, scoring 0.63 goals per 90, generating 0.42 xG per 90, and taking 1.80 shots per 90.

This dynamic would give Mudryk an extra “box crasher” to find, and with the form Sudakov is in, him finding the net on a few of these occasions could be the difference between Mudryk finding his confidence, and starting to gain momentum with his output for the Blues.

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ByConnor Holden Oct 16, 2024

Neymar wants to win the World Cup with Brazil having made a highly-anticipated return to boyhood club Santos.

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• Neymar eyes World Cup glory with Brazil
• Wants to win everything at Santos
• Was unveiled at Santos on Friday

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• AFP
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Brazil icon finally completed his much-hyped Santos comeback as the player was unveiled in front of a sea of fans on Friday. After making an emotional move back to his homeland, Neymar vowed to win everything including the 2026 World Cup with the Selecao. He also clarified that he is willing to play in any position, such is his enthusiasm to help the club, including defensive midfield.

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• WHAT NEYMAR SAID

  After formally signing for the Brazilian giants, Neymar interacted with the media in a press conference where he said: "I’m a competitive guy. I want to win everything I do that involves competition. I’m returning to Santos wanting to be champion again. It’s a comeback after 13 years, and winning a Paulista that I’ve won three times, winning again will be different. I have this fire to win in my blood. You know how competitive I am. I didn’t come here to hang out, I didn’t come here to sit at home on the couch.

  "I came here to find my happiness in playing soccer and helping Santos. I’m going to dedicate myself to making the Santos fans happy and making myself happy. Being there at Vila Belmiro, it’s impossible not to be happy."

  He added: "I have been away from the pitch for a long time, I played two games for Al-Hilal after my injury. I can play anywhere. I have perfected the position of number 10 over the years, since I played in this position at PSG. It will depend on the coach, whether it is on the wing, number 9, as a defensive midfielder, whatever he wants."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  On his international future, he added: "Obviously, the national team is something I want to return to. I still have something to achieve (the World Cup), a mission that I think is my last, so I'm going to go after it no matter what. I have goals."

  On Saturday, the player shared photographs from his unveiling ceremony at Santos on Instagram and wrote in the caption: "I'm living a dream and I don't want to wake up."

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• WHAT NEXT FOR NEYMAR?

  The 32-year-old is expected to join the team's training on Monday. Manager Pedro Caixinha will assess the condition of the star winger before deciding when he could take the field for Santos.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians irá enfrentar o Ituano nas quartas de final do Paulistão. Na última rodada da fase de grupos, o time de Itu garantiu o segundo lugar do Grupo C ao vencer o Santos por 3 a 0.

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+ Yuri Alberto é ovacionado em vitória do Corinthians sobre o Santo André; veja as notas!

A Federação Paulista de Futebol ainda não definiu a data e horário do confronto, disputado em jogo único, mas como terminou na ponta do grupo, o Timão terá o mando de campo e decidirá na Neo Química Arena. O clube alvinegro deve iniciar a venda de ingressos para o mata-mata nesta segunda-feira (6).

+ Veja as movimentações do mercado da bola no LANCE!

Por outro lado, os resultados da rodada empurraram novamente o Timão para a quinta melhor campanha geral. O São Paulo venceu o Botafogo, enquanto o Água Santa superou o São Bernardo. Dessa forma, ambas equipes chegaram aos 23 pontos, deixando o time comandado por Fernando Lázaro com a quintamelhor campanha geral.

Caso o Tricolor do Morumbi elimine a equipe de Diadema e o Corinthians passe pelo Ituano, o hipotético clássico Majestoso da semifinal será com mando do São Paulo.

+ Veja tabela e simule os jogos do Campeonato Paulista

Portanto, o Corinthians só voltará a jogar ao lado do seu torcedor caso avance à final do Paulistão, pois a grande decisão será disputada em jogos de ida e volta.

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Former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has had his say on whether or not Lamine Yamal would make it into the club's legendary treble winning team.

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• Pique argues Yamal would make treble-winning side
• Won the treble for first time in the 2009
• Had players like Henry and Messi in attack

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• AFP
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former Barcelona defender, who was an integral part of the legendary squad that won the treble for the first time under Pep Guardiola in the 2008-09 campaign, has opened up on Yamal's chance of making it to that iconic side which boasted the likes of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The 17-year-old Spanish winger continues to mesmerise audiences across the world. Yamal had a breakthrough year with Barcelona and Spain in the 2023-24 season and he already has 25 goal contributions to his name, including 11 goals in 30 appearances across all competitions in the current campaign.

• WHAT GERARD PIQUE SAID

  When asked if any of the players from the current batch of Barcelona will make it to the treble-winning team, Pique told : "In my Barca? I was there for many years and I played for several Barcelona teams, but if you're referring to the team that won the treble, the sextuple, well, that's where our Barca was very, very Barca.

  "I'd say one of the best teams in history. I don't know… I'd say very few. In our Barca there were great players. It's true that it's a shame not to have a Lamine, a [Pau] Cubarsi or a Raphinha who are now at a great level, but of course in that Barca in those positions, there was Messi, or [Carles] Puyol or whoever, [David] Villa, Henry or [Samuel] Eto'o."

  He added: "We're talking about very, very top players. I think that those who are there now have to earn it to be in that team, that they can be sure of it because of talent and desire, but they still need to be able to win big titles."

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• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

  Hansi Flick's side, who are trailing league leaders and arch-rivals Real Madrid by four points, will be next seen in action on Sunday as they take on Sevilla in La Liga.

When a side comes as close to winning as India did and the opposition is more than 100 away from their score, it is tempting to look for a few priceless minutes from earlier in the match. The mind immediately goes to India’s last partnership before declaration, which went at a little over three an over for over 20 overs. However, India coach Rahul Dravid said those runs were extremely important to bat New Zealand out of the game. He didn’t feel India had got the timing of the declaration wrong, which left New Zealand 284 to get at under three an over.Dravid was asked if Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel could have been more adventurous in that partnership and given India an extra half hour. “I don’t think so,” Dravid said. “That is not my reading of the game. Till half an hour before we declared, we were under pressure. All three results were possible.

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“To be very honest with you, if we had got out – Wriddhiman Shaha showed great courage and character to be batting with the stiff neck that he had – if we had lost our three wickets quickly and they were chasing 240-250 in approximately 110 overs, then they are looking at 2.2-2.3 runs an over. So no that is not my reading of the game. We needed that partnership.”Dravid went on to suggest they would have approached the final session of day four differently had they not lost half-centurion Shreyas Iyer to the last ball before tea, but then stopped himself. “We lost Shreyas just before tea,” Dravid said. “Then we had that partnership, which was critical for us. From 167 for 7 to get to 230 for 7 was absolutely necessary. If this wicket was turning square and bouncing, and we had both the edges in play, I would have… you know there would have been a different situation.”My reading of the game was not that at all. Even today you walk into the ground, and you know the opposition needs just under three an over. That’s not a lot of runs if a couple of batters get set. Of course, we thought we did it well. We timed it well. We managed to get a wicket yesterday, and we came very close today. We were under pressure as well, people forget that, even 45 minutes before we declared.”Rahul Dravid believes the partnership between Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel was vital•BCCI

The biggest deciding factor was the conditions, an unresponsive pitch that took out a couple of modes of dismissals from the game. “Facts of the pitch were it probably was low and slow, probably didn’t have that much bounce, didn’t have turn,” Dravid said. “You probably expect a little bit more of wear and tear on these wickets in Indian conditions over five days. This didn’t seem to have that bite. Generally on days four and five, as a spinner, you can challenge both the edges. The outside edge for the catches, and you can get the lbws by beating the inside edge. Honestly, in this Test the outside edge was virtually ruled out.”Even on the last day, none of the edges carried. I can’t remember a catch close to the wicket. [KS] Bharat [substitute wicketkeeper] took a couple but other than that there was nothing. It sort of felt like there was only one way to get people out, which is lbw and bowled. Which was probably true in the last session.”Related

• Kane Williamson: 'Defiant attitude great to see' from New Zealand

• Dravid: 'Hopefully it is a matter of one innings for Rahane'

• Anatomy of a stalemate on a dead Kanpur pitch

• Ravindra, Ajaz frustrate India as NZ hold on for hard-fought draw

• Stats – Ashwin's new record, a rare draw with nine wickets down

Dravid lauded his bowlers for bringing India as close as they did despite the pitch. “I think we did a great job in spite of that,” he said. “It was tough. Look we expect it to be tough in Kanpur. Let’s be honest, I have played here before, I know wickets here can be tough, but this was probably even lower and slower than anything I have experienced here.”Usually on day five you should get little more help. The cracks widen up a little bit. I don’t know, maybe it is the winter. I don’t know what it was but it just felt like if you wanted to block and not score runs, it was difficult to get you out. We saw that. We had quality guys who were able to make a game out of this. Otherwise this could have been a dull draw.”

GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including big wins for Pulisic's Milan and McKennie's Juventus

This weekend could have been defined by which U.S. men's national team stars playing. PSV's American quartet was sidelined. Brenden Aaronson and Antonee Robinson didn't feature. Neither did Celtic's center-back duo of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty. Folarin Balogun and Haji Wright remained out.

Instead, the story was all about goals and assists. Despite the injuries, USMNT stars abroad flipped the narrative, making it far more positive than negative.

Right at the center of it all was Josh Sargent, who is finding his form at the perfect time. He scored again for Norwich, continuing a hot streak that has him in line to finally be the guy to lead the line in this March's CONCACAF Nations League. With Balogun and Ricardo Pepi out, the responsibility is likely to fall to Sargent whether in good or bad form. Thankfully for U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino, Sargent is playing very well at the moment.

So, too, is Christian Pulisic, who shined again for Milan. The USMNT star provided two assists, including one to a new teammate, Mexico international Santi Gimenez. Rivals on the international level, and perhaps on the field in March, Pulisic and Gimenez showed early signs of chemistry to help Milan pick up three big points.

There were plenty of other players to step up during an eventful weekend, too. GOAL looks at the major takeaways from this weekend's Americans Abroad.

GettySargent keeps it going

Just one day after it was confirmed that Pepi would miss the rest of the season, Sargent was back on the scoresheet. What a relief this will be to Pochettino as it looks like he'll still have one in-form striker who plays in Europe to rely on for March's CONCACAF Nations League.

Pepi will be out for those games. So, too, will Folarin Balogun. MLS stars like Brandon Vazquez and Patrick Agyemang will still be in early-season form. That puts a lot of weight on Sargent and, right now, he's showing no issues shouldering it.

You can make it four goals in three games for the Norwich forward, who is well and truly back from injury. His latest came in Norwich's 1-1 draw with Derby County, taking his total up to eight this season in the Championship. He likely won't hit last season's numbers due to his injury lay-off, but Sargent is still putting goals up on the board this season, and he's doing so at the perfect time.

Pochettino will hope he can keep scoring. More importantly, he'll hope he can stay healthy. There's a crisis going on at the USMNT's striker position, but it isn't looking quite so bad thanks to Sargent's recent run of form.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTolkin arrives in the Bundesliga

John Tolkin was introduced to the harsh realities of the Bundesliga last weekend. That's when he was thrown to the wolves. Those wolves were Bayern Munich, and they held on to a 4-3 win, despite a late flurry from Holstein Kiel.

That was the bad. Sunday? That was the good. On Sunday, in his second Bundesliga start, Tolkin made his mark, showcasing why it was time for him to make this big leap to a tough league and an even tougher situation at the relegation-threatened club.

The USMNT star provided an assist on Kiel's equalizing goal, helping his new club earn a 2-2 draw with VfL Bochum. The point, in reality, will help only a little. Kiel are still fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Bundesliga and, as things stand, the odds are looking more likely than not that they'll be in the second division next year. Tolkin was brought in to help avoid that, and Sunday showed he could play a part. His looping free-kick found the head of David Zec, helping Kiel take a point out of Sunday's match at home.

The club will need more points, and Tolkin will need to continue to take steps forward to help them get them. Even so, Sunday was a memorable day for the USMNT defender, who can now feel like he's truly arrived in the Bundesliga.

Getty Images SportMcKennie proving his worth (and Juve are taking notice!)

As rumors swirled of an imminent new contract, Weston McKennie retook his place in the heart in the Juventus midfield. It seems he'll remain there for a while and, after several years of that being anything but certain, it's a positive development.

McKennie, who actually captained the historic Italian club recently, was the more attacking of Juve's three midfielders in Friday's 2-0 win over Como. He created three chances and beat defenders twice off the dribble. Defensively, he led the press from the front, making two interceptions while winning 10 of his midfield duels. It was an all-around performance, one that shows why Juve are finally willing to fully put their trust in him.

The club also trusts Tim Weah, who also started out in that right-back position. He, like McKennie, is a jack of all trades for this team and he's been more than capable of figuring out the defensive side. Weah won nine of his 12 duels, made two interceptions, two clearances, and won two tackles, all while getting up and down that right-hand side in an attacking sense.

Both Weah and McKennie have had their difficult moments, but both are so important to what Juventus is doing right now. McKennie, in particular, is set to be rewarded for that importance and, after so long fighting for his place, it feels deserved.

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Getty Images SportHorvath comes up big in shootout

Throughout his career, Ethan Horvath has proven to be a man for the big occasion. One only has to look back at his CONCACAF Nations League heroics a few years back to remember that.

The longtime USMNT backup goalkeeper stepped up in yet another big game on Saturday, this time helping Cardiff City advance in the FA Cup via a shootout win over Stoke City.

His 120-minute performance wasn't anything to get too excited about. It finished 3-3 through those 120 minutes, with Stoke scoring all three of their goals in a rough 18-minute stretch in the second half. The penalty kick shootout is where Horvath shined, though. After two consecutive makes from Cardiff and one from Stoke, Horvath was able to push away Michael Rose's attempt, making the decisive save as the Welsh side won, 4-2, in the shootout.

It hasn't been easy for Horvath these last few years. After proving so vital for Luton Town's push to the Premier League, he settled right back into a backup role at Cardiff, where he's appeared just five times this season. No one has ever doubted his commitment or professionalism, though, which is how he's stuck around the USMNT picture for so long. He faces a fight to do that with a new generation of goalkeepers coming up but, on Saturday, he did show why, in big moments, he's still a goalkeeper to be relied on.