As if things couldn’t get any worse for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United, they’re now set to be without Kobbie Mainoo for a number of games in their latest injury blow.
Man Utd injury news
As poor as the Red Devils have been so far this season, they’ve not had it easy on the injury front. Already, Ten Hag has been forced to cope without Rasmus Hoijlund, Leny Yoro, and Victor Lindelof at various stages to leave his side in the middle of the club’s worst start after seven games in Premier League history. Now, Mainoo’s absence is only likely to make matters worse.
Leroy Sane transfer news: Latest updates on Arsenal, Man Utd & NUFC target
Leroy Sane hasn’t been in the Premier League since 2020, but could that be about to change? Here are the latest rumours as clubs circle the German.
ByBarney Lane Oct 17, 2024
The academy graduate was one of few bright sparks in an otherwise dim campaign last time out, as he emerged to become the star of the show against Liverpool and then against Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Left to star next to a struggling Casemiro last season, Mainoo has the chance to share the responsibility in the middle of the park with new signing Manuel Ugarte in the current campaign, but will have to wait for that partnership to form after the latest injury news.
As reported by Paul Hirst of The Times, Mainoo is now set to miss the next seven Manchester United games, which will include meetings against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League and Chelsea in the Premier League.
Man Utd vs Brentford
19/10/2024
Premier League
Fenerbahce vs Man Utd
24/10/2024
Europa League
West Ham vs Man Utd
27/10/2024
Premier League
Man Utd vs Leicester City
30/10/2024
Carabao Cup
Man Utd vs Chelsea
03/11/2024
Premier League
Man Utd vs PAOK
07/11/2024
Europa League
Man Utd vs Leicester City
10/11/2024
Premier League
Out until the next international break in November, United fans will likely have to wait until November 24 when the Red Devils travel to face Ipswich Town to next see Mainoo in action.
How Ten Hag will replace Mainoo
Just when Manchester United had the options to transition Casemiro out of their starting side, Mainoo’s injury means that the Brazilian will likely step in and replace the academy graduate. Sitting alongside new man Ugarte, Mainoo’s injury could quickly become decisive in a crucial run of fixtures that Ten Hag must use to save his job at Old Trafford.
There would of course be plenty of unfortunate irony involved if Mourinho and Fred’s Fenerbahce side proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Dutchman’s tenure, especially given how useful the latter would be in place of Mainoo for this run of fixtures.
Nonetheless, Ten Hag must use those at his disposal and hope that Casemiro rediscovers the form of his first season at the club rather than the version that Old Trafford has seen at the heart of their side in a last year full of moments to forget.
“He deserves Cricket Australia’s loyalty and not to be abandoned at this time,” said David Peever
AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2021 • Updated on 22-Nov-2021Former Cricket Australia chairman David Peever has hit out at the current board over the Tim Paine affair, accusing it of abandoning the fallen Test captain.In an angry statement, Peever accused CA of a knee-jerk reaction and hit back at new chairman Richard Freudenstein’s claims the current board would have taken the captaincy off Paine three years ago.It was under Peever’s administration that Paine was cleared of any misconduct following a 2018 integrity unit investigation into lewd messages and a graphic image to Cricket Tasmania colleague.Peever said it was unfair for Paine to be cleared of misconduct in 2018, only to have a new board say he should have been punished now following Friday’s resignation.”I’m disappointed to see a current chairman publicly criticising decisions of a previous board, several members of whom are still on the board and were part of the 2018 decision,” Peever said. “I’m also very disappointed at the way Tim Paine had been treated by Cricket Australia.Related
Paine returns to training, first-class comeback a possibility
Cricket Tasmania furious at Cricket Australia's treatment of Tim Paine
Paine scandal fallout: CA left with reputational and cricketing questions to answer
Not removing Paine in 2018 'clearly sent the wrong message', says CA board chairman
Tim Paine knew explicit messages could emerge at any time
“Tim has been an incredible servant of the game and took over the leadership of the national team in the most difficult of circumstances. He has led with distinction for more than three years. He deserves Cricket Australia’s loyalty and not to be abandoned at this time.”Freudenstein’s comments on Saturday essentially claimed that while the findings of the investigation were still correct, Peever’s board should have held Paine to a higher account as captain. But Peever questioned how any decisions could be made if the texts were found to be private, consensual and not an act of misconduct.”Why have a code of conduct if you are going to make up your own rules as you go?” Peever said. “Cricket Australia’s decision seems knee jerk and unfortunately shows double standards.”This issue has been doing the rounds in cricket circles for some years now. The current chairman has been on the board for two years and it is implausible he didn’t know about it. If he and his board felt so strongly about it, why wait until now to act?”On Sunday, Mark Taylor, the former Australia captain and CA board member, defended the 2018 decision to keep the investigation of the explicit text messages in-house.Taylor was the first person who was on the board at the time of the decision to speak publicly since Paine’s shock resignation as captain on Friday when the messages and investigation came out. He resigned from the board in November 2018 amid the fallout from the ball-tampering scandal.”A decision was taken by the integrity unit and supported by the board to keep this in-house,” Taylor told Nine’s Sports Sunday. “There’s obviously been a lot of conjecture about the rights and wrongs of that.”That decision was made not just on what is best for cricket, but what was best for Tim Paine, Bonnie Paine and also the woman involved.””Three-and-a-half or four years of hindsight is a wonderful thing. I don’t know if he [Freudenstein] has any more information, that the integrity unit had of Cricket Australia in 2018. It’s interesting to note that even now, having said that…they didn’t stand Tim down. He stood down, he resigned himself.”Freudenstein said he had been told of the closed case – which found Paine had not broken the code of conduct – when he came onto the board two years but had not felt the need to delve back into it.”Once you have a private matter that has been subject to a full integrity unit investigation, it wouldn’t be normal for that to be part of the handover,” he said.”All I can say is the whole current Australian cricket board, including those members that were on the board in 2018, are very clear that if the same circumstances arose today, we would make a different decision.”He added that since 2018 the code of conduct had been amended while additional player education now takes place including specific references to text messages.
Aston Villa have worked their way up the footballing pecking order in recent seasons and currently find themselves competing in the Champions League.
Unai Emery has led them to the pinnacle of European football and they are once again competing to land a top four finish in the Premier League this term.
The Villans’ improved status in the top-flight has also changed their approach to transfers, as they no longer have to rely on bringing in young stars on loan to bolster their squad, with zero loan players in the squad as it stands.
Villa have, however, had some excellent loanees over the years, including the likes of Tammy Abraham, Tyrone Mings, and Philippe Coutinho in recent years. Another player who starred for the club on loan in the past was English defender Kyle Walker.
Kyle Walker's loan spell with Aston Villa
The young defender joined the Villans on loan for the second half of the 2010/11 campaign in the Premier League, after spending the previous season on loan at QPR in the Championship from Tottenham Hotspur.
Walker hit the ground running with the club with a run of 15 starts in 15 appearances in the top-flight before he returned to Spurs in the summer of 2011.
Appearances
15
Goals + assists
4
Tackles + interceptions per game
4.7
Key passes
15
Dribbles completed
26
As you can see in the table above, the fleet-footed flier caught the eye with his contributions in and out of possession for Gérard Houllier’s side.
Unfortunately, though, Villa only got to enjoy his talents at right-back for five months before his loan deal ended and Tottenham finally deemed him ready to emerge as a regular in their first-team.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
Since his stint with the Villans, which was his first prolonged exposure to Premier League football, Walker has gone from strength to strength and forged an exceptional career.
How much Man City paid for Kyle Walker
After the England international racked up four goals and 18 assists in 229 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions, Manchester City swooped in to secure his services in the summer of 2017.
The Cityzens reportedly splashed out a staggering fee of £50m to sign the defender, six years on from his spell with Villa, and that was a world-record fee for a defensive player at the time.
It is fair to say that he has been worth the outlay for City. Since moving to The Etihad, Walker has won six Premier League titles and one Champions League, amassing 309 appearances in all competitions in the process.
The veteran defender was once described as “world class” by former Premier League man Danny Higginbotham and hailed as “superior” by Pep Guardiola, who lauded his 400th top-flight appearance as “unbelievable”.
Walker, who has been capped 90 times by England, has developed into an elite player in world football, as shown by his achievements and the praise he has received, and Villa should be proud that they played a relatively important role in that, with his first taste of regular top-flight action.
Aston Villa plotting swoop for "talented" teenager who's sponsored by Nike
Villa have their eyes on another La Liga player who is impressing at such a young age.
Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace have started to pick up some points, acquiring four points in their last two Premier League games.
This leaves the Eagles in 17th place, two points outside the relegation zone, after their 2-2 draw against Wolves this weekend.
Despite Wolves having 57% possession, Palace created the better chances, taking 19 shots during the game, generating four big chances, equating to 2.51 xG (expected goals). Wolves, on the other hand, generated four big chances too, but only equating to 1.53 xG.
There were some poor performances during the game for both sides, but the Palace defenders do deserve credit, as both their goals came from central defenders, with Trevoh Chalobah scoring the first in the 60th minute, and Marc Guehi scoring an equaliser in the 77th minute.
Chalobah and Guehi performances vs Wolves
The two Palace goalscorers were heavily involved in the game, not only scoring their goals but also having some big moments (both positive and negative) when defending.
Chalobah was dribbled past three times during the clash, and also made an error leading to the Wolves equaliser, making it 1-1 in the game.
Guehi has played every single game for Palace, captaining the side on all 13 occasions, and scoring two goals already this season. Chalobah, who is on loan from Chelsea, has only just secured his spot in the side, making five appearances for the Eagles so far, totalling 448 minutes played.
Goals
1
1
Touches
54
83
Accurate Passes
23/32
54/63
Long Balls
2/4
6/8
Ground Duels Won
3/6
2/2
Aerial Duels Won
1/2
3/6
Clearances
7
7
Blocks
1
0
Interceptions
3
1
Tackles
0
1
The Palace captain was particularly impressive, winning 100% of his ground duels, whilst making 6/8 long passes during the game, and, of course, scoring the equaliser.
But there was another Palace man who wasn’t quite as strong in the duel, only winning 11.1% of his ground duels compared to Guehi’s flawless tally.
Will Hughes' performance in numbers
Awarded a 6/10 match rating by GIVEMESPORT for his performance against Wolves, Will Hughes was a notable underperformer at Molineux on Saturday evening.
He was particularly poor in possession of the ball, losing possession 12 times, only winning one of his nine ground duels during the game (11.1% success rate), and picking up a yellow card.
This yellow card will see Hughes miss Palace’s next game when they face Fulham next week at Selhurst Park, which could see Cheick Doucoure restored to the side alongside Daichi Kamada, as Adam Wharton remains unavailable through injury.
Hughes had an 84% pass success but he completed just one of his four cross attempts and one of his three long balls. On top of that, he failed with both of his dribble attempts and was coincidentally dribbled past on two occasions.
Whilst the 29-year-old is a hard worker and puts himself about in the middle of the park, the lack of efficiency was apparent against Wolves, and this is further backed up by his metrics.
The answer for Glasner could present itself perfectly now though, as a more attack-minded midfielder such as Kamada, with creative passing and dribbling qualities, could be partnered with the duelling monster of Doucoure, to provide balance in midfield in the absence of Wharton.
Crystal Palace could sack Glasner and appoint "outstanding" coach
Crystal Palace could sack Glasner to appoint a new candidate with Premier League experience.
Dissect Liverpool’s performance against Arsenal, and you’d find plenty to criticise. It was an imperfect display, one that Arne Slot will know could have yielded far more rotten fruits, had the Gunners capitalised on their early energy.
Mikel Arteta has built his side to elite status, but they looked depleted on Sunday afternoon and saw their influence pared down as the contest went on, something that Liverpool took advantage of in the closing stage.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk
Indeed, having initially restored parity in the first half through skipper Virgil van Dijk’s header, the Reds clawed back once again through Mohamed Salah’s tidy finish, capping off a delicious team move with less than ten minutes on the clock.
Mohamed Salah's influence for Arne Slot
We’re now two months away from January. It’ll be a new year, one rich with possibility but fraught with danger for Liverpool. Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Salah will all be free to chat with clubs overseas and make pre-contract agreements.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah
Once again, Salah proved to be the architect of Liverpool’s success, scoring at the Emirates Stadium to level the scores and stay four points above stuttering Arsenal, albeit ceding the Premier League’s top spot to Manchester City – who have dauntingly sauntered into pole position at the first quarter of the campaign.
That’s eight goals and seven assists across all competitions for the Egyptian king, who might be 32 now but is hardly detached from the supreme athletic prowess that complements his prolific shooting and improved playmaking.
To think that this man’s esteemed Anfield career could be reaching its conclusion is almost unthinkable, but the stark reality is that FSG have it all to do, with arguably the three most important Liverpool members leaving Slot’s project simultaneously. The setback could be significant.
Salah’s £350k-per-week contract towers above the rest of the squad’s earnings, and rightly so, his brilliance demanded a twist to the previously rigid structure. However, whether FSG will continue to cover such a financial cost remains to be seen.
Liverpool: Highest-paid Players 2024/25
Rank
Player
Salary
1.
Mohamed Salah
£350k-per-week
2.
Virgil van Dijk
£220k-per-week
3.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
£180k-per-week
4.
Alexis Mac Allister
£150k-per-week
4=
Alisson Becker
£150k-per-week
4=
Ryan Gravenberch
£150k-per-week
4=
Federico Chiesa
£150k-per-week
Wages via Capology
If Liverpool are to lose their linchpin, sporting director Richard Hughes must surely replace Salah with a fitting successor, one whose potency and overall performance levels suggest that he could not just add to but enhance this wonderful breadth of offensive quality on Merseyside.
Luckily, pre-emptive moves are indeed being made.
Liverpool now eyeing Salah successor
According to a report from Sky Sport Germany last week, Liverpool are interested in signing Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush, who is valued at around €60m (£50m) by the sixth-place Bundesliga outfit.
Though Frankfurt have ruled out the Egyptian departure in January, Marmoush could be up for grabs next summer given that contact has already been made.
The 25-year-old would leap at the chance to move to the Premier League and play for Liverpool, no doubt enticed by the success of his country’s talisman.
Why Omar Marmoush could replace Salah
Let’s get one thing straight: Salah has entered the later stage of his career, and even if he pens an extension on Merseyside, it would be imprudent to neglect to search for an heir on the right flank.
Omar Marmoush
Hailed as a “10/10” talent by scout Jacek Kulig, Marmoush would be a fitting replacement, and not only because of the shared ancestry. The Frankfurt striker has gone from strength to strength in Germany over the past few years, now regarded as one of the Bundesliga’s finest and most fearsome forwards.
Harry Kane attracts attention from his homeland as he maintains eye-catching rates of scoring with Bayern Munich, but remarkably, the Liverpool transfer target is going punch for punch with the Three Lions captain in 2024/25, suggesting that he could step into his compatriot’s shoes and provide Liverpool with goals and assists aplenty.
German Bundesliga: Top Scorers 2024/25
Rank
Player
Apps
Goals
Assists
1.
Harry Kane
8
9
4
1=
Omar Marmoush
8
9
4
3.
Victor Boniface
8
6
1
3=
Tim Kleindienst
8
6
1
5.
Michael Olise
8
5
2
Stats via BBC Sport
It’s quite a thing, and with efforts in the Europa League and DFB-Pokal (the German version of the FA Cup) placed in the equation too, it can be seen that Marmoush has posted ten goals and seven assists across all competitions this season – even more goal contributions than Salah.
The talent’s creativity and ball-carrying quality suggest that he could perform as a sort of early iteration of Salah at Liverpool, ranking among the top 1% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 8% for shot-creating actions and the top 5% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.
Such skills have led FBref to present Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr. as the Frankfurt star’s most similar player, a real testament to his fleet feet and direct style of play, almost unorthodox in his motions.
The Brazilian has been one of the finest players in the world across the past few years and is expected to finish second in the Ballon d’Or rankings, having risen to the status of Madrid’s star forward in a line carrying the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.
Vinicius Jr.’s sharp dribbling, flair and flamboyance have made him one of the most dangerous forwards of his generation, having scored 32 goals and supplied 18 assists since the start of last season.
He ranks among the top 1% of positional peers for progressive carries and successful take-ons, the top 8% for assists and the top 5% for shot-creating actions per 90 (FBref), with such metrics making it clear to see how the 24-year-old operates in a similar realm to that of Marmoush.
Liverpool know of the Los Blancos galactico’s star power only too well, but by signing their own version of the South American, Slot might just get his hands on the perfect Salah successor, one who could spearhead the new era.
9 passes all game: Slot must ditch Liverpool star after 5/10 display
Liverpool claimed a hard-fought point against Arsenal at the Emirates.
كشفت تقارير صحفية حقيقة إمكانية تواجد النجم كريستيانو رونالدو رفقة نادي إنتر ميامي في بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، المزمع إقامتها في أمريكا الصيف المقبل.
وتستضيف أمريكا فعاليات النسخة المستحدثة من بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، بمشاركة 32 فريقًا، في الفترة بين 14 يونيو و13 يوليو.
ويشارك إنتر ميامي في كأس العالم للأندية، حيث يتواجد في المجموعة التي تضم كل من الأهلي المصري، بورتو البرتغالي وبالميراس البرازيلي.
وظهرت تقارير صحفية مؤخرًا تفيد إمكانية مشاركة كريستيانو رونالدو، نجم النصر السعودي، في بطولة كأس العالم للأندية.
ولا يتواجد النصر في بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، ولكن التقارير أشارت إلى إمكانية رحيل رونالدو عن النادي السعودي مجانًا الصيف المقبل حيث سينتهي عقده، ومن ثم ينضم إلى أي فريق مشارك في المنافسة المرتقبة.
ومن ضمن الأندية التي ارتبط بها رونالدو كان إنتر ميامي، حيث زعمت تقارير انفتاح إنتر ميامي على توقيع عقد قصير الأمد مع النجم البرتغالي ليتزامل مع ليونيل ميسي خلال كأس العالم للأندية (لمطالعة التفاصيل كاملة من هنا).
ولكن الصحفي الشهير فابريزيو رومانو نفى الأمر تمامًا، حيث أكد أن تلك التقارير غير دقيقة ولا أساس لها من الصحة على الإطلاق.
وليس من المعروف حتى الآن ما ينتويه رونالدو فيما يخص مستقبله، وما إذا كان سيوقع عقدًا جديدًا مع النصر أم سيرحل إلى جهة أخرى أم سيعلن اعتزاله.
It’s been an interesting start to the Premier League season for Everton this year.
Sean Dyche’s side have picked up nine points in as many games, and while there have been some woeful collapses along the way, things are starting to look up, as demonstrated by last night’s hard-fought draw.
The Toffees were not anywhere near their best and, on another day, may well have lost, but as Dyche sides have so often in the past, they just about stayed in the contest and got their rewards with a late equaliser.
They’re not going to fire the Merseysiders to a European place or anything like that, but the club’s attackers are more than good enough to keep them out of a drawn-out relegation scrap, and as last night showed, they may now have their own Jhon Duran-esque secret weapon.
Everton's most important attackers
Okay, so before we get to this new secret weapon, let’s look at a couple of Everton’s most important attackers, starting with the incredible Dwight McNeil.
It’s been an interesting couple of years for the 24-year-old following his £20m move from Burnley, as in his first two campaigns with the club, he could only muster up a mediocre return of ten goals and ten assists in 80 games, equating to an average of a goal involvement once every four games.
However, this season has seen the Rochdale-born dynamo explode, and in his 11 appearances so far, he’s scored four goals and provided three assists, meaning his average has shot up to a goal involvement every 1.57 games, and making his injury-induced-substitution against the Cottagers particularly worrying.
Now, when it comes to the club’s second most important attacker at present, there are two players fans might put forward: Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Illiman Ndiaye. So far, the former has scored two goals and provided one assist in nine centre-forward appearances, totalling 767 minutes, while the latter has scored three goals in 11 appearances, mainly off the left, totalling 825 minutes.
So, when it comes to picking between the pair, the Englishman has a slightly better return of a goal involvement every 255 minutes to the Frenchman’s average of one every 275 minutes, but has so from an area that should see him in more positions to score and assist goals.
Appearances
9
11
Minutes
767′
825′
Goals
2
3
Assists
1
0
Goal Involvements per Match
0.33
0.27
Minutes per Goal Involvement
255′
275′
Either way, both Calvert-Lewin and Ndiaye are undeniably crucial to Dyche’s starting lineup, and now it looks like one of their fellow attackers could have a vital role to play off the bench, akin to Aston Villa’s Duran.
Why Beto could become Everton's Duran
Yes, the attacker we are talking about is none other than last summer’s £30m man Beto, and no, before the pitchforks come out, we are not trying to say that the Portuguese ace is as good, nor as promising as Duran, that would be ever so slightly reactionary.
Instead, we are merely suggesting that, based on how he has been used by Dyche, the manager’s preference to start Calvert-Lewin ahead of him, and the impact he had last night, he could be used similarly to the Villa ace as a super-sub.
Now, while the Colombian international has been rightfully grabbing headlines all season for his brilliant displays, most of them have come off the bench, and with Ollie Watkins leading the line, it’ll likely stay that way.
Jhon Duran and Leon Bailey
For example, of his 13 appearances for Unai Emery’s side, only two have been starts, and of the seven goals he has scored, only two have come in games he’s started, highlighting that his biggest strength at the moment is being an impact player.
This same tactic could be Beto’s route back into the team as well, as despite coming on for just nine minutes against Fulham, he was the one to head home the equaliser, and given the “powerful” striker’s 6 foot 4 height, as dubbed by Dyche, he could develop into a mightily effective impact player.
The manager could turn to him in moments like last night to come on and use his physical presence to disrupt opposing defenders, and even if he’ll likely never prove as prolific as Duran, he could become a go-to option off the bench for Dyche, just like the Colombian is for Emery.
Dyche must finally drop Everton ace with fewer touches than Pickford
Dyche must finally drop Everton forward with fewer touches than Pickford
Erling Haaland appears to have added to his fleet of supercars, with the Manchester City star spotted behind the wheel of a £350,000 F1 safety car.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Norwegian striker signed lucrative deal
Splashing the cash on elaborate purchases
Has added to his fleet of luxury supercars
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱
WHAT HAPPENED?
The vehicle in question is the Aston Martin DBX 707, which can be seen gracing the track of Formula One circuits as the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen compete for supremacy in a sporting arena built for speed.
Advertisement
Getty
DID YOU KNOW?
The luxury ride can also be spotted on the odd street in Manchester, with Haaland unable to push said car to its limits on suburban roads. He has, however, taken ownership of another prized possession – while opting for another bold colour choice.
THE GOSSIP
Haaland was recently seen behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 – with a price tag of over £200,000 – which he picked up in garish orange. His Aston Martin is an outlandish lime paint job, rather than the British Racing Green that it usually comes in when gracing Grand Prix events.
ENJOYED THIS STORY?
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
WHAT NEXT?
The 24-year-old frontman is clearly putting the funds from his new 10-year contract to good use. The prolific striker, who is nursing a knock at present, is said to be earning around £500,000-a-week, which has been backdated to the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
Chelsea’s increased transfer output since the takeover by Todd Boehly in 2022 has been a huge turnover of players to allow various managers the opportunity to end the club’s wait for a league title.
The Blues haven’t claimed a Premier League title since the 2016/17 season under former boss Antonio Conte, with the American owner desperate to return success to Stamford Bridge.
It may be a controversial way to assemble at title challenging squad, but current boss Enzo Maresca is certainly reaping the rewards at present, leading his side to third place just nine points off the summit going into the third international break.
Their recent outing saw them claim a valuable point against London rivals Arsenal, denting their ambitions of dislodging Manchester City from their recent glory in England’s top flight.
Pedro Neto starred scoring the vital equaliser after Gabriel Martinelli’s opener, looking way more comfortable off the right-hand side following Noni Madueke’s withdrawal.
However, it was another one of Boehly’s big-money additions that caught the eye, playing a crucial role in keeping one player quiet throughout.
Marc Cucurella’s stats against Arsenal
After joining in a whopping £62m deal from Brighton back in 2022, the deal for left-back Marc Cucurella certainly raised eyebrows around the footballing world.
His move wasn’t helped by his lack of immediate impact in West London, often looking off the pace and being dominated by the opposition’s attackers.
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella
However, he played a crucial role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph during the off-season, returning to the Bridge with a newfound sense of confidence – allowing him to become a regular starter in the early days of the Maresca era.
His best display to date undoubtedly came against Mikel Arteta’s side at the weekend, preventing dangerman Bukayo Saka from creating any clear-cut chances in front of goal.
Minutes played
90
Touches
58
Pass accuracy
36/39 (92%)
Tackles won
2/3 (67%)
Interceptions made
3
Clearances
2
Recoveries
3
The 26-year-old featured for the entirety of the contest, winning two tackles and making three interceptions as he neutralised the threat posed by the England international.
However, despite his admirable display, it wasn’t as good as one former Blue who produced an even better showing against the Arsenal ace earlier on in the campaign.
The player Chelsea may regret offloading
Fellow left-back Lewis Hall emerged through the Cobham academy during the 2022/23 campaign, making 11 first-team appearances – staking his claim for a regular starting role despite his tender age of 18.
However, he was shipped out on loan to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United last season, before joining the Magpies on a permanent basis this summer for a fee in the region of £35m.
Whilst on the face of it, £35m may seem like an excellent deal for an academy graduate with just a handful of professional games under his belt, it’s turned out to be a shocking decision with Hall rapidly developing under Eddie Howe’s guidance.
He’s since featured in all 11 league outings this season, even featuring against Saka in their 1-0 win over the Gunners a couple of weeks ago at St James’ Park.
The youngster was handed the Man of the Match award for his display, which saw him win ten of the 14 duels he contested, winning three tackles in the process in what was a dominant display against an elite-level talent.
Hall’s subsequent performance led to The Athletic’s George Caulkin claiming that he was “exceptional vs Saka” – ultimately playing a huge part in the win for the Toon.
To rub salt into the wounds for the Blues, the now 20-year-old was recently included in Lee Carsley’s England side for the upcoming Nations League fixtures – further highlighting his rapid progression since his Stamford Bridge departure.
Undoubtedly, Boehly’s investment since his takeover has allowed for a huge turnaround and given Maresca the opportunity to be a success in his first year at the helm.
However, such spending has seen them have to balance the books, with Hall just one player suffering as a result.
Their loss is most certainly Newcastle’s gain, with the Magpies now the home to one of if not the best English left-back in world football based on current form.
Chelsea could sign their biggest talent since Palmer in £25m Caicedo clone
Chelsea are looking to sign another young talent and he’s just like Moises Caicedo.
The Afghanistan Under-19 men’s team is “very, very excited” after being cleared to travel to the Caribbean to participate in the World Cup, which starts on January 14.Earlier in the week, there were doubts over Afghanistan’s participation in the 16-team tournament due to visa glitches. As a result, Afghanistan’s two warm-up games, against England on January 10 and UAE on January 12, were cancelled. The Afghanistan squad had arrived in Dubai on December 20 to participate in the Under-19 Asia Cup, which took place between December 23 and 31. With the UK embassy in Kabul currently shut, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had decided that the players and support staff would apply for visas in the UAE to travel to the World Cup.However, uncertainty over the visas mounted as the days passed and a scenario of Afghanistan failing to get the paperwork needed to travel to the World Cup was not ruled out until late on Monday, when the UK government granted the necessary transit visas minutes before its consulate closed in Dubai. The Afghanistan group will now take a flight from Dubai early on January 12 morning to Manchester, followed by a connecting flight to the Caribbean.As a result of the delay and the quarantine requirements for the tournament, their first game has been pushed from January 16 – when they were meant to take on against Zimbabwe in Trinidad – to January 18, when they will take on Papua New Guinea.* Game on January 20 and 22 follow, against Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Afghanistan are placed in Group C along with these three opponents, and all the sides in this group have had games rescheduled to fit in Afghanistan’s matches. The top two teams from the pool qualify for the quarter-finals, while the bottom two from each pool will compete in a playoff round.
Changes to Group C fixtures
Jan 15, Zim vs PNG (was Jan 20) Jan 17, Pak vs Zim (was Jan 22) Jan 18, Afg vs PNG (unchanged) Jan 20, Pak vs Afg (unchanged) Jan 22 Pak vs PNG (was Jan 15) Jan 22, Afg vs Zim (was Jan 16)
Raees Ahmadzai, the Afghanistan U-19 head coach, told ESPNcricinfo the team was thrilled to hear the news of their visas. “When they heard the news they were very, very excited,” he said. “It was the best news for all these young boys. They want to do something very special in the World Cup.”This will be Afghanistan’s seventh appearance in the Under-19 World Cup. Since first qualifying for it in 2010, they’ve made every subsequent edition. Their best finish came in 2018 in New Zealand, where they made the semi-finals. This is the second Under-19 World Cup for Ahmadzai as head coach – under him, Afghanistan finished seventh in 2020.This time around, with both the warm-up matches cancelled due to the travel delay, their biggest challenge will be the absence of any preparation as they had only “3-4 days’ practice” after the Asia Cup.But what’s more important, according to Ahmedzai, is the fact that Afghanistan will participate in the tournament. “I will say it is good news. We will adjust ourselves there, but participating in the World Cup is something very special for the fans, for the lovers of cricket in Afghanistan, for the country,” he said. “It is something very special in this kind of situation right now back in our country because the whole young generation, they are waiting and they are very excited to see Afghanistan in the World Cup. Cricket is more than a game for us now.”At the junior level if you representing the country for the first time or participating in the World Cup, it is something very special for the players. That is why they came out of their rooms today and celebrated in a special way [after the visa clearance].”Ahmadzai said the players have been boosted by their performance in the close defeat against India in the Asia Cup. Afghanistan set a target of 260 which India surpassed with four wickets in hand and eight balls to spare in a group-stage match.”They realised if they are more focused and remain positive during the game, they can beat any team in the World Cup,” he said. “That game boosted the morale of our players.”*