Tag Futebol

With Ange Postecoglou not appearing to be a manager who is afraid to give a number of Celtic’s most promising young talents a shot, with 18-year-old Dane Murray, 19-year-old Adam Montgomery, 20-year-old Liel Abada and 21-year-old Stephen Welsh all playing a considerable amount of football under the 56-year-old Bhoys boss this season, the future at Parkhead would appear to be incredibly exciting.

Indeed, Celtic currently have an extremely promising crop of young talents on the verge of breaking into the first-team setup, with the likes of 18-year-old Owen Moffat, 20-year-old Liam Shaw, 20-year-old Scott Robertson, 21-year-old Ewan Henderson and 21-year-old Osaze Urhoghide having all featured in Postecoglou’s matchday squads this term, albeit without making it onto the pitch.

However, one player who does not feature on either of these lists is that of 17-year-old Frankie Deane, despite the attacking midfielder arguably being one of the most talented young footballers of the current Celtic litter.

Indeed, the teenager has been highly impressing for the Celtic B side this season, none more so than in the club’s 4-2 win over Broomhill on Saturday afternoon, with the Daily Record’s Gabriel McKay reporting of the youngster’s display: “Diminutive playmaker Frankie Deane [is] standing head and shoulders above the fray in the first half, figuratively if not literally.

“Constantly demanding the ball – his anguished cries of ‘Still! Still! Still!’ ring around the near-empty stadium – the midfielder is always on the move, his eyes scanning from side to side as he looks to turn into the most dangerous spaces that appear. It’s he who opens the scoring, rolling his man, shuffling past another and firing low past Jamie Smith from the edge of the box.

“Deane only turned 17 in October, but his intelligent passing and movement speak of a player who could have a big future, and if you’re Team Colts you might question whether a player so small and slight would thrive on loan to a part-time team in League One or Two.”

Furthermore, McKay has also likened Deane’s style to that of Paul Scholes, Andrea Pirlo and Xavi, in that the 17-year-old is continuously scanning his options throughout the duration of a fixture in order to gain the best possible idea of what his next pass or move is going to be.

As such, it would certainly appear as if the young midfielder boasts an incredible amount of potential, and, if given the chance by Postecoglou, could well go on to save the 56-year-old millions of pounds in transfer fees in the future.

In other news: Get it done: “Outstanding” £8.4k-p/w ace drops big transfer claim, Celtic must act

Ex-Feyenoord head coach Gio van Bronckhorst is reportedly closing in on a deal to take over at Rangers to replace Steven Gerrard.

Aston Villa poached the ex-Liverpool man from the Gers last week and Ross Wilson is now moving swiftly to get a new man in the dugout for the clash with Hibernian next weekend.

Upon his arrival, van Bronckhorst will have a number of key decisions to make, regarding team selections, formations and transfers.

Time’s up

One decision he will need to make is whether or not to extend Scott Arfield’s contract at Ibrox. The 33-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and van Bronckhorst will need to decide on what to do with his future, whether he will allow him to leave as a free agent or keep him at the club for another year.

Based on his performances in the Premiership for the Gers this term, Arfield should be let go by the club. He has not shown enough on the pitch this season to prove that he is deserving of a new contract and the Dutchman must wield his axe and make a call that could make him an instant hit in Glasgow.

Gerrard handed Arfield six appearances in the Premiership this season and two in the Europa League. Whilst he has not been a regular in the side, eight appearances in the two main competitions for Rangers by this point in the campaign suggests that the former Anfield hero saw value in him.

However, he has not shown enough back in his displays to warrant his inclusion. Per SofaScore, he has lost a whopping 71% of his duels on the pitch in the league and averaged a rating of 6.66. He has also only created two chances, whilst scoring one goal and missing two big chances.

The £1.8m-rated Canadian international averaged a rating of 6.85 and lost 63% of his duels in the 2020/21 campaign, whilst only averaging 0.4 key passes per game. This suggests that his performances have been declining over the past 18 months and now could be the perfect time for the club to part ways with him.

Therefore, one of van Bronckhorst’s first tasks as Rangers manager, should the appointment be made official, is to axe Arfield from the squad and sell him in the January window.

AND in other news, Wilson must avoid instant stitch up for GVB over Rangers gem with “terrific quality”…

Taking to Twitter, South Korean football reporter Steve Han of Goal has shared news on Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min and his international tour of duty.

The Lowdown: International scares…

Spurs fans will look back to the torrid internationals of September hopeful of avoiding another repeat of the consistent blows.

During that particular break in the Premier League season, many Lilywhites players came back to Hotspur Way having sustained knocks on their tours of duty.

Indeed, the likes of Son, Steven Bergwijn, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon returned to Tottenham injured from representing their countries over what was seen as the club’s worst international break ever (The Sun).

Meanwhile, South American trio Davinson Sanchez, Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso were subject to intense quarantine rules which forced them to spend a 10-day training camp in Croatia before flying back to north London (The Evening Standard).

The Latest: Son sustains ‘knock’…

As new Tottenham boss Antonio Conte potentially sweats on the fitness of his key players while they’re away with their countries, Han has shared news on Son’s condition as he flies out with South Korea.

The 29-year-old helped his country to a 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over United Arab Emirates on Thursday as they remain undefeated in their group, with Son proving a constant threat and hitting the woodwork twice (Yonhap News Agency).

However, sharing an update, Goal reporter Han has said that the player was forced to miss training on Saturday and will now be monitored.

“Korea to fly to Doha today for a 3-day camp to face Iraq in #AsianQualifiers,” he explained on Twitter.

“Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae and Lee Jae-sung didn’t train with the team on Saturday with minor knocks, and they’ll be monitored. Son and Kim so far have trained only once with the team in this camp.”

The Verdict: Spurs sweating?

Depending on the outcome of the ‘minor knock’, Spurs fans will be hopeful that it won’t impact Son’s Premier League return as new boss Conte aims to kickstart their season back into life.

Losing the winger would certainly be a setback considering that he was easily their second best player of 2020/21 behind Harry Kane. Only the Englishman racked up more goals and assists combined than Son and both men featured in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Former Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo lauded the Korean as ‘amazing’ during his brief tenure in charge, and Conte will most likely have one worried eye on Son’s condition.

In other news: Spurs now close to signing ‘monster’ as Conte seeks to solve severe problem, find out more here.

Adrien Rabiot is reportedly now ‘close’ to a move to Newcastle United in January.

The Lowdown: Moving quickly

Tuttosport reported earlier this week (via Sport Witness) that Juventus ‘hope’ the Tyneside club can turn their interest in Rabiot into a ‘concrete proposal’ for the midfielder.

The Old Lady would reportedly be happy to get him off their books, with no signals that they want to extend his current deal in Italy, which expires in 2023.

However, if the St James’ Park club wish to strike a deal, they would have to go through Rabiot’s agent and mother Veronique first, who has been described as a ‘volcanic’ character.

Nonetheless, if they can reach an agreement with her, then it should be a relatively easy deal to complete, given Juve’s willingness to sell him.

The Latest: Deal ‘close’

As per Corriere Dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Rabiot is now ‘close’ to moving to Tyneside, adding that his agent ‘doesn’t hold him back’.

It is also claimed that an offer of just €15m (£12.9m) or less would be ‘enough to sell him’.

The Verdict: Bargain

Considering that Rabiot’s market value is currently rated at £27m by Transfermarkt, to sign him for a fraction of that price would represent a real bargain.

While £175,000-per-week wages may be too high for where Newcastle are at in their project right now, with their highest earner Allan Saint-Maximin only being given £93,000 per week in comparison, that can always be negotiated down. Indeed, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium have the money at their disposal anyway to pay him whatever contract they see fit.

In terms of his playing style, he would offer more flair in the middle of the park, as France national team manager Didier Deschamps described the 26-year-old as a player who ‘has always had technical qualities’.

Rabiot has averaged more shots, dribbles and passing success per match than Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey and Sean Longstaff in their respective domestic leagues so far this season (WhoScored), so if they can get him in January, he promises to be a smart signing.

In other news, find out some insight into Eddie Howe’s brutal regime here!

Adama Traore’s Wolves future is potentially up in the air at the moment with talks going on behind the scenes, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Traore falling out of favour

The 25-year-old has been a solid servant for Wolves, providing incredible pace out wide and contributing to 28 goals in 143 appearances for the club.

Traore has fallen out of favour of late, though, finding himself on the substitutes’ bench in the 2-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace last weekend and not appearing at all in the win over Everton at the start of the month.

The winger has been linked with a move away from Wolves in January, with Liverpool seen as possible suitors.

The Latest: Hatfield makes Traore claim

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Hatfield admits that he believes things are happening away from the pitch with regards to Traore’s future at Molineux

He outlined: “Some fans were saying Crystal Palace was more a game for Adama Traore. But, with his contract situation at the moment, I think there’s things going on behind the scenes with him not playing as much.”

The Verdict: Coming to the end?

Traore is a hugely entertaining player to watch when he is in full flow, mainly due to his unrivalled speed and dribbling ability, but it could be time to part ways with him in January.

His record of 10 goals for Wolves is poor given his position – he has also only registered 18 assists in three years at the club – and he looks to be falling out of favour somewhat under Bruno Lage.

The £27m-rated Spaniard’s current deal expires in the summer of 2023, so January or next summer has to be the time to cash in on him if Wolves want to reap money from a sale.

In other news, some Wolves fans are happy with a contract update that has emerged. Read more here.

Stuart Clark’s plans for a pre-Ashes stint with Gloucestershire havebeen dashed after delays in obtaining a UK visa. Clark had hoped toplay two four-day matches for Gloucestershire in a bid to boost hisfitness ahead of the Ashes, but will now head to Cricket Australia’scentre of excellence for extra training sessions.Clark created a major stir earlier in the summer when he signed ashort-term contract with Kent. That deal was scuppered when the fastbowler was called into the Australian squad for the limited-oversseries against Pakistan in the UAE, but a subsequent opportunity toplay county cricket arose when Gloucestershire’s James Franklin waschosen in New Zealand’s World Twenty20 squad.But those plans were also terminated after Clark on Monday informedGloucestershire of the visa delay. He will now enter the Ashes serieshaving played no first-class cricket since undergoing elbow surgery inDecember.”This didn’t have anything to do with [the ECB] not wanting me there,it’s just that the visa is taking too long,” Clark told Cricinfo. “Itwould have been preferable to play a few county games, so in thatsense it’s a bit disappointing. But it’s not to be, so I’ll just headup to the centre of excellence to get a bit more bowling in.”Gloucestershire’s chief executive, Tom Richardson, admitted last month that he was risking a club versus country row in trying to bring Clark to Bristol. “You wrestle with your conscience on these things but we want to win things,” he told BBC Radio. “Yes we want England to win the Ashes too, but we have to focus on getting a really good cricketer in here. If he didn’t come to us he’d go to someone else.”Richardson was less bullish when discussing the Clark situation on Monday. “Fundamentally we have said all along that we would cross that bridge if we came to it, but now we have not come to it, it is all a lot of hot air,” he told Cricinfo.Clark is due to join the Australian squad in England on June 17. The ECB offered no comment on his change of plan.

Tottenham Hotspur’s shocking run of form in the Premier League continued on Sunday afternoon after they were well-beaten in the north London derby by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

It was a third straight defeat and also the third successive time that Nuno Santo has seen his side leak three goals – a vast contrast to the opening three games of the season, in which Spurs kept three clean sheets.

There are now plenty of problems facing the Portuguese head coach.

Spurs were amongst the worst attacking sides in the division as they went into the weekend having recorded the lowest total expected goals (4.42 xG) of any top-flight team but now they’re leaking goals at an alarming rate, meaning they cannot even grind out draws.

Davinson Sanchez has seemingly reverted back to his calamitous self following the most recent international break. Ahead of kick-off, Football FanCast explained why the £42m flop should’ve been axed for this encounter and Nuno was severely punished for trusting him to start.

Once dubbed a “real liability to his team” by ex-Wimbledon defender Kenny Cunningham, the Colombian international put in an absolutely disgraceful showing against their arch-rivals.

SofaScore graded him among Nuno’s worst performers (6.3) and it’s easy to see why.

He was weak in his battles up against the goalscoring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, having won just one of six battles (16%), whilst he also lost possession seven times and committed two fouls.

Sanchez was caught napping for Emile Smith Rowe’s early opener – as the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick claimed, he was “all at sea on his return to the side.”

In addition, the 25-year-old, who earns a reported £75k-per-week, failed to register a single tackle, interception or block as the Gunners ran him ragged throughout the 90 minutes.

Time and time again, Sanchez has let Spurs down, perhaps it’s time to get rid for good, especially when there’s summer signing Cristian Romero sat waiting on the bench.

Plenty of supporters seems to be aggrieved with players like vice-captain Harry Kane, venting their frustrations on social media, but the England talisman had very little service throughout and he was not at fault for Arsenal’s dominance in their own penalty box.

Nuno must think twice before trusting Sanchez again.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Lloris: £27m-rated Spurs passenger badly betrayed Nuno vs Arsenal…

كشفت تقارير عن اقتراب نادي الهلال السعودي من تجديد عقد أندريه كاريلو لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم.

ويستعد الهلال لمواجهة نظيره ألميريا الإسباني اليوم الأحد في مباراة ودية، في معسكره التحضيري ببرمنجهام.

ووفقًا لصحيفة “الرياضية السعودية” فإن إدارة نادي الهلال اقتربت من تجديد عقد البيروفي أندريه كاريلو، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم، لمدة موسم واحد حتى نهاية 2024، بناء على رغبة الأرجنتيني رامون دياز، المدير الفني للفريق.

وأوضحت أن إدارة الهلال برئاسة فهد بن نافل تواصلت مع وكيل أعمال اللاعب، بهدف تقديم عرض لتجديد عقده، وأصبحت المفاوضات في مرحلة متقدمة.

طالع أيضًا.. مركز التحكيم الرياضي يرفض طلب الهلال السعودي

وكانت نادي الهلال وقع مع اللاعب لمدة عام واحد على سبيل الإعارة في موسم الانتقالات الصيفية لعام 2018، قادمًا من بنفيكا البرتغالي، وفي الموسم الذي يليه اشترت عقده ووقعت معه لمدة أربعة مواسم بدءًا من 2019.

ويدخل اللاعب الفترة الحرة التي تجيز له التوقيع لأي نادٍ دون الرجوع إلى ناديه الأصلي مع دخول النافذة الشتوية المقبلة.

A number of Rangers supporters have been reacting in delighted fashion to a key update ahead of the Europa League clash with Lyon next week.

Steven Gerrard’s team open up their Europa League group stage account with the visit of the Ligue 1 giants next Thursday, in what promises to be a real test of the Gers’ credentials.

A key update has emerged ahead of the game, however, with three Lyon players set to miss out after representing their countries during the international break.

According to journalist Robin Bairner on Twitter, the Scottish Government has not given permission for Lucas Paqueta, Bruno Guimaraes and Tino Kadewere to take part in the match, having played in ‘high-risk’ countries during the international break.

It is an undoubted boost for Rangers, especially because Paqueta – arguably Lyon’s key man – will miss out.

The Brazilian playmaker has scored four times already this season for club and country, and is the man who links midfield and attack for the Groupama Stadium outfit.

Rangers fans love pre-Lyon update

These Gers fans took to Twitter to react to the news, with many joking that they are big fans of the current Scottish leadership…

“Always liked the SNP”

Credit: @StuPollock1

“Brilliant from Sturgeon always been a big fan of her work”

Credit: @Bjc1999_

“The SNP will do ANYTHING to get the Blue Vote”

Credit: @R11Loading

“This might be the first time I ever say this but cheers @theSNP”

Credit: @Fahdy824

“SNP – Scottish National Protestants helping Scotland’s premier club in Europe”

Credit: @jaket1872

“The establishment is back baby!”

Credit: @AndTheNew55

In other news, one Rangers player is set for a spell on the sidelines. Find out who it is here.

Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze posted footage of his recovery on Instagram on deadline day.

And, as to be expected, a number of Palace fans have been reacting to the update on social media.

The Eagles made one late addition to Patrick Vieira’s squad with the acquisition of striker Odsonne Edouard from Celtic.

You’d expect the French forward will be linking up with Eze when the latter returns from a serious Achilles injury, with stories back in May suggesting it could keep him out until 2022.

Reports two weeks ago suggested that the 23-year-old was way ahead of schedule in regards to his comeback, and he posted on his Instagram story on Tuesday evening running on an anti-gravity treadmill.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra shared Eze’s Instagram story on their Twitter page on Tuesday evening. This is what these Eagles supporters had to say in reply, with many excited and one labelling the footage as ‘beautiful’.

“Unreal”

Credit: @devo1995cpfc

“He’s back soon, tears in my eyes”

Credit: @JacobMozz

“What a beautiful sight”

Credit: @JSB93x

“That is a sign I wanna see”

Credit: @DJDECOR_

“Eze’s recovery looks like it’s going well! Keep going Eze!”

Credit: @alex_westry

“This video improved my day 1000%”

Credit: @Theeaglesbr

In other news: ‘See you in January’, ‘We won’t forget’ – Many CPFC fans react to late transfer twist.