Tag Futebol

Rounding up all of Spurs’ potential striking targets for football.london, reliable Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold has claimed Brentford attacker Ollie Watkins could be a homegrown option for Daniel Levy and co ahead of a busy 2020/2021 Premier League campaign. 

Watkins, who racked up a head-turning 26-goal haul in all competitions last season for The Bees (Transfermarkt), narrowly missed out on a promotion to the top flight with his current team – losing to eventual play-off final victors Fulham.

The 24-year-old, as a result, could be open to other means of playing in one of the world’s most lucrative football leagues – potentially via a transfer in this summer window.

Journalist Gold, who also claimed striking targets Callum Wilson and Joshua King were potential options, has pinpointed Watkins as a real possibility given he could help fill Spurs’ homegrown quota – and Tottenham would arguably be remiss if they don’t take the opportunity.

Valued at just £10.8 million, even though it’s likely Brentford may demand more according to Gold, this fee could represent a marker that Levy would be happy to invest in-and-around  – especially considering circumstances surrounding a recent global pandemic.

Regardless of the attacker plying his trade in England’s second tier, Watkins shone under Thomas Frank last campaign and 26 strikes is debatably an impressive number by any stretch.

According to WhoScored, Watkins also averaged an impressive 2.7 shots per 90, just below Spurs striker Harry Kane by comparison, whilst also making a higher number of key passes in that time over any Lilywhites man in 2019/2020.

This could be a clear indicator of his threat going forward, as well as the fact his manager branded the player as an ‘amazing’ striking asset.

All in all, signing Watkins may be a smarter move than bringing Wilson in from Bournemouth. Whilst the latter has more Premier League experience, Watkins’ recent form can’t be ignored and he is also four years younger than the Cherries man, giving him potentially more longevity in the Spurs team were he to join.

Lilywhites, should Watkins be made a high priority target this summer? Have your say in the comments below…

Southampton welcome Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to St Mary’s on Sunday in a match between two sides still with plenty to play for this season.

After a terrible start to the campaign that included a humiliating 9-0 home defeat to Leicester City, the Saints have really turned things around and have now reached the 40-point mark with six matches still to play.

Danny Ings in particular has been on top form and once again displayed his skills in a 3-1 win over Watford last weekend.

Meanwhile, City exacted some revenge on champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday with a 4-0 win, but Guardiola will now turn his focus to assessing his squad and seeing which positions he most needs to invest in, come the summer.

Form

Southampton have been much improved in the second half of the season but their form remains patchy, with Hassenhuttl’s team winning three and losing three of their last six Premier League matches.

However, since the resumption of football, a rather unfortunate defeat to Arsenal for which goalkeeper Alex McCarthy must own some of the blame has been the only setback.

City have not been their consistent selves, either,  losing two of their last five Premier League matches, including the defeat to Chelsea which gifted Liverpool the title.

Aside from that match though they have been excellent since the restart, blowing both Arsenal, Burnley and Liverpool away with a combined 12 goals scored.

Team news

Currently, Southampton are only set to be without Sofiane Boufal and Pierre Emil Hojbjerg for this match, both of whom are doubtful due to thigh and ankle problems respectively.

Stuart Armstrong is a candidate to return after dropping to the bench for the Watford match, while Yan Valery and Michael Obafemi could also be recalled.

Sergio Aguero is City’s only worry in injury terms, with the Argentine not set to return until August due to a knee injury.

After his virtuoso performance against Liverpool, Phil Foden could start once again, while Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva will be hoping for a recall.

How to watch

The match kicks off at 19:00 UTC at St Mary’s this Sunday and will be broadcast live on Premier Sports, with fans also able to follow the match online via live stream.

MatériaMais Notícias

Recuperado de um trauma na face, o lateral-esquerdo Jorge voltou a treinar no Ninho do Urubu, na manhã desta quarta-feira. Ele deu voltas ao redor do gramado e brincou com a imprensa: ‘Não morri, não’.

O camisa 6 deu um susto nos companheiros no treino de segunda-feira. Ele levou a pior numa disputa de bola e caiu se queixando com muitas dores. Jorge chegou a ficar desacordado por alguns segundos, mas não houve maiores problemas. Ele foi inicialmente avaliado no Ninho do Urubu e depois levado para um hospital na Barra da Tijuca, onde realizou uma série de exames. Como nada de grave foi constatado, o jogador foi liberado. Na terça-feira, ele foi ao Ninho para ser reavaliado e recebeu o carinho dos funcionários do clube, inclusive do técnico Muricy Ramalho.

O Flamengo ainda não informou se Jorge terá condições de jogo no sábado, contra o Boavista, pela Taça Guanabara. Caso não possa atuar, ele será substituído por Chiquinho.

Many Arsenal fans have discussed the news that Stan Kroenke is set to give the north London club a cash injection to ease any financial burden that may occur in the current climate.

According to the Daily Mail, the American businessman has guaranteed that he will pump a significant amount into the Gunners, which would run into the millions.

As per the report, Kroenke’s NFL franchise the LA Rams are facing spiralling costs to complete their new stadium, which apparently is over budget by 2 billion euros.

The Athletic journalist David Ornstein has since exclusively revealed that AFC players are set to take a pay cut of up to 12.5 per cent over the next month or so, making them the first Premier League side to do this.

It is believed that Mikel Arteta was an influence in the decision, which apparently includes Champions League incentives.

These Gooners discussed the news after AFTV Media talked about it on Twitter, and it is safe to say that they were far from optimistic about Kroenke giving money to the club:

Arsenal fans, would you like to see a new owner at the club? Comment below!

Leicester City defender Ben Chilwell played a key role in England recording a 7-0 win over Montenegro in Thursday night’s Euro 2020 qualification match.

Indeed, the left-back assisted each of England’s first three goals at Wembley, setting up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the opener before helping Harry Kane score his first two.

What’s more, WhoScored have the 22-year-old down as boasting an 88% pass success rate, in addition to completing three dribbles and four tackles.

It remains to be seen whether the Leicester defender will start the opening match of Euro 2020.

However, his performance on Thursday night would have surely impressed Gareth Southgate.

A number of Liverpool fans were also very impressed with what they saw from Chilwell against Montenegro, with many taking to social media during the contest to react.

Some claimed that they wanted the left-back to arrive at Anfield, whilst others were just keen to pay tribute to the 5 ft 10 ace.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Cristiano Ronaldo is a man who loves a good challenge and so far, he is yet to find one that can beat him.

His stay at Juventus, however, was not a complete success, at least for now.

Sure the Portuguese superstar has helped the Bianconeri get the Scudetto last season but that’s not anything particularly new at the club. The bigger goal is, of course, the Champions League, a title they haven’t won since 1996.

But if the recent reports coming from Eduardo Inda, who was a guest for Chiringuito de Jugones (via OKDiario), are true, Ronaldo might be contemplating a return to Manchester United next summer if Juventus fail to conquer Europe in 2019/20.

Watch Italian Football Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Of course, he has a great history with the Red Devils, seeing how he donned their colours from 2003 until 2009 when he joined the Galacticos in the Spanish capital.

Ronaldo was extremely successful at Old Trafford as he managed to bag 118 goals and assist a further 69 in a total of 292 games for the English side, winning three Premier League crowns and one Champions League trophy along the way.

But even though losing such a big figure could potentially affect any side, Juventus could actually benefit from it in a way.

Ronaldo is already 34 years of age and not getting any younger and keeping him for too long could potentially become a costly exercise.

After all, despite his obvious pedigree and skill, the Portuguese superstar has fallen off just a tiny bit.

[ad_pod ]

This season, he only has six goals and two assists in 14 games across all competitions and has been subbed off in his last two fixtures.

Of course, he is still a huge brand for the Bianconeri but having Ronaldo in your team definitely costs money, and having an underperforming Ronaldo might cost even more.

This is not to say that he is completely finished already and it’s entirely possible he suddenly picks up his form and ends up bagging dozens of goals by the end of the campaign.

For him, it would obviously be routine at this point in time, but can Juventus really take that chance? Especially with the emergence of Paulo Dybala and some other young targets on their radar.

When everything is said and done, shipping Ronaldo off next summer might as well be like dodging a bullet that was bound to hit them sooner or later.

As for Manchester United, they are in a different position altogether.

The Red Devils will hardly be focusing on Champions League glory and having someone like Ronaldo would definitely boost them immensely, both on and off the pitch with the fond memories supporters will have of him, as well as his continued commercial attraction.

Just recently, ESPN reported that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is on a lookout for a more experienced forward for his attacking line who can guarantee him goals.

Well, there’s hardly anyone better on the planet in that regard than Ronaldo himself.

For that reason, United just might be hoping Juventus fail in the Champions League so they can get their hands on the Portuguese superstar once again.

يحل فريق برشلونة ضيفًا على فياريال اليوم الأحد في إطار مباريات الدوري الإسباني “الليجا”.

طالع.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة برشلونة وفياريال في الدوري الإسباني

ويستقبل فياريال نظيره برشلونة على ملعب “لا سيراميكا” لخوض مباراة بالأسبوع 32 لليجا.

يدخل برشلونة المباراة وهو في المركز الثالث بجدول الترتيب ولديه 68 نقطة، ويسبقه ريال مدريد بفارق ثلاث نقاط في المركز الثاني، وأتلتيكو مدريد في الصدارة بفارق 5 نقاط.

فياريال يحتل المركز السابع ولديه 49 نقطة، بفارق نقطة واحدة عن ريال سوسيداد وريال بيتيس أصحاب المراكز الخامس والسادس على الترتيب. موعد مباراة برشلونة وفياريال

تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة الرابعة والربع عصرًا بتوقيت القاهرة، الخامسة والربع بتوقيت السعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة برشلونة وفياريال

تذاع المباراة عبر قناة beIN sports HD1.

يمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنا.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Let’s not write this guy’s obituary just yet.

Having started the first eight league games of the season, David Davis has since been reduced to a substitute. With the emergence of Ivan Sunjic into the fray as a defensive midfielder and other options further up the field, that spell could be about to get longer.

That doesn’t mean that his time at St Andrew’s should come to a grinding halt though, he still has a role to play.

Watch Birmingham City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On the chalkboard

Pep Clotet has stressed the importance of defensive football, and playing defensively has been Davis’ forte.

With an average of 2.6 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game, he’ll come in use when they need to ‘park the bus’ as it were.

There will be games this season where Birmingham City will need to be very much on the defensive and that is where Davis comes into play.

Even if he doesn’t start the game, there will be occasions where the Blues will need to see out a game, although ideally, they won’t leave it as late as they did against Middlesbrough before the international break.

Much like in baseball where they have a ‘closing pitcher’, someone to bring in when the game is safe and to simply see out the game, Davis can act in that role but in a footballing sense.

He can be someone to sit in front of the backline and snuff out attacks before they have a chance to get started.

With a passing accuracy of 79.7%, he’d also be able to help start a counter-attack if the opportunity presented itself.

So even though he might not be a regular right now, he can still find himself with a vital role to play, even if it isn’t one that you see every week.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Sun, Arsenal have put Wolves centre-back Willy Boly on their radar following his impressive start to the season amidst defensive concerns of their own.

What’s the word?

Wolves have now won three straight games in all competitions, including the stunning scalp of reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.

That’s a massive turnaround in form considering the west Midlands club were sitting second-bottom going into their fixture with Watford nearly ten days ago.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Nuno Santo’s side have moved into 11th place with just two defeats on their record, which is better than Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

In midweek they also added life to their Europa League campaign with a 1-0 ‘snatch and grab’ win at Besiktas.

Meanwhile, Arsenal sit 3rd, but defensive issues continue to plague their team – even despite picking up a clean sheet on Sunday.

Unai Emery’s Gunners have conceded 11 goals from their eight matches, and reports suggest the Spaniard doesn’t see summer signing David Luiz or Sokratis as long-term options at the club. As such, they could move for Boly.

He has become somewhat of a fan favourite in his three years at Molineux, where he has amassed 92 appearances and scored eight times after being signed from Porto for £10m.

Indispensable

Wolves operate a system which utilises three central defenders, and if you took the 28-year-old out of the equation, then Nuno would be rather stuffed.

Despite now picking up three straight clean sheets, defending had been a cause for concern after Chelsea stuck five past them at home less than a month ago.

Boly’s featured in all three of those matches this week but didn’t against the Blues so it’s not a coincidence to see the west Midlands club looking more solid with him in the team

Those worries at the back are only emphasised by the fact that the Portuguese boss tried to add another player to his defensive ranks over the summer with Benfica ace Ruben Dias a regularly-linked target.

Aside from club captain Conor Coady, the other options in Ryan Bennett and Jesus Vallejo have been slated while Max Kilman is yet to taste more than a minute of top-flight football. Meanwhile, Romain Saiss has often looked better in midfield.

Wolves must not give in and they should do everything they can to keep hold of the towering 6 foot 5 colossus as he’s likely to be the most irreplaceable member of the currently squad. After all, they’re worst when he’s absent.

The Gunners will get to take a proper look at the £13.5m-rated man in just under a month when Wolves head to the Emirates.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness

West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has been ruled out for at least two months, and Irons fans should find comfort in the rise of former stopper Adrian at Liverpool to see how number two Roberto could develop.

What’s happened then?

Well, the Poland international pulled up in the first half after taking a goal kick against Bournemouth, and it has been confirmed via BBC Sport that he has suffered a torn hip muscle.

It means that his ever-present run for the east London outfit in the Premier League since he joined the club on a free will come to an end this weekend, and he may not be back in action until December at the earliest if the initial diagnosis is correct.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Roberto Jimenez Gago replaced the 34-year-old against the Cherries and while he did make one good save in particular his kicking wasn’t great, while he came under fire from some fans on Twitter for his display in the humiliating 4-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Oxford United last week.

Roberto could surprise everyone

It’s probably fair to say that West Ham fans won’t be expecting the Spaniard to be at the same level as their 2018/19 Hammer of the Year, having shown some weaknesses when he has been on the pitch.

Liverpool supporters may have had the same concerns when Alisson got injured on the opening day of the campaign and saw Adrian replace him however, but the former Irons man who left on a free earlier in 2019 has gone from strength to strength between the sticks for the Premier League leaders in the Brazilian’s continued absence, conceding five goals in seven top flight outings.

Given how West Ham fans criticised him when he played for them and how he was number two to Fabianski before departing, he is an unexpected source of hope for them in light of the recent development given first-team starts at Anfield would surely have been predicted to be few and far between if Alisson stayed fit.

Roberto could easily make the same impact as Adrian if the circumstances are right, and the London Stadium faithful need to get behind him to give him that confidence, rather than getting on his back as soon as he does something wrong like they may have done with other keepers in the past.