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Many Manchester United fans have been left slamming the display of Paul Pogba in their 2-1 away loss in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening.

The Old Trafford faithful got off to the worst possible start in their group with defeat in Switzerland, after Cristiano Ronaldo had originally given them the lead following a sublime pass from Bruno Fernandes.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka then found himself sent off for a reckless lunge, and from there it all went downhill for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team, failing to muster a single shot at goal after the red card.

Pogba did not have his best game at all, losing out on five of his duels, while he also failed to record a single shot, interception, key pass or cross, losing possession of the ball on no fewer than 17 separate occasions, the most out of any of his teammates (Sofascore).

Manchester United fans on Pogba display

These Red Devils slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Man Utd supporter even going as far as to claim that he was ‘anonymous’:

“Greenwood benched & he put Pogba as a LW, dropped a stinker & still played an entire 90. We’ll see.”

Credit: @_T_V_T

“Ole doesn’t learn and he will never learn. Making same mistakes over and over again. Pogba was anonymous yesterday, why not remove him? 3 of the 5 matches we’ve played this season, it’s absolute nonsense.”

Credit: @NellsIfy

“Pogba shouldn’t stay if he doesn’t want to.. he too was awful last night but Ole was worse because he refused to sub him out and have a working tactics in that match”

Credit: @Prinzgray

“Sancho and Pogba were poor, Bruno not his best night and Ronaldo didn’t do a lot other than the goal. The whole team had an off night. A manager cannot be blamed for individual errors”

Credit: @JordanMaclaurin

“Pogba was horrible, he should have got taken out not VDB. Pogba got bossed around”

Credit: @akstros7

“We had Pogba stinking up the left wing”

Credit: @ChinoBalll

In other news, find out whose display was slammed against Newcastle United here!

Tottenham Hotspur are trying to prise Franck Kessie away from AC Milan…

What’s the word?

According to La Repubblica (via Sport Witness), Spurs will attempt to sign the 24-year-old powerhouse by offering the Serie A outfit wantaway midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

Earlier this week, reports emerged claiming the north Londoners had offered Kessie a long-term €8m-per-year (£6.85m-per-year) deal to join them upon the expiry of his current contract in 2022.

The Ivory Coast international has previously expressed his desire to remain at the San Siro, though he was far from convinced by their latest offer and as a result, Fabio Paratici and co are trying to sign him now, instead of next summer.

Get it done!

Ndombele’s wishes to depart N17 have been made no secret in recent weeks. The Athletic claim that his snub from the starting XI for their EFL Cup final clash with Manchester City kickstarted the change in his demeanour.

During the off-season, the Frenchman has requested an exit, believing he could secure a move to a Paris Saint-Germain or a Bayern Munich, which is why Nuno Santo is yet to include him since taking charge – he won’t select a player that doesn’t want to be there.

Offering him up in a move for Kessie, who is valued at £34m by CIES, could be quite a shrewd move with Ndombele’s wages in excess of £200k-per-week, and considering the Milan star is out of contract in a year’s time, the Italian giants could be forced into letting him go for a lot cheaper than they would’ve expected.

The 24-year-old has been an industrious presence in midfield for Milan, contributing at either end of the pitch to great effect.

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As per WhoScored, he ended the 2020/21 campaign as their fourth highest-best player with an average rating of 7.15. He found the net a whopping 13 times from the engine room, a figure only bettered by the talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic (15).

The box-to-box beast also contributed 1.3 shots, 1.2 dribbles and 0.8 key passes per league outing, proving that he is efficient at bringing the ball forward and making that crucial link between the defence and the attack.

Meanwhile, an average of 1.5 aerial duels won, 1.4 tackles and 1.2 interceptions, via WhoScored, would suggest that Kessie is a solid presence and one that isn’t easily bypassed in midfield.

It’s no wonder his head coach Stefano Piolo dubbed him “a complete player” who gives us physicality, energy, quality, protects the defence and knits the moves going forward too” and is “invaluable” to the team.

Furthermore, ex-Milan boss Vincenzo Montella once hailed the Ivorian as an “extraordinary player” with “sublime intelligence.”

Evidently, those that have worked with him only have praise for the 24-year-old, so he’s clearly got something special about him if every manager that walks through the door in Milan is selecting him and subsequently praising him.

These are all attributes that we should be seeing from Ndombele in that box-to-box role alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and whilst his technical ability is unrivalled, top-quality and consistent performances from a club-record £55m signing have been far and few between.

Kessie has scored more goals in one season than Ndombele has in two years in north London.

Paratici must look to axe Ndombele in favour of Kessie, especially as he’s going to be available for bargain price given his contractual situation.

Get it done, Spurs.

AND in other news, Paratici masterclass: Nuno could form scary Tottenham unit with “special” £54m-rated gem…

أعلن إيهاب الكومي عضو مجلس إدارة اتحاد الكرة المصري، عن الانتهاء من الاتفاق مع المدير الفني الجديد لمنتخب مصر.

اتحاد الكرة، يواصل البحث عن المدرب الجديد لمنتخب مصر، خلفاً لـ إيهاب جلال.

وقال الكومي خلال تصريحات عبر برنامج “الماتش” على قناة “صدي البلد”: “عقدت جلسة اليوم في اتحاد الكرة وتم الاتفاق على اسم المدير الفني الجديد لمنتخب مصر، وسيتم الإعلان عنه رسميًا خلال ساعات”.

طالع  | خاص.. خليلهودزيتش يفتح الباب مجددًا لمفاوضات تدريب منتخب مصر

وأضاف: “ليس الزمالك بمفرده المدين لاتحاد الكرة، هناك تراكمات من المواسم السابقة لكل الأندية، تم تسوية الأمر اليوم ودفع مبلغ وجدولة الباقي”.

وأتم: “لم نتلق أي إخطار بشأن أزمة عبد الله السعيد والأهلي من المحكمة الرياضية أو فيفا، وعندما يصلنا أي شيء سنرسله للنادي واللاعب”.

Nottingham Forest’s 2021/22 campaign got off to a frustrating start at the Ricoh Arena as they were beaten 2-1 by Coventry City on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Hughton named a number of younger players in his starting XI, with Brennan Johnson being among them. The winger caught the eye with some strong performances out on loan with League One side Lincoln City last season and will have been hoping to pick up where he left off.

He certainly did that yesterday, as a lung-busting run saw him beat the Coventry full-back before providing an inch-perfect cross for Lyle Taylor, who had the simplest of tasks to fire home from close-range and give Forest the lead.

Johnson had a WhoScored rating of 6.9 from the clash against the Sky Blues, the highest of anyone among the visitors’ line-up, and he clearly had Coventry spooked as he won five fouls during the match. Both Hughton and the City Ground faithful will be hoping that he can build on that strong performance in their season opener.

Plenty of Nottingham Forest supporters were quick to take to social media to issue their thoughts on the youngster’s most recent showing for the Reds, and it’s safe to say that the majority were impressed with what they saw from the 20-year-old, who one fan hailed as a “special boy”.

Take a look at the best of the reaction from Twitter below….

Nottingham Forest fans hail Brennan Johnson

“Special mention to Brennan Johnson. Forest, get that man on a new contract, he’s simply taking us to the Prem.”

Credit: @foxynffc

“Brennan Johnson really is a special boy, we have to make the most of him before he inevitably gets snapped up by a Prem club.”

Credit: @_JoshNffc

“Brennan Johnson has matured so much as a player. Take a bow son, gonna cause teams problems this season.”

Credit: @R1CHJB

“Brennan Johnson is the best player in the league x.”

Credit: @NathanDillon04

“Brennan Johnson is our only good player and we’ll sell him.”

Credit: @Pricey1865

“Sell Johnson and we are actually relegated.”

Credit: @CobbyNFFC

“Sounds mental to say this but we can’t afford to lose 20 Yr old Brennan Johnson. Looks a real talent.”

Credit: @Nesto25

In other news, Nigel Jemson has thrown down a challenge to one Forest ace.

Liverpool have reportedly been keeping track of Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his attacking options.

What’s the story?

According to Goal’s Liverpool reporter Neil Jones, the Reds’ recruitment team have been watching the 23-year-old’s progress over the last couple of campaigns ahead of a possible move for the speedster.

The Anfield outfit are believed to be in the market for a new forward this summer following underwhelming campaigns for Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino last time out.

Liverpool fans will be delighted

Barnes enjoyed a stellar 2020/21 season, bagging 13 goals and providing a further four assists in 38 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes.

He was tipped to make Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2020 given his outstanding displays for the Midlands outfit. However, a serious knee injury picked up in March ruled the forward out for the rest of the campaign.

The electric England international made a winning return to first-team action over the weekend, though, featuring from the off as Leicester claimed just their second Community Shield with a victory at Wembley Stadium.

And now Barnes could be rewarded for last season’s fine form with a move to the 19-time English champions.

With Mane and Firmino beginning to fall below their usual exceptional standards and the likes of Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri heavily linked with an Anfield exit, Barnes could provide the spark to Liverpool’s forward line that it so desperately needs.

He’s made incredible progress since joined West Bromwich Albion on loan back in 2018, where he contributed to 16 goals in 26 Championship outings for the Baggies, and his underlying numbers last term are evidence of that.

As per WhoScored, Barnes recorded 2.2 shots per league game in 2020/21, made one key pass and completed 1.6 dribbles, placing him in the top five compared to his teammates for all metrics.

Therefore, Liverpool fans will surely be delighted to learn the club’s recruitment team are closely monitoring his progress. Barnes is an exciting, young, English prospect with bags of potential and he should only get better under Klopp’s tutelage.

Whether the Reds follow up their reported interest with a formal offer remains to be seen, but his arrival on Merseyside would certainly be welcomed by the supporters. The fact that he’s on Liverpool’s radar should be music to the ears of Reds’ fans.

And, in other news…Report reveals exciting transfer update that’ll have Liverpool fans buzzing 

The League One campaign of Sheffield Wednesday did not get off to the best of starts on Saturday afternoon, as Darren Moore’s side were held to a goalless draw by Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

Much had been discussed prior to kick-off about whether the Owls manager would start either of his recent signings Florian Kamberi or Lee Gregory following Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Town in the EFL cup last weekend – a fixture which the club ultimately lost on penalties – however, Kamberi would only make the bench, while Gregory was not included in the matchday squad at all.

Instead, the 47-year-old decided on a front three of Jaden Brown, Callum Paterson and Andre Green, although Paterson would be withdrawn after just 16 minutes due to injury.

And, as the game progressed, it was clear to see exactly why Moore had been so keen to bring in attacking reinforcements this summer, as his Wednesday side mustered just one shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes, from a total of six attempted efforts.

Perhaps the most disappointing of the attacking performances was given by Green, with the 23-year-old struggling to have any real impact on the game whatsoever.

Indeed, over his 64 minutes on the pitch, the £720k-rated man managed no shots – either on or off target – failed with his one attempted dribble and touched the ball a total of 20 times – 11 times fewer than Bailey Peacock-Farrell between the Sheffield Wednesday sticks.

The £6k-per-week winger also completed neither of his two attempted crosses, found his target with a mere seven of his 10 attempted passes and lost possession of the ball a total of nine times.

Furthermore, the former Burnley man won none of his seven duels, was dribbled past by an opponent on three occasions and committed one foul, before he too was forced off due to injury in the second half.

Overall, these metrics saw Green earn a highly disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.3, the worst of any player from either side to feature in the match.

As such, it would be a difficult argument to make for the winger to keep his place in the Sheffield Wednesday starting XI for the visit of Doncaster Rovers next week, with Green undoubtedly needing to up his game should he wish to play any sort of major role in the Owls’ push for promotion this season.

In other news: Chansiri masterclass: SWFC confirm transfer development that will have fans buzzing

Batting in to the semis
Kepler Wessels, the Chennai Super Kings coach, has said if his side bat like they did against the Rajasthan Royals then they have a chance to beat the Deccan Chargers. Chennai are aiming to qualify for the semi-finals and a win in Hyderabad will ensure they beat the Mumbai Indians to the only remaining berth in the final four. “We are looking for more firepower in bowling,” Wessels said. “It is a fact that the bowlers were punished badly on a very good pitch in the last match. However, it is important to remember that they have been bowling superbly right through.” He also said fast bowler Manpreet Gony was the find of the IPL. Gony has taken 13 wickets at a strike-rate of 22.1 in 13 games.Police complaint against franchise owner
The Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police RS Khatra has lodged a formal complaint with the District Commissioner of the Patiala range regarding the alleged verbal assault on him by Ness Wadia, the Mohali IPL franchise owner. Khatra claimed Wadia had told him the police were selling tickets in black and letting many spectators in an unauthorised manner. “I would have addressed Ness’ grievances by initiating action against members of the police force, if found guilty. However, Wadia launched a verbal assault on me using derogatory language against me,” Khatra said. “He addressed me as a low life which disturbed me greatly.”Akram for shorter IPL
Wasim Akram has suggested a shorter IPL for next year. “I would advise the organisers to next time reduce the duration of the league and number of matches. It has got to a stage where it has become a bit too long and the whole tournament has become a bit complicated because of the number of matches each team is playing,” Akram told . “The IPL has been a success because Twenty20 cricket is all about entertainment. It is not real cricket.”

The state of the world’s pitches is taking away the excitement from Test cricket, according to Ricky Ponting

Cricinfo staff12-Jun-2008
Ricky Ponting: “Let’s just try and do something with the wickets. If it means digging them up and relaying them then let’s try it” © Getty Images
The state of the world’s pitches is taking away the excitement from Test cricket, according to Ricky Ponting. Australia have completed two Tests on dull surfaces in Jamaica and Antigua and Ponting believes bounce is crucial to making the game more interesting.”I just think Test cricket is probably not as exciting anymore because of the wickets that we’re playing on,” Ponting said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “People would rather watch a game in Perth than they would in Antigua. There’s much more happening.”There’s more bouncers, more batsmen ducking and weaving and sometimes falling on their backsides, more catches behind the wicket, more hook shots. That’s the sort of Test cricket that we all grew up watching and enjoying.”Ponting repeated his view that the surfaces around the world were “just too flat and too placid”. “That’s what I would be saying to all the authorities around the world: let’s just try and do something with the wickets,” he said. “If it means digging them up and relaying them then let’s try it. It’s obviously not working too well at the moment.”While Ponting wants the pitches changed, he is less enthusiastic about the ICC’s idea of a Test world championship, with a prize awarded at the end of a four-year cycle. “You’re playing for a trophy every series you play,” Ponting said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s at the end of two or three or four years, there are trophies on the line every series. We’ve got to look at other smaller ways. But let’s just see how this all pans out.”

Celtic almost signed Hadjuk Split centre-back Mario Vuskovic, according to Croatian outlet Dalmatinski.

The Lowdown: Starfelt breakthrough

The Hoops had a busy Wednesday when it comes to transfers. They brought in winger Liel Abada from Maccabi Petah Tikva and also made inroads when it comes to defensive reinforcements.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed on Wednesday morning that Celtic have reached an agreement with Rubin Kazan to sign Carl Starfelt in a deal worth €5m.

Starfelt has already agreed on personal terms and an official announcement is expected soon, according to Romano, which has seemingly had a knock-on effect on Vuskovic.

The Latest: Vuskovic report

Croatian outlet Dalmatinski shared a story on Wednesday regarding Celtic’s move for Starfelt and what that means for Vuskovic, who has been heavily linked with a Parkhead switch of his own.

They claimed that a move for Vuskovic was ‘almost a done deal but then it all stopped’.

Vuskovic, valued at £5.85m by Transfermarkt, is now being eyed by Dutch side Feyenoord.

The Verdict: Should Celtic sign both?

It seems as if the Hoops will be bringing in Starfelt over Vuskovic, but surely there is an argument to sign both, especially with Kristoffer Ajer’s Parkhead situation.

Brentford are set to make a new £15m bid for Ajer, who wants to leave Glasgow this summer, so the Hoops could possibly sign both Starfelt and Vuskovic with those funds with some money left to spend.

Bringing in two centre-backs could be a smart move if Ajer leaves, as that would then take Ange Postecoglou to five senior central defenders ahead of the new season.

In other news: Hoops make bid for 5ft 8 ace on £1,600-a-week, find out more here. 

Marcus Bent doesn’t believe Everton will revisit their interest in Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko this summer.

The Toffees came close to signing the experienced Frenchman back in 2016 following Newcastle’s relegation back to the Championship.

However, the midfielder failed to agree personal terms at Goodison Park and ended up joining Spurs.

But having slipped down the pecking order in north London, making an exit more than likely, Bent reckons that Sissoko’s age could prove a barrier to stop Rafael Benitez from linking up with the 31-year-old once again after their brief spell together at Newcastle, in which he made the Frenchman captain in one fixture against Manchester City.

But Sissoko turns 32 on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, and the former Toffees striker believes that Benitez will be looking to bring in younger players.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“I don’t think they’re going for a 31-year-old. With the players and Everton who they are at the minute, they can go for a younger signing.

“Bringing in a 31-year-old, and don’t get me wrong, massive player, but I don’t think that would be a good signing for Everton. Whether it happens or not I don’t know, or whether Rafa demands him, I don’t know.”

Everton generally have a young squad, so adding to Sissoko to their party would be a bizarre signing.

Managers love bringing in former players, not to mention that Benitez once made the French midfielder captain at Newcastle, but this isn’t a transfer that many will expect to see materialise.