Manchester United have confirmed youngster Alvaro Fernandez has joined Benfica on a permanent deal following a loan spell with the Portuguese giants.
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Enzo Fernandez returned to action after undergoing surgery on a hernia injury, as he came on as a substitute for Argentina against Ecuador.
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Glasgow Rangers enjoyed a week-long mid-season training camp in the Spanish sunshine, yet it culminated in a 1-0 defeat to Hertha Berlin over the last weekend.
It was a friendly match and not too much should be read into it. However, the performance was below par and Philippe Clement will be hoping the team can improve as they face FC Copenhagen this evening at Ibrox in their final match before the domestic season returns.
The onus for Clement now is to spend the next two weeks seeking to improve his squad during the current January transfer window.
Several positions require some improvement, especially with six players out of contract come the end of the season.
With Ryan Jack and John Lundstram among those six, could the Belgian coach perhaps look to bring in another central midfielder this month?
Much has been made of the Light Blues’ search for a new left-back and striker, yet there have been a few midfielders linked in the last couple of weeks.
According to Football Scotland last week, the Gers have reportedly ‘checked on the conditions’ of Croatian gem Marko Bulat, who is currently playing for Dinamo Zagreb in his homeland.
The report goes on to state that Nils Koppen has sent scouts to watch Bulat in action for Zagreb recently as the Gers look to potentially make a move for the player.
There remains one stumbling block, however; the transfer fee. Zagreb value one of their prized assets at around £5m and this could prove to be too much for the Ibrox side to spend, especially in January.
Clement needs to be planning ahead due to the contract situations surrounding a couple of his midfielders, however, and this may mean he has to act sooner rather than later.
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Stay on top of all the latest transfer deals across the Premier League, EFL and SPFL as the January window closes.
By
Charlie Smith
Feb 1, 2024
Kemar Roofe, Jon McLaughlin, Borna Barisic, Leon Balogun, Jack and Lundstram are all free to speak to other clubs as of this month ahead of leaving for free this summer, and the majority of them will likely depart Ibrox.
The latter two are perhaps the players who deserve extensions, in particular Lundstram, who has shone under Clement this season.
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Rangers: Contract expiries in 2024 |
|---|
|
Fabio Silva – Loan ends |
|
Borna Barisic – End of contract |
|
Leon Balogun – End of contract |
|
Ryan Jack – End of contract |
|
Jon McLaughlin – End of contract |
|
Kemar Roofe – End of contract |
|
John Lundstram – End of contract |
|
Abdallah SIma – Loan ends |
The former Sheffield United midfielder has started 17 of the 18 competitive matches under the Belgian and will remain a mainstay in the team until the end of the season at least.
If these two do leave Ibrox, Clement has the likes of Jose Cifuentes, Nico Raskin and even youngster Bailey Rice to call upon ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, but it could be Raskin who is ready to become a key player under the manager.
The young midfielder made a solid impact upon arriving in Glasgow last January as he finished the season ranked third for tackles per game (1.8) and sixth for successful dribbles per game (0.9) as he demonstrated his tenacious nature and his ability to push forward often from the engine room.
This gave him a solid platform to work on ahead of the current season, yet an injury suffered against Hearts in what was Clement’s third match in charge of the club ruled the 22-year-old out for 14 matches and severely disrupted any progress he had made during the embryonic stages of the season.
Despite the setback, Raskin currently leads the way among the squad with regard to tackles per game (2.7) in the top flight, along with ranking seventh for accurate passes per game (39.4) which indicates how impressive he was prior to the injury.
What he needs now is a long-term partner in the heart of the midfield who could help elevate his game to new levels.
Signing Bulat from Zagreb could be an ideal player to partner Raskin with ahead of next season and their respective styles of play could compliment each other rather well.
Like Raskin, Bulat tends to operate slightly deeper in the midfield, yet he can still offer a reliable attacking threat when required, evidenced by the fact he has scored five goals and grabbed three assists across 23 matches for his club this season.
Indeed, the 5 foot 10 midfielder currently ranks fourth among the Zagreb squad in the top flight for goals and assists (five) along with ranking fourth for shots on target per game (one) and sixth for key passes per game (1.3), which suggests he is productive in the final third for his team.
|
Croatians to play for Rangers |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Games |
Goals |
|
Antonio Colak |
39 |
18 |
|
Nikola Katic |
59 |
6 |
|
Borna Barisic |
224 |
9 |
|
Niko Kranjcar |
26 |
3 |
|
Nikica Jelavic |
56 |
36 |
|
Dado Prso |
117 |
35 |
|
Via Transfermarkt |
||
Rangers Journal founder Kai Watson profiled the young sensation amid rumours linking him with a move to Glasgow recently, even comparing him to a young Ivan Rakitic, saying:
“From watching Bulat and looking at the numbers, he reminds me of a young Ivan Rakitić. He’s a box-to-box midfielder who is a very capable defender and a goal-scoring threat. Technically gifted and intelligent in and out of possession, hence the Rakitić comparison.”
This type of skillset could work wonders alongside someone like Raskin, who would be free to do the dirty work in the heart of the pitch and clean up in front of the defence, allowing Balut to utilise his box-to-box abilities and create chances for others.
It could end up being a frightening partnership, especially as the duo are both only 22 years of age, and they could be the future of the Gers midfield, without a shadow of a doubt.
Raskin will only get better the more he plays under Clement and with Jack and Lundstram potentially moving on this summer, there is a slot available alongside the former Standard Liege starlet, which Balut would slot into with ease.
If the Gers don’t make a move for him this month, they had better hope his performances don’t improve, otherwise they could face some stiff competition from plenty of other teams looking to secure his signature.
Much will depend on what funds Clement has to spend in the summer transfer window, yet with the wage bill set to be freed up by a sizeable chunk due to some departures, signing Balut should be his main focus.
There's no two ways about it: Manchester United look lost.
Erik ten Hag's team currently sit ninth in the Premier League, but by the time the weekend arrives, they could be as low as 11th.
Their saviour seems to be in the form of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS and Omar Berrada, with the United faithful now hoping and praying that they can invest in some new talent.
3 dream signings Berrada could make at Man Utd including his next Haaland
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By
Matt Dawson
Jan 23, 2024
According to Ben Jacobs via GIVEMESPORT, Man United have made an approach to sign Joshua Zirkzee.
The journalist stated in the report: "Zirkzee is a really interesting one for the summer. Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are three to watch from the Premier League.
"Manchester United are the ones that have had some kind of formative approach, certainly on the player side. Arsenal and Spurs haven't moved yet, but that may change in the summer. There is a release clause, and if Bologna are to be believed, it only applies to Bayern and is €40m [£34m]."
Jacobs goes on to mention that a winter move has been ruled out. For any club (excluding Bayern) hoping to bring him in over the summer, they will have to part ways with £50m as per prior reports.
All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024
With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.
By
Luke Randall
Feb 1, 2024
Marcus Rashford is the most talked-about player in the world this week after controversy sparked over him missing training last week. To add even more to the situation, INews have announced that PSG are interested in signing the United number ten this summer.
Unfortunately for Rashford, what makes the situation worse is the fact that he's having a troubled season on the field, netting just four goals in 20 Premier League games. Therefore, the boss could look to move the England star on in the summer, with Zirkzee joining the club as his replacement.
The former Bayern Munich striker has been superb this season for Bologna, scoring eight goals in 19 league starts while also providing two assists. In short, he has been the focal point of his side's rise up to eighth in the Serie A.
Nonetheless, let's look at the role that Zirkzee could play at United and a handful of statistics from this season that prove he would be a smart acquisition. The numbers below compare the powerful Dutch striker him to his positional peers in Serie A.
|
Zirkzee: 2023/24 Serie A |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Metric |
Stats (per 90) |
Serie A ranking |
|
Goals |
0.43 |
Top 32% |
|
xG |
0.31 |
Bottom 59% |
|
Touches |
43.05 |
Top 14% |
|
Touches (Mid 3rd) |
19.99 |
Top 9% |
|
Successful take-ons |
1.50 |
Top 16% |
|
Stats via FBref |
||
Although Bologna are achieving great things this season, they are far from a dominant side in the Serie A, so for Zirkzee to be boasting those goal-scoring numbers is rather impressive. Just over a third of their goals this season in the league have come via the Dutch forward, which proves how influential he is. Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig labelled the attacker as "prolific," and the fact that he outperforms his xG by 0.12 each game underlines that he's clinical.
During his time at Ajax, Ten Hag built a specific system around the qualities of Dusan Tadic, which saw him play anywhere across the front line in a free-roaming role. This is potentially what he could envision for Zirkzee.
Indeed, the 6 foot 4 attacker has all the necessary traits to flourish in the unorthodox position due to his ability to identify space to get involved in play, drop deeper to create overloads, and use his dribbling to unlock defences. His high overall touches, touches in the middle third of the pitch and successful take-ons serve as evidence to that.
Overall, Zirkzee gives Ten Hag plenty of options in terms of squad selection due to his ability to perform in multiple game states and roles. If Rashford were to swap Manchester for Paris, then the Netherlands ace could be the perfect replacement.
What happened to the 2016 USMNT squad that made a heroic Copa America semifinal run? GOAL revisits…
The USMNT made a historic run at the 2016 Copa America, only to crash out in the semifinals to Lionel Messi's Argentina. They were thumped 4-0 by La Albiceleste, but their run in the tournament was a surprise to many – and it sparked a sense of excitement for what the future could look like for the US.
Unfortunately, that future turned cloudy over the subsequent six years. The USMNT missed out on the 2018 World Cup, and didn't feature in a global tournament until Qatar 2022.
That 2016 squad, though, was a special team. However, many of them disappeared from the international stage shortly thereafter.
GOAL takes a look at where they are now…
Scotland's Ryan Porteous was sent off at the stroke of half-time after his horrific studs-up tackle on Ilkay Gundogan.
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Sunderland would have been ecstatic to put any talk about Michael Beale's job security and Alex Pritchard's future firmly to one side with an emphatic 3-1 win over Stoke City yesterday, with one surprise goalscorer understandably jubilant come full-time.
Mason Burstow finally broke his Black Cats goalscoring duck, finding the back of the net after 14 Sunderland games, whilst another figure in and out of Beale's first team in Abdoullah Ba helped himself to a handful of assists and a goal in the confident victory.
Burstow could well be the answer to Sunderland's striker woes as a result of this standout performance versus the Potters, supercharged and turned into a frequent goalscoring hero if Beale's men can pull off a deal for this creative machine before deadline day.
Sunderland have been interested in bringing Barnsley star Callum Styles to the Stadium of Light for some time now, with a new development suggesting that there could be many hurdles in the way to land the Hungary international this month.
Yorkshire Post journalist Leon Wobschall has stated in the last few days that there are many obstacles before a deal is forthcoming – Wobschall namely stating that the 'structure of the deal' is one of those stumbling blocks.
After The Northern Echo reported last week that the second-tier outfit were in 'advanced talks', Beale and Co will need to speed up a deal for Styles between now and the window slamming shut very soon.
Landing Styles could well get even more out of Burstow up top, the Chelsea loanee wanting more and more goals after finally bagging a cherished Black Cats strike alongside the Tykes' main creative force.
Styles could well slot into the Black Cats team in many different midfield positions, playing in an attacking midfield spot, in central midfield and even down the left wing this season for Neill Collins' League One playoff hopefuls.
Amassing 13 goals and nine assists for Barnsley from 151 appearances to date, with 15 of those goals and assists coming from down the left-hand side, Styles could well push the likes of Jack Clarke all the way or even displace Ba on the opposing flank.
The majority of his goals and assists this campaign have come from the attacking midfield spot in the Tykes team however, meaning Beale could well even have a perfect replacement for Pritchard if he does leave off the back of his recent transfer request.
|
Styles' goals/assists at Barnsley by position |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Games played |
Position played |
Goals |
Assists |
|
62 |
Left midfield |
8 |
7 |
|
35 |
Central midfield |
0 |
1 |
|
17 |
Attacking midfield |
2 |
1 |
|
14 |
Right midfield |
1 |
0 |
|
Stats by Transfermarkt |
|||
An early season patch of golden form saw Styles score in back-to-back games from that attacking midfield role, even looping a strike over the Northampton Town goalkeeper's head in late September after lackadaisical play out from the back from the Cobblers gifted Styles the opportunity to try the audacious.
Described as a "creative spark" by football journalist Josh Bunting when breaking through at Oakwell, Burstow will hope Styles' introduction into the fold on Wearside awakens a prolific deadly goalscoring machine again out of the 20-year-old.
Bagging 11 goals for the Chelsea U23s to date – after learning the ropes at Charlton Athletic with six goals from 23 appearances – the summer recruit has found himself isolated as the lone striker and frustrated at his lack of goals when played prior to netting versus Stoke.
Only needing 21 touches to score on Saturday, Burstow will hope a clinical streak is coming for him with the £5.4k per week target putting opportunities on a plate for the 20-year-old if a deal finally gets over the line.
Harry Kane has been criticised for his "touchy" response to Gary Lineker's criticism of him, while being told to front up going forward at Euro 2024.
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To describe Chelsea's win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup last night as a surprise would be a massive understatement.
The Blues came into the game off the back of two drubbings, with rumours circulating about the futures of their star players and manager, so the stage was set for another meltdown.
However, Mauricio Pochettino's side clearly weren't interested in that narrative and put in a seriously impressive performance, bossing the Villans for the entire 90 minutes.
The team were impressive to a man, although Cole Palmer was quieter than usual, and the starter who showed him up could be viewed as Poch's next Dele Alli.
Now, the first thing to note is that Palmer, like every other Chelsea player on the night, played well against Unai Emery's Claret and Blue.
The former Manchester City gem didn't put a foot wrong all night, but he also didn't do as much to impact the game as some of his teammates, so he flew under the radar somewhat in comparison.
Football.london's Bobby Vincent shared this sentiment in his player ratings, giving the Englishman a 7/10 on the night and claiming that he was the 'quietest of the Chelsea attacking players' and that the Blues 'did not really need him at his peak', which is a testament to the overall performance.
It would be hard to disagree with Vincent's assessment when looking at Palmer's numbers from the game, as in his 81 minutes, he took just 29 touches, had two shots on target, completed just one dribble, maintained a passing accuracy of 81%, played one key pass, committed two fouls and won just two of his five ground duels.
|
Cole Palmer vs Aston Villa |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
81 |
|
Touches |
29 |
|
Shots on Target |
2 |
|
Dribbles Attempted (succeeded) |
2 (1) |
|
Accurate passes |
17/21 (81%) |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Ground Duels (won) |
5 (2) |
|
Fouls |
2 |
|
Stats via Sofascore. |
|
The Wythenshawe-born gem's numbers were not dreadful; they just mirrored his underwhelming performance and looked even more so when compared to one of his midfield partners on the night, Conor Gallagher.
In a season that has seen the stock of so many Chelsea players crater, Gallagher is one of the few who will end the campaign with a much better reputation than the one he had at the start.
However, if there was one mark against his name this year, it was that he hadn't scored a single goal all season, but that changed in the 11th minute last night, as he got on the end of a pass from Noni Madueke and rifled the ball into the back of the net.
However, Chelsea's "heart", as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, deserves praise for more than just the goal, something football.london's Vincent agrees with, as he gave Gallagher an 8/10 rating on the night and described his 'all-round game' as 'brilliant.'
This is clear from his statistics from the game: in his 94 minutes, he took 54 touches, two shots on target, completed two dribbles, maintained a passing accuracy of 90%, played two key passes, and won five of his six ground duels and made two tackles.
|
Conor Gallagher vs Aston Villa |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
94 |
|
Touches |
54 |
|
Shots on Target |
2 |
|
Dribbles Attempted (succeeded) |
2 (2) |
|
Accurate passes |
36/40 (90%) |
|
Key passes |
2 |
|
Ground Duels (won) |
6 (5) |
|
Tackles |
2 |
|
All Stats via Sofascore |
|
The all-action nature of his performances has clearly won over Pochettino, and it's easy to understand why, as there are certainly some similarities between his hard-working nature and the young Dele when he first broke through under the Argentine.
So, in the vacuum of just this season, with Chelsea struggling in the way they are, this might sound like an outrageous take to some, but there is something to this comparison, and it's a comparison that others have made in the past.
For example, this was something noted by The Athletic's Jack Pitt-Brooke back in 2022, with the Tottenham Hotspur writer tweeting: "Watching Conor Gallagher today he's got a bit of Poch-era Dele Alli to him. Great at pressing and winning the ball back."
Now, this was back when the Chelsea man was on loan at Crystal Palace and far more of a goal threat. However, his desire and ability to press teams within an inch of their lives is still just as strong as ever.
If he can rediscover the form in front of goal that led to him racking up eight goals and five assists that season with the Eagles, then this comparison might become more challenging to ignore – with Dele previously scoring 55 goals and registering 52 assists in 194 games under Pochettino's watch.
Furthermore, the pair share the trait of being positionally versatile midfielders, with the former Spurs' gem comfortable playing as an attacking midfielder, central midfielder, and occasionally on the left of midfield. In contrast, Gallagher has played in attacking, central and defensive midfield positions for the Blues.
The Cobham graduate might never match the kind of goalscoring abilities of Dele in his first few years, but with the right coaching from Pochettino and a more stable and progressive team around him, there is no apparent reason why he couldn't dramatically improve his attacking output, especially as former Palace manager Patrick Vieira described him as a "managers dream" and that he has "the quality finishing of a Frank Lampard."
Chelsea's "outstanding" 9/10 star was as good as Enzo Fernandez v Villa
The 20-year-old looks like a totally different player.
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Jack Salveson Holmes
Feb 8, 2024
Ultimately, there is a long way to go before the Epsom-born dynamo can claim to be Dele 2.0 for Poch, but with his current trajectory, application, and the way the manager talks about him, he could well be in a few years.
Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez have not been named in Argentina's Olympics squad, but Manchester City's Julian Alvarez will be heading to Paris.
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