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Crystal Palace were by no means quiet in the summer, but perhaps they missed out on that one final signing, and Steve Parish can make amends during the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

Palace have emerged as the favourites to land Reading midfielder Michael Olise. That’s according to a report from The Sunday People (20/12, p71), who also suggest that Leeds United are interested in signing the highly-coveted teenager.

The 19-year-old has been in scintillating form for the Royals, providing four goals and seven assists in 20 appearances in the Championship, via Transfermarkt.

Alternative to Andros Townsend

While Wilfried Zaha is heavily linked with the Selhurst Park exit, Eberechi Eze has been one of the few bright sparks amid an inconsistent run of form but Palace have arguably been made to pay for never properly replacing their former charge Victor Moses.

Roy Hodgson only really has three options for two positions, at least until January, with Eze, Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend vying for a place on the wings.

A coronavirus outbreak or an injury crisis could quickly cause some problems at SE25, so Parish would be wise to sanction a swoop for Olise as not only would he be sufficient backup for the Englishman, but he’d also offer an alternative threat attack, having even been deployed as a centre-forward upon occasion so far this season.

His teammate and fellow Royals frontman Sam Baldock heaped praise on the “fearless” French teen last term, while his former manager Mark Bowen was equally effusive in his praise for the versatile forward after he earned his first Championship start at the City Ground last season, saying: “I felt it was the right time to give Michael a go – he is such a talented player and he can do anything in his career.

“I said to him after the game that I’d probably done him a disservice by not using him more before now. With younger players, I use that word – ‘trust’.

“I have to trust them to put them in the work – not trust them with the ball, because Michael is a massively talented player – but trust him to do the job out of possession.”

Valued at £4m via Transfermarkt, he’s already bagged four goals in 15 starts for the Royals, while he is averaging 1.4 shots, 1.7 key passes and 1.1 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, even the club’s long-term target and Watford winger Ismaila Sarr has mustered fewer than one key pass per game in the Championship, as per WhoScored.

Evidently, this sort of attacking threat would be most welcome in south London and to be able to sign an attacking midfielder who still has plenty of time to grow and develop as a player would be an extremely smart bit of business.

AND in other news, Parish masterclass: Crystal Palace struck gold by signing Eberechi Eze from Queens Park Rangers…

Plenty of Liverpool fans have been voicing their displeasure towards defender Joel Matip after reports suggest he could be ruled out until their clash against Manchester City next weekend.

According to The Times, the Cameroonian centre-back is set to miss the Reds’ Premier League game against West Ham United and their next Champions League clash away to Atalanta next Tuesday.

The report adds that he could be fit enough to face Manchester City the following Sunday, which means that Jurgen Klopp will have Joe Gomez as his only available senior centre-half in the meantime, with youngsters Rhys Williams, Billy Koumetio and Nat Phillips for cover.

Matip has consistently struggled to remain fit – fracturing his collarbone during the 2018/19 campaign and suffering a knee injury last season are two of seven different injuries that he has picked up at Anfield, missing a total of 60 games (TransferMarkt).

Alongside him in the treatment room, Virgil van Dijk has just had surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and Fabinho limped off clutching his hamstring during Liverpool’s victory over FC Midtjylland.

With this in mind, supporters have run out of patience with Matip and believe that he should be offloaded at the end of the season.

Fans have had enough of Matip

In other news, Jurgen Klopp overlooks 6 foot 2 asset for the second time in the space of a week.

West Ham United welcomed a few new faces to the London Stadium this summer, but some of the old guard will be keen to retain their place in David Moyes’ plans once the international transfer window has slammed shut.

The door still remains open for the Irons to forge a raid on Brentford for their star winger Said Benrahma until October 16 after a summer endlessly linked with the Algerian, who failed to land a move away from his Championship side before Monday’s 11pm deadline struck.

If David Gold and David Sullivan are not able to find the funds needed to sign the author of 17 goals and 10 assists last season, Moyes will be expected to persist with the same attacking line-up of Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals after a strong start to the season left the Hammers just a point outside of the Europa League places going into the international break.

But with new faces elsewhere in the West Ham ranks, here’s a line-up Hammers fans could see when their side return to action away to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on October 18…

Bowen, Antonio and Fornals all deserve a great deal of credit for the start to the season West Ham have managed, with all three contributing crucial goals and assists already.

Antonio opened his account for the Premier League campaign away to Arsenal on September 19 as the game edged toward half-time with the Gunners a goal to the good, and followed the strike in north London with the opener at Leicester City last Sunday with an excellent header.

Bowen also found the net at the King Power Stadium as the Irons beat Leicester on the road for only the second time since 2012, moving his tally for the season onto three after a key brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Fornals made it a perfect day at Leicester for West Ham’s front three when he fired home his first of the campaign with a composed finish following a fantastic touch, ensuring his place in Moyes’ plans will remain intact after the international break.

Having managed to retain Declan Rice amid interest from Chelsea this summer, Moyes will be glad to be able to name an unchanged pairing in the engine room of the England international and Tomas Soucek, having welcomed the Czech Republic international back to east London in a £19.1m deal in July following his half-season on loan.

Rice recorded 29 accurate passes with an 88% success rate, won two of his four ground duels and one tackle against Leicester while smashing the bar, per SofaScore, and Soucek accounted for seven successful aerial contests, five ground duels won, four tackles, four interceptions and four clearances with a mammoth display.

The West Ham backline could look very different to the one which ended the 2019/20 season when the Irons face Spurs later this month, with Moyes potentially able to name two signings in Vladimir Coufal and Ryan Manning.

Coufal completed a £5.4m deal to join the Hammers from Slavia Prague three days before the summer window slammed shut, and stood out as he made his Irons debut in the 3-0 win over Leicester with nine duels attempted, three clearances, interceptions and tackles, two attempted crosses and three long balls while taking 53 touches.

Manning, on the other hand, could yet be on his way to east London from west after reports linked the Queens Park Rangers full-back with a potential £5m deal on Deadline Day, offering Moyes a marauding defender with a keen eye for goal to replace Arthur Masuaku after 97 appearances in claret and blue.

Aaron Cresswell’s performances at centre-half should also ensure he retains his place alongside Angelo Ogbonna, who built a brick wall in front of Lukasz Fabianski’s net at the King Power Stadium that left the Poland international a mere passenger of a great result.

Issa Diop’s return to training following a positive test for coronavirus came too late for the Frenchman to make the travelling squad to face Leicester, but the 23-year-old’s efforts in the defeats by Newcastle United and Arsenal – with a 100% tackle success rate, seven clearances and three interceptions, per WhoScored – should see him return.

AND in other news, David Moyes’ transfer U-turn on a £115,000-per-week man looked a poor move with his recent display.

David Moyes is set to be in dreamland once the West Ham United boss recalls Issa Diop to the starting line-up following vivid praise for Fabian Balbuena from Irons icon Frank McAvennie.

What’s the word?

Moyes has been unable to call on Diop in recent weeks after he and the French centre-half both returned positive tests for coronavirus, which sidelined the 23-year-old in mid-September and forced him to miss Premier League meetings with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City.

Diop returned to the West Ham bench last time out against Tottenham Hotspur but did not feature in the dramatic 3-3 draw in north London, and is expected to once again miss out on a starting role in the Hammers’ clash with Manchester City this Saturday.

It is predicted that Moyes will name an unchanged XI from the side which drew at Spurs, with Balbuena joined by Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell at the back and summer signing Said Benrahma only featuring on the bench.

Moyes can take great confidence in his recently-utilised defence following their latest form, and McAvennie believes Balbuena is finally starting to display his potential thanks to the Scottish coach’s tactics and training.

“I have always liked him,” McAvennie told Football Insider. “I have known about him for a while and I knew how well the boy could play. On the top of his game, he is probably one of our best defenders.

“The fans are seeing it now and that is because he is getting worked on. David Moyes was a centre-half so there is no doubt in my mind that he is working with the defenders. They are getting worked every day in training.

“It is good and then benefits are there for all to see.”

But the benefits from Balbuena’s form will only continue on an upward trajectory once Diop has returned to the starting line-up, with the Paraguayan enjoying his best defensive partnership in east London with the Frenchman.

Moyes’ dream backline

Since Diop and Balbuena moved to the London Stadium in 2018, the pair have tackled 29 Premier League fixtures together in which West Ham have taken 13 wins, five draws and lost on 11 occasions.

Their win rate of 44.8% is vastly superior to the 34.7% that Diop shares with Ogbonna and eclipses the 42.8% that Balbuena and Ogbonna share – something Moyes will surely love to tap into once he feels ready to alter the names in his defence.

Balbuena is also currently recording the highest number of successful tackles per 90 minutes by one of West Ham’s defenders in the Premier League (2.0), along with their most interceptions (2.7), passes blocked (1.7) and accurate long balls (3.3), while Diop ranks first for shots blocked (1.5) and accurate short passes (42), per WhoScored.

The combination of Balbuena and Diop amid their form this season could prove to be a master plan for Moyes, who would be left in dreamland should the 23-year-old Frenchman also return to a level that saw West Ham demand £60million amid interest from Manchester United, FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.

Current Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has also previously sung the praises of what Diop can offer, having lauded the defender for dominating Paul Pogba in a 3-1 defeat to the Irons during his tenure at Manchester United.

“[Diop had a] fantastic match,” Mourinho told BT Sport, via quotes by the Evening Standard. “Congratulations to the scout that found a 21-year-old kid Diop – a monster who dominated in the duels.”

AND in other news, West Ham risk a Jack Wilshere 2.0 scenario by signing a once-£42.4m-valued outcast backed by a club legend.

أجريت قبل قليل رابطة الأندية المحترفة، قرعة بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز موسم 2021-2022، وذلك بحضور مندوبي الأندية والمكتب التنفيذي للرابطة.

وكانت رابطة الأندية قررت بعد مشاوراتها إقامة الدوري الممتاز في نسخته لموسم 2021-2022، بنظام الدوري المعتاد بمشاركة 18 ناديا من دورين بنظام الذهاب والإياب مع خوض كل فريق 34 أسبوعًا.

طالع.. عاجل | عودة الجماهير.. رابطة الأندية تعلن قرارين هامين قبل بدء الدوري المصري 2021-2022 ترتيب مباريات الدوري المصري موسم 2021-2022

ويواجه كل فريق وفق رقمه، منافسه صاحب الرقم الموضح على يمين الصورة، بترتيب مباريات الجدول  ترتيب مباريات الأهلي في دوري موسم 2021-2022

1- الأسبوع الأول: الاهلي والإسماعيلي

2- الأسبوع الثاني: الأهلي والبنك الأهلي

3- الأسبوع الثالث: الأهلي والزمالك

4- الأسبوع الرابع: الأهلي والمقاولون

5- الأسبوع الخامس: الأهلي والمحلة

6- الأسبوع السادس: الأهلي وسموحة 

7- الأسبوع السابع: الأهلي وفيوتشر

8- الأسبوع الثامن: الأهلي وبيراميدز

9- الأسبوع التاسع: الأهلي والجونة

10- الأسبوع العاشر: الأهلي وهويدي

11- الأسبوع الحادي عشر: الأهلي وفاركو

12- الأسبوع الثاني عشر: الأهلي والاتحاد 

13- الأسبوع الثالث عشر: الأهلي والمصري

14- الأسبوع الرابع عشر: الأهلي والشرقية للدخان

15- الأسبوع الخامس عشر: الأهلي وإنبي

16- الأسبوع السادس عشر: الأهلي وطلائع الجيش

17- الأسبوع السابع عشر: الأهلي وسيراميكا ترتيب مباريات الزمالك في دوري موسم 2021-2022

1- الأسبوع الأول: الزمالك وإنبي

2- الأسبوع الثاني: الزمالك وطلائع الجيش

3- الأسبوع الثالث: الزمالك والأهلي

4- الأسبوع الرابع:  الزمالك والإسماعيلي

5- الأسبوع الخامس: الزمالك والبنك الأهلي

6- الأسبوع السادس: الزمالك وسيراميكا

7- الأسبوع السابع: الزمالك والمقاولون

8- الأسبوع الثامن: الزمالك والمحلة

9- الأسبوع التاسع: الزمالك وسموحة

10- الأسبوع العاشر: الزمالك وفيوتشر

11- الأسبوع الحادي عشر: الزمالك وبيراميدز

12- الأسبوع الثاني عشر: الزمالك والجونة 

13- الأسبوع الثالث عشر: الزمالك وهويدي

14- الأسبوع الرابع عشر: الزمالك وفاركو

15- الأسبوع الخامس عشر: الزمالك والاتحاد

16- الأسبوع السادس عشر:  الزمالك والمصري

17- الأسبوع السابع عشر: الزمالك والشرقية للدخان

ومن المقرر أن تعلن رابطة الأندية عن مواعيد المباريات خلال الأيام القليلة المقبلة.

The relationship between Jose Mourinho and Tanguy Ndombele was always a highly controversial one. Of course, being Tottenham Hotspur’s biggest signing in the history of the club must carry a certain weight and the Frenchman has struggled to live up to the expectations.

His performances were not good enough to impress the Special One and despite the Portuguese manager vowing to fix the issue, it seems the situation has reached the breaking point.

According to the latest exclusive report from The Sun, Mourinho has decided to sell Ndombele in the ongoing summer transfer window as part of a major and quite shocking squad clean-up.

Apart from their £65m flop, Spurs are also looking to offload defenders Serge Aurier and Juan Foyth as the duo doesn’t seem to be in their coach’s plans for the future.

The 2020/21 Premier League campaign is just around the corner and while they have managed to seal some deals already, Spurs are still working hard to do more business before the window closes.

So far, we don’t know who the potential suitors for Ndombele might be but Inter Milan were mentioned as one of the interested parties. However, Daniel Levy can’t exactly expect to recoup all of his initial investment into the midfielder as the current market won’t allow that.

Besides, with only 12 Premier League starts since signing for former boss Mauricio Pochettino last summer and no appearances in any of the club’s three pre-season friendlies until this point, it’s fair to say that his value has definitely taken a hit as well.

Verdict

Ndombele was certainly among the top talents in Europe when he signed for Spurs just a season ago. What exactly went wrong, we don’t know, but the situation is definitely peculiar.

Either way, it seems that his stay at the club is slowly but surely coming to an end.

Manchester United are determined to sign Jadon Sancho this summer, via Manchester Evening News.

The Red Devils have been linked with the Borussia Dortmund star for a while now, stemming all the way back to Jose Mourinho’s turbulent time in charge of Old Trafford.

Sancho has reportedly told Dortmund that he wants to leave Germany and return to England, according to ESPN. However, while club legends like Rio Ferdinand and Louis Saha have all backed Ed Woodward to bring him home, there are a number of reasons why Man United shouldn’t sign Sancho in the summer.

Contrary to popular belief, the problems are not at the attacking end of the pitch, but rather lie at the back. United have shockingly conceded five more goals than Premier League newcomers Sheffield United and nine more than league leaders Liverpool.

Victor Lindelof has never looked particularly convincing next to Harry Maguire as the Swede has received a below-par WhoScored rating of 6.67 overall. Meanwhile, Eric Bailly has only played 282 minutes of competitive football this season after recovering from a career-threatening injury.

Furthermore, Nemanja Matic is the only specialist in the defensive midfield role, which is a cause for concern as the ageing veteran is surely entering the twilight of his career.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer currently has a wealth of attacking options at his disposal, including Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes, Odion Ighalo and Mason Greenwood, to name but a few.

Although some fans will argue that United are relatively low in the goalscoring charts, it is worth remembering that Rashford, who is the club’s top scorer this season, scored 14 goals in 22 Premier League games before succumbing to a back injury.

Any good manager will acknowledge that the defence is just as important as the attack and Solskjaer has key areas that he needs to urgently address, namely a new centre-back and defensive midfielder.

United will probably have to pay a club record fee for Sancho if they want to buy him in the upcoming window, as Dortmund are refusing to drop their valuation, which means the board will most likely have to pay more than £100m. Bearing this in mind, Woodward could buy both Wilfred Ndidi and Kalidou Koulibaly for far less instead, which may solve the issues at the back.

Can Ole get the best out of him? it is too early to say at the moment, as Solskjaer’s side are currently fifth in the table, three points away from Champions League qualification.

Moreover, the executive vice-chairman has previously warned that United’s summer spending may be limited due to the financial repercussions of the coronavirus crisis. It may be better to come back for Sancho in a year’s time when the volatile market will (hopefully) have stabilised.

As it stands, the Red Devils are seemingly no further forward and fans will have to wait and see what deals can be made in these unprecedented circumstances.

United fans, do you think the board should sign Jadon Sancho in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!

Brentford winger Said Benrahma could be set to join Chelsea this summer after a huge transfer hint was dropped by a close friend.

During a recent Instagram Live session, Moroccan footballer Fahd Moufi commented on Benrahma’s feed congratulating him on an apparent move to the London outfit (relayed via Sportsmole).

Chelsea are interested in signing the 24-year-old from the Championship side as they continue to bolster their squad ahead of next season (per Todofichajes, via TEAMtalk).

Moufi, who plays for Tondela in Portugal, wrote: ‘Congratulations on Chelsea my brother’ on Benrahma’s live feed, which hints that either a deal has been done or advanced talks are underway.

Frank Lampard has already welcomed attackers Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner to the club and could be adding another at Stamford Bridge.

The Algeria international has impressed for Brentford this season, scoring 14 goals and supplying nine assists for the Bees in the Championship (via Transfermarkt).

Chelsea look like they are going to be a very frightening team next campaign and aren’t messing around when it comes to challenging for silverware.

The addition of Benrahma could be an ideal signing to flesh out their attack. The left-winger plays in the same position as Christian Pulisic and would provide excellent cover for cup games or rotation in the Premier League.

Benrahma is also tallying similar numbers to Pulisic before he joined the Blues. The former Dortmund man racked up seven goals and six assists during his last season in Germany and caught the eye of the Chelsea board (via BBC Sport). Lampard is also impressed by the American’s form, so he will likely have the same attitude towards bringing Benrahma to Stamford Bridge.

A signing of the Algerian’s calibre who won’t cost the earth to secure (he is valued at just £9.45m by Transfermarkt) looks like an ideal move for the Blues, particularly as they seek to play in the Champions League next season and push to challenge for the Premier League title in 2020/21.

Should Chelsea sign Said Benrahma this summer? Join the conversation in the comments below!

Newcastle United’s imminent £300m takeover by a Saudi-backed consortium has brought with it plenty of stunning rumours and this week is no different.

Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has been long linked with the managerial job as the new owners’ ‘number one’ choice and fresh reports have claimed that the deal is already “closed” with the Argentine wanting to bring one of his former stars with him.

According to TodoFichajes, the unemployed tactician will make an attempt to snatch Tottenham talisman Harry Kane. It’s claimed that he sees this as their main objective.

The 26-year-old is rated at £108m by Transfermarkt and you’d imagine it would take a fee a lot bigger than that to clinch him given he’s Jose Mourinho’s only option in attack – and an elite one at that.

Kane was on track for a fruitful season before injury struck on New Years’ Day as he had amassed 17 goals and two assists from just 25 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

Spurs are set to be well behind the riches of the Magpies this summer after the Evening Standard claimed that they will only be operating the free transfer and swap deal market due to the financial consequences of this pandemic, and although it remains to be seen if they’d sell Kane to keep the playing squad ticking over, it isn’t completely out of the realms of possibility.

Best of the Decade: Top scorers & creators – Can you name them?

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As per Spotrac, the England skipper is on wages of £200k-per-week, which is nearly triple what United’s highest earner, Jonjo Shelvey, rakes in at just £70k-a-week.

However, these sorts of fees and pay packets are surely going to become the norm in the northeast with the Saudi state taking 80% ownership of the club once the all-clear is given from the Premier League.

AND in other news, Journalist claims Newcastle takeover will be done this week

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…

Sheffield Wednesday’s season has ticked like an erratic metronome, and it’s only going to get worse as the season closes in on the halfway stage.

The Owls ended a run of five games without a victory last weekend by defeating Charlton Athletic 3-1, meanwhile off the pitch, uncertainty grows and grows with chairman Dejphon Chansiri staring down the barrel of a potential ban from football.

During their barren run, Garry Monk persisted to the press that his side were rather ‘unlucky’ claiming that he wasn’t worried by their misfortune in front of goal.

If their performance last time out was a mark of exactly that then Wednesday are heading down the right path, but it as very much a game they were expected to pick up a result in given Lee Bowyer’s troubles with injuries.

“You want to be clinical, but I can’t pin that on anyone. We’ve been unlucky I think. The key is, if we keep performing like that and keep pushing that standard as we have been doing then we will win games and dominate games.”

– Garry Monk, 30th October.

The 40-year-old’s remarks appear to be rather accurate when delving into the latest expected goals (xG) table from Experimental361.

According to this model, the Owls are deserving of third place, where they would appear to be quite comfortable having lost just two of their 19 matches.

Experimental361 suggest that they should have lost four fewer games, adding a win and three draws to their record instead.

As of right now, Wednesday are sat ninth, two points outside the playoff zone, so it only goes to show just how accurate Monk’s comments were over a month ago.

So it turns out that the south Yorkshiremen have indeed been ‘unlucky,’ had they converted more chances then their outlook on this season would be far more positive.

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In other news, fans at Hillsborough have been raving about one of their first-choice stars after he clinched an award for his recent performances.