Over the last couple of years, Everton have conducted excellent business in the transfer market, turning their attention to younger talents and allowing them to develop at Goodison Park.

James Garner and Jarrad Branthwaite have both arrived on Merseyside in recent seasons, making huge impacts on the club's first-team – including in the 2-0 victory over Merseyside rivals Liverpool on Wednesday night.

The latter only joined the Toffees from Carlisle United for a reported £1m back in 2020, with the youngster having to bide his time before making an impact under Sean Dyche.

However, this season he's started 31 times in the Premier League, with his performances attracting interest from fellow Premier League side Manchester United, who are rumoured to be targeting a big-money move for the 21-year-old this summer.

Despite the excellent incoming in recent seasons, the club have also conducted fantastic business in offloading multiple players who weren't up to the level required of the Premier League, including one former Toffee whose market value has plummeted.

Nikola Vlasic's stats at Everton

After joining the club in an £8m deal from Croatian side Hadjuk Split, midfielder Nikola Vlasic arrived at Goodison with high expectations following three goals in six appearances at the start of the 2017/18 season.

However, he struggled to make any meaningful impact, failing to score or assist in any of his 12 Premier League outings and only featuring for a total of 574 minutes.

Despite his poor form in the league, Vlasic impressed in the Europa League under boss Ronald Koeman, grabbing himself two goals and an assist in his six European appearances for the Toffees.

His impressive record in Europe wouldn't be enough for the Croatian to secure a regular place at Goodison, however, departing the club on a season-long loan to join Russian side CSKA Moscow for the 2018/19 campaign.

Vlasic's stats at Everton in 2017/18

Competition

Games

Goals

Assists

Premier League

12

0

0

Europa League

6

2

1

EFL Cup

1

0

0

Stats via Transfermarkt

The move would see the midfielder recapture his excellent form, achieving 15 goal contributions in his 31 appearances for the club in all competitions.

After taking Russia by storm, CSKA decided to permanently buy Vlasic, departing Merseyside less than two years after arriving – but making the club a tidy profit of £6m, as the Toffees managed to secure a £14m fee for the former Hadjuk Split talent.

Nikola Vlasic's market value in 2024

Nearly five years on from his Everton departure and Vlasic has struggled to recapture his form in multiple leagues across Europe, returning to the Premier League to feature for West Ham United, before making a move to Italy in 2022.

His time at Torino has been a struggle, only managing 18 goal contributions in 70 games for the Serie A outfit, with his market value plunging as a result.

The Croatian is now only valued at £10m, as per Transfermarkt – a figure that is £2m less than current Everton youngster Nathan Patterson, who boasts a value of £12m, despite enduring a bit-part role this season after starting just nine league games.

Given Vlasic's recent form and drop in value, the club made the perfect decision to sell the now 26-year-old, with the club making a decent profit on a player who has undoubtedly failed to live up to his potential.

His time in Italy is further evidence that he simply isn't able to produce his quality on a consistent basis in any of Europe's top five leagues, with his £14m deal allowing the club to invest in the likes of Garner and Branthwaite in recent seasons.

Related Everton's 9/10 ace is now as undroppable as Tarkowski after Liverpool

He produced a brilliant display during the Merseyside derby.

Posts ByEthan Lamb Apr 25, 2024

MatériaMais Notícias

As condições dos gramados da Copa América voltaram a ser pauta nesta segunda-feira. Após as reclamações de Lionel Messi e Neymar acerca do Nilton Santos, o camisa 10 da Seleção Brasileira usou suas redes sociais para brincar a respeito do próximo jogo do time de Tite.

+ Veja a tabela e os jogos da Copa América

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Nesta segunda-feira, em seu Instagram, Neymar colocou a foto de um campo de terra e a foto do Estádio de Wembley, em Londres, que está recebendo jogos da Eurocopa, com o gramado em perfeitas condições. Na imagem, o atleta do PSG ainda perguntou “onde será o próximo jogo da Seleção?”

Apesar de ainda não saber quem enfrentará nas quartas de final, o Brasil já sabe onde será o confronto com Uruguai ou Chile – a definição acontece na noite desta segunda (28). No domingo, a Conmebol confirmou que o duelo, marcado para a próxima sexta-feira, será mais uma vez disputado no Estádio Nilton Santos, no Rio de Janeiro.

+Confira os maiores artilheiros de seleções de todos os tempos

Além das críticas de jogadores, o técnico Tite também detonou as condições do estádio do Botafogo. Após a vitória sobre a Colômbia, o comandante da Seleção Brasileira disse que a “bola ficava picotada”.

-Temos que entender o jogo dentro de um contexto. Um campo que não vou chamar de horrível, mas muito ruim pra se jogar futebol, prejudica todo o espetáculo. Quem quer criar não consegue. Foi muito rápido o tempo de fazer isso e não dá. É inadmissível de duas equipes de alto nível, que jogam na Europa com tamanha qualidade de gramado e espetáculo maior, virem jogar num campo nessas condições.

– A bola fica picotada, nervosa. A fluência das jogadas fica toda prejudicada. Em vez de dar um tempo, dá dois, três. Se pegar todo os atletas do Brasil, vão falar quase que a mesma coisa. Se a gente quer um grande espetáculo, temos que dar as condições. Ficou muito prejudicado. É um dos aspectos que quero deixar bem marcados – disse Tite.

Outro estádio que vem sendo criticado há algum tempo pelas condições do gramado é o Maracanã, que receberá a decisão da Copa América. Administrado por Flamengo e Fluminense, o estádio está fechado para a troca da grama visando a final, que será disputada no dia 10 de julho.

The Premier League title might still be out of their hands, but Arsenal put in a performance to be proud of on Sunday afternoon as they ran out 3-2 winners away to Tottenham Hotspur.

Mikel Arteta's men, seemingly intent on giving their fans heart attacks, came dangerously close to letting their three-goal lead slip in the second half, but a steely backs-to-the-wall performance saw them through. While things looked a little ropey in the end, their team deserves all the praise they are getting, especially Kai Havertz.

The German, once mocked by rival fans, is now one of the Gunners' most dangerous stars, and he showed that again on Sunday, putting in a performance that could spell trouble for another Arsenal ace.

Kai Havertz's performance vs Tottenham Hotspur

The yardstick often used to gauge how successful big-money signings are is how they perform in the biggest games, and after a week in which Havertz scored two goals against Chelsea and scored and assisted against Tottenham, it would be hard to describe his summer move as anything other than a success.

There is no more sure way of winning over the fans than putting in big performances against rivals, and it feels as if the former Bayer Leverkusen star has now firmly established himself as a fan favourite among the Arsenal faithful.

His display on Sunday impressed more than just his travelling support, though, as the Standard's Simon Collings gave the 24-year-old a 9/10 on the day, writing that he put in 'one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt', an opinion that's hard to disagree with.

Minutes

96'

Goals

1

Assists

1

Shots on Target

1

Touches

46

Key Passes

2

Big Chances Created

1

Aerial Duels (Won)

10 (8)

Fouls Won

2

Clearances

4

Tackles

1

That said, if anyone needed any more convincing, they'd just have to take a look at the striker's numbers from the game. In his 96 minutes of action, the Aachen-born ace scored one goal, provided one assist, took 46 touches, made two key passes, created one big chance, eight out of ten aerial duels, won two fouls and made one tackle.

In all, it was a genuinely impressive showing from a player who had, up until this week, split opinion, and while he's likely cemented his place in the starting lineup for the season's remaining games, his brilliant form might just have signalled the beginning of the end for one of his teammates.

Havertz's excellent form is bad news for Gabriel Jesus

Yes, while Leandro Trossard was comfortably Arsenal's worst attacker on the day – picking up a 4/10 from Football FanCast for his efforts – the player who could be at risk of losing his spot in the team thanks to Havertz's form is Gabriel Jesus.

Now, the former Manchester City ace is an incredibly talented player and one who should be playing for a Champions League side – his record of 32 goals in 46 games in the competition is evidence enough of that – but his time as an Arsenal player may well be coming to a close, at least if the Gunners bring in another quality number nine in the summer, that is.

The North Londoners have been linked to a plethora of frontmen already this year, such as Ivan Toney, Viktor Gyokeres, Joshua Zirkzee, and Victor Osimhen. If they do bring any of them through the door in the summer, it seems incredibly unlikely that they would also keep both Jesus and Havertz.

So, with that in mind, how do the pair stack up with one another? Well, when it comes to pure output, it's the recent arrival who comes out ahead, with 13 goals and six assists in 48 appearances – 32 of which were in midfield – to the Brazilian's eight goals and seven assists in 33 appearances.

Non-Penalty Goals + Assists

0.51

0.61

Non-Penalty Goals

0.42

0.25

Assists

0.23

0.25

Progressive Carries

1.79

2.24

Progressive Passes

3.65

2.48

Goals per Shot on Target

0.46

0.21

Passing Accuracy

81.1%

78.4%

Shot-Creating Actions

3.43

3.47

Goal-Creating Actions

0.72

0.43

Miscontrols

1.83

3.66

Dispossessed

1.22

2.24

Ball Recoveries

4.22

3.48

Aerial Duels Won

3.35

0.93

What about their underlying numbers, then? Does the São Paulo-born ace come out on top there? Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, while he comes out better in certain metrics such as non-penalty expected goals and assists, progressive carries and assists all per 90, he is once again second-best overall, per FBref.

For example, while the "magnificent" German, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, registers a lower non-penalty expected goal and assists figure, he scores more often, produces more progressive passes, has a far better goal-to-shots-on-target ratio, maintains a better passing accuracy, produces more goal-creating actions, recovers more balls and wins far more aerial duels, all per 90.

Ultimately, while Jesus is an undeniably gifted forward, if Arsenal can get anywhere near his €80m – £68m – valuation from the CIES Football Observatory this summer, they should consider selling him as if another striker is signed, it seems unlikely that he would be able to displace them and Havertz as well.

Arteta could instantly drop Arsenal ace who won just 1/10 duels v Spurs

It wasn’t the best day at the office for the experienced international.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 29, 2024

يخوض فريق ليفربول، بقيادة المدرب آرني سلوت، مباراة يوم الأحد في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز وذلك ضد خصمه ساوثهامبتون.

ويستضيف ملعب “سانت ماري” مباراة الفريقين في الجولة الثانية عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2024/25.

طالع.. تشكيل ليفربول الرسمي أمام ساوثهامبتون في الدوري الإنجليزي.. موقف محمد صلاح

ويمتلك ليفربول 28 نقطة في المركز الأول في جدول الدوري الإنجليزي، بينما يحتل ساوثهامبتون المركز العشرين والأخير برصيد 4 نقاط فقط. تشكيل ليفربول المتوقع أمام ساوثهامبتون اليوم في الدوري الإنجليزي

حراسة المرمى: كيليهر.

خط الدفاع: برادلي، كوناتي، فان دايك، روبرتسون.

خط الوسط: ماك أليستر، جرافنبرخ.

خط الوسط الهجومي: محمد صلاح، كورتيس جونز، جاكبو.

خط الهجوم: داروين نونيز.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنــــا.

Juventus Women earned a 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich in their penultimate pre-season friendly, with Alisha Lehmann featuring off the bench.

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• Juventus draw 0-0 with Bayern Munich
• Lehmann came off bench in second half
• Lionesses star Stanway kept quiet

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Juventus Women travelled to Germany for their penultimate pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich. The match finished 0-0, with left-back Lisa Boattin claiming after the match that Juve are "on the right track" ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, their first under new head coach Massimiliano Canzi.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Canzi's side entered the game off the back of their success in The Women's Cup in the United States. Facing stern opposition in the form of Bayern, winners of last season's Bundesliga, the Bianconere were praised for producing a "good performance" against Lionesses star Georgia Stanway and Co. Canzi changed his entire XI in the second half, with Lehmann coming on for the final half hour as she continues to settle in following her move from Aston Villa earlier in the summer.

• WHAT LISA BOATTIN SAID

  After the match, Boattin said: "This game was a real demonstration of how we’ve been working this summer. We’ve been training well, a good side is forming here and, as a result, a really good group. We’re happy with the draw because it shows we can go toe to toe with Bayern Munich, who are a very strong team. We’re on the right track and looking forward to the start of the season, to play important matches where points are at stake.

  "We, of course, want to start on the right foot, and now we have one more friendly before we play away at Sassuolo to start the season. We will look to make the most of the game against Freedom to be ready for the first competitive game of the season."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR JUVENTUS?

  Juventus will take on Freedom FC in their final pre-season outing before kicking off the new Serie A season with a trip to Sassuolo on September 1.

Two months ago, New Zealand left Sydney chastened by their 3-0 Test defeat after having gone across with high expectations only to suffer injury, illness and drubbings. Now they are back for this awkwardly-placed late-season ODI series and another chance to improve on a poor record when crossing the Tasman.It has generally not been a pretty picture when New Zealand have gone to Australia. Before the recent Test series, there was an ODI thrashing in 2016 (along with a one-off T20I) which followed a 2-0 Test loss in 2015 and the heavy World Cup final defeat earlier that year. Their last victory in any format in Australia was the 2011 Test win in Hobart.They have never won an ODI series, although they came close in the 2008-09 Chappell-Hadlee Series, when it was shared 2-2 after rained prevented a result in the decider at the Gabba with New Zealand pushing for a win. One of their most impressive runs against the home side came in the 2001-02 tri-series when they dominated Australia in the group matches before falling to South Africa in the finals.ALSO READ: Middle-order make-up among Australia’s key questionsSo there has, barring the occasional success, been a severe block for New Zealand visiting Australia regardless of how strong their side has been on paper. And this current ODI squad is very good; they have recently beaten India and the majority of the players were at the World Cup last year (when they also lost to Australia). Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, who both suffered injuries during the Test series, are back while Kyle Jamieson will be looking to build on his impressive start against India.”We had a pretty good series against India, Test matches and one-dayers, so coming in here the guys seem in good form and excited,” Martin Guptill said. “It’s not often we get to play in Australia in one-day cricket.” For New Zealand, it would seem like a decent time to try and win their first ODI series in Australia and retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy they have held since 2017 when the teams last played a bilateral series. The trophy was up for grabs at the 2017 Champions Trophy but the match was abandoned and it was decided not to compete for it at last year’s World Cup.”I think it’s irrelevant who they put on the park, they always present a very good challenge,” David Warner said. “In one-day cricket and T20 they are very disciplined in what they do, led by a world-class player and gentleman in Kane (Williamson). He knows a lot of our players inside out, I’m sure they’ll bowl to their specific plans and when with the bat they’ll know what to do.”The revival of Australia’s ODI form has hit the buffers with five defeats in a row following their ten-wicket win against India in Mumbai. While it is the middle-order that is coming in for most of the debate, Warner believes it is down to one of the top four to make sure they bat through the innings.”The only thing I can put it down to is the top four not scoring the bulk of the runs,” Warner said. “You can’t do it all the time but at least one of us has to go on and be there at the end. It is disappointing but at the end of the day we’ve got to keep trying to get better at that, try to find a balance with our batting through the middle as well.”Matthew Wade, who did not get a game in South Africa as he continues to wait for his first ODI since 2017, said Australia could take a leaf out of their book with the way a new-look batting order went about their work.”[South Africa] had a lot of guys out and quite an inexperienced team and they did the basics a lot better than we did. They had guys get hundreds and bat the whole way through. We’ve got to strip it back and make sure we’re doing the basics really, really well in this series. New Zealand are a very disciplined cricket team and we know they will do it well.”We’ve got to make sure one of the top four really bats through and makes a big hundred and in Australia we back our power towards the end on pretty true wickets. It’ll be nice to see if one of the top order can go through and bat the whole innings, that would be very helpful.”There is the extra motivation for Australia in trying to go through the home summer unbeaten. They won five of the six T20Is against Sri Lanka and Pakistan (and would have won the other in Sydney but for rain), then swept the Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand 5-0. Life on the road over the last few weeks has been tougher, but these two games in Sydney followed by the final match in Hobart next week stand between them and a first unbeaten summer since 2009-10.”We always want to win on home soil no matter how well we’ve been going,” Warner said. “The priority is to win every game at home, there’s no excuses, you have a lot of stuff in your favour.”

The challenge of opening, keeping and captaining is one that few players have managed successfullly

Firdose Moonda10-Mar-2020

Quinton de Kock looks on•Getty Images

Quinton de Kock is a man of few words and he had just one when he was appointed South Africa’s permanent white-ball captain and asked if he would consider giving up the wicketkeeping gloves to accommodate the extra responsibility:”No.”It was one of the few times de Kock has been adamant, even aggressive, when answering questions. He usually mumbles and stumbles his way through in that charmingly naive way that people who don’t like to speak in public have when they are forced to. But on the issue of the triple-task of leading the team, opening the batting and keeping wicket, de Kock was unequivocal that he wanted to do it all.It’s a job only three other players have done for more than 10 matches across all formats and one that, if it goes well, could see him involved in every ball of every match. Rather than express concerns about overload, de Kock said it was essential that he does it that way because he regarded glovework as “the one thing that helps me with my captaincy and my batting”. And the early evidence suggests he is not wrong.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In 16 matches in his new super-role, de Kock has a marginally higher-batting average than in the 194 in which he has not been a three-in-one. He has scored a century and seven fifties, has caught everything that has come his way and though he led South Africa to three series defeats, he also oversaw an ODI clean-sweep over Australia – no mean feat in their toughest summer since readmission.But is it sustainable? Andy Flower, who did the same job 13 times between 1993 and 1996, tells ESPNcricinfo that it could be, if it’s cleverly done. “It’s hard work. It’s quite a load which doesn’t mean it’s not doable, but you have to be smart about the way you expend your energy,” Flower said. “One of the key strategies will be how he recovers, rests and re-energises.”Player workload is a much-talked-about subject for all professional cricketers and rotation policies are commonplace in national squads. The trouble is that it’s difficult to rest someone who wears as many hats as de Kock, especially as South Africa are still working on their combinations and could do with the certainty of having three roles taken care of. “You don’t want anything to give,” Flower said. “A player of Quinton de Kock’s quality gives your incredible flexibility on selection. He is a genuine allrounder and allows you to balance your side easily.”Beuran Hendricks and Quinton de Kock celebrate the end of Jason Roy’s knock•Getty Images

Some of the pressure can be taken off him through a strong core of senior players, something South Africa barely have but are trying to hang onto. That’s one of the reasons Faf du Plessis has travelled with the ODI squad to India. “For any captain, his lieutenants are important, not any more necessarily for a keeping captain.” Flower said. “But for any captain to have a core nucleus of influential players is important.”South Africa are also in the process of building that so, for now, de Kock is the fulcrum around which everything turns. He is likely to continue captaining, keeping and opening the batting for the foreseeable future and Flower has some advice: while captaining and keeping wicket go hand-in-hand, captaining and batting may not.”The physical positioning of being behind the stumps is a wonderful place to assess the game from; it’s the prime place,” Flower said. “From there, you can see if its swinging, reverse-swinging, read the pitch and the bounce. It’s about the skill of compartmentalising after that. It’s about being able to take off the captaincy hat and put on the batting helmet and shifting from leader to batsman. If he can keep his thoughts as simple as that, and be disciplined in making that switch, he will fine.”And yet despite this, if any aspect of the triple role is likely to suffer, it will probably be de Kock’s glovework, as Flower himself experienced when his concentration on the specific role wavered. You don’t want to make any mistakes and I didn’t feel like I could dedicate enough time to it in training and on the field,” Flower said. “Because of the flow of the game, that really close focus on expecting every ball to come your way and taking every sharp chance, can be lost sometimes. Any mistake you make is highlighted and you feel like you are letting everyone down. Maybe it’s a little easier in a fifty-over game.”ALSO READ: South Africa should do “anything” to get de Villiers back for T20 World Cup – RhodesFlower captained and kept wicket for 16 Tests (albeit he didn’t open), averaging a creditable 49.28 with three hundreds. However he gave up the gloves when Tatenda Taibu broke onto the scene and he was only too happy to do so. “It was so much easier to be lolling about on the outfield and I had so much more time and energy,” he remembered.That’s not advice de Kock will want to hear but it’s something for South Africa’s management to keep in mind. Luckily, they have two other wicketkeeper-batsmen in the current squad who could step up if needed. Heinrich Klaasen, who was the leading run-scorer against Australia, is one option while Kyle Verreynne, who impressed in his debut series with scores of 48 and 50 in two of the three games and stunning outfield work, is another. Both of them are relatively new to the international scene and need time to find their feet and secure a spot before any of talk of them taking over from de Kock can be entertained.Meanwhile de Kock has to keep trying to turn South Africa’s fortunes around, after their worst summer since readmission and as they build for major white-ball tournaments. There’s three in the next three years with back-to-back T20 World Cups and the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and the new management staff were appointed with that as their end-goal. South Africa’s obsession with winning a World Cup will only end when (if) they finally succeed, and until then, they will have to deal with every criticism, from team composition to mental fortitude. That will be de Kock’s biggest test of all.”He is very physically talented and looks fit, and he is a beautiful batsman to watch,” Flower said. “But it will also be about how he deals with criticism about himself, and how he deals with that emotionally on behalf of the team.”

Since being taken over in 2008, many things have changed about Manchester City. They are completely unrecognisable on and off the pitch, are now considered one of, if not the best team in world football, and have a superb footballing structure off the pitch.

Not only have their owners invested in the first team, but they have also put money into the community to help develop a better area around the Etihad Stadium, and they have put £200m into the City Football Academy, which is opposite the Etihad, as of May 2021.

City’s investment into their academy has begun to pay dividends in recent years. Whilst they often bring talent in from elsewhere, such as Romeo Lavia, who they signed in 2020 from Anderlecht before selling him to Southampton in 2022, for £10.5m, they have seen homegrown success, players who cost them nothing and could result in profit or a first-team place.

Cole Palmer came through the City academy, and broke into the first-team before being sold to Chelsea last summer for £40m, where he now has 25 Premier League goal involvements in 26 games. Rico Lewis made his debut in 2022, where he scored, and is now an important squad member under Pep Guardiola.

However, there is one academy graduate whose first-team career so far for City has been wonderful, and he is now recognised as one of the most valuable players in world football.

Phil Foden's Man City career in numbers

The player in question is Phil Foden, who was signed by City at the age of eight and has risen through their academy ranks, eventually becoming one of the most important players for Pep Guardiola’s side

Foden’s time at City has been exceptional so far. He has already won 16 major trophies at just 23 years of age, which includes five Premier League titles and a Champions League which was one-third of a historic treble in 2022/23.

He has already made 262 appearances for the Citizens and has 82 goals and 51 assists to his name so far. The attacker had a rapid rise into City’s first team and has thrived under the tutelage of Guardiola since he was given his debut in November 2017. He has never looked back.

Phil Foden's transfer value in 2024

According to CIES Football Observatory, there are only two players currently more valuable than Phil Foden in world football, namely Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham. The England star is valued at £171m, the same as international teammate Bukayo Saka, and Real Madrid duo Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior. He's also valued far higher than the likes of Rodri (£86m) and Bernardo Silva (£51m).

Most valuable players in World football
Player	Transfer value
#1 Erling Haaland	£214m
#2 Jude Bellingham	£214m
#3 Rodrygo	£171m
#4 Vinicius Jr	£171m
#5 Phil Foden	£171m
#6 Bukayo Saka	£171m
Data taken from Football Observatory.

This is certainly reflected in Foden’s exemplary 2023/24 season so far. The 23-year-old has arguably been the best player in the Premier League this season.

He currently has 14 goals and seven assists in the top flight, with 22 goals and ten assists in all competitions. The latest of which was a simply scorching strike in the Bernabeu as City drew 3-3 with Real Madrid.

For context, only Erling Haaland has more goal involvements for City this season than Foden’s 32, with the Norway striker currently sitting on 36 in total.

Described by his England teammate Declan Rice as “very very special” back in 2021, it is clear why Foden is so highly rated and valued. Credit must be given to his manager Guardiola, who has given him a new role in central areas of the pitch this season, which is clearly working for his side and for the player.

It is somewhere that Foden himself has admitted to preferring to play. In an interview with Sky Sports following his hat-trick away to Brentford in February, the 23-year-old said “I'm enjoying playing in the middle and that's where I see myself. Hopefully I can get more game time playing there."

Playing centrally allows Foden to get on the ball much more between the lines, and he can have more of an impact in the final third. This season, he averages 2.23 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, placing him in the top 16% of positionally similar players in Europe, as per Fbref, which shows how much more control he can have on the game in central areas.

It is perhaps unsurprising to Guardiola that Foden is playing as well as he is this season. The former Barcelona manager has previously described him as “the most, most, most talented player I have ever seen in my career as a manager”. That is high praise given that Guardiola managed Lionel Messi in his prime.

If Foden continues this upward trajectory, he could become one of the greatest English players of all time. He does not seem to be slowing down any time soon, and there is likely a decade or more left of his career. It certainly feels like we are witnessing the career of one of the all-time great Premier League footballers.

Josh Sargent opened the scoring for Norwich City in their clash with Sheffield United in the English Championship Saturday.

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Josh Sargent opens scoring with low-driven effortAmerican's second of seasonNorwich aiming to end slow start of season.WHAT HAPPENED?

Josh Sargent scored his second goal in two Championship matches to help give Norwich an 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.

Breaking through the defense on a solo run, the striker knocked home the ball into the bottom corner of the net off his right boot. Sargent now has three goal contributions in his last two games.

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Sargent had a career year for Norwich in 2023-24, scoring 16 goals and notching two assists in 30 appearances for the Canaries across all competitions.

Over the summer, he participated at Copa America 2024 with the USMNT, but was limited to a role off the bench. He played just 22 minutes in two of their three matches.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR NORWICH AND SARGENT?

The Canaries take the pitch again on Tuesday against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup. They'll take on the Premier League side as they look to advance in the tournament.