Ben Chilwell is injured once again and has been forced to sit out Chelsea's clash with Burnley after sustaining a knock on international duty.
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Former Tottenham star Dele Alli and influencer Cindy Kimberly have taken their relationship to another level by getting matching red ring tattoos.
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Arsenal are reportedly "working" on the option of signing a Premier League club's "underrated" star who Paul Merson is a big fan of.
The north Londoners suffered their first league defeat of the new season last Saturday, losing 1-0 to Newcastle in what was a controversial blow for manager Mikel Arteta. Arsenal's boss made no secret of his disdain for Newcastle's winning goal, which could've been ruled out for three separate offences in the build up. However, VAR allowed Anthony Gordon's strike to stand, and now Arteta must swiftly put that result behind him.
The Gunners also have January to consider soon as the winter window reopens in just under two months time, giving Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar an opportunity to strengthen their title challenge.
It's been widely reported that Arsenal want to sign a striker, leading to links with Brentford star Ivan Toney. An injury to Gabriel Jesus means Eddie Nketiah is Arsenal's only natural centre-forward option, and Arteta also reportedly wants a right-wing alternative to Bukayo Saka. Wolves winger Pedro Neto is a rumoured target for Arsenal to provide Saka some competition, while it's also been suggested that Arteta is eyeing a new central midfielder.
Supporters will be familiar with Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz, who Arsenal were plotting to sign in 2022 but ultimately failed.
The Brazilian, according to recent reports, is a name back on Arteta's radar. UOL and journalist Bruno Andrade have an update on the matter, claiming Luiz is an option Arsenal are "working" on signing. This comes as Fulham take pole position for Fluminese star Andre, another target for Arsenal, and they say the club have "have their eyes on another Brazilian" in Luiz as a result. Liverpool are also keen on the 25-year-old who has starred for Villa under Unai Emery this season.
The former Man City midfielder has been praised by Arsenal legend and Sky pundit Merson already this season, who called Luiz "one of the most underrated players" in England right now.
Merson isn't the only pundit to heap praise on Luiz, though, with former Villa defender Alan Hutton telling Football Insider that he could fetch Emery's side a marquee fee following an "outstanding" start to the season.
“I think at this moment in time, with some of the market valuations, it would have to be over £50million,” said Hutton on Luiz.
“He’s at a great age, he’s been outstanding. He could probably play for most teams in the Premier League, with Manchester City being the strongest one.
“I think he ticks all the boxes. I think we’re talking record fees here. Obviously, Jack Grealish’s the highest and he’s not going to reach that, but we’re talking record numbers here for a midfielder.
|
Douglas Luiz style of play |
|---|
|
Likes to shoot from distance |
|
Plays the long ball |
“Hopefully he doesn’t, he’s a massive part of what Villa do moving forward, but it would have to be a big number."
Liverpool are keen on making a move for an "incredible" attacking player, but other Premier League clubs are providing competition, a new report has revealed.
The January transfer window is fast approaching, at which point Jurgen Klopp could be keen to add to his squad, making it even more formidable for the second half of the season and beyond. Liverpool reportedly want to sign Fluminense midfielder Andre, with the Brazilian a player who continues to be in the headlines at the moment, and it does look increasingly as though the move could happen.
His current club will likely allow him to leave at the end of the year after he stayed on and helped them win the Copa Libertadores last weekend, and Anfield appears to be his most likely destination. Elsewhere, there is a chance that Klopp could also aim to strengthen other areas of the pitch, potentially bringing in a younger centre-back, with Sporting CP defender Goncalo Inacio linked with the Reds numerous times in recent months.
A new attacker also isn't out of the question, and with Mohamed Salah's Liverpool future possibly up in the air heading into next season, Juventus' Federico Chiesa keeps being tipped to move to Anfield in the near future. Now, a fresh transfer story has dropped, as the Reds eye up the signing of an in-form gem who could have a big future in the game.
According to a new report from Mucho Deporte [via Sport Witness], Liverpool are interested in snapping up Real Betis attacker Assane Diao, who has a €30m (£26m) release clause in his current deal, which his current club want to increase to €40m (£34.7m) in a new deal.
The Reds are not alone in expressing a willingness to acquire the 18-year-old's signature, however, with Newcastle United and Chelsea credited with interest, too. The report states that Diao has "dazzled" for Betis so far this season, and he is now seen as a "very attractive" proposition for other clubs.
Liverpool were linked with a move for Diao during the summer transfer window, so they have seen him as an exciting option for some time, and it seems clear that they still consider him a player who could be a long-term success story on Merseyside.
Klopp may have a wealth of attacking options at his disposal at the moment, but there will come a point when he needs to rebuild that area, and Diao could be someone who is a big part of that.
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Assane Diao key career appearances |
Total |
|---|---|
|
Real Betis |
10 |
|
Spain Under-21s |
2 |
|
Spain Under-19s |
4 |
|
Spain Under-18s |
2 |
Football talent scout Jacek Kulig has claimed that the young Spaniard is having an "incredible time" at the moment, with Diao's statistics showing that he has scored twice in six La Liga starts this season, making a real impact despite his tender years.
Predominantly a right-sided attacking player, it could even be that the Betis man is seen as the eventual successor to Salah on that flank, and while that would be massive shoes to fill, he is already showing the influence he can have in one of Europe's top leagues.
It was the Lionel Messi show Saturday, as the Argentine bagged an outrageous assist and a stupendous goal in an important league victory.
It was a night where Inter Miami needed three points desperately. Heading into the match, the morale was low after their embarrassing exit from the CONCACAF Champions Cup midweek, where Brandon Vazquez's CF Monterrey sent the Herons home from Mexico with their head down. They were winless in five-straight matches, and frankly, were looking a bit lost in direction.
On the road, in front of 70,000+ people at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, they did it – someway, somehow, though.
Lionel Messi's first start in MLS since March 2, he came out with fire in his eyes. A goal and an assist, he led the Herons to their first league victory in nearly a month. It wasn't a smooth ride by any means, but the job got done, with a few standout players leading the way.
In all-too-familiar fashion, though, the match started with a defensive blunder from Miami. A poor giveaway and an attempt to draw a foul failed the Herons just six minutes in, as Sporting KC's Erik Thommy capitalized on the moment, firing his team ahead early. Miami responded well though, and of course, it came through Messi. The Argentine delivered a sensational assist to David Ruiz in the 18th minute to bring them level, with the two teams then going into the break at a stalemate.
Messi then did it all on his own six minutes into the second half, firing a truly incredible effort into the back of the net from 23 yards out. What the Argentine did, though, Thommy replicated it Saturday. Sporting's German winger responded in the 58th minute with a splendid goal, firing a wicked volley into the back of the net off the post to bring SKC level.
The winner for the Herons arrived via Luis Suarez, who scored his sixth goal of the MLS season, with the Uruguayan poking home at the back-post after Diego Gomez won a contentious ball near the corner flag. The Paraguayan's low-driven cross found Miami's leading scorer, and he couldn't miss from that range.
On a night where the Herons defense was exploited not once, but twice, their superstars got them over the line. Messi, Suarez and Gomez singlehandedly earned Miami three points, in arguably their most important win this season to date.
It was a brilliant performance, but their defensive woes still haunt them. A late Jordi Alba injury will only make that matter worse, too, but… tonight? Tata Martino's squad can celebrate a hard-fought victory.
GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Arrowhead Stadium…
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Emiliano Martinez was shown a second yellow card against Lille during their penalty shootout against Lille but was not sent off.
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Manchester United have suffered a culmination of injuries this term and world-renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano has now issued a new update on one of the Red Devils' most recent concerns.
Erik ten Hag has endured a stop-start time of things so far this campaign. However, the Dutchman will protest that his lengthy injury list has definitely contributed to his side's patchy form. Manchester United are missing the likes of Casemiro, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Rasmus Hojlund, Lisandro Martinez, Amad Diallo and Tyrell Malacia among others as they attempt to fight on multiple fronts to bring success to Old Trafford.
Jadon Sancho is also a long-standing absentee in the North West due to his public spat with Ten Hag earlier this term, leaving the Red Devils light in the wide areas, though his omission has afforded additional opportunities to Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellestri to stake their claim for first-team action.
Nevertheless, despite United's improved form in the Premier League, injury issues continue to loom large at Old Trafford ahead of a tough run of fixtures that will start to take shape beyond the current international break.
Starting next weekend, Ten Hag's side will travel to face an aggrieved Everton at Goodison Park in their first match since being deducted ten points for breaching financial rules, in an affair that is likely to produce an extremely hostile atmosphere on Merseyside.
Following on from their trip to Goodison Park, the Red Devils will face Galatasaray in the Champions League away from home and then take on Newcastle United and Chelsea in quick succession, in a run that could make or break their aspirations in 2023/24.
Now, journalist Romano has given an important update involving one other key Manchester United player who has rcnrtly suffered an injury scare.
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana was taken off on international duty last Friday with Cameroon in a 3-0 victory over Mauritius due to suffering discomfort during proceedings, sparking fears that the 27-year-old could be out for an extended period.
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Andre Onana at Manchester United – all competitions (Transfermarkt) |
|
|
Appearances |
18 |
|
Goals conceded |
30 |
|
Clean sheets |
6 |
Now, Romano has taken to social media platform X to deliver an update on the former Inter Milan stopper's situation, as he stated to his followers:
"Understand initial indications on André Onana injury are optimistic. It’s a shoulder problem but doesn’t look like a serious one. Told Onana is expected to be fit for the upcoming games with Man United."
In news that will come as a relief to Manchester United fans, Onana, who was hailed "outstanding" by journalist Solace Chukwu earlier this year, now looks set to be available for a difficult period of upcoming fixtures for the Red Devils, preventing another major injury scare for Ten Hag to contend with.
Of course, some will feel Onana could have made a better start to life at Old Trafford; nevertheless, he will be able to hopefully prove his worth at Manchester United over the next few weeks.
Wolverhampton Wanderers were rock bottom of the Premier League heading into last year's World Cup break back in November but were rescued in the end by Julen Lopetegui, who arrived at Molineux having guided Sevilla to three consecutive top-four finishes in La Liga.
Lopetegui worked wonders with the Old Gold as his side climbed from 20th to 13th and finished seven points from safety. However, Wolves did end the campaign with the worst goal return in the league, having scored just 31 times in 38 games.
Nevertheless, despite this woeful record in front of goal, Lopetegui's last act as manager was to sell Wolves' top goalscorer in the Premier League era.
Raul Jimenez was one of Wolves' first major acquisitions after being promoted back to the Premier League in 2018. Having initially signed the Mexico international on a season-long loan, the Midlands club made the move permanent for a record fee of £30m, although Jimenez has since dropped down to being the fourth most-expensive player in Wolves' history.
The centre-forward quickly cemented himself as a legend at Molineux, scoring 57 goals and registering 24 assists in all competitions across five different seasons, although a nasty head collision during the 2020/21 campaign hampered his ability to add to this tally.
Regardless, Jimenez broke two club records by scoring more Premier League goals than anyone else for Wolves while also becoming the side's top-scorer in Premier League history, with 40 in total. Former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo described Jimenez as a "special player" during his stint in charge of the attacker.
Unfortunately, in his final season with Wolves, the 32-year-old scored only three goals in 20 matches but failed to find the net once in the league. In the end, the striker was sold to Fulham for £5.5m, which is just less than six times what the club signed him for four years ago.
After years of yoyoing between the Premier League and the Championship, Fulham had finally found stability, maintaining their top-flight status last term by finishing impressively in tenth place.
However, Marco Silva was dealt a massive blow during the summer when the club accepted a £43m bid from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for star striker Aleksandr Mitrovic, who managed a 111-goal haul in his six seasons at Craven Cottage. While Jimenez may have initially been signed as a backup, he was quickly handed the number one spot up top due to Mitrovic's departure.
So far, the move has been disastrous. After the previous campaign's top-ten finish, the Cottagers are sitting 15th, seven points off the relegation places. Fulham are currently the joint-second-lowest goalscorers in the Premier League too, having converted merely 10 chances in 12 matches.
A late consolation goal in a 3-1 away defeat at Aston Villa prior to the November international break was Jimenez's only strike of the season so far since moving to London.
In fact, Lopetegui's decision to offload the Mexican has proven to be the correct one as Hwang Hee-chan has outscored Jimenez this season, having stepped up to become Wolves' first-choice number '9' in his absence. Hwang is Wolves' most potent player this term and has outperformed Fulham's summer signing in a number of key attacking metrics.
|
Per 90 Metrics |
Raul Jimenez |
Hwang Hee-chan |
|---|---|---|
|
Goals |
0.13 |
0.70 |
|
Expected Goals |
0.23 |
0.31 |
|
Shots |
1.97 |
2.09 |
|
Shots On Target |
0.79 |
0.70 |
|
Shots Per Goal |
0.07 |
0.03 |
|
Stats via FBref. |
||
Jimenez's goalscoring statistics had been declining for the past two seasons so it was a wise decision to pass the torch to Hwang and recuperate some of the former's transfer fee by selling an ageing and declining striker to a Premier League rival.
The 2023-24 D1 Arkema Player of the Season award goes to PSG forward Tabitha Chawinga, beating Lyon midfielder Lindsey Horan to the prize.
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Liverpool defeated LASK 4-0 in the Europa League on Thursday night to win Group E with a game to spare, having blown the Austrian side away with offensive supremacy, albeit squandering several chances.
The Reds were by no means at their best, but Jurgen Klopp will be delighted with the killer instinct that has been so intrinsic to the squad's success both this season and for the lion's share of the German's illustrious reign.
Gakpo distracted from just how good 8/10 Liverpool star was vs LASK
Despite losing possession 22 times, Jurgen Klopp’s exciting star proved his worth once again.
By
Angus Sinclair
Dec 1, 2023
The Anfield victory also marked the 30 successive match that Liverpool have found the back of the net – a feat achieved only twice before in the club's history – in what is a flamboyant illustration of the title-winning credentials; Liverpool are firmly in contention to win silverware across every front at this stage of the campaign.
Focus shifts back to the Premier League now, with Klopp's side hosting Fulham on Sunday, with the Merseyside players undoubtedly galvanised by yet another impressive display from Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian sensation has been the fulcrum of Liverpool's attacking efforts for some time, and once again he influenced the play as the Reds probed for goals last night.
Scoring a second-half penalty to take his club tally up to 199 from just 324 matches, he has now posted 13 goals and five assists from 19 matches across all competitions this season.
As per Sofacore, the 31-year-old took five shots across his 56 minutes on the pitch, took 41 touches and completed 86% of his passes. It was not one of his finest in a Liverpool shirt but highlighted his superlative offensive threat and unceasing hunger for goals.
Klopp knows all about Salah's brilliance, and while his display was pleasing, the excellent effort of Luis Diaz on the alternate flank was far more important for the Reds going forward.
Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota were absent from the squad in the Europa League, with the pair picking up injuries against Manchester City last week.
Alisson is understood to be sidelined for two weeks, but Jota's timeframe has not been established and has sparked fears that he will be shackled to the medical room for the winter period.
Jota has been in prolific form this season and has already scored eight times from just 11 starts across all competitions, primarily utilised on the left flank, and while his loss is a blow, Diaz has proved that he can make Klopp and the Liverpool supporters forget about the 26-year-old's absence.
Scoring a delightful goal against LASK, starting the move before incisively placing a header into the net following a darting motion into the box, the Colombian has now plundered five goals from 11 matches.
The 45-cap international has been heralded as a "livewire" by journalist Pete Hall and ranks among the top 8% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 9% for pass completion and the top 17% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
With one eye on Sunday's fixture, Klopp withdrew the £55k-per-week star alongside Salah before the hour mark, but he left his impression on the visitors, complementing his goal with a 92% pass completion rate, success with both of his dribbles, a key pass and by winning three of his four ground duels.
GOAL provided Diaz with an impressive 8/10 match rating, writing: 'Continued his impressive recent form with an energetic and effective performance. Took his goal with aplomb and was a constant threat. The winger has been in remarkable form considering what he has been through in recent weeks and that may be needed with Diogo Jota's injury.'
Jota will be missed throughout the rigorous December period, but with Diaz performing at such a high level and Cody Gakpo – who scored twice against LASK – firing themselves into form, Liverpool could maintain their first-class form.