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Norway manager Stale Solbakken gave a pessimistic view on Martin Odegaard's fitness as the Arsenal captain continues his recovery from injury.

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Odegaard injured on Norway dutyStill unavailable for selectionSolbakken gives update on midfielderFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Odegaard suffered an ankle ligament injury in the second half of Norway's win against Austria on September 9 and has since been unavailable for the Gunners. The midfielder said he was "scared" about the severity of the issue and it is not known how long he will be out for.

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The 25-year-old was unavailable for the Norway squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Slovenia and Austria, and Solbakken admits he had long known that he would not be able to call on Odegaard.

WHAT SOLBAKKEN SAID

"Far. He is far from being in the squad," he said at a press conference when asked about Odegaard. "We will see how far he gets during this national team break. I have known for quite some time that he was not relevant for this gathering."

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR ODEGAARD?

The Gunners star will continue his rehabilitation while his national team-mates compete in the Nations League. First, though, Arsenal will meet Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Arsenal have held talks with a Paris-Saint Germain and Atletico Madrid target, who also personally spoke with manager Mikel Arteta last year.

The midfielders targeted by Arsenal this summer

The north Londoners are seeking a potential replacement for Thomas Partey, with the Ghanaian widely expected to depart once the transfer window reopens on June 14.

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Arsenal are open to selling Partey amid interest from abroad, with the midfielder entering the final 12 months of his contract at Hale End and coming off the back of an injury-riddled season – where he mustered just 14 Premier League appearances.

Sporting director Edu Gaspar, who recently admitted he's been working on summer transfers since January (Estadao via football.london), has been linked with many Partey alternatives for the engine room.

Bukayo Saka

7.67

Declan Rice

7.38

Martin Odegaard

7.37

Kai Havertz

7.16

Gabriel Magalhaes

6.99

Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes, Everton's Amadou Onana, Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi and Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz all stand out as midfielders who Arsenal are targeting this summer, according to various reports in the last few months.

Most of the aforementioned names are likely to cost a fee well in excess of £50 million to prise away from their current clubs, and around double that amount in the case of Guimaraes. With Arsenal looking to sign a prolific new striker for Arteta's forward line, Edu will have to weigh his next moves very carefully, as the north Londoners will only have so much to spend this summer.

A potential bargain could come in the form of Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana. The France international is out of contract next summer and reports claim he could cost as little as £26 million for any interested side.

Both Fofana and Arteta were spotted in conversation with one another at the Emirates last year, when Monaco played Arsenal in a friendly clash. Fabrizio Romano also claimed this week that Fofana is expected to leave Monaco this summer amid the growing clamour for his services.

"Youssouf Fofana is not even negotiating a new contract with Monaco and the expectation of those close to the player, and the expectation of Monaco is for Youssouf Fofana to leave the club this summer. So Youssouf Fofana can really leave the club," said Romano on his YouTube channel.

“What’s going to happen? There is interest from Italy, there is interest from England, there is interest from Germany, so several clubs are keeping an eye on Fofana. There is movement on him, keep an eye on this player, it could be one of the surprises of the summer transfer window.”

Arsenal hold talks with Fofana over joining this summer

As per French newspaper L'Equipe, via GFFN, Arsenal have held talks with Fofana via his representatives, but they face competition from Paris-Saint Germain and Diego Simeone's Atletico – who've done the same.

The "magnificent" 25-year-old made 32 appearances in Ligue 1 alone last term, racking up four goals and four assists for Monaco as a stalwart of their engine room.

Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, believes inviting foreign players would make country’s domestic structure more robust and competitive. While it’s still unclear if a new ruling is being worked out, there are existing provisions to invite and register guest players with teams in the circuit.While financial viability has been seen as a hindrance for teams when it comes to signing overseas talent, there have been a few exceptions over the years. In 2011-12, 14 Afghanistan players featured for Afghan Cheetahs in the Faysal T20 Cup. Yamin Ahmadzai, the Afghanistan fast bowler, played five first-class games in Pakistan in 2016-17. Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza played in the National T20 Cup that same season.
“One of the things we are going to do with our first-class cricket is to encourage one or two overseas players to come and play,” Mani said in a podcast with Peter Oborne and Richard Heller on . “It is great for our players to be playing with the international players and that’s not going to happen overnight. We are working to take our first-class cricket to a complete different level and have it so competitive and so attractive for overseas players that they wish to be part of it.”Over the last few years, the PCB have made hosting matches in Pakistan a priority. In the last one year alone, they’ve hosted a PSL season at four venues and two Test sides – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. An MCC team also toured the country for the first time in 47 years.
“The big stumbling block was a travel advisory,” Mani explained of the challenges they faced earlier. “When you get schools and you get parents looking at that, they get nervous. Now that that’s been dealt with, it’s definitely something certainly that we’ve been we’ve been looking at seriously. Wasim Khan, our chief executive who was with Leicestershire county, has been already in discussion with a couple of counties to see whether they will come. I think people contact is what is so important.
“The MCC has been absolutely brilliant, very supportive of cricket in Pakistan, We’re also very fortunate that we have in Pakistan a high commissioner,Christian Turner, who was Theresa May’s national security adviser. So he understands the dynamics of the country. He understands Pakistan. And he’s been very important, in fact, pivotal in getting the travel advisories to Pakistan changed. And that that has made a big difference.”Last year, Pakistan overhauled their domestic system and introduced a five-category grade-based system of monthly retainers, apart from the match fees for all 192 players. They also abolished departmental format and brought in just the six provincial teams to streamline the structure.Presently, there are over 700 staff who are directly employed or contracted by the PCB in different capacities. However, the domestic restructure has meant over 300 players are out of jobs. Mani felt the key was to decentralise power and multiply opportunities for every association,”As soon as the cricket associations are functional, a lot of these people would be delegated to those six cricket associations,” he said. “These are people like ground staff, curators, coaches, school trainers, people who go to school to give basic coaching. People like that are all on PCB payroll at the moment.”And I’m pushing them down into the cricket associations with the clear instructions. There’s a lot of talk about people losing jobs. I’ve worked out that with the six cricket associations. They’re playing cricket with 3000 clubs. We are going to create more jobs for the former players. It’ll take time.It has started to happen overnight, but in a structured way, you’d want to make sure that every city has coaches for their schools. The city associations themselves will have coaches, coaching staff and everything from training young kids on how to behave on anti-corruption issues and understanding what the game of cricket is about.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers are ending their Premier League season with a whimper as they lost for the fourth time in their previous five top-flight matches.

The latest defeat looks to have ended any ambitions of securing a top-half finish during Gary O’Neil’s debut season in charge, but there have been plenty of positives.

Not only did the manager finally get the club firing in front of goal, finding the back of the net 50 times with one game to play, 19 more than last season, O’Neil has also built a solid core to his squad which he will be hoping to retain ahead of next season.

Could he be about to add to it in the coming weeks? One transfer target looks set to become available on a free transfer in a month…

What Gary O’Neil has said about Wolves' summer plans

During his pre-match press conference last week, O’Neil discussed Wolves’ current situation concerning the summer transfer window.

“I don’t think there will be money available to us if nobody leaves,” said the manager.

“If we decided not to sell a big player there may be some bits and pieces we can do. We have some players out on loan that have value and we might be able to do some bits. The club is expected – in the foreseeable future, maybe not long-term future – to be able to fund itself so we need to be able to work with that.

“Of course these things can change so I’m not committing either way, but I wouldn’t expect it to be a summer where we spend millions of the club’s own money on players.”

As such, this particular target would fit the brief perfectly.

Wolves could sign free agent from the Premier League

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham Untied have prepared a final contract offer to present to Ben Johnson with the hopes that he will remain at the club beyond this summer.

The report goes on to state that the defender looks set to snub an offer as he seeks to leave West Ham and become a free agent.

Everton, Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Rangers are all showing interest in the Englishman ahead of potentially making a move, but Wolves are a team who are also on the list.

Johnson has plenty of Premier League experience yet has failed to become a regular in the West Ham side this campaign.

That said, he could be an interesting replacement or competitor for Nelson Semedo.

Nelson Semedo’s statistics this season for Wolves

The right-back only has one year left on his current contract at Molineux, which means this summer represents the last proper chance for O’Neil to sell him in order to recoup a decent transfer fee.

The manager said he was “desperate to keep” Semedo at the Old Gold for the foreseeable last week, but moving him on while signing Johnson on a free transfer could potentially be the best thing from a financial point of view.

The defender has started 35 Premier League matches this term yet has created only two big chances while averaging just 0.7 key passes per game.

Assists

1

Key passes per game

0.7

Big chances created

2

Successful dribbles per game

1.5

Possession lost per game

14.3

Via Sofascore

He has succeeded with 1.5 dribbles per game – a success rate of 64% – but having registered just one assist in the top flight, this ability to beat his opponent out wide has certainly come in vain.

Defensively, the Portuguese defender has lost possession 14.3 times on average, while winning just 44% of his aerial duels, suggesting that helping his side when they don’t have the ball isn’t exactly his strong suit.

Semedo is a reliable option to have in the squad, but Johnson could certainly shine for Wolves if given the chance, especially judging by his statistics from his time on the pitch during the current campaign.

Why Ben Johnson could be a great signing for Wolves

The 24-year-old has been forced to play a peripheral role at West Ham during 2023/24, starting just seven matches this season in all competitions, featuring 22 times in total with David Moyes having preferred Vladimir Coufal at right-back.

Stuart Pearce dubbed Johnson “a wonderful professional to deal with and work with” back in 2021, but it is looking increasingly likely that he will be leaving the club when his current deal expires.

Despite not playing that often in the league this term, the Englishman has still managed to showcase his abilities by recovering 3.5 balls, winning 2.6 total duels and succeeding with 0.8 dribbles, all per game, all while averaging just 39 minutes per game.

Not only that, but the defender ranks highly in a few metrics when compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues.

According to FBref, Johnson currently ranks in the top 12% for successful take-ons per 90 (1.47), the top 14% for aerials won per 90 (1.47) and the top 20% for total shots per 90 (0.98) over the previous 365 days, giving glimpses of his attributes.

While Semedo ranks slightly higher for successful take-ons per 90 (1.51), the Wolves man ranks in the bottom 30% for aerial duels won per 90 (0.65) and the bottom 61% for total shots per 90 (0.54), giving Johnson the edge with regard to these performance metrics.

Much will depend on whether there is serious interest in the former Barcelona defender this summer for O’Neil to consider selling but if a decent offer comes in, it could prove to be fairly difficult to turn down, especially as it looks like he will need to move a few players out before signing anyone for a transfer fee.

Luring someone like Johnson to the Midlands would not only allow the manager to strengthen his team but to do it without splashing a single penny on a transfer fee.

Wolves hit the jackpot with a star whose value has skyrocketed 351%

Wolves have a player in their squad who is now worth five times more than when they signed him in 2021

ByRoss Kilvington May 6, 2024

IPL 2020 has been suspended but already offers have started to come in for hosting it outside India. Simon Katich, the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, isn’t averse to the possibility of it being held in Australia or South Africa, and Sri Lanka have also reached out to the BCCI with a solution.”Whether it would be in Australia [or elsewhere], that’s an interesting topic of conversation,” Katich told . “There would be a few teams – us in particular at RCB, we’d be very happy for it to be played abroad, because a number of our overseas players are Australian and South African, who really would enjoy these conditions in Australia. It would be interesting to see if that would eventuate but obviously it’s one of many scenarios that’s being discussed.”Katich, who was due to fly to India a few days after international travel was severely limited, said that he had “no doubt” the IPL’s organisers would do everything they could to host the 2020 edition of the tournament in some form.”It’s obviously the biggest T20 tournament in the world and the people there love their cricket,” he said. “But I think they’re also realistic to know that they have to sit tight and wait like everyone else in the world, and ride this out however long that takes.”There is a huge economic side to this in terms of what the IPL generates, not only for the Indian economy but also for the franchises as well, and for the BCCI. I guess the thing that has to be weighed up is … there’s probably a little bit of a difference in terms of the IPL.”Because of the amount of eyeballs that are on the IPL in India when it’s on in April and May, it is a scenario where it is potentially still very commercially viable being played with empty stadiums, so that’s something no doubt they’ll be weighing up.”In the past there’s been talk of ratings figures of 80 million people watching games. At the same time, there’s obviously a lot of health regulations that need to be followed to make sure that no-one’s endangered, whether that’s the public or the players and support staff.”Getty Images

An option closer to home could emerge, however, if Sri Lanka is able to avoid the worst of the pandemic. At present, Sri Lanka’s lockdown is even more severe than that in most parts of India, with a curfew has prevailed in the island for almost four weeks. However, the Sri Lanka government has been optimistic about eliminating the virus from the island, and it is likely if this goal is achieved that Sri Lanka becomes a viable option as an IPL venue. Even in the best-case scenario for SLC, though, the tournament is likely to require government clearance.”Apparently it will cost the BCCI and its stakeholders more than $500 million to cancel the IPL,” Shammi Silva, SLC president, told Sinhala daily . “So perhaps they can minimise those losses by hosting the tournament in another country.”If they play it in Sri Lanka, it’s easy for Indian audiences to watch the games on TV. There’s precedent for this because they’ve played the IPL in South Africa before. We’re waiting for the Indian board to respond to our proposal.”If the Indian board does agree to play the tournament here, we’re ready to provide facilities in line with the requirements and recommendations of medical professionals. It would be a substantial source of income for Sri Lankan cricket as well.”Katich bats for new T20 World Cup windowThe other high-profile event increasingly under the scanner is the T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin mid-October in Australia. Katich suggested that it could be pushed back towards the end of the Australian summer if the crisis made it impossible to hold the tournament within the planned window.He said that while Australia seemed “pretty blessed” compared to other parts of the world in terms of the virus’ spread, the tournament is still “a long way off”.”Potentially there’s a chance to host it later in the summer, like the [recent] Women’s T20 World Cup, and whether that’s an opportunity to re-jig things… it’ll be interesting to hear those discussions [which are] probably taking place at the moment and whether that’s logistically possible with the FTP the way it is.”But I’m sure that a T20 World Cup is a priority for all the organisers at the moment, to try and make sure that goes ahead at some point in the Australian summer given that we’re hosting it.”Katich also admitted that it may be sensible for the inaugural season of the Hundred, the ECB’s new 100-ball competition, to be delayed until next year.He is due to coach the Manchester Originals in the tournament from July, but doubts have been cast over whether it will be possible to stage sporting fixtures that soon with the UK’s confirmed death toll recently passing 12,000.”There has been a lot of speculation about the Hundred given that it’s a new tournament, that it probably doesn’t make any sense for it to be played in front of empty stadiums [even] if it was OK in that July window.”So there has been speculation about it potentially being delayed to start until next season, which I’ve got no problem with, and a lot of people would probably think that’s the way to go if things keep tracking the way they are in the UK.”

تقدم خالد عبد الفتاح، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، باعتذار لجماهير الأهلي عما بدر منه خلال الساعات الماضية.

وتلقى عبد الفتاح، انتقادات حادة وهجوما عنيفا من جمهور الأهلي، بعد تهنئته لـ مروان حمدي مهاجم بيراميدز بمناسبة عيد ميلاده.

طالع..وكيله: كولر قلبه “معلق” بـ الأهلي.. وهذا رد فعله بعد تعيين محمد رمضان

ويمتلك حمدي، سابقة سيئة مع جمهور الأهلي، خلال أحداث مواجهة بيراميدز بالدوري، حيث ظهر في مقطع فيديو وهو يسب جماهير الأحمر.

وأكد عبد الفتاح أنه يعتذر عما تناوله عبر حسابه بمنصة إنستجرام اليوم، بشكل عفوي وغير مقصود بالمرة.

وشدد اللاعب أنه يرفض أي مساس بمشاعر جماهير الأهلي التي يدين لها بالكثير. والتي تقف دومًا خلف اللاعبين والجهاز الفني وتتحمل الكثير من أجل انتصارات الأهلي.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' 3-2 defeat to Coventry City on the weekend was not their only piece of bad news, as Pedro Neto looks set to miss the rest of the season due to injury.

This comes as a significant blow for Gary O’Neil as he aims to secure a top-half Premier League finish for the Old Gold this season.

The former Bournemouth manager may have to rejig his team for the rest of the season in his absence, yet he could have an ideal heir to the Portuguese winger with a teenage academy talent ready to explode – Leo Lopes.

Leo Lopes’ youth statistics

Like Neto, Lopes also hails from Portugal, and he enjoyed a wonderful spell at Swiss side GC Zurich, particularly as a member of their U21 squad.

Starting in the lower U18 age group, the talented winger scored three goals in 15 appearances before making the next step up to the older age group.

Wolves' five youngest players
Player	Age at time of debut
Chem Campbell	16 years and ten months
Peter Broadbent	16 years, ten months and two days
Martin Patching	16 years, 11 months and nine days
Morgan Gibbs-White	16 years, 11 months and 11 days
Graham Rodger	17 years and 20 days
Via Transfermarkt

Another six goals followed in 24 matches for the club and his future looked fairly bright. Wolves pounced to secure his signature last summer, and it looked like a wise investment by the Molineux side.

“Leo is an exciting attack-minded player who can operate on either wing,” said head of UK academy recruitment, Harry Hooman, upon his arrival.

“He makes things happen with his ability and athleticism in one v one situations. He is also prepared to do the other side of the game and shows good intensity and desire to defend out of possession.”

These attributes could see the youngster become a logical heir to Neto in the coming years, and he could form a wonder duo alongside fellow teen talent – Nathan Fraser.

Leo Lopes could follow in Nathan Fraser’s footsteps

Fraser made his senior bow for the Old Gold earlier this season, scoring and grabbing an assist against Blackpool in the EFL Cup. Not a bad way to announce yourself on the big stage,

Due to injuries to Matheus Cunha and Hwang-Hee-Chan in recent weeks, the Irishman has found opportunities in the Premier League easier to come by.

While he has yet to score in the top flight, Fraser – who has been dubbed "incredibly hard working" by his manager – is a considerable talent and one that Lopes could thrive alongside in the coming years.

The Portuguese sensation could be a wonderful attacking threat on either wing for the Old Gold, using his creativity and pace to generate plenty of chances for Fraser.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Wolves have enjoyed a resurgence with their frontline this season, already scoring 11 more goals this term than they did during the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign.

While Lopes may have to wait a while to gain an opportunity in the senior squad, his talent is limitless and O’Neil will certainly have one eye on his performances for the U21 side this season.

Neto won't be at the club forever and should they decide to cash in, either this summer or next, the Midlands side have an ideal replacement waiting in the wings.

Leo Lopes. Remember the name.

The Celtic board have backed manager Brendan Rodgers in both transfer windows throughout the season so far to bolster his playing squad at Parkhead.

He was brought in to replace Australian manager Ange Postecoglou last summer, after he moved down south to the Premier League, and made nine new signings ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Nat Phillips, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, Luis Palma, Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio, Maik Nawrocki, and Paulo Bernardo all came through the door during the summer.

These signings failed to start the season well, however, as Celtic were knocked out of the League Cup by Kilmarnock in August and dumped out of Europe as they finished bottom of their Champions League group during the first half of the campaign.

Nicolas Kuhn was then snapped up from Austrian side Rapid Wien on a permanent deal in January, before Adam Idah arrived on loan from Norwich City on deadline day at the start of last month.

The Hoops boss is now already eyeing up another player to add to his group at the end of the season, as the club are reportedly keen on a Portuguese winger, who could be their next Jota – figuratively and literally.

Latest Celtic transfer news

According to HITC, the Scottish giants are among a clutch of clubs looking at a possible swoop to sign Vitoria Guimaraes forward Jota Silva this summer.

Rodgers is far from the only head coach keeping an eye on the Liga Portugal star as a number of Premier League and Championship teams are also showing an interest in him.

Southampton and Leicester City, who are currently competing to secure promotion to the top-flight, have been keeping tabs on the 24-year-old whiz.

Meanwhile, Premier League sides Bournemouth, Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Brighton & Hove Albion have also been monitoring his progress with Vitoria.

However, the report does not reveal whether or not any of the aforementioned clubs, including Celtic, are prepared to go in with a firm offer to acquire his services at this moment in time.

HITC also does not mention how much Vitoria would demand from any of the interested teams to cash in on their "star" – as per journalist Graeme Bailey – forward.

Therefore, whilst Rodgers is eyeing up the young attacker, it remains to be seen whether or not a deal for Jota Silva is a viable one for the Glasgow-based outfit at this moment in time.

If the Hoops can strike a deal to sign the Portugal international, though, then they could repeat the masterclass they played with the signing of his compatriot and namesake Jota back in 2021.

Celtic's Jota masterclass

Former Celtic boss Postecoglou swooped to sign the winger on loan from Benfica ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, and he hit the ground running at Parkhead with electric performances on the flank.

Jota racked up ten goals and ten assists in 29 appearances in the Scottish Premiership during his first season at the club, along with two goals and two assists in five Europa League outings.

In total, the young whiz produced 13 goals and 14 assists in 40 matches for the Hoops in all competitions, which convinced them to trigger their option to buy him for £6.5m.

Appearances

33

Goals

11

Assists

11

Big chances created

13

Key passes per game

1.9

As you can see in the table above, the Portuguese wizard continued his fine form in front of goal over to the 2022/23 campaign after Celtic snapped him up on a permanent deal.

Jota ended the season with a return of 15 goals and 12 assists in 43 games in all competitions for the Scottish giants, which took his tally to 28 goals and 26 assists in 83 outings for Postecoglou's team over his two years at the club.

His terrific displays on the wing in Scotland convinced Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad to swoop in to complete a staggering £25m deal for the magician, of which £7.5m went to Benfica – thanks to their sell-on clause as part of the move that sent him to Parkhead in 2022.

This shows that Celtic played a masterclass with the signing of Jota from the Portuguese league as they had a superb player on the pitch who went on to make them a mouth-watering amount of money.

Why Celtic could repeat their masterclass with Jota Silva

The Hoops could now repeat that masterclass by returning to Liga Portugal to sign another exciting winger who could catch the eye in Glasgow – Jota Silva.

He has been in impressive form for Vitoria in his breakthrough season in the top-flight of football in his home country, and earned a debut for Portugal against Sweden this week.

Jota Silva has showcased his quality as a scorer and a creator of goals throughout the 2023/24 campaign so far, with a return of 13 goals and seven assists in 32 matches in all competitions.

This has come after the young forward, who can play on either flank, produced four goals and four assists in 40 outings in all competitions last season for Vitoria.

So far this season, the 24-year-old phenomenon has plundered nine goals and five assists, to go along with six 'big chances' created, in 25 Liga Portugal clashes.

Appearances

25

33

Goals

9

11

Goals per game

0.36

0.33

Assists

5

11

Assists per game

0.20

0.33

Dribbles completed per game

1.2

1.5

As you can see in the table above, Jota Silva is similar to the former Celtic star in the sense that they both score goals at a similar rate, both love to dribble past opponents to push their respective teams up the pitch, and can both create for others.

Like the current Al Ittihad whiz, the Vitoria maestro is also a right-footed forward who can be deployed out on the right or the left flank, and still cause chaos on either side.

Therefore, Rodgers could repeat the club's Jota masterclass by swooping for Jota Silva this summer, as the 5 foot 10 gem could be another Liga Portugal starlet who goes on to thrive in Scottish football.

Celtic struck gold selling gem who's worth more than Jota in 2024 money

The impressive midfielder, who was sold in 2006, would be worth more than £30m in 2024.

ByDan Emery Mar 21, 2024

The current interest from Premier League sides also suggests that there could be scope for the Hoops to sell him on for a profit, like they did with Jota, further down the line if he excels in Glasgow.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s “one in 60” free-kick record makes him a “weakness” for Portugal and is impacting Bruno Fernandes, says Gary Lineker.

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All-time great dominates at set-piecesTeam-mates having to take a back seatOthers better placed to find the targetWHAT HAPPENED?

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored some spectacular goals when stood over set-pieces down the years, with his knuckleball approach from long distance becoming legendary. Consistency has, however, been lacking for club and country.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Ronaldo’s strike rate is phenomenal, but he can never be relied upon to hit the target – nevermind the the back of the net – when taking on free-kicks. Despite that, the 39-year-old Al-Nassr forward has continued to step up for Portugal at Euro 2024.

WHAT LINEKER SAID

Questions have been asked of whether the all-time great is allowing ego to take over, with former Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes considered to be a more reliable option over a dead-ball. Ex-England international Lineker has told podcast of Ronaldo dominating free-kick duty: “It is almost impossible, despite the fact his record is something like one in 60 that he’s scored in tournaments. Bruno Fernandes is a better free-kick taker and a more varied free-kick taker than Ronaldo. So while he’s [Ronaldo] a massive strength, he can also be a weakness as well.

“Nothing against Cristiano because what an unbelievable player. I was watching him and his movement in the box is absolutely perfect. He does it better than anybody else I’ve ever seen as a nine, the way he goes forward one way, then the other way. He does it with a sharpness. It’s more the ego side of him which is more of a weakness, probably for himself, Portugal and [head coach] Roberto [Martinez]. As a manager, you know you’ve got someone whose powers are waning and he’s 39, but he’s still Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s a superstar. He is almost the most famous person on the planet, not just as a footballer.”

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

Ronaldo is yet to register a goal at Euro 2024, having missed an extra-time penalty in a last-16 showdown with Slovenia that left him in tears. He did, however, score in the final shootout of that contest – which means he will get another opportunity to break his duck when facing France in the quarter-finals on Friday.

The feeling around Manchester United over the last decade has been that the build-up to a transfer has often been more exciting than the player’s actual performances on the field.

However, the fans' first impression of a player is often a telltale sign as to how long they’ll last at the club.

Starting off with a bang is vital, especially at a club like United, where expectations and demands are often far higher than what a new signing has previously experienced.

Therefore, let’s take a look at an Erik ten Hag signing who shone on his debut, but has struggled ever since.

Antony’s start to life in Manchester

It is reasonable to presume that if former Ajax boss Ten Hag was never appointed as Man United manager, the chances of Antony signing for the club would have decreased significantly.

Prior to his £86m move to the Premier League, the Brazilian winger was lighting up the Eredivisie and the Champions League with his dazzling dribbling, skilful nature, and extreme confidence, which caused Brazil’s national team coach Tite to say he “has Neymar characteristics.”

On his debut for United against Arsenal in a 3-1 win at Old Trafford, Antony opened the scoring via a composed finish, with his dramatic celebration making him an instant favourite.

The winger would then go on to become the first United player to score in his first three Premier League matches, netting against Manchester City and Everton. After achieving that feat, United icon Wes Brown even went on to claim that “he’s like Messi and Maradona” in terms of his “wand” of a left foot.

Antony’s 2023/34 campaign

Throughout the remainder of that previous season, Antony went on to score five more goals and pick up three assists, with his form falling off as the season progressed.

During pre-season, Antony looked fresh and sharp, particularly impressing against Borussia Dortmund and Lens with two goals and an assist. However, he has been unable to carry those promising performances into the Premier League.

The Brazilian has now played 19 games in the league this season, and he has absolutely zero output to show for it, with his performances being extremely frustrating for both the boss and the fans.

Even United legend Andy Cole said “he would drive me absolutely mad,” further adding:

“He doesn’t score enough goals for me or create enough chances for his team-mates.”

Antony's 2023/24 Stats
Competition	Matches	Goals	Assists
Premier League	19	0	0
Champions League	4	0	0
FA Cup	1	1	1
EFL Cup	1	0	0
Stats via Transfermarkt

As you can see, Cole’s analysis is rather spot on, with his only goal contribution in 25 games being against League Two side Newport County in the FA Cup, where he had to tap into an open net for the goal.

Antony’s last start was that game, and he has started on the bench for all of United’s last three. However, what will concern the 23-year-old the most is just how well Alejandro Garnacho is playing in his role, scoring twice against West Ham United and offering much more of a threat.

It’s fair to say that it’s difficult seeing Antony turn his career around at Old Trafford, especially with United now reportedly looking to sign a new right-winger in the summer and Sir Jim Ratcliffe open to letting him leave at the end of the season.

Unfortunately, that dream start to life at United will most likely be the peak of his career with a Red Devils badge on his chest.