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One of Jose Mourinho’s worst nightmares at Tottenham Hotspur could become a reality in 2021…

What’s the word?

According to Defensa Central, Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is ‘interested’ in signing Heung-min Son as neither Kylian Mbappe nor Mohamed Salah are likely to arrive at the Bernabeu.

They believe the Frenchman dreams of signing the impressive South Korean sensation but accepts that any deal would far exceed €100m (£90m).

Progress over contract talks with the 27-year-old have slowed down in recent weeks due to a change in representation, but it is thought that Spurs are prepared to offer him a bumper £200k-per-week deal, as per the Telegraph.

Worst nightmare

Madrid’s interest in Son could potentially throw a spanner in the works, though, especially as Daniel Levy has previously noted a special “partnership” with the La Liga giants after the sales of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale in the past.

The £81m-rated left-winger has firmly established himself among the Premier League’s best players in last 18 months, bringing home very lucrative attacking returns alongside Harry Kane.

Indeed, Son has scored 16 goals in all competitions this term alone, which at the moment is one fewer than the England skipper.

The pair have combined for 13 goals in the Premier League, tying a long-standing top-flight record set by Blackburn Rovers duo Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton back in 1994/95.

They are also three behind Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard for the record of lifetime goal contributions of any pairing.

12 of Spurs’ 29 league goals have come from Son too, so that only emphasises how important his role is under Mourinho right now and whilst interest in his services was always going to arrive given his form, it would serve as a cold reminder that they are still some way off the very top level.

As Darren Bent told Football Insider, an injury to Son could seriously “derail Spurs’ season massively” and the same has to be said if he’s at all swayed by the latest transfer interest.

Even in Kane’s absence last season, Martin Keown dubbed the enigmatic inside-forward a “revelation” on Match of the Day 2 [16/02, 10:45pm], which shows that in some ways Son is of even more importance to Spurs as he has stepped up without the prolific striker beside him.

We saw how difficult it was to replace Modric all those years ago – none of the likes of Paulinho, Lewis Holtby or Gylfi Sigurdsson could fill that void, and perhaps it wasn’t until Christian Eriksen’s arrival that Spurs finally found that midfield playmaker once again.

The same effect could certainly repeat itself if Son were to swap north London for Madrid this year.

AND in other news, Levy could find their next Ricky Villa in “rare” £36m speed demon…

Manchester City were recently been credited with an interest in Atletico Madrid left-back Renan Lodi by the Daily Mail, and if he were to sign it could be bad news for Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Bad news for Zinchenko?

Whilst Guardiola might be worried by Mendy’s consistency, his injury issues since joining City perhaps mean that it’s unlikely any team will try and sign the French international, meaning it could well be Zinchenko who is axed should Lodi make the move to the Etihad.

The Ukrainian has found himself on the fringes of the City squad so far this season, with Guardiola preferring Nathan Ake or Joao Cancelo at left-back, although he has made a couple of appearances recently, due to the Citizens being affected by the current viral outbreak.

Since joining the club in 2016, the converted left-back has gone on to make 76 appearances, contributing two goals and six assists, suggesting that he has never really been able to cement his place as first-choice at City.

Lodi, meanwhile, has quickly established himself as a regular under Diego Simeone at Atletico following his arrival in 2019, with 60 first-team appearances for the Spanish club to his name.

The £36 million-rated left-back has earned a lot of plaudits following his performances with Atletico and after making his first appearance for Brazil in 2019, The Sun were quick to dub him as ‘the new Marcelo’.

The Real Madrid man has consistently been one of the best left-backs in world football for the past decade, having made 516 appearances for Los Blancos, helping them to win five La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies.

Therefore, if Lodi could emulate the sort of career the 32-year-old has had, then he would surely prove to be an exceptional signing for Manchester City, so sporting director Txiki Begiristain should do everything he can to bring him to the Etihad, either this month or in the summer.

And, in other news… 100% duels won: Guardiola’s words rang true as MCFC star’s performance lacked one key thing

After a summer that saw Aston Villa splash out around £20m to bring in Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal, Dean Smith has an abundance of riches in the goalkeeping position.

Villa of course had to contend with an unprecedented injury crisis in that area last season, so it was perhaps no surprise to see the club go out and target a new number one.

But with Tom Heaton nearing a return to first-team action – he completed the full 90 minutes for the U23s against Stoke City recently – it’s a position that poses major problems for Smith in terms of man-management.

As well as both Martinez and Heaton, Villa also have the likes of Lovre Kalinic and Jed Steer on their books, ready to call upon if needed.

Steer has been with the club for around seven years now after initially arriving from Norwich City back in 2013, and The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has questioned how long the now 28-year-old can be happy playing second and third fiddle when he could be playing week-in and week-out elsewhere.

Whilst he’s been a loyal servant in his time at Villa Park, surely the club have to be ruthless with the £20k-a-week ace. With Evans adding that Villa have found it very difficult to move on Kalinic, they should potentially refocus their attention on Steer, and allow him to be the man to go.

Both Tony Xia and now Nassef Sawiris can’t be happy with the goalkeeping situation at Villa right now, and it appears best for all parties involved that they make a ruthless call on Steer and cash in on him in the upcoming transfer window.

According to reports, Aston Villa will try again in the January transfer window to sign Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan.

What’s the word?

Reports back in the summer suggested that Villa’s fellow Premier League side Burnley were keen on putting together a £15m deal to entice him away from France, but that failed to come to fruition, with Simakan staying put.

Now, an intermediary for the defender, Francesco Di Frisco told Italian publication Calcio Mercato that Villa, and a number of other clubs across Europe could make a renewed attempt to sign him.

He said (via Sport Witness): “There were many teams on Simakan: Lyon, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund, especially the Germans tried until the last hours of the market. In January, I think these clubs, including Milan, will try to push again. The boy has picked up where he left off, showing his qualities and it’s possible that his admirers will also increase.”

Lange must win the race

At just 20-years-old, it’s little wonder that some of European football’s most prestigious sides are often Simakan.

The starlet, who is capable of playing at either centre-back or right-back, has all the qualities to become a real top defender at the highest level, especially when you consider that Strasbourg’s club president, and former France international, Marc Keller, said he had shades of Real Madrid star Raphael Varane.

Simakan has already established himself as a key part of his team’s starting eleven, playing the full 90 minutes in every single Ligue 1 game this season. Despite Strasbourg’s lowly position – they currently find themselves 18th – the 6 foot 2 powerhouse putting in some exemplary individual displays.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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As per Whoscored, he is averaging an impressive 2.1 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game in the French top-flight. To put that into context, among all players in the division, he ranks 44th and joint-20th for those two stats respectively.

With Tyrone Mings being left-footed, and also capable of playing in a back-three as shown by his performances with England, Simakan’s own versatility of being able to play at full-back could see him become the perfect partner for the Villa ace. Johan Lange must surely do everything he can to win the race to sign him in January.

Everton Under 23s manager David Unsworth has stated that he expects Matthew Pennington, Beni Baningime and Nathan Broadhead will leave the Goodison Park outfit in January, having ‘found it tough’ to secure moves this summer.

What’s the word?

Speaking with the Liverpool Echo, Unsworth has noted how Pennington, Baningime and Broadhead had all sought to secure loan moves through the recently-concluded summer market but were unable to land transfers.

The Everton chief suspects their struggles came heavily as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with clubs reluctant to commit on players they would not own.

It is now likely that each of the trio will attempt to land moves once the January window opens and Unsworth is optimistic over their chances of finding new clubs, though will continue to offer them game time in Everton’s reserves over the coming months.

“A lot of teams have found, certainly in this current climate with coronavirus, there just isn’t the resources out there to take a gamble on a loan,” he said.

“We found it tough to loan our players, and over the period really it’s never really been easy to loan young players. The turnover of managers at League One and Championship [level] makes it [difficult].

“Hopefully, in January, these boys will go out on loan. We want them to go out on loan. The club, Marcel [Brands], myself – it’s not easy to loan young players but we will give them the platform to try and impress every week.”

Pennington and Baningime both featured for the Toffees U23s in their 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Friday, while Broadhead returned to the pitch for the first time in four matches having been forced to sit out recent ties with a hamstring issue.

Unsworth went on to laud the maturity Baningime and Pennington have shown since the summer market closed, adding that their attitude has been “absolutely outstanding. They are great pros.”

Unsworth must secure Baningime a move

This is not the first time that Unsworth has lauded Baningime, having previously compared the midfielder with former and current Chelsea stars Claude Makelele – who won the Champions League with Real Madrid – and N’Golo Kante – who lifted the 2018 World Cup.

“Beni just gets better and better,” Unsworth said, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo in 2017. “He’s just of the mould of Makelele, of Kante and, honestly, I cannot pay him a big enough compliment to say he is that good I fully expect him to kick on and be that type of player in our first-team.”

Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, the first-team has rarely been on offer with Baningime making the last of his 12 senior outings in April 2018 under Sam Allardyce and never featuring in a first-team squad during Marco Silva’s tenure.

Carlo Ancelotti named the Kinshasa, DR Congo-born talent in 10 of his matchday squads upon arriving at Goodison Park last season, though never called on the youngster to feature.

Unsworth must now fulfil his claim that he and Director of Football Brands wish to see Baningime secure a loan move in January, as it is vividly clear that he will never make the step up at Goodison Park purely from playing in the U23s week in, week out.

AND in other news, Everton have been offered a second chance to put a panicky summer decision right.

يرى النجم السابق لفريق ليفربول نيل ميلور، أن المصري محمد صلاح هو الأحق بالحصول على جائزة الكرة الذهبية، كأفضل لاعب في العالم للعام الحالي 2021.

وكانت مجلة “فرانس فوتبول” الشهيرة قد أعلنت هذا الشهر عن قائمة المرشحين التي تضم 30 لاعبًا للتنافس على جائزة الكرة الذهبية لهذا العام.

ويتواجد محمد صلاح في تلك القائمة رفقة نجوم آخرين، مثل ليونيل ميسي وكريستيانو رونالدو وكريم بنزيما وروبرت ليفاندوفسكي.

ويقدم محمد صلاح أداءً عالميًا في الفترة الأخيرة مع ليفربول، وهو ما دفع الكثيرون إلى اعتباره أفضل لاعب في العالم في الوقت الحالي، ومن ثم يستحق الكرة الذهبية.

وقال نيل ميلور في تصريحات لشبكة “سكاي سبورتس” العالمية: “نجم مطلق، أليس كذلك؟ محمد صلاح في حالة رائعة في الوقت الحالي، هناك الكثير من الحديث عن عقده، والكثير من الحديث عن الكرة الذهبية، ولكن ما ستقوله هو أنه يحب اللعب مع ليفربول تمامًا”.

وأضاف: “هو يظهر أفضل ما لديه، يلعب ويسجل الأهداف من أجل المتعة، يبدو أنه سيسجل كل مباراة، وسجل الأحد ثلاثة أهداف، تحركاته مثيرة في الثلث الأخير، تسبب كل أنواع المشاكل للمدافعين، مانشستر يونايتد لم يستطع التعامل معه”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. بازل لـ محمد صلاح: نفتخر بأنك بدأت مسيرتك الرائعة معنا

وواصل: “عندما تنظر إلى المتنافسين على الكرة الذهبية، فأنت تنظر إلى أفضل اللاعبين في العالم”.

وتابع: “في تلك اللحظة، أعتقد أن محمد صلاح سيكون الاسم الأول على شفاه الجميع عند اختيار المرشح الذي يريدونه، إنه أمر لا يُصدق”.

ظهر المدرب النرويجي، أولي جونار سولشاير، المدير الفني لنادي مانشستر يونايتد، في مؤتمر صحفي للحديث عن مباراة فريقه المُقبلة ضد ليفربول في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستقبل مانشستر يونايتد نظيره ليفربول مساء الأحد في تمام الساعة الـ5:30 بتوقيت القاهرة، على مسرح الأحلام “أولد ترافورد”، بالجولة التاسعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وقال سولشاير: “نحن علينا أن نحاول الدفاع والهجوم بشكل جيد خلال 90 دقيقة ضد ليفربول، إنهم في حالة جيدة، ولديهم مهارات فردية رائعة، إنهم فريق قوي، يجب علينا أن نضغط عليهم وأن نكون عدوانيين”.

وأضاف: “سيستغرق الأمر كل شيء لتحقيق نتائج ضد أفضل الفرق في العالم وأوروبا، وليفربول واحد منهم، إنه أحد الفرق التي نطاردها، نحن نسعى جاهدين للتغلب عليهم وتجاوزهم، انتهى بنا المطاف فوقهم الموسم الماضي، وقد عانوا من فترة سيئة مع الإصابات العام الماضي لكنهم عادوا الآن إلى أفضل حالاتهم”.

وواصل: “في كل مرة تلعب فيها لـ مانشستر يونايتد تلعب من أجل الحصول على الثلاث نقاط، نحن بالفعل متأخرين عن ليفربول، لكننا لا زالنا في وقت مُبكر جدًا من الموسم، وفي هذه المرحلة المبكرة لا يمكنك التحدث عن الألقاب أو أي شيء، نحن نطاردهم، وليفربول هو أحد الفرق التي نحاول اللحاق بها”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. سولشاير يثير الشكوك حول جاهزية برونو فرنانديز قبل مباراة مانشستر يونايتد وليفربول

وعن عودة اليونايتد ضد أتالانتا: “إنه شيء فعلناه مرات عديدة هنا في النادي، إنه جزء من حمضنا النووي، نحن لا نستسلم أبدًا، هذا ما يتوقعه المشجعين منا، علينا تقديم أفضل ما لدينا طوال الوقت”.

وتابع: “في الشوط الأول رأيت فريقًا يحاول تقديم كل شيء، لقد قمنا بعمل جيد ضد أتالانتا، وهذا ما نأمله وأن نكون أكثر تركيزًا يوم الأحد”.

وأردف: “لا يمكننا منحهم فرصة، لقد منحنا أتالانتا فرصًا وسجّلوا هدفين، في فرق كرة القدم ستخلق فرصًا، هذه هي طبيعة كرة القدم، لا أتفق مع الجميع عندما يقول الناس أننا كنا سيئين حقًا ضد أتالانتا، لا يُمكننا أن نمنحهم شبرًا واحد في منطقة الجزاء”.

سولشاير: لاعبون مثل محمد صلاح لا يأتون كثيرًا، يجب أن نستمتع بهؤلاء اللاعبين من بعيد، ترى بعض الأهداف التي أحرزها مؤخرًا، ونحن نعلم أننا يجب أن نكون في أفضل حالاتنا للدفاع ضده. pic.twitter.com/FvuvCK9zBK — Btolat.com (@Btolat) October 22, 2021

واسترسل: “إنها مباراة ضخمة ومنافسة محلية، عليك كلاعب أن تقدم كل ما لديك ضد ليفربول، إنها مباراة ضخمة ونحن نعرف مدى أهميتها، كل مباراة في هذا الدوري مهمة للغاية، وصعبة جدًا، نحن لدينا لاعبين جيدين وعلينا أن نتحسّن ونتطور أكثر”.

وأتبع: “أمام الستة الكبار في الموسم الماضي، كان لدينا الكثير من الشباك النظيفة، ومن المهم بالنسبة لنا أن نتحلى بالصلابة وأن يكون من الصعب اللعب ضدنا”.

وبسؤاله حول الأفضل بين ديفيد دي خيا وأليسون بيكر: “ديفيد ضمن قائمة الأفضل، ونحن سنواجه حارس مرمى من بين الأفضل في العالم أيضًا”.

وأتم: “لكن دي خيا مؤخرًا استعاد مستواه مرة أخرى، لقد ظهر بشكل جيد ضد فياريال وأتالانتا، وهو يلعب بشكل جيد حقًا”.

Coventry Live have rated Coventry City’s new signings after their 2-0 defeat to Scottish Premiership side Rangers in a pre-season friendly

Following the success of the 2019/2020 season, Sky Blues boss Mark Robins has been busy adding to his squad ahead of their return to the Championship.

The arrivals began with Gustavo Hamer signing from PEC Zwolle, before Julien Dacosta joined from Chamois Niortais on a free transfer.

Callum O’Hare was the next player to be announced as a Coventry player, agreeing a permanent move to the club after spending last term on loan at the Sky Blues from Aston Villa. Marcel Hilssner’s signing was then announced last Thursday, and that was followed up by a deal to bring in Ryan Giles.

Facing Rangers at the weekend, Coventry narrowly lost 2-0 to Steven Gerrard’s side in what was their first pre-season friendly as they head into the 2020/21 season.

Giles, who spent last term on loan with the Sky Blues, is said to have played well, with the report adding: “Fans may now feel confident with Giles.”

Also featuring in the friendly were Hamer, Hilssner and O’Hare and they received mostly good reviews from the local news outlet.

“For a first impression, it doesn’t get much better than the one Hamer offered fans at Ibrox.

“His first touch and turn had us in awe – but Hilssner was quiet after that moment.

“O’Hare was his usual self during the first 15 minutes but he did look worn out”

It seems like it was a promising start for the new players who arrived this summer. Hamer is arguably the one player who fans will be most excited to see and it sounds like he had quite a good game against Rangers.

The 2-0 defeat will not be of any great concern to Robins, especially given that Steven Gerrard’s side are several weeks ahead of them in terms of preparing for next term and operating at a European level.

Which summer signing do you think will have the biggest impact at Coventry next season? Let us know via the comments section below…

MatériaMais Notícias

O lateral-direito Lucas, com desgaste muscular, será desfalque do Palmeiras contra o Vasco, às 17h deste domingo, no Allianz Parque, pela 34ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. O volante Arouca e o meia Cleiton Xavier também estão fora e seguem em fase de recondicionamento físico após se recuperarem de lesões. Já os atacantes Dudu e Cristaldo estão suspensos.

Lucas, que atuou em 53 dos 65 jogos do Palmeiras no ano, é um dos atletas mais desgastados pela sequência de partidas. No clássico contra o Santos, domingo passado, ele sentiu-se mal e foi substituído por João Pedro ainda no primeiro tempo. Na quarta-feira, reapresentação do grupo, foi poupado da atividade no gramado. Na quinta, trabalhava entre os titulares quando acusou dores musculares e deixou o campo ao lado do médico Otávio Vilhena.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasProximidade com o profissional empolga garotos do VerdãoPalmeiras06/11/2015PalmeirasTécnico vive ‘encruzilhada’ e tem dois times em fim de ano no PalmeirasPalmeiras06/11/2015

Marcelo Oliveira, desta vez, não fez mistério. O Verdão irá a campo com Fernando Prass, João Pedro, Jackson, Vitor Hugo e Egídio; Thiago Santos, Zé Roberto e Robinho; Rafael Marques, Gabriel Jesus e Barrios.

A principal novidade na lista de relacionados é o retorno do meia Fellype Gabriel. Recuperado de lesão nas costas, ele ficará no banco pela oitava vez e pode, enfim, fazer sua estreia pelo clube. O goleiro Fábio será o reserva de Fernando Prass, já que Jailson e Aranha estão no departamento médico, e o jovem lateral-direito Taylor ganhou espaço com a saída de Lucas. Ele será o reserva de João Pedro.

Chama a atenção a ausência do zagueiro Victor Ramos. Pela segunda vez consecutiva, ele não foi relacionado. Leandro Almeida e Nathan serão as opções do banco.

Confira a lista de 23 jogadores relacionados:
Goleiros: Fernando Prass e Fábio
Zagueiros: Vitor Hugo, Leandro Almeida, Nathan e Jackson
Laterais: Egídio, João Pedro, João Paulo e Taylor
Volantes: Thiago Santos, Amaral e Matheus Sales
Meias: Robinho, Zé Roberto, Allione e Fellype Gabriel
Atacantes: Rafael Marques, Kelvin, Mouche, Gabriel Jesus, Lucas Barrios e Alecsandro

Tudo sobre

Allianz ParquePalmeirasVasco

Tottenham Hotspur are keen to sign Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo, although Jose Mourinho does not see him as a top priority this summer. 

Recent reports suggested that the Lilywhites are leading the race to sign him in the summer, alongside Juventus and Inter Milan. According to Fabrizio Romano via The Guardian, as per @Daily_Hotspur, Spurs consider Zaniolo as a potential signing for the future despite his impressive performances this season.

Tottenham are understood to be tracking Zaniolo but there is an added catch. While the north London club regard the Italian as a considerable prospect, Mourinho has made it clear that the wonderkid is not his biggest concern in the transfer window, as he has stepped up his pursuit of Southampton’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg instead.

Zaniolo has been described as one of Europe’s hottest talents and has even been compared to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in the past, while Roma believe he could become the next Francesco Totti.

Spurs were prepared to offer £30m for the 21-year-old Italian international last year but this fell short of Roma’s asking price.

Romano revealed earlier this week that they have no chance of signing him this summer anyway as Roma are refusing to sell him. The transfer guru claimed that the Giallorossi are ready to hand him a new deal, which would keep him at the club until 2025, despite the fact he risks being frozen out by Paulo Fonseca.

The pair have had a very public falling out, although the manager has moved to deny all reports of a rift after Zaniolo came off the bench to score in the 6-1 drubbing of SPAL on Wednesday.

It is no secret that Spurs struggled to score goals during Harry Kane’s absence, while they have arguably failed to fill the void left by Christian Eriksen, even though Mourinho has moved to use Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks together to great effect in recent weeks, but he still wants to sign a new playmaker to add depth to his squad.

To all intents and purposes, Zaniolo seems fully committed to the Serie A side, as he reiterated his desire to stay with Roma on social media. However, he could be one to watch out for in the future if the Lilywhites decide to resume their interest further down the line.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should sign Zaniolo? Let us know in the comments below!