توجد حالة من التفاؤل داخل نادي ريال مدريد، بِشأن قدرة الدولي البلجيكي إيدين هازارد جناح الفريق الأول للوس بلانكوس، على التواجد في مباراة كلاسيكو الأرض برشلونة في الدوري الإسباني.
هازارد يُعاني من إصابة عضلية في ساقه اليسرى، أعلن عنها ريال مدريد في 30 سبتمبر الماضي، ومن المفترض أنّ يغيب لمدة شهر.
ريال مدريد يحل ضيفًا على برشلونة يوم السبت بعد المقبل الموافق 24 من الشهر الجاري، على ملعب “كامب نو”.
وقالت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية: “رغم أنّ هازارد لم يتدرب مع المجموعة حتى الآن، ولكن هُناك تفاؤل حول إمكانية تواجده في المباراة”.
اقرأ أيضًا.. ماركا: نزلة برد تبعد فينيسيوس عن تدريبات ريال مدريد قبل مباراة قادش
وأضافت الصحيفة: “هازارد على ما يرام، ويتعافى من إصابته”.
وأوضحت: “ولكن التفاؤل حذر، لأنه لا يوجد أحد في النادي يستطيع إجبار هازارد على اللعب، وإذا لم يُصبح جاهزًا بنسبة 100% فلن يلعب”.
وأتمت الصحيفة قائلة: “إذا تمكن هازارد من الحصول على دقائق في مباراة شاختار دونستيك بدوري أبطال أوروبا يوم 21 أكتوبر، فسيكون قادرًا على التواجد في كامب نو ضد برشلونة يوم 24 من الشهر ذاته”.
Newcastle are reportedly eyeing a move for Sassuolo midfielder Stefano Sensi.
What’s the story?
According to The Northern Echo, Newcastle face “enormous competition” from Europe’s best in the race for Sensi.
The report claims the Magpies have been scouting Sensi for more than a year, but several clubs in Italy, Spain and England are also tracking the 23 year-old.
It states that Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden are both likely to leave this summer, with Huddersfield’s Aaron Mooy and Fulham’s Tom Cairney also on the radar as possible replacements.
The report adds that Sensi’s price initially stood at £21.4m, but that could rise now with several clubs vying for his signature.
Is he worth it?
With £21.4m now looking like the opening bid rather than the actual price, the Magpies will be forced to think long and hard about pursuing Sensi more seriously.
If they pull the trigger though, they would be getting a technically supreme midfielder who combines penetrative passing with defensive solidity like few others.
At just 23, the young Italian has wowed spectators in Serie A with his maturity and composure on the ball, completing 91 per cent of his passes while averaging 1.7 key passes per game, per Whoscored. To complete such a high percentage of his overall passes despite clearly being keen to look forward and cut through the lines is extremely impressive.
Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….
Aforementioned, he also chips in at the other end, averaging 1.5 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game.
He has also recently earned two Italy caps, and it takes some doing to get into a midfield consisting of Chelsea’s Jorginho and PSG’s Marco Verratti.
With Shelvey nearing the exit door, the Magpies cannot rely on 21 year-old Sean Longstaff as their only technician in the middle, and if Sensi can form a long-term pairing with the local lad then he would be worth every single penny.
Many football matches are considered big games, but tonight’s match-up between Middlesbrough and Bristol City would fall into the season-defining category for Tony Pulis’ side.
Boro’, winless in their last five games — losing their last four in a row, three of which were at home — face a direct rival for the play-offs at the Riverside, knowing that defeat is likely to see them forced to suffer another season in the Championship.
Their awful run has come at the worst possible time, and with so many teams in with a shout of finishing sixth, it would be difficult to see a way back were they to lose again today.
Midfielder, Adam Clayton, was restored to the starting lineup for Saturday’s defeat against league leaders Norwich, having spent the last few weeks on the bench, and he refuses to use bad luck as an excuse for their run of dreadful results.
Speaking to Teesside Live, he said: “I believe you make your own luck.
“Yes, sometimes we haven’t had the breaks in games but it is down to us to change that.
“We’ve got to keep preparing right and keep going and working hard and make sure we are getting on the end of chances.
“We’re creating good chances and playing not bad football, but we need one to go over the line. But we can’t keep talking about luck, we need to make things happen.
“Yes, some times you need that bit of fortune in front of goal, a bit of a break – but you also need a bit of quality. We have to find that bit of quality up front to make sure it goes in the back of the net. It’s down to us.”
What Boro’ need to do is have decent delivery in and around the box, a lack of which, has been one of the reasons they have struggled in recent weeks.
Keeping Stewart Downing on the bench presumably because of contractual issues has not helped, and with the player waiving his automatic extension clause so he can play and help Boro’ through this sticky period, is a good thing, and it should allow Pulis to restore him to the starting lineup for tonight’s game.
It is a level of commitment that other Boro’ players need to emulate.
If he can get the ball into the danger zone consistently for Britt Assombalonga, the goals will come, and with goals, will come wins.
Certainly Middlesbrough can afford no more slip-ups between now and the end of the season, and both manager and players should know they are playing for their futures at the club.
The pressure is own Pulis, particularly, with his future up in the air, and he will almost certainly be the first person out of the door if they miss out on the play-offs.
If Boro’ can find a way to win tonight, they can go to Swansea at the weekend with a renewed spring in their step. The alternative does not bear thinking about.
What do you think of Boro’s play-off hopes? Have they already blown it, or is it still there for the taking? Let us know…
كشف الإسباني بورخا مايورال لاعب ريال مدريد، والمُعار لنادي إي سي روما الإيطالي، أنّ زين الدين زيدان مدرب النادي الملكي، حاول إقناعه بالبقاء في النادي، ولكن الأول أراد الرحيل.
ريال مدريد أعلن قبل نهاية سوق الانتقالات، إعارة مايورال لـ روما لمدة عامين.
وقال مايورال في تصريحات نقلتها شبكة “football-espana”: “عندما وصلت إلى مدريد خلال الموسم التحضيري، كنت سأغادر النادي بسرعة، لكن زيدان أراد بقائي”.
وأضاف: “لقد أخبرته أنني أريد المُغادرة للحصول على فرصة، ولكن هو طلب بقائي، وأعتقد أنّ النادي استمع إلى زيدان في البداية، ولهذا السبب أراد أنّ يخرج يوفيتش”
اقرأ أيضًا.. كورتوا: أريد الاعتزال في ريال مدريد.. ولست مضطرًا للرد على الانتقادات
وواصل: “تم إنجاز كل شيء في وقت متأخر جدًا، ولكن في النهاية اتصلت بمكتبه (زيدان) مرة أخرى وأخبرته إذا كان بإمكانه السماح لي بالخروج”.
وأتم تصريحاته: “اعتقدت أنه سيكون لدي المزيد من الفرص للعب والنمو مع كرة القدم الخاصة بي، في النهاية تم ذلك، وأنا في روما وهذا هو أهم شيء”.
Tottenham Hotspur opened their glistening new stadium two weekends ago, as their Under-18s team took on Southampton and won 3-1.
On Saturday, another match was played, this time from the other end of the era spectrum as a legends team took on Inter Forever.
The likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Darren Anderton all took to the pitch, and all took the time to give their take on the ground, which was home to 45,000 fans against the Nerazzurri.
Take a look at their verdicts below!
Darren Anderton – Long-serving former midfielder
Anderton, who played for the club between 1992 and 2004, believes the club are now well-positioned to bring in some of the best players in the world, saying:
“The club wants to be one of the best clubs in the world and to do that you have to have one of the best stadiums in the world, that’s exactly what we need and you want the best players to want to come and play for you and who wouldn’t want to play out there every week?
“The wall was unbelievable. Even in the warm up it really was a different sort of sound and it reverberated around there, it was amazing. I can’t wait to hear Wednesday night, when it’s a full stadium.”
David Ginola – A free-scoring dribbler in his heyday
Liverpool v Tottenham 8/11/97 Premiership Pic : Darren Walsh / Action Images Tottenham’s David Ginola gets away from Liverpool’s Steve McManaman Tottenham Hotspur
Ginola insists that Spurs are now well-placed to enter something of a golden era, adding:
“For the club it is a massive step forward because playing away from your home is not something that you want and it’s been for a long time now.
“First of all, they deserve to play at their home ground and now it’s over, the wait is over and Wednesday is going to be the start, hopefully, of something really, really interesting and I think it’ll be fantastic.
“The stadium is part of the whole project, there’s the training ground, the new stadium, everything is going forward, so I think the future of Tottenham Hotspur is really bright.”
Steffen Freund – cult hero and former coaching staff member
Freund enjoyed a five-year spell at the club before returning in 2012 as assistant head coach, and believes the club have sent a message to the entire footballing world, claiming:
“It’s a special place and you can see the difference to other new stadiums, like Arsenal, the Etihad, supporters are closer to the pitch and the south stand is a bit like the south stand at Borussia Dortmund. Everything, from the whole staff here at Tottenham was well organised.
“I came in 2012 as assistant coach, I saw the plans of what they could do and now the stadium is even bigger, that time it was 55,000, now 62,000, the second biggest in London. That’s a message to everyone in England, and to the world, that you can build a nice stadium with a nice atmosphere and still have over 60,000 supporters.”
Robbie Keane – The club’s 11th-highest goalscorer
Keane scored a genuinely brilliant goal during the legends game, having played for the club across two spells, and was especially impressed with the south stand, the largest of its kind in England. When asked about the atmosphere, he said:
“In terms of atmosphere, yeah. You can see it tonight, the atmosphere was fantastic.
“It’s certainly a historic moment for Tottenham Hotspur and it’s a credit to everyone at the club, certainly that big wall at the back there will put shivers down their spine.”
David Howells – A 13-year veteran
Howells, at the age of 51, completed the entire 90 minutes against Inter, having played as a midfielder for the club between 1985 and 1998, and believes Spurs have replicated the feel of the old White Hart Lane, claiming:
“The first thing I noticed was the noise. When we went out, the crowd, just when they were cheering the names as they were read out, it was ‘oh my god, that is noisy’. We all noticed it.
“It feels like home, it really does, I know it’s brand new and the standard of the whole building is absolutely phenomenal but it feels like home, it feels like you’ve come home, which is amazing. I suppose because the journey’s the same, we’re in the same area, but it does still have that feeling.”
Dimitar Berbatov – Former striker
Berbatov played for the club between 2006 and 2008 before earning a major move to Manchester United and was impressed with the facilities in north London, saying:
“It’s going to be a big step to getting Tottenham even bigger, in the world, as a club. They have everything now.
“I think this is one of the best stadiums I’ve been in, if not the best one. So now it’s down to them to show on the pitch how good they are.”
علق مرتضى منصور رئيس نادي الزمالك على البيان الصادر من اللجنة الأولمبية الدولية بشأن أزمة إيقافه عن ممارسة النشاط الرياضي.
وكانت اللجنة الأولمبية المصرية قد أصدرت قرارًا يإيقاف مرتضى منصور عن ممارسة أي نشاط رياضي مع تغريمه لـ100 ألف جنيه بسبب الشكاوي المقدمة إليه.طالع التفاصيل
وقال مرتضى منصور في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة الزمالك: “البيان الذي صدر من اللجنة الأولمبية الدولية قالت لهشام حطب (رئيس اللجنة الأولمبية المصرية) أنها ليس لها دخل بقرار إيقافي”.
وأكمل: “أقسم بالله إذا لم أضع هشام حطب في السجن سأعتزل المحاماة، وكل شئ بالقانون لأنه بلطجي”.
اقرأ أيضًا | بيان رسمي.. الأولمبية المصرية تؤكد دعم الدولية لقرار إيقاف مرتضى منصور
وتابع: “هناك تسجيل صوتي لعمرو الجنايني رئيس اتحاد الكرة، يحتوي على ألفاظ بذئية ضدي شخصيًا وضد رئيس الجمهورية”.
واختتم: “سأنتظر ماذا ستفعل لجنة الانضباط باتحاد الكرة مع عمرو الجنايني بعد هذة الألفاظ، وأنا أطمئن على لاعبي الزمالك في المغرب بشكل مستمر”.
As long as a contract remains unsigned at Newcastle, questions will continue to be asked about the future of Rafa Benitez, and where he is likely to be in August.
One thing that seemed to be a non-starter, was the rumour from L’Equipe (in French), that Benitez was looking for a managerial position in France’s Ligue 1.
With Benitez emphatically shutting down all talk of other clubs, and football agencies, in his press conference before the Crystal Palace game, it was hoped that it would put an end to the French speculation.
So it is surprising to see, yet again, a story from the same outlet via Sport Witness linking Rafa with Ligue 1 — this time to take over at Olympique Lyonnais.
The irony, of course, is that Lyon’s current manager, Bruno Genesio, was credited as someone Newcastle were looking at to replace Benitez, should he decide to leave.
It could, of course, be a case of the French press doubling-down with this latest claim, in order to give their previous article, which was denied by Benitez, more credibility.
But regardless of this ‘ifs’, and ‘whys’, these rumblings will persist until a contract is signed.
The worry for fans, will be the effect it is all having on the players.
With Premier League survival not yet guaranteed, and a couple of bad defeats seeing the Geordies pulled right back into the thick of the relegation scrap, the last thing needed is distraction.
Whether it is from alleged French moves, or lack of signed contracts, the not-knowing is damaging, and must play on the minds of both players and fans alike.
It is easy to say they should put everything other than the match in front of you out of their minds, but you cannot switch emotions on and off like a tap.
The one thing that would help the situation of both club, players and fans, would be an announcement that a contract has been signed, and then everyone can focus, and get on with the job at hand.
It is remarkable that the club have let it get to this stage without sorting anything out — remarkable, yet completely unsurprising.
Every deal that Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley have ever done has dragged on, and taken an eternity to complete.
But for all their other failings, not having this one done and dusted long ago, may prove to be their costliest error yet.
What do you think, Newcastle fans? Are you fed up with reading rumours surrounding your manager? Should he sign? Will he leave? Let us know below…
قررت شرطة ميرسيسايد في إنجلترا، فتح تحقيقًا واتخاذ إجراءات صارمة، بشأن ما حدث في أعقاب مباراة الديربي بين فريقي ليفربول وإيفرتون يوم السبت الماضي في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.
واستضاف جوديسون بارك مباراة الفريقين في الجولة الخامسة من البطولة، حيث تعادلا بهدفين لمثليهما.
وشهدت المباراة إصابة اثنين من لاعبي ليفربول وهما فيرجيل فان دايك وتياجو ألكانتارا، نتيجة تدخل عنيف من الثنائي جوردان بيكفورد وريتشارليسون.
وقال متحدث باسم شرطة ميرسيسايد، في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ديلي ميل” الإنجليزية: “نحن نحقق حاليًا في عدد من التغريدات المسيئة ضد اثنين من لاعبي إيفرتون وهما بيكفورد وريتشارليسون”.
وأضاف: “اللغة المستخدمة في التغريدات غير مقبولة على الإطلاق، ونحن نأخذ الأمر على محمل الجد”.
اقرأ أيضًا.. سكاي تكشف قرار الاتحاد الإنجليزي بشأن واقعة فان دايك وبيكفورد
وواصل: “أولئك الذين يستخدمون الإنترنت في استهداف الآخرين، والذين يرتكبون جرائم جنائية عن طريقه مثل التهديد أو أفعال الكراهية، سيقعون تحت طائلة القانون”.
وتابع: “الشرطة تجري تحقيقات موسعة للبحث عن الأفراد الذين نشروا التغريدات المذكورة، وبمجرد تحديد المخالفات سنتخذ إجراءات لتقديم المسؤولين عنها إلى العدالة”.
يفكر الجهاز الفني لمنتخب مصر الأول في ضم لاعب من صفوف فريق الكرة بالأهلي بعد تألقه مع الأحمر خلال الفترة الماضية.
ويستعد منتخب مصر لمواجهة توجو بالجولتين الثالثة والرابعة من مرحلة المجموعات بتصفيات كأس الأمم الإفريقية المقبلة خلال شهر نوفمبر.
طالع | سيد عبد الحفيظ: معلول سيشارك في مران الأعلي غدا.. واتجاه للدفع بـ البدلاء أمام الجيش
وعلم بطولات من مصدر بمنتخب مصر، أن محمد هاني عاد إلى حسابات الجهاز الفني بقوة للانضمام إلى معسكر منتخب مصر المقبل.
وأوضح المصدر، أن لاعب الأهلي كان خارج حسابات الجهاز الفني بقيادة حسام البدري خلال الفترة الماضية إلا إن بعد أداءه في المباريات الأخيرة وخاصة في مواجهتي الوداد عاد إلى حسابات الجهاز الفني واقترب من الانضمام لمعسكر منتخب مصر المقبل.
يذكر، أن الأهلي قد صعد للمباراة النهائية من دوري أبطال إفريقيا بعد تخطيه عقبة الوداد بنتيجة 5-1 في مجموع لقائي ذهاب وإياب نصف النهائي.
It has been a tough season for Keinan Davis in terms of breaking into the Aston Villa starting line-up due to the frankly spectacular season Tammy Abraham is having, but the 21-year-old looks well poised for a big future at the club, if managed correctly.
Abraham’s future remains unclear and it will be an interesting summer with Villa clearly dependent on his services and Chelsea set to serve a potential transfer ban.
Should the Blues be denied of making any signings in the next two seasons, then they could be in need of Abraham, especially after the season he has had. That should open the door for Davis, who replaced Abraham over the weekend when Villa extended their unbeaten run to eight games following a 2-1 victory over Bristol City at Villa Park.
Davis, who joined Villa as a teenager back in 2016, made an immediate and effective impact in the 18 minutes he was on the pitch on Saturday, causing the Bristol City defenders a few problems with his quick and clever runs.
He was also brilliant in keeping hold of possession and drawing in defenders before making the next pass or trying the turn the Bristol defensive line. Davis has been named on the Villa bench for the majority of the time since Dean Smith took charge of the club at the end of last year and has made a couple of appearances in the Premier League 2.
Other than that, he’s only made one appearance for the Villans’ first team and that was against Middlesbrough last month when he had 15-minute spell on the left wing.
But, the small glimpses Villa fans had of him in these two encounters was enough to get them excited and should Abraham indeed return to Chelsea, then Davis will have a big and important void to fill.
If he continues to work hard and take the chances presented to him then there is no reason why he won’t become a great footballer.
Aston Villa fans, are you worried for life after Abraham? Join the discussion by commenting below…