Alongside Rogers: West Brom must regret seeing "class" academy ace leave

West Bromwich Albion will use this international break as time to regroup and refocus, after only picking up one win from nine in all competitions recently.

That rare victory did come about last match away at Hull City in the Championship, as a quickfire double from Karlan Grant and Josh Maja sealed a 2-1 win for Carlos Corberan’s visitors.

Tom Fellows celebrates for West Brom.

Whilst Maja and Grant obviously impressed, academy product Tom Fellows failed to ever get going against Tim Walter’s men, leading to an early second half subsitution that saw Lewis Dobbin replace the out-of-sorts winger.

Still, with five assists next to his name this season in league action, the Baggies won’t want to lose their homegrown gem anytime soon – with Everton previously interested – knowing all too well what it feels like when a former prodigy goes on to reach dizzy new heights away from the Hawthorns.

Morgan Rogers is one of the most notable examples…

What Morgan Rogers has done since leaving

Rogers briefly called West Brom his home as a promising prodigy, before going on to star for near neighbours Aston Villa.

West Brom were ultimately powerless to losing Rogers when he did exit in 2019 – as the allure of Manchester City proved to be understandably strong – with the 22-year-old now a top performer for Villa many years down the line.

Off the back of helping himself to an impressive three goals and three assists this season in all competitions for Unai Emery’s outfit, Rogers has even won himself a senior England call-up, as the young attacking midfielder continues to go from strength to strength at Villa Park.

West Brom will curse even more now that Man City swooped in and stole Rogers before he could come good at the Hawthorns, with this unbelievably not the only time a one-time Baggies academy player has gone on to make a name for himself in the senior game after waving goodbye to the club.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

Tim Iroegbunam's career since leaving West Brom

Tim Iroegbunam’s departure from the Championship club would have hurt equally as much as Rogers upping and leaving, with the central midfielder on the books of his boyhood employers for a substantial amount of time, having joined the academy structure after playing locally in Sutton Coldfield.

Like Rogers, however, Iroegbunam would fail to make a senior appearance at West Brom, leading to the 6-foot ace seeking out pastures new, with Villa once more laughing in the face of their near neighbours when snapping up the 21-year-old in 2022.

Iroegbunam’s career numbers after West Brom

Club played for

Games

Goals scored

Assists

Villa (first team)

19

0

0

Villa U21s

23

1

1

Queens Park Rangers

32

2

0

Everton

8

0

1

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Looking at the table above, the Birmingham-born midfielder did make somewhat of an impression on the Villa masses after this move, with Iroegbunam making 19 first-team appearances for the Villans during his time there.

He would truly come into his own in the men’s game when on loan away from the Premier League club, with a spell at Queens Park Rangers seeing him bag two goals in the Championship, leading to the Hoops boss at the time Gareth Ainsworth heralding the youngster as “top class.”

Former QPR loanee Tim Iroegbunam.

Everton clearly saw lots of potential in the 21-year-old’s performances, forking out £9m to win his services this summer, with Iroegbunam exciting in flashes at Goodison Park today.

Still worth £8m according to Transfermarkt, with the ex-Baggies prodigy helping himself to one assist from eight Toffees clashes, West Brom must wonder now if they could have done anything differently in attempting to keep the midfielder around for longer.

Tim Iroegbunam for Everton

He could be of use to Corberan right now, considering the Baggies squad is somewhat threadbare and Iroegbunam showed he can handle the fast-paced division at QPR, but West Brom are just left with what could have been much like Rogers.

West Brom once let academy star leave for £0, now he’s outperforming Mowatt

West Bromwich Albion must now regret letting this youngster leave.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 10, 2024

Cummins expects 'close to a full-strength' squad for Pakistan tour

The trip is expected to be approved by the CA board on Friday

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2022

Pat Cummins said any player who does not wish tour will have full support•Getty Images

Australia remain confident a near full-strength squad will tour Pakistan with only a few players still holding security fears.Cricket Australia’s board is expected to approve its first tour to the country in 24 years on Friday, happy with the pre-trip security briefing.There were suggestions as recently as last week there was trepidation from some players over the trip, after a reported recent rise in terror attacks.But captain Pat Cummins on Thursday confirmed most players were comfortable with the tour going ahead, while understanding and accepting a few may not make the trip.Related

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What the Ashes told us about Australia's Test team

Jhye Richardson content with decision to miss Pakistan Tests

“I think we’ll get close to a full-strength squad,” Cummins said. “There is still a little bit of work to do. We have received a lot of information and it has been great. All the pre-tour security and biosecurity work has been done and it’s been fantastic.”There are a couple of players still keen to get a bit more information but everyone is really pumped and feeling relatively comfortable. If anyone doesn’t make the tour it is absolutely okay, we will back them for sure.”Australia’s players are scheduled to leave the country in a little over three weeks, ahead of the first Test in Karachi from March 3. Matches will follow in Rawalpindi and Lahore provided CA approves of the current schedule.The tour will mark Australia’s first overseas Test since the 2019 and is one three subcontinent tour which form their away series in the current World Test Championship. They are due to tour Sri Lanka in the middle of the year and then India in early 2023.Cummins admitted he was unsure how selectors would squeeze down the Test XI, with Scott Boland making a case to keep his spot in the fast-bowling cartel.Josh Hazlewood is also due back from injury, while Australia have already made the call to rest Jhye Richardson.David Warner and Mitchell Marsh were rested from the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka with a view to the Pakistan tour.Complicating the matter further is uncertainty around the resumption of the Sheffield Shield before the tour, with Western Australia’s closed border threatening to leave them sidelined.Selectors are also unsure whether to pick a squad for traditional spinning subcontinent wickets or greener decks, with Pakistan’s best bowlers since returning home mostly quicks.”I thought about it yesterday for the first time and thought that will be a tough decision,” Cummins said. “They usually have a way of working themselves out.”We’ll have a squad of 15 who did really well in the Ashes. Crystal ball, I have no idea.  I don’t even know what the wickets are going to look like over there.”

The Wrexham Messi: Red Dragons star likened to Ballon d'Or winner after Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney broke transfer record to snap him up

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney broke Wrexham's transfer record to sign Ollie Rathbone, and he has now been likened to Lionel Messi.

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Rathbone signed in summer of 2024Has played his way into top formCatching the eye of fans & team-matesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Rathbone arrived at SToK Racecourse in the summer of 2024 when completing a £300,000 move from Rotherham. That was the highest fee that the Red Dragons had ever paid for a player – although said record has since been smashed again on a regular basis.

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Wrexham believe they are getting value for money from Rathbone, as he has taken in 31 appearances for the club this season. The 28-year-old midfielder’s efforts have helped Phil Parkinson’s side to third place in the League One table and semi-finals of the Football League Trophy.

WHAT STEVEN FLETCHER SAID

His latest outing saw a fourth goal of the season registered, with the finishing touches put to a 2-0 victory at Northampton. Steven Fletcher has suggested that Rathone is becoming Wrexham’s version of Messi, posting on social media alongside an image of his club colleague delivering the same celebration as the Argentine eight-time Ballon d’Or winner: "Everything you have been saying makes sense now."

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WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

Messi boats plenty of entry in the record books, with Rathbone hoping to add one of his own as Wrexham look to become the first EFL team to enjoy three successive promotions. They will be back in action on Tuesday when playing host to Leyton Orient.

Martyn Moxon signed off with stress, Andrew Gale suspended as Yorkshire crisis escalates

Yorkshire’s head coach, Andrew Gale, has been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing, while the club’s director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, has been signed off from work due to a stress-related illness, as the fall-out intensifies in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism investigation.Gale, the club’s former Championship-winning captain, was last week revealed to have used the anti-Semitic slur “Y*d” in a historic Twitter conversation with an executive at Leeds United football club.”We can confirm that Andrew Gale, Yorkshire First XI Coach, is currently suspended pending a disciplinary hearing following an historic tweet,” read a statement from the club. “The Club will make a further statement once this process has been completed.”Meanwhile, the club say that Moxon “will be given the necessary support” after being signed off from work for stress, as of Tuesday (November 9).Moxon is due, along with Rafiq, Mark Arthur, the chief executive, and Roger Hutton, the former chairman, to give testimony at the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee hearing on November 16, as the full consequences of the club’s botched investigation into Rafiq’s allegations of institution racism become clear.Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Yorkshire’s new chairman, Lord Kamlesh Patel, hinted that the positions of Moxon and Arthur had become untenable after a torrid week for the club, adding that he would make “the right decisions in the coming days”. At present, Arthur is understood to still be in his role.The latest developments at Yorkshire come after the loss of a raft of key club sponsors including Emerald, Nike and Yorkshire Tea; an ECB suspension from hosting major matches, including next year’s Test against New Zealand, and a wave of allegations of racist behaviour from past and present players, including Gary Ballance, whom the ECB last week suspended from England consideration, and the former England captain, Michael Vaughan.On Friday, it was also confirmed that Yorkshire had settled its long-running employment tribunal with Rafiq, who was awarded a six-figure sum and offered an unreserved apology from Patel both for the treatment he had received in his time at the club, and for their previous attempts to impose a gagging order in return for a settlement.”Yorkshire County Cricket Club should be a club for everyone in Yorkshire,” Patel said in a statement that the club said had been released in “a spirit of transparency” to provide regular updates into the developments.”We need to listen to anyone who has experienced racism, discrimination and abuse at this cricket club, and I urge others to come forward to share their experiences,” Patel added.”We are aware that, since I spoke yesterday, a number of allegations have been made from individuals about their experiences in the media. These need to be properly investigated.Related

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“I announced that an independent whistle-blowing hotline will be set up as quickly as possible, as a safe space for people to come forward with disclosures. Once it is operational – and I have asked for this to happen by the end of this week – this will be the first step to a new and dedicated process to receive and to respond directly to all allegations and concerns.”We want anyone who may have suffered issues to come forward, and these will be considered carefully and with due diligence”.On Monday, Rafiq repeated his call for Arthur and Moxon to step down from their roles at the club.”Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the sport at large desperately need reform,” Rafiq had said in a press release following the conclusion of his employment tribunal. “This is a good start, but I want to reiterate my call for the change that must come next – and one that must happen quickly.”Mark Arthur, Martyn Moxon and many of those in the coaching staff have been part of the problem. They have consistently failed to take responsibility for what happened on their watch and must go. I urge them to do the right thing and resign to make way for those who will do what is needed for the club’s future.”

100% duels won: 8/10 Sunderland star was even better than Isidor

Sunderland managed to leap up to the top of the Championship standings with a narrow victory away at Hull City on Sunday, with many star performers standing out for Regis Le Bris’ men.

The Black Cats had to be patient and wait an extra day to get back into the thick of it in the second tier, with all other Championship teams playing on the Saturday, but a win was secured all the same courtesy of a second half strike by summer recruit Wilson Isidor.

The new loan signing from Zenit St. Petersburg is proving to be a hit with the Sunderland faithful early on, with this goal continuing his on-fire streak in league action.

Isidor's performance vs Hull

Isidor’s breakaway winner against the Tigers means the 24-year-old attacker has now found the back of the net three times in his last four second tier encounters, as Sunderland begin to uncover a first-team option up top they can rely on.

This strike away at the MKM Stadium is surely the pick of the bunch from his early Black Cats back catalogue, as the confident Frenchman galloped forward with pace to burn before delicately chipping Ivor Pandur in style, with the unbelievable counter-attack move sending the away masses into pandemonium.

Away from the goal, Isidor wasn’t the most involved in the action – with only nine touches of the ball coming his way – but Le Bris will love how deadly the 24-year-old is in decisive moments, with that strike sending his team back to the top of the ever-changing Championship summit.

The three points were also secured due to a valiant defensive effort from Le Bris’ visitors, away from Isidor’s heroics up the other end, with another loan face in Chris Mepham taking all the plaudits at the full-time whistle for his team’s dogged clean sheet.

Mepham's performance in numbers

Mepham has managed to make Daniel Ballard’s absences from recent line-ups feel less notable, with the AFC Bournemouth loanee slotting into the heart of defence seamlessly so far.

Amassing 65 touches of the ball, the experienced Welshman – who has 94 appearances in the second tier under his belt – was calm and controlled under pressure, with only six of his 51 passes going astray to keep an impressive 88% passing accuracy in-tact, alongside also battling well when it came to asserting himself into duels.

Stat

Mepham

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

65

Accurate passes

45/51 (88%)

Clearances

5

Interceptions

1

Total tackles

1

Total duels won

4/4

Stats by Sofascore

It was an all-round superb display by the brand new Black Cats number 26, with Mepham winning every single duel that came his way to continually thwart Hull in attacking areas, which led to Tim Walter’s home side accumulating zero shots on target across the full 90 minutes.

Mepham was rewarded for his efforts in the 1-0 win with a positive 8/10 match rating after the game by Roker Report journalist Andy Tomlinson, who labelled his display as “accomplished” and even further stated that he is beginning to strike up a formidable centre-back partnership with Black Cats captain Luke O’Nien.

He was, therefore, even better than Isidor as he was superb in all of his work throughout the game and helped to provide the platform for the striker to go and win the match.

That is now three clean sheets from five league games for the 6 foot 4 star since making the loan switch to the Stadium of Light happen, with Le Bris presumably confident that more imperious displays will come from the Welshman as the season drags on.

Now, Sunderland will be aiming to make it it two victories from two on the road when travelling to Luton Town this Wednesday night, in order to tighten their grip on top spot even more.

Sunderland wasted £10m on Black Cats dud who earned more than Ballard

Sunderland fell victim to lot of a transfer blunders around this time.

ByKelan Sarson Oct 18, 2024

Babar Azam credits 'bold decisions' and 'outstanding bowlers' for win

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite bemoans team’s lack of ‘consistency’ as series ends 1-1

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2021Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam has said that he was always confident of taking “bold decisions” as he trusted his bowlers to take all 10 West Indies wickets in the second innings.Pakistan set the hosts 329 in the second Test at Sabina Park, giving themselves a possible 130 overs to bowl West Indies out. Azam said that with Pakistan already trailing in the series, they had few options but to go for an early declaration after taking a lead of 152 in the first innings.”The plan was always to ask them to bat for 20-25 overs on the fourth day, and it eventually worked out well for us,” he said. “Take the lead up to 330-340, and then to make them play in whatever time remains on the fourth day. We had to level the series and so had to take some bold decisions for that – which we did take – and things worked out well for us.”Related

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Shaheen Afridi gets best match figures for a Pakistan quick since 2006

Azam also credited his bowlers for setting up the win, and singled out left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi, who picked up a career-best match haul of 10 for 94, including his best figures of 6 for 51 in the first innings.”He is really young, and the way he is grooming himself and performing for Pakistan shows he is such a good talent,” Azam said. “He is only improving day-by-day, and learning as well. He is leading the bowling too, and it was fun watching him bowl. He believes in himself, and each time he is given the ball, he bowls with the same pace and aggression. And so this is really helpful for me as captain.”Pakistan also picked left-arm spinner Nauman Ali in the XI, who was the only frontline spinner from either side unlike in the first Test, when Jomel Warrican was in the West Indies XI. Although Ali bowled only one over in the first innings, he was eventually used for 22 overs in the second, on the way getting the big wickets of Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder.”Our bowlers were outstanding today, and I should only give them all the credit,” Azam said. “Even Nauman Ali bowled well. It was a fifth-day pitch, and the way he bowled and got some turn, as well as those three of his wickets, proved really crucial for us in the end.”We thought bowlers might some help from the pitch on the final day. We had seen the wicket in the morning, and also observed it after lunch today. Hence, we thought it would turn, and help the spinners. There were patches there as well, so we planned to bowl Nauman, which turned out to be helpful for us.”Azam also highlighted senior batter Fawad Alam for his contributions, with Alam getting to his fifth Test century – and his fourth since his comeback last year – rescuing Pakistan from 2 for 3 in the first innings, and ending unbeaten on 124 in a total of 302.”Like I have always said, he is an experienced player. He has so many runs in first-class [cricket] and has such a brilliant record there,” Azam said. “And so the way he handled the pressure, built his innings and contributed for the team as per the conditions was outstanding. All our batsmen must also learn from him.”Azam’s counterpart Brathwaite, however, was left asking for more from his batters, with West Indies folding for 150 and 219 in the match.”We were behind the eight-ball from the start,” Brathwaite said. “Consistently is obviously what we need. Test cricket is never easy. All the guys technically can bat, it’s just the mindset. The quicker we get to that strong mentality [the better]. First 30 balls is always the toughest period and finding out ways through those periods is key for us.”Brathwaite did draw out some positives from the series, most notable of which was the performance of fast bowler Jayden Seales, who picked up a five-for in the first Test, thus becoming the youngest from his country to that feat in Test cricket.”He is a star in the making, you see him getting over 250 wickets,” Brathwaite said of the 19-year-old. “I know he has a big future ahead. With the experience in our bowling group guiding – Kemar, [and] Jason – he for sure is a future star.”Brathwaite also credited the Pakistan bowlers and Alam for their show, and felt that falling behind by a big margin in the first innings ultimately made the difference.”As a bowling unit they were very consistent,” he said. “Batting wise, their guys who got in in the first innings went big. Obviously, Fawad getting a hundred is something for me and the batters to take – when we do get that start, we make it count.”I still think it’s a positive since we didn’t lose the series. I thought the team did a superb job in the first Test. We let ourselves down in the first innings of this match. Kudos to the bowlers again for leading the way. We made some strides in the series, but in this Test, the first innings really let us down.”

Morumbi vai lotar! São Paulo divulga mais de 31 mil ingressos vendidos contra o Juventude

MatériaMais Notícias

O São Paulo divulgou que vendeu mais de 31 mil ingressos antecipadamente para a partida desta segunda-feira (06), ás 19h, contra o Juventude, pela 37ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro.

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O ingresso com preços mais em conta continuam sendo vendidos. O setor popular segue a preços de R$ 20 para todos os planos e público geral, com meia-entrada a R$ 10. Depois desse setor, vem os reajustes. A Arquibancada Leste Azul passou de R$ 70 para R$ 30. Até mesmo o Camarote dos Ídolos, que tinha entrada de R$ 400, o setor mais caro do estádio, está sendo vendido por R$ 230.

De acordo com o site da Total Acesso, apenas a Cadeira Especial Azul Leste e a Cadeira Térrea Leste foram esgotadas. Restam entradas para todos os outros setores. As vendas de ingressos para o público em geral já tiveram início 100% online, através do site da Total Acesso. Vale ressaltar que os protocolos contra a Covid-19 seguem, como uso de máscaras, distanciamento e medida da temperatura. Não haverá check-in presencial, somente online.

CONFIRA A TABELA ATUALIZADA E SIMULE O BRASILEIRÃO DE 2021!

Confira os preços dos ingressos de todos os setores para o público em geral:

Arquibancada norte amarela (Setor Popular) – R$ 20
Arquibancada leste azul – R$ 30
Arquibancada sul laranja – R$ 20
Arquibancada oeste vermelha – R$ 30
Arquibancada oeste visitante – R$ 30
Cadeira cativa leste – R$ 30
Cadeira cativa oeste – R$ 30
Cadeira superior norte amarela – R$ 50
Cadeira superior sul laranja – R$ 50
Cadeira superior sul laranja premium – R$ 50
Cadeira especial leste azul – R$ 100
Cadeira especial oeste vermelha – R$ 100
Cadeira térrea P 02 – 04 – R$ 50
Cadeira térrea P 18 – R$ 50
Cadeira térra PCD – P17 -B – R$ 10 (só venda de meia-entrada)
Camarote sócio – 16-A – R$ 15 (só venda de meia-entrada)
Camarotes corporativos/contratos – R$ 30
Camarote dos Ídolos (portão 5-A) – R$ 230

James Maddison in hot water? Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou speaks out on midfielder attending PDC World Darts Championship despite being ill as he reveals injury-plagued Spurs have been hit by sickness bug

Ange Postecoglou has defended James Maddison over his trip to watch the darts amid a terrible run of Tottenham form.

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Maddison attended PDC World ChampionshipWas too ill to play for SpursPostecoglou wades inFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Maddison was too unwell to start for Spurs against Wolves as they drew 2-2 on Sunday. The attacking midfielder came on as a substitute, and was later seen at the PDC World Darts Championship. Postecoglou has now defended the Englishman's trip to Alexandra Palace, although it remains to be seen if he will be fit enough to play against Newcastle on Saturday.

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Spurs have been struggling immensely with an injury crisis. They have nine players currently on the treatment table, including goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, defenders Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie, and forwards Wilson Odobert and Richarlison. They have also had to deal with illness sweeping through the squad before the clash with the Magpies, and reports suggest Brandon Austin will make his debut in goal after Fraser Forster was also struck down by the sickness bug. To that end, Fabrizio Romano has reported Spurs are close to signing Slavia Prague goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.

WHAT POSTECOGLOU SAID

Addressing Maddison's outing, Postecoglou told reporters: "I've got no problem with the players having lives. It's a lot different trying to play a game of football and living a life. I don't see any problem with that and I don't think it hurt him.

"He wasn't 100% and it was a game where we needed someone to be 100%. He was still well enough to play. If he was bed-ridden, didn't turn up to the game and then still went to the darts, there may be an issue there. But I had no issue with that."

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AFPWHAT NEXT?

Spurs face Newcastle this weekend as they attempt to right a dismal run. Spurs have won just one of their last five league games and sit 11th in the table. They are nine points clear of the relegation zone, and also nine points behind the top four.

Everton believe 20 y/o they’re sending out on loan is a future Toffees star

Looking to find their next Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton reportedly believe that one young centre-back is on course to become a Goodison Park star by gaining experience out on loan this season.

Everton transfer news

If Everton are to ensure that their poor start doesn't spiral into a season-long disaster, then Branthwaite's return should prove to be the key. The England international stayed put as Amadou Onana headed for the exit door in the summer transfer window to hand Sean Dyche a major boost when he returns from injury.

Everton chiefs failed to land experienced international target for Dyche

The Toffees could have done with his expertise…

1 ByTom Cunningham Sep 4, 2024

The international break should hand the Toffees a welcome boost on that front, with their defender handed more time to recover once and for all from injury and perhaps even return to Everton's side in their first game back against Aston Villa and former star Onana at the end of September.

Even when out injured, however, the rumours regarding Branthwaite's future haven't stopped, with Liverpool – of all clubs – recently linked with a controversial move to sign the defender. As things stand though, he remains on the blue half of Merseyside and represents the importance of Everton's youth setup, which has seemingly provided another gem after his move from Carlisle as a teenager.

Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite

According to Football Insider, Everton believe they have another defensive prodigy in Reece Welch, who is set to seal a loan move to Belgian side KMSK Deinze before their transfer window closes on Friday. The 20-year-old centre-back spent last season on loan at Forest Green and is set to head out yet again in pursuit of minutes, before playing the part many believe him to be capable of at Goodison Park.

This time next year, given that he's rated so highly at the club, Welch may even be the man to step in for Branthwaite if he does secure an eventual departure away from Everton, with this move expected to be his own version of Branthwaite's time at PSV.

"Physical" Welch can follow Branthwaite path

Whilst Everton aren't in the position to spend the money that they once were, their youth pathway should be in position to reap the rewards, as highlighted by Branthwaite's rise to stardom. The defender arrived from Carlisle and quickly emerged from loan spells at Blackburn Rovers and then PSV to become arguably the Toffees' most important player.

Now, Welch – standing at 6 foot 4 – can follow the same path by impressing on loan in Belgium. The young centre-back already impressed on loan at Forest Green last time out, and has been nurtured as the Toffees' next big thing for years, with Blues coaches believing all the way back in 2020 that they had a top teenage talent in Welch, when he had just turned 17.

Former manager David Horseman told the club's official website when he arrived at Forest Green: “This is one we’re really excited about. A big thank you to Everton for making it sure got done. Reece is a really physical centre-back with good mobility. He’s a lovely footballer. He arrives with good pedigree, and he’s highly rated at Everton. He will help us a lot this season."

It's now up to Welch to enjoy another fruitful spell for a Deinze side gunning for promotion to the Belgium Pro League from the Challenger Pro League. They've already started well on that front too, taking seven from nine points available.

الأهلي يبحث عن استعادة هيبته في الدوري المصري أمام مودرن سبورت

يواجه فريق الأهلي نظيره مودرن سبورت مساء غد الأحد ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز “النيل” 2024-2025.

المباراة تقام على ملعب استاد السلام في تمام الساعة السابعة مساءً بتوقيت مصر ضمن منافسات الجولة الحادية عشر من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ويقام هذا اللقاء في ظل ظروف مثيرة للاهتمام لكلا الفريقين، حيث يسعى الأهلي لتعويض النقاط الضائعة في التعادلات المتكررة، بينما يحاول مودرن سبورت الخروج من قاع الترتيب وتحقيق مفاجأة جديدة أمام الأحمر.

يأتي الأهلي إلى هذه المباراة وهو في المركز الثاني بجدول الترتيب برصيد 20 نقطة، بعد أن حقق تعادله الخامس هذا الموسم أمام بيراميدز في المباراة الماضية.

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وعلى الرغم من أن الفريق لم يتلقَ أي هزيمة حتى الآن، إلا أن التعادلات المتتالية أثارت بعض التساؤلات حول قدرته على الحفاظ على وتيرة المنافسة على لقب الدوري، خلال الموسم الحالي، حيث حقق الأهلي 5 انتصارات فقط.

من ناحية أخرى، يقبع مودرن سبورت في المركز قبل الأخير بجدول الترتيب، وهو ما يجعله في موقف صعب يحتاج معه إلى تحقيق نقاط إيجابية لتفادي خطر الهبوط إلى دوري الدرجة الثانية.

وعلى الرغم من مركزه المتأخر، فإن الفريق يمتلك ذكرى جيدة مع الأهلي، حيث تمكن من تحقيق فوز مفاجئ في آخر مواجهة بين الفريقين، وهو ما يمنحه دفعة معنوية قبل اللقاء القادم.

تاريخ المواجهات بين الفريقين يشير إلى أن الأهلي فاز في 3 مباريات فقط من أصل 7، بينما انتهت 3 مباريات بالتعادل وفاز مودرن سبورت في مباراة واحدة فقط، وهي المباراة الأخيرة بينهما. 

من المتوقع أن يعتمد الأهلي على تشكيلته القوية التي تضم عددًا من النجوم الدوليين، مع التركيز على تحسين الأداء الهجومي الذي ظهر بشكل متذبذب في المباريات الأخيرة، كما سيكون التركيز على تجنب الأخطاء الدفاعية التي كلفته نقاطًا ثمينة في التعادلات السابقة.

في المقابل، سيحاول مودرن سبورت استغلال أي فرصة للهجوم المضاد، مع الاعتماد على التنظيم الدفاعي لصد هجمات الأهلي، حيث يدرك أن تحقيق أي نقطة في هذه المباراة سيكون إنجازًا كبيرًا يعزز من فرصه في البقاء في الدوري المصري.

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