كشفت تقارير صحفية تطورات استبعاد دين هويسن، مدافع الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد من مباراة إسبانيا وجورجيا ضمن منافسات تصفيات كأس العالم.
ومن المقرر أن يواجه منتخب إسبانيا الأول لكرة القدم نظيره جورجيا مساء اليوم، السبت، ضمن منافسات تصفيات كأس العالم 2026، في تمام الساعة السابعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، الثامنة بتوقيت مكة المكرمة.
ويحتل المنتخب الإسباني صدارة جدول ترتيب المجموعة برصيد 12 نقطة بالعلامة الكاملة، فيما يأتي منتخب جورجيا في المركز الثالث برصيد 3 نقاط.
وقد كشفت تقارير صحفية أن لويس دي لافوينتي، المدير الفني لمنتخب إسبانيا الأول لكرة القدم قد استبعد دين هويسن، مدافع ريال مدريد، من مباراة جورجيا لأنه يعاني من ألم بدني، (للمزيد من التفاصيل اضغط هنا).
ووفقًا لصحيفة “آس” فإن هويسن مهدد بالاستبعاد الكامل مع معسكر منتخب إسبانيا اليوم إذا أكدت الفحوصات الطبية إصابته العضلية التي ظهرت عليه بعد تدريب يوم الجمعة.
وأفادت الصحيفة بأن الجهاز الفني للمنتخب الإسباني لن يُخاطر بأي لاعب خاصةً بعد الغيابات الأخيرة للعديد من اللاعبين على رأسهم لامين يامال ونيكو ويليامز اللذين تعرضا لإصابات في عضلة الفخذ خلال فترة التوقف الدولي.
كان دين هويسن قد اشتكى من بعض الإجهاد في مباراة ريال مدريد الأخيرة أمام رايو فاليكانو لكنه تعافى وانضم إلى معسكر إسبانيا وشارك في جميع التدريبات ولم يُعانِ من أي مشاكل أخرى حتى أمس الجمعة عندما شعر بشد عضلي.
Washington picked up two wickets early in the session but Root and Stokes drove back home the advantage
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2025
Joe Root brought up his 38th Test hundred•Associated Press
Tea Joe Root’s 38th Test century took him up to second on the all-time Test run-scorer’s list. And in typical Root fashion, his 121 and counting has raised England to a dominant position in this fourth Test, leading India by 75 in the first innings at tea on day three.Upon moving to 31, Root snuck past Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Jacques Kallis (13,289), bumping the latter off the podium to join Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. And, four minutes before the end of the second session, he walked down to open the face for a single down to third to move to 120, knocking Ponting (13,378) down a peg, who sung his praises on Sky as part of their commentary team upon being leapfrogged.Related
Root surpasses Ponting to become the second-highest run-getter in Tests
Root did little more than raise a thumb to his skipper, Ben Stokes, with whom he has so far shared an 84-run stand. They had earlier embraced for his hundred after tickling his 178th delivery around the corner for his 12th boundary around, one which took him level with Kumar Sangakkara’s tally of 38, level fourth on the all-time centuries list. It is also his 12th century against India, the most of any player, now ahead of Steve Smith.
He had batted for most of the day with Ollie Pope, sharing in a stand of 144 which was ended seven balls after lunch. It was Pope first after the break, edging Washington Sundar to first slip. And Washington had his second four overs later when he hoodwinked an advancing Harry Brook on the outside edge to have him stumped.It was a passage out of kilter with an otherwise listless performance from India in the field. They missed a chance to remove Root on 22 with a botched attempt at a run out, and they were unlucky when Root, on 98, inadvertently diverted a ball just past his leg stump after it caught his thigh guard.Otherwise, their lack of energy, partly due to being run-ragged by England’s penchant for quick singles, was compounded when Jasprit Bumrah was only able to bowl one over with the second new ball before having to leave the field with an unknown injury. Mohammed Siraj, lionhearted throughout, limped off after the 99th over to leave Shubman Gill with big headache heading into the final session.
Anthony Gordon has become the centre of social media scrutiny after the England international failed to find the back of the net in yet another Premier League game. The winger has had a grip on the left of the Magpies and Three Lions' attacks in recent months, but both Eddie Howe and Thomas Tuchel may be growing concerned at Gordon's lack of output.
Gordon under fire for West Ham defeat
Gordon was disappointing once again for Newcastle in the Premier League as the Magpies slumped to a shock 3-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium. The Hammers recorded just their second win of the season, and their first under Nuno Espirito Santo, to leave Newcastle a disappointing 12th after 10 games.
The afternoon started brightly for the away side when Jacob Murphy put the visitors in front after just four minutes. The right-winger weaved in and out of the Hammers defence before striking hard into the bottom-left corner.
Yet, the Magpies could only hold onto their lead for half-an-hour when Lucas Paqueta, looking to lead West Ham to safety, curled an effort from distance past the diving Nick Pope. Ten minutes later, a Aaron Wan-Bissaka cutback was turned into his own net by Sven Botman to give the hosts the lead. Newcastle pushed, but were unable to find a way back into the game and Tomas Soucek bundled home in injury time to seal the three points.
It marks another poor result and performance from Newcastle, whose dreams of qualifying for the Champions League for another season already look under threat, with much of the blame for their inconsistent and wasteful attack being levelled at Gordon, who was substituted at half-time.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportFans fume at wasteful winger
The Newcastle United fans are growing tired of the winger, who has now gone 19 games in the Premier League without scoring or providing an assist for one of his team-mates. On X, @Regista10_ declared the stat as, "one of the worst stats" they had ever heard.
Gordon was also fortunate that his lackadaisical performance escaped punishment. @KHeneage said that "Anthony Gordon [is] far too casual on the ball in the wrong areas," in reference to the winger being robbed of possession leading to a West Ham attack. Looking to pounce on Gordon’s error, the hosts poured forward and, when Jarrod Bowen went over in the box, looked as if they would take advantage of the winger’s complacency in midfield. Luckily for Gordon, the awarded penalty was overturned by VAR.
On the same incident, @Will44s added: "Anthony Gordon is very light weight and also gives the ball away far too much for somebody that’s meant to be this good a player."
Taking things further, @swamoil wanted the club to not only drop the wide attacker from the starting line-up, but to expel him from the entire club. They posted: "Anthony Gordon needs to be released. Spent £500m and Jacob Murphy from nearly a decade ago is still our best winger."
Also looking for the Magpies to move Gordon on, @GetAHurrCutMan_ said: "Anthony Gordon is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. Would snap your hand off if a bid of any significance arrived."
Gordon to move back to Merseyside?
Interest in Gordon from other clubs has been well-documented. Liverpool have long-been-linked with the winger who has reportedly been open to a move back to Merseyside.
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AFPShooting boots are on in Europe
Champions League nights return to the Northeast this week as Athletic Club visit St. James’ Park. Fortunately for Gordon, he has been excelling in European football and even drew praise from Benfica manager Jose Mourinho after the Englishman put the side from Lisbon to the sword. He will want to add to the four goals in three games he has scored in the competition already.
Celtic moved to within two points of Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a dramatic 3-2 win over Motherwell at Parkhead on Sunday.
The Hoops needed a stoppage-time winner from Daizen Maeda, who bundled in a cross from Michel-Ange Balikwisha, to claim all three points in front of their own fans.
In fact, they had to come from 2-1 down to claim a win in the second half. Benjamin Nygren equalised after snatching the ball inside the Motherwell box, before Maeda’s winner.
They had to produce a stunning comeback, in part, because Marcelo Saracchi conceded a penalty that allowed the away side to take the lead.
Why Marcelo Saracchi should be dropped
The Uruguay international was brought into the side in place of Kieran Tierney to provide the Scottish full-back with a rest, but failed to put in a solid performance.
He attempted a challenge in the box with the wrong foot, stepping on the attacker with his left foot instead of using his right to make a block, which resulted in a penalty to Motherwell.
That came after he gave Tawanda Maswanhise too much time to put a cross in for Motherwell’s first goal in the first half, standing too far off the winger out wide.
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Despite those errors for the goals, which should see him dropped from the XI, Luke McCowan was even worse than the Boca Juniors loanee in the middle of the park.
Why Luke McCowan should be dropped
Brendan Rodgers should ruthlessly ditch the Scottish central midfielder from the team after the international break because of his disappointing performance against Motherwell.
The left-footed star was put in the midfield to provide a spark and creativity in possession for the Hoops, yet he played 60 minutes without registering a shot on goal or a chance created, per Sofascore.
This shows that the former Dundee star was completely ineffective in possession for the Scottish giants, because he did not provide any sort of threat as either a scorer or a creator of goals.
The 27-year-old central midfielder’s general play throughout the match was not much better, unfortunately, as he was even worse than Saracchi with his all-round performance in and out of possession.
Vs Motherwell
Luke McCowan
Marcelo Saracchi
Minutes
60
64
Pass accuracy
83%
84%
Possession lost
13x
13x
Dribbles completed
0/1
1/2
Duels won
2/5
4/8
Tackles + interceptions
1
3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Saracchi won more duels, made more defensive contributions, and completed more dribbles during a similar amount of time on the pitch.
McCowan was far too wasteful with the ball at his feet, losing possession 13 times, when you consider that he did not create a single chance for his teammates in an hour for Celtic.
It was a big chance for the central midfielder to impress, given that Rodgers now has two weeks to reflect on this performance, ahead of the next block of matches.
Unfortunately, the experienced star failed to grasp his opportunity to nail down a place in the starting XI, as he did not do enough in or out of possession to suggest that he should retain a starting berth.
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Hopefully, McCowan will be able to show a better version of himself when the manager next decides to offer him a chance to play in the starting line-up.
سلطت تقارير صحفية الضوء على قرار الهولندي آرني سلوت، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول بجلوس محمد صلاح على دكة البدلاء أمام آينتراخت فرانكفورت ضمن منافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.
وواجه ليفربول نظيره فرانكفورت الألماني مساء أمس الأربعاء، في المباراة التي جمعتهما ضمن منافسات الجولة الثالثة من مرحلة الدوري لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.
وحقق ليفربول فوزًا مهمًا على نظيره الألماني بخماسية مقابل هدف جعلته يستعيد ثقته مرة أخرى بعد عدم الفوز في 4 مباريات متتالية.
وكان آرني سلوت قد اتخذ قرارًا بجلوس محمد صلاح على دكة البدلاء أمام آينتراخت فرانكفورت للمباراة الثانية على التوالي بدوري أبطال أوروبا، بعد جلوسه أمام جالطة سراي في المباراة السابقة.
وقد دفع المدرب الهولندي بالنجم المصري محمد صلاح في الدقيقة 72 من زمن الشوط الثاني، وحاول لاعب ليفربول أن يسجل أو يهدد مرمى آينتراخت فرانكفورت ولكن دون نجاح.
اقرأ أيضًا | لاعب مانشستر يونايتد السابق: إثارة غضب محمد صلاح ليست بالأمر السيئ
وقالت شبكة “بي بي سي” سبورت إن عدم إشراك محمد صلاح أساسيًا في المباراة والفريق بحاجة شديدة إلى الفوز كان قرارًا جريئًا من المدرب آرني سلوت.
وأضافت أن صلاح سجل 52 هدفًا في دوري أبطال أوروبا، وهو أمر رائع لقائد منتخب مصر خاصةً أن باقي لاعبي ليفربول مجتمعين لديهم 31 هدفًا في البطولة ذاتها.
لكن بالنسبة للاعب سجل 29 هدفًا في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز الموسم الماضي، لم يكن صلاح في أفضل حالاته هذا الموسم، حيث سجل هدفين فقط في ثماني مباريات حتى الآن.
وأوضحت الشبكة البريطانية أن تراجع مستوى صلاح يؤثر بشكل واضح عليه، حيث ظهر الدولي المصري متلهفًا للتسجيل عندما دخل بديلًا أمام فرانكفورت في آخر 16 دقيقة، وسدد من زاوية صعبة في حين كانت التمريرة العرضية إلى فلوريان فيرتز خيارًا أفضل، كما سدد الكرة فوق العارضة.
واختتمت أنه مع احتمال غياب إيزاك عن الملاعب لفترة، من المرجح أن يحصل صلاح على فرصة لإثبات أنه لا يزال اللاعب الأهم في ليفربول، حيث يتطلع الريدز إلى مواصلة تكرار هذا الفوز في مواجهة برينتفورد يوم السبت المقبل.
حرص المهندس هاني أبوريدة رئيس الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، وأعضاء المجلس حمادة الشربيني ومصطفى أبو زهرة ومحمد أبو حسين وطارق أبو العنين على مساندة ودعم منتخب مصر تحت 17 عاما قبل المشاركة في بطولة كأس العالم في قطر.
ويشارك منتخب مصر، بقيادة المدير الفني أحمد الكأس، في منافسات بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 سنة، المقرر إقامته في قطر، خلال الفترة من 3 نوفمبر إلى 27 نوفمبر 2025.
وتحدث أبو ريدة مع اللاعبين عن ضرورة بذل أقصى ما لديهم في المرحلة المقبلة من أجل تشريف الكرة المصرية.
طالع | نتائج قرعة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا.. منتخب مصر مع إنجلترا
وأشار أبو ريدة في اجتماعه مع اللاعبين، إلى أنه كان حريصا على توفير كافة طلبات الجهاز الفني بقيادة أحمد الكاس من أجل الوصول إلى أبعد نقطة في كأس العالم.
كما تواجد الجهاز الفني للمنتخب الأول بقيادة حسام حسن وإبراهيم حسن مدير المنتخب وطارق سليمان المدرب العام، من أجل حث اللاعبين على ضرورة بذل أقصى ما لديهم في البطولة.
وأكد حسام حسن في كلمته، أن جميع اللاعبين تحت أنظار جهاز المنتخب وأن فرصة تواجدهم في المنتخب الأول قائمة حال تألقهم مع المنتخب وأنديتهم.
وأسفرت القرعة، عن وقوع منتخب مصر تحت 17 عامًا في المجموعة الخامسة مع منتخبات إنجلترا وفنزويلا وهايتي.
After a long summer full of twists and turns, we’ve made it to deadline day, and Chelsea look set to complete some last-minute business.
The Blues have already backed Enzo Maresca and his squad in a big way this window with eye-catching additions like Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens.
Yet, with the club set to compete in the Champions League for the first time in years this season, there is a sense that the West Londoners could do with a little more quality in the side.
Fortunately, if reports are to be believed, Chelsea are eyeing a late move for an international gem who has been compared to Lamine Yamal and Bukayo Saka.
Chelsea eye late swoop for Yamal & Saka hybrid
According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Chelsea are still very interested in Fermin Lopez.
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Interestingly, there are several other sides also keen on landing the Barcelona gem, but the West Londoners appear to have the most concrete interest at this point.
The report has revealed that the Catalan giants would be willing to part ways with the 22-year-old for a fee of up to €90m, which is approximately £78m.
While that is a substantial amount, it might well be worth it for a player compared to those of Yamal and Saka.
How Lopez compares to Saka & Yamal
Now, there are several surface-level similarities you can point to between Saka, Yamal, and Lopez, such as all three being young attackers who play for one of the biggest teams in their league – alongside one another in the Spaniards’ case.
However, thanks to FBref, we know that there are also some undeniable statistical similarities between them, as according to them, the Englishman has been the seventh most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Barça gem over the last 365 days, and his teammate was the fourth most similar in La Liga last season.
You can gain a better understanding of how these comparisons were made by examining the underlying numbers in which Lopez ranked closely to the two international monsters.
Lopez & Saka
Statistics per 90
Lopez
Saka
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.69
0.71
Non-Penalty G+As
0.79
0.78
Tackles
1.37
1.51
Successful Take-On %
45.5%
45.6%
Carries into the Final Third
1.58
1.67
Aerial Duels Won
0.65
0.52
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Campaign
Interestingly, when it comes to the Gunners’ mercurial number seven, the El Campillo-born dynamo ranks closely in things like expected and actual non-penalty goals, tackles, aerial duels won, carries into the final third and more, all per 90.
Yet, when it comes to his club teammate and compatriot, the “spectacular” midfielder, as dubbed by former manager Xavi, ranks similarly in metrics such as key passes, crosses, progressive passes, and other key creative statistics, all per 90.
Lopez & Yamal
Statistics per 90
Lopez
Saka
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.69
0.75
Progressive Passes
5.68
5.05
Key Passes
2.09
2.02
Live Passes
44.9
47.2
Crosses
3.38
3.41
Tackles
1.37
1.32
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Campaign
In other words, it looks like the La Masia product could be as much of a goal threat as the North Londoners’ talisman, while being as creative and intuitive as the Catalan’s Ballon d’Or winner in waiting.
While he still has plenty of developing to do, that sounds like a pretty sensational combination, and when you factor in that he scored eight goals and provided ten assists in 46 appearances, totalling just 2,039 minutes, last season, it becomes clear why Chelsea are so keen to sign him.
Therefore, while it won’t be cheap, the Blues should do all they can to bring Lopez to Stamford Bridge before the window slams shut at 7pm this evening.
Their own Gyokeres: Chelsea make late move to sign "aggressive" £69m star
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Shaun Pollock, the media representative of the ICC’s cricket committee, has said that the body is “working on something” to give bowlers “bit more leeway on wides”, particularly with batters often moving around the crease in limited-overs formats.”If a batter jumps across [at the] last minute, it doesn’t really work out for me,” Pollock told PTI on the sidelines of the SA20. “I think a bowler, at the start of his run-up, needs to know where he can bowl it.”The current rule tends to suggest that if he [the batter] moves and it’s that point of delivery where the batter is, and that’s according to where the wide will be called, I want a little bit of a change. I want them to know exactly when they’re running up why or how – how can a bowler be expected to change his game plan at the last second when he’s bowling? He needs to have a clear idea where he can go.”So it’s in the pipeline, we’re all discussing. We need to give a little bit back to the bowlers.”As things stand, though, the ICC’s playing conditions specify that a ball should be called a wide if it “passes wide of where the striker is standing and which also would have passed wide of the striker standing in a normal batting position”, and also, it is not a wide “if the striker, by moving, either causes the ball to pass wide of him, or brings the ball sufficiently within reach to be able to hit it by means of a normal cricket stroke”.That aside, at the IPL and the WPL in India since 2023, players – bowlers and batters – have been empowered to review wide calls by umpires using DRS.Simon Taufel, though, has not been in favour of it.”I’m really conscious around trying to turn the art of officiating into a science and seek perfection, whatever that looks like, with decision making,” Taufel had told ESPNcricinfo. “So with wides for example, and here we’re going to, potentially according to you, or according to the player or the debate, take a wide call and throw that back to the third umpire for them to judge on something that might be marginal and is still a judgement call.”
Pollock hopes SA’s ‘IPL stars’ make a difference at Champions Trophy
Pollock said South Africa should look to leverage their players’ experience in subcontinent conditions during the upcoming Champions Trophy, which will be played in Pakistan (with the exception of matches featuring India, which will be played in Dubai).”You’ve got basically the similar players that were at that [2023 ODI] World Cup, where we got to the semi-final and lost to Australia,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of IPL stars who play for South Africa. In those situations, everything looks good. The amount of IPL players, people like [Heinrich] Klaasen, [David] Miller, even [Quinton] de Kock, all those guys who spend so much time over there, getting an understanding for conditions, that can only help South Africa.”They [have] got the ICC Test Championship [final] now as well, so it’s been some good stuff and, hopefully, some younger individuals come up. We’ve seen it starting to develop in the Test arena.”
‘South African cricket needed SA20 injection’
The SA20, South Africa’s pre-eminent franchise-based T20 competition, is now in its third season, and Pollock said it had “gone from strength to strength” in its short existence.”Some of the activities at the ground as well, the Catch 2 Million competition this year has been added,” he said. “I know the young kids are taught ‘you’ve got to get to the ground’, because we need some money these days with the economy the way it is. But it’s definitely gone from strength to strength.”South African cricket needed this injection – there’s no doubt about it. They needed something to create a bit of unbelievable interest in the game.”
When Manchester United officially confirmed that Ruben Amorim would be their new head coach to replace Erik ten Hag last year, there was plenty of optimism.
The Portuguese head coach had just won the league title with Sporting and arrived at Old Trafford as an exciting young manager with a new system for fans to get used to.
His arrival also prompted supporters to wonder whether or not he would look to reunite with prolific centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres to bolster the club’s options at the top end of the pitch.
Manchester United did, reportedly, make contact with Sporting over a potential deal to sign the Swedish forward earlier this summer, only for him to end up at Arsenal.
Whilst the Red Devils were unable to reunite Amorim with Gyokeres this summer, the Portuguese head coach has already had the chance to work with one of his former Sporting stars in Manuel Ugarte.
United signed the Uruguay international from Paris Saint-Germain for an initial fee of £42m last summer, before Amorim arrived, and he has yet to prove his worth.
Why Man United may need to replace Manuel Ugarte
The Red Devils may need to find a replacement for Ugarte before the end of the summer transfer window because he has not proven himself to be a reliable option in the middle of the park.
He is billed as a midfield destroyer who sweeps up in front of the defence. However, he only won 53% of his duels in the Premier League and was dribbled past 1.3 times per game in the division; only Bruno Fernandes (1.4) was dribbled past more per match on average.
This shows that Ugarte did not provide a very effective screen in front of the defence in the top-flight last season, as opposition players found too much joy in running past him, exposing the backline.
On top of that, the 24-year-old defensive midfielder does not offer quality in possession to make up for when his defensive skills are not enough in the middle of the park, as he does not carry an offensive or progressive threat on the ball.
24/25 PL
Ugarte
Rank vs midfielders
Non-penalty goals
0.05
Bottom 41%
xAG
0.06
Bottom 30%
Shot-creating actions
1.56
Bottom 16%
Progressive passes
3.08
Bottom 18%
Progressive carries
0.81
Bottom 23%
Passes into the final third
2.96
Bottom 36%
Passes into the penalty area
0.45
Bottom 20%
Stats via FBref
As you can see in the table above, Ugarte was among the worst performers in the Premier League in midfield when it came to progressing play through passes and carries, or creating and scoring goals.
These statistics suggest that the former Sporting star is not a reliable operator for Amorim because he is suspect defensively and in possession.
United could find a big upgrade on Ugarte, though, as they are reportedly interested in signing another central midfielder from one of their Premier League rivals.
Man Utd in talks with midfield star's agents
According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United are in ongoing talks with the agents of Brighton & Hove Albion defensive midfielder Carlos Baleba.
However, he adds that a deal is complicated and that there is no progress being made at the moment, which does not suggest that a transfer is likely to happen any time soon.
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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the reporter said: “Man United still maintain contacts with the agents of Carlos Baleba, contacts are still ongoing, but at the moment, they still believe that the deal is really complicated, is really difficult, so at the moment there is no concrete progress.
“Man United at the moment make their steps, started this week by making an approach to people close to the player, to try to understand the situation, maintain the contacts with the agents of the player, so don’t leave the conversation immediately.”
GIVEMESPORT adds that Brighton will be looking for a fee in the region of the £115m that they raked in from Chelsea for Moises Caicedo in order to let go of Baleba.
This suggests that Manchester United may need to splash out a fee in excess of £100m, breaking their transfer record, to snap the Cameroon international up this summer.
Why Man Utd should sign Carlos Baleba
The Red Devils should be pushing to get a deal over the line for Baleba, if they can avoid the huge fee that it may take, because he would arrive as a big upgrade on Ugarte.
He is already a proven Premier League performer, thanks to his time with Brighton, and would offer more to the team in the middle of the park, as both a defender and a progressive operator in possession.
Baleba won 55% of his duels and was only dribbled past 0.9 times per game in the top-flight last season, which immediately suggests that the left-footed enforcer would be more reliable off the ball in comparison to Ugarte as opposition players find it harder to get the better of him.
The clip above also shows that the Brighton star has more in his arsenal than just defensive qualities. He scored three goals and created three ‘big chances’ in the top-flight, whilst also providing progressive play in build-up.
24/25 Premier League (per 90)
Carlos Baleba
Manuel Ugarte
Non-penalty goals
0.10
0.05
Shot-creating actions
2.23
1.56
Progressive passes
3.99
3.08
Progressive carries
1.45
0.81
Key passes
0.71
0.50
Passes into the final third
3.69
2.97
Passes into the penalty area
0.78
0.45
Stats via FBref
As you can see in the table above, the Manchester United target outperformed Ugarte in a host of attacking and possession-based metrics in the middle of the park in the Premier League.
These statistics suggest that Baleba, who was hailed as “exceptional” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, would come in as a big upgrade on the United flop because of his ability to influence the game in possession, as well as out of out.
Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba
That is alongside also having the potential to be an upgrade on him from a defensive perspective, given that attacking players find it harder to dribble past him or win duels against the 21-year-old titan.
Therefore, signing Baleba would improve Manchester United’s team because he would offer more to the side, as a proven Premier League performer, in all phases of the game than Ugarte currently does.
Man Utd reach agreement to post near £70m loss to get rid of "very good" player
While there is still some work to be done, Chelsea have been incredibly effective in the transfer market this summer.
Enzo Maresca and Co. clearly wanted the majority of their first-team additions to be before the start of pre-season, and they’ve largely succeeded.
One team that has been quite the opposite is Manchester United, who got their hands on Matheus Cunha early but then proceeded to take well over a month to agree a fee for Bryan Mbeumo.
The Europa League runners-up look to have finally got their man for a price that could reach £70m with add-ons, and now it looks like Chelsea want to sign someone who’s been compared to the Cameroonian international.
Chelsea target their own Mbeumo
Chelsea should enter next season full of confidence, as, in addition to the team that secured them fourth place last year, they’ve added some serious talent.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The likes of Liam Delap and Joao Pedro will undoubtedly make Maresca’s side far more potent upfront, and the tremendously exciting Jamie Gittens should add more quality to the left-wing position.
Moreover, the West Londoners have shipped off Noni Madueke to Arsenal for a profit and could be set to earn a sizable payday on some of their other unwanted players.
Noni Madueke for Chelsea
The Conference League champions are not done there, though, as they now look determined to bring in a young attacker who could be their answer to Mbeumo.
At least, that’s according to a recent report in Friday’s print edition of Spanish publication Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, which claims Chelsea are seriously interested in Xavi Simons.
The report reveals that, alongside United, the Blues have held talks over a move for the Dutch international, although the reported price tag of around €70m is proving to be a problem.
It could end up being a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but Simons has proven he’d be worth spending big on, especially as he could be Maresca’s own Mbeumo.
How Simons compares to Mbeumo
One of the most significant comparisons between Simons and Mbeumo stems from FBref, which analysed players in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League across the last 365 days.
It then concluded that the Brentford star was the fourth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the RB Leipzig star.
The best way to understand how that conclusion was reached is by examining some of the underlying metrics in which the pair ranked closely.
Non-Penalty G+As
0.48
0.42
Progressive Carries
3.56
3.43
Shots
2.09
2.08
Shots on Target
0.96
0.90
Expected Assists
0.25
0.25
Goal-Creating Actions
0.50
0.53
Tackles Won
0.88
0.82
Successful Take-Ons
1.38
1.37
These include things like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive carries, goal-creating actions, successful take-ons, tackles won, shots and more, all per 90.
These numbers help show that, although he’s three years his junior, the former Paris Saint-Germain gem, who one analyst has dubbed “one of the best 10s in the world,” is just as adept at creating and scoring chances.
Moreover, both players are positionally versatile, with the soon-to-be United star thriving on the right, as a second striker, or up top, while the Amsterdam-born dynamo can play off either wing or in the ten.
Finally, both players were effective outlets for their respective teams last season, with the Cameroon international scoring 20 goals and providing nine assists in 42 games, as the Blues target scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in 33 games.
Ultimately, it won’t be cheap, but Chelsea should do what they can to sign Simons this summer as he would add some serious quality to their squad and be the perfect answer to Mbeumo.
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