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Leeds United have dropped down to second in the Championship table after Sheffield United picked up a point in their clash with West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

The Whites are now one point behind the Blades and have a superior goal difference to Chris Wilder’s side, which means that they are in a good position to retake the number one spot in the division in the coming weeks.

Burnley’s draw with Middlesbrough on Friday night provided the West Yorkshire outfit with an opportunity to move back into the automatic promotion places, which they took with a 2-0 win over Derby County at Elland Road on Saturday.

Joe Rodon and Max Wober both scored in the first half of the match to secure all three points for the hosts, in a difficult game against a team that came with a clear game plan to frustrate Leeds.

Daniel Farke’s side will be hoping to continue to pick up results like that, even when teams come to frustrate them, so that they can avoid the lottery of the play-offs this time around.

The German head coach could look to dip into the market in the January transfer window to bolster his squad ahead of their push for promotion in the second half of the season, subsequently signing an upgrade on Manor Solomon…

Manor Solomon's performances for Leeds this season

Farke swooped to sign the Israel international on a season-long loan from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, and the attacker has had a mixed start to life in West Yorkshire.

The former Fulham star was selected to start on the left wing against Derby on Saturday and ended the match with zero shots on target and zero ‘big chances’ created for the Whites.

He has only scored two goals for Leeds and both of those strikes were close range finishes in the dramatic 4-3 win over Swansea at the end of last month.

The 25-year-old forward has, so far, failed to offer a regular threat as either a scorer or a creator of goals for Leeds on the left flank this season.

Since his assist for Mateo Joseph on his debut against Hull, Solomon has registered two goals and zero assists in 11 Championship appearances for the club.

Appearances

12

Goals

2

Big chances created

2

Assists

1

Error led to goal

1

As you can see in the table above, the Spurs loanee has created as many goals for the opposition, with his error that led to a goal against Burnley, as he has for Leeds in the second tier.

Simply, Solomon has not provided regular quality at the top end of the pitch, failing to record a goal or an assist in ten of his 12 league outings, and that is why they could look towards the transfer window to sign a replacement.

Leeds United eyeing MLS starlet

According to the Mirror’s Ryan Taylor, Real Salt Lake forward Diego Luna has emerged as a target for Leeds United ahead of the upcoming transfer window, which officially opens for business next month.

The reporter claims that Farke and his recruitment team are exploring a potential swoop for the American youngster, although he adds that there is ‘nothing to suggest’ that a deal is imminent for the Championship side.

Taylor also reveals that there is competition from other clubs across Europe and this means that the Whites could have to move quickly to secure his services, to avoid another team coming in to beat them to the left winger’s signature.

The article from the Mirror claims that Leeds have been keeping tabs on his development and tracking his performances in the MLS for many months, which shows that this interest has been bubbling away in the background for a long time.

Luna, who won the MLS Young Player of the Year award for 2024, has a contract through to December 2026 and the report states that Real Salt Lake will demand a fee of more than £3m for his services.

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It remains to be seen whether or not Leeds will be able to seal a deal for the impressive young forward in the January transfer window.

Why Leeds should sign Diego Luna

Firstly, the MLS Young Player of the Year is only 21 and this means that he could come in as a talented prospect with the potential to improve and develop over the years to come.

Luna could, therefore, come in to make an instant impact whilst also having the scope to grow in value under Farke’s coaching, whilst also potentially having the ability to develop into a Premier League level player.

The USA international, who was hailed as a “complete” attacker by writer Jon Arnold, also caught the eye with his contributions as both a scorer and a creator of goals in the MLS throughout 2024, which shows that he can already make an impact at first-team level.

Luna, who scored 13 goals in 43 USL Championship games for El Paso, ended the year with nine goals and eight assists in 36 appearances in all competitions for the American side.

Appearances

33

Goals

8

xG

6.67

Big chances created

12

Assists

8

Key passes per game

1.7

As you can see in the table above, the right-footed left winger, who can also play as an attacking midfielder, provided a regular threat as a scorer and a creator.

His return of eight assists from 12 ‘big chances’ suggests that his teammates let him down at times with their wasteful finishing, whilst eight goals from 6.67 xG speaks to his effectiveness in front of goal.

He averaged a goal or a ‘big chance’ created every 1.65 matches in the MLS, whilst Solomon is currently averaging a goal or a ‘big chance’ created every three appearances in the Championship for Leeds.

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Therefore, Luna – who is four years younger than the Spurs loanee – has the potential to come in and be a big upgrade on Solomon by providing more quality as both a goalscorer and a creator from a left wing position in the second half of the season, whuch is why Leeds should sign him.

Celtic are now ready to offer a major wage increase to one of their key men in a bid to convince them to sign a new contract in Scotland, it has been claimed.

Celtic unlikely candidates for Champions League qualification

Following a 7-1 thrashing by Borussia Dortmund in their second Champions League outing of the season, Celtic looked rank outsiders to qualify for the knockout stages of the new-look Champions League.

However, the Scottish Premiership champions have turned it around since, drawing with Europa League champions Atalanta before pulling off a famous 3-1 win over German side RB Leipzig in their most recent outing.

Goals from Nicolas Kuhn and Reo Hatate helped the Bhoys come from a goal down in front of a raucous Celtic Park to claim all three points, and move to seven from four games.

Currently in one of the knockout qualification spots, Brendan Rodgers’ side face games against Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys and Aston Villa in their final four games, likely needing three wins from those to cement an automatic qualification spot and two for a spot in the knockout qualification round.

It continues what has been a strong start to the season domestically, with Celtic yet to lose this season and sitting joint top of the Scottish Premiership with Aberdeen, who they drew 2-2 with last month before thrashing them 6-0 in the Scottish League Cup. Now, there is more good news for the Bhoys.

Celtic make contract breakthrough

That comes as reports claim that Celtic have made a breakthrough in talks over a new contract for defender Alistair Johnston, which will see him pick up a hefty pay rise.

The defender, who Pat Nevin described as “spectacular” in their win over RB Leipzig, has become one of the first names on Rodgers’ teamsheet following his move in January 2023, and though he is under contract until 2027 as things stand, his form is set to be rewarded with a new deal in a bid to ward off potential interest from abroad.

Alistair Johnston’s 24/25 season

Appearances

16

Goals

4

Assists

4

Yellow Cards

4

As per the Daily Record, Celtic and the defender are “close to agreeing a new contract”, which “will hand the 26-year-old a significant increase in salary” as well as increasing the length of his stay. It is added that talks have advanced “significantly”, with Johnston’s agent having flown to Scotland to finalise the deal.

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However, there is less good news for the contract of fellow defender Greg Taylor, who is set to become a free agent as things stand at the end of the campaign. Speaking earlier in the season, Rodgers revealed tying him down to a new contract was a “priority”, however the report adds that “there has been nothing agreed with the Scotland international”, which will likely be Celtic’s next focus.

Graham Thorpe has called on England’s batters to save the Sydney Test and prove that they have absorbed the lessons of a tough campaign, as he backed the team’s walking wounded of Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to do everything they can to be ready for what could yet prove to be their final appearances of the tour.Neither Bairstow, who sustained a blow to the thumb during his first-innings century, nor Buttler, who struggled to grip his bat while making a duck in the same innings, took the field on Saturday after being sent for X-rays, leaving Ollie Pope to step up behind the stumps – a role he performed with aplomb with four catches to equal the record for a substitute fielder.And while Thorpe insisted both men would be ready to bat when required -as would Stokes, who remained on the field despite suffering a side strain on the second day of the match – England were grateful for an extra night’s rest for each player, as openers Haseeb Hameed and Zak Crawley made it through to the close on 30 for 0 after 11 overs of resistance.Related

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“With some of the injuries we’ve got, we’re going to need two, three or four of our players to really stand up and bat for a long time,” Thorpe said. “I want us to play positively, with a good mental approach, and I was pleased with the way Zak and Has went about it tonight.”They moved well, and you could see their intent, defending well and being able to put away the ball which came along to actually score off. That’s important too, because scoring runs is important for your confidence, even when you’re trying to play for a draw.”In a measure of England’s struggles with the bat in this series, the pair’s partnership has already exceeded England’s previous best for the first wicket – 23, between Hameed and Rory Burns at Brisbane. And though it wasn’t plain-sailing to the close, with Crawley gloving a lifter from Scott Boland over the slips for four, Thorpe said that the mental fortitude to roll with such moments was a vital part of any batter’s armoury.”The odd one is kicking up off a length, so the guys have got to have a clear mind that that’s going to happen from time to time and, if you’re unlucky, you’re unlucky,” Thorpe said. “Zak got a little bit of luck tonight but he needs to keep that really positive attitude to the game tomorrow.”It’s been challenging for some of them technically and mentally,” Thorpe added. “And that’s the biggest thing for the younger players who are trying to establish themselves and own a place in the team. They’ve got opportunities tomorrow to do that. To stay in the team, you have to perform [like] Jonny, who played fantastically in an innings of great courage and skill.”That’s the same thing we want to see again in our second innings. It was a good start tonight. But we need a hell of a lot more of it again tomorrow.”England have had one near-miss in a rearguard already this series, after Buttler’s doughty 26 from 207 balls was unable to carry England to safety on the final day at Adelaide. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be capable of performing to that level again after bruising his hand while keeping on the second day, but Thorpe was hopeful that the commitment he showed in that innings would rub off on his team-mates.”Each individual can assess how they play,” he said. “You saw how Jos went about it in Adelaide. I still like people to be positive in the way they’re thinking and the ability to score runs as well, because it puts you in a better place. But it’s about little blocks of time as well tomorrow. Ten overs each, trying to work together as partnerships.”We’ve obviously got some blows to some fingers, but I’m sure the lads will take whatever they need to take to get themselves into a position where they’re capable of performing tomorrow,” he added. “So they’ll all bat and they will do their very best. I know that.”However, with 98 overs scheduled on the final day, Thorpe believes that England will need to improve their decision-making if they are to avoid slumping to their fourth defeat of the series. He singled out England’s captain, Joe Root, as an example of a player who could have done better in the first innings, after edging to slip for a duck during England’s collapse on the third morning.”It was a poor shot in the first innings, and we played some poor shots, pushing at balls which you don’t need to push at,” Thorpe said. “They’re aware of it and they kick themselves when they come in. But that is the game. You have to make those decisions and get them right on the pitch.”I do believe that some of the young players in this team will have very good and long Test careers, but they have to be able to front up and accept some of their failings – whether it be technically or mentally – in periods on this tour.”I know that they’re trying to correct it. And I’m hoping that some of these younger guys will be far better players down the line with their awareness, their smartness, their decision-making absolutely key.”Everyone goes on about technique, but you’ve got to make good decisions constantly when you’re out in the middle and that requires a good temperament. And that’s what players are always being assessed on, whether they’re going to be good enough to do that down the line.”With the ball, England showed spirit in adversity – reducing Australia to 86 for 4 in their second innings before Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green took the game away again in a fifth-wicket stand of 179.”It was very tough,” Thorpe said. “At the beginning of the week, we said ‘let’s try and show a good attitude’. Let’s keep trying to turn up. Test cricket is hard sometimes, and you need individuals. I thought our bowlers kept going – Mark Wood has been incredibly unlucky at times, I thought he’s bowled fantastically well on this trip, and it was good for Jack Leach as well just to pick up [four] wickets for himself.”But this is the harsh end of the game, and our batters have also seen that as well. Tomorrow’s another opportunity.”

Arsenal are now prepared to lodge a £42 million bid for one Serie A “revelation”, as sporting director Edu Gaspar and co make transfer plans for 2025.

Arsenal's rumoured transfer plans for January and next summer

By his own admission, Edu spends weeks identifying transfer targets in detailed assessments of players who he believes could upgrade Mikel Arteta’s ranks at N5.

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The Premier League title hopefuls – who are aiming to beat Man City and Liverpool to the crown at the third time of asking – have suffered from a plague of injury problems to key senior players as well, perhaps highlighting their need for more strength in depth.

Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kai Havertz, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney and potentially Gabriel Martinelli have all been sidelined at various points, with a few proving very sore misses.

Bournemouth (away)

October 19

Liverpool (home)

October 27

Newcastle United (away)

November 2

Chelsea (away)

November 10

Nottingham Forest (home)

November 23

Odegaard remains weeks away from full fitness after suffering ankle ligament damage last month, while Arsenal are sweating over the fitness of Martinelli after he picked up a calf problem on international duty with Brazil.

“I’ve heard the Arsenal hierarchy have held discussions about what happens if certain players get injured, and that includes Saka,” said ex-chief scout Mick Brown, who remains well-connected within the game, to Football Insider this week.

“They want to get to a point where they have a solid backup for every player in their starting XI. Long-term, they’ll be planning to strengthen in every position. But that applies to Saka certainly, because a winger who’s always looking to take people on is always likely to get a whack and pick up a knock.

“He may always be available at the moment, but I know the club are planning for what happens if that isn’t the case any longer.“

It is believed Edu is targeting Antoine Semenyo as a back-up to Saka, while Arsenal have also been repeatedly linked with a new number nine, potentially to replace Gabriel Jesus.

Arsenal prepared to make £42 million bid for Isak Hien

Despite the arrival of Riccardo Calafiori in the summer, Spanish media report this week that Atalanta centre-back Isak Hien is a target for the Gunners.

Arsenal have been keeping tabs on Ajax starlet Jorrel Hato recently, sending scouts to watch the Dutchman in action against Germany on Monday, so it appears they’re after more alternative options to star central defensive duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.

Links to Hien may therefore have weight, with the 25-year-old Sweden international branded “one of the revelations at the start of this season”.

That is according to a claim from Spain, which also states that Arsenal are prepared to make a £42 million bid for Hien, who has been praised as a modern, ball-playing centre-half who could really suit Arteta’s system.

The ex-Verona gem has averaged more blocks per 90 than any other player in Atalanta’s squad, whilst also being second behind Berat Djimsiti for interceptions made and clearances according to WhoScored.

It is fair to say that Manchester United have been shambolic this season. Erik ten Hag’s side are struggling for any kind of good form this season, and are scratching around for points in the Premier League.

They currently sit 14th in the top flight with just eight points from seven games and only five goals in that time, the joint second-lowest in the league.

Unsurprisingly, this is their worst start to a season in the Premier League era. Ten Hag achieved the embarrassing feat for the second time in as many seasons, breaking his unwanted record of nine points from 2023/24.

It has been a disaster for the Dutchman so far, and the rumours of his potential sacking recently have begun to intensify. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is thought to be lining up a surprise replacement.

Man United’s shock manager target

With the speculation of a new boss at the helm at Old Trafford beginning to gain traction, they have been linked with a shock move for 32-year-old Elfsborg manager Oscar Hiljemark, who has impressed at the Swedish outfit.

This is according to reports in Sweden via Sports Witness, which suggest the Red Devils scouted an Elfsborg match recently, with both players and the head coach on the agenda for the trip.

The report states that Hiljemark is ‘likely to be on the radar of bigger sidesl across Europe, after success domestically and on the European stage. The 13-time Premier League champions were joined by scouts from fellow English top-flight sides Tottenham and Bournemouth.

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Who is Hiljemark

The 32-year-old former central midfielder is making waves across European football at the moment. His side, who are something of an unknown quantity, have proven to be extremely effective, and Hiljemark recently masterminded an impressive 1-0 Europa League victory over Italian giants AS Roma.

The Swede has an impressive record as a manager already. Despite the fact he has managed just 75 games so far, the former PSV Eindhoven and Palermo midfielder has already won 40 games, with a 53% win rate.

Games

75

Wins

40

Draws

19

Losses

16

Goals for

145

Goals against

89

Win percentage

53%

In recent times, he has favoured a back three formation, with a 3-4-3 system being his go-to system. However, the 32-year-old has shown plenty of tactical flexibility, deploying 4-3-3 systems in the early days of his managerial career.

This is similar to another supposed Red Devils managerial target, Thomas Tuchel. According to a recent report from Samuel Luckhurst of The Manchester Evening News, United bosses are ‘lining up’ a move for the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager.

Indeed, a back three is something the Red Devils’ faithful might need to become accustomed to. During his time at Chelsea, the German was notorious for playing a back three. He has also shown great tactical flexibility at other clubs, playing a 4-2-3-1 system at the Allianz Arena and a 4-3-3 during his time as Paris Saint-Germain boss.

There can also be a similarity drawn between Heljemark and esteemed Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard is now regarded as one of the best managers in the Premier League, but when he first moved to the Emirates Stadium, he was inexperienced and fairly young, just 37 years of age.

That is certainly similar to the Elfsborg boss. Although he has managed at the professional level, there is quite a difference in managing United, and he could certainly consider himself inexperienced in this sense, like Arteta, although for different reasons.

Arteta was a coach at an elite European club, and Heljemark is the manager of one of the best sides in Sweden, something quite incomparable to managing at Old Trafford. Similarities can also be drawn in their age, with the Gunners boss just five years older when he took the Arsenal job to the Swede now, aged 32.

With that being said, there is no reason to suggest that Heljemark does not have it in him to manage the Red Devils.

It has not exactly been a place where managers have succeeded since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013. Who knows, perhaps this inexperienced young manager from Sweden, with impressive tactical nous, could be the man to take United back to the top. It can’t go any worse than Ten Hag’s reign, can it?

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has worked with a number of brilliantly talented stars at Parkhead throughout his two spells in charge in Glasgow.

Matt O’Riley is the latest player to have been sold for big money under his management, following the midfielder’s £25m+ move to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Danish wizard, who produced 18 goals and 13 assists in the Scottish Premiership last term, earned a move to England due to his superb performances under Rodgers last season.

He is not the only Celtic star to have earned a big move after working with the Northern Irishman at Parkhead, though, as Kristoffer Ajer is another player who thrived under him.

Celtic's Kristoffer Ajer masterclass

The central defender arrived at Paradise in the same summer as Rodgers in 2016, in a £650k deal from IK Start in Norway, as an 18-year-old prospect.

Ajer was initially sent out on loan to play 17 times for Kilmarnock in the 2016/17 campaign before returning to compete for a place in the first-team.

The 6 foot 6 colossus went on to make 66 appearances under Rodgers at Parkhead and racked up 176 games in total for the club, as he remained in Glasgow after the manager’s move to Leicester City in 2019.

In the summer of 2021, Brentford swooped in to sign the Norwegian star for £13.5m, which shows that Rodgers and the Hoops played a masterclass with him, as they turned a £650k-rated teenager into a multi-million-pound sale.

Rodgers could now repeat that trick by unearthing Dane Murray, who is currently out on loan at Queen’s Park, as his next version of Ajer at Parkhead.

Why Dane Murray could be Kristoffer Ajer 2.0

The 6 foot 3 giant initially emerged as a first-team option for Ange Postecoglou in the 2021/22 campaign before suffering a serious knee injury that has stunted his development.

Murray played 165 minutes against FC Midtjylland across two Champions League qualifiers under the Australian head coach and caught the eye with his performances.

2021/22 CL qualifiers	Dane Murray	Percentile rank vs centre-backs
Pass accuracy	82%	Top 20.3%
Successful dribbles per 90	0.55	Top 5.8%
Tackles won per 90	1.64	Top 3.6%
Aerial duel success rate	81.8%	Top 4.3%
Interceptions per 90	3.82	Top 1.4%
Ball recoveries per 90	6.0	Top 12.3%
Stats via FotMob

As you can see in the table above, the teenager ranked highly among his positional peers in the competition in a host of defensive and possession-based statistics, including his aerial dominance.

Unfortunately, his injury issues have prevented him from kicking on since then but the central defender, now 21, joined Queen’s Park on loan this summer and looks to be getting back to his old self.

The Scotland U21 international has already made four appearances for the second tier outfit this season and has been described as a player with “real potential” by manager Callum Davidson.

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Ajer also had to go out on loan early on in his Celtic career before establishing himself as a colossal figure at the back under Rodgers and Murray could be unearthed in a similar fashion, if he can go on to enjoy a stellar season with Queen’s Park before returning to Parkhead next term.

He has already shown his quality at Champions League level in the past and could emerge as a first-team option for Rodgers in the future if the Scottish titan can get back to those levels after his injury issues.

Ferreira, Callender and Neal are dealing with fitness issues, Tolkin leaves for "personal reasons" ahead of transfer

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• Ferreira, Tolkin and Neal depart January camp
• Pochettino down to 21 players for two friendlies
• One cap between six forwards left for USMNT

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Forward Jesus Ferreira, goalkeeper Drake Callender and defenders John Tolkin and Jalen Neal have all departed the USMNT's January training camp, U.S. Soccer announced. The federation said a decision on whether to bring replacements will be made in the coming days.

  Ferreira is departing camp so that he can return to full fitness ahead of the 2025 campaign with the Seattle Sounders after he was evaluated in his initial medical, while Neal is experiencing a "minor issue" and left to join CF Montreal in their Florida training camp. Callender, meanwhile, experienced a minor muscle issue resulting in his return to Inter Miami.

  Tolkin, meanwhile, left for "personal reasons" ahead of a reported transfer to Bundesliga side Holstein Kiel.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The four departures leaves Pochettino's squad at 20 members ahead of a crucial year where the Argentine manager will be evaluating his player pool. The remaining roster stands as shown:

  GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Freese (New York City FC; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 29/0)

  DEFENDERS (7): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 0/0), George Campbell (CF Montréal; 0/0), DeJuan Jones (Columbus Crew; 8/0), Shaq Moore (FC Dallas; 19/1), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 66/1), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 30/3), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 41/3)

  MIDFIELDERS (4): Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; 1/0), Emeka Eneli (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 1/0), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; 1/0)

  FORWARDS (6): Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC; 0/0), Caden Clark (CF Montréal; 0/0), Brian Gutiérrez (Chicago Fire FC; 0/0), Matko Miljevic (Huracan/ARG; 0/0), Indiana Vassilev (St. Louis CITY SC; 0/0), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; 1/0)

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Ferreira was the most experienced forward on the roster with 23 first-team caps. Among the remaining six forwards on the roster, Brian White is the only capped attacker, and he has just one appearance. It likely means Pochettino will be playing with six inexperienced forwards on the international stage this January.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT?

  The U.S. clash with Venezuela on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET in their first friendly of the January camp, before they turn around to take on Costa Rica on Jan. 22. The two matches will serve as Pochettino's first contests with the January Camp roster as he looks to build out his team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup has endured a difficult start to life in Norfolk, with one win in five Championship matches and several of his key players being sold during the summer transfer window.

The Danish boss lost Adam Idah, Abu Kamara, Jonathan Rowe, and Gabriel Sara in August, with the sale of the Brazilian midfielder, arguably, the biggest blow.

In the 2023/24 campaign, the former São Paulo man produced 13 goals and 12 assists in 46 outings in the second tier during the regular season under David Wagner. Galatasaray then swooped in to secure his services for a fee of £20m, which could rise to £22.5m including add-ons.

Norwich do, however, have an asset at the club who is reportedly worth even more than Sara, as his value has soared over the last three seasons.

How much Norwich paid for Josh Sargent

Back in the summer of 2021, as the Canaries prepared for a season in the Premier League, Daniel Farke and Stuart Webber snapped up USA international Josh Sargent from Werder Bremen.

The club reportedly splashed out a fee of £8m to sign the 2. Bundesliga centre-forward, who had just been relegated from the top-flight in Germany, and he endured a rough debut year in England.

Norwich were relegated from the Premier League, Dean Smith replaced Farke at the helm, and Sargent only scored two goals in 26 appearances, both of which came against Watford in the same game.

That relegation to the Championship was a blessing in disguise for the American striker, however, as he has thrived in the second tier with the Yellows.

Josh Sargent's current market value

It was reported during the summer transfer window that Norwich were looking for a staggering fee of £30m for their star striker, which means that his value has soared by a whopping £22m since the summer of 2021.

The right-footed marksman racked up 13 goals and two assists in 40 appearances during the 2022/23 campaign, under Smith and David

Wagner, but only featured as a striker on 19 occasions – often deployed on the wing or in an attacking midfield role instead.

Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, though, Sargent has exclusively operated through the middle as a centre-forward, and his record in front of goal reflects that.

Appearances

26

5

xG

12.07

1.90

Goals

16

2

Assists

2

1

Big chances created

3

1

As you can see in the table above, the 24-year-old striker has fired in 18 goals in his last 31 appearances in the Championship for Norwich, from an xG of just 13.97.

These statistics show that Sargent has been a reliable source of goals for the Canaries in the second tier, and his return of 18 goals from 13.97 xG shows that he ruthlessly puts away the chances that come his way.

His terrific goalscoring record may be why the club value him at a staggering £30m, more than the £22.5m they raked in for Sara, and shows that Farke and Webber hit the jackpot when they landed him for just £8m in the summer of 2021.

Joyce’s side have not played an international for 20 months

Matt Roller21-May-2021

Ed Joyce has been Ireland’s head coach since June 2019•Cricket Ireland

Ed Joyce has been joking this week about his unbeaten record as Ireland Women’s coach in ODI cricket. It might sound arrogant, but only without the crucial context: 23 months after he was appointed, they still haven’t played one under him.That wait is set to continue for a while yet, but Sunday’s T20I against Scotland Women in Belfast – the first of a four-match series – will be the end of a 20-month gap between internationals, caused not only by Covid-19 but also late cancellations and the sporadic nature of the associate calendar. It has been a long, frustrating time, but their return is tantalisingly close.”The attitude has been absolutely top class – it couldn’t have been better,” Joyce tells ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve had some big knocks: a Thailand tour cancelled, the Scotland series was cancelled a couple of times and this is third time lucky, and even prior to that there was a Zimbabwe tour cancelled when I was taking over in 2019.Related

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“It’s been a long old wait, not just for the girls but for the management as well. We don’t do the job just to train and we’ve done an awful lot of it over the last 18 or 20 months. It’ll be great for the girls to get back out there and I’m so excited to watch some international cricket. We’ve had our Super Series going on which has been really good but to see the girls with the green back on will be great.”We haven’t played for so long as a group and the girls have worked on so many things – it’ll be exciting to see them actually put them into play. I know what I want from the team and the team are pretty clear what myself and Glenn [Querl, assistant coach] are looking for. We dovetail quite well. I’ve bowled a lot of offspin and fed a lot of balls into bowling machines but I feel like we’ve had a very good training block.”The length of the break is demonstrated by the fact that the player of the match award in Ireland’s most recent fixture – the third-place play-off at the T20 World Cup Qualifier in September 2019 – was Kim Garth, who gave up her Ireland career to pursue her opportunities with Victoria in Australia last June.”Kim is a very good cricketer,” Joyce says. “She’s already one the key players for Victoria and is a Big Bash winner. With a reasonably small cricket-playing population here, it’s obviously tough to lose someone of her ability but I think most people would see why she did it: she wanted to be a full-time cricketer which she can’t do here yet, though we’re hoping to change that within the next couple of years.”We’ve picked a very young squad for this series, partly because we have some very good young players, but also out of necessity because a lot of our senior players have retired in the last few years. I’m really interested to see how we go in this series, and want to make sure we play with freedom – as T20 needs to be played.”We are missing some players abroad – Eimear Richardson is based in New Zealand, Mary Waldron in Australia, and Una Raymond-Hoey and Naomi Matthews are also away. In their absence, it’s going to have to be a team effort, and you’re asking young people to be your senior players: Laura Delany, Gaby Lewis, Shauna Kavanaugh and Orla Prendergast are all young women but have played a lot of cricket and are clearly high-quality players.”The wider context of the series is that it represents an opportunity for some match practice ahead of a year that features two major qualifying tournaments for Ireland: the European qualifiers for the T20 World Cup in August, and the World Cup Qualifier in Sri Lanka in December.”It’s not only an opportunity to get into the World Cup, but possibly more importantly, it’s a qualifier for the Women’s Championship. If we can get into that, it’s a real game-changer, because you have guaranteed fixtures and aren’t organising series week-to-week. It gives the girls clarity about who we’re playing and when, and we could potentially add some more contracts too.”More immediately, the prospect of playing in front of fans again from Monday onwards adds to the feeling of excitement – as long as the rain stays away. “We’ll be one of the first teams on the island to have fans back so that would obviously be good kudos for the girls,” Joyce says. “I’ve watched a lot of rain fall at Stormont in the past and the weather is always a little bit dicey in Ireland in general, and especially in the North, but hopefully we’ll get at least three of the four games in.”

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Após confirmar a saída de Marino Hinestroza, o Palmeiras perderá mais um atleta que estava emprestado ao clube com vínculo até o final da atual temporada. Cedido pelo Cruzeiro, o meia Vitinho estava no Verdão desde a metade de 2019, com valor de venda fixado em 1,8 milhões de euros (R$11,8 milhões, na cotação atual) por 60% dos direitos econômicos do atleta.

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A diretoria alviverde tentou prorrogar o empréstimo do jovem, mas recebeu uma resposta negativa do Cruzeiro, segundo o portal Superesportes. Conforme apurou o LANCE!/NOSSO PALESTRA, a recusa mineira encerrou qualquer acordo entre a diretoria com o atleta, que retornará à Toca da Raposa para a temporada de 2022.

Refinado tecnicamente, mas com pouco porte físico, Vitinho foi preterido entre outros atletas durante a passagem pela equipe Sub-20 do Verdão. Ao todo, em duas temporadas e meia pelo clube, foram 81 partidas e 15 gols, sendo 45 duelos e oito tentos pelo Sub-20 e sete gols em 35 aparições pelo Sub-17, em 2019.

Em 2021, o jogador esbarrou na forte concorrência do setor de meio campo. Por atuar em todas as funções da meia cancha, o jovem de 19 anos rodou no elenco com Yago, Ramon, Naves, Fabinho e Pedro Bicalho, todos com os direitos econômicos já ligados ao Palmeiras. Sem acordo de renovação do empréstimo e com boas opções no setor, a diretoria entendeu que o negócio deveria ser encerrado.

Para o Cruzeiro, o próximo passo do caso é renovar com o atleta, uma vez que o contrato de cinco anos assinado em junho de 2018, quando o atleta tinha 16 anos, não é reconhecido pela FIFA.

O Palmeiras Sub-20 retorna aos gramados na próxima quinta-feira (04), às 15 horas (de Brasília) diante da Itapirense, na Academia de Futebol II, em Guarulhos. A partida marcará o início do returno da segunda fase da competição.

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