Dele Alli has teased his return to football after missing the whole of this season through injury as he aims to get his career back on track.
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Arsenal have identified their top midfield target for January in Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz, and they could now even sell one of their top players to fund a move.
Manager Mikel Arteta won his 116th game in charge of the club in all competitions on Saturday with a dramatic 1-0 victory away to Brentford. The Spaniard reached that milestone in just 200 matches, becoming the first manager to do so in Premier League history, and it was thanks to summer signing Kai Havertz's late header.
The three points sends Arsenal top of the table, with Arteta expressing his delight at both the squad and Havertz.
"I'm so happy with the team, with the way they performed, we got the clean sheet and I'm so happy with how everybody played," said Arteta on Arsenal's 1-0 win away to Brentford (via Sky).
"We should've scored earlier than that, but this is a really tough place to come. Credit to Brentford for what they do to every team. We showed a lot of resilience and belief. I'm delighted for Kai. You only have to see the reaction of everyone, how much they love him, and what he brings to the team. It's what he needs to do.
"We believed he could change the game with the way they were defending, and it was the perfect timing, perfect execution. He won the game for us – that's what big players do."
On the pitch, Arsenal are looking in very good stead and like sure-fire contenders to win their first league title in nearly 20 years.
However, there are still areas of the side which sporting director Edu Gaspar and Arteta want to strengthen ahead of the looming January window.
According to reliable media sources like Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are very keen on signing Luiz from Aston Villa to shore up their midfield options.
The Brazilian has been a star of Villa's very promising early-season run of form, as their manager Unai Emery looks to contend for a Champions League qualification place. Luiz has started all 13 of their league games so far, scoring five goals and assisting two others, as Arsenal identify the former Man City man as a "leading" target.
That is according to ESPN, who also say Arsenal could sell Thomas Partey to fund Luiz's signing. The £200,000-per-week star (spotrac) has been a mainstay under Arteta in recent seasons, making 33 league appearances last campaign as a crucial player.
However, the Ghanaian has suffered from injury problems this season. Partey has been linked with an Arsenal exit in January as well, so he could be a good candidate to raise funds for a Luiz bid.
Partey's time at Arsenal, as per recent rumours, may well be coming to an end soon but supporters will look back on his stay with fondness.
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Thomas Partey's strengths (via WhoScored) |
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Passing |
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Aerial duels |
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Long shots |
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Dribbling |
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Tackling |
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Concentration |
La Liga expert Gerry Armstrong has called him "sensational", while Gunneds legend Ray Parlour once branded Partey a "very efficient" and "important" player at Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp admits that Liverpool are not playing like a “champion should” after seeing their title dreams suffer a devastating blow against Everton.
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West Ham United have an exciting teenager who club insiders "really rate", and manager David Moyes could begin to unleash him over the next few weeks.
The Irons have now won four out of their last five matches in all competitions, easing the pressure on Moyes and putting them in good shape for contests against Backa Topola and Crystal Palace.
Their latest win, a 2-1 victory away to Burnley at Turf Moor, is particularly important given West Ham recently lost both Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen to injury.
Moyes was forced to start Danny Ings – a player he's hardly selected this season – up front as the east Londoners' shortage of striker options was laid bare. The Englishman was taken off and replaced by promising youngster Divin Mubama, who is at the centre of rumours linking him with being offered a new West Ham deal.
Mubama played a very big role in clinching West Ham the three points, forcing defender Dara O'Shea into an own goal before Tomas Soucek's added time volley put Moyes' side 2-1 ahead.
The teenager could be West Ham's next big talent, and it will be interesting to see how Mubama fairs in Moyes' plans before the manager potentially leaves this summer.
According to journalist Paul Brown, speaking to GiveMeSport, West Ham insiders "really rate" Mubama as a player and they're excited by his potential in claret and blue.
Moyes could use the 19-year-old "sparingly" over the next few weeks as well, as the Scotsman weighs up whether Mubama can stay consistent and play at a high level.
"Knowing Moyes like I do, and how much of a captain cautious manager he is, I would be surprised if he gives me Mubama a run of starts now," said Brown.
"There's an argument for doing so and I know that people inside the club really rate this kid very highly. He looks like he's got something about him. There's clearly some talent there and they hope he'll progress into a really good player, but it would be out of character for Moyes to expect so much so quickly from someone who's just coming into the team.
"So I suspect that he will be used a bit more sparingly off the bench over the next few weeks to see if he really does have it and whether he can stay consistent."
Moyes, speaking to the press recently, heaped praise on the Englishman for working very hard behind-the-scenes.
“We want to play Divin but he has quite a lot of competition,” said Moyes (via The Athletic). “I don’t know how many 19-year-old centre-forwards are playing in the Premier League. It’s something which is getting harder because it’s such a difficult role. The level of competition to be a centre-forward is really high at most clubs.
“But Divin is different from the rest. He has a mentality and an attitude that is as good as any top player."
Kai Havertz reacted to Arsenal's 3-2 Premier League win over Tottenham in the north London derby with a hilarious post on social media.
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The January transfer window is just around the corner and it will be interesting to see whether or not Leeds United do any business next month.
German head coach Daniel Farke is tasked with leading the Whites back to the Premier League at the first time of asking after their relegation from the top-flight under Sam Allardyce earlier this year.
His team are currently third in the Championship and seven points off the automatic promotion places as it stands, which shows that they are competing for a top two spot but still have some way to go before they can believe that it is a realistic goal.
Therefore, the ex-Norwich City and Borussia Monchengladbach tactician may want to dip into the market to bolster his side to give them a better chance of closing that gap to move ahead of Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
Angus Kinnear has confirmed that there is wiggle room for the club to make further additions to the playing squad if the manager feels the need is there to do so.
This comes after Farke was allowed to bring in nine new signings during his first window in charge; including Sam Byram, Ethan Ampadu, Karl Darlow, Ilia Gruev, Joel Piroe, Djed Spence, Jaidon Anthony, Joe Rodon and Glen Kamara.
Ahead of the January transfer window, the Whites have been named as a possible landing spot for Celtic attacking midfielder David Turnbull.
Speaking on Go Radio this month (via HITC), pundit and former Hoops centre-forward John Hartson has claimed that he could see the Scotland international moving to a 'top' Championship club "like a Leeds United".
The 24-year-old whiz is out of contract at the end of the current campaign and this means that the Whites could swoop in to secure a pre-contract deal ahead of next summer or look to snap him up for a cut-price deal in January.
However, any such plans would be ruined if the Scottish giants decide to agree a contract extension with the talented wizard between now and the turn of the year.
Whilst it may seem to be a random comment for Hartson to make, as Leeds have not been linked with any real interest in Turnbull, it would make some sense when you consider that Farke was once close to signing him during his time at Norwich.
In the summer of 2019, the German head coach attempted to sign the young talent from Motherwell and the Canaries had a bid of £3.25m accepted by the Premiership side.
However, he turned down the move to Carrow Road and opted to complete a transfer to Celtic instead. It was reported that the player turned down higher wages in England to join the Hoops due to footballing reasons.
Norwich had been promoted to the Premier League ahead of that summer and Turnbull would have been fighting against relegation instead of competing for trophies, which is what he has been doing over the last few years in Glasgow.
This suggests that Farke is, or at least was, a big fan of the player and he must now reignite that interest to secure a deal for him in January as the impressive ace could be a lethal partner for Georgino Rutter.
The current Leeds star has been in phenomenal form in the Championship so far this season as a centre-forward who can link play brilliantly to create huge opportunities for his fellow forwards on a regular basis.
Farke has managed to get the best out of the French dynamo, who joined from Hoffenheim in January of this year, after his struggles under the previous managers in the Premier League last term.
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Statistic |
Rutter in 22/23 Premier League (via Sofascore) |
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Appearances |
11 |
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Sofascore rating |
6.53 |
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Goals |
Zero |
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Assists |
One |
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Big chances created |
Zero |
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Dribble success rate |
41% |
Rutter has racked up an eye-catching four goals, seven assists, and 16 'big chances' created in 17 league starts for the Whites so far this season.
He currently ranks within the top 1% of Championship forwards for Expected Assisted Goals (0.45), assists (0.43, and shot-creating actions (4.59) per 90 this term.
This shows that he has been an outstanding creator within the division as the 21-year-old star has consistently split open opposition defences to create chances for his teammates to score from.
His sublime creativity could make him a lethal partner for Turnbull at the top end of the pitch as the Celtic gem could be an excellent alternative number ten option to Joel Piroe.
The 24-year-old number ten is a goalscoring midfielder who also has the quality to create chances at an impressive rate, which makes him a different type of player to the club's current star in that role.
Piroe has managed eight goals in 19 Championship starts this season, although three of those appearances came at Swansea, but he has only created one 'big chance' for his fellow forwards.
He is a natural centre-forward who has been deployed in a deeper role and has not offered much in the way of creativity, whereas Turnbull is more of a traditional attacking midfielder.
That is not to say one is better than the other but variety can provide opposition teams with different problems to deal with, which is why the Hoops gem could be an excellent signing to add competition and quality to the squad.
Turnbull has scored seven goals and created four 'big chances' for Celtic in eight Scottish Premiership starts and 12 league appearances in total this season.
The £16k-per-week magician produced ten goals and 12 'big chances' created in 26 league starts over the previous two top-flight campaigns combined.
He averaged between 2.9 and 3.2 key passes per game across the 2020/21 and 2021/22 league seasons for Celtic, and Crysencio Summerville (three) is the only Leeds player with more than 2.3 per match this term in the Championship.
Turnbull, who was hailed as "excellent" by boss Brendan Rodgers earlier this season, has the goal record to suggest that he has the quality to finish off the chances that Rutter can create, and the creative attributes to break down opposition defences to set-up the club's other forwards.
Therefore, the pairing could be a lethal one for Leeds as they both have the ability to be outstanding creators who can also chip in with goals to punish teams in the final third.
Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi has been named MLS Player of the Month for April.
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Brazilian wonderkid Endrick has suffered an untimely injury blow ahead of his summer move to Real Madrid, which could dash his Copa America dreams.
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Glasgow Rangers appointed Belgian head coach Philippe Clement as Michael Beale's permanent successor and he has enjoyed a strong start to life at Ibrox.
The former Monaco tactician has won nine and drawn three of his 12 competitive matches in all competitions since his arrival in Scotland.
He has hit the ground running and made an instant impact with an impressive unbeaten run whilst also being able to showcase his willingness to offer young players a chance to shine.
Academy starlet Ross McCausland has made the step up to the first-team and has caught the eye with a string of impressive displays.
However, supporters may now look at the current B Team roster and wonder who the next breakout star could be. Arron Lyall is one player who could follow in his former teammate's footsteps as Clement's next young prospect.
The Northern Ireland international has made 12 appearances across the Scottish Premiership and Europa League so far this season.
He has provided nine key passes and created one 'big chance' in nine outings and three starts in the top-flight, to go along with a pass success rate of 83%.
The academy graduate is yet to start a match in the Europa League but did notch his first senior goal for the club against Aris last time out at Ibrox.
McCausland came off the bench for Todd Cantwell during the first-half and caught the eye with one key pass, two completed dribbles, and one goal in 54 minutes.
The 20-year-old whiz picked the ball up on the edge of the box and brilliantly found the bottom corner with a crisp finish to secure a point for his side.
He has been able to adapt to first-team football and now looks set to play a key role for the senior squad moving forward into the rest of the season, which shows that the Belgian tactician played a masterclass by trusting him to perform despite his age and inexperience.
Clement could unearth his next McCausland by offering current B Team star Arron Lyall an opportunity to stake a claim for himself in the coming weeks.
The Scottish gem has already been on the bench in three Europa League games but is yet to make his senior debut for the Glasgow giants.
A first-team bow may not be far away if he continues to shine for the B Team as his record at the top end of the pitch is currently more impressive than McCausland's was.
The Northern Irish gem produced nine goals and five assists in 41 appearances for Rangers B, which is one goal involvement every 2.93 matches on average.
Whereas, Lyall has contributed with 15 goals and three assists in 41 outings for Rangers B in all competitions, which is an average of one goal or assist every 2.28 games.
That record includes an eye-catching return of 13 goals and two assists in 34 Lowland League matches, and this shows that the 29-year-old wizard has the quality to chip in with goals at an impressive rate from a wide position.
The £21k-rated ace, who was once described as "exciting" by Inverness boss Neil McCann, has shown plenty of promise at youth level and McCausland's progression proves that Clement will give chances to young players, which could open the door for Lyall to follow in his footsteps.
Therefore, the Belgian boss could repeat the masterclass he played with the Northern Irish gem by bringing the former Scotland U16 international into the squad to showcase his attacking talent.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has issued a response after reports emerged about an agreed move that would take him to Newcastle United.
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