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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been handed another significant attacking injury blow with Anthony Martial sustaining a problem during the international break.

Taking on Kazakhstan in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier with France, the Red Devils winger was withdrawn in the second half of the game with a suspected knee injury.

Martial appeared to develop the problem after the half-time break in Les Bleus’ 2-0 success and despite receiving treatment and initially continuing, he had to be substituted just before the hour mark when he was replaced by Paris Saint Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

Solskjaer will certainly be hoping that the problem is not too serious, with the Red Devils’ attack being a problem position in regards to injuries in recent weeks.

Forward Marcus Rashford is already out and despite being initially called up for the latest England squad, he has returned to Old Trafford for treatment.

Meanwhile, Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani has missed six out of the last eight Manchester United matches in all competitions with an injury, only making a brief cameo in the Red Devils’ 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Leicester City before the international break.

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Martial himself is also only just back having missed wins against West Ham United and AC Milan with a hip injury.

Should all three be doubts once club football returns, it would leave Solskjaer with extremely limited options in forward positions.

Mason Greenwood would be the only natural striker available to lead the line but having only scored once in the Premier League so far this season, he is not showing the type of form that should see him become a more consistent starter.

The Red Devils would also be missing a huge goal threat. Cavani, Rashford and Martial have contributed 32 goals between them in all competitions, accounting for approximately 37% of United’s entire total.

With the aim of securing a top four position and progressing in the UEFA Europa League, the triumvirate’s absence could be hugely harmful.

The last thing that Solskjaer needed then was another injury in a key attacking position but his fears seem to have come to fruition with Martial’s problem.

AND in more news, take a look at which Man Utd defender has taken his club form onto the international stage…

In what was only their third draw of the Premier League season, Leeds earned a creditable point at home to a rejuvenated Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

Thomas Tuchel’s men have been on a roll since the German’s arrival at Stamford Bridge and came into the game off the back of a couple of impressive wins against Liverpool and Everton respectively.

However, despite a couple of scary moments – not least when a ball ricocheted off a Leeds defender and hit the crossbar in the first half – the Whites came through it unscathed and kept things tight at the back.

While he wasn’t able to break the deadlock, Tyler Roberts was a standout performer for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

The £9m-rated dynamo delivered one of his more impressive displays of the Premier League season, and what a time to do it given some of the speculation over his long-term future at the club.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay revealed in the last few days that, depending on the Whites’ summer activity, both the 22-year-old and Helder Costa could be one of the fall guys of the club’s revamp.

However, on the basis of Roberts’ display against Chelsea, Bielsa may start to have second thoughts – although of course, one good performance doesn’t automatically change everything.

It was his goal which was ruled out for offside in the opening period after Patrick Bamford had strayed off earlier in the move, while his stunning effort took some heroics from Edouard Mendy to deny him from opening the scoring.

He was a real livewire for Leeds, with most of the Whites’ best attacking play coming through him. He completed three of his four attempted dribbles, which was the most of any player on the pitch, and considerably more than his season average of 0.6 per match in the Premier League.

As well as being more direct in his play, Roberts didn’t shirk his defensive responsibilities either, winning five of his duels on the day – again, far more than his season average of 2.9 per match.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him a seven, adding: “Had his moments of frustration, but did serve up some quality in the second half as Chelsea’s defence splintered. Forced a fingertip stop out of Edouard Mendy in the first half.”

Hay dubbed Roberts’ performance as “impressive” on Twitter after the match, and it was a display which sent a reminder to Bielsa perhaps there is still a quality player there to be nurtured and developed.

Meanwhile, this Leeds man let Bielsa down with a shocking display vs Chelsea…

Diego Llorente hasn’t had the easiest of starts to life at Leeds in the Premier League but Phil Hay has revealed that, behind the scenes, the Spaniard is enjoying life at the club and has impressed staff and team-mates.

Hay discusses Llorente

Writing in The Athletic, Hay said: “On a personal level, he [Llorente] is understood to have settled well in England, a strong and competitive presence in training who, according to sources at Thorp Arch, had the rest of the players sold on him after his first few sessions.” He went on to say that Llorente’s “only blemish on Saturday was an exaggerated reaction to Ollie Watkins fouling him in the first half.”

This should excite Leeds supporters

Llorente has had plenty of injury struggles since he signed for the club six months ago and this has seen the excitement around his signing drop off.

However, he has put in some very good performances in the four appearances he has made. Against Chelsea earlier in the season, the ‘fantastic’ summer signing made five tackles, four clearances and one interception (SofaScore). He also won five ground duels and four aerial duels. Most recently against Aston Villa on Saturday, he won seven ground duels and made four tackles as he picked up a 7.3 rating (SofaScore).

These games have proven to Leeds and their supporters that he has the quality to succeed in the division, and Hay’s comments show that the club are also excited to see him consistently play for the Whites.

With Leeds already battling for a top-half finish without the defender, it is exciting to see how they can perform with him in the side for the rest of the season.

In other news, Noel Whelan has discussed whether Leeds would sell these two players.

According to The Daily Record, Glasgow Rangers are reportedly tracking Maccabi Haifa midfielder, Dolev Haziza, ahead of a possible move in the summer.

What’s the word?

The former Israeli international is enjoying a prolific campaign in the Ligat ha’Al, having fired home seven goals and four assists in 19 games so far this season.

Haziza has attracted interest from clubs across Europe while The Record claim he was heavily linked with a move to Ferencvaros last year only for the Hungarians to baulk at their asking price.

However, the player’s agent Adam Kidan has previously worked with Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson during his time at Southampton, which could pave the way for a summer move.

Joe Aribo 2.0?

Rangers need another versatile forward given Gerrard’s shortage of options out wide. The underwhelming displays of Brandon Barker and Jordan Jones means Gerrard remains in the market for another wide option, which has seen Rangers linked with a move for Haziza.

A relative lack of experience shouldn’t deter any potential suitors. Yes, it means that Haziza doesn’t have the luxury of playing at the highest levels of the game, but if he is able to hit the ground running, then the 25-year-old could prove to be a shrewd addition for any side.

His stats suggest that he should be able to do this, given his impressive form for the Greens, as he is scoring 0.4 goals per game this season, which is slightly better than Joe Aribo’s goal-scoring rate of 0.2.

It’s no surprise that some are beginning to compare him to the Nigeria international based on his exciting style of play with Glasgow Live insisting he also shares certain similarities with Ryan Kent.

For context, Haziza has scored the same amount of goals as Kent and two more than Aribo across all competitions this season.

Not only would he be a useful option out wide, he can also play in the midfield, and his versatility would no doubt be an added bonus for Gerrard as he could offer an alternative threat in attack as well.

With that in mind, Wilson would be wise to sanction such a move for Haziza, who likes to cut inside from the flanks onto his right foot, as he could add something different to the Gers attack.

AND in other news, Rangers struck by cruel Nikola Katic injury blow ruling him out for rest of the season…

A report from The Times has explored the extent of financial damage relegation can cause for Newcastle United.

The Magpies find themselves 16th in the Premier League and only a single point ahead of 18th-placed Fulham, who have played a game more. They are also one point ahead of Brighton and find themselves in the middle of a relegation scrap, but failure to avoid the drop could have disastrous financial consequences.

NUFC players don’t have relegation clauses

A report from Martin Hardy in The Times has talked about the finances which can be affected by Newcastle’s potential relegation. It stated that the Magpies could witness ‘devastating’ financial consequences, as the club’s players don’t have relegation clauses in their contracts.

The Tynesiders have previously done that to avoid signings from being deterred from joining and, as a result of this clause, the club would have to take their Premier League wage bill to the Championship. The report added that their wage bill stood at £96.8m in June 2019, but since then they have roped in Joelinton, Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis.

Clubs use relegation clauses to ensure that they manage the revenue drop in the absence of Premier League money, but the Magpies don’t have that in place.

Relegation could be disastarous for NUFC

While financial issues would likely crop up in case of relegation, it has been stated by journalist Liam Kennedy that dropping out of the Premier League could dramatically reduce chances of a potential takeover for the Magpies.

This clearly shows that they can’t afford to get relegated and could have severely damaging consequences, so Steve Bruce’s side need to turn their form around soon to avoid this unenviable scenario.

In other news, one Newcastle man could be set to return to the first team soon – read more here.

For Celtic, not even a sensational transfer window would likely allow them to be able to bridge the gap to Rangers.

The Gers are currently 21 points ahead of Neil Lennon’s team who are seemingly sinking without a trace.

The late goal that Celtic conceded to Hibernian on Monday evening just about summed things up. With 13 players and Neil Lennon self-isolating as a precautionary measure following a positive test, they, once again, dropped points.

This season has been a disastrous one for the Hoops, and Peter Lawwell could inflict further misery on the club by sanctioning a transfer for Adam Reach.

Reach, who currently plays for Sheffield Wednesday, is available on a free transfer with his contract expiring this summer. As alluded to earlier this week on FFC, he’d represent a bargain, but there are negatives to this potential deal going through.

Celtic and Rangers are reportedly both monitoring his situation with a view to offering Reach a contract. However, it’s difficult to suggest for one moment that this would be a good signing for The Hoops.

All you need to do is look at the stats. The winger may have contributed to four goals this campaign but beyond that, there is a lack of consistent threat and penetration in the final third.

As a winger, your primary job should be to create opportunities and beat your marker, but Reach regularly fails to do either of those on a regular basis. For the Owls this season, he’s managed just 0.5 key passes per match and only 0.5 dribbles per game.

For context, those tallies are both below both Scott Brown, a midfielder, and Kristoffer Ajer, a centre-back, in the Celtic side. That’s incredibly damning when you consider they both play in defensive roles. Furthermore, the number of dribbles he manages per game is identical to the aforementioned Celtic players.

Now, with that in mind, we needn’t say much more. Reach is a winger but he lacks consistency and at times, it looks like he can’t even manage the basic fundamentals of someone that plays on the flanks.

Yes, the Hoops enjoy more possession in the SPFL than Sheff Wed do in the Championships but it speaks volumes about how average the Wednesday winger is as an attacking force when his stats equate to those of Brown and Ajer.

Reach did score against Exeter in the FA Cup last weekend but his performance beyond that was pretty poor, especially against a League Two side. He lost possession an inexcusable 21 times – the fourth highest on his team – and completed just 73% of his passes. Not exactly great numbers against a League Two club.

Even though he’d cost Lawwell absolutely nothing, this would still be a poor acquisition. Reach, who earns £23k-per-week, isn’t good enough and he has done little this term to convince us that he’d be consistent enough to deliver the goods at Parkhead.

If Celtic want to close the gap at the top and rediscover their dominance, they must forget about the Wednesday attacker and look at better options.

AND in other news, “Huge disappointment” – Exclusive: Pundit reacts to massive Celtic injury blow for Neil Lennon…

Steve Bruce can scare Jurgen Klopp by unleashing Matty Longstaff for his second start of the Premier League season when Newcastle United host Liverpool on Wednesday night.

Longstaff earned his first opening call of the campaign during the Magpies’ 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Boxing Day having struggled to earn game time this season.

Bruce had only offered the 20-year-old talent 29 minutes of top-flight action before the Etihad Stadium affair, with Longstaff suffering ongoing issues with the thigh injury first sustained towards the end of last season.

Bruce admitted concern over Longstaff’s lengthy absence earlier in the campaign with his soft-tissue injury proving “very problematic”, but was pleased with how the youngster was able to perform against Pep Guardiola’s side at the weekend.

“He gave a performance which reminded me of why I put him in the team last year,” he said, via quotes by The Northern Echo. “He’s had a really difficult time in terms of a thigh injury that he couldn’t shake off.

“He probably broke down two or three times with it. He’s not been right in himself, and lost a lot of weight in lockdown, for whatever reason. Thankfully, he’s got that back, and reminded us of what a good player he is.”

Longstaff played the full 90 minutes against Manchester City on Saturday as he upstaged his more experienced teammates Isaac Hayden, with the Toon product recording two successful tackles, two interceptions, one key ball and one successful dribble while winning four of seven ground duels, per SofaScore.

Longstaff never let his head dip amid a tough night at the Etihad Stadium, either, with the Citizens dictating the flow of play with 75% of the ball, seven big chances to score and three-times as many total passes as Newcastle.

Bruce can scare Klopp when United host Liverpool on Wednesday by retaining Longstaff in his starting plans, while demonstrating to the £4.5m-rated prospect that chances will be on offer amid reports the midfielder is considering his immediate future.

Longstaff, understood to be a January target for a number of Championship sides including Derby County and Nottingham Forest, was said by The Sun (27/12, p. 56) to be hopeful of securing a winter loan deal in order to play regular first-team football again.

Bruce awarded Longstaff his first-team debut at home to Manchester United last season and would see the 20-year-old net the winner, before scoring twice more in 15 appearances across the remainder of the campaign.

AND in other news: Steve Bruce has been dealt a huge blow, leaving Newcastle United with a titanic task vs Liverpool.

It looks as if Southampton got a great deal in selling academy graduate Sam Gallagher for around £5 million to Blackburn Rovers in 2019, with the striker having struggled to find the back of the net in his time at Ewood Park.

The forward progressed through the Saints academy, having joined from Plymouth’s U’18 side in 2012 and enjoyed loan spells with the likes of MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City during his Saints career (per Transfermarkt).

He would go on to make 26 appearances for the first-team at Southampton, in which he was only able to score two goals, suggesting that he is not the most prolific of forwards.

However, a promising spell on loan at Blackburn in the 2016/17 season saw him grab 12 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions and he clearly did enough to convince those at the Lancashire club that he was worth paying around £5 million for in the summer of 2019.

Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, scoring goals has continued to be a problem, as he has now made a further 53 appearances for Rovers, in which he has managed just nine goals, taking his tally to 21 for the club (per Transfermarkt).

This has seen his market value tumble to just £1.8 million, suggesting that Southampton got a great deal in selling him for as much as they did.

Much of the credit must go to chief executive Martin Semmens therefore, as he has joined the club in June 2019, with Gallagher departing less than a month later, so selling him will have surely been one of his first points of action as CEO of the South Coast club.

However, Gallagher has made a fairly promising start to the 2020/21 campaign, having contributed two goals and an assist in nine Championship appearances (per Transfermarkt).

Still, this is nowhere near the level of Danny Ings or Che Adams, and when you consider the young talent Southampton have available to them up front, with Michael Obafemi and Daniel N’Lundulu both pushing for minutes in the first-team, it could definitely be argued the Saints made the right decision in letting Gallagher go.

And, in other news… Southampton can sign long-term Salisu partner in wonderkid compared to Vincent Kompany

This has been a testing period for Leeds United.

After being utterly dispatched by Manchester United at Old Trafford, they bounced back brilliantly versus Burnley.

They showed various qualities that were lacking against United, demonstrating desire, togetherness and most importantly, solidity.

Goalkeeper Illan Meslier kept a clean sheet, one they can take immense pride from given Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente were all out injured.

After winning, will Marcelo Bielsa make any changes? Given how much football they’re having to play at the moment it could be a distinct possibility. Here’s how we reckon Leeds should line-up when they face West Brom on Tuesday evening.

The first thing to note is that Leeds are likely to play a similar sort of formation to the one we saw at Elland Road a matter of days ago.

That means that Pascal Struijk, Kalvin Phillips and Luke Ayling make up a three-man backline once again. Llorente picked up an injury setback after returning to training last week and consequently, will miss this game.

That being said, we think that Bielsa should make as many as three changes for the clash with the Baggies. The first one to note is the return of Pablo Hernandez. Mateusz Klich was a source of frustration against the Clarets, hitting a number of attempts at goal off target. We know Hernandez can dominate against this type of opposition so he deserves a rare start.

We also think that Jack Harrison needs a rest. The Manchester City loanee has been playing at full throttle this term and after his poor day in front of goal a few days ago, needs to be taken out of the team in favour of Helder Costa.

The final change we’re tipping might be a bit of a stretch but we’ve been crying out for Leif Davis to play on the left-hand side for a few weeks. Against weaker opposition, now seems like the ideal chance to give him his first Premier League start.

Only time will tell whether Bielsa does opt for this XI.

AND in other news, Forget Traore: Leeds must swoop for “explosive” outcast who BULLIED Alioski this year…

MatériaMais Notícias

O Atlético-PR pode receber mais um jogador do Cruzeiro por empréstimo. Em conversa no Twitter com torcedores, o atual presidente do Conselho Deliberativo do clube, Mario Celso Petraglia, “cravou” o acerto com o lateral-esquerdo Pará à Arena da Baixada.

Ao responder sobre jogadores do atual elenco, o ex-presidente do Atlético-PR revelou que o jogador de 19 anos atuará no clube. Pará deve defender o Furacão por empréstimo até o fim de 2016.

@rsanfelice @turcomoha1974 @lucasmastruz "10" temos o Marcos Guilherme e Vinicios o "9" o Crisan e ALima, "LE" Roberto e Pará!Outros virão!

— Mario C Petraglia (@mariopetraglia) 1 janeiro 2016

Além de Pará, Petraglia enalteceu que Marcos Guilherme e Crysan seguem em alta na Arena da Baixada. O meia Vinícius e o centroavante André Lima, recém-contratados, também ficaram em evidência na postagem.

O Atlético-PR ainda contratou os zagueiros Thiago Heleno, que defendeu o Figueirense, e Paulo André, cedido pelo Cruzeiro na troca por Douglas Coutinho.