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Southampton have been linked with a move for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham ahead of the summer transfer window and, if he were to join Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, he could be the dream successor to Danny Ings.

According to Eurosport, Southampton and West Ham have both enquired about signing the 23-year-old in the summer, as he has found himself on the fringes of the Chelsea squad since Thomas Tuchel arrived as manager.

The report suggests that the Blues will try and sign Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland in the summer, which would free up Abraham to leave, and Southampton could then look to bring him to the south coast.

Hasenhuttl’s side could find themselves without their own talismanic striker in the near future, with Ings yet to agree to a new deal with the Saints and his current contract set to expire at the end of next season.

It has been reported that the former Liverpool man would be keen to move to a club which can offer Champions League football next season, and considering Southampton’s woeful form in 2021 so far, it seems as if he will have to achieve that with another Premier League club.

Therefore, if he were to leave, Southampton would desperately need to bring in a replacement who can score goals, with Che Adams suffering a crisis of confidence in front of goal at the moment, his barren streak currently standing at 15 games.

Abraham has shown himself to be an excellent goalscorer in his time in the Championship and the Premier League, as he was prolific with both Bristol City and Aston Villa in the second tier before being given a chance under Frank Lampard in the top-flight.

He has 30 goals and 12 assists in just 80 appearances for the Blues but has fallen behind both Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud in the pecking order under Tuchel, whilst the potential arrival of Haaland could unfortunately spell the end for his time with the west London club.

Despite starting just 12 games in the top flight this season, Abraham has still managed six goals, whilst he also has six goals in other competitions, so clearly knows where the back of the net is.

Back in 2019, Rio Ferdinand compared the youngster’s impressive performance against Lille in the Champions League to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, and if he could produce performances like that on a consistent level with Southampton, he would surely prove to be a very good signing indeed.

Therefore, if Southampton cannot convince Ings to sign a new deal, then perhaps they should turn their attention towards the £36m-rated Abraham, as he could be a superb replacement for the 28-year-old striker in Hasenhuttl’s side.

And, in other news… Silver Lining: Key Southampton injury blow can be the making of 21 y/o Saints beast

تحدث المدرب البرازيلي ليو نيفا المدير الفني لفريق الكرة الأول بنادي المريخ السوداني، عن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، بعد تواجده في المجموعة الرابعة التي ضمت إلى جواره مواطنه الهلال، وصن داونز الجنوب إفريقي والأهلي.

وقال ليو نيفا في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي بنادي المريخ: “بالتأكيد تحدي كبير بالنسبة لنا بعد أن أوقعتنا القرعة في مجموعة صعبة مع الأهلي وصنداونز والهلال”.

طالع | جواو موتا مدرب الهلال في حوار لـ بطولات: موسيماني مُلهمي ومواجهة الأهلي ستكون رائعة

وأضاف: “لكن مؤكد أن اللعب في دوري أبطال إفريقيا يعتبر الأعلى في القارة، ولا يمكننا أن نختار منافسينا ما يعني حاجتنا للاستعداد للعب أمام أي فريق”.

وأردف: “مباراة الهلال ستكون أمام فريق كبير، الجميع يعرف قيمة هذا التحدي ومواجهة الديربي، وسنعمل لتحقيق الأفضل”.

وأتم: “الآن تركيزنا سيكون في المباراة الأولى أمام الأهلي في مصر، الجميع يعرف الأهلي فريق كبير وبطل إفريقيا، ويجب علينا أن أن نؤمن بقدراتنا لتحقيق شيء جيد أمامه في ملعبه”.

West Brom have been handed a major boost over one of their mooted January targets this week…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Express, the Baggies have edged closer to sealing a move for Galatasaray striker Mbaye Diagne which could see him initially join the Hawthorns on loan with a view to making the deal permanent at the end of the season.

It’s claimed that the Super Lig giants have re-entered negotiations with Egyptian side Zamalek over the 29-year-old’s potential replacement, Mostafa Mohamed, who was subject of an offer from the Lions earlier this month.

While Turkish outlet Tumspor suggest Diagne could be available permanently for just €6m (£5m).

The report suggests that Albion have already held talks with the nine-time Senegalese international as Sam Allardyce looks to bolster his frontline.

Major boost

And strengthen his attack he must do to even stand a chance of Premier League survival this season.

West Brom are among the lowest scorers in the division having found the net just 15 times in 19 outings. Only two other teams have scored fewer, rock-bottom Sheffield United and Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

To make matters worse, summer signing Karlan Grant is still out with a fractured foot, whilst Charlie Austin has departed to former club QPR on loan for the rest of the campaign. Even Kenneth Zohore’s temporary spell at Millwall has been extended.

It leaves winger Callum Robinson as the only plausible striker available to Big Sam right now.

Diagne could almost instantly improve the squad as he’s been a prolific goalscorer wherever he’s been throughout his career.

This term alone, he’s already bagged 11 goals in 19 appearances, taking his tally for Galatasaray to 22 goals in 39 matches and his overall total in the Super Lig to 51 in 64, per Transfermarkt.

It means the 6 foot 4 powerhouse has scored 60% of the goals that Albion have scored this term and also means he’s bagged more than Grant, Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira combined, per Whoscored.

The fact that the Turkish outfit are already looking for a successor is a potentially huge boost for Allardyce and the Baggies as it moves them one step towards sealing his signature, which in turn will surely aid their fortunes in front of goal given his prolific goalscoring record.

It’s thought that the 66-year-old manager is desperate for a new forward, he also told Sky Sports two weeks ago: “I think we’ve let Charlie [Austin] go to QPR so that creates another opening in terms of finances as well to find a centre forward, and then we would look at other areas,” so you’d imagine this news will have him hugely thrilled.

Diagne, who has dubbed himself “big and strong,” is thought to be on around £44k-per-week as per his terms on loan to Club Brugge last term, which would put him among the Albion’s high-earners.

But if he’s to save them from relegation, he’ll be worth every bit of those finances. He’s a must-add this month.

AND in other news, Levy can take Spurs onto the next level with swoop for £45m “warrior”…

كشفت صحيفة “موزاييك” التونسية، عن موقف علي معلول ظهير النادي الأهلي ونسور قرطاج، من المشاركة في مباراة منتخب بلاده أمام مصر، في نصف نهائي كأس العرب.

منتخب مصر يواجه تونس يوم الأربعاء المقبل، في إطار منافسات نصف نهائي بطولة كأس العرب المقامة في قطر.

ووفقاً للصحيفة التونسية، علي معلول شارك في المران الجماعي اليوم الأحد مع منتخب بلاده، بعد إنهاء المرحلة الأولى من التأهيل، ليصبح جاهزًا بنسبة كبيرة لخوض مباراة الفراعنة.

طالع أيضًا.. تعرف على معلق مباراة مصر وتونس في كأس العرب

وكان معلول قد تعرض للإصابة في العضلة الضامة خلال مشاركته مع منتخب تونس في مباراة موريتانيا، في إطار منافسات الجولة الأولي من دور المجموعات لكأس العرب، وغاب علي إثرها عن المشاركة مع نسور قرطاج.

يذكر، أن تونس تأهلت إلى نصف نهائي كأس العرب، بعد الفوز على عمان بهدفين لهدف، بينما مصر صعدت لنفس الدور بعد التغلب على الأردن بثلاثة أهداف لهدف.

Tottenham Hotspur slipped to a second Premier League defeat in five days earlier this afternoon.Jose Mourinho’s struggling side were well-beaten by Leicester City in north London as they sunk six points adrift of the league leaders.Jamie Vardy opened the scoring for the visitors from the spot after Serge Aurier brought down Wesley Fofana on the stroke of half-time before Toby Alderweireld made matters worse by turning the ball into his own net on the hour mark.Both Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko were the key disappointments from a Spurs perspective, but so was Eric Dier, who is usually a player that the ‘Special One’ has been able to hugely rely on this term.Journalist Alasdair Gold was particularly critical in his post-match ratings for football.london, grading his performance a five out of ten, he said:”Would have been caught out for Maddison’s ruled-out goal. Again some really sloppy moments in possession and dithering on the ball, including gifting Leicester a chance late on.”Indeed the England colossus, who earns around £85k-per-week in N17, was wasteful to the point of costing Spurs dearly.The 26-year-old lost possession a whopping 24 times, which was more than any other player on the pitch, via SofaScore.Dier also made just 75% of his 92 passes, had 103 touches without any positive influence, and made just three of 14 of his 12 long ball attempts (21%) – that practically handed the possession back to the Foxes.Despite Brendan Rodgers’s side registering 12 of their 17 shots from inside the box, the long-serving Spurs defender could only muster up one tackle and two blocks all game.The £27m-rated powerhouse truly let his manager down, especially as he struggled to thwart a player he should know all too well in Jamie Vardy.

Dier was rather lucky that it was only a two-goal defeat, as had James Maddison’s finish counted, the spotlight would quite rightly have been thrust onto him, instead of Sissoko, Aurier or even Alderweireld.

He was abysmal today.

AND in other news,ÂSpurs exclusive: Pundit baffled by latest contract update…

أكد أحمد عبد القادر لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، أن اللاعبين يريدون إنهاء هذا الموسم مبكرًا، موجهًا رسالة لجماهير القلعة الحمراء

والتقي الأهلي مع سموحة، ونجح الأحمر في الفوز بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدف، في المباراة التي أقيمت على استاد الأهلي وي السلام.

وقال عبد القادر في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر فضائية “الأهلي”: “الأداء جيد جدًا للفريق منذ أول مباراة في الدوري وتركيزنا على ذلك، وكل مباراة نتحسن عن التي قبلها، ونحاول حصد الثلاث نقاط وهذا أهم شىء، ونحاول ننهي المباريات بنتيجة كبيرة ونتمنى أن نستمر على ذلك”.

وأردف: “أتمنى من الجمهور أن يدعمني هو والجهاز الفني، وهذا ليس ضغط عليّ نهائيًا، الحمد لله على المكسب والأداء، والمقبل سيكون أفضل”.

وأكمل: “هذا الموسم اللاعبين في حالة تركيز شديد، ونضع في عين الاعتبار أن ننهي الموسم مبكرًا،  ونحقق الفوز في المباريات بنتيجة كبيرة”.

طالع أيضًا | موسيماني: بدأت أفهم الدوري المصري.. والأهلي مازال لا يلعب بالطريقة التي أريدها

وأضاف: “أكثر لاعب أتحدث معه هو محمد الشناوي ويعطيني دفعة جيدة جدًا معنويًا، وأتمنى من جمهور الأهلي أن يظل على هذا الدعم، وانتظروا المزيد ولن نخذلكم”.

وأختتم: “أتمنى أن يشارك كل اللاعبين في المعسكر المقبل والكل يكون جاهز لبطولة الدوري بعد العودة من فترة التوقف وسيكون أمامنا دوري أبطال إفريقيا”.

Sheffield Wednesday’s dire run of form continued on Saturday afternoon as they lost yet another Yorkshire derby, this time at the hands of Barnsley at Hillsborough Stadium.

It means Tony Pulis’ wait for his first victory in charge of the Owls rumbles on. This latest defeat makes it a total of four losses and three draws since taking over from Garry Monk.

And he can point plenty of fingers as some of the players he trusted to start, none more so than Callum Paterson, who was abysmal and anonymous in attacking midfield.

It’s no wonder that Wednesday had a serious lack of creative spark, managing just four shots on target all game.

The 26-year-old was hauled off in the 86th minute after recording a diabolical four passes all game. He’s sat in the hole and managed one pass every 21.5 minutes – that’s absolutely awful.

Also per SofaScore, the Scotland international won just 40% of his duels, lost possession 17 times from 25 touches and was dribbled past on one occasion.

To say it was a calamity from Paterson would certainly be an understatement.

YorkshireLive reporter Dom Howson summed his performance up perfectly in his post-match ratings, giving Paterson a four out of ten – the worse in the lineup – he said:

“Completely anonymous. The game passed him by in the middle of the park. Looked deeply unhappy to come off.”

Given that the Tykes only won by the solitary goal, the Owls could’ve found a way back into the match in the second half and not having your key man in the engine room performing is a worrying sign.

He truly let Pulis down with his display and you’d hope that his frustration was more at himself than at the decision to withdraw him, he was anonymous throughout.

Paterson was lucky to make it to 86 minutes, in reality.

AND in other news, Tony Pulis on verge of first SWFC masterclass over “incredible player”…

This is an interesting time to be a Sunderland fan.

Behind the eight ball in the league, Stewart Donald is desperately trying to sell the club and has always been keen to ensure he doesn’t outstay his welcome.

With the Black Cats again struggling in League One, there feels no better time than now to finally relinquish his majority stake.

Indeed, he could be on the verge of achieving that. The Guardian reported a number of weeks ago that Juan Sartori and 22-year-old Kyril Louis-Dreyfus had agreed a deal with Donald to buy the club.

Clearly, there are still some parts of the transaction to be tied up as neither businessman have walked through the door yet.

What happens when they finally gain control will be exciting to witness. There have already been claims that Dreyfus will look to exploit his homeland – the French market – while there are also suggestions that Sartori will take influence from his father-in-law.

That happens to be Russian billionaire and Monaco shareholder Dmitry Rybolovlev who despite spending a vast sum of money in Ligue 1, has put a lot of effort into ensuring the French club have a steady stream of academy products coming through.

That can only be a good thing if Sunderland follow similar methods.

Unfortunately, however, Sartori and Dreyfus’ influence in the north-east may be incredibly small to begin with. In fact, they could struggle to implement much in terms of the playing squad.

That’s because of a new EFL ruling that was introduced last summer.

The rule we’re talking about is the salary cap, something League 1 and League 2 clubs voted in favour of. Coincidentally, it was something that Sunderland actually voted against, and with a takeover now on the verge of going through, it’s going to hold them back.

You can understand why the Black Cats voted against it given they have someone in Aiden McGeady still on £31k-a-week at the Stadium of Light.

What the legislation means is that a club cannot spend over £2.5m on basic wages, taxes, bonuses, image rights and agent fees.

Consequently, paying out for new players in January is incredibly unlikely.

It was recently revealed that Sartori’s personal wealth was around the $100m mark, while the Louis-Dreyfus family feature on the Forbes Rich List with around $6bn sitting in their bank accounts.

Financial power at Sunderland will presumably be pretty high in ordinary circumstances, but in this case, the salary cap is set to play against them.

It feels like Sartori and Dreyfus will find life tough from the off.

Meanwhile, Sunderland could be on the verge of discovering their NEW Didier Ndong… 

MatériaMais Notícias

Para seguir na elite do Campeonato Brasileiro, o Vasco precisa derrotar o Coritiba, no domingo, às 17h(de Brasília), no Couto Pereira, e ainda torcer para que Figueirense e Avaí, no mínimo, empatem comFluminense e Corinthians, respectivamente. Sendo assim, neste momento, toda ajuda é válida. Mesmosendo amigo dos tricolores Pierre e Wellington Paulista, o volante Serginho descartou pedir qualquertipo de auxílio.

– Tenho amizade com Pierre, na época de Atlético-MG, e Wellington Paulista, no Criciúma. Pelo o que euconheço, ambos têm o mesmo pensamento do que o meu (não entregar o jogo). Não vou pedir e nem entrar nomérito da questão com eles – avisou.

Para Serginho, o pensamento do Vasco precisa ser o de bater o Coritiba. Se isso não acontecer, nemadianta ajuda de Fluminense e Corinthians. O volante não acredita que o Tricolor das Laranjeiras vaientregar a partida.

– Eu, Serginho, entro todo jogo pensando em vencer. Mas não adianta a gente pensar na outra partida.Precisamos pensar no Coritiba, que é o nosso adversário. Não adianta desviar o foco para o Fluminense. Onosso foco é o Coritiba. Se a gente não fizer a nossa parte, não adianta os outros resultados -sentenciou.

Com 40 pontos, o Vasco está na 18ª posição. O Figueirense, em 17º, também com 40, recebe os cariocas noOrlando Scarpelli, em Florianópolis. Já o Avaí, primeiro time fora da zona de rebaixamento, com 41,visita o Corinthians, no Itaquerão.

RelacionadasCoritibaPresidente do Coritiba quer Couto Pereira cheio para ‘decisão’ contra o VascoCoritiba01/12/2015Futebol NacionalMário minimiza polêmica e garante Flu focado: ‘Vamos tentar vencer’Futebol Nacional01/12/2015VascoJorginho promete esquecer secador e calculadora na ‘melhor semana’Vasco30/11/2015

Former Leeds United, Manchester City and England international Danny Mills has claimed to Football Insider that Arsenal ace Rob Holding would start for Newcastle United should he make the move to St. James’ Park.

Indeed, The Atheltic journalist and Gunners transfer guru David Ornstein has recently claimed that the Englishman is close to signing for the Tyneside club on a season-long loan deal.

After hearing about this story, Mills was asked as to whether Holding would start in Steve Bruce’s team ahead of the new 2020/21 term, to which he replied:

“Yes, definitely. Newcastle we know last year had all sorts of issues with injuries. Strength in depth is a real problem for them.

“They need some solid players in there and that’s what Steve Bruce will have identified. They might not be the most exciting side on the planet but you’ve got to trust in Steve Bruce and he’ll know what that team needs.

“If you look at the players they’ve got and some of the flair players they’ve got, you need a solid base. 

“He (Bruce) was a defender himself and an unbelievable defender and obviously worked under the greatest Premier League manager of all time so he’ll know what it takes.

“If you get that foundation right then you can build everything of the back of that.”

Indeed, Holding would arguably be a solid signing for the Magpies even if it is just for one campaign. The 24-year old is relatively experienced in the Premier League, having played in 39 matches in total over the last four terms, according to Transfermarkt.

Holding has also won FA Cup trophies and two Community Shield titles, including recently being in the starting 11 which beat Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side 5-4 on penalties after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s rather superb first-half goal was cancelled out by Japanese international Takumi Minamino in the second.

His winning mentality may be useful to Bruce’s team as they look to get enough points on the board in the top-flight table for the new campaign.

The central defender also averaged more passes at a higher success rate than Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez in the EPL in the last season, suggesting that he is more composed on the ball and is comfortable in playing out from the back if and when needed.

Holding may well be a shrew addition to the Toon should NUFC be able to get his signature over the dotted line.

Geordies, would Holding be a good signing? Comment below!