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After the highs of scoring in the FA Cup final and Community Shield triumphs, it’s fair to say this season hasn’t quite panned out as how Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would have wanted it.

The Arsenal striker has struggled to replicate the kind of stellar form that propelled him close to the Premier League’s Golden Boot award last year, managing just three goals in 14 games in the top-flight.

The Gabon international had been missing from action for the Gunners’ past two games due to injury, but returned to the starting line-up against Brighton on Wednesday night.

And it was a performance that would have left Mikel Arteta incredibly frustrated.

As per Sofascore, he managed just 18 passes over the course of the game, struggling to get involved, and then spurning his chances when he eventually got them.

A couple of times he got into promising opportunities, none more so than when Bukayo Saka sent in a delicious low cross, only for Aubameyang’s first-time effort to be saved by the feet of the Brighton goalkeeper.

Coming up against Brighton’s formidable looking back-three, the £36m-rated ace seemed to get lost, losing 78% of his total duels too.

It led to many Gunners fans take to Twitter to call on the striker to even be sold.

Whilst there can be no questioning just how much ability Aubameyang has, he simply isn’t in a rich vein of form at the moment, and with Alexandre Lacazette stepping up to the plate once again following his weekend heroics against Chelsea, Arsenal’s talisman for these past few seasons may just need to be given more time on the side-lines.

Crystal Palace crushed Premier League stragglers West Bromwich Albion in a comfortable win at the Hawthorns last weekend to claim their first points in three games.

The Eagles are now getting ready to face Jose Mourinho’s high-flying Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon as they seek to build on their new-found momentum.

But ahead of the upcoming clash with Tottenham at the weekend, Roy Hodgson delivered some worrying news as he confirmed that summer signing Nathan Ferguson has suffered another setback in his bid to get match fit for the first time since he arrived at Selhurst Park.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the manager said: “It is quite sad news.

“He was and is getting on very well and actually joined in with us this week and has just become a bona fide member of the squad without us having to moderate what he can and can’t do.

“But unfortunately as sometimes happens in these situations, especially as he is young and enthusiastic, it has led to him picking up a slight thigh strain. At the moment I am waiting on the results of that thigh strain from the MRI. It is very unfortunate.”

With the new signing ruled out due to injury, Hodgson will be without Ferguson for at least their next Premier League game against Spurs. Joel Ward has recently recovered from injury but as one of only two right-backs available, Hodgson finds himself short of options as Palace enter a busy schedule in the build-up to Christmas.

Unless he drastically changes his mind, the 73-year-old will have to start Cheikou Kouyate alongside short-term injury cover Nathaniel Clyne, who has been in-and-out of the starting line-up in recent weeks.

According to The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam, Clyne only signed a temporary contract until January as he arrived at the club as a free agent after being released by Liverpool in the summer.

However, with Ferguson once again sidelined for the foreseeable future, this could present the former Liverpool defender with the golden opportunity to salvage his Palace career.

Palace are currently twelfth in the top flight, level on points with Aston Villa, but Newcastle and Leeds United are breathing down their necks. With Spurs at the top of the table, Mourinho’s side will be viewed as clear favourites. But Clyne could keep the free-scoring Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at bay in an attempt to persuade the board to give him a contract extension.

His former boss Jurgen Klopp thought highly of the 29-year-old as he called him a “machine” during his time at Anfield. Valued at £7.2m via Transfermarkt, it would be a shame to see the Eagles to let him go for free when the winter transfer market opens in January.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace can’t afford to lose Christian Benteke amid interest from Club Brugge…

Manchester United made a mess of the transfer window. The Red Devils had made a bright start by bringing in Donny van de Beek from Ajax at the beginning of the summer. Alex Telles joined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side from FC Porto. But a last-minute swoop for former Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani has caused controversy.

And could Ed Woodward already be regretting the decision not to sell Sergio Romero?

What’s the word?

According to ESPN, a number of first-team players are angry with the Argentine’s treatment at Old Trafford. Romero has fallen down the pecking order after Dean Henderson’s return and his hopes of joining Everton on deadline day were dashed due to United’s demands of a £10m transfer fee.

It’s claimed that the Toffees were unwilling to meet United’s asking price and decided to sign Swedish international Robin Olsen on a season-long loan from AS Roma instead.

Major mistake?

Despite the fact the free agent didn’t cost the club a single penny, it seems the Red Devils have made a major mistake. Henderson has made a phenomenal start to life at Old Trafford, keeping two consecutive clean sheets in the Carabao Cup.

Solskjaer confirmed Romero was “disappointed” to lose his place prior to the Europa League semi-final against Sevilla but heaped plenty of praise on the goalkeeper for his professionalism. However, he has also been left out of the Champions League squad in favour of Lee Grant, which suggests he has fallen even further down the pecking order.

Henderson seems to have seized the opportunity to become the backup option for Solskjaer’s first-choice shot-stopper David de Gea after a successful spell at Sheffield United. And Romero is reconsidering his options as a result. The former 96-cap Argentina international is interested in a move to Major League Soccer.

Per SofaScore, the 33-year-old played nine Europa League games last season, and kept seven clean sheets, whilst he averaged 1.2 saves and only conceded 0.2 goals per game, which shows he has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The last thing United need is a bloated squad, so you can only imagine the money they would have made if they’d sold him in the summer. With all of their latest acquisitions, they will need to balance the books and it makes no financial sense to be paying £70,000-per-week on a goalkeeper who it seems is unlikely to play at all this term.

And the MLS Secondary Transfer Window stays open until October 29th for transfer, trades and loan deals, which has left them with ample time to find a potential buyer. Get him gone, Ed, and do the right thing.

AND in other news, Forget Solskjaer: Facundo Pellestri could benefit most from Bruno Fernandes at Man United…

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has been linked with various sides throughout this transfer window, and the latest news suggests that the player might be one who could leave before the window shuts.

According to  The Transfer Window Podcast, via The Express, the full-back is not happy at the Red Devils due to his lack of game time, and he would therefore like to leave the club sooner rather than later.

However, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not ready to sanction an exit for the 21-year-old as he still wants defensive cover, but there might be the possibility of letting the Portuguese right-back leave the club on a loan deal for the season.

The 21 year-old, per Transfermarkt, who is valued at £10.8 million, has made 34 appearances for Manchester United, picking up a goal and three assists along the way, but only featured in the Premier League four times last season and with Aaron Wan-Bissaka signing for the club last summer, and this is why it makes sense that he wants to leave as it would benefit him if he wants to play consistently.

He also seems to have moved further down the pecking order as Timothy Fosu-Mensah has been featuring more lately than Dalot and a loan deal for the player would benefit all parties as the club still have enough depth in that position and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can see if Dalot improves and plays well consistently elsewhere and the player gets what he wants.

It will be interesting to see what happens, but if he is not happy to stay at the club, then it would definitely be best for him to leave as soon as possible as his mood could affect the squad and Solskjaer will not want that before the season gets underway.

Man United fans, what are your thoughts on this news? Comment below!

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly signed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton this summer.

That’s according to talkSPORT, as relayed by Ricky Sacks (via @LastWordOnSpurs), who claim that Tottenham have completed a deal for the former Saints captain. The 25-year-old ex-Bayern Munich midfielder has signed a five-year deal, as per talkSPORT.

Recent reports revealed that Spurs initially fell short of Southampton’s £25m valuation for the 33-cap Denmark international, but he has now passed a medical with flying colours to become Jose Mourinho’s first signing of the summer transfer window.

It is understood that Hojbjerg has moved to north London for an initial transfer fee worth £15m, which could rise to more than £20m with performance-related bonuses. Mourinho wants to strengthen the midfield during his first summer window in charge of Spurs as he wants to challenge for Champions League football next season.

Hojbjerg scored five goals in more than 100 appearances for Southampton in all competitions after arriving from the Bundesliga in 2016 and he began the 2019/20 campaign as club captain at St Mary’s.

However, he was removed from the captaincy by Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl after he made it clear that he had no intention of signing a new deal at St Mary’s.

Meanwhile, Kyle Walker-Peters is poised to head permanently in the opposite direction, amid interest from Premier League rivals Fulham.

Tanguy Ndombele has largely failed to live up to expectations that his £55m club-record fee warranted. The 23-year-old still has time on his side but Hojbjerg’s arrival has cast doubts over his future. Harry Winks is also in line for a shock exit from his boyhood club.

The Danish midfielder is exactly the type of player Mourinho has been missing. He is an enforcer who is more than capable of marshalling the midfield, with strong levels of concentration and a player who prides himself in recovering possession of the ball. Like Sergio Busquets before him at Barcelona, Hojbjerg has the ability to become the lynchpin in the supply chain for Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Tottenham fans, do you think Hojbjerg will prove to be a good signing for Spurs? Let us know your views in the comments below!

Former Sunderland defender Jack Baldwin has reacted after leaving the club and sealing a move to Bristol Rovers.

Black Cats manager Phil Parkinson is expected to see a number of players leave and come in as he looks to bounce back after failing to gain promotion to the Championship earlier this year.

One player who has now departed the club is Baldwin, who spent last season on loan with League Two side Salford City, seeing his deal at the Stadium of Light end on June 30.

Shortly after his exit from Sunderland, it was reported that talks with Bristol Rovers had begun for the defender to sign a permanent deal and it has now been confirmed that the defender has joined The Pirates.

Speaking after exit from Sunderland and move to the Memorial Stadium, the 27-year-old said (as quoted by Sunderland Echo):

“I’m delighted to be here.“Speaking with Ben [Garner, manager] early on this summer, I’m thrilled that we have managed to get everything sorted so early on, with the current climate.“I had chats with Ben quite a few times before signing and he’s a positive person. He knows the type of football that he wants his team to play and that style matches the way that I see myself playing.“There’s a lot of positivity around Bristol Rovers, so that makes it a great time to be joining and I’m excited to get started.”Baldwin made a total of 42 appearances for Sunderland during his time at the club.

Another player moves on from Sunderland, leaving Parkinson with space in his squad to bring in someone else.

However, the lure of a move to the Stadium of Light is not exactly what it used to be and Baldwin’s decision to move on and join another League One club could act as a signal that Parkinson may have a tough transfer window.

Do you think Sunderland should have kept hold of Baldwin? Let us know in the comments section below…

MatériaMais Notícias

Os constantes desfalques nesta reta final de Taça Guanabara fez o técnico Ricardo Gomes testar uma nova formação no Botafogo no treino desta quinta-feira, em General Severiano. Sem poder contar com Airton e Fernandes, lesionados, o treinador alvinegro escalou o time sem os três volantes. Luis Ricardo contou que Gomes está procurando um novo esquema e espera que o time comece a entender logo as ideias do comandante alvinegro.

– Hoje (terça-feira) com a perda de alguns jogadores, ele fez uma outra formação, time um pouco mais ofensivo com a entrada do Neilton. Está procurando uma forma que a gente não vinha usando. A gente espera que o Ricardo ache a formação e nós comecemos a entender logo para dentro do jogo as coisas ficarem mais fáceis – disse o lateral.

RelacionadasBotafogoLuis Ricardo descarta ‘secar’ clássico por vantagem do Bota no CariocaBotafogo14/04/2016BotafogoCom Renan Fonseca e Neilton, Ricardo Gomes esboça time para jogo contra o BoavistaBotafogo14/04/2016BotafogoBotafogo é o time que menos sofreu gols entre os 12 grandes neste anoBotafogo13/04/2016

Luis Ricardo lamentou as recorrentes lesões que estão ocorrendo no elenco do Glorioso. Porém, ele disse que o grupo do Botafogo é qualificado e tem muitos jogadores estão procurando espaço, o que vai facilitar o trabalho do técnico Ricardo Gomes.

– O Airton vinha bem desde o início da competição, acabou se machucando e cedendo a vaga para o Fernandes (que também se lesionou), e no futebol infelizmente você conta com essas infelicidades. Eu recentemente tive uma lesão de adutor, acabei ficando fora, então agora Ricardo vai ter um pouco de dor de cabeça para montar a nossa equipe. Mas tem jogadores procurando o espaço, então a dor de cabeça será boa – afirmou Luis Ricardo.

Mesmo com as recorrentes mudanças na zaga por conta de lesões e suspensões, o Alvinegro tem a zaga menos vazada da competição. Segundo Luis Ricardo, isso é fruto de um grande trabalho do técnico Ricardo Gomes.

– A gente iniciou o campeonato com o Renan (Fonseca) e o Emerson na zaga. Depois veio mudando, então pode ver que nosso time é bastante homogêneo. Os trabalhos têm consistido nisso, o Ricardo tem mudado, temos entendido o que tem pedido. Ele muda as pessoas, mas a forma de jogar não muda. Por isso temos tomado poucos gols e somos a zaga menos vazada.

Tottenham haven’t had the best of times as of late, but they finally had something to cheer on Sunday as they secured a precious win over their bitter rivals Arsenal, beating them 2-1 courtesy of goals from Heung-min Son and Toby Alderweireld.

While a win over the Gunners is always cause for celebration for Spurs supporters, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the white half of north London.

Indeed, the fanbase still had some grievances to air, namely about the performance of Serge Aurier.

Spurs’ 2017 signing had a day to forget, his pass accuracy was barely above 80 per cent, and of the five crosses he attempted, not a single one of them found their desired target.

On top of that, he had more unsuccessful touches than any other Tottenham player, so you can understand exactly where these complaints are coming from.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Tottenham have been able to call right-back their problem position.

Last season it seemed as though Spurs supporters’ favourite activity was to bash Kieran Trippier, but some fans thought Aurier was that bad on Sunday that they actually started to miss the Atletico Madrid man.

As signings go, Liverpool’s swoop for Christian Benteke is arguably as bad as they come.

The Belgian arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2015 from fellow Premier League side Aston Villa in a £32.5m deal. At the time, the move made him the Reds’ second-most expensive transfer behind Andy Carroll’s switch to Merseyside from Newcastle a few years prior.

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Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge spoke glowingly about what the powerhouse could bring to the table, and insisted that he would have no problems adjusting to the style of play at the club.

Speaking after the confirmation of Benteke’s signing, he said: “He gives something different, a massive presence up front. It’s a fallacy when people say he doesn’t play the Liverpool way. He knocked Liverpool out of the semi-final of the FA Cup when he played through the middle.

“He’s very quick, very strong, very aggressive and that’s something we haven’t had for some time up front. It’s something I’m really happy with and I think he’ll bring a lot to the squad.”

Unfortunately for Aldridge and Liverpool as a whole, Benteke turning out to be nothing but a disaster.

As per Transfermarkt, he played just 42 times for the club across all competitions, scoring just ten goals and providing only six assists. The man signed by Brendan Rodgers just couldn’t nail down a place in the first-team, and considering Liverpool had players like Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, it felt rather ill-fitting that the Reds moved for a 6 foot 3 aerial presence as a leading striker option.

Under Rodgers, he played just six times and scored only twice, whilst when playing for Jurgen Klopp (who took over in the middle of that campaign), he managed just eight strikes. Neither manager could seemingly get the best out of him, and further underlined the questionable nature of his move in the first place. All in all, it meant Benteke cost the Reds a princely sum of £3.25m per goal.

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The fact that Benteke was then sold to Crystal Palace for £27m just over a year after initially signing for the club simply spoke volumes about how badly they had gotten it wrong about the kind of player they were getting.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to links with this Premier League ace.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Norwegian publication Dagbladet, Manchester United are “far ahead” in the race to sign RB Salzburg sensation Erling Braut Haaland.

What’s the word?

The 19-year-old has burst onto the scene this season with a series of remarkable games for the Austrian side. In his 18 games, Haaland has scored a ridiculous 26 times, whilst he has also shown his more selfless side with six assists too.

Seven of those goals have come in the Champions League group stages, including a memorable hat-trick against Genk in the opening match-day, and a strike at Anfield in Salzburg’s 4-3 defeat to Liverpool.

Now, Dagbladet claim United are “far ahead” in the chase to secure Haaland’s signature, and that they have already begun the process of finding out the teenager’s potential next step. The report further adds Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants the Norway international to join the club, and that he has submitted a proposal to sign the forward.

Major coup

The man on everybody’s lips at the moment, Haaland’s remarkable form has well and truly caught the attention of the footballing world. The Norwegian’s exploits in the Champions League have launched him into the stratosphere, with reports in recent weeks claiming many of Europe’s biggest sides are monitoring him.

And that is exactly why if United were to pull off a sensational swoop for the 19-year-old, it should be regarded as one of their finest signings in recent memory. For a club currently plying their trade in the Europa League, and already nine points off the top four in the Premier League, beating the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona to his signature would be a major coup indeed.

Haaland himself has gone on record publicly hailing fellow Norwegian, Solskjaer, for his role in helping him develop while the pair were at Molde. He said: “He has had a huge impact on my life, both as a person and as a trainer. He won the Champions League and was an incredibly good player. He has taught me a lot.”

Solskjaer’s previous connection with Haaland could prove to be decisive, and it is imperative the United boss uses that relationship to entice him to Old Trafford. It could be the start of something great for the Red Devils.