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قدم المدير الفني لفريق برشلونة، هانز فليك، آخر التحديثات الخاصة بشأن بفريقه قبل مواجهة ديبورتيفو ألافيس في الدوري الإسباني.

ويواجه برشلونة خصمه ألافيس ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية والعشرين من منافسات الدوري الإسباني “لاليجا”، على ملعب “مونتجويك الأولمبي”، غداً الأحد.

ويحتل برشلونة المركز الثالث في ترتيب الدوري الإسباني لكرة القدم برصيد 42 نقطة، بينما يأتي ألافيس في المركز السابع عشر برصيد 21 نقطة.

اقرأ ايضاً.. ماركا تكشف اللغز: 10 أيام تهدد بقاء أراوخو في برشلونة رغم التجديد

وقال هانز فليك في المؤتمر الصحفي قبل المباراة: “علينا أن نكون متعطشين للفوز بالنقاط الثلاث. علينا أن نكون حذرين لأنهم سجلوا ضدنا في الدقائق الأولى. علينا أن نركز”.

وأضاف فليك: “إذا فقدت 5% أو 10% من تركيزك، فلن يكون من الممكن الفوز على أي خصم، هذه الفرق تقاتل للبقاء في الليجا، ومن المهم جدًا أن نُظهر لهم منذ البداية مدى قوتنا”.

وتابع فليك: “هذا هو الأمر الأساسي الذي أريد رؤيته من الفريق، أن يكونوا جاهزين بنسبة 100% دائمًا”.

وعن مدرب ألافيس: “ما كنت أقوله هو أنهم يعملون على استقرار الدفاع. إنهم يدافعون بشكل جيد للغاية، ويضغطون بشكل جيد للغاية. في بعض الأحيان يلعبون بخمسة لاعبين في الخلف. في أول 10 دقائق يبدأون بشكل جيد للغاية. يتعين علينا أن نراقبهم ويجب علينا أن نركز منذ البداية”.

وبخصوص لاعبي برشلونة الشباب، أجاب فليك: “ما أراه في التدريب هو أنهم يحبون الاستمتاع بالمنافسة. إنهم يقضون وقتًا ممتعًا في اللعب. إنهم يشعرون بالثقة التي ينقلها إليهم الفريق. نحن جميعًا نثق بهم”.

وعن داني أولمو وإينيجو مارتينيز: “الأمر ليس سهلاً على اللاعبين. جدول المباريات كما هو. نحن نسير بشكل جيد مع الجهاز الفني بأكمله. عاد مارتينيز، ويتبقى لـ أولمو القليل من الوقت. نحن سعداء بعودة مارتينيز”.

وعن الحارس الأول للفريق، أوضح فليك: “تشيزني هو حارس الفريق الأول”.

وأشار فليك: “بالنسبة لي، الآن نركز على مباراة الغد ضد ألافيس. وكما قلت من قبل، من المهم جدًا أن نكون جاهزين وأن يكون لدينا الرغبة في حصد النقاط الثلاث”.

وعن مسابقة دوري أبطال أوروبا: “كما قلت من قبل، كان من المهم بالنسبة لنا أن ننهي دور المجموعات ضمن أول ثمانية فرق في دوري الأبطال، جدول المباريات ليس سهلاً، لأننا نلعب يوم الاثنين ثم مرة أخرى يوم السبت. لم يكن كما توقعت، لكن في النهاية لعبنا بعد فالنسيا ضد إشبيلية”.

وأكمل حديثه: “يمكننا منح اللاعبين ربما يومين راحة، لأنهم بحاجة إليها بنسبة 100%. ثم سيكون لدينا المزيد من الأيام للتحضير بشكل جيد والتدرب على الأمور التي نحتاجها.

وبخصوص صراع اللقب مع ريال مدريد: “الوضع رهيب، لقد خسرنا الكثير من النقاط، يجب أن نضيف نقاطًا ونثبت ذلك، يجب أن نفوز بمباريات متتالية ونضع الضغط على مدريد، مع 7 نقاط ليس من السهل وضع الضغط، نحن مستمرون في القتال على اللقب”. 

Australia’s captain Tim Paine has no intention of resigning, even after giving a frank and unflattering assessment of how his team found themselves beaten by an injury-ravaged India side in the battle for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, capped with the first victory by a visiting team at the Gabba since 1988.At 36, Paine said he was looking ahead to the forthcoming tour of South Africa and a bid to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship, but would not guarantee his tenure beyond that to next summer’s home Ashes series.Clearly rocked by consecutive day fives in which he was unable to marshal a strong bowling attack to deliver victory over Ajinkya Rahane’s preternaturally resilient tourists, Paine said India had in truth won the majority of the key moments across all four Tests, cancelled out only by one crazy hour in Adelaide where they had been razed for 36.”Even if you went right back to Adelaide, if it was with bat, ball or field, every time we had a chance to go ahead of the game we let it slip,” Paine said. “It happened a little bit in Sydney with our fielding, and then yesterday a bit with our batting, we continually lost wickets when we were trying to put the foot down and couldn’t quite get a partnership together. I thought every time India needed to do that or needed a wicket, someone managed to do it for them. I think they won the key moments.”I just said then to JL [coach Justin Langer], we turned up in Sydney on day five and the Gabba on day five in as good a position as you would want to be in I reckon, and couldn’t get the job done, so there’s some things that we should’ve and could’ve done better, but at the same time I thought India, their batting group were amazing on both those day fives.”Related

• Who will captain Australia after Tim Paine? Does Steven Smith still have a chance?

• National selectors back Tim Paine as captain: 'His leadership was never in question'

• Magnificent India win epic series in last hour of last day of last Test

• Rishabh Pant: 'One of the biggest things in my life right now'

• Australia left with difficult questions after a humbling at home

Asked whether Australia had been too determined simply to stick to their simple and trusted methods for bullying opponents with pace bowling and fast scoring in Australian conditions, as opposed to the more considered and fit-for-purpose approaches tried in recent away series in India and England, Paine wondered whether the pitches had aided his men as much as usual.”Everyone’s got a great plan for opposition, but India just managed to play better than us,” he said. “They managed to get through our plans for longer than we managed to get through theirs, particularly in the key moments.”I’m not sure whether [it was] the wickets with the lack of cricket they’ve had, but certainly Sydney didn’t do as much as we thought it would do on day five. Even today I thought that wicket was really going to open up and there’d be cracks everywhere and balls would be flying, but it didn’t happen as much as we thought it would. But India’s batters turned up and wore it on the body and toughed it out and kept soldiering on and then took the game away from us late.”They [India] guys came in and played their roles and that’s what you expect of anyone. Whether they’re big name players or not, I think they showed they’ve got some real depth and skill. They outplayed us, I don’t think we took them lightly or thought we were going to roll them over. They’re a very proud cricket country and they’ve got a huge population and a lot of skilful players to pick from and they played bloody well. They toughed it out, they were disciplined, and the guys who came in played a role.”As for questions about whether Australia might have considered looking more deeply into their bowling squad, Paine said that Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon had earned the right to expect inclusion whenever they are fit to play.”Those four bowlers were ready to go, no doubt about that. Certainly they and I won’t be using that as an excuse,” he said. “This isn’t the first time they’ve played a four-Test series…we’re lucky we’ve got such durable fast bowlers. Had we held our catches in Sydney they wouldn’t have had to bowl the overs they did have. I thought they did a tremendous job throughout the whole series, they created chances, I think we could’ve scored more runs and given them more scoreboard pressure at times.Mitchell Starc was among those to have an underwhelming series•AFP via Getty Images

“Those guys are a credit to themselves and our team, and we’ll play them as long as they say they’re fit to go and they said they were and we backed them in.”Looking ahead, Paine was adamant he had not thought about giving up the captaincy or his place in the side. “No, not at the moment to be honest,” Paine said. “I came here today to try to win a Test match, still looking forward to going to South Africa, a big series there, we’ve had a goal to make this Test Championship final, I think that’s still achievable, so it’s a big focus for us and for me and this group.”As a sportsman you have more bad days than good days. Batting and wicketkeeping are pretty similar like that. It doesn’t always go your way in cricket and in life, so for me it’s about soldiering on. I’ve said a few times I still feel like I have improvement in me. I certainly still want to keep leading this team. We’ve got some unfinished business we set out to achieve as a group, so I intend to finish that.”In ruling out consideration of the Ashes, Paine maintained he was simply sticking to the method of keeping focused on his next match and series as he had done ever since his surprise recall in 2017. “I’ve said many times that I don’t look past the next series,” he said. “I’m 36 years old, I’m loving doing my job, it’s a difficult job and at times like this it can be bloody hard work when you’re copping it left, right and centre. But that’s what I signed up for, I didn’t play my best cricket at times in this series, but that can happen.”I don’t sit at home and think I’ve done a brilliant job I get home every day, I’m very honest with myself, I know when I make mistakes, and I try to get better. This has certainly been slightly different for me with lots of criticism my way and in the past it probably hasn’t come my way, but that’s par for the course. International cricket is a big boy business and you’ve got to have very thick skin.”

This season has started about as poorly as it could have for West Ham United.

As things stand, the East Londoners are stuck in the Premier League relegation zone, and while Nuno Espírito Santo earned a point in his first game, he’s overseen three losses since.

However, there is a chance for the Hammers to steady the ship at home to Newcastle United this weekend, in a game that’ll see Lucas Paqueta take one of his closest friends in Bruno Guimaraes.

West Ham would love a player of his quality in their side, and while that is a pipe dream, they might have the next best thing.

Paqueta & Guimarães' relationship

Speaking ahead of the game, Paqueta did the usual of telling the West Ham website that the team are “all ready for a big battle,” but he also went on to explain his relationship with Guimarães.

Chalkboard

He revealed that the two of them are “like brothers” and that, thanks to their time on and off the pitch together, they are “best friends.”

It’s not all that surprising that the pair are so close, as on top of representing Brazil, they also spent time playing for Lyon.

In fact, between the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons, the duo made 42 appearances for the French side, in which they combined for one goal, but maintained a healthy average of 2.00 points per game.

On the international front, the duo have played 24 matches with both of them on the pitch, in which they’ve combined for two goals.

However, with 13 wins, six draws and five losses in those games, they’ve only averaged 1.88 points together.

You can only imagine how much better West Ham would be if Bruno were starting just behind Paqueta.

However, while that is a dream, the club might have found their own version of the Toon star who could end up forming a similar relationship with Paqueta.

Paqueta's new Guimarães

While there are some talented midfielders in West Ham’s squad, like Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa, it’s Mateus Fernandes who could end up being Paqueta’s new Guimarães.

Now, while he isn’t Brazilian, there are a few reasons why he fits the bill, with the first being that, like the Newcastle star, he is more than comfortable playing in central midfield.

Therefore, while he can play in the ten, he’d be just as happy to sit that bit deeper and allow the Hammers’ Brazilian maestro to remain as the most attacking midfielder.

However, the most concrete reason why the “exceptional” former Southampton star, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, could become the new Guimarães is that he was one of the most similar players to him last season.

Yes, according to FBref, the Toon ace was the ninth most similar midfielder to the Irons’ summer signing in the entire Premier League last season.

Non-Penalty Expected Goals

0.12

0.12

Shots

1.30

1.24

Shots on Target

0.43

0.36

Expected Assists

0.11

0.15

Crosses into the Penalty Area

0.19

0.17

Switches

0.31

0.39

Shots Blocked

0.25

0.28

Interceptions

0.87

0.80

Aerial Duels Won

0.46

0.50

To gain a better understanding of how such a conclusion was reached, it’s worth examining some of the underlying numbers that led to the pair ranking so closely.

In this instance, these include specific attacking metrics, such as non-penalty expected goals, shots, shots on target, crosses into the penalty area, switches, and more, all per 90 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, given that they are both central midfielders, they also rank closely for more defensive metrics, such as interceptions, aerial duels won, and shots blocked per 90.

Now, with all that said, it would be foolish to expect the former Saints ace to match the performances of the Newcastle star, but the fact that they are so similar, and he’s six years younger, is certainly encouraging.

Ultimately, it may take some time for them to build a proper understanding, but so long as Nuno plays them both, there is every chance Paqueta could develop a similar understanding with Fernandes that he has with Guimarães.

How Jarrod Bowen really feels about leaving West Ham after £53m Tottenham claim

The England winger is reportedly attracting interest from north London.

ByEmilio Galantini Oct 31, 2025

Assistant coach says England will continue to target victory despite precarious overnight position

Andrew Miller06-Dec-20251:32

Trescothick: Trying to play the way we want to play

Marcus Trescothick, England’s assistant coach, insisted that the team would continue to stick to their principles, and “remain focused on how we try and win the game” despite a gruesome day with bat and ball at the Gabba that has left them on the brink of a 2-0 deficit in the Ashes.Speaking to TNT Sports shortly after the close of the third day’s play, Trescothick said that the team remained “fairly philosophical about what we’re trying to do”, but added that they were “not quite operating as we need to at the moment”, after a collapse of 6 for 80 in the floodlit evening session had torpedoed their hopes of overturning a 177-run deficit with wickets in hand.As had been the case in the first Test at Perth, England’s collapse came after a strong start to their second innings, and was largely of their own making. After reaching the dinner interval on 48 for 0, Ben Duckett was unlucky to be bowled by a ball from Scott Boland that kept low, but Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley then departed while driving on the up to Michael Neser – precisely the flawed shot selection that had left to a match-turning collapse of 3 for 0 in the series opener.It ran counter to the call from England’s first-innings centurion Joe Root, for his team-mates to “express themselves in the right way”, and whereas he’d salvaged the innings from 5 for 2 on the first day, this time he had no response. Mitchell Starc had been successfully negotiated by the openers but returned to prise Root out for 15, and when Harry Brook and Jamie Smith were extracted before the close, England still trailed by 43 runs with just Ben Stokes and Will Jacks of their recognised batters remaining.”They’ve been better than us today, and they’ve dominated today,” Trescothick said. “They’ve put us under a lot of pressure, and it’s always challenging when that happens.”We’re trying to score as many runs as we can. We’re trying to take wickets when we can. In certain areas, we probably haven’t been as good as we need to be, for long enough. And we’re trying, obviously, to do that and trying to put that right all the time.”Trescothick’s phlegmatic response to a catastrophic day was in keeping with England’s bid to maintain a positive team environment, and echoed similarly outlandish professions of optimism in previous contests – perhaps, most notably, spin coach Jeetan Patel’s insistence, on the eve of Ollie Pope’s astonishing 196 to beat India in Hyderabad in 2024, that “nothing was impossible” for this team and their self-belief.However, Pope will be back in the spotlight once again this evening, and for less glorious reasons. For the second match running, his skittish display when well set was the root cause of England’s collapse – in Perth, his inability to keep the score moving after a fast start resulted in a loose drive that cost him his wicket; here, with the conditions at their toughest and the onus on keeping wickets in hand until the morning session, he survived two wild drives in three deliveries that nearly went to hand off Brendan Doggett, before poking a return catch to Michael Neser in the very next over.Related

• Pope runs out of rope as Bazball's poster-boy turns fall-guy

• Australia's tail smokes and chars predictable England in Gabba cauldron

Trescothick, however, refused to point fingers, and held back from criticizing the decision-making that had undermined England’s chances.”Of course, we work with them as coaches,” he said. “Myself, Baz [McCullum] will talk with them about what we’re trying to do, and the principle of our game, and how we’re trying to play our style of play.”When we get it right, sometimes we really dominate and we put pressure on oppositions, and at times we don’t always get it right, and we play bad shots, and potentially, of course, that gets highlighted.”But it is what it is. You’ve got to have some way of trying to play the game. Of course, we’ll look back on it, and every game, every innings, and talk with batters and discuss what we’re trying to do. And we’ll say, yeah, keep going … stick with trying to work out how we’re going to make it better for next time. We’ve got to stick to our principles and what we’re trying to do.”The irony is that Australia’s entire team offered a demonstration in how to build an innings on a cracked Gabba surface that, as Duckett discovered, can offer a few rogue deliveries but broadly speaking has played very true throughout. Every Australian from No.1-11 reached double-figures, for the first time since 1992, while none of them faced fewer than 30 balls.”Once the guys have been in the field for a period of time, like they have in the heat, and then you’re starting to lose a couple of wickets, it’s always tough,” Trescothick said. “We’ve been good in parts. We’ve had periods in the game where we’ve been sustained pressure, and put Australia under that the scrutiny that we needed to, it’s just maybe they’ve then fought back.”They’ve got through the periods of the new ball well, and made it tricky for us, so fair play to them. It’s not just necessarily things that we’ve done wrong. I think Australia have been pretty consistent in what they’ve tried to do.”It’s pretty obvious what they’re trying to do. They’re just trying to smash away on a good length, especially Boland from the far end … there’s a big crack just outside the channel of off stump, we’re all aware of that. They’ve hit consistent areas, and they’ve put us under pressure.”England arrived in Australia with high hopes of competing for their first series win in the country since 2010-11, and their first Ashes victory since 2015. Right now, however, they are racing towards their 15th defeat in their last 17 Tests, and arguably their most humiliating yet, given the chances they’ve had to dominate, and the relative weakness of a team that has been lacking three all-time great bowlers in Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.”When momentum gets in their favour and they do get on top of you, it’s obviously always a challenge.” Trescothick said. “We are strong enough, we are good enough to challenge with it at times and put a bit pressure back on, if you like. It’s just not quite happened today.”We’re trying to work that out ourselves,” he added, when asked how England had let so many strong positions slip away. “We can be a bit more consistent in the style and in the momentum of the game, and try and keep on top of it when we need to be. And potentially, we haven’t quite matched up to that when we needed to be. But you’ve got to try and remain focused and positive on what you’re trying to do.”We’ve still got an opportunity here. Yes, we’re behind still in the context of the game. We’ve got to come out tomorrow, try and get a partnership going with the last few wickets that we have, and get a total on the board that we can maybe have a little dart at.”The guys are disappointed, but we’re still trying to remain focused on how we try and win the game.”

أكد أيمن عبد العزيز المدرب العام لنادي الزمالك، أن الفريق استحق التتويج ببطولة كأس مصر، في الموسم المنتهي على حساب بيراميدز.

وكان الزمالك توج ببطولة كأس مصر، للموسم 2024-2025، بعد الفوز على بيراميدز، بركلات الترجيح عقب انتهاء اللقاء بالتعادل 1-1.

وقال عبد العزيز خلال تصريحات عبر قناة “زملكاوي” المذاع على قناة الزمالك: “الزمالك أنهى الموسم بما يستحق بالتتويج بلقب كاس مصر، بطولة هي الأعرق في تاريخ مصر وحصدنا البطولة أمام بطل دوري أبطال إفريقيا، واقدم لهم التهنئة على فوزهم ببطولة إفريقيا، وبالنسبة لي بيراميدز هم أبطال الدوري”.

وتابع: “الفوز على بيراميدز نهاية سعيدة للزمالك في نهاية الموسم رغم عدم تتويجنا ببطولة الدوري، كنت خائفًا من عدم حضور الجماهير بشكل كبير في نهائي الكأس، لكنهم كانوا على الموعد كعادتهم”.

طالع | خطاب جديد من الزمالك ردًا على لجنة الانضباط بسبب زيزو

وأكمل: “الزمالك له أفضلية أمام أي منافس بجماهيريته وتاريخه وهذا حدث أمام بيراميدز في نهائي كأس مصر، اللاعبون الكبار كان لهم دورًا كبيرًا جدًا وساعدوا الجهاز الفني بقيادة أيمن الرمادي على التتويج بالكأس”.

وواصل: “أبلغت أيمن الرمادي حتى بعد دخول مرمنا هدفا بأننا سنتوج بالبطولة، ووجود شيكابالا دائمًا يحفز اللاعبين والجماهير، ووضعنا مصلحة الزمالك فوق أي اعتبار قبل نهائي كأس مصر”.

وأكمل: “شيكابالا وعبد الله السعيد أراهما متعاونين وطريقة تعاملهما تعطي رسالة للاعبين الصغار بأننا كلنا عائلة واحدة، حتى لو لم يشارك الثنائي يمنحان الأفضلية للزمالك”.

وأتم: “عمر جابر دائمًا مختلف، يملك روح وإصرار غير طبيعي في الملعب، ولم أرى من لاعبي الزمالك إلا أقصى درجات الالتزام طوال فترة وجودي، الفترة الحالية هي فترة بناء الزمالك للموسم الجديد”.

da jogodeouro： Leeds United are back in action in the Premier League for the final time before the international break when they face Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road this afternoon.

da fazobetai： The Whites welcome Thomas Frank’s team to West Yorkshire in the early kick-off in the top-flight, as they look to head into the break off the back of another positive result.

Daniel Farke’s side have made a respectable start to life in the Premier League after they won the Championship title with a club-record 100-point haul in the 2024/25 campaign.

Leeds have eight points on the board after six matches and were seconds away from having another two points to their name in their 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, as they conceded in stoppage time.

The Championship champions have scored five goals in their last two matches in the Premier League, having beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 in the game before that draw with the Cherries.

Despite that impressive goal return in the last two outings in the top-flight, finishing chances has been an issue for Farke’s side throughout the season so far.

Why Leeds need more from their attackers

Leeds need to get more out of their attackers at the top end of the pitch because some of them have missed too many big chances, and others have not gotten into dangerous enough positions in front of goal.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who arrived on a free transfer from Everton in the summer, scored his first goal for the club with an excellent header against Wolves last month.

However, the former England international has lacked a ruthless edge in front of goal with his performances for the club so far, which is a slight cause for concern moving forward.

Tottenham have only conceded four goals in six games in the Premier League under Frank, which suggests that chances will be few and far between and that Leeds will need to be clinical with what they are able to create.

Calvert-Lewin (25/26)

League Cup

Premier League

Appearances

1

4

Goals

0

1

Minutes per goal

N/A

267

Big chances missed

4

4

Conversion rate

0%

14%

Big chances created

0

0

Assists

0

0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Calvert-Lewin has missed eight ‘big chances’ and scored one goal in five appearances for the Whites so far, which shows that he has been incredibly wasteful in front of goal.

His hold-up play, winning 5.3 duels per game (Sofascore), will be important against the Europa League champions to alleviate pressure, though, which is why he should keep his place in the team.

It is, therefore, Brenden Aaronson who should be taken out of the starting line-up for this clash with Spurs because he lacks the clinical edge that the Whites will need given how strong their opponents are at the defensive side of the game.

The USA international has failed to score in six league games so far this season and scored one goal from 3.86 xG in 36 appearances in the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign, per Sofascore.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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This means that Aaronson cannot be relied upon to finish a chance if it comes his way against the Lilywhites, which is why he should be ruthlessly dropped from the starting line-up to provide another player with an opportunity to shine.

In his place, Farke could add the clinical edge that his team will need against Spurs by unleashing Joel Piroe in a brand-new role on the right flank this afternoon at Elland Road.

Why Joel Piroe should be unleashed against Spurs

The Dutchman has fallen down the pecking order in the number nine position in West Yorkshire this season, as evidenced by the fact that he has been an unused substitute in his last three appearances in the matchday squad.

It has been a disappointing start to life in the Premier League for last season’s Championship top scorer, who caught the eye of fans and pundits with his clinical finishing.

In fact, former Spurs star Chris Waddle compared him to Harry Kane, saying: “He reminds me of how Harry Kane plays. He comes off and drags the centre halves out, which is great for Dan James and their other wingers. If you have got wingers with a bit of pace, they can exploit the space that has been created for him and I think that works very well.”

Piroe scored 19 goals in the Championship to fire Leeds to promotion and win the Golden Boot, which earned him that comparison to the Tottenham icon, who now plays for Bayern Munich.

However, instead of unleashing him as their own version of Kane, who scored 280 goals for Spurs as a number nine, Farke should look to unleash the left-footed star in a brand-new role on the right.

All 78 of his starts for Leeds have come in central positions, as a striker or as an attacking midfielder, but he has scored 13 goals in 28 matches as a right-winger for the other clubs in his career combined, per Transfermarkt.

This suggests that he does have the potential to be effective in that position, even if his lack of mobility and natural physicality mean that he does not look like a natural pick in that area of the pitch.

Joel Piroe (Championship)

23/24

24/25

Appearances

45

46

xG

12.74

17.17

Goals

13

19

Big chances missed

8

13

Big chances created

3

8

Assists

3

7

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Piroe was undoubtedly an immense finisher for the Whites in his two seasons in the Championship with the club, outperforming his xG in both campaigns.

That is why it was not a surprise to read that Beren Cross quoted Farke as saying that the Dutch striker is “the best finisher he has ever worked with” in his pre-match press conference for the Spurs match.

Given that the German head coach has worked with players like Teemu Pukki, Mario Gotze, and Marcus Thuram, that is incredibly high praise from the manager.

Aaronson, as aforementioned, has not offered enough of a threat as a goalscorer throughout his Premier League career and Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto are both injured, which is why unleashing Piroe on the right flank could be an inventive solution to the team’s lack of ruthless finishing.

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The Whites would then have Calvert-Lewin as the number nine to provide physicality and hold-up play, Noah Okafor on the left to provide pace and dynamism down the left, and Piroe on the right to offer a clinical edge in front of goal.