Lyon owner John Textor has hit out at the club's "enemies" amid the French side facing relegation from Ligue 1 due to financial problems.
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Lyon in financial strifeFacing relegation from Ligue 1Owner hits out at "enemies"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
In light of Lyon having reported debts of around €500 million (£418m), French football financial watchdog National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG) has come down hard on Textor's team. According to , the commission has hit Lyon with a provisional relegation from Ligue 1 as well as a transfer ban and the supervision of their wages. Earlier on Friday, the American billionaire said he was "confident" in the club's figures and seemingly took aim at other teams in the division, including Paris Saint-Germain.
AdvertisementAFPWHAT JOHN TEXTOR SAID
He said in a press conference: "I am confident in our figures. I can never be confident in the way a regulatory body considers these things. I believe that the DNCG is independent of some of the pressures that you see. But we have a lot of enemies, you know, on the board of directors, in the league, a big club from Qatar."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Reports suggest Lyon may yet be able to save themselves from relegation to Ligue 2 if they offload players and Textor, whose Eagle Football Group owns 87.7 per cent of the French team, sells his 45% stake at Crystal Palace. claims they will need £91m ($115m) in revenue to escape these punishments. Lyon, who are fifth in Ligue 1, need to raise funds and fast.
GettyWHAT NEXT?
Lyon will have to sell some players during the January transfer window, with reports suggesting prized assets such as Rayan Cherki and Malick Fofana may be allowed to leave to raise vital funds. Their fans will make their voices heard soon about this.
Now closing in on Ian Maatsen, Aston Villa have reportedly also submitted their first proposal to sign Unai Emery's next potential arrival in the form of a current Copa America star.
Aston Villa transfer news
The Villans have endured a fairly busy summer already, with Douglas Luiz reportedly on his way to Juventus in a deal that will see Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea come the other way, according to Fabrizio Romano. The Brazilian will undoubtedly be big miss, but the arrival of Barrenechea in particular should go a long way towards a replacement for Emery.
It's an important summer for Villa, who are looking to follow up shock Champions League qualification with yet more upsets on the big stage next season. Of course, losing Luiz is far from a good start in pursuit of that, but links to one particular Copa America star may be a sign of what's to come.
Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz
According to reports in Spain, Aston Villa have submitted a €35m (£30m) proposal to sign Yan Couto from Manchester City this summer, alongside Tottenham Hotspur. The right-back starred on loan at Girona last season, helping the La Liga side to Champions League qualification in a similar shock to Villa's top four place in the Premier League.
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Currently at the Copa America with Brazil, Couto's future may remain undecided until the end of the competition, before Villa may well step up their chase to sign competition or a replacement for Matty Cash. That said, it remains to be seen whether Manchester City will sell to a top four rival.
"Superb" Couto can compete with Cash
With Maatsen on his way, Couto could follow to offer Emery two fresh full-backs ready to compete for a place with Lucas Digne and Matty Cash. The latter may face the same battle as his teammate, as Villa attempt to seal the type of squad depth needed to compete on all fronts in the coming season. Couto, still just 22 years old, is more than capable of taking Cash's place too.
Goals
1
2
Assists
8
2
Tackles Won
34
31
Ball Recoveries
153
110
Creating more than Cash last season, Couto's arrival would only boost the likes of Ollie Watkins even further next term, whilst maintaining the defensive prowess that Cash managed throughout the last campaign.
The Brazilian has earned plenty of fans during his time in Spain, including Football Talent Scout's Jacek Kulig, who described the right-back as a "superb talent" on X.
With their first proposal reportedly made, Villa now face a waiting game to find out just how willing Manchester City are to sell their young right-back this summer.
With three teams already through, the final spot will go to one of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants
S Rajesh18-May-20252:40
What could DC have done differently?
Mumbai Indians
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DC’s loss to GT means there will be plenty riding on their next game, against MI on Wednesday. A win for MI will almost certainly ensure qualification, as DC can then only finish on a maximum on 15 points. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) can still get to 16 if they win their three remaining games, but their net run-rate (-0.469) is so far behind MI’s that it is near-impossible for them to catch up: even if they win their matches by a combined margin of 300 runs and MI beat DC by just one run, MI will still need to lose their last match, against PBKS, by about 70 runs for their NRR to slip below that of LSG’s (assuming first-innings scores of 200). Plainly put, MI can consider themselves through to the playoffs if they beat DC.If they lose, though, qualification will be out of their hands as DC can then beat PBKS and reach 17 points and clinch the fourth spot. If DC lose to PBKS then MI can still qualify with 16 points if they beat PBKS.If MI lose both matches, they will be out.
Delhi Capitals
As explained above, LSG’s run rate is so poor – and MI’s so good – that they can’t win that battle. Hence, LSG will have to not only win their three remaining games but also hope that both MI and DC stay below 16. That’s asking for a lot, especially from a team that is struggling for form, having lost three in a row and four of their last five matches.If one of their matches is washed out and they finish on 15, their only chance will be if MI lose both and DC finish on 15. Even then, any NRR battle is highly unlikely to go in their favour.
Essex’s Championship defence is running aground. In Somerset and Yorkshire, the two counties most fancied to raise a challenge, anticipation will be growing that this could be their year. They now have one win in five and their second defeat of the season – by an innings and 30 runs against Nottinghamshire – will demand an urgent assessment of why their season is going awry.Even the convenience of a third day lost to heavy rain did not allow Essex to give the slightest indication that they might save the game. They trailed by 95 at the start of play, with seven wickets remaining, and would have needed to bat until tea or thereabouts. Instead, they capitulated on the stroke of one o’clock. With half their group games spent they lie second bottom and need a quick response.Dismissed for 99 on a Trent Bridge greentop in the first innings, they lost their last seven wickets for 38. Faced again by encouraging bowling conditions (how could it be otherwise after Saturday’s deluge?), their last six second-innings wickets fell for 29. There is a lot of onus on their top four to fire and, in this game, Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence failed in both innings.Related
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How quickly perceptions can change. Little more than week ago, Nottinghamshire were easy to depict as the county that had tried and failed to buy their way out of decline. But they won at the 31st time of asking, shouldering aside Derbyshire by an innings, and have followed that up by thrashing the champions by an innings.They now top Group One and, although they are surely the Katy Perry of the Championship – “You’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no, you’re in then you’re out, you’re up then you’re down” – they might just surprise everyone for qualifying for the top group with a top-two finish.They even had a homegrown player at the heart of their victory. Lyndon James, a willowy allrounder with close-cropped fair hair, followed up a maiden first-class 50 in Notts’ first-innings with career-best bowling figures of 4 for 51, and 6 for 54 in the match. A product of Caythorpe in the Notts Premier League, he will help lift the reputation of a Notts academy that has often invited criticism in recent seasons.With bat and ball, James looked to be a thoughtful cricketer, and indeed had a season as Notts’ 2nd XI captain. He glided to the crease and swung the ball at the high end of medium pace. Notts have not been entirely sure how to get him into the side, but it is in the middle order where he gives them a better balance, allowing them to pick a spinner as well as lighten the bowling load on the captain, Steven Mullaney.The most striking attribute about Notts’ bowling performance, though, was not the individual but the collective. Their consistency never gave Essex an outlet, and the other batter who did resist for any length of time, Paul Walter, was rendered almost strokeless as his 30 encompassed 106 balls.It soon became apparent that after the deluge, and on a warmer but still cloudy morning, the bowlers would still prosper. Nevertheless, Notts needed early proof of that in the wickets column and Fletcher, who took a couple of overs to find his range, provided it by having Nick Browne caught at the wicket with one that left him.Browne, with two half-centuries in the match, scored 43% of Essex’s runs off the bat. With his departure, the dam had been breached. Four wickets fell for nine runs in 25 balls, three of them to James.He began with a double wicket maiden. Ryan ten Doeschate, who invites an lbw, fell to a big inducker and Adam Wheater was bowled through the gate, driving, second ball, hardly the show of resolve that Essex needed. Walter’s obduracy was then ended by a fast catch to his left, at second slip, by Ben Duckett.James had enjoyed a rewarding Championship debut against Essex in 2018 and now he had visions of his first five-wicket haul, only for Haseeb Hameed to drop Peter Siddle at third slip.When Siddle was ninth out, the second new ball was due and Stuart Broad was meaningfully hanging around the stumps as if he quite fancied bowling with it. Mullaney, astutely, allowed James two more overs to get his maiden five-for, but it was not to be and back-slaps at the end of his spell did not dissuade him from a frustrated grimace and scuff of the turf.
Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 163 and Mominul Haque’s 127 help Bangladesh reach a formidable position
Mohammad Isam22-Apr-2021Stumps Bad light ate away the last 90-odd minutes of play on the second day, leaving Bangladesh very much in control with 474 on 4 on the board, even though they hardly moved the run-rate needle with their 172 runs in 65 overs on the day. On a pitch where bowlers have found almost no joy, the Bangladesh batters haven’t shown any interest in forcing the pace, or get to a position where they can declare.Sri Lanka wouldn’t mind putting their feet up after nearly two full days out in the field in searing heat and humidity. In fact, the extra minutes in the shade could even be advantageous for them, as it takes away more time on a pitch that might grip and turn a bit more on the remaining days.On the day, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque continued to be Bangladesh’s batting stars, the former taking his maiden Test century to 163, while Haque reached his first overseas hundred.Shanto struck 17 fours and a six during his eight hours and 53 minutes at the crease, with most of those boundaries coming in the arc between point and mid-off. He took a liking to Dhananjaya de Silva’s offspin, hitting him for eight boundaries while he was generally watchful against the pace trio of Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara, who eventually sent him back caught and bowled. Shanto and Haque added 242 runs, a record for Bangladesh’s third wicket, after Shanto and Tamim Iqbal had put on a brisk 144 for the second wicket on the first day.Haque was caught at slip trying to force a drive off de Silva not long after Shanto’s fall. This was an important knock for the Bangladesh captain, who held the record for scoring most Test hundreds without getting a single one of them away from home – it was 10/0 before this one. Haque was more inclined towards picking the gaps around point and cover – most of his 11 fours came through point and cover – while he dealt mostly in singles when it came to the leg side.Mushfiqur Rahim took his time to get going after coming in following Shanto’s fall. A Sri Lankan review for lbw off Kumara first ball went in his favour courtesy an inside edge, and he had one overturned not long after when given out lbw by umpire Kumar Dharmasena off Wanindu Hasaranga. But he settled down to end the day unbeaten on 43 off 107 balls. Liton Das was with him on 25 off 39 balls with two fours and a six.Vishwa had taken two wickets on the first day, and on the second, there was one each for de Silva and Kumara, just rewards for the young fast bowler who hit decent speeds for most of the day. Lakmal and Hasaranga were both impressive in terms of staying disciplined, but they went wicketless in 64 overs combined.
da aviator aposta： Rangers have agreed a deal for another summer signing and are even hoping to make a second addition this week, according to reports.
Rangers active on transfer front
da luck： Rangers endured a mixed 2023/24 campaign on the whole. Philippe Clement's side won the Scottish League Cup earlier this year but the remainder of their season was somewhat disappointing. The Gers missed out on the Scottish Premiership title to Celtic once again, lost the Scottish FA Cup final and were knocked out of the Europa League in the last 16.
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In turn, Rangers are expected to be busy on the transfer front this summer as they look to put an end to Celtic's reign of dominance in the Premiership. Jefte and Oscar Cortes have already joined the Scottish powerhouse, with the latter once again coming in on loan from Lens, while Clinton Nsiala will officially move to the club on 1st July, sealing a permanent switch from AC Milan.
Rangers do not look set to stop there, however. Hammarby youngster Nathaniel Adjei is reportedly wanted by the Gers, with a £5m move to Ibrox potentially on the cards. Elsewhere, the Gers appear to be leading the race to sign 20-year-old forward Yusuf Kabadayi from Bayern Munich in a deal that could be worth between £1m-1.5m.
Rangers are already on the verge of another signing
Now, a fresh Rangers transfer update has been provided with yet another player seemingly on his way to Ibrox. The player in question is FAR Rabat and Morocco U23 international, Hamza Igamane. The 21-year-old scored seven goals and provided six assists for his current side across the 2023/24 campaign, with his excellent form putting him in contention to be named in the Moroccan squad for this summer’s Olympics.
Before the Olympics gets underway, though, Igamane could be on his way to Scotland, with The Daily Record reporting that the Gers have agreed to sign the striker in a deal worth £1.7m and even expect to announce his move in the coming days.
As well as Igamane, the Scottish outfit are also hoping to complete a deal for Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron. The 21-year-old has recently returned from a holiday and is expected to make a decision on his future soon. Barron is out of contract at the end of this month and The Daily Record state that Rangers hope to confirm his signing this week.
Rangers have made a "strong offer" for Barron but are set to face competition for his signature with the likes of Plymouth, Swansea City, Stoke City, Hellas Verona and Cardiff City named as interested parties. Should the player indeed agree to choose Rangers as his next club, compensation will need to be agreed with Aberdeen.
Scotland legspinner Abtaha Maqsood opens up ahead of her team’s maiden appearance at the Women’s T20 World Cup
ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2024On this week’s ESPNcricinfo podcast Powerplay, Scotland legspinner Abtaha Maqsood talks to Valkerie Baynes and Firdose Moonda from Dubai ahead of her team’s maiden appearance at the Women’s T20 World Cup.
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
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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.
West Ham's Lucas Paqueta celebrates his goal against Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
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.
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