يلعب نادي ليفربول مع مضيفه بيرنلي في الوقت الحالي، وذلك لحساب منافسات الجولة الرابعة من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، حيث يقام اللقاء على ملعب تورف مور.
ولا تزال النتيجة تشير إلى التعادل السلبي بدون أهداف، حيث يشوب المباراة الكثير من الحذر وسط استحواذ لاعبي ليفربول دون تشكيل خطورة واضحة على مرمى بيرنلي.
طالع .. 4 إصابات تضرب أتلتيكو مدريد قبل مواجهة ليفربول في دوري أبطال أوروبا
وشهدت مباراة اليوم حالة طرد، حيث تم إقصاء لاعب نادي بيرنلي، شيموانيا أوجوشوكو بالبطاقة الحمراء، وذلك في الدقيقة 84.
وجاءت حالة الطرد بعدما عرقل أوجوشوكو نجم نادي ليفربول، فلوريان فيرتز، على حدود منطقة الجزاء في احتكاك قوي بين اللاعبين.
وأسفر الاحتكاك عن سقوط فيرتز، مما جعل حكم اللقاء لا يتردد في إشهار البطاقة الصفراء الثانية لأوجوشوكو ومن ثم الطرد.
ولم يستطع ليفربول الاستفادة من الطرد حيث تستمر المباراة حتى الآن على واقع التعادل السلبي دون التمكن من التسجيل في مرمى بيرنلي.
ودفع مدرب ليفربول، آرني سلوت، بتشكيلة الريدز الأساسية باستثناء غياب الكسندر إيزاك القادم من صفوف نيوكاسل يونايتد في ظل عدم جاهزيته.
2023 champions finished bottom in women’s Hundred after losing six out of eight
Valkerie Baynes15-Aug-2024Southern Brave never took control of their Women’s Hundred title defence and must come back stronger next year, head coach Charlotte Edwards says.Brave lost two close games to London Spirit and Manchester Originals either side of a tie with Northern Superchargers to start the season but, apart from their solitary win of the season in a rain-affected clash with Oval Invincibles, they fell away badly.A record of six defeats from eight games was telling, perhaps none more so than a nine-wicket loss to Welsh Fire in their last match, at home on Wednesday.Brave were bowled out for 103, thanks largely to Hayley Matthews’ 4 for 14 and Jess Jonassen’s 3 for 21. Fire then overhauled the target with 26 balls to spare, Matthews sharing an unbroken stand of 72 with Tammy Beaumont, who struck 59 off 40 balls.Related
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Fire’s direct route to Sunday’s final at Lord’s was confirmed a few hours later, with Oval Invincibles unable to better their net run-rate in beating Trent Rockets by five wickets. That left Invincibles to face London Spirit in Saturday’s eliminator, and Southern Brave to pick over an underwhelming campaign.”The start was particularly hard because we played well and we didn’t win,” Edwards told ESPNcricinfo. “And then the back four games we probably haven’t played well. When you don’t start the competition as well and then you don’t end it well, you’re probably going to be sat in the position we’re in.”In different games we’ve bowled well or we’ve batted well, but we haven’t put a complete game together and what I’ve learned this season in the Hundred is the teams are getting stronger, the depth in each team is getting more and more and if you’re not quite on it, you’re going to get hurt and lose games of cricket, which we’ve done on a regular basis at the moment.”While the reality of Brave’s failed title defence was still raw, Edwards said a full analysis of what went wrong and how the side could turn that around wouldn’t happen until the end of this year.By that time, she hopes more would be known about the 2025 edition of the tournament, with the ECB seeking private investment ahead of the new season’s start.”We’ll go away and review what we’ve done so far, areas we need to improve, areas that we’ve done really well. I think that’s important, because it’s easy to gloss over those,” she said. “I won’t try to be too emotional and get involved in that right now but the bottom line is we need to be better than we were this year.”Edwards, who will coach Hampshire’s Tier 1 team in the top level of the restructured women’s domestic competition next year, has had her contract with Sydney Sixers extended for another two WBBL seasons.And she is certain she wants to continue as coach at Southern Brave and Mumbai Indians, who failed to defend their WPL title this year when they were eliminated by eventual champions Royal Challengers Bangalore.Edwards addresses her team in the huddle•ECB via Getty Images”I think I’m out of contract today [Wednesday] with the Brave, so hopefully they’ll re-sign me and it hasn’t gone too badly this year,” she said. “And at Mumbai, I’ll be hopefully looking to re-sign there.”It’s a great time to be involved as a player and as a coach. I’ve loved my time in India, hopefully looking to renegotiate that contract but we’ll have to wait and see.”Edwards also backed calls by Jhulan Goswami, her Mumbai Indians bowling coach, on ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast for franchise leagues to be protected by exclusive windows to avoid clashing with bilateral series, as happened with the WPL and England’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year. Another scheduling conflict looms later this year with the closing stages of the WBBL overlapping with England’s tour of South Africa.”It has to be three windows for me and that’s WPL, Hundred and WBBL,” Edwards said. “They’re the three biggest comps. That’s no disrespect to all the other comps, but I think they’re the three biggest comps in women’s cricket. They’re so important for the growth of the game.”I’m absolutely certain that with three comps that only last a month each, there’s nine months of the year to play international cricket. That certainly would be my recommendation, because we want the best players playing international cricket and we want the best players playing franchise cricket. It’s a no-brainer for me.”
Axar Patel bolstered his credentials as one of the country’s most important all-round players on the first day of the Duleep Trophy, scoring a remarkable half-century to carry India D out of severe trouble in Anantapur. He then came back to pick up two wickets in two overs as well to ensure a game that could have slipped away from his team now remains in the balance.Anantapur more than lived up to its reputation of being a fast-bowler friendly venue. A wicket fell in the very first over of the game, which set the trend in the early going as India C, having opted to bowl, cut through the opposition top order, leaving them at 34 for 5. It was difficult even for players on the fringes of the Indian Test team as Shreyas Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal ended up with scores of 9 and 0. Karnataka fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak was responsible for much of this damage and the threat he posed continued throughout the day. He finished with figures of 12-3-19-3.Into this mire stepped Axar, batting at No. 7 but in to face a newish ball with barely 11 overs done. He has made several telling contributions from down the order for India in Test cricket, although he hasn’t always walked into a situation as bad as this one when playing international cricket. Axar responded to it with aggression, scoring 86 runs off just 118 balls with six fours and six sixes. He shepherded India D’s lower order, putting on an 84-run ninth-wicket partnership with Arshdeep Singh (13). But for all his good work, he could only get his team to a total of 164.India C started poorly as well with B Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad becoming the seventh and eighth players to bag single-figure scores on a day when 14 wickets fell. Harshit Rana took them both out in his opening spell and went to stumps with figures of 7-5-13-2. Axar built on those early wickets when he was brought on to bowl, striking twice in two overs. Among those he sent back was Rajat Patidar who is known for his strokeplay against spin and was using it to help his team recover from those early blows. India C went to stumps at 91 for 4, still trailing by 73 runs.
كشف المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر سيتي، بيب جوارديولا، في مؤتمره الصحفي يوم الجمعة عن المدة المحتملة لغياب النجم عمر مرموش عن النادي الإنجليزي، إثر الإصابة التي تعرض لها قبل أيام.
وتعرض عمر مرموش لإصابة على مستوى الركبة خلال مشاركته في مباراة مصر وبوركينا فاسو، في إطار التصفيات المؤهلة إلى بطولة كأس العالم نسخة 2026، يوم الثلاثاء الماضي.
وحل منتخب مصر ضيفًا على بوركينا فاسو في الجولة الثامنة من تصفيات قارة إفريقيا، حيث كان الفراعنة في حاجة إلى الفوز من أجل حسم التأهل إلى المونديال، ولكنه اكتفى بالتعادل السلبي.
وشارك عمر مرموش في تلك المباراة كأساسي، ولكن الحظ لم يمهله سوى 9 دقائق حيث عانى من إصابة أجبرته على الخروج من أرض الملعب، ودفع المدرب حسام حسن بزميله أسامة فيصل ليحل مكانه.
وقال جوارديولا، في تصريحاته خلال مؤتمره قبل مباراة مانشستر يونايتد، إن مرموش سيغيب بضعة أسابيع، حيث ينتظر خضوعه للمزيد من الفحوص الطبية، ولكن من المحتمل عودته قبل أو بعد التوقف الدولي في أكتوبر.
وبالنظر إلى جدول مباريات مانشستر سيتي، سنجد أن عمر مرموش سيغيب عن 7 مباريات للسكاي بلو، على حد قول جوارديولا في تصريحاته الصحفية اليوم. المباريات التي سيغيب عنها عمر مرموش مع مانشستر سيتي
البداية ستكون يوم الأحد المقبل حيث يلتقي مانشستر سيتي مع مانشستر يونايتد في قمة منافسات الجولة الرابعة من الدوري الإنجليزي على ملعب “الاتحاد”، ثم يستضيف نابولي يوم الخميس في الجولة الأولى من مرحلة الدوري من دوري أبطال أوروبا.
اقرأ أيضًا | “الرغبة في الانتقام”.. هالاند يوجه رسالة قاسية للاعبي مانشستر سيتي قبل الديربي
وبعد ذلك، سيواجه مانشستر سيتي خصمه آرسنال في قمة قوية في الجولة الخامسة من الدوري الإنجليزي، يوم الأحد 21 سبتمبر على ملعب “الإمارات”، قبل مباراة هدرسفيلد تاون في دور الـ32 من كأس كاراباو يوم الأربعاء 24.
ويواجه مانشستر سيتي خصمه بيرنلي، يوم السبت 27 سبتمبر، في الجولة السادسة من الدوري الإنجليزي، على أن يصطدم بـ موناكو يوم الأربعاء 1 أكتوبر على ملعب الأخير.
وعقب ذلك، يحل مانشستر سيتي ضيفًا على برينتفورد يوم الأحد 5 أكتوبر في الجولة السابعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، وهو آخر لقاء لكتيبة جوارديولا قبل التوقف الدولي لهذا الشهر.
وفي حال جاهزية مرموش، فإنه من المحتمل عودته في مباراة مانشستر سيتي وإيفرتون في الجولة الثامنة من الدوري الإنجليزي، يوم السبت 18 أكتوبر القادم.
وإذا صحت تصريحات جوارديولا كذلك، فإن مرموش لن يشارك في مباراتي منتخب مصر في توقف شهر أكتوبر، ضد جيبوتي وغينيا بيساو، مع العلم أن الفراعنة في حاجة إلى نقطتين لحسم التأهل إلى كأس العالم.
Fair to say, West Ham United supporters are not coming into the new season with sky-high optimism.
Last time round, the Hammers finished 14th, only just above the disastrous duo that was Manchester United and Tottenham, while their tally of nine home league defeats was the most they’ve endured since being relegated in 2010/11.
Graham Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui in January, but this did not lead to an upturn in results, winning just five of his 19 matches in charge.
Thus, Potter will be under pressure to make a fast start to this season, but will need some new recruits if he’s to achieve this, potentially with his eye on an attacker reminiscent of a West Ham fans’ favourite of yesteryear.
West Ham's search for a new attacker
So far this summer, in a very unpopular move amongst the Hammers’ support, star winger Mohammed Kudus has departed to join fierce rivals Tottenham for a reported fee of £55m, becoming the first player to make such a move since Scott Parker in 2011.
Meantime, left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf has arrived from Slavia Prague for around £19m, but this has done little to get supporters back on side.
Mohammed Kudus celebrates for West Ham
Well, that could change because, according to a report by Jack Johnson for talkSPORT, West Ham have made contact with Leicester City over the possibility of signing Bilal El Khannouss.
They add that Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Monaco also ‘hold a concrete interest’, while adding that the Moroccan international’s contract contains a £22.5m release clause, activated following the Foxes’ relegation to the EFL Championship.
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Loïc Tanzi of L’Équipe claims that El Khannouss has no intention of playing in England’s second-tier, prioritising a return to the Premier League, so could he soon swap the East Midlands for the East End of London?
How Bilal El Khannouss would improve West Ham
After arriving from Genk for £21m last summer, El Khannouss managed to impress during his debut campaign in the Premier League, despite plying his trade in a generally hopeless Leicester side, who infamously failed to score in nine successive home league matches, an unwanted new top division record.
The table below outlines the Moroccan’s importance to the Foxes last season.
Minutes
2,182
7th
Appearances
32
4th
Goals
2
5th
Assists
3
3rd
Shots
30
4th
Goals – xG
+0.7
4th
Progressive passes
128
1st
Key passes
42
1st
Passes into the box
31
1st
Shot-creating actions
78
1st
Successful take-ons
34
2nd
Take-on success %
56.7%
2nd*
Progressive carries
73
2nd
Carries into the final third
45
1st
*minimum 13 attempted.
As the table outlines, El Khannouss was very much Leicester’s creator in chief last season, ranked first for a variety of passing, chances created and dribbling statistics.
Ben Mattinson of Breaking the Lines notes that he ‘boasts the vision to spot impossible passes’, adding that he ‘oozes composure’ and is capable of a match-winning moment at any time, asserting that it’s only a matter of time before he is plying his trade for one of ‘Europe’s biggest outfits’. Writing on X, Mattinson has described him as “a player made for the big stage”.
Well, that last part sounds just like arguably West Ham’s greatest player of the modern era, does it not?
When Dimitri Payet joined the Hammers from Olympique de Marseille for just £11m in the summer of 2015, no one could’ve forecast what would happen next.
In 60 appearances in claret and blue, the France international scored 15 goals and registered 22 assists, with Josh Fordham of talkSPORT asserting that he is ‘easily the most talented player’ of the club’s modern history.
Meantime, Roshane Thomas of The Athletic outlines how the “world-class” Payet “entertained supporters” with countless jaw-dropping moments, before forcing through an acrimonious return to Marseille just 18 months after arriving.
So, could El Khannouss be the next Payet? Let’s compare the pair to find out.
Goals
2
9
Assists
3
12
Shots per 90
0.9
2.3
Big chances created
8
16
Key passes per 90
1.3
4
Successful dribbles per 90
1.1
2.2
Dribble success %
59.6%
57%
Average SofaScore rating
6.91
7.68
Of course, Payet’s statistics are more impressive, but this should not come as much of a surprise, given that, as noted by Harry Sherlock of Goal, he was one of the best players in the Premier League in the 2015/16 season, so much so that he was on the Ballon d’Or nominees list.
El Khannouss is certainly yet to hit those heights, but his numbers are comparable, especially when it comes to chances created and dribbling, so he too has the potential to light up the London Stadium.
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Matt Roller01-Sep-2024Ollie Pope has pledged to “block out” criticism of his batting, as the scrutiny on him mounts following 30 runs in four innings against Sri Lanka. England may have a perfect record under his captaincy, but Pope has come under fire after failing to reach 20 across two Tests standing in for the injured Ben Stokes.Pope managed scores of 1 and 17 during England’s 190-run win at Lord’s, and the manner of his dismissals suggested that his bid to “compartmentalise” the captaincy had failed. In the first innings, he top-edged a wild pull to square leg; in the second, with England setting up a declaration, he was caught at deep point (the only man back on the off-side) when top-edging an uppercut.”I’m not going to put down my average shot to the fact that I was captain,” Pope said. “I’ll learn from it and move on, but I think I’ve managed my own game better throughout this match… The second innings was slightly different, because we were really trying to push the game forward, but I was very disappointed with the shot I played in the first innings so early on.”I’m not going to hide behind the fact that I’ve had two poor games with the bat. That’s the way cricket is sometimes and form comes and goes. But I think the best players are the ones who can draw a line under it and have a fresh start next week. Hopefully, I can put a score together.”Pope has long had a reputation as being frenetic early in his innings. Steve James of has labelled him “the worst starter since prawn cocktail”, and Pope has now been dismissed within his first 20 balls 32 times in 85 Test innings. Despite coming into the series in a decent vein of form, following a century and two fifties against West Indies, he conceded that his nervous starts are an issue that he is trying to address.Related
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“The last two games I’ve had, they’re learning games for me,” he said. “It definitely is something that I’m still trying to improve in my game, and obviously the way that I start my innings especially is something that I want to keep on improving – and then when I do get in, it’s trying to cash in as well.”Michael Vaughan has been particularly critical, labelling Pope “an insecure human being” and “not the kind of personality” that should be England captain. Pope said that had expected to find himself under more scrutiny while in temporary charge, and that his primary aim was to avoid “overthinking” ahead of Friday’s third Test at The Oval.”I’m not surprised,” he said. “Chatting to Stokesy before this series, when you’re captain as well, you’re going to attract a lot more [criticism]. To be honest, it is just important to block it out and keep staying close with the people around you. There’s a lot of voices, a lot of guys who want to have their say – some past cricketers as well – and that’s completely fine.”Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but it’s important for us as a team and me to stay and keep trusting the people in the four walls, because that’s not going to help me get back into my best form. Sometimes, when you have two bad games, it can feel a lot worse than it is because of the noise that’s surrounding it.””For me, it’s just trying to stay as level as I can and keep on trusting the people around me, putting my work in, and not really overthinking it, to be honest. When I went and made good runs in that West Indies series, that’s exactly what I was playing like, so there’s no real need for me to get too involved in what people are saying.”Pope has sought advice from Joe Root, whose twin hundreds set up England’s series-clinching win at Lord’s, since taking on the captaincy. “Any batter in England can learn a fair bit off him,” he said. “Form is something that comes and goes… for me, it’s not overthinking it, keep training hard, and going into the next game, it’s a completely fresh week, a fresh start.”It will be Pope’s first Test at his home ground – where he has scored 11 first-class hundreds for Surrey – since 2022. “Obviously it’s a great place to bat,” he said. “It’s always special getting back to The Oval, where I’ve played all my county cricket, so hopefully there will be a great crowd in. Everyone will be excited to get to The Oval.”England have not won every Test in a home season since 2004, and will be pushing for a summer sweep. “It would be a pretty cool thing to look back on,” Pope said. “We’ve played some really good cricket throughout this summer, and obviously had a tough winter away in India where the results weren’t what we wanted on the return trip. So to get used to winning games back-to-back is really pleasing for us.”
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Dhananjaya de Silva is all smiles during training•Getty Images
Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka’s captain, has revealed that his team wanted to play more than one warm-up match before their Test series against England but were denied the chance to do so.Sri Lanka lost by seven wickets in their four-day, first-class match against an inexperienced England Lions team at New Road last week. They were bowled out for 139 on the opening day but grew into the match, with Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya all scoring second-innings half-centuries.Eight of the side that will face England at Emirates Old Trafford in Wednesday’s first Test were involved, with Kamindu Mendis, Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando due to come into the side. Milan Rathnayake, the 28-year-old seamer, will make his Test debut at the age of 28 after taking a wicket in each innings against the Lions.”The conditions are quite different to Asian countries,” Dhananjaya said. “We wanted to play a few matches, but that’s what we get. We didn’t go with the full-strength [team]. We have tried out a few players as well. The result didn’t go our way, but we had the preparation, I think. It’ll work in this match.”Dhananjaya said he had “no idea” why Sri Lanka’s desire for a second warm-up match had been overlooked, but suggested that the schedule was tight ahead of their first Test series of more than two games since 2018. “I have no idea about it,” he said. “Maybe because we are playing a three-match series after a long time; maybe that’s the reason.”Related
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Sri Lanka have not played a Test since April but come into this series after beating India 2-0 in an ODI series, and have a 100% record in Dhananjaya’s three matches as captain. “Our mental state is good,” he said. “Yes, we lost the practice match, but that match is there for our training. Within that, we got the preparation we wanted.”He is expecting the weather to play a significant role in the Test match, and hopes that Prabath Jayasuriya – whom he described as a “world-class spinner” – will play a role later in the match. “From the looks of it, it’ll be a rain-affected match,” Dhananjaya said. “I thought because of that, it’s best to go with three quicks, because we will go in and out of the game.”Dhananjaya made his Test debut immediately after Sri Lanka’s most recent Test tour to England in 2016, but will lean on the experience of Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne throughout the series. “It’s been long since we played here the last time,” he said, “but there are a few experienced players… They are sharing the experience with me.”
Manchester United are interested in signing an “outstanding” attacker in a surprise move, and he wants a £100,000-a-week contract to move to Old Trafford.
Man Utd still hopeful over Mbeumo signing
The signing of Matheus Cunha felt like a significant piece of business by the Red Devils, showing that they still have plenty of pulling power, despite failing to qualify for Europe last season.
Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo has stood out as United’s primary transfer target since the arrival of Cunha from Wolves, but Tottenham are thought to be providing stiff competition for his signature, having appointed Thomas Frank as their new manager.
Some reports have said that the Red Devils are closing in on the signing of the Cameroonian, who was one of the Premier League’s best attacking players last season, scoring 20 goals in the competition and starting all 38 of Brentford’s matches.
Mbeumo would surely be a perfect option on the right-hand side of United’s attack, with Ruben Amorim admitting he wants a signing in that position, despite the emergence of Amad Diallo: “I think Amad in that position (right wing-back) he could be an option but in this moment with the type of players we have we need a left footer on that position in front. I try to reinforce the team with the idea and try to use the characteristics of the players.”
Free agent wants £100,000-a-week to join Man Utd after talks
Now, according to a fresh claim from Caught Offside, Manchester United are “considering” completing the surprise signing of Dominic Calvert-Lewin ahead of the new Premier League season after recently holding talks with the free agent.
The England international is available after leaving Everton earlier this summer, and it is believed that he is looking to earn £100,000-a-week at his next club, coming in at over £5m per year, which the report says could be too much for the Red Devils.
In truth, there are both positives and negatives to United signing Calvert-Lewin, with the free element of the signing jumping out as a good thing, not to mention the fact that Sean Dyche lauded him during their time together at Everton.
“I thought he was excellent. He’s had a bit of illness. We’re hopeful that has passed, he had it before the game, so I must commend him on that. His physical performance was outstanding, He’s not quite over it but we hope it settles down a bit.”
On the flip side, though, Calvert-Lewin has suffered badly with injury problems down the years, not starting over 30 Premier League games in a season since the 2020/21 campaign, so there would be a big risk element in bringing him in.
At 28, the striker, who scored at Old Trafford in 2021, is also no longer a young player who could develop or overcome fitness issues, so United should arguably be looking elsewhere for someone to lead the line.
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If Amorim brought in Calvert-Lewin as a squad option, as well as a superior signing to play most weeks, it could be sensible business, but it may be a non-starter due to his wage demands.
Glasgow Rangers manager Russell Martin will be hoping to keep hold of his top talents at Ibrox between now and the end of the summer transfer window.
The likes of Hamza Igamane, Nicolas Raskin, Cyriel Dessers, and Mohamed Diomande have all been linked with moves away from Scotland, but all remain with the Light Blues at the time of writing.
A whole host of English clubs, who are all due to play in the top-flight south of the border, are reportedly interested in signing Raskin from Rangers.
Losing the Belgium international, who delivered four goals and ten assists in the Scottish Premiership last season, would be a big blow to Martin ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Rangers eyeing up new midfielder
However, Rangers could soften the blow of potentially selling Raskin in the coming weeks by signing an Italian star they are reportedly keen on bringing to Ibrox.
Transfer Focus
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According to The Boot Room, Martin is interested in a deal to sign Spezia central midfielder Salvatore Esposito for Rangers before the end of the window.
The report claims that there is plenty of competition to land the Italy international’s signature, though, as Everton, Sunderland, Celtic, Brighton, Burnley, Fulham, Brentford, and Fulham are also keen on him.
Salvatore Esposito for Italy vs England.
It adds that Spezia, who failed to earn promotion to the Serie A via the play-offs, are open to a loan with an option to make it permanent next summer.
Rangers must now see off significant competition from their closest rivals and teams in the Premier League in England to sign Esposito, who could be a Raskin repeat at Ibrox.
Why Rangers should sign Salvatore Esposito
The £9m-rated star’s form in the 2024/25 campaign suggests that he would arrive in Glasgow as the dream replacement for the Belgian ace in the middle of the park.
He could provide similar qualities in midfield as a number eight who can make an impact, with both goals and assists, at the top end of the pitch, whilst also being strong in his physical duels out of possession.
Esposito was once described as a “set-piece specialist” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, and it is no wonder when you see the clip of his goal against AC Milan in the clip above.
He is more than just a set-piece whiz, though, because the Italian star ended the regular 2024/25 season with an eye-catching haul of seven goals and nine assists in the second tier in Italy.
24/25 season
Raskin (Premiership)
Esposito (Serie B)
Appearances
33
34
Goals
4
7
Big chances created
9
18
Assists
10
9
Duels won per game
6.6
7.3
Ground duel success rate
57%
68%
Aerial duel success rate
56%
51%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Esposito offered similar qualities to the ones that Raskin offered Rangers in the Premiership, with his contributions on and off the ball.
These statistics suggest that the Spezia sensation has the play style and the quality to be a Raskin repeat at Ibrox as a central midfielder who can make a big impact at both ends of the pitch.
This is why Rangers should push hard to win the race for his signature in the coming weeks, because signing Esposito would mean that losing the Belgian star would be less of a concern for Martin.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the 24-year-old ace will be able to translate his form over to the Premiership, but the list of Premier League clubs chasing his services points to how highly thought of his talents are.
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Of course, in a dream world, Rangers will be hoping to keep hold of Raskin whilst also adding Esposito to the squad to provide competition for places in midfield.
Manchester City are enjoying themselves on Club World Cup duty, but that doesn’t mean work isn’t going on in the background to secure reinforcements at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City's balancing act with transfers and Club World Cup
Al Hilal await Manchester City in the last 16 of the Club World Cup after Pep Guardiola led his side to three straight victories over Wydad Casablanca, Al Ain and Juventus in the group stages.
Reverting to traditional full-backs to control the middle of the park with tight interchanges in and around the penalty area, the former Barcelona boss has made the Citizens one of the favourites to claim the trophy Stateside, which would be the perfect end to an otherwise disappointing 2024/2025.
Manchester City managerPepGuardiola
Buying into Manchester City’s recent hype, Guardiola praised his side for showing a ruthless edge against Juventus that he believes could be a sign of things to come as his side aim to replicate their success of the last decade.
He stated: “This is just one game but I think the players felt again what it was like to be a good team. It’s the first time we’ve performed the way we can.
“We won the last two but we adjusted a few things. I’m really pleased because the players realise what we have to do to get back to what we were in the last decade. The belief always comes from your performances, not your past.”
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Nevertheless, there is still plenty of transfer activity going on at the Etihad, with Manchester City’s pursuit of Real Madrid star Rodrygo now public knowledge.
After losing out to Liverpool last term, Guardiola appears determined to take the fight to the reigning champions this season and is now pursuing one of England’s brightest talents.
Manchester City preparing bid to sign Tino Livramento
According to GIVEMESPORT, Manchester City are preparing a bid to sign Newcastle United star Tino Livramento, and Guardiola’s side are reportedly convinced that he wants a move to the Eastlands.
Citing his ability to operate in either full-back position, the Sky Blues are growing in confidence that they could land the England Under-21 international despite Eddie Howe having no desire to lose the Croydon-born man, who is currently out on duty at the European Championships.
Five similar players to Tino Livramento (FBRef)
Denis Appiah
Saint-Ettiene
Joe Scally
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Destiny Udogie
Tottenham Hotspur
Pep Chavarria
Rayo Vallecano
Gideon Mensah
Auxerre
Earning £50,000 per week in the North East, Livramento notched a solitary assist in 45 appearances across all competitions for Newcastle last campaign and helped them claim EFL Cup glory and qualify for the Champions League.
Three other unnamed players are under consideration at Manchester City, but it appears that the “excellent” former Southampton man is their prime target at this point in time.
Arriving potentially with the added carrot of being a homegrown player, helping them navigate squad regulations, completing a deal would make a lot of sense for Guardiola in the cold light of day.