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Newcastle United have been operating on a stringent budget under Mike Ashley’s tenure.

That the January arrival of Miguel Almiron, a player with no experience in European football prior to his move to the North East, was greeted with such unparalleled enthusiasm speaks volumes about the distinct lack of exciting transfer activity at Newcastle in recent years.

But did the Magpies actually allow a potential Premier League star to slip through the net before he had been afforded ample time to discover his mojo? Well, a recent report from CIES Football Observatory certainly appears to suggest so.

According to the well-respected website, Florian Thauvin is now worth a whopping €61 million (£52.6 million) and is the most valuable player residing within Marseille’s squad.

That is some turnaround from a player who was frozen out of the first-team at Newcastle after failing to impress on a handful of appearances for the club.

To place this valuation into perspective, the same report reveals that Jamaal Lascelles is the most valuable player at Newcastle, yet his valuation is a measly €18 million (£16.4 million) – just under a third of what Thauvin is reportedly worth.

Perhaps that valuation would have been considered a touch unfair on the Newcastle enforcer at the end of a phenomenal 2017/18 campaign. His influence this season, however, has diminished and he has often been overshadowed by the brilliance of Fabian Schar, who supplements a similar level of defensive solidity to his counterpart with a daring but effective level of ambition when distributing the ball from deep.

The knee-jerk reaction would be to label the 26-year-old as one that got away. He has since gone on to notch an eye-watering 41 goals in all-competitions and provide a further 28 assists in less than two seasons. Marseille got all this for just £9.9 million.

It must be considered that there was little evidence to suggest that the winger was worth the £12 million fee they paid for him in his 13 Premier League appearances. But therein lies the problem: 13 appearances, just three of which were starts, is an obscenely transient length of time for any player to be expected to prove themselves after landing in a new division.

Steve McClaren’s personal ruling on the French wing-wizard’s talents following his arrival hint that the trigger was pulled prematurely, per Chronicle Live.

“He is a perfect for this club – someone who is young, with great potential and is one of the best young players in Europe.”

If he was indeed one of the best in Europe at the time, why on earth was he not not afforded a proper chance to prove himself at Newcastle? A greater level of patience should have been shown towards Thauvin as the transition from Ligue 1 to top-tier English football is seldom a seamless process.

The short-term thinking employed by McClaren and the decision-makers deprived the club of a game-changing talent when he was staring them in the face.

Almiron has injected a level of flair, creativity and dynamism into Newcastle’s midfield which has been absent for longer than most supporters would care to remember, but Thauvin’s scintillating form in France proves it didn’t have to be that way.

شارك الدولي البرتغالي كريستيانو رونالدو بديلًا في مباراة فريقه يوفنتوس أمام سبيزيا، الجارية حاليًا على ملعب الأخير، ضمن الجولة السادسة من الكالشيو.

رونالدو عاد بعد تعافيه من فيروس كورونا، ومن أول فرصة له على المرمى سجل هدف التقدم.

بيرلو أقحم رونالدو في الدقيقة 56 بدلًا من الأرجنتيني باولو ديبالا، وبعد 3 دقائق، تلقى كريستيانو تمريرة ألفارو موراتا وراوغ حارس المرمى وسدد بقوة في المرمى.

هدف رونالدو هو الثالث له مع يوفنتوس هذا الموسم، رغم أنه لم يشارك سوى في مباراتين فقط قبل هذه المباراة. شاهد هدف رونالدو في سبيزيا 

Mauricio Pochettino has transformed Tottenham into the team we see today since his arrival in 2013, but he needs to learn from his mistakes in previous cup exits. 

Tottenham tomorrow face Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, a fixture they come in as significant underdogs.

While Pochettino has indeed changed the fortunes of the North London side entirely since his appointment, he is yet to obtain any silverware, something he regularly received criticism for. Importantly, he must learn from the painful cup defeats his team have suffered in recent years.

A pertinent example to look at would be Tottenham’s FA Cup semi-final 4-2 defeat to Chelsea in which Pochettino opted to start Heung-min Son at left wing back. It was a tactical roll of the dice which went wrong.

More recently Tottenham were knocked out by Juventus in the last 16 of last season’s Champions League. It was a tie in which Tottenham thoroughly deserved to win, but ultimately it was again inexperience that cost them. Tottenham have vastly improved since that defeat gained an abundance of experience simultaneously.

In Monday’s pre-match press conference, on the upcoming Champions League fixture, Pochettino said: ‘We want to start tomorrow being very aggressive and try to dominate.’

This is perhaps not the best approach to take to a team who are so quick and dangerous on the break. City’s game plan will be to dominate and control the game themselves, countering anything Tottenham do throw forward. From experience, they know the Tottenham defence are liable to a mistake or two and will look to pounce on anything they see.

Arguably Tottenham’s best performances of the season have come against Borussia Dortmund, in which Tottenham shut up shop and looked to counter. Particularly in the return leg, they put in a defensive performance they simply would not have been capable of just a few years ago. It really seemed as if they had indeed learned from their defeat to Juventus, but they will have to show it once more against City.

Pochettino should look to replicate this kind of performance if Tottenham are to progress. He must realise that it is naive to believe Tottenham can go toe to toe with any team in the world. They must adapt their tactics to suit the match, or it could get ugly. An early City goal would be a disaster – one which may have drastic implications on the rest of the tie.

Tottenham fans – do you think Pochettino has learned from previous cup exits? Is attacking from the off the right approach? Comment below …

Jurgen Klopp has been given a major boost in the title race as star defender Joe Gomez and energetic midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain returns to training in a bid to make comebacks before the end of the season.

We would not go as far to say Liverpool have struggled since the defender suffered a lower-leg fracture during Liverpool’s victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on December 5 but there has been a noticeable difference in how competently they have defended throughout the period of his absence.

Gomez, who suffered a number of setbacks on his recovery, eventually needing surgery to correct the issue, joined his teammates on Tuesday morning’s session at Melwood and looks to be extremely close to making a comeback, though it is said he still has a bit of work to go before he can convincingly enter the melee of the title race (according to Liverpool’s official website).

Klopp revealed to Liverpoolfc.com: “It is nice – Joe is not injured anymore and nearly fit.

“He will not be in the afternoon training session because he has to do something else – he has to work on his endurance, that’s how it is and how the boys always have to do it, like Ox had to do it when he was finally back in training.

“After a long time, I think Joe was out for 15 weeks, that is long, so he needs to now create the basis again for the rest of the season.”

This will come as extremely welcome news to Liverpool fans who, before Gomez’s injury, enjoyed watching one of the most formidable defensive partnerships in the Premier League develop between the Englishman and Virgil van Dijk.

Oxlade Chamberlain, on the other hand, will continue full training with his teammates next week after a minor setback picked up playing for the under-23s earlier this month.

“I spoke to him a second ago; Ox is positive, we are all positive,” he said. “It was a little setback, it was not more, but it was a setback. That’s how it is.”

“You don’t want to be overly sensitive after a period like this because they train a lot – training is always like this, it’s like stress for the body. You feel something, but you don’t want to mention everything because it [can be] DOMS [delayed onset muscle soreness].

“It was the case with him, it was a little bit more than DOMS, but not really [serious]. We are careful of course, he is working, he is doing a lot and I think will be in training in a week again. Then he will be fine.”

No doubts this will boost a midfield unit slightly lacking dynamic options at the moment.

Liverpool fans, how important are these two players to your title hopes? Let us know in the comments below…

نفى أحمد خيري لاعب الأهلي الأسبق، الأنباء المتداولة عن تعرضه وشقيقه لحادث سير مساء أمس السبت.

وانتشرت شائعات على مدار الساعات القليلة الماضية عن وفاة اللاعب وشقيقه بسبب حادث سير.

وقال أحمد خيري خلال مداخلة هاتفية ببرنامج “الماتش” المُذاع على قناة “صدى البلد”: “أنا بخير، كثيرون تحدثوا معي والحادث لا يخصني”.

طالع أيضًا.. سيزا: بيراميدز لم يتفاوض مع فايلر.. وملعب التتش بريء من إصابات لاعبي الأهلي

وأضاف: “شقيقة أحمد خيري لاعب كرة اليد بالنادي الأهلي هي من تعرضت للحادث، خالص التعازي له”.

Having been their club’s best player last season and by some distance, no West Ham supporter would have seen what is currently happening with Marko Arnautovic coming.

In recent weeks, the 29-year-old has found himself on the periphery following a failed transfer to China in a development that could now see him push for another move come the end of the season.

The Breakdown

According to the Daily Mail, Arnautovic has grown frustrated with life on the bench and is now likely to seek a move away from the east London side in the summer, though Pellegrini should think twice before giving his approval over any potential sell.

Given everything that has happened, freezing out Arnautovic is understandable. However, going forward, Pellegrini should look to reintegrate the Austrian with West Ham unlikely to find a No.9 with his qualities so easily.

Before the January transfer window and throughout the last campaign, Arnautovic was so efficient when it came to leading that West Ham line.

He held up the ball well, terrorised defenders with his strength and skill and was deadly in front of goal.

Ultimately, if the Austria international’s heart is set on China, then there might not be anything the Hammers can do. But if that is not the case and his spot back in the starting XI is enough to keep him content, then Pellegrini has to give Arnautovic that and not sanction a sell.

West Ham fans, do you want Arnautovic to remain at the London Stadium? Join the discussion by commenting below.

After a good spell of defensive solidity, Chelsea’s defence has absolutely crumbled in recent weeks. 

Humiliating 4-0 and 6-0 defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester City have seen many eyebrows raised over Maurizio Sarri’s defence, and failure to improve could now see the Blues spend heavily in the summer to improve that area of the squad.

The Breakdown

Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness) reports that Chelsea are keen on signing Ajax central defender Matthijs de Ligt in a move that makes perfect sense, though it could be a deal that proves extremely difficult to pull off.

The likes of Juventus, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are also said to be interested in de Ligt, according to the Spanish outlet, leaving Chelsea with some serious competition if they do intend on making an offer for the 19-year-old.

The Blues, however, must do all they can to see off rival interest; de Ligt is exactly the kind of player they need at the back going forward.

David Luiz has been an absolute shambles in defence at times this season and, at 31 with his contract set to expire in the summer, his long-term future does not look to be anywhere near Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Antonio Rudiger, who started off the season well, has also been poor of late, constantly committing silly fouls and failing to win simple headers.

By no means will de Ligt solve all of the problems at Stamford Bridge, but signing a defender with his potential would definitely be a good start and a step in the right direction for the west London club.

Nicolas Pepe arrived at Arsenal in the summer under a heavy weight of expectation that was mostly founded on the fact that he cost £72m and had scored 22 goals for Lille last season.

He struggled to adapt to the Premier League initially and took 14 league games to score his first goal from open play, but there have been signs of improvement under Mikel Arteta that suggest he could still have a big role to play this term.

The Gunners continue to compete in the FA Cup so there is a chance of silverware, and if Pepe maintains his form over the last six games, in which he has recorded the highest WhoScored rating of any Premier League player, with 7.87, then Arsenal have a good chance of success.

Pepe’s stat has naturally got fans talking about him, and there has been numerous plaudits made about the player, who has done well to transform his fortunes.

In his last six league games the Ivory Coast international has made five goal contributions in wins against Manchester United, Everton and Newcastle, even earning a WhoScored rating of 10 against the latter.

One supporter suggests that Mikel Arteta deserves the credit for the winger’s turnaround in form, and given Arsenal haven’t lost in that period it would suggest that Pepe isn’t the only player the Spaniard has helped.

Watch Arsenal Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Others have made light of the fact that the 24-year-old was once labelled a “flop” by fans of other clubs, as he is now beginning to deliver on what was expected of him when he first signed.

Can you remember how much each of these transfer icons cost? Only experts will get 100% on our quiz…

In other Arsenal news, fans have been discussing the future of one player at the club and the action the club needs to take soon…

Following the news that Allan Saint-Maximin will miss the remainder of the month and beyond with a hamstring injury, Newcastle United supporters have been pondering who they will play in his stead – with the likely option dissatisfying a few fans in the build-up to a challenging away trip to Burnley. 

The Magpies travel to Turf Moor on Saturday in a bid to continue their fine run of form that has lifted them to 10th in the Premier League table – with an impressive draw at home to Manchester City capped off by crucial victories at the expense of Sheffield United and Southampton.

However, following news that their player will be out for the next month, manager Steve Bruce and supporters have had to ponder a crucial decision over how they replace his influence.

The most likely answer, it appears, would be to play Christian Atsu in his place – with some fans praying that doesn’t happen and Bruce instead opts for another approach.

Here’s what they had to say on Twitter.

Frank Lampard has found plenty of success in the loan market during his spell as Derby County manager.

The former England international was handed his first managerial job by the Rams in the summer and quickly got to work strengthening the squad. Lampard secured loan deals for both Harry Wilson and Mason Mount from Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, and both youngsters have developed into crucial players so far. When the January transfer window reopens, Lampard should again dip into the loan market for players who could give the Rams a welcome boost in the New Year.

One man who should be on his shortlist is Chelsea wonderkid – Ethan Ampadu.

Valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, the defender is highly regarded at Stamford Bridge and has been touted as one of the most promising youngsters in their academy. Ampadu joined from Exeter last summer and quickly rose the ranks to earn the chance to train with the first-team under Maurizio Sarri. The 17-year-old became the first player born in the 2000’s to wear the famous blue shirt and Lampard should aim to bring him to Pride Park.

With first-team chances still limited in London, regular football in the Championship could do wonders for his development. Ampadu is a top defender who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and working with Lampard would be a dream. The defender, who has been capped four times by the Wales national team, will be buoyed by the success of both Mount and Wilson which could tempt him into a move.

This move would benefit both parties and should be a no-brainer.

Derby County fans, thoughts?