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According to journalist Duncan Castles on the latest episode of the Transfer Window Podcast, Manchester City ‘hold an interest’ in signing Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto – prompting many Sky Blues to beg for the ‘dream signing’.

Neto, who has been a mainstay under Nuno Espirito Santo this season, grabbing five goals and five assists in 28 Premier League starts whilst also winning five Man of the Match awards (WhoScored), continues to entice interest from the Sky Blues.

Castles explains that while City officials were scouting Adama Traore last season, they started to see the quality of Neto as he became more of a regular in the Wolves team – resulting in some interest.

The journalist also reveals that City, and by extension sporting director Txiki Begiristain, still hold this fondness for the 21-year-old – with City supporters begging for his acquisition as a result.

One supporter called him a ‘dream signing’, and given his form this season, it’s not hard to see why.

Find all of their best verdicts down below, after the news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra.

City fans beg for Neto signing

“Dream signing”

Credit: @kwameKonfanko

“OMG YESSSSS”

Credit: @SilkyCyrus_74

“Music to my ears ..”

Credit: @DavidTheOneOnly

“PLEASE I BEG”

Credit: @DylanMCFC

“City pls make this happen”

Credit: @BerradiBenny

“Yes please”

Credit: @FerociousFerran

“Give them whatever they want for him! Lads going to the top”

Credit: @MikeyTidmas

“I’d bin Mahrez in half a second for him, I’m sorry”

Credit: @CanceloCulture

In other news: Man City fans were ecstatic by this ‘great news’, find out more here.

تحدث أحمد حسام ميدو لاعب ومدرب الزمالك السابق، عن تأهل منتخب مصر إلى دور ربع نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا 2021.

واستطاع منتخب مصر التأهل إلى دور الـ8 من منافسات أمم إفريقيا، بعد الفوز على كوت ديفوار بركلات الترجيح بنتيجة 5-4.

وقال ميدو خلال تصريحات لبرنامجه “الريمونتادا” عبر قناة “المحور”: “فوز اليوم هو الأهم لهذا الجيل من اللاعبين، كيروش استرجع خبراته في السنوات الماضية في الـ120 دقيقة اليوم”.

وأضاف: “يجب علينا أن نشكر اللاعبين والجهاز الفني، كانوا رجالًا ولم يجعلوا تاريخ منتخب مصر يضغط عليهم، بل كان سندًا لهم”.

طالع | اتحاد الكرة يعلن استمرار كيروش مع منتخب مصر حتى مباراتي السنغال

وتابع: “شاهدت شعور لاعبي كوت ديفوار بقيمة وتاريخ لاعبي المنتخب في عيونهم خلال تسديد ركلات الجزاء، الفوز اليوم هو نقطة تحول لجيل كامل من اللاعبين وتاريخ ميلاد لهؤلاء المجموعة”.

وواصل: “لا تستهونوا بمباراة اليوم لأنها مباراة صعبة منذ أول ثانية وحتى آخر ثانية، وجميع اللاعبين كانوا رجالًا”.

وأردف: “محمد عبد المنعم مدافع مصر القادم في العشرة سنوات المقبلة، عندما تلعب أول مباراة في هذا السن الصغير وتظهر بهذه الشجاعة والانضباط التكتيكي، هذه علامات تدل أنك مدافع قوي يُعتَمد عليه في السنوات المقبلة، وسيسير على نهج المدافعين الكبار في تاريخ مصر”.

واستمر: “أداء عمر كمال وأحمد فتوح كان جيدًا للغاية رغم خبراتهما الدولية القليلة”.

وأكمل: “فوز اليوم سيكون سببًا أن كل منتخبات البطولة (تترعب منك)، بسبب التاريخ الذي قمت ببنائه، ومباراة اليوم أول خطوة حقيقة نحو كأس البطولة”.

وأتم: “نرفع القبعة لمحمد النني لأنه ضرب مثلًا ورد على منتقديه داخل الملعب، لا يوجد لاعب في العالم لا يتعرض للانتقادات سواء ميسي أو رونالدو، ولكن يردوا في الملعب، وما فعله النني درس لكل لاعبي مصر”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Apenas 13 jogadores, menos da metade do atual elenco do Corinthians, já haviam disputado uma partida pelo clube antes do início desta temporada. Por conta do elevado número de entradas e saídas de atletas em 2016, o grupo sofreu uma renovação marcante e se rejuvenesceu. Ao mesmo tempo em que o “sangue novo” dá esperanças, a falta de experiência é motivo de uma preocupação interna.

O elenco do Timão hoje é formado por 30 jogadores, e a média de idade é de apenas 25,4 anos. O número já era baixo, e foi reduzido com as saídas de Bruno Henrique (26 anos), André (25) e Luciano (23), e as contratações de Gustavo (22) e Jean (21) – dupla, aliás, já foi anunciada pelo clube.

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As duas novas contratações do Corinthians aguardam apenas a inscrição de seus nomes no Boletim Diário (BID) da CBF para ficarem à disposição de Cristóvão Borges neste sábado, às 16h, contra a Ponte Preta. O atacante deve ser relacionado em razão das poucas opções do técnico para o setor ofensivo (Guilherme, improvisado, é o titular hoje), e o jovem volante também já sonha com a primeira chance de vestir a camisa do clube que se diz torcedor “desde criança”.

Jovens, Gustavo e Jean ajudaram a “rejuvenescer” ainda mais o elenco em que quase 60% só estreou profissionalmente ou foi contratado para este ano.

Dos 30 jogadores, apenas 13 são veteranos de Corinthians: Yago (estreou em 2013), Uendel (2014), Elias (2008), Romero (2014), Cássio (2011), Guilherme Arana (2014), Cristian (2008), Rildo (2015), Danilo (2010), Fagner (2006), Rodriguinho (2014), Walter (2013) e Lucca (2015). Os outros 17 foram contratados para a atual temporada, promovidos das categorias de base ou simplesmente só tiveram oportunidade em 2016, como Matheus Vidotto, Caique e Pedro Henrique, que já estavam no grupo.

Apesar da preocupação com a inexperiência e a pouca bagagem da maior parte do grupo, o Corinthians tem confiança no potencial que há.

– A tabela do Brasileiro mostra que somos um bom time, e estamos brigando pelo título, só deixamos o G4 uma vez. Ano passado a maioria duvidou que o Corinthians chegasse ao título e chegamos – diz o otimista presidente Roberto de Andrade.

Tudo sobre

CorinthiansCristóvão Borges

West Ham United had to settle for a share of the spoils after throwing away a three-goal lead against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

David Moyes will surely be fuming with his side’s collapse in the second half and centre to all that was struggling left-back Aaron Cresswell, who was constantly exposed throughout the 90 minutes he was on the pitch.

The Hammers romped to a 3-0 lead in a 17-minute spell, with goals coming from Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen and Thomas Soucek, but they had their backs against the wall for large spells as the Gunners dominated with 64% possession.

Irons forward Michail Antonio had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed at 3-2, late in the second half but he saw his close-range attempt cannon off the post. He perhaps should have done better with it, though you can forgive that moment considering he provided two assists.

Strangely, the 30-year-old took pelters on social media from some supporters – one fan labelled him a “donkey” soon after missing that chance, whilst others branded his display “terrible” and “shocking.”

He was far from the problem.

Arsenal were hugely dominant on their right flank, with right-back Calum Chambers regularly getting up the pitch to contribute. The Sky Sports ‘Man of the Match’ managed to attempt a whopping eight crosses, one of which resulted in Craig Dawson’s embarrassing own goal, and this was because Cresswell could not contain him.

Similarly, Nicolas Pepe got the better of him before providing the assist for Alexandre Lacazette’s equaliser late on.

Indeed, only Dawson (6.1) was graded worse than Cresswell (6.4) as per SofaScore ratings, and it’s easy to see why.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-west-ham-news-and-views” title=” The latest West Ham news and views!”]

The 31-year-old, now valued at €10m (£8.5m), was so weak in his battles, winning only one of his six duels (16%) up against the aforementioned visiting players.

When Cresswell did engage with them, his best option was to bring them down to concede two fouls, which would only go onto invite further pressure on the backline. An unnecessary thing to do when trying to hold out the lead.

It got so bad in the second half that Moyes brought on Ryan Fredericks so that there was another body to help out at the back though within three minutes of his arrival, the game was all-square and that was largely down to the clear weakness at left-back.

Tom Clark, football.london’s Irons reporter, thought the £55k-per-week ace was easily West Ham’s worst player. He rated him a 4/10, and claimed:

‘Difficult second half for the left-back with a lot of Arsenal play coming down his wing including all three Arsenal goals.’

As he mentions, all three of their goals came from his side and that only goes to show how poorly he struggled on the afternoon.

Cresswell badly let Moyes down with his display, and as bad a miss it was from Antonio, he had no fault to play in them conceding three goals when holding a 3-0 lead.

AND in other news, Get it done: Moyes should urge WHU move for wild card worth £14.5m less than last year…

According to reports, Tottenham are facing a battle to sign Milan midfielder Franck Kessie.

What’s the story?

MilanLive claim that the Serie A giants are intent on securing the £36m-rated star to a new contract at the San Siro, and that he is one of the players there who the club do not want to sell.

However, the report adds that the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and West Ham are all very much interested in luring him to the Premier League, and that they have “always shown interest” in him.

Mourinho’s new Essien

The 24-year-old has really come into his own this season in the Serie A, developing into a bona-fide star as a box-to-box midfielder – he’s already racked up ten goals and three assists in 36 games across all competitions, even earning some rave reviews from the likes of former Italy forward Antonio Casano.

He said: “I want Kessie in my team, he scores, he assists, he has personality, he has quality, he doesn’t lose the ball, he is intelligent. I’m watching him carefully, against Roma he was devastating. He reminds me of the Yaya Touré of the best times. He is a different player, but in terms of impact. He is holding Milan’s midfield alone.”

And, speaking after a 2-0 win over Torino, Milan manager Stefano Pioli, said: “Franck is a complete player. He gives us physicality, energy, quality, protects the defence and knits the moves going forward too. He has this eternally positive mentality during the matches, he’s the first to help out a teammate or reassure them. This is a young side that needs guidance and encouragement, so Kessie is invaluable in that sense.”

That unique combination of being a workhorse defensively, but also with the guile and craft to stitch things together in midfield, is eerily reminiscent of Michael Essien when he was in his pomp at Chelsea under Mourinho.

The former Ghana international would patrol the back-four, but also offer a presence going forward – you only have to look at that stunning swerving strike against Arsenal to see what he could bring to the table at both ends of the pitch.

Kessie is very much in that ilk, and it’s exactly why Daniel Levy must get a deal done for the Milan powerhouse. He could bring that power and drive to Spurs’ midfield, and give Mourinho the kind of player who would have fit in seamlessly in his early Chelsea days.

Meanwhile, Spurs played a blinder by selling this man for £17m…

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed recently that Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and the Reds would be making a huge mistake if they were to sign the Greek centre-back.

What’s the word?

Romano revealed on his Here We Go podcast that the Merseyside club have been offered the 32-year-old defender this month, as the Gunners look to get the former Borussia Dortmund man off their books.

The Reds are, of course, currently low on defensive options following injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez earlier in the season but they would still perhaps be best served by avoiding Sokratis, considering he hasn’t played a single minute of senior football this season.

Worse than Lovren?

Liverpool will surely be rueing their decision to sell Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren in the summer transfer window and not signing a replacement, as Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Fabinho, usually alongside youngsters Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips in his defence for much of this season.

The 31-year-old averaged a very solid 7.09 rating for his performances in the Premier League last season when called upon by Klopp, whereas Sokratis earned a much less impressive 6.82 rating for the Gunners, suggesting that he would’ve been a much better option to have than the Arsenal man.

Whilst the experienced defender is well-known to Klopp, having featured 73 times under the German manager during his time at Dortmund, he is clearly well past his best, evidenced by Mikel Arteta leaving him out of his Premier League squad for this season.

Therefore, whilst the Greek international would provide a short-term solution in terms of being an available centre-back in Liverpool’s squad, in the time we would see him build his fitness, Matip would probably return from the injury that has kept him out recently, so he would only be useful if the Cameroonian suffered another injury.

Even then Klopp may prefer to keep faith in Phillips and Williams, so signing Sokratis who earns £92k per week at Arsenal would be a rare error from Michael Edwards and the Liverpool board, given the success they have seen from signings such as Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago and Sadio Mane, to name a few, in recent years.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Matip: Edwards must swoop for £50m titan tipped for “an amazing future”

Celtic are back in action thanks to their positive run of form across the last five fixtures. Their most recent win came on the road against Hamilton, thanks to a solid performance from the whole team.

Neil Lennon has taken some risks over recent weeks, dropping senior personnel and taking chances on lesser seen players. The likes of David Turnbull and Ismaila Soro have grabbed their chances with both hands and have delivered a positive impact to the Celtic midfield.

The duo started against Hamilton and the former bagged himself another goal. He joined Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard on the scoresheet to breeze past the Accies at their ground. Another who impressed but went under the radar was Jeremie Frimpong, who was blistering down the right flank.

Jeremie Frimpong vs Hamilton

Despite being just 20 years of age, the Netherlands youth international has been a key part of Celtic’s season so far. He has featured in every Premiership match this term and despite being a defender, the £8,000 per week right-back is a force to be reckoned with going forward.

According to Sofascore, Frimpong put in a solid performance across the backline with his four tackles, one interception and one clearance. He also won ten of his 12 duels and drew five fouls thanks to his pace down the wing.

Hamilton struggled to cope with his presence down the right-hand side and his performance will have seriously impressed Lennon. The gaffer will be relieved with Celtic’s recent form, as speculation has recently surrounded his future at the club.

Winning to Scottish Cup and the chance to recruit in the January window could be enough to save Lennon’s job. If he is to remain the Hoops boss, promising young players like Frimpong will be key moving forwards.

In other news, Signing David Turnbull was a stroke of genius from Hammond…

Wolves are stuck in a rut. After losing Raul Jimenez to a horrific fractured skull, they have failed to win.

Thus, the transfer window could be approaching at just the right time for Nuno Santo.

What’s the word?

Wolves have been poor of late and since beating Arsenal, have only gone downhill.

They were comfortably swept aside 4-0 by Liverpool and suffered a disappointing Midlands derby defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

As such, a number of transfer targets are now being linked with a move to Molineux. Salomon Rondon in an attacking sense is one but a more defensive player has now emerged on their radar.

According to The Daily Star, Wolves are pondering a move for Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko.

They had a £19m approach for the Ukrainian knocked back last summer but Wolves want to test City’s resolve once again.

Zinchenko has fallen further down the pecking order at the Etihad so it’s not too unreasonable to suggest he could leave.

Transfermarkt values him at £18m – just a fraction short of the bid that City received a matter of months ago.

The perfect player for Nuno

Now, don’t get us wrong, Zinchenko still has a lot of maturing to do.

At the age of 23, he needs regular football and he also needs to work out what his favoured position is. However, it’s his in-game intelligence that should set alarm bells ringing. When he was sent off against Spurs back in February, Steve Nicol deemed him a “complete and utter idiot” for the challenge.

That being said, he is perfect for Nuno in a number of ways. He is a young player with room to grow and can play in a whole host of positions.

Zinchenko is most naturally an attacking midfielder but it’s in defence where he’s played more regularly under Pep Guardiola.

He’s become the very definition of an attacking full-back, putting his left-foot to good use as a left-back in City’s defensive line.

It’s that type of versatility that Nuno loves. You only need to look at Jonny and former Wolves defender Ruben Vinagre to understand that he prefers a player with attacking attributes in that third of the pitch too.

In terms of his flexibility and creative qualities, he is ideal for Wolves and their manager.

In other news, Wolves’ £60k-p/w dynamo was their ONLY positive against Aston Villa…

Johan Lange has been dealt a cruel blow in his efforts to sign Milot Rashica with Werder Bremen confirming the Aston Villa target is not for sale in January.

What’s the word?

Speaking with Bild, Werder Sporting Director Frank Baumann has stated that Rashica will be staying at the Weser Stadium as he will block any attempts to sign one of his side’s players this winter.

Aston Villa were believed to be monitoring Rashica’s situation in Germany to see if he can rediscover his form from last term, which saw the Birmingham-based outfit rival West Ham, Brighton and Wolverhampton Wanderers for the former Liverpool target.

Rashica struck 11 goals and was credited with a further eight assists in 34 games across all competitions in 2019/20, and admitted he would have loved the chance to play in the Premier League if Bremen reached an agreement with one of his interested suitors.

But Werder held firm in demanding that his €38million (£34.4m) release clause was met in full, due to clauses inserted in his arrival from Vitesse Arnheim that would have seen the Dutch side, the forward and his agent each net a per cent of the fee received.

The 24-year-old has failed to replicate his form from last season thus far this term, with the 28-cap Kosovo sensation dubbed ‘The Rocket’ only penning his first assist of the campaign during last Friday’s 5-3 loss to VfL Wolfsburg and is yet to score in any of his five Bundesliga outings.

Rashica was given an extended break this summer after being left “disappointed” at a transfer failing to materialise, while an early-season knee injury prevented his season debut until the fourth fixture of the German league campaign.

Take Villa to another level

Baumann stating that Bremen will reject all offers for Rashica in the winter market will come as a cruel blow for his Aston Villa counterpart Lange, who could have taken Dean Smith’s side to another level with the capture of the 24-year-old.

Villa were expected to move for Rashica’s services in January if he can rediscover his form this month, having begun to find his feet again with three straight Bundesliga starts and an influential role in defeat to Wolfsburg.

Lange striking a deal for the Kosovo international would have added a player lauded highly by Bremen head coach Florian Kohfeldt as a unique talent through his ability to decide games on his own.

“He is a player who can decide Bundesliga games,” Kohfeldt told Tagesspiegel, via quotes by Goal this summer. “You don’t find that very often. Milot has incredible skills: in speed, in goalscoring, in passing. Rashica would fit well in England with his pace, but also with his style of play in Spain.”

Smith will seemingly not be gifted the chance to work with a talent like Rashica, at least until the summer, and will instead have to hope the likes of Trezeguet, Bertrand Traore and Anwar El Ghazi can help take some of the strain off Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley with the trio yet to score and boasting just two assists between them.

AND in other news, a major Premier League decision has come at the ideal time for an “outstanding” Villa titan who’s badly letting Dean Smith down.

MatériaMais Notícias

O diretor executivo do Grêmio, Rui Costa, reconheceu nesta quinta-feira que o clube vem lidando com dificuldades para contar com novidades para o ataque nesta temporada. Porém, em entrevista ao “Zero Hora”, o dirigente garantiu que o clube seguirá lutando para fazer contratações:

-As dificuldades existem, mas elas não podem servir para nos engessar.

Rui Costa afirmou que o clube precisa avaliar com calma os jogadores:

– Nós temos que ser pontuais.

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O diretor executivo afirmou que o clube está de olho em vários mercados:

– Estamos atentos a jogadores aqui, fora, Série B, Argentina, Paraguai, Uruguai, Exterior.