Real Madrid legend Luka Modric has bought a lavish mansion worth more than £1m in Swansea after purchasing a minority stake in the Welsh club.
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MatériaMais Notícias
Em situações opostas noCampeonato Brasileiro da Série B, Náutico e Londrina entraram em campo na noite deste sábado, no estádio dos Aflitos, em Recife, em confronto válido pela 20ª rodada. E o Timbu, que contava com as estreias de Souza e do técnico Elano, acabou sendo superado pelo adversário. Apesar de sair na frente com Kieza, Douglas Coutinho, já na etapa final, virou para o Tubarão fechando a conta em 2 a 1.
Com o resultado, a equipe paranaense chegou aos 29 pontos, encostando no G4, agora na 5ª colocação. Já o time pernambucano, por conta do tropeço em casa, acabou ficando na 18ª posição com seus 18 pontos.
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>Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS
NÁUTICO MOSTRA FORÇA NO INÍCIO
Precisando da vitória para deixar as últimas posições, o Náutico não quis saber de ceder espaços para o Londrina logo nos primeiros movimentos. Sendo assim, com mais posse de bola, aproveitou o momento para criar boas chances, sendo a melhor delas com Souza, que acabou sendo travado na hora do chute pelo sistema defensivo rival.
Até os 30 minutos, o panorama em campo era basicamente o mesmo. Martelando em busca de seu tento, o Timbu não desistia de surpreender o rival ainda na primeira etapa, conseguindo até balançar as redes com Richard Franco, mas não foi validado por conta de um impedimento na jogada.
KIEZA ABRE A CONTAGEM
Deixando de lado a frustração pelo placar continuar zerado, aos 33 minutos, finalmente Kieza tratou de tirar o zero. Após cobrança de escanteio fechado, o camisa 9 desviou para marcar, com direito a festa nas arquibancadas.
Até os acréscimos, a equipe mandante pouco cedia espaços para o Londrina, que praticamente não conseguia criar jogadas ofensivas. Com isso, segurou o resultado parcial até a arbitragem mandar os dois times para os vestiários.
LONDRINA MUDA POSTURA E VIRA O PLACAR
No retorno para a etapa complementar, apenas o técnico do Londrina foi quem optou por trocas, colocando Luis Mandaca e Matheus Lucas para campo. Com novos rostos em campo, optou por investir no ataque. E se deu bem. Aos 12 minutos,Douglas Coutinho, após aplicar uma caneta em Thiago Ennes, mandou no ângulo do goleiro Lucas Perri.
Com o tempo passando, o time visitante mostrava que estava disposto a conquistar sua virada. Até que conseguiu. Aos 26 minutos, Douglas Coutinho, após receber presente de Caprini, só teve o trabalho de mandar por baixo goleiro para guardar mais um.
Atrás no marcador, o Náutico ainda tentou usar o tempo que lhe restava para tentar o empate. Porém, mesmo com a insistência dos jogadores, poucos foram os lances contra o goleiro Matheus Nogueira, mantendo o placar em 2 a 1 com direito a festa por parte do Tubarão.
FICHA TÉCNICA
Náutico 1×2 Londrina
Data e horário: 23/07/2022 – 18h30 (de Brasília)
Local: Estádio dos Aflitos, em Recife (PE)
Árbitro: Antonio Dib Moraes de Sousa (PI)
Assistentes: Márcio Iglesias Araújo Silva (PI) e Rener Santos de Carvalho (AC)
VAR: Rodrigo Carvalhaes de Miranda (RJ)
Cartões amarelos: Wellington, 13’/1ºT;Augusto, 37’/1ºT;Jhonny Luca, 8’/2ºT;Alan Ruschel, 22’/2ºT
Gols: Kieza, 32’/1ºT (1-0);Douglas Coutinho, 12’/2ºT (1-1); Douglas Coutinho, 26’/2ºT (2-1)
NÁUTICO:Lucas Perri; Thiago Ennes, Wellington, Bruno Bispo e João Lucas; Jobson, Souza, Victor Ferraz e Richard Franco (Luís Felipe, aos 20’/2ºT); Jean Carlos (Jonathas, aos 20’/2ºT) e Kieza (Robinho, aos 9’/2ºT). (Técnico: Elano)
LONDRINA:Matheus Nogueira; Denilson, Augusto (Luis Mandaca, no intervalo), Gustavo Villar e Alan Ruschel; João Paulo, Jhonny Lucas, Gegê e Caprini; Douglas Coutinho (Eltinho, aos 37’/2ºT) e Gabriel Santos (Matheus Lucas, no intervalo). (Técnico: Adilson Batista)
Leeds United have only picked up one point from their last two matches and it has left their place in the automatic promotion spots vulnerable heading into midweek.
After Burnley and Sheffield United both won on Saturday, the Whites are now only above the Blades on goal difference and are only two points ahead of Scott Parker’s team in third.
The West Yorkshire outfit failed to extend their lead at the top of the table when they went to Fratton Park on Sunday, as they were beaten 1-0 by the newly-promoted outfit.
Daniel Farke will surely be frustrated with the lack of clinical edge that his team displayed in the defeat, as Leeds missed three ‘big chances’ and created 2.27 xG.
The German head coach may also be frustrated by some of the performances of his players. Much-talked-about goalkeeper Illan Meslier, for example, did himself few favours for the winning goal.
Illan Meslier's performance against Portsmouth
The French goalkeeper, who has made two errors that have directly led to goals this season, only faced three shots on target in the match and conceded once.
Meslier was indecisive with the ball that was played in behind for Colby Bishop and hesitated multiple times before committing too late and flopping to the floor, giving the Pompey striker all the room he needed to lift the ball over him.
Whilst it is easy to say with hindsight, the former Lorient man should have come out quicker, instead of hesitating, to clear the danger, or he should have remained big to make the block, instead of opening up the lob opportunity for Bishop, once he realised it was too late to get the ball first.
Of course, blame also lies at the feet of Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk, who allowed the attacker to run off them, but the left-footed stopper may also not be best pleased with his part in the goal.
Chalkboard
The 25-year-old goalkeeper, who had 65 touches and completed 59% of his attempted passes, was not the sole reason behind the defeat for Leeds, however, as numerous other players struggled throughout the game, including centre-forward Joel Piroe.
Joel Piroe's struggles against Portsmouth
The Dutch attacker was selected to lead the line against Portsmouth and it seems to be a perfectly fine selection by Farke, given that he is the joint-top scorer in the Championship alongside Norwich City’s Borja Sainz.
Piroe had scored 15 goals in 25 starts prior to the clash at Fratton Park. This suggested that the Whites could rely upon him in front of goal if they created the chances for him in Hampshire.
As you can see in the clip above, however, that was not the case as the former Swansea City marksman missed a glorious opportunity to find the back of the net to make it 1-0 in the second half, when Manor Solomon appeared to put it on a plate for the striker.
Piroe, who had fewer touches (33) than Meslier, also missed a huge chance to score in the first half when he followed up on a save by Nicolas Schmid, only to fire his unmarked and unchallenged effort straight back at the Pompey goalkeeper.
Minutes
90
xG
0.98
Big chances missed
2
Shots
2
Goals
0
Pass accuracy
75%
Duels won
5/11
The Dutchman, who also lost six of his 11 duels, racked up 0.98 xG from those two chances combined but failed to find the back of the net, both times with the score at 0-0, and it could have been a completely different match if the Whites had taken the lead instead of going behind.
Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth was critical in his assessment of the forward’s performance. The journalist awarded the striker a player rating of just 3/10, citing his big misses and lack of impact on the game.
With all of this in mind, Farke must finally drop the Dutch number nine from the starting XI for the midweek clash with Millwall at Elland Road on Wednesday, bringing Mateo Joseph in as his replacement.
Why Mateo Joseph should be given a chance
Piroe should be ruthlessly dropped to the bench after his struggles in the last two games, with zero goals and two ‘big chances’ missed against West Brom and Portsmouth as a starter.
This clash with Millwall on Wednesday is the second part of a three-game week and Farke must also keep in mind that he has a big squad to utilise, to ensure that his players do not suffer from burnout heading into the final weeks of the promotion race.
Therefore, now could be the perfect time for Piroe to be dropped from the starting line-up – after two subpar performances – in order to provide him with a much-needed rest, and Joseph with an opportunity to show what he can do.
The Spain U21 international’s last Championship start came against Derby County in a 1-0 win at Pride Park on the 29th of December, which shows that it has been a while since the academy graduate has had a chance to shine as a starter.
Non-penalty xG
0.37
Top 34%
Non-penalty goals
0.22
Bottom 35%
Expected Assisted Goals
0.14
Top 16%
Assists
0.22
Top 15%
Shot-creating actions
2.26
Top 23%
As you can see in the table above, Joseph – who has started 11 of his 35 league outings – does rank highly among his positional peers in the Championship in several key attacking metrics.
The 21-year-old ace, who was once described as “dynamite” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, gets himself into great positions, hence his high rank for xG, but has not converted enough of those opportunities into goals.
He has thrived as a creative presence in the final third, though, and could come in against Millwall to provide a foil for the likes of Solomon, Brenden Aaronson, and Dan James – or Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani if they are selected.
The right-footed Spaniard has created four ‘big chances’ in his 11 starts and could play a decisive pass to help his team to the win next time out.
Farke certainly has options to play with and should bring Joseph back into the XI, finally dropping Piroe, for this clash on Wednesday to freshen up the team and, hopefully, retain their place at the top of the Championship table.
Left for £1m: Leeds sold big Meslier upgrade who was one of the PL's best
Leeds could have had a perfect, long-term goalkeeping solution
ByJoe Nuttall Mar 8, 2025
After a memorable night in Belgium, Aston Villa are on the cusp of the Champions League quarter-finals.
On Tuesday night, the Villans beat Club Brugge 3-1 at Jan Breydelstadion in the first leg of their round of 16 tie; Leon Bailey broke the deadlock, before a late own goal from Brandon Mechele, followed by a Marco Asensio spot-kick, secured victory.
Unai Emery’s team are now likely to face Liverpool, following the Reds’ win in Paris, in the quarter-finals, taking confidence from their recent 2-2 draw with the Premier League champions-elect.
So, the Claret and Blue Army certainly have a strong side to get behind, but would Villa be even more impressive had they been able to hold onto one of their most highly-rated young prospects, once described as the next Jack Grealish?
Jack Grealish's post-Villa career in numbers
Given that Jack Grealish joined Manchester City for £100m in August 2021, a then British transfer record, he made the move with sky-high expectations.
Well, his time at the Etihad has been ultra-successful, winning three successive Premier League titles, the Champions League, an FA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.
However, the fact the 29-year-old has scored just 16 goals in 151 appearances for the Citizens has led to Sam Lee of the Athletic describing his performances as ‘underwhelming’, adding that both this season and last have been ‘hampered by injuries’.
Grealish himself has admitted this has been the “most difficult year of my life”, struggling for form and fitness, leading to him being left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for last summer’s European Championships.
As noted by Oliver Kay in the Athletic, Grealish went over 12 months without a club goal, describing his form across the last two seasons as ‘beyond disappointing’, while Richard Jolly of the Independent believes he is ‘wasting his talent’, having gone from being ‘one of the most exciting attacking players’ in the world to ‘someone who is neither exciting nor attacking’.
However, have Villa since had an even more exciting young talent on their hands, one that, like Grealish, is finding out that the grass isn’t always greener away from Villa Park?
Grealish 2.0 finding form away from Aston Villa
Carney Chukwuemeka joined Aston Villa’s academy as a 13-year-old, going on to make 16 appearances for the first team, before being sold to Chelsea for a ginormous £20m fee in August 2022.
Prior to his departure, Alex Dicken of Birmingham Live labelled him the ‘next Jack Grealish’, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout believed him to be Villa’s “next big thing”.
Well, despite making 32 appearances for the Blues, these have totalled just 746 minutes, his time in West London blighted by a knee injury.
He scored his only Premier League goal for the club at West Ham soon after arriving, a day soured by the fact the Blues were beaten 3-1, and the fact Chukwuemeka suffered an injury at the London Stadium that required surgery.
So, having featured only five times this season, all in the EFL Cup or Conference League, the 21-year-old joined Borussia Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the season in February, hoping to become the latest Englishman to star at Westfalenstadion.
Jadon Sancho
£8m
158
£73m
Jude Bellingham
£25m
132
£88m
Jamie Gittens
€90,000
95
Current player
Carney Chukwuemeka
Loan
3
Current player
Speaking on the Totally Football Show, German football expert Seb Stafford-Bloor described Chukwuemeka’s Bundesliga debut for die Schwarzgelben as ‘absolutely sensational’, adding that his 15-minute cameo during the 6-0 demolition of Union Berlin is as good as you’re ever likely to see in such a short period of time.
Thus, as reported by Yannick Hüber, Jonas Ortmann and Jörg Weiler of Bild, Dortmund intend to make Chukwuemeka’s move permanent for €30m in the summer, albeit their option to buy clause is only active if they qualify for the Champions League or Europa League, currently on course for neither, languishing in tenth.
Of course, the 21-year-old has only made three appearances in the famous yellow and black so far, sitting out Tuesday’s Champions League draw with Lille due to, as manager Niko Kovač put it, a “small incident” suffered against St. Pauli on Saturday.
Nevertheless, Chukwuemeka is unquestionably a high-quality player, described by Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl as “extremely talented”, so will Villa live to regret allowing him to depart?
Worse than Rashford: Emery must drop 3/10 Aston Villa star after Brugge
Unai Emery should drop this Aston Villa star from the starting XI instead of Marcus Rashford.
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انتقد مصطفى يونس، نجم الأهلي السابق، الإسباني خوسيه ريبيرو، مدرب الفريق، بسبب مشاركة لاعب القلعة الحمراء في لقاء إنتر ميامي.
وكان الأهلي قد تعادل دون أهداف مع إنتر ميامي في الجولة الافتتاحية، ويلعب ضمن المجموعة الأولى التي تضم أيضًا بورتو البرتغالي، وبالميراس.
طالع| مران الأهلي | غياب وحيد.. وتدريبات بدنية وخططية قبل صدام بالميراس
ويواجه الأهلي فريق بالميراس البرازيلي في ثان مبارياته بالبطولة، غدًا الخميس، على ملعب “ميتلايف” بمدينة نيويورك، في تمام الساعة السابعة مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.
وقال مصطفى يونس، في تصريحات لبرنامج اللعيب، مع مهيب عبدالهادي، على قناة إم بي سي مصر: “ريبيرو أخطأ في تغيير زيزو في مباراة إنتر ميامي”.
وشارك أحمد سيد زيزو بديلًا لإمام عاشور الذي تعرض للإصابة في مباراة إنتر ميامي، قبل أن يُستبدل قبل نهاية اللقاء بدقائق.
وأضاف مصطفى يونس: “ريبيرو من المفترض أنه يعلم ظروف زيزو وكان يجب أن يلعب 45 دقيقة فقط، وكنت أفضل مشاركة بن شرقي أو الشحات كبديل لإمام عاشور وليس زيزو”.
وتابع: “لاعبو الأهلي أخطأوا في توزيع مجهودهم خلال مباراة إنتر ميامي وتأثروا بالعامل البدني في الشوط الثاني”.
Everton are one of a host of clubs who are pushing to sign a “ridiculous” Premier League midfielder at the end of the season, according to a fresh transfer rumour.
Moyes eyeing various signings for Everton
The Blues continue to be linked with potential new signings ahead of the summer transfer window, with West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek emerging as a rumoured priority option for David Moyes.
The Scot managed the 30-year-old during their time together at the London Stadium, with right-back Vladimir Coufal also seen as a possible option to add to Everton’s squad.
Club Brugge centre-back Joel Ordonez is an impressive young player who is also reportedly wanted by the Blues at the end of the campaign, especially if Jarrad Branthwaite moves on to pastures new. The Ecuadorian may have scored an own goal against Manchester City earlier in the year, but he is a footballer with lots of potential.
Meanwhile, Moyes is also believed to be eyeing young Championship players who he could help turn into superstars at Everton, although no specific player has been mentioned in this latest update. West Brom ace Tom Fellows is a former target, however, so he could be an option again.
Everton looking to sign "ridiculous" Spurs player
According to a new update from TheBoyHotspur, Everton are interested in signing Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma in the summer window.
The Blues aren’t the only club that the 28-year-old is “on the radar” of, however, with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace also getting a mention. European clubs are also tracking him and could tempt Spurs with offers as high as £24.7m, with Tottenham willing to sell Bissouma and replace him with Palace’s Adam Wharton.
The £55,000-a-week Bissouma could be a brilliant signing for Everton if they get a deal over the line this summer, with the Spurs man possessing quality and experience in the middle of the park.
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At 28, he is still at a good stage in his career, so the Blues wouldn’t be signing a player who is past his best, and James Maddison has lauded his teammate, saying:
“We all know Yves’ [Bissouma] ability, he is a ridiculous player at times. He has got a skill not many have. The gaffer is a great man with good morals. He [Yves] has to keep working hard. The performance was there on Monday. It was a case of not putting our chances away. It’s important you try and put into practice what the manager wants. It’s about us trusting him.”
Yves Bissouma’s Premier League stats this season
Total
Appearances
20
Starts
12
Minutes played
1055
Goals
2
Assists
0
Tackles per game
1.9
Clearances per game
1.4
Pass completion rate
89.6%
Whether Bissouma sees Everton as a drop down in his career remains to be seen, but in fairness, there isn’t a huge amount separating them in the Premier League, and the Blues feel like they are on an upwards trajectory under Moyes.
Head coach points out bowling at the end of the game was not easy because of dew, and also showers praise on Axar’s improved batting
Hemant Brar06-Jan-20233:51
Dravid: Games like these can happen with a young team
India head coach Rahul Dravid has defended his side’s decision to bowl first in the second T20I, by pointing out that there was a lot of dew towards the end of the game and one could not take such decisions only on the basis of historical numbers. Sri Lanka put on 206 for 6 after being put in to bat and India slipped to 57 for 5 before eventually going down by just 16 runs.Historically, teams batting first have been more successful at the MCA Stadium in all T20s, winning 34 games as opposed to 29 by the chasing teams before Thursday. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka too pointed that out after losing the toss, saying he was anyway looking to bat first. Dravid, however, said the pitch was good to bat on, and with the dew expected in the second half, it wasn’t a bad decision to bowl first.”The amount of dew there was at the back-end… it’s just that we lost a few wickets in the chase,” he said at the press conference. “If we had a few wickets in hand, I think we would have… we got close already. But there was a lot of dew.Related
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“You cannot go on past history. It looked like a really good wicket, to be honest, and it stayed a good wicket right through. It did a little bit for the fast bowlers if you pitched it in the right areas with the new ball. But other than that, I thought it was a good wicket. They played well to get to 207 [206], we made some mistakes with the ball. And even though we lost that many wickets, we ran them really close.”It was not easy in the back-end as you could see they couldn’t bowl their spinners out because of the ball being quite wet. I honestly think the decision was fine. If we could have done slightly better in a few areas in the game, we would have got the right result.”That India came so close to the target despite being 57 for 5 in the tenth over was because of Axar Patel. After picking up 2 for 24 from his four overs, he showed his wares with the bat for the second time in two games. With Suryakumar Yadav struggling to accelerate, Axar took the attack to Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga. He smashed 65 off just 31 balls which included three fours and six sixes to give India hope. Using the long handle, Shivam Mavi too hit 26 off 15 balls towards the end.While their efforts failed to win the game for India, they did earn the coach’s praise.”I think his [Axar’s] batting is coming up leaps and bounds,” Dravid said. “We always knew his quality with the ball, and it was just about developing his batting. He is working really hard on it. He has been with the team for more than a year now and it’s an area of his game that we have identified. We know that it’s important for us to have that.”In whatever opportunities Axar has got, especially with injuries forcing [Ravindra] Jadeja out of a lot of cricket recently, he hasn’t let us down, whether it’s Test cricket, one-day cricket, or here. That’s really good signs for us, to have people like him, to have people like Washy [Washington Sundar], who unfortunately is not getting a game. He is playing really well, he is batting really well as well. And then obviously, hopefully Jadeja coming back gives us a nice little spin-bowling allrounder area.”Obviously in the fast-bowling allrounder area, we rely heavily on Hardik [Pandya], and we are looking around for other people to step up and maybe do a job for us. It was nice to see Mavi bat today. That brings a smile to your face when you can see one of your fast bowlers being able to bat like that. But I think in our spin-bowling allrounder, our stocks are pretty good at the moment. Shahbaz [Ahmed] was also part of the squad and considering that Washy is there, and like I said Jadeja as well, we are happy with that.”
WPL player auction expected to take place in first week of February
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2023The 2023 IPL final is likely to be played on May 28, with the start date likely to be March 31 or April 1. ESPNcricinfo has also learnt that the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is likely to be played from March 4 to 24.The window for the WPL has to be squeezed into the gap between the women’s T20 World Cup, which will be played in South Africa from February 10 to 26, and the start of the men’s IPL, which will be played on some of the grounds that will host WPL games too. The idea is to finish the WPL around a week before the men’s IPL starts, to allow the grounds to be fresh.On Wednesday, the BCCI sold the five WPL teams at an auction in Mumbai, with the owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, as well as the Adani Group and Capri Holdings winning the bids.Related
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The schedule and itinerary for the tournament, as well as a decision on how many grounds would be used, are a “work in progress”, Arun Dhumal, the IPL’s chairman, said after the Wednesday auction. Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, said that the player auction would most likely be held in the first week of February.”With regard to [the venues for the] first season, we are still talking,” Dhumal said. “That is work in progress. We will have to see logistical challenges involved in case it [WPL] has to be multi-city value or single-city value.”The WPL team owners will have an auction purse of INR 12 crore (USD 1.47 million approx.) each to build their squads, which will have between 15 and 18 players.
Mohamed Salah has admitted that he came very close to moving to the Saudi Pro League before he signed a new Liverpool contract.
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Salah opened up on Saudi offerSigned a new Liverpool contract last monthFinished the 2024-25 campaign with Golden BootFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Earlier this year, Salah was closely linked with a blockbuster move to Saudi Arabia as he was nearing the expiry of his Reds contract. The winger, though, eventually put pen to paper on a new deal and extended his stay at Anfield until 2027.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Egyptian talisman ended the 2024-25 campaign on a high with multiple awards. He won the Golden Boot and Playmaker of the season awards in the Premier League for scoring 29 goals and providing 18 assists. He was also named the Football Writers' Association (FWA) men's player of the year for the third time in his career.
WHAT MOHAMED SALAH SAID
Speaking to Egyptian TV channel after the club's final game of the season against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Salah opened up on the Saudi Pro League offer as he said: "It was a good opportunity to me, if I hadn't renewed with Liverpool it would have happened. My relations with SPL officials are very good, we talked a lot, and the negotiations were serious."
He added: "The negotiations were long, I know the club's policy [in negotiations], we reached a middle ground that made us all happy. Part of the pressure on the club came from the fans, I know from the start that they wanted me to continue, and they played their role in all of this."
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MOHAMED SALAH?
The 32-year-old remains committed to Liverpool until 2027, but it sounds likely he would consider accepting a move to the Middle East if a similar offer crops up in the future.
It has been an interesting first season in red for one of Manchester United’s summer signings, Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan has shown just how good he can be in the middle of the park, at times showing off his impressive ability to break up play and win tackles.
However, he took time to adapt to the Premier League, and some United supporters were unsure about his signing initially. One of those was analyst and host of The Overlap: The Breakdown, H, who explained that the Red Devils must “be careful of his rashness”.
Overall, in his first season at Old Trafford, the Uruguayan has not played too badly and has certainly taken over the reins in midfield for Casemiro, who is certainly not the player he once was.
How Casemiro has declined at Man United
The Red Devils signed Brazil international Casemiro back in 2022 from Real Madrid. He cost them an eye-wateringly large fee, with United spending £70m including add-ons to bring the midfielder to the club.
The former Los Blancos superstar was excellent in his first season. In a recent interview, he made an interesting suggestion about his own game, saying “as a player, I think Old Trafford saw the best version of Casemiro in my first year”.
Throughout his time at the 13-time Premier League champions, Casemiro has played 109 games, scoring 15 goals and grabbing nine assists, He was a key member of their Carabao Cup winning side in 2022/23, and played a big role in FA Cup success last season, too.
This season has been tougher for the Brazilian. Casemiro’s involvement at Old Trafford has been less than in previous campaigns, and he has made just 26 appearances.
In total, United’s number 18 has played for 1599 minutes, the equivalent of just 17.7 full 90-minute games.
It seems as though Casemiro is slowly being phased out of the side at Old Trafford. If this is the case, the replacement Ruben Amorim can turn to might be waiting in the wings in United’s famous Carrington academy.
Man United's Casmeiro replacement at Carrington
Few academies in English football are as productive as United’s esteemed Carrington. In recent seasons, they have produced fantastic first-team players including Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, two players part of their FA Youth Cup winning side of 2022.
Well, perhaps the next player off the excellent conveyor belt of talent at United is midfielder Zach Baumann.
The 18-year-old, who was born in Bolton but qualifies to play for Ukraine, has impressed during his time with the Red Devils academy.
Baumann was described as a “superb” football by Academy Scoop, a United page on X dedicated to covering academy football. He has made 34 appearances collectively for the academy sides, scoring three goals and assisting three in that time.
Under-18s
26
1415
5
Under-19s
1
15
0
Under-21s
7
558
1
Total
34
1988
6
The 18-year-old has impressed for United’s youth teams this season. He has featured 11 times, grabbing one goal and one assist, although he has been out of action for several months.
The Ukraine U19 international impressed for United’s U19s in the UEFA Youth League, in his sole appearance in the competition. Facing FK Zalgiris U19s, the midfielder played 15 minutes and showed quality on the ball, completing 92% of his passes and winning one tackle and one ground duel, as per Sofascore.
Casemiro’s role for United has changed a lot, and, under former boss Erik ten Hag, he was often playing as one of the highest midfielders in the side. Whilst they are different players the Brazilian and Baumann certainly occupy similar zones on the pitch, with the United academy player operating as an advanced number eight or number 10.
With Casemiro’s future up in the air at Old Trafford, perhaps a first-team introduction for Baumann is not too far away, especially if he can show electric form for the academy upon his return and impress Amorim.
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