Everton have struggled in recent years, and it’s impossible not to view Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shoddy injury record as part of the crux of the problem.

The England international hasn’t quite been pulling up trees under Sean Dyche this season but he does look to have revived his fitness levels, starting all seven of Everton’s opening Premier League fixtures, scoring two goals and adding one assist.

It’s provided the Toffees with a reliable focal point up front, and though the 27-year-old has blanked across his past three games, he’s been an aerial menace and looks set to play a big part in the fight against relegation.

Dwight McNeil has been brilliant, but the Goodison Park side is otherwise lacking in offensive potency, and it’s crucial that Dyche brings someone in this winter, lest Everton fall back into the bottom three and fail to get out.

Everton already lining up new attacker

As per Football Insider, Everton have registered interest in Silas Mvumpa, with the winger’s prolific qualities viewed to be perfect for an Everton side looking to improve its goalscoring ability.

Silas completed a loan move to Red Star Belgrade in September but has enjoyed a series of years in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart and, aged 26, could bring a blend of athleticism and talent to fuse with the fold at Everton.

It’s reported that the DR Congo international has a £12m release clause in his contract with the Germans, and if Everton’s Friedkin Group takeover goes through before the turn of the year, this might open up as the perfect opportunity.

Silas' career in Germany

Silas established himself as one of the hottest prospects in Germany after arriving from French second-division side Paris FC in August 2019, winning the Bundesliga Rookie of the year in 2020/21, having previously helped Stuttgart into the top flight in his debut campaign.

In a remarkable twist, it emerged in June 2021 that the forward has been operating under a false identity and age, a puppet under the influence of his former agent. While he was hit with a €30k (£25k) fine and a three-month suspension by German football authorities, he was absolved of blame.

Actually one year older than was believed, the now 26-year-old has recovered to play a part in Stuttgart’s rise over the past few years. Though he only started eight matches in the top flight last year, the winger posted five goals and five assists apiece, highlighting the clinical edge that Everton could benefit from.

2023/24

Bundesliga

27 (8)

5

5

2022/23

Bundesliga

31 (23)

6

2

2021/22

Bundesliga

9 (3)

0

0

2020/21

Bundesliga

25 (24)

11

5

2019/20

Bundesliga 2.

29 (18)

7

8

Indeed, as per FBref, Silas ranks among the top 13% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals scored, the top 17% for touches in the attacking penalty area, the top 1% for successful take-ons and the top 12% for through balls per 90, highlighting an impressive range of qualities.

There’s so much to like. Silas has skills and fleet feet, a natural goalscoring sense and an underrated playmaking ability. Not only is he able to dazzle with his ball-carrying talent, but he is also capable of opting against barrelling forward and instead picking out the right pass for an attacking teammate – like Calvert-Lewin – should he join the Blues.

Such properties make him the type of winger who is tailor-made for success in the Premier League, with his particular skillset drawing clear comparisons to Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli.

Everton's own Gabriel Martinelli

Martinelli might not have been performing at his maximum last season for title-chasing Arsenal, but he’s long been regarded as one of the most talented wingers in the Premier League.

Class is permanent, as they say, and the Brazil international looks to be firing himself back into form after posting two goals and two assists apiece over his past three outings in the top division.

According to CIES Football Observatory, the 23-year-old is worth a jaw-dropping £86m in 2024, with his incisive nature and electric dribbling approach leaving him in a special category of winger – it’s a category that Silas also resides in.

Indeed, the £12m man is deemed to be a ‘similar player’ to Martinelli among those in his position in Europe’s top five leagues, as per FBref, indicating the apparent likeness between the pair.

Everton need to target this type of profile, injecting initiative into their frontline but also lifting their goal threat to a level that the blue half of Merseyside has not seen with a significant degree of consistency for the past several years.

There are no assurances that Calvert-Lewin is going to remain fit for the duration of the campaign, such is the weight of his injury record, and thus it’s crucial that Everton move to sign a new striker in January transfer window.

Silas has battled through adversity during his career but he’s returned to showcase his quality and suggest that he has the mettle to succeed in the Premier League. He’s even been hailed for his “unstoppable” attacking quality when at his best by journalist Antonio Mango.

To be honest, you need only cast your mind back to April, when Stuttgart defeated Bayern Munich 3-1 in the league in what proved decisive in finishing second, ahead of the imperious outfit.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Silas was introduced with little over ten minutes left to play. He scored and assisted in a remarkable performance against one of Europe’s big guns. He’s got what it takes, and for just £12m, Everton should snap him up in a heartbeat.

Everton struck gold offloading “relentless” ace who's now worth £34m less

Farhad Moshiri cashed in at just the right time with this one.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 12, 2024

England captain reiterates claim that he did not witness any instances of racism in the Yorkshire dressing-room

Andrew Miller29-Nov-2021Joe Root, England’s Test captain, has reiterated his claim that he did not witness any instances of racism in the Yorkshire dressing-room, but acknowledges that cricket still has a “huge amount of learning to do” in the wake of Azeem Rafiq’s allegations.Root’s initial statement on the subject earlier this month led Rafiq to claim he was “incredibly hurt” by his former team-mate’s failure to back up his claims of discrimination during their shared time at Yorkshire. And though Root added that the pair had exchanged a “couple of messages” since, he doubled down on his position while speaking ahead of England’s four-day Ashes warm-up in Brisbane.”I stand by what I said. I don’t recall those incidents,” Root said. “If they are an oversight on my part then that’s an area that we all have to learn from, and I have to learn from.”Hopefully when we finish this tour, we will get the opportunity to sit down and talk about this whole situation,” Root said of his relationship with Rafiq. “Along with talking to Azeem, I mentioned in my statement that I want to talk to Lord Patel [the chairman] at the club – those dialogues have started. I think it’s important we keep finding ways of bettering the sport, finding ways how we can individually affect things for the better and make a real change in it.”There is still education that I need to undergo to develop myself further, and I think everyone does,” he added. “There’s so much work that has to be done, so much energy that has to be thrown into this and there has to be a real drive to make a real difference.”Joe Root: I think it’s important we keep finding ways of bettering the sport•Getty Images

Root said he was unable to comment, however, on Rafiq’s separate allegation that the nickname “Kevin” – a term he said had been coined by his former team-mate Gary Ballance to describe people of colour – had been an open secret within the England dressing-room. Rafiq’s testimony before Parliament also included the claim that Alex Hales had even named his dog “Kevin” as an in-joke, and the ECB has since opened an inquiry into the issue.”That’s part of a live investigation and I’m currently not able to discuss matters on that because of that investigation,” Root said. “But clearly that is a phrase that should never be used whether in the dressing room or any part of society. I don’t think I’m in a position to comment more about that.”Root did, however, insist that there had since been moments when “I feel like I have stepped in and called things out” – namely his on-field criticism of the West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, for making homophobic comments during a Test match in St Lucia in 2019.Related

Hales denies any racial connotations in naming his dog 'Kevin'

Rafiq: 'The game needs to listen to a lot of people who have suffered'

Rafiq: Root not seeing racism at Yorkshire 'hurt'

Root calls on English cricket to unite against racism

“That comes from growth and learning and understanding and education,” he added. “Discrimination in general is something we have to look to stamp out as much as we can. If there are mistakes, maybe we call them out straight away, and we find a way to keep improving the environments we are playing and working in.”I’m not saying we’ve always got things completely right, we haven’t, but we clearly have to look to keep getting better and better the sport as much as we can and have those difficult, uncomfortable conversations sometimes. Hopefully that makes a game better for everyone.”I look at the group of players that are around this team right now and the other two England men’s teams,” Root added. “We have spent a lot of time talking about these topics and what’s happened, and how we can make a real difference.”I certainly feel like there are a lot of good conversations happening which hopefully can follow into action and we can start to drive the game from our position at the spear point of the sport. That will only come in time from proving it and actually delivering on some of the things that we’ve discussed as a group.”

أوضح مدافع الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد، أنطونيو روديجر، موقفه من الرحيل عن الملكي مع اقتراب عقده على الانتهاء.

وينتهي عقد روديجر في 30 يونيو 2026، وبالتالي، بالصيف المقبل قد تكون الفرصة الأخيرة لنادي ريال مدريد إذا رغب في الحصول على مقابل مادي من بيعه.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تقارير: مفاوضات جادة بين إنتر ميلان ولاعب ريال مدريد

وكان روديجر قد انتقل إلى ريال مدريد في عام 2022 بعدما انتهى عقده مع تشيلسي وحقق العديد من الألقاب مع الملكي مثل دوري أبطال أوروبا، كأس العالم للأندية، الدوري الإسباني، كأس السوبر الأوروبي.

وتحدث روديجر عن مستقبله مع ريال مدريد في مؤتمره الصحفي مع منتخب ألمانيا قبل مباراة إيطاليا في دوري الأمم الأوروبية، وقال: “في كرة القدم، لا يمكن أن تعلم ماذا سيحدث”.

وأضاف في النهاية: “لكن أنا سعيد في مكاني الحالي مع ريال مدريد، لا أتطلع للرحيل قريبًا، هذا كل ما يمكن أن أقوله الآن”.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Vasco está pronto para a estreia do Campeonato Carioca diante do Volta Redonda, às 19h, nesta quarta, no Raulino de Oliveira. Sem entrar em campo desde 28 de novembro de 2021, o elenco foi reformulado, mas Zé Ricardo terá quatro desfalques para montar o time que encara o Voltaço.Três deles não foram regularizados a tempo e um está lesionado.

RelacionadasVascoVitinho sofre lesão em jogo-treino e desfalca o Vasco na estreia do Carioca diante do Volta RedondaVasco24/01/2022VascoVasco reintegra o goleiro Vanderlei ao elenco para o início da temporadaVasco24/01/2022VascoNene fala sobre ser o líder do Vasco na temporada: ‘Torcedor sabe da minha vontade e da minha paixão’Vasco24/01/2022

Na última semana, o clube finalizouo processo de inscrição de atletas para a primeira rodada e nove dos doze reforços estarão à disposição. O goleiro Thiago Rodrigues, o lateral-direito Weverton, os zagueiros Luis Cangá e Anderson Conceição, o lateral-esquerdo Edimar, os meio-campistas Yuri, Isaque e Bruno Nazário e o atacante Raniel poderão entrar em campo.

Ainda não é assinante do Cariocão-2022? Acesse www.cariocaoplay.com.br, preencha o cadastro e ganhe 5% de desconto com o cupom especial do LANCE!: GE-JK-FF-ZSW

O atacante Getúlio e o volanteMatheus Barbosa não foram regularizados a tempo para a estreia. Matías Galarza, por sua vez, também não poderá entrar em campo, já que seu novo contrato ainda não foi protocolado na FERJ.Além deles, Vitinho sofreu uma lesão no tendãoretofemoral direito e também é mais um desfalque.

+ Confira e simule a tabela do Campeonato Carioca

– O Matheus Barbosa e o Getúlio chegaram no dia do encerramento da inscrição da FERJ. O grande problema foi que eles não tinham a rescisão (do contrato antigo) registrada no BID até o prazo determinado. O Matheus já está regularizado no BID. O Getúlio ainda não, mas estará até o final da semana. Os dois estarão aptos para a segunda partida. Também estamos correndo para registrar a renovação do Vanderlei, que se juntou ao elenco nessa semana – garantiu Rodrigo Eduardo, um dos responsáveis pelo Departamento de Registro do Gigante da Colina

Por fim, o profissional explicou a situação do jovem paraguaio. O jogador pertencia ao Olímpia, do Paraguai, e foi comprado pelo Vasco, mas não foi registrado antes do fim do prazo de inscrições para a rodada inaugural do Estadual.

– O Galarza era um atleta que estava emprestado e foi adquirido pelo Vasco em definitivo. Para fazer essa transação, você precisa realizar um processo na FIFA e na CBF, via sistema. Esse processo demanda tempo e isso faria com que o atleta ficasse sem condição de jogo. Quando ele foi adquirido no ano passado, vale lembrar, ele era titular e vinha sendo aproveitado nos jogos. A gente preferiu não perder o atleta naquele momento e deixar para o final do ano – disse, e acrescentou:

+GUIA DO CARIOCÃO: Vasco se prepara para a Série B enquanto busca resultados imediatos

– No final do ano, porém, a janela fechou mais cedo e não tivemos como fazer esse processo. Finalizamos esses trâmites agora, no início da temporada, com a abertura das janelas brasileira e paraguaia. Como a inscrição para o Carioca se encerrou antes e não poderíamos protocolar o novo contrato sem rescindir o antigo, o que aconteceu apenas no dia 19, o Matías acabou ficando de fora da estreia – finalizou Rodrigo Eduardo.

Leeds United went into the international break off the back of a 2-2 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in their ninth Championship game of the season.

The Whites, who host Sheffield United at Elland Road in their return to action on Friday night, were denied of two points in the 97th minute after a howler from Illan Meslier.

They had taken the lead earlier in the match, thanks to goals from Joel Piroe and Junior Firpo, after the hosts had gone in front through Chris Rigg.

It was Piroe’s fourth goal of the season for the West Yorkshire outfit, making him the team’s top scorer so far, but there is one former Leeds player who has outscored him this season – Rafa Mujica.

Rafa Mujica's form this season

The Spaniard currently plays for Al-Sadd in Qatar and has enjoyed a phenomenal start to the season with his new club, having joined them from Arouca in the summer transfer window.

Mujica, formerly of Leeds, has produced five goals and three assists in six appearances in the Stars League so far this term, which is more than one goal contribution every game on average.

24/25 season	Rafa Mujica (Stars League)	Joel Piroe (Championship)
Appearances	6	9
Sofascore rating	7.43	6.84
Goals	5	4
Pass accuracy	81%	68%
Duels won per game	2.5	1.1
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, he has outscored Piroe and been more reliable in duels and with the ball at his feet, despite playing fewer matches at league level.

Leeds will surely rue selling the young striker to Las Palmas in the summer of 2021, as his career has gone from strength to strength since his exit from Elland Road.

Rafa Mujica's soaring market value

Mujica joined the Whites from Barcelona B in the summer of 2019 but he did not make a single appearance for the English side, heading out on various loans, before they decided to part ways with him two years later – with his Transfermarkt value sitting at €300k (£251k) at the time.

After one season with Las Palmas, Portuguese side Arouca swooped to sign the striker, who was hailed as “magnificent” by former boss Pepe Mel, ahead of the 2022/23 campaign and the centre-forward flourished in Liga Portugal.

The 25-year-old star fired in 14 goals in 32 appearances during his debut season with the club, before a staggering return of 23 goals and four assists in 34 outings during his second campaign.

His exceptional form last season attracted attention from Al-Sadd and the Stars League outfit swooped in to secure his services for a reported fee of €10m (£8.4m).

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

That means that his value soared from just £251k to a whopping £8.4m within the space of three years, thanks to his superb goalscoring exploits in Portugal.

Now, Mujica continues to shine in front of goal in Qatar and is currently outperforming Piroe, and therefore every other Leeds player, as a goalscorer this term.

This is why Leeds will surely rue their decision to move him from Elland Road before they gave him a chance to showcase his talent for their first-team.

Leeds ace started over £84m-rated star for his country and was astonishing

The Whites star’s confidence will surely be boosted by his efforts for Spain.

By
Dan Emery

Oct 11, 2024

This has been a trying season for Arsenal so far who after two successive title challengers are now languishing five points behind Manchester City and seven points behind Liverpool.

It’s not been the dream start that Mikel Arteta was crying out for and as such, the title does not look as though it’ll be heading in the direction of the Emirates Stadium next May.

Still, there are some positives. Bukayo Saka is only going from strength to strength in Arsenal colours and has assisted seven goals in his first nine Premier League games of the season. Kai Havertz has also been a revelation as a striker, scoring seven times this term.

The blooding of fresh youngsters has also been exciting with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly now receiving regular first-team minutes.

The Carabao Cup has also seen a whole host of Hale End stars be handed their first-team debuts by Arteta too.

Yet, it’s that boy Nwaneri who is causing the biggest fuss after a terrific start to his first full campaign in senior football.

Ethan Nwaneri's season in numbers so far

Aged just 15, Arteta handed a debut to a certain Nwaneri who became the English top-flight’s youngest-ever player in the process.

Arsenal’s youngest debutants

Player

Age at debut

#1 Ethan Nwaneri

15 years, 5 months, 28 days

#2 Jack Porter

16 years, 2 months, 10 days

#3 Cesc Fabregas

16 years, 5 months, 24 days

#4 Jack Wilshere

16 years, 8 months, 12 days

#5 Jermaine Pennant

16 years, 10 months, 15 days

#6 Paul Vaessen

16 years, 11 months, 11 days

#7 Ryan Smith

16 years, 11 months, 18 days

#8 Gedion Zelalem

16 years, 11 months, 29 days

#9 Armand Traore

17 years, 16 days

Data via Transfermarkt.

Since then, the teenager has had to remain patient and wait for regular opportunities. Now 17, he’s proving why the Gunners backed him at such a young age a few years ago.

He may not be starting Premier League or Champions League games yet but it feels like it’s only a matter of time considering his performances so far.

The teen first dazzled against Bolton in the Carabao Cup last month, scoring twice during a sensational display in which he also completed 93% of his passes, of which two led to goalscoring opportunities.

The Hale End graduate then found the net against Preston in the next round a few days ago. This time it was a stunning goal. Nwaneri picked it up on the edge of the area before fizzing an effort past the goalkeeper and into the top corner.

It was another fabulous display from the youngster who completed 98% of his passes on that occasion and also succeeded with two of his three dribbles.

So, in short, he’s a pretty special talent but it’s not as though Arsenal haven’t been here before. Think Jack Wilshere, think Cesc Fabregas.

There’s another player we want to discuss too and he’s ranked eighth in the table above; Gedion Zelalem.

Arsenal's original Ethan Nwaneri

12 years ago a teenage Zelalem was spotted by Gunners scout Daniel Karbassiyoon playing for Olney Rangers in the USA. That summer of 2012 he was flown to London and trained over the summer at London Colney before he was offered a contract in the academy.

A year later, he was already being inducted into the first team by a certain Arsene Wenger, travelling with a 24-man squad for the club’s Asia tour.

Zelalem starred, of course, he did and was favourably compared to Fabregas in the months to follow.

So, what happened to him? Well, the German-born American youth international featured in just four official matches for Arsenal’s first team after a cruel time of it with injuries.

First Impressions

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There were a couple of unsuccessful loan spells at Rangers and VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands before he left on a free transfer under Unai Emery’s watch in 2019.

Zelalem’s career path

Club (years)

Games played

Arsenal (2014-2019)

4

Rangers (2015/16 loan)

28

VVV-Venlo (2017 loan)

8

Sporting Kansas City

9

New York City

24

Den Bosch

38

Lokomotiva Zagreb

0

Stats via Transfermarkt.

Why did things peter out in the way they did? Well, a horrid ACL injury in 2017 at the U20 World Cup meant he could never rediscover his form.

Once a creative marvel, a Fabregas or Nwaneri-level talent, he never realised the enormous potential Wenger expected of him and his career has sadly dwindled after initially playing first-team football as a teen at Arsenal.

After heading back to the USA, 27-year-old Zelalem is now playing his football in Croatia for NK Lokomotiva Zagreb having signed on a free over the summer. This is perhaps one of football’s great what-could-have-been stories.

Related Fewer passes than Raya: Arteta must instantly drop 4/10 dud after Newcastle

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Posts 1 ByMatt Dawson Nov 2, 2024

They might still be without a win to their name in the Premier League, but Ipswich Town are fighting tooth and nail to avoid the drop.

Kieran McKenna’s men have only lost five games so far and have managed to draw the other five, which is made all the more impressive when you consider that they have already played Liverpool, Manchester City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa.

However, with the second-worst defence in the league, if the Tractor Boys stay up this season, it’ll be largely down to their attacking stars, including one who’s won comparisons to one of the most exciting and expensive forwards in the league.

Ipswich's top goalscorers

Now, before we get to the attacking talent in question, let’s look at the club’s top goalscorers over the last two seasons, as it was largely thanks to their exploits that the Suffolk side is in the top flight today.

In the club’s first promotion campaign in 22/23, former Barnsley ace Conor Chaplin led the goalscoring charts, as he ended up with a ridiculous tally of 26 goals in 45 League One appearances.

That means the Worthing-born star averaged a goal every 1.73 games in the league, which probably helps to explain how the Tractor Boys went from midtable to automatic promotion within the space of a year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the 27-year-old who once again topped the goalscoring charts for the club the following season, racking up 13 in 44 Championship games, although he had to share top-spot with Nathan Broadhead.

In fact, while the Welsh international scored just as many goals as the Englishman, he did it in just 38 games, meaning he ended the campaign with an average of a goal every 2.92 games to Chaplin’s 3.38.

It looks like Ipswich will have a new top scorer this season, someone who could become an incredibly valuable asset.

Ipswich's top scorer in 24/25

So, when it comes to the Ipswich attacker who could end up as the team’s top scorer this season, there is really only one answer, at least based on what we have already seen, and it’s Liam Delap.

The “incredible” marksman, as dubbed by Pep Guardiola of all people, has already scored five goals in ten league appearances for Mckenna’s side, and he’s looked every bit a top-flight centre-forward so far.

In fact, he’s even been compared to one of the most exciting up-and-coming strikers in the league, Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund.

The comparison stems from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues before creating a ten-man list of the most comparable players, and in this case, it considers the Danish international to be the sixth most similar centre-forward to the Englishman.

You can get a better understanding of where they are coming from by looking at the underlying numbers they flag as being the most similar between the two players, metrics such as but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive passes and progressive passes received, goals per shot, goal-creating actions, attempted take-ons, carries, ball recoveries and aerial duels won, all per 90.

Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists

0.24

0.34

Progressive Passes

0.90

1.05

Progressive Passes Received

3.97

3.68

Goals per Shot

0.31

0.25

Goal-Creating Actions

0.13

0.26

Attempted Take-Ons

2.56

2.89

Carries

14.6

15.3

Ball Recoveries

2.31

2.63

Aerial Duels Won

1.15

1.32

Away from the statistical side of things, you can also see their similarities in the way both players use their physical stature to help them get into or exploit goalscoring opportunities before rifling off a shot.

Ultimately, it’s not a bad comparison to have, as not only did the Dane score 16 goals in his first season of English football last year, but he also has a lofty valuation of €70m – £58m – from Fotmob.

So, if he’s worth that much now, there is no reason to think Delap couldn’t be worth as much, if not more, in the years to come, especially if he continues to score at the rate he is now.

Ipswich flop now cannot be trusted to play for McKenna again

The experienced veteran has hit another wall at Ipswich.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 6, 2024

Tottenham were back, well so we thought anyway. Ange Postecoglou’s men were a free-scoring bundle of joy but they have crumbled twice now in recent times.

Sandwiching that amazing 4-1 win over West Ham, Spurs suffered a defeat to Brighton and have now just lost to Crystal Palace 1-0.

The Eagles had not won all season, they were the league’s lowest scorers. It was classic Spurs, really.

Still, it may have been a negative day at the office for Tottenham, but there was some excitement generated at least by a first Premier League start for Mikey Moore. Here’s how he got on…

Mikey Moore's performance in numbers

Against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening, 17-year-old Moore was electric with his performance, taking on the player for fun as if here…well, Neymar.

That was the viewpoint of the skipper for the night, James Maddison anyway, who was blown away by the teenager’s skillset on the continental stage.

Moore didn’t register a goal involvement that evening but he evidently impressed Postecoglou enough to be handed a full Premier League debut against Palace on Sunday afternoon.

Sadly, it didn’t go according to plan for Spurs or the young winger. He was substituted on the 62-minute mark having failed with all three of his dribble attempts and failed to register a single key pass.

You cannot fault Moore’s energy, workrate or his bravery but it simply didn’t come off for him on this occasion.

Handed a 5/10 match rating by Football.London’s Rob Guest, the Tottenham correspondent wrote of how the teen was ‘positive when on the ball’ but ‘didn’t have too many opportunities to run’.

The Hotspur Way graduate wasn’t the worst player on the field though, far from it.

Tottenham's worst players against Crystal Palace

Micky van de Ven has been fabulous in a Spurs shirt this season. That assist at Old Trafford was remarkable, bursting down the left-hand side like Gareth Bale in his prime to lay the ball on a plate for Brennan Johnson.

At Selhurst Park, the Dutchman was left wanting. It was his giveaway that led to the game’s only goal.

Van de Ven got caught in possession which allowed Eberechi Eze to collect the ball before crossing for Jean-Philippe Mateta who found the net.

Spurs weren’t great at the back but they were also pretty poor in forward areas too. That’s strange considering how impressive Postecoglou’s side have been in the final third this term, notably scoring four goals last time out against West Ham United.

Dejan Kulusevski has been a massive part of that. Before this weekend’s games, the Swede ranked first among Premier League midfielders for key passes, progressive runs and dribbles per 90.

Thus, to see him withdrawn in the same minute as Moore was disappointing. It also spoke volumes that the club’s Aussie manager was willing to take off his most creative presence when they needed a goal.

However, it was damning of the former Juventus ace’s time on the field in south London this weekend as his 31 touches were even fewer than goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario who managed 52.

Minutes played

62

Touches

31

Accurate passes

16/22 (73%)

Key passes

1

Expected assists (xA)

0.02

Crosses

0/1

Shots

1

Completed dribbles

1/1

Duels won

2/9

Fouls

4

Interceptions

1

Tackles

0

He simply wasn’t his usual self, registering just the one shot – one that was saved well by Dean Henderson – and only one key pass. His expected assists (xA) tally sat at just 0.02, far below the usual levels of creativity we’ve become accustomed to seeing from the 24-year-old in 2024/25 to date.

Handed a 4/10 match rating by the aforementioned Guest, he wrote that the ‘intricate bits of play just didn’t come off for the Swede.’

Damning words indeed for one of Tottenham’s best players this season. That’s now six points dropped from their last three games. Not ideal at all, is it?

Postecoglou’s men looked as though they were going places but old habits die hard, eh? Spurs are struggling again and the craggy-faced head coach has some questions to answer.

It's not Solanke: Ange could have his own Havertz in Spurs' "absolute unit"

Spurs have another promising young striker on their hands.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 26, 2024

Netherlands suffer 7 for 12 collapse from winning position while Francisca Chipare rescued Zimbabwe in a thriller against USA

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2021
Sornnarin Tippoch’s 69 and 1 for 35 and Nattaya Boochatham’s 5 for 26 proved pivotal in Thailand’s historic 16-run DLS-decided Group B win over Bangladesh in the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. This was their second one-day victory over a team with ODI status, the first one having come earlier in the tournament, over Zimbabwe.

The joy of Thailand after they upset Bangladesh at the #WCWCqualifiers

(via @cricketworldcup) pic.twitter.com/K7KL4qVHl4

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 25, 2021