Arsenal could discover another Gabriel Martinelli in Bursaspor starlet Ali Akman.

What’s the story?

Mikel Arteta’s side appear to be having a busy start to the January transfer window, with Sead Kolasinac already having left to join Schalke on loan, whilst the likes of Mesut Ozil have also been linked with moves away.

But despite the potential outgoings, the Gunners have their sights on bringing in some new players too, with The Daily Mail claiming that both them and Premier League rivals Chelsea are tracking 18-year-old striker Akman.

The report adds that the Turkey U21 international has just six months remaining on his contract at Bursaspor, and that he could be available for as little as £3m.

Similar to Martinelli

When the Gunners brought in little-known Martinelli from Ituano in Brazil, not much was expected of the youngster. A signing for the future, and a player who might stake a claim for the U23s first, before eventually making his first-team debut.

And then, Martinelli’s impressive early performances caught the eye of Unai Emery, and he later became a fixture under Arteta too. When given the opportunity to impress, the Brazilian took it with both hands, and it’s a measure of just how good he is, that he played a big role in the Gunners’ turnaround in form over the past couple of weeks with his sheer energy.

In Akman, who is playing for Bursaspor in the second tier of Turkish football, Arsenal could find something similar. The 18-year-old has already scored nine goals in 16 league games this season, and the fact Chelsea, and other European sides are chasing him, shows how highly-rated he is.

His arrival at the Emirates would cast further speculation over Eddie Nketiah’s long-term future at the club, with the English ace having recently been linked with a move to West Ham. If Akman came in, and then hit the ground running like Martinelli, then it could spell big trouble for the England U21 international.

Glasgow Rangers weren’t exactly quiet by their standards in the summer, but perhaps they missed out on a potential replacement for Alfredo Morelos, and sporting director Ross Wilson can make amends in January.

What’s the story?

According to Football Insider, Rangers have reached an agreement in principle with Colombian wonderkid Juan Alegria ahead of the winter transfer window, which is set to open in just under a few weeks’ time.

It’s claimed that he will accept the offer on the table before moving to Ibrox in January, although the Gers could face several obstacles to secure his services as his transfer could be disrupted by the government’s ongoing negotiations with the European Union over Brexit.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Rangers full-back Alan Hutton has tipped the 18-year-old for the very top. He said: “I’ve heard little bits, not too much, I think they’ve stopped because of the Coronavirus. I don’t think he’s played so much, it’s more of an impact off the bench but he’s obviously a talented player.

“I think we all know that the scouting system has worked well at Rangers so they obviously see a promising, big talent and he’s only 18, so it’s going to be one to bring in and develop within the squad.

“He sounds a decent prospect and I trust the Rangers scouting team because they’ve done so well in the past. It’s not been bad so far so we’ll have to back them.”

High praise indeed from someone who won the league title with the Gers during his time at Ibrox. There hasn’t been much talk in the press since the news first broke, so Ross Wilson must act swiftly to wrap up a deal at all costs by any means necessary.

Bye Stewart

Two backup strikers were signed in Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe on four-year deals for undisclosed fees as Morelos was heavily linked with the Ibrox exit.

Jermain Defoe, Itten, Morelos and Roofe are all vying for a place up front, while Greg Stewart is considered surplus to requirements.

Reports in recent times revealed that Rangers are set to cash in on Stewart in January as he has fallen down the pecking order under Gerrard, having made just four appearances across all competitions so far this season.

Morelos himself is currently serving a two-game suspension after he was charged by the SFA for bringing the game into disrepute on the grounds of violent conduct.

It means that Gerrard only has three viable options for the centre-forward role for the time being at least, with Defoe, Itten and Roofe battling it out for their chance to lead the line, which is precisely why he is lining up a move for the teenager, who was recently described as ‘Alfredo Morelos Mk II’ by The Daily Record.

In ten appearances for the Finnish outfit FC Honka this season, the Colombian has scored four goals so far, via Transfermarkt.

Given his age, it looks like the highly-rated striker could be one for the future, although he has made no secret of his desire to move to Ibrox, as he told The Daily Record: “Together with my family, we are studying and finalising details to transfer me to Rangers – a great team who are the best in Scotland and highly recognised in European football.”

The fact that Alegria has made it clear he wants to play for the club should fill Rangers fans with confidence, especially when you consider the fact that Morelos continues to be linked with a move abroad.

Now it’s up to Wilson to get the deal over the line before it’s too late.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must cash in on Greg Stewart in January…

After suffering a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Burnley last time out, Aston Villa will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they travel to St Mary’s to take on Southampton.

Dean Smith’s side will want to pick up some momentum as soon as possible as they search for a surprise European place this season, and face a Southampton side who are coming off the back of a timid loss of their own, losing 3-1 to Arsenal.

But whilst the Saints will look to Danny Ings for inspiration – the England international has been in fine form once again this season with seven goals in 14 Premier League games – Villa should be just as wary about Stuart Armstrong.

The Scotland international has looked in impressive form in recent weeks, and capped off a fine individual performance against Arsenal with a well-taken goal after a James Ward-Prowse corner.

His former boss at Celtic, Brendan Rodgers, raved about Armstrong’s abilities when the versatile ace made the move south of the border to join Southampton.

He said: “What sets him apart from a lot of midfield players is he has an instinct to arrive in the box and score. I think with that opportunity, with him being really aggressive, he can go and hopefully take that because we all know he can get goals.”

The £50k-a-week ace will no doubt fancy his chances of causing Matty Cash some problems down the Southampton left, after really making life difficult for Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin, who’s one of the quickest players in the Premier League.

And when you factor in the fact Cash arguably produced his worst performance in a Villa shirt since his summer arrival from Nottingham Forest against Burnley, Smith will surely be worried that the Saints’ in-form winger could cause his full-back yet more problems.

So whilst Ings might be Southampton’s star attraction, Villa must pay close attention to Armstrong on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, this Aston Villa star was Dean Smith’s only silver lining vs Burnley…

Glasgow Rangers return to action this afternoon as they take on Scottish Premiership rivals Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday.

Steven Gerrard’s side beat St. Johnstone last time out but it’s back to the drawing board for the Ibrox boss as he chases the elusive league title.

Gerrard rang a couple of surprise changes for the trip to Perth, which means several first-team regular starters could be available for selection, including Scott Arfield and Alfredo Morelos, who has served his two-match ban after being found guilty of violent conduct by the SFA.

With that in mind, here’s our predicted starting lineup for this afternoon’s action, which sees Gerrard make three changes to the team that thumped the Saints.

It’s hard to tell where the changes will be made, such is their strength in depth, but what’s certain is the Ibrox boss will most likely bring Leon Balogun back into the fold after making a few small tweaks against the Saints.

Allan McGregor will keep the gloves again behind a back four consisting of Balogun, Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson and James Tavernier, with Filip Helander dropping to the bench.

Gerrard faces some tough decisions as he looks to extend their lead over Celtic as they’ll be desperate to build on their newfound momentum having beaten both Motherwell and St. Johnstone in quick succession.

Asking Steven Davis to play again may be a big ask, although Bongani Zungu has offered very little as of late, so we reckon Gerrard will stick with the veteran at the base of the midfield and bringing the fit-again Scott Arfield back into the starting XI alongside Davis and the in-form Glen Kamara makes sense.

Kemar Roofe started upfront against St. Johnstone, but switching Roofe back to the right and keeping Ryan Kent on the left could be a tempting option, with Morelos likely to lead the line.

This means that there is no place for Ianis Hagi despite his heroics against the Saints with Morelos still trying to find his best form.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers defender Borna Barisic stole the show vs St. Johnstone…

MatériaMais Notícias

O Vasco está com 100% de aproveitamento nesta temporada. Mais perto de conseguir a vaga antecipada para a próxima fase do Campeonato Carioca, o zagueiro Luan pediu atenção para o time para não perder pontos contra equipes consideradas de menor investimento. Vale lembrar que o próximo compromisso do Vasco é contra o Tigres, sábado, às 19h30, em Los Larios.

– No CampeonatoCarioca não se pode perder pontos contra os pequenos. É sempre difícil estas partidas. Temos que passar por cima dos obstáculos para conseguirmos a vitória. Vamos trabalhar bastante para conseguir vencer o Tigres. No ano passado, estava no jogo em Xerém e o campo lá não estava muito bom – afirmou Luan após o treino desta quinta-feira e completou:

-Óbvio (que queremos a classificação para a próxima fase do Carioca de maneira antecipada). Ninguém quer sofrer (risos). Temos uma meta traçada de ganhar todos os jogos, entendendo o que Jorginho quer. Muito bom esse começo de ano, estamos caminhando, felizes e se unindo cada vez mais. Um dos melhores grupos que já trabalhei aqui no Vasco. Estou motivado.

Nesta sexta-feira, o Vasco volta a treinar na parte da manhã em São Januário.

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MatériaMais Notícias

Fora dos planos do técnico Dorival Júnior para esta temporada, o meia Pedro Castrou acertou empréstimo com o Botafogo-PB até o fim da atual temporada. Sem nem sequer ter sido inscrito no Paulistão, o jovem não chegou a ser testado pela comissão técnica.

Pedro Castro foi revelado nas categorias de base do Peixe e foi integrado aos profissionais do Alvinegro em 2013, após ter sido titular do time campeão da Copa São Paulo daquele ano.

Com Claudinei Oliveira, técnico do clube à época, Pedro Castro teve algumas oportunidades, inclusive como titular da equipe. O meia, aliás, integrou a equipe que foi à Espanha encarar o Barcelona, em amistoso.

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No ano passado, sem muitas oportunidades, o meia foi cedido ao Santa Cruz para a disputa da Série B do Brasileirão. Como fim do empréstimo, o meia retornou à Vila Belmiro, mas será novamente emprestado.

Newcastle United’s FA Cup third round exit at Arsenal exposed Steve Bruce for shamefully wasting Andy Carroll in the absence of Callum Wilson on Saturday.

Bruce took the precautionary decision to omit Wilson and Jonjo Shelvey from his matchday squad in order to prevent either sustaining an injury at the Emirates Stadium, but he expects both to be involved in Tuesday night’s Premier League trip to Sheffield United.

Carroll was given only his fourth start of the season as he was picked to lead the line in north London, and he came close to sending the Toon through to the next round too, but he squandered two glorious chances in closing stages as the tie went to extra time.

Arsenal would have had little time to recover had Carroll sent Newcastle into the lead inside the final minute of the second-half, yet the former England international saw Bernd Leno react quickly to smother his shot.

The forward had already been made to rue his wasteful shooting moments earlier, with Carroll timing his run to perfection to stay onside only to side-foot wide an effort that Alan Shearer would later claim “can only be defined as an absolute sitter”.

Despite his shooting proving costly for Newcastle, who failed to match last season’s FA Cup campaign that saw the Magpies reach the quarter-final, Bruce was pleased with Carroll’s overall performance at Arsenal.

“I thought Andy did fantastically well. If he had topped it off by scoring a goal, it would have been good for him. There were a lot of pleasing things,” Bruce said, via quotes by The Shields Gazette.

In truth, however, Bruce wasted Carroll at Arsenal and the Newcastle United boss’ defensive tactics proved costly against a Mikel Arteta side that is often unable to present any forward threat.

Too often throughout the north London affair, Carroll was forced to drop deeper and deeper in search of possession or to help United defend, capped off by a first-half charge that saw the 32-year-old target man aid Emil Krafth at right-back.

Bruce and Newcastle eventually saw the best of what Carroll can bring to the table in the closing stages of the second period when he was presented with chances to seal a rare win over Arsenal, who have now beaten the Toon in 15 of their last 16 meetings.

If United are to retain Carroll against interest from West Bromwich Albion in the January transfer window, Bruce must act now and deliver a drastic change to his system by pairing the £75,000-per-week gem, who Kevin Phillips feels “can be unplayable”, with another striker.

Bruce often favours a one-striker system but he will struggle to see the best of Carroll over a full 90 minutes if he continues to focus on defensive stability over an attacking threat, and he must pair the 6 ft 4 target man with Wilson to lay claim to a better forward balance that may finally see Newcastle snap their seven-game winless streak across all competitions.

Bruce is setting the Magpies up defensively, but the fact is, they aren’t winning games in this set-up, so a change is needed.

AND in other news, a Newcastle gem embarrassed his teammates as Steve Bruce’s only positive at Arsenal.

Rejoice, Celtic have won another game of football. It might not have come about in the most convincing of circumstances but it’s another three points nonetheless.

That eventuality has felt like a rarity for the Bhoys this year. In 2021, they have won just three of their eight league outings.

Of course, having 13 players self-isolating after the Old Firm derby wasn’t the best news, but four straight games without a win all but put an end to their chances of winning the SPFL.

They are considerably off the pace and it’s unlikely this win will help them too much. Though, two wins in a row since their dismal defeat to St Mirren will undoubtedly help.

Typical of Celtic this season, their win over Motherwell didn’t come easy. Diego Laxalt was forced into clearing the ball off the line in the dying embers, saving Neil Lennon’s bacon.

Though, it wasn’t the Uruguayan or either of their goal scorers, Stephen Welsh and Odsonne Edouard that were Lennon’s true heroes.

Instead, it was another full-back in Greg Taylor who stole the show for the Hoops.

He was a rampaging force down the left-hand side and in the words of Glasgow Live reporter Chris Doyle, he was “everywhere.”

Doyle wrote at full-time: “(Taylor) linked up with Odsonne Edouard brilliantly. Great delivery, constantly pressing and unlucky to be subbed early. Celtic might be put off by Diego Laxalt’s asking price if he continues in this vein of form.”

Edouard may have been guilty of missing a few opportunities but he will have been grateful for the service he received from Taylor. The Scot managed as many as four key passes, a tally that was bettered by no one else on the pitch. He managed three successful crosses – again the most of any Celtic player – and performed two dribbles to boot.

That put him level with Tom Rogic for the most successful take-ons in the game for a player in green and white.

It wasn’t all about attacking qualities though. He was stern in the challenge and won five ground duels. Once again, that was more than any other Hoops player.

The 23-year-old was undoubtedly their most vibrant force as he completely tormented Motherwell. As Doyle stated, it will have them thinking twice about a permanent move for Laxalt.

The duo have both been inconsistent at times this term but this has put Taylor well and truly in the driving seat to become Lennon’s first-choice on the left side of defence.

Welsh and Edouard may take the headlines for their goals, but it was Taylor who really stole the show for the Hoops.

AND in other news, £7m Celtic brute could become a real star if Desmond hires “very demanding” 62 y/o…

Abdoulaye Doucoure endured a rapid decline in his performance level with a challenging display in Everton’s Boxing Day victory over Sheffield United.

The French box-to-box engine room monster offered plenty of energy beside Tom Davies as Carlo Ancelotti sought to maintain the Toffees’ push at the top of the Premier League table, with a 1-0 win at Bramall Lane enough to move up to second in the standings.

However, Doucoure failed to match his willingness to run with regular quality on the ball, as the £20m summer arrival often proved wasteful in possession and lacked his usual commanding presence.

Doucoure was widely lauded for his excellence in Everton’s win over Leicester City earlier this month, with the former Watford man stepping up to the task of covering Allan’s defensive duties at a sublime level after the Brazilian was forced off with a hamstring injury.

“What a performance. He was everywhere. He fully deserves Man of the Match, for me. It was intent from the very first moment. He was a little bit offensive in the first-half when Allan was on, but when Allan went off, he sort of went into a defensive role and started to dictate the play,” Micah Richards noted while speaking on Match of the Day.

“This is a position where a full-back goes out [on Everton’s left-hand side], but he’s not afraid to go out there and stop the danger. It was a great tackle [on Jamie Vardy].

“He’s a player I would love to have in front of me because you know he’s going to do all the dogged work. Look at his positioning. It’s intelligence as well. It’s not just making tackles. It’s being in the right position, at the right time.”

Doucoure was a shadow of himself from just 10 days prior at Bramall Lane on Boxing Day, with the 27-year-old losing possession 18 times, dribbled past twice, committing two fouls and failing to register a single successful tackle, per SofaScore.

Ancelotti could only see his summer signing snatch possession with two clearances against Sheffield United, with Doucoure further failing to record any interceptions as he lost six of eight ground duels and two of six aerial contests.

The midfielder’s sole bright spark from the night came in the form of a key pass when Doucoure played Gylfi Sigurdsson in to steal victory in the 80th-minute, marking the former France U21 international’s first assist since matchday four.

Doucoure never came close to doubling his goal tally for the term, either, with the powerful 6ft brute unable to strike a single shot at Aaron Ramsdale’s net whilst losing one of two attempted dribbles.

Ancelotti will hope to see Doucoure shrug off his slack display when Everton return to action at home to Manchester City on Monday, as fixtures come thick and fast with West Ham United bound for Goodison Park next Friday as well.

AND in other news, an Everton ace enjoying his “best moment” let Carlo Ancelotti down against Sheffield United.

When you think of Sam Allardyce’s managerial career, one player sticks out like a sore thumb.

Kevin Nolan has played under the 66-year-old more times than anyone else, racking up 390 appearances across two different clubs and the ‘firefighter’ will need characters like him in this West Brom side if they are to beat the drop.

Luckily for Big Sam, he has an almost like-for-like already at the Hawthorns in the shape of Jake Livermore.

Whilst his old skipper, Nolan, was often deployed in the hole behind Andy Carroll, it wasn’t his attacking exploits that made him so effective, but rather his defensive contributions.

Combative, efficient and industrious. The ideal mix for any Big Sam midfielder. That’s pretty much Livermore down to a tee, is it not?

The Albion captain started his first game in five outings in Slaven Bilic’s swansong draw at Manchester City and proved to be a hassle for the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.

In nine Premier League starts, the 31-year-old is averaging 2.2 tackles and 2.3 fouls per match, via WhoScored. A perfect combination of being hard to beat and disrupting the opposition.

Indeed, Big Sam should be salivating over the prospect of unleashing the former Spurs powerhouse against Villa this Sunday.

He arrived in the west Midlands for just £10m in 2017 and has been here ever since and this unwavering loyalty is another factor that will have the new Baggies boss rather excited.

SmarterScout claimed earlier this season that the midfield veteran had “been massive, an aggressive defender with decent tackling” but lacked that extra bite in his duels with poor ball-retention, and that’s something Allardyce will need to improve fast to restore some stability.

The Albion “leader” could well hold the keys to Big Sam successfully pulling off another phenomenal safety bid. If Livermore is on form in the engine room, then at the very least, West Brom will have a firm foundation to build off going into 2021.

AND in other news, Big Sam may already be heading for his FIRST mistake at the Hawthorns…