Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa could land a dream Gjanni Alioski successor in Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa.

What’s the story?

With reports in recent weeks suggesting that Alioski is on his way out of Elland Road once his contract expires, it’s no surprise to see the Whites eyeing a new left-back.

And, according to Sosa’s agent, Franjo Vranjkovic, the Yorkshire club have actually submitted a bid to Stuttgart to sign the Croatian in the summer transfer window.

He added: “The most important thing for him is to make a transfer to England because he has an offer from Leeds United.”

Bye-bye Alioski

With Alioski seemingly on his way out, the arrival of Sosa would be the absolute perfect situation for Bielsa, with the left-back well suited to the Leeds boss’ style of play.

Sosa does his best work going forward, being a real attacking outlet for his side, and has registered a remarkable ten assists in the Bundesliga alone – which is more than any Leeds player has managed, and five times that of Alioski (2).

His ability to deliver pin-point crosses into the box has become a real trademark of his, and it’s something that Stuttgart’s sporting director, Sven Mislintat, has raved about.

He said: “Borna’s said himself that David Beckham is his role model, and I think he has the same qualities. He puts in crosses from every angle: sometimes chipped, sometimes drilled, sometimes flat, sometimes in behind, sometimes to the front post, other times to the back post. His left foot is a real weapon.”

And it isn’t just his attacking instincts and technical ability that marks him out as perfect for Bielsa-ball, with the left-back also rugged in the challenge too.

As per Sofascore, he wins exactly 50% of his total duels (just one per cent lower than Alioski), and makes more than double the amount of interceptions and clearances per game than the current Leeds left-back.

And, at only 23, he’s got plenty of time to grow, and his manager at Stuttgart, Pellegrino Matarazzo, has declared that he’s got “huge potential”.

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He said: “Borna has blossomed. We all knew about his huge potential – now he’s delivering over 90 minutes on a consistent basis.”

If Bielsa is looking for a left-back to really nail down a place at Elland Road for the next few years at least, then the £13m-rated Sosa is the man he needs.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa is interested in this star who’s side just got relegated…

Amid all the talk of Gjanni Alioski being offered a new contract and the potential arrival of a new left-back, Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa might want to consider looking closer to home for someone who could really nail down that role for years to come.

Niall Huggins made his first team debut for the Whites when he came on as a second-half substitute in the 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League last season, while he has been a consistent performer for the under-23s.

The 20-year-old played 17 times in Premier League 2 Division 2, scoring twice and assisting once, helping the Whites’ youngsters clinch the title and promotion.

After a particularly impressive display earlier in the season for the under-23s, Leeds Live’s Joe Donnuhue waxed lyrical about the starlet, even suggesting that he could be set for some first team football sooner rather than later.

He wrote: “In the second half, Huggins tucked back in to left-back as Leif Davis was withdrawn at the break. His effort levels were a class above, as he is almost every week. If he continues in this vein, he will not be far off more regular first-team squad involvement.”

Kalvin Phillips is also a fan of the 20-year-old, revealing that he could be set for a first team role in the  not too distant future. The England midfielder commented last summer: “We’ve got a few younger lads called Niall Huggins and Alfie McCalmont. They’re really good young players as well. They’ll be in the team in the next year or so, definitely.”

Meanwhile, Huggins himself has said: “To push that step forward at Leeds, you have to be able to run, do everything intense, everything is done as fast as you can. They want you to be at the top of your game, and for them, that means they want you to be on target weight type, body fat is low, to be able to keep that intensity up for the full 90 minutes.

“And if you’re not, then unfortunately, you could end up not playing. It’s that strict.”

Dubbed as someone with “pace to burn”, the Welsh youngster clearly knows what it will take to make his mark in the Premier League with Leeds under Bielsa, and he just needs an opportunity to impress.

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While Alioski might be the talk of the town right now as the club consider giving him a new deal, the left-back slot may be Huggins’ to lose in the years to come.

Meanwhile, Radrizzani must avoid Bielsa’s wrath with this big Leeds decision…

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore is set to meet with Dejphon Chansiri for transfer talks in the coming weeks.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Yorkshire Live, who claim that the 47-year-old manager will hold talks with the Owls owner in the coming week in order to establish his summer transfer budget.

At present, the report states that Moore is in the dark as to how much he will be allowed to spend in the upcoming transfer window, while also touching upon the fact that Wednesday are still currently under a transfer embargo – although explain that this is expected to be lifted prior to the transfer market opening next month.

Fans will be hoping for good news

Following a miserable 2020/21 Championship campaign for Wednesday, which saw the Owls finish in 24th place in the second tier standings, as well as having points deducted for breaching financial regulations, fans will undoubtedly be hoping for a fresh start in League One.

Something that should help the club feel as if it is rejuvenated ahead of next season is the sheer amount of players who will be leaving upon the expiry of their current deals, with no less than 17 first-team players due to depart Hillsborough next month.

In theory, this should be good news for Moore, as, with a number of players on extremely inflated wages – such as the £35k-per-week Jordan Rhodes, the £26k-per-week Izzy Brown and the £22k-per-week Tom Lees to name but a few – expected to leave the club, one would imagine that a large chunk of wage budget will be freed up for the 47-year-old this summer.

However, with Chansiri likely to want to avoid a repeat of being unable to pay the playing staff, as was the case on a number of occasions this season, it is questionable just how much of the money saved in wages will be given back to Moore to spend.

Regardless, fans of Wednesday will undoubtedly be begging for some positive news to come from Moore and Chansiri’s talks – in order for them to be able to begin looking forward to their club’s future once again.

In other news: Dom Howson drops huge Sheffield Wednesday transfer claim which will surely have fans buzzing – opinion

MatériaMais Notícias

Um dos nomes indicados por Abel Braga à diretoria do Fluminense é o do volante Wellington Martins, do São Paulo. O técnico ainda sugeriu outros possíveis reforços para 2017, mas os nomes ainda são debatidos pelo grupo formado pelo presidente Pedro Abad para gerir o departamento de futebol.

O treinador é fã do futebol do Wellington, com quem trabalhou no Internacional em 2014. O comandante vê no jogador, que completa 26 anos em janeiro, a capacidade de atuar em várias funções no meio de campo.

Depois do período em que estiveram juntos no Colorado, a carreira de Wellington percalços. No fim de 2015, ainda no Inter, o volante foi pego no doping e suspenso por cinco meses. De volta ao São Paulo, sofreu com lesões e só entrou em campo três vezes.

A princípio, Wellington está nos planos do clube paulista para 2017, mas sua negociação não é descartada pela diretoria. Revelado nas categorias de base do São Paulo, Wellington tem contrato válido até outubro de 2018.

Além da boa relação com Abel Braga, o Flu espera contar com a vontade do jogador em se juntar ao elenco das Laranjeiras. Isso porque Wellington chegaria com status de titular, enquanto no São Paulo brigaria por uma vaga, agora sob o comando do técnico Rogério Ceni.

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Tottenham Hotspur are among the teams keeping tabs on prolific goalscorer Cyle Larin ahead of the summer transfer window.

That’s according to 90min, who claim the Besiktas forward is attracting interest from across Europe as he will soon enter the final 12 months of his current contract.

It appears that the Lilywhites are on the lookout for another striking addition ahead of next season, with doubts over Harry Kane’s future and the on-loan Carlos Vinicius set to return to Benfica.

Larin could be a bargain replacement for the Brazilian, and his versatile ability to play through the middle and out wide, makes him even more appealing heading into what will be a difficult window to negotiate.

The 33-time Canada international has bagged a whopping 23 goals this season, helping steer the Turkish Super Lig outfit to another title, and that has taken his total tally to 84 goals in 191 career appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

His performances in the MLS for Orlando City caught the keen eye of Brazil legend Kaka.

“I think Cyle can go far,” Kaka said at an MLS media day, via Goal.com. “Cyle is a very good player and the third season for us will be great, but I think Cyle can play in a big team in Europe as well.”

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And it’s not the first time that someone has waxed lyrical about the 26-year-old’s sensational attacking ability.

Back in March, Canadian national team coach John Herdman lauded Larin after a hat-trick against Bermuda, he told reporters (via Sporx): “Cyle Larin is a predator. He has this ability, that’s why we recruited him.”

If Spurs want to keep hold of Vinicius, who has enjoyed respectable returns playing a bit-part role behind Kane with ten goals, they will have to fork out an eye-watering £40m which is an extortionate amount for a backup.

But at least with Larin, you’ve got the option to play him out wide, so he should see more game time on the pitch than the Benfica man. The 6 foot 2 beast is also only valued at £8.1m, so you’d imagine that Levy could drive up a bargain with the player in the final year of his contract.

AND in other news, Spurs can solve major issue with 6 ft 3 “complete player”, he won’t cost Levy a penny…

In their first game back in front of fans in the Premier League, Aston Villa turned up to Spurs on Wednesday night and spoiled the party, winning 2-1.

Dean Smith’s side fell behind to a fine strike from Steven Bergwijn, but managed to turns things around later in the first-half thanks to an own goal from Sergio Reguilon and a coolly taken finish from Ollie Watkins.

And while Villa managed to seal all three points and make the trip back up to the Midlands a good one, one man who was arguably the biggest disappointment for the side, was Anwar El Ghazi.

The Dutchman once again started on the left despite the return of Jack Grealish, with the club captain being deployed in the number ten role instead.

That was a major show of faith in the winger, but he failed to capitalise, and he was the big let-down for Smith even in an impressive victory away from home at one of the Premier League’s big six.

As per Sofascore, he finished with a 6.5 match rating, which was the lowest of any Villa player, and when you look at his underlying numbers it’s no surprise to see why.

He lost a whopping 13 duels on the night, which was by far the most of any player, and lost possession 16 times too, again the most – El Ghazi was just too easily outmuscled by the Spurs back-line or just pressured into making mistakes whenever Japhet Tanganga in particular looked to step in front of him and be proactive in his defending.

He also failed to complete any dribbles, and committed three fouls too as his frustrations got the better of him.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for The Birmingham Mail, Ashley Preece gave him a 6.5, saying: “Started on his favoured left with Grealish inside and El Ghazi, Targett and Villa’s captain worked well together. El Ghazi should have notched his 10th of the season but, somehow, he got his feet in a muddle as he miss-hit Grealish’s ball into him.

“El Ghazi should have done better when he latched onto McGinn’s ball over the top but took too much time which allowed Alderweireld to clear. A bit quiet but he kept Tottenham thinking.”

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The Dutchman just didn’t cover himself in glory, and Smith would not have been happy with his display at all.

Meanwhile, this Villa man stole the show for Dean Smith…

In his latest CricInfo Diary entry, Alec Stewart looks ahead to the prospect of captaining England in the second and final Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, and in the triangular one-day series which follows

Alec Stewart30-May-2001In his latest CricInfo Diary entry, Alec Stewart looks ahead to the prospect of captaining England in the second and final Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, and in the triangular one-day series which follows.I didn’t have any doubts about taking on the England captaincy for the NatWest One-Day Series against Pakistan and Australia. I’ve done it on a number of occasions – the fact that I turned it down in Sri Lanka at the end of the Test series was purely because of the heat, the humidity and the conditions. I just didn’t feel I’d be able to do all three jobs to the right standard. In this country and most parts of the world there’s no problem. As to leading the side in the Second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, we’ve come away from a good win at Lord’s – I also captained the side that won at Lord’s last year. I’m fully aware that it’s a one-off game for me, and I’ll be doing my best to perform well with the bat and the gloves, and anything I can add as captain.I didn’t have any say on team selection. Nick Knight’s started the season very, very well – I remember batting with him for a length of time when he scored a hundred against Pakistan at Headingley four or five years ago. That was his first Test hundred, and I know he’ll be looking to make full use of his opportunity. We know Nasser Hussain will be back soon, but if Knight can score heavily in this game and have a good one-day series, that’s obviously a good way to stake a claim for a place in the Ashes series. At this stage we expect to play seven batsmen, so he can expect to play.As to my own form, I copped a first ball in the B & H, which can happen, but obviously very happy to have scored a hundred in the CricInfo Championship game in between the Test Matches. It’s always nice to spend some time in the middle, and I feel I’ve been hitting the ball well all season.We can’t lose the series against Pakistan, but any games we go into we try to win. This one will be no different. We know that they’re a good side and will bounce back, and I suggest that if there’s one ground in England that they could choose to play us on it would be Old Trafford – there’s always been reverse swing there in the past, which they enjoy; the wicket can turn, and they’ve got quality spinners, and there’ll be strong Pakistani support in the area. It’s been a terrible start to the summer at Old Trafford – Lancashire have just had one one-day game there so far, against Glamorgan. But Pakistan will be looking to make it one all there. We’ll be going for two nil at best, or at worst draw the game and win the series.

يرى باتريس إيفرا لاعب يوفنتوس السابق، أن ماسيمليانو أليجري يقدم المعجزات في ظل وجود هؤلاء اللاعبين معه في البيانكونيري، رغم الخسارة أمس ضد فياريال.

يوفنتوس خرج بهزيمة مُهينة على ملعبه بثلاثية نظيفة من فياريال في إياب دور الـ16 من دوري أبطال أوروبا، بعدما تعادل ذهابًا في إسبانيا 1/1.

طالع أيضًا | أليجري: فياريال دافع بـ11 لاعبًا.. وكنا ساذجين في ضربة الجزاء

وقال إيفرا في تصريحات لقناة “أمازون برايم” الإيطالية: “أشعر بخيبة أمل حقًا من ما قدمه يوفنتوس، لكن هؤلاء اللاعبين لا يمتلكون الجودة اللازمة”.

وأضاف: “أشعر أن ماسيمليانو أليجري يقدم المعجزات بما لديه، لأنه لا توجد جودة، وتحديدًا في وسط الملعب”.

وأشار: “عندما كنت في يوفنتوس، كان وسط الملعب كلاوديو ماركيزيو وأندريا بيرلو، والآن نرى آرثر ميلو الذي لا أعتقد أنه قام بتمريرة واحدة غيّرت طريقة لعب يوفنتوس. إنه لا يصنع الفارق”.

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Graham Roberts claims that Mauricio Pochettino has been proved right over the past two years amid links with a sensational return to the club.

The Sun have reported that Spurs are considering bringing the Argentine back to the club.

He has spent the second half of the season at PSG, winning the Coupe de France, though his side failed to win Ligue 1 and were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals.

The report claims that Pochettino would consider a return as he is already unhappy in France.

And Roberts believes that he has been proved correct with his assessment of the club’s needs during his time at White Hart Lane.

In an interview with Gary Lineker in 2019, he said that the club needed to add new furniture to their house, essentially sending a message to chairman Daniel Levy that a rebuild of the squad was needed, something that didn’t happen.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Roberts claimed that the next manager needs to have full control of transfers, and said: “I think what they have to do is, whoever is manager, he has to buy his own players.

“He has to buy the players he wants to buy. I think Pochettino made that statement – he said we’ve got a brand new house but you need new furniture to go inside it and I think over the last 18 months, or two years, we’ve seen what he meant because there is a lot of deadwood there.”

The curtain will come down on a wonderful four years in charge for Nuno Santo on Sunday.

He has changed the face of Wolverhampton Wanderers, turning them into an established Premier League outfit.

Unfortunately, their clash with Manchester United this afternoon will represent his final in the Molineux dugout.

He surprisingly announced the decision to resign on Friday, leaving the Old Gold’s future well and truly up in the air.

Wolves will be aiming to send Nuno off with an almighty bang but it won’t be easy against one of the best sides in the top-flight.

Though, with nothing to play for, the Midlands outfit can kick back and relax on the final day of the season.

Thus, how will their final ever team selection under the Portuguese look? Here’s what we’re predicting…

We’re tipping Nuno to make three changes from the team that lost to Everton last time out.

John Ruddy continues in goal but there are changes to the backline in front of him with Max Kilman dropping out.

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The Englishman is replaced by 18-year-old Christian Marques, someone we’ve raved about on Football FanCast this weekend.

The centre-back has never been seen in the first-team but with nothing riding on the match, this feels like as good a time as any to hand him his Premier League debut.

Another change is at right wing-back where Ki-Jana Hoever is given a chance ahead of Nelson Semedo, something that occurred in the 2-1 win over Brighton.

The third and final change is in the middle of the park where Joao Moutinho is axed from the starting XI in favour of the young Vitinha.

If Wolves don’t exercise the option to buy clause in his loan contract then this could be the 21-year-old’s final outing in the Old Gold.

There is no room for Willian Jose while Raul Jimenez won’t be fit to play despite his promising recovery from a fractured skull.

Marcal has returned from injury but Rayan Ait-Nouri gets the nod on the left-hand side.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Silva: Wolves should replace Nuno with “spectacular” 44y/o Mendes client…