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Arsenal have deployed chiefs to assess the performances of an overseas defender live in action ahead of a possible future move, according to a fresh report.

Gunners contract latest

According to 90min, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu have both entered talks to discuss new deals in the capital, and whilst that could be fantastic news for the long-term future of the club should they both put pen to paper, there may well be a problem in the here and now.

During Tuesday’s Premier League 4-3 victory over Luton Town, Tomiyasu was missing due to a calf injury, and with Mikel Arteta confirming after the game that he would be sidelined for a while, the manager may look to recruit a replacement at right-back.

Arsenal to seal new contract for "terrific" ace; he'll gain large wage hike

Arsenal lead the way in the Premier League and now look to be close to securing a new deal at the Emirates Stadium…

BySean Markus Clifford Dec 3, 2023

Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong has emerged as a potential target despite still having another five years remaining on his terms with Xabi Alonso's side (Bayer Leverkusen contracts), but it’s not the first time the 22-year-old has been on the radar at the Emirates Stadium.

The Netherlands international was reportedly in talks to join the Gunners over the summer, and while a deal failed to come to fruition before the deadline, the hierarchy appear to be taking a second bite of the cherry during the upcoming window.

Arsenal send scouts for Frimpong

According to 90min once again, Frimpong was watched by Arsenal and top-flight rivals Liverpool in Bayer Leverkusen's most recent fixture that took place last weekend.

"Arsenal and Liverpool were present to watch Bayer Leverkusen full-back Jeremie Frimpong during Sunday's Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund, 90min understands.

"The 22-year-old has a £35m release clause which expires this summer – his deal as a whole runs until 2028 – and that figure would appear to represent tremendous market value given he has played consistently well in the Bundesliga and has experience of playing in both the Champions League and Europa League."

Frimpong is an "astonishing" player

While Frimpong is naturally a right-back, he seems to be stronger in the offensive aspect of his game which he’s proven this season by posting 10 contributions, six assists and four goals, in 13 Bundesliga appearances (Transfermarkt – Frimpong statistics).

The Amsterdam native also currently ranks in the 98th percentile for successful take-ons, showing just how much he loves to use his athletic pace, dribble past his marker and create as many chances as possible for himself and his fellow teammates in the final third (FBRef – Frimpong statistics).

Sponsored by Puma, Arteta’s target even has experience competing in both the Champions League and the Europa League, so not only may he possess a winning mentality at the top, but he also appears to be at the top of his age with a career-high Transfermarkt valuation.

For all of the positive qualities that he has in his locker, Frimpong would be an “astonishing” addition to any team, as described by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, so this could be a no-brainer of a deal to pursue should the right opportunity present itself in January.

It's been a difficult week for Manchester United. A 3-3 draw away at Galatasaray all but mathematically sealed the club's exit from the Champions League in midweek while a harrowing 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St. James' Park compounded the side's misery.

The Red Devils had picked up the most wins from the last six matches in the Premier League and were the in-form team in England's top flight, but a loss to the Magpies brought the side back down to earth.

The result meant Newcastle leapt above them in the table and has piled further pressure on head coach Erik ten Hag, with games against Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Liverpool on the horizon.

There were several disappointing displays for United on Saturday night but Scott McTominay in particular looked well off the pace.

Manchester United's game in numbers

The 13-time winners of the competition had just 42% of the ball and clung on for dear life before Anthony Gordon fired the hosts into the lead ten minutes into the second half. United already looked like a beaten team once the ball bypassed Andre Onana and caressed the net.

The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell was quite damning in his post-match assessment, labelling the performance as "pitiful" and the "worst of the season" so far.

Statistically, the home team were the dominant side and could even be slightly disappointed that the game only ended 1-0 given the sheer volume of shots that were peppered towards the United goal.

Possession %

58

42

Expected Goals

2.5

0.48

Shots

22

8

Shots Off Target

11

2

Shots On Target

4

1

Shots Inside Box

13

4

Accurate Passes

453

277

Passes In Opposition's Half

276

140

Touches In Opposition's Box

41

12

Duels Won %

63

37

Stats via FotMob

One player in particular struggled on the pitch and could find himself out of the starting lineup this Wednesday when Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea come to town.

Sofyan Amrabat's stats this season

Having played the full match, McTominay earned a match rating of just 4/10, as per MEN's Samuel Luckhurst. The Scotland international struggled to have any impact on the game, winning just two of his 11 total duels against Newcastle, leaving the pitch with a 0% success rate in his aerial duels.

£300k-p/w Man Utd star proving to be just as bad as Antony

Erik ten Hag has an important decision to make over one of Manchester United’s most important players.

ByMatt Dawson Dec 3, 2023

Additionally, McTominay lost possession of the ball twice, committed three fouls and was dribbled past on two separate occasions, as per FotMob.

Alongside United's 18-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, McTominay looked like the inexperienced one. Mainoo won 50% of his ground duels and boasted a 92% passing accuracy with 45 touches of the ball.

Despite that, it was Mainoo who was whipped off in the second half for loan signing Sofyan Amrabat. The Moroccan had little time to impose himself on proceedings given there were just ten minutes of normal time remaining when he entered the fray.

However, since McTominay struggled at St. James' Park, perhaps Ten Hag could look to bring the Fiorentina star into the starting lineup on Tuesday in his place. Let's look at how the pair compare statistically this term.

Progressive Passes

9.47

2.56

Progressive Carries

1.05

0.77

Passes To Final 1/3

9.47

3.59

Passes To Penalty Area

1.05

0

Switches

1.05

0.26

Passing Accuracy

85.9

82

Tackles

3.68

2.18

Tackles Won

1.84

1.03

Interceptions

1.05

0.9

McTominay is Manchester United's joint-third top goalscorer this season and boasts a 22% conversion rate which is higher than club captain Bruno Fernandes. However, his goals in recent games have masked some incredibly questionable displays.

Amrabat arrived on transfer deadline day on a season-long loan and Ten Hag even described the Morocco international as "amazing" on his debut which came in a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.

However, the 27-year-old has made merely four Premier League starts since but is faring much better in terms of possession and defensive stats and could be the perfect partner for Mainoo in the middle of the park.

Harry Kane scored one and assisted another as Bayern Munich battered Union Berlin 5-1 in the Bundesliga.

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Kane scored second goal of the gameThomas Muller bagged a brace in routBayern set to finish second in German top flightTELL ME MORE

Bayern controlled the game for long stretches of the first half, and were good value for Leon Goretzka's opener – a fine strike into the roof of the net. Kane doubled the Bavarian advantage on the stroke of half-time with a free-kick from 30 yards out. The floodgates opened after the break. Thomas Muller bagged a brace, while Mathys Tel added one of his own. Union Berlin grabbed a late consolation goal that did little else other than spoil Bayern's clean sheet.

AdvertisementGettyTHE MVP

Who else but Kane? He may not have scored twice like Muller here, but he was still at the centre of all of the good things Bayern did. His free kick was a thing of beauty. Meanwhile, the England captain dictated play, took shots on goal, and served as a focal point for the Bavarians – who were entirely dominant. He may not end this season with the silverware he deserves, but Kane could not have done more for Bayern.

THE BIG LOSER

Kane's arrival was always going to make things difficult for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. The aging forward was a regular as the Bavarians made a late league run last year, but has seen his minutes slashed this campaign. Today he was handed a rare start, but stuck out on the left wing. Choupo-Moting didn't exactly flop there, but he looked immensely uncomfortable. His days at the club are surely numbered now.

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WHAT COMES NEXT?

Bayern's focus will stay with Bundesliga play, as they're set to take on Frankfurt next weekend. After that, attention turns to the Champions League, where they will face Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final tie.

BCB to take a final decision after other franchises object to bending of rules to allow Comilla Victorians to rope in Smith

Mohammad Isam11-Dec-2018A question mark hangs over axed Australia captain Steven Smith’s participation in the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League, following a meeting on Tuesday that ended in a deadlock. Jalal Yunus, the BPL’s technical committee chairman who held the meeting with BPL franchise representatives, said that he asked the BCB to take a final decision on whether Smith will be eligible for the T20 tournament that begins on January 5.Smith had signed with Comilla Victorians in late November, as a replacement for Sri Lanka’s Asela Gunaratne. This is where the issue stems from: replacement players are supposed to be chosen from among the players who were in the draft in the first place, and Smith was not part of the draft.Yunus said that Comilla were allowed to contract Smith with a view to enhance the league’s appeal, but the other franchises objected to this bending of the rules, putting his participation under a cloud.”We had allowed Comilla to sign Steven Smith for the greater interest of the BPL,” Yunus said. “The bylaws said that a replacement player has to come from the [players who were in the] draft and, after we allowed Comilla, the other franchises objected. Which is why we held the meeting today but, since we couldn’t come to a conclusion, I have now referred it to the BCB.”Yunus didn’t confirm by when the BCB is likely to take a decision.

Troy Deeney, the former Premier League striker, is poised to change careers and compete in a national pool competition.

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Deeney set to try his luck at poolClaimed to be a rookie pool player all his lifeSacked as Forest Green boss after six games in chargeWHAT HAPPENED?

Having graced the Premier League stage for several seasons as a Watford player before moving into football management, Deeney will now venture into the realm of pool as a wildcard entry at the UK Open Pool Championship scheduled for May. The championship, renowned for attracting the most talented players from across Britain, will unfold in Telford from May 7 to 12.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT DEENEY SAID

Deeney said: “I am absolutely buzzing to play at the UK Open Pool Championship. I always fancied myself on the table at the training ground with the boys so when this opportunity came up, I jumped at the chance to put myself to the test against some of the world's top players and can't wait to compete on 7th May."

CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport, Emily Frazer added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Troy Deeney to the UK Pool Open as a wild card player. His presence will undoubtedly heighten the excitement and competitiveness of this iconic World Nineball Tour event.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

This surprising career pivot follows Deeney's brief stint in management. After departing Birmingham City as a player in 2023, he embarked on a new role as a player-coach at Forest Green Rovers last summer. However, his tenure as head coach was short-lived, lasting less than a month due to a string of disappointing results, after he took over the reins from David Horseman in December.

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DID YOU KNOW?

During his 20-year playing career, Deeney left an indelible mark, particularly during his time at Watford, where he netted an impressive 140 goals. But he had to bow out of the game with a whimper after an unsuccessful coaching stint at Forest Green.

The allrounder made 21 and 11 after returning to the Sheffield Shield and appears unlikely to play the second Test against India

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2018Mitchell Marsh missed an opportunity to make a forceful statement to Australia’s selectors after being left out of the first Test against India and doesn’t know the impact his omission will have on his role as joint vice-captain.Marsh was named as vice-captain of the Test side alongside Josh Hazlewood earlier this year, but neither have played in the same team yet after Hazlewood missed the Tests in the UAE and now Marsh’s axing for Adelaide. It is an unusual situation for a team to have a designated vice-captain on the sidelines other than through injury.”I don’t know where I stand in that sense,” he said. “Lucky we’ve got two vice-captains.”Marsh was dropped when Australia favoured Peter Handscomb as a specialist batsman in the middle order and the allrounder was sent back to the Sheffield Shield with instructions to score runs.ALSO READ: A genuine fight, but more pain for AustraliaHe returned 21 and 11 for Western Australia against Victoria at the MCG – and claimed 1 for 102 – in a performance that did not hammer the door down for an immediate recall.”I was obviously very disappointed to miss out in the first Test but I understood the reasons why,” Marsh told reporters in Melbourne. “Ultimately, you’ve got two ways to go about it – you can either sulk and go into your shell or you can put a smile on your face and enjoy the hard work, enjoy the challenge of getting back into that Test side.”Despite struggles in the UAE against Pakistan, where he made 30 runs in four innings which continued a lean Test run dating back to South Africa, Marsh returned to domestic action with 151 against Queensland last month but then followed that with scores of 1, 44, 6 and 30 in the next two matches before the Test squad assembled.”I still felt like I was in really good form and feeling very confident heading into last week. But ultimately I still had two chances before the Test match to put a big score on the board and I didn’t do that. The message was clear – I needed more runs.”It appears unlikely Marsh will get his chance in his home state of Perth despite continued discussion about the workload Australia’s three quicks face without the presence of an allrounder.Mitchell Starc, who sent down 40.5 overs, was disappointing in Adelaide but has been backed by captain Paine while Hazlewood clocked up 43 overs and Pat Cummins 37.”I was certainly pumped about [playing in Perth] and I still am,” Marsh said. “I’m in the squad so I’d say I’m a chance … ultimately it’ll come down to conditions and how the bowlers pull up.”

West Ham are apparently big fans of a new manager target who their former boss, Sam Allardyce, has hailed as "incredible".

Moyes heading for 2024 exit

Since re-joining the Hammers in late 2019, head coach David Moyes has done an absolutely fantastic job of guiding West Ham through their most successful period for a long, long time.

The east Londoners won their first piece of silverware since 1980, and first European trophy since the 60s, with a Conference League triumph in Prague last season. This came after Moyes lead West Ham to consecutive European qualification campaigns, and they're in a strong position to seal a Europa League knockout round place this season.

These scenarios were scarcely imagine when Moyes first joined, but that being said, West Ham's league form hasn't been brilliant over the last 12 months. They were battling relegation for much of 2022/2023, and reports suggest Moyes could leave West Ham in 2024 when his current contract expires.

West Ham identifying Moyes replacements

As relayed by 90min journalist Toby Cudworth on the Talking Transfers podcast earlier this month, West Ham are identifying future replacements for Moyes and doing their due-diligence.

“Our understanding is that West Ham have been looking at future replacements for him," said Cudworth (via West Ham Zone).

"He won the Conference League in June, has one year left on his contract, but there’s been no engagement over a new contract. Our understanding is that West Ham are in no hurry to replace him despite the indifferent Premier League results. David Sullivan doesn’t really see an available candidate who offers substantially more than David Moyes.

“One thing we can say with near-certainty, David Moyes is not going to be signing an extension at West Ham barring a miracle.”

It would appear that the Scotsman is likely to leave next year, with talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook sharing a possible candidate to succeed him.

West Ham really like Steve Cooper

According to Crook, who wrote an X update on Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper and his future at the City Ground, West Ham have a watchful eye over him. Indeed, West Ham are apparently real admirers of Cooper, with the 43-year-old under fresh pressure amid a poor recent run of form for Forest.

The Welshman guided his side to promotion from the Championship in 2022, with Forest later maintaining their top flight status by the skin of their teeth. Former West Ham boss Allardyce, commenting on Cooper earlier this year, heaped praise on the tactician for his "incredible" job dealing with certain issues at Forest.

Average term as coach: 2.08 years

Preferred formation: 3-4-2-1

Points per game: 1.71

Coaching license: UEFA professional license

"What becomes difficult in terms of building team spirit is having too many players. Most managers don’t have enough. What they don’t have enough of is quality, and what they don’t want is quantity," said Allardyce on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast (via Forest News).

“Steve is one of the only managers to say he has too many players. Dealing with that can distract your focus. You want to keep them all involved and use them if you can and see what they’ve got, but ultimately, it’s a very tough decision. Steve has done an incredible job dealing with these issues as well as getting good results.”

Sri Lanka’s profligate use of their reviews came back to haunt them as England edged the first-day honours

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Nov-2018In general, umpires do not need an excuse to do their job badly in Sri Lanka. Over the last four years, there has been an abundance of botched decisions, over-officiousness, as well as a banning of bands in the stands while the over is in motion, so that the umpires can supposedly hear edges better. Not that stopping the bands has helped them. Replays have demonstrated several out decisions in which the bat has clearly been in a separate administrative district from the ball.In the umpires’ partial defence, they have it especially tough in Sri Lanka. The prevalence of spinners and dustbowls means there are faint nicks, bat/pad chances and lbw opportunities galore. In some games, there are almost more appeals than runs. And, although there have been none at the grounds in this series, it is possible there are wilfully insubordinate bands playing elsewhere on the island, despite being told repeatedly that they confound the umpires’ sensitive hearing, and generally confuse them. I mean, when there is a highly serious Test match being played, is it not time the ICC imposed a nationwide ban on fun?And yet, while it has been well known for some time that umpires are junkies for terrible decisions in Sri Lanka, the nation’s own cricketers have enabled them, routinely burning their two reviews early in the innings.If umpires were shoddy drivers, then Sri Lanka’s cricketers would still hand them the keys to new luxury cars and point them in the direction of the nearest power pylon. If they were known public urinators, Sri Lanka would ply them with gallons of soft drink and follow them around putting fire hydrants in their vicinity.On Friday, for the second consecutive innings, Sri Lanka lost both reviews at an unacceptably early stage of the game. In the second innings at Pallekele, they had waited with relative patience until the start of the 27th over to squander their second review. At the SSC, they were both spent before the end of the 22nd – the first on a prospective caught behind off Jonny Bairstow in the 15th over; the second being an lbw appeal against Joe Root, in which Root’s front pad was shown to be closer to his childhood home in Yorkshire than the line of off stump when it was struck.Party to both terrible review decisions was wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella. With the bat, in limited-overs cricket, Dickwella is the dynamic, hyper-energetic opening batsman, sending the third ball of the match over the wicketkeeper’s head, sweeping and reverse-slapping with abandon, and generally attempting to be the man who Dickscoops his way into a nation’s hearts (the Dickscoop being his particular version of the Dilscoop). But in whites, 24 Tests in, he is yet to step up as a batsman. Worse, he is prone to fits of acute DRS fancy. If there was a Dickwella DRS flowchart, all the arrows would ultimately point to the box that reads: REVIEW IT! At nightclubs, if he hears a song he doesn’t like, you can imagine him racing up to the DJ, making a “T” with his forearms, disbelievingly shaking his head.In a series in which Sri Lanka have had dollops of bad luck, losing their captain to a groin strain, losing all three tosses, and generally being on the receiving end of the umpires’ bumbling, of course the squandered reviews would come back to floor them. Ben Stokes should have been out lbw on zero off the bowling of Dilruwan Perera, but that appeal was wrongly turned down, and Stokes would go on to smack 57 off the next 75 balls, putting up a 99-run stand with Bairstow in the process. Later in the day, Bairstow would himself miss a sweep off Lakshan Sandakan to a ball that would have taken out leg stump, but was ruled not out. In the first two sessions of day one, it seemed it would have been easier to get the umpires to sign over deeds to their houses than get an lbw decision out of them, and Sri Lanka had no recourse to challenge.Towards the end of the day, Sri Lanka’s DRS misadventures were put into sharp relief by England. In between being dropped twice, by Dickwella and Dimuth Karunaratne at slip, Moeen Ali was given out lbw twice, and overturned those calls on both occasions. Unlike Sri Lanka, England had saved their reviews until the umpires’ inevitable mistakes actually came against them.

Liverpool's midfield rebuild during the summer transfer window was extensive to say the least. Out went Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Fabinho, and in came Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch. Swapping the old for the new has since paid dividends, however, with the Reds sitting just one point adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City, who they play next in their return from the international break.

The summer transfer window failed to see the arrival of one specific type of player though, and Liverpool have once again been left exposed at times as a result. The January transfer window should give them the opportunity to solve a glaring issue and that could see the arrival of a long-term target.

Liverpool transfer news

After such a summer overhaul, it was difficult to know what to expect from Jurgen Klopp's new-look side. Some may have expected them to take a while to get going, given that the Reds had an entirely new midfield to work with. But that's been anything but the case. Instead, Liverpool have been flying. The likes of Szoboszlai and Gravenberch have settled straight in. Now, if they can solve their defensive midfield problem, Klopp's side could become serious title challengers once more.

As good as Mac Allister is, he is not a defensive midfielder, which has been exposed for all to see at times. Alas, reports do suggest that those at Anfield are attempting to find a solution in that area. According to Goal in Brazil, Liverpool have made contact with Fluminense over a potential deal for Andre Trindade.

It's no secret that the midfielder has attracted a lot of admirers, with Fulham also reportedly enquiring about the Fluminense man. If either of the Premier League sides want to sign Andre, it will reportedly cost them at least €35m (£31m) in January. Andre's value is at a higher point than ever before, with the player at the absolute peak of his power currently.

"Perfect" Andre could be the final piece to Liverpool's rebuild

When looking at the current Liverpool side, only the defensive midfield role stands out as something they can strengthen. If they find a natural defensive midfielder, not only will they complete their rebuild in the middle of the park, but they'll also finally get the best out of Mac Allister in his preferred role. Andre's stats stand out compared to the Argentine's in a full season.

Player

Progressive Passes Per 90

Tackles Won Per 90

Blocks Per 90

Andre Trindade

6.43

1.40

0.97

Alexis Mac Allister

5.42

1.21

0.81

As a result of his performances, Andre has earned deserved praise, including from Maurício Alencar, who said via Liverpool Echo: "Andre plays more as a six; he is obviously very strong and agile, really good on the ball, plays two-touch football, great first touch. He is always appearing in those pockets of space between the defence and midfield, and the midfield and attack sometimes. He is a very versatile player.

“I think he is a cut above the rest of the Fluminense squad, and when I watch Brazilian matches, he is always a standout player, so I am surprised he has yet to move to Europe.”

He then went onto say: "He is the perfect player that Liverpool need, playing from the back and being able to intercept. He is very quick to react to the loss of the ball and reading the game.”

Douglas Luiz’s “just the start” admission is good news for Alisha Lehmann, with the Brazilian hinting at sticking around with Aston Villa.

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Midfielder linked with move elsewhereWorking on contract until 2026Feeling settled on & off the pitch at presentWHAT HAPPENED?

The South American midfielder has rekindled his relationship with fellow Villans star Lehmann away from the field. On the pitch, the 25-year-old has seen his stock soar after previously attracting interest from Premier League giants Arsenal.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

There have been suggestions that Luiz is registering on Barcelona’s recruitment radar, with Villa said to have slapped an £85 million ($108m) price tag on a player that they have tied to a contract through to 2026. Luiz has offered no indication that his head is being turned by renewed transfer talk.

WHAT LUIZ SAID

Luiz has told of his plans for the immediate future: “We’re all very happy with how this season is going, especially me, with all the history that the club is building and for my goals and assists, too. Personally, I’m very happy with it all and I think it’s just the start of a new chapter. As I always say, Aston Villa is a huge club and we’re prepared to write a new chapter. Since Unai [Emery] arrived there was a huge boost in the group’s confidence. I think he brought confidence to the team because we always had a good group of players. The squad is pretty much the same, only one or two players were bought in, so I think his work was important for the history that we’re writing.”

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR LUIZ?

Luiz has no need to look elsewhere, in a move that would take him from partner Lehmann, as Villa remain in the hunt for a top-four finish and Champions League qualification this season, while also making their way into the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League – where they are set to face Lille.