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أشاد الدولي الإنجليزي، مايكل أوين، أسطورة ليفربول، بنجمنا المصري، محمد صلاح جناح الريدز، مُشيرًا إلى أنه لم يكن يتوقع على الإطلاق أن يتمكن من تسجيل 40 هدفًا في موسمه الأول مع الريدز.

وكان محمد صلاح قد انضم إلى ليفربول، قبل خمس سنوات قادمًا من روما الإيطالي مقابل 37 مليون جنيه إسترليني في 2017.

ومُنذ ذلك الحين، سجل صلاح 158 هدفًا وقدم 64 تمريرة حاسمة في 256 مباراة مع فريق ليفربول الأول.

وقال أوين في تصريحات نقلتها شبكة “آنفيلد” البريطانية: “لم أعد متفاجئًا بشأن محمد صلاح، لكنني أعتقد أنني سأكون كاذبًا إذا قال أي شخص إنه توقع تسجيله أكثر من 40 هدفًا في موسمه الأول”.

وأضاف: “لقد رأيته في تشيلسي، وعندما كان هُناك لم يكن يبدو هدافًا، ولكن بدأ يبدو وكأنه هداف في روما”.

اقرأ أيضًا – ميكالي: استدعاء محمد صلاح ليس سهلًا.. وهدفي ميدالية أولمبية مع مصر

وواصل: “ولكن أن تأتي وتسجل أكثر من 40 هدفًا في موسمك الأول، ثم تفعل ذلك باستمرار، ذلك جعلني مندهشا تمامًا”.

وتابع: “أنا كنت أعتقد دائمًا أن تسجيل الأهداف أمر غريزي أو شيئ طبيعي، سواء كنت لاعبًا جيدًا أو لا”.

واستكمل: “بعد أن شاهدته فكرت أنك كلاعب يُمكنك أن تُحسّن بعض الأشياء، لقد أتقن عدة أشياء وتسديداته أصبحت قوية، لقد أذهلني تحسّنه كثيرًا”.

واختتم تصريحاته: “إذا استمر محمد صلاح في هذا المستوى لبضع سنوات أخرى، فسنتحدث عن واحد من أعظم المستويات في التاريخ”.

Nigel Jemson insists that he fears for Nottingham Forest if they are relegated to League One this season.

The club have endured a horrific start to the season and have taken just four points from their opening eight games, prior to the appointment of Steve Cooper this week.

They came in a draw with Derby County, their fierce rivals, losing six of their other seven games under former manager Chris Hughton before they beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 away at the weekend.

Those defeats came against Coventry City, AFC Bournemouth, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Cardiff City and, most recently, Middlesbrough, which convinced Forest to axe Hughton.

And Jemson is hopeful that is how things pan out, as he believes that the club could genuinely struggle if they are relegated, fearing owner Evangelos Marinakis could well look to leave at the first opportunity if the worst happens.

Indeed, he has drawn a comparison with Sunderland, who have languished in League One for some time.

He said: “Sunderland, it’s been very hard for them to get back to where they should be or where people think they should be and that’s certainly the Championship, at the bare minimum.

“I don’t want to think about Nottingham Forest being in League One because I fear for them if that happens. I fear for them in the fact that the owner, Marinakis, may not stay there long.”

Leeds United have been handed a blow in their chase to sign Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien.

What’s the story?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side were unable sign the 22-year-old in the summer, with The Athletic’s Phil Hay reporting that the Whites simply did not want to pay the money that the Terriers were demanding – reported to be a fee in the region of around £8m.

And now, according to The Yorkshire Live, O’Brien is in talks with the Terriers over extending his contract at the club, amid speculation over that move to Elland Road in the summer.

The report added: “O’Brien signed his current deal in summer 2019 just before his emergence into the first team, and that deal is set to expire next summer – albeit the club hold the option to extend it by another year.

“Both parties would now like to ensure O’Brien’s deal is reflective of his value to Carlos Corberan’s side, which in turn would help protect his valuation in the transfer market should Leeds or any other club return with a renewed bid in future.”

Bielsa will be fuming

While Leeds managed to bring in a new first-team left-back in Junior Firpo, and a winger to challenge the likes of Jack Harrison and Raphinha in Dan James, one area of real concern on which they failed to deliver was a new central midfielder.

The decision to not match Huddersfield’s demands for O’Brien shines an even bigger light on the limited options Bielsa currently has, and the Leeds manager will be hoping and praying that the likes of Kalvin Phillips can stay injury-free.

This latest news that O’Brien is in talks over a new contract, in order to protect his value, is likely to ensure that the Terriers can demand a similar sort of fee that they were looking for in the summer, or even something much higher should they give him a much longer-term deal.

Bielsa has already shown that he is someone who will only sign players who fit his principles, and is quite willing to simply avoid players who he doesn’t fancy – Hay even recently suggested that while Victor Orta recommended Noa Lang, Bielsa wanted James, while the Leeds boss has also been understood to have turned down moves for the likes of Glenn Murray and Billy Sharp back in the Championship even when they needed a striker.

The fact that they were very interested in O’Brien means Bielsa is very keen on him, and thinks he would be a good fit at Elland Road. But, given the Whites opted against paying the fee needed to sign him in the summer, this latest update of a new contract is just another body blow and even bigger setback to their chances of signing him.

Bielsa will be fuming if O’Brien doesn’t end up at Leeds now.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign an ideal Kalvin Phillips alternative in this star…

Odds-on favourites Oman crushed Bhutan by 213 runs in the final of the Asian Cricket Council Challenge in Chiang Mai. Put into bat, Oman amassed 322 for 9 and then dismissed Bhutan for 109.The decision to insert Oman caused raised eyebrows as the conditions looked perfect for batting, and so it proved. Maqsood Hussain, whose 76 runs in the tournament included 72 in boundaries, cracked 14 off six balls and from then on it was one-way traffic.The key moment came when Adnan Ilyas was dropped when on 8 by the wicketkeeper in the day’s third over. He raced to 50 off 38 balls and brought up his hundred off 95, and by the time he was bowled by legspinner Jigme Singye for 113 the game was all but beyond Bhutan. “We were waiting for the mistakes,” Bhutan’s coach Damber Singh Gurung admitted, “But we made them.”Bhutan did well to keep things under some semblance of control after Ilyas departed, the last 16 overs only producing 107 runs for the loss of six wickets, but the damage had been done.Oman’s bowlers were as tight as their batsmen had been rampant. Bolstered by an attacking field of four slips, Farhan Khan, who was named bowler of the tournament, took 2 for 19 and Hemal Mehta almost took a hat-trick as he finished with 3 for 22.Opener Kumar Subba set out his stall to bat through the innings, grinding out 40 off 103 deliveries, and at the halfway point Bhutan were 65 for 4. He was eventually beaten for pace by Awal Khan and the victory was completed in the 43rd over.In the third/fourth place play-off, Thailand, who were widely expected to make the final until their shock defeat by Bhutan, ended on another disappointment as they lost by eight wickets to Maldives. Thailand were skittled for 60 as daft run-outs coupled with Abdulla Shahid, who took 4 for 13 off his ten overs, took their toll. Maldives lost an early wicket but a second-wicket stand of 44 between Ahmed Hussain and Ahmed Hassan ensured there were no more alarms.

A number of Liverpool supporters are frustrated that Taiwo Awoniyi was allowed to leave the Reds, following his excellent start to the season in Germany.

Jurgen Klopp’s men could only draw 1-1 at home to 10-man Chelsea on Saturday evening in what was a disappointing encounter at Anfield. The performance was good in patches, but as the minutes ticked by, Liverpool seemed to run out of ideas in the final third.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

There is a feeling that the Reds are one player short in attacking positions, with a new signing needed to freshen things up and provide more competition for playing time.

One player who could potentially have been an option is Awonoyi, but instead the 24-year-old was sold to Bundesliga side Union Berlin this summer, having never even played for Liverpool despite signing for them in 2015, being forced to undergo numerous loan spells due to difficulties obtaining a UK work permit.

The Nigerian has made a flying start to the season in the Bundesliga, scoring three goals in as many games, including a superb effort against Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans unhappy with Awoniyi sale

These Liverpool fans have fumed at the club’s decision, taking to Twitter to say that Awoniyi could have been a perfect option in the squad.

Some supporters feel he would have been a better option than current Reds forwards Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino, who between them have scored five goals in 34 appearances for the club since the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

“Maybe he could have been the option”

Credit: @keswickbro

“Better than Origi and Minamino”

Credit: @LFC_Brett

“Didn’t even give the lad a chance”

Credit: @ThatRexGuyAgain

“So we didn’t give him a chance but kept Origi”

Credit: @97HassanM

“Why did we let him go and Origi survives”

Credit: @AChxmz

“Why didn’t we give this kid a chance?”

Credit: @Nvli_dvn

In other news, some Liverpool fans have hailed one player’s performance against Chelsea. Find out who it is here.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Bahia derrotou o Cruzeiro por 1 a 0, na noite desta quinta-feira, na Fonte Nova. Jogando com um a mais desde o começo do jogo, a equipe de Jorginho chegou ao gol no começo do jogo com Edigar Junio e depois só administrou. O Cruzeiro lutou, criou algumas oportunidades mas não conseguiu evitar a derrota. Com o resultado, o Bahia subiu para a sexta posição na tabela, com nove pontos. O Cruzeiro se manteve no meio, com sete.

Era um confronto interessante na Fonte Nova. De um lado, o Bahia, invícto e com 100% de aproveitamento dentro de casa. Do outro, o Cruzeiro, invícto jogando fora de Minas Gerais. Mas a equipe de Mano Menezes tinha problemas para resollver. Muito desfalcada, demorou para se encontrar em campo. A zaga improvisada formada por Léo e Henrique não passava confiança.

E a falta de entrosamento pesou logo aos oito minutos. Edigar Junio recebeu em profundidade e ia ficar cara a cara com Fábio, se não fosse a falta cometida por Henrique, que levou cartão vermelho direto. Com um a menos, o Cruzeiro ficou mais recuado, chamando o Bahia para o seu campo defensivo.

Não demorou muito para que a superioridade numérica fizesse a diferença. Aos 18 minutos, Allione recebeu de Zé Rafael pela esquerda e cruzou de primeira. Edigar Junio completou dentro da pequena área e Fábio nada pôde fazer.

Depois, o Bahia diminuiu o rítmo, o que possibilitou o Cruzeiro de equilibrar a partida. Robinho teve a chance de empatar, aos 35, depois de jogada de Diogo Barbosa, mas parou em Jean. O lance acordou o Bahia, que quase marcou o segundo no fim do primeiro tempo, em cobrança de falta de Juninho, que acertou a trave.

No segundo tempo, o Bahia veio com a intenção de administrar o resultado. Tocava a bola de um lado para o outro, sem muita objetividade. O Cruzeiro esperava um contra-ataque para criar perigo. Thiago Neves perdeu chance clara aos 14 minutos, depois de tabelar com Robinho.

Depois, o jogo voltou a ficar morno. A única grande chance foi de novo a favor do Bahia, aos 27 minutos, quando Murilo aproveitou cruzamento de Matheus Reis e acertou a trave cruzeirense mais uma vez. A Raposa ainda tentou reagir no final, mas sentiu falta do décimo primeiro jogador e não evitou a derrota na Fonte Nova.

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FICHA TÉCNICA
BAHIA 1 X 0 CRUZEIRO

Local: Fonte Nova, Salvador
Data-hora: 8/6/2017 – 21h
Árbitro: Wagner do Nascimento Magalhaes (FIFA-RJ)
Auxiliares: Rodrigo F Henrique Correa (FIFA-RJ) e Thiago Henrique Neto (RJ)
Público: Não disponível
Cartões amarelos: Renê Júnior, Vinícius, Eduardo e Tiago (BAH); Ábila, Ezequiel (CRU)
Cartões vermelhos: Henrique, 8’1°T (CRU)
Gol: Edigar Junio, 18’1°T (1 a 0)

BAHIA: Jean; Eduardo, Tiago, Lucas Fonseca e Matheus Reis; Renê Júnior, Juninho, Allione (Mendoza, 39’2°T), Vinícius (Gustavo Ferrareis, 17’2°T) e Zé Rafael (Feijão, 45’2°T); Edigar Junio– Técnico: Jorginho.

CRUZEIRO: Fábio; Ezequiel, Henrique, Léo e Diogo Barbosa; Lucas Romero, Ariel Cabral, Robinho (Élber, 29’2°T), Thiago Neves (Rafinha, 37’2°T) e Alisson; Ábila (Murilo, 31’1°T) – Técnico: Mano Menezes.

Standard Liege are in talks with Everton over a loan deal for Niels Nkounkou, a source close to the player has told Sport Witness. 

The lowdown

The 20-year-old joined Everton from Marseille in July 2020 for a fee of just under £250,000. The left-back went on to make six senior appearances in his debut season, two of which came in the Premier League.

He was given his first minutes of the 2021/22 campaign in the Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield Town last week.

The latest

As per Sport Witness journalist Sean Lunt on Twitter, ‘Everton are working on’ temporarily offloading Nkounkou to the Belgian Pro League outfit.

It will be a loan move without an option to buy, suggesting that the Toffees still view Nkounkou as part of their long-term plans.

The verdict

This is a slightly strange move from Everton in that Nkounkou appears to be the most natural left-back alternative to Lucas Digne in the squad.

However, they clearly believe that his development will benefit more from a season of regular top-flight football as opposed to under-23 outings and occasional cup runouts.

Rafael Benitez will need to shift a centre-back out to the left-hand side if he wants to give Digne a rest, or indeed if the Frenchman sustains an injury at some point during the season. This apparent decision to loan out Nkounkou may come under scrutiny further down the line.

In other news, Everton maintain an interest in this midfielder.

Leicester City’s pursuit of Champions League football got off to the best start possible after Jamie Vardy’s strike saw off Wolves 1-0 at the King Power Stadium this afternoon.

The Foxes’ talismanic striker found the back of the net just before half-time thanks to an extremely well-taken header following Ricardo Pereira’s cross from the right-hand side.

Beginning life under new manager Bruno Lage following Nuno Espirito Santo’s departure, Wolves had a golden opportunity to take the lead with the score at 0-0, with pacey winger Adama Traore running clear of the Leicester defence. 

However, the Spain international could only side-foot his effort tamely wide of Kasper Schmeichel’s post, and the FA Cup holders barely gave the opposition attack a sniff after that. 

Although Vardy will get the headlines for his match-winning goal, it was stand-in centre-back Daniel Amartey who provided the base for Leicester’s success.

Rodgers decided to keep faith with the 26-year-old following his impressive showing in the Community Shield despite Jannik Vestergaard completing his move from Southampton to take his place in the matchday squad.

As per SofaScore, Amartey received a match rating of 7.6 out of 10 this afternoon, the second-highest total amongst his teammates, while his 89 touches were the third-most of anyone in Rodgers’ side.

The Ghanaian won four of his five duels and made made two tackles and two clearances during his 90 minutes on the pitch. but he was also excellent with the ball at his feet. Amartey achieved a passing accuracy of 92% while completing four of his six attempted long passes.

New signing Vestergaard will have had a week’s worth of training with his new teammates under his belt by the time Leicester take on West Ham United in the Monday night fixture next up, but Amartey will be hoping that his impressive showing has done enough to see him start again in nine days’ time.

In other news… Sky Sports reveal intriguing transfer update which could leave Leicester fans gutted 

Scorecard

Netherlands earned themselves a place in the tournament final, but more importantly a spot in the World Twenty20 in England, with a fine five-wicket victory over Scotland, with two full overs to spare. After a good start by their opponents, they fought back to restrict them severely, and then overcame a couple of sticky moments with the bat to reach the target in good time.Netherlands won the toss and decided to bowl first, a trend that is taking over at this low-scoring tournament. Scotland’s openers, however, made a mockery of the dismal starts achieved by most sides in recent matches, as Ryan Watson took Kyle Coetzer in first with him, and the pair quickly launched themselves into the type of opening partnership that is more to be expected in this type of cricket. It was mostly good clean hitting, with Coetzer lofting a six over long-on off Mudassar Bakhari in the third over.After 10 overs, the score was 50 without loss, but five runs later Watson swung across the line and was bowled by Peter Borren for 22, off 27 balls. Coetzer and Navdeep Poonia then concentrated mainly on singles, which came off most balls, but the search for yet another led to the run-out of Coetzer for 40 (44 balls, 2 sixes and 4 fours).Colin Smith quickly followed, holing out at long-on, but Pooniah and Gavin Hamilton settled for a sober partnership of accumulation with few extravagant strokes, aiming perhaps for a total of about 120, considering how difficult teams have found chasing smaller targets this tournament.With two overs left, the total was 98 for 3, but then Hamilton, aiming at extravagance virtually for the first time, holed out on the leg side.It takes so little to send a team on the slippery slope of disaster, and in quick succession Neil McCallum was caught at extra cover, also off Ryan ten Doeschate, and Poonia run out for 25. In moments the score had become 99 for 6. The final over saw Richie Berrington and Gordon Drummond run out and John Blain almost caught on the boundary off the final ball. The total was 107 for 8.It is easy to say Scotland lost their way after such a good start, but by the weird standards of this particular tournament, even to reach 100 is quite an achievement. ten Doeschate, with 3 for 23, was the most successful bowler, but the most economical was the opener Edgar Schiferli, who conceded only 18 runs, bowling mostly during the dominant opening partnership.Netherlands quickly lost Darron Reekers, caught at mid-on off a miscued pull. Twenty-nine runs came up in the first four overs without much more fuss from either side, the batsmen concentrating on frequent singles with only occasional slogs. At 50, in the ninth over, Tim de Grooth was caught at the wicket off Berrington for 24, and at the ten-over mark the score was 56 for 2.Bokari, having scored most of his 9 runs off the edge, was caught at slip, but Eric Szwarczynski and ten Doeschate batted steadily, largely in singles, to take the score to 81, when the former had a rush of blood, trying a big hit to leg, only to have the resulting skyer caught by the keeper, having made 30. He was soon followed by Daan van Bunge, caught at slip without scoring. At 83 for 5, was another serious collapse taking place?Borren, with two successive fours off Drummond, soon put paid to such nonsense. The end came quickly now, as ten Doeschate swung Majid Haq for six over square leg, and next ball followed it with a reverse-swept four to take Netherlands into the final. Eighteen runs came off that over – the sort of over that is more commonly expected in this type of cricket but so rarely seen at this tournament.ten Doeschate was unbeaten with 24 off 18 balls, while Borren had 16 off 12. Blain and Berrington had two wickets each.

The agent of Rubin Kazan winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has revealed Tottenham have a serious interest in the 20-year-old.

The Lowdown: Spurs window heating up

Spurs have now brought in three new faces to the squad in Pierluigi Gollini, Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero as they prepare for the new campaign.

There may be even more business completed, as well, as Harry Kane’s desire to leave (Sky Sports) could see Tottenham move for another striker. The latest developments however suggest they also have their eyes on an up-and-coming winger.

The Latest: Spurs eye Kvaratskhelia

Now, an update has been provided on Georgia international Kvaratskhelia. His agent said (via Football Italia):

“I have to meet with the President of Rubin after August 12, and with an 85-90 per cent probability, Kvaratskhelia will change team and play in a very high level club in Europe.

“I can confirm there is serious interest from Tottenham. I can’t say anything new about Leeds, but there is also Juventus…”

The Verdict: Young talent

Unless you happen to be an avid follower of Russian/Georgian football, the name Kvaratskhelia will mean little to you. However, the forward has been making a name for himself in the Premier Liga. So far with Kazan, he has eight goals and 13 assists in 55 games (Transfermarkt), and even scored for his country against Spain earlier this year.

Bayern Munich have also been previously linked to Kvaratskhelia – this is a player very much in demand, even likened to a young Lionel Messi.

Valued at £16.2m (Transfermarkt), he is unlikely to cost a fortune either. It is now up to Daniel Levy and co to try and get a deal for him completed before the end of August.

In other news, this Premier League winner has been offered to Tottenham.