Chelsea have made contact over signing a very highly-rated striker, who’s drawn comparisons with Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen, coming after Enzo Maresca’s side failed with a late summer move for the Nigerian.

Chelsea draw up striker shortlist after botched Victor Osimhen deal

During the latter phase of the summer transfer window, Chelsea held late talks over signing Osimhen from Napoli, but the move couldn’t come to fruition.

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Chelsea were directly Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for his services, but neither team could come to terms on both a fee and terms for Osimhen, who later settled for a season-long loan move to Super Lig champions Galatasaray.

Appearances

25

Goals

15

Assists

3

Shots Per 90

3.86

Key Passes Per 90

1.05

Successful Take-Ons Per 90

0.73

The African superstar’s deal with Galatasaray is rumoured to include a break-clause, meaning certain interested sides, including Chelsea, can elect to activate it and make a swoop for Osimhen in January.

According to reliable journalist Simon Phillips, the 25-year-old remains on Chelsea’s striker shortlist for 2025, alongside the likes of Liam Delap, Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Boniface, but it is unclear whether they’re keen on bringing him in for January.

Nicolas Jackson is leading the line superbly right now, and Chelsea are currently the Premier League’s top goalscorers, with both Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer already hitting double figures across all competitions.

That being said, if Chelsea were to move for him in the summer, there is every reason to believe Osimhen would be keen on a switch to Stamford Bridge.

“I know what Victor wanted,” said ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi-Mikel on Osimhen’s eagerness to join Chelsea earlier this year.

“Both sides really played their part in terms of getting the deal done, and I commend Chelsea for that, because I can see their ambition of where they want to take this club now, and also on Victor’s side, how much he really wanted to come to the club.”

The desire to join Chelsea is clearly there, but BlueCo may not even elect to go back in his direction next year. There are many different options on the table for Maresca’s side, and one of them is RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko.

Chelsea make contact over signing RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko

Chelsea had an offer rejected to sign Sesko mid-way through the summer window, alongside both Man United and Arsenal (Fabrizio Romano), with the Slovenia international choosing to remain and sign a new contract with Leipzig.

Sesko’s fresh contract is rumoured to include a new release clause set at around £63 million, and he apparently has a gentlemen’s agreement that he can leave Leipzig in either 2025 or 2026.

The prospect of an exit for the 21-year-old is very much alive, with journalist Rudy Galetti now sharing an update on his future, which involves Chelsea.

Indeed, writing for TEAMtalk, he says that Chelsea have made contact over signing Sesko from Leipzig, as they hold talks with the agents and intermediaries of numerous striker targets who they believe could reinforce their attacking options.

“Benjamin Šeško is among the game’s top young talents and has enormous potential to become a top player,” said interim Man United recruitment director Christopher Vivell, formerly of Leipzig.

“He has all the qualities to do that. He’s extremely quick, has a great jump on him and is strong in the air. Benjamin is a real goalscorer, who despite his 1.95m (6’4″) is mobile and technically strong. His abilities make him a special player with a special profile.”

Interestingly, Football Transfers have also called Sesko a “similar” striker to Osimhen.

da bwin： We are only in the second week of the silly season, yet the rumour mill is in full swing, especially so for Arsenal.

da cassino： Mikel Arteta’s side are enduring something of a minor blip in the Premier League and look destined to exit the League Cup, so links to a whole host of attacking stars shouldn’t be all that surprising.

One of the most prominent links has been to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ star Matheus Cunha, although with talk of him signing a new deal with the Old Gold, it seems unlikely that he’ll be going anywhere.

However, there is another Premier League star that the Gunners have been linked to recently, a star who just so happens to have won comparisons to Cunha this year.

Arsenal chase superb Premier League star

According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal are interested in Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo.

Unfortunately for any fans hoping he might join this month, Plettenberg has revealed that the Cameroon international has been placed on the Gunners’ shortlist for potential summer signings.

The report does not mention a potential price tag, but according to other stories from earlier this month, the talented attacker could be available for around £50m.

It could be a complicated and relatively costly transfer to get over the line, but given Mbeumo’s incredible ability, it’s one well worth pursuing, especially as he’s won comparisons to Cunha.

How Mbeumo compares to fellow Arsenal target Matheus Cunha

So, before we look at a couple of the reasons Arsenal should go out and sign Mbeumo this year, be that this month or in the summer, let’s examine this comparison to Cunha and where it has come from.

It primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Brazilian is the seventh most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Cameroonian over the last 365 days.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, expected goals plus assists, passing accuracy, progressive, live and key passes, shot and goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.

Mbeumo & Cunha

Statistics per 90

Mbeumo

Cunha

Expected Goals + Assists

0.54

0.56

Progressive Passes

4.07

4.10

Passing Accuracy

69.5%

71.4%

Key Passes

1.86

1.85

Crosses into the Penalty Area

0.45

0.42

Live Passes

31.4

30.6

Goal-Creating Actions

0.50

0.46

Shot-Creating Actions

3.81

3.98

All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 PL Season

However, aside from his similarities to the incredible Wolves talent, there are a couple of other reasons Arteta and Co should look to bring the former Troyes ace in this year.

The first is his incredible output, as in just 23 appearances across all competitions this season, the dynamic attacker, whom pundit Dan Bardell recently dubbed “one of the best players in the Premier League,” has found the back of the net on 13 occasions and provided four assists for good measure.

This means that, as things stand, the 25-year-old ace is averaging a goal involvement every 1.35 games for the Bees.

Finally, on top of bringing more goals to the team, the Avallon-born dynamo would also be the perfect player to cover for Bukayo Saka off the right – to ensure he is no longer overplayed – and he could also rival Kai Havetrz and Gabriel Jesus for the number nine role, ensuring they have to stay on their toes at all times.

Ultimately, while it wouldn’t be cheap, Arsenal should do what they can to bring Mbeumo to the Emirates this year, as his goalscoring abilities and positional versatility would make the team far stronger.

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Celtic enjoyed a strong showing domestically in Brendan Rodgers’ first season back at the club last term, as they won the Scottish Premiership and the SFA Cup.

However, the Hoops also finished bottom of their Champions League group and only won one of their six matches, before the revamped league phase came into play this term.

When the summer transfer rolled around, the Scottish giants lost midfielder Matt O’Riley to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on a permanent deal.

However, Rodgers was then backed by the board as they made a host of signings to bolster the squad, in an attempt to improve their success in Europe.

Celtic's summer signings

The Hoops swooped to sign central defender Auston Trusty from Sheffield United for a fee of £6m and Football FanCast recently posted an article explaining why they hit the jackpot with him, as his performances in the Champions League have earned him a comparison to Arsenal star William Saliba.

Celtic also agreed a fee of up to £9.5m for Adam Idah and reportedly paid £3.5m to sign Paulo Bernardo, after their loan spells from Norwich and Benfica respectively during the 2023/24 campaign.

Veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was brought in on a free transfer and has kept an eye-catching 11 clean sheets in 14 appearances in the league.

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Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

The biggest signing of the window, however, was Arne Engels, who joined in a club-record £11m transfer from German side Augsburg to bolster Rodgers’ options in midfield.

Celtic have hit the jackpot with Arne Engels

Celtic appear to have hit the jackpot with the Belgian starlet because he has had the desired impact in the Champions League for the Hoops.

As per FBref, Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham has been one of the most similar players to Engels in Europe’s premier competition this season, which speaks to how impressive the Bhoys youngster has been.

As you can see in the chart above, both players are central midfielders who look to make a big impact at the top end of the pitch by generating high non-penalty xG and xAG tallies.

Bellingham, who has scored 26 goals in 59 games for Real Madrid, is valued at a whopping €180m (£149m) by Transfermarkt, which illustrates just how impressive Engels has been in Europe to earn a comparison with the England international.

24/25 Champions League	Arne Engels
Appearances	5
Goals	1
Key passes	10
Assists	3
Tackles + interceptions per game	1.8
Duel success rate	56%
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Belgian record-breaker, who is the most expensive signing in the club’s history, has been directly involved in four goals in five matches in the Champions League.

Engels, who has also scored two goals and created three ‘big chances’ in 11 matches in the Premiership, has helped the Hoops to win two and draw two of their first five games in Europe.

This means, albeit in a different format, the Belgium international has played a significant role in Celtic’s much-improved record in Europe this term compared to last.

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At the age of 21, Engels also has plenty of time left to develop and improve further and, as of right now, Celtic appear to have hit gold with the Bellingham-esque star.

Instead, the PCB plans to “revive junior series on a home and away basis” going forward

Umar Farooq31-Dec-2022The Pakistan Junior League (PJL) has been scrapped by the PCB’s new administration, with new plans instead to “revive junior series on a home and away basis” going forward. The decision to scrap the league had been expected since Ramiz Raja was was removed as chairman of the PCB, and was taken at Saturday’s meeting of the PCB’s managing committee, the new leadership body led by Najam Sethi.The league was Ramiz’s brainchild but massive losses in the very first year meant its future was always uncertain. The two-week tournament, a T20 league for Under-19 players from around the world, had its inaugural edition from October 6 to 21, 2022.”The PCB Management Committee agreed to discontinue the Pakistan Junior League,” a PCB statement said. “However, to ensure there is a pathway for the high-performing teenagers and the country continues to produce talented cricketers across all age gaps, it was agreed to revive junior series on a home and away basis.”It was also agreed to hold discussions with the HBL Pakistan Super League franchises to include an Under-19 player under their Emerging Categories in the playing line-ups.”A board financial report meanwhile revealed the staggering losses incurred in staging the inaugural edition. As per the report, the two-week tournament came with expenses of approximately PKR 997 million, while the PCB got an income of only PKR 190 million out of it.A week before Ramiz was removed from office, he had signed an MoU with a company for the commercial and management rights of the PJL – the deal was for 20 years, and was worth PKR 55.5 million per year. Pakistan’s federal government removed Ramiz and his Board from office last week, and revoked the 2019 constitution that the PCB was operating under. Now, a Sethi-led 14-member management committee has been handed full executive powers and been asked to rework processes to meet the requirements of the 2014 version of the PCB constitution.This new management committee has since opened an internal audit of Ramiz’s 14-month term, with the PJL facing particular scrutiny given the weight of related expenses.Why did the PCB incurs such high costs over the PJL?
When the PJL was announced, there were ambitious plans to have it based on a franchise model but turnout from bidders failed by some distance to match expectations of the board. That forced the PCB to bear the costs of putting together and running the teams itself, and later the title sponsorship and other commercial tenders also failed to bring in lucrative deals.Despite the lack of interest in the market, the PCB under Ramiz decided to go ahead with the league, calling it a strategic decision. ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB’s commercial committee was reluctant to approve the expenses but the Board of Governors had given approval.What were the major expenses?
While cricket remains the most popular sport in the country, realistically only the national set-up or the well-established PSL fetch lucrative sponsorship deals. For the PJL, the response to title sponsorships rights and digital streaming rights was lukewarm at best, far lower than expectations Ramiz had: four companies came forward for the title sponsorship rights and one broadcaster for the digital rights, though in both cases the bids were below expectations. For the TV production, the PCB spent PKR 286 million and failed to close a lucrative broadcast deal, ending up partnering with PTV, the state-owned broadcaster.Additionally, some of the match fees given out at the PJL – to “elite” players – were higher than what a senior Pakistan player would get for a T20I. The league had six teams featuring a mix of 15 local and overseas players between the ages of 15 and 19, picked through a draft process and classified under three categories – four elite players with a salary of USD 16,000, five premier players (USD 12,000) and six X-factor players (USD 6000).The PCB also roped in big names like Shahid Afridi, Javed Miandad, Daren Sammy, Colin Munro, Imran Tahir, Vivian Richards and Shoaib Malik as mentors for each team.Did Pakistan already have a junior cricket system in place?
Ramiz’s rationale was that the league would identify and nurture talent, and close the gap between quality at the Under-19 level and the senior level.Pakistan already had a pathway in place for young cricketers, though, structured from the Under-15 to the Under-19 level. Historically, their junior players were only exposed to one-day and three-day formats, with a batch graduating to represent the country at the Under-19 World Cup every two years. Players like Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq and Shaheen Afridi have come up through the age-group ranks.Additionally, every year PSL teams picked two emerging players from the Under-19 circuit and were required to play one of them in the XI.How does the PJL bill compare to other domestic tournaments’?
PKR 1 billion was the total domestic expenditure in 2017, the same year Pakistan won their last global tournament, the Champions Trophy.This year, the PCB’s six domestic associations spent just over PKR 1.5 billion on the full season, across all formats and levels.

Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia starting February 9 in Nagpur.ESPNcricinfo has learned that Iyer, who returned to Bengaluru on Wednesday to get fitness clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA), was told he needs to spend more time in rehab to recover from the back injury that had ruled him out of the recent ODIs against New Zealand.After playing the two-Test series in Bangladesh in December, Iyer had a swelling in his lower back for which he was given an injection at the NCA. He was originally expected to travel from Bengaluru to Nagpur and join the India squad for their preparatory camp for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on February 2.Extending Iyer’s rehab is more of a precautionary step taken by the BCCI medical staff and he is now expected to join the India squad for the second Test, which starts in Delhi from February 17.Shreyas Iyer needs more time to recover from his back injury•AFP/Getty Images

Iyer was one of the contenders for a middle-order batter’s slot along with Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, depending on who opens with Rohit Sharma. He’s played only seven Tests so far, averaging 56.72 at a healthy strike rate of 65. Iyer began his Test career with scores of 105 and 65 on debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 2021, and he was India’s second highest run-scorer – 202 in three innings – in their most recent Test series in Bangladesh in December last year.India’s squad for the first Test against Australia: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav

Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph impressed on a slow pitch to subdue South Africa

Firdose Moonda18-Mar-2023

Temba Bavuma’s stellar century went in vain for South Africa•Gallo Images

For an ODI with nothing riding on it, this one had a little bit of everything.Temba Bavuma struck his second successive international century, third in 2023, and notched up a career-best 144 but Shai Hope, captaining West Indies for the first time, trumped the home captain’s effort. Hope brought up his 14th ODI century and anchored West Indies to post their highest score against South Africa in the format and the second highest at Buffalo Park. It proved enough as West Indies registered a 48-run victory over South Africa, seven years after the last completed ODI between these two, in June 2016.West Indies, who have played all their World Cup Super League matches and barring Sri Lanka and South Africa being blanked by New Zealand and Netherlands respectively are certain to participate in the qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June, will be pleased with the way they acquitted themselves in this match. On a slow surface, their batters adapted well and there were three half-century stands in their innings, while Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein made good use of the short, slower ball and spin respectively to sufficiently challenge South Africa. As a result, they earned their sixth win in 28 ODIs in South Africa and 16th in 64 meetings.South Africa are also in a precarious position in terms of automatic qualification for this years’ 50-over World Cup, and will reflect on this match as a test of their depth and the work still to be done. They fielded four debutants, as a result of squad rotation, injuries and illnesses, and will know there’s work to be done. Of the three new batters – Ryan Rickleton, Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs – the first two were foxed by spin and Stubbs was victim to a short ball. The bowling newbie, Gerald Coetzee, was South Africa’s most successful and joint-most economical bowler, but was run-out as he failed to slide his bat in late in the piece. That’s a harsh criticism with more attention to be put on Lungi Ngidi lack of variations, Marco Jansen’s uncertainty on his lengths and the composition of the attack, which had only five bowlers and not enough slower bowling options.West Indies cruised to 66 without loss in eight overs before left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin was introduced. At domestic level, Fortuin has made a habit of taking wickets in his opening over and he did exactly that, albeit not with his best ball. Mayers pulled a half-tracker to Rickelton at deep midwicket to spark a mini-collapse. West Indies lost three wickets in 12 balls, and found themselves on 71 for 3 in the 11th over.It was up to the current and former captains – Hope and Nicholas Pooran – to rebuild. They took on the spinners, with good use of the feet and Jansen, who continued to struggle to find the right length, and shared a stand of 86 runs off 80 balls before Pooran dragged a short, slower Coetzee ball to Rassie van der Dussen at midwicket to depart for 39 and bring T20I captain, Rovman Powell to the crease.Powell should have been out six when he drilled the ball back to Tabraiz Shamsi, who could not hold on his followthrough and went on to cost South Africa 40 runs. Powell put on 80 for the fifth wicket with Hope before he bottom-edged another Coetzee short ball onto his stumps and South Africa could apply a squeeze. They gave away just eight runs in the next 22 balls, including a scoreless over from Jansen to keep West Indies fairly quiet at a crucial stage.Kyle Mayers trapped Quinton de Kock lbw for 48•Gallo Images/Getty Images

Hope neared the 90s with sixes off Fortuin and Ngidi and put on 42 with Holder, who was dismissed on review to Shamsi. Hope also lost Hosein to an inswinging Jansen yorker and then brought up his hundred off the 104th ball he faced. West Indies scored 93 runs off the last ten overs, including 40 runs off the last three overs, and Hope hit 28 runs off the last nine balls he faced to set South Africa a steep target.They were required to complete their fourth-highest successful chase and started well. Quinton de Kock, who had not played a competitive match since his last appearance at the SA20 almost six weeks ago, showed no signs of rust. He latched onto anything overpitched – and West Indies offered plenty in the first five overs – or on the pads. South Africa brought up fifty in six overs, de Kock survived an lbw appeal from Holder, which was reviewed, and was then given out on 48 to expose an inexperienced middle order that Bavuma marshalled.He brought up his third ODI fifty with a clean strike off Mayers over extra cover that went for six, similar to the stroke that took him to a second Test century last week. West Indies used the second and last review at the end of that over, when Mayers thought he had Bavuma lbw in similar fashion to de Kock but ball tracking showed it was missing leg stump.South Africa were 123 for 1 at the first drinks’ break, when West Indies brought on their legspinner Yannic Cariah. With his first ball, he beat Rickelton’s inside edge with a quick legbreak and got the lbw decision. Rickelton reviewed, reluctantly and unsuccessfully, to bring another debutant, Tony de Zorzi, to the crease. De Zorzi almost played the second ball he faced onto his stumps but it squirted past for four. He played some sweet strokes before being bowled by a flat, quick ball from Hosein.Rassie van der Dussen never looked comfortable at the crease and survived an lbw appeal and a stumping chance before pulling a Joseph bouncer to fine leg. Tristan Stubbs, on debut, top-edged a short, slower ball from Odean Smith straight up and Hope took a simple catch to open up South Africa’s lower order.Jansen’s first runs came off an outside edge, leaving Bavuma on strike, on 99, at the start of the 31st over. He sent Hosein through extra cover for a single to bring up his fourth ODI century, and second this year. South Africa still needed 121 runs off 115 balls.West Indies would have thought the game was up when Jansen holed out to long-on and Fortuin was stumped later that over, but Bavuma took it deep. He surpassed his previous career-best score of 113 and then hit three sixes off a Cariah over and confidently rotated strike with Ngidi. Their ninth-wicket stand reached 49 before Bavuma gloved Joseph down leg to end a valiant effort. South Africa were bowled out two balls later when Shamsi nicked off and Joseph finished with three.

Newcastle United now hold a major advantage in the pursuit of an “extraordinary” defender, according to a report.

Eddie Howe keen to strengthen his backline

Bringing in a new defender is clearly one of Eddie Howe’s priorities this January, having identified Lens’ Abdukodir Khusanov as his top target.

Khusanov is open to a move to St James’ Park, with the Magpies now believed to be shifting their transfer policy towards signing players with potential rather than ready-made stars.

The new policy means Newcastle are also keen on signing players with Premier League experience, potentially making Barcelona’s Eric Garcia an intriguing option given his time with Manchester City.

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Marc Guehi was of interest to Howe back in the summer, but Crystal Palace’s asking price proved to be a major stumbling block. However, a much cheaper option appears to have now been identified.

According to reports from Italy (via Sport Witness), the Magpies are leading the race for Milan defender Fikayo Tomori – and they now hold a major advantage in the race for his signature.

A number of Serie A clubs have also been showing interest in Tomori, with Napoli making contact over a deal, but as per Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan would prefer not to sell him to a direct rival, potentially opening the door for a move to Tyneside.

Encouragement has been handed to Howe’s side in their pursuit of the centre-back, and reports also suggest he could be an affordable option, with the Italian club potentially willing to sanction his departure for a fee in the region of €25m (£21m).

Fixture

Date

Manchester United (a)

December 30th

Tottenham Hotspur (a)

January 4th

Wolverhampton Wanderers (h)

January 15th

AFC Bournemouth (h)

January 18th

Southampton (a)

January 25th

Tomori struggling for game time

Milan may be willing to get Tomori off the books this January as he has fallen down the pecking order considerably at the San Siro, failing to start a Serie A game since the beginning of October.

That said, the 27-year-old has impressed for the Italian club in the past, receiving high praise from former Milan executive Ivan Gazidis back in 2022, who said:

“Fikayo has been extraordinary during this season. He is absolutely one of the pillars of this team, he is one of those players around whom we want to build our team. He has great dedication on and off the pitch.”

Newcastle’s new transfer policy dictates that players with Premier League experience are preferable, and the Canada-born defender ticks this box from his time with Chelsea, albeit never managing to cement himself as a key, long-term player.

Even though Tomori has fallen out of favour with Milan recently, his previous exploits indicate that he could be a solid signing for Newcastle, and it is an added bonus that he may be available for the relatively low fee of £21m.

تلقى فريق بايرن ميونخ الألماني ضربة قوية بالإصابة التي تعرض لها لاعبه جمال موسيالا، إثر مشاركته أمام باريس سان جيرمان في منافسات بطولة كأس العالم للأندية.

وذكرت تقارير صحفية أن بايرن ميونخ يعمل على ضم صفقة هجومية لتعويض غياب موسيالا، حيث أعلن النادي تشخيص إصابته بالفعل.

ويعاني موسيالا من كسر في عظمة الشظية اليسرى نتيجة خلع في الكاحل، ومن المتوقع غيابه لمدة تصل إلى 4 أشهر على الأقل.

وبحسب صحيفة “ديفنسا سنترال” الإسبانية، برز البرازيلي رودريجو، لاعب ريال مدريد، كأحد أبرز أهداف بايرن ميونخ، خاصة بعد إصابة موسيالا.

والمشكلة تكمن في السعر، حيث أفادت التقارير أن بايرن ميونخ مستعد لدفع حوالي 65 مليون يورو لحسم صفقة رودريجو، لكن رئيس ريال مدريد، فلورنتينو بيريز، لن يسمح للاعبه بالرحيل بأقل من 100 مليون يورو لبدء المفاوضات.

ويظل وضع رودريجو في ريال مدريد غير واضح، مع تواجده بديلاً خلال مباريات الفريق الماضية في كأس العالم للأندية ومشاركته في الدقيقة 85 كبديل خلال مباراة ريال مدريد وبوروسيا دورتموند.

ارتبط رودريجو أيضًا بأندية أخرى مثل النصر السعودي وآرسنال الإنجليزي، على الرغم من عدم وصول عروض رسمية لريال مدريد بعد بحسب ما أفادت تقارير سابقة.

يذكر أن بايرن ميونخ ودع منافسات بطولة كأس العالم للأندية بعد هزيمة أمام باريس سان جيرمان بهدفين دون مقابل، أما ريال مدريد حسم التأهل بفوز أمام بوروسيا دورتموند بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدفين.

Manchester City players and staff do not deserve a bonus for their 2024-25 campaign, in the view of manager Pep Guardiola.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Man City set to lose PL title to Liverpool
• English champions also out of CL
• Guardiola dismisses 'bonuses' even if they win CWC

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Having broken records in 2024 by becoming the first side in English history to win the league four years running, City are set to lose their Premier League crown this season. They sit fifth in the standings and are a whopping 22 points off of leaders Liverpool, while they were dumped out of the Champions League before the last-16 stage by Real Madrid last month.

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• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  City can still end the season with silverware as they are going strong in the FA Cup and will play in the revamped FIFA Club World Cup this summer. The club will receive around £20 million (€24m/$25.9m) simply for qualifying, though they could max out earnings at £96.5m (€115.8m/$125m) if they win the tournament. Nevertheless, Guardiola does not believe he, his staff and players would deserve a single penny of that prize pot.

• WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

  At a press conference on Friday, Guardiola was asked about receiving a bonus if City won the Club World Cup, to which he replied: "We don't deserve it this season. We don't deserve a bonus this season. I don't know how much if we win but it's for the club. The manager, backroom staff, players, we don't deserve it. Not even a watch."

• AFP
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  City have been drawn alongside Italian giants Juventus, Moroccan outfit Wydad AC and Al Ain of the UAE for the group stage of the Club World Cup. The only other English participants at the tournament will be Chelsea.

08-May-2016Shikhar Dhawan at the other end made a sedate start and was happy to just rotate the strike•BCCIHarbhajan Singh broke through for Mumbai Indians, getting Warner to skew a drive to Kieron Pollard at long-off•BCCIHarbhajan sent Kane Williamson back in his next over to leave Sunrisers 91 for 2 in 11.3 overs•BCCIYuvraj Singh put behind a forgettable Sunrisers debut and biffed 39 off 23 balls, adding 85 for the third wicket with Dhawan•BCCIThe duo blasted 68 runs between overs 15 and 19 as Mumbai struggled to stem the run flow•BCCIThat was until Yuvraj, stuck deep in his crease, unwittingly chopped his own stumps off Mitchell McClenaghan in the final over•BCCIDhawan, meanwhile, had grown in confidence and unfurled his range of strokes to finish unbeaten on 82 off 57 balls•BCCIMumbai’s fielders were sharp and saved quite a few runs, but Sunrisers raced away to 177 for 3 nonetheless•BCCIMumbai received an early jolt when Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped Parthiv Patel lbw in the first over of the chase•BCCIAshish Nehra struck off his first ball, getting Rohit Sharma to chop an inswinger onto his stumps•BCCINehra got Ambati Rayudu to hole out to Kane Williamson at backward point, before sending Jos Buttler back two deliveries later to flatten Mumbai•BCCIWhen Kieron Pollard was caught by Barinder Sran at long-on, Mumbai were 49 for 6 in the ninth over•BCCIThe stage was set for Mustafizur Rahman to weave his magic and he sent Hardik Pandya packing with his first ball•BCCIHarbhajan resisted with an unbeaten 21, but it was scant compensation as Mumbai were shot out for 92 and lost by 85 runs•BCCISunrisers’ bowlers hunted in a pack, but it was Nehra who finished as the pick of the lot with 3 for 15 in three overs that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award•BCCI