Aston Villa are yet to make any official signings this month, but they were busy in last season's January transfer window as Unai Emery got his first real chance to shape the squad through recruitment after arriving the previous autumn.
Villa paid £13.3m to sign Real Betis defender Alex Moreno, and splashed out another £18m on Chicago Fire forward Jhon Duran. 12 months on, the latter is attracting interest from elsewhere in the Premier League – Chelsea have held internal discussions over whether to make a move, and West Ham have lodged a formal approach – but Emery has made his feelings on the attacker quite clear.
Emery says no to Duran approach
According to talkSPORT, Aston Villa have rejected West Ham's approach for Duran. The Hammers identified the Colombian as a potential target to bolster their frontline, but he now seems to be "off the cards".
Emery specifically wants to keep Duran as a back-up to Ollie Watkins in the striker position for the remainder of the season at least, and so he's effectively blocked the transfer.
Duran "dispute" shouldn't hinder "huge potential"
Duran has appeared in 23 games this season, which sounds like a healthy number on the surface, but his minutes played total (659) offers a clearer reflection of his role in the squad. With more than half the campaign gone, Duran has yet to start a Premier League match, instead appearing 14 times as a substitute.
Emery has given him opportunities elsewhere, including him in the line-up four times in the Europa Conference League group stage and twice in the domestic cups, but he will still surely want more. Indeed, reports in his homeland claimed that he found himself in "dispute" with the club and manager over a lack of opportunities. You wondered if those strained relationships behind the scenes would lead to an exit.
But Duran's absence from the starting XI is probably more a reflection of Watkins' heroics, rather than anything he's done wrong per se. The Englishman has been directly involved in 17 league goals this season, ranking him third in the division. At 20 years old, Duran is much further back in his development, but we still shouldn't lose sight of his "huge potential" in the words of journalist Pete O'Rourke. After all, this is a player who's been chasing records for a number of years.
He made his professional debut with Colombian club Envigado at the age of just 15, and would become the second-youngest goalscorer in the history of Liga Dimayor. That led Chicago to make him the youngest foreign signing MLS has ever seen, and he repaid their faith by notching 14 direct goal contributions in 28 appearances.
At the international level, Duran became the fifth-youngest player to appear for the Colombian senior side this century when he made his debut in the autumn of 2022, and he's since racked up eight caps. On that basis, then, despite the difficulties this season, you can see why Emery wants to persist with this slightly rough diamond.
Mashrafe Mortaza delighted by his side’s all-round performance
Mohammad Isam02-Jun-2019Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza says a collective performance is slowly becoming a winning formula for his side that beat South Africa by 21 runs in their World Cup opener on Sunday.He didn’t call the win their biggest ever but he said the wholesomeness of the performance delighted him, and would give the team much confidence for their next game.”This is the team we are,” Mashrafe said. “We mostly win when everyone contributes. Once most of our players step up, there’s a good possibility to win the matches. I think we have been lucky, and played so well. We played well in the 2007 World Cup, and did well in a few matches in the 2011 World Cup too.”I don’t think this is our best win in terms of individual wins, but it wasn’t easy for us in these conditions. It is one of our best performances because we are away from home, and I loved the way we played today. We know that it won’t happen every day but we will take this win any day.”Mashrafe, however, warned his team-mates and fans not to go overboard with their first win in the competition with eight games remaining.”We don’t want to be too excited,” he said. “We just have two points so far, so we should just focus on our game. We have to beat big teams if we want to do well in this tournament.”I think from now we should forget about today’s game. We have to plan against New Zealand, and try to execute it properly. This win will give us confidence but more challenges await us especially for our batsmen.”Bangladesh’s players after victory over South Africa•Getty Images
Mashrafe that he was pleased to see the batsmen play aggressively, yet not take too many risks. Soumya Sarkar embodied the approach by hitting nine chanceless boundaries in his 30-ball 42, before Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim struck fifties, and later Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain blasted 60-odd runs in the last six overs.”It looked good that the batsmen built the innings without taking risks. I think they told themselves that we don’t need to take many risks to score quickly. I hope that they took this message, and will apply it in the middle in the coming games.”Mashrafe didn’t discount luck from the equation either, saying that when Mehidy Hasan Miraz got one to turn into Faf du Plessis and got him bowled, he knew something was up for them.”I am a believer in luck,” he said. “Everyone plans but it doesn’t always come off. Luck is a factor in these tournaments, if you want to do well. The delivery that got Faf du Plessis was the only ball that turned, so luck is very much a thing.”
At the beginning of the season, not many punters would have predicted Aston Villa to be ahead of the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal or Manchester United, but that's the reality of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
The Midlands club are flying at the moment and have found themselves locked in an early title race with league leaders Liverpool and European champions Man City. However, even the staunchest of Villa supporters would admit that their squad is punching above its weight at the moment.
20
13
6
1
45
25
20
13
3
4
42
16
19
12
4
3
40
24
20
12
4
4
40
17
Nevertheless, the January transfer window offers Unai Emery the chance to strengthen his starting lineup ahead of the second half of the season.
Aston Villa transfer news – Nico Williams
According to the latest reports, Aston Villa are keen to battle it out with Serie A club Fiorentina for Hellas Verona's Cyril Ngonge before the deadline passes at the beginning of February. The Belgian moved to Verona last January and scored ten goals for I Gialloblu in 2023, finishing the calendar year as Verona's top goalscorer in all competitions, but is now being linked with a move to pastures new.
Aston Villa reach agreement to sign exciting new player for Emery – report
He’s put up some impressive numbers this season…
BySean Markus Clifford Jan 3, 2024
Regardless, if Villa fail in their pursuit to sign the 23-year-old, there is one other option that Emery could explore once more. It was reported by Spanish outlet Sport back in October that the Villans were interested in making a move for Athletic Club attacker Nico Williams once the winter window opened and had even decided to activate his £43m release clause.
To ward off interest from the likes of Villa, Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Basque club handed the Spain international a new four-year deal, keeping him at the San Mames until 2027 at the earliest. However, Williams' release clause figure remained untouched, meaning Villa could still trigger this before the January window closes.
Nico Williams' stats comparison vs Cyril Ngonge
One of Emery's conundrums this season has been who to partner star striker Ollie Watkins with. The England international has had a fine season leading the line for the Midlands club, having scored 14 goals and registered eight assists in 27 matches in all competitions under Emery.
Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey have primarily occupied the spot behind the striker. Apart from Watkins, Bailey has been Aston Villa's most successful attacking player this season and has bagged 16 goal contributions in total, including nine goals and seven assists. However, the Jamaican's best position has been on the right wing where he has scored six goals and recorded four assists for Villa this term.
Meanwhile, Diaby has done reasonably well in his debut campaign, scoring five times and creating four goals. The Frenchman's biggest issue has been his consistency. Across his last eight matches, the £52m summer signing has produced one goal and one assist.
As a result, Emery is looking to sign Ngonge this month to add more quality on the flanks since Bailey has consistently been tasked with playing in a more central role due to Diaby's struggles. Ngonge is a much cheaper alternative to Williams, given he could be available for a reported £8.7m, but you get what you pay for and Williams is far superior to the Villa target when comparing the duo's statistics from the 2023/24 campaign.
Goals
0.31
0.33
Expected Goals
0.27
0.28
Assists
0.38
0.13
Expected Assists
0.36
0.11
Key Passes
2.48
1.44
Passes To Penalty Area
2.02
0.79
Crosses
7.08
3.2
Crosses To Penalty Area
1.16
0.5
Progressive Passes Received
11
7.27
Progressive Carries
5.81
3.24
Stats via FBref
Ngonge is more of a goalscoring player than Williams, as the stats proved, but the latter is far more creative and would be a dream for Watkins, who has already exceeded expectations in front of goal. Five of Watkins' goals this season have come from headers and with Williams out wide, constantly whipping in dangerous balls, this figure will likely rise.
Williams is still quite raw, hence why his brother Inaki described him as a "rough diamond", but he certainly has the potential to become a world-beater at the right club.
كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن هناك اهتماماً من اتحاد جدة السعودي بالتعاقد مع أحد اللاعبين بنادي برشلونة، خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الجارية.
برشلونة يسعى للتخلص من الرواتب العالية في الفريق، من أجل تسجيل صفقاته الجديدة، وإيجاد الموازنة في قوانين اللعب المالي النظيف.
صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية، أكدت بأن اتحاد جدة أبدى اهتمامه بـ إينييجومارتينيز مدافع فريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي برشلونة، رغم أن اللاعب يريد البقاء حتى نهاية عقده في الصيف المقبل مع البلوجرانا.
طالع أيضًا.. ليفربول يستغل حيرة برشلونة ويتدخل لضم هدفه قبل انتهاء الميركاتو
صاحب الـ33 عامًا، تم الاعتماد عليه في أول مباراتين لـ برشلونة ضد فالنسيا وأتلتيك بلباو، نظرًا لإصابة كيرستنسن وأراوخو، مما جعله المدافع الأساسي للفريق بجانب باو كوبارسي.
أظهر هانز فليك ثقة كبيرة في اللاعب، وهو ما يريد مارتينيز استغلاله بعدما لم يتمكن من ذلك في وجود تشافي هيرنانديز، وهو ما يجعل رحيله لاتحاد جدة صعبًا في الوقت الحالي.
The league’s leading scorer will not play again this season due to a foot injury. Could that stop the Cityzens from winning the WSL?
As the Women's Super League title run-in intensifies, Manchester City can boast a squad packed with match-winners and world-class talents who can make a difference at both ends, experienced international footballers who know how to cope with moments of high pressure. But can any of them fill the void that has been left by Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw's season-ending injury?
Shaw has been immaculate for City this season, scoring 21 goals in just 18 league outings, shaking off that 'doesn't score in the big games' nonsense with one in each Manchester derby and a decisive effort in the win at fellow contenders Chelsea in February. She appeared to be hitting top gear just at the right time, too, her unstoppable header against West Ham on Sunday making it six goals in four games.
But after bagging a brace in the eventual 5-0 win, she pulled up. Lauren Hemp had started a promising counter-attack and picked out Jess Park, whose shot was well-saved by Mackenzie Arnold. Shaw was following it up, in case Arnold parried it into her path, but then she felt something and limped to the side of the goal. There was no challenge, no contact, but the WSL's leading goal-scorer sustained a foot injury that has ruled her out of the last three games of the season.
Man City head coach Gareth Taylor was defiant after the game. "We'll deal with it," he said. "If it's more serious than we anticipate, then we'll deal with it." But that is certainly easier said than done. The Cityzens have three games left in their bid for a first WSL title in eight years; how do they get over the line without their star striker?
Getty ImagesOne of a kind
There are two big reasons why Shaw’s injury is such a blow to City. The first, of course, is that she is one of the best centre-forwards in the game, and that is not just because she scores goals. The 27-year-old holds the ball up well, she creates for others and she is an asset defensively, too, whether it is by protecting her own goal at set-pieces with her aerial prowess or leading the press from the front.
Shaw’s multi-dimensional game makes her a nightmare to defend. She is a towering, strong striker who can dominate in physical battles and be a real threat from crosses, which is great in a team that has so many fantastic wingers. Her profile often attracts the attention of more than one defender as well, creating spaces for others to exploit. But Shaw is also fantastic at running in behind to finish one-v-one and, in the often overlooked part of her game, she is incredibly technical, meaning it’s not uncommon to see her create opportunities for herself out of nothing or be a threat from range.
“The most impressive thing for me with Bunny is, you accept she’ll score goals, but it’s the other parts of her game,” Taylor said earlier this season, later picking her out as “a unique player”. “She has good games, she has her poorer games, but she gives everything for the team. She's honest, she helps the team and her goals are so important for us.”
AdvertisementGettyNo natural replacement
Replacing a player with such a rare profile would always be tricky, then, but the other main reason why Shaw’s absence is so significant is because there is not really another senior centre-forward in the City squad. Taylor has a lot of attackers at his disposal, sure, though most of them are wingers and attacking midfielders. Some have experience as a central striker, however it is either not recent or in a small amount.
In fact, the only natural centre-forward City have, aside from Shaw, is Poppy Pritchard, the talented 18-year-old they snapped up on deadline day in January. The England youth international certainly has a lot of quality, but she is very much one for the future and has yet to represent her new club at senior level.
Whoever Taylor counts on to fill Shaw’s shoes, then, it’ll require a bit of adjustment. He might be able to find someone to replace some of her qualities, but not all of them. City are a team who put a lot of emphasis on wing play and crosses because of the great wide players they have and the focal point Shaw is. That’ll have to change a bit as it will not be as effective without the Jamaica international.
GettyThe contenders
So, who are Taylor’s options to lead the line for these last three games? Hemp has played as a centre-forward for England and City in recent times, though there’s no doubt that her best position is out wide. Mary Fowler, the 21-year-old from Australia, is another who has played there in the past, but she is in excellent form since usurping Chloe Kelly for the role on the right of the front three. It doesn’t make much sense to move either of them from positions they are thriving in at the moment. The same goes for Park, who can be a striker but has been performing brilliantly in the attacking midfield role.
With it unlikely that Pritchard is thrown in for her first taste of the WSL right now, there is one other option that is probably the most obvious solution for Taylor. That is a return to the starting XI for Kelly.
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Getty ImagesKelly's time
The England winger has been among the substitutes for all of City’s last five games, since Fowler was picked ahead of her for the FA Cup clash with Tottenham. The Australia star has grabbed her opportunity with both hands and shown great form, keeping Kelly on the bench as a result.
However, when Shaw limped off on Sunday, it was Kelly who Taylor turned to to lead the line. It’s a position she is familiar with, especially from her time with Everton, and the coach was happy with how she did in her 45 minutes against West Ham. “[She] came onto the pitch and did really well in that position, put them under a lot of pressure, created some good opportunities,” he said.
To put Kelly in Shaw’s place would not mess with the chemistry and make-up of the team dramatically from recent weeks, leaving Hemp, Fowler and Park in their current roles, while also adding a player to the central role who has pedigree and can be a real threat.
O Fluminense visita o Coritiba, nesta quarta, às 20h30 (de Brasília), no Couto Pereira, em jogo válido pela 31ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileirão. As duas equipes venceram na última rodada e estão em brigas opostas na competição. Enquanto oTricolor das Laranjeiras luta por uma vaga na próxima edição da Libertadores, o Coxa briga para sair do Z4 e permanecer na elite do futebol brasileiro.
> Confira a tabela atualizada do Brasileirão 2020 e simule os resultados
RelacionadasFluminenseEm entrevista, Lucca desmente atrito entre Fred e Nenê no Fluminense: ‘Nunca existiu isso aqui’Fluminense18/01/2021FluminenseNa luta por uma vaga na Libertadores, Fluminense terá sequência contra equipes do Z4Fluminense18/01/2021VascoEm nome do pai: conheça a torcedora do Fluminense que, para homenagear quem ama, colocou o Vasco na peleVasco18/01/2021
Após derrotar o Sport, os comandados de Marcão terão pela frente uma sequência contra as equipes que figuram no Z4 atualmente. Para o duelo em Curitiba, a equipe poderá ter uma novidade na lateral-esquerda. O retorno de Egídio ao time titular no lugar de Danilo Barcelos. Ganso e Marcos Paulo seguem de fora. O primeiro apresentou uma crise de apendicite e o atacante teve uma entorse no dedão do pé direito.
No último sábado, o Coritiba derrotou o Vasco, em São Januário, na estreia do técnico Gustavo Morínigo. O Coxa necessita de uma sequência de vitórias para deixar a zona de rebaixamento, mas não poderá contar com seu treinador à beira do campo, já que o paraguaio testou positivo para Covid-19. Júlio Sérgio reassume o comando técnico da equipe interinamente nesta quarta.
O Coritiba terá o retorno do seu atacante Robson, que estava suspenso no duelo com o Vasco. No entanto, a maior dúvida da comissão técnica é quem deixará o time titular: Neilton ou Pablo Thomaz. O volante Matheus Galdezani e o meia Rafinha se recuperaram de lesão e estão entre os relacionados. Já o zagueiro Sabino deverá ser titular diante do Tricolor carioca.
FICHA TÉCNICA CORITIBA x FLUMINENSE
Data/Hora: 20/10/2020, às 20h30 Local: Curitiba, Paraná (PR) Árbitro: Felipe Fernandes de Lima (MG) Assistentes: Guilherme Dias Camilo (FIFA-MG) e Celso Luiz da Silva (MG) VAR: Igor Junio Benevenuto de Oliveira (MG) Onde ver: Premiere e tempo real do LANCE!
CORITIBA (Técnico: Júlio Sérgio comandará a equipe nesta quarta) Wilson, Natanel, Nathan Ribeiro, Sabino e Guilherme Biro; Hugo Moura, Nathan Silva, Matheus Bueno (Rafinha) e Sarrafiore; Robson e Pablo Thomaz (Neilton).
Suspensos: – Pendurados: Jonathan, Rhodolfo, Sabino e Wellissol Voltam de suspensão: Robson (3º Amarelo)
FLUMINENSE (Técnico: Marcão) Marcos Felipe, Calegari, Luccas Claro, Matheus Ferraz e Egídio; Martinelli, Yago e Michel Araújo; Luiz Henrique, Lucca e Fred.
Suspensos: – Lesionados: Ganso (apendicite), Marcos Paulo (entorse no dedo) Pendurados: Fred, Danilo Barcelos, Fernando Pacheco, Matheus Ferraz, Michel Araújo, Igor Julião, André e Nenê Voltam de suspensão: –
PALPITES Na redação do LANCE!, 70% acreditam na vitória do Fluminense, 20% apostaram no triunfo do Coritiba, enquanto 10% creem no empate.
Nessa semana, o Fortaleza montou o seu planejamento orçamentário pensando no ano de 2021 e, ao menos na projeção, o clube chegou a um valor que representaria o maior patamar em toda a história do Leão do Pici: R$ 113,7 milhões.
Chama a atenção o fato de que, apesar de não existirem indícios relacionados a possibilidade do público retornar aos estádios diante da pandemia do novo coronavírus, o clube incluiu no orçamento o lucro proveniente de bilheteria chegando a marca de quase R$ 13 milhões.
RelacionadasFortalezaFortaleza quer se afastar do Z4 diante do FlamengoFortaleza24/12/2020FlamengoCom multa de R$ 443 milhões, Yuri César renova com o Flamengo até 2025Flamengo23/12/2020Fora de CampoSBT entra na briga com a Globo para transmitir o Campeonato Cearense em 2021Fora de Campo22/12/2020
+CONFIRA A TABELA DO BRASILEIRÃO
Para 2020, o tricolor havia feito cálculos ainda em 2019 onde o lucro de R$ 104 milhões precisou ser recalculado no último mês de setembro para algo na casa dos R$ 90 milhões justamente pensando nos prejuízos acumulados com os estádios vazios além do longo período de inatividade.
Os principais elementos que compõem o orçamento recorde do Fortaleza para o próximo ano estão relacionados aos direitos de transmissão (R$ 51,7 milhões) e também o investimento de patrocinadores, orçado em quase R$ 10 milhões.
Incluindo na equação o aspecto das despesas que o clube incluiu no seu orçamento onde se destaca a aplicação no time profissional (R$ 73 milhões), a expectativa de superávit calculada pelo Fortaleza está em R$ 200 mil.
أعلن السويسري مارسيل كولر المدير الفني للنادي الأهلي، قائمة الفريق لمواجهة سيراميكا كليوباترا، في منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.
الأهلي يلاقي سيراميكا كليوباترا، في المباراة المؤجلة بينهما ضمن مواجهات الأسبوع الـ 19، لبطولة الدوري، على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي.
الأهلي استطاع أن يعود من خلال مبارياته المؤجلة إلى احتلال صدارة ترتيب جدول الدوري المصري، برصيد 69 نقطة.
النادي الأهلي خاض 27 مباراة حتى الآن، ومتبقي له 4 مباريات مؤجلة بالإضافة إلى الثلاث جولات الأخيرة من بطولة الدوري، ويحتاج المارد الأحمر إلى الفوز في ٤ مباريات فقط من أجل حسم لقب الدوري هذا الموسم بشكل رسمي.
طالع | الأهلي المتصدر في مواجهة قوية أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا بـ الدوري المصري
وعلى الجانب الآخر، يتواجد فريق سيراميكا كليوباترا في المركز الثامن بجدول ترتيب الدوري المصري، برصيد 44 نقطة من 30 لقاء.
وشهدت قائمة الأهلي لمواجهة سيراميكا كليوباترا، تواجد العناصر الأساسية في آخر المباريات للمارد الأحمر، أبرزها هداف المارد الأحمر الفلسطيني وسام أبو علي المتألق في الفترة الأخيرة. قائمة الأهلي لمباراة سيراميكا كليوباترا في الدوري المصري
حراسة المرمى: محمد الشناوي، مصطفي شوبير ومحمود الزنفلي.
خط الدفاع: ياسر إبراهيم، كريم فؤاد، محمد عبد المنعم، محمد هاني، خالد عبد الفتاح، رامي ربيعة وعمر كمال.
خط الوسط: حسين الشحات، إمام عاشور، محمد مجدي أفشة، رضا سليم، مروان عطية، كريم نيدفيد، محمد عبد الله، أكرم توفيق، بيرسي تاو.
خط الهجوم: وسام أبو علي ومحمود عبد المنعم “كهربا”.
ويغيب عن قائمة الأهلي كل من “محمود متولي وأحمد عبد القادر وحمزة علاء وعمرو السولية وعلي معلول وطاهر محمد طاهر وكريم الدبيس وأحمد نبيل كوكا ومصطفى مخلوف وأليو ديانج”.
Sunderland are embarking on their second season back in the Championship following promotion from League One last year.
Alex Neil was the man who led them into the second tier in 2021/22 and Tony Mowbray has built on those solid foundations since being appointed as head coach in August 2022.
The experienced manager has utilised his attractive style of football and astute man management to tune the Black Cats into a play-off chasing side having lost out to Luton Town in the semi-finals last term.
Whilst Sunderland have seen an upturn in fortunes on the pitch, that is largely down to their improved recruitment strategy off the field, with a focus on acquiring talent under the age of 23.
In the past 18 months, the North East giants have seen this model come to fruition, acquiring the likes of Daniel Ballard, Jobe Bellingham and Jack Clarke; three youngsters who have become revelations in red and white.
Sunderland forward Jack Clarke.
If astute and accurate recruitment in the transfer window is what Mowbray hopes will propel them towards the Premier League, it was their misfiring strategy of old that sent them crashing towards League One.
The club spent most of their top-flight years paying over the odds for terrible talent while missing out on quality stars who would have aided their bid for survival.
Their failures to capture Kevin De Bruyne in 2011 and Virgil van Dijk in 2015 emphasized that claim, however, that duo weren't the only world-class talent that slipped through their grasp as they let an opportunity to sign Mohamed Salah pass them by.
When Sunderland wanted to sign Mohamed Salah
According to the Sunderland Echo [via the Daily Express] the Black Cats were interested in capturing Salah on loan from Chelsea in January 2015 after he had failed to impress Jose Mourinho following his £11m move from Basel.
At the time, the Egyptian wasn't in 'the special ones' first-team plans, with the likes of Willian and Andre Schurrle preferred alongside automatic starters Oscar and Eden Hazard, and Mourinho was keen for the then 22-year-old to gain more experience before challenging in the following campaign.
It was reported that Poyet was plotting a move for Salah in the summer transfer window of 2014 amid concerns surrounding Fabio Borini's future, but the Black Cats instead completed a deal to sign Brighton & Hove Albion's Will Buckley.
While Buckley spent the majority of his career plying his trade in the football league and is now retired at the age of 33, Salah has developed into the world-class talent that his formative years promised, accentuating how bad Sunderland's recruitment model was during that period.
Will Buckley's career statistics
Sunderland captured highly-rated winger, Buckley, for £2.5m from Brighton in 2014, becoming their seventh signing of that summer.
At the age of 24, Buckley had made over 220 appearances at senior level, beginning his ascent towards the Premier League at Rochdale, rising to prominence at Watford before making a name for himself on the South Coast.
The wideman was blessed with skill and trickery with the capacity to excite but didn't display the quality to go with those attributes in the final third, expressed by only notching up 19 goals and 16 assists in 109 appearances at Championship level for the Seagulls.
Poyet was foolish to expect him to deliver goals and assists in the top flight, especially considering the fleet-footed winger only posted seven goal contributions in his final season for Brighton, with the Uruguayan eventually paying the price for signing Buckley instead of Salah on loan.
While the Englishman recorded zero goals and two assists in 22 appearances in the 2014/15 campaign – and only eight goals across the rest of his career – Salah would eventually rise to stardom at Fiorentina and Roma before becoming truly world-class at Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah's Liverpool statistics
In the summer of 2017, Liverpool made one of the most invaluable transfers in their history, prising Salah from Roma for a club record £34.3m at the time.
It is difficult to put into words how amazing the Egyptian has been since arriving at Anfield, but the statistics certainly do his talents justice, showcasing his ruthless consistency in front of goal while the fact the Reds rejected a £150m bid from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in the summer shows how ridiculously high he is valued.
10 goals / 4 assists
29 goals / 15 assists
31 goals / 16 assists
31 goals / 6 assists
23 goals / 13 assists
27 goals / 12 assists
44 goals / 16 assists
He's never dropped below the 23-goal mark in a single season at Liverpool and that is a testament to his truly relentless finishing ability.
A crucial cog in Jurgen Klopp's winning machine and a player largely responsible for propelling the Reds through a trophy-laden period, Salah has achieved everything he would have ever dreamed of on Merseyside.
From helping add a sixth Champions League to the Reds cabinet in 2019 to winning their first Premier League title in 2020, the explosive forward has scooped up a whole host of individual accolades over the years that honour his freakish goal-scoring talents.
He's claimed the PFA Player of the Year award on two occasions – in 2018 and 2022 as well as the Premier League Golden Boot on three occasions (2018, 2019 and 2022) and while those awards are impressive, they don't scrape the barrel of what Salah has achieved across his glittering six-year spell at Liverpool.
At the age of 31, the "special" talent – as lauded by Klopp – is still at the pinnacle of his powers, ranking in the top 1% against his positional peers across Europe's top five leagues in the past year for non-penalty goals, top 1% for touches in the attacking penalty box and top 5% for assists, as per FBref.
The all-time Premier League great has started this campaign on fire too, scoring ten and supplying four assists in 13 matches across all competitions and was shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or, finishing above the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Robert Lewandowski.
With 196 goals and 83 assists in 318 appearances for Liverpool, Salah's status as a Reds legend is already solidified and for as long as he continues to tear through opposition defences at will, Sunderland supporters will forever pull their hair out knowing they could have witnessed one of the greatest players of this generation don the red and white jersey.
Theunis de Bruyn scored his first Test century, in his sixth match, to make Sri Lanka work for their series win
The Report by Firdose Moonda23-Jul-2018Associated Press
Theunis de Bruyn scored his first Test century, in his sixth match, to make Sri Lanka work for their series win. But he could not prevent the inevitable. The hosts wrapped up victory 40 minutes after lunch on the fourth day, to seal the series 2-0.Sri Lanka’s spinners took all 20 wickets in the match, and 37 of South Africa’s 40 wickets in the series. Dilruwan Perera finished as the joint leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps, level with Keshav Maharaj, South Africa’s other standout performer from the second Test. Rangana Herath, playing in his penultimate series most likely, took 12 wickets across the two matches, including a second-innings six-for in Colombo, his 12th five-wicket haul in the fourth innings of a match.Herath accounted for both South Africa’s main resistors on the fourth day – de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma. The pair shared South Africa’s first century stand of the series, and became the only two players in their line-up to bring up fifties on the tour. Their 123-run stand is the highest by a South African pair in the fourth innings of a match in Asia. It took the Test into an 11th session, but South Africa still lost inside four days.On the evidence of South Africa’s previous three innings, Sri Lanka would have been justified in thinking they would take the remaining five wickets quickly on the fourth morning, but they were made to wait until 10 minutes before lunch for a breakthrough. De Bruyn and Bavuma were confident on the sweep shot and forced Sri Lanka to look further than their three main spinners, with Suranga Lakmal having his first bowl of the match in the 55th over, and Dhananjaya de Silva and Danushka Gunathilaka both turning their arms over.De Bruyn showed, for the first time at international level, why he is much lauded in the domestic franchise game and may have made a strong case to be persisted with at No. 3 with a display of strong temperament and impressive strokeplay. Bavuma, who is often criticised for his slow scoring rate, took a much more positive approach and scored his 63 runs in 98 balls, a strike rate of almost 65.Their morning was not without its nerves. Dilruwan reviewed for a catch at short leg when Bavuma was on 20 but Ultra Edge showed there was no contact between bat and ball, as the delivery turned down leg and Sri Lanka lost their first review. De Bruyn almost sent a Herath delivery into the hands of Angelo Mathews at slip but the next ball he faced, he punched through the covers to bring up his maiden Test fifty, in 118 balls.Both batsmen grew in confidence as the session went on, despite the number of times Sri Lanka’s bowlers seemed to have the better of them. Herath beat Bavuma on the front foot often but the batsman bisected square leg and fine leg to send a Herath delivery to the boundary; Herath also drew a leading edge from de Bruyn that fell safe but de Bruyn established authority with shots like the pull off Lakmal to square leg. Bavuma’s half-century came off 69 balls, and he may have been eyeing a long-overdue second Test hundred but, with lunch looming, pushed forward to a Herath delivery and was caught behind.Quinton de Kock opened his account with a reverse-sweep, which suggested his time in the middle could be fun, but it ended on the stroke of lunch. De Kock was given out lbw to a Herath delivery and the batsman reviewed. Replays showed “umpires call” on leg stump to end a disappointing tour for de Kock, who scored 53 runs in four innings.De Bruyn may have been concerned about running out of partners as his hundred approached but Kagiso Rabada negotiated the second new ball well to stay with him for an eighth-wicket stand of 34. Rabada even showed off his own prowess, with a thunderous six over Herath’s head. De Bruyn brought up his century off 228 balls with a paddle to fine leg and was dismised four balls later, leaving an arm ball, to give Herath his fifth.Three balls later, Rabada edged Dilruwan to first slip and in the next over, Steyn smacked Herath for six and then tried to slog him over the top but only got the toe end of his bat and was caught at long-on. Herath’s six-for was not enough to earn him the Man-of-the-Match award, which went to Dimuth Karunaratne, who was also named Man of the Series. Karunaratne scored 356 runs in the series, more than double his nearest competitor, opening partner Gunathilaka, who racked up 161. South Africa’s top-scorer was fourth on the list – Faf du Plessis with 105 runs.