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Manchester United have the option to extend Diogo Dalot’s current deal by a further 12 months, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Dalot under Ten Hag

Dalot was in and out of the United side last season, starting half of the 38 Premier League fixtures. However, the 23-year-old appears to have now become first choice under Erik ten Hag, with the right-back starting each of the club’s eight games in all competitions so far.

His current contract is set to expire at the end of the season, but it appears as if United don’t need to worry about losing him on a free next summer.

The Latest: Romano’s update

Romano took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to provide an update on Dalot.

The transfer expert labelled the full-back as a “top professional” and said that he’s “been told” United have the option to extend his current deal through to 2024.

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The Verdict: No brainer

Dalot has been the club’s fifth-best performer in the Premier League, as per WhoScored, so it’s good to know that the Red Devils have the option to extend his contract.

That may well be a no-brainer for United officials, as it seems as if he is one of the first names on the team sheet under Ten Hag at this moment in time.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is Dalot’s main competition, however, Ten Hag was willing to move the Englishman on over the summer, so you’d expect that the Portugal international will remain first choice for the foreseeable, providing he stays fit.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has provided a concerning update regarding the fitness of captain Callum McGregor, following last night’s Champions League defeat in Germany.

What’s the word?

As per the Daily Record, the title-winning coach shared his concern regarding the Scotland international, with the midfielder having been forced off inside the first half with a knee injury during that loss to Bundesliga side, RB Leipzig.

The former Yokohama boss stated: “It doesn’t look good, we were a bit unlucky with the goal. He (McGregor) was about to have a shot and something happened between his knee, he put an enormous effort to chase back and it was his toe poke which put the guy through. Looking at him, it doesn’t look good, but I will see what the doctor says.”

As the 57-year-old alluded to, it simply wasn’t the skipper’s night as it was his uncharacteristic mistake that lead to Christopher Nkunku’s opener, with the playmaker courageously trying to make amends by chasing back in an attempt to deny the dynamic Frenchman.

Real blow

On what was a frustrating evening for the Old Firm side as they saw their hopes of progression dealt a significant blow, the major concern will be that of McGregor, with it now an anxious wait to see just how long the 29-year-old will be out of action for.

Not only a real leader in the dressing room – having been handed the armband last summer following Scott Brown’s departure – the £7.2m-rated ace also offers real quality in the engine room, having thrived in a deeper role in recent seasons, notably earning a place in the Scottish Premiership’s Team of the Year last term.

The long-serving ace has been a real servant to the Glasgow side over the years, having racked up an impressive haul of 58 goals and 69 assists in 389 games in all competitions, winning a plethora of major honours in that time.

To lose such an experienced figure could well have a sizeable impact both on and off the pitch, with the £20k-per-week gem someone who “leads by example” – in the words of Postecoglou – in a squad that is largely filled with relatively recent additions.

Equally, there may also be concern over who will adequately fill the 49-cap machine’s place on the pitch, with summer signing Oliver Abildgaard having only made a brief impact for the Parkhead outfit to date – with just two substitute appearances to his name thus far – while fellow new acquisition Aaron Mooy is also currently injured.

While this weekend’s clash away at St Johnstone will hand the chance for someone else to shine – with McGregor definitely unavailable due to suspension – moving forward it could be a real blow not to have such a key asset in tow.

Newcastle United return to action away at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, with the Magpies looking to secure a third successive Premier League win, having most recently powered past Brentford with an emphatic 5-1 victory at St James’ Park.

That convincing triumph had come just a week on from another clinical display on the road against newly-promoted Fulham, with Miguel Almiron netting twice as Eddie Howe’s side claimed a 4-1 win against their ten-man opponents.

With nine goals scored across their last two top-flight games, the Tynesiders will likely head into this weekend’s meeting with Manchester United full of confidence, particularly with Erik ten Hag’s side having only recently shipped six away at champions, Manchester City.

Any optimism among the visitors’ ranks may well be tempered somewhat, however, as a result of the presence of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Portugal international having become something of a nightmare figure for the northeast side over the years.

The veteran marksman currently boasts a stunning record of eight goals and four assists in just 13 meetings with the club across his two spells with the Red Devils, having memorably scored his first Premier League hat-trick against the Magpies in a 6-0 thrashing at the Theatre of Dreams back in 2008.

Newcastle were also the unfortunate opponents for the former Real Madrid man’s United homecoming last season, as the 191-cap superstar almost inevitably stole the headlines to help secure a 4-1 win over Steve Bruce’s side, bagging a brace in front of a raucous home crowd.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had showcased his poacher’s instinct to tap home just before the break in that encounter, before showing an impressive turn of speed in the second half to lash his effort through the legs of ‘keeper, Freddie Woodman.

While the 37-year-old has suffered something of a drop off in form since then with just two goals in all competitions so far this term – after netting 24 times across all fronts last season – Howe and co may well be concerned that the 6 foot 2 icon is beginning to find his rhythm again, particularly after his recent outing against Everton.

The £515k-per-week menace came off the bench in place of the stricken Anthony Martial to eventually prove the match-winner at Goodison Park, firing home superbly from the angle on his so-called weaker foot for what was his 700th club career goal.

That ridiculous tally showcases just why Ronaldo is something of a “freak of nature” – as per Darren Huckerby – with it set to be no real surprise if he is to add to that haul on Sunday, particularly against an opponent whom he appears to relish coming up against.

Manchester United have made some poor decisions ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013, especially in the transfer market.

Splashing out on the likes of Angel Di Maria and Harry Maguire are perfect examples of the club spending extraordinary amounts of money for little or no return, although, especially over the course of the last 12 months, it appears one of the biggest mistakes made by the club has been to sell a player that is currently shining away from England.

Chris Smalling was sold by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020 for £18m to AS Roma following a successful loan spell and it has proved to be a terrible move, especially with the club’s defensive record.

Man United conceded 57 goals in the Premier League last season, 14 more than Roma did in Serie A, with Smalling starring under Jose Mourinho.

The 32-year-old received a SofaScore rating of 7.02 for his performances in the Italian top flight last season, while he won 77% of his duels, lost possession just 4.8 times on average, and made 3.3 clearances per game.

Roma won the inaugural Europa Conference League title last season with Smalling also playing a key role, averaging a 7.16 rating as per SofaScore.

Media personality Imoh Umoren dubbed Smalling as “one of the best defenders in the world on current form” back in April and after every passing match, it appears Man United made a giant mistake selling him.

The Englishman has already carried on from where he left off last season, ranking first in the Roma squad for clearances per game (4.4), second for interceptions per match (1.8), and fifth for overall rating (7.14) as per SofaScore.

The £81k-per-week defender has also scored three times in Serie A so far this season in just nine matches, with no current Man United defender having scored once during the campaign so far, Smalling would have been an added goal threat for Erik ten Hag.

With United conceding 18 goals in all competitions so far this season, Ten Hag has a big job on his hands to improve the defence. There will no doubt be links to some of the finest talents in world football emerging ahead of the January window, but if the club had just kept Smalling, they may have saved themselves millions.

Letting him go for just short of £20m appears to be one of the worst pieces of business done recently by the club, especially with the player currently shining in Italy.

An update has emerged on Glasgow Rangers and their plans to add to their squad in the upcoming January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to Football Insider, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has set his sights on bringing Blackpool centre-forward Jerry Yates to Ibrox in 2023.

The report claims that the Light Blues have been scouting the striker and went to watch him in action for his club against Preston North End in a 4-2 win on Saturday.

It is stated that the Gers are on the lookout for a new number nine to compete with Antonio Colak for his position in the team in the second half of the campaign.

Alfredo Morelos upgrade

Morelos is out of contract at the end of the season and Rangers could move on from him by snapping up an upgrade in the January window.

The Colombian international has scored two goals and provided one assist in 13 appearances, scoring once every 6.5 matches, in all competitions this season for the Teddy Bears.

Last term, he found the back of the net 11 times in 26 outings in the Premiership, a goal every 2.36 games, whilst also setting up seven goals for his teammates.

His form has taken a dive off a cliff since the arrival of Colak in the summer and Yates’ form for Blackpool suggests that he could be an upgrade on what the current Gers forward is offering the team.

Journalist Sean McGinlay recently claimed that the English gem is “on fire” and described him as “immense” earlier this season, which is backed up by his statistics.

Yates has plundered eight goals and two assists in 16 Championship outings. He has created six ‘big chances’ for the team and this indicates that he has been let down by his teammates at times as they have been unable to finish off the opportunities that he is creating.

The 25-year-old dynamo scored twice and set up one in the 4-2 win that Rangers scouts were reportedly present for and his display may have convinced the club that he is worth pursuing.

He has scored a goal every two matches in the English second tier and has proven that he can offer quality with his link-up play – creating chances for others whilst taking the ones that fall his way.

Whereas, Morelos has struggled in front of goal this term and could be heading towards the end of his time at Ibrox unless his contract is renewed.

Based on their respective form this season, Yates could be a big upgrade on the Colombian marksman, who is one year older than him, and Rangers must swoop for the goal machine in January to provide real competition for Colak’s place in the side.

Leeds United boast a prestigious academy that has produced some top talent, and with another young starlet waiting to break through, Jesse Marsch might be thanking his lucky stars as the pressure on him continues to mount.

With his currently misfiring striker, he might have a readymade replacement for Patrick Bamford who can come in and alleviate some of the offensive burden he is so often forced to uphold.

That man is 19-year-old Mateo Joseph, who is currently in blistering form for the youth team.

Saturday marked his third hat trick just this season, as he has been instrumental in his side’s unbeaten run in the Premier League 2.

The Spaniard boasts 11 goals and one assist in just eight games, which has seen many supporters call for his inclusion in the first team.

Meanwhile, Bamford has yet to score or assist this campaign.

Marsch’s side currently sits in the relegation zone, having scored just 13 goals from 11 games. Over the past few years, they have always turned to the 29-year-old to fire them to safety, yet during his injury-hit campaign last year, his absence nearly resulted in their relegation.

They cannot be solely reliant on the Englishman, and with a youngster in such hot form, it is only natural to consider promoting him.

Especially when Crysencio Summerville has already made the step up, outlining how the American is open to giving those who excel their chance.

Joseph has been working hard for the opportunity too, as U21s manager Michael Skubala hailed his professionalism as well as his talent.

He said: “He’s come in and out a little bit but he’s been training like a warrior and you can see that in his game… he’s got that energy and desire and we saw that in his goals and his finishing. He’s a threat for any defence.”

For a side lacking any real impetus and seemingly stuck in a rut, it can sometimes take an injection of freshness and youth to burst the rest of the team into life.

Marsch needs to try something, or he could be the next manager to be relieved of his duties.

Joseph clearly has the talents needed to succeed, and if he is given a chance, could be the answer to his prayers of finally replacing Bamford.

Journalist James Copley has been talkingJournalist James Copley has been talking about how Sunderland may dip into the transfer market amid Corry Evans’ injury.

The Lowdown: Huge blow for Sunderland

The Black Cats have had some horrendous luck this season when it comes to injuries, with the likes of Ross Stewart, Ellis Simms and now Evans having all picked up rather serious injuries.

Evans was taken off in the first half during last weekend’s Wear-Tees derby victory and the club’s worst fears have now come to light, with the midfielder having picked up a very serious injury to his cruciate ligament.

Sunderland have a few players that could now replace Evans including Edouard Michut, who replaced the veteran midfielder last weekend, while new signing Pierre Ekwah, who recently joined from West Ham, is also an option.

The Latest: Mowbray now faces a dilemma

While Sunderland do indeed have a few options already at the club, Evans is now expected to be out for the remainder of the season, so the Black Cats could feel their hand is forced to move this month.

Copley said: “Some bad news to bring Sunderland fans. Captain Corry Evans has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Sunderland have confirmed today he’s picked up a knee ligament injury.

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“He was brought off against Middlesbrough in the first half last Saturday, so a huge, huge blow for Tony Mowbray and Sunderland. It may force them to dip into the transfer market once more.

“At the moment, the options to replace Corry Evans are Edouard Michut, who came on for him against Middlesbrough; there’s new signing Pierre Ekwah, who signed from West Ham earlier this week; and you also have Abdoullah Ba.

“There’s an outside shot as well that Luke O’Nien could play centre-midfield, but a massive blow for Sunderland.”

The Verdict: Sunderland to assess all of their options

Sunderland haven’t been too active as of yet this month, with Ekwah the only arrival thus far, so the Black Cats will may have some wiggle room in terms of their budget, meaning a new signing can’t be ruled out.

However, Mowbray will be cautious about the club making a knee-jerk reaction to Evans’ injury and he may well see this as an opportunity for someone such as Michut to finally get a run of games under his belt.

The on-loan Paris Saint-Germain youngster has only been afforded two league starts this season and this could well be the chance he needed to break through into the Black Cats’ side and save them a lot of money in the transfer market in the process.

كشف رابطة الأندية المصرية المحترفة، عن مواعيد بطولة كأس الرابطة، في الموسم الجاري 2024-2025.

وقسمت الرابطة الأندية الـ18 على 4 مجموعات بواقع مجموعتين، “5 فرق لكل واحدة”، ومجموعتين “4 فرق”.

طالع.. بمشاركة الونش.. الزمالك يفوز على مدينة نصر وديًا

ويقع الزمالك على رأس المجموعة الأولى والتي تضم سموحة ومودرن سبورت وبتروجيت والجونة، بينما الأهلي في المجموعة الثانية رفقة طلائع الجيش وإنبي وفاركو.

في وقت سابق كشف أحمد دياب، رئيس رابطة الأندية، بأن نهائي بطولة كأس الرابطة سيكون يوم 10 يونيو. مواعيد مباريات الزمالك في كأس الرابطة

– الزمالك ضد الجونة الأربعاء 19 مارس 2025 الساعة 9 مساءً على استاد القاهرة.

– بتروجيت ضد الزمالك الإثنين 24 مارس الساعة 9 مساءً على استاد الكلية الحربية.

– الزمالك ضد مودرن سبورت الأربعاء 2 أبريل الساعة 5 مساءً على استاد القاهرة الدولي.

– سموحة ضد الزمالك الأربعاء 23 أبريل الساعة 5 مساءً على استاد القاهرة الدولي.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has a lot of admiration for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, according to transfer expert Dean Jones. 

The Lowdown: Bellingham on Man City’s radar

The 19-year-old is reportedly on the Premier League champions’ radar regarding a potential move for him in the future.

Having come up against the Manchester giants twice in this season in the Champions League (and scored against them in September), the Englishman will have an idea of what City are all about on the pitch, and vice versa.

It now seems that some behind-the-scenes insight has emerged regarding how Guardiola views the player.

The Latest: Guardiola ‘in awe’ of Bellingham

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones shared some insight about the City manager and what he thinks of the Dortmund star.

He said: “I just think that Guardiola is genuinely in awe of this guy in some ways. When he sees players with legitimate ability, he is willing to praise them. There’s no doubt he rates him.”

The Verdict: City must land Bellingham

To back up what Jones had to say, the 51-year-old City boss has not been shy when it comes to sharing his thoughts on Bellingham.

Last month, Guardiola labelled the Englishman an “exceptional” player and highlighted how impressed he was with the teenager when his side faced Dortmund in the Champions League in 2020/21.

This current Bundesliga season has seen the midfielder show how impressive he is by racking up more shot-creating actions (41), goal-creating actions (five), successful tackles (21), blocks (21) and interceptions (19) than any other player at Dortmund.

Taking all that into account, with Jones highlighting the admiration that Guardiola has for the teenager, this should make the City hierarchy do all that they can to bring the player to the Etihad Stadium as soon as possible, even though it could take them a fee of £103m to do so.

With the recently-appointed Unai Emery looking to usher in the new era at Aston Villa, he has unsurprisingly been linked with plenty of his old players that already know him well.

Villarreal at the club that seems to have been targeted, with Pau Torres and Yeremy Pino hot favourites to make the switch.

However, as was seemingly the case with Steven Gerrard, the Spaniard will want to address a midfield sorely lacking in creativity.

Whilst John McGinn, Leander Dendoncker and Douglas Luiz are all good players in their own right, there is little drive or the ability to pick a pass from deep.

That could explain why reports have been emerging linking the Midlands giants to Juventus’ midfield Weston McKennie.

Although they are one of many teams interested in the £26m powerhouse, according to journalist Simon Phillips, to secure this deal and slot him beside Luiz, who has just signed a new long-term contract himself, could hold down Emery’s midfield for the foreseeable future.

With the steel and solidity brought by the Brazilian, outlined in his 85% pass accuracy and 1.6 tackles per game, he would pair nicely with the American international who has earned praise for his goalscoring exploits from midfield at times in his career.

Boasting a “powerful” presence – as claimed by his old manager Dominic Tedesco – his surging runs from deep and pressing energy would complement a Villa side that has attempted to push high this season but achieved little success.

Despite having the seventh-highest team sequence pressures in the league, only one has resulted in a goal. To add this proficient “pressing machine”, as dubbed by journalist Chris Smith, to the Villans’ midfield, would be a stroke of genius.

With four goal contributions already this season across Serie A and the Champions League, he has offered a solid stream of performances for a Juventus side that are seriously underperforming.

He also has nine goals at international level in just 37 games and is poised to star at Qatar in the upcoming World Cup.

That’s not to suggest that he won’t contribute defensively, as he ranks in the top 8% for blocks and averages 1.28 interceptions a game. These exploits are likely what led to Andrea Pirlo labelling him a “rock”.

McKennie is the quintessential all-around midfielder, and under an accomplished manager like Emery he could be moulded into Luiz’s perfect partner.