Arsenal seem to have picked up where they left off last season, as Mikel Arteta’s side sit one point below the summit having lost only one Premier League game in 12 so far in the 2023/24 campaign.

While it’s been a strong start for those at the Emirates in the first team, there has been plenty to celebrate elsewhere, with the next crop of stars also excelling this term at Hale End.

The manager is already reaping the benefits of Arsenal’s academy graduates through the likes of Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah, however one player nearing an emergence is up there with the best in the first team in terms of goal contributions this season.

Charles Sagoe Jr’s career so far

The name of Charles Sagoe Jr has become one more known this campaign in north London, after Arteta handed the academy star his senior debut in the Carabao Cup against Brentford back in September.

In 2015, the Gunners swiped the Englishman from Fulham’s academy at U12 level, where he has since excelled through the ranks at Hale End to find himself becoming a fringe player around the first team.

As well as his senior debut, the 19-year-old has been named in the squad in both the Champions League and Premier League this season, where he was an unused substitute on both occasions.

Once lauded as “unpredictable” for his actions on the wing by fellow graduate Reiss Nelson, it’s clear to see why Arteta is keeping close tabs on the teenager’s progression following his impressive tallies in the academy over the past few years.

Appearances

Goals

Assists

29

10

3

30

6

3

13

3

6

With nine goal contributions across the entire 2022/23 season, the forward seems to be on an upward trajectory, having already recorded nine contributions in only 13 appearances this term with the U23’s.

Charles Sagoe Jr’s season in numbers

Away from his slight involvement with the first team, Sagoe Jr has been one of the shining lights in Arsenal’s U23 side, scoring three goals and contributing to six assists so far this campaign.

To put into perspective how impressive the 2004-born ace’s numbers are so early into the 2023/24 calendar, in the first team, only Saka has more goal contributions, scoring six and assisting eight in all competitions.

Player

Goals

Assists

Bukayo Saka

6

8

Leandro Trossard

6

2

Eddie Nketiah

5

1

Martin Odegaard

5

1

Gabriel Jesus

4

1

After granting the teenager his debut against the Bees, Arteta dubbed the young forward as being one of the “most consistent players” in the U23s squad, reinforcing how highly the Spaniard regards the academy hopeful.

Already this season, Arsenal have suffered from questionable squad depth as injuries continue to have a detrimental impact on team selection, ensuring players on the cusp such as Sagoe Jr can potentially see more first-team activity in the near future.

It’ll be interesting to see just how the Londoner’s career will unfold if his form this term remains consistent, with Saka being a prized asset to aspire to follow, having made the exact steps that those in Hale End dream of only four years ago.

Bournemouth are embracing the fiery side of Tyler Adams, with the United States international being encouraged to “make mistakes”.

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• Returned from serious injury issues
• Has impressed for club and country
• Considered to be an on-field leader

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 25-year-old midfielder has returned to action after spending the best part of 12 months nursing his way through serious hamstring problems. Adams has undergone two operations, but has caught the eye for club and country since recovering from injury – with the USMNT being helped to CONCACAF Nations League glory.

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  WHAT IRAOLA SAID ABOUT ADAMS

  Bournemouth are now looking for Adams to become a key cog in their Premier League machine, with Cherries boss Andoni Iraola telling the of a player that is still getting to grips with his system despite signing from Leeds in the summer of 2023: “He has to make mistakes. The others also have learned making mistakes and correcting from there. And he wants to go for all the balls. And sometimes you have to keep more discipline to keep the possession, keep to your side, keep your spaces, cover the things that you have to cover. But, he's very instinctive and he wants to cover a lot. He has to work on these things. But it's good that he can improve while he's having the minutes.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Adams is prepared to make his voice heard at Bournemouth, despite seeing limited game time so far, with the American star considered to be an on-field leader. Iraola added: “Tyler has been always like this. He's a captain with the national team. Even in the trainings, he’s going to be arguing, if he’s losing, he's not going to be happy. He will be demanding with the others. And this is a very good thing to have in the team.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ADAMS?

  Adams played the full 90 minutes for Bournemouth as they secured a dramatic 2-1 over Everton in their last Premier League fixture, but it remains to be seen whether he can handle two games in the space of four days when the Cherries play host to Crystal Palace on Tuesday.

استضافت الإسماعيلية لقاءً وديًا رياضيًا جمع نخبة من حكام الدوري المصري الممتاز، حيث شارك في المعسكر حكام من مختلف أنحاء الجمهورية.

تحت قيادة الخبير التحكيمي إبراهيم نور الدين ومحمد أبو خاطر، شهد المعسكر سلسلة من التدريبات المكثفة التي تهدف إلى صقل مهارات الحكام وتوحيد رؤيتهم التحكيمية.

وشارك في المعسكر نخبة من حكام الدوري الممتاز، حيث توافدوا من مختلف المناطق مثل بورسعيد، السويس، دمياط، العريش، والشرقية.

طالع أيضًا | إبراهيم نور الدين: المنظومة الرياضية لا تحتاج مرتضى منصور.. الأهلي ليس الأقوى في مصر ولم أطلب قميص ميسي

وتمحور المعسكر حول تطبيق أحدث القواعد التحكيمية، وتدريب الحكام على التعامل مع الحالات التحكيمية الصعبة التي قد تواجههم خلال المباريات.

ولم يقتصر المعسكر على الجانب التقني فحسب، بل سعى أيضًا إلى تعزيز روح التعاون والتكاتف بين الحكام، وتبادل الخبرات والآراء، مما يساهم في بناء فريق عمل متماسك يسعى إلى الارتقاء بمستوى التحكيم المصري.

ويأتي هذا المعسكر في إطار حرص الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم على تطوير الكوادر التحكيمية، وتأهيلها للمشاركة في البطولات القارية والدولية.

Jamie Carragher referenced Manchester City's 115 FFP charges when predicting who will win this season's Champions League on CBS Sports.

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• Carragher was on CBS Sports
• Predicted City to win Champions League
• Labelled them "team with 115 charges"

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  After predicting that City will defend their European crown and go on to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the 2023-24 final, Carragher referenced the dark cloud hanging over all their success in the Pep Guardiola era. The former Liverpool defender called City "the team with 115 charges" on live television, leading to a "wow" reaction from Micah Richards.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  City were charged with breaching Premier League financial rules 115 times over a nine-year period back in February 2023. The club deny any wrongdoing but it remains an asterisk next to their current dominance. No firm date for a hearing has been announced yet, but it has been reported that City will stand trial this autumn.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CITY?

  City are well placed to qualify for the last four after a 3-3 draw against Real Madrid, and will fancy their chances of winning the second leg of their quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium next week. Pep Guardiola's side return to domestic action first though, hosting Luton Town on Saturday.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na tarde do último domingo, o Athletico foi até o interior paulista e conseguiu um ótimo resultado. Através do gol marcado por Renato Kayzer, o Furacão venceu o Bragantino e quebrou uma série negativa de cinco jogos sem vencer.

+ TABELA DE CLASSIFICAÇÃO DO CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO

A última vitória do Athletico havia acontecido no dia 21 de novembro. Na ocasião, a equipe venceu o Santos por 1 a 0, em jogo válido pelo Brasileirão.

Na sequência, o time de Paulo Autuori coleciono derrotas, inclusive na Libertadores, que custaram a vaga nas quartas de final.

+Episódio com Gerson e mais 10: veja casos recentes de racismo no futebol brasileiro

Durante os cinco jogos de jejum, o time empatou uma vez e perdeu quatro. Neste período, o Furacão marcou apenas dois gols e a defesa levou nove tentos.

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Arsenal are one of the many clubs looking towards the January transfer window to bolster their squad, as Mikel Arteta aims to keep his title-challenging trajectory going in preparation for the second half of the 2023/24 season.

The Gunners have struggled with injury considerably after just 12 Premier League games played, leaving the manager and Edu in a position to once again consider the depth in quality at the club.

A host of names have been speculated to be of interest to the north Londoners, with a report from the Mirror explaining that Arteta will hope to strengthen his side’s midfield in particular this winter.

Arsenal transfer targets – Joao Neves

According to news in Portugal, Arsenal are one of the clubs to have been ‘seduced’ by Benfica teenager, Joao Neves, who is excelling in defensive midfield in Liga Portugal.

A report from O Jogo, relayed by Paisley Gates, claimed that both the Gunners and Liverpool are impressed by the 19-year-old’s rise to prominence with the Eagles, however, his talents won't be easy to come by.

In January 2022, the Portuguese champions reaped the benefits of selling to English clubs, as Benfica received £106.8m from Chelsea for the signing of Enzo Fernandez, with Neves’ price set to be of a similar calibre.

As relayed by O Jogo, the teenager has a release clause of €120m (£105m), with the club making it clear that such figure is the only price they would allow their starlet to depart for, but why is he worth so much?

What Joao Neves could offer to Arsenal

In the 2023/24 edition of Liga Portugal, no midfielder averages more touches per 90 (97.07) than the Portugal international, and as a player who loves to be on the ball, the defensive maestro has a lot to show for it.

Lauded as a “sensational” asset to his boyhood club by U23 scout Antonio Mango, Neves, with his playing style credited as that of a “box-to-box phenomenon” by talent scout Jacek Kulig in his scouting report of the teen.

Described as a “perfect midfielder” by Kulig, the 2004-born dynamo is hailed for his ability to hold himself in physical battles, as well as staying “one step of the opposition” when it comes to progressing play.

For Arsenal, the signs shown by the youngster make for encouraging viewing, particularly with reference to the individual the Gunners seek to complete their midfield.

After signing Declan Rice in the summer, there was hope that the Englishman could thrive alongside Thomas Partey, however, his Ghanaian counterpart has struggled to stay fit, with rumours also rising to suggest his future in north London is under threat.

Joao Neves

Declan Rice

88.0%

91.2%

7.07

6.96

1.56

1.41

1.80

0.53

3.12

2.11

0.96

1.41

2.16

1.50

1.92

0.97

As portrayed in the table above, Neves could be the perfect suitor to partner the £105m star going forward, with his ability to progress and act as the anchor putting the Benfica starlet in good position to be Rice’s partner in the engine room pivot at the Emirates.

The Tavira-born sensation treasures his strengths in progressing into the final third, as well as being an accomplished tackler, holding the keys to allow the Englishman to roam forward – something that could well take him to the next level as a midfielder.

Kulig stressed that it could be “incredible to think” of just how good the 19-year-old could become, making Arsenal’s reported interest an exciting prospect, as the eye-capturing midfielder continues to showcase his fearless edge in his homeland.

The NCL burst into life in the fourth round with all four matches in the two tiers producing decisive results

Mohammad Isam25-Oct-2018

Mominul Haque looks to the skies after reaching his century•Associated Press

Two thrillers on the same daySylhet Division’s three-run win over Dhaka Metropolis in Tier 2 was the narrowest victory in the NCL’s history. The second-narrowest win also came on the same day, when Rangpur Division beat Barisal Division by five runs in Tier 1.Sylhet’s hero was Khaled Ahmed, who picked up five-fors in both innings to end with match figures of 10 for 139. He completed his maiden first-class 10-wicket haul – and the first by a fast bowler in six years in Bangladesh’s first-class cricket – by having last man Arafat Sunny lbw when Dhaka Metro needed just four to win.Ebadot Hossain and Enamul Haque jnr took two wickets each in the fourth innings. Opener Shadman Islam stuck around for more than three hours to score 78 in a chase of 197, but his dismissal – which ended a sixth-wicket stand of 59 with Zabid Hossain – spelled the end for Dhaka Metro, who lost their last four wickets for 15 runs.Khaled took 5 for 85 in Dhaka Metro’s first innings to give Sylhet a 12-run first-innings lead. Left-arm quick Qazi Onik’s 5 for 57 had brought Dhaka Metro into the contest, helping bowl Sylhet out for 184 in their second innings, but Khaled ensured Sylhet completed their first win in more than a year.In Rangpur, paceman Robiul Haque took 4 for 63 as Rangpur bowled out Barisal six runs short of their fourth-innings target of 230. Al-Amin’s 52 gave Barisal a chance after they had slipped to 22 for 3, but they kept losing wickets, and fell short despite 46 from No. 8 Nuruzzaman.Earlier in the game, both sides were bowled out for 147 in their first innings. Barisal’s Sohag Gazi took 5 for 40 while Rangpur’s Subashis Roy replied with 5 for 49. In Rangpur’s second innings, Mahmudul Hasan made 67 in more than five hours, hitting just two boundaries in his 180-ball stay.Breaking the duckChittagong Division won a first-class game for the first time in four-and-a-half years, when they beat Dhaka Division by eight wickets in Cox’s Bazar. Mominul Haque and Tasamul Haque took Chittagong home on the fourth morning with an unbroken 183-run stand for the third wicket, after offspinner Nayeem Hasan had set up the win with career-best figures of 11 for 145.Nayeem took eight wickets in the first innings to help bowl Dhaka out for 288, and three more in the second innings as Dhaka folded for 151, to bring Chittagong roaring back into the game after conceding a 50-run first-innings lead.Mominul struck his 15th first-class century in Chittagong’s chase of 202, remaining unbeaten on 111 off 115 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. Tasamul’s unbeaten 89 came off 110 balls with 13 fours and one six.Points to ponderWhile so much happened in the other three matches, Rajshahi Division took a big lead in the Tier-1 points table with an eight-wicket win over defending champions Khulna Division. They are now on 22.81 points, more than four ahead of second-placed Rangpur Division.Despite their three-run loss, Dhaka Metro remain on top of Tier 2 with 20.59 points, with Chittagong in second on 15.50.

Australia’s batsmen must change their style or the selectors must change personnel to fit the desired game plan. The captain Aaron Finch gave this frank assessment in the knowledge that the national team has only three ODI series left to form cohesive plans for next year’s World Cup, with performances and changing tactics indicating that these are some distance from completion.

‘Bully’ Lynn vulnerable to pace – du Plessis

Chris Lynn’s power game is dangerous against medium pacers but South Africa’s genuine speed had him covered, according to South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.
“I do feel he is going to give you a chance from a bowling point of view because he’s an X-factor player who wants to go hard at the ball,” du Plessis said. “That creates an opportunity for us as a bowling attack to try and get him out. We’ve got a bit of pace in our attack so that helps. You can push him back.
“He looks like he’s comfortable when the ball is a little bit slower and 130s, and he tries to bully that pace. The nice thing is we do have pace in our attack to make sure he doesn’t get to free his arms consistently.”

Finch sounded a note of disappointment and some indecision after losing the decisive third match to South Africa in Hobart, having gambled on the hyper-aggressive pairing of himself and Chris Lynn at the top of the batting order in pursuit of 321 for victory only to see both openers dismissed cheaply by the new ball. Running his eye down a batting order that has now shuffled Glenn Maxwell as low as No. 7, Finch said that the Australian bent towards aggression had created a “fairly one-dimensional” collection of batsmen.Alongside the coach Justin Langer and the selectors Trevor Hohns and Greg Chappell, Finch said that either the selected group needed to become more adaptable to the demands of the 50-over game, or the selectors had to go in another direction. This calculation will be complicated by the fact the banned duo of David Warner and Steven Smith will return to eligibility in April, with the World Cup set to begin on May 30 in England.”If you look at our line-up on paper at the moment you’d say it’s an attacking side,” Finch said. “A fairly one-dimensional side in terms of attack, versus workers of the ball and your traditional batsmen. Not to disrespect any of the players by any stretch, but it’s probably that way and we haven’t got it right for a while.”And that does expose you in the middle order at times when you come upon some different wickets or a really good attack who get on top of you early. We’ve got a bit over two months until the next one-day games against India, so that’ll be a really good opportunity to sit down and reassess and start mapping out that process of how I and JL (Langer) and the leaders think we can be the most successful in this format.”The side we’ve got at the moment is that way inclined, it’s not necessarily the way we’ve been trying to play. So it’s going to be a combination of both, we have to either adapt our game plan a little bit around the way the side is structured best, or we slightly change our personnel to fit a style we think can win. That’s something that will come out over the next couple of months when we sit down and dig into it and find a way to get back on top of the world.”Asked about England’s high octane approach to the early overs of an innings, after which the likes of Joe Root and Eoin Morgan could either carry on the momentum or repair things after the loss of early wickets, Finch said that the more sedate early overs approach of India also needed to be considered in Australia’s planning.”That [England] is not the only way it’s heading,” he said. “If you look at India, they’re quite conservative in that first 10, really solid in that middle 30 overs where they rotate the strike and lose minimal wickets, then they load up at the back end. When they’re chasing they’re pretty clinical or have been in the last five or six years.Getty Images

“There’s two totally different ways to go about it, but they’ve both been ultra-successful in the last couple of years. I don’t think it’s all about going head on and smacking it, all-out attack, the way England play, but if you can mix and match, and find what best fits your batting seven, I think it’d be naive and ignorant to think every team can play like that, or every team can play like India. I think it’s about finding out balance and finding what works best for us.”Like the decision to take the new ball away from Mitchell Starc for the opening game of the series in Perth, the promotion of Lynn, who swapped places with Travis Head, was the result of lengthy talks between Finch and Langer. “JL and I discussed it and slept on it to be honest,” Finch said. “We had a chat last night and went through it and were excited about it. We thought it was a really attacking move to try to take South Africa head on in that Powerplay, something we hadn’t nailed in this three game series so far, and we wanted to fight fire with fire almost.”It didn’t pay off, but that’s cricket. Some days it comes off and you get off to a flyer, that makes it a bit simpler down the line. I think it can be a long-term plan. It was an attacking option to put Chris at the top, change him and Travis. I think to put a couple of guys up there who can take it on and get off to a bit of a flyer is an attacking move. If I had my time again I’d still do it again, it just didn’t come off for Chris or I.”Chris, it was only his fourth game, so he’s still relatively new to international cricket. He’s been around domestic cricket and various tournaments for a long time, but international cricket he’s probably still trying to find his feet a little bit and work out … he knows what works best for him in the shortest format, T20, just about finding that balance at international level as well. The way he can turn a game, we saw it briefly in Adelaide when he flicked the switch against [Kagiso] Rabada for that over, yes he got out but he changed the momentum of the game totally. That’s still definitely a thought going forward.”By contrast, Finch was adamant that Maxwell was currently not deserving of any position higher than No. 7, from where he walked out to bat in Hobart with an enormous task to conclude the chase. An innings of 35 from 27 balls was handy, but not enough to either bridge the gap to South Africa’s total or convince Finch that his fellow Victorian should bat any higher.”If you look at Glenn’s stats recently he probably hasn’t made as many runs as he’d like as a pure batsman, so therefore for him to be in the side and as an allrounder he’s probably batting in that No. 7 spot,” Finch said. “With guys playing reasonably well around him, [Marcus] Stoinis played really well at No. 5 today, Alex [Carey] at five and six he played excellent, so I think Maxy would’ve liked some more runs and obviously wants to bat higher.”But the reality is he’s in the side as a bit of an allrounder, but he hasn’t scored as many runs as he needed to in one-day cricket over the last little while to probably justify taking up a top four spot. That’s just reality. We’re all under pressure when we lose, no doubt about that. Between the batting line-up not having got it right for a little while now, there’s going to be some questions asked, whether its Maxy, Lynny, Heady, myself, Stoin, there’s going to be questions asked of all of us. It’s important we start to really nut down the balance of the side and get that right.”

Sunderland are a team reborn in the past two years following promotion back to the Championship after spending several years stuck in the pits of League One.

The Black Cats took an alarming drop from the heights of Premier League football and whilst they didn't know it at the time, a reset across the whole club allowed them to offload their high earners and rewire their recruitment strategy.

In the years that preceded their drop into the third tier, the North East giants made ill-fated decisions in the transfer market, splashing the cash and blowing their wage budget on underperforming talent.

Indeed, Sunderland were incredibly wasteful and the likes of Jack Rodwell, record-signing Didier Ndong and Ricky Alvarez were three of several players who failed to prevent their plight.

Likewise, the acquisition of Wahbi Khazri in January 2016 was another who contributed very little during his time at the club.

How much Sunderland signed Wahbi Khazri for

Sam Allardyce was instated as Sunderland's manager in October 2015 and was tasked to keep them in the Premier League.

A manager known for working miracles in the fight against survival, Allardyce used January as an opportunity to bolster his squad, making the £9m capture of Khazri from Bordeaux his fourth signing of that window, despite president Jean-Louis Triaud saying the club had no intention of selling the Tunisian international unless a "ridiculously high offer" comes in.

Sunderland's winter signings – 2015/16
Jan Kirchhoff	from Bayern Munich
Steve Harper	Free Agent
Lamine Kone	from Lorient
Wahbi Khazri	from Bordeaux
Emmanuel Eboue	Free Agent

Having beaten off interest in the shape of divisional rivals Aston Villa and Everton to capture the highly-rated attacking midfielder, Sunderland would have expected the 24-year-old, at the time, to become a revelation on English shores.

He arrived as one of the most sought-after playmakers in Ligue 1, posting an impressive 15 goals and 15 assists in 64 appearances for Bordeaux and would have wanted to emulate the likes of Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard and Robert Pires – three exports from France's top division who became stars in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, Khazri never came close to eclipsing the impact that trio had on England's top flight and instead, crumbled on the weight of expectation, registering just five goal contributions in 34 top-flight matches.

Allardyce would guide Sunderland to survival in that season, however, relegation in the following sent the 74-cap Tunisian on his way, initially on loan to Rennes before wrapping up a permanent £6m switch to Saint Etienne in June 2018, by which time the Black Cats were in League One and managed by Jack Ross.

What Wahbi Khazri did after leaving Sunderland

Khazri's career on Wearside may have fallen on deaf ears, but back in France, he unlocked the potential that his formative years promised, both at club level and on the international stage for Tunisia

Whilst he scored the winner for his country in a famous 1-0 victory over France at the 2022 World Cup and hung up his boots as the national side's second-top scorer in history, he's also made a name for himself in Ligue 1 with Saint Etienne and Montpellier.

Although his form for the latter has been patchy, posting just six goal contributions in 37 matches since arriving at the club in 2022, the years that preceded this drop-off in form were highly productive.

In his sensational 2018/19 campaign for Saint Etienne, he plundered an impressive 14 goals and eight assists in all competitions, inspiring his side to a fourth-place finish in Ligue 1 and Europa League football.

Since departing the Stadium of Light in 2018, the playmaker's 52 goals across spells at Rennes, Saint Etienne and Montpellier is more than any current Sunderland player during that time.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is keen to strengthen his options in January and is now reportedly on the trail of a talented defender, according to reports.

Manchester City transfer updates…

Manchester City are never far away from the headlines with regards to transfer stories and the present reality of their activity in the market is no different, as Guardiola looks to assemble a squad capable of continuing their domination in recent English football history.

In the summer, Jeremy Doku, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Josko Gvardiol arrived in Manchester and fed into a quality-over-quantity recruitment approach at the Etihad Stadium, which looks to have paid dividends so far as the Blues sit at the summit of the Premier League table with 28 points from their opening 12 fixtures.

Nevertheless, Manchester City aren't showing any signs of slowing down on the transfer front and are believed to be admirers of Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves; however, a summer swoop for the Portugal international is more likely than any approach in the January transfer window, according to Football Insider. Newcastle United are also keen on the former Wolverhampton Wanderers captain, who is expected to leave the Saudi Pro League side despite only arriving in the Middle East earlier this year.

Looking to the future, Manchester City are in contention to land St Patrick's Athletic wonderkid Sam Curtis, though the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international is on the agenda of a plethora of clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Hull City, Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.

St Patrick's are expecting Curtis to leave Richmond Park during the off-season in Ireland, which will run until around mid-February, given that the football season in the country is scheduled differently to the United Kingdom's summer-to-summer system. Now, a fresh report has suggested that Manchester City are in the hunt for another young individual to bolster their backline, albeit someone with a significantly higher reputation already.

Manchester City looking to sign Arouna Sangante

As per Football Insider, Manchester City are keen on Le Havre defender Arouna Sangante, who has helped his side record five clean sheets in Ligue 1 this term. The Senegalese centre-half has also attracted interest from Manchester United and Chelsea in recent times and is believed to be available in the January window, following Le Havre owner Vincent Volpe's decision to give FIFA agent Willie McKay a brief to try and take advantage of his rising stock.

Arouna Sangante statistics in 2023/24 – Ligue 1 (Transfermarkt)

Appearances

10

Goals

0

Assists

0

On the continent, Serie A giants AC Milan and Bundesliga heavyweights Borussia Dortmund are also monitoring developments around the 21 year-old as they search for defensive reinforcements.

Labelling Sangante as a "complete" player, Football Talent Scout – Jacek Kulig has also likened the Dakar-born defender to Real Madrid defender Eder Militao, which is high praise indeed given his young age.

Looking ahead to January, it will be intriguing to see if Manchester City can get a deal over the line for Sangante as Guardiola aims to build for the future at the Etihad Stadium.