تفاعل سيرجيو راموس مدافع فريق ريال مدريد الإسباني، مع تساؤل حول ما إذا كان بالفعل قائد الملكي أفضل مدافع في التاريخ، من قبل مجلة “فرانس فوتبول” الفرنسية. 

المجلة الفرنسية نشرت تغريدة عبر حسابها بموقع التواص الاجتماعي “تويتر”: “هل يجب اعتبار سيرجيو راموس أفضل مدافع في التاريخ؟”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. راموس: جئنا بعقلية الفوز بالكلاسيكو بعد أسبوع صعب.. وركلة الجزاء صحيحة

ورد راموس على المجلة وكتب عبر حسابه الرسمي بموقع “تويتر”: “مُجرد أنّ تطرح فرانس فوتبول هذا التساؤل يجعلني فخورًا”.

واكتسح النجم الإسباني تصويت المجلة الفرنسية بنسبة 64%.

Just @francefootball asking makes me proud. 😀 https://t.co/rYLCQEOxTU — Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) October 25, 2020

The feeling amongst the Leeds United players following their dramatic 3-2 victory over Millwall on Saturday must be electric, right?

An incredible comeback which saw Pablo Hernandez star once again for Marcelo Bielsa’s side saw the Whites leapfrog Sheffield United in the Championship standings as their promotion rivals were beaten by Bristol City. With a two-point lead over third-place, Leeds know that if they can go on a solid run in their final seven fixtures, they should be able to secure a top-two finish in May.

However, in the aftermath of their victory at the weekend, it emerged that full-back Barry Douglas could be about to face yet another prolonged period on the sidelines for the club due to injury. The defender, who is valued at £3.15 million (by Transfermarkt), is to undergo a scan on his knee after picking up a knock against Millwall (via the Yorkshire Evening Post).

If Douglas does require a period of rehabilitation, it could result in him missing the remainder of the season which would be a huge blow for Leeds, especially when you consider the experience he brings to the team. The Scotland international was one of the stand-out players last year for Wolves who were in a similar position to the Whites last season before they eventually stormed their way to the Championship title.

Although it can be argued that Ezgjan Alioski has been fairly impressive this season when he has been asked to cover at full-back in the absence of Douglas, with tough fixtures coming against Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday, he will have to step up his performance once again to ensure that his side remain on track to achieve promotion.

What do you think Leeds fans? How costly could it be for your hopes of Premier League football if you lose Douglas at this stage? Is Alioski a competent-enough replacement? Let us know below.

Newcastle vs Southampton is BT Sport’s televised clash today, with the two bottom half clubs meeting at St James Park as they aim to climb the table. The two clubs have some very impressive players kicking about, and here we’ll be comparing two English midfielders in Sean Longstaff and James Ward-Prowse as they both have huge futures.

Before we get into it, Sean Longstaff is injured and has been for the last few weeks. He will miss this clash and the rest of the season, but should he make it back to fitness for next season and get back to form it will be a matter of time before he’s giving Gareth Southgate selection headaches. One of the players he’ll be battling against for an England spot will be Saints’ James Ward-Prowse, though, who will certainly feature later today.

SEAN LONGSTAFF

Sean Longstaff has shown everyone what he can do in his very short time as a Newcastle United senior player. Before he suffered his injury, there were fans calling for him to be an England player, and who can blame them? The 21-year-old former Blackpool loanee is an incredible youngster with plenty of fight, passion and energy in the middle of the park, with some stellar displays to go with his potential.

If you want to see the best of the young Geordie, just look back to Newcastle’s home clash with Manchester City. Between them, Isaac Hayden and Longstaff shone as they outclassed a Pep Guardiola midfield of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho. That says all you need to know, and all the Newcastle fans want is to see Longstaff return as soon as possible and get back to form next season as he continues to convince England fans he deserves to be in Southgate’s squad.

TT GRADE: A

JAMES WARD-PROWSE

At the age of 24-years-old, James Ward-Prowse is one of the oldest players to still be considered as a young prospect, and he has been considered so for a long time. However, the Southampton man has got bags of talent that he’s started to utilise under the tutelage of Ralph Hasenhuttl and if he keeps going the way he is then maybe a big money move and a chance with the Three Lions could present itself.

This season has seen the midfield man score six Premier League goals for the Saints, his highest tally since becoming a regular starter back in the 2013/14 season. The only problem is that the midfielder hasn’t got an assist this season and his creative output can be questioned. That could be a key point in whether or not Ward-Prowse gets an international nod, and it will be something that Hasenhuttl will be working on with the impressive midfield maestro.

TT GRADE: C

TT VERDICT

Whilst it could be the case that with so many impressive midfielders coming through with England that neither Ward-Prowse or Longstaff get a look in for the national side, you’d back at least one of them to do so.

Gareth Southgate will have his eye on both, but with age on his side and some bright performances under his belt already, when Longstaff gets back to fitness he will surely be the more likely of the two.

Newcastle and Southampton, who do you think wins this battle? Comment below.

On paper, bringing an end to Phil Jagielka’s time at Everton probably makes sense. He’s had a long and fruitful career, and at 36-years-old, he’s not going to be getting any better.  

However, perhaps the veteran Englishman could yet prove his worth to Marco Silva. After all, with 3 matches remaining in the Premier League, he could still have a role to play.

With Yerry Mina out injured, there’s a decent chance that Jagielka could earn a few minutes between now and the end of the season, especially with little to fight for on the part of the Toffees. Kurt Zouma is, of course, only on loan, and so maybe getting another look at Jagielka may allow the club to prepare more efficiently.

He came in against Arsenal last weekend, and he scored the winning goal. If nothing else, that game proved that he’s still capable of turning it on when it really matters, and that kind of big-game approach is important.

He didn’t look out of place in the defence, either, and so maybe he’s still got enough left in the tank. Of course, perhaps his best qualities come off the field, however. As a natural leader, he’s a key figure in the Everton dressing room, and to lose that would certainly be a backwards step for the Toffees.

So far, he’s not been told about his future, and maybe that bodes well. Maybe the club are biding their time to decide whether he’s still got what it takes to turn out at Goodison Park.

Maybe, over the next few weeks, he’ll be able to prove that he can.

Everton fans – would you give him another deal? Let us know below!

With a couple of victories in succession, Southampton now seem set to avoid relegation this season and considering their earlier form this campaign, that’s a strong achievement. Other than the gutting loss to Liverpool, things are going incredibly well on the South Coast. 

Thanks to the influence that Ralph Hasenhuttl has had on the players and around the club, St Mary’s is in far better spirits knowing they are almost safe. Thank the heavens for that, after such a miserable time of things over the last few years.

Though despite all the Austrian’s hard work, big changes must occur for Southampton to better themselves ahead of next season.

This transfer window is arguably their most important for years and it could really make or break their future as a Premier League club. Reports from TEAMtalk are circulating that one player Southampton hold an interest in is current Freiburg loanee Vincenzo Grifo.

Grifo, (who is valued at £5.4 million on Transfermarkt) is a dynamic wide player that could bring something totally different to St Mary’s next season and that would intrigue fans. After seeing how well Dusan Tadic has been playing since his departure, it’s clear the club need to replace him and the signings made over the course of the summer just haven’t worked.

Southampton are reportedly one of a number of sides that have pledged their interest in the Italian international and capturing him would certainly be a coup. Indeed, the lure of playing Premier League football could give Vincenzo Grifo all the incentive he needs to join Southampton, for whom he could make a real difference.

Although wingers have typically been poor for the Saints, take Sofiane Boufal and Mohamed Elyounoussi for example, Vincenzo Grifo is an experienced player that just wants to settle down with a permanent team.

With four goals and six assists in his 16 appearances this season, Southampton should see no reason but to invest in the 25-year-old this summer, given his prime age as well. Everyone knows their strikers can’t score, so why not try and introduce more goals throughout the team? It can’t get more barren, so taking a transfer gamble is certainly in order.

Do you agree that Southampton should target Vincenzo Grifo… Join the discussion and let us know!

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Arsenal could hand Danny Welbeck a new contract despite his injury woes, per the Daily Mirror, with his current deal expiring this summer.

What’s the word?

Welbeck has played just eight times in the Premier League this season, with his last appearance coming against Liverpool in November, when he lasted just nine minutes.

An ankle injury has ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign but the Mirror claim that he is making good progress in his rehabilitation.

The club are, therefore, considering offering him a fresh deal.

Welbeck is reportedly being eyed by a number of Premier League clubs as a potential free transfer, with West Ham United, Newcastle United and Everton all said to be interested.

Arsenal’s contract offer, were it to be forthcoming, would include a lower basic wage, the report claims, while he would want to play on a consistent basis.

Aaron Ramsey is already set to leave the club on a free transfer this summer, with a move to Juventus already arranged, and it remains to be seen if Welbeck will ultimately follow his lead.

A farce of a transfer strategy

If this is the way that Emery is meant to refresh his attack then fans need to be deeply concerned.

Welbeck is not really good enough for Arsenal when he is fully fit. His goalscoring record – 32 goals in 126 games – equates to roughly one in every four and Unai Emery needs better than that.

But it has been widely reported that the money for a squad overhaul does not really exist.

Thus, one can sort of understand the idea of extending the stay of the former Manchester United man, but it smacks of desperation, of poor planning and of budgetary constraints.

The Mirror claim that he was expected to leave in November but now, here we are, with Arsenal giving serious consideration to offering an average player with a woeful injury record a new deal, just to save face amid the farce of Ramsey’s exit.

It is fair to ask exactly what has gone wrong in north London; we can only feel sympathy for Emery, who is being asked to do his job with one hand tied behind his back.

It started as a 3-4-3, it turned into a 4-4-2, and it ended in a mess.

Unai Emery’s Arsenal has an identity crisis to the most literal degree as the Gunners, who have been under new management for nearly a year, a still a side who don’t look to have a set formation, and when you’re going for Champions League football that kind of mentality is criminal.

And against Everton, the level of tactical incompetence was out on full display as the Gunners shifted formation twice during the game and failed to make either system work against a Toffees side who have done a good job at crumbling to pieces against the big sides this season.

It is clear that Emery’s end goal for Arsenal is to get them to play in a 4-2-3-1 formation with fullbacks who love to bomb forward and wingers who can act as inside-forwards, but with the current crop of players, that system just isn’t possible.

Barely any wingers, full-backs who can go forward but are weak defensively and having not one but two world-class strikers has meant Emery has had to tweak with not only Arsenal are set up but where players play.

We have seen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sead Kolasinac play as a left-midfielder and Granit Xhaka play both centre back and left-back this season to compliment for not only tactical goals for Emery but to cover injuries, which are a constant problem for Arsenal.

Going into next season, Emery needs to have a clear plan of what formation the club should be playing and who is playing where. Arsenal can’t afford another season of testing and seeing what does and doesn’t work.

The time for a primary formation is now, and if Emery is still unable to find an ideal system for his players, Arsenal will suffer in the long run.

Arsenal fans, what formation should Emery play? Let us know!

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Alasdair Gold, Football.London’s Tottenham Hotspur correspondent took the time to sit down with Football FanCast on Saturday, ahead of the Spurs Legends clash with their Inter Milan counterparts.

He gave us the rundown on the new stadium, Spurs’ transfer plans and his prediction for the Champions League quarter-final clash with Manchester City.

Take a look below…

After all the delays over the move, you must have been excited to finally get here…

“I’ve been doing video updates around the ground, walking around it, metaphorically banging on windows, trying to get in. They’re very good, they put on a little press tour just before the test event, a couple of days before and we got to see it and it was one of those moments of exhaling and saying ‘it was worth it’ because it is phenomenal. It is phenomenal on the outside but actually, when you’re inside you appreciate the scale of it.”

You can see it from two miles up Seven Sisters…

“That’s such a difference. White Hart Lane was such a tucked away ground and that was part of its appeal, that you’d walk around the corner and see a stadium there. Whereas this place, you come out of Seven Sisters, you can see the top of it. It’s a landmark, really. That’s what they wanted to create and they have.”

The South Stand in particular looks amazing…

“Yeah, when that’s full, the noise is going to be ridiculous. They’ve signed it in such a way, they’re very keen to say that the guy who does U2 concerts has done the acoustics so it’ll be louder than any other football ground. For the last test event, the Under-18 match with 30,000 or so, for every goal, the cheers rolled around the ground. Even a half-full stadium was almost deafening. 62,000 will sound very, very loud, it’ll be fantastic.”

It’s Palace on Wednesday. Andros Townsend first goal?

“That’s what everyone’s dreading, isn’t it? Cutting in on his right foot and banging it in, that would be so horrific, it really would. It’d be the worst way to kick off the new stadium. You’d hope not. Pochettino has made this big deal about how the stadium will give special energy to the team, a bit like White Hart Lane in its final year. Even the Under-18s.

“You could just tell there was a buzz about them, I know they’re young kids playing on a big stage but the crowd kind of carried them along and they never really had that at Wembley. It’s a bigger capacity but it never really felt like home. It was a big cavernous stadium, towards the end, the numbers were dropping and dropping. You’d think, with Spurs back here, it’s going to be packed. It was carnage, people trying to get tickets. It’s going to be so noisy and it’ll be so hyped up, you’d think that would get Spurs there because, yes, an Andros Townsend 1-0 winner would be a horrific way to open the stadium.”

That is the expectation, the Spurs gallows humour…

“Oh, absolutely, you can’t be a Tottenham Hotspur fan and expect the best. It doesn’t work like that, there’s always going to be some spanners in the works. Andros Townsend may be that spanner! He’s certainly not a spanner but he was very good in the FA Cup, he didn’t celebrate, I’m sure there’s a part of him that doesn’t want to be the guy that does that in the first game. It’s up to Spurs to stop him doing it. They’ve got to sort the defence out, which hasn’t been that great the last couple of months.”

If it can’t cope vs Palace, then they might not have much of a chance against Man City…

“That’s putting it lightly. They’ll get absolutely stuffed by City if they’re anything like they have been in recent games. He’s got some decisions to make, Poch. This season, he’s flipped and flapped between a back three and a back four and I don’t think that’s helped the team.

“Last year, he may have been weirdly helped, if that’s such a way of describing Toby Alderweireld’s injury, but Alderweireld’s injury meant he had to play Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez. They formed a very solid partnership and they knew what each other were doing and when it went to a back three, it was purely Eric Dier coming back into that back three. It was very settled.

“This year, he looks like a man who is thinking ‘I have to play Alderweireld, because he’s class’ but it’s now giving him an issue with Sanchez, who Pochettino absolutely adores, so he’s now got a thing of ‘I really want to play a back three but I can’t do it every match’ and it’s messy. You can see it in the goals conceded tally. I think it’s almost double what it ended up as last season.”

Surely there will be some sort of deal this summer to help out the defence?

“You’d think so. I think right-back has been a bit of a mess. It’s a bit like Trippier hasn’t been able to get down from that peak of that World Cup semi-final free-kick. He’s not creating enough anymore and you don’t want to use the term ‘believing his own hype’ but a lot of fans have been saying that. Serge Aurier hasn’t been the player Spurs thought they were buying. It was always a gamble but he hasn’t been an upgrade. If he could have put his personal issues aside, actually, as a player, he’d be a real upgrade. He just hasn’t done it, he’s too inconsistent in defending.

“Kyle Walker-Peters, everyone wants him to get a chance, but when he has had a chance, apart from Bournemouth, he really hasn’t taken it. It might see him go out on loan, I think right-back is the area for me. Left-back, I think he’s quite happy with. Danny Rose has shown signs of being more like the old Danny Rose but I don’t think enough. He’s still not doing enough in the final third for me and if you’re playing with wing-backs, they have to do that.

“Ben Davies is just mister dependable. He’s not creating as much as he did last year; I think last year he created more than any other defender in the Premier League, I remember that stat at one point last year. He’s just the guy that you bring in if you want to shore things up. It needs something there, it needs a bit of excitement, it’d be nice to have someone who’s been there and done it, too, with a bit of experience in that full-back area.”

Gareth Bale’s available!

“Well, if they’ve got £650,000 a week, I’m sure they can do it! That’s what he’s supposed to earn and I think that’s before tax in Spain. It’s a very romantic notion, Bale and Modric, another one people are wanting, but it’s just not the Tottenham way right now.”

Are we talking more Aaron Wan-Bissaka or Max Aarons?

“Very much so, very much so. That’s the kind of players. British talent (is wanted) because they had a total mess with the foreign player limit last year. Michel Vorm, we’ll probably see leave, because that’s another foreign player signing they could make. I do wonder if it’s going to be a bit of a revamp this summer, I think they have to. There’s a positive to the stability they’ve had because it’s clearly given a foundation but they’ve never really kicked above it.

“I think a bit of a revamp is probably needed, I think Poch needs to freshen things up for himself as well. He’s working with the same players he’s been working with since 2014, pretty much, on the whole. I think he’s got to freshen it up. The stadium will freshen things up but in terms of the squad, we will see. Obviously, Eriksen and Alderweireld could be out the door. It could be forced upon them anyway.”

Does the clause in Alderweireld’s contract now feel like a huge mistake?

“It was very un-Tottenham like, that clause. That was the weird thing about it. It was very un-Levy like. He (Alderweireld) put something on Instagram after the stadium training session saying ‘this place is amazing, it’s exceeded all my expectations’, so I asked Pochettino about that in the press conference. I didn’t name the player but I asked if the stadium could help convince players to sign new contracts and he was just like ‘nope’.

“He said it’s a lovely romantic notion and you and I would probably feel that way but he said there’s so much around the players, so many people who are so involved in the business side of it that it just doesn’t work like that anymore. You kind of have to feel he was talking about Alderweireld.

“There’s been a lot of background noise about deals that were offered and not taken and the fact that no deal has seemingly been offered in the last year or so. I think it’s a player who is coming towards the end of his time at Spurs which is tremendously sad because he’s a terrific player. But I suppose the flipside is £25million for a 30-year-old ends up not being the worst deal in the world. But it is Alderweireld.”

Could he bow out with the last hurrah of winning the Champions League?

“Yeah, I don’t think that’d keep him. It’d be more of an ‘I’ve done that now, let’s tick it off the list’. It would be a massive achievement if Spurs won the Champions League. It wouldn’t quite be Leicester winning the Premier League but it would be an amazing thing. In the players’ minds, they might think it was a one-off and wonder if they could do it again at this club. We’ll see, we’ll see. I think rebuilding is the aim of the summer.”

Is the new stadium going to play a key role against Man City in the Champions League?

“You’d hope so otherwise what was the point of it all. Getting it open before the end of the season is for nights like that. The fans are going to be so hyped up. The opening night is going to be noisy but that, with the Champions League anthem playing, the fans are going to be so on edge, in a good way. And it’s suddenly become a little bit harder for City. They came to Wembley earlier this season, it was just another match for them. This place, they will be coming into enemy territory. It’s got to play a role, it has to. Otherwise, Spurs are in trouble.”

Do they need to win the home leg?

“I think so, they have to go to the Etihad with something to hold onto instead of something to build on because we know, you know, I know it’s not the same level but we saw City against Fulham and it was just wave after wave of attacks and Spurs currently, I don’t feel they’re mentally strong enough to deal with that. We’ve seen a lot of examples where they would’ve drawn matches in the past but they’ve conceded another straight away, they’re not there mentally this season. I worry about going to the Etihad with something like a 1-1, I don’t think that’s enough.”

تحدث أحمد حجازي لاعب اتحاد جدة السعودي عن انضمامه للأخير بعد إتمام صفقة الإعارة من وست بروميتش الإنجليزي لمدة موسم.

وكان اتحاد جدة السعودي قد أعلن عن التعاقد مع أحمد حجازي لمدة موسم واحد على سبيل الإعارة طالع التفاصيل من هنا.

وقال أحمد حجازي في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة “إس بي سي” السعودية: “انتقالي من الدوري الإنجليزي لا يقلل من قوة الدوري السعودي لأنه قوي، وتجربة جديدة بالنسبة لي، وأتمنى التوفيق لي وللفريق وهذا الأهم”.

وعن ما سيضيفه لنادي الاتحاد والعكس، أجاب: “هو موضوع متبادل وسأحاول تقديم كل ما لدي لإفادة النادي وإسعاد جماهيره وأنقل له خبراتي خلال مشواري”.

وتابع: “الاتحاد إضافة لأي لاعب نظرًا لشعبيته وتاريخه والبطولات التي حصل عليها، وانتقالي على سبيل الإعارة وليس بشكل كامل، وهو أمر كان بين الناديين”.

طالع | كشف كواليس توتر العلاقة بين بيليتش ووست بروميتش بسبب أحمد حجازي

وأردف: “كل المباريات مهمة ولكن الديربي أمام الأهلي يحظى باهتمام جماهيري بشكل أكبر”.

وبسؤاله من الذي يعجبك في الدوري السعودي كفرق ولاعبين؟، أوضح: “الدوري السعودي يضم أندية كبيرة ولاعبين محترفين على أعلى مستوى حتى المحليين، والأندية السعودية لها تاريخ كبير في البطولة الآسيوية، قوة الدوري السعودي تشجع أي أحد ينضم له بعد رحلة احتراف”.

واختتم: “استقبال الجماهير شىء أسعدني جدًا وأتمنى أن يدعموا النادي، وهذا أهم شىء بالنسبة للفريق في الفترة الحالية، وأتمنى إعادة الاتحاد لوضعه الطبيعي”.

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Leeds fans have been showing their nerves on Twitter after Phil Hay shared his thoughts on the promotion race with Sheffield United.

The Whites are back in control in the race for second with the Blades after Chris Wilder’s men dropped points at St Andrew’s on Wednesday night.

This is the third time the tide has turned in the title race in recent weeks with both Yorkshire clubs unable to gain any long-term advantage over the other.

Whilst many neutrals are loving the drama of the promotion race Leeds fans are hating it as it takes over their lives for the final weeks of the season.

Prominent Leeds United journalist Phil Hay tweeted “You’ve got to love this. Fantastic scrap for second. Title is gone, Norwich will win that, but can’t see anything other than a cigarette paper between Leeds and Sheff Utd.”

The Yorkshire Evening post journalist is seemingly enjoying the final few weeks of the season whilst supporters are feeling the opposite as they just want it over and done with.

Leeds fans struggled to echo Hay’s sentiment of loving the battle for Premier League football as their nerves can’t handle the prospect of Leeds missing out on promotion after coming so close.

Here’s what Leeds fans have been saying on Twitter…