Altay Bayindir sent out a message to Manchester United fans after a nightmare Premier League debut against Newcastle United.
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The path back to the India side from injury has had a series of obstacles along the way, but Mohammed Shami is trying to navigate through them in time for the start of the World T20
Arun Venugopal in Kolkata10-Mar-2016The setting wasn’t as low-key as Mohammed Shami might have probably imagined. This was a warm-up game and yet there were at least 25,000 people at the Eden Gardens. There were several thousand more claps, whistles and screams until palms and throats gave in.This is also his home ground, a city where he made a memorable Test debut in Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series. But there wasn’t anything about Shami on Thursday that betrayed nerves although some amount of nervous excitement would have only seemed reasonable.A spell of 4-0-30-2 against a batting line-up featuring Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels is impressive in itself but its worth is multiplied when you place it against the backdrop of what he has gone through.Shami has over the last few weeks strived to go from 80-85% fit to being fully ready. It is learnt that he bowled to the India Women’s team at the NCA nets in Bangalore to assist in their preparations for the Women’s World T20, apart from playing matches with other men’s teams where specific situations – like bowling at the death, defending a particular total or opening the attack – would be recreated.But Shami would be the first person to insist on telling false dawns apart from real ones, especially after what has happened to him over the last two months. After all, the new year had begun well for Shami. He was nearly as thrilled about flaunting his suit as being on the flight to Australia with the rest of his mates. You couldn’t grudge his just deserts. This was a man who had, after a promising beginning, spent close to a year in pain, uncertainty and the sheer frustration of his knee coming in the way of playing at the highest level.But this new silver lining would soon be gobbled up by gloomy grey clouds as Shami’s return to India was advanced by an injury to the hamstring. It’s hard to surmise what he must have felt. Roughly as excruciating would be the analogy of a man being robbed soon after earning his wages.While on one hand Shami’s inner demons must have been multiplying, the team management too would have had a tough call to make. He wasn’t a part of the Asia Cup squad as well after being deemed to have not recovered sufficiently. But that Shami was picked for the World T20 was as much a leap of faith as an educated gamble; MS Dhoni & co. him. Period.Dhoni has never been shy about his admiration for Shami’s ability to provide thrust with the new ball and finish well at the death. Bouncers, made-to-order yorkers, Shami has always delivered what his captain wanted. His return to action has only added to the considerable gains that India have made recently.
“He just wanted to go out on the park and play. He has really worked hard all this while; coming back from a knee injury is not easy for anyone, not just a bowler.”Rohit Sharma on Mohammed Shami’s return at Eden Gardens
After India had set West Indies 186 to win in Thursday’s World T20 warm-up, he went about rolling out his bouncers and yorkers, not always achieving the desired results but nevertheless persistent in his attempts. For instance, the short-pitched stuff didn’t quite work on this flat, easy-paced surface as Gayle demonstrated with a pull, one of his two boundaries off Shami.After gong for nine runs in his first over, he began his second with a short ball outside off to Marlon Samuels and got away with a single. The next delivery was quick and had Johnson Charles stuck on his crease. Shami had closed in on his sweet spot. His third ball wasn’t exactly a yorker but was fast and full. Charles’ attempt to back away and carve him over cover only resulted in a caught behind. Shami, however, erred with his last two deliveries, going too full and too short on either occasion, and Samuels cashed in with two fours.By the time Shami returned in the 16th over West Indies had lost eight batsmen and were down for the count. He stuck to a length that was slightly shorter of a full length and attacked the stumps. One such delivery had Ashley Nurse charging out of the crease and scooping the ball to deep point.Shami finished with 2-0-11-1 in his second spell. There was no sign of restricted movement or controlled operation. His run-up was easy and the momentum generated by the smoothly-swinging non-bowling arm contributed to his rhythm. Rohit Sharma paid tribute to Shami’s performance, and said he managed to do what he intended to.”He just wanted to go out on the park and play. For a bowler to not play for so long it’s never easy,” Rohit said after the match. “So he just wanted to go out and feel the conditions and feel the atmosphere, and feel [the joy of] wearing the India jersey again. He has really worked hard all this while; coming back from a knee injury is not easy for anyone, not just a bowler. But he really worked hard and looking at [the fact that] he is playing his first game he did pretty well.”He bowled bouncers, yorkers, slower ones, that’s what we expect from him. The last game he played for India, till then he did pretty well for us. He was one of the main bowlers for us and expectations will be there from him, no doubt about it.”Dhoni has recently pointed to the happy dilemma he would face should Shami be fit, with Jasprit Bumrah sealing the other paceman’s slot. Shami would then have to compete with Ashish Nehra for the second seamer’s position and there is a possibility he might not find himself in the playing XI straightaway.But for now he is unlikely to entertain such worries and would rather focus on dialing up the momentum in India’s last warm-up match against South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday. Shami sure knows a thing or two about the value of taking baby steps.
Chelsea are believed to be targeting another Man United star alongside their interest in Kobbie Mainoo, with two players in Enzo Maresca’s squad heading towards the exit door.
In the last week, credible media sources revealed Chelsea’s serious interest in signing Mainoo, who is currently in the midst of a contract debacle, as the England international sets his sights on improved terms.
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The 19-year-old rising star is on just £20,000-per-week at United, which hardly reflects his status as a Three Lions midfielder and crucial player to Ruben Amorim, but rumoured PSR concerns are stalling an agreement over a new contract for Mainoo.
As a result of this, it is reliably believed that Chelsea have approached Mainoo’s agents in an attempt to lure him, as reported by journalist and Stamford Bridge insider Simon Phillips on his Substack.
|
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home) |
January 20 |
|
Man City (away) |
January 25 |
|
West Ham (away) |
February 3 |
|
Brighton (away) |
February 14 |
|
Aston Villa (away) |
February 22 |
“Chelsea also still want to bring in a new midfielder this window on request of Enzo Maresca,” wrote Phillips earlier this week.
“However, that does not need to be a new midfielder, and there are still chances that either Lesley Ugochukwu or Andrey Santos could be recalled, SPTC sources have heard again yesterday.
“There’s a chance Santos is recalled too by the way, something that we were not expecting to happen at all, until now, potentially.
“Chelsea have tried to turn the head of Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United by approaching his agents, and this one is still potentially one that could happen this month, if the player decides he is keen on the move.”
While this is far from advanced, it appears Chelsea are seriously pursuing Mainoo, but he isn’t the only Red Devils sensation on their radar.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, exciting United winger Alejandro Garnacho has emerged as a target for Maresca.
The Argentine is attracting reported interest from Antonio Conte’s Napoli, who appear to have set their sights on him as a potential replacement for the PSG-bound Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
However, Conte now faces competition from his former club. Chelsea are targeting Garnacho and have “launched” an operation over his potential signing, according to L’Équipe, who also provided an update on the futures of Christopher Nkunku and Axel Disasi.
The £275,000-per-week duo are apparently set to depart west London before deadline day on February 3, with Maresca’s squad facing a serious overhaul in the latter stage of this transfer window.
Going back to Garnacho, the 20-year-old has bagged eight goals and five assists in 31 appearances so far this campaign, putting in some exceptional displays, and he fits the mould of a young, exciting player that BlueCo has repeatedly targeted since Chelsea’s takeover.
Garnacho is also highly versatile, capable of playing anywhere across the attack – including the left-hand side, right-hand side, through the middle as a central attacking midfielder and even as a second striker. However, he won’t come cheap, as some reports suggest the South American could cost £70 million.
Saturday in the Premier League sees a crucial clash as two of the bottom three go head-to-head, with Wolverhampton Wanderers taking on Ipswich Town at Molineux.
Wolves are undefeated in seven league meetings with the Tractor Boys, beaten during only one of their 16 encounters in the Black County since 1991, but could really do with a victory in this one, considering both sides kick off four points from safety.
Following Monday night’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham, the Old Gold have won only three of their last 25 Premier League matches, dating back to early-March, pressure is really starting to mount on Gary O’Neil, desperately requiring a victory either here or at Leicester next Sunday, or potentially from both, if he’s to remain in charge this Christmas.
So, ahead of this huge relegation six-pointer, we assess the biggest selection dilemma O’Neil is facing.
Having collected his fifth yellow card of the campaign at the London Stadium on Monday, João Gomes will sit out Saturday’s crucial clash with Ipswich suspended.
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Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
He had been carefully treading this tightrope for six matches beforehand, but was cautioned by referee John Brooks shortly after the hour mark during the defeat at West Ham.
This is a big blow considering Gomes has racked up 1,273 minutes in the Premier League this season, the second-most of any Wolves player, a mere ten minutes fewer than Rayan Aït-Nouri, starting all 15 fixtures and scoring two goals, finding the net against both Crystal Palace and Fulham.
So, could Wolves’ forgotten man fill Gomes’ void this weekend?
When Hwang Hee-chan arrived from RB Leipzig in 2021, initially on loan with a £14m option to make the deal permanent, which was taken up, he did so to much excitement.
Nubaid Haroon described him as “exciting” and, given that the South Korean international had scored 45 times for RB Salzburg, 11 of these goals coming in UEFA competitions, it was easy to understand why.
The highlight of Hwang’s time in the Black County to date remains the winner he scored against Manchester City last season, coming days after Pep Guardiola, rather patronisingly and dismissively, named Wolves’ front three as “Neto, Cunha and the Korean Guy”.
Overall,the 28-year-old has scored 22 goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers to date, yet to get off the mark this season, following by some considerable margin his best campaign in an Old Gold shirt last time round.
|
Hwang Hee-chan Premier League career with Wolvs by season |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistic |
21/22 |
22/23 |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|
Appearances |
32 |
27 |
29 |
9 |
|
Minutes |
1,865 |
1,130 |
2,119 |
300 |
|
Goals |
5 |
3 |
12 |
0 |
|
Goals per 90 |
0.24 |
0.24 |
0.51 |
0 |
|
Assists |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Expected goals |
4.6 |
2.9 |
7.7 |
0 |
|
Shots |
28 |
18 |
44 |
0 |
|
Shot-creating actions |
38 |
30 |
48 |
5 |
|
Goal-creating actions |
2 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
|
Statistics courtesy of FBref.com |
||||
As outlined in the table above, 2023/24 was by far Hwang’s most productive campaign at Wolves, ending the season as their joint-top scorer in the Premier League, alongside Cunha.
However, this season, he’s yet to score, register an assist or even take a shot in just 300 minutes on the field.
Since suffering an ankle ligament injury during Korea Republic’s World Cup qualifying victory over Jordan in Amman back in October, Hwang has made just three cameo appearances off the bench, the longest of which was a 33-minute appearance at Goodison earlier this month, remaining amongst the substitutes on Monday night, despite the urgent need for an equaliser.
This weekend though, in Gomes’ absence, now is surely the time for O’Neil to unleash Hwang, starting him alongside the aforementioned Cunha, as well as Jørgen Strand Larsen, both of whom have been impressive this season, when Ipswich visit on Saturday.
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Wolves are looking to add goals to their team
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Joe Nuttall
Dec 12, 2024
The former USMNT player stated that Mexico should not be overconfident in the match against the Canucks.
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Mexico and Canada will face off this Thursday for a spot in the Nations League Final.
El Tri is on a three-match winless streak against the Canucks.
Mexico reached the Semifinals after defeating Honduras, while Canada did the same against Suriname.
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Stats highlights from the first day of The Oval Test
S Rajesh20-Aug-201562.77 The average opening partnership for Australia in this series; England’s average opening stand in the first four Tests is 14.00. The top six opening stands in this series – each over 50 – have all come from Warner and Chris Rogers. England’s best opening stand in the series is 32.2053 Partnership runs between Rogers and Warner, the highest by any pair in Tests since the beginning of 2012. They’ve averaged 51.32 per completed stand, with nine century partnerships, which is also the highest among all pairs.94.42 Australia’s average opening partnership in Tests at The Oval since 2000, easily their highest among all venues in England during this period.87 Balls before Australia got their first boundary of the innings, when David Warner pulled Ben Stokes off the 88th delivery of the morning. Since 2002, there have been only four instances when the first boundary of a Test match has taken longer – by India against West Indies in Jamaica, 2006, (first boundary off the 114th ball), Bangladesh against Sri Lanka in Colombo, 2013, (107th ball), South Africa against England, in Durban, 2009, (95th ball), and India against West Indies, in Barbados, 2011 (89th ball). In the first hour this morning (14 overs), the Australian openers played 70 dots.2006 Rogers’ Test aggregate, with all his runs coming at the opening slot. Among openers who’ve debuted after the age of 30, Rogers’ aggregate is easily the highest – the next-best is 1231, by England’s Brian Luckhurst.6 Fifty-plus scores for Warner in 15 Test innings in England. However, the highest among them is today’s 85; his other 50-plus scores are 64, 77, 83, 52 (all in this series), and 71, in 2013. His previous five half-centuries had all been scored in the team’s second innings. Warner has also achieved the distinction of getting a half-century in each Test of this series.101 The unbroken fourth-wicket stand between Steven Smith and Adam Voges. In seven previous fourth-wicket stands in this series, Australia’s highest was 43, and their average 17.57. This is only Australia’s second century stand for any wicket other than the first in this series.
Having come close to taking his side over the line in Sunrisers’ last match, Samad proves that he is “worth the investment” with a last-ball six
ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-20232:13
Moody: Samad reminds me of a young Yusuf Pathan
A last-ball six to overhaul a target of 215 and keep Sunrisers Hyderabad’s play-off hopes alive could be “the turning point” in Abdul Samad’s young career, according to his ex-coach Tom Moody.Samad is only 21 but is already in his fourth IPL season, and has found himself in and out of the Sunrisers team this year. By his own admission, he “got lucky” when Sandeep Sharma’s overstep on what should have been the last ball of the game granted him a second chance, but he took full advantage in drilling the free hit back over his head for six to clinch a win for his side.Related
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Thirty-one games into his IPL career, Samad is averaging just 18.63 but has scored his runs at a strike rate of 136.67. He is also among a rare group of players who have hit more sixes (21) than fours (20) in the league – a statistic which underlines his power.”What Abdul Samad has got as a young, emerging player is a rare ability to hit the ball out of the ground,” Moody, who worked with Samad in 2021 and 2022, said on ESPNcricinfo’s show. “He reminds me of a young Yusuf Pathan. He’s got that strength, power, and it’s a very hard role to play.”I hope that it gives the management and the franchise confidence that they have got the right person, because that is the hardest part. Forget about the player having confidence, you need the organisation – wherever you are – to have confidence in you, and I think if you look at his erratic selection over the last two years, I think that hopefully this is the turning point for him.”Samad was unable to get Sunrisers over the line in their narrow defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday night, falling in the final over of the game for 21 off 18 balls. Hemang Badani, Sunrisers’ batting coach, said that Samad had taken responsibility for the defeat and “stayed strong” in the aftermath.2:31
Hemang Badani: ‘The win will give confidence to players like Samad’
“Let me start off by saying I have to give full marks to Samad,” Badani said, “because he was the first one to come up to me after the previous game and said, ‘I should have finished the game.'”He took ownership of it, and said with nine off six balls, more often than not, batters in the middle would finish games for their side, and he didn’t finish it and he was a little unhappy about it. He had a similar instance with the game against Mumbai [Indians]; that again was a game that he felt he could have finished.”And he was hurting, to be honest. He was hurting. He was like, ‘I’ve been around with SRH, this is my third [fourth] year, I’m a retained player and I really want to make it count. I really want to try and show them that I am worth your time and I am worth the investment.’ I think he’s ensured that he’s stayed strong.”Samad hardly reacted after his winning shot, which Moody said fitted his character. “He’s not charging off with his bat in the air; he’s a very humble, quietly-spoken guy,” he said.”But behind all that is someone that works extremely hard at his craft and is constantly trying to improve on his game in a role that is exceptionally hard to play. More often than not, you see your mature players playing in those roles, not a 21-year-old.”Abdul Samad’s 21, and we are judging him on his history as a 21-year-old. Let’s judge him on his history when he’s 28, and then make judgement on whether he’s consistent in one of the hardest roles to play.”Badani, meanwhile, said that Samad – and Sunrisers – would take confidence from their victory, which still leaves them in ninth place but with the points table incredibly tight.”It’s a great win, because it gives us momentum,” he said. “It will obviously give us confidence. It will obviously give a lot of belief for guys like Samad, because Samad would have felt that he missed out a couple of times.”To have done it here, the next time he comes in to bat, the next time he’s in a situation like this, he’ll be a lot more different to what he was in the past.”
Chelsea are in active talks to seal their first signing of 2025, as BlueCo and Todd Boehly set their sights on a versatile forward for manager Enzo Maresca.
The west Londoners could be forced to push for a Christopher Nkunku replacement pretty soon, as the Frenchman is reliably believed to have agreed personal terms on a switch to Bayern Munich.
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Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has reported that Nkunku is Bayern’s top target for the winter, and the 27-year-old has reached a verbal agreement on his potential contract at the Allianz Area. The Bavarians are also looking to snap him up for Vincent Kompany as soon as possible.
Credible media sources closer to home indicate that Chelsea will push for a Nkunku replacement if the striker does depart, leacing to their widely reported interest in one of Bayern’s young stars in Mathys Tel, who has struggled for game time under Kompany.
|
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home) |
January 20 |
|
Man City (away) |
January 25 |
|
West Ham (away) |
February 3 |
|
Brighton (away) |
February 14 |
|
Aston Villa (home) |
February 22 |
That being said, a Sky panelist claimed earlier this week that it will be very difficult for Chelsea to get Tel out of Bayern, and their sporting director Christoph Freund has attempted to pour cold water over the prospect of him leaving before February 3.
“He is a very important player for us,” said Freund. “He’s a great talent. Our clear goal is for Mathys to make his breakthrough with us.
“We are very happy with our squad, both quality and quantity wise. Of course, if a player is unhappy, we can talk about it. But the clear plan with Mathys is for him to make his breakthrough here.”
Chelsea have made another approach to Liam Delap’s agents as an alternative option to succeed Nkunku (Simon Phillips), while Bundesliga insider Christian Falk of Sport Bild now claims they’re actively pursuing Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi.
The German was sporadically linked with Chelsea in the build up to January, and Falk says that the 22-year-old remains a serious transfer target for them.
According to the reliable reporter, Chelsea are in talks to sign Adeyemi right now, but there is a catch, as this would be for the summer and he wouldn’t arrive this month.
Adeyemi boasts 10 goal contributions from 11 appearances in all competitions (five goals, five assists),including a hat-trick in the Champions League, and can play anywhere across the front three, even as a centre-forward. Other reports have stated he could cost up to £30 million, with his deal expiring in just over two years.
As if their recent frustrations couldn’t increase any further, Newcastle United could now lose one of Eddie Howe’s best players with a European giant reportedly plotting a move to seal a dream deal.
Injuries quickly catching up to a Newcastle side who were not given nearly enough reinforcements during the summer transfer window always felt like the narrative that the Magpies’ season would follow. And after four games without victory in the Premier League, that is very much the case.
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Eddie Howe has provided a positive verdict.
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Without the likes of Sven Botman, Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier, Howe’s side suffered a 1-0 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion and extended their run without a goal from open play to 360 minutes in all competitions. With Chelsea in the Premier League and then the Carabao Cup up next too, things aren’t set to get any easier for a squad already struggling to keep up with such a hectic schedule.
Now, recent reports suggest that those at St James’ Park may yet suffer another blow away from the action. According to reports in Spain, AC Milan now want to hand Sandro Tonali a dream return in 2025 after sanctioning a move worth a reported £55m to Newcastle in 2023.
Newcastle have of course only just welcomed the return of Tonali after he missed the majority of last season through suspension. It would, therefore, be a major blow if he departed back to Milan as early as next year, given how the Magpies remained patient amid a start to life at St James’ Park that was full of turbulence.
The concern from a Newcastle perspective should be that rejecting his boyhood club may well prove to be an impossible task for £120,000-a-week Tonali, who admitted himself leaving San Siro was the “toughest decision” of his life.
Whilst Newcastle haven’t exactly made the greatest transfer decisions in the last year, allowing Tonali to return to Milan not even two years after he arrived in Tyneside would be their worst decision of all. Should the Italian depart back to his boyhood club next summer, then he’d have spent the majority of his Newcastle career on the sidelines through suspension before bidding farewell in what should be seen as the worst-case scenario for the Magpies.
Howe, like many at St James’ Park, should be desperate to keep Tonali. The Newcastle boss was full of praise for the Italian when he made his return against Nottingham Forest earlier this season, saying via Yahoo Sport: “I thought he did well fitness wise considering the lack of match action he’s had. I think he can be really pleased with the reception he got from the Newcastle supporters at the end.
“You could see the amount of Italian flags in the crowd, that embrace with the supporters. A lot of emotion coming out from Sandro’s side and, of course, from the supporters’ side back. That connection is so important for any player, and he will be hugely boosted by that. But a great day for him, a great return and a positive result.”
Leeds United strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win over Plymouth Argyle on Saturday in the Championship to move up into second place in the table.
The Whites did not allow the away side to register a single shot on goal throughout the 90 minutes and scored all three goals in the first half, which speaks to their dominance in West Yorkshire.
Daniel Farke’s side have only lost one of their opening 13 matches in the division, a 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Elland Road, and they must remain consistent to secure an automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking.
Leeds fell short in the play-offs in the 2023/24 campaign, losing 1-0 to Southampton in the final at Wembley, after finishing third in the regular season.
The West Yorkshire outfit have had to deal with a number of injury issues already this season to disrupt their progress, though, as Ethan Ampadu, Max Wober, and Ilia Gruev have been sidelined with long-term blows, whilst Dan James recently missed a month with a hamstring injury.
With the January transfer window on the horizon, Leeds are reportedly looking at a player who could bolster their options in the middle of the park.
Despite signing Josuha Guilavogui on a free transfer last month, the Whites are said to be interested in signing another central midfielder to add depth to the squad.
According to The Sun, Leeds are keen on Lewis O’Brien and could look to bring him over to Elland Road when the January transfer window opens for business.
The report claims that Farke’s side and fellow Championship outfit Hull City have been making enquiries to keep tabs on his availability, as they look to potentially swoop for his services.
O’Brien is currently on loan with LAFC in the MLS, from parent club Nottingham Forest, and his impressive stint there may make it a struggle for Leeds or Hull to snap him up.
The Sun reports that LAFC have an option to make the deal permanent for a fee of £7m and that the English midfielder looks set to complete a permanent move to the American outfit at the start of 2025.
This means that Leeds will have to move quickly and persuade the former Huddersfield Town star, who was linked with a £10m move to Elland Road during his time with the Terriers in 2022, to ditch the MLS to move back to the Championship, with the possibility of Premier League football next term.
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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
If the Whites can thrash out a deal with Forest and convince O’Brien to make the move to Yorkshire, the left-footed ace could be a dream for current star Ao Tanaka.
The central midfielder was signed from Fortuna Dusseldorf during the summer transfer window and had to initially bide his time for a chance in the starting XI in the Championship.
Injuries to Gruev and Ampadu, however, provided the Japan international with an opportunity to start week-in-week-out in the league for Farke, and he has certainly grasped his chance with both hands.
The 26-year-old metronome has started each of the last six Championship games for the Whites and is yet to taste defeat as a starter, whilst Illan Meslier has only conceded four times in those six matches.
He is yet to register a goal or an assist in the league, but the Japanese star ranks within the top 17% of midfielders in the division for progressive passes per 90 (6.16).
This shows that Tanaka is making an impact in possession, by consistently progressing the ball forward into dangerous areas, without goals and assists.
|
24/25 Championship |
Ao Tanaka |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
10 |
|
Pass accuracy |
92% |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
2.8 |
|
Duels won per game |
3.1 |
|
Duel success rate |
58% |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
As you can see in the table above, the former 2. Bundesliga maestro has also offered quality out of possession by winning duels and tackles, and making interceptions to cut out opposition attacks.
This shows that he is a well-rounded central midfielder who can make an impact on and off the ball, albeit his work in the final third could be better.
Leeds could now land a dream partner for him in the middle of the park by convincing O’Brien to forget about a long-term move to America and join Farke’s side.
Firstly, the English dynamo is a left-footed player and would offer a natural balance to the right-footed Tanaka on the left side of the manager’s double pivot. Whereas, Joe Rothwell, a right-footed ace, is currently playing alongside the Japanese whiz.
Secondly, O’Brien would come in with plenty of experience in English football, with 146 Championship appearances and 13 outings in the Premier League under his belt, which suggests that he could help the former Dusseldorf man to continue to settle into life in the league.
It also suggests that the 26-year-old ace, who was hailed as “very special” by ex-boss Carlos Corberan, could hit the ground running in the second tier, given he played 23 times on loan with Middlesbrough during the 2023/24 campaign.
His form for LAFC in the MLS also indicates that he has the potential to be an excellent addition to the Leeds squad, and a dream signing for Tanaka on the pitch.
|
Stats |
Lewis O’Brien (2024 MLS) |
Joe Rothwell (24/25 Championship) |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
11 |
13 |
|
Key passes per game |
1.9 |
1.4 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
3.4 |
1.3 |
|
Ball recoveries per game |
5.6 |
2.4 |
|
Duels won per game |
3.9 |
1.3 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, O’Brien has significantly outperformed Rothwell as a defensive presence in the middle of the park, whilst also averaging more tackles, interceptions, and duels won than Tanaka.
The English whiz has also created more chances per game on average than the Bournemouth loanee, which suggests that he could offer more than him in the final third and, therefore, make up for where the Japanese star lacks in his performances.
This is why Farke must push hard to secure a deal for O’Brien in January, as his mobility and defensive work rate, coupled with his creative passing, could make him an ideal partner for Tanaka in midfield.
Farke has struck gold on undroppable Leeds ace who they didn't want to sign
The Leeds United head coach had to convince the club to take a chance on him.
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By
Dan Emery
Nov 4, 2024