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West Ham United dropped more points at home after a 1-1 home draw with high-flying Brighton and Hove Albion. The Hammers may look back on the game with disappointment at merely getting a point against the Seagulls, after giving Fabian Hurzeler’s side a tough test.

After the first 45 minutes saw no goals, it was the visitors who took the lead at the London Stadium. Hammers goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski did not exactly cover himself in glory, tamely punching a Brighton freekick as far as Mats Wieffer. With the goalkeeper stranded in no-mans-land, the Dutchman volleyed home first time from 10 yards out.

It took the home side just moments to equalise. Six minutes after the Seagulls went 1-0 up, Mohammed Kudus scored with his head. He converted a rebound that fell to him after Bart Verbruggen could only parry a viciously struck Jarrod Bowen shot. The Ghanaian attacker reacted well to nod home a bouncing ball and equalise for the Hammers.

West Ham might well be disappointed to get just one point from the game. As per Sofascore, they had a better Expected Goals tally than Brighton, with 1.6xG to 0.91xG. The chances were certainly there to win it. There were some good performers for Julen Lopetegui’s side today, with Kudus a standout.

Kudus’ performance vs Brighton

24-year-old attacker Kudus has not quite had the start to the 2024/25 season he may have hoped for. Before Saturday afternoon’s clash with Brighton, he had just two goals and one assist in 11 top-flight games this term.

However, he was far better against the Seagulls, working hard in and out of possession before eventually getting a reward with the goal. It was not a classic Kudus strike, lacking the flair that is on show when the Ghanaian normally finds the back of the net. However, it an was effective finish and got the Hammers a key point. He even pulled out his iconic celebration.

It is certainly worth remembering that Kudus was not playing in his usual role on Saturday. By trade, he is a right-winger or a number 10, although he operated on the left against Brighton, and performed his role well.

His stats from the game showed just how good he was against the Seagulls. The 24-year-old had 49 touches and completed 83% of his passes. He worked impressively hard off the ball, winning 11 duels and four out of four tackles.

Kudus’ goal was vital for the Hammers on Saturday and helped them to a hard-fought draw. His goal must have been to the relief of one of his fellow attackers, Niclas Fullkrug, who struggled against the Seagulls.

Fullkrug’s performances vs Brighton

It has not been a good start to life at the London Stadium for Fullkrug. The striker made the move from Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £27.5m, and the flop has not lived up to that price tag so far.

The 31-year-old striker has played just eight times in all competitions, with seven of those games, including Saturday’s clash with Brighton, coming in the Premier League. Frustratingly, he has missed 11 games with an Achilles tendon injury.

Against the South Coast side, the striker had no impact on the game whatsoever, as the stats show. He barely got a kick despite leading the line for the Hammers, having just 13 touches in the entire game. The German completed just one pass out of eight, leaving him with a pass accuracy of 13%, and lost the ball eight times.

It is fair to say that the centre-forward put in an extremely disappointing performance against Brighton. The fact he struggled to get into the game to that extent might be a concern for Lopetegui, given Michail Antonio will be out for the season.

Fullkrug was surely relieved to see Kudus find the back of the net, earning a crucial point but he may well have to watch on from the sidelines next time out with Lopetegui surely reverting to Bowen as the leading striker instead.

Phil Foden has been told he needs to "step up" after Manchester City were dealt a brutal Erling Haaland injury blow.

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• Haaland ruled out for several weeks
• Foden urged to step up in his absence
• England star has struggled this season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Star striker Haaland is expected to miss the majority of the remainder of the season after sustaining an ankle injury in his team's FA Cup quarter-final win against Bournemouth on Sunday. The news means Pep Guardiola will need to make a tactical tweak to fill the Norway international's role and fans have given their ideas on how to replace him.

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  WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

  The loss of Haaland has resulted in supporters calling on other stars such as Foden to step up, with @Ba11Talk writing on X: "Will be a big few weeks for Marmoush and Foden in Haaland’s absence. Marmoush already proving himself but Foden now needs to step up."

  @falsewinger_ argued: "And it's all very funny because the best option imo is to play Nico O'Riley up top and play Marmoush behind him as a second striker. Nico played as a 9 in the academy in a similar injury situation and actually scored a lot…"

  "Unfortunate that Erling is injured but excited to see Marmoush get some starts/more minutes," wrote @SheikhMCI. "Been electric all season and think he'll provide much needed energy and impetus. Seems more and more like a great mid-season acquisition."

  @Priceless_MCI said: "Haaland out for the rest of the season ?? Don’t worry Marmoush is stepping up."

  "Letting [Julian] Alvarez go was a big mistake hmmm," @Chiller42319434 said.

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Foden has faced criticism throughout this season for his disappointing performances for club and country. The 24-year-old is said to be suffering from "mental fatigue" ever since England's final defeat at Euro 2024.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR FODEN?

  Foden, who has seven Premier Leauge goals so far this season, will hope to show he can help lift the team amid Haaland's absence when they face struggling Leicester on Wednesday.

As Leeds United look to return to winning ways against Oxford United, they could be forced to do so without one of Daniel Farke’s key men in another blow for those at Elland Road.

Leeds injury news

Already without Ilia Gruev and Junior Firpo ahead of Oxford this weekend, injury setbacks are threatening to control the narrative of Leeds’ season once again following blows to the likes of Ethan Ampadu earlier in the campaign. Given that Farke’s side were left to mount a late Championship comeback against Preston North End to rescue a 1-1 draw last time out too, the last thing that they need is more bad news on the injury front.

With the chance to flip the narrative from a disappointing point into four games without defeat this weekend up against an Oxford side who have just shown manager Des Buckingham the door, a fresh injury blow is exactly what Leeds may have been dealt.

Leeds chiefs now have a £4m transfer plan to replace Bamford in January

Leeds are considering whether to sign an upgrade they’ve been tracking for a while.

By
Brett Worthington

Dec 18, 2024

As confirmed by Farke and relayed by Adam Pope, Leeds could now be without Pascal Struijk against Oxford in a fresh injury blow, whilst it also remains to be seen whether Max Wober will make the game.

Among those in the leadership group, Struijk remains a key figure within Farke’s squad and particularly his backline as Leeds look to avoid yet more promotion heartbreak following last season’s Wembley failure. In pursuit of a return to the top flight, keeping players of Struijk’s calibre fit will play a large part.

"Crucial" Struijk is key for Leeds

Starting in all 21 Championship games for Leeds so far this season, it cannot be overstated enough just how important Struijk has become at Elland Road. If the Yorkshire club are to earn promotion in the current campaign, then there’s no doubt that he will be at the centre of it. And Farke is well aware of his quality too, taking time to praise his defender at the end of October.

Farke told reporters via The Leeds Press: “He adapted well to my demands and he’s played a crucial part. We don’t have to talk about his skills with the ball. I’m very pleased with his development.”

If the 25-year-old does miss this weekend’s meeting with Oxford, then the return of Wober would certainly be a welcomed one. The defender can play as both a centre-back and as a left-back, perhaps handing the Whites an instant solution.

That said, up against a struggling side, Leeds should have no excuses. These are the types of games that they should arguably be easing past if they want to secure an automatic promotion spot and avoid the playoffs altogether come the end of the current campaign.

It’s not been a great campaign for Tottenham Hotspur so far this season.

Ange Postecoglou’s Lilywhites might have scored the second-highest number of goals in the Premier League this year, but they currently find themselves down in 11th place and are enduring their worst form in the competition since 2008.

While there are issues across the pitch for the North Londoners, defence is without a doubt the biggest issue, and a significant reason why is the number of defenders who have been injured.

One of those who is now ruled out for the upcoming game against Newcastle United is Destiny Udogie, and while he was brilliant last season, recent reports have linked Spurs with an up-and-coming full-back who could be his replacement.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, Tottenham have maintained their interest in Lecce full-back Patrick Dorgu.

However, the bad news is that a number of other clubs, such as AC Milan, Chelsea, Napoli, Liverpool and Manchester United, are now beginning to circle the young Dane, which in turn has seen the 20-year-old’s initial £30m valuation increase.

This is a problem as, according to the report, Daniel Levy could limit Postecoglou to spending £25m, although given the recent injury to Udogie, there is always a possibility that the budget may increase.

Overall, signing Dorgu could be a complicated and costly transfer, but given his ability and Spurs’ need, it’s one worth pursuing, even if it would be bad news for Udogie’s long-term future.

How Dorgu compares to Udogie

So, if Spurs are able to increase their transfer budget, get ahead of the chasing pack, and secure Dorgu’s services this month, he’d almost certainly come in and immediately start for the injured Udogie.

However, what will happen once the Italian full-back returns from his injury? Who would be the Lilywhites’ starting left-back?

Well, the way to work that out is to compare them against each other and see who comes out on top, starting with something that is becoming increasingly important for a modern full-back: their pure output.

In this regard, the Lecce man comes way ahead, with three goals in 19 games to the former Udinese ace’s one assist in 23 matches, although the 20-year-old has played all over the pitch this season, which will have helped.

How about their underlying numbers, then? Who comes out on top when we take a look at what’s going on under the hood?

Well, unfortunately for the Verona-born dynamo, it is once again his potential replacement who emerges victorious, and by quite some way at that.

For example, the exciting prospect, whom Lecce sporting director Pantaleo Corvino described as having “an engine unmatched by anyone else,” comes out on top in almost every metric, including but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots, goal and shot-creating actions, passes and crosses into the penalty area, clearances, shots blocked, and aerial duels won, all per 90.

Ultimately, while Udogie is a very talented footballer, it’s apparent that Dorgu would be the perfect upgrade for Postecoglou’s full-throttle system.

Therefore, while it would cost a pretty penny, Levy and Co must do what they can to bring him to N17 this month.

UCL giants want to sign him: Tottenham now at risk of awful Bale repeat

The incredible player would be a huge loss for Spurs.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jan 3, 2025

Everything you need to know about Barcelona's experienced goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen's salary

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has occasionally divided opinions among Barcelona fans with his performances, but there is no questioning his loyalty, with the German having stayed with the Blaugrana for over a decade.

He also inherited the captain's armband following the departure of Sergi Roberto to Como ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Despite being one of the more experienced players in the team, Ter Stegen holds a relatively modest place on Barcelona’s wage bill.

But exactly how much does the German shot-stopper earn playing in Catalonia?

GOAL delved into the numbers with Capology and found out!

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• Ter Stegen's wages at Barcelona in numbers

  Under his ongoing contract at the club, which will keep him at the Camp Nou until 2028, Ter Stegen earns £101,135 ($132,628) on a weekly basis.

  Meanwhile, his annual wages playing for the club amount to £5.2 million ($6.8m)

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages in GBP	Weekly wages in USD	Annual wages in GBP	Annual wages in USD
  Marc-Andre ter Stegen	German	£101,135	$132,628	£5,268,390	$6,896,677

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  Top earners at Barcelona

  The current highest-earner at Barcelona is goal-scoring machine Robert Lewandowski.

  The Polish striker is not only the highest-paid player at the club, but also in the league.

  Meanwhile, Frenkie de Jong appears in second position, followed by forgotten man Ansu Fati.

  Finally, rounding off the list in fourth and fifth positions are French full-back Jules Kounde and Brazilian forward Raphinha, respectively.

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages in GBP	Weekly wages in USD	Annual wages in GBP	Annual wages in USD
  Robert Lewandowski	Polish	£536,006	$701,667	£27,872,290	$36,486,704
  Frenkie de Jong	Dutch	£305,554	$399,990	£15,888,794	$20,799,501
  Ansu Fati	Spanish	£224,341	$293,677	£11,665,720	$15,271,213
  Jules Kounde	French	£217,908	$285,256	£11,331,219	$14,833,329
  Raphinha	Brazilian	£201,022	$263,152	£10,453,154	$13,683,882

• Top earners in La Liga

  Lewandowski leads the top-five list of the highest-paid players in the league, with Kylian Mbappe making his appearance in second position, followed by his Real Madrid team-mate David Alaba.

  Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid's only entrant in the list is goalkeeper Jan Oblak, followed by Jude Bellingham.

  Nationality	Nationality	Weekly wages GBP	Weekly wages USD	Annual wages GBP	Annual Wages USD
  Robert Lewandowski	Polish	£536,006	$701,667	£27,872,290	$36,486,704
  Kylian Mbappe	French	£502,556	$657,879	£26,132,886	$34,209,706
  David Alaba	Austrian	£361,840	$473,673	£18,815,678	$24,630,988
  Jan Oblak	Slovenian	£334,983	$438,516	£17,419,136	$22,802,822
  Jude Bellingham	English	£334,983	$438,516	£17,419,136	$22,802,822

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  Highest paid players in the world

  Despite the enormous wages in the league, none of the top LaLiga earners make it to the top-five earners list globally.

  Saudi Pro League players heavily dominate the list as KSA has become a bit of a promised land financially for players in recent years.

  Leading the charts are former Real Madrid forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema at first and second spot respectively.

  Meanwhile, Riyad Mahrez comes in at number three, followed by Senegalese internationals Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly.

  Player	Club	Weekly wages GBP	Weekly wages USD	Annual wages GBP	Annual wages USD
  Cristiano Ronaldo	Al Nassr	£3,216,155	$4,210,425	£167,250,468	$218,942,120
  Karim Benzema	Al Ittihad	£1,608,178	$2,105,213	£83,625,234	$109,471,060
  Riyad Mahrez	Al Ahli	£839,469	$1,098,921	£45,652,372	$57,43,893
  Sadio Mane	Al Nassr	£643,271	$842,085	£33,450,094	$43,788,424
  Kalidou Koulibaly	Al Hilal	£558,038	$730,509	£29,017,956	$37,986,458

Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger may reportedly require knee surgery after playing through meniscus pain for months.

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• Rudiger playing through pain
• Defender may need knee surgery
• Expected to start for crucial last stretch

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to Relevo, the German international has been dealing with discomfort in his meniscus in recent months but due to not being rested, the issue has gotten worse. The report adds it is not ruled out that the 32-year-old may be forced to undergo surgery to fix the problem.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Madrid are still in with a chance to win La Liga and face Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey in the coming weeks. And the report adds that Rudiger is expected to be a starter for the final stretch of the season in their biggest games. Los Blancos may be playing with fire with the ex-Chelsea man, though.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Rudiger is reportedly set to enter into contract negotiations with Madrid, with the experienced defender's deal currently running until the summer of 2026.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  It remains to be seen if Rudiger will be fit enough to start against Madrid when they host Athletic Club in La Liga on Sunday.

West Bromwich Albion have reportedly made contact with an attacking manager who shares the same agent as Tom Fellows.

West Brom still searching for new manager after Wicky deal falls through

The Baggies are still looking for Carlos Corberan’s long-term successor at The Hawthorns, as we approach a month after the Spaniard’s move to Valencia.

It looked as if West Brom had their man over the weekend in former Basel and Young Boys coach Raphael Wicky. The 47-year-old was the leading contender and was in advanced talks over the managerial vacancy, however, talks broke down over coaching staff and a move fell through.

That has left the club back at square one, with former Everton boss Sean Dyche a new name that has emerged on the radar in the Midlands.

However, Dyche isn’t the only candidate on West Brom’s radar, with an update shared on another out-of-work boss alongside the ex-Toffees manager.

West Brom in contact with Steven Schumacher

According to club insider DOOD, West Brom have been in contact with former Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher.

In what is described as a “huge turnaround”, Schumacher and Dyche’s agents have been contacted over a potential move to The Hawthorns.

Schumacher, who likes to play an attacking 4-3-3 formation, as per Transfermarkt, caught the eye after taking Plymouth to the Championship in 2023 by winning the League One title. Things didn’t go as well at Stoke City, though, being sacked in September after just nine months and 32 games in charge.

The 40-year-old, who shares the same Wasserman agency as a number of West Brom players including Tom Fellows and Semi Ajayi, could now be one to keep an eye in the race for the Baggies job.

Talking to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess described the links as “interesting” and that there are “worse candidates out there”.

“Steven Schumacher is an interesting one for me because his time at Stoke would probably be enough to put a lot of fans off him, where they would be wondering why he wasn’t able to turn the tide around at Stoke.

“But I think you could take into consideration that not a lot of managers have had success there and if we were appointing him directly off the back of his time with Plymouth Argyle, a lot of the fanbase would be more receptive to it.

“While it’s fair to take into consideration his time at Stoke as a negative about potentially appointing him, I think there are definitely worse candidates out there.”

Burgess added: “I think he’s a manager that would have the fanbase split from the start, where there are more negative feelings to him due to his time at the Bet 365 Stadium. But personally, I wouldn’t be totally against it.”

Scott McTominay's blistering form continued as he handed Napoli a two-goal lead in the first half against Torino.

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• McTominay netted a brace in the first half
• Hit double figures in maiden season in Italy
• Napoli led 2-0 against Torino

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The ex-Manchester United midfielder broke the deadlock for Napoli in the 7th minute of the match from Frank Anguissa's assist before doubling his team's lead minutes before the half-time whistle. The first-half brace took McTominay's league tally to 11 goals as he hit double figures in his very first season in the Serie A.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  McTominay's double could prove to be a decisive factor in the 2024-25 Serie A title race as moves Napoli three points clear at the top of the table, with only four matches to go in the season. Earlier on Sunday, Inter surprisingly went down 1-0 against sixth-placed Roma.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The Red Devils have faced criticism ever since McTominay started to shine in the Italian league. Recently, former Scotland and Liverpool star Graeme Souness slammed United for letting a player of McTominay's calibre leave, as he labelled the decision as an atrocious piece of judgment.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR NAPOLI?

  Antonio Conte's men will be back in action in the Serie A next Saturday as they take on Lecce in a league clash away from home.

Liverpool continued their strive for Premier League success in Arne Slot’s first season, with their 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town at Anfield over the weekend.

Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah made it 4-0 for Liverpool after 65 minutes, before Ipswich defender, Jacob Greaves, netted a consolation goal in the 90th minute to make it 4-1.

Currently sitting six points clear at the top of the table with one game in hand, Liverpool are firmly in the driving seat heading into the second half of the season.

However, a top-class January addition could further solidify their title hopes, and FSG (Fenway Sports Group) could look to provide Slot with that in the final week of the window.

Liverpool looking at midfield signing

According to reports from CaughtOffside, Liverpool are one of the clubs to have ‘made a move’ for Bayern Munich midfielder, Joshua Kimmich. The German is yet to agree a new deal with Bayern, opening the door to other clubs who are registering interest in him.

The reports state that Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are all keen on the 29-year-old. If he does not agree a new deal, teams could make a move on a potential free transfer or even look to pay a smaller fee for him to arrive this month.

Kimmich has made 29 appearances for the German giants so far this season, scoring one goal and providing eight assists.

How Kimmich could become Liverpool's answer to Rodri

For the past few seasons, Liverpool have been looking to make changes to their midfield department, with the likes of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum all leaving the club.

In order to combat that, they have made signings such as Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, as well as Curtis Jones coming through the academy ranks.

However, whilst this midfield group has a variety of skills, their defensive acumen, experience at the highest level and ability to dictate the tempo of the game from deeper zones can be lacking at times. This has often been a key difference in recent years, as Manchester City have Rodri, who does all of these things at an exceptional level.

So, could Kimmich be the Anfield outfit’s answer to the great Spaniard? Let’s take a look.

When comparing Kimmich to Rodri in 2023/24 when he was not injured, you can see how closely the German ranks in many metrics, which is no easy feat considering this was much of the campaign that won Rodri his Ballon d’Or award.

The ability to have a high volume of passes in a game, complete them with efficiency, progress play and even add some threat with key passes too, all whilst protecting the defence and leading in a central area of the pitch, makes them invaluable to their side.

José Mourinho has even praised Kimmich in the past as an “absolutely phenomenal” player, labelling the German as “intelligent” showing his ability to play both as a right-back and a defensive midfielder. This versatility could also come in useful, depending on the Trent Alexander-Arnold situation come the end of the season.

Kimmich would clearly bring that extra experience in the midfield, helping the likes of Gravenberch and Jones especially, who can provide the box-to-box legs in the middle, but could also use the hand on their shoulder, leading that midfield unit.

Liverpool can finally bin Nunez by signing one of the best CFs in the world

Liverpool are preparing to strengthen in the transfer market this summer.

By
Angus Sinclair

Jan 21, 2025

Former Fenerbahce star Elvir Baljic has criticised manager Jose Mourinho's tactics and accused him of destroying the team.

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• Mourinho slammed by ex-Fenerbahce star
• Accused of destroying the team
• Fenerbahce beat 1-0 by Besiktas

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Fenerbahce and Real Madrid forward Baljic accused the veteran Portuguese manager of destroying the Turkish giants due to his ego as he slammed the coach's tactics following the club's 1-0 defeat at Besiktas on Sunday. He also urged Fenerbahce to part ways with Mourinho at the end of the current campaign.

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• WHAT ELVIR BALJIC SAID

  Speaking on a Turkish television programme, the 50-year-old said, via O Jogo: "I don't think Jose Mourinho is a good coach. In fact, he is a terrible coach and he is making fun of us. He surprised us again with the starting eleven before the game. Can he have such tactics, such preferences for players? This is called joking. He cannot destroy a team like this with his ego and arrogance. Sorry, but he has done ridiculous things.

  "I beg you not to continue with this man. I have no respect for Mourinho anymore. And regarding the players, I want to say one thing: the championship may be lost, but not without fighting in a game like this. Did Fenerbahçe have a tactic? Are they even playing?"

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Fenerbahce's loss against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Besiktas gave further advantage to Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig title race. With only four matches left in the season, Galatasaray are now only two wins away from securing their top-flight title.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR FENERBAHCE?

  Mourinho's side will be back in action in the Turkish league on Friday as they take on Istanbul Basaksehir in an away fixture.