Tag Futebol

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is blessed to have an array of exciting talents coming through the Hale End academy right now.

Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman and Myles Lewis-Skelly are making waves at N5 right now, with the latter rewarded for his Arsenal form by England boss Thomas Tuchel as he eyes a place in the Three Lions’ 2026 World Cup squad.

Ethan Nwaneri

15 years, 181 days

Arsenal

Max Dowman

15 years, 235 days

Arsenal

Jeremy Monga

15 years, 271 days

Leicester City

Harvey Elliott

16 years, 30 days

Fulham

Matthew Briggs

16 years, 68 days

Fulham

Despite being just 18-years-old, Lewis-Skelly burst on to the scene last season and fought his way into becoming one of Arteta’s first-choice left-backs with Riccardo Calafiori, thereby pushing established Premier League defender Oleksandr Zinchenko down the pecking order as a result.

Nwaneri, meanwhile, became the youngest Premier League player in history after making his debut in a 3-0 win over Brentford in 2022, with the sky appearing to be the limit for him.

Since then, the 18-year-old has racked up nine goals and two assists from 40 senior appearances under Arteta, and Arsenal initially hesitated over a deal for Eberechi Eze due to their desire for Nwaneri to be given more minutes this season (talkSPORT).

Nwaneri signed a new five-year contract at Arsenal in August, keeping him at the club until 2030, but the teenage talent now has another academy sensation to contend with for a place in the first-team.

That man is, of course, Dowman.

The 15-year-old became Arsenal’s second-youngest ever Premier League player behind Nwaneri after coming on in their 5-0 win over Leeds United last month, winning a penalty for summer signing Viktor Gyokeres to smash home.

Understandably, there is a lot of excitement around Dowman right now, and club legend Paul Merson insists he is just a “freak” for his age.

Still barely seen in the first team with just 27 minutes of competitive senior football to his name, former Arsenal keeper Graham Stack has now told Standard Sport that Dowman already reminds him of an England legend.

Arsenal teenager Max Dowman likened to Paul Gascoigne

Stack believes that Dowman has similarities with Paul Gascoigne, with the pundit hailing Arsenal’s “gifted” new teenager when speaking ahead of A Night To Remember.

While this bold statement continues to pile on lofty praise for Arsenal’s latest starlet, it is important not to put too much pressure on Dowman at this very early stage of his career.

The attacking midfielder has displayed real signs of promise, but the GCSE schoolboy is still at a preliminary stage of his development and needs time to grow before being thrust into the limelight so intensely.

That being said, there is still reason to be excited about Dowman, and Arsenal’s work with young players behind-the-scenes is continuing to pay dividends.

Troy Deeney has slammed Aston Villa’s “ego” problem and called out one of Unai Emery’s key players after their dry spell of form continued last weekend.

Villa winless after opening five games

Very few fans would’ve predicted Villa to be in the Premier League relegation zone after their first five games, but they’re currently occupying 18th place, after drawing three and losing two, scoring just one goal in the process.

Most recently, the Villans came up short at the Stadium of Light, drawing 1-1, despite Sunderland being reduced to ten men in the first half, with Wilson Isidor cancelling out Matty Cash’s opening goal.

The problems have continued to mount at Villa Park, with it subsequently being confirmed that sporting director Monchi is set to leave, in what could be another major blow for Emery, amid widespread speculation surrounding the manager’s future.

As mentioned, one of Villa’s main issues up to this stage has been the failure to score goals, with Ollie Watkins yet to find the back of the net, and Deeney has now singled the striker out for criticism.

The former Birmingham City man said: “The biggest problem is lack of goals, lack of goals from Ollie at this moment in time.

“At this moment in time, you’re the only striker there, you’re the one they’re looking towards and for the start of the season, you’re not delivering.

The talkSPORT pundit also went on to add: “At the moment in time, he just looks off it, he looks comfortable.”

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Not only is Deeney unimpressed with Watkins’ start to the campaign, but he is also concerned there may be an “ego” problem at Villa, saying: “It’s a weird one. I thought maybe with [Jadon] Sancho and [Harvey] Elliott coming in, there’d be a bit more dynamism to it. But they must not be fit enough as he’s not putting them anywhere near the starting line-up. It’s an ego thing now, a player-driven ego thing.”

“I think the manager is a very, very good manager, but you have to start looking now and saying: Why are the players trying to play inside the pitch? Why is Morgan Rogers not the focal point?”

Watkins needs to start firing after poor start

No one can deny the Villa striker has been a fantastic servant, having picked up 87 goals and 42 assists in 229 matches, but he must start firing sooner rather than later, having once again put in a poor performance against Sunderland.

The England international missed one big chance and touched the ball just 16 times throughout the match, finishing with a SofaScore match rating of just 6.3.

In fairness, the onus isn’t just on the former Brentford man to start improving, with fellow key player Morgan Rogers also failing to register a single goal or an assist this term, while Shay Given has called Emery out for labelling his players “lazy”.

It is a risky tactic for Emery to publicly criticise his players, but he will be hoping for a response from his side when their Europa League campaign gets underway against Bologna on Thursday.

Manchester United fell to a disappointing defeat at Manchester City on Sunday, and Roy Keane didn’t mince his words when reviewing one Red Devils star’s performance.

Manchester United come unstuck in comprehensive derby defeat

Truthfully, the Red Devils were second-best by a considerable margin as they begin to deal with the fallout of a derby loss that has left them sitting 14th in the Premier League table.

Ruben Amorim will be the man who cops the majority of criticism, something that seems only natural as he has now won just eight of his opening 31 matches in the English top-flight, which isn’t a run of form that bodes well when factoring in the size of Manchester United.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, former Red Devils midfielder Owen Hargreaves was stunned that Kobbie Mainoo wasn’t chosen to start against Pep Guardiola’s men, claiming that he ended up being the best player on the pitch for the visitors in the end.

He stated: “Where do you start? There are a lot of issues. How Kobbie Mainoo doesn’t play in this team I’ll never know. He came on for that game and in half hour he was probably their best player, by a country mile. So first of all he’s got to play. Sesko is not ready. He scored lots of goals in Germany but he didn’t look ready today.”

The damage had already been done by that point, and plenty of Manchester United stars have come in for criticism after an unceremonious display.

Altay Bayindir and Manuel Ugarte were two culprits, though football is a team game and everyone needs to take their share of the blame as Manchester United look to bounce back against Chelsea this weekend.

While there is still every chance Amorim’s men can turn around their fortunes, Roy Keane was frank in his assessment of one star’s performance at the Etihad Stadium.

Luke Shaw earns the brunt of Roy Keane criticism after Man Utd defeat

Live on Sky Sports, Roy Keane indicated that Luke Shaw’s performance fell below expectations against Manchester City, citing his role in Phil Foden’s opening goal during proceedings, which the Irishman feels he could’ve done more to prevent.

He stated via The Mirror: “Very good from City, Doku and Foden. Timing perfect not getting in there too early. But United’s defending, the two midfielders beforehand are too square, and Shaw just gives up.

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“It’s a nice bit of skill, but Shaw’s an England international player. He’s got hundreds of games under his belt, he doesn’t even get his body position right. It’s like he has thrown the towel in.

“We know people can run off the back of Bruno, that’s been going on for years. But my goodness, even before that, you’ve got two midfielders – they are too square. One pass takes them out. Far too easy. Shaw just throws the towel in there.”

Although criticism of evidently talented players is sometimes harsh, Manchester United were culpable of lapses defensively and came up against a ruthless opponent who dispatched three of their four ‘big chances’ created to claim three points.

Ultimately, Manchester City are a side likely to contend for the title, and conceding countless opportunities is always likely to result in punishment, something that Shaw and his teammates will now hope to rectify.

Leeds United have never been known to splash the cash on transfer deadline day.

Rather, the Whites are more known for taking a reserved approach to the drama, and that didn’t change this time around, as zero last-minute captures were secured, while Sunderland welcomed in another three new faces to their ever-growing camp in the Premier League.

It could well leave Leeds light on their feet as tense fixtures near the bottom of the division pile up, with just one goal scored from their opening three league matches adding another worry regarding their lack of business in the forward department late on.

However, the West Yorkshire outfit did fork out £18m to land Noah Okafor before the grumbles of deadline day took over, with a hope he can add some much-needed firepower when up to speed.

What Okafor can offer to Leeds

Leeds had been somewhat busy in the market before the letdown of deadline day, with the number of new summer incomings standing at a hefty ten.

A flurry of business saw Daniel Farke try to bolster his side’s weak attacking personnel, having publicly bemoaned the lack of quality in the forward positions in pre-season, with Okafor a statement buy in this regard.

Indeed, the Swiss international has a healthy career haul of 100 goal contributions plying his trade for the likes of RB Salzburg and AC Milan, with scout Jacek Kulig even dubbing the promising 25-year-old as “electric” when lighting up the Austrian Bundesliga.

Capable of operating on the left flank and as a centre-forward option, the expectation will be that he can become Leeds’ next Wilfried Gnonto in time.

With the addition of another face down the left who hasn’t come cheap – with the new Leeds number 19 also pocketing a high £72.5k-per-week salary – this could well finally signal the end of one underperformer at Elland Road…

Jack Harrison must finally be finished at Leeds

Farke and Co. did get rid of some deadwood this summer that was burning a hole in the wage costs, with Patrick Bamford now no longer on Leeds’ books, having earned the same lavish £70k-per-week salary as Okafor for some time.

He was routinely the highest earner in West Yorkshire, despite noticeable dips in form, with that unwanted mantle now being passed onto an equally hit-and-miss Jack Harrison.

Once upon a time at Leeds, Harrison was seen as a shining star in attack, with a bumper 16-goal contributions under his belt during the 2020/21 season in the top-flight, when the Whites were still being steered by the iconic Marcelo Bielsa.

However, in the here and now, he isn’t seen as the same bright spark he once was, having deserted Leeds during their depressing return to the Championship, where he then jumped ship to Everton and consistently failed to deliver.

Games played

65

Goals scored

4

Assists

4

Wage per week

£90k-per-week

Wage cost over a season

£4.6m

From his last 65 games in the challenging division, Harrison has only managed to muster up an underwhelming eight goal contributions, with Leeds now handed back the burden of the high earner, who is without a goal or assist from his two Whites cameos this season.

Staggeringly, despite his sour relationship with the Premier League new boys, he is their highest earner currently – as per Capology – at an eye-watering £90k-per-week.

This is the case even as he has previously been branded “non-existent” by journalist Beren Cross when donning Leeds white, on top of being further labelled as “disappointing” back in 2023 by ex-striker turned pundit Chris Waddle when his Elland Road form started to wobble.

With Okafor in through the door now, it will be intriguing to see how long Farke is willing to persist with his below-par number 20.

For Leeds’ long-term sake, he should be axed sooner rather than later – having also given up possession 25 times to Championship opposition Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup recently – as fresh blood is instead prioritised in their bid to beat the drop.

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Daniel Farke wanted an attacking option.

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هنأ السويسري جياني إنفانتينو، رئيس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا” منتخب مصر على التأهل إلى كأس العالم 2026، بعد الفوز على جيبوتي بثلاثية نظيفة.

وتأهل منتخب مصر إلى نهائيات كأس العالم 2026 تحت قيادة العميد حسام حسن، للمرة الرابعة في تاريخه، بعد الفوز على جيبوتي بثلاثية نظيفة.

وواجه رجال حسام حسن، جيبوتي، مساء اليوم الأربعاء، في تمام الساعة السابعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، بالمغرب، وانتهت المباراة بثلاثية نظيفة أحرزها إبراهيم عادل وثنائية بأقدام محمد صلاح.

وسجل محمد صلاح الهدفين الثاني والثالث للفراعنة أمام جيبوتي، ليسهل من مهمة المنتخب نحو التأهل إلى مونديال 2026 والذي سيُقام ضمن ملف ثلاثي في كندا والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية والمكسيك.

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وأصبح محمد صلاح والذي وصل لـ62 هدفًا بقميص منتخب مصر الآن، الهداف التاريخي لتصفيات إفريقيا المؤهلة لكأس العالم، حيث سجل الآن هدفه التاسع عشر ليتجاوز ديدييه دروجبا وصامويل إيتو وإسلام سليماني.

ونشر جياني إنفانتينو، فيديو له عبر حسابه الرسمي على “انستجرام”: “تهانينا لمصر على تأهلها لكأس العالم 2026، بعد نسخ 1934، 1990 و2018، سيُرفع علم مصر عاليًا مرة أخرى على أكبر منصة في أعظم بطولة رياضية عالمية، نتطلع إلى الترحيب بكم مجددًا”.

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An “interesting” striker is now a top target for Glasgow Rangers in the summer transfer window, with Gers manager Russell Martin personally green-lighting the move.

Rangers need response after Martin criticism

It’s fair to say that Martin has already made his presence felt as Gers boss, producing some stinging criticism of his players after last weekend’s 1-1 draw away to Motherwell on the opening weekend of the Scottish Premiership season.

“Some of them have to drop their ego, I’ll look at us tactically and accept my responsibility in it. But today, it’s not really tactical, it’s a mentality problem, and we got more than what we deserved actually.

“We need work out who really wants to be all in and who doesn’t. But Europe is not an excuse. This club demands to play in Europe. We’ve qualified for that, so we’re going to be playing in Europe a lot and we’re going to have games after the European games a lot, and we have to manage them way better than today.”

Granted, Rangers did bounce back in midweek with a 3-0 win at home to Viktoria Plzen in Champions League qualifying, but a response is still required in the league on Saturday, as Martin’s side host Dundee.

The draw with Motherwell was further proof that additional firepower is needed for the Gers before the transfer window closes, and a key update has now emerged regarding one target.

Martins green-lights Rangers' move for striker

According to TEAMtalk, Macca Tel Aviv striker Dor Turgeman has now “emerged as one of Rangers’ top targets” in the current window, with a move for him being approved by Martin.

The 21-year-old is mentioned in the report as “one of the best strikers in the Israeli Premier League”, but the Gers “will have to sell players before committing to new signings”, amid doubts over the futures of the likes of Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane.

Turgeman was linked with a move to Rangers last month, and it is easy to see why the Premiership side are such admirers of him, given his status as an exciting young player.

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The youngster has scored 32 goals in 113 appearances for Tel Aviv, while at international level, he has one goal to his name in 10 caps for Israel. Scout Jacek Kulig has lauded Turgeman as an “interesting” striker, while journalist Kai Watson has heaped further praise on him.

“If you’ve followed me for any length of time you won’t be surprised to see Dor Turgeman here. The 21-year-old Israeli international is great with both feet, a strong carrier of the ball and lethal inside the box. He has all the tools to go to the top.”

As mentioned, Rangers’ pursuit of Turgeman could ultimately be dependant on what happens with other strikers at the club this summer, but he stands out as a talented long-term option who could be a star at Ibrox.

Alejandro Garnacho has already been left exhausted in Chelsea training as the former Manchester United star was spotted struggling for breath in one of his sessions. Garnacho fell out of favour under Ruben Amorim after his public clash with the manager following the club's Europa League final defeat to Tottenham last season. After being part of Amorim's 'bomb squad' this summer, the winger signed for the Blues.

• Garnacho exhausted after a Chelsea training session
• Couldn't move his legs
• Joined Chelsea from United this summer 

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Towards the end of the summer transfer window, Garnacho finally exited Old Trafford as he signed a seven-year contract with Chelsea after the two Premier League clubs agreed a deal worth a fixed £40 million fee ($54m) with a 10 per cent sell-on clause. The Argentine is now undergoing rigorous training, and after one such intense session at Cobham, Garnacho was left exhausted.

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  At the end of the training session, Garnacho said on camera: "I can't move my legs now man. That sprint in the last one."

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  Emerging through United’s youth academy, Garnacho made his senior debut for the club in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League in April 2022. He then became a regular in the first team, helping the club win the Carabao Cup in 2022-23 and the FA Cup in 2023-24 under Erik ten Hag’s stewardship. However, the Argentina international endured a difficult relationship with current United boss Amorim.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR GARNACHO?

  Garnacho will hope to make his Chelsea debut once action resumes after the international break, although it's unclear just how fit he is. Enzo Maresca's side are scheduled to face Brentford on September 13.

A hamstring injury sustained in the Hundred has denied Nathan Ellis the opportunity to nail down a spot in Australia’s T20I side, ruling him out of the rest of their series against Scotland and the eight subsequent white-ball games in England.Ellis was targeting the Scotland series as a rare chance to lead Australia’s attack, with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins rested and Josh Hazlewood out with a calf niggle. But Cricket Australia announced on Friday that he had not recovered from his hamstring tendon injury in time to be considered for selection and would fly home imminently.The timing of the injury – picked up while playing for London Spirit in the Hundred – is particularly frustrating for Ellis. He has played 17 T20Is, including three appearances at the 2024 T20 World Cup, but his opportunities have generally depended on at least one of the ‘big three’ quicks being rested.Riley Meredith, who played his first international match since 2021 on Wednesday in Australia’s thrashing of Scotland in the first T20I, will stay with the squad as cover. It has left Somerset expecting to be without Meredith on T20 Blast Finals Day on Saturday, which takes place between the second and third matches of the England series.Hazlewood has landed in England ahead of Wednesday’s first T20I at the Utilita Bowl. “[He] will join the squad in Southampton having recovered from a minor calf strain,” a CA spokesperson said. Ellis was also due to feature in the five-match ODI series against England, which starts on September 19, with a replacement yet to be named.Meredith could, in theory, be released to play for Somerset on Finals Day – which takes place at Edgbaston on Saturday – but the club’s captain Lewis Gregory said after their quarter-final win on Thursday night that they were not expecting to have him available. Somerset do not have any players in England’s T20I squad, so will otherwise have their full squad at their disposal.

It’s been an unsettling summer for Aston Villa supporters far and wide as they feared their successful Premier League side was in danger of being completely dismantled.

To comply with PSR rules, a whole load of sales might have had to be signed off on, as Emiliano Martinez continues to be linked with a switch to Premier League rivals Manchester United or Chelsea to give Villa a healthy £45m injection of cash.

However, a new breaking development seems to indicate that Villa will be able to get around these stringent PSR rules after all by selling their women’s team, with such a loophole allowing for any PSR anxiety to be forgotten about.

With this dire situation now presumably fixed at the final hour, Unai Emery’s men could push on in the transfer market to land a couple of statement deals, as a few faces here and there begin to be steadily linked with a switch to Villa Park.

Aston Villa's transfer situation

Understandably, most of the conversation involving Villa this off-season has involved the likes of Ollie Watkins being lined up for major moves away, with all the worry surrounding PSR getting to the Villans.

Now, however, the mood will be more relaxed, with Villa ready to explore several new targets. Already, they have been unsuccessful in landing Jesus Rodriguez from Real Betis though, as a deal heartbreakingly collapsed.

Still, that won’t have completely knocked them, with Lucas Chevalier one name reportedly on their shopping list if Martinez does still exit the West Midlands outfit.

On top of that, a fresh name in the form of Gabriel Sara has now begun to be linked with a move to England, with a report from Turkish outlet Hurriyet, via Sport Witness, indicating that a £17m bid has been put forward to Galatasaray by Villa for their creative Brazilian.

This has since been knocked back with Galatasaray wanting at least £34m for their midfield star, who is also a wanted man by Manchester City, Manchester United, and Leeds United.

Villa will hope they come out on top to land his coveted signature, with the ex-Norwich City ace already a hit in England when on the books of the Canaries, meaning he might well be Villa’s next Youri Tielemans if he were to join the building soon.

How Sara could be Villa's next Tielemans

After all, Tielemans used to be on the books of Leicester City before advancing his game even more when donning Villa claret and blue.

By the end of the entertaining 2024/25 campaign for Villa, Tielemans was arguably the club’s player of the season having tallied up 15 goals and assists in all competitions, with five of those goal contributions coming about on the grandest stage of them all in the Champions League.

The 77-time Belgium international would also amass a hefty 54 goal contributions during his entire Foxes stay, with Villa now feeling smug with themselves that they won Tieleman’s services on a free transfer basis in the summer of 2023.

Whilst Sara would cost a lavish £34m to obtain, he might well come in and become as instrumental to Villa’s midfield as Tielemans now is, having picked up ten assists and two goals last season for his current Turkish employers, away from already being well-versed in the high demands of the English game when situated in Norfolk.

Games played

96

Goals scored

21

Assists

17

Norwich POTS

1x

Championship POTM

1x

Championship TOTY

1x

Whilst the Brazilian would never guide Norwich up to the Premier League during his celebrated stay, he certainly still left an impression on the Carrow Road masses with classy display after classy display, as seen in his bumper total of 54 combined goals and assists from 96 contests, which is eerily the exact same amount Tielemans tallied up at the King Power Stadium.

He has since tasted success in a top division in Turkey too, with U23 scout Antonio Mango even going out of his way to herald the midfield ace as “incredible.”

With nine Europa League games under his belt last season too, he could be a worthwhile buy for Villa for this alone as they enter into the competition next campaign, with a hope in the air also that he’s their next favourite from the middle of the park like Tielemans.

Aston Villa tell agents they're ready to sell Emery favourite in next 2 days

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ByEmilio Galantini Jun 28, 2025

The season may be over, and the fans may still be basking in the glory of Europa League success, but there is still plenty of work for the Tottenham Hotspur board to do in the coming months.

The summer transfer window is set to open in a matter of days, and with Champions League football now secure, Daniel Levy and Co must do everything they can to bring in the best players to support Ange Postecoglou and his squad.

However, it’s not all about incomings, as the club now have a golden opportunity to offload a number of players who simply aren’t good enough.

Specifically, Levy and Co should look to sell someone who’s in real danger of becoming the club’s new Tanguy Ndombele.

Ndombele's Spurs career

Back in the summer of 2019, Spurs were crying out for some midfield reinforcements, and so the club did something quite out of character and smashed their transfer record to bring in Ndombele for around £63m.

There was plenty of excitement around the move at the time, as the Frenchman was coming off a stellar campaign with Lyon, and several prominent journalists were even comparing him to the simply sensational Mousa Dembélé – yes, seriously.

Unfortunately, aside from the good performance here and there, the Longjumeau-born ace never got anywhere near the level that was expected of him, so much so that after just two and a half years, he was sent back to Lyon on a short-term loan.

Ndombele‘s Spurs career
Appearances	91
Goals	10
Assists	9
Goal Involvements per Match	0.20
All Stats via Transfermarkt

After that, he spent a season with Napoli and then another with Galatasary, finally leaving N17 after his contract was terminated by mutual consent, with 91 Tottenham appearances to his name, in which he scored ten goals and provided nine assists.

With his fee, lack of game time and poor performances all taken into account, it’s not hard to see why journalist Paul Brown described Ndombele as “one of the worst signings Spurs have ever made.”

Unfortunately, the club now have another midfielder who could be in a similar conversation, unless they sell him this summer, that is.

The Spurs player who must be sold

Now, while a number of squad members should be sold this summer, the player we are talking about is Yves Bissouma.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Like Ndombele before him, there was quite a bit of excitement around the Mali international’s transfer to Spurs back in 2022, with content creator George Benson describing the deal as “an absolutely brilliant signing.”

However, instead of getting the unreal midfield destroyer who was sensational for Brighton & Hove Albion, the North Londoners ended up with a player who has had more questionable performances than good ones.

For example, while he was undeniably excellent in the Europa League final, he was terrible against his old club on Sunday, earning himself a 4/10 match rating from Alasdair Gold, who rather charitably described him as ‘clumsy.’

It was a similar story away to Fulham earlier in the season when Gold gave him 3/10 and wrote that ‘his use of the ball was dreadful.’

Go back another few months to December, and he put in such a poor display at home to Chelsea – in which he gave away a penalty – that Jamie Carragher slammed him for being “absolutely ridiculous.”

Finally, on top of being unable to string together a number of good performances, the 28-year-old has a sketchy fitness record at best, which has seen him miss 25 games for club and country since moving to N17.

Ultimately, it’s in Spurs’ best interest to say thanks for the performance in the final and sell Bissouma this summer before another season of dismal displays turns him into the modern Ndombele.

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1

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