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Regis Le Bris will know, alongside recruiting various new players this summer at Sunderland, that there will be an expectation on his shoulders that youngsters developing on Wearside will also be given a fair crack in the first-team this coming season.

The next generation of Black Cats talents managed to raise a smile on the weary faces of supporters at the Stadium of Light last campaign, even when things were routinely looking bleak in the Championship, with the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham standing out who are only 17 and 18 years of age respectively.

Bellingham, in particular, impressed with seven goals next to his name across the full season, with a new Academy star also predicted to make waves in the first-team soon to potentially challenge the teenage sensation's starting spot in attacking midfield.

Caden Kelly's situation at Sunderland

There will be concerns in the air that 20-year-old Caden Kelly could still end up waving goodbye to Sunderland in a year's time when his contract expires.

Football journalist Alan Nixon has stated via his Patreon that a new deal is being ironed out to try and keep Kelly rooted in his Wearside location, with the former Manchester City youngster tipped to impress if given a chance to shine in the first-team.

Regularly providing a goalscoring threat for the youthful Black Cats, the time could well be right for Kelly to be bumped up to the senior mix if Le Bris is willing to give him a platform to impress this coming campaign.

With the Championship outfit also short on attacking midfield numbers, with Adil Aouchiche the only other option in the number ten spot minus Bellingham, the Irish-born gem could be the next starlet every Sunderland fan is raving about very shortly.

Kelly's numbers at Sunderland

In the Premier League 2 for Sunderland U23s last term, Kelly tallied up an impressive three goals and ten assists in all competitions.

That would bring his total playing at that level to 11 goals and 15 assists from 49 games, with there now being the argument that the 20-year-old has outgrown the youth pitches he is playing on, especially if Bellingham – who is two years younger than Kelly – is lighting up the Championship on the contrary.

Consistently delivering the goods for Sunderland at youth level, Kelly has been handed two first-team appearances off the back of these exploits, with more potentially coming his way if Le Bris takes a shining to the 20-year-old.

Capable of playing down the wings and even up front if needed, much like Bellingham managed on occasion last campaign, Kelly would offer the new manager another option all over the attacking areas, as he aims to be the coach to bring success back to the Stadium of Light.

It is unlikely that Kelly will manage to displace Bellingham from the starting line-up anytime soon, as the 18-year-old looks to kick on and impress even more in the second tier after committing his future to the club amidst speculation he could be leaving this summer.

But, the youthful gem could be given more minutes in the senior fold regardless, if Sunderland can tie him down to a new contract, with Kelly being potentially the next fruitful Academy star off the Black Cats production line if all goes to plan.

Sunderland hit gold selling "monster" star who was worth as much as Clarke

Sunderland banked a huge amount of cash when this former star was sold on.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jul 9, 2024

Transfer business at Newcastle United has taken an unexpected turn in recent days, with the club desperately needing to sell players to avoid a potential points deduction for breaching the Premier League’s PSR rules.

Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak have both been touted with big-money moves away from St James’ Park, with Eddie Howe wanting to keep hold of his star players to mount another Champions League push this season.

As a result, the Magpies had to brutally part ways with two youngsters, just to meet the threshold, but making a tidy profit on the pair to satisfy the rules set out by the league.

Yankuba Minteh left Tyneside after never making a single first-team appearance, whilst academy graduate Elliot Anderson also departed his boyhood club to join Nottingham Forest – a sale that is the second-highest in Newcastle’s history.

The two transfers generated a combined £68m for the club, but Howe’s side will be able to generate even more profit should they offload one player who’s struggled in the Premier League in recent months.

Miguel Almiron's stats during 2023/24

After his sensational goalscoring run in 2022/23 which saw the attacker score eight goals in just nine Premier League games, Miguel Almiron failed to replicate any of his good form under Howe last season.

He's featured 42 times in all competitions but has only managed to find the back of the net on three occasions, failing to match the heights he's previously hit on Tyneside.

Although the £60k-per-week winger remains contracted with the Magpies until 2026, his recent troubles with his lack of creative output and injuries prove he's no longer at the level required, with Howe needing to brutally part ways with the winger.

Whilst the deadline for PSR has already passed, the club will need to keep offloading players to prevent a repeat of last week which has seen frantic and unneeded departures of two of the club’s best prospects.

However, despite his below-par campaign last season, he’s still attracting interest from Saudi Arabia, with journalist Keith Downie confirming that numerous sides are interested in signing the Paraguayan.

As a result of his drop in form, his market value has taken a huge hit, but it still remains higher than two players recently involved in the dramatic PSR transfer moves in recent days.

Miguel Almiron’s market value in 2024

Over five years on from his £20m move from Atlanta United in the MLS, Almiron has seen a steady decline in his value in recent years, with the attacker now only valued at just £17m, as per Transfermarkt. That being said, in recent months, PIF have placed a £30m asking price on his head according to reports.

However, despite a downturn in performances, he still holds a higher market value than new signing Odysseas Vlachodimos and the recently departed Anderson, who are both worth less than the fees paid – a loophole taken advantage of by Forest and the Magpies.

The Greek shot-stopper only boasts a figure of £6m according to Transfermarkt after his unsuccessful stint at the City Ground, which saw him start just five Premier League matches last season.

Meanwhile, Anderson is valued at £12.7m after his breakthrough season in the Premier League for Howe’s side in a season that presented the youngster with numerous opportunities following constant injury issues with multiple first-team members.

With Almiron now aged 30 and coming towards the back end of his professional career, it is pivotal that Howe and the PIF sell the attacker for as much as possible, with his price tag only going to decline in the years ahead.

He was an important figure for the club towards the end of the Ashley era and even for Howe in recent seasons, but unfortunately, the side has better alternatives in the final third, with the club needing to prevent any loss on the £20m fee they forked out for him by offloading the

Paraguayan ahead of next term.

Newcastle could land "phenomenal" £35m Anderson upgrade

Eddie Howe’s side could seal a top deal here.

By
Angus Sinclair

Jul 1, 2024

Harry Kane insisted that Bayern Munich "dominate" every game after his brace against Union Berlin opened up a gap at the top of the Bundesliga table.

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• Bayern cruised to comfortable 3-0 victory
• Kane found the net twice
• Hailed Bavarians after complete performance

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Questions were asked about Vincent Kompany's tactical acumen and Kane's impact on the biggest stages after the Bavarians were outclassed 4-1 by Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. However, they bounced back from the defeat in some style and have scored 12 goals in the last three matches with a clean sheet in each one of them.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Out of the 12 goals, Kane has scored three, including a brace against Union Berlin on Saturday evening. It was a professional performance from the league leaders as they dominated throughout the match and sealed the three points without breaking a sweat to continue their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga.

• WHAT KANE SAID

  Speaking to after the match, Kane stated: "It's fantastic. Every game we dominate, not only with the ball but also without the ball with our pressing. We managed to keep another clean sheet today which is great. Everyone is hungry. There's still a long way to go, but if we keep going like this we'll be OK."

  When asked about his form in front of the goal, he added: "Physically, mentally – playing in this type of team, I feel like at a really high level at the moment but of course without the players around me creating the chances it wouldn't be possible. The team is doing great, we're playing a really great style of football. With the ball, without the ball, we're making it difficult for teams, and when you're dominating a game like we did today, you're going to get chances and I always back myself to put some away."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR KANE?

  The English forward will look to add to his ever-increasing goal-tally when Bayern host Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Forget the Euros, it's transfer season!

It's that time of the year that can spring up some genuinely surprising moves and some mind-bogglingly expensive ones to boot, and it looks like Tottenham Hotspur are ready to spend big.

According to recent reports, Daniel Levy and Co have planned talks to land a Premier League star who would become the club's record signing and be unreal next to Son Heung-min.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from Football Transfers, Tottenham are very interested in bringing Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze to North London this summer.

In fact, the report has revealed that the Lilywhites are set to have talks at the end of the week over the potential signing and that the player's camp expects that if his asking price of around £60m is met, the South Londoners will let him join Ange Postecoglou's revolution in N17.

This deal would require the club to smash their current transfer record, which is £55m for Tanguy Ndombele in 2019 – his output didn't see the add-ons activated – but with Eze open to the transfer, Levy and Co must do what they can to make it happen.

His performances for Palace last season were spectacular, and his inclusion in a Spurs team could help Son reach new levels.

Why Eze would be a great signing for Spurs

There are a few reasons why the four-capped England international would be a quality addition to Postecoglou's team and the first is his versatility.

In 260 games, the 25-year-old has started in attacking and central midfield, left and right midfield, on both wings and even as a defensive midfielder and a centre-forward – talk about a utility player.

However, were he to move to N17 this summer, he'd likely play most of his games in midfield or occasionally out on the left, and could therefore form a brilliant partnership with club captain, Son.

The South Korean returned a staggering 27 goals and assists in 36 games last season from the left-wing and striker positions, and he did so while the team's most efficient midfielder, James Maddison, could only manage four goals and ten assists.

This is where the Palace ace comes in, as in 31 games – one more than Maddison – he managed a tally of 11 goals and six assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.8 games to the former Leicester City ace's average of every 2.3 matches.

Now, the "beautiful" Eagles attacker, as England manager Gareth Southgate dubbed him, may not always start ahead of the Lilywhites co-vice-captain, but he'd provide genuine competition in that number ten role, and his versatility means he could step in for Son when he needs rest on the left.

Ultimately, breaking the club's transfer record to bring in a player is nothing to take lightly, but Eze has been incredible for Palace over the years, and he could be even better alongside Son at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He's like Stones: Spurs hold talks to sign "monster" Romero replacement

The exceptional talent has already made an impact at the Euros.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jun 18, 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo has seen his rise from Manchester United “prodigy” to Al-Nassr “leader” lauded, and we still “don’t know the end” of that story.

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• Moved to Old Trafford as a teenager
• Has become an all-time great
• No thoughts of retirement at 39

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Mikael Silvestre played alongside the Portuguese superstar during his early days at Manchester United, with a move to Old Trafford from Sporting completed while still in his teens. More than 20 years later and CR7 is still going strong at the age of 39.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  He is showing no sign of slowing down, with there a desire on his part to reach 1,000 career goals before giving any thought to retirement. Ronaldo has come a long way from humble beginnings, as one of the most recognisable figures on the planet, and is a source of inspiration to millions.

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  WHAT SILVESTRE SAID

  Silvestre will never get tired of Ronaldo’s sporting fairy tale and has told of a remarkable journey that remains far from finished: “I had the chance to play with him for four seasons. If we start at the beginning, when he first came he was a bit shy but soon enough he became one of the stars of the team. At that time it wasn’t easy but he made his mark. He left his native Portugal, he adapted quickly – he wasn’t speaking the language but on the field, when he started he was already making a lot of waves. He was a prodigy.

  “After that he has just raised and raised and is still going at his age. This is unbelievable what he’s achieving. We don’t know the end, he hasn’t said when he wants to stop. I think it’s fantastic to have him at Nassr and doing what he does as a leader, as a captain, as a goalscorer. He’s everything they need and it’s something fantastic for Saudi in general to have him.”

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• WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

  Ronaldo hit 50 goals for Al-Nassr in all competitions last season, becoming the first man to win Golden Boots in four different countries, and has remained in record-breaking mode at the start of 2024-25 – with there no need for him to consider hanging up his boots any time soon.

Leeds United have been credited with an interest in a former Championship winner as they look to do just that next season after a mini overhaul in this summer's transfer window.

Leeds on a budget

After missing out on Championship promotion last season, Daniel Farke's side could look very different come the opening weekend of the new season.

Alongside Aaronson: Leeds must bring back star who's "too good" for the EFL

The Whites should bring the impressive central defender back to Elland Road next season.

By
Dan Emery

Jun 12, 2024

Financial issues mean that they are likely to lose the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto, while they are likely only to be able to strengthen their squad via loan deals and free transfers.

With that in mind, they have targetted Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist, while they are also keen to re-sign Joe Rodon. And he might not be the only Spurs man making the move to Yorkshire.

Leeds target loan addition

Now, it has emerged that Leeds may line up a move for midfield man Oliver Skipp this summer. Farke has worked with the Tottenham man before, with the pair spending a season together at Norwich City, where Skipp was virtually ever-present in Norwich's title winning side.

And Farke has made his feelings on the Englishman crystal clear, admitting that his actions speak louder than words.

“I am quite careful in praising them too much but actions are more important than any words and when you look at Oliver’s season you can realise that he has played more or less every second in the league for us, for a side that has lots of competition in the squad.

“This says a lot about how much I rate him and how much I value him, I don’t want to praise him too much in public, it’s more like each and every day I keep on criticising him."

In the years since, Skipp has struggled to nail down a regular spot at Tottenham, appearing 21 times in Ange Postecoglou's maiden Premier League season but managing just five starts, while Spurs are thought to be keen to strengthen in midfield this summer, which could leave the 23-year-old further down the pecking order.

Indeed, across his three seasons in north London, he has still managed fewer league minutes than he did across his single season in the Championship.

Despite his rare outings, he has drawn praise from Ex-Tottenham icon Glen Hoddle, who hailed one particularly "fabulous" piece of defending in a defeat to Brentford.

“It’s a fabulous bit of defensive work as well. The little ball goes in, Toney’s offside, it’s true he doesn’t attempt to play the ball. He leaves it. But Skipp, his awareness defensively to get that is amazing. He covered the ground, it’s excellent defending.”

But his opportunities to showcase his ability look to be reducing further in north London.

Farke may be ready to offer him a way out, with The Athletic [via Football League World] revealing that Leeds have taken an interest in the 23-year-old as a potential replacement for either Archie Gray or Ilia Gruev, both of whom have been linked with departures this summer.

Any move would be a loan deal, with Skipp still having three years left to run on his £40,000 a week deal with the Lilywhites. The club already have a strong relationship with Tottenham, having taken Joe Rodon on loan last season and hoping to keep him permanently should they be able to afford it.

In Skipp, they could find a ready-made Farke player who can help them go one better next season after heartbreak this time around, and the move could offer Skipp a much-needed career lifeline under a coach that knows him inside out.

Victor Boniface required hospital treatment after a car crash following Bayer Leverkusen's 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

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• Leverkusen won on Saturday
• Boniface shared video of damaged vehicle
• Left with bloodied hand

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Boniface scored in Leverkusen's 2-1 win over Frankfurt at the weekend, but was involved in a horror car accident afterwards. The striker shared multiple images of his wrecked vehicle, and also showed a scrape on his hand which left him bloodied.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Boniface required treatment in hospital but has since posted on social media, confirming to fans that he is safe and well.

  He simply wrote: "God is the greatest" with a love heart emoji.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Boniface has been in superb form for Leverkusen thus far this season and has scored seven goals in 10 games in all competitions. Last season, he hit 21 goals in 34 outings.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Leverkusen are unlikely to rush Boniface back if he feels he cannot compete. They are next in action on Wednesday, when they take on French side Brest in the Champions League.

A select few MLS journeymen have seen the league grow, and experienced its triumphs and struggles in the process

Thierry Henry always seemed to be on his phone. At least, that’s what Atlanta United midfielder Dax McCarty noticed when they played together with New York Red Bulls from 2011-2014, McCarty watching one of the game’s greats thrive in MLS.

Henry was such a recognized face in world football, and susceptible to mass attention in public. So, to create a cocoon of privacy, every time the Red Bulls were in public spaces, such as walking through a major airport, Henry would pull out his phone and spend the entire check-in process – from arriving at the curb to the second he got on the plane – talking.

That’s just one of many stories that McCarty and other MLS journeymen recall. These days it’s a glittery affair. Teams take chartered flights, play in front of tens of thousands of fans, and have all of their games streamed globally thanks to an Apple TV deal worth billions.

But 20 years ago, this was a vastly different setup, one of stodgy training pitches and unrecognized European veterans. Through it all, a select group of journeymen have survived, bouncing from club to club, city to city, and growing alongside a league that is still expanding. GOAL spoke to three MLS veterans who played for a combined 23 teams, and have tallied more than 1,000 appearances.

There's McCarty, a 19-year veteran. There's Eric Miller, who has played for six teams. And of course there's Kei Kamara, now of LAFC, who through trades and signings boasts perhaps the most extensive travelogue of any player in MLS, having worn the jerseys of 11 different clubs over his 20 years in the league. He is the journeyman of all journeymen, and, like no other, has seen MLS from all of its viewpoints, bouncing across the U.S. and Canada.

His North American tour makes for remarkable reading. In order, Kamara has played for Columbus, San Jose, Houston, Kansas City, Columbus (again), New England, Vancouver, Colorado, Minnesota, Montreal, Chicago and Los Angeles.

And the common thread among these MLS journeymen? Their passion for the game.

"I would much rather be a guy that has been around a long time, that's maybe played for a couple different teams and seen a bunch of different cities in this league than a guy who didn't make it as long," McCarty told GOAL. "That's the dream."

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  Change is a constant

  McCarty has been along for much of the MLS ride. A talented prospect when drafted in 2006, the Atlanta United midfielder has played for 19 years. He is perhaps the definition of the career journeyman, a box-to-box player who had adapted his game, and managed to find a spot at six different clubs. He has never won MLS Cup, but has seen far more of the league – and has more stories to tell – than some of the biggest stars to grace American soccer.

  “It felt pretty amateurish when I got to the league,” he says. “I mean, look not to – I don't use that word as a derogatory word. It's just kind of, you know, it's just the reality of what MLS was.”

  It is an odd thing to be dubbed an MLS veteran. After all, the league has only been around for 30 years. There are admittedly few players around from the mid 2000s – arguably the period in which the MLS began to take off. The turning point for it all? McCarty highlighted a key moment.

  “We signed a World Cup winner in Denilson,” McCarty, then of FC Dallas, said. “That barely scratched the surface of interest. And so when (David) Beckham arrived, there was a massive mania around that.”

  But there are other memories, too, some that might paint a less favorable picture of MLS.

  “San Jose’s locker room was essentially connected to their basketball gym,” he recalls, “and you had to walk this winding walk through a bunch of different people and a bunch of different fans and a bunch of different fields just to go warm up and just to play, to get ready for the game.”

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  Getting recognized

  It never failed to surprise McCarty just how infrequently he and his MLS teammates were identified by fans – despite wearing team tracksuits. It would happen at airports, or walking around cities – or more accurately, it wouldn’t happen, badges of professional sports franchises going unrecognized.

  For McCarty, it served as a perfect excuse for some casual banter – especially on flights (MLS teams flew commercially until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020).

  “Back in the day, at the time, we just started making sh*t up,” he says. “We were just like, ‘We're a marching band.’ Or ‘We play basketball, but we play against the Harlem Globetrotters.’ We just made anything up that we could because we were just sick of the questions.”

  And it wasn’t just the American-born MLS vets who managed to live in relative anonymity. Big names, such as World Cup winning midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, was in on all of the jokes.

  “You’re trying to sleep or something, and he would strike up some sort of good vibe with the flight attendant, and they would let him get on the PA system and make an announcement to the entire plane,” McCarty said. “He did that once or twice, and everyone was just like, ‘How is this guy doing this right now?’ The flight attendants, maybe they knew who he was. Maybe they didn't.”

• European superstars

  The influx of European players into MLS started with Beckham’s arrival to the LA Galaxy in 2007, and has steadily continued ever since. But when the England superstar first arrived in MLS, there was admitted skepticism as to how seriously he would take the league. After all, here was a Champions League, LaLiga and Premier League winner, moving to Los Angeles. This could be a vacation.

  But McCarty, then early in his MLS career, remembers the exact opposite. Beckham was here to play.

  “When Beckham first came to play us in Dallas – I believe it was a day game, sell out crowd, national TV game – and one of my teammates, a Canadian guy, he was a little bit of an enforcer. His name was Adrian Serioux. He gave Beckham a tackle that I don’t think he will soon forget. It was borderline assault, and he got red-carded,” McCarty recalled. “[Beckham] popped right back up and got in the guy’s face… You could tell in that moment that he cared.”

  The same goes for Didier Drogba. Miller, now of the Portland Timbers, who has played for six teams over the course of 10 years in the league, spent a handful of months with the Chelsea great.

  It was August 2015, and Drogba had just joined Montreal. Registration issues meant the Ivorian couldn’t play in his first game, but he watched from the stands as the Impact turned in a miserable first half showing against D.C. United. Most players would take in all 90 minutes, but Drogba, still less than three weeks into his Montreal tenure, walked into the dressing room at half time.

  And he yelled.

  “He came down at halftime and was having a go at everyone,” Miller said. “He's like, ‘Guys I came here to win. I came here to make it to the playoffs. This is completely unacceptable… When I start playing, we're not going to be doing this anymore, we're going to win games, we're going to try to make it and win MLS Cup.’ It was so inspiring.”

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  Getting traded

  But there are also the harsher realities of bouncing from team to team. Most of the time, it’s after a player has been traded. Miller, who has been traded three times, and then selected by Nashville in an expansion draft, knows the challenges of relocation all too well.

  Sometimes, it happens under admittedly funny circumstances, Miller revealed. The defender received a call from Montreal’s GM briefly before a scheduled preseason trip – and knew that a move was imminent.

  But the setting for the news wasn’t standard.

  “It was Valentine's Day, and so me and the GM met up in this very beautiful French Cafe in Montreal,” he said. “There's all these couples having these, very romantic lunches, a roses and candy thing. It's just kind of like, maybe this wasn't the best place for this.”

  There have also been more hectic moves – ones that required uprooting family. Miller was delighted to sign for Portland as a free agent in February 2023, but did so when his wife was 36 weeks pregnant. He was still unpacking and buying groceries when his wife was induced and gave birth – less than four days after they had hurriedly moved from Nashville. A bassinet was built with 48 hours to spare.

  “It was a wild one,” Miller admitted.

  While it all can seem like a blur at times, like his fellow journeymen, Kamara says he’s adjusted, and that MLS “just feels like a part of me now, a part of my life, whether or not you’re winning or playing a lot of games.”

  That doesn’t mean the itinerant lifestyle of a MLS journeyman doesn’t come with challenges, especially on the family front.

  “It came to a point when it was tiring for the kids because they kept losing friends from school, and then make new friends again and again and again. So I had to keep up, but it’s really hard to move with the family,” Kamara said of his travels across the league.

There simply aren’t enough superlatives in the English dictionary to describe just how fantastic and irreplaceable Bruno Fernandes is at Manchester United.

Absolutely everything positive involves the Portuguese Magnifico somewhere down the line, and he’s truly the club’s saviour.

It’s not unreasonable to say that without the captain, Erik ten Hag would no longer be in a job, as he ranked first for goals, assists, and chances created at the Red Devils last season.

However, with Fernandes turning 30 years old this year, it may be the perfect opportunity for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS to look for his successor.

Man Utd’s search for a young talent

According to a report from The Guardian, Man Utd are interested in signing talented youngster Desire Doue.

The young French player is on the radar of the Red Devils, as Ratcliffe looks to sign up-and-coming gems over big-name stars.

It’s said that the Rennes player will be available for £33.7m this summer, with their president knowing his departure won’t be too far around the corner.

However, unfortunately for United, plenty of teams across Europe are also keen, including Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain, and Arsenal.

Why Doue could become the perfect Fernandes successor

Although Doue’s talent is only truly becoming known as of late, the 19-year-old already enjoyed his breakthrough campaign in the 2022/23 season.

The versatile gem made 28 Ligue 1 appearances that year, starting 11 times, and picking up a relatively impressive four goal contributions.

However, his importance to Rennes became apparent last season, playing 31 times with 17 of them from the off in the league.

Progress had occurred, and there’s no better way to support that than his output, which increased to four goals and assists apiece, but what makes Doue a “one-of-a-kind” star, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson?

Firstly, the French ace is the definition of a technical mastermind who can genuinely do anything with the ball at his feet, which sounds rather similar to a certain United number eight.

Doue is a creator, a player who isn’t content with letting a game go by without his influence being felt, as shown by his key passes, passes into the penalty area, and shot-creating actions.

As displayed by his high progressive passes received, the number 33 is a master of linking the midfield to the attack, popping up in pockets where he can cause havoc, which shows he has the intelligence of a Fernandes-esque player.

Another attribute that Fernandes and Doue share is their ability to not just operate in multiple roles but also perform to the exact same standard, whether that’s as a winger, an attacking midfielder, or even a slightly more defensive number eight.

Yet what Doue already has in his locker over the former Sporting midfielder is that he’s pure “cinema,” as per Mattinson, when running with the ball, whether that’s taking players on with ease or driving into the heart of the defence with intent.

Nevertheless, in some ways, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Doue take on a role similar to what Phil Foden did while serving as an understudy to David Silva, and it’s common knowledge how that plan turned out – Foden named the Premier League Player of the Year for 2023/24.

Therefore, with the brilliance of Doue in mind, United simply must do all they can to beat the competition to his signature this summer, as he has the potential to become a world-class talent.

What Man Utd's dream XI could look like after £230m spending spree

Marcus Rashford doesn’t make the best eleven.

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By
Tom Lever

Jun 7, 2024

INDIVISA looks at how the eight USWNT stars representing teams in Europe in the 2024-25 campaign are faring

In the NWSL, focus is starting to drift towards the postseason. The Orlando Pride secured the NWSL Shield and, week by week, those playoff spots are starting to be filled. In Europe, it's a different story, with the 2024-25 campaign just beginning.

Competitions such as the English Women’s Super League, French Premiere Ligue and UEFA Women’s Champions League have all kicked off, and there have already been some fantastic games and incredible results – with plenty of USWNT stars involved.

Lindsey Horan, Emily Fox and Korbin Albert were the only Europe-based names on Emma Hayes' USWNT Olympic roster, which won gold at Paris 2024, but there are many more that will be of interest to fans of U.S. women's soccer – be it veteran midfielder Kristie Mewis or promising teenager Lily Yohannes.

So, now that the season has started for these USWNT stars in Europe, how are they getting on? Let INDIVISA catch you up.

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  Emily Fox (Arsenal)

  It's not been a good start to the season for Emily Fox's Arsenal. The defender has been getting plenty of game time, starting all eight of the Gunners' fixtures to date, but only four of them have ended in victory.

  The good news is that the English side have made it through to the Champions League group stage this year. Twelve months ago, before Fox's January arrival, Arsenal crashed out in qualifying and there was fear that could be the case again, when they lost the first leg of their second round qualifier to Hacken. However, a 4-0 home win made amends for that result.

  The bad news is that the Gunners started the group stage with a shocking 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, which followed a really disappointing goalless draw with Everton in the league.

  Having also dropped points on the opening weekend against Manchester City, it means the upcoming clash with Chelsea is a must-win for Arsenal's title hopes and a big performance from Fox would go a long way to helping them be successful. Whether it is Lauren James, Guro Reiten or Aggie Beever-Jones, the USWNT defender will be matched up with an attacker of incredible quality and will need to be ready as her team try to turn things around.

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  Lindsey Horan (Lyon)

  No USWNT star abroad has had a better start to the 2024-25 season than Lindsey Horan, who is flying in France right now. The midfielder has five goals from her first four games of the campaign, helping Lyon to win each of those fixtures in rather convincing fashion. Fleury are the only side who have been able to score against them so far, and even that game finished 6-2 to the French champions.

  Perhaps the most impressive thing about Horan's incredible goal-scoring form is how different each of her five strikes have been. There's been a clinical penalty, a curling free-kick, a bullet header, an improvised bicycle kick and a timely arrival into the box to smash home a loose ball.

  After being beaten to the French league's Player of the Season award last term by new teammate Tabitha Chawinga, Horan is certainly staking an early claim to be in the running for the individual accolades once again, especially if she can keep up this remarkable level of performance.

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  Korbin Albert (PSG)

  It's been a disappointing start to the season for Paris Saint-Germain. The French giants were given a tough Champions League qualifier against five-time Italian champions Juventus and it was one they couldn't come through, losing 5-3 on aggregate. It marked a first qualifying exit, with PSG having made at least the quarterfinals on each of their last nine appearances in the competition – with 2017-18 the only season in that period in which they did not qualify for the UWCL.

  Fortunately, it's been a better story in the league, which will be the club's focus now. PSG have won all of their first three fixtures as they aim to battle Lyon for the title, with U.S. midfielder Korbin Albert starting all three games. The 20-year-old got her first goal of the season in their first outing too, her intended cross sailing over the Montpellier goalkeeper's head for PSG's third goal in a 3-1 win.

  That regular game time at club level will be vital if Albert is to break into Hayes' starting XI with the USWNT and so while it has been a frustrating few weeks for PSG, it has been more positive on an individual level for their American midfielder.

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  Eva Gaetino (PSG)

  Things haven't been going so well for the other U.S. representative on PSG's roster, the uncapped Eva Gaetino. The club changed managers in the summer – appointing Fabrice Abriel after Jocelyn Precheur left for London City Lionesses, the English second-tier side owned by Michele Kang – and Gaetino has struggled for game time under the new boss.

  Initially, the 21-year-old, who won her first USWNT call-up earlier this year but didn't take to the field, appeared to be in Abriel's plans as a midfielder, rather than the centerback position she thrived in during her first few months in Paris last season. That's where Gaetino was used in PSG's first league game of the season and the second leg of their UWCL qualifier against Juventus.

  However, since that European exit, she has found herself on the bench, playing just a handful of minutes as a substitute in wins over Guingamp and Le Havre. She will certainly hope her fortunes change sooner rather than later, as she will need to be playing regularly in order to force her way into Hayes' plans for the USWNT.