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Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher is a top managerial target for Huddersfield Town, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Schumacher rumours

Dean Hoyle is on the hunt for a new man in charge at The John Smith’s Stadium after parting ways with Danny Schofield on Wednesday.

Yorkshire Live reporter Danny Bloomer mooted a ‘left-field appointment’ for Schumacher shortly after the news broke regarding Schofield, with the 38-year-old impressing in his first senior role at Home Park.

Schumacher has won 21 of his 38 games in charge with Argyle, and it looks as if Bloomer’s surprise prediction regarding the Greens manager may have legs.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s update

Football Insider journalist O’Rourke provided a big update on Huddersfield’s search for a new manager on Thursday morning.

He stated that Schumacher is actually now a ‘top contender’ and is ‘regarded as one of the best young coaches in the country’.

The Verdict: One to watch

Former Town boss David Wagner is another name who has been mentioned, however, he has struggled since leaving the club in short stints with Schalke and Young Boys.

Schumacher doesn’t have the experience compared to Wagner, but he has certainly made his mark in the South West with Argyle after stepping up from assistant manager when Ryan Lowe left for Preston.

Wagner wasn’t exactly an experienced name when he arrived back in 2015, so the club could reap the rewards in the long run if they managed to bring in Schumacher to replace Schofield.

Aston Villa had an incredibly bright start to the 2022 summer transfer window, and quickly wrapped up deals for Philippe Coutinho, Diego Carlos, Robin Olsen, Boubacar Kamara and Ludwig Augustinsson but then it went incredibly quiet.

Following on from what can only be described as a disastrous start for head coach Steven Gerrard to the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, Villa sit in 19th place in the table, having lost four of their opening five matches and despite adding additional top flight experience to their ranks very late on in the final hours of deadline day with the arrivals of versatile Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Leander Dendoncker, and Southampton centre half Jan Bednarek, plenty will feel they have not done enough.

With deadline day done with until January, and Qatar on the horizon, for fans who like a flutter there is plenty of World Cup betting still to be done and although both of Villa’s late arrivals seem incredibly positive about their moves – they two will have one eye on November’s break.

“I’m very excited to have signed for Villa. It’s a new challenge for me. I’m really excited to be here and I’ve already been shown around the training ground. I can feel that this a big club, you can just feel it. I obviously know the players from playing against them, and I know it’s a very good team with good players. I’m really happy to be here,” Dendoncker explained, with Bednarek adding.

“I’m happy, excited and looking forward to a new adventure for me. It’s a great opportunity for me and another great step. It’s really important for me to move to a bigger club and to improve as a player, and Villa is the best place for me to do that. It’s a massive club in England. Coming from Poland, I wasn’t aware how big Villa is. I think the fans are amazing, the stadium’s amazing and also the training ground. I’m really happy to be joining this club.”

You do not have to look far across the internet or social media to see that many Villa fans feel that the club is again only heading in one direction, and there are big parallels to the last time they were relegated to the Championship. Given the form of the club and their precarious position in the Premier League table, there will also be those who question why Belgian international Dendoncker and Polish international Bednarek have potentially risked their own place at the World Cup by making such a risky move – particularly Bednarek, who by his own admission to the BBC thought he was actually set for a spell at the London Stadium with David Moyes’ West Ham United side.

“It was an emotional day. One minute I am going to West Ham, another minute Villa. There were a lot of conversations with all the managers. But this is a massive club in England. It’s really important for me to move to a bigger club and to improve as a player. Villa is the best place for me to do that.”

West Ham have had a poor start to the season by their own set standards in more recent years, but with Qatar in play, many will feel they were the safer bet.

Life for Gerrard and Villa does not get any easier this weekend as they welcome Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side to Villa Park for Saturday evening’s late kick off, and of course, football as a whole has to adjust to November’s mid-season break to allow the 2022 World Cup to take place.

With so many transfer taking place, it will be interesting to see if anybody ends up regretting their choice.

Photo by Unsplash

Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell has backed his former club Arsenal to make a move for Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta this summer.

The Lowdown: Paqueta linked with Arsenal

Last month, Goal reported that the Gunners had made contact with the 24-year-old’s representatives over a potential move to the Emirates Stadium.

Following this, it was reported that the French outfit have indicated they would be willing to entertain offers for the Brazil international. When quizzed over Paqueta’s future, Lyon’s head of recruitment Bruno Cheyrou claimed: “We are prepared for every eventuality”.

The Latest: Campbell’s claim

Campbell, the ex-Arsenal striker who works as a pundit for Sky Sports, believes that Paqueta would be a fantastic signing for the Gunners.

Speaking with Football Insider, the 52-year-old claimed: “Paqueta looks like a really, really good footballer.

“He is another Brazil international. Hey, come and join the Brazilian revolution! It is happening in London and it is happening at Arsenal.

“Listen, you can never have enough quality players, especially with the five substitute rule now.

“The pursuit of the likes of Paqueta and [Youri] Tielemans could go right to the end of the window. These are the players who are difference makers.

“The team is performing now. Could you imagine if you bolster that with two, three, four of the players we are talking about? All of a sudden people would be like, ‘Hold on a minute, something it really happening at the Emirates.’

“I like what I am hearing and I like what I am seeing. Paqueta would be a brilliant signing.”

The Verdict: Would be a huge signing

When looking at Paqueta’s underlying statistics, it is easy to see why Mikel Arteta would be keen on welcoming the midfielder to the Emirates.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, the 24-year-old ranks in the 99th percentile for tackles, the 94th percentile for pressures and the 93rd percentile for progressive passes received.

However, with a current market value of £31.5m, this seems to be an unlikely signing for Arsenal, given that Lyon are expected to command a much higher fee than this, with sums of €80m (£67.5m) having been mooted.

Therefore, whilst this would be a fantastic signing for the Gunners, it also appears to be somewhat unlikely.

Diogo Jota is likely to miss the start of Liverpool’s 2022/23 Premier League season because of a hamstring injury, according to Sky Sports’ Ben Dinnery.

The Lowdown: Jota suffers hamstring setback

The Portuguese star suffered the issue earlier in the summer while on international duty before meeting up with his Reds teammates for pre-season.

Unfortunately, Jota has then suffered the same hamstring injury again, meaning he is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, missing their upcoming friendlies in the process.

Liverpool’s Premier League opener at Fulham is now only two-and-a-half weeks away and the forward faces a race against time to be fit for the game.

The Latest: Expert makes worrying claim

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery, an injury expert who contributes for Sky, claimed that Jota will likely miss that match and potentially even more, such is the severity of the injury:

“This is a real concern. He picked up the injury playing for Portugal and he has picked up a recurrence in training. This calls into question massively his availability heading into game week one. At this moment in time, the chances are that he won’t be involved.

“You can’t afford too many slip-ups in this Premier League, especially given the fact that you’d expect City to start like a steam train.

“Liverpool, if they want to compete, are going to need to hit the ground running as well. Jota would normally be heavily involved in that.

“But unless we see him on the training pitch soon, it’s difficult to see him being involved in the early weeks of the season.”

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The Verdict: Big blow for Liverpool

This is a big blow for Liverpool, with Jota such a consistent provider of goals since arriving from Wolves back in 2020, netting 34 times in 85 appearances.

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With Darwin Nunez still settling into his new surroundings, the 25-year-old may have been a regular starter in the opening weeks of the campaign, potentially alongside Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, but he has now seemingly been deprived of that opportunity and Nunez will be forced to hit the ground running.

The hope is that Jota only misses one or two games, but regardless of when he returns, he will then need to find match practice and rhythm, meaning his start to the season could be very slow.

Former Scotland striker Frank McAvennie has delivered his verdict on the future of Celtic defender Christopher Jullien. 

The lowdown: Exit twist

Earlier this summer, Jullien was believed to be teetering on the edge of a fresh challenge involving a transfer to Bundesliga club Schalke, with the towering Frenchman flying out to Germany in order to undergo a medical ahead of the switch.

However, that move broke down during negotiations, leaving the 29-year-old facing an uncertain future as Ange Postecoglou seemingly begins to make plans without the former France youth international.

Now, as Jullien looks to breathe a new lease of life into a career stuttering due to wretched injury fortunes, one invested onlooker has delivered his verdict on the centre-back’s future at Parkhead…

The latest: ‘By all accounts…’

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie – who of course played for the Hoops – suggested that the twice-capped France Under 20 star will struggle to feature in Postecoglou’s side after the previous pre-season match vs Rapid Vienna.

He said: “Jullien’s not going to get a game, it’s obvious. He’s had his chance in the first team.

“The manager said it’s down to Jullien whether to leave but he’s got to step up if he wants to stay. In the preseason games he’s got to prove that he wants to stay there. He’s got to prove to the manager that he wants to stay there. By all accounts in the game (vs Vienna) he didn’t.

“I know it’s all about fitness but if you’ve been out the team for two years, you’re wanting to prove a point. There’s players that need to go out, [Karamoko] Dembele was one of the players that had to go and I think there’s a few more.”

The verdict: Spot on

Albeit keeping the experience of a 234 career games Jullien around would represent superb strength-in-depth in the Lennoxtown ranks, ousting Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt as the frontline central defensive partnership seems unlikely at this stage and could ultimately hinder the development of youngsters such as Stephen Welsh.

In the final 12 months of a contract at Parkhead and still holding a market value of £4.05million (Transfermarkt), the Hoops could still recoup a relatively worthwhile sum for the Frenchman, who was hailed as physically ‘immense’ by journalist Robin Bairner.

Furthermore, currently earning a reported £20,000 per week (Salary Sport), Celtic would be wise to move to free up those wages off the books in order to create space for alternative targets that remain on the list of transfer priorities at Celtic Park.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Luka Sucic in the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

Journalist Jacque Talbot has revealed that the Magpies have held talks over a deal to sign the young gem ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

The reporter has stated that the Toon head coach is in the market for a player in his position and the 19-year-old fits the bill.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “It’s gone a bit cold to be honest. I was told they had meetings with him and had him on the list. They wanted to bring him in. For Eddie Howe, one of the positions he wants to fill is a central midfielder who’s quite young, can come in quite cheap and be able to help build.”

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic 2.0

Dan Ashworth must now reignite the talks to land Sucic this summer as he can be Howe’s own version of Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Football scout Jacek Kulig previously compared him to the Serie A machine, along with Napoli’s Fabian Ruiz, and said that he is a “joy to watch”, recently dubbing him a “precious” gem.

Milinkovic-Savic has proven himself at the top level with Lazio and is an exceptional midfielder. In the Italian top-flight last term, he managed 11 goals and 11 assists in 37 games after eight goals and nine assists in the previous campaign.

Newcastle can now unearth the new, according to Kulig, version of the Serbia international by landing the 19-year-old Croatian gem.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, Sucic produced eight goals and three assists in 19 starts for Salzburg as he showcased his ability to make things happen in the final third. He has shown, at that level, that he can break forward from midfield and be a difference-maker for his side.

These statistics show that the teenager has the scope to be a goalscoring midfielder in the Premier League, like Milinkovic-Savic is in Italy, if he is able to adapt to English football. The youngster has time on his side and can develop whilst playing and training alongside Bruno Guimaraes – helping him to fulfil his potential.

He can be a player the club look to improve over time so that he can grow alongside Newcastle as they aim to move further up the table.

Therefore, Ashworth must seal a deal for the gem who will reportedly cost €20m (£17m), to bolster Howe’s squad now and for many more years to come.

AND in other news, Newcastle “are interested” in “electric” £60m gem who’s “fun to watch”, he’s ASM 2.0…

Tim Spiers has dropped an update on the future of reported Leeds United transfer target Morgan Gibbs-White.

What’s the talk?

In a recent article for The Athletic, the journalist revealed that, despite confidence amongst the Wolves hierarchy that the 22-year-old can be brought back into the first-team fold and play a major role in Bruno Lage’s side next season, they could nevertheless be tempted by an offer of around £20m for the attacking midfielder this summer.

This is sure to come as a boost to Victor Orta and Leeds, with the same outlet reporting earlier this week that the Whites, alongside Southampton and Nottingham Forest, are keeping a very close eye on the England under-21 international’s situation ahead of a potential summer swoop.

“Eye-catching”

Considering just how impressively Gibbs-White performed during his season-long loan at Sheffield United this term, the argument that the 22-year-old would be an attention-grabbing coup for Orta to get over the line this summer is an easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 37 Championship outings for the Blades, the £9.9m-rated talent was in astonishing form, bagging 12 goals, providing 10 assists and creating 16 big chances, along with taking 2.5 shots, making 1.6 key passes and completing 1.3 dribbles per game.

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These metrics saw the £1.5k-per-week midfielder, who Paul Heckingbottom dubbed “eye-catching” and Joe Edwards labelled “sensational”, average a remarkable WhoScored match rating of 7.14. That ranked him not only as Sheffield United’s best performer in the league but also as the joint fifth-best player in the entire division.

Leeds were desperately lacking in both goals and creativity from the middle of the park this season, with Kalvin Phillips, Mateusz Klich, Jamie Shackleton, Adam Forshaw, Stuart Dallas, Tyler Roberts, Rodrigo and Robin Koch scoring nine goals and registering three assists between them in the Premier League. Therefore, the signing of a player in the mould of Gibbs-White appears something of a must for Jesse Marsch this summer.

Considering his undoubted ability, his potential for future growth and the fact that he plays for one of the Whites’ Premier League rivals, it would certainly be a big statement of intent from Leeds ahead of 2022/23 should Orta manage to seal a £20m deal for the 22-year-old in the coming months.

AND in other news: Orta could land Mahrez 2.0 in Leeds bid for £86m talent with world-class potential

Finance expert Kieran Maguire has now revealed some significant news involving Everton.

The Lowdown: Leeds and Burnley compensation

As shared by iNews, both Leeds United and Burnley are now seeking £200m in compensation in order to try and offset the advantage that the Goodison Park outfit have received through alleged overspending.

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It is understood that representatives from the two clubs have formally requested that the Premier League order them not to delete any relevant information with regards to their accounts.

The Latest: Maguire shares latest

Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire has revealed that both Leeds and Burnley have decided to pursue a compensation claim regardless of which team were to get relegated to the Championship:

“There are some precedents which need to be considered.

“There was the Carlos Tevez case in 2005. West Ham agreed an out-of-court settlement with Sheffield United. That was nothing to do with FFP because it didn’t exist then.

“But we have recently had a settlement between the owners of Derby County and Middlesbrough with regards to FFP breaches.

“You can understand why Burnley and Leeds are doing this. My understanding is that they have decided to pursue this regardless of who got relegated.”

The Verdict: Significant

The fact that Leeds and Burnley are pursuing this, despite the Clarets going down and Leeds and the Toffees staying up, is significant.

The claim could have easily been thought of in bitter taste, but it looks as if the Blues could still have a potential problem on their hands given Leeds’ involvement even after staying up.

If the claim is successful, then this may alter their transfer plans significantly for the summer, and they will not want to be restricted spending-wise again, after only spending a mere £1.7m last summer.

Nonetheless, the Merseyside club will still be confident that they have not broken any rules, and will continue with their plans as normal for now.

In other news, find out which ‘reckless’ flop EFC could now sell this summer here!

Pep Guardiola has delivered some huge injury news regarding a trio of first-team players following Manchester City’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Injury concerns for Man City

Ruben Dias was previously out of action for seven weeks earlier in the season after sustaining a hamstring injury, and he was forced off the pitch in the win over the Magpies at the weekend with what appeared to be another muscular problem.

John Stones and Kyle Walker are the other two regular members of the starting XI who join the centre-back on the injury list, with both defenders having to be withdrawn during the Sky Blues’ Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid over the last fortnight.

Stones was substituted in the pulsating 4-3 first leg win and hasn’t played since, whilst the right-back limped off the field at the Bernabeu last week after being risked by the Spaniard to start.

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The Latest: Guardiola gives injury update

Speaking during his post-match press conference with the media on Sunday, Guardiola shared an update on the trio, and it’s not one that City fans will want to hear.

He revealed: “Ruben, Kyle and John are out until the end of the season. Next pre-season maybe they will be ready.

“[Ruben’s problem is] muscular. Not the same position, but hamstring.”

The Verdict: Huge blow for Man City

This news will come as a hammer blow to Guardiola and City as we approach the run-in to the season, with just three league games left to play for the defending champions.

This now leaves Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo as the only senior defenders available for selection for the rest of the campaign, which means that the 51-year-old might have to rely on some younger prospects to come into the team or play someone like Fernandinho out of his natural position as cover.

City currently find themselves three points clear at the top of the table following Liverpool’s recent slip-up against Tottenham, so they are firmly in pole position to get their hands on the Premier League trophy for the second season in a row. However, being without three of their regular defenders for the run-in could make the title charge that little bit harder.

In other news… Man City have reportedly taken an interest in a surprising transfer target

The focus, invariably, will be as much on the captains – Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur – as it will be on the youngsters and international stars

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2019First, the cricket
Velocity are led by Mithali Raj, arguably India’s best ever cricketer and captain of the ODI side; Supernovas are led by Harmanpreet Kaur, the most exciting batsman of her generation, Raj’s deputy in the ODI side and captain of the T20 team.These sides met here, at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium, two days ago. In that match, Raj’s Velocity lost pace, intent and eventually the match. But they still qualified for the final by pipping Trailblazers, whom they’d already beaten, on NRR.

Match info

Start time: 1930 IST
Venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

What’s the feud?

The long-suspected acrimony between the two players became public during the World T20 in the West Indies in November. Raj was dropped for the semi-final, which India lost, and after the match Harmanpreet said she had wanted to retain a winning side from the previous match. Raj’s manager, however, then launched an unprecedented Twitter attack on Harmanpreet’s captaincy. She called Harmanpreet a “manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain” and also said the women’s team believed in “politics not sport”.What was the fallout?
The first casualty was the interim head coach Ramesh Powar – his contract expired days after that semi-final defeat and was not extended. Powar, who received the backing of Harmanpreet and her T20 deputy Smriti Mandhana, was critical of Raj in his report on India’s performance at the World T20. He said she had threatened to pull out of the tournament if not allowed to open the batting.Annesha Ghosh/ESPNcricinfoDid it end there?

There were a lot of emails sent by Raj and Harmanpreet to the Committee of Administrators, all leaked to the media. Raj said the episode had left her, “for the first time in a 20-year long career… deflated, depressed and let down. I am forced to think if my services to my country are of any value to a few people in power who are out to destroy me and break my confidence.” She did not directly blame Harmanpreet, saying “I am of the opinion that Harman and I are senior players and our issues, if any, should be sorted out by the two of us by sitting across the table.”What happened next?

Well, they sat down across the table – along with senior BCCI officials – within a week of Raj’s email. Raj is understood to have told Harmanpreet that Annisha Gupta, whose tweets had set off the storm, was not her manager. On her part, Harmanpreet told Raj that the decision to exclude her from the World T20 semis was not a personal choice but a collective call.About a month later, on the eve of the team’s tour of New Zealand, both Raj and Harmanpreet claimed to have “moved on” from the acrimony that, by Raj’s admission, did “hamper” the profile of the Indian women’s team.BCCISo that was that?
Or so we thought. Earlier this week, though, Raj told , “I do keep to myself [in the dressing room] and people can’t judge me for that right now…I believe what has happened has definitely made me more wiser to people around me in the dressing room… I wouldn’t say I felt lonely but I definitely feel that I was betrayed.”So has Raj settled in the side?
Since the start of the 2017 World Cup, Raj, now 36, has been largely inconsistent on whether she herself envisions herself playing the 2020 T20 World Cup or the 2021 ODI World Cup. While still a formidable force in the 50-over format, on the subject of whether retirement from the shortest format figures in her plans, Raj’s go-to refrain when fielding questions at press conferences of late has been, “You’ll see when that happens.”In March, WV Raman, the new coach of the women’s side, in a post-match review alongside stand-in captain Mandhana and Raj said that “we [him, Raj and Mandhana, the stand-in captain for the series against England women] had a chat about what she [Raj] is comfortable doing and what suits the side as well.”With that, a semblance of clarity around her batting slot in the middle order, and not as an opener, appeared to have been offered. That topic had become a full-blown controversy after India’s 2018 World T20 exit.Yet in that same interview, when asked whether the new team management had informed her of her role in the team, Raj’s answer was succinct: “Honestly, not yet.”Back to Jaipur
What Raman, Mandhana and the management make of the denial may not be brought up for discussion until the national camp in Bengaluru gets underway next month. For now, the focus remains on the action in Jaipur and the battle for supremacy between Raman-Harmanpreet’s Supernovas and Raj’s Velocity.Can 15-year-old uncapped Indian batsman Shafali Verma get Velocity off to a brisk start, like she did in her first game of the tournament? Or will Supernovas batsman Jemimah Rodrigues trump Shafali in the battle of the teenagers? Also, the in-form Danielle Wyatt could alone demolish the Supernovas attack, unless the Yadavs – Radha and Poonam – orchestrate yet another middle-overs choke with their spin.With less than ten months out from the T20 World Cup in Australia, uncapped Indians would do well to treat the Women’s T20 Challenge final as an audition for a likely call-up, and for internationals on the fringe, such as Veda Krishnamurthy and Sushma Verma, a chance for a recall into the national side.