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Steve Bruce may be left with only one option at left-back for when Newcastle United host Southampton on Saturday, with Jamal Lewis and Paul Dummett both doubts through injury.

The Toon boss has confirmed concerns over the full-backs’ fitness ahead of this weekend’s Premier League meeting, when he may also be without three centre-halves.

Federico Fernandez and skipper Jamaal Lascelles are both confirmed as being out for the Saints’ trip to St. James’ Park, while Ciaran Clark has left Bruce in the lurch after his wife went into labour.

Newcastle are without a win in five games at home but have beaten Southampton during the Saints’ last three trips to Tyneside, while scoring eight goals to just two conceded.

Bruce faces a fraught task to keep United’s run over the St. Mary’s natives going with a large group of key players potentially missing, and accepts the situation is alarming.

“Defensively, it’s a concern,” Bruce said. “Jamaal Lascelles and Federico Fernandez will not make it. Ciaran Clark’s partner has gone into labour, so we’re hoping he’ll still make it.

“We have a worry to Jamal Lewis, who has a hamstring problem, and Paul Dummett is still struggling. So that defensive part of the team is a bit depleted at the minute.”

Lewis has started 16 of his 19 Premier League appearances for Newcastle since a £15m transfer from Norwich City last summer, and achieved his first assist in black and white during the Magpies’ 2-0 win over Everton last month.

Lewis and Dummett both failing late fitness tests and being ruled out for the visit of Southampton to St. James’ Park on Saturday will likely leave Matt Ritchie as Bruce’s only option to solve his injury woes at left-back.

Ritchie remained in the North East after Monday’s Deadline Day after seeing Newcastle and AFC Bournemouth fail to agree on a fee for his return to the Vitality Stadium, after last-ditch efforts were made by the Championship side as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.

The former Scotland international has been frozen out of the first-team picture at United in recent weeks, with Bruce omitting Ritchie from his last two top-flight matchday squads and leaving the 31-year-old as an unused substitute in the prior three fixtures.

Ritchie last opened a league game on January 3 in defeat to Leicester City but should not be disregarded as a threat ahead of the Saints clash, having offered close to twice as many key passes a game as Lewis when fielded at left-back this term.

While Lewis has contributed 0.8 key balls a game over his league outings, Ritchie offered 1.5 and delivered 2.0 accurate crosses from 6.5 attempts to his 23-year-old teammate’s 0.8 from 2.6, per WhoScored.

He further broke up opposition play with more interceptions (0.8 to 0.6), made vastly more clearances (3.5 to 1.6), took more shots (0.3 to 0.1) and was stronger at winning possession in the air with 1.8 aerial duels won to 0.6.

But where Lewis eclipses Ritchie is in bringing possession out form the back, with 0.6 successful dribbles from 1.3 attempts to his experienced teammate’s record of 0.5 failed runs from 0.5 attempts a game.

Bruce should not let that sway his view of Ritchie, though, as even if it is not through choice that the £8.5m-rated man is recalled, he should be able to do more than an adequate job for Newcastle against Southampton on Saturday.

AND in other news, Steve Bruce should make Joe Willock wait for his Newcastle debut and unleash a “bright spark” on Southampton…

After finally getting their man earlier in the summer, Leeds United have opted to take the patient approach with Cody Drameh.

The 19-year-old arrived from Championship side Fulham, and has spent his time in Yorkshire with the U23s, where he’s only missed one game at Premier League 2 level.

He’s yet to be seen with the senior side however, and that’s something Marcelo Bielsa may look to change heading into 2020.

According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, when Leeds scouted Drameh whilst he was at Craven Cottage, they saw shades of Luke Ayling in him. It was also suggested that the teenager saw a “clearer” route to the senior set-up at Elland Road than he did at Fulham.

Hay wrote: “Leeds are understood to have paid in the region of £300,000 for Drameh, a fee which could rise to £1 million with add-ons, last week.

“Fulham are fresh from promotion themselves and will play in the Premier League with Leeds this season but sources close to Drameh say the England Under-18 international saw a clearer first-team pathway in West Yorkshire than in west London. The deal was done despite Fulham’s reluctance to sell and after Manchester City showed some late interest.”

Drameh’s potential is there for all to see, with Eredivisie scout Xander Wilkinson going on record to hail his abilities. He said: “Defensively so impressive! His mind works quicker than most right backs I’ve seen in a naturally defensive mindset. Tactically very aware of what is being asked of him, times his engagements well, needs to add a little more unpredictability going forward.”

The starlet may not be ready to start in the Premier League right now, but he could learn a lot by potentially being given opportunities in the FA Cup and then some minutes here and there in the top-flight.

Exposing him to first-team football will be the real test of whether Drameh will sink or swim, and the young right-back could surprise everybody and take to it like a duck to water. Only time will tell.

David Sullivan must sanction a new contract for Tomas Soucek amid claims Bayern Munich are interested in signing the West Ham United midfielder.

What’s the word?

According to TEAMtalk, the Hammers are set to present Soucek with a bumper new deal to ward off any potential approach from Bayern Munich following the Czech Republic international’s stellar start to life at the London Stadium.

The Irons have been mightily impressed by how Soucek has adapted to the Premier League since joining on an initial loan deal last winter, with the 25-year-old arriving from Slavia Prague having never previously played for a club outside of his native country.

Soucek only penned a £67,308-per-week, three-year contract in the summer after West Ham turned his temporary spell permanent for £19.1million, yet club chiefs are already in discussions with his agent over a potential pay rise as his reputation only continues to grow.

Bayern Munich and a clutch of European clubs are said to be monitoring the Czech Player of the Year, who has scored three goals in 12 Premier League games this season as one of just four players to have played all 1,080 minutes under David Moyes so far.

Sullivan must sanction a deal

While Soucek only penned his current terms in July, Sullivan should see no reason to not sanction West Ham chiefs to offer the midfielder a bumper new deal that better matches his importance to Moyes.

Soucek currently ranks as the seventh-highest earner at the London Stadium with Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini each paid greater sums, despite the pair featuring for just 97 and 62 minutes in the Premier League respectively thus far this term.

The Czech box-to-box titan is pivotal on the pitch beyond his goals which have directly influenced two wins, too, as only winger Jarrod Bowen (30) has registered more shots than Soucek (23) in the top-flight this season, while directing the third-most on target (seven) behind strikers Michail Antonio and Sebastien Haller (nine), per WhoScored.

Soucek, who Moyes lauds as a player who has made an impact since joining in January and believes is “beginning to blossom”, also ranks first by a clear margin for aerial duels contended (116) and won (65), is second only to Vladimir Coufal for successful tackles (21), is third for interceptions (16) and fourth for clearances (28).

Moyes would likely have never imagined Soucek making such an impact when brought to the club last winter, and must urge Sullivan to ignore the potential payday selling the midfielder would bring with the CIES Observatory valuing the 30-cap gem at €50m (£45m).

AND in other news, a £27m-rated West Ham dud is playing on borrowed time after a shocking showing at Leeds United.

حصل مُحترفنا المصري، مصطفى محمد، مُهاجم جالطة سراي، على تقييم مرتفع وذلك بعد تألقه في مباراة فاتح قرة جمرك في الدوري التركي.

وسجّل مصطفى محمد هدفًا في تعادل جالطة سراي مع فاتح قرة جمرك، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما، مساء اليوم الأحد، على ملعب “أتاتورك الأولمبي”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثانية عشر من الدوري التركي. شاهد ملخص لمسات مصطفي محمد في مباراة جالطة سراي وفاتح قرة جمرك

وشارك مصطفى محمد في المباراة كبديل في الشوط الثاني بدلًا من خليل درويش في الدقيقة 63، وسجّل هدفًا في الوقت القاتل بالدقيقة 88.

وحصل مصطفى محمد على 7.3 من 10، وهو ثاني أعلى تقييم بين زملائه بعد عمر بيرم؛ وفقًا لما ذكرته شبكة “sofascore” العالمية.

اقرأ أيضًا.. صحيفة تركية: جالطة سراي في حالة تردد بشأن مستقبل مصطفى محمد

مصطفى الذي خاض 27 دقيقة سدد ثلاث تسديدات على المرمى وتسديدة واحدة خارج المرمى و(2) تم اعتراضها، كما أهدر فرصة هدف مُحقق.

ولمس مصطفى الكرة 13 مرة وجاءت دقة تمريراته بنسبة (60%) وفاز في (4) من أصل (4) في الارتقاءات الهوائية، فيما خسر الكرة في مناسبتين.

Roy Hodgson will be buoyed by the fact that Crystal Palace thrashed Leeds United in a thrilling 4-1 win at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.

However, if there is any real negatives to take away from such an emphatic performance, it’s the fact that the Eagles once again failed to keep a clean sheet after Patrick Bamford fired home what would turn out to be a mere consolation into the bottom corner past the helpless Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

Palace have made a solid start to the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, with four wins from a possible eight games, but if you had to pick holes in Hodgson’s side, they’ve conceded 13 goals in 8 games so far this season, with their last clean sheet coming in the 1-0 win over Southampton at home at the start of the season, which is pretty grim reading.

It’s hard to pin the blame solely on Guaita but he has hadn’t the best of starts in recent weeks, whilst his problems were compounded by another poor performance against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Per SofaScore, the Spaniard received an average rating of 6.5 for his efforts – he made two saves, but didn’t register a single punch or run out throughout the entire game, whilst he only managed to make one high claim.

The veteran has started every league game this season so far, but it will be interesting to see if that remains the case when the Eagles face Burnley after the international break. With the win fresh in his mind, new recruit Jack Butland is the ideal option to start instead of the 33-year-old in Hodgson’s side.

Standing at 196cm tall, Butland, who’s market value is estimated at £3.15m via Transfermarkt, is actually 6cm taller than his teammate, whilst Guaita is six years his senior.

Once hailed as an “excellent” shot-stopper by former Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren after a standout display stopped the Magpies from securing victory at St James’ Park in 2015, the 27-year-old made 168 appearances for Stoke City, keeping 50 clean sheets in all competitions, via Transfermarkt. By comparison, Guaita has only managed to save 21 clean sheets in 67 games for the Eagles.

If the Palace boss is to give his first-choice goalkeeper a rest, that better way for Butland to earn his stripes than by squaring off against Hodgson’s mooted successor? He should be one of the first names on the team sheet after making a full recovery from coronavirus, that’s for sure. There arguably isn’t a better time to hand him his first-team debut than against a Burnley side who have largely failed to find the back of the net so far this season.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace dynamo Eberechi Eze was Hodgson’s most vital cog against Leeds United…

Glasgow Rangers have had some top strikers down the years, but unfortunately, Filip Sebo cannot really claim to be one of them.

Sebo signed for £2.25m from Austria Vienna in 2006, despite scoring only eight goals in 43 games for the Austrian club. It didn’t get better for him at Ibrox – arguably, it got worse, with him managing a paltry two strikes in 31 fixtures. Just one year after signing, he was on the way to Valenciennes.

However, despite him failing to make a real impact at Ibrox, it seems he was still a popular figure amongst the club’s supporters. On Thursday, the Gers’ official Twitter account decided to share a video of one of his goals as their Goal of the Day and, rather than lament his poor form with them, the Gers instead chose to praise him – likely in jest.

They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts – one fan even called him a “hero” – and you can see some of the best comments below.

Let us know what you think!

According to Alasdair Gold, Norwich play-maker Todd Cantwell is a player Tottenham have looked at.

What’s the word?

With the Canaries’ relegation from the Premier League already confirmed, all eyes will be on which of their key stars will end up leaving this summer.

And speaking in a video posted on his official Youtube channel, Gold hinted that Spurs could make a move for Cantwell, pointing back to the time when the club raided Burnley for Kieran Trippier when the Clarets got sent down to the Championship.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

He said: “I think in terms of other transfers, it’s going to be really interesting to see relegated clubs. I think a lot of clubs will try and take advantage (of) the financial issues. Obviously Norwich, some good defenders there, you have players in a relegated team who, in another team, would be perfect. Trippier obviously went down with Burnley, he proved to be a really good right-back for Tottenham. So if that’s the case with (Max) Aarons, (Ben) Godfrey… Cantwell is a player Spurs have looked at.”

Forget Hojbjerg

Whilst all the recent headline talk has been about whether Spurs can snare Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Cantwell arguably should be the bigger priority for the Lilywhites.

Their total of 60 goals in the Premier League this season is lower than any of the current top five, with just Harry Kane and Heung-min Son in double figures for goals – the latter remains the only Spurs man to be in double figures for assists.

Bringing in Cantwell would give the north Londoners a much-needed boost in creativity and goal threat from the attacking midfield positions – an area in which they have struggled big-time thanks to injuries and a loss in form for Dele Alli.

The England international has played just 24 times in the top-flight this season, whilst in the 15 league games he played from December 15, he managed just three goals and one assist.

Cantwell, playing in a side that have been rooted bottom of the Premier League table and already heading down, has been impressive, notching seven goals and two assists, averaging 1.1 shots, 0.9 key passes and 1.4 dribbles per game.

The £18m-rated ace was described as having a “God-given” talent by one of his former youth coaches, and at just 22, has the kind of potential that could even see him go on to outshine Alli for Spurs, especially when considering he would be playing with far better players.

كشفت إذاعة “كوبي” الإسبانية، سبب استبعاد ثلاثي ريال مدريد، إيسكو، ماركو أسينسيو، ماريانو دياز، قبل مباراة إسبانيول في الدوري الإسباني.

ريال مدريد يحل ضيفًا على إسبانيول، عصر غدًا الأحد، على ملعب “كورنيلا البرات”، في تمام الساعة 4:15 بتوقيت القاهرة، بالجولة الثامنة من الليجا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. صراع جديد بين برشلونة وريال مدريد على صفقة هجومية من الدوري الإنجليزي

ولم يتواجد في قائمة المرينجي الثلاثي إيسكو وأسينسيو بجانب ماريانو دياز، وذكرت وسائل إعلام إسبانية أن استبعادهم جاء لوجهة نظر فنية.

ولكن الإذاعة ذكرت أن الثلاثي يُعانون من إصابات مُختلفة، حيث يُعاني أسينسيو من تقلص في الأرداف اليسرى، فيما يُعاني إيسكو من حمل زائد، بينما ماريانو لديه إصابة في الكاحل.

غياب إيسكو وماريانو وأسينسيو، رفع عدد المُصابين في ريال مدريد لـ 7 لاعبين، حيث يفقد الفريق جهود أربعة لاعبين آخرين (طالع مزيدًا من التفاصيل).

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has reportedly drawn up a five-man summer shortlist and there’s an interesting name mooted that could spell trouble for one of north London’s longest-serving players.

What’s the word?

According to the Evening Standard, Spurs are keen admirers of AFC Bournemouth winger David Brooks and they could now pounce with the Cherries relegated to the Championship.

It’s claimed that Mourinho is keen to build a ‘more balanced’ squad but faces tricky obstacles financially and as such, some players could be sold in order to fund the changes he has in mind.

Coincidentally, Tottenham will need their north London rivals Arsenal to lose in the FA Cup this weekend as it’ll mean a place in the Europa League group stages and thus, more money.

Bye-bye Lamela?

It’s interesting that the Spurs boss has a winger on his mind given the sheer volume of options he has at his disposal – as recently as January, the Champions League runners-up signed Steven Bergwijn from PSV Eindhoven and he’s since gone on to play a crucial part when fit.

Surely it would mean the end for someone like Erik Lamela after seven years at the club.

Back in February, Football Insider claimed that Spurs would listen to offers for the 28-year-old in the summer and then reinforced this in June by suggesting that the Argentine was playing for his future post-restart.

Brooks would be a very decent replacement indeed despite having an injury-hit campaign on the south coast. It was only last season the Welshman provided seven goals and five assists as well as averaging 1.4 shots, 1 key pass and 0.8 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

His Cherries teammate Chris Mepham believes the 23-year-old has “got tonnes of ability” whilst his boss, Eddie Howe, rued his absence, claiming that the “very impressive” Brooks was a “pivotal player” who won and changed games for Bournemouth in 2018/19.

Swapping out Lamela for the talented £21.6m-rated Welshman would certainly be a good move for the future.

AND in other news, Mourinho eyeing timely transfer reunion with ex-Spurs man…

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن البرازيلي ليوناردو أراوجو، المدير الرياضي لنادي باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي، قد أخبر اللاعبين في غرفة خلع الملابس، أن الدولي الفرنسي كيليان مبابي، سيستمر لاعبًا في الـ بي اس جي هذا الموسم.

وكان مبابي يرغب في الرحيل عن باريس سان جيرمان والانتقال إلى ريال مدريد، ولكن النادي الباريسي رفض بيعه للمرينجي مقابل 180 مليون يورو.

اقرأ أيضًا.. “ليكيب” تُثير الشكوك حول إمكانية مشاركة مبابي في مباراة باريس سان جيرمان وليون

وحسب إذاعة “كادينا سير” الإسبانية، فإن ليوناردو أبلغ اللاعبين أن مبابي سيظل مع النادي الفرنسي هذا الموسم.

وقالت الإذاعة إن مبابي بدوره أيضًا، أخبر أحد زملائه في غرفة خلع الملابس أنه سيبقى هذا الموسم.

وأوضحت الإذاعة في تقريرها، أن بقاء مبابي خلال موسم 2021/2022، لا يغير من رغبة اللاعب بالانتقال إلى ريال مدريد في الصيف المقبل.