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Liverpool are in a dire rut of form at the moment and the pressure only ramped up on Arne Slot following their 3-3 draw with Leeds United on Saturday evening.

As if Slot didn’t think things could get any worse, what hasn’t helped is Mohamed Salah’s remarkable interview after the game.

The Egyptian has been on the substitutes bench for the last three games and according to reports, will not travel to Milan when the Reds face Inter in the Champions League this week.

What Mo Salah has said about his Liverpool future

Salah was in conversation with reporters after Liverpool’s dismal draw with Leeds at the weekend and it’s safe to say he did not cover Slot and Co in glory.

“‘I’m very disappointed, Salah began. “I’ve done so much for this club – everyone can see that – over years, especially last season, sitting on the bench I don’t know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I feel it.”

The Liverpool great continued: “It’s very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame. Club promised me a lot in summer. So far I I’m on bench three games, so can’t say they have kept those promises.

“I say many times I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship, I don’t know why. It seems like someone does not want me in the club.

“But again this club, I always support it. my kids will always support it. I love the club so much and I will always do. I called my mum yesterday because I knew I wasn’t going to start and told my mum and dad to the Brighton game [next Saturday].”

How Salah trained on Monday

Salah smiled and chatted with his teammates on Monday as he attended the club’s first training session since his outburst over the weekend.

He arrived on the training pitch in conversation with French striker Hugo Ekitike. Salah listened as Slot addressed the squad and then took part in a series of warm-up and passing drills, interacting with the likes of Curtis Jones, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.

The session was overseen by Slot who is really up against it now. Who the Liverpool board decide to side with, Salah or the Dutchman, will be very interesting.

Vitor Matos now reportedly wants to take the Swansea City job in a major boost for the Championship club, who are preparing to trigger his big-money release clause.

It’s been a chaotic search for a new manager in Wales. The Swans decided to sack Alan Sheehan at the same time that Southampton, Norwich City and Middlesbrough all moving on from their own coaches – sending the Championship into a managerial merry-go-round.

Ultimately, it was Swansea who were made to pay for their timing, with top target Kim Hellberg now heading to Boro to replace Rob Edwards and send his first admirers back to square one.

With the Championship set to make a return from the international break this weekend, Swansea remain without a manager and will be led by Darren O’Shea on an interim basis.

Up against Bristol City on Saturday afternoon, Swansea will be looking to avoid a fifth-straight game without a victory and avoid dropping down to as low as 20th in the Championship.

Just when they’ll have their next permanent manager in charge is the big question. The Jacks head straight from their game against Bristol into a Tuesday night clash against Derby County and with the fixtures coming thick and fast, they need a permanent appointment sooner rather than later.

According to some recent reports, however, they could be in for some good news in their chase to sign Matos, who has made his decision.

Swansea preparing to trigger Matos release clause

According to reports in Portugal, as relayed by Wales Online, Swansea are now ready to trigger Matos’ release clause following rumours that the Maritime manager has decided to take the job if the opportunity comes his way.

Meanwhile, although other reports have claimed that Maritime are not willing to enter negotiations under any circumstances, those in Portugal have revealed that Matos has a release clause worth €1m (£900k) in his current contract – allowing Swansea to bypass club-to-club talks.

It’s good news for Swansea that the 37-year-old is keen to take the job, but there’s no denying that hiring him would be a gamble. The former Liverpool coach is incredibly inexperienced and the Swansea job would be his first as a manager in England.

Jurgen Klopp would be the first to hand the 4-3-3 coach rave reviews, but even the German is yet to see Matos in a potential relegation scrap. Those in Wales currently sit just seven points clear of the Championship’s dropzone and simply cannot afford to get their next appointment wrong in the coming weeks.

Instant blow for Matos as "one of Swansea's key players" could now leave

Manchester United are now reportedly leading Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in the race to sign Kennet Eichhorn, who’s been compared to the legendary Toni Kroos.

The Red Devils are gearing up for another frantic year of recruitment, with Ruben Amorim’s midfield seemingly taking the focus after INEOS already improved the manager’s frontline last summer.

On that front, names such as Elliot Anderson have already threatened to steal the headlines and there’s no doubt that he’d be an excellent signing. The Nottingham Forest star has recently taken Adam Wharton’s place in Thomas Tuchel’s best England side and is proving to be one of few standouts in a season to forget at the City Ground.

Champions League qualification is of course the aim at Old Trafford this season, but the fact that United proved they can lure top talents to the club without it should be seen as a huge boost in pursuit of Anderson.

He’s not the only one on their reported shortlist, however. Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba is still on United’s radar after they failed to secure his signature in the summer.

The impressive defensive midfielder would solve a problem that Amorim has had since he’s arrived, with Manuel Ugarte failing to live up to expectations and Casemiro edging past his consistent best.

It is also worth noting that, as ever, those at Old Trafford also have an eye on future talent. The task for INEOS is not just to turn United around as soon as possible, but to then avoid another major collapse. And the pursuit of the next Kroos would go a long way towards doing just that.

Man Utd leading race to sign Kennet Eichhorn

As reports relayed by Caught Offside, Man United are now in pole position to sign Eichhorn from Hertha Berlin ahead of PSG and Barcelona after sending scouts. The 16-year-old midfielder is one of the hottest prospects around and has even been dubbed the next Kroos thanks to his ability to dictate play from a deeper role.

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The impressive teenager is yet to even turn 18, but is already playing an important role at Hertha, having started six of their 11 2.Bundesliga games so far this season. This early experience in itself has only highlighted the talent that the German club have on their hands.

It’s little surprise that Eichhorn has been the talk of Europe and scout Jacek Kulig is one of many to have praised the midfielder – describing him as “technically sharp”, “intelligent on the ball” and “fearless”.

Man Utd offered Vlahovic in January as Juventus name bargain price

The New York Yankees spent all year talking about how close this team was, so you have to give them credit for pulling together to lose the World Series as a group. In the deciding Game 5, which they lost 7–6 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, it wasn’t the shaky starting pitching or the undermanned bullpen or the feast-or-famine offense that doomed them. It was the problem that plagued them all season: They were astonishingly talented, and at times they played like astonishing knuckleheads. 

Just about everyone contributed: It was the first World Series game ever in which a team committed a balk, two field errors and a catcher’s interference. 

“Just a couple mistakes along the way that hurt us,” said center fielder and captain Aaron Judge. He was referring to the fifth inning, when they committed three defensive blunders to open the door to five Dodgers runs, but he could have been describing the season. It’s hard to say that a team that won 94 games and the pennant played bad baseball, but the Yankees often did. Their outfield defense ranked in the bottom third of the league and no team ran the bases worse this year, according to Statcast, which does not track “plays that make you wince.” 

The Yankees had three of those in the fifth inning of Game 5 to open the door to five Dodgers runs—and eventually close the door on their season. It was all the more frustrating for how well things were going. Four batters into the bottom of the first, the Yankees led 3–0. They tacked on another run in the second. Gerrit Cole took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. They seemed well on their way to becoming the first team to go down three games to none in a World Series and force a Game 6. Then the Yankees turned back into the Yankees and the Dodgers turned back into the Dodgers. 

Dodgers center fielder Kiké Hernández singled to open the fifth. Shortstop Tommy Edman lofted a ball to shallow center, where Judge let it clank off his glove. “Just didn’t make the play,” he said. Five pitches later, catcher Will Smith grounded to shortstop Anthony Volpe, who threw awkwardly to third and failed to collect the out. “I was trying to make a play,” Volpe said. “I just pulled the throw.” Two plays that could have resulted in three outs instead resulted in zero and left the bases loaded. 

Cole struck out second baseman Gavin Lux and DH Shohei Ohtani, but when right fielder Mookie Betts grounded to first, Cole failed to back up the bag—at the same time that first baseman Anthony Rizzo failed to charge the ball. 

“I took a bad angle to the ball,” Cole said. “Wasn’t sure really off the bat how hard he hit it. I took a direct angle to it, as if to cut it off, because I just didn't know how hard he hit it. And by the time the ball got by me, I was not in a position to cover first.” 

Rizzo diplomatically called it “a miscommunication on coverage” before acknowledging that “pitchers are always taught to get over no matter what.” In any case, Betts beat the ball out. A run scored. 

The next hitter was first baseman Freddie Freeman, whose only disappointment this week was that he snapped his record streak of World Series games with a home run at six. He singled to center to score two more. As the sellout crowd of 49,263 fell silent, left fielder Teoscar Hernández crushed a cutter off the center field wall to tie the game. The final numbers on the inning: three extra outs, five runs, all unearned. 

The Yankees retook the lead on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but the Dodgers did the same in the eighth. Ohtani, who partially dislocated his shoulder in Game 1 and had not had a hit since, took a hack at the first pitch. Catcher Austin Wells knocked into his bat, and the home plate umpire Mark Ripperger awarded Ohtani first base. On the next pitch, Betts flied to center to plate the go-ahead run. In the ninth, just for good measure, closer Luke Weaver took a third disengagement—pitchers are allowed two per at bat—and was punished with a balk. It was the most careless performance by a group of New Yorkers since Eric Adams’s aides failed to delete their text messages.

After it was over, the Yankees milled around a quiet clubhouse, saying their goodbyes. This team could look very different next year. Right fielder Juan Soto will be a free agent and is expected to command more than half a billion dollars. Second baseman Gleyber Torres, left fielder Alex Verdugo and setup man Clay Holmes will be free agents. The team holds a $17 million option on Rizzo. Perhaps some turnover could be good for this group. In the Judge Era, New York has never won a playoff series against an opponent outside the AL Central. 

In the wake of this latest disappointment, the Yankees offered little explanation and little path forward. “Just gotta limit the mistakes,” Judge said. Asked how one does that, he paused. “It’s hard to do,” he admitted. “Don’t let it happen. I don’t have a good answer for you.” He has a long offseason to think about it—three days longer than he wanted. 

Everton are now reportedly keeping tabs on an “unbelievable” player who has enjoyed significant recent success at international level.

Moyes upbeat despite Everton loss

The Blues were beaten 2-0 away to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday, with the visitors unable to contain the in-form Erling Haaland.

Despite the result, Everton manager David Moyes still managed to feel positive about what he saw, with defeats at the Etihad never too concerning.

“I’m pleased with how we played. We were a bit disappointed when we lost the first goal. It was only 1-0 but to give them a second goal quickly was a killer for us. But there are a lot of good things we could talk about and what we’ve done well. We’ve come here and given them a bit of a game.

“Maybe we’d like to do better, but we’re only growing at the moment and we’re still trying to get better. We missed a couple of big chances in the first half, which might have altered things the way we were playing. We needed any opportunities we got to go in or to certainly get us something more positive than we did. So, look, no real problems with the performance overall – most of it.”

Everton have made a solid start to the new season, but that’s not to say that new signings in the January transfer window wouldn’t go amiss.

Everton eyeing move for "unbelievable" defender

Speaking to Everton News, journalist Graeme Bailey talked up the idea of Everton completing the signing of Toulouse centre-back Charlie Cresswell in January.

“Charlie Cresswell is doing very well in France, and this comes after a very good showing at the Euros. Everton are very much in the market for new defenders in 2026 and I am told that he is one they have watched. He certainly fits the profile of player David Moyes likes, and is one to keep an eye on.”

Cresswell has enjoyed an excellent year, winning the European Championships with England’s Under-21s and proving to be a key man, starting three matches.

The 23-year-old is also impressing in France with Toulouse, being hailed as “unbelievable” by presenter Joe Wainman, and he stands out as an excellent option for Everton.

While James Tarkowski remains a great player for the Blues, both in terms of quality and leadership, he is now 32 and a long-term successor needs to be found.

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If Everton managed to entice Cresswell to the club, he could be Jarrad Branthwaite’s centre-back partner for years to come, also enhancing his chances of forcing his way into the senior England setup at the same time.

MatériaMais Notícias

O lateral-esquerdo Marçal avaliou a maneira como o Botafogo vem se preparando para retomar a rotina de jogos no Campeonato Brasileiro. Em entrevista divulgada pela Botafogo TV, o camisa 21 destacou que o momento é do grupo se empenhar para voltar com fôlego novo.

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Aos seus olhos, o momento é de reunir forças de olho na reta final do Brasileirão.

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–  Jogo é sempre bom, quando tem jogo atrás do outro é bom porque, apesar do pouco tempo de descanso, a gente já está embalado, fica focado em jogar, eu prefiro sempre quando tem muitos jogos. Mas, sem dúvida nenhuma, essa pausa é muito importante principalmente para recuperar jogadores que vinham jogando vários jogos e tinham um pouco de desgaste, é bom para recarregar a bateria da rapaziada – disse.

O lateral traçou um panorama do confronto com o Atlético-MG, marcado para sábado, às 21h, na Arena MRV.

– Sabemos que será um jogo difícil lá, o Atlético-MG está com um novo estádio, vem de vitória no jogo que teve em casa. É um time difícil, com bons jogadores, temos que estar focados para ir lá e buscar os três pontos. É um jogo difícil em Minas, mas tenho certeza de que com essa semana cheia para trabalhar vamos conseguir o objetivo – afirmou.

FIFA is redrafting its regulations concerning domestic league games played in foreign countries and seeking legal advice on potentially banning them outright, after UEFA reluctantly approved LaLiga and Serie A matches to be played overseas. The games to be played are Villarreal v Barcelona in Miami and AC Milan v Como in Perth.

Overseas angst from governing bodies

Amid growing controversy over domestic league matches being played abroad, FIFA is working on a more robust rulebook for early next year. The effort follows UEFA's approval of games abroad, for which it blamed the loopholes in the existing, outdated regulations. FIFA was reportedly frustrated as the 2014 rules do not grant it the power to stop such games, provided all necessary parties approve. The original idea for exporting domestic games, the Premier League's "39th game" proposal back in 2008, was met with fan outrage and shelved.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportUEFA regret at overseas agreement

Despite announcing their agreement to the matches, UEFA were quick to reveal their regret, saying: "Given that the relevant FIFA regulatory framework – currently under review – is not clear and detailed enough, the UEFA executive committee has reluctantly taken the decision to approve, on an exceptional basis, the two requests referred to it."

And UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, made clear that the matches agreed will not become the thin end of the wedge for more matches to move abroad. Ceferin said: "League matches should be played on home soil; anything else would disenfranchise loyal match-going fans and potentially introduce distortive elements in competitions. Our consultation confirmed the breadth of these concerns. While it is regrettable to have to let these two games go ahead, this decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent. Our commitment is clear: to protect the integrity of national leagues and ensure that football remains anchored in its home environment."

Are the matches confirmed?

The final decision now rests with the host federations, the US Soccer Federation (for a proposed Villarreal vs Barcelona match in Miami's Hard Rock Stadium) and Football Australia, along with their respective confederations, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation. US Soccer's approval for the Miami game is uncertain due to concerns that hosting European and potentially Mexican league matches could commercially harm Major League Soccer. And there was a lawsuit brought by Relevent Sports against US Soccer and FIFA, following a denied request for Barcelona to play Girona in Miami the previous year.

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Getty Images SportPremier League juggernaut rolls on

Commercial revenue from overseas markets is a growing income stream for top clubs. While playing league matches abroad is controversial, it can generate revenue and reach new audiences and  pre-season tours overseas also help clubs connect with international fans and generate revenue. International earnings are a significant factor, with the Premier League generating more from international broadcast rights than the combined total of La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, and Ligue 1. The Premier League's international broadcast rights notably exceeded domestic income for 2022-2025, generating £5.3 billion globally. The league is broadcast in 188 countries.

And Premier League CEO Richard Masters has indicated the model for watching the Premier League is set to change again soon. Speaking earlier this year, he said: "If you think where football was 10 years ago, it's a sort of version of where we are today. But I hope the PL will still be in it's current position globally. I think obviously, things are going to change. Maybe the broadcast market. But I hope that we retain and maintain some of the great things about English football. The history and traditions of the game, the way the whole thing fits together with its sort of soap opera chaos thrown on the side but it maintains its current shape. And I'm very confident, in 10 years time, that the English football industry will continue to be the envy of the world."

Arsenal are preparing to return to action against Nottingham Forest this weekend, but an intriguing transfer story has now come to light courtesy of reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Mikel Arteta’s side and Forest, now managed by former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, are the first Premier League sides back on the field in this Saturday’s lunchtime kick off.

Only a win will do for Arsenal, who lost their first game of the season against current English champions Liverpool prior to the international break, and they’ll be hoping to upset Postecoglou’s debut game in the Forest dugout with a convincing Emirates Stadium display.

Sporting director Andrea Berta did his all to back Arteta in the transfer market, splashing over £250 million on the signings of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie, so there are no excuses for Arsenal now.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

£5m

Martin Zubimendi

£60m

Christian Norgaard

£15m

Noni Madueke

£52m

Cristhian Mosquera

£13m

Viktor Gyokeres

£55m

Eberechi Eze

£67.5m

Piero Hincapie

Loan

The pressure is truly on for Arsenal to finally win their first Premier League title in over 20 years, following three consecutive campaigns finishing second behind Man City and Liverpool.

The signings of Eze and Gyokeres in particular will be vital, amid criticism surrounding Arsenal’s lack of creativity in the final third — something which was on full display at Anfield last month.

Arsenal hijacked Tottenham to sign Eze in spectacular fashion, while Gyokeres’ arrival ended the club’s long wait for a prolific striker to come through the door.

Arsenal were also briefly in talks for Real Madrid forward Rodrygo, but according to Romano, the Brazilian wasn’t the only Madrid player attracting serious interest from north London at one point.

Fabrizio Romano shares Arda Guler transfer revelation from Arsenal

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the respected reporter says that Los Blancos playmaker Arda Guler was also being seriously considered by former Arsenal director Edu Gaspar prior to Berta’s arrival.

Arsenal held internal talks over signing Guler, who was a concrete target for the Gunners before Xabi Alonso came in and started using the Turkey international starlet on a much more regular basis.

Guler has gone on to become a starter under Alonso, playing all of their La Liga matches so far, not to mention all of their matches at the Club World Cup. This has ruined all possibility of Arsenal signing the 20-year-old, but he was seriously under consideration at N5.

Guler has bagged two goals and three assists in nine starts since Alonso took charge, with the ex-Fenerbahce sensation’s Bernabeu career finally getting off the ground.

Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss and had chose to chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.He confirmed that Faf du Plessis, who missed DC’s previous game due to a groin strain, was fit to take back his place at the top of the order, which meant a move back to No. 4 for KL Rahul. Du Plessis replaced Sameer Rizvi in DC’s bowling-first XI, with Abishek Porel likely to come in as Impact Player for the chase. Axar also confirmed that his injured finger, due to which he bowled just one over in Chennai, was also fine.”My finger is fine, protecting it a little better, but will see, might even bowl four overs,” Axar said. “Faf is fit, so Sameer Rizvi is out. KL will bat in the middle order. The spinner’s role is also very important. We have two legspinners, and in the middle overs have told them to go for wickets.”Rajat Patidar said he had wanted to chase as well, while confirming an unchanged RCB side. Suyash Sharma or Rasikh Salam come come in as Impact Player when they bowl second.”Definitely wanted to chase,” Patidar said. “The surface is pretty hard and will try to put a good total on the board and put them under pressure. There has been a bit of planning as well, but I always back my instincts. It is important to win matches at home and have the momentum going.”DC are unbeaten so far in the tournament. They started with a one-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants before beating Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings comfortably. RCB have won three of their first four games, but their only defeat was in their first home game of the season, against table-toppers Gujarat Titans.Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting-first XI: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Tim David, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Yash DayalDC Impact Player options: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh.Delhi Capitals bowling-first XI: 1 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 KL Rahul (wk), 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Ashutosh Sharma, 6 Axar Patel (capt), 7 Vipraj Nigam, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Mukesh KumarDC Impact Player options: Abishek Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira

As they tend to do every year, Chelsea have made the most of the summer transfer window.

On top of shipping off those deemed no longer necessary, the Blues have added some seriously exciting talent to the side.

However, arguably the most exciting player to make their way to Stamford Bridge this summer is someone they technically signed last May: Esetvao.

The Brazilian teenager, who respected analyst Ben Mattinson has described as a “future Ballon d’Or winner”, has already impressed in pre-season, and it just feels like a matter of time until he truly announces himself in the Premier League.

Chelsea might be able to get even more out of the former Palmeiras gem should they complete the signing of another incredible talent they’ve been heavily linked with.

Chelsea target perfect teammate for Estevao

Despite already making several brilliant additions to the squad this summer, Chelsea continue to be linked with potentially game-changing stars.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

One of the most prominent links has been to Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho, who has made it clear he only wants a move to Stamford Bridge.

Another name touted for a move to West London, and perhaps a more pressing transfer given Levi Colwill’s injury, has been Piero Hincapié of Bayer Leverkusen.

However, there is another international who the Blues have been chasing for some time now, someone who could be the perfect teammate for Estevao: Xavi Simons.

Yes, according to a recent report from the continent, Chelsea have maintained their intense interest in the RB Leipzig star.

On top of that, the journalist has revealed that the Dutchman has “decided to join Chelsea” and has now turned “down interest from Manchester City.”

Tavolieri does not mention how much the 22-year-old might cost, but based on reports from earlier this summer, it might take a fee of around £61m to get him out of Germany.

That is certainly a lot of money to spend on a young player, but Simons has more than proven his ability in recent seasons, and he could be perfect alongside Estevao.

Why Simons would be perfect for Estevao

One of the reasons Simons could be such a brilliant teammate for Estevao at Chelsea is that he has already followed a similar path in his short career.

Now, there is undoubtedly more expectation on the young Brazilian’s shoulders, but the former La Masia ace has been talked about as a future superstar for years now.

For example, he made his first team debut for Paris Saint-Germain at just 17 years old, earned his first senior cap for the Netherlands at 19 years old, at the World Cup mind, and has been described as having an “extremely high footballing IQ” by U23 scout Antonio Mango.

Impressively, the 22-year-old has been able to cope with and navigate these pressures brilliantly over the last few years, and because of this, he’d be well-placed to help Estevao do the same in the coming campaigns.

With that said, the other reason the former PSG gem would be an excellent teammate for the 18-year-old is the simple fact that he is an output machine.

Appearances

33

Minutes

2763′

Goals

11

Assists

8

Goal Involvements per Match

0.57

Minutes per Goal Involvement

145.42′

For example, in just 33 appearances for Leipzig last season, totalling 2763 minutes, the dynamic “game-changer,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored 11 goals and provided eight assists.

In other words, the former Amsterdam-born dynamo maintained an average of a goal involvement every 1.73 games, or every 145.42 minutes, meaning he’d be able to provide an abundance of chances for the Franca-born maestro to bolster his own goal and assist tallies.

Moreover, he’s just as comfortable playing off the left as he is in the middle of the park, meaning there would be plenty of chances for him to develop a relationship with the young Brazilian.

Ultimately, Simons would be an excellent signing regardless of who else was in the squad, but he could be even more important for Chelsea now Estevao has made his way to West London.

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