Category Uncategorized

Tottenham Hotspur's 1-1 draw against West Ham United on Tuesday evening presented Ange Postecoglou with a quandary heading into the final stretch of the campaign: his side has lost that stunning attacking verve that charged the early-season success.

Still fifth in the Premier League and currently holding a nine-point buffer over Manchester United below, Tottenham know that the real goal is pipping Aston Villa to that fourth-place spot and confirming a place in next season's Champions League.

Europe's elite club competition attracts the biggest names and offers a chance to win the biggest prize, and should Spurs succeed in securing a place, they would take a big step in their pursuit of a new centre-forward.

Spurs' lining up new striker

While Tottenham have been linked with a wealth of names for the front of the ship following Harry Kane's sale to Bayern Munich last summer, the latest rumour might be the most exciting yet.

According to The Sun, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is prepared to go head-to-head with London rivals Arsenal for Newcastle United star Alexander Isak this summer, with the Swede touted at £100m by his outfit.

Isak is a treasure in Tyneside but the Magpies might be forced to give up their glinted silver to comply with financial fair play rules, especially if they fail to qualify for Europe – United are currently eighth, one point behind the Hammers.

Why Spurs are interested in Alexander Isak

Newcastle made Isak their club-record signing in August 2022 after making remarkable progress under Eddie Howe's stewardship, welcoming the striker from Real Sociedad for £63m.

The 24-year-old showed plenty of promise throughout his maiden campaign in England but found injuries inhibited him from hitting full bloom. Still, he scored ten goals and added two assists from just 17 starting appearances in the Premier League last season.

Standing at 6 foot 3, Isak is a rangy and athletic centre-forward with a fleet-footedness that sets him apart from the lion's share of strikers throughout Europe. He has been hailed for his "fearless" performances at St. James' Park by The Times' Henry Winter.

This season, as per Sofascore, Isak has posted 15 goals from just 19 starts in the English top flight, 13 of which have come with his deadly right foot.

If the Lilywhites crave a prolific new frontman to spearhead a promising new era, on the market (if rather expensive), then look no further. Isak is the man Tottenham must invest resources into signing, over the likes of Ivan Toney, brilliant as he may be.

How Isak compares to Ivan Toney

The gnawing inconsistency that has marred many interminable silverware-pursuing seasons really feels like it might come to an end under Postecoglou's leadership, with the recruitment thus far landing the right stars to flavour the brewing success.

Toney is a fine centre-forward, having scored 24 goals and provided five assists from 44 Premier League matches since the start of last season, even praised for his dynamic qualities by Three Lions teammate Declan Rice, who said he's "like Harry Kane."

Tottenham are said to be "lurking in the background" for the 28-year-old by transfer reporter Dean Jones, though Manchester United and West Ham United appear to be current frontrunners.

Toney is clinical and helps his teammates immensely through his creativity, sharp intelligence and positive movements, but Isak arguably offers a better skill set as a pure striker, a natural finisher.

Premier League 23/24: Top Scorers

#

Player

Apps

Goals

Goals per 90

1.

Erling Haaland

24

18

0.80

2.

Mohamed Salah

23

16

0.75

2.

Ollie Watkins

30

16

0.55

2.

Dominic Solanke

30

16

0.54

5.

Alexander Isak

22

15

0.85

5.

Heung-min Son

27

15

0.60

5.

Jarrod Bowen

30

15

0.50

68.

Ivan Toney

11

4

0.36

Stats via Premier League

As the table shows above, Isak is actually performing at the most clinical rate of any top goalscorer in the Premier League this season, bagging at a superior rate even to top dogs Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.

Moreover, when taking his seasonal tally across all competitions into consideration – 19 goals from 32 matches – it can be observed that Isak has even outscored Heung-min Son this term, having matched his 15 Premier League goals at a superior rate. Son has not scored outside the top flight in 2023/24.

It's for this reason, the matter of Isak's staggering prolificness, Tottenham have been credited with an interest in Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez in recent months, with a report from Caught Offside in March even going as far as to claim that the Mexican is Postecoglou's top target.

That's not to say that Isak isn't a high-class, complete centre-forward, with the one-time Borussia Dortmund youngster ranking among the top 13% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and progressive carries, the top 12% for progressive passes and the top 10% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.

Isak has also been described as a "unicorn for his mixture of size & technical ability" by reporter Kev Lawson, speaking of the elite-level attributes that have already earned him much individual success on Tyneside.

Related Spurs now fighting Brighton to sign £2.7m South American talent

The north Londoners are hoping to beat Brighton at their own game.

Posts ByBen Browning Apr 2, 2024

Aged 24, Isak is likely to be a major player at Europe's forefront for years to come and while Toney is a proven star in the Premier League, he is several years Isak's senior and arguably doesn't offer the same progressive, penetrative traits, albeit more creative and superior in his link-up play.

Still, Tottenham have creativity in abundance through Son, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and co, and Isak might just be the final piece of the puzzle to take Tottenham to another level next season.

Karnataka became the first team to hold both white-ball titles in the same domestic season

The Report by Hemant Brar01-Dec-2019Defending champions Karnataka survived a Baba Aparajith-Vijay Shankar scare to clinch a last-ball win as they beat Tamil Nadu by one run in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20. They became the first team two win both white-ball titles in the same season, having won the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy a little over a month ago, and incidentally, Tamil Nadu were the losing side in the final on both occasions.After being put in, Manish Pandey led from the front, scoring an unbeaten 60 off 45 balls to help Karnataka to a formidable 180 for 5. In response, Tamil Nadu were 80 for 4 at the end of ten overs before Vijay and Aparajith revived the chase by adding 71 in 43 balls for the fifth wicket.It came down to 13 required from the final over with Vijay and R Ashwin in the middle. R Ashwin hit offspinner K Gowtham’s first two balls for fours before playing a dot ball and taking a single to put Vijay on strike. With four needed from two balls, Vijay was run out while returning for a non-existent second run, Pandey’s throw from long-on catching him short.With two required off the final ball for a Super Over, non-striker R Ashwin removed his pads but his namesake M Ashwin could hardly get the ball off the pitch and the batsmen managed only one.Tamil Nadu stumble after strong startTamil Nadu started their chase positively and moved to 64 for 2 at the end of seven overs with Washington Sundar and Dinesh Karthik looking well set. Karthik had just hit two fours off Shreyas Gopal and when Rohan Kadam failed to latch on to a rebound at the deep-backward square-leg boundary in the eighth over, it looked like it would be Tamil Nadu’s night.Karnataka, though, struck back by dismissing the two in successive overs: J Suchith had Karthik stumped and Gowtham castled Washington.Karnataka survive Aparajith, Vijay scareTamil Nadu needed 101 from the last ten overs and Vijay and Aparajith never let the asking rate go past 11. They found at least one boundary per over between overs 11 to 15 and reduced the equation to 52 from five overs.Aparajith then hit the first balls of the next two overs for sixes and took the side closer. But with 31 needed from 18 balls, he fell to Ronit More while looking for another six. Vijay and R Ashwin further brought it down to 25 from 12 and then 13 from six, but in the end, they fell short by the narrowest of margins.R Ashwin’s two-in-two not enoughIt was billed as a contest between Karnataka’s batsmen and Tamil Nadu’s bowlers. And the black-soil surface did seem to aid spinners. There was turn available, with a couple of balls coming slower off the pitch. Add R Ashwin and Washington’s guiles to the mix, and you would back them to trouble most batsmen.Karnataka’s batsmen, though, just don’t fall in that category. KL Rahul started the innings by cutting R Ashwin past point for four. While his opening partner Devdutt Padikkal didn’t look at his best and was pinged on the helmet by a T Natarajan bouncer in the fourth over, the youngster remained unperturbed and flicked the seamer for a six three balls later.In the next over, Rahul used his feet against R Ashwin to hit him over long-on but the spinner had his revenge next ball. Rahul skipped down again but R Ashwin shortened his length this time and had the batsman caught at long-on. Mayank Agarwal fell for a first-ball duck, closing the face of the bat too early to offer R Ashwin a simple return catch.But Padikkal hit Washington for a six and a four in the next over to take Karnataka to 57 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.Pandey leads with unbeaten half-centuryPadikkal’s scratchy innings came to an end when he played inside the line to a Washington delivery and had his off stump flattened. His 23-ball 32 took his run tally for the tournament to 580, the most in a single edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.At the other end, Pandey stepped out against M Ashwin, hitting him for a six and four. He, in the company of Kadam, took the side past 100 in the 12th over.Kadam too hit his stride after a slow start and struck back-to-back fours off left-arm spinner M Siddharth before hitting Vijay for three in a row in the next over. Pandey kept putting away the loose balls and despite just 34 runs from the last four overs, Karnataka managed a total that proved just enough.

Nottingham Forest are a club that has certainly had their ups and downs over the last decade under the ownership of former chairman Fawaz Al-Hasawi and now Evangelos Marinakis.

From a transfer embargo under boss Dougie Freedman, Martin O'Neill making the squad run around Wollaton Park in pre-season to a first promotion to the Premier League in over 20 years under Steve Cooper – the club have had it all.

The Reds ended their Premier League exile in 2023 after a 1-0 victory over Huddersfield Town in the play-off final, with owner Marinakis promising the fans he would invest in the playing squad to be competitive in England's top flight.

Fast-forward to 22 months after the Reds' day out at Wembley and the club have been deducted four points for breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR), dropping Nuno Espírito Santo's side into the drop zone.

Financial Fair Play: What is PSR, how does it work and who's in trouble?

Leicester City have become the latest club charged with an alleged PSR breach, but what could happen next?

ByStephan Georgiou Apr 16, 2024

Under Marinakis' guidance, the club have made 34 signings since promotion, with the owner investing over £250m on players – a real reason why the club broke the PSR rules by nearly £35m.

Despite the news of the points deduction on Monday afternoon, The Times reporter Martyn Ziegler confirmed that the Reds may have to sell another key asset during the summer to comply with the PSR rules.

That being said, we are taking a look at three players who Forest could sell to avoid another points deduction next season…

1 Morgan Gibbs-White

The most obvious choice, but one that no Forest fan would want to become a reality, is midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. His signing raised eyebrows in 2022, with the Reds forking out £25m rising to £42.5m with add-ons for his signature.

Even some Reds supporters believed the club overpaid for Cooper's top target, but nearly two years on from his arrival at the City Ground the 24-year-old has been worth every penny and more.

Over the last two campaigns, the former Wolves midfielder has featured 71 times, scoring nine times and assisting 13 – with impressive stats helping the Reds secure survival last season.

He's grown as a footballer since his arrival, with Gibbs-White taking the armband on multiple occasions – further highlighting his importance to the club.

The "sensational" talent as described by journalist Josh Bunting now has a market value of £34m as per Transfermarkt, but it would take a fee much higher than that to make Forest part ways with their star.

His importance to the Forest side is reflected by his stats this season, with the 24-year-old averaging 4.5 progressive passes, 2.2 progressive carries and 1.3 successful take-ons per 90 – all stats that see him rank as number one at the City Ground.

Gibbs-White would arguably be the hardest player for the Reds to replace in the summer, with his confidence and talent in attacking areas impossible to replace – especially for a fee in Forest's ballpark.

2 Murillo

A player who has taken Forest fans by surprise this season is Brazilian centre-back Murillo. The 21-year-old joined the club in a £15m deal from Corinthians last summer, with his progress at the City Ground nothing short of sensational.

He had to bide his time before making his debut in the 1-1 draw against Brentford, with the defender progressing rapidly since his Premier League debut.

The ball-playing centre-back has excelled for the Reds, with his stats backing up his ability on the ball. The left-footed Brazilian has averaged 0.8 successful take-ons per game this season – a stat that sees him rank within the top 3% of all centre-backs in Europe's top five leagues.

Murillo also averages 3.6 accurate long balls per game – the highest of anyone in the Reds squad, with his importance to the club impossible to put into words.

His great form hasn't gone unnoticed; the youngster is already being linked with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona and PSG, with the Reds undoubtedly set for a huge payday when he eventually departs for a European giant.

The defender will easily break Brennan Johnson's record departure from the City Ground, which currently sits at £47.5m.

The 21-year-old has all the attributes to be a top defender in world football, with the club easily able to receive a fee in the region of £70m for Murillo, with the Brazilian still having four years left on his current deal.

3 Ibrahim Sangare

Out of the three players on this list, undoubtedly Forest fans would want midfielder Ibrahim Sangare to be the man to be sacrificed ahead of Gibbs-White and Murillo.

The Ivorian joined the Reds for a deal in the region of £30m, with the former PSV man arriving at the City Ground with a lot of potential given the interest from sides such as Bayern Munich.

He's shown glimpses of his talent since his summer arrival, but unfortunately, the 26-year-old has failed to show it on a consistent basis.

No question there is a talented player in there, with Sangare's tallies of 3.7 tackles and 2.1 blocks per 90 within the top 6% of all midfielders in Europe this campaign.

The Ivorian, who earns £75k-per-week at the City Ground, still has time to prove himself to be a great addition for the Reds, with Sangare still settling into life in the Premier League.

However, given the huge fee spent on the midfielder, he's yet to show any sort of value for money – with the club potentially using his current value of £27m as per Transfermarkt, to cut their losses and allow the club to keep talents such as Murillo and Gibbs-White for at least one more campaign should they secure survival.

Arsenal are enjoying another brilliant season in the Premier League under former player Mikel Arteta, with the Gunners currently sitting just two points off leaders Liverpool.

Arteta's side have only lost four times in the league so far this campaign, with the Gunners boasting the best defensive record in the division – conceding just 22 times in the 25 league games so far this season.

However, in recent games, Arsenal have been just as impressive in the final third as they have been defensively. During the last two encounters, Arteta's side have kept two clean sheets but have also scored 11 times after a 6-0 win over West Ham and a 5-0 win against Burnley on Saturday.

Despite their impressive tally in front of goal, the club might've missed a trick with another attacking player who was at the club during his younger years; Michael Olise.

Michael Olise's time at Arsenal

Unbeknownst to some, the dazzling Frenchman actually spent a brief period at the Hale End Academy as a youngster.

Telling the BBC, youth coach Sean Conlon stated: "It wasn't that he was particularly big or strong; it was the efficiency of his movements. He was very elegant, a graceful runner. He glided across the pitch. There was ease about the way he did things.

"At the time he was just in at Arsenal. Then in the U8s season he joined various development centres as well as us and he became more polished. He was so slight as a youngster, he needed game intelligence."

Olise subsequently joined Chelsea's academy, where he was until the age of 14 before making his name at Reading in the Championship.

Olise's time at Palace

Now aged 22, the French winger plays for Crystal Palace in the Premier League – with the attacker attracting interest from multiple other English sides.

Manchester United have been the side that have been linked with Olise most, with the Red Devils rumoured to be wanting to sign the Palace forward for a fee in the region of £60m.

Olise has made 82 appearances for Palace, scoring 12 times and assisting another 22 since his £8m move to Selhurst Park back in July 2021.

The right-sided forward has impressed with his ability to cut inside on his stronger left foot, with Olise's displays similar to that of current Arsenal star boy Bukayo Saka.

His performances for Roy Hodgson's side has seen his market value skyrocket, with the 22-year-old now worth £42.5m as per Transfermarkt, and more than capable of making the jump to being a first-team starter for a big six Premier League side.

How Olise compares to Bukayo Saka

Saka has taken his game to the next level under Arteta this campaign, scoring 12 times with eight assists in his 24 Premier League appearances – the highest total of anyone in the Arsenal side.

The Hale End Academy graduate has been crucial in the club's attempt to win a first league title since the invincible campaign, with Saka's market value now reaching an astronomical £102.5m.

When comparing Saka to Olise this season, the Crystal Palace winger beats the Arsenal man in multiple key areas as a similarly left-footed player cutting in off the right-hand side.

Olise has averaged 4.4 progressive passes per 90, with Saka unable to match his tally, with the Englishman trailing Palace's winger by 0.6 per game. Saka also trails Olise for successful take-ons per 90, with the Hale End Academy product averaging 1.8 compared to the Frenchman's tally of 2.4.

Whilst Saka blows Olise out of the water for goals this season, the Palace winger averages more assists per game with his tally of 0.42 per 90 ranking him within the top 4% of attackers in Europe's top five leagues.

Even though the youngster wouldn't play instead of Saka, he certainly would add to the quality of Arsenal's already impressive frontline – with the Gunners potentially missing a trick with the Frenchman when he was at the club as a youngster.

حسم منتخب الجزائر تأهله إلى نهائيات كأس أمم إفريقيا 2025 وذلك بفوزه على منتخب توجو بهدف دون رد.

وحل منتخب الجزائر ضيفًا على توجو في خضم منافسات الجولة الرابعة من دور المجموعات بتصفيات كأس أمم إفريقيا، على ملعب كيجي بتوجو.

المنتخبات المتأهلة لـ كأس أمم إفريقيا 2025 (محدث باستمرار)

وحقق منتخب محاربو الصحراء انتصاره على مضيفه التوجولي بهدف نظيف سجله رامي بن سبعيني عن طريق ركلة جزاء في الدقيقة 18 من عمر اللقاء.

ويتواجد منتخبا الجزائر وتوجو في المجموعة الخامسة من التصفيات، وتضم إلى جوارهما غينيا الاستوائية وليبيريا.

بتلك النتيجة يرتفع رصيد منتخب الجزائر إلى 12 نقطة محققًا العلامة الكاملة بالانتصار في 4 مواجهات، ضامنًا التأهل إلى نهائيات كان.

ويتجمد رصيد منتخب توجو عند نقطتين حصدهما من تعادلين فيما خسر مواجهتين متتاليتين أمام الجزائر، ومحتلًا المركز الثالث.

وتقام منافسات تصفيات كأس أمم إفريقيا بحضور 48 منتخبًا تم تقسيمهم إلى 12 مجموعة، يتأهل منهم مباشرة متصدر ووصيف كل مجموعة إلى نهائيات كان. هدف فوز الجزائر أمام توجو

العارضة تنقذ الجزائر من هدف محقق لـ توجو

مشادة بين اللاعبيين في مباراة الجزائر وتوجو

تصدي حارس توجو يحرم الجزائر من تسجيل هدف مؤكد

Fast bowler has all the attributes for English conditions, but lessons learnt from previous trips may stand him in good stead

Daniel Brettig18-Jul-2019

Jackson Bird celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Watch Jackson Bird bowl in Australia and most swiftly reach a similar conclusion: perfect for England. Tall, accurate and generating bounce and movement both ways, he has long been among the most consistent performers down under, as demonstrated by his recurring presence around the fringes of the Test team in a decidedly strong era for pacemen.Take Bird some 20 hours’ flying time to the other side of the world, however, and his seemingly well-grooved skills have tended to desert him. He struggled for impact in his one Test here, at Durham in 2013, and two county stints in 2015 and 2016 at Hampshire and Nottinghamshire tallied 34 wickets in 11 games at an average near enough to 40, while also giving up more than 3.5 runs per over.Nevertheless, Bird has continued to front up, earning a berth on the Australia A tour and thus a chance at Ashes selection by hoarding 50 wickets at 22.22 for Tasmania in 2018-19, after 37 at 21.81 the previous summer. Ahead of the internal trial match between two Australian sides that will provide the selectors with the final information they need to cut 25 players down to 16, Bird knows he is duelling for, at best, one remaining bowling spot with the likes of Peter Siddle, Chris Tremain and Michael Neser. When he takes the Dukes ball in Southampton, he will do so with the words of no less a Dukes exponent than Stuart Broad in his mind – they are worth recounting for all of Australia’s Ashes aspirants. “I’m probably not trying to swing the ball as much as I used to,” Bird said. “I’ve fallen into the trap over here a couple of times when I’ve come and played county cricket as well, to just focusing on swinging the ball rather than bowling the right length and I think that’s what’s cost me really.”I’ve spoken to a lot of guys that have played cricket over here, in either Ashes or guys I’ve played with, guys like Stuart Broad and stuff like that, and they just say you’ve got to bowl the right length that’s going to hit the top of the stumps or hit the knee roll [on the pad] and if the conditions suit it will swing anyway.”That’s all I’m trying to focus on doing and I think in the spells where I’ve bowled a bit full or been too expensive it is probably for that reason, so the spells that I’ve bowled well in I’ve been hitting the wicket and hitting the top of the stumps – it’s a good blueprint going forward.”The memories Bird has accumulated from numerous England trips should give him a decent chance of squeezing into the Ashes squad, although he was realistic about the fact that while many of the group assembling in Southampton on Thursday were already nailed on, he was very much in the group on the edge of things.”I assume there’s probably only one spot available, if that, for the fast bowlers, so I’m enjoying my time over here,” Bird said. “We’ve got a good bunch of guys that have had a good couple of weeks in this Aussie A stuff and we’re all looking forward to getting down to Hampshire.”I felt pretty good, I think I’ve improved from Arundel last week, so made a couple of good strides over the last week. I probably went for a couple of runs in my first spell but I thought I brought that back nicely and bowled a good spell in the middle of the day and, yeah, was pretty happy with the hit-out.”Anytime you come up against a Lions team, it’s a good hit-out, and this game was no different. There were a couple of guys in their Test squad against Ireland that were playing, so it’s good to bowl to a few of their batters who are on the fringe as well, in case they do get picked in the Test squad and you do play against them, at least you’ve got a bit of experience against them. You can never take that too lightly.”Frustration at Cricket Australia over the quality of county opposition rolled out for warm-up games on previous Ashes tours has manifested itself in the pitting of the two Australian sides against one another in Southampton next week. While the selection of the teams is a mystery, Bird revealed that the groups will be training separately, a likely necessity due to the sheer size of the group otherwise.”We don’t really know what the teams are going to be and how they’re going to pick the teams so that’ll be interesting to see what happens there in the next couple of days,” Bird said. “I think we’ve got a bit of an idea of what’s going to happen, I think were training separately and stuff like that, so we’ll at least try and make this game as competitive as possible.”It’s the only red ball hit-out for a couple of the guys that have been playing in the World Cup. I think those games can drag on a bit if they’re not taken too seriously so hopefully it’s 100% the whole time.”And with all players and staff crammed into the one hotel, that could make for some intriguing dynamics at the breakfast bar, among other places. “It might be a team rule, can’t fraternise with the opposition!” Bird joked. “It’ll be pretty funny I reckon, especially after a couple of weeks on tour, there’s going to be a few blokes who’ll cop it from other blokes I reckon, airing a bit of their grievances over the tour. It’ll be good fun.”

Manchester United made it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday evening but not without a scare against Newport County.

Truth be told, when have Erik ten Hag's side ever done something without a fright along the way? a 4-2 win may have made things look comfortable on paper but it was far from it, even if the Dutchman thought the Welsh side offered "nothing" throughout the 90 minutes. Harsh words indeed.

Attention could now turn to the transfer window although it seems unlikely the Red Devils will perform any significant business before the market slams shut on Thursday evening.

Instead, the focus is on the summer with one player already earmarked as a potential acquisition by the incoming new owners.

Man Utd lead race for Premier League talent

It will be interesting to see what United's tactics are come the summer with the backing of INEOS and the appointment of Omar Berrada who will join the club from Manchester City to become their new CEO.

With a history for tempting world-class talent to the Etihad – notably Erling Haaland and Rodri – it should be an exciting time in the market for a club who have made some notable howlers in recent years. Antony, who only scored his first goal of the campaign against Newport, tells you all you need to know there.

3 dream signings Berrada could make at Man Utd including his next Haaland

Omar Berrada is to enter Manchester United as their new CEO.

ByMatt Dawson Jan 23, 2024

It's already been suggested that Berrada is simply not in the business of overpaying for players but they could splash the best part of a reported £60m on Michael Olise.

A report over the weekend from Football.London focused on Chelsea's interest but revealed it may well be hard for the Blues to complete a deal.

That's because Olise has put the Red Devils firmly at the front of the queue should any suitor wish to sign him.

The Frenchman reportedly favours a move to Man United and as a result, they are closely monitoring the situation ahead of a potential summer swoop.

Why Michael Olise is perfect for Rasmus Hojlund

Rasmus Hojlund's Manchester United career is a curious tale. With Ten Hag craving a new striker last summer they put that enormous burden on the shoulders of a 20-year-old Dane with 27 senior goals to his name. The fee in question? An enormous £72m.

Unfortunately, his early displays left a lot to be desired. Despite firing home five goals in the Champions League it took him until Boxing Day to score in the Premier League.

The Scandinavian striker quickly became an overnight meme but to his credit, has bounced back tremendously well in the last month.

Hojlund now has three goals in his last four matches having bagged against Aston Villa, Manchester United and most recently Newport County in the FA Cup. It's amazing what happens when you actually offer your striker some service, isn't it?

The Denmark international has been devoid of that in his opening campaign with the club. Bruno Fernandes leads the way for key passes per game with 2.8 this season but beyond that United's attack has been feeding off scraps.

Luke Shaw and Alejandro Garnacho are the next best creators but the former has spent large parts of the campaign injured and the latter hasn't become a regular starter until recent months.

#1 Bruno Fernandes

2.8

#2 Luke Shaw

1.4

#3 Alejandro Garnacho

1.1

#4 Diogo Dalot

1.1

#5 Antony

0.9

As a consequence of United's lacklustre creativity and supply line to their main centre-forward, the idea of signing Olise, a "special talent" as described by journalist Ed Malyon, should be salivating.

The Crystal Palace star has been nothing short of a sensation when he's stayed fit, supplying 11 assists in the Premier League last term. That happened to be the highest number of any player featuring for a club outside of the top six. It's hardly a surprise, therefore, that Sky Sports pundit Clinton Morrison said he's "way better than Antony."

This term he's only recorded one assist but has proven he can add goals to his game too with Olise finding the net on five occasions in just nine appearances.

Even despite the 22-year-old's lack of assists in the current campaign, he is still outperforming the majority of United's squad for chance creation, supplying 2.2 key passes per match. Furthermore, he ranks inside the top 10% of positionally similar players in Europe for shot-creating actions per 90 minutes and the best 12% for assists per 90.

On that evidence, this is truly a player who Hojlund would adore playing alongside. The Eagles winger is simply begging for a big move with his performances at the moment and the Dane must hope it's United who secure a swoop next summer. It could well prove game-changing for his own career.