Things have just not been going Arsenal’s way this season.

Mikel Arteta’s side have had to deal with constant injuries, a number of suspensions and, most significantly of all, a faltering attack.

The North Londoners haven’t been dreadful and are still just about in the Premier League title race, but for whatever reason, look far less threatening than they have in recent years.

Moreover, one of the players signed to help out in attack over the summer is barely getting a look in at the moment, and therefore may as well be axed from the squad in January.

Arsenal's faltering attack

As things stand, Arsenal are currently the fifth-highest scorers in the league.

While some might not consider that a disaster, it is for a team trying to win the title, especially when they ended last season as the second-best attacking side in the league.

The Gunners’ highest scorers in the league are, unsurprisingly, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, who have both found the back of the net on five occasions in 15 appearances a piece.

Saka

5

15

Havertz

5

15

Trossard

3

16

Martinelli

3

14

Gabriel

3

14

Partey

2

15

Saliba

2

15

Now, while it’s far from ideal to have your top scorers on five goals, it’s even worse to have your second top goalscorers on just three, which is where Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhães sit.

It’s clear, then, that while the club aren’t scoring for fun from the right or down the middle, the biggest issue is the left-hand side, as three a piece for the Belgian and Brazilian is undeniably concerning.

However, what makes this whole situation even more puzzling is that Arteta signed one of the best goalscoring wingers in Premier League history over the summer to provide more depth to the frontline.

This winger can play off the right or off the left, yet is hardly getting a look in and, therefore, might as well be cut from the squad.

The Arsenal flop who should be cut from the team

So, the player in question is, of course, Raheem Sterling.

Now, as we mentioned above, the former Manchester City star is undeniably one of the best goalscoring wingers in Premier League history, as in 385 appearances, he’s found the back of the net 123 times and provided 63 assists for good measure.

However, we have seen none of that for Arsenal this season.

In fact, as things stand, the Kingston-born dynamo has made just ten appearances for the Gunners, totalling 356 minutes of action, in which he’s scored a single goal – against League One side Bolton Wanderers – and provided two assists.

It would be fair to say he hasn’t blown anyone away in his cameo appearances, but he hasn’t been significantly worse than Martinelli or Trossard, either.

So, it seems that for whatever reason, Arteta simply does not trust his former player, which in turn makes the decision to sign him in the summer look like a big mistake or, as content creator Connor Humm proclaimed, an “absolute waste of time and money.”

Ultimately, Arsenal have a problem in attack at the moment, and Arteta clearly believes that Sterling is not a player that can help.

Therefore, if he’s going to continue to play such an incredibly minor role for the rest of the season, Arsenal must look to cancel his loan deal in January, as it can’t be good for morale to have a player of his stature sitting on the bench every game.

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Injury-hit hosts building healthy lead over Durham at Hove, thanks to India batter

ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2022

Cheteshwar Pujara scored his third century in as many matches to give Sussex control on the second day of their LV= County Championship match against Durham at Hove.It’s been a difficult start to the season for Sussex, whose already inexperienced side has been further weakened by injury and illness – two of their opening three matches ended in defeat by ten wickets and an innings. But Pujara, who missed his new club’s opening fixture of the season at home to Nottinghamshire, scored a sublime hundred on his delayed Hove debut and the whole ground rose to applaud him.He was 128 not out, scored off 198 balls with 16 fours, when bad light brought play to an end with 13 overs still remaining. But by then Sussex were 362 for 5, and leading by 139 runs.”Puj was an absolute joy to watch today, both from the balcony and when you’re batting with him,” Tom Haines, Sussex’s captain, said. “His stats speak for themselves, with over 50 first-class hundreds. He’s an unbelievable player and a great guy to have in the dressing room.”He’s so keen to speak to everyone. He’s the easiest guy to talk to: there’s no ego. He’s in the nets all the time. he’s the ultimate batting professional and a joy to have around. It’s been a good cricket wicket. Our focus now is to get as big a lead as possible.”It felt distinctly chilly under the sullen clouds but Pujara shone more brightly than the floodlights as Sussex enjoyed their second good day against Durham. Pujara had already scored an unbeaten 201 against Derbyshire and 109 against Worcestershire but this was his best innings for the county as he dominated a partnership of 143 with Tom Clark – the pair had put on 121 against Worcestershire. Clark was out immediately after reaching his half-century, brilliantly caught by the diving Matthew Potts ad deep backward square-leg.Related

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Sussex seamers and Tom Haines dominate Durham despite Liam Trevaskis rearguard

Sussex had started the second day on 82 for 1, still 141 in arrears. Durham were handicapped from the start by the absence of their leading fast bowler, Chris Rushworth, who failed overnight concussion protocols and was replaced in the side by Oliver Gibson. On a flat pitch Rushworth was badly missed, though Ben Raine bowled impressively.Sussex lost their first wicket of the day on 95, when Ali Orr was lbw to Potts. Nightwatchman Mason Crane – on a month’s loan from Hampshire but born in nearby Shoreham-by-Sea – did his job by surviving for 60 deliveries before he was bowled by a fine ball from Matt Salisbury.That made it 108 for 3, with the match very much in the balance. But that brought Pujara to the crease. He was well supported, in the first instance, by Tom Alsop, another import from Hampshire. Alsop, given the pivotal No. 3 spot, had made a disappointing start to his Sussex career but here he played very soundly for a 129-ball 66 before he was lbw to Liam Trevaskis, a marginal decision with the ball looking a little high.Alsop and Pujara had added 99 for the fourth wicket, but it was when Pujara was joined by Clark that the Indian Test batsman’s innings really took off. Durham took the new ball just before tea but in the few overs before that Pujara attacked the Durham spinners with relish, pulling with immense power and striking five fours in two overs.

MatériaMais Notícias

Recentemente, a Conmebol realizou o sorteio dos grupos da Copa Sul-Americana. O Cuiabá está no Grupo B, junto de equipes como Racing-ARG, Melgar-PER e River Plate-URU. Cristiano Dresch, Vice-presidente do clube mato-grossense, destaca o impacto da Copa:

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-A Copa Sul-Americana será uma das competições mais importantes da história do Cuiabá. Já disputamos em outra oportunidade, mas agora estamos na elite do futebol brasileiro, e teremos, no mínimo, seis partidas com transmissão internacional. Fora dos gramados, o campeonato também chama a atenção dos patrocinadores, valorizando a exposição das marcas no uniforme do clube-, declara o Vice-presidente.

O executivo enxerga que a capital do estado também se beneficia com as partidas na Arena Pantanal: -Cuiabá receberá três grandes jogos na primeira fase. Certamente nosso estádio será palco de uma grande festa, com ativações especiais para a torcida. O ramo do turismo também será favorecido, com a presença de diversos torcedores que virão do exterior para acompanhar as suas equipes-, conclui Cristiano.

O primeiro compromisso do Dourado, na Copa Sul-Americana, será contra o Melgar-PER.

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Maharashtra batter Rahul Tripathi is “not far at all” from an India cap and could be a back-up option for Nos. 3 or 4 in India’s T20I squad, according to Ravi Shastri and Daniel Vettori. Tripathi has been the most prolific No. 3 in IPL 2022, and top-scored with 76 off 44 balls to set up Sunrisers Hyderabad’s total of 193 for 6 on their way to a three-run win against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.On ESPNcricinfo’s show T20 Time:Out, Shastri and Vettori heaped praise on Tripathi’s shot-making, temperament, all-round game, fearlessness and his ability to take on Jasprit Bumrah.When asked if Tripathi was far from an India call-up, Shastri said: “He’s not far at all. If someone doesn’t get up from the bench or gets up from the wrong side of the bed and gets injured, this guy can be slotted in straightaway. He can go at No. 3 or 4, he’s a dangerous player, and should be in the mix. If he’s performing season after season, I’m sure the selectors will be watching that very, very closely and giving him his due.”Shastri further said Tripathi’s all-round game and temperament could make him a back-up option to a similar batter, Suryakumar Yadav, who is a strong contender to be in India’s T20 World Cup squad later this year.”No question about that,” Shastri said. “It’s not that one swallow that makes a summer, he’s been around for a bit and what I like about his game is his fearlessness, and he’s got a tag of being a known quantity and someone the opposition wants to get out quickly. Irrespective of that, he comes out and plays his game and his shot-making ability, the all-round game that he has, he’s not overawed by any opposition or by any bowler, which is great to see.”Tripathi has batted only at No. 3 during this IPL for Sunrisers and has made the position his own. His knock on Tuesday, his highest score this season, was all the more crucial in a must-win game because Sunrisers pushed an out-of-form Kane Williamson down the order and opened with Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma. The pressure mounted on Sunrisers when Abhishek, their top scorer in this IPL until Tuesday, fell for 9 in the third over.After Abhishek, Sunrisers have mainly been driven by their middle-order trio of Tripathi, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran. The advantage Tripathi holds over his team-mates is that he doesn’t take time to get off the blocks. While Markram and Pooran had struck at 98.9 and 90.8 respectively over their first 10 balls, before this game, Tripathi had scored his runs at 147.4. When Markram and Pooran had picked up their strike rates to 135.1 and 184.6 in the 11-20 balls segment, Tripathi had lifted his even further, to 203.6Rahul Tripathi’s ability to get off the blocks in a hurry has been invaluable to the Sunrisers line-up•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

He got going quickly against Mumbai too, by picking the gaps early on. In the fourth over, against left-arm spinner Sanjay Yadav, who had fine leg in the circle, Tripathi shuffled across to sweep for a boundary past that fielder. Two balls later, Sanjay pitched it wider outside off and Tripathi drove him elegantly over the covers for four.”Tripathi is a very, very confident player,” Shastri said. “What I liked best was his shot selection, the positions he got in, the anticipation, the reading of the bowler and the lengths he is going to bowl, and then getting into positions to attack a part of the field he wanted to. He gave himself in those positions a couple of options. If the ball was up, he had a couple of shots ready once he got into that position; if the bowler altered, he had plan B in place as well. So extremely impressive and a terrific innings.”Next, Tripathi faced Bumrah, against whom he already had a favourable match-up of 28 runs off 17 balls for one dismissal. Once he saw out two balls from Bumrah, Tripathi dispatched a well-anticipated short ball for six over midwicket. Bumrah then resorted to a slower length ball with a stifling line outside off and Tripathi got a boundary off that too; he opened the face of the bat late and just enough to find the gap behind square on the off side. Off the last ball of the over, Tripathi drilled a full delivery through the covers to pick up his third successive boundary. In all, 15 came off that over.”Tripathi’s innings was exceptional,” Vettori said. “He has had a great season, but this feels like his best innings. His shot-making against highly skilled bowlers…it’s a beautiful swing that he has, and we saw the best of him tonight.”You judge batsmen against the best bowlers in the world. You see him against Bumrah and he looked comfortable. Bumrah threw everything at him, he bowled short, he bowled a slower ball, bowled it in…the shot off the slower ball was his best one. Bumrah went to his yorker and he punished him through the covers.Rahul Tripathi has been the most prolific No. 3 of IPL 2022•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

,”At no time does he look under pressure. He has this natural calmness at the wicket, prepared to strike from ball one and some of his shot-making is outstanding. There’s no shot he doesn’t have and he’s fearless the way he goes about it. He never looks under pressure, he never looks stressed, so all that culminates into a very good T20 batsman.”He never lets a bowler settle. Even good balls he has the ability to dismiss, particularly against spinners he’ll be aggressive against them, he’ll take them on, so always pushing the game forward rather than waiting for the game to happen and the situation is irrelevant, and that’s what makes him and Suryakumar special, that they play their natural style irrespective of the situation.”One of the most impressive aspects of Tripathi’s game has been his ability to accelerate as soon as he comes out to bat. Sunrisers have had the second-slowest powerplays in this IPL, and yet Tripathi has found ways to pick up the scoring for his team at the fall of a wicket. So far in IPL 2022, Sunrisers’ average run rate before Tripathi bats is 7.09 but their scoring rate climbs to 8.78 when their No. 3 is at the crease. This gives batters like Pooran and Markram the time to settle in and go hard towards the end.”The thing with Tripathi season after season is whether he has a great or good season, or not a great season by his standards, while he’s at the crease the scoreboard is ticking and he’s scoring at a great rate, which is tremendous at No. 3 because he sets it up beautifully,” Shastri said. “If a wicket goes early, he’s ready to counterattack. When you get a good start, he’s there to build on that. He doesn’t go behind the eight ball, rotates the strike well, he has the big shots up his sleeve and he has a tremendous all-round game.”This guy comes with no baggage. He’ll come out and play his shots. The time he spends at the crease, he’ll be value addition to the [India] side.”Speaking with after being named the Player of the Match, Tripathi said he too was hopeful of getting the India call up.”Definitely, when you play cricket it’s obviously your dream to represent your country and if I keep doing well and they [selectors] believe I can win the matches for my country then definitely I’ll get the opportunity.”

Celtic continued their strong start to the new-look edition of the Champions League format with a hard-fought 0-0 draw away at Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night.

The Scottish giants have only lost one of their six matches in the league phase and are unbeaten in their last four matches in the competition, with one win and three draws.

This has left the Hoops in 19th place in the league and they are on course to make it through the play-off round, as the cut-off to be knocked out is 25th and below.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have also been fantastic domestically and have a League Cup final clash with Rangers at Hampden Park to look forward to.

The Bhoys are currently nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and have won an incredible 14 of their 15 matches in the division, conceding four goals and scoring a whopping 44 – beating Hibernian 3-0 most recently.

Celtic have been lethal at the top end of the pitch in the top-flight and one of the main reasons why they have been so impressive in the final third has been the form of German forward Nicolas Kuhn.

Nicolas Kuhn's form this season

The January signing from Rapid Vienna only managed two goals and two assists in 14 appearances in the Premiership during the second half of last season.

That five months allowed him to slowly settle into life in Glasgow and in the Scottish top-flight, though, and he used that experience to hit the ground running in the current campaign.

The left-footed wizard has already hit double figures for both goals and assists in all competitions, with an eye-catching 11 goals and 11 assists in 22 matches.

Kuhn is unfortunate not to have more assists in the Champions League, though, as the winger has created four ‘big chances’ and racked up 1.99 xA to only be rewarded with one assist, which suggests that his teammates have let him down with their wasteful finishing at times.

The 24-year-old star has also scored two goals from 0.65 xG in Europe and this illustrates the ruthless nature that he has displayed in front of goal this season for the Hoops.

As well as being a key performer in the Champions League, Kuhn has also been a major contributor for Rodgers as an attacking presence down the right flank in the Premiership.

As you can see in the table above, the former Bayern Munich and Ajax youngster has offered plenty of quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.

However, Kuhn is currently going through a quiet spell, by his standards, with no goals or assists in his last four appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys.

Whilst the German forward is slowing down, another Celtic player is becoming the star man for Rodgers with his performances at the heart of the defence – Auston Trusty.

Auston Trusty's performance against Dinamo Zagreb

The USA international was selected ahead of Liam Scales to play on the left side of the centre-back pairing in the Champions League clash on Tuesday night and caught the eye with his superb display.

Celtic had 69% of the possession on the night and needed their defenders to be switched on and ready to defend in transition when the home side won the ball back and broke quickly.

Trusty was sharp throughout the match and showcased his qualities both in and out of possession, with three tackles, two blocks, and three clearances to help his team out defensively.

As you can see in the table above, the summer signing from Sheffield United outperformed his centre-back partner with his play on both sides of the game.

Trusty was dominant in his duels, both on the deck and in the air, and was constantly looking to get on the ball to progress play with his passes, having more touches and completing more passes than Cameron Carter-Vickers.

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It was a performance in keeping with his outstanding form over the last couple of months, as the defender is quickly becoming the star man for Rodgers.

Auston Trusty's form this season

Starting from the 0-0 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League in October, Celtic have conceded three goals in Trusty’s last 11 appearances in all competitions.

Whilst defending and keeping clean sheets is a team game, Trusty – as shown by his outstanding display on Tuesday night – has played a major role in the club’s impressive clean sheet record.

The Scottish giants have kept six clean sheets in his nine starts in the Premiership and two clean sheets in his five starts in the Champions League, which shows that he has been an integral part of a rock solid defence.

Whilst Kuhn’s has had a minor blip, with his lack of contributions in the final third in recent weeks, Trusty appears to have found his top gear in a Celtic shirt, making himself undroppable at the back.

As you can see in the table above, the American defender has only lost possession 26 times from a staggering 393 touches of the ball so far this month, which speaks to how incredibly reliable he has been, particularly this month.

He has also won the majority of his duels on the deck and in the air to keep three clean sheets in three matches in December, domestically and in Europe.

These statistics illustrate how influential Trusty has been in and out of possession for Celtic this month, and this season, and that is why he is becoming the star man for Rodgers with his sublime performances week-in-week-out.

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New faces in 14-man squad to take on New Zealand next month

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2022

Stephen Doheny and Graham Hume have been handed their first ODI call-ups for Ireland’s series against New Zealand next month. Batter Doheny, the leading run-scorer in the Interprovincial T20 Trophy, was recently named in the T20I squad to face India, while South Africa-born seamer Hume won a retainer contract last month after qualifying for Ireland.Andy Balbirnie will captain the 14-man squad. Of the players who were part of Ireland’s most-recent 50-over engagement, a 2-1 series win in West Indies in January, William Porterfield has recently retired, while Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock and Ben White were omitted.”Taking on the world’s number one ODI side will always be a challenge, but with 30 World Cup Super League points on the line, this series becomes even more significant,” Andrew White, chair of national men’s selectors, said. “One-day cricket is the format we have performed most consistently in over the last few years, and despite the age profile of many in the squad being young, they have gained some important experience in recent times in finding ways of winning against top sides.”With the recent retirement of William Porterfield, we’ve called up Stephen Doheny into his first ODI squad. Stephen has impressed coaches and selectors with his stroke play and is now starting to convert starts into defining and match-shaping innings’ at inter-provincial and Wolves level. His form has warranted his call-up to both white-ball squads and we wish him well.”It’s likewise pleasing to see Graham Hume get his chance in the ODIs after repeated seasons of consistent form while he qualified to play for Ireland. Hume has demonstrated his accuracy and ability to extract bounce and movement in home conditions – we are hoping his knack of prising out early breakthroughs will translate to the higher level.”Ireland will play New Zealand in three ODIs at Malahide between July 10-15, with points for the World Cup Super League on offer. They will then play a T20I series against the same opposition in Stormont.Ireland squad: Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young

MatériaMais Notícias

Uma nova alternativa para o sistema ofensivo da Ponte Preta foi encontrada através do acordo firmado nesta semana entre a Macaca e o centroavante Leandrinho. A informação foi confirmada pelo Futebol Latino, parceiro oficial do LANCE!

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>Não deixe de conferir o aplicativo de resultados do LANCE!

O atleta que não deve contar com um anúncio formal por parte do clube campineiro firmou um vínculo que terá a duração de três meses e, com base no aspecto da produtividade, pode ser posteriormente prolongado até o término da Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro.

Com passagem pela base de clubes como São Paulo e Portuguesa, Leandrinho saiu bem cedo do país para rodar o mundo em mercados dos mais distintos na América Central, Europa e também Oriente Médio. Porém, na Turquia, foi onde o atleta hoje com 35 anos emendou a maior sequência, defendendo cinco clubes diferentes entre 2015 e 2020: Denizlispor, Sivasspor, DC Karabukspor, Umraniyespor e Altay.

A ideia é fazer com que, inicialmente, o atleta que já faz parte das atividades com o restante do elenco seja observado pelo técnico Hélio dos Anjos na busca pela resolução de um dos grandes problemas da Ponte desde o início da temporada 2022.

Em 14 partidas feitas até então entre Paulistão, Copa do Brasil e Série B, enquanto a defesa foi vazada em 24 oportunidades (média bem superior a um gol por partida), o sistema ofensivo só balançou as redes adversárias em dez oportunidades. Algo que, naturalmente, colaborou bastante para a traumática queda no estadual.

A próxima partida da Macaca na temporada vai ser pela segunda rodada da Série B onde o time viaja ao interior do estado do Paraná em visita ao Operário. O confronto está agendado para o próximo sábado (16), às 11h (de Brasília), no Estádio Germano Krueger.

Former Ireland international Kim Garth has locked in her future in Australia signing a three-year WBBL deal to remain at the Melbourne Stars.Garth, 26, has played 85 times for Ireland in ODI and T20I cricket but has not represented her country since 2019 and relocated to Australia full-time in 2020 after signing a contract with Victoria in the WNCL. She has now completed her residency so will be classed as a local player.Garth was a shining light for Stars in a dismal WBBL season last year as their player of the season finishing with 15 wickets, including a remarkable opening spell of 3-3-0-3 against Sydney Thunder, and averaging 27.33 with the bat.Garth will be part of a Stars side now under the guidance of new coach Jonathan Batty.”I’m loving my time in Melbourne and I can’t wait for the next three seasons with the Melbourne Stars,” Garth said.”I haven’t been home [to Ireland] for over two years so it has been great to get back in the offseason but I’m looking forward to getting back and putting in a solid block of work before the start of the season and working with Jonathan and the entire coaching team.”I haven’t had the chance to play in front of our members and fans at home yet which is something I’m really looking forward to in WBBL08.”Stars general manager Blair Crouch was delighted to secure Garth for three more years.”Her energy on and off the field is infectious and her impact on the group in a short time has been profound,” he said. Kim has worked extremely hard on her game over the last couple of seasons and her improvement with both bat and ball is a credit to that hard work.”

Carlo Ancelotti is confident Kylian Mbappe & Vinicius Jr will avoid being banned for Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Arsenal.

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Mbappe & Vinicius under UEFA probe Could be banned for alleged "indecent conduct"If found guilty could be banned against ArsenalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

On Thursday, UEFA confirmed that an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector is looking into the conduct of Mbappe, Vinicius, Antonio Rudiger, and Dani Ceballos after Real Madrid’s victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16. One of the incidents involves Rudiger, who was caught on camera allegedly making a throat-slitting gesture towards Atletico Madrid supporters. Additionally, a viral footage on social media appears to show Mbappe making a crotch-grabbing gesture towards the fans.

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If UEFA finds the players guilty of inappropriate conduct, they could face punishments ranging from fines to suspensions, which would be a significant blow for Los Blancos ahead of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Arsenal. Nonetheless, Ancelotti downplayed the controversy, insisting that his players did not engage in any wrongdoing.

WHAT ANCELOTTI SAID

"We believe everything was correct, and we hope UEFA makes a decision, but we trust that everything will end well," Ancelotti told reporters.

While UEFA has not explicitly detailed the specific incidents under investigation, Spanish media reports suggest that Atletico Madrid lodged an official complaint over Real Madrid players allegedly taunting their fans, which led to objects being thrown onto the pitch from the stands.

"We are confident in UEFA's verdict as the players had just celebrated. That's it, we wait for verdict, but our players didn't do anything wrong."

DID YOU KNOW?

While Madrid awaits UEFA's verdict, Ancelotti remains focused on the domestic title race, where his side is locked in a tight battle with Barcelona. Despite trailing their Catalan rivals by three points, the Italian tactician has vowed that his team will fight until the very end to retain their La Liga crown.

"Barcelona has an advantage, but we are going to fight until the end. I hope we have 17 matches [in all competitions] left until the end," Ancelotti said.

Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement might not be in charge at Ibrox for the majority of the January transfer window, especially if the club suffers yet another defeat to Celtic on Thursday afternoon.

The Premiership title race will definitely be over should this occur, but given the fact the Gers are currently trailing their rivals by 14 points, and it isn’t even January yet, many of the supporters believe that the manager should have been sacked already.

Whatever happens over the next few weeks, the Light Blues must bring in some quality during the winter window to bolster the side. Not only that, but several members of the side need to be moved on.

Naturally, the rumour mill has already started with regard to potential incomings and one player that has been linked recently is shining in the Championship.

Rangers showing an interest in signing Championship midfielder

According to journalist Graeme Bailey,, Rangers have an interest in signing Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill on a pre-contract agreement next month.

The Englishman is about to enter the final six months of his current deal with the Turf Moor side, which means clubs can offer him a contract when the January window opens.

Bailey claims in the report that Lazio and Fiorentina have both made pre-contract offers to the midfielder, while English clubs such as Everton, West Ham United and Brentford will have to wait until the summer to make an approach for the player.

Celtic are also showing interest, and it is clear that the Light Blues have plenty of competition if they wish to bring Brownhill north of the border, especially with Premier League sides and clubs from the continent sniffing around.

Transfer Focus

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

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Over the years, the Gers have had some success with signing players on a pre-contract when the winter window opens. The likes of Dado Prso, Jean-Alain Boumsong and John Souttar moved to Rangers this way in the past.

If the club do manage to sign the Burnley star, however, it could turn out to be a repeat of the move to sign Scott Arfield back in 2018, who moved to Scotland once his contract expired.

Scott Arfield’s Rangers statistics

Arfield became one of Steven Gerrard’s first signings when he moved to Ibrox and, given the fact that he had played nearly 200 games for Burnley, with 86 of these coming in the Premier League, the move was an inspired one.

During his first season, the Scottish-born Canadian international midfielder registered 19 goal contributions – 12 goals and seven assists – across 46 matches, adding some much-needed dynamism in the final third.

This would be a recurring theme during his spell with the club, as Arfield would add quality whenever he was called upon, endearing himself to the supporters in the process.

Overall, Arfield made a total of 233 competitive appearances for the Light Blues, scoring 43 goals and chipping in with 19 assists. He was a key part of the teams that won the Premiership title in 2021 and the Scottish Cup a year later.

He left at the end of the 2022/23 season following the expiration of his contract, but there was no doubting how good a signing Arfield was for the club, especially with his impact on the pitch.

Brownhill could certainly offer the same sort of qualities that Arfield did during his time in Scotland and if the Gers could bring him in for free, it would be a wise piece of transfer business. That’s a certainty.

Why Josh Brownhill would be a good signing for Rangers

Before moving to Burnley in January 2020, Brownhill was a key player at Bristol City, and he once earned some interesting praise from Lee Johnson, his former manager at the club, back in 2019.

Since moving to Turf Moor, the midfielder has been impressive for the club, making 111 appearances in the Premier League during that time.

Burnley suffered relegation last season, but in the Championship this term, the 29-year-old has been in excellent form. Not only has he missed just one league match all season, but the midfielder has found the back of the net on nine occasions, while grabbing three assists in the process.

Josh Brownhill’s Burnley statistics

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

2023/24

35

4

3

2022/23

48

7

10

2021/22

38

2

3

2020/21

36

1

1

2019/20

10

0

0

Via Transfermarkt

Brownhill has also created three big chances in the second tier along with averaging one key pass and averaging 1.9 shots per game, indicating how vital he has become for the club in the final third.

When compared to his positional peers in the Championship this term, the former Bristol City star currently ranks in the top 1% for non-penalty goals (0.32), in the top 9% for total shots (1.9) and in the top 11% for touches in the opposition penalty area (2.44) per 90.

These statistics prove he is among one of the finest midfielders in the Championship, especially with regard to these attacking metrics, and he could be a wonderful addition to the Rangers team.

Building a squad which has excellent depth is now the main priority for the club, with players such as Kieran Dowell clearly not good enough to be squad members.

Bringing in someone like Brownhill, who has a wealth of experience in England, would allow the Gers to sign a quality midfielder for nothing. He may be nearing the end of his career rather than the start, but when finances are tight, making new signings who don’t cost a penny could be the way forward.

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Posts ByRoss Kilvington Dec 30, 2024