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تحدث بول بوجبا، لاعب خط وسط مانشستر يونايتد، عقب تأهل فريقه لنصف نهائي الدوري الأوروبي، على حساب غرناطة الإسباني.

وفاز مانشستر يونايتد بهدفين دون رد، وسيلاقي روما في الدور نصف النهائي للمسابقة (طالع تقرير المباراة).

وقال بوجبا عبر قناة “BT sport”، عن الهدف الأول: “رأيت كافاني يركض، كنت أعرف أنه خلفي، الطريقة التي ذهبت بها الكرة إليه كانت مثالية بالنسبة له، وسجل هدفًا رائعًا”.

وأضاف لاعب الوسط الفرنسي: “أنا سعيد لأنني تمكنت من مساعدة زميلي في الفريق على التسجيل”. أهداف مباراة مانشستر يونايتد وغرناطة

واستطرد بوجبا: “الأمر متروك لأربعة فرق، من يريد الفوز باللقب؟، هناك فريق واحد فقط يمكنه الفوز ونعلم ما يتعين علينا أن نمر به”.

وعن تلقيه بطاقة صفراء في المباراة لتدخله على جيرمان لاعب غرناطة، أردف بوجبا: “بعض التدخلات تحصل بعدها على بطاقة صفراء، واضطررت للخروج بشكل واضح”.

وأكمل: “كانت البطاقة الصفراء مؤسفة، اللعبة لم تستحق بطاقة بالنسبة لي ولكن عليّ أن أتقبل القرار، فزنا بالمباراة وهذا أهم شيء”.

وأتم بوجبا: “أعرف الخطأ الذي حدث بعده مباشرة، رأيت كل اللاعبين يحاولون إخراجي، واعتقد المدرب سولشاير أنه من الأفضل أن اسُتبدل خشية حصولي على بطاقة حمراء”.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Sheffield Wednesday got back to winning ways last weekend as they defeated Wigan Athletic 1-0 at Hillsborough.

Summer arrival Massimo Luongo scored the only goal of the game in what was his first league start for the club since joining from Queens Park Rangers.

The 27-year-old accurately slotted home from an Adam Reach cut-back in the 57th minute to hand the Owls all three points, but aside from that one moment, the game was rather drab.

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Neither side could muster up more than three shots on target as Garry Monk reverted away from the 4-4-2 that had proven to be successful against Middlesbrough just over a week ago.

As highlighted here, that’s a system that the 40-year-old needs to continually deploy, and Fernando Forestieri’s return could aid that substantially.

On the Chalkboard

The 29-year-old has missed their last six matches through suspension, but after the international break, he will be available for selection again.

According to reports, he is set to feature in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Rochdale this week, which will only bolster his match fitness ahead of a possible comeback.

His teammate Sam Hutchinson, who was on commentary duty while serving a suspension of his own on Saturday, claimed the forward was a ‘special talent’ that the team needs.

Forestieri is undoubtedly one of the most talented players amongst the Wednesday ranks, but over the last few seasons, he hasn’t managed to hit the heights he displayed early on in his Hillsborough career.

The south Yorkshire club reached the playoffs in his first two seasons where he netted 27 goals in 76 appearances, but since then, he hasn’t hit more than six in any one season, per Transfermarkt.

To some extent, injuries and disciplinary issues have hindered that.

But now under Monk, he has a fresh chance to dazzle once again – even more so if he opts for that 4-4-2 formation as Steven Fletcher needs a partner.

Despite playing the bulk of his career in the number ten role as shown by Transfermarkt’s recorded matches, his best performances have come when playing as a centre forward.

Since the 2016/17 season, Forestieri has averaged 3.2 shots or better when playing as a direct striker in a Wednesday shirt, which would go to great lengths to resolve one problem from the Wigan game.

He also recorded a minimum of 1.8 dribbles per game in a similar timeframe while the lowest average rating scored in any one year playing as a forward is 7.22 compared to the 6.78 overall rating he managed in 25 appearances last season, via WhoScored.

This demonstrates where his best role might be suited, it’s now up to Monk to take advantage of this.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Manuel Pellegrini would have been looking for his first-team players to bounce back following a dreadful display by a largely second-string XI against Oxford United during the week.

There were changes aplenty at the Vitality Stadium, but one man who did keep his place in the side was summer addition Pablo Fornals.

The £24m man hadn’t impressed at the Kassam Stadium in a humiliating 4-0 defeat, and was handed a 3/10 rating by Football London for his performance – it was certainly concerning that he wasn’t able to make an impact against League One opposition.

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Part of the reason the Spaniard got the nod again against the Cherries may well have been the fact that Manuel Lanzini wasn’t fit enough start on his return from injury, with the Argentine only named among the substitutes.

The former Villarreal man is taking time to acclimatise to English football, with no goals or assists to show for his seven Premier League outings to date.

He actually came under criticism from some Irons supporters on Twitter for his showing against Eddie Howe’s men, but the statistics suggest he did a much better job than they think he might have done.

For example, the 23-year-old completed all 26 of the passes he attempted, according to SofaScore, while he also made an impressive three key passes on the south coast.

Fornals also saw four shots blocked by the opposition, and showed that he is willing to put the work in from a defensive viewpoint as well by winning one tackle.

His positive display has certainly made Pellegrini’s life difficult ahead of the visit of Crystal Palace to the London Stadium this weekend, with the decision on who to pick in his midfield surely one of his hardest right now.

Felipe Anderson is clearly a quality player who can make a difference, Andriy Yarmolenko is in form, Declan Rice and Mark Noble are almost un-droppable, and Manuel Lanzini has been one of the Irons’ most talented individuals in recent times.

With Fornals showing signs he can be a Premier League success it may give his Chilean manager a headache, although it has to be seen as a positive one because after all he’d rather have more quality available than not.

Choosing between Lanzini and Fornals is tough, and one is sure to be left disappointed when the team-sheet is announced on Saturday.

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For Wolves, their Premier League season has gone from bad to worse.

Failing to be beaten in the Europa League, they are seemingly feeling the effects of that competition starting so early.

From their opening matches domestically, they’re yet to win and have now lost two on the bounce.

They were defeated against Everton two weeks ago but were hammered by Chelsea 5-2 at home on Saturday, a loss that was completely uncharacteristic of a side that picked up 16 points versus the top six last term.

That shows how good Nuno Santo’s men were in the bigger matches in 2018/19 but facing off against the Blues this weekend, they were undone on a regular basis.

Wolves were without Ryan Bennett and the suspended Willy Boly which may have had a say in such a poor defensive display but the image below rather paints a thousand words of how the season has gone so far.

As you can see, three Wolves men stand dejected, rather understandably so after conceding the fourth goal.

Joao Moutinho, in particular, appears frustrated as rather than celebrating yet more points against one of the best sides in the division, they were left to look on as Chelsea ran riot at Molineux.

It was a match and picture that sums up the feeling around Wolves at the moment.

Like some Premier League teams of the past, namely Burnley last season, they’ve struggled with the demands of European football as well as domestic action but even someone as experienced as Moutinho couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Nuno will have to work out a remedy quickly otherwise we may start to see more images like the one above surfacing throughout the campaign.

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Loads of Sunderland fans have been commenting on the latest career move of former Black Cat Joel Asoro, who has joined FC Groningen on loan.

Asoro will spend the rest of the season in the Eredivisie, as Swansea confirmed his temporary switch to Holland this week.

The 20 year-old scored three times in 33 games during his stay at the Stadium of Light, showing glimpses of great potential before eventually securing a move to the Swans.

His first campaign after swapping Wearside for Wales didn’t exactly go to plan though, as he played just 17 times for the Championship outfit, failing to find the back of the net even once.

He will now link up with manager Danny Buijs at Groningen, who finished eighth last season.

Sunderland have lost both Asoro and Josh Maja from their young talent pool in the last 13 months or so, and lots of fans are hoping other youngsters see Asoro’s move to Holland as a reason not to leave the Stadium of Light.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Rangers’ Ryan Jack has been sent home from international duty due to injury.

What’s the word?

The negativity surrounding Scotland right now is palpable, with plenty of players getting absolutely crucified on social media after last week’s defeat to Russia.

Steve Clarke’s side threw away their lead against the 2018 World Cup hosts, losing 2-1, and have an almighty task facing them on Monday as well when they take on Belgium, who finished third in that tournament.

And the boss has revealed why Jack has been sent home, per The Scottish Sun: “Ryan has gone back to Rangers. He had a little bit of swelling on his knee on Friday and was prepared to sit on the bench.

“But on Saturday there was more swelling and Rangers decided to go safety first.”

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Blow for Gerrard

Rangers fans better be praying to whatever entity they believe in right now that this injury isn’t serious.

The Gers have plenty of midfield options, with the likes of Andy King, Glen Kamara, Joe Aribo, Scott Arfield and Steve Davies all fighting for a spot in Steven Gerrard’s side, but Jack might just be the best of the bunch.

Fans have constantly praised the 27 year-old for his performances in recent times, and he is clearly one of Gerrard’s most trusted lieutenants – he played the third-most minutes of any outfield player in the squad last term, and the most for a midfielder.

And after grabbing four goals and five assists in a whopping 46 showings last term, he has already featured 11 times this campaign, scoring once.

Aforementioned, central midfield is perhaps the position Gerrard has the most depth in, but if the swelling goes down and reveals a more serious issue for Jack, there’s no question it will be a big blow for the gaffer.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

It was one of the biggest transfer sagas in recent memory, and one that dominated the entirety of last summer.

Will Nabil Fekir join Liverpool? When will James Pearce announce Fekir? Will he be as good as Philippe Coutinho was?

These were the questions that may have been rushing around the Anfield faithful’s heads, and their queries looked set to be answered in the near future as the France international underwent a medical ahead of a £53m move.

However, Liverpool pulled the plug on the deal at the 11th hour and decided not to sign the player who was desperate to play under Jurgen Klopp.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below…

Enough concerns arose from Fekir’s medical for the Reds to pull out, and it would’ve presumably been news to disappoint some Reds supporters judging by how keen they were for the attacker to be announced – it was certainly brave of the Merseysiders to abandon the transfer given how long the saga panned out for.

But, Liverpool seem to have been proven right to do what they did.

Eyebrows may have been raised at the medical concerns seeing as Fekir has missed just ten games with injury since rupturing his cruciate ligament back in 2015, but the 26-year-old’s eye-catching move to Real Betis seems to suggest Liverpool were right.

It is not just the fact that no other clubs apart from Betis were seriously in for the man who has 69 goals for Lyon at any point this summer, but it is the price tag itself which sparks confusion.

The Spanish side paid just an initial £17.75m to bring Fekir to La Liga, with £9.8m in add-ons. For a player to leave for over £30m less than he was valued at last summer – with no serious impacting incidents of note happening since – suggests Liverpool were right.

Additionally, at that price, why would no-one else get involved for a player who won the World Cup last summer and was on the radar of Chelsea as well as Liverpool?

It just seems baffling that nobody else would take a punt on him for such a slender fee, unless there was something seriously troubling about the player’s body.

Whatever the truth may be, Liverpool appear to have made the right decision judging by the lack of interest in Fekir and the price tag he now merits.

A £53m bullet well and truly dodged.

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Lots of Everton fans have taken to Twitter to discuss the news of a €30m (£26.9m) bid for Juventus striker Moise Kean being rejected, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Nicolo Schira.

The Italy international, who starred for the Under-21 side at the European Championships this summer with two goals in two games, enjoyed an impressive breakthrough campaign last term with the Turin-based giants.

Thogden challenged himself to DM 100 footballers on Instagram. Find out who replied in the video below…

Kean hit six goals in just five Serie A starts in 2018/19, and also grabbed another in his one appearance in the Coppa Italia – the 6 foot forward appears to be extremely efficient in front of goal.

The 19-year-old is arguably one of the hottest young strikers in Europe right now after his excellent season for Juventus, and one would assume that it will take a lot more than £26.9m to prise the Italian away from Turin.

However, it is at least encouraging to see offers be submitted for players of this calibre, who have bags of potential.

Let’s take a look at how the Everton fans on Twitter reacted to the news…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

West Ham United have once again warned Manchester United that Issa Diop is not for sale, per ClaretandHugh.

What’s the word?

Diop has been heavily linked with a potential switch to Old Trafford this summer, with Sky Sports stating that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were willing to table a £45m offer with the inclusion of a player for the defender.

However, the new report claims that the club have no intention of selling Diop, who enjoyed an excellent debut season in English football.

He made a total of 38 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals, and emerged as perhaps the Hammers’ best central defender.

And ClaretandHugh quote sources who claim that Diop, along with Declan Rice, will be remaining at the club for the duration of the summer.

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Can’t afford to lose him

Diop would be incredibly hard to replace.

Across 33 games in the Premier League, Diop, per WhoScored, averaged 2.1 tackles per game, 1.9 interceptions and 4.7 clearances.

The Frenchman also made 1.1 blocks and he has an exceptional passing range, averaging 34.4 passes per game with an accuracy of 86%.

These kinds of defenders do not grow on trees and the Hammers pulled off a bargain when they snapped him up for £22m.

At the time, that was a club record fee but his value has already trebled, at least, and while there may be a temptation to rake in a major profit, replacing him would be nigh-on impossible.

It is no guarantee that players can adjust to Premier League football as smoothly as Diop did and the Irons would need to spend a fortune to bring in reinforcements of his calibre.

Ensuring he stays, then, has to be their top priority this summer.

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So far during this transfer window, Liverpool have been linked with more outgoings than incomings, with Ryan Kent and Harry Wilson just two of the potential departures. Today’s Reds transfer roundup, however, brings you news of interest in two players, as well as a report of another exit in the works.

Dembele available for right price

TEAMtalk is reporting that Barcelona have given the green light to Liverpool to sign Ousmane Dembele. The Catalan club are looking to recoup the initial £96.8m they paid in 2017 for the Frenchman, who scored 14 goals and provided nine assists in all competitions last term.

Targett of interest

Liverpool are interested in bringing Southampton left-back Matt Targett back to Anfield according to 90min.com. The England U21 international, who measures in at 6 foot, is seen as a good back-up option for Andy Robertson amid Alberto Moreno’s departure from Merseyside.

Camacho refuses new deal

Portuguese outlet A Bola is reporting that Rafael Camacho is refusing to sign a new contract with Jurgen Klopp’s team. Sporting Lisbon are interested in the 19-year-old, with Liverpool looking for €10m (£8.9m) for his services, and due to his contract expiring next summer an exit seems likely.