da dobrowin： West Bromwich Albion managed to add a cherry to the top of their cake right at the death of the transfer window, clinching a wonderful deal to win back former loan hero Mikey Johnston on a permanent basis on deadline day.
da wazamba： The now ex-Celtic winger would end up costing the Baggies a reasonable £3m, with Mason Holgate also joining on loan as the clock ticked down another eye-catching bit of business.
If he can reach the same heights he managed as a firm fan's favourite last season at the Hawthorns this campaign, Carlos Corberan's men could well be even more of a force to be reckoned with in the Championship, with the Baggies yet to taste defeat across their first four league clashes.
Johnston's time at West Brom
Johnston joined in January as a new loan recruit to help Corberan's side push to make the play-offs and stay there, with the Republic of Ireland international an instant hit in his fresh surroundings down the left flank.
The 25-year-old would twist and turn second-tier defences for fun, with a devastating finish usually finding the back of the net after a slaloming run forward, with Johnston helping himself to a stunning seven goals and two assists from 20 Baggies games.
Therefore, when an opportunity arose during the recently closed transfer window to try and snap Johnson back up, it was a chance West Brom couldn't say no to.
With Tom Fellows also operating as a creative machine down the right, with three assists already tallied up from his side's opening four Championship contests, both the homegrown West Brom menace and the £3m new boy could tear up the league together.
Mikey Johnston in action for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership
Away from the West Midlands outfit striking gold on deals in the here and now, they have been prone to making blunders in the transfer market too.
Sam Johnstone is one player who very much fits into that category.
Sam Johnstone's transfer value in 2024
Johnstone's recent £10m move to Wolverhampton Wanderers would have been particularly demoralising for West Brom, away from feeling overjoyed about Johnston's return, having waved goodbye to the new Wolves goalkeeper for nothing back in 2022.
Well known to keen football followers across the West Midlands – having lined up for Aston Villa as well as West Brom – Johnstone has now ticked off another big club from this area in the form of Gary O'Neil's Old Gold.
His best spell as a player to date arguably came at the Hawthorns, with Gary Lineker even labelling the former Manchester United youth prospect as "sensational" when he routinely starred for his former employers.
Johnstone's clean sheet record by division
Division played
Games played
Clean sheets
Premier League
67
15
Championship
222
74
League One
54
21
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Proving himself to be a reliable shot-stopper across his playing days to date, with a large portion of his career clean sheets coming in the second tier, Corberan would love to be able to call upon Johnstone now in his current West Brom XI.
The Baggies wouldn't be consumed with so much regret when it comes to Johnstone if they did manage to sell him on for a hefty fee when they could, considering West Ham United in 2021 reportedly bid £10m for his services.
Instead of cashing in, however, West Brom pushed back a bid and ultimately rejected it, only for the four-time England international to walk away from the building on a free transfer, after his side finished in an unsatisfactory mid-table spot in the Championship at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Now, the ex-Red Devils youngster is worth £7m more than statement buy Johnston, as the Baggies remain a team in the second tier aiming for a top-flight return.
Corberan does have Alex Palmer at his disposal in-between the sticks now, who has only leaked two goals so far this campaign in the league, but those with connections to West Brom must still wonder if Johnstone's time with the club could have ended on a better note.
West Brom struck gold on Hawthorns ace who is worth even more than Holgate
This West Bromwich Albion star continues to put in top performances for Carlos Corberan’s men.
India’s premier first-class competition returns – in two phases, split by the IPL – after a year’s gap, and features Pujara and Rahane on the first day itself
Himanshu Agrawal15-Feb-2022
Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara will be in action against each other on the first day itself•AFP
When does the tournament begin? And why is it in two phases? The 2021-22 Ranji Trophy will be held in two phases, with the IPL in between. The first phase, which consists of league matches and one pre-quarter-final, starts on February 17 and ends on March 15. The IPL is expected to start on March 27. Before the Ranji pre-quarter-final, there will be three rounds of matches held: the first from February 17 to 20, then February 24 to 27, and finally, from March 3 to 6. The second phase, of the knockouts, is likely to begin on May 30 – after the IPL has concluded – and run up to June 26.Related
Ranji Trophy: Bihar's Sakibul Gani enters record books after hitting triple ton on debut
Yash Dhull hits 113 on first-class debut to lead Delhi charge against Tamil Nadu
Rahane, Pujara picked in Ranji Trophy squads
BCCI disburses longstanding Covid compensation
'If I get picked for India, can I make a difference?'
Who are the big-ticket players in the mix? And who are missing? Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will turn out for Saurashtra and Mumbai, respectively. In fact, they will be up against each other on the very first day of the tournament, in Ahmedabad.Also available for their respective sides will be Hanuma Vihari (Hyderabad), Navdeep Saini and Nitish Rana (Delhi), Mayank Agarwal and Prasidh Krishna (Karnataka), Sreesanth (Kerala), Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra), Krunal Pandya (Baroda), Umesh Yadav (Vidarbha) and Vijay Shankar (Tamil Nadu).Among players who are expected to be free and available in that window, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha have all opted out. Hardik will be continuing his rehabilitation for a long-standing back injury and focus on his comeback in white-ball cricket, Saha and Ishant have made themselves unavailable.Kerala’s Robin Uthappa and Sanju Samson will also be absent. Uthappa is recovering from a hamstring injury, while Samson is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Are any of India’s Under-19 World Cup winners in the Ranji squads? Yes. Batter Yash Dhull, who led India to their fifth Under-19 world title, is a part of Delhi’s squad. Quick bowler Ravi Kumar has been named in the Bengal side. Batter Harnoor Singh and allrounder Raj Angad Bawa are in the Chandigarh squad. Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Bana and allrounder Nishant Sindhu have been picked by Haryana. And offspinners Vicky Ostwal and Kaushal Tambe will play for Maharashtra.What happened in the last Ranji Trophy? The last time the tournament was conducted was during the 2019-20 season, when Saurashtra won the final against Bengal. But the Ranji Trophy had to be shelved during the following season because of pandemic. It was the first time the tournament, India’s premier first-class competition, had not featured in the calendar since its inception in the 1934-35 season.Saurashtra are the defending Ranji Trophy champions•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
How many teams are participating? And what’s the format for the league phase? A total of 38 teams will be participating this season, and they have been divided into nine groups: eight Elite and one Plate. While the Elite groups have four teams each, the Plate Group has six sides in it.A total of 57 matches will be played in the league phase, as each team plays three matches. While the Elite teams face all other sides in their group once, the Plate teams will play only against three sides in their group. That will be followed by the pre-quarter-final and the knockouts: the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final. That’s a total of 65 matches.What is the points structure? The ranking order of the teams will be decided by points. Should teams be level on points, then the number of outright wins becomes the deciding factor. If it’s still not conclusive, the quotient rule comes into play. This will be determined by dividing the team’s batting average by their bowling average.How will the pre-quarter-final and quarter-finals play out? Of the eight Elite-Group toppers, the seven with the best numbers qualify directly for the quarter-finals. For the final quarter-finalist, the Elite-group topper with the fewest points gets into a pre-quarter-final with the Plate-group topper. The pre-quarter-final will be played just after the league phase, and will end before the start of the IPL.Where will the Ranji matches be played? The Elite matches will all be held across eight states, all neutral to the teams in action. Rajkot, Cuttack, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Thumba, Delhi, Rohtak, Gurugram, Sultanpur and Guwahati will be the cities where matches will be played. All the Plate matches will be conducted in Kolkata. The venue for the pre-quarter-final and the knockouts will be decided later.What happens if a player tests positive for Covid-19? In case a player tests positive for Covid-19 or shows symptoms which prevents his participation in a match as per public health guidance norms, the match referee can allow his team to field a Covid-19 replacement after getting the necessary confirmations. However, the player coming in should only be a like-for-like replacement so as to prevent the side from getting any undue advantage.
Both sides might be in a dilemma with the potential return of Shikhar Dhawan and Kieron Pollard in their respective XIs
Hemant Brar10-Feb-20221:44
Should India test their bench? Should West Indies rejig their batting order?
Big pictureSince the start of the ODI series against South Africa, India have been talking about building a side for the 2023 World Cup. One of their pain areas in the last couple of years has been the lack of a wicket-taking seamer in the powerplay and middle overs. They changed their strategy in the third ODI against South Africa by picking a tall, hit-the-deck bowler in Prasidh Krishna, and continued with it in the West Indies series too.The rewards are there to be seen. Hitting the short-of-a-good-length area, Prasidh picked up 2 for 29 in the first ODI and 4 for 12 in the second. One would think he has presented a strong enough case to be in the XI even when Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami return. In the batting department, Suryakumar Yadav seems to have made a middle-order spot his own. Now that India have won the series, they might consider trying out even more options in the third ODI.West Indies, on the other hand, have been let down by their batting. Before the series, their captain Kieron Pollard underlined the importance of playing out full 50 overs but his side failed to do that in the first two ODIs. On paper, West Indies have a long batting line-up – Odean Smith came in at No. 9 in the last game – but their batters don’t bat deep. Can the likes of Shai Hope, Darren Bravo and Nicholas Pooran take the responsibility and step up?Related
Prasidh Krishna's hit-the-deck style just what India needs
Odean Smith makes a splash in his maiden outing in India
West Indies might have lost the series, but they would like to avoid a whitewash. In more tangible terms, there are ten World Cup Super League points at stake, and West Indies are currently ninth on that table in terms of percentage points.Form guideIndia WWLLL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first) West Indies LLLLWIn the spotlightSince his last ODI hundred, Virat Kohli has made ten half-centuries in 20 innings in the format. However, in the last few weeks, the narrative has shifted from Kohli-not-getting-a-hundred to Kohli-needs-a-break. In the first ODI in this series, he played a strange four-ball knock where he seemed to be in a hurry. In the second, he was more measured but a loose shot outside off stump ended his stay on 18. On Friday, the question will once again be: will he get his 71st international hundred?West Indies will expect more from their opener Shai Hope•BCCI
Among those who have scored at least 1000 ODI runs for West Indies, no one averages higher than Shai Hope’s 51.13. He doesn’t have a great strike rate (74.70), but it’s his ability to play the anchor’s role that makes him a valuable asset in this West Indies line-up. He has an excellent record against spin too. With the team struggling to last 50 overs, West Indies will expect more from their opener. He wasn’t as tidy behind the stumps in the second ODI, so eyes will be on his wicketkeeping as well.Team newsAfter the second ODI, Rohit Sharma had said Shikhar Dhawan would be back for the final match. That means either Suryakumar or Deepak Hooda will have to sit out; this, despite Suryakumar doing well in his limited ODI appearances, and Hooda providing India with the sixth bowling option. Therefore, it is also difficult to see Shreyas Iyer getting a game, even though he is out of isolation now after testing positive for Covid-19. In the bowling department, India could play Kuldeep Yadav.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 KL Rahul, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Deepak Hooda/Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Mohammed Siraj, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Prasidh KrishnaSmith was impressive with both bat and ball in the second ODI. So if Pollard returns, West Indies will have a tough call to make. Can they retain Smith and leave out Bravo, who has had scores of 1, 18, 18, 0 and 2 in his last five innings?West Indies (probable): 1 Shai Hope (wk), 2 Brandon King, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Shamarh Brooks, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Kemar RoachPitch and conditionsThe pitches so far have helped both seamers and spinners, and it will not be a surprise if that’s the case on Friday as well. The temperature is expected to hover around mid to late 20 degrees Celsius for the majority of the match. There was no dew during the second ODI, and it could stay that way for the third as well.Stats and trivia Prasidh has an economy rate of 2.15 in the series. Since 2020, Rahul has had an average of 67 and a strike rate of 109.23 in the middle order in ODIs. West Indies have failed to last full 50 overs in the last seven ODIs where they batted first.Quotes”I have been striving to get more consistent. When I started, I used to get excited and have too many emotions running through me. But over time, I have had my plans and I have been very clear on what I needed to work on.
da betano casino： Com o contrato encerrado com a Portuguesa-RJ, o lateral-esquerdo Sanchez vai seguir a carreira longe da Ilha do Governador. O jogador, que foi escolhido para formar a seleção de melhores jogadores do Carioca de 2022, tem como objetivo jogar na elite do futebol nacional, mas já recebeu propostas da Série B. Sanchez e seu estafe devem decidir o futuro até a próxima semana.
Contratado no fim de 2021, Sanchez foi um dos principais destaques da Lusa na temporada. O lateral-esquerdo foi titular em todas as 11 partidas da Taça Guanabara, onde marcou um gol, contra o Flamengo, na estreia, e deu uma assistência, na goleada por 5 a 3 sobre o Botafogo, que encerrou um jejum de 56 anos que o Rubro-Verde não vencia o Glorioso.
No estadual, o defensor ainda recebeu o prêmio de melhor jogador em campo contra o Audax e concorreu cinco vezes à votação de melhor lateral-esquerdo da rodada – na primeira, segunda, quarta, sétima e décima rodada -, por definição da FERJ.
Pela Copa do Brasil, o jogador protagonizou um dos momentos mais importantes da história do clube, ao marcar o primeiro gol da Lusa na competição, tento que garantiu a classificação sobre o CRB, na primeira fase. A Lusa disputa a Copa do Brasil pela primeira vez em seus 97 anos.
Somando o Campeonato Carioca e a Copa do Brasil, Sanchez jogou 13 dos 15 jogos da Portuguesa, todos como titular, e não foi substituído uma vez sequer. Dentre todos os jogadores inscritos no Carioca, o lateral foi o 2º atleta de linha que mais atuou na Taça Guanabara, com 1.124 minutos, atrás apenas do zagueiro Anderson Conceição, do Vasco, com 1.129.
da poker： The clock is now ticking down to the end of the transfer window, and while they've had all summer to conduct their business, some in the fanbase feel that Arsenal haven't quite done enough.
da cassino： Edu Gaspar and Co have sold incredibly well over the last month or so, with Emile Smith Rowe going to Fulham for a fee that could reach £34m, Aaron Ramsdale on his way to Southampton for up to £25m and Eddie Nketiah finally leaving to join Crystal Palace for up to £30m.
However, as things stand, the only new additions to Mikel Arteta's first-team squad have been Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino, and as exciting as they are, it feels somewhat inadequate in the face of Manchester City.
Fortunately, the club themselves clearly believe they need to strengthen their forward options, as recent reports have linked them to a top-class attacker who's been compared to Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from the Mail Online, Arsenal are still interested in Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman.
Bayern's Kingsley Coman
In fact, while Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal are keen to sign the player, the report claims that the Gunners are eyeing up a 'last-minute move' for the Frenchman before the window slams shut.
A potential price is not mentioned in the report, but stories from earlier in the window revealed that the Champions League winner would be available for around £34m, or even on a season-long loan, which would be ideal for the North Londoners.
It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Coman's incredible ability, it's worth pursuing, especially as he's been compared to Saka.
Why Coman would be a great signing and his comparison to Saka
Okay, before we get into why Coman would be an excellent signing for Arsenal, let's examine this comparison to club poster boy Saka and where it comes from.
It stems primarily from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and the Europa League. It creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one and, in this case, has concluded that the Englishman is the ninth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Bayern ace.
Now, there are some apparent similarities between the two internationals, like their positions and goalscoring abilities, but to understand how FBref came to such a specific conclusion, you need to look at their underlying numbers and the ones in which they rank closely, such as expected assists and actual assists, progressive passes received, goals per shot, short passing accuracy, through balls, blocks, dribblers tackled touches in the attacking third, goal-creating actions and successful take-on percentage, all per 90.
Coman & Saka
Stats per 90
Coman
Saka
Expected Assists
0.31
0.32
Assists
0.24
0.28
Progressive Passes Received
16.9
16.9
Goals per Shot
0.09
0.10
Short Passing Accuracy
86.4%
88.9%
Through Balls
0.08
0.12
Blocks
1.21
1.33
Dribblers Tackled
0.73
0.80
Touches in the Attacking Third
41.4
40.4
Goal-Creating Actions
0.57
0.65
Successful Take-Ons %
43.3%
40.2%
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 League Season
However, while a comparison to arguably the Gunners' most important player is undoubtedly an encouraging sign and a reason the club should consider signing him, it's not the only one.
For example, one of the other most significant advantages of signing the "unbelievable" attacker, as Rio Ferdinand dubbed him, is his versatility.
In his career to date, the former Paris Saint-Germain gem has started 171 games off the left and 118 off the right. This ability to play on either side of a front three could make him such an important player for Arteta, as he could act as cover for Saka one week and then compete with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli the next.
Moreover, he's scored 64 goals and provided 66 assists in 296 appearances for Bayern over the years, which equates to a goal involvement on average every 2.27 games, meaning he wouldn't just be competing for competition's sake; he would contribute.
Personal terms done: Arsenal making last-gasp move to seal Merino repeat
The highly-rated ace would be a great addition to Arteta’s squad.
ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 29, 2024
Ultimately, Arsenal need to add to their attacking options before the clock strikes 11 tomorrow night, and given his impressive ability, positional versatility, and similarity to Saka, bringing in Coman on loan or permanently would be an excellent idea.
تمكن رودريجو مونيز لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي فولهام، من تسجيل هدف ثالث في شباك ليفربول خلال اللقاء الذي يجمعهما بمنافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.
ويواجه ليفربول نظيره فولهام، في منافسات الجولة الـ31 من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، على ملعب “كرافين كوتيج”.
اقرأ أيضاً.. تشكيل ليفربول أمام فولهام في الدوري الإنجليزي.. موقف محمد صلاح
ونجح مهاجم فولهام، رودريجو مونيز، في تسجيل الهدف اثالث لفريقه في اللقاء عند الدقيقة 37 من عمر المباراة.
هدف أصحاب الأرض جاء بعد أن فاز مونيز بصراع هوائي وبخطأ فادح من فان دايك، لينجح مهاجم فولهام بالإنطلاق نحو مرمى ليفربول ومن ثم التسديد بين قدمي حارس ليفربول كويمن كيليهر.
وفي حال هزيمة ليفربول في مواجهة اليوم سيتجمد رصيده عند 73 نقطة في صدارة جدول ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز. هدف فولهام الثالث أمام ليفربول بـ الدوري الإنجليزي
مونيز يتفوق على فان دايك بطريقة رائعة ويمنح فولهام الهدف الثالث! 🔥⚽️😮#الدوري_الإنجليزي #فولهام_ليفربول pic.twitter.com/MbTDvkLdII — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) April 6, 2025
Fifty on T20I debut as new boy embraces England’s winning mentality
ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2022
Harry Brook, Phil Salt and George Garton were all making their T20I debuts in Barbados•Getty Images
Phil Salt says there was plenty for him to savour despite finishing on the wrong end of a high-scoring defeat in the third T20I in Barbados, after marking his debut in the format with a hard-hitting half-century, on the island where he spent six of his formative years.Salt’s 57 from 24 balls carried England’s challenge almost as deep as West Indies’ own run-chase had gone in their one-run defeat on Sunday, particularly when he struck consecutive sixes in Romario Shepherd’s final over, to briefly keep pace with a requirement that had spiralled to 36 runs from the six remaining deliveries.However, his efforts – coupled with Tom Banton’s earlier score of 73 from 39 balls – were unable to match Rovman Powell’s exceptional 51-ball hundred, after he and Nicholas Pooran (70 from 43) had added 122 for the third wicket to lift West Indies to an imposing 224 for 5, their highest total against England, and their third-highest of all time.Even so, having lived in Barbados for six years from the ages of nine to 15, and having watched a number of England’s matches at Bridgetown in that time – including their T20 World Cup final win over Australia in 2010 – he admitted the feeling of being the other side of the fence on this occasion had been a memorable one.”It was very cool to play here, it’s a ground that I’ve watched England play on so many times,” Salt said. “I’ve watched them win a World Cup here and I’ve seen almost every single series I could when they were over here. To make my debut on the ground is incredible.”I know it’s not capacity, but the atmosphere is always good in this part of the world,” Salt added, with 50% crowds at this series due to Covid protocols. “Bajans love their cricket and love supporting the West Indies. And the English are exactly the same, so that’s always going to make for a good atmosphere.”Salt made an emergency England debut in last summer’s ODI series against Pakistan, opening the batting under the captaincy of Ben Stokes after England’s original squad had been sidelined by a Covid outbreak. And there was similar upheaval in the ranks on this occasion, with Moeen Ali taking charge of an England team with five changes, including two other debutants in George Garton and Harry Brook, after Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings were both ruled out.”I knew [Wednesday] morning around midday that I was in,” Salt said, after Billings – who had completed a 15,000km, four-flight journey from Hobart to Bridgetown prior to the first match – was omitted. “I think Bilbo didn’t pull up the greatest, recovery-wise, after the last couple of games. So that’s when I knew.”Salt had an unfamiliar position in the side too, coming in at No. 6 instead of opening – the first time he had batted that low in a T20 game. But, given his reputation as a player who can go full-throttle from the first ball, Salt said he had not been daunted by the task at hand, adding that the can-do mentality of Eoin Morgan’s No.1-ranked squad had dictated his approach from the outset.Related
Phil Salt: From Barbados to England via T20 finishing school
Jason Holder calls for greater intent to counter England's spinners
Rovman Powell's 51-ball century powers West Indies back into series lead
Resilient Powell serves up lethal T20 cocktail to leave England feeling punch-drunk
Asked what was on his mind as he arrived at the crease at 107 for 4 in the 12th over, he said: “Winning the game. It’s very, very clear when you come into this group, the mentality you need to have. Winning the game was the only thing on my mind at the time.”The role I had is one I enjoy doing,” he added. “The game is always in front of you when you come in and are chasing, you know exactly what you need to do.”Salt had to wait nearly ten minutes to face his first delivery after arriving at the non-striker’s end, but nearly reached the boundary with his first shot through midwicket, and struck three fours and five sixes all told.”It’s a skill that not many guys have so if you can be good at that, it’s definitely a big weapon in your armoury,” he said of his hitting ability. “Sometimes you get tied up a bit up top when you open, when the field’s up, but with everyone back and the scoreboard looking the way it was, it was very clear what I needed to do.”
da betcris： Amid a hectic transfer window, Aston Villa are reportedly willing to pay £30m to end their summer by signing a backup for Ollie Watkins, who Unai Emery and Monchi love.
Aston Villa transfer news
da esoccer bet： The Villans are undoubtedly among the winners of the summer transfer window, welcoming the likes of Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana and Jaden Philogene. The opening day of their Premier League campaign presented that success too, with Emery's side picking up a hard-fought 2-1 victory over West Ham United, in which Hammers target Jhon Duran netted a winning goal that was not short on irony at the London Stadium.
Even after picking up those three points to get their campaign underway courtesy of Duran, those in the Midlands look set to make their move to sign another backup for Watkins.
He's waiting for a move: Aston Villa keen on £21m Gomez upgrade
This would be a stunning finish to the transfer window at Villa Park…
ByAngus Sinclair Aug 20, 2024
The England international enjoyed an excellent season last time out and took that form into Euro 2024 – becoming England's hero in their semi-final victory over the Netherlands – but can't take on the responsibility for Villa at all times. With both the Champions League and Premier League to balance, another backup wouldn't go amiss.
According to reports in Spain relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa are now willing to pay as much as €35m (£30m) to sign Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid in the final nine days of the transfer window. Omorodion was, of course, on his way to Chelsea at one stage before the move broke down and Atletico instead sold Joao Felix to the Blues as they welcomed Conor Gallagher.
Now, it's Villa who could take advantage. Monchi and Emery are reportedly fans of the forward and with a deal accelerating, Omoriodion could yet become a Premier League player.
"Powerful" Omorodion could complete Emery's attacking options
Having two high-standard forwards in Watkins and Duran hands Emery a major boost, but adding a third option could complete his attacking options once and for all. And Omorodion is a solid candidate to become that option. The Spaniard spent last season on loan at Alaves, where he showed just how much potential he has at just 20 years old.
League stats 23/24 (via FBref)
Samu Omorodion
Jhon Duran
Ollie Watkins
Goals
9
5
19
Assists
1
0
13
Expected Goals
11.5
2
16.8
Minutes
1,998
475
3,217
Although the Atletico Madrid man scored below what was expected last season, his numbers still make for positive reading with nine goals to his name last season. Of course, the clinical nature of Duran may create question marks over just where Omorodion would fall in the pecking order, but those questions and competition for places should be seen as a positive for Emery.
Praised as a "powerful finisher" by analyst Ben Mattinson, Omoriodion will be one to keep an eye on in the closing stages of the window. He came close to completing a move to Stamford Bridge, but may yet end the summer wearing the claret and blue of Aston Villa.