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To say it's been a poor season at Manchester United would be an understatement and with the campaign finally nearing its end, another update has emerged on the future of Erik ten Hag.

Erik ten Hag's Man Utd future

Everything seemed on track last season. United finished inside the Premier League's top four and won the Carabao Cup to tick two important boxes in Ten Hag's debut season. Things only looked likely to get better from there, especially after the arrivals of Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund. It looked as though those at Old Trafford finally had a manager ready to take them back to the top.

Ten Hag is "crazy" about signing "incredible" £265k-p/w star for Man Utd

He would walk into the Manchester United team this summer.

By
Ben Browning

May 12, 2024

A lot can change in a year, however. Fast forward to the present day and the Red Devils have gone from trophy winners and top four finishers on track for much more to a side who seem to lack a plan and are falling shorter and shorter of expectations every week. The FA Cup final could yet salvage something from their season of course, but the odds will be stacked against them up against rivals and potential Premier League champions Manchester City.

Now, according to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider less than 24 hours before United's match with Arsenal, Manchester United are set to sack Ten Hag at the end of the season, with a decision made by INEOS. The journalist described the Red Devils' season as a "disaster" on the Inside Track Podcast and now expected United to end Ten Hag's Old Trafford nightmare before Sir Jim Ratcliffe seeks a replacement.

The Dutchman is set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when it comes to those who have failed since Sir Alex Ferguson, perhaps exposing a greater problem at the club than just one controlled from the dugout.

Man Utd's next manager

It's a somewhat poisoned chalice and has been since the days of Ferguson at United, but it's also a responsibility that could finally have some form of structure behind it with Ratcliffe at the held and Dan Ashworth reportedly arriving in the sporting director role. That said, it's a decision that those at Old Trafford cannot afford to get wrong.

The likes of Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter have been linked with the job, but it remains to be seen what route Ratcliffe chooses to go down. Southgate has impressed as England's manager but has consistently fallen short at the last hurdle, despite taking charge of arguably England's latest golden generation.

Potter, meanwhile, just reportedly rejected Ajax and has been out of a job since failing at Chelsea in a disastrous spell. Given that his last spell in charge at a top-six club ended so badly, there would certainly be plenty of eyebrows raised if Potter became the man handed the responsibility of guiding the current United squad through the current chaos.

سجل فريق ريال بيتيس هدف التعادل في شباك نظيره برشلونة، في مباراتهما الجارية حاليًا في بطولة الدوري الإسباني 2024/25.

ويحل برشلونة ضيفًا على خصمه ريال بيتيس، في الوقت الحالي، في الجولة السادسة عشر من الليجا (لمتابعة المباراة من هنا).

وتمكن ريال بيتيس من تسجيل هدف التعادل أمام برشلونة، في الدقيقة 68. هدف تعادل ريال بيتيس أمام برشلونة

جاء الهدف عن طريق جيوفاني لو سيلسو من ضربة جزاء نفذها بنجاح، بعدما تحصل عليها ريال بيتيس من خلال تقنية الفيديو.

واعترض المدرب هانز فليك، على احتساب ضربة الجزاء لصالح ريال بيتيس، وهو ما نتج عنه حصوله على بطاقة حمراء.

وتشير النتيجة في الوقت الحالي إلى التعادل بين الفريقين بهدف لمثله.

They may not be the favourites for the Premier League title anymore, but it would be fair to say that everything is looking rather rosey on the red side of north London.

After years in the wilderness, Mikel Arteta has hauled Arsenal back among the big boys of football and has a squad full of brilliant talents to prove it.

Whether it's Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard or William Saliba, there is excellence throughout the Gunners' squad.

Still, one star is elevated above the rest, a player worth substantially more than Tottenham Hotspur's talismanic captain, Heung-min Son.

Bukayo Saka's Arsenal career

The player in question is none other than Arsenal's own talismanic star, Bukayo Saka, who has transformed from a promising academy product to an out-and-out star of the Premier League who wouldn't look out of place in any team across the continent.

GK – Emiliano Martínez

RB – Carl Jenkinson

CB – Sokratis Papastathopoulos

CB – Laurent Koscielny

LB – Ainsley Maitland-Niles

CM – Joe Willock

CM – Mohamed Elneny

CAM – Mesut Ozil

LM – Bukayo Saka

RM – Eddie Nketiah

ST – Alexandre Lacazette

Developed at the club's Hale End academy, the young Englishman made his full first-team debut in a Europa League away game under previous manager Unai Emery. Still, it wasn't until the following season, the campaign in which Arteta took charge of the club, that he truly established himself as part of the first team.

Across 38 games that year – 17 of which he played at left-back – the Ealing-born star scored four goals and provided 12 assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 2.3 games in his first proper season of senior football.

Appearances

225

Goals

58

Assists

53

Goal Involvements per Match

0.49

The following seasons saw the 22-year-old slowly move to the right wing, where he's since firmly established himself as the first name on the teamsheet and as the poster boy of this new era for the club.

In all, the fan favourite has racked up 58 goals and 53 assists in 225 appearances already, which is a truly incredible record for someone of his age and helps explain why his valuation has soared in the last few years.

Bukayo Saka's valuation in 2024

According to the CIES Football Observatory, Saka is worth €200m today, which converts to around £171m, making him the joint-third most valuable player in the world and also the most valuable player at Arsenal.

1

€200m (£171m)

Bukayo Saka

RW

2

€150m (£128m)

Martin Odegaard

CAM

3

€100m (£86m)

Gabriel Martinelli

LW

3

€100m (£86m)

Kai Havertz

ST/CAM

3

€100m (£86m)

Declan Rice

CM/DM

3

€100m (£86m)

William Saliba

CB

4

€80m (£69m)

Gabriel

CB

4

€80m (£69m)

Gabriel Jesus

ST/LW

5

€50m (£43m)

Aaron Ramsdale

GK

The Gunners' "legend in the making", as football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, has more than lived up to his price tag this season, as despite some suggestions that he's not been at his best, he's scored 20 goals and provided 14 assists in 46 games, meaning he is currently averaging a goal involvement every 1.3 games.

It's his impressive and consistent level of output combined with his age that really contributes to his massive valuation, and to the delight of many an Arsenal fan, he is now worth over six times more than Spurs' icon Son, whom the CIES currently value at just €30m, which is £26m, or a whopping £145m less.

Now, the South Korean star has actually had a reasonably impressive campaign himself this year, racking up 17 goals and nine assists in just 33 games.

However, given that he's due to turn 32 in July, had a slightly lower return of 14 goals and six assists in 47 games last season, and is set to complete his £190k-per-week contract – as things stand – by next summer, he simply can't have a valuation higher than it is.

Ultimately, both players are incredible footballers, but with Saka's age and outstanding form behind him, it only makes sense to see his valuation stand magnitudes higher than Son's.

So, it would be fair to say that Arsenal really hit the jackpot with the Hale End star.

Arsenal in pursuit of "world-class" Havertz upgrade who wants a PL move

The incredible talent could totally transform Arsenal’s attack.

ByJack Salveson Holmes May 9, 2024

Crystal Palace are enjoying a spectacular end to the Premier League season under new coach Oliver Glasner.

The Austrian has seen his side beat Newcastle United, West Ham United and, most impressively, Liverpool in the last four games, and since he was appointed in February, the Eagles have lost just three league games, one of which was against Manchester City.

In all, things look to be on the up and up at Selhurst Park, and one of the players benefiting most from the club's change of fortune is French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who is more than repaying his manager's faith in him and making the wages paid out to previous strikers at the club look absurd.

Jean-Philippe Mateta's Palace career in numbers

The Eagles first signed Mateta on an initial 18-month loan from Bundesliga outfit Mainz in January 2021 but made the deal permanent for around £9m in February the following year.

While the 6 foot 4 forward hasn't ever been particularly bad for the South Londoners, it would probably be fair to describe much of his time at Selhurst Park as underwhelming. Before this season, he had scored just ten goals and provided a single assist in 67 appearances.

However, this year, the 26-year-old has finally shown the kind of form that piqued Palace's interest in the first place, scoring 14 goals and providing five assists in 36 games, meaning that he's averaging a goal involvement every other game.

Competition

Premier League

FA Cup

League Cup

Appearances

34

2

2

Goals

11

0

3

Assists

4

0

0

Goal Involvements per Match

0.44

0.00

1.5

This reliable output has seen him become Glasner's first choice in attack, and he's started every game following the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss' arrival, more than justifying his £50k-per-week wages in the process, which isn't something that can be said about a former Palace striker and flop.

How much Connor Wickham cost Crystal Palace

The former striker in question is 31-year-old Connor Wickham, who joined Alan Pardew's Palace for around £9m in August 2015 following a mixed – if not underwhelming – season for Sunderland in which he scored six goals and provided one assist in 40 appearances.

Despite his mediocre return for the Black Cats, the Englishman was handed a relatively hefty wage packet worth around £60k-per-week, making him the joint third-highest earner at the club for the 2015/16 season, behind only Emmanuel Adebayor and Yohan Cabaye.

The Hereford-born forward's first season in red and blue was a mixed one. His return of six goals and three assists in 24 appearances wasn't too bad, but he would miss 17 games through injury, and unfortunately for all involved, he would continue to be plagued by injury for the rest of his time south of the river.

In all, the former Ipswich Town gem would miss a whopping 143 games across the six years he spent as a Palace player – including the season he spent on loan with Sheffield Wednesday – while scoring 11 goals and providing five assists in 50 appearances.

Therefore, when adding his £9m transfer fee to the £16.8m he earned in wages during the five seasons he spent at Selhurst Park, he cost Crystal Palace £25.8m, or £516k-per-appearance, £2.3m-per-goal, or £5.1m-per-assist.

Transfer Fee

£9m

Wages (Total)

£60k (£16.8m)

Total Cost

£25.8m

Appearances

50

Cost per Appearance

£516k

Goals

11

Cost per Goal

£2.3m

Assists

5

Cost per Assist

£5.1m

Goal Involvements

16

Cost per Goal Involvement

£1.6m

Ultimately, while Wickham was undeniably unlucky when it came to injuries, it would be impossible to describe his time at Palace as anything other than a failure, and by extension, his transfer was a flop.

Why Nottingham Forest will regret missing out on Oliver Glasner

The club made a huge mistake not hiring him…

ByEthan Lamb May 1, 2024

After spending over £1b on transfers since the takeover of Todd Boehly in 2022, Chelsea had to sell players to try and balance the books to avoid any potential punishment for breaking the Premier League's PSR and FFP rules.

The Blues allowed the likes of Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to depart Stamford Bridge over the last couple of transfer windows, with the club raising needed funds.

The club announced a pre-tax loss of £90.1m for the last financial year, with the west Londoners still needing to shift more players out of the door to allow for more wriggle room in the battle against any punishment.

Despite the fire sale at Stamford Bridge in recent times, Mauricio Pochettino's side may live to regret allowing one player to depart the club with the former Blue excelling away from the club this season.

Callum Hudson-Odoi's stats at Chelsea

Youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi broke into the Chelsea first-team back in January 2018, during the FA Cup tie against Newcastle United, with his performances catching the eye of sides all over Europe.

The winger would go on to be a squad player for the Blues over the next couple of campaigns, with arguably his best performance coming in the Europa League against Malmö back in 2019.

His subsequent performances led to major interest from German side Bayern Munich offering a deal worth up to £70m for the attacker, with Chelsea rejecting the offer for the academy graduate.

However, a spell of serious injuries such as hamstring and Achilles problems saw him miss large parts of the 2020/21 season, before an unsuccessful loan move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2022/23, which saw him score just one goal.

The club would sell Hudson-Odoi to Nottingham Forest during the summer of 2023 for a lowly fee of just £3m, less than three years after the interest from Bayern Munich.

Callum Hudson-Odoi's stats at Nottingham Forest

He made an instant impact on his first start for the Reds, scoring a goal-of-the-season contender against Burnley – securing a vital point for his new team.

The "sensational" talent, as described by scout Antonio Mango, has gone on to score four times in the Premier League this season, with the attacker also creating two assists for his teammates.

Despite his impressive creative input, Hudson-Odoi has controversially been dropped by boss Nuno Espírito Santo, with the former Chelsea man having to settle for a place on the bench in recent matches.

Enzo Fernández

3

Conor Gallagher

2

Noni Madueke

2

Christopher Nkunku

2

Armando Broja

1

The winger may have only started once in the last three league outings, but his market value has soared since his move to the City Ground.

Hudson-Odoi now has a market value of £12.8m as per Transfermarkt – an increase of 328% compared to the £3m fee Chelsea sold him for less than seven months ago.

The youngster is definitely benefitting from more consistent game time away from Stamford Bridge, with the Blues potentially living to regret his departure given his impressive season for the Reds.

Ashley Cole 2.0: Chelsea may regret 2020 sale who's now worth 9100% more

Chelsea let an exciting talent leave for less than £1m who could be the next Ashley Cole

ByJoe Nuttall Mar 29, 2024

They put on 71 runs off just 34 balls before making crucial interventions with the ball during Khulna Tigers’ chase

The Report by Mohammad Isam17-Jan-2020All-round contributions from Mohammad Nawaz and Andre Russell lifted Rajshahi Royals to the BPL title, as they edged out Khulna Tigers by 21 runs in the final. Nawaz and Russell added 71 runs in the last 5.4 overs of Rajshahi’s innings, before bowling defining overs to weaken Khulna’s chase.Rajshahi became the fourth consecutive team to win the BPL final after batting first, and their 170 for 4 was at par with the average first-innings score in a final, which stood at 172 before this game.Nawaz, who made an unbeaten 41 off just 20 balls, removed Rilee Rossouw for 37 in the 11th over of the chase, a crucial wicket after the tournament’s leading run-getter had put on a superb partnership with Shamsur Rahman. Russell took an even more crucial wicket in the context of the contest, in the 18th over.Russell’s knockout blowKhulna were still in the game after 17 overs with 40 needed off the last 18 balls, with Mushfiqur Rahim and Robbie Frylinck at the crease. Russell came back for his third over, and conceded just three runs off the first four balls. The pressure was on Mushfiqur.He had no answer to Russell’s yorker, however, and was unable to jam his bat down in time. Having made 21 off 15 balls, Mushfiqur fell just four runs short of teammate Rossouw in the tournament run-getters’ chart.Khulna lean on ShamsurAfter Khulna had slumped to 11 for 2 in the second over of their chase, Shamsur and Rossouw steadied them with a 74-run third wicket stand in nine overs. Rossouw made 37 off 26 balls to finish just five short of 500 runs in the tournament. Rossouw, when on 18, was dropped at point by Abu Jayed though it wouldn’t have counted since replays showed that Shoaib Malik had overstepped. Shamsur contributed 52 off 43 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes.Kamrul’s double-strikeOne of Shamsur’s boundaries was a classy inside-out cover drive off Kamrul Islam, but the pace bowler shot back in his next over. Shamsur was caught on the cover boundary, albeit to a poor short ball outside off stump. Then Kamrul revved up his pace against Najibullah Zadran, troubling him with an in-ducker that nearly trapped him lbw, before having him caught at point. Khulna slipped from 101 for 3 to 104 for 5 by the end of the 14th over.Irfan Sukkur made a half-century in the BPL 2019-20 final•BCBKhulna apply early squeezeRajshahi’s innings followed a similar pattern. They lost an early wicket before they had their recovery partnership, between Liton Das and Irfan Sukkur, who put on 49 off 6.4 overs. Liton didn’t really get going, falling in the tenth over for 25 off 28 balls, but his partner at the other end was having a better day.Sukkur holds Rajshahi togetherA known face in the domestic circuit, Sukkur became the first uncapped Bangladeshi cricketer to score a fifty in the BPL final. He held things together and vindicated his No 3 position when Rajshahi could have used any of their more established names there. He made 52 off 35 balls, with six fours and two sixes.Shanto misses golden opportunityBefore Russell really got going, he skied Shahidul Islam in the 17th over, a critical moment when Rajshahi hadn’t even crossed the seven-per-over mark. As the ball ballooned towards the extra-cover boundary, Najmul Hossain Shanto ran in, got under the ball with a diving effort, but couldn’t hold on to the chance. In their remaining 3.4 overs, Rajshahi scored 60 runs.Nawaz overshadows RussellMohammad Amir vs Russell was the most anticipated battle within the final, but it only lasted three balls. Amir hardly made any dent, as Russell smoked him for a big six over midwicket with a trademark flick of his bat.Nawaz was Rajshahi’s unsung hero with his unbeaten 20-ball 41, which included six fours and two sixes. Usually it is Russell who does the bulk of the big hitting in the slog overs, but Nawaz’s contribution ensured that a middling 150-ish score became a fairly daunting total.

Desai, who has coaching experience of over 12 years, has joined the team on a two-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2019West Indies have appointed Monty Desai as the batting coach of the senior men’s team on a two-year contract.Desai, who has held coaching roles with Afghanistan, Nepal, Indian regional teams and IPL teams Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Lions in a career of over 12 years, most recently worked with batsmen from the UAE and Canada.”I am very excited to join a team with such a rich history in the world cricket arena, one that I myself grew up admiring,” Desai said in a Cricket West Indies media statement. “I am very much looking forward to being part of a journey where I can help to create a winning work environment, learn and embrace a new culture, and build a ‘happy dressing room’ tradition alongside other excellent leaders.”I am eager to join forces with head coach Phil Simmons and director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, and our captains, such that I may contribute in every possible way to the success of our team.”Monty Desai at the Wankhede Stadium•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Desai joined head coach Simmons’ set-up, which includes bowling coach Roddy Estwick and fielding coach Rayon Griffith, ahead of the limited-overs series against India, which starts on December 6 in Hyderabad.”I have worked with Monty before and he is an excellent coach,” Simmons said. “He has proven he has the ability to get players to improve on their talent and also to perform better in matches. He has vast knowledge of the game and it is good he is starting here with us in India. I look forward to seeing him work with our batsmen in all formats as we look to get better in all areas.”Desai is the second Indian on the West Indies coaching staff after AR Srikkanth, who has been hired as the team analyst on a two-year deal. Srikkanth is one of the most senior analysts in T20 cricket, having been part of Kolkata Knight Riders for over a decade. He has also been part of teams in the CPL and BPL and is familiar with senior West Indian players who have featured in the IPL and the CPL, where he is the analyst with Trinbago Knight Riders.

واصل فريق برشلونة إذلال خصمه ريال مدريد بعدما سجل الهدف الرابع، في مباراتهما الجارية حاليًا، في بطولة الدوري الإسباني.

ويستضيف ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو” مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات الجولة الحادية عشر من الليجا (لمتابعة المباراة من هنا).

وتمكن برشلونة من تسجيل الهدف الرابع في شباك ريال مدريد، في الدقيقة 85 من عمر المباراة.

جاء الهدف عن طريق المتألق رافينها، حيث مرر إينيجو مارتينيز الكرة من وسط الملعب، ووصلت إلى البرازيلي الذي انطلق وسدد الكرة في شباك لونين. هدف رافينها في مباراة برشلونة وريال مدريد

وتشير النتيجة في الوقت الحالي إلى تقدم برشلونة بأربعة أهداف دون رد، في أداء أكثر من رائع من جانب كتيبة هانز فليك.

The Sri Lanka coach lavished praise on Pakistan, calling the hospitality the visitors had received “a privilege”

Danyal Rasool in Lahore10-Oct-2019Sri Lanka coach Rumesh Ratnayake lavished praise on Pakistan upon the conclusion of his side’s tour, calling the hospitality Sri Lanka had received “a privilege to be appreciated”. Speaking to the media after the visitors beat Pakistan by 13 runs to complete a 3-0 T20I series whitewash, Ratnayake said the tour had gone very smoothly, and made him confident his side soon wouldn’t be the only ones to have visited Pakistan.”This tour is a message for the whole world, and especially a message for future Sri Lankans,” Ratnayake said. “This has gone very smoothly. Us playing here will encourage so many other countries to also to be here.”To experience the hospitality of Pakistan is a great thing; I’ve experienced it after a long, long time, and if anything, it’s got even better. It was a lot of hard work for the whole system to have us here.”You’ve done a great job in having us here and the security has been impeccable. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it even though some of us came in doubt. But the doubt has been taken out now so I would like to thank you all for making it happen.”Sri Lanka were originally scheduled to visit Pakistan for a two-match Test series, but with several first-team players opting against travelling, the PCB and the SLC agreed to have Sri Lanka over for a limited-overs tour. The Test series the sides are drafted to play against each other will form part of the World Test Championship, with wins and losses particularly significant in smaller series like this one. That is understood to be one of the major stumbling blocks for the series taking place in Pakistan, as Sri Lanka would not have their full-strength side to choose from.However, with Sri Lanka cleaning up the T20I series in surprisingly comfortable fashion with the players available to them, and the general sense of safety Ratnayake said they felt over the fortnight, he sensed the prospect of his side playing Test cricket in Pakistan had increased. While admitting the board couldn’t force anyone to come who wasn’t willing, he suggested those watching at home would have seen “it is safe to be here”.”We’ll certainly explain that to them and they’ll have seen it as well. We’ll try and convince them as much as we can, but we cannot enforce anything. Hopefully, they’ve changed by seeing this series be so successful.”The crowd has been the same as 30 years ago; it hasn’t changed,” Ratnayake, who played seven Tests and 16 ODIs in Pakistan over the course of his career, said. “It was very touching when they were holding up signs saying ‘Welcome Sri Lanka’ and it was very moving to see that affection from the people.”

“If you remember the first press conference I did here, I said we’ll be playing against giants. We were the midgets then, so to speak, but now these boys are on par with anybody.”Rumesh Ratnayake

But while the words off the pitch were friendly enough from the visitors, Sri Lanka haven’t exactly been apprehensive guests, especially since they arrived in Lahore. A 2-0 ODI series win for Pakistan in Karachi suggested this might be the sort of tour on which Sri Lanka gained experience rather than having results go their way. But Lahore saw a remarkable turnaround, with the supposedly weakened hosts putting Pakistan to the sword in all three games, and sealing their first-ever 3-0 T20I whitewash in the process. Ratnayake said calling them a weak unit would be inaccurate.”It was not the weakest team. We chose the best team. In Sri Lanka we have about 30-40 good players, so whichever we chose we were most confident of. We believed they could do something at the highest level. We emphasised being fearless and having that belief and also the confidence to take good decisions. Good decisions give you the chance of winning a match. They were fearless and they executed our game plans brilliantly.”This performance will bring about a huge effect on the spectators, on our supporters, and on the players themselves. Our school system is a very good system. And those [young] players who are watching, the future players will certainly take heart from this and take courage and you’ll see a huge impetus in the growth of the game in the future.”What we were looking for is consistency. We won here, but as a coach what I’d like to see is do we have consistency in the future? This is just T20, there are two other formats, and we should not be over-awed by this. But certainly, we need to take a leaf from this and that should help us take it to another level in all aspects of the game.”Oshada Fernando looks at the heavens after bringing up fifty•AFPIt wasn’t just that Sri Lanka didn’t have their full quota to choose from. By the third T20I, they got downright funky with team selections. Having stuck with the same XI for the first two games, they decided to give the entire bench a run out for the final contest, making five changes. That, as some noted, effectively made the playing XI a third-choice side, but it wouldn’t prevent the visitors from beating Pakistan by 13 runs. Indeed, the Players-of-the-Match in the second and third T20I were two Sri Lankan batsmen who had never played a single T20I game before this series.”Some of them [the players] we wouldn’t have seen if Asantha de Mel [chairman of selectors] hadn’t taken the bold decision of playing the five players who hadn’t been part of the side today. We weren’t even sure what combinations we would play, but you saw Oshada Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in this series because of that.”

Arsenal are well and truly back in the Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta's side have won their last five games in a row and have dramatically improved their goal difference after blowing away West Ham United and Burnley.

While the entire team deserved credit, Martin Odegaard has perhaps stood out the most, with his three assists and one goal suggesting that he could well be back to the form he showed last season.

With how impressive the captain has been of late, Arteta would surely have to have two of him in the team, and as outlandish as that sounds, the Gunners once released a youngster from Hale End at 13 years old who is now similar to the mercurial Norwegian.

Eberechi Eze's journey to Crystal Palace

Yes, you read that right; the Gunners once had a young Eberechi Eze on their books, only he wasn't with the club for very long as he was released at just 13 years old.

The next few years were tough for the Greenwich-born gem as he was released by Fulham, Reading and Millwall before finally finding his footing in West London at Queens Park Rangers.

The dynamic midfielder would make his debut for the Hoops in an FA Cup Third Round tie against Blackburn Rovers in January 2017.

Still, it was not until the 2018/19 campaign that he truly established himself in the first team after spending the first half of the 2017/18 season on loan in League Two with Wycombe Wanderers before coming back to finish the year at Loftus Road.

In the following campaign, Eze would score four goals and provide four assists in 42 appearances for QPR before exploding in 2019/20 and scoring 14 goals and providing eight assists in 46 appearances.

Such a remarkable return from a young player understandably brought with it eyes from the Premier League, and after some negotiations, Crystal Palace signed Eze for £20m.

How Eberechi Eze compares to Martin Odegaard

Now, it's undoubtedly a big shout to compare a very talented midfielder with one who is captaining a team fighting for the league title, but it's one made primarily by the football database FBref.

The comparison is made by grouping positionally similar players in Europe's top five leagues and then ranking them based on how close they are to one another for several key metrics, and in this case, Odegaard is considered to be the seventh most similar player to Eze.

For example, the "silky" Palace gem, as described by former teammate Geoff Cameron, produces 0.55 expected goals and assists per 90 to the Norwegian's 0.48 while also producing 2.95 progressive passes per 90 to his 2.90.

Eze compared to Odegaard

Stat per 90

Eze

Odegaard

Goals + Assists

0.47

0.51

Progressive Carries

2.95

2.90

Expected Goals + Assists

0.55

0.48

Blocks

0.78

0.69

Touches Opposition's Penalty Area

4.50

4.38

All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Premier League Season

This obviously doesn't make them identical players, but there is an undeniable similarity in their underlying statistics, which suggests that they could play similar roles within a team.

So, it would certainly have been beneficial for the Gunners to keep a hold of the talented Englishman as not only has he produced 34 goal involvements in 113 appearances for the Eagles, but he could also act as the perfect backup to their captain.

Oh, and there is also the small fact that the CIES Football Observatory now values him at around €40m, which is about £34m, and that is likely a conservative estimate in today's game.

Related Arsenal fumbled their own dream homegrown Rice partner for £0

The 21-year-old has been impressing on the continent in recent years.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Feb 19, 2024

Ultimately, football clubs can't predict the future, and maybe Eze, who scored ten Premier League goals last season, did not show enough potential when he was 13, but they may now regret letting him go as it appears as though they fumbled their own homegrown version of their current captain.