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Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness says the club gained a “huge advantage” by deciding against pursuing big-money moves for Benjamin Sesko, Xavi Simons and Jamie Gittens. The Bundesliga heavyweights were strongly linked with all three players before their respective switches to Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in the summer.

• Sesko, Simons and Gittens still finding their feet in English football

  Sesko, Simons and Gittens were seen as three of the most eye-catching new arrivals in the Premier League ahead of the 2025-26 season. The trio had earned rave reviews for their performances in the Bundesliga – Sesko and Simons at RB Leipzig and Gittens with Borussia Dortmund – which led to United, Tottenham and Chelsea forking out huge sums of money to secure their respective signatures.

  However, the youngsters are still yet to find their feet in England. On the back of moving to United for £74 million (€84m/$97m), Sesko – who is currently on the sidelines with a knee injury – has scored just two goals in 11 league appearances for Ruben Amorim’s side.

  Meanwhile, Simons – who joined Spurs for £52m (€60m/$70m) – is still looking for his first league goal for the club, though the Netherlands international has recorded one top-flight assist for Thomas Frank’s men.

  On the other hand, Gittens is also looking for his first league goal since joining Chelsea in a £55 million (€63m/$75m) deal. However, the 21-year-old did find the back of the net in the Blues’ 4-3 win over strugglers Wolves in the Carabao Cup on 29 October.

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  Bayern chief Hoeness aims jibe at struggling Premier League trio

  And while Sesko, Simons and Gittens try to acclimatise to English football, Bayern chief Hoeness has aimed at a dig in their direction. The 73-year-old – who was part of the iconic Bayern team that dominated the 1970s including winning three successive European Cups in 1974, 1975 and 1976 – has praised the club for not giving into supporters’ wishes to spend big in the summer, insisting they have gained an edge over their rivals as a result.

  In an interview with German newspaper Hoeness said: "For months we were accused of not buying enough top-class or experienced players. That's precisely what's now a huge advantage for us, because we all decided together not to buy expensive players like Xavi [Simons] or [Jamie] Gittens, who had been discussed, or [Benjamin] Sesko, who costs €80 million. 

  “Instead, we said, come on, let's do nothing, let's just loan [Nicolas] Jackson from Chelsea. And that's how we ended up with a relatively balanced transfer budget. And we also have a coach [Vincent Kompany] who agreed to giving young players a chance.

  “The Thomas Muller decision [letting the forward leave upon the expiration of his contract] was also extremely tough, but important. Because one thing is clear: if Thomas Muller had stayed, he would have been on the bench – and then the whole stadium would have chanted 'Muller, Muller' every time someone was substituted. And then [Lennart] Karl and [Tom] Bischof would have been relegated to the sidelines.”

• Getty Images Sport
  

  German giants labelled Newcastle 'idiots' for Woltemade signing

  It is not the first time a Bayern board member has sent a jibe towards a Premier League club this season, with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge having earlier labelled Newcastle United as “idiots” for spending £69m (€79m/$93m) on striker Nick Woltemade – another player who was linked with a summer move to the Allianz Arena.

  He told German publication in September: “When the story with Woltemade and Stuttgart's demands came up, at some point I said to Uli [Hoeness], Herbert Hainer, Jan Dreesen and Max Eberl: 'Guys, we're getting into sums of money that I simply don't find acceptable anymore’."

  Bayern supervisory board member Rummenigge – who also played for the club in the 1970s – then joked that one could only “congratulate Stuttgart for finding an idiot [Newcastle] who paid so much money,” adding: "Because we certainly wouldn't have done that in Munich.”

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  Sesko, Simons and Gittens could return to PL action this week

  Woltemade, 23, has been in excellent form since arriving at Newcastle on 30 August, scoring seven goals in 17 appearances in all competitions for the club. Eddie Howe’s side return to league action against Simons’ Tottenham on Tuesday, while Gittens will be hoping to feature when Chelsea travel to Leeds United on Wednesday.

  Meanwhile, United head coach Amorim confirmed before his side’s 2-1 league victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday that Sesko is unlikely to feature against West Ham United on Thursday evening.

  He said: "Sesko is going to take a little bit more time [than Matheus Cunha]. It will take a little bit longer and we are taking care of him."

No result Pakistan 92 for 5 (Riaz 28*, Tahuhu 2-20, Carson 1-7) vs New ZealandColombo handed a second washout in four days to Pakistan at the Women’s World Cup 2025, leaving their chances of progressing to the knockouts hanging by a thread. As Pakistan and New Zealand shared points, South Africa became the second team to progress to the semi-finals, after Australia, as even a finish on eight points in the league stage will take them through.If two or more teams finish on the same points, it will first be seen who has more wins, and South Africa will progress with four wins already from five games.With Saturday’s washout, Pakistan continue to remain winless in the tournament while New Zealand keep themselves in the running for the knockouts, still placed fifth with just one win and two abandoned games so far. Their next two matches, against India and England, will now decide their fate.Related

• Road to the semis: Five teams in contention for one spot

• 'It's extremely frustrating' – Captain Sophie Devine on New Zealand's back-to-back washouts in Colombo

A fired-up New Zealand side laid the foundation after winning the toss in overcast conditions on Saturday. While their experienced quick Lea Tahuhu returned to the XI to strike twice in her first spell, the Kerr sisters and Eden Carson picked up a wicket apiece to leave Pakistan reeling at 92 for 5 before the second rain break sealed the outcome of the match.Tahuhu was the first to strike and she did it in her first over when Omaima Sohail, who had crawled to 3 off 14, was trapped lbw before two sharp catches dented Pakistan further. Muneeba Ali had dispatched a few boundaries and had been handed a life on 8 when wicketkeeper Isabella Gaze put down a low chance off Jess Kerr. But when Muneeba pulled a short delivery off the same bowler on 22, Suzie Bates threw herself to her left at midwicket to take a stunner. No. 3 Sidra Amin then saw a similar effort from Carson at point when she scythed a short ball from Tahuhu, and Pakistan were 52 for 3. It had been drizzling then for a few minutes, and as soon as Amin walked back after 12.2 overs it got heavier for a break.Pakistan now have two washouts in five games•ICC/Getty Images

Play resumed after 95 minutes in what was shortened to a 46-overs-a-side contest as Natalia Pervaiz joined Aliya Riaz. The more experienced Riaz soon charged down to crash Tahuhu to the square-leg boundary even as Pervaiz lived dangerously against Melie Kerr’s variations. Pervaiz even got a life on 9 when Sophie Devine put down a sharp catch at slip off Melie Kerr but lasted only five more balls by holing out off Carson for the simplest of catches to Devine at long-on.Melie Kerr then foxed the new batter – captain Fatima Sana – with a wrong’un which rattled the stumps to leave Pakistan on 80 for 5. Rain interrupted again after five overs and the players walked off with the score on 92 for 5 after 25 overs.It stopped raining within an hour with some lightning also around, and the game was soon reduced to 36 overs per innings. But the drizzle soon returned, turned into a heavy shower to make the ground staff cover the whole field, and the game was eventually called off.

Glasgow Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell made a bold move during the summer transfer window when he swooped to sign Youssef Chermiti from his former club Everton.

The Light Blues paid £8m to sign the Portugal U21 international from the Premier League side, which is the highest fee they have paid for a player since the £12m move for Tore Andre Flo in 2000.

Because of that transfer fee, Chermiti’s performances for Rangers his season have been under the spotlight, and he has failed to justify the huge outlay as of yet.

Pundit Michael Stewart described his finishing as “so poor” against Celtic in the League Cup semi-final earlier this month. Fellow pundit Ally McCoist also noted on TNT Sport that the striker is “showing nothing” to prove he was worth the fee paid for him.

Chermiti has scored one goal in 13 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues this season, per Sofascore, which may be why pundits like Stewart and McCoist have been harsh on him.

However, the former Premier League flop is not the only summer signing who has struggled at the top end of the pitch this season, as Bojan Miovski has failed to live up to expectations.

Why Danny Rohl should drop Bojan Miovski

Danny Rohl should ruthlessly ditch the summer signing from Girona from the starting line-up because he struggled once again in the 3-0 win over Dundee last weekend in the Scottish Premiership.

The Macedonia international was handed the chance to led the line at Dens Park, but was removed by the German head coach at half-time after a dismal first-half display, with zero shots and two out of nine duels won, per Sofascore.

Miovski was signed from Girona for a fee of up to £4.2m and arrived with a big reputation in Scotland, thanks to his form for Aberdeen in the past, as shown in the graphic below.

However, pundit Charlie Mulgrew recently noted that there is more pressure on him at Ibrox. The ex-Celtic defender said: “When you play for Aberdeen, you can get away with not scoring for three or four weeks. At Rangers, you don’t get six or seven games to find your feet. You’re in the spotlight and you need to hit the ground running, and that’s why there are question marks around him.”

Miovski, who was described as “non-existent” by one Rangers podcaster, has struggled to deal with the pressure of leading the line for the Gers, as shown by his form this season.

Appearances

8

4

Goals

1

0

Minutes per goal

506

N/A

Big chances missed

3

1

Big chances created

0

0

Assists

0

0

Ground duel success rate

32%

44%

Aerial duel success rate

29%

17%

As you can see in the table above, the left-footed marksman has not offered much in the way of quality in front of goal or reliability out of possession in the Scottish Premiership or the Europa League.

Miovski should be in the prime years of his career at the age of 26, but his performances for the Scottish giants suggest that the opposite is true, as he has struggled badly in comparison to his previous form in the division, with just one league goal.

This is why Rohl should ditch him from the starting XI, and possibly even from the club in the January transfer window unless he can turn his form around in the next few weeks.

However, as aforementioned, Chermiti has also failed to impress since his £8m move from Everton, which is why the manager may need to get creative with his team selection.

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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

With this in mind, Rohl should ruthlessly drop Miovski from the starting line-up by unleashing Mikey Moore in a brand-new role as a centre-forward at Ibrox.

Why Rangers should play Mikey Moore as a striker

Rangers signed the England youth international on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer and he endured a difficult start to life at Ibrox.

The 18-year-old forward did not provide a goal or an assist in his first five outings in the Premiership, but he has registered a goal and an assist in his last four matches, per Sofascore, which shows that the youngster has been improving.

Moore started as a right-midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 against Dundee at Dens Park last weekend. However, it was by drifting into a central position that he created and scored his first goal of the season.

The teenage whiz looked far more comfortable playing quickly and directly in a central position through the build-up to this goal, which suggests that Rohl could get more out of him by playing the Spurs loanee in a new role.

In fact, his overall career statistics, for Spurs at first-team and academy level, indicate that he is more likely to deliver goals and assists when playing in a central position.

Left wing (19)

4

6

Attacking midfield (10)

6

4

Centre-forward (7)

11

4

Right wing (10)

1

0

Left midfield (1)

0

1

Right midfield (1)

1

0

As you can see in the table above, Moore has scored 17 goals and provided eight assists in 17 starts as a striker or as an attacking midfielder, whulst his numbers as a winger, on either flank, are not as impressive.

With this in mind, the English attacker could thrive if unleashed as the striker in the team ahead of Miovski and Chermiti, given his goal at Dens Park and his record for Spurs at youth level.

Danilo played as the number ten against Dundee, behind Miovski, and the Brazilian could interchange roles with Moore as a fluid front two in that 4-2-3-1 system, with both players capable of switching between striker and attacking midfield throughout matches.

That could cause problems for opposition defenders, who could get confused about who to step out to or who to mark, and create some interesting dynamics in the final third when Rangers are building attacks.

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Therefore, Rohl should ruthlessly drop Miovski from the starting line-up in order to unleash Moore in this new role, as it could be an exciting tactical change for the Light Blues.

Everton very much need a victory away at Sunderland this coming Monday night after a pretty disastrous October to date.

The month did open with the Toffees battling it out at home to Crystal Palace and picking up a hard-fought 2-1 win, but since then, it’s been two Premier League defeats on the spin, with the most recent loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur – with Thomas Frank’s men running out emphatic 3-0 victors – exposing Everton’s clear weaknesses from set-pieces.

Moyes will have also left those two defeats frustrated by what Beto is offering his side up top, with a few missed chances here and there from the goal-shy number nine, leaving him rooted on just one goal for the season so far.

Even more frustratingly, Everton have been blessed with some top attacking talent this campaign – excluding the ex-Udinese striker from the conversation – despite things often falling apart at the final decisive moment.

Everton's best attackers this season

This late winner against the Eagles very much sums up the Merseyside giants this season, with Beto missing a glorious chance, before someone else – thankfully – mops up the next opportunity.

In that case against Oliver Glasner’s tricky visitors, it was Jack Grealish who managed to be in the right place, at the right time, to fire home, handing himself his first Premier League goal since 2023 in the process.

Away from breaking his goalscoring duck, though, the Manchester City loanee has been a “revelation” in Everton blue so far – as pundit Chris Sutton recently put it – with the disenchanted playmaker at the Etihad now a focal point of many a Toffees attack, as seen in him creating a Premier League-best 19 chances from open play.

Next to him in attack, who has also turned around his playing days after a failed big move, is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, with the 27-year-old able to quickly move on from his Chelsea disappointment under Moyes’ wing.

The brand-new number 22 has also created four big chances, himself, with 4.6 duels won on average across his eight league outings, as per Sofascore, also displaying a tenacious number ten option.

Yet, it’s neither Grealish nor Dewsbury-Hall that could now be considered one of Everton’s biggest talents since the golden days of Romelu Lukaku, with suggestions even emerging that the star in question is one of the best in his position in such a daunting league.

Everton's biggest talent since Lukaku

Everton would love to have a striker of Lukaku’s clinical edge on their side at the moment, with the Belgian a firm fan favourite throughout his 166-game spell on Merseyside.

Indeed, the intimidating centre-forward would hammer home a weighty 87 goals in total for the Toffees, leading to one of his ex-managers in Ronald Koeman, heralding him as a “world-class” finisher.

In the here and now, Iliman Ndiaye is also being lauded week in week out for his standout showings in attack, with Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher – despite his Liverpool connections – going out of his way to label the ex-Sheffield United man as a “superstar” earlier in the year for his electric ability to bamboozle any defender in his path.

He certainly showed off why he’s been considered a maverick since leaving Marseille behind for Everton against Manchester City, with Ndiaye constantly bombing down the right wing at the Etihad to harass the home side’s defence, much like Lukaku would consistently terrorise defenders during his Toffees pomp.

Journalist Patrick Boyland, after the 2-0 loss, even hailed Ndiaye as being “one of the best in the league in his position” after he proved to be a major thorn in the side of Pep Guardiola’s hosts all afternoon.

Indeed, Boyland also noted that his “mesmeric” nature against City has further been matched with plenty of grit and fight this season for Moyes and Co.

Ndiaye’s PL numbers for Everton (25/26)
Stat – per 90 mins*	Ndiaye
Games played	9
Goals scored	3
Assists	1
Expected assists	2.16
Ball recoveries*	6.4
Ground duels won*	6.6
Total duels won*	7.0
Stats by Sofascore

His first Premier League season in Everton blue saw him tally up a whopping nine league goals in total, but he wasn’t always the most creative talent, away from cutting a lethal presence in front of goal.

Now, he looks to be a far more well-rounded talent, worthy of being in the conversations Boyland has started, with the Senegal international leading the way overall with his expected assists numbers this campaign, on top of also beating out the likes of Bukayo Saka down the right by winning a high seven duels on average, next to the Arsenal forward’s 6.4.

He does need to fine-tune certain aspects of his game, but Ndiaye is undoubtedly in these conversations now, as a talent capable of “standing out a mile” with his genius, as ex-Toffees player Mark Pembridge noted last season.

While true superstars have been few and far between in recent times, Ndiaye certainly stands aloft as arguably the club’s biggest talent since £75m man, Lukaku – a fact only further enhanced by his soaring £49m market value, as per CIES.

Like the Belgian, he has that knack for tearing through a defence and winning games on his own for Moyes and co, seemingly relishing that talismanic status.

Long may he continue to dazzle at the Hill Dickinson.

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Tottenham Hotspur are now readying a January move for an “amazing” striker, who has been praised by Thomas Frank in the past.

Tottenham looking to sign new striker despite Richarlison returning to form

Frank managed to stave off some of the pressure by recording a 2-0 victory against Brentford on Saturday, which was his side’s first home Premier League victory since the rout of Burnley on the opening day of the campaign.

It was a comfortable win for Spurs, who never really looked threatened throughout the match, with the Bees recording an xG of just 0.29, and Richarlison continued his recent uptick in form, scoring his sixth Premier League goal of the season.

That said, some of Frank’s other attacking options haven’t been quite so prolific in front of goal, with Randal Kolo Muani still yet to open his account in the Premier League, while Dominic Solanke has featured in just three matches in all competitions, having struggled with an ankle injury.

As such, the manager may want to bring in a new striker during the upcoming transfer window, and a Premier League star has now entered the frame as a target.

That is according to a report from Football Insider, which states Tottenham are now readying a January move for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, with his future at Selhurst Park up in the air.

Palace may be forced to cash-in on the centre-forward, given that no progress has been made in negotiations over a new contract, and it has previously been revealed they could look to hold out for £44m.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke also added: “He’s under contract until 2027 but if he’s not going to sign a new deal by next summer, you would imagine Palace would be more increasingly open to selling Mateta to get a fee for him, rather than potentially letting him run down his contract.”

"Amazing" Mateta has earned move to top club

Lauded as “amazing” by Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, the Frenchman has been in impressive form this season, netting nine goals in 23 matches in all competitions, while also providing two assists.

The 28-year-old has now proven himself over a number of years in the Premier League, scoring a combined 30 goals across the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns, meaning he has earned the opportunity to prove himself at a top club.

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In fact, Frank was personally left impressed by the Palace star for his performance in a 2-1 defeat against Brentford last season, describing him as “very hard to handle.”

As such, Tottenham should definitely look to capitalise on the Eagles’ stalling contract negotiations by pursuing a move for Mateta in the upcoming transfer window.

Sam Allardyce has named a Crystal Palace star in his Premier League Team of the Season so far, with an Arsenal counterpart snubbed.

Palace pushing for Europe once again

Off the back of winning the first major trophy in their history last season, Palace have started the current season in style, having taken 20 points from their opening 12 Premier League games, which leaves them just three points adrift of second-placed Chelsea.

Oliver Glasner has made his side very difficult to beat, with only Everton and Arsenal chalking up wins against the Eagles so far this season, and a solid defensive record has been the key to their success, keeping clean sheets in four out of the last five matches in all competitions.

Having managed to retain the services of Marc Guehi in the summer, despite deadline-day drama, Glasner’s side have shipped just nine goals in the Premier League this term, the second-fewest of any side, behind only league-leaders Arsenal.

However, Guehi hasn’t been the only player to catch the eye, with Allardyce recently naming another Crystal Palace star in his Premier League Team of the Season so far.

Speaking on the ‘No Tippy Tappy Football’ podcast, the former manager chose Dean Henderson ahead of David Raya between the sticks, while also adding: “He’s so confident in himself, he believes when someone’s got a penalty he’s gonna save it – you can see, it’s bordering on a bit arrogant.”

The 71-year-old justifies his decision by asserting that Raya doesn’t face enough shots to make it into the team, given the Gunners’ fantastic defensive record, most recently limiting Tottenham Hotspur to an xG of just 0.06 in the 4-1 North London derby thrashing.

Henderson must be in Tuchel's thoughts ahead of World Cup

Jordan Pickford has been England’s first-choice goalkeeper for quite some time, having now amassed 81 caps, and it is difficult to envisage Thomas Tuchel dropping him for the World Cup next summer, but the Palace shot-stopper is certainly pushing the Everton star all the way.

Player

Club

Premier League clean sheets

David Raya

Arsenal

7

Robert Sanchez

Chelsea

7

Dean Henderson

Crystal Palace

6

Nick Pope

Newcastle United

5

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Manchester City

4

Robin Roefs

Sunderland

4

Jordan Pickford

Everton

4

Guglielmo Vicario

Tottenham Hotspur

4

Djordje Petrovic

AFC Bournemouth

4

The 28-year-old has already picked up six clean sheets in the Premier League this season, two more than Pickford, while also saving two penalties in the shoot-out against Liverpool to help the Eagles clinch the Community Shield for the first time in their history.

Raya may have kept more clean sheets than the Englishman, but the Spaniard won’t be happy by Richarlison recently lobbing him from distance in the North London derby…

As such, Henderson’s selection is fully justified, and the goalkeeper has a huge part to play as Palace look to qualify for Europe for the second year running.

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Tottenham travel to Arsenal on Sunday facing their toughest challenge of the season so far, knowing a positive result could transform their campaign but fully aware that history is stacked firmly against them.

Thomas Frank takes charge of his first North London derby as Spurs manager, inheriting a team whose season has been defined by mixed fortunes.

Spurs sit fifth in the Premier League table and owe that to their extraordinary away form, averaging a competition-high 2.60 points per game, with four wins and a draw from their five matches on the road.

This remarkable record places them top of the Premier League away form table and represents a real bright spot in an otherwise inconsistent campaign. Since their opening day victory against Burnley, Spurs have lost three and drawn two at home, averaging just 0.83 points per game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season.

Tottenham shared the spoils in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Man United in their last outing, and boast impressive away stats with the joint-most goals scored (12) and the fewest conceded (three) on their travels.

The numbers suggest that when the Lilywhites play on enemy turf, they transform into a different proposition entirely. That being said, their record away to Arsenal is truly abysmal, having won just twice there in the league since the Premier League began.

The timing of this game could hardly be worse from an injury perspective either.

While star winger Mohammed Kudus should recover from a knock to face Arsenal, and Lucas Bergvall could be available after completing concussion protocols, we are still waiting for official confirmation on Randal Kolo Muani, Archie Gray, Ben Davies, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma and Kota Takai’s availability.

James Maddison is a certainty to miss the clash, and likely won’t return until June next year.

Dejan Kulusevski

Knee

29/11/2025

James Maddison

ACL

01/06/2026

Radu Dragusin

Knee

22/11/2025

Ben Davies

Thigh

23/11/2025

Kota Takai

Ankle/Foot

23/11/2025

Mohammed Kudus

Knock

23/11/2025

Randal Kolo Muani

Jaw

23/11/2025

Yves Bissouma

Ankle/Foot

23/11/2025

Lucas Bergvall

Concussion

23/11/2025

Dominic Solanke

Ankle

23/11/2025

Archie Gray

Calf/Shin/Heel

23/11/2025

via Premier Injuries

Tottenham are also waiting to discover whether Pape Sarr will be fine to play after he picked up a knock on international duty with Senegal, but apart from that incident, Frank will be relieved to come through the break fairly unscathed.

Rodrigo Bentancur gets 2/10 in 'nightmare' Uruguay performance after 5-1 USA defeat

However, another player who endured a non-ideal international break was midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

Frank has been urged to ditch the defensive midfield partnership of Bentancur and summer signing Joao Palhinha, despite their exceptional performances individually.

The former was recently awarded a brand-new contract after his promising start to 2025/2026, but a slump in form for Bentancur appears to have come at the worst time.

Bentancur endured a nightmare in Uruguay’s 5-1 defeat to the USA in Tampa, with South American news outlet El País handing him a lowly 2/10 rating for his performance, despite being given the captain’s armband by Marcelo Bielsa.

El País states that the 28-year-old was overrun in midfield and could never get a foothold against Mauricio Pochettino’s USA side, who eventually ran rampant on a real night to forget for him.

The former Juventus star was left out of Frank’s starting eleven to face United in favour of Sarr, but given the African’s knock against Brazil, Bentancur could well return to the line-up against Arsenal depending on developments.

Frank will be praying that Bentancur can put that Uruguay showing behind him and help to keep Arsenal at bay this Sunday.

Celtic are in the process of attempting to make Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy their permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers, who left the club last month.

Fabrizio Romano claims that the Hoops are in talks with the French manager over a move to Parkhead, as they look to get a deal done in the days and weeks to come.

Celtic are due to play St Mirren away from home in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday and the club have already confirmed that Martin O’Neill will take charge once again as the interim manager.

Once Nancy is in the building, should a deal get done, it will be interesting to see which players fail to make the cut if he goes with the system he has played in the MLS.

Players Wilfried Nancy might drop from Celtic's squad

Per Transfermarkt, the Frenchman’s preferred formation is a 3-4-2-1 and that would be interesting to see play out with the wide and full-back options that Celtic have.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey played at right-back last time out, but is a centre-back by trade, and could drop into a back three alongside Auston Trusty and Liam Scales.

That would free up a right wing-back spot. Anthony Ralston, who has no assists in 11 appearances this season, does not have the offensive quality to play in that role, so Nancy could use a player like Forrest to be an attack-minded wing-back.

That could see Ralston drop out of the squad, as he is not suited to playing as a centre-back or as a wing-back in that system, but he was only on the bench against Kilmarnock, so it would not be a major change to the squad.

An even bolder move that could be made by Nancy would be to instantly ditch Sebastian Tounekti from the starting line-up for his first match in charge, whenever that ends up being.

Why Wilfried Nancy should drop Sebastian Tounekti

It may seem like a bold call to suggest that the winger should be dropped from the team, because he has provided the supporters with some excitement since his move to the club from Hammarby in the summer.

Earlier this season, pundit Michael Stewart described the Tunisia international Celtic’s “danger man” and claimed that he “unsettles defences”, thanks to his direct and aggressive play out wide.

However, Tounekti has only scored two goals and has failed to provide any assists in 13 appearances in all competitions for Celtic, per Sofascore, which shows that there has been a lack of quality in the final third to back up his exciting build-up play.

The 23-year-old forward started on the left flank against Kilmarnock for O’Neill last time out in the Premiership, and put in a rather dismal display for the Hoops.

Minutes

78

Shots

2

Goals

0

Key passes

0

Big chances created

0

Assists

0

Crosses completed

0/2

Dribbles completed

2/10

Possession lost

23x

As you can see in the table above, Tounekti lost the ball a staggering 23 times in 78 minutes on the pitch, without creating a single chance for his teammates in that time.

A wasteful performance like that could see Nancy immediately remove him from the starting line-up, on top of it potentially being a sensible decision for tactical reasons.

If the Frenchman goes with the aforementioned 3-4-2-1, Kieran Tierney or Marcelo Saracchi would offer the width as the left wing-back and Celtic would need a player to play more centrally as a left-sided ten behind the striker, which is not Tounekti’s style.

Instead, those two ten roles may be more suited to Arne Engels, as explained in the linked article below, and Daizen Maeda. This, along with his performance against Kilmarnock, is why Nancy should instantly ditch Tounekti from the starting XI if and when he has his first game in charge.

Nancy could turn "world-class" Celtic star into the new Matt O'Riley

Celtic have a “world-class” star who could explode under Wilfried Nancy at Parkhead.

ByDan Emery Nov 16, 2025

تقدم فريق جيرونا بهدف أول في مباراته أمام ريال مدريد، حيث يتواجه الفريقان ضمن مباريات بطولة الدوري الإسباني موسم 2025-2026.

ويحل ريال مدريد ضيفًا على جيرونا بملعب “مونتيليفي” في إطار مباريات الجولة الرابعة عشر للدوري الإسباني “الليجا” للموسم الجاري.

وتمكن جيرونا من التقدم بهدف أول في الدقيقة 45 قبل نهاية شوط المباراة الأول، عن طريق لاعبه عز الدين أوناحي.

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الهدف جاء بعد لعبة جماعية متقنة للاعبي جيرونا، انتهت بتمريرة من فيكتور إلى عز الدين أوناحي، الذي سدد تسديدة صاروخية رائعة في شباك تيبو كورتوا.

وكان ريال مدريد سجل هدفًا عن طريق كيليان مبابي قبل هدف أوناحي، لكن لم يحتسب بعد العودة لتقنية الفار. هدف أوناحي في مباراة ريال مدريد وجيرونا