The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell joined The Ornstein & Chapman Podcast and discussed Paul Pogba’s future at Manchester United now that the mood has somewhat shifted at the club.

Even though they are certainly not exactly where they want to be, the Red Devils have been rising in form as of late, tallying 11 games in a row without a defeat. Indeed, Whitwell talked to some people around the club and he says they are starting to believe Pogba just might have a change of hearts about potentially leaving the squad.

Heres what The Athletic’s journalist said on The Ornstein & Chapman Podcast (16/3/2020): “They feel like Pogba is more open to staying”.

Of course, the midfielder staying at the club would definitely be a huge boost for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who’s seemingly finally getting the team to dance to his tune. Considering the fact only new signing Bruno Fernandes has got close to his 2.3 key passes per game (the Portuguese has 2.2 via WhoScored) and no one averages more than his 5.6 long balls over the same period, the Frenchman can provide an added thurst from the engine room, it seems.

Not only are they undefeated in the last 11 games but they’ve also recorded a total of eight wins across all competitions in that period, really getting their season back on track.

This sudden and somewhat unexpected break due to the recent events given he was strongly linked with an exit by the Sun certainly is interesting.

Man United fans, do you think Pogba will end up staying at the club? Do you want him to stay? Let us know down in the comments below!

Has there been a more impressive turnaround anywhere in the Premier League than at Manchester United and with Fred?

The Brazil international endured a difficult debut campaign at the club after arriving in a whopping £47m deal from Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk.

The 27-year-old played just 25 times across all competitions, and was even linked with a surprise exit from Old Trafford last summer. But how times have changed.

After making his first Premier League start of the campaign back in October against Newcastle, the Brazilian has hardly looked back, and enjoyed a stellar season to date. And here are three things we’ve learned about the United star.

Never judge too quickly

When Fred was in the midst of a difficult period for United last season – at one point fans even appeared to question whether he was Brazilian after his howler against Wolves – it was difficult to see how he could really turn things around at Old Trafford.

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The writing appeared to be on the wall, and an indelible mark left etched on his name. But what the 27-year-old has done this season, is prove that players should never be judged too quickly, particularly in their first season after coming from abroad. Whether it was simply getting adjusted to the pace and physicality of English football, or settling into life off-the-pitch, things have clicked for the midfielder, and he is now showing why United spent big on him.

Most influential midfielder

Whilst Fred’s campaign overall has been impressive, it was only back in September, that during a draw against Arsenal, Gary Neville wondered what the Brazilian actually was. He said: “He looks like he takes the ball, he’s tidy on it. But I don’t see a goalscorer, I don’t see a defensive-midfield player, I don’t see a runner. So I’m not quite sure what I see. You’d like him to fit into one of those categories.”

Well, when you look at Whoscored, Fred excels at a bit of everything. When compared to the rest of his United teammates in the Premier League, he ranks: second for tackles, fourth for interceptions, fourth for key passes, fourth for dribbles and sixth for shots per game. Simply put, he is a jack of all trades, and whilst Neville may see that as a negative, it’s just a reflection of how the midfielder is helping to influence numerous things for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Pogba who?

Paul Pogba continues to dominate the headlines at United, and sometimes not for the right reasons. Talk of a possible exit from Old Trafford this summer continues, but United fans shouldn’t be too worried by that prospect.

Fred has undoubtedly overtaken the France World Cup winner in terms of midfielders who are amongst the first names on the team-sheet. The Brazilian has started for United in each of the last 22 Premier League games, with only one of them seeing him not complete the full 90 minutes. It’s an indication of the importance Solskjaer places on him, and when the season resumes once more, expect him to remain a key figure for the team.

Meanwhile, Man Utd must make a ruthless decision on this key star.

Liverpool have been linked with a handful of exciting attackers in recent months and another name has recently been thrown into the hat.

Timo Werner and Jadon Sancho have both been mooted as potential targets for the Reds, but another Bundesliga star is reportedly on the club’s radar.

Indeed, according to Gazeta Blic (via The Daily Mirror) Liverpool and Aston Villa are leading the race for Werder Bremen’s standout talent Milot Rashica.

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The same report claims that a fee of £35m will be enough to prise him away from the struggling Bundesliga outfit, who currently sit 17th in the table.

Their situation could be considerably more bleak if it weren’t for Rashica, though.

The Kosovo international is the club’s talisman and most trusted source of creativity, with a return of 10 goals and five assists this season illuminating his importance to the relegation-threatened outfit.

Capable of playing in a handful of attacking positions, he could be a fantastic addition to Jurgen Klopp’s front three and many supporters seem to share that sentiment.

After hearing the reports, plenty of the Reds faithful appeared to advocate a transfer swoop for the rumoured target, though one fan expressed concern over Villa’s interest.

Here’s what the Liverpool fans have had to say about the link with Rashica…

In other Liverpool news, lots of fans all want £20m talent to replace Dejan Lovren next season…

So it appears Amazon could be set to extend their affinity with Tottenham over these coming years.

The company made headlines when they announced they would be making an “All or Nothing” documentary about Spurs this season, similar to the one done with Premier League rivals Manchester City.

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And now, according to The Daily Mail, Amazong are emerging as “genuine contenders” to become the north London club’s main stadium sponsor, and that they have expressed “substantial interest” in a potential partnership.

After hearing about the report, Spurs fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Some Spurs fans even urged Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to simply buy the entire team, instead of just becoming the stadium sponsor.

The Amazon documentary certainly has all the hallmarks of being a blockbuster what with everything that has happened on and off the pitch at Spurs.

It’s probably no surprise then that they have expressed interest in continuing their relationship with the Lilywhites, no doubt seeing major dollar signs.

Whatever the case, if Daniel Levy and co can negotiate a great deal, then it will be another major step to ensuring Spurs are competing with the Premier League rivals on a commercial basis.

Meanwhile, here are three iconic Spurs goals fans will never forget.

Southampton football club has been a conveyor belt for talent for as long as I can remember, whether it through their academy, or players that they simply have nurtured and then historically sold on to the bigger clubs in England.

It must be incredibly frustrating being a Saints fan seeing the likes of Bale, Walcott, Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain, to name a few, spend a few years being developed only to be sold off when the big money comes calling. On top of that, the likes of Mane and Van Dijk – arguably two of the best players in the Premier League right now – all had their grounding in English football at St Marys.

What a team they could have had but money talks, unfortunately.

We have compiled a quiz this Easter Weekend to see how much Saints fans know and remember about their famous academy graduates? Was Oxlade-Chamberlain considered a bigger talent than Bale coming through the ranks?

While India were expected to win, Afghanistan were supposed to display the spark and fight that have made them a top second-rung team. They are the underdogs everyone loves. Almost every wicket they took and boundary they struck was cheered in the press box – the loudest reserved for Mohammad Shahzad’s promised helicopter shot.Their captain Nawroz Mangal had said before the game that Afghanistan wanted to compete, and prove that they belong to the top level. And compete they did. For more than three-quarters of the match, they kept up with India, refusing to let them get ahead and jolting them repeatedly. But their inexperience showed when they were found wanting at critical moments – dropping several catches, failing to keep wickets intact for a late charge, and so on.Kabir Khan, the Afghanistan coach, acknowledged the slip-ups but said his side had had a chance of upsetting India.”We made a few mistakes on the field. The boys dropped a few catches,” Kabir said. “That could have reduced India’s total by at least 15-20 runs. And while batting, at some stages we were well in the game but then we lost a couple of wickets in a very short time. Overall, I would say our team played much better compared to the last World Twenty20 game against India [in 2010]. I think we have impressed them. Our performance was impressive but we could have done better.”Kabir didn’t think the dropped chances had a huge impact on the total India managed, saying that their batting depth would have bailed them out anyway. “Had we taken those catches, it would have meant one quality batsman following another. They would have scored at least 140 in any case. Sometimes in cricket, you take one wicket, you follow it up with some more wickets. But the way we started, I thought even 160 was chaseable. If we had batted a little sensibly, we could have achieved it.”Afghanistan had planned to target the part-timer with India going in with four specialist bowlers, but Yuvraj Singh ended up taking three crucial wickets. “We knew they were one bowler short as they were playing with four bowlers. We were looking to play Ashwin a bit defensively and not give him wickets because he was the only one who was going to create problems on that wicket because it was not supporting pace bowlers at all. There was a chance. We thought if we played Ashwin well and scored off the other bowlers, and cashed in on the four overs to be bowled by the non-regular bowler, we had a very good chance.”They had a sniff alright. Virat Kohli felt Afghanistan were tricky opponents for India to face. “They had nothing to lose so that too is a big factor which is not discussed much, that when you are playing against a team that is ranked lower they have nothing to lose,” Kohli said. “When they come out to bowl they will go all out and the same applies to their batting. They will come out and play their shots and if they can execute them then it is a problem for the bowling side.”In the end, though, Kabir felt Afghanistan’s lack of exposure at the highest level – this was only their fifth international game against a Test-playing side – was the difference.”That’s a factor because those boys are not exposed to international cricket.””Just the sheer pressure of playing the side we were playing, the crowd, the cameras… it all came together. I have to point out that those who dropped catches are very good fielders. I think the pressure factor came into it. India as a big team knows how to handle pressure. Then again, we also play less international cricket, and less against the top teams. We played India only twice in two years but if we had played them five or six times, the result could have been different.”The day when it actually is different may not be far off, provided Afghanistan are given the opportunities they deserve.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has sparked a reaction from sections of the Elland Road faithful this week after he named his Leeds United ‘Player of the Year’ in his recent column.

He elected for Stuart Dallas over the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Ben White and Mateusz Klich and it has led to mixed emotions from supporters, as seen below.

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The Northern Irishman’s versatility to play a wide variety of positions under Marcelo Bielsa this campaign has been the predominant reason behind the choice, and it’s hard to disagree.

Dallas has made 37 appearances, scoring three goals and providing one assist via Transfermarkt, but that’s only part of the story as he’s been averaging 2.2 tackles, 1.6 shots and 0.9 key passes per game.

Predominantly a central midfielder during his career, the 29-year-old has often had to play at both left and right-back due to injuries and has more than held his own, which is why he’s often one of the first names on the teamsheet regardless of position availability.

Here are the thoughts from fans…

AND in other news, Phil Hay offers update on Marcelo Bielsa’s contract situation at Leeds

Shane Watson’s special case status has been underlined by Cricket Australia’s decision to unilaterally withdraw him from the latter stages of the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa. Nonetheless, Australia’s Test captain Michael Clarke has reminded Watson that he is not indispensable by bluntly pointing out that last summer’s 4-0 defeat of India was achieved without him.The conflicting demands of the 21st century game were writ large across CA’s season launch in Sydney on Monday, as Test match notables including Watson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were conspicuous by their absence due to the CLT20 in South Africa. Watson’s early return from the event in order to prepare for the home Tests against South Africa had been whispered about for some days, before being confirmed amid a flurry of conversations around the launch.Having taken part in the Sydney Sixers’ opening victory over Chennai Super Kings in Johannesburg, Watson will play two more matches against Yorkshire and Lions before flying home ahead of the Sixers’ final group game against Mumbai. He will then spend time resting and then training with the game’s longest form in mind, with possible warm-up matches in the Futures League and Sydney grade competition in late October.Watson will likely have one first-class fixture before the first Test. There is an Australia A tour match against the South Africans from November 2-4 in Sydney, and a Sheffield Shield game for New South Wales in Brisbane from November 2-5, though that fixture may be moved forward depending on the Sixers’ fortunes in the CLT20.”We are reviewing his load and circumstance very closely … I think it’s reasonably well known that it’s likely he won’t see the tournament out,” CA chief executive James Sutherland said. “We’re concerned about Shane. His injury record is unfortunate and what that tells us is that we need to monitor him and manage him very carefully and we are.”I don’t know the specifics but the priority will be for him to get himself right as possible. That’s one, to give him a little bit of a break, then give him a little bit of therapy and whatever else he needs. But then also to really focus on getting him right to play Test cricket which he hasn’t played for a long time – which most of our players haven’t played for a long time … give him the opportunity to play a Shield game and at least play with the red ball.”Watson broke down with a hamstring injury in November last year during a Test tour of South Africa, and his subsequent recovery took so long – setback by a calf complaint – that he did not play in any of the home Tests against New Zealand and India. Clarke said that while he wanted to avoid a repeat scenario this summer, he said Watson had to be performing strongly to keep his spot in the Test team, irrespective of his feats during the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.”Watto didn’t play one Test last summer, so we don’t want that to happen again, we want to manage him as well as we can, but in saying that Watto’s no different to any other player, he’s got to be performing to be picked in that team,” Clarke said. “We beat India 4-0 without him last summer, he is a big player for Australian cricket, but he needs to be performing.”Stuart Clark, the Sixers’ general manager, expressed his frustration at the decision. ”We’re disappointed by it all. They want Shane to prepare for Test cricket. I understand those reasons – I just wish someone had told me this 15 months ago,” Clark told .”Cricket Australia made it very evident when we said what are the value in Australian players [to us]? They said they can play cricket in the Champions League. That was obviously not conveyed to the high-performance team who don’t give two hoots about the Champions League.”Australia’s management of players coming out of the CLT20 into Test series has been fraught with problems in the past, most notably Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger having all of two days to prepare for the first Test in India in 2010 following their time at the tournament with Chennai Super Kings. This year CA have sent the bowling coach Ali de Winter to the event in order to monitor the likes of Hilfenhaus, Starc, Cummins and Watson, also commissioning him to thrust a red ball into their hands to prepare for the summer to come.”We’ve got Ali de Winter over there, I know they’re bowling with a red ball at training, bowling longer spells,” Clarke said. “That’s the thing where it is so difficult for a bowler compared to a batter. Bowling four overs in a day compared to coming back and playing a Test match where you’ve got to bowl 30 overs in a day – no wonder guys get injured.”So we’re trying to manage it as well as we possibly can. Whether we like it or not, that’s the way the game’s gone, Champions League is here to stay, IPL is here to stay, it’s just about trying to manage individual players. The priority is, first Test of the summer, trying to get your best XI players onto the field.”

Norwich City are once again on the rise, sitting pretty at the top of the Championship and looking primed to secure their third promotion to the Premier League in seven years.

Their impressive revival this season is due to German coach Daniel Farke, whose excellent work with elevating the Canaries’ game is finally bearing fruit.

Things didn’t really begin easily for him, as Norwich started the Championship season poorly. With only a single win in their first six games, hopes of promotion among supporters were dim.  However, Farke had used the early part to scan the Championship’s style, before his good work could be put into effect.

After losing three of their opening five games, Norwich have since only lost twice in the corresponding 26. Farke is making the Canaries play some effective, attacking football and has unearthed some young gems as they emerge as one of the most upwardly mobile outfits in English football.

Indeed, Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis and Emiliano Buendia have all made big strides under him and they currently look like a Premier League team in waiting.

The Canaries have scored 60 goals in the Championship already, more than 11 from what they managed in the whole of last season. Three of those goals came in a fantastic 3-0 derby win over Ipswich Town, in which the in-form Teemu Pukki took his goal-scoring tally to 22 for the season.

No wonder the men upstairs are impressed.

According to reports (as per the Telegraph), Farke’s set to get a new contract from those behind the scenes at Carrow Road. Not only was his appointment a masterstroke – plucking him from relative obscurity in the Borussia Dortmund youth ranks – but they clearly have the kind of ambition missing in their last few ventures into the top tier. No longer is it about getting up and surviving, it’s clearly about building a long-term project under his watch.

With the Championship race almost conquered, his next mission will be to make sure the Canaries can break their duck with a longer stay in the Premier League.

أعلن سيد عبد الحفيظ مدير الكرة بالنادي الأهلي، إصابة علي لطفي وياسر إبراهيم لاعبي الفريق الأول بفيروس كورونا.

ويواجه الأهلي نظيره الاتحاد السكندري في مباراة الجولة 27 من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز، على أرضية ميدان استاد برج العرب بالإسكندرية.

وقال سيد عبد الحفيظ في تصريحات خاصة لـ “بطولات”: “نتيجة تحاليل كورونا (الرابيد تيست) للثنائي علي لطفي وياسر ابراهيم جاءت إيجابية”.

وأضاف: “الثنائي سيخضعان لتحاليل أخرى يوم الأربعاء المقبل للوقوف على مستجدات الاصابة”.

طالع أيضًا.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة الأهلي والاتحاد السكندري في الدوري

واختتم: “الثنائي غادرا المعسكر بالأمس إلى القاهرة”.

يُذكر أن الأهلي يعتلي ترتيب بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز برصيد 71 نقطة، وينتظر تحقيق الفوز الليلة لحسم لقب بطولة الدوري الممتاز.