Frenkie de Jong during Barcelona’s 1-0 win against Real Valladolid.
Frenkie de Jong is a key player for Ronald Koeman at Barcelona, but it seems the 23-year-old wants to return to his preferred central midfield role after a spell at centre-back.
De Jong is happy to fill in wherever the team needs him, but he hasn’t hesitated about expressing his desire to play in midfield, which could cause a headache for Koeman.
“I prefer playing in central midfield, but if it is best for the team that I play at the back or in another position, I’ll do it,” De Jong told reporters after Barcelona’s 1-0 win against Real Valladolid on Monday night.
“We changed the system today and I’ve played in many positions.”
De Jong began Monday night’s game at centre-back before being moved into midfield, while he popped up on the right flank to assist Ousmane Dembele’s winning goal.
The former Ajax player is comfortable wherever he plays, but he knows he can be most effective in his natural position of central midfield.
This raises the question about where De Jong will play against Real Madrid on Saturday, a game which he is certain to start.
The return of Gerard Pique could mean he is no longer needed in defence, so he may move forward to join Sergio Busquets and Pedri in midfield to help combat Los Blancos’ strength in the middle of the park.
That would mean, then, that one of Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann would have to make way, and the obvious candidate is the latter.
The former Atletico Madrid player may be sacrificed and held back as a super sub; a 120 million euro super sub.
Reports: Arsenal chasing a free transfer for AC Milan star
According to Sky Sports Italia, Arsenal are one of the three teams that are talking to the 27-year-old Hakan Calhanoglu’s representatives, with Chelsea and Juventus also reported to be in the running
The Turkish international’s contract expires in the summer, thus he is available on a free. With Arsenal likely to be out of any European competition next season, deals of such type will be given more thought.
The Gunners’ remain optimistic of signing on-loan midfielder from Real Madrid, Martin Odegaard. However, no European football could seal their fate.
Calhanoglu has had yet agnother impressive season at Milan. He has seven goals and 11 assists in 34 appearances. His overall tally of 77 goal involvements in his four years in Italy also cannot be ignored.
The 27-year-old has been a constant in every team he has played, when it has come to contributing directly to goals. In his previous club Bayer Leverkusen, the midfielder had 28 goals and 29 assists in 115 appearances.
His record in the German tier two was also impressive with Hamburger SV and Karlsruher SC with 50 goal involvements in 93 appearances for the duo.
Comparing the Turkey international with Martin Odegaard makes for an interesting reading:
*stats per 90 minutes.
Statistics Martin Odegaard Hakan Calhanoglu Pass completion 85.3% 76.5% Total distance covered by passes (in yards) 792.2 853 Shot creating actions 3.48 6.38 Tackles 0.67 0.77 Dribbles completed 0.90 1.16 Expected goals 0.10 0.17 Expected assists 0.13 0.35
It’s worth pointing out that Calhanoglu plays for a team who are second in the Seria A, while Odegaard plays for a team who sit a lowly 10th in the Premier League. He also hardly featured for his parent club Real Madrid in the first half of the campaign.
The age gap is also huge between the two with the Norway international being five years younger than his counterpart.
However, if Arsenal don’t qualify for Europe next season, signing the 27-year-old AC Milan man would make more sense.
Arsenal and Chelsea have been linked with AC Milan playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu ahead of this summer, and the Turkey international has already discussed speculation
Hakan Calhanoglu has already spoken about his future amid fresh reports he could join Arsenal or Chelsea this summer.
According to Sky Sports Italia, Arsenal and Chelsea have already been in touch with the AC Milan star’s agent ahead of a summer transfer.
It’s reported both sides are keen on completing a free signing for the playmaker with his contract set to expire at San Siro this summer and with no new deal agreed.
It’s said AC Milan did offer a new deal but Calhanoglu is said to be unimpressed by the numbers, wanting around £23,000 more than Milan have offered up to this point.
In the midst of that failure to agree a new deal, it’s reported Arsenal and Chelsea have both made a contract offer to the player’s agent, which they are entitled to do at this stage.
Meanwhile, Juventus are also said to be interested, but they cannot make an offer at this stage with domestic clubs not allowed to negotiate for players until they actually become a free agent, at least not officially.
It’s still said Juventus are ahead in the race, but Calhanoglu himself has not decided where he wants to go just yet.
The playmaker was quoted by Turkish paper Fanatik last season as stating: “God willing, I will be a Chelsea player next season.”
However, he took to Twitter at the time to deny the reports, stating that he had never spoken about Chelsea in the press, and had not discussed the matter with any Turkish journalist.
“I said nothing about Chelsea in the press & didn’t talk to any Turkish journalist — neither about the court decision nor about my future!”
Calhanoglu, who is valued at over £30million by Transfermarkt, has seven goals and 11 assists across all competitions for Milan so far this season.
Still only 27 and potentially available on a free transfer,it’s no surprise both Arsenal and Chelsea are interested, though the Blues did sign similar players last summer in Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech, meaning Calhanoglu would have a lot more competition should he end up at Stamford Bridge.
The midfielder is set to start for Sergio Conceicao’s side on Wednesday as they aim to do to the Blues what they did to Juventus in the last 16
First Juventus, now Chelsea?
Porto are on the march again. Ready to roll, ready to fight, ready to get stuck right into another European heavyweight.
They may be widely regarded as the weakest team left in this season’s Champions League, but that will not bother Sergio Conceicao’s side.
Few teams enjoy the role of the underdog like the Portuguese champions do.
“Why can’t we do something special again?” the midfielder Marko Grujic asks Goal during our exclusive interview. “We know there are no easy games at this stage of the competition, but we have already shown we can do it this season.”
It is 17 years since Jose Mourinho led the Dragoes to Champions League glory. What a team that was, too; the team of Deco and Maniche and Costinha, of Vitor Baia and Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho.
They won the UEFA Cup in 2003, and followed that up a year later, beating Monaco in Gelsenkirchen to lift their second European Cup crown. It was the making of Mourinho, who left for Chelsea that summer and never looked back.
Could Porto’s current manager do something similar? Conceicao couldn’t feature in that 2004 triumph – he was on loan from Lazio, and therefore cup-tied – but the 46-year-old fitness fanatic has his eyes on the prize once more.
He has already won two Portuguese titles, and now is looking to bolster his reputation further by slipping into the last four of the Champions League.
“There’s a lot of speculation on whether he will leave in the summer or stay,” says Grujic, “but whatever happens, he has the potential to be one of the biggest coaches in the next five or 10 years.
“He’s very motivated, very aggressive with players. He is big on discipline. He doesn’t play defensive football, but he likes his team to be very organised and disciplined. Rule number one is not to concede goals, and obviously that gives you chances to win games.
“He can still play, by the way! He’s enormously fit. He runs 15-20 kilometres every day, so when he tells us we have to run, we can’t have any argument! You see him, and you know you have to do it.”
Porto are under pressure domestically. They sit second in the table, seven points behind unbeaten Liga NOS leaders Sporting C.P.. Their grip on their crown is loosening, although they did gain two points on their rivals at the weekend.
Their resilience, and their quality, has been on display for all to see in Europe, however. They qualified comfortably from their group, drawing with Manchester City en route, and then, in the last 16, overcame Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus on away goals after a pulsating two-legged affair.
“It was a magnificent result,” says Grujic, who is on a season-long loan from Liverpool. “Let’s be honest, they were the favourites to go through, and I think a lot of people thought when they got the away goal in the first leg that it would be really difficult for us.”
It was, in fairness. Porto led early in the second leg, but lost forward Mehdi Taremi to a red card just after half-time. Juventus scored twice through Federico Chiesa to force extra-time, but an incredible rearguard action, led by the 38-year-old Pepe, saw them hold on before Sergio Oliveira’s long-range free-kick sent them through, sparking wild scenes of celebration and ensuring Ronaldo was left with a face like thunder.
“He went straight to the changing room after the game,” Grujic says. “I don’t think he even spoke with Pepe, who is one of his best friends.
“But that speaks to his winning mentality. He wants to win every game, and if he doesn’t then he is completely upset. I understand and respect that.”
Grujic cannot speak highly enough of Pepe, a three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid and unquestionably the leader of this Porto side.
“Wow!” he says, wide-eyed. “He’s a guy who brings forward every other player on the team, and a guy you can learn a lot from as a young player. He’s a real leader, a real winner, someone to follow.
“The best thing with him is he’s still hungry. He’s won everything, played over 10 years with Madrid, so much experience, but he still wants it so bad.
“He just signed another two years at Porto, and even at 38 he is still 100 per cent focused on every match, not only Champions League games but matches against smaller teams in Portugal. He treats them all the same, it’s really incredible, and proves why he has made such a magnificent career.”
Grujic smiles when we ask whether Pepe, known for his penchant for the dark arts, had any influence on an incident towards the end of the second leg against Juventus.
Grujic, with time running out and Porto holding on, hit the ground clutching his face under a challenge from Adrien Rabiot. As the Juve man protested, television cameras showed the Serb peeking a look at the referee from behind his hands. The free-kick was given.
“I didn’t realise it would be all over social media!” Grujic laughs. “It was quite funny to see it back, but it was about getting over the line for the team.
“That’s what I’m talking about with winning mentality. In every way, you need to try and get the best possible result for your team, not for yourself.
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 9, 2021
“I was not doing that to be popular on social media, I was trying to help the team to give us a few more seconds to rest because Juventus were putting big, big pressure on us. That’s football.”
With Oliveira, a scorer in both legs against Juventus, suspended, Grujic is almost certain to start against Chelsea on Wednesday night. He cannot wait for the battle.
“The club already reached their target for this season, in this sense,” he says. “We have no pressure at all going into the Chelsea game, we want to enjoy it so let’s try to make another great result.
“We are full of respect for Chelsea and we know it will be tough. They have an unbelievably strong squad, with many quality players in every position. That’s their main attribute for me.
“You look at their midfielders and forwards, it’s incredible. They can play any combination and it’s a strong team. You see sometimes, [Christian] Pulisic doesn’t even play! Or sometimes [Timo] Werner is up front and [Olivier] Giroud is on the bench, so [Tammy] Abraham isn’t even in the squad! That’s how strong they are.
“The midfield is so strong. [N’Golo] Kante, wow! He covers so much ground, it’s ridiculous. I heard them say in England that he is like having two midfielders in one! I never played against him, so I am really looking forward to that challenge.
“I will have to run a lot against him, for sure, and then they have [Mateo] Kovacic, Jorginho and [Mason] Mount, who are great on the ball.
“We will look to win, but we cannot expect to just turn up and score goals. We have to be smart, protect ourselves but try to take the best possible result to London.”
And has he dared to dream yet about a potential semi-final against his parent club Liverpool?
“Not yet!” he smiles. “There’s still a lot of work to do before then!”
David de Gea’s future at Manchester United is becoming increasingly doubtful amid Dean Henderson’s rise to first-team prominence.
There was a time when De Gea was the most indispensable player on United’s books.
He was in the conversation to be regarded as the world’s best goalkeeper just a few seasons ago, but he has endured a surprising fall from grace a la Joe Hart.
With his £375k-per-week wages hardly representing a fair reflection on his importance to the club, it’s no surprise to learn that United are actively trying to find a buyer.
What’s the latest on De Gea’s future?
According to a report from the Daily Mail, De Gea’s representatives are offering his services to Europe’s elite clubs ahead of a summer departure.
The Spain international is ready to leave United and those close to the stopper are looking for a buyer.
Given the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic, his astronomical salary could prove problematic for any potential suitor, while United are expected to seek a fee in the region of £50m.
The 30-year-old has more than two years left to run on a contract which expires in June 2023, so the Red Devils are in a relatively strong position despite his steady decline.
De Gea’s demise
The prospect of selling De Gea was almost unthinkable back in 2017.
His stock was at its peak and he was even labelled as the very best stopper in world football.
Interest in his signature was rife and it has been reported that he came agonisingly close to signing for Real Madrid in 2015, but he’s no longer the coveted talent he once was.
A series of mistakes and a reduction in the number of mind-boggling acrobatic saves that used to underpin his game have collectively damaged his reputation and now threaten his status as United’s number one.
The rise of Dean Henderson
Dean Henderson is well placed to capitalise on De Gea’s struggle following an impressive opening to life in the Premier League.
The England international was a revelation during his two-year stint on loan at Sheffield United and has since impressed across 20 appearances in all-competitions for United during the 2020/21 season.
At 24 years of age Henderson still has plenty to prove, but he’s kept three clean sheets in United’s four most recent outings to stake a stark claim for the number one jersey.
Now that United have effectively unearthed an in-house replacement for De Gea, the sale of their top earner makes both financial and footballing sense for Ed Woodward and the club’s decision makers.
Kevin De Bruyne has signed a two-year extension to his current contract, keeping him at City until the summer of 2025.
The Belgian has spent five-and-a-half years at the Etihad, a period which has seen him establish himself as one of the world’s finest creative players.
It’s also been an era of sustained success, with De Bruyne winning two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and four League Cups, as well as the 2020 PFA Player of the Year award.
“I could not be happier,” De Bruyne said.
“Since joining City in 2015, I have felt at home. I love the fans, my family are settled here in Manchester and my own game has developed really well.
“This football club is geared for success. It offers me everything I need to maximise my performance, so signing this contract was a straightforward decision. I am playing the best football of my career and I honestly feel there is more to come.
“Pep and I see football in the same way. Having that relationship with a manager is so important to me because our objectives are totally aligned and we want the same things.
“My focus now is on ensuring we have a successful end to the current campaign. Our results and performances so far have been excellent, but we need to make sure we end the season with the silverware we deserve.”
Director of Football Txiki Begiristain added: “This is a very significant moment for this football club.
“Kevin is, without question, one of the best players in world football. His performance level has been remarkably consistent since coming to City, and in the last few years he has developed into one of the game’s elite players.
“His talent is unquestionable – but he is also a consummate professional whose dedication to Manchester City during his time here has been nothing short of extraordinary. He constantly seeks to improve, and his approach is the perfect blueprint for any young player looking to carve out a career.
“We are delighted he is our player and I look forward to watching him during his peak years here at Manchester City.”
Everyone at Manchester City is delighted with the news and we all want to take this opportunity to congratulate Kevin and wish him all the very best for the remainder of his time here.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE | A GLITTERING CITY CAREER De Bruyne joined City in 2015 after impressing in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg – and he made an immediate impact in English football.
He scored five and assisted four en route to our 2016 Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, which he missed with a knee injury, and his impressive 16 goals and 13 assists in all competitions were a sign of things to come.
The 2016/17 season was a year of transition, with Pep Guardiola taking charge and beginning the process of revolutionising our playing style. De Bruyne played 49 games, scoring seven and assisting 21 as we ended the season without silverware – the only time that has happened to De Bruyne during his time at the Club.
The following two seasons saw City break new ground domestically, with De Bruyne a key figure in our unprecedented success.
In 2017/18, we won the Premier League title, setting a new English football record of 100 points, and tasted Carabao Cup success once again, beating Arsenal 3-0 in the final.
He played a remarkable 52 matches across all competitions, scoring 12 and assisting 21, including a fine last-minute ball to set up Gabriel Jesus’ lob at Southampton on the final day of the season to seal our record-breaking 100 points.
After the game at Southampton, he was presented with the inaugural Premier League Playmaker award having registered 16 assists in the competition.
And the following year we became the first side to win a clean-sweep of every major domestic English trophy, despite De Bruyne’s injury troubles that saw him spend two periods on the sidelines with ligament damage.
He played 32 times, scoring six and assisting 11, including a wonderful cameo in the FA Cup final against Watford that score him score one and set another up in a 35-minute masterclass.
But it was perhaps the 2019-20 season that saw him produce his best form. He played 48 games and was directly involved in 39 goals (16 goals and 23 assists).
He won the PFA Player of the Year award, becoming the first male City player to win the coveted prize, and was also named Premier League Player of the Season and UEFA Midfielder of the Year.
He once again scooped the Premier League Playmaker prize having equalled Thierry Henry’s record of 20 assists in a single season, a milestone which had stood for 17 years.
It also saw him become the first player in Premier League history to provide at least 15 assists in three different campaigns, having registered 16 in 2017/18 and 18 in 2016/17.
This season has followed a similar path. De Bruyne has been outstanding, scoring seven and assisting 16 already, with City currently 14 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Carabao Cup.
In total, De Bruyne has played 253 times for City, scoring 64 and assisting 105.
Last week, Gionee P15 Pro budget smartphone was launched in Nigeria. We did not cover this story back then as we were not aware of it. Now, as we have stumbled upon this product on the company’s official website and Facebook page, let’s take a look at its specs, features, price, and availability.
GIONEE P15 PRO SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES The newly launched Gionee P15 Pro features a polycarbonate body and flaunts a 6.82-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels (HD+), 84.6% screen-to-body ratio, and a dewdrop notch.
The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G35 SoC coupled with 3GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. Although the official website does not say anything, it should have a MicroSD card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, dual-SIM, 4G connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS like any other budget smartphone
Further, the handset sports a vertically-aligned triple camera setup on the back consisting of a 13MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 lens, a 2MP secondary sensor with an f/2.2 lens, an AI lens, and an LED flash. The rear panel also houses a capacitive fingerprint sensor. Whereas, on the front, the device features an 8MP snapper for selfies and video calls.
Last but not least, the Gionee P15 Pro is backed by a 6,000mAh battery and runs Android 11.
Gionee P15 Pro Price and Availability The Gionee P15 Pro is priced at ₦58,900 ($144) in Nigeria. It can be purchased from partner retail stores across the country. Also, it should be available on Jumia in the coming days.
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