Tag Futebol

There’s no greater sound in football than the ball hitting the back of the net. It was the only benefit of pandemic football that we got to hear the noise echo around various stadiums.The noise can signal pure joy, ultimate disappointment, or pure admiration for a goal. Indeed, no matter how the ball has hit the back of the net, the sound remains one of the best.Some goals are especially satisfying, however, as they travel at the speed of light from 30 yards, or end a fantastic, free-flowing team move at a similar light-speed pace.Twitter users have recently been full of praise for such goals, too, sharing in this thread their most satisfying goals scored by Premier League sides, some of which have made our top five below.

5 Tomas Rosicky vs Sunderland

Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal featured some of the best team goals we’re ever likely to see in the Premier League, including Tomas Rosicky’s well-worked strike against Sunderland.

Arguably one of the most underrated players to ever wear an Arsenal shirt, Rosicky orchestrated the goal with his incredible movement, passing the ball onto the likes of Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere, before finding himself through on goal and finishing in expert fashion with a delightful dink.

4 Johan Elmander vs Wolves

Johan Elmander had a spell to remember at Bolton Wanderers, writing himself into the history books as a club legend, scoring 22 goals for the club, in total.

His best goal came against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2010, however, when his piece of trickery evaded three defenders, before he found the bottom right-hand corner with ease.

It remains one of the most satisfying goals that we’ve seen in English football.

3 Didier Drogba vs Bolton

Back in 2009, Didier Drogba was in his pomp for Chelsea, terrorising defences across the Premier League.

And while the Ivorian striker scored goal after goal for the Blues, this one against Bolton has to rank among one of the finest in his illustrious career.

Nicolas Anelka cross the ball to Deco on the edge of the box, the midfielder then chested it on to Frank Lampard who flicked it behind him perfectly into the path of Drogba who cooly slotted home on the volley – exquisite!

2 Dimitri Payet vs Crystal Palace

It’s difficult to judge whether a free-kick is perfect, but we’re pretty sure Dimitri Payet’s effort against Crystal Palace back in 2016 is up there as a strong contender.

With a packed wall in front of him, many players would have struggled to get their strike up and over into the top left-hand corner. So, with that in mind, Payet chose the goalkeeper’s side, curling a stunning dipping effort around and into the top right-hand corner.

To get the ball to come down from such a height, and at such speed, looked impossible, but Payet somehow managed it, to score an unforgettable goal.

1 Jack Wilshere vs Norwich City

It had to be this one, didn’t it? There’s simply no goal more satisfying than Wilshere’s against Norwich City in 2013. It is arguably the greatest team move in Premier League history and sums up Wenger’s time at Arsenal.

Cazorla, Wilshere, and Olivier Giroud played incredible one-touch football on the edge of the area, before the goalscorer finished the move in emphatic fashion, side-footing home first time.

It remains, for us at Football FanCast at least, the most satisfying goal of all time.

Returning from a shoulder injury, batsman KL Rahul is taking “nervous” steps forward as India prepare for their first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle next week. In his first competitive fixture in four months – a two-day tour game that ended in a draw – he smashed a 58-ball 54 – but felt there was still a way to go before feeling back to his best.Rahul had injured his shoulder during the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February. But he continued to play through pain and finished the series as the third-highest run-getter from either side with an aggregate of 393, including six fifties from seven innings. Since then, however, he has had to concentrate on rehabilitation work, forcing him to miss the IPL, the Champions Trophy and India’s limited-overs tour to the West Indies.Rahul, 25, has been bogged down by injuries in his brief international career, and this was the first one that required major surgery. “I am still very nervous,” he told . “The body is still very unsure and it keeps holding me back every time. That’s the biggest challenge coming back from injury.”You know that you are physically fit and you have done everything that you can, worked really hard, you are feeling stronger, you are feeling fitter. But the mind always tells you what if it happens again, what if you have to go through the same grind for three months, what if your shoulder is not ready, what if you [have] come back early?”There are a lot of questions, a lot of doubts and that’s the biggest challenge and fight for me. I have been enjoying each day and I have been a person who takes it as it comes. If it happens again, it happens again. It’s not in my control, I have done everything I can to get back. I tried to get my shoulder stronger, my body stronger. Once I put my helmet on, I forget all of these things. You see the ball, you see the ball pitched up to you and it has to be driven, you will drive. Your body is used to that for 15 years. Injured or not injured, your body just reacts. The fear is obviously there but I will fight it and I will overcome that.”KL Rahul, with his left-shoulder, fully strapped•AFP

Returning to fitness, Rahul said, was a tough exercise, but he was able to do so ahead of schedule because of a desire to be back representing India again. “Just wake up every morning and to do the same boring thing again and again is quite tiring and it starts to get to you,” he conceded. “You start questioning yourself, asking yourself if you really want to do all these boring things. You chose a sport that is exciting and challenges you every day and here you are, waking up and doing boring things.”But I woke up and there was something that pushed me to go to the gym, go to the physio, go through the painful process, needling and then pushing my shoulder. It was quite tough but it is part of a sportsman’s life and part of our career. It’s good that things like this happened to me early and I am hoping for an injury-free career going forward. The surgeon and the physio were really happy that I could come back in three months. They were expecting me to come back a lot later but I did pay a lot of attention to my rehab. I was very disciplined and very eager to get back to the team as soon as I could. I didn’t want to miss out on any more matches”.The last time India went to Sri Lanka in 2015, Rahul’s century in the second Test was sandwiched by meagre returns as he tallied only 126 runs in six innings. He hoped to do better this time around, having worked on making his technique tighter.”The pitches here are very helpful for whoever does well. Fast bowlers have something [for them] in the wicket, the ball will spin and bounce a little bit, but if you apply yourself, you will get a lot of runs,” he said. “What I learnt from the last tour was, I left a few balls and got bowled. I went back and worked a lot on my batting. I decided to play a lot closer to the body and the Kookaburra ball does a little bit for the first 20-25 overs and then you can play your shots and get a lot of runs. So, if I can fight through that as an opening batsman, then there are a lot of runs to be made”.His performance in the practice game has also put him in a good frame of mind after the lengthy lay-off. “It has been quite a tough time to be away from cricket, to be away from the thing that you love the most. To just sit at home and watch the boys playing, it was really hard for me. I was middling the ball from ball one, hit a few boundaries from the middle of the bat, rotated the strike and not a lot of balls beat my bat.”

نجح فريق الكرة الأول بنادي إنبي في تسجيل الهدف الثاني والتعادل بشباك نظيره الأهلي في مباراة الفريقين.

واستضاف الأهلي فريق إنبي على ملعب استاد القاهرة ضمن مباريات الجولة السادسة عشر من عمر الدوري.

وأحرز هدف إنبي الثاني والتعادل، المهاجم البديل يوسف لبيب، مستغلًا عرضية ناجحة حولها في الشباك بالدقيقة 94.

فيديو | يوسف لبيب يسجل هدف تعادل إنبي أمام الأهلي

ويعود الأهلي لمنافسات بطولة الدوري، بعد نجاحه في عبور دور ربع النهائي ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا على حساب سيمبا التنزاني بثلاثية دون رد في مجموع اللقائين.

ويتواجد الأهلي في المركز العاشر في سلم ترتيب الدوري برصيد 18 نقطة حصدها من 9 مباريات ويتبقى له 6 مؤجلات.

أما إنبي فيحتل صدارة ترتيب الدوري برصيد 28 نقطة، حصدهم من 8 انتصارات و4 تعادلات فيما نال 5 خسائر. هدف إنبي الثاني أمام الأهلي

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
4:23

Agarkar: Disgraceful batting performance from RCB

One hundred and thirty-two runs. That’s all Royal Challengers Bangalore needed. A little over 13 runs per wicket, only 6.6 runs an over, with Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in their side. Against quality pace bowling led by the astute Gautam Gambhir, the most glittering batting line-up in Twenty20 cricket sensationally collapsed to 49 all out, the lowest score in the IPL and the 10th-lowest in all Twenty20 cricket. Not one man reached double figures. This was only the 10th time in the IPL that a total of 131 or under was defended successfully.At the halfway mark, Kolkata Knight Riders felt they were about 50 short of the par score, especially after the start Sunil Narine had given them: a 17-ball 34 in the fastest team fifty this IPL. They had collapsed from 65 for 1 to be bowled out only for the third time when batting first in IPL. That fall couldn’t hold a candle to Royal Challengers, though, who batted with their edges, starting with a golden duck for captain Kohli.Nathan Coulter-Nile began the slide with the wickets of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Kedar Jadhav in his first three overs, and then Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme feasted on the carcass, taking three wickets each. With Umesh Yadav taking the other wicket, this was the fifth time all 10 wickets had fallen to pace in the IPL.Trini PosseAt the toss, Kohli said he expected the pitch to be a little tacky, and thus helpful to seam, after rain last night and a delayed start because of more rain. However, he opened with his trusted legspinner Samuel Badree, who has for long been one of the best T20 new-ball bowlers. Fellow Trinidadian, Narine, played him like a man who knows him inside out. Immediately he played him like a slow seam bowler angling the ball away from him as opposed to bringing it back in. 4, 4, 6, 4 in the first over, and Knight Riders had their most productive first over since 2013. Narine continuing punishing S Aravind, who had a decent Powerplay economy rate of 7.32, in the third over.Mills, Binny strikeThe Narine onslaught forced Kohli to bowl half of Tymal Mills’ quota in the first four overs. It also meant Kohli had to hold back his two other big bowlers, legspinners Badree and Yuzvendra Chahal. Mills responded, though, hitting Gambhir’s thumb on the way to Jadhav in the fourth over. A slower short ball from Stuart Binny in the sixth over accounted for Narine, who pulled and found deep square leg.Legspinners come backIn the last match at Eden Gardens, Knight Riders posted 187, and lost with 10 balls to spare. They must have been under extra pressure now to get a total that was Gayle-Kohli-de-Villiers-proof, which is perhaps why they kept going after the legspinners. Badree and especially Chahal loved it. Robin Uthappa fell playing Badree across the line, Yusuf Pathan was stumped down the leg side off Chahal, de Grandhomme skipped out and edged Chahal to slip, and Manish Pandey flicked a Chahal full toss to midwicket. The real show, though, was yet to begin.Pace like fireGoing into the chase, Royal Challengers might have thought of getting a big net run rate bonus here. Small ground, quick outfield, a paltry total to chase, with explosive batsmen in the shed, this was fertile ground for a quick finish and big momentum.Gambhir, on the other hand, walked out like a desperate nothing-to-lose Tony Montana from . He had his helmet on, and he asked Royal Challengers to say hello to his little friend: raw pace and upright seam. A pumped-up Coulter-Nile began with a massive no-ball, but he hit Gayle on the shoulder on the free hit. And when Kohli faced first up, Gambhir had a second slip in place, which is where the edge to the outswinger went.At the other end, Umesh was cut straight to point by Mandeep Singh, who had moved ahead of de Villiers in the order. The strategy for de Villiers this season has been to give him no room, doing which Knight Riders conceded two early boundaries, but a sharp bouncer from Coulter-Nile drew the fatal top-edge on the hook from well outside off.Towards the end of the fourth over, Gambhir was seen gesturing towards fine leg. He wanted one more from Coulter-Nile, who came back and accounted for Jadhav with the first ball of his third over. Gambhir also knew that Gayle was not enjoying the pace, and he kept peppering him with the pace of Umesh.Gambhir then overlooked Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav, who many might have thought were the key now, with the score 39 for 4 after six overs and with Gayle on 7 off 15. He went to Woakes, who was not going to pitch anything in Gayle’s half, even if it meant bowling a wide. That wide out of the way, perhaps Gayle felt there would be no more short balls in the over, but Woakes still bounced him, handcuffing his attempt at a big shot, and having him caught at wide mid-off. The rest was just a procession.

Liverpool are in a position to acquire some much-needed reinforcements this summer after a difficult campaign last season and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.

What's the latest on Liverpool's interest in Jeremy Doku?

According to French news outlet L'Equipe (via Sport Witness), Liverpool have set their sights on Stade Rennais winger Jeremy Doku.

As per the report, the Reds maintain their interest in the player that they almost signed in 2017 and although the player hasn't been a consistent goal-scorer he has become an attractive prospect based on his dribbling expertise.

The news broke a day before interest in Dominik Szoboszlai of RB Leipzig was broken, with FSG clearly looking to splash the cash in the early exchanges of the transfer window.

Who would Jeremy Doku replace in the Liverpool team?

It is no secret that the top priority this summer for Liverpool is to rebuild their midfield presence and inject some much-needed energy into the team to improve performances that were seen over last season.

The Merseyside giants have had no struggles in scoring goals and deploying an attacking threat that is deadly against any opponent of any quality, with only Manchester City and Arsenal scoring more than Liverpool (75) over their most recent campaign in the Premier League, despite their failure to secure a top-four finish.

Having said that, acquiring more attacking options who can provide diversity in the final third wouldn't be the worst idea and with Mohamed Salah set to be out of contract in 2025, there is an opportunity to bring in an understudy this summer to develop and nurture on the right flank who can learn the ropes from the Egyptian superstar.

Doku – hailed a "diamond in the rough" by Kevin De Bruyne – is an impressive attacking presence ranking in the top 5% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for a whole host of metrics, including non-penalty goals, shot-creating actions, progressive carries, progressive passes received and successful take-ons, as per FBref.

The £14m-rated winger offers strengths that are a little different to those of Liverpool's talisman, outperforming his positional peer in a number of attributes last season including shot-creating actions per 90 (5.65 v 3.83), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.70 v 0.66) and take-on success rate (60.4% v 37.3%), suggesting that he offers a more selfless approach in attacking opportunities and is more confident in challenging opponents.

It is unfathomable that Klopp would ever bench his star man who has provided the Anfield faithful with so many moments of magic, however, the acquirement of Doku could give the Liverpool boss some depth and a different perspective in the position that can be deployed in latter stages of games and provides a rotation option when competing in multiple competitions.

With that being said, Doku is definitely one to watch for Liverpool this summer and if the club's hierarchy can strike up a good deal for the 21-year-old this summer it could be a great opportunity to add some more depth in the forward line ahead of next season.

يخوض فريق الكرة بنادي الزمالك، مواجهة هامة مساء غد الثلاثاء، أمام نظيره الجونة، في المباراة التي تجمع بينهما ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

الزمالك يحل ضيفاً على الجونة في ملعبه باستاد خالد بشارة بمدينة الغردقة، في إطار مواجهات الأسبوع الـ 15 من عمر مباريات مسابقة الدوري المصري.

الزمالك كان قد خاض 10 مباريات في بطولة الدوري، حيث استطاع الفوز في 4 وتعادل في 3 وخسر في 3 مواجهات.

ويحتل فريق الزمالك المركز الثالث عشر في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري الممتاز، برصيد 15 نقطة.

طالع | أسباب غياب 11 لاعبًا عن الزمالك أمام الجونة في الدوري

ويسعى الزمالك أمام الجونة، إلى تحقيق الفوز من أجل مواصلة مشواره في الدوري والاقتراب من مراكز المقدمة بالإضافة إلى مصالحة جماهيره بعد خسارة بطولة كأس مصر أمام الغريم التقليدي الأهلي.

وكان البرتغالي جوزيه جوميز المدير الفني للزمالك قد وجه رسالة إلى اللاعبين مضمونها ضرورة التركيز على المرحلة المقبلة، مؤكداً أن الفريق قادر على المنافسة في البطولات التي يشارك فيها.

وعلى الجانب الآخر، فريق الجونة الذي يقدم مردودَا جيدَا مع المدير المخضرم علاء عبد العال هذا الموسم، لكن يواجه بعض سوء الحظ، يرغب في تحقيق الانتصار خاصة أن المباراة مقامة على أرضه.

فريق الجونة خاض 13 مباراة حتى الآن في بطولة الدوري، حقق الفوز في 4 مباريات وتعادل في 7 وخسر في مواجهتين، ويحتل المركز التاسع بترتيب جدول المسابقة برصيد 19 نقطة.

Having shown patience against some tight bowling in the morning, Sri Lanka enjoyed a flat surface and a tiring bowling attack to gain firm hold of the Harare Test against Zimbabwe

The Report by Nikhil Kalro30-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUpul Tharanga anchored Sri Lanka’s innings with an unbeaten 110•AFP

For a brief period on the second morning, Zimbabwe made run-scoring look strenuous. For the rest of the day, Sri Lanka’s batsmen enjoyed a placid Harare surface and a tiring bowling attack to pile on 537. Upul Tharanga, displaying admirable patience, reaped the most rewards on the second day to score to his second Test ton, an unbeaten 110.Tharanga milked the bowling for the majority of his innings, capitalising on anything short with cuts and dabs behind square on the off side. With legspinner Graeme Cremer blocking that option by bowling a fuller length, Tharanga chose to sweep, a lofted heave over midwicket bringing up his fifty. Once he was set, the drives came out and their timing was excellent.Tharanga was assisted by debutant Asela Gunaratne, who auditioned for a regular spot in the Test squad with 54 off 102 balls, compiled with a compact technique and an ability to manoeuvre the field. A tight channel just outside off didn’t work against him: he often opened the face to steer boundaries either side of gully.But, soon after becoming the 18th Sri Lankan batsman to score a fifty on his Test debut, Gunaratne misjudged the length of a short delivery from left-arm spinner Sean Williams. A leading edge off an attempted pull was taken at midwicket.Zimbabwe were sloppy in the field again: Peter Moor missed a stumping and dropped two more catches, in addition to his two spills on the first day. Tharanga was given a life when he checked a drive off Donald Tiripano, but Tino Mawoyo at cover could not hold on to a catch low to his left. It was a disheartening spell of play, especially considering how well Zimbabwe had bowled in the morning.Seamers Chris Mpofu and Mumba kept the ball well outside the off stump and asking overnight batsmen Tharanga and Dhananjaya de Silva to play away from their body if they wanted runs. The batsmen were content in seeing off their opening spell though and only occasionally wafted at the bowlers’ invitingly wide deliveries.In their recent Test series against New Zealand, Zimbabwe’s bowlers displayed competence in consistency but weren’t able to ‘bore’ batsmen for long enough. Newly-appointed coach Heath Streak may have already turned that around. Barring the sporadic overpitched delivery, the bowlers repeatedly hit the same lines and lengths which meant Zimbabwe conceded only 50 runs in the first 24 overs of the morning. And that led to De Silva, on 15 runs in 55 balls, to step out to Cremer. He failed to get to the pitch of the ball, went through with the stroke and ended up skewing a catch long-off.Zimbabwe had another good spell of play towards the end of the day. There were 23 overs to go for stumps but the batsmen – despite a massive deficit – were positive from the outset, shimmying down the track or sweeping hard even if they weren’t to the pitch of the ball, particularly against Rangana Herath. They finished the second day at 88 for 1, trailing by 449 runs.There wasn’t much turn for the spinners; most deliveries skidded on with the arm. One such delivery from Herath rapped opener Brian Chari on the pad in front of leg stump. Umpire Simon Fry raised the finger but it seemed the ball may have been sliding down with the angle. Sri Lanka could have added another wicket in the next over, with Suranga Lakmal inducing Hamilton Masakadza into an expansive drive. The resulting outside edge, though, was dropped by Dimuth Karunaratne at first slip. Masakadza, with 33 off 50 balls and Tino Mawoyo, with 41 off 74 balls and, took Zimbabwe to stumps.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are reportedly looking ahead to the summer transfer window, as it looks to be a busy summer for Julen Lopetegui.

With one game remaining in the Premier League, the Spaniard will get the chance to alter the squad he inherited from Bruno Lage to his liking, with a number of players expected to depart.

The narrative leading up to the summer at Molineux has been dominated by the future of Ruben Neves as well as the club's need to purchase a striker, with Wolves being the league’s joint-lowest scorers this campaign.

With attention firmly on the midfield and attack, recent speculation has linked a defender with a move to the Midlands, in what could be an impressive addition to Lopetegui’s plans.

What’s the latest on Ridle Baku to Wolves?

Earlier this month, it was reported by Wolfsburg news outlet Wolfsburger Allgemeine (WAZ), that Bundesliga right-back Ridle Baku could be of interest to Wolves.

The 25-year-old versatile defender signed for Wolfsburg in 2020 and has a contract with Die Wolfen until 2025, however following a strong season could be lured elsewhere, as stated by the report.

The Mainz-born ace is valued at €26.1m (£23m) by FootballTransfers.

What could Ridle Baku offer Wolves?

Baku has been a standout performer for Wolfsburg this season, as highlighted by his 6.85 average Sofascore match rating which places him as one of the squad’s top ten this season.

Described as “brilliant” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, the versatile right-back has been a surprise attacking force this campaign, netting five Bundesliga goals and recording three assists – as per Sofascore.

Wolves could get a real talent in signing the German, who happens to be likened to a Premier League winner.

Compared to Ben Chilwell by FBref, Baku could become Molineux’s own version of the Englishman, as shown through their playing styles being almost mirrored statistically over the past year.

Defensively, the Wolfsburg full-back comes out on top over the Chelsea ace in a number of attributes.

He averages more blocks and tackles than the Champions League winner who averages 1.33 blocks per 90 to Baku’s 1.55, and 1.51 tackles to his 1.70 per 90 – as per FBref.

There is more to being a full-back than defensive duties, though, as highlighted by the two players, with Chilwell being hailed as “versatile” by former Chelsea defender Scott Minto.

As per FBref, the Englishman averages a huge 7.79 progressive passes received per 90, closely followed by Wolves’ target Baku who scores 5.31 per 90, showing their ability to get into advanced positions and make a difference.

Lauded as “outstanding” by his former coach at Mainz Sandro Schwarz, the Bundesliga star could rival the likes of Chilwell in the Premier League, giving Wolves an added outlet in defence.

Signing the German could also encourage competition in Lopetegui’s squad, in a position that could rival Nelson Semedo as the Portuguese ace aims to remain consistent following a tough adaptation period.

Only time will tell if the 25-year-old opts to swap Die Wolfe for Wolves, however, there is little to deny that he could be a shining light at Molineux.

A five-wicket win for Surrey in a rain-affected game against Middlesex at Lord’s completed the quarter-final line-up of the Royal London Cup. Surrey, last year’s beaten finalists, sneaked above their London rivals into fourth place in the South Group, securing a last-eight trip to face North Group winners Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

Royal London Cup QFs

• Somerset v Worcestershire, Taunton, August 17, 11am

• Warwickshire v Essex, Edgbaston, August 17, 11am

• Kent v Yorkshire, Canterbury, August 18, 2pm

• Northamptonshire v Surrey, Wantage Road, August 18, 1.30pm

Confirmation that Somerset would top the South Group, setting up a quarter-final with Worcestershire at Taunton, came with the abandonment of Essex’s game at Gloucestershire earlier in the day.Essex were then left waiting on results elsewhere to see if they would go through; Kent’s victory at Sussex moved them up to second but Hampshire narrowly failed to beat Somerset, sending Essex to play Warwickshire in the last eight and turning the match at Lord’s into a straight knockout.Kent will host Yorkshire in their quarter-final. Yorkshire had gone into the final round of North Group games on Monday hoping to secure a home fixture but a heavy defeat to Warwickshire at Headingley saw them slip to third.The first two quarter-finals, at Taunton and Edgbaston, will be day games played on August 17; the games at Wantage Road and Canterbury will start in the afternoon on August 18. The semi-final draw sees the winner of Warwickshire v Essex playing either Somerset or Worcestershire, while Kent or Yorkshire will go on to face one of Northants or Surrey, with the ties taking place on August 28-29.

Manchester United wonderkid Facundo Pellistri is in talks over a new deal at the club, Fabrizio Romano has revealed.

What's the latest on Pellistri and Man United?

The Uruguayan has made nine appearances across all competitions this season as he aimed to break into the United first team, and whilst he has not featured often, he is highly rated at Old Trafford.

United rejected loan interest in January, but are now in talks to extend his deal before potentially sending him out for experience next season.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed that talks were taking place, and that there was a lot of interest in the 21-year-old in the January window.

"Erik ten Hag is really happy with Facundo Pellistri. Erik ten Hag is convinced that Pellistri is a very talented guy, that he has very good skills," he stated.

"Pellistri is doing very well too in training, and this is why when in January, some clubs approached Manchester United, many clubs including Bologna in Italy, Flamengo in Brazil, Spanish clubs also wanted Pellistri on loan, Ten Hag said he has to stay here, we can use Pellistri, we need Pellistri, and so he didn't want the player to go and maybe not play in some of these clubs.

"He wanted Pellistri to stay at the club to work under his coaching staff, so this was the idea. I can tell you in terms of news, that Manchester United are in advanced talks to extend the contract of Facundo Pellistri until June 2028. So they want to give him a new long term deal, and then discuss in the summer for a potential loan move for Pellistri, because this could be an opportunity for him to play, but the priority is to extend the contract."

Should United give Pellistri a chance?

Given that a top four spot looks all but secured with two games remaining, Ten Hag could use the final league matches of the season to give Pellistri a chance in the side, and rotate the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony ahead of the FA Cup final.

Pre-season could go some way in determining whether he is ready for a first-team role, or should be sent out on loan, and regular football elsewhere could be of benefit to him.

United are keen on signing a striker in the summer, and this could further limit his opportunities next season, but it is now clear that Ten Hag sees Pellistri as a big talent in the long run.