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Gary O'Neil and his Wolves side have had a tough start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, losing to Arsenal and Chelsea already, before getting a draw against Nottingham Forest to gain their first point of the season.

One area Wolves were looking to recruit over the summer was midfield, once dominated by a Portuguese trio of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Matheus Nunes. The central department at Molineux has certainly lost a lot of quality in the past few years.

Neves made 48 appearances for Al-Hilal last season in all competitions last season, scoring seven goals, and providing 12 assists in 4,073 minutes.

While Andre was signed from Brazilian shores, they must lust after the return of one player, in particular. That man is midfield sensation Vitinha.

Vitinha's time at Wolves

Vitinha spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan with Wolves, making 22 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring one goal and providing one assist in his 711 minutes played. That sole goal – a long-range stunner – came against Chorley in the FA Cup.

The midfielder played alongside the likes of Neves and Moutinho under manager Nuno Espírito Santo, finishing 13th in the Premier League that season.

The Portugal international initially came through the ranks at Porto, making 59 appearances for their senior team either side of his loan to Wolves, before earning a move to PSG in 2022, joining the club for around €40m (£33.7m).

Since then, he's certainly become a fine young talent, one that's currently valued at £76m by the Parisiens.

Vitinha vs Neves comparison

Vitinha is now a key figure at PSG, making 46 appearances last season for the French giants in all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing five assists.

It's safe to say he's been pretty good. So good in fact that he's incredibly among the Ballon d'Or nominees for 2024. That's a far cry from that wintery night in Chorley, isn't it?

Whilst Vitinha is now entering his prime years, his ex-colleague Neves is currently spending his final playing years in Saudi Arabia. The duo are playing at different levels, but Wolves could certainly do with the passing qualities of either one of these midfielders right now. Here's how they compare…

Stats (per 90 mins)

Vitinha

Neves

Goals

0.23

0.14

Assists

0.13

0.02

Progressive Carries

1.86

0.84

Progressive Passes

7.84

6.51

Shots Total

1.80

1.80

Key Passes

1.66

0.96

Passes into Final Third

7.10

6.03

Tackles

1.60

2.36

Interceptions

1.11

1.54

Vitinha has really started to establish himself as one of the best passers in Europe, completing 7.84 progressive passes per 90, thus ranking within the top 7% of midfielders on the continent for that statistic.

Neves, in his final season at Wolves, averaged fewer progressive passes per 90 (6.51), fewer passes into the final third per 90 (6.03), and fewer key passes per 90 (0.96). Those are number which shows the level Vitinha is currently performing at in France.

An area Neves still outperformed the former loanee when comparing these two seasons is on the defensive end making more tackles and more interceptions per 90. To put those statistics into context, we can compare them to the current duo at Molineux.

Wolves' midfield pairing consists of Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes, who are both brilliant players in their own right. However, Lemina is better known for his off-ball work, averaging 2.82 tackles per 90, whilst Gomes also offers similar assets going box to box, leaving them with a lack of passing quality in the middle.

Vitinha is the exact type of player Wolves could use in midfield to balance things, control games better, and bring their talented attackers such as Matheus Cunha into the game more.

Wolves could unearth the next Ruben Neves in "gifted" academy midfielder

He has impressed on loan in the Championship

1 ByJoe Nuttall Sep 9, 2024

David Lloyd and in-form Kiran Carlson contribute fifties against Northamptonshire

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2021

Chris Cooke celebrates his century•Getty Images

Glamorgan 324 for 7 (Cooke 107* Lloyd 65, Carlson 54) vs NorthamptonshireChris Cooke celebrated his second century of the season as Glamorgan enjoyed a run-filled opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Northamptonshire.Cooke, who had scored an unbeaten 102 against Yorkshire in the season opener, serenely reached the close on 107 not out, after a chanceless afternoon and evening batting.David Lloyd and the in-form Kiran Carlson also reached half-centuries as Glamorgan racked up 324 for 7 having been put in by Northants.Lloyd reached a second half-century in as many matches in 69 balls, during a knock filled with crisp and positive striking.David Lloyd drives through the covers•Getty Images

While Lloyd had feasted on driving Ben Sanderson, Nathan Buck and Wayne Parnell, the experienced Gareth Berg was causing problems and taking wickets with his incisive seamers.The former Middlesex and Hampshire man’s eight-over first spell saw him take two for nine. After a 66-run opening partnership, Berg deceived Nick Selman into leaving a ball which angled into his off stump. Andy Balbirnie was rattled on the pads soon after to hand Berg his second wicket in 10 deliveries.Having bossed the session, Lloyd would have felt disappointed in the manner in which he departed to the last ball before lunch, as he tamely flicked Parnell to midwicket for 65.South African Parnell, who has been forced to wait for his Northants bow after his quarantine was extended by the NHS’ track-and-trace system, struck again after the interval to pin Billy Root.Carlson and Cooke then partnered up to put on 106 for the fifth wicket, with 20 boundaries shared between them thanks to a lightning quick outfield and a tiny square boundary on one side.Carlson has begun this season in style with scores of 55, 127 not out and 132 in his innings against Yorkshire and Sussex. He continued that form by bringing up a rapid 64 ball half-century.Captain Cooke followed him to the milestone with the day’s trademark square drive in 18 more balls than his partner.But Carlson and Callum Taylor fell in successive balls to Saif Zaib – yorked for 54 and beaten past the outside edge respectively – although the part-time spinner couldn’t bag a first Northants hat-trick for 11 years as Dan Douthwaite blocked a potential treble.Douthwaite entertainingly accompanied Cooke in a 92-run union before he was castled by Berg for 44 with the second new ball – Berg ending the day with 3 for 52.But it was Cooke, who had totted runs up almost anonymously, who became the first Glamorgan player to convert their fifty – as he reached a hundred for the sixth time in his first-class career in 180 balls with a glorious straight drive.

Legspinner enjoys successful day after Leicestershire made to follow on

ECB Reporters' Network10-Apr-2021

Mason Crane claimed six wickets in the day•Getty Images

Hampshire took 14 wickets in the day as they closed in on a comprehensive innings victory in their opening LV=Insurance County Championship match against Leicestershire.It took the visitors only 80 minutes to wrap up the Leicestershire first innings after the Foxes resumed on 151 for 4. The rout started with the second ball of the day, when non-striker Colin Ackermann, who had shared a partnership of 68 for the fourth wicket with Harry Swindells, was called through for a quick single and was well short of his ground when James Vince’s throw hit the stumps.Swindells went on to make a career-best 59 but fell to legspinner Mason Crane, who found good turn to pick up 3 for 11 in his spell.”We’d have taken 14 wickets at the start of the day and to be only two wickets away from victory is a nice feeling,” Crane said. “We stuck at it well. Any day you take six wickets is a good one and there was a bit of spin and bounce at times, though it was quite slow – I’d always settle for that in April. We’ve got the new ball now so hopefully we can get the job done.”Leicestershire’s second innings followed a similar pattern, though Harry Dearden hit some fine off-side drives in going to 62 and Lewis Hill battled hard in making 65. But there was controversy in the dismissal of Hassan Azad, the opener being given out stumped off Liam Dawson when wicketkeeper Lewis McManus knocked off the bails with his left hand while the ball was in his right hand, which was raised in the air as he appealed for a catch.Crane was again amongst the wickets, dismissing Dearden, Swindells and Ben Mike, but Leicestershire’s stubborn late resistance ensured play would go into a fourth day.Swindells said: “We tried to battle but 50s and 60s don’t win you games, once you get in you’ve got to go big, like James Vince and Liam Dawson did for Hampshire, and that’s a lesson we have to learn. I feel comfortable batting in the top six, but you’ve got to get big runs to keep justifying that trust. Getting 200 in our first innings on that track was way below par, it’s a 350-400 track.”

Nottingham Forest have been credited with making an ambitious move to sign a new striker this summer as Nuno Espírito Santo looks to bolster his ranks ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Nottingham Forest need goals

After securing Premier League survival on the final day of last season, Forest have been circumspect in their spending so far this summer by their recent standards. Moves for Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic have set the club back close to £50m, but they have been relatively frugal aside from that.

Nottingham Forest's new signings

Player

Fee

Elliot Anderson

£35m

Nikola Milenkovic

£12m

Jota Silva

£6m

Marko Stamenic

£4.6m

Carlos Miguel

£3.3m

Eric da Silva Moreira

£1m

It means that they are still yet to address their goalscoring issue, with only Burnley, Everton and Sheffield United having scored fewer than the City Ground side last season, and that return bolstered by an amazing run of form by Chris Wood.

Taiwo Awoniyi is highly-rated across the top flight but has yet to be able to stretch together a run of games for the Reds in his two seasons at the club. The Nigerian managed just 12 Premier League starts in 2023/24, following on from his 17 starts in his debut campaign.

As a result, a striker is likely to be on their transfer wishlist between now and the end of the summer transfer window, with the window slamming shut on August 30th, two weeks into the new season.

Nottingham Forest make contact over ambitious move

Now, it has been reported that Forest have made contact over an audacious move for Mexican striker Santiago Gimenez. The 23-year-old forward wowed Eredivisie viewers last season as he hit 23 goals in 30 outings, a return which saw him linked with a move to the Premier League amid reported interest from the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal.

"Gimenez truly is fantastic," Feyenoord icon Mario Been claimed after one particularly strong performance. "He hadn't even touched the ball before his first goal, but that was a fantastic finish."

However, Arsenal's interest in the £29k per week ace has gone cold, while Tottenham are advancing over a deal to sign Dominic Solanke which would also rule them out of any race for the Feyenoord man.

That has allowed other clubs to pursue a deal, and journalist Martijn Krabbendam claims that Nottingham Forest have made a move to sign the Mexico forward.

“There is slight interest in Giménez, Nottingham Forest did call,” he explained, though he added that Gimenez may be looking at a bigger club were he to leave Feyenoord this summer.

“I cannot imagine that Giménez would like that, or the amount must be enormous. There is talk that he will and can still go. Giménez also has to be sold at some point."

A move for Gimenez, who is valued by transfermarkt at a massive £34m, would certainly be a statement of intent from Forest, who have already shown in Sangare that they are willing to splash out on talent from the Dutch top flight if they believe it to be a good deal.

Rishabh Pant, Cheteshwar Pujara led recovery but hefty deficit remains

Matt Roller07-Feb-20211:16

Bell: The best we’ve seen of Bess in an England shirt

Contrasting half-centuries from Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara led the recovery after India lost four early wickets in reply to England’s first-innings total of 578, but they remain in danger of having to follow on as they attempt to save the first Test at Chepauk.Jofra Archer had removed both openers in a skilful new-ball burst, before Dom Bess struck to dismiss Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane to leave India 73 for 4 before drinks on the third afternoon and still more than 500 runs in arrears.Pant launched a breathless counter-attack, hitting nine fours and five sixes as he dominated Jack Leach either side of tea, while Pujara worked the ball around in a more restrained innings. But both men fell to Bess in the evening session, leaving India 321 runs behind at the close and needing a tail-end rearguard on the fourth morning to avoid batting again.In the morning session, India waited 5.2 overs before taking the third new ball, but struck immediately after doing so when Jasprit Bumrah pinned Bess lbw, playing around his front pad. R Ashwin’s hard toil brought him his third wicket, clean-bowling the slog-sweeping James Anderson to leave England 578 all out having added 23 to their overnight score.Related

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Archer provided an early breakthrough with the new ball, with his fast leg-cutter finding Rohit Sharma’s outside edge as he poked defensively on the back foot. Shubman Gill, in his first Test innings at home, played his shots and looked in superb touch as he clipped Anderson off his pads and drove Archer through straight midwicket.But Gill too fell inside the first 10 overs. Shaping to play an on-drive against a full ball from Archer, Gill was through his shot early as it gripped in the surface, with Archer pulling his fingers down the side of the ball. Anderson dived sharply to his left at mid-on, and took a good low catch six inches from the ground to leave India 44 for 2.Joe Root decided to back his spinners after lunch, with Bess returning after a solitary over before the break. With seamers rotating at the other end, Bess settled into his rhythm against Pujara and Kohli, finding a good length outside the off stump and letting natural variation from the pitch do most of the work.Rishabh Pant congratulates Cheteshwar Pujara on his fifty•BCCI

Kohli never settled at the crease. He was beaten outside the off stump by Archer, with early signs of reverse-swing, and chipped Bess just short of midwicket in the following over. His dismissal came thanks to a clever piece of bowling, as Bess pushed the ball a fraction wider outside off stump, finding sharp turn and extra bounce from a length. Kohli lunged forward to defend towards cover-point, but could only inside-edge to Ollie Pope at short leg.Bess struck again six balls later. He overpitched outside off, as Rahane shimmied down to turn a full ball into a low full toss, and drove uppishly into the covers. Root, in tight, flung himself to his left, putting out a hopeful left hand and, to his delight – and England’s, the ball stuck. India were 73 for 4, still 505 runs behind and in deep trouble.But Pant, fresh from his fourth-innings heroics at the Gabba, was never likely to rest on his laurels. Instead, he took Archer for a couple of early boundaries, and when Pujara drove Bess for a pair of fours through mid-off, Root turned to Jack Leach, looking to make use of the footholes outside Pant’s off stump.At that moment, Pant made the decision to attack. With men in close around the bat, and the ball spinning, zipping, spitting and bouncing out of the rough as early as the second morning when Shahbaz Nadeem had bowled to Ben Stokes, he concluded that defending was the riskier option, not least when the second ball he faced from Leach bounced sharply from outside off to find his inside edge. To his next ball, he skipped down the pitch and planted Leach over long-on, and then just about cleared the fielder at deep midwicket a ball later.Leach stuck to his guns, finding a good length wide outside the off stump and aiming for the footmarks, but Pant continued to hit him over the top, launching him for two more sixes in his first spell. With the spotlight on Pant, Pujara then benefitted as the spinners missed their lengths, pulling well off the back foot and working singles and twos at will. Both men reached their half-centuries with boundaries in the 40th over: Pujara’s came from 106 balls, Pant’s off 40.The seamers returned after tea without managing to stem the steady flow, though Anderson struck Pujara on the glove with an in-dipper from a length that reared up off the pitch. Pujara continued to score freely against Bess when he returned, but then fell to a stroke of bad luck: rocking back to a long-hop, he pulled Bess into Pope’s back as he took evasive action at short leg, with the ball looping up into Rory Burns’ hands at midwicket.Pant continued to attack Leach, but then fell to Bess: he charged down the pitch, but lost his shape as the ball turned away from the bat, and holed out to Leach in the deep on the off side. Ashwin and Sundar saw India through to stumps with a useful stand – Sundar was dropped on 25, Archer shelling the catch running back – but England remained in the ascendancy at stumps.

Australia lost at the Gabba for the first time since 1988 and it was their second consecutive series defeat at home to India

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2021Tim Paine conceded that Australia had been outplayed at key moments throughout the series against India as he was left presiding over a second consecutive series defeat against them and became the first Australia captain to lose at the Gabba since 1988.Having set India 328 for victory, nearly 100 more than had even been successfully chased at the ground before, Australia were favourites heading into the final day but never took wickets in groups as India built the perfect run chase.Pat Cummins gave them hope when he struck with the new ball, but Rishabh Pant brilliantly marshaled the closing stages against a forlorn home side.”Absolutely disappointed, no doubt about that,” Paine said. “[It was] probably a bit of a trend the whole series, in the key moments, whether with bat or in the field we were found wanting and completely outplayed by a disciplined really tough India side who really deserved this series win.””I thought India turned up today, their batting group put their bodies on the line. Wore balls in the hand, arm, chest and just kept soldiering on so full credit to them.”After the final day in Sydney when Paine was left under the spotlight for his on-field behavior – for which he later apologised – this result will add further pressure on him. For the second time in two Tests Australia could not bowl India out on the last day and Nathan Lyon was left on 399 Test wickets.Their next Test cricket is due to be in a few weeks time with a tour to South Africa although details of the trip are still to be confirmed. They now need at least a 2-0 victory in that to earn a spot in the World Test Championship final.”There’s a lot of things we can look back on over the whole series and do better, there’s no doubt,” Paine said. “What’s done is done. We’ll go through it. We’ve got to look forward now, got a big series coming up in South Africa. We’ve been outplayed by a better side in this series. They’ll be some areas we need to improve, no doubt about that.”

The possibility of one high-earning Chelsea ace being used in a swap deal for a Real Madrid player has been mooted this week, as Todd Boehly and the recruitment team look to both trim Enzo Maresca's squad and upgrade his options simultaneously.

Chelsea undergo busy summer as they seal signings and departures

The confirmed signings of Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Omari Kellyman, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Brazilian starlet Estevao Willian bring Chelsea's total expenditure of the window to around £81 million so far, and the soon-to-be signing of Renato Veiga from FC Basel will take that up to £93 million.

Chelsea have 5 days to sign "incredible" forward for £25m

The Blues could snap up a cheap deal.

ByEmilio Galantini Jul 10, 2024

Boehly, assisted by his co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have operated cleverly to ensure Chelsea are not flying too close to the wind in regard to PSR by agreeing a host of outgoing transfers.

Ian Maatsen, Omari Hutchinson, Lewis Hall, Michael Golding, Thiago Silva and Hakim Ziyech have all departed Stamford Bridge to the tune of around £89 million – meaning Chelsea have registered a net spend of just £4 million so far.

The aforementioned bunch are now also trimmed off the wage bill, saving Chelsea more cash, but a few more expected to follow them out the door. Armando Broja, Malang Sarr, Romelu Lukaku, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell, Mykhailo Mudryk and Conor Gallagher are other players who could be sold by Chelsea, according to various reports from the last few months.

Chelsea are under pressure to sell Gallagher with his contract expiring in under 12 months, while the likes of Lukaku don't appear to have a future under Maresca. Another high-earning player who could leave with the Belgian is goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is believed to be on around £155,000 per week.

Number

Total

Appearances

163

Goals conceded

175

Clean sheets

59

Bookings

10

Minutes played

14,521

via Transfermarkt

The 29-year-old, who spent last season on loan at the Bernabeu, is also attracting interest from Saudi Arabia and could reunite with N'Golo Kante at Al-Ittihad (Rudy Galetti).

Arrizabalaga is also rumoured to be very keen on quitting Chelsea this summer, and a move back to Real Madrid may well be on the cards for him.

Arrizabalaga could be used in Chelsea swap deal for Lunin

According to The Boot Room, Arrizabalaga could be used in a Chelsea swap deal for Real keeper Andriy Lunin.

Chelsea have enquired over the possibility of signing the Ukraine international, who featured at Euro 2024, amid his contractual standoff with Carlo Ancelotti's side.

Lunin's deal is set to expire next summer as things stand, with Real under pressure to agree an extension or consider selling. If talks don't progress over a new contract, it is believed Chelsea are among the sides who could look to strike a deal with Florentino Perez.

Tottenham are now prepared to pay the £38 million asking price for a Euro 2024 star this summer, after pressing forward with intent "in recent days".

Spurs looking to sign new defenders this summer

With Ryan Sessegnon, Japhet Tanganga, Ivan Perisic, Eric Dier and potentially Djed Spence out of the door already, Spurs are believed to be targeting defensive additions this summer, in an effort to hand Ange Postecoglou more strength in depth.

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The Romanian only signed in January.

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Sessegnon, Tanganga, Perisic and Dier are set to leave Spurs following the expiry of their contracts on June 30, while Spence is in talks over a permanent switch from Spurs to Genoa after spending the second half of 23/24 on loan there.

AC Milan are also actively pursuing a deal for Emerson Royal as well, and with the Brazilian looking likely to leave N17, Postecoglou's defence could look a bit different by the start of next campaign.

With Royal's move to Italy looking like a possibility, Tottenham could sign a new Pedro Porro back-up this summer, and it is believed that another centre-back is high up on their transfer agenda.

Spurs sealed a £25 million deal for Radu Dragusin in January, but it remains the case that they're after central defensive options to shore up Postecoglou's back line further.

Tottenham's best-performing defenders in the league last season

Average match rating (via WhoScored)

Pedro Porro

7.04

Cristian Romero

7.03

Micky van de Ven

6.79

Destiny Udogie

6.71

Ben Davies

6.62

The Australian, speaking to media earlier this year, even admitted that it would be one of their priorities for this window.

“If you’re saying, ‘Is it an area we can strengthen?’, yes it’s an area we will probably look at”, said Postecoglou on signing another centre-back. “With all these things, it’s about trying to strengthen the group as much as anything else.

"If you think about when I first arrived, we had maybe six or seven centre-backs at the club. So it’s not just numbers. It’s more about the ability of those players to play the football we want and to fit in to what we’re trying to build here.

“I think it is an area of the park we will look to strengthen, but I think we’ll look to strengthen all areas of the park come the end of the season. That is planning that’s already underway, and other people are in charge of it at the moment.”

Tottenham prepared to pay asking price for Calafiori

According to Tutto Juve, an update has emerged on their pursuit of Euro 2024 star Riccardo Calafiori. The Italy centre-back was called "extraordinary" by Gianluca Zambrotta for his performance against Albania in their opening group game, and was unfortunate for the ball to deflect off him and into the back of his own net during their 1-0 defeat to Spain on Thursday.

Tutto claim Spurs have moved to evaluate the conditions of a move for the 22-year-old "in recent days", and it is believed Tottenham are prepared to pay Bologna's £38 million asking price for Calafiori.

However, they still have some convincing to do on the player's side, as it is believed he prefers a move to Juventus right now.

Enzo Maresca has been tasked with the job of returning Chelsea to the top of the Premier League following his appointment from Leicester City earlier this month.

The Italian arrives at Stamford Bridge following his time with the Foxes in the Championship, where he claimed the league title in his first season in senior management.

Maresca inherits a side on the up, with the Blues finishing in a Europa League place despite a terrible start to the campaign which saw the club win just one of their first six Premier League outings in 2023/24.

It’s safe to say he will have a lot of players at his disposal, with owner Todd Boehly making 22 first-team additions during the last two years – with more players expected to follow suit during the transfer window.

There will need to be a compromise to all the new additions, with players needing to be sold from Stamford Bridge during the off-season to balance the books and avoid a punishment from the Premier League for breaking their FFP rules.

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ByStephan Georgiou Apr 16, 2024

One player in particular is surely set for an exit from the club after spending the last two years on temporary loan stints away from the Blues.

Romelu Lukaku’s stats at Chelsea since 2021

Despite joining the club for a reported £97.5m fee back in the summer of 2021, striker Romelu Lukaku has failed to provide any value for money, scoring just 15 times in his 44 appearances after rejoining Chelsea.

He’s subsequently been on two separate loan spells away from England, joining Serie A duo Inter Milan and Roma in a bid to reignite his once red-hot form in front of goal.

The Belgian has found the net on 35 occasions between the two loan stints, but it might not be enough to force himself back into Maresca’s plans next season.

Given his expensive fee, the club will look to recoup as much of the money as possible, allowing Lukaku to have a fresh start after a dismal second spell in the Premier League for Chelsea.

However, he’s been selected by his nation to feature at Euro 2024, but his fortunes haven’t changed, producing a below-par display in Belgium’s shock 1-0 defeat against Slovakia yesterday.

Lukaku’s stats for Belgium against Slovakia

Belgium started their Euro 2024 campaign in Germany on Monday afternoon, facing Slovakia – a game in which Domenico Tedesco’s side were huge favourites to win.

However, Lukaku and Co failed to produce any quality, with the striker producing a shambolic display, which led to journalist Francois Plateau branding the 31-year-old as “terrible”.

He featured for the entirety of the contest but only managed 27 touches – an average of just one touch every 3.3 minutes during the unexpected defeat.

He was just as careless when he eventually received the ball, making just 14 passes and losing possession five times while straying into an offside position on two separate occasions.

Minutes played

90

Touches

27

Passes completed

14

Possession lost

5

Times caught offside

2

Big chances missed

3

Duels won

1/3 (33%)

However, Lukaku’s most disappointing part of his display came in the attacking third, missing three big chances and having two goals ruled out for offside and a foul in the build up to what Belgium thought was a late equaliser.

As a result, the centre-forward was handed a 4/10 match rating by Goal, with the striker receiving the joint-lowest rating of any Belgium player in an afternoon to forget for the nation.

Given his woeful display, Chelsea must cash in on Lukaku, with the attacker evidently a shadow of his former self and looking more sluggish as the months tick by.

They will undoubtedly lose a whole load on their huge investment from a number of years ago, but they can easily recoup a fee in the region of £30m which could allow Maresca to invest the funds generated in a new focal point for the Blues.

Chelsea lining up £30m Euro 2024 star who’s better than Colwill & Guehi

The Blues are battling against Tottenham for this talented player’s signature.

ByAngus Sinclair Jun 17, 2024

Aston Villa transfer chief Monchi and manager Unai Emery are both convinced the club can strike a deal for a £79,000-per-week ace, following talks with his entourage.

Villa seal Champions League place as Monchi prepares for summer

It's been a historic full debut campaign for Emery, who has now officially guided Villa to Champions League qualification following Tottenham's 2-0 loss at home to Man City earlier this week.

Aston Villa in pole position after Emery pushes for £50m+ Barcelona target

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The Spaniard has grown deeply popular with the fanbase after an exceptional last 19 months, following up Steven Gerrard's brief reign with real aplomb.

Villa will participate in Europe's most prestigious competition next season for the first time since 1983, with Emery's side boasting the fourth-best defensive record in the league and fifth-best in terms of goals scored.

Aston Villa 3-3 Liverpool

Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea

Aston Villa 3-1 Bournemouth

Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa

Following what has been a very memorable 2023/24 for Villa supporters, attention now turns to the summer transfer window and how Monchi could seek to back Emery with crucial potential signings.

The Midlands side are looking to strengthen across the board, with reports suggesting this week Villa are in pole position to sign Villarreal attacker Alex Baena. The Spaniard could cost around £52 million to prise away from La Liga, as is the value of his release clause, so it will be interesting to see if they decide to trigger it.

Villa have also held talks with Kelechi Iheanacho, as the Nigeria international is set to leave Leicester City for nothing this summer after the expiry of his contract. Defensively, Atletico Madrid ace Reinildo Mandava is on Emery's personal radar, and reports have even claimed he's urged Monchi to make a move for the Mozambique ace.

Emery and Monchi are also looking at upgrades for the engine room, so much so that a Paris Saint-Germain player is turning their heads.

Emery and Monchi convinced Villa can strike Carlos Soler deal

According to HITC this week, the Birmingham giants have opened talks with PSG midfielder Carlos Soler.

The Spaniard, once a star at former club Valencia, has played more of a bit-part role this season at the Parc des Princes. He's managed just 11 Ligue 1 starts, with most of his 23 French top-flight appearances coming off the bench.

This has stirred doubt over his future under Luis Enrique, and HITC claims the 27-year-old has been offered out to Arsenal, Man City and Tottenham. However, it is Emery's men who are favourites to sign him.

Indeed, both Emery and Monchi are convinced Villa can strike a deal for Soler after holding discussions with his camp pre-summer. On a reported £79,000 per week at PSG, they wouldn't exactly have to break their wage bill to bring him to England, and Soler could be worth the punt based on the praise he has received.

“We know his quality,” former PSG coach Christophe Galtier said in 2022.

“He has technical quality and the ability to get into the opposition penalty area. He’s from the Spanish school, keeps things tight. He didn’t start many games, but he’s a scorer.”