Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer has, in an exclusive chat with GOAL, been urged to jump at the chance of moving to Barcelona or Real Madrid if the giants from La Liga ever come calling. The England international has become one of the Premier League’s brightest lights, while also impressing with the Three Lions, and is likely to register on the recruitment radar of leading sides around the world in upcoming transfer windows.

• Getty Images / GOAL
  

  Palmer's Chelsea record: England star shining for Blues

  Palmer moved to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City for £40 million ($54m) in 2023. He enjoyed a memorable debut campaign in west London, registering 25 goals and being named PFA Young Player of the Year. His output dipped slightly in 2024-25, finding the target on 18 occasions, but was still able to help the Blues to Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup honours.

  Chelsea have moved to tie Palmer down on a contract through to 2033, as they seek to ensure that they are the ones to benefit from his current ability and future potential, but there are no guarantees that said terms will be honoured. Any player in world football would find it difficult to shun interest from the likes of Barca and Real if they were to put a formal bid on the table.

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• Barcelona or Real Madrid: Interest difficult to shun

  Quizzed on whether he would like to see Palmer embrace a challenge outside of the Premier League, former Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet – speaking via Casino.org, known for helping Brits find reliable online casinos – told GOAL: "I always encourage the English players to go abroad. One thing that they miss is to see something different. I always said when we played in England, as soon as a foreign player started playing the football you play anywhere else in the world, it’s ‘that one cheats, that one goes down’. Okay, the word cheat probably was right, but we play like that all over the world. I want to say to the English players ‘go to Spain, you wouldn’t last five minutes because they go down every 20 seconds’. You need to learn that game as well and another country. I think it is always a good learning situation.

  "It’s individual, though, because the Premier League is the best – that is non-negotiable. I don’t care what anyone says. Spain had a moment when it was close to the Premier League, only because [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo were there. Now, there is no comparison. You are in the best league in the world, so I imagine that for players to go from the best to somewhere else is difficult. I would say if it is a top team, a Real Madrid, then you must. You will have an incredible and unique experience, not only in football but also in life. You will learn from that for the future, forever. I would like to see those quality players go to other places and enjoy that."

• Getty
  

  Chelsea need to match Palmer's ambition

  Poyet previously told GOAL of Chelsea needing to remain fiercely competitive on multiple fronts in order to match Palmer’s ambition: "Sometimes players go to a club, they perform, show what they can do and become really big. I like him because I didn’t know and when I saw him at Chelsea I went ‘wow’. Now, after two years being there, if he sees he isn’t going to get the Chelsea he thought was coming, maybe he will think about moving on as well.

  "It’s an issue. Not for the fans, I know them well and from when the team was just starting to win and a cup was magic for them – an FA Cup, a Carling Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup, those situations were incredible. Then it was [Jose] Mourinho and [Roman] Abramovich and they wanted to win the league. Then you don’t want to lose that status. Now it is ‘where are we going?’ I understand the Chelsea fans. The most important thing is the top message to the fans, so you know the aim and what is realistic for Chelsea. They should be aiming for the top four, and that’s it."

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• Palmer injury: Will Chelsea star require surgery?

  Chelsea are currently having to cope without Palmer as he is nursing a groin injury. He has sat out the Blues’ last two fixtures – with Enzo Maresca’s side on a run of two wins in six across all competitions – with questions being asked of whether he will be forced to undergo surgery.

After a few years away, Chelsea are finally back in Champions League action tonight.

It won’t be an easy reintroduction to Europe’s premier competition, though, as Enzo Maresca’s Conference League winners will be taking on Bayern Munich.

The German champions are stacked with incredible players in every position, but the one the Blues have to be most wary of is undoubtedly Harry Kane.

The England captain has the ability to take games away from teams, although Chelsea have a superstar of their own, someone who could well outshine Kane.

Chelsea's record against Bayern Munich

Despite both Bayern and Chelsea being two of the biggest clubs in European football and consistently competing for the top prizes in recent decades, they’ve only played one another in five competitive games.

The first was back in the 2004/05 season, in which the Baverians travelled to West London for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, a game the hosts won 4-2, which was then followed by a 3-2 win for the German giants in the second leg.

However, the most famous meeting between the two institutions came just over 13 years ago, when Roberto Di Matteo’s side managed to beat the odds and claim their first Champions League title by beating Jupp Heynckes’ men 4-3 on penalties.

It was in that game that Didier Drogba scored his most famous goal for the Blues, and Petr Čech played a crucial role by saving a penalty from Arjen Robben in extra time.

Unfortunately, FC Hollywood have had the upper hand in the two games since that incredible final.

They demolished Frank Lampard’s side 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash in February 2020, and then completed the job with a 4-1 win when the competition resumed that August after the first lockdown.

In all, while Bayern have won most of their encounters, Chelsea fans wouldn’t swap their records thanks to that famous night in Munich. Although with that said, Maresca will be looking to improve that record tonight, and so long as he starts the player who could upstage Kane, then there is every chance he will.

Chelsea star could outshine Kane

While they’ve received plenty of criticism for their transfer strategy over the years, Chelsea now have a team packed with brilliant players.

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

The likes of Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernández could get into most top teams around Europe, but without a doubt, the Blues’ best player is Cole Palmer.

The former Manchester City gem is the definition of a game-changer, and should he be on song against Bayern, there is every chance he could outshine Kane.

While the England captain is that bit more prolific a goalscorer, almost everything good the West Londoners do goes through their dazzling number ten, so much so that GOAL’s Sean Walsh once suggested that he is “Lampard, Drogba & Hazard all in one”, combining the best attributes of three Stamford Bridge legends.

Rather unsurprising, Chelsea’s fortunes changed for the better when he came on at the weekend, entering the fray on Saturday in the 56th minute and just five minutes later scoring the equalising goal for his side.

It was hardly a surprise, though, as in 99 appearances for the Pensioners, totalling 7984 minutes, the “generational talent,” as dubbed by journalist Scott Bradley, has scored 44 goals and provided 29 assists.

In other words, the 23-year-old has maintained an average of a goal involvement every 1.35 games, or every 109.36 minutes, which is frankly absurd.

Appearances

99

Minutes

7984′

Goals

44

Assists

29

Goal Involvements per Match

0.73

Minutes per Goal Involvements

109.36′

Moreover, he proved himself to be a big-game player at the Club World Cup, scoring two goals in the final against a heavily favoured Paris Saint-Germain.

Ultimately, while Bayern will be the favourites, Chelsea have every chance of coming away with all three points tomorrow night, especially if Palmer starts and is on song.

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ByDominic Lund Sep 15, 2025

There was a time when Virat Kohli could be kept quiet by spin bowling. Then last year, in keeping with the Indian team’s new direction in T20 cricket, he upped his game when pace was taken off the ball. Kohli began IPL 2025 with an innings full of intent, and on the eve of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s game against Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk, there is once again focus on what he will do when he faces R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad.”He has batted well in the recent past against spin, especially in white-ball cricket,” RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik said, “So, I don’t want to go too deep into stats. I am not very aware. But if I remember, in the [T20] World Cup finals, he got runs where it mattered. And apart from that, in the Champions Trophy, he had a good tournament second-highest run-getter [for India]. And that doesn’t come without playing on spin.”So, I believe right now, he is batting as well as he has ever done. And you speak to him even today, just now as I came out. He wanted to work on one more shot. At this point of time, to work on one more shot, tells you the hunger that he has in his mindset. He wants to just improve and keep raising the bar. So, he is a special player. And at this point of time, the way I see it, he is batting as confidently and as well as he has ever done in IPL.”Related

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The conditions in Chennai haven’t always been spin-friendly though. CSK coach Stephen Fleming has previously stressed on wanting to get back their home advantage. His preference remains the same – “if it does turn, great”, he said – but he does appear to be at peace with whatever he gets on match day.”It’s difficult,” Fleming said. “We don’t have much influence, really, on what comes up. Each pitch has a different characteristic. We’ve found that. So we’ll work really hard from ball one to try and work out what we have, trying to get us a team that’s pretty well-equipped for all conditions because that’s been the key to playing here.”We do find it’s a flat wicket. We’ve got guys that are good at bowling in those conditions. If it does turn, great. I’m sure we won’t get a green seamer, so the other two is what we’re looking for.”Noor Ahmad has given CSK’s attack a point of difference•BCCI

Fleming also had a theory on why mystery spin is so popular in T20 cricket. “A lot of these players are coming straight out of one season or half a season, two seasons at most, of first-class cricket. So they haven’t got a lot of grounding. They haven’t got the 10 years of first-class experience, but they’re incredibly powerful. So they know how to hit the ball, hit it a long way, but the subtleties of the game is something that you learn over time.”When you’re young and getting these big opportunities, sometimes you haven’t had the experience against a wide range of bowlers. So for many, it’s coming up against this type of player [mystery spinner] for the first time, and it’s a tough stage. But their default position is power, so you still have to be very smart with what you do. But that’s why we think players with a little bit of difference make a big difference.”

It was football’s biggest awards ceremony last night: the Ballon d’Or.

Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, only two players made it onto the final list of 30 names, and the winner, Ousmane Dembélé, was one of the main reasons Mikel Arteta’s side failed to qualify for the Champions League final last season.

However, even though the Emirates faithful might not be the Frenchman’s biggest fans for that reason, it’s hard to deny he doesn’t deserve the award, as his Paris Saint-Germain side won pretty much all there was to win last season.

With that said, despite being one of the very best players in the world, Dembélé is actually worth millions less than an Arsenal star.

Arsenal's representatives at the Ballon d'Or

So while four of the women’s team made it into the top ten for the Women’s Ballon d’Or, the men’s team weren’t quite as successful.

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Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

In fact, no player from Arteta’s squad made it into the top ten, but two did make it into the top 30, including Viktor Gyokeres.

The Swede ranked 15th, and such a high finish is explained best by the fact that he also won the Gerd Müller Trophy for scoring more than anyone else in 24/25 for club and country.

The second Gunners representative on the list was Declan Rice, who finished in 27th place.

Despite the team underperforming somewhat last season, the former West Ham United star had another stellar campaign for the club.

On top of being a bulldog in the middle of the park, the Englishman was able to produce 19 goal involvements in 52 games.

Moreover, those free-kicks against Real Madrid should be reason enough for him to get on the list.

With all that said, there is another Arsenal star missing from the 2025 list, who’ll surely make it onto next year’s one, someone who is also worth millions more than Dembélé.

The Arsenal star worth millions more than Dembélé

While they weren’t well represented at the Ballon d’Or this year, Arsenal now have a squad filled to the brim with outrageous talent, and the pick of the bunch is undoubtedly Bukayo Saka.

Unsurprisingly, then, it is the Hale End icon who is worth more than this year’s winner, with the CIES Football Observatory valuing him at a whopping €115.1m, which rounds up to £101m.

The Paris Saint-Germain star, on the other hand, is valued at €60.9m, which translates to approximately £53m, or £48m less than the Gunners’ talismanic superstar.

Now, there may be a number of you who disagree with such valuations, but there are likely a few reasons why the Englishman is worth so much more than the Champions League winner, notably his age.

For example, he has only just turned 24, whereas the Frenchman is now 28, and according to research carried out by The Athletic, is coming out of his peak years.

Moreover, when we compare his efforts from the 20/21 season – when he was 24 – to Saka’s last year, it’s clear the England international is ahead of him in terms of development.

For example, the then-Barcelona player recorded just 16 goal involvements in 44 appearances, totalling 2,704 minutes, which translates to a goal involvement every 2.75 games, or every 169 minutes.

Appearances

37

44

Minutes

2619′

2704′

Goals

12

11

Assists

14

5

Goal Involvements per Match

0.70

0.36

Minutes per Goal Involvement

100.73′

169.00′

In contrast, the North Londoners’ “future legend,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 37 appearances, totalling 2,619 minutes, last season.

In other words, he averaged a goal involvement every 1.42 games, or every 100.73 minutes, which is an incredible rate of return.

Ultimately, nobody would deny that Dembélé had a far better season than Saka last year.

However, the Arsenal star is four years younger and far ahead of the PSG ace at the same age, and therefore, it makes sense for him to be worth such an astronomical fee.

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It would be fair to say that it’s been a reasonably successful transfer window for Manchester United so far this summer.

On top of shipping off a few unwanted stars, like Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund, they’ve massively improved Ruben Amorim’s attack.

The triumvirate of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Bryan Mbeumo has the potential to be one of the very best in the Premier League, although even with them in the side, there are a couple of areas that still need addressing.

Fortunately, it looks like the Red Devils are closing in on another signing who has been compared to Eric Cantona and could be viewed as a Mbuemo repeat.

Manchester United target their new Catona

According to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United remain interested in signing Emiliano Martínez.

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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

In fact, the Italian journalist goes further, revealing that personal terms have now been agreed and that the Argentinian shot-stopper now “wants to join” the Red Devils.

Romano does not state just how much Aston Villa might want for their £150k-per-week star, but reports from earlier in the summer claimed that the Aston Villa ace may cost around £40m.

Even then, for a player of his quality, that may well be a price worth paying, especially as he has been compared to Cantona and could be seen in a similar light to Mbeumo.

How Martínez compares to Catona and Mbeumo

Before examining the reasons Martinez could be considered another Mbeumo for Manchester United, it’s worth looking into this comparison to Cantona, as the retired goalscorer is a legend of the club and English football.

In this instance, it stems from Sky Sports analyst Dougie Critchley, who boldly described the Argentine as the “Cantona of his generation.”

It might sound like a wild take, especially as the two internationals play, or played, in totally different positions, but when you take where they played out of the equation, it starts to make a lot more sense.

Outside of scoring for fun, what was the Frenchman known for? Arrogance and bravado.

Now, that might sound like a bad thing, and outside of football it may well be, but in the context of the beautiful game, it is most certainly a positive, and a massive one at that.

The former United magician was a natural-born entertainer and someone who thrived on the biggest stage, which is exactly how you would describe the World Cup-winning Villa man.

On top of pulling out world-class save after world-class save in the biggest games, he is a natural entertainer, someone rival fans love to hate, but would love to have at their club.

With that cleared up, why could he then also be another Mbeumo for Amorim and Co?

Well, this comparison is all down to the club signing a ready-made Premier League-proven superstar who could come right into the starting line-up for the next game.

After all, the former Arsenal ace has won two of the last two Yashin Trophies and won two of the last three FIFA Best Goalkeeper awards.

As if that wasn’t enough, he also won last 24/25’s Premier League Save of the Season for his magnificent stop against Nottingham Forest.

Ultimately, Martinez possesses the same swagger and confidence as Cantona, and the proven track record of Mbuemo, so even if his price tag is a little high, Man United should do everything in their power to bring him to Old Trafford before 7pm.

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Originally a white-ball series for both formats, the boards agreed to make it an all-T20I series with a T20 World Cup early next year

Danyal Rasool30-Apr-2025

Faisalabad will host international cricket for the first time in 17 years when Bangladesh visit Pakistan for five T20Is in May. A total of 24 Tests and 16 ODIs have been played at the Iqbal Stadium, but this will be the first time it will host T20I cricket when the first two T20Is of the series are played there on May 25 and 27.The remaining three games will take place at the newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium; it will mark the first time Pakistan’s national side will play international cricket here since the redevelopment. All five matches, which take place at the height of the dry summer season, will start at 8pm, when temperatures are relatively more moderate.Related

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The addition of Faisalabad to Pakistan’s international venue list makes it the fifth city in Pakistan to host international cricket since it resumed following a near-decade long hiatus after the terror attacks against the Sri Lankan national side in 2009. It supplements Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Multan: the four cities where international matches have taken place in during this time.Bangladesh’s visit to Pakistan was initially pencilled in as a joint T20I and ODI series, with three games in each format. However, the boards agreed to replace the ODIs with two additional T20Is as preparation for the T20 World Cup in February-March 2026, scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka.Bangladesh are due to arrive in Pakistan on 21 May, with the final T20I on 3 June. A return series in Bangladesh is scheduled for July, with the sides expected to contest four T20Is, though the official schedule of that series is yet to be confirmed.The series begins a week after the end of the Pakistan Super League on 18 May, extending a home season for Pakistan that has been almost non-stop since England’s visit for a three-Test series in October. Bangladesh, meanwhile, are currently contesting a two-Test series against Zimbabwe at home.

An assistant to the agent of striker Viktor Gyokeres has revealed that Manchester United agreed a higher fee than what Arsenal paid for the Swedish hitman. The Gunners won the race to sign Gyokeres earlier this year having been linked with the former Sporting striker and now-United star Benjamin Sesko. However, Sporting would have preferred to sell to United, who offered more for the player than Arsenal.

Getty Images SportGyokeres turned down Amorim reunion

Arsenal won the race for Gyokeres, who went on strike to force through a move to the Emirates in the summer transfer window. The Gunners agreed a reported £64 million fee with Sporting for the powerhouse Sweden international, who scored 39 league goals last season.

Many felt Gyokeres would opt for a move to Old Trafford, where he'd have reunited with former Sporting boss Ruben Amorim. The 27-year-old, though, favoured a move to the capital, turning down the opportunity to link up with the Portuguese boss once more and moving to the Gunners. 

Meanwhile, Manchester United ended up splashing out £74m to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig instead, adding the forward to the squad along with fellow new attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Advertisement'United offered a higher transfer fee'

Jonathan Chalkias, an assistant to Gyokeres' agent Hasan Cetinkaya, has now claimed that Sporting would have preferred to sell the forward to United, claiming that the Premier League powerhouse had agreed to pay over the odds for the former Coventry man.

"There were crazy amounts offered from Saudi Arabia. We're supposed to act in our best interest," Chalkias told the Studio Allsvenskan podcast via the Daily Mail. "Do we have also have a percentage (of any fee)? Of course. It's a lot of money. Maybe Viktor should respond to that some day.

"I don't think we pressured him once to accept the offer. At the end of the day, money comes and goes and this move to Arsenal brings us a lot of marketing. They (Sporting) had concluded a deal with Manchester United behind our backs, that was a problem. United offered a higher transfer fee."

Getty Images SportGyokeres faced criticism from Sporting supremo Varandas

Gyokeres' efforts to force a move away from Sporting over the summer also drew criticism from Sporting President Frederico Varandas, who condemned the 'strategy' of the player and his entourage in order to secure a summer transfer. Varandas had threatened to hand Gyokeres a 'hefty fine' for his perceived lack of respect towards the defending Liga Portugal champions.

"If the geniuses who are devising this strategy think that this puts pressure on me to make it easier for him to leave, not only are they completely wrong, but they are also making it more complicated for the player to leave," Varandas said.

"No one is bigger than the club."

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Agent hits back at Sporting president

Chalkias, though, hit back at Varandas' criticism, stating: "If (Hugo) Viana were still at Sporting, the deal would have been done within an hour. Everything was written but we didn't have time to start a legal battle. I don't understand how a player who scored so many goals and won three trophies didn't deserve more respect.

"The industry is about trusting people. The sacrifices we made were probably the turning point in getting the deal done. They offered him to Real Madrid, made headlines with Madrid and even United, but from day one there was a commitment to Arsenal."

Gyokeres has made an indifferent start to life at Arsenal having scored just three league goals in his opening seven appearance for the Gunners, two of which came in a resounding home win over Leeds back in August.

Arsenal return to action after the international break against Fulham on Saturday, October 18th, while Manchester United face a huge clash at Anfield against bitter rivals and defending Premier League champions Liverpool.

Watching on as they stuttered in the second half to a 2-2 draw against Real Betis, Stan Collymore heaped praise on one Nottingham Forest star who enjoyed an excellent game.

Antony denies Nottingham Forest late on

It looked set to be another evening to forget in the early days of Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest tenure when Cedric Bakambu thumped home an acute finish after just 15 minutes. But Forest soon rallied and Igor Jesus soon made his mark.

The Brazilian, who came into the side ahead of Chris Wood, found himself on the end of a free-flowing move that Postecoglou will hope to see become a staple of his tenure. And after levelling things up just three minutes after Bakambu’s opener, the forward was at it again. This time, he headed home on the end of Douglas Luiz’s corner as the two compatriots combined.

It then seemed as though Jesus was destined to get his hat-trick. Chance after chance came his way. The summer signing was at the centre of most things good up until the final finish.

In a game on the European stage, those chances simply must find the back of the net. Otherwise, just as Forest did, teams pay a hefty price. This time, in similar fashion to Swansea City’s recent comeback in the Carabao Cup, it was Antony who took full advantage to equalise for Betis late on.

Unmarked at the back post, the former Manchester United winger had the simple task of tapping home. Once again, Postecoglou’s new side failed to get over the line.

There are still positives to take, however. Jesus enjoyed a goalscoring European debut and one other star man enjoyed yet another excellent game.

Collymore praises "class" Anderson

Whilst Forest failed to hold on to secure victory, that didn’t stop Collymore from sending praise the way of Elliot Anderson. The former City Ground ace took to X to describe the England international as “class” in what was a particularly impressive first-half display.

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Collymore said: “Anderson having an A class game for Forest. Driving forward, keeps ball under pressure, allows Sangare and Luiz to hover around half way and pop the ball around, letting him make quality runs.”

It’s not the first time that the midfield star has been at the centre of praise as of late and it’s unlikely to be the last. At 22 years old, he remains one to watch even as Forest find their feet under Postecoglou.

MatériaMais Notícias

O meia-atacante Luan está de volta ao Grêmio. Através das redes sociais, o Tricolor anunciou que o jogador realiza exames médicos nesta quinta-feira nas dependências do clube. Caso não tenha nenhum problema, o jogador assina contrato até dezembro.

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Antes de chegar a sede do Tricolor, Luan terá um reencontro com a torcida, que promete recepcionar o jogador no Aeroporto Salgado Filho, em Porto Alegre (RS), no início da tarde.

+ Próximos jogos do Grêmio: veja calendário, datas, horários e onde assistir às partidas

MAIS PERTO DE CASA ???????????? Após chegar a um acordo com o Grêmio, Luan desembarca em Porto Alegre hoje, às 13h30, para realizar exames médicos nas instalações do Clube. Se aprovado, será encaminhado para os trâmites necessários de assinatura de contrato.

Leia:… pic.twitter.com/H4eoD3E9ka

— Grêmio FBPA (@Gremio) July 27, 2023

A expectativa dentro do clube é alta para que Luan se reencontre com o bom futebol e viva momentos de muita alegria.

Renato Gaúcho

Um dos maiores entusiastas da contratação de Luan é o técnico Renato Gaúcho, que prometeu ajudar o atleta, mas pede a cooperação do meio-campista para atingir o seu objetivo.

Rei da América

Com a camisa do Grêmio, o jogador viveu o auge da sua carreira e foi eleito o melhor da América em 2017, ano que também faturou a Libertadores.

???? pic.twitter.com/KixDDCpFRT

— Grêmio FBPA (@Gremio) July 27, 2023

Liverpool haven’t been at their best in the Premier League this season, and yet Arne Slot and his squad have claimed five wins from five, sitting pretty five points clear at the top.

However, Saturday presents a tough test, all right, with Crystal Palace awaiting the Reds at Selhurst Park. Under Oliver Glasner, Palace have been transformed, winning the Europa League and the Community Shield (against Liverpool) in 2025.

The Eagles have yet to click into gear in an attacking sense this term, but neither have they been leaking goals. No side have conceded fewer strikes than their two this term.

Marc Guehi has helped shape this successful start to the season, with his move to Anfield falling through on deadline day. To breach his backline, Liverpool’s frontline will need to be sharp and fluent, but they will have to do it without the in-form Hugo Ekitike.

Ekitike misses trip to Selhurst Park

Ekitike has been in fine fettle since signing for Liverpool this summer, having posted five goals and an assist for the Merseysiders, less than two months after making his debut.

The latest of which, sadly, saw him sent off, shown a second yellow after removing his shirt in celebration for scoring the winner against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

Ekitike will be missed, not least because record signing Alexander Isak is not yet considered to be totally match fit.

However, Federico Chiesa is enjoying a resurgence in his second season at the club, and Slot suggested in his pre-match presser that the Italian could play an important role at the weekend.

It’s unlikely that Chiesa would start the game over Isak, who scored his first goal for the club on Tuesday, but he is bound to see some second-half action.

And given Liverpool’s proclivity and need for last-minute winners this year, it’s likely he’ll be expected to contribute strongly. However, Slot may have an even more exciting super-sub he could call upon.

Slot's Liverpool super-sub

Chiesa came up trumps on the opening day of the Premier League season, putting Liverpool back in front as they snuffed out a brave Bournemouth comeback.

However, Rio Ngumoha’s winning goal at St. James’ Park one match later was more emphatic still, with the 16-year-old writing his name into the division’s record books and rubber-stamping his prodigious reputation.

Described as a “phenomenal talent” by his former youth coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst, who also stressed he has the natural talent to challenge for the Ballon d’Or one day, Ngumoha’s rise has come at the expense of Liverpool signing a new left winger, having parted ways with Luis Diaz in August.

That bears testament to his skills, all right, having featured four times in total this term, starting against Saints in midweek.

With electric pace and a directness and drive that bespeaks his precocious qualities, Ngumoha will not be afraid to help steer Liverpool over the line against an undefeated Palace team who would relish causing another upset after lifting the Community Shield at Liverpool’s expense.

1

James Vaughan

16 yrs, 8 months, 27 days

2

James Milner

16 yrs, 11 months, 22 days

3

Wayne Rooney

16 yrs, 11 months, 25 days

4

Rio Ngumoha

16 yrs, 11 months, 26 days

5

Cesc Fabregas

17 yrs, 3 months, 21 days

He’s already got one Premier League strike to his name this season, and if Liverpool find themselves pressing against the Palace ramparts in the final stages, searching for another late winner, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if Ngumoha enters the fray and finds the space and time to make something happen.

This kid is the real deal, after all.

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