أكد المرشح الرئاسي لنادي برشلونة، فيكتور فونت، على أن في حالة فوزه بالانتخابات المقبلة سيجعل قائد الفريق الأول لكرة القدم، ليونيل ميسي، يجدد عقده مع العملاق الكتالوني.

وتُقام الانتخابات داخل نادي برشلونة في شهر يناير المقبل، بعد استقالة المجلس السابق بقيادة، جوسيب ماريا بارتوميو، بعد حملة قادها فونت بنجاح لجمع توقيعات سحب الثقة من هذه الإدارة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ماتا: أتمنى أن يأتي ميسي لـ مانشستر يونايتد وليس السيتي!

يرى فونت أن فرص بقاء ميسي واستمراره بعقد جديد مع برشلونة كبيرة للغاية في حال فوزه برئاسة النادي خلال حواره مع قناة “El Iniestazo” على موقع “يوتيوب” الشهيرة، وقال: “إذا كنت رئيسًا لبرشلونة، ميسي سيجدد”.

وتابع: “يزعجني بعض المشجعين لنادي برشلونة والذين يشككون في ميسي، علينا أن نتذكر جيدًا كل ما قدمه لنا على مدار السنوات الماضية”.

وأضاف: “لا يوجد مشروع في برشلونة وهذا الأمر عانى منه النادي على مدار السنوات الماضية، لكن ميسي لا يزال الأفضل في العالم، لكن كيف أن يكون ميسي موجود ولا يظل في النادي الذي يحبه أكثر من غيره”.

وعن الهزيمة أمام قادش: “هناك حالة عدم استقرار بالفريق بالموسم الحالي، أيضًا فقدنا بعض اللاعبين المهمين مثل فاتي، بيكيه وديمبلي للإصابات”.

واختتم حواره بالحديث عن تشافي: “لديه تاريخ فريد مع برشلونة، ومازال هو المرشح لقيادة الفريق في حالة فوزي بالانتخابات، ولكن علينا ألا نفكر به على المدى القصير ولكن لبناء المستقبل إذا كان هناك أي شخص قادر على ذلك، فبالتأكيد سيكون هو”.

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Rangers fans aren’t keen on reports that the club are exploring the option of signing Northern Ireland striker Josh Magennis this summer.

The Belfast Telegraph reported on Tuesday that the Gers were in discussions with the player’s representatives about a potential budget move from Bolton Wanderers this summer, as the English club continue to suffer financial problems.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

With 41 caps for his country and spells at Aberdeen, St Mirren and Kilmarnock, Magennis does have good experience but is not known as a prolific goalscorer.

Steven Gerrard already has Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe to call upon, but any third striker in support will also have to be able to find his way to goal when called upon or he won’t be very popular at Ibrox.

It’s fair to say the reaction to his potential signing is already negative, with many fans feeling he simply doesn’t have the quality to fit in at the club if they are hoping to be winning trophies next term.

These supporters have taken to Twitter this week to share their thoughts on the story…

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New West Brom manager Slaven Bilic will be doing all he can to get his squad ready for the upcoming Championship season, so with that in mind, here is today’s Albion transfer roundup.

It includes a new deal offered to an up-and-coming star, the first signing of the window reportedly completed and an interest in a Premier League defender.

Barry offered three-year deal

According to Express and Star, West Brom have offered 16-year-old Louie Barry the equivalent of a three-year contract to keep him at the club. He has been offered a one-year scholarship and then a two-year professional contract when he turns 17. Barcelona are reportedly interested in the youngster.

Windsor is first signing

The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard is reporting that West Brom have made their first signing of the season in Owen Windsor. The 17-year-old has reportedly joined on a three-year deal from non-league outfit Cirencester Town.

Jenkinson talks started

West Brom are in talks with Arsenal in regards to the signing of right-back Carl Jenkinson according to Sky Sports News. Jenkinson played just eight games for the Gunners last season and could leave in search of first-team football.

أصدر نادي أنقرة جوجو، الذي ينشط في مسابقة الدوري التركي، بيانًا رسميًا، قبل قليل، أعلن من خلاله رفع الحظر عن النادي بشأن إبرام تعاقدات جديدة، خلال نافذة الانتقالات الشتوية الجارية.

النادي التركي، حصل على خدمات، لاعب النادي الأهلي، أليو بادجي، على سبيل الإعارة حتى نهاية الموسم الجاري.

اقرأ أيضًا.. قائمة الأهلي لمباراة المقاولون العرب.. عودة مروان وصلاح محسن

وبعد مرور أسبوعين، على سفر النجم السنغالي إلى تركيا، لم يتم الإعلان الرسمي عن الصفقة، حيث أوضح مصدر من داخل أنقرة جوجو لـ “btolat.com” أنّ النادي ينتظر رفع الإيقاف من أجل الإعلان بشكل رسمي عن الصفقة (طالع التفاصيل).

وقال أنقرة جوجو في بيانه: “أعزائي أنصار أنقرة جوجو، لقد تم رفع الحظر رسميًا عن مجلس إدارتنا، من أجل تجنيد لاعبين يلبون توقعاتكم”.

وأضاف: “نحن سعداء للغاية بهذا القرار، الآن نحن سنتمكن من تلبية طموح جماهيرنا، لاستكمال النصف الثاني من موسم 2020/2021”.

The start of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign is on the horizon and kit designers across the country have released the away attires for this season, but where do they rank from worst to best?

Home kits were released earlier this summer and it was Manchester United who topped the pile with an excellent design. However, Chelsea found themselves at the foot of the rankings with a hideous home kit.

Fans often anxiously await kit releases; some have been filled with excitement while others have settled for disappointment. Piecing together attire to please the whole fan base is tricky, but not impossible – a few designs in this ranking exemplify that.

So, where does each Premier League away kit rank?

Watford and Bournemouth – Unclassified

Both the Cherries and the Hornets are yet to release their away attire for the forthcoming campaign. However, it is late July and are deservedly placed at the foot of the rankings for keeping the fans waiting too long.

Let’s hope they don’t forget to turn up for the first day of the season…

18. Norwich City

I cannot comprehend what the designers were thinking with this kit. A revolting mix of colours does not work in the slightest and the sponsor on the sleeve is just comical.

Nothing about these colours resemble the club at all and the patterns on the shoulders make it that more hideous, in my opinion.

17. Southampton

Southampton were let down with their home kit by using a bold, black design at the top of the shirt, and they followed the same pattern for their away kit. The yellow and black colours do not look good in this design and, with the accompanying yellow shorts and socks, I really cannot give it many positives.

The sponsor in the middle of the shirt certainly doesn’t help things, but even without a sponsor, this style and colour of shirt would be low down on my rankings anyway.

16. Newcastle United

Newcastle produced a dreadful home kit and this is only marginally better. The white colours of the Puma stand well with the green colours, but the top of the shirt completely ruins the design.

Why they thought that pattern was a good is baffling and it does not correlate with the rest of the kit. The large sponsor in the middle of the shirt is off-putting, also.

15. Burnley

This, unfortunately, is an example of getting it horribly wrong. The scratched, interchanging colours at the top-half of the shirt looks horrific and does not match the claret-coloured sponsors. The light blue shade is good, but the desperate attempt to make a unique design at the front of the shirt completely ruins it.

I think Umbro have produced some excellent kits for the 2019/20 season, but this certainly isn’t one of them.

14. Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace are cherished with the colours of red and blue for their kit designs but, unfortunately, have not used them very successfully here. The striped pattern down the middle of the shirt is bizarre and random which does not work at all.

The best advice for the Eagles is to go back to basics – a more simplistic-striped design would have been much better.

13. Aston Villa

The light blue works well – just as Burnley’s did – but the front, claret sponsorship is very distracting. If the socks were made the same colour as the shirt, it would have brought the kit together more effectively.

It is not the worst kit in the ranking, but it is pretty mediocre to say the least.

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According to the Daily Star, Liverpool are amongst a number of top Premier League clubs interested in signing Leicester City star James Maddison, who enjoyed a wonderful debut campaign in the top-flight.

The report states that Manchester United, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool have all enquired about the Englishman’s availability this summer, but with the Foxes under no pressure to sell, Maddison’s valuation stands at £60m.

You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…

That figure is three times what Leicester paid for the 22-year-old last summer when they parted with £20m to sign the attacking midfielder from Norwich, and it looks to have been a shrewd investment.

Maddison scored seven goals and recorded seven assists last season, whilst he also created the most chances in the Premier League to truly announce himself at the top level of English football – his form led to a call-up to the England team.

So, would the former Coventry academy graduate be a good fit at Anfield? Football FanCast’s writers have their say…

Luke Glanville

“I think the thing that many people forget is that Maddison has only been a Premier League player for one season. Yes, he looks to be a real talent, but we need to see if he can produce consistently over two to three seasons in the top flight first. Maddison is not yet the finished article and in my opinion, wouldn’t fit in at any top-six club at the moment, let alone Liverpool.”

Harry Sherlock

“James Maddison would be a great fit at any top-six club. He’s just got the kind of talent that makes him attractive to any potential suitor. He’d fit right in at Liverpool as he’d be able to supplement the ferocious talents of the front three, while adding some dynamism to the club’s midfield. That is perhaps their one weak spot, with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Naby Keita not the most dynamic, creative trio. Adding Maddison in would be like adding cream to strawberries; it makes all the sense in the world.”

Charles Jones

“Maddison is undoubtedly an incredible player, but Liverpool may be the only club in the top six where he doesn’t quite fit in. Klopp has just won the Champions League and finished the Premier League season with 97 points using a midfield made up of three less creative players. Maddison is at his best when playing as a number 10 and at the moment there isn’t room for a player in his mould in the Liverpool XI.”

‘Roller coaster’ just about sums up Leeds United’s season, who collapsed and crumbled at the final hurdle, when it really counted, much to the dismay of the fans, who desperately wanted one of football’s fallen giants back where they belong.

But where on earth did it all go so wrong?

January transfer window

Not signing a single outfield player in January was unwise, wasn’t it?

Sat in their metaphorical Leeds United promotion party pyjamas fresh from Christmas, Whites fans likely waited in anticipation as the January transfer window rolled in and gave them a chance to refuel, recalculate and rejuvenate their Premier League plans under their bucket-riding commander-in-chief Marcelo Bielsa.

In truth, however, ‘El Loco’ really squandered a great chance to strengthen his team heading into arguably Leeds United’s most important five-or-so months in 15 painful years. And the fact that they actually finished the period with less players than they started is somewhat ridiculous.

Samuel Saiz may have only contributed four assists in the 19 appearances he made before his ill-fated return to Spanish football, where he is now embroiled in a gambling controversy, but he offered that little bit of magic only Pablo Hernandez now seems to possess in the current Leeds squad.

Lewis Baker was another unreplaced casualty, though his pitiful contribution of 220 Championship minutes, in which he provided neither goals nor assists, was far less of a loss.

The rushed and ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of then Swansea player Daniel James didn’t much help either. The whole debacle just felt rushed from start to finish, and almost felt like a reaction to the realisation that maybe, just maybe, they should have been a little more proactive earlier in the window. Indeed, the fact it apparently fell down merely due to a disagreement over the payment structure looks all the more damning.

Leeds would ultimately lose two out of four games in January, and continue their poor run of form in February (where they dropped points in three of five games) before completely collapsing in March picking up 10 points out of a possible 21.

In summary, a change in tact is surely needed if they want to secure serious consistency.

Leeds United fans, what would you put your poor run of form down to? Do you think January business would have made a difference? Let us know in the comments below…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has laid down hints to Football Insider that John Terry may soon outgrow the club, claiming he could move on next season.

What’s he said?

Terry has been terrific for the club since arriving, having an impact on the pitch as well as proving to be a valuable asset off it.

Initially signing as a player in 2017/18, he hung up his boots and then became assistant to Dean Smith when he was given the reins in October last year.

The pair of them helped to turn the club around, leading them to promotion after a run of ten games without dropping a single point towards the climax of 2018/19.

Yet, he could be on his way out of the club according to Bent, who speaking to Football Insider, was adamant that he could depart next year. He said:

“I’m pretty much sure that if Villa have another successful season and they stay in the division and everything goes to plan, then the end of next season someone comes to John Terry, I’m sure Dean Smith will go: ‘You know what? You’ve been a brilliant servant for me, on you go.’”

 Terry to become a manager?

The former Chelsea man was a terrific leader during his playing days and he’s also proving to be a likeminded character as part of the backroom staff.

The ex-defender had a valuable impact in terms of his coaching, ensuring Villa kept clean sheets in 50% of their games between March 2 and April 22. The overall percentage for the entire season for Villa was just 26%.

His impact, therefore, has been brilliant.

After all, he was also a major influence in initially bringing Tyrone Mings to the club on loan in January too.

The Bournemouth loanee claimed that he couldn’t turn down the chance to work with the 38-year-old and it’s factors like that which makes it easy to see why he could well outgrow the club and take a managerial job elsewhere.

Terry has shown himself to be a capable coach and the fact he was such a stalwart of the Premier League, appearing 492 times in the top flight, means he could arguably walk into a top managerial job.

Smith hailed his assistant after the play-off final, saying: “John Terry is a top guy and a really good coach and will be a top manager one day.”

Therefore, it’s not only Bent that sees his future potentially lying elsewhere.

As we’ve seen with Frank Lampard, he earned his stripes with Derby before going onto become Chelsea boss, narrowly missing out on promotion with the Rams last term.

A similar sort of journey to Lampard’s could, therefore, be on the cards for Terry.

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Leeds United have been linked with Callum O’Dowda quite often this summer, and a recent report has stated that he has his heart set on a move to Elland Road in the upcoming transfer window.

This article from Football League World has coincided with the Championship fixture list being released. The opening day of the season sees the Whites travel to Bristol City, a game where O’Dowda could be the difference-maker.

O’Dowda’s history

After being frozen out of the squad according to The Times (subscription required) and rejecting three contract offers it is fair to say that the 24-year-old isn’t leaving Ashton Gate on the best of terms.

If he does join Leeds there would be no better way to get one over his former employers than beating them on his debut.

This extra incentive to win could see the Irishman have an extra spring in his step which could, of course, help his new side on their way to victory.

No need for spying

As we saw last season with spygate, Marcelo Bielsa loves to know everything about his upcoming opponents, and if O’Dowda was signed he could play the role of a spy ahead of this game.

The Irishman will know all of Lee Johnson’s tactics and tricks as he has played under the Bristol City boss for the past three years, and the information that he could relay to Bielsa and his coaching staff could prove invaluable.

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This would allow the Argentine the slight advantage he used to get from watching other teams training sessions without breaking the new EFL rule that has been put in place to stop a repeat of the infamous incident between Leeds and Derby.

كشف مصدر بنادي الزمالك عن تلقي جناح الفريق الأول لعرض من الدوري السعودي لرحيله خلال فترة الانتقالات الشتوية الجارية.

وقال المصدر في تصريحات خاصة لـ “بطولات”: “محمد أوناجم يتلقى عرضا من الدوري السعودي على سبيل الإعارة”، في حين لم يذكر المصدر اسم النادي.

طالع أيضًا.. لجنة إدارة الزمالك: لم نغلق باب الرحيل أمام مصطفى محمد.. وديون فريق اليد 23 مليون جنيه

وتابع: “هناك اجتماع في الزمالك لحسم موقف اللاعب من العرض المقدم”.

جدير بالذكر أن الزمالك يحتل وصافة جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 20 نقطة، حصيلة 8 مباريات فاز في 6 وتعادل في مواجهتين.