Category Uncategorized

Name: David Brooks

Club: Bournemouth

Age: 8 July 1997

Position: Winger (Right)/Midfielder

David Brooks – his career so far

At the age of 22, David Brooks can already boast with a pretty colourful career to date. The versatile attacking-minded ace is currently a part of Bournemouth’s first-team squad but has had his fair share of transfers, loans and various spell elsewhere before he finally settled at his current club.

Brooks’ first exposure to football and what would eventually open a pathway for him towards the big leagues was actually his stay at Manchester City’s academy when he was aged just seven. But in 2014, he already swapped shirts and joined Sheffield United, signing his first professional contract with the club the following year.

After spending some time in their U18 squad, Brooks quickly became part of the senior team, tallying 37 appearances for them and scoring three goals while also assisting further eight on the side as well.

We should also mention that there was an extremely short loan spell mushed in between his performances for Sheffield United as he recorded five appearances for FC Halifax Town between August and September 2015, scoring and assisting one goal in the process.

He ended up joining his current team, Bournemouth, in the summer of 2018 and has been at the club ever since. So far, he can boast with a total of 33 appearances with seven goals and five assists to his name as well.

Unfortunately, a large portion of the 2019/20 season has been a bust for the young player as a serious ankle injury sidelined him for a total of 35 games, basically derailing the whole campaign for both him and his club in the process.

But with football being put on hold anyway, he will get the time to heal and come back stronger once life also gets back to normal.

Transfer latest

There have been some transfer rumours linking Brooks with a potential exit towards none other than Manchester United but it seems that, according to some reports, Bournemouth have no intention of selling their gem just yet.

But interestingly enough, that is not the only piece of transfer news surrounding the young player, which is no surprise, especially now that there’s no football and various transfer rumours are coming thick and thin.

In fact, there were some completely contrasting reports that the Cherries have seemingly changed their mind and would actually be open to letting Brooks go for the right price.

Seeing how we’re talking about a big talent who’s wanted by the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Man United, this might not be the Bournemouth news the fans will like to see. Even though his 2019/20 was practically non-existent, losing such a big talent would undoubtedly be a big hit for the club.

Let’s see what ends up happening as he still has a valid contract until 2022.

Player profile

Unfortunately, with his long-term ankle injury, Brooks’ 2019/20 season has been completely scrapped, leaving him with some minutes in the pre-season tournament leading up to the new campaign back in the summer of 2019.

For that reason, we’ll have to focus on his 2018/19 season with Bournemouth and build his player profile according to that. His first season with the Cherries was still a very successful one since Brooks managed to present himself as a great finisher and a lethal presence in the opposition’s box.

Seven goals and five assists can attest to that statement and he seemed to be fairly selective in his shooting, often opting to let loose only when presented with a good opportunity to actually rattle the inside of the opposition’s net, as evidenced by only 1.71 shots per 90 minutes last season.

Brooks is also quite creative and technical on the ball, averaging 5.06 dribbles and 1.62 through balls per 90 minutes in 2018/19. He has a tendency of cutting inside and acting as more of an inverted winger, pulling defenders out of their shape and swapping places with his teammates.

This makes him tactically flexible as he is not chained to one specific area of the pitch, as also demonstrated by the fact he can be deployed on numerous different positions, both in wide and central areas.

Loads of Everton fans are raving at an Easter message sent by the Chief Executive Officer of the Toffees Denise Barrett-Baxendale after it was shared on the Merseyside club’s official Twitter page.

The CEO touched upon plenty of subjects as she wished to share her thoughts with Evertonians amidst what is going on in the footballing world at the moment.

She explains that Easter is a time to be together with friends and family but under these unusual circumstances, this is unfortunately not the case for many supporters. In doing so, she referred to a hat-trick scored on Easter Monday by former Blue 4-0 thumping of Manchester United in the Premier League on Easter Sunday of last year.

She also admitted that any thoughts on the beautiful game come secondary to what is going on currently that means that many people are self-isolating and NHS staff are working as hard as they can. ‘Denise’ as she signs the message off with finally thanked everybody who donated to the Blue Family charity in addition to everyone in the Everton community.

You can read the full message on the club’s official website. These fans showed their appreciation for their CEO:

Everton fans, what do you think of your CEO? Comment below!

One-time Tottenham Hotspur target Jack Grealish shone for Aston Villa in their 2-0 win against Newcastle United on Monday night, and Spurs fans were quick to gush over his display on Twitter.

The 24-year-old has even come out and admitted that he was disappointed that a move to the north London outfit didn’t happen in 2018 when he was in the Championship, but things haven’t worked out too badly for him since.

He is now in the Premier League, captain of his boyhood club and signed a new five-year contract with the Midlands outfit just over a year ago.

The Englishman has certainly produced some impressive performances for Dean Smith’s men this term too, with two goals and four assists in 11 top flight fixtures.

According to WhoScored, he had five shots and provided six key passes against the Magpies on Monday, showing the quality he has in his locker.

It remains to be seen whether Jose Mourinho needs another attacking midfielder in his ranks anytime soon given the options he currently has, but Christian Eriksen’s future may well play some part in that decision.

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Grealish’s showing didn’t go unnoticed by Tottenham supporters who waxed lyrical about the 24-year-old, with one suggesting “Jose would love his flair & arrogance”, and another labelling him as being “levels above Eriksen”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

In other news, Tottenham fans fear the worst for Moussa Sissoko after Jose Mourinho’s recent comments…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to new reports coming from Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan are interested in buying Juventus’ out of favour defender, Merih Demiral, who’s also wanted by Arsenal. For the Rossoneri, this deal could solve a big problem in their squad.

What’s the word, then?

Demiral is not really a fresh target for Milan.

They tried snatching him away in the summer as well and were even prepared to fork out around €30m (£25.5m) as per an older report from La Gazzetta (via Football Italia).

Still, Juventus wouldn’t budge and the deal was postponed until January and the Rossoneri are once again expected to return for their man.

The 21-year-old, however, is also wanted by Arsenal, as Gazzetta’s Nicolo Schira has stated just recently and both clubs have contacted Demiral’s agent, asking for the player’s availability.

Milan are in dire need of a third centre-back that could potentially fill a void left by Leo Duarte and Bianconeri’s defender seems like a perfect fit.

Ideal solution

Just recently, Duarte had to undergo ankle surgery that will see him sit out a big part of the remaining campaign.

Even though Milan have four other centre-backs in the squad, both Mattia Caldara and Matteo Gabbia are yet to tally a single minute in 2019/20 and the Rossoneri don’t have anyone to act as a reliable third defender behind Alessio Romagnoli and Mateo Mussachio.

Demiral is in a similarly unfavourable situation over at Juventus himself since he has only tallied 90 minutes throughout the whole season and seeing how he’s far behind in the pecking order in Maurizio Sarri’s squad, going for the exit door might be his best course of action.

Arsenal’s interest is also pretty much warranted.

The Gunners have conceded a total of 19 goals in just 13 games and have only kept two clean sheets in the Premier League in the process.

Demiral looks like a good bet for the future and is also a kid with a lot of talent that could potentially help patch up some of the Gunners’ problems.

Of course, with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in the Juventus squad, it’s easy to see why he was frozen out and his lack of game time doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not good.

Gazzetta dello Sport also mention Milan might try to sell Ricardo Rodriguez to fund this transfer so they very much mean business and the Gunners will have to step up their game.

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Liverpool fans have responded in a positive fashion after it was revealed that Michael Oliver will take charge of the Reds’ title clash at Anfield against Manchester City on Sunday.

The Reds will take on the Citizens in their first of two games after being unable to beat Pep Guardiola’s side last season. They, of course, lose out to them in the Premier League, despite accumulating a record 97 points.

There were fears that Martin Atkinson would take charge of the titan clash but those worries quickly eased.

Jurgen Klopp’s side will go into the game at Anfield unbeaten and with 10 wins out of their first 11 games, having only dropped points against Manchester United. Meanwhile, their opponents Manchester City sit six points behind the Merseyside club after falling to defeats against Norwich City and Wolves respectively.

Supporters were relieved to see the appointment of Oliver and reacted positively on social media.

Here you will find some of the best comments from Liverpool fans ahead of the game:

أعلن أحمد بلال مهاجم الأهلي ومنتخب مصر السابق، عزمه خوض انتخابات اتحاد الكرة المقبلة على مقعد عضو مجلس الإدارة.

وكان أحمد بلال قد أعلن في وقت سابق، أنه ينوي الترشح في انتخابات النادي الأهلي المُقبلة. (طالع تصريحاته من هنـــا)

وقال أحمد بلال خلال استضافته ببرنامج “النجوم فى رمضان” عبر إذاعة “الشباب والرياضة”: “قررت خوض انتخابات اتحاد الكرة المقبلة، وأتشاور حالياً مع بعض المسئولين لاختيار القائمة المناسبة لخوض الانتخابات على مقعد العضوية”.

وأضاف: “لن أوجه نصيحة للجنة المؤقتة التي تدير اتحاد الكرة لأنها جاءت بشكل مؤقت وهدفها استكمال الأعمال”.

وأتم: “كرة القدم في مصر تتدهور بشكل كبير وأكبر مثال منتخبات مصر كانت دائماً إما المركز الأول أو الثاني وحالياً التراجع عنوانهم”.

Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles has claimed the Magpies are fancying their chances against Chelsea, as the Blues’ youth could hurt them on Saturday.

Frank Lampard has named the fifth-youngest starting line-up in the Premier League on average this season, with the Stamford Bridge natives holding an average age of 25.1 from the 21 players used thus far (TransferMarkt).

Among the Chelsea players named by Lampard for a league game this season, only 30-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta and 25-year-old Kepa Arrizabalaga have featured more heavily than 20-year-old Mason Mount, with the Blues youngster playing all bar ten minutes of what has been on offer thus far.

Tammy Abraham, 22, has played the fifth-most of any Blues player, and has returned a joint Premier League high of eight goals during his 576 minutes of top-flight action.

Lampard has matched his youth in attack with youth at the back, too, where 21-year-old Fikayo Tomori has featured in each of the West London outfit’s last five league games and made his Champions League debut against Valencia in September.

Tomori had only played once for Chelsea’s first-team heading into the 2019/20 campaign, but had spent the previous term on loan at Derby County under Lampard following a spell with Hull City, which returned a combined 81 appearances across all competitions (TransferMarkt).

Abraham also featured in 40 games across all competitions for Aston Villa last season as he helped the Birmingham-based outfit secure their return to the Premier League as play-off champions, in which he scored a total of 26 goals.

Chelsea’s youth has sparked slight confidence in Lascelles, who has told Newcastle’s official website that ‘there’s no reason’ the Toon cannot repeat their result against Manchester United when they travel to Stamford Bridge.

“They’re a young side with not much experience in there,” he said. “We’ve been working really hard this week and we’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a tough game, but we do fancy our chances.

“We’re still going off the last game. We beat Man United at home and there’s no reason why we can’t beat Chelsea. We’ve still got the confidence from the last game and hopefully we can go and do the same job.”

Lampard has certainly called on a variety of young players this season, including 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi following his return from injury, but Lascelles’ point of their lack of experience potentially being a weakness has not been backed up by some of their performances.

Abraham is, after all, the Premier League’s joint-leading goalscorer with a hit rate of one every 72 minutes, while Tomori ranks only second to Wolves’ Willy Boly for successful tackles per 90 minutes for centre-backs with an average of 3, per WhoScored data.

Performances may occasionally dip, but it is unlikely that Chelsea’s youth will be what offers Newcastle a chance to take a favourable result in West London, where the Magpies have not taken a point since 2012 (11v11).

Steve Bruce’s Toon also only have a marginally higher average age this term, with United holding an average of 25.7 from the 22 players used so far, including 19-year-old Matty Longstaff, 21-year-old Sean Longstaff, and 22-year-old Allan Saint-Maximin.

Newcastle fans, is Lascelles confidence well placed? Let us know in the comments below…

La Liga is finally returning after a short (but mostly painful) spell that is the international break.

Still, things are finally getting back to normal and as club football returns, so do Real Madrid in their attempts to continue their successful run in the Spanish top-flight.

As things currently stand, Zinedine Zidane’s troops have managed to claw their way back to the very peak of the mountain and are enjoying their view in front of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the moment.

Of course, a lot can change in a single game since the Catalans are only two points behind while Los Blancos’ city rivals are trailing only by three. For that reason, Zidane won’t really have a chance to breathe and this game, just as any other in the tight and exciting race that is La Liga, will definitely be important as a whole.

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Still, a really tough schedule lies ahead for Real Madrid even after their weekend trip to Mallorca.

First, they will have a mid-week Champions League clash, which is something Zidane simply can’t afford not to win.

After all, Real Madrid only have one point under their belts after the first two clashes in Europe – their curtain-raiser was a heavy defeat in France to Paris Saint-Germain and the follow-up game was equally disappointing as the Galacticos only managed to draw with Club Brugge at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Needless to say, that makes their next Champions League challenge a must-win game if they want to be real contenders in Europe this season.

But that’s not all – not nearly.

The weekend after that, if everything goes according to plan and La Liga don’t change anything, Real Madrid will travel across the country and visit Catalonia for the first El Clasico of the season.

But with all the riots and unrest in Barcelona at the moment, the big derby is still under threat of being either postponed or just moved to a different venue. We are still awaiting any sort of confirmation from the upper management on that front.

Be that as it may, Real’s priority currently lies on the weekend clash against Mallorca but as important as it might be to win that game and take the three points, it will also be important that Zidane picks his battles correctly.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

This is something that we already quickly touched upon before when talking about a possibility of rotating the squad a bit, but one player that simply needs to be given his chance this weekend is definitely Luka Jovic.

The 21-year-old Serbian forward has been bought by Real Madrid last summer in a transfer that reportedly cost around £53.2m.

And even though Jovic arrived with a certain reputation, having previously scored 27 goals and assisted seven more in the 48 games he played for Eintracht Frankfurt across all competitions in 2018/19, the start to his career at the Spanish capital has been all but dreamy.

Sure, he played in seven games across all competitions this season already but he only started two of those games and managed to accumulate 218 minutes under his belt so far.

For such a young and aspiring striker, that is definitely not a praise-worthy statistic.

But this is exactly the type of game Jovic could use to not only boost his confidence but also to show Zidane that he can definitely be counted upon in situations like these.

And this is not meant as belittlement of the opposition – Mallorca will definitely offer some kind of resistance, especially given that their only wins of the ongoing season have come at their home ground.

But they are the newly-promoted side and they are also struggling to stay afloat at this point in the season already.

For those reasons, the decision to throw Jovic into the mix shouldn’t really be seen as a risky move but rather a smart one.

The benefits of it are enormous – the player gets the all-important game time he so craves, the coach possibly discovers a new asset to his team and the fans, who have already demanded Jovic be given more chances, will get what they’ve been calling for.

And even if it doesn’t work out and he fails to impact the game in the way Zidane had envisioned it, Real Madrid would still have rested some of the key players for a crucial week of football ahead and can still count on some of the game-changers they would have on their bench.

But Jovic hasn’t suddenly lost all of his abilities and a player that scored 36 goals in 75 games for Eintracht Frankfurt doesn’t just stop doing that all of a sudden.

All the young Serbian needs right now is a slight nudge in the right direction and he can burst out of his cocoon and start flying.

When everything is said and done, this truly looks like a perfect opportunity for Zidane to just put some trust into Jovic and do a leap of faith of sorts.

That’s usually how we come about the best of revelations anyway.

All it takes is a bit of bravery.

كشف لاعب وسط الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي برشلونة، ميراليم بيانيتش، موقفه من الاستمرار في قلعة “كامب نو” بالموسم المقبل.

وكانت هناك الكثير من التكهنات قد خرجت حول مستقبل بيانيتش، خاصة وأنه لا يشارك كثيرًا تحت قيادة المدير الفني، رونالد كومان، باعتماد الأخير على سيرجيو بوسكيتس، فرينكي دي يونج وبيدري في خط الوسط.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تقارير: برشلونة يضحي بـ بيانيتش لضم فينالدوم من ليفربول

وتحدث بيانيتش عن مستقبله في تصريحات لصحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الكتالونية، وقال: “نعم، سأستمر مع برشلونة بالطبع، لم أنتقل إلى الفريق لأرحل في الموسم التالي، لقد وقعت على العقود لأدحل التاريخ في نادٍ كان مهتمًا بي لسنوات طويلة”.

وتابع: “عندما كان عمري 16 عامًا، كان هناك اجتماع بين والدي وقادة برشلونة الذين أرادوا التعاقد معي لأكون ضمن فريق الشباب”.

وأضاف: “كنت في نادي ميتز وقتها، ولم نكن نقدر جيدًا أهمية فريق الشباب في برشلونة وقررت أن أستمر في فرنسا ولكنني كنت متابعًا جيدًا لمباريات الفريق”.

وواصل تصريحاته: “في عام 2019، تحدث معي أبيدال للانتقال إلى برشلونة ولكن الصفقة لم تتم لأن النادي كان قد استثمر أموالًا كبيرة في صفقة أنطوان جريزمان وكان على الانتظار لأحقق حلمي وأنا هنا بسبب أدائي مع يوفنتوس”.

واستمر: “هذا ما طلبه مسئولو برشلونة مني عندما وقعت على عقد انتقالي للفريق، أخبروني أن شخصيتي وخبرتي ستكون ملهمة للشباب المتواجدين بالنادي”.

وبسؤاله “هل يشعر بالإحباط بسبب عدم مشاركته المستمرة؟”، أجاب: “لقد جئت إلى برشلونة للفوز ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، هذا هو هدفي، وفي الموسم الحالي أريد مساعدة الفريق للتتويج بالثنائية هذا ما أفكر فيه ولا أستسلم أبدًا”.

وأكمل: “إذا لم أشارك في المباريات، ستجدني في صباح اليوم التالي أتدرب أكثر من أي وقت مضى وهذا ما يلاحظه المدربون أنني لا أستسلم أبدًا ولم أتوقف عن التدريب يومًا واحدًا رغم أنني وصلت متأخرًا عن الجميع في فترة الإعداد لإصابتي بفيروس كورونا”.

وأتم تصريحاته: “كل ما طلبه مني المدرب أن أكون هادئًا وأركز في التدريبات وهو ما علي فعله على مدار الوقت لأن كومان لا يتحدث كثيرًا مع اللاعبين وعندما يكون في حاجة لي سأكون جاهزًا للمشاركة”.

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Some Crystal Palace fans appear to have completely given up on Alexander Sorloth, after a question about the striker was put to them on Twitter.

The 18-cap Norway international signed for the Eagles from FC Midtjylland in a deal worth £9m back in 2018, but has flopped at Selhurst Park.

Sorloth has only ever scored one goal for the club – coming against Swansea in the Carabao Cup – while also spending time on loan at Belgian side Genk. The 23-year-old is currently on a two-year loan at Turkish outfit Trabzonspor.

In fairness to the 6 foot 4 forward, he has hit four goals in eight games for his new side since signing – despite that, a number of Palace fans appear to have unanimously given up all hope of Sorloth making an impact if he ever returns to SE25.

When asked whether he could potentially still have an impact at Selhurst Park, the response from these Palace fans was a resounding no…