All posts by h716a5.icu

Liverpool are now looking for their next defensive midfielder with Fabinho expected to make a move to Saudi Arabia this summer and now a new potential transfer target has been identified.

What's the latest on Liverpool's interest in Joao Palhinha?

According to Sky Sports reporter Melissa Reddy, Liverpool are interested in signing Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha.

Reddy revealed on Twitter: "Lavia and Gravenberch have long been considered by LFC (regardless of current situation), with their reps spoken to. Other players they've looked at: Nicolo Barella, Khephren Thuram, Florentino Luis, Joao Palhinha, Teun Koopmeiners…"

"They do love a surprise, stealth signing"

How good is Joao Palhinha?

There is no doubt that Jurgen Klopp will be desperate to quickly replace Fabinho as the Brazilian mainstay has had a huge influence on the club's success over the last five years.

The Liverpool ace played a key role in his deep-lying role to lead his team to a Champions League trophy, FA Cup, League Cup and their first-ever Premier League title, so it will be difficult to find a player who can emulate his impact.

As a result, the signing of Palhinha would be a great move for the Merseyside giants as the Portuguese sensation has been a revelation over the last 12 months and has been a difference-maker at Craven Cottage.

No other Premier League player completed more tackles and interceptions than the 6 foot 3 titan (193), with fellow Liverpool target Moises Caicedo coming in second to the Fulham whiz (156), and this attribute is not the only one that the two hot top-flight talents share.

When comparing Palhinha's output to his Ecuordorian positional peer last season, the pair came close in a number of key attributes desirable in the defensive midfield role including pass completion (82.5% v 88.5%), percentage of dribblers tackled (53% v 58.8%), blocks (48 v 43) and aerial duels won (64.5% v 64.9%). as per FBref.

Not only that, the 28-year-old ranks in the top 1% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for tackles per 90, as well as ranking in the top 12% for clearances per 90 and aerial duels won per 90, proving that he is one of the best defensive presences in Europe.

Lauded as being as "strong as an ox" by Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir, the confident ball-winner has been the recipient of high praise during his short time in English football, with pundit Jamie Redknapp showering compliments on Palhinha:

"He has been a brilliant signing. £20 million. He has got a real knowledge and nous of where he should be. He picks the right pass. He has a real presence about him. He is a fantastic signing for them."

Despite making a £20m move from Sporting Lisbon to west London last summer, the Portugal international has already become an invaluable asset to Fulham and it would reportedly take an offer of £90m for them to part ways with their star player, presenting a slightly cheaper alternative to Caicedo who has a £100m price tag.

With that being said, if sporting director Jorg Schmadtke could secure a deal for Palhinha it would be a major coup for the club and if he can continue to dominate in midfield at Anfield, he would be the dream successor for Fabinho next season.

Glamorgan ended the second day of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at St. Helen’s in Swansea on 225 for 6, a first innings deficit of 117

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2017
ScorecardAneurin Donald made a half-century to keep Glamorgan afloat•Getty ImagesGlamorgan ended the second day of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at St. Helen’s in Swansea on 225 for 6, a first innings deficit of 117.Due to a combination of rain and bad light – in stark contrast to the first day – no play was possible before lunch. However, when play got underway just before 2.30pm, Glamorgan’s openers Jacques Rudolph and Nick Selman came out showing a real attacking intent, reaching 23 without loss inside the third over.Things quickly changed, however, when Selman played a loose shot to Cameron Steel at point off Chris Rushworth. The Australian-born youngster was unable to rediscover the form which led to his first first-class century at St. Helen’s last year, when he carried his bat on his way to 122 against Northamptonshire, the first Glamorgan batsman to do so since Matthew Elliott at Cardiff in 2004.A second wicket soon followed, Rudolph finding Paul Collingwood in the slips, Glamorgan finding themselves 39 for 2. Colin Ingram joined Will Bragg at the crease needing just 39 to reach 1,000 runs across all formats this season. The South African fell 21 runs short of the milestone, giving Collingwood a second catch at slip off Coughlin for 18.More composure was evident with Aneurin Donald and Bragg at the crease, before the latter needlessly skied one to Rushworth at mid-on off James Weighell’s bowling and Glamorgan were once again struggling at 92 for 4. New batsman David Lloyd could have gone third ball, but a simple chance went begging for Ryan Pringle at slip.Having restricted Glamorgan to 112 for 4 at tea, it took just 10 balls into the final session for Durham to pick up their fifth wicket, as David Lloyd was removed by ul Collingwood at slip off Paul Coughlin for 16.Donald had reached his half-century off 74 balls before a one-handed mid-wicket catch by Keaton Jennings off James Weighell brought an end to a 42-run partnership.Andrew Salter joined Chris Cooke at the crease and an unbeaten partnership of 58 saw Glamorgan through to the close of play after the latter had reached his half-century off 83 balls, having hit eight fours along the way.

Tottenham Hotspur are "considering a move" for Flamengo star Pedro with star striker Harry Kane's future uncertain, according to journalist Miguel Delaney.

Who will Spurs sign?

New manager Ange Postecoglou has been left delighted with some of the business Spurs have conducted so far this summer, England international James Maddison in particular.

The former Leicester City playmaker has officially joined Postecoglou's side with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and winger Manor Solomon, with Tottenham's head coach expressing his excitement recently.

“Really excited to get James as part of the group," said the Australian.

"Any manager will tell you that part of the key to being a dominant team is having multiple attacking threats and having a midfielder who can score and create goals.

“I thought it was a really good fit for us to look for a player like James – even better if we could get James, so we ended up getting James."

However, Tottenham aren't though to be finished just yet, as links still surround the signing of a new first team centre-back. Indeed, Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven. Meanwhile, Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo, Barcelona's Clement Lenglet, Galatasary's Victor Nelsson and Bremer have all been linked with moves.

Spurs, with Kane's contract expiring in just 12 months, are also now being tipped to potentially source a replacement if their superstar doesn't pen fresh terms with the north Londoners.

There have even been suggestions that Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who will command a large transfer fee, is a player of serious interest to chairman Daniel Levy.

Now, according to Delaney of The Independent, Spurs could look across the Atlantic for options as news emerges on Flamengo's exciting star Pedro.

Tottenham are apparently "considering a move" for the 26-year-old, who was called up to Brazil's squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

While he struggled at Fiorentina four years ago, there is a feeling the big move came too early and he is now ready to ply his trade in Europe's top five leagues once again.

He is one of many options they're weighing right now, as Kane leaving is now seen as much more realistic given the uncertainty surrounding his contract.

How good is Pedro?

The Rio-born forward boasts a fine scoring record for Flamengo in the Brazilian top flight, having netted an impressive 93 goals and a further 23 assists in 141 Brasiliero Serie A appearances (Transfermarkt).

Pedro has also been praised by footballing icon Ronaldo, not just as a "quality striker", but also the "best player" in America right now.

"The top scorer and Craque of the Brasileirão will be Pedro," said Ronaldo.

"Also the best player in America in 2023. Pedro is a quality striker who makes the difference in Flamengo's attack, he has a huge future ahead of him, with a future also in the national team".

The new committee will identify “exceptional and extremely limited areas of difficulty” in the implementation of the Supreme Court’s order of July 2016 and the passing of key Lodha reforms

Arun Venugopal26-Jun-20171:49

‘Areas of difficulty with Lodha reform will be brought before the CoA’ – Choudhary

Nearly a year after the Supreme Court judgement approving a majority of the Lodha Committee recommendations, the BCCI has set up a committee of its own to identify “exceptional and extremely limited areas of difficulty” in the implementation of the reforms.The committee’s suggestions will be presented to the Committee of Administrators, a court-appointed panel tasked with running the board until fresh elections under the Lodha guidelines. No CoA representative is part of this new BCCI committee, which was announced during the board’s special general meeting in Mumbai on Monday.’Wait till selection of the World XI’

BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary was non-committal when asked if India’s players would be available to participate in a proposed T20 series in Lahore.
The ICC Board, on Friday, extended its support to the idea of a World XI side playing Pakistan in Pakistan as part of efforts to bring international cricket back to the country. Choudhary, however, said it was premature to discuss if India will play any role in it.
“We should wait till the selection of the World XI because it is possible that if those matches are scheduled alongside any of our series than obviously none of our players will be eligible, will they?” he said. “So, we will have to wait for that. I think it’s fair.”

This move seems likely to delay the implementation of the reforms, which were approved by the Supreme Court in July 2016, but the BCCI acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary, has said it was formed with the intention of examining “how best to quickly implement [the recommendations].” Choudhary stated the committee, whose members will be named on Tuesday, will offer their report in a fortnight.It is understood that apart from Choudhary, who will play the role of the convener, acting board president CK Khanna, treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary and a member from a north-east association are likely to be among the “five or six” members of the committee. They will have to come up with a decision on this matter before July 14, when the Supreme Court is set to hear the case again.”The house deliberated in detail and with a view to completing the implementation process, constituted a committee which will examine how best quickly to implement [the recommendations],” Choudhary told reporters. “The committee should have its first recommendations in a fortnight’s time. So, that’s as far as the implementation of the principal judgment is concerned.””The committee will go into each and every action point necessitated by the principal judgment and then only those exceptional and extremely limited areas of difficulty would bring it to the notice of the CoA, which will thereafter decide the course of action.”Choudhary added that another SGM would have to be convened to approve the proposals of the committee which “will start its work in two days’ time and the rest will follow.”The BCCI is likely to have another special general meeting to approve the proposals put forward by the panel looking into the difficulties of implementing key Lodha reforms.•PTI The BCCI is inclined towards incorporating most of the Lodha committee’s recommendations, a board official told ESPNcricinfo, except for policies such as the age cap of 70 years for office bearers, the tenure cap of nine years with cooling-off periods in between, the one-state-one-vote policy and the trimming down of the number of selectors from five to three.These recommendations had drawn opposition from the BCCI even before the court’s order last year and on Monday a senior state association official from the west zone indicated nothing had changed. “How can I let go of my vote?” asked the official. “These are the recommendations that the committee will have to sit down and decide on.”Some of the delay in the BCCI adopting the Lodha reforms has been because the state associations are averse to them, but when asked to list the recommendations that have been met with objections, Chaudhary said the board would convey their thoughts to the Supreme Court directly.For a while now, the CoA has urged the board’s member units to identify a few points of objection, which could be raised with the Supreme Court even as the other recommendations were implemented. A CoA official sounded optimistic of the BCCI toeing the Supreme Court’s line after the meeting on Sunday.”They understand that implementing Lodha is not an option [but is mandatory],” he told ESPNcricinfo. “So what is the point in obstructing and dragging it further? What we have told them is if you adopt the report with the two-three points you want the court to consider then the court will also look at it favourably. Otherwise the CoA will be left with no other option than to ask the court to enforce.”

With Andre Onana now in the door at Manchester United, the Red Devils must now focus their attention on finally securing a much-needed centre-forward recruit ahead of next season, having been left with Anthony Martial as their only senior option in that striking berth.

With personal terms having been agreed with Atalanta's, Rasmus Hojlund, it looks as if that search for a new number nine could soon be coming to an end, albeit with that not likely to necessarily mean the end of the attacking additions at Old Trafford this summer.

According to Manchester Evening News, manager Erik ten Hag would also ideally like to recruit a second forward who can play in a variety of attacking roles, with the likes of Anthony Elanga and Facundo Pellistri potentially set to be on their way.

Amid that desire to find further attacking reinforcements, one name that has been mentioned of late is Atletico Madrid sensation, Joao Felix…

Will Man United sign Joao Felix?

Reports in Spain earlier this month named United as one of the clubs who have seemingly made contact regarding a potential move for the 23-year-old, with the Portugal international – who spent the second half of the season on loan at Chelsea – said to be 'seduced' by the prospect of returning to the Premier League.

The belief is that the former Benfica man – who has been valued at around €140m (£120m) – could be allowed to leave the Spanish capital on another temporary deal this summer, thus handing the Red Devils – and others – the potential chance to pounce.

Who is Joao Felix comparable to?

On the face of it, the signing of the 5 foot 11 ace – who was raking in a reported wage of around £195k-per-week while with the Blues – could prove to be an astute move, with the young superstar having shown his class after chipping in with 52 goal involvements in just 131 games during his time with Atleti, after previously registering 20 goals and 11 assists in 43 outings for his previous employers.

That being said, however, those at United may be concerned by the fact that the playmaker – who was branded a defensive "liability" last season by The Byline's Alex Goldberg – is said to share a number of stylistic and statistical similarities with former Old Trafford flop, Alexis Sanchez, according to FBref, with the pair both players who can operate all across the forward line.

That likeness between the two men is notably indicated by their creative prowess, with Sanchez – who recently spent the 2022/23 campaign at Marseille – ranking in the top 6% among his European peers for progressive passes, while Felix ranks in the top 5% for that same metric.

Equally, that ability to make the difference in the final third is also shown by the fact that the latter man ranks in the top 8% with regard to shot-creating actions, while Sanchez ranks in the top 9% in that regard.

Despite those shared positive attributes, however, the Red Devils are likely to be scarred by the dismal nature of the Chilean's time at the Theatre of Dreams, as he scored just five goals in 45 games after signing in January 2018, despite having previously scored 80 goals in 166 games for former club, Arsenal.

On a reported wage of more than £400k-per-week at the time, the one-time Barcelona ace never truly managed to settle in Manchester, lasting just 18 months before being shipped out on loan to Inter Milan.

Branded a "disgrace" by former United man, Paul Ince for his limp displays for the club, the mercurial talent proved ultimately to be a waste of money for those at Old Trafford, with the aim not to make the same mistake again with the signing of Felix.

As the club found out with the case of Sanchez – and others – opting to pursue glamorous, big name additions isn't always the wisest approach…

England’s players open up on the “turbulent” circumstances that saw Charlotte Edwards retire after being removed from the captaincy in 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2017England’s players have discussed, for the first time, the “turbulent” circumstances that saw Charlotte Edwards retire after being removed from the captaincy in 2016.Mark Robinson, England women’s head coach, made the decision to shake things up after the team’s failure at the 2016 World T20, telling Edwards – still a world-class batsman and a pioneer of the game – she would not be part of his plans. Heather Knight was subsequently appointed as captain and went on to lead England to victory in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday.Speaking before the final against India, Robinson said he believed he had made the right decision and that the team “had to go in a different direction”, having come to the conclusion that his players didn’t have enough belief.”I just knew it was right,” Robinson said. “When it’s that simple in your mind – and it wasn’t against Charlotte because Charlotte was still a very good player, but the team had to go in a different direction and we had to put things differently in place and it was something like 18 months before the next competition, this one. It was too long to wait and get through to before you start making changes.”During interviews to chart the team’s progress from the defeat in the semi-finals of the World T20 last year to their success at Lord’s, Jenny Gunn, the experienced allrounder who had been Edwards’ team-mate for more than a decade, said the decision to move on had come as a “bit of a shock”.Fran Wilson, one of the younger players who has enjoyed increased opportunities over the last 12 months, expressed similar feelings but felt Robinson’s call had been vindicated.”It was quite a turbulent time because Charlotte’s always been a part of the England team, as long as I can remember,” Wilson said. “So when it first all happened it was quite a big shock and probably affected the girls a little bit. But, I think in the long-run, what Mark Robinson has done has been really good for the team. That’s just testament to Robbo and the kind of faith he’s shown in all of us.”The change of leadership had immediate benefits, as England’s new opening pair of Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield flourished during a run-soaked series win over Pakistan last year. Beaumont, in particular, has thrived under the guidance of Robinson, and was named Player of the Tournament after finishing as the top scorer in the Women’s World Cup.Beaumont won her first cap under Edwards, in 2009, and they opened together on several occasions. She gave credit to Edwards for laying the foundations for England’s future success.”It was a tough month or so,” Beaumont said. “Charlotte has been probably quite a big influence on the first half of my career. She’s also a good friend. It was hard to see her go through that but she’s moved on into the commentary box with dignity. She can look back at her career knowing that she did a great job for England and left us in a good place.”

Arsenal continue to be handed a lifeline in the race for a true star who they have had their eye on multiple times in the past…

Is Moises Caicedo leaving Brighton and Hove Albion?

Although it might seem like Chelsea are now in the driving seat when it comes to signing Moises Caicedo, the Gunners have seemingly remained quietly interested in the background.

After all, although the report emerged earlier this week, it was noted by journalist Graeme Bailey that an outside chance remains.

Given they saw two bids rejected for him in January, their interest in the Ecuadorian general is common knowledge.

However, it is now the Blues who have felt the sting of Brighton and Hove Albion, who recently saw an £80m offer instantly pushed back, with their demands now rising to a mouth-watering £100m.

Whilst it seems unlikely that Mikel Arteta sanctions another deal of such magnitude, it has been noted that he is willing to offload plenty of deadwood to make way for additional signings, and the Seagulls sensation could be a just reason to do that.

How good is Moises Caicedo?

To lure such a relentless midfield maestro to the Emirates would represent a sensational coup for the north London outfit, who have already bolstered their ranks significantly this summer.

England stalwart Declan Rice has padded out the midfield at last, whilst Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz offer added solidity and firepower respectively.

It seems that – at last – they have a squad brimming with the sort of quality and depth that is capable of issuing a sustained challenge towards Manchester City.

This was supplemented by their January additions too, as Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard both joined the club as they sought to maintain their title charge.

Whilst unsuccessful in that venture, it cannot be said that the latter acquisition failed, given how instantly creative he proved to be under Arteta.

Signed for just £27m, the 28-year-old immediately forced his way into contention, recording eight goal contributions in his first 11 Premier League games, many of which were short cameo appearances from the bench. In the end, he would finish the term as the club's fifth-best performer with his 7.09 average rating in the league.

He deservedly garnered praise, with his new Spanish coach noting:

"Seriously, we knew about his quality and what he could bring to the team. We are really pleased with him, he can play on the right, he can play on the left, he can play as an attacking midfielder, as a nine, a false nine.

“He’s really contributing to the team and he really takes a lot of responsibility in games to make things happen and we love that.”

The hope will be that Caicedo would have a similarly revolutionary effect, with his figures last year – from the very same outfit in which Trossard arrived from – suggesting he would take little time to acclimatise; especially considering the wealth of improved quality he would be joining too.

Starring for a plucky outfit that defied all the expectations last season, he maintained a 7.08 average rating in the league, buoyed by his 89% pass accuracy, 1.2 key passes, 2.7 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game, via Sofascore.

For comparison, his rating would have made him Arsenal's sixth-best performer in the league, whilst his key passes per game matched that of Gabriel Jesus. He would have also stood alone as the club's top tackler too, also per Sofascore

.

Understandably, such a fine campaign drew praise – local journalist Andy Naylor even wrote: "Caicedo? He’s a machine."

Such maturity and star quality for a 21-year-old gem are truly exceptional, and with his entire career laid out in front of him, he could hold down Arsenal's midfield with Rice for the next decade.

It seems that not only would such an unlikely late swoop emulate their Trossard masterclass, but it could surpass it given the young enforcer's impossibly high ceiling.

The South African board president, however, insisted that income can be recovered with high-profile tours of Australia and India in the coming home season

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2017Cricket South Africa has announced an anticipated loss of around Rand 159 million for the 2016-17 financial year, during its annual general meeting on Saturday, but president Chris Nenzani stressed that the board remains in a healthy financial position and is expected to recover income with two high-profile home series over the summer.CSA stated that the decrease – their actual revenue of R 696 million for 2016-17 is considerably less than the R 851 million from the previous financial year – was expected due to “less commercially productive inbound tours”.Nenzani, however, was confident of money flowing in with tours of Australia and India scheduled for the home season. Australia will travel to South Africa in March for a four-Test series, after India’s visit. However, the fixtures and dates for the India tour are yet to be determined.”In commenting on the financial statements I would like to stress that CSA remains in a very healthy financial position,” Nenzani said. “We have a very strong balance sheet and a favourable cash position. Our income balance after taking into account the loss for the year is R655 million.”We have invested in major capital projects to grow the game of cricket and we are also in the process of building our own headquarters which will be a significant money-saving project in the long term.”As is well known our budgetary forecasts are based on a four-year rolling plan as the vast majority of our income comes from television revenue generated from incoming tours. As a result we anticipate a very strong financial year in 2018 as a result of the incoming tours from India and Australia.”CSA is also set to receive a cash injection of R 1 million from the government, for its Hubs and Regional Performance Center programmes, in addition to the funds it receives from the Department of Sport and Recreation.

Despite Yasir Shah bowling a career-high 57 overs in Abu Dhabi’s heat and humidity, Pakistan do not regret going into the first Test with only one specialist spinner

Osman Samiuddin in Abu Dhabi29-Sep-2017After more than 150 overs and two days in extreme heat and humidity, Pakistan do not regret going into the first Test against Sri Lanka with just the solitary specialist spinner. Choosing three fast bowlers and just Yasir Shah was a significant break from the policy under Misbah-ul-Haq who played, as much as possible, two specialist spinners in UAE Tests.Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali took five wickets between them – Amir was wicketless – as Pakistan struggled to bowl Sri Lanka out for 419. In itself that was a recovery as Sri Lanka were 387 for 5 at one stage, but the burden fell, inevitably, on Yasir. The legspinner bowled a career-high 57 overs, and given that the part-timer Haris Sohail bowled 13 overs, the question is obvious: should they have picked another spinner?Mickey Arthur was confident after the first day that they needn’t have done, though he did express disappointment at a little more grass being cut off than he thought should have been.On Friday, their bowling coach Azhar Mahmood echoed the sentiment. “The challenge in a Test is to take 20 wickets and win it. The best thing is that we bowled well. There was a lot of talk that the pitch has grass or we should have played with three spinners but we went on our strength. We played Test matches in the West Indies with three seamers.”Instead, as Arthur had also pointed out, what Pakistan didn’t do was bowl well enough with the new ball each time.”The main thing is that we didn’t bowl well with the new ball, the first six overs I mean,” Azhar said. “So we need to learn how to take wickets with the new ball because if you get wickets at the top it helps Yasir to attack. But we gave 419 runs in 5 sessions which is okay.”The only point at which Pakistan’s fast bowling looked a threat was during the late-innings collapse, when Abbas found enough reverse-swing to pick up three quick wickets. He wouldn’t have bowled in this kind of heat before, though he is probably used to the lack of life in the surface – the surfaces in the West Indies where he made his Test debut earlier this year were not that much quicker.”The coach had tasked me with getting wickets with the new ball,” Abbas said. “I wasn’t successful in doing that. Our plan on the day, if we don’t get any wickets, was to bowl a tight line and length, and contain runs. We were, to an extent, successful in doing that. And at the end, I got an opportunity to take wickets.”

Arsenal have made a "breakthrough" in talks to offload midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga after reaching a full agreement with Burnley, according to reports.

Who is leaving Arsenal this summer?

The Belgian is one of a few players who look very likely to depart Arsenal before deadline day as manager Mikel Arteta and transfer chief Edu Gaspar attempt to balance the books.

So far, just Pablo Mari, Aaron Trusty, Granit Xhaka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have officially made way for Arsenal's trio of marquee signings in winger Kai Havertz, midfielder Declan Rice and defender Jurrien Timber.

However, it is believed that the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Folarin Balogun could soon be heading towards the exit door, with the former attracting serious interest from Turkey.

Meanwhile, Balogun is up for sale and Arsenal will do a deal for the right price, though it is believed they value last season's star Reims forward at around £50 million.

Read the latest Arsenal transfer news HERE…

The north Londoners have also been in talks to offload Lokonga on loan with Vincent Kompany's Burnley side attempting to sign the player. Reports out of Belgium have even suggested that Arsenal could include a mandatory buy option on the deal.

A report by Football Insider has shared an update on the saga, and after a "breakthrough", it appears there is now a "full agreement" between Burnley and Arsenal over a loan deal.

The outlet wrote:

"Arsenal star Albert Sambi Lokonga is set to sign for Burnley on loan after a breakthrough in talks.

"The Clarets’ manager Vincent Kompany is key to the deal as Sambi Lokonga regards the Man City legend as his idol."

Expanding further, and backing previous claims, FI also write that there is a very good chance that the agreement could include clauses for a permanent transfer next summer.

Kompany, for his part, is a huge admirer of his fellow Belgian and is keen to reunite with the 23-year-old after working together at Anderlecht.

How good is Albert Sambi Lokonga?

The former Crystal Palace loanee has struggled to fight his way into Arteta's plans since signing for the club in the summer of 2021.

Lokonga spent the second half of last campaign on a temporary spell at Selhurst Park, managing nine appearances and averaged 1.4 tackles per match in the top flight (WhoScored).

The international hasn't been able to replicate his final season at Anderlecht in 2020/2021, where he started 33 Belgian top flight matches and racked up five goal contributions.

However, those numbers suggest there is a player of real quality there, as explained by Arteta upon his capture.

“Albert is a very intelligent player who has shown great maturity in his performances during his development. He has been coached well by Vincent Kompany and his team at Anderlecht,” Arteta told Arsenal’s official website (via The Standard).

“I know Vincent very well and he talks so highly about Albert and the positive impact he had to Anderlecht in recent seasons.

“We’re confident Albert’s ready for the next stage in his development and we’re looking forward to welcoming a new member to our squad with his quality and presence.”