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There is still a long way to go, but this season really is shaping up to be a spectacular one for Arsenal.

Thanks to their wins over Bournemouth and Aston Villa and Manchester City’s draws with Sunderland and Chelsea, Mikel Arteta’s side are now six points clear in the Premier League.

Moreover, with players returning from injury, there is an expectation that the Gunners will only get better as the campaign progresses.

As if that wasn’t enough for Arsenal fans, the club could also have the chance to sign a longterm target in the summer, someone who’d be an upgrade on the inform Leandro Trossard.

Arsenal handed chance to sign Trossard upgrade

While there are a few players who have underwhelmed for Arsenal so far this season, there are more who have seriously impressed.

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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.

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The likes of Declan Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, and Bukayo Saka, for example, are playing like men possessed, but perhaps the most improved player of all has been Trossard.

The Belgian wasn’t bad last year, but he has been playing at an unbelievable level so far this season, constantly popping up with goals and assists when the team need him most.

However, he could still find his game time reduced somewhat next season as the Gunners may soon be handed the chance to sign a long-term target who’d be an upgrade on the 31-year-old.

At least that is according to reports from France, which claim that Paris Saint-Germain star Bradley Barcola could be on the move in the summer.

Speaking on Ici, L’Équipe journalist Loic Tanzi said, “I think that Barcola will be a real topic next summer, to leave Paris Saint-Germain.”

This could be music to Arsenal’s ears, as just last month the North Londoners were credited with strong interest in the game-changing winger.

It could be a hugely expensive deal to get done, though, with reports from last summer stating that the Parisian side value their star at around €100m, which is about £86m.

Even so, if there is any chance Arsenal can sign Barcola this year, they should take it, as he could be a game-changing addition and a serious upgrade on Trossard.

How Barcola compares to Trossard

Now, one of Barcola’s many strengths is the ability to play on both flanks if needed.

However, like Trossard, his primary position is on the left, and based on current form, the Belgian would be his primary competitor for game time at Arsenal.

So, which winger comes out on top when we compare them?

Well, when looking at their raw output from the start of last season to today, it’s the Frenchman who comes out ahead.

For example, in this period, he has scored 26 goals and provided 24 assists in 86 appearances, totalling 5301 minutes.

This comes out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 1.72 games, or every 106.02 minutes, which lends plenty of credence to analyst Ben Mattinson’s claim that he’s “one of the best left-wingers in Europe.”

In contrast, the former Brighton & Hove Albion star has scored 17 goals and provided 16 assists in 79 appearances, totalling 4783 minutes.

This comes out to a less impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.39 games, or every 144.93 minutes.

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Okay, what about their underlying numbers? Who comes out looking better when we take a look under the hood?

Barcola vs Trossard

Statistics per 90

Barcola

Trossard

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.65

0.52

Progressive Passes

4.22

4.12

Progressive Carries

4.56

3.19

Shots on Target

1.90

0.76

Passing Accuracy

83.9%

71.8%

Key Passes

2.11

1.76

Shot-Creating Actions

4.35

3.71

Goal-Creating Actions

0.67

0.34

Tackles Won

0.78

0.76

Successful Take-Ons

2.11

0.76

All Stats via FBref for the 25/26 League Season

Well, rather unsurprisingly, it’s once again the PSG gem.

The 23-year-old does better in almost every single metric, including things like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, key passes, passing accuracy, shot and goal-creating actions, successful take-ons and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, Trossard is a great player and has been nothing short of brilliant so far this season.

However, Barcola would clearly be an upgrade, and therefore, if Arsenal have the chance to sign him this year, they should take it.

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Manchester United have enjoyed a mixed campaign in the Premier League this term and have now identified a potential replacement for Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.

Manchester United's stalemate with Wolves shows need for signings

Despite keeping pace in the race for European football, Manchester United’s draw with Wolves earlier in the week was a stark reminder that arrivals are necessary for Amorim to succeed at Old Trafford.

Admittedly, the Red Devils were depleted to some extent. Still, Gary Neville blasted the former Sporting boss for taking off goalscorer Joshua Zirkzee at half-time after his effort opened the scoring on another night that left more questions than answers for many.

He said: “He’ll point to injuries and AFCON. But every team is in a similar situation. I’m not sure what happened with Zirkzee. If he’s not injured, it’s a bizarre substitution to make.”

Now, Manchester United will prepare for quickfire fixtures against Leeds United and Burnley. However, there is a patent obviousness that new arrivals are needed to address squad depth issues now that the January window is open.

England international Conor Gallagher may arrive from Atletico Madrid to bolster the Red Devils’ dwindling midfield options. Manuel Ugarte could be the one to make way, while Al-Hilal star Ruben Neves is another option to explore this month.

Finances are likely to be available as INEOS aim to bring Manchester United back into a cycle of regular continental qualification. Nevertheless, there is work to do if they are to stay on course amid a tightly packed schedule over the coming months.

Either way, Amorim hasn’t enjoyed a linear ascent in the Old Trafford dugout and could eventually be replaced, according to reports.

Andoni Iraola could swap Bournemouth for Manchester United

According to CaughtOffside, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola could replace Amorim at Manchester United should the latter decide to make a change in the dugout after being identified as a candidate on a three-man shortlist.

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner and former Barcelona man Xavi are also in the mix if the Red Devils choose to act, illustrating that there is a plan in place should results take a downward turn over the months to come.

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Described as “one of the best in the league” by scout Ben Mattinson, he’s been earning plaudits for his success within a 4-2-3-1 system. Iraola has claimed an average of 1.34 points per Premier League match since arriving at the Cherries, winning 33, drawing 28 and losing 34 of his 95 clashes in the hotseat.

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Performing above expectations, his footballing philosophy has been picked up on within the corridors of power at Old Trafford. However, it remains to be seen how long Amorim will be given to convince his doubters.

Manchester United are a club adamant on moving forward as they continue to follow Amorim’s process. Albeit, you get the feeling some inside the building want to get back where they belong sooner rather than later.

Match facts

Friday, May 9, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

	Adam Gilchrist taking on Shane Warne will be the contest to watch out for (File photo) © Getty Images

The Big Picture

The last time these teams met, Shane Warne smashed 16 off three balls in the last over to swing an unlikely victory for Rajasthan. Their fortunes have been contrasting since then; Rajasthan had a run of four straight wins before losing to Mumbai on Wednesday while star-studded Deccan have been patchy with a couple of wins among the losses.Deccan have the edge coming into this match following their win over Chennai on Tuesday and need a few more if they are to make the top four. Rajasthan, despite their strong position will no doubt be jolted after being rolled over for 103 – a tournament low by a side batting first – by Mumbai, inside just 17 overs, before losing by seven wickets. But this time they play at home, where they are yet to lose a game, and they will want that trend to continue and hence reclaim their position at the top of the table.

Tournament position

Deccan Chargers P7, W2, L5, NRR -0.011
Rajasthan Royals P7, W5, L2, NRR +0.436

IPL form (last five matches)

Deccan Chargers LWLLW
Rajasthan Royals WWWWL

Watch out for …

Adam Gilchrist v Warne. Both retired legends have shown no signs of rust and have been the pillars of their team’s victories so far.

Swapnil Asnodkar. The pint-sized opener, similar in style to Sri Lanka’s Romesh Kaluwitharana, has 131 runs from three games and has established himself as Rajasthan’s trump at the top of the order.

Yusuf Pathan and Shahid Afridi. Both are known to biff the ball around and are handy spin options as well.

Team news

Deccan will wait on VVS Laxman, who was unfit for the previous game with a hand injury. Otherwise, they will probably retain their winning combination.Deccan (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Scott Styris, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Shahid Afridi, 6 Venugopal Rao, 7 Sanjay Bangar, 8 Arjun Yadav, 9 RP Singh, 10 P Vijaykumar, 11 Pragyan OjhaRajasthan have an embarrassment of riches as far as overseas players are concerned. Younis Khan is yet to get a game, but none of their overseas recruits are in danger of losing their places to fit him in.Rajasthan Royals (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Yusuf Pathan, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Mahesh Rawat, 8 Shane Warne, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Siddharth Trivedi, 11 Munaf Patel

Stats and trivia

Shane Watson is the leading run-scorer (208) and wicket-taker (9), for Rajasthan.

Yusuf Pathan’s strike-rate in Twenty20 is a massive 184.28, in 12 games.

Shahid Afridi has aggregated a paltry 46 in six games. Out of that, 40 have come in boundaries alone. Clearly, he’s not a big fan of singles.

Quotes

“The points table is of no relevance to us. I’m not aware and not going to encourage the guys to inspect it. We’re just going to improve our cricket and try and take it up to another level.”
.”Mascarenhas will definitely be considered. He is the best finisher in the world.”

Mahela Jayawardene felt that Mohammad Ashraful’s 129 was the best he’s seen under the circumstances © AFP

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said that his players were constantly challenging their individual comfort zones after his team had recorded their second straight three-day victory in a Test beating Bangladesh by an innings and 90 runs at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium. “If you are not put under pressure it’s quite easy for us to take things easy. But if we focus on us improving ourselves challenging individually to be better cricketers, we will always push ourselves to come up with good performances,” he said at a post-match press conference.”Everyone is doing well, the way Malinda (Warnapura) came back after the first Test match it was brilliant. He showed a lot of patience. It’s not easy for a guy who made his debut and got a first ball duck to settle down and start scoring runs. He looked really motivated and his temperament was good. There are a few areas he has to work on like technique and all that. When he plays more matches he can do that,” Jayawardene said.Jayawardene said he was not surprised by Bangladesh’s late fightback when they prolonged the match into the final session of the third day after beginning at 69 for 4. “We knew they had the talent. Even in the first Test second innings their top order batted really well. It was for us to create pressure and opportunities. When we do that we get wickets but sometimes when we don’t get those half chances going our way and not creating opportunities you have to be patient and wait for it to happen,” he said.”We’ve been spoilt a bit a couple of the first innings when we get sides out for 62 and 89. You think you could bowl them out but this is actually how Test cricket is when you play on good tracks. Any opposition if they put their head down and bat, it’s going to be a struggle. There were a few half chances, close decisions.”The Sri Lanka captain was, however, quick to praise his bowlers. “(Chaminda) Vaas’s bowling was brilliant. With him it’s all about patience. With the old ball he will reverse a bit. He created a few opportunities but it didn’t come his way. Yesterday him and Dilhara (Fernando) were both brilliant. With Lasith’s (Malinga) and the unpredictability with (Muttiah) Muralitharan we got a decent line up. It’s all about playing as a unit,” he said.Jayawardene rated his counterpart Mohammad Ashraful’s unbeaten 129 as the best knock he’s seen under the conditions. “Bangladesh were not under pressure. They probably knew the outcome and Ashraful just played himself in. He didn’t play that many shots but he knew how to control the innings. He played a very good innings today. He had a good partner in Mushfiqur Rahim. He was a bit aggressive at the start but he settled down as well. The thing is Ashraful batted at No. 6. When you do that the side is gone. The best player should be batting right up in the order and taking more responsibilities. It’s always good to have individuals doing well. Credit should go to Ashraful and the other guys. But its all about trying and being competitive in Test cricket. That’s the area Bangladesh should be looking at not just the individual,” he said.Bangladesh coach Shaun Williams said Test cricket was a tough school and his team really needed to take a long hard look at themselves. “Our bowers need to be more consistent and we need to bowl better areas for longer periods. It’s a tough ask when we haven’t scored enough runs. We need to bat better and if we do that the bowlers will lift their standards as well,” he said.Williams went on to say that something needs to be done about their first innings batting performances. “Whether the guys are nervous on day one I am not sure. It is something we need to look at. The context of the game changes when you bat poorly in the first innings and then there is a big total facing you.” He praised the batting of Ashraful and Mushfiqur and said the rest of the team should take the positives that came out of that record partnership and take it to the third and final Test starting at Kandy next Wednesday.

The chances of Rana playing a Test in England this summer could be 50-50 according to the PCB © Getty Images

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has a 50-50 chance of escaping any serious damage and might play a role in Pakistan’s Test campaign against England later this summer, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on Tuesday.”Rana was examined by a specialist in London yesterday and the initial report on his groin injury seems pretty positive,” Abbas Zaidi, PCB’s Director of Board Operations, told `The News’.”The player has a 50-50 chance of avoiding a surgery and if his injury can heal just through medication then there are chances that Rana could play on the tour of England,” he added.Pakistan will embark on a marathon tour of England later this month and are scheduled to begin their four-match Test series on July 13 at Lord’s.Rana, who was supposed to spearhead the Pakistani attack in the absence of the injured Shoaib Akhtar, suffered a groin injury while playing for Sussex earlier this season. His injury was feared to be serious enough to require a surgery, which could rule him out of any international action for at least three months.But a specialist told Rana in London that he would keep him on medication for almost a week before taking a final decision on his case. “The doctors will take six more days before they decide whether Rana can get fit again without any surgery,” said Zaidi.It is suspected that Rana is suffering from a Gilmore’s groin, an injury that could need a surgery. If Rana manages to escape any surgery then there are chances that he could return to the Pakistani squad by the time it will reach Manchester where the second Test would start from July 27. “It would be good for our team if Rana gets well without any surgery,” said Zaidi.Pakistan are facing a crisis of pacers ahead of the important assignment in England because of the injuries to Shoaib and Rana.Meanwhile, chief selector Wasim Bari has said Pakistan would reserve any announcement on Rana’s replacement till the time his exact condition becomes clear. “It might take some time in getting the complete picture on Rana’s injury and since we have three more weeks to go in the first Test, an announcement on the replacement can wait,” said Bari.Bari added the national selection committee would take a detailed look at all the possibilities before taking a final decision. “We would take a solid decision in case Rana is ruled out of the series against England because of injury,” promised Bari.Pakistan are considering several players including medium pacers Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Samiullah Niazi and veteran legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed as possible replacements for the injured Rana. But Bari refrained from commenting: “We are looking at all sort of possibilities.”

Can Sachin Tendulkar get India back in the series?© Getty Images

After two months of keeping a nation and a half guessing about when he would be better, and what a tennis elbow really was, Sachin Tendulkar is fit enough to play cricket. Going into the third Test against Australia at Nagpur, the Indians suddenly have a selection conundrum that stems from his return. Tendulkar simply must be accomodated. On the eve of the match Sourav Ganguly said, “Ajit Agarkar will play. Parthiv Patel will not open. We are considering either Yuvraj Singh or Aakash Chopra as the opening partner with Sehwag.” This virtually means Mohammad Kaif is out of contention despite his fighting 64 at Chennai. There were also question-marks over the availability of Harbhajan Singh, who was down with viral fever on the eve of the match and was rated only a 50% chance of playing. If he is ruled out, Murali Kartik will come into the side.Australia, for their part, have brought Brett Lee back into the fray, including him in the 12 in place of Nathan Hauritz. But Adam Gilchrist stressed that the playing XI was far from decided, and that a final inspection of the pitch on the morning of the match will have a role to play.The pitch does have some grass on it, but quite clearly it has not been watered in days and should be fairly brown by the time the first ball is bowled. The curator insists this will be a sporting pitch, and Gilchrist called it an Australian kind of wicket, but there’s every chance it will become more Indian in the hours to come. Ganguly had called the curator from Kolkata before this Test, and requested that the authorities prepare a pitch that would favour the spinners. “But nothing much seems to have been done about that,” he said, nervous smile plastered across his face. And nothing much can be done at this stage, for the grass can merely be trimmed, not shorn. This means that that there’s little chance that this strip will crumble even later in the game.

Glenn McGrath: 100 Tests old, and still going strong© Getty Images

That should suit Tendulkar just fine. He had a longish stint in the nets, and certainly did not hold back. Batting first in a net where only the spinners operated, he clouted several balls far and wide into the stands. Then, when he took on the quicker men, the punch – off front and back foot – sent the ball thudding back past the bowlers.”Even if I’ve scored two hundred in the last two Tests, there’s still pressure,” said Tendulkar in an interview recently, countering the assertion that his comeback to top-flight cricket after approximately two months makes it extra hard. He could make all the difference to the outcome of this game, but the Australians aren’t wasting their time wondering.Gilchrist knows that his team is better prepared, man for man, than any Australian team that has toured India since Bill Lawry’s series-winning team in 1969-70. Glenn McGrath has proved an extremely effective force in India – his record here in six Tests is better than his career average – and is well set to ensure this series is no different. He went wicketless in Chennai – only the fifth time in his near-100 Test career – and will bend his aged Narromine back over to make sure he sets the house in order in his 100th Test: he has never gone wicketless in successive matches.But this India-Australia series has refused to be defined by individuals or individual contests. The fact that rains denied India the chance to level this series in Chennai, with 210 runs to score, ten wickets in hand, and on a pitch that had eased out, makes this game all the more vital. This is a venue where teams usually resign themselves to a high-scoring draw. But neither of these teams likes draws, or resigns, so the script could yet be an original one.India (probable) 1 Yuvraj Singh, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Harbhajan Singh/ Murali Kartik, 11 Zaheer Khan.Australia (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Simon Katich, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist (capt & wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Mike Soper, the deputy chairman of the ECB, has said that the announcement by the ICC on Thursday that England had agreed to play Zimbabwe in a series of four or five one-day internationals had come "totally out of the blue", and has warned that the tour must be kept as low-key as possible.”I know we’re honour-bound to go but we haven’t even discussed it, which worries me," Soper told BBC Sport. "My own view is that we keep it as short as possible, keep it low-key and, if at all possible, have our base in Johannesburg and fly in and fly out again. We shouldn’t make a big thing of it. The last thing I want us to do is make it sound like a full tour.”I think it would be appalling if we stay in Zimbabwe for whatever length of time it is," he added. “That would be awful. To actually, carte blanche, say we are going and everything is going to be normal, I can’t agree with, because it isn’t going to be normal.”The ECB has said that England players will have the right to opt out of the tour, as Stuart MacGill did when he refused to go to Zimbabwe with the Australian team in May.

Mike Burns, the new Somerset captain, is counting the days until the new cricket season gets underway in just over three weeks time.The thirty four year old all rounder, who takes over the reins from Jamie Cox who has stepped down after four years in charge, was back at the County Ground this morning after a three week spell in New Zealand, where he spent sometime in Nelson with former Somerset batsman Richard Harden who now lives in the country.The former Warwickshire man whose career has been rejuvenated since he moved west to join the Cidermen in 1997 told me: "All the family went with me and we had a great time travelling the island and sightseeing. Whilst I was out there I had a couple of nets and kept up with my training schedule."Mike continued: "I also had a couple of games of golf with Richard who sadly doesn’t play any cricket at all nowadays but now I’m back here I just can’t wait for the new season to get started."He concluded: "All of the players have trained very hard through the winter and spent time working on their game with Kevin Shine. Everybody here is now looking forward to getting started. It’s really good to be back and I am feeling very confident about the new season."

The Australian women’s team began their tour of England on Monday with an easy 142-run win over an MCC Invitational XI at Walker’s Ground, Southgate, in north London.The Australians made 251 for 9 in their fifty overs before dismissing the MCC for 109 in 44.4 overs.Australian leg-spinner Olivia Magno took 6/34 from her ten overs after earlier scoring 34 runs before retiring. Opening batsman Louise Broadfoot and wicketkeeper Julia Price both made half-centuries for the Southern Stars before retiring, while Michelle Goszko scored 35.The star for the MCC Invitational side was New Zealand all-rounder Haidee Tiffen, who top scored with 34 and took 2/46 from her ten overs. The MCC eleven also included Netherlands international Pauline te Beest, as well as a number of former England internationals and current members of their developmental squad.The Southern Stars play two more warmup matches before the First Test in the CricInfo Women’s Series against England begins at Shenley on Sunday. They return to Walker’s Ground today to play an ECB Development XI, whom they will meet again at Radlett on Thursday.

They have certainly made their fair share of mistakes in the transfer market, but Chelsea have built a sensational squad over the last few years.

The likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella, for example, would surely get into any team in the Premier League.

However, there are certainly still weaknesses in Enzo Maresca’s squad, with the left wing being one of them, as neither Jamie Gittens nor Alejandro Garnacho has impressed all that much this year.

Fortunately, Chelsea may soon have the perfect solution to that problem in a young superstar in the making who could be their own Antoine Semenyo.

Why Chelsea missed out on Semenyo

One of the stars of the Premier League season so far has undoubtedly been Bournemouth’s Semenyo.

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The Ghanaian international has played like a man possessed and, in just 17 games across all competitions, totalling 1485 minutes, has already racked up eight goals and three assists.

That comes out to a stellar average of a goal involvement every 1.54 games, or every 135 minutes, which more than explains why so many of the ‘big six’ have been interested in signing him.

Chelsea were reportedly among the interested parties, with stories earlier this week claiming they had already enquired about a potential deal.

However, on Tuesday, it was revealed that the club had decided to step away from the race for the 25-year-old’s signature, and then later that evening, it was reported that he had agreed personal terms with Manchester City.

Losing out on a player as talented as Semenyo is never a good thing, but Chelsea fans shouldn’t be too upset, as they’ve already got their own version of the Cherries ace.

Chelsea's answer to Semenyo

Chelsea have made a habit of signing some of the most exciting young talents from around football in recent years, and one of the most promising is undoubtedly Geovany Quenda.

The Blues paid a whopping £44m for the Sporting CP star in March of this year with the intention of integrating him into the first team ahead of next season.

The up-and-coming Portuguese star has had an incredible campaign with the Lisbon side so far this year and is the player who could become Maresca’s own Semenyo.

The first reason for this is that, like the Bournemouth star, he is positively versatile.

Sure, the 18-year-old could come in and provide more competition on the right, but like the Cherries ace, he’d surely make far more of an impact playing off the left.

Quenda’s 25/26

Appearances

22

Starts

12

Minutes

1273′

Goals

5

Assists

8

Goal Involvements per Match

0.59

Minutes per Goal Involvement

97.92′

Points per Game

2.32

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Speaking of making an impact, the second reason he could be the Blues’ version of the 25-year-old is that he’s turning into an output machine.

Subscribe for exclusive Chelsea transfer & youth insight Explore Chelsea transfer thinking and the rise of young stars by subscribing to the newsletter. Enjoy focused coverage of youth prospects, tactical fit, and player comparisons such as Quenda versus Semenyo – all centered on this topic. Subscribe Subscribe for exclusive Chelsea transfer & youth insight Explore Chelsea transfer thinking and the rise of young stars by subscribing to the newsletter. Enjoy focused coverage of youth prospects, tactical fit, and player comparisons such as Quenda versus Semenyo – all centered on this topic.

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For example, in just 22 first-team appearances, totalling 1273 minutes, he has scored five goals and provided eight assists.

In other words, he is currently averaging a goal involvement every 1.69 games, or more crucially, every 97.92 minutes.

Finally, like the soon-to-be City star, the youngster has also shown he’s got the mentality to play at the top level, producing four of those goal involvements in the Champions League and, in the words of one content creator, showing “mentality just like Estêvão.”

Ultimately, signing Semenyo would’ve been great for Chelsea, but with Quenda developing in the way he is, it’s not a signing the club had to make.

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