'The sun will shine again' – Roberto De Zerbi 'not happy at all' as Marseille battle massive injury crisis ahead of Champions League clash

Marseille’s Champions League hopes have been hit hard by injuries, and Roberto De Zerbi made no effort to hide his frustration ahead of Wednesday’s clash against Atalanta. The Italian manager admitted that his squad is stretched to its limits, with several key players sidelined and little time to recover between games.

  • Injury crisis deepens for struggling Marseille

    Marseille had hoped to welcome back a few players for Wednesday’s game, but De Zerbi confirmed in Tuesday’s press conference that there would be no returns. Timothy Weah, Bilal Nadir, Leonardo Balerdi, Facundo Medina, Amine Gouiri, Hamed Junior Traore and Geoffrey Kondogbia are all ruled out of the European clash against Atalanta. To make matters worse, Nayef Aguerd’s availability remains doubtful after his late withdrawal before last weekend’s win over Auxerre. Emerson Palmieri is suspended, while Pol Lirola and Neal Maupay are not included in Marseille’s UEFA list, leaving De Zerbi with very few options.

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    De Zerbi frustrated by mounting injuries

    In the pre-match press conference, De Zerbi opened up about the club's mounting injuries and didn’t hide his disappointment with the current situation.

    "Do you think I'm happy to play a Champions League match with eight or nine injured players, plus a suspended one? No, not at all," the Italian manager said. 

    "In analysing the situation, you have to consider everything. Great things often happen in adversity. The victory in Auxerre, where we didn't play well, came at a time when we were in serious trouble. The sun will shine again when Traore, Gouiri, Balerdi, Weah, Kondogbia, and all the injured players return. It will be a little easier. It's in the midst of problems that you have to give your best."

  • Marseille boss fumes over tight schedule

    The Italian manager also voiced his frustration with Marseille’s packed run of fixtures, saying the constant turnaround between games has left his squad exhausted. The 46-year-old revealed that before the Auxerre match, the team could only hold a walking session because they had played just two days earlier. 

    "We did it walking because we had only played two days earlier. It was a way of saying that we had prepared for the match without the intensity of a normal training session. You can't prepare for a match 24 hours in advance," he added.

    "I like controversy, that's part of why I came here [to Marseille]. When you ask questions, it pleases me because you're always looking for a sharp retort. It's not about controversy, it's about truth. I have many flaws, but lying isn't one of them; I'm telling you the truth. We played poorly against Angers, but we lost two points in the 95th minute. We played poorly against Auxerre, but I see that some teams are doing less than us to win. From the match against Lorient – where we brought in six key players – until now, Marseille would be top of the table. I'd like to play better, but some of the criticism is a bit disastrous and harsher than reality."

    With only a few days to recover before facing the Serie A club, De Zerbi admitted the situation remains far from ideal. "It's a difficult time, so we need to be a bit tougher and more determined. If we can get through tough times like these, things will get better."

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  • AFP

    Marseille hit a rough patch after a bright start

    The injury pile-up has clearly taken its toll on Marseille’s rhythm. After that explosive 6-2 win where Mason Greenwood stole the show with four goals, things have gone downhill fast. They have since lost to Sporting CP and Lens, drawn 2-2 with Angers, and managed a sluggish 1-0 win over bottom-placed Auxerre.

    Still, Marseille haven’t let PSG run away with a big lead. They sit second in Ligue 1, just two points behind Luis Enrique’s side, who are also battling their own injury crisis. But with the schedule piling up and key players missing, it’s no surprise De Zerbi’s men look a little worn down juggling both league and European nights.

    While De Zerbi has urged his players to dig deep, the coming weeks will be a real test for the squad. After facing Atalanta, Marseille host Brest before a tricky away trip to Nice, followed by another demanding Champions League clash against Newcastle at home. De Zerbi will hope his patched-up squad can rediscover their form despite a deep injury crisis.

Not Kudus or Johnson: Spurs starlet looks like Frank's new Mbeumo

Thomas Frank’s appointment as Tottenham Hotspur boss generated huge excitement amongst the fanbase this summer, with the Dane having the chance to build on the Europa League triumph.

He spent seven years in charge of Brentford before his arrival, often relying upon talents such as Bryan Mbeumo to provide the goods within the final third across the capital.

The Cameroonian international thrived under Frank’s guidance in the Premier League, netting 20 times in the top-flight last season, subsequently making him one of the division’s hottest properties.

After the 51-year-old took charge of the Lilywhites, a real sense of excitement built at the prospect of the Dane bringing the 26-year-old with him in an attempt to sustain the recent European triumph.

However, despite interest in his signature, Mbeumo would move to Manchester United in a £71m transfer – a huge amount of money and potentially a slight overpay.

As a result, the new boss has had to rely on another summer addition and one player already on the books to try and provide the impact he desires within attacking areas.

Kudus & Johnson’s start to the 2025/26 season at Spurs

After missing out on Mbeumo’s signature, Spurs forked out £55m for the services of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United to try and hand the manager his next version of the Cameroonian.

Such a deal may have been an expensive one, but it’s a transfer that has been worth every penny to date, with the Ghanaian already registering one goal and four assists in his first ten outings.

His first goal for the Lilywhites came in the recent triumph over Leeds United, subsequently highlighting his ability to pop up with crucial goals when the side need him most.

Kudus isn’t alone in falling into that category, with teammate Brennan Johnson also able to score key goals for the Lilywhites, as seen by his winner in the Europa League final last campaign.

Whilst he’s already scored three times across all competitions, the Welsh international has failed to start a single league game since the end of August and has rapidly fallen down the pecking order.

The 24-year-old will likely be disappointed with his lack of action, which has potentially been impacted by the arrival of Kudus during the recent transfer window.

Whilst both are hugely talented players, it remains to be seen if any can reach the levels produced by Mbeumo in recent times, but one other star already in the ranks could achieve such a feat, given the similarities in their careers.

The Spurs star who could be Frank’s next Mbeumo

Over the last couple of seasons, Spurs have splashed the cash to try and compete with teams around them, as seen by the respective deals to land Kudus and Johnson.

Around £400m has been spent in recent years to catapult the club to the needed success, with such spending undoubtedly helping them claim European glory back in May.

Various recruitment strategies have been in place over recent times, often signing a mixture of youth talent for the future, or players entering their prime and able to make an immediate impact.

However, players sometimes cross over both categories, as seen by the arrival of attacker Wilson Odobert from Burnley back in the summer of 2024.

A deal for the Frenchman certainly came out of nowhere, with the Lilywhites hierarchy paying £25m for his signature after the Clarets suffered relegation back to the Championship.

Whilst the 20-year-old has only made 30 appearances throughout the injury, he’s still managed to impress in North London and show glimpses of his potential and talents.

Odobert, who’s been dubbed “phenomenal” by one analyst, has already scored three times for the club, two of which came during their Europa League-winning campaign in 2024/25 – already highlighting his ability to produce the goods in key moments.

Whilst his goalscoring tally isn’t as impressive as Mbeumo’s, the similarities are there for everyone to see, with the Frenchman moving to England from Troyes.

The now Man Utd talent did the exact same upon his transfer to Brentford back in the summer of 2019 – subsequently needing time to make a huge impact in England.

Games played

16

Goals & assists

1

Pass accuracy

85%

Successful dribbles

1.3

Chances created

0.9

Shots taken

1.4

Touches in opposition box

4.1

Recoveries made

3.6

He struggled to register double figures in goals for each of his first three top-flight campaigns, but the Bees’ patience was certainly rewarded, as seen by his tallies and fee generated in recent times.

Odobert could do the exact same for the Lilywhites in the years ahead, with the club and fanbase needing to support the winger in his attempts for success in North London.

At just 20, he has bags of time to live up to the potential he arrived with, but it’s crucial that Frank works his magic once again to create another world-class attacker.

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Should he get anywhere close to Mbeumo’s level, it would be a sensational piece of business and one that could help the Lilywhites sustain their recent success in Europe or even domestically.

IPL match in Dharamsala called off after 'significant technical failure'

There was a “significant technical failure” at the stadium, an official statement said

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2025Thursday evening’s IPL 2025 match in Dharamsala between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) has been called off midway “due to a significant technical failure” at the stadium.”Due to a power outage in the area, one of the light towers at the HPCA stadium malfunctioned. BCCI regrets the inconvenience caused to the in-stadium attendees,” an official statement said.Only 10.1 overs of the first innings had taken place in the game, after PBKS had opted to bat. Openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh had put on a century opening stand in that time, and Arya had just been dismissed for 70 off 34 by T Natarajan before the match was halted as three floodlight towers went off around 9.29pm IST. Around 11 minutes later, it was learnt that the match had been called off.The toss and start of the match had also been delayed by rain. The toss took place at 8.15pm IST, instead of 7pm, and the game started at 8.30pm IST, but without any overs lost.PBKS’ next match against Mumbai Indians (MI) has been moved from Dharamsala to Ahmedabad.

Abhishek Nayar returns to KKR's backroom staff

Abhishek Nayar has returned as a member of Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) support staff for IPL 2025, just days after his contract as an assistant coach with the India men’s team was terminated by the BCCI.Before his latest stint with KKR, Nayar was part of their backroom staff from 2018 to 2024 in the IPL. In July 2024, Nayar was appointed as an assistant to head coach Gautam Gambhir in the India men’s side. He became the first major casualty of the review carried out by the BCCI to assess India’s poor run in Test cricket late last year that included a 0-3 defeat at home against New Zealand and the 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Related

  • Harshit Rana missing Gambhir's 'aura' at KKR

  • BCCI terminates India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar's contract

While Nayar has never coached in the domestic circuit, he has worked one-on-one with several international and uncapped Indian players, including Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. The other members of KKR’s current support staff are head coach Chandrakant Pandit, mentor Dwayne Bravo, bowling coach B Arun, assistant coach Ottis Gibson and spin-bowling coach Carl Crowe.Nayar linked up with the team in Kolkata on Saturday ahead of KKR’s home game on Monday against Gujarat Titans (GT). The defending champions are currently sixth on the points table with three wins and four defeats in seven games.

موقف حسين الشحات ومحمد شريف النهائي من المشاركة مع الأهلي في السوبر المصري

كشف الإعلامي أحمد شوبير عن آخر تطورات الإصابات داخل صفوف الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي قبل انطلاق بطولة كأس السوبر المصري، مؤكدًا غياب عدد من اللاعبين الأساسيين بشكل رسمي.

ومن المقرر أن تقام بطولة كأس السوبر المصري 2025، خلال الفترة من 6 حتى 9 نوفمبر 2025، بمشاركة 4 أندية، الأهلي والزمالك وسيراميكا كليوباترا وبيراميدز.

وقال شوبير في تصريحات عبر برنامجه الإذاعي صباح اليوم الثلاثاء: “في النادي الأهلي هناك إصابات بالجملة، والأكيد أن حسين الشحات تأكد غيابه عن مباراة السوبر بنسبة 100%”.

وأضاف: “محمد شريف أيضًا تأكد غيابه عن السوبر بنسبة 100%. اللاعبان كانا من العناصر المهمة في مباراة الأهلي والزمالك الأخيرة، حيث صنع شريف الهدف الأول للشحات، بينما تسبب الشحات في ركلة الجزاء التي منحت الأهلي الفوز في اللقاء”.

طالع أيضًا | محمد الدماطي يوضح أسباب عودة سيد عبد الحفيظ وياسين منصور لـ الأهلي.. ويبرر تصريحات حسام غالي

وتابع: “كريم فؤاد سيعود إلى التدريبات غدًا، وهو أول مران له بعد تعرضه لشد عضلي أثناء فترة إعداد المنتخب الوطني، ومن المنتظر أن يكون جاهزًا تدريجيًا في الفترة المقبلة”.

كما أشار إلى حالة المدافع المغربي أشرف داري، قائلاً: “أشرف داري يحتاج إلى نحو أربعة أيام فقط للعودة إلى المشاركة، وقد يكون جاهزًا لمباراة الأهلي القادمة في دوري أبطال إفريقيا. اللاعب حظه سيء بعض الشيء بسبب تكرار الإصابات، لكنه من العناصر المهمة في الفريق”.

واختتم شوبير تصريحاته بالتأكيد على أن الجهاز الفني يتعامل بحذر مع ملف الإصابات لتجهيز اللاعبين بدنيًا بالشكل الأمثل قبل المباريات الحاسمة المقبلة.

Abel recebe punição do STJD por ter puxado celular da mão de repórter após Atlético-MG x Palmeiras

MatériaMais Notícias

O técnico Abel Ferreira, do Palmeiras, foi julgado e punido com um jogo de suspensão pelo Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (STJD), nesta terça-feira (27), por ter puxado o celular da mão de um repórter em uma confusão na zona mista do Mineirão após o duelo entre Atlético-MG x Palmeiras no dia 28 de maio, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro.

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+ Palmeiras perde titular por lesão no joelho, e Marcos Rocha inicia transição

Abel foi enquadrado no artigo 258 do Código Brasileira de Justiça Desportiva (CBJD) – assumir qualquer conduta contrária à disciplina ou à ética desportiva, e acabou sendo absolvido do pagamento de multa, podendo recorrer da decisão. O treinador português terá que cumprir a pena pelo Brasileirão. Logo, não comandará o Verdão no duelo diante do Athletico-PR, neste domingo (2), na Arena da Baixada, em Curitiba, pela 13ª rodada.

Na ocasião do dia 28 de maio, Abel Ferreira pegou o celular das mãos do produtor Pedro Spinelli, da Globo Minas, enquanto ele filmava uma discussão entre o diretor de futebol do Verdão, Anderson Barros, com o quarto árbitro Ronei Cândido Alves, após o empate entre Atlético-MG e Palmeiras.

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O treinador do Alviverde devolveu o celular apenas quando percebeu que estava sendo filmado por outro jornalista. Abel virou para ele e disse: “O futebol brasileiro está assim por vossa responsabilidade”. Na sequência, acompanhado de um segurança do clube, seguiu para os vestiários.

+ Leila Pereira explica quando o Palmeiras vai usar o novo avião e cita as vantagens para os atletas

Segundo o técnico português, ele acreditava que fosse uma zona de acesso restrito, em que os jornalistas não poderiam entrar. No entanto, se tratava da zona mista, onde repórteres credenciados têm livre acesso. No dia seguinte, Abel fez uma chamada de vídeo com o profissional da Globo e pediu desculpas pelo ocorrido.

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Abel FerreiraPalmeiras

West Ham now launch first approach to sign Barcelona "genius" in £26m deal

After opening day humiliation at the hands of newly-promoted Sunderland, West Ham United have reportedly launched their first approach to sign a Barcelona midfielder.

Potter: West Ham have to "improve" after Sunderland defeat

West Ham know all too well that the Premier League is a slippery slope towards shock relegation when teams get off to a disastrous start and must ensure that their defeat at Sunderland is a turning point in Graham Potter’s reign. Picking up where they left off last season, the Hammers were blunt going forward and vulnerable going the other way in what has been the trend of Potter’s tenure.

Having his say on a disappointing afternoon, Potter told reporters: “In the first half, I thought we were good. I thought we did lots well in terms of quieting the crowd down and creating some opportunities. We could have scored, I thought, but nevertheless, we felt OK.

“We started a bit slow in the second half, and from out of nowhere, a goal goes in and it becomes difficult. It was a game where probably the first goal, especially here with the environment, was going to be challenging for us. But we tried to push.

“But in trying to push, we opened ourselves up. The second goal’s a poor one – a mistake leads to a cheap set-piece, and then we didn’t do the basics well enough in the second phase. We haven’t done the basics well enough – it’s as simple as that, and we have to improve that.”

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That defeat may have been the wake-up call that those at the London Stadium needed both on the pitch and in the transfer window, however, with reports now indicating that they’ve made their first move for a Barcelona talent.

West Ham launch first Casado enquiry

As reported by Mundo Deportivo and relayed by Sport Witness, West Ham have now launched their first enquiry to sign Marc Casado from Barcelona. The Spanish giants reportedly value their midfielder at just €30m (£26m), which has sparked a race between the Hammers and Wolverhampton Wanderers to secure a bargain deal this month.

Minutes

1,611

2,380

Key Passes

0.50

1.36

Progressive Passes

5.98

5.87

Ball Recoveries

5.03

5.64

When compared to Lucas Paqueta last season, Casado’s quality becomes clear. Whilst he struggled to match the Brazilian when it came to key passes, the 21-year-old progressed play at an excellent standard, whilst also impressing when recovering possession.

Dubbed a “genius” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, the Barcelona ace still has plenty of room for improvement and plenty of years ahead of him to realise an ever-increasing potential.

Marc Casado celebrates scoring for Barcelona.

For just £26m, West Ham would be landing an undeniable bargain and a player who would slot straight in as one of Potter’s most effective players this season.

Worth more than Gibbs-White: Spurs have struck gold on "unbelievable" star

Tottenham Hotspur’s business in the transfer market over the last couple of years has been seriously impressive, helping the club end the 17-year wait for any form of silverware.

Attention has been turned to investing in younger talents, buying them at bargain prices and allowing them to develop and improve to reach their full potential in North London.

The likes of Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall are just two examples, with the pair featuring in a combined tally of 100 outings between them despite their tender ages.

Both have shown the rewards their current recruitment focus could yield if done correctly, with Thomas Frank needing to continue such a trend ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

However, they’ve also spent big in the past, as seen by Mohammed Kudus’ £55m transfer from West Ham United this window, with other big-money additions also being lined up.

The latest on Spurs’ hunt for Morgan Gibbs-White

Two weeks ago, Spurs triggered the £60m release clause in Morgan Gibbs-White’s contract at Nottingham Forest, with a deal expected to progress after such a move.

However, that switch swiftly ground to a halt after Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis raised an issue with the transfer, claiming that the Lilywhites made an illegal approach for his signature.

Morgan Gibbs-White 2024-25 stats (timeless)

No one even knew that the England international had an option in his current deal, entering talks with the player and his agent without the approval of his current employers.

It had subsequently been reported that the 25-year-old remained keen on a move to North London this summer, although the latest developments appear to suggest otherwise.

Having travelled with the Forest squad on their pre-season tour of Portugal, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man has since quashed any speculation after penning a new deal with the Tricky Trees.

The playmaker has committed his future to City Ground until 2028, with journalist Fabrizio Romano outlining that a move to Spurs is now “off”.

The Spurs player who’s already worth more than Gibbs-White

With Gibbs-White undoubtedly one of the hierarchy’s main targets this summer, other options will likely be drawn up as a result of his decision to stay put in Nottingham.

Morgan Gibbs-White for Nottingham Forest.

However, trust should be placed in the recruitment team to make the right call, something which they’ve done as seen by their recent success rate in the market.

As previously mentioned, with the likes of Bergvall and Sarr, the club have got it right in previous times, just like they have with winger Brennan Johnson, who’s excelled at the club in recent months.

The Welsh international arrived in a £47.5m deal from Forest back in the summer of 2023, with such a price tag appearing a huge chunk given he’d only had one prior year of top-flight experience.

However, a couple of years on from his transfer, it appears to be a shrewd piece of business, racking up a total of 23 goals within his 85 appearances for the club.

18 of which came in the most recent campaign, subsequently proving all of his doubters wrong after he was forced to deactivate his social media accounts following abuse from supporters for his lack of impact.

The 24-year-old is also responsible for one of the biggest moments in the club’s recent history, scoring the winner in the Europa League final – topping off a dream campaign for the youngster.

As a result of his rise in the last few months, Johnson, who’s been labelled “unbelievable” by international teammate Aaron Ramsey, is now valued at a staggering €75m (£66m) by CIES Football Observatory.

His subsequent value is higher than that of Gibbs-White, who’s deemed to be worth £60m due to his release clause, showcasing the phenomenal rise he’s endured during his time at the Lilywhites.

Rank

Player

Fee

Signed from

Year

Dominic Solanke

£65m

Bournemouth

2024

Tanguy Ndombele

£62.8m

Lyon

2019

Richarlison

£60m

Everton

2022

Mohammed Kudus

£55m

West Ham

2025

Brennan Johnson

£47.5m

Nottingham Forest

2023

Micky van de Ven

£43m

Wolfsburg

2023

Cristian Romero

£42.5m

Atalanta

2021

Davinson Sanchez

£42m

Ajax

2017

If he can continue his incredible form into the 2025/26 campaign, he will be a key player in Frank’s quest to lead the side up the Premier League table.

The prospect of Johnson linking up with Gibbs-White once again after their time at the City Ground was certainly an exciting one, although the former teammates will remain foes against next season.

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He's a dream for Kyogo: Birmingham close in on signing "extraordinary" star

Nine new faces have already entered the Birmingham City camp this summer, with that number surely set to increase before September’s looming deadline.

It has gone somewhat quiet on the Blues transfer front after signings galore joined the building at breakneck speed, but another striker must surely be on Chris Davies’ shopping list now that Alfie May has officially sealed a move away to Huddersfield Town.

May would go on to fire home a devastating 17 goals for the Blues across 57 appearances, but the leap up to the Championship was presumably judged to be too much for the 32-year-old to adjust to.

Instead, Birmingham have managed to recuperate £1.2m by selling him on, with that money set to be put to good use in chasing after an immediate replacement.

The blow of May moving on has also been softened by Kyogo Furuhashi’s £10m arrival on the scene, which will also undoubtedly improve Birmingham’s firepower heading into the Championship.

Celtic'sKyogoFuruhashi celebrates with the trophy after winning the League Cup

Why Kyogo should be a big success at Birmingham

When looking at Kyogo’s well-travelled career to date, he has more hits on his resume than notable blunders.

In Japan, for both Vissel Kobe and FC Gifu – before embarking on a transformative Celtic move – Kyogo would show early signs of his blistering edge in front of goal, with a promising 66 strikes tallied up from 182 clashes.

That sturdy number would be amazingly eclipsed in Glasgow when leading the line for Celtic, with a whopping 85 strikes coming his way from 165 total contests.

He did then fall victim to a zero-goal stint at Rennes, but he will hope he can write that short stay off in France as a fluke on his otherwise sparkling CV.

More strikers entering the Blues camp will hopefully take the pressure off Kyogo’s shoulders to be Birmingham’s sole leading man, with these fresh arrivals to Davies’ side also potentially getting even more out of the Japanese gem.

One potential new purchase, in particular, has shown he is content with being an assist king, as much as he enjoys chipping in with a strike or two of his own.

Extraordinary Blues target could be a dream for Kyogo

May will be mainly remembered for his 17-goal heroics last season, but he also provided a healthy nine assists for the attacking bodies around him.

New Blues target Marvin Ducksch should be able to come in and fill this void effectively when looking at his standout Werder Bremen numbers, with Football League World reporting that Davies and Co. are close to landing the well-rounded German as an attacker who could fire them up to the Premier League.

Ducksch’s numbers by season for Bremen

Season

Games

Goals scored

Assists

24/25

36

9

11

23/24

34

13

10

22/23

35

12

9

21/22

29

20

10

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Whilst it’s clear from glancing at the table above that Ducksch shares Kyogo’s clinical nature with an explosive 54 strikes picked up across his last four campaigns for Bremen, he also has the added plus of being a creative machine on his side, with an impressive 40 assists next to his name.

Last season, in particular, saw the Dortmund-born attacker’s goalscoring exploits take a backseat for his unselfish nature to come to the forefront.

He produced 11 assists next to his nine goals, with his FBref numbers over the last year also seeing him come away with a noticeable 3.20 progressive passes on average per clash, enough to rank him in the top 7% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues.

Being this consistent creative spark for Bremen has even resulted in Ducksch being called up to the Germany national side, on top of the 31-year-old being hailed as “extraordinary” by teammate Mitchell Weiser for what he can provide.

All of this will be music to the ears of a poacher-like presence such as Kyogo, who has been donned as “exceptional” himself in the past for his finishing ability under pressure by ex-Hoops comrade Joe Hart.

Marvin Duckschin action for Werder Bremen.

The struggle here might well come in getting both the German and the £10m attacker in the same XI, owing to Davies’ regular 4-2-3-1 set-up, but this is a selection headache Davies won’t be dreading, as his attacking personnel is strengthened regardless.

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Same agent as £20m Arsenal star: Celtic on verge of deal to sign emerging talent

Celtic players are slowly starting to filter back in for pre-season, and they could be joined by yet another new addition sooner rather than later, according to reports.

Celtic's transfer state of play with pre-season already underway

Several Celtic stars were spotted being put through their paces at Lennoxtown earlier this week, and it is anticipated that the bulk of the main group will join before long, but who could accompany them from elsewhere over the coming weeks?

Kieran Tierney, Ross Doohan and Benjamin Nygren have already been announced. Fulham youngster Callum Osmand is set to follow the trio to Celtic and has already been spotted at their training base before being officially confirmed as a new asset.

With Greg Taylor out of contract and set to depart, Djurgarden left-back Keita Kosugi is the latest name on the Bhoys’ radar as they plot a replacement for the Scotland international.

Despite some swift moves to bolster their pool of talent, Chris Sutton believes Celtic should be doing more in the transfer market with the Champions League qualifiers around the corner.

He explained: “Unless Celtic are going to start paying silly money, I’d imagine they may have to wait, perhaps even until the end of the window, for some of the key targets.

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“But it still feels a little lacking to me at this precise point of proceedings and, at the very least, Rodgers will surely want the majority in his squad for the start of the domestic season.”

Managers will never be content with that they’ve got, there will always be an appetite for as many useful options as possible to offer cover across the pitch.

Either way, Sutton’s wish could now have been granted as Celtic are now on the brink of bringing in a talented central defender.

Celtic set to land Hayato Inamura with medical scheduled

According to Sponichi, Celtic are set to land defender Hayato Inamura from Albirex Niigata, and he will travel to Europe to undergo a medical before signing on the dotted line at Parkhead.

The 23-year-old took on his final fixture in current club colours against Machida Zelvia this weekend, and is set to become the ninth Japanese player to join the Hoops once his move is ratified.

Hayato Inamura’s record at Albirex Niigata

Appearances

35

Goals

1

Assists

2

Predominantly a central defender, Inamura is also capable of featuring at left-back and has two years left on his current deal at the Denka Big Swan Stadium. He is considered an impressive talent back home, evidenced by the fact he shares an agent with two of Japan’s top stars in Europe – £20m Arsenal man Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mainz star Kaishū Sano.

Enjoying a productive J League campaign, the Tokyo-born man has won 63 duels and 75% of his tackles and would likely arrive in Glasgow for a nominal fee, although the specifics on that front haven’t yet been confirmed.

Either way, Celtic appear primed to venture back into a market that has been a happy hunting ground in recent years, so there is every chance Inamura will become a shrewd addition with plenty of potential to develop.

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