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Tottenham Hotspur have been put clean out of countenance over the past several weeks, stunned by a three-match skid in the Premier League that is an unfortunate by-product of injuries and suspensions, ravaging the squad.
Injuries and suspensions have hectored the Lilywhites away from pole position in the English top flight, with manager Ange Postecoglou now forced to contend with a threadbare set of players ahead of the winter period.
Nonetheless, it's important to remain optimistic in the face of adversity and the confidence and cohesion that Postecoglou had instilled over the early weeks of the campaign highlights the potential – Spurs won eight and drew two of the opening Premier League matches of the campaign.
Only last year, Spurs languished well below the expected standard and finished eighth in the league after a second-half-of-season deterioration, resulting in Antonio Conte's dismissal and Harry Kane's sale to Bayern Munich in the summer.
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Postecoglou's appointment has worked wonders, with the Australian manager restoring stars such as Heung-min Son, who has now been handed the captain's armband and is leading by clinical example on the pitch.
Heung-min Son's season in numbers
The South Korean menace, aged 31, has been a stalwart for Spurs since signing from Bayer Leverkusen for £22m in 2015, having completed 386 appearances, scored 153 goals and provided 81 assists across all competitions.
In Kane's wake, Postecoglou opted not to sign a first-class centre-forward in the summer and instead spread his transfer work across the pitch, shifting Son, who is principally a left winger, into the focal role.
And what a start to life as the talisman, with the £190k-per-week phenom plundering eight goals and an assist from ten matches up front in the Premier League, backing up past praise from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who named him a "world-class player."
He's not the only cog in the machine though, with Dejan Kulusevski one of the other most instrumental members of the squad, having now established himself as one of the most financially important too.
How much Tottenham paid for Dejan Kulusevski
In January 2022, a Conte-led Tottenham raided Juventus and procured midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and winger Kulusevski, with the esteemed Italian seeking to shape the side for years to come.
Joining on an 18-month loan, Kulusevski spent the latter half of the 2022/23 – his first foray into English football – in fine fettle for his London side, posting five goals and eight assists across 18 fixtures in the Premier League, leading pundit Chris Sutton to dub him a "special player".
Fast track to the summer of 2023 and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy agreed on a £25m fee with the Old Lady to secure Kulusevski's signature for good, despite the 6 foot 1 whiz enduring a testing term.
He didn't really perform that well and only scored two goals over 37 appearances across all competitions as Tottenham toiled, leading pundit Glenn Murray to remark on how the winger had been "blowing hot and cold" for a while.
But since the summer, the £110k-per-week gem has been a mainstay in Postecoglou's system and has actually started every one of Spurs' Premier League fixtures so far, scoring three times.
As per Sofascore, he has complemented his direct return with 1.9 shots, 2.1 key passes, 1.5 tackles and 4.1 ball recoveries per game, also completing 81% of his passes.
Player
Club
Bukayo Saka
Arsenal
Ousmane Dembele
Paris Saint-Germain
Hirving Lozano
PSV
Sadio Mane
Al-Nassr
*Sourced via Football Transfers
Not just an offensive outlet, Kulusevski's tenacity and application across the pitch have seemingly won his 58-year-old gaffer over, with this evidenced by his ranking among the top 19% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles and the top 20% for interceptions per 90, as per FBref.
One of the most talented players in London, the 35-cap Sweden star has remained ever-present for his manager throughout this turbulent period of the campaign, very much cementing his stature as one of the most valuable components.
Dejan Kuluevski's current market value
Kulusevski is still only 23-years-old and could continue to make incremental progress to propel his craft to new heights, establishing him as one of the division's very best.
While his prolific threat is perhaps lacking somewhat, the nuts and bolts are very much there and his market value in comparison to his Tottenham teammates underscores the potential that, perhaps excitingly, has yet to be channelled.
#
Player
Market Value
1
Dejan Kulusevski
£46m
2
Brennan Johnson
£41m
3
James Maddison
£39m
4
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
£36m
5
Rodrigo Bentancur
£36m
6
Heung-min Son
£34m
*Sourced via Football Transfers
As Football Transfers' valuation model above portrays, Kulusevski is actually Postecoglou's most valuable player right now, and while an updated tally would probably raise the price of thriving stars such as James Maddison, it remains an impressive fact that the Swedish marauder is considered so lucrative an asset.
On surface value, three goals and zero assists from 13 matches in the Premier League this season is nothing to write home about, but Kulusevski's value is so much more, providing energy and exuberance in abundance and proving to be a constant thorn as he darts up and down the right channel.
Only in April this year, Football Transfers had provided the one-time Juventus player with a £62m price tag, and while this value has depreciated over recent months, his performances on the pitch have underscored his immense quality and as Spurs rise under Postecoglou, so too will their Swedish maverick.
Age is on his side and this will certainly factor into his higher valuation than Son, but while the forward is proving to be a real star as the spearhead, his exploits would not be possible without Kulusevski's constancy down to the right.
Spurs have taken a hit in recent weeks, but it's hardly detrimental in the long run, not with the likes of Kulusevski's only set to improve and develop within a squad that could finally reach illustrious heights after many interminable years of yearning.
Manchester United look unlikely to bring in high-profile reinforcements to improve one of their priority areas to strengthen in come January after recent developments.
Despite Manchester United's poor form at times this campaign, there can be no doubt that significant injury disruption has taken its toll on Erik ten Hag as he aims to field a side capable of challenging for honours at the top end of the English game.
Negative Manchester United injury news has plagued the Dutchman's squad selection process over this term. Key man Lisandro Martinez could be out until the New Year due to suffering a recurrence of a metatarsal problem that ended his involvement in 2022/23, which has come as a major blow to Ten Hag and company.
Of course, France international Raphael Varane has also been a huge miss as well when unavailable for selection. The former Real Madrid defender has already suffered two separate knocks this campaign and only made his return to first-team involvement last weekend, where he appeared on the bench as an unused substitute away to Sheffield United in the Premier League.
Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof have all taken turns as alternating starters in central defence; however, there is a wider acknowledgment that the Red Devils have given away some cheap goals over the last few months. Maguire's Manchester United future was called into question over the summer transfer window after Ten Hag stripped the 30-year-old of the captaincy at the club and allowed him to explore a possible move to West Ham United.
Creating a storm of chaos, it would be imaginable that United may look to enter the market for further defensive reinforcements in January; however, new developments suggest that their quest to bring some much-needed quality to aid their backline may have now hit a major stumbling block.
|
Man Utd's central defenders – who has featured this campaign? (Transfermarkt) |
||
|
Player |
Appearances |
Goals |
|
Raphael Varane |
8 |
1 |
|
Lisandro Martinez |
6 |
0 |
|
Harry Maguire |
5 |
0 |
|
Victor Lindelof |
11 |
0 |
|
Jonny Evans |
5 |
0 |
According to an Man Utd transfer update from Football Insider reporter Pete O'Rourke, it now looks as if moves for top defensive targets Sporting CP's Goncalo Inacio and Nice's Jean Clair-Todibo are now off the table for the Red Devils due to limited resources that will leave Ten Hag unable to spend big on reinforcements in January.
The reporter states that United have abandoned huge-money moves for the pair and focus will now turn towards signing cheaper alternatives, with Club America ace Sebastian Caceres identified as a possible alternative.
Inacio or Todibo could have improved the Red Devils' solidity within their rearguard; however, they may not come cheap and the continuous unravelling of Man Utd's takeover saga at Old Trafford may need to be resolved before they can splash out on transfers. For now, Ten Hag's men will be focused on a busy run of fixtures as they look to build up ahead of steam on both domestic and European fronts.
Everton's strikers so far this season haven't set the world alight with their finishing, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has two goals to his name in the league after eight games whilst new attackers Beto and Chermiti have yet to score in the Premier League so far.
It's led to the Toffees struggling early on under Sean Dyche, a lack of clinical finishing versus Luton Town at Goodison Park recently meant the visiting Hatters grew in confidence and picked up a 2-1 victory despite Everton registering 23 shots on goal over the 90 minutes.
Strikers disappointing in an Everton jersey isn't unique to the Toffees situation in the present though, the Merseysiders signing one particular dud up front during the 2017-18 season that severely disappointed punters.
When did Everton sign Cenk Tosun?
Cenk Tosun arrived under the tenure of Sam Allardyce, signing for the Toffees in January 2018 for a reported £27 million fee, as per Sky Sports.
At the time, it looked as if Everton had purchased a clinical forward who was ready for the demands of top-flight English football – his goal return for Beskitas in Turkey was deadly, scoring 20 goals from 33 appearances in his final full campaign for the Black Eagles.
The Turkish striker wouldn't score his first goal for his new employers until March however when relocating to England, netting his first goal for the Toffees away at Burnley in a slim 2-1 defeat.
This would see the experienced marksman go on a mini purple patch for the Blues, scoring three goals in his next two appearances for the club versus Brighton and Stoke City with a double against the Potters ensuring Allardyce's side won the tight contest 2-1.
Unfortunately for Tosun, his goals would dry up after.
He would only go on to score another five in the Premier League for Everton before he was moved back to his native Turkey, leading to Guardian journalist Aaron Sharp branding him as "awful" and crying out for central defender Yerry Mina to play up front instead of the 6 foot dud.
Thankfully for the latter man, he has managed to turn his career around since departing Merseyside.
Where is Cenk Tosun now?
Tosun would move back to Turkey after his disastrous couple of seasons at Goodison Park, even a loan spell with Crystal Palace away from the Toffees couldn't kickstart his Premier League career again – managing a solitary goal with the Eagles from a forgettable temporary switch.
He would return to his best with former club Beskitas, picking up from where he left off as a clinical finisher in the Süper Lig.
He now has 86 goals from 190 appearances with the Turkish club across his various spells, outscoring the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Neal Maupay and others who have slotted into the Blues attack since Tosun's exit.
It could well be that Tosun thrives surrounded by home comforts, netting 15 goals last season for the Istanbul outfit as they finished in a respectable 3rd spot in the league.
On the contrary, Everton's main man Calvert-Lewin managed a meagre two goals during the entire 2022-23 Premier League season, while the club's leading scorer in the competition was Dwight McNeil with just seven goals.
Dyche and co likely could have benefitted from a prolific talent like Tosun last term, although the 32-year-old will himself be delighted that he's been able to shrug off his nightmare spell with the Toffees and become a star man for Besiktas once more.
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O fim de semana se aproxima e o clima de expectativa sobe dentro do Coritiba. Em situação delicada no Brasileirão, o Coxa visita o Sport, rival direto na briga contra o rebaixamento.
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Para o jogo na Ilha do Retiro, o técnico Rodrigo Santana, que busca o seu primeiro triunfo pelo clube, pode ficar sem o meia Giovanni Augusto. Ausência por conta de dores musculares, o atleta ainda não treinou com o elenco nesta semana.
Dentro do Coritiba, o clima é de esperança. Sem o meia, a comissão técnica liga o sinal de alerta para o problema da criação, algo que o atleta tem feito muito bem.
Caso Giovanni Augusto realmente fique de fora, a tendência é que Mattheus Oliveira ganhe mais uma oportunidade no sistema de articulação da equipe.
Confira o provável Coritiba: Wilson; Maílton, Rhodolfo, Sabino e Jonathan; Hugo Moura (Nathan Silva), Matheus Bueno e Giovanni Augusto (Mattheus Oliveira); Rafinha, Robson e Ricardo Oliveira.
Manchester United have not made the most successful of starts to the Premier League season, but Erik ten Hag will now hope to use the last-gasp turnaround against Brentford before the international break as a landmark in the club's season.
Having spent considerably over the summer, United recruited with sights set on building upon last season's third-place league finish and triumph in the Carabao Cup.
But inconsistency and various issues have compounded a lack of fluidity that has left the Old Trafford side in tenth place after eight matches, also bottom of their Champions League group after defeats in both games so far.
However, Scott McTominay's stunning brace from the bench against Thomas Frank's resilient Bees two weeks ago harnessed the fabled 'Fergie Time' aura that will linger perpetually at the Theatre of Dreams, no matter the form of the home side.
It does now mean that Manchester United have the chance to clinch their third Premier League win from four outings against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Clinching three points is the absolute minimum, and despite a spate of injury issues in defence, Ten Hag will be certain of his side's ability to get the job done.
What's the Manchester United team news?
Casemiro has been ruled out of contention having picked up a minor issue on international duty with Brazil, though Ten Hag stated that he is "confident" of the midfielder's availability going forward.
It's something of a mixed bag, as far as the rest of the team is concerned, with Raphael Varane and Sergio Reguilon both training this week following injuries; Sofyan Amrabat is also available despite missing both of Morocco's recent matches.
The Red Devils have been hindered by a deluge of defensive setbacks this season, and while Ten Hag is emboldened by greater options today, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Lisandro Martinez remain sidelined.
Amrabat, who signed on a loan worth £8.5m from Serie A side Fiorentina on deadline day in August – with an option to sign on a permanent deal next summer for £21m – has started the past two matches in the Premier League, but Ten Hag must now consider whether starting him in favour of another midfield machine would be the best move today.
How is Sofyan Amrabat performing at Manchester United?
Manchester United's pursuit of Moroccan machine Amrabat was well-documented this summer, and while there were concerns that a deal wouldn't cross the line, Ten Hag succeeded in welcoming his former player (at Dutch side Utrecht) in the dying embers.
The £65k-per-week ace had earned acclaim for his performances over the past few years and was even described as the "best central midfielder in the tournament" by journalist Carlo Garganese after his central role with Morocco at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He is, undoubtedly, one of the most composed and measured presences in Ten Hag's team, but his particular set of skills. while instilling control, do not quite progress the play as well as certain other phenoms in the Red Devils squad.
Over the past year, Amrabat ranks among the top 12% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for pass completion, the top 10% for attempted passes and the top 14% for progressive passes per 90, but also ranks among the bottom 34% for assists and 27% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref.
FBref likens the 27-year-old to Arsenal's Jorginho, and this is quite an apt assessment of where his talents lie, and while he is "perfectly suited to Ten Hag's Man Utd", according to Statman Dave, the forthcoming match against Paul Heckingbottom's side could be a great opportunity to unleash Christian Eriksen.
Why should Christian Eriksen start vs Sheffield United?
Hailed as a “genius” by Statman Dave, Eriksen has been one of the finest playmakers in the Premier League over the past decade.
Player
No of Assists
Kevin De Bruyne
102
James Milner
87
Christian Eriksen
75
Ashley Young
71
Mohamed Salah
63
Signing for Manchester United from Brentford on a free transfer in 2022, the 31-year-old has now forged 53 displays, scoring three goals and supplying 11 assists.
The £150k-per-week maestro has posted one goal and one assist across seven matches this season, but has only started three times in the English top flight, having started from the bench on the past three occasions.
The Danish midfielder ranks among the top 1% of positional peers for assists, the top 12% for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for attempted passes and the top 7% for progressive passes per 90.
Clearly, Eriksen's talent lies in his ball-playing ability and creativity, and while Amrabat boasts a superlative level of passing, he is more disciplined and metronomic in his carriage.
Against the Blades, who are moored in deep waters already this season, United will ostensibly have little trouble with controlling the flow of the match – after all, today's hosts rank bottom for shots (71) and 19th for passes (2,773) in the division this season.
There is nothing to suggest that Amrabat and Eriksen couldn't thrive together in the middle of the pitch, and with Casemiro ruled out this is certainly a possibility today.
But given McTominay's destructive cameo last time out at Old Trafford, it would make sense to provide him with a starting berth against the Premier League's bottom club.
Ten Hag will want to restore the balance and get United, belatedly, up and running for good this term, and anything other than a victory over Heckingbottom's men will set the vultures circling.
Eriksen has not started any of the past three Premier League matches, but must be unleashed today to pump inventive life into the United squad, which will only benefit from his creativity.
The development adds to a state of instability in Australian cricket the midst of concurrent reviews into CA: one into the culture of the organisation and another tackling the behaviour of the men’s national team
Daniel Brettig31-May-2018
Getty Images
Iain Roy, Cricket Australia’s head of integrity and the conductor of the rapid investigation into the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, has been summarily removed by the governing body even as reviews into its culture and conduct continue.In December 2013, Roy had been promoted to head a unit specifically created to deal with integrity issues around the game that were raised by a report into CA’s codes, policies and practices in this area by the former AFL executive Adrian Anderson. Roy’s removal took place a matter of days after the release of an Al Jazeera documentary raising questions about the involvement of Australian players in corrupt activity.However, the greater question surrounds yet another major change to the organisation amid two concurrent reviews into CA: a wider cultural review being undertaken by The Ethics Centre (which has a CA director, Michelle Tredenick, on its board), and a more focused review chaired by the former Test batsman Rick McCosker tackling the behaviour of the men’s national team. Its facilitator, Peter Collins, is a longtime paid consultant of CA.Roy’s exit, which took place on Tuesday, was a surprise to many at CA, only a week after the former Board director Kevin Roberts was promoted to the post of chief operating officer beneath the chief executive James Sutherland. The position is one that Sutherland had previously baulked at creating, but which now strongly suggests that the chairman David Peever is intent upon installing the ambitious Roberts as Sutherland’s eventual replacement.When the Newlands scandal took place, Sutherland’s first action was to send Roy and the team performance manager Pat Howard to Cape Town to conduct a code-of-conduct investigation into the events of the match. The result was Roy’s recommendation that the captain Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner be banned for 12 months for conduct contrary to the spirit of the game, and Cameron Bancroft for nine months. Smith and Bancroft were banned from taking any leadership positions in Australian cricket for 12 months, and Warner for life.Within CA, there had been a level of satisfaction about the fact that the episode had progressed from Bancroft’s appearance on the Newlands replay screen to the players’ acceptance of heavy sanctions inside two weeks. However there was the administrative wrinkle of the Western Australian Cricket Association having to approve Bancroft for club cricket participation due to its rules being different to those of New South Wales, the state of Smith and Warner.Even so, Roy’s sudden exit adds to a state of instability at CA, as priorities compete between the reviews, a goal to find an extra AUD 20 million in grassroots funding by cutting corners from the administration following last year’s failed attempt to remove a fixed-revenue percentage from the MoU with the Australian Cricketers’ Association, and the political machinations around the Board, Sutherland and senior management.Since the reviews were instituted, a swathe of staff have been removed from the recast game development portfolio, the head of marketing has left, while the Board director Bob Every quit well before his term was due to expire after a series of disagreements with Peever. In the meantime, the coach Darren Lehmann was replaced by Justin Langer on a four-year contract. Roy’s removal has only added to the appearance of an uncertain picture for the organisation, and lent weight to queries over whether the reviews are of any genuine significance.All this despite the signing of an AUD 1.18 billion broadcast rights deal with the Fox Sports and Seven networks in April, trumpeted by CA as a landmark deal in its balance between preserving a significant free-to-air presence for the game while also offering up the sort of blanket coverage of the game to be provided by Fox creating a dedicated cricket channel. How its many talking heads will address the sort of upheaval seen at CA in recent weeks remains to be seen.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou seemingly has a plan for midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, as journalist Paul Brown shares some detail.
What happened to Giovani Lo Celso?
Signing from Real Betis on a permanent deal under Jose Mourinho in January 2020, Lo Celso has endured a mixed Spurs career since.
The Argentine midfielder, who clinched a World Cup winner's medal with his country in Qatar last year, has gone out on two separate loan spells to Villarreal – where he featured regularly over the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons.
There were reports that Lo Celso could've been sold over the summer transfer window, as former side Betis even displayed a real interest in bringing the South American back to Spain once again.
However, new Spurs boss Postecoglou is a fan of the midfielder, as he explained earlier in the summer. When asked about reports in La Liga linking him with a return to the league, Postecoglou explained:
“You don't have to go to Spain mate, you can just ask me. Yeah, I like Gio. He fits the way we play. I enjoy working with him and he seems to enjoy working with us.”
The 27-year-old, before a recent injury, started to feature more and more under Postecoglou – playing 16 league minutes before starting their Carabao Cup second round clash against Fulham last week (WhoScored).
The tables are seemingly turning for Lo Celso, with reporter Brown telling GiveMeSport that the player is set to feature regularly in Tottenham's plans moving forward.
"Yeah, there's been some interest in Spurs' players," said Brown on deadline day.
"I know there are several clubs that wanted Lo Celso; it seems pretty clear that he's sticking around. We asked Postecoglou again today and the message was that while he's got a small injury, he's considered part of the squad now and quite a key member of it.
"He seems to be considered now a kind of backup or substitute option for Maddison in those areas of the pitch, so I think he's going to get minutes this season and will stay."
What's been said about Giovani Lo Celso?
It appears Lo Celso has a chance to resurrect his Spurs career after failing to impress in recent campaigns.
When he wasn't out on loan, the Argentine's performances in a Lilywhites jersey attracted criticism from members of the media like Spurs pundit John Wenham – who once called him a "passenger" during Nuno Espirito Santo's tenure in charge.
“One player I really want to talk about is Lo Celso,” said Wenham to Football Insider after a Lo Celso performance against Man United.
“He came in against Man United which was another baffling decision by Nuno.
“Ndombele had been playing better than he previously had. He decided very randomly to bring in Lo Celso.
“He was awful and did absolutely nothing. Poor set pieces, poor pass completion, he was an utter passenger.
“It was another poor performance from him. Under Conte, he has everything to prove to convince him he’s worth keeping around. Conte won’t suffer fools.”
Following some of his past outings, Lo Celso may now have a chance to turn his fortunes around under Postecoglou.
Arsenal and sporting director Edu Gaspar by extension are in "new negotiations" to sell winger Nicolas Pepe as journalist Loic Tanzi shares an interesting transfer update.
Who has left Arsenal this summer?
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta oversaw a real overhaul during the latest summer window, with Arsenal either selling or loaning a plethora of squad players in recent months.
Indeed, Folarin Balogun, Matt Turner, Auston Trusty, Pablo Mari, Rob Holding and long-serving midfielder Granit Xhaka all departed the Emirates for fees, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Matt Smith both left on free transfers.
Meanwhile, many Arsenal players have also gone out on loan, including the likes of Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Kieran Tierney and Marquinhos most notably.
Shifting these players on and freeing up squad space, potentially freeing up space for the January transfer window, could be an important factor in Arsenal's future business.
Arteta's men have proved those decisions absolutely spot on so far this season, as the north Londoners are keeping chase with Man City near the top of the Premier League table.
However, one former club-record signing who Arsenal haven't managed to move on just yet is Pepe, who once cost the club around £72 million from French side Lille in 2019.
Despite some praise in parts from Arteta, who called Pepe "phenomenal" last year, things haven't quite worked out for a forward who can prove talented at his very best.
The 28-year-old did fairly impress on loan at Nice last season, with Pepe bagging six goals and ranking among their top two for attempts at goal and key passes made per 90 on average (WhoScored).
The winger also made more successful take-ons per match than any other Nice player in the French top flight, showcasing his true talent (WhoScored).
As a result, it is believed Turkish side Besiktas have been chasing a deal for Pepe, as their transfer window doesn't close until September 15.
Reporter Tanzi has shared an interesting update on this saga, as it is believed the Ivory Coast international has already passed a medical at Besiktas and has agreed to join them.
However, the move has been held up for now, as Arsenal and the Super Lig giants review payment conditions and conduct "new negotiations".
"While Nicolas Pépé passed his medical on Monday and agreed to join Besiktas, the Ivorian's departure from Arsenal to the Turkish club is once again blocked," Tanzi wrote for L'Equipe.
"Nicolas Pépé's case has experienced a new twist in recent hours. While everything was done for the former Lille player to sign for Besiktas (Turkish D1), the attacking midfielder must wait again.
"The agreement between the Turks and Arsenal must be reviewed and new negotiations are underway between all parties."
What happened to Nicolas Pepe?
Despite showcasing some talent whilst on loan at Nice over 2022/2023, things haven't quite worked out at Arsenal, and Arteta's abundance of attacking talent means Pepe will find it very hard to ressurrect his career in north London.
An out-of-window exit to Besiktas for the African could suit all parties, coming as as he seeks to re-establish his name on the biggest stages.