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Liverpool's hopes of signing Antoine Semenyo, 25, from Bournemouth in the January transfer window have been dealt a blow with the Cherries unwilling to sell the Ghana winger during the season. (Teamtalk), external

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11743/13471813/antoine-semenyo-bournemouth-forwards-lb65m-release-clause-becomes-active-in-january Yep, as predicted, there is the release clause. Was way too random for him to sign a contract extension without a release clause. Will be interesting to see if someone goes for him in January. I hope he stays there till the summer tbh. I think Liverpool right now, would be the best option for him as I don't see us bidding for him.

Mbappé v Haaland v Kane https://scoutedftbl.com/mbappe-haaland-kane-best-striker-in-the-world/ For the first time in Erling Haaland’s lifetime, Norway are going to the men’s World Cup. The man who had not yet been born when Norway reached the knockout stages for the first time in 1998 will, in 2026, be leading the line for his country as the all-time top-scorer. After back-to-back braces in a historic international break, Haaland has now scored 55 goals in 48 caps. Of the 84 men with at least 50 goals at professional senior international level, only one has a better goals-per-game ratio than Haaland; Niels Poul Nielsen scored 52 goals in 38 caps for Denmark. It would be very easy to argue, then, that Haaland will heading to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the best goalscorer in the world. I have used ‘best goalscorer’ instead of ‘best striker’ intentionally. Not because I disagree, but because 'goalscorer' requires greater nuance. It sounds ridiculous to write, but not every striker should be evaluated on their goal output alone. Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane also scored a brace of their own during this break, taking their international tallies to 55 in 94 caps and 78 in 112 caps respectively. Combined, Mbappé, Kane and Haaland scored 8 goals and attempted 20 shots between them during this international break. Across league and UEFA Champions League competition this season, they have scored 55 goals in 45 games. They are the three most prolific goalscorers on the planet right now. So, given how well the Rice v Caicedo discussion in the previous international break went down [we see you lot, only clicking when we wade into mainstream drama. Shame - ed] I’ve decided to do something similar. I am going to wander the same profiling path for these three players in attempt to translate their style as a striker into any particular metrics that we can then use to discover similar players. The not-so-groundbreaking theory is that despite all three players scoring a bucket-load of goals, the similarities might end there. Conveniently, Kane (57), Mbappé (55) and Haaland (53) are the only three players that have scored 50 non-penalty goals across Europe’s Big Five Leagues since the start of the 2023/24 season. We'll be comparing that output within a pool of 283 players tagged exclusively as a Forward when exporting the data from Stathead FBRef, each with at least 900 minutes played in that period. I am fully aware that no matter how well this newsletter appears to translate style, we’ll never be able to find players of similar substance. The starting graph provides an immediate and interesting contrast just by looking at the total number of touches. Haaland barely touches the ball, Kane is operating at an average level and Mbappé is funnelled possession constantly. Looking at specific zones, Mbappé is the most extreme of outliers for Touches in the Attacking Penalty Area per 90 while Haaland is the most extreme of outliers for Penalty Box Proximity (the percentage of touches inside the opposition box). Straight away we have an effectiveness versus efficiency contrast. Of course, due to their standing as the most elite forwards in the world, they also rank well for the mirror metric. But it’s clear from the off that Mbappé is the most effective at getting touches inside the box, while Haaland is the most efficient. In fact, Mbappé is a super-effective final third presence overall, not just inside the box. Haaland’s AOE is the penalty area, Mbappé’s is the final third. But what about Kane? Well, he doesn’t profile notably above or below average for any substance or style metrics. As we saw with Declan Rice, the ability to operate at an average level across all thirds is a skill or at least a playing style in itself. It’s just incredibly hard to quantify or spot. And although he ranks above average for the penalty box metrics, he doesn’t camp inside it, unlike Haaland. Perhaps the most striking datapoint for Kane when looking at AOE is Percentage of Passes Received as Progressive Passes. In direct comparison with Haaland and Mbappé specifically, he is very different. Let’s keep exploring. The primary function of pretty much any striker is taking shots and all three of these players are well above average for Shots per 90. However, we once again see that Mbappé is super-effective - he ranks first for volume with 4.7 per 90 - and Haaland is hyper-efficient - he ranks first with 17.3% of his Touches as Shots. Kane is in the middle of these two for both metrics. The same points apply to Shot Involvements when including Key Passes: Mbappé is super-effective, Haaland is super-efficient, Kane is an elite balance of both. We don’t learn too much beyond what we already know through this graph. When it comes to Production, all three players are shooters first, shot-assisters second - although Mbappé is again super-effective at producing both - so let’s take a closer look at Shooting as a skill. Again, these three players are the elite so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see them rank well above average for most metrics. Instead, then, it’s worth focussing on the most extreme differences between them. From top to bottom, the first row that might catch your eye is Non-Penalty Goals - Non-Penalty Expected Goals (NPG-NPxG). Essentially, Mbappé and Kané are performing significantly above the average centre-forward while Haaland is operating just above the expected level. It’s quite obvious that this is linked to Average Shot Distance and Non-Penalty xG per Shot. To use either end of the spectrum again, Mbappé is shooting from 17.8 yards on average compared to Haaland’s 12.1 yards which means that when the Frenchman scores, he’s pretty much always over-performing. Conversely, because of Haaland’s ability to take shots from the most dangerous positions, he’s penalised quite heavily if he does miss one. That’s why it’s so important to consider these efficiency metrics in conjunction with output. Mbappé and Haaland rank first and second for Shots On Target per 90. Mbappé is likely to hit the target due to the sheer volume of efforts - he’s effective. Haaland is likely to score because of the location of his efforts - he’s efficient. Kane, once again, falls in the middle of these two. But now we’re going to take a look at what makes Harry Kane completely unique. As we’ve seen with pretty much every stat so far, Mbappé is ultra-high usage while the extent of Haaland’s passing is a collection of short bounce passes. But I adore Kane’s Passing profile. Relative to other strikers, Kane has absolutely no interest in those Short Passes (between 5 and 15 yards). He plays them, but the majority of his passes are either Medium (34.3) or Long Passes (15.2%). When it comes to Long Passes (>30 yards), Kane not only ranks above average for per 90, but he is a huge outlier for style. This is why his Percentage of Passes Received was below average and I think it makes his goalscoring output even more impressive. This guy is quarter-backing while maintaining a scoring rate of 0.85 Non-Penalty Goals per 90. Kane is also Switching play (0.6 P90) or playing a Through Ball (0.52 P90) once every 90 minutes. This outrageous and ambitious profile becomes even more obvious when looking at Progression and Penetration via Passing. Strikers like Haaland should never be evaluated based on any of this metrics. He ranks below average for every metric and towards the very bottom for a few. But it has no bearing on his game, or at the very least his role for Manchester City. Kane, however, is a phenom. His penchant for Long Passes means he ranks second in the entire dataset for Distance per Pass Completed and 7th for Progressive Distance per Pass Completed. He is spraying it the width and length of the pitch. Similarly to the contrast between Mbappé and Haaland for Shooting, the same relationship emerges between Mbappé and Kane for Passing: Mbappé is super-effective, Kane is hyper-efficient. I’m not convinced 'efficiency' is the right word for every metric here - the average of length of a pass is very much a stylistic trait. However, it’s clear that when Kane decides to pass, it’s extremely likely that he’s going to achieve meaningful Progression or Penetration. Combining these traits with his Shooting effectiveness and efficiency despite the below average Shot Distance helps illustrate that ball-striking ability and vision we know Kane has in abundance; he can effortlessly cover distance with one swing of his boot. The question remains whether it will prove valuable when looking for similar players or is it a purely unique trait? But while Passing helped separate Kane from our other elite picks, Carrying begins to cast a spotlight on Mbappé. In fact, the only Carrying metrics that Haaland and Kane rank above for are the Percentage of Carrying Distance as Progressive Distance (Direct Ratio) and the Percentage of Carries as Carries into the Penalty Area - although the later applies to Haaland only. I think that metric does help highlight Haaland’s Power Forward playstyle. His data makeup is very much that of a Goal Hanger due to the dominance of Manchester City, but this season we are starting to see more of those bulldozing carries through the centre. For Mbappé, however, his wide forward tendencies are blatantly obvious through the ultra-high usage once again. He averages 2.73 CPA per 90, just below Mohamed Salah and just above Rafael Leão while the top-ranking players for this metric are Vinícius Júniior (4.68), Noni Madueke (3.77) and Bradley Barcola (3.47). However, if we take a closer look at the breakdown of Progression and Penetration, Mbappé is not an outlying carry-first forward. Kane’s reliance on his Passing is obvious. He is notably above average for the Percentage of his Progressive Actions as Passes, Final Third Entries as Passes and Penalty Area Entries as Passes. We then see the long-range, heat-seeking style illustrated through his Z-Scores for Distance per Action and Progressive Distance per Action. My theory is that he will index even more into this superpower as he ages, something I briefly touched on in a recent edition of The Shortlist. It turns out that Mbappé is not just super-effective at moving the ball into the final third or penetrating the penalty area, he’s pretty efficient. But he’s not particularly biased when it comes to Passing or Carrying to achieve it. I was quite surprised by that, especially considering how much he dribbles. Just as Passing was Kane’s secondary superpower (or you could even argue his primary one given its uniqueness), Dribbling is certainly Mbappé’s. His volume is once again elite, but he is also above average for the stylistic metric, Percentage of Touches as Take-On Attempts. He also ranks in the top 10 for Shot-Creating Actions via Take-Ons: he uses Dribbling as a means to achieve Production. His dribbling preference becomes even more extreme when looking towards the sky. Mbappé ranks joint-last alongside Lamine Yamal for the Percentage of Touches as Aerial Duels with just 0.47% - they have absolutely no interest, or rather no need, to challenge anything in the air. Kane and Haaland meanwhile are competent in aerial contests but are not asked to engage in them as often as most centre-forwards, a luxury afforded by their team’s dominance. But a high-volume of Aerial Duels does not always reflect aerial ability, especially for strikers. For example, Haaland has attempted the most headed shots across Europe’s Big Five Leagues this season. So, to sum it all up, although Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé are the most prolific goalscorers in the world right now, they have earned that reputation through different means. 👤 Kylian Mbappé is an ultra-high usage, super-effective, dribble-first phenom. Give him the ball in and around the final third and let him cook, as the kids say. He will produce a bucket-load of shots for himself and for his teammates through flashes of flair. 👤 Erling Haaland is a hyper-efficient shot-monster. We can’t quantify this with FBRef metrics, but his combination of stature, speed and intelligent movement grants him the unique ability to generate a tonne of shots from the most dangerous locations. 👤 Harry Kane is an unrelenting forward-first frontman. Whether lining up a max-range pass or striking the ball at goal, his ability to turn the ball into a heat-seeking missile means he can blow open a game at any given moment from any part of the pitch and is always looking to do so. Understanding the master of a craft gives you the tools to discover an apprentice. But we’ll save that for the SCOUTED Squads, coming to an email inbox near you soon.

After back-to-back braces in a historic international break, Erling Håland has now scored 55 goals in 48 caps for Norway, who have now qualified for the 2026 World Cup Finals in North America next summer. Of the 84 men with at least 50 goals at senior international level, only one now has a better goals-per-game ratio than Håland; Niels Poul Nielsen, who scored 52 goals in 38 caps for Denmark from 1910 to 1925.

He'll play plenty of games between now and end of the season Hopefully once Palmer is back, they can start forming a partnership and play some free flowing football!

I dont wanna downplay him for Brazil, cause he has done well. But not like he is secured a starting spot there either. He's a great talent and should play more and more for sure. But also quite clearly not all there tactically yet and imo nowhere near the first players on the team sheet (that should be a player like Caicedo). With both premier league, cup matches and CL, he will get plenty of football and some needed rest as well.

Man United rejected Chelsea's offer of Romeo Lavia as part of the deal that saw Alejandro Garnacho move to Stamford Bridge, ultimately for £40 million, due to concerns over the 21-year-old's fitness record. (@MarkOgden_)

Has to be first name on the team sheet if fit & available, his performances for us & for his NT make it pretty tough to justify leaving him out. I suppose if anyone could find a reason, it would be Enzo fucking Maresca though…..

A sponsor for the front of shirt will generate income though and after 2 seasons without, we could do with a sponsor 🤣

Yes but good squad/team building isn’t achieved by signing 25 x 18-21 year olds. You need to have some guys who are different ages to balance it out. Would get more out of Semenyo than both Gittens & Garnacho over the next 3 seasons probably. He will make an excellent addition to someone else. Our chances sailed the moment we dropped another £100m on 2 young wingers.

Estevao Willian scores again, people. As if anyone would have bet against that, right? The rising star scored…View the full article

He already has 4 goals for Brazil, Vini JR got 8.. Can't wait to have him and Palmer at the same time already.

Some player this lad

Ibrahima Konate revealed that Mbappe “calls me every two hours to sign for Real Madrid”. (Telefoot)

Antoine Semenyo decides next move amid Liverpool, Man United & Man City interest Bournemouth star has made his preference known.. https://thedailybriefing.io/p/antoine-semenyo-decides-next-move Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has informed the Cherries hierarchy that Liverpool is his preferred destination if a transfer materialises in the upcoming January window, according to Indy Kaila News on X. The 25-year-old winger, who has been one of Bournemouth’s best performers over the past year, is attracting significant attention from Premier League giants, but it appears he has already made his choice. Semenyo has been “vocal” and transparent with Bournemouth’s management about his ambitions. While he remains committed to performing for the club, he believes a move to Anfield would take his career to the next level. Antoine Semenyo is adamant on Liverpool move Internally, Semenyo is said to view Liverpool not only as a step up but as a club where he could compete for major honours immediately. Those around the Ghana international say he genuinely believes he can make an instant impact under Arne Slot and that joining Liverpool gives him a real shot at achieving his biggest dream: Winning the Champions League. The winger has reportedly told team-mates and staff that he sees Liverpool as a club “built for trophies,” and the opportunity to join a side competing at the very top of European football is a key driving force in his decision. The Bournemouth attacker has scored six Premier League goals this season for Andoni Iraola’s side. Whether Liverpool see Semenyo as a long term Mohamed Salah replacement or someone who can fill the void left after the departure of Luis Diaz, remains to be seen. While Bournemouth are reluctant to lose one of their most influential players mid-season, they will not stand in his way if an acceptable offer arrives but they are expected to demand a significant fee. Liverpool face Premier League competition The club are aware that interest will only grow, with Manchester United and Manchester City having also monitored the Ghanaian’s progress. However, insiders insist that Liverpool’s advantage is clear: the player only wants Anfield. Everything now rests on whether the defending Premier League champions choose to act. If they do, Semenyo could become one of the surprise signings of the season and potentially fulfil his Champions League dream sooner than expected. What is intriguing about all this is what Man United and Man City will do if the player decides to move to Anfield in the near future. Are they going to do anything to convince him or change their transfer target?

Chelsea could save £52m if they hold off on signing France centre-back Dayot Upamecano until next summer when he is a free agent - but risk missing out on the 26-year-old should Bayern Munich sell in January, with Liverpool among the clubs interested. (Football.London)

England have won 11 consecutive games first time ever. The squad has a lot of depth - FA gambling on 'Two season Tuchel' -but need to play some South American, and quality European teams between now and WC Broja injured again...

And Maresca will bench him straight away.

Liverpool made a late move to try and sign Independiente del Valle centre-back Deinner Ordonez, but by the time the Reds made an approach, Chelsea had already sealed a deal for the 16-year-old. 😀 (@FabrizioRomano)

But not sure if you read correctly it seems like he is not just attributing to tariff. Tariff only been here for one year...well even less then one year. But this statement says over the past 5 years......

🟢Chelsea are tracking teenager Felipe Morais, and have sent a €10m (£8.6m) offer to Cruzeiro to “test the waters”. (PH Cruzeirense via Sport Witness)

Feud erupts between Trump and ally Marjorie Taylor Greene ahead of Epstein files vote "Marjorie 'Traitor' Green [sic] is a disgrace to our GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY!" he wrote. The comments follow days of criticism from Greene, who has said that Trump is not doing enough to bring down costs for voters. She also denounced his recent decisions in foreign conflicts and on tariff policies. But she has been most critical of his approach to handling the Epstein files. The turnaround is remarkable for a lawmaker who stood by Trump during multiple scandals, most notably the Capitol riot in 2021 when Trump supporters stormed the US legislature in an attempt to block Trump's election defeat. Greene is one of only four House Republicans who joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition calling for the release of the Epstein files last week. On Friday, Greene posted on X that Trump was trying to stop other Republicans from voting in favour of the Epstein petition. "He's coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next weeks vote to release the Epstein files," she posted, adding: "It's astonishing really how hard he's fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level."

FAFO bitches......... ICE may well come for his clan now, lololol what a fucking idiot zero sympathy Pro-Trump owner shocked as grocery store that thrived for 43 years goes bankrupt under his tariffs and policies https://wtfdetective.blog/pro-trump-owner-grocery-store-bankrupt-under-tariffs/ A beloved family-run grocery store in Florida may soon close its doors after more than four decades in business — and the owners say tariffs are to blame. Wong Kai Imports, founded in 1983 by John Wong and his two brothers after their family immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong, has been a cornerstone for the local community in Manatee County. The shop became a go-to destination for authentic Asian ingredients in an area with few other markets like it. Once a thriving wholesale operation based in Bradenton, Wong Kai Imports was highly profitable for years before John decided to scale down a decade ago to focus on his health. Even so, the smaller grocery arm continued to attract loyal shoppers seeking ramen noodles, sauces, candies, and specialty imports from across Asia — until now. The trouble began when President Donald Trump’s tariffs took effect, shaking the foundation of small import businesses across the country. Wong, who supported Trump in the last election, said he was swayed by campaign promises to reduce grocery costs. But now, as his business struggles to stay afloat, he admits the reality looks very different. Grocery inflation is at a two-year high, and prices continue to climb with no end in sight. Wong told NPR that virtually all of his products have increased in price since early this year. For instance, a box of mabo tofu sauce — a popular Sichuan dish — has gone from $2.75 last year to $3.95 at the beginning of this year. “We just had this shipment come in yesterday — it’s $5. We cannot catch up. Every shipment coming in, we have to put a new price on it,” Wong said. Despite the mounting costs, Wong has been reluctant to pass those increases on to his customers, many of whom are elderly and living on fixed incomes. “I talk to a lot of customers. They told me, ‘Mr. Wong, don’t close. Stay open for another three years,’” he said. “I said, ‘I try, but it’s hard. It’s very hard.’” The grocery aisles at Wong Kai are lined with imports from countries like China, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines — all facing steep tariff hikes under Trump’s trade policies. With proposed tariffs on Chinese goods reaching as high as 145 percent, Wong finds himself caught in the crossfire. About half of his inventory originates from China, and the rising import costs have made survival increasingly difficult. “Grocery inflation is at a two-year high, and things only seem to be getting worse,” Wong said, reflecting on how his once-thriving store now faces an uncertain future. “With the economy like that, it’s very hard for not just me. It’s for a lot of people.” He shared a story of one longtime customer — an elderly woman — who has resorted to rationing a single can of sardines over several days just to stretch her meals. Since coming to the U.S. from Hong Kong as a child, Wong has worked tirelessly to build his business and live the American dream. But after decades of hard work, he fears that dream is slipping away. “Over the past five years, the cost of goods has doubled with no indication of slowing down,” he said. “Is there any future? Is this the American dream?”

That was my first thought as well. Larry Ellison is a menace on multiple levels, as his his son.