PST's awards for 2024-25 Premier League season
Maresca hails Tonali and feels not enough to only stop Isak
Enzo Maresca, Chelsea manager, admitted that Newcastle have many good players, not only Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak ahead of their meeting in the Premier League.
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☕️🥐 FC Ptit Déj: iconic celebrations 🫡, stands set alight 🔥
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New York Times
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Tottenham target Antoine Semenyo's two-footedness strikes fear into opponents
A version of this article was originally published in April 2025 Antoine Semenyo is one of the Premier League's most balanced players. He is capable of dribbling, passing and shooting with either foot, thanks to his parents, as he revealed in an interview with The Athletic in October last year. It helps to explain why the 25-year-old Bournemouth forward is so admired by other clubs, including Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. The sticking point for any suitor is that Semenyo signed a new contract last July and Bournemouth are thought to value him at £70million ($94m), as reported by The Athletic on Friday. Advertisement His 16 Premier League goal involvements last season (scoring 11, with five assists) put him level with Bukayo Saka of Arsenal and Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze, two full England internationals. But few can rival Semenyo's ability with either foot: 46 per cent of his shots came with his right foot (with which he got six of those 11 goals) and 54 per cent with his left (the other five). The only player who got closer to a 50-50 split in 2024-25 was Bournemouth team-mate Dango Ouattara (51 per cent left, 49 per cent right). Semenyo took 125 shots in the 2024-25 Premier League, and only Chelsea's Cole Palmer (126) and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool (130) had more. The London-born Ghana international averaged 3.5 of them per 90 minutes, and mixed things up in terms of which foot he used. His ability with both left and right is invaluable in other ways, too, which explains the transfer interest he has received. We took a look at what makes Semenyo such an accomplished Premier League player. Bournemouth's system under head coach Andoni Iraola is defined by off-the-ball pressure and directness in possession. Striker Dominic Solanke contributed to and benefited from both before he moved to Tottenham Hotspur last August, for a club record fee of £65million. Evanilson, Enes Unal and Ouattara have nominally replaced Solanke at centre-forward but Semenyo has proven to be his successor when Bournemouth are out of possession. Signed from Bristol City of the Championship for an initial £9million in January 2023, when Gary O'Neil was head coach, Semenyo is excellent at anticipating the direction of passes, which enables him to intercept in key areas. A fine example came in the 3-1 win against neighbours Southampton last September, shown below. Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek wins a throw-in in their defensive third, which is tossed back to him. As Bednarek prepares to pass forward, Semenyo races in towards the ball, away from his line of vision. By the time Bednarek plays the pass, Semenyo has stretched his left foot out to intercept. The ball ricocheted off his boot and looped over Bednarek, who was forced back, with Evanilson in close vicinity. Bednarek got there first and managed to hook the ball out for a Bournemouth throw by the corner flag — just the kind of high turnover Iraola wants from his team. Semenyo's anticipation has served him well on the other end of the pitch, too. In this example, from the 4-1 away win against Newcastle United in January, he initially does not press Anthony Gordon — the recipient of Bruno Guimaraes' pass — blocking the path for a ball inside to Tino Livramento instead. But when he notices Gordon is receiving on his weaker left foot, Semenyo sprints towards him, knowing the England forward will require an extra second to switch the ball to his right foot before passing infield to Sandro Tonali. This allows him to make a block, deflecting the pass intended for Tonali towards Ouattara (not in frame) to kickstart a counter-attack. No Premier League forward averaged more blocked passes per 90 last season than Semenyo's 1.6, and he ranked sixth in the division for possessions won in the attacking third at 1.0 per 90. As this graph below shows, his ability to read the play has allowed Semenyo, who has played in the top four divisions of the English game and in non-League, to win the ball in different areas and create openings against unsettled defences. The high regain that ended in a goal (the green dot in the graphic above) came in a 1-1 home draw with Newcastle last August. Semenyo runs in from the blindside to pressure Joelinton — one of the most physical players in the Premier League — and shrugs him off the ball. Having won possession, Semenyo accelerates past Dan Burn and Lloyd Kelly (with help from Evanilson's movement) and gets to the byline. He crosses for Marcus Tavernier, who scores the game's opening goal. In possession, Semenyo constantly looks to drive forward, and his two-footedness causes indecision in defenders' minds, contributing to a 51 per cent take-on success rate. His runs are rarely without purpose, with his six total key passes following a take-on in the 2024-25 Premier League only bettered by Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski's seven. Iraola has primarily used him on the left flank, but he has played on the right too — as seen in the example above — and his ability to weave a path both on the inside and outside allows him to thrive. In the reverse fixture against Southampton in February, another 3-1 Bournemouth win, Semenyo receives the ball from Milos Kerkez under pressure. He turns away from James Bree and drives infield. Getting to the edge of the area, he chops the ball from his right onto his left, giving Ouattara time to get himself back onside. The chop leaves Southampton's Will Smallbone in a heap on the turf and Semenyo then passes to Ouattara, who sees his shot saved by Aaron Ramsdale. Semenyo has benefited from the continuous off-the-ball movements in Iraola's system. Like Solanke in 2023-24, he is an active contributor to Bournemouth's style beyond his returns in the final third. Their direct approach involves using long passes from back to front, and Semenyo's hold-up play has proved crucial. Advertisement Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga played 44 passes to Semenyo in the league last season, and 17 of those (39 per cent) came in matches against Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Liverpool and Tottenham — four of the league's five best pressing teams. Iraola's centre-backs have done the same, too. David Brooks' 77th-minute goal in the 1-0 win against Everton in January is a good example. Centre-back Dean Huijsen lofts a pass forward towards Semenyo… …who is initially ahead of James Tarkowski but changes direction to win the first header. With Everton's defence dragged to the left, Brooks has space to run to the far post. Semenyo wins that header, flicking the ball on to Kerkez, who crosses for the Welshman to score. Another example, from December's 1-1 draw with West Ham United, encapsulates Bournemouth's blueprint. Arrizabalaga goes long towards the right, where Semenyo leaps to win the first header, guiding it to Evanilson, who then flicks it on to Justin Kluivert. Kluivert heads it forward for Semenyo, who has now escaped his marker. He races through, but drags the shot wide. Which brings us neatly on to the matter of Semenyo's end product. Bournemouth have encouraged Semenyo to shoot more, and he has obliged. But he can be wasteful, and has scored just five of his 17 Opta-defined 'big chances' in the league. He has hit the post twice and forced saves, but missed presentable opportunities. Perhaps the most glaring of those misses came in the 2-0 defeat of Arsenal in October, when Bournemouth were trying to break down a stubborn defence following William Saliba's first-half red card. A backheel from Kerkez allows Ouattara to dribble to the byline on the left. As Arsenal scramble to protect their box, Semenyo drifts to the far post, behind Riccardo Calafiori, to meet Ouattara's cross. He lets the ball run across him, before sending a shot over the crossbar. His decision-making has left team-mates frustrated on occasion, too. Again, Semenyo has been urged to go for goal more often, because he can finish with either foot, like this January strike in the 2-2 draw at Chelsea… … or this precise finish in the 5-0 stroll past Nottingham Forest later that same month. Though he turned 25 in January, 2024-25 was only Semenyo's second full season of top-flight football. Having fallen through the academy net, he was attending college before joining Bristol City, who loaned him out to non-League (Bath City), League Two (Newport County) and League One (Sunderland) sides to gain experience. Advertisement Few wide players in the Premier League have his repertoire of qualities with and without the ball, and his two-footedness allows him to play as an inside-forward, an out-and-out winger or even an attacking wing-back. Semenyo has said he wants to play for a team competing in the Champions League or Europa League — his recent performances suggest he has the quality to operate at those levels.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Why are Bayer Leverkusen ready to pay more than £30m for Jarell Quansah?
Twelve months ago, in their bid to avoid breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR), Newcastle United approached Liverpool about a deal that would see forward Anthony Gordon move to Anfield and defender Jarell Quansah go in the opposite direction. Liverpool told their Premier League rivals that they had no interest in selling their young centre-back. The 2023-24 campaign had been a breakthrough season for the 22-year-old who began the season as fifth choice but ended it as Jurgen Klopp's preferred partner to Virgil van Dijk. He started 27 games in his 33 appearances. Advertisement It looked like Liverpool's academy had eased concerns about finding a successor to Joel Matip and saved the club a significant transfer outlay. So, a year later, as Bayer Leverkusen edge closer to finalising an agreement with Liverpool to sign the defender for a fee of £30million (€35.1m; $40.4m) plus add-ons, how did we get here? And why are the German side preparing to make him one of their most expensive signings? A move to the Bundesliga is one thing, but the sums involved for someone who made just four Premier League starts last season are surprising. Liverpool's data department will no doubt have run the numbers to assess Quansah's value compared with other centre-backs at a similar age across Europe, with Michael Edwards (previously the club's sporting director and now CEO of football with owners Fenway Sports Group) renowned for his record of delivering profitable returns on Liverpool's squad players. The most comparable example last summer would be 23-year-old centre-back Sepp van den Berg, who departed for Brentford for a fee of £20.2million. That was twice the market value placed on him by Transfermarkt at the time (£10.3m, a crowd-sourced figure). Quansah's current value on Transfermarkt is £17.1m. Other examples of Liverpool's profitable outgoings include Fabio Carvalho (that deal could be worth up to £27.5m), Dominic Solanke (£19m plus add-ons), Rhian Brewster (£23.5m) and Jordon Ibe (£15m), meaning Liverpool's efficient sales approach should come as little surprise among the fanbase. In today's market, Liverpool could point to similar centre-backs who have recently signed in the Premier League as an anchor point for their own negotiations. Maximilian Kilman's £40m move from Wolves to West Ham United would be a salient example that Liverpool could have calibrated on, with Joachim Andersen (£30m) providing a clear ballpark of the modern-day centre-back. Advertisement Liverpool would have still maximised the market if Quansah's £30m-plus sale goes through, with fellow young English centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis being the closest comparison to the 22-year-old in the past 12 months. With Harwood-Bellis moving from Manchester City to Southampton for £20m last summer (almost perfectly aligning with his market value), it shows that Liverpool would be foolish not to profit from the fee proposed for Quansah. This time last year, Liverpool's evaluation would have been higher. Having signed a new long-term contract in October, Liverpool were able to retain value based on the potential he has shown, but it highlights the difficult 2024-25 campaign Quansah endured, which saw him make 25 appearances, 13 of which were starts. Projected to be the club's future starting centre-back for the next 10 years, he only managed one as fourth choice as Joe Gomez was selected ahead of him when Konate was out for over a month in 2024. He suffered setbacks that he had to bounce back from. The first came on the opening day of the season when he was substituted at half time in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town. Following a solid pre-season, Quansah was selected ahead of Ibrahima Konate but with Arne Slot unhappy because of his side's collective poor duel success rate, he sacrificed the young defender. His confidence was knocked and that was evident in the following performances. The sight of Quansah slumping down in his chair after being substituted towards the end of the 3-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in October offered a snapshot into how things were going. Quansah had played well for 75 minutes, but then gave the ball away in the build up to Brighton's first goal and the second saw a shot deflect off him, wrong-footing Vitezslav Jaros. There was some serious misfortune, too. Quansah scored two own goals last season against West Ham (Carabao Cup) and Chelsea (Premier League). Both involved one of his team-mates — Wataru Endo and Van Dijk respectively — booting the ball at him from less than a yard away and it rebounding into the net. Wrong place, wrong time and very little he could do about it. Advertisement His performances were a mixed bag, which was not helped by a lack of consistent action. In January, a positive showing against Lille in the Champions League was followed by a poor one against PSV a few weeks later. Understandably, when playing next to Van Dijk, he looked comfortable, but less so when he didn't. Stylistically, Quansah is not afraid to stick a foot in when the ball is there to be won. Comparing his 'true' tackles — which denote tackles attempted plus challenges lost plus fouls committed — with his fellow centre-backs since the start of 2023-24, only five players average more than his 4.9 per 1,000 touches. Such is his imposing frame, Quansah backs himself to step into a challenge on the ground or in the air (4.9 aerial duels per 90 minutes). The difficulty has been his success rate in those challenges, with a true tackles win rate (63 per cent) that is in the bottom half among his positional peers. Aerially, his 65 per cent win rate is good enough for the 21st-best in his cohort, but notably lower than fellow centre-backs Konate (71 per cent) and Van Dijk (77 per cent). Slot spoke positively about the centre-back's mentality during the second half of the season and was pleased with his performance levels. His most memorable moment of the league campaign came via a crucial late interception in a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers (below). However, the Dutchman's comments following the 3-1 defeat by Chelsea in May offer the potential reason why Liverpool are comfortable letting him go. In a similar fashion to the Brighton game, Quansah did fine but scored an own goal and conceded a late penalty, fouling Moises Caicedo after Dominik Szoboszlai's attempted pass to him lacked sufficient power. 'Jarell is fast, strong and comfortable on the ball,' Slot told reporters. 'He has every ingredient a centre-back for this club should have. Now the last parts should be consistency in his performances.' 'To play in this team, you need to be really, really, really good and he is competitive with the other ones. But he was maybe a bit unlucky that the other ones stayed fit throughout the whole season and they have so much consistency in their levels. Advertisement 'Jarell has had consistency as well but one moment can change the perception of a game. One moment can also lead to us losing or winning a game of football. These small details can make a big difference in a season. That's why to play at Liverpool you need to do so many things well at the highest level — but the moment you do so, he can play here for so many years to come.' Liverpool were not actively looking to sell Quansah this summer and value him as a young squad player with potential to become a regular England international. But as with others on the edges of Slot's squad, there is a price where a sale would be sanctioned. And in a World Cup year, it is understandable for the defender to be seeking more game time in the hopes of making Thomas Tuchel's squad next summer. Yet with Liverpool now needing to bolster their own centre-back options this summer, there is an irony in that the profile of player they would be most closely linked with would be someone like Quansah. Financial implications notwithstanding, there is a curiousness to the exit of such a young, promising English talent that is already attuned to Slot's way of playing. In Leverkusen, he is joining a side that are remodeling their defensive unit in a summer of change after manager Xabi Alonso departed for Real Madrid and Erik ten Hag replaced him. Liverpool have signed Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, while fellow defenders Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich) and Odilon Kossounou (Napoli) have left. Fellow centre-back Piero Hincapie could also move on. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken has already arrived from Brentford and Quansah will not be the final defensive arrival this summer as they overhaul that department. For the German side, this is an investment in potential. Slot has shown his ruthless side, allowing the next stages of Quansah's development and the natural growing pains young players go through to happen away from Anfield. Last season did not make Quansah a bad player in only his second season at senior level. He has shown he has the ability to play at the top of the game, and this could be the perfect move for the defender to prove that again.
