Manchester City have more players at Euro 2024 than any other club in Europe. Not all of their players have got off to winning starts, and some are yet to play a game. However, there were wins for the likes of Phil Foden with England and Rodri for Spain.

There was also a superb performance from Nathan Ake, as the Netherlands got off to a winning start.

Despite running out 2-1 winners, it took a late goal for the Netherlands to overcome Poland, who were without Robert Lewandowski. An early goal from Adam Buksa gave Poland the lead before a long-range effort from Liverpool attacker Cody Gakpo equalised for the Netherlands.

It took the Netherlands until the 83rd minute for them to find a winning goal. Former Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst got on the end of a cross into the box, sniffing out the chance like any good striker would, to give his side the lead.

There was a late scare for Ronald Koeman’s side, however, with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen called into action to parry a shot away from goal before the rebound was fired into the side netting. It was an important victory for the Netherlands, with Ake in particular putting in an impressive showing.

Ake’s match stats vs Poland

The Man City defender played a huge part in the victory for his side, registering one assist, for Gakpo’s goal, and putting the deflected cross in which fell to Weghorst for the winner. This led to him getting a very impressive 9/10 post-match rating from Goal.com journalist Tom Maston.

In his report, Matson explained how Ake, who acted as a third centre-back when his side had possession, “made a couple of excellent interventions” when defending. However, the centre-back also imposed himself going forward, with Matson going on to describe the fact Ake “caused problems when he did step forward”, as shown by his assist.

As per Sofascore, the City man won his only ground duel and his only aerial duel of the game, as well as winning his sole tackle, a vital last-man challenge. He also made four clearances for his side.

With the ball, Ake was as composed as ever, which you would expect from a player coached by Pep Guardiola.

He completed 63 out of 64 of his passes, which gave him a 94% accuracy. He played an impressive four key passes and also created one big chance. All that came on top of his assist for Gakpo. It was a superb day at the office.

Ake’s transfer value in 2024

Singing Ake has proven to be a masterstroke from the Citizens for more reason than one. Firstly, he has been a key player under Guardiola, having played a crucial part in four title-winning sides, as well as winning the treble whilst a City player. In total, he has played 125 times for the club.

Premier League

4

2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24

Champions League

1

2022/23

FA Cup

1

2022/23

Club World Cup

1

2024

Super Cup

1

2023/24

League Cup

1

2021/22

However, his transfer value has risen since they spent £40m on the Dutchman to sign him from Bournemouth in August 2020.

According to CIES Football Observatory, he is now valued at £42m, showing a slight increase in his value. However, if City were to sell the 29-year-old, they could likely command a higher fee than that. In short, it has been a superb piece of business from City.

Indeed, Ake is more valuable than several of City’s current stars. Kevin De Bruyne is valued at just £17m now, over half the amount the Dutchman is valued at. This comes after a tough season in which injuries have affected him. The talismanic Belgian missed a total of 42 games for club and country last term.

The Dutch defender is also more valuable than English trio Jack Grealish, John Stones and Kyle Walker. Both Grealish and Stones are valued at just £34m, with Walker even less, at just £13m. Only the latter two are at Euro 2024, with Gareth Southgate opting to leave Grealish out of his squad.

It is fair to say that City have struck gold with Ake. They have a superb versatile player who has risen in value and gotten even better since he joined the club. At only 29 years of age, he could be an important player under Guardiola as they look to try and regain their treble in the 2024/25 campaign.

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ByJoe Nuttall Jun 16, 2024

It has been all change for Chelsea Football Club this summer, after a season in which they lost one cup final, came close to another, and managed to qualify for European football again next season via their placement in the league. However, it was not enough to keep Mauricio Pochettino in the job.

Following his sacking at the end of May, the Blues board turned their attention to finding a new manager to take them into the 2024/25 season, and hopefully beyond. Their choice was Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca, who led the Foxes back to the top flight by winning the Championship.

Maresca, who is a student of Pep Guardiola, will have a big task on his hands to improve Chelsea’s cup fortune; they lost the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool last season and the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester City. The Italian will also be expected to challenge for the top four and improve upon the Blues sixth place finish, as well as winning the Europa Conference League.

To do that, Chelsea will likely have to dip into the transfer market this summer. They have already been linked with one player who could add more threat to their attack next season.

Chelsea's search for striker

The player in question here is Portuguese side FC Porto’s Brazilian striker Evanilson. After a successful season leading the line at Estádio do Dragão, the 24-year-old Brazil international has now been linked with a move away from the Portuguese giants during the summer window.

Indeed, that is according to a report from Portuguese newspaper Jornal De Noticias earlier this week, who believe that Chelsea are interested in signing the striker, who has one cap for Brazil so far. The Blues are thought to be targeting a new striker to help balance the workload of Nicolas Jackson, after a chaotic first season in the Premier League for the Senegalese marksman.

Chelsea have been heavily linked with Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran in recent weeks as they look to bolster their attacking options. As reported by The Guardian on Friday, they have been given permission by the Villans to talk to Duran, although are 'unsure over whether to press ahead with a move' for the £40m rated centre-forward.

Thus, Evanilson has given Chelsea an alternative option to Duran. However, the Brazilian could command a larger fee than Villa’s number 24. In a separate report by Jornal De Noticias, they report he has a release clause worth £84m, with Manchester United and Tottenham also interested.

How Evanilson compares to Duran and Jackson

Football analyst Ben Mattinson described Evanilson as the “dangerman” ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Porto earlier in 2024, noting that he is an “all-rounder” number nine who is “everywhere” on the pitch.

Last season, he certainly showed just how dangerous he can be, scoring 25 goals and registering seven assists in 42 games for Porto in all competitions, a tally which included four in seven Champions League games and 13 in the top flight of Portugal.

In comparison, Duran has scored five goals in just 23 Premier League matches. However, he played the equivalent of just over five matches, meaning his goals-per-game ratio averages put at roughly one goal each game. Jackson scored 14 goals in 35 Premier League games, and his 17 in all competitions was bettered by only Cole Palmer, who bagged 22 goals.

Another interesting stat to look at in order to compare the trio is their expected goals per 90 minutes. According to FBref, Jackson just edges it, with 0.6xG, compared to 0.56xG for Evanilson and the Villa striker notching up just 0.38xG. However, the numbers are in Duran’s favour when it comes to the number of goals per shot. He averages 0.25 per 90, with Jackson second with 0.18 and Evanilson in third, with 0.16.

Stat

Evanilson

Duran

Jackson

Games

27

23

35

90s

22.8

5.3

31.1

Goals

13

5

14

xG per 90

0.56xG

0.38

0.6

Goals per shot per 90

0.16

0.25

0.18

However, as Mattinson pointed out, Evanilson’s creativity and link-up play are a feature of his game, which helps him stand out amongst the trio. He averages 2.37 progressive passes per 90, with 1.27 key passes on top of that. Comparatively, Jackson averages 2.15 progressive passes and 1.22 key passes, with Duran’s stats considerably lower; the Villa man averages just 1.70 key passes and 0.75 key passes per 90 minutes.

If Chelsea are looking for a profile to complement Jackson, then perhaps Evanilson is that. The Brazilian is a superb link player and is also capable of running the channels, whilst, as the stats show, being a very clinical finisher.

The price for Evanilson is quite a lot of money, likely a sizeable amount of Chelsea’s budget. With that being said, he could be an excellent addition to the Blues’ side, and would bring something they have desperately missed on the whole; goals.

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ByTom Lever Jun 13, 2024

Last season, The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell claimed that Douglas Luiz has risen to a position as "one of the Premier League’s standout midfielders", with his efforts in the centre of the park essential to Aston Villa's stunning top-four finish.

Luiz has been a part of the framework at Villa Park for five years, signed from Manchester City as a 21-year-old for a £15m fee in 2019. He has since chalked up 204 appearances, scoring 22 goals, assisting 24 more.

Villa, by Unai Emery's design, have played on the rich soil of European competition and now ascend to a place at the most eminent table, a position among the elite of the elite.

Emery blended talent with tenacity and tactical wherewithal to create this system, of such fluency, of such fervour, and Luiz was front and centre. Ten goals and ten assists apiece last term. The general in the middle, the pace-setter, mood-maker.

Alas, he's on the way out. The urgency to comply with the Premier League's profit and sustainability (PSR) rules has pushed him toward Turin, with Juventus signing the Brazil international and allowing talented duo, Enzo Barrenechea (deep midfielder) and Samuel Iling-Junior (young English winger) to head to Villa Park.

Valued at €50m (£42m) in total during the process, Luiz departs a key member of Villa's rise, however, there's actually another Lions star valued far higher than the 26-year-old.

What Aston Villa paid for Ollie Watkins

In the summer of 2020, Dean Smith's Aston Villa had survived by a whisker on their return to England's top flight and looked to strengthen considerably, pushing upwards.

The 2019 signing of Wesley Moraes for £22m had not worked out – the Brazilian scored five goals from 21 matches before tearing his ACL – and so Villa moved for Brentford talisman Ollie Watkins, who had just completed a 26-goal campaign in the Championship.

Joining from the Bees in a club-record deal rising to £33m, Watkins has been immense at Villa Park, going from strength to strength and invariably providing his club with a steady goal threat – though his influence stretches far beyond his sharp shooting boots.

Aston Villa: Top Scorer by Season

Season

Player

Apps

Goals

23/24

Ollie Watkins

53

27

22/23

Ollie Watkins

40

16

21/22

Ollie Watkins

36

11

20/21

Ollie Watkins

40

16

19/20

Jack Grealish

41

10

18/19

Tammy Abraham

42

26

Stats via Transfermarkt

He's not been too shabby since moving to the Midlands, has he? In fact, Watkins has claimed the club's top goalscorer award in each of his four campaigns since leaving Brentford.

Four excellent seasons, but the one just concluded is undoubtedly Watkins' best yet, having truly established himself as one of the Premier League's leading players.

Ollie Watkins' 23/24 season in numbers

Last season, Watkins thrived as the spearhead of Emery's system, with his exploits in claret proving to be instrumentally important to Champions League qualification.

Across 53 appearances in all competitions, the 28-year-old scored a whopping 27 goals, adding 13 assists in the Premier League to boot.

As per FBref, he ranks only among the top 20% of centre-forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals scored and the top 29% for shots taken per 90, speaking of his prolific quality.

Moreover, he ranks among the top 3% for assists per 90, with his dynamism and many-angled weaponry making him a "nightmare to play against", according to Leicester City's Conor Coady.

£33m for a player untested in top-flight football always carries an element of risk to it, but Smith and Co saw something special in the versatile Englishman and made their move. It has paid off most wonderfully for the upwardly developing club.

Especially given his staggering market valuation, some £33m more than Luiz, who is also one of the glowing members of the Aston Villa squad – for the next few days, anyway.

Ollie Watkins' market value

Watkins signed a new contract in October 2023 that extends his stay at Villa Park until the end of the 2027/28 campaign. While some high-profile suitors have been sniffing around of late, he would cost an arm and a leg to prise away from Emery's project.

Ensconced in the early stage of a lucrative, £130k-per-week new deal and having never fired with greater surety than this past year, Watkins is deservedly one of the most marketable and expensive players in the Aston Villa squad.

Football Transfers mark him as the most lucrative player in the Villan squad, with such a number-crunching claim corroborated by GIVEMESPORT, who revealed during the 2023/24 season that the Arsenal-linked striker would only be allowed to leave for £75m-plus.

This stance is unlikely to have changed, with Watkins expected to lead the club into a new era among Europe's elite. The security of Champions League football has made it hard to convince Emery that he should be sold. And he won't.

While he cost a pretty penny four years ago, this £75m price tag means that his value has actually risen by a jaw-dropping 127%, even though he once had the tag of Villa's club-record signing.

Villa have well and truly hit the jackpot on Watkins. While it would be ludicrous to cash in on their focal frontman this season despite lingering concerns surrounding PSR, the mere fact that the notion of a sale never crept from Villa Park suggests that Emery's stance is unequivocal.

And rightly so. He might be head and shoulders above fellow high-profile Villans such as Luiz, but he's the cream of the crop and must be allowed to spearhead the side in the Champions League, only a few months from now.

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