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علق أحمد نبيل كوكا لاعب فريق الكرة بـ الأهلي على استبعاده من قائمة منتخب مصر المشاركة في بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا بسبب معاناته من الإصابة.

وكشف منتخب مصر في بيان رسمي، عن خضوع أحمد نبيل “كوكا” لاعب الأهلي، لفحوصات طبية وآشعة أثبتت إصابته في أربطة القدم وبالتالي عدم لحاقه ببطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا.

طالع.. رسميًا | منتخب مصر يستدعي بديل أحمد نبيل كوكا

وقال أحمد نبيل كوكا عبر صفحته الشخصية على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “فيس بوك”: “الحمد لله دائمًا وأبدًا قدر الله وما شاء فعل الحمد لله أن ما حدث شيء بسيط وليس كبيرًا”.

وتابع: “بطولة كان نفسي أمثل فيها منتخب مصر بالذات في هذا العمر، لكن الحمد لله وليس نصيب وربنا دائمًا لا يعطي إلا الخير وأنا راضي الحمد لله”.

وأتم: “بإذن الله عوض ربنا كبير في ما هو قادم، وبالتوفيق للمنتخب إن شاء الله يرجعوا لنا بالبطولة”.

Finance expert Kieran Maguire has been left surprised at how late two Manchester United bidders submitted their revised offers for the club.

What’s the latest takeover news from Manchester United?

Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are seemingly the frontrunners when it comes to a complete takeover from the Glazers, with the pair eventually submitting second offers last month.

Both held talks with United officials but ended up missing the deadline to make a second bid for the club in an incredible development. They were handed an extension from the Raine Group in New York as a result, with Ratcliffe needing less than 24 hours to place his revised bid. Jassim followed suit days later, with the pair now awaiting to hear a response.

Maguire, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to Football Insider regarding recent takeover developments at Old Trafford. He said it appeared as if Jassim’s party was handed an extension which led to Ratcliffe’s team also receiving one after finding out. Maguire then compared the ongoing process to a ‘circus’ and labelled it as ‘bizarre’ that Jassim’s delegation and Ratcliffe were shown around the club prior to the initial second deadline.

“It looks like Jassim was given an extension and therefore Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s party then insisted they were entitled to the same once they found out.

“With the sale being held on such a large scale, surely the Glazers needed to allow more time to reflect and decide. It seems there has been an awful lot of grandstanding in regard to this takeover, it’s been like a circus.”

What would Jassim or Ratcliffe bring to Old Trafford?

Jassim is confident in his attempt to take full control in Manchester, and it looks as if he has big Old Trafford plans. The Qatari group previously wanted 'things done quickly' so they could help Erik ten Hag in the transfer market, with speculation suggesting Jassim is already eyeing a stunning swoop for Jude Bellingham and is a huge fan of the midfielder.

Ratcliffe meanwhile has said he will make United “the number one club in the world once again” and is looking to redevelop Old Trafford and the club’s training base, so it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top, providing the Glazers give the green light to a full sale.

Sky Sports have provided a major update on the Manchester United takeover saga following Wednesday’s deadline for second bids.

The Lowdown: Jassim and Ratcliffe

Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have appeared to be the front runners to take over from the Glazers in recent weeks, with both parties holding Old Trafford talks last week.

The pair were set to submit second offers for the club this week, with Fabrizio Romano one of many reporters to state that those bids were made ahead of the 9pm deadline. However, it looks as if that was not the case, with Sky Sports sharing an update late on Wednesday evening.

The Latest: Sky Sports update

Sky Sports shared some ‘huge’ developments regarding a United takeover after the 9pm deadline on Wednesday. Chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol said that both Jassim and Ratcliffe’s bids were not completed in time and have asked for an extension from the Raine Group in New York, describing it as ‘incredible’.

‘This is incredible what we’re about to talk about now. I’ve seen lots of things but I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this.

‘We’ve been telling you that Sheikh Jassim had made a world record bid for Manchester United. I’m now being told by a very, very senior source that the bid has not been received yet. It needed to be sent to the Raine Group in New York, and I’m being told that bid has not been received yet.

‘I’m also being told that Sheikh Jassim’s delegation have asked Raine for an extension and Raine have agreed to accommodate that request. ‘And what’s more, the same goes for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. Now my understanding is, from being told by someone very senior that said to me ‘why would we lie to you’, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, the bid has not gone in.’

The Verdict: Crazy

It does seem extremely bizarre that both Jassim and Ratcliffe missed the deadline and have asked for an extension, but it appears as if a takeover involving one of the two isn’t out of the question just yet after their request for an extension was approved – Romano says ‘bids will still go in’.

However, both parties will need to be on the money going forward when it comes to new deadlines, especially as several other groups interested in buying a smaller percentage of United did meet the initial Wednesday deadline.

Jassim and Ratcliffe’s improved offers are set to be world-record bids, worth around £5billion, so it could be an extremely important few days.

Leeds United are thought to be keeping tabs on Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney ahead of a potential move.

The Lowdown: Lack of minutes

Tierney hasn’t featured heavily this season at the Emirates, playing just 468 minutes of Premier League action, starting only four top-flight games.

That has been due to Oleksandr Zinchenko’s arrival in the summer, with Mikel Arteta’s side currently on course to pip Manchester City to the title.

Tierney shares the same agent as Patrick Bamford and is under contract in north London until 2026, however, he is being linked with a summer exit, with Elland Road named as a potential destination.

The Latest: Transfer update

90min shared a story on Wednesday regarding Tierney, who is attracting interest from a number of top-flight sides including Leeds.

Those at Elland Road are monitoring the Scot’s situation, with Arteta aware that his lack of minutes may become an issue for Tierney.

The Verdict: Needed

Junior Firpo has found some form of late, scoring the winner against Southampton and starting every game under Javi Gracia. However, the Spaniard is the only recognised left-back on the books in Yorkshire, so a move for Tierney, hailed as a ‘warrior’ by Ashley Cole, could be required.

The Whites will need to remain in the top flight for a transfer to gather any real pace, though, but it looks as if Tierney may be a name to keep an eye on heading into the summer when Leeds are likely to be under new ownership in the 49ers Enterprises.

Manchester United drew 2-2 with Barcelona last night in an entertaining Europa League clash which nicely sets up the second leg at Old Trafford next week.

Remarkably, this was the first time that the two giants of European football had met competitively outside of the Champions League since the final of the 1991 European Cup Winners’ Cup, and Erik ten Hag’s men certainly proved their worth.

The game burst into life in the second half, with United taking a 2-1 lead with half an hour to go, but a Raphinha goal with just over ten minutes left was enough to secure a share of the points.

David De Gea was in fine form, making six saves and two clearances and taking 42 touches as the ever-reliable Spaniard proved his worth to Ten Hag, saving United from conceding four or five in Camp Nou.

However, there were a few underperformers for the Red Devils. Aaron Wan-Bissaka won just three duels all night while losing possession 17 times in what was a shoddy display from the defender, while Wout Weghorst delivered another poor performance in a United shirt as the subject of an unlikely experiment from Ten Hag.

How did Wout Weghorst play against Barcelona?

The Dutchman deployed his compatriot in an unfamiliar midfield role against the La Liga side. He squandered the perfect chance to open the scoring during the first half, summing up his time at the Red Devils so far.

He was given a match rating of 5/10 by The Telegraph, the lowest of anyone in United’s starting XI, while a rating of 6.3 from Sofascore justified how the bold call by the manager didn’t quite work out.

Despite playing the full game, Weghorst took just 27 touches on the night (15 fewer than De Gea) while making a paltry nine passes throughout, a return made even worse by the fact that he was playing in a deeper role than usual.

Aside from his missed chance during the first half, he had just one other shot, and his attacking input was severely limited. In spite of the result and overall team performance, the experiment clearly didn’t work as the Dutchman won just three out of 13 duels, was dribbled past on four occasions and lost possession seven times, although he did chip in with three tackles and three clearances.

The on-loan Burnley striker has struggled so far during his time at the club, scoring just once since joining last month, and he let his manager down again last night. Ten Hag’s idea of playing him out of position behind Marcus Rashford didn’t exactly work out as he intended, and a change of approach will be required when Xavi’s side visit Old Trafford next week.

Robbie Mustoe believes Leeds United have to address their left-back woes amid their midweek display.

The Lowdown: Left-back is still an area of concern

Despite Junior Firpo picking up a hamstring injury last summer, Jesse Marsch and Leeds thought they could do without recruiting a new left-back, which saw Pascal Struijk shoehorned into that position.

January offered them to rectify their mistake of the summer which they appeared to do by bringing in Maximilian Wober – who had been playing at left-back for RB Salzburg – only for him to be deployed at centre-back so far in his Leeds career.

Therefore, Victor Orta must see this as an area of weakness and clearly it is a key area that must be improved no matter who the next manager is because they need at least one good left-back that can provide competition and even relegate Firpo to the bench.

The Latest: Orta must improve no matter who the manager is

Mustoe was far from impressed by what he saw from both Struijk and Firpo in Leeds United’s draw at Old Trafford last night as he claimed on The 2 Robbies podcast that left back is a problem area.

He said: “Defensively, Max Wober, I think makes them a bit better defensively, but they’ve got to get a different left-back. Struijk started, Firpo came on and I’m a bit worried by both of them, that’s a problem.”

The Verdict: Leeds must be looking to strengthen

It is quite astonishing that Leeds have allowed their left-back situation to get progressively worse as the windows have passed as Firpo clearly isn’t the answer with the former Barcelona man unable to keep himself fit for a prolonged period of time since moving to Elland Road.

The fact that Struijk is still getting picked ahead of both Wober and Firpo to play at left-back potentially says a lot about their capabilities of slotting into that position, despite them having featured there on a regular basis.

While Leeds are indeed still looking to land Jesse Marsch’s successor at Elland Road, Orta must already be planning, with the scouting network at Leeds, for the summer and which player is going to be their number one left back for many years to come.

CBS journalist Ben Jacobs has claimed that Leeds United have the advantage over other Premier League clubs for Azzedine Ounahi.

The Lowdown: Leeds holds Ounahi talks

Sky Sports have claimed that Jesse Marsch’s side has ‘held talks’ with Angers SCO regarding the player’s services, the report also claims that both Napoli and AC Milan are interested in the midfielder.

Ounhai caught the eye at the World Cup last winter where he made six appearances, he was named in Sky Sports’ team of the tournament alongside Antoine Griezmann and his teammate Sofyan Amrabat.

The Angers man has played 15 times in Ligue 1 and made 13 starts, Ounahi has no league goals or assists to his name but he ranks as the French side’s seventh-best-performing player. He has a Sofascore rating of 6.74 based on his performances in France’s top flight.

The Latest: Leeds hold Ounahi advantage

Speaking on Joe Wainman’s YouTube channel, Jacobs said that he spoke to Marsch about his plan, role and future with the club. He claims that the Whites hold the advantage over any other Premier League side interested in Ounahi.

He stated (24:28), “My understanding is also I’ve spoken directly to Jesse Marsch about his role, about the team, about a plan.

“If Leeds themselves were to go down and that’s the only thing that might go through the player’s mind in terms if the joins now and Leeds get relegated then he’s gone from one relegation scrap to another.

“But the advantage Leeds have got here categorically over any rivals is that at the moment, the Premier League clubs that had been interested in the past have faded a little bit because of the price.”

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The Verdict: Ounhai could be a top coup

We believe that the Moroccan could be a fantastic coup for Leeds if they were to sign him in January.

Ounahi has better interception stats than his teammate Amrabat at the World Cup, making an average of 1 per game to the Fiorentina star’s 0.9.

The Angers midfielder was also dribbled past less times on average per game than the 26-year-old, Ounahi numbers came out at 0.3 and Amrabat’s were 0.7.

Leeds would be getting a midfielder who’s got an intelligent defensive IQ in the middle of the park, but with competition from outside of Europe there could be a real problem.

Both Napoli and AC Milan currently occupy the top two spots in Serie A and are in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, this could be an attractive proposition for Ounahi and lead him to snub a switch to Elland Road this month.

Aston Villa have ‘sealed’ a €14m (£12.4m) move to sign Real Betis full-back Alex Moreno, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Moreno speculation

Villa were first linked with a swoop for the defender ahead of the New Year after NSWE previously promised Unai Emery a ‘huge’ 2023 transfer budget.

The 29-year-old is one of numerous La Liga players who have been linked with a move to the Midlands in recent weeks, and it seems as if the Spaniard will now become Emery’s first signing in charge at Villa Park.

The Latest: Villa move for Moreno

Romano took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to share an update on Villa’s move for Moreno, claiming that documents have been exchanged ahead of a €14m deal being ‘sealed’.

The Italian said that ‘Emery will have the fullback he wanted’, adding that the player ‘will undergo medical tests soon’ prior to being unveiled as a Villa player.

The Verdict: Versatile operator

Described as ‘quality’ by journalist Ethan Lamb, Moreno is primarily a left-back but can also line out as a left midfielder or left winger. Therefore, he’ll offer plenty of versatility under Emery, who has mainly gone with a 4-4-2 system so far.

All of Moreno’s 15 league appearances for Betis this season have come as a full-back, from which he has registered three assists, so he could be about to rival Lucas Digne for a starting spot, with Villa chiefs potentially open to offers the Frenchman following a move for Moreno.

Southampton are tracking Dundee United forward Rory MacLeod and are now set to watch him in action up close, according to a new report.

The Lowdown: Future star

In a bid to bolster their development squad, the Saints now appear to be interested in MacLeod, who is just 16 but has already made three appearances in the Scottish Premiership with Dundee United.

Not only that, but the youngster is showing signs of being a good leader, having captained Scotland U17s earlier this season, giving off the right indications that he could be on course to be a future star.

The Latest: Southampton scouting mission

According to a new report from the Daily Record, Southampton are set to watch the starlet play in the coming days, having had him on their radar for some time.

However, it is detailed that only a significant bid  with guaranteed add-ons would tempt the Tangerines into letting him go, and the Saints may face competition from Newcastle United for his signature.

The Verdict: Talented prospect

While the youngster is clearly being eyed for the future rather than as someone to have an instant impact, he is evidently a talented prospect, who has a very promising future ahead of him if he continues to develop.

Lauded as ‘fearless’ by journalist Alan Temple, the Scot made history for Dundee United by becoming their youngest ever player in February last year, making an appearance for the club at the age of just 16 years and six days old.

Southampton have a well-deserved reputation of being a fantastic club for developing young players, and they could have found another real gem for their development squad in MacLeod, so Nathan Jones should move swiftly to sign him before there is even more interest from Premier League clubs.

Newcastle United have made an out-of-window bid to sign Barcelona forward Memphis Depay, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Magpies eye moves…

Eddie Howe is currently chasing Champions League qualification as the St. James’ Park continue an exciting new era under the ownership of PIF.

Only league leaders Arsenal match Newcastle’s fantastic Premier League defensive record so far this season and the signs of their potential success in future seasons are certainly there.

However, if they’re to compete with England’s most elite and established sides, PIF will need to continue their efforts in backing Howe financially.

The January transfer window is now looming and a report from Spain has shared the club’s attempts to sign Depay from Barca.

The Latest: Newcastle lodge Depay bid…

As per Mundo Deportivo, Newcastle have made an out-of-window offer of £17.5 million to sign the Netherlands international who is out of contract in 2023.

Barca, rather than let him go for free are in ‘favour’ of selling Depay mid-season – but the problem lies with the £159,000-per-week player himself.

The report claims the forward ‘prefers’ to wait until the summer to decide his future – potentially dealing Newcastle and Howe an issue.

The Verdict: Make the move…

Whether he arrives next month or later in the new year, Depay could provide Howe with real strength in depth going forward.

He finished 2021/2022 as Barcelona’s top goal scorer and one of their highest-rated players overall (WhoScored) – showing there is indeed a real player to be had here.

If Depay ends up in the North East for free this summer, that would be an equally good deal, with the only problem being he won’t be able to pitch in and help Howe seal European qualification.