If, like many industries, the business of football transfer speculation seemed to be heading into recession, Ilkay Gundogan did his best to give it a boost with his weekend tribute to Raul Jimenez. “I can imagine him playing with us,” he said of the Wolves striker.
None of which actually makes a move to Manchester City imminent. While Sergio Aguero’s contract expires in 2021, so does Pep Guardiola’s; predicting the Argentinian’s successor entails knowing if Guardiola will stay or who or what another manager may want.
Gundogan managed to rile some in the Midlands by saying: “He would get a chance in every top-six side.” As some Wolves fans were quick to point out, he is already in one. They are not, though, one of the supposed ‘Big Six’.
But the most pertinent part was his analysis of Jimenez. “For a striker he is so mobile, but also physically so good and talented technically on the ball,” the German said. It is the range of attributes that makes Jimenez arguably the best all-round striker in the Premier League.
While Aguero is more of a poacher, Jamie Vardy and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sprinters who flourish on the fringes of games and Roberto Firmino the workaholic whose goals have been infrequent, Jimenez offers something of everything.
He is durable enough to have played 44 times in all competitions this season and potent enough to have scored 22 times. He is persistent enough to have the third most shots on target in the Premier League. He has 13 goals and six assists in it, meaning only Kevin de Bruyne, Jamie Vardy, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been directly involved in more goals.
He is rarely the best at anything, but has a capacity to play a part in a variety of ways. Wyscout data, used by clubs, from the Comparisonator website shows that Jimenez is the most multifunctional centre-forward in England.
He ranks third among strikers behind Aguero and Gabriel Jesus for most shots per 90 minutes. He is seventh for most headers at goal and, highlighting Gundogan’s observations about his mobility, seventh for most successful dribbles.
For a striker he is so mobile, but also physically so good and talented technically on the ball
Jimenez is fourth for assists; perhaps, with better finishing by his team-mates, that could be higher as he stands second – behind only Heung-Min Son, in his sporadic outings as a centre-forward – for passes that lead to a shot.
His distribution can be in dangerous areas but he also has a passing range. Jimenez is fifth for successful passes in the final third and third for key passes but also top for successful long passes.
There are ways of illustrating that he can contribute to different types of attacks. Jimenez ranks seventh for ball recoveries that lead to a shot inside 20 seconds; setting up a quick counter-attack, in other words, which is a key part of modern football.
There is other evidence of his teamwork. Adama Traore has five assists for Jimenez goals this season, making them the second most productive combination behind De Bruyne and Aguero. When roles are reversed, the Mexican has three assists for Traore’s strikes. Indeed, he has three assists against City this season, helping Wolves do a double and, presumably, him catch Gundogan’s eye.
Goals against City, Liverpool and Tottenham, like last season’s strikes against Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, indicate Jimenez is no flat-track bully. Whether a player who turns 29 in three weeks represents a long-term option and whether a club as rich as Wolves would sell are moot points, but the praise for player who is scorer and supplier, a menace in the air and a threat with the ball at his feet, feels earned.
Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
More coverage from the Future Forum
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
The biog
Age: 32
Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.
Favourite mountain range: The Himalayas
Favourite experience: Two months trekking in Alaska
