Northern Ireland’s emerging talent Isaac Price has credited ex-Everton boss Frank Lampard with being a “massive” influence on his development and indicated the manager’s Goodison Park exit prompted his own summer move to Standard Liege.
Few Evertonians recall Lampard’s 12-month reign with great affection – they narrowly avoided relegation in May 2022 and then, amid protests against the board, failed to progress before he was sacked in January – but the 20-year-old Price believes he took big strides under the former England midfielder.
“(Lampard) was massive for me,” Price said. “I learnt so much while he was there. I had my debut… at Arsenal (in May 2022) and ever since then I felt like he really taught me a lot of stuff.
“He gave me my debut, he put a bit of trust in me. I was training with the (senior squad) regularly so I was learning a lot of things. Had it gone differently at Everton and he’d had the players he needed to get results maybe I’d still be there.”
Although he did not play any Premier League football in the first half of last season, Price felt ready to step up after the World Cup break. But a few weeks later Lampard was sacked and his replacement Sean Dyche turned to experience in another fight against the drop.
“When the World Cup was on we went to Australia and played two games and I played 90 minutes in both games and I felt like I was one of the best players there,” Price added. “We came back and I was around it, I got half an hour against Brighton, and after that I felt like I was pushed to one side.
“Even though I had the belief in myself that I should be playing or at least coming off the bench I wasn’t really seeing that. As soon as Lampard left and the new manager came in I felt I was just pushed aside and that built up a bit of frustration in me that I wanted to leave.”
That move came when Price joined Belgian club Standard Liege, ending 13 years at Everton. It was a leap on and off the pitch, but Price has the self-assurance to take on the challenge. He is learning the language, admittedly slowly, and said he has quickly settled.
“I feel like it was a bit of belief in myself,” he said of his decision to move. “It’s different living away from home on your own but it’s great. The football is great, the fans are unbelievable, it gives you a bit of confidence every time you go on the pitch so I’m really enjoying it.”
His first goal for the club was the winner in a 2-1 victory over Club Brugge last week, coming on the back of his first Northern Ireland goal in the 4-2 loss to Slovenia last month, his fifth cap.
Slovenia will visit Windsor Park on Tuesday but first come San Marino on Saturday, a match Michael O’Neill’s side need to win to end a five-game losing run and change the mood around a Euro 2024 qualifying campaign which has unravelled since March.
When the qualifying draw was made there was optimism that, having avoided some of the bigger nations and with O’Neill returning, Northern Ireland could challenge in Group H, but a horror run of injuries effectively ended their hopes.
“We just have to put that behind us,” Paddy McNair said. “We have two home games, hopefully six points, and we start to build some momentum.”
Qualification hopes may be over, but Saturday is still a must-win game for Northern Ireland in front of their own fans.
“I agree,” McNair said. “If we don’t beat San Marino it wouldn’t be good at all. It’s a game, especially at home, we expect to win, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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