Revealing 4 factors that will help Vietnam secure a place at AFF Cup 2024; Chelsea offers price to sell Nkunku to MU

Thanh Thuy is waiting for the procedure to leave the European team, the new destination has not been decided yet.

Tran Thi Thanh Thuy is expected to leave the Turkish club Kuzeyboru. According to a source from VTC News, the striker born in 1997 is only waiting for the final procedure to terminate her contract. Currently, Thanh Thuy's team is playing in Croatia.

Tran Thi Thanh Thuy is the first Vietnamese volleyball player to compete in Europe. Previously, the main striker born in 1997 played for 2 seasons in the PFU Blue Cats Club (Japan).

However, Thanh Thuy's time at Kuzeyboru did not go well for her. After 3 months, she was only used for more than 1 half of the CEV Cup (the second-tier tournament for European clubs).

Information about Thanh Thuy leaving Kuzeyboru appeared about a week ago. Turkish media reported that the Vietnamese player left the team due to a shoulder injury and poor performance. However, neither Thanh Thuy nor Kuzeyboru have confirmed this.

At the moment, Thanh Thuy is still not in the best condition. The shoulder injury still greatly affects the playing ability of the 1997-born striker. It is expected that after completing the contract procedures, the Long An-born hitter will return home to handle personal matters and find a new destination.

According to VTC News, if Thanh Thuy leaves Kuzeyboru, she will likely play for another team in Asia instead of playing domestically. Previously, many clubs in Thailand and Japan had expressed interest in the captain of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team.

Chelsea offered to sell Nkunku to MU

According to The Telegraph,Chelseainformed Manchester United about not hindering the transfer of Christopher Nkunku. The only condition Todd Boehly gave was that the "Red Devils" must meet Chelsea's financial requirements.

The French striker joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig for a fee of £52 million in the summer of 2023. The source confirmed that Chelsea gave the green light for Nkunku to leave Stamford Bridge if MU agreed to pay the exact amount of £52 million for this deal.

Most of Nkunku's appearances for Chelsea have come in European Cup competitions. According to Sky Sports, a lack of playing time in the most important tournament has led to Nkunku considering a move. L'Equipe revealed that MU are closely monitoring Nkunku's situation and are ready to sign the striker if the opportunity arises.

Nkunku cannot compete with Cole Palmer in his preferred position at the moment, nor can he replace Nicolas Jackson as the main striker under coach Maresca. The question is whether coach Ruben Amorim really needs Nkunku when he prioritizes his budget for other positions.

At that time, is there room for Nkunku in the MU squad? And more importantly, is signing him necessary for Amorim's development strategy at this time?

Revealing 4 factors that Vietnam is sure to attend AFF Cup 2024

According to VTC News, the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) has received the referee's application documents for duty atAFF Cup 2024Accordingly, Vietnam has 4 representatives participating in the management of matches in the upcoming tournament.

They are Ngo Duy Lan, Hoang Ngoc Ha, Le Vu Linh and Nguyen Trung Hau. Of these, 3 FIFA referees (Duy Lan, Ngoc Ha, Vu Linh) will only participate as table referees. Nguyen Trung Hau will act as assistant referee.

Among them, Mr. Ngo Duy Lan is the only FIFA Elite referee in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Trung Hau is a FIFA assistant referee in Vietnam who has been assigned by the AFC to officiate in Asian tournaments. Mr. Nguyen Trung Hau participated in the 2018 AFC U23 Championship finals.

To minimize issues related to sensitive factors, AFF will prioritize assigning referees outside Southeast Asia to serve as main referees at the upcoming tournament. Thus, it can be understood that almost all referees in the region will only play the role of assistant or supervisor at AFF Cup 2024.

In recent tournaments, the issue of refereeing has always received much attention from countries in the region. The AFF Cup is always tense with fierce competition, so the tournament organizers are urgently selecting reputable referees to minimize risks and errors.

At AFF Cup 2024,Vietnam teamare in Group B with opponents such as Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Laos. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are tasked with at least reaching the finals.

Thailand lacks troops, First Division players to attend AFF Cup 2024

After winning the King's Cup friendly football tournament at home in Songkhla during FIFA Days last October, the Thai national team has undergone many changes.

In the list of 23 Thai players heading to FIFA Days this month, against Lebanon (November 14) and Laos (November 17), coach Masatada Ishii called up many unfamiliar faces to replace key players who cannot play.

Seven players have been recruited this week who have never played an international game for the War Elephants. New faces are appearing in every line, from goalkeeper to defence, midfield and attack.

Among Thailand's new recruits, there are very young players such as striker Phanthamit Praphanth (21 years old), midfielders Seksan Ratree (21), Chitsanupong Choti (23).

The unfamiliar squad that Mr. Ishii summoned this time is led by a number of veterans such as Pansa Hemviboon, Elias Dolah, Peeradon Chamratsamee, Ekanit Panya and Suphanat Mueanta.

No lower-ranked players were called up this time. Instead, they were reserved for the 2024 AFF Cup (ASEAN Championship), a tournament that Thailand prioritized for testing.

“This list is part of the warm-up plan, which I have been talking about for a long time. I want to experiment with every player. The same goes for the AFF Cup next month. Although it is the Southeast Asian championship, some Thai League 2 players will compete, combined with Thai League 1 personnel.”