Tag Futebol

Liverpool will ‘try again’ to sign Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde in the summer of 2023, according to transfer reports from Spain.

The Lowdown: Liverpool keen on Valverde

According to some recent claims, the Reds made a late attempt to sign the Uruguayan during the summer transfer window, seeing him as an ideal midfield addition. Instead, Valverde remained at the Bernabeu and he has enjoyed an excellent start to the season, scoring in Sunday’s 2-1 victory away to local rivals Atletico Madrid to make it a third successive match on the scoresheet.

The 24-year-old’s current deal may not expire until the summer of 2027, but that hasn’t stopped further rumours from doing the rounds, in addition to the ongoing links with fellow midfielder Jude Bellingham.

The Latest: Liverpool to go again for Valverde

According to reports from Spain [via Sport Witness], Liverpool will ‘try again’ for Valverde next summer and Madrid ‘already know’ about the Reds’ interest in their player.

There is no mention about whether or not the Uruguay international would want to depart the Champions League holders, though.

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The Verdict: Superb potential signing

Valverde is maturing into an exceptional player for Real Madrid – he has been described as ‘unreal’ by Sky Sports-featured analyst Statman Dave – so these links are hugely exciting from a Liverpool perspective.

The right-sided central midfield role is currently an issue at Anfield, with Jordan Henderson arguably past his best and Harvey Elliott still a young player learning his trade.

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However, the Uruguayan’s pace, athleticism, tactical intelligence and quality could all help to take Jurgen Klopp’s side up a gear if he comes to Liverpool. Also, he has now scored three goals in five La Liga starts this season.

It is hard to imagine the reigning Champions League winners allowing Valverde to leave, though, so it could be wishful thinking on the Reds’ part to sign him unless they are willing to present a huge offer to the club who defeated them in the European Cup final earlier this year.

Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz could well be set to stay at Craven Cottage, despite persistent links regarding a move elsewhere.

What’s the word?

According to respected journalist Alan Nixon, the 21-year-old appears in line to remain part of Marco Silva’s plans this season, despite reports that Championship outfit Middlesbrough are eyeing a possible loan swoop.

Amid that interest, the transfer insider provided an update on the future of the Brazilian, writing on Twitter: “That one isn’t moving forward very quickly … still needed at Fulham … and they’ve not brought anyone extra in to force him away …”

The highly-rated forward only arrived in England on a five-year deal last summer, playing a bit-part role as the west London outfit secured promotion back to the Premier League.

Solomon replacement

The £4.5m-rated striker unsurprisingly found it difficult to usurp the prolific presence of Aleksandar Mitrovic in attack last term, with the Serbia international having scored a record-breaking tally of 43 league goals.

Despite having been largely resigned to a supporting role, Muniz still managed to showcase his “exciting” talent – as dubbed by Tony Khan – on occasion in his debut campaign with the Cottagers, scoring five goals from 28 appearances in all competitions – only four of which came from the start.

The 5 foot 10 menace had been earmarked as a hugely impressive prospect during his previous stint in Brazil – where he scored five goals in 25 games for Flamengo – with talent scout Jacek Kulig notably dubbing him a “revelation”.

Also lauded for his “killer instinct” in front of goal by Kulig, the explosive forward could well prove something of a hidden gem for Silva and Fulham this season, despite having failed to make it off the bench in the opening weeks of the season.

Further involvement could also be on the cards following the cruel recent blow to summer signing Manor Solomon, with the winger set to be ruled out until after this year’s World Cup after sustaining a knee injury in a behind-closed-doors match last week.

With the 23-year-old now expected to be on the sidelines for an extended period of time, it could well provide young Muniz with the chance to fill that attacking void, with the £7.5k-per-week ace having briefly featured on the flanks in his career thus far.

While there are reports that the Cottagers are plotting a move for a new striker in the form of Brighton and Hove Albion’s Neal Maupay, the loss of Solomon should ensure that Muniz is kept at the club regardless, with Silva’s squad already lacking attacking depth.

West Bromwich Albion are plotting a move to sign Brighton defender Matt Clarke this summer, according to StokeOnTrentLive.

The Lowdown: Familiar territory

The 25-year-old has now entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Amex, and after failing to make a breakthrough into Graham Potter’s first team since his arrival, has now been linked with a Seagulls exit.

The centre-back has spent the last three seasons out on loan in the Championship with both Derby County and the Baggies, and it sounds as if Steve Bruce is keen to try and bring him back to the Hawthorns in the weeks ahead.

The Latest: West Brom eyeing Clarke

StokeOnTrentLive are reporting that two second-tier clubs have been put ‘on alert about the availability’ of Clarke, with West Brom, alongside Stoke City, both name-checked.

The source states that Bruce has ‘refused to rule out’ a move for the 6 foot 1 ace despite already being ‘well-stocked’ with central defenders, though there are ‘other interested parties’.

It’s expected that the Brighton man will be ‘available’ for a ‘loan or permanent’ switch this window after falling out of favour on the south coast.

The Verdict: No brainer

The Baggies do have plenty of centre-backs in the building with the likes of Semi Ajayi and Dara O’Shea, but after Clarke’s displays on loan, Bruce surely couldn’t turn down the chance to re-sign him if the opportunity is there.

During his spell in the Midlands, the Seagulls star, dubbed an ‘exceptional’ player by Sky Sports pundit Keith Andrews, averaged 3.1 clearances each league game and won 3.9 aerial duels per match, via WhoScored.

Whether the position is a priority or not, this is exactly the profile of player that the 61-year-old needs in his backline and so should aim to fend off his competitor and get this deal wrapped up as quickly as possible.

Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg has ruled Tottenham Hotspur captain Harry Kane out of a move to Bayern Munich this summer.

The Lowdown: Interest from Bayern

The 28-year-old still has two years remaining on his contract with the Premier League giants, but has in the past seen his future uncertain after trying to push a move to Manchester City.

The forward has been attracting plenty of attention from the Bundesliga outfit over the past few weeks meanwhile, with the club reportedly confident that they can prise him away from the Lilywhites as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano revealed earlier this week that Spurs are keen to open talks over a new deal in a bid to fend off the interest, but after a fresh update, it sounds like they have got nothing to worry about anyway.

The Latest: Plettenberg’s Kane update

Taking to Twitter, Plettenburg, Sky Germany’s top man for Bayern news, confirmed that they are no longer pursuing Kane and that the skipper’s representatives are happy about his position at Tottenham. He wrote:

“Update Kane: Bayern bosses have discussed him in this transfer period due to his qualities but he’s no longer a topic this summer. Things could change in 2023. Kane‘s management is relaxed. Been told they are not discussing any options for next year at this stage.”

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The Verdict: The past, present and future of Spurs

Kane is currently out in South Korea with the rest of the Spurs squad for their pre-season tour of Asia, and the fact that he occupies the armband is a clear suggestion that Antonio Conte sees the striker as a huge part of his long-term plans moving forward.

The 73-cap England international is a pivotal cog in the Whites’ starting XI and never fails to make an impact, having recorded an outstanding 306 goal contributions in 385 outings, as per Transfermarkt.

There has been nothing of late to indicate that Kane isn’t happy with his place at Spurs, so there’s no reason to believe that an N17 exit would be on the cards anywhere in the near future. The skipper is going nowhere.

Pundit Frank McAvennie has claimed that Rangers star Ryan Kent needs to be more consistent amid reported interest from the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Kent linked with England return

As per journalist Dean Jones, further relayed by the Daily Record, the 25-year-old winger is a target for clubs south of the border.

The reporter claimed that Jesse Marsch’s Leeds will make a move for the Rangers ace if Raphinha ends up leaving the Yorkshire club this summer. The Brazil international is at the centre of a transfer saga between Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, with a reported outlay of £60m needed to secure the player’s services.

After signing for the Light Blues on a permanent deal in 2019 following an initial loan spell at Ibrox, the Englishman now has just under a year left on his Rangers contract, so there is a real possibility that he could leave Glasgow on a free transfer next summer, or for a reduced fee in the current transfer window.

The Latest: McAvennie questions Kent

McAvennie, who has five caps for Scotland, has claimed that Kent needs to become more consistent if he is to make the move to the Premier League.

When questioned whether the Rangers attacker would make Leeds’ first XI, the 62-year-old told Football Insider: “Yeah he’ll get a game at Leeds. They’re talking about selling players as well, if the right players go at Leeds I’m sure he’d get a game. If they’re going to pay money from him they’ll want him to do something.

“Kent will go for a bit of money just because he came from Liverpool. There’s no doubting the boy’s ability but my biggest problem with Kent is that he has to be more consistent. You have to have a standard.

“The good players aren’t great every week but they don’t go under a seven out of ten, they work their socks off and they try hard whereas Kent, when he’s having a bad game, he tends to be out the game and he’s got to work on that. But there’s no doubting his talent.”

The Verdict: Rangers must keep him

When looking at Kent’s underlying statistics, it is easy to see why he is so important to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side and why they need to try and keep him if Leeds’ apparent interest is ramped up.

When compared with positional peers across Europe’s major leagues over the past year, the 25-year-old ranks in the 92nd percentile for dribbles completed and the 91st percentile for tackles (via FBRef).

Since coming to the Premiership, the forward has accrued 23 goals and 26 assists in 101 league appearances for the Light Blues.

Former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was a big fan of Kent, having labelled the former Liverpool winger as a ‘sensational’ player during his stint in Glasgow.

Therefore, if Leeds are forced into the market for a winger this summer, Rangers fans should be worried, because it could be Kent heading out of the door.

Crystal Palace are looking to hijack Fulham’s deal for Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Brazilian publication FogaoNET, who claim that Palace have made contact with United over a potential deal.

Fulham had agreed a deal of £9m with the Red Devils, but this late attempt from Patrick Vieira has given the player a decision to make.

Pereira will decide his future within the next few days, and also has Lyon as a potential suitor.

Vieira would love him

The Brazilian’s career at Old Trafford has certainly been tumultuous, however, he picked a good year to leave on loan as United slumped to their worst ever Premier League season.

Having initially been touted as an attacking midfielder upon first bursting onto the scene, this season has seen him develop into more of a deep-lying playmaker. He could be the perfect player that Vieira needs to balance his fresh midfield.

With Cheick Doucoure all but announced, and a number of other midfielders linked, Pereira could be the glue to tie them all together.

This season for Flamengo, the £6.75m-rated maestro averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.93 in the league; a solid return for a holding midfielder.

Also offering three goal contributions in just 13 appearances, his time as an attacking midfielder means he has a touch of class that differentiates him from other defensive midfielders.

It is this class that has led his manager for the season, Renato Gaucho, to be full of praise for him: “He is versatile, he is a player I talked to even before joining Flamengo.

“He is a player who knows how to defend, knows how to attack too, he has the quality for that. That’s what I said, he is a player who is above average. Without a doubt, it was a great signing for Flamengo.”

Pereira had struggled to make his mark at Old Trafford, but perhaps being a slightly larger fish in a smaller pond, and this slight positional tweak, could unlock a remarkable player.

Already labelled a great signing for Flamengo, perhaps he could be the same for Vieira and link together his new acquisitions.

AND, in other news: “I see…”: Fabrizio Romano drops big Man Utd transfer claim, supporters will buzzing.

Manchester United have a ‘genuine interest’ in Ajax winger Antony, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Antony profiled

Antony is primarily a right-winger who can also operate from the left and is valued at a career-high £31.5m by Transfermarkt.

The 22-year-old has been with Ajax since 2020 and has made 79 appearances for the Dutch giants, contributing to 42 goals during that time.

The Brazilian was a regular under Erik ten Hag in the 2020/21 campaign, helping Ajax to a league and cup double and once again played his part in lifting the Eredivisie title last season.

The Latest: Romano’s post

Romano took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to provide an update on United and Antony.

He revealed that the Red Devils have a ‘genuine interest’ in the winger and have held ‘internal discussions’ over a possible move. United are yet to launch a formal bid for the attacker, though, who remains under contract until 2025.

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The Verdict: Shrewd move

Ten Hag actually doesn’t have a senior right-winger to choose from at Old Trafford, so a reunion with Antony could be a smart move.

Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga are all primarily left-wingers, so the Ajax star could slot perfectly into Ten Hag’s plans in England.

The Dutchman was the man who brought Antony to Ajax and got the best out of him, and still just 22 years of age, you’d like to think he still has plenty of time to improve on his already impressive game.

In other news: ‘We’ve been told…’ – Sky Sports now drop major live TV update on Man Utd’s pursuit of De Jong. 

Leeds United have written to the Premier League to question if Everton have broken Financial Fair Play rules, according to Sky Sports.

The Lowdown: Everton safe, Leeds in the bottom three

The Whites take on Brentford this afternoon knowing that defeat would send them back to the Championship.

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Leeds have been battling both Burnley and Everton in recent weeks to avoid the final relegation spot, but the Toffees are now mathematically safe after a dramatic comeback against Crystal Palace on Thursday.

Burnley also picked up a point away at Aston Villa, meaning that Jesse Marsch’s side need to better the Clarets’ result against Newcastle later today to stay up.

The Latest: Sky Sports claim

Sky Sports provided a ‘significant’ update live on air on Friday afternoon regarding Leeds, Burnley and Everton. They stated that both Leeds, who are owned by Andrea Radrizzani, and Burnley have made contact with the Premier League, questioning if the Merseyside club have broken Financial Fair Play rules.

Everton have recorded losses of £371.8m over the past three years, £266.8m more than the maximum permissible amount of £105m. However, the Toffees are ‘comfortable’ that they have ‘complied with the rules’ and argue that the pandemic has had a huge impact on their figures.

The Verdict: One to watch…

Regardless of who goes down out of Leeds and Burnley this afternoon, this story could well get very messy and rumble on over the summer.

You’d expect that a potential punishment for Everton wouldn’t come into play this season, although they could be affected heading into the 2022/23 campaign if they have breached any fair play rules.

That won’t be of any help to whichever team drops back down to the Championship at the end of play today, but you can see why both the Whites and the Clarets want answers from those at the top regarding those extreme losses.

In other news: Big setback for Marsch as Phil Hay shares final major injury blow for Leeds pre-Brentford

Crystal Palace look set to fend off interest in academy star David Obou by securing his services to a three-year professional deal, according to The Daily Mail.

The Lowdown: Obou profiled

Obou joined Palace’s academy in January 2021 and has seemingly caught the eye at international level, along with the attention of several clubs.

The 16-year-old, who can play on either flank or in a central attacking midfield role, is being tracked by France and has been invited to play for England at youth level.

He has already turned out for Palace’s under-18s, and it looks as if he will remain with the Eagles when he turns 17 in November.

The Latest: Obou set to sign new Palace deal

The Daily Mail’s David Kent shared a story on Monday evening, suggesting that Palace will fend off interest from Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven to secure Obou to a three-year professional contract.

They described it as a boost for Palace, with the club agreeing on terms for a professional deal to kick in when he turns 17 later this year.

The Verdict: Good news for Palace

Obou clearly has plenty of potential, judging by  the two European clubs being keen on his services, so Palace landing the teenager on a permanent professional deal can only be good news for Patrick Vieira.

The Eagles have a number of exciting attacking youngsters coming through, including Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and David Omilabu, who both penned professional deals last year, and Obou looks set to follow in their footsteps.

The next step for the 16-year-old could be to establish himself in the club’s under-23s over the coming years, with a view to eventually breaking through into Vieira’s first-team setup.

In other news: Journo says Palace are now ‘in talks’ with ‘effortless’ £19.8m-rated maestro. 

ESPNcricinfo picks four talking points of the 2017-18 Bangladesh Premier League, all issues which will need more attention from the organisers.

Mohammad Isam13-Dec-2017ESPNcricinfo picks four talking points of the 2017-18 Bangladesh Premier League, all issues which will need more attention from the organisers.BCBThe need for better pitches
Some of the best T20 cricketers in the world performed exceedingly well in this season of the BPL but they did so on unfriendly pitches, and the clamour among players, coaches and team owners rose during the business-end of the tournament in Mirpur.
Even in Sylhet and Chittagong, however, the pitches were not always conducive to big-hitting. In the latter stages, Brendon McCullum, Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza publicly criticised the pitches, with Tamim drawing the wrath of the Bangladesh Cricket Board for his comments. Rather than punishing players, the BCB should take a look at its maintenance work of the Shere Bangla National Stadium’s outfield and pitches. The ground had been rated poor by the ICC match referee after the Test between Bangladesh and Australia.The need to be stricter when applying rules and regulations
Through the seasons, BPL seems to have had trouble applying rules. This year, they did not impose a pre-tournament regulation that a match would be decided by Super Over during the playoffs in case the allotted overs were not played due to rain. Ultimately, they added a reserve day to the playing conditions towards the end of the tournament, when they could have done so before it started. This lax attitude is not new.
In 2012, the league officials switched semifinalists from Chittagong Kings to Barisal Burners on the night before the game. In 2013, Duronto Rajshahi almost fielded a team without foreign players following a pay dispute with owners. In 2015, a match between Sylhet Superstars and Chittagong Vikings was delayed after Sylhet named a different XI at the toss, and then fielded Ravi Bopara and Josh Cobb, when their NOCs arrived after the toss. Last year, the BPL governing council changed the tournament schedule after much dispute.Even at the start of this year, stricter application of the over-rate fines may have made the league a smoother event. Captains took their time while umpires had to change balls plenty of times in the night games. Once a few captains were fined by strict match referees, the pace picked up.Raton Gomes/BCBThe need for greater local presence
The regulation of five overseas players in an XI was not the most popular one this season. It has been implemented in 2012 and 2013 but no one thought the idea would come back in 2017. When it did, the regulation showed that most owners lacked trust in local batsmen, particularly uncapped players and those with few international caps.
Despite that, low-profile players like Mohammad Mithun, Jahurul Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Zakir Hasan, Afif Hossain and Ariful Haque showed that local talent can come good when given the right opportunities. They created a case for going back to the cap of four overseas players in an XI next season.Make it a better package
The BCB now has to take a look at how the BPL is being broadcast. For the first time in the tournament’s history, it wasn’t telecast in India, cricket’s biggest market. The picture quality fluctuated for most viewers in Bangladesh, even as presenters and commentators criticized this. As a package, the BPL pales in comparison to Indian Premier League, the Pakistan Super League and the Caribbean Premier League, something the BCB should address quickly.