Arsenal are set to pull off one of the transfer coups of the summer by bringing Real Madrid and Spanish international playmaker Dani Ceballos to the Emirates Stadium on a season-long loan. The Gunners are operating on a shoestring budget this summer after failing to qualify for the 2019/20 Champions League, and are having to make a transfer pot of around £40million stretch to cover their recruitm...
While much of the talk at Celtic is around a full-back who could be leaving Parkhead, Bhoys boss Neil Lennon’s focus is on bringing at least one into the club. Kieran Tierney‘s future continues to dominate the headlines north and south of the border after Celtic rejected a second offer from Arsenal, believed to be worth £25million. Hoops boss Lennon insists there hasn’t been anot...
Ajax knew last summer it was only a matter of time until one of Europe’s wealthiest sides lured away Matthijs de Ligt. The fact the Dutch club kept hold of the centre-back for the 2018/19 season – one in which they reached the Champions League semi-final – was an unexpected bonus. De Ligt is a generational talent. The complete package at just 19 years old. It’s why Juventus have paid c...
Being named the best player at the Under-20 World Cup isn’t the one-way pass to football stardom many would expect. While Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Paul Pogba have won the honour in the last 20 years, so have Ismail Matar (never played outside the UAE), Dominic Adiyiah (currently in the Thai second tier with Sisaket) and Henrique Almeida (not wanted by Brazilian side Grêmio). The late...
Arsenal are set to pull off one of the transfer coups of the summer by bringing Real Madrid and Spanish international playmaker Dani Ceballos to the Emirates Stadium on a season-long loan. The Gunners are operating on a shoestring budget this summer after failing to qualify for the 2019/20 Champions League, and are having to make a transfer pot of around £40million stretch to cover their recruitm...
While much of the talk at Celtic is around a full-back who could be leaving Parkhead, Bhoys boss Neil Lennon’s focus is on bringing at least one into the club. Kieran Tierney‘s future continues to dominate the headlines north and south of the border after Celtic rejected a second offer from Arsenal, believed to be worth £25million. Hoops boss Lennon insists there hasn’t been anot...
Ajax knew last summer it was only a matter of time until one of Europe’s wealthiest sides lured away Matthijs de Ligt. The fact the Dutch club kept hold of the centre-back for the 2018/19 season – one in which they reached the Champions League semi-final – was an unexpected bonus. De Ligt is a generational talent. The complete package at just 19 years old. It’s why Juventus have paid c...
Being named the best player at the Under-20 World Cup isn’t the one-way pass to football stardom many would expect. While Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Paul Pogba have won the honour in the last 20 years, so have Ismail Matar (never played outside the UAE), Dominic Adiyiah (currently in the Thai second tier with Sisaket) and Henrique Almeida (not wanted by Brazilian side Grêmio). The late...
The signing of Sébastien Haller has been a long time coming for West Ham United. Not so much in the sense that their pursuit of the Frenchman has been lengthy, but the process to get to this stage has been convoluted and seen them linked with numerous strikers. Callum Wilson, Mario Balotelli, Emmanuel Adebayor, Diego Costa Maxi Gómez, Gonzalo Higuaín, Borja Iglesias and Andrea Belotti have all bee...
Toby Alderweireld‘s Tottenham Hotspur career has been one long transfer saga. First, there was the to and fro with Southampton to sign him in 2015. That was a protracted wrangle which saw the Saints threaten legal action over the deal as they felt they had the first refusal on the Belgian following his season-long loan switch from Atlético Madrid. The 2017/18 then season saw Alderweireld fal...
Pre-season used to be about getting a squad fit. Managers would take players away and run them into the ground in an attempt to shed the weight they’d gained over the summer break. It’s different these days. Now, players are expected to return in top condition. Coaches use their time to work on new ideas, bed in new signings and give opportunities to highly-rated youngers. Pre-season is no longer...