It was on August 8 that the transfer window closed for Premier League sides. Chequebooks were closed, safes were locked, and internet banking accounts were logged out until January. Across Europe, however, the window remains very much open. And while English top-flight sides can no longer sign players, they are able to sell. Premier League clubs have plenty of fat to trim from their respective sq...
Every club wants to unearth their own Pep Guardiola. Barcelona started something when they appointed their former midfielder as coach in 2008 despite having just 12 months experience in charge of their B team. It was a gamble but it paid off for the Catalans. Spectacularly. Under Guardiola’s watch, Barça claimed 14 trophies in four years. Not only did he win three consecutive LaLiga titles, he a...
Kai Havertz is threatening to do the unthinkable. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder is not only keeping pace with England wonderkid Jadon Sancho as the most desireable Bundesliga player for Premier League clubs, but the 20-year-old could also potentially steal the limelight away from the former Manchester City youngster. And that’s no easy feat. English players are generally overhyped and wonderki...
No-one can deny Manchester City‘s swashbuckling style of play is a joy to behold, or that they’ve been the Premier League‘s best team over the last two seasons. Pep Guardiola’s side have swept all before them, winning the title with 100 points in 2017/18 before being forced to hit 97 last term as Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool ran them agonisingly close. Despite their bril...
It was on August 8 that the transfer window closed for Premier League sides. Chequebooks were closed, safes were locked, and internet banking accounts were logged out until January. Across Europe, however, the window remains very much open. And while English top-flight sides can no longer sign players, they are able to sell. Premier League clubs have plenty of fat to trim from their respective sq...
Every club wants to unearth their own Pep Guardiola. Barcelona started something when they appointed their former midfielder as coach in 2008 despite having just 12 months experience in charge of their B team. It was a gamble but it paid off for the Catalans. Spectacularly. Under Guardiola’s watch, Barça claimed 14 trophies in four years. Not only did he win three consecutive LaLiga titles, he a...
Kai Havertz is threatening to do the unthinkable. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder is not only keeping pace with England wonderkid Jadon Sancho as the most desireable Bundesliga player for Premier League clubs, but the 20-year-old could also potentially steal the limelight away from the former Manchester City youngster. And that’s no easy feat. English players are generally overhyped and wonderki...
No-one can deny Manchester City‘s swashbuckling style of play is a joy to behold, or that they’ve been the Premier League‘s best team over the last two seasons. Pep Guardiola’s side have swept all before them, winning the title with 100 points in 2017/18 before being forced to hit 97 last term as Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool ran them agonisingly close. Despite their bril...
By now you can set your clock by it: the annual write-Watford-off-for-relegation season preview piece, produced by every publisher and media outlet worth its salt. Hornets fans revel in it. For four straight seasons their club has been earmarked for the bottom three, only to defy the odds and perceived wisdom. The fact they’ve done so while changing head coach four times since promotion, we...
It was a chastening defeat; one which instantly dampened early-season optimism. The scoreline didn’t reflect the game. Yet that didn’t matter. The result was all-important: a heavy loss to a top-four Premier League rival. “We need to learn and improve – today was a very tough game for us. I think the first 45 minutes we competed very well, had some good chances. But the key momen...
The cliché goes that you have to be crazy to be a goalkeeper. The only crazy thing about them is the lack of respect for their craft. Crazier still is the rise of Liverpool stopper Adrián. Released by West Ham United this summer – where he had been understudy to Łukasz Fabiański after a string of errors – he took on the job of being deputy to one of the world’s best goalkeepers: Liverpool’s Alisso...