Former Wrexham striker Jake Hyde admits to having embarrassed himself during a first meeting with club co-owner Ryan Reynolds.
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Weston McKennie helped set up another Juventus goal as he made his fourth consecutive start at right wing-back.
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McKennie earned a secondary assist on Juve's lone goal of the match, helping set up Arkadiusz Milik's finish in the 1-0 win over Lecce. With the win, Juventus bounced back from a weekend loss to Sassuolo, which was their first defeat of the Serie A season.
McKennie's U.S. men's national team teammate Tim Weah came on to replace him late on in a like-for-like American-for-American substitution.
Beren Cross has dropped a Leeds United transfer update which will surely excite fans about this summer’s window.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side have had a relatively slow start to the transfer window, with Birmingham City starlet Amari Miller and a permanent deal for Manchester City’s Jack Harrison the only pieces of business being done so far.
And now, in a Q&A for Leeds Live, Cross has delivered a new update on what the Whites might be looking to do in the rest of the transfer window.
He said: “Bielsa has always said he’s happy for new players to arrive at Leeds United if they are better than what he already has. They’re going to need to be pretty special to have a chance of supplanting Dallas/Rodrigo/Klich in the middle, or even Raphinha/Harrison down the flanks.
“When I last checked at the weekend, Nandez was not even on Orta’s shortlist, let alone in advanced talks with Leeds on a transfer. They like Cunha, but it’s not down the track and there are a lot of other interested clubs. It’s impossible to say how many they will bring in because there are so many variables at play. Left-back is obvious and so is a central midfielder, but it’s all down to what Bielsa feels he needs in the squad. They went from Cuisance to Raphinha in the space of a few days last autumn and they’re not similar in the slightest.”
While things have been moving at a slow pace in the transfer window for Leeds thus far, with the new Premier League season looming next month, you would expect business to pick up very soon.
Cross’ latest update on the club’s transfer plans bodes well for what the club are hoping to achieve not just next season, but in the years to come.
While it may be tempting to just splash out on high-profile players and say ‘look at the money we’ve spent’, they key for Bielsa is to ensure that they’re the right fit for the club and will actually take them forward.
Therefore, being patient and doing their due diligence in the scouting process should give Leeds the best possible chance of signing a player who can become a success at Elland Road, rather than hitting the panic button and just throwing cash wherever.
Cross’ pointed mention to last summer when they went from a midfielder in Michael Cuisance to an exciting winger in Raphinha is also a tantalising hint about how quickly things can move at Elland Road in terms of transfers, and the positions Leeds will be looking to target.
The latest news should have Whites fans excited about the remainder of the summer transfer window, as it seems that Bielsa is intent on bringing in only those players who would be upgrades on what he currently has at his disposal.
Meanwhile, Leeds receive major update on Marcelo Bielsa’s future…
The club's investment in youth has paid off handsomely in terms of player sales and producing first-team players like Phil Foden and Rico Lewis
In 2014, Manchester City finally opened the doors on their brand new, state-of-the-art training ground, the City Football Academy. Costing an estimated £200 million ($249m) it boasts 16 full size pitches, an indoor pitch, a stadium for its youth and women's teams, multiple gyms and a hydrotherapy facility.
"It is the best facility in the world," said then manager Manuel Pellegrini. "We have all that you need to work in every sense. I am sure it is a very big step for this club to continue growing every day as they want."
As well as giving the first team the tools they needed for their future assaults on the Premier League and Champions League, the new facility had the aim of developing the City players of the future. At the time it opened, no player from City's youth set up had gone on to make a first team debut since Sheikh Mansour had bought the club in 2008.
"We are already seeing results from investment in our academy in recent years," said chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak. "The development of homegrown youth talent into first-team players – a stated aim at the time of the club’s acquisition – remains an achievable ambition in the years ahead."
Nine years on and that objective has certainly been met, with Phil Foden one of City's most important players and Rico Lewis making his way in the team, recently signing a new contract until 2028. The academy has also had another benefit: earning the club fabulous amounts of money through player sales.
Since 2017, City have earned more than £260m ($324m) in selling youngsters, comfortably paying off the cost of building the academy, which is located a stone's throw from the Etihad Stadium, and giving the club a tidy profit which it is only going to build on. In the last year alone, City have pocketed £156m ($194m) in young players, allowing Pep Guardiola to replenish his squad with top talents from abroad and staying well within financial fair play limits.
As well as ensuring the club stays financially sustainable, City's academy is building the future England team. Ten of the players called up by Lee Carsley for the under-21 team's upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers came through the club's academy, while four players led the Young Lions to win the under-21 European Championship in Georgia in the summer.
GOAL takes a look at the biggest success stories of City's highly productive academy…
Alexis Mac Allister’s brother, Kevin, has delivered a passionate reaction to learning that Union SG will face Liverpool in the Europa League.
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Glasgow Rangers fans are livid as a report emerged on the cost of the damage done during the fans’ 55 celebrations on May 15th.
The final day of the 2020/21 Premiership season was a glorious one for the Gers supporters. They saw their team beat Aberdeen 4-0, albeit in an empty stadium, to complete an unbeaten league campaign. The players were also given the trophy on that day, and so thousands of supporters took to the streets to celebrate.
While most of the celebrations were peaceful, there were some unsavoury scenes – 20 fans were arrested (firstpost.com) and there was some damage to public property. At the time, it was suggested there had been close to £60,000 worth of damage (The Herald Scotland), but that number now appears to be only £2,211 as per a document shared on Twitter (via @EmpireFF).
The news quickly circulated on Twitter, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters, as you can imagine. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.
“More money stashed away by the cult.”
Credit: @williewanfit
“No Catholic, or any places of worship damaged. Total cost of damage? £2211.00p Just outright lies, fabrication and exaggeration from the word go by the SNP to smear and de-humanise Rangers fans. Absolutely shocking.”
Credit: @blustugers
“Lies, lies and more lies from GCC as it fits the SNP agenda”
Credit: @LiveItUp551
“Laughable man”
Credit: @rs28x11
“@NicolaSturgeon explain? You and the SNP are liars”
Credit: @beagletone
“oops somebody is telling a few fibs from GCC,so it begs a serious question….why lie and where has the money gone?”
Credit: @spotonspotty
In other news, Rangers reject bids for this controversial ace.
The England international has completed his transfer to north London after leaving Leicester City following their relegation to the Championship
Even before Leicester City's return to the Championship was confirmed, this summer had long been earmarked as the transfer window where James Maddison would depart the King Power Stadium. Over the past two seasons, Maddison has been linked with a string of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Newcastle.
In the end, though, it is Tottenham who have finally snapped up the England international. At the beginning of the window, the Foxes were reportedly quoting £60 million ($75.8m) for their prized asset. However, following some push back from Spurs, it's expected that he will cost just £40m ($51m).
Even with Maddison having just one year left to run on his contract, this represents pretty sensational value, especially when you consider how much Manchester United could end up paying for an English player in a similar position: Mason Mount.
This isn't just a transfer born of convenience, though. Maddison is, without doubt, an elite Premier League performer. By picking him up so early in the window, Spurs might have completed the best business of the summer so far.
Everton fans shouldn’t expect their new manager to be appointed ‘until at least next week’, according toÂAlan Myers.
Everton have been a without a manager since the start of the month, when Carlo Ancelotti left to join Real Madrid.
It was reported this week that Rafael Benitez, the former manager of local rivals Liverpool, was in ‘prime position’ to be offered the job.
Benitez, who’s also had spells at Chelsea and Newcastle United, has held three rounds of talks with the club.
But some Blues fans have expressed their anger at the potential appointment, with protest banners displayed outside Goodison Park.
Myers has warned Everton fans that the wait is set to be prolonged with the Toffees considering a huge numberÂof candidates for the position.
Six of those are named: Benitez, Nuno Espirito Santo, Christophe Galtier, Eddie Howe, former boss Roberto Martinez and assistant coach Duncan Ferguson.
‘At this point’, the job has not formally been offered to any of those individuals.
The delay is a problem. The transfer window opened on 9 June, and with every day that goes by, the task of preparing for the new season becomes that little bit trickier.
But more than that, it’s the sense of uncertainty and of a lack of direction that will be worrying both Everton fans and players – the last thing a squad lacking in confidence needs is to show up for pre-season without a leader.
You need only look at the huge variety in the list of names to realise that the club simply aren’t sure what they want from their new manager, and that Ancelotti’s exit has left them in disarray.
In other news, fans bemoaned this star’s potential exit.ÂÂ
News has emerged on Sheffield Wednesday’s transfer plans this summer, regarding Swindon Town’s Akin Odimayo.
According to Football League World, Sheffield Wednesday are set to step up their pursuit of Swindon Town centre-back Akin Odimayo this summer. Darren Moore wants to add the young defender to his squad as he attempts to build a team capable of securing promotion out of League One next season.
The report claims that Wednesday will need to fight off competition from their League One rivals Doncaster for his signature. Odimayo is out of contract at the end of the month and could be available on a free transfer, although Swindon are in the process of attempting to pin him down to an extension.
Odimayo was named Swindon Town’s Player of the Year for the 2020/21 campaign and was asked about his future upon receiving the award. He told the Swindon Advertiser:
“I don’t really know where my future lies, but if I do stay at Swindon, I’d continue to give it 100 per cent.”
Moore will love it if Dejphon Chansiri is able to get this deal done. Chansiri must complete a swoop for Odimayo and make sure that he is in Moore’s squad come the start of next season to bolster his options at the back, with three centre-backs poised to depart from Hillsborough.
Tom Lees is set to leave the club at the end of the month and Julian Borner is reportedly closing in on a move to German side Hannover. Young centre-back Osaze Urhoghide has also rejected a contract extension with the club and looks to be leaving next month.
This means that Moore is in desperate need of reinforcements in the centre-back position. Therefore, Chansiri needs to get a deal for Odimayo over the line to make sure that his manager is not left short-handed.
Odimayo played 30 games in League One for Swindon and was, as previously mentioned, named as their Player of the Year. This shows that he knows how to perform at League One and that he could have the potential to be a key player for Wednesday.
The £1.5k-per-week prospect is not the finished article. Odimayo has only played one season of senior football in the EFL and still has room to improve at the age of 21. He is not a player who is likely to come in and consistently produce top-quality performances, as he averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.51 at centre-back for Swindon, but he could develop into a player who could do that with Moore’s coaching.
Odimayo has shown that he is capable of brilliant displays at League One level. He recorded two WhoScored ratings of 7.04 or higher in his last four appearances for Swindon but scored 6.28 or lower in the other two.
If Moore can iron out the inconsistencies in Odimayo’s game then he could turn into a quality addition for Wednesday in the future, which is why the former West Brom boss will be excited by this signing if Chansiri can get it done.
AND in other news, Worrying claim dropped about £12k-p/w “handful”, Sheff Wednesday fans will be gutted…
Everything you need to know about German starlet Jamal Musiala.
Jamal Musiala is a German-English professional footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for the German national team and Bayern Munich. Born on February 26, 2003, in Stuttgart, Germany, Musiala's father is Nigerian and his mother is German, and he holds dual citizenship.
Musiala started his footballing journey at the age of seven, joining the youth academy of TSV Lehnerz. He left Fulda soon after and moved to England with his family, where he would spend the rest of his formative years. After a brief spell at Southampton's academy, Musiala joined Chelsea's academy in 2011 and continued his development at Cobham for the next eight years.
Musiala decided to join German giants Bayern Munich in 2019 aged just 16 years old. He made his professional debut, coming on as a substitute for Bayern Munich II in their 3–2 win over Preuben Munster in the 3. Liga. He made his Bundesliga debut against SC Freiburg on 20 June 2020, just over two weeks after his professional debut, and he became the youngest player to play a match for Bayern in the Bundesliga aged 17 years and 115 days.
The German sensation signed his first professional contract at Bayern Munich until 2026 on 5 March 2021. He has since become a regular feature in the Bayern Munich team and has played a key role in their success.
Musiala has represented England at youth level, but in March 2021, he announced his intention to play for the German national team, the country of his birth. He made his debut for the national team in a World Cup qualifier against Iceland later that month, becoming the second-youngest player to ever play for Germany. He scored his first international goal in a friendly against Denmark in June 2021.
Musiala is an attacking midfielder who is known for his technical skills, dribbling ability, and eye for goal. He is comfortable playing in multiple positions, including as a winger or central midfielder and is known for his pace and agility. Musiala is also an intelligent player who can read the game well, and he has been praised for his ability to make quick decisions on the ball.
Since joining Bayern Munich, Musiala has won several titles, including the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and the UEFA Champions League. He was also named the Bundesliga Rookie of the month for April during the 2020-21 season.
Musiala is one of the most exciting young talents in world football, with the potential to become one of the best players of his generation. He has already achieved a lot at a young age and has attracted the attention of many top clubs and national teams. As he continues to develop and improve, there is no doubt that Musiala will be one of the key players to watch in the coming years.
Here are 11 interesting facts about Jamal Musiala that you absolutely need to know.