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Fulham are reportedly considering a surprise transfer move for Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, which could be worth as much as £50million.
The USA international impressed on loan at Reims last season, enjoying a prolific campaign in Ligue 1, but he faces plenty of competition for a place in Mikel Arteta’s squad, so could be on the move this summer.
According to the latest from the Daily Mail, Fulham are considering spending as much as £50m on Balogun as they look for a replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic up front.
The Mail also claim Fulham have asked Manchester United about Eric Bailly, who has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford.
If Arsenal could receive as much as £50m for a backup player who developed in their academy, that would surely be very hard to turn down.
Balogun impressed on loan at Reims last season as he scored 22 goals and he could now depart permanently.
So far in this transfer window, Fulham have brought in Raul Jimenez, Calvin Bassey, and Adama Traore.
Manchester City's Treble-winning trio Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and John Stones were nominated for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award. They are joined on the six-player shortlist for the accolade by Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard with former Tottenham striker Harry Kane also making the list.
Haaland is the favorite to claim the peer-voted award after he broke the Premier League single-season goalscoring record with 36 goals in 35 matches.
That was part of 52 scored overall by the Norwegian in all competitions as City claimed an historic triple of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.
De Bruyne, the PFA Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021, supplied 18 assists and seven goals in the league to propel City to a third straight title.
Around 450 million girls around the world are excluded from sport. But we know that sport teaches vital lessons, from perseverance to resilience, confidence, integrity and teamwork among many others. All of which set young people up for life. And when girls are excluded from sports, they are also excluded from learning these lessons.
This FIFA Women’s World Cup there’s a new team to support that is fighting female exclusion from sport.
To mark the tournament, 180 Amsterdam has partnered with NGO Game of Our Lives to launch a new team, She Has Fire, to encourage everyone to sign up to fight for the inclusion of girls in sport.
Game of Our Lives (GOL) is a gamified impact platform where sports stars take on the role of social activists championing a cause alongside their fans. The She Has Fire team is being led by Nadia Nadim, the Danish footballer, doctor and Afghani refugee and supported by England footballers Nikita Parris and Gemma Bonner, Carson Pickett (USA), Savannah De Melo (USA), Wang Shuang (China), Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria) and Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa).
The team’s launch is being marked by the creation of a new football kit that highlights the hidden lessons girls learn when they play sport. In short, it’s a lesson plan for the world, that happens to be on a football shirt.
The shirt, and accompanying film, have been created to help support the She Has Fire team; to encourage everyone to sign up, pledge their support and also learn how they can help to ensure all girls can play sport, wherever they are in the world.
Hidden on the design of the football shirt are the ten sport-centric lessons that every girl should have the opportunity to learn through sport. From a distance, the tiny printed lessons look like the shirt’s pattern, an open book. It’s only when you come up close that you can read each lesson.
Dylan Ingham, co-founder of the Game of Our Lives Foundation said, “The FIFA Women’s World Cup this year is a vital moment for women in sports. We need everyone to join She Has Fire to help us end the exclusion of girls in sport and empower the next generation. Because the lessons girls learn on the pitch enable them to become women who lead off it.”
Kika Douglas, CCO of 180 Amsterdam added, “Stepping onto a field or into a meeting room like you belong there is exactly how you convince your doubters that you do. Sport is an essential part of how young people grow but too often girls are shut out of this space. We’re so pleased to have been able to work with a female-led team to create something that will amplify the issue and encourage people to pledge their support to ending the exclusion of girls in sport.”
The 10 lessons hidden on the shirt are confidence, goal-setting, determination, resilience, mental agility, accountability, integrity, clear communications, teamwork and discipline. These lessons, hidden in plain sight, are a social invitation, designed to raise awareness and encourage people to support the fight to end the exclusion of girls from sport.
A short film, ‘Lessons’, amplifies the She Has Fire launch by detailing each of these lessons and championing the women who support them. It was directed by Iman Whitfield and produced by Eye Force. An accompanying social campaign features the stories of women who have become leaders by playing sport.
Following this July’s event in Australia and New Zealand, the She Has Fire campaign, and shirts, will continue to carry the message into different parts of the world.
[lbbonline]
Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag, is willing to give the green light for Eric Bailly’s contract to be terminated.
RMC reports the Red Devils are ready to offload the Ivorian defender for nothing this summer amid interest from Fulham and Saudi Arabian clubs.
The 29-year-old joined United from Villarreal in 2016 but has made only 70 Premier League appearances across six seasons at Old Trafford.
Bailly spent last season on loan at Marseille, but the Ligue 1 side showed no interest in making his move permanent as he returned to Manchester.
However, Ten Hag does not see the player as part of his squad.
It’s now claimed United are willing to take the financial hit and allow Bailly to leave the club on a free transfer.
Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca has labelled midfielder Wilfred Ndidi an important player for the club.
Ndidi has been linked with a move away from the club all summer following the Foxes’ relegation from the Premier League last season.
Turkish Super Lig club, Fenerbahce, reportedly have a strong interest in the Nigeria international, while clubs in Saudi Arabia are also said to be keeping tabs on the player.
The 26-year-old has one year left on his contract and will be free to negotiate with another club in January.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, Maresca has highlighted Ndidi’s importance to the club.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is one of the most important players, for sure. But for me, Wilfred is very important, the Italian was quoted by Leicester Mercury.
He’s trying to do something that he never has before, to arrive in the box and to try to be an offensive midfielder. He’s doing very well at that.
Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, was asked on Thursday who his No.1 goalkeeper this season will be, with David Raya battling Aaron Ramsdale for the role.
Raya has arrived from Brentford on a season-long loan and is seen as genuine competition for Ramsdale, who has been the undisputed No.1 at the club over the last year.
Matt Turner has joined Nottingham Forest on a permanent deal, leaving both players to slug it out.
When asked if he has a No.1 in mind, Arteta replied, In any position? No. 9, 7, 11, 6, goalkeeper – no. Better qualities for our game model, very simple.
We want two players per position. You saw what happened to Jurrien [Timber], it can happen to our goalkeeper, it happened to [Thibaut] Courtois – you have to be prepared.
Liverpool are looking to hijack Manchester United’s move for Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
Dutch publication, AD, claims Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has spoken directly with the player already.
Klopp is still in the market for a defensive midfielder and has lost out on both Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, who have opted to join Chelsea instead.
However, Liverpool could now be set to win a transfer tussle of their own, as Amrabat is ready to snub United to sign for Liverpool.
It is claimed Klopp has managed to win over the Moroccan international, and the 26-year-old now has his heart set on a move to Anfield.
Amrabat has been linked with a move to United since impressing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as Morocco upset the odds to reach the semi-finals.
Medeama SC are ready to unleash new signing Kudakwashe Mahachi on Remo Stars in the CAF Champions League preliminary round first leg clash.
The Ghanaian champions strengthened their team by recruiting Zimbabwe international Mahachi for their debut campaign in the CAF Champions League.
The 29-year-old forward has been without a club since leaving SuperSports United in 2020.
Mahachi registered over 20 goals in his six-year stay in South Africa.
He featured six times for Orlando Pirates in the CAF Champions League and has represented Zimbabwe 14 times.
Medeama SC will lock horns with Remo Stars at the Cape Coast Stadium.
FC Barcelona’s insistence on finding a suitor for Clement Lenglet this summer has seen them engage in negotiations with a number of clubs.
Initially, the plan was for the Catalans to offload Lenglet permanently to Tottenham, where he spent a season on loan, but a stark difference in the player’s valuation meant the move kept stalling.
Then Al Nassr entered the picture with hopes of securing another European talent, but the centre-back’s delay in making a decision meant the club went looking for other options, eventually entering talks for Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte.
Saudi club tempts Lenglet with €12m net salary
Now, it is being reported by Gerard Romero that a Saudi Arabian club is offering €12 million per year in net salary to Lenglet.
While the player has doubts as he desires to continue in Europe among the elite footballers, he is gradually beginning to ‘open the door’ to the Saudi path.
Barcelona have made their stance clear on Lenglet, with the club already overbooked in defence.
Xavi does not have Lenglet in his plans for the new season and sees him as a disposable asset.
Lenglet, recognizing the minimal interest he is garnering from European sides that are willing to pay Barcelona’s valuation of €15 million, is showing signs of acceptance of the Saudi route.
Moreover, staying in Catalonia appears unfeasible owing to the exclusion he faces from the squad.
The clock is ticking, and the transfer window is nearing its end.
Lenglet will be obliged to take a decision soon and unless a European club comes calling, the French defender will have to cut his losses and take his talents to Saudi Arabia.
[barcauniversal]
Chelsea are 'deliberately ignoring FFP rules - and Todd Boehly knows EXACTLY what he is doing', claims former Man City financial advisor
AdminFormer Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson has accused Chelsea of 'deliberately ignoring' the Premier League's profit and sustainability guidelines amid the London club's continued spending.
Monday's £115million purchase of Moises Caicedo took the Blues' outlay on new talent to over £800m in the three transfer windows since a Todd Boehly-led consortium purchased the club in 2022.
Chelsea have spent more than every club in LaLiga in that period and have only narrowly been outspent by the 18 clubs in Germany's top-flight.
This has led to questions about how the Premier League outfit have been able to enjoy such an extraordinary splurge while adhering to the league's financial rulings that allow teams to incur loses no greater than £105m across a rolling period of three seasons.
Borson - a former banker and current lawyer with extensive knowledge Financial Fair Play - believes the Blues are knowingly flaunting guidelines after Boehly 'overpaid' in acquiring the club for £4.3billion last May.
'You're talking about a club that's never made a profit in 20 years,' Borson told talkSPORT. 'They have historically operated at a loss and filled that gap by selling footballers.
'Then what's happened is Todd Boehly's come along and I just want to say very clearly [he] knows exactly what he's doing. Nobody would deny the quality of his team, of the individual. There's no question.
'There's nothing that any of us can say on the outside that they haven't thought about and that's why I posit that this is all part of a strategy.
'To deliberately ignore the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules in order to accelerate the success of Chelsea.
'That's partly because we all know in the background that Boehly, for all of his business success and wealth, has overpaid for Chelsea by a very considerable amount.
'It happens. Wealthy people sometimes make mistakes and he's made a mistake in terms of what he paid for the club. He now wants to accelerate the success of the club. '
As in seasons gone by, the Stamford Bridge outfit have successfully used player sales to fuel their purchases. Nine first team players have left the club for a fee this summer, while a further eight departed at the end of their contract which freed up funds in their wage bill.
Owing to Boehly's knowledge of the US sports market, where he has flourished as the owner of MLB outfit the LA Dodgers, Chelsea have become the poster child for amortisation.
The accounting process by which club's are able to spread the cost of purchases over the length of a player's contract, while including the full sum of a sale in that year's books.
This tactic has seen the side agree extended terms with several recent arrivals. Caicedo, the most recent example, agreed an eight-year contract with an option for a further 12 months.
Though, according to reports, it may not be a technique the club will be able to exploit for much longer. As Mail Sport earlier reveled, the Premier League are considering closing the loophole.
'This hasn't been discussed formally,' one league source said. 'This hasn't been discussed formally, but is something we will look at. Alignment with UEFA rules would make sense for all parties.
'The only club currently handing out eight-year contracts on a regular basis is likely to be involved in UEFA competitions soon, as are any others that follow suit.'
[DAilymail]
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Tottenham striker Richarlison will refuse to shake Michail Antonio's hand when he plays against West Ham this season. The Brazilian has seemingly not forgotten comments made by his rival last term.
Antonio poked fun at Richarlison on his podcast last season. The Brazilian scored just one legitimate Premier League goal in his debut campaign.
However, he would have scored more if it wasn't for VAR intervention. Speaking on The Footballer's Football Podcast alongside Newcastle striker Callum Wilson in May, Antonio joked: "He's scored four times this season.
"Three of the times he has been offside. He has taken his top off four times this season."
The pair laughed, with Wilson adding: "He's got four yellows. He's almost on a suspension!"
The public mocking of Richarlison didn't go down well with Tottenham interim boss Ryan Mason. And Richarlison clearly hasn't taken too kindly to the comments either.
Antonio has revealed that he has spoken to Hammers team-mate Lucas Paqueta, who plays alongside Richarlison for Brazil. And he claims that the former Everton star plans to snub Antonio when their two teams meet in early December.
Asked if Spurs need to sign a striker after Harry Kane's departure, Antonio said on the podcast: "I am no longer commenting on Richarlison. It’s got to the stage where I feel that some people are a little touchy.
"I am not going to talk about the person that is in that position. I am just going to say that Tottenham need a striker. I will leave it at that – It’s banter. We banter with each other.
"I have gone to Paqueta. They play with each other. I have said ‘What’s wrong with your boy? It’s a bit of banter. I don’t understand why he is taking it so personally', to the stage where his manager has to talk.
"Lucas is like ‘It’s just how he is, Mickey. I told him that’s how you are. But he says ‘no, no, no. When we play against them. I am not going to shake his hand’."
Antonio and Wilson were criticised by Mason at the time for their initial comments. The Spurs coach said: "I certainly don't feel like I'm ever in a position to criticise another head coach or another manager on the work they're doing or the job they're doing at their football club.
"Richy, I don’t think he’s thinking about other players. His own pride and his own determination will probably drive that most of all.
"Maybe he’s heard it, maybe’s seen it, maybe it will give him a little bit more. I’m not sure on that.
"As a coach I wouldn’t do it, and as a player I’d never have done it as well. I don’t really like that type of thing."
[Express.co.uk]
The Saudi Professional League has become one of the hotspots in the football sphere where top players abound.
From champions league to world cup winners, the SPL has witnessed the arrival of some top players coming with a pool of experience gathered from some of the biggest clubs in European football.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund has pumped money into the league to attract some of the world’s finest players to the oil-rich country.
One of such big names is Portuguese captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in late last December. He left his old club, Manchester United on a free transfer after he’d returned for a second spell.
French players, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante both signed for Al-Ittihad.
Former Liverpool midfield duo, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson signed for Al-Ittihad and Al-Ettifaq, respectively, and were joined by another formate Reds, Sadio Mane to Al-Nassr.
It’s reported that the PIF owns 75 per cent majority stake in four clubs in the SPL – Al-Nassr, Al Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal.
The biggest transfer in the league, however, is Neymar, from PFremch giant, PSG.
The 31-year-old attacker, who won the treble with Barcelona, and is also Brazil’s joint highest goal scorer with Pele, has had some high and low moments in his former club PSG, as he had to battle with injuries and match fitness issues.
Here, we look at the top 10 most expensive football transfers in the SPL:
1. Neymar: €90m
PSG – Al-Hilal.
2. Malcom: €60m
Zenit to Al-Hilal.
3. Ruben Neves – €55m
Wolves to Al-Hilal.
4. Fabinho – €46.7m
Liverpool to Al-Ittihad.
5. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – €42m
Lazio to Al-Hilal.
6. Riyad Mahrez – €35m
Man City to Al-Ahli.
7. Sadio Mane – €30m
Bayern to Al-Nassr.
8. Jota – €29.1m
Celtic to Al-Ittihad.
9. Roger Ibanez – €28.5m
Roma to Al-Ahli.
10. Allan Saint-Maximin – €27.2m
Newcastle to Al-Ahli.
[Punch]
England secured their first ever place in a Women’s World Cup final after The Lionesses beat co-hosts Australia 3-1 in Sydney.
Australia manager Tony Gustavsson took a gamble starting a not fully fit Sam Kerr for the first time this tournament, signalling that the Matildas wanted to get this wrapped up in 90 minutes. Despite that statement of intent, it was a gamble that would not pay off.
In the first half, England dominated possession, though Australia set out to frustrate their attempts on goal, of which there were a few.
Despite England’s dominance, it never really felt that they were fully in control of the game, and Australia took their chances with lightning speed on the counter-attack.
For a brief spell, they felt the more dangerous side, though an inspired shot by Ella Toone gave England the lead before the first half was through.
Indeed, the partnership between Toone and Alessia Russo shone again, as it did at the Euro last summer.
In the second half, Australia came out all guns blazing, with Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord often finding themselves in the thick of it. But it was Sam Kerr who eventually equalised in the 63rd minute with a stunning strike from outside the box, to keep the Matildas in the game.
That was short lived, as Lauren Hemp showed once again how important she is to the team, emerging between the Australian defence with a fantastic finish.
Australia brought on attacking reinforcements in sub Emily van Egmond, who missed out on a starting spot due to sickness, but despite Australia’s best efforts, they couldn’t contain the pace and power of Alessia Russo, who found the net minutes before full-time.
The Lionesses will now go on to face Spain in Sunday’s final.
It’s one thing to make the final, but the challenge will be epic when England take on Spain. We’ve shown we can beat them in previous contests, but Spain were without Alexis Putellas and Jenni Hermosa in last year’s Euro. Nonetheless, if England put on a display as focussed as this, they will certainly be in with a shot.
[NationalDaily]
Romeo Lavia and Deivid Washington are today undergoing medicals with Chelsea ahead of possible moves to the Premier League side.
The Blues on Tuesday, agreed a £53m plus £5m deal with Southampton for Lavia.
Washington, who was born 2005, joins from Santos.
The striker will cost Chelsea €16m plus €4m in potential add-ons.
Roméo Lavia, in London today in order to complete medical tests as Chelsea player after £53m plus £5m deal agreed yesterday night.
Brazilian talent Deivid Washington also completing final part of medical today ahead of club statement, transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, tweeted.