Category Uncategorized

Newcastle United have not started the season with their trademark fluency and snap in transition, but it would be remiss to suggest that Eddie Howe’s side have lost their way.

Indeed, Newcastle have started slowly, staggered by the din of the Alexander Isak saga, with the Sweden striker having scored 27 goals last season, leading the club back into the Champions League and scoring what proved to be the winning goal at Wembley against Liverpool.

It was a cruel blow, especially after PIF had fought so hard to keep the rebel forward at St. James’ Park, but ultimately, he was intractable in his desire to leave for Anfield, and United banked a British record £125m fee.

An old adage says that no player is ever bigger than the club, and this is doubly true on Tyneside, with the sum of Howe’s team always greater than its individual parts.

They may not be firing on all cylinders yet, but there’s no question that it will come together.

Howe's new-look Newcastle frontline

Newcastle replaced Isak with Nick Woltemade, signing the 23-year-old German from Stuttgart in a club-record £69m deal. The rangy forward scored the winner on his debut against Wolves, but faced a sterner task on the south coast against Bournemouth last time out, albeit offering encouragement in the stalemate.

He’s rivalled against Yoane Wissa, who joined from Brentford on deadline day but has yet to make his debut as he recovers from a knee injury which will not require surgery.

That makes up number nine, but Newcastle needed more than just goalscorers, having finally ended an interminable search for a right-sided forward upon landing Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga.

One of the fastest players in the Premier League, Elanga hasn’t quite hit his stride in black and white, but offers an exciting dimension to Howe’s outfit.

Whether Elanga was worth the £55m paid to the Tricky Trees remains to be seen, but Newcastle have signed a Prem-proven player, something they sought to do a couple of years before.

Indeed, Raphinha is certainly one who got away, having just contested Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele in the bid for the Men’s Ballon d’Or.

When Newcastle missed out on Raphinha

Newcastle have kept four clean sheets from five Premier League matches so far this season, with the basis of Howe’s tactics as deeply-rooted as ever.

Now, he needs to overlay that foundation with attacking flair once again. Isak would have helped with that, sure, but Raphinha would have too, and based on his extraordinary form with Barcelona, it’s a shame Newcastle didn’t push to land his signature in 2023.

Having registered their interest in Barcelona’s man in 2023, Howe and PIF were hoping to take advantage of the La Liga giants’ financial problems, having even made a £60m verbal offer in May 2023, feeling out the chances of a big-money bid when the transfer gates swung open.

Barcelona had swiped Leeds United’s talisman from both Arsenal and Chelsea the year before, with the Londoners engaged in a transfer tussle for one of the Premier League’s most underrated wide forwards.

His first few years in Spain were somewhat middling, but Hansi Flick changed everything for the Brazil international, whose potency proved instrumental in the fight to win La Liga last season.

The 28-year-old scored 34 goals and assisted 25 more across all competitions, with his manager even remarking in October 2024 that he had “never had a player like him”.

Al Hilal from the Saudi Pro League have since been sniffing around, interested in completing a £87m deal for the Brazilian. Barcelona are not quite so cash-strapped as in recent years, but they remain beset with monetary issues.

It’s a shame that Newcastle didn’t strike while the iron was hot. Raphinha outperformed every single player in Europe last season, from a prolific perspective, at least, and so it’s not hard to understand why he was higher in the Ballon d’Or standings than stars such as Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz.

Raphinha

34 (25)

59

Mohamed Salah

34 (23)

57

Harry Kane

38 (13)

51

Ousmane Dembele

33 (15)

48

Kylian Mbappe

42 (4)

46

Just imagine Raphinha plying his craft down the Newcastle right; picture the kind of attacking combinations Howe could have spun together, weaving with Isak and Anthony Gordon and co a web of offensive skill that would have proved too much for most every opponent the Magpies came up against.

The £276k-per-week talent proved himself in the Premier League while at Leeds, and he’s only gone from strength to strength since.

Neither Wirtz nor Palmer, it’s worth observing, reached the top 20 for goal involvements last season. Wirtz hasn’t got going in the English game yet, but both are considered among the finest players not just in the Premier League but across all of Europe. Raphinha, on recent form, at least, is a cut above.

Even in England, at Elland Road, the La Blaugrana man was described as a “magician” of a player by his erstwhile teammate Dan James.

Raphinha has grown into a superstar, one who owes a debt of development to Hansi Flick. But there’s no reason that Howe couldn’t have shaped him into one of the world’s best himself, with Raphinha indeed hailed last season as being “the best player in the world” by Statman Dave across the 2024/25 campaign.

Given Howe’s expertise on the interpersonal front and his sharp, raise-the-bar coaching, it’s hard to envisage Raphinha falling by the wayside in some parallel version of events.

Who knows, maybe it would have been the tonic that United needed during their injury-riddled 2023/24 campaign, and perhaps it would have provided the boost the club needed to take things one step further last term, not just winning the Carabao Cup and returning to Europe but achieving something even greater.

We’ll never know how it would have panned out, but Newcastle have kicked on regardless, and having absorbed the damage of a turbulent summer transfer window, are ready to write another illustrious chapter into their history.

Howe must axe "one of the best" at Newcastle – he's already got a successor

Star’s shot-stopping vs new signing’s distribution fuels Newcastle latest debate

ByWill Miller Sep 23, 2025

Mohsin Khan, out. Mayank Yadav and Akash Deep, unavailable, at least for now. Avesh Khan, just about back from injury. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fast-bowling attack in IPL 2025 was looking rather ragged till Shardul Thakur and Prince Yadav solved their problems on Thursday – at least for one night – against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the batting unit that has led all the talk since last season.”Can LSG stop Travishek?” Yes, said Thakur, with a short ball to Abhishek Sharma. The secret, as our experts explained afterwards, was in the build-up to the wicket delivery. And what about Travis Head? Prince stepped up, pitched it up, went under the bat swing, and knocked out off and middle. Not to forget Thakur’s first-baller to Ishan Kishan, SRH’s centurion from their run-fest against Rajasthan Royals (RR) last weekend.”One is, he is looking to swing the ball. With the new ball, he is getting that shape into the left-handers and he’s trying to mix it up with the yorkers,” Cheteshwar Pujara said of Thakur’s bowling plan on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. “If you look at the previous deliveries, which Abhishek or Travis Head faced, he tried bowling yorkers – it was low full-tosses – but as a batter you are thinking, is it going to be a yorker or a back-of-a-length ball. And suddenly, he bowls a bumper, which could surprise a batter. And then you have less fraction of a second to execute you shot, and that’s why I think Abhishek was late on his shot.”Related

• LSG mute SRH with death bowling before the death overs

• Pooran on his six-hitting: 'I'm just blessed with incredible talent'

• Thakur savours return after going unsold at auction

It did look like that. Most days, against most bowlers, Abhishek hits those many tiers up in the stands. This time, it went to Nicholas Pooran at deep square-leg.”I call it bowling craft. When we were batters, we faced a lot of bowlers. The best bowlers we faced were often those that got their bowling craft. And bowling craft is when you’re not expecting that particular ball,” Nick Knight elaborated. “If Abhishek was waiting for that ball, [if] he knew it was going to be short, it was out of the park. But because he isn’t quite sure if it’s going to be full or is it going to swing, then you’re a bit late on it and that’s the difference between it going out of the park and getting caught. The bowling craft was spot on.”And, in seven-and-a-half overs, SRH were 76 for 3 – still a lot of runs – but without their big three of Head, Abhishek and Kishan. Head was in the bag of Prince, who made his IPL debut this season, and occasionally clocked 140kph. More than anything else, Prince backed his strengths.”He had a clear game plan. He wanted to bowl yorkers and he wanted to mix it up with slower bouncers and bouncers,” Pujara said. “There was a clear game plan: he was not going to bowl a length ball or a back-of-a-length ball. When you have that clarity, then comes the execution.”I think his execution was spot on. There were times when he ended up bowling half-volleys, but still I think those are good deliveries on that pitch. And he showed a lot of courage. You need courage to bowl those balls.”After Head was felled, SRH added just 114 runs in 12.3 overs. The sixes didn’t stop. Aniket Verma hit five, Pat Cummins hit three in a four-ball innings. But the lost momentum never came back.0:55

Pujara praises Prince Yadav’s clarity of plans

“The bowled well in the middle, credit needs to go to them as well. They picked up early wickets, that stopped a little bit of the momentum,” Heinrich Klaasen said in the press conference later. “We just didn’t score enough runs. One or two wickets [fell] early in the innings and it was difficult to keep on going with the momentum. It wasn’t enough.”If you look at our batting line-up, we’re destructive till batter No. 8 [Cummins]. So you don’t need Travis and Abhishek to come off every time. We’re good enough to score runs without them as well. They put teams under a lot of pressure when they do come off, makes our job a little bit easier. But you will never have a season where both of them score a thousand runs. It is the way we play – it’s on the riskier side, but no, we are big enough players to know we need to do it on our own too.”Travishek, plus Kishan, were stopped. SRH only managed 190 for 9, well under the 300 observers have been waiting for them to get. LSG, as written-off as a team could be after one game, had their first win and their first points, with something of a ragtag fast-bowling attack that, for now, has found a couple of unlikely heroes to front it.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has a plethora of star players in his squad, and some have been reduced to fewer minutes than they’d like.

BlueCo are spearheading another major reshuffle of the squad, and perhaps even more so this summer, with the expectation being that Chelsea are poised to offload many more squad members as new players fill their spaces.

Carney Chukwuemeka, Axel Disasi, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist could all still leave Stamford Bridge before the summer transfer deadline on September 1, as UEFA pressure Chelsea to produce a positive transfer balance by next month.

The aforementioned seven could follow a host of players out the door, with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Basir Humphreys, Noni Madueke, Marcus Bettinelli, Mathis Amougou, Djordje Petrovic, João Félix, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu parting company permanently.

For most of a portion of this window, defender Benoit Badiashile has also been linked with exit door, but the Frenchman’s future has proved more complicated.

While Badiashile isn’t exactly at the forefront of Maresca’s plans, starting just three Premier League games last season, he did play in all but two games of their Conference League campaign.

The 24-year-old was a firm regular of their ‘B team’ last term, so to speak, but remains behind the likes of Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill in the pecking order.

Unfortunately for Maresca, Colwill is now set to miss most of the new campaign after damaging his ACL in training, with Chelsea thought to be exploring new centre-back options in the transfer market as a result.

Chelsea could even sign a new defender on an emergency loan, according to some reports, but any deal for the right player will be hard to do considering how late it is in the window.

They also remain in ongoing talks to sign both Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho respectively, and bringing in the attacking duo would take Chelsea’s summer spending to well past the £300 million mark.

Maresca could well be forced to consider more internal solutions to their centre-back shortage, with Badiashile now receiving plenty of support at Cobham.

Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile praised by staff behind-the-scenes

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, speaking on the London is Blue podcast this week, the former AS Monaco man is earning real admiration from members of the Chelsea staff.

Those within the club are convinced that Badiashile can develop into a consistent and reliable player for Chelsea, with Maresca told to take note of the ex-Ligue 1 star as a potential option – even if he’s currently injured himself right now.

Badiashile is expected back around September, though, so he could soon come in as cover for Colwill if Maresca opts to head in that direction.

In another interview on Playback, Jacobs also revealed that Badiashile has a fierce work ethic, with there being a growing sense that his signing has “slipped under the radar”.

While they certainly didn’t help themselves, the biggest problem for Tottenham Hotspur last season was injuries.

Ange Postecoglou had to make do with a cobbled-together squad for much of the campaign, and when he did have his players back, they won the Europa League.

Arguably, the biggest miss for the Lilywhites was Cristian Romero, who missed 27 games before playing a pivotal role in the club’s first trophy triumph in 17 years.

The World Cup winner will undoubtedly be one of Thomas Frank’s most important players this season, and so fans should be delighted about reports linking the club to an international who has been compared to him, as well as Gabriel Magalhães.

Spurs target Romero and Gabriel hybrid

It’s been an interesting summer for Spurs so far regarding transfers, as while their pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White hasn’t borne any fruit, they’ve bought in several other potential game-changers.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

For example, while he wasn’t cheap, Mohammed Kudus could help turn the Lilywhites into a far more dangerous side, while Joao Palhinha has the ability to make them a far tougher side to break down.

Moreover, the North Londoners appear keen on adding at least one more player to their ranks before the window slams shut, a player who has been compared to Romero and Gabriel.

At least that’s according to a recent report from Sebastien Vidal, who claims that Spurs are very interested in Ronald Araujo, who is valued at £43m.

In fact, the journalist goes further, revealing that the Lilywhites are “expected” to make their first official approach for the Barcelona star as soon as “next week.”

It could be a complicated and relatively costly transfer to get done, but Araujo has proven he’d be worth it, especially as he’s been compared to Romero and Gabriel.

How Araujo compares to Romero & Gabriel

Now, there are several quite surface-level similarities you can point to between Araujo, Gabriel and Romero, such as them all being South American defenders who play for their nations, the fact they all play for top sides in one of Europe’s top five leagues, or that none of them are the kind of defender who gets bullied off the ball easily.

However, thanks to FBref, we know that there are also some undeniable statistical similarities between them as they looked at all centre-backs across the top five leagues and, over the last 365 days, the Arsenal star comes in as the third most similar to the Barça ace, while the Spurs titan ranks as the ninth most similar.

You can gain a better understanding of how these comparisons were made by examining the underlying numbers in which the Uruguayan ranked closely to the two Premier League monsters.

Araujo & Gabriel
Statistics per 90	Araujo	Gabriel
Non-Penalty Expected Goals	0.11	0.10
Passing Accuracy	91.9%	90.2%
Key Passes	0.48	0.49
Passes into the Penalty Area	0.36	0.30
Goal-Creating Actions	0.24	0.23
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Campaign

Interestingly, when it comes to the Gunners’ ace, the Rivera-born star doesn’t actually rank all that closely in the defensive metrics, and instead shares plenty of the Brazilian’s offensive qualities, from non-penalty expected goals to key passes and goal-creating actions, all per 90.

However, when it comes to the Lilywhites ace, the metrics include offensive and defensive statistics, such as interceptions, percentage of aerial duels won, tackles in the middle third, key passes and more, all per 90.

Araujo & Romero
Statistics per 90	Araujo	Romero
Non-Penalty Expected Goals	0.11	0.10
Interceptions	1.07	1.34
Aerial Duels Won %	62.3%	60.3%
Tackles in the Middle Third	0.60	0.51
Key Passes	0.48	0.45
Progressive Carries	0.71	0.76
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Campaign

With all that said, while comparisons to two of the best defenders in the world’s toughest league are certainly encouraging, there are other arguments for why the North Londoners should be all over a deal for the former Boston River star, such as his experience.

For example, despite still being just 26 years old, and therefore a year out from hitting his peak, according to research from The Athletic, the “athletic monster,” as dubbed by analyst Raj Chohan, has made 175 appearances for Barcelona, of which 141 have been starts, and he’s racked up a pretty good tally of ten goals and seven assists in those games.

On top of that, he has also helped the Spanish giants win two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and two Super Cups, which makes it easy to understand why legendary centre-back Carles Puyol once described him as “one of the best defenders in the world.”

Ultimately, even though it could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, Spurs should be doing what they can to secure Araujo’s services, especially as he’s something of a hybrid between Romero and Gabriel.

Spurs prepared to pay £40m to sign "special" James Maddison replacement

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly not concerned by the price tag of a star who could be a dream replacement for James Maddison.

By
Dan Emery

Aug 11, 2025

Youssoufa Moukoko admitted he cried over claims about his age that overshadowed his rise from Borussia Dortmund prodigy to Copenhagen striker.

• Ex-Dortmund player now plays for Copenhagen
• Allegations claimed his birth certificate was fake
• Moukoko said rumours left him in tears

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Moukoko who was once tipped as Dortmund’s next superstar, has spoken out about the emotional toll of false age claims that surrounded his career. Despite scoring an incredible 141 goals in 88 youth matches for BVB, his rise was marred by allegations that his birth certificate was fake. Reports suggested he was actually born in 2000, making him four years older than officially registered.

Advertisement

• IMAGO / Michael Barrett Boesen
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After a loan spell at Nice, he left Dortmund permanently in the summer, completing a €5 million move to Copenhagen, where he has scored three times in 12 games so far. Nonetheless the scandal dented his reputation at a crucial stage in his development, with critics questioning both his legitimacy and his potential. His time at Dortmund fizzled out without a proper farewell to fans, ending a nine-year stay at the club. Now in Denmark, Moukoko is attempting to rebuild both his career and confidence, while showing resilience in speaking openly about the challenges that left him struggling mentally.

• WHAT MOUKOKO SAID

  Speaking to , Moukoko revealed: "I've cried and thought: 'How do I get out of this?' and 'When will things get better?' Many people simply say: 'Everything's fine,' after difficult times. But I want to talk about it. Sometimes you have to learn to cry for help.

  "I think I was surprised by how many people do anything to get attention. Some people are incredibly greedy. Maybe one day I'll make my own documentary."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR MOUKOKO?

  The German international is now focused on making his mark in the Danish Superliga. With three goals already for Copenhagen, the 20-year-old hopes to silence the noise around him by delivering consistent performances and reigniting the potential that once made him one of Europe’s most hyped teenagers.

Nottingham Forest have now joined the race to sign a “special” £25 million international winger, according to a new report.

Nottingham Forest in contact to sign new striker after Jesus

The Reds have made two signings so far this summer, both of whom arrived from Brazilian side Botafogo. But given the club are looking to go deep into the UEFA Conference League as well as achieve further success in the Premier League, then Nuno Espirito Santo will be wanting more arrivals before the Premier League season gets underway.

Nottingham Forest among frontrunners for £20m+ Elanga replacement after talks

The Reds are progressing in talks to sign a player who will replace the departed Anthony Elanga.

1 ByBrett Worthington Jul 13, 2025

Igor Jesus, who is a striker, is one of the two players to arrive at the City Ground this summer, and he will join Chris Wood, Taiwo Awoniyi, and Emmanuel Dennis as the contracted forwards at Forest, but the latter could be free to leave the club given he has fallen down the pecking order. Meanwhile, Awoniyi’s return to action is unknown, and therefore, Forest are in the market for another centre-forward.

According to recent reports abroad, Forest have made contact with Inter Milan over the signing of Mehdi Taremi. Fulham and Turkish outfit Besiktas were already in the race to sign Taremi, but the Reds have now added his name to the list, with all three teams making contact with Inter but are now waiting for the striker to decide his next move. He could cost any side as much as £6.8 million.

Nottingham Forest join Everton in race to sign "special" £25m winger

As well as looking at new forward options, the Reds are also looking at who could replace Anthony Elanga, and according to The Express, Forest have registered their interest in signing Ben Doak from Liverpool.

Unfortunately for Forest, they are not the only team from the Premier League interested in the winger, as Doak is a “leading target” for Everton, as they have made an enquiry, but the likes of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace have also submitted enquiries about signing Doak.

It goes on to add that Doak, who has earned six caps for Scotland to date, would be open to leaving Anfield this summer, after returning from his loan spell at Middlesbrough. The 19-year-old is out of contract next summer, and therefore, Liverpool could be open to letting Doak leave, should they receive an offer worth £25 million.

This is despite the fact he has played just 10 times for the Premier League champions, but Liverpool will see his loan spell at Boro as a productive campaign, as he scored three goals in 24 league games.

Apps

24

Starts

21

Goals

3

xG

4.40

Shots per game

1.1

Goal conversion

11%

Assists

7

xAG

4.52

Big chances created

7

Key passes

1.9

Successful dribbles

1.5 (40%)

Doak is a player who is admired by a lot of clubs, and it may not come as much of a surprise, given former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp labelled Doak “special”. Klopp said: “Special boy. Really confident, has something nobody else delivers, really, this kind of dribbling, this kind of straight-forward bravery, all these kinds of things.”

The left-hander has joined Sydney Thunder following his earlier move back to New South Wales

Andrew McGlashan21-Aug-2024A return to Test cricket is at the forefront of Nic Maddinson’s mind, as he looks to bring last season’s strong finish in the Sheffield Shield to New South Wales after his winter return home, while he also hopes to reignite his T20 career after completing a double switch by joining Sydney Thunder.Maddinson hit three centuries in three Shield matches in the second half of last season for Victoria after missing the first part of the summer through injury before opting to move back to where his career began in Sydney.Those performances stood out in a Shield season where runs were hard to come by and started to have Maddinson’s name mentioned for a possible return to Test cricket. His previous three Tests came in 2016-17 against South Africa and Pakistan when the selectors revamped the batting order, but he made just 27 runs in four innings.Related

Sheffield Shield preview: Western Australia chase history, Test stars to play early rounds

Sheffield Shield team of the season: Webster, Davies, McAndrew… and who else?

Philippe and Maddinson make move to New South Wales

Warner signs for full BBL, Smith inks three-year Sixers deal

“Probably [think about it] most days to be fair,” Maddinson told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously throughout the winter and off season you have other stuff and family at home, but when you start coming into cricket, we’ve been outdoor training on the centre wickets, [Josh] Hazlewood and [Mitchell] Starc have started to roll through, it’s hard not to think about the progression of your career.”I love playing the game and want to help New South Wales win but also from a personal point of view still feel like I offer something at international cricket and would love to have that chance again. There’s a lot of motivations for people and still playing for Australia is there for me.”He also believes there is no comparison to the player he is now to the one who first played Test cricket. Overall in six seasons with Victoria he averaged 50.63 in Shield cricket.Nic Maddinson made three hundreds in three Shield matches last season•Getty Images”Ten times better, maybe more,” he said. “Think I’m probably a much better player than I was even three or four years ago. Felt like Shield runs last year were pretty hard to come by on some of the wickets we got dished up. Opening the batting was always a great spot to bat but it was never really my strength. To be able to score the runs I did last year gave me a lot of confidence, being able to adapt and play a different style. As you look to progress career you have to adapt and last year felt I really made some good progress.”Maddinson’s prolific finish to the Shield came off the back of a difficult BBL campaign for Melbourne Renegades where he was dropped despite being captain after 48 runs in four innings. He had come into the tournament on the back of very little cricket after recovering from an ACL injury. His overall T20 record is underwhelming with an average of 20.30 from 134 innings but he hopes to reinvigorate his game with Thunder.”I’ve been pretty disappointed with how I’ve been probably since I left the Sydney Sixers [in 2018] to be fair,” he said. “I really found it challenging going into BBL off not much cricket [last season] having had such a long break. For me, what’s important is having a decent block of longer-form cricket to channel into BBL and then expand your game from there.”There’s definitely stages in people’s careers where you have a bit of a lull in formats and can bounce back. Last year was a bit disappointing for me because the only thing holding me back from feeling like I was going to do well was just the amount of game time. There were a few technical changes and bad habits I’d got into from practising for T20 that took away from the overall structure of my batting. Going forward it’s about trying to find a game plan that works regardless of where I fit in in the order.”Joining Thunder means there is the prospect of Maddinson opening with David Warner, with whom he shared a Shield opening stand of 233 in 2011 after he was confirmed as having full availability for the season”Think I opened with him for the very first time when I was 16 in a 2nd XI game,” Maddinson said. “To think we could be batting together again, it’s been quite a long time. That top order, you put Cam Bancroft into that, Ollie Davies, Sam Billings, it’s quite a nice-looking line-up and hopefully I have a role in that somewhere.”

Milos Kerkez is edging toward a move from Bournemouth to Liverpool, with sporting director Richard Hughes discussing the final details with his successor in the Cherries transfer seat.

This in itself is a fantastic deal for Anfield, whose veteran left-back Andy Robertson is an “absolute legend” but one “hanging on in every game” for Arne Slot’s side this season, says pundit Jamie Carragher.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold signing for Real Madrid at the end of his Liverpool contract, it was also important for FSG to welcome a successor, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong has been picked as the man for the job, signed for £29.5m.

Further change is afoot higher up the field, but Liverpool have already shown a willingness to secure a new centre-back this summer, pushing to sign Dean Huijsen before he rejected a wealth of Premier League interest for Real Madrid.

Why Liverpool need a defender

Virgil van Dijk is now a two-time Premier League winner, dominant and immense as the captain guided his team through the campaign with elite consistency.

It’s brilliant that Van Dijk signed a new deal on Merseyside, extending his stay for two more years, but he turns 34 next month and Liverpool need to find a long-term heir.

That could have been Huijsen, who was hailed as “the perfect left centre-back” by analyst Ben Mattinson after his campaign on the south coast. Complete in an age-belying fashion, the Spain international, only 20, would have secured Liverpool’s backline for years to come, had he joined.

And though FSG are big on acting upon unique market opportunities, they must surely recognise the need for a fallback. Ibrahima Konate arrived in 2021, and no first-team centre-back has since followed him.

Konate, moreover, is being courted by Los Blancos, who want to snap him up as a free agent next summer. Liverpool are currently locked in talks over a new deal with their French defender.

Given Jarell Quansah’s future is also uncertain, a Huijsen alternative to ease the burden on Van Dijk and co would be great, and the Premier League champions have identified the man for the job.

Liverpool begin move for new CB

As per Caught Offside, Liverpool have entered the race for Bayern Munich centre-back Kim Min-jae, with sources close to the South Korean claiming he will be allowed to leave the Allianz Arena this summer.

With the various parties all seeking a swift resolution, Bayern have reduced their asking price from €50m (£44m) to about €35m (£30m), which would work well for the Reds given their need for reinforcements across a myriad of positions.

With Chelsea and Newcastle United also exploring a move, Liverpool would be wise to take their interest up a notch, ready to pounce.

What Kim Min-Jae would bring to Liverpool

Kim has struggled to truly hit his stride for Bayern, but certainly showcased his quality as an elite-level central defender when in the Serie A with Napoli, heralded as an “iron barrel” of a player by his former teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

According to Luciano Spalletti, former Napoli boss, Kim has the minerals to become “the best centre-back in the world”, keeping 14 clean sheets from 35 matches as the Blues won the Scudetto in 2022/23, a colossus in protecting his side’s goal.

A player capable of getting stuck in and performing with a more elegant touch, Kim’s is the prototypical modern profile, his strength suggesting he would thrive in the rigorous Premier League.

Bayern signed the 28-year-old from Napoli in July 2023 after meeting his £43m release clause, and though he’s since recovered the Bundesliga from Leverkusen after missing out in his debut term, it hasn’t been the smoothest sailing for the left-sided defender, who made four direct errors leading to a goal this term, as per Sofascore.

Still, such lapses haven’t prevented the £194k-per-week titan from producing otherwise impressive performances, completing 93% of his passes, averaging 5.7 ball recoveries per game and winning 65% of his aerial battles.

His aerial dominance, crisp and progressive passing and left-sided berth suggest Kim could be the perfect foil for Van Dijk, especially when data-led site FBref suggest the two players bear a tactical likeness.

Goals

0.09

0.08

Assists

0.02

0.00

Touches

87.13

103.14

Pass completion

91.7%

92.9%

Progressive passes

5.05

6.45

Shot-creating actions

1.19

1.02

Progressive carries

0.50

0.62

Ball recoveries

3.11

5.51

Tackles + interceptions

2.31

3.06

Clearances

4.55

3.60

Aerials won

2.85

3.06

Securing a new centre-half who can ease Van Dijk’s defensive burden wouldn’t be a bad thing, especially with Liverpool determined to go one better than this term and compete for silverware across four different major fronts.

There’s clearly a likeness to the players, who both employ confident passing games but maintain creative flair too. Moreover, they are persistent commanders of aerial traffic, directing whipped-in danger away from the box.

If Liverpool wish to maximise the time they have left with their legendary skipper, overloading him with minutes might not actually be the best track to take. Instead, Van Dijk could thrive in an environment that allows him to step away from the action without sending Slot’s system into a spin.

Kim’s similarities to the Dutchman would allow him to do exactly that, regarded in the past as ‘the South Korean Van Dijk.’

Given Quansah was used so sparingly this season, and indeed Konate’s future is uncertain (as is his fitness, routinely missing chunks of the campaign), this would be the perfect, affordable deal for an experienced and dynamic defender who could fill in for the captain or play alongside him.

He'd be incredible with Wirtz: £80m star dreaming of signing for Liverpool

Liverpool are making some serious moves in the transfer market.

ByAngus Sinclair Jun 6, 2025

Tottenham Hotspur have now held advanced talks to appoint a “phenomenal” manager as a replacement for Ange Postecoglou, according to journalist Tancredi Palmeri.

Sack looming for Postecoglou despite Europa League victory

It appears as though the Europa League triumph in Bilbao will not be enough to prevent Daniel Levy from pulling the trigger on Postecoglou, with Football Insider recently revealing thaty the decision has been made to sack the manager.

That news comes after journalist Miguel Delaney revealed the 59-year-old has very little chance of remaining in his post, saying: “As of Friday morning, Tottenham Hotspur still hadn’t made an official decision on Ange Postecoglou but the chances of staying had apparently gone down from last week’s ‘five percent’.

“His departure is still expected, whenever that may be.”

Sacking the manager who led Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years will no doubt cause unrest within some pockets of the fanbase, but making the decision early will, at the very least, give any new manager an entire summer to instill a new philosophy.

According to Palmeri, who recently spoke to talkSPORT, Daniel Levy now has a top-level manager in mind as a replacement for Ange, namely Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi.

When asked about Inzaghi’s future at the San Siro, the journalist said: “The situation is that Al Hilal offered him £25million per-season for two seasons.

“I can tell you that he had advanced contacts with both Newcastle and Tottenham but at the same time, the priority for him is to stay at Inter.”

"Phenomenal" Inzaghi could be ideal Ange replacement

Tottenham’s 17th-place finish cannot be ignored, despite the Europa League triumph in Bilbao, with Ange’s side losing 22 Premier League games across the campaign, becoming the first side to lose as many without being relegated.

There is no doubting the Inter Milan manager’s talent, having led his side to the Champions League final this season, albeit coming up short in a 5-0 thrashing against Paris Saint-Germain in Munich.

Top target: Tottenham set to hold talks for "unbelievable" £68m forward

Spurs are planning to enter negotiations with the agents of a forward, who is one of their key summer targets.

ByDominic Lund Jun 2, 2025

The Italian has been lauded as “phenomenal” by former Inter striker Felipe Caicedo, and he retains a stellar record across spells with Inter and Lazio, winning three Italian Cups, five Super Cups and one Serie A title in the process.

Inzaghi’s record

Matches

Points per match

Inter Milan

217

2.14

Lazio

244

1.79

It would be a shame to see Ange leave, given that he was responsible for ending Tottenham’s trophy drought, but Inzaghi, who rakes in £5.6m-a-year (£108k-a-week), could be an excellent replacement for the Australian.

Ruben Amorim has cut a frustrated figure since replacing Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. The Portugal tactician’s candour has worked against him at times, fingers pointed toward negativity when the club needs the opposite.

But Amorim is at least clear in his vision and clear about where the Red Devils need to improve. He’s been clear about his opinion that beating Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final will not rectify the wrongs, and he’s been clear that changes are needed in the transfer market this summer.

United are down, but they aren’t out, retaining a deep-rooted appeal for players to make the move to Old Trafford. INEOS will certainly hope the club’s reputation holds sway as they look to close their first deal of the summer.

Man Utd on the verge of signing new forward

According to Fabrizio Romano, Man United will complete the signing of Matheus Cunha in the coming days, with the Wolverhampton Wanderers forward keen on wrapping up discussions and making the move to Manchester.

Cunha has a £62.5m release clause in his Wolves contract after renewing terms in January, and given that negotiations between United and the Old Gold are at an advanced stage, it seems to be the structure of the payment being the only hold-up.

What Matheus Cunha would bring to Old Trafford

Regarded as “one of the best players in the Premier League this season” by Statman Dave, Cunha may well have been the definitive factor in Wolves’ season, firing away each week to lift his team away from the relegation fodder.

He might find he’s swiftly required as a talisman at Old Trafford next season, for his efforts suggest he’s a far cry ahead of some of Amorim’s existing options.

Alejandro Garnacho is one of United’s brightest sparks, but there’s no question that he’s ebbed and flowed this year, with talks of a transfer to Chelsea or Atletico Madrid in January coming to nought.

Such clubs may return for the £65m-rated talent this summer.

Amorim and Garnacho didn’t get off to a good start, the manager dropping his 20-year-old star in December following application problems in training.

He has evident talent, but given that Cunha is expected to join, why not cash in and start afresh? To be sure, United need quite the renovation.

And when looking at the players’ respective seasons, it’s clear that Cunha is head and shoulders above the Man United man.

Matches (starts)

31 (28)

36 (23)

Goals

15

6

Assists

6

2

Shots (on target)*

3.2 (1.3)

2.3 (0.8)

Big chances missed

2

14

Pass completion

79%

83%

Big chances created

13

4

Dribbles*

1.9

0.7

Ball recoveries*

4.0

3.0

Tackles + interceptions*

1.6

1.2

Duels won*

5.6

2.8

Cunha is far more clinical, not just outscoring Garnacho (and all the rest) but doing so with style, having missed only two big chances all season. Moreover, he’s more creative and more effective, and active in the duel.

Cunha’s defensive statistics surpass Garnacho’s too, and that’s not because of Wolves’ style of play. United are hemmed in near the bottom of the Premier League table with two games left to go, having averaged 53.2% of possession each game, as per FBref.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The fact is, Amorim needs this kind of player in his mix. The Red Devils need a tenacious and combative forward who will work hard and shoot true, with a flair for the creative, too.

Hailed for his “incredible” performances at Molineux by his former manager Gary O’Neil, signing Cunha, regardless of United’s Europa League fate, would make a firm comment on the club’s ability to withstand adversity and still attract some of the finest players in the Premier League.

Maybe Garnacho and the £90k-per-week Wolves sensation could work in conjunction next year, but if the Argentina prospect needs to be sold to establish room and balance for this new recruit, so be it.

Not just Hojlund: Man Utd must axe one of Ten Hag's best signings in Bilbao

Manchester United fell to yet another defeat last night, losing 1-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

ByEthan Lamb May 17, 2025