Bayern Munich are pushing to get AC Milan's Rafael Leao with discussions set to begin in the coming weeks.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
| Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱 |
Celtic head into the international break at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after their convincing 3-1 win over St. Johnstone at Parkhead on Saturday.
Their rivals Rangers had their clash with Dundee postponed due to a waterlogged pitch on Sunday, which meant that the Hoops ended the weekend one point clear – having played one more game than the team in second.
The Hoops still have the chance to secure two trophies before the end of the season as they remain in the Premiership title race and are set to play Aberdeen in the semi-finals of the SFA Cup last month.
They were knocked out of Europe in the group stages of the Champions League, and were dumped from the League Cup by Kilmarnock, during the first half of the campaign.
The Scottish giants may look to make changes to their playing squad to fare better across all competitions and in Europe next season, and there is one position that will need looking at as Joe Hart is set to retire.
Celtic will need to find a player to take the former England international's place between the sticks and Brendan Rodgers may have already found the dream replacement for him.
According to Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad (17/03/2024), via SoccerNews, the Hoops have identified RKC Waalwijk goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen as a target ahead of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Glasgow-based side have already placed an offer on the table to sign the talented shot-stopper to bolster their squad.
His current contract with Waalwijk is due to expire at the end of the season and this has allowed Celtic to make him an offer to sign a pre-contract agreement.
However, the outlet states that Vaessen is in no rush to make a decision on his future. The 28-year-old star has his full focus on helping his current club to avoid relegation from the Eredivisie before deciding his next move.
Algemeen Dagblad reports that Dutch giants PSV are also interested in a possible swoop to sign the experienced shot-stopper, and that the interest from both clubs has not left him 'unmoved', which suggests that he could decide to make the switch to Scotland or across the Netherlands in the summer.
Celtic, if they win the race for his signature, have already found the dream replacement for Hart between the sticks as the Dutch giant has been in sublime form and could, possibly, arrive as an upgrade on the veteran Englishman.
The 36-year-old titan, who turns 37 next month, has kept ten clean sheets in 29 appearances for the Scottish giants in the Premiership so far this season.
Celtic won the league title in both of his first two years at the club, having joined from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2021, and he will be hoping for a perfect treble before his retirement later this year.
Hart's performances in the league this season have improved in comparison to his displays under Ange Postecoglou during the 2022/23 campaign, which suggests that he is going out on a high this summer.
|
Joe Hart |
22/23 Premiership |
23/24 Premiership |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
37 |
29 |
|
Goals conceded per game |
0.8 |
0.8 |
|
Save success rate |
65% |
69% |
|
Saves per game |
1.5 |
1.7 |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
86% |
100% |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, the experienced stopper's save success rate, saves per game, and aerial duel success rate have all improved, whilst he has conceded the same number of goals per match on average.
This suggests that the Hoops defence has allowed more shots against his goal this time around, but he has stepped up to ensure that their mistakes have not impacted the team.
However, Hart did leave a bit to be desired with his underwhelming performances in the Champions League as he conceded 1.7 more goals than expected based on the post-shot xG value of the efforts against him in six appearances, which was also the case during the 2022/23 campaign.
In total, the ex-Manchester City star let in 6.5 more goals than expected in 19 European matches for Celtic over the last three seasons combined, which shows that the goalkeeper struggled with the quality of finishes in Europe.
The Hoops could now land a dream replacement for Hart by beating PSV to Vaessen's signature this summer, as the Dutch colossus has been in fantastic form this season.
Despite his side battling against relegation, the Celtic target has caught the eye with 4.0 saves per game and a Sofascore rating of 7.31 across 22 appearances in the Eredivisie.
He has prevented a staggering 4.67 more goals than expected based on the xG of the shots against him this season, which suggests that the 28-year-old star has consistently made high-quality saves against high-quality efforts.
|
Per 90 |
Joe Hart – 23/24 Champions League |
Etienne Vaessen – 23/24 Eredivisie |
|---|---|---|
|
Post-shot xG minus goals conceded |
-0.28 |
+0.15 |
|
Percentage of crosses stopped |
1.2% |
7.9% |
|
Defensive actions outside the penalty area |
0.17 |
1.54 |
|
Average distance of defensive actions |
5.9 yards |
15.2 yards |
|
Save success rate |
60.5% |
72.3% |
|
Stats via FBref |
||
As you can see in the table above, Vaessen has outperformed Hart in a number of key goalkeeping metrics throughout the 2023/24 campaign so far.
Not only has the potential free agent significantly outperformed the Englishman as a shot-stopper, the Waalwijk hero has also been terrific at sweeping up behind his defence and at commanding his box to relieve the pressure on his backline.
Vaessen has the quality to consistently come off his line to either clear the ball from danger outside of his box or to collect a cross to prevent the opposition from getting a shot away.
Whereas, Hart ranks within the bottom 1% of goalkeepers in the Champions League this season for defensive actions outside the penalty area per 90 and the percentage of crosses into the box stopped.
These statistics suggest that the Dutch ace, who is eight years younger than the former England international, would arrive as a significant upgrade on the current Celtic number one, should he translate his performances over to Glasgow.
Celtic's 2023 target to replace Joe Hart is now starring for CL giants
The Hoops were reportedly interested in a deal to sign the Real Madrid starlet.
By
Dan Emery
Feb 23, 2024
Therefore, Rodgers may have already found his dream replacement for Hart with this offer on the table to land Vaessen at the end of the season, and it is now down to the Eredivisie star to make a final decision on his future.
Former Australia captain feels opponents don’t go ‘hard’ at the Indians anymore
ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2020Did Australia go “a lot softer” on India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2018-19 at home? Michael Clarke believes so, and feels the IPL, where players from around the world earn big bucks, made Tim Paine’s men “too scared” to sledge Virat Kohli and Co in the series the visitors won 2-1.”Everybody knows how powerful India are in regards to the financial part of the game, whether that be internationally or domestically in regards to the IPL,” Clarke said on the radio programme. “So, I feel, Australian cricket, and probably every other team, over a little period went the opposite – actually sucked up to India. They were too scared to sledge Kohli or sledge the Indian players because they had to go and play with them in April.”And they wanted… if Kohli is the captain in the IPL, Rohit Sharma is the captain in the IPL, you know, name a list of ten players, they are bidding for these Australian players to get into their IPL team. So the players are like, ‘well, I’m not going to sledge Kohli, I want him to pick me for [Royal Challengers] Bangalore, so I can make, you know, a million US (dollars) for my six weeks’. And I sort of feel that was where Australia went through that little phase of our cricket, became a lot softer or not as hard as what we’re accustomed to seeing.”For India, the victory was historic as they became the first Asian side to ever win a Test series in Australia. For Australia, the loss came on the back of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal that forced Cricket Australia to ban Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, and carry out an internal review of their team culture. Consequently there was added pressure on Paine’s men to put up their best behaviour against India.According to Clarke, there was also a cricketing reason for Australia not “winding up” Kohli, who he rated has one of the top batsmen he had played with or against. “I feel some players think by winding him up, he might try and play that big shot early out of aggression or frustration,” Clarke said. “But yeah, I sort of feel Kohli is one of those players that you are better off saying nothing to and just allow him to hopefully be a little bit sleepy at the start of his innings and make a mistake.”Interestingly, what Clarke called a non-aggressive approach by the Australians keeping the IPL in mind, Kohli has said was down to respect, which the IPL had helped foster between players from different countries over the years.”IPL has done a lot in terms of respecting each other,” Kohli told Kevin Pietersen during an Instagram interaction last week when asked by the former England captain about on-field sledging. “I would never ever be able to do it [sledging] with AB [de Villiers]. There is a friendship that lasts much longer than all these things.”
Manchester City will be on alert after Jamal Musiala refused to rule out leaving Bayern Munich when his contract expires.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
A highly-rated backroom maestro could say yes to taking a job at Liverpool this summer, according to an update from journalist Ben Jacobs.
Jurgen Klopp is leaving as Reds manager at the end of the season, so it is only natural that numerous potential candidates have emerged to fill the huge void that he will leave this summer.
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is the definite frontrunner to come in and replace Klopp as he closes in on a stunning Bundesliga title with his current team. His knowledge of Liverpool as a club makes him a perfect choice, not to mention his reputation as one of the best young coaches in Europe.
A number of different players have also been linked with moves to Anfield in order to bolster the new manager's options, with Wolves winger Pedro Neto seen as an exciting target that the Reds have scouted previously.
Meanwhile, Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo is also reportedly wanted by Liverpool at the end of the season, potentially being seen as a replacement for Mohamed Salah should the Egyptian icon move on.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jacobs said that former sporting director Michael Edwards could be persuaded to return to Liverpool, even though it is far from a given, as the Reds look to fill the role as soon as possible after Jorg Schmadtke's exit.
While Jacobs insisted that Liverpool had not yet formally approached Edwards over an Anfield return, he did outline what it might take for the 44-year-old to accept any offer that comes his way before the start of next season:
"He wants equity, which is something that FSG did give to Lebron James. So the key question is if they really want Edwards, would they be prepared to give him equity and total control over the football department? And if the answer is yes to one or both of these things, then Edwards might seriously consider a role."
|
10 great Liverpool signings by Michael Edwards |
Year |
Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Virgil van Dijk |
2018 |
£75m |
|
Mohamed Salah |
2017 |
£37m |
|
Sadio Mane |
2016 |
£34m |
|
Alisson |
2018 |
£67m |
|
Andy Robertson |
2017 |
£10m |
|
Fabinho |
2018 |
£39m |
|
Gini Wijnaldum |
2016 |
£25m |
|
Joel Matip |
2016 |
Free |
|
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain |
2017 |
£35m |
|
Takumi Minamino |
2020 |
£7.25m |
The idea of Edwards returning to Liverpool is a mouthwatering prospect, considering what a huge impact he made during his first spell at the club, masterminding numerous signings and enjoying an excellent working relationship with Klopp.
The Englishman used the 'Moneyball' model to bring in the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, who became world-class players after arriving as relatively low-key signings, and the Reds should jump at the chance of bringing him back.
Liverpool's wildcard manager target delighted by Anfield links
He is data-driven like Michael Edwards
By
Henry Jackson
Mar 2, 2024
Klopp clearly thought highly of Edwards during their time together at Liverpool, saying his "contribution to our success is clear for everyone to see", and he was the brains behind a £50m training centre based solely on analytics, data and AI. His influence could be even greater with more responsibilities.
England pulled off a 3-0 whitewash on their 2018 tour, but their captain is mindful of keeping his expectations realistic
Madushka Balasuriya12-Mar-2020The last time England rocked up on Sri Lankan shores, in late 2018, they had a settled side that had been together for the better part of four years, and were just months away from winning their first-ever World Cup title. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, couldn’t buy a win, and a number of those who played in that series would find themselves out of the eventual travelling squad for the World Cup.A year and a half on, Sri Lanka finally look to have settled on more or less their favoured starting XI, with a pleasing blend of experience and youth. In Mickey Arthur, they also have one of world cricket’s pre-eminent coaches leading the way. England are still a top-quality unit, as showcased by their recent exploits in South Africa, but they are now once again at the start of a rebuild.With the Test Championship final coming up next year and an Ashes tour of Australia in 2021-22, England captain Joe Root believes they once more have something to build towards.”I think for us building towards that Test Championship final would be a huge achievement,” Root said at the pre-series media briefing in Colombo on Wednesday. “It’s something that we’re aiming for as a team, and obviously, we’re also always judged on how well we do in The Ashes as well, so it’s a long process in making sure that we’re always trying to peak when we’re going up against Australia and travelling over there.”Long-term a big focus for us is trying to get some consistency and how we want to go about playing our cricket. Similarly with the guys that we’re going to be selecting, it’s a real opportunity for them to long-term take this team up the rankings, and hopefully play those big moments and big games that really matter.”In the build-up to their World Cup triumph, England’s tour to Sri Lanka in hindsight proved to be a signpost moment for the type of cricket that would eventually win them the trophy. Not only did they win that series in 2018, they decimated the hosts, winning series in all three formats including a 3-0 Test-series whitewash.What made the wins all the more impressive was their manner they came in, as England beat Sri Lanka at their own game. Their batsmen dominated the home spinners, while their own spinners – Jack Leach, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid – wreaked havoc, combining for 48 wickets.This time around, only Leach remains from that vaunted trio, and while Matt Parkinson’s four-for in England’s first warm-up game would likely have strengthened his case for a starting berth in the first Test in Galle alongside Dom Bess – who picked up three in the game – they’re both relatively untested at the highest level. In terms of the batting too, there are many who haven’t played top-level cricket on subcontinental surfaces. As such, Root isn’t getting too far ahead of himself in expecting a repeat performance from 2018.”It is a different team that we’ve brought this time around,” he said. “We’re expecting the surfaces to be slightly different, and we’re quite open-minded about what to expect. But ultimately it gives an opportunity for some of the other guys to show what they’re capable of.”I think last time we came at a different time of year for starters. It was a lot wetter. And I’m sure Mickey [Arthur] and everyone have put their own stamp on things, and are playing cricket very differently.”There were very extreme conditions [in terms of the pitches] last time around as well, and I felt we found a very good way of exploiting that. It probably suited some of the guys that we had on tour, and the way they played their cricket.”I think it’s important to have an open mind coming in to this series. If we just went in and expected it to be exactly the same then we could find ourselves getting stuck, and I think it’s really important that we play what’s right in front of us, and make sure we respect the surface and the opposition. And I’m sure there are one or two guys that want to put their stamp on this team and take it forward.”Matt Parkinson has a laugh during England’s opening tour match in Sri Lanka•Getty Images
For Sri Lanka, this will be an opportunity at redemption, though with Rangana Herath retired and Akila Dananjaya suspended, their spin contingent comprising Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya and Lakshan Sandakan is not as strong as it once was. Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne, however, chose to draw confidence from his team’s performances against New Zealand and South Africa in recent series, where it’s been the seamers more than spinners that have been the cornerstone of their victories.”We didn’t do well in the last series [against England], and they played really well in these conditions. And compared to other countries [we’ve faced at home] they were really good at taking on our spinners. But I think Dilruwan is there, and there are a few talented young bowlers as well. And we saw against South Africa and New Zealand in recent tours that they have a really good mindset.”Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur meanwhile believes that the recent ODI-series win against West Indies and the Test-series win in Zimbabwe have been great learning experiences for his players, albeit in different ways.”[The performances against West Indies in the ODIs] is certainly how we want to play our cricket, and I think our selections are going to reflect that going forward,” Arthur said. “But just to go back to the Zimbabwe series, we played on incredibly flat and slow wickets, which just sort of did nothing for the game really, and the game just didn’t move at all. And it was kind of a war of attrition, you had to just wear the opposition down. But we got a lot out of that tour, because we had to focus and had to be really disciplined through those two Test matches.”We find we got a hell of a lot out of that tour which was great for us. Certainly our brand of cricket – and I think that’s the way all teams play cricket now – is you want to take the game forward. But there are times when the session or game requires that you wear the opposition down, and that was very much our focus in Zimbabwe – primarily because of the conditions.”Nailing down that brand of cricket, Arthur feels, has been helped by the settled nature of Sri Lanka’s squad which he now believes has an ideal blend of youth and experience.”I think we’re really confident. First of all you’ve got to stay up with the trends of world cricket, and then you sort of look at the brand you want to play from there, and then you find the players that fit that brand.”We have some very young players, we have some very exciting players, we’ve got some very skilled players, intermingled with a couple of experienced players – Angelo [Mathews], [Dinesh] Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal. We feel we’ve got the balance right.”The first Test begins in Galle on March 19.
England star Jude Bellingham has launched a new YouTube channel and will release a documentary of his first season at Real Madrid.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
With the confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS' takeover of Manchester United, it is expected that the chequebook will be open for the summer window. With a number of targets in mind, the new owners are looking to strengthen an area that has been a major problem at Old Trafford this season.
Any United fan would've laughed in your face if you told them Jonny Evans would be starting Premier League games for them in the 2023/24 season. However, owing to the fragility of their starting defenders, the 36-year-old has started on ten occasions this season, just one less time than Raphaël Varane.
The often maligned Harry Maguire has also found consistent minutes after spending most of last season frozen out of the side. This makeshift defensive set up has mainly come as a result of the loss of Lisandro Martínez, who has struggled with injury since arriving from Ajax in 2022.
|
Man United Defenders |
Starts |
Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|
|
Lisandro Martínez |
7 |
558 |
|
Raphaël Varane |
11 |
993 |
|
Jonny Evans |
10 |
930 |
|
Harry Maguire |
12 |
1068 |
|
Victor Lindelof |
10 |
991 |
Latest Man Utd transfer news: De Jong back on radar; 21y/o hands in request
Here are all the latest Man Utd transfer rumours from Old Trafford as we enter the final weeks of the window.
By
Henry Jackson
Aug 12, 2024
With their woes at the back unlikely to subside anytime soon, there is no wonder why Ratcliffe and co are already planning to take the central pairing of one of Europe's best defensive sides.
According to Sport Witness, reports out of Germany suggest that the Old Trafford outfit are plotting an audacious quadruple swoop for some of Bayer Leverkusen's top talent. The outlet names star full back, Jeremie Frimpong, who the Red Devils have boasted a longstanding interest in, as well as midfielder Exequiel Palacios.
The reports states that United are "interested" in defensive pairing Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossonou. Having conceded just fifteen goals all season in the league, there is no wonder why a United side that have struggled for consistency at the back are looking at the duo.
Tapsoba will be an familiar name to English fans, with the defender constantly linked with a move to these shores since his arrival at Leverkusen back in 2020. The Burkina-Faso international has earned plaudits for his raw pace and strength, as well as his unique abilities with the ball at his feet. A centre back with an eye for a pass, Tapsoba would slot effortlessly into Erik ten Hag's style of play.
Kossounou on the other hand, is a bit more of an unknown entity. Playing on the right-hand side of Leverkusen's back three, he is as adept at filling in out wide as he is in the centre. It was this versatility that led to his former Leverkusen head-coach, Gerardo Seoane, singing his praises, saying of the defender:
With the price tags for Tapsoba and Kossounou set at a combined £77m, it is likely that United will pursue one or the other, depending on which Leverkusen are more inclined to part ways with. Regardless of whether they both don the famous red shirt, either player would be a significant upgrade on United's current options.
Manchester City icon Sergio Aguero has revealed who gets his vote to win this year's Ballon d'Or – with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham snubbed.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Two men stood head and shoulders above everyone else on an attritional day as Zimbabwe compiled 228 for 6 in Mirpur.
The Report by Liam Brickhill22-Feb-2020On an attritional first day’s play in Mirpur, two men stood head and shoulders above everyone else on the field as Zimbabwe compiled 228 for 6. Craig Ervine was the glue in Zimbabwe’s middle order, compiling the fourth hundred by a visiting captain at this ground,
and one that mixed studied defence with some exotic strokeplay. For Bangladesh, Nayeem Hasan twirled tirelessly through 36 overs to take 4 for 68, repeatedly pegging Zimbabwe back whenever they threatened to take control.Both men were somewhat fortunate to find themselves in their respective positions: Ervine is captaining Zimbabwe for the first time in this game only because regular skipper Sean Williams stayed at home to be present for the birth of his daughter, while an out-of-sorts
Mehidy Hasan’s absence from the playing XI opened the door for Nayeem to seize his opportunity.Mehidy has been off-colour since taking 15 wickets against West Indies at home in 2018, after which he took six wickets in four Tests last year. He missed the Rawalpindi Test earlier this month due to an injury, and was subsequently dropped for the first time in a
home Test since he made his debut against England in 2016. This gave, Nayeem, who took 13 wickets last week in a first-class match, his chance. His second delivery dipped and gripped to beat a groping Ervine’s outside edge, and he troubled everyone in Zimbabwe’s top order with fizz, bounce and an unerring line almost throughout.It was a sharp piece of fielding from Nayeem that brought Ervine to the crease this morning, Abu Jayed finding reward during a disciplined opening spell with the dismissal of opener Kevin Kasuza in the eighth over after Zimbabwe had won the toss. Three overs later,
Nayeem started a spell that would stretch on for a full 36 overs through the day, and an absorbing battle between the offspinner and the left hander began to unfold.Ervine certainly didn’t have it all his own way, Nayeem teasing his outside edge on several occasions early on, with leading edges flying through – and over – cover and point. Between times, however, Ervine held firm and his response to the sight of significant turn
and bounce even from a fresh, uncharacteristically grassy track was to unfurl a succession of sweeps both orthodox and reverse.Taijul Islam bore the brunt of his early strokeplay, leaking 43 runs from his first seven overs, and Zimbabwe surged ahead as Bangladesh turned ragged in the field, missing three chances – one of them very tough, but two clear drops – in the space of three overs.
With Prince Masvaure well set at the other end, having compiled a competent half-century, Ervine sensed an opportunity to go on the offensive, slashing Abu Jayed for three boundaries, some more convincing and deliberate than others, in the space of an over.The quick runs pushed Ervine and Masvaure’s partnership beyond 100, but Nayeem struck back with the vital dismissal of Masvaure, bending low to hold a drive slammed firmly back at him. Yet another sweep off Taijul took Ervine to fifty at the other end, but Nayeem
once again put the brakes on Zimbabwe by dismissing Brendan Taylor via a slightly fortuitous inside-edged reverse sweep.At 134 for 3, the innings was in the balance, and Nayeem kept threatening further breakthroughs, with iffy strokes aplenty against his probing bowling. While Taijul continued to mix tight deliveries with freebies, failing to bowl a single maiden throughout the
day, Nayeem changed his line of attack to a settled Sikandar Raza. Coming around the stumps, he had Raza playing for turn as the ball rushed on with the arm, a thin edge being safely snaffled by Liton Das behind the stumps.With Timycen Maruma focused on survival, Ervine continued to take the attack to the bowlers, stepping out to crunch Nayeem back over his head and cruising through the 80s with a pair of bruising thumps through the covers off Jayed. After a brief rest, Nayeem
resumed his battle with Zimbabwe’s captain, drawing some fidgety pokes outside off as he entered the 90s.Having used one review to good effect, Maruma wasted another when he was trapped plumb infront by Jayed shortly before Bangladesh took the second new ball. Ervine, meanwhile, was equally at home against the new pill as he was the old, flaying Abu Jayed once again through the covers and then moving to 99 with a pair of sweeps off Nayeem.A glance off Ebadot Hossain took Ervine to three figures, but it was Nayeem – who else? – who finally won the battle. In the penultimate over of the day, he followed up a loopy floater with a zippy quicker one that rushed through Ervine’s tired defence, castling him for 107.While the teams had stayed pretty much neck and neck throughout the day, with the advantage shifting back and forth, Nayeem’s late strike tilted the balance in Bangladesh’s favour. Just one frontline batsman, Regis Chakabva, remains for the visitors. Bangladesh will
go into day two fancying their chances of quickly rolling the tail over, while Nayeem while have his eye on a five-wicket haul and a milestone of his own to match Ervine’s.