Wolverhampton Wanderers are confident of signing Carlos Vinicius in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Tottenham Hotspur have decided not to make Vinicius’s loan deal permanent, and that Premier League rivals Wolves are keen on securing the services of the Benfica-owned forward.
Vinicius joined Tottenham on loan from Portuguese giants Benfica in the summer of 2020. The Brazilian forward has made three starts and six substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, scoring one goal in the process, according to . The 26-year-old made five starts and four substitute appearances in the Europa League this campaign, scoring six goals and providing three assists in the process, according to .
Tottenham are sixth in the Premier Leagu…
This World Cup may not have been the best in the history of the competition but some young players have come out of the competition with their reputations enhanced.
Some of these players could prove the backbones of their national sides for years to come.
Here is a rundown of some of the young players I have been impressed with in South Africa:
Mesut Ozil (Germany)
The Werder Bremen playmaker was highly-rated before the tournament but he has only enhanced his ever growing reputation through some fantastic displays. He has been the creative brain of the German side and could be in line for a big money move this summer.
Spanish giants Barcelona and Manchester United have shown a strong interest in the diminutive star. A fee in the region of £25mil…
German coach Ewald Lienen has been fired by Greek first division club Olympiakos, the day after the team s shock Europa League exit.
Olympiakos stuggled to a 2-1 home win against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first leg qualifier only to exit on the away goals rule after a 1-0 loss on Thursday night in Israel.
Lienen, 56, took over as coach in June on a two-year contract.
It was a short, but positive experience for me, said Lienen.
It was a tough situation. A new team with new players who were not ready to play in the Europa League. There was a lot of pressure on me and we took the decision to break my contract.
Some 200 angry fans shouted abuse and threw plastic bottles at the players and staff as they arrived home early Friday from Israel.
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Australia defender Matthew Spiranovic believes his team s recent road trips will hold them in good stead for Thursday s World Cup qualifier against Jordan.
The Asian champions have enjoyed wins in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to start their qualifying campaign for Russia 2018.
The Socceroos, who top Group A, face another tricky trip as they prepare to face Jordan in Amman.
Spiranovic said the tough trips had made Ange Postecoglou s men better.
The more games the team plays together we’re exposed to those environments and crowds it puts us in a much better position for future challenges, he told FFA TV.
A lot of us boys have that experience now and we can use that to our advantage when we play teams that we re going to face next.
While Au…
Carlos Tevez wants Argentina to unite ahead of the FIFA World Cup and end debate about his non-selection.
The Juventus striker capped 64 times by his national team has not played since Alejandro Sabella took the job as Argentina coach after the 2011 Copa America.
He bagged 19 Serie A goals this season, leading Juve to their third successive Scudetto, leading to calls for his return to the international fold.
But Tevez missed the cut in Sabella s provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup that was announced on Tuesday.
Despite his absence, Tevez – who says his international career is not over – wants the focus to be on Argentina s preparation and not him.
Quoted in the Italian media as saying on Twitter, Tevez claimed: Through this medium I want to thank…
Ingolstadt have been relegated from the Bundesliga as a result of their 1-1 draw with Freiburg on Saturday.
The stalemate at Schwarzwald Stadion had looked set to be good enough to keep them alive heading into the final week of matches, with Hamburg losing 1-0 to Schalke at Veltins Arena.
However, an injury-time equaliser from Pierre-Michel Lasogga snatched a draw for HSV that ensures they stay four points above Ingolstadt in the table and confirms the latter s relegation.
Ingolstadt fans thought they had been granted a reprieve when news filtered through of a stoppage-time Schalke goal from Sead Kolasinac, but it was ruled out after Lewis Holtby s corner was adjudged to have gone out of play before being turned in by the defender.
Maik Walpurgis side, wh…
Frank Lampard feels Chelsea are suffering from a lack of leadership and personality in the dressing room this season, and blames that for their disappointing Premier League title defence.
Along with the likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba and Petr Cech, Lampard was an integral part of the dominant Chelsea side that won three league titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, the Champions League and Europa League between 2004 and 2013.
However, only Terry remains of that quartet and he looks set to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season when his contract expires.
This season has been one to forget for Chelsea in the league as a disastrous start left them languishing in the lower echelons of the table and saw Jose Mourinho sacked in December.
Guus Hidd…
Jurgen Klopp hailed a special performance from record-breaking Mohamed Salah as Liverpool roared to a sensational 7-1 Champions League win over Rangers on Wednesday.
Salah came off the substitutes bench to fire home a hat-trick in just six minutes and 12 seconds – the fastest ever in Champions League history.
A Roberto Firmino brace and a fine strike from Darwin Nunez had earlier overturned Scott Arfield s opener for Rangers, while Harvey Elliott added a seventh after Salah s quick-fire treble.
The win means Liverpool need just a point from their final two Group A games against Ajax and Napoli to qualify for the knockout stages, and Klopp was delighted with his side s display.
9 Since Opta have full touch data for the (2003-04), there have been 112 hat…
The United States will visit Egypt for a football friendly against the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions on February 9 at Cairo, the US Soccer Federation announced Monday.
The Americans have beaten the seven-time Africa Cup winners in their only prior meetings, the most recent a 3-0 triumph over the Pharoahs at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
The other US triumph also came at a neutral venue, a 3-1 victory at Seoul in 1987.
US coach Bob Bradley was excited about the chance for the American side to play a first-ever match in Egypt ahead of next June s Gold Cup tournament, the North American continental championship.
Egypt is an extremely talented and competitive team, Bradley said. Their performances in the Confederations Cup and…
Former president Seigo Watanabe quit the club last month after admitting to inflating the number of people attending games in order to fill a league quota.
Newly elected president Shigeru Suzuki vowed to clean up the attendance saga when he was voted in last month.
I plan to make a concerted effort to clean up this club, which is a bed-rock of the local community and dear to all of its fans, Suzuki said in October.
Omiya were caught exacerbating their home attendance figures by a collective 110,000 people across three years, but were fined the same amount as city rivals Urawa Reds, for harbouring violent fans in 2008.
The club is 14th in the Japanese top flight with 34 points from 30 games this season.
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