Arsenal are all set to compete with Juventus to secure the signature of Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori.
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Arsenal want Italy's CalafioriJuventus linked with a move for defenderBologna could consider selling the 22-year-oldWHAT HAPPENED?
Arsenal scouts monitored the performance of the 22-year-old at the current European Championship and were left impressed by the youngster's performance, per The Telegraph, Calafiori appeared in all three of Italy's group games but was suspended for their round of 16 clash where the Azzurri conceded twice against Switzerland and crashed out of the competition.
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The Gunners, however, will face competition from Serie A giants Juventus who have been linked with a move for the youngster for quite some time now. The centre-back made 33 appearances across all competitions for Bologna in the 2023/24 campaign as the club finished fifth in the league and secured a Champions League berth. His impressive performance under Thiago Motta's tutelage earned him his maiden national team call-up earlier this year.
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID
Speaking to reporters in Italy, Bologna technical director Giovanni Sartori hinted that the club would listen to serious offers if they come their way. He said, "There is talk of Juventus but also of many other teams. At this moment we will try to keep him. If important requests were to arrive we will have to think about it.
"I am not saying that we will sell him because the president has said that he wants to keep the whole team, but we will certainly make some evaluations. I do not think he will go to Juventus, maybe to a different market, but I repeat that we would like to try to keep him."
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The North London side will be back in action at the end of this month as they are set to jet off to the US for pre-season. They are scheduled to play friendlies against Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.
Lionel Messi has been ruled out for two matches for Inter Miami after suffering an injury in the Copa America final
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Legendary attacker injured on international dutySidelined for two matchesAll-Star game debut in doubtWHAT HAPPENED?
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner picked up a serious knock when representing Argentina in the 2024 Copa America final. Messi rolled his ankle when returning to Florida and taking on Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium – leading to him leaving the field in tears.
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Messi was able to lift the Copa trophy after a dramatic 1-0 win for the Albiceleste, but images of the swelling around his right foot will have Inter Miami worried. He has vowed to be back soon, but no firm date has been revealed.
He will, however, miss matches on Wednesday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20. The MLS All-Star game is on July 24.
WHAT TATA MARTINO SAID
"He twisted his ankle, and the injury is present, so tests are needed and wait for results," Martino said. "I've had the opportunity to see other images. There will be tests done to determine the severity of the situation. We are always informed through our kinesiologist Walter Insaurralde, who is also the kinesiologist of the national team. He is very cautious at giving a final diagnosis before results are in."
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The Herons sit second in the Eastern Conference as things stand and nine teams will make the playoffs – giving Messi ample opportunity in which to recover before leading a quest for their second-straight Leagues Cup
Ten Doeschate scores unbeaten 51 but Dutch fail to move past PNG in top spot
The Report by Peter Della Penna in Dubai27-Oct-2019A disciplined bowling display laid the platform for another convincing victory for Netherlands over Scotland by four wickets at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday afternoon. But needing to chase a target of 131 in 12.3 overs to surpass Papua New Guinea on the tournament’s net run-rate tiebreaker for first place and an automatic trip to the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, Netherlands could only reach 106 for 6.That means Netherlands (second in Group A) will now have to play UAE (third in Group B) in a qualifier, with the winner going through to the T20 World Cup. The loser will get another chance, in a second qualifier against Scotland (fourth in Group A).*With the PNG squad watching from the second tier balcony following their win earlier in the day over Kenya, captain Pieter Seelaar’s bowlers backed up his decision to chase at the toss in light of the net run-rate scenario by restricting Scotland to 130 for 8. But Scotland’s medium pacers dented the Dutch reply badly in the Powerplay. Tobias Visee fell on the fifth ball of the reply skying to mid-off, while Max O’Dowd slapped to mid-on in the fourth before Ben Cooper chased a wide ball to edge behind in the sixth, leaving the score 39 for 3 after six overs.At 55 for 3 in eight, Ryan ten Doeschate and Colin Ackermann produced a stirring rally with 35 runs across the next two overs. Ten Doeschate pulled Alasdair Evans twice over midwicket for six while Ackermann drove Richie Berrington for six over long-off then scooped a boundary over the keeper to bring the equation down to 41 in 15 balls to overtake PNG.But as he has done all tournament, Mark Watt made key breakthroughs in the middle overs. After conceding just four runs in the eighth, he struck twice in the 11th, bowling Ackermann and inducing a skied flick from Roelof van der Merwe to MacLeod at long-on for a third-ball duck. When Seelaar was given out stumped on the 12.3 over mark, the score was just 101 for 6 as the PNG squad erupted on the balcony, knowing they had just secured their first ever trip to the T20 World Cup.Ten Doeschate eventually carried the Dutch across the line with three overs to spare after reaching a half-century off 34 balls. It was the 39-year-old’s second of the tournament after a key knock in a win over Namibia.Scotland’s innings got off to a difficult start after a brilliant tactical plan came off to near perfection from Seelaar and Ackermann. The captain gave the allrounder the new ball to bowl his offspin at George Munsey, who had been tearing offspinners apart all tournament with the reverse sweep. But a very square deep third man was put in place to deny the boundary option. After hitting an orthodox sweep for four to the first ball he faced from Ackermann, Munsey was bowled second ball and left shaking his head.Matthew Cross was promoted up to No. 3 in the absence of Oli Hairs, who was ruled out of the tournament with a broken bone in his right foot, and produced a 41-ball fifty. But he struggled for support at the other end as Scotland lost wickets in clumps. Kyle Coetzer (17) and MacLeod (1) fell in the eighth and ninth overs, the latter to an lbw decision in which replays showed a clear inside edge.Berrington, Michael Leask and Craig Wallace all fell in consecutive overs from the 14th to the 16th to leave Cross struggling for options to tag-team for a late surge before Cross departed in the 17th as Scotland stuttered to the end of their innings. Seelaar was named Man of the Match as much for his captaincy as for his 2 for 12, claiming Coetzer and Wallace.*
Derby County's disastrous 2021/22 campaign – which ended with relegation down to League One – is now very much a distant thought put to the back of the mind of many fans at Pride Park, who look to be currently watching a promotion-winning team.
The Rams certainly have the upper hand in the battle for the final automatic promotion spot up to the Championship after beating Bolton Wanderers last time out, a decisive header from Kane Wilson winning the box-office clash to give his side a four-point cushion in second place.
Although everything is going swimmingly well for Paul Warne and Co in the here and now, there might well be some intrigue from Derby fans to see where a selection of forgotten faces from yesteryear have ended up.
This ex-Rams youth product, for example, has had a bumpy time ever since waving goodbye to Pride Park two years ago, sold by Wayne Rooney to a Premier League buyer with major things expected of him that haven't yet come to fruition.
Derby County's former manager Wayne Rooney.
Luke Plange's time with Derby
Luke Plange would make his Derby debut in the same campaign that saw the Rams lose their Championship status, but the youngster was one very notable bright spark amidst all the doom and gloom engulfing Derbyshire at the time.
Formerly on the books at Arsenal as an academy product, Plange would finally get his moment in the senior spotlight relocating to the Rams.
Plange would be rewarded with a first-team debut against Bristol City in December of that season by Rooney, after bagging ten goals in 18 youth games for the club.
1. GK – Ryan Allsop
2. CB – Craig Forsyth
3. CB – Curtis Davies
4. CB – Phil Jagielka
5. RM – Kamil Jozwiak
6. CM – Graeme Shinnie
7. CM – Max Bird
8. CM – Jason Knight
9. LM – Dylan Williams
10. ST – Luke Plange
11. ST – Tom Lawrence
Sourced by Transfermarkt
It would take the 6 foot 2 centre-forward just two games to prove Rooney's bold faith in him was justified in the men's set-up, firing home a rebound effort to steer the Rams to a 1-0 win over Blackpool.
The Derby boss at the time wouldn't just utilise Plange as a youngster in isolation, bedding in the likes of Max Bird, Jason Knight and faces such as Eiran Cashin from off the bench to give the beleaguered Rams energy when needed.
Plange would go on to score three more goals that season for his eventually relegated side, but he wouldn't be sticking around to make up the numbers in any promotion push from League One that followed.
Crystal Palace would take a punt on the emerging Derby star after he had shone brightly in spurts for his doomed side, forking out £1m to land the raw talent just a matter of weeks after he burst onto the scene against Blackpool before immediately loaning him back to Pride Park to aid his growth.
Yet, ever since leaving Derby behind permanently, Plange has never quite managed to break through into the Eagles' first team in the same manner he did when sending tremors through the Rams set-up.
Once described as being a "clever" player by Rooney – high praise indeed from a man who was once a wonderkid himself before going on to have an esteemed career – Plange now finds himself stuck in a continuous loop of loans away from Selhurst Park instead of exploding into life for the South London side which now sees him plying his trade in Finland.
Luke Plange's time at Crystal Palace
The one-time Derby prospect has never started a senior game for Palace, only being restricted to U21s football to the dismay of the now 21-year-old.
Plange has netted four goals in four games playing in the Premier League 2 for the youthful Eagles – with a hat-trick recently picked up against Aston Villa U21s – but it's when he's been chucked out to various different clubs on loan to test his mettle away from these comforts that he's really struggled.
The two-time England U20 international has become a well-travelled striker consequently, playing for the likes of Carlisle United and Lincoln City in the EFL whilst also venturing out to far-away RWD Molenbeek to test himself in unfamiliar surroundings in Belgium.
Plange has unfortunately been goal-shy wherever he's ended up away from Palace, only managing to find the back of the net an unconvincing four times from 54 appearances as a nomadic loanee with his time at Sincil Bank seeing him fire routine blanks across 18 torrid games.
Still, regardless of all these shaky spells away from south London, new Palace boss Oliver Glasner would gift Plange a spot on the substitutes bench during his first Premier League match as manager to take his total times on the Eagles bench to five for the campaign.
One final chance for Plange in Finland
Glasner was clearly impressed by his form for the Palace youth side, but Plange now finds himself at his fourth loan club regardless and arguably his most unique one yet in HJK Helsinki, playing in a division ranked as the 34th best among UEFA's coefficient of European nations.
Plange will now view Finland as his home until January 2025, having put pen to paper on a deal with the Finnish first-tier side just this month.
The 6 foot 2 youngster will hope he can lead the line with confidence for his new employers, reawakening a deadly streak potentially in senior football that hasn't really been present since his electric beginnings in Derbyshire.
If Plange was to struggle in the Veikkausliiga – where his current loan side are the reigning champions – the patience held by those at Palace for him to come good could become very thin.
It's been an up-and-down time for Plange ever since walking out of Derby two years ago, whilst the Rams have rebuilt well ever since their former youth star exited to make breaking back into the Championship a very real possibility this campaign.
Aaron Anselmino will have to travel to the United States to finalise his summer transfer to Chelsea from Boca Juniors.
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Chelsea close to Anselmino signingDefender will have medical in USATeenager to be loaned back to BocaWHAT HAPPENED?
The centre-back is on the verge of joining the Stamford Bridge club in a £17 million ($22m) transfer from Argentine giants Boca. However, he will have to fly to the USA to get the deal over the line, according to Marcos Bonocore, as the Blues are in Atlanta, Georgia to continue their pre-season preparations.
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The 19-year-old will be one of the most expensive sales in Boca Juniors history when he completes the move. Even though he will undergo his medical and sign a contract in the United States, Anselmino is expected to return to Boca on loan.
DID YOU KNOW?
Anselmino came through the Boca youth academy to make his senior debut in June 2023. He has only made 10 appearances for Diego Martinez's team, but has shown enough promise to convince Chelsea to snap him up.
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After Anselmino completes his move to Chelsea, he will likely head back to Argentina to resume the current campaign with Boca. The Premier League side, meanwhile, will continue preparing for their friendly against Celtic on Saturday.
Celtic brought manager Brendan Rodgers back to Glasgow last summer after Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou decided to make a move down south.
The now-Spurs boss enjoyed a terrific two years in Scotland and was particularly successful in the transfer market with several fantastic additions, including the likes of Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi, Joe Hart, and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Ange Postecoglou
One of his last signings in charge of the Hoops, during the January transfer window at the start of last year, was right-back Alistair Johnston from MLS side CF Montreal.
Postecoglou struck gold by bringing the Canadian to Parkhead, as his value has since soared alongside his excellent front-footed displays for the club.
How much Celtic paid to sign Alistair Johnston
The Daily Record reported that Celtic splashed out a fee of £3m to sign the talented defender after his impressive performances in North America throughout 2022.
Johnston made 35 appearances in the MLS in the 2022 campaign and caught the eye with four goals and four assists from right-back, which shows that he provided an attacking threat from that position.
The Canada international also won 50% of his defensive duels during that period, as he stood up to the physical test of the division, and the Hoops then swooped to secure his signature midway through their season.
Appearances
14
Sofascore rating
7.20
Big chances created
5
Assists
1
Duel success rate
52%
He hit the ground running in the Scottish Premiership, as you can see in the table above, with an impressive return of five 'big chances' created in just 14 matches to help the team win the title.
Alistair Johnston's current market value
At the time of writing (26/03/2024), Johnston is valued at €8m (£6.8m) by Transfermarkt and this shows that Postecoglou and Celtic hit the jackpot with him, as his value has soared and his performances on the pitch have been, largely, superb.
The 25-year-old whiz has created eight 'big chances' and registered two assists in 25 Premiership matches for the Hoops so far this season, which means that he has racked up 15 'big chances' created in just 39 league games for the club.
Former Hoops man Steve Guppy, who worked with Johnston at Nashville in the MLS, heaped praise on the full-back's outstanding ability to cross the ball.
Trent Alexander-Arnold warming up for Liverpool.
He claimed that the right-back's style and technique when it came to passing and crossing the ball was "reminiscent of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s at Liverpool", and went on to say that he was "excited" to see the defender play for Celtic due to that quality.
Johnston has recorded two assists in his last four Premiership matches for the Hoops and both of those were crosses to Adam Idah, who converted one with his left foot and one with his head.
That is incredibly high praise when you consider that the England international recently broke the Premier League record for assists by defenders, with the 58th of his career so far – by the age of just 25.
At 25, the Celtic star still has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve over the years to come. For now, though, it is hard to deny that he has been a terrific signing by Postecoglou, with his soaring value and Trent-like crosses in the Premiership.
Ryan Reynolds has been teased by wife Blake Lively while away watching Wrexham, with the Hollywood superstar back home in his native Vancouver.
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Red Dragons complete pre-season tourCo-owners in attendance at BC PlaceNew campaign is fast approachingWHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Dragons co-owner was reunited with fellow chairman Rob McElhenney at BC Place. Reynolds was able to return to Canada after reaching the end of a global promotional campaign for his newly-released Deadpool & Wolverine movie.
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Reynolds has been back with his partner and children since then, but is currently out on the road again. Blake has taken the opportunity to poke fun at her husband while he is not around to respond, posting a video on social media on her wearing a t-shirt featuring Hugh Jackman’s ‘Wolverine’ character.
WHAT LIVELY SAID
Blake said, while enjoying some treetop zip line action at Boundless Adventures in New York: “When your man’s away so have the time of your life wearing your other man’s shirt.” Reynolds will be returning to his base in the United States after seeing Wrexham claim an impressive 4-1 win over the Whitecaps.
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WHAT NEXT?
Reynolds and McElhenney must decide whether another trip to North Wales needs to be planned, with Wrexham counting down the days to the new League One season. They have not graced that level for 20 years, meaning that their famous owners may be in attendance for a campaign opener at SToK Racecourse against Wycombe on August 10.
The Australia side that India beat in 2018-19 was without Steven Smith and David Warner
ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2019Last year, India completed a historic 2-1 triumph in Australia, their first-ever Test series victory in the country. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly believes India will face an even bigger challenge when they go back down under in 2020-21 for a four-Test series against a “full-strength” Australia side.Back in 2018-19, the hosts were without two key batsmen in Steven Smith and David Warner, who were serving year-long bans for their role in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. With both Smith and Warner back in action, a “different Australia”, according to Ganguly, awaits India next year.Following the end of the 2019-21 World Test Championship cycle, India are also set to tour England (2021) and South Africa (2021-22). Ganguly wants India to win Test series on those tours as well.”They beat Australia in 2018. But I will still expect to win in South Africa and England,” Ganguly told . “And I think, they are going back to Australia next year. That’s going to be a bigger challenge and I am sure with the standards that Virat [Kohli] sets for himself and the others, he will know at the back of his mind that the 2018 Australia team was not the best Australian team of this generation. And what he is going to face next year, which is not very far away, is going to be a different Australia.”The enormity of the challenge notwithstanding, Ganguly was confident Indian have the ability to beat Australia in their backyard once more.”The full-strength Australia are a strong Australia,” Ganguly said. “They (India) have the team to beat them. They will just have to believe and get everything right to beat them. That’s what I am looking for.”When I became a captain, one of our aims was to compete with the best. And I remember, 2003 in Australia against that Australia, we were outstanding. And this team has the potential to do it. They have proper fast bowlers, they have spinners, they have a champion in Virat Kohli as a batsman.”Members of the Indian team celebrate after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy•Getty ImagesAs for the shorter formats, Ganguly said he would discuss with Kohli, head coach Ravi Shastri, and the other players, the potential causes – mental or otherwise – for India’s defeats in crunch matches of world tournaments in the recent past. Under Kohli, India’s defeat to Pakistan in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy was bookended by eliminations in the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2019 ODI World Cup.”As I said, it’s a very strong team. But then you have to get past the semi-final,” Ganguly said. “Like in this World Cup, they played so well but lost to New Zealand one day. This is something that they will have to address. At some stage, we will speak to Virat, Ravi and then the players. You need to find a way to get past that hurdle in the big game. Whether it’s a mental hurdle or whatever, they will do that. I still expect them to win in England and South Africa in Test matches, which they need to do to be a good side.”Ganguly rated Kohli’s leadership skills highly, but wasn’t willing to compare him with past India captains.”Very good (Kohli’s captaincy is),” Ganguly said. “But I don’t think you can judge captains because the teams were different, the strengths were different. I don’t think you can compare captains of any era with the captains of other eras. He is a fantastic cricketer, a fantastic person. Yes, he may make mistakes, he may say something, everybody does.”I believe, as a human being, you carry what you do off the field to the field. He is a very solid person off the field. A lot of things rest on his shoulders in India.”When India travel to Australia, it won’t be easy. It will not be as easy as in 2018. I don’t know whether I will still be board president then but I will be looking forward to Virat beating this Australian team in 2020 when they get there after the T20 World Cup.”
There has been a major development regarding Liverpool's pursuit of Ruben Amorim, according to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Amorim Liverpool's No.1 manager target
It has become clear in recent weeks that the 39-year-old is now the favourite to become the man to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield this summer. The German announced that he would leave the Reds back in January, having felt as though he has taken his team as far as he can.
For a while, Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso looked like the most likely option to come in, not only because of his continued brilliance at the Bundesliga side, but also due to his past links with Liverpool, spending five memorable years there as a player between 2004 and 2009.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim
Since Alonso confirmed that he would be staying at Leverkusen for the foreseeable future, however, the Sporting CP boss has been the man that many want to see come in, and a report over the weekend suggested that FSG had opened talks for Amorim.
He has admitted that he won't definitely stay at Sporting this summer, which immediately suggests that his head may have been turned by Liverpool's interest, and now a significant update has emerged regarding his current situation.
Sky Sports share Ruben Amorim update
Taking to X on Tuesday morning, Plettenberg claimed that Liverpool now have a "verbal agreement" in place with Amorim over being their next manager, with a contract until the summer of 2027 on the table.
"News Ruben Amorim. Been told there’s a verbal agreement in principle with Liverpool now! Amorim wants to join LFC next season and Liverpool was pushing for him in the last weeks. He can sign a contract until 2027 – confirmed!
"Final negotiations wit @SportingCP are still pending. It‘s not a done deal yet. More steps needed. Deal can still fall through. The 39 y/o was also on the list of FC Bayern but it was never advanced. Chelsea have inquired about him."
Sporting's Ruben Amorim
This is the biggest update yet when it comes to Liverpool's efforts to bring in Amorim, suggesting that it could be a matter of time until he is confirmed as Klopp's successor on Merseyside.
Ever since Alonso ruled himself out of the running, the Sporting boss has looked like the strongest candidate to come in, with his credentials speaking for himself as a manager.
Sporting CP
205
2.24
Braga
13
2.38
Casa Pia
4
2.25
Still only 39 years of age, Amorim has already won one Primeira Liga title with his current side, and it would be a big surprise if a second didn't come his way this season, with Sporting four points clear of Benfica at the top of the table with a game in hand.
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This could be brutal from the Reds’ new CEO of Football.
ByHenry Jackson Apr 9, 2024
The lure of the Liverpool job is enormous, even though replacing Klopp will be a daunting proposition for whoever comes in, and Amorim could be such an exciting appointment, having been hailed as "special" by journalist Zach Lowy.