Month: December 2024

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard has agreed a deal to join MLS side Colorado Rapids at the end of the Premier League season.

The United States goalkeeper, who has spent 10 years at Goodison Park following an initial loan move from fellow Premier League club Manchester United, has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Rapids.

Howard has endured a poor run of form over the past two seasons, finding himself out of the first-team picture in recent weeks as manager Roberto Martinez has elected to start Joel Robles in his place, and the 37-year-old has now decided the time is right to move back to his homeland.

I will remain an Evertonian for life. This will always be my team and my club, Howard said in a brief interview on Everton s official website.  To pla…

Competition: Confederations Cup
Market: Germany to win against Chile
Odds:

Chile and Germany meet at the Stadion Krestovskyi in the Confederations Cup final on Sunday evening. Germany are favourites to come out on top given their near flawless campaign this summer, while Chile have been short of wins despite making it this far – surprisingly enduring a three-game winless streak in 90 minutes.

As for the favourites, Joachim Low’s Germany side qualified for the tournament after winning the 2014 World Cup and have picked up where they left off despite a drastically changed side. The Eagles picked up seven points from a possible nine in Group B and thrashed Mexico in the semi-finals.

Unbeaten and boasting 11 goals from the four games, Chile have a …

West Ham United are set to make a second bid for Bournemouth winger Matt Richie, .

The East London outfit saw a joint bid for Ritchie and striker Callum Wilson rejected last month, and now they are ready to chance their arm again.

They are hopeful that an initial bid of £8m, that could rise to £10m with add-ons will be enough to persuade the Cherries to do business.

The twenty-six year old appeared in all but on of his side’s Premier League games last season, as Eddie Howe’s side defied the odds to comfortably retain their top flight status.

In total, he has racked up one hundred and thirty-eight appearances in all competitions, scoring thirty-one goals and was part of the squad that won promotion from both League One in 2013 and the Championsh…

A number of England s top sides are expected to make a move on Juventus forward Sebastian Giovinco, .

The Italy international will be out of contract in the summer, but he has yet to be offered a new deal in Turin.

And with the player currently not in the first team plans of coach Max Allegri, a summer exit appears on the cards.

According to Daily Express, the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham have been alerted by the latest developments as they hope to win the chase for the 27-year-old footballer.

This is the second time Sebastian Giovinco finds himself in a difficult situation in Turin, with the player having joined Parma after one such period back in the summer of 2011.

Giovinco has since returned to Turin, but he never quite managed …

Galatasaray are waiting for the green light from Barcelona to make a move for Turkey international Arda Turan.

Arda joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid two years ago but was prevented from making his debut until the midway point of the 2015-16 season due to the LaLiga giants being under a FIFA player registration ban.

The 30-year-old struggled to recapture his stellar Atleti form and, after an encouraging start last term, injuries played their part in reducing him to a bit-part role in Luis Enrique s squad.

Arda did not feature in the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Chapecoense on Monday and appears not to be part of new boss Ernesto Valverde s plans.

He has been linked with a return to Atletico, who in a quirk of fate find themselves in the same regis…

Wayne Rooney said that he offered Marcus Rashford words of advice just weeks before the Manchester United forward scored six goals in nine matches for the Red Devils.

The pair spoke during the preparations for England s 3-0 win over the USA in November, which marked the end of Rooney s record-breaking international career, at which point Rashford had scored just two goals in 2018-19.

Since then, then the 21-year-old has taken his season s tally to eight in all competitions and Rooney shed light on the conversation they had about his game.

When I went back to play for the national team against the USA, I spoke to Marcus and he was trying too much, Rooney told ESPN.

He was trying too hard, he was working too hard, he was getting tired at the end of games.…

Atletico Madrid held talks with Djibril Sidibe over a transfer last year, the France and Monaco right-back has claimed.

Sidibe is one of the few remaining members of the Monaco side that won Ligue 1 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2016-17 still plying his trade at Stade Louis II.

And the 26-year-old could have followed Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko out of the exit door had negotiations with Atleti  who did secure the services of Sidibe s former team-mate Thomas Lemar before the start of this season  come to fruition.

Atletico Madrid, I do not know at all. We were in good discussions, but it was complicated in relation to my health after the World Cup, he told Telefoot.

It s a big clu…

Peter Bosz has vowed to be careful with Mario Gotze as the Borussia Dortmund playmaker makes his way back to full fitness.

Gotze made his first appearance since February as Dortmund defeated Japanese side Urawa Reds 3-2 in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

The Germany international, who scored the winner in the 2014 World Cup final, is recovering from a metabolic disorder and Bosz will not rush his return.

First of all, I am glad for Mario himself, he has not trained or played for a long time, Bosz said. 

We have to be careful with him.

We are glad that he could play for 30 minutes today. He was also very happy about the game.

Now we have to look every day as it goes on, and we hope that he can take further steps quickly and can p…

Real Madrid will play their first three LaLiga fixtures away from home, with the first Clasico coming in October and a derby meeting against Atletico Madrid following in December.

Madrid played the entirety of the 2020-21 season at their Valdebebas training base, with the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium hosting matches behind closed doors as redevelopment work took place at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos will be back at their famous stadium on September 12, when they host Celta Vigo, but new boss Carlo Ancelotti – back for his second spell in charge of Madrid – must first tackle three matches on the road.

Madrid start against Deportivo Alaves on August 15, with trips to Levante and Real Betis coming before the first international break of the season.

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What the papers say

Manchester United are preparing a big-money move for a new striker, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper reports United will make a £50million swoop for Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund, 20, from Atalanta.

Another Dane could be heading out of the Premier League with Atletico Madrid approaching Tottenham over a move for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, reports the Daily Mail. Bayern Munich have also been linked with the 27-year-old midfielder.

Chelsea will have to dig deep in their pursuit of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. The Daily Telegraph reports they will need to pay more than £100m for the 21-year-old from Ecuador.

West Ham are looking at a potential move for midfielder Denis Zakaria from Juventus. The Guardian said the Switzerland int…