Liverpool will face Italian opposition in the Europa League quarter-finals, after being paired with Atalanta, while AC Milan are set to take on Roma.
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Rasmus Hojlund will return for Manchester United for their FA Cup quarter-final clash against Liverpool on Sunday, says Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand.
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One Rangers manager candidate has apparently given his "assurance" that he is "ready" to replace Michael Beale at Ibrox.
The Teddy Bears sacked former boss Beale nearly two weeks ago after a poor run of both form and results. The Scottish Premiership title hopefuls currently languish seven points behind Old Firm rivals Celtic, having lost three league games already – a start to the campaign which, quite simply, hasn't been good enough after a busy summer transfer window. Booed off on multiple occasions, Rangers made the big decision to relieve Beale of his duties after 10 months in charge.
Former Gers striker and club legend Kris Boyd, speaking to Sky Sports and giving his reaction to the big news, criticised both the recruitment and performances on the pitch – stating there was no other option but to get Beale out the door.
"I don't think there was any option, the way the season has started," said Boyd.
"You can't lose three of your opening league games. Even when Rangers won last week against Motherwell there were boos after the game, so the fans had just had enough. I don't think they'd seen enough improvement. I think it all comes down to recruitment again, and Jack Butland is the only one of the arrivals who can keep his head held high at this moment in time. The rest have been nowhere near it and are going to have to improve.
"Unfortunately for Michael Beale he pays the price of poor recruitment and poor performances and results on the pitch. A lot of fans had already made their minds up that Michael Beale was not the man to take Rangers Football Club forward. You look at the big games and there haven't been any results in those."
Reports this week indicate that the frontrunners to succeed Beale are in fact both former AS Monaco manager Philippe Clement, who's won multiple league titles in Belgium, and ex-Gers star Kevin Muscat. There are also suggestions that Croatian boss Nenad Bjelica has thrown his hat in the ring after leaving Trabzonspor, as he eyes a late bid to beat both Muscat and Clement to the job (TEAMtalk).
Muscat is currently in charge of Yokohoma.F Marinos in Japan and makes for an interesting candidate, with Daily Record journalist now dropping a Rangers update. Sharing some very promising Muscat to Rangers news, the reporter claims that the Australian is "ready" to succeed Beale; giving his "assurance".
“My understanding is, you know, Kevin Muscat has given his assurance that ‘I’m ready to go, I will join’,” he said on PLZ Soccer.
Muscat has actually been praised by treble-winning Man City boss Pep Guardiola, who claimed he is wowed by the manager's Yokohoma side during a pre-season tour.
“I say wow,” the Spaniard explained to press.
“I watched Yokohama and I like what I see. Maybe because we are in the same football group – the City Football Group – they are doing a very good job."
Newcastle United have walked away from a deal to sign an exciting new defender, with a fresh report detailing the reason why he’s no longer wanted in the Premier League.
In the top-flight this season, Eddie Howe’s side have won four, lost three and drawn one of their opening eight fixtures, meaning that they find themselves eighth in the table, and here is how all of those matches have played out so far:
|
Wins |
Draws |
Defeats |
|---|---|---|
|
Aston Villa (5-1) |
West Ham (2-2) |
Manchester City (1-0) |
|
Brentford (1-0) |
Liverpool (2-1) |
|
|
Sheffield United (8-0) |
Brighton (3-1) |
|
|
Burnley (2-0) |
The Magpies also haven’t had it easy considering that several players are currently missing through injury, including the likes of Joelinton, Joe Willock and Sven Botman, and with the latter’s absence highlighting the lack of options at centre-back, that’s an area that the hierarchy are looking to address in January.
Sporting CP’s Goncalo Inacio has been a long-term target for the club, with Liverpool and Manchester United also credited with an interest, as per the same outlet, but should any of his three potential suitors decide to pursue a deal, it won't come cheap.
The Portugal international still has another four years remaining on his deal which has a £52m release clause included (Sporting CP contracts), so Ruben Amorim’s side are in a very strong negotiating position, and that’s apparently one of the reasons why the 22-year-old has been removed from the radar in the northeast.
According to Portuguese outlet Radio Renascenca, sharing a transfer update on Goncalo Inacio (via Sport Witness), Newcastle have “edged away” from a move for the colossus in January.
Magpies chiefs believe that their former target has “no evolution”, and therefore, they “refuse to go crazy” over a player that they are not impressed by.
In addition, St. James’ Park chiefs think Sporting’s prized asset is too expensive with the above figure it would take to reach an agreement, so it would appear that this is a deal that is definitely off the cards.
Standing at 6 foot 1, Inacio is currently averaging 2.4 clearances and 1.6 aerial wins per game in Liga Portugal (WhoScored – Inacio statistics). He provides a real physical presence at the heart of Sporting’s backline, and it may have been a mistake for Newcastle to end their pursuit.
The Almada native, who is naturally left-footed, is also capable of contributing to efforts at the opposite end of the pitch having posted 19 involvements, 11 goals and eight assists, in 132 senior appearances in his homeland (Transfermarkt – Inacio statistics).
Furthermore, Inacio, who has been dubbed a “leader” by BBC writer Premier League Panel, knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the highest level having secured four trophies during his time at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, so he would be able to match the winning mentality of the squad who are already in NE1.
Former USYNT star Alex Loera missed Bay FC's 2-1 defeat to the Washington Spirit due to an "internal matter", a week after being made captain.
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Kalvin Phillips' nightmare loan spell at West Ham continued as his foul sparked a remarkable Newcastle comeback at St. James' Park.
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Leeds United have recruited well this summer after a number of players departed Elland Road in the wake of relegation from the Premier League.
They waved goodbye to Tyler Adams on a permanent transfer to AFC Bournemouth whilst faces such as Brenden Aaronson, Jack Harrison, and Luis Sinisterra have all left temporarily on loan moves with their own level deemed higher than the cut and thrust of the Championship.
Out with the underperformers that caused Leeds to fall through the relegation trapdoor, and in with new fresh blood who are giving their all in a Whites shirt so far – signings such as Joel Piroe stick out, the ex-Swansea striker opting to join Leeds over reuniting with ex-manager Russell Martin at Southampton and netting seven in the process.
Ethan Ampadu and Joel Rodon have also ensured Leeds have a sense of solidity at the back, the leakiness that cost Leeds a Premier League spot – conceding 78 goals last season as the Whites crashed to relegation – is a thing of the past.
Daniel Farke's side have only shipped 13 from 12 matches played, sitting pretty in 3rd spot in the Championship as it stands.
Yet, when you delve deeper into other transfer windows in recent memory, they have not all been successful. The 2017-18 transfer window in particular saw the Whites purchase Jay-Roy Grot, a player who ultimately failed to make the grade at Elland Road.
Reportedly joining Leeds for a fee of £750k in 2017 from NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands, the then 19-year-old struggled to adjust to the demands of English football from the get-go.
He would find it tough, going from a promising striker in the Eredivisie who had scored five goals from 20 matches played in his final season with NEC, to then having to find his feet in a demanding league in the Championship for an expectant Leeds United fanbase.
It would lead to the Dutch attacker not finding the back of the net for Leeds until March 2018 after putting pen on paper to join the club in August 2017, the 6 foot 5 striker scoring in a 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
This would be his only goal in Leeds colours, shipped out on loan continually after his one solitary campaign at Elland Road until he would depart permanently in 2021 – relocating back to his native Netherlands with VVV-Venlo and Vitesse on loan, before joining VfL Osnabrück in Germany on a free transfer.
The Dutch striker, who has matured since leaving Leeds behind, has managed to turn his career around after a nightmare stop-off in West Yorkshire.
He has actually managed to outscore Patrick Bamford since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, owing to a fruitful campaign out in Denmark with Viborg FF.
Jay-Roy Grot's numbers in the Superliga for Viborg during the 2022-23 season saw the Dutchman net nine goals from 19 matches played, scoring in four games on the trot to close out the season in style for his Danish employers at the time.
Contrast that with Bamford's goalscoring output in that same season – the 30-year-old dud scoring four times from 28 Premier League matches – the 25-year-old former Leeds man has had one last laugh.
It's even resulted in Jay-Roy Grot moving out to Japan to add another unconventional club to his resume, playing his football now for Kashiwa Reysol, whom he has three goals for to date. Meanwhile, the Leeds man is yet to get off the mark this season.
A forgotten man now around Elland Road, Jay-Roy Grot has managed to turn his career since departing a turbulent Whites side and has proven he can score goals across the world in eccentric new locations.
Following the disappointing tenure of Michael Beale, Rangers have had to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and start a new era under former AS Monaco boss Philippe Clement. So far, the Belgian has proven his expertise by remaining unbeaten in his opening four games in charge, which included a 4-0 victory over Hibernian and a 5-0 thrashing of Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.
Whilst things begin to fall into place on the pitch, though, Rangers are still seeking deals to calm the chaos away from Ibrox. Adding to their woes, reports linking the Gers with one particular off-field appointment have since been denied by Mark Hendry of Football Scotland.
Rangers have been actively searching for a new sporting director this season without enjoying great success. They were briefly linked with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion head of recruitment Sam Jewell, but failed to convince the Seagulls man to leave the Premier League side, who are in the middle of their most successful period in the club's history.
With the January transfer window approaching, the Scottish giants must solve their problem as soon as possible. The last thing they'll want is to head into another window without a leading man, who could help them avoid repeating deals for struggling players. The good news doesn't look likely to come anytime soon, however, with reports suggesting that Stuart Webber is on the Gers' wanted list quickly shut down.
According to Football Scotland's Hendry, Webber will not become the Rangers sporting director and there is currently no interest from the Gers. Instead, the Norwich City recruitment chief has been linked with a move to become Leeds United's head of recruitment, as he edges closer to a Carrow Road exit. The report puts the Scottish side back to square one in the hunt to finally land a sporting director.
Rangers proved exactly why they need a sporting director during the summer transfer window, with a number of arrivals simply yet to show any signs of working out to leave Clement plenty of problems to solve. A sporting director would have, in theory, put together a far wiser transfer plan. We've seen how clubs such as Liverpool and Brighton have benefitted from the likes of Michael Edwards and Dan Ashworth, who is now enjoying even greater success at Newcastle United. So, why shouldn't Rangers follow the lead of such clubs?
Already five points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership this season, Rangers cannot afford to get things wrong yet again in the January transfer window – their winter reinforcements could make or break their campaign. Clement's start has shown plenty of promise and it looks increasingly likely that those at Ibrox have potentially got their next impressive manager. But he must receive backing and the right players for his system.
As January approaches, it's up to Clement to maintain his side's recent form on the pitch and hand those away from Ibrox more time to finally land a sporting director in the coming months of the campaign.
Alexi Lalas argues that a 'p*ssed off' Lionel Messi could wreak havoc in Monterrey Wednesday evening.
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Rivaldo has explained why it is “easier” for Barcelona to get Jose Mourinho than Pep Guardiola, with the Portuguese backed to do a “great job”.
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