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Liverpool could be set to make a move for a player who is reportedly dreaming of a move to Anfield this summer, it has emerged, but the Reds will have to act fast.

Slot ushers in new revolution

The arrival of new Liverpool boss Arne Slot is set to shake things up at Anfield ahead of the new Premier League season kicking off in just over a month's time.

"It's not that we're going to change everything over here because a lot of things are done really well. But we have to find ways to improve", Slot explained in his first press conference as Reds head coach.

"I took my time for that because I was off for a lot of weeks, so I had a lot of time to look where we can improve. But I think starting to work with them will actually get us an even better insight in the improvements we have to make."

The new Reds head coach was also drawn on his tactical plans, and admitted that they may be somewhat different to Klopp's tried and tested 4-3-3 despite looking the same on paper.

Liverpool want Real Madrid man to replace £65m star linked with exit

The Reds are already planning for the future.

By
Tom Coates

Jul 11, 2024

"I wouldn't put myself in a situation where I say I prefer 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1; there's a lot of players taking in a lot of different positions so if you would have asked me, I would say we played 4-3-3 instead of 4-2-3-1 at Feyenoord. But we did build-up a lot of times with three, full-backs had different roles"

Now, they have been linked with a versatile wide option as Slot's potential first signing in Liverpool colours.

Reds chase Dutchman

That comes in the shape of Bayer Leverkusen fullback Jeremie Frimpong, who Liverpool are said to already have already contacted this summer over a potential move to Anfield.

The defender, who shone for Xabi Alonso last season as he helped Leverkusen to two trophies and an unbeaten Bundesliga campaign, is likely to be on the move this summer thank to a 40m euro (£33.6m) release clause in his contract which expires in the next couple of weeks.

Alonso has been a long-term fan of the Dutch defender, labelling him "special" back in November 2022: “He has a very big impact on our game. He is a very good player, but for me is even a special player."

Now, German outlet Bild [via Sport Witness] claims that Frimpong "dreams" of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, namely Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Frimpong only saw the pitch three times at EURO 2024, with Denzel Dumfries largely preferred to him down the Dutch right hand side. Now out of the competition, it is likely that speculation around his club future will ramp up as the deadline nears on his release clause, and he would certainly offer a tactical profile that isn't currently present on Merseyside.

With Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold already on Liverpool's right flank, a move could be hard to sell unless the England full back is set to spend more time in midfield next season, but it seems that a move is being explored nonetheless, and Frimpong would jump at the chance to switch Leverkusen for Liverpool this summer.

Newcastle United are thought to be front of the queue to land a player who's been dubbed a future legend this summer, it has been claimed.

Magpies in need of reinforcements

So far, the summer window has done little to strengthen the options available to Eddie Howe ahead of the new Premier League season. The Magpies finished seventh in last season's competition, but they were denied European football by Manchester United's unlikely FA Cup win over Manchester City a week after the end of the season.

Since then, there have been major concerns over financial fair play, which resulted in the club having to cash in on promising pair Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh in order to avoid a points deduction for the 24/25 campaign.

Newcastle interested in "extraordinary" £55m ace who Ronaldinho is a fan of

He would be a great addition to Eddie Howe’s side.

By
Tom Coates

Jul 11, 2024

But having met the 30th June deadline, attention will now turn to reinforcements. They have already signed Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer and Odysseas Vlachodimos from Nottingham Forest, with the Greek shot stopper arriving as the no.2 to Nick Pope at St James' Park. But they want plenty more. A centre-back is needed following long term injuries to both Sven Botman and Jamal Lascelles towards the end of last season.

In addition, the Magpies are keen to add a right sided midfielder and a young backup forward to provide competition for Alexander Isak as bare minimum, and more could well depend on sales. Now, they look to have identified their centre-back target.

Magpies chase Benfica star

That comes in the shape of Benfica defender Antonio Silva, who has been tipped to become the next best thing in European football. Indeed, ex-Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen named him as a future legend back in 2023.

"At the beginning of the season he [Otamendi] started playing with Morato, who is a very good player, but then, because of the injuries they had to put the kid Antonio Silva, but the boy will be a legend,” the centre-back said via Record.

“If he keeps doing what he’s been doing, he has everything to be one of the best defenders in the world in a year or two.”

The centre-back, who is still just 20 years-old, has been the subject of strong interest from Manchester United in the past but they seem to have since pivoted their attentions to Matthijs de Ligt and Jarrad Branthwaite.

He still has three years left to run on his £25,000 per week deal with Benfica, but could yet depart. That is because Benfica "need to make" a big sale this summer, according to Portuguese outlet A Bola, and the choices are between Joao Neves and Silva.

Benfica do not want to lose their teenage midfielder, which could see Silva depart instead. Indeed, they claim that they have put a 60m euro (£50m) price tag on the defender's head, and that Newcastle are "in the lead" for his signature after having already seen one offer rejected.

With interest in Silva seemingly waning from the competition, the Magpies could swoop and repeat their Sven Botman success with another talented young centre-back.

Belgium and Spurs' legendary centre-back Toby Alderweireld revealed that his health problems caused him to retire from international football.

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• Alderweireld quit Belgium NT in 2023
• Earned 127 caps with the Red Devils
• Health issues at the heart of his decision

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Belgium and Tottenham Hotspur legend Toby Alderweireld has revealed that health concerns were the main reason behind his retirement from international football. Alderweireld formed a crucial partnership with Jan Vertonghen at the heart of the defence and was integral to Belgium's 'Golden Generational' that were among the best teams in the world from 2014 to 2022, although they failed to win any major trophies.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Alderweireld made his debut for the Belgian national team on May 29, 2009, and played his final game at the 2022 World Cup. The 35-year-old announced his retirement in March 2023 with 127 caps to his name.

  He appeared in three World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022) and two European Championships (2016, 2020) and is Red Devils' third-highest appearance maker for all-time.

• WHAT TOBY ALDERWEIRELD SAID

  “After the lost cup match against Union I was angry and frustrated,” Alderweireld told Belgian media outlet VRT (h/t Sporza). "I couldn't sleep that night and went to the club early the next morning to do a strength session. Before I left, I took a caffeine pill because I don't like coffee.

  "When I was in the car, my heart suddenly started beating at a rate of a thousand an hour. I thought: I'm going to have a heart attack. I'm done for, I'm never going to see my children again. I pulled over, walked into a furniture store and asked if they could call 911.

  "It turned out that all the stress made my heart pound. That gave me a panic attack, which made my heart beat even faster. You actually drive yourself crazy. And at a certain point you think you're going to have a heart attack and die.

  "We did a lot of tests, but everything was okay. Then I started talking to people and they said it was due to too much stress. Purely a panic attack. Now I still suffer from that sometimes, but I can accept that because I know it's nothing.

  "That's why I quit the national team. I had a great time there with five major tournaments and was able to close that chapter."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TOBY ALDERWEIRELD?

  Alderweireld returned to Belgian Pro League side Antwerp in 2022 and led them to their first league title at the end of the 2022-23 after 66 years, scoring a stunning last-minute winner. Antwerp next take on Dender in Belgium's top-flight on Friday, November 22.

A Chelsea player has now agreed personal terms on a three-year contract to leave Stamford Bridge, and it's a deal which will see his wages cut by more-than half.

Players who could leave Chelsea before deadline day

Out-of-favour defender Malang Sarr is now set to be the latest man on his way out of west London, as both French newspaper L'Equipe and reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano shared on Monday.

Chelsea offered £205,000-per-week PSG star to grant key wish for Maresca

He could solve a glaring issue.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jul 20, 2024

Sarr, who Chelsea signed on a free transfer from OGC Nice in 2020, has gone on to make just 21 appearances for the club in all competitions. The Frenchman didn't make a single cameo last season after spending the 22/23 campaign on loan at Monaco, so the writing has been on the wall for quite some time.

Chelsea and the 25-year-old have mutually agreed to terminate his £120,000-per-week contract, which was due to expire next year, and Sarr is now on the way back to Ligue 1 with RC Lens.

Sarr joins Ian Maatsen, Omari Hutchinson, Lewis Hall, Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva in leaving Chelsea – with many more names tipped to follow.

Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka and Conor Gallagher have also been linked with high-profile Chelsea exits in the last few weeks, but the name who Todd Boehly will be most eager to sell is striker Romelu Lukaku.

Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have been tasked with finding a permanent new home for the Belgium legend, who cost the Blues £98 million to re-sign from Inter Milan in 2021.

Both Napoli and AC Milan have been chasing a deal for Lukaku, according to reports in the last few weeks, and the player appears destined for a return to Serie A yet again.

Lukaku has been surplus to requirements for the last two years, having spent 22/23 on a temporary stint back at Inter and 23/24 on loan at Roma. The 31-year-old scored plenty of goals in that period, so there may be some hope within Chelsea that a club is willing to pay his £38 million asking price.

Lukaku agrees personal terms on £89,000-per-week Napoli contract

According to GiveMeSport, there has been some headway made in regard to his possible departure, as Antonio Conte moves to reunite with his former star.

Lukaku has agreed personal terms on a three-year contract at Napoli, as per the outlet and journalist Ben Jacobs, and it is a move which will see the forward's salary cut by more than half. He's said to have given the green-light on a £89,000-per-week deal, a huge mark-down from what GMS claim are his current £208,000-per-week wages at Chelsea.

Napoli's move is being driven by their new sporting director, Giovanni Manna, who has apparently offered £21 million. Chelsea, however, are standing firm on their £38m valuation and have no plans to let their "complete" centre-forward leave on the cheap.

The champions are in relegation form as they prepare for what is already shaping up to be a season-defining showdown at Anfield

Ever since Manchester City were hit with 115 charges by the Premier League for allegedly breaking its financial rules, rival fans have been dreaming of the prospect of Pep Guardiola's side being relegated as a punishment. But if their recent results persist, they will not have to wait until that interminable case finally gets a verdict; they could get their wish in May when the season ends.

Make no mistake about it: right now, City are in relegation form. They have lost five of their last six games and are without a win in any competition since scraping a 1-0 victory over Southampton on October 26. Even the sorry Saints have won more recently than Guardiola's "fragile" side, who are also leaking goals at an alarming rate.

During this winless run, they have conceded more than two goals per game (17 in six) for the first time since 1963, when they were indeed relegated. In their last two home fixtures, against Tottenham and Feyenoord, they have shipped seven goals, one third of the total amount they let in throughout the entirety of last season.

It has not even been a particularly difficult run of fixtures for City, who have lost to Tottenham (twice), Bournemouth, Brighton, Sporting CP and drawn with Feyenoord. And just as they are at their lowest ebb, now they have to go to an all-conquering Liverpool, who have won every game in all competitions this season bar two and are feeling unstoppable after beating Real Madrid. Things might be about to get a whole lot worse before they get better…

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  Lost without Dias

  Everywhere you look at City at the moment, there are major issues. But the biggest problem area is undoubtedly defence, and City made unwanted Champions League history on Tuesday against Feyenoord by becoming the first team to fail to win a game after being three goals up in the 74th minute.

  These are unprecedented times for the club in the Abu Dhabi era. The thrashing by Tottenham was Guardiola's heaviest-ever home defeat, while it was City's biggest loss since moving into the Etihad Stadium in 2003.

  There are two obvious reasons for their woes: the twin absences of Rodri and Ruben Dias. City famously didn't lose a game for over 15 months with Rodri in the team, and the Ballon d'Or winner's season-ending injury has shaken them from top to bottom. But as well as having no real defensive midfield cover, they are suffering badly without Dias, who has been out for the last month with a calf injury.

  The Portugal international was the solution to their last crisis of results, when they surrendered the title to Liverpool in 2019-20. His arrival led to them winning a historic four consecutive titles, and they look lost without him. Rather like with Rodri, the difference between City when Dias is playing and when he isn't is stark. According to , the centre-back has been responsible for 20 percent of City's clearances in the Premier League since he joined from Benfica. When Dias starts, City concede a goal every 70 minutes; when he doesn't, it's every 60 minutes.

  Without Dias, City are also lacking coordination in their pressing. They are playing with a higher defensive line than in any previous season and are being punished on the counter as they struggle to catch opponents offside.

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  Ederson exposed

  City's defensive frailties, however, cannot all be blamed on the absence of their Iberian lynchpins, nor on John Stones' repeated absences. Josko Gvardiol has given away four goals through errors in the last two games, while Kyle Walker looks like he is approaching the end of his career at the highest level, his 34 years and 60-plus games per season eventually catching up with him. The inexperienced teenager Jahmai Simpson Pusey, who Guardiola refers to as "the young lad", has been thrown into the fire and, at least for now, seems out of his depth.

  Then there is Ederson. The aforementioned high defensive line has led to City relying more and more on the Brazilian goalkeeper to sweep up behind the defence. He is making the third-highest number of sweeper-keeper actions in the Premier League this season (according to ) and sweeping at his most frequent rate since his first season with the club, in 2017-2018. The 31-year-old has, however, contended with a number of injuries within the last year and is not nearly as sharp as coming out of his area and clearing as before. Just look at how he misjudged the flight of the through ball in the build-up to Feyenoord's equaliser, while he had also been sloppy for the other two goals.

  Doubts about Ederson's shot-stopping are not new, and it is no secret that he is City's No.1 on account of his ball-playing abilities than his capacity to make top-draw saves. But his propensity to concede the first shot he faces is getting more and more obvious. It was a theme of the last two seasons, but it mattered little as City were so productive down the other end. Now the goals are drying up, they cannot afford to have such an unconvincing goalkeeper between the posts.

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  Midfield with no anchor

  City's midfield is not performing much better. If things were bad enough without Rodri, they are even worse without Mateo Kovacic. Ilkay Gundogan has been left to anchor the midfield largely by himself, only getting support from the technically brilliant but rather lightweight Rico Lewis.

  Gundogan has never been suited to the holding midfield role and Guardiola choosing him in that position over Rodri and Fernandinho in the 2021 Champions League final was a huge factor in City's defeat to Chelsea. Three years on, now aged 34 and after a season with Barcelona, he is finding it even harder. Jamie Redknapp and Gary Neville both agreed he "got nowhere near" Tottenham's James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski while covering the match for .

  Bernardo Silva has been hugely disappointing too, as he is lacking his usual dynamism. Indeed, things have got so bad for City's enginge room that Rodri is now targeting a return from knee surgery before the end of the season. It is never a good idea to rush your recovery, but Rodri clearly cannot bear to witness his team toiling without him and wants to get back as soon as possible to stop the rot.

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  No help for Haaland

  The attacking midfielders and forwards are also having a torrid time. Phil Foden is a shadow of the player he was last season, showing less interest in trying to dictate the play like he didin 2023-24 and is thus witnessing a massive drop off in his production. He has just one assist in the Premier League, with no goals in domestic competition.

  Speaking of no goals, Jack Grealish hasn't scored in any competition for City in 2024, while Savinho has failed to score since switching to the Etihad from Girona, despite showing flashes of brilliance. Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, has been largely powerless to help the team, playing just 60 minutes of football since getting injured against Brentford in September. His fitness troubles have even prevented him from making a decision about his future as he has stalled on talks of extending his contract, which expires in June.

  It has left an unhealthy reliance on Erling Haaland to do the bulk of City's scoring. Haaland scored 27 of City's 96 league goals last season (27%). This season he has been responsible for 12 of their 22 strikes, a stonking 54%.

  The Norwegian is not enjoying vintage campaign either, despite making a ferocious start of 10 goals in his first four league games, as he has netted just twice in his next seven and has been uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal. But as he scored twice against Feyenoord, it was tempting to conclude that, as Guardiola had suggested the previous day, the team's malaise is not Haaland's making.

  The coach said: "I would say the reason for our lack of goals is not Erling Haaland. Without Erling, we would be more in trouble! We are lucky to have Erling. Every game, he has three or four chances. One day he scores two or three. We have four or five wingers, but we only had one. Phil was excellent in that position but he's struggled early with niggles and little things. Kevin has been injured. That is the reality and we have to adapt."

Tottenham Hotspur flop Tanguy Ndombele has shown some resurgence at Nice, and the Frenchman showed his outrageous skill against Lyon.

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• Tanguy Ndombele balling for Nice in Ligue 1
• Shows off outrageous skills against Lyon
• Interest shown from Serie A clubs over transfer

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ndombele ended his horrendous five-year stint at Tottenham Hotspur as he joined Ligue 1 outfit Nice as a free agent in the summer following the end of his contract at the North London side. The French midfielder has shown some signs of getting back to form under Franck Haise. During Nice's 4-1 loss to Lyon at Groupama Stadium, the midfielder showed off an outrageous skill that left Jordan Veretout on the deck.

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• WATCH THE CLIP

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ndombele's show of resurgence at Nice has pulled some attention towards his services with reports in Italy suggesting that the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus are considering signing the midfielder in January with Barcelona also said to be alert to the 27-year-old's situation.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR NDOMBELE?

  As he continues his resurgence to form, Ndombele has been pulling the strings in Nice's midfield and has been a major part of their plans. He will be in action next when they take on Le Havre on Saturday, December 7.

Southampton fans will be getting excited now about the prospect of Premier League football returning to the South Coast very soon, pleased with their club's transfer activity so far this summer.

The major statement buy that stands out from their recent business is the capture of former Blackburn Rovers hero Ben Brereton-Diaz, who Russell Martin and Co will hope can fire in some vital goals to help the Saints stave off the dreaded bottom three positions.

The newly promoted outfit won't be done there with attempting to bolster their forward ranks, however, with a bid already pushed back for one target who would really give the Saints more flair in attack.

Southampton pushing to sign £15m Liverpool man

As per The Athletic's David Ornstein, Southampton have had a bid in the region of £15m turned down for the services of Liverpool gem Fabio Carvalho.

The ex-Fulham attacking midfielder, who dazzled on loan in the Championship with Hull City briefly last campaign, has been on the radar at St. Mary's for some time, with Southampton trying to snatch Carvalho from the grasp of the Tigers back in January, before the second tier side were ultimately successful in their pursuit.

Now, a move looks to be back in motion for the South Coast outfit, but this could be a tricky one to get over the line, owing to the fact the highly regarded Portuguese forward has impressed new Reds boss Arne Slot this pre-season by scoring recently against Manchester United.

Moreover, Liverpool would want much more than the speculated £15m Southampton have put on the table, as per Ornstein, with Martin's men needing to brashly splash the cash in order to win their desired target.

What Carvalho can offer Southampton

The report states that Saints are unsure about how much they will 'push' to sign the Premier League player but if they can secure a deal, it would be another captivating move.

Carvalho has more than proven himself in the EFL with the likes of Fulham and Hull, with his golden spell at Craven Cottage winning him a move to Anfield, and so he will want to hit the ground running at St. Mary's if signed, to finally prove himself in the top division.

Helping himself to an impressive 29 goal contributions from 56 second-tier matches to date, the electric 21-year-old has also impressed in the division above on occasion, with three goals mustered up from only 17 appearances in the elite league.

The £40k-per-week ace – as per Capology – could well end up forming a deadly duo with Brereton-Diaz if he goes onto sign on the dotted line for the Saints, therefore, with both players in question in fantastic form for their loan sides last season.

The adopted Chile international would fire in six goals for Sheffield United from only 14 Premier League contests, even when Chris Wilder's men were bereft of confidence and rooted to the bottom of the standings.

Carvalho could get even more out of the ex-Blackburn centre-forward subsequently, with two assists notched up last season from 20 games, and eight assists managed during his last full campaign for Fulham when supplying the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic for chances galore.

Jurgen Klopp even labelled Carvalho as being an "unbelievable" talent when overseeing his development as Reds boss, and with the likes of Adam Armstrong also lethal in front of goal when on his A-Game, Southampton could be dynamite advancing forward next season, which might well give them the edge in any relegation battles to follow.

Forget Fraser: Southampton target Rashford 2.0 who'd "explode" under Martin

Southampton can move away from attempting to re-sign Ryan Fraser by swooping in for this skilful attacker instead.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jul 30, 2024

GOAL gets the measure of the latest kit and boot drops, a renewed rivalry and the Chelsea man's latest moment of jaw-dropping audacity

Welcome to the Culture & Clobber Axis, where GOAL runs the rule over the latest goings-on at the intersection of football and culture – from the sublime to the ridiculous, the beautiful to the hideous, what's very hot and what's definitely not.

There's been a frenzy of kit releases, boot drops and new merch as Christmas approaches, while old feuds have been reignited and one man singlehandedly caused a marketing crisis for his boot supplier.

But where do the biggest talking points from the football zeitgeist place in our comprehensive axis? Let's take a look…

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  Palmer's cold Panenka

  There's nobody calmer than Cole Palmer. With the chance to wrap up another chaotic Chelsea victory over Tottenham in their own back yard on December 8, the 22-year-old baller embodied his 'cold' nickname and nonchalantly clipped a Panenka penalty over giant Fraser Forster to make it 4-2.

  Such was the deftness of his technique, the goalkeeper was already back on his feet before the ball rippled the back of the net. All you can really do is laugh at Palmer's exploits at this stage. Brrrr *does 'cold' celebration at desk*.

  GOAL's shout: Maverick worldie

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• Another Arsenal x adidas Originals collab

  Now, there's nothing wrong with Arsenal's latest streetwear collaboration with adidas, per se, but the old saying 'quality over quantity' does come to mind after the latest drop in a ridiculously prolific partnership.

  Arsenal fans will almost certainly disagree in a very, very angry way, but the new Arsenal x adidas Originals 'VRCT' (varsity) collection – including a American college-inspired jacket, hoodie and t-shirt – feels a little forced in the build-up to Christmas. Just a couple of months on from the very cool Aries collab, the club isn't escaping the accusations of being more of a fashion brand than a football team anytime soon.

  GOAL's shout: Blatant own goal

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  Cucurella humiliates himself & PUMA

  Both Marc Cucurella and PUMA had a stinker last week. The defender blamed two calamitous early slips – which led directly to Tottenham goals and left him marooned on the deck in a bundle of curly brown hair – on his brand-spanking-new Future 8 boots. In a moment of pure Barclays, the Spaniard gesticulated to the kitman and changed his footwear on the sidelines, before posting a later-deleted photo of them in the dressing room bin on Instagram after the match.

  The whole debacle has inevitably caused a massive marketing headache for PUMA over the £220 boots in the lead-up to the festive period, after what has apparently been a challenging period for the German sportswear giant. Marc will probably be off their Christmas card list.

  GOAL's shout: Maverick own goal

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  A new-look adidas COPA

  One for only the most cultured midfielders out there, adidas have given us a glimpse of their new-look COPA line for 2025, and they are lovely.

  In a throwback to the classic AdiPure silhouette from the late noughties, the COPA Luxe Control sees three stripes reintroduced to the instep and the boot is "designed to feel so comfortable, it’s like an extension of the player’s body". adidas have gone bold with the colourway, with the first instalment of this new iteration arriving in white and gold. Extremely classy.

  GOAL's shout: Blatant worldie

In three days, Arsenal will kick-start their Premier League season at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers with one objective: to end their two-decade title drought.

Mikel Arteta's side have come painfully close for two years on the trot now, and after an impressive preseason, they look ready as ever.

However, fans will be hoping that the club will get some more business done before the transfer window slams shut in a couple of weeks to give them the best chance of lifting that trophy come May.

Fortunately, it appears the fans will get their wish, with Edu Gaspar and Co closing in on an exciting addition to the team and a player who'll help unlock Kai Havertz.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from The Athletic's David Ornstein, Arsenal are "stepping up" their efforts to sign Real Sociedad's Mikel Merino this summer.

Ornstein has revealed that Edu has been in Spain this week to "pursue" an agreement with the Basque club and that the player is keen to join the club, with personal terms not expected to be an issue.

There is no mention of how much the transfer might cost the Gunners, but reports from earlier this summer revealed that the fee could be around £25m.

It's not an insignificant amount of money, but based on his performances for Sociedad and Spain, it's reasonable, and bringing him in this summer should also help unlock Havertz.

Why Merino will help unlock Havertz

Okay, so while Merino isn't necessarily going to be the midfielder playing killer passes into the frontline while Martin Odegaard is next to him, there is one very crucial reason why having him in the team will help unlock Havertz, and that is simply his presence in the lineup.

Speak to any group of Arsenal fans about the German's campaign last season. The vast majority will tell you that he started slow and ended the year on fire and that these two spells directly correlated with where Arteta was playing him.

In the first half of the year, he was tasked with replacing Granit Xhaka in the left-eight role, and while he wasn't dreadful, he was underwhelming, racking up just six goals in 32 appearances, equating to an average of a goal involvement once every 5.33 games.

However, when he was moved into the number nine role in the latter half of the season, he exploded. In just 18 appearances as the club's centre-forward, he scored eight goals and provided seven assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.2 games in this new position, which is undeniably impressive.

Despite this incredible form up top, the former Chelsea ace has started a few preseason games in midfield this summer – much to the dismay of some supporters – but with the Sociedad star in the team, that would be far less likely to happen in competitive games.

This is because he spent the vast majority of last season playing in central midfield for La Real, with 38 of his 40 starts coming in that eight position.

Moreover, he's really impressive in the role as well, demonstrating his attacking talent with a haul of eight goals and five assists in 45 appearances, while showing he's no slouch in defence either, being the only player in Europe's top seven leagues to win over 300 duels last season – 326 to be exact.

Lastly, Arteta has reportedly been keen to sign the Spanish "monster," as data analyst Ben Mattinson dubbed him, all summer following his displays for Sociedad and Spain. He's not going to suddenly change his position at the Emirates to accommodate a player who clearly plays his best football as a centre-forward.

Therefore, while it's taken a while for this deal to progress, bringing Merino to Arsenal this summer looks like a fantastic idea, not only for the quality he'll bring to the middle of the park, but also because he'll free Havertz to remain up top, where he should be playing.

He'd make Odegaard unplayable: Arsenal in the race to sign £30m "monster"

The experienced number nine could fire the Gunners to glory.

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By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Aug 13, 2024

Real Madrid are eyeing a move for Tottenham Hotspur star Micky van de Ven as they look to bolster their backline.

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• Real eyeing move for Van de Ven
• Looking for a replacement for Militao
• Have Gvardiol and Lukeba in their shortlist

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Los Blancos made two key signings in the attack this summer as they brought in Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain and Endrick from Palmeiras. The club, however, did not make any new additions to their backline. They had set their eyes on young French defender Leny Yoro, but the centre-back chose to join Manchester United.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Carlo Ancelotti's side have already conceded 29 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign and their defensive woes further worsened after Eder Militao joined David Alaba in the medical room last month. While the Brazilian will remain out of action for the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL, Alaba is not expected to return before the end of January.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Per , the Spanish champions have prepared a shortlist of defenders and Tottenham's Micky van de Ven has emerged as a priority target for the club. The 23-year-old Dutch defender, who operates on the left side of the backline, will perfectly fit into the squad and is being seen as a like-for-like replacement of Militao. Among the other targets are Manchester City and Croatia star Josko Gvardiol and RB Leipzig sensation Castello Lukeba.

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• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

  Kylian Mbappe and Co. will be back in action next week as they take on Valencia on January 3 in an away fixture in La Liga.