Everton are loving life at the moment following the return of David Moyes, and now could be set for another boost in their Premier League surge with the introduction of Charly Alcaraz.
Everton well clear of relegation after win vs Palace
After a tough start to the season under Sean Dyche, Everton’s fortunes have completely changed since they reappointed David Moyes at Goodison Park. A 2-2 draw with Liverpool in midweek came courtesy of a James Tarkoswki injury-time equaliser, and Moyes has now taken 13 points from his first six Premier League games back in charge after the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.
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The Toffees are well clear of the relegation zone and now even above Manchester United and Tottenham, with relegation looking far more like a remote possibility and a surge towards the top half more probable based on recent form.
Games
7
Wins
4
Goals scored
12
Goals conceded
8
Points
13
However, they have been dealt a blow in the shape of an injury to talismanic figure Iliman Ndiaye, who was forced off with a knee injury in the first half of their draw with Liverpool, something that Moyes confirmed would keep him out for “at least a few weeks”.
“He has got a medial ligament injury – it’s not looking great at the moment. We are probably not sure how long it will be.”
Though Everton will undoubtedly miss their talented winger, it is not all bad news at Goodison Park with one man beginning to make an impact after impressing at Finch Farm already.
Alcaraz impressing Everton coaches behind the scenes
That is according to a report from journalist Fabrício Lopes [via Sport Witness], who claims that Everton have been impressed by Charly Alcaraz in the early stages of his time on Merseyside even before his first start and match-winning performance at Selhurst Park.
The 22-year-old joined the Toffees on loan in the January transfer window, but had only managed one substitute appearance in the top flight before Saturday.
Everton midfielder Charly Alcaraz
His slow start apparently raised alarm bells at his parent club, with Everton having an obligation to buy the midfielder set at £15m but only if he makes six starts before the end of the campaign.
However, Lopes claims that it is very unlikely that he leaves Everton even if he does not go on to make six starts for the Toffees, with the journalist revealing that the midfielder is “convincing and showing his value” at Finch Farm, and that it is expected that “Everton will buy him either way” at the end of the campaign and that Alcaraz is “is expected to stay at Everton long-term”.
That will come as good news for Everton fans, who as things stand will lose Abdoulaye Doucoure at the end of the season when his contract expires, one of eight Toffees whose deal is due to expire at the end of the current campaign.
Moyes has already praised the speed with which Alcaraz has taken to Premier League football, telling the media: “I have to say, he settled very well in the game. He’s got Premier League experience, so he’s not completely new to this.”
Though Alcaraz has yet to really settle in his career after spells with Southampton and Juventus before completing a move to Flamengo, he has shown glimpses of his talent at each of those clubs and, should Everton be able to harnass that, they could have snagged a potential bargain.
Real Madrid strolled past a much-changed Sociedad side as two Bernabeu legends marked their farewells with three points
Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Luka Modric received a wonderful farewell as Real Madrid strolled to a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad that will be remembered more for the occasion than the result. Carlo Ancelotti was also able to deliver a victory in his final game in charge before he leaves the Liga giants and takes over as Brazil head coach.
Indeed, the game felt like a procession from the first minute. Madrid had nothing to play for, and it showed. They had most of the ball, without doing much with it and it was a stroke of luck that gave them the lead after a VAR-aided decision saw Los Blancos handed a very soft penalty. Mbappe stepped up, had his first effort saved but tucked the rebound home with ease – his 30th goal of the league season.
It was otherwise a relatively quiet affair. Madrid probed for opportunities, the excellent Arda Guler finding pockets of space and sharp angles. La Real, who benched some of their main men, occasionally threatened without ever truly looking like they would score.
Mbappe made it two after 84 minutes, smashing one in at the near post after a fine pass from the returning Vinicius Junior but the game will ultimately be remembered for the man who was subbed off late on, a guard of honour greeting Modric as he strolled off the Bernabeu pitch for the final time.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players following their final game of the 2024-25 La Liga season…
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Goalkeeper & Defence
Andriy Lunin (6/10):
Made one good save and pretty much had nothing else to do.
Lucas Vazquez (6/10):
In the XI for what will likely be his last game at the Bernabeu. Enjoyed a nice send-off from the home fans.
Aurelien Tchouameni (7/10):
A solid shift at centre-back, where he looks more and more comfortable. He will hope he won't have to play there much next season, though.
Raul Asencio (5/10):
Not the best afternoon at the back, as he was rather dragged around. He will have to fight for a spot next year.
Fran Garcia (7/10):
Sprinted up and down the right with ease, and got involved in some creative stuff, too. Is he first choice next year? Time will tell.
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Midfield
Federico Valverde (7/10):
Sat at the base of midfield in the first half, drove forward a bit more in the second. Spent a lot of his time dumping the ball off to Modric after winning it back.
Luka Modric (7/10):
Completed 106 passes, did some lovely stuff on the ball, and marked his Bernabeau finale with a wonderful send-off.
Dani Ceballos (6/10):
Made 18 passes into the final third but was badly exposed defensively at times.
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Attack
Brahim Diaz (6/10):
Had some energetic moments, created a couple of chances, then exited due to injury.
Kylian Mbappe (8/10):
Buzzed around without Vinicius Jr, missed a penalty, but then grabbed his goal. Added a second goal to take his tally to 31 and is now pretty much assured of claiming the European Golden Shoe.
Arda Guler (7/10):
Found all sorts of pockets of space and created chances. He's got real attacking quality.
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Subs & Manager
Jesus Vallejo (6/10):
Another 40 minutes for the forgotten man.
Vinicius Jr (6/10):
On the ball a lot but did a good job of losing it in his half hour of action. Assisted Mbappe's second.
Gonzalo Garcia (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Chema Andres (N/A):
Will be remembered as the guy who replaced Modric on his Madrid farewell.
Carlo Ancelotti (8/10):
Said goodbye to Madrid with three points. An appropriate scoreline for a club legend.
A 90mph/145kph left-arm fast bowler, a legend of modern county cricket, and a double Big Bash League-winner are among the players set to lead Italy’s bid to qualify for the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup.Italy will vie for one of two available spots in the tournament when they play in July’s seven-team T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in Scotland, where the hosts and Ireland are clear favourites.But ESPNcricinfo can reveal that Spencer Johnson – the breakout star of the 2022-23 Big Bash – is set to feature along with Wayne Madsen and Ben Manenti, after months of discussions with players around the world led by captain-coach Gareth Berg.The Europe Qualifier will be held in Edinburgh from July 20-28, in round-robin format. The seven teams involved are Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jersey and Scotland, with the winners and runners-up progressing to the 2024 T20 World Cup. Two European sides, England and the Netherlands, have already qualified for the tournament.Related
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Tall, left-arm and fast: Johnson grasps his second chance
Italy are ranked 32nd in the world in T20Is, sandwiched between Tanzania and Saudi Arabia, but Berg and his assistant Kevin O’Brien have led a drive towards semi-professionalism in recent months, running regular weekend training camps in Milan, Bologna and Rome.They hope to supplement the leading Italian-based players with a handful of full-time players from around the world, with Berg himself continuing as captain at the age of 42 alongside his commitments with Northamptonshire in county cricket.Johnson, the left-arm seamer, starred for Brisbane Heat on their recent run to the BBL final, taking nine wickets in the tournament and bowling several fast, hostile spells with the new ball. Johnson’s grandfather moved to Australia from Italy as a young man, and his manager confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he has recently obtained his Italian passport and intends to play in July’s qualifier.”He’s dead keen,” Berg told ESPNcricinfo. “He’s going to be a huge boost for us. It’s always nice to have someone that can bowl close to 150 clicks at that level. He’s had quite a tough time with injuries but he’s coming back pretty strong now. He’s raring to get involved in July.”Joe Burns could soon qualify for Italy•Getty Images
Madsen, meanwhile, has scored nearly 20,000 runs across formats for Derbyshire since signing for the county in 2009, playing thanks to his Italian passport. “He’s wanted to play for the last few years now,” Berg said. “He’s at the stage of his career where he could probably slip away for a week or two to play in a big tournament like this.”Madsen would miss two County Championship fixtures if selected. Kent’s Grant Stewart – who has already played 10 T20Is for Italy – is also expected to miss two games in order to play in the qualifier.Manenti, the offspinning allrounder who was part of Sydney Sixers’ BBL title wins in 2019/20 and 2020/21, is also due to debut and could play alongside his younger brother, Harry. He has thrived with the bat for South Australia this season, and also provides a reliable offspin option.Joe Burns, the former Australia opener, is expected to qualify at the end of 2023. While Italy do not anticipate having him available this summer, Berg believes Burns will be in the mix for World Cup selection “if we pull off a miracle and qualify in July”.
‘They’re coming to play for the Azzurri’
The prospect of Italy turning up to the Europe Qualifier with a handful of professionals in their ranks will not be universally popular in the Associate game. “But at the end of the day, they all have the entitlement to come in and play for us through their passports or through their bloodlines,” Berg said. “I’m more than happy for them to represent the national team.”It’s not like we’re throwing cash at them or anything like that. They are coming to play for the love of the blue blood, coming to play for the Azzurri. As soon as I mention it, they’re straight on board with it and willing to help out. Yes, we have pros available, but we also have our local players that are pushing for spots. It’s heartwarming for me and the guys working with me that these guys are pushing themselves really hard.”Berg still plays county cricket for Northants•Getty Images
Berg, the South African-born allrounder who has enjoyed an extensive county career with Middlesex, Hampshire and Northants, first played for Italy in 2012. He has become extensively involved over the last three years, initially as captain and later as playing head coach.”When I came into the job, I wanted to push and direct Italian cricket into a more professional set-up,” he said. “”he one thing that we struggle with at times is players getting time off work. A few of the guys work double shifts or double jobs, so time away from work is tough. We have to play in advance and it can be really tough.”Our squad for this summer on paper looks as good as any in that tournament, but our biggest focus has to be the week before the tournament. That’s key for us: the bonding, gelling, getting to know each other and working out each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”Hopefully we can catch teams like Scotland and Ireland on a bad day and knock them over. But we are generally moving in the right direction. If this July tournament doesn’t work out for us, then hopefully we have everything in place to push for the next one.”
Ruben Amorim has made it clear he has no plans to quit Manchester United but stood by his fiercely critical comments about his side.
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Coach clarified 'make space for different people' remarkHe explained why he is paying for staff to attend finalBoss backs United to beat Tottenham in BilbaoFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The manager was hugely disappointed with his side's performance in the 2-0 defeat by West Ham on Sunday, which saw United fall to 16th in the Premier League. After the game he hinted he might have to walk away from the job if things did not improve next season, saying: "It's not the players' fault. It's my fault, I'm responsible. If we cannot change that really fast, we should give our place to different persons." But he clarified his comments when speaking ahead of next week's Europa League final against Tottenham.
AdvertisementAFPWHAT AMORIM SAID
Amorim said: "What I am saying is that since I arrived here, I am always talking about the standards and I cannot see the team having the results in the Premier League and not take responsibility. I am far from quitting. What I am saying is we need to perform or else they will change us. That is a normal thing."
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The United boss also confirmed that he is paying for his backroom staff and their families to go to Bilbao for the Europa League final and explained that the players backed the move. He explained: "We have a lot of things, people leaving, a lot of changes in the staff, sometimes it is hard [to know] when to give, when to take, to respect the people we are taking their jobs to survive and rebuild. It is complicated for the club to start giving to other members of staff so it is a really hard position. That was explained so in that moment, my reaction was to help. It is not going to change my life. Then we talked to the players and they had the same reaction, everyone does, they want the staff and their families there in the final."
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Amorim explained that accessing the Champions League via winning the Europa League was more important than lifting the trophy itself. He said: "Personally for me I think Champions League is more important for everything – to prepare the next season. We are supposed to be in the Champions League. Europa League here is not enough and you have that feeling here. The best way to help us get in the top in a few years is the Champions League – it’s not the cup. So for me the Champions League is more important."
سجل لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي، جيريمي دوكو، الهدف الثاني في شباك الوداد البيضاوي المغربي، خلال منافسات كأس العالم للأندية 2025.
ويواجه مانشستر سيتي نظيره الوداد البيضاوي، في إطار مباريات الجولة الأولى من منافسات المجموعة السابعة بالبطولة، على ملعب “لينكولن فاينانشال فيلد”.
طالع| فيديو | في الدقيقة الثانية.. فودين يُسجل هدف مانشستر سيتي الأول أمام الوداد
ويتواجد مانشستر سيتي في المجموعة السابعة بجوار كل من الوداد البيضاوي والعين الإماراتي، بالإضافة إلى يوفنتوس الإيطالي.
وأحرز جيريمي دوكو، لاعب مانشستر سيتي، هدف فريقه الثاني بحلول الدقيقة الثانية والأربعين من عمر الشوط الأول، بعد ركلة ركنية، قابلها دوكو بقدمه في شباك الوداد.
وكان فيل فودين، سجل هدف مانشستر سيتي الأول بعد تسديدة رائعة من سافينيو، من داخل منطقة الجزاء، ليتصدى لها حارس الوداد، مهدي بنعبيد، ثم تابعها فودين وحولها بنجاح في الشباك المغربية. هدف مانشستر سيتي الثاني في مرمى الوداد بكأس العالم للأندية
41' ⚽ GOAL! Doku is free in the box to slot that corner kick in for @ManCity. The Blues are 2-0 up!
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While betting on the football can add a bit of fun to the weekend for supporters, it remains strictly forbidden for players to get involved.
In order to maintain the game’s integrity, the FA has in place a worldwide ban for those involved in football, namely players, club staff and officials working in the Premier League down to the eighth tier of English football, as well as the top two tiers in women’s football.
Rules are more relaxed for those who play below these levels, but they are still barred from betting on any game or competition they can participate in and/or influence.
The ban prohibits these individuals from betting on anything football-related, including the sharing of inside information and match-fixing.
16 times professional footballers were banned
Some of these guys make Luis Suarez look like an angel!
ByAlex Caple Oct 27, 2023
West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta is currently embroiled in a betting scandal which could result in the Brazilian receiving a lifetime ban from the FA. His hearing is set to take place in March 2025, lasting three weeks.
Signed by the Hammers in August 2022, Paqueta was investigated for potential betting breaches in August 2023, before being charged at the end of last season, having been accused of getting booked deliberately.
In addition, the Hammers ace has also been charged with multiple breaches of failing to comply with the FA’s investigations.
Should Paqueta be banned for life, it would be unprecedented at this level of the English game. However, if a more lenient punishment befalls him, he would be joining a number of Premier League players to face temporary bans and sanctions for breaking betting rules.
We’ve taken a look at those players below, ranked by the severity of their punishments.
9 Martin Demichelis Fined £22,058 (2016)
Former Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis escaped a football ban in 2016 despite breaking the FA’s rules on betting.
It was reported that the Argentinian placed 29 bets on football matches over the course of four weeks in early 2016.
Now manager of Mexican club Monterrey, the centre-back left City that summer to join Espanyol in La Liga.
8 Cameron Jerome Fined £50,000 (2013)
Cameron Jerome was another player lucky enough to escape a suspension from the FA, despite admitting to “repeatedly” breaching betting regulations, according to reports.
Playing for Stoke City at the time, Jerome was fined £50,000 and warned about his future conduct, but did not miss any football as a result.
Perhaps going in his favour was the fact that none of his breaches concerned matches or competitions he was involved in.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace midfielder Andros Townsend was banned and fined for breaching betting regulations in 2013.
While he was not betting on games he was involved in, the FA banned him for four months, with all but one of those months suspended.
With Townsend’s ban falling in the summer, he didn’t miss a single match, though he did voluntarily withdraw from the England squad for the U21 European Championship and was fined £18,000.
6 Harry Toffolo 5-month suspended ban, fined £20,956 (2023)
Harry Toffolo
Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo was handed a suspended five-month ban in September 2023 after breaching betting rules on 375 occasions.
Reports at the time appeared to suggest that these breaches were related to bets on football and passing on inside information during a period of over three years ending in March 2017 while playing for Norwich City.
The independent commission’s report said that the player’s mental health was a mitigating factor in his betting offences, with the player’s situation thankfully improving having now kicked a gambling addiction.
Toffolo’s suspended ban remains active today, and will expire at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Nottingham Forest and 8 other Premier League surprise packages
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Kieran Trippier was given a 10-week ban from football for breaking betting rules around the time he joined Atletico Madrid from Spurs in 2019.
In late 2020, Trippier was found guilty of passing on information regarding his prospective move to Atletico Madrid before it became public knowledge, effectively hinting to a friend to bet on him switching clubs.
The ban was briefly lifted following an appeal from his new club, but Trippier still missed 11 matches during that period and was ordered to pay £70,000.
4 Daniel Sturridge 4-month ban, fined £150,000 (2020)
Daniel Sturridge was handed a part-suspended ban and fined £75,000 for two breaches of betting rules regarding a potential transfer move during his time at Liverpool.
However, the FA appealed the decision, which had essentially banned the forward for a couple of weeks despite Sturridge breaking the strict betting rules in place. His fine was then doubled to £150,000 – the highest on this list.
Sturridge was investigated for instructing his brother to bet on him joining Sevilla in January 2018. The FA argued that Sturridge’s family used his inside info to earn money in the betting markets.
Thousands of pounds were placed as bets, with some £20k even being rejected by bookmakers, such was the suspicious activity at the time.
Sturridge ended up joining West Brom that winter and missed out on the England World Cup squad that year.
The charges saw his contract at Turkish club Trabzonspor terminated, and he ended his playing career at Perth Glory before moving into punditry.
3 Ivan Toney 8-month ban, fined £50,000 (2023)
serhou-guirassy-ivan-toney-tottenham-opinion
England striker Ivan Toney was banned from football for hundreds of betting breaches, resulting in an eight-month suspension between May 2023 and January 2024.
Playing for Brentford at the time, he was also fined £50,000 after admitting to 232 breaches of the rules, which included betting on his team to lose, as well as his own performance.
While a lifetime ban is possible under those circumstances, Toney’s provisional 15-month ban was reduced owing to his gambling addiction.
The ban put his place in England’s Euro 2024 squad under threat, but Toney returned to form in time to make the team, netting a penalty in the crucial shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
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Newcastle United signed Sandro Tonali in the summer of 2023, but by the following October, the Italian had been banned for 10 months and fined €20,000 (£17,380) for breaching betting regulations during his time in Serie A with Milan.
As part of his recovery from a gambling addiction, Tonali was ordered to return to Italy to speak to young players about the dangers of betting.
Before his ban took effect, he also placed bets on Newcastle to win on four occasions, with the FA handing him a suspended two-month ban and a £20,000 fine.
The FA said the money placed on those bets was worth over €100,000 (£85,600).
1 Joey Barton 18-month ban, fined £30,000 (2017)
Joey Barton’s playing career was effectively ended by an unprecedented 18-month ban for 1,260 bets placed over a 10-year period.
Barton, who claimed he had a gambling addiction, felt the length of the ban was harsh and felt a player who was “less controversial” would have received a lesser punishment.
He had also been banned for one month during his time at Rangers by the Scottish FA, while some of his bets involved his own team losing – albeit while he was not playing.
It was thought he was placing an average stake of around £150 per bet, which would total £189,000 being spent on betting alone.
A month after the ban took effect, he was released by Burnley, and Barton moved into management after serving his suspension.
Foi dia de festa no Estádio Nilton Santos. O Botafogo venceu o Athletico-PR por 2 a 0 em jogo válido pela 19ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro e se recuperou na competição, após três derrotas seguidas. Erison e Jeffinho, um dos protagonistas do jogo, marcaram os gols da partida neste sábado.
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+John Textor se encontra com Eduardo Paes e oficializa interesse em comprar terreno para CT do Botafogo
O Alvinegro se afasta da zona de rebaixamento com a vitória. O time comandado por Luís Castro chegou a 24 pontos e ocupa a 11ª posição, a seis da degola. O Athletico, por outro lado, se afastou na briga pela liderança e fica em 5º, com 31. Veja a tabela da Série A!
O Botafogo volta a jogar apenas no próximo sábado: vai para a Neo Química Arena medir forças com o Corinthians, às 19h, pelo Brasileirão. O Athletico continuará pelo Rio de Janeiro, já que inicia o confronto das quartas de final da Copa do Brasil contra o Flamengo na quarta-feira, no Maracanã.
FIM DO JEJUM O jogo começou com a balança pesando para o Athletico, que ameaçava mais no ataque. Não demorou muito para o Botafogo equilibrar as ações, que chegava forte no campo ofensivo principalmente no ritmo de Lucas Fernandes.
O time se organizou e passou a pressionar o Furacão. Não demorou muito para a bola entrar na rede. Sampaio rebateu, Carlos Eduardo tocou de costas, Jeffinho conduziu em velocidade e chutou para a defesa de Bento, mas no rebote Erison chutou com categoria para abrir o placar. O Botafogo não marcava um gol há 457 minutos.
DEIXA O GAROTO BRINCAR… O segundo tempo começou equilibrado, mas Jeffinho fez questão de logo tranquilizar o Botafogo. O camisa 47 roubou a bola em uma saída do Athletico, partiu para cima, deixou dois marcadores para trás e finalizou no canto de Bento, marcando o gol.
O aumento da vantagem fez o Alvinegro crescer no jogo. Pouco depois do gol, o time de Luís Castro criou duas chances reais de gol, mas desperdiçou em finalizações ruins.
TROCAÇÃO A partida ganhou contornos de equilíbrio na reta final. Felipão fez substituições ofensivas e o Athletico foi para cima, mas os ataques foram, em suma, neutralizados pela defesa do Botafogo. O Alvinegro até teve espaço para contra-ataque, mas não encaixou os passes no setor ofensivo.
De qualquer maneira, o ritmo no Nilton Santos foi de festa com o apito final. O Botafogo deu fim a jejum de quatro partidas sem vencer e se afastou da zona de rebaixamento.
BOTAFOGO 2 X 0 ATHLETICO Data/Hora: 23/07/2022, às 21h Local: Estádio Nilton Santos (RJ) Árbitro: Anderson Daronco (FIFA-RS) Assistentes: Rafael da Silva Alves (FIFA-RS) e Tiago Augusto Kappes Diel (RS) Árbitro de vídeo: Pablo Ramon Goncalves Pinheiro (RN) Gramado: Regular Renda e público: 8.105 presentes / R$ 203.630,00 Cartões amarelos: Thiago Heleno e David Terans (CAP) Cartões vermelhos: –
BOTAFOGO: Gatito Fernández; Daniel Borges (Saravia 33’/2ºT), Philipe Sampaio, Lucas Mezenga, Fernando Marçal; Carlos Eduardo, Tchê Tchê, Lucas Fernandes (Patrick de Paula 27’/2ºT); Lucas Piazon, Erison (Matheus Nascimento 23’/2ºT), Jeffinho (Luís Henrique 33’/2ºT). Técnico: Luís Castro.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was heavily backed by the board in the summer transfer window last year as they made several big-money signings to bolster his squad.
USA international Auston Trusty was brought in from English side Sheffield United for a reported fee of £6m to compete with Liam Scales for a starting berth at centre-back.
The Hoops also agreed a £9.5m deal, with an initial fee of £8.5m, to sign Ireland international Adam Idah from Norwich City on a permanent basis, after he spent the second half of last season on loan and scored the winner in the SFA Cup final against Rangers.
Idah was not the only signing to threaten Odsonne Edouard’s club-record deal – a £9m move from PSG in 2018 – as Belgian central midfielder Arne Engels arrived from Augsburg for a reported fee of £11m.
The 21-year-old talent has racked up nine goals and 12 assists in all competitions so far this season and has the potential to be one of the club’s next big sales in the future.
Arne Engels
Celtic are no strangers to cashing in on their best players as they have made millions over the years by doing exactly that, with Matt O’Riley’s move to Brighton & Hove Albion last summer being the most recent example.
Celtic's biggest sales
The Scottish giants have made a habit out of making big money on their stars and it shows that the club have an excellent recruitment strategy, as they have consistently found quality young prospects and developed them into hugely valuable assets.
O’Riley is a brilliant example of that because Celtic swooped to sign him from English League One side MK Dons for a fee of £1.5m in the January transfer window at the start of 2022, before going on to sell him for a significantly higher fee just two-and-a-half years later.
Celtic’s record sales
Player
Club joined
Fee
Matt O’Riley
Brighton
£24.5m
Jota
Al-Ittihad
£24.1m
Kieran Tierney
Arsenal
£24.2m
Moussa Dembele
Lyon
£18.2m
Odsonne Edouard
Crystal Palace
£13.5m
Fees via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, current Celtic forward Jota, who re-joined the club in the recent January window, is among the club’s biggest-ever sales.
Kieran Tierney has agreed to join the club on a free transfer from Arsenal in the summer, which means that two of Celtic’s top three record sales will be back at Parkhead together for the 2025/26 campaign.
One player the Scottish giants may wish they could bring back to Parkhead is central defender Virgil van Dijk, whose move away from the club does not crack the top five biggest sales in the team’s history.
How much Celtic sold Virgil van Dijk for
In the summer of 2015, Premier League side Southampton swooped in to sign the Dutch centre-back for a reported fee of £11.5m, with a further £1.5m in potential add-ons.
The Hoops had signed the Netherlands international from Groningen for a fee of €2m (£1.7m), according to manager Neil Lennon, ahead of the 2013/14 campaign and this means that the club made a huge profit on him by cashing in for just shy of £10m more up front.
Van Dijk racked up a staggering 115 first-team appearances for Celtic in just two years at the club and contributed with an eye-catching 15 goals and seven assists from a centre-back position.
The giant central defender then proved his worth in the Premier League with the Saints over the next two-and-a-half years before being snapped up by Liverpool for a record fee.
According to BBC Sport, Jurgen Klopp’s side made Van Dijk the most expensive defender in the history of the game with a £75m swoop for his services in January of 2018.
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
PFA Team of the Year inclusion
2023/24
Yes
2022/23
No
2021/22
Yes
2020/21
No
2019/20
Yes
2018/19
Yes
2017/18
No
Via The PFA
As you can see in the table above, the Dutch star has been included in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year in four of his six full seasons at Anfield, after joining them midway through the 2017/18 campaign.
Celtic, however, were once able to cash in on a centre-back for even more than they got for van Dijk, despite what the Dutchman has gone on to achieve, as they hit the jackpot with Kristoffer Ajer.
Celtic struck gold with Kristoffer Ajer
Back in February 2016, the Hoops swooped to sign the Norwegian giant for a reported fee of just £650k after a trial spell at the club from Start in his home country – a fee that would go on to look insignificant in the face of the money they raked in for his services.
The young defender arrived as a youth team player at first, playing five times in the UEFA Youth League in the first half of the 2016/17 campaign, before being sent out on loan to Kilmarnock to gain some valuable experience in senior football in Scotland.
Ajer returned to Celtic for the 2017/18 season, with Rodgers in the dugout in his first spell at the club, and emerged as a regular first-team player for the Hoops, as he went on to play 176 times for the Hoops in total throughout his spell in Glasgow.
The Norway international, who scored seven goals for the Bhoys, won three Scottish Premiership titles, three League Cup trophies, and three SFA Cup trophies, which shows that it was a successful period for him and the club.
In the summer of 2021, Premier League side Brentford swooped in to sign the centre-back for an initial fee of £13.5m, with an undisclosed amount of add-ons that could increase it, which meant that he was sold for £2m more than van Dijk – not including add-ons – was six years earlier.
Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer.
This shows that Celtic hit the jackpot with Ajer because they turned a £650k signing for their development squad into an incredibly successful player, given the nine trophies he won with the Scottish giants, who was then sold for a mammoth profit.
At the time of writing, the Norwegian titan is valued at €18m (£15m) by Transfermarkt. This suggests that the Hoops did well to cash in on him for an initial £13.5m as his value has only marginally increased over the past three-and-a-half years, whereas van Dijk’s soared to a staggering £75m in a similar timeframe.
He was worse than Kuhn: Rodgers must finally drop 117-pass Celtic star
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Rodgers will, now, hope that he can help the current crop of Celtic youngsters to develop and improve, to the point where they go on to become the next big-money sales to propel their careers to the next level.
Ben Stokes has been named men’s Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2023 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, published on Tuesday.Stokes, who achieved the honour in 2020 and 2021 for his performance with bat and ball, has made it three wins in four years primarily off the back of his leadership. Since being appointed as Test captain at the start of last summer, the 31-year-old has overseen a dramatic shift in the team’s fortunes, inspiring them to 10 wins in 12.Wins against New Zealand, India and South Africa, then successes on the tours of Pakistan – England became the first side to win 3-0 – and New Zealand, put Stokes in exalted company. Not only did he achieve 10 wins quicker than any previous England captain – Michael Vaughan was the previous quickest to the mark, from 16 matches – but the feat equalled that of Australia’s Lindsay Hassett, who had previously stood alone with 10 from 12.The revitalisation was much needed after England’s run of one victory in the previous 17 Tests before Stokes’ appointment. The allrounder also averaged 40 with the bat and 25.66 with the ball that summer, going on on to help England to the T20 World Cup in October, dragging the team over the line in a final yet again.Related
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“It’s hard to think of any other cricketer who could have transformed his team’s fortunes so suddenly as Ben Stokes,” Lawrence Booth, Wisden’s editor, said. “When he took over the Test captaincy, England had won one game in their previous 17. By the time they had become the first visiting side to win 3-0 in Pakistan, they had won nine out of ten, and were playing with unprecedented style and verve.”And he was forceful with both bat and ball, scoring a series-turning century against South Africa in Manchester. Later in the year, he steered England to the T20 World Cup with the defining innings of the final against Pakistan in Melbourne – the icing on the cake for a cricketer who has transformed the way the game is played.”The part played by Brendon McCullum, instilled by new men’s director of cricket Rob Key, is also credited by Booth, particularly the “pursuit of fun really did trump fear of failure”. Beyond the results, the shift was clear. They left 2022 having struck 89 sixes (65 under Stokes) – the most of any team in a calendar year. Booth hopes “Bazball” will revive more than a team given the nature of the 2023-27 Future Tours Programme.”More enterprise is needed to maintain interest in Test cricket, after the international fixture list confirmed a hopeless imbalance: between this summer and the end of the 2026-27 winter, England will play 20 of their 43 Tests against Australia or India; and only those three teams will regularly contest meaningful series.”Jonny Bairstow, widely acknowledged as the heartbeat of the Bazball movement with 681 runs last summer, becomes the first recipient of the new Wisden Trophy for outstanding individual Test performance, by a man or woman. Bairstow earned the prize with his performance against India at Edgbaston with hundreds in both innings, the second allowing England to chase down a national record target of 378. The silver trophy was previously given to the winners of England-West Indies Test series from 1963 onwards before it was replaced by the Richards-Botham trophy in 2020.Jonny Bairstow celebrates his second hundred of the match•Getty Images
Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and Durham seamer Matthew Potts are two representatives of that team named among Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year – an honour a player can only win once in their career and which is judged by their performance during the English home season.Foakes’ high standards behind the stumps were matched by his calmness in front of them, coming to England’s rescue twice. The first helped them over the line at Lord’s against New Zealand with an unbroken stand of 120 with Joe Root, before scoring 113 not out as part of a stand with Stokes against South Africa that put them in charge of the Old Trafford Test.Potts, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong start to his international career, taking 20 wickets at 28.00, playing the first five Tests of the summer. He underlined his worth as an incisive seamer by removing Kane Williamson three times and then Virat Kohli in the one-off India Test. Domestically, he was just as relentless, with 58 County Championship wickets at 17.87.New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell are also named among the five as the two batters who were a constant thorn in England’s side, with 538 and 383 runs respectively, in the three-match series. India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur is the other overseas representative of the five, having led from the front with 221 runs – including an unbeaten 143 – to lead her country to their first ODI series win in England since 2009. She also led India to a silver-medal in the Commonwealth Games.India were pipped to gold by Australia, adding to their World Cup win earlier that year. Their leading runscorer in both competitions, Beth Mooney, subsequently earned her second women’s Leading Cricketer in the World honour in three years. As well as helping Australia retain the women’s Ashes, she averaged 100 across ODIs last year.Beth Mooney on the drive•Getty Images
There is also recognition for a spectacular 2022 for Suryakumar Yadav as the leading Twenty20 Cricketer in the World. Centuries against England and New Zealand – from 48 balls and 49 balls – saw him become the second international T20 batter to top a thousand runs in a year, eventually finishing with 1,164 at a strike rate of 187.Beyond the field, the life and times of Shane Warne are celebrated throughout the Almanack. The charismatic Australian leg-spinner, who died in March 2022, is given a lengthy obituary and other prose celebrating an enigmatic cricketer and character.”His contribution to leg-spin, cricket’s toughest skill, hardly needs restating,” writes Booth in his Editor’s Notes. “Just as immense was the blow he struck for all bowlers. Three of the Cricketers of the Century – Don Bradman, Jack Hobbs, Viv Richards – were batters, and the all-rounder, Garry Sobers, averaged 57. But Warne drew the gaze to the other end of the pitch. He was a one-man theatre, a walking box office.”The proliferation of T20 franchise tournaments over the last year is put under the microscope. The SA20, ILT20 and Major League Cricket and the ever-expanding IPL has seen the landscape under cricket’s feet shift immeasurably. Booth insists the increased cannibalisation within the game, both from franchise tournaments and international boards, must be addressed.”The question of what cricket wants to be is familiar enough – though has never been more urgent… Now, three power blocs are in a relationship that is part-symbiotic, part-parasitic: the T20 franchises, in it for themselves; the ICC, nominally in charge; and the national boards, keen to placate broadcasters and generate their own revenue.”The battle for time and space is not sustainable, causing chaos on the one hand, ennui on the other. Four days after lifting the T20 World Cup, Jos Buttler led England in an ODI series in Australia. They lost 3-0, but few could tell you much about it: no one watched, and no one – not even Buttler – greatly cared.”
KKR are not out of the playoffs’ race yet, but theirs is a slim chance, made worse by their poor net run-rate
Himanshu Agrawal19-May-20236:39
Manjrekar: LSG could persist with Hooda at the top for one more game
Big picture: LSG close to playoffs spotPlaced third currently with 15 points, Lucknow Super Giants’ road to the playoffs is a straightforward one: win against Kolkata Knight Riders and sail through. And if Chennai Super Kings lose to Delhi Capitals, LSG could even secure a top-two finish. But if they lose, they will require at least one of Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore to lose.LSG are playing away from home but they are coming off back-to-back wins after just one victory in the four completed matches before that. Marcus Stoinis led the way with match-defining performances in both those wins, while there were handy contributions from stand-in captain Krunal Pandya and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, too.As for KKR, there’s only a small chance that they can squeeze into the playoffs. Their negative net run-rate – made worse by the thumpings from Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at home – makes things even more complicated for them. They not only need a huge win but also a number of other results to go their way.Their win over CSK in the reverse fixture in Chennai was a rare occasion of them clicking with both bat and ball in the same game. They will hope for an encore, and then pray.Form guideKolkata Knight Riders WLWWL Lucknow Super Giants WWLLLTeam newsUmesh Yadav is not 100 percent fit and with World Test Championship final slated for June, it’s unlikely that he will play for KKR. For LSG, Jaydev Unadkat has been ruled out of the remainder of the IPL due to shoulder injury. Batter Suryansh Shedge has been named his replacement.The big questionImpact player strategyKKR might continue using Venkatesh Iyer and Suyash Sharma as their impact players, depending on whether they bat first or bowl first.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable XII): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), , 4 Nitish Rana (capt), 5 Andre Russell, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, LSG could look to substitute out Prerak Mankad or Ayush Badoni for either Yash Thakur or Amit Mishra, depending on how the pitch behaves.Lucknow Super Giants (probable XII): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Deepak Hooda, , 4 Krunal Pandya (capt), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Nicholas Pooran, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Naveen-ul-Haq, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10, Swapnil Singh, 11 Mohsin Khan, Andre Russell has scored only 59 runs from 52 balls against spin this season•BCCI
Stats that matter Andre Russell hasn’t had a good season so far, and it could get worse for him. Russell has managed only 59 runs from 52 balls – a strike rate of 113 – against spin this season, while being dismissed four times. Also, the spinners’ economy rate of 8.45 at Eden Gardens is a lot better than the 9.81 pace bowlers have. Add to that the prospect of three out of Krunal, Bishnoi, Mishra and Swapnil Singh in the LSG side on Saturday evening, and Russell could be in trouble. Among all batters who have faced at least 35 balls during the last four overs this season, Stoinis’ strike rate of 214.28 is the second best. And with the same filter, Rinku Singh’s 16 sixes during that phase are three more than the second-placed Tim David and Shimron Hetmyer. The short boundaries at Eden Gardens mean it has the second-highest run rate (11.19) from overs 17-20 of all grounds that have hosted at least three games this season. However, KKR and LSG’s scoring rate in this phase has been low: 9.61 each. KKR’s pace bowlers have an average of 41.34 and an economy of 10.27 this IPL. Both figures are comfortably the poorest among pacers from any team.Pitch and conditionsIt rained in Kolkata in the build-up to the match, and intermittent showers are expected during the game too. Eden Gardens has proved to be a high-scoring venue, with 200 being breached four times in six games.Quotes”Home advantage is not a question of pitches. It is about winning games. We should have won the games we played [at Eden Gardens]. Pitches have changed; nobody can give a guarantee on them.”