Kai Havertz has become Chelsea s record signing after leaving Bayer Leverkusen in a reported initial £72million (€80m) transfer.
That deal also means the Germany international ranks among the most expensive deals in Premier League history.
We take a look at the top five signings made by England s top-flight clubs as Havertz aims to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
NICOLAS PEPE – Lille to Arsenal (£72m)
Tying Havertz as the fifth-most expensive signing by an English club, Pepe has not quite yet made the impact Arsenal might have hoped for when splashing out a huge fee at the start of last season.
Pepe scored 22 times for Lille in his final Ligue 1 campaign but managed only a comparatively measly five goals and six assists in th…
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals scored yes
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The 2019 Copa America is right around the corner and national teams all over the South American region continue preparing for CONMEBOL s biggest international tournament. With that in mind, Venezuela and Ecuador will collide in a neutral-venue friendly to be played in Miami this Sunday. This match will kick-off at 02:00 hrs BST.
Venezuela
Venezuela are coming off a defeat in their most recent international when they lost 1-2 against Catalunya, but they were riding a four-game undefeated streak prior to that shocking defeat (W2, D2). It must be noted that Venezuela will field a mixed squad for this friendly. Considering several players remain on club duty, Dudamel has decided to include several…
Manchester City are interested in singing Napoli s Allan, according to Italian media outlet Calcio Napoli 24.
Having spent three and a half years with Vasco Da Gama, the Brazilian moved to Italy in 2012 to join Udinese. Another three years later, he made the switch to Naples. Earlier this year manager Maurizzio Sarri left for Chelsea and took Jorginho with him, to the dismay of City boss Pep Guardiola who has been looking for a suitable long-term replacement for Fernandinho for a long time now. The Premier League also missed out on Fred, who moved from Shakhtar to Manchester United.
Jorginho s departure from Napoli opened a new world of possibilities in midfield for Allan, and since Carlo Ancelotti took over from Sarri, the 27-year-old has been outstanding.
Guar…
Petr Cech has returned to Chelsea to take up a role as technical and performance advisor.
Cech joined Chelsea as a player in 2004 after impressing at Rennes and went on to enjoy the best 11 years of his career at Stamford Bridge, establishing himself as one of the world s greatest goalkeepers in that period.
He joined Arsenal in 2015, as Thibaut Courtois became first choice at Chelsea, and was a regular for the Gunners for three years before becoming back-up to Bernd Leno in his final campaign
Cech announced his plan to retire back in January and, after significant speculation about a potential return to Chelsea, the club have confirmed he is heading back to the Blues.
. is our new Technical and Performance Advisor!
Welcome back, Big Pete!
…
Asamoah Gyan has assured that Ghana will do their utmost to please the fans with an impressive performance in the second leg of their World Cup 2018 qualifying tie with Comoros.
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up were held to a goalless draw in the first encounter in Mitsamiouli, piling the pressure on in the return fixture.
Comoros are 177th in the FIFA rankings, making them the lowest-ranked nation in the continent remaining in the race for Russia, and have never won a World Cup qualifier reaching the current round on away goals after two draws with Lesotho.
But Ghana, who sit 147 places above them, failed to make their supposed superiority count as they were unable to break down their opponents over the 90 minutes.
Gyan missed his country s frie…
Best odds: 4/7
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Girona will welcome Real Madrid to the Estadi Montilivi on Tuesday evening for a match within round 31 of the 2022/23 La Liga season. It s obviously a game between two teams of different levels of quality, though both will be motivated to do the best they can.
Girona
Sitting 11th the Spanish top flight with 38 points at the moment, Girona won t be too worried about survival. Though the lower half of the table looks pretty congested and 18th-place Valencia are only eight points away with as many rounds to be played, it s not realistic to expect Michel s team to come into any danger late in the campaign. It s also unrealistic to expect them to rise sufficiently to trouble the top six and fight for Europe.
Therefore, the home team…
When Manchester United were drawn alongside big-spending French outfit PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League, everybody associated with the club would be forgiven for thinking they had little chance of beating the Parisians.
However, fast forward a few months and things have taken a turn for the better at Old Trafford. Interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has now won ten of his 11 games in charge of the Red Devils in all competitions. They will head into this Tuesday nights first leg at Old Trafford full of confidence and surely fancying their chances of taking a lead into the second leg.
Full of confidence and swagger
Manchester United’s star players finally look like they are fulfilling their potential. The likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford have been instru…
Competition: Premier League
Market: Chelsea to beat West Brom
Odds:
The Premier League continues this week with yet another massive round of games which will surely only bring more goals, excitement and controversy. The table is currently so tight that a single win can see a side rise out of the relegation zone or towards the European spots. With this in mind, West Brom travel to take on Chelsea on Monday.
Chelsea have been in fairly good form this season but they have hit a poor patch with their campaign stalling. After 26 games the Blues have won 15, drawn five and lost six, scoring 46 goals and conceding 23 times. In their last five they have won once, drawn twice and lost twice, which has seen them onto 50 points. The Blues are still in a C…
Arsene Wenger has urged Arsenal to be ruthless with their opportunities when they take on holders Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Last season s treble-winners head to London for Tuesday s first leg having gone 32 matches unbeaten in all competitions a run which has seen them break the club record set under Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw by Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday the fourth time they have failed to score at home in 2016 despite dominating possession, and Wenger wants a more clinical edge in attack when the European champions come calling.
Of course, it s an exciting game, he said. We were the favourites [Saturday] but we won t be on Tuesday.
We ll need great solidarity because we ll need to defen…
Robert Moreno says he would be happy to step aside if Luis Enrique wants to return to the role of Spain head coach.
Moreno took charge when Luis Enrique left the position in June, a decision attributed at the time to family reasons by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
It was confirmed last week that the former Barcelona coach s daughter Xana had passed away after a five-month battle with bone cancer.
RFEF chief Luis Rubiales said the door would always be open to Luis Enrique if he decided he wanted to go back, and Moreno would have no hesitation in moving aside.
It s a very recent situation and we re not going to talk about that, Moreno told reporters when asked about the news from last week.
I consider Luis a friend and friendship…