Everton director of football Marcel Brands has revealed that he feared missing out on signing Yerry Mina after the defender scored for Colombia against England at the World Cup.
Brands watched England s penalty shoot-out victory over the South Americans with Everton directors Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright, as well as head coach Marco Silva, and said the centre-back s stoppage time equaliser could have scuppered the deal to bring Mina to Goodison Park.
Mina eventually joined the Toffees for an initial €30.25m, plus potentially another €1.5m in variables, bringing to an end an unhappy six-month spell at Barcelona, but Brands revealed he initially wanted to sign Clement Lenglet, who moved to Camp Nou from Sevilla.
Brands told the Liverpool Echo: From the beg…
Footballers who are the victims of discrimination could have the opportunity to meet with the alleged perpetrator as part of a “first of its kind” restorative policy being launched by Major League Soccer and its players.
There are more eyes on football in the United States and Canada than ever before, thanks in no small part to Lionel Messi’s blockbuster move to Inter Miami last summer.
Ever-evolving MLS and the Major League Soccer Players Association have now launched a new jointly aligned anti-discrimination policy ahead of next week’s 2024 season kick-off.
The league says the policy “is the first of its kind in professional sports in that it is centred on restorative practices, prioritising education, prevention, training, and cultural awareness”.<…
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is defiant in his belief that Mikel Arteta is the right man to take the club forward.
The Gunners’ Premier League title hopes ended on Saturday when they lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest, which saw Manchester City crowned champions for a fifth time in six seasons.
They sat on top of the league for 248 days of the season and had an eight-point lead over City in March, but despite their late capitulation Arteta’s side have won acclaim for their progress this season.
Thank you for an incredible title race, and
— Premier League (@premierleague)
When asked whether he thought Arteta was the man to lead the pursuit of City, he said: “You can forget this question – he is more than the right manager for this team.…
Diego Costa could make a second international debut against Italy when Spain host Cesare Prandelli s men in Madrid on Wednesday.
Having previously come on as a substitute in two friendlies for Brazil last March the first against Italy Costa received Spanish nationality and made the controversial decision to switch allegiances.
The Atletico Madrid striker, who boasts 21 La Liga goals this season, is now in line to represent Spain for the first time, having been included in the defending world champions squad to face Italy.
Coach Vicente del Bosque said of Costa: He s an unusual case, because he had never been called up before and because he was born in Brazil.
But he s a player who has been called up on the back of what he has achieved with his club and because we…
Jonny Howson has committed himself to Norwich City, signing a new four-year deal with the Premier League club.
Midfielder Howson s previous deal had two seasons to run, but Norwich have moved swiftly to tie one of their longest-serving players down.
Since moving to Carrow Road from Leeds United in 2012, Howson has made 110 appearances, and the 27-year-old is eager to hit the ground running, having helped Norwich to play-off glory in the Championship last term.
He told the club s official website: I m really pleased, especially after last season going so well.
Since the manager has come in everyone knows how well we ve done, and I m excited to remain a part of that. That s not to say it s going to be simple, because you always have to keep working hard.…
Neymar and Gabriel Jesus caught the eye as Brazil claimed a 2-0 friendly win over 10-man Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Friday.
Jesus, who endured a difficult World Cup, was making his first post-Russia 2018 appearance and he looked particularly sharp as he opened the scoring, before Alex Sandro rounded things off in stoppage time.
An entertaining first half, which was full of flamboyancy from both teams, culminated in Neymar setting the Manchester City star up for his 11th senior international goal in the 43rd minute.
The hosts failed to build on first-half promise after the break and Brazil were completely dominant, eventually adding to the score with an Alex Sandro header after goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais red card for handling outside the area.
It did not …
Renato Sanches hopes his personal renaissance amid Bayern Munich s flagging form leads to more regular playing time.
Niko Kovac s arrival at Allianz Arena has coincided with a spike in Sanches fortunes following a frustrating postscript to his eye-catching Euro 2016 performances.
The Portugal midfielder struggled to settle in his first season in Germany and fared no better during a loan spell at Swansea City that ended in relegation from the Premier League.
New Bayern boss Kovac wiped the slate clean and, after two Bundesliga starts and a goal in the Champions League, the 21-year-old now wants a greater slice of the action.
The relationship with the coach is very good, Sanches told Bild.
Sure, I d like to play more. We have a lot of internati…
Gary Lineker has congratulated Everton after his former club survived in the Premier League at the expense of his boyhood team Leicester.
The two clubs had been in jeopardy heading into the final round of fixtures on Sunday but ultimately Everton’s 1-0 victory over Bournemouth ensured they avoided the drop.
At one stage it looked as though it could be the Foxes who stayed up as they took an early lead against West Ham but their eventual 2-1 win was rendered academic by Everton’s result.
A word on : If 8 years ago, you’d have given me the option of winning the Premier League and the FA Cup and then get relegated, I’d have snapped your hand off. Also I’d have told you not to be so utterly ridiculous.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker)
The To…
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Just a few days ago we saw Chelsea and Leicester City meet in the FA Cup final and now, we re going to get a pretty intriguing rematch in the Premier League. However, as opposed to most games at this stage of the season, this one has some serious stakes attached to it as both clubs push for a place in the top four. Right now Leicester have a two-point advantage, but that could all change in the blink of an eye on Tuesday evening.
Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel always knew this was going to be a really hectic spell with the Blues battling in the FA Cup final, Champions League final and to finish in the top four of the Premier League. The FA Cup final didn t exactly go to plan as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the ha…
La Liga side Hercules have launched a bid to sign Fenerbahce striker Dani Guiza, who is desperate to return to Spain.
The player, who was an important part of Spain’s 2008 champions squad, failed to leave his mark in Turkey and he is now eager to return to his native country.
Hercules have sent a formal offer of 4 million euros to Fenerbahce, but they face a stiff competition in their bid to sign the player as the Turkish club claim a Russian Premier League club have offered them twice as much for Guiza.
The newly-promoted side are eager to sign reinforcements before the season starts and even though they lack the funds to compete with rich Russian clubs, they hope Guiza’s desire to move back to Spain will give them the upper hand over the competition.
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