European Leagues

Chelsea tempting to cough up £100m for Caicedo

Chelsea could inadvertently help Brighton snatch one of Mauricio Pochettino’s transfer targets should the Seagulls receive their desired £100million for star man Moises Caicedo.

The Blues have so been reluctant to stump up the necessary cash after having two bids turned down, but they are still looking to bring in a midfield partner for Enzo Fernandez.

Tottenham target Elye Wahi transfer hijack as Bayern Munich up Harry Kane offer
Roberto De Zerbi’s side currently expect Caicedo to remain at the club and have been impressed with his attitude despite making his stance clear that he wants to move for Stamford Bridge. However, there is still nearly a month left of the transfer window and Brighton are still planning to use funds raised by the potential sale of Caicedo to reinvest in the squad.

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Europa League side could intensify their efforts to land Mohammed Kudus if they receive a huge cash injection to the tune of £100m from Chelsea. The Ajax star is firmly on their radar and would represent a major coup, as he is also on the shortlists of several top clubs – including Chelsea.

The Blues were said to be leading the race to sign Kudus ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United, who would cost as much as £40m as Chelsea look to replace outgoing attacking stars such as Mason Mount and Kai Havertz. The Ghanaian star’s versatility would certainly help Pochettino in his bid to figure out his best team for the coming season after a huge overhaul, but Brighton could instead trump them in the race for the 23-year-old.

The Seagulls would likely be able to offer Ajax more favourable payment terms, having just received £100m while Chelsea would be keeping an eye on their finances despite undergoing a firesale – with Todd Boehly and co looking to be more cautious in the window following their previous £600m outlay.

It is unlikely that Chelsea would be able to negotiate a lower fee for Kudus if Brighton up their interest and the Blues were worried about the club’s finances after a huge outlay for Caicedo, as Ajax transfer chief Sven Mislinat wants to keep both the forward and fellow Chelsea target Edson Alvarez.

LaLiga

How Xabi Alonso’s Tactics Will Reshape Real Madrid

Xabi Alonso used a different formation and tactics than Carlo Ancelotti. He will be bringing fresh ideas to Real Madrid, but can those help the club improve?

It’s tough being a manager at Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti won the Champions League and the La Liga with the Spanish team last season, but they have decided to move on from him after failing to win either of the two in the ongoing season.

Real are already out of the Champions League. They lost to Arsenal in the quarter-finals and La Liga leaders Barcelona are ahead of them by seven points and only three games left.

Real are now set to appoint former midfielder Xabi Alonso as their new manager, while Ancelotti joining the Brazilian national team is almost a certainty .

Alonso had been Bayer Leverkusen’s coach in the Bundesliga since October 2022. Under the Spaniard, Leverkusen won the Bundesliga title for the first time in 2023-24.

At Leverkusen, Alonso also won the 2023-24 DFB Cup and the 2024 Supercup besides the Bundesliga while setting the European record for consecutive unbeaten competitive games (51).

Firstpost.com

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Romanian Referee To Handle PSG-Inter Champions League Final

Romanian Istvan Kovacs will be the main referee for the UEFA Champions League final between Paris St-Germain and Inter Milan, which will be played on May 31 in Munich.

The match will be Kovacs’ third European final in the last 4 years. The 40-year-old referee has previously officiated the UEFA Europa Conference League final in 2022 (the first edition of the competition), disputed between Roma and Feyenoord 1-0, and the UEFA Europa League final in 2024 between Atalanta and Leverkusen 3-0.

This season, Kovacs has refereed 7 other Champions League matches.

He will be assisted by linesmen Mihai Marica and Ferencz Tunyogi. The fourth official will be Bruno Alves Jesus from Portugal. In the VAR room will be Dennis Higler (Netherlands), Cătălin Popa, and Paulus von Boekel, according to FRF.

UEFA has also announced the referee teams for the other European competition finals. Felix Zwayer (Germany) will officiate the Europa League final, Tottenham – Manchester United (May 21), Ivana Martinčić (Croatia) will officiate the Women’s Champions League final, Arsenal – Barcelona (May 24), and Irfan Peljto (Bosnia and Herzegovina) has been appointed for the Conference League final, Chelsea – Real Betis (May 28). Additionally, this year’s Nations League final will be refereed by Sandro Schärer (Switzerland).

PSG secured their spot in the final after completing a 3-1 aggregate win over Arsenal, while Inter narrowly beat Barcelona for its place. The clash between the two established teams promises to offer much enjoyment to football fans.

Romania-insider.com

Premier League

Can You Name The 30 Highest-scoring African Players In EPL History?

There have been some amazing African goalscorers during the Premier League era – but how many of the 30 highest-scoring players from the continent can you name?

The continent has been a reliable source of Barclays legends throughout the last 30-odd years, with plenty of African players becoming worldwide names by banging in the goals on our shores.

From trophy-guzzling machines to cult heroes in some unexpected places, we’ve seen a wide variety of African footballers grace the Premier League since 1992 – but how many of the top 30 goalscorers from the continent can you remember?

There are some truly legendary names here, so we’re expecting a good score. We’ve even given you the clubs they played for and their total goals as clues, so there’s no excuse.

You’ve got 15 minutes to name the top 30 and the score to beat from our office is 27/30. An asterisk denotes the player that is still active in the Premier League.

If this gives you the taste for another quiz, have a go at naming the highest-scoring South Americans in PL history.

Planetfootball.com