Twenty-five seconds after being substituted into the match, the veteran forward found the back of the net for the first goal of the game
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Angel City defeats Utah Royals 2-0Christen Press scores stunnerAlyssa Thompson bags second goalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Angel City's Christen Press scored a stunning strike in a 2-0 victory over the Utah Royals Friday evening, as the veteran forward scored her first goal of the season.
Press made an instant impact after she entered took to the pitch in place of Claire Emslie in the 65th minute, finding the back of the net roughly 25 seconds later for the eventual winning goal. The veteran striker curled a lovely effort into the top corner of the net after a cheeky move in the box to create space.
AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The match was the first shutout of the season for Angel City, who sit third in the league table after their Friday night victory that put them on 14 points on the season.
Press, a USWNT veteran, has made 155 appearances for her country, scoring 65 goals and recording 43 assists. She is also a two-time FIFA World Cup champion from 2015 and 2019, and helped lead the U.S. to a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games.
Press, 36, agreed to a one-year extension with Angel City ahead of the 2025 NWSL season.
ImagnWHAT NEXT FOR PRESS?
Angel City return to the pitch on May 17 against Bay FC for their next NWSL match.
After seeing their Champions League campaign come to an abrupt end on Tuesday night, will Celtic get back to winning ways on Saturday?
The Hoops, who’ve never won a Champions League knockout phase match before in their entire history, came so close to a famous victory in Bavaria, 1-0 up on the night, pulling it back to 2-2 on aggregate, only to suffer a heartbreaking gut-punch right at the death, ousted 3-2 by Bayern Munich.
So now, attention turns to trying to secure a sixth treble in just nine seasons, facing Hibernian at Easter Road in Saturday’s early kick off, already a humongous 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
So, while Celtic supporters and players are, largely, loving life right now, one former fans’ favourite very much is not south of the border.
Celtic's best strikers of the last decade
Daizen Maeda’s recent form has earned wide-spread rave reviews, with teammate Alistair Johnston describing him as “one of the most in-form players in Europe”.
That’s because the Japanese striker has scored 11 times since Boxing Day, taking his tally to 51 goals in 144 appearances for the club overall, since arriving in January 2022.
Meantime, having netted against Slovan Bratislava, Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge and then Bayern Munich in Europe this season, Maeda became the first Celtic player since Joe Craig 47 years ago to score four or more goals in a single Champions League campaign.
How ever good Maeda may be, he’ll never exceed the legacy left by Henrik Larsson, widely considered Celtic’s best player of the modern era.
Larsson scored 224 goals in 292 games for Celtic between 1997 and 2004, scoring every 113 minutes on average, before departing for Barcelona, helping the Catalan giants win the Champions League in 2006.
Speaking on the Soccer 101 Podcast, Graham Ruthven, believes Larsson to be the best player Scottish football has seen in the post-SPL era (1998 onwards), describing him as “legitimately one of the best strikers in the world”, which, he adds would “never happen now” in the Premiership.
So, let’s compare Larsson to some of the best Celtic centre-forwards of more modern times.
Player
Years at Celtic
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Minutes per goal
Henrik Larsson
1997-2004
292
224
61
113
Daizen Maeda
2022-present
144
51
25
196
Kyōgo Furuhashi
2021-2025
165
85
19
126
Moussa Dembélé
2016-2018
94
51
18
121
Odsonne Édouard
2017-2021
179
87
38
140
Leigh Griffiths
2014-2022
262
123
51
118
Gary Hooper
2010-2013
138
82
30
136
As the table shows, none of the strikers who’ve come since have scored more goals, nor registered a better minutes-per-goal ratio than Larsson.
Fast forward to today, one of the strikers included in the table, currently 27 years old, once labelled the best since Larsson, isn’t enjoyed a season to remember.
Former Celtic striker in Premier League exile
Odsonne Édouard initially arrived at Celtic on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, but impressed to such an extent that the Hoops were convinced to spend a then-record £8m to secure his services permanently.
Martin O’Neill, who was manager during the glory years of the early-2000s, stated that he believed Édouard to be Celtic’s “best striker since Larsson”.
Affectionately known as French Eddy, he scored 87 goals in 179 appearances for the Hoops, before being sold to Crystal Palace for £14m in August 2021.
Well, his career in South London could not have started much better, scoring twice off the bench on his debut as the Eagles beat Tottenham 3-0 at Selhurst.
Édouard scored a steady yet unspectacular six, seven and then eight goals during his three seasons at Palace, but was deemed surplus to requirements by Oliver Glasner last summer, given Jean-Philippe Mateta’s red-hot form and following the arrival of Eddie Nketiah.
The Frenchman was allowed to join Leicester City on loan but this move, that John Percy of the Telegraph describes as a ‘shambles’, certainly has not worked, with Édouard making just six appearances for the Foxes, totalling a mere 113 minutes, not even named on the bench for 13 of their last 14 Premier League fixtures, most-recently appearing on 10 November.
Odsonne-EdouardOdsonne-Edouard
FIFA rules stipulate that a player can only play for two clubs in a single season so, given that the striker featured twice for Palace in August before making the move, he’s not able to be registered by a third club.
However, to cut a long story short, because MLS is a summer league, their equivalent of next season starts this weekend, so Atlanta United did reportedly bid £15m for Édouard in January, but this move did not come to pass, and he remains in exile, out of the picture at Leicester and unable to appear for anyone else.
Where Are They Now
Celtic supporters will be sad to see the predicament Édouard has ended up in, but this suggests they were right to cash in at £14m, given that his status has surely plummeted in recent years.
93% passing: Rodgers' "underrated" Celtic star just had his O'Riley moment
One Celtic star has made a mixed start to life in Glasgow, but was certainly impressive against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Australia looks set to welcome back Travis Head from injury while the Netherlands need some runs from their top-order
Alex Malcolm24-Oct-20232:12
Would Netherlands rather beat India or Australia at the World Cup? We asked Scott Edwards
Big picture: The shared history of Australia and NetherlandsThere has long been a connection between Netherlands and Australian cricket. It is perhaps not quite as strong as South Africa’s connection to the current Dutch team. But their captain Scott Edwards is an Australian citizen, having grown up in Melbourne and played second XI cricket for Victoria. He has introduced a Netherlands team song that is a shameless rebrand of the song of his favourite Australian Football League club Richmond. From Edwards to former Dutch coach Ryan Campbell, to Tom Cooper, Timm van der Gugten, Michael Swart and Dirk Nannes, among others, plenty of Australian domestic players have had an impact on Netherlands cricket.But there will be no love lost in Delhi on Wednesday. Netherlands are gunning for another big scalp, having already taken down South Africa and potentially missed an opportunity against Sri Lanka. Australia are looking to continue their momentum. They will not be taking the Netherlands lightly, but they would love a statement win having been tested at times against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.For all the links between to the two nations as far as players and coaches are concerned, Australia and Netherlands have only met twice in ODI cricket. Both matches were at World Cups, in 2003 and 2007, and Australia were ruthless, claiming big wins while tinkering with their line-up. In fact, nobody could beat them in either of those tournaments.These two sides did meet in a rain-affected warm-up game in Thiruvananthapuram prior to this World Cup. Mitchell Starc claimed a hat-trick in a game Australia did not take seriously at all. Steven Smith and Josh Inglis opened the batting with Alex Carey at three and Mitchell Marsh did not bat but instead opened the bowling while Marnus Labuschagne also bowled four overs and picked up the wicket of Edwards.Australia won’t take this game as lightly with coach Andrew McDonald confirming on Monday that they would not be resting any of their players. They know the Dutch will be well planned and the dual spin threat of Aryan Dutt in the powerplay against possibly two left-handed openers in David Warner and Travis Head if he is passed fit, plus Roelof van der Merwe against Australia’s vulnerable middle-order could certainly cause problems. Netherlands’ biggest challenge will be getting top-order runs. But Australia’s new-ball bowlers have not taken a powerplay wicket in the last three games, and Delhi has been an excellent batting strip.Form guideAustralia WWLLW (last five ODIs, most recent first)Netherlands LWLLL1:48
Does Smith have a weakness against the ball coming in?
In the spotlight: Smith and O’DowdSteven Smith was considered vital to Australia’s chances in this World Cup given his experience in India and his prowess against spin. But Australia’s long-time No. 3, who is set to play his 150th ODI against Netherlands, is battling for form in ODI cricket this year and now may well find himself pushed to No.4 with the return of Head. Smith is averaging just 23.22 in ODIs this year from nine innings, including three ducks, and striking at just 81.64. His move to No. 4 may not help his search to find some form. He has only batted there once since the 2019 World Cup and that was against Pakistan in the last match, having slid one spot due to the promotion of Glenn Maxwell because of the game situation. He has batted No. 3 in his previous 29 ODI innings. He averages just 34.31 across 24 career innings at No. 4 compared to 52.60 at No. 3. His strike-rate is slightly higher at No. 4, but nonetheless, it is not his favoured spot.In a World Cup where the openers have dominated across the board to this point, Netherlands’ top two have simply not got going. Max O’Dowd has really struggled, making just 55 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of just 57.89. He has battled to get off strike facing 72 dot balls out of 95 in total, with 38 of his 55 runs coming in boundaries and just 11 singles. He did not play any List A cricket between the World Cup qualifiers in July and the World Cup itself, with his only match practice coming in Netherlands club cricket, some of which was played on artificial pitches. It is a huge ask to jump from that to facing some of the incredible new ball pairings he has so far this tournament and the task only gets tougher against Starc and Josh Hazlewood on Wednesday. But the Netherlands need some runs from their openers if they are to put pressure on Australia.Team news: Will Head play?Head arrived in Delhi on Saturday having been at home in Adelaide for Australia’s first four matches of the tournament, nursing his broken hand. He was optimistic he could play on Wednesday after a net session on Saturday. He faced bowlers for the first time on Monday and got through the session. If he plays he is set to open alongside Warner which will break up the in-form Warner-Marsh pairing. Labuschagne would be the likely batter to make way.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam ZampaTravis Head is back with the Australia squad•Getty Images
The Netherlands look set to stick with the same combination that beat South Africa and tested Sri Lanka.Netherlands (probable): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Bas de Leede, 5 Teja Nidamanuru, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Logan van Beek, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van MeekerenPitch and conditions: Another sweltering dayThe three games in Delhi thus far in this World Cup have produced two very different results, although the common thread is that the side batting first has won easily. South Africa piled up 428 against Sri Lanka and won although Sri Lanka made 326 in reply. India galloped to their 273-run against Afghanistan, who then defended 286 easily against England on the back of a masterful bowling performance by their spinners. It will be warm in Delhi and the air quality will be poor.Stats and trivia: Starc on the prowl Starc (55) needs two wickets to go past Lasith Malinga (56) to third all-time on the ODI World Cup wicket-takers list. Glenn McGrath leads with 71 and Muttiah Muralidaran is second with 68. Australia are the only team to have gone wicketless three times in the first powerplay in this World Cup. Only Bangladesh (38.90%) have had a higher percentage of runs scored by Nos. 5,6 and 7 in this World Cup than the Netherlands (35.82%)
Chelsea have been offered a Real Madrid transfer target by intermediaries, but Enzo Maresca’s side will face a very stern battle as the hotly-contested race for his signature heats up ahead of the summer window.
Chelsea thrash Southampton 4-0 in the Premier League
The west Londoners sealed a much-needed Premier League win with their convincing 4-0 thrashing of Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening, with goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella rounding off a superb display.
Chelsea could offer Trevoh Chalobah in swap deal for £80m-plus player
The west Londoners may attempt to bring his price down.
2 ByEmilio Galantini Feb 25, 2025
Maresca was attracting serious criticism in the build up to their clash with the Saints, and supporters were pictured protesting BlueCo’s ownership just before kick-off, but these three points will ease some pressure surrounding the club as Chelsea solidify their chase for Champions League qualification.
Leicester City (home)
March 9th
Arsenal (away)
March 16th
Tottenham (home)
April 2nd
Brentford (away)
April 5th
Ipswich Town (home)
April 12th
After their victory over Ivan Juric’s strugglers, Maresca also sent a message to Cole Palmer, in a show of support following a recent downturn in form.
“Very happy. We said already that from now on every game is important. And if we get three points it’s even better,” said Maresca after Chelsea’s 4-0 win over Southampton.
“First of all, every game is tricky and anything can happen. We have to embrace that and we started the game in the right way. This is the worst game because everyone takes it for granted. It’s dangerous.
Chelseamanager Enzo Maresca
“I think the performance was there. Even the last game against Aston Villa the performance was there.
“We said since we start we cannot rely on Cole [Palmer] for every game. He has to continue to work, continue to be happy, continue to laugh they way he does. We are completely happy with him. It is normal to go through a moment where you struggle to score but it doesn’t matter. Just continue and you are going to score many goals.”
In the background, Chelsea apparently have plans to go “big” on a new centre-back in the summer transfer window.
That is according to reliable journalist Simon Phillips, Chelsea are expected to make a serious push for Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen, with The Boot Room now sharing an update.
Chelsea offered Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen
According to their information, from reporter Graeme Bailey’s sources, it is believed that Chelsea have been offered Huijsen by intermediaries, who are pushing to find suitors for the Spaniard ahead of next season.
Southampton's Kamaldeen Sulemana in action with AFC Bournemouth's DeanHuijsen
The 19-year-old’s exceptional performances alongside Illia Zabarnyi at the heart of Bournemouth’s backline have also placed Huijsen on Real Madrid’s radar, with fellow European big-hitters Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen also keen on him.
Alongside Chelsea, it is claimed that the teenage defender’s camp have contacted Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Newcastle United. A move for him is made all the more tempting by his widely reported £50 million release clause, which is set to become active this summer, so we can expect a lot of competition for his signature.
An unlikely saviour rescued Lionel Messi from a "ridiculous" red card as the Inter Miami superstar raged at match officials after a MLS draw.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Herons held to a point in six-goal thrillerArgentine icon took issue with match refereeFormer USMNT coach had to step inFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was in a foul mood after the final whistle blew on an entertaining contest in San Jose. Inter Miami were held to a point after playing out a six-goal thriller with the home field Earthquakes.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowAdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Herons led that contest inside the opening 60 seconds, but ended up having to battle back on a couple of occasions to claim a share of the spoils. Messi did not enjoy his most productive evening in California.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Argentine icon took issue with a tackle just outside the penalty area in stoppage-time, before continuing with his complaints as players made their way off the pitch. He was shown a yellow card for remonstrating with head referee Joe Dickerson – who advised him to "walk away now".
Getty Images SportWHAT BRUCE ARENA SAID
It was at that point former USMNT coach Bruce Arena, who is now in charge of the Earthquakes, stepped in and kept Messi out of trouble. He told reporters afterwards: "He was obviously not happy, and I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get a red card.
"I just tried to move him out of the way, because for him to get a red card at the end of the game would have been ridiculous. I just wanted to make sure we get him out of there and he's ready to play the next game for Miami."
Allrounder agrees he’s not in Australia’s best side but won’t seek a rest after the World Cup as he tries to win back his Test spot
Alex Malcolm05-Nov-2023Cameron Green says he has no issues with being in and out of Australia’s World Cup side on form, but will not seek rest after the tournament as he confirmed he will play Sheffield Shield cricket for Western Australia and in the Prime Minister’s XI against Pakistan as he aims to find some red-ball form ahead of the home Test summer.Green made a vital 47 in Australia’s win over England in Ahmedabad on Saturday having been called into the team after Mitchell Marsh travelled home due to the death of his grandfather while Glenn Maxwell was ruled out with concussion.It was just the third game Green has played in the World Cup so far. He was expected to be an integral part of Australia’s best XI but a dip in form leading up to the tournament saw him dropped after the opening match against India. He was recalled against Netherlands to replace the injured Marcus Stoinis but lost his place again with the return of Travis Head.Related
Green, Harris, Renshaw, Bancroft named in PM's XI to face Pakistan
'I enjoy watching it' – Gilchrist feels sense of deja vu watching Head cause carnage
Mitchell Marsh to link up with Australia squad in Mumbai on Sunday
Maxwell to miss England match after suffering concussion in golf accident
Wade to captain Australia in T20I series against India
With Marsh returning to India on Sunday and Maxwell set to be clear of his eight-day concussion protocol on Tuesday, Green fully expects to be running the drinks again when Australia face Afghanistan in Mumbai.”I’ve had no issues,” Green said after the win over England. “I think it’s always been through the right selection calls. I absolutely love every single time I play for Australia but we want to put the best team out there on the field and unfortunately, I’m missing out but we’re obviously playing some great cricket.”Green’s omission from the ODI side followed his omission from the Test XI during the Ashes when Marsh pinched his spot after a stunning performance at Headingley when Green was absent due to a hamstring issue.Green’s decline in form across the year has been startling but it has been understandable given the extraordinary travel demands he has experienced. By the end of the World Cup, he will have spent nearly six full months in India, more than any other Australian player, on top of two months in England.Cameron Green aims to push for a Test recall after the World Cup•Getty Images
He was in India non-stop from February 1 until May 27 due to Australia’s Test and ODI tours and the IPL. He then only had two nights at home in Perth before heading to England for the World Test Championship final and the Ashes. He then travelled to South Africa at the start of September and was back in India again on September 18 and will not leave until Australia’s tournament ends in mid-November.He has been rested from Australia’s five-match T20I series against India that begins just four days after the World Cup final on November 19. But he confirmed he would not be resting at home in Perth.He is instead intending to play in WA’s Shield match against Queensland at the Gabba, beginning on November 28. Green also intends to travel to Canberra shortly after that match to play in the four-day game against the touring Pakistan side for the Prime Minister’s XI from December 6 to 9, in a bid to put himself in the selection frame for the first Test in Perth starting on December 14.Green said there has been no discussion with the selectors about his Test place as yet but he was adamant he did not want to rest.”I’m planning on playing the Shield game up in Brisbane and then we’ve got a PM’s XI game … so not too much rest to be fair,” Green said. “Just keep grinding and keep playing cricket.”Despite the obvious concerns over his workload and having spent nearly nine months overseas this year alone, Green was adamant he wanted to continue playing as much as he could to continue to improve.”I think it’s very tough. You want to play as much as you can for Australia and unfortunately, the schedule this year is pretty jam-packed,” Green said. “But I’m absolutely loving playing for my country and I think there’s a bit of a gap maybe next year. It’s been a long 18 months.”Maybe you get a bit complacent when you’re in the team all the time. You’ve got to keep reminding yourself you’re playing for Australia, and you’ve got to perform all the time. Whenever you miss out, you always want to improve and that’s what we love doing. So hopefully there’s a few improvements on the way.”Even if he is not in the first-choice XI, Green is likely to remain with the Australian team throughout the summer for the five home Tests against Pakistan and West Indies as well as three ODIs and three T20Is against West Indies in February. At the end of February Australia head to New Zealand for three T20Is and two Tests just prior to the start of the IPL where he will return for his second season with Mumbai Indians.The IPL runs straight into the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States in June before a break may finally come in July of 2024. But Green has no regrets about adding the IPL to his gruelling schedule.”One of the greatest things that happened to me was being part of the IPL and the confidence I gained from that was pretty huge,” Green said. “I definitely felt it going into the Ashes series, how I felt around the group and about my cricket as well.”It’s been a great year so far. It’s been long, challenging. But when I look at where I was at the start of the year to now, I’ve definitely grown as a cricketer and as a person.”
Sune Luus, Hayley Matthews and Chamari Athapaththu also named as the first nominees for the inaugural WBBL overseas draft
Alex Malcolm02-Aug-2023Five international captains in Harmanpreet Kaur, Sophie Devine, Sune Luus, Hayley Matthews and Chamari Athapaththu are the first players unveiled as nominees for the inaugural WBBL overseas draft to be held on September 3 ahead of the upcoming season.Four of the five players have been regulars in the WBBL with Devine and Harmanpreet both winning Player of the Tournament awards. Devine is the only player in WBBL history to have been named Player of the Tournament twice doing it in back-to-back seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21 for two different clubs in Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers, where she is currently the captain.Previously, WBBL clubs have been free to recruit overseas players privately but for the first time this season the WBBL will have an overseas player draft after it was introduced in the men’s BBL last season. Both drafts will be held on the same day on September 3 and will have the same format. Sydney Thunder have the first pick in the draft following the draft lottery on July 13.ESPNcricinfo LtdInternational players will nominate for various salary bands with WBBL Platinum players to earn AUD$110,000 to be paid by the clubs from the AUD$732,000 salary cap. Gold players will earn AUD$90,000, Silver AUD$65,000 and Bronze will earn AUD$40,000.Harmanpreet and Devine will almost certainly be Platinum players available to be selected in the first round. Four of the five will be eligible to be retention picks. Harmanpreet will be available to be retained by Melbourne Renegades as will Matthews and Athapaththu. Matthews only spent one edition there last year, having played five seasons previously with Hobart Hurricanes, but captained Renegades in two matches last season. Athapaththu played two seasons at Renegades in 2017-18 and 2018-19 but played in 2021-22 for Scorchers before returning to Renegades last year.Sophie Devine latches on to a cut•Getty ImagesDevine can be retained by Scorchers but not Adelaide Strikers having been captain of the Scorchers for the past three seasons. Luus did play nine games with Brisbane Heat in 2018-19 but WBBL rules state that a player who was not on a team in the previous season can only be retained by a club if they have played at the club for a minimum of two seasons and haven’t been contracted to another team. Luus has only played for one season at Heat.Each club is only allowed one retention pick, meaning Renegades will need to choose between Harmanpreet, Matthews and Athapaththu as to which player they would like to retain. They can opt not to retain any of them. They could also re-draft all three if no other club chooses to take them when they are available.The WBBL will announce further draft nominations in the coming weeks.
da bwin： O técnico Mano Menezes começa a esboçar o Internacional para a temporada 2023 e deu pistas da formação inicial da equipe para o Campeonato Gaúcho.
No CT Parque Gigante, o treinador mostrou algumas novidades, entre elas, a presença de Wanderson no time titular. Ou seja, Pedro Henrique inicia no banco.
Na zaga, Gabriel Mercado está lesionado e deu espaço a Rodrigo Moledo, que irá formar dupla com Vitão, um dos principais do Colorado na temporada passada.
No meio-campo, Johnny foi o escolhido por Mano e saiu em vantagem. Para completar o setor, Mauricio e Alan Patrick foram os selecionados.
Calendário
A estreia do Internacional na temporada acontece no dia 21 de janeiro, quando encara o Juventude, no Beira-Rio, em jogo que marca a estreia do gauchão.
Confira a provável escalação: Keiller; Bustos, Vitão, Rodrigo Moledo e Renê; Johnny, Carlos de Pena, Mauricio, Alan Patrick e Wanderson; Alemão.
RelacionadasInternacionalDaniel está próximo de deixar o Internacional para atuar na MLSInternacional12/01/2023Lance! BizFlamengo oficializa renovação com Mercado Livre por mais duas temporadasLance! Biz12/01/2023Futebol InternacionalInvestigação revela insultos de dirigente do Barcelona contra Messi: ‘Anão com hormônios’Futebol Internacional12/01/2023
A big-name attacker is seemingly open to the idea of signing for Tottenham Hotspur, with there being a willingness on his side to make the move to north London behind-the-scenes.
Tottenham targeting new forward for Ange this summer
Spurs secured a dramatic, deadline-busting deal for Bayern Munich sensation Mathys Tel near the very end of the winter transfer window – which includes an option to buy the Frenchman for around £45 million – but it is far from a foregone conclusion that he’ll stay beyond this season.
Tottenham make out-of-window offer to sign £144k-per-week ex-Chelsea star
The Lilywhites are moving ahead of this summer.
ByEmilio Galantini Feb 18, 2025
The Lilywhites keeping hold of Tel will depend on the teenager’s final decision, even if he has already agreed terms on a six-year contract if he is to remain (The Athletic), so it is perhaps wise for Spurs to identify attacking alternatives ahead of next campaign.
Tottenham are among the clubs displaying interest in Lille star Jonathan David, who has been a consistently prolific marksman in France and is set to be available on a free transfer this summer when his contract expires.
However, given the Canada international will be one of the bargains of the summer window, following a record of 104 goals across 218 appearances for Lille in all competitions, the competition for his signature will be fierce.
It is already believed that Barcelona are out in pole position to sign David from Lille, with the 25-year-old making no secret of the fact he’s a boyhood fan of the La Liga heavyweights.
Ipswich Town (away)
February 22nd
Man City (home)
February 26th
Bournemouth (home)
March 9th
Fulham (away)
March 16th
Chelsea (away)
April 2nd
“(Barcelona) was always the team I grew up supporting,” he told The Athletic. “When you grow up supporting a team, it’s your dream to play for them.”
Bearing this in mind, Spurs do have other options, albeit potentially much more expensive. Tottenham’s all-time top goalscorer and England legend Harry Kane has been linked with a sensational return to N17, with The Telegraph reporting that they have a first-option agreement in potential talks for the £400,000-per-week Bayern Munich superstar.
However, there is no fixed fee in this arrangement, meaning they’d have to negotiate a price or trigger his release clause (The Telegraph). They’d also have to convince Kane himself, but reliable journalist Ben Jacobs has some encouraging news on that front.
Harry Kane privately refusing to rule out returning to Tottenham
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jacobs says that Kane is privately refusing to rule out re-joining Tottenham, in what could be a boost for Ange Postecoglou.
“I think if Kane returns to the Premier League, there is a willingness to go back to Spurs. That’s not been ruled out by the player,” said Jacobs.
“We have to wait and see if there’s an appetite for Tottenham to do that deal, especially with Dominic Solanke.”
The 31-year-old may be approaching his twilight years, but Kane’s exceptional goalscoring record has not faltered in the slightest. This season, the prolific marksman boasts 29 goals and 10 assists across all competitions, adding to his total Bayern tally of 73 strikes in 76 outings.