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Review of the Day
Contracts
Veteran winger Albert Adomah has signed a 2-year deal with Queens Park Rangers.
Sunderland have given USA international midfielder Lynden Gooch a new contract which will expire in 2024.
Wycombe Wanderers trio Dominic Gape, Joe Jacobson and Lewis Wing have signed new contracts.
RB Leipzig have agreed a new contract with Christopher Nkunku which will run until 2026. Reportedly the deal contains an exit clause which will come into force next summer for 60m euros.
Former Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth and AC Milan player Kevin Prince-Boateng has signed a 1-year deal with Hertha Berlin.
Lewis Mayo has signed a 2-year deal with Rangers.
Transfers
Ryan Fredericks has signed for Bournemouth on a free transfer from West Ham United.
Motherwell has signed Paul McGinn from Hibernian on a free transfer, less than a month after the right-back had triggered a new one-year contract with Hibs. Also leaving Hibs is former Arsenal keeper Matt Macey, who has signed for Luton Town for an undisclosed fee.
Sheffield Wednesday have signed Michael Smith and Michael Ihiekwe from Rotherham United.
Peterborough United have paid undisclosed fees to sign Leyton Orient midfielder Hector Kyprianou and winger David Ajiboye from Sutton United.
Cheltenham Town have signed Tom Bradbury on a free transfer from Halifax Town.
Arsenal youngster Tyreece John-Jules has joined Ipswich Town on a season-long loan deal.
Marlon Pack has returned to Portsmouth following his release from Cardiff City.
West Bromwich Albion striker Callum Morton has signed for Fleetwood Town for an undisclosed fee.
James Gibbons has moved to Bristol Rovers on a free transfer from Port Vale.
Barnsley have signed Robbie Cundy on a free transfer from Bristol City.
Sheffield Wednesday trio Joe Wildsmith, Massimo Luongo and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing have rejected new deals and been released.
MK Dons have sealed a deal for Nathan Holland on a free transfer from West Ham United.
Richard Smallwood has signed for Bradford City on a free transfer from Hull City.
Young Liverpool left-back Adam Lewis has joined Newport County on loan.
Fulham have sent midfielder Sonny Hilton to Carlisle United on loan.
Walsall have picked up Isaac Hutchinson on a free from Derby County.
Lee Burge has joined Northampton Town on a free transfer from Sunderland.
Udinese have released Marvin Zeegelaar.
Former Southampton defender Maya Yoshida has been released by Sampdoria.
Salernitana have let Diego Perotti go.
Luiz Felipe has been released by Lazio.
Former Liverpool youngster Ki-Jana Hoever has joined PSV Eindhoven on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Racing Lens have paid £1.8 for Jimmy Cabot from Angers SCO.
A fee of £3.83m has taken Johann Lepenant to Olympique Lyonnais from Caen.
Eintracht Braunschweig have signed Immanuel Pherai on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund.
Genoa have taken Stefan Ilsanker on a free transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Arsenal have loaned teenage forward Mika Biereth to RKC Waalwijk.
Empoli have signed Samuele Perisan from Pordenone.
West Bromwich Albion have signed Jed Wallace on a free transfer from Millwall.
Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Stefan Ilsanker has moved to Genoa on a free transfer.
Former Celtic defender Adam Matthews has joined his former boss Neil Lennon at Omonia Nicosia on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic.
Hartlepool United have signed Mouhamed Niang, known as Sena, from Partick Thistle.
Rangers have signed teenage forward Zak Lovelace from Millwall.
Ross County have released Ben Williamson and Harry Paton.
Aberdeen have paid £100,000 for MTK Budapest midfielder Ylber Ramadani.
Rangers have loaned Lewis Mayo to Kilmarnock. The SPFL team have also rubbished reports that Sevilla has bid £7m for Alfredo Morelos.
Marco Asensio’s former agent Horacio Gaggioli has told Marca that Asensio had a deal done with Barcelona when Real Madrid came in for him and he chose to move there instead.
Juventus have denied an interest in PSG forward Neymar, despite links in the media. The media are now linking him with a return to Barcelona as an alternative to Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.
Young Liverpool defender Billy Koumetio has moved to Austria Vienna on loan.
Injury Round Up
Job Changes
The good news that four of the worst referees ever to work in the game have retired, in the shape of Kevin Friend, Mike Dean, Jon Moss and Martin Atkinson, has been tempered by the news that they will now be in position to shape the future of refereeing in England. As if it is not bad enough having Mike Riley in charge of the PGMOL, he will now be joined by Friend, Moss and Atkinson within the PGMOL. Worse Dean is set to be part of the Elite Referee Development plan. One referee, Tom Bramall, and three assistants, Natalie Aspinall, Nick Greenhalgh and Steve Meredith, have all been promoted to the Premier League.
Former Rangers and Manchester City goalkeeper Andy Dibble has been appointed head of goalkeeping at Motherwell.
Disciplinary Charges
Eight people who were taking care of Diego Maradona prior to his death are to be put on trial for murder. The judge in charge of the investigation into his death has released a 236-page document regarding his death within which he questioned “the behaviours – active or by omission – of each of the accused which led to and contributed to the realisation of the harmful result”. The eight people include doctors, nurses and a psychologist who were caring for Maradona at the time of his death in 2020. They have been charged with “simple homicide”. A medical board last year concluded that his medical team had acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner” after they investigated his death. The defendants are: Maradona’s neurosurgeon and personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque; his psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov; his psychologist, Carlos Diaz; two nurses, Gisella Madrid and Ricardo Almiron; their boss, Mariano Perroni; and two doctors, Pedro Di Spagna and Nancy Forlini. All eight have denied any responsibility for his death.
Louis-Dreyfus Buys More Of Mackems
Sunderland’s chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has increased his shareholding in the club to 51%. Louis-Dreyfus, while his co-owner Juan Sartori has bought up more shares to take his stake to 30%. It has meant that Charlie Methven no longer owns any piece of the Mackems and former owner Stewart Donald’s portion is down to 19%. A cryptocurrency group called The Fans Together has been trying to buy those shares for themselves. Dreyfus stated: “Today marks an important step as we continue to rebuild Sunderland AFC. Our ownership group has been consolidated and there will be no further sale of shares to a third-party buyer. We remain committed to our strategy of delivering long-term success and sustainability and together, alongside our dedicated staff and loyal supporters, I believe we can now move forward as one unified football club.”
Kane Does It Again
Harry Kane has committed to being Leyton Orient’s shirt sponsor for the 3rd year in a row. As he has done each year, Kane has donated the space to advertise a charity. The previous causes he supported were a thank-you message to the NHS and Tommy Club, a veterans’ charity. This season he will supporting a mental health support line called Shout. Orient have also agreed to donate 10% of the proceeds from shirt sales to the charity. Kane, who played his first professional game while on loan to Orient, said: “I am thrilled to be sponsoring Leyton Orient’s kits for a third season. I was born only a couple of miles from Orient’s stadium and am really happy to give back to the club that gave me my first professional start. I am pleased to welcome Shout to this partnership. Covid has presented many challenges, and these have affected the mental health and wellbeing of many people. Shout provide a vital helpline and resources to the public, helping to positively improve mental health and wellbeing. The special charities I have chosen for the front of shirts all mean a lot to me, and I hope this platform will help them receive the exposure and support they need.”
Most Valuable 11
Transfermarkt have followed on the back of Who Scored with their top team. Instead of based on statistics from last season (which saw them shoehorn strange choices in), Transfermarkt have gone on their valuations of players to produce a most valuable XI according to them (valuations in euros):
Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid – 60m – Not sure how he is valued above the best goalkeeper in the world, when he is nowhere near the same level as Alisson Becker.
Right-back – Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool – 80m – Speaks for itself this choice, though I fail to understand why a player that is improving consistently has lost 20m in value according to them.
Centre-back – Ruben Dias – Manchester City – 75m – He has played a large part in City winning the last two Premier League titles with his defending. Certainly deserves his place.
Centre-back – Matthijs De Ligt – Juventus – 70m – I have to say I am not convinced he is even that good, let alone worth more than the likes of van Dijk. It seems a very strange choice to say the least. He is not the best defender in Serie A and should be nowhere near this XI.
Left-back – Alphonso Davies – Bayern Munich – 70m – I would argue Joao Cancelo should get this spot, but Davies is an excellent left-back.
Defensive Midfield: Declan Rice – West Ham United – 80m – I am sure there are arguments for other players in this position, but Rice is a good choice I believe.
Right Wing: Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – 90m – Hard to disagree, at one point last season he was head and shoulders above anyone else as the best player in the world.
Attacking Midfield: Phil Foden – Manchester City – 90m – Surely this spot should have gone to Kevin De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva rather than Foden?
Left Wing: Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid – 100m – Finally started to look like fulfilling his promise last season, hard to think of anyone to compare to him in this role.
Centre-forward: Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund (soon Manchester City) – 150m – Seems a bit odd to value a player that has just transferred for 50m as 150m, but there you go.
Centre-forward: Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain – 160m – I think he is the one player that no one can find an argument about being in this team. Without a doubt the most valuable player in the world.
Papa John’s Trophy Draw
Northern Groups
Group A
Harrogate Town
Hartlepool United
Morecambe
Everton U21
Group B
Bolton Wanderers
Crewe Alexandra
Tranmere Rovers
Leeds United U21
Group C
Port Vale
Shrewsbury Town
Stockport County
Wolverhampton Wanderers U21
Group D
Accrington Stanley
Rochdale
Salford City
Liverpool U21
Group E
Barnsley
Doncaster Rovers
Lincoln City
Newcastle United U21
Group F
Derby County
Grimsby Town
Mansfield Town
Manchester City U21
Group G
Barrow
Carlisle United
Fleetwood Town
Manchester United U21
Group H
Bradford City
Burton Albion
Sheffield Wednesday
Leicester City U21
Southern Groups
Group A
Charlton Athletic
Colchester United
Gillingham
Brighton U21
Group B
AFC Wimbledon
Crawley Town
Portsmouth
Aston Villa U21
Group C
Cheltenham Town
Milton Keynes Dons
Walsall
West Ham U21
Group D
Peterborough United
Stevenage
Wycombe Wanderers
Tottenham Hotspur U21
Group E
Bristol Rovers
Plymouth Argyle
Swindon Town
Crystal Palace U21
Group F
Exeter City
Forest Green Rovers
Newport County
Southampton U21
Group G
Oxford United
Leyton Orient
Sutton United
Chelsea U21
Group H
Cambridge United
Ipswich Town
Northampton Town
Arsenal U21
Inter Ultras Unhappy With Lukaku Return
Inter Milan’s supporters group Curva Nord have released a statement which hits out at the return of Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, as they are still unhappy with the way the Belgian striker forced his way out of the Italian club last summer. The statement read: “We have to clarify a few things considering that Lukaku’s return is very probable at this point. Curva Nord supports Inter and will never stage a protest against the player despite the way he behaved last summer. That being said, nobody should go welcome him donning our scarves and symbols. He will have to earn anything though humility and sweat on the pitch. He was treated as a king, but he is just another player now. It should also be clear that the Curva Nord will never cheer against Lukaku should he indeed resume wearing the Inter jersey. We wish the other supporters did not to fall into the opposite trap and immediately slobber over him. Besides the emotional instinct, disregarding what happened would only accelerate the long-standing process of making us all stupid and passive consumers. Instead, we must remain heart, soul, grit and Inter fandom. We are not yes men at the mercy of players and the club. He betrayed us last season and we took it very badly. You may be able forget these things over time, but they stick. Romelu should start working hard. We are confident over the future we are building alongside whoever will be part of the Nerazzurri family.”
Rocchi Claims VAR Eliminated 90% Of Errors
Serie A’s refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi has made the kind of self-congratulatory statement that we get used to from England’s refereeing overseer Mike Riley. Rocchi has claimed that VAR has “eliminated 90% of errors, but people only focus on the 10 per cent”.
Written by Tris Burke June 23 2022 15:14:34
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