HeadtoHeadFootball -

EDITOR PICKS

Soccer

Man United splash reported €55M to sign 'keeper Onana from Inter

Manchester United unveiled Andre Onana as their successor to David De Gea on Thursday.

The goalkeeper moved to Old Trafford from Inter Milan for a reported €55-million fee. He inked a five-year contract with the Red Devils.

“To join Manchester United is an incredible honour and I have worked hard all my life to get to this moment, overcoming many obstacles along the way,” the Cameroonian ‘keeper said in a statement. “Walking out at Old Trafford to defend our goal and contribute to the team will be another amazing experience. This is the start of a new journey for me, with new teammates, and new ambitions to fight for.”

Onana is another Manchester United purchase seemingly plucked straight out of manager Erik ten Hag’s list of contacts. Lisandro Martinez and Antony were Onana’s teammates during the Dutch tactician’s Ajax tenure, and Christian Eriksen even trained with the Amsterdam club before he signed for Brentford. Tyrell Malacia starred for Ajax’s Eredivisie rivals Feyenoord, and Mason Mount impressed against Ten Hag’s side when he was a youngster on loan at Vitesse Arnhem.

But Onana might be the strongest indication of Ten Hag’s commitment to imprinting his philosophy at Manchester United. Unlike the recently departed De Gea, Onana’s greatest strength is his willingness to build up play from the back.

He spent his early years at Samuel Eto’o’s academy in Douala before joining Barcelona’s iconic La Masia academy at 14 and later moving to Ajax – and that education is evident in his playing style. He’s comfortable with both feet and full of confidence, often appearing far from his goal to help instigate attacks. The 27-year-old usurped long-standing No. 1 Samir Handanovic at Inter, and his presence resulted in the team adopting a more direct style of play from the base of the lineup.

Onana’s dedication to being a playmaker-goalkeeper led to a high-profile dispute at the 2022 World Cup. Cameroon boss Rigobert Song asked him to be more conservative in possession, but Onana disagreed, suggesting tactical tweaks and even changes to personnel in the starting lineup that would allow him to continue with his adventurous approach, according to The Athletic’s Dermot Corrigan. Onana left the tournament after playing one match and subsequently retired from international duty.

Onana won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana at Inter and was also a beaten finalist in the 2023 Champions League final. He collected three Eredivisie winners’ medals and hoisted the KNVB Cup twice during his time with Ajax.

Onana’s arrival at Manchester United is expected to trigger Dean Henderson’s permanent move to Nottingham Forest, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano. The goalkeeper spent last season on loan at the City Ground but suffered a season-ending thigh injury in January.

Soccer

Report: Man City land Gvardiol in record-breaking deal with Leipzig

Manchester City just keep getting better.

Fresh off winning a historic treble last season, Pep Guardiola’s team is set to bolster its already stout backline with the addition of Croatian star Josko Gvardiol. After lengthy negotiations, the English club finally reached an agreement with RB Leipzig over a fee for the standout defender, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

Leipzig director Max Eberl said earlier this month that the two clubs were locked in talks about a deal worth “€100 million plus bonuses.”

That figure, which equates to roughly £86 million, would make Gvardiol the most expensive defender in history, eclipsing the £80 million that Manchester United spent in 2019 to acquire Harry Maguire from Leicester City.

The record-breaking transfer is imminent after Gvardiol, 21, completed the first part of his medical test on Wednesday, Romano adds. Personal terms have long been agreed between the player and Premier League champions.

City have been mentioned as a potential destination for Gvardiol dating back to last season. Chelsea came close to landing the left-footed center-back with a reported €90-million offer last summer but couldn’t get the deal over the finish line before turning their attention to other targets.

Gvardiol, a product of the Dinamo Zagreb youth system, joined Leipzig in 2020. His reputation skyrocketed in the Bundesliga, while a superlative performance anchoring the Croatian backline at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar made him one of the most sought-after defenders in the world.

He showcased some of his talents against his soon-to-be employer in February, scoring a towering header to equalize versus City in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.

City thrived last season after Guardiola decided to eschew natural full-backs in favor of different systems that used three – and sometimes four – center-backs on the pitch at the same time. Gvardiol, smooth in possession and quick enough to cover large areas of the pitch on his own, should, in theory, fit right in on the left side of Guardiola’s defense.

His arrival could coincide with the departure of fellow lefty Aymeric Laporte, who has been linked with a return to Spain this summer.

NFL

No deals for tagged RBs Barkley, Jacobs, Pollard

Jul 17, 2023, 04:01 PM ET

Monday’s deadline for franchised players to agree to long-term contracts passed without deals for the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley, the Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and the Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Pollard.

The three running backs were the only players who received the franchise tag not to have reached a long-term contract, and they had until 4 p.m. ET Monday to get one. They will now have to play the 2023 season on their franchise tenders, worth $10.091 million for running backs. Pollard has already signed his tender. Barkley and Jacobs, however, remain unsigned and stayed away from their teams’ offseason programs.

“It is what it is,” Barkley tweeted Monday.

Because they are unsigned, Barkley and Jacobs cannot be fined for not attending training camp, which begins for veterans on both the Giants and Raiders on July 25. Barkley and Jacobs are not expected to report to training camp with the rest of their teams, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday. The two unsigned stars will lose money only if they miss regular-season games and forfeit game checks.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

The player to most recently sit out an entire season was running back Le’Veon Bell in 2018.

The Giants’ contract negotiations with Barkley did not go smoothly from the start. The Giants made an initial offer during the bye week last November that Barkley never seriously considered, multiple sources told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. The two sides then tabled talks until after the season.

The Giants’ offers to Barkley increased earlier this year, reaching a point where a deal could max out at $14 million per season, sources told Raanan. But the sticking point was guaranteed money and structure. They never got close to his satisfaction.

Once the Giants signed quarterback Player Long-term deal? Saquon Barkley, NYG No Evan Engram, JAC 3 years, $41.25M Josh Jacobs, LV No Lamar Jackson, BAL 5 years, $260M Daron Payne, WAS 4 years, $90M Tony Pollard, DAL No* *Signed tender worth $10.091 million

Barkley admitted this opened his eyes to the reality that the NFL is a business. However, he did not like the tag and how the entire process was portrayed publicly, making it known on multiple occasions that the offers were not always how they were being perceived.

“Me getting tagged, was I upset about it? Nobody wants to get tagged,” Barkley said last month. “To sit here and say I was frustrated, I was mad, I was upset, what really got me upset was the stories that got leaked out, how misleading they were and how untruthful they were. I feel it was trying to paint a narrative of me, a picture of me, that is not even true. Not even close to being the truth.”

Barkley’s contention throughout was that the way the money was being portrayed made him look greedy. The Giants had never offered near the desired $22.2 million (the combined amount of franchise tags this year and next) as of late last week, a source told Raanan.

Barkley, 26, finished fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards last season and ran for 10 touchdowns. He also tied for the team lead with 57 receptions. He has played in 60 career games over five seasons since being the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2018, after which he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. He has 4,249 rushing yards and 37 total touchdowns.

The Raiders had presented a deal to Jacobs and he chose not to accept it, as he wanted a bigger payday, Schefter reported Monday.

Jacobs, a first-round pick of the Raiders in 2019, when Jon Gruden was coach and Mike Mayock was general manager, did not have his fifth-year option picked up last spring by the incoming staff of coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

Jacobs, 25, surprisingly played in the Raiders’ 2022 preseason opener, leading to rumors of his being a trade candidate. Instead, he responded with a career season, leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,653) and yards from scrimmage (2,053) while scoring a career-high-tying 12 touchdowns and catching 53 passes. His 86-yard walk-off TD at Seattle was the longest run in the NFL last season. He became the first Raiders player to lead the league in rushing since Marcus Allen in his 1985 MVP season.

Jacobs’ production surprised McDaniels, who acknowledged he was used to a running-back-by-committee approach in his offensive system. After the season, Jacobs insisted he wanted to return to Las Vegas, though he added, “It’s got to make sense.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis said at the NFL’s annual meeting in March that Jacobs was “the heart of our team.” Jacobs, meanwhile, was essentially silent throughout the process aside from a few cryptic tweets.

“Sometimes it’s not about you,” he tweeted in June, giving the impression he wanted to effect change to a system that financially undervalues the running back position. “We gotta do it for the ones after us.”

The last time a running back signed a long-term contract worth $10 million or more per season was the

Soccer

Report: Inter abandon Lukaku pursuit, angry about striker's Juventus talks

Romelu Lukaku has one fewer potential suitor in the summer transfer window after Inter Milan surprisingly ended their negotiations for the out-of-favor Chelsea striker, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

Inter reportedly lodged a final offer potentially worth €40 million – €35 million up front with a further €5 million in add-ons – and were waiting for a response from Chelsea. However, the Nerazzurri are apparently furious that Lukaku held talks with Italian rivals Juventus and have therefore kiboshed their plans to sign the Belgian marksman.

Juventus put together a bid for Lukaku that’s only valid if they sell Paris Saint-Germain-linked Dusan Vlahovic by Aug. 4, Romano reports. Juve’s offer is €37.5 million plus €2.5 million in add-ons.

Lukaku has also been subject to interest from the Saudi Pro League. He was offered £20 million a season by Al-Hilal, according to a report by The Guardian’s Ed Aarons in June.

Lukaku won the Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Supercoppa Italiana with Inter. The Milan club signed him from Manchester United ahead of the 2019-20 campaign before his relentless scoring earned a €115-million move to Chelsea in the summer of 2021. After an underwhelming term with the Blues, he was sent back to Inter on loan last season.

The 30-year-old scored 14 goals across 37 appearances in all competitions for Inter during the 2022-23 campaign.

Page 104 of 834« First...102030103104105106110120130...Last »

Soccer