All posts by n8rngtd.top

Tottenham: Media blown away by ‘big’ transfer development

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Members of the media are blown away by a ‘big’ transfer development out of Tottenham Hotspur as head coach Antonio Conte is handed his first big boost ahead of the 2022/2023 campaign.

The Lowdown: Conte eyes busy summer…

Club chief Fabio Paratici sat down for crunch talks with Conte last week in Italy with the pair drawing up a list of targets and discussing recruitment plans.

The Lilywhites, having secured a top-four Premier League finish and the riches of Champions League football for next season, are also playing with a £150 million equity increase which will be used to back Conte this summer.

Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni and Man City forward Gabriel Jesus are among the men on Tottenham’s radar with the north Londoners looking set to be busy (The Telegraph).

Another name they were linked with in Ivan Perisic has now been confirmed as Spurs announce his signing on a Bosman deal from Inter.

The Latest: Media blown away by Perisic news…

Members of the media, heaping praise on Spurs, have been left blown away by Perisic’s arrival at Hotspur Way – with some even branding it a ‘Chelsea-type signing’.

Pundit Jamie O’Hara also called the deal a ‘big move’ by chairman Daniel Levy and co.

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“Big move” – Jamie O’Hara (talkSPORT pundit and ex-Spurs midfielder)

“Amazing signing by Spurs. Perisic may be 33 but he is in the form of his career and was the best wing-back in Serie A last season. Physique, technique, crossing, goal threat, both footed and a beast in the air” – Carlo Garganese (Italian football broadcaster)

“I feel Perisic is a Chelsea-type signing. I mean that as a compliment, too. Age irrelevant. A winner. Won the lot. Will fit in straight away. The Conte factor” – Michael Bridge (Sky Sports reporter)

The Verdict: Right to be impressed…

Signing for zero transfer cost, this Perisic deal is certainly an impressive start to Conte’s first summer transfer window at the club.

The decorated Croatian footballing legend, amassing an imprssive 113 international caps, has also clinched major pieces of silverware at club level.

Winning two Bundesliga titles, one Serie A, a Champions League medal and many domestic trophies, Perisic has even been crowned Croatian Footballer of the Year (Transfermarkt).

Even though he possesses little sell-on value due to his age, the 33-year-old’s vast experience and versatility could be invaluable to Conte.

In other news: Tottenham will now attempt to seal eight-figure agreement for ‘incredible’ speedster, find out more here.

Sunderland: Aiden McGeady set for Hibs move

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Sunderland’s Aiden McGeady is set to end his five year spell at the Stadium of Light this summer.

What’s the word?

That is according to The Scotsman Journalist, Graham Falk, who took to his personal Twitter account to issue a statement over the former Ireland international’s future.

Falk stated: “Looking likely that Aiden McGeady will be moving back to Scotland with Hibs. A fantastic servant to #SAFC, and one of my favourites of all time. You’ve got a good one there, Hibees fans. Good luck, Aiden.”

Major mistake

McGeady’s reunion with former Black Cats boss Lee Johnson at Hibernian will surely come as a blow to the Sunderland faithful.

Despite struggling with a knee injury this season, McGeady has still managed to make 14 appearances for Alex Neil’s side, chipping in with a healthy seven returns in the form of three goals and four assists.

Whilst he did not directly contribute to the Black Cats’ play-off success on the pitch, his experience in and around the dressing room would surely have helped the side to pull off such a feat.

McGeady has been there through thick and thin with Sunderland, joining them in the Championship and staying with them as they sunk to the third tier of English football.

Through the perspective of football romanticism, leaving after Sunderland finally achieved their objective of promotion is entirely apt, but looking at the bigger picture, Sunderland could surely make use of an experienced and clinical forward in what could be a tough survival campaign in the Championship next season.

The 36-year-old’s contract expires in the summer, so with the latest reports surrounding the Irishman, it looks as though his fate is sealed, with a reunion under Johnson seemingly wrapped up.

McGeady, who has previously been dubbed a “magician” by Roberto Martinez, has registered 34 assists in what is an outstanding return. With that in mind, it could be seen as somewhat of a disaster to let him walk through the exit door so easily.

He will no doubt be missed by the Black Cats fanbase in what is an odd decision to let go of a character who is worth so much to the dressing room.

In other news: Time’s up: Neil must finally axe Donald’s £6k-p/w Sunderland “flop” this summer 

Celtic learn Carter-Vickers deal deadline

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Celtic and Ange Postecoglou showed during the previous summer transfer window how efficient they can be in terms of moving players in and out of the club, securing loan and permanent deals for the ones that joined.

Now that the Hoops have taken the SPFL title away from their Glasgow rivals, their focus can now turn to the next summer window as they look to replicate and potentially improve on the success they had this time around.

With that in mind, it seems as though a big behind the scenes detail has emerged regarding one potential transfer that could take place at the Parkhead club.

What’s the news?

According to journalist Larry Henry Jr on Twitter, Celtic have a deadline of June 15 to secure a permanent transfer deal for Cameron Carter-Vickers, which they have reportedly been looking to secure.

He also added that Everton, Fulham and AFC Bournemouth “are in the race” to sign the defender from his senior club Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

In full, Henry said: “Everton and Fulham are in the race for Cameron Carter-Vickers, should Celtic not agree to a transfer with Tottenham prior to June 12, a source close to the player confirmed. CCV heading to June USMNT camp and coming off two trophy haul with Celtic this season.”

It was later revealed that the player has agreed personal terms on a move but a transfer is certainly not a done deal and he could still have his head turned by the jaws of England’s top-flight. This is certainly a story to keep tabs on.

Postecoglou must act

To put it simply, however, Ange Postecoglou and the club’s hierarchy must act quickly to get things done.

Since arriving at Celtic Park last summer from Spurs on loan, the American has been a crucial figure for the Bhoys, making 42 appearances across all competitions.

With 30 SPFL appearances to his name, the defender earned himself an overall performance rating of 7.33/10 from WhoScored, making him the fourth-highest rated player in Postecoglou’s squad.

In terms of his defensive output, the 24-year-old ended the 2021/22 campaign with the joint-highest number of interceptions (38) from a Celtic player in the SPFL.

This shows just how important he was in Celtic’s title-winning season and why they ended the campaign with fewer goals conceded than any other side in the division.

This latest update could be a worrying one for Celtic and their supporters given the knowledge that other clubs that will be playing in the Premier League next season are sniffing around a potential move for the Bhoys loan star.

Now that the Scottish champions have an apparent deadline to seal a permanent deal for Carter-Vickers, it would be in everyone’s best interest to secure his signature as soon as possible so they can put the issue to bed and move on to furter transfer targets.

However, it could also be a worry if the prospect of playing regularly in the Premier League would be enough to see the Spurs player turn down a permanent move to Parkhead.

In other news: Celtic can unearth the next Rogic with 21 y/o gem who has a “wand of a left foot”

Rohit reminds us, and perhaps himself, that he isn't done just yet

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Amid all the noise that swirled around him, he produced a 32nd ODI hundred that was as clinical as it was exhilarating

Sidharth Monga09-Feb-20252:49

Manjrekar: ‘Incredible how easily Rohit does it’

Arguably the best cricket song ever written, this is a poignant look at the imminent end of one’s life as possibly one’s life innings. Roy Harper, the singer and writer of the song, apparently riffed on a line he heard from the commentator John Arlott on the radio about an old cricketer approaching retirement. The more prosaic meaning being you never know when an old cricketer has been dismissed for the last time.Related

  • India seal series as Rohit roars back into form with 32nd ODI ton

  • 'I really broke it down into pieces' – Rohit reflects on comeback innings

Rohit Sharma is not “old”, but in elite sport, with the amount of batting talent breathing down your neck in a batting-rich country like India, and you volunteer to sit out an international match at the age of 37 years and eight months, you never really know.You begin to wonder whether it is the format and the conditions and the bowling, or if the eye and reactions are going. You begin to wonder if the batter is doubting himself, because which elite cricketer refuses to back themselves when they are the captain of the national side?Then Rohit gets out for 2 in his first ODI in six months, and you forget what a colossal run he has been on in this format, going on for close to three years. In the six months between his last ODI series and this one, Rohit led India to their first home Test series defeat in 12 years – which turned into their first-ever home whitewash – and looked like he couldn’t buy a Test run on a tour where India’s only win came when he hadn’t yet joined the squad. He had already retired from T20Is by then.Now there are reports that the selectors have asked him what his future plans are. It could be time for a reset when the Champions Trophy concludes next month, and time to start planning for the 2027 World Cup, which will take place when Rohit is 39. Then he gets out for 2. You never know whether he’s gone.The shot that brought about Rohit’s downfall in Nagpur brought him his first six in Cuttack•BCCISix overs into India’s chase at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, a floodlight tower goes off. It is unsafe to carry on playing, but Rohit just doesn’t feel like going off. He seems to be asking if the fielding side wants to continue even with that one tower off. The umpires can’t let that happen because they are responsible for the safety of the players.Rohit has been off to a good start, and seems to be wary of the fickleness of the cricketing gods. Batters tend to be. India didn’t train on the eve of the T20 World Cup final that they won in Barbados last year, but Rohit made sure India got the same dressing room they had occupied when they had played and won at Kensington Oval earlier in the tournament.So much can go wrong, and so much is out of your control when you bat, that batters tend to become obsessive. They try to control what they can’t in ways that seem illogical from the outside.It must be a long long time since Rohit has felt this good on a cricket field so it is natural he doesn’t want anything to go wrong. The 29 off 18 that he’s scored so far bring to mind Rohit’s colossal ODI achievements. He has already hit three sixes and gone past Chris Gayle’s 331. He is now behind only Shahid Afridi’s 351. The first of these three sixes is a repeat of the shot that got him out in Nagpur, only executed better this time. The first sign that he’s not yet gone.Rohit has now hit a whopping 94 sixes in 39 innings since his first game as full-time ODI captain in February 2022, and deciding India needed to play in a certain way. The next-highest six-hitter over this period has hit 68 in 55 innings. Rohit is one of only five batters to have scored over 1000 runs in this period at a 50-plus average and 100-plus strike rate. In the 40 matches that Rohit has played as full-time captain, openers have averaged 36.76 and struck at 99.34. Rohit has gone at 50.91 and 118.95.This run features the 2023 ODI World Cup, during which he frequently killed games off in the first powerplay. The same trend followed in the T20I World Cup, in crucial games against Australia and England. In batting in this manner, however, Rohit also went through 38 ODI innings with just two centuries.The word ‘selfless’ had become as much of a millstone around Rohit’s neck as ‘talented’ had earlier in his career•Associated PressLike “talented” early in his career, “selfless” has become a millstone around Rohit’s neck in his time as captain. It started with Rohit inverting his own game to lead a philosophy change in India’s limited-overs batting. Then the word was thrown around trivially, if he even did so much as attend a press conference. The only logical progression was for it to become a pejorative on social media.However, in setting the tone, in reconditioning India’s approach to risk-taking, Rohit has indeed been selfless. From the time that Rohit started to open regularly in 2013 to this floodlight failure, he has been scoring an ODI hundred every five innings. He has used a trusted formula: get yourself in nice and slow and then explode in the second half of the innings. With his numbers, it was tough to argue against his methods, but he felt he needed to lead from the front if there was to be a change in the way India batted.So since February 2022, Rohit has been front-loading without worrying about landmarks and hundreds. His starts have frequently set the base up for monstrous hitting when batting first, and have taken the pressure off other batters in chases.However, in the last ODI series Rohit played, in Sri Lanka back in August 2024, India failed to win a single game even though he had scored 58 off 47, 64 off 44, and 35 off 20, and left them needing 151 in 35.4 overs with eight wickets in hand, 144 in 36.3 with nine in hand, and 196 in 42.5 with eight in hand.There are two reasons, then, for Rohit to tone down his selflessness somewhat in this chase in Cuttack. He needs a big score to calm the voices around him and possibly his own too, and he needs to see the chase through when two quick wickets go down, bringing in a dynamic, young lower middle order prone to the odd collapse. He does this without letting up on the strike-rate. The hitting is pristine. Anything overpitched goes flying. Sometimes he manipulates the length by charging the quicks.This is no hail mary of a desperate batter. This is as clinical as an ODI century at a strike-rate of 132.22 gets. There is a cold deliberation to the way he picks the balls he wants to hit and the ones he wants to tap for singles. He doesn’t show what it means to him personally. He doesn’t even take off his helmet at reaching the century, his first in international cricket since March 2024. In this year he has led India to their first World Cup in 13 years, and also to an unceremonious end to their home Test run. No question is asked about his emotions at the post-match presentation.Rohit gets India close but doesn’t quite take them all the way to the win, which India get to after a brief stumble. In scoring the century, though, Rohit has served a reminder of his ODI form to anyone who needed it. Perhaps to himself too. A reminder that he is not yet gone. Not unless he himself decides to go.

IPL auction: Chahal the most expensive spinner ever, Starc joins the 50-crore club

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Also, specialists back in fashion, a player younger than the league itself, and Yuvraj’s decade-old record finally broken. Here are all the key stats, trivia and trends from this year’s auction

Sampath Bandarupalli26-Nov-20247:45

Did KKR overspend for Venkatesh Iyer?

The ‘Indian’ Premier League

Overseas players earning big at IPL player auctions was a trend in the past decade, but this time, it wasn’t so. The top five buys at the 2025 IPL player auction were Indians, bought for INR 18-plus crore. Only twice before were the three most expensive players at an IPL auction Indians: in 2011 and 2022. In 2011, Indians occupied the top seven places.Before this auction, the highest-paid Indian cricketer at an IPL auction was Yuvraj Singh, who earned INR 16 crore from Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2015. It was the highest price paid for any player at an IPL auction until then, but was surpassed six times in the next nine years leading up to this auction, every time by an overseas player. Only twice in that nine-year period did an Indian fetch the highest price of the IPL auction – in 2019 (Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Chakaravarthy, INR 8.40 crore) and 2022 (Ishan Kishan, INR 15.25 crore).

Arshdeep Singh was the first Indian to break Yuvraj’s record on Sunday, when Punjab Kings bought him for INR 18 crore. The left-arm pacer would see his record shattered by Shreyas Iyer in the next ten minutes, also bought by PBKS, for INR 26.75 crore. That bid made Shreyas also the most expensive player ever at IPL auctions, bettering Mitchell Starc’s INR 24.75 crore, paid by KKR, in 2024. But Rishabh Pant soon went past them all, when the LSG raised the bid to INR 27 crore.The bidding war for Shreyas lasted the longest, as the three teams in the race (KKR, PBKS and DC) put in 103 bids. Arshdeep received bids from most franchises – seven bid for him: CSK, DC, GT, RCB, RR, PBKS and SRH.The ten franchises spent INR 383.4 crore on 120 Indian players at this auction. As many as 21 players earned a price of INR 10 crore or more, of which 12 were Indians. England players were the next biggest earners, with INR 70.25 crore spent on 12 players. South Africa was represented the most on the sold list of overseas players: 14 South Africans were bought this season.

Specialists in demand

The franchises bid big for specialist bowlers and batters – probably a result of the Impact Player rule. INR 284.05 crore was spent on 71 players registered as bowlers, while 32 batters earned INR 117.05 crore, of which 22.85% belonged to Shreyas himself. Franchises bought 60 players registered as allrounders for INR 160.3 crore.

INR 2.67 crore was spent on average for each allrounder, which is lower than the other three roles – batters (3.66), wicketkeepers (4.09) and bowlers (4). Yuzvendra Chahal became the most expensive spin bowler at IPL auctions, picked by PBKS for INR 18 crore. The previous highest price for any spinner at the auctions was INR 10.75 crore for Wanindu Hasaranga (who was registered as an allrounder) by RCB in 2022. The previous highest for a spinner registered as a specialist bowler was only INR 9 crore – Rashid Khan, by SRH, in 2018.Related

  • DC co-owner Jindal: 'The minute we didn't retain Pant, I knew he was gone'

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  • Who is Bevon Jacobs, Mumbai Indians' latest under-the-radar recruit?

  • Who is Priyansh Arya, PBKS' new INR 3.8-crore buy?

Noor Ahmad also broke that mark this year, having been bought by CSK for INR 10 crore.Likewise, the highest for a specialist batter before Shreyas’ INR 26.75 crore this time was Yuvraj’s 16 crore by Daredevils in 2015.

Younger than the league!

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged 13 years and 243 days on Monday, became the youngest player ever to be bought at an IPL auction. Rajasthan Royals bought him for INR 1.1 crore, up from his base price of INR 30 lakh. Suryavanshi was born in 2011, on March 27, which makes him younger than the Indian Premier League itself, which began in 2008.The previous youngest player to earn a bid at an IPL auction was Prayas Ray Barman, bought by RCB for INR 1.5 crore for the 2019 season. Barman was 16 years and 54 days old at the time of the auction, and entered with a base price of INR 20 lakh.

Youth earn big

Suryavanshi was one of 13 players aged 20 or less bought at this auction. The franchises picked only nine players aged 36 or more, six at their base price.

INR 23.2 crore was spent on those nine older players, of which INR 9.75 crore went from CSK to R Ashwin.That’s not to say players were not rewarded for their experience: 42 players aged between 31 and 35 were bought by the franchises for a total of INR 242.75 crore, which is INR 5.78 crore on average per player.

PBKS keep busy, MI get them cheap

Punjab Kings entered the auction with a purse of INR 110.50 crore, which was by far the most among the lot (each team began with INR 120 crore, and then had how much they paid for their retained players deducted from that). Their activity at the auction table reflected that: they bid for 47 players in total, the most by any team. They spend INR 110.15 crore overall, also the most.They were the losing bidder for 19 players, the most among the 10 teams at this auction. Seven of the 23 players that PBKS bought at this auction were picked at base price, and three were among the top five buys of this auction – Arshdeep, Shreyas and Chahal.Only Rajasthan Royals had a lower percentage of players bought at base price than PBKS – four out of 14.

Mumbai Indians entered the auction with the smallest purse of INR 45 crore – they had retained five players, including India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and three top performers in India’s recent T20 World Cup triumph, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma.Mumbai was the losing bidder for 15 players, the second-most behind PBKS’ 19. They eventually filled 18 out of the 20 available spots, of which 12 players came at their base price. They spent INR 37.8 crore on the six other players, for a total auction spend of INR 44.8 crore.

Hikes for the Iyers, Curran takes a hit

The Iyers, Shreyas and Venkatesh, got the highest raise from their previous payout. Venkatesh got a hike of INR 15.75 crore (from 8 to 23.75), while Shreyas earned 14.25 more (from 12.5 to 26.75). Arshdeep was next on this list, with a raise of INR 14 crore from his previous salary of INR 4 crore.Jitesh Sharma got a percentage increase of 5400% – the highest among them all. He was sold to RCB for INR 11 crore; PBKS had previously paid him INR 20 lakh.Rasikh Salam got the highest multiple of his base price at this auction: 20 times his base price of INR 30 lakh, as he was sold to RCB for INR 6 crore.Sam Curran received the highest pay cut. PBKS bought him for INR 18.5 crore at the auction in 2023, but CSK took him for only INR 2.4 crore this time. Starc went for INR 11.75 crore, to Delhi Capitals, which was 13 crore less than the 24.75 he got from KKR last year.

Starc completes a fifty

Despite his pay cut, Starc has joined Pat Cummins as the only players to have earned INR 50-plus crore at IPL auctions. Starc took his total to INR 50.90 crore in his fourth appearance at an auction, behind Cummins’ aggregate of INR 54.15 crore.

Glenn Maxwell is closing on the 50-crore mark too, with his sold price across six auctions totalling INR 49.5 crore.Jaydev Unadkat was sold for the 13th time at an IPL auction. No other player has been sold at the auction more than seven times.

Lionel Messi is MLS's undisputed MVP but are Inter Miami doing enough to build something sustainable around him?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The Argentine deserved his second straight MVP award, but might face more competition for the honor next year – and Miami, too, could feel the heat

Lionel Messi has been named MLS Most Valuable Player. 

Need we say more? Is there anything to intellectualize here? The best player on the planet – yes, still – has been named the best player in his domestic league. 

What else did you expect? Who else could it probably be? Lionel Messi will be the best player in Major League Soccer until he doesn't want to play in Major League Soccer anymore. If this sport were about talent and talent alone, Messi would be the best footballer in the world into his 50s. It is pretty much impossible to understate exactly how good he is. 

It's also pointless to make any argument for anyone else to be the MVP. Last season – yes, Messi won it then, too – you could make a semi-compelling case. Cucho Hernandez was excellent. Luis Suarez might have split the vote. Messi's win this year was comprehensive and entirely deserved. Anders Dreyer finished in second after a wonderful season for San Diego. But there are levels here. 

Yet, somehow, amid all of this, there is tension. Messi is the clear choice for MVP – and he’ll likely enter next season as the favorite again – but the field around him is getting stronger. LAFC’s Son Heung-Min looms as a real threat, and the Vancouver Whitecaps' Thomas Muller should mount a challenge of his own. The sense of inevitability around Messi may soon give way to genuine competition, which will only strengthen MLS.

For Miami, though, the award raises the stakes. They have won MLS Cup, carried mostly by Messi's brilliance in the final. The club is opening a new stadium in Miami Freedom Park and will likely find a way to carry a star-studded roster next season, but it still hasn’t truly built a balanced team around Messi. Their playoff run was an excellent exercise in getting hot at the right time, but there are still questions to be asked about how prepared this team is to survive long-term. And if this is to be more than a one-off for a consistent MVP, Miami need to get smart in the transfer market. 

  • AFP

    The best season in MLS history?

    Let's run through the facts here. Most had Messi as their MVP before the season. And that assumption has stayed alive and well. Messi started the season strong and never truly let up. In 28 games, he scored 29 and added 19 assists. This was all done while flying around the world on Argentina duty, and following a surprisingly hefty preseason tour of Central America. 

    He led MLS in the following stats: goals, assists, goal contributions, shots, shots on target and big chances created. He was poked fun of for being a "brace man" – often scoring twice but failing to complete a hat-trick – yet that also gave him the lead in multi-goal games. And he bagged three on the final day of the regular season, just to kill that narrative. 

    Not a single one of his goals came from inside the 6 yard box. And even when he wasn't directly involved, 10 of Miami's shots per game came in which moves Messi touched the ball. 

    This was, in effect, the most dominant attacking season the league has ever seen (with due respect to Carlos Vela – who had one more goal contribution but played three more games). It is worth pointing out, too, that most of those numbers came with the Argentine being man-marked, or often double-teamed. Of course, there's the flip side. Only one attacking player ran fewer or put in fewer sprints. He had more goal contributions than defensive actions. But who cares? This is pure, stripped-down football. Get it to Messi, and get out of the way. 

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  • AFP

    The individual performances

    And then, there were the big games. Messi had the audacity to score one regular season hat-trick in 2025. But it was a vital one. The final game of the regular season had nothing riding on it. There was, at that point, no jeopardy in the standings. The Supporters' Shield was out of reach. The Herons were playing for little more than momentum and pride.

    Miami were battered by Nashvile for 30 minutes. Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar probed and harassed. Somehow, inexplicably, the game remained level. And then Messi woke up. He scored the first from the top of the box after 35 minutes, bagged the second from the penalty spot after the break, and iced the game in the 81st. Miami won 5-2. Messi secured the Golden Boot. That game also set up a first round playoff matchup with Nashville. And the Tennessee-based side never quite recovered from the psychological damage. Sure, they sent Miami to three games in the first round, but the Herons were mightily assured (it helped, too, that Messi scored five goals and added an assist across the three games). He notched four-goal contributions in the Eastern semis. He assisted two of Miami's goals in the final. By the time the playoffs had ended, Messi had tallied 15 goal contributions. 

    But there were other big showings, too. He ran the show against Porto in the Club World Cup, with a wonderful free kick securing first MLS win over a European side. That game, more than all, was perhaps the most significant – one that gave the league an extra slice of legitimacy on the club game's biggest stage. 

    By the end of it all, his manager was sold: Messi had to win this thing. 

    "Clearly, I think if anyone had any doubts about what his regular season was like, the reality is that he's cleared any doubts. They'll surely give him the MVP award for everything he's shown," Javier Mascherano said. 

  • Getty

    The highs are dazzling, the lows unmistakable.

    Eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed that Miami technically had a worse season than in 2024 – and they would be right. Last year, Miami set an MLS single-season points record and comfortably claimed the Supporters’ Shield. This year, they collected nine fewer points and conceded six more goals.

    Whether this is, overall, a worse team is up for debate. In truth, not much has materially changed. Names have come and gone, but the net effect is a remarkably similar squad in terms of talent. Rodrigo De Paul was an obvious upgrade in midfield. Yet Luis Suárez’s decline was stark and, at times, difficult to watch. The issues at center back also remain, with Maxi Falcón still unreliable next to the developing Noah Allen. Tadeo Allende and Telasco Segovia have provided flashes, but prioritizing them over Benjamin Cremaschi – before his loan to Parma – is open to scrutiny. And Sergio Busquets, who looked considerably older this season, has now retired following MLS Cup.

    Taken together, even if Messi’s numbers improved, the team around him did not. MLS Cup wins are incredibly difficult to come by, but it’s not outrageous to suggest that Vancouver may actually have outplayed Miami in the final.

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  • Getty Images Sport

    Is the window closing?

    The issue is simple: there is only so much Messi left. The Argentine may have signed a multi-year deal to stay in MLS, but time and resources are limited. Miami must operate under a tricky salary cap, and that means they need to be shrewd. The widely held belief has long been that if Miami built a more MLS-savvy team around Messi – players who understand the league – then long-term, sustainable success would follow.

    Instead, the club has been riskier and, at times, without clear direction. Allende and Segovia were signed from abroad. De Paul is elite, but another European product. Even Javier Mascherano had never overseen a minute of MLS before taking charge. Stars can be foreign in this league, but history has shown that the connective tissue around them must be MLS-experienced. It’s not unlike how Argentina constructed their national team: willing runners, hard-nosed competitors, a structure that makes Messi shine.

    Last year, the LA Galaxy learned this lesson the hard way. Their title-winning squad was built heavily on expensive imports. Salary-cap restrictions forced them to sell or release key players, and they fell to 14th in the Western Conference the season after lifting the trophy.

    The irony, of course, is that Messi is partly responsible. No one has said it outright, but it’s hardly a secret that Miami were built to provide a Barcelona reunion. Sergio Busquets admitted as much when he joined: he was “happy” to be playing with former teammates. Jordi Alba was even more direct:

    “We’re here to help [Messi], all the team, the staff. There is a great atmosphere. He’s feeling well, he’s feeling loved. That’s very important. He has won everything, yeah, and more. But he’s still willing to compete, to win.”

    It’s also fair to question whether Miami’s front office alone would have elected to sign Rodrigo De Paul, or loan Benjamin Cremaschi to Parma. MLS commissioner Don Garber has confirmed that roster rules are being reviewed, but no changes are imminent.

    Which means Miami have to get smart – quickly.

Tottenham rivalling Liverpool for “incredible talent” worth “over €100 million”

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are facing competition from a number of clubs to sign one of the greatest young talents in European football.

Tottenham and Liverpool set for busy January window

Both sides are expected to be busy in the January transfer window after sluggish starts to the season, with Thomas Frank confirming as much from Tottenham’s perspective this week.

“More or less after the window shut in September we had the first formal meeting and it is an ongoing process that,” Frank explained ahead of Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.

“I, of course, also get to know more and more the squad and players, so one thing is the daily interaction and also I have seen a lot of games live. Watched them back and you see all the small good habits and bad habits from the players.

“What can you affect? Or that will be tricky? Or how the relationship is? So, that knowledge gets us closer and closer to knowing what we want.

“We will definitely be in the market, no doubt about that. We want them as early as possible, like every other time and let’s see if we can have them before the 31st of January.”

Arne Slot meanwhile will certainly be on the lookout for reinforcements after admitting he is glad his Liverpool side are out of the Carabao Cup due to injuries within the squad.

While both sides are expected to consider defensive reinforcements – with Marc Guehi still top of Liverpool’s list – they are also strongly linked with a potential superstar up front in the shape of RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande.

Liverpool are said to be in talks over a move while Spurs’ negotiations are believed to be advanced, but Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg has shared an updated on the 19 year-old this week.

The two clubs will meet in North London on Saturday December 20, and given Liverpool’s history of lining up swift winter deals in the final days of the year, there could be more clarity on the forward’s future by then.

Their new Son: Spurs have held advanced talks to sign a future £100m player

Tottenham are looking to add fresh quality to their attacking flanks in 2026.

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By
Angus Sinclair

Dec 8, 2025

Jamie Vardy's Italian breakfast revealed as Cremonese head coach admits former Leicester star's diet is being embraced

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Former Leicester City star Jamie Vardy's Italian breakfast has been revealed as Cremonese head coach claimed that the former England striker's diet is being embraced in Italy. Having left the Foxes at the end of the 2024-25 season when his contract expired, 38-year-old Vardy signed an initial 12-month deal with the Serie A outfit to cover the 2025-26 campaign.

  • Vardy enjoying life in Italy

    Vardy has already adjusted to life in Italy as he scored his first Serie A brace in Cremonese's dominating 3-1 victory over Bologna in the Serie A on Sunday. The defeat ended Bologna's 12-game unbeaten run in a rain-soaked encounter at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. Martin Payero opened the scoring for Cremonese before Vardy doubled his team's lead in the 35th minute. Riccardo Ordolini's penalty goal at the stroke of half-time helped Bologna reduce the margin, but the ex-England star completed his brace and sealed a crucial win for the side as he scored in the 50th minute.  Vardy has scored four times in the Serie A this season. 

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    Vardy's breakfast in Italy revealed

    Cremonese boss Davide Nicola recently changed the single menu at the club, so players of different ethnicities and nationalities can have food of their choice and remain satisfied. Vardy is known to have cheese and ham omelettes with beans on the side from his time in Leicester and the veteran striker reportedly is still having the same food as the first meal of the day.

    Speaking to reporters, Nicola said: "We now have individualised breakfasts and lunches. “There is no longer a single menu for everyone. Cultures are different, needs are different, and so are allergies. Each player has their own personal menu, there’s not even need to monitor these things because they’re part of the players’ lifestyle."

    He added: "Jamie is a point of reference for us. As a coach, I can only say that great champions are incredibly simple people. They already know what they must do and how they must do it. They never show attitudes that aren’t constructive to the team. A champion differs from an ordinary player not only because he has immense qualities on the pitch, but also because he has the spirit and awareness of what he represents. A true champion never gets his attitude wrong. He’s very self-confident and light-hearted, someone who always trains. “He has his habits, but he came here with the mentality of making himself available."  

  • Vardy found similarity in Italy and UK weather

    After scoring his first Cremonese brace in a rain-soaked match, Vardy told reporters: "I think we were just missing a bit of rain – this is a typical midweek in the UK. The most important thing was getting the three points and keeping that progress going. It's another step in the right direction. It's all about commitment and wanting what's best for the club. Everyone's on that same page and everyone's pushing forward to make sure that, come the end of the season, it will have been a successful year."

    Nicolas later said on Vardy: "Great players are easy to handle as they know what they're supposed to do – and they know how to do it. That's how he is – he's comfortable with who he is, good humoured. He came here with the mentality of making himself available for the team."  

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    Vardy learning Italian

    Seems like Vardy is loving his life in Italy and he wants to mingle more with the local crowd to feel at home there. Accordingly, he is learning the Italian language, as he told recently: "I only know the basics, good morning, thank you, numbers, but I’ll be taking lessons as of next week, so hopefully that will start the bringing on the language a bit more. I have to learn, as my kids are learning, and I can’t have them learning it before me, otherwise they’ll be taking the mickey out of me!"    

    With Cremonese now sitting 11th on 17 points after 13 games, the mood around the club is one of cautious optimism. Avoiding relegation would trigger a one-year contract extension to the summer of 2027 for Vardy, something that suddenly looks plausible. They sit seven points clear of the relegation zone, a comfortable position for a newly-promoted side. Cremonese return to the Stadio Giovanni Zini on December 7 to face Lecce.

Wolves now in exit talks over another "incredible" player alongside Joao Gomes

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Wolverhampton Wanderers have now held exit talks over another key player as well as Joao Gomes, who has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United.

Wolves could be set to lose Joao Gomes in January

Gomes has recently emerged as a transfer target for United, with Ruben Amorim’s side keen to bring in the Portuguese midfielder this winter, and a €50m (£44m) fee has been touted.

It would certainly be a risk for the Old Gold to sell one of their key players, considering their Premier League status is already under major threat, having taken just two points from their opening 12 matches.

However, given that the central midfielder’s value will decrease if Rob Edwards’ side are unable to avoid the drop, it could make sense to cash-in and re-invest the money into other areas of the squad.

Gomes is not the only Wolves player who could be moving on in January either, as revealed by the Tenias Que Haber Tirado podcast on X, who state that Celta Vigo are now “considering the return” of former player Fer Lopez, who only arrived at Molineux in June.

The La Liga club have held talks over a loan move in the upcoming transfer window, which could make sense for all parties, given that Lopez hasn’t exactly made a flying start to life in the Premier League…

"Incredible" Lopez yet to prove himself in England

Wolves would’ve had high hopes after signing the attacking midfielder in the summer, considering the rave reviews from former coach Paul Grainger, who said: “I have seen some of the best players in the world play football. I have never seen a footballer like him. He was literally incredible. From the first day, I knew he was going to be a superstar.”

However, the 21-year-old is yet to reach those lofty heights, having started just one Premier League game this season, which was the 3-1 home defeat against Leeds United, and the youngster hasn’t received any minutes since the 2-0 defeat against Sunderland last month.

Wolves star says 'yes' to joining Manchester United, INEOS working on deal

What a great signing he would be.

By
Henry Jackson

Nov 25, 2025

In fairness, the Spaniard was one of very few players who impressed against Leeds, setting up the Wanderers’ only goal in style, and he is still young and adapting to life in the Premier League, so it would be way too early to sanction a permanent move.

However, if Lopez isn’t a part of Edwards’ plans, there is little reason to keep him around, and a loan move could make sense for all parties in the January transfer window.

Raiders Extend Geno Smith Three Weeks After Acquiring Him From Seahawks

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

With their trade for quarterback Geno Smith in the rearview mirror, the Las Vegas Raiders appear set to keep him around.

The Raiders are signing Smith to a two-year extension, according to a Thursday afternoon report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Smith, 34, was previously set to enter free agency after the 2025 season.

Per Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter, the extension will pay Smith up to $85.5 million with $66.5 million guaranteed.

Smith spent 2020 to '24 with the Seattle Seahawks, who traded Smith to Las Vegas on March 13. With the Seahawks, the West Virginia product completely rejuvenated his NFL career.

He threw 30 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 2022—a year in which he was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year. He followed that up with a 20-touchdown, nine-interception performance in 2023 that garnered him another Pro Bowl nod.

Smith's traditional numbers weren't overwhelming in 2024, but he remains a reliable option at his position—and the Raiders seem to agree.

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