Quick Read Granit Xhaka joined Sunderland as captain after leading Bayer Leverkusen to an undefeated Bundesliga title. Xhaka is eager for his first Tyne-Wear Derby, describing it as potentially the craziest of his career. Sunderland returned to the Premier League after eight years, with Xhaka’s leadership key to their adaptation. Xhaka scored for Switzerland vs…
The Premier League creates noise. It provokes comment, analysis, quotes and opinions from fans, journalists, coaches and sometimes even club owners. It’s strange, then, that the quietest community within English football consists of its decision-makers — the sporting directors and transfer gurus, people whose names are well-known but whose voices are less so. More curious…
International player Jamie Leweling left the national team’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach this Saturday. The VfB Stuttgart player, who had been training individually since Tuesday due to adductor problems, is on the road to recovery. To avoid any risks for the current season, Leweling will not travel with the national team to Belfast tomorrow, Sunday, for…
The Premier League title race does not truly kick in until the spring, but the talk about the top contenders will rage on from start to finish. Most punters put down three clubs as the realistic challengers by the end of the transfer window, and a compelling case can be constructed for each. Arsenal: stability…
In partnership with GOAL.com Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso and captain Gianluigi Donnarumma both attended the inauguration of the new museum of football at Coverciano on Wednesday. Gattuso was meant to donate the boots he wore in the 2006 World Cup final win over France but revealed that his mother refused to give them up. The…
Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have had a history of providing the biggest contingents of Germany players since around 2010. The likes of Mario Götze, İlkay Gündoğan, Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and Sven Bender (anyone remember the Bender brothers?) would compete against the likes of Mario Gomez, Phillip Lahm, Manuel Neuer and Bastian Schweinsteiger in…
Manchester United are lining up a shock move for Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton as they gear up for a midfield reshuffle. United had looked to bolster in the middle of the park over the summer but were rebuffed in their efforts to sign Brighton’s Carlos Baleba. However, they have since turned their attention to…
Pio Esposito has downplayed the weight of his debut goal for Italy against Estonia, calling it a promising start rather than the peak. In an interview with Sky Italia (via TMW), the young forward reflected on the moment as a milestone on what he hopes will be a long and fruitful international journey. Esposito admitted…
Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has defended Florian Wirtz and blamed his slow start to life at Liverpool on the creator’s new team-mates. The Reds won the race to sign Wirtz over the summer, beating off competition from the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City to land the youngster. And Nagelsmann believes those around Wirtz…
© IMAGO – Richard Hughes Liverpool Liverpool have got a well-documented shortage of centre-backs right now. Selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen was a move that should have been offset by the acquisition of Giovanni Leoni. Article continues under the video However the 18-year-old – signed from Parma for £26m in summer – was injured…