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Chelsea have been a rather big mess during the 2023/24 season. That’s putting it politely too.

This was meant to be the campaign where the Todd Boehly era roared into life under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, but it’s followed the trend of his stewardship to date. Spend money and don’t get very far.

It was recently revealed that no other Premier League side spent more on agent fees than the Blues over a yearly period ending in February 2024, and where’s that got them? Not very far.

They are ninth in the table and with two games in hand could still secure European football next term.

That should be the goal at the very least for this Chelsea team but is it enough to keep Pochettino in the job? Arguably not.

Potential Pochettino replacements for Chelsea

It would not be a huge surprise if we saw the Argentine remain in the dugout for the beginning of next season but with a managerial merry-go-round set to commence, Chelsea should get involved.

Jurgen Klopp is on the move, Thomas Tuchel is leaving Bayern Munich, Ruben Amorim will likely take his leave from Sporting and Barcelona boss Xavi will also depart the Camp Nou.

He’s already been linked with the Chelsea vacancy with reports at the end of March suggesting they were interested in the Spaniard.

Would he be a good hire? Well, given he’s a disciple of Pep Guardiola, there is an easy case to make there.

Xavi’s managerial philosophy

The great midfielder was one of the best players to grace the modern game but that doesn’t mean he’ll make a good manager. Or does it?

Well, after a slump of sorts for Barcelona pre-Xavi, the Spaniard has revived the great Catalan club.

They won La Liga last season and are now just 90 minutes away from a place in the Champions League semi-finals after defeating PSG in their quarter-final first leg.

Chelsea could only dream of that but it goes to show that in the midst of somewhat of a crisis, Xavi can dig you out of a hole.

Described as “the best manager in the world” by Joan Laporta, the president at Barcelona, it’s easy to see why that label has been attached to him.

Aged 44, the Barca great is now making a name for himself as a coach and would be a superb candidate to replace Pochettino.

He is very similar to Guardiola in his coaching philosophy, employing the strategy that if you have the ball, you can’t concede a goal. Wise words.

Speaking about how he sees the game, Xavi once said: “It’s clear to me that my team has to have the ball,” the former midfielder told The Coach’s Voice. “I suffer when I don’t have it.

“What interests me as a coach? To play as much as possible in the opponents’ half. If they press us high, the most important thing is to break the midfield line, go into the opposition’s half, and attack.”

In a further interview, he commented: “My concept is very similar [to Pep]. Guardiola also wants to be dominant, he wants to have the ball, strong possession, lots of attacking movements… It’s ultimately about being proactive within the game.”

Proactive is certainly something Chelsea haven’t been under Pochettino to date so there’s one problem potentially solved.

Vitally, there is a clear pattern to the way Xavi likes his teams to play and he doesn’t stray from it very often.

Unsurprisingly, no team in La Liga has had more of the ball than Barcelona this season. Only one team – Real Madrid – has a better average pass success rate in the entire division.

His team also rank the highest in Spain’s top flight for expected goals (xG), suggesting Xavi knows how to get his team to create chances. They’re also third for expected goals against in La Liga, a tally that also ranks them as the 14th-best side in Europe’s top five leagues, even ahead of Manchester City.

So, the Guardiola method is clear to see and it’s a proven remedy for success. The great Spanish coach has already deployed it in England and Mikel Arteta has taken influence too, notably taking his Arsenal team close to the title.

Xavi's fellow Spaniard once said of his own style: "I want dominance. I don’t want the opposition to breathe.”

As a result, this potential appointment could be just what the doctor ordered at Chelsea.

Kylian Mbappe has reacted to his forgettable La Liga debut for Real Madrid, with the Frenchman admitting a draw with Mallorca is “not a good result”.

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• On target in Super Cup triumph
• Drew a blank on league bow
• Already focused on next game

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The World Cup winner enjoyed a dream start to his spell at Santiago Bernabeu when finding the target in a UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta. His trophy collection in Spain has already started, with there talk of the France international hitting 50 goals this season.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  He would have been hoping to break his La Liga duck on the opening weekend, but the 25-year-old forward fell flat in a 1-1 draw with Mallorca. Rodrygo netted Real’s goal in that contest, as Mbappe and Vinicius Junior often found themselves operating in close quarters on the left flank.

• WHAT MBAPPE SAID

  Mbappe is still finding his feet in a new system, with it always going to take time for Carlo Ancelotti’s star-studded attacking unit to click. With that in mind, Madrid’s latest ‘Galactico’ is eager to avoid dwelling on the past. He has posted on Instagram after being held on his La Liga bow: “Not a good result. Heads up & already focus on the next one. Hala Madrid!”

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Real will take some stopping once Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo gel, with there enough firepower there to trouble any opponent. They will be hoping to find a spark when returning to home soil for a meeting with Real Valladolid next weekend.

The highly-anticipated annual competition has become a point of debate among fans, clubs and its organizing bodies

Gillette Stadium, in its romp, can seat 65,000 fans. New England Revolution, on an average matchday, fills 24,000 of them. On Aug, 9, most of the seats were empty. It was a Wednesday night, and the Revolution were hosting NYCFC in a Leagues Cup Round of 32 knockout match. The official attendance was reported as 7,267. Photos from kick off suggest that figure might be generous.

This was a win-or-go-home match in a competition promoted by MLS as the next big club event in North American soccer. And the stadium was mostly empty.

Such has been a recurring story of this year’s Leagues Cup. Now in the second campaign of the expanded iteration, the tournament hasn’t quite been the overwhelming success some had hoped. Concerns over attendance, fan protests, scheduling issues, and a contentious format have marred what should, in theory, be an ideal way of pitting two of North America’s top two soccer leagues – MLS and Liga MX – against each other.

The excitement around intra-MLS matchups has been low, with more than 10 fixtures played in front of fewer than 15,000 people. The semifinal between Philadelphia and Columbus was attended by just more than 12,000. And in the shadow of a fading U.S. Open Cup, an exciting idea has instead become a hot-topic issue.

“It's been a super fun tournament, but I completely understand people who don't want to go, and I don't begrudge them.” Cameron Collins, president of Sounders Supporters group Gorilla FC said. “I totally get the boycotts, and I think that's effective.”

The whole thing ended in dramatic circumstances, with Columbus Crew scoring twice in second half stoppage time to down Olivier Giroud's LAFC in the final.  The match was played before a sellout crowd of 20,190 at Lower.com Field in Columbus. Watchers couldn't really ask more from a tournament championship game. Still, there remain broader questions as to whether Leagues Cup is actually successful.

GOAL reached out to a range of players, fan groups, coaches, and executives about the state of the competition. Several coaches and executives declined to comment, while MLS and Leagues Cup also declined to give official statements – although MLS did provide some details regarding attendance.

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  The end of U.S. Open Cup?

  For some, Leagues Cup is a competition that has severely impacted one of the great institutions of American soccer. The U.S. Open Cup has been fading for some time now, but was almost entirely gutted this campaign, when MLS decreased its involvement in the tournament to just eight senior teams, while stacking the competition with MLS Next Pro sides – effectively minor league affiliates for every top flight U.S. club.

  The league faced immense scrutiny from USL, fan groups and veterans of the U.S. game for its decision, considered by critics as the beginning of the end of one of global soccer’s oldest tournaments.

  At the time, USL commissioner Paul McDonough slammed the decision: "If soccer's going to grow in this country – I know [MLS] probably think differently – it's not going be built on the back of just the 30 or 32 MLS teams," McDonough said. "It's just not."

  That opinion was shared by others in the U.S. soccer community.

  “Globally, I think it's f—– brilliant," said David Wegner from Centennial 38, the Colorado Rapids’ Supporters Group, "but I think the timing is incredibly unfortunate. US Soccer and MLS can't figure out a way, so why not do both?”

  MLS’s justification for its decreased involvement in the U.S. Open Cup centered around concerns of fixture congestion, and worries that a packed schedule could negatively affect player welfare. There was also apprehension about pitch quality, and the lack of a fully-fledged TV deal.

  Yet, simultaneously, the league doubled down on the success of 2023’s iteration of Leagues Cup.

  And on the surface, it’s easy to see why. Leagues Cup got a substantial spike in 2023 when Lionel Messi made his Inter Miami debut in the competition, complete with a magical last-minute free-kick to down Cruz Azul. It ended, too, with the great Argentine lifting a trophy after 11 rounds of penalty kicks. The whole thing was, at times, immaculate theater.

  NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing can sympathize with fans who are disappointed with MLS’s handling of the U.S. Open, and the ensuing hesitancy to support Leagues Cup.

  “I think the point of contention is really simple,” Cushing told GOAL. “There are soccer lifers from U.S. Soccer and they support soccer in America, and they want the Open Cup to exist. They support the Open Cup, and because the Open Cup has changed, they don't support the Leagues Cup.”

  It has driven some fans to a point of protest – literally. Supporter groups from eight MLS clubs announced official boycotts of the tournament. Austin FC’s Austin Anthem refused to attend matches, and made their reasoning clear: “Our league and club care far more about the Leagues Cup than the US Open Cup, and by extension, care more about Apple TV money than our nation's soccer. We cannot support this.”

  Chicago Fire’s Redline SG also announced their intent to boycott the tournament, and pointed out that they would spend the month “supporting the Red Stars and local grassroots soccer clubs across Chicagoland.”

  Some, such as Gorilla FC, made symbolic gestures, such as turning banners upside down in protest.

  “It’s a super important protest, no matter how teams are doing it. You have this 100-plus year history of this tournament, and it’s just a grassroots tournament,” Collins said.

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  Scheduling complications

  The way the tournament is set up has created its own set of challenges.

  Last season, MLS changed its scheduling to predominantly play in set slots on Saturdays. The move was in part due to its new Apple TV deal for live-match streaming, and giving more consistency for its audience.

  Leagues Cup, though, hasn't adhered to that same cadence. Instead, organizers have taken a somewhat scattergun approach, scheduling midweek games, short-notice turnarounds, and added some less-than-fan-friendly kickoff times. The Colorado Rapids, for example, kicked off its round of 16 fixture with Toluca at 8 pm local time on a Tuesday – an elimination game played out in front of 9,742.

  “It's short notice, because we're in knockout rounds, which has been kind of crazy,” Collins said. “We have a game, and then four days later, if we win, we have another game, and then four days later, we win, we have another game. It's been just like, ‘OK, well, I guess I'm going because I opted in.’ “

• Attendance issues

  As a result of that confluence of factors, attendance has been mixed – a fact that has concerned some around MLS. The opening weekend drew crowds up 24 percent from last year’s tournament, but interest was inconsistent throughout. Images spread on social media and eye-witness accounts from reporters suggested that this was at times a poorly attended tournament, often defined by its empty seats.

  “It's very challenging in the knockout stages,” Wegner said. “Very challenging to have Monday games, Tuesday games, Wednesday games. And I think that's where some of the unfair criticism is from a lot of supporters groups that are protesting it.”

  Overall, Leagues Cup 2024 saw an attendance increase of 1% over the inaugural edition, with an average crowd of 17,131 for the 77 matches, according to Sports Business Journal. Leagues Cup attendance was below MLS’ regular-season average, which was a record 23,194 at this year’s All-Star break. SBJ also reported that Leagues Cup was supported by 15 corporate sponsors in 2024, up from nine in 2023.

  A near-empty Gilette Stadium was perhaps an extreme example, but players have routinely taken the field in front of thousands of empty seats. MLS would not comment on the less-attended matches, but did point out that average attendance, overall, was up and that 1.28 million fans attended matches through the semifinals. Three matches that included major Mexican teams – Chivas, Tigres, and Cruz Azul – featured among the top five best-attended Leagues Cup matches in the competition’s brief history.

  But outside of those big-name games, the numbers at many matches were less convincing. Intra-league contests, with MLS teams facing their domestic counterparts, were often been played out in front of near-empty stadiums – the Revolution’s quarterfinal with NYCFC just one of many such contests.

  “I feel like the first couple of games were well attended. The ones where there was less time in between, it was, you know, I think a little bit less attended,” New England Revolution sporting director Curt Onalfo said.

  They weren’t alone. Slightly more than 10,000 fans attended Miami’s round of 32 clash with Toronto at Chase Stadium – a game that Messi missed due to injury. Luis Suarez, Lorenzo Insigne and Co. played out a highly watchable 4-3 result in a half-empty arena.

  Back at NYCFC, Cushing has heard similar complaints from the team’s fan base.

  “I understand the fans,” he said. “I've spoken to all fans about it. I understand their frustration and their angle, and why they're not going to come to games.”

  At home viewership has also changed. Although no Apple TV streaming data has been released, Fox Sports reportedly had an average viewership of approximately 30,000 per match – by comparison, 1.75 million watched last year’s Leagues Cup fixture between Miami and Cruz Azul.

  The Messi effect, of course, cannot be ignored. There was palpable excitement around every Miami fixture last year – and in fairness to MLS, those numbers might have been significantly higher this campaign had he not been injured.

  "Obviously, last year with Messi being part of every single game and part of the finals, obviously, more eyes and attention were probably on it," Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe said. "But for me, it's just another trophy we get a chance to a chance to win and put in the trophy case. It's another big game for the city."

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  The benefits of a new competition

  Still, the clubs themselves argue that reduced fan interest is outside of their control. There are many around the game who view the competition as imperative. The opportunity to face new opponents, for example, has broken up the grind of the MLS campaign.

  “Playing against teams that you don't normally face is really positive,” Cushing said. “It brings a sort of different perspective, a different focus.”

  The NYCFC boss also acknowledged the chance to rotate and see other members of his squad. Onalfo highlighted its importance for evaluating the squad.

  “We're always looking to improve our players,” Onalfo said. “We have younger players that we also want to develop. When you have more games, more players get games. So from that standpoint, it's all positive.”

  Some players have also acknowledged the benefits of a fresh competition. LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, a veteran who has fought for every trophy at the club and international level in a long European career, voiced his support.

  "Obviously, this competition cannot replace the Champions League of CONCACAF, but it's still a trophy. We don't know if in 10 years, 15 years time, this competition will still be here, but I think the level is really interesting and it's good for helping all the clubs to grow and to continue the development because you need competitiveness to improve," he told GOAL.

David Moyes looks to be on borrowed time now in the West Ham United dug-out, with the ever-growing likelihood that the Scotsman will walk away from the Hammers at the end of the season if rumours are correct.

Losing their last two Premier League games to fellow London-based sides Fulham and Crystal Palace – with the 5-2 defeat to the Eagles showing what can be done when a breath of fresh air manager is appointed in Oliver Glasner – it looks very much to be the case that the ex-Manchester United boss will exit with a whimper rather than a bang too.

The powers that be at the London Stadium will want the next appointment to raise the excitement levels, which could happen if they go after this daring Ruben Amorim alternative.

West Ham manager news

The rumour mill is going into overdrive churning out names that could be Moyes' successor, with the likes of Arne Slot and the aforementioned Amorim linked alongside ex-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel who has had a bruising time with Bayern Munich this campaign.

Amorim did look to be the frontrunner at one stage, but fresh reports seem to indicate that the Sporting boss won't relocate to England to manage the Irons in the summer nor will he take up the upcoming Liverpool vacancy.

This will be a disappointing development for fans of the Premier League club, who must have been reading about Amorim with fervour knowing he'd be a bold and fresh manager to kickstart a new era at the Hammers after Moyes' departure.

That could still happen with this linked name instead, however, with Paulo Fonseca known to be an eccentric manager throughout his varied career to date.

Indeed, it's claimed by Sky Sports that both he and Julen Lopetegui are in the frame to succeed Moyes. West Ham insider, EXWHUEmployee, meanwhile, has indicated that the former is rated 'very highly' by the club.

Fonseca's managerial philosophy

Not too dissimilar in his methods to that of Jurgen Klopp's celebrated style of "heavy metal" football, Fonseca would certainly not settle for passive displays like the one West Ham served up at Selhurst Park if he was on the sidelines.

With the philosophy centring on high-intensity football, matched with a counter-attacking style to catch teams off-guard, the approach has certainly paid off for the current Lille boss throughout his celebrated managerial career wherever he's ended up.

In Fonseca's own words, before Lille crashed out to Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League, his style is – “The essence of this team is to control the game, to keep the pressure, and to win the ball back high up the pitch, but above all, it’s about controlling the game by dominating possession. We strive to be a team that is dominant, and that reacts quickly when we lose the ball.”

It's been very effective in Ligue 1 this season away from Unai Emery's men getting over the line on penalties, with Fonseca's men punching above their weight sitting pretty in fourth spot and picking up just five defeats from 29 league clashes along the way.

With things going rather stale at the Hammers under Moyes, showcased in their horrific display against Glasner's pumped-up Eagles, Fonseca could be the daring new boss they desire to begin anew next campaign.

Fonseca's track record of developing youngsters – boasting "one of the youngest squads in all of Europe" at Lille – as per reporter Zach Lowy will no doubt appeal. As will a glowing CV when it comes to trophy wins – notably bringing home seven honours at Shakhtar Donetsk.

It will be a sad severing of the ties when the Scotsman does likely walk away from the London Stadium in the off-season, but a change that feels necessary for Tim Steidten to take West Ham up a notch.

£108m duo sign: How West Ham's lineup could look under Ruben Amorim

The London Stadium could look very different indeed come August.

By
Angus Sinclair

Apr 24, 2024

Glasgow Rangers maintained their pursuit of their rivals in the Scottish Premiership title race with a hard-fought 2-1 win over St Mirren on Sunday.

The Light Blues are three points adrift of first place with four matches left to play before the end of the 2023/24 league campaign, including a trip to Parkhead.

Philippe Clement's side still have a chance to secure the domestic treble, having already won the League Cup, as they battle it out for the Premiership and have an SFA Cup final meeting with Celtic on the 25th of May.

This means that the bulk of the focus should be on matters on the pitch as there is plenty left to play for over the next three to four weeks of action.

However, planning is already underway for the summer transfer window as Head of Recruitment Nils Koppen looks to improve the Gers squad over the coming months, with one new target emerging this week.

Rangers interest in exciting young forward

According to Football Insider, Rangers are one of the teams interested in a summer deal to sign Macarthur FC attacker Raphael Rodrigues ahead of next season.

The report claims that the Light Blues and English Championship side Coventry City are both preparing moves to land the 20-year-old starlet, as Koppen attempts to bolster the team's wide options.

It states that Mark Robins' side have been watching the Dutch whiz for 'some time', whilst the Scottish giants have been keeping close tabs on his progress and are now lining up a swoop for his services.

Interestingly, English League Two outfit Swindon Town are said to be readying an 'ambitious' approach for the young gem, as their owner Clem Morfuni is hoping to use his Australian connections to facilitate a deal for Rodrigues.

Football Insider journalist Pete O'Rourke described the 5 foot 8 dynamo as a "sensation", whilst the report hails the Gers target as an 'eye-catching' forward with quick feet and skills in his arsenal.

The outlet does not, however, reveal how much Macarthur FC are set to demand for their young wizard in the upcoming summer transfer window, which means that it remains to be seen how much Rangers would have to splash out to win the race for his signature in the coming weeks.

If Koppen and his team can secure a deal for Rodrigues, though, then they could land Clement a dream upgrade on Ross McCausland on the right flank.

Ross McCausland's emergence at Rangers

The Northern Ireland international has established himself as a regular in the first-team squad, albeit not as a regular starter, under the Belgian boss this season.

Rangers hosted their annual end-of-season awards on Sunday night and the 20-year-old winger was crowned the club's Young Player of the Year for his efforts this term.

On top of that, he is one of four nominees – alongside Motherwell's Lennon Miller, Kilmarnock's David Watson, and Dundee's Lyall Cameron – to land the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award.

He has racked up 33 appearances in all competitions for the first-team during the 2023/24 campaign, including 24 in the Premiership and five in the Europa League.

13 of his 25 outings in the Scottish top-flight have come as a starter on the flank, but he has struggled to provide consistent quality in the final third.

As you can see in the table above, the Northern Irish whiz has averaged a goal or an assist every 8.3 matches, whilst coming out second-best in the majority of his duels.

The right-footed attacker, who turns 21 in May, has produced two goals and four assists in 35 first-team games in all competitions for the Gers throughout his career to date, having made two appearances before this season, and that is an average of one contribution every 5.8 clashes.

These statistics show that, whilst he has had a promising first full year with the senior squad, McCausland has a long way to go before he can be considered a star for Rangers.

The youngster may not even get a chance to improve on his numbers if Koppen signs Rodrigues, as the winger plays in the same position and has posted more impressive numbers at first-team level in Australia.

Raphael Rodrigues' form in Australia

The 20-year-old attacker, who turns 21 in September, is four months younger than McCausland but has already racked up 49 first-team appearances in his career to date.

Born in the Netherlands, Rodrigues moved to Australia and made his senior debut for Melbourne City, with whom he produced two goals and one assist in 15 matches as a teenager.

The exciting whiz, who can play as an attacking midfielder and out on the right flank, then joined Macarthur FC on a free transfer last summer, and has enjoyed an impressive campaign with the club so far.

He has fired in six goals and assisted two in 32 matches for the club in all competitions, which is a return of one goal or assist every four games on average.

As you can see in the table above, Rodrigues has had the better season with his ability to score and create goals, whilst also driving past opposition players with the ball.

In the same number of games, the Gers target has scored four times as many goals as McCausland and created twice as many 'big chances' for his teammates, along with twice as many completed dribbles per game – illustrating his superiority in the final third.

Rangers could repeat their Cantwell masterclass by sealing £0 transfer

Rangers have their eyes on a current Championship player who has shone this season

By
Ross Kilvington

Apr 29, 2024

Given they are both right-footed, 20-year-old, right wingers, these statistics suggest that Koppen would be signing a dream upgrade on the current Light Blues youngster by winning the race for the Dutch gem's signature this summer.

It could, then, be an interesting battle between the two players to land a spot in the team on the right side of Clement's attack, as they compete to prove to the manager that they have the potential to develop into a first-team regular for many more years to come.

Erik ten Hag has received a positive update on Manchester United defender Leny Yoro's recovery from his pre-season injury.

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• Yoro has been injured since July
• The Frenchman is now off crutches
• United signed defender for £52m

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  United have had a difficult start to their Premier League campaign, with only one win in three games, and it has resulted in early pressure on Ten Hag. There isn't much going in the Dutchman's favour at Old Trafford at this moment, but he has received a slight boost with summer signing Leny Yoro's recovery from injury going well.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Frenchman signed from Lille in the summer for £52 million and almost instantly got injured in the Red Devils' pre-season friendly against Arsenal. The defender picked up a foot injury but his rehabilitation has picked up and he is now walking without crutches. The teenager was given an expected return date of November, and he's already returned to the gym.

• WHAT TEN HAG SAID

  Ten Hag said about Yoro's injury: "That's part of football, that's part of top football especially, that you come into, you go to the edge, every player has to go to the edge. And yeah, then injuries are not avoidable. But of course, we have to be ready as a club and as a team to cover this and the players are dealing very well with this setback. They (Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund) are very positive, they are already recovering and they will return."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR YORO AND MAN UTD?

  It was a far from ideal start for Yoro's life in Manchester and he has had to watch on from the sidelines as his new side got thumped by Liverpool and agonisingly beaten by Brighton, conceding five goals in the process. His arrival in the backline could add a sturdiness that has been missing throughout Ten Hag's tenure as United boss.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed the latest on West Ham's move for Julen Lopetegui, and has explained what is now likely to happen after a verbal agreement was reached over the weekend.

West Ham searching for new boss

Another thrashing for David Moyes' side away from home, this time against Chelsea, saw any small lingering hope of his time at the London Stadium being extended quickly extinguished, and it has become clear that the Hammers are in desperate need of new blood ahead of the next Premier League campaign.

The 70 goals conceded this season is a record for any team Moyes has managed, while performances have been poor and they seem set to miss out on European football next season.

The Hammers had been eyeing up Ruben Amorim, and had held face to face talks with the Sporting boss, for which he subsequently apologised. But, after winning the Portuguese title with Sporting on Sunday, he revealed that he wasn't going to be swapping Lisbon for London or anywhere this summer.

"I'm staying at Sporting. I'm under contract and it's a special moment for me, for the club", he explained. "Now we will try to win the third title together. Let's try to make it happen."

Lopetegui deal agreed – Romano

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has today revealed that ex-Wolves and Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui has "agreed terms" with the Hammers to take charge this summer.

The pair had been locked in talks, and it had seemed like a losing battle at one point, only for AC Milan to decide to abandon their pursuit of the Spaniard, leaving the London side with a free run at their man.

Steidten must cash in on West Ham flop who's now worth just £4m

This failed Moyes signing must be shipped on this summer.

By
Angus Sinclair

May 4, 2024

With the agreement now in place, they will proceed to "formal stages", which involves the "details being finalised" and only then the "contracts will be signed", provided that there is no 11th hour change of heart from either party.

Lopetegui has been out of management since he left Wolves at the beginning of the season over a financial dispute, but appears to have won over the West Ham hierarchy, who are ready to now place their faith in the Spanish coach.

He will have significant work to do at the London Stadium, though there is undoubtedly talent available to him in the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez.

The home fans will demand that their style of football changes, with Moyes coming under fire as much for the performances of his side as the results across the last 12 months. For now though, it appears that the West Ham manager search is finally reaching it's conclusion.

France forward gave Les Bleus a quick start against Italy as he scored past Gianluigi Donnarumma after just 12 seconds.

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• Barcola opens scoring for France vs Italy
• Scores fastest goal in France's history
• France lose 3-1 to Italy despite quick start

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  It was a disastrous start for Luciano Spalletti's Italy in the Nations League group-stage opener against France as Barcola was able to capitalize on Giovanni di Lorenzo's mistake to give Didier Deschamps' men the lead after just 12 seconds.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Les Bleus have announced that Barcola's early striker was the fastest-ever goal scored by France in the last 90 years. However, OptaJean has revealed that the same cannot be verified as France had scored three goals in the first minute before 1993 and with accurate data not available for those matches, Barcola will be unofficially handed the title.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Barcola's composed strike was also his first goal for the French national team as he made his sixth appearance for the Deschamps' side. The winger had a very impressive season with Paris Saint-Germain last season and was also taken to the Euros in Germany.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR FRANCE?

  Despite the impressive start to the clash against Italy, France were blown out of the water by Gli Azzurri as they went on to lose the clash 3-1 with goals from Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori.

Arsenal fans have been treated to two seasons of brilliant Premier League football in a row now, and while they might have to wait a little while longer to see their team lift a major trophy, it's starting to feel like an inevitability.

In his four and a half years in north London, Mikel Arteta has changed the club from top to bottom and helped swap out the old guard for his current crop of young and hungry talents.

However, one of the jewels in the crown at the Emirates didn't join the club under Spaniard's management.

Instead, he put pen to paper for Unai Emery's team, and as of today, he's just as valuable as Cole Palmer.

Gabriel Martinelli's Arsenal career

Gabriel Martinelli is the star in question, and thanks to his incredible development over the last five years, his bargain £6m transfer from Brazilian fourth-tier side Ituano in 2019 has become a thing of legend among Arsenal supporters.

Despite being a complete unknown to fans in the Premier League, the Guarulhos-born ace had an incredible first season in north London. He scored ten goals and provided four assists in just 26 appearances while also dealing with a severe knee injury that saw him miss 40 games.

The injury was so severe that it took him some time to get back to his best.

Over the following two seasons, he scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 58 games, which would be a reasonable return for a player his age, even without his injury problems.

However, with a few years of English football under his belt, the right-footed winger exploded into life last season, scoring 15 goals and providing six assists in 46 appearances, meaning the "unplayable" sensation, as described by pundit Owen Hargreaves, was averaging a goal involvement every 1.85 games as a 21-year-old.

Now, his output of eight goals and five assists in 43 appearances this season has undoubtedly been underwhelming in comparison, but considering he is still just 22 years old and clearly has bags and bags of talent, it's hard not to view his move to Arsenal as one of the best value-for-money transfers in recent history – and his soaring value just reinforces that perspective.

Gabriel Martinelli's valuation in 2024

According to the CIES Football Observatory, Martinelli is worth a whopping €100m today, which converts to around £86m, or £80m more than he cost the club five years ago.

Moreover, his current valuation also makes the young Brazilian the joint third most valuable player at the Emirates.

And if that wasn't enough, it also means he is worth just as much as Chelsea's new talisman, Palmer, whom CIES has also priced at €100m – £86m.

The Blues star cost the West Londoners £42.5m just eight months ago, but his sensational form this season has understandably seen his perceived value skyrocket.

In his 44 games for the Blues this season, the 22-year-old has racked up 22 goals and 14 assists, meaning he is averaging a goal involvement every 1.12 games, which is quite frankly ridiculous.

Ultimately, while Martinelli isn't having the season many were hoping he would this year, his talent is undeniable and the fact that he is still valued as highly as a player like Palmer should serve as encouragement to Arsenal fans that their Brazilian wonderkid will eventually get back to his best.

Arsenal hit gold with "unstoppable" ace who's worth 8x more than Partey

The incredible star has been transformational at Arsenal.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

May 15, 2024

With three new teams, California is the place to be in the league – and it may produce the next great rivalry in U.S. women’s soccer

It’s crazy to think that California went 10 years without a professional women’s soccer team. This is a state that icons like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Brandi Chastain call home, one that boasts four of the very best women’s soccer college programs in the country, one that absolutely loves the sport. Never has that been more evident than in 2024.

“Finally”, in the words of Bay FC star Kiki Pickett, that long wait came to an end when both Angel City and the San Diego Wave entered the NWSL in the 2022 season, followed by Bay FC this year.

“How do you not have a team in California?” she says of the delay. “[We have] these big cities where we can get a lot of crowd numbers.”

It’s a reaction justified by the fact that the trio rank among the top five NWSL clubs for average attendance in the 2024 season, despite all being relative newcomers. Any concerns about over-saturation of the market have been squashed, with one fan believing that the situation has actually “exponentially grown” support for women’s soccer in the area.

That’s because of the love for the sport that exists and it is being boosted by some undertones of rivalry. It’s still early days for these three teams to have a relationship anywhere near the level of intensity seen in meetings between the Seattle Reign and the Portland Thorns, for example, which is certainly the NWSL’s biggest and best rivalry. But not only is California proving to be the place to be in the league, signs also suggest it will surely produce the next great rivalry in U.S. women’s soccer.

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  Welcome to Los Angeles

  Shayla Pham “very vividly” remembers the day that the news came. “It was near my birthday, so I remember being like, ‘What a fabulous birthday gift – my dreams are coming true’.” Ten years after both Los Angeles Sol and FC Gold Pride dissolved, a professional women’s soccer team was returning to California. Angel City FC was coming to LA.

  Born and raised just outside of the city, Pham had been a fan of the NWSL for several years but had always needed to make a significant journey if she wanted to watch a game in person, with the Portland Thorns, nearly 1,000 miles away, nearest by. That was all about to change – and she wanted to be involved.

  Perhaps one of the best ways to demonstrate the thirst for a women’s team in LA is in the fact that the supporters’ group Pham is involved with, Pandemonium, is one of six fan clubs for Angel City. It means BMO Stadium is one of the league’s most atmospheric grounds, adding to the attractive lore that surrounds a club that had a star-studded ownership group upon launch – and has since become the most valuable women's sport team in the world, featuring a name like Natalie Portman on its board.

  “Los Angeles is a melting pot – I like to say a charcuterie board of different cultures,” Pham tells INDIVISA. “We really do feel like our supporters’ section, La Fortaleza, is emulating that. What makes Los Angeles so great is the diversity in itself and when you come to one of the games and you're looking at the supporters’ section, it's truly a mix of everything and everybody. That’s one of the things that makes us so unique.”

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  Enter San Diego

  It's fair to say the announcement of Angel City drew a bit of envy across the state. California has a rich culture of youth and adult soccer, and while some outside of LA were still eager to make the in-state journey to watch an NWSL team, some were jealous that it wasn’t in their city. That was the case in San Diego, until it was announced that the expansion team for Sacramento was instead heading to southern California.

  Suddenly, those who had tickets for Angel City didn’t want them. They were all in on the San Diego Wave.

  “The news spread around the city real fast,” Tali Lerner, president of the San Diego Sirens supporters’ group, says. “Because I go to a lot of schools as a teacher, you could see the kids were talking about it, the adults were talking about it, it became very exciting, very quickly.”

  Lerner grew up in Israel, a country with historic soccer teams that had been established for decades before she was born. To be in San Diego, where she has lived for nine years, as a new team sprouted up was an interesting experience.

  “You could really see a purposeful design of what the story of this team is going to be, what our story as fans is going to be,” she recalls. “That was really, really fun to watch and be part of.”

  Does the Wave embody San Diego? Does it represent the city?

  “I think so, for sure,” Lerner replies. “Just the atmosphere, the joy, the fun. San Diego is really a city of happiness and inclusive community and a place where the feel is that. It translates into something that people want, a feeling of enjoying not just the fight of the football match but also a real investment into our happiness and joy.

  "So you see that in the stands, you see that in the colors, you see that in the involvement of the team, in the community life, you see that in how inclusive this community is around the Wave.”

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  'The Surfliner derby'

  With the two teams just a two-hour drive apart, or a little longer on the scenic Surfliner train, it was no surprise to see this fixture dubbed a derby before either had kicked a ball. Geography isn’t the only thing that played a part. There is also an existing rivalry between the two cities, be it from baseball or general life, with San Diego having “always been like the little brother to Los Angeles almost,” Pham notes. “There’s already an existing pride of which city you're coming from.”

  That’s certainly evident when she recalls her reaction to the news that the Wave would be joining the NWSL: “Ew, San Diego. We want to show them up.”

  However, she’s quick to point out that it did not feel like a rivalry immediately, as is Savannah McCaskill, who spent two years playing for Angel City before joining the Wave ahead of the 2024 season.

  “I feel like, personally, the rivalry was kind of put on us from a media standpoint,” she explains. “We had no real history against each other, we didn't know what to expect against each other, other than we were playing in a game against San Diego and we were being told that it was a rivalry game. That's kind of how the first two years went.”

  For Meggie Dougherty Howard, who joined the Wave for its second season and now represents Angel City, there was a sense of trying to “get the edge on the other team early on” in their respective NWSL journeys. M.A. Vignola of Angel City has a good relationship with Jaedyn Shaw, and recalls a few jokes shared between the two on national team camps about “who’s the best California team".

  But rivalries are built on history, not just geography, so it was always the case that any real tension between these two sides was only going to come over time. This fixture needs close results, meaningful encounters and other wrinkles in order to create a real rivalry.

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  The need for history

  Those elements are starting to trickle in. After 11 meetings, the head-to-head shows five wins for Angel City, three for San Diego and three ties, with no match decided by a margin greater than two goals. There have been some dramatic finales too – Claire Emslie's 81st minute winner for Angel City in the first league meeting, a couple of occasions of quick-fire doubles sealing victories for San Diego deep into the second half of tight matches, and Vignola’s 88th-minute winner minute in San Diego last summer – which she celebrated unlike any goal she’s ever scored.

  “The energy that we get from the fans just brings up the vibe even more,” Vignola says of the games against the Wave. “A lot of the fans are originally from California, or from LA, so they also have that kind of edge to them saying, 'Oh, we don't like San Diego people, you have to beat them!' So, we're kind of like, 'Oh, OK! What do you have against them?!' But it kind of brings that energy for us and I think that helps.”

  McCaskill was on the receiving end of that energy earlier this year, when she was booed upon her return to LA as a San Diego player.

  “That’s the piece that is like, ‘OK, this kind of feels like a rivalry’,” she says. “It’s cool to see the fans buy into it and have an extra motivation for coming out to the games, being extra loud, that kind of environment is so fun to play in.”