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Sevilla Director hints at Kounde move to Chelsea

It has been a very unusual and hectic transfer window so far. Of the Premier League clubs, Chelsea will seem to have one of the most unrecognizable teams next year

After winning the Champions League last season, Thomas Tuchel is trying to assemble a team to hold the title and to win the Premier League.

The club has started making way for new players by selling Fikayo Tomori, Olivier Giroud, Victor Moses, and likely next Tammy Abraham. A deal is all but confirmed for the resigning of striker Romelu Lukaku, the other player on Tuchel’s mind in Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.

Rumours about the young French centre-back went quiet in the last few weeks but a recent interview has peaked many fans interests.

Sevilla’s sporting director Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, commonly known as Monchi spoke in a recent interview about the chances of Kounde leaving the club.

“Many clubs have asked for Koundé. Of course, there’s interest but no official bid on the table. I don’t know what’s gonna happen… if an important bid arrives, we’ll sell as this is our policy to improve the team,” Monchi said.

The rumoured deal was planned to include Kurt Zouma going the other way to soften the financial blow. Kounde has an €80 million release clause on his contract and Sevilla will be wanting money near that some for a deal to go through.

The 22-year-old defender is a hot prospect in La Liga at the moment. He played 34 games for Sevilla last season, scoring two goals with the team finishing fourth.

The youngman has a strong standing tackle and is very comfortable with the ball at his feet. Last season, he showed himself to be a good dribbler and long ball passer playing in but the centre and right back.

Time is running out with only three weeks left in the transfer window but expect Kounde to be playing in a new club next year, if not Chelsea then another big club challenging for titles.

Professional Rugby ‘Unsafe’ According To New Study

Professional rugby is unsafe in its current format, according to a new study by The Drake Foundation.

Athletes who can be as tall as six foot eight inches and as wide as 26 stone are leaving the sport due to structural changes to their brains caused by high tackles, the Foundation has said.

The Drake Foundation say that medical evidence and recent cases’ of brain abnormalities among stars foreshadows a concerning future for the sport.

Founder James Drake said to MailOnline that the tackles during the Lions’ tour of South Africa had brought the issue back into focus.

Mr Drake told MailOnline: “We believe that elite rugby, in its current format, is an unsafe sport.

“The long-term consequences of these brain structure abnormalities are unknown and require further research.

“But taken together with existing evidence across different sports, as well as recent cases of rugby players being diagnosed with brain diseases in their 40s, they are painting a concerning picture when it comes to players’ long-term brain health.”

He added: “Players are getting bigger, impacts are becoming harder, so it is only right that we see meaningful changes to rugby to ensure that player welfare is the number one priority for the sport.”

Drake cited head impacts in the matches as a cause for concern, including Dan Biggar being kneed in the ruck.

The Drake Foundation’s calls to improve the safety of the game follow the release of a report on the topic.

The report involves the Rugby Football Union in England which found that 23 per cent of 44 elite stars between 2017 and 2019 had experienced changes to their brains.

The study, published last month, said rugby players had abnormalities to the white matter and changes in the white matter volume – white matter is important for cognitive ability.

It also found that half of the rugby players involved had an unexpected reduction in brain volume.

Professor of Medical Imaging Science at University College London, Derek Hill, said to MailOnline that brain differences may not mean damage.

“A longer study would be needed to determine if the brain changes lead to harmful long term effects,” Professor Hill said.

Drake noted that the sport has changed completely since becoming professional in the 1990s, with players now taller and bulkier.

“Players are now generally bigger and more powerful, so we have to be mindful of all the ramifications that increased impacts will have on their bodies.

“Seeing younger players suffer with the consequences of that, I am not convinced that the game is safer now than it was when I started The Drake Foundation in 2014.

“More must be done to protect players, and without delay.”

Abraham on the cards for switch to Arsenal

The next 48 hours could be vital in where Tammy Abraham plays this season, Arsenal or further abroad, according to David Ornstein

A lot can change in a season, in 2019/20 young English striker Tammy Abraham seemed to be one of the brightest talents in the Premier League. With Chelsea having a transfer ban in place, himself, Mason Mount, and Reece James were giving a lot of time on the pitch.

In a season where Chelsea surprised many and finished fourth, Abraham challenged for the golden boot with 15 goals and three assists.

A year and some expensive transfers later and his game-time has been more than halved. Not favored by German Thomas Tuchel, he got six goals and a single assist in 12 starts.

He and Olivier Giroud played second fiddle to Kai Havertz and Timo Werner in the forward line, now with the imminent arrival of Romelu Lukaku, coming off the bench even looks unlikely.

Giroud has already left for AC Milan and it seems Abraham is trying to get out as well. He nearly joined Atalanta last week until negotiations fell through.

The Athletics David Ornstein believes that the next two days could decide if the 23-year-old moves to Arsenal or to AC Roma.

The Rome side has already been in talks with Blues for a permanent move and would be the preferred choice for Chelsea.

Reports claim that Abraham has asked for two days so that he can think about the deal. This could be to give time for Arsenal to make an offer. Although Chelsea would not want to sell a good striker to one of their rivals, the striker would probably prefer not to have to move country and learn a new language.

The Gunners would need to find more funds in the coming days to afford Abraham as they continue their ongoing negotiations for Leicester’s James Maddison.

Standing nearly 6’3” with a decent turn of pace, Abraham would be a good signing for any top table side, especially when Chelsea will let him go for cheaper due to needing funds for the Lukaku deal.

Leicester Boss Rodgers Praises Club’s Recruitment

Leicester City FC manager Brendan Rodgers has praised the club’s recruitment in light of Wesley Fofana’s injury in the pre-season.

Wesley Fofana fractured his right fibula after he was on the receiving end of a tackle from Villarreal attacker Fernando Nino.

“Obviously, to lose a player with such an injury in a friendly game was devastating for us – and for the player himself, more importantly,” Rodgers said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports. “He had been very, very good over the course of pre-season and was looking forward to the beginning of the season.”

Rodgers drafted squad player Daniel Amartey into the centre of his defence for the Community Shield win over Manchester City on Saturday.

He was impressed with the Ghanaian’s performance beside Caglar Soyuncu as they kept a clean sheet against the likes of Riyad Mahrez.

However, the Leicester City boss is interested in strengthening the position with another signing after losing Fofana for a substantial period of time.

Rodgers told Sky Sports: “Hopefully we can. It’s an area where we are a little light with Jonny out as well for a period of time with a foot injury.

“With all the games we’re going to have over the course of the season, we need to have cover in those positions.

“It is something the club are currently looking at.”

Leicester has an impressive recent history when it comes to recruitment, with the injured French defender being one of the examples of this.

Their stellar recruitment led to the famous Premier League-winning season of 2015/16 as £5 million signing N’Golo Kante and £450,000 addition Riyad Mahrez shone alongside other cut-price players to take the side to the top of English football.

The trend has continued under Rodgers with the club having a net spend of £48.9 million under the former Liverpool and Celtic boss.

That is less than Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Leeds – all of whom they finished above last season.

Rodgers is involved in the recruitment process at the club and hailed their ability to find players suited to the club.

He added: “I think at this moment in time, Leicester City is a very attractive place to be. If you want to develop as a player, work in world-class training facilities and be a part of a real community club with a family feel, then this is a great place for you.”

Leicester Star James Maddison ‘Obviously Open’ To Arsenal Move

Former Premier League player Dean Windass believes that Leicester midfielder James Maddison would be open to a move to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

James Maddison has been linked with the side recently and his club has put a £70 million price tag on him.

Maddison is currently under contract with the FA Cup and FA Community Shield champions until 2024.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder has scored 27 times for the Foxes and made 20 assists in 119 appearances in his time with the club.

Leicester’s ideal outcome of the situation would see them keep hold of their attacking midfielder for the upcoming season.

Former Hull City forward Dean Windass believes that the size of Arsenal compared to Leicester will have Maddison’s head turned.

Windass spoke to Transfer Tavern about the potential move and does not understand why Maddison would stay where he is.

Although Windass acknowledged that Leicester have been the better side in recent times, he argued that Arsenal’s position in world football is greater.

“Why wouldn’t you want to go to Arsenal?” the ex-Hull City striker said. “Listen, we talk about footballers now where it’s not about money anymore, it’s about winning trophies. Are Arsenal going to be in the top four next year? No. Are Leicester with Jamie Vardy? Yes.

“But a big club like Arsenal calling and he’s obviously open to it, reports saying he’d welcome the move.”

Leicester has finished above Arsenal in the Premier League in the last two seasons.

However, the two sides have won as much silverware as each other in that time and Arsenal have enjoyed much more success a the top level of English football than Leicester.

Windass sees that as an important trait for a club to have but it remains to be seen whether Maddison will be tempted over to North London.

Craziest moments of Tokyo 2020

The Tokyo Olympics will live long in the memory as one of the strangest Games but that was before any competitions even started. Here is a list of some of the weird and wonderful that was on show this summer 

Moroccan boxer’s best Mike Tyson impression

Many people aspire to be like their idols but some can go too far. One case of this is Moroccan boxer Youness Baalla who was caught trying to bite his opponent in the middle of an Olympic bout.

Baalla was only given a warning for the incident while New Zealand fighter David Nyika said it felt like a poor scratch of his cheek. The embarrassing moment got even worse as millions of people around the world then saw him lose the fight.

How the Australian’s celebrate gold

The Wallabee’s had a terrific Olympics this year gathering a haul of 17 gold medals in total. Even with this many medals, you can see by their coach’s expression that each one is more valuable than the last.

This video caught coach Dean Boxall celebrating his protege Ariarne Titmus winning gold in the women’s 400m freestyle.

A special nod must go to the poor Japanese steward who tries to calm down Boxall.

Not old enough to drive but old enough to skateboard

At 13, most people are just starting secondary school, trying to enjoy their holidays and watching television. But for some extraordinary young teens, they are standing on the podium holding a medal at the Olympics.

Japan’s Momiji Nishiya, Brazil’s Rayssa Leal, and Great Britain’s Skye Brown all won medals in women’s skateboarding before the age of 14.

At least Australia’s Mary Hanna showed the world that age does not matter, at the age of 66 was Tokyo 2020’s oldest athlete.

Expression through hair, masks, and jewelry

With a tournament being held in Japan, there was expected to be references to anime and other pop culture made by the Olympic committee but there was a lot more by the athletes.

We saw it all from a swimmer not being allowed to wear his favourite cat-inspired mask while on the podium to a Russian women winning silver while wearing a Witcher’s Wolf School medallion.

What beats them all were the haircuts, and there was a lot. Here is the pick of the bunch.

For those who made history for their country

Countries like the USA and China can be content with their 38 plus medals each but for smaller countries, it’s more about getting to the Olympics.

There is still well over 50 Olympic nations who have never won a gold medal before but at least three countries earned their first this summer.

Flora Duffy got Bermuda’d gold in the triathlon, Hidilyn Diaz brought back Philipinnes’ gold in weightlifting and Qatar’s first of two came in the high jump by Mutaz Essa Barshim.

Hopefully, Paris 2024 will bring just as much excitement.

Liverpool FC To Continue Taking The Knee In 21/22

Liverpool FC has announced that both of their senior teams will continue taking the knee throughout the 21/22 season.

Players in the Liverpool senior squads have taken the knee since the return of football last June, following its suspension in England due to Covid-19.

The club announced the teams’ desire to continue to take the knee against racism in a statement this morning and underlined that the action sends the message that prejudice of any kind is simply unacceptable, in football or in society.

Men’s senior captain Jordan Henderson welcomed the decision made by the Premier League last week that players in the league will continue taking the knee.

“On behalf of all of the players at Liverpool, I want to restate our commitment to taking the knee in the Premier League this season and welcome the decision that was taken by the Premier League last week,” said men’s captain Jordan Henderson.

“There has been unfounded debate about why footballers are continuing to demonstrate in this way but there should be none. It is very simple – we are protesting against racism.

“The question should no longer be why are we doing it, it should be why wouldn’t we? This is a necessary response to a problem that we know exists and which we also know should not be happening.

“So I’m proud of my teammates when we take the knee and I also couldn’t have been prouder to be captain of this club when our supporters applauded us as we did so.

“It is only by doing what is right and coming together that we can achieve positive change and it is in this spirit that we will carry on taking the knee.”

LFC Women captain Niamh Fahey said: “As a women’s team we’re pleased that the football authorities will once again support squads who wish to take the knee.

“We saw even this summer around the Euros that the scourge of racism remains not just in football but in society. It shows, sadly, that the reason we took the knee last season remains every bit as relevant this season.

“It is our way of saying there is no place for racism or other forms of discrimination in our game, and that things must change.

“We will proudly wear the Take A Stand badges on our playing shirts this season and we know our supporters will be firmly behind us when we take the knee before our games.”

The campaign will see both teams wear sleeve badges in support of the message they are sending.

Liverpool Men’s will wear ‘No Room For Racism’ in the Premier League while the Women’s side will wear  Kick It Out’s ‘Take A Stand’ in the FA Women’s Championship.

Former Barca player says he’s falling ‘back in love’ with football at Leeds

Leeds United secured the signing of former Barcelona left-back Junior Firpo at the start of July for £13.2 million

Many Whites fans were very happy to see a young defender with European experience making the move to Elland Road. The 24-year-old began his career at Real Betis before moving to the Catalan giants in 2019 after some impressive seasons in La Liga.

Two years later and Firpo’s game-time was halved with him spending much of the season on the sideline behind Jordi Alba and Oscar Mingueza. His most recent season only included three starts which lead to a goal and an assist by the defender.

Now, the Spaniard has moved to England in search of more time on the pitch. He opened up to DAZN Espana about his move to Leeds.

“I haven’t done a specific evaluation [of my time at Barcelona] but it’s clear that they haven’t been good years. It’s been a time of ups and downs – more downs than ups to put it like that,” said Firpo.

“But in the end, I’ve been at Barcelona for two years and not a lot of players can have that opportunity. It was an opportunity that maybe came a bit too soon.”

The left-back suffered a knock in training last week but is expected to be recovered in time for Leeds opening game of the season on Saturday.

Firpo will now be competing with Ezgjan Alioski, Stuart Dallas, and Jamie Shackleton for the full-back places.

He has already started well at his new club, bagging an assist in a pre-season friendly against former club Real Betis.

“I’ve been here two weeks and I’ve seen more videos of myself than I have in my two years at Barça – individual videos. But it’s good, they explain to you the way you have to play, what they want you to do in every possible situation, and in the end, they really look in detail.”

“Honestly, I want to fall back in love with football. I’m not going to say I’ve had bad years recently because you always come home to your family but with regards to football I’ve definitely not had the drive to play and enjoy it. In football I always look to enjoy myself,” added Firpo.

Leeds United’s first game of the season will be away to Manchester United at 12:30 on Saturday 14th August.

Super Cup Final: Chelsea v Villareal – Team News, Betting, Predictions

Champions League winners Chelsea will face Europa League winners Villareal in the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday evening

The match will kick off at 20:00 on Wednesday 11th August in Windsor Park. Coverage of the match will be shown live on Virgin Media 2.

Since Thomas Tuchel became Chelsea’s manager, they have only been getting better and better. This culminated in the side beating Manchester City 1-0 in the Champions League final last May.

They have built a strong defense around veteran Brazilian, Thiago Silva while allowing the fast youth to be creative up the field.

They are hours away from announcing the resigning of Romelu Lukaku but expect his role in this final to only be as a fan.

After Unai Emery was laughed out of Arsenal, he has recouped his career and became successful in Villareal. The team took the Europa League title after a thrilling 22-man penalty shootout against Manchester United with only one miss.

The side is built to frustrate big clubs, playing compact and physical. This does not mean that they do not have talent, their main striker Gerard Moreno scored 23 goals in the Spanish league last season.

Villareal has become a club where forgotten Premier League stars have come to refind their form such as Alberto Moreno, Etienne Capoue, and Francis Coquelin.

This trophy is not worth much in the grand scheme of things but it would be nice for both clubs to start their season on winning ways. Chelsea will start their league campaign on Saturday at home to Crystal Palace while Villareal begins theirs on Monday to Grenada.

Predicted Starting 11s

Chelsea

Formation

3-4-2-1

Predicted Lineup

Mendy(GK), Zouma, Silva, Rudiger, James, Kante, Kovacic, Alonso, Havertz, Ziyech, Werner

Injuries

None

Villareal

Formation

5-3-2

Predicted Lineup

Asenjo (GK), Moreno, Albiol, Mandi, Foyth, Gaspar, Capoue, Trigueros, Morlanes, Nino, Moreno.

Injuries

Parejo, Chukwueze

 

Betting

Chelsea are favourites to claim the tie in 90 minutes with odds of 4/6 with Boylesports. If you place a bet of €10 you get €40 free bet. Click here to get the €40

Also you can back Ziyech to score first and Chelsea win at 100/1, click here

A draw in normal time has odds of 13/5.

Villareal are heavy underdogs to win the match with odd of 9/2.

 

Score Prediction

Chelsea are a team brimming with confidence, their squad includes four players who were in the Euro 2020 final. Although, they will likely rest Mount and Jorginho for the Premier League.

Villareal are a team known for causing upsets in Europe but this will not be one of them.

Expect this to be a cagey affair ending 2-1 to Chelsea.

 

Aidan Walsh Has Not Got Over Bronze Medal Feeling

Team Ireland boxer Aidan Walsh is back home but has not got over the feeling of becoming an Olympic bronze medallist.

Walsh defeated Mauritian Merven Clair to progress to the semi-finals of the Men’s Welterweight boxing tournament at the Olympic games.

Four judges had him down as the winner, securing a medal for him, but the Monkstown boxer had to withdraw from his semi-final bout after injuring himself while celebrating.

The Team Ireland member was due to fight Team GB’s Pat McCormack, who ended up taking home the silver medal in the division.

However, the 24-year-old is over the moon with his bronze medal and said: “To be honest, it still just all seems surreal.

“Usually I’m out in the crowd supporting other people, but to be standing on the side is crazy.

“I just feel lucky and extremely grateful. Everyone on the team deserves to be here as well with a medal.

“But first and foremost I’m an Olympian along with my sister alongside a great team. Everything else is a bonus.”

Walsh noted that he feels extremely lucky to be able to be in this position – a bronze medallist after his first Olympics.

The fighter is excited to get back to Monkstown and see the support group that helped him get to such a position.

The most important part of the Olympic journey for Walsh was sharing it with one person from that group – his sister Michaela Walsh, also an Olympian.

Michaela was a huge supporter of all the Team Ireland boxers after her exit from the Women’s Featherweight tournament at the round of 16.

“It’s great to have someone like that. Someone who [is my] best friend and [have] grown up together.”

Now, he looks forward to putting his feet up and not having to worry about such a strict diet.

His post-Olympics mindset follows the same pattern that Kellie Harrington’s does as the pair look to make the most of their time off.

Aidan will return to his caravan with his girlfriend and eat whatever he wants after spending so long focused on Tokyo – he added that sweets weren’t available to him in Japan.

“I’m going to go to the caravan with my girlfriend in Carnlough and just take it easy – have a bit of Chinese, a tin of Coke and lots of chocolates, lots of sweets and just pig out.”

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