Author: Soccerhuz
Following the catastrophic ACL injury suffered by Thibaut Courtois during practise on Thursday, Carlo Ancelotti has confidence in backup goalie Andriy Lunin. Yet, the Italian tactician has confirmed that Real Madrid plan to make a move for another shot-stopper ahead of a challenging 2023/24 campaign. “Emotionally yesterday was not a good day,” Ancelotti told the press conference prior Real Madrid’s game against Athletic Club on Saturday. “These things usually happen in footballl and now we have to hope that Courtois can recover soon and show all [our] confidence to Lunin, who is a great goalkeeper. “He did well during the preseason and we have total confidence in him.…
The Basque side kick off their 2023/24 La Liga season up against Los Blancos in an eye-catching fixture as part of the opening weekend calendar. Valverde’s charges have struggled to gain momentum during preseason with just one summer win picked up ahead of the new campaign. They face a testing start to the season with a mixed record up against Real Madrid in recent seasons and no league wins over the side from the capital since 2015. Within that poor streak of form, Benzeme has been a nemesis for Athletic Club, with 18 league goals against them, including two in…
Champions Manchester City travel to Turf Moor to kick off the 2023-24 English Premier League season against newly-promoted Burnley. Pep Guardiola’s City have won five of the last six Premier League titles and last season, they also won the FA Cup and lifted the Champions League for the first time. City will come up against a familiar face in Burnley coach Vincent Kompany, with the former City legend having played under Guardiola before beginning his managerial career. Kompany guided Burnley to promotion after winning the second-tier Championship. He’s seen venting at Haaland as they walk off the pitch, clearly upset…
Manchester City were dealt a worrying blow when captain Kevin De Bruyne was forced off with injury after just 23 minutes of their opening league game. WHAT HAPPENED? The brilliant Belgian pulled up after just 21 minutes of City’s match against Burnley on Friday night. It was immediately apparent that the midfielder would have to be subbed as he passed the captain’s armband over to Kyle Walker, before being replaced by Mateo Kovacic moments later. THE BIGGER PICTURE: De Bruyne and City fans will hope that it is not a recurrence of the hamstring injury which forced him to leave June’s…
Just when Liverpool thought things couldn’t get any worse, it appears that Chelsea are going to gazump them on the Romeo Lavia deal as well as Moises Caicedo. For the latter, it seems that the Reds can’t really do too much about it. After having a British record bid submitted by Brighton and Hove Albion, the player apparently professed a personal preference of only wishing to sign for the Blues. Whilst that may have left Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool’s owners seething, it’s absolutely Caicedo’s prerogative to move to whichever club he chooses. At the time of writing, Chelsea haven’t actually…
Thiago has spent pre-season recovering from hip surgery and he is not expected to return before the end of this month, while Bajcetic was also absent from pre-season as he continues to recover from an adductor operation at the end of last season. Jurgen Klopp has overseen a major midfield overhaul this summer and new recruits Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are in contention to make their debuts for the Reds on Sunday, with the duo set to be joined in the middle of the pitch by either Curtis Jones or Harvey Elliott. Trent Alexander-Arnold has been tested in…
After coming 12th in the last campaign, it is going to be hard for Chelsea to be any worse. They also now have an exceptional manager at the helm in Mauricio Pochettino. Nevertheless, Antonio does not think that the Blues have enough to make a return to the top four. On Pochettino’s side, he said: “I feel like it’s going to be fifth or sixth place this year, to build on for next year.” Where will Chelsea finish this season? Manchester City and Arsenal are the top two teams in the country. Right now, you would probably have to back…
Caicedo’s transfer dilemma rages on as the midfielder rejects the opportunity to join Liverpool despite the club striking a lucrative deal with Brighton. Caicedo was scheduled to go to Merseyside for a physical when Liverpool and Brighton reached a British-record deal of £110 million for the player. He favours a transition to the Stamford Bridge team, therefore he was having second thoughts about a move to Liverpool this morning. Chelsea is prepared to make another offer in an effort to secure a deal for the Ecuadorian after having their previous offers turned down by Brighton. He wrote, “110M is an…
Manchester City are reportedly looking to make a move for a Belgian forward who has drawn comparisons with Eden Hazard. With Riyad Mahrez joining Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli for £30m this summer, Manchester City have been left trying to find a replacement right-winger as they head into the new season. Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise has been strongly linked in recent weeks, but it seems Pep Guardiola is keen on signing an alternative forward from elsewhere in Europe. According to The Telegraph, Manchester City are in talks to sign Jeremy Doku from Ligue 1 side Rennes. The report suggests that Rennes values Doku between…
WHAT HAPPENED? Despite the Brazilian having reportedly agreed a six-year contract with the Manchester club, Moyes told press ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth that City’s bid had been rejected. WHAT THEY SAID: “We’ve had an offer from Manchester City, but at the moment it’s not anywhere near meeting our valuation” said the Scotsman. THE BIGGER PICTURE: City’s bid is believed to be in the region of around £74m (€85m/$93m) plus add ons. West Ham’s valuation is reported to be in the region of around £95m (€110m/$121m) with no bonus clauses. Having extracted a handsome fee for their captain Declan…