Latest news with #LigueUn
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Man Utd ‘look to raid PSG in ambitious transfer pursuit for key £34million midfielder' but face fight with Prem rivals
MANCHESTER UNITED are eyeing a deal for £34million rated Paris Saint Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz. The Advertisement 1 Ruiz has a transfer value of £34m - but PSG could hold out for more to keep their midfield trio together Credit: Getty Amorim's use of only two midfielders covering a lot of space requires a rare profile of all action midfielder, with Ruiz slotting into his plans for the centre of the pitch according to The Spaniard makes up part of the French champions' midfield three alongside world-class Portuguese stars Advertisement READ MORE ON MAN UTD PSG are keen to keep the three together, forming the engine room of a side that won the Champions League, Ligue Un, the French Cup and the French Supercup in the 2024/25 season. The trio have the chance to add further silverware to their collection this year as Les Parisiens continue their run into the knockout stages of the Club World Cup. Considering the money at stake in that competition, Ruiz is unlikely to be going anywhere until PSG's participation is over, with the final scheduled for the 13th of July should they make it that far. All three started in PSG's last match, a 4-0 demolition job over Lionel Messi's Advertisement Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS English fans may also remember Ruiz from his performances with Spain at Euro 2024, where he was named in the team of the tournament alongside his compatriot, Rodri. Ruiz' current contract expires in 2027, and PSG may be forced to offer him a long-term contract if they want to combat interest from the North-West of England. Advertisement If the Red Devils do get the deal over the line, fans can expect Ruiz to be deployed behind Rashford Exit Incoming? Barcelona Push for Surprise Loan Deal!
Extra.ie
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Heimir: Kelleher is ‘too good' to stay on Liverpool bench
Heimir Hallgrímsson wants Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher to go to a club where he is playing regularly — because 'he is too good not to be'. The Corkman is still celebrating a Premier League title that he had a big part in Liverpool winning last weekend, having deputised for Allison during the season. However, it looks like the 26-year-old will leave Anfield in the summer and the Irish boss is confident he will have plenty of suitors. Caoimhín Kelleher celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title victory with Trent- Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. Pic:'I want him to go to a club where he will play on a regular basis,' Hallgrímsson said on Wednesday. 'I'm not so bothered [where]. He has shown everyone he can play at whatever level. He has been playing at the highest level, whether it's the Champions League or the Premier League and done really well. 'I just want him to be happy and playing regularly. Whatever that team is, I don't mind. I think goalkeepers are a little bit different you want them playing on a regular basis, match-fit, and confident in what they're doing. 'But I know he wants to be playing at the highest level. I don't mind where that is, just as long as he's playing on a regular basis because he's too good not to be playing.' Heimir Hallgrímsson wants Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher to go to a club where he is playing regularly. Pic: INPHO/Bryan Keane While Kelleher has won the league, some other Ireland players have had to face up to relegation, including the green contingent at Ipswich, although Hallgrímsson believes that the consistency of Dara O'Shea's performances for the Tractor Boys means that he should find another top-flight club. 'Dara is in a relegated team but he has played more or less every minute for Ipswich this season and that's one thing, the consistency. I know that clubs will be looking at Dara in the Premier League and be saying number one, this is a consistent player. He is not injured a lot and is playing the same level all the time. I don't think anyone is blaming him for the relegation of Ipswich. He is in the centre-back role and he has been versatile at times as a right-back for Ipswich and in a back three as well. He has been really good this season.' Hallgrímsson recently took in club matches in Netherlands and France, running the rule over Irish players such as Anselmo García MacNulty at PEC Zwolle, where the underage international has played 30 games this season, and Troy Parrott at AZ Alkmaar. Troy Parrott celebrates scoring a goal for AZ Alkmaar. Pic: Marcel Bonte/Soccrates/Getty Images In Ligue Un, he looked at Andrew Omobamidele in Strasbourg and went to Reims to see John Joe Patrick Finn. Indeed, the Icelander is widening the net as much as he can, with another couple of Irish-qualified players currently working their way through the paperwork to become eligible. He had hoped to have two friendlies before the two games in June, against Senegal and Luxembourg. However, one of those opponents pulled out because of other commitments and they were unable to source a suitable replacement.
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Dazzling Desire Doue inspires transformed PSG as Aston Villa taught Champions League lesson
Now it is Unai Emery who needs the Remontada. As he knows from bitter experience, Paris Saint-Germain have lost leads in European second legs before, and bigger ones than this. The verdict may be that Aston Villa 's damage-limitation exercise almost succeeded. Particularly in the four, heady minutes when they led but when a lone goal separated teams divided by a gulf in class. But then Nuno Mendes provided the coup de grace, the third goal PSG fully deserved. Villa have a colossal task to overturn a deficit next week. Beaten by the youthful brio of Desire Doue and the idiosyncratic virtuosity of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, any comeback would have to come at the expense of a PSG side staking their claim to be Europe's finest. Back in Paris, Emery had a long 90 minutes from his vantage point at the edge of a vast technical area. Villa had organisation, determination and the reflexes of Emi Martinez. They restricted PSG to three goals, a slight return for 27 shots and 76 percent of possession. It was a statement performance, if not a statement scoreline from Luis Enrique's side. But it was illuminated by two faces of the new PSG, recent arrivals who scored wonderful solo goals in differing fashions. Doue delivered the long-range strike, Kvaratskhelia the solo run with the emphatic finish. Doue sparkled, with the fearlessness of youth and the skills that suggest stardom beckons. Kvaratskhelia scored with explosive brilliance: the skill of an old-fashioned winger allied with the pace of the modern athlete. The Georgian's mesmeric dribbling gives Emery six days to find a way to stop the seemingly unstoppable. Villa tried two different right-backs. Suffice to say, neither subdued the January signing. This was Villa's first European Cup quarter-final in 42 years; they had fallen to a Frenchman then, with Michel Platini scoring twice for Juventus. Doue, born long after Platini had managed France, let alone captained them, helped PSG to a 17th win in 18 games. Ligue Un has been won with consistency, but in Europe, they seem to be peaking in the second half of the season. But Villa arrived in the French capital with seven straight wins. When they had the temerity to lead, an eighth briefly felt feasible. It was a glorious counter-attacking goal that justified Emery's decision to bench the flair player borrowed from PSG, Marco Asensio. If John McGinn was deemed a more industrious No 10, he bustled in to win the ball from Mendes and picked out Marcus Rashford with a cross-field pass. Lonely at times as a solitary striker, Rashford nonetheless proved intelligent on breaks and fed the overlapping Youri Tielemans. He crossed to give Morgan Rogers a tap-in: 15 months after he was a Championship player, he became a Champions League quarter-final scorer. It is an understatement to say it came against the run of play. Villa's only other first-half shot was a particularly wayward effort from McGinn. Meanwhile, there was a Parisian assault on the eardrums and the lungs. PSG seek to batter opponents; one in particular. There were whistles for Emi Martinez, the agent provocateur who has riled the French. The PSG fans directed insults in his native Spanish. Maybe the Argentinian revelled in his unpopularity. He made a spectacular early save from Ousmane Dembele, a fine stop from Achraf Hakimi just before the hour. If Martinez seemed to relish the occasion, he clawed the ball off his line to stop Doue equalising. He only delayed the goal for a matter of seconds. Even he was motionless when the teenager curled a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner. Preferred to Bradley Barcola, Doue showed why. It was a glorious goal and yet arguably not even the best of the game. Just Kvaratskhelia's fourth goal since his move from Napoli was wondrous. Turned one way and then the other by Kvaratskhelia, Axel Disasi was left losing his balance as the Georgian lifted his shot into the roof of the net. It was an unfortunate introduction for Disasi: brought on for the booked Matty Cash, he had a worse fate. It was probably not the homecoming a Parisian imagined. He may have a Georgian on his mind for quite some time. Maybe Mendes staged his late tribute to his teammate, fooling Ezri Konsa with a turn before also finding the top of the net. PSG had seen a third goal disallowed earlier when one full-back struck, with Hakimi thwarted, but it was a sign of their attacking instincts that the left-back made the injury-time surge into the box. It may have frustrated luminaries besides Emery. The Parc des Princes welcomed a prince. Villa's royal admirer, Prince William, was on his feet celebrating their goal. Villa were kings of Europe in 1982. PSG are likelier to be in 2025.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sources: Newcastle have already found their Alexander Isak replacement
The Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules are likely to see Newcastle have to sell a player or two, and the Magpies already know who they want to replace Alexander Isak should the kit-man decide to leave. Arsenal are known to be interested in Isak, though there would appear to be little chance of the Gunners breaking the bank in order to land the Swede. Former Liverpool ace, John Arne Riise, has also suggested that the Magpies front man would be a great replacement for the under-performing Darwin Nunez. The Reds are not know as a club that overpays for players either, and with Newcastle believed to have slapped a £150m+ transfer fee on Isak's head, only a very few clubs could genuinely afford him. Sources indicate that a move to Saudi Arabia is off the table, but there's an understanding that various European giants could be ready to make a move for Isak as and when the time is right. It's understood that Newcastle are already considering Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike as Isak's replacement, a player whom they were interested in when he played for Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue Un giants have a 20% sell-on clause in any deal, so would be an interested party in his potential transfer. Ekitike was on the verge of joining the Magpies during his tenure at Stade Reims, but ultimately chose Paris Saint-Germain. That Newcastle's interest appears to continue shows that he remains a suitable candidate as an Isak replacement. They won't get things all their own way, however, as sources also understand that all of Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool all retain a watching brief at this point. Ekitike is under contract until June 2029, though Eintracht are considering selling him in the summer for a minimum of €80m.
