Latest news with #Valencia
Metro
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Metro
Cristhian Mosquera could reject Arsenal and stay at Valencia on one condition
Cristhian Mosquera will consider rejecting interest from Arsenal to stay at Valencia if he is offered the right contract, according to reports in Spain. The Gunners have identified the Spain Under-21 international as their top defensive target, eager to bring him in to provide cover and competition for the first-choice pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. Arsenal launched an opening offer of €19million this week which was swiftly rejected by Valencia. Mosquera, who turned 21 today, has entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Mestalla with Los Che eager to tie him down to a long-term deal. Valencia are still to present the defender with a formal offer, however. Cadena Ser report Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Mosquera's representatives were recently invited to the club's offices where they were 'informed of the club's intentions' without any deal being presented. A formal contract offer has been postponed until the arrival of Valencia's new chief executive Ron Gourlay, who will officially begin his duties next week. Mosquera has grown into a vital member of Carlos Corberan's first-team and while Arsenal are expected to return with a second bid, reports elsewhere suggest he will consider remaining in Spain. Las Provincias claims Mosquera may choose to stay at the club if he is offered a new deal that is in line with his prominent role in the team. Mosquera's agent Sergio Barila sat down with Valencia officials earlier this month, reportedly the first time the two parties had met 'in months' to discuss a new deal. In comments made before Arsenal's interest in his client came to light, Barila said: 'We came to speak with the club and in a few days we will speak again and both parties will analyse the situation. More Trending Man behind viral video of fight at Ibiza hotel pool is a pro-footballer 'The boy is very happy at Valencia CF, he has always expressed that. 'Now he is focused on the U21 national team and we will have time to find solutions.' Mosquera was part of the Spain Under-21 squad that crashed out of the European Championships against England last week. He played the full 90 minutes, briefly coming up against a potential future teammate in Ethan Nwaneri. MORE: Chelsea star could push for transfer after Arsenal and PSG interest MORE: Benjamin Sesko asking price changes again after Arsenal transfer concerns MORE: Bryan Mbeumo sends message to Thomas Frank as second Man Utd bid is rejected
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Arsenal hopeful of deal to sign Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera
Arsenal are hopeful of agreeing a deal to sign Cristhian Mosquera after holding talks with Valencia over the Spain under-21 international. Mikel Arteta is keen to strengthen his defensive options and has identified Mosquera – who came through Valencia's academy and has played 90 games for the first team – as their main target to provide back-up to William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães. Arsenal are scheduled to hold more talks after their initial offer of about £16m for the 21-year-old, who also has interest from Real Madrid, was rejected. They are expected to return with a slightly improved bid that could persuade Valencia to sell. Personal terms are not expected to be an issue for Mosquera, who featured against England in Spain's quarter-final defeat at the European Under-21 Championship last Saturday. Arsenal are also expected to wrap up the signing of Christian Nørgaard from Brentford in the coming days having agreed a fee worth up to £15m for the Denmark midfielder. He will be joined by Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad but Thomas Partey looks poised to leave after failing to agree a contract extension. Nottingham Forest's hopes of signing Timothy Weah and Samuel Mbangula from Juventus for a combined £19.6m have been dashed after the pair rejected the move. The United States forward Weah – a son of Ballon d'Or winner George – and the Belgian winger Mbangula were left out of the Juventus squad beaten 5-2 by Manchester City on Thursday having told the Italian club that they were not interested in joining the Premier League side. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Bournemouth, Everton and Leeds are also understood to be interested in Weah, who was on loan at Celtic in 2019.
Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
‘We got lucky:' Celtics' lead international scout details pursuit of first-round pick Hugo González
'With a minute or two left, he's just out there diving for the ball and close to getting hurt,' Matkevicius said. 'He does not care. He competes and just wants to win.' Matkevicius heard about another game in which González injured his elbow going up for a dunk. He was expected to miss the next game, but just wrapped it up and took the court. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'He's really a true competitor and fans will love him because of that Marcus Smart-type of effort that he just goes out there,' Matkevicius said. 'He guards multiple positions and dives on the floor. He just wants the ball more than anybody else.' Advertisement González now plays for Real Madrid's senior team that won the Spanish League by defeating Valencia on Wednesday, the same night In the days that followed, the reaction Matkevicius received from people in European basketball circles was loud and unanimous. 'I've never received as many messages after a draft as I did the next day from around Europe, from coaches and managers and scouts,' he said. 'There were a lot of messages I received that were just like, 'Man, great pick.' That was an indicator that usually doesn't happen, and it happened not only from Spain but from other teams as well. For value, for the range we picked at, we got lucky.' Related : Advertisement NBA veterans fill Real Madrid's roster, and the franchise's rich history brings big pressure to win, so it cannot really take time to serve as a talent incubator. That led to scattered opportunities for González this year. In recent seasons Matkevicius leaned on evaluations from González's games with Real Madrid's junior teams, as well as in international competitions with Spain's under-18 program. He first saw González play for Real Madrid in a junior tournament when he was about 15, still a year or two younger than most others on the court. 'He was already standing out with his athleticism, physical prowess, energy, motor,' Matkevicius said. 'He was fitting right in and playing well, already playing up.' González was still too young to truly be projected as an NBA draft prospect, so Matkevicius slotted him in his rankings for players in his age group and continued to monitor his progress. At the start of this season, Matkevicius began including updates about González in the reports he sent to the Celtics' front office every two weeks. He tried to predict Real Madrid matchups that might give González the best chance to play, but also came away impressed by games in which he was used sparingly. 'He can play around superstars easily,' Matkevicius said. 'He can fit in. One thing that always impressed me about him is when he's playing with the pros and is on the bench or gets subbed out, he's the loudest guy on the bench and it's sincere. He's really cheering for his teammates, really happy. He's not pouting, expecting playing time. He knows who he is and he's very self-aware, and that makes him personality-wise a good fit also.' Related : Advertisement González averaged 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds while playing 14.2 minutes per game in the Spanish League this season, connecting on just 27.1 percent of his 3-pointers. On draft night, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said González has the tools to become a more efficient offensive player, and Matkevicius agrees. He said it can be tough to evaluate shooting stats for a player whose opportunities are so sporadic. He believes González has good form and has shown at the junior level that he is quite comfortable with the ball in his hands. 'Obviously, the offensive game has to be refined because there's a lot of development left as a 19-year-old,' he said, 'but I wouldn't be afraid to throw him out there now, just because he's physically more advanced than the average 19-year-old and he's got the size and length and a lot of intangibles that already give him a good foundation to start his career.' … The Celtics will open Las Vegas summer league play against the Grizzlies on July 11 at 4 p.m. Boston will then play the Pistons (July 13, 4 p.m.), Heat (July 14, 8 p.m.), and Lakers (July 17, 9 p.m.) before having a final game added to the schedule. Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at
Metro
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Metro
Arsenal make approach to sign Brazilian star in cut price deal
Arsenal have made an initial approach to sign Brazilian youngster Breno Bidon from Corinthians. Mikel Arteta is eager to bring in a centre forward and a winger but the club are strengthening a number of areas ahead of the new season. The Gunners have been busy so far this summer with deals wrapped up to sign Martin Zubimendi and Kepa with the Spanish pair expected to officially sign for the club next week. Christian Norgaard isn't far behind them with the Brentford captain set to undergo a medical. The club are also in talks with Valencia to bring Cristhian Mosquera to north London having identified the Spain Under-21 international as an ideal option to come in and provide cover and competition for William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. Another young star appears to be in their plans with Arsenal among the club making contact over a move for 20-year-old Bidon, UOL report. The midfielder has also attracted interest from Wolves and Brighton with Portuguese giants Sporting CP and Benfica also in the running. While held in high regard, Corinthians are prepared to listen to offers for the central midfielder with a major sale expected to help balance the books. Bidon will be available for a very modest £12.8million this summer. With deals for Zubimendi, Norgaard and Kepa effectively done, Arsenal are negotiating on a number of fronts. Their opening offer for Valencia star Mosquera, thought to be worth £16m, has been rejected by the La Liga side, who are looking for around £25m for one of their prized assets. Efforts to bring in a centre forward continue with Arsenal exploring moves for Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko. More Trending Man behind viral video of fight at Ibiza hotel pool is a pro-footballer The Gunners are still to make an offer that meets Sporting CP's demands for the Swede while reports have suggested the club are growing frustrated with Sesko's demands. A winger is also high on the club's list of priorities this summer with Anthony Gordon and Rodrygo two options under consideration. Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze has also emerged as a target. MORE: Dortmund interested in £35m Chelsea star as Jamie Gittens transfer gets closer MORE: Arsenal consider surprise bid for £32m Chelsea star MORE: Man Utd sent latest transfer message by Real Betis over 'complex' Antony deal
Herald Sun
13 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Kylie Lang on why social media has made the world a worse place
Remember when the sneakiest thing you could do on social media was to use a filter to enhance a photo and not tell anyone? Bung on a bit of Clarendon, Juno or Valencia and make your images pop. Then it became cool, even though some people clearly cheated, to use the hashtag #nofilter – as if you were really a closet photographic genius. Ah, Instagram, how tame you were back in the day – 2010, that is, a mere 15 years ago. Now, as social media platforms have multiplied so has the deceit they allow people to portray as true. And I'm talking about more than the 'look-at-me-and-my-fabulous-life-bet-you're-jealous' posts. Social media has become sinister and the minds of users have become sicker. You might say it's chicken and egg stuff – which came first? – but I'd wager that anti-social behaviour of the chronic kind we've been seeing recently is a direct result of these unregulated online platforms. The greed of profit-ravenous tech giants has decimated human decency. Bullying like never before, revenge porn, deepfake nudes and the online abuse of children including by other children are bordering on commonplace. But as those of us who recall life before social media rightly demand better responses – from our schools, our parents, our politicians and critically the tech behemoths – there is another degree of moral corruption going on. Let me give you two examples. When a young man allegedly brutally attacked a middle-aged bus driver last Friday evening at Brisbane's South Bank station, passengers were eager to film it. The distressing footage was then uploaded to social media. Did no passenger think to immediately go to the driver's aid? Why was their first thought, where's my phone? The lure of a twisted type of fame on social media is strong. We see it also when students are brawling on school grounds. Rather than break up fights, onlookers are hanging back and filming them. They're getting kicks out of another's suffering and using it to boost their social media engagement. Now to the case of a Queensland mother accused of torturing her baby for social media kudos. The 34-year-old was charged in January over allegedly drugging her infant to get clicks and money from the content she posted on TikTok. As if those allegations aren't horrendous enough, this week The Courier-Mail revealed a number of people have created copycat social media accounts. The fake accounts use the family's name and previously posted images and videos. Pathetic? You bet. David Tuffley, who lectures in applied ethics and cyber security at Griffith University, says there is 'a thriving black market' for TikTok accounts. The aim of these fakes, Dr Tuffley says, is to attract followers then monetise the accounts through advertising, soliciting donations or selling them on the black market. Staggering to think from October to December last year, TikTok stopped more than 10.47 billion fake likes on its content due to inauthentic engagement and fake accounts activity, according to Statista data. Stan Karanasios, a professor in information systems at the UQ Business School, says there is no way of knowing how many fake accounts exist but the motive is to 'piggyback' on a person's legitimacy to 'lure people into believing you are trustworthy and (to) engage in scams and malicious activities'. What a world we live in. I wish we could shut down social media and make phones dumb again. I wish TV shows like SeaChange and Seinfeld were being seen for the first time. I wish people would escape to the country and not whine about the Wi-Fi. But just as we can't turn back time, we have to be present to what's happening now. We cannot let ourselves be conditioned to accept heinous behaviour as the new norm simply because of the prevalence of it online. There are many education programs around social media use, positive parenting in the digital age and how to keep yourself safe online – but they are not enough. Until tech giants are properly held to account, people will continue to be pawns. Kylie Lang is Associate Editor of The Courier-Mail Originally published as Kylie Lang on why social media has made the world a worse place
