Latest news with #ex-Viking
Daily Record
02-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Rangers fans know me as a flop but I helped negotiate Erling Haaland's blockbuster transfer to Manchester City
One former Ibrox attacker looks after the Norwegian superstar's financial affairs Egil Ostenstad played a pivotal role in one of the most high-profile transfers in recent history when he helped bring superstar Erling Haaland to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022. But to fans of a certain age, the former Norwegian forward will forever be remembered for flopping at Rangers in the 2003/04 season. Ostenstad was brought to Ibrox by Alex McLeish on a free transfer from Blackburn and despite scoring just two goals across the previous three years, notably appeared for his country at the 1998 World Cup in France. But his stint in the blue half of Glasgow proved to be nothing short of a disaster, with a return of just two goals in 17 matches - both of which came in League Cup ties against Forfar and St Johnstone - failing to justify his reported salary of £20,000 a week. The ex-Viking attacker had his contract in Govan ripped up before the campaign - which finished trophyless for Gers - had even drawn to a close and after a decent second spell with Viking, hung up his boots in 2005 to become club's director of football until 2011. But through his close friendship with former Norway and Man City teammate Alf-Inge Haaland - Ostenstad then began to represent the family's financial interests, also heading his pal's investment firm Tyrannus, which is based in Luxembourg. After helping negotiate Haaland Jr's moves from Molde to Salzburg in 2020 and then to Dortmund six months later, they hit the jackpot when Pep Guardiola's Etihad giants forked out £51million to bring him to the Premier League. But in an interview with FourFourTwo last month, the 53-year-old was asked about his ill-fated stint at Ibrox, and replied: "It came up late in the transfer window. "I had 10 months left on my contract at Blackburn and Rangers are a massive club. I had an opportunity to play in the Champions League with them, so I took it, but they signed me more as a squad player. "I didn't do well. I was struggling with an Achilles problem and couldn't train properly. I'm grateful that I got to experience being at such a huge club. I would've loved to do better. "I did my best, but it wasn't enough at the time. It's hard as a Rangers player when Celtic are performing better." You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What Jadeveon Clowney's release means for the Panthers
On Thursday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers parted ways with eight players—most notably outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney. The move shouldn't have come as much of a surprise—because the writing was not only on the wall, it was all over it. Between the noncommittal statement about his future from general manager Dan Morgan and the report that revealed the front office's interest in trading the 32-year-old defender, Clowney clearly wasn't sticking around much longer. Advertisement His release, however, is still a puzzling one for many Panthers fans. He was still a solid player in 2024. His 5.5 sacks were tied for the team lead, and we know that this defense needs as many sacks as they can get. Plus, wouldn't his experience alone be valuable to a growing roster? There must be something a former No. 1 overall pick and a three-time Pro Bowler could teach the youngsters, right? Well, yeah. But the Panthers probably didn't make this decision carelessly. We just have to connect the dots to make sense of it all. Here are the biggest takeaways from Clowney's depature . . . The new starter With Clowney gone, the Panthers are now likely to turn one of their starting outside linebacker jobs to Pat Jones II. Advertisement Jones, one of Carolina's early free-agent additions, was signed to a two-year, $15 million pact in March. He's coming off a career campaign—where he notched bests in combined tackles (39) and sacks (7.0) for the Minnesota Vikings. The 6-foot-5, 264-pounder is actually quite comparable to Clowney in stature and in play style. Along with the pass-rushing ability, Jones is an above-average run defender and has the chops to set the edge. At 26 years old, Jones is viewed by the organization as an ascending talent—hence their investment. He'll be given a chance to establish himself alongside fellow ex-Viking D.J. Wonnum, who was pretty disruptive in his shortened 2024 season. The future The Panthers made a bit of a splash on Day 2 of the 2025 draft, trading up (twice) for a pair of a potent pass rushers. Advertisement First, in the second round, came Texas A&M's Nic Scourton—who posted a Big Ten-leading 10.0 sacks for Purdue in 2023. Then, in the third round, came Mississippi's Princely Umanmielen—who tallied 10.5 sacks in 2024. Both, given their production and their measurables, have high ceilings. In fact, Scourton and Umanmielen were even considered as first-round prospects by some draft experts. Both are also (obviously) young, and they need the room to grow. Taking Clowney out of the equation might've left them without a perfect mentor, but it did free up more on-field opportunities in 2025. Finding Scourton and Umanmielen chances will be up to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who hasn't been the quickest to turn to his rookie players. Now, he may not have much of a choice as the Panthers continue to embrace their youth movement. The possibilities Along with snaps, the Clowney release also freed up approximately $7.7 million in salary cap space. That amount will be enough to cover the team's 2025 draft class and, potentially, another key free-agent signing. Advertisement So, could the Panthers finally ink that starting free safety fans have been clamoring for? Are the likes of Julian Blackmon, Marcus Williams or, perhaps, Justin Simmons back in play? We'll see . . . Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content. This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers release OLB Jadeveon Clowney: Biggest takeaways from the move
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What Jadeveon Clowney's release means for the Panthers
On Thursday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers parted ways with eight players—most notably outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney. The move shouldn't have come as much of a surprise—because the writing was not only on the wall, it was all over it. Between the noncommittal statement about his future from general manager Dan Morgan and the report that revealed the front office's interest in trading the 32-year-old defender, Clowney clearly wasn't sticking around much longer. His release, however, is still a puzzling one for many Panthers fans. He was still a solid player in 2024. His 5.5 sacks were tied for the team lead, and we know that this defense needs as many sacks as they can get. Plus, wouldn't his experience alone be valuable to a growing roster? There must be something a former No. 1 overall pick and a three-time Pro Bowler could teach the youngsters, right? Well, yeah. But the Panthers probably didn't make this decision carelessly. We just have to connect the dots to make sense of it all. Here are the biggest takeaways from Clowney's depature . . . The new starter With Clowney gone, the Panthers are now likely to turn one of their starting outside linebacker jobs to Pat Jones II. Jones, one of Carolina's early free-agent additions, was signed to a two-year, $15 million pact in March. He's coming off a career campaign—where he notched bests in combined tackles (39) and sacks (7.0) for the Minnesota Vikings. The 6-foot-5, 264-pounder is actually quite comparable to Clowney in stature and in play style. Along with the pass-rushing ability, Jones is an above-average run defender and has the chops to set the edge. At 26 years old, Jones is viewed by the organization as an ascending talent—hence their investment. He'll be given a chance to establish himself alongside fellow ex-Viking D.J. Wonnum, who was pretty disruptive in his shortened 2024 season. The future The Panthers made a bit of a splash on Day 2 of the 2025 draft, trading up (twice) for a pair of a potent pass rushers. First, in the second round, came Texas A&M's Nic Scourton—who posted a Big Ten-leading 10.0 sacks for Purdue in 2023. Then, in the third round, came Mississippi's Princely Umanmielen—who tallied 10.5 sacks in 2024. Both, given their production and their measurables, have high ceilings. In fact, Scourton and Umanmielen were even considered as first-round prospects by some draft experts. Both are also (obviously) young, and they need the room to grow. Taking Clowney out of the equation might've left them without a perfect mentor, but it did free up more on-field opportunities in 2025. Finding Scourton and Umanmielen chances will be up to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who hasn't been the quickest to turn to his rookie players. Now, he may not have much of a choice as the Panthers continue to embrace their youth movement. The possibilities Along with snaps, the Clowney release also freed up approximately $7.7 million in salary cap space. That amount will be enough to cover the team's 2025 draft class and, potentially, another key free-agent signing. So, could the Panthers finally ink that starting free safety fans have been clamoring for? Are the likes of Julian Blackmon, Marcus Williams or, perhaps, Justin Simmons back in play? We'll see . . . Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
