The 21-year-old is pricing himself out of a long-term stay at the Ligue 1 club
Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot knows he and his club will have to enjoy Folarin Balogun while they can.
Balogun has turned in an incredible season on loan from Arsenal, and is currently tied for the most goals in Ligue 1 with 15.
The forward’s campaign has led to plenty of speculation over his future as he gets set to return to Arsenal at the conclusion of the season. The Gunners will mull over whether to cash in on the 21-year-old, offer him a first-team role in 2023-24, or send him on another loan — presumably to a bigger club than Reims.
In an interview with France Bleu, Caillot was realistic about his club’s prospects of landing the USMNT-eligible striker on a long-term basis, though he admitted he still holds out faint hope of bringing him back on another loan next season.
“I think [signing him permanently] is impossible,” Caillot said. “The rules of the game are clear: these are boys that, when they join us, know that they’re here to improve and that it’s a step for them. So even if I’m not deciding for him, either Folarin will return to his club (Arsenal) to have his chance, he’s loaned out, or transferred to a very big club.
“He is a player that should go even higher. So obviously we’ll ask him if he feels good here, and at his club, but I think that now, he will need to take a step up.
“We are already working on life after Balogun, the day when he will leave our club. But if he and the club are open to another year at Reims, we’ll do everything to make it happen.”
Marsch was set to take over just a week after he was sacked by Leeds
The Jesse Marsch era at Southampton is over before it even started.
The American manager was nearing a deal to take over the struggling Saints but talks have broken down, according to multiplereports on Wednesday.
At issue was the length of Marsch’s proposed contract: Southampton wanted to bring him in on a six-month deal with the option to extend, while the manager was looking to sign onto a more long-term contract.
Marsch traveled to Southampton on Tuesday to complete the deal, but the club’s managerial search will now continue.
Marsch was nearing the Saints job just over a week after he was sacked by Leeds amid a winless run that saw the club near the Premier League relegation zone.
The 49-year-old was seen as an ideal candidate to take over for Nathan Jones, who was sacked following the club’s 2-1 home loss to a 10-man Wolves.
Jones had won just once in eight Premier League games during his tenure, which lasted just barely more than four months. Jones himself had been appointed in November after Ralph Hasenhüttl’s four-year run at St. Mary’s came to an end with Southampton taking just 12 points from the club’s first 14 Premier League matches.
That situation never improved under Jones, and the Saints sit at the very bottom of the table, four points from safety.
Marsch’s high-octane style closely mirrors Hasenhüttl’s, with Southampton believing the American would have given them a chance for survival as he would have instilled a style that the club’s players were already familiar with.
But now it appears Southampton assistant Rubén Sellés will have a shot at leading the club on a caretaker basis, as the Saints face a daunting away trip to Chelsea on Saturday.
There was no last-minute injury heartbreak for the U.S. ahead of the World Cup
There were several headlines with Americans abroad this weekend but in a sense, the only thing that really matters is the story that didn’t happen.
Namely, no players on the World Cup roster got injured in their final game before heading for Qatar.
USMNT fans watched the weekend’s slate of games with their breaths collectively held, but there was no devastating last-minute injury. In fact, there was even a key player returning from a short spell on the sidelines.
Before we go on a hiatus for the World Cup, let’s get to the Five.
“Gutted that this injury has ruled me out of the World Cup but I know that the boys will go crazy regardless,” he said. “I’ll be rooting for y’all the whole way. Go out and make history.”
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USMNT center back options
Richards was almost certain to make the roster had he been healthy, and was a candidate to start next to Walker Zimmerman at central defense.
The 22-year-old joins Miles Robinson as World Cup roster locks who will be forced out of the tournament with injury. Robinson tore his Achilles in a game with Atlanta United in May.
His absence makes it more likely that either Aaron Long or Cameron Carter-Vickers will partner Zimmerman when the USMNT begins the World Cup on November 21 against Wales.
With Richards out another defensive roster spot will also open up, which could be filled by Fulham’s Tim Ream.
Ream hasn’t played for the USMNT since September 2021, but is in the midst of a stellar campaign in the Premier League. According to a report from the U.S. Fútbol Podcast, Ream has been selected for the World Cup squad in Richards’ place.
The forward tells Pro Soccer Wire he’s in the dark over his USMNT future
Haji Wright scored for Antalyaspor on Sunday, as he so often does – he ranks second in the Turkish Süper Lig’s scoring charts with nine goals this season. Among U.S. strikers in Europe, only Josh Sargent, on eight goals for Norwich City, is on the same tier of sheer productivity.
With those nine comprising the bulk of Antalyaspor’s 19 total goals thus far, Wright also carries the burden of being far and away the main finishing threat for his club, a weight that much heavier when your team drifts in and around the relegation places, as Antalyaspor did earlier in the campaign.
He’s currently on a better pace than his breakthrough 2021-22, where he scored 14 times in 32 matches on loan to earn a permanent transfer from Danish side SønderjyskE amid heavy interest from England’s Hull City and other suitors. He capped that season with a U.S. national team call-up and a goal, from the penalty spot, on his senior international debut vs. Morocco in June.
Does all that add up to a realistic shot at the USMNT’s World Cup roster when it’s named on Wednesday? Your guess is as good as Wright’s, it seems.
“I mean, when you’re playing well, normally you get rewarded with a call-up,” Wright told Pro Soccer Wire in an exclusive conversation from Turkey this week. “And then if you don’t get called up, it kind of means you won’t be a part of the tournament. So it’s difficult for me to give a solid answer, because I don’t really know. It kind of feels like it’s up in the air.
“No, nothing yet,” he said when asked about recent contact from Gregg Berhalter or his staff. “But we don’t really usually communicate that often. I think it’s pretty normal. I’m not sure if any of the players have really heard too much.”
Berhalter saw enough quality in Wright to give him his first three caps in the USMNT’s June camp, with a Concacaf Nations League appearance at El Salvador in addition to the friendlies against Morocco and Uruguay. His levels of both performance and mentality in a difficult European environment would seem to line up with what Berhalter says he’s seeking in his player pool.
Jun 1, 2022; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; United States forward Haji Wright (19) reacts after scoring a goal with midfielder Weston McKennie (8) and midfielder Yunus Musah (6) in the second half against Morocco during an International friendly soccer match at TQL Stadium. Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
“I take it as a good responsibility,” said the lanky frontrunner of the extent to which Antalyaspor attack relies on him. “I think playing with pressure shows character, and I think I enjoy the pressure and I thrive under the pressure. I also want to be the guy that’s scoring goals and getting opportunities and being the player in front of goal. Most people can tell, probably, I’m a goalscorer and I want to be involved in the goals. I appreciate the responsibility.”
His summer call-up was a reunion with former YNT and Bradenton Residency Program colleagues like Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Luca de la Torre, which helped him slot quickly into the group dynamic.
Yet Berhalter pulled Wright off at halftime of the El Salvador match and afterward said he didn’t “fully capitalize” on his “opportunity” on an “unlucky night.” Three months later he was abruptly left off the roster for the United States’ September camp despite scoring five goals in Antalyaspor’s first three matches of the season.
Even if the Yanks’ generally dismal outings versus Japan and Saudi Arabia could be said to have enhanced the reputations of those who didn’t take part, that was a sobering – and confusing – development for a well-traveled 24-year-old who seems to have done just about everything in his power to state his case for the USMNT’s troubled No. 9 job.
“As a newcomer, it’s difficult to get adjusted to a new system, to new players around you, new coach, new environment,” said Wright of his June experience. “And I think in training I tried my best to adjust, tried to show myself. And then in the minutes that I got, I did the same. Think I had a few good touches, performances. I was hoping to be a part of the September camp so that I could build on that. But of course, that didn’t happen. So now I’m just waiting to see, trying to play my best now and hoping for the best.”
The Süper Lig’s relatively low profile in the United States is probably not helping Wright, who admits he’s in the dark as to whether playing in Turkey is harming his national team chances.
“I understand in the U.S. market, I know Turkey’s not really viewed as an amazing league with amazing players that are a top level, even though it is a very high level in Turkey and there are very good teams fighting in the Champions League, fighting in Europa League, fighting in Conference League, that are doing well in those leagues,” said Wright.
“It’s difficult to say whether or not I’m on the radar or not, because I haven’t really had that much communication with the national team.”
But the league boasts a dense accumulation of talent and a fervent soccer culture that has helped bring out the best in Wright, a former U.S. youth international who labored to find stability and opportunity at previous stops in Germany and the Netherlands.
Wright with Schalke in 2017
“I like to call it life experience,” he said. “Every country that I played in, every league that I played in taught me something, and I grew as a person, as a player from that. And I think definitely if you’re able to perform in different countries, different leagues, it shows character, and that’s something I want to prove to people – that I’m not just a pushover, or a player with a bad mentality, or whatever it may be. that I can also be a top player one day, and that I also have a great mentality.
“For me, personally, it was just a matter of not being 100 percent ready,” he said of his past difficulties. “The more you play, the more you learn, especially in soccer. It’s kind of difficult to learn if you’re not playing. I just needed to get on the field and make the mistakes so that I can learn from them.
“Basically what I’ve done on my journey to where I’m at now, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. But with every mistake comes a lesson, and I’ve learned from every lesson.”
The USMNT star was fouled, then told the referee he may want to take another look
Gio Reyna has been lauded for his sportsmanship after he turned down a penalty in Borussia Dortmund’s win over Bochum on Saturday.
Dortmund was already up 2-0 as the first half wound to a close, with Reyna having converted from the spot in the 12th minute. The American received the ball and dribbled into the box, where he was brought down by Bochum defender Danilo Soares.
Referee Tobias Stieler pointed to the spot amid strong protests from Bochum players. After the game, Stieler told SPORT1 that two of those players had a message for him from Reyna.
“Two players came to me and said that Reyna had said it wasn’t a penalty for him,” Stieler explained.
Stieler then went to Reyna himself and asked the 19-year-old his opinion of the play.
“I walked past him and asked him if he thought it was a penalty. He then had more of a doubting face. I would interpret he was saying it may not be a penalty,” continued Stieler. “But he didn’t come to me and say that was clear and obviously wrong, please correct that.”
After his brief consultation with Reyna, Stieler indicated that he would go to VAR to review the play. Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann can then be seen approaching Reyna to thank him for his sportsmanship.
“He said to the referee, ‘No foul! No foul!’” Riemann told SPORT1 after the game.
Stieler would overturn the penalty after a brief review.
Bochum’s Twitter account showed its appreciation to the USMNT star after the incident, saying: “Well played, colleague Reyna!”
The overturned penalty wouldn’t have any impact on the result. Just minutes later, Youssoufa Moukoko scored his second goal of the game to make it 3-0, which would end up as the final score.
Watch Reyna turn down penalty
video of Gio Reyna turning down a penalty yesterday. Ref comes up to him to ask if it’s a penalty and he seems pretty indifferent. Ref immediately signals VAR and Bochum GK then thanks Reyna pic.twitter.com/xb4m43SOWL
The 23-year-old was in contention for a World Cup spot backing up Antonee Robinson
U.S. national team left back Sam Vines announced on Instagram that he will miss 3-4 months with a broken tibia, ending his World Cup hopes.
Vines had put himself in contention for a place in Qatar with a strong start to the season with Royal Antwerp in Belgium, where he became an every-game starter.
The 23-year-old was called in for September’s friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia, his first USMNT call-up since November 2021.
But his hopes of landing a spot backing up Antonee Robinson in Qatar have now been dashed.
“Life is full of ups and downs,” Vines wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately yesterday I broke my tibia and had to get surgery. The operation went well and I should be back in 3-4 months. Upset I missed the chance to be in the World Cup but I will be supporting the boys until the end. Thank you for all the support. I’ll be back stronger.”
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Behind Robinson, starting right back Sergiño Dest has often been deployed as a backup left back for the national team. Joe Scally can also play the position, though he typically plays right back at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
With Vines out, Scally would appear to have a World Cup spot just about locked up. George Bello, another left back option for the USMNT, has struggled at second-division Germany side Arminia Bielefeld and has only been capped once by the USMNT in 2022.
Fighting words from the former Dutch international
Former Netherlands star Rafael van der Vaart had a novel piece of criticism for Sergiño Dest, saying the right back may have just a little bit too much self confidence.
Dest is in the midst of a one-year loan at AC Milan, where he’s featured sporadically for the Serie A champions after joining in the summer from Barcelona.
The 22-year-old plays right back but his strength is in the attacking side of his game, which Van der Vaart believes causes him to take on more than a defender should.
“He can be very good, but he always takes too much on his plate. He thinks he is much better than he is,” Van der Vaart said in his role as a pundit on Dutch TV station Ziggo Sport.
“He is a defender and then you have to be a bit smart. He overestimates himself. It’s a quality to know what you can and cannot do. Even the best players in the world have that.
“I am a fan of his, but he should not believe in himself too much as a right back. You are right back for a reason.”
Dest was born and raised in the Netherlands but opted to represent the U.S. at the international level, despite interest from the Dutch federation when he was breaking into the Ajax first team as a teenager.
Van der Vaart said that right now, Dest would not be good enough to play for the Oranje.
“No, he has shown too little,” the ex-Tottenham man said.
Dest is expected to start at right back for the USMNT at the World Cup, with their first game on November 21 against Wales.
Six games, two goals scored, 22 conceded, and one big yikes
Rangers returned to the Champions League group stage this year for the first time since the 2010-11 season. It was a huge accomplishment for the Scottish giants, and a boost for USMNT duo Malik Tillman and James Sands.
The club surely knew the group stage would be a major step up from the qualifying rounds, but they could’ve never anticipated the pure carnage that would await them upon reaching the club game’s highest heights.
After losing 3-1 to Ajax on Tuesday, Rangers secured a piece of unwanted history. With six defeats in six games, two goals scored and 22 conceded, Rangers have officially had the worst group stage campaign in Champions League history.
-20 – Rangers’ goal difference of -20 is the worst for a side that lost all six group stage games in the UEFA Champions League in the competition’s history (F2, A22). Obliterated.
Being drawn against red-hot Napoli and less-hot-but-still-Liverpool Liverpool was always going to be a big ask for Rangers, who lost those four games by a combined score of 15-1.
More curious was the team’s two defeats to Ajax by a combined score of 7-1. Ajax is in first place in the Eredivisie, leading PSV by just one point. To reach the group stage, Rangers defeated PSV 3-2 over two legs in the final qualifying round. Clearly, the transitive property didn’t quite bear out here.
Tillman and Sands each started four of Rangers’ six games and neither had any particularly shining moments. Sands was sent off against Napoli in Rangers’ second match, picking up a second yellow card early in the second half of a 3-0 defeat.
Speaking after Tuesday’s loss to Ajax, Rangers coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst sounded like the leader of a team who went into games knowing they were likely to lose.
“I won the competition (as a player with Barcelona) so I know the other side when you’re the team who comes on the pitch and already knows you’re going to win because of the difference,” he said.
It’s hard to escape the feeling that in hindsight, Van Bronckhorst and his players may well wish they’d lost to PSV and parachuted safely into the Europa League, a competition where they’d be unlikely to make the kind of unwanted history they must now carry with them.
