Tag: transfers

Adiós Taty: NYCFC loans Golden Boot winner to Girona FC

Castellanos scored 53 goals and added 19 assists during his time with the MLS Cup champions

New York City FC has announced that Valentín “Taty” Castellanos has been loaned to La Liga side Girona FC through June 2023.

Castellanos, last year’s MLS Golden Boot winner, has been publicly aiming for a European move for months and has now been sent to another team within the City Football Group family.

“I came to New York City four years ago and this experience has been everything I could have wanted. It was here where I grew up and took my game to the next level. MLS is a strong and extremely competitive league with fantastic quality,” Castellanos said in a NYCFC statement.

“While it is difficult to leave this club, I strongly believe that this is the right time for me to move to Europe which has always been a personal dream of mine. I feel confident and ready for a new challenge. I would like to thank NYCFC and Girona FC for giving me this opportunity and for finding a way for me to continue my journey and prove myself.”

Girona was promoted to La Liga after winning last season’s promotion playoffs in the Segunda División.

Castellanos won the 2021 MLS Golden Boot by scoring 19 regular-season goals, and then added three more in the postseason as NYCFC clinched an MLS Cup title.

This season, Castellanos again tops the league’s scoring charts with 13 goals.

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Wisconsin CB Jay Shaw named in ON3’s most impactful DB transfers of 2022

UCLA transfer CB Jay Shaw lands in ON3’s 15 most impactful DB transfers of 2022:

On Monday morning, ON3 writer Mike Huguenin ranked the 15 most impactful defensive back transfers of 2022. Wisconsin CB Jay Shaw was ranked as the No. 6 most impactful DB transfer because of his exceptional play for UCLA last season.

Related: New transfer portal windows could soon be approved

In his final year for the Bruins, Shaw was a full-time starter and finished with 27 total tackles, four pass deflections, three interceptions and a forced fumble. The Corona, Calif., native will likely make an immediate impact as a starter for the Badgers after the graduation of Caesar Williams and Faion Hicks.

I am excited to see what Shaw can do in his first year with the Badgers, and his experience will be crucial in helping to lead Wisconsin’s young secondary this season.

Tuchel angry with Barcelona over Azpilicueta pursuit as Koundé arrival nears

“I’m not sure if I want to give Azpi what he wants”

ORLANDO — Chelsea’s defensive overhaul is starting to take shape.

Kalidou Koulibaly completed his £34 million transfer from Napoli last week, and Jules Koundé is reportedly set to join — despite a noncommittal response from manager Thomas Tuchel during Friday’s Florida Cup media day at Universal Studios.

Chelsea will face London rival Arsenal at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday in a preseason friendly at Camping World Stadium.

“I will not give an update,” Tuchel told reporters when asked about Sevilla defender Koundé. “I’m not sure if it’s true.” The Guardian reported that a deal has been reached for around £55 million, and the 23-year-old Frenchman will sign a five-year contract.

Koundé offers flexibility on the right side of defense, perhaps on the outside of Tuchel’s preferred back-three formation. That raised the question of whether Koundé’s addition could allow César Azpilicueta to make his preferred move to Barcelona.

Tuchel expressed aggravation at Barcelona’s advances toward Azpilicueta, who is contracted to Chelsea through next summer.

“I’m not sure if I want to give Azpi what he wants,” Tuchel said. “At some point, it’s also about us.”

Tuchel believes Azpilicueta, who joined the Blues in August 2012, will handle the situation professionally despite Barcelona being “permanently on him.”

Chelsea might not yet be done shopping for defenders. Tuchel expressed a desire for a left-footer to complement Thiago Silva, Kounde and Koulibaly, though the Senegalese star can operate on the left.

The Blues have been linked with a move for PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe and RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol, though it is unclear if either deal will go through.

Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen departed the club earlier this summer on free transfers, to Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.

“We need numbers, but we also need quality,” Tuchel said. “We will make some decisions late, not only about players but also about system.”

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Nacional really wants Luis Suárez to come home. Like, a lot.

Nacional wants to sign Uruguay legend Luis Suárez so badly that they printed 15,000 masks for fans.

Luis Suárez is a free agent this summer, and while he’s been linked with moves all over, no one can match the kind of sales pitch Club Nacional is making for the Uruguay legend.

Suárez made his professional debut for Nacional way back in 2005, and after 17 years of success in the top European leagues, it appears a return home is a growing possibility. While rumors have linked him to MLS or Borussia Dortmund, things are a little different in Montevideo, where a full stadium of Nacional fans donned Suárez masks on Thursday night as their side thumped Cerrito 5-0, singing a song in Suárez’s honor.

(Photo by PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s only the latest chapter in Nacional’s push to bring Suárez home. ESPN reported that Nacional’s president José Fuentes flew to Spain on Tuesday to talk to Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer about the move.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to bring Luis Suárez back to Nacional,” Fuentes told Sport 890, adding that in their talks, Suárez has been open to a return to Uruguayan soccer.

Suárez’s older brother Paolo stoked the fire, tweeting out an altered photo of the superstar in a Nacional kit.

In the meantime, Suárez can sign anywhere he wants, and will have to sort through plenty of offers from clubs who just want to tender a contract. Some will invite him to town, wine and dine him, show Suárez and his camp their city’s nicest neighborhoods, do a stadium tour, and show off their training ground. Nacional, meanwhile, is out here printing 15,000 masks of Suárez.

Luis…you know what to do.

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The wild, wild west of the transfer portal is about to get worse

The wild, wild west of the NCAA transfer portal is about to get worse, assuming a recommendation from the The Division I Council passes next month as expected. On Wednesday, the D1 Council endorsed a concept that would allow athletes to transfer …

The wild, wild west of the NCAA transfer portal is about to get worse, assuming a recommendation from the The Division I Council passes next month as expected.

On Wednesday, the D1 Council endorsed a concept that would allow athletes to transfer more than once without sitting out a year, though they would only be able to do so in two different “entry windows” — one of which would be near the end of the season and the other in the spring.

From a news release from the NCAA:

The Council endorsed a concept that would eliminate the blanket rule prohibiting transferring more than once. The concept would also implement transfer portal “entry windows,” or periods of time in which student-athletes must provide their school with written notification of transfer to be eligible to compete immediately the following academic year.

For winter and spring sports, students could provide written notification of transfer the day after NCAA championship selections in that sport for 60 calendar days. In fall sports, two separate windows would provide a total of 60 calendar days. The first window would be 45 days beginning the day following championship selection and the second would be from May 1 to May 15. Reasonable accommodations will be made for participants in the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision championship games.

Additionally, schools that accept four-year transfer students receiving financial aid will be required to provide financial aid to the student-athlete through the completion of the student’s five-year period of eligibility or undergraduate graduation, whichever comes first, unless the student transfers again or enters a professional draft. The student would continue to count against roster and financial aid limits unless the student is medically disqualified, exhausts eligibility, transfers or enters a professional draft.

Members expressed some concern about some details related to implementation of the transfer changes; although, most of the Council agreed the concepts will improve the transfer environment.

Additionally, the Council endorsed several changes in the infractions process:

The Division I Council on Wednesday endorsed several recommendations intended to better support student-athletes, improve efficiency and timeliness in the infractions process, and improve clarity in the transfer environment.

Developed through the work of the Transformation Committee, the recommendations will go to the Division I Board of Directors next month for adoption.

If the recommendations are approved by the board, schools would be empowered to support student-athletes in a variety of ways without asking for waivers, including providing any support needed for a student-athlete’s personal health, safety and well-being; paying for items to support a student’s academic pursuits; purchasing insurance of various types; and funding participation in elite-level training, tryouts and competition.

The Council also endorsed several concepts intended to address challenges in the infractions process, including:

  • Incentivizing parties to secure cooperation from representatives, family members and others with relevant information.
  • Expanding the use of a public dashboard for all infractions.
  • Reserving hearings before the Committee on Infractions for only the most significant behaviors.

Additional enhancements to fair and timely processing of infractions cases will be considered by the Council next month.

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Barcelona, Bayern agree to Robert Lewandowski transfer

After two months, Barca finally got their man

Barcelona have completed a drawn-out transfer saga, announcing “an agreement in principle” with Bayern Munich over a €50m move for Poland striker Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski, 33, has been Barcelona’s top transfer target for months, and the striker declared that he was done at Bayern back in May. Barca manager Xavi acknowledged that talks about a transfer even before that, and though the move has dragged on—Bayern held out for a €50m transfer fee that Barcelona, amid ongoing financial difficulties, didn’t want to meet—it is done in time for Lewandowski to join the Spanish side’s preseason tour of the United States.

Marca has reported that the final agreement is broken up between a €45m transfer fee and add-ons valued at €5m, and that Lewandowski’s contract runs for three years, with an option for the 2025-26 season. His salary is expected to be in the neighborhood of €9m. Barcelona’s announcement today says that the deal is still pending Lewandowski passing a club medical and all of the contracts actually being signed.

Lewandowski’s final season with Bayern was excellent, with the veteran marksman scoring 50 times in 46 competitive appearances with the German giants. In eight seasons in Munich, Lewandowski scored a staggering 344 goals in 375 games in all competitions, tacking on 72 assists to boot. Bayern won the Bundesliga in all eight of his seasons at the club, as well as the 2019-20 UEFA Champions Leagues, the 2020 Club World Cup, and three DFB Pokals.

Barcelona had some big names available at center forward in 2021-22, with Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang getting most of the minutes. However, the club lacked a dominant scoring presence, with Depay and Aubameyang leading the club with just 13 goals apiece. No one else scored more than seven goals.

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Barcelona sure is making a mess of this Frenkie de Jong situation

Frenkie de Jong doesn’t seem like he wants to go to Manchester United. Barcelona is trying to force him out anyway

Barcelona hasn’t exactly been known for its sparkling work in the transfer market in recent seasons.

As the the team’s on-field performances have suffered, the club has found itself in a financial mess of its own making, fueled by expensive and unnecessary transfers like Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann. The nadir came last summer when a tearful Lionel Messi was forced to leave the club he loved because it simply couldn’t afford him.

Now Barcelona has created a new problem through its treatment of another hugely expensive signing in its recent past, Frenkie de Jong.

Barcelona has been active in the transfer market this summer, signing Franck Kessié and Andreas Christensen on free transfers, renewing Ousmane Dembélé’s contract, forking out €58 million on Raphinha and continuing to pursue Robert Lewandowski.

Even with the sale of Coutinho to Aston Villa and the loan of Clément Lenglet to Tottenham, Barcelona still has plenty of financial space that it needs to clear.

And that’s where De Jong comes in. The Dutch midfielder has been earmarked as the financial sacrifice that needs to be made for a club that it still deeply in debt.

This week it’s been reported that Barcelona and Manchester United have agreed upon a €85 million deal to send the Dutch international to Old Trafford to play for his former coach at Ajax, Erik ten Hag.

There seems to be a small problem though: De Jong doesn’t want to leave.

A report in Sport this week states that De Jong has told his teammates it’s “impossible” for him to go. Earlier this summer, he told ESPN: “I prefer to stay with Barcelona. Barcelona is just my dream club.”

This all presents a challenge to Barcelona. How can it afford the players it has already signed, and intends to sign, if De Jong stays?

Well, it probably can’t. Kessié and Christensen haven’t even been registered to play yet as the club waits for the other shoe to drop. Now it seems like Barcelona is being forced to play hardball with De Jong. And it could get ugly.

The Athletic has reported that Barcelona has asked De Jong to leave. Now, the club’s sporting director has resorted to publicly calling on the midfielder to take one for the team and pack his bags.

All of this begs a question: Who would want to play for a team like this? The club has been so busy chasing the next shiny object that it’s done things like forcing its captains to take multiple pay cuts, unceremoniously trying to force a talented and perfectly content star player out the door, and, oh yeah, losing the greatest player of all time for nothing.

Barcelona will always have a certain appeal among players. It is, after all, Barcelona. But as its treatment of De Jong has shown, what good is being a player’s dream club if you’re willing to make their stay feel like a nightmare?

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Raheem Sterling completes transfer to Chelsea

Chelsea has confirmed the signing of England star Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.

Chelsea has confirmed the signing of England star Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.

Sterling joins after spending seven seasons with City, becoming one of the top attacking players in the Premier League.

After signing a five-year deal with Chelsea, Sterling said: “First and foremost, it’s a pleasure to be here.

“I’ve obviously achieved a lot in my career so far, but there is still so much more to achieve and I’m really looking forward to doing that in a Chelsea shirt, under Thomas’s management.

“London is my home and where it all started for me, and it’s amazing I now have the opportunity to play in front of friends and family week in, week out at Stamford Bridge. I’m really looking forward to meeting the fans there soon.”

More to follow…

Can a bunch of new players (and Americans) save Leeds after losing its two biggest stars?

Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha are out, a whole mess of new faces are in

How is the transfer window going for Leeds United? Well that all depends.

On one hand, the club which barely avoided relegation last season has now lost its two best players: Kalvin Phillips joined Manchester City and Raphinha is moving to Barcelona.

That’s bad!

But the sales of that duo have raised £100 million, which has allowed the club to refresh its squad by bringing in six players and counting – several of whom are highly familiar to head coach Jesse Marsch.

That’s good!

The headliners have been two Americans: Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams, both of whom have been coached by Marsch at previous clubs.

But there has also been another player Marsch knows well, Rasmus Kristensen, who starred at right back for the American coach at Red Bull Salzburg.

Exciting winger Luis Sinisterra has arrived from Feyenoord, Marc Roca is in from Bayern Munich and teenage midfielder Darko Gyabi has joined from Manchester City.

According to Transfermarkt, Leeds’ transfer activity thus far, which has seen them lose two players and sign six, has earned them a profit of just over $1 million.

And Leeds likely isn’t done.

Leeds linked with even more signings

With its net spend still in the black, Leeds will likely aim to add even more pieces to ensure it won’t be stuck in a relegation dogfight again in 2022-23.

Among the names linked is Charles De Ketelaere, a highly rated attacker from Club Brugge and veteran midfielder Juan Mata, who is available on a free transfer after leaving Manchester United.

Of course, no set of Leeds transfer rumors would be complete without a link to an American player. The latest USMNT face tipped to join Leeds is Chris Richards, who appears likely to depart Bayern this summer amid a host of interest from Germany and the Premier League.

Marsch has plenty of work to do if he wants to turn Leeds into a mid-table side again – or better. But he’ll at least have plenty of new faces at his disposal when he begins his first full season in charge next month.

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Luis Suárez says he has ‘five or six’ offers from MLS

The striker also spoke about a possible reunion with Lionel Messi in Miami

Luis Suárez has claimed that “five or six” MLS teams have made him contract offers.

The 35-year-old Uruguay striker is currently out of contract after leaving Atletico Madrid and has said he will decide on his next team in the coming weeks.

Suárez confirmed a host of offers from MLS but said his priority is staying in playing shape for the World Cup in November, which could rule out several potential MLS destinations.

“The market in MLS is very complex, some clubs want you but they don’t have the slots, and so it would have to be for January. Other clubs want you now but I have to evaluate if they have a chance to qualify for the playoffs,” Suárez said in an interview with Radio Sport 890.

“I’m not closing the door to anyone and I’ve listened to all the offers. But if some MLS teams don’t qualify for the playoffs, they end their season in the first week of October, and that’s not useful for me because I would stop for a month ahead of the World Cup, which wouldn’t be good for me.”

Suárez denies possible Messi reunion in Miami

Suárez has been linked with a sensational reunion with ex-Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi in MLS, as both players continue to be mentioned as targets for Inter Miami.

But Suárez has strongly denied he and his close friend could be linking up in Florida.

“What was said about Inter Miami isn’t real, a lot of things are said in the press and on social media, but we can’t come out to deny things all the time,” Suárez said.

“Leo has his future at PSG, and then I don’t know where he will want to retire. I have my sporting projects and then I’ll analyze things with my family.

“We will surely end up living close to each other in Barcelona because we’re friends and our families are too, but from there to ending up together in the same sporting project is a lot of speculation.”

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