Tag: transfers

USMNT star Balogun says Henry influenced his decision to join Monaco

The 22-year-old striker left Arsenal to join the Ligue 1 side in a reported €40 million deal

Folarin Balogun has said France legend Thierry Henry helped convince him to choose Monaco as his new club.

Balogun completed a transfer to the Ligue 1 side on Wednesday, joining in a reported €40 million move from Arsenal.

The U.S. national team striker starred on loan with Reims last season, scoring 21 goals in Ligue 1 to send his transfer stock soaring.

Speaking at his introductory press conference on Thursday, Balogun said he had been in touch with Henry, who began his professional career with Monaco before eventually becoming a legendary figure at Arsenal.

“When I played against Monaco with Stade de Reims last season, he sent me a message to congratulate me on my goal,” Balogun said of Henry.

“He was just telling me about the the club, the history, he also said the city is very nice. That put the thought in my mind, and over time it became more clear that this is the next step for me and the step I wanted to make.

“Yesterday, after my signature, he congratulated me again, I am very happy to have his encouragement.”

Unlike Henry, Balogun did not get the chance to establish himself as a regular during his time with the Gunners. The 22-year-old played just 10 games with Arsenal, and took in a loan spell at Middlesbrough before his time at Reims.

Balogun said that despite his lack of opportunities with his boyhood club, he left Arsenal without any hard feelings.

“As a young player, I want to play,” he said. “I want to prove what I’m capable of. What’s done is done. You don’t always get the opportunity. Sometimes that opens door to new opportunities. I am happy with the way things turned out. I wish Arsenal all the best for the season. We’re looking to achieve great things at Monaco this season.”

Balogun could make his debut for Monaco on Saturday in a league match against Lens.

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USMNT transfer rater: Grading every player’s move this summer

It’s a big summer for the USMNT, with a majority of its key players looking for new clubs

It’s a big summer for the U.S. men’s national team.

We aren’t talking about the Nations League or the Gold Cup here, though those are clearly significant in their own right. Instead, we’re talking about the summer transfer window, which promises to be one of the more active ones in recent memory for the USMNT.

Nearly all of the team’s top players have the potential to change clubs in the summer of 2023. With three years to go until a World Cup on home soil, the decisions USMNT players make this summer could determine their trajectory ahead of 2026.

With that in mind, we are tracking and rating all of the most significant completed moves for USMNT players this summer.

USMNT coach Berhalter hints Richards may soon leave Crystal Palace

Richards has recently been linked with a move back to the Bundesliga

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has hinted that Chris Richards could be set to leave Crystal Palace in the coming days.

Richards has established himself as a key player for the USMNT, but injuries and coaches’ decisions limited him to just 10 total appearances last season after an offseason transfer from Bayern Munich.

This season has been more of the same for the 23-year-old, who has yet to play in any league games for Palace and made his first appearance of 2023-24 in a Carabao Cup win over Plymouth on Tuesday.

After naming Richards to his September roster on Wednesday, Berhalter was asked in a media availability about his lack of minutes at the club level.

“That may change in the next couple of days, right? That’s not set in stone,” the coach said, with the transfer window set to close on Friday.

“We see him as an important piece to what we’re doing,” Berhalter continued. “I think he’s got a tremendous amount of potential. Now for him, it’s about getting minutes and staying healthy. He’s a great guy, great competitor, and looking forward to having him back in camp. His last camp went really well with the Nations League and scoring a goal (in the final against Canada).

“We think that he’ll make a big impact in this camp, but also excited to see what the future brings for him.”

Richards has been capped 10 times by the USMNT, and was forced to withdraw from contention for the World Cup squad last year due to a hamstring injury.

Earlier this month, Kicker reported that Stuttgart was interested in bringing Richards in on loan to help replace Konstantinos Mavropanos, who transferred to West Ham.

Joining Stuttgart would reunite Richards with Sebastian Hoeness, who coached Richards at Bayern Munich and during two loan spells at Hoffenheim. Hoeness was named Stuttgart coach in April 2023. 

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After failing Barcelona test, Dest joins USMNT pals at PSV

The 22-year-old is heading on loan for a second straight season

After a disastrous loan at AC Milan last season, Sergiño Dest returned to Barcelona this summer with a clean slate. Just a couple months later, he’s on his way out again.

On Monday, Dest completed a season-long loan to PSV, with the Dutch power holding a reported €11 million option to make the move permanent.

Though the 22-year-old didn’t make a single appearance for AC Milan after January, he was given another chance to earn a spot with Barcelona ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

“[Barcelona manager Xavi] just told me, ‘I’ll give you a fair chance to prove yourself,’” Dest said last month. “He told me, ‘I think you have qualities, but it’s up to you, you have to show me.'”

Dest played in all three games of Barcelona’s U.S. tour, but hasn’t been seen on the field since. He now returns to the Eredivisie, where he came up through the ranks at Ajax before joining Barcelona in 2020.

Dest joins USMNT teammates at PSV

Dest is now the third U.S. men’s national team player to join PSV this summer, following Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman.

That is no coincidence, with Earnie Stewart now the Dutch club’s sporting director following a spell in the same position at U.S. Soccer.

“Sergiño Dest was keen to join us, which we obviously liked. He is a very skillful and creative defender who can help the team with his explosive power and attacking intentions.” Stewart said in a club release.

Dest added: “I like the style of football they play at PSV. I think it suits me very well. I return to the Netherlands. I’m still the same player but I’ve gained a lot of experience and I’ve hopefully acquired a higher efficiency.”

Dest was already named in PSV’s 22-man squad for Tuesday’s Champions League playoff first leg at Rangers. The winner of the two-leg tie will earn a spot in the competition’s group stage.

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USMNT captain Tyler Adams completes transfer to Bournemouth

Adams is heading back to the Premier League after one season with Leeds

Tyler Adams is heading back to the Premier League.

The midfielder has completed a transfer to Bournemouth, joining from Leeds in a move worth a reported £20 million ($25.4m).

Adams has signed a five-year contract and will wear the No. 18 with the Cherries.

Adams impressed in just one season with Leeds, though the club was relegated at the end of the 2022-23 campaign. The 24-year-old missed the last two months of the season with a hamstring injury that is still set to keep him out until after the September international break.

Bournemouth’s chief executive, Neill Blake, said: “We’re thrilled to have brought Tyler to the club and he is a player we’ve admired for a long time. It’s been widely documented how much his talents have been recognized in this transfer window by other clubs, so to have him sign for AFC Bournemouth shows the ambition we have as a club.

“Tyler is an exciting player who possesses plenty of experience for someone that is just 24 years of age and we’re looking forward to working with him as he’s a player we know will be a great addition to our squad.”

Adams very nearly joined Chelsea just a week prior to his move to Bournemouth, but his transfer fell through at the last minute as the Blues ultimately signed Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia in central midfield instead.

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It looks like Tyler Adams is getting his Premier League transfer after all

The USMNT captain is on the verge of a move to Bournemouth

Tyler Adams may not be going to Chelsea, but it looks like he’ll at least be heading back to the Premier League.

After a move from Leeds to Chelsea fell through at the 11th hour last week, Adams is set to complete a £23 million transfer to Bournemouth, according to multiple reports.

The transfer would see the U.S. men’s national team captain stay in the Premier League following Leeds’ relegation last season.

At a news conference on Friday, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was careful not to confirm a deal was done, but strongly hinted that it was nearing completion.

“Right now he’s not our player so we have to wait,” Iraola said. “You know the club is working towards signing someone in midfield but we have to wait until everything is complete.”

Iraola added: “He’s a really good player. He has performed in the Champions League, [has] national team experience, but I don’t want to go too far because right now he’s not our player.”

Should Adams join this month, he wouldn’t be able to debut for the Cherries for at least a couple weeks. Leeds head coach Daniel Farke said last month an ongoing hamstring injury would keep the midfielder out until after the September international break.

The move would also mean the last of a formerly robust quantity of Americans has left Leeds. At one point last season there were five at the club: head coach Jesse Marsch, assistant Chris Armas, as well as Adams, Brenden Aaronson and Weston McKennie on the playing side.

Marsch and Armas were let go midway through last season, while Aaronson has gone on loan to Union Berlin and McKennie has returned to Juventus after being on loan at Elland Road last season.

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Neymar and Saudi Arabia consummate their inevitable marriage

The relationship had soured between Neymar and PSG, who managed to recoup €90 million for the Brazilian

Maybe it’s easy to say in hindsight but as soon as Saudi Arabia embarked upon its summer spending bonanza, it was always likely Neymar would show up in the Gulf.

It’s no secret that PSG had been open to the prospect of the Brazilian leaving the club for some time and in the state-backed Al Hilal, the Ligue 1 side found the ideal business partner.

On Tuesday, Al Hilal confirmed the signing of Neymar from PSG in a deal worth a reported €90 million.

That’s a far cry from the world-record €222 million PSG paid to land the attacker from Barcelona six years ago, but for an oft-injured 31-year-old, it is still quite the return.

There were likely few, if any, clubs willing to pay nearly that amount, which will come as a huge relief for a club which just watched its own fans literally go to Neymar’s house and tell him to get lost.

It’s hard to say Neymar was a complete bust at PSG. That would be fairly harsh on a player who won seven major trophies, including four Ligue 1 titles, while scoring 118 times in 173 appearances.

But it is that number of 173 that will sting the Brazilian and PSG, a total that represents just over half of the available minutes since his arrival.

Another figure that will be especially painful is zero, as in the number of Champions League crowns PSG has won even after investing in the likes of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.

An ill-timed series of injuries for Neymar sidelined him for several years’ worth of key Champions League matches. That, combined with a perceived lack of commitment off the pitch, ultimately soured the relationship between the player and fans.

“It’s always difficult to say goodbye to a player as exceptional as Neymar, one of the best in the world,” said Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman and CEO of PSG in a statement. “I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain and what he brought to our club and the project over the past six years. We lived great moments and Neymar will always be part of our history. I want to thank Neymar and his family. We wish Neymar the best for the future and his next adventure.”

Al-Khelaïfi would never say so publicly, but he is probably glad to say that Neymar is now part of the club’s history, rather than its present.

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The 10 most-expensive Premier League transfers ever

Counting down the 10 most-expensive Premier League transfers of all time

The Premier League is the richest league on earth and in recent years, that has been on full display with some astronomical transfer fees being shelled out.

The league’s incoming transfer record has been broken multiple times in the past few years, with the “big five” consistently looking to outspend one another.

Chelsea, in fact, has broken the record twice in 2023 alone: first with Argentina star Enzo Fernández and then later with Ecuador midfielder Moisés Caicedo.

Let’s take a look at the 10 most-expensive inbound transfers in Premier League history. Keep an eye on this list, because it’s likely to feature more new names as time goes by.

All figures are from Transfermarkt.

Cade Cowell could be the next USMNT player in Serie A after reported Bologna offer

Is Cowell the next American heading to Serie A?

Are you even allowed to be on the U.S. men’s national team without a move to Serie A this year?

It feels like you at least deserve a credible rumor connecting you to an Italian club, and Cade Cowell isn’t going to be left out.

The Athletic and ESPN both reported that Bologna is eyeing up the young San Jose Earthquakes winger, whose role with the USMNT seems poised to grow after this summer’s Gold Cup.

The 19-year-old has been subject to European interest for some time now, and per the reports, the Earthquakes have had talks to some degree with multiple clubs. However, a bid from Bologna has gotten far enough that San Jose has a decision to make.

Further reporting from TuttoMercatoWeb claims that Bologna’s offer is roughly €4 million, plus a percentage of a potential future transfer away from the club. The Italian outlet says that the Quakes have set an asking price of €7 million.

Cowell, Bologna may be a good fit

Bologna is said to be on the verge of losing left winger Musa Barrow, who was first choice throughout the 2022-23 season. That’s a development that manager Thiago Motta is apparently fine with, but with Riccardo Orsolini also injured, the need for Cowell or some other winger appears to be fairly urgent.

In San Jose, meanwhile, the club may already be planning for the short-term without arguably the most prominent youth player to come up through their system. Before the MLS transfer deadline, the Quakes acquired forwards Ayo Akinola and Matthew Hoppe on loan.

If Cowell does end up with Bologna or elsewhere in Italy, he’d join a growing list of more established USMNT players making the move to Serie A. Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah have both joined AC Milan this summer, while Tim Weah transferred to Juventus. Weston McKennie seemed to be heading out, only for Juve to make a U-turn, with the midfielder seeming likely to stick around after all.

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Reports: Chelsea casts Adams aside amid Caicedo pursuit 

It appears USMNT captain won’t be heading to Stamford Bridge after all

Tyler Adams isn’t going to be joining Chelsea after all.

Widespread reports on Thursday said that Chelsea would be activating a $25.5 million clause in Adams’ contract to bring the U.S. men’s national team captain in from Leeds.

But the following day, Sky Sports News reported that the deal was off at the last minute, with other outlets subsequently confirming the news.

The 24-year-old had already traveled to London and completed a medical but by Friday afternoon, he was on his way back to Leeds.

The issue, it seems, stems from the seemingly never-ending saga of Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo, who has been involved in a tug-of-war between Chelsea and Liverpool for his signature.

Liverpool looked to have won the race, with manager Jurgen Klopp even confirming on Friday that an agreement between the two clubs had been reached for the Ecuador midfielder.

Typically if a manager is ready to publicly confirm that a deal has been struck, that’s just about the end of the story. But this soap opera appears to have a few more twists — and Adams looks like he’ll be collateral damage.

The Guardian said that even after Liverpool saw a $140 million offer accepted by Brighton, Chelsea was still trying to hijack the move at the last minute by bidding even more. That, in turn, has seen the Blues turn their focus away from Adams.

Where that leaves the USMNT captain now is unclear.

Adams has been subject to plenty of Premier League interest following Leeds’ relegation last season, and he still has almost three weeks to find a new club before the transfer window closes.

If Adams does find a transfer, he’ll join his new club not fully fit. Sidelined since March with a hamstring injury, Leeds head coach Daniel Farke said last month he didn’t expect the midfielder back until after the September international break.

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