Sports
Transfer rumors, news: Barcelona eye Kane, Álvarez as Lewa replacement
Barcelona want Harry Kane or Julián Álvarez to replace 37-year-old striker Robert Lewandowski, while Bayern are tracking young Vasco da Gama forward Rayan. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
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TOP STORIES
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– Mané: I chose Liverpool over Man United for playing time
TRENDING RUMORS
– Barcelona have lined up Harry Kane and Julián Álvarez as potential replacements for 37-year-old striker Robert Lewandowski, who is out of contract in the summer, according to Mundo Deportivo. Barcelona’s pursuit of Kane in particular is said to have been gaining traction in recent weeks, following his remarkable start to the season and the presence of a €65 million release clause in the 32-year-old’s contract. Atlético Madrid striker Alvarez, 25, meanwhile, is viewed as a more difficult target as he is under contract until the summer of 2030 and his transfer could cost around €100 million. Alongside a goal-scoring forward, Barca are also expected to be in the market for a new left back next summer, with Bayer Leverkusen‘s Alejandro Grimaldo a strong contender.
– Bayern Munich are looking to sign Vasco da Gama forward Rayan, according to Bild. Rayan, 19, is tipped to be the next big transfer out of Brazil as he has scored 12 goals in 31 games in the Brazilian top flight this season and has a lot of European clubs interested. Bayern are also tracking Santos left back Souza, who is also 19, and has drawn stylistic comparisons to Brazil legend Marcelo.
– Manchester City have joined the race to sign Feyenoord right back Givairo Read, reports Fabrizio Romano. The 19-year-old has been heavily linked with Bayern Munich in recent days, who are targeting a long-term replacement for Konrad Laimer. City, meanwhile, could launch a bid to sign Read in 2026, although he remains one of several right back options under assessment. The Netherlands Under-21 international made his international debut last month against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
– Liverpool are set to miss out on signing Bayern Munich center back Dayot Upamecano on a free transfer in the summer, reports Bild’s Christian Falk. Upamecano, 27, has been at Bayern since 2021, where he has played over 100 times in the Bundesliga, and despite his contract expiring in the summer, the club are confident that he will sign new terms. If he doesn’t the France international is reported to only have eyes for Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid if he does leave.
– Chelsea are monitoring International forward João Bezerra for a possible transfer, according to Nicolo Schira. Bezerra, 16, is yet another young South American prospect on the radar of the Blues, but signed his first professional contract in October and won’t be available for transfer to a European club until he turns 18.
EXPERT TAKE
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OTHER RUMORS
– Manchester United have drawn up a three-man midfielder shortlist that includes Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Brighton’s Carlos Baleba. The anticipated exit of Casemiro next summer should help United fund a blockbuster move for one of the Premier League stars, while captain Bruno Fernandes could also depart. (Sun)
Al Ahli striker Ivan Toney is desperate to return to the Premier League amid strong interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Everton. (TEAMtalk)
– Several top clubs have already enquired about RB Leipzig midfielder Assan Ouédraogo. The 19-year-old, who is under contract until 2029, is fully focused on RB – and on making Germany’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad. (Sky Germany)
– Galatasaray remain interested in signing Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman and the Nigeria international could move after the African Cup of Nations. (Rudy Galetti)
– Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt are monitoring Red Star Belgrade attacker Aleksa Damjanović, whose transfer has a €5 million valuation. (Sky Germany)
– AS Roma are one of several teams “keeping tabs” on Shakhtar Donetsk winger Eguinaldo ahead of next summer. He is also being scouted by several English teams. (Rudy Galetti)
– Everton are keeping a close eye on Bologna striker Santiago Castro as they look to bolster their attacking options in January. (TEAMtalk)
– Celtic could accept an offer to sign Daizen Maeda in January if a new forward is signed. (Football Insider)
– Club America are interested in signing Chicago Fire youngster Oscar Pineda following his impressive displays at the FIFA U17 World Cup for Mexico. (Tom Bogert)
Sports
Falcons interview Harbaugh, who is vetting teams
The Atlanta Falcons announced Monday that they have completed an interview with John Harbaugh for their head coaching job.
It is Harbaugh’s first formal interview since he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens last week, but sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday that Harbaugh has been conducting preliminary and extensive phone calls with the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals.
He is trying to determine which teams to meet with later this week and into next week before deciding where he will coach next season, the sources told Schefter.
Chris Mara, the Giants’ senior personnel consultant, told The Athletic on Monday that he had an informal meeting with Harbaugh at the coach’s house Sunday.
Harbaugh, 63, ranks 12th for most wins by a head coach in NFL history with 193 and guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012. He was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2019.
In leading the Ravens for 18 seasons, he was the second-longest active coach in the league behind Mike Tomlin, who is in his 19th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Harbaugh didn’t produce as much postseason success in recent years as he had earlier in his career, which was a major disappointment, considering he had two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson. In eight seasons with Jackson, Harbaugh won only three playoff games and never advanced past the AFC Championship Game.
The preseason betting favorite to win the Super Bowl, the Ravens (8-9) finished this season with a losing record for only the third time under Harbaugh.
Harbaugh is the fifth candidate to interview for the Falcons’ job after the team fired coach Raheem Morris following an 8-9 season. Atlanta said on Monday that former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel interviewed for its head coach opening.
The Falcons, who also will be hiring a new general manager after firing Terry Fontenot, hired former franchise quarterback Matt Ryan as their president of football, a new position created by owner Arthur Blank.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.
Sports
Koepka: ‘Nervous’ about return, must rebuild ties
HONOLULU — Brooks Koepka is expecting a nervous energy when he returns to a regular PGA Tour event for the first time in four years at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Only some of that pertains to his golf.
How he is received — inside and outside the ropes — remains to be seen as the first player to be invited back to the PGA Tour after taking Saudi riches to defect to the LIV Golf League in 2022.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do with some of the players,” Koepka said in a telephone interview Monday. “There’s definitely guys who are happy, and definitely guys who will be angry. It’s a harsh punishment financially. I understand exactly why the tour did that — it’s meant to hurt. But it [his departure] hurt a lot of people.
“If anyone is upset, I need to rebuild those relationships.”
Koepka was allowed back under a one-time Returning Member Program that the PGA Tour board developed and approved last week. It applies only to players who have won a major or the Players Championship since 2022.
The penalty is a $5 million contribution to a charity the tour will help decide, no access to FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026, no sponsor exemptions to the $20 million signature events and, most importantly, no equity grants in the PGA Tour for the next five years.
The PGA Tour estimates, based on Koepka performing at the level allowed to win five majors, that the financial repercussions could be worth anywhere from $50 million to $85 million.
“There was no negotiating,” Koepka said about his conversation last week with Brian Rolapp, the CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises. “It’s meant to hurt — it does hurt — but I understand. It’s not supposed to be an easy path. There’s a lot of people that were hurt by it when I left, and I understand that’s part of coming back.”
For those not happy to see him return, Koepka said he looks forward to having private conversations outside the media.
“The first week I’ll be a little bit nervous,” Koepka said. “There’s a lot going on than just golf. I’ll be glad to put the first week behind me — dealing with the media, dealing with the players, and then getting some of those tougher conversations. But I’m looking forward to it.
“Am I nervous? Yes. Am I excited? Yes. In a weird way, I want to have those conversations.”
Jordan Spieth said Koepka just needed to be the same person who left.
“You’re not going to ask somebody to change to please other people,” Spieth said. “I don’t think he needs to play Monday pro-ams or walk along the range and shake everyone’s and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ He just comes back and plays really good golf. That’s good for everybody.”
The board, led by a majority of players, signed off on the plan. Koepka talked with Rolapp by phone Thursday evening, and he was at PGA Tour headquarters the next morning unaccompanied. He came in through a side entrance.
The 35-year-old Koepka, who is exempt the next three years from his 2023 victory in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, will return at Torrey Pines on Jan. 29. He also said he would play the WM Phoenix Open, where he won his first PGA Tour title in 2015 and won again in 2021.
That might provide the first real test of how the public feels — a Saturday afternoon on the 16th hole of the TPC Scottsdale, the rowdiest in golf even for players the fans don’t really know.
“I can handle it,” Koepka said. “I enjoy the crowd, and hopefully everybody is happy to see me. They can’t be mad at me forever.”
So why the change?
Word first began to circulate in November that negotiations between Koepka and LIV Golf — he had one year left on his contract — were not going well. He had publicly complained last summer that LIV was not as far along as he would have liked.
And then Dec. 23 came the announcement from LIV of an “amicable” split, and Koepka reapplied for PGA Tour membership.
Koepka cited a knee injury that has taken a toll on his body and the desire to spend more time with his family as the reasons to join LIV. He cited the need to spend more time at home when he left LIV, particularly after his wife had a miscarriage last fall.
“I needed to be there with my family over the last few months. I needed to be closer to home,” Koepka said. “I was able to get out of the LIV contract, everything lined up perfectly and I was able to get back on tour.
“I’m happy and grateful it was able to come to this.”
Koepka has not spoken publicly about how much he was offered to play for LIV, except for saying it was nine figures on a 2023 podcast with boxer Jake Paul. Also unclear was how much he had to pay back by leaving one year early.
Now it’s about playing again on familiar turf with players he saw only four times a year at the majors. He is close with several players who live in South Florida. Others he will see for the first time in the locker room, on the range, on the first tee.
“There’s probably a mixed bag of ‘We’re happy you’re back, welcome home’ to ‘You shouldn’t be here.’ I understand everybody’s point of view,” Koepka said. “I was going to be sitting out possibly a year, and I’m extremely thankful the tour gave me this opportunity.”
Sports
College watchdog group nixed 500-plus NIL deals
The College Sports Commission has rejected nearly $15 million in name, image and likeness agreements since it started evaluating them over the summer, representing more than 10% of the value of all the deals it has analyzed and closed.
The CSC released its latest statistics Monday, saying it did not clear 524 deals worth $14.94 million, while clearing 17,321 worth $127.21 million. All the data was current as of Jan. 1.
The numbers came against the backdrop of a “reminder” memo the commission sent to athletic directors last week, citing “serious concerns” about contracts being offered to athletes before they had been cleared through the commission’s NIL Go platform.
The CSC is in charge of evaluating all deals worth more than $600 that are offered by third-party businesses that are often affiliated with the schools recruiting the players.
“Without prejudging any particular deal, the CSC has serious concerns about some of the deal terms being contemplated and the consequences of those deals for the parties involved,” the Friday night memo said.
The CSC said primary reasons for deals not being cleared were that they lacked a valid business purpose; they didn’t directly activate a player’s NIL rights, instead “warehousing” them for future use; and that players were being paid at levels that weren’t “commensurate with similarly situated individuals.”
The memo reminded ADs that signing players to deals that hadn’t been cleared by the CSC left the players “vulnerable to deals not being cleared, promises not being able to be kept, and eligibility being placed at risk.”
Other statistics from the latest report:
There were 10 deals in arbitration as of Dec. 31, eight of which have since been withdrawn. All involved a resolved administrative issue at one school not named by the CSC.
• 52% of deals submitted to NIL Go were resolved within 24 hours.
• 73% of deals reached resolution within seven days following submission of all required information.
• 56% of the 10,848 athletes who have at least one cleared deal play football or men’s basketball.
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