Sports
Transfer rumors, news: Liverpool to return for Newcastle’s Isak
Liverpool are set to make another move to bring in Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak after the two teams meet on Monday; Kobbie Mainoo could leave Manchester United, while Tottenham Hotspur are attempting to spend big to sign Manchester City winger Savinho and Como midfielder Nico Paz. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumors and gossip from around the globe.
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TOP STORIES
– Arsenal make approach for Leverkusen defender Hincapié
– Premier League’s PSR rules have held Newcastle back – Guimarães
– Man Utd boss Amorim: Mainoo has to fight Fernandes for minutes
TRENDING RUMORS
– Newcastle United are preparing themselves for Liverpool to make another bid to sign striker Alexander Isak before the window closes, iNews says. Isak, 25, was the subject of a £110 million bid from the Reds earlier this month, but after it was rejected he posted on Instagram that “the relationship can’t continue” and has been left out of the squad all season. Meanwhile, The Times claims that Liverpool are set to focus on developing 16-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha rather than pursuing other expensive signings such as PSG’s Bradley Barcola or Lyon‘s Malick Fofana.
– Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo would consider a move away from the club before the end of the transfer window, says TalkSPORT. Mainoo, 20, burst onto the scene in 2023-24 but has a contract that expires in 2027, and negotiations have stalled over an extension as he has slipped down the pecking order at United. Chelsea have previously been credited with interest in the England international, but TBR’s Graeme Bailey reports that Tottenham, Brighton, Fulham and Brentford could also make a move.
– Tottenham Hotspur are ready to make a £60m bid to sign Manchester City winger Savinho and will try until the end of the transfer window to get a deal done, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. The 21-year-old is keen to join Spurs, and now everything depends on the size of the offer. Meanwhile, Romano reports that Spurs have seen a €70m offer to sign Como midfielder Nico Paz rejected. The 20-year-old wants to stay with Como as he eyes a future return to his former club Real Madrid, who will activate a clause to re-sign him next year.
– Manchester City will consider joining the battle to sign Crystal Palace center back Marc Guéhi if Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake depart this week, says The Daily Star, with the pair being linked with Galatasaray and Everton respectively. Guéhi, 25, is already wanted by Liverpool, Tottenham and Barcelona and has only one year remaining on his Palace contract. City are considering him as a £35m option, and they feel he would have long-term value.
– AC Milan are looking to sign Marseille midfielder Adrien Rabiot after he was placed on the transfer list following a fight with a teammate, as reported by Calciomercato, which adds that USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah would be the player to make way. Atalanta like Musah, but the Rossoneri wouldn’t accept any offers under €30m. Rabiot has also been in touch with Internazionale and Juventus, but Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri wants to reunite with the 30-year-old.
CONFIRMED DEALS
– WSL 2 side Newcastle United have signed USWNT midfielder, and two-time World Cup winner, Morgan Gautrat, 32, on loan from Orlando Pride until the end of December. Read
EXPERT TAKE
1:51
Will Eze’s move to Arsenal force Liverpool to sign Isak?
Craig Burley debates whether Liverpool will be worried about Arsenal signing Eberechi Eze.
ESPN’s Beth Lindop on what the future holds for Alexander Isak.
Isak’s future has been the saga of the summer, and it shows no sign of reaching a resolution anytime soon.
The Sweden international took matters into his own hands last week by releasing a sensational statement, prompting Newcastle to issue public response of their own. While the Tyneside club remain steadfast in their desire not to sanction the player’s exit, the wording of their statement was perhaps less unequivocal than expected, noting that they “do not foresee” the conditions of a transfer being met.
That opens the door for Liverpool to return to the negotiating table with an improvement on their initial £110m bid. The Premier League champions’ interest in Isak remains, although they would have to be given encouragement from Newcastle to bid again.
While the fan response to Isak’s situation is rooted in emotion, football is ultimately a business and, should Liverpool return with a suitable offer, Newcastle may start to feel it is one they cannot refuse.
OTHER RUMORS
2:14
Where does Marcus Rashford fit into Barcelona’s attack?
Luis Garcia and Ale Moreno react to Marcus Rashford’s performance for Barcelona vs. Levante.
– Manchester United forward Rasmus Højlund is getting closer to joining Napoli after a phone call with former teammate Scott McTominay. (Corriere dello Sport)
– Tottenham have made an approach to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapié: a loan deal with obligation to sign him permanently for €60m in 2026. (Fabrizio Romano)
– Tottenham and Aston Villa are tracking West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, 27. (Daily Mail)
– Tottenham are also keen on Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche, 23, who could move for around €55m. (Football Insider)
– Arsenal are set to land 16-year-old midfielder Victor Ozhianvuna from Shamrock Rovers for an Irish record transfer of around £2m, as he will sign a pre-contract and join when he turns 18 in January 2027. (Athletic)
– Al Ittihad have opened the door for former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kanté to depart after two years with the Saudi Pro League club. The 34-year-old has already been offered to various Ligue 1 teams, including AS Monaco and Paris FC, as well as another Saudi club, Al Qadsiah. (Footmercato)
– Internazionale are monitoring Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae if Benjamin Pavard leaves. The Nerazzurri would likely turn to a younger defender even if Pavard doesn’t leave and try to sign Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano as a free agent when his contract expires next summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
– Concerns are beginning to arise about whether Juventus will be able to bring in striker Randal Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain again, as there is a disagreement about what the clause to make the deal permanent should be worth. (Tuttosport)
– Roma will speak to Jadon Sancho again to persuade the winger to join them, having already agreed a €24m deal with Manchester United. (Nicolo Schira)
– Following a failed medical for Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface, AC Milan are now looking at Sporting CP’s Conrad Harder, Genk’s Tolu Arokodare and Monaco’s Breel Embolo. But Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri is pushing for Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
– Milan are looking at Al Ahli’s Merih Demiral and Leicester City’s Caleb Okoli to fill gaps in defense, but other candidates could emerge before the deadline. (Calciomercato)
– Porto are set to make another offer for Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior after seeing one rejected in July. (Fabrizio Romano)
– Besiktas have opened talks to try to sign Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling. (Nicolo Schira)
– Girona midfielder Ladislav Krejci is expected to make a €30m move to Wolverhampton Wanderers this week. (Fabrizio Romano)
– Nottingham Forest are looking to sign Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic from Fenerbahçe. (Guardian)
– Leeds United winger Largie Ramazani is closing on a loan move to join Valencia. (Sky Sports)
– Saudi Pro League sides Al Nassr and Al Ahli are battling to land Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios. (Sacha Tavolieri)
– Galatasaray have submitted a €28m bid to sign Monaco defender Wilfried Singo, 24. (Footmercato)
– Bayer Leverkusen have asked for information on Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who is not in Pep Guardiola’s plans and will leave in the coming days. (Nicolo Schira)
– Leverkusen are also progressing in negotiations with AS Monaco for Eliesse Ben Seghir, with whom they have already agreed a contract. (L’Equipe)
– Paris FC, Nice and Real Sociedad are all pushing to sign RB Leipzig midfielder Amadou Haidara, who has one year on his contract and was left out of Leipzig’s squad against Bayern Munich. (Rudy Galetti)
– Lyon have convinced Facundo Buonanotte that he should join them, but Brighton & Hove Albion want to send the attacking midfielder on loan to a Premier League club. (L’Equipe)
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo injury ‘more serious’ than expected
Cristiano Ronaldo‘s hamstring injury is “more serious” than first anticipated, Al Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said Friday, with the Portugal captain traveling to Madrid to undergo treatment.
Ronald limped off the pitch in Al Nassr’s 3-1 league win over Al Fayha last weekend.
Al Nassr did not provide an exact timeline for the 41-year-old’s recovery.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s home league game against Neom SC, Jesus said: “In the last game, Cristiano left with a muscle injury.
“After the tests he underwent, it became clear that it is a more serious injury than we were expecting. He will need rest and recovery. Cristiano will travel to Spain for treatment, as will other players who were injured.
“He will need treatment from his personal physiotherapist. We hope he will return soon to help the team.”
Ronaldo will be hoping to recover in time for Portugal’s international friendlies later this month.
Portugal take on Mexico at the renovated Azteca stadium on March 28 before facing the United States on March 31 in Atlanta in preparation for the World Cup.
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Ronaldo is third in the Saudi Pro League top scorers’ table. The Portugal captain has scored 21 times, while English forward Ivan Toney is top of the scoring charts with 23 goals from 23 games for Al Ahli.
Al Nassr are two points clear of Al Ahli at the top of the Saudi Pro League.
Sports
Ball State fires Michael Lewis after 3 straight losing seasons
Ball State has fired men’s basketball coach Michael Lewis after four seasons, the school announced Saturday.
The Cardinals ended their season with an 85-69 win over Central Michigan in the regular-season finale Friday to finish on a four-game winning streak but still missed the Mid-American Conference tournament after posting a 12-19 (7-11 MAC) record.
“We are grateful to Coach Lewis for the passion and commitment he brought to our program the past four years,” athletic director Jeff Mitchell said in a statement. “We appreciate the time and effort he invested in our student-athletes.”
Lewis went 61-64 in his four seasons at the helm of the Cardinals. He won 20 games in Year 1, finishing fourth in the MAC, but was unable to replicate his early success. Ball State has finished 7-11 in conference play in each of the past three seasons, going 41-52 during that time.
Lewis was a longtime power conference assistant before being tapped to take over at Ball State in 2022. He spent time on staffs at UCLA, Nebraska and Butler, working under three different coaches during his time with the Bulldogs. He was an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois and Stephen F. Austin prior to Brad Stevens hiring him at Butler.
His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech under Bob Knight, whom he played for in college at Indiana. Lewis was the Hoosiers’ team captain and an all-conference performer as a senior in 1999-00.
Sports
‘No pressure, no fun’, says India’s Suryakumar ahead of World Cup final
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said on Saturday there would be “butterflies in the stomach” when he walks out for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, with expectations sky-high for the hosts.
The blockbuster final in Ahmedabad on Sunday is expected to attract over 100,000 fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium and hundreds of millions more watching on TV.
Defending champions India are targeting a record third title and looking to become the first team to win back-to-back trophies. No country has previously won the T20 World Cup on home soil.
Suryakumar played a key part when Rohit Sharma’s India lifted the World Cup in Barbados in 2024, taking over the captaincy later that year after Rohit retired from international T20s.
“Leading such a wonderful side into a final that (is also on) home soil, it’s always a special feeling,” Suryakumar told reporters at a packed news conference.
“Of course there are nerves, there will be butterflies in the stomach but as I always say, ‘if there is no pressure, there is no fun’. All the boys and the support staff and I am sure the whole of India is excited for tomorrow.”
Top-ranked India have been the team to beat in the tournament and lost just one game en route to the final, when South Africa ended their 12-match unbeaten streak in the Super Eights stage.
India have since won three straight matches, holding off England in a tense semi-final as the bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, held their nerve to win by seven runs in a high-scoring thriller.
Bumrah, who was India’s hero in their win against South Africa in the 2024 final, bowled a near-perfect 18th over at the Wankhede Stadium to deny England and Jacob Bethell, who hit a valiant 105.
The 35-year-old Suryakumar said having players with experience of major international tournaments adds to their armoury.
“There’s a lot of benefit because there are a lot of players in this team who have played a lot of ICC events right from our coach (two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir),” said Suryakumar.
“So their experience is also important. And there are a lot of players, like Bumrah, Hardik (Pandya), Axar (Patel), there are a lot of players who have played in ICC events, in pressure situations.”
Suryakumar said he learned a lot from Rohit, who was joined by Virat Kohli in retirement after the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“The way, where he left, I got to learn a lot of things from him when I was playing under him,” said Suryakumar.
“I tried to implement the same things with a few thoughts of mine as well. And it’s worked really well.”
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