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Transfer rumors, news: Man City to rival Arsenal for rising Spain star Mendoza
Arsenal may have to compete with Manchester City to sign Elche midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza, while Barcelona are planning a host of big signings in defence and attack. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
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TRENDING RUMORS
– Manchester City have joined Arsenal in showing an interest in Elche midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza, the Daily Mail reports. Even though both Premier League clubs have creative midfielders, they will continue to monitor the Spain youth international’s progress and any developments in his situation. The 20-year-old is also on Real Madrid‘s radar In addition to impressing for Elche, where he has scored two goals in 10 appearances for the newly promoted LaLiga side. Mendoza featured at last month’s FIFA U-20 World Cup, where Spain lost 3-2 to Colombia in the quarterfinals.
– Barcelona aim to sign a centre-back, striker and left winger in the summer, according to Mundo Deportivo. At the back, they are looking at Sporting CP‘s Gonçalo Inacio, Nottingham Forest‘s Murillo, Borussia Dortmund‘s Nico Schlotterbeck, Palmeiras‘ Luiz Benedetti and Crystal Palace‘s Marc Guéhi. Up front, the Blaugrana like Atlético Madrid‘s Julián Álvarez but a deal would be difficult to complete. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland seems like “another impossible dream,” so Bayern Munich‘s Harry Kane is gaining traction with his €65m release clause. Out wide, Barça will decide whether to trigger their €30m option to sign Marcus Rashford from Manchester United based on his performances, while AC Milan‘s Rafael Leão continues to be linked and Raphinha could depart amid Saudi Pro League interest.
– Liverpool face a dilemma about whether to make a move for AFC Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo in January or the summer transfer window, according to The i Paper. The issue with waiting until after the season has ended is that Manchester City are expected to join the race to sign the 25-year-old at that point. The Ghana international can be signed this winter if a club triggers his release clause, and the Reds view him as Mohamed Salah‘s successor.
– Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have all sent scouts to watch Jagiellonia Bialystok midfielder Oskar Pietuszewski, according to TEAMtalk. The 17-year-old has already made his mark in the Ekstraklasa this term, recording three goals and two assists in 24 senior appearances despite playing in a deeper position. All three clubs have gone past the point of observation, as they have held preliminary discussions with Pietuszewski’s camp and are actively preparing approaches for when the January transfer window begins.
– Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy has a release clause that will activate in the summer of 2026 and be worth around €50 million, Sky Sports Deutschland reports. However, the clause is only valid for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United. The 29-year-old wants to win trophies so will make his decision based on Dortmund’s performances and would only consider joining a top club, having already turned down €20m-per-year to join Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal. Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani is a strong candidate to replace Guirassy if he leaves.
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OTHER RUMORS
– Real Madrid have told Liverpool that they have ended their interest in defender Ibrahima Konaté, who will be be free to open talks with foreign clubs from Jan. 1 as his Anfield contract is due to expire int he summer. (The Athletic)
– Vinícius Júnior is closer to renewing his Real Madrid contract after apologising to coach Xabi Alonso and lowering his wage demands. (Mundo Deportivo)
– Savinho to leave Manchester City in January for a £50m fee, with Tottenham Hotspur continuing to look at the winger. (Football Insider)
– Sunderland are serious about Matteo Guendouzi with Lazio’s financial troubles meaning they could allow the midfielder to leave. Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Napoli are also interested. (Calciomercato)
– Roma could terminate Evan Ferguson‘s loan and try to sign another striker in January, and they are considering Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee, Tottenham Hotspur’s Mathys Tel, Midtjylland’s Franculino Dju and Corinthians’ Yuri Alberto. (Calciomercato)
– RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba is ready to take the next step in his career and will have an €80m release clause next year. (Philipp Hinze)
– Leeds United have enquired about re-signing Kalvin Phillips on loan, but a deal is unlikely as they want Manchester City to make a significant contribution to the midfielder’s £250,000-a-week wages. Phillips could consider offers from France, Spain and Germany. (Daily Mirror)
– U.S. U23 winger Cole Campbell has officially submitted a transfer request to leave Borussia Dortmund, with Club Brugge, Anderlecht, Elversberg and Midtjylland all being interested in the 19-year-old. (Sky Sports Deutschland)
– Daniel Maldini could leave Atalanta during the January transfer window. (Nicolò Schira)
– St. Etienne striker Lucas Stassin is VfB Stuttgart’s priority, but €40m is being demanded for the 20-year-old. (Sky Sports Deutschland)
– Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Brentford are among the clubs actively monitoring Pogon Szczecin midfielder Adrian Przyborek. (TEAMtalk)
– Eintracht Frankfurt have entered the race to sign VfL Bochum defensive midfielder Cajetan Lenz. (Florian Plettenberg)
– Roma have offered Zeki Celik a contract that runs until 2029 as they aim to keep the right-back, but several clubs across Europe are monitoring the 28-year-old ahead of potentially signing him as a free agent in the summer. (Nicolò Schira)
In the latest gambling scandal to rock sports, a federal indictment accuses bettors and athletes of “point-shaving” in NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games.
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NCAA president responds to integrity concerns after alleged point-shaving scheme leads to dozens of arrests
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The NCAA said that protecting the “integrity” of its athletics is “of the utmost importance” for the organization after at least 26 people were charged Thursday in connection with fixed college basketball games, and urged states to “ban risky bets.”
Prosecutors said the alleged participants bribed Chinese Basketball Association players in 2022 “to underperform and help ensure their team failed to cover the spread in certain games and then, through various sports books, arranged for large wagers to be placed on those games against that team.”
The following year, the participants allegedly expanded their scheme to the NCAA, recruiting players and paying bribes between $10,000 and $30,000 per game.
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NCAA President Charlie Baker and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announce a gambling prevention program aimed at kids during a press conference at TD Garden. The program includes a school curriculum on the risks of gambling that will be rolled out to schools statewide, as well as new money towards research to understand the scope of the problem. (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
According to the indictment, more than 39 players on 17 different teams attempted to fix more than 29 NCAA Division I men’s basketball games, including conference tournament contests. The organizers of the alleged scheme placed wagers totaling millions of dollars.
“Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA. We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.
Baker said the indictments were “not entirely new information to the NCAA,” as it had conducted “integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year.”
The NCAA logo on entrance sign outside of the NCAA Headquarters on Feb. 28, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The NCAA added that 11 athletes from seven schools were “recently found to have bet on their own performances, shared information with known bettors, and/or engaged in game manipulation to collect on bets they — or others — placed” and have since been permanently banned.
“Additionally, 13 student-athletes from eight schools (including some of those identified above) were found to have failed to cooperate in the sports betting integrity investigation by providing false or misleading information, failing to provide relevant documentation and/or refusing to be interviewed by the enforcement staff. None of them are competing today,” Baker added.
Baker also called on states to crack down on “threats to integrity,” specifically prop bets, “to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors. We also will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement. We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”
The chargers on Thursday included bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud.
“[Defendants] aided and abetted the carrying into effect, the attempt to carry into effect, and the conspiracy to carry into effect, a scheme in commerce to influence by bribery sporting contests, that is, Chinese Basketball Association (“CBA”) men’s basketball games and National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) men’s basketball games, with the defendants engaging in different aspects of this scheme, with knowledge that the purpose of this scheme was to influence in some way those contests by bribery,” the indictment said.
General view of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship game between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Florida Gators at the Georgia Dome on March 14, 2004, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
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The announcement follows the federal government’s crackdown on illicit sports gambling and point-shaving schemes that involved the NBA in October.
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Twenty men have been charged in a point-shaving scheme involving more than 39 college basketball players on more than 17 NCAA Division I teams, leading to more than 29 games being fixed, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Fifteen of the defendants played college basketball during the 2023-24 and/or 2024-25 seasons, according to the indictment. Some have played this season. Two of the players named in the indictment, Cedquavious Hunter and Dyquavian Short, were sanctioned in November by the NCAA for fixing New Orleans games.
At least two of the defendants, Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley, were also charged in a federal indictment in the Eastern District of New York centered on gambling schemes in the NBA.
Former NBA player Antonio Blakeney was named but not charged in the indictment. The indictment describes Blakeney as being “charged elsewhere.”
The scheme, according to the indictment, began around September 2022 and initially was focused on fixing games in the Chinese Basketball Association. The group later targeted college basketball games, offering bribes to college players ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to compromise games for betting purposes, according to the indictment.
“In placing these wagers on games they had fixed, the defendants defrauded sportsbooks, as well as individual sports bettors, who were all unaware that the defendants had corruptly manipulated the outcome of these games that should have been decided fairly, based on genuine competition and the best efforts of the players,” the indictment said.
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Bettors and players fixed dozens of NCAA basketball games, prosecutors say
NCAA president responds to integrity concerns after alleged point-shaving scheme leads to dozens of arrests
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