Liverpool are on a roll. They've signed Fabinho, Naby Keita and are close to securing Nabil Fekir . Looking much better for next season . But are they really gonna ignore their defence issues ? @The Real AG any transfer info ?
They have been getting better defensively since Van Dijk came and I think Fabinho will help protect the defense too. Don't be surprised if they don't sign another defender this summer. There is also a good chance a contract extension will be given to Moreno and Klavan, not on improved terms, but for maybe 1-2 years on current terms.
Fekir is indeed the player they want but Lyon and Aulas have made a business out of situations like this and if Chelsea decide to also get involved, this could drag on for a long time.
Here is the list of all the players I have in my notes, from several sources, who I trust as Liverpool scouted this season: Alisson Becker, Jack Butland, Keylor Navas, Andriy Lunin, Reuben Neves, Jorginho, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Wilfred Ndidi, Lucas Torreira, Maxime Lopez, Max Meyer, Julian Draxler, Adrien Rabiot, Ante Coric, Thomas Lemar, Nabil Fekir, Ousmane Dembele, Christian Pulisic, Malcom, Ben Brereton, Anderson Talisca, Richarlison.
I had no idea about Fabinho and we will have to wait and see how the GK situation changes based on Karius' errors in the final. Don't be surprised if Liverpool don't sign a striker, loan out one of Solanke/Ings and use Firmino, Salah and one of Ings/Solanke as strikers like this season.
Premier League winter break plans confirmed by FA chief Martin Glenn
A winter break will soon be introduced to help Premier League clubs battle player fatigue and aid England's preparation for major tournaments, Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn has revealed.
Sources told ESPN FC in February that talks were ongoing between the FA, the Premier League and Football League with a view to introducing a break in time for the 2019-20 season, ahead of that summer's European Championship.
And in a speech to FA council members on Tuesday that was subsequently published on the governing body's website, Glenn revealed that the break will be announced "very soon" as a result of all parties working productively to find a solution.
"We're working closer and more collaboratively with the professional game than at any time in recent years," Glenn said.
"Very soon this will pay dividends with the creation of a mid-season break, which is a much needed improvement for our clubs and England teams."
According to the Times, a breakthrough in discussions came when the FA agreed to move the entire FA Cup fifth round to a midweek slot, with the difference in the competition's TV rights to be covered by Premier League broadcast deals.
The 13-day break will be staggered across late January and early February so all clubs will have a slightly different stretch of time off, enabling broadcasters to continue showing Premier League matches on every weekend of the season.
Germany, Spain, Italy and France already have mid-season breaks and a lack of the same has often been cited by players, managers and pundits as a key reason for the England team's poor performance at major international tournaments.
European football is worth a record £22bn, says Deloitte
The big five European leagues generated a record €14.7bn (£12.6bn) in revenue in 2016-17, a 9% annual increase, according to new figures from Deloitte.
It says the European football market is now worth some €25.5bn (£21.9bn).
The English Premier League was the market leader, with record revenue of £4.5bn, as each of the 20 clubs set their own annual revenue record.
In revenue terms, the Premier League is 86% larger than its nearest competitor, Spain's La Liga.
Deloitte said the financial results of the 2016-17 football season reflected a new era of improved profitability and financial stability for European football clubs.
'Resilience and strength'
It said the Premier League had benefited from the impact of its record broadcasting deals, as well as from operating in a regulated business environment, via Uefa Financial Fair Play regulations and the league's own cost control measures.
"Just a decade ago, 60% of Premier League clubs were making an operating loss, whereas in the 2016-17 season, all clubs were profitable," said Dan Jones, head of Deloitte's sport business group.
"In addition, and for the first time ever, Premier League clubs' revenues have grown at a faster rate than wages over a 10-year period."
He said that although the sale of the Premier League's domestic TV rights for the 2019-20 to 2021-22 seasons did not deliver the expected financial increase, this should not be a cause for concern.
"The fact that the Premier League has once again shown its resilience and strength by retaining the vast majority of its audience and value has provided market leading financial security to clubs for at least the next four years, providing they are not relegated," Mr Jones added.
"Indeed, once the sales process for the remaining international rights is completed, we expect the league will have delivered overall increases in television revenue."
Tax contribution
Other findings regarding English football finances in 2016-17 include:
The top 92 Premier League and Football League clubs generated a record £5.5bn in revenue
Premier League clubs' revenues increased to £4.5bn, an increase of 25% as the first year of a new broadcast rights cycle saw clubs paid between £95m and £150m in central distributions
All top-flight clubs made an operating profit
Championship clubs generated record combined revenues of £720m, a 30% increase from 2015-16. The three newly relegated clubs generated almost one-third of this total revenue
It is now more than five years since an English football club entered insolvency proceedings, reflecting better financial discipline and the positive impact of regulation
The 92 Premier League and Football League clubs contributed £1.9bn to the UK government in taxes (2015-16: £1.6bn).
European participation
Meanwhile, Scottish Premiership revenues increased by 63% to £181m in 2016-17, driven by the on-field success of Celtic, and Rangers' participation in Scotland's top flight.
Celtic's participation in the 2016-17 Uefa Champions League contributed €32m, more than the amount distributed across all 12 clubs from the Scottish leagues' own broadcast revenues in 2016-17.
Aggregate match-day and commercial revenues both increased by more than 40%, as Rangers participation in the top division helped to drive Scotland's top tier back into the top 10 revenue generating leagues in Europe.
Inter impact
Outside the UK, the success of La Liga's collective sales approach saw broadcast revenue growth of 20%.
That followed on from 26% growth in the 2015-16 season, has meant collective La Liga revenue grew to a record €2.9bn in 2016-17.
The Spanish league has overtaken the Bundesliga to be the world's second-highest revenue-generating league.
Meanwhile, the German Bundesliga remained the best attended European league, with average crowds of over 44,000.
Bundesliga clubs collectively maintained their strong overall revenue growth, up 15% from 2015-16 to €1.4bn.
Italy's Serie A saw revenue grow by 8% to more than €2bn for the first time. The majority of this growth came from commercial sources, with revenue increasing by €91m (17%) on 2015-16.
More than three-quarters of this was was solely attributable to Internazionale, following the club's acquisition by Chinese electronics retailer Suning in June 2016.
France's Ligue 1 remained the lowest revenue-generating of Europe's "big five" leagues, at €1.6bn in 2016-17, despite entering a new four-year domestic broadcasting rights cycle.
Wayne Rooney: Everton striker completes move to MLS side DC United
Everton striker Wayne Rooney has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Major League Soccer club DC United.
He will officially complete his move when the US mid-season transfer window opens on 10 July.
There is no transfer fee but it is understood DC United have agreed a compensation package with the Toffees.
The 32-year-old's deal is worth £10m, meaning he becomes the highest paid player in DC United's history.
Everton and DC United made the announcement simultaneously on Thursday afternoon.
Rooney will make his debut when the club open their new 20,000-capacity Audi Field Stadium on 14 July.
"Moving to America and MLS fulfils another career ambition for me," Rooney told the club website.
"I have the hunger to be a success here and will give DC 100% - as I have always done for every team I have ever played for. Now I can't wait to get on the pitch in a United shirt and join my new teammates to bring success to this club."
Manchester United and England's record goalscorer agreed a deal in principle last month but was undecided about leaving Everton halfway through his two-year contract.
He will leave the Premier League as its second highest goalscorer with 208 goals, bettered only by Alan Shearer (260).
Comments
@The Real AG any transfer info ?
Fekir is indeed the player they want but Lyon and Aulas have made a business out of situations like this and if Chelsea decide to also get involved, this could drag on for a long time.
Here is the list of all the players I have in my notes, from several sources, who I trust as Liverpool scouted this season:
Alisson Becker, Jack Butland, Keylor Navas, Andriy Lunin, Reuben Neves, Jorginho, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Wilfred Ndidi, Lucas Torreira, Maxime Lopez, Max Meyer, Julian Draxler, Adrien Rabiot, Ante Coric, Thomas Lemar, Nabil Fekir, Ousmane Dembele, Christian Pulisic, Malcom, Ben Brereton, Anderson Talisca, Richarlison.
I had no idea about Fabinho and we will have to wait and see how the GK situation changes based on Karius' errors in the final. Don't be surprised if Liverpool don't sign a striker, loan out one of Solanke/Ings and use Firmino, Salah and one of Ings/Solanke as strikers like this season.
Premier League winter break plans confirmed by FA chief Martin Glenn
A winter break will soon be introduced to help Premier League clubs battle player fatigue and aid England's preparation for major tournaments, Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn has revealed.
Sources told ESPN FC in February that talks were ongoing between the FA, the Premier League and Football League with a view to introducing a break in time for the 2019-20 season, ahead of that summer's European Championship.
And in a speech to FA council members on Tuesday that was subsequently published on the governing body's website, Glenn revealed that the break will be announced "very soon" as a result of all parties working productively to find a solution.
"We're working closer and more collaboratively with the professional game than at any time in recent years," Glenn said.
"Very soon this will pay dividends with the creation of a mid-season break, which is a much needed improvement for our clubs and England teams."
The 13-day break will be staggered across late January and early February so all clubs will have a slightly different stretch of time off, enabling broadcasters to continue showing Premier League matches on every weekend of the season.
Germany, Spain, Italy and France already have mid-season breaks and a lack of the same has often been cited by players, managers and pundits as a key reason for the England team's poor performance at major international tournaments.
European football is worth a record £22bn, says Deloitte
The big five European leagues generated a record €14.7bn (£12.6bn) in revenue in 2016-17, a 9% annual increase, according to new figures from Deloitte.
It says the European football market is now worth some €25.5bn (£21.9bn).
The English Premier League was the market leader, with record revenue of £4.5bn, as each of the 20 clubs set their own annual revenue record.
In revenue terms, the Premier League is 86% larger than its nearest competitor, Spain's La Liga.
Deloitte said the financial results of the 2016-17 football season reflected a new era of improved profitability and financial stability for European football clubs.
'Resilience and strength'
It said the Premier League had benefited from the impact of its record broadcasting deals, as well as from operating in a regulated business environment, via Uefa Financial Fair Play regulations and the league's own cost control measures.
"Just a decade ago, 60% of Premier League clubs were making an operating loss, whereas in the 2016-17 season, all clubs were profitable," said Dan Jones, head of Deloitte's sport business group.
"In addition, and for the first time ever, Premier League clubs' revenues have grown at a faster rate than wages over a 10-year period."
He said that although the sale of the Premier League's domestic TV rights for the 2019-20 to 2021-22 seasons did not deliver the expected financial increase, this should not be a cause for concern.
"The fact that the Premier League has once again shown its resilience and strength by retaining the vast majority of its audience and value has provided market leading financial security to clubs for at least the next four years, providing they are not relegated," Mr Jones added.
"Indeed, once the sales process for the remaining international rights is completed, we expect the league will have delivered overall increases in television revenue."
Tax contribution
Other findings regarding English football finances in 2016-17 include:
European participation
Meanwhile, Scottish Premiership revenues increased by 63% to £181m in 2016-17, driven by the on-field success of Celtic, and Rangers' participation in Scotland's top flight.
Celtic's participation in the 2016-17 Uefa Champions League contributed €32m, more than the amount distributed across all 12 clubs from the Scottish leagues' own broadcast revenues in 2016-17.
Aggregate match-day and commercial revenues both increased by more than 40%, as Rangers participation in the top division helped to drive Scotland's top tier back into the top 10 revenue generating leagues in Europe.
Inter impact
Outside the UK, the success of La Liga's collective sales approach saw broadcast revenue growth of 20%.
That followed on from 26% growth in the 2015-16 season, has meant collective La Liga revenue grew to a record €2.9bn in 2016-17.
The Spanish league has overtaken the Bundesliga to be the world's second-highest revenue-generating league.
Meanwhile, the German Bundesliga remained the best attended European league, with average crowds of over 44,000.
Bundesliga clubs collectively maintained their strong overall revenue growth, up 15% from 2015-16 to €1.4bn.
Italy's Serie A saw revenue grow by 8% to more than €2bn for the first time. The majority of this growth came from commercial sources, with revenue increasing by €91m (17%) on 2015-16.
More than three-quarters of this was was solely attributable to Internazionale, following the club's acquisition by Chinese electronics retailer Suning in June 2016.
France's Ligue 1 remained the lowest revenue-generating of Europe's "big five" leagues, at €1.6bn in 2016-17, despite entering a new four-year domestic broadcasting rights cycle.Antoine Griezmann confirms he will stay at Atletico Madrid and reject Barcelona move
Wayne Rooney: Everton striker completes move to MLS side DC United
Everton striker Wayne Rooney has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Major League Soccer club DC United.
He will officially complete his move when the US mid-season transfer window opens on 10 July.
There is no transfer fee but it is understood DC United have agreed a compensation package with the Toffees.
The 32-year-old's deal is worth £10m, meaning he becomes the highest paid player in DC United's history.
Everton and DC United made the announcement simultaneously on Thursday afternoon.
Rooney will make his debut when the club open their new 20,000-capacity Audi Field Stadium on 14 July.
"Moving to America and MLS fulfils another career ambition for me," Rooney told the club website.
"I have the hunger to be a success here and will give DC 100% - as I have always done for every team I have ever played for. Now I can't wait to get on the pitch in a United shirt and join my new teammates to bring success to this club."
Manchester United and England's record goalscorer agreed a deal in principle last month but was undecided about leaving Everton halfway through his two-year contract.
He will leave the Premier League as its second highest goalscorer with 208 goals, bettered only by Alan Shearer (260).