Despite PSR concerns, Aston Villa have now reportedly joined a hectic race to sign a Bundesliga defender ahead of a number of Premier League rivals for Unai Emery this summer.

Aston Villa's PSR concern

On the pitch, Aston Villa are a side competing for consecutive top-four finishes in the Premier League and find themselves in the last eight of the Champions League and the last four of the FA Cup. It seems as though things can’t get much better.

In reality, however, as successful as they have been on the field, concerns are reportedly emerging over profit and sustainability rules behind the scenes.

Questions will be asked over just how a side of such recent success have struggled to stay in line with the rules, especially after the big sale of Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabia in January, but it looks as though Villa could be in for a cautious summer.

Whether those concerns will result in player sales or limited spending remains to be seen. However, reports are emerging on both the incoming and departure fronts.

On the departure front, it’s Boubakar Kamara who has attracted attention in recent days with Liverpool reportedly eyeing a move to sign the Aston Villa midfielder.

Meanwhile, if the Villans choose to run the risk of spending once more this summer, names such as Marc Casado and Andreas Christensen could steal the headlines fresh from Barcelona, according to recent reports.

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The same can also be said for one Bundesliga talent, as Aston Villa look to reinforce their backline and beat Liverpool and Manchester City to the signature of a talented defender this summer.

Aston Villa battling to sign Sildillia

Putting their financial concerns to one side, those in the Midlands have reportedly joined a hectic Premier League race. According to CaughtOffside, Aston Villa are now battling to sign Kiliann Sildillia from SC Freiburg ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion, Liverpool and Man City.

The Bundesliga side are reportedly valuing their right-back at just €16m (£14m) this summer – a price Villa may be able to match even amid their PSR frustrations.

At just 22 years old, the Bundesliga right-back has earned plenty of praise in recent years – including from Antonio Mango. The U23 scout took to X to describe Sildillia as an “extremely athletic” defender “who possesses a great burst of pace and acceleration”.

However, whether those are traits Aston Villa are left to benefit from remains to be seen as Premier League clubs race to sign the talented right-back.

Crystal Palace are now closely following a young forward who has been compared to Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, according to a report.

Palace making summer transfer plans

With 10 games left to play, Palace look set for a mid-table finish in the Premier League, but it could still be an exciting end to the campaign, with Oliver Glasner’s side just one game away from a trip to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final.

While it would be a monumental achievement to potentially go on and win the FA Cup, Glasner will also be keen for his side to kick on and push for the European places next season, which means some additions could be required in the summer window.

With Will Hughes yet to sign a new contract, signing a midfielder may be necessary, and the Eagles are now eyeing a move to sign 20-year-old Royal Antwerp maestro Mahamadou Doumbia.

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Palace are looking to get ahead in the race as they have submitted an offer to sign a player on a free transfer.

By
Brett Worthington

Mar 6, 2025

It appears as though there could be a focus on bringing in talented youngsters this summer, as Glasner’s side have also emerged as shock contenders to sign Wolfsburg defender Konstantinos Koulierakis, who could cost around £42m.

Not only are Palace eyeing young defenders and midfielders, but they have also been closely following 18-year-old FC Nordsjaelland forward Sindre Walle Egeli, according to a report from The Boot Room.

The teenager is attracting a lot of attention from across Europe, having put in some impressive performances in Denmark, with the likes of Newcastle United, Atalanta, Liverpool and Everton also expressing an interest.

The Eagles are one of a number of Premier League clubs to have watched the youngster in action this season, and reports elsewhere have revealed Nordsjaelland could be looking for a fee of at least £21m to sanction his departure.

"Absolute star" Egeli likened to Griezmann

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig has bestowed very high praise upon the young Norwegian, describing him as an “absolute star of each age category since the U-15 level”, while also likening him to Atletico Madrid forward Griezmann.

Although the right-winger is still only 18-years-old, he has emerged as a key player for Nordsjaelland, picking up six goals and four assists in the Superliga this season, recently adding to his tally with a well-taken header against Vejle BK.

Palace have done a fantastic job recruiting talented youngsters in recent times, with Adam Wharton establishing himself as a key player for Glasner, and there are plenty of indications the Nordsjaelland star could be in the same category.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has thanked his club for showing patience throughout a tough season, claiming other top teams would've fired him.

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Guardiola thanks club hierarchy for patienceCity qualified for UCL after tough seasonClaims Barca would've sacked himFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Reflecting on a season of ups and downs, the Catalonian tactician opened up about how lucky he was to keep his job at City during an extremely tricky 2024/25 campaign. Referencing the lack of patience shown to managers in other European leagues, Guardiola claimed his former club Barcelona would have sacked him in October, November, or December, when his team were struggling for form.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

City's 2024/25 Premier League points tally of 71 was enough to guarantee Champions League qualification, but it was far below par for a side that had amassed an average of 89.75 points per season over the previous four campaigns. Guardiola has been clear that last term's performance simply wasn't good enough, and a serious rebuild is needed.

WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

Speaking to DAZN, Guardiola said: "I've always been able to turn things around when they're not going well, but I haven't managed to do that this year. The situation has gotten the better of me." He added: "With the year we've had, if this were Spain, I wouldn't be coaching in October, November or December.If this were Barça or Madrid they would have sacked me, but here it wasn't even a question. You have to have a little more patience. Look at Carlo Ancelotti: he won the Champions League and La Liga four days ago and now he's off to coach in Brazil." 

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY?

Some supporters thought Pep would decide to leave this summer, but the six-time Premier League champion seems determined to turn things around and reach the top again next season. That being said, he also sensationally vowed to quit the club if the size of his squad was not reduced during this summer's overhaul. With that threat on the horizon, there's likely to be plenty of change at the Etihad over the coming weeks.

Barcelona are reluctant to match Manchester United's asking price for Marcus Rashford but are eager to sign the attacker this summer.

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• Barcelona want to avoid €40m Rashford fee
• United keen to sell England international
• Joined Villa on loan

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rashford's hopes of securing a move to Barcelona this summer have taken a hit as the La Liga champions are not willing to meet United's €40 million (£34m/$44m) asking price, according to . Their report claims the Catalan giants could offer between €5m to €10m for a one-year loan, but they do not want to part with a significant amount of cash for Rashford as they would rather invest in a player like Liverpool's Luis Diaz. Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli is another option.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Rashford effectively has no future at United under Ruben Amorim, having left the club to join Aston Villa on loan in January. However, his contract at Old Trafford still has another three years to run and the Red Devils want to extract a transfer fee that befits a player who has scored 17 goals in 62 appearances for England.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  If Rashford were to join Barcelona, he would find himself competing with Raphinha for a spot in Hansi Flick's team. The Brazilian is one of the main candidates for the 2025 Ballon d'Or after leading the Blaugrana to a domestic treble.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR RASHFORD AND BARCELONA?

  Rashford will hope his future is resolved quickly, but Barcelona's financial state may rule them out of the running, especially if they decide to prioritise a permanent arrival like Diaz.

392-run stand with New Zealand’s Will Young denies Somerset before rain

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2024Joe Clarke and Will Young were denied the chance of a 400 partnership when heavy rain washed out most of the final day of Nottinghamshire’s Vitality County Championship First Division match with Somerset at Taunton.Only nine overs were possible at the start of the morning session, which began with the visitors 418 for 2 in their second innings, leading by 157 runs.Having already broken a Notts record for a third-wicket stand, which had stood since 1903, Clarke and Young added 22 runs, taking the total to 440 before the rain set in at 11.40am with their partnership extended to 392.No further play was possible before umpires Russell Warren and David Millns abandoned the game at the conclusion of a 1pm lunch period. Clarke was left unbeaten on 213 and Young on 174 as Somerset took 15 points from the draw and Notts ten.The early finish also deprived the pair of a chance to break the Notts record stand for any wicket, the unbroken opening stand of 406 put together by Darren Bicknell and Guy Welton against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 2000.Related

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“We have to improve as a side because we have been putting ourselves in positions we don’t want to be in,” Clarke said. “We need to be in control and pushing to win games, so although it was good to get points from this one, we know as a group we have to be better.”This was Clarke’s third hundred of the season and he sits one run behind Warwickshire captain Alex Davies at the top of the run-scoring charts in Division One. “The partnership with Will was outstanding,” Clarke said. “We fed off each other well and kept each other going.”It was the first game this year with the Duke ball, but that made no difference to how I approached my innings. As always, I just tried to keep things simple and cash in on the confidence I am feeling with the bat at the moment.”Will Young just oozes class. He had not had many days in the country before we travelled down to play here after a long flight from New Zealand, so to fit back into the team so seamlessly was amazing.”Lewis Gregory, Somerset’s captain, said: “I would like to see pitches here offer a lot more to the bowlers than that one did. It flattened out much quicker than expected, but it’s not an exact science and that can happen here. Three draws is a solid start to the season for us. We have played some really good cricket and now need to build on it with a win.”

Bangladesh Under-19s, who had beaten India Under-19s in the Asia Cup in December last year, threatened to cause another stir when left-arm seamer Maruf Mridha took five wickets in the Under-19 World Cup in Bloemfontein. Maruf’s strikes kept India to 251 for 7, but Saumy Pandey trumped Maruf with 4 for 24 and bowled his team to victory.Musheer Khan, the younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan, pitched in with two wickets, including that of Mohammad Shihab James, who top-scored for Bangladesh with 54 off 77 balls. The rest of the batters collapsed around James as Bangladesh were bowled out for 167 in 45.5 overs. Musheer also effected a direct-hit to sink Bangladesh. Pandey was the most economical bowler on the day, conceding just 2.44 an over.Earlier in the day, India’s innings was built around half-centuries from opener Adarsh Singh (76 off 96) and captain Uday Saharan (64 off 94). Aravelly Avinash (23 off 17), who was picked by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 auction, and Sachin Dhas (26 off 20) then gave the innings some late impetus.Shahzaib Khan almost batted through the innings, scoring 106 from 126 balls•ICC via Getty Images

Ubaid Shah, the younger brother of Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Zeeshan, who has been part of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, took seven wickets between them to skittle Afghanistan Under-19s for 103 in their chase of 285 in East London.Opener batting Shahzaib Khan had laid the platform for Pakistan Under-19s’ 181-run victory with 106 off 126 balls. His knock contained ten fours and three sixes. He added 92 for the third wicket with Saad Baig, who hit 55 off 52 balls, to set Pakistan up for a big total. Khalil Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, returning 4 for 51 in his ten overs.Pakistan’s total looked even bigger when Ubaid and Zeeshan ripped through Afghanistan’s top and middle orders. Wicketkeeper-batter Numan Shah was the only Afghanistan batter to pass 25 in the chase. Amir Hassan and Ahmed Hussain picked up a wicket each as Pakistan bundled Afghanistan out in 26.2 overs.Luc Benkenstein picked up key wickets in the middle overs•ICC via Getty Images

England Under-19s enjoyed a winning start to the Under-19 World Cup, easing past Scotland Under-19s in Potchefstroom.Luc Benkenstein, the son of former South Africa international Dale, sealed the victory with an unbeaten cameo after setting it up for England with a three-wicket haul. Farhan Ahmed, who is the brother of England international Rehan, also bagged a three-wicket haul to help England dismiss Scotland for 174.Captain Ben McKinney then hit 88 off 68 balls to rush his side to victory, with seven wickets and 142 balls to spare. He forged a 106-run partnership for the first wicket with Jaydn Denly, who made 40 off 50 balls.After Scotland were asked to bat first, they never got going and lost wickets in clusters. They didn’t even have a single half-century stand in their entire innings. Owen Gould top-scored for them with 48 off 61 balls, including five fours and a six. The other nine batters scored a combined five boundaries. Harry Armstrong was absent hurt for Scotland.

MatériaMais Notícias

da spicy bet： A música brasileira perdeu um de seus nomes mais irreverentes. O cantor, compositor e humorista Juca Chaves morreu na noite de sábado (25) aos 84 anos em um hospital em Salvador, cidade na qual residia há décadas. A causa de sua morte não foi divulgada até o momento.

Torcedor ilustre do São Paulo, Juca foi um dos artistas que, naedição especial de 15 anos de LANCE! ajudaram a eleger os dez maiores jogadores da história do clube. À época, ele afirmou que se tornou são-paulino por causa de Leônidas da Silva.

Além do Diamante Negro, seus demais eleitos foram: Bauer, Mauro, Raí, Canhoteiro, Poy, Gino Orlando, Müller, Cafu e Rogério Ceni.

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da mrbet： O “Menestrel” também deixou como legado em meio aos seus 60 anos de carreira uma música em homenagem ao Tricolor Paulista: a “Marchinha do São Paulo”.

MARCHINHA DO SÃO PAULO – de Juca Chaves

São Paulo, São Paulo
São Paulo, meu amor
Meu amigo… Não abro, estou contigo
Sou torcedor do Tricolor

São Paulo!

Nascido no Rio de Janeiro, Jurandyr Czaczkes Chaves iniciou sua carreira durante a década de 1950. Na década seguinte, porém, se notabilizou por canções como “Por Quem Sonha Ana Maria?” e “Verinha”, mas também por shows e canções irreverentes. Em muitos momentos de sua trajetória, fez sátiras políticas, como em “Caixinha… Obrigado!”, “Presidente Bossa Nova”, “Brasil Já Vai à Guerra”, “Honestidade”, “Latino-Americano” (Desculpe, Foi Engano) e “O Menestrel”.

Chamado de “Menestrel Maldito” (e mais tarde denominado “Menestrel do Brasil”), também foi perseguido pela Ditadura Militar e foi exilado. Porém, em suas músicas manteve seu humor ácido com relação a situações no país, casos de “Take Me Back To Piauí” e “Paris Tropical”.

As sátiras ficavam também nítidas nos nomes dos seus LPs, em títulos como “Ninguém Segura Esse Nariz”, “Juca Bom de Câmera”, “O Incrível Juca Chaves – Ao Vivo ou Ao Morto” e “O Menestrel do Brasil – Enfim, Quase Livre”. Também fazia bordões como”vá ao meu show e ajude o Juquinha a comprar o seu caviar”.

Em 2006, foi candidato ao senado pela Bahia pelo extinto PSDC e pedia votos fazendo poesias, mas ficou em quarto lugar. Com seu humor afiado, ainda fez sátiras políticas a outros governos e, no ano de 2015, fez shows que continham brincadeiras políticas. Além disso, se declarou apoiador da operação Lava Jato.

Desde 1975, Juca Chaves era casado com Yara Chaves. O artista deixa duas filhas, Marina Morena e Maria Clara.

Goalkeeper Rob Green joined Leeds United on a free transfer in the summer of 2016, linking up with the Whites during the latter years of his professional career.

The now-retired 45-year-old featured in every single Championship outing during his only season as a player at Elland Road – catching the eye with his performances between the sticks.

He kept 15 clean sheets, the joint-third highest of any player in the division, but was unable to propel the side into the play-offs as they finished in seventh place.

Green would depart at the end of the 2016/17 season, with the club struggling to replace the former international after his departure – leading to their current goalkeeping situation.

However, this summer, boss Daniel Farke has the opportunity to end the goalkeeping situation, already targeting a move for one player when the window opens in a couple of months.

Leeds targeting move for PL goalkeeper

According to TEAMtalk, Leeds are plotting a summer move for Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, who’s currently spending the season on loan at French side Strasbourg.

The 25-year-old cost the Blues £14m back in the summer of 2023, but has failed to break into the first-team given the added investment from the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

The report claims that the Premier League outfit won’t consider any moves for the Serbian until the summer, giving boss Enzo Maresca a chance to evaluate the goalkeeping situation.

However, the Whites remain on red alert over a potential move in the summer, but it’s unclear whether any deal would be on a temporary or permanent basis.

Given Petrovic’s form in Europe this campaign, he would be a stellar addition to Farke’s side, certainly providing an upgrade on one player plying his trade in Yorkshire.

Why Petrovic would be an upgrade on Meslier for Leeds

Illan Meslier has been Farke’s first choice for Leeds between the sticks this season, a decision that may come back to bite the club come the end of the season.

The Frenchman has dropped numerous clangers throughout 2024/25, producing two errors in the most recent outing against Swansea City – with the side dropping two points as a result.

He’s also been accountable for various mistakes against the likes of Sunderland, Portsmouth and Hull City, with all of his failures taking multiple points away from their tally.

Promotion is undoubtedly still the aim for the Whites, but it’s safe to say that they would already have one foot in the Premier League if it wasn’t for the 25-year-old’s blunders.

Regardless of what division they find themselves in next season, reinforcements are desperately needed, with Petrovic providing the perfect upgrade on Meslier.

The Chelsea loanee, who’s been dubbed “world-class” by Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior, has managed to make more saves per 90, whilst also having a higher xG prevented – showcasing his shot-stopping ability.

He’s also managed to achieve a higher pass completion rate this campaign, more than capable of building attacks from the back should Farke demand that from the ‘keeper.

Games played

24

39

Goals conceded

29

27

Saves made

3.6

1.6

Shots on target faced

4.8

2.3

Pass accuracy

81%

79%

xG prevented

0.3

-2.7

Whilst it remains unclear how likely a move for Petrovic will be this summer, it’s evident that he would provide the quality between the sticks the side has been devoid of this campaign.

Regardless of whether a deal is completed for the 25-year-old, it’s pivotal that the hierarchy back Farke in the market, handing him the funds to finally replace Meslier.

If the club were to achieve promotion in the next few weeks, his mistakes would be even more costly in the top-flight, with his errors undoubtedly pushing the Whites closer to an immediate return – especially considering the unforgiving nature of the Premier League.

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Incident occurred during a Legends League T20 match in Surat

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2023Former India fast bowler S Sreesanth has accused his former team-mate Gautam Gambhir of calling him a “fixer” during a Legends League match in Surat. Gambhir is the captain of India Capitals while Sreesanth is playing for Gujarat Giants in the T20 tournament.After the match, which Capitals won by 12 runs, Sreesanth posted on Instagram a video that was shot on the sidelines of the post-match presentation ceremony. “Without any provocation, he kept on calling me something which was very rude and shouldn’t have been said by Mr Gautam Gambhir,” Sreesanth claimed. “I am not at all at fault, I wanted to clear the air straight away. The things he said on a cricket field live is not acceptable.”While Sreesanth did not immediately mention what was allegedly said to him by Gambhir, he revealed more details in a second video posted on Instagram on Thursday, the day after the match.

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