Can Seagulls beat Newcastle again?
Former Brighton striker Warren Aspinall spoke to the Albion Unlimited podcast before Sunday's match against Newcastle: "I think if we can score first, we will win the game convincingly. They [Newcastle] crumble - we saw that against Aston Villa. "They haven't got the pace at the back to chase games. Once [Kieran] Trippier and [Tino] Livramento get forward, [Fabian] Schar goes wandering and we can really exploit them."Brighton will have a spring in their step and the confidence is there after the comeback [against West Ham]. There is togetherness again and there are no individuals playing for themselves."I'm going for a 3-1 convincing win."Listen to the full episode
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Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Babis Kostoulas, 18, is incoming Premier League star compared to Gabriel Batistuta and was eyed by Arsenal and Man Utd
BRIGHT PROSPECT Babis Kostoulas, 18, is incoming Premier League star compared to Gabriel Batistuta and was eyed by Arsenal and Man Utd GREEK wonderkid Charalampos Kostoulas is set to complete a record-breaking move to the Premier League after just one season at senior level. And absolutely no one in Greece is shocked by this development, which SunSport revealed was in the works last month. Advertisement 3 Olympiacos wonderkid Babis Kostoulas is joining Brighton 3 Kostoulas is moving to Brighton after a record-breaking deal 3 Brighton have signed a very promising prospect in Kostoulas SunSport understand Brighton are set to complete the signing of Kostoulas, 18, on Wednesday after sealing a whopping £34million deal with Olympiacos. The teenage sensation will undergo a medical before putting pen to paper on a lucrative deal that may run for four years, with the option to extend for a further one, worth £1.3m per season, plus bonuses. That makes Babis - which is short for his forename - the most expensive Greek signing of all time as he overtakes Kostas Manolas' £30m move from Roma to Napoli in 2019. The Greece Under-21 international started making noise in the country almost two years ago while rising through the ranks at Olympiacos. Advertisement The forward - who can cover both wings, play behind the striker and spearhead the attack himself - showed immense killer instinct, surprising speed and fantastic technique from the age of 16. Babis quickly earned comparisons to Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta and was thus nicknamed "Babistuta" by everyone who got to witness his talent. The versatile striker lived up to the hype last season with Olympiacos' Under-19s as he led them to Uefa Youth League glory with five goals and two assists in nine matches. Kostoulas and co made history as they became the first ever Greek team to win a European trophy, shortly before Olympiacos' seniors won the Europa Conference League. Advertisement CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS The wonderkid's impressive introduction comes as no surprise as he was mentored from his father who knew everything about winning silverware and competing in the Champions League with the Greek giants. Thanassis Kostoulas joined the Piraeus outfit in 1999 and spent eight glittering years that saw him winning seven league titles and two Greek Cups. I can win the Ballon D'or says Brighton's Carlos Baleba The former centre-back amassed a total of 202 appearances, 15 of which were in the Champions League against the likes of Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid. Advertisement And Thanassis saw his son following his footsteps this season as he was quickly established as a key member of manager Jose Luis Mendilibar's first team. Babis broke his goalscoring duck in November during the derby against PAOK in the fiery and intimidating ground of Toumba Stadium. That night he became Olympiacos' youngest ever league goalscorer at the age of 17 years, five months and 11 days. A series of impressive performances in the Europa League soon followed and he played a critical role in Olympiacos' journey to the Last 16, which saw them finishing in the top eight of the league phase. Advertisement Many believe Mendilibar's side would have made it farther if their wonderkid was never injured. Attracting Premier League interest Kostoulas went on to cut a prolific figure in Greece and helped his team win the Double in their 100-year anniversary with seven goals and two assists in 35 appearances before picking up a muscle injury at the end of the season. SunSport revealed how his impressive displays quickly caught the attention of the Premier League with Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brighton showing interest. The Prem giants faced competition from other elite outfits, such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and AC Milan. Advertisement But it was the Seagulls who won the race for a player who started the season with a release clause worth a mere £423,000 on Transfermarkt. Sources suggest Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler made Kostoulas his top "personal choice" as the club continues to poach the world's brightest prospects following the likes of Yves Bissouma, Moises Caicedo and Kaoru Mitoma. This comes shortly after the Seasiders also landed Babis' 19-year-old compatriot Stefanos Tzimas from Nurnberg following a £20.8m deal. Olympiacos could have made more Olympiacos could have waited longer to sell their brightest wonderkid in eight years, but opted on going down the same route they took with their last gem. Advertisement Panos Retsos burst onto the scene in the 2016-17 campaign immediately after getting called up from the youth ranks, just like Kostoulas. Retsos impressed so much that he was handed the armband at the age of 18, making him the club's youngest ever captain. And Olympiacos decided to strike while the iron was hot to sell the centre-back to Bayer Leverkusen for a then record £14.8m. Evangelos Marinakis' club could have got an even higher price than the money they're receiving from Brighton. Advertisement Kostoulas would have played in the Champions League and probably even the World Cup with Greece, where he has yet to receive his first senior call-up, if he had stayed put. Hefty sell-on clause The Greek champions run the risk of jumping the gun but played it smart by adding a sell-on clause worth up to 12 per cent. And that could prove to be a genius move as the attacker has the qualifications to emulate other Brighton prospects that went from total anonymity to global superstardom and astronomical transfers. His football skills speak for themselves, but what many don't know about is his personality. Advertisement Kostoulas inspires tremendous confidence that he perfectly combines with humility. And it shows in his interviews with a posture and eloquence we rarely see from footballers, especially youngsters - nothing like Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer. Olympiacos never really got to enjoy Kostoulas, but even just one year proved enough for every single fan to understand his true impact - just like Yaya Toure who left a year after his arrival in 2005 and went on to make history. Brighton have hit the jackpot in terms of discovering another rare gem, but they will have to show their usual patience and support to get the most out of this kid. Advertisement Because this is a player that has been going from strength to strength without much sign of slowing down since his academy days that convinced everyone a move to an elite club was simply imminent.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Babis Kostoulas, 18, is incoming Premier League star compared to Gabriel Batistuta and was eyed by Arsenal and Man Utd
GREEK wonderkid Charalampos Kostoulas is set to complete a record-breaking move to the Premier League after just one season at senior level. And absolutely no one in Greece is shocked by this development, which SunSport revealed was in the works last month. 3 3 3 SunSport understand Brighton are set to complete the signing of Kostoulas, 18, on Wednesday after sealing a whopping £34million deal with Olympiacos. The teenage sensation will undergo a medical before putting pen to paper on a lucrative deal that may run for four years, with the option to extend for a further one, worth £1.3m per season, plus bonuses. That makes Babis - which is short for his forename - the most expensive Greek signing of all time as he overtakes Kostas Manolas' £30m move from Roma to Napoli in 2019. The Greece Under-21 international started making noise in the country almost two years ago while rising through the ranks at Olympiacos. The forward - who can cover both wings, play behind the striker and spearhead the attack himself - showed immense killer instinct, surprising speed and fantastic technique from the age of 16. Babis quickly earned comparisons to Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta and was thus nicknamed "Babistuta" by everyone who got to witness his talent. The versatile striker lived up to the hype last season with Olympiacos' Under-19s as he led them to Uefa Youth League glory with five goals and two assists in nine matches. Kostoulas and co made history as they became the first ever Greek team to win a European trophy, shortly before Olympiacos' seniors won the Europa Conference League. The wonderkid's impressive introduction comes as no surprise as he was mentored from his father who knew everything about winning silverware and competing in the Champions League with the Greek giants. Thanassis Kostoulas joined the Piraeus outfit in 1999 and spent eight glittering years that saw him winning seven league titles and two Greek Cups. The former centre-back amassed a total of 202 appearances, 15 of which were in the Champions League against the likes of Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid. And Thanassis saw his son following his footsteps this season as he was quickly established as a key member of manager Jose Luis Mendilibar's first team. Babis broke his goalscoring duck in November during the derby against PAOK in the fiery and intimidating ground of Toumba Stadium. That night he became Olympiacos' youngest ever league goalscorer at the age of 17 years, five months and 11 days. A series of impressive performances in the Europa League soon followed and he played a critical role in Olympiacos' journey to the Last 16, which saw them finishing in the top eight of the league phase. Many believe Mendilibar's side would have made it farther if their wonderkid was never injured. Attracting Premier League interest Kostoulas went on to cut a prolific figure in Greece and helped his team win the Double in their 100-year anniversary with seven goals and two assists in 35 appearances before picking up a muscle injury at the end of the season. SunSport revealed how his impressive displays quickly caught the attention of the Premier League with Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brighton showing interest. The Prem giants faced competition from other elite outfits, such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and AC Milan. But it was the Seagulls who won the race for a player who started the season with a release clause worth a mere £423,000 on Transfermarkt. Sources suggest Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler made Kostoulas his top "personal choice" as the club continues to poach the world's brightest prospects following the likes of Yves Bissouma, Moises Caicedo and Kaoru Mitoma. This comes shortly after the Seasiders also landed Babis' 19-year-old compatriot Stefanos Tzimas from Nurnberg following a £20.8m deal. Olympiacos could have made more Olympiacos could have waited longer to sell their brightest wonderkid in eight years, but opted on going down the same route they took with their last gem. Panos Retsos burst onto the scene in the 2016-17 campaign immediately after getting called up from the youth ranks, just like Kostoulas. Retsos impressed so much that he was handed the armband at the age of 18, making him the club's youngest ever captain. And Olympiacos decided to strike while the iron was hot to sell the centre-back to Bayer Leverkusen for a then record £14.8m. Evangelos Marinakis' club could have got an even higher price than the money they're receiving from Brighton. Kostoulas would have played in the Champions League and probably even the World Cup with Greece, where he has yet to receive his first senior call-up, if he had stayed put. Hefty sell-on clause The Greek champions run the risk of jumping the gun but played it smart by adding a sell-on clause worth up to 12 per cent. And that could prove to be a genius move as the attacker has the qualifications to emulate other Brighton prospects that went from total anonymity to global superstardom and astronomical transfers. His football skills speak for themselves, but what many don't know about is his personality. Kostoulas inspires tremendous confidence that he perfectly combines with humility. And it shows in his interviews with a posture and eloquence we rarely see from footballers, especially youngsters - nothing like Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer. Olympiacos never really got to enjoy Kostoulas, but even just one year proved enough for every single fan to understand his true impact - just like Yaya Toure who left a year after his arrival in 2005 and went on to make history. Brighton have hit the jackpot in terms of discovering another rare gem, but they will have to show their usual patience and support to get the most out of this kid. Because this is a player that has been going from strength to strength without much sign of slowing down since his academy days that convinced everyone a move to an elite club was simply imminent.
Daily Record
6 hours ago
- Daily Record
Tony Bloom Hearts cash plan revealed as chief admits 'difficult' financial season coming up but profit isn't the end game
Andrew McKinlay acknowledges that there's a gap to plug after the Jambos failed to qualify for Europe this season Andrew McKinlay has revealed how Tony Bloom's £10million investment will help Hearts in one of their "hardest ever seasons" financially. The Brighton owners' cash injection is set to be approved at a club EGM next week after being voted through by majority shareholder, the Foundation of Hearts. However, the Jambos' failure to qualify for European football this season after a bottom six Premiership finish will leave a gap in their finances that they are not used, McKinlay freely admits. The plan is to get back there under new head coach Derek McInnes. But in the mean time, Bloom's dough means they won't have to tighten their belts when it comes to recruitment this summer. 'It's a big gap, there's no doubt about that,' said McKinlay. 'We're not looking to decrease the investment in the squad, so the Tony Bloom investment is very important to allow us to do that for at least a season. "We don't want to just spend the Tony Bloom investment on plugging gaps, but the timing is quite important whilst we establish a better player trading model than we've had. "When we talk about the analytics, bringing in better players, there's two pieces to that. Firstly, we're better on the pitch and we do better. But then if those players do better and we do better, then their value is likely to increase and we're likely to sell. 'If you look at the models of Brighton and Union, that's the way it works. Union, without player trading, I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but there would be significant losses. "If you look at Scottish football, at most clubs it's losses without someone putting money in or player trading. Hopefully we'll be back in Europe this time next year but, as we all know, the guaranteed group stage for finishing third or winning the Scottish Cup won't be there. So, it harder again to get that." Player trading will be key to the capital club in the longer term - essentially, buying quality for as low as they can and selling it for maximum value when the time is right. McKinlay admist that turning a profit isn't the aim of the game, but reinvesting as much as possible back into the playing squad and the club as a whole. 'We are envisaging next season being one of our hardest seasons financially," the Tynecastle chief executive told the Edinburgh Evening News. "It's not going to be the hardest season financially compared to historical seasons. "It's like everything in life. You get used to having a certain level of income. You spend based on your level of income. As a football club, that's very difficult because of Europe having such ups and downs. But that's the reality and that's where we are at the moment. 'So, the investment that we're expecting to come in soon will be very helpful in allowing us almost to transition and change the business into a business that does break even. "We're not looking to make profits, we're looking to get all the money back into the club. We're not looking to pay dividends or anything like that. It's to break even, but part of that will be significantly better player trading.'
