Hoffenheim linked with Sturm Graz talent
Tochi Chukwuani could leave Sturm Graz this summer, Sky Germany believe.
The 22-year-old central midfielder has already received enquiries from a handful of teams in Europe.
Chukwuani is currently contracted to the Austrian champions until 2028.
It is rumoured that TSG Hoffenheim, Wolves and several clubs from France are interested in his services.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
43 minutes ago
- Forbes
Manchester City's New Signings Mark New Era In Pep Guardiola's Tenure
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak vowed the club would be 'aggressive' in this summer window after ending last season empty-handed. So far, City has lived up to al-Mubarak's words and then some. In nine days since the transfer window opened, City has already completed the signings of AC Milan and Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders for £46.3m ($62.7m) and Wolverhampton left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri for £31m ($42m). A deal for Olympique Lyon attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki, meanwhile, has been all but finalized. As per The Athletic, Cherki will move to England for £33.7m ($45.6m). City must register their new signings by 7pm BST (2pm EST) on Tuesday to have them available for the Club World Cup, which begins next week. The significance of City's spending spree is two-fold. First and foremost, it comes with a verdict into alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules still hanging over the club. In February 2023, City was formally charged with breaking financial fair play rules between 2009 and 2018 and with failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations into their finances. The club's hearing in the case against the Premier League began on September 16 last year and ran until December 6 in front of a three-person independent commission in London. Back in February, Pep Guardiola admitted he expected the verdict 'within a month'. His forecast has proved to be wide of the mark, with the commission yet to return a judgment six months after the hearing ended. By comparison, it took UEFA just two days to find City guilty of financial manipulation in January 2020, a verdict which was subsequently overturned on appeal. With a judgment still pending, City has wasted no time in reshaping its squad after spending $245m on players in the January transfer window. Omar Marmoush joined from Eintrach Frankfurt, while Savinho and Nico Gonzalez arrived from Troyes and Porto for respectively and centre-back Abdukodir Kushanov signed from Lens. The spending spree was not enough to prevent City from finishing without any silverware for the first time since the 2016-17 season, Guardiola's first campaign in the Premier League. City has won the Premier League six times in the past eight seasons, but finished third 13 points behind eventual champions Liverpool last season and never looked like retaining its crown. The Champions League brought an elimination at the hands of Real Madrid in the Round of 16 and there was heartbreak in the FA Cup final for the second consecutive year with defeat to Cyrstal Palace. In that respect, the arrivals of Reijnders, Aït-Nouri and Chekri point to a clear desire to refresh the squad. Despite the $67.8m arrival of Gonzalez from Porto in January, City's midfield lack of physicality and running power was badly exposed both domestically and in Europe. The issue was exacerbated by the absences of reigning Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who missed almost the entire season with a knee injury, and Mateo Kovacic. Reijnders' arrival should go some way towards addressing the lack of dynamism in City's engine room. The Dutch international was arguably AC Milan's player of the season, with 10 goals and four assists in Serie A. Among midfielders, only Scott McTominay, had more goal involvements with 16. City's new signing, who turns 27 next month, also ranked fifth for through balls and ninth for forward passes in Serie A last season. Milan signed Reijnders from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the summer of 2023 for $22.8m, but he netted only four goals in 50 appearances across all competitions – a figure that should have been much higher. When he met him in Saudi Arabia in January for the Italian Super Cup, former Milan manager Stefano Pioli teased him about his frequent shots off target. Twelve months on, Reijnders found the same promising positions but now with newfound composure, leading to a significant increase in his goal tally. His shots on target more than tripled last season (from 0.25 to 0.87 per match), while his conversion rate more than doubled, soaring from 10% to 23%. With Kevin De Bruyne leaving the Etihad Stadium as a free agent after 10 trophy-laden years and Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva approaching the winter of their careers, Reijnders could become a key figure in City's midfield. Just like the Dutchman, Aït-Nouri's arrival addresses a glaring weakness in Guardiola's squad. According to Opta stats, in the season just ended among defenders only Trent Alexander Arnold had more goal involvements per 90 minutes than Aït-Nouri, with 0.34 to 0.32 respectively. The prototypical modern full-back, who can use his athleticism to burst forward and is comfortable with the ball at his feet, the Algeria international is a versatile player. Aït-Nouri played at left wing-back under Vitor Pereira following the Portuguese's arrival at Wolves in December. Pereira switched between a five-man defense and a 3-4-3 formation, with the 24-year-old operating as an attacking wing-back in both circumstances. The Algeria international played in the same role under Gary O'Neill, Pereira's predecessor, when he was also deployed further forward as a left midfielder. But of the trio of signings, it is arguably Cherki who is the most intriguing. The 21-year-old is coming off a breakout season, with 12 goals and 20 assists in all competitions and made his France debut last week, scoring in the 5-4 defeat against Spain in the Nations League semi-final. Cherki also scored in both legs of the Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United and was named in the Europa League Team of the Season. Data from Opta shows he outperformed City's attacking midfielders - Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Savinho - in all but one category last season, shots per 90 minutes. Cherki and Doku both took 2.2 shots per game, while Savinho and Foden took 2.8 and 3.0 respectively. The Frenchman, however, led the quartet in goals per 90 minutes with a 0.4 figure, compared to Foden and Doku's 0.3 and Savinho's 0.1. Cherki's 0.6 assists per game were the high watermark in the category, when compared with Doku's 0.4, Savinho's 0.3 and Foden's 0.2 and he was also significant better in terms of creating opportunities. The Lyon midfielder set up 3.7 chances per 90 minutes, comfortably ahead of Savinho and Foden with 2.3 and Doku with 2.1. A versatile player who can operate either as attacking midfielder or on the wing, Cherki is gifted with superb technique and looks ready to fill the void left by De Bruyne. Former Arsenal striker and current CBS analyst Thierry Henry said he has "never seen a player in history who dribbles as quickly as him". High praise indeed. The Premier League has been warned.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Kirk Cousins expected at Atlanta Falcons minicamp: Sources
Quarterback Kirk Cousins is expected to attend the Atlanta Falcons' mandatory minicamp beginning on Tuesday, league sources told The Athletic. Cousins' minicamp attendance is notable because the soon-to-be-37-year-old's future remains in limbo. For now, the Falcons have Cousins penciled in as their backup to starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr., whom they selected with a first-round draft pick last year. However, Cousins would prefer to be traded to a team where he could start. Advertisement The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-season, $180 million deal in free agency last year, despite him coming off a torn Achilles tendon suffered in 2023. Amid struggles, Atlanta benched Cousins in Week 16 and turned the team over to Penix. This offseason, the Falcons have been clear with their intent to start and develop Penix into the quarterback of the future. Cousins did not attend the Falcons' voluntary OTAs in late May, but was present for workouts in April. The Falcons are receptive to trading Cousins for the right price, but he is a valuable backup given Penix's inexperience and injury history. Aaron Rodgers signing with the Steelers likely takes Pittsburgh out of the picture for potential landing spots for Cousins, thus dwindling the chances for an Atlanta exit.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man City add Ait-Nouri to squad rebuild in time for Club World Cup
Manchester City completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves on Monday for a reported £31 million ($42 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Advertisement Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Lyon playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016/17, City are hoping to bounce back quickly with a major overhaul of Pep Guardiola's squad. They also spent more than £172 million in January on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez. City will face Moroccan side Wydad AC and Emirati club Al Ain before a clash of European heavyweights with Juventus in the group stage, which kicks off on June 14. Advertisement "City are one of the biggest clubs in the world and the chance to play for the club is a dream come true," Ait-Nouri said in a club statement. "I am also so excited about working with and learning from Pep (Guardiola) and his coaching team and getting to train and play alongside such a world class group of players." Ait-Nouri spent five years at Wolves, initially arriving on loan from Angers before signing permanently for £14.9m in 2021. He is City's first left-back specialist since Benjamin Mendy, who played his final game for the club almost four years ago. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Joao Cancelo, Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol and Nico O'Reilly have been among the players to fill a problem position for Guardiola since. Advertisement French media report Cherki is on the verge of signing a five-year deal with Guardiola hoping to wrap up the forecast 40 million euro five-year signing by Tuesday evening in order to field the 21-year-old at the Club World Cup. kca/nr/bsp
