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Belfast Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
‘I was ready for a new challenge': Swedish shock as Belfast Giants add veteran winger to roster
Only four Swedish players have represented the club in its 25-year history, but Marcus Eriksson will become the fifth when he laces up the skates for the 2025/26 campaign having agreed a switch to the SSE Arena from Allsvenskan side Södertälje for the upcoming season. However, while Södertälje was where he finished last season, the Giants are effectively signing the Norrköping native directly from the Swedish Hockey League as he spent the majority of the season with their former Champions League opponents Skellefteå, dressing for 37 games in the top flight, scoring three goals and seven points. But while inking a player directly from the SHL is a surprise in itself – the last player the Giants did that with was Liam Reddox in 2019 – perhaps an even bigger surprise is the fact that they have brought in a player who will be 40-years-old when the season begins. Eriksson will celebrate entering his fourth decade on August 20, two days before the Giants' pre-season double-header with Stavanger Oilers, making him the fifth player to represent the club after his 40th birthday after Ed Courtenay, Rob Stewart, Ashley Tait and Petr Cech – although, notably, he is only the second to start the season in Belfast, with Courtenay the only other on that list not signed as mid-season injury help. Still, while his age perhaps might look like something of a surprise, it is hard to argue with the Swedish winger's body of work as he looks to follow in the footsteps of Grand Slam winner Henrik Eriksson, the last Scandinavian on the Giants' books in 2024, Johan Edjepalm, Fredrik Näsvall and Rickard Palmberg. In his 23-year career – signing in Belfast will extend it into 24 – Eriksson has spent 13 of them in the Allsvenskan and has only improved with age, becoming a cult hero with his hometown club Vita Hästen whom he spent 18 years with and led from the third-tier Ettan into the Allsvenskan in 2014 before finding prolific success in the second-tier. Besides a brief spell with Division 2 side Guts during Covid-19, after their promotion Eriksson spent the next nine years with Vita Hästen and smashed in 104 goals and 356 points for the White Horses, although his best was still to come when he agreed a move to Södertälje ahead of a 2023/24 season that, while disappointing from a team perspective, was a lucrative one for the winger. In 50 regular season games, Eriksson would fire in 20 goals and 59 points, putting up the most assists and points in the entire League on his way to being named the League's Most Valuable Player, and that would earn him his first SHL contract last season as he stepped up to Skellefteå, before returning to Södertälje just before the transfer deadline. The Giants will certainly hope that he continues to get better with age as he leaves Sweden for the first time in his career, although he already has had a small taster of the Elite League having faced the Sheffield Steelers in the Champions League last season – with a 3-2 defeat something he will be eager to right. 'I've enjoyed a long career in Sweden, but was ready for a new experience and challenge. I'm really excited to be joining the Giants, and to test myself in the Elite League. I'm looking forward to bringing my experience to the group and help the team compete for trophies this season,' said Eriksson. Giants head coach Adam Keefe added: 'Marcus is a player with great vision, experience, and professionalism. He's played at a high level in Sweden for a long time and will bring real creativity and intelligence to our offence, and he excels on the power play, which is such an important part of every game. We're excited to welcome him to Belfast.'
South Wales Guardian
24 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Tottenham targeting loan move for Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha
Palhinha joined Bayern from Fulham last summer in a deal worth up to £47.4million, but endured a difficult debut campaign in Germany. The Portugal midfielder struggled with injury problems and only made six starts in the Bundesliga when fit under Bayern boss Vincent Kompany, which has opened the door for a temporary move back to London with Tottenham. Spurs have plenty of options in midfield, but have multiple competitions to deal with in the 2025-26 season after their Europa League victory in May secured Champions League qualification and the addition of Palhinha would be a boost for new head coach Thomas Frank. Palhinha, who turned 30 earlier this month, was linked with a transfer to Tottenham before he signed for Bayern. The former Sporting Lisbon midfielder enjoyed a successful two years at Fulham, where he made 79 appearances and scored eight times to become a fan favourite at Craven Cottage. Spurs secured the services of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham at the start of July, but failed in their pursuit of Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White and will now hope to land Palhinha on a season-long loan.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Max Verstappen confirms he is staying at Red Bull
Max Verstappen has confirmed for the first time that he will stay with Red Bull – after George Russell admitted he is on the brink of a new Mercedes contract. Verstappen's break clause from his Red Bull deal can no longer be activated, after his fourth-placed finish in Belgium last Sunday ensured he will not be lower than third in the world championship at the summer break which follows this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix. Asked at the Hungaroring if he can say for certain that he will be at Red Bull in 2026, Verstappen replied: 'Yes. I never really said anything about it because I was just focused on talking to the team about improving our performance, future ideas and next year and that is why I had nothing really to add. 'But I think it is time to stop all the rumours. For me, it was always quite clear that I was staying anyway and that was the general feeling in the team because we were always in discussion about what we could do with the car and when you're not interested in staying, you stop talking about these kind of things, and I never did.' Mercedes have made little secret of their desire to sign the four-time world champion. As it stands, Russell – who despite a series of impressive performances this year – is without a deal for 2026. Speaking prior to Verstappen, Russell, who it is understood has received a contract offer from Mercedes in the past week, said: 'Conversations have started. We are now heading into the summer break. 'I have spoken a lot with (Mercedes CEO and team principal) Toto (Wolff) this week, but we have not spoken once about the contract because we are both trying to solve the performance and getting the team in the right place. And that is genuine. 'I want to go into the summer break and enjoy the only two weeks off I have in the year. I don't want to be thinking about contracts. 'And there isn't really a major time pressure now from my side, nor from Mercedes' side, because of the Verstappen situation and I presume he is staying at Red Bull. 'Not that I was ever concerned about that but from the team's perspective I guess that has an impact. 'From my side, I was never concerned I was going to lose my seat. I want to go into this weekend and try and get the team back on track and perform better than we have shown at the past six races. Then I am going to go straight on holiday for two weeks and do a week's training and I want to enjoy that to be honest.' It was then put to Russell, 27, that he will be driving for Mercedes next season, but it is now just a question of how his contract looks. He replied: 'Yes, I guess so.' Despite the continued speculation surrounding suggestions Verstappen could trade Red Bull for Mercedes, those close to the Russell camp have indicated for a number of weeks the 27-year-old is extremely confident of striking a contract extension. Russell has scored 157 points to rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli's 63 after 13 of the 24 rounds. Mercedes are third in the constructors' standings, 296 points adrift of McLaren.
