Belters from the 2024-25 Premier League season
Sit back, relax, and enjoy 30 minutes of nothing but belters from an action-packed 2024-25 Premier League season.
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Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Three ways Liverpool could line up next season with Florian Wirtz
German midfielder Florian Wirtz is set to join Liverpool this summer as the Premier League champions look to strengthen ahead of their 2025/26 title defence. The 22-year-old will move to Anfield in a deal that could reach £116m, potentially making him the most expensive signing in Premier League history. Advertisement Plenty of expectation will come with that sort of fee, owing to the obvious talent that he has displayed since helping Bayer Leverkusen to their first ever Bundesliga title. Wirtz can play a number of positions across the front line (Getty) However, with Liverpool having been the strongest team in the league last season by a distance, and with a settled squad that has adapted well to the tactics of new manager Arne Slot, there are questions as to where exactly Wirtz will fit into the Dutchman's side. Joining a title-winning side can be less straightforward than it appears, but the German has played all across the front line for club and country in recent seasons. We've taken a look at he could fit into the Reds line up in 2025/26. Option 1: Attacking midfield The first place to start would be in a central attacking midfield role. While Wirtz has played more on the left in the majority of his games at club level, Liverpool's setup is very different to that which Xabi Alonso used at Leverkusen, and the most obvious gap in Liverpool's team is in attacking midfield. Advertisement Wirtz has become known for his combination of close control, excellent dribbling and an eye for a key pass, having registered 13 Bundesliga assists last season, but he has an eye for goal too, scoring 10 goals last term. He'll add a different dimension to the Liverpool attack wherever he plays, but that could be most effective from central areas, with the Reds likely to come up against an increasing number of low blocks and teams that come to Anfield to sit deep. Wirtz reportedly held conversations with Arne Slot over playing in the traditional '10' role at Anfield (The Independent) Dominik Szoboszlai was the man to fill that role last season, and Slot has previously spoken about the Hungarian's pivotal role in the side and an 'unbelievable' work-rate. Advertisement However, Wirtz is no stranger to off-the-ball work either. In the 2023/24 title-winning season, he was in the top 10 for duels won and interceptions in the Bundesliga, while an average distance covered of 7.6 miles (12.3km) and 33 sprints per match put him in the top five for those metrics too. Slot also commented on how Szoboszlai's 'numbers need to go up' in attack, so it could be that Wirtz offers the ideal blend of out-of-possession work and in-possession attacking ability. Option 2: Left wing A position that Liverpool could find themselves lacking in is left wing, with Luis Diaz reportedly on the way out of Anfield amid interest from Barcelona. Advertisement Though Cody Gakpo performed well at various points last season, it could be that Wirtz finds himself deployed further wide on the left at times next season, especially since Mohamed Salah has made the right-wing position his own since arriving at Anfield. Wirtz could find himself deployed on the left at times during his Anfield career (The Independent) Wirtz's tactical flexibility is one of his most coveted attributes, and while the majority of his appearances for Leverkusen have come from a left attacking midfield role, it is unlikely that Slot will stray far from the 4-3-2-1 that brought so much success last season. And the Dutchman could deploy Wirtz on the left with instructions to pick up the spaces in that favoured position, with the German playing a hybrid left-wing role that sees him drift inside. This could work especially well if the club were to sign Milos Kerkez, with the marauding Hungarian full-back capable of providing the necessary width. Option 3: False 9 or second striker Wirtz is one of several players to benefit from the unique tactical insight of Xabi Alonso during his time in Leverkusen, and this included playing in positions as varied as second striker and false nine during his time at the BayArena. Advertisement And it is in the latter that Wirtz could see himself deployed at times for Liverpool, with Slot having used Luis Diaz in the role last season, including in the 4-0 win over Leverkusen at Anfield. Wirtz could be used as a false nine on certain occasions depending on whether or not Liverpool sign a recognised striker (The Independent) Wirtz has been used as both a false nine and second striker by Alonso during his time at Leverkusen (Getty Images) With Darwin Nunez reportedly set for a move away from Anfield, Liverpool are supposedly in the market for a striker signings, though Wirtz could be used as a false nine at times if that signing fails to materialise. Many of the attributes that make Wirtz a danger will be evident in these central areas, from his close control and brilliant dribbling to an impressive eye for goal, though it is his ability to drag out defenders out of position that would be pivotal in these areas, potentially opening up plenty of space in behind defences for wide players to exploit. You can sign up to DAZN to watch every Club World Cup game for free
The Sun
38 minutes ago
- The Sun
Man Utd chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe locked in legal battle with Tottenham over broken multi-million sponsorship deal
SPURS are locked in a legal battle with Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in a row over a broken sponsorship deal. Ratcliffe 's Ineos chemicals giant and its Grenadier car brand agreed a five-year deal as Spurs ' 'official 4x4 vehicle partner' in December 2022. 1 It followed a 2020 contract with Ineos unveiled as the club's 'official hand sanitiser supplier' during the pandemic. Following Ratcliffe's takeover at Prem rivals United last year it was confirmed that the company intended to pull out of the agreement. It was believed that a break deal in the multi-million pound agreement had been reached between the two parties. But now Spurs have instigated a High Court legal action against Ineos. As part of what is listed as a 'general commercial contracts and arrangements', Tottenham have lodged a claim against Ineos Automotive Limited, a subsidiary of Ineos. That suggests negotiations have failed to find an agreement, with the Tottenham claim lodged on June 12. Tottenham declined to comment while Ineos said in a statement: "INEOS Automotive has been a partner of Tottenham Hotspur since 2022, expanding on a partnership agreement that INEOS Group had in place with the club since 2020. "We have a contractual right to terminate our partnership contract and in December 2024 exercised that right." SunSport understands it is hoped a deal can be reached to prevent a full High Court hearing. Spurs appointed Thomas Frank as their new manager on Thursday, six days on from the departure of Ange Postecoglou. The Lilywhites paid Brentford around £10million in compensation for the Dane. Frank's move took time to be completed due to negotiations over backroom staff - specifically highly-rated head of coaching Justin Cochrane. Man Utd considered the Brentford boss as a potential replacement for Erik ten Hag last summer. However, the Red Devils instead opted for Ruben Amorim in October.
BBC News
41 minutes ago
- BBC News
Spurs interested in Man Utd target Mbeumo
Tottenham are interested in signing Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo - who is also a transfer target for Manchester 25-year-old's former manager at Brentford, Thomas Frank, was named Spurs boss on this month, Mbeumo was the subject of a bid from United of £45m and £10m in no agreement was reached between the two clubs, with the offer falling well short of Brentford's have told BBC Sport that Spurs are yet to submit a bid for Mbeumo and there has been further interest in him from other Champions League clubs on the is understood there is no release clause in Mbeumo's contract, which still has a year left to run, although there is the option to extend it by another has scored 70 goals in 242 appearances for Brentford since arriving in west London in 2019 from Ligue 2 club Cameroon international scored 20 times in the Premier League last season.
