Cork's Cathal O'Sullivan set for visit to Palace as Premier League sides scrap for his signature
Cork City's Cathal O'Sullivan will travel to London this weekend for a tour of Crystal Palace's facilities as the Premier League club hope to win the race to sign the teenage star.
Palace and Nottingham Forest are among the clubs tracking the 18-year-old and the Irish Independent understands that the attacker is set to travel to the English capital to be shown around Palace's facilities this Sunday, with the club also playing fellow London club Spurs in the Premier League that afternoon.
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Irish Independent
33 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Liverpool close in on Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz with new record bid
Bayer Leverkusen are believed to want £150m for the Germany international, who would prefer a move to Anfield. Liverpool's initial proposal came to £109m, including add-ons, but they have now submitted an improved offer with a greater guarantee of £100m. Wirtz also attracted attention from Bayern Munich but told the German champions he wanted to go to Liverpool. The new English champions are believed to have impressed him with their plan while Manchester City, who also showed an interest, have switched their focus to Tijjani Reijnders of AC Milan and Lyon's Rayan Cherki. At £113m, Wirtz would smash Liverpool's transfer record. They paid £75m for Virgil van Dijk and £64m, rising to £85m, for Darwin Nunez. Wirtz, who found the net for Germany against Portugal in the Nations League on Wednesday, has scored 34 goals in the last two seasons for Leverkusen, helping them win a first league title in 2023-24, when he was named the Bundesliga Player of the Year. Liverpool have already signed his Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong for £29m as they begin life after Trent Alexander-Arnold. They are also in talks with Bournemouth, who want £45m for left-back Milos Kerkez, and could commit almost £200m to new signings within a few weeks.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
The countdown is on for the Club World Cup, but does anyone care?
The countdown is on. It's now just seven days until the start of the competition that will answer the question on everyone's lips; who is the best football club in the world? Is it the Chelsea side that limped to a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League this season? Or perhaps Porto, who triumphantly battled to third in this year's Liga Portugal? If stylish catenaccio football is more your thing then look to Juventus, who finished fourth in Serie A. Not convinced by those European giants? Why not cast your gaze further afield to Auckland City FC, the team that currently sit behind Birkenhead United in the New Zealand Regional Leagues Northern League. Over 29 days, 32 teams will play out 64 games before the best team in the world is crowned and while we can't know who that will be yet, we know who it won't be. It won't be Premier League champions Liverpool, nor the winners of La Liga, Barcelona. Not even the Serie A champions Napoli, none of whom have been invited. But hey, there's Inter Miami who will play because, well, they have Lionel Messi. FIFA's efforts to expand the Club World Cup from a small mid-season distraction to a fully-fledged summer tournament has left many people unconvinced by the need for it and FIFA's motivation behind it all. Fundamentally, taking the Club World Cup from an annual six team kickabout between the winners of the six continental confederation tournaments to the bloated unwieldy structure facing us this summer is about money and influence. FIFA have long looked enviously at UEFA and the Champions League, wondering how they could claim a slice of that pie. With the World Cup only being held every four years, there's a long-standing desire within the organisation to come up with another huge money-spinning event and for them to exert a measure of influence on some of the biggest clubs in the world. But how do you create a major tournament from scratch? Well throwing a lot of money at it certainly helps. FIFA have put a pot of $1billion to be shared about the 32 teams with the winners taking home a pay cheque for $125million, while $525million of that billion will be shared out between the clubs just for turning up. That kind of money rivals the Champions League payouts and with this year's winners Paris Saint-Germain netting roughly $165million, FIFA have ensured that the Club World Cup is too rich for the invited clubs to ignore. Throwing this kind of cash around in an attempt to grow interest and legitimacy within the tournament is the only real move FIFA could have made but there's questions over their long-term ability to offer such a prize fund. The tournament looks likely to run at a loss for the organisers, who struggled to drum up interest among broadcasters when it came to the rights sales. With reports claiming that FIFA had initially set a target of broadcast revenue of $4billion, they were unable to attract bids anywhere near that mark and eventually agreed a deal with online streaming platform DAZN for the rights. Ticket sales have hardly been encouraging either, with The Athletic reporting on Wednesday that FIFA has been forced to slash prices for the tournament's opening fixture between Messi's Inter Miami and Egyptian team Al-Ahly. Soccer remains very much down the pecking order of sports in the US and with local fans shrugging their shoulders and a dynamic ticket price structure in place, the cost of admission to the tournament opener has slumped from $349 in December to just $55.75. Meanwhile a ticket for newly crowned European champions Paris Saint-Germain and Brazilian outfit Botafogo at the 90,000-seater Rose Bowl can be had for $33.45. Even that ticketing firesale may not be enough to spare organisers the sights of thousands of empty seats throughout the tournament. While major international soccer tournaments usually attract huge numbers of supporters from abroad, the Club World Cup looks likely to struggle, thanks in no small part to the policies of Donald Trump's government. FIFA's top brass would have had their collective heads in their hands on Wednesday when Trump announced a new travel ban on 12 nations, further deepening the sense of hostility felt at the border for travellers into the US. With teams from Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Morocco among those involved in the Club World Cup, travelling numbers are going to take a hit with supporters not wanting to risk disappearing into a private detention facility. Even fans currently residing in the US, particularly those of Mexican teams who would usually fill stadiums, may think twice before turning up en masse, given the seemingly never-ending footage of Trump's masked ICE agents snatching people off the street. We're left with the very real prospect of games being played in mostly empty stadiums by players frustrated about being there, concerned by burnout and fatigue related injuries that will come from going straight into a 32-team club tournament after a gruelling season. The footballer's union FIFPRO has been against the expanded Club World Cup since its announcement, launching a legal claim against FIFA over the unilateral creation of the tournament, citing concerns over player welfare. With players like Real Madrid star Kylian Mpappe speaking out about the lack of a meaningful break between the end of the season and the start of the tournament, there's the prospect of some players featuring in more than 80 games over the course of the season. Separately MLS team Seattle Sounders have been protesting their involvement in the tournament over what they say is a lack of fairness on player payments, wearing "Club World Ca$h Grab" t-shirts during their warm-up in a recent league game. Under the standing MLS collective bargaining agreement between the league, their bonus for the Club World Cup is capped at $1m for the entire team, meaning that players are likely to only receive 10% of the money their club get for their participation in the tournament. Indeed it seems that the only people truly happy with the event are club accountants and moneymen, adding to the sense of grubbiness surrounding the entire project. Football at the highest level has always been beholden to big money, but FIFA's newest innovation really lays that avarice bare. It's no coincidence that Real Madrid were willing to spend €10million on bringing Trent Alexander-Arnold to the club a month earlier than they had originally planned, given the financial incentives on offer. We have fans that won't be there, players that don't want to be there and clubs that are only there for the money. Despite all that there's still the chance that the Club World Cup could capture the public imagination. With no other major male international sporting event this summer, FIFA have timed the tournament to give them a captive audience. The early stages of the competition may struggle to attract eyeballs but as it progresses there is the prospect of some enticing fixtures. The clash between PSG and Atletico Madrid on 15 June is one of the earlier highlights while Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors meet a few days later in Miami. Manchester City and Real Madrid could easily meet in the first knockout round as could Bayern Munich and Chelsea. As the tournament gets into the higher stake games, we'll see just how serious the European teams are taking it. Gianni Infantino and his crew will be eager for the big stars to line out but with the tournament kicking off just two weeks after the end of the European season, they may have to wait sometime to see the household names start. FIFA are desperate for the Club World Cup to be a success and given everything they've invested in it, they need this tournament to start strongly and shake off the negative sentiment surrounding it. Whether that's a realistic prospect remains to be seen.
The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
'It was crazy to be out on the pitch': Liverpool title celebrations and Limerick hurling glories
DAVID BREEN MAPS out his recent tour of sporting arenas. Last night was at the Aviva Stadium, a chance to catch up on the progress of the Ireland soccer side he worked with as a physio last year, his time overlapping the interim reign of John O'Shea and the start of the Heimir Hallgrímsson era. Tonight he'll be at the Gaelic Grounds, the pitch he was acquainted with in his Limerick hurling days, just a kilometre away from his club base in Caherdavin with Na Piarsaigh. Rewind back two weeks to another venue. Anfield on Premier League trophy presentation day. The first time Liverpool got to share title celebrations with their fans in 35 years after the Covid-disruption of 2020. Breen linked up with the club last November, starting a role as first team rehabilitation physio. The outburst of vivid colour and deafening noise and wild joy a fortnight ago set him back. Having a front-row view on the pitch for those couple of hours after the draw with Crystal Palace, created memories that will always linger. Liverpool players celebrate their Premier League title win. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo 'The atmosphere at Anfield is is pretty special regardless, but when you're there when they win the league and lift the trophy, you're just seeing the energy around the place and the emotion. 'It was crazy to be out on the pitch and celebrating. It's something that you'd watch on TV and then you're in the middle of it. It's surreal. 'The way in which the league was won against Spurs, with four games left, it was a real long build up to lifting the trophy after the Palace game. 'So it almost felt like the excitement built even more. 'When you experience it, you're pretty sure you'll never ever experience anything like this again.' Breen was mainly a Celtic fans growing up, a connection that hardened when he spent time studying in Scotland. Stepping into the working world as a physio afforded him opportunities with an array of sporting sides, rugby a dominant theme. He worked with the Leinster Academy for a couple of years, Tadhg Furlong a housemate for a while. By April 2017 he was in England with Wasps and returning home to face Leinster in a Champions Cup quarter-final. Different roles followed since the summer of 2020, time in the Manchester City academy, a couple of years back in Limerick with the Munster rugby setup, a year with Harlequins in the English Premiership, and then Liverpool. His latest sporting adventure commands more interest from friends back home. Advertisement 'I've plenty of mates that are Liverpool fans and let's just say a lot more people got in touch since I've been with Liverpool than getting tickets to some of the rugby clubs I worked for! 'Obviously the club is global and the support back in Ireland for Liverpool is crazy. You do get a sense of walking into the place that it's such a historic club, all the players that have played there, they're on the wall. You're looking at the trophies that have been won and you can just tell it's a winning club that that goes about its business in the right way.' David Breen with the Premier League trophy. Breen's day to day is spent with those stuck on the treatment table for extended periods of time. He's dealing with players operating at a stratosphere of fame, but their application remains laser-focused. 'Like any any top team players, they set their own standards and are role models in the squad. Younger players will look up to older players that have achieved a lot in their careers and they see their prep and good habits, and that spreads throughout the throughout the squad. 'The physio group is split between the rehab side, dealing with the players that have short or long term injuries, and then guys that are on the medical performance side and they travel to most of the games. 'So I tend to do a lot of the rehab with the longer term injuries, that's been my role in a few different clubs. You work around the team schedule, so whenever the team is playing, if it's playing on a Monday or if it's playing on a Sunday, you kind of map out your week from there.' It's a different world but there have been enough Irish connections dotted around Anfield and Melwood to help him settle in. 'Caoimhin (Kelleher) and Conor (Bradley), I got on well with with those two lads in particular, so it was nice to suppose celebrate with boys that you're close to in the squad. Conor Bradley is is a really, really top fella, like he's a great lad. 'I would have known Caoimhin from from the Republic of Ireland squad before coming into the club. Caoimh has moved on now this week to Brentford. He's an immensely talented player and he's a huge character as well. He's a fella that was very much loved by staff and players, whatever dressing room he goes into, he'll bring that with him, and I'd just wish him all the best with it. 'Then we've got some staff as well like Conall Murtagh (head of physical performance) is Northern Ireland, Chris Black's (lead S&C coach) from Northern Ireland, Clare Farrell (lead performance nutritionist) is from Longford. I would have worked with Clare in Munster. 'You do definitely get the sense that there's a strong kind of Irish connection in the club there and there's a lot of love for Irish people I think in Liverpool.' David Breen with Conor Bradley and Caomihin Kelleher afer Liverpool's title win. In a past life his focus was on the pitch rather than the physio table. Years hurling at the elite level of county and club games with Limerick and Na Piarsaigh. When Breen joined the club, Kelleher spread word of that sporting prowess in the dressing room. 'Caoimhin had told a couple of the lads, and then Andy Robertson was one guy in particular that really jumped onto the whole kind of hurling thing. He's always had plenty interest in it. 'Guys would be aware of hurling without majority of them haven't actually probably seen a game. We brought in the in the hurleys one day, myself and Caoimhin, and and had a few pucks and a few of the other staff had a go as well after training.' There is a contrast between the time Breen spent hurling for Limerick and the current Shannonside crew. When he takes his seat this evening, his mind will wander back to the last Limerick-Cork Munster hurling final at the venue. Breen started wing-forward on the 2013 afternoon when Limerick closed a 17-year spell of hurt and frustration. 'It was very different for us. It really just felt like a watershed moment, you were able to just get over the line and and it was it was like our All-Ireland in many ways.' Limerick's Donal O'Grady lifts the cup after the 2013 Munster hurling final. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO Memories of that showdown? 'Probably missing a goal in the first half,' laughs Breen. 'The other memories were just how hot it was. 'It was just intensely hot and we were doing our warm up and people were packed into the stadium. 'I know that that's the norm now that there's no empty seats left anywhere, but I think in 2012, 13, there wasn't many games where every seat was taken. So just the energy and the intensity from the crowd just in the buildup to the game stands out. 'In the warm up we couldn't get more vaseline on the forehead or the eyebrows and just towels out trying to rinse the sweat off the grip. 'And then just obviously the noise of the place. That's probably the first game where where you're screaming at a guy that's 15 metres away and he can't hear you. 'It felt like we were on it from early doors againt Cork that day. The biggest thing for us and for the crowd and for everyone is that we were able to see it through. There's plenty of times prior to 2013 where you've been on it and you just can't get over the line. 'It was all moral victories and all nearly stories but that day we did see it through. Fellas came off the bench and finished the job. The pitch invasion then was pretty legendary stuff.' Stephen Walsh, Seanie Tobin, David Breen and Thomas Ryan in the dressing room after the 2013 Munster final. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO If that achievement was isolated, the relentlessness of the present Limerick group in gobbling up trophies stands out. He has some insight to the group through four Na Piarsaigh club-mates, players he combined with for 2016 All-Ireland club glory in Croke Park – Shane Dowling, Mike and Peter Casey, and William O'Donoghue. Wear his physio and hurling hats, he is struck by the resilience of the Casey brothers who have persisted after a series of shattering injury setbacks. 'I think that's the modern day GAA player now. They have to take big injuries on the chin and like they're so professional too that there's no reason (not to come back). I mean, you get a big injury, you have surgery, you rehab it, you might have to write it off that season, but you look to the next season. It's very much a professional mindset in terms of how guys deal with injuries now and how they deal with setbacks. 'That was a really big injury that that Peter picked up, probably in the most public of forums really, but, he's done his ACL, he did his ankle last year, he'll have that kind of confidence that he can deal with big injuries like that and he can get back. Same with his with his older brother Mike. 'I think all of that Limerick squad seem seemed pretty mentally strong, they're able to handle handle big injuries and hats off to the medical team inside there. They've had their fair share of big one big injuries like that over the last few years and they've dealt with them very admirably.' On the sideline is another familiar figure. His link with Paul Kinnerk stretches back years to their school days. He has watched his friend become one of the greatest coaches operating in Irish sport over the last 15 years. Read Next Related Reads 'It was a whole new world for me': Limerick-Cork Munster final memories 50 years on 'That narrative has been debunked now' - Limerick boss hits back at end of an era talk Pat Ryan: 'Some of our own people writing off Limerick. Are they off their game?' ***** Paul Kinnerk Coaching Honours List All-Ireland senior – 2013, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023. – 2013, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023. All-Ireland U21 – 2012, 2013, 2014. – 2012, 2013, 2014. Munster senior – 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. – 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. Munster U21 – 2012, 2013, 2014. – 2012, 2013, 2014. Munster minor – 2010, 2011. – 2010, 2011. National League – 2016, 2019, 2020, 2023. ***** 'It just goes to show his quality and talent. My close group of friends would know Paul just from growing up with him and being a close friend, but we know how intense he is, about anything really that he puts his mind to. 'Obviously since since finishing his own kind of playing days in football, he's really just gone all in around his PhD and and his coaching, as well as obviously his family, but he is really passionate about the coaching and he's a fierce competitor as well. Limerick head coach Paul Kinnerk. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO 'He does not like to lose. I think you have to be that way if you're going to be put your mind to anything and if you're going to be passionate about something. We've been with Paul through thick and thin, those experiences of winning and having big highs, but also he's had had games that they've lost as well, where they haven't won championships and and and he's absolutely devastated. 'He really goes all in on it and I think any player that's worked with him or being coached by him would be the first to say that. He gives everything to it.' The energy and effort has blended together to power Limerick to the cusp of seven-in-a-row in Munster. Breen saw enough demoralising days to appreciate the uncharted waters they now sail in. And yet he's grateful to have sampled a Munster final day in the winners' enclosure. There'll be reminders in tonight's participants. Horgan, Harnedy and Lehane still in the attacking mix for Cork, while Dowling, Hannon and Quaid endure in Limerick colours. And there's an appreciation as well for the Cork man guiding the Limerick fortunes 11 years ago. 'John Allen was a real standout manager for me in my years of playing county. He went against the grain on a lot of things. He had the courage of his own convictions. I was just delighted on that day, in that year, his approach towards training, his approach towards team selection and things paid off for him. 'It would have been easy to come under pressure or feel that you have to toe the line with people's thoughts are that you should play a different team or players shouldn't play in this position. 'I was delighted for John Allen that day as much as anything else.' ***** * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
