Latest news with #DavidOrnstein
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Losing Bellingham would 'be a blow for Sunderland'
It is "a little bit surprising" that Jobe Bellingham could be leaving Sunderland after they were promoted to the Premier League, says The Athletic's football correspondent David could follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Jude, by moving to Borussia Dortmund, with the Bundesliga side confident of securing his been such a key part of their promotion from the Championship - making 43 appearances across the season - many Black Cats fans would have been hoping to see the 19-year-old playing for them in the top flight."It is maybe a little bit surprising as Sunderland have just won promotion to the Premier League, he was one of their standout players and in the Championship team of the season," Ornstein told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast."But, we have seen what a happy hunting ground the Bundesliga is for many English players, including most prominently his brother."Eintracht Frankfurt are also keen and there will be many suitors for such an impressive young player."We will have to see what the next few days bring, but it will be a blow for Sunderland. However, the Bellinghams seem to have their head screwed on when it comes to planning their career path."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Agreement reached' – David Ornstein drops Chelsea's first major transfer business of summer
Transfer reporter for The Athletic, David Ornstein, has dropped Chelsea's first major transfer business of the summer. This news comes after Chelsea beat Real Betis to win the Conference League on Wednesday night after being a goal down at half time and turning it around. The Blues ended up winning the game 4-1 in the end after a bit of a Cole Palmer masterclass in the second half, providing two beautiful assists for his team mates to grab crucial goals. Advertisement Although head coach Enzo Maresca is once again not willing to get carried away after this by insisting that Chelsea's target for next season is not going to be winning the Champions League! Chelsea are busy The Blues have got to work already in the summer transfer market despite it only opening yesterday, and they are now on the verge of announcing their first signings of the new window this week. Liam Delap celebrates a goal. (Photo by) A new striker has always been the priority, and it is a new striker that they are set to welcome very soon in the shape of Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap, who has been widely expected to join for a while now. Ornstein on Delap David Orsntein reports on The Athletic at the weekend that Chelsea have reached an agreement with Liam Delap over personal terms and the striker will join from Ipswich Town on a contract that runs until 2031, subject to completing his medical checks. Advertisement It is expected to be the start of a flurry of new arrivals at Chelsea in this summer window, and more could arrive in the next 15 days before the Club World Cup starts and the window temporarily shuts for a short time.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chelsea ‘agree' Liam Delap transfer as Ipswich Town eye replacement
Chelsea have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town in the summer transfer window. The Blues will pay £30 million for the striker after the release clause in his contract became active following the Tractor Boys' relegation from the Premier League. Advertisement The Athletic's David Ornstein claims the two clubs have 'reached an agreement' on the terms of the transfer. Personal terms are 'not expected' to be an issue, while Marc Guiu could be moving in the other direction. More to follow… Read More – Sancho 'not coming back' to Man United after Chelsea loan stint See Also – Eight things we've loved about the 2024/25 season Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok
New York Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Why Delap to Chelsea makes sense, Fernandes' £80m Saudi dilemma, Qatar's final frontier
The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic's daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello! Chelsea when a £30m striker comes onto the market? Diving in like Michael Phelps. On the way: A career in its infancy? Check. A fee in the £30million ($40m) ballpark? Check. Attacking instincts? Check. Fits the criteria of offering future resale value? Check. It takes two hands to count the clubs with designs on Liam Delap but we should have known Chelsea would go super hard on him, because he's so on brand it's untrue. Age, price range, skill set, investment potential; Delap is Chelsea's model recruit, the type of player their owners are stockpiling at Stamford Bridge. Advertisement They're going to get him, too. The 22-year-old has been pondering his best move for months, but the end of Chelsea's season on Wednesday was his cue to tell them he was theirs for the taking — and to phone around the others letting them down. Yesterday evening, David Ornstein broke the news that everything was in place between Chelsea and Ipswich Town. The rest of the process is a formality. There wasn't much to discuss with Ipswich anyway. Delap is the subject of a release clause standing at £30m; so low, given his stock, that his choice of alternatives was endless: Manchester United, Newcastle United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Milan and Juventus. Nine days ago, it felt like a transfer to Old Trafford was gathering pace. But a hell of a lot has happened in nine days, at Old Trafford and beyond. Delap to Chelsea continues a trend of this summer window resolving potentially fierce transfer skirmishes at a rate of knots. Several of the biggest are concluding or thereabouts before the window has officially opened. Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid is complete. All bar Liverpool seem to be out of the running for Florian Wirtz. Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal isn't far off the medical stage and Delap has taken his pick. It's hard to remember Europe being this organised. Delap's appeal is interesting because he and Ipswich have just been relegated. The market has clearly taken the attitude that a) he was blameless in their demise and b) it's been a valuable experience in cutting his teeth. Ten league goals in open play exceeded his expected goals (xG) total. The fact that his creditable figures were isolated is why Ipswich went down. What Chelsea are getting beyond anything else is a seriously hard runner. If you've watched Delap, you'll be familiar with those lung-busting surges from deep. It's a trademark of his (and when you study the data, above, he's a major outlier in producing upfield carries). Advertisement His profile closely matches Nicolas Jackson's, but that hasn't put Chelsea off — possibly on the basis that Jackson looks like the wrong answer at No 9 as often as he looks right. We'll wait to see how much Delap enhances them, because Chelsea's transfer returns can be very hit-and-miss. Delap is on for a meaty pay rise, but he's also on for Champions League football, by virtue of Chelsea finishing fourth in the Premier League. It's not a stretch to think that European offerings were a factor in tipping negotiations against United. Ruben Amorim (who, quite frankly, could do with talking less sometimes) said a matter of days ago that failing to reach the Champions League might be an 'advantage', but here's the reality: pulling power gone, a prime target getting away from him, and future plans compromised as a result. Matheus Cunha is taking a leap of faith with United but any player with choices is liable to think twice. It's a vicious circle, and Amorim is stuck in it, with no immediate road out of the wilderness. The thing I can never get over when I read about Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) is the price it picked Paris Saint-Germain up for in 2011: £42m. That's only just enough to pay Lamine Yamal for a year. PSG are a billion-dollar entity now and Oli Kay is on the money today when he says that slowly, slowly, their owner got what it was looking for. Global attention on Qatar has increased (call it sportswashing if you will). The country won the right to host the 2022 World Cup. And tomorrow, PSG might finally lay their hands on the Champions League, the one club trophy QSI really cares about. Inter stand in their way in Munich, and TAFC (in a rare flush of calling things right) is one of the few places which hasn't been underestimating Inter all season. James Horncastle has explained how the Nerazzurri peak and fall in cycles, and they're onto such a good thing with Simone Inzaghi. Advertisement But Qatar? As Oli says, it played the long game and it will think that it won, regardless of tomorrow's result. PSG's president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, once told The Athletic's Nick Miller that he went to Paris to 'build a brand'. Whether you like the brand or not, there's no denying he did. 🎥 This will take up 45 minutes of your time on YouTube, but it's so worth it. Let our data specialists guide you through a tactical preview of the final. I just can't see beyond PSG. On the subject of building brands, it's a big weekend for FIFA's Club World Cup. Or a big weekend for two clubs who have a bonus chance of joining the party. Neither Los Angeles FC nor Club America expected to be a CWC contender. Mexico's Club Leon should have been there but their expulsion for multi-club ownership reasons has pitched LAFC and Club America into a play-off, or play-in, in LA tomorrow evening. The stakes are juiced to the gills. Here's the bottom line: the winner will bank almost $10m. They'll also be in the mix for a share of the $125m prize pot, in a group made up of Chelsea, Brazil's Flamengo and Tunisia's Esperance de Tunis. It's North America's richest game and one of them is about to win the lottery — without ever buying a ticket. If PSG lose to Inter, they'll be the fourth club to have played in the Champions League final more than once without winning it (including the European Cup era). Can you name the other three? Look here for the answer later today, and in Monday's TAFC. (Selected games, times ET/UK) Friday: UEFA Women's Nations League: Group A1: Germany vs The Netherlands, 2.30pm/7.30pm — DFB Play, YouTube; Group A3: England vs Portugal, 2.45pm/7.45pm — ITV 4 (both UK only). Saturday: UEFA Champions League final: Paris Saint-Germain vs Inter, 3pm/8pm — CBS, Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports; FIFA Club World Cup play-in: LAFC vs Club America, 10.30pm/3.30am — DAZN (U.S. only); International Women's Friendly: USWNT vs China, 5.30pm/10.30pm — Peacock (U.S. only); MLS: Inter Miami vs Columbus Crew, 7.30pm/12.30am; La Galaxy vs Real Salt Lake, 10.30pm/3.30am — both MLS Season Pass/Apple TV. Sunday: MLS: Seattle Sounders vs Minnesota United, 6pm/11pm — MLS Season Pass/Apple TV. If you're familiar with the Italian ultras scene, you'll have heard of the groups who occupy Curva A and Curva B inside Napoli's stadium. Over time, we've seen the emergence of Curva C… in the heart of New York City. It's the nickname for a crowd of Napoli fans brought together by Rosario Procino, the owner of a pizzeria off Broadway. His restaurant, Ribalta, is a magnet for the Italian fanatics — who would have packed it out for their moment of Serie A glory last week, had a chimney fire not shut the joint down. In the spirit of the very resourceful city of Naples, Procino stuck a big TV on the street outside, to make sure their evening wasn't spoiled. That's amore.
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Liam Delap has told your club he will not be joining this summer – who should they sign instead?
This is an updated version of an article that first appeared on The Athletic on May 6, 2025. Clubs across Europe hunting a striker in the upcoming transfer window were dealt a blow this week when they were informed that Liam Delap would not be joining them as he prefers a move to Chelsea. The Athletic's David Ornstein and Laurie Whitwell reported that news on Thursday, which could be an issue for the likes of Manchester United, Newcastle United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Milan and Juventus, who had all been eyeing the 22-year-old. Advertisement Subject to agreement on personal terms and the requirements of Delap's £30million ($40m) release clause at relegated Ipsich Town being met, it is now expected that he will move to Champions League-bound Chelsea. Clubs will now need to sign an alternative to Delap. But who could they go for? The Athletic's data and tactics experts have taken a look. Using SkillCorner's data, we can narrow down some centre-forwards who are capable — and more importantly, constantly willing — to make those explosive, bustling runs towards the opposition goal as Delap does. The scatter chart below has been filtered for centre-forwards under the age of 25 across Europe's top seven leagues. First, we can use a bespoke SkillCorner metric known as Peak Sprint Velocity 99th percentile (PSV-99), that reflects the top speed of a player and their ability to reach it multiple times or sustain it for long enough. Secondly, we can combine Delap's favourite runs as outlined above — those in-behind the defence, ahead of the ball, and to get on the end of crosses — as a percentage of each player's total runs. Put the two together, and some familiar names stand out. It should be no surprise to see Erling Haaland direct such a high proportion of his runs towards goal, while Nicolas Jackson and Rasmus Hojlund — though much less prolific than the Norwegian — are notably quick and direct when it comes to their off-ball movement. Samu Aghehowa is as destructive as it gets with his blistering pace and muscular frame, but would not come cheap, with a €100million release clause inserted into his contract at Porto. Equipped with this extra information, along with a few eye-test favourites from The Athletic's data department, here are five players to consider. Standing at 6ft 5in (195cm), and Europe's fastest centre-forward per SkillCorner's PSV-99 metric, Emegha instantly fits the physical, line-leading mould. The 22-year-old is another forward bought and sold by Austrian side Sturm Graz, along with Hojlund and Monaco's man-of-the-moment Mika Biereth, a sure-fire seal of approval regarding his athletic, goal-poacher profile. At the top of an exciting Strasbourg side, Emegha is often the man to stretch in behind and keep opposition centre-backs on their toes. His opening goal away at Marseille back in January was almost comical as he recalibrated his run three times to get in behind a slack defensive line. Andrey Santos + Emanuel Emegha = FOOTBALL IQ 🧠🇧🇷🇳🇱 — Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) January 19, 2025 Emegha is less emphatic than Delap — more about bundling home from close-range and finishing his chances with finesse — but his shot map below illustrates just how much danger the Dutchman's darting runs can generate, with almost 97 per cent of his league shots this season falling inside the penalty area. Only five Ligue 1 players scored more than his 14 goals in the 2024-25 season. His expected goal (xG) value per shot of 0.28 is also the highest of any player in Europe's top five leagues this season, pointing to a striker who consistently gets himself into threatening positions, even if his finishing can sometimes leave a little to be desired. Despite his more slender frame, Emegha can still hold his own and create something from nothing with combative channel runs. Here, against Saint-Etienne, for example, he drifts out to the flank to take in a bouncing ball out of defence in frame one. Shielding the ball from defender Mickael Nade, he manages to squirm away from the challenge, sending the defender to the floor with a healthy shoulder barge, before picking out Diego Moreira on the edge of the box to score. On occasion, Emegha's height can work against him — he can sometimes look clumsy in front of goal while he sorts out his feet — but his speed, strength, and magnetism to high-value shooting opportunities make him an intriguing profile who will continue to cause damage as he sharpens his striking instincts. Villarreal's Thierno Barry is similarly tall and quick, but a bit more relentless in his running. Only one player across Europe's top seven leagues — Benfica's Vangelis Pavlidis — has made more runs in behind per 30 minutes of team possession this season, illustrating Barry's eagerness to attack whenever his team has the ball. Advertisement Barry is better in the air too — only four La Liga forwards have taken more headed shots than him since he joined from Swiss side FC Basel last summer — but there is an element of chaos to the 22-year-old's all-action game. He often opts for power over accuracy in front of goal, even taking to social media to apologise to playmaker Alex Baena after a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid for not converting all of the chances he slid his way. When he gets it right, however, Barry is difficult to stop. This thumping volley away at Getafe highlights his ability to hold up the ball, as he scraps with full-back Juan Iglesias and barges past two more in midfield before instantly looking to stretch the defensive line. He gets on the end of Ayoze Perez's chipped pass and smashes home first time. Por la jugada. Por la asistencia. Por el remate. Lo de @Barry29Thierno es un golazo 😮💨#GetafeVillarreal | #LaLigaHighlights — Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 1, 2025 Barry's tally of 11 goals in his first La Liga season is strong, the quantity and the variety of chances falling his way a direct result of his head-on approach. He took 10 shots against Real Sociedad in April, leading counter-attacks by himself, moving quickly in congested penalty areas, and running at players and cutting in from wide. Like Emegha, and Delap himself, the raw materials are certainly there for a team looking to take the chance. Barely out of his teenage years, Castro has led Bologna's attack this season as they lifted the Coppa Italia for the first time since 1974. A return of eight Serie A goals might sound modest, but only Saint-Etienne's Lucas Stassin and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal have scored more goals in Europe's top five leagues among players aged 20 or younger this season. In what has been a breakout campaign, Castro has filled the boots of Joshua Zirkzee in a Bologna shirt after arriving from his native Argentina in the summer of 2023. Advertisement A glance at Castro's shotmap depicts a penalty-box striker who snuffs out opportunities close to goal — with a healthy smattering of first-time finishes as he arrives at the right place at the right time. He might not look tall, but at 6ft with a strong leap and brave disposition, Castro's aerial ability means he has provided plenty of finishes with his head. However, don't be fooled into thinking his game is limited to that of a poacher. Castro is adept at dropping in between opposition lines, before turning and firing from distance. Strikes against Monza and Atalanta in the early weeks of the season are similar to some of the thumping finishes that Delap has shown in the Premier League. Given his country of origin, comparisons with Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez are not unfounded — with Castro's ability to come short or run in behind and stretch opposition defences. He might be raw at times, but an early purchase might save clubs millions if he comes close to fulfilling his potential. It feels like David has been linked with a move away from Lille in every transfer window since he joined the club in 2020. Somehow, the Canada international is still only 25 years old, but here is the kicker: his situation is particularly interesting this summer, given that he will be a free agent by the start of July as things stand. While a substantial signing-on fee would be required, any interested clubs should be on high alert for his services as he enters the peak years of his career. What stands out most about David is his unpredictability, as he can shoot with either foot. Trying to pin him to one side in particular is a fruitless task for opposition defenders — helping him to pull the trigger no matter the situation. This is underpinned by his shotmap since 2022-23, with nearly a third of his efforts coming with his 'weaker' left foot. Add in his aerial ability and this is a well-rounded striker to match anyone in Europe across recent seasons. 'If you want to be a top striker, you have to be able to shoot and be very good with both feet so players can't anticipate what foot you're going to use,' David told Canadian media in 2023. 'So that's why I've worked on both feet. I'd say my left foot is pretty good but I think I can still get better.' An average league goalscoring rate of 0.53 per 90 minutes across his five seasons at Lille in the French top flight suggests that David is definitely doing a lot right at the sharp end of the pitch. Parma's Bonny has six Serie A goals this season — two of them penalties. Not exactly world-beating numbers. But look closer, and there are signs he could handle a step up. Bonny arrived at Parma in 2021 from French third-tier side Chateauroux — the same club where Jean-Philippe Mateta got his start. He settled quickly in northern Italy, racking up over 100 appearances and scoring the promotion-clinching goal in a 1-1 draw with Bari last season. Parma average just 44 per cent possession — the fourth-lowest in Serie A — and, like Delap at Ipswich, that limits Bonny's touches in the opposition box. Dropping deep to offer an out ball and link play isn't optional in a side fighting for survival. As a result, Bonny — playing in the Italian city known for its ham — has to carve out chances himself, often from tricky starting positions. Take his last goal against Monza: he picks up the ball in the left channel near halfway, accelerates past two onrushing defenders, cuts inside, shapes his body, and buries a shot into the top-right corner. Like Delap, Bonny's physical attributes belie his age, helping him turn these low-percentage moments into real opportunities. His assist against Fiorentina on the opening day of the season showcased his imposing strength. Competing for a long ball, Bonny eased past Lucas Martinez Quarta, before rolling the ball across the box for Dennis Man to finish. But Bonny fuses strength with guile. Sharp touches, quick passes, and darting dribbles all feature in his build-up play. His flicked backheel assist against Lecce last season showed a flash of invention and an intuitive sense of where team-mates would be. Serie A strikers with bags of potential but patchy goal records are risky buys. Just ask Manchester United — their £70million punt on Hojlund is yet to bear fruit. But for clubs hunting the next big thing without breaking the bank, Bonny may just be your man. (Top photo of Emanuel Emegha: Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images)
