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BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Is Ramsey sale 'excellent business'?
It was Steven Gerrard that helped focus Aston Villa supporters' minds on the potential of Jacob Gerrard was Villa manager, Ramsey was 20-years-old and carried the tag of being the 'one most likely' to make a big impression as a home-grown player in a post-Grealish world. Regardless of Gerrard's pedigree as a manager, being one of England's greatest midfielders gave weight to his words. For Villa supporters, it was a case of game recognising game."He's a top talent. He is right up there, let me tell you," gushed Gerrard, before adding it was "only a matter of time" before the England Under-21 midfielder would be in the senior national breakthrough season was one of few bright sparks during Gerrard's ill-fated reign. The midfielder proved himself as a rapid ball carrier, enabling Villa to surge up the pitch with intent. He also had the welcome habit of ghosting into the box to score valuable Unai Emery arrived, he became an integral part of an electric left-hand side that re-energised and propelled a seemingly lost team into Emery, he developed further, adding creativity to his game and finishing the 2022-23 season with seven assists to go with his six the past couple of campaigns of injuries have shackled Ramsey's momentum. For Villa, when fit, he became a match-day squad player rather than a guaranteed starter, and that perhaps will be his initial status at Newcastle, considering their depth on the left-hand said, Newcastle will need to rotate this season, and Ramsey proved adept in the Champions League last term with a goal and two assists in four starts and two substitute ex-teammates' support and best wishes on social media demonstrated how he was regarded at the club, but such sentiment is increasingly drowned out by the blunt economic reality of PSR and wage-ratio rules.A circa £40m transfer fee is widely regarded as excellent business, the kind of deal that makes even the romance of watching a home-grown talent flourish feel becomes the latest Villa academy graduate to be harvested for compliance - a transaction that might satisfy the spreadsheets but ultimately leaves die-hard supporters colder to the reality of the Premier more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
James McAtee's Manchester City career is symptomatic of modern academy football
There was a time when the England Under-21 captain leading his country to European Championship success would have been the springboard to a place in the starting line-up at his club. Nowadays, in an era of squads with two dozen full internationals and financial rules that incentivise the sale of academy products, it is not even enough to ensure a future. Advertisement The expected departure of Manchester City midfielder James McAtee, who is the subject of strong interest from prominent German and English clubs, is a reminder of how high the bar is set for young players seeking to graduate from the youth ranks into the first team of a major Premier League club. The 22-year-old lifted the trophy for England last month, but his presence in Slovakia, rather than in the U.S. as part of City's Club World Cup campaign, spoke volumes for where he deemed himself to be in the pecking order. Having joined the club as an under-11 and eventually making 34 senior appearances, McAtee impressed during a two-year loan spell at Sheffield United, which was to be the bridge to Pep Guardiola's first team. Last season, his first as a squad player, he made 27 appearances in all competitions. He scored seven goals in 936 minutes — albeit three of those came in an FA Cup match against League Two side Salford City — but it was clearly not enough to convince Guardiola he merited a place in the U.S. As soon as City signed Rayan Cherki from Lyon last month, the writing was on the wall. It meant McAtee had the France attacker, Savinho, Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush and Phil Foden ahead of him for minutes on the right flank or in attacking midfield. City value him, but not enough to deem him integral to their plans. The level of clubs interested in him, Eintracht Frankfurt as well as Nottingham Forest, indicate the potential he has. Some interested clubs believe City could come to the table at £25million, but City have Cole Palmer fresh in their minds. He was sold to Chelsea two summers ago for just £40m, which now looks a bargain, so they will demand a fee that matches McAtee's profile. Palmer, the player McAtee replaced as a substitute in November 2021 to make his Premier League debut, is only five months older. Advertisement While not suggesting McAtee possesses the elite talent of Palmer, it is impossible for some at City to extinguish the trepidation that history could be repeating itself. Palmer's match-winning performance in the Club World Cup final further underlined how City underestimated his ability and price tag. When Palmer was sold, he was not deemed indispensable and they did not insist on a buy-back clause being included. City will not make that mistake again with McAtee. If he does go on to surpass expectations, City will leave themselves open to the claim that they do not appreciate just how productive their academy is. Premier League academies appear to be drifting from their original existence of fuelling the first team with talent to being a money-making vehicle to fund more expensive signings. When faced with the task of trimming squads and adhering to profit and sustainability rules (PSR), homegrown players have become the sacrificial lambs. Player sales are amortised in one financial year as opposed to being spread over the length of the payment terms, as with incoming transfers. It can help with balancing the books and that is why academy players are especially valuable because whatever price they are sold for is counted as 'pure profit' due to the absence of an initial fee to sign them. Is it disheartening that the essence of what an academy is seems to have completely changed? Some will argue this is overly sentimental and the league has just become too strong to carry numerous academy products, particularly when City have brought in more than £280m from academy sales in the past eight years. In 2017, Jadon Sancho and Kelechi Ihenacho brought in more than £40m. In 2018, Pablo Maffeo, Angus Gunn and Jason Denayer another £25m. In 2019, Brahim Diaz was sold to Real Madrid for around £15m. Advertisement There were a couple of years without a major academy sale, but in 2022, they took in around £55m for Romeo Lavia, Juan Larios, Samuel Edozie, Gavin Bazunu (who all joined Southampton) and Arijanet Muric after his move to Burnley. In 2023, Palmer, James Trafford and Carlos Forbes added another £70m to the accounts, while last season, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Liam Delap, Shea Charles, Tommy Doyle, Micah Hamilton and Alex Robertson injected almost £60m in fees. City are known to arrange favourable payment schedules for their youth players in return for chunkier sell-on percentages, which tend to be spread across multiple years, providing them with regular income. There are other talents who have been let go for free or for tiny amounts. Jamie Gittens and Felix Nmecha left for nothing, while Tosin Adarabiayo joined Fulham and Morgan Rogers joined Middlesbrough for just over £1m each. All clubs make misjudgements and some players develop later, but Foden stands alone as the academy product who has been able to nail himself down as a regular. Last August, Guardiola selected Rico Lewis, Nico O'Reilly, McAtee and Oscar Bobb in the starting XI for the Community Shield against Manchester United. There were players missing or coming back late from Euro 2024, but it still felt like a potentially seismic moment. A year later, McAtee is expected to leave, O'Reilly is behind Rayan Ait-Nouri at left-back and Tijjani Reijnders in the left eight role, while Lewis is battling with a midfielder in Mateus Nunes for the right-back position, with City potentially going into the market for another. Lewis is close to being a lab-made Guardiola player given his understanding of which positions to take up and how precisely he carries out instructions. He is six games short of a century of appearances, but whether he can cement the right-back role remains to be seen. Advertisement Bobb is unlikely to leave this summer as it stands, but will he play enough to develop and show his worth? Young players need to assess if it is best to bide their time or leave so they can develop quicker. A total of 28 academy players have made their debut under Guardiola, with Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and O'Reilly making their first starts last season. The harsh reality is that the vast majority will not make it at the top level, but with players such as Palmer and McAtee, the failure to make space for them in the squad is emblematic of how attitudes have changed towards homegrown players. Their presence, even as a squad player, used to be seen as a victory.
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
What channel is England v Germany on? Under 21 Euros TV details, live stream for England Under 21 final
Full details ahead of England Under 21 Final clash vs Germany Under 21 at European Championship. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... England Under 21s are on course to win back-to-back Under 21 European Championship this summer after as they prepare to face old foes Germany in the final of the competition this weekend. Lee Carsley's side entered the tournament with high hopes they could win the competition, only to struggle in the group stages, winning just one of their opening three games. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, they have sparked into life in the knockout stages, comfortably beating pre-tournament favourites Spain 3-1 in the quarter-finals, before a Harvey Elliott brace helped them see off the Netherlands in the final four on Wednesday night. That said, their opponents Germany will head into this weekend's final full of confidence having already beaten the Young Lions 2-1 in the group stages of the tournament, winning all five games they have played so far, they have beaten Italy and France in the knockout stages respectively. Looking to catch all the action live? Here's everything you need to know about the Under-21 European Championship final clash between England and Germany: England and Germany have already faced each other in the Under 21 European Championship - but this time the stakes are higher. |England Under 21 v Germany Under 21 match details The U21 European Championship final takes place on Saturday, June 28 at Tehelné Pole in Bratislava, Slovakia. Kick-off is at 8pm UK time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad England Under 21 v Germany Under 21 TV channel The U21 European Championship quarter-final has been chosen for live broadcast coverage by Channel 4, with coverage of the game scheduled to begin at 7.30pm. Coverage will come from Jules Breach, former Rangers striker Jermain Defoe and rumoured Rangers transfer target Conor Coady in the studio, with Steve Bower and Joe Hart on commentary. England Under 21 v Germany Under 21 streaming details For those preferring to stream the game on your smart TV, laptop, tablet or mobile phone, the game will be streamed live via the Channel 4 app (formerly known as All 4) and website. The link to stream the game is available here. The game can also be streamed live via YouTube and UEFA TV. How many times have England won the European Under 21 Championship? The Young Lions will be aiming to win the title for the fourth time in their history. As well as their win at the last European Championship in 2023, England won back in 1982 and 1984. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad England Under 21 squad Goalkeepers: James Beadle (Sheffield Wednesday), Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Burnley), Tommy Simkin (Stoke City) Defenders: Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Ronnie Edwards (Southampton), Charlie Cresswell (Leeds United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton & Hove Albion), CJ Egan-Riley (Marseille), Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Genoa) Midfielders: Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), Alex Scott (Bournemouth), Tyler Morton (Liverpool) ,Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough),
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Liverpool's rare 3-1 defeat by Chelsea felt like an exhibition match for Reds fans... but here's why it mattered to Arne Slot's struggling back-up brigade, writes LEWIS STEELE
To most of those of a red persuasion at Stamford Bridge, this felt like an exhibition match. Liverpool were poor but no one seemed to care too much, certainly not the away end where balloons were held up spelling out the word 'champions' and they went through their entire songbook to toast their heroes on the pitch. Arne Slot 's men had travelled by rail from Runcorn to London on Saturday and after some shoddy touches and wayward passes, one wondered if they had disembarked in the capital and headed across the road to the Euston Tap to begin a night on the tiles. At full time, when a rare loss was confirmed after a sub-par performance, Ibrahima Konate was dancing in front of the away end as fans jumped up and down. It all gave off the aura of a testimonial or a charity game, Chelsea grateful for the gift of three points from Liverpool. But although the result did not really matter, this game mattered an awful lot to several players in a red shirt. The likes of Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo and Kostas Tsimikas were given a chance to prove to Slot why they deserve to play a bigger role in the future after bit-part contributions this season. Ryan Gravenberch ended a run of 34 starts and was left at home — he announced on Saturday his partner is expecting a child so probably enjoyed a well-deserved rest and some precious family time. His usual midfield partners Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were substitutes. So this was a much-changed XI, which probably counts as a secondary factor to Liverpool's disjointed display, especially in the first hour. Elliott, Quansah, Endo and Tsimikas are all facing an uncertain future, as are Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa who came off the bench. So it is fair to say they were fighting either to show Slot they can make it as important players at Liverpool… or to add to their market value if they are to move on this summer. A win-win for the club, really. Elliott has gone on record with his desire to fight for his Liverpool career and said this is 'my club', but the fact he has to wait until game 35 to make his first league start of the campaign is disappointing for a player who promised so much in pre-season. A broken foot suffered on England Under 21 duty derailed much of his campaign and Slot admitted that Elliott was a shadow of his former confident self after the lay-off. He had some nice touches here but will need to do more to make the Liverpool hierarchy reach a firm conclusion that he is definitely not leaving. The same verdict can be reached on Quansah, who was unlucky to concede an own goal and then be stitched up by a poor pass that resulted in him giving away a penalty. Other than that, it was a strong performance from the young Englishman. So while this game, result or display does not matter at all to most Liverpool fans, it was a chance to shine for the back-up brigade. A big summer awaits in the transfer market and, in many cases, players are fighting to prove to Slot they can contribute next season. None of them passed with flying colours — but they did not fail either, and will get more chances in the coming weeks.
