Latest news with #Lille
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
🗣️ 'A great honour' - Jonathan David unveiled by Juventus
New Juventus signing Jonathan David has expressed his delight at joining the Italian giants, describing his first week with the club as a 'great honour' and revealing early discussions with teammates and manager Igor Tudor have already left a strong impression. Speaking to club media, the Canadian international said: 'It's a great honour for me to be part of a team like Juventus, and this first week of work has gone very well.' David revealed that the decision to move to Turin was made easier after conversations with several current players. 'Before coming here I spoke with some of my current teammates and as a result, it was easy to choose Juventus,' he explained. The striker also reflected on his first encounter with manager Tudor, saying it laid a strong foundation for what he hopes will be a successful season. 'The first meeting with Coach Tudor was positive, we talked a lot about my position on the pitch and my expectations for this season.' Having made his name in Ligue 1 with Lille, David is aware of the challenges that await in Serie A. 'I've consistently scored a lot of goals in recent years. The Italian league is definitely different from the French one; it's more tactical, there's more focus on defence, but my goal will be to score a lot here too,' he said. Reflecting on his journey to professional football, David credited his father with sparking his interest in the game. 'I started playing football because my dad played it. I started for that reason, but year after year I set myself the goal of becoming a professional football player, and so it was.' He also spoke about his childhood heroes, saying: 'When I was a kid, I really admired Drogba and Eto'o, even though they were different. Now there are many other top-class strikers.' David's arrival marks a key part of Juventus' summer rebuild under Tudor, with the striker expected to play a central role in their campaign to return to the summit of Italian football. 📸 KEREM YUCEL - AFP or licensors
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
PSG's pursuit of Lucas Chevalier hits stumbling block
Lucas Chevalier (23) has reportedly already agreed to a five-year contract with reigning Ligue 1 and UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. However, the capital club's negotiations with Lille OSC have stalled. According to a report from L'Équipe, Lille warned PSG during negotiations that they would only sanction a departure for the France international once they had signed his replacement. The club are keen to avoid a similar scenario to when Mike Maignan left for AC Milan, which saw Léo Jardim and Ivo Grbić fail to fill the void. Lille have made multiple approaches in the last few days, but appear to have missed out on Robin Roefs (22), who is close to joining Sunderland AFC. However, the Dutch U21 reportedly was not at the top of Lille's shortlist, which also includes Toulouse FC's Guillaume Restes, Olympique de Marseille's Jeffrey de Lange, and Tottenham Hotspur's Antonín Kinský. GFFN | Nick Hartland
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Manchester United open talks with PSG to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma
Gianluigi Donnarumma's (26) future does not look to be at Paris Saint-Germain. The European champions are closing in on Lille OSC's Lucas Chevalier and, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, Donnarumma is likely to be shown the exit. Talks over a renewal for the Italian shotstopper have been ongoing for several months, however, they are yet to yield an agreement. It is now thought that it will not be possible to reach an agreement and, desperate not to lose another high-value asset for nothing, as they did with Kylian Mbappé, PSG will look to sell the former AC Milan goalkeeper. understands that Manchester United have now made contact with PSG regarding a move for Donnarumma. However, they are not the only interested party. Al-Ittihad and Galatasaray have offered him nearly €20m per year to join, whilst Chelsea and Manchester City have also made enquiries. It remains to be seen whether the latter's interest is still current, following the signing of James Trafford. GFFN | Luke Entwistle
The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Tour de France 2025: Full preview of 10 Australian riders including Ben O'Connor's GC bid
Ten Australians will be on the start line when the Tour de France starts this Saturday in Lille in northern France. Australian-owned Team Jayco AlUla have three Aussies in the mix this year – Ben O'Connor, Luke Plapp and Luke Durbridge. O'Connor notably has top-five general classification ambitions in his first Tour with his new team. He finished 4th in the Tour in 2021 for AG2R and then had a stellar season last year finishing 4th in the Giro and then a courageous second overall in the Vuelta a Espana. But his crowning moment was his brilliant second place to Slovenian champion Tadej Pogacar in the World Road Championship in Switzerland. It will be the first time that Team Jayco AlUla has had an Australian leading its general classification charge since its inception in 2012. O'Connor was quietly confident before the teams presentation on Thursday. 'We have a really versatile team and I've performed well in Grand Tours in the past so I'll do everything I can to get back to the top five, which I've been able to do in all three grand tours,' O'Connor said. Jayco team owner Gerry Ryan is excited at the prospects for his team in this his 14th lap of France. 'There is an amazing vibe that you feel when you rock up to a Tour de France, the excitement is palpable - the party atmosphere that continues on every night with nearly a million raucous fans each day,' he told CODE Sports. Tadej Pogacar and Team UAE teammates in Lille's city centre during the official teams presentation. Picture: AFP 'Cycling is a global sport and all the major events receive serious media attention but the Tour is on another level and it is crucial for our team, riders, staff and most of all - our partners. 'It is the biggest annual sporting event on the planet and the eyes of the world are watching. 'A staggering 750 million watch the Tour live each day which is just mind blowing.' Ryan said Jayco was a well balanced team led by O'Connor, who was capable of getting on the final podium in Paris in three weeks' time. 'The team will be all in for Dylan Groenewegen in stage one,' he said. 'The Dutch sprinter is in great form and it would be a brilliant way to start the tour with the first Maillot Jaune (yellow jersey). 'We also have some realistic opportunities for other stage wins with Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid.' Ryan said Plapp had recovered well from the Giro d'Italia where his first ever Grand Tour stage win impressed the cycling world. Schmid, like Plapp, is riding his first Tour and a week ago won the Swiss Time Trial and Road Race championships. 'Then we have Luke Durbridge,' Ryan said. 'Durbo is riding his 11th Tour and he is the engine that keeps the team together.' Plapp celebrates his stage win at the 108th Giro d'Italia in May. Picture: Getty Jack Haig is another Australian with the ability to challenge for a top 10 in Paris. The boy from Bendigo, who finished third in the 2021 Vuelta, is capable but his team duties with Bahrain Victorious will make things more difficult. Teammate and fellow Aussie Rob Stannard is making his Tour debut and will be looking to get in a breakaway to reveal his all-round abilities. Nine-time grand tour stage winner Kaden Groves has been named by Alpecin-Deceuninck for his debut TdF. While capable of sprinting to a stage victory, he will be leading out his Belgian teammate Jasper Philipsen who will be chasing green jersey success. Jarrad Drizners is back in action with Lotto. The 26-year-old from Adelaide is riding his second Tour and will be chasing the breakaways. Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) is also riding his second tour and will be hoping to improve on his third place in stage 12 in 2021. Callum Scotson, who has ridden many strong Giros and Vueltas for Jayco AlUla, is set to ride his first Tour with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team. And this will be Michael Storer's 10th grand tour and second TdF. Riding for Tudor Pro Cycling, his win in this year's Tour de Alps and 10th in the Giro make him a realistic chance for a top 10 finish. * Former pro cyclist and veteran commentator John Trevorrow is on the ground in France, bringing expert insights and updates on the Aussie riders throughout the Tour for CODE Sports.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Hamza Igamane to Feyenoord 'leak' sparks Robin van Persie rage with Rangers alert to Lille confession
The boss in Rotterdam has been left irked by the murmurs over deals escaping the Feyenoord inner circle Rangers striker Hamza Igamane is on Feyenoord's shopping list - but the latest set of transfer murmurs around the Dutch giants has resulted in fury from boss Robin van Persie. The Scottish Premiership side have stood firm on their £15million valuation of the 22-year-old so far this summer amid ongoing interest from Lille - with Everton, Stade Rennes and Udinese also among the clubs on alert to a deal this summer. The Moroccan international has already agreed personal terms over a move but talks are deadlocked over the valuation of the Ibrox chiefs just a year on from his £1.7m move from AS FAR. But amid fears over a leak inside the Feyenoord camp after interest in Igamane and losing out on the signing of Valentin Gomez to Real Betis, the former Manchester United and Arsenal striker told VI: "What I personally find annoying, and I want to express this, is that quite a lot of things leak at Feyenoord. "I really hope Feyenoord supporters realise this; it hinders potential transfers. Because it simply hinders potential transfers. "That's happened several times now. I'm not saying that every scoop is spot on, because sometimes they're wrong, but it doesn't help the club. "That makes the job very difficult for Dennis te Kloese (technical director) for example. "Suppose we're working on a transfer together, and it leaks out too early, then the Feyenoord supporters who leak it have to take into account that this will have a negative impact on a potential transfer for their club. "That's something I think I hope we'll start thinking about more together. It's a very frustrating factor and it also hinders the process. Sometimes we just need a few days for things to calm down." The interest from the Netherlands comes with Lille playing a waiting game - with president Olivier Letang previously insisting the club were in no rush to deal done. And the bullish supremo has now moved to claim that the club are cash-rich at this stage - and have no need to sell their stars. He told La Voix Du Nord:"Even if nearly €25 million in revenue has vanished in the space of two years from TV we're in a good position. "We're probably going to have the fourth year in a row where we've had the best economic performance, while maintaining sporting momentum "It would take exceptional circumstances for one or two players to leave us; there won't be a fire sale, there's no open door at all. Our best marketing tool is to win matches, and the goal is for the team to remain as competitive as possible." Igamane was missing from the match day squad in the pre-season friendly clash with Middlesbrough after picking up a knock in Tuesday's 2-0 first leg victory over Panathinaikos. But boss Russell Martin is hopeful he will win the fitness race for the return fixture in Athens: "Hamza picked up a little injury on Tuesday night. "He missed a lot of pre-season, and he's been really trying hard to catch up fitness wise. 'He's got himself to a good place and then the other night, the intensity of the game coming on to that is not easy, but he's not going to be out for a long time. He's a big, strong boy and we hope to have him back on Wednesday night."
