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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
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Florian Wirtz latest as Bayer Leverkusen talks 'advanced' amid Liverpool medical timeline
Liverpool is continuing its pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz, after the Germany international decided that he wants to move to Anfield. Wirtz's desire to move to Liverpool over Bayern Munich, a club which has historically hoovered up all the best German talent, is a sign of just how appealing the Reds are to join at the moment. The 22-year-old has already clashed with Premier League rivals Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes while playing for Germany in the Nations League, and a former Bayer Leverkusen chief says he already knows the player's future. Advertisement Here's a roundup of the latest news regarding Wirtz's future... READ MORE: Bernardo Silva makes bitter claim after Florian Wirtz clash as new Liverpool rivalry emerges READ MORE: Liverpool 'rejects Barcelona transfer approach' for Luis Diaz but takes curious stance on winger Wirtz only has eyes for Liverpool Revered transfer guru David Ornstein gave a promising update on the latest The Athletic FC Podcast, saying that the player "only has eyes for Liverpool." "Where things are now is that this is progressing in the right direction," Ornstein said. "The talks are ongoing, I think they're now onto the stage of potential add-ons, the make-up of the deal, the bonuses, and how they would be achieved. Wirtz scored in Germany's Nations League defeat by Portugal -Credit:2025 Crystal Pix/MB Media "So, it's clearly at an advanced stage, but from what I hear, it's not quite at the finish line yet. There is more work to be done. But for Liverpool and their supporters, there's reason to be optimistic. I do think they're going to get this deal done. Advertisement "Not only because they're pushing so hard in the club-to-club negotiations, but also the desire of the player. He has eyes only for Liverpool. I do feel we're getting towards a conclusion, and every indication is that Florian Wirtz is going to become a Liverpool player." Optimism deal will be done ASAP There are two transfer windows this summer: one which opened on June 1 and June 10 — which was created so that teams participating in the Club World Cup could sign new players ahead of the tournament starting — and another, which opens on June 16 and closes on September 1. Liverpool journalist David Lynch said that the club is confident of getting the deal done before the first window closes next Tuesday, telling Sports Mole there is "big optimism" over a deal. What next after Wirtz? The BBC reports that Liverpool has stepped up its pursuit of Milos Kerkez over the last couple of days, with Arne Slot targeting a new first-choice left-back following the acquisition of Jeremie Frimpong on the opposite side of the pitch. Advertisement Kerkez emerged as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League over the course of the season, and his prospective arrival would almost certainly lead to either Kostas Tsimikas or Andy Robertson leaving the club. A new center-back and a new striker could also be targeted, dependent on outgoings. Darwin Nunez is almost certain to leave after three underwhelming years at the club, while Caoimhin Kelleher's move to Brentford was confirmed earlier this week. One player who seemingly won't be leaving, though, is Luis Diaz, after the club rejected an approach from Barcelona for the Colombian.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Mbeumo and Wissa: Will Brentford's dynamic duo still be there next season?
Brentford currently sit eighth in the Premier League with just two games to play, and if Manchester City beat Crystal Palace in Saturday's FA Cup final that would be enough to secure European football. A key factor behind Brentford's success this season has been the development of the league's most prolific strike partnership in Brian Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who have both scored 18 league goals so far. Advertisement Numbers like those have undoubtedly provoked interest in both players this summer, and Thomas Frank has already acknowledged the club would likely listen to offers for Mbeumo for the right price. On the latest episode of The Athletic FC Podcast, Ayo Akinwolere was joined by Jay Harris and Liam Tharme to discuss whether Brentford should consider cashing in on either of their frontmen when the window opens. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic FC Podcast' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ayo: Thomas Frank recently spoke about the future of Brian Mbeumo in an interview with Sky Sports, and Brentford are very much open to the fact that he might leave. I'm thinking about how they dealt with Ivan Toney and David Raya, and with Toney specifically it was a tricky one, obviously, because of the ban. I personally thought they priced him a bit too high at the time, which might have put off potential buyers. But with Mbeumo, this is a player you can tell Brentford probably know will be going at some point, so how will they deal with that? Jay: I don't know if they priced Toney too high. Thomas Frank was asked hypothetically how much Toney would cost, and he pointed out that No 6s like Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo were going for £100million at the time, and strikers are normally more expensive. But this is a really big summer for Brentford because with Toney and Raya, although they were slightly different situations, they were both allowed to enter the final year of their contracts. Brentford's club-record sale for a long time was Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa, which was about £28m with £5m in add-ons. Raya went for £30m with add-ons by the time his move was made permanent, and Toney went for just over £33m with add-ons. Advertisement Watkins was a Championship player at that time, but Toney and Raya left Brentford as internationals who'd appeared at major tournaments with two to three years of Premier League football under their belts, so they went for under their market value. Brentford can't allow that to happen with Mbeumo or Yoane Wissa because they both have one year left on their contracts too. I should say both of them have one-year options, however, which gives Brentford an extra layer of security. But this is the summer where they either need to get them to sign extended deals, or they need to say, 'Right, we need to sell them this summer.' Of course, the Toney situation was complicated by the ban. And everybody in an ideal world would have said, 'Goodbye Toney,' at the end of that 2023 season when he'd been performing exceptionally well. So the ban damaged his career and probably damaged Brentford in terms of the money they could get for him. This summer, they'll be very aware of that, and I'd be shocked if Mbeumo and Wissa are both at Brentford at the start of next season. One of them might be, but I'd be shocked if they're both there. The same also applies to Kevin Schade because he's had a very good end to the season and there has been rumoured interest in him before. It's going to be challenging for them if they lose them and have to replace them, but I think it's something they probably know has been coming. Liam: If Jay would allow me to, I'm going to present an alternative argument to Brentford cashing in now… In their second year in the Premier League, they had a really good second season finishing in ninth place, got a really good number of points in 59 and were in European contention until quite late on despite missing out. We're looking very feasibly at a situation where Brentford could have European football for next season for the first time in the club's history. That has to be an attractive thing to keep players and to acquire players as well. Advertisement Even if they do want to cash in on Mbeumo and Wissa, the calibre of player they should be able to attract should be even greater. Of course, they would need to consider their squad depth because they've had some injuries this season, especially in defence. That is the reason for Keane Lewis-Potter and other makeshift things at full-back with Kristoffer Ajer too. So there'll be different demands needed for squad building in terms of how the model works and how they scale that up to European level. But I think at this present time they could say, 'Even though we can't quickly change our selling model, we're definitely at a moment where you could say this is the least we've ever needed to sell.' The biggest reason for that, and what they might be saying if they do get Europe is, 'We've got European football now,' and perhaps Spurs or Manchester United, who might be relative options as a natural step up next season, might actually not be in terms of the competitions you could play in. You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic FC Podcast for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo: Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Why Wrexham are well set to compete financially in the Championship
Wrexham have enjoyed a remarkable rise since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over in February 2021, securing three consecutive promotions to climb from the National League to the Championship. While their success on the pitch has been clear, the club's off-field operations have been equally as impressive. Advertisement On the latest episode of The Athletic FC Podcast, Ayo Akinwolere was joined by Matt Slater and Wrexham correspondent Richard Sutcliffe to discuss how the club's impressive turnover figures will give them a solid foundation to compete in the Championship. Watch the full episode below. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in The Athletic FC Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ayo: In March, The Athletic reported how at the end of June 2024, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney had lost almost £11million ($14.7m) in getting Wrexham to League One. But Sooty, you wrote that last season their turnover had more than doubled to £26.7m in their first year back in the EFL. With more success, that turnover should only rise, shouldn't it? Richard: Absolutely. Those turnover levels came in League Two, the bottom division, so to get that sort of money is unheard of at that level. I'm told the income won't be massively different this year in League One, and obviously they've just gained promotion. But that now takes them into a new division where we're talking about teams with incomes in the £100m range because of the parachute payments, which is a very different playing field to where they've been before. It's going to be tough, but that turnover can only grow. It sounds like they need to get into the Premier League to really hit the mainstream in America. But even though they're nowhere near that right now, they're still earning a lot of money for a team at their level. You mentioned that £26.7m; 52 per cent of that sum came from abroad, most of it from North America. Which again shows the strengths of their business model. Even though it sounds like they've got a hell of a long way to go, they could keep growing that. They are on a different playing field now with the money in the Championship because you've got clubs who are losing £25m just to tread water and end up in the middle of the division. Advertisement But what I will say about them going up is they've got a bit of headroom if they want to go for it. You mentioned that huge income level, but they still lost £2.7m last season and I've been told it's going to be a similar loss this season, so we're talking about £5.5m. That means next year, if they wanted to, they could still lose £35m and be within the Championship's PSR rules. If they did go straight up again then obviously they'd have problems the following year because they couldn't then breach it any further than that. But they've got some headroom to have a go, and I'm fascinated by what they do this summer because they haven't really spent irresponsibly. They'd spent a lot of money on wages until January, but up to then, until a year ago, their record transfer fee was £300,000. They then broke that, but it was still only £590,000 for Mo Faal back in September. In January, they then spent £2m on Sam Smith, around £500,000 on Ryan Longman, and took over Jay Rodriguez's Burnley contract, which was a significant step forward for the club. But there's going to be a hell of a lot more than that now if they're going to prosper rather than sink in the Championship. Matt: If you look at Wrexham's turnover profile, half of it is commercial, which is like a 'Big Six' club. That's what I would expect to see from Liverpool, Man City or United. They've also quadrupled their turnover since the National League days. It was £6m, but it's now around £26m, and heading into the £27m to £28m range. And this is always a year behind, so that is a League Two snapshot we've got. A big club in League Two — like Bradford with the biggest gates — earned about £9m, so they're three times bigger than them. Then, if you think about a big club in League One like Portsmouth who got promoted last year, they went up with a turnover of £13.5m, so they're twice as big as Portsmouth in terms of turnover. Again, because Richard has told us their turnover number is going to be similar for this season, they're already earning more than Hull City, Preston, and loads of other clubs. And the way the Championship works is you either get a parachute payment or you don't. Parachute payments for clubs tend to be about £6m, but it's lower at the moment because it's three up and three down, and we just keep replacing them (Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich went straight back down). There are fewer clubs than there traditionally have been with parachute payments, but they average a turnover of between £60m to £70m. There are some £100m clubs, but those are very rare. They're your Leeds Uniteds or Leicester Citys. Typically, a parachute payment club is £60m to £70m. Then the 18 or 19 others are on about £20m to £25m. Well, guess what? Wrexham are already there. And that's before they get the £9m boost on TV revenues, meaning Wrexham are going to go into the Championship as the best-of-the-rest in terms of turnover. You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic FC Podcast for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso: Would now be the right time?
After guiding Bayer Leverkusen to an historic unbeaten domestic double last season — securing the club's first-ever Bundesliga title and ending Bayern Munich's 11 years of dominance — it was only a matter of time before Xabi Alonso became heavily linked with Europe's elite. With Carlo Ancelotti expected to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, or possibly sooner depending on results, Alonso looks poised to take the next big step in his managerial career. Advertisement On the latest episode of The Athletic FC Podcast, Ayo Akinwolere was joined by Real Madrid writer Guillermo Rai and Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero to discuss whether now is the right time for the 43-year-old to return to Madrid, and if he's ready for the pressure that comes with managing one of the world's biggest clubs. Watch the full discussion below. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in The Athletic FC Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ayo: Tomas, this is a really interesting one that we've been talking about for a while. Do you think it's time for Xabi Alonso to step up? He had a wonderful season last year with Leverkusen when they went unbeaten in the league, and this season has been OK as well. It hasn't been great, but it's been OK. They're still second in the Bundesliga, and had an OK Champions League run. Some might say perhaps he wants to test himself at a bigger stage, but there's also a certain Florentino Perez on the other side, who is a tricky customer, isn't he? Tomas: Yeah, it's hard to say whether it's the right time for Xabi Alonso. But you could ask that about any coach being linked with Real Madrid, because it's such a big job with unique pressures. I do think him having bided his time as a coach over the past couple of seasons plays in his favour. He's clearly chosen a pretty intelligent path by coaching Real Sociedad's B team, where he came through as a player, and then going to Leverkusen, maybe a bit out of the spotlight. I definitely see parallels there with Zidane when he joined Madrid as a legendary former player. But Xabi Alonso is far advanced in his coaching career and has already achieved such great success with Leverkusen, which plays in his favour. Again, it's just how the chips fall when you're actually at the Bernabeu. I do think his experience at the club as a player, where he also left on his own terms, all helps. Advertisement He knows how to manage those unique pressures, and the players would look up to him. You know that from reading, watching and listening to interviews with his Leverkusen players. They look up to him because of the legendary playing career he had, and I'm sure he would be able to instil his philosophy at Madrid. You just feel like he has the personality to do that. Ayo: Yeah, he does have a certain aura because of what he's won as a player and as a coach now, especially with what he's done at Leverkusen. But the expectation at Leverkusen when he arrived would have been a lot different to the expectation and the pressure of arriving at Real Madrid. Especially off the back of a season where they haven't won the Champions League, and there's a chance they might not win La Liga or the Copa del Rey either. He's going to be coming into that and trying to implement new ideas, which will be difficult. Do you think he's the kind of coach who can wear that pressure? Guillermo: He has the experience from his career as a player, as you said, which will help. He also knows how Real Madrid works, and he was a coach at the Real Madrid academy, which was his first job as a football coach. So I would say that he has the experience. But when you arrive at Madrid as the coach of the first team, it's a completely different scenario. So we will have to see, because he hasn't had this experience at Leverkusen. I remember a conversation I had with a Real Madrid senior source back last year when there were some discussions regarding Xabi Alonso's future. The source told me something significant, which was, 'We understand that Xabi is staying for one more year because he has nothing to lose at Leverkusen, and all that he does is positive for the club.' It was something that I considered significant because at Real, it's difficult to get anything positive apart from a triumph, apart from a title. In other clubs, if you see growth and development, then people will be happy. But here at Real, even if the fans complain, or even if some directors complain about the style, what they really need is the triumph and the victory. Xabi will have to deal with that along with all the changes that will take place. And if Real Madrid have to pay something for him, the pressure will be higher. Advertisement Even though we were talking about a gentleman's agreement earlier, it has been reported elsewhere in Germany that there could be a breakout clause in his contract with Bayer Leverkusen. So imagine if Real have to pay a fee for Xabi Alonso. That will only increase the pressure, and people will say, 'If we are paying for a coach like a player, then he will have to deliver.' You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic FC Podcast for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo:)
New York Times
23-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Is Daniel Farke the man to lead Leeds to Premier League safety?
After two years away, Leeds United secured promotion back to the Premier League on Monday following Sheffield United's 2-1 loss at Burnley, hours after they thrashed Stoke City 6-0. Daniel Farke's side have been the Championship's standout team this season and could reach the 100-point mark for the first time in the club's history. Advertisement But the German has struggled during previous stints in the Premier League. His Norwich City side were relegated in the 2019-20 season after finishing bottom, and the 48-year-old was sacked 11 games into the 2021-22 season, with Norwich again languishing in 20th place. On the latest episode of The Athletic FC Podcast, Ayo Akinwolere was joined by Phil Hay and The Athletic's Leeds correspondent Beren Cross to discuss whether Farke is the right man to take the club into the Premier League. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on The Athletic FC Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ayo: Farke has a points-per-game average of just 0.53 in the Premier League, having won six, drawn eight and lost 35 of his 49 top-flight games in charge of Norwich. That's the ninth-worst record in the competition's history for managers with more than 10 games. What's different from Farke at Norwich to Farke at Leeds? Has this guy evolved enough as a manager to withstand the Premier League juggernaut? We've seen the disparity grow, especially when Championship teams go up and come straight back down. Beren: The job he's now got on his hands is a world apart from when he was last in the Premier League. When Norwich went up, Farke would say he wasn't backed in the transfer market. His record is terrible but it's very unfair to say it will be mirrored with Leeds if he does get that chance next season. Those Norwich teams were weak. He went down after that first title with Norwich and then came straight back up again, so it's not like he became a terrible coach overnight. I wouldn't put much stock in what happened at Norwich because it's an entirely different situation. If he does get the chance next season with Leeds, the noises from behind the scenes are that there will be money to spend. Advertisement The people at 49ers Enterprises (majority owner) are custodians of the club, they need it to be successful and keep moving forward. They're going for planning permission this year on a massive extension at Elland Road, so they need to establish themselves in the Premier League as a regular finisher. If they have a long-term vision of selling up and making a big profit, they need to be finishing comfortably around mid-table to get the price they want to achieve in the market, so they know they will need to back the manager. When Farke pitched to Angus Kinnear (outgoing CEO), Paraag Marathe (chairman) and Peter Lowy (board member) at his job interview, he said, 'I'll come to you, get you up and then you're going to be my vehicle to prove myself in the Premier League.' So Farke is not short on confidence, and anybody who has spent time with him knows he backs himself. Phil: These are such difficult summers for clubs who go up. Realistically, no promoted side, with rare exceptions, can spend a fortune when they go into the Premier League. There's an increasingly stark picture at the moment of clubs going up and coming straight back down, and this season with a real whimper. The Premier League isn't getting any more forgiving. It would look incredibly harsh if Leeds didn't give Farke a go in the Premier League, and you could say the same about Scott Parker at Burnley. But Parker has the same issue as Farke — he's never really cut it in the Premier League. The pragmatist in any board or club ownership group has to look at it and say, 'Clubs are finding it incredibly difficult to take this leap. In fact, in the last two seasons, it's been impossible, so do we have to think differently?'. In a broader sense, I don't think this just applies to either Leeds or Burnley. Are we reaching a point where clubs need a specialist for the Championship, and then a different specialist for the Premier League? Advertisement The thing with the 49ers is that their decision-makers never intended to buy a Championship club, and never intended to be in the Championship with Leeds. The last two seasons have been extremely expensive for them. I would expect them to back Farke and stick with him, but they'll know that comes with an element of risk because Farke will be fairly strict in demanding about who he wants to sign. They will come in as his players, and you always run the risk that, further down the line, you'll then pass them on to another coach. This has happened time and time again with Leeds in the Premier League. Every club that goes up finds themselves in a position where they're thinking about what has to happen if they need to make a change. Ipswich stuck with Kieran McKenna but you've seen it with Southampton and Leicester, too. These things can come at you so quickly once you get promoted. You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic FC Podcast free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
