Latest news with #squadoverhaul
South China Morning Post
17 hours ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Football Club boss says sky is limit for young team, tackles crowds conundrum
After overseeing a calculated squad overhaul, Chancy Cooke set Football Club an ambitious top-half target for the new campaign. Longer term, head coach Cooke said that should his wholehearted backing of young talent pay off, the 'sky is the limit' for an aspirational club. Since finishing bottom of last season's local Premier League, the South African has waved goodbye to thirtysomethings Andy Russell, Jack Sealy, Freddie Toomer and Marcus McMillan. Talented left-back Callum Beattie moved to Kitchee. Of 14 new additions, only three are older than 25. Nine are 24 or younger. Cooke said Football Club had studied data-driven models applied elsewhere, as they targeted the 'athletic and young players who will allow us to get at teams, be forward thinking, possession dominant and aggressive'. Yoshi Chan (second right) is set for his second full senior season after a breakthrough campaign. Photo: HKFC 'Recruiting those types of individuals works for our game model, as well as where we are financially and in our development process,' Cooke added.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
PSG plan huge squad clearout before new season
Paris Saint-Germain are undergoing one of their most significant squad clearouts in recent memory, with up to nine players potentially departing before the transfer window closes. Comprehensive PSG squad overhaul underway as 'loft' players face exit Behind the scenes, PSG sporting advisor Luis Campos is orchestrating a comprehensive squad overhaul, with nine players identified for potential departure. The club has designated several players as 'loft' category members, effectively training them separately from the main squad as they seek new destinations. Players facing uncertain futures include Randal Kolo Muani, Marco Asensio, Carlos Soler, Nordi Mukiele, and Renato Sanches. Additionally, Gianluigi Donnarumma's future remains uncertain amid the expected arrival of Lucas Chevalier from Lille. Donnarumma, who helped PSG secure their maiden Champions League triumph last season, could leave after contract extension talks stalled. The Italian international's deal is due to expire next summer. Donnarumma has attracted interest from Manchester United, Chelsea, and several clubs in Saudi Arabia, though he is reportedly open to remaining in Paris and competing for his position. Arguably the most other high-profile case is Kolo Muani, the French forward who signed with PSG for €90 million in 2023. Despite impressing during his loan stint with Juventus, the 26-year-old still remains surplus to requirements in coach Luis Enrique's tactical approach. Luis Campos continues to implement a transfer strategy centred on young, high-potential players. This recruitment model has already produced great results, with the likes of Joao Neves, Willian Pacho and Desire Doue helping PSG to win the Champions League for the first time last season. In terms of incomings, the situation of Real Madrid winger Rodrygo is being monitored. Should Rodrygo become available, the Portuguese sporting director has been connected with possible interest for the player. Recent news, however, implies that PSG will only go after Rodrygo if Bradley Barcola were to depart. That exit seems improbable despite rumoured interest from Liverpool. PSG have plans to offer Barcola a significant contract extension. The extensive departures serve multiple purposes for PSG: reducing the wage bill, streamlining the squad for Luis Enrique's tactical preferences, and creating financial flexibility for future acquisitions. Players like Soler, who joined for €18 million in 2022, represent potential profit opportunities if sold for their current market valuations. As the new season is approaching, PSG returns to European competition's spotlight on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, when they face Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy, in the UEFA Super Cup. The match, kicking off at 8pm BST, represents a historic milestone for both clubs as neither have ever won this prestigious trophy. Read also – See more – Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media: | | | |
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Phil Foden admits Man City NEEDED £300M squad overhaul as Pep Guardiola and Co look to 'make up for last season' after summer spending spree
Phil Foden admitted Manchester City needed their £300million squad overhaul as Pep Guardiola oversees a changing of the guard. City have signed 10 players across the summer and January windows, with midfielders Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders the most eye-catching recent arrivals. Foden returned to form during the Club World Cup, scoring a stunning goal in defeat by Al Hilal, and wants to spearhead City's resurgence after a disappointing season in which they finished 13 points adrift of Liverpool. Veterans like Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne left at the end of the season and the likes of Foden will be expected to take on further responsibility. 'It always gets to a time when any club needs to add new players and freshen things up,' Foden said. 'And we have done that in this transfer window - that can only be good for us as the players we have brought in are very high level and fit right into the team. 'They give us something we need a little bit more of so we are here to help and we have got a very good squad now. I think everyone wants to make up for last season.' Foden added: 'I am not here to replicate what Kev did because we all know how good he was and what he did for the club. It is about trying my best, getting to the level where I won player of the year, I want to get back to that.' One winter signing, Vitor Reis, is heading for Girona on a season-long loan and City will sanction other departures before the end of August. But Guardiola had 26 players training on Tuesday – with three others injured – before they go to Palermo for Saturday's friendly. Rodri has returned to light training after picking up a groin issue on an uneven pitch in Orlando during the Club World Cup, with City hopeful the central midfielder will prove his fitness before the curtain raiser at Wolves on August 16. 'Obviously it is going to take him a bit of a while to get back to his full fitness and sharpness because it is such a long injury but we all know what Rodri can do,' Foden said. 'He's unstoppable. Playing alongside him is unbelievable. He just makes you feel secure. He doesn't lose the ball and he does everything.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
América set for major clear-out ahead of the winter transfer window
The Americanista environment is not experiencing its best moment in football terms, after the defeat against Toluca in the Clausura 2025 final, which is why the board is already planning a squad overhaul. According to information from Récord, the azulcrema defense could announce up to six departures in the winter transfer market, Igor Lichnovsky, Sebastián Cáceres, Néstor Araujo, Cristian Borja, Kevin Álvarez, and Jonathan Dos Santos would be the players sacrificed by the Águilas to renew the squad. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Luke Hales - 2025 Getty Images
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liverpool Face Difficult Task Despite £260m Spending Spree
Are Liverpool Signing too Many Players? As Liverpool's summer spending surges and the new faces keep arriving, there's a fair question now rising to the surface: can too much change start to cause harm? With Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Hugo Ekitike already in the door — and Alexander Isak possibly set to shatter the British transfer record — it's not unreasonable to wonder whether the dressing room dynamic could come under strain. Marc Guehi remains a possible target, with a central defender almost certain to come, whereas one more attacker, potentially Rodrygo, could come aboard even after a raid on St James Park. Football clubs thrive on chemistry as much as they do on quality. While fans are understandably excited about the sheer talent flooding into Merseyside (the red half; that is), that's only half the battle. The other half lies in how quickly — or if — that talent binds together into something coherent, resilient, and unified. Too many signings, too soon, without the right internal structure, can lead to confusion, cliques, and fractured identity. Tottenham were once guilty of trying to build something after the sale of Gareth Bale; whereas the reds once squandered nearly all of the Luis Suarez fee that was revived from Barcelona. Too many misshapen faces created a deep step backwards, which is enough to give one pause. And that's where Liverpool's current challenge lies. This isn't just a squad overhaul — it's an era transition after a defining period. With Jürgen Klopp gone, Diogo Jota tragically lost in a moment that stunned the sport, and senior staff like Jonny Heitinga and Claudio Taffarel stepping aside, this is not the same Liverpool of old. The question is no longer about how good the players are — it's about how well they're integrated into something meaningful. Leaders Amid the Storm This is now the domain of Virgil van Dijk, who enters this season not just as the Premier League winning captain of Liverpool Football Club, but as the most important figure in shaping its emotional and cultural fabric. The towering Dutchman, once the most expensive defender in world football, must now prove he's also the most influential. For the players who remain — many of whom loved and leaned on Jota — his role has never been more critical. The support of other stalwarts will be equally vital to the next term. Mohamed Salah, despite past speculation around his contract extension, remains a spiritual guide on the pitch. Andy Robertson, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, and Alexis Mac Allister are all part of that leadership group who must bridge the gap between the old and the new. Even Ibrahima Konaté, with his influence in both the French and wider dressing room, will need to be more than a top-tier defender this season — he'll need to be a glue guy and show understanding to the demands of leadership l. The emotional toll of Jota's death is impossible to ignore, for the fanbase as well as the players union. For many of these stars, he was more than a teammate — he was a friend, a brother, a symbol of the Klopp era's unity and joy. New players arriving into that space must do so with sensitivity and humility, and that's a responsibility which lies not just with Arne Slot, but with those who wear the armband and carry the memories of what came before. A Club Remade, Not Rebuilt The changes have been sweeping — and they're not just on the pitch. Giovanni van Bronckhorstreplaces Jonny Heitinga, while Claudio Taffarel's exit marks the end of an era for Liverpool's goalkeeping staff. These aren't small tweaks — they're structural shifts at every level of the training ground. Yet, behind every adjustment is the unmistakable hand of Michael Edwards, the strategist, and Richard Hughes, the executor. What they are attempting is nothing short of modern football alchemy: preserving a winning culture while remodelling the engine room, replacing legends, mourning losses, and evolving for another decade at the top. It's bold, it's high-risk, and it demands total buy-in. For that to happen, everyone — from van Dijk to Wirtz, from Salah to Ekitike — must believe in what's being built. The football world can scoff at Liverpool's spending, but they'd be better served asking whether their own clubs could handle such a massive internal transformation without combusting. The answer, in most cases, is no, which is continually proven by impatient clubs. At Liverpool, it's still uncertain. But if this new era is going to succeed, it will be because leadership held the line while vision took flight.
