LONDON — Even as he was running through on goal with just the Brentford goalkeeper to beat, you never quite knew what Darwin Núñez was going to do. The Uruguay striker has been labelled an “agent of chaos” — a player capable of winning a game, as he did with two goals against Bournemouth last month, or struggling in equal measure, as he did when hitting the post four times…
The Korea Football Association (KFA) sacked national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann on Friday, after their semifinal exit at the Asian Cup and amid criticism of his leadership. The National Team Committee, a KFA advisory body, had recommended the sacking of Klinsmann on Thursday, with KFA technical director Hwangbo Kwan saying there were “various reasons” to doubt his ability to exercise leadership over the team. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga,…
The winter transfer window is now open in Europe, and there are plenty of moves in the works and gossip swirling around. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
With a track record of bringing through such established stars as Erling Haaland, Dayot Upamecano, Dominik Szoboszlai, Naby Keita, Sadio Mane, Karim Adeyemi, Brenden Aaronson and Benjamin Sesko, Austrian side FC Salzburg’s turnover of talent seems to be endless. The club, who have a partnership under the Red Bull umbrella with German giants RB Leipzig, have made almost €500 million from player exits since 2018-19, according to Transfermarkt. Indeed, over…
Compared to the summer of 2023, which saw Lionel Messi don the pink jersey of Inter Miami — and what may be coming this summer as MLS continues to be a player in the international transfer market — the 2024 winter transfer window in Major League Soccer was relatively quiet. Many teams have decided, effectively, to run it back with only minor tweaks to teams that made the playoffs in…
Manchester United are closing in on appointing Dan Ashworth as their new sporting director, sources have told ESPN. Ashworth is under contract at Newcastle United but he is United’s top target for the role and there is growing confidence he will be appointed. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) Newcastle want to keep the 52-year-old but fear he has already made up his mind to move to Old…
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association for a rant against match officials which included calling them disrespectful for eating a sandwich in front of him. Wilder was upset with decisions during his side’s 3-2 defeat by Crystal Palace last month and described the referee Tony Harrington’s performance as ridiculous. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) When addressing media he…
NWSL expansion side Bay FC have completed the signing of Zambia striker Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF, the club announced on Tuesday, with sources telling ESPN the deal is worth a women’s world record €735,000 ($787,600). The Equalizer was the first to report the record fee, which easily surpasses the previous record set by Chelsea last month when they signed Mayra Ramírez from Levante in a deal in the region…
English clubs spent 80% less on international transfers compared to their record spending in January 2023, a FIFA report released on Tuesday said. FIFA said the total number of international transfers across men’s and women’s football — meaning players who moved from one country to another — increased to a record 5,073, but English clubs were uncharacteristically measured in their spending. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) –…
A little over four months ago, a dejected and disgruntled Manchester United team trudged off the field at FC Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium having lost 4-3 to the Danish club in their UEFA Champions League group game. The home crowd was delighted, euphoric, but maybe not all that surprised. A fair few of them had, after all, seen this happen before. Back in 2006, the club also known as FCK had…