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Sporting CP were crowned champions of Portugal after a Viktor Gyokeres-inspired 2-0 victory over Vitoria ensured back-to-back titles.

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• Sporting CP win Portuguese title
• Gyokeres scores again to claim crown
• Club edge out Benfica to finish top

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Going into the final game of the season, Sporting and Benfica were level on 79 points, with the former leading on goal difference. Benfica travelled to Braga knowing they had to better their rival's result and were unable to do so. Braga held Benfica to a 1-1 draw and when Gyokeres doubled Sporting's advantage after Pedro Goncalves' opener, the title was assured. The club, consistently troubled by Gyokeres' exit rumours and Ruben Amorim's mid-season departure, will be relieved to be crowned kings of Portugal once again.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  This is the second title in as many seasons for Sporting CP and Amorim can take a lot of credit for the work he did in building this squad. In 2021, the coach led the club to their first title since 2002, before winning it again in 2024 and starting this season as boss. He also brought Gyokeres to the club, who has scored 53 goals in 51 games for Sporting this season.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Arsenal have been strongly linked with the signing of Gyokeres. The Gunners have been searching for the perfect number nine for a few years now and could see the Swedish man as the best choice for them. They have reportedly made a €75 million approach for the goal-machine's services.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR SPORTING?

  The club from Lisbon can revel in their success on Saturday night. Beating their city rivals will offer extra jubilation to already wild scenes prompted by that Gyokeres goal to make it 2-0. Keeping hold of their star man beyond this summer may prove tricky, however.

Wrexham, Burnley and Birmingham have all been promoted, with celebrity owners capitalizing on success with aplomb

Todd Boehly wanted 12 players on the pitch. At least, that's what we were told. It was 2022, and with Cristiano Ronaldo out at Manchester United, the American businessman saw an opportunity. He tried to piece together a picture for then-manager Thomas Tuchel. Ronaldo, he surmised, could play in Chelsea's front line – the final piece of the puzzle.

What he didn't realize is that, after piecing together the formation, Boehly has 12 players on the pitch, a unique but yet-to-be-tried 4-4-3 formation.

That tale has been a beating stick to bash American owners by English fans in recent years. Americans don't know anything about football. They are ruining sport. They don't even use the right word for it. And there are, indeed, plenty of examples of poor American ownership (although it is not just Americans that can be bad owners in football – see Tottenham's Daniel Levy, pride of Essex, for more!)

But in the past 12 months, something has changed. Chelsea notwithstanding – that will always be a dumpster fire until they come up with a coherent strategy, hire a manager for a long-term project, and renovate the ailing Stamford Bridge – American ownership in English soccer has looked, well, good.

Wrexham's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Birmingham's Tom Brady and J.J. Watt's Burnley have all achieved promotion from their divisions. Throw in the Leeds ownership – 49ers enterprises – and Americans are four-for-four on successful seasons. Promotion is good. It makes fans happy.

And more broadly, it could prove to be vital for the growth of the game in America, with big names operating in foreign countries showing the United States how soccer in its most traditional form works – and how to be successful at doing it.

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  American ownership: Why it works

  American ownership in European sports in a relatively recent phenomenon. It has, in fact, only broken into the mainstream consciousness over the course of the last 20 years. The Glazer Family bought Manchester United in 2005. Tom Hicks and George Gilette purchased a majority stake in Liverpool two years later.

  The latter duo were booted from the club by angry fans within four years. The former have drawn the ire of supporters for their repeated mismanagement of United (although it is worth pointing out that club level decisions, not a lack of funding, have contributed to the Red Devils' decline.)

  All of that set a pretty miserable table for those who followed. Celebrity culture has changed that, though. But instead of swinging big, a series of big names did perhaps the smart thing, and got involved in lower leagues. The Hollywood duo of McElhenney and Reynolds bought Wrexham in 2021. Brady invested in Birmingham in 2023. Watt became the face of Burnley – although he owns a minority stake – the same year.

  And there's more. RedBird Capital, who also have a stake in a small baseball team known as the New York Yankees, are controlling owners of Milan. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Lyon and Roma all have majority U.S.-based investment.

  There's no single, sweeping generalization to be made here. United's owners are clueless. Wrexham's are creative. Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are successful and financially sustainable. Lyon and Chelsea are nightmares. But there are tangible clues as to how this can all work.

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  Welcome to (a sensible) Wrexham

  Wrexham, if you zoom out, have nailed it. There was plenty of reason to be skeptical when the Hollywood duo bought the club nearly five years ago. It is often forgotten that Wrexham were not their sole choice. And when it became clear that they intended to make a documentary, chronicling their ownership of the club, which would then be sold to FX and Hulu, few fans were convinced.

  It seemed a vanity project of sorts. Here were a couple of guys who used the wrong word for a sport, taking on an ailing team in a forgotten post-industrial city, and packaging it into a must-watch series. Not exactly the best way to endear yourself to defeatist Brits.

  Of course, the reality has been different. Wrexham weren't promoted in their first season, but they were stable. Since then, they have achieved three consecutive promotions, rising from non-league soccer all the way into the English Championship. They have made it all look rather easy, too. Welcome to Wrexham, season four, drops May 15, and the show remains a PR project of sorts. It's captivating, something that really scratches the American feel-good itch. The U.S. loves a plucky underdog.

  But their success is only partly due to the documentary. Wrexham are not underdogs. Or at least, they haven't been. They are richer, more willing to spend, and better run than pretty much everyone else they have faced. Promotion, given their wealth, should be an expectation.

  It helps, of course, that there are a couple of funny guys at the center of it all who have made what seems to be a sincere effort to improve the town around them. But they have money, and they're doing the basics well. Toss in a few concerts, celebrity appearances, and TikTok sponsorship, and these guys are showing how a small club can improve – regardless of where the owners are from.

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  J.J. Watt, Burnley, and the power of winning

  Burnley have stuck to a similar formula – albeit in a different way. J.J. Watt had a Hall of Fame career in the NFL and will go down as one of the best defensive ends of all time. His ownership in Burnley, though, is financially insignificant.

  Alan Pace – a senior figure in investment firm ALK Capital – owns 50 percent of the club. Michael Smith and Stuart Hunt own around 17 percent apiece. Watt, whose estimated net worth is $70 million, has not disclosed how much of Burnley he is invested in. But it is very much a minority stake.

  But Burnley have been smart. No one cares about Pace, Smith or Hunt, from a PR perspective. They're guys in suits. Watt, meanwhile, is the fun one who wears baseball caps, goes to games, and interacts with the players and fans. He represented Burnley's team at 7 a side tournament TST in Cary, North Carolina last summer. He's the one that Americans know and English fans are starting to like.

  This is PR mastery. Watt, like Reynolds and McElhenney, is the smiley dude who is warming to soccer, and has the kind of infectious personality that U.S. fans love. He tweeted at goalkeeper James Trafford after Burnley's historic run of clean sheets in the EFL Championship, and joked he would come out of retirement if he went the whole season without conceding a goal (Trafford went 12 games, and Watt admitted to getting a bit nervous.)

  Burnley, too, are in a similar situation. Parachute payments down from the Premier League have meant that they are far richer than their competition. They have a squad filled with talent too good for the Championship. Trafford is perhaps England's long-term starting goalkeeper. Their manager, Scott Parker, has bona fide Premier League experience. Watt is the grinning face of a winning team that has very little to lose.

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  Tom Brady, celebrity, and well-timed interviews

  Brady, meanwhile, is slightly different. If Wrexham and Burnley are rich relative to their competition, Birmingham are unimaginably wealthy. They are a club that has spent 57 seasons in England's top flight. In League 1, their stadium rivals only Sunderland in terms of size and facilities.

  Birmingham have stumbled in recent years with a series of poor managerial appointments and financial mismanagement, bringing about a transfer embargo in the early 2010s. In 2023, they were purchased by American hedge fund manager Tom Wagner's subsidiary, Shelby Companies – yes, named after the family in the Birmingham-based Peaky Blinders – after two other takeover attempts fell through.

  Brady was brought on as a minority investor. They got it badly wrong in 2023, making the baffling decision to hire Wayne Rooney, who, with two wins in 15 games, took them from Championship playoff contenders to relegation candidates. They went down without much of a fight.

  Their response was to spend big. They dropped nearly $30 million last summer on new signings and have built one of the best seasons in League 1 history. Brady has not shown a deep interest in soccer, and he certainly isn't celebrating like a madman in the cheap seats. Instead, he sort of stands there in sunglasses, looking robotic, and peering over the team he had a little-to-no role in constructing.

  But Brady – as has been a theme with a lot of his post-NFL career – has been shrewd in the way he has pieced together an image. It starts with a vague interest. Wagner has insisted that Brady texts him regularly about the state of the club.

  "Tom is engaged with the club 365 days a year. Not a day goes by where he and I don’t FaceTime or talk or message about Birmingham," Wagner said in April.

  He has appeared on English TV twice in the last seven months to spill vague platitudes about team success. He has talked about "processes" and "development." He has insisted that Brimingham are "not done yet" after achieving promotion. That NFL media training, it seems, has come in handy. But his PR presence is felt.

Liverpool may have made contact with a European club over the signing of their “monster in the making” in the January transfer window, with a summer move to Anfield still possible.

Latest Liverpool news

The Reds suffered a rare off day on Sunday afternoon, crashing out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage, following a 1-0 defeat away to Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle.

In the grand scheme of things, the result was no disaster for Liverpool, with Arne Slot ringing the changes at Home Park, ahead of a vital Premier League clash with Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday evening. Still, being eliminated from any competition is never ideal for momentum and confidence.

In terms of Red-related transfer news, the Merseysiders are believed to be pushing to complete the signing of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong this summer. The 27-year-old could be made surplus to requirements at the end of the season, so Slot may look to pounce.

Feyenoord centre-back David Hancko, who Slot knows well from their time working together, has also been linked with a move to Liverpool, being seen as a possible long-term heir to Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence. He has started 20 league games his season, averaging 2.8 clearances and 1.6 aerial duel wins per match.

Liverpool contacted club over defensive signings

According to a new update from Jornal de Noticias [via Sport Witness], Liverpool contacted Benfica over the potential signing of defenders Alvaro Carreras and Tomas Araujo in the January window, although it isn’t specified who the Reds wanted out of the two.

While the Reds were unable to sign the left-back and centre-back, respectively, a summer deal still looks possible for one or the other. Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are also mentioned in the report with an interest in either defender.

A new left-back is essential for Liverpool in the summer, considering Andy Robertson turns 31 soon and Kostas Tsimikas arguably isn’t the long-term answer in that position. In Carreras, the Reds could have an ideal option to bring in, having already become such a key player for Benfica, making 49 appearances to date.

The 21-year-old has a £41.5m release clause in his contract, which seems relatively cheap in the modern game, and football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him as a “monster in the making” recently, further highlighting his talent.

Bournemouth ace Milos Kerkez is the same age and arguably looks like the strongest target, mainly because he already has Premier League experience, but the Benfica man could be right near the top of the list, too.

Meanwhile, centre-back also has to be an area of focus for Liverpool, considering Virgil van Dijk isn’t getting any younger and Ibrahima Konate is injury-prone, and Araujo stands out as an exciting signing.

Time to upgrade: Slot must sell 4/10 Liverpool dud who won just 44% duels

Liverpool were dumped out the FA Cup by giant-killing Plymouth.

By
Angus Sinclair

Feb 10, 2025

The 22-year-old is already an influential figure for Benfica, averaging 2.2 aerial wins per game in the Primeira Liga this season, and completing 86.% of his passes in the Champions League. He would be a long-term acquisition who could also battle to be a starter from the off.

Leicester could be hit with a points deduction next season for alleged breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

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• Leicester relegated to Championship
• Face allegations of financial rule breaches
• Foxes may be deducted points

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The club have been referred to an independent commission to review alleged breaches of financial rules in the 2023-24 campaign, when the Foxes were playing in the Championship. It was thought the Foxes would avoid punishment from the Premier League because they were not in the top-flight at the time of the offences, but an Arbitration Tribunal ruled that they could be investigated after "the EFL validly transferred responsibility for its investigation to the Premier League in June 2024, when the club was promoted from the Championship".

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The prospect of further punishment from the authorities will cause some concern at the King Power Stadium after they were relegated back to the Championship after one season in the Premier League.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Leicester could be hit with a points deduction if they are found guilty of the allegations, which would deal a blow to their hopes of winning the Championship title again. However, they could be given a fine instead.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LEICESTER?

  It is not yet known when Leicester can expect to discover their fate as the confidential case begins ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Chelsea returned to fourth in the Premier League for the time being, after beating Southampton 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, with goals coming from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella.

They also kept their first clean sheet in the Premier League since December 22nd, when they drew 0-0 with Everton at Goodison Park. The Blues have conceded 36 goals in 27 games so far this season.

Despite only facing seven shots against the Saints, they did create two “big chances” with their two shots on target, generating 0.72 xG and forcing Chelsea’s new shot-stopper into action.

Chelsea's rising star

Filip Jorgensen was signed in the summer by Chelsea, joining from Villarreal for a fee of around £20.7m.

First Impressions

Since arriving, the 22-year-old has been the number two keeper, making 17 appearances so far for the Blues, most of which have come in cup competitions, conceding 18 goals in total and keeping six clean sheets.

However, in recent weeks, thanks to the poor form of Robert Sanchez, Jorgensen has been made Chelsea number one according to Enzo Maresca, which has seen him start the previous four Premier League fixtures against West Ham, Brighton, Aston Villa and Southampton.

Whilst Jorgensen did make a big mistake of his own against Villa, he has clearly done enough to earn the trust of Maresca for the time being, both on the ball and making important saves, which will allow the Italian to fully axe one of their worst performers this campaign.

Chelsea can now finally sell £60k-p/w flop

Since Sanchez joined Chelsea back in 2023 for a fee of around £25m, the 27-year-old has made 43 appearances for the Blues, conceding 59 goals in total and only keeping nine clean sheets, totalling 3,864 minutes played.

When the £60k-per-week flop was first signed, sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart were “excited” by his arrival:

That said, things haven’t turned out quite as planned….

When comparing both Sanchez and Jorgensen’s underlying numbers so far this season, the 22-year-old shot-stopper comes out on top, making more saves despite having fewer shots taken against him, conceding fewer goals and even having a higher pass completion.

Having the ability to play short-circuit passes around the back to attract the opposition press is very important to Maresca’s system, and the fact Jorgensen is doing it without making the same mistakes as Sanchez – or at least to a much lesser degree – is another positive sign for the Blues.

With Jorgensen now Chelsea’s number one, it is in his hands to make that position his own, keeping Sanchez out of the fray and finally allowing Maresca to settle on one goalkeeper, with Sanchez’s future potentially now lying elsewhere.

With the former Brighton man having made five errors leading to a goal in the Premier League in 2024/25 alone, Winstanley and Co’s initial excitement has undoubtedly disappeared.

100% duels won: 9/10 Chelsea ace is rapidly becoming more vital than Palmer

Chelsea ended their dismal recent run with a 4-0 win over Southampton last night.

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By
Ethan Lamb

Feb 26, 2025

Manchester United chiefs regret signing a £47m player, with patience behind the scenes at Old Trafford running out, according to a new report.

Man Utd already eyeing Amorim replacements

It hasn’t exactly been the start to life in Manchester that manager Ruben Amorim would have hoped for, with his side in the bottom half of the Premier League and out of both domestic cup competitions.

The club’s only chance of silverware is in the Europa League, with the Red Devils drawing the first leg of their last 16 tie at Real Sociedad on Thursday evening.

Talking after the draw in Spain, Amorim said: “I think we played well until the penalty. But then the penalty, I think, changed a little bit the momentum of the game. I felt the team were a little bit tired in the last 20 minutes and that also helped them take control of the game in the final 20 minutes. Until the penalty, we were in control, had the opportunities. After our goal, we were really good because we were near the second goal.”

Man Utd now eye move to replace Amorim with 4-3-3 World Cup-winning boss

It’s been a nightmare four months…

By
Tom Cunningham

Mar 5, 2025

Whether or not Amorim will be the man to take United back to the top remains to be seen, as recent speculation has named numerous managers as potential replacements for Amorim at Man Utd.

Massimiliano Allegri, previously of Juventus, has emerged as a possible target for Man Utd, as has Unai Emery of Aston Villa. INEOS “could take drastic measures and accelerate the search for a replacement” if things don’t improve under Amorim, and the co-owners have regrets about one of their first signings at Old Trafford.

Man Utd regret signing Andre Onana for £47m

According to reports in Spain, Man Utd regret signing Andre Onana, describing his stay at Old Trafford as a ‘nightmare’.

The Cameroon international cost around £47m from Inter Milan back in 2023, and it’s safe to say his time in England hasn’t gone to plan, with the shot-stopper making numerous errors.

It is added that ‘patience at United is running thin’ and that ‘the lack of assurances in goal has led the club to reconsider its trust in Onana and to explore possible solutions for the next season’.

Moving on Onana won’t be straightforward, though, due to his current long-term deal and transfer fee. He was recently dubbed as “useless” by former defender Paul Parker, who also slammed the club’s decision to let David de Gea go.

“The problem is probably that the goalkeeper position won’t be a priority for a new signing, as there are so many other issues in other positions that need strengthening.

“I can’t help but think about why the club let David De Gea go. It was a really disgraceful way they parted with him after he was named Player of the Year three times in a row, and right now, it looks even more ridiculous because his replacement is so useless.”

Onana also reportedly wants to stay at Old Trafford, so the coming months will be extremely interesting in regards to United’s stance on the goalkeeper.

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has revealed how he feels about facing Tottenham again in another pre-season friendly.

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• Striker left north London in 2023
• Broke trophy duck with Bundesliga title
• Ready for reunion with familiar faces

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  England captain Kane severed career-long ties with Spurs in the summer of 2023. He bid farewell to north London in an effort to bring his infamous trophy drought to a close.

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  It took until his second season in Germany for Kane to break that curse, as he became a Bundesliga title winner, with Tottenham going on to snap their own as they saw off Manchester United in the Europa League final.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Kane, who is Spurs’ all-time leading goalscorer, is delighted to see his former club back on the trophy trail for the first time since 2008. He will get the chance to congratulate them in person when taking in a friendly date on August 7.

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  WHAT HARRY KANE SAID

  Kane has told his channel of lining up against some familiar faces: “It’s obviously still a few months away yet, but it will be great to see some of the guys again – especially after having a couple of successful seasons each, and just to see how they are getting on. In our stadium, in front of our fans as well, it will be a great match up and hopefully a great game.”

Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos has opened up on his future amid transfer links to some leading European clubs.

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• Santos revealed future plans
• Had a fruitful loan spell at Strasbourg
• Midfielder has attracted interest from Bayern & Arsenal

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Santos joined Chelsea from Vasco da Gama in January 2023 but was immediately sent back to the Brazilian outfit on a short-term loan. At the start of the 2023-24 campaign, the young midfielder was once again sent out on a temporary deal to Nottingham Forest, but was called back in January 2024 due to lack of game time. A subsequent loan move to the Blues' sister club Strasbourg finally proved to be fruitful for the 21-year-old as he contributed 11 goals and five assists in 34 appearances across all competitions in 2024-25.

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  Santos' impressive stint in France attracted interest from top European sides like Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, while Arsenal are also keen on signing the midfielder. Amid rising speculation over his next move, the youngster has opened up on his future

• WHAT ANDREY SANTOS SAID

  Speaking to journalist Eduardo Burgos, Santos said: "In principle, I'm staying at Chelsea. I want to play, I want to get minutes so I can earn my place at the World Cup. I want to establish myself at Chelsea, I want to play regularly and be an undisputed starter, and win titles in this shirt."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  Enzo Maresca's side will begin their journey in the Club World Cup on June 16 against Major League Soccer side LAFC.

Celtic are on the other side of the last international break of the 2024/25 campaign and this means that there are only a couple of months left to go before the end of the season.

Whilst the Hoops will have their focus set on winning the Scottish Premiership and securing the SFA Cup, to complete a domestic treble, they will also have one eye on the upcoming summer transfer window.

The Hoops may be concerned about the future of some of their star players amid reported interest from elsewhere ahead of the summer, with Nicolas Kuhn one of those reportedly in the crosshairs of other teams.

Last month, it was reported that Premier League side Newcastle United are interested in a deal to sign the German forward from Celtic, who are said to value him at around £20m.

Kuhn, who has – as shown above – showcased his quality in the Champions League this season, would be far from the first winger to be sold for big money by the Bhoys.

Where Kuhn would rank in Celtic's most valuable winger sales

The Scottish giants have a long history of cashing in on their star players, in every position over the years, as they have allowed the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster, Moussa Dembele, Odsonne Edouard, and countless others, to move on from Parkhead to further their respective careers.

Kuhn, though, would be one of their most expensive sales out of all of the wingers they have cashed in on if he moves for £20m or more in the upcoming summer window, placing him just below Jota.

However, these fees do not account for the inflation of transfer fees in football over the years. As per Totally Money, a transfer fee of £10.8m in 2010 would be worth around £29.7m in today’s money.

This suggests that McGeady, who was sold to Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2010, is the most valuable sale on that list with a modern-day valuation of almost £30m.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The now-retired Ireland international was a terrific, long-serving, winger for the Hoops and they raked in a significant sum of money, for the time of the sale, when they sold him to the Russian side for £10m.

Why Aidan McGeady was such a valuable player

The Scottish-born star came up through the academy system at Parkhead and burst onto the scene as a promising young player in the 2003/04 campaign, scoring one goal in four league matches.

McGeady went on to score 36 goals and provide 48 assists in 233 appearances for Celtic in all competitions, including seven goals and 14 assists in his last league season before his big-money move to Spartak Moscow.

The Ireland international put on a show for Hoops supporters when he went out onto the field at Parkhead, due to his incredible technical ability and creative genius.

Such was the level of his skill, McGeady even had a signature trick that was named after him, as shown in the clip below, which speaks to just how inventive he was with the ball at his feet.

Typically operating on the left flank, the flair forward was equally capable of delivering quality with either foot, dribbling past players, scoring goals, and providing assists, whilst often cutting in on his right foot from the left wing.

In the present day, Celtic have unearthed their latest version of McGeady and it is not Kuhn, despite his potential big-money move away from Parkhead. It is Portuguese forward Jota, who has already sealed a big transfer away from Parkhead in his career.

Why Jota is Celtic's new McGeady

Jota, as aforementioned, was sold to Al Ittihad for a record fee for a Hoops winger back in the summer of 2023, after his first spell as a player in Glasgow under Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou.

As you can see in the graphic above, the Portugal international delivered brilliant performances on the flank as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the Scottish giants.

That earned him a move to Saudi Arabia for a huge fee at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, but he returned to Parkhead 18 months later when Brendan Rodgers snapped him up from Rennes in January.

The Northern Irish boss brought the 25-year-old forward back to Celtic and it has been a masterstroke so far, with the winger registering his latest goal contribution against Rangers last time out with a great assist for Daizen Maeda.

Jota has scored three goals, created three ‘big chances’, and registered two assists in seven appearances, including four starts, in the Premiership since his January switch.

This shows that he has hit the ground running at Parkhead as both a scorer and a creator of goals, as McGeady was at Celtic, in his second spell in Glasgow.

As you can see in the table above, Jota has completed 11 dribbles in just five starts across the Champions League and the Premiership for Celtic this season, which illustrates both his desire and ability to take defenders on and get supporters off their feet.

Like McGeady, the Portuguese speedster constantly looks to progress attacks by using his technical and dribbling skills to get his team up the pitch, whilst being a right-footed player on the left flank – as opposed to Kuhn being a left-footer on the right.

Pundit Michael Stewart claimed that Jota “raises the bar” for the Bhoys because he is a “game-changer” with his ability to take multiple players on at once.

Therefore, Rodgers – even though it is the player’s second spell at the club – has unearthed Celtic’s new version of McGeady by bringing Jota back to Parkhead, and he will be hoping that the Hoops continue to benefit from his attacking talent for many more years to come.

Celtic sold their own Stones for £1.5m, now he's worth more than Nawrocki

Celtic’s “fabulous” former star is now worth more than both Hyun-jun Yang and Maik Nawrocki.

By
Dan Emery

Mar 25, 2025

Kuhn may well move on from the club this summer, amid Newcastle’s reported interest in him, but they would still have Jota and his terrific output in the final third to rely upon next season.

AC Milan make bold move for Barcelona star Ronald Araujo, offering in-demand forward Rafael Leao in return.

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• Milan propose Leao-Araujo swap deal
• Barca unwilling to pay €80m for Diaz
• Flick still pushing for new left winger

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to the Rossoneri, now under new boss Massimiliano Allegri, are pushing for the Uruguayan centre-back and have reportedly reactivated a move that was first floated late last summer. Barca, meanwhile, are hunting for a left-sided attacker and have Leao among their backup plans after hitting a wall in the Diaz pursuit.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Barca’s top attacking priority remains Diaz, but financial reality bites. With Liverpool demanding at least €80 million (£67m/$87m), Flick's side have capped their spending limit at €60m (£50m/$65m), reports. The club’s La Liga-mandated salary restrictions and lack of player sales mean they simply can’t go higher. As such, Deco and the Barca board are quietly exploring cheaper or alternative deals, like a trade for Leao, without overcommitting early in the window.

• TELL ME MORE

  Though there’s no official statement on the Leao-Araujo exchange, Deco has publicly said Barca must reinforce their flanks. “We feel too dependent on Raphinha and Lamine,” he told media recently. “We’re looking for alternatives.”

  While the Diaz deal remains open, Deco’s remarks make clear that the club is considering all creative options, including player trades, to upgrade the attack without breaking financial fair play rules. Although Araujo renewed with Barcelona until 2030, his contract includes a crucial exit clause: between July 1 and July 15, his buyout drops to €65m (£55m/$71m) That window could be decisive. Meanwhile, Leao has three years left on his Milan deal, but after a mixed 2024–25 season, the club appears open to cashing in, or using him as leverage in key deals.

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• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

  Unless Díaz publicly pushes for the move, or Liverpool lower their demands, Barca may have to abandon the Colombian pursuit. Alternatives like Nico Williams, who has a €62m (£53m/$67m) release clause, Marcus Rashford, or a surprise Leao trade are on the table.