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Roma eyeing Kleindienst as alternative to Artem Dovbyk

Roma eyeing Kleindienst as alternative to Artem Dovbyk

Yahoo06-05-2025

Despite scoring 17 goals this season, Artem Dovbyk has not yet fully convinced Roma's management, who continue to explore the international market in search of a reliable centre-forward.
Word has been circulating from England that the Roman club is interested in Tim Kleindienst, a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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The centre-forward has attracted attention for his performances in the Bundesliga and for the national team, with 4 goals in 6 appearances.
As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the price set for his transfer is around 25 million euros, a demanding figure but not out of reach for a club like Roma.
However, the competition is far from easy to beat: Wolverhampton, Everton, West Ham and Tottenham have all expressed interest in the player, and in Germany Bayern Munich is keeping an eye on him as a possible reinforcement for the bench.

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Liverpool are About to Sign a ‘Generational Talent' as Arne Slot ‘Attacks the Window'
Liverpool are About to Sign a ‘Generational Talent' as Arne Slot ‘Attacks the Window'

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time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Liverpool are About to Sign a ‘Generational Talent' as Arne Slot ‘Attacks the Window'

Florian Wirtz to Liverpool? Dave Hendrick Believes It's Transformational The Anfield Index podcast, hosted by Dave Hendrick, delivered what he described as an 'emergency broadcast' following dramatic developments in Liverpool's pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz. In a 20-minute episode full of breaking news and fervent analysis, Hendrick was unequivocal in his excitement, labelling the potential signing as nothing short of 'earthshaking.' Florian Wirtz: A Generational Talent According to Hendrick, 'we are on the brink of signing a generational talent, where we're on the brink of signing a transformative player.' The urgency in his tone echoed throughout the podcast. He compared the potential impact of Wirtz to signings like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, remarking, 'Florian Wirtz would be a transformational signing for this club.' Advertisement Wirtz, who turned 22 on 3rd May, starred for Bayer Leverkusen during their historic unbeaten Bundesliga-winning season. Hendrick was effusive in his praise, stating, 'He was the best player in a Leverkusen team that went undefeated and won the Bundesliga.' He also cited Wirtz's accolades including Bundesliga Player of the Season, his 29 caps for Germany, and his role in Germany's Under-21 European Championship-winning squad. Liverpool Moving Aggressively in the Market 'This is us being incredibly proactive, incredibly aggressive,' Hendrick said. 'We've won the title this season, and we're attacking this window.' He noted that deals for Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Giorgi Mamardashvili are either done or near completion, adding, 'We might get to June 1st when the transfer window opens and have four signings done.' The podcast highlighted the reported visit of Wirtz to the UK, previously assumed to be for Manchester City. 'He never met with Manchester City. He met with Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes and then was brought house hunting,' Hendrick disclosed. He emphasised Liverpool's role in the visit, noting, 'Liverpool flew him over. They didn't fly him over so he could go and visit Man City.' Photo: IMAGO Why Wirtz Fits Liverpool's New Era Wirtz isn't just about flair. Hendrick pointed to his numbers: '49 games with 18 goals last season, 45 with 16 this season… and he's not primarily a goal scorer, he's primarily a creator.' The combination of 16 goals and 15 assists this past season is, as Hendrick described, 'immense production.' Advertisement The podcast painted a tactical picture too. Hendrick suggested a partnership with Milos Kerkez on Liverpool's left: 'That pairing could be absolutely outrageous,' he said. He believes Wirtz would slot into a narrow left-sided role, mirroring his expected position at Bayern Munich had he joined them. Hendrick continued, 'There are very few players in the world as good as Florian Wirtz. Whether it's £120 million or maybe a little bit less that we have to pay, he is going to prove worth it.' What This Means for Liverpool and the Premier League 'This is the type of signing that sets us up to be very good in the post-Mo Salah era,' Hendrick remarked, hinting at Wirtz as a potential focal point of Liverpool's attack in the future. He even suggested Wirtz might allow Salah to 'play a little bit freer' and 'score more goals because he's getting fed the ball by the type of creator Mo hasn't played with since Phil Coutinho left.' Advertisement He concluded with optimism, 'Nobody else in the Premier League this summer is signing a better player than Florian Wirtz. Nobody.' As it stands, the deal is not yet official. Hendrick cautioned, 'We need to proceed with caution because the deal's not done. The fee is not agreed.' However, he also added, 'I feel like this one gets done.' Final Thoughts Liverpool fans are no strangers to transfer sagas, but this one feels different. Dave Hendrick's analysis is grounded in facts, bolstered by insider details, and fuelled by the promise of what Florian Wirtz could bring to Anfield under Premier League-winning manager Arne Slot. Should the move materialise, the signing of Florian Wirtz will not only signify intent but could usher in a new golden era for Liverpool Football Club.

Why are Bayer Leverkusen ready to pay more than £30m for Jarell Quansah?
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New York Times

time2 hours ago

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Why are Bayer Leverkusen ready to pay more than £30m for Jarell Quansah?

Twelve months ago, in their bid to avoid breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR), Newcastle United approached Liverpool about a deal that would see forward Anthony Gordon move to Anfield and defender Jarell Quansah go in the opposite direction. Liverpool told their Premier League rivals that they had no interest in selling their young centre-back. The 2023-24 campaign had been a breakthrough season for the 22-year-old who began the season as fifth choice but ended it as Jurgen Klopp's preferred partner to Virgil van Dijk. He started 27 games in his 33 appearances. Advertisement It looked like Liverpool's academy had eased concerns about finding a successor to Joel Matip and saved the club a significant transfer outlay. So, a year later, as Bayer Leverkusen edge closer to finalising an agreement with Liverpool to sign the defender for a fee of £30million (€35.1m; $40.4m) plus add-ons, how did we get here? And why are the German side preparing to make him one of their most expensive signings? A move to the Bundesliga is one thing, but the sums involved for someone who made just four Premier League starts last season are surprising. Liverpool's data department will no doubt have run the numbers to assess Quansah's value compared with other centre-backs at a similar age across Europe, with Michael Edwards (previously the club's sporting director and now CEO of football with owners Fenway Sports Group) renowned for his record of delivering profitable returns on Liverpool's squad players. The most comparable example last summer would be 23-year-old centre-back Sepp van den Berg, who departed for Brentford for a fee of £20.2million. That was twice the market value placed on him by Transfermarkt at the time (£10.3m, a crowd-sourced figure). Quansah's current value on Transfermarkt is £17.1m. 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With Harwood-Bellis moving from Manchester City to Southampton for £20m last summer (almost perfectly aligning with his market value), it shows that Liverpool would be foolish not to profit from the fee proposed for Quansah. This time last year, Liverpool's evaluation would have been higher. Having signed a new long-term contract in October, Liverpool were able to retain value based on the potential he has shown, but it highlights the difficult 2024-25 campaign Quansah endured, which saw him make 25 appearances, 13 of which were starts. Projected to be the club's future starting centre-back for the next 10 years, he only managed one as fourth choice as Joe Gomez was selected ahead of him when Konate was out for over a month in 2024. He suffered setbacks that he had to bounce back from. The first came on the opening day of the season when he was substituted at half time in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town. 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Wrong place, wrong time and very little he could do about it. Advertisement His performances were a mixed bag, which was not helped by a lack of consistent action. In January, a positive showing against Lille in the Champions League was followed by a poor one against PSV a few weeks later. Understandably, when playing next to Van Dijk, he looked comfortable, but less so when he didn't. Stylistically, Quansah is not afraid to stick a foot in when the ball is there to be won. Comparing his 'true' tackles — which denote tackles attempted plus challenges lost plus fouls committed — with his fellow centre-backs since the start of 2023-24, only five players average more than his 4.9 per 1,000 touches. Such is his imposing frame, Quansah backs himself to step into a challenge on the ground or in the air (4.9 aerial duels per 90 minutes). The difficulty has been his success rate in those challenges, with a true tackles win rate (63 per cent) that is in the bottom half among his positional peers. Aerially, his 65 per cent win rate is good enough for the 21st-best in his cohort, but notably lower than fellow centre-backs Konate (71 per cent) and Van Dijk (77 per cent). Slot spoke positively about the centre-back's mentality during the second half of the season and was pleased with his performance levels. His most memorable moment of the league campaign came via a crucial late interception in a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers (below). However, the Dutchman's comments following the 3-1 defeat by Chelsea in May offer the potential reason why Liverpool are comfortable letting him go. In a similar fashion to the Brighton game, Quansah did fine but scored an own goal and conceded a late penalty, fouling Moises Caicedo after Dominik Szoboszlai's attempted pass to him lacked sufficient power. 'Jarell is fast, strong and comfortable on the ball,' Slot told reporters. 'He has every ingredient a centre-back for this club should have. Now the last parts should be consistency in his performances.' 'To play in this team, you need to be really, really, really good and he is competitive with the other ones. But he was maybe a bit unlucky that the other ones stayed fit throughout the whole season and they have so much consistency in their levels. Advertisement 'Jarell has had consistency as well but one moment can change the perception of a game. One moment can also lead to us losing or winning a game of football. These small details can make a big difference in a season. That's why to play at Liverpool you need to do so many things well at the highest level — but the moment you do so, he can play here for so many years to come.' Liverpool were not actively looking to sell Quansah this summer and value him as a young squad player with potential to become a regular England international. But as with others on the edges of Slot's squad, there is a price where a sale would be sanctioned. And in a World Cup year, it is understandable for the defender to be seeking more game time in the hopes of making Thomas Tuchel's squad next summer. Yet with Liverpool now needing to bolster their own centre-back options this summer, there is an irony in that the profile of player they would be most closely linked with would be someone like Quansah. Financial implications notwithstanding, there is a curiousness to the exit of such a young, promising English talent that is already attuned to Slot's way of playing. In Leverkusen, he is joining a side that are remodeling their defensive unit in a summer of change after manager Xabi Alonso departed for Real Madrid and Erik ten Hag replaced him. Liverpool have signed Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, while fellow defenders Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich) and Odilon Kossounou (Napoli) have left. Fellow centre-back Piero Hincapie could also move on. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken has already arrived from Brentford and Quansah will not be the final defensive arrival this summer as they overhaul that department. For the German side, this is an investment in potential. Slot has shown his ruthless side, allowing the next stages of Quansah's development and the natural growing pains young players go through to happen away from Anfield. Last season did not make Quansah a bad player in only his second season at senior level. He has shown he has the ability to play at the top of the game, and this could be the perfect move for the defender to prove that again.

Why did Jonathan Tah choose Bayern Munich? Let him tell you
Why did Jonathan Tah choose Bayern Munich? Let him tell you

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Why did Jonathan Tah choose Bayern Munich? Let him tell you

Jonathan Tah's move from Bayer Leverkusen was a long time coming, but for the Germany international, it was an easy decision. 'I wanted to move and ultimately chose FC Bayern because I feel I can take another step here. I'm very ambitious; I want to keep getting better. With this successful, big club, with the current team that FC Bayern already has, and with coach Vincent Kompany, who wanted me and was a defender himself, I can get even more out of myself at FC Bayern. That's why I'm in Munich,' Tah told Sport Bild journalists Tobi Altschäffl and Heiko Niedderer (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). 'And for me personally, titles are of course important: I've developed a taste for it in Leverkusen and want more – at the DFB and at my new club.' Advertisement Tah seems to be making a smooth transition. If he can continue his solid play, he could even win over some of his Bayern Munich fanbase detractors. Looking for more thoughts and analysis of the dead end that Bayern Munich has seemingly hit with both PSG's Bradley Barcola and Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams? What about an idea of who Bayern Munich might be able to get to fill the void at left wing? Awesome, the we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works Show, which is available on Patreon, Spotify, Acast, any other leading podcast distributor, or below: Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more. Advertisement More from

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