Latest news with #Euro2024
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Phil Foden has made feelings clear on Liverpool transfer plan as £35m deal nears
Liverpool are weighing up a move for Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi, who has previously been lauded as a key figure in the dressing room by England team-mate Phil Foden Liverpool are set to intensify their pursuit of Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi, who has been hailed as a leader by his Three Lions colleague Phil Foden. The Reds will soon be on the hunt for a new centre-back due to the likely departure of Jarell Quansah. In April, Liverpool's defence was bolstered when skipper Virgil van Dijk committed to a fresh two-year contract at Anfield. However, it appears that their central defensive options will be reduced with the impending exit of lifelong red Quansah. The 22-year-old is on the brink of completing a £35million switch to Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen. Apart from the club's captain, only Ibrahima Konate and the adaptable Joe Gomez would remain as senior choices in the centre-half position should Quansah leave. Focus could then shift to the transfer market, and Guehi has surfaced as a potential target. The 24-year-old has previously been praised by international team-mate and Manchester City star Foden as a pivotal presence in the Three Lions dressing room. The Telegraph report that with Quansah all set for an exit to Germany, Guehi, who has one year left on his current deal at Selhurst Park, has emerged as a target for the Reds. While an expected fee is unknown, the Eagles rejected a £70m bid from Tottenham in January. Foden has previously heaped praise on Liverpool target Guehi, following his impressive performances during Euro 2024, indicating that the Reds would be getting a key dressing room figure. "He has been a leader," Foden gushed on England's official YouTube channel. "I know him well from obviously playing with him and he's not fazed by anything. I feel like he has come into the team and shown his qualities." Foden hasn't been the only one to laud Guehi. Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen couldn't help but hail the defender's prowess after witnessing his Euro 2024 heroics. "He's proven in this tournament that he's very good. Left-sided centre-halves are like gold dust these days, people want them," Owen expressed to Prime Casino. "He's proven he can play at a really high level, so I've no doubt he would be capable of playing for a club like Liverpool." Since joining Crystal Palace from Chelsea in 2021, Guehi has become an integral part of their team, playing a key role in their historic FA Cup final victory over Foden's City in May. In the midst of speculation surrounding his future pre-Wembley final, Guehi maintained a humble stance when probed about potential transfers, but didn't completely rule a move out. "I think the most important thing is just always doing the best that I can for this football club," he stated. "I come in every day and I try to be the same. I try to work hard. And you know, this football club has given me a lot. "I'm still under contract at this football club, so my focus is always at this football club. So, you know, for me, the most important is just doing the best I can and seeing where the future holds." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert economics: A ‘great paper' with topical questions
A 'very topical' higher-level economics paper featured a broad mix of macro and micro questions, but students hoping for high marks needed to have studied the full course, teachers have said. Rob Quinlan, an economics teacher at the Institute of Education, said that the paper drew on topics such as GP numbers, pension auto-enrolment, hospitality closures, sustainability, the increased price of chocolate and international trade. 'Students who are alert to the unfolding events and economic discussions happening beyond the classroom will find that every chapter has real context, a real place in people's lives,' Mr Quinlan said. Pádraig Murphy, ASTI subject representative for economics and a teacher at St Declan's College in Cabra, said that students liked the topicality of the paper. READ MORE 'It was a fair paper that rewarded people who worked hard and kept up to date with current affairs,' he said. Section A Mr Quinlan said that section A was short questions that skewed slightly towards microeconomics. 'This will have favoured students who find the material more conducive to quick, direct answers, with staple concepts like cost benefit analysis, Germany's hosting of the Euro 2024 tournament, inflation and the minimum wage,' said Mr Quinlan. The only really tricky twist in this section occurred in question eight (B) which asked about 'greenwashing' and market failure. 'While the concepts are not themselves hard, the layout of the question was essentially a reverse-engineered version of the typical approach where students need to state the definitions. This will push those looking for the highest grades to sit back and reconfigure their approaches,' said Mr Quinlan. Section B 'The longer questions of section B were all rooted in important new topics but required a really broad knowledge of the course. If you had hoped to get away with only learning a select few chapters, you'll have found the scope of this paper tough. 'Q11 on health insurance and healthcare provision was a perfect balance of topics and scales that tested students' grasp of the full spectrum of factors at play in this pressing issue. 'Q12 on GDP and GNI was interesting in its emphasis on the latter as it was a good way to show the influence of multinationals on Ireland's economy. GNI also appears in Q13 in the context of international aid and the Official Development Fund (ODA). 'Q14's tech focus not only reflected key news stories (eg Amazon's expansion) but tasked students with considering more novel areas like Ireland's market economy in agriculture and sports. This was paired with fairly standard questions on supply and demand, as well as a gig economy that was similar to 2021,' said Mr Quinlan. Mr Quinlan said that question 15 on housing prices and mortgage relief will surely be familiar from discussions both in and out of the classroom. Question 16 focused on the topical issue of hospitality sector closures. 'This shows that a student looking to really succeed in the exams needs to keep an eye on what is happening in the world around them, as that is as good an indicator of what to expect as past papers.,' said Mr Quinlan. 'Overall, this was a great paper for those who really grasped how important economics is to their lives in the country and the world on the whole.' On the ordinary level paper, Mr Murphy said that it was balanced, fair and appropriately pitched.
Metro
a day ago
- Sport
- Metro
Nico Williams agrees deal with next club after Arsenal and Chelsea interest
Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams has agreed to join Barcelona despite interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich. The Spain international is one of the most coveted widemen in Europe and has had a number of offers to leave the Basque Country this summer. In addition to a striker, Arsenal are keen to sign another winger this summer and were giving serious thought to activating his €60million release clause with Real Madrid star Rodrygo and Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon also among their targets. Chelsea also want another wide option after deciding against signing Jadon Sancho on a permanent deal from Manchester United. Bayern Munich have also made an offer in recent days but Williams has decided a move to Barcelona. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. The Athletic report the 22-year-old has reached a verbal agreement with the Catalan giants, who do not see his release clause as an issue. Barcelona however do face a challenge in finding room on their bloated wage bill to register the winger. The move will reunite Williams with Lamine Yamal, with the two terrorising teams on opposing flanks at Euro 2024 last summer. The deal will surely end Barcelona's interest in Luis Diaz. Reports have claimed the Colombia international was desperate to leave Liverpool to join the club he has supported as a boy. It could also signal the end of Marcus Rashford's hopes of joining Hansi Flick's side. The Manchester United outcast is desperate to seal a 'dream move' to Barcelona and has made it clear he is willing to take a sizeable wage cut to make it happen. According to Marca, Rashford is still pushing for a move to Barcelona despite Williams' imminent arrival and is 'willing to make every effort and sacrifice within his power' to make the move happen. More Trending Williams have chosen Barcelona despite receiving a bigger offer from Arsenal, according to recent reports in Spain. It was claimed the Gunners are offering Williams a contract worth £7.6m-a-year – but the north London club will now continue their search elsewhere. Hopes of signing Rodrygo from Real Madrid appear to be fading with Xabi Alonso reiterating his desire to keep the Brazil international in his squad heading into the new season. Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres remain the club's striker targets with plenty of work still to be done in getting one of those deals across the line. MORE: Viktor Gyokeres tells friends his next club after Arsenal and Man Utd transfer offers MORE: Chelsea told to cancel Arsenal transfer agreement at last minute MORE: Darwin Nunez approves transfer to next club but Liverpool set 'difficult' asking price
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
England star reveals Lee Carsley gave his U21 side the hairdryer treatment at half-time of Germany defeat that saw them scrape into Euros knockouts
England Under-21 star Charlie Cresswell has lifted the lid on Lee Carsley 's half-time hairdryer against Germany and outlined why a repeat against Spain would be game over for their Euros title defence. Carsley dished out some home truths to his players after an abject first half where Germany, who finished as winners of Group B, raced into a 2-0 lead to put England to bed. Asked what a ticked-off Carsley said to his team at the break, Cresswell said: 'Show some fight, you're playing for England, let's run harder than them, work harder than them'. 'I just was saying to the lads 'just smash into them, let them know they're in a game'. 'We showed that in the second half, but we've got to take that into the next game. That's the thing with European competitions, you get punished [if your level drops] and you've got to be at your best.' England were much improved in the second half in Nitra and scored through midfielder Alex Scott to reduce the arrears to a 2-1 defeat. But it was a performance pockmarked with problems, not least the lack of physicality, an area they will have to win if they are to have any chance in their quarter-final against Spain on Saturday night. 'Spain next it'll be a good game, a new challenge, and I'm looking forward to it,' Cresswell added. 'Spain are a top side. The first team as well, it runs through their system. You know when you play against Spain what they're going to be like. They're going to pass it around and try to make you move. 'But we've got to stand strong and take the game to them because we've got quality in that [dressing] room. We know we can beat them.' Team-mate Omari Hutchinson, who was central to the second half improvement versus Germany, echoed Cresswell's sentiments. 'We want to be dominant,' he said. 'We're going to have to try to take that away from them. We can be physically better than them. We've just got to physically outrun them and take them to the final whistle. 'Cars is big on that. He said last time they played each other it was a tough game for the Under-21s. Obviously they won it but we just want to be able to dominate and win by two goals really. 'It's probably my biggest game for England so I'm looking forward to it.' Saturday night could well be 22-year-old Cresswell's final game in an England shirt and with family making the trip out to Slovakia for Saturday's Spanish showdown, Cresswell's message to his team-mates is clear: don't let this moment pass you by. 'I said to the lads today, it doesn't get better than this,' Cresswell explained. 'You're playing for England Under-21s against Germany and next will be against Spain. It doesn't get better than this.
India Today
a day ago
- Sport
- India Today
Nico Williams and FC Barcelona reach verbal deal, salary talks remain: Reports
Barcelona have reportedly reached a pre-contract agreement to sign Nico Williams, with the Spanish international set to commit to a six-year deal that would keep him at Camp Nou until 2031. The winger is believed to be on the verge of joining forces with teenage star Lamine Yamal, his Spain teammate, as part of a new-look frontline under Hansi has significantly raised his profile over the past year with standout performances for Athletic Club and the Spanish national team, playing a key role in their successful Euro 2024 campaign. Although Barcelona were previously linked with the 22-year-old, he signed a contract extension with Bilbao, which at the time appeared to end the Catalan club's fresh reports suggest that the move is now back on the table. Despite earlier statements from club president Joan Laporta suggesting Barcelona were looking at other targets due to financial constraints, the recent shift in the club's financial flexibility — including a return to LaLiga's 1:1 spending rule — has seemingly reopened the door for major signings. One of the remaining challenges lies in structuring Williams's wages to comply with LaLiga's salary cap regulations. League president Javier Tebas has made it clear that Barcelona must first reduce their wage bill before registering new players. Still, Laporta recently teased that the club is close to completing a signing that has the board and fans 'excited' — widely interpreted as a hint toward Williams."We're about to make a signing that will be imminent, and another one whose arrival we're greatly excited about. The fact that we're at 1:1 allows us to make signings normally, and we'll continue along these lines," Laporta told before the Barcelona the deal is finalized, Williams would add pace, creativity, and depth to Flick's attack, potentially forming one of Europe's most dynamic wide partnerships with Lamine Yamal.
