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Luiz Felipe: Barcelona’s answer to their center back woes?
Since the suspension of football across the globe, due to COVID-19, several reports have been released which have confirmed Barcelona’s interest in Lazio’s Luiz Felipe. Most recently, the Blaugrana are said to have scouted the 23-year-old during the Serie A match against Parma (Matchday 23) and were also set to watch the match against Genoa…
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Bruno Fernandes – The Portuguese Magnifico
With Manchester United suddenly looking like a team with confidence, how much of that is down to the signing of Bruno Fernandes? Since signing for around £50 million at the end of January, Fernandes has surpassed what most expected of him at United. Five appearances, two goals and three assists – pretty good statistics for…
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The unbreakable rise of Cyriel Dessers
It was like every other Sunday in the Eredivisie. Kick off was at 4:45pm CET at the Polman stadion, Almelo. Ninth placed Heracles hosted current champions & leaders – Ajax Amsterdam – who were six points clear of AZ Alkmaar prior to the start of the game. If José Bordalás’ Getafe made Erik ten-Hag think…
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The Contrasting Fortunes of the Premier League’s Loan Young Guns
As the January window approaches the internet and newspapers are full of speculation and rumours about the latest possible moves. This is the time of year when many of the big clubs look to send their hot young talent out on loan. Most are out of the League Cup by now and many of the…
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Salomón Rondón – Underestimated at 29, Dominating at 30
Following an eventful, and in most eyes successful, 2018-19 season with Newcastle, Salomón Rondón entered the summer of 2019 as a player most assumed was set for a long-term return to the Premier League. The Venezuelan may have had up and down years with West Brom in prior years, but under Rafa Benitez he’d found…
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Daniel Vega – The Journey from River Plate to Cyprus, Amateur Football, and MLS
This story ends, at least for now, in San Jose. What you might not realize, however, when you watch Daniel Vega put out performances between the sticks for the San Jose Earthquakes in MLS, is the strange journey across the world which led him there. Having moved to the historic Argentine club from Nueva Chicago…
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The new kids on the block: Turkey’s emerging crop of center backs
How much influence can a team’s defense have in a successful system? To answer this question, we must begin with the fundamental understanding that teams are built from back to front, a basic principle of which there are zero doubts. It’s not enough that your team can score goals; they also need defenders who can…
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Five U-21 players that can make the step up from the Championship to the Premier League
The Championship is a goldmine for young talent and the league keeps on churning out fantastic youngsters at an exceptional rate. The likes of Che Adams, Ezri Konsa, Lloyd Kelly and Daniel James made the step up to the Premier League in the summer and many more will follow suit in the coming transfer windows.…
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Belotti ‘the rooster’ is crowing again
Following a couple of years where his form dropped off , Andrea Belotti is seemingly firing on all cylinders both with his club and national team again and that is welcome news. In the aftermath of Italy’s 5-0 victory over Liechtenstein, Belotti exclaimed that playing them “brings me luck”, and that is not something of…
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How five years in Hamburg shaped Tomas Rincón’s decade of European experience
By the time Tomas Rincón arrived in Germany on January 1st, 2010, he’d registered twelve appearances for the club he’d just signed for. He’d faced Celtic, Hoffenheim, Galatasaray, and more. Rincón played the youth game for Unión Atlético Maracaibo, a now defunct club based in the capital of one of Venezuela’s largest states, Zulia. A…
