#player-development

#player-development

At one point, Mathys Tel looked like he was destined to be a part of Bayern Munich's future. A dynamic attacker back in the 2023/24, Tel was thought to have the ability to shift out to wing and bring a goalscoring threat to that position. After all, he did register 10 goals and six assists during that initial campaign in Bavaria.

Retired right-hander Ryan Pressly has been hired by the Twins, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. According to Declan Goff of SKOR North, Pressly will be working in player development with both major and minor leaguers. Pressly, 37, just announced his retirement as a player a couple of days ago. It seems he doesn't plan to sit by the fire smoking a pipe and reading the paper. He has quickly launched the next stage of his life with this gig with the Twins.

The theory behind drafting Walter with the 19th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft was that they would be grooming their shooting guard of the future. The top prospect had an up-and-down freshman season at Baylor but showed signs of both on-ball shot creation and off-ball shot making that would make him an ideal fit for the Raptors. It is obviously still early in Walter's career, so it's hard to make any definitive statements about his ultimate trajectory as a player.

He needs to get back to where he was 7, 8 weeks ago when everyone felt he was stacking good days. He's stacking days in the wrong direction now," he said. "I get it with some young players. You sometimes subconsciously play poorly to say, 'Hey, I'll play poorly until you play me the minutes I think I deserve, and then I'll play well.' That's not how it works.

Koni De Winter is heading for his fifth start in the last six games, and although there were concerns initially, the former Genoa man has grown into his role. Ahead of the January window, more specifically after the games against Sassuolo and Napoli (Supercoppa), there was a lot of discussion about the centre-back position at Milan. De Winter, who arrived for around €20m in the summer, hadn't exactly impressed at that point.

Playing in the Premier League has always been a dream of mine, and I'm incredibly excited for what's ahead. I know there's still plenty of work to do, and pushing myself every day and improving is something I'm fully committed to. We have some special things ahead of us at Sunderland, and I'm looking forward to taking this journey together.

The Athletic lists Cowan's attributes as average skating, above-average puck skills, an average hockey sense, and high-end compete. The latter is patently evident every night when watching Cowan hit the ice. All of the attributes listed seem fair. Cowan has yet to fully develop into the star we know he could become. That's why listing him in the ranking's tier 7 group is unjustified.

In Wednesday night's 115-101 win over the Indiana Pacers, Gradey Dick recorded his first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Dick, who has struggled in the first half of the season, turned a new leaf in game 42 and had his best game of the year against the Pacers. His performance tied a season high in points and set a career high in rebounds.

Image source, Getty Images Raphinha has been described as a "hero" and a "game-changer" by Spanish press after his two goals helped Barcelona beat Real Madrid on Sunday to earn a fourth consecutive Super Cup win. It marks a shift in perception for a player whose first years at the club were defined by uncertainty. When the Brazilian arrived from Leeds United in July 2022, he delivered flashes of quality but his play was inconsistent.

However, he was said to have rejected it in order to continue his development as U18s lead coach, a role he took on last summer having previously served as U16s coach, first-team coach and technical director at United since ending a playing career that saw him make more than 340 appearances for the club across a 13-year spell that followed his graduation from the academy, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League alongside Carrick under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Like the rest of his teammates, the winger has found his stride since the holiday break, and it's come just in time for his return to Utah. Prior to joining the Maple Leafs, Maccelli spent the first four seasons of his NHL career with the Arizona Coyotes now turned Utah Mammoth organization. Suffice it is to say, he should have plenty in the tank for his first game back at Delta Center.

The Browns made an out-of-left-field hire in 2023 when they brought Banda over from Utah State to coach safeties. Before joining Cleveland, Banda had no NFL experience, so there were questions about whether he would be a good fit. Banda has quickly become one of the better position coaches the Browns have. Grant Delpit has leveled up his game into an all-around safety under Banda's leadership - and really one of the more underrated safeties in the game.

The Twins have hired recently retired outfielder Michael A. Taylor as an outfield instructor, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He won't be a member of the big league coaching staff but will be in camp for several weeks this spring and will visit the Twins' minor league affiliates to work with their up-and-coming outfielders throughout the 2026 season. Taylor, 34, retired following the 2025 season.

The Rangers have recalled forward Brennan Othmann again. To make space, Anton Blidh was returned to the AHL. Othmann was reassigned on New Year's Day after the first wave of 2026 injuries that included Noah Laba and Conor Sheary. His reassignment then was due to bonuses in his contract making it impossible to keep him on the roster and still be cap compliant.

"We have a partnership with the Gambino Stars," sporting director Christoph Freund said in comments captured by Tz (via @iMiaSanMia). "He has visited us several times and has even trained with the U-23s and the first team. Now he will be with us for the next six months to adapt to the European level and further develop his qualities."

I think, for me, it's his skating and the speed in the middle of the ice more than anything. I really believe that he's attacking in the middle of the ice, he's demanding the puck in the middle of the ice, and he's doing a great job using his size and speed going through people.

As relayed by SPORT in a recent report, Rodriguez is determined to succeed at Barcelona at any cost and is pushing away any offer to leave the club to prove his worth to Hansi Flick. The youngster currently plays for Barça Atletic in the fourth division of Spanish football, and his quality has seen him attract interest and offers from several teams in higher divisions.

The endless possibilities, the sky being the limit: wonderkids bring our natural footballing instincts to dream big against all established wisdom and experience, and end up disappointed. With this in mind, and with Arsenal seemingly stacked with generational golden boys in recent seasons, it's odd now to look back at how Bukayo Saka burst onto the scene. There was little fanfare.

The 22-year-old has been one of the breakout stars in German football this season, scoring 12 goals in 17 games for second-tier high-fliers Elversberg before Christmas. That form earned him a 6.9m move to his hometown club Eintracht in late December, crowning a remarkable rise from the lower leagues to the top of the German game. Just a year ago, Ebnoutalib was playing in the fourth tier for FC Giessen, after a major setback in Italy had dashed his hopes of a professional career.

Nate Ament could emerge as a worthy high-risk, high-reward target for the Miami Heat in the 2026 NBA Draft, especially if this organization does trust its developmental system. In FanSided's Christopher Kline's latest 2026 NBA Mock Draft, the Heat roll the dice on Ament with the No. 19 overall pick. Even though he's been a bit hit or miss so far this season, he has the high-end raw talent that should make him an appealing target for Miami.

Dan Quinn left following the 2023 season to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders and then the Cowboys hired Mike Zimmer to round out Mike McCarthy's staff in the final year of his deal. When the team changed head coaches to Brian Schottenheimer they needed a new coordinator and Matt Eberflus was hired before being dismissed after a season's worth of work.

It was a game where they took the lead, but we had our chances before them. They scored in an avoidable situation, but despite that, we did well to look for the equaliser. I don't like to talk about this, but there were two incidents, which we also reviewed, that looked like clear penalties. Honestly, we're not interested in these discussions, though. The positive thing is that, despite the pitch being unplayable today, our players always tried to play the ball, even if the flow of play wasn't what it used to be.

When Jack Grealish arrived from Aston Villa for 100m in 2022, he was one of English football's most audacious, improvisational talents a player unafraid of expression. But the free roaming virtuoso of Villa Park became, for better or worse, a cog in Guardiola's relentless possession machine: his dribbles per game dropped by 40% in his first season at the club, and his flair and freedom was swapped for a regimented support role.