#team-football

#team-football

Barry Robson has agreed a two-year contract as Aberdeen manager after a run of seven straight victories during his time in interim charge.The 44-year-old former Scotland midfielder was appointed caretaker in January after Jim Goodwin was sacked.The Dons have moved above Hearts into third place in the Scottish Premiership during his tenure.

Cristiano Ronaldo may have struggled for first-team football at Manchester United this season but is in Portugal's 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup.The 37-year-old has played 16 times, including 10 starts, for United this season and scored three goals."All the players called up come with the hunger to win and make Portugal world champions, Ronaldo included," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis says the Serie A champions will not sell 24-year-old Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, who has been linked with some of Europe's top clubs, this summer.Former Gabon captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 33, will leave Chelsea - and wants to return to Barcelona.Portugal international Joao Cancelo's agent has met with Barcelona about the club signing the Manchester City defender, who is on loan at Bayern Munich, on a season-long loan with an option to buy the 28-year-old.

Man United are 'comfortable' with their position in regards to a new Alejandro Garnacho contract.Remember the name, Alejandro Garnacho.It was a saying you'd hear a lot last season, with the Argentine looking like the real deal at youth level throughout the course of the 2021/22 campaign.The teenager lit up the FA Youth Cup final with two goals, propelling his side to glory, beating Nottingham Forest 3-1.

Youth development at Bayern Munich has, well, be an issue.With prized prospects Paul Wanner and Arijon Ibrahimovic on the the verge of being ready for first team football, there simply is nowhere for them to play.In cases like this, a loan assignment is often the solution, but Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel wants to take some time before making a decision on Wanner per a report from Abendzeitung's Maximilian Koch (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):

Paul Wanner is likely to go out on loan this summer, but Tuchel wants to take a close look at the youngster in training before a final decision is made.

6:45 PM GMT LAFC are one of the biggest clubs in North America / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports LAFC and Bayern Munich have announced a joint soccer talent development operation dubbed Red&Gold Football.The partnership aims to identify young talent and provide them with the facilities and tools necessary to take the step up to first-team football.

Arsenal have been linked with a move for the Barcelona winger Ilias Akhomach.According to a report from the Spanish publication Sport (h/t SportWitness), Arsenal are currently fighting it out with Premier League side Leeds United for the 18-year-old's services.Akhomach will be a free agent at the end of the season and he is set to leave Barcelona in the summer.

Manchester United are set to face competition from Tottenham in the race to sign England international Tammy Abraham.Abraham left the Premier League last year in search of regular first-team football after Chelsea brought in Romelu Lukaku rather than giving the young striker a chance.As Lukaku flopped on his return to Chelsea, Abraham flourished at Roma, and a return to the Premier League could be on the cards for the England international.

Leeds United hope to convince Barcelona winger Ilias Akhomach to leave Camp Nou and join them as a free agent this summer, sources have told ESPN.Ilias, 18, is out of contract in June and Barca are keen to renew his terms, but there is so far no agreement for him to extend his stay at the Catalan club.

Bournemouth boss Gary O'Neil is confident his squad is strong enough to avoid relegation.The Cherries were one of the most active Premier League clubs in January, with six new players brought in, and they followed up a spirited showing at Brighton last weekend with a battling 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle on Saturday.

Chelsea are reportedly lining up a potential transfer swoop for highly-rated Barcelona youngster Abde Ezzalzouli.The 21-year-old has been on loan at Osasuna this season and looks an impressive talent, with Chelsea now seemingly monitoring his situation, according to Diario de Navarra.Ezzalzouli is surely one worth keeping for Barcelona, with the Catalan giants known to have a great record at promoting and developing youth players.

Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters who could be interested in a move away from the club.With Southampton looking destined for relegation, it's going to be difficult for them to keep hold of some of their key players.With Tino Livramento a long-term option for Southampton at right-back, they could be less worried about losing Walker-Peters than losing players in other positions.

Alexander Nubel has confirmed that he does not plan to return to Bayern Munich early to replace the injured Manuel Neuer.Neuer broke his leg on a skiing holiday following the World Cup and has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, prompting Bayern to try and bring Nubel back from his loan with Monaco to fill the void.

Arsenal Dec 22, 2022 Nketiah is set for a rare run of first-team football / Visionhaus/GettyImages Of all of football's many challenges, there may be none more difficult than making the leap from academy star to first-team regular.Managers, more often than not, want proven quality, and it can be hard to convince them to take a punt on a youth player.

Arsenal were linked with a move for Nicolo Zaniolo earlier this week, and it seems that the Gunners have now come forward to make an enquiry for the 23-year-old Italian international.Zaniolo was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the season, but Roma managed to hold on to him during the summer transfer window.

Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has been linked with a move away from the German club in recent months.The 26-year-old has been linked with a move to Arsenal and a report from Fichajes claims that the Gunners will have to pay a fee of around 70 million to secure his services.The Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta knows the player from his time at Manchester City and he likes the German international.

16-year-old Bristol Rovers midfielder Kofi Shaw is the subject of mounting Premier League interest, as detailed in a report from journalist Alan Nixon.The teenager recently scored a fantastic free-kick during an FA Youth Cup defeat to Leyton Orient, returning an excellent performance with the club's U23s.

Tottenham paid £2m to sign Will Lankshear back in August - a player Arsenal released in 2021 - and he has now announced himself against West Ham.What's the story?Well, Tottenham actually signed Harry Kane after he was released by Arsenal, and history looks like it could now repeat itself.Lankshear had experienced a steady start to life at Spurs following his £2m move from Brentford, scoring just two goals in nine appearances so far this season before today.

Chelsea attacking midfielder Hakim Ziyech has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.The 29-year-old has not been able to live up to the expectations since joining the club from Ajax.Ziyech needs to leave the club in order to play regular first-team football and get his career back on track.

Arsenal and Chelsea are reportedly among the big names who could be interested in a potential transfer deal for Benfica left-back Alejandro Grimaldo.A report from Portuguese outlet Record states the Gunners and the Blues, as well as Barcelona and Juventus are attentive to Grimaldo's situation, so this seems like a story that might be worth keeping an eye on.

Arsenal are looking to sign former Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham with the England international setting his sights on a return to his home country.Abraham left Chelsea last year after the club re-signed Romelu Lukaku.The England international moved to Italy in search of regular first-team football and it's difficult to argue against his decision, with Abraham excelling at Roma under Jose Mourinho.

6:44 AM ET



Jeremy FowlerESPN Staff Writer

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     ESPN staff writer
     Previously a college football reporter for CBSSports.comUniversity of Florida graduate




Every year, the NFL resets its unpredictability scale to deepen the intrigue.Last year, that came in the form of extreme parity, with 12 AFC teams winning at least four games by the midway point.