L’Équipe report that Turkish side Sivasspor are in negotiations with Newcastle United midfielder Henri Saivet’s entourage about convincing the player to join the club on loan for the rest of the season.
Click Here: Kenzo ジャンパー
Montpellier went close to brokering a deal for the player earlier this month, but pulled out at the last minute.
ESTAC Troyes are also monitoring the player’s situation closely, having made an offer.
Speaking to reporters following OGC Nice’s 3-2 loss to Dijon, the south of France side’s club president Jean-Pierre Rivière took aim at recent officiating.
“I am shocked. Enough is enough, for matches in a row we have been playing 12 vs 11. How can the referee not give a penalty on Makengo against Toulouse and another give a penalty tonight because our player puts his hand on the shoulder of an opponent? It was an imaginary penalty! It is saddening, there is no coherence in French football. I invite the commission of referees to re-watch our matches. French refereeing must look at itself!”
Click Here: galway gaa jerseys
Montpellier were twenty minutes late. Needing only a draw to secure an astonishing Ligue 1 title in 2012, players of title rivals PSG stood huddled around a television screen in Lorient after a 2-1 win watching the final quarter of the pivotal encounter in Auxerre play out. Although every game in the final round is scheduled simultaneously, Auxerre ultras, infuriated by the financial issues that had already seen their club relegated had staged a protest that saw scores of tennis balls, rotten tomatoes, toilet paper and melons thrown on to the pitch at the Stade de l‘Abbe-Deschamps. “You are the shame of these last 32 years!” read one banner, a sentiment largely directed at club president Gérard Bourgoin but also at their players, including 21-year-old centre back Willy Boly.
Having broken into the first team the previous year, Boly assumed a prominent role in a disastrous season for Auxerre, but the young defender’s individual displays remained admirable, regularly standing out despite poor results. Despite his obvious physical stature, a burgeoning keenness to hit sweeping passes and start attacks, as has been the case with Wolves, was already evident. Boly later explained; “I really like to play this way, where the central ones have to go out to play, where the team likes to have ball. For me, it is not more difficult to play this way. I like and want to have a ball.”
Born in Melun, an hour south of central Paris, Boly’s football education was one of the best French football can provide, training as a teenager at the famous Clairefontaine National Football Institute. Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry, Kylian Mbappé, William Gallas and Blaise Matuidi to name a few, are all counted among Clairefontaine’s more illustrious alumni. At the age of 16, Boly was spotted by Auxerre where he was swiftly promoted to the senior side before signing his first professional deal in 2011.
“I’m blossoming well at this club,” said Boly at the time, but his ambitions were clear, “but I aim for another level. It’s a personal project. Because the most important thing is to play in a big club and play big competitions like the Champions’ League.” Impressing at youth levels and throughout his brief Ligue 1 spell, Boly represented France across the junior ranks and was, as then coach Éric Mombaerts said, only kept out of a competitive under 21s side by Raphaël Varane and Eliaquim Mangala.
Eye-catching performances in Ligue 1 and boundless potential led to wide-ranging interest from across the continent as Auxerre dropped into Ligue 2, but the young Boly’s experience descended into attitude issues and poor form. Despite being a prize asset, then manager Bernard Casoni stating he might have to leave to fill the hole in the club’s finances that contributed to their relegation, Boly fell out of favour in January 2013 as negotiations with Parma eventually fell through. Boly then informed Casoni later that year he was not in the right frame of mind to play against Valenciennes, after another failed round of talks with Parma.
Click Here: 2021 Soccer Tracksuit
Rumours of numerous possible routes out repeatedly evaporated over Boly’s two seasons in the second division, notably when a €5m agreement with Fiorentina came to nothing, as Bourgoin demanded a higher fee. Meanwhile disciplinary issues resurfaced, as then Auxerre coach Jean-Luc Vannuchi “decided to exclude him until further notice” after he arrived late for training and did not follow his coach’s instructions before a supposed refusal to play for the reserve side saw miss out on the first team squad towards the end of 2013/14 campaign.
Nevertheless, in recent seasons, Boly has matured somewhat while Cédric Hengbart, a teammate at Auxerre, insisted in L’Équipe that Boly was able to handle the transfer speculation in training, explaining “he never let it show, he remained very professional”. However there is certainly another unusual side to Willy Boly. In a strange turn of events for a promising footballer at youth level, holds a “BacS”, roughly the equivalent of top grade A-levels, in Maths and Sciences, while he impressed coaches in Liga Nos by swiftly grasping Portuguese upon joining Braga in 2014 and speaking quasi-fluently with his colleagues, an intelligence perhaps reflected in his style of play.
When Boly eventually moved to Portugal in 2014, he did so for no direct monetary exchange, despite Auxerre’s initial demands, they received no transfer fee for Boly, merely a sell-on percentage clause. However, Boly struggled to assert himself in Portugal. For much of the 2014/15 season, the Frenchman found himself as a Braga B team regular, playing in Portugal’s lower divisions. Fortunately, his attitude towards turning out for a reserve side had evolved since his Auxerre days. “It was a difficult situation for me and I was not going to be happy for the B team,” explained Boly, “inside I forgot everything. It was important for me to play well when I was called to B team to show what I can do for the coach and the A team.”
That attitude proved essential, as Boly, impressing incoming manager Paulo Fonseca after centre-back Aderlan Santos departed, played his way into the Braga senior side. Within a year, Boly had joined Porto, a protracted move due to Boly’s high wage demands, having rejected Wolves before eventually joining them a year later following a failure to establish himself at the Dragao.
Given Boly’s impressive debut season in England, showcasing his ability to bring the ball out from the back, sometimes a little too much, holding onto the loanee Frenchman will likely be near the top of Nuno Espirito Santo’s summer to-do list. Although Nuno might have to spend an eight figure sum to secure a permanent move, given Boly’s ingrained keenness to constantly improve and play at the highest possible level, he would undoubtedly relish a jump to Premier League football.
What’s more, making that step with a club clearly on an upward trajectory, where he is already established, stability will also be a crucial element in terms of furthering his own development. Whether he stays or not, dodging tennis balls and rotten tomatoes should remain a distant memory.
A.W.
For whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee and it has been dilly dinging again for Claudio Ranieri at FC Nantes.
The favourite uncle of European football began his charm offensive outstandingly well but almost like every tenure under the Italian, it is ending in tears as relationships with the board dissolve beyond repair.
Back at the start of last summer, Les Canaris had a real task on their hands to replace an incredibly successful manager. In half a season, Sergio Conceição had transformed a rag-tag group destined for relegation into European contenders but even a bumper contract was not enough to get him to stay, instead returning home to lead his beloved FC Porto to their first Primeira Liga crown in five years.
The Portuguese’s departure left a sour taste in the mouth but also presented Nantes with a big void to fill on their touchline.
In stepped Ranieri, still fresh off his monumental Premier League success with Leicester City and ready to take on another challenge. Combining that with the fact he had managed in Ligue 1 before with Monaco, the Italian felt like the perfect appointment that fans could have only dreamed of.
Admittedly, it did not get off to the best start after a 3-0 defeat away to Lille and a home loss to Marseille but after that, Nantes began to build up steam. Several strong results, including a victory over Monaco, saw them head into the winter break comfortably in 5th position in the table, with a seven-point gap on their closest Europa League qualifying contender.
Leaning on Ranieri’s more traditional Italian style of setting up tactically to focus on a strong defence, they conceded just 18 goals in 19 games while also recording eight clean sheets in that spell. Plaudits for the defending of Diego Carlos and the debut season of goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu came flooding in, along with Ranieri as Nantes looked destined for Europa League football in 2018/19.
Then it all began to slip through the Britany club’s grasp.
Nantes have won just three times in 2018, keeping just three clean sheets in those 18 games. They have been overtaken by the likes of Bordeaux and Saint-Étienne, who were in relegation trouble at the mid-way point of the season, and now require a seven-goal swing and Marseille to win the Europa League final to reach Europe.
Not only have results not gone their way in the league, matters off the pitch have deteriorated dramatically. The 66-year-old prioritised a leak in his London home over the club’s 75th anniversary celebration while he also went against club president Waldermar Kita’s wishes by playing Lyon-bound club captain Leo Dubois against his new club last month, with the full-back playing a slightly anonymous part of the defeat.
After the game, the Italian stated: “If the President is unhappy with me, there is only one thing to do.”
Click Here: women football kit
He has been unable to find goals outside of Emiliano Sala, whose 12 strikes have been vital to Nantes but could also be on their way this summer. Their defence will also require transfer window surgery this summer, with Diego Carlos still garnering rave reviews, whilst Chidozie Awaziem will return to his parent club.
With Ranieri previously being linked with Lyon and even Tottenham Hotspur according to local outlet Presse Océan, it looks like the Italian will rebound back soon enough. Both of those locales seem a little farfetched, given his season at the Stade de la Beaujoire, where he has flattered to deceive, and his side have sometimes lulled the home support to sleep with their monotony.
Ranieri will likely leave without hitting his reputation outside of France too much while Nantes can look to reshape their side under new stewardship next season, who they can hopefully plan around long-term.
Claudio Ranieri’s adventure at Nantes brief, his side uninspiring on the pitch, but effective nonetheless. A mid-table finish for the squad that the Italian has had at his disposal still represents an unmitigated success.
N.S.
In the wake of their loss in Saturday’s Champions’ League final, Liverpool have wasted no time in adding to their squad, confirming the signing of Brazilian midfielder Fabinho from Monaco for an initial £40m. In today’s bloated market, that figure is hardly eye-watering, especially given what the Reds’ largely unexpected run in that competition added to their coffers, but what sort of player is Jürgen Klopp buying, and more pertinently, is he an upgrade on the current side?
After all, Monaco saw several players depart last summer for England, bringing about decidedly mixed results, ranging from the tepid (Tiémoué Bakayoko) to the brilliant, if injury-hit (Benjamin Mendy) to the undecided (Bernardo Silva); despite seemingly filling a need for Liverpool, does Fabinho have the qualities needed to prosper in England?
Formerly on the books of Real Madrid’s reserves (albeit on loan from Portuguese side Rio Ave), the lanky Brazilian came into his own initially as a right-back, playing close to a hundred matches there after arriving, initially on loan, in Monaco in 2013. When a combination of injuries and suspensions forced Leonardo Jardim’s hand ahead of the first leg of their Champions’ League Round of 16 tie against Arsenal three years ago, the manager didn’t, however, hesitate to deploy Fabinho at the base of midfield in a 4-3-3. Monaco won at a canter, 3-1, and Fabinho has scarcely looked back since, becoming one of the most consistent defensive midfielders in Europe.
To be fair, injuries and the sale of Geoffrey Kondogbia certainly aided his cause in allowing him further chances in his new role in the following season, but in 2016-17, his industry and intelligence made him arguably Monaco’s most important player as they won the league and made an impressive run to the semifinals of the Champions’ League. Playing alongside Tiemoué Bakayoko in an attack-minded 4-4-2, Fabinho made his mark with superb ability to cover not only the marauding runs of the team’s attacking full-backs but also the powerful dribbles of the Frenchman, providing a level of solidity that permitted the team’s attacking abandon to function as well as it did.
This season, with Bakayoko gone and Monaco rarely displaying the sort of attacking verve that marked their best performances last campaign, popular perception has it that Fabinho has regressed slightly, as he has hardly been tipped for many end of the season awards, but nothing could be further from the truth. While his passing numbers have improved only slightly, his defensive statistics are the best of his career, and this is despite Jardim frequently chopping and changing his formations and line-ups.
Click Here: Cheap AFL Guernsey
Rather than a statement of indictment of the Portuguese manager, it only underscores how valuable and versatile Fabinho can be as a constant, with his manager doing his best to get the best out of a young squad blighted by injuries, as well as the variety of players that have been his partner.
João Moutinho is intelligent on the ball and has a superb range of passing but offers little of the physical impetus of a Kondogbia or a Bakayoko, Youri Tielemans is more of a number eight than a defensive central midfielder, and the fact that Kévin N’Doram is as likely to line up in central defenxe as he is in midfield speaks to his more prosaic style.
No matter his partner, though, Fabinho has always responded deftly, shaking off what had been a somewhat middling Champions’ League campaign to see his form improve in the run-in as Monaco pipped Marseille and Lyon to the all-important second place.
With the arrival of Fabinho and Naby Keita, Liverpool are unlikely, then to move away from the 4-3-3 that they have employed to much success in the season that’s just finished. Much of Liverpool being undone on occasion this season stemmed from the fact that Jordan Henderson, despite a fine work-rate, is a somewhat limited player and never really an orthodox defensive midfielder.
While Henderson’s style does, in many respects, suit Klopp’s pressing, and he has a better range of passing than the Brazilian, there is little argument to be made that Fabinho is a more natural midfield anchor, particularly with the attacking play of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson necessitating a somewhat quicker presence in offering cover.
Too, with a more natural defensive presence in front of the defence, Liverpool can also look to successfully integrate a more creative player into their midfield three, implicitly replacing the ability on the ball that was lost with the departure of Philippe Coutinho in January. Nabil Fékir and Thomas Lemar continue to be linked heavily with the club, but neither is really suited to playing in a midfield three without a natural number six behind them, making Fabinho’s arrival a necessary step towards injecting more raw creativity into a side that could stumble against sides that sat deep.
Even if Liverpool don’t further add to their squad, Fabinho’s presence would also allow more freedom for the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita, enabling the team to be even more direct, if required by the occasion. Thus, with Fabinho in the fold, Liverpool can potentially look to play with even more dynamism and attacking intent, allowing Klopp’s already hyper-intense style to reach yet another level.
E.D.
L’Équipe have followed up initial reports from Manu Lonjon this evening that newly relegated in to Ligue 2 side Metz have chosen to appoint Frédéric Antonetti as their new manager.
The 56-year-old spent the 2017/18 campaign as a pundit on Canal Plus.
Click Here: Portugal National Team soccer tracksuit
The news has since been confirmed & he has signed a 3-year-contract with Les Grenats.
PSG are hopeful that they have changed 17-year-old central defender Moussa Sissako’s mind on his future, after fresh talks with Sporting Director Antero Henrique and the player were held this week, according to our colleagues at Paris United.
Brighton were believed to have a deal wrapped up, but Les Parisiens have decided to make one last effort to convince the youngster to sign professional terms with them instead.
Click Here: Matthjis De Ligt Jersey Sale
AS Monaco have submitted a €3m loan with option to buy offer for Brazilian left-back Dalbert to Inter Milan, however, talks are not proceeding well.
RMC report this afternoon that the Serie A side are insisting that this buy clause is made obligatory, something that ASM are not comfortable agreeing to.
Dalbert wants a return to Ligue 1, but has plenty of other admirers should talks with Monaco fall through.
Click Here: newcastle knights team jersey
AS Monaco have today confirmed the capture of Belgian starlet Eliot Matazo. Matazo, a talented box to box midfielder with enormous potential, had seemingly every club in Europe after his signature. Having just turned 16 in February, the Anderlecht product was reportedly being courted by Manchester City, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich, among others.
The now Monaco man is his new club’s second signing of the transfer window, but is unlikely to make an immediate impact on the senior team. Instead, he is slated to started off the 18/19 season in Monaco’s famed academy, soon to be shaped by the celebrated staff and facilities of the Ligue 1 side.
Winning the race to Matazo’s signature is a significant coup for Monaco, whose proven track record with young talent had a clear influence on the young Belgian’s decision. In the club’s official announcement, Matazo called Monaco a “very good developmental club” and noted the side’s history, adding, “I have always followed Monaco, where some very good players have played.”
In Monaco, the midfielder will be hoping to mirror the rapid ascension he had in Belgium. Matazo was often a leader on and off the pitch for Anderlecht’s academy, being named captain for almost every age category he represented during his time with the club.
Monaco’s new signing has also shown promise internationally, currently serving as captain for Belgium’s U16 side. In February Matazo led his age group to success in Dubai, where they were named champions of the U16 Four Nations Tournament.
Now a member of Monaco’s prodigious academy, Matazo will soon be another diamond off of the Monégasques’ continuous conveyor belt of talent.
G.M.
Click Here: st george illawarra dragons jersey
Bundesliga side Mainz have submitted a €10m proposal to Lyon for 20-year-old highly-rated attacker Jean-Philippe Mateta, according to L’Équipe.
Mateta was due to return to parent club Lyon this summer after a highly-productive loan spell with Ligue 2 side Le Havre. OL have yet to respond to the German bid.
Click Here: 3d printing