Southampton have completed the signing of centre-back Mohammed Salisu from Real Valladolid for a reported £10.9million (€12m).
The 21-year-old, who made 32 appearances for Valladolid in all competitions in 2019-20, has signed a four-year deal at St Mary s Stadium.
Salisu is Southampton s second signing of the close season following the arrival of Kyle Walker-Peters from Tottenham on Tuesday.
Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid were all linked with the highly rated defender, but he is pleased to have joined Ralph Hasenhuttl s side.
It is a very good feeling to be a Southampton player. I am very happy to be part of the club and I am looking forward to starting here, Salisu said in a Southampton statement.
Southampton is a club wi…
Jordan Henderson’s short-lived move to Saudi Arabia benefited the country’s league “a great deal”, its vice-chairman has said.
The 33-year-old England midfielder completed a move to Dutch side Ajax last month after leaving Al Ettifaq less than six months into a lucrative three-year contract.
Henderson hinted at regrets over his move to the Middle East in his introductory press conference in Amsterdam.
He had previously championed LGBTQ+ rights and was widely condemned over the move to Saudi Arabia, where same-sex relationships are criminalised.
This is a long-term investment for us” Saad Al Lazeez, Vice Chairman, discusses the future of the Saudi League at
— Financial Times Live (@ftlive)
However, Saudi Pro League boss Saad…
Germany captain Michael Ballack may have been dropped for next month s Euro 2012 qualifiers, but coach Joachim Loew says the door is still open for him to soon return to the national squad.
The 33-year-old has been left out of the games against minnows Belgium in Brussels next Friday then Azerbaijan four days later in Cologne to work on his fitness with World Cup skipper Philipp Lahm likely to retain the captaincy.
Ballack suffered an ankle injury in May which kept him out of South Africa and in his absence, Germany finished third and played arguably the most attractive football of the tournament.
Loew informed Ballack by telephone he is not part of the 21-man squad for the two qualifiers and with Ballack working his way back to fitness with the Leverkusen squad…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alex were on target as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Bordeaux 2-0 to move six points clear at the top of Ligue 1.
Laurent Blanc s men, who were held to a disappointing draw by Guingamp last weekend, knew defeat on Friday would give second-placed Monaco, in action against Lorient on Sunday, the chance to draw level at the top of the table.
The defending champions struggled to break down a Bordeaux side that would have moved into fourth with a win, but ultimately prevailed.
Ibrahimovic converted Lucas Moura s cross to open the scoring after 58 minutes and Alex added a second late on as PSG secured a first home league win over Bordeaux since a 3-1 triumph back in 2010.
New signing Yohan Cabaye was left on the PSG bench following his move from N…
Lionel Messi would clearly be the most deserving winner of the Ballon d Or despite Virgil van Dijk s outstanding year, according to Barcelona team-mate Frenkie de Jong.
Liverpool centre-back Van Dijk was long considered the favourite for the prestigious individual honour having helped the Reds to Champions League glory last season.
Van Dijk has also impressed this term as Liverpool – agonisingly pipped to the 2018-19 Premier League title by Manchester City – have surged eight points clear at the summit.
However, Mundo Deportivo claimed on Tuesday that Messi has been told he has won the Ballon d Or for the sixth time, meaning he will have edged out Van Dijk again having scooped FIFA s The Best Men s Player prize.
De Jong says there is no doubt Messi d…
“I work to play and I do not have minutes, if I do not play, we’ll see. I want to play, today I had fun and I felt good, at ease. I want to play as much as possible”.
Those are the words of Denis Suarez, in the wake of an appearance for Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. A cameo at all is something of a rarity for Suarez, who has really struggled to make a substantial impact at the Nou Camp. The 24 year old joined Barca back in 2016 from Villarreal, and while he has had a few bright moments here and there, he hasn’t exactly been the most consistent of La Liga stars.
Suarez has bounced around a series of top European clubs over the last few years, and while he’s still young, he hasn’t quite been able to make any of them his permanent home – yet, that is.
…
Real Madrid take on Barcelona on Sunday in a Clasico that could prove decisive in LaLiga s title race.
Zinedine Zidane s men are three points clear of their eternal rivals heading into Sunday s clash, and they possess a game in hand.
The match at the Santiago Bernabeu is about much more than two title contenders squaring off, though.
It is about Lionel Messi meeting Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Barca attacker well ahead of his Madrid nemesis in the goalscoring charts.
It is about Barcelona coach Luis Enrique facing the team where he really made a name for himself during his playing career before switching allegiances and moving to Camp Nou.
It is about unexpected heroes coming to the rescue for their respective sides, such as Jeremy Mathieu and Se…
Real Madrid s defence of their LaLiga title will be delayed slightly, but they will not have to wait long to face their Clasico rivals.
Los Blancos dethroned Barcelona to win LaLiga following the resumption of the 2019-20 season after the coronavirus-enforced hiatus.
Because of their involvement in the Champions League in August, Madrid s fixture with Getafe scheduled for matchday one will not take place until an appropriate date in February or March.
Zinedine Zidane s men will instead travel to Real Sociedad for a tricky opening clash, with the first Clasico coming just over a month later at Camp Nou as Madrid are provided with an early opportunity to steal a march in the title race.
The return fixture between Madrid and Ronald Koeman s Barca is schedule…
Carlos Tevez insists he never considered leaving Italian champions Juventus in the wake of Antonio Conte s sudden departure as head coach.
Conte led Juve to three consecutive Serie A titles before he brought an abrupt halt to his three-year stay when he tendered his resignation earlier this month.
The exit of the former Juve captain led to suggestions that Tevez may look to follow him out of the club after just one year in Turin, but the Argentine striker is settled.
We players still have to prove we are playing in a team that won many Scudetti, that we weren t just counting on the strength and hard work of the coach, Tevez said at a press conference on Wednesday.
We need to be stronger and prove we belong at Juve. I never considered leaving. Conte is …
A low-quality video of what appears to be a Nintendo Switch 2 has emerged, prompting fan speculation over the as-yet-unseen console and the validity of this footage.
The video was posted on Chinese video site Bibli and was first spotted by Nintendo Soup (via Kotaku). The footage appears to show someone removing a joycon from the side of the Switch 2 screen by simply pulling it off Come from Sports betting site VPbet . The controllers themselves seem to sport infrared sensors (on both the left and right joycons) and bigger shoulder buttons. This matches previous leaks, which suggested that the Switch 2 would have magnetic joycons and a more complex controller layout, though it would also maintain the same basic des…