Coutinho tops list of players who need to move before deadline
The transfer window deadline in Europe has is just under two weeks away and clubs are busy putting the finishing touches to their squads for the new season.
However, while there have been some big-money moves already (Man City dropping £100m to land Jack Grealish, Chelsea spending £97.5m to sign Romelu Lukaku and Man United parting with £73m for Jadon Sancho), even in the face of the financial issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the elite clubs are still struggling to move on players to balance the books.
That means a lot of unhappy players, unhappy clubs, and a lot of uncertainty for some as we head into the final stages of the window.
Here’s a list of some top players who could use a change of scenery if they are able to negotiate an exit to pastures new.
Lingard 2.0 had a brilliant four months on loan at West Ham last season, scoring nine goals and providing five assists in 16 games, and it was enough to persuade Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to give him a chance in the Man United first-team squad. The problem is the player ahead of him in the pecking order is Bruno Fernandes. Lingard built up his confidence with some stellar performances, but that will dissipate quickly if he finds himself on the bench too often. Every big club needs to rotate players to compete in multiple competitions, but it feels like Lingard’s career will suffer if he stays.
Man City are well stocked in attacking midfield and the £100m addition of Aston Villa‘s Grealish only added to their options. However, Silva has reportedly made it clear that he wants to leave, and manager Pep Guardiola took the unusual step of mentioning him by name during a news conference earlier this month, saying: “Not just Bernardo, there are two or three players that want to leave Man City, but they are our players and when they bring some offer and they want to leave, we are open to discuss but it depends on them.” Silva’s issue is that he wants to move to LaLiga, where Barcelona and Real Madrid are suffering from unprecedented financial constraints. City value the transfer at around €60m for him, and there are just no takers at that price.
For a player of Shaqiri’s quality, 63 games over three seasons just isn’t enough first-team football. The Switzerland midfielder is a wonderful option as a backup, but he hasn’t been happy playing behind Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. It’s certainly tough to break that trio up, and with Diogo Jota back to full fitness there’s another player ahead of him in the pecking order. But for the sake of his career, Shaqiri would do well to move on — especially when Liverpool have a readymade replacement in young Harvey Elliott — with Lyon interested. Striker Divock Origi is another who may be considering his future at Anfield after playing only 17 times last season.
1:53
Julien Laurens says Arsenal’s defensive struggles from last season are already causing problems.
ESPN first reported in February that Arsenal had an agreement with Bellerin to allow him to find a new club this summer after a decade of service. The right-back is still only 26 and the Gunners have reportedly explored swap deal options with both Atletico and Barcelona, while talks with Inter Milan collapsed, but there seem to be few takers. Arsenal are well stocked at right-back with Calum Chambers, Cedric Soares and Ainsley Maitland-Niles — as well as left-back Nuno Tavares, who played there last weekend — yet none are top quality, and Bellerin deserves more for his loyalty over the years than being ushered out the back door.
Chelsea are specialists in obtaining players they can’t move on: see the careers of Danny Drinkwater, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Davide Zappacosta, Baba Rahman, Ross Barkley and Michy Batshuayi as evidence. But Hudson-Odoi is in a different class and could actually raise some cash if the Blues decide to let him go. Sources told ESPN that Bayern Munich were interested last year, and while that may have cooled, the England winger might look at the £34m exit of striker Tammy Abraham to Roma this summer as a sign that he might be better off starting afresh.
After a breakthrough season in 2016-17 that saw the midfielder makes his senior England debut, Winks’ career has stalled somewhat. Still only 25, he made just 15 appearances in the Premier League last season and it remains to be seen whether he has the confidence of new manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Winks was an unused substitute in the opening win against champions Man City, with the younger Oliver Skipp preferred instead, and while he has spent his entire career at Tottenham, it may be time to move on if he still has international ambitions.
1:16
Craig Burley addresses Barcelona’s mounting debt after Gerard Pique took a pay cut to get two players registered for LaLiga.
Where to start? With a total debt that has risen to €1.35 billion, despite the exit of Lionel Messi, Barcelona are in a financial mess. Clearly they would accept offers for most of their squad — except for wunderkinds Ansu Fati and Pedri — and defender Samuel Umtiti and midfielder Miralem Pjanic are among those high earners at the top of the list, but none more so than playmaker Coutinho. The Brazilian was signed for €160m from Liverpool in 2018 but hasn’t impressed, and it’s remarkable he’s still at the club. Maybe he’ll get a new lease on life (and the No. 10 shirt) now that Messi has gone, but surely Coutinho has had enough of Camp Nou.
Real Madrid are no strangers to spending a lot of money on a player who flops, and their €60m outlay on Jovic in 2019 saw him score twice in 33 games. He netted four in 18 after rejoining old club Frankfurt on loan last season, but despite the fact that Madrid have no backup to Karim Benzema up front, Jovic is likely to move on again. Inter Milan and West Ham have both been linked with loan moves for the Serbia international, who really needs to put his Bernabeu nightmare behind him.
Having penned an incredible NINE-year contract back in 2017, Saul was always going to struggle to force an exit if his career plans changed. This summer it appears he wants to leave LaLiga’s champions after falling out of favour under Diego Simeone, but Atletico are sticking to their guns and requesting over €50m to make it happen. Sources told ESPN that Barcelona briefly explored a swap deal with Antoine Griezmann before talks collapsed, while Premier League giants Man United and Liverpool have been repeatedly linked with a move for the midfielder.
BAYERN MUNICH: Corentin Tolisso
Bayern have been excellent at snapping up players on free transfers in recent years (Leon Goretzka and Robert Lewandowski for example) but after losing David Alaba for nothing to Real Madrid this summer, they might see Tolisso do the same next year when his contract expires. The 27-year-old midfielder doesn’t seem to have a future in Munich but reportedly wants to see out his contract and assess his options. A swap or loan deal could still be on the cards before the end of the window, but only if it suits player and club.
Brandt is one of those players who seems like he’s been around for ages, but is still only 25. However, having signed for Dortmund for €25m in 2019 from Bayer Leverkusen, his career hasn’t hit the heights he might have expected as he has been overshadowed by young talent like Gio Reyna, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham. He has still notched up over 40 games a season at Dortmund, but has been linked with Milan and Arsenal as questions over his future continue.
2:28
Craig Burley and Steve Nicol discuss Erling Haaland’s possible decision to transfer from Borussia Dortmund to another club after displaying frustration with the team.
With two goals in three games so far this season, Icardi’s future seemed set. But after PSG’s signing of Lionel Messi, suddenly it looks like the lesser of the two Argentina internationals may move on. The former Inter Milan striker has always attracted attention for his off-pitch lifestyle with wife and agent Wanda Nara, but a return to Italy has been mooted for some time. Juventus are reportedly keen to bring him in on loan, and that may help PSG’s efforts to lower their wage bill after their Messi move.
One of the reasons Juve are reportedly looking at Icardi is doubts over the future of Dybala. The Argentina striker has seemingly been in contract negotiations for months as his deal expires in 2022, with various moves to Tottenham, Man United, Barcelona and Man City all speculated about in the past few years. His class is clear, with 100 goals in 254 games since joining Juve in 2015, but the fact that he hasn’t been able to easily agree to new terms after spending six years at the club may point to a larger issue. If he gets star billing when Cristiano Ronaldo departs, perhaps that’s enough to persuade him to stay?
What a strange career Sanchez has had. After his European breakthrough with Udinese, he flopped at Barcelona. Then after reigniting his career at Arsenal, he became one of the worst signings in Premier League history at Man United. Now he is approaching something like his old form at Serie A champions Inter Milan, the club are in a financial crisis and having to move on all their best players. Most recently linked with a move to Napoli, staying in Italy seems the best bet for the 32-year-old winger’s career.
AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn freshman quarterback Deuce Knight will make his first career start against Mercer on Saturday.
Interim coach DJ Durkin made the announcement Thursday, three days after saying Ashton Daniels would skip the game to preserve a year of eligibility. Daniels is expected to return to the starting lineup next week against No. 10 Alabama in the rivalry known as the Iron Bowl.
“He’s earned it,” Durkin said of Knight. “He’s done a great job, and we’re excited to see him go play.”
Knight hasn’t seen much action this season but did take a handful of snaps against Ball State. He completed 2 of 5 passes for 20 yards and added 16 yards rushing.
Knight got the nod over Jackson Arnold, who has played in nine games this season, throwing for 1,278 yards, with six touchdowns and two interceptions. However, both are expected to play.
“They’re both going to play in the game, and they’re both going to play well,” Durkin said. “They’re both prepared, and we have a good plan for both of them.”
The possibility of Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula returning on Saturday at No. 8 Oklahoma is increasing.
Pribula was upgraded from doubtful to questionable on the SEC availability report on Thursday night, a key step in his potential return for No. 22 Missouri. He dislocated his left ankle against Vanderbilt on Oct. 25, a gruesome injury that somehow did not result in a fracture.
Pribula is medically cleared to play Saturday, sources told ESPN. The decision on his return will be made by the Missouri coaching staff, with input from Pribula on how the ankle is feeling.
A final decision on Pribula’s status isn’t expected to be made until after Missouri practices on Friday, sources said. Missouri has a walk-through on Thursday and runs a so-called “Fast Friday” practice, which will be the final data point on whether Pribula returns.
In Pribula’s absence, Missouri has started true freshman Matt Zollers, who began the season as the third-stringer. He played well in relief against Vanderbilt (14-for-23 passing), struggled at home against Texas A&M (7-for-22 for 77 yards) and played more efficiently against Mississippi State on Saturday. In that game, a 49-27 blowout, he was 8-of-15 for 112 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Pribula, a Penn State transfer, began the season in a battle with veteran Sam Horn Jr. for the starting job. With both players expecting to split snaps in the opener, Horn suffered a fractured tibia in his right leg in the opener against Central Arkansas. He had surgery in early September and is expected to miss the season.
Pribula worked out on the field before Missouri’s game against Mississippi State last week, a sign that a return could be soon.
Pribula has emerged as an effective dual-threat quarterback in the SEC, completing just under 70% of his passes. He has thrown for 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions and run for 220 yards on 71 carries. He has scored five rushing touchdowns.
Pribula’s best game of the year came against Kansas on Sept. 6, when he threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-39 passing.
Baylor on Thursday announced the departure of athletic director Mack Rhoades, effective immediately.
Rhoades, who had been the AD at Baylor since July 2016, suddenly took a leave of absence from the position for personal reasons last week. He told ESPN’s Heather Dinich at the time that he initiated the leave.
“I find myself in a season of life where I need to prioritize my faith and my family with an intentional focus that requires me to move on from my role as caretaker of this great athletics program,” Rhoades said in a statement on Thursday night.
Along with stepping away from Baylor, Rhoades also left his role as chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee.
After Rhoades began his leave on Nov. 12, the private Big 12 school said it was investigating unspecified allegations against him. The status of that investigation, or if it is still ongoing, was not immediately clear after he left the job.
The school, without giving further details, said last week that allegations against Rhoades did not involve Title IX, student-athlete welfare or NCAA rules violations, and did not involve the football program.
In a letter to the university announcing the move, Baylor president Linda Livingstone did not give a reason for his departure.
“Since joining Baylor in 2016, Mack has led our athletics program through a period of remarkable rebuilding and achievement,” Livingstone said. “During his tenure, Baylor claimed numerous Big 12 championships, made countless postseason appearances and earned national titles in several sports, including historic wins that will forever be etched in our collective memory. These victories were not just about athletic excellence — they were moments that brought the Baylor Family together, united in joy and spirit.”
Livingstone also commended Rhoades’ influence “beyond the scoreboard,” adding: “Within the Big 12 Conference and across the country, he is widely recognized as a defender of the important role athletics plays on college and university campuses.”
Rhoades is a veteran in the athletic director space, with prior stops as the AD at Missouri, Houston and Akron. His tenure includes the hiring of Matt Rhule and eight national titles, including one for Scott Drew’s men’s basketball program.
The ability to retain Drew and build the proper infrastructure and support around him has been a hallmark of Rhoades’ tenure.
“The incredible community that is the Baylor family is the absolute best of the best,” Rhoades said in his statement. “Together, we won national championships, established records in academics and fundraising, and built world-class facilities. I will forever cherish the memories and friendships I made as a Baylor Bear.”
Rhoades’ tenure included stabilizing the athletic department on the field after the tumultuous and litigious tenure of former football coach Art Briles. The hiring of Rhule pulled the program out of the depths, and current coach Dave Aranda went on to win the Big 12 title in 2021 and beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl that year.
Rhoades’ predecessors as athletic director, Ian McCaw and Tom Stanton, left amid issues surrounding Briles and former basketball coach Dave Bliss, respectively.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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