Association Football 2023/2024 Discussion Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

Manchester City to sign Mateo Kovacic for a fee that's expected be about forty million Euros.

This would be a fantastic signing for Manchester City, and it's a lot cheaper than bringing in Declan Rice too.

It does mean that Ilkay Gundogan is almost certainly not renewing his contract, however.

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Pretty big upset in European Championship Qualifying, as Armenia defeated Wales today 4-2 in Cardiff.

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In what is a major victory for Bayern Munich, they have landed Kim Min-Jae from Napoli, beating out Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain for his signature.

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Spain claims the UEFA Nations League, defeating Croatia on penalty kicks, after a scoreless draw.

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Last night the United States defeated Canada 2-0 to claim the CONCACAF Nations League trophy, as Folarin Balogun scored his first goal for USMNT.

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What is going on with Mexico? El Tri has fired Diego Cocca, the second manager they've sacked since the World Cup.

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The season hasn't begun, and we already have a managerial change in the English Premier League, as Gary O'Neil has been sacked at Bournemouth and replaced with Rayo Vallecano manager Andoni Iraola.

What an odd move. Why sack the manager who kept you alive in the Premier League last year for someone who isn't really better than that? Iraola's only success as a manager is winning the Cypriot Super Cup in 2018 with AEK Lacarna, and while Vallecano overperformed in La Liga compared to expectations (they did finish ahead of both Sevilla and Valencia, which is pretty impressive in my opinion), it isn't enough to deserve an English Premier League job in my opinion, even at a lower-tier side like Bournemouth.

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Carlo Ancelotti might be the best hire for a National Team job by any country since Italy hired Roberto Mancini.

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Brendan Rodgers is coming back to Celtic.

In his last stint at Celtic, Rodgers won two Domestic trebles, and he later went on to win a pair of trophies with Leicester City (the 2020-21 FA Cup and the 2021 Community Shield) before being sacked this season.

A fantastic hire for Celtic.

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Brendan Rodgers is coming back to Celtic.

In his last stint at Celtic, Rodgers won two Domestic trebles, and he later went on to win a pair of trophies with Leicester City (the 2020-21 FA Cup and the 2021 Community Shield) before being sacked this season.

A fantastic hire for Celtic.

He is hated by the fans.

As common in most sports, the fans usually do not know what is best for the team. At the time he left, Leicester was a better job than half the English Premier League. It arguably is still a better job than several teams in that league, despite their relegation.

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Chelsea signs Christopher Nkunku from Red Bull Leipzig.

This isn't a bad signing for Chelsea, and the Blues do need a forward, but Chelsea really needs to be selling players first to avoid Financial Fair Play, plus, he isn't really the type of forward Chelsea needs.

Chelsea really needs Harry Kane (assuming Tottenham would even sell to them), or someone like Dusan Vlahovic or Lautaro Martinez if Kane is not available.

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Honestly, Faruk Hadzibegic and Fernando Santos should probably be fired on the spot (especially Fernando Santos. How on earth do you blow a 2-0 lead to Moldava of all countries?).

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https://twitter.com/ittihad_en/status/1671291493112225798

N'Golo Kante becomes the latest star to come to Saudi Arabia.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin claims the Saudis are making a mistake signing aging superstars rather than developing their own players.

I'm inclined to agree with Ceferin here. The reason European countries and leagues are so good, is because they develop their own stars, rather than import them. Ceferin's criticism of Saudi Arabia is very much warranted here, as they are essentially trying to buy talent rather than developing their own, which risks turning off the Saudi fanbase.

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Ilkay Gundogan is signing with Barcelona on a free transfer.

Barcelona cannot afford to get transfers wrong. Gundogan is a fantastic player, and he immediately makes the midfield better...but it's an open question whether the Blaugrana really can afford to sign him.

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Kai Havertz expected to head from Chelsea to Arsenal in a deal that could be worth up to $85.8 million.

For Chelsea, this deal was necessary as they look to balance the books from last season's insane spending.

For Arsenal...is Havertz the missing piece needed to win the Premier League title? He didn't really score enough at Chelsea, though he arguably is an upgrade over several players in the Gunners's side. The deal might take them out of contention for Declan Rice, however, as I can't see how they'd be able to fit another signing of $100 million+ into their summer window.

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https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1672125331237646342

I can't imagine that this is the kind of signing that would convince Harry Kane to stay, but Tottenham Hotspur does need a young goalkeeper, as their top two goalkeepers, Hugo Lloris and Fraser Forster are 36 and 35 years old respectively.

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Celta de Vigo with an absurdly good hire, bringing in Rafael Benitez to fill their managerial vacancy.

Benitez is, among his many trophies, a two time La Liga winner with Valencia, a UEFA Champions winner with Liverpool, a Club World Cup winner with Inter Milan, and a Europa League with Chelsea.

If Celta de Vigo, already a midtable side in La Liga most years, is willing to spend money to back Benitez, making the Champions League is possible in my opinion.

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https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1672354875139584000
Inter Miami bringing in the most impactful MLS additions since David Beckham came to MLS a decade and a half a ago.

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The United States will be hosting the expanded 2025 Club World Cup.

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The United States opens up their Gold Cup campaign with an embarrassing 1-1 draw against Jamaica at Soldier Field, in a game that they really should have lost.

For Jamaica, which has been out of form for a long time (this is the Reggae Boyz's eleventh straight match without a win since defeating Suriname at 2022 CONCACAF Nations League), this is an impressive result, and a good building block going forward for them.

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Declan Rice is heading to Arsenal.

Not only does this move make Arsenal the top contender to take the Premier League away from Manchester City, but this might actually make the Gunners contenders in the Champions League as well.

Fantastic signing.

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The United States won easily against a St. Kitts and Nevis team that was just lucky to be at the Gold Cup, 6-0, in St. Louis.

We still need a win over Trinidad and Tobago on Monday to feel secure about advancing, but we're in very good position going into the final game of the Group, and we've got a very good chance of finishing atop Group A.

[NewYorkExpress]

Mason Mount is heading to Manchester United in a deal worth at least 55 million pounds.

Not as good a signing as Declan Rice's signing with Arsenal, but he's one of the best midfielders in England, and being away from the spiraling mess that is Chelsea can only be good for him.

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More big changes at Chelsea, with Nicholas Jackson arriving from Villarreal, and N'Golo Kante and Kaldou Koulibaly leaving for Saudi Arabia.

With just a transfer fee needing to be agreed to, it looks like Christian Pulisic might be heading to AC Milan.

Could a journey to Serie A be what revives Pulisic's club career? For all of his success with USMNT, he's only won two major club trophies (the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League and the 2021 Club World Cup), when it can easily be argued that he should have several more from his time at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea.

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Tim Weah is heading from Lille to Juventus in a deal worth twelve million Euros.