While the stars of the Americas and Europe have the Copa America and Euro 2016 to impress potential suitors ahead of a new European season, Australia s burgeoning talents had a smaller window in which to do so.
A series of friendlies, starting at the Stadium of Light against England followed by a double-header against Greece on home soil was all Celtic s Tom Rogic, Melbourne City s Aaron Mooy and Ingolstadt s Mathew Leckie got as they looked to impress on the international stage.
Rogic, in particular, impressed, but all three can look back on some decent performances as they look to push their careers to the next level.
Rogic and Mooy both put in an impressive shift against England, while Leckie s last-minute winner in the first friendly against Greece on …
There is no chance of Neymar leaving Barcelona for arch-rivals Real Madrid, the player s father says.
Neymar joined Barca from Santos in 2013 and has just two seasons remaining on his initial five-year contract.
No agreement on an extension has been reached between the Brazilian and the Catalan club, leading to suggestions he could be set for a transfer to the likes of Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.
Neymar Snr, however, has categorically denied a potential move to Barca s Clasico rivals could be on the cards.
The possibility of him ending up there [Madrid] is zero, he told Fox Sports Brasil.
The Brazil captain is used to such speculation but remains happy at the Catalan giants, according to his father.
He s still unde…
RB Leipzig s hopes of signing Hakan Calhanoglu appear over after the club s coach and sporting director Ralf Rangnick declared the deal financially impossible .
Reports in Italy suggested Leipzig agreeing a €20million deal to bring Calhanoglu back to the Bundesliga from AC Milan.
However, Rangnick effectively ended the speculation, telling reporters: The deal is financially impossible.
Obviously we know him, given he played in the Bundesliga, but now he plays for Milan.
We already knew his price, so it s absolutely not possible for us to make a move from a financial standpoint.
Calhanoglu previously enjoyed spells in Germany with Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen before moving to San Siro in 2017.
The Turkey international has found the net…
Lionel Messi being rested was not the reason why Barcelona slipped to a 2-0 loss away to Sevilla in Wednesday s Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg, says Luis Suarez.
Messi, who came off the bench to help Barca beat Leganes in LaLiga at the weekend, was left out of the squad by Ernesto Valverde for the trip to Seville, the Barca boss having an eye on next month s Champions League tie against Lyon.
Second-half goals from Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder subsequently gave Sevilla victory, even though Valverde sent on Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Jordi Alba as substitutes.
Barcelona have lost two of the eight games they have played without Messi this season in all competitions, compared to defeats in two out of 24 matches he has played.
But Suarez would…
Market: Brighton win
Odds: 7/10 @
Smelling a real chance to make a return to winning ways on Saturday evening, Brighton will welcome a struggling Newcastle to the Amex this weekend.
Starting with the hosts, while Brighton might have struggled to pick up maximum points recently, they will be boosted by a stunning comeback last weekend. Making the trip to Champions League outfit Liverpool and snatching a point after going 2-0 down, Graham Potter s side have continued to gain a host of plaudits since opening the 2021/22 campaign. Opening Saturday s contest still firmly battling it out in the European chase, the one-time Swansea boss should also be boosted by an eye-catching record against this weekend s guests. Including landing a 3-0 romp the last time Newcastle v…
Kylian Mbappe conceded Paris Saint-Germain are struggling to play to their potential this season, but insists there is no reason to be alarmed.
Mauricio Pochettino s team sit 10 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 after a hard-fought 3-2 away win over Bordeaux on Saturday.
There did not appear to be much concern at all as PSG breezed into a 3-0 lead, Neymar scoring twice in the first half, with both goals teed up by Mbappe – those strikes the Brazilian s first from open play in the league since May.
Mbappe made it 3-0 just after the hour with a simple finish into an open goal, though PSG s defensive vulnerabilities have reared their head throughout the campaign and Alberth Elis stole in to tuck home and give the hosts some hope.
M Baye Niang then slo…
Sevilla full-back Martin Caceres said that he would like to have a second opportunity at Juventus.
The Uruguay international spent the 2009-10 season on loan at the Serie A side, making 15 appearances, including 11 starts, during an injury-plagued campaign.
Juventus decided not to use their option to sign Caceres, who went on to represent Sevilla on loan during the 2010-11 season before joining the La Liga side on a permanent basis last summer.
I would really like to put on Juventus shirt again, he told Estadio Deportivo. I would certainly have liked to have more chances to prove my worth while at Juventus, but that is part of football.
I prefer not to say anything else now, but I cannot hide my wish either.
Caceres has made 11 appearances th…
Best Odds: 2/5
Bookmaker:
Getting their European Conference League qualifying adventure underway on Thursday evening, Dundalk will travel out to Gibraltar when they meet the Magpies.
Magpies
Starting with the hosts, while the Magpies might have been crowned Gibraltar Cup champions back in April following a nail-biting penalties victory against Lincoln, Alfonso Cortijo’s side struggled to find much stability at the back end of the 2023 campaign. Failing to pick up any momentum last week as they signed off their pre-season preparations with a routine 3-0 drumming against Championship outfit Preston, the one-time Malaga coach saw his side win just a pair of their final six Premier Division showdowns back in April. Left disappointed after having to settle for ano…
Leicester City are closing in on the signing of James McArthur from Wigan Athletic, .
The East Midlands club had their initial bid of £5m rejected by the Latics earlier this week, but now appear to have got their man after increasing their offer to around £6.5m.
The 26 year old moved to the DW Stadium from Hamilton Academical for £500k in the summer of 2010, going on to make one hundred and fifty-one appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring eleven goals.
Internationally, the midfielder has been capped fifteen times for Scotland, and scored his one and only goal for his country in a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland in 2011.
With both Danny Drinkwater and Matty James nursing injuries, Foxes manager Nigel Pearson will be eager to have the d…
Neil Warnock takes charge of his first home game since returning to Crystal Palace when Burnley visit Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Warnock was handed the task of replacing Tony Pulis last month and started his reign with a dramatic 3-3 Premier League draw at Newcastle United.
The 65-year-old spent two-and-a-half years at Palace before taking over at London rivals QPR in 2010 amid the uncertainty of administration at Selhurst Park and eyebrows were raised when he was appointed for a second time.
Warnock stated that he has unfinished business with Palace and the home clash with Burnley will be viewed as a great opportunity to secure their first Premier League win of the season.
On-loan forward Wilfried Zaha marked his return to the club with a stoppage-time e…