Barcelona manager Hansi Flick called his youthful side “really good” in the first game of his reign against Manchester City and said he wants to emulate the philosophy of Pep Guardiola’s “great” team. Flick started four teenagers among nine players aged under 23 as Barca twice took the lead in a 2-2 draw against City in Orlando, winning a penalty …

Chelsea are set to appoint Delroy Ebanks as their new head of Academy recruitment. Chelsea are looking to overhaul their youth system and they have identified the Newcastle United scout as a target. Delroy Ebanks has done an impressive job at Newcastle since joining the club last year from West Ham. His exploits have caught the attention of the London …

July 31 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has signed a two-year partnership agreement with the bookmaker Elitbet. Who will become the main sponsor of the third tier of Bulgarian football. The Third League, which is made up of amateur teams, will be renamed Elitbet Third League. Desislava Zaharieva, marketing director of Elitbet, announced that there will be a complete …

July 31 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has turned down Canada’s appeal against the six-point deduction for their women’s team in the wake of the drone scandal. The Canadians were docked six points and fined CHF 200,000 by FIFA after a staff member used a drone to spy on a New Zealand training session last week. The …

Newcastle United have been dealt a major blow in their pursuit of an attacking player. The Magpies were desperate to sign Chido Obi-Martin, a 16-year-old striker who was on course to leave Arsenal and they were even involved in talks to secure his signature. However, the youngster has decided to join Manchester United, according to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano. The …

Jurgen Klopp has ruled out taking over as England manager and hinted he may never work as a coach again. The German left Liverpool after eight years in charge at the end of last season citing a need to take a break due to the all-consuming nature of the job. His name was heavily linked with England following the departure …

July 31 – It has been a quiet week for the major European leagues as Saudi player investment takes centre stage in the transfer market once again.  Moving away from the previous trend of signing older, high-profile players, PIF-owned Al Ittihad have secured the signature of 25-year-old French winger Moussa Diaby for €60 million, just 12 months after the player …

Another solid outing for Eddie Howe’s Mags as we kicked off our tour of Japan with a 4-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds thanks to a goal from Alexander Isak, Jacob Murphy brace, Nick Pope penalty save and second half strike from Lewis Hall. Here’s out ratings and comments on every player involved  Pope (8) – Showed what we missed …

Joleon Lescott has hailed the performance of Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly in Tuesday’s 2-2 friendly draw with Barcelona in Florida.  O’Reilly scored City’s first goal in an eventual stalemate — that was won 4-1 by Barcelona on penalties — making a run behind the Blaugrana defence to meet a Josko Gvardiol pass, before expertly finishing beyond Inaki Pena. WHAT …

July 31 – Manchester United blockbuster signing Leny Yoro has been spotted wearing a protective boot and using crutches at the club’s UCLA training base in California, as Manchester United’s season takes a huge hit before it has even taken off. Less than two weeks after Erik Ten Hag made him one of the most expensive teenage signings of all …