Manchester United have confirmed a deal to sign Victor Lindelof from Benfica for a reported fee of £30.7m. Having started his career at Vasteras SK in the lower tiers of Swedish football, Lindelof signed for Benfica as a 17-year-old in December 2011. It took him almost two years in the reserves before he finally made his first-team debut in October 2013. Still, however, his appearances for the senior side were few and far between until the 2015/16 season, when injuries gave him his chance to impress as Benfica competed for, and eventually won, the title. Having not featured at all until January, Lindelof was thrown into action as a second-half substitute against Moreirense, and has since gone on to establish himself as a
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Sead Kolasinac Player Analysis
Arsenal have announced the signing of Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer. Arsene Wenger has celebrated his new deal by snapping up the Schalke left-back on a deal worth £7.5million a year. Kolasinac will begin pre-season with the Gunners after agreeing to a move to the Emirates on a free transfer from German club Schalke. Kolasinac was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1993. He arrived at Schalke in 2012, via hometown club Karlsruher SC and Hoffenheim. He broke into the Schalke first team in 2012 and has been a regular at Veltins-Arena ever since. He began his youth career as a central defender or holding midfielder but has since found his home on the left-hand side. Despite representing Germany at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-20 level, he
Premier League Pre Season Friendlies 2017
Arsenal Jul 13 Arsenal vs Sydney FC TBC ANZ Stadium, Sydney Jul 17 Arsenal vs Western Sydney Wanderers 11:00 ANZ Stadium, Sydney Jul 19 Arsenal vs Bayern Munich 13:05 Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai Jul 22 Arsenal vs Chelsea 12:40 Bird's Nest, Beijing Jul 29 Arsenal vs Benfica 16:20 Emirates Stadium, London Jul 30 Arsenal vs Sevilla 16:20 Emirates Stadium, London Chelsea Jul 22 Chelsea vs Arsenal 19:40 / 12:40 Bird's Nest, Beijing Jul 25 Chelsea vs Bayern Munich 19:35 / 12:35 National Stadium, Singapore Jul 29 Chelsea vs Inter 19:35 / 12:35 National Stadium, Singapore Liverpool Jul 19 Liverpool vs Crystal Palace TBC Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong Jul 22 Liverpool vs West Brom or Leicester TBC Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong Jul 29 Liverpool vs Hertha BSC 17:00 Olympiastadion, Berlin Aug 1 Liverpool vs Bayern, Atletico or AC Milan TBC Allianz Arena, Munich Aug 2 Liverpool vs Bayern, Atletico or AC Milan TBC Allianz Arena, Munich Aug 5 Liverpool vs Athletic Bilbao 17:15 Aviva Stadium, Dublin Manchester United Jul 15 Man Utd vs LA Galaxy 03:00 StubHub Center, Carson Jul 17 Man Utd vs Real Salt Lake 03:00 Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy Jul
Ederson Player Analysis
Manchester City have agreed their second signing of the summer as Benfica keeper Ederson joins them for £35 million becoming the most expensive goal keeper ever. The Brazilian goalkeeper is set to replace Claudio Bravo at the Etihad Stadium after a disastrous season for the Chilean. Ederson was born in Osasco, Sao Paulo, and grew up playing for his local club, Sao Paulo FC, until he was snapped up by Benfica as a 16-year-old. After two years as a junior he joined second division club Ribeirao, A year, and 29 appearances, later Ederson was back in Premeira Liga with Rio Ave but was forced to wait for the No.1 shirt but as soon as he grabbed it he found himself in the
Bernardo Silva Player Analysis
Silva is a 22-year-old who came through the ranks at Benfica, in his home city of Lisbon. He made his debut for the Eagles aged 19 in his only appearance in the 2013-14 season, before moving on loan to Monaco the following campaign. Silva was nicknamed 'Little Messi' or Messizinho when he coming through the Benfica academy as a schoolboy. Despite being voted Portugal's Breakthrough Star of 2014 following an impressive season in the Portuguese second division with Benfica B, Silva left the club after playing just 31 minutes of first team football. "When they put me training at left-back at Benfica I realised I had no future at the club," said Silva. Former Benfica boss Jorge Jesus is blamed for failing to keep
Arsenal, Liverpool or Man City could play 39th Premier League game to qualify for UCL
The final day of the Premier League season could throw up a one-off Champions League play off for two of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, if results fall a certain way. With one game remaining there is still a chance that the Gunners could face the Reds in a one-off match at a neutral ground. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City sit in a good position, two points ahead of fourth-placed Liverpool, but can still be caught should if they suffer a huge defeat against Watford. Following are all the possible results that could bring up a Champions League Play off in the Premier League. 1. Arsenal v Liverpool (fourth-place play-off) Arsenal and Liverpool would finish joint-fourth should Liverpool lose 2-0 at home to Middlesbrough and Arsenal
The Unwarranted Stigma Against Money in Football
“Some people believe that football is a matter of life and death. I’m very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much more important than that.” – Bill Shankly The world of football is one filled with passion. Players, managers, backroom staff, and fans would go to any lengths to craft a victory for the team they support. For a while now football has been the biggest sport in the world. Along with the globalization of football came the advent of money in to the sport. From multi-million dollar television deals and sponsorships to clubs being bought over by some of the richest business people in the world, the flow of cash in to the game has been
The Best Footballer Born Every Year From 1970 – 2002
A group of football fans compiled a list of the best footballer born every year from 1970 - 2002. Creating this list of top footballers was a challenge, with many football legends born in the same year. However, we selected the player most preferred by fans to make the cut. For each year, we’ve also included the closest runner-up at the bottom of the article. Check out the full list of iconic footballers and let us know—did we get it right, or would you suggest any changes? 1970's Year Player 1970 Cafu 1971 Jari Litmanen 1972 Zinedine Zidane 1973 Roberto Carlos 1974 Alessandro Del Piero 1975 David Beckham 1976 Ronaldo 1977 Thierry Henry 1978 Gianluigi Buffon 1979 Andrea Pirlo 1980's Year Player 1980 Xavi 1981 Iker Casillas 1982 Ricardo Kaká 1983 Philip Lahm 1984 Andrés Iniesta 1985 Cristiano Ronaldo 1986 Manuel Neuer 1987 Lionel Messi 1988 Robert Lewandowski 1989 Gareth Bale 1990's Year Player 1990 Toni Kroos 1991 Kevin De Bruyne 1992 Neymar 1993 Harry Kane 1994 Bruno Fernandes 1995 Ollie Watkins 1996 Rodri 1997 Lautaro Martínez 1998 Kylian Mbappé 1999 Declan Rice .2000's Year Player 2000 Erling Haaland 2001 Bukayo Saka 2002 Nico Williams Changes Arguable changes that can be
Manchester United 2 Chelsea 0 Sri Lankan Social Media Reaction
Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-0. Here’s how the Sri Lankan social media fans reacted during the match. Many Neutral fans were looking forward to this game for various reasons Mourinho victory over Chelsea would be lit. His arrogance will return . Missed it tbh — Afra (@AfraLaffar) April 16, 2017 7 minutes into the game Manchester United took the lead through Rashford The Kid ❤! Get in ! #MUFC — Chrishan Aloysious (@shan_ca7) April 16, 2017 Early goal! Yaaasss #GGMU #munche — Sahani (@S5ahani) April 16, 2017 Not the start Chelsea fans wanted after the injury of Alonso Well, shit start. — Pasan Weerasinghe (@Portellofanatic) April 16, 2017 Herrera's brilliant assist played a major part in that goal #anderherera #beauty of a pass. #rashford #mufc #goal — Amjad Athas (@googly99) April 16, 2017 Beautiful ball
Guide through the must-watch games of the weekend
The international break is finally over, so we have catch up with club football again. These are the games you shouldn't miss this weekend! Saturday 5:00 pm: Liverpool - Everton The Merseyside Derby and its importance speak for themselves. Liverpool, who now have 56 points after 29 matches, are looking to get a more comfortable lead over Manchester United (52 points after 27 matches and Arsenal (50 points after 27 matches) for 4th place, while Everton (50 points, 29 matches) will want to close in on named teams. 7:00 pm: Schalke 04 - Borussia Dortmund Right after the Premier League game ends you can switch to another great match: The Revierderby. Probably the most intense derby in Germany. The gap between the two