CARLO ANCELOTTI LAUDS POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR AT REAL MADRID

 Carlo Ancelotti has touted Xabi Alonso as a future Real Madrid manager and says fans can expect an update on his contract situation soon

The Italian's current deal is due to expire in 2024 and there is significant interest in his services from the Brazilian national team, and talks with the South American nation's football federation have been held.

90min understands that Madrid are prepared to accelerate contract talks with Ancelotti in 2024 with a view to tying the legendary boss down to an extension - something he has now suggested may be his priority.

Alonso, meanwhile, has led Bayer Leverkusen to ten wins in 11 Bundesliga outings, providing a genuine and real threat to Bayern Munich's hopes of a 12th consecutive league title.

"I think I’ve had a great time with him. He is having a fantastic career," Ancelotti said of Alonso in a press conference to the media. "He has the knowledge of football, he has the personality. I really like the way his team plays as a coach.

"He’s one of the coaches I like the most, yes. I like Thiago Motta as well. Obviously Xabi can have the profile to be coach of Madrid, obviously because he knows the club very well."

Ancelotti also spoke about being linked to the Brazil vacancy and confirmed that Madrid supporters and the world will soon know what's going to happen.

"I’m proud that one of the best international teams in the world like Brazil is linked to me, that gives me a lot of pride," he said. "But I have a contract until June 30.

"My future will soon be known. I am here for at least six more months."

Asked whether he would wait until the final day of his current deal with Madrid for an extension to be offered, Ancelotti insisted: "Of course".

Source : https://onefootball.com/en/news/carlo-ancelotti-lauds-potential-successor-at-real-madrid-38618507

5️⃣0️⃣ ERLING HAALAND BREAKS A REMARKABLE PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD

 Erling Haaland has become the fastest player in Premier League history to reach 50 goals.

The Norwegian goal machine did it after 27 minutes of Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool on Saturday, in his 48th game.

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The Norwegian goal machine did it after 27 minutes of Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool on Saturday, in his 48th game.

Haaland found space between two defenders and finished with aplomb past Alisson.

It means that the City sensation has reached a half century faster than the previous record-holder, Andy Cole.

Source : https://onefootball.com/en/news/50-erling-haaland-breaks-a-remarkable-premier-league-record-38618060

REAL MADRID PREPARING FOR HAALAND/MBAPPE GALACTICO SIGNINGS

 Real Madrid are preparing to make a ‘Galactico’ signing next summer and are targeting deals for Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

The Spanish side want to sign an elite centre-forward in next summer’s transfer window and have been raising cash behind the scenes in preparation for a big-money bid.

Mbappe has been a long-term target for Real Madrid and is approaching the end of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain, having turned down the option of an extension at the Parc des Prices.

Real Madrid have offloaded several high earners from the club’s wage bill in recent windows, with Marcelo, Isco and Gareth Bale moved on in 2022, and Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard all departing last summer

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The additional wage bill provides room to manoeuvre in the market, according to AS, particularly when presenting a proposal to sign Mbappe on a free transfer at the end of the season.

However, the Spaniards also have significant sums with which to spend, with €128m available in cash and a further €265m already approved to spend, according to the club’s official accounts.

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Source : https://onefootball.com/en/news/real-madrid-preparing-for-haalandmbappe-galactico-signings-38611433

HOW PEP GUARDIOLA BORROWED FROM JURGEN KLOPP TO ELEVATE MANCHESTER CITY

 In 2021, Pep Guardiola was reflecting on an epic managerial rivalry that then only lasted a mere eight years. “He made me a better manager,” he said of Jurgen Klopp. When he registered his greatest achievement since leaving Barcelona, it owed something to Klopp, too.

In swift succession, his captain lifted the Premier League, the FA Cup and then the Champions League. A decade after scoring for Klopp in a Champions League final at Wembley, Ilkay Gundogan struck twice for Guardiola in an FA Cup final at Wembley. Gundogan felt like a footballing soulmate of Guardiola – as well as a neighbour in the same deluxe Manchester apartment block – but a diplomat had links in each camp: Klopp often texted his former midfielder congratulations when Manchester City won something, just as he got in touch when Liverpool drew Guardiola’s team in the Champions League in 2018.

Gundogan is gone now – to Guardiola’s old club and spiritual home, Barcelona – but he remains an example of how the Catalan has been influenced by the manager who has beaten him most often. As Guardiola’s haul from the seasons when they have faced each other stands at five Premier League titles and two Bundesligas, Klopp is likelier to defeat him over 90 minutes than nine months. That Guardiola has always tended to have greater resources is a factor: a mantra of Klopp’s is that he has never wanted to be the best team in the world as much as beat the best. And, with great regularity, that is how he describes City.

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Source : https://onefootball.com/en/news/how-pep-guardiola-borrowed-from-jurgen-klopp-to-elevate-manchester-city-38611211

FOOTBALL TRANSFER RUMOURS: REAL MADRID BUDGET FOR MBAPPE & HAALAND; ARSENAL MAKE TONEY DECISION

 90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world...

Real Madrid have organised their finances in such a way that they will be able to compete for more 'Galactico' signings next summer, with PSG's Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City's Erling Haaland on their shortlist. (AS)

Manchester United view Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo and Sporting CP's Goncalo Inacio as ideal long-term replacements for Raphael Varane. (The Sun)

Another player on Manchester United's radar is Pedro Neto, who is also wanted by Arsenal and Saudi Pro League clubs. Wolves have set a £60m asking price. (TeamTALK)

Liverpool lead Inter and Juventus in the race to sign Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram, with the France international able to leave if a club comes in with a £35m bid. (Corriere dello Sport

Chelsea could turn to Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez if Napoli's demands for Victor Osimhen prove excessive. (Football Transfers)

In their attempts to find a cut-price replacement for the injured Gavi, Barcelona are weighing up a move for West Ham midfielder Pablo Fornals, whose contract expires in the summer. (Cadena SER)

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Source: https://onefootball.com/en/news/football-transfer-rumours-real-madrid-budget-for-mbappe-haaland-arsenal-make-toney-decision-38611601

MILAN’S R9-INSPIRED PUNK ROCK STRIKER PROSPECT IS READY TO TAKE SERIE A BY STORM – AND HE’S ONLY 15

What do you do when footballers are being introduced too young, inevitably ravaged by injuries and then forced to deal with a shorter career as a result? Bring through more children to cover for injuries, of course.

In an era where footballers are dropping like flies with muscle and ligament injuries galore in and around seasons that are asking for as many as 60 games from players, managers are having to instil more trust in youth prospects, even if those youth prospects are not still legally old enough to drive a car or buy an energy drink

It’s a double-edged sword, though. Because if you’re good enough, you’re old enough

And if you’re good enough to be given a chance to play first-team football at a jaw-droppingly young age, the chances are you’re going to grasp that once-in-a-lifetime, genuine fairytale opportunity with both hands.

Despite their recent resurgence which culminated with winning the Scudetto in 2021-22, Milan’s striker roster is still incredibly fragile.

The Rossoneri managed to extract the absolute maximum out of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his second spell with the club before his body finally forced him into retirement, plugging the gaps around him whenever he faltered by relying on Olivier Giroud, who has since taken over the role as starting striker.

Experience is great, but having two players in the autumn of their careers with a limited shelf life is bound to catch up on you at some point.

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Source : https://onefootball.com/en/news/milans-r9-inspired-punk-rock-striker-prospect-is-ready-to-take-serie-a-by-storm-and-hes-only-15-38611422

VIRTUAL COACHES AND SCOUTING APPS: HOW THE AI REVOLUTION IS TRANSFORMING FOOTBALL'S FUTURE

Football

Clubs not embracing the new era of artificial intelligence risk being left behind with the impacts set to be wide-ranging

Matt Majendie2 minutes ago

QPR’s relegation at the end of the 2012-13 season acted as an unlikely precursor of sorts to the introduction of artificial intelligence in football.

At the start of the season, midfielder Esteban Granero arrived amid fanfare from Real Madrid but was unable to halt the club’s drop from the top flight.

He returned to Spain the following season, first on loan with Real Sociedad before joining permanently. While there, he befriended a team analyst, who found himself unsure what to make of the reams of data he had at his disposal.

Granero’s solution was perhaps atypical to that of his peers. “I took the data and started asking clever people about it,” he recalls. “I went to universities and asked professors about artificial intelligence, as I felt AI could improve data analysis, as in other industries.”

By 2016, he had founded Olocip, an early entry into football AI used to aid decision making when it comes to signing players and also around in-game decisions.

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Source : https://onefootball.com/en/news/virtual-coaches-and-scouting-apps-how-the-ai-revolution-is-transforming-footballs-future-38608623