⚽ Football Transfers Speculation, Odds and Predictions

[Renampun]

snip
Regardless, I’m curious about the reasoning behind the Dutch soccer federation’s decision to appoint a foreign coach. After all, there are still many excellent Dutch coaches, such as Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag, who are currently without club jobs but have a strong track record.

From what I've read, Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag both rejected the chance to become the Netherlands coach.. both preferred to coach their own teams rather than the national team. meanwhile, the KNVB passed on other options, such as Reiziger and Louis van Gaal, and chose Xavi as their coach.. a rather remarkable decision as the KNVB typically prioritizes coaches from their own country. but perhaps because Xavi has a total football philosophy and his experience of bringing Barca to the championship, that's what made the KNVB consider signing him.

[kriminall]

snip
Regardless, I’m curious about the reasoning behind the Dutch soccer federation’s decision to appoint a foreign coach. After all, there are still many excellent Dutch coaches, such as Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag, who are currently without club jobs but have a strong track record.

From what I've read, Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag both rejected the chance to become the Netherlands coach.. both preferred to coach their own teams rather than the national team. meanwhile, the KNVB passed on other options, such as Reiziger and Louis van Gaal, and chose Xavi as their coach.. a rather remarkable decision as the KNVB typically prioritizes coaches from their own country. but perhaps because Xavi has a total football philosophy and his experience of bringing Barca to the championship, that's what made the KNVB consider signing him.

The Netherlands are aware of Xavi's potential, which is why they brought in the Spanish coach. Considering Xavi's talent scouting abilities, the Netherlands will now be a team that makes more use of young players. I believe the Spanish coach will have a successful period here. I think his appointment is a very good move. The primary goal now is the European Championship. Reaching at least the semi-finals in this tournament will be considered a success, if they manage to do so.

[Iamgoat]

I don't like this thing that a coach of a particular national team can go and coach another.
I think it's also a bit about patriotism, about feeling part of your people. So, i don't know, i don't find it something that makes sense and that can actually coexist with the club and the national team that is being trained.

FIFA is doing more of commercials now than anything and it is direct from the leadership they are having those problems. An international organization like FIFA is supposed to do more of promoting of multicultural soccer than a commercialized one where teams are meant to showcase their talents and diversity both on the pitch and across the stadium with the mixture of the fans. FIFA World Cup is supposed to a colorful competition and atmosphere like it used to be in the past  and less of favoritism. FIFA World Cup is another form of Olympic to me and countries who have shown more reliance and enthusiasm go ahead to win naturally but today we have so many information of betrayal and favoritism as cited in the last competition should be reduced

[coinlary]

Two title winner, world cup winner, and golden ball winner. Is not it enough to glorify Rodri's price? I understand age and injury prone is the key problem, but when his game can be managed well, he can also be far away from getting injury.
I'd be buying him with 70m instead of gambling more than 100m/ 120m to buy a new a DM that comes Bundesliga or League one.

No one is saying he's  not a good player but the price is ridiculous no matter how many title you want tie to his name . It’s not like he won it all by himself . He plays with Best  managers and one of the best squads in both nations and club, this has belped him to show that he does contribute positively but he's  still not worth that price .

60M is a fair price for him if we're beign honest.

PSG is doing same and It’s so annoying

[Obari]

World Cup performance is just one of the things that has spoilt these teams with the outrageous amount they set for their key players. I just see it that Chelsea didn't want to let him go and of course why should they let him go when they are still battling with achieving a quality squad in preparation for the new season. I liked how Enzo Fernandez played at the World Cup but his awkward performance in the final which led to the red card that disorganised Argentina at extra time is something that irritated me about Enzo Fernandez but sometimes we can't just blame these players because most of them are under pressure during a final match so mistakes can be made.

Enzo Fernandez is one of the finest midfielders in our current generation, he's brilliant with the ball and have been unique in his own very way. Ut unfortunately following the saga online, we can see Chelsea are not cracking any jokes and theyre serious, they stood their ground when they set Friday around 5pm as deadline for any club to offer a bid worth £120m but none came.

Manchester City wouldn't bargain such a price because signing Enzo Fernandez for such amount will just trigger them to break one of the crucial rules in financial fair play. Chelsea is not desperate to sell him because they still have good use of Enzo Fernandez in the team.

[Zaguru12]

I don't like this thing that a coach of a particular national team can go and coach another.
I think it's also a bit about patriotism, about feeling part of your people. So, i don't know, i don't find it something that makes sense and that can actually coexist with the club and the national team that is being trained.

I don’t see what is wrong with it, it’s like a player not getting out of the club he started with because of patriotism, if we are to go with this your ideology then football wouldn’t have evolved to this Hight that it is, because some countries actually grew their football because of the help from foreigners or foreign managers and also this managers got the opportunity to show case their talent because of countries not been their own. If managers want to coach only their countries just imagine how many of them would have their careers stagnant for years.

From what I've read, Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag both rejected the chance to become the Netherlands coach.. both preferred to coach their own teams rather than the national team. meanwhile, the KNVB passed on other options, such as Reiziger and Louis van Gaal, and chose Xavi as their coach.. a rather remarkable decision as the KNVB typically prioritizes coaches from their own country. but perhaps because Xavi has a total football philosophy and his experience of bringing Barca to the championship, that's what made the KNVB consider signing him.

Most probably I think Arne slot will be taking time off coaching for a while to actually rebuild himself and be ready again. As for Erik Ten Hag he must be looking at the possibility of joining a club and not managed a country side. For Xavi I will say it’s a good move for him because to be honest I was surprised he hasn’t got a team to manage even with the high number of sacked managers. His days at Barcelona wasn’t that really bad to me that he shouldn’t be having suitors

[Ale88]

I can't believe Spurs is pricing Savinho like he's a great winger. 85 millions for him? Is spurs crazy? City signed him for 40 million, and it's more than double with this bid. I think City has to let him go, then they can sign someone else to be his replacement like Pedro Neto from Chelsea.

I remember Maresca was Neto's fan when he was in Chelsea. So i think exchanging him to the Pedro Neto is obviously an upgrade. Savinho has always disappointed last season, and he always lost the ball with his poor dribble. I don't think keeping him far longer in the club is a good option when they can sell him for huge profit.

They have to sell Savinho to Spurs, then sign Pedro Neto from Chelsea. Is not it a smart business?

Are they out of their minds?! 85 millions for Savinho? Is this a joke? He barely played at City, what did he do to deserve such a high asking price? But the worst thing is Tottenham actually agreeing to pay 85 millions for him. Once again I just don't understand it, year after year we are seeing more and more transfers in the English domestic market that make no sense at all.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Álvarez had his first training session after his vacation, and according to many news outlets, before the training session he spoke with Simeone about his desire to leave Atlético and move to Barcelona. However, Simeone told him that this is not a decision he has the authority to make, everything needs to be discussed and decided with the club. Therefore, this conversation did not provide any clarity regarding a possible transfer of Álvarez to Barcelona.

However, one thing is clear, Atlético do not want to let the forward leave for Barcelona. Simeone also told Álvarez that he wants him to remain Atlético’s striker next season.

Here's something not everyone understood: everything was ready for Álvarez to go to Barcelona, but what happened? Florentino Pérez entered the negotiations offering €150 million. This set off alarm bells, as the club initially rejected the offer. This completely dashed Barcelona's hopes because they were offering significantly less money, and that's where the controversy arose. It was a tactical masterclass on Florentino's part.

This is what I love about the rivalry: it permeates every aspect of life. That's why this season in La Liga promises to be exciting.

[yudi09]

The Netherlands are aware of Xavi's potential, which is why they brought in the Spanish coach. Considering Xavi's talent scouting abilities, the Netherlands will now be a team that makes more use of young players. I believe the Spanish coach will have a successful period here. I think his appointment is a very good move. The primary goal now is the European Championship. Reaching at least the semi-finals in this tournament will be considered a success, if they manage to do so.

Xavi is the first person to take on the role of head coach of the Dutch national team since 2012. Strangely enough, I didn’t really understand the tactics Koeman employed. This is the first time we’ll have the chance to see a new style of play under Xavi’s leadership. There are high hopes that Dutch soccer will become even more beautiful. The average age of the Dutch squad that competed in the 2026 World Cup is under 30. Xavi is likely to make changes to the roster, and we’ll probably see the Dutch starting lineup filled with many young players. Van Dijk himself is unlikely to be his first choice at center back.

[koang]

I can't believe Spurs is pricing Savinho like he's a great winger. 85 millions for him? Is spurs crazy? City signed him for 40 million, and it's more than double with this bid. I think City has to let him go, then they can sign someone else to be his replacement like Pedro Neto from Chelsea.

I remember Maresca was Neto's fan when he was in Chelsea. So i think exchanging him to the Pedro Neto is obviously an upgrade. Savinho has always disappointed last season, and he always lost the ball with his poor dribble. I don't think keeping him far longer in the club is a good option when they can sell him for huge profit.

They have to sell Savinho to Spurs, then sign Pedro Neto from Chelsea. Is not it a smart business?

Are they out of their minds?! 85 millions for Savinho? Is this a joke? He barely played at City, what did he do to deserve such a high asking price? But the worst thing is Tottenham actually agreeing to pay 85 millions for him. Once again I just don't understand it, year after year we are seeing more and more transfers in the English domestic market that make no sense at all.

When I see Tottenham submitted £85 million for Savinho while Galatasaray are offering just £38 million for Martinelli, I honestly struggle to understand this. £ 85 million for Savinho is crazy. How do they do it? Absolutely brainless spending from Spurs- how is Savinho worth that much with his appalling G/A record? Good players should be going for good fees, not all these bums; football transfers aren’t getting any better. But the Man City sporting department is truly goated. They manage to squeeze 85 million for a back-up winger.

[Solodoski]

snip
Regardless, I’m curious about the reasoning behind the Dutch soccer federation’s decision to appoint a foreign coach. After all, there are still many excellent Dutch coaches, such as Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag, who are currently without club jobs but have a strong track record.

It definitely looked awkward because the Netherlands has always prioritize indigenous managers, so it must be a thing of surprise for most of us to see a foreign manager on the touch line.  I think they made a good decision and signing Xavi, because I think he is a good manager with a lot of potentials and can even help them become a force in world football again. It's true they have some decent managers in the Netherlands,  but I think their football federation most have thought about it before making the choice to choose Xavi and I also think it's a wonderful choice.

[KTChampions]

I still don't see how they are allowed to spend that much money. And what happened to the investigation about the fake/inflated sponsorship? Because basically City were sponsoring themselves, they only had to change some numbers in the contracts and they would fix any money problem...

Are they out of their minds?! 85 millions for Savinho? Is this a joke? He barely played at City, what did he do to deserve such a high asking price? But the worst thing is Tottenham actually agreeing to pay 85 millions for him. Once again I just don't understand it, year after year we are seeing more and more transfers in the English domestic market that make no sense at all.

  Haven't you begun to understand what's going on here yet?
City used to fund themselves through fake contracts, now they maintain the appearance of compliance with the Financial Fair Play (aka PSR, aka SCR-SSR) with the help of inflated transfers. I have no other explanation for how they buy players and then after these players fail (or just didn't show much progress), sell them for a higher price.
It seems to me that a significant part of the current prices is the cost of machinations, as always in the end it is the clubs that conduct business honestly that lose out.

[Hypnotizer]

It’s now Official, Cristian Romero has signed for Atletico Madrid from Spurs for a five year contract until 2031.

This is the fourth player Atletico Madrid have signed this summer, they are also building their squad to compete in the Laliga and other competitions this season. They still don’t consider selling Alvarez to Barcelona, they want him in their squad this season.


The Rodri deal with Barcelona is close to completion as Barcelona is preparing to submit their third bid to Manchester City with a reported fee of almost 70 million euros and that is very close to what Manchester City are asking for, so the deal is expected to be completed.

[asriloni]

I can't believe Spurs is pricing Savinho like he's a great winger. 85 millions for him? Is spurs crazy? City signed him for 40 million, and it's more than double with this bid. I think City has to let him go, then they can sign someone else to be his replacement like Pedro Neto from Chelsea.

I remember Maresca was Neto's fan when he was in Chelsea. So i think exchanging him to the Pedro Neto is obviously an upgrade. Savinho has always disappointed last season, and he always lost the ball with his poor dribble. I don't think keeping him far longer in the club is a good option when they can sell him for huge profit.

They have to sell Savinho to Spurs, then sign Pedro Neto from Chelsea. Is not it a smart business?

Are they out of their minds?! 85 millions for Savinho? Is this a joke? He barely played at City, what did he do to deserve such a high asking price? But the worst thing is Tottenham actually agreeing to pay 85 millions for him. Once again I just don't understand it, year after year we are seeing more and more transfers in the English domestic market that make no sense at all.

I can only guess Spurs may feel impressed with his ability when dribbling the ball, though he often lost the ball when he dribbled. However, these days the price of players in EPL club have been inflated so high. Thanks to Chelsea for their effort to price unproven players with non sense price, then it pushes any club to also do the same by pricing their PL proven players so high.

But in the end, it's not a joke because official bid is already made. Savinho is not also joining in City's training. So it's likely this transfer will be closing with such price. The player price is just getting even non sense everyday. No doubt cluhs from other league who have less income feel difficult to follow the snowball created by EPL teams.

[Silikiem]

The Netherlands are aware of Xavi's potential, which is why they brought in the Spanish coach. Considering Xavi's talent scouting abilities, the Netherlands will now be a team that makes more use of young players. I believe the Spanish coach will have a successful period here. I think his appointment is a very good move. The primary goal now is the European Championship. Reaching at least the semi-finals in this tournament will be considered a success, if they manage to do so.

Xavi is the first person to take on the role of head coach of the Dutch national team since 2012. Strangely enough, I didn’t really understand the tactics Koeman employed. This is the first time we’ll have the chance to see a new style of play under Xavi’s leadership. There are high hopes that Dutch soccer will become even more beautiful. The average age of the Dutch squad that competed in the 2026 World Cup is under 30. Xavi is likely to make changes to the roster, and we’ll probably see the Dutch starting lineup filled with many young players. Van Dijk himself is unlikely to be his first choice at center back.

Talking of making changes to the Oranjes set up, Xavi is really capable of making those changes, but he will need to be given time. Ronald Koman’s stay as the head coach has long been over due and I’ve been expecting the Netherlands national team to start a new rebuilding process. They’ve really been underperforming in recent tournaments, they couldn’t make it past the round of 32 during the recently concluded World Cup where they got eliminated by Morroco. With young players now integrated into the national team setup i think a coach like Xavi Hernandez is a coach who knows how to use young players and maximize their talents just as he did with Lamine Yamal during his time as Barcelona’s head coach, he gave Lamine yamal his professional debut and today He’s regarded as one of the best players in the world. So hopefully Xavi will be able to transmit that to young players like Xavi Simmons, Ryan Gravenberch etc in the Netherlands national team.

[Grave Digger]

Martin Ødegaard produced his best Premier League numbers in 2022/23 when he recorded 22 goal contributions in 37 games.

Closely followed by 2023/24 when he got 19 goal contributions in 35 games.

Mikel Arteta believes his captain will produce similar numbers this season for Arsenal.

[Grave Digger]

🚨 Honestly, some of Arsenal’s decision-making is becoming increasingly baffling. Letting Leandro Trossard leave, despite his important contributions and experience in the squad, while Gabriel Jesus remains on reportedly huge wages raises serious questions about the club’s transfer strategy.

Trossard has consistently provided goals, assists, versatility and big-game experience whenever Arsenal needed him. Meanwhile, Jesus has struggled to stay consistently available, often managing only around 15 appearances in a season due to injuries and fitness issues.

At reportedly £250k per week, Arsenal have to ask a simple question: what value is Gabriel Jesus currently bringing to the squad that justifies those wages?

This isn’t about disrespecting Jesus or forgetting what he has contributed when fit. The problem is availability, consistency and value for money. If Arsenal are serious about defending the Premier League title and competing on multiple fronts, they cannot afford to make sentimental decisions.

Letting a reliable squad player like Trossard go while continuing to carry one of the club’s biggest wages for a player who struggles to stay fit feels like poor squad management.

Arsenal need to be ruthless in their decision-making. Every player, every contract and every wage bill should be judged by what they can contribute right now, not what they did in the past.💯

[blue Snow]

I read the news about Cancelo. It looks like he'll be returning to Barca as well.

Definitely, we can't rely on Balde that's going on and off.

It looks like Balde will see less playing time now that Barcelona has signed Cancelo to a permanent contract. Last season, Balde already faced this situation because Hansi Flick often played Cancelo over Balde, and Cancelo performed well. So, I think this season, Flick will most likely make Cancelo a starter at left back.

[bangjoe]

snip
Regardless, I’m curious about the reasoning behind the Dutch soccer federation’s decision to appoint a foreign coach. After all, there are still many excellent Dutch coaches, such as Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag, who are currently without club jobs but have a strong track record.

It definitely looked awkward because the Netherlands has always prioritize indigenous managers, so it must be a thing of surprise for most of us to see a foreign manager on the touch line.  I think they made a good decision and signing Xavi, because I think he is a good manager with a lot of potentials and can even help them become a force in world football again. It's true they have some decent managers in the Netherlands,  but I think their football federation most have thought about it before making the choice to choose Xavi and I also think it's a wonderful choice.

It's not that simple in my opinion, however coaches like Arne Slot and Ten Hag deserve to be considered very well to manage their own national team, their experience has also gone very far in modern football speaking, not inferior to Xavi.
But I think that what happened to the Dutch national team is because Xavi is a former Barcelona coach, his obsession may be tied to that, just like Ronald Koeman who fought with Barcelona too, or it could be a suggestion from Koeman's previous coach to attract Xavi to coach, from my own view it is very dear for them not to trust their own nation's blood when it is not far away.

[Fakhrulenclix]

I read the news about Cancelo. It looks like he'll be returning to Barca as well.

Definitely, we can't rely on Balde that's going on and off.

It looks like Balde will see less playing time now that Barcelona has signed Cancelo to a permanent contract. Last season, Balde already faced this situation because Hansi Flick often played Cancelo over Balde, and Cancelo performed well. So, I think this season, Flick will most likely make Cancelo a starter at left back.

These are two good players and can cover each other so I think Hansi Flick should be able to cover the problems in that position if both are in the team and the move to sign Cancelo permanently is certainly a good move but on the other hand Balde should also be given time to develop because Balde is a potential young player who is possible for the future of Barcelona while Cancelo is already 33 years old this season so it does not have a positive impact for the future.