Author: Joe Soriano

Unai Emery could reunite with one of his best players at Villarreal
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Unai Emery could reunite with one of his best players at Villarreal

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has built something special in Birmingham, as the Lions reached the Champions League last season and have successively improved in each campaign under the Spanish coach. Emery, as much as he was panned at Arsenal, is one of the most acclaimed coaches in European football and a serial winner at the international cup level, boasting a bevy of Europa League success in Spain at two historic clubs in Sevilla and Villarreal. At his most recent stop, Villarreal, Emery helped develop some of European football's biggest gems, including one standout who traveled with him from Villarreal to Aston Villa in Pau Torres, a left-footed center back. Over the years, the transfer rumor mill has salivated at the prospect of Emery bringing someone else from Villarreal wi...
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Tottenham are slamming the gas pedal for a very risky winter signing
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Tottenham are slamming the gas pedal for a very risky winter signing

Tottenham made a big statement on Wednesday night in the League Cup, outlasting Liverpool 1-0 to win the first leg of the semifinals behind some excellent midfield play, including a goal from Lucas Bergvall, and a brilliant assist from hold-up-play maven Dominic Solanke. The 65 million pound man came to Tottenham with a huge point to prove at that bloated price point, but Solanke has quickly become one of the most important players on Tottenham. Though Spurs have struggled this season compared to expectations and last season's fifth-placed finish, Solanke has been as-advertised as an all-around centerpiece who brings others into the game. That said, Tottenham are having trouble scoring the volume of goals they were hoping for, and that has led to them showing an interest in strike...
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The biggest reason why Nico Williams isn’t going to Liverpool
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

The biggest reason why Nico Williams isn’t going to Liverpool

Athletic Club left winger Nico Williams was already one of the biggest breakout stars in Spanish football during the 2022/23 season, and after following up a strong campaign with one that was just as good in 2023/24, Williams was clearly ready for the big time and already on the radar of the big clubs in his own country. But after lighting the European Championships alight across from teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, Williams, a champion with Spain, became the most in-demand left winger on the transfer market with suitors like Barcelona and Arsenal ready to pounce. Williams ultimately chose to stay loyal to the Basque and brother Iñaki, and while his performances have cooled just slightly this season, the 22-year-old remains one of the best wingers in LaLiga - and still on the radar o...
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Tottenham trying hard to bring a high-profile transfer flop back to the Premier League
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Tottenham trying hard to bring a high-profile transfer flop back to the Premier League

Tottenham just saw one of their best midfielders, Rodrigo Bentancur, go down with what seemed like a serious injury in the early minutes of their eventual 1-0 League Cup triumph over Premier League leaders Liverpool. Spurs have a few quality pieces in midfield in converted winger Dejan Kulusevski, young prospects Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, rising star Pape Sarr, and box-to-box worker Yves Bissouma. But there's a general feeling that in order to get back to the Champions League level, Tottenham need to make a big splash in the midfield by signing someone who can both defend and make plays. According to a report from Diario AS in Spain, Tottenham, as well as Fulham, are pushing harder than any other clubs in the Premier League to bring Douglas Luiz back to English football. ...
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The Edson Alvarez transfer news West Ham are itching to hear
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

The Edson Alvarez transfer news West Ham are itching to hear

West Ham have been a train wreck this season, somehow taking a sizable step backwards from where they were last season after they suffered through a putrid second half of the season, leading to the iconic David Moyes's dismissal. Moyes looks like a fallen angel compared to the torment West Ham have been through over the last few months, as the ill-advised Julen Lopetegui appointment has, as any faithful LaLiga observer could have predicted, blown up spectacularly in the faces of the Hammers' decision-makers. But Lopetegui is now out and Graham Potter is in, giving West Ham a clear upgrade at the manager position. Potter, after all, first orchestrated the rise of success that Brighton enjoy today. Now, West Ham need to clean house and have a productive winter transfer window, and o...
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Aston Villa offered a chance to revive one of the world’s best CBs
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Aston Villa offered a chance to revive one of the world’s best CBs

Aston Villa are shorthanded in central defense right now, as one of their most important players, Pau Torres, fractured his metatarsal and will be out for the first two months to start 2025. Torres is one of the best center backs in the Premier League, so this is obviously a tough blow for the Lions, who are now looking for reinforcements in the January 2025 transfer window so that they can compete in the last six months of the season and maintain their standing as a Champions League side. According to a report from the Daily Mail, Aston Villa have been offered the opportunity to sign PSG star Milan Skriniar, who is one of the biggest names on the transfer market at center back. Skriniar was once one of the best center backs in the world at Inter Milan, winning the Scudetto in 202...
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Aston Villa’s next rumored sale means CB will be an even bigger transfer need
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Aston Villa’s next rumored sale means CB will be an even bigger transfer need

Aston Villa have two of the best center backs in the Premier League in Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa, both of whom have proven themselves as stars on an international level. But only one of them is healthy for the foreseeable future, as Torres suffered a fractured metatarsal about a week ago, leaving Aston Villa shorthanded entering the new year. Hence why Aston Villa are being linked to potential center back transfer targets. Their need in central defense may be increased by their own doing, though, as the Lions are close to making a high-profile sale. According to a report from the Daily Mail, Aston Villa are confident that they will finally be able to offload Brazilian central defender Diego Carlos, whom they tried hard to sell last year. Aston Villa believe they will be able to...
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Tottenham get surprising Wilson Odobert injury update
9Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Injury News

Tottenham get surprising Wilson Odobert injury update

Tottenham forward Wilson Odobert joined the club this past summer from Burnley for a whopping 30 million euro transfer fee, as he is part of an incoming class of top prospects, alongside midfielders Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, in Spurs' intent to compete at the Champions League level for the forseeeable future. So far, the early returns on Gray and Bergvall have been highly positive, with the duo most recently impressing greatly in a 1-0 victory over Premier League leaders Liverpool in the first leg of the League Cup semifinals. But the early returns on Odobert are unknown, as the 20-year-old winger has been unable to get on the pitch since suffering a hamstring injury that has cost him 25 games thus far. There is some surprising good news, though. After various outlets report...
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Mohamed Salah and 3 stars who cost Liverpool the most in 1-0 loss vs. Tottenham
8Jan By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Mohamed Salah and 3 stars who cost Liverpool the most in 1-0 loss vs. Tottenham

Liverpool lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the first leg of the League Cup semifinal, and their performance can only be summed up as putrid. Here's who's to blame. Mohamed Salah The buck stops with Mohamed Salah as the superstar of Liverpool and the best player in the world this season. If anyone is entitled to have a day off, then it is Salah, who has come up with the goods in crunch time for the Reds so many times this season. But Wednesday night's loss to Tottenham simply wasn't one of those times, as the Egyptian icon came up empty in the goals and assists column, barely creating chances for his teammates in what was a frustrating and isolated night against Spurs. Djed Spence, of all people, pocketed in the former Premier League Player of the Season winger, who carried very little goal...
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27Nov By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

7 non-UCL teams in 2024/25 who could make the Champions League in 2025/26

There are few things better than a good comeback story, and one of those few things is a good underdog story. In that spirit, let's take a look at seven teams that failed to qualify for the Champions League in the 2024/25 season but are currently in a position - or within striking distance - of Champions League qualification next season. Of course, there are much more than just seven teams in Champions League contention for 2025/26 who missed out this season, but since seven is a lucky number and my fingers - and possibly your brains - are uninterested in an even lengthier list, we'll settle on lucky number seven (as an homage to Mariano Diaz, if you'd like). Chelsea Chelsea aren't so much of a feel-good story as they are an "Empire Strikes Back" kind of vibe. The Blues actually went ...
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