Aston Villa have recently agreed an off-field deal at Villa Park, with one finance expert labelling it as “excellent timing”.

Aston Villa update – off-field deal agreed

It has been a busy year in the Midlands, with Unai Emery transforming the club’s fortunes on the pitch and leading Villa into the Europa Conference League. As a result, NSWE backed the Spaniard in the transfer market over the summer, with the likes of Moussa Diaby and Pau Torres arriving in big-money transfers.

However, Villa have also been busy in recent months and announced a new collaborative partnership with Japanese club, Vissel Kobe. Villa shared the news last week, saying on their official website:

“As part of this exciting step forward for both clubs, Villa and Vissel Kobe will work to create a bilateral development framework for players and staff which will enhance youth development, alongside the cooperative sharing of ideas, techniques and best practice. The partnership will look to further open up pathways for talented Japanese players to play in Europe and, ultimately, at Aston Villa.”

Kieran Maguire has claimed that Aston Villa will want to emulate Brighton & Hove Albion’s success with Kaoru Mitoma going forward, and he has made another claim on the deal. Maguire, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to Football Insider about the off-field agreement and labelled it as “excellent timing for Aston Villa”.

“I think this Vissel Kobe partnership is excellent timing for Aston Villa. They have ambitious owners. They want eventually to be in a position where they can challenge the ‘Big Six’ in terms of qualifying in the Champions League places.

“Combining that with the expansion of Villa Park it makes even more sense. Football is leaning more towards prawn sandwiches, which as a fan you loathe. but as a financier you understand.”

Aston Villa and Vissel Kobe deal

Not only will Villa work with Vissel Kobe ahead of some potential players moving from Japan to England, but the club confirmed that exchanges of “technical knowledge and coaching methodology”, looking to improve areas of “performance, scouting and recruitment, data analysis and overall squad management” will also be on the agenda, so there appears to be an in-depth plan in place.

It could benefit both clubs in years to come, and as Maguire claims, the deal may also help Villa as they look to break into the ‘Big Six’ under Emery with an improved income in Asia both on and off the pitch. It will be interesting to see who the first player could be to make the move from Vissel Kobe to Aston Villa, but with Emery’s side once again flying during the current campaign, additions may well be limited to start with.

Chelsea legend Eden Hazard says that he does not regret retiring from football and claims he loved his time at Real Madrid.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Hazard doesn't regret retiring early
• Enjoyed his time at Real Madrid
• Scored seven goals in four seasons with Los Blancos

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Hazard had a nightmare few years with Real Madrid, scoring just seven goals before leaving the club at the end of the 2022-23 season, a year before his contract was due to expire. He attracted criticism for being out of shape and was plagued with multiple injuries. Yet the former Belgium international claims that he did not regret joining Los Blancos as it was his dream to play under his idol Zinedine Zidane.

Advertisement

• WHAT EDEN HAZARD SAID

  In an exclusive interview with , the ex-winger said: "It was my dream. I can tell you it was my dream even if the story was not that good with injuries and this and that. When I look back, and you can see some pictures of me wearing the white Real Madrid shirt, it makes me proud."

• (C)GettyImages
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  A few months after leaving the Spanish club, the 33-year-old announced his retirement from professional football despite having offers from the Saudi Pro League and MLS.

  When asked if he could have played for a little longer, the former Blues star said: "Good question. I think so, but I decided playing football was over because I had a lot of injuries, and I have no regrets."

  He added: "I enjoy it a lot. I miss my football a bit, especially being with the lads in the dressing room, but I can do what I want now. I have kids and a family. I can go to Belgium to see my family, brothers and parents. I can do a lot of things."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR EDEN HAZARD?

  The Belgian is set to return to Chelsea in June to compete in the Soccer Aid charity match at Stamford Bridge. The fixture, that's played annually, features a mixture of former England footballers, various celebrities and influencers and famous foreign players from the past.

Bangladesh’s batsmen have only themselves to blame for their wretched performance in the two Tests against West Indies, according to Tamim Iqbal

Mohammad Isam15-Jul-2018

Bangladesh’s batsmen have only themselves to blame for their wretched performance in the two Tests against West Indies, according to Tamim Iqbal. He said that even when the pitch became easier for batting on the third day of the Jamaica Test, they couldn’t enter into a contest with the West Indies fast bowlers.Instead, Bangladesh collapsed to 168 all out in 42 overs as West Indies completed a series-winning 166-run victory. Home captain Jason Holder finished with 11 for 103 as their fast bowlers dominated the two Tests. Only two out of the 40 wickets West Indies took went to a spinner – Roston Chase. Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel took five-wicket hauls in the first Test while Miguel Cummins chipped in with wickets from time to time.”What happened here, there’s nothing to explain,” Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. “We only have ourselves to blame. Our batting was not up to the mark. We were playing on difficult wickets but these were not unplayable. There were exceptional deliveries but it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t get 200 in any innings. Even today, we weren’t going to make 330 or 340 but it was a really good wicket to bat on. If we could have been in the contest longer, it would have been an interesting game.”None of the Bangladesh batsmen could total 100 runs in the four innings, The team’s series batting average stood at 12.60, their lowest ever. Only Nurul Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan scored fifties while Mahmudullah and Mominul Haque made 19 and 16 runs in the series respectively.The only departure from usual Test conditions that Tamim observed during this series was the use of the Duke ball. The last time Bangladesh played with the Duke ball was during their 2014 West Indies tour. Bangladesh regularly play with the Kookaburra ball both at home and in other countries. The Duke balls are known to have a more pronounced seam than the Kookaburra, helping the pace bowlers for movement off the seam for longer periods.”The only thing that was different here was the Duke ball which we were playing [with] after four years,” Tamim stated. It swings and seams more than the Kookaburra ball, but that’s the only difference. But it is not an excuse for our bad performance.”I think it was more mental than technical. The top six here had similar dismissals. I think we were prepared enough for tackling swing and bounce, but you can’t really prepare for a seaming track where the ball is cutting.”Bangladesh lasted 88.1 overs in this game, after having batted for only 59 overs in Antigua. They only lasted 883 balls across the series, the fewest by a team in a two-Test series since 1888-89, not counting heavily rain-affected contests. Tamim said that it was perhaps their biggest downfall not to bat longer and take advantage of lulls in a Test match. He felt that by batting for 60-70 overs at a time, they could have tired down the West Indies pace bowlers who played three Tests against Sri Lanka recently.”I have played in different conditions in New Zealand and South Africa. In these wickets, you have to spend a lot of time,” Tamim said. “You can’t play a big shot early. But I think our biggest downfall was not being able to keep them on the field for 60-70 overs at a stretch. Their pace bowlers were playing five back-to-back Tests, so they would have been tired.”If we could have stretched the game longer, we could have cashed in. We all know there are difficult phases and easy periods in Test matches. We never gave ourselves that chance. We got all out in less than 20 overs in the first innings in Antigua and here it was no different. We got bowled out in 40-45 overs.”Tamim also questioned his own performance, having scored just 64 runs in four innings, and understood he needed to improve quickly. The battling 47 in the first innings in Jamaica was the only highlight for him in the Test series. “I haven’t failed like this since 2014 so it is shocking to me regardless of how other people feel about my performance,” he stated. “I know that I have to be better at coping with this kind of thing.”From a personal point of view, I would say three out of my four dismissals were very good deliveries. But having said that, I should have handled it differently. I am a senior cricketer from whom people expect runs.”With the three-match ODI series starting next week, Tamim found some solace in returning to a more favoured format, although he said that they needed to shed the memory of the Test series quickly. He, however, warned that completely forgetting how poorly they played in Antigua and Jamaica wouldn’t be ideal ahead of their next Test assignment.”A different format would suit us but we are going in with bad rhythm,” he said. “We have four-five days to forget the Test series and rebuild for the ODIs. But I think we shouldn’t forget it completely. We should keep in mind how we did, before our next Test series.”

Unbeaten centuries for Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali gave Yorkshire a day to forget at the Scarborough Festival

Paul Edwards20-Aug-20180:34

Moeen’s focus on Worcestershire, not England

ScorecardThere is a crouching stance with the shoulders slightly hunched; there is a firm step back and then there is a non-committal move forward; there are skills learned over 14 summers and a temperament that has been tested by the best in the world; in time there are cuts and punches; staple runs are worked backward of square; flamboyance is left to others. “Labour well the Minute Particulars,” wrote William Blake. One supposes Daryl Mitchell would agree.So, perhaps, would Moeen Ali. His style at the wicket could hardly contrast more clearly with Mitchell’s yet the pair combined in an unbroken 199-run second-wicket partnership which seized complete control of this game for Worcestershire and gives the visitors a clear opportunity to build on their 94-run lead and register their second victory of the season.And on the day when Jonny Bairstow broke his finger, Moeen’s century will have been noticed by the England selectors at Trent Bridge. He reached three figures off 160 balls with a thunderclap of a cover drive, hit on the up off Jack Brooks, but he had by then earned the right to offer his full repertoire. Along with Mitchell, who batted quite as well as his partner, Moeen defied and defeated Yorkshire’s weakened attack for 56 overs at North Marine Road. The home coaches bemoaned the absence of both Steve Patterson and Ben Coad but Mitchell and Moeen were properly tested on a bouncy pitch. The opener’s bruises testified to that.Early in the morning spectators took the seats they have occupied since Ray Illingworth was on rusks and waited for early breakthroughs. But all they saw was Mitchell and Tom Fell accumulating runs in such a deft fashion one might have thought they did not wish to be noticed. Willey tried all his seamers except himself but nothing worked. The openers hit half a dozen fours in the first hour but none forked lightning. Fisher and Brooks tried bouncers but only conceded boundary byes.Yorkshire took their only wicket at 12.15 when Fell was leg before on the walk to Brooks for 45. He had put on 111 with Mitchell, the first century opening stand in Yorkshire’s Championship matches this season. Fell batted far better than his score suggests. He saw off the new ball, battled through Sunday’s murk and defied Yorkshire’s attack for over an hour on a morning when they expected to take wickets.On this bright and balmy Monday, though, one wicket did not bring two. Instead it brought Moeen to the crease and he was soon batting quite beautifully against the Yorkshire seamers, driving them through point and cover when he could and working them around when there was nothing else in the shop. After lunch Willey opened with Brooks and Matt Fisher who threw all their strength into making a breakthrough. Mitchell nurdled three singles through gully in 20 minutes and was whacked around the midriff, but he survived it all and the batsmen then cashed in against the part-time off-spin of Adam Lyth.Moeen reached his fifty off 85 balls a few minutes before Mitchell reached three figures with a back foot cover drive. Rain then caused a mid-afternoon delay which was as unwelcome to the visitors as Sunday evening’s stoppage had been pleasing. When play resumed Ali immediately whacked Josh Poysden over wide long-on for six and the pair had added a further 85 runs before bad light ended play on a day when 28.3 overs had been lost. Worcestershire will arrive on the third morning looking to press on and achieve what would be a vital win in what is the biggest fortnight of their season.There has, though, been another context to this festival. This has been a match when Yorkshiremen have thought of absent players but those in the media have marked the passing of a colleague. Dave Callaghan, who commentated on the county’s matches for Radio Leeds for over 30 years, died suddenly in March. His loss is sharply felt and the players feel it too. However bad their day had been Cally was almost always able to cheer them up a bit and the Yorkshire squad observed a minute’s silence when they heard of his death.Cally loved Scarborough and so it was only appropriate on the first day of this game that the two broadcasting boxes were renamed “Cally 1” and “Cally 2” in his memory. These are tough weeks for Yorkshire but any cricketer knows that defeats must be borne by any side. For the friends of Dave Callaghan the loss is of a quite different order and it is particularly acute during the Festival.

تقدم فريق بيراميدز بالهدف الثالث أمام منافسه الاتحاد السكندري في المباراة التي تجمع بينهما الآن ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري.

ويلتقي الاتحاد السكندري أمام بيراميدز على أرضية استاد الإسكندرية في إطار مواجهات الجولة 30 من عمر المسابقة المحلية.

وكان فخري لاكاي قد أحرز الهدف الأول لنادي بيراميدز بالدقيقة 30 من عمر اللقاء، بعدما استلم تمريرة سحرية داخل منطقة الجزاء ليحولها داخل المرمى.

طالع.. فيديو | فخري لاكاي يسجل هدف بيراميدز الأول أمام الاتحاد السكندري

وجاء الهدف الثاني لـ بيراميدز بالدقيقة 50، بعد تسديدة من محمد حمدي بعد تلقيه تمريرة وليد الكرتي لترتطم الكرة بـ مهدي سليمان حارس الاتحاد السكندري وتسكن المرمى.

بينما أحرز فيستون مايلي الهدف الثالث في الدقيقة 58، بعد تبادل للتمريرات مع بلاتي توريه وينفرد مايلي بالمرمى ويصوب الكرة أرضية مرت أسفل المهدي سليمان وسكنت الشباك. هدف بيراميدز الثالث أمام الاتحاد السكندري في الدوري

Tottenham Hotspur’s inconsistent form came back to bite them on Sunday afternoon.

Despite going into their Premier League game away to Nottingham Forest off the back of a draw away to Newcastle United and a win at home to Brentford, Thomas Frank’s side looked second-best from the first minute to the last.

The North Londoners were unable to keep the hosts at bay, unable to create decent chances for themselves and generally looked bereft of ideas.

There were poor performers wherever you looked for Spurs, but two really stood out, one of which was Guglielmo Vicario.

Vicario's poor performance vs Forest

Vicario is a particularly frustrating goalkeeper: in one game, he can look like one of the best in the league, pulling off sensational saves, and the next game, he can look like one of the worst.

Unfortunately for Frank and Co, Sunday’s match against Forest most certainly fell into the latter category.

For example, while he is not entirely blameless for the first goal, most of the blame for the hosts’ second should fall at his feet.

If the Italian were better positioned for Callum Hudson-Odoi’s audacious effort, then it would have been a relatively straightforward stop, and the Lilywhites would’ve still been in the game.

Unfortunately, the former Empoli man got it all wrong, and while he made some saves after the fact, it was too little too late.

It wasn’t just his shot-stopping that was poor either, as in 96 minutes of action, the 29-year-old completed just 21 of 31 passes, was accurate in just three of his 12 attempted long balls and managed to lose the ball ten times despite taking just 39 touches.

In all, it was a truly terrible showing from Vicario, but while the media are mainly focusing on him, one of his teammates was arguably just as bad.

The Spurs dud who was as bad as Vicario

The bad news for Frank and Spurs fans is that you could realistically make the case for any number of players being the worst on Sunday, from Richalison to Mohammed Kudus and even Micky Van de Ven.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

However, when it comes to the outfield player who was as disappointing and as detrimental to the side as Vicario, it is impossible to look past Pedro Porro.

The Spanish full-back is enormously talented, and at his best can be far more of an attacking outlet than most others in his position.

Unfortunately, he’s not been anywhere near his best for some time, and was arguably at his worst on Sunday.

The former Sporting CP was entirely ineffective in attack, a massive liability in defence and, unsurprisingly, the watching press were not impressed with what they saw.

For example, the Standard’s Matt Verri awarded the full-back a 2/10 match rating, writing that he was ‘shocking defensively’ and that he ‘frustrated throughout.’

This may all sound a little hypobolic, or unfair, but the 26-year-old’s statistics prove otherwise.

In his 96 minutes on the pitch, the Spaniard produced an expected assists figure of just 0.04, lost four of his six ground duels, committed two fouls, failed to play a key pass, failed in 100% of his dribbles and took 81 touches, but lost the ball 23 times.

Ultimately, Sunday was a terrible day at the office for the entire Spurs’ squad, but Vicario and Porro were particularly poor, and Frank should really be looking to drop them.

Spurs must sack Frank this week and hire the "best coach in the PL"

Tottenham Hotspur suffered arguably their worst defeat of the Thomas Frank era on Sunday.

By
Matt Dawson

2 days ago

MatériaMais Notícias

Uma das inúmeras histórias envolvendo o maior jogador de futebol de todos os tempos aconteceu quando o então árbitro colombiano Guillermo Velásquez
tentou expulsar Pelé de campo e acabou ele próprio expulso para que o jogo pudesse continuar com o craque brasileiro. Isso aconteceu em partida do Santos contra a seleção sub-23 colombiana, em Bogotá, conforme exigia o público que lotava o Estádio El Campín.

O fato aconteceu no dia 17 de julho de 1968, e o Santos era a equipe mais poderosa do mundo, com Pelé no auge da forma, durante um dos inúmeros amistosos que o time disputava pelo mundo naquela época. Era comum a equipe paulista golear os adversários, mesmo os principais times do mundo, com Pelé marcando gols em quase todos os jogos.

Guillermo Velásquez era do quadro da Fifa e um dos principais árbitros do futebol mundial, que durante a carreira apitou em quatro Jogos Olímpicos e na Copa do Mundo de 1970, no México, na qual o Brasil foi tricampeão com Pelé como seu principal destaque.

Durante o jogo entre seleção colombiana sub-23 e Santos, pouco antes do final do primeiro tempo, Pelé fez uma falta violenta, por trás, no zagueiro colombiano Luis Eduardo Soto. Velásquez não hesitou: na época, não existia cartão vermelho – nem amarelo – no futebol, e o árbitro simplesmente apontou o vestiário para o craque brasileiro. Mas ele não chegou a sair de campo, e quem acabou indo embora foi o árbitro.

A expulsão de Pelé provocou a revolta do time do Santos, que partiu para cima do árbitro. Mas, pior ainda para ele, é que a torcida colombiana também começou a protestar com gritos e vaias por todo o estádio e a situação começou a se tornar perigosa para a segurança de todos. Afinal, os torcedores estavam lá e pagaram ingresso exatamente para ver Pelé jogar.

Para evitar que a situação se agravasse, a federação colombiana tomou uma atitude inédita no futebol mundial: decidiu substituir o juiz e permitir que Pelé continuasse em campo. Nos dias de hoje, seria como um autêntico cartão vermelho para o árbitro, que alegou como motivo da expulsão, além da falta praticada por Pelé, ter sido ofendido pelo jogador.

Conforme Velasquez relatou anos mais tarde, foi o assistente número 1 (ou bandeirinha), Omar Delgado, quem lhe levou o recado sobre seu afastamento da partida determinado pelos dirigentes colombianos, e a ordem para que Delgado apitasse o restante do jogo. Velasquez se conformou, deixou o gramado, e a partida continuou sem problemas, terminando com a vitória do Santos por 4 a 2, com um gol de Pelé. Velásquez morreu em 2017, aos 84 anos, em Medellín, na Colômbia.

Os cartões amarelo e vermelho no futebol, para advertir e expulsar jogadores, só foram introduzidos no futebol pela Fifa no Mundial de 1970, sendo que nenhum cartão vermelho foi aplicado durante o torneio.

Barcelona face yet another setback as its financial vice president, Eduard Romeu, has tendered his resignation.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Romeu resigns from Barcelona The departure leaves a void in Barcelona's leadershipClub struggling with severe financial challengesGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Romeu's resignation, confirmed by a Barcelona statement released on Thursday morning, cited "incompatibility with full dedication to his professional work" as the reason for his departure. However, sources close to Romeu, speaking anonymously, revealed to that Barcelona's deep-rooted financial problems played a significant role in his decision to step down.

AdvertisementWHAT ROMEU SAID

Speaking to reporters, Romeu said: "The enemy is outside the club. When we started this it seemed that nobody could save it, but the courage that Laporta has given us has allowed us to fight.

"To see a great Barcelona, we still need to make complex decisions. But there is still that final point that we must reach and we will follow our path with the same strength.”

However, Barcelona President, Joan Laporta remains optimistic that the existing economic team would continue his work.

“Eduard’s functions can continue to be carried out by the economic team. Romeu leaves a great team that is capable of continuing his work," he said.

“He has been key in the economic work of the club and we will continue to follow his advice. He leaves an economic area department who are prepared to continue his work.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The financial woes at Barcelona have been exacerbated by a €30 million budget shortfall for the current season which is attributed to lower-than-expected matchday revenues. Moreover, La Liga's decision to reduce Barcelona's salary cap to €204 million further complicates matters, marking a substantial €66 million reduction from the previous cap.

With Barcelona's real squad cost for the season officially budgeted at €492 million, the club faces pressure to make cuts to adhere to La Liga regulations. This may necessitate the sale of key first-team players to alleviate the burden of the club's historic debts, which exceed €1 billion.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

DID YOU KNOW?

Barcelona's efforts to navigate these financial challenges have been met with difficulties, as traditional strategies such as leveraging economic 'levers' face constraints imposed by evolving La Liga regulations. Despite significant cost-cutting measures, including the departure of several high-profile executives over the past year, including sporting director Jordi Cruyff and director of football Mateu Alemany, the club continues to grapple with financial challenges.

Leeds United never seem to make life easy for themselves, with the Yorkshire giants incredibly overcoming a two-goal deficit to clinch a stunning 3-2 victory away to Norwich City in the Championship this afternoon, with it proving a happy return to Carrow Road for manager Daniel Farke.

The one-time Canaries boss – who achieved two promotions with the club in the recent past – was likely fearing the worst initially as his new side went in two goals down at the break, although a thrilling second-half turnaround saw the Whites walk away with all three points.

That hard-fought victory has helped to maintain Leeds' place inside the playoff berths, with Farke's men having now won three successive league games, since the defeat away to Southampton at the end of last month.

Who impressed for Leeds vs Norwich?

After an initial sluggish opening, which saw Shane Duffy and Gabriel Sara get on the scoresheet for the hosts, an unfortunate own goal from the former helped to shift the momentum after the break, in what was an enthralling contest in Norfolk.

Despite having looked down and out at the interval, up stepped two-goal hero Crysencio Summerville to steer his side level before netting the game's deciding goal just minutes from time, with that having been just reward for a performance that also saw the Dutchman register six key passes as a marker of his attacking intent.

In truth, that showing from the 21-year-old helped to bail the rest of his teammates out of trouble, with things not clicking into gear for many of those in the away ranks, with Joel Piroe, for instance, having endured 'another difficult afternoon', as per Beren Cross, writing for LeedsLive.

Not only were Leeds initially blunt in an attacking sense, but as the half-time scoreline suggested, the defensive unit also appeared rather porous, with young Archie Gray having looked particularly "jaded" at right-back, as Cross noted on Twitter.

On the other flank, there was also another notable villain in the form of Sam Byram, with the experienced asset certainly not enjoying his Carrow Road homecoming.

How did Sam Byram play against Norwich?

The 30-year-old sealed his return to Elland Road this summer on a free transfer after spending the last four years on the books at Norwich, having since gone on to play a key role under Farke this season, making 11 appearances in all competitions.

The £25k-per-week dud will, however, likely be fearing for his place in the side moving forward following an abject display earlier today, with Cross stating that the one-time West Ham United man was simply "run ragged" in the first half especially.

Those woes were evidenced by the fact that the versatile full-back – who can also operate on the opposite side – won just two duels in total on the day as he failed to win the physical battle, having also been dribbled past once as a marker of his nervy display.

On the ball too, the Englishman was also rather erratic as he lost possession on seven occasions and failed to complete a single cross, with that lack of impact in the final third seeing him make just 45 touches – fewer than teammate Illan Meslier recorded in the sticks (48).

The player with the joint-worst match rating of any starting player for the away side (6.6/10) – as per Sofascore – it was no surprise to see Byram hooked late on as Farke sought to adopt a more attacking approach, with that tactical shift ultimately paying dividends to great effect.

The defender will then be a relieved man that his performance did not cost his side in the end, as he failed to show his former club just what they are missing.

Newcastle United are reportedly looking to complete the signing of an "extraordinary" renowned midfielder, as they aim to make further reinforcements in the coming transfer windows.

Newcastle transfer news…

Eddie Howe's side drew 2-2 at West Ham on Sunday afternoon, as Mohammed Kudus' late strike deprived them of three valuable Premier League points. While failure to pick up a victory in east London was slightly disappointing, it is still a draw that could be looked back on as a decent result in May, with the Hammers a strong team currently. Newcastle have really turned a corner since a poor start to the season, not least thrashing Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in the Champions League, and it feels as though they could once again be destined for big things in 2023/24.

One thing that could help the Magpies in their quest for glory is making a number of new signings in the January transfer window, allowing Howe to make his squad stronger, aiding rotation in the process. Should the right players not be available at that point, plenty of summer additions should be expected instead, even though the manager has addressed Newcastle's FFP situation, stating they won't lead to the club spending big, and that appears to have resulted in targeting a potential soon to be free agent.

Newcastle transfer update; Adrien Rabiot

According to a fresh Newcastle transfer update on Adrien Rabiot, the Magpies are interested in signing the Juventus midfielder at the end of this season, with Rabiot's contract expiring at that point. The Magpies aren't alone in expressing a keenness to snap up the Frenchman, however, with Manchester United also believed to be in the mix. Both clubs are "ready to knock on Rabiot's door again" after showing interest in the past, and they look in a better position to offer him a superior deal than Juve, as they look to keep hold of him.

Rabiot could be a really shrewd signing by Newcastle in the summer of 2024, with the free aspect of it making it far less of a gamble, too. Granted, the 28-year-old may demand high wages, but not having to pay a fee for him could make it an excellent deal. The Juve midfielder has been a top-level player for some time now, winning 38 caps for France and making a combined 412 appearances for his current club and Paris Saint-Germain, while former French striker David Trezeguet has described Rabiot as "extraordinary".

A box-to-box player who can provide both defensive nous and an eye for goal, Rabiot has averaged 2.1 aerial duel wins per game in Serie A so far this season, not to mention enjoying an 89% pass completion rate, highlighting the overall quality that he possesses in his game. He could therefore be great foil for the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, as well as providing Howe with the extra depth he may well crave.