Newcastle were hoping to land the young talent, but while they were trying to lower his fee, the Reds stormed in to agree to his £34.6million release clause, and the deal is as good as done. When Muñoz will agree personal terms remains to be seen, given he is busy at the World Cup with Spain, but Liverpool will be confident of striking a deal, especially with a Spanish boss now in place.
Liverpool are not done there
Ken Blaze (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)
It was unclear how bold Liverpool would be in this transfer window, given their huge spend and lack of return last summer, but the questions are now being answered. The Reds are already closing in on an exciting young talent in Muñoz, and that is only going to be the start of their business, according to a fresh report.
Football Insider claim Muñoz will be the first of five new signings this summer, with a central midfielder, centre-back, right-back and right-winger all required by Iraola.
The right-winger and centre-back signings will come as no surprise, given the exits of Ibrahima Konate and Mohamed Salah this summer. Meanwhile, many have called for more options in the middle of the park, while Conor Bradley battling his way back from a serious injury issue looks to be forcing the Reds to add more depth at right-back.
Muñoz can play on the right-wing, and he is a right-footer, but he has traditionally played on the left, liking to cut inside.
Shearer’s Reds warning
Speaking to Betfair last week, Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer warned that Liverpool need to recruit heavily in this summer’s transfer window. “Liverpool are going to have to go again in the transfer market,” he said. “Mohamed Salah’s gone, so they obviously need someone to replace him.
“They’ve also got Rio Ngumoha, who’s obviously a great talent, but for the future.So Liverpool need several players, I think, if they want to compete again at the very top. And certainly, in wide positions, they’re going to have to strengthen.
“I’m not surprised with who they’re being linked with, like Diomande and Barcola. I guess it’s only a matter of time before that, that would be the position that they announce.”
By and large, it was a very good England performance as the Three Lions beat Croatia 4-2 in their opening World Cup fixture. Even so, the Spanish press was not impressed by the efforts of one man.
A first-half brace from Harry Kane saw England take the lead twice, only to be pegged back by a pair of fine goals, first from distance via Martin Baturina and then after a lovely move which saw Petar Musa make it 2-2 just before the break.
There will be some question marks over the defence, with those two goals conceded in the first half, but the second half was much improved as Thomas Tuchel’s men took control and won the game thanks to goals from Jude Bellingham and then Marcus Rashford. Even so, the Spanish media have targeted Anthony Gordon for criticism.
England Starter Upstaged vs Croatia
Kai Pfaffenbach via Reuters
There will naturally be a high interest in Gordon’s performances this summer, as he has just completed a £69m move from Newcastle to Barcelona. Not only that, but he arrives in Spain looking likely to take over from Marcus Rashford, who spent last season on loan with La Blaugrana.
Against Croatia, Tuchel opted to start Gordon ahead of Rashford, but the 25-year-old did not have his most impactful game. Per SofaScore, he managed just two shots, with only one on target, before coming off at 72 minutes.
Rashford, on the other hand, was very lively as he managed to find the back of the net in his 18-minute cameo, while also having as many carries (6), and touching the ball just five times fewer (12 to 17) than the man he replaced. The Manchester United man picked up a much better 7.4 SofaScore rating as well, compared ot Gordon’s lowly 6.3 mark.
Barcelona daily La Vanguardia said: “Tuchel opted for Gordon from the start, but the new Barcelona signing was very subdued. Barca’s new signing covered a lot of ground but to no avail, having very little impact.
“He barely touched the ball and failed to complete either of his two dribbles in the first half. Tuchel’s changes worked and Rashford, in that role he played at Barca, sealed the deal.”
Fellow Barcelona outlet El Periodico struck a similar tone, saying: “Thomas Tuchel wisely substituted Anthony Gordon for Marcus Rashford, reversing the transfer plan Barcelona had devised for the upcoming season.
“Gordon was virtually invisible, barely touching the ball, and Rashford sealed the victory when Croatia threatened to draw.”
On Rashford’s goal, Madrid-based Las Razon said: “It was a goal with a certain intrigue, as Gordon has taken his place in the England starting line-up and his spot at Barcelona.
“But the former Newcastle player was barely involved throughout the match, while the player who spent time on loan at the Camp Nou made his presence felt in a short amount of time. It’s just one game, though; it would be premature to draw conclusions from it.”
Meanwhile, El Mundo said Rashford “showed more promise than Gordon in his limited minutes on the pitch” while Mundo Deportivo said the former Everton man made “little impact.”
The UFC world was left stunned last weekend as Ilia Topuria suffered the very first defeat of his professional MMA career, losing via TKO against Justin Gaethje at the UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington D.C.
The ex-lightweight world champion was pulled out by his corner after the fourth round of the headlining event at the White House as he failed to recover from a devastating left-right combination from the veteran American that left him bloodied in the third.
Gaethje’s explosive display was full of hard-hitting punches plus knees and uppercuts. Topuria’s inability to deal with the constant physical beat down meant an upset occurred and the challenger snatched away the lightweight crown to become a first-time undisputed champion in the UFC.
Topuria, who has also held the belt at featherweight, now has to deal with a fight fallout and feeling which he has never experienced as a professional, which is responding to and coping with a loss.
Ilia Topuria’s Close Friend Opens Up About Fighter’s Reaction
Amber Searls via Imagn Images
In the days since the 31-year-old’s brutal defeat in the American capital, a close friend of his, Pablo Motos, has spoken out to reveal the kind of emotions the fighter is currently experiencing and what his current state of mind is.
Speaking on his ‘El Hormiguero’ chat show, Motos touched on a recent conversation he had with Topuria, stating: “We were talking about something we’re going to do this summer, making jokes, and then he said a phrase I loved.
A lot has been said about Topuria’s health after his war with Justin Gaethje, but a close friend probably knows best, and he’s spoken out.
“He looks at me with his eyes closed and says, ‘Champions, when we fall, we fall hard.’”
Motos then revealed what Topuria’s intentions are in the Octagon and how he wants to go about avenging his world title loss to Gaethje, saying: “They’re already looking toward the future. He was telling me, ‘I’d love to do the rematch in Spain with Gaethje.'”
What Next For Ilia Topuria
Topuria’s desire to jump into a rematch demonstrates that he is keen to rectify his shortcomings against his most recent opponent and reclaim his spot at the top of the lightweight division.
Topuria, who is of Georgian and Spanish descent, has not fought in Spain since the very early days of his professional MMA career, with his last bout in the country coming in a 2016 featherweight title triumph over Jhon Guarin at Mix Fight Events 28 in Valencia.
It remains to be seen what Gaethje intends to do moving forward after achieving his career-long dream of becoming an undisputed UFC champion at 37.
Should Topuria get his wish and get another crack at Gaethje in his home country, it would surely be one of the most anticipated UFC events of recent times.
Arsenal have placed an official bid to sign wonderkid Jeremy Monga from Leicester City, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Gunners have been linked with a move for the 16-year-old for some time now, with reports of an offer emerging as early as last month.
Monga, who has been compared to Ousmane Dembele and described as a ‘deadly’ finisher, is expected to leave the Foxes this summer following their relegation to League One, despite having broken into the first-team as a 15-year-old.
And Arsenal have shown the keenest interest in him, with talks progressing over the last few weeks between the Gunners and his representatives over a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Now, according to Romano, Arsenal have lodged an official bid to sign the 16-year-old winger. He tweeted: “Arsenal sent official bid to Leicester City to get Jeremy Monga deal done. 16-year-old winger keen on joining #AFC and deal moving quickly now with optimism to sign #LCFC talent, seen as huge prospect for the future.”
