Malick Fofana's chaotic move to Sunderland was "a really difficult story to cover", says BBC Senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel. The Black Cats eventually beat Crystal Palace to the signing of the 21-year-old forward from Lyon in a deal worth £30m, after previous interest from Arsenal. "It was really a dramatic day and definitely one of the narratives of Deadline Day for sure," Mokbel told BBC Radio Newcastle.
Orlando City SC welcome San Diego FC to Inter.co Stadium this weekend, and Martin Perelman wants to see improvements at the back. The post Perelman urges Orlando to eradicate mistakes in quest for playoffs appeared first on SoccerNews.
Chelsea have made a move to sign Georginio Wijnaldum on a free transfer (AFP via Getty) Chelsea are in talks to sign former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum on a free transfer, according to reports. On deadline day, Chelsea finally approved the £125 million sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City but aimed to bring in a midfield replacement before the end of the window. Xabi Alonso is an admirer of Martin Zubimendi but Chelsea’s approach for the Spanish midfielder was swiftly rejected by Arsenal. Chelsea then agreed a deal with Monaco worth €55 million (£47.1m) for Lamine Camara but the Ligue 1 side cancelled their agreement with an hour to go before the deadline. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. According to FootMercato, Chelsea have now contacted Wijnaldum after he left Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq when his contract expired earlier this summer. The 35-year-old remains without a club but has recently held talks with Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake. Georginio Wijnaldum won the Premier League title Liverpool in 2020 (Getty) Despite the summer transfer window closing on Tuesday, Premier League clubs are still allowed to sign players who are free agents. Wijnaldum was a key part of Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp, helping the club win the Premier League and Champions League in five seasons at Anfield. The midfielder then joined Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent in 2021 before making the move to Saudi Arabia two years later. For Al-Ettifaq last season, Wijnaldum scored 17 goals and registered seven assists in 34 appearances. If he makes the move to Chelsea, Wijnaldum would link up with his former Liverpool teammate Jordan Henderson, who joined Stamford Bridge as a free agent in August. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
To sanction the exits of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard, without securing a single elite forward replacement, is borderline negligent. It has left a Premier League title-chasing manager with virtually no senior depth in attack. Berta has shown he is entirely out of his depth and he should be sacked immediately.
Tap a headline to view metadata and excerpt fields in Sportra, then use the article website button to continue on the original publisher page.