Author: Barkha Roy

Brandon Fernandes, one of FC Goa’s longest-serving players, was named captain for the 2022-23 ISL season. The Indian international will lead the club’s four-man captaincy group that includes Seriton Fernandes, Glan Martins, and Marc Valiente. The attacking midfielder was drafted by the Gaurs in the ISL Players’ Draft ahead of the 2017-18 season. Since then, je has gone from strength to strength with the club, appearing in 85 games across all competitions in the last five seasons. The Goa native has appeared in 69 ISL matches for FC Goa. In addition to his five strikes, the Indian international currently leads…

According to multiple sources, Former Atletico Madrid and Chelsea forward Diego Costa is all in for a shock return to Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers after 15 million pounds new boy Sasa Kalajdzic suffered a devastating knee injury. The 25-year-old Austrian suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Southampton at Molineux. Kalajdzic only joined Wolves from Stuttgart last Wednesday, and it is now expected that he will miss the majority of the season. Credit: Wolverhampton Wanderers FC Wolverhampton manager Bruno Lage is short of strikers, with 31-year-old Raul Jimenez his only known option after young star Fabio Silva joined Anderlecht on loan. Jimenez also complained of a groin…

According to Spanish media outlet SPORT, in an intriguing development, Barcelona attacking midfielder Pablo Torre has refused to play for the club’s reserve team and has not attended a single training session with the subsidiaries. The 19-year-old only joined Barcelona this summer, having previously played for Racing Santander in the Spanish second division. He is one of Spain’s most highly rated prospects and was also on Real Madrid’s radar. Credit: Real Racing Club However, thanks to manager Xavi Hernandez’s intervention, Barca managed to beat Los Blancos to the midfielder’s signature. Torre was expected to train with the first team upon arrival, but his minutes was always…

Bengaluru captain Sunil Chhetri is excited to welcome fans back to stadiums across the country in the 2022-23 Indian Super League. The 38-year-old believes that the fans in the stands will play a significant role in creating a vibrant environment for players to put their best foot forward. Football Sports Development Limited, the organisers of the ISL, announced the schedule for the 2022-23 season on Thursday, with the league kicking off on October 7th in Kochi, with Kerala Blasters taking on East Bengal. The majority of ISL matches will be played on weekends to make it easier for fans and families to attend…

Alfe-Inge Haaland, father of Erling Haaland, has opened up about the reason behind the striker not joining Real Madrid and instead opting for Premier League champions Manchester City. Haaland’s dad, who himself was a former City player revealed in a documentary that the presence of Karim Benzema already in the Los Blancos setup coupled with their pursuit of Kylian Mbappe early in the recently concluded transfer window. This past summer, the Norwegian was one of the market’s most sought-after players. Every major club in Europe wanted to sign the 22-year-old international, from Barcelona to Chelsea to Manchester United to PSG. Los Blancos were also drawn into the battle for the ace…

As a matter of priority, the league will review the contentious Video Assistant Referee decisions made at Chelsea and Newcastle’s yesterday’s games with referees’ body PGMOL. The decision comes after Newcastle and West Ham were denied goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, respectively. Both teams thought they had scored, and the on-field referee confirmed the goals. After VAR, the goals were disallowed in each case. Both decisions have been heavily criticised, with many arguing that the role of VAR is not to intervene and reverse questionable decisions that have already been made. The Hammers were denied a 90th-minute equaliser when Maxwel Cornet’s effort was ruled out for fouling Edouard Mendy in…

PSV Eindhoven attacker Cody Gakpo admitted to being in talks with other Premier League clubs while also revealing his interest in joining Manchester United during the summer transfer window. The Netherlands international was linked with a move to Old Trafford as the club sought to bolster its attack before the end of the transfer window. At the end of the month, the 23-year-old stated that the Red Devils were a “serious option” for him. However, the winger remained at PSV and explained why a move did not take place on the Eindhoven club’s YouTube channel. “At the start of the…

The Tricky Trees returned to the Premier League after a 23-year absence, and based on their summer spending spree, they appear determined to stay in the top-flight after bringing in an English record 21 players in a single transfer window. On Thursday’s transfer deadline day, the newly promoted side signed Wolvers centre-back Willy Boly, Blackpool winger Josh Bowler, and Rennes central defender Loic Bade. Forest have spent nearly 150 million pounds rebuilding a team that has been ravaged by the departures of five free agents and five on-loan players. https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1565035457880199170 The East Midlands club broke their transfer record when they signed midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White…

Manchester United has agreed a loan deal with Newcastle for goalkeeper Martin Dubravka worth 2 million pounds, subject to registration. The 33-year-old joins United after four years at Newcastle, where he arrived in 2018 from Czech First League side Sparta Prague. United’s option over his permanent stay, which will cost an additional 6 million, will become mandatory based on the number of appearances he makes for the club. The Magpies also has a recall option that they can use in January if necessary. The Slovakia international informed Newcastle earlier this week that he intended to leave the club and join…

Premier League clubs shattered their single-season spending record during the summer window, spending an incredible 1.9 billion pounds. According to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, the gross spending by the 20 English Premier League clubs during the transfer window that ended on Thursday was the highest in the competition’s history. Despite the UK’s current cost-of-living crisis, Premier League clubs only needed one window to surpass the 1.86 billion mark set in the summer and winter transfer periods combined during the 2017-18 season. As per Deloitte, the gross spend on a total of 169 players was also 34% higher than the previous…