da mrbet： Na manhã desta quarta-feira (15), o Palmeiras realizou mais um treino seguindo a preparação para o confronto da semifinal do Campeonato Paulista diante do Ituano, neste domingo (19), às 16h, no Allianz Parque. O meio-campista John John comentou sobre o seu aprendizado em 2023 e citou colegas de equipe como inspiração.
– São experiências incríveis estar com o melhor elenco do Brasil atualmente. Só tenho de agradecer ao Palmeiras e a Deus pelas oportunidades. É muito difícil um menino novo hoje estar se encaixando em um elenco como esse, então eu tenho trabalhado muito no dia a dia para conseguir meu espaço e, junto do grupo, alcançar os nossos objetivos.
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da bwin： A primeira oportunidade do jogador na temporada foi justamente na vitória do Verdão diante do time de Itu fora de casa, por 3 a 1, no dia 25 de janeiro, entrando no lugar de Rafael Navarro na segunda etapa. O meiafoi promovido ao elenco profissional neste ano e agora tem a oportunidade de participar do dia a dia e de se relacionar com inspirações.
– Eu vejo muito o Veiga, o Tabata e o Zé Rafael. São jogadores em quem eu me inspiro e tento pegar um pouco de cada para estar somando no meu futebol – revelou John John.
– O rachão é um momento de descontração e tive a oportunidade de disputar uma bola com o professor, onde coloquei um pouquinho na frente (risos), mas é brincadeira. Ele tem conversado com a gente para termos paciência, que o nosso momento uma hora ou outra vai chegar. O Ituano é um adversário difícil.
Desde 2021 no Palmeiras, John John foi campeão dos principais títulos do sub-20: Campeonato Paulista, Copa do Brasil, Brasileiro e Copa São Paulo de Juniores. Além disso, participou da campanhado título brasileiro profissional em 2022.
O camisa 40 do Verdão também falou sobre os conselhos que recebe da comissão técnica e projetou um duelo difícil contra o Ituano na semifinal do Paulistão.
– Eu pude jogar contra eles no começo do campeonato e temos de respeitar como sempre fazemos com todos os adversários. Vamos colocar o nosso jogo em prática para buscar vaga em mais uma final – completou John John.
O Palmeiras volta a treinar nesta quinta-feira (16), às 10h, na Academia de Futebol. A equipe comandada pelo técnico Abel Ferreira vai em busca do bicampeonato estadual e do segundo título neste anos. O primeiro foi o da Supercopa do Brasil diante do Flamengo.
The former Barcelona ace was spotted at Chase Stadium watching his former teammates in action with the Herons as they beat CF Montreal 4-2
Pedro visited Chase Stadium to see Messi and former Barcelona colleagues in personSpanish posed for reunion photos after the matchVisit comes as Pedro approaches free agency with Lazio contract expiring in JuneGet the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowWHAT HAPPENED
Lazio star Pedro was reunited with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba Wednesday evening as the former Spain international was in the stands at Chase Stadium for the match against CF Montreal.
The 37-year-old played alongside all four Miami stars with the La Liga side, while he logged over 200 appearances for the Catalan club from 2008-2015.
He witnessed a Miami victory, and the South Beach club labeled him a "special guest" on social media.
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Inter Miami defeated CF Montreal 4-2 Wednesday evening, as Messi and Suarez each bagged a brace in front of their former teammate in the stands. The broke their four-match winless streak in the league, following a run of two draws and two losses, including a 3-0 loss against Orlando City and a 4-1 loss against Minnesota United.
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Following their victory, Inter Miami have moved up the Eastern Conference table into 6th place with 26 points from 15 games and face the Columbus Crew this weekend. The contest will be their final MLS game before the Club World Cup begins on June 14, with their first match in the competition taking place against Al Ahly on the same date.
As Celtic chase a sixth treble in nine seasons, what is the primary factor behind their continued domination of Scottish football?
Well, of course, the Hoops have more money than everybody else, which certainly helps, but it’s only due to their excellent recruitment, both in terms of buying and selling players, they are able to maximise this financial advantage.
Celtic managerBrendanRodgerscelebrates with the trophy after winning the League Cup
According to the Fair Game Index, the Celts are the best-run club in Britain, and the Premiership champions often get decisions in the transfer market right, certainly striking gold by selling a flop for £2.5m, who’s done very little since departing.
He was signed under Ange Postecoglou who got a lot right while in Glasgow.
The best and worst of Ange Postecoglou's Celtic signings
During two seasons at Celtic, Postecoglou won five major honours, signing a total of 29 players, with Alison Conroy of Sky Sports noting that he ‘tapped into his knowledge…of markets…rarely explored before’, most notably the J League.
Graham Falk of the Scotsman believes that the majority of these signings were major successes, so let’s assess some of the best.
Kyōgo
165
£4.5m
£10m
Starfelt
87
£4m
£4.3m
Abada
112
£3.5m
£8m
Juranović
53
£2.5m
£7.5m
Giakoumakis
57
£2.5m
£8m
Jota
92
£6.4m
£25m*
Carter-Vickers
150
£6m
Current player
Hatate
133
£1.4m
Current player
Maeda
148
£1.6m
Current player
O’Riley
124
£1.5m
£25m
Johnston
102
£3m
Current player
Oh
47
£2.5m
£4m
As the table outlines, Celtic have made an enormous profit by selling players.
Chief among there are Kyōgo Furuhashi, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Liel Abada and, Matt O’Riley, while Reo Hatate, Jota, Daizen Maeda, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston are key figures in Brendan Rodgers’ current side.
However, this table does not include all of Postecoglou’s signings, more than half have been left off, with one in particular, who did very little during his time at Parkhead, not impressing since departing either, showing that Celtic did extremely well to sell him for £2.5m.
What happened to Ange's forgotten Celtic forward
In the summer of 2022, Celtic signed wide-forward Sead Hakšabanović from Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan for a reported fee of £1.75m.
Celtic winger Sead Haksabanovic.
Despite having only just celebrated his 23rd birthday at the time, Hakšabanović was already a bit of a journeyman, having been on the books of Halmstads BK, West Ham United, Málaga, Norrköping, the aforementioned Rubin Kazan and then Djurgården on loan before landing in Glasgow.
At his unveiling, Hakšabanović stated he wanted to achieve “something similar” to Henrik Larsson, widely considered the club’s best player of the modern era, and suffice to say he did not live up to those expectations, despite being labelled a ‘great talent’ by Euan Robertson of Football Scotland.
In 42 appearances for Celtic, the Swedish-born Montenegro international scored just five goals, three of which came in November 2022, earning him the Premiership’s Player of the Month award, albeit he did very little after that.
Finding himself not in Rodgers’ plans, Hakšabanović spent last season on loan at Stoke City in the EFL Championship, but scored only once in 21 appearances for the Potters, never able to establish himself as a regular starter under either Alex Neil nor Steven Schumacher.
Despite this, Allsvenskan champions Malmö decided to pay a reported £2.5m for his services, and this move certainly has not paid off for the Sky Blues so far.
Stoke loanee Sead Haksabanovic.
To date, the forward has made just five appearances for the Nordic giants, yet to register either a goal or an assist, sidelined since August due to a groin injury. To put his torrid numbers into context, he’s scored three fewer than the much-maligned Greg Taylor. Grim reading indeed for the attacker.
Johan Flinck of Swedish outlet Sportbladet labels Hakšabanović a ‘flop’, adding he is yet to ‘show his skills on the pitch’, underlining that Celtic did extremely well to sell the misfiring winger for a profit last summer.
Wow: Rodgers has already found Celtic's next Maeda in stunning £2m star
The young Celtic forward is a star in the making for Brendan Rodgers.
A fine 112 not out from Ben Foakes, and half-centuries by Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith and Cameron Steel propelled title favourites Surrey to 339 for 4 after day one of their important LV= Insurance County Championship match against Warwickshire at the Kia Oval.Division One leaders and 2022 winners Surrey are aiming for back-to-back championship triumphs, and lead Essex and Hampshire by 17 and 48 points respectively with three rounds to go for the top three. Warwickshire, with an extra game in hand in fourth place, trailed Surrey by 56 points at the start of a match they must win to maintain any interest in the title race.But the champions proved more than a match for the Warwickshire attack with Foakes and Steel combining to add an unbroken 152 in 42 overs for the fifth wicket after Smith had waltzed to 60 from 72 balls in a stand worth 99 with Sibley, who put together a more prosaic 65 in almost four hours of dedicated crease occupation.Steel also played well for his unbeaten 69, from 115 balls and including 10 fours, and importantly repelling with Foakes the second new ball in the final hour to underline Surrey’s opening day dominance. Foakes has so far faced 181 balls, hitting 18 fours.Put in on a well-grassed surface, Surrey lost Rory Burns and Ryan Patel in the first 12 overs as they stumbled initially to 31 for two. Burns, on 11, edged Chris Rushworth’s ever-steady fast-medium low to third slip and Patel managed only a couple of pleasing drives before falling for 9 when Barnard angled one through his defences from around the wicket.Smith, though, immediately began to take on the Warwickshire seamers, skipping a couple of short steps down the pitch to unfurl one magnificent straight driven four off Barnard and, two balls later, hitting the same bowler to the extra cover ropes with a real flourish.On 25, Smith was fortunate to get an inside edge that saved him from being stumped when he advanced at Danny Briggs’ left arm spin and aimed an ugly hack, but otherwise he continued to bat with power and class.Henry Brookes’ first three overs cost 25 as Smith and Sibley both cashed in on some wayward deliveries as the fast bowler struggled for rhythm, and lunch was reached with Surrey having recovered in some style to 111 for two.Smith completed a 52-ball fifty in the first over after the interval, punching Olly Hannon-Dalby through the covers off the back foot for three, but Warwickshire sensed they were back in the fight when Barnard beat Smith with a ball angled in and beating an attempted whip past mid on to pluck out off stump after deflecting off his pads.Sibley was then joined by Foakes in an untroubled alliance of 57 in 16 overs before, wastefully, he drove Briggs straight to mid on, called his partner for a sharp single and was, correctly, sent back. Foakes, who had actually done well to avoid the ball, did not move as Hannon-Dalby picked up and threw to the keeper’s end with Sibley run out by yards.By tea Steel had helped Foakes steer Surrey to 224 for four and, in the day’s last session, the pair kept the scoreboard ticking steadily. Steel hit one memorable extra cover four off Will Rhodes’ medium pace and Foakes, who had completed his half-century on the stroke of tea, punched Rhodes between mid on and the bowlers’ stumps for one of the 16 boundaries in his third championship hundred of the season.
Players who perform well in the Championship regularly get signed for lavish fees by those in the upper echelons of the Premier League.
Take Archie Gray, for example. The 18-year-old shone for Leeds United in the second tier last season, helping the club reach the playoff final. Despite losing, it wasn’t long before Tottenham Hotspur came in with a £30m offer, which was duly accepted.
Elsewhere, Jude Bellingham emerged from the Birmingham City academy to establish himself as one of the finest talents in the Championship. He may have only played 41 games for the Blues, yet this didn’t stop Borussia Dortmund calling in 2020.
The 15 biggest transfer sales in EFL Championship history
Championship clubs have received some eye-watering fees from the biggest clubs in the country and beyond.
By
Ross Kilvington
Jan 29, 2025
Over the years, clubs from the second tier have also spent a lot on players. With finances steadily improving due to more lucrative TV deals, while most clubs have bolstered their profits by selling their best talent for premium prices, Championship sides have never had it so good.
As such, we at Football FanCast look deeper into the top 15 record signings made by clubs from the division below the Premier League.
The 15 most expensive Championship signings
Rank
Player
From
To
Transfer Fee
1
Ruben Neves
Porto
Wolves
£15.8m
=2
Shea Charles
Man City
Southampton
£15m
=2
Britt Assombalonga
Nottingham Forest
Middlesbrough
£15m
=2
Jonathan Kodjia
Bristol City
Aston Villa
£15m
5
Joao Carvalho
Benfica
Nottingham Forest
£13.2m
6
Helder Costa
Benfica
Wolves
£13m
=7
Joel Piroe
Swansea
Leeds
£12m
=7
Harry Wilson
Liverpool
Fulham
£12m
=7
Benik Afobe
Wolves
Stoke
£12m
=7
Ross McCormack
Fulham
Aston Villa
£12m
=7
Matt Ritchie
Bournemouth
Newcastle
£12m
12
Isaac Mbenza
Montpellier
Huddersfield
£11m
=13
Maxime Esteve
Montpellier
Burnley
£10m
=13
Dwight Gayle
Crystal Palace
Newcastle
£10m
15
Andre Gray
Brentford
Burnley
£9m
15
Andre Gray
Brentford to Burnley (£9m)
Andre Gray
Burnley’s 2014/15 season ended in relegation after just one season in the top flight, and Sean Dyche wasted no time splashing out the cash.
Andre Gray signed for £9m, becoming a club-record purchase at the time. He netted 23 times to fire Burnley back into the big time, carrying on this form during 2016/17 as the club avoided relegation. Money well spent indeed.
14
Dwight Gayle
Crystal Palace to Newcastle (£10m)
Dwight Gayle for Newcastle.
Newcastle United suffered relegation at the end of the 2015/16 Premier League campaign, but it was clear they wanted a swift return to the top flight. This led to the club signing striker Dwight Gayle, who arrived from Crystal Palace in a deal worth a reported £10m.
A return of 23 goals in just 32 matches for the Magpies signified how important a signing Gayle was, helping lead the club back to the promised land after just one season away.
The 35-year-old is currently playing for Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership.
13
Maxime Esteve
Montpellier to Burnley (£10m)
Vincent Kompany signed Maxime Esteve on a loan deal in January 2024, hoping that his presence would help Burnley avoid the drop.
While the Frenchman became a key member of the starting XI, it wasn’t enough to save the club from slipping back into the Championship. However, this didn’t stop the Clarets from splashing out £10m to secure his services permanently after their relegation.
At the time of writing, he has yet to miss a league game for the club as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.
12
Isaac Mbenza
Montpellier to Huddersfield (£11m)
Isaac Mbenza
Isaac Mbenza moved to Huddersfield Town on loan ahead of the 2018/19 season, but he couldn’t keep the club in the top division, despite netting against Manchester United.
A reported fee of £11m was agreed so that Mbenza would remain at Huddersfield, yet the winger would play just 43 games over the next two seasons before departing in 2021. Not the best way to spend a chunk of their parachute payment.
11
Matt Ritchie
Bournemouth to Newcastle (£12m)
Rafa Benitez wasted no time in bolstering his Newcastle squad after relegation in 2016. Dwight Gayle had joined, but it was the signing of Matt Ritchie which looked like the most impressive piece of business.
10 goal involvements for Bournemouth the season prior went a long way in the Cherries retaining their Premier League status, and this saw Newcastle spend £12m to secure his signature.
He went on to make over 200 appearances for the Magpies across the next eight seasons.
10
Ross McCormack
Fulham to Aston Villa (£12m)
Ross McCormack at Aston Villa
In the same summer that Villa spent big money on signing Jonathan Kodjia, another striker also arrived at Villa Park. Ross McCormack had sparkled at Fulham, but a bid of £12m was always going to be accepted, despite his talents in front of goal.
The move soon turned into a nightmare. McCormack would manage just three goals during his spell with the club, working out at £4m each. Hardly money well spent in the transfer market.
9
Benik Afobe
Wolves to Stoke (£12m)
Benik Afobe helped Wolverhampton Wanderers secure the Championship title in 2018, leading the club to make his loan deal permanent.
However, he was on the move just two weeks later to Stoke City, who offered £12m for the striker. The move didn’t exactly work out as expected, especially considering the fee spent.
Across 51 matches for the Potters, Afobe managed a paltry nine goals and has since embarked on a nomadic career which has seen him play in Turkey and Qatar.
8
Harry Wilson
Liverpool to Fulham (£12m)
Fulham spent big during the summer of 2021 in a bid to secure promotion to the Premier League with Harry Wilson joining the Cottagers for £12m – and it turned out to be a crucial signing.
The Welshman was excellent throughout 2021/22, scoring 10 league goals while registering 20 assists in the second tier. He has continued to impress in the top flight, helping the club establish themselves as a solid Premier League outfit under Marco Silva.
7
Joel Piroe
Swansea to Leeds (£12m)
Joel Piroe emerged as one of the deadliest strikers in the second tier during his time with Swansea City. He scored 46 goals in 96 games for the Welsh side, ensuring there was plenty of interest in him during the summer of 2023.
Indeed, it would be Leeds United who would win the race, splashing out £12m on the Dutchman – and it looks like money well spent.
Since making the move to West Yorkshire, Piroe has netted 24 goals, and he will be hoping to end the club’s exile from the top flight this season.
6
Helder Costa
Benfica to Wolves (£13m)
Helder Costa
Wolves spent what was a club-record fee of £13m to bring Helder Costa to the Midlands in January 2017, despite sitting 18th in the league table at the time.
He enjoyed a remarkable start, contributing 18 goal involvements during his first six months, before aiding the side as they cruised to the Championship title the following season, scoring five times.
That was as good as it would get for the winger, who scored only once more for Wolves.
Head coach McDonald ‘surprised’ at how aggressive England were against Boland at Edgbaston
Andrew McGlashan22-Jun-2023Scott Boland’s place in Australia’s side is likely to come under scrutiny for the second Test at Lord’s after he was taken for nearly six an over at Edgbaston.Head coach Andrew McDonald admitted there was some surprise at how aggressive England’s batters were against Boland who conceded 147 from 26 overs across the two innings, making it his highest economy rate in a first-class match where he’s bowled at least 20 overs by some distance.Related
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“We’d seen the way they go about it, they are ultra-aggressive,” McDonald said. “But I think Scott Boland, that match-up probably surprised us how aggressive they were against Scott. So that’s something we can look at and find better ways through.”Boland did dismiss Zak Crawley twice the game and was threatening under gloomy skies on the third evening, but for the first time in his Test career he was largely treated with disdain.Mitchell Starc, who was omitted in favour of Josh Hazlewood in the first Test, could be a straight swap for Boland, provided Hazlewood pulls up without problems from his return to the format.McDonald suggested that with a degree of hindsight about how conditions played out at Edgbaston, where the pitch was largely flat and slow, Starc could have had an impact.”I think the fact the line and length potentially over left-arm swing, and we didn’t feel as though we may have got swinging conditions here,” he said. “It’s really down to a gut feel at selection, it can be critiqued any way you want.”We feel as though, looking back on it, potentially Mitch could have played a role, there’s no doubt about that. But we felt like when we went into the game with all the information that we had, we made the best decision.Mitchell Starc was omitted in favour of Josh Hazlewood in the first Test•Getty Images”We took Starcy on that journey, he understands that and he understands the fact there are four more Test matches and he’s got a pivotal part to play within that.”One of the knock-on effects of England playing at such a rapid tempo is that the fast bowlers did not clock up massive workloads at Edgbaston. Captain Pat Cummins sent down the most with 32.2 overs and Hazlewood was used for 25 alongside Boland’s 26. Allrounder Cameron Green bowled just eight.McDonald said there was a plan mapped out of which bowlers may suit certain venues but that it could also be adjusted on the fly.”Our bowlers didn’t bowl as many overs as we probably expected in this Test match,” he said. “There’s a longer turnaround, so you can have a pencil plan but the reality is you see how they pull up, what the conditions are when we get to Lord’s, and you make a decision with what’s in front of you. The issue is we’ve got great depth in the fast bowling, and that’s one of our great strengths.”On the field, Australia played a largely defensive game during the opening Test, operating with three or four sweepers for large periods and sometimes only a slip and a gully. It was a tactic flagged before the series but came in for scrutiny which would likely have escalated had Cummins and Nathan Lyon not forged their match-winning stand. However, McDonald wasn’t going to be drawn into judging one team’s approach over another.”I think it should be more a celebration,” he said. “Two styles come together and produce a Test match like that. Certainly no vindication, we’ll go about it our way and England will go about it their way and we’ll see what happens at the end of the series.”We’re clear from the way that we play. I’ve suggested over the last 12-18 months it’s pretty clear the way that we do go and we feel as though we’ve got some great strengths around that.”
Sunderland haven’t always found life in the Premier League to be the smoothest experience.
Indeed, the Black Cats have finished rock bottom of the top-flight pile a miserable total of three times, with Regis Le Bris now desperately hoping he won’t be another dire face added to the list of managers who have sunk the Wearside outfit.
Sunderland’s chances of immediately staying afloat have been negatively impacted by Jobe Bellingham’s expected departure to Borussia Dortmund officially going through, but new signings galore will certainly soften that blow.
The top-flight underdogs won’t just be hunting down midfielders to replace their teenage sensation, however, with one new potential defensive addition already being lined up that could see the Stadium of Light outfit land their next version of Patrick Van Aanholt.
Van Aanholt's memorable Sunderland stint
Now back in his native Netherlands to see out his career, the attack-minded left-back was previously a fan’s favourite on Wearside when the Black Cats were in the Premier League during the 2010s.
In total, Van Aanholt would go on to amass a hefty nine goals and ten assists for the regular Wearside strugglers from 95 appearances, before banking Sunderland a sturdy £14m in 2017 when moving onto Crystal Palace.
Le Bris will hope as his team embarks on their new Premier League adventure that they can be as daring as the Dutchman once was coming out from defence, with right-back Trai Hume already proving last season his gung-ho qualities when chipping in with three goals and six assists in league action.
To complement Hume’s forward-thinking approach on the right channel, the Black Cats could be about to welcome a modern iteration of Van Aanholt into the building, with this goal-and-assist-heavy Spaniard now tipped to join the newly promoted team’s ranks.
Sunderland targeting new Van Aanholt
Le Bris’ men are slightly light in the left-back department, with the Premier League new boys only having Dennis Cirkin and Leo Hjelde to call upon there.
To boost their numbers down the left-hand side, Sunderland could soon snap up the services of wantaway Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno, with reports from Spain filtering through that the Black Cats are keen on adding the left-back to their roster for only £5m. They aren’t alone in their interest, unfortunately, with fellow newly promoted side Burnley also eyeing him up.
Before being chucked out on loan to Nottingham Forest for more minutes, Moreno did operate as a useful bright spark for Unai Emery’s men, as seen in this delightful effort cannoning in when Villa plied their trade in the Conference League back in 2023.
That is just one of three goals the “sensational” ace – as he was once labelled glowingly by football journalist Charlie Haffenden – has managed to pick up for Villa, with his vast career beyond England also further affirming his eye for a goal and assist.
His defensive class has been evident too, after picking up a respectable seven clean sheets across his Premier League playing days to date.
Moreno’s G/A numbers by club
Club played for
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Rayo Vallecano
127
9
9
Real Betis
122
6
14
Villa
48
3
3
Elche CF
41
2
4
RCD Mallorca
32
2
1
UE Llagostera
31
2
0
Nottingham Forest
19
0
1
Sourced by Transfermarkt
In total, Moreno has collected a healthy 56 goal contributions across his varied career, meaning he could soon go on to be Sunderland’s second coming of Van Aanholt down the left, such is his front-foot approach. Like the Dutchman – whom the Black Cats signed from Chelsea – Moreno would also be arriving from a Premier League rival, should he move to Wearside.
It will be a tough ask for Sunderland to come out on top in the race for the experienced full-back’s services – with Leeds United also hunting down the 32-year-old’s in-demand signature – but it would be a real statement buy if they were successful.
Aston Villa's Alex Moreno
After all, Van Aanholt was last regularly rampaging down the left at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland were a Premier League regular, with Moreno perhaps the sort of buy the Black Cats need to make to become a top-flight staple again.
Sky Sports: Sunderland now in direct contact to sign £17m Ligue 1 forward
The Black Cats are looking to continue their summer business.