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Lewandowski vs. LeBron (Bild)
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James are in contention for the prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year award:
This time, Bayern world footballer Robert Lewandowski (32) and basketball megastar LeBron James (36 / LA Lakers) have been nominated for the coveted LAUREUS Sportsman of the Year award.
But the two superstars of their sports have high-ranking opponents: Whether double world record long-distance runner Joshua Cheptegei, pole vault high-flyer Armand Duplantis, Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton or tennis titan Rafael Nadal — they all had an amazing year despite Corona.
That’s a pretty star-studded line-up, eh?
Haaland’s potential deal to leave BVB (Sky Sports)
There has been a lot of chatter about Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland of late, but here are some numbers on what the phenom might be looking for financially should he decided to leave BVB this summer:
Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland wants a £78m package over five years if he is to leave the club this summer, according to the Daily Star. Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are all reportedly interested in Haaland, and a fee of around £100m is being touted. The 24-year-old Norwegian has scored 25 goals in 24 appearances this season for Dortmund, who are currently sixth in the Bundesliga.
Per Transfer Market Web, Borussia Dortmund is seriously considering maxing out its investment in Haaland. Chelsea is reportedly heavily interested in Haaland and is ready to spend €300 million in the transfer market this summer. This would present BVB with an opportunity to get more than the rumored €75 million release clause he has in his contract for 2022:
While Borussia Dortmund are pondering over letting out, on a 3-digit sum, one out of Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland (in the pic on the left), the latter, according to latest TMW rumours, is growing into a major target for Chelsea, ahead of next summer. Otherwise, a 75 million euros exit clause is going to be enabled on former Salzburg hitman in summer 2022. Blues are going to invest about €300m into next summer market session.
(Editor’s note: We left Sky’s report intact listing Haaland as 24. The Borussia Dortmund star is only 20.)
Younes praised by Löw (Bundesliga.com)
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Amine Younes opened some eyes last weekend with his performance against Bayern Munich. One set of peepers that Younes impressed was Germany manager Joachim Löw:
Germany coach Joachim Löw was full of praise for Amin Younes after the playmaker’s performance in Eintracht Frankfurt’s win over Bayern Munich. Younes was one of the standout players at Deutsche Bank Park as top-four hopefuls Frankfurt enjoyed a famous afternoon against the newly crowned club world champions. The midfielder scored what turned out to be the winner in the 2-1 victory, picking up the ball on the left corner of the penalty area, cutting inside Niklas Süle and firing an unstoppable shot into the far top corner.
“Younes had a very good game. He’s gradually finding his rhythm again,” Löw told Sport1 after the match. “His technique and orientation are great. He’s a player who can resolve one-on-one situations in the best way.”
So yeah...Younes might be more likely to get a call-up than Thomas Müller. Or will he?
Eintracht not optimistic about keeping Jovic (Transfer Market Web)
Luka Jovic seems to be rounding into his old form with Eintracht Frankfurt, but the club does not appear to be optimistic that it can retain Jovic when his loan ends:
Throughout latest Eintracht Frankfurt press conference, first-team boss Bruno Hubner, addressed with questions regarding odds over 23-year old Serbian international striker Luka Jovic staying put, once current season’s over, stated: “Chances for us to keep him with us, ahead of next season, are very small. I must be honest about that. Since Luka is getting his momentum back, and he is playing at his first-time Eintracht level, a range of clubs much more well-equipped than ours is going to be after him”. Jovic is still on a parent-club deal with Real Madrid until June 2024.
While it is certainly possible that Real Madrid will keep Jovic, it would appear more likely that Los Blancos are ready to cut ties with the 23-year-old and would be willing to sell him to the highest bidder.
Ideally, Die Adler and Real Madrid would be able to work out a deal, but Eintracht Frankfurt is likely correct: Some other club with deeper pockets is likely to swoop in — especially if Jovic keeps progressing like he had since venturing back to Germany.
United stalling on Sancho pursuit? (Sport Bild)
After years of speculation, Manchester United might be stalling on its long-rumored pursuit of Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho:
According to a report by the portal “The Athletic”, Manchester United does not want to intensify its efforts to transfer Borussia Dortmund’s attacking player Sancho for the time being. According to BILD information, the top club is still interested in the BVB star and absolutely wants the national player in the summer.
What speaks against it, according to the portal: ManUnited recently extended the contract with 19-year-old offensive talent Mason Greenwood to June 30, 2025. A transfer from Sanchos is no longer so important, it said without information from sources.
In addition, the club is currently said to be cautious about expensive transfers due to the economic effects of the corona pandemic. Before the pandemic, Sancho reportedly had a transfer fee of around 120 million euros.
Sancho, who was slumping earlier this season, is still an excellent talent that BVB stands to make a boatload of cash from when he gets sold.
That statement is kind of unfortunate because I don’t expect Sancho to even consider staying — though I’d love to see him stick in the Bundesliga. For (probably) a million reasons, Borussia Dortmund needs to shake the reputation that it has earned of being a “flipper” club. Should BVB sell mega-talents like Sancho and Erling Haaland, it will be hard to lose that designation.
Up NEXT: “FLIP OR FLOP — BORUSSIA DORTMUND EDITION — YOUSSOUFA MOUKOKO”
Draxler to Arsenal in swap deal? (Sports Mole)
Germany international Julian Draxler is likely leaving Paris-Saint Germain after the season, but his destination has not yet been determined. Oft-linked to Arsenal, at least one journalist thinks Draxler could be involved in a swap deal for Hector Bellerin:
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta would reportedly want to sign Paris Saint-Germain’s Julian Draxler as part of a deal that could see Hector Bellerin join the French champions. Bellerin is allegedly keen to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer, and PSG are thought to be the favourites to sign the Spanish right-back, who has been with the Gunners since 2011.
According to journalist Duncan Castles, Arteta is open to the former Barcelona starlet moving on and has signalled that the club should attempt to negotiate a swap deal involving Draxler. “It is our information that Bellerin and his agent have told the club he wants to leave this summer. Arteta has decided we must make the best of the opportunity,” Castles told the Transfer Window Podcast. “The most likely suitors for Bellerin are PSG. And in that being the case, Arteta has told Edu that given the situation it is more viable to trade players, he has asked Edu to discuss the possibility of a swap deal for Julian Draxler.”
The timing for this seems add as Draxler’s deal with PSG ends in June. The speculation is that he would sign a new deal in Paris and then transfer — which seems like some NBA Trade Machine-type stuff.