Real Madrid prospect Takefusa Kubo has re-joined Real Mallorca on a season-long loan.
Kubo moved to Madrid on a five-year deal in 2019 before being loaned out in the last two seasons and his most recent temporary switch takes him back to Mallorca.
The 20-year-old played for Mallorca in 2019-20, appearing 35 times in LaLiga, though he could not help the club avoid relegation.
He ranked third in Mallorca s squad for chances created (35) and first for successful dribbles (64), netting four times.
Real Sociedad were reportedly interested but Kubo, who appeared for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics, settled for a return to newly-promoted Mallorca ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Kubo spent last season with Villarreal and Getafe.
He played just 291 minu…
Julen Lopetegui feels coaches should be given more international breaks to develop their teams ahead of the World Cup, as Spain prepare for friendlies against Costa Rica and Russia.
The 2010 winners eased to qualification for Russia 2018 by topping a group that included Italy after winning nine of their last 10 matches, but Lopetegui is frustrated by the international calendar.
Spain will not get together again until March, when a prestigious friendly against world champions Germany has been scheduled to be played in Dusseldorf.
FIFA is considering a change in the schedule to have longer, less frequent breaks, but Lopetegui indicated he would prefer a switch that gives him more opportunities to work with his players.
We re focused on our football right n…
Sam Allardyce has been criticised by Emre Belozoglu, who says the scandal which led to the manager s England exit came as no surprise to him after their time at Newcastle United.
The 62-year-old s reign in charge of the national team came to an abrupt end in September after just 67 days.
The position of the former Bolton boss became untenable following an undercover newspaper investigation, which alleged he had suggested there was a way to circumvent the Football Association s rules governing the transfer of players under third-party ownership.
Allardyce was Emre s manager at Newcastle between May 2007 and January 2008, but did not leave a favourable impression on the ex-Turkey international, who now plays for Istanbul Basaksehir.
I was surprised when he…
Harry Maguire and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were left confused as to why West Brom s opener in Manchester United s 1-1 draw on Sunday was allowed to stand after an apparent foul.
United dropped points for the fourth time in five Premier League games, as the Red Devils were unable to make the most of their dominance at The Hawthorns.
Bruno Fernandes got United s goal on the stroke of half-time, taking him to 38 goal involvements for the club in as many league games, a record bettered by only Andy Cole (46) in his first 38 Premier League games.
But United failed to build on that as they struggled to break West Brom s packed defence down, meaning Mbaye Diagne s early goal consigned them to another disappointing result.
But there was more than a hint of controvers…
As for the visitors, while New Zealand s record on paper may have seen Danny Hay s men win six of their last seven matchups and enjoying an unbeaten run that stems back to June 2018, they have famously struggled when up against some of the world s more notable nations. Losing each of their last four friendly matches on the spin, including defeats against Canada, Japan, Belarus, and Northern Ireland, their 1-0 victory over little-known Oman fours years ago is their only friendly victory since way back in September 2013. Now sat down 121 st in the FIFA rankings, there is no doubt that Hay should be boosted by the on-going success of leading marksman and attacking talisman, Chris Wood. Arguably the most notable star in the New Zealand set-up, the Burnley ace once again found the net agains…
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson has bracketed Steven Davis alongside George Best in the pantheon of Northern Ireland greats following the midfielder’s retirement on Thursday.
Davis is most closely associated with Rangers where in two spells at the Ibrox club he won four titles, as well as lifting both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup on three occasions.
The 39-year-old played 140 times for Northern Ireland – the UK male international caps record – while former Manchester United and Northern Ireland winger Best is generally accepted to be one of the best players ever to have played the game.
Robinson, capped seven times for Northern Ireland where he played alongside Davis and who was assistant to Michael O’Neill at Euro 2016, said of his former tea…
Cape Verde head coach Bubista has challenged his side to keep believing as they bid to reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations when they face South Africa in Yamoussoukro.
The small island nation, ranked 73rd in the FIFA standings, topped their group, beating Ghana and then fighting back to snatch a dramatic 2-2 draw with Egypt before a 1-0 win over Mauritania put them into the last eight.
The Blue Sharks are aiming to reach uncharted waters by making the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time.
As imagens do jogo que qualificou Cabo Verde para quartos de final do CAN. Cabo Verde 1-0 Mauritania
Vista-se a rigor aqui | | | | |
— Federação Cabo-verdiana de Futebol (@fcfcomunica)
Bubista feels there is still mor…
Thomas Frank refused to discuss the future of striker Ivan Toney, instead choosing to focus on the players he definitely has at his disposal at Brentford.
Toney has been the subject of interest from Saudi club Al-Ahli, while Chelsea have long been admirers of the striker and have reportedly made a move this week.
The England international has been left out of Brentford s first three games of the season.
And Frank did not want to entertain the subject after Brentford s EFL Cup third round win over Colchester on Wednesday.
He said: Similar to yesterday. I am not speaking about Ivan.
I want to speak about the 21 lads in the dressing room who did well to get through to the next round of the EFL Cup against a Colchester team who deserve a lot of prais…
Leonardo Bonucci has continued to rub salt into the wounds of England after Italy s success in the Euro 2020 final, saying Declan Rice played a part in motivating the tournament winners.
West Ham midfielder Rice said ahead of the final in July that England would be 10 times more ready than their opponents for the Wembley showpiece.
Those words, and the repetitive playing of England s Three Lions song after the country s semi-final win over Denmark, fuelled Bonucci and his team-mates, who ultimately won the competition on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
We didn t pay much attention to it [the Three Lions song] until the Spain game, Bonucci, who ridiculed England s It s Coming Home catchphrase on the pitch after Italy s win, said in an interview with The Athletic.…
data-mm-id=”_nqi97abj8″>We have a new leader in the Big Lead Yearlong ATS Pick clubhouse as Stephen Douglas rode a 7-3 record in Week 11 to the top of the standings. Not to be outdone, Ryan Phillips also went 7-3 last week and Brian Giuffra went 6-4. Our season-long leader, Ryan Glasspiegel, had a down week (2-8) while Bobby Burack went 5-5 and Liam McKeone went 4-6. Still, all but one person is above .500 for the season. Week 12 features spicy matchups between some of the best teams in the league in primetime (Colts-Texans, Packers-49ers, Ravens-Rams). Here are our picks for Week 12 based on lines taken from Westgate Superbook on Tuesday. Season Record: Stephen Douglas 59-49-1; Bobby Burack 56-51-1; Brian Giuffra 52-46-1; Ryan Phillips 56-52-1; Ryan Glasspiegel 55-53-1; Liam McKeone 4…