Barcelona’s centre-back problems have affected the club for a long time, and now they finally seem to have sorted them out.

Gerard Pique has returned to his best form, and Javier Mascherano has never looked more solid beside him as he does now.

They were the foundation that the club’s treble success last season was built on.

Pique and Mascherano, together at the back as the club kept a clean sheet against Atletico Madrid in the Vicente Calderon and won La Liga.

It was the same pair, big and little, at the heart of the defence for their subsequent wins over Athletic Club, in the Copa del Rey, and Juventus, in the Champions League.

Furthermore, they also have three decent back-up options. There’s Jeremy Mathieu, brought in for €20 million from Valencia last summer.

Though many considered him a needlessly dangerous and expensive purchase, he has proved he belongs at Barcelona with some good performances when required, as well as scoring against Real Madrid in the second Clasico of the season.

Marc Bartra has long been deemed a hot prospect, though his time may never come at the Camp Nou.

Some shaky pre-season performances haven’t done him much good, and it’s tough to see him getting in ahead of either of the two first choices for a while.

Bartra is definitely a talent, and it would be a shame for Barcelona to see him leave like Martin Montoya, to Inter Milan.

Neither Mathieu nor Bartra covered themselves in glory during the 5-4 victory over Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday night.

Thomas Vermaelen, meanwhile, finally seems to be fit after missing the entirety of last season, bar the final league game.

So on paper, there’s no need for reinforcement. And yet, if Barcelona were offered the chance to sign one player from Athletic Club, they would pick the Bilbao side’s centre-back, Aymeric Laporte.

Not because they are lacking their own options, but because at 21 the defender is already a star and has enormous potential. He could go on to become one of the finest in his position in world football.

Laporte signed a new deal with Athletic in June, according to the Guardian, which takes his minimum release fee clause up to €50 million.

He’s now contracted to play for the side until 2019, so it’s quite unlikely Barcelona will make a move for him any time soon.

But if they could take him from Athletic easily, they would do it in a heartbeat.

If Joan Laporta had won the club presidential election, Goal.com say he would have tried to sign the Frenchman.

Pilar Suarez wrote: “Laporta has a good relationship with Laporte’s agent, Jorge Mendes, and sources have told Goal that the club would offer him a five year deal with an annual salary of €3.5 million.”

When Barcelona face Athletic in the Spanish Super Cup, Laporte will prove tougher resistance to their sparkling forwards than most defenders do.

He has an extremely cool head and is mature beyond his 21 years. He’s faced up to some of La Liga’s best players and put his body on the line for the Basque team.

Laporte made his first-team domestic debut in 2012 at just 18 years old and has kicked on massively from then.

Strong in the air and exceptionally quick, he also has a fine reading of the game and is good with the ball, which suits the way Barcelona play. The latter would be a big selling point for the Catalan side.

If any one man is going to get in the way of Barcelona and the fifth trophy of their potential sextuple, it is Aymeric Laporte.

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Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli looks set to leave Anfield after the latest in a long line of misdemeanours in his short time with the club.

With Balotelli turning 25 on Wednesday, a video emerged on Twitter showing the Italian striker being drenched in champagne by friends as he celebrated his birthday in the early hours of the morning.

Mario Balotelli received a champagne shower to celebrate his 25th birthday http://t.co/WkLA5NyZys https://t.co/ZE97nr33Pw

— Complex UK (@complex_uk) August 12, 2015

The antics represent only the latest example of Balotelli’s poor behaviour since joining Liverpool from AC Milan in August 2014.

Two instances last season perfectly demonstrated Balotelli’s irreverent attitude. At one stage, Liverpool assistant Colin Pascoe had gathered the players round during training. Balotelli decided it was appropriate to interrupt the coach by shouting, for no apparent reason, “Hey, hey…” at Jon Flanagan, who was passing 30-40 yards by the group. Flanagan was hobbling by as he faced a year out with a serious knee injury.

Balotelli was nearly banished to the changing rooms for his disruption, but his poor behaviour didn’t stop there. Later the same day, the striker scored a stunning goal from near the halfway line, the only problem being it was in the wrong end. Playing in a training match, Balotelli was on the weaker side made up of mainly academy players, when he decided it was appropriate to launch the ball over his own keeper, Brad Jones.

The Italian found it hilarious, while others looked on bemused. 

The latest video showcasing Balotelli’s erratic behaviour was posted by Desmond N’Ze, a friend of Balotelli’s since the pair were team-mates at Inter Milan. N’Ze has been linked to a number of Balotelli’s misdemeanours and was often seen sleeping in the Italian’s car at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground while Balotelli trained last season.

With Liverpool accepting Balotelli’s behaviour is not going to improve, the striker is facing the end of a short and disappointing second spell in England.

[Independent]

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Jose Mourinho‘s first Chelsea stint was successful.

Starting in June 2004, enjoying five major trophies, an unbeaten Stamford Bridge league record and lifting the once middle-class west Londoners to upper-class heights, the Portuguese was a perfect hiring for Roman Abramovich‘s nouveau riche club.

As the age-old saying goes: “All good things must come to an end,” but there was something premature about this particular conclusion.

Arguments over style, youth players and Andriy Shevchenko created fissures in Mourinho and Abramovich‘s relationship after nearly three-and-a-half years; the then-44-year-old manager shockingly resigned from his post in September 2007 with three seasons left on his contract.

Following Mourinho‘s first Chelsea spell, he managed at Inter Milan and Real Madrid for five seasons, winning two league titles, one league cup and the 2009/10 Champions League with the Italians and one league title and one league cup with the Spanish contingent.

It seems the Portuguese has something of a nomadic personality. Whether curious, bored, unable to maintain lasting relationships with those in power or a combination of all three, there appears to be a lack of long-term viability when he is employed.

Returned to Stamford Bridge for a second time, and in his third year, Mourinho‘s perceived differential treatment of others has reared itself yet again.

Since Chelsea’s final game of the 2014/15 Premier League season, there have been three situations involving Mourinho that look like possible harbingers.

The first was Petr Cech‘s sale to Arsenal. Compelled by Abramovich to honour the goalkeeper’s marathon of service, the 33-year-old was allowed to seek employment with the Gunners. Though willing to let the veteran leave, selling Cech to Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal was certainly not Mourinho‘s wish.

Furthermore, having an owner tamper with personnel decisions must exasperate a manager with an impeccable transfer record.

Secondly, and related to the first, the Blues have stood relatively still during the current window—despite Mourinho having an extra month during the 2014/15 season to identify targets and the whole summer to chase them.

Less than a month remains before 2 September’s deadline and Chelsea replaced Cech with Asmir Begovic and Didier Drogba with Radamel Falcao. Only select loanees (Victor Moses, Bertrand Traore, etc.) and academy players (Ola Aina, Nathaniel Chalobah, etc.) have been true additions to the first team.

As Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal strengthen their respective squads—spending £147 million collectively—Chelsea have only spent £12.25 million this summer. Linked with John Stones and Baba Rahman, per the London Evening Standard‘s Simon Johnson, Chelsea are yet to capture the signatures of defenders their manager deems necessary for success.

The third incident was Mourinho‘s reaction to physiotherapists running onto the pitch during the final minutes vs. Swansea City last Saturday.

Doctors Jon Fearn and Eva Carneiro, during stoppage time, whilst the Blues were down to 10 men, ran to treat Eden Hazard, temporarily leaving Chelsea with nine players. Visibly enraged by their decision, Mourinho elected to voice his displeasure publicly with Sky Sports in the game’s post-match interview, when asked about his tantrum, Mourinho responded:

I was unhappy with my medical staff because you have to understand the game. Even if you are a kit man, a doctor or a secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game.

You have to know that you have one player less, and when you go to the pitch to assist a player, you must be sure that the player has a serious problem.

I was sure that Eden hadn’t a serious problem. He had a knock, he was very, very tired and my medical department in an impulse, naive, left me with eight out-field players; and in a counter-attack, after a set piece, we were with two players less.

On its face, Mourinho has a point. The medical department should be more prudent when their team is already down one player, but their duty of care is not the scoreboard, rather the players. One cannot blame doctors for being doctors. When a footballer is down—and a referee signals them to provide care—they provide care.

To his credit, Mourinho would not have known those particular comments were going to be paper fodder. Fearn has been relatively anonymous, even though he ran on the pitch first, but Carneiro has been subject of much discussion.

Sparking debates of sexism and treatment of women in the workplace, the 41-year-old makes the story an easy sell—especially given her cult-like status in the minds of many football fans.

Following Carneiro‘s use of Facebook—where she showed gratitude to those who defended her actions—her role at Chelsea Football Club, via the Telegraph‘s Matt Law, was reduced.

Though largely manufactured (and not worth this amount of coverage), the story has predictably caught fire, adding another layer of conjecture on Mourinho‘s state of mind heading into his “second third season” with the Blues.

Signing a new four-year contract to stay at Stamford Bridge on 7 August, the now-52-year-old appears happy to stay in west London, but could those four years be conditional? An inability to control/complete transfers and incessant rows make Mourinho an enigmatic powder keg.

Chelsea would be vacuous to choose “doctors > manager,” and showed their decision via reduced roles, but the public at large—whether fair or unfair—cannot be reduced as such.

There are many avenue to becoming radioactive, some included: arrogance, bullying and showing no sympathy/empathy toward caregivers. If the Portuguese was not going for a hat-trick, many media outlets have given him one anyway.

Winning, though, is the best deodorant.

Travelling to Manchester City on Sunday, Mourinho can mask the growing stench with three points, but Manuel Pellegrini’s league leaders will not be too forthcoming.

Follow @trophytransfer

*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.

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Roma are expected to make a bid for Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho.

According to Football Italia (via Jamie Anderson of the Daily Star) Calciomercato.it are reporting that Roma are looking to strengthen at the back with Sakho seemingly one of their targets.

Anderson also noted: “It’s unclear whether the Italian outfit will table an offer anywhere near the £18 million Liverpool paid for the French international in 2013. But the player himself is believed to be interested in a move away.”

The defender struggled to impress on his arrival at Anfield, but as WhoScored.com illustrates, Sakho has grown increasingly important for the Reds:

Indeed, Bleacher Report’s own Karl Matchett believes Sakho to be a key figure in central defence alongside Kolo Toure:

According to Squawka, the Frenchman won 53 per cent of his tackles, 57 per cent of his headed duels and an incredible 93 per cent of his attempted take-ons while maintaining a passing accuracy of 90 per cent last season.

Having become a crucial figure for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and with Liverpool having paid so much for him, it seems highly unlikely the Reds will allow him to depart for anything less than £18 million at the very least, as his sale would also require an immediate search for his replacement.

Though Roma can offer Champions League football, expect Sakho to remain at Anfield for the foreseeable future.

Fabio Borini Set to Cut Losses and Leave Liverpool This Summer

According to James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, “Fabio Borini has accepted his Liverpool FC career is over with a return to Serie A edging closer” with Inter Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina reportedly interested.

Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade said: “There are several negotiations in progress, all with the consultation of coach [Paulo] Sousa. Fabio Borini? He’s one of many possible solutions. The priority is to buy a striker.”

The Italian has failed to make a significant impact at Anfield in his three years at the club. His winning goal in a Tyne-Wear derby while on loan at Sunderland was one of his few highlights in that time, with little of note happening in a Reds shirt.

The 24-year-old will almost certainly struggle for game time once again with Christian Benteke, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings and even Mario Balotelli likely to be ahead of him in the pecking order.

After his largely disappointing spell in England, a return to Serie A will give the striker a chance to reignite his career and possibly make the cut for Italy’s 2016 European Championship squad.

Liverpool Target Set for Roma Medical

According to Bleacher Report’s own Jonathan Johnson, Le Parisien are reporting that Lucas Digne could be on the verge of a move to Roma:

The Paris Saint-Germain left-back made just 15 Ligue 1 appearances last season, and he will likely be tempted by the prospect of regular first-team football:

Here are some of the highlights from Digne’s campaign:

According to Squawka, the 22-year-old won 54 per cent of his duels last season, including 19 tackles and 32 aerial battles.

Fortunately for Liverpool, Johnson does believe the Frenchman will end up in the Italian capital:

The Reds are still in need of defensive reinforcements having only brought in Nathaniel Clyne as a likely regular starter and Joe Gomez having only just turned 18 in May.

Brendan Rodgers has largely bought well this transfer window, and in Digne would acquire a promising young talent whose addition would continue Liverpool’s strong summer spending.

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“He is a winner, he has won leagues,” Gary McAllister, Liverpool‘s first-team coach, told the club’s official website in praise of James Milner. The arrival of Liverpool’s new No. 7 is a significant one for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and in particular for an increasingly marginalised Lucas Leiva.

Milner, who joined on a free transfer from Manchester City this summer, is set to take up a key role in Rodgers’ first team.

The 29-year-old signed a deal worth around £150,000 a week with the Reds, according to the Guardian‘s Andy Hunter. A figure that likely makes him Liverpool’s highest-paid player, following the summer departures of Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson.

Named vice-captain at the beginning of August, too, Milner can be expected to play as many games as possible for the Reds in 2015/16.

What this spells for Brazilian midfielder Lucas is far from favourable.

James Milner

As McAllister attests, Milner brings considerable experience to Merseyside, having spent five seasons in and around the starting lineup at City.

He made 147 Premier League appearances during that time, helping the Citizens to five major honours—including two league titles, in 2011/12 and 2013/14. Like McAllister during his time at Anfield between 2000 and 2002, Milner possesses an innate winning mentality.

This makes Milner a rare commodity within Rodgers’ squad, with very few of his players boasting experience of top-flight success—fourth-choice centre-back Kolo Toure is the only other player likely to remain in Rodgers’ squad this season who has won the Premier League title.

This experience, paired with top-level ability, is what makes him so important.

He can pass; he can tackle; he can shoot. He has supreme tactical intelligence and is extremely versatile—although his assertion, in conversation with the club’s official website, that “you will see the best of me now I am in the central role” suggests he won’t settle for a utility role at Anfield.

His performance in Liverpool’s 1-0 opening-weekend win over Stoke City, though understated, highlighted his qualities. When released from his confusing, reserved midfield role on the introduction of Emre Can on 62 minutes, Milner created with aplomb on the edge of the area, combining well with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Christian Benteke.

What was most intriguing about his Britannia Stadium showing, however, was his tough-tackling presence in the middle of the park. Making a late challenge on former Reds midfielder Charlie Adam toward the end of the first half, Milner offered retribution to the Scot, who had previously—and rather needlessly—shunted him to the ground.

In the absence of Gerrard, Milner can be one of the players Rodgers needs to drag his side through in difficult encounters, and he can be crucial to his tactical setup, too.

Brendan Rodgers’ Tactical Setup

Against Stoke, Rodgers utilised two different systems: 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1.

This largely revolved around two triangles in the midfield—firstly with Milner and Henderson as a deep-lying pivot behind Philippe Coutinho and secondly with Can introduced in defensive midfield, allowing Milner and Henderson to probe further forward.

“What Liverpool do have this season, more than any other, is tactical flexibility; and not the type of tactical flexibility that is forced upon you due to scarcity of player profile variability, but tactical flexibility that allows for you to answer an array of tactical problems,” detailed tactical analyst Jed Davies after Sunday’s clash, writing for This is Anfield.

Davies continues to outline how Milner is crucial within this flexibility, whether this be bursting from the midfield pivot to aid Liverpool’s pressing game in the final third or dragging wide into a near-right-back position when Nathaniel Clyne forges forward.

As Davies asserts, Milner’s flexibility, mobility and tactical intelligence allow Rodgers to implement a variety of systems.

He is an invaluable player, and his level-headed mentality matches his on-field competence, as his post-match summary highlights, via Hunter for the Guardian:

Ultimately, it is about getting that win whether it is a game where we can move the ball about or whether it is a game where it is a battle and we have to grind it out. You have to assess the situation and be able to adapt and play in different formations against different sides. It is a top team that can adapt and win games when things maybe aren’t playing to your strengths.

Milner is a selfless character assuming a key role in a squad led by a manager who is synonymous with the term—it is rare to experience a briefing in which Rodgers does not use the word “character.”

He, along with Henderson, Can and Sunday’s match-winner Coutinho, will form a hugely important part of Rodgers’ first team, with each a key midfield player.

But where does this leave Lucas?

Lucas Leiva’s “Fallout”

Conspicuous in his absence at the Britannia was the 28-year-old Brazilian, though given the competitive nature of a Liverpool squad that also saw £20 million Serbian forward Lazar Markovic left out of the matchday squad, this wasn’t out of the ordinary.

However, the aftermath of this precious victory has seen Lucas become a wantaway figure on Merseyside.

“Lucas was not in the squad to face Stoke City on Sunday, and his eight-year career at Anfield is expected to end before the end of the month,” Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph revealed on Monday evening. This came after the midfielder “was informed he is a back-up player this season.”

Paul Joyce of the Express elaborated further by suggesting in his post-match report that “Lucas [was] left out of the squad entirely following a fall-out which presumably now promotes the prospect of a parting.”

The likelihood of a summer departure was increased by speculation from David Maddock of the Mirror, who suggested that both Inter Milan and Napoli were interested in signing the long-serving anchorman following his Stoke omission. Maddock cites a “frank exchange” between player and manager.

As victory, and a clean sheet, on Sunday showed, Lucas is a reasonably dispensable figure within Rodgers’ squad at this juncture—although the manager will be without a specialist defensive midfielder if he is sold this summer—and a large factor in this is the arrival of Milner.

Milner’s addition to the exceptional group of Can, Henderson and Coutinho sees Rodgers complete what Davies hints as his ideal midfield—”a vision finally obtainable.”

The new Reds vice-captain builds upon the functional diligence and morale-boosting character of Lucas—who offers little more than a rudimentary, yellow-card-swallowing shield for Liverpool’s back four—with genuine pedigree and true quality.

He is not a like-for-like replacement, but Milner’s arrival—and the subsequent shift in Rodgers’ tactical blueprint—has likely signalled the end of an eight-year reign on Merseyside for Lucas.

Losing a loyal servant such as Lucas will be a blow for Liverpool supporters, but the arrival of Milner has atoned for that forfeit.

Statistics via Soccerbase.com.

Follow @jacklusby

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On the opening weekend of the Premier League season, Manchester City would have enjoyed their position as interested bystanders. 

They saw their neighbours Manchester United stumble to an unconvincing win over Spurs, Chelsea drop two points at home to Swansea and, on Sunday, Arsenal suffer a surprising and traumatic defeat to West Ham at the Emirates.

Now it is City’s turn to finally enter the fray when they face West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on Monday night.

Which version of Manuel Pellegrini’s City side will take the field in the West Midlands and emerge throughout the new season?

The free-scoring and cavalier version that won the title in 2014, or the more timid and porous version that finished in Chelsea’s wake last season?

Recent history has shown City are better suited to pursuing a title than defending it, and the expectation is that they will return a hungrier side.

And yet there has also been a curious malaise lingering around the Etihad stadium this summer

Pellegrini deserves more respect after delivering a title and a runners-up finish in his first two seasons in England, but he continues to be undermined by mounting speculation that he is merely being kept on as a stopgap before Pep Guardiola’s arrival.

Can a squad of players ever truly be at their best when they might believe their manager is leaving soon?

The most pressing concern for City is they are entering the new season with the same defence that destabilised their title challenge in the last campaign.

As City midfielder Fernandinho admitted to the Guardian, “The biggest thing to improve is defensively. The attacking part of the team is very strong, so it’s about improving consistency in defence.”

Last season, City conceded 38 goals, six more than the champions Chelsea and the most of any side in the top four—and even five more than Southampton, who finished seventh.

At this stage, City have so far not sought to reinforce their defence for the new season.

The hope is that Eliaquim Mangala will have learned from his largely underwhelming first season in the Premier League and begin to perform like a £42 million defender.

But City remain vulnerable to every creak and niggle in Vincent Kompany’s increasingly fragile frame, and they always look a very different team without their captain.

Any Kompany absences leaves City with the unconvincing central defensive partnership of Mangala and Martin Demichelis.

At the other end of the pitch, City boast Sergio Aguero, a striker each of their rivals covets for his pace, movement and goalscoring ability. If he stays fit, City could become champions again, but again, any injury could see them miss out.  

Only a year ago, City had an enviable stable of four proven strikers, but Alvaro Negredo is now at Valencia, Stevan Jovetic on loan at Inter Milan and Edin Dzeko could be days away from signing for AS Roma.

It leaves City dangerously short of strikers, with just Wilfried Bony as a partner or alternative to Aguero, and the former Swansea man has made a tentative start to life at the Etihad with just two goals in his first 12 appearances for the club.

As well as those departing strikers, City’s squad has lost some of its bulk with the sales of James Milner, Micah Richards, Matilja Nastasic, Dedryck Boyata and Frank Lampard, who chipped in with a crucial eight goals last season.

For all of City’s wealth, it seems almost perverse to suggest they might lack the strength in depth to regain the title, but weaknesses remain.

However, the one area of the side that should give City real grounds for optimism this season is their midfield.  

Bolstered by the signings of Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph and Patrick Roberts, the City midfield now boasts an even more impressive balance of grit and creativity. This remains the powerbase of their team.

The trusted talents of David Silva, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Fernandinho know how to navigate a Premier League season and win a title.

And for all the incredulity over his inflated transfer fee of £49 million, and the discomfort at the manner in which he leveraged himself out of Liverpool, it should not be forgotten that Sterling is a wonderful and rare talent.

Blessed with pace and a real understanding of the game, and having now relocated to a club where he now feels loved and wanted, Sterling could light up this season.

City have now finished in the top three for each of the last five seasons and should do so again this season, but the constant undermining of their manager, an over-reliance on Kompany and Aguero and their diminished stable of strikers means it is likely to be in second or third position, not as champions.

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As part of an extremely busy summer transfer window at the Vicente Calderon, centre-back Stefan Savic has made the switch from Fiorentina to Atletico Madrid. 

After a troubled stint at Manchester City in 2011-12, the Montenegrin forged a strong reputation for himself in Serie A across three seasons at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence and, at 24, has now made the move to one of Europe’s rapidly rising outfits amid a major summer reshuffle on the banks of the Manzanares in the Spanish capital. 

But what sort of player have Atletico landed themselves? Is he a steal?

Playing Style

Savic represents something of a deviation from the script in regards to the style of Atletico Madrid central defenders. 

Indeed, whereas Diego Godin, Miranda and Jose Gimenez have been defined by their force, physicality and combative traits—essentially embodying the essence of manager Diego Simeone—the Montenegro international is a centre-back of a different tune. 

Tall and rather finely built for a player at his position, Savic relies on positional awareness and reading of the play to defend, rather than athleticism. Because of that, combined with his height, he’s skillful in the air and has been among the leaders in Serie A for aerials won across the past two seasons, per WhoScored.com. 

The former Manchester City man is also composed on the ball and neat in possession—the sort of centre-back who can help to build moves as well as repel them. 

But his style will take a bit of getting used to at the Vicente Calderon. He won’t clatter into forwards like Miranda. He won’t dominate the box like Godin. He won’t dive head-first to block shots like Gimenez. 

Instead, Savic is a defender of brains rather than brawn—guile rather than grunt. And in an Atleti outfit undergoing a change in style, a shift unfolding as to how they use the ball, Savic represents a nice point of difference who can help facilitate that. He’s a complementary piece. 

Who’s He Replacing?

On the face of it, Savic looks to be a replacement for Miranda, the Brazilian centre-back who departed to Inter Milan this summer. In that sense (as outlined above), the former Fiorentina man is very different to his predecessor. 

The now departed 30-year-old had been a pillar of Simeone‘s defence since his arrival, his rugged, no-nonsense and aggressive approach perfectly suiting the Atleti Simeone has led until now. 

But Savic can’t really be considered a replacement for Miranda. Both in terms of experience and style, the comparison isn’t quite right. 

Instead, Savic is effectively a replacement for Toby Alderweireld, the former Atletico defender who spent last season on loan Southampton and who was eventually sold to Tottenham this summer because of his wish to remain in the Premier League. 

Indeed, the Belgian, at 26, is the man whose boots Savic is filling, given that Alderweireld was wanted back at the Vicente Calderon because of his blend of defensive strength and ease on the ball—the latter quality developed in his formative years at Ajax. 

What Role Will He Play?

Though Savic has arrived in the Spanish capital as one of Atletico Madrid’s major summer signings, he still seems unlikely to start the season in Simeone‘s first-choice XI. 

With Godin still considered among the finest centre-backs in Europe, and with Gimenez possibly the brightest defensive talent on the continent, the Montenegrin looks set to start the new campaign third in the pecking order. 

However, his presence will still be vitally important for Simeone. The Argentinian will want to ensure Gimenez has stiff competition for his place, the Atelti boss renowned for wanting to challenge his young stars (see Antoine Griezmann). 

As such, Simeone will essentially pit Savic in a head-to-head battle with the precocious Uruguayan, hoping that the competition between two relative equals fast-tracks the pair’s development and maintains their intensity across the campaign. 

If Gimenez slips, even just fractionally (and it’s possible given the dreaded second-season syndrome), Savic will be waiting.

The Outlay

So the price: What is it?

When Savic‘s signing was announced, Marca reported the fee to be €12 million plus Mario Suarez, who has gone the other way to Fiorentina. Later, Marca raised that figure, reporting it at €15 million, while Sky Sports pointed to Italian reports indicating something in the region of €9 million. 

At Transfermarkt, the deals are considered separate, and the defender’s price is presented at £17.5 million (€24.7 million), while Suarez’s is £10.5 million (€14.8 million), effectively making the sum for Savic £7 million (€9.9 million). 

If the reported prices are accurate, Atletico Madrid look to have gotten themselves something of a steal. 

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Real Madrid travel to Norway on Sunday to take on Valerenga in the latest part of the club’s pre-season campaign that has already visited Australia, China and Germany.

Those stops have seen Los Blancos register three victories, two draws and just one loss across six meetings with AS Roma, Manchester City, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich.

It’s been an intriguing pre-season thus far for Real, the team still adjusting to new manager Rafa Benitez who is implementing a re-worked system for the 2014 European champions. Sunday’s clash will give the team another opportunity to grow accustomed to the Spaniard’s methods.

However, the major focus in this friendly meeting with Valerenga will be Martin Odegaard‘s return to his native Norway, with Marca reporting all 28,000 seats at the Ullevaal Stadion have been sold, as Oslo anticipates the Norwegian prodigy’s return. Benitez, one senses, will award the 16-year-old a start in what is expected to be a second-string lineup.

For the hosts, while Sunday’s clash is a rare opportunity to see one of Europe’s heavyweights up close, the match might be viewed as a hinderance by manager Kjetil Rekdal.

Indeed, the Norwegian top-flight competition, the Tippeligaen, runs an April-to-November schedule to avoid the bitter cold of the northern winter. As such, whereas Madrid are currently in pre-season, Valerenga will be playing this friendly in the middle of their competitive season.

Currently, the side sits second in the table behind Rosenborg and will have little preparation for this game after a 1-0 victory over Tromso on Friday.

Match Details

Date: Sunday, August 9

Time: 2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. local

Venue: Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway

TV Info: TV 2 (Norway), Cuatro (Spain), Real Madrid TV (International)

Live Stream: No live stream broadcasting information was available at the time of publishing. We will update this page if and when the information becomes available.

Team News

Real Madrid announced their 23-man squad on Saturday, with forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema still missing from the group after also sitting out the trip to Munich for the Audi Cup. The Portuguese is still suffering from pain in his lower back, while the Frenchman is still recovering from a thigh injury that has put him in doubt for Real’s season opener against Sporting Gijon.

Also absent from Benitez’s squad are central defenders Sergio Ramos and Pepe. The former suffered a hard knock against Bayern Munich, per Marca, while the latter strained a muscle in his right leg during the same game. 

Real Madrid’s squad for this match is as follows:

Keylor Navas, Kiko Casilla, Ruben Yanez, Raphael Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Daniel Carvajal, Alvaro Arbeloa, Danilo, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Denis Cheryshev, Isco, Asier Illarramendi, Marco Asensio, Marcos Llorente, Martin Odegaard, Jese, Lucas Vazquez and Borja Mayoral.

Form Lines

Predicted Lineups

Players to Watch

With Benzema in doubt for the beginning of Real Madrid’s season in La Liga, homegrown forward Jese could start the campaign leading the attack for Benitez.

After a frustrating season in 2014-15 in which he was a backup wide option to the ever-present Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, the Spaniard looks as though he’ll effectively become Javier Hernandez’s replacement this term, supporting Benzema in the No. 9 role.

But with the Frenchman missing, this is an opportunity for Jese to continue to build on a promising pre-season campaign that has seen some lively performances and a very neat goal against Inter Milan. More goals here might earn him a start against Sporting Gijon on August 23.

The other players to watch in this meeting will be defensive duo Raphael Varane and Nacho.

With Ramos and Pepe absent for this game, the two young centre-backs will start for Benitez and will be eager to erase any memories of their last start together as a pairing, when they were battered into submission by Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann in a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Atletico Madrid in February.

For Varane, this clash is probably more important than it is for Nacho. Right now, Benitez will be trying to establish whom he trusts most to hold together his defence, and strong displays from the Frenchman between now and Pepe’s return from injury might see Varane permanently lock down a starting spot for the first time in his Real Madrid career.

Odds (via OddsChecker)

Valerenga: 10-1

Draw: 6-1

Real Madrid: 1-6

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“Rafa doesn’t have any sentiment. He’s not interested in social skills. He tries to come across as a warm person, but he is as harsh a guy as you will ever come across.”

Craig Bellamy wrote that about Rafa Benitez in his autobiography, GoodFella, having played under the Spanish coach at Liverpool.

It gives an insight into the coach’s personality and perhaps reveals what his biggest problem might be at Real Madrid: himself.

When you are manager of what many consider to be the biggest club in the world, you will always have problems.

There are always issues to deal with. From the squad to the fans and the media to the board, every detail is scrutinised.

On paper, things have been going well for Real Madrid in Rafa’s short reign so far.

Pre-season results have been good, with Los Blancos winning both International Champions Cup tournaments in which they competed, in Australia and China. That included a 4-1 win over Manchester City, and they only conceded two goals in six games.

The defence was a weak point for Real Madrid last season, and Benitez has already gone about fixing it.

Madrid conceded 17 goals more than champions Barcelona and also more than Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Villarreal, who finished sixth.

But sooner or later at Madrid, problems appear, and we will look at what Benitez may have to contend with.

As demonstrated by Bellamy’s comments, Benitez isn’t a people person. He has upset several key players at his previous teams.

He fell out with Xabi Alonso and Albert Riera at Liverpool, with the latter making some scathing remarks about his former boss, per the Daily Mail:

When you stop being important for the coach it has to be something personal. If I am doing things badly and you are my boss and you value me, you are going to tell me what I have to do to get back playing. That is what hurts me. It is a lack of tact. It seems strange that being Spanish there should be a problem with communication.

I have been here two years and he has never sorted out a situation with a player by talking to him. He thinks that it is him in charge and he is deaf to everything else. The dialogue is practically nil. This year has been difficult and he has changed nothing. When you see that the boat is sinking and you don’t change anything.

John Terry and Marco Materazzi are two other high-profile players who fell out with Benitez. You wonder what will happen at Madrid, where there is the notoriously hard-to-please Cristiano Ronaldo.

There have already been signs of danger, with the Portuguese spotted mouthing off in displeasure when the team were asked to finish training by playing crossbar challenge. Per Sport, he was also unhappy with Benitez’s refereeing during the session:

Cristiano Ronaldo got angry during a Real Madrid training session in Australia on Wednesday. During a mini-game, Madrid’s new boss ruled out a goal by the club’s No.7, a decision which did not go down too well at all. ‘F—, man… you only see offences against the Portuguese players,’ Ronaldo stropped.

This is the biggest job Benitez has ever had, and he is working with more star names than he has previously handled. A new form of pressure.

As well as interacting well with his team, he also needs to keep them happy on the pitch. If he gives players specific roles they don’t enjoy, there may be trouble.

Ronaldo may be upset if Gareth Bale becomes the main focus for the team, which looks like it may happen if some of the pre-season tactics are anything to go by.

The Welshman, at least, is happy with Benitez. He told Sport: “I am confident anyway, but it’s great to have the support of the manager and the president and, hopefully, I can repay them now with goals and trophies. I have spoken to the manager about playing through the middle.”

Let’s say Benitez can keep from upsetting any of the Madrid squad. What other problems could he face at the Santiago Bernabeu?

One is Barcelona. Madrid’s eternal rivals are in an extremely strong moment, having won the treble, and Benitez’s job is to take them on without significant reinforcement to his squad.

The likes of Denis Cheryshev and Lucas Vazquez offer different options, but barring the signing of Danilo it’s hard to argue Madrid’s team is any stronger than last season.

What might prove to be a nice problem to have, if it doesn’t become a divisive issue, is how to fit Ronaldo, Bale, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez and Isco into six places.

All seven of those players will believe they have earned the right to start every game, but they can’t all fit in. As Tim Collins explained on Bleacher Report:

Stars like Ronaldo want to be stars, not rotating components. What’s more, their stature sees them exert an implied influence over a coach, which means that rotating them to accommodate Isco won’t be easy. And Benitez needs only to look at Luis Enrique’s predicament at Barcelona in January for evidence that the rotation of stars at this level is fraught with peril.

And that’s before you get to the likes of Jese, who has been explosive in pre-season, and Casemiro, who could add extra defensive balance and stability in the midfield.

As explained above, Benitez is already improving in that department, but if it comes at the cost of goals and exciting football, Madrid fans may not be too happy.

There are also the media battles he faces, with other managers, such as Jose Mourinho, and also with the press.

Benitez is often made fun of for his weight, and the Chelsea manager has already taken a jibe at both the coach and his wife over this issue, saying: “If she takes care of her husband’s diet, she will not have any time to talk about me.”

According to AS (h/t the Independent), Madrid have told Benitez to slim down to avoid jokes at his expense.

Rafa’s stock has sunk over the past decade, failing miserably at Inter Milan, being reviled at Chelsea and mediocre with Napoli. Long gone are his glory days of Valencia and his Champions League win with Liverpool.

When he was appointed by Madrid in the summer, it felt like it was only because Florentino Perez wanted to get rid of Carlo Ancelotti and there were no better options.

Perez could be another problem for Benitez, with the president having a notoriously quick trigger finger. If things don’t go well it would be no surprise to see the Spaniard depart at the end of the season, which puts extra pressure on Rafa’s back.

This is his dream job, as he showed at his presentation, during which when he cried with happiness. Benitez must stay on top of these problems to prevent his dream turning into a nightmare.

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Manchester City have been England’s third-best club since their takeover in September 2008. City Football Group have won four domestic trophies building their English project, enjoying more success in those seven campaigns than the previous 48 seasons combined.

Numerous managers have attempted to bring the Citizens up from their mid-table status to European power, and this endeavour required heavy investment. From summer 2008 to before summer 2015, City had spent upwards of £690 million on players; Father Time, however, has come knocking for some of those key transactions.

Vincent Kompany (29), David Silva (29), Pablo Zabaleta (30), Yaya Toure (32) and several others who have been long-serving members of City’s squad are reaching the ends of their respective careers—though some are further along than others.

While never able to lay their proverbial hands on one of the world’s pre-eminent superstars—e.g. Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo—City have a strong core, led primarily by the world-class Sergio “Kun” Aguero.

The 27-year-old centre-forward is Manuel Pellegrini’s unquestioned key player and, when healthy, is the best striker in English football. How the Argentine’s future pans out at the Etihad cannot be speculated upon, but for now, Aguero is Manchester City’s foreseeable star.

While their newly branded No. 10 is Pellegrini’s current talisman, the Citizens should have one eye on the future and attempt to find their next torchbearer. To that aim, Manchester’s blue half has opted for youthful options this summer. Raheem Sterling (20) and Fabian Delph (25) have been thrown into the mix, costing £57 million in total.

Of the two major incoming transfers, Sterling certainly carries the higher expectation and, in the immediate future, should blossom into one of England’s best attacking players regardless of position.

Set to eclipse 100 Premier League appearances before his 21st birthday and already a permanent member of Roy Hodgson’s England team, how high Sterling climbs depends solely on his dedication to fulfilling his apparent and obvious potential.

Is there a difference, though, between being labelled a great player and a “star?”

One would argue there is.

A great player contributes to his squad with solid performances serially. A “star,” however, must be more than talented, more than a consistent contributor—he must be an ambassador for his club off the pitch. Whether Sterling can develop a charismatic, marketable personality will determine the ex-Liverpool man’s ultimate status in a global sense.

Manchester City have an obvious, £49 million option in their squad, but a lesser-known commodity could prove just as viable—depending on Pellegrini’s level of confidence in his club’s academy.

Kelechi Iheanacho, an 18-year-old centre-forward (who can also play in attacking midfield), looks a promising talent. The Nigerian under-20 international has forged his way into City’s first team for the 2015/16 season.

By all accounts, the Nigerian attacker has the makings of a Premier League player. Similar to Sterling at Liverpool, all he needs is an opportunity—which he could receive.

Alvaro Negredo has been sold, John Guidetti was released when his contract expired, Stevan Jovetic has left on loan to Inter Milan and Edin Dzeko’s move to AS Roma, via Sky Sports, appears all but announced.

These transactions open the door for the young Iheanacho to prove himself, both in training and the occasional first-team appearance.

The Nigerian attacker living up to his hype would give Manchester City not only a proper centre-forward but (given his demeanour) a certain star as well.

Finding Premier League quality is not simple nor cheap.

Finding legitimate stars is even more challenging.

Manchester City would be happy to worry about their next talisman once Aguero leaves/fades, but it is exceedingly possible they already possess their heir apparent.

He need but announce himself.

Follow @trophytransfer

*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.

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