Best squad football

Follows Mo Salah - Virgil van Dijk commits future to Liverpool with new contract
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Virgil van Dijk has signed a new contract with Liverpool that will keep the defender at the club until the summer of 2027. In a statement on the club website on Thursday, the Anfield club confirmed that the Dutch defender would not be departing the club at the end of the season when his previous deal expired and had instead agreed to stay at the Premier League club for the foreseeable future. The news comes just one week after Liverpool agreed a new deal to keep Mohamed Salah at the club with a new contract extension until 2027.
“I’m very happy, very proud,” Van Dijk said in an interview with the club. “There are so many emotions obviously that go through my head right now speaking about it. It’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy.” Van Dijk has made over 310 appearances for the English giants since he made the move to Anfield in 2018. Costing no less than €84.5 million from Southampton, the Breda-born talent was the club’s record signing until they signed Darwin Núñez from Benfica for €85m. At the time, Van Dijk was also the most expensive defender of all time, but that figure has since been overtaken by no than three players in Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus for €85.5m, Harry Maguire to Manchester United for €87m and Josko Gvardiol to Manchester City for €90m.

How Virgil van Dijk is still so important to Liverpool
Despite turning 34 this summer, Van Dijk remains a crucial part of Arne Slot’s Liverpool side. With 3,987 minutes of football in all competitions for the Anfield club this season, Van Dijk sits top of Liverpool’s charts for minutes played, beating second-placed Salah with an extra 26 minutes of game time.

Such has been the defender’s impressive form despite his growing age that Van Dijk still boasts an impressive market value of €28m, which makes him the fourth most valuable defender in the world over the age of 30 and the most valuable player in the world born in 1991, beating Man City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne by a single €1m in market value. As such, Liverpool clearly had few reservations over extending Van Dijk’s contract and have every intention of relying on his remarkable talents over the course of the next few years.

10 months ago | [YT] | 6

Best squad football

Mohamed Salah signs new Liverpool contract - The records he could break in the next two years
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Liverpool fans will be waking up this Friday in a jubilant mood after it was confirmed their Egyptian king Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract with the club. The 32 year old's previous deal was scheduled to run out this summer and there had been doubts that he would stay at Anfield, following non-committal comments from the 32 year old throughout the season, as well as speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia. He was one of three key Liverpool players out of contract this summer, along with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and centre-back Virgil van Dijk. Netherlands defender Van Dijk has said there has been progress on talks over a new deal, but Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.

In a Liverpool club statement Salah said: "Of course I'm very excited - we have a great team now. Before we also had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football. I have played eight years here, hopefully it's going to be 10. I'm enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I have had the best years of my career here." The Liverpool goal machine is top scorer in the Premier League with 27 goals this term, and will now have the chance to add to his 243 goals and 109 assists for Liverpool in 393 appearances. In committing his future, the Egyptian will now also have the opportunity to break a whole host of club and league records.


One of the first accomplishments in the sights of Salah due to purely how close he is to beating it will be breaking Sergio Agüero's record as the non-English player with the most goals in Premier League history. The pair are currently both level on 184 goals, but it seems a matter of time until Salah finds the back of the net in the Premier League again and surpasses the Argentine. Overtaking Agüero, would also move Salah up to fourth in the overall list of all-time Premier League goalscorers. Third-placed Andy Cole would be the next one to overtake on 187, and whilst he could realistically catch Harry Kane's 213, Alan Shearer's tally of 260 seems unlikely.
Another record within his grasp this season is breaking the record for the most goal contributions (goals + assists) in a Premier League season. The Egyptian currently stands at 44, which is already the record in a 42-game season, but he will need four more goal contributions to beat the 47 that both Alan Shearer and Andy Cole achieved in the 1994/95 and 1993/94 seasons respectively. Liverpool have seven Premier League games left for him to achieve that, including West Ham at home and Leicester away in their next two fixtures.
Whilst the first two records mentioned are something of a formality that Salah will break them, this one will still take a lot from the Egyptian. He currently has 243 goals for the Reds in all competitions, which puts him third on the rankings of the club's all-time top scorers. In second place is Roger Hunt on 274, who one would expect Salah to surpass. However, in first place is the club's former prolific striker Ian Rush - the Welshman scored 339 goals for the club. That means Salah would need 96 goals in all competitions to beat it. Scoring 48 in each of the next two seasons would be some feat, but he already has 32 this season, and if Liverpool are to go far in the cup competitions, he might just have an outside chance.
Salah now has scored 103 Premier League goals at Anfield alone. There are only two players that have scored more goals in the competitions at a single stadium. Wayne Rooney scored 106 Premier League goals at Old Trafford, whilst Thierry Henry scored 114 goals at Arsenal's former ground Highbury. That means Salah would need just 12 more Anfield goals in the English top-flight to add another record to his illustrious CV.
Salah currently stands at 10th in the all-time list for Premier League assists with 86 - 85 of which came with Liverpool. The only player with more Premier League assists for Liverpool is club legend and former captain Steven Gerrard, who got 92 assists in the English top-flight for the Reds. That leaves Salah needing just eight more assists in the Premier League to surpass the legendary no.8.

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10 months ago | [YT] | 5

Best squad football

Another Andre Onana howler - Do Manchester United need a new goalkeeper this summer?
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Andre Onana’s extreme confidence backfired majorly as he made yet another massive mistake but Manchester United saved their goalkeeper by fighting back to secure a 2-2 draw away to Lyon. Onana became engulfed in a war of words with former Man United midfielder Nemanja Matic in the build-up to the Europa League quarter-final between the two sides. The Cameroon international insisted the English side were ‘much better’ than their Ligue 1 opponents and Matic delivered a cutting reply, claiming the 29-year-old was ‘one of the world goalkeepers in Man United history.”

Matic said: “If David de Gea or Peter Schmeichel or [Edwin] van der Sar said that then I will ­question myself but if you are one of the statistically worst goalkeepers in Man United’s ­modern history then he needs to show that before he says, so we will see.” And Onana was haunted by his comments as he made a huge blunder as Thiago Almada scored the opener for Lyon. The United goalkeeper flapped at a simple free-kick as the ball slipped through his hands, but he was rescued by Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee with the scores level ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford.
Do Manchester United need to change goalkeeper?
Onana was signed by Man United for €50.2 million from Inter Milan in 2023 after an impressive season for the Italian giants. Erik Ten Hag decided he wanted to go in a different direction from David de Gea but Onana’s signing hasn’t worked out. The stopper was renowned for his ball-playing ability at Inter but he’s made countless errors for United to raise serious questions about his long-term future.

As the graphic above illustrates, Onana has conceded 1.48 goals per game across his United career with a staggering 138 goals lost in just 94 games. As alluded to by Matic, Onana’s record is considerably worse than some famous United goalkeepers across the years. De Gea conceded 1.08 goals per game across over a decade as number one at Old Trafford. The Spaniard won United’s player of the season in three seasons but his record was inferior to legendary goalkeepers Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar.

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10 months ago | [YT] | 2

Best squad football

Which Premier League squads contain most trophy winners?
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Leading the way, according to Transfermarkt data, are Pep Guardiola's trophy-winning juggernauts Manchester City. Between their first-team squad, they have won as many as 156 trophies, with 21 current players having won a major trophy. The most trophy-glittered of them all is experienced midfielder İlkay Gündoğan, who has won 14 of the trophies in question. In second place is champions-elect Liverpool, with 23 members of their squad major trophy winners, combining for a total of 76 trophies. They are likely to significantly add to that number if/when they can get over the line and win the Premier League this season. Third goes to last season's FA Cup winners Manchester United with 60 trophies between their squad.
In fourth place are Arsenal with 40 trophies - mainly gathered from their three former Man City players in Raheem Sterling (10 trophies), Gabriel Jesus (9 trophies) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (9 trophies). Fifth place goes to Newcastle with 32 trophies. However, before their recent EFL Cup triumph, that figure would have stood at just eight. In sixth are Aston Villa with 29 trophies from seven stars, with Marco Asensio (10 trophies) a big contributor. Seventh goes to West Ham with 23 trophies from eight players. Chelsea are all the way down in eighth with 23 trophies from 10 stars. Ninth goes to Wolves with 17 trophies, whilst Brighton complete the top 10 with 16 trophies from just three players - Danny Welbeck, James Milner and Pervis Estupiñán. Brentford are at the bottom of the table with just one trophy from Josh Dasilva.

10 months ago | [YT] | 8

Best squad football

€34.5m release clause - Five potential transfer destinations for striker sensation Liam Delap
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In an underwhelming Premier League season, Liam Delap has been one of the standout performances. Although Ipswich are destined to be relegated back to the Championship after their promotion last season, Delap won’t be playing in the second-tier of English football. The 22-year-old has been a revelation for Ipswich and a throwback to a classic number nine in an era where there’s a scarcity of strikers.

Delap’s physicality allows him to bully opposition defenders and he’s enjoyed an excellent goal return with 12 goals in 30 Premier League games. Ipswich signed the England youth international from Manchester City for €17.85 million last season but they are in line for a significant profit. Delap, however, has a €34.5m relegation release clause in his contract and that represents an absolute bargain fee. Numerous Premier League clubs will battle for his signature this summer and we’ve analysed five potential destinations.
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1. Manchester United
It’s been widely reported that Man United have identified Delap as their priority striker target this season. United’s problems in front of goal have been well-documented this season with Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee failing to impress. Delap would represent an affordable signing but there’s legitimate concerns that another young striker isn’t what Ruben Amorim needs.
2. Chelsea
Chelsea have also been heavily linked with Delap and it makes perfect sense. The Blues famously target signing talented young players and the Ipswich striker certainly fits the bill. Chelsea also need to provide stronger competition to Nicolas Jackson with Christopher Nkunku destined to depart this summer.
3. Liverpool
Liverpool could also be in the market for a striker this summer and Delap represents an interesting option. The Englishman isn’t a perfect fit for Arne Slot’s tactical approach but he could represent a good foil for Mohamed Salah. Darwin Núñez is likely to bring an end to his Anfield career and Delap could be his replacement.
4. Newcastle
In Alexander Isak, Newcastle have one of the best strikers in the world and his market value at Transfermarkt recently increased to €100m. There’s been constant speculation over Isak’s future but it would take an eye-watering bid for Newcastle to sanction the sale of their prized asset. Regardless of Isak’s future, Newcastle could move for Delap especially with Callum Wilson expected to depart.
5. Arsenal
Arsenal’s failure to sign a striker in January was arguably fatal to their title hopes in the league, although Mikel Arteta’s men remain in the Champions League. Kai Havertz divides opinion and Gabriel Jesus is injury-prone and inconsistent. Arsenal is an unlikely destination for Delap as Arteta is expected to move in a different direction but it could be a shrewd purchase.

10 months ago | [YT] | 2

Best squad football

Inter Milan - Record goal scorers (Goals 13-284)
Continue to part 2 (Goals 13-284): https://youtu.be/W4SZuZisdD8

1 year ago | [YT] | 24

Best squad football

https://youtu.be/PFzPuwzXgwY
Croatia's national football team has had several prolific goal scorers throughout its history. Below is a list of some of the record goal scorers for the team, as of the latest updates:

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 7