標籤: hold

chelsea Despite being left out of Brazil’s World Cup squad and seeing transfer speculation quiet over the past few days, it appears that striker Joao Pedro is refusing to make a switch this summer.

The 24-year-old has spent most of the last month at center back Reports link him to Barcelona. However, those stories now look increasingly unlikely to go anywhere, largely due to Chelsea’s valuation.

according to espn brazilThe Blues have made it clear that they will not consider an offer of less than €120m (£101m) for the forward – a figure that effectively puts him beyond Barcelona’s current reach.

This differs from previous reports which suggested negotiations could be possible. Start around the €100 million (£84.3 million) mark. So Joao Pedro looks set to stay at Stamford Bridge next season.

Chelsea’s move leaves little space for Barcelona

The Brazilian only arrived last summer and has quickly established himself as one of the club’s most productive attacking players.

The club has spent years looking for stability in the striker position. joao pedro Eventually some of it was provided. He finished the season with 20 goals and six assists in 53 games.

Selling him after one season would immediately create another problem to solve.

That’s why Barcelona’s interest has always depended on Chelsea softening its position. Instead, the opposite appears to have happened.

The latest figures reported in Brazil suggest Chelsea have become even more determined to keep hold of him.

World Cup hopes are still alive

While his club’s future looks straightforward, Joao Pedro has another priority.

The striker was disappointed not to be included in Carlo Ancelotti’s final World Cup squad and was hopeful of his inclusion.

However, instead of going on leave immediately, they have decided to stay prepared.

According to ESPN, Joao Pedro is continuing to train twice a day from home, including physiotherapy sessions, while he waits to see if he gets a chance before FIFA’s final squad deadline on June 12.

The reason is quite simple. With Neymar currently struggling with a calf injury, Joao Pedro believes a late call-up remains a real possibility if Brazil need to make changes in attacking areas.

The report states that they have completely postponed vacation plans, while this possibility is still open.

Initially, the expectation was that he would remain in London as he believed the World Cup venue was coming up. Now, he’s stopping for a different reason – in case someone still comes by.

what happens next

Unless something dramatic changes before June 12, Joao Pedro is expected to spend part of his summer with family in Rio de Janeiro.

However, until then he does not seem ready to part completely. That mentality probably says a lot about why Chelsea value him so highly.

While Barcelona’s pursuit is fizzling out, Joao Pedro is still preparing as if the biggest opportunity of his career could arrive at any moment.

And for now, Chelsea’s asking price is likely to ensure that opportunity will come with the Brazilian rather than a move elsewhere.

add inter match armoryKepa Arrizabalaga is already included in his goalkeeping target list Tottenham HotspurGuglielmo Vicario.

Over the past few months, there have been repeated claims of interest from the Serie A side in the Italy-based Tottenham stopper.

On 3 April, Game Witness broadcast news Inter have agreed a four-year deal with the 29-year-old Spurs man. two days ago, Italian media pointed out The two sides are out of a deal, but Tottenham are in no rush to sell.

The Italian champions are also changing their plans as the Arsenal goalkeeper emerges as a new target.

arsenal man on tottenham player

is according to gazzetta dello sportWho covers the latest on Kepa Arrizabalaga and Guglielmo Vicario.

Yann Sommer has been Inter Milan’s No. 1, and the 37-year-old will leave when his contract expires in June.

His deputy Josep Martínez has played nine matches this season. Gazzetta says he has ‘demonstrated confidence, reliability and, more generally, competence.’

Christian Chivu’s team have decided to promote him as their new No.1 and hence, the deal for the Tottenham Hotspur player is ‘on hold if not completely put’.

Sommer’s impending exit will also force them to sign another stopper. Inter Milan plan to bring in a stopper capable of providing cover and competition for Martínez.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, who has been David Raya’s backup at Arsenal, comes into the picture.

He was not first-choice when moving from Chelsea on loan to Real Madrid during the 2023/24 season. Kepa also has a similar role under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates as he made 12 appearances for the Gunners and that does not include Premier League appearances.

Inter Milan believe Kepa could be a ‘perfect partner’ for Martínez, giving Martínez the opportunity to achieve his full potential. This will not please Vicario, who is keen to leave Tottenham in the summer.

Contract, price and agent information

Kepa Arrizabalaga and Guglielmo Vicario have been linked with moves to Arsenal.

transfermkrt The Spaniard is valued at €7m and his Spurs counterpart valued at €7m €23m. Agency AC Talent manages Gunners Man while Italian agency GG11 is representing Vicario.

Now that the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabers have managed to win two games apiece in their second-round series, it’s time to take a look at some of the stats behind the exciting matchup.

While the Canadiens have vastly outshot the Sabres, especially at 5v5, it’s worth noting that the underlying numbers point to a Buffalo team with the ability to take control of the series.

Canadiens Vs. sabers at 5v5

Unlike the series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens are actually outscoring their opponents in the second round, but not by a huge margin.

As things stand, the Habs have a 51.9% advantage in shots (162-150), not to mention a 55.7% advantage in shots on net (78-62). This leads to a 9-5 advantage in goals scored at 5v5, which is a very solid output from a team that gets little to no 5v5 goals from its first line.

Once we dig a little more, it becomes clear that the Sabers overperformed with their shots, as they managed to generate slightly more high-danger scoring chances than the Canadiens (38-36), giving them 52.8% of expected goals.

Simply put, the Canadiens are working on quantity, while the Sabers are focusing on quality.

Impact of special teams

Head coach Martin St-Louis didn’t mince words when discussing the Game 4 loss.

“I think special teams played a huge role,” St. Louis said. “It’s hard to believe we only got one goal on the power play. I felt like we had a lot of chances. Our captain and goalkeeper played well, Dobbs also kept us in. We didn’t have a good start.”

Let’s unpack that statement in sections.

He’s absolutely right that special teams played a huge role.

Montreal had seven powerplay opportunities, and only managed to score on one, while the Sabers scored twice with the four man advantage.

A little more traffic in front of the Sabers netminder will likely provide additional second-chance scoring opportunities, but for the most part, they are generating a fair number of quality scoring chances on the power play. He just lacked the finish on Tuesday.

As far as their captain is concerned, it is worth noting that the first line’s play was impressive from a statistical point of view. When Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkowski and Cole Caufield were on the ice, the Habs controlled over 80% of the shots and 75% of high-danger scoring opportunities. It was a good game from a process standpoint, but now that the Canadiens are in the second round of the playoffs, results are more important than solid underlying numbers.

First line production needs to start, and they have no grace period left to get there.

Fortunately, all signs point to this trio being ready to explode on offense.

As for the third comment, regarding their poor start, you would find it hard to disagree with the head coach, but it would also be fair to say that this falls under the preparation category, and that duty is, at least partly, the coaching staff’s.

Truth be told, there is always room for improvement, but all things considered it is incredibly encouraging for the Canadiens to be two wins away from the Eastern Conference Finals just a few years into their rebuild.

And if they can continue to be a dominant goal-scoring force at 5v5, that will go a long way to helping them hold a significant advantage over the remaining three-game series, but they will need a little help from their special teams guys to accomplish this impressive feat.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics via Natural Stat Trick.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur And Manchester United Sporting Clube de Portugal have held exploratory talks with the agents of star Maxi Araújo about a move.

A Bola report said that the 26-year-old’s talent This season of the Champions League has generated a high level of interest.

Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United call

The newspaper states that Maxi Araújo’s impressive performances in the Champions League this season, where he has shown ‘quality in transition and defensive solidity’, have elevated the winger’s status.

Atlético de Madrid is at the forefront of pursuing him. He has been given ‘priority option’ status for Diego Simeone’s side. But the Spaniards know there is strong interest in him.

chelseaTottenham and Manchester United are keen on the Premier League. Juventus is also in contact. All concerned parties have held ‘exploratory talks’ with the player’s agents.

All interested parties want to secure priority status with Sporting president Frederico Varandas and want to ‘avoid price inflation’. The growing concern is that there will be an auction and it will be ‘frantic’ during the summer.

€80m asking price

Sporting will start the summer by asking to meet the release clause of Maxi Araújo. It is currently set at €80m. Its purpose is to warn interested parties that they will not sell it cheap.

The Portuguese side want to keep the left-back but know interest will be ‘intense’. They are almost accepting that they will have to sell. Whatever the price, they will make a huge profit on a player who will cost them €13.7m in 2024.

Atlético de Madrid are currently the front-runners in the race for his signature. He has a clear desire for Diego Simeone. But there is competition from the Premier League. Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United are already in contact with his agents.

Whether any of those three will pay Sporting’s wishes remains to be seen. But talks with his agents in Portugal are being seen as a sign of his increasing interest.

The Minnesota Wild are halfway to starting their summer vacation after losing 5-2 to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Western Conference Second Round series at Ball Arena on Tuesday night.

It wasn’t a track meet like their 9-6 loss in Game 1 on Saturday. But the end result was the same – a three-goal loss in which the Wild couldn’t stop Avs stars Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. MacKinnon, who finished third in the NHL in scoring during the regular season, had his second consecutive one-goal, two-assist night, while Necas scored the game’s first goal and set up another.

Gabriel Landeskog, Nicolas Roy, and Valeri Nichushkin also scored for the Avs, the NHL’s top team during the regular season. Scott Wedgwood made 29 saves to win his sixth game in as many tries.

The Wild got a goal by Kirill Kaprizov in the first period and a goal by Marcus Johansson with 5:27 left in the third period, but it was not enough against the NHL’s highest-scoring team during the regular season.

The series takes a three-day break before heading to Grand Casino Arena for Game 3 on Saturday. Extra days off Thursday and Friday due to Minnesota Frost’s PWHL playoff games. That will give coach John Hynes some more time to figure out how to stop the Avs, who have allowed 14 goals in the first two games.

Goaltender change won’t help Wild in Game 2 loss

The Wild changed goaltenders after the Game 1 loss. Rookie Jesper Wallstad took the seat and veteran Philipp Gustavsson got his first start since April 13. This is their next-to-last regular season game. But Gustavsson didn’t get the better of Wallstad in the first 10 minutes, allowing him to score on his first two shots.

MacKinnon did all the work on the first goal of the game. He raced to the right in his own area and found Necas arriving late. Necas found a gap between three defenders and beat Gustavsson with a backhander at 2:51 for a 1-0 lead.

The excitement had not yet subsided when the Wild took advantage of Colorado’s defensive mistake and tied the score. Cale Makar was well out of position and Ryan Hartman sent Kaprizov on a breakaway. Minnesota’s all-time playoff goal-scoring leader beat Wedgewood at 2:57 – six seconds after Necas scored – tying the game at 1–1.

The Wild held Colorado without a goal for more than five minutes. But Colorado made it 2-for-2 on Landeskog’s power-play goal at 8:24. Landeskog found a soft spot in the slot and finished the tic-tac-toe passing play from Makar to Necas to MacKinnon, whose perfect feed set up Colorado’s captain for a 10-foot snap shot on which Gustavsson had no chance.

Minnesota forced the tying goal during their first power play after Brock Nelson was sent off for holding at 13:16. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Wild had six high-danger chances while on the man-advantage, but Wedgwood stopped all of them.

The period ended with Colorado leading 2–1, although the Wild had a 10–7 edge in shots on goal.

As they did in the opening 20 minutes, the Avs scored on their first shot of the second period. Minnesota failed to get the puck deep in an attempt to enter the zone; The Avs took advantage after Russ Colton saw Roy intercepted. Roy immediately hit his shot and beat Gustavsson at 1:24 to take a 3-1 lead.

The Wild again had 10 shots in the second period, but they attacked less consistently and did not seriously test Wedgwood.

Wedgwood kept Minnesota from getting closer after Nelson took a tripping penalty at 4:20. The Avs did not score after Matt Zuccarello was called for tripping at 7:26, but MacKinnon’s power-play one-timer from the left circle at 13:18 extended the lead to 4–1.

Marcus Johansson got one back at 14:33, but that was as close as Minnesota got. Nichushkin’s empty net with five seconds remaining rubbed more salt into the wound.

Key takeaways after the Wild’s 5-2 loss to Avalanche in Game 2

wild stars shine

The Avalanche are getting great production from MacKinnon and Necas. The Wild can’t say the same about many of their top players.

Defenseman Quinn Hughes, who entered the game leading all players in postseason scoring, had a rough night. He played 28:07 but finished minus-1 with no shots on goal, three shot attempts, one hit and one blocked shot. The Avs paid a lot of attention to Minnesota’s top defender – especially on a big third-period hit by MacKinnon.

Kaprizov had a goal and a few other good chances, but Matt Boldy had no points, finished at minus-1 and wasn’t much of a factor. Boldy, the Wild’s leading scorer with six goals in the first round, has one assist in two games.

The Wild won’t be able to beat an elite team without their top players firing on all cylinders, they weren’t doing that on Tuesday.

Special teams problems continue

The Wild’s special teams are still dragging him down.

Minnesota was 2-for-4 on the power play in the Wild’s 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars. But it has done almost nothing since then, a trend that continued against Colorado. Minnesota went 0–2, making the Wild 0–5 in the series and 26–2 in the last seven games.

The penalty-killer, who allowed Dallas to score 10 times on 25 chances in the opening round, isn’t faring much better against Colorado. The Avs are 2-for-5 and 3-for-7 in the first two games. Minnesota’s 13 power-play goals allowed and minus-9 differential are the worst of any team in this year’s playoffs.

break time

The Wild will be glad they get an extra day off before Game 3. They’re hoping the offseason will allow injured Joel Eriksson Ek, one of the NHL’s best two-way centers, to return to the lineup at home.

Hines will undoubtedly use the time to figure out who he will start in goal on Saturday. Wallstadt scored eight goals in Game 1 but the Wild advanced to Dallas in the first round. Gustavsson, who carried most of the load during the regular season, allowed few goals on preventable shots.

Whoever he chooses will have to put in a big effort in front of the home fans. The Wild are trying to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2003.

stat shots

The Wild are down 2-0 in a series for the ninth time in their history. He won only one of the first eight. This happened in 2014, when they lost the first two games on the road but won Game 7 in Denver to clinch the series.

The Wild and Avs tied the second-fastest two-goal total in a Stanley Cup game; The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers played six seconds into Game 2 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The record is five seconds, set by the Penguins and Buffalo Sabers in Game 3 of the preliminary round in 1979.

Colorado started 6–0 in this year’s playoffs, tying the Carolina Hurricanes. This marks the fifth time in playoff history that multiple teams have started the postseason so long.

It was MacKinnon’s 21st career multi-point playoff game. This moved him ahead of Hall of Famer (now Avs president) Joe Sakic for the most wins in franchise history.

Colorado set an NHL record with 12 different goaltenders in the first two games of any postseason series.

Jon Krieger covered his first New York Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and it… More about Jon Krieger

The New Jersey Devils will have the 12th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Tuesday’s lottery showed no movement for New Jersey, which entered with the 12th-worst record among non-playoff teams.

His slim chances of climbing into the top ten never materialised.

Instead, chaos reigned at the top of the board. The Toronto Maple Leafs, with only 8.5% odds and the fifth-worst record, moved from outside the top tier to first overall.

The San Jose Sharks moved up to second place, about a 5% difference from mid-lottery position (ninth-worst). Both jumps were highly improbable and expectations for the 2026 NHL Draft class were reshuffled.

For the Devils, it’s another year of lottery neutrality. Like 2024, they’re stuck in a spot that reflects their season: competitive enough to miss the playoffs but not lottery-friendly. That year he landed a big shot at Russian defenceman, Anton Silayev.

The top-tier talent headlined by prospects like Gavin McKenna now looks to Toronto and San Jose as teams looking to capitalize on long-term fortunes.

Yet 12th overall remains valuable.

What the Devils do with their first round pick remains to be seen. New GM Sunny Mehta reported that he believes New Jersey is on the verge of becoming a perennial playoff performer.

Thus, it’s fair to wonder if Mehta will settle for his core needs and package a first-round pick for more immediate help.

Otherwise, the Devils lack chances going forward. The 2026 NHL Draft is loaded with forward talent, and New Jersey will certainly look to improve their crop of forwards in the pipeline.

The 2026 NHL Draft is just less than two months away. Thus, Mehta and his team will have ample time to assess the best course of action with the 12 overall selections on June 26.

However, if the new regime is truly something that is going to change the culture in New Jersey, their first round pick should – without question – be used as a trade chip to eventually make Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt a proper left winger.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

Tottenham Hotspur Luka Vuckovic is in ‘intensive medical consultation’ with HSV Hamburg, who will not be put at risk in any way, shape or form.

BILD Add to growing information About the 19-year-old as he looks to return from a knee injury before the end of the season.

three way approval

The Croatian centre-back has been shining at Hamburg since joining on loan from Tottenham in the summer.

He is a very important player for the German team at the moment. And his absence has been greatly felt without him in the last two weeks. In that time, Hamburg have conceded seven goals, lost two games and felt the pressure on their neck was increasing.

They currently sit on 31 points, seven points more than Wolfsburg on 17^th and five ahead of St. Pauli in 16^th. But there is still plenty of time left to drag them back. They want the Tottenham loanee back as soon as possible.

But it is not their job to take decisions. Reports from Croatia and Germany today made this clear. According to him, Tottenham have all the power for a possible comeback. Now add your own information to BILD.

‘Intensive medical consultation’

BILD reports that any return to the Defender requires a triple ‘yes’. HSV must be confident that it can play safely. The player himself must also be confident. Then Tottenham made the final decision.

They are currently engaged in ‘intensive medical consultation’ regarding their protector. BILD says no decisions will be taken that are contrary to Spurs’ interests.

In other words, Tottenham will not risk allowing a premature return to the pitch, which could aggravate his injury. It seems that they would prefer that the Croatian not play.

Whether this is with an eye on next season, or a summer transfer, has not been made clear. But it seems that Tottenham will remain firm and make decisions based only on their own interests. And there is a risk of it upsetting HSV as they look to battle against demotion.

Despite being on the verge of missing out on the playoffs, the New Jersey Devils defeated the surging Dallas Stars 6-4 on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.

The Devils did all their damage in the first period, scoring four goals in the first 17 minutes and 19 seconds of the game.

The Stars, who clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs over the weekend, made a serious effort to tie the game throughout, making the score 4–3 in the second period and 5–4 in the third. However, New Jersey was able to hold off the bombing, maintain its lead late, and walk away from Dallas with two points.

Jack Hughes continued his strong form, opening the scoring and adding another score before the end of the first period to extend his point streak to six. He scored five goals and 12 points in that span.

Jasper Bratt and Connor Brown also scored first for the Devils, scoring their 18th and 19th goals of the season respectively. Timo Meier reached the 20-goal mark in the third period, a much-needed insurance goal that later turned out to be decisive.

Dougie Hamilton, who was skating his 900th career NHL game, made a full-ice empty netter to make the score 6–4 in the final minute of the game.

The Stars’ dynamic duo of Wyatt Johnson and Jason Robertson kept Dallas in the game during the first two periods. Johnson scored twice in the first two frames for a total of 40 goals on the year, while Robertson tallied 39 in the second period.

Maverick Bourque scored in the third period to cut the Devils’ lead to one, but the Stars were unable to complete the comeback.

Jake Oettinger got the start for Dallas but was subbed off after 20 minutes. Casey DeSmith pitched in relief and made 15 saves on 16 shots in the second and third periods. Oettinger was credited with the loss, moving to 29–11–6 on the season.

Jake Allen got the nod from Sheldon Keefe on the opposite end, his second consecutive start, following New Jersey’s close 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday. With the win, Allen moved to 13–16–1 on the season.

first period

The game started with the Stars being on the front foot, dictating the pace of the game and having four shots on goal before the Devils fired one.

However, that didn’t stop the Devils from drawing first blood, as Hughes scored his first of the night on a nifty power move with New Jersey’s first shot of the game.

The early lead was eventually extinguished just four minutes later by Johnson, who scored his first of the night with a wide-open shot from between the hashmarks during a brief 4-on-4 period.

However, before the 4-on-4 timeout ended, the Devils regained the lead via another solo try, this time by Bratt at 10:49.

New Jersey continued to advance in the first round, getting more goals from its efficient second line of Bratt–Hughes–Brown. Brown found the net at 7:08 and Hughes missed a chance to score with 2:41 minutes remaining.

All four of New Jersey’s goals came from the same line, and all four came in transition moments.

The Devils led 4–1 after 20 minutes and defeated the Stars 8–6.

second period

DeSmith led the Stars out of the locker room for the second period and took over between the pipes for Glenn Gulutzan.

DeSmith excelled in the second period, stopping all nine shots he faced, helping the Stars get back into the game.

Dallas’ 29.1% effective power play started working early in the frame when Lenny Haminaho was whistled for traveling on Bourque in the opening minute of the second.

It was clear why the Stars have the second-best power play in the league, as Johnson scored his second goal of the game just 11 seconds in on the man-advantage.

To make matters worse for the Devils, as the second period ended, the Stars began to take over the game.

After a long period of possession in the offensive zone, Robertson scored from an acute angle with 7:29 minutes remaining, increasing the Devils’ lead to 4–3.

As DeSmith continued to thwart every puck that came his way, Allen had to be just as strong in the final minutes of the second, despite not facing as much rubber.

The Devils narrowly escaped with a one-goal lead in the second period, a margin that has proven vital to their success throughout the season.

Despite scoring twice and creating some serious chances during the period, the Stars were outscored by the Devils 9–7 in the second and 17–13 in 40 minutes.

third period

Sensing a change in momentum, the Stars came out in full flight to start the third period.

They outscored the Devils 6-0 in the first three minutes of the period and would have found the equalizer if not for some clutch saves from Allen.

Just when it looked like the Stars were going to tie things up, the Devils got a needed insurance goal from Meyer at 13:14, a glove-side snipe from an almost impossible angle. Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer were credited with assists.

The siege continued from the Stars, who pounded Allen with a total of 14 shots in the final frame.

Ultimately, Bourque broke through with a tip-in to tie the game at 5–4 with 6:52 left in regulation. The goal came with another increase in pressure from Dallas’ special teams and came as Hamilton’s penalty expired.

The Stars put more pressure on the Devils, who were barely able to weather the storm.

New Jersey did not actually record a shot for 7:16 straight at the end of the third period. That is, until 1:00 when Hamilton clinched the win with an empty netter from New Jersey’s end of the ice.

The 2025-26 New Jersey Devils may be embarrassingly worse than the sum of their parts and certainly won’t make the playoffs in April, but they’re still perfect when leading after two periods. With the win, they improved their record in that scenario to 22–0–0.

Not only this, but this is New Jersey’s fourth win in the last five games. A rare and welcome form going into the final stages of the season.

Next, they’ll head to Nashville on Thursday for another road game against the potentially postseason-bound Predators.

James Birley is an emerging sports commentator and journalist with extensive experience covering football and hockey. Recently graduated… More about James Birley

Alisson’s long-term future at Liverpool has been questioned in recent weeks.

sports witness The Italian has covered claims from Juventus about interest in bringing him back to Serie A in the summer.

There are concerns over Michele Di Gregorio’s performances this season, as the Italian has made high-profile mistakes. This leads to the Bianconeri being considered an established goalkeeper, with the Liverpool star interested.

Luciano Spalletti knows the former Roma player from his time together in the Italian capital. He would be willing to coach them once again.

Juve’s task is unlikely to be easy. The Reds could offer specific challenges as part of the deal. Initially, there was confidence in Turin that the transfer would be relatively easy, but this belief has begun to meet with a harsh reality.

Liverpool wants the goalkeeper to honor the contract

Journalist Franco Leonetti has talked about the situation in Brazil. He also mentioned Juventus’ interest in the 33-year-old but clarified the Reds’ stance on the matter.

With Alisson’s contract expiring in 2027, Liverpool are expected to honor the deal.

Leonetti told Radio Bianconera – Go tuttomerkatoweb: : “It makes sense that Juventus are looking for a goalkeeper with international experience. It is too early to say whether it will be Oblak, Alisson or someone else.”

Specifically on Alison, he said: “With regard to Alisson, the English club are saying that they would like to honor his contract until June 2027.”

This may force the older woman to pay a higher amount than expected. It has been suggested that the intermediaries around Alisson are trying to broker his exit but Liverpool themselves are posing a challenge.

Our opinion on Alisson’s Liverpool future

This approach from Liverpool could be a positive one if it is genuine and not a bargaining chip. Alisson is still at the age where goalkeepers can make an impact and he still does so consistently.

As far as Arne Slot and the vast majority of fans are concerned, Giorgi Mamardashvili is still behind the Brazil international in the pecking order. Even if he is the long-term successor, he will learn only by spending another season around Alisson.

At a time when the team is going through a gradual transition, having an experienced campaigner like Alisson could prove to be very important.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are doing a solid job of sticking with their injury absences, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons, it came to a halt.

Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs earned their tenth consecutive win with a comeback victory over the Toronto Raptors, despite a relatively quiet game from superstar Victor Wembanyama.

With that win, the Spurs moved to within just two games of Oklahoma City for the number two seed in the Western Conference, a feat that seemed impossible when the Thunder got off to a blazing 24–1 start to the regular season.

X, formerly of ClutchPoints, said on Twitter, “The Thunder have just suffered their 15th loss, which is already more than last season. It’s a sharp turnaround for a team that started the year 24-1.”

Of course, injuries are a big part of the reason the Thunder have slipped up a bit, but even before Gilgeous-Alexander went down with an abdominal strain, Oklahoma City was already showing some signs of slipping, with the team losing four of the five regular season matchups it played against San Antonio this season.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are 5.5 games ahead of the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets for second place, meaning it’s highly likely that San Antonio and Oklahoma City will be the top two seeds in the West when all is said and done.

Many are already anticipating a Western Conference Finals showdown between the two teams, rekindling the rivalry between the teams from the days when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook wore Thunder jerseys, while Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard suited up for the Spurs in the mid-2010s.

Thankfully for the Thunder, they won’t see the Spurs again this season until a potential playoff matchup, if that happens.