Crystal Palace: £120k-a-week star could now be ‘option’ to replace Zaha
Crystal Palace target is Crystal Palace are interested in Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, and transfer insider Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT why the Eagles could end up making a move for him this summer.”one of the best talents” to ever come out of his football club
Jones has also described the 22-year-old as “one of the best talents” to come out of the Blues and thinks he just needs the right manager to get his career back on track again
Crystal Palace transfer news – Callum Hudson-Odoi
According to the Evening Standard, Palace are one Premier League club who have Hudson-Odoi on their radar.
Fulham and Nottingham Forest are also thought to be keen on the England international so the Eagles face competition for his signature.
Hudson-Odoi spent last season out on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, but things did not go too well, so he may prefer to stay in the Premier League this time around.
In total, the Chelsea man was only able to make seven starts in the Bundesliga, as per Transfermarkt. He currently earns £120,000 a week at Stamford Bridge, according to Spotrac.
What has Dean Jones said about Callum Hudson-Odoi and Crystal Palace?
Jones thinks Hudson-Odoi could become an option for Palace if Wilfried Zaha does not return to Selhurst Park.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “They have to have options in case Zaha does not come back. We’ll have to see how that unfolds over the next week or two, but Hudson-Odoi has so much to offer still in the Premier League. I think people have either forgotten or don’t realise just how good Hudson-Odoi was coming through as a teenager.
“He was one of the best talents Chelsea have ever produced in their academy. He would decide games on his own week in, week out, and for all the talent that they had coming through that have actually gone on to make it, Hudson-Odoi was the standout as they were all growing up. That hasn’t gone; that’s still in him. He’s probably just lost a bit of confidence, probably needs a manager to guide him properly.
“So Hudson-Odoi, whoever ends up getting him, whether it’s Nottingham Forest, Palace or Fulham, I think is going to have a player with real, real burning desire to actually make next season their season.”
Who else are Crystal Palace interested in?
In terms of attackers, the reliable Fabrizio Romano recently informed GIVEMESPORT that Palace are keen on Flamengo’s Matheus Franca and have already made an offer for the player.
Everton’s Demarai Gray is another name that the Eagles appear to have on their radar as well, with the MailOnline reporting that they have stepped up their interest in the winger.
Palace and Roy Hodgson will be desperate for Zaha to sign a new contract and stay in south London. He has been such an important player for the Premier League outfit down the years. In total, the Ivory Coast international has made 458 appearances for the club (via Transfermarkt).
However, Palace are clearly at the point where they have to start thinking about life after him.
Caleb is a freelance journalist and member of the Football Writers’ Association who has been in and around the industry for nearly 10 years. He is currently covering Premier League football and transfer news for GIVEMESPORT and has previously written for the likes of 90min, Shoot and the Metro.
Arsenal: Update on new attacking signing Arsenal could make a move for another attacker at the end of the window, but one winger is unlikely to still be on the table by then.emerges at the Emirates
Arsenal could make a move for another attacker at the end of the window, but one winger is unlikely to still be on the table by then, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT.
The Gunners have been very active this summer, bringing Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber to the Emirates, but Mikel Arteta’s business may not be over yet.
Arsenal transfer news
Arsenal are still being linked with several players, including Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo.
Earlier this month, journalist Ben Jacobs informed GIVEMESPORT that the Portugal international is someone the north London club would love to sign.
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal are also interested in Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby, who is currently being pursued by Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
If the Gunners decide to go after him, the same outlet claims that the Frenchman could cost them around £50m.
What has Dean Jones said about Arsenal’s plans for the rest of the transfer window?
Jones’ understanding is that Arsenal could target a new winger to challenge Bukayo Saka towards the end of the transfer window but thinks Diaby will probably be unavailable by then.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “I feel like Diaby might be off the table before Arsenal can get there. My information is that if Arsenal go for another attacker, it would be at the very end of the window. So you’d be looking perhaps at Cancelo as the defensive option at that point and then also looking for a player that can challenge or back up Saka.”
Which other wingers could Arsenal look at?
According to 90min, Arsenal are interested in Barcelona star Ferran Torres and also like his team-mate Raphinha.
However, the football website states that the 23-year-old does not want to leave the Spotify Camp Nou this summer. The Gunners could also run into trouble if they decide to make a play for Raphinha.
Manchester City are thought to have the Brazilian on their radar, too, with the MailOnline reporting that the European champions are considering making a move for him as they look to replace Saudi Arabia-bound Riyad Mahrez.
Ultimately, signing Torres or Raphinha looks tricky for Arsenal. As well as the above, Arteta may not be able to offer them regular starts.
The Spaniard currently has Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who were in incredible form last season, at his disposal. In total, they scored 30 goals combined across all competitions (via BBC Sport).
Even without the addition of a new winger, though, it has been a solid transfer window for Arsenal following the arrivals of Rice, Havertz and Timber. Is it enough to close the gap with City? Only time will tell, but the 14-time FA Cup winners definitely have the quality to finish in second place again.
How Arteta’s men get on in the Champions League after such a long absence from the competition will also be fascinating to see.World Cup winner Andre Schurrle has been living a very interesting life since retiring from football at 29…
It is probably a fair assessment to say that Andre Schurrle’s career peaked in Brazil on 13th July 2014.
Brought on as a substitute in the first half of the World Cup final against Argentina, the then-Chelsea man burst down the left flank in extra time and floated a cross into the box in the 113th minute.
His pass was exquisitely controlled by midfielder Mario Gotze, who then swiveled on the move and neatly poked the ball past Sergio Romero to win his country world football’s most prestigious prize.
Elation for Schurrle and Germany. Heartache for Lionel Messi and Argentina
It was there that he really rose to prominence in Germany, weighing in with 39 goal contributions in 83 matches.
But although Chelsea would go on to lift the Premier League in the 2014/15 season, Schurrle would not be at Stamford Bridge by the end of the campaign.
In February 2015, just a few months on from that night in Brazil, he would find himself out of the first team and would be sold to Wolfsburg.
Schurrle would ultimately become something of a journeyman, moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and spending time on loan at Fulham and Spartak Moscow.
More trophies would come during that time, including two German Cups, but he would make a big call after returning from Russia.
Why did Schurrle retire?
In July 2020, Schurrle confirmed to the world that he had decided to retire from the sport at just 29 years old.
It came as something of a shock, given Schurrle was still so young, but the German international explained that he simply was not enjoying his football anymore.
“The decision has matured in me for a long time,” he told German newspaper De Spiegel, as per Sky Sports.
“I no longer need the applause. The depths became deeper and the highlights less and less.”
He would then confirm the news in a personal statement on social media, bringing down the curtain on a career that had seen him play 477 games for club and country.
Now I’m ready and open for all the beautiful possibilities that are coming towards me,” he wrote.
Swapping football pitches to startup businesses
And Schurrle was not kidding when he said he was open to new opportunities.
Back in December 2020, shortly after he hung up his boots, a company spokesperson for the Sanity Group told German newspaper BILD that talks had been held with Schurrle and Gotze about investing in their project.
The firm was established in 2018 and grows cannabis for medicinal purposes.
The footballers were not the only two people who had reportedly been approached about investing in the company either.
Rapper Will.I.am and ex-footballer Dennis Aogo were also asked about investing in the company.
Schurrle is an investor in the fantasy football game Sorare too, a project also supported by Gerard Piqué, and most recently was reported to have invested in pizza company, Happy Slice.
BILD reported that both Schurrle and Gotze had teamed up again to invest in the new company which has 70 branches in 30 cities.
Gotze seems to possess an even greater interest in investing in businesses than his former Germany teammate, with BILD writing that he is said to have invested in more than 40 all over the world.
Schurrle continues to push himself to the limit
But while Gotze continues to turn out for Eintracht Frankfurt every week, Schurrle has been filling his time away from businesses in a very different way.
In January this year, the former Chelsea man revealed that he had taken part in a challenge designed by Dutch extreme athlete, Wim Hof.
Going off the images and videos that Schurrle shared on his Instagram account, it consisted of walking up a mountain in freezing temperatures without wearing a top.
In the posts to his social channels, he described how the temperatures dropped to -19 degrees and that it was, “The hardest mental and physical thing I ever did!
But Schurrle seemingly got a lot from his initial experience, so much so that he decided to put himself in a similar environment once again.
He posted a video to his Instagram account this week, once again sporting nothing but shorts, shoes and gloves, climbing up the highest mountain in Germany at 2 am.
The mountain that he was trekking up was reportedly the Zugspitze, which has a peak of just below 3,000 metres above sea level.
To complete the climb in the dark at such an early hour only shows how much Schurrle has taken to his new life.
As well as climbing mountains without a sirt on, the ex-footballer also recently posted a video of him swimming in 10,000-year-old glacier water which was 0.5 degrees below freezing.
Pushing himself in extreme environments is something that Schurrle clearly enjoys doing. And while there might be some who wonder if his career after the 20
14 World Cup could have gone differently, it is good to see him finding a passion away from the pitch
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