More from PST What we learned | Premier League transfer news | Latest USMNT news

Bundesliga

Getty Images

Bundesliga giants donate funds to struggling clubs

By Joe Prince-WrightMar 26, 2020, 10:59 AM EDT
Leave a comment

The four Bundesliga clubs who qualified for the UEFA Champions League this season have donated over $22 million to help clubs struggling across Germany’s top two divisions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]

Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig have each donated $5.5 million to help clubs in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga impacted by the league suspension in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Germany and across Europe.

How the ‘solidarity payment’ — which consists of the four wealthiest clubs in Germany foregoing their combined share of undistributed broadcast revenue of $13.6 million plus $8.2 million of their own cash — will be distributed will be decided by the DFL Presidium.

“The aim of the campaign is to provide financial support for hardship cases triggered by the corona crisis. We have always said that we will show solidarity if clubs are at fault because of this exceptional situation, which they can no longer manage alone.”

Christian Seifert, spokesman of the DFL Presidium, added: “This campaign underlines that solidarity in the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga is not a lip service. The DFL Presidium is very grateful to the four Champions League participants in terms of the community of all clubs.”

Latest coronavirus connections to soccer:

Man United favorites to sign Jadon Sancho?

Getty Images
By Joe Prince-WrightMar 26, 2020, 9:40 AM EDT
Leave a comment

Jadon Sancho is the youngster all Premier League teams, and top teams across Europe, want and Man United are apparently emerging as the favorites to sign him.

Sancho, 20, has two years left on his contract at Borussia Dortmund and the German giants have openly admitted they expect to sell Sancho in the near future to maximize their profits on the tricky, speedy winger.

Chelsea, Liverpool and his former club Man City (who have first refusal to buy him back) have all been linked with a move for Sancho but according to The Independent Man United are said to be the favorites to sign him due to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s project of building a young, exciting team.

Per the report, Sancho is valued at over $120 million by Dortmund and if Man United sneak into the Champions League it seems like a perfect fit for everyone as Solskjaer continues to prioritize signing young British players after the arrival or Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Daniel James last summer. Add Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood into the mix and half of the England team could be playing for Man United next season.

With uncertainty over when the transfer window will reopen due to the coronavirus pandemic, whenever it does you can expect Jadon Sancho to be the most in-demand player in Europe.

His form for Dortmund as a teenager has been nothing short of sensational and his decision to leave Man City for Germany three years ago has paid off, big time. With 14 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga so far this season, he’s putting up the best numbers of his career and Sancho is shinning.

Comfortable on the right wing, a front four of Rashford on the left, Bruno Fernandes in the center, Sancho on the right and Anthony Martial up top must have Man United fans licking their chops in anticipation.

German participants in Champions League contribute to ‘solidarity pot’

Bundesliga
Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaMar 25, 2020, 7:19 PM EDT
Leave a comment

The Bundesliga’s four Champions League qualifiers are acting in the interest of the rest of the league given the financial unease caused by the coronavirus.

Bild reports that Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, and RB Leipzig met last week and hatched a plan to distribute their UCL winnings through Germany’s top flight.

The four clubs would add around $8 million to the approximate $14 million earned from making the UCL to form a “solidarity pot” which would be distributed equally through the league.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

According to the report, the German league has around $48 million in a separate reserve which was going to be allocated to “possible strategic projects” but could be divvied up to clubs as if it was television broadcast money.

A separate report from the BBC says Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund players will forego some of their wages to help their clubs.

Bayern will forego 20 percent while BVB’s number was not disclosed. Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski and his wife previously announced a $1 million-plus donation to fight COVID-19.

Union Berlin and Borussia Monchengladbach players had previously announced they would forego their wages for workers at the club.

Transfer news: Liverpool monitoring Ruiz, Ndicka

transfer rumors
Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Image
By Nicholas MendolaMar 22, 2020, 12:17 PM EDT
Leave a comment

Get ready for Liverpool links to midfielder upon midfielder given the strength of their attackers, defenders, and goalkeeper.

Actually, prepare for links to every position outside of starting goalkeeper.

The Reds were linked Saturday with Boubakary Soumare, whose status rose to a target of Chelsea and Manchester United in January. He reportedly turned down a move to Newcastle at the deadline.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]

The latest midfielder linked with Liverpool is Napoli star Fabian Ruiz, according to Football-Italia.

The Spaniard turns 24 in April.

Ruiz had three goals and six assists in La Liga play for Real Betis in 2017/18, and Napoli spent around $33 million to bring him to Serie A that summer.

He’s since scored 10 times with five assists in 72 appearances for Napoli. He’s passing at 90.5 percent this season, with 1.7 tackles and 1.2 tackles per game.

The Reds are also one of two Premier League clubs said to looking into Eintracht Frankfurt center back Evan Ndicka.

A left-footed center back, Ndicka is said to also interest Inter Milan, Arsenal, Sevilla, AC Milan, and Valencia (Sky Sports).

Arsenal has an option to buy left-footed center back Pablo Mari this summer, while Liverpool may part ways with Dejan Lovren. The Reds also use right-footed Virgil Van Dijk on the left side of their center back pairing.

Ndicka, 20, has fared better in Europa League than the Bundesliga, where he averages 1.3 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game.

Final tables projected for every major European league

Getty Images
By Joe Prince-WrightMar 21, 2020, 1:40 PM EDT
Leave a comment

With every European league currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, there have been plenty of projections on how the final tables will look in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

The guys over at Euro Club Index have run 100,000 simulations and good news Liverpool fans, your team are 100 percent guaranteed to win the Premier League title. Like we all didn’t know that already…

We’ve run our own projections here at ProSoccerTalk as Nick Mendola simulated the final weeks of the season via EA Sports’ FIFA 20.

Below you will find the European tables projected for European soccer’s top five leagues as Chelsea just hang on to fourth place ahead of Man United, Sheffield United slump to 10th and an almighty battle against relegation is set up for the final few matchweeks.

In Germany the title battle between Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach will go down to the wire, in Spain there will be an almighty scrap for fourth place and in Italy it seems like Juventus will seal yet another title.

PSG have things locked down in France and it seems like Barcelona will pip Real Madrid to the La Liga table. But remember, these are just projections.

Premier League

La Liga

Serie A

Bundesliga

Ligue 1