The forward has been speaking to Algemeen Dagblad, relayed by Voetbal Primeur, about his first year at Anfield after arriving from PSV Eindhoven in January last year.

He arrived at Anfield after consistently impressing for the Dutch club but really throwing himself into the public consciousness during the World Cup in Qatar, when he was very much the star man for the Netherlands.

That ultimately saw him secure his €42m move to Liverpool and he’s been starring ever since, with 11 goals and four assists in 40 games in all competitions to date.

His time on Merseyside so far has seen him undergo a drastic change, though, with Jurgen Klopp keen to convert him from a predominantly left-winger to a centre-forward.

118 of his 159 games for PSV came playing as a left-winger but that’s changed for Liverpool where 29 of his games to date have been as a centre-forward and only four on the wing.

Some have questioned whether that’s getting the best out of the player, but Gakpo insists Klopp made it clear that it was always the plan for him.

“It was an exciting year in which I made a beautiful journey,” he said.

“And still. I feel very much at home in Liverpool. Football is going well, we live nicely. My girlfriend is happy, and my family and friends are also experiencing everything. Then you are blessed.

“He (Klopp_ immediately said in January: ‘Cody can play good pressing, he can do as a striker what Roberto Firmino did for us for years.’ I am challenged to get out of my comfort zone. I like that.”

The post Liverpool star reveals what Klopp “immediately” told him at Anfield – Happy with new challenge appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to journalist Miguel Hoffman, who has confirmed Crystal Palace’s interest on a recent appearance on Radio Continental.

El Futbolero cover the journalist’s recent appearance on the radio station to discuss Solari’s performances this season and a potential move to the Premier League.

The youngster has been one of the stars for River Plate this season, proving to be the driving force in the side despite only being a substitute.

Thos performances have not gone unnoticed, and several reports have indicated there is interest in the Premier League from Crystal Palace and West Ham.

Hoffman now confirms as much, stating that Palace are ‘interested in acquiring’ the services of the 22-year-old, who has 12 goals and 10 assists in 2023.

He confirmed that the Eagles would be willing to offer no less than $15m dollars for the player, but River Plate are looking for $25m, so there is a considerable distance between the two parties at this moment in time.

That $25m figure is below a $20m release clause that was mentioned earlier this year, so it seems Crystal Palace are looking to get a discount either way.

With them seemingly ready to make a move, though, Solari may be a name to keep an eye on in the coming weeks as we get closer to January.

The post Crystal Palace ready to make $15m move for forward – Interest not dying down appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who say the striker ‘is in first place’ on Bologna’s list of potential targets.

The newspaper explains that Bologna need to add a striker to their game and one that will fit in with manager Thiago Motta’s game and the Tottenham man is believed to fit the bill.

The Italian side have a ‘preference list’ of potential targets and Veliz ‘is in first place’ but those in charge at the club will not move until around mid-December.

By that point the likes of technical director Giovanni Sartori and Marco Di Vaio, alongside Motta, will know whether the Tottenham youngster can become a ‘concrete solution’ for them when the January transfer window opens.

They’re waiting to see if Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is willing to let Veliz go out on loan to allow him to get regular playing time, having barely featured for Spurs so far this season.

Corriere say Veliz is sad about his situation and has made it clear he would be happy to land in Bologna, who have been making it clear for months that they love him. He is well aware of that ‘great esteem’ and feels it strongly.

The question is what type of deal they could do as Sartori would like to convince Tottenham to include a right to buy as part of any loan, even if it would be high for them at €13-15m, which is pretty much the price the Premier League side paid for him.

Bologna’s interest is nothing new as they tried to get him in the summer and had wrapped up a deal with Rosario Central for him but were reliant on Marko Arnautovic departing.

That never happened and they were forced to abandon the plan for Veliz, who was then scooped up by Tottenham as part of their summer rebuild.

The hope is that his lack of gametime in England since could open up the possibility of them reviving their interest and a potential deal in January, but it will be dependent on Spurs.

The post Tottenham forward ‘is in first place’ in club’s transfer list – Mid-December move planned for summer target appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to journalist Martijn Krabbendam, who has provided more detail on the potential return to St James Park for the winger.

Minteh joined Newcastle in the summer before being immediately loaned out to Feyenoord to establish himself in Europe and get regular playing time to aid his development.

He’s been doing that, featuring regularly for the Dutch side and earning plenty of plaudits with a tally of three goals and one assist in nine games in the league to date.

That’s led to some suggestions that he could be quickly recalled back to Newcastle in the January transfer window as they look to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad and cover for several injuries.

They’re currently without Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson, Elliot Anderson and Harvey Barnes thanks to injuries, meaning their forward line has been severely reduced.

The idea is that they need to strengthen with forwards in January and Minteh could be an option, but Krabbendam insists that option isn’t as simple as it seems, having previously rejected the idea earlier this week.

“Contractually speaking, Newcastle can do that, but Newcastle and Feyenoord have to support that,” Feyenoord Pings report him saying to VI Pro.

“It is not the case if Newcastle does this and Minteh plays in the Premier League. But as a player you also have to meet a number of conditions to play in the Premier League at all.

“Apart from that, Feyenoord also has something to say about it. So, assume that Minteh will still play for Feyenoord after the winter. And let’s hope that he can improve his game, which is reasonable. it was promising that Minteh can continue that.”

The post Journalist doubles down on Newcastle transfer stance – Can’t simply bring player to St James Park appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to Sky Germany, who cover the player today and his newfound maturity and the problems that may cause for Bayern.

They explain that Sané has taken on responsibility at the start of the season with Bayern, with a tally of nine goals in 18 games and seven assists a record that makes him an ‘offensive whirlwind’.

The hope for them and Germany is that he can continue this on a consistent basis but in the meantime, Bayern need to get him signed to a new deal as his numbers haven’t gone unnoticed.

His current deal at the Allianz Arena expires in 2025 so there is a pressing need to extend that and ensure he doesn’t enter next year in the final 12 months of his deal, particularly as his performance ‘naturally arouses the desires’ of other clubs.

Liverpool are one of them and Jurgen Klopp ‘probably wants’ to lure his fellow German to Anfield, something that should cause Bayern to be ‘a little worried’.

That’s a story we’ve seen developing over the last week or so, with a report earlier this week indicating that Liverpool were interested, and Bayern were finally responding to that interest.

Sky now say that they should be worried about the growing interest and the possibility of a move in the coming months.

The post Jurgen Klopp ‘probably wants’ to lure player to Liverpool – interest should make club ‘a little worried’ appeared first on Sport Witness.

The winger has been speaking to Fotboll Skanalen about what he thinks Sweden need to do to turn things around and get out of their current predicament.

Kulusevski and his team were this week beaten 3-0 by 10-man Azerbaijan away from home, their latest disappointing defeat in what has been a miserable campaign to qualify for the Euros.

Despite dominating possession in the game and creating double the amount of chances they were unable to turn that into goals, with the home side converting all three of their chances and looking relatively comfortable despite being a man down from the 57^th minute.

It left Sweden on seven points from seven games, 12 points behind leaders Austria and 10 behind second placed Belgium.

With manager Janne Andersson set to step down after the clash with Estonia this weekend, a new man will be coming in and Kulusevski has urged his nation to look at what happened with Tottenham as a perfect example of how to move on.

“I’m hungry as hell,” he said.

“Things have been going badly for quite a long period. Since the Nations League, things have gone downhill. But that doesn’t mean it will be like that in the future.

“When playing football, the most important thing is to fall back on a game idea. Because anything can happen in a football match. A guy scored from 80 meters last Thursday.

“The important thing is that you can fall back on a game idea and know what to do. We need to be completely clear about exactly what we want to do and that we are working on it.

“It’s a little like we have it in Tottenham. Don’t look at the result, don’t look at the time. Do what we’re supposed to do. Follow the game idea. It’s just see the difference between Tottenham this season and last season.

“It’s the exact same players, we’ve only made a few changes, but the team is 100 times better. It’s thanks to a game idea. It’s not that the players have gotten better. We have a clear idea, and we know what we want from each other. It’s probably the best thing for a team, to have a game idea and execute it.”

The post “I’m hungry as hell” – Tottenham star urges nation to follow Spurs example, now “100 times better” appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who say the captain is ‘of great interest’ to the Italian side but a difficult deal for them to get done.

The newspaper explains that Milan’s two main objectives for the winter transfer window are clear, both a defender and a forward will arrive to bolster their squad.

They are the two positions that both need strengthening and will receive greater attention from the management in the coming weeks.

A central defender is desperately needed as the squad has been left thin by injuries and ongoing fitness issues for Simon Kjaer.

Several potential options are being explored and Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly is one of those who is ‘of great interest’.

The problem is that Bournemouth aren’t particularly interested in a deal and don’t want to lose their captain in January. In fact, they would prefer to lose him on a free transfer next summer, when his contract expires than sell him for a fee in the winter window.

Why that is the case isn’t mentioned and seems a little strange from the Cherries on the face of it, but perhaps they value Kelly’s involvement in the squad higher than the likely reduced figure they’d get from Milan.

That could always change but for now it seems there’s no interest in selling Kelly, even if Milan do come calling for him.

The post Bournemouth prefer to lose player for free than sell in January – Club’s interest not changing stance appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to Il Tempo, relayed by Corriere Giallorossa, who cover the situation around the Portuguese boss today.

The newspaper explains that Mourinho ‘wants with all his heart’ to remain as Roma manager long-term, feeling loved at the club and loving his life in the Italian capital.

He has ‘found the pleasure of working again’ at the Serie A club and does not feel his journey with them is close to being completed at this point.

He is clear that he wants his future to be at the club but knows that is does not depend on him and is instead on the club offering him an extension to his current deal, which expires next summer.

At the moment there has been no meeting, no conversation and it is not on the agenda for the future despite Mourinho making his stance clear.

Thus, Mourinho is forced to look elsewhere should he ned to make a tough decision and that’s where Saudi Arabia and Newcastle come into the picture.

He’s already received offers from the Saudi Pro League while ‘Newcastle’s uncertain plans’ also represent a plan B for the coach which could turn into a ‘concrete solution’.

To be clear, the newspaper does not state that there have been talks with Newcastle at this point, but the idea is that if Roma don’t move, then that option could emerge.

It’s not the first time Mourinho has been linked with a move to St James Park, with it reported on several occasions in 2022 that those in charge were looking at him.

It seems he’s still seen as a major coup by the Saudi Arabian regime and that could see him targeted again if they ever decide to move on from Eddie Howe, who has found himself under pressure in recent weeks.

The post Newcastle could become ‘concrete option’ for Portuguese boss – ‘Uncertain plans’ at St James Park create idea appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to former president of the General Assembly of the Lions, Eduardo Barroso, who has been speaking to Leonino about the situation at the club.

Amorim has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United over the last month or so, with the pressure increasing on current manager Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman has found himself increasingly in the spotlight after a disappointing start to the season littered with disappointing results that has Manchester United sixth in the table, five points behind the top four and bottom of Group A in the Champions League with three points from four games.

The growing belief has been that United may look to change and several reports have made it clear that Amorim, who has been impressing in Portugal with Sporting, is among the leading candidates that would be looked at.

That suggestion has been rejected on several occasions in Portugal and Barroso continues that, insisting he can’t see a deal happening any time soon.

“We need to keep the coach and keep the players that are there. Rúben Amorim at Manchester United? I don’t believe he will leave in December, it’s impossible”, he is quoted as saying.

The post “It’s impossible” – Manchester United move ruled out, inistence club need to resist change appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to his manager Luciano Spalletti, who has revealed what he told the Arsenal midfielder after his latest disappointment from the spot.

Gazzetta dello Sport cover the Italy manager and the player today and how the latter may need a ‘strong heart’ when he comes up against Ukraine in Italy’s final qualifier.

The newspaper explains that Jorginho is now in the middle of a ‘poker of missed penalties’ after he missed for the fourth time in a row against the Macedonians.

They say that it was clear from the Arsenal man’s ‘petrified face’ and the ‘emptiness that can be seen in his gaze’ when Macedonia goalkeeper Dimitrievski easily saved his penalty that the old confidence from the spot is no longer there.

That miss brought back the specters of the miss against Switzerland, which ultimately ended up costing Italy a place at the World Cup in Qatar.

Despite that, Spalletti will continue to back the Arsenal man in future, which may mean he needs a ‘strong heart’ in the final qualifier against Ukraine, which Italy need to win to qualify for Euro 2024.

“Congratulations should be given to someone like him,” he said.

“The goalkeeper was good, he made him believe he was empty, and he didn’t take a good angle. He remains a special penalty taker. I already told him that he will beat him again next time and he said yes.”

The post Arsenal man may need ‘strong heart’ in next international clash as manager backs him despite latest failure appeared first on Sport Witness.