By the summer of 2016, Tanguy Ndombélé’s chances of becoming a top-level footballer were slowly fading away. Born and raised in the Parisian suburbs to Congolese parents, Ndombélé had moved to Guingamp, at 14 years of age, but he was forced to depart Brittany after being denied a professional contract. He joined Amiens after the…

Despite falling short of qualification to their first Euros since 2000, there is plenty of reason for Norway fans to be optimistic about the new decade. From Martin Ødegaard to Sander Berge to Erling Haaland, there is an unprecedented amount of Norwegian youngsters who are thriving in Europe’s top five leagues, and the next prospect…

In an all too familiar story, a child is enamoured by a football from an early age. His parents are frustrated by their offspring’s obsession with kicking this spherical object around the house. He is encouraged to join a team and begins to play regularly outside. Fast forward two decades and he is a senior…

Kelvin John was born on 10 June 2003 in the Tanzanian city of Morgoro, which lies at the base of the famous Uluguru Mountains. John rose to prominence at 14 years of age when he played for Tanzania at the 2018 Under 17 CECAFA Championship held in Burundi. Later in the same year he played…

Since Neymar’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, Barcelona have struggled to fill the enormous void left by the Brazilian forward. Ousmane Dembélé arrived for a club record fee of €105 million with €40 million in potential add-ons, a record soon eclipsed by the signing of Philippe Coutinho, but neither have managed to nail down…

Since arriving on loan on September 30, Ross Barkley has gone from being a fringe player at Chelsea to being a key performer for Aston Villa. Barkley’s path to the starting line-up was put in jeopardy after the arrivals of Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech, but since trading London for Birmingham, he is making a…

After being relegated for the first time in 29 years, Aston Villa spent three years in England’s second tier before winning the Championship play-off against Derby County and booking their ticket to the Premier League. Eager to avoid the mistakes of 2015/16, Villa spent nearly £140 million on transfers as they looked to reinforce their…

The fact that Gabriel Martinelli is set to return from injury well ahead of schedule is no surprise to those who know the young Brazilian. The São Paulo-born forward has fought for everything he’s got in the game, working his way from amateur football in Brazil to the dizzying heights of the Premier League in…

Inside the Grote Kerk church in Haarlem lies one of the world’s most famous organs. It is renowned for its decoration and has been played through the centuries by celebrated musicians such as Mozart. This city in the western Netherlands has a history of producing works of art and, in Orkun Kökçü, looks to have…

One of the shining lights from England’s November Internationals was Jack Grealish’s prevalence as an important player for England manager Gareth Southgate. Previously, Grealish was very much on the fringes for the Three Lions after taking what felt like an eternity for him to get his first senior call-up.   Over the last few years,…