Borussia Dortmund didn’t think twice before deciding to go for Jude Bellingham in the summer of 2020. The 17-year-old Birmingham City midfielder was impressing in the Championship at the time and it was clear to see the massive potential that he has.   “I’m incredibly excited to have joined one of the biggest clubs in…

There were wild celebrations in Valencia when a picture appeared on Twitter showing Peter Lim with Gonçalo Guedes in the summer of 2018. This picture was significant because it indicated that Valencia were almost certainly signing him on a permanent deal, as rumours of the imminent deal dominated the airwaves.   During the rocky reign…

Six years before Jude Bellingham made his professional debut at St Andrew’s, Demarai Gray looked set to become the next young prospect to take Birmingham City by storm and stake out a career in England’s top-flight, following in the footsteps of Nathaniel Redmond and many more. After seven years at the club’s academy, Gray made…

Chapter 1: A Star is Born   Cristiano Ronaldo broke through at Sporting at the age of 16 under manager Laszlo Boloni, and it was clear from the very start that he was one of the best talents in Europe at that time. Initially, Cristiano played as a pure winger, attacking the byline and crossing…

Kurt Zouma, now 26, has battled through adversity. A product of Saint-Etienne’s impressive academy programme, the Lyon-born centre-back arrived on France’s biggest stage a decade ago, making his debut for Les Verts while still a schoolboy.    During his time with the Ligue 1 outfit, Zouma amassed 3,024 top-flight minutes and quickly made a name…

This title isn’t meant as a form of cheap clickbait. Nor is it meant to attract the many staunch critics of the player – unfortunately and unfairly, a healthy majority claim to be Chelsea supporters. This is a piece on one of Chelsea Football Club’s most underrated, divisive, and crucial players – Mason Tony Mount.…

There are three certainties in life; death, taxes and an incredibly talented young striker leading the line for Red Bull Salzburg. In the last three years, the Austrian club has had Erling Haaland, Patson Daka and now Karim Adeyemi as their main centre forwards at different times.   The latest in that lineup is Karim…

In the Ville Lumière, it is often hard to shine brightest. Paris is a city rebuilt in the image of Napolean III, and foreign entities have rarely found favour tyring to penetrate the wide, oblique, angled streets of the French capital. But in 2016, Renato Sanches masterminded the last true siege on the city of…

Whether it’s the backstreets of Grenoble or the lights of London, Olivier Giroud has never been given the credit he rightfully deserves…   There are many players whose talents go unsung despite their remarkable impact on the football pitch but perhaps none so plainly as Olivier Giroud. The clinical frontman has proven time and again…

The roots of football can be traced all the way back to the third century, when Chinese people played ‘cuju’’ (literally: kick the ball), and tried to kick the ball through the opening of a net. But as far as the ‘modern’ game goes, the first official international football match was contested on November 30,…