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Tottenham face a stumbling block in their bid to sign Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton
There is so much riding for Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League final against Manchester United on May 21, with both a trophy and Champions League entry up for grabs.
Ange Postecoglou will be desperate to win the European trophy and perhaps leave White Hart Lane with head held high, but in gearing up for next season, having Champions League football on offer could provide a massive boost the North London club’s summer transfer plans. They need reinforcements on almost every area of the pitch after a forgettable Premier League season.
Spurs could do with a new holding midfielder to potentially replace Yves Bissouma, who is heavily linked with an exit from the club. The Mali international is heading to the final year of his contract and the club bosses are planning to cash him in when the transfer window reopens next month.
Tottenham have been admirers of Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton since last year. He is rated as one of the hottest young talents in English football and has grown leaps and bounds since joining Crystal Palace from the Championship side Blackburn Rovers in February 2024. The 21-year-old, whose stock has risen significantly over a year, played a key role in helping the Eagles win the FA Cup last weekend.
Adam Wharton delivered a fantastic performance in the middle of the park, as Crystal Palace beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium to lift their first-ever major trophy. As a result, Oliver Glasner’s side have now qualified for the Europe League, and the central midfielder will be raring to taste his first-ever experience of European football next term.
According to an exclusive report from GIVEMESPORT, Palace do not plan to sell Wharton this summer amid interest from several clubs including Tottenham. It would take an ‘astronomical offer’ to change their mind.
After the FA Cup success, the South Londoners remain determined more than ever to hold onto their key players, including Wharton. A £60 million fee may eventually prove insufficient to lure the England under-21 international away from Selhurst Park, the report adds.
Signing the 21-year-old will certainly be a step in the right direction. The Englishman is one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League right now. Despite missing a significant chunk of the season following a groin surgery, he has played 27 games in all competitions this season. He has been in strong form since recovering fully from a hamstring surgery, and it is certain that he will elevate the quality of the Tottenham squad.
However, the Lilywhites are facing a fresh stumbling block due to Palace’s rising valuation of their talented midfielder. That said, unless Tottenham wins the Europa League and qualifies for the Champions League, Daniel Levy spending in north of £60 million on Wharton looks unlikely.
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Tennessee's groundbreaking Adidas deal a game-changer for college sports in NIL era
The Tennessee Volunteers are going back to Adidas as its primary apparel provider after a decade of wearing the Nike swoosh. On Wednesday, Adidas announced a $100M, 10-year deal to be the exclusive apparel provider for the school's sports teams. The deal is set to begin on July 1, 2026, following the expiration of the current agreement with Nike. On the surface, it's just another apparel deal between two popular brands, but in the era of NIL (name, image and likeness) in college sports, it's a game-changing agreement. As part of the agreement, Adidas will establish a fund for NIL deals between the University of Tennessee and student-athletes. The German-based company will provide Tennessee with at least $10 million annually for the NIL deals, which, as of now, is about half of the $20.5 million that schools participating in the revenue-sharing model are allowed to give directly to student-athletes. That figure will almost assuredly increase with each passing year, meaning both current and future Tennessee Volunteers will benefit directly from this deal. Adidas will aim to make top student-athletes brand ambassadors by giving them national marketing campaigns and signature shoe lines. With NIL deals becoming a centerpiece of how college athletic departments attract top recruits, this deal is a bellwether for how apparel deals will be renegotiated across the world of college sports. Of course, at the center of this deal is football, as it remains the most popular sport in the country. According to The Athletic, the Volunteers' football program is estimated to be valued at $1.37B, the ninth-highest valuation in college football. It's only natural, then, that Adidas wants to get its logo back on Tennessee football jerseys. Adidas sponsored the team for 20 years before the university switched to Nike in 2014. While some fans were hoping Tennessee would re-up their partnership with Nike, fans who remember the 1998 National Championship team will probably feel good seeing the Adidas logo on the jersey again. Adidas also sweetened the deal by providing assurances that Tennessee athletics can design its apparel in-house, in collaboration with the company. Aside from nostalgia and big business, Tennessee and Adidas both know that for the school to remain one of the top programs in the country, they'll need star recruits. Before the ascendance of NIL deals, recruiting top talent was a mix of promising top-of-the-line facilities and flaunting the pedigree of the program. NIL money has changed that equation and already impacted Tennessee. In April, star quarterback Nico Iamaleava shocked the school by not reporting to spring practice and transferring to UCLA. Reports suggested part of the disagreements between Iamaleava and the school was over his NIL deal. How Iamaleava plays this season will make Tennessee wonder if it should've allocated more NIL money to keeping him happy. If that's the case, it's safe to wonder if Tennessee will tap into this deal as much as possible to keep future stars away from the transfer portal. This deal with Adidas certainly opens new doors for athletes to maximize their branding and will test the NIL distribution system over the next decade. Expect these types of deals to become the norm, too, as universities seek every competitive advantage against one another.
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Oregon suspends former five-star WR recruit indefinitely
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