Inter are pondering altering their deputies in the midfield next summer but might have a readymade reinforcement, as Aleksandar Stankovic has flourished at Luzern and might be ready for a first-team role, La Gazzetta dello Sport relays.
The Nerazzurri could put Kristjan Asllani up for sale and take one of the offers for Davide Frattesi. If that were the case, they’ll need more additions on top of Luka Sucic, whom they have already acquired from Dinamo Zagreb.
Inter have been impressed by Stankovic this campaign. They’ll think twice about it before potentially sending him out again. He has tallied 3 goals and 2 assists in 33 matches in the Swiss Super League. He has two caps with Serbia U-21.
If Asllani departed, finding a reliable Hakan Calhanoglu deputy would be the first order of business for the management, unless Simone Inzaghi decided to use Piotr Zielinski there full-time. The talent is tight with the Turk, who often offers him advice.
The management envisions for him the same path as Federico Dimarco. The wing-back spent time at Sion before fully blossoming at Parma and Verona and becoming an integral part of the squad. His turn is going better than anticipated given his team’s success.
They have a few starlets in their system, considering also his brother Filip, the two Espositos, as Sebastiano might head back if Empoli got relegated, but it’s been years since they have trusted one of their youth products. They should bring some to the United States for the Club World Cup, not to field them but so Simone Inzaghi, who can improve in this particular area, can take an extended look at them.
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Chelsea are now in advanced talks with RB Leipzig over a move for Xavi Simons according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. The Blues have identified Simons as the player they want to add to their attack, following the signings of Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens. Simons is thought to be close to agreeing to personal terms, and has made it clear his preference is a move to the Premier League. Chelsea and Leipzig in advanced talks for Xavi Simons Chelsea reportedly want as many as eight or nine attacking options in their squad to rotate between next season, as they prepare for their return to the Champions League. Noni Madueke has joined Arsenal, whilst Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix are both expected to leave, meaning there’s room for another attacker. Chelsea are progressing well on a deal for Simons, with Leipzig thought to want around €65m for the 22-year-old, and Romano has provided an update. He took to X.com and said: “Understand Chelsea and RB Leipzig are now in advanced talks for Xavi Simons. “Negotiations club to club progressing well, still work to do but heading positive direction. “Xavi, keen on Chelsea project with personal terms talks also advanced.” Simons can play both on the left and as a number ten, making him a great fit for Enzo Maresca’s system, and he scored 11 goals and registered eight assists in 33 appearances in all competitions last season. Benfica in negotiations with Joao Felix With Simons moving closer to move to Chelsea, Felix is edging closer to the Stamford Bridge exit door, despite only joining last summer. Chelsea spent £45m on the Portugal international, who spent the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan. Felix has made it clear he wants to return to Benfica, and the Blues are said to be in negotiations with the Portuguese giants. Benfica are said to be open to signing Felix on a permanent deal, with Chelsea’s asking price for the 25-year-old reportedly £43.3m.
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
The Cincinnati Bengals have finally reached an agreement with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, putting an end to what became the story of the offseason for the team. Stewart, drafted 17th overall in this year's draft, has finally agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $18.97 million deal that includes a $10.4 million signing bonus, according to his agent Zac Hiller of LAA. Now with this deal done, every first-round pick is signed. The road to this deal was a bumpy ride. For months, negotiations between Stewart’s camp and the Bengals front office stalled due to disagreements over contract language, particularly around guarantees. The team pushed to include contract language that could void the deal under certain off-field circumstances, but since other Bengals first-round picks did not face similar terms, Stewart stood firm and refused to sign. Both sides remained firm throughout the offseason, leading to a long standoff and a lot of reports of frustration from both sides. Despite the frustration and disagreement, the Bengals and Stewart’s group continued to engage in conversations, trying to find a resolution to the issue. And finally, after weeks of back and forth and weeks of controversy surrounding what Stewart may be forced to do, both parties appear to have met in the middle and found common ground. For the Bengals, getting Stewart signed and ready for training camp is a major win. Stewart was viewed as a developmental prospect who needed plenty of on-field reps to reach his full potential. Stewart's absence from earlier camps had slowed a lot of his progress. With the contract dispute resolved, he can now focus entirely on gaining important reps and continuing his development over the coming weeks. Now with this contract done and over with, the team can put their full focus on Trey Hendrickson, who is also seeking a long term deal. If the Bengals can get a deal done with Trey before the season kicks off, they would secure their edge-rushing room for not only 2025, but for years beyond. For a team looking to go all in on making the playoffs, signing Stewart was long overdue. Now it will be vital for the team to get Stewart up to speed with the rest of the roster, and allow him to get as many reps as possible before the 2025 season begins.
Scottie Scheffler continued to pile up major victories with his win at The Open Championship on Sunday, but the World No. 1 golfer says he would give up one of his most coveted trophies if it helped his favorite NFL team win a Super Bowl. Scheffler was born in New Jersey, but his family moved to Dallas, Texas, when he was 6 years old. He went to college at the University of Texas and still lives in Dallas with his wife, Meredith, and 1-year-old son Bennett. As you might expect, Scheffler is a huge Cowboys fan. During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Pardon My Take" podcast, Scheffler discussed how badly he wants the Cowboys to win a Super Bowl. Scheffler said he would "for sure" trade one of his major championships for his favorite NFL team to win a title. Scheffler's win at Royal Portrush was his fourth in a major. The 29-year-old has now joined Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the only players to win The Open Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship before turning 30. Scheffler has been ranked the No. 1 golfer in the world for more than two years now. He has looked virtually unstoppable throughout much of that span. He only needs to win the U.S. Open to complete the career grand slam, and it would be downright shocking if he did not accomplish that at some point. The Cowboys last won a Super Bowl in January of 1996. Scheffler was born in June of that year, so Dallas has not won a championship in his lifetime. Though he knows he is going to have plenty of majors before his golf career is over, it says a lot that Scheffler would be willing to trade one of his trophies just to watch Dallas return to the top of the NFL.
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