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Sky Sport Italia reports that Lecce defender Marin Pongracic will join Rennes for €15m plus add-ons just one year after a permanent €1.6m move at the Stadio Via Del Mare.
Croatia international Pongracic will leave Lecce and join Ligue 1 side Rennes.
Sky Sport Italia claims that the Giallorossi director Pantaleo Corvino has agreed to sell the 26-year-old centre-back for €15m plus bonuses.
It is a pretty remarkable deal, given that Pongracic completed a permanent transfer to Lecce from Wolfsburg for €1.6m in the summer of 2023.
He had spent the previous season on loan at the Stadio Via del Mare.
During his two-year spell at Lecce, Pongracic made 47 Serie A appearances.
He started two matches from three for his national team Croatia at EURO 2024, including the final group-stage game against Italy.
Rennes have recently hired ex-Milan chief Frederic Massara as their new sports director.
Lecce will make their 2024-25 Serie A debut at home against Atalanta on August 19.
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Manchester City 3 Leeds United 2: City player ratings as City find a away against a plucky opponent
Manchester City 3 (Phil Foden 1′, 90+1, Josko Gvardiol 25′) Leeds United 2 (Dominic Calvert-Lewin 49′, Lukas Nmecha 68′) Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City overcame a determined Leeds United outfit to pick up an important 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium today. Manchester City dominated the first half and goals from Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol had seemingly set City on their way in the first half. But the second half was a different story. From the moment Daniel Farke brought on Dominic Calvert-Lewin at halftime the game changed. Calvert-Lewin scored in the 49th minute and his sheer presence unsettled Pep Guardiola’s side. Lukas Nmecha would make it 2-all in the 68th minute and at that point of the match it seemed like Leeds would claim a famous comeback victory. Phil Foden would save Manchester City’s blushes with a 91st minute winner. City were fortunate to claim all three points today and the City player ratings reflect the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Manchester City’s performance. City player ratings Gianluigi Donnarumma-6/10: Made one superb penalty save which unfortunately fell back into Lukas Nmecha’s path. He had very little to do in goal but you do wonder if he needs to start claiming the ball rather than punching it from set pieces. Matheus Nunes-5/10: Nunes set up Manchester City’s opening goal with a sublime assist and was a constant threat going forward in the first half. Unfortunately, it was Nunes’ error that allowed Leeds a way back into the match. He was poor in the second half which undid his great work in the first half. Ruben Dias-6/10: Not at his best and the presence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin unsettled him and his team. Josko Gvardiol-5/10: Scored a goal but gave away a second half penalty with a rash challenge. Gvardiol hasn’t been at his best this season and has threatened to make a costly error all season. It came today but Phil Foden saved his blushes. Nico O’Reilly-6.5/10: He was superb going forward in the first half and did similar in the second. Defensively, not at his best as Leeds did target him. Nico-6.5/10: In the first half he was brilliant but in the second half he fell away. He needs support in Manchester City’s midfield as today’s match showed. Bernardo Silva-6/10: Manchester City’s captain toiled away and was good in the first half. But he struggled in the second half as he, and his team, wilted in the face of Leeds’ pressure. Tijjani Reijnders- 6/10: Like his team, Reijnders was good in the first half and anonymous in the second half. Replaced by Rayan Cherki in the 75th minute as City looked to add more creativity to their play. Phil Foden-9/10: Won the game for Manchester City. He was Manchester City’s best player over the full 90 minutes and his brace today could prove to be invaluable. Jeremy Doku- 7.5/10: In the first half Doku was Manchester City’s most dangerous attacking player alongside Phil Foden. Doku faded out of the game in the second half but as City pressed for a winner he never stopped trying to create for his team. Erling Haaland-5/10: Haaland didn’t look 100% fit but he did have some crucial defensive interventions in the second half. Not his best performance this season by any stretch. Substitutes Rayan Cherki-7/10: Set up Phil Foden’s late winner and City look infinitely more dangerous going forward when he is on the pitch. Omar Marmoush-N/A: Not on long enough to mark. John Stones-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
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Details emerge on Francisco Lindor's alleged incident with Mets teammate
Mr. Smile apparently wasn’t smiling too much about one of his teammates last season. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had a "heated confrontation" with teammate Jeff McNeil last June, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported on Friday. Puma writes that Lindor began verbally attacking McNeil on June 20 over a defensive lapse that McNeil had during that day’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The confrontation, which was only verbal and never got physical, came in the midst of a seven-game losing streak by the Mets at the time. Puma also reports that the flashy Lindor clashed personalities during the year with the business-like Juan Soto during the season as well. Interestingly enough, the five-time All-Star Lindor also had a confrontation with McNeil in the dugout during a game in the 2021 MLB season. That confrontation did turn physical, and Lindor later offered an extremely unconvincing excuse for the incident. Meanwhile, the incident last June underscored the Mets’ struggles to get on the same page with one another during the 2025 campaign. Despite having a mammoth $342 million payroll, the Mets completely collapsed in the final weeks of the season and missed the playoffs altogether. Now there are rumors that the Mets could make some big changes this offseason, including a potential trade of McNeil. After another apparent confrontation between the veteran utilityman and the four-time Silver Slugger Award winner Lindor, it is clear that something is not quite working right now in that clubhouse.
Buffalo Bills legend reminds Keon Coleman 'you can be gone quick'
A Buffalo Bills legend provided some sage advice for Keon Coleman this week. Andre Reed enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the Bills, during which he became fellow HOFer Jim Kelly’s favorite target within the vaunted Buffalo passing game during the team’s run to four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s. Now, Reed is hoping to spread some of the knowledge he gained during his time in the NFL in order to help Coleman take the next step as a professional. During a recent podcast hit on Bleav in Bills with Adam Benigni and Sal Maiorana, Reed delved into what he believes has prevented Coleman from reaching another level of performance in his second NFL season. “There’s something not connecting in there,” said the former Bills WR. “He’s got the talent out the yin yang. He’s a physical specimen. And he’s got to believe in himself that he can do that and he can make a big difference every single play if he wants to.” Reed added, “And I think there’s a little disconnect in his brain right now where he, all this other off-field stuff and all this other stuff that is going on. And I believe that (Head Coach Sean McDermott) is trying to show him, by sitting down for two weeks, that this game can be good to you, and it can not be good to you. And you can be gone quick. And I hope he sees that. And I know he does.” Coleman began the season as one of the Bills’ top targets in the passing game, but after being late to a team meeting leading up to a Week 11 meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McDermott elected to bench the former second-round pick, his third time being disciplined in his young career, and the second time this season. He was also a healthy scratch this past week against the Houston Texans, but McDermott later revealed it was not due to discipline, but rather because the Bills were forced to prepare for Houston on a short week. Reed is hoping Coleman’s inactivity over the past two weeks sent the 22-year-old a message. “Instead of me just going after him and saying, ‘You’re not doing this, you’re not doing — I kind of just tried to level the playing field and said, ‘Hey, do the extra stuff,’” said Reed. “Go in early. Do some one-on-ones with every DB after practice for 20 minutes. Do all this stuff and show these coaches that Keon Coleman is here to make plays and help this team win.” Coleman may get another chance to prove himself this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the Bills are dealing with a list of injuries at the WR position. Curtis Samuel was placed on Injured Reserve on Saturday due to knee and elbow injuries, and Joshua Palmer missed time throughout the week due to an ankle injury and is questionable to play on Sunday. If he is indeed provided with a jersey on game day for the first time in three weeks, it would behoove Coleman to take Reed’s advice, keep his head down, do all the right things and continue to work himself back into the good graces of the coaching staff. Otherwise, he could be looking at a change of scenery this offseason.
George Pickens Rips Chiefs Superfan Nick Wright After Week 13 Win
Most NFL fans know FS1’s Nick Wright as the loud-and-proud Chiefs superfan. So, of course, he picked Kansas City to beat the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. However, while making his pick known in a segment of his show, he tossed a jab at George Pickens and his teammates, and the wideout didn’t forget it. Wright was super critical of the Cowboys ahead of Thursday’s game. Most notably, he questioned Dak Prescott and Pickens’ ability to win against strong opponents. It was a fair criticism, given that Dallas was 1-3-1 against teams with winning records before the game. “The biggest question mark about him, fair or not, is big game performance. I don’t care how good CeeDee and George Pickens are,” Wright said via First Things First. Well, while parts of the analysis held up, the sharper comments definitely rattled the lion’s cage. Pickens and Lamb both ended up owning the show on Thanksgiving. The former had 6 catches for 88 yards, including a sweet hurdle and a two-point conversion reception. The latter had 7 catches for 112 yards and a TD. And after the win, Pickens quoted and tweeted a fan-edit of a game highlight, along with Wright’s criticism, and wrote this with it: “Eat them words,” he wrote. Clearly, the Cowboys receiver heard the criticism from Wright and made sure to answer back with a win over the Chiefs in his pocket. This season, Pickens has been phenomenal after being traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason. He has 1,142 receiving yards, which is good for second in the NFL. He also has 8 TDs, which ranks third in the league. Underneath the comment, fans reacted to the hilarious roast by Pickens. “Lmfaooo cook em Pick,” one fan joked. “No way this is my real goat tweeting?!” another wrote. “Lmmffaaaoo expose that clown GP, not to mention putting mcduffie in hell all night,” someone else said. Fans throughout the comments thought it was hilarious that Pickens kept the receipts. He had already been embraced by Cowboys fans as one of the most exciting players on the team, but this really pushed him over the top and cemented his status as some fans’ favorite player right now. Pickens is still in the final year of his rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next year. There were some rumors about the Cowboys possibly franchise-tagging him. But he’s already proven that he deserves a secure contract with big money. So, we’ll see how Jerry Jones decides to attack that ordeal when the time comes. For now, though, things are good for Pickens and Dallas. They have just beaten the two Super Bowl teams from last year in the span of five days. Their season feels revitalized, and a playoff run is on the table. Right now, they need to focus on building this momentum as they move closer to the postseason.
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