Football transfer news

Chelsea have enjoyed an impressive start to life under new manager Enzo Maresca, with plenty of their star players finding form early in the 2024/25 season.

That form led to a very strong month of September for the club in which they won four out of their five games in all competitions – scoring 14 goals in the process.

Based upon a poll 90min conducted in our dedicated Chelsea fan WhatsApp channel (link to follow down below), more than 96,000 fans have made their candidate for the club’s September’s player of the month clear.

2,173 of votes in our poll went to the ‘others’ category, but who are those ‘others’?

Well, we’ll guess one is Mr. Christopher Nkunku who, while he isn’t a starter in the Premier League, has made the most of his minutes in other competitions – netting a hat-trick in a Carabao Cup win over Barrow.

Another rotation player, Pedro Neto has also caught the eye with his performances in cup competitions, leading to many Chelsea fans to call for the wide forward to become a regular starter ahead of Noni Madueke.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez deserves a mention too for his penalty save against Bournemouth – one of his seven stops in the 1-0 win.

In terms of players who specifically got votes, in fourth spot we had Moises Caicedo who tallied 3,798. Thanks to his £115m price tag, Moises Caicedo was a pretty easy target for boo boys last season. This season under new manager Enzo Maresca however, Chelsea fans are starting to see exactly why their club forked out so much money to sign the midfielder.

Caicedo was fairly fantastic throughout September, winning a rather outrageous 36 duels in just four games during the month.

In third place, we had 5,493 for Nicolas Jackson who, say what you want about him, but he scores bloody goals. That’s exactly what he did in September, netting three goals in four games, as well as adding two assists.

His tally for the season now stands at seven goal contributions in seven Premier League appearances. That’s pretty damn good if you ask us.

And just ahead of Jackson we had one Jadon Sancho, who amassed 6,365 votes in total. The wide forward, shipped out on loan by Man Utd once again, has been fantastic since making the move to Stamford Bridge.

After making an immediate impact during his debut against Bournemouth – setting up the winning goal – Sancho hasn’t really looked back, becoming a key creative component of Maresca’s forward line.

Cole Palmer received 80,954 of the total votes.

So yes, this poll was an utter landslide.

And it should have been, because Cole Palmer is the best player in the Premier League right now.

He proved that by putting in one of the best performances in the league’s modern history against Brighton at the end of September, netting four goals in the space of 20 first-half minutes to earn his side a 4-2 win. He’s too good.

Cole Palmer’s Chelsea stats in September

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With tennis legend Rafael Nadal’s retirement from the game now made official, all eyes are focused on what the ‘King of Clay’ will do next.

Nadal revealed his decision to retire from professional tennis on Thursday 10 October, ending a glistening career that saw him win 22 Grand Slam titles – second on the all-time list behind Novak Djokovic – in total, 14 of which came at the French Open.

The Spaniard’s racquet will officially be hung up after the Davis Cup finals are played out in November, but it’s not just his tennis prowess that he’s been known for.

Indeed, Nadal has been the face of some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Nike – his signature headband a staple of his apparel ever since he burst onto the scene.

One other area of interest for Nadal is his unadulterated love for Real Madrid. A lifelong supporter of the club, he is a close friend of club president Florentino Perez and is regularly seen attending games at the Santiago Bernabeu. He was made an honorary member in 2011.

Nadal’s love for the club goes as far as perhaps taking over as president once Perez feels it eventually time to move on – a desire he confessed to Spanish outlet Movistar in September 2024.

“Would I like to be [president]? I think so,” he said. “I think I’d like to. But there are a lot of things. Right now there’s nothing to say because we have the best possible president [Perez].

“What I think today, I might not think tomorrow. There are lots of twists and turns in life. You have to know if you’re qualified to do this kind of thing. I’m quite realistic. I know my limitations. I don’t know if I’d be capable or not. Time will tell.”

Perez has spoken highly of Nadal in the past, despite the tennis great’s reservations about whether or not he could do the job, and went as far to say that he’d be a “magnificent choice” in 2018. “He is the best Spanish sportsman of all time, but beyond what he has achieved and continues to achieve in tennis, his figure represents the best values ??of sport,” he continued.

“Real Madrid fans carry him in our hearts and we are proud to have a great ambassador for Madrid in the world.”

Whether or not Nadal actually comes to power remains to be seen, but there’s no question that his iconic status in sport would make him a hugely respected figure in boardrooms all around the world.

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Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was honoured at the annual Legends of Football event in London this week, joining a spectacular lineup of players whose successful careers have been honoured with the prize.

The former striker, who began his career at Everton before moving to Old Trafford in 2004, lifted five Premier League titles with the Red Devils, as well as a Champions League trophy and an FA Cup, among other accolades.

He remains the club’s all-time highest goalscorer and the only player to have ever scored 250 goals for United. Rooney enjoyed 13 triumphant years on the books at Old Trafford, before returning back to his boyhood club for a short spell.

The now Plymouth Argyle manager received a slightly different trophy this week, however, as he was honoured with the 2024 Legends of Football Award.

Rooney, alongside England’s most-capped women’s player Fara Williams, were in attendance at a star-studded event in the nation’s capital, joining the likes of Pele, David Beckham and Arsene Wenger in the Legends of Football hall of fame.

Their ceremony, attended by some of the biggest names in the footballing world, was in aid of music charity Nordoff and Robbins, who use the power of sound to break through the barriers caused by life-limiting illness and disabilities.

“I am delighted to receive the 2024 Legends of Football award,” Rooney said when asked what this accolade meant to him. “The award has been previously awarded to some of the biggest names in the game, to be recognised alongside all of them including some of my teammates, opponents and footballing icons means a lot.”

Rooney has enjoyed a successful start to the 2024/25 campaign with Plymouth in the Championship, seeing them rise from relegation spots to 13th in the league during the course of September.

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The 2024/25 Barclays WSL season kicked off last month and it’s been an exciting start to the campaign.

Manchester City are currently top of the standings after three games, although Manchester United and Chelsea have played a game less due to a postponement. Four teams sit with just one point at the bottom of the table, including Everton and West Ham United.

There has also been some big results, most notably Chelsea’s 7-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace, while Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur secured comfortable 4-0 wins over their respective opponents.

With October upon us, here’s 90min ranking of the top three WSL managers in the season’s first calendar month.

After a disappointing fifth place finish last term, it’s been a positive start to the new campaign for Marc Skinner’s Manchester United. While greater tests are certainly to come, six points from their first two games is exactly what was needed.

In the opening game at Old Trafford, they cruised to a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford, with Grace Clinton and Leah Galton among the goals. Their match against Everton a week later was a much closer contest, but one goal proved to be the difference as they picked up another crucial win.

Skinner will hope his side can maintain this level of consistency as they gear up for some difficult games against Tottenham, Brighton and Arsenal.

As far as starts to the season go, things couldn’t have gone much better for new Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor. Her side edged a narrow 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in their opening game, and they defended resiliently to pick up the result.

Against Crystal Palace on matchday two, the current WSL champions scored seven without response at Selhurst Park. Chelsea have laid down a marker already, but huge challenges are still to come with Arsenal next.

The surprise of the season so far has undoubtedly been Brighton. They cruised to a victory against Everton in their opening game, and were only narrowly beaten by Manchester City at the end of September.

New managers in the WSL often undergo an adjustment period, and it takes time to implement new tactics and a style of play. But, the Seagulls haven’t looked like a team undergoing transition in their opening few games.

That’s a credit to Dario Vidosic and his ability to settle quickly in the WSL. Strong recruitment in the summer will have helped matters, but results have so far gone their way.

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The tactical intricacies of modern football have often been left to Football Manager to replicate in the video game sphere, but EA Sports have stepped up their game for their latest EA FC release.

The introduction of FC IQ in this year’s game allows players unprecedented control in an EA FC (formerly FIFA) title, with player roles, tactical ingenuity and formation variety having an even larger impact on your performance.

Knowing where to start can be a little overwhelming and the effectiveness of different systems will adapt as the game is updated and tweaked by EA.

With that in mind, here are the best formations to use in EA FC 25.

Those looking for a balanced mainstream formation need look no further than the 4-2-3-1 (2) in EA FC 25. It offers security in the defensive third with two holding midfielders screening a flat back four, but allows versatility in attack with the use of an attacking midfielder and two wide players.

Of course, as for all formations, custom player roles are to be tweaked to best suit your specific gameplay style, but this system lends itself well to those looking for a solid middle ground between attack and defence.

System

Player roles

If you’re struggling with defending in EA FC 25, there is no shame in using a five-person defence either online or in single player modes. Out of the four formations in the game that have five at the back, the 5-4-1 offers you the most defensive security.

A flat midfield four makes sure there is plenty of cover for your defensive line, but with attacking wingbacks and inside forwards on the flanks, you’re also able to create plenty of opportunities.

System

Player roles

For those looking to attack at all costs, the gung-ho 4-2-4 formation allows players to maximise your forward potential. While it may leave you exposed on turnovers, it’s a system that is itself suited to benefit from counter-attacks.

This might be a useful system to switch to late in a match when you’re chasing a goal, or if you think your one-v-one defensive skills are at a high level.

System

Player roles

This specific formation has been built to replicate what Pep Guardiola does at Manchester City, utilising a 4-3-3 with an attacking midfielder and two holding players. While not the exact system used by the Spaniard, it’s the most similar formation in EA FC 25 when we include our tactical preset and player roles.

System

Player roles

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