TransferTalk | James Milner (40) after 24 seasons in football retirement, Konaté leaves Liverpool on a free transfer | Sport

James Milner is hanging up his football boots. The contract of the 40 year old football veteran ended at Brighton. Milner played 658 games in the Premier League, most ever.

The 61-time international made his debut in 2002 at the age of 16. ‘After 24 seasons in the Premier League, this feels like the right time to end my playing career,” he wrote on Instagram.

According to the British newspaper The Independent Chelsea expressly interested in the services of Jarrod Bowen. The 29-year-old Englishman was relegated from the Premier League this season with West Ham United, but Chelsea could ensure that the winger remains active at the highest level in England.

Chelsea is one of the clubs that is interested. West Ham are reportedly demanding fifty million poundsbut clubs would not want to pay more than forty million. Bowen has barely missed a minute for West Ham this season. In 38 Premier League games he scored nine times and provided eleven assists.

After the Scottish left back Andy Robertson (32) and the Egyptian attacker Mohamed Salah (33) also leave Ibrahima Konaté on a free transfer from Liverpool.

The 27-year-old defender from Paris has played for Liverpool since 2021, which then acquired him from RB Leipzig for 40 million euros. The 27-time France international played 183 games for Liverpool, of which 154 times in the center next to captain Virgil van Dijk.

Oranje-international Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton & Hove Albion) would be on Liverpool’s list for Konaté, but The Reds will first want to appoint a new trainer after the dismissal of Arne Slot. There is a good chance that the Basque Andoni Iraola will come over from Bournemouth, with whom he finished sixth in the Premier League this season.

Adi Hütter returns as coach of Eintracht Frankfurt. The 56-year-old Austrian is the successor to the recently departed Albert Riera. He signs a contract until the summer of 2029 with the club wbut he was also a trainer between 2018 and 2021.

“For me it is very special to be coach of Eintracht again,” Hütter said on the club website. “My previous period in Frankfurt left a big impression on me and has always stayed with me.Looking back, I always felt like I still had something to finish.”

Under Hütter the club achieved, among other things, the semi-finals of the Europa League and the semi-finals of the German Cup. After his years in Frankfurt, he became coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach and AS Monaco.

Frankfurt finished eighth in the Bundesliga last season and won not qualify for European football.

He was the absolute king of clean sheetsat a club that ended up in the right row. The question of where Sparta would have been without Joël Drommel is completely justified.

The 29-year-old goalkeeper looked back on the best season of his career with reporter Sander Kooijman and, after his successful rental period at Spangen, now dreams of a step towards one of Europe’s top competitions.

Almost immediately after his dismissal from Liverpool, Arne Slot was linked with a move to AC Milan. The Italian journalist reports this Sacha Tavolieri. Slot should become the successor to those who were dismissed Massimiliano Allegri, who remarkably enough makes the switch to Napoli. The Italian top club finished fifth in Serie A this season and missed out on a ticket for the Champions League on the final day of the competition.

Liverpool has Andoni Iraola in view as successor to the dismissed Arne Slot. That reports The Athletic. The Basque coach finished sixth this season with Bournemouth, with which he secured a Europa League ticket. Iraola is labeled as the absolute top target of The Reds.

80 million euros. That is what FC Barcelona is willing to give for Anthony Gordon. The deal is done and so the Spanish champion can prepare for the arrival of a player who grew up as a Liverpool fan at Everton, flourished at Newcastle United and is committed to off the field chess and boxing.

Skye Vink will most likely continue his career at Cambuur. The 19 year old attacker of Jong Ajax will sign a multi-year contract in Leeuwarden as soon as the clubs agree on the terms of a sale.

It is expected that the negotiations will be concluded soon. Ajax focuses, among other things, on: a buyback clause for Vink, who will be stuck in Amsterdam for another two years.

The son of former Ajax player and ESPN analyst Marciano Ajax has little prospect of a breakthrough in the main squad. Last season, Vink was accurate for the reserves 6 times in 30 matches. Earlier this week, Lucas Jetten transferred to Cambuur on a free transfer, which will play in the Premier League again next season and will be coached there by Johan Plat.

NAC Breda has said goodbye to Clint Leemans. The club relegated to the first division has decided the contract of the defender cannot be extended.

“As management, we have put all our energy into selecting the staff in recent weeks,” says technical director Peter Maas on the NAC website. “After we weighed Clint’s situation from all sides, we immediately informed him. However annoying it is for both Clint and us.”

Leemans played 32 games for NAC last season.

Arjen Robben will be in charge of the FC Groningen team for players under nineteen years old next season. The former top footballer was coach of FC Groningen Under 14 last year.

The 42-year-old Robben made his professional debut at FC Groningen and also ended his career there. He also played football for PSV, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and wore the shirt of the Dutch national team 96 times.

The next outgoing top transfer appears to be imminent at RKC. Tim van der Leij enjoys quite a bit of interest and now even the sub-top of the Bundesliga is on the horizon. According to German sources, VfB Stuttgart has the best credentials to acquire the 20-year-old striker from Brakel.

Jesse van de Haar seems to be on his way to RKC, the club where he is father Hans van de Haar was active as a player for two seasons in the past. The 21-year-old striker is still under contract FC Utrechtbut can reportedly continue his career in Waalwijk.

Nick Viergever leaves FC Utrecht. The 36-year-old captain has an expiring contract and the club does not want to extend the central defender’s contract.

“I have had four wonderful years here,” Viergever said in an interview on the FC Utrecht website. The defender has played for Utrecht since 2022 and previously played for Sparta Rotterdam, AZ, Ajax, PSV and Greuther Fürth.

Viergever, who still wants to continue his career, played three times for the Dutch national team.

Barcelona’s interest in Atlético Madrid striker Julian Alvarez is becoming more and more serious. According to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Catalan team has made an official offer of 100 million euros. Atlético is not happy with the way things are going, but Álvarez seems to be emphatically pushing for a departure.

Tottenham Hotspur will strengthen themselves with two defenders on a free transfer. Marcos Senesi (29) comes over from Bournemouth, who finished sixth with Bournemouth this season. Scottish left back Andy Robertson (32) comes from Liverpool, where he played for the past nine years.

Tottenham Hotspur finished 17th in the Premier League for the past two seasons. Under Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, Spurs only played safe on the final day of the competition.

Massimiliano Allegri is the new coach of Napoli. This is reported by transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The 58-year-old trainer switched quickly, because it’s over On Monday he was fired from AC Milan. Allegri finished in fifth place with his team, narrowly missing out on a Champions League ticket.

Napoli spoke with Allegri on Thursday morning. The Italian was interested in a two-year commitment. He goes to Napoli working with Sam Beukema and Noa Langwho is back from a loan spell at Galatasaray.

The Japanese Nikki Havenaar will play for the Belgian team Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. The 31-year-old Havenaar, son of the Dutch trainer Dido Havenaar, comes over from Austrian SV Ried.

Nikki is the younger brother of the now stopped Mike Havenaarwho made waves between 2012 and 2017 with many goals at Vitesse and ADO Den Haag.

Henk Veldmate leaves FC Groningen. The scout, known as the discoverer of the Uruguayan striker Luis Suárezhas not agreed with the club management on a new contract.

“I have indicated that I would like to continue working, but with a reduced scope and content,” the 69-year-old Veldmate responds on the FC Groningen website. “I want to make more time available for my private life. It was not possible to reach an agreement on this – which is possible if you have conversations with each other – and I ultimately took the decision not to renew my contract with the club.”

In addition to Suárez, Veldmate also signed players such as Virgil van DijkErik Nevland, Marcus Berg, Tim Matavz, Dusan Tadic and Filip Kostic to FC Groningen.

Ajax took over Veldmate from FC Groningen in 2016. Seven years later he returned to the northerners.

Finn Stam continues to play football at Willem II. The Tilburg team, who have been promoted to the Premier League, will permanently take over the 23-year-old defender from AZ. Stam already played on a rental basis for Willem II last season, which has now included the option to purchase in the contract.

Stam, who signs a three-year contract, comes from the AZ youth academy and was part of the team that won the Youth League. AZ previously rented Stam to FC Groningen.

“We are still enjoying the promotion and I look forward to playing with the club at the highest level,” Stam said on the Willem II website.