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DeutschMidfield priority rules out move to Real Madrid – ‘It would be foolish’
Real Madrid will look to address the engine room of their side this summer, making a move to improve their midfield two seasons after the arrival of Jude Bellingham, and more crucially, after the exits of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. Los Blancos have struggled to adapt without their long-time controllers in the middle of the pitch, but it seems that the insistence on Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde as partners for Aurelien Tchouameni has ended.
Reportedly, Xabi Alonso had requested an addition in the middle of the pitch last summer, as had Carlo Ancelotti the year before. Real Madrid were confident they could make it work with their current options, but after watching three managers, including Alvaro Arbeloa, unable to find the solution, it seems they will act this summer.
Vitinha rules out Real Madrid move
The dream signing in the position as it has been termed, is Paris Saint-Germain star Vitinha. Although there was an acknowledgement that any deal would be complicated, the Portugal international remained top of their shortlist. However he has now ruled out a move to the Spanish capital.
Image via Fichajes
“It would be foolish to leave. I don’t think it would be the best thing for me. I feel great here at PSG! I feel like people really appreciate me, and I’ve earned that affection. I love being here; my family does too. The group is fantastic, and the coach is incredible,” he told Canal 11, as quoted by Diario AS.
Real Madrid’s alternatives for midfield
That would appear to rule out any pursuit of Vitinha, as the first step would have been him pushing for a move. Other names mentioned are Kees Smit, whose price tag is a concern at the Bernabeu, or Adam Wharton, for whom interest appears to have faded. The economic alternative is Chema Andres, who left Castilla last summer, but has impressed at Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.
No surprise that this is where Notre Dame basketball is at with one game to go
SOUTH BEND – You could see this coming.
It was there on the horizon and getting closer out the front window as the days and the games ticked by. As January and its 65 days unfolded with so few wins and too many losses, you could see this coming. As February arrived and Notre Dame basketball still seemed stuck in neutral in Atlantic Coast Conference play, you could see this coming.
It was bound to be this.
One game. One final conference game. One game to decide whether Notre Dame goes home for the rest of the month or goes on to Charlotte as the 15th and final team in the conference tournament. That’s where this season hangs for this Irish basketball team.
Even then, even if Notre Dame does something that it hasn’t done since the first game of league play in late December– win away from home - there’s no guarantee that it will get to Charlotte. That’s where we are. That’s where this Notre Dame basketball team is.
The Irish are here because they couldn’t do something that they’ve been unable to do all season. League play. Non-league play. It doesn’t matter. Slide even a sliver of success in front of this program, turn on the feel-good vibes and it turns its back on the slight chance that it might turn one win into two, turn opportunity into something more than something missed.
Here we are again with Notre Dame, which did little right all night in a game against Stanford that it trailed for nearly 30 minutes. It couldn’t build off an impressive overtime win over North Carolina State, a win that left everyone around the Irish program feeling good and feeling something they haven’t felt much of in the last three seasons under head coach Micah Shrewsberry.
That would be optimistic. That the Irish had found something. That better days were imminent. That that one league win might morph into two in a row. Maybe three. That this season of struggles was finally in the rearview.
Instead, on an unseasonably warm, drizzly night outside, inside a cold, drafty, and empty Purcell Pavilion, it was more of the lethargic/lackluster same from this program, from this roster that, for whatever reasons, prefers to play Peter Pan.
As in, they refuse to grow up. They prefer to stay forever young. In this league, that means forever bad.
Unable to take a step toward Charlotte, Notre Dame (13-17; 4-13 ACC) finds itself forced to go to Boston College this weekend and win. Win, and then hop back on the charter, head back home, and pray as they’ve never prayed before that Syracuse beats Pittsburgh later that afternoon in whatever the Carrier Dome is now called.
Syracuse does that, and Notre Dame extends its season, if only for a few days. Syracuse doesn’t do that, and Notre Dame, for the first time since conference affiliation began in 1995-96, will be forced to watch the league tournament from home.
As painful as it was to watch Notre Dame drift through this one, where the Irish allowed Stanford to get comfortable from 3 (.522 percent), get comfortable at the rim (34 points in the paint), and play with a nice pace, it was more excruciating to sit through the post-game presser of Stanford coach Kyle Smith.
Smith talked of how the Cardinal refused to be all happy and high about beating SMU late last week in Northern California. It was a big win. It was a statement win. From the head coach to freshman sensation Ebuka Okorie (game-high 24 points) right down the team text chain, the Cardinal talked of handling success, talked of building on that success, talked of not being satisfied with success.
In other words, doing everything that this Notre Dame program still cannot do.
What traits does a team that can handle success own? Smith rattled off four, each one cutting a bit deeper if you follow/believe in Irish basketball. He talked of culture. He talked of attitude. He talked of pride. He talked of work ethic.
“We’ve got a pretty special group,” Smith said.
Notre Dame is still woefully deficient in all. Culture? Attitude? Work ethic? Pride? All of that’s a foreign language around this Irish program that will go a full calendar year without winning consecutive league games. How is Notre Dame ever going to go and win double-digit games in the ACC when the best it can do is one in a row? A question/concern for another day.
On a night when we needed culture and attitude, work ethic and pride, what did Notre Dame offer?
“I thought our focus sucked. I thought our discipline sucked. I thought our awareness sucked,” Shrewsberry said. “When your back’s against the wall, you gotta come out and better than that.”
Instead ...
“You get what you deserve,” Shrewsberry said.
Why?
“I don’t know,” Shrewsberry said. “I’ve tried a bunch of different things. At some point in time, it shouldn’t matter what happened the game before. We won a game and we’ll take our foot completely off the gas. You can’t. If you want to be a good team, you’ve got to be more mature.”
As bad as it all felt stepping back out into the soft rain early Thursday morning, a sliver of optimism remains. Win and Notre Dame just might see Charlotte. It might get in as the No. 15 seed. It might have a trick or two up its shooting sleeve. Why Notre Dame? Why not Notre Dame?
Before answering those questions, let’s ask a third: given how this season has gone, given how this week has gone, given what’s required this weekend in Boston.
Do you trust Notre Dame?
To compete, to deliver, to win.
Thought so.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame basketball needs help to get to Charlotte for ACC tournament
Ex-Juventus player: Boos against Bastoni are ‘ridiculous’
Former Juventus winger Massimo Mauro feels that boos against Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni are ‘ridiculous’ as even if the Italian centre-back made a mistake, he ‘can’t pay for the rest of his life.’
Inter defender Bastoni remains a target of fans across Italy after an incident in February that led to a red card for Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu.
Bastoni not only deceived the referee by going down too easily to earn his opponent a red card, but also celebrated when the referee gave Kalulu his marching orders.
Bastoni ‘can’t pay for the rest of his life’ after Inter vs. Juventus
Bastoni was greeted with boos at the following away games at Lecce and Como, but ex-Juventus winger Mauro feels the reactions have been excessive, especially since the incident happened almost a month ago.
“The fact that Bastoni gets booed everywhere is a bit ridiculous. At this point, you’d have to boo 60-70% of footballers,” Mauro told Gazzetta.
“Right now, I can’t take the boos against him seriously.”
Mauro concedes that Bastoni made a mistake, but this doesn’t justify the angry reaction from fans in Italy.
“The issue got blown out of proportion because Kalulu was sent off. Then Bastoni celebrated, and you shouldn’t do that, of course, but you can’t pay for it for the rest of your life either. That’s ridiculous,” insisted Mauro.
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 14: Pierre Kalulu of Juventus reacts as he walks off after being sent off by Referee Federico La Penna (not pictured) for a second yellow card offence during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
“I still maintain that the real mistake was not immediately admitting that a serious error had been made. I’m referring to Chivu’s words in the post-match interview. I used to admire Chivu as a coach and communicator because, from the beginning, he tried to take a different approach to what happens on the pitch. He tried to be sporting even when the refereeing decisions went against him, but in the Bastoni incident, he didn’t manage to do so. I was disappointed when I heard him say that the problem was Kalulu putting his hands on his player.”
The problem, according to Mauro, is not solely with Bastoni’s simulation against Juventus, but with the attitude of the majority of Serie A players, as the ex-winger sees more divers than in the past.
“Much more than before. In the past, it was done to try to win a penalty,” he concluded.
“Now players simulate for everything. And because any contact can look like a foul on video review. Players know this, so it almost becomes instinctive for them to try it. Of course, it’d be condemnable, but when you play, your thinking isn’t clear.”
Manchester United target Julian Ryerson can leave Borussia Dortmund
Following Borussia Dortmund’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League, it could leave the Black-Yellows with a shortfall of up to €27m, according to Bild, who add that Julian Ryerson would be allowed to leave the club for a reported €30m.
The Norwegian has been in excellent form this campaign with 14 assists in 32 games across all competitions, which has attracted interest from Manchester United, Newcastle United and Barcelona.
Only Bayern Munich stars Michael Olise (18) and Luis Diaz (13) have more Bundesliga assists than Ryerson (11) this term. The 28-year-old’s four assists against Mainz in February is only the fourth time a player has done so since detailed data collection began in 2004/05.
Additionally, Bild further report that Nico Schlotterbeck, Serhou Guirassy and Felix Nmecha are also candidates to leave, should they receive a suitable offer, as Sebastian Kehl and Lars Ricken look to overhaul the squad ahead of next season, with Kauã Prates and Justin Lerma, both 17, joining Die Schwarzgelben in the summer.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder