Barcelona has rejected Manchester United"s offer for Franck De Jong.

"Barcelona have rejected Manchester United"s £42.9 million ($75.1 billion) bid for Frankie de Jong," the Manchester Evening News reported on Wednesday (ET).

De Jong joined Barcelona in 2019 after breaking out at Ajax alongside De Ligt, Vanderbeek, Tadic and Jijic. He became a regular in his debut season and developed into an indispensable part of the core midfield.

After the 2021/22 season, the club considered selling him to another club, but he showed tremendous loyalty and declared his intention to stay. He eventually stayed and had a career-best season in 2022/23, which he called a career high, after moving to Barcelona.

 

He was upset by the Man Utd transfer saga, but he did what he had to do to silence the rumors and became a Barcelona fan favorite for his loyalty.

Now, United are after De Jong again. On August 8, British media outlet Goal.com reported that "United have approached Barcelona for De Jong, and the Red Devils are now looking to seal a deal in the region of £30 million to £40 million, with a transfer fee in the region of £524 million. The transfer rumors were met with negative reactions from fans who saw them, including "52 billion? Are they arguing?" and "It"s that time of year again," the report said.

 

United"s efforts to bolster the midfield this summer didn"t go as planned. Paris Saint-Germain has pre-empted Joao Neves, Manuel Ugarte is being held up by a outlookindiatoto transfer fee difference, and Real Sociedad"s Martin Subiemendi is headed to Liverpool. United still admire De Jong, but Barcelona are unwilling to let him go.

 

According to the media, Barcelona immediately rejected United"s offer. Given Barcelona"s financial problems, United would have to be prepared to pay a larger transfer fee to sway Barcelona"s mind.

 

Meanwhile, De Jong has yet to re-sign with Barcelona. According to Sport, FC Barcelona, through sporting director Decou, offered him a contract extension for at least three more years.

 

Nevertheless, De Jong loves Barcelona. "I still have a long way to go, but I want to become the Dutch player with the most appearances in Barcelona"s history, and I want to play many more years at Barça," De Jong said, showing his immense loyalty.

 What style does Son Heung-min want the next South Korea coach to have?

After the sacking of Jürgen Klinsmann, the national team went through a period of turmoil. The team was unable to find a replacement quickly enough, and the March A match was played under interim coach Hwang Sun-hong. Jesse Marchi, Jesús Casas, and other candidates were mentioned, but by the June A-Match, the team still hadn"t named a permanent coach. This time, Kim Do-hoon stepped in as interim coach.

The result was a third-place finish in the Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Canada-Mexico-USA (North and Central America). Now that the fire has been extinguished, the national team is back to the drawing board. A power-building committee has been convened and the process of selecting a new coach has begun again.

There is still mistrust. There are those who are unhappy with everything that the KFA has done, starting with the suspicion that they have a specific coach in mind. The only way to reverse the situation is to go through a proper process, give a clear direction, appoint a coach, and do a good job.

 

The committee can take a cue from Son Heung-min"s post-match interview with China. In the press conference, Son said, "I think active soccer is definitely a basic virtue. We need to think about the direction Korean soccer should go in the future. We can"t exactly compare with our club team, but we need to learn from the direction and system of the club team. The most important thing is to figure out what kind of soccer we should sportstoto.link play and what kind of soccer we are good at. We have a lot of good players. I think it"s important to choose the right and safe path, even if it takes time."

 

In an interview with Mixzone, he laughed about the new coach, saying, "I think he has to be a world-class coach to get the kind of coach our players want. It makes sense because there are many people in the national team who have experienced the best training and coaching systems in Europe. However, it is very difficult to bring such a coach to Korea.

 

 

"Obviously, I think we need to bring in a good coach for Korean soccer to develop, and I don"t think that"s something that we players talk about, but I think the federation needs to bring in a coach that fits the direction that Korean soccer wants to go. It"s taking quite a bit of time now, and I think it will be helpful if you give it time. It will be good for the players, it will be good for the fans, and it will be good for Korean soccer."

 

"In the second round of the World Cup, we played against lesser teams, but in the third round, we have to fight harder against more competitive teams. For the present and for the future, the coach must come and set the direction, select the players, and run the game accordingly. Taking Son Heung-min"s words as a reference, the Power Enhancement Committee and the Korea Football Association should make careful and sober judgments "for the sake of Korean soccer.

 

FC Barcelona central defender Ronald Araujo"s next destination is in flux.

Araujo is one of the targets that the cash-strapped club must sell for a big sum. His contract ends in June 2026, but he has been rumored to be on the move since the summer of 2022.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and other clubs with deep pockets have all been linked with a move. The Uruguayan has been a central part of Barcelona"s defense and has been an indispensable resource.

More recently, Munich have been linked with a move. With frequent injuries to Matthijs de Ligt and Dayo Upamecano causing defensive insecurity, Kim Min-Jae worked like a slave until mid-season, when winter signing Eric Dier became Thomas Tuchel"s protégé with little movement at the back.

There is even talk that Kim could be pushed aside if Araujo is brought in next season. There are even calls for him to leave the club.

However, United are in more urgent need than Munich. Raphael Varane has been confirmed to leave the club as a free agent. Jonny Evans is also out. Victor Lindelof has been ruled out for the season due to injury and could be on his way out. Harry Maguire"s future is also uncertain.

 

That"s why we can expect a complete shake-up in the starting lineup. Araujo could be a good option. Everton"s Jarrod Brannthwaite has emerged as a top sportstoto.link priority. United are reportedly willing to consider Araujo if they get both.

Barcelona"s position is that he should be paid at least €50 million. Araujo reportedly froze his salary in 2022 during Barcelona"s financial crisis with the promise of a future increase. Barcelona also promised to honor the deal, which deepened trust.

However, the promise was never fulfilled and Araujo was furious and decided to leave the club. With Manchester United and Munich being the most likely suitors for Araujo, who could easily command a higher salary, there will be an interesting battle for his signature.

 

Of course, it will also depend on how much Barcelona"s previous €80 million buyout clause changes. Araujo hasn"t played more than 30 league games since the 2021-22 season. He would need to play 40 games, including the Champions League (UCL), to meet the criteria of either Munich or United, so there will be some negotiations.

An evenly matched performance.

The Doosan Bears won 5-2 at home against the LG Twins in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League on Wednesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The win snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Bears" lineup consisted of Jeong Soo-bin (center fielder), Heo Kyung-min (third baseman), Yang Ji-hyun (catcher), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Park Joon-young (shortstop), Kim Dae-hwan (right fielder), and Cho Su-hyung (left fielder). The starting pitcher was substitute Kad Lee.

 

Lee Young-ha allowed one run on four hits and five walks with four strikeouts in 3? innings. Kim Ho-joon pitched ? scoreless innings, Kim Myung-shin pitched one scoreless inning, Lee Byung-heon pitched one scoreless inning, Park Chi-guk pitched one scoreless inning, Choi Ji-gang and Hong Gun-hee pitched one scoreless inning each, and Kim Taek-yeon and Jung Chul-won pitched one scoreless inning each. The bullpen shared the load and set the stage for the victory.

Kim Ho-joon earned his first win in his professional debut. Rookie pitcher Kim Taek-yeon earned his first career hold. In addition, Kim Myung-shin picked up his second hold of the season and Jeong Chul-won added his sixth save.

 

At the plate, Kang Seung-ho went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, Yang Seok-hwan went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Yang Ji-hyun went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Yang"s resurgence was notable. He was hitting just .164 in 18 games prior to today, but he bounced back nicely with two doubles.

 

After the game, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, "From starter Lee Young-ha to closer Chung Chul-won, all nine pitchers did their part by minimizing runs in nine innings. Congratulations to Kim Ho-joon for his debut win and Kim Taek-yeon for his debut hold," Lee smiled.

 

"At the plate, Kang Seung-ho was a workhorse, getting valuable hits at key moments. Captain Yang Seok-hwan also did a good job with two doubles," he said, "and I would also like to commend Yang Ji for his multi-hit performance and Cho Su-hyung for his "hustle-doo" defense."

 

"The fans who filled the stadium made today"s victory possible. We will always be grateful to them." At 2:57 p.m., more than two hours before the start sportstoto.link of the game, all 23,750 seats at Jamsil Baseball Stadium were sold. It was Doosan"s fifth sellout of the season.

The players responded with their performance. In the bottom of the third inning, Cho Su-hyun singled to center field. Jung Soo-bin followed with a bunt single in front of the catcher, advancing to second and being thrown out trying to steal third. After a walk to Heo Kyung-min put runners on first and second, Yang Ji-hyun hit a single to center field. The score was 1-0. The lead was safe.

 

After Kim Jae-hwan struck out swinging, Kang Seung-ho followed with an RBI single to center. The score was 2-0.

 

Doosan scored a run in the top of the fourth inning. After Park Dong-won grounded out to second base on a wild pitch by Kang Seung-ho, Moon Sung-joo and Shin Min-jae followed with back-to-back straight balls. With runners on first and second, Doosan replaced the pitcher with Kim Ho-joon. Hong Chang-ki singled up the middle to center field, giving Doosan a 2-1 lead. Kim retired Park Hae-min on a fly ball to right field and Kim Hyun-soo on a fly ball to center field to tie the game.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the offense added another run. Park Kye-beom drew a walk and Yang Ji-hyun singled to right-center to put runners on first and third. After Kim Jae-hwan struck out looking, LG switched pitchers from Choi Won-tae to Kim Jin-seong. Kang Seung-ho singled to left and Yang Seok-hwan followed with a two-run double to left, giving Doosan a 5-1 lead.

In the top of the seventh, Austin Dean took Park"s second pitch, a 120-kilometer/h curveball, over the left-field fence. It was a 120-meter solo home run. The score was 5-2.

 

Doosan defended the score for the rest of the inning. They joined hands with the goddess of victory.

Finally, a new coach at the helm.

"AC Milan are considering appointing Antonio Conte to replace Stefano Pioli next season," according to Italian outlet Sport Italia on Friday.

Conte took over from Nuno Espirito Santo at Tottenham Hotspur during the 2021-22 season. Nuno was quickly sacked due to poor results, and Conte immediately rebuilt the team. The team finished fourth in the Premier League that season and dramatically qualified for the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Son also became the league"s joint top scorer with Mohamed Salah.

 

Tottenham and Conte then envisioned a rosy future, but it wasn"t to be. Tottenham struggled throughout last season and eventually fired Conte mid-season. Shortly before his dismissal, Conte gave an interview in which he criticized the Spurs squad and hierarchy, and Spurs fans turned against him.

Conte has been without a job ever since. Last year, Conte was linked to the Napoli job, but he dismissed the rumors himself.

Now, he"s being rumored to take over at AC Milan. At the helm of AC Milan, Pioli made history in the 2021-22 season, leading the team to the Italian Serie A title. However, not only did AC Milan crash out of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage this season, but they"re also in third place in Serie A, nine points behind leaders Inter Milan. As a result, it"s likely that AC Milan ????? will part ways with Pioli following this season"s struggles. Naturally, they"re eyeing Conte.

 

But here"s the thing: if Conte were to take over at AC Milan, he"d likely be the first coach to turn his back on Tottenham fans. Conte was in charge of Inter Milan for two years, starting in 2019. He won the league title in 2020-21, so it"s no surprise that Inter Milan fans would be furious if Conte were to take over at their bitter rivals.