Tottenham agree £4.3m deal to sign Kevin Wimmer from FC Köln

 

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a €6m (£4.3m) deal with FC Köln to sign the central defender Kevin Wimmer in the summer.

The club are determined to build for the longer term and over the duration of the manager Mauricio Pochettino’s five-year contract. In January, he oversaw the signings of DeAndre Yedlin, the 21-year-old right-back from the Seattle Sounders, and Dele Alli, the 18-year-old midfielder from MK Dons. Alli has been loaned back to the Dons for the remainder of the season.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season at the German club, starting in 24 of their 25 Bundesliga matches, and he has impressed Tottenham with his composure, physicality and aerial ability.

Wimmer, who is 6ft 2in tall, moved to FC Köln from Linz in his native Austria for €250,000 in 2012. He fits the profile of the type of player that Tottenham want to add, as he is young, talented and hungry to progress.

Read More @ The Gaurdian

It’s official: All-Pro DeMarco Murray to join Eagles

 

DeMarco Murray got the money and opportunity he wanted from his former team’s biggest rival.

The All-Pro running back agreed Thursday to a five-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Murray’s deal was valued at $42 million, with $21 million guaranteed, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because terms weren’t disclosed.

Murray helped the Cowboys win the NFC East title last season while rushing for a franchise-record 1,845 yards. He broke the Dallas record held by NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith and also set a league mark with eight straight 100-yard games to start the season.

Murray will replace two-time All-Pro LeSean McCoy, the NFL’s rushing leader in 2013. Kelly traded McCoy to Buffalo last week in a flurry of stunning moves.

Read More @YahooSports

Lebron’s Chase Down Block Leads to Mozgov’s Strong Putback

Lebron gets the nasty block off the glass, which leads to a fastbreak which is cemented by a Timofey Mozgov putback dunk

 

Barcelona 6 -1 Rayo Vallecano

Lionel Messi scored the 24th hat-trick of his La Liga career as rampant Barcelona went to the top of the table.

Messi now has 30 league goals, the same total as Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, whose tally of 23 La Liga hat-tricks now trails Messi by one.

The 27-year-old Argentine, now also holds the record as the most prolific hat-trick scorer in Spanish football, with his 32 in all competitions eclipsing the total he previously shared with Telmo Zarra, who played most of his football for Athletic Bilbao from 1940-55.

Read More @ bbc.com

India Looks Unsinkable After West Indies Win

The Indian skipper guided his team past a potential disaster to a fourth straight victory in the World Cup on Friday

While the Friday match wasn’t on the same nail-biting level as the one between New Zealand and Australia, there were moments when Indian supporters had to ask why their hearts had suddenly appeared in their mouths.

As India’s team looked in danger of drowning, Dhoni came in, buoyed it up and sailed it home.

OK, enough of this Titanic metaphor. Spoiler alert, Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t bat.

The performance wasn’t as emphatic or as meaningful as Dhoni’s innings that won India the World Cup in 2011, but it ensured the team’s unbeaten record continued. It also proved India’s strength in depth.

If anyone underestimated The Men in Blue before this tournament, they should sit up and take notice. This is the form team of the World Cup so far.

It is good for India that this match wasn’t a simple walkover. The team needed a challenge, a tight contest before the serious business of the knockout round commences.

The bowlers, led by Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami, provide hope that India’s attack really can compete in the fields of Australia and New Zealand. And while the top batsmen didn’t fire today, it gave the middle order invaluable time at the crease.

India has now beaten the three biggest teams in the group – South Africa, Pakistan and the West Indies – with relative ease.

India has now qualified for the next phase of this World Cup. The form suggests it could go all the way.

 

Read more @wsj.com