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Français (Afrique)Roma prepare summer revolution with 3 key signings
The defeat against Inter marked a radical turning point for Roma and its Friedkin ownership.
It marked the end of an era of compromise and the beginning of a revolution, with Gian Piero Gasperini placed at the center of the new Giallorossi project.
After years of upheavals and dismissals, the ownership has decided to change perspective, shifting the burden of responsibility onto a team deemed inadequate.
This Roma, as it is built, is not competitive. To escape the morass of fifth and sixth place, a decisive, profound, and structural breakthrough is needed.
To implement this ambitious plan, however, Roma will have to overcome a fundamental obstacle: Financial Fair Play.
A significant capital gain must be completed by June 30, a “painful sacrifice” that will allow the club to finalize the settlement agreement with UEFA and unlock the summer transfer window.
This step will be crucial to achieving the financial freedom needed to make the signings Gasperini has requested.
As Corriere dello Sport reports, once this phase is completed, the Giallorossi management will focus on three specific players Gasperini has requested to strengthen the squad.
The coach has identified the need for a high-quality left-sided attacker, a natural left-back to allow Wesley to return to the right flank, and a quality attacking midfielder capable of linking the lines and bringing greater fluidity to the attacking play.
Karim Coulibaly: Werder set price for defensive gem amid United interest
Manchester United have officially extended Harry Maguire’s contract following his outstanding performances under Michael Carrick.
Maguire’s previous deal was due to expire at the end of the season. By handing him a new one-year contract, with the additional option of a further 12 months, United have certainly avoided a desperate need to strengthen their backline in the window, where their priority is to overhaul the midfield.
However, the club’s recruitment team appear to still be exploring the market for a defensive player with high potential, which has become a trend under the INEOS ownership.
Manchester United set their sights on Karim Coulibaly
According to Sky Deutschland, Manchester United are among the clubs to have sent scouts to watch Werder Bremen’s Karim Coulibaly.
The “incredibly fast” Germany U21 international has enjoyed a meteoric rise at the Bundesliga club, having only been promoted to their first team at the start of the season. He now has 22 league appearances under his belt.
The left-footed centre-back is a unicorn profile of sorts, possessing an imposing 6’3″ frame, explosive pace, and an exceptional level of composure with the ball at his feet.
Accordingly, Europe’s biggest clubs, including United, are chasing the 18-year-old defender. Chelsea are ahead of other suitors as they have already made contact with his representatives.
It is claimed that “a Coulibaly transfer this summer is 100 percent planned.”
Werder are seemingly resigned to losing their defensive jewel, but their managing director Clemens Fritz wants €40-50m (£34.8-43.5m) to sanction the youngster’s exit.
Manchester United want Leny Yoro to be more aggressive
United are no strangers to paying staggering fees to secure the services of inexperienced but insanely talented prospects. In 2024, they signed Leny Yoro from Lille in a deal worth more than £50m.
Yoro has shown glimpses of promise, but the Frenchman is yet to establish himself as a regular starter at Old Trafford.
Recently, The Peoples Person relayed a report claiming the coaches at Carrington want Yoro to work on the aggressive side of his game.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
NBA champion Thunder clinch Western Conference top seed
The Oklahoma City Thunder secured the Western Conference top seed and best record in the NBA with a 128-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Center Chet Holmgren poured in 30 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, and NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists for the reigning champion Thunder, who notched a seventh straight victory to improve to 64-16 with two games left in the regular season.
Oklahoma City snagged the West's top seed for the third year running, and with the best overall record they'll have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
"It's extremely important," said Holmgren, who added five assists, two steals and four blocked shots. "Just knowing that in the event of a game seven it's always going to be at home. We saw that in the playoffs last year twice, so it's extremely important.
"It's great to see that the hard work has paid off in one way, and now we've got more to do," Holmgren added.
OKC's win means the surging San Antonio Spurs are locked into the second seed in the West.
San Antonio cruised past the Portland Trail Blazers 112-101 despite the absence of superstar Victor Wembanyama -- who sat out with a bruised rib -- and Stephon Castle.
De'Aaron Fox scored 25 points to lead a balanced Spurs attack. Keldon Johnson scored 20 points off the bench and rookie reserve Carter Bryant contributed 17.
The Denver Nuggets tightened their grip on third place in the West, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 136-119 behind a triple-double of 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists from Nikola Jokic.
Three-time MVP Jokic posted his 34th triple-double of the season, the 198th of his career, to help Denver win their 10th straight -- their first double-digit win streak of his tenure.
Jamal Murray scored 26 points to lead eight Nuggets players to score in double figures as Denver edged further ahead of the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers for the third seed.
Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit welcomed star guard Cade Cunningham back to action with a 137-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Cunningham, who had missed 11 games with a collapsed lung, scored 13 points and handed out 10 assists in just under 26 minutes on court.
Jalen Duren scored 21 points to lead the Pistons, who had seven players score in double figures.
The Pistons have locked up the top seed and home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the return of Cunningham and teammate Isaiah Stewart, sidelined since March 13 with a calf strain, was a welcome opportunity to build their fitness before the playoffs start on April 18.
"There is no way to replicate NBA basketball," Bickerstaff said.
- Cavs hold off Hawks -
In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Evan Mobley added 22 points and 19 rebounds and James Harden chipped in 21 points as the Cavaliers held off the Atlanta Hawks 122-116, denying the Hawks' bid to clinch a playoff berth.
The Cavs, who notched a fourth straight win, are assured of a top-four seed in the East and are chasing the New York Knicks for third.
The Hawks are fifth in the East, but they are just half a game ahead of sixth-placed Toronto and could still slip into the play-in tournament that will see the seventh- through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff spots.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 off the bench for Atlanta, who cut an 18-point fourth quarter deficit to two but could get no closer.
The Orlando Magic kept their hopes of escaping the play-in alive with a fourth straight win, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 132-120.
bb/lga
Otherworldly McDavid helps Oilers bolster lead in Pacific Division
Total command. Absolute control.
We could be talking about Connor McDavid’s five-point night in a 5-2 win at San Jose. Or perhaps it was an Edmonton Oilers power play that entered the game on a two-for-20 run, but scored on all three opportunities versus the Sharks.
Or we could be referencing Edmonton’s defensive play, surrendering just 14 Sharks shots on goal — including only four in the third period, when Tristan Jarry came on in relief of an injured Connor Ingram.
“Finding a way to get three on the power play should win a lot of nights,” offered McDavid, who notched his 15th career hat trick. “But everyone defended. We checked hard. They’ve got some special players over there, one in particular. So I thought we did a good job defending.”
It was a game that San Jose absolutely needed, using up one of their two games in hand while still trailing Nashville by three points for the final wild-card spot. And Edmonton played the night before in Utah, getting to their hotel rooms at around 1:30 a.m.
But it was the Oilers who were on point and detail-oriented. And it was McDavid not Macklin Celebrini (one goal) who brought the fans out of their seats in this one.
“I’ve grown to like back-to-backs a lot this year,” McDavid said. “There’s just something about them that I’ve been feeling really, really good in them. Feel on right away. And tonight, that was really the case.”
McDavid was otherworldly in this one, pulling six points clear of Nikita Kucherov in the chase for his sixth Art Ross Trophy. Ever since Leon Draisaitl went down he’s taken it upon himself to provide, and on this back-to-back he was in on seven of Edmonton’s 10 goals.
“He knows that our team needed to win, and also we’re playing a little shorthanded,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Who needs to pick us up? You know he’s going to be the guy.
“Every shift, he was really dialled in. Played extremely well. I’ve seen him play a lot of good games, and that was one of his best.”
With five points McDavid passed the great Bobby Clarke to move into 50th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list, with 1,215 points. Next up is Jeremy Roenick (1,216), Larry Murphy (1,217) and the esteemed Jean Beliveau (1,219).
He’s also got 47 goals, and needs a goal-per-game pace in Edmonton’s final three games to reach 50 for just the second time in his NHL career.
On a night this one, what goes through Evan Bouchard’s mind?
“Just get him the puck,” chuckled Bouchard, who was excellent at both ends of the rink after an off night against Utah.
The Oilers scored 10 goals in this back-to-back — minus injured snipers Draisaitl and Zach Hyman — and collected three of four points.
They are 5-1-2 in their last eight road games and 6-1-1 in their past eight overall, with three games left to play: Saturday in Los Angeles, and at home next week against Colorado and Vancouver.
Edmonton hasn’t won their division in the regular season since the 1986-87 season, the longest current drought in the entire NHL. Now, they’ve won two Stanley Cups in the interim and been a Cup finalist three other times, but Edmonton won their third Stanley Cup in the spring of 1987 — so that’s not nothing.
Uh oh…
Much to everyone’s surprise, Jarry took the Oilers’ net for the third period, after Ingram had stopped eight of the 10 shots he faced through 40 minutes.
Jarry had played the night before in Utah, surrendering all six goals in a 6-5 overtime loss. On Wednesday he gave the Oilers the saves they needed to close this one out, stopping all four shots he faced behind an Oilers defensive front that gave up virtually nothing to the Sharks.
As for Ingram, it sounds like he tweaked something. It was not bad enough, however, for the Oilers to have requested the EBUG in San Jose. Ingram served as the backup for the third period, skating out on the ice to stretch during TV timeouts.
“With about six minutes left, the last TV timeout in the second period, he felt a little discomfort,” Knoblauch said. “He got tested out in the training room (in the intermission), and then we felt it was best for him, and obviously our team, to not push it and make something worse.”
Edmonton has a day off in L.A. Thursday. The Bakersfield Condors are at home this weekend, so if Ingram is anywhere less than 100 per cent, we’d expect Calvin Pickard to drive down from Bako for Friday’s practice and to back up Jarry on Saturday versus the Kings.
OIL SPILLS — With two assists Evan Bouchard crested the 90-point plateau for the first time in his career, with 91. Paul Coffey (four times) is the only other Oilers D-man to reach 90 points in a season. He also joins Coffey as the only defencemen in franchise history to register 70 assists in a season, something Coffey did three times … Bouchard becomes only the 13th D-man in NHL history to score 90 points in a season … With 795 career games, Darnell Nurse ties Kelly Buchberger for the eighth spot in games played in franchise history (credit to X user 50Oilers).
