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  It's that time of year when many English people jet off to Spain for sun, sand and sangria. Marcus Rashford has done the same, though in fairness to the Manchester United forward his trip is more related to work than pleasure as he finalises a loan move to Barcelona. Rashford as the New Gary Lineker? It was a bit strange to see Marcus Rashford in an Aston Villa kit last season. The 27-year-old felt at one time as though he would be a Man Utd lifer, having come through the academy and starred at Old Trafford since Louis van Gaal gave him his debut back in 2016. However, after falling out of favour with Ruben Amorim last season, Rashford moved to Villa Park on loan to ensure he could get some minutes. His form in the Midlands earned him a place in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad in March. With a World Cup next summer, it's important that he plays more regularly in 2025-26. Though Villa chose not to keep Rashford despite four goals and five assists in 17 games, an u...

  Trusting and developing youth players could be seen by many football fans as one of the most virtuous, pride-evoking and exciting aspects of the sport in the modern era. In an age of sportswashing, petrodollars and multi-club ownership, seeing young players progress through academies and into first-team squads brings an almost forgotten sense of tradition to the beautiful game. Differences Across Europe Analysis of Europe's top 10 leagues (the big five plus the top tiers in Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Turkey and Czech Republic) reveals significant differences in approaches to young talent. Turkish Süper Lig occupies the lowest position with an average of only 5.6% of minutes played by players under 22 during the 17 analyzed seasons. The lowest recorded proportion in a single season was 2.7%. This isn't surprising, as the Turkish league has long been attractive to experienced players at the end of their careers. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Dutch Eredivis...

  Borussia Dortmund v Barcelona (aggregate score: 0-4) April 15, 2025 History could be written tonight under the floodlights of the legendary Signal Iduna Park. The Yellow and Black wall of Borussia Dortmund fans will witness an attempt at something that has succeeded only once in 160 previous cases - overturning a four-goal deficit from the first leg. Paradoxically, tonight's opponent, Barcelona, is the only team that has achieved such a comeback - in 2017 against PSG, winning 6-1 after losing 0-4. Can Dortmund return the favor to the Catalans? The numbers don't bode well for Borussia. They have historically never managed to defeat Barcelona in European competitions. In six mutual matches, they have only two draws and four losses. If they don't win today, they will equal their longest winless streak against a single opponent in Europe - seven matches against Scottish Rangers between 1966 and 1999. "We believe in the impossible," Borussia captain Marco Reus ra...

  Barcelona v Borussia Dortmund April 9th, 2025 The second Wednesday quarter-final clash of the Champions League will offer a battle between the Catalan giant and last season's German finalist. Borussia Dortmund has never managed to defeat FC Barcelona in history - in five mutual duels, the yellow and blacks have earned only two draws and lost three times, including a 2-3 defeat in the group stage of the current season. Barcelona has a longer unbeaten streak only against Lyon (8 matches), Napoli, and Werder Bremen (both 6 matches). For Dortmund, Barcelona is not the only Spanish club against which they struggle long-term. Only against two opponents have they recorded a longer series without victory than against Barcelona (5 matches) - against Real Madrid (6, in 2024) and against Rangers (7, in 1999). A true nightmare for Borussia stands on the home bench. Coach Hansi Flick, during his tenure at Bayern Munich and now at Barcelona, has won all six mutual matches against BVB, whi...