Seemingly a player that was always loved wherever he went, Peter Crouch will have been brought back down to earth by former Stoke team-mate, Bojan Krkic’s stinging rebuke.

The Spaniard played alongside Crouch in the Premier League and took a team in Stoke City that were arguably renowned as a long-ball outfit, to the heights of ninth position whilst playing some incredibly entertaining football.

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However, it was off the pitch where Krkic seemingly didn’t agree with the former England international suggesting he had a terrible taste in music in the dressing room.

? “Joining Stoke was a great decision. Probably the greatest fans of my career.”

? “I’m still in contact with a few players from my time there. It was a great club.”@BoKrkic reminisces on his time at ‘Stokealona’ & has a few words on @PeterCrouch’s dressing room anthems ? pic.twitter.com/dSKH7csUpn

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) May 10, 2023

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Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

Barcelona have been short on good news in recent years, but Camp Nou was euphoric last Sunday night when Franck Kessie bagged a 91st-minute winner to put them 12 points clear of Real Madrid. ‘El Presidente’ all but sentenced the La Liga title, after a Ronald Araujo own goal and Sergi Roberto equaliser in the first half. Despite their European failures, all will be forgiven for Xavi Hernandez if he brings home the title, and he’s well on his way to doing so.

The other President at the club is under signficantly more pressure, after UEFA announced they too would be investigating the Negreira case. Barcelona and Joan Laporta have begun suing journalists for libel in response to the negative press they are receiving. He was all smiles on Thursday though, as former Barcelona wonderkid and Stoke City star – not every day those fit into the same sentence – Bojan Krkic said goodbye to the professional game. At the age of 32, his career lasted 15 years and spanned 7 countries, also passing through Milan, Roma, Ajax, Mainz, Alaves, Montreal Impact and Vissel Kobe.

The frustration at Real Madrid was tangible. Dani Carvajal said something to in the aftermath of El Clasico that caused one Barcelona player to lose their mind on the pitch, while Carlo Ancelotti complained that he doubted whether Marco Asensio’s potential winner really was offside. The Italian manager is under pressure for his job now, and some have even been calling for Karim Benzema to be dropped, as the French forward continues to look unfit.

It’s no surprise as a result that there has been plenty of transfer news surrounding Real Madrid to distract from that defeat. Los Blancos appear set to pursue Erling Haaland in 2024, and believe they have the edge on Manchester City and Liverpool in the race for Jude Bellingham.

Across the city, Antoine Griezmann lost his proverbial upon finding out Kylian Mbappe would be France captain, he feels that he deserved it. Atletico Madrid have been the second-best side in Spain after Barcelona in 2023, while Griezmann has been the best player in Spain this calendar year. Continuing the French theme, Rayo Vallecano forwards Oscar Trejo and Isi Palazon were the stars of one of the most bizarre penalties in La Liga history last weekend, putting together a sort of tribute to Thierry Henry and Robert Pires.

That good atmosphere at Atleti is in part due to Joao Felix’s absence, according to captain Koke who has admitted he was a distraction for the side. Meanwhile Elche have appointed their sixth coach of the season – Sebastian Beccacece will have to beat an average of 2.6 points per coach previously. Ahead of their Europa League tie with Manchester United, Sevilla have sacked Jorge Sampaoli too, bringing in Jose Luis Mendilibar to steady the ship, as they sit just two points outside of the relegation zone.

The post Inside Spain: Barcelona strike decisive blow, Thierry Henry tribute and Jude Bellingham advances appeared first on CaughtOffside.

It’s been a while since Bojan Krkic turned out for FC Barcelona, breaking into the first team back in 2007, and the player’s career has taken many twists and turns since.

Stoke City are one of seven other clubs that the player with over 900 goals in various Barca youth teams (beating Lionel Messi’s record), per The Independent, has played for since leaving the Catalans.

Now 30 years of age, Krkic has sprung a surprise by joining up with former Barcelona team-mate, Andres Iniesta, at Vissel Kobe.

All set for a new destination!
Really excited by this amazing professional and personal opportunity.
Thank you for your trust, @visselkobe!
Can’t wait to start this new challenge. ???? pic.twitter.com/yDerirqZhk

— Bojan Krkic (@BoKrkic) August 9, 2021

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Injury bug? What injury bug? Right now the only thing Daniel Sturridge is susceptible to is getting into the perfect position to score a goal. And he did exactly that in a crucial point of Liverpool’s bout with Stoke City ahead of their second leg in the Europa League against Borussia Dortmund.

Despite an early goal from Alberto Moreno, Stoke City soon equalized thanks to a header from Bojan Krkic. But the Potters ace finished the half with only the second-best header of the match.

Interestingly enough, it was the seldom-used Sheyi Ojo – getting a rare start – who delivered a superb cross to the box, where Daniel Sturridge was waiting to smash the ball with his noggin and into the goal.

The goal gave Liverpool a 2-1 lead heading into the half and the third Premier League goal for the injury-prone Sturridge since Klopp took over in October.

The English striker has been working tirelessly to shed the stigma of being injury prone and he has done a superb job across all competitions this year.

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The post Video: Liverpool 2-1 Stoke City – Daniel Sturridge reclaims the lead appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Chelsea got a huge boost on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, avenging their early season loss and gaining some much needed breathing room away from the bottom of the table. Unfortunately, the win also featured a rather scary injury to the struggling Eden Hazard, which not only continued his scoring drought but casts even more doubt onto his Premier League future.

The Blues are sorely in need of a player of Hazard’s 2014-15 caliber if they have any chance of beating PSG in the Champions League, but will be hard-pressed to find one who is eligible. Nonetheless, opportunities are abound.

Here is the Chelsea transfer roundup for Sunday:

Midfield target Giannelli Imbula pursued by BPL rivals

Chelsea expressed interest in the star midfielder during the summer, but ultimately sat by as he left Marseille to sign with FC Porto. Now Stoke City have entered the transfer race with the Blues and Arsenal for the 23-year-old starlet. [Source: Stoke Sentinel]

Chelsea revive interest in Alex Telles

One defender Chelsea have had their eyes on for a while is Galasataray left-back Alex Telles, who is currently on loan at Inter Milan. Per the Express, Guus Hiddink will revive efforts to bring the 23-year-old to Stamford Bridge.

Buyout clause for Chelsea target Bojan Krkic revealed

The Stoke City forward/winger has been pursued heavily by Chelsea along with Liverpool and Man United. With a buyout clause of £10 million for the Spanish international, Krkic would certainly be considered a bargain for a 59-goal 25-year-old. [Source: Mirror]

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The post Chelsea transfer roundup: Telles interest, Krkic buyout, Porto target appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Any one of Bojan Krkic‘s mooted suitors may be primed to move for the forward during the January transfer window after it was revealed that the Stoke City star has a £10 million buyout clause.

The two-time Champions League winner left Barcelona with his career seemingly in tatters when he moved to Stoke for a mere £1.5 million 18 months ago.

However, he has transformed his reputation and rediscovered some of his former lustre after consistently demonstrating his creative class and menacing movement in the Premier League.

Bojan has five goals and one assist so far this term, and has been a key reason why Stoke are flying under Mark Hughes.

However, as revealed by the Mirror, the Spain international has a release clause in his contract of just £10 million, meaning that any heavyweight club who wanted a potential EPL difference-maker in the final third would hardly need to think twice before moving for the former Ajax, AC Milan and AS Roma frontman.

The Guardian have reported that heavyweight trio Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are all keen on the attacker, and with all three in need of offensive improvement, don’t be surprised to see one pick up a bargain addition over the coming month.

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The post Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United ALERTED as forward’s BARGAIN buyout clause is revealed appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Manchester United went 1-0 down at Stoke City on Boxing Day courtesy of an 19th-minute strike from Bojan Krkic, but the Potters have Memphis Depay to thank above anybody else.

Depay sent an awful header back towards goalkeeper David de Gea, but his attempted pass fell short and was pounced upon by Glen Johnson, who squared the ball to Bojan for the former Barcelona starlet to tap home from close range.

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Stoke, who have already beaten Chelsea and Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium this season, were much the better side in the early stages of the match and they thoroughly deserved their lead, which was doubled less than 10 minutes later by a powerful effort from outside the penalty area from Marko Arnautovic.

SEE MORE: Marko Arnautovic goal video: Man United stung by Stoke City wonder-strike

A win for Stoke would see them move to within three points of United in the Premier League table.

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According to reports, Liverpool are considering a move for Stoke City forward Bojan Krkic in the January transfer window.

The 25-year-old moved to Stoke City for £3 million in the summer of 2014 [Telegraph], and has begun to rediscover some of his former lustre in England.

A Champions League winner with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, Bojan lost his way somewhat—largely due to injury—but has proved to be an inventive and often menacing threat for the Potters.

Bojan Liverpool: Klopp wants Stoke forward at Anfield

He scored four goals and contributed one assist last term, and has already managed four goals so far this season, as Mark Hughes’s Stoke continue to impress.

Now, however, he’s being eyed by Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp understood to be keen on the forward ahead of a possible January move.

The Telegraph note that the Reds would be willing to pay £15 million for the forward, which could be win-win for both parties; Stoke would be considerably multiplying their initial investment in Krkic, while the Reds would be acquiring an EPL-proven talent with some of his best years ahead of him.

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The post Liverpool plotting £15m move for Champions League-winning striker appeared first on CaughtOffside.

With some of the magic now worn off from Jurgen Klopp‘s hot start to his run at Liverpool, the ninth-placed Reds have a unique opportunity this weekend that they must take full advantage of. Should they beat Watford this weekend they will overtake them on the table to move into either seventh or eighth place (depending on what happens to West Ham United) and within striking distance of Tottenham Hotspur and Man United for a top five spot after Christmas.

As long as Klopp has a plan for what to do after they get their much-needed wins, a trip to the Champions League isn’t out of the question as long as they make the necessary moves in January.

Here is the Liverpool transfer roundup for Saturday:

Ruben Neves not joining Liverpool any time soon

FC Porto star Ruben Neves has been a hot target throughout Europe after a very impressive Champions League campaign. However, he dealt a huge blow to interested clubs across the continent – including Liverpool and Arsenal – by stating he believes he can finish his career in Portgual. [Source: Daily Star]

£15m for Bojan Krkic

Needing another striker to assist the oft-injured Daniel Sturridge and Christian Benteke, Liverpool are eyeing a £15 million move for Stoke City striker Bojan Krkic. The versatile ex-Barcelona man is enjoying one of his better seasons in recent years, scoring three times through the first half of the Premier League season. [Source: Telegraph]

Martin Caceres in January

According to the Metro, Jurgen Klopp has an interest in Juventus defender Caceres as one of his first moves in January.

Reps have been hard to come by for the Uruguayan star, however, and he has made 20 league appearances or more just once since making a high-profile move to Barcelona in 2008. He is currently in his second stint with Juventus.

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The post Liverpool transfer roundup: Juventus star, Neves answer, Barcelona prodigy appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Stoke City gave an early Christmas present to Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool on Saturday by beating Manchester City 2-0 to leave the Premier League title race wide open.

Marko Arnautovic scored twice inside the opening 15 minutes, as Xherdan Shaqiri stole the show with both assists.

Man United and Arsenal can move ahead of first-placed City by beating West Ham and Sunderland later today, while Spurs and Liverpool can close to within one and three points respectively if they win their matches this weekend.

Leicester City will also have been buoyed by this surprising result. The over-achieving Foxes can reclaim top spot and go three points clear of Manuel Pellegrini’s men if they defeat Swansea in South Wales this afternoon.

Stoke, who temporarily climb to ninth following their early-afternoon heroics, displayed their attacking intentions right from the start. Mark Hughes picked a very offensive XI, which seemed to unsettle the visitors early on.

It took the Potters just seven minutes to break the deadlock. Shaqiri left Fernando on his backside during a mazy run down the right flank, which then saw him outfox Aleksandar Kolarov, before crossing into the path of Arnautovic, who rifled home his fourth Premier League goal of the season.

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Arnautovic’s fifth league goal of the 2015-16 campaign followed swiftly after his fourth.

Again, Shaqiri was the provider. The Swiss playmaker slid a perfectly-weighted pass through to the Austrian, who slotted cooly past Joe Hart to make it 2-0.

The first half witnessed one excellent chance for Kevin De Bruyne, who was denied by a good save by Jack Butland.

However, the best opportunity to score the game’s third goal before the break fell to Arnautovic, who – on a hat-trick – struck the post when one-on-one with Hart.

Stoke were the better side in the second half too.

As frustration grew, anger got the better of Nicolas Otamendi. The Sky Blues centre-back picked up a yellow card for an ugly hack on Shaqiri, after the former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan man had embarrassed him with clever turn.

Former Premier League referee Howard Webb, who was working as a pundit for BT Sport, suggested the Argentine defender was slightly fortunate to only see yellow, because the tackle “could be seen as a violent act”.

Stoke should have made it 3-0 in the 68th minute when the game’s three star men linked up. Bojan played in Arnautovic, who opted against shooting and instead squared towards Shaqiri, but he was unable to make contact as the ball rolled across the six-yard box.

Bojan then came close to scoring himself, only for Martin Demichelis to clear off the goal-line.

Man City’s hopes of mounting a comeback were dealt a fatal blow 17 minutes from the end as Fernandinho limped off with a hamstring injury. Pellegrini had already made three subs, so the away side had the complete the match with ten men.

Stoke City’s clean sheet means that the Potters are still yet to concede a Premier League goal this season when captain Ryan Shawcross has been on the pitch.

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