Austria's national team head coach Ralf Rangnick announced his squad for the upcoming international matches this Monday afternoon - and our young goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky can celebrate his very first call-up to the senior national team! According to the coach, the plan is for our keeper to join the senior squad next week for at least the first two matches of the extended international break, before potentially switching to the U21 team for the European Championship qualifiers afterward.
It's certainly something you dream about as a small child. I used to attend open Austria training sessions just to watch, since it was in my neighborhood, and I even took photos with players like David Alaba. I never imagined things would move this fast and that I'd suddenly be there as a player myself, but I'm very grateful to have this opportunity.The call-up actually comes as a surprise to me. I thought that if I were to be included anywhere, it would likely be the U21s - which I would have thought was great, too. I didn't expect to be part of the senior national team right away. I'm just really looking forward to it - though I also know we have two matches coming up before the international break, and those are the priority right now.
Christian Zawieschitzky
Nikolas Veratschnig is also on board! Our wide player was previously named in an Austria squad last year but is still awaiting his international debut for Austria - his strong performances in recent weeks have now earned him another call-up
I'm absolutely delighted - honestly, even more so than before. I was with the national team once before but didn't get any playing time back then. My clear goal in moving to Salzburg was to prove myself again here and earn another call-up to the national team. I am absolutely delighted that this has worked out. I want to show the head coach what I'm capable of, give it my all in training, and make a lasting impression - and perhaps that will be enough to earn some playing time.

#christian

21-year-old centre-back extends deal until 2031
Jeremiaha Maluze has agreed a contract extension at Eintracht Frankfurt. The 21-year-old is now in his second season on the Main and recently made his first-team debut for the Eagles in the DFB-Pokal first-round tie at SC St. Tönis.
Following spells in the youth set-ups at Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, KFC Uerdingen and MSV Duisburg, Maluze took his first steps in senior football during the 2023/24 campaign for SV Straelen and Mühlheimer FC, both in the Oberliga Niederrhein (fifth tier). That was followed by a year at Regionalliga Nordost (fourth tier) clubFC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, where he became a key player.
Maluze then signed a first-team contract with Eintracht in summer 2025 but was initially part of the U21 squad. He scored three goals and **** isted another 10 in 26 appearances in the Hessenliga (fifth tier) – nine of them in the second half of the campaign, playing a major role in the side's promotion to the Regionalliga. Maluze was regularly involved in the first team's preparations for this season and made his first competitive appearance in the cup last Friday, replacing captain Robin Koch midway through the second half.
"Jeremiaha has made great progress in recent months and shown that he's ready for the next step with his performances in the U21s," said sporting director Timmo Hardung. "He's quickly adapted to the higher level and made a good impression with the first team. He's willing to learn, works on himself in a very focused way and as such, he has the attributes to continue on his path in professional football. We're pleased to have tied him to Eintracht Frankfurt for the long term."

#first #made

Liverpool have spent much of the summer dealing with questions about depth, fitness and whether the current squad contains enough reliable options for Andoni Iraola.
Against that backdrop, Jayden Danns returning to competitive action may look like a relatively small development. It could still become a useful one.
The 20-year-old striker played the final 30 minutes for Liverpool U21s in Friday's 1-1 draw with Everton U21s at Goodison Park, his first appearance since suffering an injury against Manchester City in March.
For Liverpool, the important detail is simply that Danns is back on the pitch.
Liverpool enter the new Premier League season with Hugo Ekitike sidelined by a long-term Achilles injury, placing additional responsibility on Alexander Isak.

#u21s #goodison

Sky Germany reports that FC Augsburg attacker Mert Kömür is open to moving to England amid increasing interest from Hull City. Hull's pursuit of the 21-year-old Germany U21 international first emerged earlier this week. The Premier League club have now reportedly opened discussions with Kömür, his family, and his representatives over a potential summer transfer out of the Bundesliga.
Augsburg have been informed of the talks and are fundamentally willing to sanction Kömür's departure. A transfer fee of approximately €20 million is presently being discussed, though Hull have not yet opened formal negotiations with the Bundesliga club.
Kömür remains under contract through 2029 after receiving a new long-term Augsburg deal last summer. The Dachau native registered two goals and five ***** ists in 28 Bundesliga appearances last season, starting 18 league fixtures. His flexibility enables him to operate as an attacking midfielder, on the right, behind a central striker or as a false nine.
Several impressive tours of duty with Germany's U21s have also strengthened Kömür's standing as a potential future senior international. Augsburg's willingness to discuss his departure does not necessarily mean that Hull will be able to negotiate a reduced fee.
The Fuggerstädter recently demonstrated their readiness to reject an attractive package when they broke off talks with Crystal Palace over Chrislain Matsima. Palace had raised their proposed package for the French defender to approximately €25 million, with the total value potentially reaching €30 million.

#million #international

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League
Gabriel Arteta Bernal was pictured in training with the ****** nal u21s this week, with the u21 team returning to pre-season training after their summer break.
The Premier League confirmed in June that Mikel Arteta's son Gabriel had signed scholarship terms with the Gunners, including him on their 'retained list' for players under contract with ****** nal beyond June 30th.
The 17-year-old is technically old enough for a professional contract, but for now he's just on a scholarship deal in north London.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

In the final part of Thursday's Q&A, BBC Radio Suffolk's Graeme McLoughlin focuses on the pathway of breaking into the first team and whether Gary O'Neil values it, and which teams could be in trouble this season in the Premier League.
Adrian asked: We didn't see as many homegrown players play regularly in the first team under Kieran McKenna as perhaps supporters would have liked. Now that we are moving up to the Premier League, what does the new manager think would be the pathway to breaking into the first team now, and will that differ to the most recent one?
Graeme: Well Gary O'Neil made it clear during his first press conference last week that he is massively impressed by the new look training base at the club, along with the academy set-up.
In the ideal world of his and most supporters, Town would have several academy products competing for regular first team football. However, it's just not the reality of where the club – or most clubs in the Premier League – is at the moment, and in the immediate future, I don't think we will see a lot of change.
Be prepared for more buying and selling, and more members of the youth teams being loaned out. That being said, I think it's a real positive that Town's U21s will compete in he EFL Trophy this season, as this will give youngsters at the club a real taste of senior football.

Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images
June 30th is the standard date for football contracts to expire, at least when it comes to Premier League clubs, which means a number of young players will be departing ******* nal at midnight tonight.
Earlier this month, ******* nal confirmed the 15 players from the u21s, u18s, and women's team set to depart as free agents, adding that three players were still in contract talks.
One of those was Caitlin Foord , who has since extended. But there have been no official updates on the other two – Alex Marciniak and Josh Ogunnaike .
Photo via ******* nal.com

Fabio Capello believes that now is the right time for Antonio Conte to return to the role of head coach of the Italy national team, and suggests that the damage was done for Roberto Mancini when he accepted a position in the Saudi Arabia set-up three years ago.
Giovanni Malago has recently been elected as the new President of the FIGC and appointing a new head coach of the men’s national team is an immediate priority for the new chief of the Italian FA.
As things stand, Mancini and Conte are the frontrunners, although there have also been some calls from supporters to give U21s head coach and recent interim Silvio Baldini a chance with the senior side on a full-time basis.
Mancini and Conte, however, remain the two frontrunners, and Capello has made it clear which one he would prefer to see return to the Italy hot seat.
“We’re talking about a battle between two great coaches, both winners,” Capello said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.