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Melanie Leupolz will remain at Chelsea
Photo:
David Lidstrom/Getty Images
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Leupolz extends after a baby break at Chelsea
National soccer player Melanie Leupolz has extended her contract with English champions FC Chelsea until 2026.
The 28-year-old midfielder only recently returned to team training after giving birth to her first child in October.
"I want more games with the team, more chances for titles, and a big goal is to win the Champions League," Leupolz said in a club statement on Tuesday.
The former SC Freiburg and FC Bayern Munich player announced her pregnancy last March and missed the European Championships in July in her adopted home England.
She played 75 international matches for the DFB selection, was European champion in 2013 and Olympic champion in 2016.
'Melly has played a key role in our successes in her first 18 months at the club.
We're delighted to see her back in blue and to build on our successes in the years to come," said Chelsea manager Paul Green.
Simon stays at FC Bayern for another year
The FC Bayern players have extended their contract with national player Carolin Simon.
As the German runners-up announced on Tuesday, the 30-year-old defender will stay in Munich at least until 2024.
“For me, Bayern is the hottest club.
I feel absolutely comfortable and can totally identify with the club, the team is great and that's why I'm just happy," said Simon, according to the club's announcement.
The defender has been playing for Bayern since 2019.
After a three-year break, Simon was back in the German national team for the first time during the international trip to the USA in November.
So far, she has made 94 competitive appearances in the Munich team's jersey.
'She's got a fantastic left foot.
She is very good in our attacking game, has a lot of assists and has scored a few important goals this season," praised Bayern coach Alexander Straus.
Augsburg lends Framberger
Augsburg defender Raphael Framberger is leaving the Bundesliga club on loan until the end of the season.
The 27-year-old announced this in a video message to FCA fans on Tuesday.
Initially, neither Framberger nor FC Augsburg made any statements about the new club.
In his video message, Framberger announced that he would like to attend his youth club's home games during his loan whenever the schedule allows: "I hope I get a ticket somehow or you can sneak me into the standing area."
Born in Augsburg, he switched to the Fuggerstadt team in 2004 at the age of eight and went through all the youth teams.
Framberger made his Bundesliga debut in 2017.
However, under coach Enrico Maassen, the trained right-back has only been able to play for a few minutes, and Framberger has played three times this season.
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Porro probably not a bargain for Tottenham
Premier League top club Tottenham Hotspur currently have three trained right-backs in their squad.
However, because none of them has been completely convincing so far, the club from London's Nordon is said to be interested in signing the Spaniard Pedro Porro.
The 23-year-old is currently playing in Lisbon at Sporting – and could get really expensive in January: As the “Guardian” reports, the Portuguese do not want to let Porro go under his contractually agreed exit clause.
This is 45 million euros, so Tottenham would have to dig deep into their pockets for a winter transfer.
Porro's contract with Sporting runs until 2025.
Brekalo in conversation at Fiorentina
After AC Monza, Italian league rivals AC Florenz are apparently also thinking about signing Croatian international Josip Brekalo from VfL Wolfsburg.
This was reported by the transfer market expert Gianluca Di Marzio.
According to the report, unlike the Berlusconi club from Monza, Fiorentina would like to wait until the end of this season and then sign the 24-year-old offensive player on a free transfer in the summer.
Brekalo's contract with Wolfsburg expires on June 30.
The winger is only a substitute at VfL and was therefore not called up for the Croatian squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
Brekalo already played on loan for FC Torino in Italy last season.
According to media reports, AC Monza and Spanish first division club Getafe are already interested in signing the Croatian this January.
cev/dpa
