Bayer 04 Leverkusen Haberleri

The summer soccer transfer window can feel like a nonlinear movie. The plot bounces around, and we don’t know everything we need to know until it ends. Just a few weeks into this year’s window — and not too long after the end of two major continental tournaments, Euro 2024 and the Copa America — some teams haven’t really done much yet.

The summer transfer window is open across Europe, and there is plenty of gossip swirling around.Transfer...

The summer transfer window is open across Europe, and there is plenty of gossip swirling around.Transfer...

As usual in Germany, the champions play the first game of the new league season on a Friday night.

ESPN reporters have everything you need to know about the top teams’ hopes as they delve into deals that might be in the cards. Who will come in? Who will depart?

The summer transfer window is open for the Premier League and is set to open across...

Mischief, creativity, pace and confidence: these are the stock tools of the best attacking midfielders. Sometimes referred to as the No. 10, these guys are as comfortable scoring the goals as they are teeing up teammates. With free rein to drift around the pitch and exploit the space, their abundant ability to conjure something from nothing makes them the most entertaining players around.

Agility and reflexes are par for the course, but the best goalies in the world also fuse a sense of confidence and daring in their penalty areas that make them seem truly larger than life.

Wingers have become a little antiquated in the modern game, but there’s still plenty of benefit to having fast, forward-thinking players in wide positions. Blessed with pace and persistence to beat their markers and make it to the byline for a cut-back cross, they can be truly dangerous.

Right-back was never the most glamorous position, but the game’s many evolutions have seen it become a thrilling and unpredictable spot on the pitch. The best in the game will marry a strong positional awareness with blinding speed, as well as the daring to surge forward and support their teams in attack.