Wolves boss after sealing switch to St James’ Park
room to motivate his team-mates to do their best, especially before games. I heard him talking with the players a lot.”
Howe has already referenced Ruddy’s ‘strong mentality’ while the Newcastle boss also highlighted how Vlachodimos is ‘very experienced at elite European and international level’ as the pair look to put painful seasons behind them.
Ruddy, as captain, suffered the heartbreak of relegation with Birmingham City, while Vlachodimos slipped behind both former Newcastle goalkeeper Matz Sels and Matt Turner in the pecking order at Nottingham Forest in his one and only underwhelming season at the City Ground.
Yet it is easy to forget that this is the same Vlachodimos who was once linked with a €60m move to Europe’s elite; who more than played his part as Benfica won league titles and twice reached the Champions League quarter-finals; who made 42 appearances for Greece...
Portuguese boss Lage suggested Vlachodimos will ‘be more ready’ after learning a lot from a challenging first season in the Premier League.
Former Norwich City boss Paul Lambert told The Chronicle that the 37-year-old Ruddy was a ‘really good professional’ who will ‘bring a lot to Newcastle because of his experience’ and that view was shared by ex-wolves goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts.
Roberts, now working at AC Milan, said Ruddy’s move to Newcastle was a ‘reward for what he has done over the last how many years day in, day out’.
“John is the ultimate professional,” he told The Chronicle.
the England players in congratulating Alexander-arnold, who came on as a substitute during extra-time, after he scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout.
For the second game in a row, England had to come from behind. Breel Embolo fired Switzerland in front in the 75th minute, only for Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka to hit back five minutes later with a stunning left-footed effort from outside of the penalty area.
Neither side could find a winning goal in extra-time, with the two sides locked at 1-1 at the end of 120 minutes. Manuel Akanji saw his penalty saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and all five of Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Saka, Ivan Toney and Alexander-arnold scored from the spot to secure a 5-3 win on penalties.
It means England move on to Wednesday’s semi-final against the Netherlands in Dortmund and Trippier, as well as Newcastle United team-mate Anthony Gordon, are now just two wins away from being crowned European champions.