Premier League Archives - Page 171 of 294

John Obi Mikel set to miss start of the season due to Rio Olympics

July 26, 2016 by Sports Picks Leave a Comment

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel is set to miss the start of the season after being named in Nigeria’s squad for the Rio Olympics.

The 29-year-old has been included in the 18-man squad for the tournament and did not fly with the rest of his Chelsea team-mates to Los Angeles yesterday for their pre-season tour to the USA.

Nigeria decided to make Mikel one of the three players aged over 23 that are allowed to participate according to the permitted quota.

The men’s competition begins on August 3, just 12 days before Chelsea’s opening Premier League match against West Ham.

Nigeria are considered one of the favourites for the competition and have been drawn in a group with Colombia, Sweden and Japan.

Their last group game is on August 10, but the final and third/fourth place play-off is on August 20 – the same day Chelsea play at Watford.

Mikel, who was involved in Chelsea’s first pre-season training camp in Austria last week, confirmed the news on his Instagram account today.

He said: “First part of Chelsea pre-season done. Off to Atlanta to join the Nigeria team for the Olympics 2016.”

While Mikel is on the quest to win gold next month, Premier League trio Odion Ighalo, Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi won’t be as they haven’t been released by Watford, Manchester City and Arsenal respectively.

John Obi Mikel’s unavailability won’t be too much of a blow for new coach Antonio Conte following the £32m signing of N’Golo Kante from Leicester.

The Blues were also able to convince Brazil not to pick Willian for the Olympics or team-mate Oscar.

Reports in April said the club wanted to have talks with Brazil over Willian’s selection in particular, especially as he was being lined up to play in the Copa America as well.

The 27-year-old was named by Chelsea fans as their Player of the Season last term and there were concerns over a heavy workload.

But Willian only played in the Copa America and is now preparing for the new season with the rest of his Chelsea team-mates.

Chelsea interested in former Man City and Man United striker

July 25, 2016 by Sports Picks Leave a Comment

Former Manchester City and Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has told reporters in Italy that Chelsea are interested in signing him.

As per a report from Corriere dello Sport , the 32-year-old said that Chelsea, along with Serie A club Napoli, have interest in signing him, but he is happy to see out the remainder of his career with Boca Juniours.

He said:

“I feel really good at Boca, better, my idea, my dream is to end my career in this sensational club. It’s true, Napoli and Chelsea are following me but, I repeat, my will is to remain at Boca until I retire.”

Tevez knows the Premier League very well after spells with the two Manchester-based clubs and

West Ham , and despite him coming to the latter stages of his career, he still could have been valuable to Antonio Conte, but it looks like a transfer is highly unlikely.

West Ham ha enquired about taking him back but were reportedly put off by his wage demands which were apparently £250,000-per-week.

If that is the case, Chelsea may well have been willing to pay him a figure close to that mark, but if he really does have his heart set on staying in Argentina then that’s almost irrelevant at this point.

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Villareal not interested in signing former Chelsea striker

July 25, 2016 by Sports Picks Leave a Comment

Villarreal are set to turn down the opportunity to sign former AC Milan and Chelsea forward Alexandre Pato, despite agreeing a fee with current club Corinthians.

The Brazilian striker has returned to his homeland after a disappointing six month spell in the Premier League, in which he only made two appearances for Chelsea.

Corinthians are keen to get the 26-year-old, who they purchased from Milan in 2013, off their books, particularly as he has less than six months remaining on his contract and would soon be eligible to leave for free.

Spanish outfit Villarreal have agreed a €5 million deal with the Brazilian champions, although the move has now been cast into doubt due to concerns surrounding Pato’s physical condition, according to Fichajes.net.

The former Internacional man has been plagued with injuries throughout his career, most notably during his time with Milan, and Villarreal have seemingly opted against taking a risk on him.

With Pato rarely featuring for Timão and spending a considerable period of time on loan at city rivals São Paulo, Corinthians are happy to offload him.

Indeed, the Brazil international had looked set to join Lazio recently, until

Marcelo Bielsa’s sudden resignation from his coaching role after only two days

scuppered any chance of a deal.

Pato scored 63 goals in 150 appearances for Milan between 2008 and 2012, after making a goalscoring debut as an 18-year-old for the club.

Allardyce: ‘Too early’ to decide captaincy

July 25, 2016 by Sports Picks Leave a Comment

New England manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that he hasn’t decided whether Wayne Rooney will carry on as captain of the national team.

Allardyce came up against the English press for the first time since his appointment as the new Three Lions manager on Monday after being handed the reins last week.

The former West Ham and Newcastle boss, who succeeds Roy Hodgson in the hotseat, was beaming from ear to ear as he began answering questions after quitting Sunderland to take the job he has coveted for many years.

First on the agenda for Allardyce was the future of Rooney and whether the forward would continue his captaincy under the new regime and ‘Big Sam’ didn’t give much away.

“No, it’s far too early [to say whether Rooney will be captain] or make any more predictions of that kind.” he told reporters.

Allardyce was clearly delighted to be new the boss as he spoke to the assembled media and says he is already focused on qualifying for the World Cup.

“I have a very warm feeling about taking up this position. I’m very proud. First of all I want to qualify for the World Cup and take it from there.”

The 61-year-old thinks he is a good “fit” for the job and is relishing the opportunity to “challenge” himself.

“It was 10 years since I was last interviewed and to sit here is a huge thrill to me. I think fit the chair,” he says.

“I have the experience to pass and to challenge myself. I think five Premier League clubs has given me a huge amount of experience. It’s the most any manager has managed at, five clubs.

“Man-management is my thing. I want players to enjoy themselves and to improve.”

Stoke completes £13m deal for Liverpool’s Allen

July 25, 2016 by Sports Picks Leave a Comment

Stoke have completed the signing of midfielder Joe Allen from Liverpool on a five-year deal, the club has officially announced.

The 26-year-old joins the Potters for a fee of £13million, and passed a medical on Monday in order to finalise his move.

After impressing for Wales during Euro 2016 and making the Team of the Tournament, Allen was linked with a summer Anfield exit as his playing time would likely be limited.

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Stoke’s bid met Liverpool’s valuation of a player with less than 12 months remaining on his contract and means they recouped most of the £15million they paid Swansea four years ago.

Allen told the club website: “It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for me but I am delighted to have finally been able to put pen to paper.

“I was really excited as soon as I heard of the club’s interest and it wasn’t a difficult decision for me to make. I am incredibly excited about my future here at Stoke City.”

Allen will fly out to link up with his new team-mates in Orlando on Tuesday after becoming manager Mark Hughes’ second summer signing, a few hours after Egypt winger Ramadan Sobhi arrived from Al Ahly.

Potters chief executive Tony Scholes added: “Joe is a player that Mark has admired for a considerable amount of time.

“Therefore when we became aware of the possibility of bringing him to the club it was something that we were determined to do.

“We have had to act swiftly to conclude the deal but we are delighted that we have managed to get it over the line.”