Arsenal recorded a 1-1 draw with Ligue 2 side Lens in their first friendly of 2016-17, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain netting a fine goal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain netted a late equaliser to help Arsenal to a 1-1 draw against Lens in their first pre-season game. Arsene Wenger opted to field a combination of experienced first-team players, such as Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal, Francis Coquelin and Theo Walcott, with promising youngsters like Alex Iwobi, Chuba Akpom and Jeff Reine-Adelaide. It was Akpom who got the first chance for Arsenal early on, but the attacker had his shot saved by Lens goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez. The Ligue 2 side then had a sight of goal courtesy of Abdellah Zoubir, only for the midfielder to fire just wide. Mathias Autret then … [Read more...]
Arsenal sign defender Rob Holding from Bolton
Arsenal have signed defender Rob Holding from Bolton Wanderers, adding another young talent to Arsene Wenger's squad. Holding, 20, has signed a "long-term" deal after moving for a fee reportedly worth around £2 million. The England under-21 international becomes Arsenal's third signing of the summer transfer window, subject to the completion of regulatory processes, joining Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka and Japan forward Takuma Asano. But like the 21-year-old Asano, Holding is unlikely to play a major part in Wenger's Premier League plans for the upcoming season and is more of a long-term prospect. However, He is seen as one of England's most promising defenders and was part of the youth team that won the Toulon Tournament this summer -- … [Read more...]
Dortmund thrash Manchester United in China
Jose Mourinho was left feeling rather red faced in his first defeat as Red Devils boss as United were thrashed 4-1 by Dortmund in Shanghai. Gonzalo Castro, Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck to give the Bundesliga side a 3-0 advantage, before Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored against his former club to reduce the deficit. However, Castro was on hand again to restore the three goal advantage late on and give Thomas Tüchel a win in BVB’s fifth preseason match. Friday’s International Champions Cup clash was the first real test of the Portuguese’s reign following last weekend’s straightforward win at Championship new boys Wigan. United had a much tougher workout at a half-empty Shanghai Stadium as Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund deservedly triumphed … [Read more...]
England appoint Sam Allardyce as manager
The FA have confirmed that Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce has become the new boss of the England national team. The 61-year-old has taken over following Roy Hodgson’s resignation after England were embarrassed by Iceland in the last-16 of Euro 2016. Allardyce, who begins work immediately, said: “I am extremely honoured to be appointed England manager especially as it is no secret that this is the role I have always wanted. For me, it is absolutely the best job in English football.” Allardyce, who missed out on the job to Steve McClaren in 2006, was the unanimous choice of a three-man selection panel comprising FA chief executive Martin Glenn, technical director Dan Ashworth and acting chairman David Gill. It's official. We are delighted to announce … [Read more...]
Allegri hopeful of Pogba stay
Paul Pogba is widely expected to re-join Manchester United, but Massimiliano Allegri is hopeful the France star will stay at Juventus. Massimiliano Allegri remains confident that Paul Pogba will reject the overtures of Manchester United to remain at Juventus. Pogba moved to Juve from United in 2012 and has won four Serie A titles in Turin, while also establishing himself as one of the best talents in world football. However, reports suggest the France international is closing on a return to Old Trafford for a world-record transfer fee as manager Jose Mourinho continues to rebuild his squad after replacing Louis van Gaal. Juve head coach Allegri is adamant that Pogba is still a part of his squad, though, and says the signings of Dani Alves, Medhi … [Read more...]
There is Space for Juan Mata at Manchester United- Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has told Juan Mata that he has a future at Manchester United – with the warning that he will not guarantee regular football for anyone at Old Trafford. Spain midfielder Mata was sold by Mourinho just six months into the new United manager’s second spell in charge of Chelsea in January 2014. With United offering a then-club record £37.1m for Mata, Mourinho sanctioned his sale following Oscar’s emergence ahead of the former Valencia player at Stamford Bridge. But despite spending £26.3m on Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitarayan earlier this month, Mourinho insists that Mata has a place in his plans at United. “I think since the first day, everything is clear between us,” Mourinho said. “There is space for him. “He is a talented … [Read more...]
Mourinho to look elsewhere if United fail to land Paul Pogba
Jose Mourinho would not be surprised if Manchester United’s interest in Paul Pogba fails to bear fruit – and he has two alternatives lined up. Four years on from Pogba departing Old Trafford without making a first-team start, the 23-year-old midfielder is being trailed by his former club having flourished at Juventus. The Italian giants have reportedly turned down a world-record transfer bid for Pogba and work continues as United look to add the final piece of their jigsaw, with the player’s agent Mino Raiola taking to Twitter to state “there is no deal done” . Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward did not travel on the pre-season tour to China as United look to finish their transfer business, with manager Mourinho targeting a central midfielder to … [Read more...]
Guardiola needs time to impose his style on City- Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso knows Pep Guardiola will make sure Manchester City get better, but said the former Bayern Munich coach needed time. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will need time to impose his style but will improve all of his players, according to Xabi Alonso. Alonso spent two seasons under Guardiola at Bayern Munich, winning two Bundesliga titles and a DFB-Pokal crown. Guardiola has moved on to take charge at City, and he is expected to help the club immediately push for trophies. Alonso, 34, said the Spanish tactician required time to implement his style, particularly in the Premier League. "I have no doubt he will be able to impose how he sees football and how he wants his team to play," Alonso said. "For sure it will take time but because … [Read more...]
Liverpool reject Mario Balotelli linked with a move back to Italy
Liverpool outcast Mario Balotelli could return to Italy this summer with reports from Italy suggesting Inter Milan are chasing the striker. Tuttosport report that Inter boss Roberto Mancini has informed the club’s CEO Michael Bolingbroke that he would not mind a reunion with the troublesome 25-year-old striker, who he has already worked with at Inter and Manchester City. Mancini believes he can help Balotelli to get back on track after the last two anonymous campaigns with Liverpool and AC Milan. The Italy international managed just one goal in 20 Serie A games last season with Milan and his poor form put paid to any permanent deal for the player. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp wants to offload the Italian striker and last week confirmed that he had informed … [Read more...]
Mourinho and Guardiola take battle to China in the International Champions Cup
Borussia Dortmund face Manchester United on Friday and also take on Manchester City in the Chinese leg of the International Champions Cup. Manchester City and Manchester United will continue the opening acts of bold new eras at close quarters, while more than 5,000 miles away from home. Provided the match does not fall foul of heavy storms forecast in Beijing, Pep Guardiola's City and Jose Mourinho's United will play the first edition of the Manchester derby to be staged outside the UK next Monday as part of the China leg of the International Champions Cup. Guardiola began his City tenure by seeing a youthful XI go down 1-0 at former club Bayern Munich but, with a match against Borussia Dortmund in Shenzhen to follow, he believes facing top-class … [Read more...]
Mourinho: Allardyce right man for England job
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says Sam Allardyce is the right man for the England job and has promised to help the incoming Three Lions boss in his new role. While United players have not always been as available for international duty as England would have liked in the past, notably under Sir Alex Ferguson, Mourinho has said he will be cooperative if the Sunderland boss' appointment is confirmed. "The only thing I can promise is that I am going to try to support him the best way, prepare the players for him, and always have England players available for him. I hope he can do the same," he said at a news conference in Shanghai on Thursday. Mourinho said Allardyce deserved the chance to prove himself at international level after a career … [Read more...]
Manchester United release provisional numbers; omits No. 6 shirt
Manchester United released their squad numbers for the upcoming season, and coincidentally omits the No.6 shirt for Pogba as reports suggest. There aren't many surprises, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic taking over the No. 9 and Anthony Martial switching to No. 11. All in all, it's entirely boring. Except there is the whole thing where they left the No. 6 unfilled. #MUFC 's provisional squad numbers for 2016/17: 5:00 PM - 21 Jul 2016 Manchester United @ManUtd You know, the No. 6 that usually goes to a do-it-all midfielder who is an automatic starter and might be considered the linchpin to the team. Someone like ... Paul Pogba? Oh hey, Pogba has been linked to Manchester United and the Red Devils are rumored to be on the brink of a world-record … [Read more...]
Leroy Sane wants Schalke exit as Man City monitors proceedings
Leroy Sane has told Schalke that he wants to leave the Bundesliga club, according to general manager Christian Heidel. The 20-year-old, who was part of Germany’s European Championship squad in France, has been linked with some of Europe’s top clubs, including Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Heidel told German newspaper Bild: “Sane has clearly expressed that he would like to change (clubs). We have to accept it. We will correspond if the conditions for Schalke are in order.” “I can not confirm that the deal is in the final phase. That would mean that he could be gone tomorrow or the next day.” Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola praised Leroy Sane on several occasions during his time at Bayern Munich and has been linked with a move for … [Read more...]
Kurt Zouma recovering ahead of schedule
Kurt Zouma 's recovery from injury is ahead of schedule and the Chelsea defender could return to action as early as October. The 22-year-old has not featured for the Blues since damaging his anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester United in February. An early diagnosis suggested Zouma would be unlikely to play again in 2016 but he has made good progress and is currently with the rest of Antonio Conte's squad on a pre-season training camp in Austria. The Italian coach is adamant Zouma will not be rushed back but the defender himself is hopeful he will soon be available for selection after featuring alongside his colleagues during a brief session involving ball work earlier this week. "I didn’t know I would be back on the training pitch by now, I … [Read more...]
Georginio Wijnaldum set for £25m Liverpool move
Georginio Wijnaldum will have a medical at Liverpool within the next 24 hours after they struck a deal with Newcastle for the midfielder. Sources say Liverpool will pay a maximum of £25million for the Holland international, taking into account various add-ons. It is believed Wijnaldum’s former club PSV Eindhoven are due a sell-on fee for a player who moved to St James’ Park a year ago for £14.5million. Manager Jurgen Klopp has been looking to strengthen his midfield options and turned his attention to Wijnaldum after giving up their pursuit of Udinese’s Piotr Zielinski. With the arrival of the attacking midfielder imminent it makes it more likely Joe Allen will depart. The club accepted a £13million bid from Stoke for the Wales international, who … [Read more...]
Juventus line up Matic as replacement for Manchester bound Pogba
Juventus are already in the process of lining up potential replacements for Pogba, as Chelsea's Matic is considered a possible target. Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic remains the top choice with Inter target Axel Witsel close behind, while Newcastle United’s Moussa Sissoko has launched himself into the mix after his performance in the Euro 2016 final. Blues boss Antonio Conte wants the Serbian to stay with the club despite his desire to leave, while Sissoko would cost at least €40 million, which could prove to be a stumbling block in negotiations. Inter have expressed much interest in Witsel, and the Belgian has reciprocated in kind, however, they would have to sell before they could buy him, which offers Juventus the opportunity to get one over their … [Read more...]
Middlesbrough sign former Man City striker Alvaro Negredo on loan
Middlesbrough have completed the season-long loan addition of striker Alvaro Negredo, subject to international clearance. The 30-year-old has joined from Valencia after two disappointing seasons as he looks to reignite his career. Boro are reportedly paying the entirety of his £100,000-a-week salary . It will be Negredo’s second spell in England following a solitary season at Man City in 2013-14. CONFIRMED | The club has agreed a deal with @valenciacf to bring @AlvaroNegredo_7 to #Boro – https://t.co/T66IUN5Hlw pic.twitter.com/ImtkbspKsb — Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) July 20, 2016 After joining for a fee of £16.4million, his career at City started brightly but he soon fell down the pecking order and was made available for transfer at the end … [Read more...]
Antonio Conte set Marco Parolo target
After growing fond of Marco Parolo during his time as Azzurri coach, Antonio Conte is now considering bringing the former Parma man to Chelsea. Having already snapped up Leicester City’s N’Golo Kante, Antonio Conte is now looking to add another midfielder to his ranks at Chelsea and has identified Lazio's Marco Parolo as his desired target. The former Italy manager holds the 31-year-old in high regard, having made him a regular starter in his Azzurri side during their Euro 2016 adventure in France which ended in defeat to Germany after a penalty shootout. Chelsea are more than happy to oblige their new coach’s wishes, according to Cittaceleste.it, especially as they previously kept tabs on the midfielder when he was with Cesena in 2011. As a player … [Read more...]
Liverpool sign Augsburg defender Ragnar Klavan for £4.2m
Ragnar Klavan have joined Liverpool from Augsburg in a deal reportedly worth £4.2m. The experienced central defender has been brought in as cover at centre-back with both Mamadou Sakho and Joe Gomez currently ruled out due to injury. Tiago Ilori had been expected to provide initial cover for the start of the coming season but his inclusion in Portugal’s Olympics squad has forced Liverpool to bolster their defensive ranks with new-signing Klavan. The central defender enjoyed four seasons at Augsburg, after joining in 2012, and made 181 appearances for the club. Speaking to Liverpool's official website, Klaven said: “I’m really honoured to be part of this amazing club, this amazing team. “It’s hard to put it into words, because it’s been a dream … [Read more...]
Premier League to clamp down on abuse of match officials
Premier League players and managers have been warned they face red cards for abusing match officials this season. Not one player has been sent off in the Premier League for insulting or abusive language towards a match official in the last five seasons, but that could change, unless they quickly accept and adapt. The Premier League, Football Association and English Football League on Wednesday announced an unnamed initiative seeking to address indiscipline in the game by reinforcing laws. The grassroots-to-elite initiative is unnamed, but has been a topic of discussions for a year and has support from the Professional Football Association and the League Managers’ Association. Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore said: “We’re looking to … [Read more...]
Mkhitaryan confident of winning titles at Man United
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has underlined his confidence that he can ‘win titles’ at Manchester United after facing the media for the first time since his £26million move from Borussia Dortmund. The 27-year-old arrived at Old Trafford earlier this month from the Bundesliga giants on a contract until 2020. Dortmund took a swipe at United by underlining he was joining the “fifth-place English team last season”, but Mkhitaryan is confident in helping his new club challenge for Premier League glory once more. “It’s a very good opportunity to play for Manchester after Borussia – Manchester is one of the biggest clubs in the world,” he said ahead of facing his former club in the unusual surroundings of Shanghai on Friday. “I am very happy to be here and I am … [Read more...]
Pogba keen on Manchester United move
After negotiations between Manchester United and Juventus officially begun on Tuesday, Paul Pogba has given his blessing for the move to go through. The 23-year-old Frenchman has been a target for the Red Devils for some time now, but the English Premier League giants had to wait until Euro 2016 concluded before they could make a concrete move to bring the star back to Old Trafford. But now that negotiations have begun, Pogba has let Juventus know – via his agent Mino Raiola – that he is keen on a move to United, with the promise of huge salary increase and the lure of Jose Mourinho too hard to turn down. Pogba currently earns €4.5 million a season with the Bianconeri, but United are prepared to blow that out of the water with a five-year deal worth €12m … [Read more...]
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