Roma will reportedly make a bid for Tottenham Hotspur defender Vlad Chiriches if they sell centre-half Mehdi Benatia to Manchester United. Italian source La Gazzetta dello Sport claims the Red Devils are now in pole position to lure unsettled Benatia away from Serie A, with bitter rivals City cooling their interest in the Moroccan. The Premier League champions will instead attempt to tie-up their long-running pursuit of Porto star Eliaquim Mangala, who has already undergone a medical. Should Roma part company with their £32million defensive talisman they will, according to the report, splash out part of the windfall on Spurs…
Author: Staff Writer
Manchester United are the new front runners to land wantaway Roma defender Mehdi Benatia, according to fresh reports in the Italian media. La Gazzetta dello Sport claims the Red Devils have opened a dialogue and are ready to capitalise on the decision made by rivals City to abandon the pursuit of the 27-year-old. The Blues are still confident of signing centre-half Eliaquim Mangala from Porto, and always viewed Benatia as a back-up option. United intend to significantly strengthen the heart of their backline after losing veteran duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic during the summer, and they are prepared to…
West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has revealed that summer signing Enner Valencia is trailing behind his new team-mates in training. Fatigue picked up towards the end of his World Cup campaign with Ecuador in Brazil has hampered the striker’s introduction to life in the capital. Veteran entrepreneur Gold does not expect the £12million hitman to feature in tomorrow’s pre-season friendly against Serie A outfit Sampdoria and admitted he has some way to go before he reaches optimum fitness. When quizzed about Valencia’s condition and the chances of him playing tomorrow by followers on Twitter, Gold replied: “I doubt it.…
Chelsea have not had many selection headaches to contend with in recent years, but this year they look set to have one of their biggest to date. José Mourinho has been left with a huge goal-keeping dilemma with Thibaut Courtois returning from his three year loan spell at Spanish side Atlético Madrid. The shot-stopper had shone in Spain throughout the course of his loan period, having been moved straight to the La Liga side to gain experience on his initial signing for parent club Chelsea in 2011. The young Belgium international has been brought back by the ‘Special One’…
Chelsea’s expensive Brazilian reject David Luiz believes the only way to cure his World Cup woes is to throw himself into the upcoming season with his new club Paris Saint-Germain. The 27-year-old has experienced an eventful summer. First the World Cup debacle, which saw his national team and host side Brazil demolished 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals then suffer a 3-0 stuffing by Netherlands in the third-place play-offs. Then on his arrival back in the UK the centre-back switched clubs, moving from Premier League giants Chelsea to French Ligue 1 heavyweights PSG – where he is due to…
Arsenal have announced their three German World Cup champions will miss the start of the new season owing to manager Arsene Wenger having given them extended leave for recuperation following their international victory in Brazil. The French coach has confirmed Germany stars Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker will miss the two opening domestic fixtures of the season for Arsenal – which are the Community Shield match against Manchester City on Sunday and the Premier League debut game against Crystal Palace on Saturday 16 August. Wenger explained his reasoning behind granting the three Germans the additional time off…
Newcastle right-back Daryl Janmaat has spoken out on his upcoming debut for the Magpies, insisting there should be no concerns over his fitness despite his lack of training. The 25-year-old Dutchman signed to Newcastle three weeks ago from Erdivisie side Feyenoord. With the start of the new football season just a fortnight away, the club’s £5m summer acquisition has been subject to scepticism regarding his fitness but believes he is match-ready despite having trained only three times with his new team mates during the pre-season period. He is hoping to get a run-out against Spanish La Liga side Real…
With the start of the Premier League looming, Chelsea appear favourites to reclaim the title. Just like they were 12 months ago… This time last year, it was believed that the return of Jose Mourinho would inspire the Blues to win their first league title since the 2009/2010 season. That prediction turned out to be foley as Chelsea were undone by the more dogged teams in the league, managing only a third place finish. This time however, there is more optimism in the air for Chelsea fans. While the football community has sat back and enjoyed the spectacle of…
Liam Bekker takes a closer look at Liverpool’s pre-season and questions if the upcoming season could bring them success… The 2013/14 campaign was one to remember for everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club with the Merseysiders’ stringing together a host of breath-taking performances on their way to an odds-defying title challenge. Ultimately, they fell just two points short of Man City and the title, but with a much coveted place in the Champions League secured after a four year hiatus, fans were left feeling very optimistic about the future. Two months and a World Cup Finals later, things are looking…
Real Madrid are still favourites to sign Radamel Falcao this summer but must wait to sell Angel Di Maria before making a serious move. Argentine playmaker Di Maria has been strongly linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu this summer and is expected to join Paris Saint Germain. However, the Parisien side are struggling to complete the deal due to certain Financial Fair Play regulations, thus stopping Madrid from making a serious move for Colombian striker Radamel Falcao. Falcao returned to full fitness last week, playing and scoring against Arsenal in the Emirates Cup for Monaco. The former…