Middlesbrough
QPR announce signing of former Tottenham man
Queens Park Rangers have signed goalkeeper Jordan Archer on a two-year contract, the club have confirmed via their official website. The Rs were in need of a new goalkeeper this transfer window. Joe Lumley departed to Middlesbrough upon the expiry of his contract, and Liam Kelly returned to Scotland to play for Motherwell. Lumley left QPR this summer This left them with just one senior goalkeeper on the books. However, they have now solved this problem, bringing in Archer on a free transfer. The 28-year-old, who has one cap for the Scotland national team, began his career at Tottenham Hotspur. Following several loan spells, he eventually moved on a permanent basis to Millwall. Since leaving the Den in 2019, he has had brief stints at Oxford United, Fulham, Motherwell, and Middlesbrough, le...
Mikel Obi leaves Stoke City, joins Kuwaiti club
Former Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel has joined Al Kuwait SC, the Kuwaiti Premier League side on a year’s deal. The announcement was made by the club on Thursday, after Mikel and Stoke City cancelled their contract by mutual consent. Mikel’s new club finished third in the division last season behind Al-Qadsia and champions Al-Arabi. The Nigerian spent 11 years and made 372 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea. After Chelsea he played for Trabzonspor and Middlesbrough, before heading to China to spend two years with Tianjin Teda in the Chinese Super League. Mikel returned to UK in August 2020 to play Stoke City. Stoke boss Michael O’Neill told the club’s official website: ‘Although John triggered the second year of his contract, we always had an agreement in place whereby we wou...
Marcus Rashford penalty gives England win over Romania in Euro warm-up
Marcus Rashford’s penalty earned England an unconvincing 1-0 win over Romania in their final warm-up friendly ahead of Euro 2020 in Middlesbrough on Sunday. However, victory for Gareth Southgate’s men was again overshadowed by booing from supporters as the players took the knee before kick-off. Southgate’s selection will also be questioned as he named an experimental line-up with five players who are not part of his final squad making an appearance at some point in the game. There is still one place up for grabs in Southgate’s 26-man squad, though, due to an injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold. James Ward-Prowse, Ben Godfrey and Ben White were all given the chance to further their case from the start, while Jesse Lingard and Ollie Watkins came off the bench in the second-half. An inexperience...
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold ruled out of Euro 2020
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of the European Championship after suffering a thigh injury in Wednesday’s friendly win over Austria. The Liverpool defender limped off in the closing stages of the 1-0 victory, with Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate offering a grim prognosis immediately after the game. His fears were realised when scans revealed the extent of Alexander-Arnold’s injury – with the Football Association confirming his withdrawal on Thursday. Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of UEFA EURO 2020,” a statement said. “The Liverpool player sustained a thigh injury in the closing stages of Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Austria in Middlesbrough. “A scan on Thursday confirmed the 22-year-old will be unable to play in the forthcoming tournament so he has withdrawn from th...
Euro 2020: Gareth Southgate invites Bukayo Saka, 24 others
Gareth Southgate hit back at the critics after selecting Trent Alexander-Arnold for England’s Euro 2020 squad as the Three Lions boss admitted Harry Maguire is a doubt for the opener against Croatia. Alexander-Arnold had to endure a nervous wait before learning he had made the cut after spending much of the season out of favour with Southgate. The 22-year-old was left out of Southgate’s England squad for their World Cup qualifiers in March. But Alexander-Arnold’s strong end to the season with Liverpool convinced Southgate to restore the right-back to his squad. Alexander-Arnold responded to his selection by tweeting: “Always believe in yourself. Silence the doubters.” Irritated by the inaccurate pre-announcement reports that he would drop Alexander-Arnold, Southgate insisted he never lost ...
Derby send Sheffield Wednesday down, Hammers target bags second successive treble
Derby County narrowly avoided relegation on a dramatic final day in the Championship. The Rams twice came from behind to secure a 3-3 draw against Sheffield Wednesday at Pride Park to escape the drop at the expense of their opponents. Martyn Waghorn (2) and Patrick Roberts were on target for Derby, while Sam Hutchinson, Callum Paterson and Julian Borner replied for the visitors. Rotherham United were on course to survive after Lewis Wing put them ahead at Cardiff City, but Marlon Pack’s late strike sent them tumbling back into League One after just one season. Wycombe Wanderers also made an immediate return to the third tier despite recording a 3-0 victory at Middlesbrough – Fred Onyedinma, Garath McCleary and Jason McCarthy got the goals. At the other end of the table, the line-up for the...
Report: Championship club keen to sign £25m Everton forward in January
According to The Sun, English Championship outfit Middlesbrough are plotting a move for Everton winger Yannick Bolasie ahead of the January transfer window. Boro manager Neil Warnock was keen to bring the 31-year-old to Riverside during the last summer transfer window, but the move fell through on transfer deadline day. Bolasie isn’t in the plans of Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti and wasn’t included in the club’s 25-man Premier League squad. The Italian has told him to leave, and while he has continued to train with the team, an exit is very much on the cards next month. The winger joined Everton from Crystal Palace for £25 million in the summer of 2016, but has only played 32 games since his arrival. An anterior cruciate ligament injury ruled him out of action between December 2016 and Dece...
Premier League set to reject requests to postpone games due to Covid outbreaks
Premier League officials are set to reject requests to postpone games in the event of Covid outbreaks amongst top-flight sides, with clubs required to fulfil fixtures unless they have fewer than 14 players available. The 2020/21 season is set to begin this weekend with the division’s authorities determined to finish the rescheduled and congested campaign on time ahead of next summer’s European Championships, with clubs having been informed that fixtures will need to be fulfilled even in the event of significant coronavirus outbreaks amongst top-flight squads. According to the Mail, Premier League clubs will be required to fulfil fixtures unless they have less than 14 players available for selection, including U21 players, who they will be obliged to play in the event of such circumstances....
Relegated Premier League sides get fixtures as 2020-21 Championship schedule released
Bournemouth will start life back in the Championship at home to Blackburn Rovers, while Watford host Middlesbrough and Norwich City travel to Huddersfield Town. The Cherries were relegated after a five-year stay in the Premier League, while Watford and Norwich were also demoted in a top-flight campaign that was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. That halt means the new Championship season starts on September 12, with beaten play-off finalists Brentford travelling to Birmingham City on the opening day, while south Wales rivals Cardiff City and Swansea City – who also made the top six – host Sheffield Wednesday and visit Preston North End respectively. Wycombe Wanderers – playing in the second tier for the first time – welcome fellow new boys Rotherham United for their first game, while ...
Britain secures early access to promising vaccine candidates
The British government on Friday announced that it had secured early access to 90 million doses of two new promising vaccine candidates. British citizens will receive early access to 90 million doses of the two COVID-19 vaccine candidates should they prove safe and effective. By far, the British government has secured access to six different vaccine candidates as part of the government’s strategy to build a portfolio of promising new vaccines should any be found to be safe and effective. The government has also agreed in principle to co-fund a global clinical trial with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson to establish how effective their vaccine could be in providing long-term immunity against COVID-19. The next phase of Janssen’s clinical trials is expected to begi...
Journalist: 23 y/o midfielder ‘close to leaving’ Tottenham, scored two goals last season
Journalist: 23 y/o midfielder 'close to leaving' Tottenham, scored two goals last season – originally posted on Sportslens.com According to The Athletic journalist, Charlie Eccleshare, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luke Amos is ‘close to leaving’ the club. The 23-year-old made his senior debut for Spurs in 2016 but has made just one Premier League appearance for the club. He has been on loan to clubs like Southend United, Stevenage, and Queens Park Rangers in the past few years. Last season, he joined QPR on loan where he duly impressed. The defensive midfielder managed 34 appearances for the Championship side and scored two goals. Eccleshare has claimed that Amos is likely to leave Spurs on a permanent deal this summer. He has been chased by two Championship clu...
Martin Braithwaite ‘likely’ to leave Barcelona
Martin Braithwaite is likely to leave Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to Mundo Deportivo. The 29-year-old striker joined Blaugrana from Leganes as an emergency signing in February after Barça had suffered long-term injuries to the likes of Luis Suárez and Ousmane Dembélé. However, it now looks like the former-Middlesbrough man is set to leave Camp Nou. The report states that the club have had their use out of the Danish international and are now looking to receive a return on the reported €18m they paid for him. Braithwaite made just 11 appearances for Barça during the second half of the season, starting just four of those games. He was Leganes’ top goalscorer with six goals before his departure, and the club were relegated following the 2-2 draw with Real Madrid on Sund...
