Squad
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...
Thomas Tuchel targets four signings at Chelsea after contract extension
According to the Daily Star, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel wants to bring in four new players this summer after signing a new contract with the club. Tuchel arrived at the Bridge in January earlier this year, after Chelsea had sacked club legend Frank Lampard owing to a disappointing run of results that threatened to derail the campaign. Under the German, though, the Blues experienced a tremendous turnaround as they clinched a top-four finish in the Premier League and also made it to the FA Cup finals. But the cherry on top was Chelsea going on to win the UEFA Champions League for just the second time in the history of the club, beating Man City in the finals in Porto. Following the sensational turnaround, Tuchel, who had initially signed just an eighteen-month contract, has now been hande...
West Ham offer lucrative contract to Alex Kral
West Ham United have been heavily linked with a move for the Spartak Moscow midfielder Alex Kral. Meanwhile, Football Insider are claiming that the Premier League side have offered the 23-year-old defensive midfielder a double-your-money contract. The Czech Republic international is highly rated and he could prove to be a quality long term investment for the London club. The Hammers signed his compatriots Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal recently and both players have proven to be massive hits at the club. The Premier League side will be hoping that Kral can follow in their footsteps and succeed at West Ham. The chance to move to a Premier League club is already an attractive proposition and the fact that he will be earning double of what he is currently picking up at Spartak Moscow will o...
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...
Belgium coach: Kevin De Bruyne’s Euro 2020 participation still unclear
The possibility of Kevin De Bruyne competing for Belgium in the European Championship remains unclear as he recovers from facial fractures, coach Roberto Martinez said on Wednesday. The midfield talisman broke his nose and eye socket in a clash in the Champions League final last weekend but it would be days before Belgium were clear about his chances of competing, Martinez told reporters. “I would say that until next week we won’t know exactly where we are with Kevin. Now, allow him now to relax. “He could be available for the Euros but when, we don’t know at the moment. It’s too early to give you an answer now, we must first get the green light from the medical side.” De Bruyne had been scheduled to join up with Belgium’s squad just days before their opening Group B match against Russia i...
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 ...
Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa doubtful for Super Eagles friendly
Indomitable Lions goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa is doubtful for Friday’s friendly against Nigeria due to injury. Ondoa, who plays for Spanish club Deportivo Alaves hurt a finger on his right hand during training on Tuesday morning. The 25-year-old is expected to undergo test to determine the severity of the injury. A graduate of Samuel Eto’o Academy, he has been capped 44 times by the five-times African champions. Stoke City’s Blondy Noukeu, Omossola Simon , who plays AS Vita of Congo Democratic Republic and Pas Lamia’s Devis Epassy are the three other goalkeepers in the squad. Cameroon will take on the Super Eagles at the Stadion Weiner Neustadt on Friday. The African superpowers will clash in a second friendly at the same venue next week Tuesday. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Dese...
Barcelona announce the signing of Eric Garcia
Finally, the signing of Eric Garcia has been officially announced by Barcelona. The 20-year-old centre-back has been linked to the club for almost a year now. He came very close to signing for his boyhood club last summer before the talks broke down on the deadline day, as well as January of this year. Garcia had spent nine years at the youth level in Barça before moving to Manchester City in 2017. The youngster has been captain of almost all the youth Barça teams he played at. He was also the captain of the U-19 team of Manchester City. After a triumphant spell with Manchester City in England, Garcia will return to Catalonia, securing the Premier League winners medal twice. Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, rates the young centre-back very highly. When asked about not selecting Ga...
Ex-Fiorentina defender: Victor Osimhen will perform under new boss
Former Fiorentina defender, Vittorio Tosto, is convinced that Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen can power Napoli to glory under newly appointed manager Luciano Spalletti. Spalletti, a former Inter Milan coach, was named the boss of the Parthenopeans, days after Gennaro Gattuso left the role following a disappointing end to the campaign. Gattuso was a key factor behind Osimhen’s decision to quit Lille for the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona last summer, with the club parting with a club-record fee of over €70 million. But injuries and coronavirus-related problems limited the attacker to 30 games across all competitions. The Super Eagles forward managed to find the back of the net ten times and provided three assists as Napoli missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day of the ...
Chelsea’s Champions League final squad confirmed
Thomas Tuchel has named his 25-man squad for the trip to Portugal to face Manchester City in the Champions League final. Our head coach looks set to have a full squad to choose from in Porto, with his 25 players flying to Portugal today ahead of Saturday’s final, following N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy’s return to training yesterday after picking up injuries in our last two Premier League fixtures. ‘N’Golo is looking good and I hope he stays like that for Saturday,’ said Tuchel. ‘Edou made a huge improvement with the management of pain from when the injury happened, which is good. We hope to have him back. If he is fit, then Edou will play.’ Chelsea squad listed below in squad number order Kepa Arrizabalaga Antonio Rudiger Marcos Alonso Andreas Christensen Jorginho Thiago Silva N’Golo Kan...
Antonio Conte leaves Inter Milan
Title winning Antonio Conte has parted ways with Inter Milan amidst rumors he’s set for a return to the Premier League. Conte who guided Inter to the Scudetto for the first time since 2010 has been embroiled in a dispute with the club’s owners following their decision to cut down the size of the squad. A statement on the club’s website reads, “Internazionale Milano can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Antonio Conte for the termination of his contract by mutual consent. The Club would like to thank Antonio for the extraordinary work that he has done, culminating in Inter’s 19th top-flight title. Antonio Conte will forever remain a part of our Club’s history.” There are, however, rumours that the former Chelsea boss is set for a return to England to manage Tottenham Hotspurs. ...
Harry Maguire almost certain to miss Europa League final
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Harry Maguire will almost certainly not be fit enough to face Villareal in the Europa League final. Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of United’s final Premier League game of the season against Wolves at Molyneux, the boss confirmed the bad news. ‘I’m going to give him until Tuesday night and the last training session, to see if he can be out there — steadily he is improving but we’re going to give him time to heal. ‘He’s walking but it’s a long way from walking to running so, to be honest, I don’t think we’ll see him in Gdansk, no,’ Solskjaer said. The news will come as a bitter blow for the United skipper, who had been ever-present in nearly two seasons of League football since joining the Red Devils from Leicester City. ...
