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Januzaj seeks loan move

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Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj is ready to move away from the club on a short-term loan deal once the window re-opens in January. 

It is understood that the Belgian winger is worried that his progress will stall with the arrivals of many big-name stars over the summer preventing the player to feature regularly in the starting eleven.

Januzaj has been forced to play for the reserves, where he scored a hat-trick the other night, and there is no doubt that many teams will be willing to bring the winger to their club. 

The ex-Holland boss is famous for blooding youngsters in his teams, with Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller the most notable example, and may prefer to Januzaj to gain experience from the new arrivals at United. 

By Ollie Brown

Terry delighted with fan’s support

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John Terry has thanked Chelsea fans after the club’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Schalke last night in the Champions League. Midfielder Cesc Fabregas had put the Blues in front, only for Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to equalise late on and rescue a point for the German side.

It dampened the spirit of Chelsea fans, but John Terry was delighted with the backing the backing of the supporters, posting a message on Instagram to show his delight with them. He posted a picture of six pairs of boots with the caption: “Disappointing not winning tonight,but a long way to go in the group. Thanks for all your support at the Bridge tonight. #Nike”

Chelsea’s next game is a tough one, as they will face Man City on Sunday, in a top of the table clash.

By Charlie Gregory

 

Mathieu Debuchy fearing surgery

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Arsenal defender, Mathieu Debuchy, will find out tomorrow whether or not he needs to have surgery on his ankle.

The Frenchman fell awkwardly during their 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, and the results will come back tomorrow showing whether he will need surgery on the ankle.

It’s believed that Debuchy will miss up to three months with the injury, but it could become longer if surgery is required.

The 29-year-old confirmed on his official Facebook page that there has been no fracture to the ankle, but admits ligament damage has been done.

“No fracture but one broken ligament… I have to wait until Friday in order to know if I must have surgery.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Raphael Varane signs six-year extension at Real Madrid

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Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has signed a six-year contract extension at the Bernabeu, all-but ruling out a potential move to Premier League side, Chelsea.

The Blues were linked with signing the Frenchman over the Summer after he threatened to quit the La Liga club due to lack of game-time and lack of talks regarding his future.

However, Varane has recently been in talks with the club’s officials and has now agreed a new six-year deal at the club, keeping him there until at least 2020.

The 21-year-old was labelled as the ‘best young defender in the world’ by Jose Mourinho, who gave Varane his full Madrid debut, and was keen to sign him for Chelsea in the Summer, but failed to materialise the interest into a formal bid.

Real Madrid have recently released this formal statement: ‘The Real Madrid CF announces the extension of contract between the player Raphael Varane with the club until June 30, 2020.’

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Arsene Wenger admits Ronaldo is biggest regret

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that not signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon is one of the biggest regrets he has in football.

The Frenchman was on the brink of signing the Portuguese starlet back when he was a teenager, and he had even set aside a kit number for him, before the deal collapsed and Ronaldo ended up joining rivals-Manchester United instead.

Ronaldo went on to became a massive hit at Old Trafford and is now classed as one of the best players in the world at Real Madrid, and Wenger admits that it’s his biggest regret that he didn’t complete the signing of him back in 2003.

‘My biggest regret, I was so close, to signing Cristiano Ronaldo, and not only did I not get him he signed for Manchester United, so that of course still hurts today,’ the Arsenal boss said.

The Arsenal boss was then asked about his best ever signing at the club, and despite Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry being mentioned, Wenger had a different player in mind.

‘I’d never say which player was the best, but I think it’s the signings like Lauren who you spot when nobody else does,’ he said.

‘He was a right midfielder who I played at right back and was one of the invincibles.’

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

‘Chelsea underestimated us’, says Schalke boss

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho underestimated Schalke, according to the German side’s boss, Jens Keller.

The Bundesliga outfit picked up a precious point at Stamford Bridge last night after Klaas Jan Huntelaar cancelled out a Cesc Fabregas goal, and after the game, Keller believes the Chelsea players thought it would be an easy game for them.

Schalke had several injuries going into the game at The Bridge and were expected to be beaten comfortably by Mourinho’s side, who have started very well in the Premier League, winning all their games, but Keller believes they underestimated his team last night and that is why they could only draw.

Keller said: “I’m incredibly proud of my team. The way we played here was incredible.

“It’s not easy to play like this, especially not against Chelsea, particularly when you consider the problems we had to fight with in the build-up to the game.

“Maybe Chelsea underestimated us a little but, regardless of that, my team played well and did exactly what we planned.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

‘I would love to manage Drogba’, admits Wenger

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, has revealed that he would have loved to manage Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, during his career.

The Ivorian striker, who has an incredible scoring record against Wenger’s teams, has returned to Chelsea for a second-stint after going to China and then Turkey with Galatasaray, and despite now being 36, the striker is ready to help guide Chelsea to glory this season.

During his first stint at Stamford Bridge, Drogba netted 15 goals in 15 meetings against Wenger’s Arsenal, and the boss at the Emirates has revealed how close he came to signing him back in France.

“I would have loved to have managed Didier Drogba for two reasons,” Wenger told Huawei.

“I missed him when he played in France at Le Mans – not even in the top league. I knew he was good player there and I missed him.

“And secondly because he hurt us so much in big games that all this pain would not have happened.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

‘Balotelli needs Suarez’s work-ethic’, says Rodgers

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Mario Balotelli needs to up his work-ethic during matches, according to Liverpool boss, Brendan Rodgers.

The Reds manager has stated that his new striker needs to work as hard as his old striker did on the pitch, referring to Luis Suarez, who joined FC Barcelona in the Summer after another biting incident during the World Cup.

The Italian scored his first goal for his new club on Tuesday night during their 2-1 victory in the Champions League, and after the game, Rodgers admitted he was delighted to see the 23-year-old register his first goal for the club, but he knows that he needs to work harder to ensure he scores more.

Rodgers was a massive fan of Suarez due to his goalscoring record, but also due to how hard he worked for his team-mates, and the boss wants a similar job done by Balotelli.

“Mario’s a boy who’s really looked into the history of the club. He understands the great strikers of the past,” said Rodgers.

“We’ve spoken about Suarez and his time here. Mario’s still young and still learning the game and he still has this hunger to do well.

“You see his work; he’s put his body on the line and he needs to do more of that but that will come as he gets fitter.

“I don’t spend more time with him than the other players. As a coach you will always have players who are high maintenance and players who are low maintenance for different reasons.

“I’ll spend a lot of time with a lot of the players but he’s a good boy and you can see he’s prepared to work.

“Okay, the ball has bounced off him a couple of times and we’re trying to improve him in the transitions so that when he makes a mistake he can go after it, but you can see what he’s trying to put in for the team.

“That’s going to be very important. The crowd demand that because the players who’ve been here in the past in that position have been non-stop and he’s coming attuned to that.

“He’s aware of the demands and it’s going to take time, but if he continues to score goals and work hard like he has done he will be fine because he’s obviously got the quality.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Liverpool and Chelsea eye German starlet

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Liverpool and Chelsea are set to battle it out for the signing of Bayer Leverkusen starlet, Julian Brandt, who impressed during the European Under-19 Championships in Hungary over the summer.

Brendan Rodgers and Jose Mourinho both received positive feedback from their scouts regarding the 18-year-old, and both English clubs are seriously considering making an offer to the Bundesliga side for the German teenager.

Rodgers was made aware of Brandt by his scouting team and since then he has flown to Germany to watch the teenager in action personally, with Mourinho expected to do the same throughout the season.

The 18-year-old has just broken into the Leverkusen first-team and is a regular now for the Bundesliga outfit, but with five years left on his current contract, Chelsea and Liverpool both face an uphill task in trying to sign the German starlet.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

‘Ozil should have stayed in Madrid’, blasts Ballack

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Ex-German international, Michael Ballack, believes Arsenal midfielder, Mesut Ozil, should have stayed at Real Madrid and fought for his place.

The former-Chelsea midfielder was speaking on Sky Sports about the current form of Ozil, and he believes it’s down to him leaving a club like Madrid for Arsenal and he doesn’t think his form will improve anytime soon either.

Ozil left Madrid last Summer just as Gareth Bale arrived at the Bernabeu, and Ballack believes the German international should have stayed in Spain due to his quality, but also believes he cannot take criticism well and that is why he isn’t putting in the high-level of performances everyone is expected.

Arsenal paid £42million for the midfielder, a club record fee, but Ballack believes Ozil made the wrong decision in joining the North London club.

Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: ‘What’s happened with him? I don’t know. There must be something behind (the scenes) because his head is mostly down, the body language is not improving even with the world champion (medal) in the pocket. 

‘I don’t really know what’s happened over the last year since he moved from Madrid to Arsenal.

‘A player like him with his ability should have tried to stay longer at Real Madrid.

‘That is my opinion. You could see there was a little bit trouble, a little bit moaning. I think he played well but you need time to adapt at a club.

‘If there is some ups and downs (at a club) you need to fight these things.

‘And now it’s a little bit the same situation. He got criticised here (at Arsenal), he’s not at his best but I don’t see a reaction. 

‘A player like him with his ability should show a reaction but he never was the strongest player in terms of fighting, body language. 

‘That’s his weakness – especially in these situations now when he can’t use his technique and his vision. 

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

‘Oh and sign Reus’, tweets Liverpool owner

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Liverpool owner, John W.Henry, sent out a cryptic tweet last night to his followers by simply sending a message reading ‘Oh and sign Reus’.

The German international, who currently plays for Borussia Dortmund, is heavily wanted by Premier League sides and was close to switching to Arsenal over the Summer before he suffered a nasty injury which kept him out of the World Cup.

According to reports, Reus had agreed to move to The Gunners, but his injury prevented the move and they signed Alexis Sanchez from FC Barcelona instead.

However, Reus is still a wanted man from Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, with many Reds fans getting excited after seeing their owner’s latest tweet.

It’s unclear what the tweet means and Henry hasn’t back up the message with any description, nor has he deleted it, but it’s left many questions for Liverpool fans who are getting excited at the thought that Reus may be coming to Anfield in the near-future.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

‘Costa can’t play twice a week’, admits Mourinho

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed the shocking news that new-striker, Diego Costa, cannot play twice a week due to his fitness levels.

The Spaniard, who cost the club £32million from Atletico Madrid, was benched for last night’s Champions League game against Schalke, and came on as a substitute late on in the game, however failed to make the desired impact with the game ending all square at 1-1.

After the game, Mourinho was asked about his decision to bench the in-form striker, and the manager revealed that his star-man struggles to play twice a week due to his fitness and also his dodgy hamstring.

Mourinho said: “Costa has a problem. If he has one week to let the muscle recover, he can start again like he has been since he had that problem with the national team. But three days is not enough. We have to manage the situation until he’s completely fine. I don’t know how long that will be.”

“He came to us and was completely fine. He had a problem again in the national team, not with us.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

‘I wanted Arsenal move’, admits Julian Draxler

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German international, Julian Draxler, has revealed that Premier League side, Arsenal, were keen on signing him in January, and the Schalke midfielder was open to the move as well.

There was strong speculation that Arsene Wenger was going to splash out £32million on the German in January and convert him from a play-maker, to an out-an-out striker, but the deal broke down due to difference in valuations for the player, with Schalke wanting closer to £37m.

Whilst in London for their Champions League game with Chelsea, Schalke posed for a picture with an Arsenal fan who questioned him about the links with the North London club, and he confirmed that there was interest from both sides regarding the move.

A popular YouTube channel, ArsenalFanTV, is where the mentioned Arsenal fan is known from and he asked Draxler whether Arsenal were interested, and whether Draxler wanted to make the move, both questions were met with ‘Yes’ answers from the midfielder.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

Arsene Wenger eyes double free-signings

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may be forced into the free-agents market as his defensive issues grow with the club currently having only four first-team defenders fit.

After Mathieu Debuchy suffered his nasty ankle injury, it left Wenger with just; Calum Chambers, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Kieran Gibbs, as fit options for the back-line, and the Frenchman is now ready to add reinforcements just in case anything further happens to his defence.

Two players potentially on the radar are; Joseph Yobo and Diego Lugano, both whom were playing for Premier League clubs last season, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion respectively.

Yobo, who went on loan to Carrow Road from Fenerbache, was released by the Turkish side over the Summer, and Lugano was let-go by WBA, who brought in Joleon Lescott from Manchester City.

Both defenders are still looking for new clubs, and Wenger may be forced into signing them on short-deals in order to bulk up his back-line.

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

 

Jose Mourinho frustrated by goalkeeper questions

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Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, has hit out at reporters for continuously asking him about his goalkeeper situation with Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois.

The Blues boss made a massive decision at the beginning of the season to make the young Belgium ‘keeper his regular number-one for the season, with the expectations that Cech would feature in cup games and Champions League games.

However, in last night’s 1-1 opener with German side, Schalke, Courtois was once again in goal, raising eyebrows about the role Cech will play at Stamford Bridge this season.

After the game, Mourinho was asked about the situation regarding the two, and this is what he had to say:

‘I don’t accept that you ask me about the goalkeeper every week,’ he said.

‘If you do this you have to ask me every week why this right-back, why this left back or why this central defender. It’s my choice.

‘You can have a discussion between you and you can have your opinion. But for me it’s just a decision and I can’t say more than I say.

‘And what I say is that I have two fantastic goalkeepers. It’s just my opinion but two of the best three goalkeepers in the world.

‘It’s a fantastic situation for me and for Chelsea.’

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles