Football News: Review Of The Day 13th January 2021

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Arsenal defender Rob Holding has signed a new 3 and a half year deal with an option for a further year.

Werder Bremen youngster Kebba Badjie has signed his first professional deal.

Transfers

Niall Canavan has returned to the club whose academy brought him through, Bradford City. The 29 year old defender has signed for an undisclosed fee from Plymouth Argyle.

Oxford United midfielder Sean Clare has signed for fellow League One club Burton Albion on loan.

Fleetwood Town have signed goalkeeper Joe Hilton on an emergency loan from Blackburn Rovers.

Anthony Knockaert's loan to Nottingham Forest has been extended until the end of the season from Fulham. Defender Nicholas Ioannou has moved out of Forest on loan, to sign for Aris Thessaloniki for the rest of the season.

Former Celtic midfielder Jackson Irvine has signed for Hibernian.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has confirmed that Rangers are interested in signing Dons' winger Scott Wright.

Leicester City defender Filip Benkovic has joined OH Leuven on loan.

In Major League Soccer, LA Galaxy have signed Jorge Villafana from Portland Timbers. Also joining the Galaxy is goalkeeper Jonathan Bond from West Bromwich Albion.

RC Lens winger Gaetan Robail has joined Valenciennes on loan.

Olympique Marseille have taken Spanish right-back Pol Lirola on loan from Fiorentina.

Stade Brest 29 have signed Jean Lucas on loan from Olympique Lyonnais.

Tenerife have taken Sergio Gonzalez on loan from Cadiz.

Eintracht Frankfurt's sporting director Fredi Bobic has revealed that former fan favourite Luka Jovic is set to return to the club on loan from Real Madrid.

Injury Round-Up

Despite the denials emanating from his agent, Strasbourg have announced that their in-demand defender Mohamed Simakan will be sidelined for two months due to the need to have an arthroscopy. His agent has recently claimed that Simakan was not injured and was just not playing for Strasbourg as he intends to leave them in January.

Managerial Changes

Disciplinary Charges

Grimsby Town have been given a suspended fine for breaches of the English Football League's CV rules, which led to three of their matches being postponed in September. An investigation discovered the club had not followed social distancing rules. That forced a larger number of players than should have been the case into isolation after one player tested positive. The £4880 fine is suspended until June, but Grimsby will have to pay a bill of £13,000 in investigation costs, plus reimburse costs incurred by the three teams they were due to face.

Bayern Munich's teenage Dutch forward Joshua Zirksee has been banned for 3 matches after being sent off in a reserve match.

Games Off

Brentford's next two Championship fixtures, against Bristol City and Reading, have been postponed due to a virus outbreak at the Bees. The game against Bristol City was postponed earlier in the season due to an outbreak within the Bristol City camp.

Parker Hits Out At Rearrangement

Fulham manager Scott Parker has launched a scathing attack on the Premier League after Fulham's match against Tottenham Hotspur was rearranged at short notice. Parker is upset as his team will now have to face a fresh and fit Spurs, who had the weekend off, while Parker had been using players in their FA Cup tie that he would have rested if he had known the game would be midweek. Parker said: "I am angry because it is not right. It is wrong. That is why I am so angry. The possibility of playing Spurs on Wednesday came on Saturday. We didn't think that was realistic and we were informed Monday morning at 9:30. To confirm that on Monday morning is scandalous. I accept we have to play the game, but it's the notice. The people making these decisions don't understand players. We have had it tough. We thought they had six days' recovery time. It is madness really. Getting a game called off two hours or 48 hours before is irrelevant. That is disappointing. To have a game agreed at 48 hours' notice, Jose will know you plan for one game or the other. Tottenham knew they had a fixture. He will have planned for that with his team selection. Would this have happened with two of the biggest teams in a title clash? Probably not. This is not acceptable."

CFG Add Bolivian Partner Club

Manchester City's parent company, City Football Group have added something different to their portfolio. Since buying Man City, ADUG have added nine more clubs to their portfolio, the latest being French side Troyes, who were bought in September. This time they have not bought a club, they have instead partnered with Bolivia's most popular side, Club Bolivar. CFG's chief executive, Ferran Soriano said: "This long-term agreement is the first of its kind and will enable Club Bolivar to draw down on and utilise the wide range of football industry expertise developed by CFG. As well as supporting Club Bolivar's ambitions, we have an opportunity to learn. Our work in Bolivia will certainly strengthen our knowledge of, and network in, South American football."

French Football Looking To Cut Player Salaries

The French Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and Ligue 1 and 2 teams' club presidents have met with the French equivalent of the PFA, UNFP, in an attempt to introduce salary cuts of 30% to all players. France football has suffered financially over the last year due to the pandemic and the loss of a TV broadcast deal with Mediapro. The LFP had to take out a 120m euro loan recently to cover parachute payments to clubs and has also borrowed 224m euros from the French government to help clubs to cope with the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Bundesliga Facing Haircut Crisis

After players in the German Bundesliga continue to play on while the country, like so many across Europe, goes into lockdown, one surprising fact has caused controversy in the nation. The German Hairdresser Association has written an open letter to the German FA (DFB) to ask why the players are taking to the pitch with fresh haircuts while hair salons have been closed across the country. The hairdressing association wrote: "It is with great amazement we noticed that over the last match days of Bundesliga a vast majority of the professional footballers took to the pitch with new haircuts. Freshly cut football stars put an entire branch under pressure. Many hairdressers are threatened in their existence. The discontent with the top styled football pros is growing. They lead to customers calling and asking for work on the side and breaches of the corona regulations like visits at home." The statement also claimed that the hair styles "can only be cut by a professional hairdresser with professional equipment."

Written by Tris Burke January 13 2021 06:16:54