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Football News: Review Of The Day 20th January 2021

Review Of The Day 20th January 2021
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Review of the Day

 



Contracts

Southend United have extended the contract of veteran defender Greg Halford until the end of the season.

 


Transfers

Free agent midfielder Jamie Devitt, released by Blackpool on Tuesday after returning from his loan at Newport County, has signed for Barrow.

Walsall have signed striker Jayden Reid on loan from Birmingham City.

Charlton Athletic forward Josh Davison has signed on loan for Forest Green Rovers.

Barnsley forward Luke Thomas has signed for Ipswich Town on loan.

Former Liverpool youngster Conor Masterson has joined Swindon Town on loan from Queens Park Rangers.

Huddersfield Town have paid an undisclosed fee for veteran former Republic of Ireland defender Richard Keogh from MK Dons. Keogh was sacked by Derby County in 2019 after a drunken car crash involving teammates which damaged his knee.

Brighton & Hove Albion have loaned left-back Bernardo to Red Bull Salzburg.

Norwich City have signed Greek left-back Dimitris Giannoulis on loan from PAOK Salonika with a view to signing him for an undisclosed fee if they win promotion back to the Premier League this season.

Perry Ng has completed his transfer to Cardiff City from Crewe Alexandra for an undisclosed fee.

Derby County defender Mike te Wierik has returned to FC Groningen after just 6 months with the Rams.

Mario Mandzukic has signed for AC Milan for the rest of the season with an option for a further season.

West Bromwich Albion's Kenneth Zohore has extended his loan deal with Millwall to the end of the season.

Aston Villa are holding talks with Olympique Marseille in an attempt to sign Morgan Sanson.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has signed for Schalke 04 on a free transfer from Ajax.

Major League Soccer side NY Red Bulls have signed Andres Reyes from Atletico Nacional.

Former Arsenal youngster Xavier Amaechi has joined Karlsruhe on loan from Hamburg.

Dijon have sent Aurelien Scheidler to AS Nancy on loan.

Eibar have loaned Damian Kadzior to Alanyaspor.

Experienced centre-back Fabio Pisacane has signed for Lecce from Cagliari.

Irish teenager Kevin Zefi is expected to sign for Inter Milan. The 16-year-old Shamrock Rovers winger has had offers from all over Europe but it is believed he chose the Milanese as he already has family who live in the city.

 


Injury Round-Up

Former Liverpool and Sevilla midfielder Luis Alberto was rushed to hospital for an emergency appendectomy last night according to Italian press reports. The Lazio midfielder is expected to be out of action for at least a week.

 


Managerial Changes

Leeds United have lost Under-23 coach Darren Arnott to Stromsgodset, where he will be part of Henrik Pedersen's coaching staff.

 


Disciplinary Charges

The Premier League are investigating after West Bromwich Albion manager Sam Allardyce admitted he left out Robert Snodgrass against West Ham United due to an agreement between the two clubs when Snodgrass signed for West Brom. Allardyce said: "We could only get the deal done with that agreement. There was an agreement between the clubs that this game he would not be allowed to play."

Eibar striker Sergi Enrich and former teammate Antonio Luna have been sentenced to jail for 2 years for their part in a sex tape. The duo filmed a third party during sex without their consent and have also been fined 100,000 euros. It is unlikely they will actually serve any time behind bars.

AS Roma have escaped censure after making an illegal substitution in the Coppa Italia. The Rome side were drawing 2-2 with Spezia at the end of normal time, having made the allowed five substitutions. Just two minutes into extra time Roma were down to nine men after Gianluca Mancini was sent off and then goalkeeper Pau Lopez was also sent off in two separate incidents 30 seconds apart. Roma then made a sixth substitution, bringing Ibanez on for former Barcelona and Chelsea man Pedro, with manager Paulo Fonseca apparently of the belief that an extra change could be made in extra time. Unfortunately for Fonseca, that is not in the rules of the Coppa Italia and his side would have been made to forfeit the match if they had not ended the game with a 4-2 defeat. This would have been the second time this season that Roma had to forfeit after they fielded an ineligible player against Hellas Verona in a Serie A match and were handed a 3-0 defeat.

Despite Lionel Messi escaping what should have been anything from a 4 game ban up to a 12 game ban for his sending off against Athletic Bilbao and instead receiving just a 2 match ban, Barcelona are to appeal against it. A Barca statement read: "FC Barcelona is to appeal the suspension issued to Leo Messi. The competition committee announced on Tuesday that the Argentinian's red card in the final minutes of the Spanish Super Cup final against Athletic Club shall incur a two-match ban. It was the first time that Messi had ever been sent off while playing for FC Barcelona. The referee's report describes the motivation thus: Striking an opponent with his arm with excessive force while the ball was in play but not within a playable distance."

 


Games Off

The League Two fixture between Crawley Town and Stevenage was postponed due to a CV outbreak at Crawley.

In League One the leaders Lincoln City's match against Gillingham was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Blackburn Rovers versus Swansea City in the Championship is also off with a waterlogged pitch.

 


Saints Hit Out At Lennon

Following Celtic manager Neil Lennon's bizarre rant and claims that other clubs have not been following CV protocol, St Johnstone have hit back. Lennon claimed that Celtic were "all crammed in" and had "no social distancing" at McDiarmid Park, as a defence against the furore surrounding Celtic's recent Jolly Bhoys outing to Dubai. Saints have denied Lennon's allegations and are "extremely disappointed" with his comments. St Johnstone's head of football operations Kirsten Robertson said: "We provide one of the largest away team changing areas in the league. Every team, including Celtic, is also provided with a large area for team meetings. We follow all protocols and guidance to ensure the health and safety of all players, staff and officials. We made sure their every request and requirement was met. Celtic viewed all of our facilities before the game and no issues were raised. No issues were raised with us after the game. All during this challenging period of the past nine months, our club has maintained adherence to the highest of standards. Indeed, the SPFL delegates have commended us on our work during this campaign."

 


Soton Link Up With Porcupine Warriors

Southampton have announced a link up with Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko. The Saints' statement read: "Southampton will share their industry-leading coaching expertise to help Asante Kotoko realise their ambition of building a sustainable Academy and pathway to the first team, with year-round remote support supplemented by regular visits to Ghana throughout the partnership from the club's International Football Partnership team. The partnership will include Academy staff exchange visits between the UK and Ghana, as well as opportunities for Asante Kotoko's young players to attend annual UK Player Development camps and experience the Southampton Academy methodology first-hand, when travel corridors open up and it is safe to travel. Southampton will also support the development of Asante Kotoko's commercial and operational strategy through collaborating on key projects." Asanta Kotoko's chief executive Nana Yaw Amponsah said: "This partnership enables us to plug Asante Kotoko into Southampton in such a way that Kotoko functions like Southampton. Kotoko would have everything Southampton has but to a level that reflects our different budgets. I believe that with the expertise and resources available at Southampton, we can tap into this and develop our setup to look and feel professional like Saints."

 


Strasbourg Set For Take Off

The Stade de la Meinau, RC Strasbourg Alsace's home stadium, is to be renovated by architectural studio Populous with 30 aircraft fuselages being utilised in the design. The stadium's capacity is set to increase by over 5,000, with the south stand enlarged to add more seats and two open areas which are described by Populous as "party decks". The stand is set to have a 5-storey tall glass fronted atrium shaded by louvres constructed from the fuselages of decommissioned Airbus A340 aircraft. Populous employee Francois Clement explained: "As part of our environmentally sustainable approach to the redevelopment, we have sought to do things in a different way: it is the first project to use upcycled aircraft parts at this scale - using 30 different aircraft fuselages. We have always been intrigued by the massive American aircraft graveyards and the geometrical juxtaposition of all these planes. There is something sculptural in their alignments and the dimension and proportion of La Meinau's south grandstand gave us the opportunity to play with the scale of these fuselages. Throughout the day the tilted fuselages will act as a sunshade, reducing the energy gain but letting a soft indirect light penetrate the stand." Populous are the company which created the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London.

Written by Tris Burke January 20 2021 06:04:47

 

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