Football News: Review Of The Day 6th November 2021

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Review of the Day

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Contracts

Trevor Chalobah has signed a new Chelsea deal which runs until 2026.

Manchester City have given USA international goalkeeper Zack Steffen a new contract which expires in 2025.

Waldemar Anton has extended his deal with VfB Stuttgart until 2025.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have given defender Max Kilman a new contract which will run until 2026 with the option for a further year.

Young Torino defender Alessandro Boungiorno has extended until 2025.

Former West Ham United youngster Reece Oxford has signed a new deal with Augsburg while will expire in 2025.

Bolton Wanderers quartet Gethin Jones, MJ Williams, Kieran Lee and George Thomason have signed new contracts. Jones has signed until 2024, while the other three are now contracted until 2023.

Transfers

Former Chelsea youngster and current KRC Genk striker Ike Ugbo has chosen to represent Canada at international level despite being born in London from Nigerian parents. Ugbo lived in Canada during his youth before joining Chelsea's academy and had previously represented England at youth international level.

Birmingham City have released Adam Clayton.

Former Chelsea (and for about ten minutes Manchester United) midfielder John Mikel Obi has been released by Kuwait SC.

Injury Round-Up

Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane has been ruled out with injury once again. This time it is for a month with a hamstring injury.

Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has also been ruled out for 4 weeks with a hamstring injury. Young midfielder Curtis Jones is also out until after the international break after being accidentally poked in the eye during training and the finger scratched his eye.

Managerial Changes

Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamos have sacked head coach Tab Ramos and his assistants Omid Namazi and Martin Vazquez. Ramos took charge at Dynamo in October 2019.

Scunthorpe United have turned to Keith Hill to replace Neil Cox as their new manager. Hill has been out of work since being sacked by Tranmere Rovers at the end of last season, despite taking them into the League Two play-offs. Scunthorpe are currently bottom of League Two.

Al Sadd have confirmed that Xavi will be returning to Barcelona to take charge of his former club. Initially the Qatari side were reluctant to release him but Barca have now paid up his release clause to bring the fan favourite home as the replacement for Ronald Koeman.

Disciplinary Charges

Dundee manager has escaped a touchline ban for his second red card of the season. McPake was sent to the stands during his team's 2-1 win over Aberdeen last month but was deemed to have no case to answer by an SFA disciplinary hearing.

West Ham United have condemned their fans who were filmed on social media singing an anti-Semitic song at a Jewish passenger on an airplane during a flight to Belgium to see their the Hammers take on KRC Genk in the Europa League. The club stated: "West Ham are appalled by the contents of the video circulating on social media and condemn the behaviour of the individuals involved. We continue to be unequivocal in our stance - we have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination. Any individuals identified will be issued with an indefinite ban from the club. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the football club and we do not welcome any individuals who do not share those values."

USA Squad

The US Men's National Team squad for the November World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Jamica has been named:

Goalkeepers: Zack Steffen (Manchester City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
Defenders: Chris Richards (Hoffenheim), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Mark McKenzie (KRC Genk), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray), Joe Scally (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp)
Midfielders: Weston McKennie (Juventus), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids), Paul Arriola (DC United), Sebastian Lletget (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Forwards: Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Timothy Weah (LOSC Lille), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas)

Pointless List Of The Day

Chelsea's most expensive signings according to Transfermarkt (prices in euros):
1. Romelu Lukaku 2021/22 from Inter Milan for 115m
2= Kai Havertz 2020/21 from Bayer Leverkusen for 80m
2= Kepa 2018/19 from Athletic Bilbao for 80m
4. Alvaro Morata 2017/18 from Real Madrid for 66m
5. Christian Pulisic 2018/19 from Borussia Dortmund for 64m
6. Fernando Torres 2010/11 from Liverpool for 58.5m
7. Jorginho 2018/19 from Napoli for 57m
8. Timo Werner 2020/21 from RB Leipzig for 53m
9. Ben Chilwell 2020/21 from Leicester City for 50.2m
10. Mateo Kovacic 2019/20 from Real Madrid for 45m
11. Andriy Shevchenko 2006/07 from AC Milan for 43.9m
12= Hakim Ziyech 2020/21 from Ajax for 40m
12= Tiemoue Bakayoko 2017/18 from Monaco for 40m
14. Michy Batshuayi 2016/17 from Marseille for 39m
15. Didier Drogba 2004/05 from Marseille for 38.5m

Exeter Turn Profit

Despite the current pandemic, Exeter City have managed to make a profit of £2.9m in the year ending 30 June 2021. They were helped by earnings of £4.94m in transfer income, largely due to a sell-on clause on Ollie Watkins when he moved to Aston Villa from Brentford, though it does not include add-ons they are due for Watkins England appearances. Exeter have earmarked the money from transfer fees for new buildings at their training ground.

Rangers Announce Losses

While the Grecians managed to make a profit, Rangers have announced an operating loss for the same period, despite winning the Scottish Premier Football League. Revenue dropped by almost 20% without fans in grounds, hitting the finances for more than £10m Rangers estimated. Rangers forecast is also gloomy for the current campaign as they revealed that they expect to need a further £7.5m to cover costs for the rest of the season. They do have agreements in place with chairman Douglas Park and director John Bennett to provide loans to meet the shortfall and expect to be financially stable by 2025. Last year Rangers operating loss stood at £16m, but they do expect to receive income from business interruption insurance.

England Squad

As expected Gareth Southgate has completely disregarded all his previous comments about picking players on their current form:
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kyle Walker
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling

Ivory Coast Make Zaha Claims

There was a surprise as Cote d'Ivoire ommitted Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha from their squad with the coach, Patrice Beaumelle, claiming that was because Zaha asked to be left out: "A few days ago, Zaha sent me a message to say that every time he comes [to join up with Ivory Coast], he returns home sick. He asked me not to be called in November because he wants to reflect about his international future. I want soldiers, warriors who even with one knee on the ground will come to the selection. It is a message that I send loud and clear to each player." His Palace manager Patrick Vieira has disagreed with the claims though saying: "He made it clear to myself about how much he loves playing for the national team and how proud he would be to go to the World Cup with Ivory Coast. He still wants to go to the international stage. I was quite surprised to see all these comments coming out in the last couple of days. What I know is that he still wants to go to internationals. We will support him and now it is up to the manager to make the decision about who will go."

Ivory Coast squad:
Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (Wolkite Ketema, Ethiopia), Badra Ali Sangare (JDR Stars, South Africa), Abdoul Karim Cisse (ASEC Mimosas, Ivory Coast).
Defenders: Willy Boly (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Eric Bailly (Manchester United, England), Sinaly Diomande (Lyon, France), Odilon Kossonou (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Emmanuel Agbadou (KAS Eupen, Belgium), Serge Aurier (Villarreal, Spain), Hassane Kamara (Nice, France), Habib Maiga (Metz, France).
Midfielders: Serey Die (Villarreal, Spain), Ibrahim Sangare (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Lazio, Italy), Jean Michael Seri (Fulham, England), Franck Kessie (AC Milan, Italy), Hamed Traore (Sassuolo, Italy).
Forwards: Maxwel Cornet (Burnley, England), Yohan Boli (Al-Rayyan, Qatar), Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal, England), Lago Junior (Mallorca, Spain), Max Gradel (Sivasspor, Turkey), Jean Evrard Kouassi (Wuhan Zall, China), Christian Kouame (Anderlecht, Belgium), Sebastien Haller (Ajax, Netherlands).

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Written by Tris Burke November 05 2021 23:57:58