Football News: Review Of The Day 26th January 2018

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Review of the Day

Carvalhal Hopeful Of New Signings

With just a few days left of the transfer window, Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal remains positive on his chances of strengthening the squad for the second part of the season. "It is more likely that we bring in players in the last few days of the window than it is in the first days," he said when asked if the chances of signing someone were fading away. "The clubs, the players, at the start of the window they want to all go to big clubs, not in the relegation positions and so on," he continued. "But in the last days that situation can shift, people get nervous and it is in this moment that I think our club and other clubs can bring in really good players. But if you are asking me whether we still want the players? We want of course. But the reality of the market is completely different."

Transfer Round Up After A Busy Day

Swansea City midfielder Jay Fulton has joined League One leaders Wigan Athletic on loan for the rest of the season. The 23 year old has struggled to break into the Swans side since joining them from Falkirk in January 2014.

After having his contract cancelled by Brighton & Hove Albion, Congolese winger Kazenga LuaLua has signed for Sunderland. The 27 year old spent the first half of the season on loan at another Championship side, QPR, but struggled to force his way into the side. The Mackems are hoping his pace will help lift them out of the drop zone.

Rangers make their 5th signing of the January window with the arrival of Hamilton Academicals midfielder Greg Docherty. The 21 year old has been likened in ability, by Hamilton manager Martin Canning, to other former Accies midfielders James McCarthy and James McArthur.

Southampton have broken their transfer record to sign striker Guido Carrillo from AS Monaco. The Saints sold Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk at the start of the window but were desperate to strengthen a misfiring attack. The 26 year old Argentine forward is well known to manager Mauricio Pellegrino, who had previously worked with him at Estudiantes in Argentina. With 5 goals in 22 appearances so far this season, this signing has increased the club record transfer fee from the £18m paid for Mario Lemina from Juventus in the summer to £19m.

David Moyes has moved to sign Portugal midfielder Joao Mario on loan from Inter Milan for the rest of his season, despite concerns about the players ability to adapt to the Premier League. "My biggest concern is not him as a footballer but getting used to the Premier League, the speed and competitiveness compared to Italy or Portugal," Moyes said. "His ability as a footballer is not in question, he's proved it, and I just hope he can hit the ground running. That's my only concern."

Falkirk have been busy as they moved two on and signed one. While midfielder Mark Kerr was released on a free, young left back Tony Gallacher has joined Liverpool on a £200,000 deal. The 18 year old had impressed during a week-long trial. The Bairns added Celtic goalkeeper Conor Hazard on loan for the rest of the season.

In England's League One Bradford City have signing German striker Kai Bruenker from SC Freiburg.

Beaten EFL Cup semi-finalists Bristol City have signed French striker Lois Diony on loan from AS Saint-Etienne until the end of the season as they look to strengthen their promotion push.

Norwich City have made a triple swoop to strengthen their ranks after a mini-cull earlier in January. Striker Dennis Srbeny has joined from Paderborn and winger Onel Hernandez from Eintracht Braunschweig have both joined for undisclosed fees. Midfielder Moritz Leitner has also joined on loan from FC Augsburg. Leitner had previously worked with Canaries manager Daniel Farke at Borussia Dortmund.

Shaun Miller has returned to Crewe Alexandra on loan for the rest of the season. The 30 year old left Crewe back in 2012 but will now return after struggling with Carlisle United. Miller made headlines earlier in the season when he became the first player to be found guilty of simulation under the new rules introduced for this season. Retroactive action was taken after he gained a penalty for Carlisle. Miller was handed a 2 match ban.

The Preston North End player who won a million euros earlier this month, Kevin O'Connor, has moved to Fleetwood Town on loan for the rest of the season.

In Scotland, SPFL side Heart of Midlothian have swooped to sign Danish winger Danny Amankwaa from FC Copenhagen.

Rotherham United have added midfielder Matty Palmer to their ranks. The 22 year old arrives from Burton Albion for an undisclosed fee.

Derby County defender Jason Shackell has joined Millwall on loan for the rest of the season. The 34 year old's Rams deal expires in the summer.

Manchester United youngster Axel Tuanzebe has joined Championship side Aston Villa on loan. Tuanzebe is former Man Utd defender Steve Bruce's first signing of the January transfer window as he looks to strengthen the Villans to maintain their push for a return to the Premier League.

Spanish giants Barcelona have moved to bring in MLS starlet Ballou Table. The 18 year old has signed for the Catalan club on an undisclosed fee from Montreal Impact.

River Plate have moved to strengthen with two signings, one Argentine from Colombia and one Colombian from Portugal. The Argentine is 31 year old keeper Franco Armani, who has missed out on the chance to become a naturalised Colombian citizen and push David Ospina for a World Cup place. Possibly in the hope of instead pushing Man Utd keeper Sergio Romero out in the Argentina team. The Colombian is Porto's Juan Fernando Quintero on loan. The 25 year old has struggled with weight issues since moving to Porto and even considered giving up football to go into music at one point. He is now looking to revive his career amid hopes of a spot in Colombia's World Cup squad in the summer.

Celtic Rule Out Selling Dembele

After admitting that they have received one official bid for striker Moussa Dembele, Brendan Rodgers has said that the club has no intention of selling the 21 year old. Speculation was stirred up by Dembele being an unused sub in the last 2 Celtic matches, as Rodgers admits that the youngster was affected by the transfer speculation. "Moussa has never once asked to leave Celtic," stressed Rodgers. "We brought him here as a talented young player at 19 and he has shown that talent. He has come in with a plan: his agent, himself and I know what the plan was but he has never asked once to leave. He has been linked with so many teams so naturally the mind can wander but he is a great boy. He won't be like what you see in some clubs and what you have witnessed before, where players down tools. It is not the case at all. He is a really good boy who we want to keep here and the only thing that would ever take him away is if he didn't want to be here and if that is the case, then someone would have to meet his value and at this moment in time, neither is the case." Maybe it is just me, but that reads like Rodgers is happy to sell and just making sure clubs know that they will have to pay the asking price as Dembele will not force his way out to join them.

Mourinho Signs Contract Extension

Jose Mourinho has extended his Manchester United contract by a further year, until 2020, with the option of another year after that. Despite the speculation over his future and happiness in Manchester, as his family remain in London, the Portugese manager has said he was 'delighted' to extend his stay. "I feel a privileged one to work with such a fantastic group of boys," he said. "My initial contract was three years, we made now the decision to make it clear for everyone that it is not for three, it is for four or five, and who knows, more." With this in his pocket and the January window signing of Alexis Sanchez, we may even see him crack a smile for a change!

FA Give 'Backing' To Neville

The FA's director of women's football has all but said directly that Phil Neville's appointment as manager of the England women's football team was out of desperation as every other possible candidate ruled themselves out. "Having seen the way Mark's departure was dealt with by the media - whatever the rights and wrongs of that - many were very nervous of the scrutiny not just for themselves but for their families," Baroness Campbell told BBC Sport. "We actually looked at 147 candidates across 30 countries. I'm not going to name names but you could say any name in the women's game and I could tell you we spent quality time talking to those people," she added. Campbell also admitted that their background checks had failed to spot Neville's sexist tweets, despite claiming that a "thorough background check" had involved analysing "thousands" of social media posts. Strange that such a thorough background check could have missed the blindingly obvious that came to light within minutes of his appointment. Maybe someone should explain the meaning of the word 'thorough' to the FA, as they clearly struggle with it in women's football, judging by their last 2 appointments to the England job.

Sanchez A Juicy Orange

In a bizarre comparison, Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho has likened the signing of Alexis Sanchez to picking oranges. "You like the ones at the top. They are so nice and so orange and so round and so full of juice," said Mourinho. "When you see a tree with amazing oranges at the top of the tree and then you cannot get there and you say, 'I got the lower ones because I don't like the ones at the top'. But you can't get there, so you say 'I don't want to go there' or 'I prefer the other ones'. I think it reminds me a little bit of that story." Mourinho also confirmed that his 'juicy orange' would be in the squad for the Red Devils' 4th Round FA Cup tie at Yeovil Town tonight.

Lazio Given Fine For Anne Frank Stickers

In Italy the row over the actions of fans rumbles on with Lazio being fined 50,000 euros after their supporters displayed stickers bearing Anne Frank's picture with anti-Semitic slogans. Thirteen Lazio fans have received stadium bans of between 5 and 8 years in connection with their involvement in the incident. After the material was foind in October, Lazio players warmed up for their next match wearing jerseys with a picture of Anne Frank and the slogan "No to anti-Semitism". Throughout Serie A a passage of Anne Frank's diary was read before matches during the following round of fixtures and a minute's silence was held for victims of the Holocaust. However that was marred by Juventus fans, some of whom turned their backs and sang the Italian national anthem during the minute's silence.

Pochettino Dismissive Of Barca Role

With speculation increasing and linking Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino to Real Madrid, Pochettino has endeared himself to Madridistas with comments about Barcelona. The Spurs manager has said: "I am never going to be manager of Barcelona or Arsenal because I am so identified with Tottenham and Espanyol. I grew up in Newell's Old Boys and will never manage Rosario Central. That is my decision because I prefer to work on my farm in Argentina than in some places. But my commitment is massive in this club. I am working like I am going to be here forever. But in the end, it is like the players, you never know what is going to happen in football. It is a lot of rumours about this, about that. Tomorrow [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy could have a bad night and say, 'Oh I am going to sack Mauricio'. And then I look stupid saying I am not going to work in one place or another or another. You never know in football. That is the problem. It is a very unstable situation." Not quite a come and get me message, but it was not far off one!

McCormack Returns To Villa

Scottish forward Ross McCormack has returned to parent club Aston Villa following the end of his loan spell in Australia with Man City-owned Melbourne City. McCormack had endured an unhappy time at Villa, memorably missing training due to broken gates and other excuses as he struggled with mental health and fitness issues.

Southgate Considers Rice Switch

The big success story of the first part of West Ham United's season, possibly the only success to be fair, is Declan Rice, the Irish U21 international. Now he could well have a big decision to make at the age of just 19 as England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed he is under consideration for England selection. Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has already had Rice training with the full Ireland squad in a training camp during the summer. It is now likely O'Neill will fast track Rice into the squad for the friendly against Turkey in March.

Arsenal And Sanchez In Drug Test Error

With Alexis Sanchez away finalising details of his transfer to Man Utd, it has emerged that the Chilean forward missed a random drugs test because no one at Arsenal had informed the authorities of his whereabouts. Despite there being no suggestion of wrongdoing on the parts of any party, Arsenal could still face a fine for their mistake.

Man Utd Done For January Says Jose

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has ruled out the possibility of more signings following Alexis Sanchez into Old Trafford, despite media links with Nice midfielder Jean Michel Seri. "No, I don't speak about players," Mourinho told reporters when asked about Seri. "Tuanzebe goes on loan, nobody is leaving, nobody is coming. Our transfer market in the summer will be short."

Written by Tris Burke January 26 2018 06:15:02