Football News: Review Of The Day 15th January 2019
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Review of the Day
Transfers
Reading have sent goalkeeper Lewis Ward to Forest Green Rovers on loan for the rest of the season. The 21 year old was with fellow League Two side Northampton Town in the first half of the season.
Brentford midfielder Alan Judge has signed for Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee. The 30 year old has signed a deal until the end of the season with an option for a further 12 months.
Portsmouth, currently leading in League One, have spent an undisclosed fee to sign midfielder Bryn Morris from Shrewsbury Town. Morris spent the first half of the season on loan at Wycombe Wanderers making 21 appearances.
Mansfield Town have made a double transfer swoop as the League Two side look to close the 2 point gap to the automatic promotion places. Charlton Athletic forward Nicky Ajose has dropped down from League One, while midfielder Jorge Grant joins on loan from Nottingham Forest.
Another Forest player moving out on loan is defender Adam Crookes, who is joining Port Vale for the rest of the season. The 21 year old spent the first half of the season on loan at Lincoln City but struggled to break into the team, failing to make a single league appearance while there.
Goalkeeper Oliver Byrne has moved to Stevenage on loan for the remainder of the season from Blackburn Rovers.
Kane Wilson has returned to Exeter City on-loan from West Bromwich Albion, after spending time with the Grecians last season. Wilson spent the first half of the season on loan at Walsall.
Manchester City's young Japanese centre back Ko Itakura has joined FC Groningen on an 18 month loan deal. The 21 year old defender only joined Man City from Kawasaki Frontale earlier that day.
Borussia Dortmund have spent over £10m to sign teenage defender Leonardo Balerdi from Boca Juniors.
La Liga side Levante have released Samu Garcia.
Clark Replaces Watson
Caretaker manager Ben Clark has been handed the Gateshead job on a permanent basis after replacing Steve Watson last week. Clark had been reserve team coach under Watson before stepping up.
Boro Identify 22 Involved In Crowd Trouble
After Middlesbrough fans invaded the pitch to confront Millwall supporters last April, 22 have now been identified according to the club. 15 people have now been summoned to appear in court, while 7 have been dealt with by youth interventions. There were also 7 Boro fans and 5 Millwall fans who have been given banning orders and fines, one also getting community service.
Celtic Turn To Duff And McManus
Damien Duff has joined Celtic as a reserve team coach from Shamrock Rovers. Duff was part of the first team coaching staff with Rovers, but will step down with Celtic to the reserves. Stephen McManus has joined the coaching staff, this time from Motherwell, where he has worked as a coach since retiring as a player. McManus, who began his playing career with Celtic, has been appointed to coach the under-18s.
Davies Injured Just Days After Signing
New Dundee signing Andrew Davies has suffered a broken foot in a bounce game against St Johnstone just 4 days after the 34 year old signed from Hartlepool United. The defender will now be out of action for around 2 months.
Cardiff Continue Sala Talks
Following reports Cardiff City's record move for Emiliano Sala had fallen through, Bluebirds chairman Mehmet Dalman has shot down those rumours by confirming the club is still in talks with the Chile international's club Nantes. Dalman said: "Nothing is dead until it is dead, there is still dialogue going on and we will see what happens."
Lampard Denies Chelsea Spied While He Was There
Despite Andre Villas-Boas admitting he would secretly watch opposition train when he was a coach at Stamford Bridge under then-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, Derby County boss Frank Lampard has denied Chelsea spied on other clubs when he was there. Lampard is busy trying to make a mountain out of a molehill about Leeds United spying on his team's training to deflect from the fact he has been given a tactical lesson twice now by Leeds' boss Marcelo Bielsa. Lampard has spent the last few days blaming the incident for his team being completely outplayed (again) by Leeds. Lampard is now denying the evidence his own teams have previously benefitted from the same tactic saying: "I certainly wasn't aware of it and I don't believe it at all. Certainly not in the form that it happened this time." Villas-Boas said in an interview back in 2011: "My work enables Jose to know exactly when a player from the opposition team is likely to be at his best or his weakest. I will travel to training grounds, often incognito, and look at our opponents' mental and physical state before drawing my conclusions. Jose will leave nothing to chance."
Wagner Leaves Huddersfield
Huddersfield Town chairman Dean Hoyle called it a "truly join decision" as David Wagner leaves the club he took charge of in November 2015. The German performed a minor miracle keeping the Terriers in the Premier League last season but was struggling to match that achievement this time around. Hoyle's statement read: "I would like to begin by thanking David for all he has achieved at Huddersfield Town over the last three-and-a-half years. Under his stewardship, we have achieved things on the football pitch that surpass anything in modern memory, and that have gone well beyond my wildest expectations as chairman and as a fan. Under David's management, we took this club to the highest position it has held in almost 50 years and created memories that will last forever. His achievements will rightly put him up there in Huddersfield Town history alongside great names like Herbert Chapman and Mick Buxton; legendary managers who changed the face of this club. As I had said previously, I had no intention of sacking David this season. Subsequently David - being the great man he is - came to us and made it clear that he needs a break from the rigours of football management. We discussed making that change immediately, but he also made it clear that he would give his all for the rest of this season before departing in the summer if we preferred. After a long discussion we all felt that David staying at the club until the end of the season was best, but we've kept discussions open and we all now feel that the time is right to part ways. I know the term 'mutual consent' is often a byword for the manager being sacked in professional football, but this is a truly joint decision. David has a real, genuine love for this club and, like me, his foremost concern in our talks has been to establish what is best for Huddersfield Town."
Dembele In Different Chinese Club Talks
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele is still close to a move to a Chinese club, despite a move to Beijing Guoan falling through. The 31 year old is now in talks with Guangzhou R&F instead, despite Spurs being hit by a swathe of midfield injuries.
Munir Claims Valverde Was Forbidden From Picking Him
New Sevilla signing Munir el Haddi has claimed Ernesto Valverde was banned from picking him for Barcelona after Munir told the club he would not sign a new deal with the Catalan giants. Munir said: "When I returned from holiday [at the start of January] I told the club that I did not want to renew. The coach [Valverde] told me that he was forbidden from counting on me by those above him. I kept working and I was lucky to come before [June] to Sevilla."
Written by Tris Burke January 15 2019 05:22:35
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