Football News: Review Of The Day 22nd July 2019

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Spanish midfielder Raul Garcia has extended his Athletic Bilbao contract until 2021.

Transfers

Angers have allowed French goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier to join Norwegian Eliteserien team Sarpsborg 08 on loan.

Fulham have signed French/Belgian winger Anthony Knockaert on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Lys Mousset has become Sheffield United's 3rd signing of the summer to break the club's transfer record when signing for £10m from Bournemouth.

Brescia have signed Venezuelan defender Jhon Chancellor from Al Ahli of the Qatari Stars League.

Baston Has Swans Future

Despite the Swansea City chairman publicly stating that the club want to offload Spanish flop Borja Baston, manager Steve Cooper has backed the striker to be a part of his team. 26 year old Baston, who arrived from Atletico Madrid for a club record £15.5m fee in 2016, has spent the last two seasons on loan with Malaga and Alaves but Cooper would like him to be part of his squad this season. Cooper said of the club's desire to sell Baston: "The chairman has said that publicly. But until such time that bridge is there to be crossed we will work with him and we are getting every single player ready for the start of the season. Everybody in the building is part of that."

Renard Stands Down

Morocco have become the latest African nation to lose their head coach after Herve Renard stood down following their early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations. Morocco entered the tournament as one of the favourites, but crashed out in a shock defeat to Benin in the last-16. Renard, who has previously won the AFCON with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015, said: "It is time for me to close this long and beautiful chapter of my life, not without some emotion and sadness. It is an inevitable decision taken well before Afcon 2019. I took this decision after having - of course - carefully considered [it]. It is therefore irreversible." Renard lifted the North African country from 81 in the world rankings to 47 after taking charge in February 2016.

Zidane Confirms He Expects Bale Move

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, who quit the club after 3 European Champions League wins in 3 years after being told by club president Florentino Perez he would have to find space in the team for Gareth Bale, has now said Bale is "very close to leaving". Zidane said: "We hope he leaves soon. It would be best for everyone. We are working on his transfer to a new team. I have nothing personal against him, but there comes a time where things are done because they must be done. I have to make decisions. We have to change. The exit is the coach's decision, and also of the player, who knows the situation. The situation will change, I do not know if in 24 or 48 hours, but it will - and it's a good thing for everyone." Bale's super leech, sorry agent, Jonathan Barnett has hit out at Zidane following the comments, telling AFP: "Zidane is a disgrace - he shows no respect for a player that has done so much for Real Madrid." So much? Yes, 79 appearances in 4 seasons much at a cost of well over £50m in wages alone. Constant injury problems caused in large part by his own actions as he refuses to follow doctor's advice on rehab because it would interfere with his golfing while he continues to milk money out of the club. Yep, he really has done a lot for Madrid. The question is, if Zidane is a disgrace, what exactly would that make Barnett?

Abidal Calls Rabiot Mercenary

Barcelona's former French defender Eric Abidal, now the Catalan club's sporting director, has suggested Adrien Rabiot chose Juventus over Barca for money. In an interview with Le Parisien, Abidal said of midfielder Rabiot: "He was on our transfer wish list, but then he ended up signing for Juventus. I don't know the exact reason behind his decision, but maybe it was a question of economics... I can't say." Odd comments as it is widely believed Rabiot accepted a much smaller salary at Juventus than he would have been set to earn with Barca. I think those grapes might be a little sour there Eric!

Iwobi Denies Reported Zaha Comments

Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi has dismissed newspaper stories about him wanting to quit the Gunners if they sign Wilfried Zaha as "fake news & click bait". The Sunday morning tabloid gutter press, such as the Fail on Sunday, were reporting that Alex Iwobi had warned the North London club that he would quit if Zaha was signed, something Iwobi has denied. Iwobi said on social media: "Fake News & Click Bait! I Don't know Why Some Newspapers Enjoy Twisting Words. I Hope We Sign World Class Players @Arsenal And Progress As A Team. I'm Looking Forward To The New Season. Happy Sunday."

De Ligt Denies Money Played A Part In His Choice

New Juventus signing Matthijs de Ligt has denied that the huge wages on offer to him played any part in his decision to choose the Italians. Seems to be a common theme now when a player rejects a move to the faltering Spanish champions Barca that they are accused of being purely in it for the money. De Ligt, who certainly did earn a huge amount on signing for Juve, denied it was the only reason for choosing Juve: "Money played no role at all in my choice for a new club. Everyone who knows me, knows that. Money has never been 'leading'. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I will respect that, but some people were saying things like that very easily. Every day there was something new. Suddenly, even my father was too fat and that's why one of the clubs [Manchester United] didn't want me. That makes you go: 'come on man'."

Milner Unsure Of Liverpool Future

James Milner has admitted that he has no idea if he will be with Liverpool after this season finishes. The 33 year old utility man was a key figure in Liverpool's title push and European Champions League win, at times outshining even the attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah and defensive linchpin Virgil van Dijk but is out of contract at the end of the season. Milner admitted to reporters that he does not have a contract offer on the table from Liverpool saying: "As it stands, last year we spoke to the club and asked them if they wanted to do something and they said not at that time. We haven't heard anything since, so that's where we are at. All I can do is concentrate on my football and do what I can, but in terms of where I am with my contract, that's what has happened up until now and I haven't heard anything from the club. Everyone pipes on about my age and stuff I understand you are going to get that. There are three things to it: availability, fitness and performance level. Hopefully I am delivering all three. I am just going to keep concentrating on my football, keep contributing to Liverpool and be the best player I can be for as long as possible. I remember making my debut and how lucky I was to have senior players around me. If I can be half as good with these guys as the older players were with me at Leeds, I will help them as much as I can. I did say it four years ago that if I ever left here without winning something I would be absolutely devastated. To be able to contribute to the history of Liverpool and put one on the board is fantastic. If that is all that happens in my time at Liverpool, it will be disappointing, but I have won a big trophy for the club. I'm sure it will be the first of many. We haven't won as many trophies in our recent history as we should have done. When I was at City, we got that first FA Cup (in 2011) and we managed to kick on from there. You see the quality in the squad now and the players we have... the Champions League isn't an easy one to get but we managed to make that our first one. Hopefully, the belief and confidence and everything we can take from it will help us move on to the next level."

Written by Tris Burke July 22 2019 06:08:30