Football News: Review Of The Day 14th September 2019

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Sporting Gijon forward Uros Djurdevic has signed a 4 year deal.

Ajax have given right-back Sergino Dest a 3 year contract.

Former Rangers youngster Billy Gilmour has signed a 4 year contract with Chelsea.

Republic of Ireland international Callum O'Dowda has signed a new 3 year contract with Bristol City.

Transfers

Elliot Ward has signed for Cambridge United on a short term deal until January.

Injury Round-Up

Crystal Palace will be missing Martin Kelly and Connor Wickham for their match against Tottenham Hotspur. They will also give late fitness tests to James McArthur and Scott Dann.

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has been ruled out for the rest of the month with an ankle problem. An Arsenal statement read: "After assessments to an ongoing ankle issue, we have advised that Alex will need to rest and strengthen his ankle to regain full fitness. Alex has been playing through this injury for several weeks. He is likely to be back in action in October."

Motherwell defender Charles Dunne is facing at least a month on the sidelines after he picked up a groin injury.

Celtic will be missing Mikey Johnston, Nir Bitton and Jozo Simunovic this weekend. Johnston has a groin injury, Bitton has a hamstring strain which will rule him out for about 3 weeks, and Simunovic has gone to see a specialist with a knee injury.

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte has been ruled out until next year after surgery on his right knee to repair his cartilage and lateral meniscus.

Monthly Awards

Exeter City boss Matt Taylor has picked up the Manager of the Month award for August in League Two, his first such award. In the Premier League Jurgen Klopp was manager of the month for the 4th time and Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki has got a reward for starting his Prem career with a bang by picking up the player of the month award.

Inniss Gets 5 Match Ban

Newport County defender Ryan Inniss has been handed a 5 match ban by the FA for biting. The loanee from Crystal Palace was sent off in an EFL Trophy loss to West Ham United U21s. An FA statement read: "The standard punishment of a three-match suspension in this instance... (will be) replaced with a five-match suspension."

Boro Set To Sue EFL

The English Football League is facing another legal challenge, on top of the one from Bury over their expulsion. This time it is Middlesbrough, who allege that the EFL are failing to uphold their financial rules with regard to the purchase of Derby County's stadium Pride Park by the owner of the club Mel Morris. Boro missed out on the play-offs last season by a point to Derby and have sent a lefal letter to the EFL. Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani had previously accused Derby of cheating after Morris bought the stadium for £80m, despite it being listed on the club's books as an asset valued at £41m.

Guinea Get Six

Guinea have appointed Didier Six as their new head coach. Former Togo and Mauritius manager Six beat Kanfory Lappe Bangoura, Raoul Savoy, Francois Zahoui and Daniel Breard to the job of replacing Paul Put.

French Football Turns Foodie

Ligue 1's new official sponsor from next season is to be Uber Eats and, as part of the deal, the match ball will be brought onto the pitch by an Uber Eats driver before each game. Dominos already sponsor Ligue 2 and now Deliveroo have signed a deal with Paris Saint-Germain. From next year fans at the Parc des Princes will be able to get food delivered to their seat by ordering from their phone.

Sunderland Take Club Doc To Court

Sunderland have begun pursuing 13m Euros in damages from former club doctor Ishtiaq Rehman over the 9.3m euros signing of Ricky Alvarez on loan to buy from Inter Milan. The midfielder was signed with an obligation to buy should the Mackems survive in the Premier League a few seasons ago. Alvarez had been having knee problems prior to signing but club doctor Rehman gave him the all clear despite not actually attending medical checks and the concerns raised by those who did attend the medical. Sunderland did try to avoid paying for the player, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that they had to pay Inter the full sum owed of 9.3m euros.

Serie A's Top Ten Earners Dominated By Juve

Nine of the ten highest paid players in Italy's Serie A are Juventus players, with Cristiano Ronaldo earning 4 times the money of the second highest paid player. Yes it is yet another pointless list that you all seem to love!
Serie A's Highest Earners (annual wages):
1. Cristiano Ronaldo £28m Juventus
2. Matthijs de Ligt £7.2m Juventus
3. Romelu Lukaku £6.7m Inter Milan
4. Gonzalo Higuain £6.7m Juventus
5. Paulo Dybala £6.5m Juventus
6. Adrien Rabiot £6.2m Juventus
7. Aaron Ramsey £6.2m Juventus
8. Miralem Pjanic £5.8m Juventus
9. Douglas Costa £5.3m Juventus
10. Mario Mandzukic £5.3m Juventus

Marcelino Claims Cup Success Cost Him Job

Marcelino has been talking about his sacking from the Valencia job, despite winning the Copa del Rey last season and has claimed that it was that success which led to his firing. Marcelino said: "I am absolutely sure that the trigger for this situation was the Copa del Rey. During the season, we received direct and indirect messages that we had to discount it (the Copa). The fans wanted to fight for it and the players too, and they had the conviction to win it. The coaching staff wanted to fight and win the Copa. They didn't tell me why they didn't want the Copa, only that it was a minor tournament and that I could be putting the main goal (Champions League qualification) at risk. Winning the Copa was the trigger for this situation. We did not receive congratulation in Seville (after the final) from the owner (Peter Lim). I went to Singapore (for a meeting with Lim and Anil Murthy the club president), I was congratulated for qualifying for the Champions League, not for winning the Copa." While his words may seem bizarre and unlikely, it must be remembered Gary Neville said after his short period in charge there of the Copa del Rey and Europa League that "the owner told me 'get out of those two competitions'". The decision to sack Marcelino has not gone down well with the players either with Ezequiel Garay wrote on social media: "Who ever made this decision did NOT just walk over you, they have dragged the whole team and support down with them, something I will say loud and clear. IT'S NOT FAIR."

Written by Tris Burke September 13 2019 23:29:05