Football News: Review Of The Day 10th March 2020

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Review of the Day

Contracts

MK Dons forward Sam Nombe has signed a new contract.

Championship club Millwall have given defender Mahlon Romeo a new "long-term contract" and teenage midfielder Bily Mitchell has also signed a new deal.

Manchester United youngster Tahith Chong has signed a new deal.

Transfers

Girona, the Spanish arm of the City Group (and part-owned by Pep Guardiola's brother), have signed free agent Uruguayan striker Joaquin Zeballos.

Motherwell have signed the manager's son Harry Robinson after he was freed by Oldham Athletic in January.

Injury Round-Up

Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira has suffered a fractured ankle and is out for "eight to ten weeks", which could see him miss the rest of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur's January signing Steven Bergwijn has suffered a "significant sprain" to his left ankle and is unlikely to play again this season.

Real Madrid's former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois is doubtful for the Champions League game against Manchester City after suffering a groin injury against Real Betis.

Managerial Changes

Cambridge United's caretaker manager Mark Bonner has been confirmed as permanent manager with a contract until the end of next season. Bonner took charge at the end of January after Colin Calderwood left. Bonner has worked his way up via academy manager, first-team coach and then assistant manager and, at the age of 34, he beocmes the second-youngest manager in the English Football League.

Augsburg have removed head coach Martin Schmidt after a run of one win in eight games. Augsburg are battling relegation and sit five points clear of the drop zone. Sporting director Stefan Reuter said: "It wasn't easy to come to this decision, but a return of four points from our last nine matches led us to make the change. There will always be difficult phases to overcome, but we see our top-flight status as being in danger as things stand, so that's why we've come to the decision."

Disciplinary Charges

Southend United and Macclesfield Town have both been charged with misconduct by the English Football League for failing to pay their players on time. Southend are also facing a charge of fielding an ineligible player in their victory over Lincoln City on 1st February. This is Southend's second charge over failing to pay wages and they are currently under a transfer embargo due to unpaid taxes. Macclesfield have failed to pay wages on time four times this season and have faced strike action from their players in December due to the failure to pay them.

United No Can Do

Borussia Dortmund's January signing Emre Can has revealed that he rejected a number of offers for a return to the English Premier League, but decided against it even though the wages on offer were higher. Can told Kicker: "I had three offers from the Premier League alone, from Manchester United among others. But I did not think about this one second because of my Liverpool past. For BVB, I always had extreme sympathy. I wanted to join a club for which I can be important, where I am needed. Borussia suits me well - and vice versa. And the money: Yes, it is important, but not everything."

Nigerian Footballer Dies During Match

There was a tragedy in the Nigerian league after 22 year old Chineme Martins of Nasarawa United collapsed, unconscious, under no contact in the second half of a game against Katsina United. After medics from both teams attended him, he was placed in an ambulance to be rushed to hospital, only for the ambulance to fail to start and require a push-start. Nigeria's Football Federation have now said that medical facilities must be checked before a league match can go ahead.

Grandfather Scores Goal On Professional Debut

Ezzeldin Bahader made his professional debut, and scored, at the age of 75. Yes, that is seven five. Bahader even managed to make it through the full 90 minutes despite picking up an injury and scored from the penalty spot for October 6 against Genius in the third tier of Egyptian football. Bahader said afterwards: "I became the oldest professional footballer scoring a goal in an official game. This is something that was achieved in the last minute of the game that I thought I wouldn't achieve. I was injured and all what I hoped for was to continue for the full 90 minutes and play the next game." If he can manage to play the full 90 minutes in their next game, then the grandfather of 6 will be officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest ever professional player, beating Israel's Isaak Hayik, who was a mere 73 when he played in goal for Ironi Or Yehuda.

Brum Starlet Tours Man Utd

Birmingham City's wunderkind Jude Bellingham has spent time touring Manchester United's Carrington training ground on Monday. The 16 year old is also being tracked by clubs as diverse as Borussia Dortmund, ready for when he turns 17 and can sign a professional contract.

Coronavirus Continues To Disrupt Football

Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund will be played behind closed doors on Wednesday, due to the coronavirus. In preparation, PSG had the Parc Des Prince stadium disinfected, in case they were allowed to host fans in the stadium.

As well as the closed doors Champions League game, French football in general has had restrictions placed on it by the French government. Ligue 1 matches will be limited to a maximum of 1,000 fans until at least 15th April.

All sport in Italy is to be suspended until 3rd April, except for club or national teams participating in international competitions. Serie A will be shut down, but Serie A sides in European competition will continue to compete.

Haaland Silent On Leeds

Back when striking sensation Erling Braut Haaland was 16, yes way back in February 2017, he was quoted by Norwegian media outlet Aftenposten as saying: "I want to be the best possible. The dream is to win the Premier League with Leeds. In addition, the goal is to become a better player than my dad was. I hope to get more caps than he did." Since then every article on the Borussia Dortmund striker has tried to shoehorn a reference in to his support of Leeds United, but it seems the player himself has a different dream now. France Football asked the 19 year old if he was still a Leeds fan, but Haaland replied: "I don't know what you're talking about." After being reminded of those 2017 comments, Haaland refused to speak and sat in silence.

Written by Tris Burke March 09 2020 23:04:17