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Football News: Review Of The Day 8th January 2021

Review Of The Day 8th January 2021
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Review of the Day

 



Contracts

Duncan Watmore has signed a new deal with Middlesbrough which runs until 2023.

 


Transfers

Swindon Town have signed Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers on loan.

Bradford City have spent an undisclosed fee on Bradford Park Avenue goalkeeper Will Huffer.

Forest Green Rovers have paid an undisclosed fee for Baily Cargill from MK Dons.

Reeco Hackett-Fairchild has joined Southend United on loan from Portsmouth.

Bolton Wanderers defender George Taft has joined Scunthorpe United on loan.

Harrogate Town have signed Kettering defender Jay Williams.

Free agent right-back Kieron Freeman has signed for Swindon Town for the rest of the season. Freeman was released by Sheffield United in the summer.

Hayden Carter has joined Burton Albion on loan from Blackburn Rovers.

Welsh international winger Rabbi Matondo has signed for Stoke City on loan from Schalke 04 with an option to buy. The move was held up as former club Manchester City have an option to match any offer for their former player in the deal which took him to Schalke.

Huddersfield Town have signed Rolando Aarons from Newcastle United.

Carlton Morris has joined Barnsley for an undisclosed fee from Norwich City.

Leicester City goalkeeper Daniel Iversen has joined Preston North End on loan.

Cardiff City manager Neil Harris has admitted that they are scouting Crewe Alexandra captain Perry Ng, who is out of contract in the summer.

Dundee United winger Paul McMullan has agreed a pre-contract to join city rivals Dundee on a free transfer in the summer.

Ross County have signed free agent forward Tony Andreu.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have recalled Patrick Cutrone from his loan spell with Fiorentina.

Philadelphia Union have sold defender Mark McKenzie to KRC Genk for an initial fee of around £5m.

Teenage defender Omar Rekik has joined Arsenal from Hertha Berlin. The Gunners signed his brother Karim from Sevilla in the summer.

Stefano Denswil has joined Club Brugge on loan from Bologna.

Wigan Athletic have released Scottish winger Kal Naismith.

LA Galaxy left-back Jorgen Skjelvik has moved to Odense BK in the Danish Superligaen.

Experienced defensive midfielder Lasse Schone has been released by Genoa.

New England Revolution have signed Emmanuel Boateng from Columbus Crew. Joining the Crew is Kevin Molino from Minnesota United. Both moves are free transfers.

Anthony Knockaert has returned to Fulham at the end of his loan with Nottingham Forest.

South African attacking midfielder Percy Tau has returned to Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of his loan with RSC Anderlecht.

Coventry City have signed Matty James on loan from Leicester City.

American defender Matt Besler has joined Austin FC on a free transfer from Sporting Kansas City.

Former Everton and Real Madrid winger Royston Drenthe is back in football after failed attempts to make a career rapping and acting. The 33 year old nephew of Edgar Davids and cousin of Georginio Wijnaldum retired from playing in 2016, but announced his bankruptcy at the end of last year after squandering his £3m+ fortune. Drenthe has signed for Spanish third division club Racing Murcia in an attempt to rebuild a professional football career.

 


Injury Round-Up

Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday could be forced to turn to their youth squads for their FA Cup ties at the weekend after virus outbreaks at the clubs forced them both to close their training ground. Derby County have already confirmed they will be fielding youth after a similar outbreak. Middlesbrough are set to travel to Brentford, while Wednesday is off to Exeter City on Saturday. Aston Villa are in discussions with the FA and Premier League as their team was also hit by an outbreak which has closed their training ground.

 


Managerial Changes

Craig Gardner has been re-appointed to the Birmingham City coaching staff. Gardner left in November to join the staff of Tony Pulis at Sheffield Wednesday, but the Owls sacked their entire coaching staff at the end of last month.

Inter Miami have sacked head coach Diego Alonso after 1 year with the newly formed Major League Soccer side. They have now opened talks with England Women's head coach Phil Neville over him taking over, as part-owner David Beckham's more hands-on role starts to show in Miami.

Parma have re-appointed the manager they fired in August. Roberto D'Aversa had been in charge of Parma for 4 years, lifting them from the third tier back into Serie A in his first two seasons, then 14th and 11th in the top flight. Despite that record, Parma sacked him claiming there was a lack of unity and cohesion amongst the players and staff. Fabio Liverani replaced him and, after just 2 wins in 16, 8 of them losses, Parma have sacked Liverani to bring back D'Aversa. Parma are currently sat in the relegation places.

 


Disciplinary Charges

Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic has apologised for breaching lockdown regulations to attend a New Year's Eve party. Milivojevic said: "I want to publicly apologise for my actions on New Year's Eve. As captain of Crystal Palace Football Club, I am fully aware that my responsibilities go beyond football, and that in this instance I have let the fans, the club, my manager and team-mates down. In what is a really difficult and challenging moment for everyone, I am truly grateful that I am able to continue to do the job I love and I do not take this for granted. I am very sorry to anyone who has been made to feel angry, hurt or upset by my actions. I am making a donation to the local NHS service to help them continue their incredible work in our community fighting this virus." Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was also at the same party and Fulham's manager Scott Parker said: "He understands he's made a mistake. He understands it was irresponsible. It's not acceptable. We've dealt with that as a football club internally."

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is to face trial for his involvement in an attempted blackmail case involving former France international teammate Mathieu Valbuena.

 


Games Off

Not strictly off, but the match between Livingston and Ross County has been postponed for a day in the hope of avoiding a calling off due to a frozen pitch. The game was scheduled for Saturday but will now take place on Sunday.

Saturday's FA Cup tie between Southampton and Shrewsbury Town is off after a virus outbreak in the Shrewsbury camp.

 


United Take Pay Cuts

Scottish Premiership side Dundee United have agreed wage cuts with the coaching staff and players to help the club cope with the financial impact of the current pandemic. Defender Lewis Neilson said: "The players are more than willing to help the club out. We know it is tough times everyone is in, so we have agreed to take cuts and everyone is happy to do that, we just want to focus on the football now."

 


Gunners Take Out Loan

Arsenal have taken out a short-term £120m loan. The loan, which is repayable in May 2021, is part of the Covid Corporate Financing Facility set up by the Bank of England to help companies survive the pandemic. An Arsenal statement explained: "The CCFF is designed to provide short-term finance at commercial rates during the pandemic to companies that have strong investment ratings and which make significant contributions to the British economy. The CCFF is in addition to the loan provided by our owners Kroenke, Sports & Entertainment that enabled us to refinance the debt on Emirates Stadium in August last year."

Written by Tris Burke January 08 2021 05:43:25

 

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