Football News: Review Of The Day 20th December 2022

Review of the Day

Contracts

Bolton Wanderers midfielder George Thomason has extended his deal until 2025.

Juventus youngster Samuel Iling Junior has agreed a new contract which will expire in 2025.

Experienced Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech has signed up until 2024.

Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond will be with the Major League Soccer side until 2024 with a club option for a further year. Fellow keeper Jonathan Klinsmann, son of legendary German striker Jurgen, has a 1 year deal with club option for a second year.

Fellow MLS club Philadelphia Union have signed veteran goalkeeper Joe Bendik to a 1-year contract.

Veteran Lorient goalkeeper has a new deal which will run out in 2024.

Heart of Midlothian forward Liam Boyce has signed up until 2024 with an option for a further year.

Back in Major League Soccer and goalkeepers, Canadian team Montreal have given James Pantenis a 1 year contract with a 2 year club option.

Racing Lens goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca has signed until 2024.

Real Salt Lake have given Uruguayan defender Marcelo Silva a 1-year deal.

Veteran Spanish midfielder Victor Vazquez has been given a 1-year deal with 1 year club option by Toronto.

Rangers duo Ianis Hagi and Leon King have both signed new contracts which run until 2026.

FC Dallas full-back Marco Farfan has signed a 3 year contract with 1-year club option.

New York City FC defender Samuel Owusu has signed a 1-year deal with 2-year club option.

Seattle Sounders have tied down veteran forward Fredy Montero for the next MLS season.

Colorado Rapids have given veteran Iranian full-back Steven Beitashour a 1-year contract with a further year as a club option.

Transfers

West Ham United have paid an undisclosed fee to Sao Paulo for Brazilian defender Luizao. The 20-year-old will join the Hammers on 1st January.

Real Madrid have signed Palmeiras' youngest-ever player and goalscorer. 16-year-old forward Endrick will not join Madrid until 2024 when he reaches the age of 18. Palmeiras' president Leila Pereira said it was the biggest sale in the history of Brazilian football.

Motherwell have agreed a deal to sign Sligo Rovers defender Shane Blaney in January.

Livingston manager David Martindale has ruled out a sale of striker Joel Nouble in January.

Fleetwood Town have signed former Tottenham Hotspur youngster Phoenix Patterson from League of Ireland second-tier club Waterford, who are Fleetwood's 'sister' club.

Oxford United have signed Shelbourne defender Stephan Negru.

Toronto have signed Matt Hedges on a free transfer from fellow Major League Soccer side Dallas.

Everton have released Salomon Rondon. The deal was done before the World Cup but he is that slow these days it took him until now to collect his stuff from his locker.

Saint-Etienne have paid £500,000 for Gaetan Charbonnier from AJ Auxerre.

Free agent midfielder Leandro Bacuna has signed for Watford.

Montreal have paid just over £500,000 for George Campbell from Atlanta United.

Injury Round Up

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari, on loan at Monza, has returned to training following his stabbing in a mass stabbing incident at an Italian supermarket. The 29-year-old needed surgery to reconstruct two injured back muscles.

Sunderland midfielder Elliot Embleton is facing "an extended spell on the sidelines" after he suffered an ankle fracture and ligament damage while making a tackle that also earnt him a red card against Hull City.

Bristol Rovers' former Liverpool and Rangers midfielder Jordan Rossiter will be sidelined for about 2 months with a knee injury.

Exeter City defender Pierce Sweeney will get a Christmas break after being ruled out for 3 weeks due to surgery to repair a broken thumb.

MK Dons caretaker manager and defender Dean Lewington is to have hamstring surgery which rules the 38-year-old for a period.

Oxford United midfielder Alex Gorrin is set to miss the rest of the season after injuring the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Last season the Spaniard missed the second half due to a similar injury in the other knee.

Mickel Miller has suffered a hamstring injury which will keep the Plymouth Argyle defender out of action for around 6 weeks.

Former Republic of Ireland international Alan Judge will miss the rest of the season after the Colchester United midfielder suffered a triple rupture in his left knee, damaging the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL). He is likely to be missing for a full year due to the seriousness of the injury.

Job Changes

Hartlepool United's COO Stephen Hobin is to step down in March. Club chairman Raj Singh said: "The club operations off the pitch have progressed in recent years and we are thankful for the hard work that has gone in from Stephen and all the operational staff that support him. With Stephen's extended notice period we have the opportunity to go through a full process to appoint the right successor. As a club we have invested in our infrastructure in recent years and there is a fantastic opportunity for somebody to come into this position to take the Hartlepool United forward into the next chapter."

Disciplinary Charges

After missing penalties in the World Cup final, France's Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni have been racially abused on social media. Bayern Munich gave their backing to their winger Coman stating: "FC Bayern strongly condemn the racist comments made towards Kingsley Coman. The FC Bayern family is behind you, King. Racism has no place in sport or our society." After England's defeat in the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy, England's Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka also suffered similar abuse.

The European Court of Justice has backed UEFA and FIFA in their battle to block the creation of a European Super League. The ESL tried to overturn the two football governing bodies sanctions on clubs and players who were to join the breakaway league. Oddly FIFA has been involved in the creation of an African Super League, while stating that they blocked the creation of a European version to protect the game. Or possibly they were trying to protect their slice of the pie? In fact, the new version of the UEFA Champions League is a huge step, leap even, towards the format of the ESL anyway, just that it will be controlled by UEFA instead of the clubs themselves.

Cardiff City have confirmed they are under a transfer embargo as they have still not paid the first instalment in the transfer of Emiliano Sala. The Bluebirds are still appealing the decision that they must pay for the Argentine forward, who sadly died in a plane crash before making his debut for the Welsh side. Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman has confirmed that they are not intending to pay: "There are lots of legal discussions going on and they will continue to go on, but we have received our first invoice from Nantes. We haven't paid it and at this stage have no intention of paying it, until certain negotiations come to fruition. This puts the EFL in a position where they automatically put us under transfer embargo, but until January that is pretty meaningless anyway. Until January I am sure there will be other developments. We are working hard to ensure we can do business then." They signed 17 players in the summer, in preparation for the ban they knew would be coming, but are still only a point above the relegation zone.

Barrow player Josh Kay has been given a 6-match ban for verbal abuse which contained a "reference to sexual orientation". The 26-year-old as sent off in the 87th minute of the defeat to Leyton Orient and was found guilty of using offensive, abusive and insulting language afterwards. Kay has also been fined £1,050 and must attend an education programme.

Written by Tris Burke December 20 2022 12:08:17