..::Football III::..

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Guardiola: Muller has the world's best nose for goal

Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola believes that Thomas Muller has exceptional predatory instincts but says there are still problems with his game.

The Germany international reportedly clashed with his coach in training this week over his methods, having struggled at times to make the XI in the Spaniard's first two seasons in charge.

Though Guardiola is full of admiration for his charge, who scored 21 goals last season, he feels he has plenty of room for improvement."Thomas has super ability, but his quality isn't in one-on-ones," he is quoted as saying by TZ.

"He has something else. His nose in the box is the best. He is always there and he's never injured. He can play anywhere."We need the people who are good at one-on-ones to get the ball to Thomas or Robert Lewandowski."

Manchester United have been widely linked with a move for the 25-year-old but Guardiola has pleaded ignorance to the rumours."I don't know anything there. I can't help you."

 

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Southampton 4-5 RB Leipzig: Rodriguez at the double in goal-packed defeat

Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez scored twice on his first appearance in almost 15 months but was on the losing side in a 5-4 pre-season loss to German side RB Leipzig.

Rodriguez has been out of action since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in April 2014 but was twice on target along with new signings Juanmi and Cedric Soares.

Nils Quaschner put the German second-tier club in front with 24 minutes gone before close-season signing Juanmi finished from inside the area to level matters in Bischofshofen.

Rodriguez was introduced at the break and needed just eight minutes to convert Sam McQueen's deep delivery from the right.

However, goals from Timo Mauer, Tim Sebastian and Zsolt Kalmar in 11 minutes handed the Germans a two-goal cushion.

Patrick Strauss extended that lead, although Ronald Koeman's side finished with a flourish as Portuguese full-back Soares calmly converted with a precise shot before Rodriguez doubled his tally with a late header.

The Premier League side will next face La Liga's Valencia as they prepare for a campaign that will feature Europa League football.

 

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AC Milan cannot afford Thiago Silva, he won't leave PSG - agent

Thiago Silva would like to return to AC Milan at some point in his career, but he would cost too much for the Italian side this summer, his agent says.

The centre-back spent three seasons at Milan, where he developed into arguably the best defender in the world, before making the move to Paris Saint-Germain in summer 2012.

The Brazil international has been a key player for PSG since then, helping them on their way to three consecutive Ligue 1 titles.

Milan are in a phase of rebuilding this summer, as they look to improve on last term's 10th-placed finish in Serie A, with new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic bringing in the likes of Carlos Bacca, Luiz Adriano, Jose Mauri and Andrea Bertolacci.

The Italian side are looking to bolster the centre of defence, but Paulo Tonietto insists his client is out of their reach.

"Milan should talk to the president of PSG about it, maybe they will be able to talk," he told MilanNews.it. "One day Thiago could return to Fluminense, as well as Milan, he would like to, but just now there isn't the slightest chance that he will change clubs.

"Right now, he costs too much, he has a contract until 2018 and a very high salary. Milan could not pay his wages because they have a policy on salaries.
"He is doing well at PSG and he can't change teams. He is too expensive for Milan."

 

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Stoke still hopeful of signing Shaqiri

Stoke City remain hopeful of signing Xherdan Shaqiri from Inter this summer, but assistant manager Mark Bowen insists they will only wait for so long.

The Italian club have reportedly accepted a €17 million bid from Mark Hughes' side for the Switzerland international who joined from Bayern in January and went on to make 15 league appearances for Roberto Mancini's men.

Stoke declared an interest in Shaqiri before then and are looking to bring him to the Britannia Stadium this summer, though their pursuit of him may come to an end soon.

"We are still waiting. We are hopeful and still waiting, it's as simple as that," Bowen told The Sentinel.

"We know the qualities he's got and maybe in January we got excited for a few days thinking we could bring that kind of player to Stoke. It didn't happen then, but maybe it will happen now.

"He left Basel, went to Munich, and two-and-a-half years later he leaves there to go to Inter. Now it's only six months later. Maybe he's thinking whether he wants to move again or put down roots and stay in one place.

"That will be at the back of his mind, so you have to give a player like him the time.

"You can push, push, push, but there is a balance between doing that and giving him the time to make the right decision for himself. They have to want to sign."

Inter coach Mancini hinted last week that both Shaqiri and Davide Santon could leave the club this summer.

"Shaqiri is a fantastic player but we have some problems with the squad list," said Mancini.

"We have 25 players and we need to sell some but I think they are two good players for the English league."

 

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We're close to signing another ex-Barcelona star' - Antalyaspor chairman

After agreeing terms with ex-Barcelona stars Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho, Turkish club Antalyaspor are close to signing another former Camp Nou hero, according to their chairman, with reports suggesting it could be Victor Valdes.

The newly-promoted side are making big investments into their squad this term with the Cameroon and Brazil icons on the way.

Now, though, the ambitious Turkish side could be set to sign their former team-mate Valdes.

"We are planning to sign one more ex-Barcelona player of the calibre of Eto'o and Ronaldinho," club chief Guntekin Gencer told A Spor. "I can say that an agreement is so close."

The 33-year-old left Barca at the end of the 2013-14 campaign but struggled to find a new club because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury he picked up in March of 2014.

The goalkeeper eventually joined Manchester United, continuing his rehabilitation with Louis van Gaal's side from October before signing a contract in January 2015. He made two Premier League appearances in that time.

 

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Rodgers meets McAllister over Liverpool coaching role

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has held talks with Gary McAllister over taking a role on the club's coaching staff, Goal understands.

Rodgers is understood to have met the former Reds midfielder at the club's Melwood training ground on Wednesday.

McAllister could replace Mike Marsh as Liverpool's first-team coach but the club are also considering other candidates for the role.

The Scot was signed by Gerard Houllier on a free transfer in July 2000 at the age of 35 and was influential in a short spell at Anfield, helping the club win the FA Cup, League Cup, Uefa Cup and Uefa Super Cup in 2001.

McAllister had brief spells in charge of Coventry City and Leeds United before taking up coaching positions with Middlesbrough and Aston Villa, where he was reunited with Houllier and took up a caretaker manager's role for the remainder of the 2010-11 season when the Frenchman suffered health complications.

The move would see Liverpool continue a revamp of their coaching staff this summer.

Former Nottingham Forest and Doncaster Rovers manager Sean O'Driscoll has been appointed Rodgers' assistant manager, with Colin Pascoe leaving the club.

Pepijn Linders, who was a part of Liverpool's academy setup last season, has been named first team development coach as the club adopts what they describe as a "new technical approach" to coaching.

 

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De Gea meets Federer at Wimbledon

Will he stay or will he go? The future of David de Gea remains uncertain with the Manchester United goalkeeper yet to make the move to Real Madrid this summer.

De Gea was 'resting' in Madrid last week and acknowledged that he would be reporting for pre-season training in Manchester ahead of the club's pre-season tour of the United States.

But the goalkeeper was not in Manchester or Madrid on Wednesday - he was at Wimbledon taking in the tennis, with Roger Federer and Andy Murray among the men eyeing places in the semi-finals.

De Gea even met with Federer after his straight-sets victory over Gilles Simon on Court One.

De Gea was joined by United team-mate and compatriot Juan Mata, who also posed for pictures with Federer.
There was a strong United presence at Wimbledon on Wednesday - over on Centre Court, David Beckham and Ashley Young watched on as Murray booked a semi-final tie against Federer by beating Vasek Pospisil.

 

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West Brom 1-3 Red Bull Salzburg: Nabi on target in friendly defeat

Tony Pulis handed James McClean his first game in a West Brom shirt in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to Red Bull Salzburg as 20 other players also enjoyed runs-out.

McClean - the Baggies' only close-season signing so far - played 50 minutes of the loss, with the Premier League side undone by two goals just before half-time.

The Austrian champions went in at the break 2-0 up thanks to Marco Djuricin and Jonathan Soriano, with Pulis opting to reshuffle his XI early in the second half.

Ten players were swapped - Stephane Sessegnon the only man to feature throughout - but Takumi Minamino added to Salzburg's lead five minutes after the hour in Schladming with a powerful left-footed drive.

However, young striker Adil Nabi - who replaced Claudio Yacob 50 minutes in - made the most of his game time by pulling one back with a clever finish from a tight angle.

West Brom face MLS side Orlando City next in their preparations for August's Premier League opener against Manchester City.

 

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Crystal Palace set to announce €14m Cabaye signing

Crystal Palace are set to announce the club-record signing of Yohan Cabaye, Goal understands.

The club have agreed a fee in excess of €14 million with Paris Saint-Germain for the former Newcastle midfielder, who is set to have a medical in the next 48 hours ahead of a reunion with Alan Pardew.

Palace feared that they would struggle to persuade the midfielder to move to Selhurst Park but Goal understands that the club have quickly agreed to the player's wage demands.

"The club were shocked how straightforward it was. They thought he would take a lot of persuading but clearly he had already decided he wanted the move to happen," a source confirmed to Goal.

Cabaye, who was previously a target for Arsenal during his time with Newcastle, is thought to have been attracted by the prospect of making the move to London.

The midfielder spent three years under Pardew at Newcastle, during which time he became one of the highest-rated midfielders in the Premier League.

His form persuaded PSG to part with nearly €24m to sign him in early 2014 but, 18 months on, they are taking a sizeable hit on their investment.

Cabaye will become Palace's record signing and and they remain hopeful of wrapping up deals for Swansea City captain Ashley Williams and Ola John of Benfica.

 

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Cabaye-Pardew reunion 1kak​

 

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Man United will sign Darmian, confirms Torino coach

Manchester United's capture of defender Matteo Darmian is all but complete, with Torino coach Giampiero Ventura confirming that a deal is imminent.

Goal understands that United have agreed a fee worth up to €20 million with the Italian club to sign the 25-year-old right-back, with an announcement expected in the coming days.

And Ventura says that he could hardly step in to prevent his charge from taking the opportunity to play at the highest level.

"It's true, Darmian will play in the Champions League with Manchester United," the coach told Sky Sport Italia.

"Matteo deserves a top team and always dreamed of playing in the Champions League so now that dream will be realised.

"In these four years since Darmian joined Torino from AC Milan, we've gone from Serie B and a great depression to the top flight and the enthusiasm of the Europa League," Ventura continued.

"We worked with Darmian for many years and it's only right he should be given the chance to make his Champions League dream come true."

United are also in talks for Nicolas Otamendi and still retain interest in Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos as Louis van Gaal shores up his back line.

 

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Messi influences games, Ronaldo doesn't - Alves

Barcelona right-back Dani Alves says Lionel Messi is a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo because he has more influence in matches.The debate continues to rage on over which of the two players is the best in the world and it shows no signs of abating, with the pair seemingly getting better each year.

However, Alves insists Messi has more influence in his team's plays than Ronaldo does with Real Madrid, insisting the Portuguese star does not do anything outside of scoring goals.

"Messi is much better than Cristiano Ronaldo," he told Bola da Vez. "Messi has an influence on the play and Cristiano doesn’t. See if he has an influence on play beyond scoring goals and appearing in certain moves.

"Messi is influential, he plays and assists. Messi has a divine gift. Cristiano works hard. We have our battles, but I admire him. He is a guy with great dedication and he’s competitive.

"Ronaldo has things that I don't admire because I play for the team. I think that my team is more important than me. I think he cares little for what really matters, which is the collective side of the game.

"So much so that some criticised us during the celebration of titles while he celebrated the league top goalscorer award.”

Messi and coach Luis Enrique had a public falling out after the Argentine was left out of his side's defeat to Real Sociedad at the start of 2015, but Alves insists these things happen in football.

"Fights sometimes occur due to wanting to improve. Of course the anger existed, but it was about competing. Everything started during a match in a training session due to the interpretation of an action.

"It was a move that the coach interpreted in one way and Messi in another. Messi is very competitive and never wants to lose and his team lost and the discussion grew."Each one has a way of being, but we all have the same objective. Besides, fights even occur in the best families."

The Brazil international recently signed a new contract with the Catalan club, despite being heavily linked with a move away for the majority of the season. And he admits that he turned down offers to remain at Camp Nou.

"I could have signed a pre-contract with another team, but I refused," he added. "I decided to be honest to the end and focus 100 per cent on doing a great job."

 

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Rodgers is perfect for my development, says Ings

Danny Ings has cited Brendan Rodgers's ability to develop young talent as a key factor in his decision to join Liverpool.

Having been in demand with his Burnley contract set to expire, Ings agreed a move to Anfield in June - although compensation for the deal has still to be agreed.

In his first interview since he officially became a Liverpool player on July 1, the 22-year-old forward hailed his new manager.

"He is fantastic at developing young players. For a player like me, I think it will be perfect to work with him," Ings told the club's official website.

"There's nothing better for a young player like me than to be working for a manager like that, who loves to bring all these young boys in and give them a chance.

"With the development that he has for young players, it suits me down to the ground and hopefully we can have a great relationship for the future.

"As soon as I knew that Liverpool were interested, it was a no-brainer. It was the only club on my mind, to be fair."

In addition to taking on board Rodgers's advice, Ings is looking to learn from team-mates such as England striker Daniel Sturridge.

"Of course, he's an unbelievable striker," the youngster enthused. "He is one of those players who has come through the ranks, he has not had it easy. Now he's here and he's established; he's a fantastic, talented football player I can learn from.

"You need young, hungry, developing players in your team but you also need that experience to level things out and get hold of some of the youngsters when they need advice in certain areas of the pitch.

"I think there's a great mixture here and that was also one of the big reasons why I wanted to come here - to learn from other players, learn different styles of football and different opinions to make myself better."

 

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There's no trust between Sterling and Rodgers - agent

All trust between Raheem Sterling and Brendan Rodgers has evaporated as he seeks to leave Liverpool this summer, his agent Aidy Ward says.

The 20-year-old has already been the subject of two failed bids from Manchester City and Goal understands that they are now preparing a third offer, worth over €60 million plus add-ons.

The Merseysiders still hope to keep Sterling but may be forced to sell after the England international told Liverpool bosses that he does not want to join the squad for their upcoming pre-season tour of Australia and south-east Asia.

Not long after his threat to strike, Sterling was then absent from training on Wednesday after calling in sick and Ward's latest remarks suggest that he is unwilling to work under Rodgers any longer.

"With Raheem, there has been a breakdown in trust between him and Brendan Rodgers," said Ward, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

The 34-year-old agent has been criticised for the bullish manner in which he has tried to engineer an exit for Sterling, previously saying that not even a €1m-a-week contract could tempt the youngster to stay.

And now another of Ward's clients, in-demand West Brom striker Saido Berahino, has parted company with the controversial agent, with reports suggesting that he had become disillusioned with the tactics employed in the Sterling transfer saga.

"I'm no longer working with Saido. You'll have to ask him for the reasons," Ward remarked.

Berahino, 21, has been linked with a host of clubs, including Newcastle and Tottenham, after an excellent campaign in which he scored 14 goals in 38 Premier League matches, as well as bagging five goals in the FA Cup.

 

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Sterling CITY join wei neh​

 

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Rooney announces: Third child is on the way!

Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen are expecting their third child, the Manchester United striker has announced.

Rooney announced the news on Twitter on Wednesday night.

"Delighted that me and @ColeenRoo have our 3rd child on the way," Rooney tweeted.

Rooney's first child, Kai Wayne Rooney, was born in November 2009, while Coleen gave birth to their youngest son, Klay Anthony Rooney, in May 2013.

Rooney is expected to join United on their pre-season tour of the United States, which begins with an International Champions Cup game against Club America on July 17.

 

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Congratulations Rooney!

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Alexis & Welbeck missing from Arsenal Asia Trophy squad

Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky are among the players left out of Arsenal's 27-man squad for the Asia Trophy.

Alexis and Colombia keeper David Ospina are both missing following the Copa America, which was won by Chile, while injured Welbeck and Rosicky will sit out the friendly tournament, which is held from July 15-18.

"Calum [Chambers] has decided to shorten his holiday and come back on Friday, he didn’t play in the under-21s and needs preparations," Wenger told the club's official website.

"Welbeck isn't completely recovered from the problem he had [at the end of last season]. He's not back in full training so he will stay behind.

"Rosicky will stay back because he got a small injury at his last game against Iceland with Czech Republic.

"Ospina is on holiday until July 27 and Alexis is on holiday until August 3. Serge Gnabry is on holiday after playing with the under-21s. He's back on July 20."

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Emiliano Martinez, Wojciech Szczesny

Defenders: Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, Gabriel, Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal

Midfielders: Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Dan Crowley, Mathieu Flamini, Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Chris Willock, Jack Wilshere, Gedion Zelalem

Forwards: Chuba Akpom, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott

 

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Bayern need Douglas Costa's qualities, says Guardiola

Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola is eagerly anticipating the impact Douglas Costa can have on his side's fortunes following his move from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Brazil international sealed a switch to Bavaria for a €30 million last week as the German champions look for long-term successors to Franck Ribery and Arjen
Robben.

Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu subsequently claimed that the 24-year-old is not ready to make a serious impact on the first team but Guardiola feels his side need his new signing's qualities.

"We needed a player with a lot of quality in one-on-ones," he is quoted as saying by Sport."He is young, has played in the Champions League and has international caps. We're convinced by him."

Bayern have started their pre-season training camp and the former Barcelona boss is delighted with how things have panned out."It's a good period with little stress. We've started very well, the players are training very well."

The 44-year-old also said he remains an ordinary man, despite the success he has already enjoyed during his short coaching career."My job is to coach but I'm just a normal person. I need contact with other people in the city, in restaurants. I love that."

 

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Podolski tips Arsenal for title challenge in farewell letter

Lukas Podolski has tipped Arsenal to challenge for the Premier League title after ending his three-year spell at the Emirates Stadium.

The striker joined Galatasaray last week after falling down the pecking order under Arsene Wenger. He didn't start a league game in the first half of the 2014-15 season before being shipped out on loan to Inter.

Podolski, who won the FA Cup in 2014, also posted a 15-second video montage of his highlights in London, including the Wembley win and celebrations after beating Tottenham at White Hart Lane.