..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Leicester star Vardy signs new four-year contract


Jamie Vardy has signed a new four-year contract with Leicester City that will keep the England striker at the King Power Stadium until June 2022.

The 31-year-old, who initially joined the Foxes from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2012, was a key member of their 2015-16 title-winning team, winning both the Premier League Player of the Season and the FWA Football of the Year awards in the same campaign.Capped 26 times by England, he was a part of the national team that reached the last four of the World Cup in Russia earlier this year, featuring in the semi-final against Croatia.

“It’s a great feeling to know that I can look forward to another four years as a Leicester City player,” Vardy said in a club statement. “Everybody knows how I feel about playing for this football club.

“The journey that me, the team and the club have been on in the past few years has been incredible. Going into the new season, it’s an exciting time for Leicester City and I’m delighted to be part of it.”

Vardy, who started his senior career at Stocksbridge Park Steels and had a spell at Halifax Town before joining Fleetwood, has scored 88 goals across all competitions for the Foxes in his six seasons in Leicestershire, making him the 10th all-time top scorer for the club.He won his first cap for England in 2015, in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland, and scored his first goal for his country against Germany in a 3-2 win the following year in March.

The striker’s re-signing represents a significant boost for Leicester, who have also reportedly fended off interest from Manchester United for Vardy’s England team-mate Harry Maguire.

Both will remain with the club after their other talismanic player, Riyad Mahrez, departed to join Premier League champions Manchester City.Foxes manager Claude Puel has been able to bring in several new faces though during the transfer window, with Porto defender Ricardo Pereira and Turkey international Caglar Soyuncu among them.

Leicester start their Premier League campaign away to Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 10 before they host newly-promoted Wolves eight days later on August 18

 

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Man Utd defender Fosu-Mensah joins Fulham on season-long loan


Manchester United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah has joined Fulham on season-long loan.Fosu-Mensah featured in the pre-season for the Red Devils, but has now moved to the Premier League newcomers for the 2018-19 season.The 20-year-old spent last season on loan at Crystal Palace, where he made 21 appearances in all competitions.

And the Netherlands international is now set to remain in London, with the Cottagers adding another name to their large list of summer reinforcements. Speaking about his switch to Fulham, Fosu-Mensah told the club's website: “I have a good feeling about the Club. It has a nice history, it’s a nice Club.

“Fulham has a lot of good players, and it’s good for my development to be here. I spoke to the Manager and he gave me a good feeling.“I’m happy to be here and I want to keep progressing.”Director of football Tony Khan added: “I’m pleased to announce that Fulham Football Club has signed Timothy Fosu-Mensah on loan from Manchester United.

“Timothy is a gifted young defender who excels at multiple positions, and his addition will further reinforce a strong and promising squad that we have assembled to compete in the Premier League.”
Ahead of their return to the Premier League, Fulham have signed Jean-Michael Seri, Maxime Le Marchand, Alfie Mawson, Fabri, Joe Bryan and Aleksandar Mitrovic on permanent transfers.Slavisa Jokanovic's side have also captured Andre Schurrle, Calum Chambers, Luciano Vietto and Sergio Rico on loan deals.

Fosu-Mensah made his Man Utd debut during the 2015-16 campaign, and has two years remaining on his contract with the Old Trafford side.

 

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Jordan Ayew completes Crystal Palace loan move from Swansea


Crystal Palace have signed Jordan Ayew in a one-year loan deal from Swansea City.With the Swans relegated to the English Championship last term, the 26-year-old had made his intention of continuing in the Premier League known, and failed to report for training with the rest of Graham Potter's squad.

The striker also missed out on their 2-1 win over Sheffield United in Saturday’s Championship opener, thus, strengthening speculations of a move to the Eagles - with Fulham's reported £8 million bid from earlier this summer rejected by the Welsh outfit.

The Ghana international will now play the 2018-19 season at Selhurst Park, his brother Andre has confirmed in a tweet - although both concerned clubs are yet to confirm officially.
The 26-year-old moved to the Liberty Stadium from Aston Villa in 2017 and was the club’s top scorer last season with 12 goals across all competitions and was awarded the Player of the Year.

 

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Leicester sign defender Soyuncu in £19m deal


Leicester City have completed the signing of defender Caglar Soyuncu from SC Freiburg for a reported £19 million ($24m).

The 22-year-old Turkey international has signed a five-year deal and will join up with Claude Puel’s side at the King Power Stadium, subject to a work permit being granted.Soyuncu made 30 appearances for Frieburg last season as they finished 15th in the Bundesliga, and has been capped 15 times for his country.

The former Premier League champions suffered a blow earlier in the transfer window after losing their influential talisman Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City after a protracted saga.

However, they have crucially retained the services of England pair Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy, both of whom were the subject of interest following a World Cup campaign where they helped England to the semi-finals for the first time this century.

Maguire, in particular, has been the reported focus of a bid from Manchester United in recent weeks, but has opted to remain with the Foxes as they look to recapture the glories of their 2015-16 title-winning campaign.The arrival of Soyuncu, who began his professional career in 2014 with Turkish club Altınordu, further helps the club bolster its back-line, as he becomes their seventh signing of the transfer window.

His arrival follows that of fellow defender Filip Benkovic, who also joined the Foxes on a five-year deal from Dinamo Zagreb.The pair will face competition from former Porto right-back Ricardo Pereira and Northern Ireland international Jonny Evans, all of whom have also been recruited to the King Power Stadium during the off-season.

Leicester start their Premier League campaign away to Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 10 before they host newly-promoted Wolves eight days later on August 18.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Woodward and Glazers have failed Mourinho and every Man Utd fan with shocking transfer window


Even after Jose Mourinho attempted to manage expectations in his Thursday morning press conference , many Manchester United fans remained hopeful that somebody – anybody – would be snapped up on deadline day to give the club a much-needed boost going into the new season.

But as 17:00 ticked by without further activity, one of the club’s most frustrating transfer windows in memory came to a close. And Mourinho is chief among those with an axe to grind over the lack of signings since the end of last season.

Young full-back Diogo Dalot, Brazil international midfielder Fred and back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant were all important additions and could well go on to play crucial roles in the Premier League campaign to come, but everybody knows that United haven’t done the work they set out to do in May.


They are still short of a top class full-back and don’t have a natural right-sided attacker in their squad. And their bungled pursuit of a centre-half has defied logic at times over the 12 weeks since Phil Jones’ crucial error against Chelsea in the FA Cup final underlined just how much the back line is in need of greater depth and quality.

Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld was the main target throughout the summer, and at one stage United thought they may have made a breakthrough, but ultimately they couldn’t force a deal through and fall-back options Harry Maguire, Yerry Mina, Jerome Boateng and Diego Godin similarly slipped through the net.

While Mourinho has had plenty on his plate around the saga of his relationships with Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, the loss of so many stars after the World Cup and the need to work with youth-team players instead, it is the shortcomings of his superiors which have become the defining story of the summer.

Executive vice-chairperson Ed Woodward and head of corporate development Matthew Judge simply failed to deliver what United needed on the field during this transfer market. While fans were desperate to hear of new players, all they could deliver were a steady stream of new commercial partnerships.

Following the addition to the shirt sleeve of a new sponsor, Kohler, came the announcement of a new betting app agreement with MoPlay and a partnership with Chivas Regal whiskies. Not only were such missives not what the fans were waiting for, they were also further evidence that the priorities of Woodward and the Glazer family are simply not where they are meant to be.

The Glazers have come under intense scrutiny since the day in 2005 when they took ownership of the club thanks to a purchase comprised of loans secured against the club’s assets at exorbitant interest rates. For eight years the continued ability of Sir Alex Ferguson to work his magic with the first-team squad took away some of the heat, but since the departure of the Scot and CEO David Gill, Woodward has been exposed as an ineffective administrator on a footballing level.

While he has made a habit of making the club millions in commercial tie-ins such as those he has helped to deliver this summer, his effectiveness in supporting managers on the market has been far less convincing. He might well set out to add the right players into the mix, but his low percentage rate for delivering signings is of a huge concern. The widespread interpretation is that Woodward cares too much about getting exactly the right deal financially and not enough about securing the right player for what Mourinho wants to achieve on the pitch.

Woodward’s quarterly reports to shareholders have regularly boasted of great gains on a financial level, but United have had no say in a title race over the last five years. Worse still, he made no apologies for that disconnection when questioned in May.

“If I answer that just very simply and candidly, playing performance doesn’t really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial size of the business,” he explained to shareholders.

As such, he has exceeded expectations in one department this summer in managing to close three major deals, but that work has done nothing to further the club’s cause on the pitch where it really matters.

In their quest to bring down the debt with which they burdened United from day one, the Glazers will no doubt be delighted with Woodward’s work. But Mourinho most certainly is not as the executive refuses to budge when it comes to negotiating fees and ends up leaving the manager without the players he wants.

The manager made it be known that he was expecting plenty of incomings heading into 2018-19 as he looked to gear his side up to challenge a Manchester City side which ran away with last season’s title.

“I would like to have two more players. I think I am not going to get two,”Mourinho told reporters during their US tour. “I think that it's possible I will have one. I gave a list to my club of five names a few months ago. And I wait to see if it's possible to have one of these players.”

But those extra signings never arrived. Instead there has only been increased frustration and growing tension. In the summer of 2016 Mourinho asked Woodward for four players and got every one of them, while 12 months on they failed to snap up only Ivan Perisic of their quartet of targets.

The shortage of signings this summer ahead of what is likely to be a huge season in Mourinho’s career, let alone his Manchester United tenure, has understandably not gone down well. Meanwhile, Manchester City have added Riyad Mahrez to a side which gained 100 points last season, Liverpool have made four major signings after reaching the Champions League final, Chelsea have spent £123 million on Jorginho and Kepa alone, and Arsenal have brought in five new first-teamers.

Mourinho is used to winning, and the last couple of years will have hurt him greatly. More than that, he is used to working with ambitious people and clearly he does not see the actions of Woodward, Judge and the Glazers as being of the standard required if United are to compete at the very top.

Even Alexis Sanchez raised an eyebrow at the lack of activity when speaking to ESPN Brazil. “I would have liked that they had signed many more world-class players,” said the Chilean. “But it’s the club’s decision.”

It is that decision-making which has had Mourinho appearing down in the mouth all summer. It is that decision-making which has had fans tearing their hair out at every tweet sent out by the club over the last five weeks. And it is that decision-making which calls into question exactly what the Glazers and Woodward are trying to achieve at Manchester United.

Off the pitch they are making a mint. On it they are failing Mourinho and every single Manchester United fan.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Pochettino hints Brexit influenced lack of transfers


Mauricio Pochettino is happy with Tottenham's squad and praised the club for keeping Harry Kane as he hinted at Brexit and Spurs' new stadium being to blame for no new signings.Tottenham re-signed star striker Kane on a long-term deal but they failed to reinforce their team before Thursday's Premier League deadline.

Spurs were linked with Aston Villa's Jack Grealish, however, a deal was not completed, leaving manager Pochettino without any fresh faces in London.

Reflecting on the transfer window, the manager again praised the importance of keeping Kane, as well as making sure Pochettino himself stuck around.

"We have a very good squad, we have very good players and it is not easy to add players that improve that," Pochettino said."Of course we didn't sell players and with 25 players in the squad it's difficult to add."Our targets are always in the same level of Real Madrid or Manchester United or Manchester City, but for different circumstances we cannot achieve that.

"If you cannot add players who can improve your squad, the most important thing is to make sure you do not lose your best player."And I think that was a great job from the club to keep the best player and keep the manager."

Pochettino highlighted the cost of Tottenham's new stadium, which will open this season, arguing that while it is a big investment, Brexit made it more expensive than the figures let on.

Pochettino added: "What the club is doing is showing it is so brave. Building a new training ground, finishing this summer the [player's] lodge was a massive investment.

"Building a stadium that is nearly £1 billion. That is true, don't believe in £400m, that is the truth. Then with Brexit it's worse because the cost is 30 per cent more. That is a drama, I feel sorry for the English people."Spurs kick off their Premier League season with a visit to Newcastle on Saturday.

 

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Mourinho insists Pogba is 'happy and proud' at Man Utd despite Barcelona rumours


Jose Mourinho insisted Paul Pogba is happy to be back at Manchester United following France's World Cup victory, despite reports linking the midfielder with a move to Barcelona and Juventus.

Pogba played a crucial role for Didier Deschamps' triumphant side in Russia, and the 25-year-old star returned to United training on Monday ahead of Friday's opening Premier League fixture of the season against Leicester City.

La Liga champions Barca are reportedly interested in taking Pogba to Camp Nou, with the transfer window still open until August 31 for most of Europe's major leagues, while former club Juve have also been linked.

However, United had no intention of letting the midfielder go, a point manager Mourinho affirmed, though he added that the Frenchman may not feature against Leicester at Old Trafford."My perception, he arrived Monday, happy, proud, a desire to work," Mourinho told a press conference.

"He worked amazingly well Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. He's one of the players that I have to speak to, to see how physically and mentally he feels."But it's the same conversation as with [Ashley] Young, [Marouane] Fellaini, [Jesse] Lingard, it's the same.

"If they feel they can help us [against Leicester] – 20 minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour. We don't have many solutions and want to go with everything we have."I see [Pogba] very well but we need words with that small group to see if they can give us a hand. We have to try and get the best out of every player."

Mourinho was left frustrated in his attempts to bolster United's squad ahead of the season, as the club failed to bring in a central defender, with a late bid for Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin proving fruitless.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League Opening Day Fixture 2018.08.10

Barclays Premier League Opening Day Fixture 2018.08.10​

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Manchester United Vs Leicester City

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Aluth season ekakAluth challenges godak

Last season eke wechcha mistakes hadagena meh season eke hoda fight ekak demu Title ekata!Playersla okkoma team ekata 100% performance dunnoth season end ekedi hoda result ekak ganna puluwan

Good Luck Manchester United!
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[charitha chandi]

Mina completes €30m Everton move as Barcelona team-mate Gomes joins on loan

Patta neh.!

 

[charitha chandi]

Chelsea capture Kepa for world-record £72m fee

Boyyyyee..!

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United Vs Leicester City

Manchester United Starting Line-up

De Gea
Darmian
Bailly
Lindelof
Shaw
Fred
A Pereira
Pogba
Mata
Rashford
Sanchez

&

Leicester City Starting Line-up

Schmeichel
Amartey
Morgan
Maguire
Chilwell
Ndidi
Silva
R Pereira
Maddison
Gray
Iheanacho
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[Wolverine GTR]

Good Luck Manchester United!
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Half Time

Manchester United 1 Vs 0 Leicester City

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[Wolverine GTR]

Full Time

Manchester United 2 Vs 1 Leicester City

Manchester United Goal(s)

P.Pogba 03'(PEN)
L.Shaw 83'

&

Leicester City Goal(s)

J.Vardy 90+2'


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[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Manchester United!
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[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United 2 Leicester City 1: Pogba, Shaw secure win despite Vardy's late strike

Goals from Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw secured Manchester United an underwhelming 2-1 victory over Leicester City in the opening game of the 2018-19 Premier League season.

United went into the campaign on the back of a tumultuous pre-season that was dominated by discontent and a lack of signings, leading to Jose Mourinho making veiled digs at the club's hierarchy and, while they secured all three points at home, the team's display was hardly an emphatic response.Initially all looked rosy at Old Trafford, as United's encouraging start saw them go ahead through captain Pogba, but thereafter Leicester were the controlling force in the first period.

The only thing missing from Leicester's display was a killer instinct in the final third before Jamie Vardy's second-half introduction, though his stoppage-time effort was too little, too late, as Shaw's first senior goal seven minutes from time proved decisive in the final reckoning.United stroked the ball around confidently during the early exchanges and that poise was personified by Pogba when he placed a third-minute penalty into the top-right corner after Daniel Amartey was adjudged to have handled Alexis Sanchez's deflected shot.


The early confidence soon dissipated, however, and Leicester were unlucky to go in at half-time trailing, with impressive debutant James Maddison drawing a marvellous save from David de Gea in the 29th minute.The hosts improved after the break, looking a little more convincing in possession and preventing Leicester from crafting clear-cut chances.

Shaw finally doubled their advantage when he capitalised on his own heavy touch to squeeze a finish into the bottom-right corner and, while Vardy nodded in from close range at the end after Ricardo Pereira's cross came back off the post, the Red Devils just about did enough.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Pogba was a monster' – Mourinho lauds World Cup-winner after Leicester display


Jose Mourinho lauded Paul Pogba as a "monster" after a strong showing in Manchester United's Premier League opener against Leicester City just four days after returning to training.Pogba played a key part in France's successful World Cup campaign and was therefore allowed to miss most of United's pre-season.

The midfielder returned on Monday and, although he has not featured in any pre-season friendlies, he was thrust straight back into the action four days later as the Premier League got under way once again at Old Trafford, United winning 2-1 on Friday.

Wearing the captain's armband, Pogba got the scoring started with a third-minute penalty and generally impressed in the centre of the pitch, but it was his ability to keep going for 80 minutes despite a lack of a pre-season that Mourinho focused on in his post-match news conference."Of course the boys with the proper pre-seasons, they were in much better condition," Mourinho said.

"[Luke] Shaw, Andreas Pereira, [Eric] Bailly, [Matteo] Darmian, they were comfortable to play 90 mins. The others were fantastic."[Marcus] Rashford was in trouble, but he played. Pogba was a monster. We thought [he could play a] maximum 60 minutes, but he managed 80.

"Then Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini were available to try to help the team. I was fantastic spirit, and there were periods of very good football.
"In the periods Leicester were stronger we played as a team and coped well."

Although some were surprised to see Pogba in action again so soon after his post-World Cup break, Mourinho insisted it was not a difficult decision to play him because Pogba said he was ready.

"[It] was not hard," Mourinho added. "The decision belonged to him, because Andreas Pereira comes from Valencia bench as a winger to play number six; Fred had 10 days training, Ukrainian league, comes direct to Old Trafford; Ander Herrera injured.

"I had only two options: Scott [McTominay] or Paul, but if I play Scott I play two kids and a new player, so I asked Paul and he put himself available for the team and he was very, very good for us."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Sarri rules out Real Madrid move for Hazard: It's impossible now


Maurizio Sarri has revealed that Eden Hazard is happy at Chelsea and insisted that it would be "impossible" for him to leave for Real Madrid at this stage.

The Belgian has long been on Madrid's radar as Julen Lopetegui considers finding a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Juventus earlier in the summer transfer window.Thibaut Courtois has already made the move from Stamford Bridge to Spain, and has insisted that it would be "fantastic" if Hazard were to join him in Madrid.




Goal understands that a contract offer is on the table for Hazard - a figure of around £300k-a-week that would make him the highest-paid player in the club's history - but he is not close to signing the new deal.

Sarri, though, is adamant that his star man wants to remain at the club, revealing that, given he wouldn't be able to sign a replacement now the Premier League window is closed, it's "impossible" Hazard will be leaving.He told reporters: "I think it's impossible. It's impossible because, here, the market is closed. We cannot change important players now, so I think it's impossible.

"Hazard is with us. I have spoken with him three or four times for everything, and he never said something about the market. So I think he is very happy to stay here.
When asked about a new deal for Hazard, Sarri added: “I don't want to discuss about contracts. It's not my job. My job is on the pitch, to improve my players.

"My job is to try to win matches. It's not to sign new contracts. But I have seen a player who is very happy to stay here, so I think it will be no problem, the new contract."

Regarding Courtois's departure, Sarri suggested there were "personal reasons" involved in the goalkeeper's decision to leave and that, following the arrivals of Mateo Kovacic and Kepa Arrizabalaga, his squad is "complete".He added: "I am very happy. Courtois' situation was clear, he wanted to go to Madrid. There were some personal reasons. I don't know really.

"But we bought a young goalkeeper, one of the most important in Europe. I am really happy. And to Kovacic, because he has the characteristics for us. The squad is complete."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.08.11

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.08.11

Newcastle Vs Tottenham

Bournemouth Vs Cardiff

Fulham Vs Crystal Palace

Huddersfield Vs Chelsea

Watford Vs Brighton

Wolves Vs Everton

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