..::Football IV::..

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Schweinsteiger set to earn Europa League recall for Man Utd

Jose Mourinho has suggested Bastian Schweinsteiger is set for a recall to Manchester United's Europa League squad.

The midfielder was forced to train with the club's reserves at the start of the season but later returned to first-team training.

Schweinsteiger has since featured against West Ham in the EFL Cup in November and Reading in the FA Cup earlier this month, while he could also turn out for United against Wigan on Sunday.

And Mourinho has indicated the former Germany international, who was left out of United's squad for the Europa League group stages, is in line to play a part in the remainder of their European campaign.

"Bastian stayed in Manchester when we played Hull, so normally he will come into the squad,” said Mourinho ahead of his side's clash against Wigan in the FA Cup."As for Europe, yes of course."

United take on Saint-Etienne in the Europa League round of 32, with the first leg to take place at Old Trafford on February 16 and the reverse fixture in France the following week.

 

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West Ham agree £25m Payet deal with Marseille

West Ham have announced they have agreed a fee of £25 million for the sale of star player Dimitri Payet to Marseille.

A deal was agreed between the clubs on Sunday, with the playmaker reportedly travelling to his native France to complete a medical.

Payet joined the Hammers from the Ligue 1 side in June 2015, setting the Premier League alight during his first season in England.

His performances helped manager Slaven Bilic guide West Ham to a seventh-place finish in the final campaign at Upton Park, as Payet earned a key role with France during their Euro 2016 campaign on home soil.

But 2016-17 has not been kind to Payet or West Ham, with the club's move to London Stadium, the converted venue that staged the Olympic Games in 2012, initially knocking the Hammers badly out of their stride.

They failed to qualify for the Europa League group stage and have struggled for consistency in the top flight, although two successive wins in their last two outings have seen them climb to the relative comfort of 10th place after appearing in danger of becoming involved in a relegation battle.

Payet in particular had been unable to replicate the form that won him so many admirers last season. And Bilic confirmed the worst fears of West Ham supporters earlier this month, when he announced Payet was no longer willing to play for the club.

While many of Europe's top sides had been linked with an interest in the 29-year-old, Marseille quickly emerged as the favourites to sign him, though the process was quite drawn out as the Premier League side snubbed previous offers in order to get closer to £30m for him.

The 29-year-old former Nantes, Saint-Etienne and Lille player looks set to re-join his old club, with his next task to hit the heights that caught the eye of Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps last year.

Marseille, who host Lyon in the Coupe de France on Tuesday, are fifth in Ligue 1.

 

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Beleaguered Barca referee Hernandez even got match report wrong!

Even as bad days at the office go, Spanish referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez's stint on Sunday was especially incompetent. Hernandez saw himself in the spotlight after officiating Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Betis after refusing to give a clear goal from Jordi Alba.

That decision won him the contempt of Neymar and the rest of the Catalan side, as they dropped valuable points in the La Liga title chase. But that faux pas might not have been the most serious mistake the whistleblower made in Seville.

A copy of the match report that circulated after full time showed that Hernandez had released Betis' official line-up with just 10 players. Romanian defender Alin Dorinel found his participation in the match striken from the official records in a bizarre mix-up on the referee's part.

And to make things even worse, Ruben Pardo also saw his place in the Betis XI eliminated - as the midfielder was replaced by Fran Merida, currently of Osasuna!

 

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Manchester United 4-0 Wigan: Schweinsteiger scores as Mourinho's men ease through

Bastian Schweinsteiger ended his long exile from the Manchester United starting line-up with a first Old Trafford goal in Sunday's 4-0 FA Cup drubbing of Wigan Athletic.

Schweinsteiger was last selected from the start when the holders beat Sheffield United in the third round of last season's competition, before fitness problems and being frozen out by Louis van Gaal's successor Jose Mourinho intervened.

A thawing in relations meant the end of a 386-day wait in this year's fourth round, with United clinical enough against Championship opposition to steer well clear of the weekend's numerous upset stories.

Marouane Fellaini calmed nerves by heading a 44th-minute opener Schweinsteiger's delightful cross looking like being his most significant contribution before he completed the scoring during the closing stages.

Another man whose status under Mourinho has come under question over recent weeks – Anthony Martial – marked his own return to the side by setting up Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan for second-half goals.

Whether Martial met Mourinho's criteria of performing "magnificently" in order to retain a spot for the midweek visit of Hull City is another matter but such standards were not required of any player as the holders progressed to the last 16.

It was a lethargic start from the hosts but they might have opened the scoring in the 24th minute when Juan Mata smashed over from 14 yards.A more gilt-edged chance fell Mkhitaryan's way after the half hour when Martial and Timothy Fosu-Mensah combined down the right, but the former Borussia Dortmund star made woeful contact with the goal at his mercy at the back post.

The Latics were also wasteful five minutes before the break, with Michael Jacobs slicing against his standing leg inside the area on the back of some impressive hold-up play from Sam Morsy.

It was a miss they would regret in the dying moments of a scrappy first half.Wayne Rooney swept a pass out to Schweinsteiger on the right and the former Germany captain crossed to the far post for Fellaini to power in a simple finish.

Sergio Romero preserved United's lead with a sharp save partly of his own making in the 54th minute, shovelling a cross from the right as far as David Perkins but reacting, while out of position, to save the midfielder's shot with his legs.

United duly heeded the warning and it was 2-0 three minutes later, with Martial this time the supplier of an excellent cross for Smalling to do the damage.Wigan pressed forward but were ruthlessly picked apart on the break with 15 minutes remaining.

Rooney's lay-off allowed Mkhitaryan to send Martial tearing down the left channel and his return ball was dispatched without error on this occasion.Mourinho handed debuts to defender Axel Tuanzebe and goalkeeper Joel Pereira with the tie in the bag but there was still time for his once forgotten senior man to shine.

Schweinsteiger's moment arrive with nine minutes remaining, as Ander Herrera nodded down a right-wing corner and the experienced midfielder was nimble enough to flick in an overhead finish – drawing a wry smile from Mourinho.

 

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Beleaguered Barca referee Hernandez even got match report wrong!

This is gold Barca are playing like shit and somehow the luck is against them as well

so many poor calls by la liga refrees these days. Really funny sometimes

 

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Mainz 1-1 Borussia Dortmund: Tuchel's men pegged back by late equaliser

Borussia Dortmund missed the opportunity to climb to third in the Bundesliga as Mainz struck late to earn a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

With Hoffenheim beaten at second-placed RB Leipzig earlier in the weekend, Dortmund could not capitalise fully despite leading for 80 minutes and sit fourth, a point behind Eintracht Frankfurt.

Marco Reus' 11th league strike against Mainz - more than against any other club - put Dortmund ahead after three minutes, but coach Thomas Tuchel was denied victory against his former club when Danny Latza equalised with seven minutes remaining.

It was a heady blow for Dortmund, who had seemed set for back-to-back wins after ending 2016 with four consecutive draws in all competitions.

Instead, this was to be another stalemate and any lingering hopes of a title challenge are surely over now, with the gap to leaders Bayern Munich at 14 points.

Tuchel welcomed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back into his side, following Gabon's early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations, and the reunited Dortmund front-line soon combined to devastating effect.

After three minutes, Aubameyang's movement dragged defenders away for Andre Schurrle to play in Reus and the Germany international coolly finished beyond Jonas Lossl.

Further first-half attacks lacked the same cutting edge, but Lossl saved comfortably from Raphael Guerreiro and was on hand to sweep up a number of dangerous forward passes.

The Mainz goalkeeper was fortunate not to concede again, though, before the break, this time misreading Reus' teasing ball to Aubameyang and escaping as the division's top scorer failed to work an angle to shoot into the empty goal.

A corner was Lossl's only punishment and Sokratis Papastathopoulos' first-time blast was deflected away before the unmarked Lukasz Piszczek nodded over.

But Dortmund seldom looked like paying for this profligacy in the early part of the second half as Mainz created little and Niko Bungert directed a rare header wide.

Schurrle volleyed narrowly past the post at the other end and later shot straight at Lossl, but, in a game starved of quality, the key clashes were becoming increasingly physical.

Jairo Samperio and Schurrle both went into the book for an off-the-ball confrontation that saw them touch heads, while Mainz threw on the giant figure of Aaron Seydel to offer an aerial threat.

However, rather than the big forward, it was Latza who came storming onto Levin Oztunali's swirling cross and rattled in an equaliser seven minutes from time.

And Mainz almost stole all three points as Seydel held the ball up for Pablo De Blasis to drag just wide with the very last kick.

 

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'The legend is back!' - Man Utd fans laud Schweinsteiger after first Old Trafford goal

Manchester United fans have expressed their delight for out-of-favour Bastian Schweinsteiger as the German scored his first Old Trafford goal on Sunday.

The former Bayern Munich midfielder has largely been overlooked by Untied boss Jose Mourinho since the Portuguese's arrival in the summer and is yet to register a minute of Premier League football this season.

Schweinsteiger was selected to start for Mourinho's men in the club's FA Cup tie against Wigan, though, alongside Marouane Fellaini, and capped the Red Devils' scoring in the 4-0 victory over their Lancashire rivals.

With the game already won, Ander Herrera directed a tame header towards the Wigan goal which Schweinsteiger hooked into the back on the goal to cap his first start for the club in over a year.

A lot has been made of the midfielder's exclusion, with United supporters making their support known during the 32-year-old's sporadic appearances during the campaign.

Reaction to the goal was, on the whole, that of relief on behalf of Schweinsteiger, with some labelling him as a "hero".

A number of supporters took to social media to poke fun at the lack of pace in the midfield of United, though an assist for midfield partner Fellaini gave supporters the last laugh.
Patient build up in the middle of the park ended with a superb delivery from Schweinsteiger, with Fellaini nodding in the opening goal.

 

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'Only Young could leave Man Utd' - Mourinho dismisses Rooney exit rumours

Jose Mourinho has responded to speculation over Wayne Rooney's Manchester United future by announcing Ashley Young could leave Old Trafford before Tuesday's transfer deadline.

United's captain and all-time record goalscorer Rooney became the latest superstar to be linked with a money-spinning move to the Chinese Super League over the weekend.

When asked about Rooney's situation in the aftermath of Sunday's 4-0 FA Cup fourth-round win over Wigan Athletic, Mourinho stated the only player whose future was up in the air within his squad was Young.

The 31-year-old joined United five and a half years ago from Aston Villa and has been restricted to four senior starts this season.

Mourinho underlined his desire to keep the player, but explained he left Young out of his matchday squad against Wigan to avoid him becoming cup-tied - suggesting interest from elsewhere in the Premier League.

"The only player that I am aware of a possibility to leave - and I'm waiting for the 31st to know what is going on - is Ashley Young," said the Portuguese."He's a player I would love to keep, but he could leave, that's why I didn't play him."

Schweinsteiger, who scored one goal and set up another on Sunday, will be rewarded with a place in United's Europa League squad, with Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay's respective departures to Everton and Lyon clearing a path for him.

"Yes, he's staying and he's going onto the Europa League list because we have spaces with Depay and Schneiderlin [leaving]," Mourinho explained."Today, 90 minutes was probably too hard for him. From minute 65 to 70 it was a bit difficult.

"If he was a good professional when he was not playing, then with minutes he is going to be a more professional."

 

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Mourinho January deals karaganne nathi weida manda.Hetane Deadline 1ka​

 

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Real Madrid 3-0 Real Sociedad: Kovacic, Ronaldo & Morata send Merengue clear at Liga summit

Real Madrid overcame 10-man Real Sociedad and an unhelpfully hostile Santiago Bernabeu crowd to reassert their grip on La Liga's title race with a 3-0 victory.

A run of one win in five matches across all competitions, culminating in Wednesday's Copa del Rey exit against Celta Vigo, had prompted barracking from the stands for the league leaders, with captain Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo sounding pre-match calls for unity.

Those fell on deaf ears and dropped points for nearest rivals Barcelona and Sevilla earlier on Sunday did nothing to prompt a feel-good factor in the capital, as the visitors began with the confidence expected of a side boasting eight wins from their past 11 league outings.

Ronaldo was forced to shrug off further cat calls before setting up Mateo Kovacic for his first Liga goal of the season in delightful fashion.Roles were reversed in the 51st minute when Ronaldo produced a finish to match an assist of the highest quality.

Inigo Martinez earned a second booking that had been very much on the cards 16 minutes from time, leaving substitute Alvaro Morata to confirm a four-point lead at the summit.

Sociedad remain a point shy of Atletico Madrid in fifth and Eusebio Sacristan's men were quick to show their attacking intent during the opening exchanges.Teenage winger Mikel Oyarzabal stormed past Ramos and into the Madrid area, forcing an important clearance from Casemiro.

Some errant handling from home goalkeeper Keylor Navas offered further encouragement, while sections of the Madrid faithful resumed their habit of jeering Karim Benzema and Ronaldo when attacks broke down before the half hour.

A speculative left-footed effort from the four-time Ballon d'Or winner drew a predictably mixed response as it skidded wide in the 33rd minute, with Toni Kroos in space screaming for the pass in vain.More nervy defending followed from the hosts but they sprung into life seven minute prior to the interval – Ronaldo emerging from his malaise to place a delicate pass into the path of Kovacic, who coolly slotted past Geronimo Rulli.

Ronaldo almost teed-up Benzema for a boo-boy silencing second but Madrid were still brittle at the back and Juanmi burst through their ranks again to thrash wide on the stroke of half-time.

The breathing space Madrid needed came six minutes into the second half, with Kovacic returning the earlier favour by threading a brilliant pass for Ronaldo to dink an exquisite finish as Rulli went to ground.

Despite the relative comfort Zinedine Zidane's side enjoyed as the match passed the hour, Benzema still contended with some whistles when Morata was introduced in his place.The comparatively popular Spain international headed home Ronaldo's 72nd-minute free-kick only to be correctly flagged for offside.

Rulli then landed his team in hot water with a clearance straight to Lucas Vazquez, recovering to save from the Madrid forward, but the sense Sociedad were unravelling was heightened as Martinez untidily clattered into Casemiro to earn his marching orders.

Morata stooped to head the counter-attacking goal Madrid had threatened for much of the second period eight minutes from time, meaning Zidane and his squad can head to Vigo in search of revenge next weekend with more of a spring in their step.

 

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Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Monaco: Bernardo Silva leaves it late to grab draw

Bernardo Silva netted a stoppage-time equaliser to help Monaco to a dramatic 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes and send them top of Ligue 1.

Edinson Cavani appeared to have won it for PSG when he converted a penalty with nine minutes left on the clock, but Portugal midfielder Silva salvaged a point for Monaco with a low shot from outside the box.

Unai Emery's men knew they were in for a tough task, having failed to beat Monaco at home in Ligue 1 since February 2007 and winning just 20 per cent of their games in the French top flight against the principality club.

The Spanish coach opted to leave Angel Di Maria, Hatem Ben Arfa and new signing Goncalo Guedes on the bench as he relied on Lucas Moura, Cavani and Julian Draxler in attack instead.

Both Lucas and Cavani got chances to open the scoring before the break, while Radamel Falcao looked dangerous for Monaco early in the second half, but the biggest goalmouth action was saved until the end.

The titleholders remain third in the table following Sunday's draw, trailing leaders Monaco and Nice by three points.

Ligue 1's top scorers by a distance, Monaco made an encouraging start to the game and threatened a number of times early on.

Thomas Lemar aimed a free-kick from a dangerous position just wide, before Fabinho tested PSG goalkeeper Kevin Trapp with a powerful long-range strike that the German pushed over for a corner.

The champions came close to opening the scoring in the dying minutes of the first half when Lucas fired a powerful low shot from just outside the area, Danijel Subasic reacting sharply to keep out the Brazilian's attempt, before denying Cavani from the rebound, too.

The away side started the second half fast as Silva set up Falcao after a good run, but the Colombia international failed to beat Trapp from inside the area, with Lemar's attempt from the rebound blocked by Adrien Rabiot.

PSG were forced to make a change when Trapp suffered a hamstring injury and made way for Alphonse Areola, who had little trouble collecting a Tiemoue Bakayoko shot from 25 yards out on his first assignment.

Draxler could have won it for PSG when he beat his marker to Layvin Kurzawa's cross from the left with 15 minutes left on the clock, but the Germany international's header went just over the crossbar.

There would be plenty of late drama, though, as referee Frank Schneider pointed to the spot after Draxler went to ground inside the area following a challenge from Djibril Sidibe. Cavani kept his cool from 12 yards, sending Subasic the wrong way to hand PSG the lead.

But Monaco would not give up and Silva beat Areola with a low shot from 20 yards out, via a slight deflection, putting Monaco top and arguably in control of the title race thanks to their astonishing +43 goal difference.

 

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OFFICIAL: Marseille sign Payet from West Ham for £25m

Marseille have signed Dimitri Payet from West Ham for a fee of £25 million, the French side have confirmed.

The France international, who left OM to join the Hammers back in 2015, has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal after successfully completing a medical on Sunday.

Payet joined West Ham from Marseille in 2015 and starred in his first season in England, earning a place in France's Euro 2016 squad and scoring three goals in a run to the final.

Despite signing a bumper five-year deal in February last year, Payet became unsettled with West Ham struggling for form this term and an exit had been on the cards ever since manager Slaven Bilic revealed he was refusing to play midway through January.In total, Payet netted 18 goals in 66 appearances for West Ham.

He scored 15 times in 83 outings in all competitions during his first spell at Marseille, staying at Stade Velodrome for two seasons after leaving Lille.

It has been a period of change for Marseille since, with American tycoon and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt purchasing the club in August.Ex-Roma head coach Rudi Garcia replaced interim boss Franck Passi and France international Patrice Evra arrived from Italian champions Juventus.

Marseille sixth in Ligue 1 after 22 matches, trailing leaders Monaco by 16 points, and will unveil Payet to the media at their training ground on Monday.

 

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'No player bigger than the club' - West Ham chief slams Payet on £25m Marseille return

West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan has hit out following the completion of Dimitri Payet's £25 million move to Marseille on Sunday evening.

Payet signed a five-year extension at the Hammers last year following a stunning 2015-16 campaign, before reportedly refusing to play for Slaven Bilic's side and forcing a move away from the club,

The diminutive playmaker's return to Marseille was confirmed by the Ligue 1 club on Sunday evening and was closely followed by a strong statement from Sullivan, stating if it were solely up to him and his board members, Payet would have been forced to remain at the club.

"The club would like to place on record its sincere disappointment that Dimitri Payet did not show the same commitment and respect to West Ham United that the club and fans showed him," the club statement begins. "Particularly when it rewarded him with a lucrative new five-and-a-half-year deal only last year.

"I would like to make it clear that we have no financial need to sell out best players and that the decision to allow Payet to leave was in accordance with the wishes of our manager and the interests of squad unity."To be frank, my board and I would have preferred for him to have stayed in order to make an example of him, as no player is bigger than the club.

"I am confident that the qualty of the players have brought in during January already, the squad will be stronger at the end of this transfer window than it was at the start.

"We now look forward to building on our recent good run of form with five league wins in the last seven matches as we focus on continuing our rise up the Premier League table."

Sullivan's son Jack also took to Twitter, though was more frank with his opinion of the France international's behaviour, posting numerous images of snakes as Payet's "best bits".

Payet made 17 Premier League starts for West Ham this season, scoring twice and registering six assists, before being excluded from first-team activity by Hammers boss Bilic.

 

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Klopp: Defeats have changed the mood at Liverpool

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp accepts the mood around the club has been affected by a run of three straight defeats at Anfield in all competitions.

Klopp's side were sent crashing out of the FA Cup on Saturday, suffering a 2-1 loss to Championship side Wolves, following Wednesday's 1-0 EFL Cup semi-final defeat to Southampton and a 3-2 Premier League reverse against struggling Swansea City.

Liverpool have toiled in the absence of Sadio Mane, with the forward on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, and Klopp conceded recent poor results have had an impact on morale among his players."This is still a very good squad and I am still quite a good manager, even though we have lost the last three games," Klopp said.

"That doesn't change, but the mood around us has changed. I have absolutely nothing good to say about the last defeat, the only good thing about the game is that it is over. Now we have the chance to win the next game and we must keep faith."

Klopp's men face Chelsea in a crunch Premier League clash at Anfield on Tuesday, with a 10-point gap to make up on Antonio Conte's league leaders, and playmaker Philippe Coutinho believes Liverpool can recover from recent setbacks.

"You know the club is very ambitious, the players and the manager all are focused," the Brazil international said. "Everyone believes in that, and everyone wants to bounce back at this moment.

"Yes it has been a bad week, but we are looking beyond that. Of course we believe we can win titles under this manager - we are confident that will happen.

"Like I said before, I have signed because the manager is a winner, and everyone believes in him. I believe in what he does, and everyone inside the dressing room believes he will take this team to titles - that is why I signed a new contract, and that is what we want to do.

"We have to lift ourselves for Chelsea, that is very important. We have another opportunity straight away to bounce back, and it is a good opportunity, a big game against Chelsea. That is it. We have a few days to prepare everything, and to go again and that is what we must do now."

 

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Manchester United confirm fire scare at Old Trafford

Manchester United have confirmed that fire crews attended an incident at Old Trafford in the early hours of Monday morning.

Local media outlets reported that there was an incident at the Theatre of Dreams that required the fire brigade to be called, but the club have acted swiftly to play down the severity of the episode.The club released a statement on their Twitter feed, which read: “A small electrical fire was identified quickly in the Sir Bobby Charlton stand around 7am today.“The fire brigade attended & the isolated incident was dealt with quickly & effectively. There was minimal damage & there were no injuries.”

Earlier, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services had told the Manchester Evening News : “We were called at 6.58am to Sir Matt Busby Way.

“Three fire engines from Manchester, Salford and Stretford attended the scene.“We have isolated the electrics and extinguished the fire using breathing apparatus and a CO2 fire extinguisher.”

Reports suggest that the fire started in the motor room of the stand.Jose Mourinho’s men will see this as an unwelcome distraction ahead of their midweek home Premier League encounter against Hull City, in which they will try to get their top four push back on track after stumbling to a 1-1 draw against Stoke last week.

Since then, they were defeated Hull in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final but beat Wigan in the FA Cup fourth round at the weekend.

 

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Lallana named England Player of the Year 2016

Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana has been named as the Vauxhall England Player of the Year 2016.The 28-year-old appeared at Euro 2016 with the Three Lions, and scored three times in 10 appearances for England during the year.

Lallana netted his first ever England goal in September against Slovakia, and followed it up with a strike against Scotland in World Cup qualifying.

The winner of the award was chosen by the England Supporters Club, with 39 per cent of those polled choosing Lallana, ahead of Jamie Vardy (12 per cent) and Wayne Rooney (eight per cent).

"This award is a huge honour,” Lallana told TheFA.com. "The last three winners were Rooney (2015), Rooney (2014) and Steven Gerrard (2012) so that just goes to show what a great achievement this is.

"Things have been going well this season for my club so that always helps. When you're playing well for your club then hopefully you can transmit your form into the national team and help out.

"That's what has been happening but I don't want that to be for just one season – I want to continue that for as long as possible."Off the back of a disappointing year for England as a whole, I'll be looking to definitely improve in 2017 and hopefully we can build on how it has started under Gareth Southgate, as there have been plenty of positives."

Southampton's Nathan Redmond was awarded the Under-21 Player of the Year for 2016.Redmond made his England U-21 debut in 2013, and has gone on to make 33 appearances for the underage side, scoring nine goals.

The three previous winners of the award were Jordan Henderson, Saido Berahino and Jack Butland. Both Henderson and Butland have made their senior debuts for the Three Lions, but Berahino has yet to play at that level.Championships after topping Group 9 with six wins and two draws, finishing ahead of Norway and Switzerland, to reach the finals in Poland.

 

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Congratulations Lallana!​

 

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Icardi is a traitor and he'll pay - Maradona

Diego Maradona has labelled Mauro Icardi a 'traitor' due to the striker's involvement in the messy and much-publicised divorce between Maxi Lopez and Wanda Nara.

Nara, an Argentine media personality, had been married to Lopez while he and Icardi were still team-mates at Sampdoria, but became intimate with the latter despite being in wedlock.

Icardi and Nara were married in 2014, shortly after divorce proceedings with Lopez had been finalised, but Maradona cares little about whether the pair ruined their reputations for true love.

“Icardi is a traitor,” Maradona told Canale 5. “He will be a great player, but [Serie A icon Gabriel] Batistuta is worth ten of him.“He [Icardi] can't go to dinner with his team-mates then get married to the wife of his friend.“He'll pay for what he did to Maxi Lopez.”

Always good for a controversial quote - especially where fellow icon Pele is involved - Maradona was seemingly pushed to dish out more dirt on his legendary colleague, but rather amusingly refused to take the bait.
“Pele was great, I don't like arguing with him.”

 

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'A definite no' - Pulis rules out West Brom move for Ivanovic

West Brom manager Tony Pulis has dismissed speculation that the Baggies are interested in signing Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

The Serbia international is expected to leave the Blues before the January transfer window closes on Tuesday, with Zenit St Petersburg reportedly in negotiations to bring Ivanovic to the Russian Premier League.

However, there has also been speculation that the 32-year-old could remain in the Premier League, with West Brom a possible destination.

Despite attending Chelsea's FA Cup win over Brentford on Saturday , Pulis has quelled talk of a move for the full-back, claiming that he is not on the Baggies' radar.

"Ivanovic? That’s a definite no," Pulis told BBC West Midlands."He's a good player but he's never been on our radar.“I was at Chelsea to look at players Brentford mentioned to me. I was also looking at Chelsea’s young players, (Nathan) Chalobah, (Ruben) Loftus-Cheek, and (Kurt) Zouma."

Pulis also confirmed that he was not interested in signing Callum Wilson from Bournemouth, but that West Brom may bring in another player on loan before the window closes.

"Callum Wilson - I’ve been told he might be available, I rang the manager up and was told no so that’s not going to happen," the Baggies boss continued."If we get any loans in maybe, but I can’t see us spending any money."

So far, Pulis has signed Jake Livermore from Hull City for £10 million, while Saido Berahino left the club to join Stoke City for £12m.

 

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Monaco are the best team in Ligue 1 - Thiago Motta

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta has acknowledged Monaco should be seen as the best team in Ligue 1 this season.

The champions looked set to secure a valuable 1-0 win over Leonardo Jardim's side on Sunday at Parc des Princes only for Bernardo Silva to secure a 1-1 draw in second-half injury time.

The result keeps Monaco - who have scored 23 more goals than any other team - at the top of the table, level on points with Nice and three clear of PSG with 16 matches left to play.

And while Motta is refusing to give up hope of defending the title, he believes Monaco fully deserve their place at the summit."Honestly, I think they're the best team in Ligue 1, in terms of what they have shown so far," he said, as quoted by Le Parisien. "And they will be in the title race to the end.

"It's not bad to be the chaser sometimes, even though it's more difficult, because it all depends on the results of the other two teams.

"But I don't think they'll win every game. It's up to us to keep a run of results going."PSG visit Rennes in the Coupe de France round-of-32 on Wednesday before a league trip to Dijon on Saturday.

Monaco travel to lowly Chambly in their cup clash before Saturday's potentially crucial top-flight showdown with Nice at Stade Louis II.