West Ham complete signing of Swansea forward Andre Ayew for £20.5m August 8, 2016 West Ham have completed the signing of forward Andre Ayew from fellow Premier League side Swansea City for £20.5m on a four-year deal. The 26-year-old joined Swansea on a free transfer from Marseille in June 2015 and scored 12 goals during his debut Premier League season with the Welsh side. “The club have a lot [...]
Manchester United’s world-record capture for Paul Pogba moves a step closer as West Ham shell out £6m on new left-back August 8, 2016 Manchester United’s world-record capture of Paul Pogba moved a step closer after the Juventus midfielder arrived at the club’s training ground for his medical. United are set to complete the £89m signing of Pogba, who departed Manchester in 2012 after finding first-team opportunities hard to come by. The Old Trafford club received just £800,000 in compensation. The [...]
Friendly round-up: Arsenal and Chelsea both suffer defensive injuries a week before start of Premier League season August 7, 2016 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s defensive crisis deepened a week before his side’s opening Premier League fixture as centre-half Gabriel was stretchered off during today's 3-2 friendly victory over Manchester City in Gothenburg. Wenger is short of defensive reserves after a knee injury ruled World Cup winner Per Mertesacker out for up to five months and Laurent [...]
Leicester City 1, Manchester United 2: Jose Mourinho backs Paul Pogba to complete his Old Trafford jigsaw after green light given for world record transfer August 7, 2016 Conundrum-solving Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has backed midfielder Paul Pogba to prove the final piece of his Old Trafford jigsaw after the Old Trafford club beat Leicester to lift the FA Community Shield yesterday. Summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic emerged as the match-winner inside the final 10 minutes, handing Mourinho his first piece of United [...]
FC Twente director says Manchester City and Chelsea use Dutch club to help spin profit on young players they’ll never use August 6, 2016 Manchester City, Chelsea and other big European clubs sign young players who they know will never reach the first team but could make them a profit claims the director of Dutch club FC Twente. Technical director at the Eredivisie team Jan van Halst argues that young players such as City's Turkish teen Enes Unal — loaned to FC Twente this summer — [...]
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez tells his players to calm down and work harder following defeat to Fulham in Championship opener August 5, 2016 A disappointed Rafael Benitez told his Newcastle players to calm down and get to work following a 1-0 defeat to Fulham in the Magpies' first Championship fixture in six years. Newcastle's campaign to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt got off to a faltering start after they failed to cancel out a first [...]
Slavisa Jokanovic heralds “different ambience” of new-look Fulham after Matt Smith header earns 1-0 victory over Newcastle in Championship opener August 5, 2016 Fulham shrugged off the departure of Ross McCormack in spectacular style by beating Championship favourites Newcastle 1-0 in the season curtain raiser at Craven Cottage. Matt Smith's header from a corner moments before half time was enough to give a new-look Fulham cause for optimism ahead of the new season, while Rafael Benitez's Newcastle will be left to reflect [...]
Don’t worry Manchester United fans, there is no legal case against Jose Mourinho over treatment of Bastian Schweinsteiger August 5, 2016 Jose Mourinho's freezing out of Bastian Schweinsteiger from the Manchester United first team has been described as criminal by a member of world player's union FifPro yet sports law experts in the UK believe there is no legal case against the manager. Slovenia FifPro member Dejan Stefanovic made headlines yesterday by telling the BBC that Schweinsteiger should "file [...]
West Bromwich Albion takeover: New owner Guochuan Lai promises to “maintain stable structure” of Premier League club August 5, 2016 West Bromwich Albion's new Chinese owner pledged to maintain the club's stable structure after completing a takeover of the Premier League team. An investment group headed by Chinese entrepreneur Guochuan Lai has agreed a deal to purchase the club from outgoing chairman Jeremy Peace and is now just waiting on Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Premier League approval. [...]
West Ham United 3, NK Domzale 0 (Agg: 4-2): Happy Hammers’ housewarming, while Slaven Bilic targets a minimum of five new signings before start of Premier League season August 4, 2016 West Ham boss Slaven Bilic revelled in the atmosphere generated within the London Stadium as the Hammers marked their first match at their new home with a commanding Europa League victory over Slovenian minnows NK Domzale. Two first-half strikes from Cheikhou Kouyate and a late third from new signing Sofiane Feghouli ensured West Ham avoided [...]