President Xi loves football, but China’s spending spree won’t last long says ex-Manchester City man Sun Jihai January 9, 2017 Premier League clubs need not worry about losing their best players to the China, says former Manchester City defender Sun Jihai who predicts a slowdown in spending from the emerging football power. Chinese teams’ spending has exploded as some of the country’s richest men acquired football clubs in the wake of President Xi Jinping revealing [...]
How the Africa Cup of Nations affects Premier League clubs January 9, 2017 While January offers the opportunity for squads to be bolstered before the campaign’s business end, some Premier League managers are already counting the cost of international call-ups for the Africa Cup of Nations. A quick browse of the list of top-flight absentees for the tournament in Gabon, which begins on Saturday, shows those sides who [...]
Tottenham Hotspur 2, Aston Villa 0: Mauricio Pochettino tips rookie midfielder Harry Winks for stardom January 8, 2017 TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino tipped rookie midfielder Harry Winks to scale lofty heights after his side began their FA Cup campaign with a regulation victory over Championship side Aston Villa. Eight-time tournament winners Spurs cruised into round four after brushing aside an initially stubborn Villa, currently 12th in the second tier, courtesy of second-half goals [...]
Chelsea 4, Peterborough United 1: Fringe stars shine for Blues in FA Cup but Antonio Conte still eyeing January transfer business January 8, 2017 Chelsea 4, Peterborough United 1 Chelsea manager Antonio Conte insists he still hopes to add to his squad this month despite fringe players forcing their way back into his thinking in an FA Cup romp against Peterborough on Sunday. Unsettled striker Michy Batshuayi scored his first goal since August, midfielders Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Cahlobah [...]
Football Association clears Premier League clubs to field weakened teams in the FA Cup and confirms plans to increase prize money January 8, 2017 Premier League clubs have been given the green light to field weakened teams in the FA Cup after Football Association chiefs said they would not take action against sides who made wholesale changes. Top-flight teams’ attitude towards the competition is in the spotlight again after six crashed out at the earliest opportunity over the first two [...]
Everton sell training ground naming rights to company co-owned by Arsenal investor Alisher Usmanov and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri January 6, 2017 Everton's training ground will be renamed USM Finch Farm after the Premier League club agreed a naming rights deal with the holding company for the businesses owned by Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov. USM Holdings, which is also part-owned by Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, counts Russia's largest mining company Metalloinvest, Russian social network VKontakte and stakes [...]
Pep Guardiola dismisses retirement talk as West Ham’s Slaven Bilic talks up qualities of two transfer targets January 5, 2017 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has doused suggestions he is contemplating retirement as he prepares to embark upon his maiden FA Cup clash against West Ham at the London Stadium on Friday. Guardiola moved to clarify comments made last week in which he indicated he was pondering the end of his coaching career, which led [...]
Up for the cup: Sutton United bask in overdue return to spotlight January 5, 2017 Non-league Sutton United may be cast as extras in the FA Cup script but nearly 30 years after their last show-stopping third round performance the part-timers are busy rehearsing their lines for a long overdue encore. It was January 1989 when Sutton, playing as they are today in English football’s fifth tier, knocked out top-flight Coventry [...]
Everton new boy Ademola Lookman attracted by Ronald Koeman’s development skills January 5, 2017 Everton's new teenage signing Ademola Lookman says manager Ronald Koeman's record at developing young players convinced him to join the Premier League club. The highly-rated 19-year-old has become most expensive player ever signed from a League One side after The Toffees agreed a deal worth up to £11m with Charlton. His performances both on the wing and up front for [...]
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Chelsea could struggle after Tottenham ended their all-conquering sequence January 5, 2017 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Chelsea could struggle to regain momentum in the Premier League title race after Tottenham ended their 13-match winning run on Wednesday. The leaders slipped to their first league defeat since September as two Dele Alli headers lifted Tottenham to third place and gave fresh hope to the rest of the chasing [...]