Transfer Round Up For January 24th 2016

Done deals:

– Victor Valdes has agreed to join Standard Liege on loan from Manchester United until the end of 2015-16 season, subject to a medical.

– Preston North End have signed goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard on loan from West Bromwich Albion until the end of the season.

Today’s reports and rumours:

– Shakhtar Donetsk are thought to be sticking firm on their £38million valuation of 26-year-old Brazilian forward Alex Teixeira, according to reports.

– Hull City have joined Norwich City and QPR in the group of clubs interested in taking Chelsea’s Patrick Bamford on loan, according to reports.

– Chelsea have held successful talks with Paris Saint-Germain striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, according to reports in England.

Ezequiel Lavezzi
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– French midfielder Moussa Sissoko has insisted he won’t quit Newcastle United this month.

– Borussia Monchengladbach have issued a hands-off warning over in-demand midfielder Granit Xhaka, according to report.

– Liverpool are interested in signing Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, according to reports.

– Chelsea are considering a loan move for Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva, according to reports.

– Tottenham are interested in signing Gambia international Jagne Pa Modou from FC Sion, according to reports.

– According to reports, Manchester United have had positive talks with Benfica over the possible signing of Renato Sanches.

– Chelsea’s winger Christian Atsu is in Spain ahead of an expected loan move to either Rayo Vallecano, Levante or Malaga

– Schalke chairman Clemens Toennies has told Sky Germany that the club are in advanced talks with Tottenham over Kevin Wimmer.

– Inter Vice-President Javier Zanetti confirmed Fredy Guarin is in advanced talks with Shanghai Shenhua, not Jiangsu Suning.

– West Ham are interested in Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz, according to reports.

– Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores expects to bring in at least one more player before the end of the transfer window.

– Inter Milan have joined Chelsea in the race to sign Paris Saint-Germain’s Ezequiel Lavezzi, according to reports in Italy.

– Zinedine Zidane says defender Nacho will not be leaving Real Madrid and says he represents the “future of the team” at the Bernabeu.

– Manchester United have been in talks over signing Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez, according to reports.

– Tottenham are interested in bringing both N’Golo Kante and Jamie Vardy to White Hart Lane from Leicester, according to reports.

– Roma director Mauro Baldissoni confirms Gervinho is heading to China.

– L’Equipe claim AC Milan have joined Inter Milan in asking to sign Hatem Ben Arfa as a free agent next season.

– Lorient’s right-back Lamine Gassama is set to remain at the Ligue 1 side until the end of the season when his contract expires, according to reports.

– Chelsea’s attacker Bertrand Traoré is very interested in a possible loan move to Marseille until the end of the season, according to reports.

Football tit bits:

José Mourinho
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– Jorge Mendes, the agent of José Mourinho, has branded a report claiming the Portuguese wrote to Manchester United regarding his credentials to be the next manager as “ridiculous and absurd”.

– Arsène Wenger labelled Diego Costa clever for the part he played in Per Mertesacker’s early dismissal and bemoaned the “emotional damage” inflicted on his team.

– Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is “Over the moon” at the birth of his third child Kit Joseph Rooney on Sunday.

Newfanzone BPL team of the week (Game week 20)

Formation: 4-1-2-3

Goalkeeper- Petr Cech (Arsenal):

The veteran goalkeeper continued his blistering form in front of goal for Arsenal at the weekend. He made a couple of saves to keep his team in the match before the Gunners got on the scoresheet.

Right back- Ashley Young (Manchester United):

Ashley Young had an outstanding game against Swansea on Saturday. He darting runs caused Swansea’s defence a lot of trouble and he was also top class when defending. He capped off his performance by setting up Anthony Martial’s goal.

Centre back- James Collins (West Ham):

The Welshman had a top-class game against Liverpool at the weekend. He nullified the threat of Christian Benteke and won everything in the air.

Centre back- Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal):

Laurent Koscielny had a good defensive display against Newcastle on Saturday and scored the vital goal that kept his team on top of the Premier League table.

Left back- Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland):

The yound Dutch defender had an outstanding performance against Aston Villa. He was “solid” defensively and opened the scoring for his team.

Centre midfield- Mark Noble (West Ham):

Mark Noble was at his best against Liverpool at the weekend. He orchestrated the Hammers play in the middle of the pack and provided the assist for Andy Carroll’s goal.

Attacking midfield- Dele Alli (Tottenham):

The English midfielder was simply “superb” against Everton. He dictated play in the midfield and scored a lovely a goal.

Attacking midfield- Willian (Chelsea):

The Brazilian midfielder showed why he has been Chelsea’s standout performer this season against Crystal Palace on Sunday. He scored a fantastic goal and set up Diego Costa’s goal.

Forward- Anthony Martial (Manchester United):

The young French forward had a standout performance against Swansea at the weekend. He was a threat to the Swansea defence with his pace on the ball and his movement. He capped off his performance with a well taken goal and provided the assist for Wayne Rooney’s goal.

Forward- Jermain Defoe (Sunderland):

The Englishman was at his best against Aston Villa at the weekend scoring two beautiful goals.

Centre forward- Wayne Rooney (Manchester United):

The English striker scored a superb back heel goal against Swansea City to give his team their first win since November 21st. Wayne Rooney’s goal moved him past Andy Cole into second on the all-time Premier League scorers’ list.

Van Gaal Without 9 first team Players For Bournemouth Clash

Manchester United Manager’s job just got harder with nine of his first team players either out with injuries or suspended, German Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has been suspended by the FA for 3 games, while Luke Shaw And Antonio Valencia have both undergone surgery and are not expected back until next year.

Ander Herrera, Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian are expected to return to action before christmas while Captain Wayne Rooney and Phil Jones Should join the squad just before the new year.

Van Gaal has come under a lot of criticism lately due to the poor string of results his team as put together and fans are beginning to question the “Van Gaal Way”.

The Man United under the Dutch manager tend to keep possession of the ball a lot but find it difficult to turn possession into goals.

Manchester United’s Chris Smalling also out injured

Van Gaal has his work cut out for him though, especially with the way the team crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday against Wolfsburg in Germany, and this long list of injured players will definitely have a bearing on the way the team plays.

United Academy product have however had a chance to stake a claim to the first team spots with players like Guillermo Varela, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, featuring in the Champions League game against Wolfsburg they just might become a regular feature in the United line up this season, On the bright side Morgan Schneiderlin is available for selection against Bournemouth.

Meanwhile the Man United en of year party has been called off following the recent spate of poor results.

Moses Simon And Kelechi Iheanacho Among Contenders For Golden Boy Award

The prestigious Golden Boy award which is reserved for players under the age of 21 was first established by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport. The award was won by Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling last year and boasts Wayne Rooney (2004), Lionel Messi (2005), Sergio Agüero (2007) and Mario Götze (2011) among its former winners.

The winner of the award, which is voted for by journalists from 30 newspapers around the world, will be announced in
December.

The full shortlist:

Andrija Zivkovic (Partizan Belgrade)

Nathan Ake (Watford; on loan from
Chelsea)

Moses Simon (KAA Gent)

Dele Alli (Tottenham)

Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal)

Jordon Ibe (Liverpool)

Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City)

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)

Anthony Martial (Manchester United)

Divock Origi (Liverpool)

Luke Shaw (Manchester United)

Adama Traoré (Aston Villa)

Marco Asensio (Espanyol)

Zakaria Bakkali (Valencia)

Ángel Correa (Atlético Madrid)

Danilo Barbosa (Valencia)

Munir El Haddadi (Barcelona)

Dahoud Mahmoud (Borussia Monchengladbach)

Alen Halilovic (Barcelona)

Francisco Rodríguez (Wolsfburg)

Sandro Ramírez (Barcelona)

Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)

Pierre-Emile Hojberg (Schalke)

Adnan Januzaj (Borussia Dortmund; on loan from Manchester United)

Max Meyer (Schalke)

Ricardo Kishna (Lazio)

Adama Traoré (Monaco)

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio)

Alessio Romagnoli (Milan)

Mario Pasalic (Monaco; on loan from Chelsea)

Adrien Rabiot (PSG)

Jason Denayer (Galatasaray; on loan
from Manchester City)

Anwar El Ghazi (Ajax Amsterdam)

Gaston Pereiro (PSV)

Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord)

Goncalo Guedes (Benfica)

Ruben Neves (Porto)

Nemanja Maksimovic (Astana)

Marko Pajca (Dinamo Zagreb)

Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht)

Wayne Rooney Set For Manchester United Testimonial Next Summer

Old Trafford will play host to a testimonial match in honour of Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney next August with all profits raised from the game going to charity.

The match will mark Rooney’s 12 years at the club and is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 3rd of August 2016.

Manchester United’s Old Trafford a.k.a The Theatre of Dreams, photo credit http://www.guts.com/en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

Wayne Rooney have requested that all monies generated from the game after expenses will be distributed to his chosen charities through the newly-created Wayne Rooney Foundation, itself a registered charity. The organisations to which the testimonial proceeds will be distributed by the Foundation include the NSPCC, Alder Hey Childrens’ Hospital, Claire House Hospice and the Manchester United Foundation.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in making this testimonial become a reality, most of all I want to thank the fans for all their incredible support for me and the team since I joined the club. The match night will obviously be special for me and my family but I hope it will be a night of celebration for all involved and that we can also deliver one or two surprises.” Rooney said.

“Most of all I hope the fans will come out in force and help raise as much money as possible for these amazing charities, all of which are very close to my heart for different reasons.”

According to reports in England, Wayne Rooney wants to play his boyhood club Everton and also plans to invite former Manchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo to return to Old Trafford for the game.

Wayne Rooney

Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s executive vice chairman,said: “I am delighted that United fans will be able to celebrate Wayne’s amazing years at the club in this way. From his sensational debut hat-trick to the latest of his 236 goals, he has been a central figure in what has been one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, winning everything from the Club World Cup, the Champions League and League Cup, to his five Premier League titles.

“Wayne has selected good causes very close to his heart and the club is delighted to play its part, in providing Old Trafford as a fitting stage for such a game.”

Rooney Set To Break Charlton’s England Goals Record

Wayne Rooney needs only two goals to break Sir Bobby Charlton’s 45-year-old England Goal Scoring record, and the Manchester United man has got two games during this international break to achieve this feat.

Rooney is in the England Squad to face San Marino in Serravalle on Saturday when both countries clash in a Group E encounter in the Euro 2016 qualifiers and if his goal scoring form for country is anything to go by plus the quality of the opposition then Rooney might just become England’s top goal scorer of all time come Saturday.

Wayne Rooney, England, three lions, football
photo credit: Brent Flanders
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Wayne would also get another chance to write his name in gold on Tuesday next week when the Three Lions host Switzerland on Tuesday at the Wembley Stadium.

And If the England and Manchester United captain can find his form for his club he might just repeat the feat for the club this season as Sir Bobby Charlton is the club’s highest goal scorer of all time with 249 goals from 758 games, follow by another United Legend Dennis Law with 237 goals from 404 games followed by Wayne Rooney with 233 goals from 484 games.

Ronaldo beats Messi to top the Goal Rich List 2014

Cristiano Ronaldo was today named the world’s richest footballer after topping the annual list of players’ net worth compiled by global football media title Goal.com.

The Real Madrid forward just held off Barcelona rival Lionel Messi in the Goal Rich List 2014 with an estimated wealth of €148 million.
Ronaldo has enjoyed a remarkable 12 months in which his value to club and country has been never been more evident.
He scored all four goals as Portugal beat Sweden in the World Cup play-offs, landed the 2013 Ballon d’Or and signed a record-breaking new five-year deal with Madrid.

Messi, who lost his Ballon d’Or crown to Ronaldo in January, came in second after inspiring Barcelona to the Spanish title and signing up for a range of lucrative endorsements.

The Goal Rich List is collated by a team of analysts and takes into account all streams of revenue for active footballers over the course of their careers.

Ronaldo succeeds David Beckham who led the way in the 2013 Goal Rich List but called time on his playing career in May 2013.
Only current professionals are eligible with the earnings of more than 200 contenders assessed before Goal’s experts finalised on their selection.

Wayne Rooney makes the top four on the list following Manchester United’s decision to offer him the biggest contract in British football history, worth €365,000 a week.

Neymar’s controversial transfer to Barcelona sees him rise sharply in the standings to sixth, with his parents’ €40m ‘compensation’ payment included in Goal’s figures due to its game-changing significance.

The rest of the list is made up of global superstars, who have accrued huge wealth over significant spells at the top of the professional game.

Chelsea’s Samuel Eto’o is at number three, ahead of Rooney, thanks largely to the millions he earned at Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, with Kaka, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry completing the top 10.

Goal Rich List 2014 – Top 10

1. ​Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid​​​€148m (£122m)

2. ​Lionel Messi, Barcelona​​​​€146m (£120.5m)

3. ​Samuel Eto’o, Chelsea ​​​​€85m (£70m)

4. ​Wayne Rooney, Manchester United​​€84m (£69m)

5. ​Kaka, AC Milan​​​​​​€82m (£67.5m)

6. ​Neymar & family, Barcelona ​​​€80m (£66m)

7. ​Ronaldinho, Atletico Mineiro​​​€78m (£64m)

8. ​Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paris St-Germain​​€69m (£57m)

9. ​Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus​​​​€63m (£52m)

10. ​Thierry Henry, New York Red Bulls​​€57m (£47m)