Author: Muktar Balogun

Barcelona has signed a €55 million (£47 million/$62 million) fee for Manchester City winger Ferran Torres, according to GOAL. Despite the Catalans’ financial difficulties, the Spain international is expected to join Xavi’s side in January. He hasn’t played for City since September due to a foot ailment. In order to comply with La Liga’s financial fair play rules, Barca will have to focus on offloading players from their first-team roster. Mateu Alemany, Barcelona’s director of football, led the talks with the Spain international, who wants to return to his motherland after leaving Valencia in August 2020. Torres will cost the…

Manchester United, a Premier League powerhouse, has chosen a new coach. Man United has sealed a contract for Ewan Sharp, a former Toronto FC coach, to become an assistant coach and analyst at Old Trafford, according to Sky Sports News. Sharp is on his way to Manchester United from Lokomotiv Moscow. Ralf Rangnick, the temporary manager of Manchester United, first met Sharp while working as a performance analyst for the New York Red Bulls. Following the losses of Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna a few weeks ago, Sharp’s arrival will strengthen Man United’s backroom staff. He’s also helped the scouting…

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has delivered a severe warning to Jack Grealish and Phil Foden after both players were penalized in City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle United on Sunday. Despite shining in the 7-0 win over Leeds United earlier in the week, both players were left on the bench at St James’ Park. According to the Telegraph, Grealish and Foden went to a nightclub following Manchester City’s win against Leeds, and the team’s personnel were ‘unhappy’ with the two players’ condition in their recovery session the next day. According to the source, manager Pep Guardiola was “distinctly…

The Premier League Clubs refuse to postpone an entire round of matches due to Covid-19 breakouts at many clubs. Six of this weekend’s ten Premier League games were postponed on Thursday, but the league insisted that games would be played “as safely as possible.” Following a meeting of Premier League shareholders on Monday, the league opted to proceed with the schedule as planned, when practicable, while it was later confirmed that a record-high 90 positive Covid instances had been documented among league players and staff in the previous week. Meanwhile, in order to decrease fixture congestion, the FA has eliminated…

Right-back for Manchester United Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been given a six-month driving restriction after pleading guilty to driving offenses. The 24-year-old was also fined £31,500 after admitting earlier this year to driving while disqualified and without insurance after being pulled over by police on June 23 in Manchester. On Monday, Wan-Bissaka also pleaded guilty to failing to submit driver information for two speeding offenses in Bradford, Yorkshire, in September 2020. The England international’s attorneys described him as being in a “condition of complete ignorance,” with letters detailing the offenses being delivered to his previous Croydon residence. His refusal to respond…

Premier League teams are planning to take decision of suspension of festive fixtures, today. As the Omicron form of COVID-19 continues to rip through the fixture schedule, senior representatives from all 20 top-flight sides will gather to discuss what has been characterized as a ‘festive firebreak, according to the Sportsmail. Six of the ten Premier League games were canceled last weekend. The firebreak could entail delaying one round of fixtures from December 28 to 30. However, it remains to be seen whether at least 14 of the 20 clubs will support it, given some, such as Tottenham, have already been…

Tottenham has been kicked out of Europa Conference League after it was determined that they forfeited their last group stage game against Rennes. After the game was postponed owing to a Covid outbreak at Spurs and the two teams couldn’t agree on a new date, UEFA awarded Rennes a 3-0 victory. This has sentenced Antonio Conte’s team to third place in Group G behind winners Rennes and Vitesse, denying them a knockout stage encounter against Rapid Vienna and sending them out of the competition. UEFA set a deadline of December 31 for any rescheduled game to be played. With Rennes’…

Barcelona is not a direct opponent of Real Madrid this season, according to Carlo Ancelotti, because they are too far down the standings. After 16 games, the Camp Nou side is in seventh place in La Liga, 18 points behind champions Real Madrid. Despite his team’s troubles this season, Xavi thinks that they are still in contention for the Spanish league crown, but Ancelotti is unconcerned about their Clasico opponents. When asked about Xavi’s remarks at a news conference on Saturday, Ancelotti stated that Sevilla and Real Betis pose a greater threat than Barcelona. He noted that, Barca are no…

Arsenal, led by Mikel Arteta, beat Leeds 4-1 at Elland Road on Saturday, breaking an all-time Premier League record. Arsenal dominated the game from the start, with Arteta’s side hitting the target 11 times in the first half. In doing so, the Gunners set a new Premier League record while scoring three goals in a half. Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead after only 15 minutes, and the Brazilian added a second 12 minutes later. Bukayo Saka, an England midfielder, added a third shortly before halftime, thereby securing all three points. Raphinha’s penalty gave Leeds a ray of hope, but…

Because of Covid-19 outbreaks, five Premier League games scheduled for this weekend have been postponed. Following the announcement on Thursday morning that Manchester United’s game against Brighton on Saturday would be postponed, the Premier League said four more games would be rescheduled: Saturday, December 18, 3 p.m., Southampton versus Brentford Saturday, December 18, 3 p.m., Watford vs. Crystal Palace Saturday, December 18, 3 p.m., West Ham United versus Norwich City Leicester City vs. Everton – Sunday, December 19, 12 p.m. It means that five of the ten games scheduled for the weekend have been canceled, leaving only Aston Villa’s home…