Chelsea target set for medical today while Arsenal prepare January move for striker

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Chelsea target set for medical today while Arsenal prepare January move for striker - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The summer transfer window may be over but the rumour mill is omnipresent. Despite domestic leagues and European competitions in full flow there are lot to speculate if we are to anticipate the ‘fast approaching’ January transfer market.

We bring you a roundup of all the latest transfer stories as Chelsea are set to sign a former AC Milan player while Arsenal are plotting a January move for a recent Barcelona slayer from Spain.

Chelsea set to sign former AC Milan goalkeeper Marco Amelia:

According to reports from the reliable Italian media outlet TMW, who have relayed Sky Sports, Chelsea are set to sign former AC Milan goalkeeper Marco Amelia on a short term basis. The report states that Amelia is set to arrive in London today ahead of his proposed medical and will sign a contract with the London side who are short on goalkeepers.

amelia

With Thibaut Courtois ruled out of action till January, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho feels that an injury to Asmir Begovic would potentially end the Blues’ current campaign. The 33 year old Amelia who is a free agent for the past year after his involvement with Perugia came to an end will thus provide vital backup for Begovic.

Amelia spent four years at AC Milan but was primarily used as a backup to Christian Abbiati. He was also a part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad. The Guardian reports that Chelsea have named 19 players over 21 in their 25-man Premier League (including 5 home grown). Thus they are can register a free agent outside the transfer window.

Arsenal preparing January move for Celta Vigo striker Nolito:

This is according to the Daily Star who believe that the Gunners are willing to pay the £13.3m release clause to Celta Vigo for striker Nolito in the upcoming January transfer window. The 28 year old has enjoyed a fine start to the La Liga season scoring five and assisting three in six games.

The Spaniard was earlier a part of Barcelona’s B team but played only two games for them before leaving for Benfica on 2011. Arsenal who are desperate to sign a striker to improve their squad could well do by signing the player whose directness will help the London side. It is believed that Barcelona are also interested in the player.

Gianluigi Buffon reveals desire to play in the Premier League:

In an interview with Spanish media outlet MARCA, Juventus goalkeeper and Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon has revealed his desire to play in the Premier League.

buffon

The 37 year old said when asked about being linked with Arsenal and Manchester City in the course of his career, “I’ve only got two and a half more years of my career and I think it’s too late now. If at all, I would have liked to have tasted the Premier League, for its atmosphere and its tradition, but I’ve always been faithful to my clubs: I spent 10 years with Parma and 15 with Juventus.”

Arsenal planning January move for Ajax winger Viktor Fischer:

Italian media outlet Calciomercato reports that Arsenal could move for Ajax winger Viktor Fischer in the upcoming January transfer window. The 21 year old who has been at the Dutch side since 2011 is widely regarded as one of the hottest young prospect across Europe and a future star in Danish football.

Fischer has already made a stunning start this campaign having bagged five goals in his first nine outings. The Gunners could use former fan favourite Dennis Bergkamp (assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax) to encourage the player to join the Emirates side in the winter transfer window.

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Has the Premier League lost it’s European edge?

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Has the Premier League lost it’s European edge? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

champions-league

European football has long been the backbone of English football with an emphasis on the competition like no other. Across history a total of five English clubs have lifted the trophy at least once, additionally another two have finished runners-up.

The Premier League, however, is about to be given a rude awakening as UEFA is set to revoke the fourth qualifying spot.

It’s has been three years since a Premier League side lifted the coveted trophy with Chelsea taking the honour in 2012. Since then Premier League sides have fallen short in the competition and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

With this in mind, UEFA is looking to revoke the Premier League’s Champions League spots and give it to the Serie A.

A known goal for most Premier League teams is to finish in the top four to be able to qualify for the Champions League. The importance this has put on the League has seen many teams strive to achieve qualification making the last few weeks of the season all the more exciting.

The Champions League has been a fantastic competition for Premier League sides as it not only gives the club a chance showcase their ability on the European stage. The monetary benefits from the competition are also a welcoming bonus for all qualifying clubs.

However, if the fourth spot is taken from the Premier League, the emphasis on actually performing well in European football slips further away as the qualifying sides will set their focus on finishing in the qualifying spots.

With the Premier League being one of the most demanding competitions in Europe, the balance between European and domestic competition has been an issue for all Premier League clubs in recent years.

In a recent press conference, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers commented on the issue saying that the FA doesn’t do enough to help Premier League clubs succeed in the Champions League.

The Liverpool boss believes the pressure of packed fixtures with domestic cups and league football disadvantages English sides in performing in Europe as the demand to perform is so high. In the meantime however, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A teams are flexing their muscles and asserting their European dominance.

Rodgers statement is true in regards to the demand on Premier League sides to perform across all their fixtures, however, it comes as no excuse for the Premier League teams.

When Chelsea, United and Liverpool won the Champions League, the fixtures were still packed with domestic and league competition. So it offers little resolve to the situation.

The issue in recent campaigns is that Premier League sides have lost their dominant aura across Europe.

Despite all the money and prestige the Premier League has, the teams have lost their European edge, as the prestige of these teams is being met and overcome by such teams as Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and more.

Already, in the recent Champions League campaign, Premier League sides have a total of three wins from eight matches, whilst it is only early days in the competition, these statistics doesn’t show the Premier League in any better light.

For the Premier League, the only way to reassert their European prestige is to have sides return to dominant performances. Although, all four Premier League sides (Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal) are suffering from slow starts to their campaign, they still have plenty of fixtures to turn results around.

Whilst losing the fourth European spot might not mean the demise of the Premier League’s importance on the competition. It will come as a disappointing decision for a League that has such rich European history.

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Tottenham confirm injury to £22m-rated star, doubtful for Monaco clash

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Tottenham confirm injury to £22m-rated star, doubtful for Monaco clash - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Heung-Min Son

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed their summer signing Heung-Min Son has picked up a foot injury and is doubtful for the midweek Europa League clash against AS Monaco.

The 23-year-old made a switch to White Hart Lane from Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the summer transfer window. His move to England saw the north London club cough around £22m.

Mauricio Pochettino saw his side seal come from behind to seal a 4-1 stunning victory over Manchester City at home. During the match, Son picked up a foot injury and is yet to return to training since then.

“Heung-Min Son sustained a foot injury in a challenge during Saturday’s win against Manchester City and has spent the past few days being reviewed,” a statement on Tottenham’s official website read.

“Our medical staff will monitor his progress during his rehabilitation in order to determine when he will be fit to return to training.”

Tottenham allowed Roberto Soldado leave the club as the Spain international returned to the La Liga as he joined Villarreal. In addition to this, Emmanuel Adebayor was released from the club as well.

The situation left the former Southampton manager with England international striker Harry Kane as the only striker up front. This forced Pochettino to bring in a player and that is when Spurs signed the South Korean international.

Son made his debut against Sunderland as his side sealed a 1-0 victory. In his second match against FK Qarabag, which is the Europa League clash, he scored twice as Tottenham sealed a comfortable 3-1 victory.

He continued his scoring in this third match as Son found the back of the net to register his first goal in the Premier League against Crystal Palace. Tottenham won 1-0 and the Asian attacker has been impressive so far.

Son’s linkup with Kane has also been exceptional and should he miss the midweek Europa League clash against the Ligue 1 club, it will be a massive blow for the Premier League side.

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Football Price index: Bundesliga leading the way, Premier League fourth (pending client approval)

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Football Price index: Bundesliga leading the way, Premier League fourth (pending client approval) - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Initially an extremely popular sport in England, Football has captivated millions of hearts across the globe, in different nations.

With more and more leagues gaining recognition by the day, astronomical sums of money are being invested by fans, into supporting their teams and favorite players.

After the recent growth of MLS, a Berlin based travel search website GoEuro has conducted a thorough research on the Football Price index of all major leagues across Europe and beyond.

The intention behind the research is to document the league that offers the best value for money, as far as the fans are concerned.

This has been done by taking into account, the costs of attending a game (ticket, travel, accommodation), in 25 countries and comparing them with the FIFA and UEFA rankings of the leagues/teams.

There is always a debate about which nation boasts the best team/league, but it is also important to look at the monetary value these leagues offer.

Although fans are likely to fork out huge sums of money regardless of how ridiculous the prices are, it is important to find out if they are really getting the most out of their investment.

Having collated data from several sources and third party databases, GoEuro have found Bundesliga to be the league that offers best value for money.

Naren Shaam, CEO of GoEuro said: “It costs almost the same to travel to Germany to see a Bundesliga match as it does to stay in the UK and attend a Premier League game. Each week more than 2,000 British fans travel to see Borussia Dortmund play, in addition to the 1,500 Brits travelling to St. Pauli games in Hamburg and the 1,000 Brits going to Union Berlin games on a weekly basis. These numbers might lead you to question whether home fans in the UK are really getting a fair deal for their money.”

Cheap season tickets and reluctance to sell general tickets through third parties have resulted in fair and reasonable ticket prices across Germany. Most top clubs in Germany offer a season ticket for the price of a single game in England.

Check out GoEuro’s infographic, which ranks Leagues by comparing their ticket prices along with their FIFA/UEFA rankings.

Football Price Index - UK

Furthermore, according to the league rankings and ticket prices, Portugal offers a lot more value than England as well.

Despite that, England is far from the nation that offers worst value for money. The English Premier League is ranked fourth in value for fans.

The English premier League is however the most expensive league football in the entire world. The average ticket price in England is 53.76 pounds, whereas the prices in Spain and Germany are 50.83 pounds and 23.02 pounds respectively.

With Spain and Germany leading the way in terms of value for fans, USA are ranked the lowest in terms of what it offers to the fans in exchange for the vast sums of money spent.

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3 ways how Jose Mourinho can still turn it around for Chelsea

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3 ways how Jose Mourinho can still turn it around for Chelsea - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Chelsea slumped to yet another defeat in the Champions League yesterday night against Porto.

Having won the Premier League and the Capital One Cup earlier this year, even the most skeptical people would have expected Jose Mourinho to build on his success from last season.

However, it hasn’t quite gone according to plan for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea.

The Premier League champions are 14th in the league table, with just 8 points from 7 games and have lost one of their two Champions League games so far.

Apart from the on-pitch struggles, Mourinho seems to be suffering from the enormous pressure from the media and fans. The Portuguese’ infamous bust up with club doctor Eva Carneiro, resulted in him being reported for sexist abuse.

Furthermore, his constant digs at Arsene Wenger haven’t helped him with the media, especially now that he is struggling to win himself.

With more and more pressure mounting on Jose Mourinho, we look at how he can turn it around and survive the sack.

Tactical Flexibility

Jose Mourinho is not one who abandons his system after a few setbacks. But the Portuguese needs to alter his tactics in order to kick start Chelsea’s season.

His full back has struggled in a back four, the central midfield has been crying out for cover and the attackers look isolated due to lack of service/creativity.

All that can be fixed to a certain extent if Mourinho switches to a back three.

In a 3-4-1-2, the likes of Ivanovic/Zouma will have a lot of defensive protection from the other two centre backs and the deep lying wide midfielders.

Furthermore, the likes of Zouma can step up into the midfield to support Matic, providing more protection.

Also, Eden Hazard would benefit from operating in a central role behind two strikers (Costa-Falcao/Remy). The Belgian is lacking in confidence and has struggled to take on players. Playing him centrally will ensure he sees more of the ball and will allow him to keep it simple and effective.

Furthermore, his agility and intelligence will come in handy in behind the goalscorer.

The likes of Pedro, Kenedy, Willian, Baba Rahman etc are all capable of operating as the wide players and have the work rate to contribute at both ends of the pitch.

Although this is not a long term fix, it will make Chelsea a more compact unit for now.

Proper Team Selection

Mourinho needs to start picking the side on merit. Serbian defender, Branislav Ivanovic has been abysmal since the start of the season and yet he seems to have a guaranteed starting berth.

The out of form defender captained his side in the North London Derby earlier this month.

The likes of Baba Rahman and John Terry need to be brought back into the squad.

It is always commendable to stick with your players in bad times, but Mourinho is trying to fix something that clearly is not going to be fixed anytime soon. Ivanovic seems past his peak and the only way to fix it is, upgrade him.

Choose his words wisely

Jose Mourinho is making life difficult for himself with his pressers. A man in his position needs to choose his words wisely and Mourinho is doing anything but that.

It is always nice to have a manager who criticizes your rivals and likes to rub it in, but in this instance, Jose Mourinho has picked the wrong time to have a go at Wenger.

Furthermore, the Portuguese needs to control his emotions and stay focused at the job on hand. His outburst against Eva Carneiro has already landed him in hot water and the Chelsea manager could end up charged for sexist abuse.

To sum it up, Jose needs to relax.

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Manchester United prepare mega bid while Arsenal suffer blow for Spanish ace

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Manchester United prepare mega bid while Arsenal suffer blow for Spanish ace - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The summer transfer window may be over but the rumour mill is omnipresent. Despite domestic leagues and European competitions in full flow there are lot to speculate if we are to anticipate the ‘fast approaching’ January transfer market.

We bring you a roundup of all the latest transfer stories including Manchester United’s mega transfer plans to bring back a fan favourite while Arsenal are plotting a move for a Real Madrid midfielder. Meanwhile is it time for a long serving Chelsea player to leave Stamford Bridge?

Manchester United’s mega transfer plan to sign Cristiano Ronaldo:

We had reported yesterday that Real Madrid President Florentino Perez could sell superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the next summer transfer window as he attemptes to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea. Spanish media outlet Fichajes, which unfortunately doesn’t have a good reputation are trying to cash in the story.

Cristiano Ronaldo

They claim that Manchester United are preparing a record €125m to reign their former player and the Red Devils are also willing to offer the Portuguese a pay-cheque of €20m per season. French side Paris St Germain are also interested in the player and the French side could offer €150m for the services of the current Ballon D’Or holder.

The news has been also reported by Metro and the Daily Star but it apparently conveys more of a fiction than a real offer being tabled.

Isco set for Real Madrid stay despite Arsenal rumours:

The Daily Star reports that Spanish midfielder Isco is set to stay at Real Madrid despite being linked with Arsenal over the past few months.

Isco

The 23 year old who has started five La Liga matches under new manager Rafa Benitez believes that he stands a high chance to get selected in the Spanish national team if he stays at the Bernabeu outfit. The Gunners thus will have to wait until next summer if they are to really sign the twinkle toed midfielder.

Is John Terry’s career at Chelsea over?

The Mirror reports that Chelsea captain John Terry is a target for several Chinese clubs and also Turkish giants Fenerbache. The 34 year old who is no longer a guaranteed starter for the Blues will be a free agent at the end of the 2015-16 season.

The reports states that Terry got a huge reception when he went on an ambassadorial tour of Guangzhou last summer will have a lot of offers from several Chinese clubs if he does decide to leave the London side. Will the former England captain follow in the footsteps of former team mates Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba to play in the Asian country?

Manchester United will allow Victor Valdes to leave: 

The Mirror reports that Manchester United will allow goalkeeper Victor Valdes to leave the club but on one condition- the Spaniard won’t be allowed to join a Premier League rival.

Víctor Valdés

Both Chelsea are Liverpool are interested in the former Barcelona man but United will only allow the 33 year old leave on a free transfer if he joins an overseas club. Valdes has been frozen out by red Devisl manager Louis van Gaal after refusing to play a reserve game last season.

Valdes was set to join Turkish side Besiktas in the summer but his move fell through. Since then he has been further humiliated as he has been asked to stay away from the Carrington training complex when the first team players are present.

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Wenger losing control over Champions League progress

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Wenger losing control over Champions League progress - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Soccer - Barclays Premier League - Fulham v Arsenal - Craven CottageIt was a night to forget for Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal squad as they slumped to their second European defeat this season.

The Emirates was stunned as the Gunners fell short and were defeated three two by Olympiacos. The result now sees them at to the bottom of group F and with a match against Bayern Munich next round their European fortunes don’t look promising.

The past four seasons has seen Arsenal make it out of the group stages, however, this campaign Arsene Wenger’s men have been left disappointed after mistakes have cost them victory.

Their first match against Dinamo Zagreb saw the Gunners go down to 10 men after Giroud was dismissed for two yellow cards. Although the Gunners managed a late conciliation goal for Theo Walcott The Gunners looked dejected all game, eventually losing their opener two one.

Their build-up to this match had Arsenal in good stead as they side managed consecutive victories against North London rivals in the English League Cup and a five two victory to end Leicester City’s undefeated run.

With all the momentum behind them Arsenal entered the fixture confident knowing that Olympiacos was yet to taste victory in England.

Despite the hosts going behind in the 33rd minute from a deflected goal, Walcott levelled up the match two minutes later. Giving Arsene Wenger’s men a chance at their first group stage win this season.

They were handed a cruel blow to their chances as a seemingly routine collect from a cross was dropped over the Arsenal goal line by David Ospina, which gave the Greek side the lead once more.

After that mistake negativity started to creep into Arsenal’s game as they looked to slump back into the same dejected performance that cost them victory against Zagreb.

Although, they were handed a lifeline as Chilean Alexis Sanchez scored his first European goal of the season, continuing his impressive form after a hat trick against Leicester City the past weekend.

It wasn’t to be Arsenal’s night, however, as they fell behind once again.

Defensive shambles in the backline saw Finnbogason score the third and final goal for Olympiacos as they claimed their first victory on English soil and in the group stage.

Arsenal’s disappointing night was further dampened with an injury to Laurent Koscielny, as the French defender was withdrawn with an injured hamstring. He now joins Arsenal’s long injury list and is in doubt for the weekends match against top of the table Manchester United.

The Arsenal boss could not help but voice his disappointment after the defeat, saying that it is ‘difficult to swallow’ losing like that and that his side lost from defensive lapses and bad luck.

Regardless of whether luck had any part to play in Arsenal’s defeat, the Gunners need to turn their European fortunes around quickly if they have any chance of qualifying for the next round.

With quality Arsenal possesses in their side they should be asserting their dominance in group F along with Bayern Munich. Yet, as it stands they are three points behind Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos. They are also six points off table leaders Bayern Munich.

Matchday three of the European Champions League see the Gunners play against the dominant Bayern Munich who is yet to concede this Champions League campaign.

This leaves Wenger with much to ponder about in the upcoming weeks, as Arsenal need to turn their campaign around.

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5 Premier League managers who could get sacked before Christmas

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5 Premier League managers who could get sacked before Christmas - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

This has been an absolutely incredible season so far, with nearly every match being close to impossible to predict. We are 7 weeks into the campaign, and the defending champions Chelsea are in 15th place, while Leicester City, who looked sure-shot favourites for relegation last season but survived, are in 5th having been unbeaten until last Saturday. Even by the Premier League’s standards, there have been some outrageous goings-on this time.

The men in the limelight and, to put it more aptly, in the line of fire, are not really the players but the managers. These heftily-paid well-dressed figures on the touchline take responsibility for how well or otherwise the group of individuals does on the pitch. They experience both extremes – over-glorification in times of success and over-the-top criticism in times of failure.

There are several managers this term who are living on borrowed time, after seeing their sides get off to horrendous starts. Owners and Chairmen of football clubs are hardly too shy to wield the axe nowadays, and want the results of their investments to show immediately.

Here, we look at 5 managers in the Premier League who are staring down the barrel and could be shown the door before Christmas:

1) Brendan Rodgers

The Liverpool manager is very much a favourite to get the boot in the near future unless there is a dramatic turn of fortunes for the Reds on the pitch. The Merseyside derby coming up this weekend looks like it could be the game that makes or breaks the Northern Irishman’s career at Anfield. Big names like Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp have been linked with the job, and are certainly better bets than Rodgers to try and bring Liverpool back to its glory days from 2-3 decades ago.

2) Dick Advocaat

It has been an extraordinary few months at Sunderland. There was the dramatic recovery at the end of last season after Dick Advocaat took over, which saw the Dutchman sign an extension on his deal. He then backtracked and stated his desire to leave. After that came another U-turn, as he decided to stay on at the Stadium of Light. This is a decision that Advocaat may be ruing at the moment, as he sees his side languish at the bottom of the table, already looking sure-shot favourites to be relegated at the end of the season. He has gone public with his criticism of the players in recent games, but the board will certainly not stand for too long if these dismal performances continue.

3) Tim Sherwood

With several exciting young talents at the club and a manager known for his coaching abilities, the 2015/16 season was expected to be an exciting one for Aston Villa. They escaped relegation last year after Sherwood came in, and also reached the FA Cup Final. But, nothing has gone right for the Villans this season, and defeat at the weekend to Liverpool saw them enter the bottom three. The club are not always quick to sack managers, and Sherwood will get some more time to try and turn it around. But, if results do not improve until Christmas, he will be in a very precarious position indeed.

4) Steve McClaren

The Englishman seemed to have banished the ghosts of his nightmare as England coach back in 2008, with an extremely successful stint in Holland with FC Twente. He then came back and did equally well in the Championship with Derby County. So, unsurprisingly, there was a lot of anticipation around St. James’ Park when he was appointed as the replacement to John Carver, under whom the Magpies had clinched survival last season by the skin of their teeth. McClaren though, is yet to win a single game in the Premier League this season, and Newcastle are floundering in 19th place. 2 of the 3 points they have won have come against Manchester United and Chelsea, which means that they have struggled against teams in and around them. They put in a fantastic performance in the first-half at the weekend against Jose Mourinho’s champions, but need to kick on from that and start winning games.

5) Jose Mourinho

Well, dare I say it? If this was any other manager, we would have already been talking about his sacking. Roman Abramovich has always been quick to sack under-performing managers, but Mourinho is a different case. The Portuguese led Chelsea to their first league title in 5 years last season, but has seen his team go on an incredible decline since. They are currently in 14th place in the table, having won just 2 of their opening 7 games.

 

Mourinho is hanging on at the moment, but has come under the radar for some extremely questionable team selection decisions of late, like that of Branislav Ivanovic’s inclusion in the side. Last night’s defeat to Porto in the Champions League has seen them enter a real fight for qualification from the group stages of the Champions League, and any slip-ups in that competition could well be the final straw.

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