CITY TO COMPLETE ALEXIS SANCHEZ BEFORE DEADLINE

Manchester City are set to complete the deal for Arsenal playmaker Alexis Sanchez before the transfer deadline on Thursday, according to reports.


The Chile international netted 24 times in the Premier League last term but he wants out from Arsene Wenger’s side.

Wenger insists on forcing the player to see out his deal at the club instead of selling to a top rival. The last time the Frenchman did that Manchester United emerged the league champions.

Coach Pep Guardiola is keen on landing the former Barcelona player as he is confident that he would boost the City attacking prowess. The 28-year old still has up to three years at top level and he could help City win titles before he tires out. If Sanchez arrives at the Etihad, Raheem Sterling would be on his way out of the crowded City attack line.

KANTE WINS PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Chelsea midfielder N’GoloKante has been awarded the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year award for the year 2016/17.


The 26-year old ranked ahead of his teammate Eden Hazard, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Manchester United top striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arsenal playmaker Alexis Sanchez.

On the other hand, Dele Alli beat his competitors to retain the Men’s Young Player Award for the second year in succession. Also, Manchester City’s Lucy Bronze won the Women’s Player of the Year award. Birmingham star Jess Carter picked up the Women’s Young Player of the Year award.

Kante is arguably the best buy in the Premier League this season after Chelsea snapped him up from the league winning side of Leicester City last summer. He has been spectacular in the role and he is on course for a double as Chelsea are favourites to lift the Premier League and the FA Cup.

WENGER HAPPY SANCHEZ OUT OF CHILE SQUAD

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal faithfuls would be delighted with the fact that top-notch striker Alexis Sanchez has been left out of the Chile squad competing in January’s china cup.


This is an early Christmas gift for Wenger who is looking to keep his top man fit in other to mount a credible title challenge in January.

The 27-year-old Arsenal striker has been in fine form all seasons scoring an incredible 12 premier league goals and providing five assists. His performance so far is responsible for his team’s overall success, and it would be a huge setback should Sanchez be injured anytime soon.

Wenger who is aware of the busy premier league fixtures at this period of the season is looking to manage collateral damages by keeping all his players fit in other to mount a title challenge in January. This news would no doubt bring some relief to the Arsenal boss who harbors the fear that Sanchez could be injured should he be selected in the Chilean squad for the January’s china cup competition.

United will not win title this season

Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has stated that Manchester United will not win the title this season.


He believes that Jose Mourinho will need to be a magician if he can turn Manchester United into champions as from this season.

He believes that the team will improve this season, but he does not think that they will become champions. He said that it is possible that there will be more players coming in, but the Premier League is becoming tougher to win. He believes that Jose Mourinho should be given some time before he can win the title with Manchester United.

He said that if Jose Mourinho manages to win the title in his first season with Manchester United, he must be a magician. He believes that Mourinho is a great manager and will revolutionize the way Manchester United plays, but he will not be able to win the title in his first season.

Tim Howard doubted about his Selection

Tim Howard reckons as he is not entrusted with the job of picking the players who will start, so, concerning himself about whether he would be preferred as the no. 1 goalie in Copa America doesn’t make any sense.


He would rather just wait for the coach’s call.

Howard was America’s no. 1 goalie before going on a break some time back which saw Brad Guzan, his understudy, taking his chance and cementing himself in the XI. Now, with both being in the squad, who will and should start is up for debate.

Speaking about the uncertainty of him going to play or not, Howard said, “The selection is under the control of the coach, not mine. It’s always the coach who is in charge of making calls and the current scenario is no exception to that. I don’t think you should bother yourself about what you cannot control.”

“I would certainly like to stay in the frame for three years as I have an ambition of featuring at the World level again, but, then, you never know how things would take shape in that long a time. So, I can’t see that far and I believe what is right at this point is just to be there and available at any possible opportunity.”

Ronald Koeman comments on Communication gap between Players

Ronald Koeman reckons the players these days are so busy with technology that they develop a communication gap even with their own teammates and it results in poor coordination on the field.

Koeman brought up the game between Southampton and Newcastle United which was played at St. Mary’s Stadium the week before this and picked an instance from that game where three players in the defensive line of the Magpies went in the same route to tackle Sadio Mane, while, they should have gone in different directions and that error made a goal happen for the Saints.


According to Koeman, it could only have been the lack of communication on Newcastle’s part and nothing else. If there had been proper communication, different routes could have been taken and the goal could have been denied.

Koeman believes the players especially those who have grown up in this generation, they sort of build a different world for themselves and they remain busy in that world only. Face to face conversation just doesn’t come naturally to them.

That’s why, Koeman has set a rule for the Southampton players that when all of them are together, they will have to stay away from their electronic gadgets, their cell phones, laptops or whatever and instead, have a conversation among themselves to try and understand each other better and catch each other’s hints while playing alongside.

Ryan Shawcross says that Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruined his international career

Ryan Shawcross says that Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruined his international career after scoring four goals when he had just come on to see out the game.

England had a 2-1 lead going into the final 20 minutes of the match against Sweden in 2012. Shawcross was brought to defend this position and the Stoke City player was just making his debut for the national team. He would have been hoping for a much easier opponent than Ibrahimovic. Even though the PSG striker did not have a great record against the England national team or any of the English clubs, he had a fearful reputation across European football.

The game turned out to be one of the worst nightmares for Shawcross after he witnessed a masterclass from the big Swede. There was a major warning sign after the striker has scored the opening goal of the 20th minute. The real fireworks, though, came just after Shawcross was introduced. The striker scored an impressive hat-trick in the space of 15 minutes to win the match 4-2. The hat-trick included one of the wonder goals in the history of the game. Even though Ibrahimovic remains as one of the greatest strikers in the last few decades, Shawcross has not been forgiven for his part in the defeat.

John Carver confident that Club fans will Support

John Carver, the manager of Newcastle United, is quite confident that the fans of the club would remain quite supportive to the team at this testing time as they have always been.

Newcastle has been able to win just 2 out of the 9 games since Carver’s appointment at the manager’s post on an interim basis.

They had obviously not been performing well before that either and that’s why, Alan Pardew was removed.

But, with Carver coming in, there were some hopes that he would revive the team. However, there hasn’t been even the slightest of improvements.

According to Carver, he was never going to revive the team overnight. It’s just not possible as he does not have any stick of magic.

Speaking to the press post a crushing Everton defeat, Carver said, “I think north has the most knowledgeable fans, be it our fans or the fans of Everton. They know what the team is going through and that’s why, they have been very patient till now. I hope they show the same kind of patience in future as well because things would not change in the blink of an eye. There is no magician here. This is Football. We are trying our best.”