Arsenal is set to battle it out with PSG for Stephane Sessegnon, according to the Mirror.
The Benin international has been in sensational form this season and has played a big part in Sunderland’s recent resurgence under Martin O’Neill.
Arsene Wenger has been keeping tabs all season on the versatile Sessegnon, who would give Arsenal some much needed options in midfield. The midfielder is valued at £10m and could provide the ideal replacement for the likely summer departure of Andrey Arshavin.
Whether Sessegnon wants to move to North London remains to be seen, as the 27-year-old remains unsettled in England largely down to his family’s unwillingness to leave their Paris home.
If PSG were to follow up their interest with a summer bid then it is more than likely that Sessegnon will welcome a return move, although Arsenal are clearly waiting in the wings just in case.
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Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas played out a goalless draw in the MLS on Sunday – an affair which was delayed for more than 90 minutes due to lightning.Unfortunately for the few who waited for play to resume at Pizza Hut Park after inclement weather forced the players off the pitch on 83 minutes, the game did not pick up after the delay, as the final seven minutes plus injury time petered out to a tame finish.
It was far from a classic with both sides minus quality squad members, as Dallas’ David Ferreira and Real Salt Lake’s Javier Morales were clearly missed in a match devoid of any real creativity.
The best chance of the game fell to Dallas’ George John who could only produce a smart save from Real Salt Lake shot-stopper Nick Rimando.
The day’s other match was also a mundane affair, as the Colorado Rapids and Toronto FC played out a goalless stalemate.
Arguably the biggest victim of man-of-the-moment Rafael Van der Vaart’s scintillating arrival to the Premier League has been Giovani Dos Santos. There were many – including this writer – who thought that the Mexican forward’s performances in the World Cup, as well as some encouraging pre-season form, was enough to force his way into first team recognition.
Certainly a large amount of Spurs fans were getting excited by the prospect of Giovani finally proving his worth. The talk of his possible departure has had a whole host of suitors and admirers confirming their interest in his services, only highlighting how good a player he actually is. Napoli, Roma, Fiorentina, Villerreal, Sevilla and even Liverpool have all been muted as possible destinations, and they may be far more willing to give the player a chance to recreate his national performances.
In the summer, Spurs’ forums were awash with talk about this being Giovani’s year. The stresses on the squad through the increase in fixtures, and the added pressure of the Champions League, meant that Spurs’ squad was going to get tested to the fullest. Players like Giovani, who had previously been shunned, would be given games just out of the sheer number of fixtures, and then it would simply take a couple of good performances to prove he was worth more game time.
That run of games never happened, and when Daniel Levy gave Redknapp his end of window present in the shape of Van der Vaart, Giovani slid even further down the pecking order.
Clearly in the Van der Vaart wonderland that is now happening at White Hart Lane, the potential future of Giovani isn’t that big an issue, as it appears Rafael can solve every problem that exists, such has his start to his Spurs career been. It is however a shame, that such a talented player (34 caps for his country and still only 21) has found such a hard time of it during his time in England; with all due respect, Giovani is too good to be going to Ipswich on loan.
Part of the blame must at least lie with the player himself, had he been played as well as he clearly can do, then he would be starting more games than he has. That said, I do think his opportunities have been at an absolute premium. What about those occasions that David Bentley was getting starts last season? Had Giovani not been shipped off to Turkey, those starts could have been his. In a club with the busiest physio in professional football, he must have believed that at some point his chance would come, but alas, it is clearly not to be, and White Hart Lane is not his home.
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And so a potential star looks to be heading for his exit; supremely gifted, but maybe just not cut out for the club. Ask any Spurs fan how they feel, and I’m sure they will feel the situation is a shame, because there was genuine excitement amongst them in the summer about Giovani. That said, any resentment will be blown off their face as soon as VDV’s name is mentioned. The Dutchmen had a similar problem at Real, to which Giovani is having at Spurs, and a move away, even at this ludicrously early stage, looks to already have been proven as the right decision. Maybe Giovani now has to do the same.
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Everton captain Phil Neville has accepted an invitation by the FA to help coach England under-21’s, the club’s official website have revealed.
The Young Lions have a fixture against Belgium at the Riverside Stadium next week in Middlesbrough, and the seasoned professional will assist Brian Eastick and John Peacock, with usual boss Stuart Pearce taking control of the senior side on an interim basis.
The game is an important one for England, who are currently top of their group for European Championship qualification, with the Belgians in second place.
Everton revealed that Neville could be keen on a coaching role once he hangs up his boots, and this may be the first step to a successful career on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Stuart Pearce has admitted that he is available to lead the senior side into Euro 2012, should the authorities feel he is the right man to do so.
“I am available and I have tournament experience if they (the FA) need me to step into the breach in the summer,” he told a press conference at Wembley shown on Sky Sports.
“That is obviously a decision for the employees here. They know exactly where I am, they know exactly what I want to do.
“If they need me to take the squad in the summer I will do that with pleasure.
“If they need me to coach a manager that is coming through the door, I will do that with pleasure as well.
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“Beyond that, at this moment in time, I consider myself after the summer the Team GB manager and Under 21 manager,” he concluded.
Stoke City and Manchester City go head to head in this weekend’s Wembley showdown for the chance to get their hands on their first bit of silverware in a very long time. Roberto Mancini’s men will certainly go into the game as favourites; however on the back of 3-1 dismantling of Arsenal Tony Pulis has every reason to feel confident on the day.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include the A promising more FA Cup chaos next season; Adebayor eyes up a move to Tottenham, while the police warn Manchester United ahead of Ewood Park clash.
*
Dalglish hopes to ‘build something special’ at Liverpool – Guardian
FA promises more Cup final chaos in 2012 – Mirror
FA admit Capello’s successor next summer might not be English – Daily Mail
Mancini – Let’s make history – Sky Sports
Green may call time on England career – Guardian
Police warn Manchester United fans – Daily Telegraph
Manu move would be just Spur-fect – Sun
Young – I want to win titles – Sky Sports
Parker: I’ll leave if West Ham are relegated – Daily Telegraph
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Agent Silva’s Cesc mission – Sun
Newcastle check out Toulouse ace M’Bengue amid doubts over Enrique – Daily Mail
In-form Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey has no intention of reversing his decision to retire from international football.
The former Liverpool and Wigan Athletic forward made his announcement in the summer after England's disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa.
Fabio Capello had asked Heskey if he was willing to play for his country again because of the dearth of fit strikers currently at the England manager's disposal.
Since Gerard Houllier was appointed Villa boss last month, Heskey's form has been excellent but he is believed to have rejected Capello's advances.
Capello had said:"I saw Heskey against Wolves and he played very well and he is in a good moment. The new Villa manager (Houllier) knows him very well from his time at Liverpool.
"We will try to speak with Heskey. We need him at this moment. He is in good form. We are talking about him for the one game against Montenegro. We will try to speak with him. But he will decide."
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Heskey scored seven times in 62 international appearances before quitting the England scene in July.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool have confirmed that they have signed a new kit deal with Warrior Sports, after Adidas decided not to renew their contract with the Merseyside club.
Adidas have revealed that the Anfield side’s lack of success in recent seasons prompted them to walk away from Kenny Dalglish’s men.
“We thought what Liverpool were asking and what they were delivering was not in the right balance,” CEO Herbert Hainer is reported to have said in The Daily Mail.
“There was a gap between their performance on the field and what the numbers should be.
“It all depends on the success and the effort and the popularity, the exposure on TV and revenue you can generate by merchandising.
“This all has to be brought in line between what you offer and what you get. We thought what Liverpool were asking was not… right, then we said we will not do it – that’s the end of the story,” he concluded.
Despite this, Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre responded to the criticism, and feel that Adidas’ have been shortsighted.
“We are disappointed Adidas seem to point to a lack of European football as a reason not to agree a new deal, and cannot see that we are on a par with the biggest football brands in the world,” he commented.
The Reds new deal with Warrior Sports is said to be worth £150million, and will last for six years.
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Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri has denied reports that he has been in contact with any other Serie A clubs.Mazzarri announced before his side’s 2-1 loss at 10-man Lecce that he could walk away at the end of the season which led to speculation that he had already been speaking to Juventus about taking over in Turin.
But after Napoli slumped to a third defeat in four, Mazzarri cleared the air on the rumours and said he would reevaluate his situation at the end of the season.
“As with every year, we need to sit round a table and understand if there are the conditions to begin a new campaign together. It’s what I have always done in my career,” Mazzarri said.
“We didn’t know that we were going to reach the Champions League, so now I don’t know what is going to be expected of us. If we finish third or fourth it will change the scenario.”
“I swear that I have not been in contact with any other club. I have to talk to Napoli first and that will be at the end of the season. If this rapport comes to an end, then we’ll see.”
Napoli still need one point from their final two matches to secure third position, which would see them enter the Champions League at the group stage next season, leaving Mazzarri to bemoan the defeat.
“We were naive and certain incidents proved decisive. Lecce managed to win with a great shot at the end. It was a tense encounter, but this is football,” he said.
Napoli’s cause was made harder when top-scorer Edinson Cavani was given a second yellow card after 74 minutes, and Mazzarri admitted the 24-year-old was a ‘little tired’ and driven by the chance to win the league’s Golden Boot.
That now seems unlikely after Udinese’s Antonio Di Natale scored a double on Sunday to take his tally to 28 league goals for the season, two ahead of Cavani.
Napoli midfielder Christian Maggio also was disappointed with the defeat, but hopes his side can wrap up third when they face Inter on Sunday.
“Yes, that was definitely not the Napoli team we’ve seen in recent games, we certainly wanted to win in order to secure the third position but today it didn’t happen; now we only need to look ahead and think about next Sunday,” Maggio said.
“We thought we would cause them more problems and we knew Lecce needed a victory to remain in Serie A next year so it was a very important game for them too. In some parts of the game we were playing well and we had some good opportunities, but today we didn’t have much luck.”
Both Sir Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan gave their opinion on Wayne Rooney; on his current form, and the causes relating to the media circus surrounded his jaded life at the moment. Sir Alex spoke of Rooney finally coming to terms with just how much interest he is to the country’s press, while Keegan chose to question Rooney’s decisions regarding endorsements i.e. he should take the rough with the smooth.
Ferguson did not come out and blame the media. He is far too wily and long in the tooth to think that would have any positive effect on the situation. By proclaiming that anyone put under that sort of intense, public scrutiny would show signs of weakness, he was perhaps asking the press to give the country’s most gifted player a little breathing space. Ferguson said:
“I don’t think the boy can turn a corner at the moment without a camera on him. He can’t move without the paparazzi being on him and, for a young person that is not what you want.
“You want to play and enjoy your football without that attention on you, because that can be quite exhausting. He would like to keep playing with freedom, but the siege of the tabloids can wear out anyone.”
For Rooney, the constant nag of paparazzi is nothing new to him. Since being propelled onto the Premier League stage, barely out of school, his entire life has had it’s very own public diary as we have become obsessed with his mercurial talent. The fact that that same attention has only increased after the allegations made, is of no shock to us, and should be even less of a surprise to the man himself.
Kevin Keegan was on ESPN when he regarded that Rooney should be fully prepared to take the hits from the media, after courting their attention throughout his career:
“You can’t then turn around and say there’s too much paparazzi around or too much publicity.
“You can’t have all the contracts, sell your wedding to magazines and things like this, and suddenly say, ‘That’s the tap I want to turn on but we want to turn the other one off’.
Although I don’t make a habit of agreeing with Keegan on the opinions he has (not out of spite, just common sense really), I can see where he is coming from. Whether any of the allegations made are true or not is pretty irrelevant – certainly to us, not to him or his family – the fact is that they exist, true or not. When agreeing to virtually every commercial deal humanly possible: Nokia, Ford, Asda, Coca-Cola, EA Sports, plus a five-book deal over twelve years (obviously there is the contract with Nike, but I see no problem with sportsmen being endorsed by sports brands), one must also accept that there will be reasons that put you in the variety of media we have access to toady, that you may not be happy with.
I don’t blame Rooney for agreeing to every contract that has been thrust in his face. I can only imagine he has agreed to things he sees as harmless, and financially lucrative, while just wanting to carry on with playing football. For most of the media appearances he makes, he seems quite reluctant, although he is getting better, and would rather be somewhere else.
I can’t remember Rooney ever looking as downcast as he does at the moment. As an England fan, and a fan of football in general, I want to see Rooney playing at his best, because it is such an amazing thing to behold. Ferguson would love the press to leave him alone, but knows he’s is flogging a dead horse in any attempt to try and prevent the attention from laying off. Keegan himself has struggled with the media attention, particularly while in charge of England, and has his own point to make, one that holds some validity.
If Rooney is guilty of any marital misdemeanours then he has brought this problem unto himself, and it is really only he that can find a way out of it. What doesn’t help is the frighteningly good form he was in previous to this slump. Being a professional player, to the level that Rooney has reached, means playing the game in the right way, and by game I mean the entire package that goes along with the time on the pitch. I for one hope his skills off the pitch can reach a level close to what he is capable of on it.
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Do you agree with Fergie? Or Keegan? Or neither?
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Aston Villa have announced that they have finalised the loan signing of Robbie Keane.
The veteran Republic of Ireland striker is available due to the break in the MLS season, and will move to the Birmingham-based outfit from LA Galaxy until February 25th.
Keane could be in line to face current team-mate Landon Donovan in his debut as Alex McLeish’s men take on Everton on Saturday, and the Irish forward is looking forward to getting started.
“I’m delighted to be back in the Premier League. This is only short term, of course, but there has been a lot of speculation over the years linking my name to Villa and, finally, I’m here,” he told the club’s official website.
“I’m excited about it and I know I’ll really enjoy my time here. It’s only for two months but I will do my absolute best in these two months.
“Villa is a great club, a club with a massive tradition and standing in the game and Villa Park is one of the finest stadiums I’ve ever played in.
“If selected to play on Saturday, I will genuinely be looking forward to it and I’ll be excited to be involved again in Premier League action.
“I’ve been training with the players here for the past few days and it’s been great but I’m not naive enough to think I’ll just walk straight into the team.
“If I can help and contribute to the overall effort of the team then hopefully I will be of benefit to Aston Villa. That’s my aim,” he concluded.
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