Friday, June 23, 2017

All the very latest football news and gossip across Europe!



The Premier League fixtures were released just over a week ago and we now know who is playing who on the opening weekend of the 2017/18 season, which begins seven weeks tomorrow, on Saturday 12th August.

All the clubs are working hard during this traditionally busy Summer period, as they not only source new players for the upcoming season, but also managers and backroom staff too!

Here is a round up of all the latest football news/gossip across Europe today, which includes the likes of: PSG, Arsenal, Tottenham, Alexis Sanchez, Kylian Mbappe, Matias Vecino, Real Madrid, Spurs, Monaco, Fiorentina, Kieran Trippier, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alberto Moreno, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Schalke, Nemanja Matic, Kyle Walker, Dani Alves, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Leonardo Bonucci, Virgil van Dijk and Barcelona to name but a few!

Late last evening Liverpool completed the signing of Roma forward Mohamed Salah on a five-year deal with the fee rising to £34.3m - skysports.com

Paris St-Germain have offered Monaco a world record £119m for 18-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe - Daily Mirror and The Sun

However Arsenal are preparing a new bid with Arsenal Wenger confident of a deal for the 18 year French international forward - Metro (London) and Daily Telegraph

Mbappe is said to have had a conversation with Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane - L'Equipe (French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport)

Liverpool's 100m euros (£87.89m) bid for the Monaco forward has been rejected - Marca (Spanish national daily sport newspaper)

Manchester City's belief is growing that they can land Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez in a deal potentially worth up to £50m - Daily Mirror

Tottenham's Kyle Walker remains Manchester City's top target at right-back despite Dani Alves' imminent arrival - Daily Mirror

Juventus defender Dani Alves has dropped a big hint that he’ll be joining Manchester City this summer. Speaking on Brazilian talk show Converca com Bial, the right-back said: “Everybody knows my admiration for Pep Guardiola.” Alves worked under Guardiola when he was in charge of Barcelona- skysports.com

Tottenham have contacted Fiorentina regarding a move for their 25-year-old midfielder Matias Vecino - TalkSport

Tottenham are also ready to make a £17.5m move for Germany and Schalke under-21 winger Max Meyer - The Sun

Tottenham have made an offer to sign 23 year-old attacking midfielder Suso from AC Milan - Gazzetta dello Sport (Italian newspaper dedicated to coverage of sport)

Tottenham are set to hand new five-year deal to England right-back Kieran Trippier. The 26-year-old still has three years left on his current contract - Daily Mirror

Liverpool have been told Borussia Dortmund 38 year-old forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will cost £63m, if they want to bring him to Anfield this summer - Bild (German tabloid newspaper) and The Independent

Barcelona are prepared to wait to sign Borussia Dortmund sensation Ousmane Dembele. The winger is also reportedly a Manchester United transfer target, but the Catalan giants hope to win his signature after allowing him to develop over two or three seasons in Germany - Mundo Deportivo (Spanish nationwide daily sports newspaper)

Liverpool have rejected an £11m bid from Napoli for their 24-year-old left-back Alberto Moreno - The Telegraph

Liverpool have asked about Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam after rejecting an £11m offer from the Italian club for Alberto Moreno. Ghoulam, a France-born Algeria international, has been discussed before at Liverpool but it understood to have re-emerged as a possible option in conversations between the clubs - Daily Mirror

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is prepared to sell midfielder Nemanja Matic, 28, to Manchester United in order to accelerate the £42m signing of 22-year-old Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko - The Times

Chelsea have agreed a fee of £35.2m with Monaco for midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko - Daily Mail

Antonio Conte has told Chelsea he wants Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci, 30, or Southampton's Virgil van Dijk, 25, to bolster his team's defence next season - The Guardian

Chelsea are closing in on a double swoop for Juventus stars Leonardo Bonucci and Alex Sandro. Reports suggests Antonio Conte is keen on working with the Italian centre-back again and is prepared to pay £48m to bring him to Stamford Bridge, while a deal for Sandro would bring any potential fee up to around £100m for the double signing - The Sun

Ronald de Boer has confirmed to talkSPORT that his brother, Frank de Boer, is close to being appointed the new manager of Crystal Palace. Speaking to the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the former Barcelona, Rangers and Netherlands star said: “Frank is very excited, of course. I know they are talking and I think it’s just about little terms with the coaching staff etc. I don’t see any problem, but of course it’s not for me to say if it’s a done deal or not.” - TalkSport

Crystal Palace have hiked the price of France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda to £7m. The former Marseille star has agreed personal terms to return to his former club, but Palace are unhappy with Marseille's conduct and their offer of £1.5m - the price the Premier League club paid last summer - Daily Mirror

Everton are becoming increasingly frustrated at the red tape blocking their capture of Sandro Ramirez from Malaga CF. The Blues pulled off a coup when the Spain Under-21 international agreed to join them in a deal that will cost a little over £5m. But Malaga have placed obstacles in the way of a swift conclusion to the transfer - Daily Mirror

Aston Villa are holding talks with John Terry and remain determined to secure a deal for the ex-Chelsea captain and former England international - The Independent

John Terry is weighing up an offer from Championship side Aston Villa. However, the report suggests the 36-year-old defender still believes some Premier League sides will come in for him as he contemplates his next move after leaving Chelsea - The Guardian

Lyon have agreed a £16.7m fee with Chelsea to sign their 21-year-old striker Bertrand Traore, with the deal set to be completed when he returns from holiday next week - L'Equipe (French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport) and Daily Mail

Real Sociedad have agreed a £10m fee with Manchester United for 22-year-old Belgium winger Adnan Januzaj - Daily Mail

Portugal international defender Andre Gomes is set to stay in Spain after Barcelona rejected Manchester United's £31m offer - The Sun

Manchester United have launched a £62m raid for Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil international defender Marquinhos - The Sun

Manchester United's Italian full-back Matteo Darmian, 27, has phoned manager Jose Mourinho and asked him to push through his move to Juventus with a World Cup on the horizon - The Sun

Alan Pardew is the shock name in line to be named as Sunderland boss if Tony Adams' consortium seize control of the club - Daily Star

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder tells Sky Sports News HQ he has "agreed a new deal in principle" to stay at Bramall Lane - skysports.com

Stoke City's £12m bid for Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson is likely to be rejected as Boro demand upwards of £20m for the 25-year-old - Daily Mirror

Leeds United have signed Poland international Mateusz Klich from FC Twente for an undisclosed fee. The 27-year-old has signed a three-year-deal at Elland Road to become new boss Thomas Christiansen’s first summer signing - skysports.com

German 40-year old Marco Rose, previously Under-16 manager, has been promoted by Red Bull Salzburg and appointed their first team head coach - transfermarketweb.com

Currently on a deal with Italian side Genoa until June 2021, Argentinian-Spanish striker Giovanni Simeone (The son of former Argentina international footballer Diego Simeone), has been put up for sale for a fee of a 15 million euros. Currently there are four clubs interested in signing him: Fiorentina, Sevilla FC, Torino and Villarreal - transfermarketweb.com

Borussia Dortmund have made an approach to sign 19 year-old Barcelona and South Korean forward Lee Seung-woo - Daily Mail

After two seasons with Galatasaray, former German international forward Lukas Podolski (32) has officially joined J-League side Vissel Kobe - transfermarketweb.com

Greek international defender Kostas Manolas is set to disappoint Arsenal and Chelsea by making a £26m move to Zenit St Petersburg - Daily Star

Currently on a deal with Newcastle United until June 2021, Belgian goalkeeper Matz Sels (25) has officially joined Anderlecht on a season-long loan - transfermarketweb.com

Newcastle midfielder Haris Vuckic has completed a move to FC Twente. The 24-year-old, whose contract at James' Park expires at the end of this month, has signed a three-year deal with the Dutch club - skysports.com

Chelsea have beaten Manchester United to signing Ajax's 16-year-old striker Daishawn Redan - Daily Mail

Cardiff City have announced the signing of striker Danny Ward from Rotherham for an undisclosed fee. The 26-year-old has signed a deal running until the summer of 2020 - skysports.com

Fulham have confirmed that the club have taken an option to extend Cauley Woodrow's contract by another year, keeping him at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2019 - skysports.com

Blackburn are in talks with Gillingham to sign midfielder Bradley Dack but Sky Sports News HQ understands the Gills are playing hardball over the transfer fee. Dack was of interest to a number of bigger clubs last summer including Brighton and reportedly Crystal Palace, but a move never materialised - skysports.com

Fleetwood Town have signed Everton striker Conor McAleny on three-year contract - skysports.com

Walsall have signed Carlisle United goalkeeper Mark Gillespie - skysports.com

Vanarama National league side Barrow have announced the signing of midfielder Asa Hall from Cheltenham Town -skysports.com


Thursday, June 15, 2017

The players released by each Premier League club after the 2016/17 season


The Premier League has announced its clubs' retained and released lists, with the likes of Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Chelsea's John Terry among the big names on their way. Also on their way out are Crystal Palace's Mathieu Flamini and Joe Ledley, Manchester City's Jesus Navas and Pablo Zabaleta, Everton's Arouna Kone, Swansea's Marvin Emnes and West Ham's Alvaro Arbeloa.

The list shows who is being let go at the end of their contract on June 30, though it is by no means definitive with deals possibly still to be done.

ARSENAL


Yaya Sanogo, Stefan O'Connor, Kristopher da Graca and Kostas Pileas

BOURNEMOUTH


Callum Buckley, Jake McCarthy and Alexander Neale

BURNLEY

Joseph Barton, George Green, Christian Hill, Michael Kightly, Taofiq Olomowewe and Richard Pingling

CHELSEA

John Terry and Alex Davey

CRYSTAL PALACE


Corie Andrews, Kwesi Appiah, Jonathan Benteke, Fraizer Campbell, Luke Croll, Mathieu Flamini, Ezekiel Fryers, Ryan King-Elliott, Joe Ledley (right), Randell Williams and Ben Wynter

EVERTON

Arouna Kone, Conor McAleny, Jack Bainbridge, Delial Brewster, Michael Donohue, Tyrone Duffus, Russell Griffiths, Connor Hunt, Josef Yarney and James Yates

HULL CITY (relegated)

Alex Bruce, Luke Lofts, Shaun Maloney, Bradley Maslen-Jones and Johan Ter Horst

LEICESTER CITY

Michael Cain, David Domej, Brandon Fox, Cedric Kipre, Matthew Miles, Kairo Mitchell and Marcin Wasilewski

LIVERPOOL

Tom Brewitt, Jake Brimmer, Jack Dunn, Toni Gomes, Kane Lewis, Alex Manninger (retired) and Adam Phillips

MANCHESTER CITY


Willy Caballero, Jesus Navas (right), Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Callum Bullock, Billy O'Brien and Ellis Plummer

MANCHESTER UNITED


Zlatan Ibrahimovic

MIDDLESBROUGH (relegated)

Victor Valdes, Brad Guzan, Bradley Fewster, Niall McGoldrick, Lewis Maloney, Junior Mondal, Jo Wheatley, Nathan Convery, Brandon Holdsworth and Matthew Wilson


SOUTHAMPTON

Martin Caceres, Lloyd Isgrove, Cuco Martina and Harley Willard

STOKE CITY


Daniel Bachmann, Shay Given (right), Liam Edwards, Harry Isted, Joel Taylor, George Waring and Harvey Read

SUNDERLAND (relegated)

Victor Anichebe, George Brady, Will Buckley, Dan Casey, Jan Kirchhoff, Sebastian Larsson, Carl Lawson, Joleon Lescott, John O'Shea, Oliver Pain and Steven Pienaar

SWANSEA CITY

Gerhard Tremmel, Marvin Emnes, Liam Shephard, Josh Vickers, Owain Jones, Tom Dyson, Tom Holland and Alex Samuel

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Filip Lesniak

WATFORD

Rene Gilmartin, Mathias Ranegie, Ola Adeyemo, Charlie Bannister, Ogo Obi, Rhyle Ovenden, Josh Roe, Treon Johnson and Andrew Thomas

WEST BROM

Daniel Barbir, Zachary Elbouzedi, Darren Fletcher, Callam Jones, Sebastien Pocognoli, Jack Rose and Andre Wright

WEST HAM

Alvaro Arbeloa (above right), Sam Howes, Sam Ford, Kyle Knoyle and Sam Westley


Friday, June 02, 2017

Babe of the Month - Golf Beauty Paige Spiranac


Paige Spiranac was born on 26th March 1993 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, United States. She is an American professional golf player and social media sensation.


Spiranac originally trained as a gymnast, but was forced to stop at the age of 12 after two consecutive knee injuries. Her father recommended golf, saying she had the temperament for it. Once she picked up a golf club, she couldn’t put it down!

After being ranked as the top junior golfer in her home state of Colorado coming out of high school, Paige attended San Diego State University where she graduated with a degree in communications in 2015. Paige first broke out as a potential star player when she appeared in a golf trick shot compilation video she made with her San Diego State University golf teammates................



She worked hard on her game, culminating in her being made Captain of the San Diego University women's golf team, as well as a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. During her senior year, the discovery of her Instagram account by the media coupled with a viral YouTube video thrust her into the spotlight.

Since then Paige has been traveling the world playing competitive golf as well as collaborating with companies such as Callaway, Descente, Topgolf,, Golf Digest, and TheCHIVE on creative media projects and appearances.

She is passionate about growing the game, to show the world how much fun golf can be, especially amongst young women, and is also involved in promoting an anti-bullying campaign both online and off. She is an official ambassador for The Cybersmile Foundation and often speaks out about her many experiences being bullied throughout her childhood, college, and golf career.

She wakes up at 5:30am every morning to do cardio before hitting the golf course. Then she lifts weights at night. Her intense regimen has paid off.

Paige Spiranac made her professional debut at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters event in Devember 2015.
In June 2016 Paige won her first professional event at Orange Tree Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, shooting 71-74-68 and beating Hannah O'Sullivan, the top-ranked amateur in the world, in a playoff, taking a big step toward the Symetra and LPGA tour in the process.

In December 2016, she took part in the 11th Dubai Ladies Masters on the Majlis Course at the Emirates Golf Club. During a press conference before the tournament, Spiranac broke down while talking about her experiences with cyber bullying after her poor performance in the same event the previous year.

Paige has a diverse range of interests beyond the game of golf itself. Foremost among them is going to comic book shops. She describes herself as “a huge comic book nerd.” Her favorites are Batman and Iron Man. She is also a gym bunny and likes trampolining and rock climbing too. Paige also loves discovering new cultures while traveling the world, exploring fashion and hosting her own fun golf clinics. She currenty lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Currently, she has 1.0 million followers on Instagram and has the fourth largest following of any professional golfer, male or female. She first became an Internet sensation when her college golf team’s trick shots video went viral (see above), amassing more than 1.5 million views on YouTube.




You can follow Paige on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram