October 2020 – Football Flame

31Oct

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£27m Real Madrid star has decided he wants to join Everton

Isco of Real Madrid looks on during the La Liga Santader match between Real Madrid and Cadiz CF at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on October 17, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.Carlo Ancelotti's Everton are flying high in 2020/21.Despite losing their first game of the Premier League season at Southampton last weekend, the Toffees are top of the English top-tier after six game weeks.Ancelotti is working his magic at Goodison Park and the arrival of Colombian superstar James Rodriguez from Real Madrid has galvanised the team.The 2014 World Cup hero has scored three goals and notched as many assists in his six Premier League appearances, a mighty impressive return for a player many believed would struggle on English shores.Rodriguez's worldwide following has helped enhance Everton as a brand and it seems h...

31Oct

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SERIE A

Juventus and Paulo Dybala ‘struggling to agree new contract as he demands £5m more per-season’

Paulo Dybala of Juventus looks on during the UEFA Champions League Group G stage match between Juventus and FC Barcelona at Juventus Stadium on October 28, 2020 in Turin, Italy.Juventus are struggling to come to an agreement with Paulo Dyabla over a new contract.Dybala's current deal runs until the summer of 2022, and Juventus want to retain his services until 2024.However, as reported by Calciomercato, the attacker is demanding £5million more per season in wages.Real Madrid are interested in signing Dybala, who has been at Juventus since 2015. The Spanish side could let Isco and Vinicius Junior join Juventus as part of a possible deal.Juventus are eager to keep Dybala but could be tempted by the prospect of getting two Real Madrid players in exchange. Isco and Vincius Junior hav...

31Oct

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PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hails ‘quality’ Manchester United forwards

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during the UEFA Europa League Group B stage match between Arsenal FC and Dundalk FC at Emirates Stadium on October 29, 2020 in London, England.Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hailed Manchester United’s ‘quality’ forwards ahead of the Premier League clash at Old Trafford. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils welcome Arsenal to the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday, with both teams desperate for points to move up the table. The Gunners have lost three of their last four Premier League games to slip to 11th in the table, while Manchester United are currently 15th, having won only two of their five league fixtures. United trio Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood combined for 62 goals in all competitions last season and Solskjaer bolstered his attackin...

31Oct

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TRANSFERS

Report: Barcelona to renew Eric Garcia pursuit in January

Eric Garcia of Manchester City looks on during the UEFA Champions League Group C stage match between Manchester City and FC Porto at Etihad Stadium on October 21, 2020 in Manchester, England.Barcelona are reportedly likely to make a fresh bid for Manchester City defender Eric Garcia during the January transfer window.With concerns over his first-team opportunities at the Etihad Stadium, Garcia has rejected the club's efforts to tie him down to a long-term contract.Barcelona missed out on a reunion with their former player in the summer as City played hardball over a transfer fee.However, according to ESPN, the Catalan giants will renew their interest in January, providing that a move gets the go-ahead from the next president.Although City could opt to keep the youngster until the end of th...

31Oct

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SERIE A

Cristiano Ronaldo recovers from COVID-19

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has tested negative for coronavirus, the club confirmed on Friday."Ronaldo carried out a check with a diagnostic test (swab) for COVID-19. The exam provided a negative result," the Italian champions said in a statement."The player has, therefore, recovered after 19 days and is no longer subjected to home isolation."Ronaldo first tested positive for COVID-19 on October 13 while playing with Portugal. He had been in self-isolation since returning to Italy.The 35-year-old has missed four games including Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Lionel Messi's Barcelona.Nine-time reigning Italian champions Juventus, are fifth in Serie A, four points behind leaders AC Milan after five games, and the next game is away at newly promoted Spezia on Sunday.

31Oct

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PREMIER LEAGUE

Wolves share EPL lead after beating Crystal Palace 2-0

Wolverhampton Wanderers players celebrate following their team's victory in the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace at Molineux on October 30, 2020 in Wolverhampton, England.Rayan Ait-Nouri marked his Wolves debut with a goal as the Midlands club beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Molineux on Friday to move up into third place in the Premier League.Victory put Wolves level on points with the leading Merseyside duo of Everton and reigning champions Liverpool ahead of the bulk of this weekend's fixtures.Ait-Nouri, the only change from the Wolves side that drew 1-1 with Newcastle last time out, needed just 18 minutes to put the hosts in front when his first-time shot found the bottom corner.His goal came soon after Palace's Michy Batshuayi had an effort correctly d...

30Oct

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PREMIER LEAGUE

Pep Guardiola keen to extend his stay at Manchester City

Manchester City's Pep Guardiola speaks during a press conference at Manchester City Football Academy on October 30, 2020 in Manchester, England.Pep Guardiola has said he would like to “stay longer” at Manchester City.The City manager is in the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and speculation over his future is likely to increase as the season goes on.Victor Font, a candidate to be the next Barcelona president, has expressed a desire to take Guardiola back to the Nou Camp, where his past successes included two Champions League triumphs.When asked about Font, Guardiola said at a press conference: “I am incredibly happy here. I’m delighted to be in Manchester and I hope I can do a good job this season to stay longer.”City have had to deal with a host of injuries in the early p...

30Oct

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PREMIER LEAGUE

Arteta sends message to Pepe after Arsenal winger’s goal against Dundalk

Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal is challenged by Patrick McEleney of Dundalk during the UEFA Europa League Group B stage match between Arsenal FC and Dundalk FC at Emirates Stadium on October 29, 2020 in London, England.Mikel Arteta has told Nicolas Pepe that he still needs to find more consistency after the winger scored in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Dundalk on Thursday.The 25-year-old - who became the Gunners' record signing when he joined from Lille for £72m last summer - had a frustrating first half, losing the ball on no less than 15 occasions.But he found the back of the net just after half-time with a superb effort from the edge of the box before being substituted off on the hour mark.It was a performance which encapsulated Pepe's up-and-down spell at the Emirates since signing, and speaking at...

30Oct

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SERIE A

Ibrahimovic on COVID-19: You are not Zlatan, don’t challenge the virus

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan smiles during the UEFA Europa League Group H stage match between AC Milan and AC Sparta Praha at San Siro Stadium on October 29, 2020 in Milan, Italy.AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has recently recovered after testing positive for coronavirus, has joined an information campaign, telling the public to respect social distancing and wear a mask."The virus challenged me and I won," he said. "But you are not Zlatan, don't challenge the virus."Use your head, respect the rules: distance and mask, always. We'll win!"The video was posted on the website and social media accounts of the Lombardy region in Italy which has seen a surge in coronavirus cases.Despite missing two games after testing positive, the 39-year-old is Serie A's leading scorer with six goal...

30Oct

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TRANSFERS

Manchester United enter race to sign highly-rated Barcelona target

(L-R) Mario Pasalic of Atalanta Bergamo, Ryan Gravenberch of Ajax during the UEFA Champions League match between Atalanta Bergamo v Ajax at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d Italia on October 27, 2020 in Bergamo Italy.Manchester United are among clubs interested in the services of Ajax’s Ryan Gravenberch, who is courted by a host of European clubs including Barcelona.According to Mirror, Ajax is braced for a potential transfer battle in January regarding the services of Ryan Gravenberch. Manchester United and FC Barcelona are just among few clubs interested in acquiring the Dutch midfielder.The 18-year-old is being regarded as the next big thing to come out of the Ajax youth academy that has already produced quality players like Donny van de Beek, Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong over the pa...