PREMIER LEAGUE – Page 109 – Football Flame

PREMIER LEAGUE

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PREMIER LEAGUE

Newcastle Appoint Steve Bruce as Manager

Newcastle United have appointed Steve Bruce as their head coach on a three-year contract.Former Sunderland manager Bruce, 58, resigned as Sheffield Wednesday boss on Monday following talks with the Magpies at the weekend.Newcastle have been without a manager since Rafael Benitez left when his contract expired in June, saying the club “did not share his vision”.Bruce was born near Newcastle and was a boyhood Magpies fan.“There is a huge challenge ahead of us, but it’s one that my staff and I are ready for,” said Bruce. “This is my boyhood club and it was my dad’s club, so this is a very special moment for me and my family.”Bruce will be joined by coaches Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence, who have been part of his team at a number of his previous clubs.
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Lindelof Dismisses Barca Rumours

Victor Lindelof has claimed he is very happy at Manchester United, pouring cold water on Barcelona’s hopes of signing him in this transfer window.Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof has dismissed transfer rumours linking him with a summer move to La Liga champions Barcelona, saying that he is very happy at his current club and is looking forward to the season ahead, as reported by the Mirror.Lindelof joined Manchester United in the summer of 2017, from Portuguese outfit Benfica. After a difficult first season in England, the Swedish centre-half came into his own in the 2018-19 campaign and was easily the Red Devils’ best defender on show.Till date, Lindelof has made 69 appearances for United, scoring and assisting one goal apiece. The 24-year-old’s performances in the last season se...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Philippe Coutinho Approves Loan Move to Liverpool

Philippe Coutinho has given his approval to a sensational offer from Liverpool to take him on loan from Barcelona , according to reports.Coutinho has been linked with a move after struggling to nail down a place last season - with Manchester Unitedhaving been touted as a possible destination.Antoine Griezmann's arrival at Barcelona appears to have narrowed Coutinho's Barcelona chances further, although the fact that the Frenchman was given the number 17 shirt rather than the number seven was seen by many fans as a sign that the Brazilian midfielder would be staying at Camp Nou.However, speculation continues over a Coutinho exit, with the 27-year-old having been touted as a makeweight in a deal to lure Neymar back to Barcelona from Paris-Saint Germain.But now, European champions Liverpool a...
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Bayern target Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi

Bayern Munich remain determined to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi as the German club prepare to offer Chelsea £45million for the winger.The 18-year-old looked set to join Bayern Munich in January after submitting a transfer request, but the Blues rejected four separate bids from the Bundesliga side.With just one year remaining on his contract, Chelsea are desperate to tie Hudson-Odoi down to a new deal.But, according to the Mail, Bayern will test the club’s resolve with a new £45million bid.The England international is currently making steady progress in his comeback from a ruptured Achilles, suffered in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Burnley last April.While Hudson-Odoi played 24 times for Chelsea last season and earned his first England caps, he grew disillusioned with his lack of playing time under M...
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Tottenham confirm Eric Dier injury problem

Bad news for Tottenham and England international Eric Dier.Spurs have confirmed this weekend that Dier is now on the sidelines.That’s after the midfielder had an unspecified operation.Tottenham issued the following statement on Dier’s injury setback:"Eric Dier has undergone a medical procedure to correct an issue detected during medical assessments on the first day of pre-season training."Following the successful procedure Eric will now undertake a short period of rehabilitation. "He will therefore not travel on the Club’s pre-season tour to Singapore and Shanghai".
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Bournemouth Striker Callum Wilson Pens New Deal

Bournemouth have announced star striker Callum Wilson has put pen to paper on a bumper new four-year deal running until the summer of 2023.Wilson had three years left to run on his previous contract but has established himself as an England international and one of the best strikers outside the Premier League’s top-six in the last 12 months.The 27-year-old has now put pen to paper on a new long-term deal worth a reported £100,000-a-week to ward off potential interest from Premier League rivals West Ham.“We’ve improved in all areas since I initially joined the club but there’s still a long way to go,” Wilson told the club’s official website.“While Bournemouth may be known as a smaller club, we’ve got some really big ambitions here. Everyone is pulling in the same direction towards those tar...
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Former Southampton striker Peter Crouch retires from football

Former Saints striker Peter Crouch has announced his retirement from football at the age of 38.Crouch joined Saints from Aston Villa for £2.5m in July 2004 and scored 16 goals in 33 appearances in his only season at the club.Despite his impressive tally he was unable to help keep the club in the Premier League as they were relegated at the end of the campaign.This led to Crouch being snapped up by Liverpool in a £7m deal on a four-year contract.Crouch made his English league debut in 2000 at QPR and went on to play for nine clubs, including Liverpool, Portsmouth, Tottenham and Stoke before spending the second half of last season at Burnley.He made his England debut against Colombia in May 2005 and went on to play 42 times for the Three Lions, scoring 22 goals.He confirmed his retirement on...
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Liverpool Start Pre-Season in Style

Liverpool started pre-season in fine fashion as they beat Tranmere 6-0 at Prenton Park on Thursday night.Liverpool dominated the first half and were 3-0 up at half time thanks to Nathaniel Clyne's fine early strike (6), followed by a quick double by the impressive Rhian Brewster (38 and 45), his first senior goals for the club.Jurgen Klopp changed his entire side for the second half and continued to control the game as goals from Curtis Jones (53), Divock Origi (60) and Bobby Duncan (67) flattened Tranmere.Liverpool now go to Bradford on Sunday, before their US tour starts against Dortmund on July 19.
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Juan Mata turned down huge offer to stay at Man Utd

Juan Mata turned down a £550,000-per-week offer from China to remain at Manchester United, say reports. The Spain international agreed fresh terms with the Old Trafford club in June as he neared the end of his previous contract. Before penning the extension, Mata was linked with the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. However, 90min reports that the attacking midfielder received a mammoth contract offer from Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG, which he rejected in order to remain in Manchester. The former Chelsea player is understood to have always favoured a stay, but he was originally unhappy with United’s offer of a one-year extension. The 31-year-old eventually convinced the club to hand him a longer deal, which was signed in mid-June with just a fortn...
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Lampard's Chelsea Reign Begins With Friendly Draw

Frank Lampard's tenure as Chelsea boss started with a friendly draw on Wednesday, with Michy Batshuayi scoring for the Blues before a late leveller from Irish side Bohemians saw the London club held to a 1-1 stalemate.Lampard picked a side headlined by Batshuayi and Pedro for the friendly which marked the start of his reign as Chelsea boss, and it was Belgium international Batshuayi who kicked things off by opening the scoring just eight minutes in.Left-back Kenedy - back from a loan spell at Newcastle - laid on the opener, driving in from the left side and firing a shot that was blocked into the path of Batshuayi. The 25-year-old did well to hold off a defender and fire home, giving Lampard's side an early lead.Lampard rung the changes at half-time, with the like of Danny Drinkwater, Cesa...
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Arsenal Appoint Edu as Technical Director

Arsenal have confirmed that former player Edu is to return to the club as technical director.The 41-year-old, who won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups during a four-and-a-half-year spell with Arsenal, has been linked with a return to north London for some time.Edu, who played under current Arsenal boss Unai Emery during a spell at Valencia, has served as general co-ordinator of the Brazil national team since 2016, and leaves his post after his country won the Copa America for the first time in 12 years on Sunday.Arsenal confirmed that he will travel to the USA with the squad on Thursday as their pre-season tour gets underway.
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Solskjaer : Pogba Never a Problem and There's Agenda Against Him

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Paul Pogba has "never been a problem" and there is an "agenda" against the France midfielder.Pogba's agent Mino Raiola has said the 26-year-old wants to leave United and hopes "there will soon be a satisfying solution for all parties".In his first news conference of pre-season in Perth, Australia, Solskjaer referenced a video of £89m record-signing Pogba and team-mate Jesse Lingard that was reported as a bust-up between the pair."It's an agenda against Paul, he's a great, great professional, never been any problems, he has a heart of gold," said the Norwegian."Jesse and Paul yesterday walking around and it's portrayed as a fight between the two boys and I know you're here to sell players and stories but they're all professional."Solskjaer ad...
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West Ham Set to Sell Arnautovic to China

West Ham have decided to cut their losses on Marko Arnautovic and sell him for €25m (£22.4m) to a Chinese Super League club, believed to be Shanghai SIPG, after Manuel Pellegrini told the board to let the Austrian forward leave.Arnautovic informed West Ham this week that he wanted to be allowed to move to China and, although the club initially told him to honour the contract extension he signed in January, they have since come to the conclusion that keeping him would have a negative effect on squad morale. Pellegrini is furious with the 30-year-old and the player’s teammates believe it would be better if he were sold as soon as possible.West Ham rejected a bid in the region of £19m for Arnautovic on Tuesday, deeming that figure insulting, and initially hoped to take a hard line with a...
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Arsenal's Ospina Seals Permanent Napoli Switch

Arsenal and Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina has completed a permanent move to Serie A with Napoli, the English club confirmed on Thursday.Ospina, 30, joined Napoli on a loan deal at the start of the 2018-19 season after finding his first-team opportunities with the Gunners further limited by the arrival of Bernd Leno.And after making 24 appearances for the Italians in his first campaign Ospina, who represented his nation in this summer's Copa America before being eliminated by Chile in the quarter-finals, will remain at San Paolo in a transfer reportedly worth £5 million ($6.3m).Ospina played the role of understudy to Petr Cech for most of his time at the Emirates Stadium, and was restricted to fewer than 10 Premier League appearances for each of his final three seasons before swapping no...
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Man Utd Offer Contract Extension to De Gea

Manchester United have made an improved contract offer to David de Gea which would make him the highest paid goalkeeper in the world.Marcus Rashford this week committed his long-term future at Old Trafford and the club are attempting to persuade the Spain goalkeeper to do similar.Negotiations with De Gea dragged along all last season, with demands around the deal holding things up despite the goalkeeper's apparent desire to remain at a club he joined from Atletico Madrid in 2011.The situation is becoming more pressing as the 28-year-old is out of contract next summer.De Gea has been strongly linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, while links to Real Madrid are never far from the surface after going so close to moving to the Bernabeu in 2015.
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CONFIRMED: Former Everton Captain goes back home

After a dozen years with Everton, captain Phil Jagielka left the club this summer and will be returning to where it all started for him, for one more year.The soon-to-be 37-year-old has signed a one-year deal with his boyhood club Sheffield United as they make their return to the Premier League. While the central defender has lost a step or three over the years, he will provide valuable veteran savvy, leadership and experience to a side that will be fighting against the odds to remain in the top flight after having clawed their way back.Jagielka made 385 appearances for the Toffees, scoring 19 times and picking up 11 assists as well. Of the twelve years at Everton, he served as captain for half of those. The veteran was linked with a move back to the Blades back in the summer of ...
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Chelsea appoint Lampard as Head Coach

Frank Lampard was appointed Chelsea head coach on Thursday, confirming a dramatic return for one of the club's greatest ever players.Lampard has signed a three-year contract with Chelsea, where he spent 13 years and became the team's all-time leading scorer with 211 goals.The former England midfielder succeeds Maurizio Sarri after just one season in management, having led Derby County to the Championship play-off final in May, when they were beaten by Aston Villa."I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach," Lampard said in a club statement."Everyone knows my love for this club and the history we have shared, however, my sole focus is on the job in hand and preparing for the season ahead."I am here to work hard, bring further success to the club and I cannot wait to get ...
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Chelsea Confirm Higuain Return to Juventus

Chelsea have confirmed Gonzalo Higuain has left the club, with the Europa League winners opting not to extend his loan from Juventus or pursue a permanent deal.Higuain spent the second half of 2018-19 at Stamford Bridge but scored only five goals in 14 Premier League appearances.The 31-year-old previously hit 36 league goals in the 2015-16 Serie A season for Maurizio Sarri's Napoli and he will be expected to team up with the Italian again after the coach's switch from Chelsea to Juve.Chelsea had the option to pay €18 million (£16m/$20m)) to extend Higuain's loan for another 12 months, while the Blues could have also purchased the forward from Juve for €36m.Higuain, who previously signalled he hoped to stay at Chelsea, has been linked with a move to Roma but his brother and agent Nicola twe...
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Marcus Rashford Signs a New Four-Year Contract at Manchester United

Marcus Rashford has signed a new four-year deal at Manchester United , with the option for a further season.The 21-year-old, whose existing deal was due to expire next season, has penned a contract until the summer of 2023 to end speculation over his future.Academy graduate Rashford has been at United since he was seven, making 170 appearances for the club. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has earmarked the Wythenshawe-born striker to lead the line next season, having impressed in the early months of the Norwegian's reign.Rashford believes Solskjaer and his staff have already had an impact on his game and he is determined to repay them by taking the club back to "where it belongs"."Manchester United has been everything in my life since I arrived here at the age of seven. This club has shaped me, ...
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Reports: Tottenham Agree Record Fee for Ndombele

Tottenham are on the verge of shattering their transfer record for the Lyon midfielder, Tanguy Ndombele, after agreeing a fee for him of €62m (£55.45m) plus €10m in add-ons.Mauricio Pochettino, the Spurs manager, has made Ndombele his No 1 summer target, as he looks toreinvigorate his squad after two transfer windows without a signing. He has urged Daniel Levy, the chairman, to do everything possible to get Ndombele and it appears that the final obstacle to the blockbuster deal has now been cleared.Ndombele must still agree personal terms on a long-term contract but that ought not to be a problem, given that the will is there from his side to complete the move. The 22-year-old France international has been given a tour of the Spurs training ground, which left him greatly impressed, and he ...
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