Football News: Review Of The Day 18th April 2018

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Review of the Day

Deals

Real Madrid have signed Ramon Siqueira on a year long loan deal from Fluminese with the option to sign him permanently if he impressed. The 19 year old will be part of the Castilla squad for the 2018/19 season and is a cousin of Madrid's wing back Marcelo.

Sao Paulo have stepped in to buy Everton. The 29 year old Brazilian winger Everton, not the football club. They have paid a fee of over £3m to Flamengo to get his signature.

Hamza Sakhi has returned to FC Metz from his loan spell to AJ Auxerre and then immediately been sent back there on loan again.

Brazilian full back Chiquinho has been sent by Sao Caetano to Coritiba in the second tier of Brazilian football.

Nautico have taken Jhonnatan on loan from Santa Cruz, just after the midfielder returned from a loan spell with AA Portugesa.

AS Roma's young talent Luca Pellegrini has signed a new contract tying the 19 year old fullback, who is currently recuperating from an ACL tear, to the Champions League semi-finalists.

Mannus Set For Ireland Return

St Johnstone have confirmed that veteran keeper Alan Mannus is set to return to his home country to finish his career. The 35 year old Northern Ireland international has 200 appearances for Saints since joining them in 2011. St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright has told the club website: "I spoke to Alan about a month ago and he told me then of his desire to go back to Ireland with his family. After seven seasons with the club, he decided that the time was right to go back there to live and to continue his career. I've known Alan since 2001, when he was at Linfield, and I've always had a great relationship with him. He's a model professional who has helped our younger goalkeepers enormously and he's been a shining example to them. I think it's safe to say that over the past few years he's been in the top three or four goalkeepers in Scotland and he's done tremendously well for the football club. He's played a major part in what's been a successful period in the club's history and he was a key player in our Scottish Cup-winning campaign. I'd like to go on record with my thanks to Alan for everything he has done for St Johnstone Football Club and for me. We wish him all the best in the future and he will always be welcome here at McDiarmid Park."

Former Swansea Defender Diagnosed With Cancer

Kevin Austin, a former defender with Swansea City, has dismissed social media reports he has terminal pancreatic cancer, but has confirmed that he does have the illness. Austin said: "I appreciate the nice messages coming from supporters from Swansea. They are fantastic fans - and all the clubs I have played for. But I needed to let people know that the rumours being spread just aren't true. I have pancreatic cancer, but my doctors have said they are happy with the way things are going and it is under control. My family is in a good place too, and I just wanted people to know the truth." Austin played for Leyton Orient, Barnsley, Brentford, Cambridge United and Bristol Rovers during his career and is currently working with Scunthorpe United's academy in a coaching role.

Puel Rules Out Maguire Sale

Leicester City manager Claude Puel has ruled out selling England defender Harry Maguire in the summer. Newspapers have linked the 25 year old centre back with both halves of Manchester and Tottenham in recent weeks but Puel says that he intends to build the side around him. "He is a valuable player for us. It is just speculation," said Puel. "He came into Leicester and played and developed and he needs to continue to improve. He's a young player with fantastic attributes, an international player, and it is a good thing to have this player at Leicester. He is an important player for us and it is important to give him a good feeling for the future, to build a good team around him and to keep a good ambition for the future."

Gibson Admits Drunk Driving

After ploughing in to a row of parked cars on his way to training, then Sunderland midfielder Darron Gibson was arrested and breath-tested. He claimed to have had just 2 drinks the night before, but police officers said he slurring his speech and smelt of alcohol, when tested he was found to be 3 times over the legal limit. The 30 year old former Manchester United and Everton player, who was dismissed by Sunderland following the incident, has a previous conviction for drink-driving and driving without due care and attention in 2015, which sees him face a custodial sentence. Elaine Gowland told BBC Newcastle after the incident: "My son's car was completely written off by Darron Gibson. The damage is horrendous - he's lucky someone didn't get killed. If someone had been on the pavement they would have been gone. Gibson had actually ploughed into the back of my son's car, moving it down the street and into a wall."

Alonso Given FA Charge

In a move that is surprising only in that it took so long to happen, the FA have charged Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso with violent conduct following his 'tackle' (should that be assault? Or maybe attack?) on Southampton forward Shane Long. Despite the referee having a clear view of the incident and being near to it, no punishment was given at the time as Alonso stood on the back of Long's calf and raked his studs down it. Not sure how the officials missed out, but there should be questions asked of their suitability to officiate top flight matches if they are going to miss blatant fouls like that. Mark Hughes said after the game: "It was a poor challenge - it should have been a red card in my view. The disappointment was the officials didn't see it. They were all within a 10 to 15 metre radius - one of them should have seen it." Alonso now faces a 3 match ban, which would include an FA Cup semi-final against Saints, unless he chooses to contest the charge. Which seems extremely unlikely as it could result in an extended ban by doing so. Or more probably would, as there is little defence that can be made for the Spaniard over this incident.

Man City Cleared Of Wrongdoing In Garre Transfer

CAS have cleared Manchester City of any wrongdoing in their signing of Argentine teenager Benjamin Garre from Velez Sarsfield in July 2016. Garre was 16 at the time and Sarsfield contended that FIFA rules on international transfers for players under the age of 18 were broken. City, having previously been cleared by FIFA before Sarsfield's appeal to CAS, contended that Garre's Italian passport meant they had broken no rules and CAS agreed with the Premier League champions.

Rangers Suspend Pair

Veteran striker Kenny Miller (38) and club captain Lee Wallace have been suspended by Rangers following a "team-related incident" between the pair and manager Graeme Murty after Rangers were thrashed 4-0 by Celtic at the weekend. Both players have been told to stay away from the club until an internal investigation has been completed.

Accrington Win Promotion

Accrington Stanley have confirmed their promotion to League One with a win over Yeovil Town last night. Stanley have never been as high as the third tier of English football since being reformed in 1968. Two more wins, out of the remaining four games, would give them the League Two title.

Aguero Undergoes Knee Surgery

Man City's Argentina striker Sergio Aguero is facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup after having keyhole surgery on his knee. Aguero had been struggling with a knee injury for over a month and decided to undergo the procedure after City clinched the Premier League title. Aguero said on his official Twitter account: "Recovering from an arthroscopy on my knee. Fully motivated to get back soon to the field."

Everton Ask Fans To Rate Allardyce's Performance

Everton have sent out a survey to a group of supporters which include a question asking them to rate current manager Sam Allardyce's performance on a scale of 0 to 10. Though you would think the abuse he received from the Everton fans during and after the weekend's draw with Swansea City would have been all the answer the club needed!

Keane Claims Team-Mate Can Become World Class

In more Everton news, defender Michael Keane has backed keeper Jordan Pickford to become world class in the future. Keane told Everton's website: "Jordan can go all the way to the top. He has everything. He is dominant. He is aggressive... he is still young and learning, so there are things he can improve but I'm sure over the years they will come and he'll be a world-class goalkeeper. His shot-stopping is great, he is quick off the mark to get to the floor and make his saves. His kicking and distribution are impressive, which is a massive thing in the modern game. He has been brilliant for us all season and has been great in the past two England games he has played too... I am really happy for him and, hopefully, he can be the number one at the World Cup."

Moore Brings In Jacobs

West Bromwich Albion's caretaker-manager Darren Moore has brought in former Bradford City team-mate Wayne Jacobs to assist him at the Baggies. Jacobs has previously been an assistant manager at the Bantams and is now helping Moore on an informal basis as he tries to breath some kind of life into West Brom's season.

FIFA Charge Russia With Racism

With a World Cup set to begin in Russia in just a couple of months, FIFA have charged the host with fan racism after monkey chants were aimed at black French players during a 'friendly' game in St Petersburg last month. This is the 3rd time this season that a game at the same stadium has resulted in a racism charge for home fans.

Klose Returns To Bayern

Former Bayern forward Miroslav Klose is set for a return to the Bavarian giants in a coaching role. Klose has been part of Jogi Low's coaching staff with the national side but will take over the Bayern Munich under-17 side next season.

Sanches Back At Swansea

Loan flop Renato Sanches has returned to the Swans for the run-in following his recovery from a hamstring injury he suffered in January. The Portugese midfielder has been a disaster since joining on loan from Bayern in the summer, but he will now have a few more games to prove there is a player in there. Somewhere.

Jorginho Causes Social Media Frenzy After Liking A Video On Instagram

Napoli midfielder Jorginho has been heavily linked to Liverpool in recent weeks and he has increased speculation after liking a video on Instagram which asked if LFC should sign the Brazilian. There is no indication if he even knew what the question was under the video before liking it, as the video is a compilation of clips of him in action.

Oldham Player Restrains Fan To Stop Attack On Referee

Oldham Athletic defender Anthony Gerrard (the cousin of Steven) grabbed a supporter who slipped over as he tried to get at referee Peter Bankes, who had just awarded a penalty to Rochdale against Gerrard. The lone pitch invader delayed the taking of the penalty after racing towards the official before slipping over as Bankes dodged out of his way. Gerrard grabbed him and held onto him until stewards could come and lead him away.

Written by Tris Burke April 18 2018 08:04:33