Football News: Review Of The Day 27th December 2022

Review of the Day

Contracts

Bristol City's former Burnley striker Nakhi Wells has signed a deal to keep him at the Robins until 2025.

Dylan Barkers has extended his contract with Cheltenham Town until the end of the season.

Manchester United quartet Fred, Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw are now contracted to the club until 2024.

Leeds United's Spanish defender Diego Llorente has signed a contract extension which runs until 2026. Dutch defender Pascal Struijk has extended his deal until 2027.

UD Almeria midfielder Lucas Robertone has extended his deal until 2028.

EA Guingamp youngster Jacques Siwe has signed up until 2024. Experienced centre-back Pierre Lemonnier has extended his contract until 2025.

The end of 2024 will also see New York City winger Matias Pellegrini's deal expire.

Young Juventus full-back Tommaso Barbieri has agreed to stay until 2026. Fellow teenage full-back Gabriele Mulazzi has also signed until 2026.

VfL Bochum's teenage centre-back Tim Oermann has also signed up until 2026. Veteran goalkeeper Michael Esser has agreed a 1-year extension to his contract, taking him to 2024.

Nicolo Cauoti is another to sign a deal which ends in 2026.

Bayern Munich teenager Angelo Bruckner is now contracted to the club until 2025.

Transfers

PSV Eindhoven have announced that they have agreed a deal to sell Netherlands international forward Cody Gakpo to Liverpool for a club record fee.

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe has confirmed that his club are interested in re-signing Aston Villa forward Cameron Archer for another loan spell. Archer made 20 appearances for PNE last season on loan.

Montreal CF have paid over £400,000 for Real Salt Lake full-back Aaron Herrera.

Isco has been released by Sevilla.

Former Newcastle United youngster Haris Vuckic has signed for Thai League side Buriram United from HNK Rijeka.

LOSC Lille's Canadian international striker Jonathan David has admitted he wants to play in the English Premier League.

Injury Round Up

Ipswich Town's Guinea-Bissau international midfielder Panutche Camara has been ruled out for several months after having adductor surgery.

Heart of Midlothian's veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a double leg break just a few days before his 40th birthday. Despite his age Hearts are hoping he will return to playing for them next season.

Another veteran in the SPFL to be ruled out for the rest of the season is Rangers' midfielder Steven Davis. The Northern Ireland international is Britain's most-capped footballer with 140 games but, at the age of 38 on New Year's Day, the ACL injury could see the end of his international career.

Carlisle United's former Leeds United youngster Ryan Edmondson has suffered a dislocated shoulder which could rule him out for an extended period.

Karim Benzema's agent has taken to social media to post up medical diagnosis that showed the striker could have played for France from the quarter-finals of the World Cup onwards. Karim Djaziri has hit out at Didier Deschamps, claiming the injury was just an excuse to send Benzema home. Hardly see the issue when he is lucky to have been brought back into the fold after the blackmail incident with Mathieu Valbuena. In fact, his very presence was unpopular with the rest of the squad and many that did not make it due to injury, such as Paul Pogba, leading to Benzema unfollowing most of them on social media.

Job Changes

Former Chelsea, West Ham United and Portsmouth boss Avram Grant has taken charge of the Zambian national team. Grant has previously led Ghana to the final of the African Cup of Nations where they lost on penalties to the Cote d'Ivoire.

Leeds United's first team coach Mark Jackson has left to take up the role of MK Dons head coach. MK are currently in the midst of a relegation battle at the foot of the League One table.

Charlton Athletic have turned to Dean Holden as their new manager. Also appointed by the Addicks were Andy Scott, as Technical Director, Jim Rodwell, as COO, and Ed Warrick as Finance Director.

Neil Moss has returned to Bournemouth as Head of Goalkeeping, 18 months are being sacked following the appointment of Scott Parker as new head coach of the club. New Cherries boss Gary O'Neil has moved to bring Moss back as part of his backroom team. Also appointed are Tommy Elphick, Shaun Cooper and Tim Jenkins as first-team coaches.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have created a new position at the club of Player Pathways Manager and appointed Steve Davis to the role, promoting him from Under-18s Head Coach.

Christopher Vivell has been chosen as Chelsea's new Technical Director, joining Laurence Stewart, who also holds the job title of Technical Director after joining from AS Monaco in October. Vivell previously worked in the same role at RB Leipzig before leaving there in October.

Southampton's Director of Football Operations, Matt Crocker, is to leave the club at the end of the season. The Saints were bought by Sport Republic in January.

Paul Aladejare has joined Blackburn Rovers from Arsenal as Rovers' new Head of Emerging Talent. Aladejare will start work next month.

Norwich City have sacked head coach Dean Smith after a 2-1 loss to Luton Town on Boxing Day. The Canaries have won just 3 of their last 13 league matches under Smith. They are currently sat in 5th in the Championship league table.

Disciplinary Charges

Former Coventry City and Aston Villa midfielder Mustapha Hadji has been handed a 5-year suspension from all football activity after being found guilty of forging an A license for coaching. The CAF disciplinary board stated: "The Caf disciplinary panel noted that after investigation, it was established that the licence certificate 'A' in the name of Mr Mustapha Hadji is falsified and that he has never registered for Licence A training and that no diploma has been issued to him by the federation. Fraud is a serious offence which undermines Caf's values and principles of ethics. Moreover, after having examined all the available elements, the disciplinary panel considers that the offence committed by Mustapha Hadji is likely to harm the credibility of the governing institutions of football, including CAF, and must be sanctioned accordingly."

Coventry City have been given a suspended points deduction for having to postpone three Championship matches at the beginning of the season due to problems with the pitch. The ground, which was owned by Wasps rugby team at the time, had been used for rugby sevens matches during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the summer and the pitch had been destroyed forcing them to postpone games against Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town. Due to the lack of income from home games the club suffered "cashflow imbalances" which led to a transfer embargo also being imposed. The embargo will now be lifted in time for the January transfer window after the Sky Blues paid off their arrears to HMRC. Coventry will now be forced to compensate the three teams as well as having a 5-point penalty hanging over their head for the rest of this season and next season.

MK Dons and Fleetwood Town have been fined following a fracas in their 10th December EFL match in which Fleetwood came back from behind to win in stoppage time. MK, who sacked manager Liam Manning the next day after the defeat, were fined £2,500, while Fleetwood were hit with a fine which was double after a hearing by an independent panel.

Colchester United have reported an alleged racist comment made towards their full-back Junior Tchamedeu by a member of the crowd at Gillingham. The incident happened early in the game as Tchamedeu was preparing to take a throw-in, with the referee immediately informed. The full-back was able to respond in the best possible way by scoring the only goal to win the game for his team.

Pointless List Of The Day

With many clubs around the world still disrupted by Covid regulations, this year's highest average fans list has seen a surprising winner, with traditional top three Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Bayern Munich having to play in front of reduced attendances a number of times:
1. Manchester United - Old Trafford - Avg Att: 73,690 - Capacity: 74,879 - PPG: 2.21
2. Barcelona - Spotify Camp Nou - Avg Att: 71,564 - Capacity: 99,354 - PPG: 2.31
3. Borussia Dortmund - Signal Iduna Park - Avg Att: 62,894 - Capacity: 81,365 - PPG: 2.07
4. West Ham United - London Stadium - Avg Att: 61,118 - Capacity: 62,500 - PPG: 1.47
5. Bayern Munich - Allianz Arena - Avg Att: 60,362 - Capacity: 75,024 - PPG: 2.3
6. Tottenham Hotspur - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Avg Att: 60,094 - Capacity: 62,062 - PPG: 2.12
7. Arsenal - Emirates Stadium - Avg Att: 60,028 - Capacity: 60,704 - PPG: 2.31
8. Celtic - Celtic Park - Avg Att: 58,480 - Capacity: 60,832 - PPG: 3
9. Inter Milan - San Siro - Avg Att: 58,464 - Capacity: 75,923 - PPG: 2.35
10. AC Milan - San Siro - Avg Att: 57,748 - Capacity: 75,923 - PPG: 2.33
11. Olympique Marseille - Orange Velodrome - Avg Att: 57,228 - Capacity: 67,394 - PPG: 1.88
12. Flamengo - Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho - Avg Att: 54,479 - Capacity: 78,838 - PPG: 1.9
13. Liverpool - Anfield - Avg Att: 53,120 - Capacity: 54,074 - PPG: 2.5
14. Manchester City - Etihad Stadium - Avg Att: 53,043 - Capacity: 55,017 - PPG: 2.53
15. Newcastle United - St James' Park - Avg Att: 52,177 - Capacity: 52,338 - PPG: 2.35
16. Atletico Madrid - Civitas Metropolitano - Avg Att: 51,617 - Capacity: 68,456 - PPG: 2
17. Real Madrid - Santiago Bernabeu - Avg Att: 51,526 - Capacity: 81,044 - PPG: 2.35
18. AS Roma - Olimpico di Roma - Avg Att: 51,257 - Capacity: 73,261 - PPG: 1.6
19. Schalke 04 - Veltins-Arena - Avg Att: 48,420 - Capacity: 62,271 - PPG: 1.44
20. Ajax - Johan Cruijff Arena - Avg Att: 48,195 - Capacity: 55,600 - PPG: 2.5
21. Real Betis - Benito Villamarin - Avg Att: 47,749 - Capacity: 59,378 - PPG: 1.82
22. Atlanta United - Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Avg Att: 47,116 - Capacity: 73,019 - PPG: 1.71
23. Feyenoord - De Kuip - Avg Att: 44,980 - Capacity: 47,500 - PPG: 2.21
24. Rangers - Ibrox Stadium - Avg Att: 43,535 - Capacity: 50,987 - PPG: 2.5
25. Benfica - Estadio da Luz - Avg Att: 43,399 - Capacity: 65,000 - PPG: 2.23
26. Aston Villa - Villa Park - Avg Att: 41,554 - Capacity: 42,682 - PPG: 1.47
27. Olympique Lyonnais - Groupama Stadium - Avg Att: 41,095 - Capacity: 59,186 - PPG: 2.12
28. Porto - Estadio do Dragao - Avg Att: 41,095 - Capacity: 50,399 - PPG: 2.46
29. Cruzeiro - Estadio Governador Magalhaes Pinto - Avg Att: 41,037 - Capacity: 61,927 - PPG: 2.53
30. Hertha Berlin SC - Olympiastadion Berlin - Avg Att: 40,887 - Capacity: 74,649 - PPG: 1.0
31. Paris Saint-Germain - Parc des Princes - Avg Att: 40,701 - Capacity: 49,691 - PPG: 2.65
32. VfB Stuttgart - Mercedes-Benz Arena - Avg Att: 40,520 - Capacity: 60,449 - PPG: 1.38
33. 1.FC Koln - Rheinenergiestadion - Avg Att: 40,387 - Capacity: 50,000 - PPG: 1.6
34. Athletic Bilbao - San Mames - Avg Att: 39,739 - Capacity: 53,289 - PPG: 2.12
35. Everton - Goodison Park - Avg Att: 38,999 - Capacity: 39,571 - PPG: 1.33
36. Hamburger SV - Volksparkstadion - Avg Att: 38,972 - Capacity: 57,000 - PPG: 1.94
37. Corinthians - Neo Quimica Arena - Avg Att: 38,898 - Capacity: 49,205 - PPG: 2.11
38. Eintracht Frankfurt - Deutsche Bank Park - Avg Att: 38,821 - Capacity: 51,500 - PPG: 1.18
39. Borussia Moenchengladbach - Stadion im Borussia-Park - Avg Att: 38,226 - Capacity: 54,022 - PPG: 1.88
40. Chelsea - Stamford Bridge - Avg Att: 37,255 - Capacity: 40,853 - PPG: 1.73
41. RB Leipzig - Red Bull Arena - Avg Att: 36,609 - Capacity: 47,069 - PPG: 2.36
42. Werder Bremen - Weserstadium - Avg Att: 36,500 - Capacity: 42,100 - PPG: 1.56
43. Leeds United - Elland Road - Avg Att: 36,402 - Capacity: 37,890 - PPG: 1.19
44. LOSC Lille - Stade Pierre-Mauroy - Avg Att: 36,153 - Capacity: 50,186 - PPG: 1.61
45. Napoli - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona - Avg Att: 36,150 - Capacity: 54,726 - PPG: 2.29
46. Palmeiras - Allianz Parque - Avg Att: 35,943 - Capacity: 43,600 - PPG: 2.26
47. Tigres UANL - Estadio Universitario - Avg Att: 35,901 - Capacity: 41,886 - PPG: 1.78
48. Valencia - Mestalla - Avg Att: 35,369 - Capacity: 48,600 - PPG: 1.35
49. Charlotte FC - Bank of America Stadium - Avg Att: 35,260 - Capacity: 75,412 - PPG: 1.82
50. CF America - Estadio Azteca - Avg Att: 35,025 - Capacity: 81,070 - PPG: 1.94
*PPG = Point Per Game at home

Salford Bid Rejected

A joint bid from Salford City and rugby union side Sale Sharks, to purchase the AJ Bell Stadium, has been rejected by Salford City Council. Sharks and rugby league side Salford Red Devils are the current tenants of the ground, which has a capacity of 12,000. A council spokesperson said: "The council and Coscos (stadium company) have been in extensive negotiations with partners about the sale of the stadium - but unfortunately we have not received a proposal which satisfies our aspirations for this great community asset. We are now looking at other future options. It is important to note that we have been liaising closely with executives at Salford Red Devils and Sale Sharks who are fully briefed. We will provide further updates in the new year." According to Salford City's statement on the matter, they expect the council to purchase the stadium outright themselves instead, in a move that they claim to be a surprise to them.

Gills Sold

Gillingham are in new hands after American businessman Brad Galinson completed his takeover of the League Two side. The Gills had been owned by Paul Scally since 1995 and he remains a minority shareholder in the club. Scally decided to step down his involvement in the club after abuse from fans. Under Scally, they won four promotions and spent five years in the Championship, but in recent years they have struggled, dropping to League Two this season.

Written by Tris Burke December 27 2022 16:11:38