Football News: Review Of The Day 8th January 2020

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Review of the Day

Contracts

AS Roma have given Aleksandar Kolarov a year's contract extension.

Wes McDonald has signed a new 18-month contract with League Two side Walsall.

Trevor Carson has signed a 2 and a half year deal with Motherwell.

Transfers

Major League Soccer side Orlando City SC have paid £727,000 to sign Brazilian midfielder Junior Urso from Corinthians.

SPAL have sold Gabriele Moncini to Benevento for £2.25m.

Danny Drinkwater has joined Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea.

TSG Hoffenheim have splashed out over £10m on Sevilla's Israeli forward Munas Dabbur.

Norwich City defender Rocky Bushiri has joined Sint-Truiden on loan.

Arda Turan has returned to Barcelona at the end of his loan spell with Basaksehir.

OGC Nice defender Ibrahim Cisse has joined Portugese side Famalicao.

Port Vale defender Kieran Kennedy's loan spell with Wrexham has been extended until the end of the season. Ben Tollitt and Mark Harris have ended their spells with Vale, Tollitt returning to Blackpool and Harris to Cardiff City.

Burnley defender Anthony Glennon has joined Grimsby Town on loan.

Billy Waters has joined Newport County on loan from Northampton Town.

Barnet midfielder Jack Taylor has signed for Peterborough United for a fee of £500,000 with add ons that may see the price double.

Portsmouth have signed Cameron McGeehan on loan from Barnsley.

Bristol Rovers have paid an undisclosed fee to sign midfielder Josh Barrett from Reading.

Cardiff City have released Armand Traore.

Ivan Cavaleiro's loan move to Fulham has been made into a permanent deal. The Cottagers have paid Wolverhampton Wanderers an undisclosed fee for the forward.

Heart of Midlothian have recalled teenage duo Harry Cochrane and Anthony McDonald from their loan spells with Dunfermline Athletic. Hearts have also released veteran midfielder Glenn Whelan.

Eros Grezda has returned to NK Osijek for an undisclosed fee from Rangers.

St Mirren have signed Conor McCarthy from Dundalk and Jamie McGrath from Cork City.

Jorg Sievers has left his coaching role with Hannover 96 and joined Hearts as assistant manager to new boss Daniel Stendel.

Swansea City have taken Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster on loan for the rest of the season.

Injury Round-Up

Newcastle United's injury problems are easing as six players return to training. Jetro Willems, Paul Dummett, Ciaran Clark, Miguel Almiron, Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll are all back in training. Willems was one of four players who went off injured in the New Year's day defeat at the hands of Leicester City.

French international midfielder Moussa Sissoko has been ruled out for 3 months after having surgery to repair his medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Paul Pogba underwent ankle surgery which he said "went well". Pogba had missed most of the early stages of the season due to an ankle problem, before returning in December, only to be ruled out once more with an ankle problem. He is expected to be out for about 4 weeks.

Liverpool Sign Nike Deal

Liverpool are to change kit suppliers from June 2020, after 5 years and a legal battle with current suppliers New Balance. Liverpool's MD and chief commercial officer Billy Hogan said: "Our iconic kit is a key part of our history and identity. We welcome Nike into the LFC family as our new official kit supplier and expect them to be an incredible partner for the club, both at home and globally as we continue to expand our fanbase. As a brand, Nike reflects our ambitions for growth, and we look forward to working with them to bring fans new and exciting products."

Orient Appoint Embleton

Interim manager Ross Embleton has been appointed as permanent head coach of Leyton Orient on a 12-month rolling contract. Embleton has led the club in 26 matches, gaining seven wins and eight draws and the O's are sat in 19th in the League Two table. Orient chairman Nigel Travis said: "We are confident that Ross is the right person to lead the O's forward. For a number of reasons it has been a difficult season and therefore the board, alongside (director of football) Martin Ling, have been very deliberate in the search for the club's new head coach and we are pleased to appoint Ross Embleton. His ability to lead the players, and his coaching staff, is superb and he provides stability, which is essential, given the events of the season."

Mackems Up For Sale

Sunderland owner Stewart Donald has put the club up for sale, due to pressure from fan groups. A Sunderland statement read: "The board feels that it has no option but to sell the club. That process has now commenced. Owing to confidentiality agreements, there will be no further updates until a preferred bidder is identified." Donald only bought the club in 2018.

Robinson Gets Banned

Oxford United boss Karl Robinson has been given a 1-match touchline ban by the Football Association for "insulting and improper" conduct towards a referee. Robinson was also fined £4,000.

Brum Charged

The EFL have charged Birmingham City with a breach of the league's financial fair play rules. They were deducted nine points in March 2020 over a similar breach. Birmingham recently sold their St Andrew's ground to another company owned by their owner Paul Suen Cho Hung for £22.8m to reduce pre-tax losses to £8.4m for last season. The ground is leased back to the club for £1.25m per year for the next 25 years.

EFL Pay Off Harvey

The English Football League's former chief executive Shaun Harvey has been given a £500,000 severance pay-off after he left the job following six years of inept leadership. He was being paid £495,000 a year, but did nothing to help clubs such as Bury, Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic stave off financial problems.

Berra Told To Leave Hearts

New Heart of Midlothian manager Daniel Stendel has told club captain Christophe Berra that he can leave the club and sent him to train with the reserves. The 34 year old defender said: "It came out the blue. I just got married on Friday and then on Sunday I'm getting told I'm not involved any more. Sometimes there's ways to go about it and sometimes with a bit of respect and a bit of morals, but it wasn't done like that. It did hurt, I'm not going to lie. I've done a lot for this club. I know it's football, I know how it works, but I don't think anyone represents the club better than me. It's one man's opinion. There are other ways to go about it, but I'm not going to throw the toys out the pram. I'm a Hearts a supporter and I've always represented this club in the best manner and I always will. I've still got 18 months of my contract, but I'm not one to sit about. I couldn't do that. I want to keep on playing. I'm still one of the fittest here, never miss training, never miss games and I still think I've got something to give."

Pereyra Ban Overturned

Watford have won their appeal against Roberto Pereyra's 3 match ban for having been shown a red card in the FA Cup 3rd round game against Tranmere Rovers. Pereyra will now be available to play in the replay next week.

Rodgers Rules Out Maddison Sale

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has dismissed the idea of selling star midfielder James Maddison, who has been linked with Premier League rivals in this window. Rodgers said: "James is a very talented player, a wonderful player, and he will be here in January and beyond. There's lots of speculation around lots of our players, which is great, because they're talents and it means they and the team are doing very well. There's no pressure to sell here and there's no need for us to sell. Nobody will leave here in January that's for sure - we want to add to the squad if we can. He's a player we're very keen to remain here and help us on this journey over these next numbers of years. James and his representatives are speaking with the club, which is great. These things take time. In the meantime, his level hasn't dropped, he's keeping his focus on the game, he's playing his football to a really high level. He's been brilliant."

Mane Main Man

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has beaten Reds team-mate Mohamed Salah and Manchester City's Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez to win the African Player of the Year award. Mane said: "I'm really happy and proud to win this. Football is my job, I love it. I would like to thank my family, my national team, staff, the federation and Liverpool Football Club. It's a big day for me." Salah, Mahrez and Mane all also made the African Best XI, alongside the African Youth Player of the Year, Achraf Hakimi who is playing for Borussia Dortmund on loan from Real Madrid.
African XI: Andre Onana (Ajax/Cameroon), Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund/Morocco), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli/Senegal), Joel Matip (Liverpool/Cameroon), Serge Aurier (Tottenham/Ivory Coast), Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City/Algeria), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Paris St-Germain/Senegal), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax/Morocco), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt), Sadio Mane (Liverpool/Senegal), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal/Gabon)

Malaga Suspend Head Coach Over Porn Video

Malaga's Spanish head coach Victor Sanchez has been suspended after an explicit video of him was posted on social media. Sanchez said: "I am being subjected to a crime against my privacy with harassment and extortion. The matter is in the hands of the police and I entrust myself to follow their instructions. Sharing or disseminating an intimate content of any person without consent is also a crime either through social networks or messages or in any other way. Thank you for your understanding and support." Malaga have suspended him while they investigate.

Written by Tris Burke January 07 2020 22:08:31