Football News: Review Of The Day 4th February 2020

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Review of the Day

Contracts

Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes has put pen to paper on a new deal with LOSC Lille which runs until 2023.

Glenn Murray signs a 1 year contract extension with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Richard Wood has signed a contract with Rotherham United running until 2021.

19 year old full-back Djed Spence has signed a 2 and a half year deal with Middlesbrough.

Transfers

Atlanta United have signed Matheus Rossetto from Athletico Paranaense.

Japanese centre-back Gen Shoji has left Toulouse to sign for J-League side Gamba Osaka.

Emiliano Rigoni has returned to Zenit St Petersburg at the end of his loan to Sampdoria.

Oldham Athletic trio Harry Robinson, Sonhy Sefil and Gregor Zabret have all left the club. Gregor Zabret has returned to parent club Swansea City, as his loan spell has been ended, the other two were released.

Lincoln City have signed Anthony Scully from West Ham United.

Injury Round-Up

As is becoming traditional, Neymar is ruled out of Tuesday's game with Nantes as the Paris Saint-Germain forward misses yet again the game nearest his birthday. Neymar turns 28 on Wednesday and celebrated with a huge party which a number of his team-mates attended against PSG manager Thomas Tuchel's wishes. Neymar has been injured every year on his birthday since signing for the Parisians, with foot injuries keeping him on the sidelines in 2008 and 2009. This year it is inflamed rib cartilage which has ruled him out. Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Colin Dagba and Juan Bernat are also expected to miss out.

Ousmane Dembele has been injured once more. The Barcelona forward has picked up a muscle injury in his right leg as he worked to recover his fitness after another injury.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed that Bukayo Saka had to be taken off with a knock to his knee and his hip.

Managerial Changes

Bradford City have sacked manager Gary Bowyer after a run of seven matches without a win. The League Two side appointed him 11 months ago to replace David Hopkin. The Bantams' interim chief executive Julian Rhodes said: "Over the last few months, results have undoubtedly declined. In view of recent events, we felt a change was necessary in order to compete for a play-off place. He came to the club at a difficult time and inherited a team heading for relegation, which we were unable to avoid."

Zambia have appointed former Uganda manager Milutin Sredojevic as their new head coach. He has previously also led Rwanda but his last jon was in control of Egypt's Zamalek, who he left in December.

Bale Unlikely To Ever Make Spurs Return

Gareth Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett has said that his client is unlikely to ever return to former club Tottenham Hotspur. Barnett said, in reply to being asked if Bale is likely to return, said: "I don't think so, no. He's in a very fortunate position. When his contract is up hopefully he will sit down with me and his family and decide what he wants to do. Gareth is very happy over there. And let's be realistic, for most clubs he is out of their league, financially. It is all well and good to say, 'Go and give up that money and go and play somewhere else', but it is not all about money. It is about his lifestyle and his children, who have grown up in Madrid."

Bale Launches Esports Group

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has launched an esports group in partnership with 38 Entertainment Group. The esports organisation is named Ellevens Esports and will debut with a team in the FIFA eClub World Cup in Milan. Bale is also looking for gamers to join his teams in other games, such as Fortnite and CS:GO. A statement from Bale read: "There are similarities between football and esports in that it takes real dedication and sacrifice to reach the top of your game. I am looking to recruit a team of world-class players for Ellevens across a variety of games. Unearthing new talent is an exciting part of the process and it's been really exciting to be involved in selecting our line-up of players so far."

Marseille Face Running Afoul Of FFP

The accounts of Olympique Marseille's holding company Eric Soccer have revealed losses of 91.5m euros, an increase over the previous year's 78.5m euros loss. This is worrying for Marseille, who have been told by UEFA that they can present a mximum deficit of 30m for the financial year 2020 and 0m for 2021. It is likely that Marseille will have to sell a number of their players to remain within the limits set out, as it is the high wage bill that they have attributed the deficit to.

Bruce Worried About Longstaff Deals

Steve Bruce has revealed he is worried by the lack of a new deal for the Longstaff brothers. Younger brother Matty is out of contract in the summer, while the older of the two, Sean, is contracted until 2022. Bruce said: "It's a concern for us all, of course it is. I hope we can get that tied up, I really do. But they've got the power these days, the players. We see it often now, with young players as well. I hope there's a bit of common sense. There's nobody, at 19, played more games than him. Look, we always want to keep your best young players, especially if they're Geordies, of course. Let's hope they both get tied up."

Written by Tris Burke February 04 2020 09:02:46