NewFanzone Football Transfer Round Up For August 14th 2016

Done deals:

– Michael Hector has joined Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

#CVFEnglish | Welcome Santos Borré! The Colombian forward comes on loan from @Atleti. ➡️ https://t.co/fhoj72QJ5d pic.twitter.com/LxesZHDyLX

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) August 13, 2016

– Villarreal have announced they have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid over the loan of striker Rafael Santos Borre.

– Celtic have completed the signing of goalkeeper Dorus de Vries on a two-year deal.

Today’s reports and rumours:

– According to reports, Chelsea have increased their offer for Napoli central defender Kalidou Koulibaly to €58million.

– Tottenham are preparing to bid £3m for Fulham prodigy Ryan Sessegnon, according to reports.

– Everton are close to agreeing a deal with Valencia for centre-half Aymen Abdennour, according to reports.

– Manchester United have begun talks to sign Southampton’s captain Jose Fonte, according to ESPN.

– Torino defender Bruno Peres is very close to signing for Roma, according to reports.

– Aston Villa chairman Tony Xia has confirmed the Championship side are set to sign Crystal Palace’s Mile Jedinak.

Christian Erikson
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– Christian Eriksen has appeared to dismiss reports he has demanded £150,000 a week during ongoing talks
over a new contract.

– AFC Bournemouth have agreed a fee for Stoke City defender Marc Wilson.

– Everton have had a £21m bid for former Blackburn Rovers striker Nikola Kalinic rejected by Fiorentina, according to Sky Sports Italia.

– Chelsea midfielder Kenedy is in advanced talks over a loan move to Watford, according to ESPN.

– Racing Club forward Lautaro Martinez has claimed Real Madrid have tabled him a ‘rough draft of an offer,’ according to Marca.

– Manchester United teenager Cameron Borthwick-Jackson could be set to join West Brom on loan, according to reports.

– AC Milan have joined Valencia in the race to sign Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala, according to reports.

Joe Hart
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– Joe Hart is willing to fight for his place in the Manchester City side despite being unhappy with the current situation, according to Sky Sports sources.

– West Ham midfielder Pedro Obiang could make a return to Serie A for Fiorentina, according to reports.

– Cristiano Ronaldo has already signed a contract extension at Real Madrid, according to UFC champion Conor McGregor.

– Cristian Tello is expected in Italy for his medical with Fiorentina after striking a deal with Barcelona.

– Full-back Ermir Lenjani is set to leave Rennes for Guingamp, according to L’Equipe.

Alexis Sanchez
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– Inter are reportedly willing to pay €79million for Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez.

– Shkodran Mustafi wants to move to Arsenal and hopes a deal goes through, reports Sky Sports.

– According to reports, Serie A newcomers Crotone are in talks to take Emiliano Velazquez on loan from Atletico Madrid.

– Besiktas could be a possible destination for Mamadou Sakho according to reports.

– Manchester City are rumoured to have agreed personal terms with Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

– Pescara are reportedly ready to bring in Uruguayan defender Gaston Silva on loan from Torino.

– Sunderland manager David Moyes has slapped a £20m price tag on in-demand Lamine Kone in an attempt to keep the defender at the Stadium of Light, according to reports.

– Gabriel Barbosa might not move to Europe before January 2017, confirmed the Santos striker’s agent amid Juventus and Inter bids.

– Dani Osvaldo could be heading back to Europe this summer, as the striker is linked with Rennes.

– Fiorentina have agreed terms with Hajduk Split for left-back Hrvoje Milic and striker Josip Maganjic, according to reports.

– Wolfsburg chief Klaus Allofs admits Simone Zaza visited yesterday, but talk of a €25m transfer from Juventus is “all to be clarified.”

– Roma and Napoli are on high alert if Manchester United opt to release Matteo Darmian this summer.

– Manchester United’s midfielder Marouane Fellaini is being eyed by Galatasaray, according to reports.

– Nikola Maksimovic was AWOL from Torino training yet again today, as he tries to force a transfer to Napoli.

– Watford are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Roberto Pereyra, according to Sky Sports sources.

– Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew says he wants a new striker after watching his side lose 1-0 at home to West Brom on Saturday.

– Valencia president Layhoon Chan insists that Spain striker Paco Alcacer is not for sale.

– According to L’Équipe, St Étienne are preparing an offer for Newcastle United midfielder Henri Saivet.

– Tony Pulis fears West Bromwich Albion are “stagnating” and urged the club to capitalise on the opportunity presented by their recent takeover by investing in new players before the summer transfer window closes at the end of August.

– Alexandre Lacazette has hinted he may be interested in a transfer from Lyon during the transfer window, but the striker says his future is in the hands of the club’s president Jean-Michel Aulas.

Antonio Conte
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– Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is delighted that Diego Costa has ignored overtures from Atletico Madrid to remain at Stamford Bridge.

Football tit bits:

Arsene Wenger
Paul Blank
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– Arsene Wenger said Arsenal had paid for their lack of defensive experience in the 4-3 home loss to Liverpool on Sunday, with the late return of key players after Euro 2016 creating “an impossible situation.”

– Bayern Munich ended their four-year wait for victory in the German Super Cup by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at the Westfalenstadion.

– José Mourinho admitted he had suffered a bout of pre-match nerves before his return to the Premier League as manager of Manchester United as his team kick-started a new era with a comfortable win at Bournemouth.

– French side OGC Nice held a poignant tribute to the 85 victims of the Bastille Day terror attack ahead of their opening Ligue 1 game of the season.

📷 Victory in the 1st leg of the Spanish Super Cup in pics: https://t.co/oD38LJZPeP #SupercopaFCB pic.twitter.com/HFcXdmiZfc

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 14, 2016

– Barcelona have a firm grip on the Spanish Super Cup after claiming a 2-0 lead away to Sevilla in the first leg of the final.

Another Season, Another Failure Wenger???

Another Season, Another Failure Wenger???

Those are the words that would be on the lips of the Gunners faithfuls if at the end of the season Arsenal fail to win the EPL title.

After 9 years without a title, Arsenal ended their trophy drought in a dramatic fashion coming from 2 goals down to defeat Hull City. After that victory, the Gunners went on to defend the FA cup title as well as win back to back Community Shields.

Those wins brought a renewed belief back to the Arsenal supporters that their club can fight for the big titles and with the acquisition of world class talents like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, the days of buying “Nonnentities” were over.

Mesut Ozil
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The Gunners started 2015/2016 Pre-season on a positive note winning three titles(including the community Shield) and the acquisition of Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Wenger was indeed up for the EPL(English Premier League) title challenge though most people questioned why he never signed an outfield player, especially a striker in the summer.

Arsenal started the season in the worst form possible failing to get a win in their first two home games. Situations got tensed after they lost to Dinamo Zagreb in the UCL(UEFA Champions League) and they were beaten by a struggling Chelsea side in the EPL(a game where Gabriel and Santi saw red).

Wenger’s men soon bounced back with a win against North London rivals in the Capital One Cup and a convincing win against Leicester City at the Kingpower stadium. Qualifying from the group stage of the UCL soon seemed like a tall order when Olympiakos came to the Emirates to get a win and it seemed Arsenal were more focused on winning the EPL after they demolished Manchester United under 20 minutes. A win that saw the Gunners leapfrog the Red Devils into second place behind Manchester City.

The season soon got better with a 2nil victory against Bayern in the UCL which gave them hope of qualifying for the Round of the 16 of the Champions league. Back to back losses to Sheffield Wednesday and Bayern saw the Gunners eliminated from the league cup and put UCL progression in doubt.

Their EPL form soon suffered a blip as they failed to get a win in November against teams like Tottenham (H),West Brom(A) & Norwich (A). It soon got worse with injuries to key players like Sanchez, Bellerin, Coquelin, Ramsey, Walcott & OXLADE CHAMBERLAIN.

Arsenal still managed to grind out results and they finished 2015 top of the EPL with some good victories in December as their only defeat came at the hands of Ronald Koeman’s Southampton.

Arsenal signed Egyptian midfielder Mohammed El Neny in the January window in order to boost their options in midfield that came after one win in four games.

On the 14th of February, Arsenal defeated Leicester City in dramatic fashion after a stoppage time winner from Danny Welbeck brought Arsenal two points behind league leaders Leicester. Their Champions league adventure came to an end at the hands of holders Barcelona and the EPL title seemed to be fading with defeats to Manchester United and Swansea.

Elimination at the FA cup to Watford and slip ups in the EPL to WestHam and Crystal Palace leaves Arsenal with little hope of winning a silverware this season.

Arsene Wenger
Paul Blank
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The question on the lips of all Arsenal supporters is where did it all go wrong???

Arsene Wenger had often inferred that “Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea buy the title with money, but this season, these three clubs have had a campaign to forget with defending champions, Chelsea having 11 wins in 33 games played so far. With the epileptic form of the traditional top three clubs, Arsenal had the best chance of securing a premier league title after 12 years of waiting but they “BOTTLED” their chances and bitter North London rivals Tottenham and current league leaders Leicester City have taken their opportunities with “LESS QUALITY” players compared to the Arsenal team.

The supposed £200m left in the bank for transfers by Arsene, would have hurt the fans when the club was ravaged by injuries in December and some top players at the club were complacent due to lack of quality competition. Shad Forsythe was brought in to aid players in recovering quickly but it has yielded little or no result.

This season might end with Arsenal not winning the EPL title (still have a mathematical chance) and even if they had won the FA cup or the Capital One Cup the supporters would not be satisfied.

The supporters have been clamouring for a change in the managerial set up of the club hoping that a new manager would be able to quench their thirst for EPL and European glory. It is rumoured that a section of the fans would stage a walk out in the 75th minute against WestBrom on Thursday voicing their displeasure against Arsene Wenger.

With the Frenchman always talking about respect of contract it doesn’t look likely that he would leave at the end of this season and with the arrival of Pep, Conte and supposed signing of Mourinho by Manchester United, it means Arsenal will yet again have to fight to remain in the top four.

Ademola Adejuwon