Tag: Football News

Arsenal are reportedly close to selling Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Wolves.

According to reports, the clubs are still working on a fee, although other outlets have it in the £20M range. Maitland-Niles and Wolves have also yet to agree to personal terms. But it looks like, out of nowhere, this move is a “when” not an “if” question.

Earlier this summer, it was reported that Maitland-Niles had decided that he needed a move away from the Emirates to get regular first team minutes. I had hoped that his strong performances and important role in the big games to wrap up the season might have convinced the club and AMN to find some common ground, but alas, no such luck.

I don’t like the move, but if the player wants out, there’s not much Arsenal can do. The Gunners need a rebuild, and even though a 22-year old, homegrown player like Maitland-Niles would have been a nice piece, the club should be able to turn around and reinvest the funds he brings in to help reconstruct the roster.

Mikel Arteta has other targets for the window, and Arsenal were always going to have to sell to buy. If we’re being realistic, the guys most fans want sold aren’t likely to bring back much in the way of a return. AMN has value and will go for meaningful money. I just wish that money wasn’t coming from a club that was fighting for the same table positions as the Gunners last season; strengthening a competitor doesn’t feel good.

Victor Moses has described Inter Milan’s 3-2 defeat to Sevilla as devastating after they gave their all in the Uefa Europa League final.

The former Nigeria international came on as a 78th-minute substitute on Friday as Antonio Conte’s men bowed to the Spanish outfit at the RheinEnergieStadion.

Romelu Lukaku got Inter Milan off to a flying start from the penalty spot in the fifth minute but Luuk de Jong’s double within 20 minutes turned the game around for Sevilla.

Diego Godin drew the Nerazzurri level in the 35th minute but Romelu Lukaku’s own goal in the 74th minute sealed the five-goal thriller for Sevilla and secured their sixth Europa League title.

Moses who joined Inter Milan on a short-term loan from Chelsea in January, was hoping to end his temporary stint in Italy with a trophy after he helped them finish second in the Serie A this season, behind Juventus.

“Devastated to lose the final on Friday. We gave everything but it just wasn’t to be,” Moses wrote on Instagram. “Thank you so much to all of the fans for your amazing support for the team during the season.”

Moses contributed three assists in 20 games for Inter Milan in the second-half of the 2019-20 season, which include 15 Serie A appearances.

Prior to his move to Italy in January, the 29-year-old spent the first-half of the season on loan in Turkey with Fenerbahce but he was restricted to first-team action.

Inter Milan have the option to make Moses’ stay permanent with his Chelsea contract expected to expire in June 2021.

He has been at Stamford Bridge since 2012 after leaving Wigan Athletic.

Moses called time on his international career in August 2018 after representing Nigeria in two Fifa World Cup tournaments and he was part of the team that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic has tested positive for Covid-19, the Spanish club announced on Sunday.

The Bosnian, 30, is “feeling well”, self-isolating at home and will travel to Barcelona in 15 days’ time.

Pjanic is joining Barcelona from Serie A champions Juventus in a swap deal with Brazil international Arthur.

Barca, who finished the 2019-20 season without a trophy for the first time in 12 years, begin their 2020-21 La Liga campaign on 12 September.

Alex Oxalde-Chamberlain has been ruled out of the Community Shield match against Arsenal after suffering an injury to his knee in training.

The midfielder wiill miss the rest of Liverpool’s pre-season camp out in Austria after picking up the knock, including the two friendly games with Stuttgart and RB Salzburg.

The 27-year-old was involved in a challenge during training when the incident occured and boss Jurgen Klopp explained that it looks like a smiliar injury to the one captain Jordan Henderson suffered toward the end of last season against Brighton.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to Melwood for rehabilitation with club medical staff.

“Really unfortunate,” Klopp told the official club website.

“An unfortunate situation as well; it was a challenge [in training].

“It looks like it is very similar to what Hendo had, which keeps him out for we don’t know for sure exactly how long, but for sure this pre-season he will not make a game, Arsenal for sure not and then we will see. The next game is probably two weeks later, but I don’t know.

“We have to wait but it is far away from being perfect, of course. It is really hard for him and hard for us, but it is not to change.”

Jurgen Klopp was left “very happy” with his team’s performance in their first pre-season outing, with a 3-0 win against Stuttgart providing the required level of intensity away from training.

The Reds were greeted by a downpour as they prepared for their clash against the German outfit, leaving a heavy, water-laden pitch at the Saalfelden Arena.

Having travelled to Austria one week ago, the boss was eager to see his players ramp up the intensity from training into game situations, with the Premier League season kicking off in just three weeks’ time.

And he was “very happy” with what he witnessed, with his two different XIs keeping Stuttgart off the scoresheet while Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Rhian Brewster all etched their name on it.

While conditions did not always allow for slick movement, there were an abundance of positive signs to emerge from Kostas Tsimikas making his ‘debut’ to Takumi Minamino‘s sharp touch and, in general, a valuable run out.

“I’m very happy, very happy,” Klopp told LFCTV after the game. “It was a super intense session today because the weather, wow!

“It rained like crazy, the pitch was really difficult – you could see the water was still on the pitch. That always makes football games tricky.

“Good organised opponent obviously but we scored nice goals but for me, the most important thing was that we felt 45 minutes football was different to a 90-minute session.

“There you have breaks, but here there are none so you just have to go and do it and that was the most important thing to do today, and the boys did it.

“They felt the intensity of the game, very good. So now tomorrow we do less, Monday have two sessions, Tuesday is Salzburg – interesting. So it’s all good.

“I think Ki-Jana [Hoever] rolled his ankle a little bit but apart from that they all should be fine which is obviously very important.”

On the makeup of the goals and his newest signing, Klopp was full of praise, adding: “How we made the goals was absolutely exceptional.

“Obviously Taki was in pretty good shape, Kostas showed some nice glimpses of his talent – so we know we have good boys here.

“Curtis first-half, obviously around the goals, Harvey hard-working until the end, Rhian – they all look really promising.

“They had to work today and that’s what they did, so I’m fine with the performance.

“[Kostas is] a pretty quick player obviously and pretty confident, a really good player. Did well.

“The next challenge is now to get used to all our defending and that will take time, no doubt. But when he has the ball it looks not so bad.”

The Reds will now continue to train over the next few days in Austria before meeting Salzburg at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday afternoon, a clash Klopp is expecting to be “pretty intense.”