Celtic manager Neil Lennon has told any interested parties to forget about a January deal for winger James Forrest.
Cardiff are the latest of a number of Premier League sides to have registered an interest in the Scottish international, who has been one of the SPL’s leading names for some time.
The 22-year-old is thought to have ambitions of playing in England, but has elected to remain in his homeland up until now thanks to guaranteed first-team action in Glasgow.
Lennon – who admitted recently that goalkeeper Fraser Forster may be sold – says that he understands why so many clubs are monitoring Forrest, but went on to issue a hands off warning.
“It wouldn’t be a surprised if other clubs were looking at James because he is a brilliant player,” Lennon told Sky Sports.
“But he signed a long-term contract 18 months ago. We are months and months away from the window – he is not for sale.
“We are in a very stable position as a club and that is something which is a rarity in this day and age.
“The players are happy, vibrant and we have a lot to look forward to.”
Forrest is a product of Scottish giants’ youth set-up and is a crowd favourite at Celtic Park.
He made his international debut in 2011, and is believed to be on Malky Mackay’s radar ahead of the New Year.
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Twitter is essentially a glorified Facebook status update, allowing you to share each and every thought that pops into your head with a global audience. In the right hands this can be a very powerful tool but in the wrong hands, it’s just straight up dangerous. Most of us have the foresight to consider our ‘tweets’ before we set them in virtual stone but footballers appear incapable of such logic, instead using the site to offload a few ‘brain dumps’.
The advent of social media has bestowed us with unprecedented access into the lives of our favourite superstars. We’re now all too readily exposed to an unfiltered stream of mundane and trivial information, which serves only to quash our once idolised view of our sporting icons. I’m sure most players don’t set out to infuriate, annoy or ‘wind-up’, some actually share interesting content, but that doesn’t stop them from further enforcing all the negative stereotypes associated with the modern day footballer.
Click on Pele below to reveal my Top 15 most annoying footballers on Twitter
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Leicester beat Arsenal 3-1 at the King Power stadium last night to earn their first win against the Gunners in 24 years as Arsenal’s dreadful away form continues.
Kelechi Iheanacho was a central figure putting in a man of the match display.
The ex-City striker calmly slotted the opener past Petr Cech after poor defending from Arsenal, who had 20-year-old defender Konstantinos Mavropanos sent off two minutes later after he brought down Iheanacho as he broke through on goal.
The young Nigerian put in one of his strongest performances for Leicester in what has been a stop-start debut season since his move from Manchester City.
Iheanacho scored only his second league goal for Leicester in the victory to take his goal tally to seven for the season.
After a slow start to his career in the East Midlands, The Sun linked the Nigerian striker with a move away from the club. However the 21-year-old is determined to prove his worth:
“That’s what every player wants, to play. When you work hard, you get your chance, so I’ll keep working hard and see what’s next.”
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Leicester supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on Iheanacho’s man of the match performance…
As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers are interested in signing promising Arsenal midfielder Marcus McGuane during this month’s transfer window.
What’s the story?
With manager Graeme Murty now in place until the end of the season, there’s a bit of relative stability at Ibrox right now, especially after avoiding defeat to Celtic in thew recent derby clash.
This month’s January window offers the Light Blues a chance to refresh a squad that was assembled by now departed boss Pedro Caixinha. However, with resources stretched to their limit, the Ibrox side might have to pursue less traditional options to ensure quality arrives in Glasgow.
One player they’re interested in is Arsenal midfielder Marcus McGuane, according to The Scottish Sun.
The paper say that Rangers Director of Football Mark Allen will open talks with the Gunners this week to try and push through a loan deal, facing stiff competition from clubs like Napoli.
Who is he?
Still just 18 years of age, McGuane is nonetheless already talented enough to make his Arsenal first-team breakthrough, making appearances for Arsene Wenger in this season’s UEFA Europa League.
Primarily a defensive midfielder, he could offer competition to Graeme Murty’s first team and provide cover for likes of Graham Dorrans, who is still out injured for another couple of months at least.
Rangers have successfully utilised loan deals from the Premier League in the past with the likes of Emerson Hyndman and Jon Toral having decent spells with the club.
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With Murty’s coaching experience so far focused on youth football, Ibrox could be a great environment for young loanees like McGuane, also offering Rangers serious short-term quality on a budget.
Liverpool icon Ian Rush believes that Luis Suarez should be excited to return to the first-team.
The controversial Uruguayan openly chased a summer move away from Anfield, citing treatment he has received in the media and a lack of Champions League football as major factors.
He is yet to start a competitive match for the Reds this term, as he continues to serve a ten match ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
But, with only two games left to run, Suarez is set to return to Brendan Rodgers’ starting XI soon.
Liverpool have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and are the only team in the Premier League with a 100 per cent record after the opening three fixtures.
Part of this has been down to the exciting attacking combination of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho.
Rush believes that linking up with these two and club captain Steven Gerrard should be an exciting prospect for Suarez, although he believes that he shouldn’t walk back into the team.
“Suarez, when he sees Sturridge and he sees Coutinho and he sees Gerrard, he will be thinking: ‘Hang on, I quite fancy this!’,” Rush told The Mirror.
“Especially with the prospect of getting on the end of those passes that Coutinho puts through. The team are on the same wavelength now and Suarez will be excited about coming back to play with these guys.
“It was a fantastic piece of business from John W. Henry to keep hold of Suarez. It’s great that he stuck to his guns in the face of the interest from Arsenal and the fact that Suarez was saying that he wanted out.
“The ideal scenario for me now would be Suarez still on the bench after six games – because that would mean that Liverpool have won them all.”
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Will Luis Suarez walk back into Liverpool’s starting XI? And should he take the centre forward role from Daniel Sturridge?
Joey Barton has confessed that he let himself down by being sent off on the final day of last season.
The QPR midfielder was dismissed for violent conduct in the Loftus Road club’s clash with Manchester City, and was subsequently handed down a 12-match ban from the FA.
Barton has since secured a season-long loan to French club Marseille, and has explained his actions at the Etihad Stadium.
“I completely let myself down but it’s not a rational situation. I knew we could be relegated, they could win the league and I’m captain,” he revealed to The Sun.
“There’s a bit of a media spotlight on me so if we go down, I’m going to take a lot of s***.
“I was already getting it on Twitter so pressure started building and I didn’t handle it well.
“My inner chimp doesn’t work well with injustice, it reacts too quickly. Tevez has done what he’s done, I have reacted and the aftermath is…
“I look at it now and it’s almost like it’s not me. I’m like ‘What the f*** were you thinking?’
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“At the time in some weird way I thought it was the correct way but, looking at it now, I know it wasn’t.
“I’ve got to learn a lesson from that. The thing it reiterated to me was just how far I am from the person I want to be,” he concluded.
Napoli midfielder Jorginho has regularly been mentioned in the transfer gossip pages over the last few weeks.
The 26-year-old has attracted the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, if reports are to be believed.
Now, according to Spanish publication Sport, La Liga giants Barcelona have entered the fray for Jorginho.
The Italian, who joined Napoli in 2014 from Verona, has caught the eye this season for his performances deep in midfield.
In total, Jorginho has made 35 appearances in all competitions, including 31 starts in Serie A.
As well performing his defensive duties consistently, the midfielder has also contributed with three goals and four assists.
The Italy international would certainly give Jurgen Klopp another option in the middle of the park if he were to join Liverpool.
With Emre Can’s future at the club up in the air, Jordan Henderson is the only player that can take on that role, although Georginio Wijnaldum has trialed in that area this season.
The Daily Mail claims that Manchester City are leading the race for Jorginho’s signature, but it is the interest from Barcelona that is bothering them.
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Liverpool have history with the Catalan giants having been forced into selling the likes of Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho in recent years.
Like Tony Blair riding into Downing Street on wave in 1997, Steve McClaren comes into Newcastle seemingly to a backdrop of ‘things can only get better.’
OK, so the wild optimism and backslapping of the first Labour government in nearly 20 years sweeping to power is hardly mimicked on Tyneside just at the moment with the glorious arrival of the all-conquering Steve McClaren. But the doom and gloom of last season should surely lift a bit. Things really can only get better.
So who wouldn’t like to be Steve McClaren right now? No manager comes into the job thinking they’re going to fail, but to do any worse than where Newcastle ended up at the end of last season would be failure on a catastrophic scale. So there’s optimism that McClaren can lead Newcastle onwards and upwards, in the short term at least.
In fact, there’s optimism all over the Premier League. Every team should have a reason to be cheerful. The new TV rights deal has seen clubs spend money this season, transfer records are being broken left, right and centre and every team is strengthening.
Optimism reigns because there’s nothing quite like new blood. New managers and new signings excite, especially record signings. And so when a new manager comes into the club and breaks the club transfer record to sign a Dutch international midfielder then expectations rise just that little bit more.
Mike Ashley’s deep pockets looked to be rendered useless by pathogenically small arms, but the fact that the club has more money to play with may have something to do with the new signings. The problem is, every club has that money now.
Teams around where Newcastle were at the end of last season are doing business too. Aston Villa may have lost their best player, but they’re strengthened well – though they need to be careful that all of these new signings won’t make the club undergo a Spurs-like spiral of post-partum depression. Leicester broke their record transfer twice last season and Pardew and Palace have broken it too.
The good news is that Newcastle aren’t really competing with those clubs. Most fans of other teams would certainly accept that Newcastle are a mid-table side at worst – and the fact that they were anywhere near a relegation scrap at all last season was mystifying.
So back to this season. A new manager with a point to prove, exciting young players like Alexandar Mitrovic and record signing Gregorio Wijnaldum could potentially add a power and technique that Newcastle fans will love. And you can add Chancel Mbemba to those two assuming his visa is approved and he is the age Newcastle think he is!
They are three players who should take to the Premier League well, given their physical attributes. They are athletic players who shouldn’t need too long to adapt, and with Mitrovic scoring in pre-season, he can hit the ground running and find some form. He might be a player to watch over the next few months.
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So there should be optimism around Newcastle, fans should be happier than they have been in a while, but it should be a cautious optimism. The new signings and new beginnings can be seen in a positive light, but the fact that the Premier League is now in a position where even the smallest clubs can pay close to £10m on players means that everyone now has to spend big.
Perhaps that means managing expectations, but after last season it seems all the Toon Army want is a team that tries, not necessarily a team that wins trophies. Not yet. Steve McClaren is in an enviable position because whatever happens this season he can point the debacle of last season, and how things can only get better.
What does being in the Champions League final mean to you personally?
To be honest, I have never really thought about that and I also don’t think it really matters. I have had so many things to do, I haven’t even thought about it since we have reached the final. But once the moment of the final arrives, I will probably feel that it is the most extraordinary thing I have ever experienced in my whole sporting career. Michael Zorc still enthuses about the victory in 1997 and can commentate on nearly every single minute of this match. We will feel it when the moment comes, but right now I don’t have the time to think about it.
It really was an incredible season for the squad. Are you proud that your team has made it to the final?
Yes, in this Champions League tournament, but also throughout the whole of the Bundesliga season I have felt very proud of the team, because of the way they have coped with a variety of different situations. Everything we have done this year has had a positive impact on our Champions League performances. The guys have made use of what we have practiced and additionally they always performed on the pitch with all their heart. This season showed a little bit of everything, all feelings were represented. Of course there were some concerns in the match against Malaga, but also there was huge relief and many positive emotions. The 3-2 against Malaga or also the final whistle in Madrid were moments, which all of us will never forget.
Are situations like playing a final at Wembley the reason why you have become a coach and can you say afterwards ‘this is the biggest thing I can ever experience’?
To be brutally honest, I became a coach, because I am not good at anything else (laughs). But more seriously, I could be the exact same coach, but if I didn’t have such support of the club, such a great coaching team and most importantly, such incredible players in the squad, I would have never had the chance to make it to the Champions League final. I am also aware of the fact that not everybody gets these great opportunities, so this is really not the reason why I became coach. I see it more as the icing on the cake and a special moment, which we want to enjoy, but we will enjoy it our way, by playing really intensive football. There will be a moment in which we will be overwhelmed with what we have achieved, but right now it is not the time yet.
With what expectations do you travel to Wembley? What is your goal? Actually, there can only be one goal, otherwise you wouldn’t go there, right?
(laughs) Yes, it is not like the Olympic motto ‘The most important thing is not to win but to take part’. The preparations have been extremely intensive and thus there is just one reason why we participate in the final: To win it! I really hope that people will see that this is the reason why we go there. We have made it so far in the tournament whilst at the same time being the fairest team in the competition and this is also the way we want to present ourselves to the audience in the final, because we are convinced fairplay is the right way. I hope that this will also work out for us in the final. But I could also not claim we deserve it more than Bayern does. The team that wins in the end will be the team that deserves it the most. This we will have to respect and acknowledge if it isn’t us, but right now we still have some time to make sure it will be us who lifts the trophy. Until then we will do our best to maximise all our resources.
Why do you think it will be you, who lifts the trophy?
This is easy to answer: Because we have all the possibilities for it. We surprised even ourselves a few times this season. For example when we played against Manchester City, or several times against Real Madrid or against Shakhtar Donetsk. In the end we will have to adhere to the fact that we deserve to be in the final. And the one who deserves to play in the final also has the chance to win it, and this is exactly what we are focused on now.
Who has more pressure to succeed? Dortmund or Munich?
I don’t care about that, as it is not of importance. Ahead of the match both teams will feel the pressure and everyone will go there with the feeling that this might be a unique opportunity. What counts is how to shut out this pressure and to get into the match and focus on what is needed and expected. And as long you can see that bright light at the end of the tunnel, that shiny Champions League trophy, it is also easier to approach the task with a positive attitude and not get carried away with a feeling of anxiety. We will take on this challenge in a happy, joyful and free way and then we will see what happens.
Is it an advantage for you to play in the final against Bayern Munich, since you have proven various times in the past two years that you are not only equally strong, but even better than them?
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The last two years don’t really matter when it comes to this final. The past results included two close defeats, in the Supercup at the beginning of the season and also in the German Cup quarterfinal. Additionally we drew twice in the league matches. If you look at the results of Bayern Munich this season, they basically destroyed anyone in a heartbeat, anyone but us. This is what matters now. We’ve always fought back, even if we weren’t in the best shape in some matches. When we are in our best condition –and this is the only thing we really need to talk about- we can beat Bayern Munich. We know this, and so do they. But we have to make it come true now. We know we will play against probably the best team in the world at this moment in time, but we also know we are the only ones who have the weapons to be an actual threat to them. And this is exactly what we want to capitalise on.
You are very often in the center of attention, without aiming for it. Would you rather have the squad and your coaching team be in the spotlight?
Yes, of course. I am a normal person and often things feel uncomfortable when being too much in the center of attention. But in the end it serves to the purpose. When I am in the focus, for example in a more negative respect, I know I can handle it, but I don’t know if someone else could to the same extent. Thus it is sometimes even helpful to have me in the spotlight. In the end it is only important to me that the team knows I am not purposely stealing their ‘thunder’ and they feel my respect towards them. We simply accept what’s finally being reported about in the media. Sometimes it is too much attention, but as time goes on, it gets less important.
Jürgen Klopp is proud to wear PUMA on the touchline and away from the pitch, PUMA are also partners of Borussia Dortmund.
West Ham United co-owner, David Sullivan, admits the club are still carrying the financial burden of the Carlos Tevez saga which relegated Sheffield United back in 2007, according to Daily Mail reports.
Sullivan admitted West Ham still owe the Blades £10 million in compensation, as Tevez’s winner against Manchester United saved the club from relegation and effectively sent the Yorkshiremen back to the Championship, despite the Argentine being ineligible to play.
He said: “We have an eight-figure sum still outstanding over the Tevez affair, even though we have been playing it down over the past two years.” (Daily Mail)
Manager, Sam Allardyce has been shrewd in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Jussi Jaaskelainen and George McCartney in the summer transfer window, while Kevin Nolan proved to be an inspirational signing last year and scored the winner in Saturday’s opening day victory over Aston Villa, but Sullivan admits the debt has hindered the Hammers’ spending.
He claimed: “We’ve done some good business and brought in some real quality despite our still-limited resources.
“That amount has to be paid off over the next 12 months, which does take its toll on our transfer activity.”