Premier League
TASK AHEAD OF MOURINHO AT TOTTENHAM
Jose Mourinho is back in the Premier League, replacing Mauricio Pochettino as manager of Tottenham on Wednesday.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss inherits a side packed with quality players but currently 14th in the Premier League table.
Agence France-Presse looks at five of the most pressing issues in the 56-year-old Portuguese’s in-tray.
1. WIN A TROPHY
Mourinho’s first task will be to stop Tottenham’s slide. Last season they rubbed shoulders with Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the league before falling away.
Spurs, and Mourinho, will be desperate to end the club’s trophy drought, which has lasted for more than a decade.
They have not won the English top flight since 1961.
As well as his high profile, Mourinho’s knack of picking up silverware will have been a huge plus for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
For all of Pochettino’s success, he was unable to win a trophy for the club in his spell of more than five years in charge.
2. DEFENSIVE ISSUES
Tottenham have struggled defensively this season.
They have kept just one clean sheet in the league and conceded seven in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich.
Mourinho is renowned for his ability to build a side that is defensively rigid and he will have to get to work quickly on drilling his new back line.
3. SORT OUT CONTRACTS
Pochettino faced a major problem after a summer rebuild failed to materialise and he was left with a clutch of players who had appeared to be on their way out of the club.
Christian Eriksen spoke publicly of his desire to quit Spurs at the end of last season and the Dane, along with Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, is in the final year of his contract.
Eriksen, Danny Rose – also linked with a move away – and Vertonghen, have performed well below par this season.
Mourinho must find a way to unite the squad quickly and get the best out of his players, some of whom could leave the club as early as January.
4. TACKLE AWAY FORM
Part of Pochettino’s demise was due to poor away form. Spurs have won just three times on the road since January – all in the Champions League.
That is not good enough for a side of Tottenham’s quality.
5. CONVINCE HARRY KANE TO STAY
While the fate of players such as Eriksen, Vertonghen and Alderweireld may be out of his hands, Mourinho needs to convince Harry Kane that his future remains at Spurs.
The England captain is under contract for plenty of time yet, but he is a superstar of European football and has always said he wants to win things.
Ideally that would be at Spurs, and his chances of that might just have improved, but it would be a surprise if he were not linked with the super clubs this summer, especially if he has a good Euro 2020.
Mourinho needs to do everything he can to make sure Kane, who had a close relationship with Pochettino, still feels content at the club – and hopefully winning matches will help to convince him.
-AFP
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- OBITUARY4 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Kwara United Clinch Historic First Title as President Federation Cup Final Goes to Penalties for the 18th time
- WAFCON2 days ago
Nigeria, Tunisia Set for High-Stakes WAFCON 2024 Clash in Casablanca
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Rivers Angels Crowned 2025 Female Federation Cup Champions After Penalty Shootout Thriller
- OBITUARY4 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY4 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- IMMEMORIAL3 days ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football