Premier League
POGBA MAY TEAM UP WITH RONALDO AT JUVENTUS IN JANUARY
If the offer by Juventus is accepted, Paul Pogba may leave Manchester United and team up with another former United player, Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus.
The Seria A sides have reportedly made a breakthrough in negotiations with the Premiership struggling side, Manchester United to bring midfielder Pogba back to the club in the January transfer window.
Daily Mail of UK, quoting Italian publication, Tuttosport, reports that an offer of 60million euros (£52million) plus Emre Can could be enough for United to ‘deal immediately’.
Tuttosport adds that Pogba is fed up at Old Trafford and would be delighted to return to the Serie A club for a second spell.
Pogba made a return to United’s first-team on Sunday in the 2-0 defeat by bottom of the league Watford after almost three months out with an ankle injury.
The France midfielder’s contract at United expires in 18 months, meaning the club might have to consider doing business and granting his departure sooner than later or risk losing him for a less substantial fee.
Pogba rejoined United from Juventus in August 2016 in what was then a world record transfer fee of £90m after four years in Italy.
He won Serie A every season with the Italians and also lifted two Coppa Italia trophies. At United, Pogba has won the Europa League and the League Cup.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted last week that Pogba would not be leaving the club in the January window.
‘He’s not getting sold in January, no,’ Solskjaer said. ‘He’s training but he’s not been training with us for long. He’s training and that’s a step forward for us.
‘Yeah, of course (I understand all the interest around him) because he’s a fantastic player, a charismatic personality and for us we’re happy that he’s here.
‘We know that we’ve got one of the best players in the world when he’s playing well, when he gets fit.’
But despite what Solskjaer has said, reports of unrest around Pogba refuse to subside.
While recovering from his ankle injury, Pogba was filmed playing basketball in the United States in November. His return to the team was then delayed further when he fell ill after being given permission to attend his brother’s wedding in France.
Former Liverpool midfielder Can has been demoted to a bit-part role under Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri and was left out of their squad for the Champions League.
The 25-year-old has only played seven times for Juventus so far this season.
Following Sunday’s dreadful defeat by Watford, United are eighth in the Premier League and trail the top four by seven points.
They are next in action on Boxing Day when they take on Newcastle at Old Trafford.
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
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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
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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
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