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Tag: Defender

  • Arsenal defender set to miss Liverpool clash

    Arsenal defender set to miss Liverpool clash

    Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori looks set to miss their weekend clash with Liverpool.

    The Italian international will not be fit in time for the Premier League contest on Sunday.

    The 22-year-old had to come off during a 1-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

    Calafiori underwent scans on Wednesday, per The Mirror, which revealed a slight injury.

    He will be absent for around three weeks, as there is small damage to his medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

    However, he does not have a serious knee injury, which would have been a fear for the club.

  • West Ham sign Bayern Munich defender in huge deal

    West Ham sign Bayern Munich defender in huge deal

    Premier League club West Ham United and Bayern Munich have agreed a deal for the former to sign Noussair Mazraoui.

    The right-back could be arriving at the Hammers in the coming days for a medical.

    Per Sky Germany, the deal includes a fee of £13 million, which could rise through add-ons of a few million.

    Mazraoui had also been on the radar of Manchester United, but they have not made a move.

    The Red Devils do have Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as their full-back options.

    The latter was linked to West Ham earlier this summer, but they have now secured a right-back.

    Tribalfootball

  • You’ll know my future in coming days – Thiago Silva

    You’ll know my future in coming days – Thiago Silva

    Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has privately decided on his future beyond the end of the season.

    The 39-year-old center half played in the club’s 1-0 FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City on Saturday.

    Silva was seen in tears at the final whistle, while many of his younger teammates appeared unbothered by the loss.

    Asked about his future, Silva told reporters: “You are going to know in the coming days. I don’t want to say anything now after a defeat.

    “I’m sad about the result, but sooner or later, the news will come out.

    “I do have a decision made in my mind, but it’s not the moment to share it.”

    He then added: “My four years here were very good. Not that I didn’t believe in myself, but with my age and the intensity of this league…it’s rare to see players in a high level at 39.

    “I don’t like to talk about myself, but you can see this. Today, I was ready to play the extra time! I can see I have some years in me to keep enjoying football.”

  • EPL: Arsenal defender blamed for Man City defeat

    EPL: Arsenal defender blamed for Man City defeat

    Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes has been singled out after defeat to Manchester City this week.

    Pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor insists Takehiro Tomiyasu wasn’t the major culprit after his error led to City’s opener.

    He said on talkSPORT: “A lot of mistakes from Arsenal. The first one, Tomiyasu, it happens. Jack Grealish is pressing him, he doesn’t see Kevin De Bruyne running through.

    “But it’s Gabriel for me. Every time I watch him, he’s the one that you always think has got a mistake in him.

    “Yesterday the penalty that wasn’t given because it was offside, he got away with one there. He wanted to fight and battle Haaland and gives away a penalty.

    “And then the goal, the goal that Haaland scores. It’s just poor defending all round, giving the ball away when you shouldn’t be.

    “I’m all for playing from the back at times but sometimes – and Man City did it yesterday – sometimes it’s not on, hit the big man up front and play off him.”

  • Bayern Munich sign 32-year-old Daley Blind

    Bayern Munich sign 32-year-old Daley Blind

    Bayern Munich have signed Dutch defender Daley Blind on a free transfer with a six-month contract, the Bundesliga club said on Thursday.

    The 32-year-old became a free agent last week after agreeing to terminate his contract with Ajax Amsterdam six months early.

    “We are really pleased that Daley has joined the team,” Bayern Munich’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said.

    “Daley is a versatile defender who can play on the left-hand side as well as in the centre. He has lots of international experience and leadership qualities.”

    Blind, who helped the Netherlands reach the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar, won seven titles with Ajax, making 333 appearances, scoring 13 goals and contributing 21 assists.

    He also won the 2017 Europa League during his spell with Premier League club Manchester United.

    German champions Bayern Munich, who lead the Bundesliga standings, resume their campaign against RB Leipzig on Jan. 20.

  • Chelsea agree personal terms with Man City defender

    Chelsea agree personal terms with Man City defender

    Chelsea have reached personal terms with Manchester City defender Nathan Ake.

    Ake is keen to follow City teammate Raheem Sterling to London this summer. Sterling is a step away from signing for the Blues.

    New Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly has been working hard on landing new faces for manager Thomas Tuchel and is believed to have reached a resolution with the 27-year-old Ake’s representatives, says the Daily Mail.

    Ake is a former Chelsea youth teamer before leaving for Bournemouth. The Holland international has battled for minutes at City.

    The Premier League champions are expected to seek £50m to sell Ake, having quoted the figure to Newcastle United after an approach earlier this summer.

  • We won’t underrate CAR – Super Eagles defender

    We won’t underrate CAR – Super Eagles defender

    Super Eagles defender, William Troost Ekong has expressed his delight to have another chance to play for Nigeria in front of cheering fans after the Covid-19 pandemic forced Eagles early games to be played under closed doors.

    The Eagles are first in the Group C of the 2022 World Cup second round qualifying games with maximum points from two games ahead of the doubleheaders with the Central African Republic today in Lagos and on Sunday in Douala, Cameroon.

    The Eagles were only watched by a certain percentage of the fans last month in the home win with the Lone Star of Liberia and Ekong opined that it would be nice to welcome fans to the stands today when they face the CAR while also adding that the Eagles won’t underrate CAR irrespective of their position on the table.

    “We will not underrate them. We are taking the game very seriously. It will be fine to play with fans,” Ekong told journalists.

    “We are looking forward to the two games. It is our desire to win these two games to make our quest to qualify for the final round easier.”

  • Why I believe I’ve improved – Chelsea defender

    Why I believe I’ve improved – Chelsea defender

    Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen is full of pride over his progress these past 12 months.

    Christensen has just helped Denmark into the Euro 2020 round of 16, only weeks after winning the Champions League final with Chelsea.

    He told Bold: “As a player, I do not really think that you feel if there is something that is different. I’ve always believed in my qualities, and it’s probably just confidence. As soon as you get more matches in a row, you build more and more.

    “It may be that you make some mistakes, but if you are allowed to make them and have the support of coaches, teams and fans, then it gives enormous self-confidence, and self-confidence is a big part of the performance.

    “It may be that I am a self-confident player, I do not know myself, but I have felt the support and backing, and it has made me feel more confident on the field and I have felt I have been allowed to make the small mistakes you now make.”

  • Barca reach agreement to sign Man City defender

    Barca reach agreement to sign Man City defender

    Barcelona have reached an agreement to sign Manchester City defender Eric Garcia, according to Goal.

    Garcia will move to Camp Nou on a free transfer when his current contract at City expires at the end of June.

    The 20-year-old rose through the youth ranks at La Masia before moving to Manchester in 2017, but will return to Barcelona ahead of the 2021-22 season.

    Goal has learned that Garcia’s switch to Barca will be made official before this summer’s European Championship, where he is set to represent Spain.

    The centre-back has agreed to a wage 40 per cent lower than the club’s original contract offer in January due to the precarious financial situation Barca find themselves in amid the coronavirus pandemic.

    Garcia has always dreamed of representing Barca at senior level and made City officials aware that he did not wish to sign an extension at Etihad Stadium at the start of the year after hearing of their interest in his services.

  • Covid-19 kills Ex-Super Eagles defender, Shofoluwe

    Covid-19 kills Ex-Super Eagles defender, Shofoluwe

    A former Super Eagles defender, Yisa Shofoluwe is dead.

    The former Golden Eaglets’ assistant coach, according to close relatives died of complications from COVID-19 on Tuesday night.

    It was gathered that Shofoluwe battled with COVID-19 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital before his death.

    Shofoluwe was earlier diagnosed of COVID-19 contrary to the speculation of a brain disease.

    Late Shofoluwe played 40 matches and scored one goal for Nigeria.

    He was a member of Nigerian ‘the Seoul ‘84 Olympics’ and also featured at 84 and 88 AFCON.

    Shofoluwe and was an assistant coach for the Golden Eaglets under Alphonsus Dike.

    He was also an assistant coach at Gateway Football Club of Abeokuta.