Month: January 2023

Aston Villa signing Jhon Duran has “all the desire in the world” to succeed at Villa Park after completing his move from Chicago Fire.

The 19-year-old striker’s arrival was confirmed on Monday as he joined Unai Emery’s side for a reported fee worth up to £17.8million ($22m).

Colombia international Duran enjoyed a successful debut Major League Soccer campaign, scoring eight goals and assisting three in 27 appearances for the Fire.

The former Envigado forward wants to replicate that form as he aims to make his mark on the Premier League.

“I have all the desire in the world,” Duran told Villa’s official website. “Lots of desire to work hard, give everything to the team and win. I’m hoping I can play soon.

“I’m a player that plays with a lot of passion, who is dedicated to the team, and a player that really wants to win always.

“I know it’s the most important league in the world. It’s the best league in the world, and I have all the desire in the world to get on the pitch and score that first goal.”

Duran is said to have signed a contract until June 2028, and he is looking forward to the project under Emery, whose side sit 11th in the Premier League but just three points behind sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion.

“We have spoken; he said very touching words and gave me a huge welcome,” Duran said of Emery.

“Now I can speak with him, and we can discuss everything to do with the project. It strikes me as a very good project.”

Barcelona have denied allegations claiming president Joan Laporta broke club rules when handing out the Camp Nou development contract.

The ‘Espai Barca’ project was first approved in April 2014, when club members voted in favour of the massive remodelling job that would develop Camp Nou and the surrounding areas.

A further referendum in April 2021 ratified the financial proposal that took the project’s maximum budget to €1.5billion.

It will lead to the stadium’s capacity increasing by 6,000 to 105,000 spectators plus the installation of a retractable roof, while 40,000 square metres of land is set to be improved.

An announcement earlier this month confirmed Turkish company Limak would be in charge of remodelling the stadium, but a report by Spanish digital newspaper El Confidencial claimed on Monday the club’s bidding process for the contract should have excluded the business in question.

According to El Confidencial, Limak should have been ineligible because it allegedly could not provide evidence of building a stadium with more than 40,000 capacity in the past 10 years and did not present two references of buildings constructed in Spain for greater than €150m over the same period.

The publication suggested the alleged oversight put Barca’s building licence with the local council at risk, but the club insists the accusations are inaccurate, pointing to a “new tender process” dated from September 1, 2022.

A long statement began: “Barcelona wants to refute the story published today, Monday, January 23, 2023 in El Confidencial titled: ‘Laporta broke the Barca rules to award the Camp Nou work to the Turkish company Limak’.”

The letter highlighted five specific sections of the report followed by “FALSE” and an explanation, with most points coming back to Barca highlighting the start of a new tender process in September.

“The bid specifications for the restructuring work on Camp Nou were announced to all the companies that submitted bids and were effective date from September 1, 2022,” the statement continued. “The terms and conditions set forth therein established no requirement for bidding companies to have built a football stadium with more than 40,000 seats or two constructions in Spain.

“Prior to this bidding process, there was a process that commenced in 2017, and which was cancelled in December 2020 by means of an official communication on the Barcelona supplier portal to all participating companies at that time.

“It was not until September 2022 when the new bidding process began, the outcome of which was for the project to be awarded to LIMAK as the best rated company.  

“There was no breach of the terms and conditions as these were associated to the new tender process, which is dated from September 1, 2022.”

It added: “As we have set out previously, the document [that El Confidencial claimed to have seen] referred to is for the pre-qualification that began in 2017, and in no way corresponds to the requisites in the conditions laid down on September 1, 2022.

“The process of obtaining a building licence from Barcelona City Council is totally independent of the adjudication process for the company to carry out the construction.

“In no way is the building licence at risk because the name on the licence is that of Barcelona as the initiator of the construction, not the construction company.”

Manchester City have completed the signing of highly rated Argentina youth international Maximo Perrone from Velez Sarsfield.

The 20-year-old is reported to have cost City £8million initially and has signed a deal that runs through June 2028.

Perrone only made his breakthrough at Velez last March, but the central midfielder quickly established himself as a prominent part of the senior team, even wearing the captain’s armband on occasion.

His contract had entered its final year, and although City are said to be paying more than his reported £7m release clause, that was sure to be significantly higher if Velez did manage to secure his future into 2024.

Perrone is the latest in a string of exports to fetch Velez a considerable fee in the past six years, with Thiago Almada, Matias Vargas, Santiago Caseres, Maxi Romero and Nicolas Dominguez bringing in roughly £47m between them.

He is City’s second recruit from Argentina over the past year, with Julian Alvarez joining from River Plate at the end of last season.

Alvarez was signed midway through last term before spending a period back on loan at River, though no such agreement has been struck for Perrone.

He will link up with City immediately once his participation at the Under-20 South American Championship in Colombia is over.

Perrone scored in Argentina’s opening match but was unable to prevent his side losing 2-1 to Paraguay.

Argentina’s final group game is on January 27 – if they are not eliminated, Perrone will likely join up with City in February.

Arsenal have further bolstered their squad for their Premier League title run-in with the signing of centre-back Jakub Kiwior from Serie A side Spezia.

The English top-flight leaders missed out on Mykhaylo Mudryk earlier in the window, but they have now brought in Leandro Trossard and Kiwior this month.

Poland international Kiwior has signed a “long-term contract” at Emirates Stadium, the club said, with Arsenal reported to have paid Spezia £22million (€25m).

“It’s great that Jakub is joining us,” said Mikel Arteta. “He’s a young versatile defender who has shown huge potential and qualities with Spezia in Serie A, and also at international level with Poland.

“Jakub is a player who will give us strength and quality to our defensive unit. We welcome Jakub and his family to Arsenal and look forward to working with him.”

Kiwior still had two and a half years to run on his deal with Spezia, whom he made 43 appearances for after joining from Slovakian side Zilina in August 2021.

He featured 17 times in Serie A this season and ranks joint-third for blocks (18) and fifth for clearances (68) among all defenders in the division.

The former Anderlecht youngster also started all four of Poland’s matches at the 2022 World Cup, helping his side to clean sheets against Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

Kiwior will primarily provide cover and competition for Gabriel Magalhaes, who has played every minute for Arsenal in the Premier League this season. 

The new signing was in the stands at Emirates Stadium on Sunday to see Arsenal beat Manchester United, maintaining a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table.

– League One strugglers Accrington Stanley are suffering an injury crisis
– National League Boreham Wood have claimed some big FA Cup scalps in recent seasons
– Recommended bet: Boreham Wood Draw no bet

League One Accrington Stanley host National League side Boreham Wood in this rescheduled third-round FA Cup replay and the prize is huge – a home game against Premier League Leeds.

And while home advantage and divisional dominance suggest that Accrington should be red-hot favourites, it is the underdogs who have the better FA Cup pedigree after last season’s impressive run to the fifth round.

Victories over AFC Wimbledon and away at Bournemouth before bowing out at Premier League giants Everton have given Boreham supporters a taste for more, and long-term manager Luke Garrard will fancy another crack at a top-tier opponent.

Standing in their way is an Accrington side who sit above them in the football pyramid but who have never been further than the fourth round and are struggling in League One due to an injury crisis.

The Wood will fancy their chances of claiming another FA Cup scalp.

Accrington vs Boreham Wood (Tuesday, 7.45pm)

Team news

Accrington manager John Coleman claimed that as many as 19 players could be unavailable due to injury or illness for the originally scheduled replay and while Rosaire Longelo returned to the bench at the weekend, the Stanley squad remains hugely undermined by absences.

Visitors Boreham will be fresh having not played for a fortnight due to postponements.

The stats

The 1-1 draw from the original fixture was a fair reflection of that game, with possession pretty evenly split – Accrington edging it by 53% to Boreham’s 47% – both having two shots on target and the National League side edging both shots and corners.

Boreham Wood sit 12th in the National League but could rise into the play-off places if they win their two games in hand. And while a long shot, victory in the play-offs could put them in the same division as Accrington next term as Stanley sit just one point above the relegation places in League One.

The Crown Ground has been far from a fortress for Accrington of late, with Coleman’s men winning only three of 12 home games in League One, losing four.

And Boreham will be confident of putting in a solid performance as they have picked up more points on the road than at home in the National League, losing only four of 13 away games while winning five.

Prediction

While a home match against a team two divisions below would seem the ideal route to a money-spinning tie with Leeds, this match has all the ingredients of an upset for Accrington.

Stanley manager Coleman is unlikely to make too many changes but that is in large part because he lacks the personnel to do so. And the injuries and absences within his squad make them vulnerable against a Boreham side who have a track record for FA Cup upsets.

While they left it late to tie the game at 1-1 in the first meeting, the National League side were good value for their equaliser as they pressed hard for much of the second-half until Lee Ndlovu finally levelled in the 78th minute.

Backing both teams to score looks a sensible addition to Bet Builder selections. Boreham have netted in all three meetings with the top two in the National League this term and have scored against higher-ranked opposition Bournemouth, Wimbledon and Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup over the last two seasons.

But it is also worth taking a small chance on another FA Cup upset when fully focused Boreham visit their injury-ravaged hosts. Back Boreham Wood draw no bet, available at 7/5 with LiveScore Bet.

Emma Hayes called for women’s football to be taken more seriously after Chelsea’s Women’s Super League clash with Liverpool was abandoned just six minutes in due to a frozen pitch.

The Blues boss and opposing manager Matt Beard were in agreement that Sunday’s game at Kingsmeadow should not have gone ahead, yet it kicked off as scheduled following a pitch inspection.

But only six minutes had passed before referee Neil Hair took the teams off after deeming the pitch unsafe.

Hayes told the BBC: “You could see from the opening minutes that it was like an ice rink down the sides.

“Matt Beard was upset that it even got to that point and he’s right.

“It’s not for managers to decide if it’s on — it’s up to the FA and officials. We have to say to ourselves that it’s time for undersoil heating. 

“We’ve got to take our game seriously. Yes, we can have our blowers and pitch tents, but it’s not enough.

“The game should never have started. Everyone wanted to get the game on, but when you have got emotions of teams wanting or not wanting to play, that’s when you need a decision from above. The FA weren’t here — they need to be making the decision.”

The champions’ encounter was one of three WSL games postponed across the weekend, with Tottenham’s meeting with Leicester and Arsenal’s trip to Brighton also called off due to unplayable pitches.

And Hayes, 46, believes women’s football needs undersoil heating to deal with the winter conditions.

She added: “We’ve made progress with investment into the quality of grasses and surfaces across the league. 

“No game at the top level of the women’s game should be cancelled. We need undersoil heating — we don’t live in Barbados.”

United take advantage

With neither of their title rivals in action, Manchester United claimed top spot in the WSL after substitute Rachel Williams scored a late winner to earn them a 1-0 victory at Reading.

The forward wriggled past multiple defenders before firing into the top corner in the 87th minute to hand the Red Devils the points at the Madejski Stadium.

It had threatened to be a frustrating afternoon for the visitors after captain Katie Zelem saw a 40th-minute penalty saved by Jacqueline Burns and Nikita Parris struck the crossbar.

Mary Earps made a brilliant save to prevent the Royals going ahead but Williams stepped up to score the all-important goal to take United up to the WSL summit on goal difference.

United boss Marc Skinner said: “That is an amazing win. [It was] not as pretty as we would have liked.

“Reading, in my opinion, are always one of the hardest teams to play. Their league position doesn’t reflect the qualities of the coaches and the team, so for us it was a game we had to overcome, and we found a way.

“When Rachel takes that opportunity, that’s the whole reason we brought Rachel to this team. For any doubters, there’s the whole reason. She can step up in that moment and make that moment for us.

“For us, it’s a magnificent moment to say, ‘Look at how concentrated we can be until the very end and we are never going to give up.’ 

“That is more important for me than any of the 6-0s or [other results]. That is a resilience win today.”

City held by Villa

Manchester City missed the chance to go level on points with Arsenal in third as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa.

City went ahead after 28 minutes through Deyna Castellanos following an excellent team move, only for on-loan United midfielder Kirsty Hanson to level just three minutes later.

The Scotland international struck the post in the second half before Kenza Dali’s volley was well saved by Ellie Roebuck, while Khadija Shaw was denied a stoppage-time winner by Villa goalkeeper Anna Leat.

City boss Gareth Taylor said: “I thought it was flat. Even before we scored we were a bit slow to everything — slow in our play, in our reactions. We score a good goal and give a cheap one away soon afterwards.

“When you leave a big hole in the middle of the goal then you’ll concede or have an opportunity for the opposition to score. It affected us more than it should’ve done. That’s football.

“On other days we lose the way that we played today. We weren’t clicking, not much cohesion. 

“To come away against a decent Villa team with a point is better than losing the game.

“You can’t worry about dropping a point. We’re still unbeaten, that’s a positive for us. There’s a lot of football still to play so we just attack the next game.”

WSL Matchday 12 results in full

Manchester City 1-1 Aston Villa

Chelsea A-A Liverpool

Everton 3-0 West Ham

Reading 0-1 Manchester United

Tottenham P-P Leicester

Brighton P-P Arsenal

Arsenal put in a magnificent performance in their win over Manchester United on Sunday despite Manchester City putting the pressure on earlier in the day.

The gap between the Premier League title rivals stands at five points but the Gunners have a game in hand on City with the pair still to meet twice.

Elsewhere, West Ham recorded a huge win over Everton and Aston Villa piled more misery on Southampton at St Mary’s.

Gameweek 21 has fantasy players who selected Erling Haaland celebrating — but those who picked Ivan Toney will be regretting their choices.

Before Fulham take on Tottenham tonight, we take a look at the weekend’s best and worst fantasy performers.

Gameweek 21 top performers

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Haaland struck his fourth Premier League hat-trick of the season against Wolves.

City ran out 3-0 winners and the Norwegian striker features as the top scorer in fantasy football with a 17-point haul.

Pep Guardiola’s men face a tasty FA Cup tie against Arsenal next before their 22-year-old marksman can continue his march to the Golden Boot with a trip to Tottenham on February 5.

David Raya (Brentford)

There is a vast selection of goalkeepers to choose from in the Premier League but few have performed better than Brentford’s David Raya this season.

His tally of 10 points against Leeds ranks him joint-top for keepers this week, with Emiliano Martinez and Vicente Guaita keeping pace with the Spanish shot-stopper.

Next up for the Bees is a match against bottom-placed Southampton — with Raya set to keep another clean sheet following the 0-0 draw at Elland Road.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Bukayo Saka may only have grabbed one goal in the entertaining 3-2 victory over United on Sunday, but he was the star of the show yet again for the league leaders.

His nine-point accumulation moves his season total to 109, ranking him in the top 10 for the entire season.

A trip to crisis club Everton beckons for Mikel Arteta’s side in GW22, where the North Londoners will be confident of picking up another three points.

Gameweek 21 worst performers

Ivan Toney (Brentford)

Only Harry Kane and Haaland have scored more goals than Toney in the Premier League this season, but the Brentford striker could not add to his tally of 13 at Leeds.

Scoring one point for just the fourth time in 2022-23, the Bees talisman’s 29.8% ownership will be regretting their decision to stick with the centre forward this week.

With Southampton next up, Toney will be desperate to recapture his goalscoring form sooner rather than later.

Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)

Although Arsenal recorded a significant win, Gabriel Martinelli was not at his best at the Emirates and was eventually substituted for new signing Leandro Trossard.

A two-point return will be disheartening for many fantasy players, with just under 45% of users selecting the Brazilian trickster.

Despite his less-than-inspiring performance, Martinelli is still likely to start against Everton and Arsenal’s form suggests it would be wise to stick with the winger.

Robert Sanchez (Brighton)

It is rare for Brighton to drop points under Roberto De Zerbi but the Seagulls were held in a 2-2 draw at Leicester.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez picked up just a single point for the seventh time this season — a not-so-pleasing sight for 11.6% of fantasy players.

The Spaniard will have a chance to redeem himself when Brighton face struggling Bournemouth on February 4.

Eddie Nketiah is becoming the unlikely hero of Arsenal’s title charge. 

Having not started a Premier League game this term prior to Boxing Day, the 23-year-old is proving to be a prolific stand-in for the injured Gabriel Jesus with seven goals in his last seven appearances across all competitions.

Nketiah’s future at the Emirates had looked uncertain last summer but the club’s decision to hand him a new contract now looks inspired — especially after his brilliant brace helped down Manchester United on Sunday.

Ahead of the North Londoners’ FA Cup fourth-round tie at Manchester City on Friday night, we take a closer look at Nketiah’s season so far and consider if he can maintain his fabulous form.

Eddie was ready

Gunners fans around the globe shuddered in unison last month when star striker Jesus hobbled off injured during Brazil’s World Cup group stage clash with Cameroon.

At that point, it appeared a big-money move for a striker would be a necessity in January if the North Londoners were to sustain their unlikely tilt at a first Premier League title since 2004.

Mikel Arteta had other ideas, however.

Nketiah, released by Chelsea as a youngster, had shown real promise when starting the final eight league games of the 2021-22 season, netting on five occasions.

That form prompted Arsenal to table a new five-year deal last summer, along with the promise of more opportunities — a vow Arteta intended to keep.

Sure enough, he has thrown Nketiah into the deep end and the marksman is rewarding that trust in impressive style.

Eye for goal

Though Nketiah’s journey to becoming Arsenal’s starting striker has been a rocky one, he has always possessed a knack for finding the net.

As a teenager, he bagged 15 goals in 16 appearances for the Gunners’ Under-18s side, before going on to grab 28 in 40 for the club at U-21s level. 

The Londoner has done it on the international stage, too. In 17 England U-21s outings, for example, he racked up a hugely impressive 16 strikes — a record-breaking tally.

There is a common belief in football that finishing ability is part-coached and part natural talent, so it should arguably come as no surprise how Nketiah has remained so ruthless throughout his rise to the top.

Arteta referenced that finishing ability following a brace over Oxford in the FA Cup earlier this month, saying: “He showed great composure. He’s a great finisher, with the timing of his runs as well.

“He showed his quality and his work-rate is getting better and better. I’m really happy with him.”

Fox in the box

Like all good centre forwards, Nketiah comes alive in the six-yard box.

While his sublime spin and shot was executed to perfection against West Ham on Boxing Day, his predatory instincts were required against Brighton to tap home a rebounded Gabriel Martinelli strike from close range.

His brace against the Red Devils in Sunday’s dramatic 3-2 win were certainly of the latter variety, too.

First, the No14 powered home a first-half header from all of six yards to level the contest, before diverting a Martin Odegaard effort goalbound from short-range in the game’s dying moments.

Nketiah is scoring the type of goal that many of the Premier League’s most reliable strikers made their bread and butter — Ruud van Nistelrooy, Michael Owen and Alan Shearer to name a few.

It is a habit that will surely have caught the attention of England boss Gareth Southgate.

Exciting future

In the short term, Nketiah will hope to ride the crest of a wave and keep producing the goods to help Arsenal towards a famous title. 

Should he do that, it will pose somewhat of a conundrum for Arteta in March when the hugely-talented Jesus is targeting a return to action.

There is much to admire about the way the young Englishman has bided his time waiting for an opportunity to shine, before grasping the chance with both hands.

Yet one thing this hot streak is highlighting more than ever is that Nketiah is too talented to be playing second fiddle.

Arsenal must find a way of making him a permanent name on their team sheet for the years ahead — or another team surely will.

Ronald Koeman plans to adopt a more attacking style of play with the Netherlands than the one established by his predecessor Louis van Gaal.

The Oranje reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar under Van Gaal, but criticisms were directed to a style of football that was perceived to be negative.

A five-man defensive line proved to be miserly, conceding just twice in the first four matches of the tournament, but fans wanted more creative output from a side that boasted the likes of Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo.

The Netherlands’ venture in Qatar came to an end against Argentina in a shoot-out defeat, having fought back from a two-goal deficit in a game that marked the final stand of Van Gaal’s third spell at the helm.

A similar approach will not be adopted under Koeman, who instead plans to return to the four-man defence he used during his previous stint in charge from 2018-2020.

“In principle, we are going back to the system we played before,” he said.

“I also change the system sometimes, but we are going to form the basic system with four defenders.

“In the end, it’s all about the implementation of the system. I also played with five players at the back at Barcelona, with three central defenders, and that went very well.

“Everything revolves around: put high pressure or let yourself sink. That makes a system offensive or not.”

Assessing the Netherlands’ performance at the World Cup, Koeman praised Van Gaal’s unbeaten record that stretched until the quarter-final defeat to Argentina and hopes he can enjoy a similar run of form, albeit in his own approach.

“We try to play attractive and fun football in the Netherlands. And twenty international matches remain unbeaten, that will be incredible if I manage to do the same,” he added.

“It can be done differently, and I want to do it differently.”

Koeman faces a baptism of fire on his return to the national side, with his first match coming against France in March as the qualification campaign for Euro 2024 begins.

– Sixth-placed Lazio are right in the top-four hunt following Juventus’ points deduction
– Visitors Milan have failed to impress on the road despite a kind fixture list
– Recommended bet: Lazio Draw no bet

There is as much happening off the pitch as on it in Serie A and while the full extent of the current issues remain unknown, for now it gives hope to the chasing pack that a Europa League or top-four finish might not be the limit of their ambitions.

Certainly, the race for Champions League places has been blown wide open and sixth-placed Lazio go into their home game against AC Milan trailing the second-placed visitors by just four points.

Lazio vs AC Milan (Tuesday, 7.45pm)

Team news

Lazio defender Mario Gila is unavailable through injury, striker Ciro Immobile is unlikely to feature due to a thigh problem and reserve left-back Mohamed Fares also remains unavailable.

Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan will remain out for several weeks after picking up an injury prior to the World Cup.

Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has yet to play this season following ACL surgery and will be joined on the sidelines by left-back Fode Ballo-Toure and right-back Alessandro Florenzi.

The stats

Despite sitting in sixth place, Lazio have an impressive record against the rest of the leading pack in Italy, beating Inter 3-1, Roma 1-0, Atalanta 2-0 and losing only one of four meetings with teams now above them – a narrow 2-1 defeat to leaders Napoli.

AC Milan are second in Serie A but the lofty position of the reigning champions is at least in part due to a relatively kind fixture list.

While Stefano Pioli’s side have been strong at home – claiming seven wins from nine and losing only to Napoli in front of their own fans – Milan’s away record is boosted by the fact that seven of their nine away games have come against teams in the bottom eight.

Even then, the Rossoneri have not been among the very best away teams in Serie A. Four other top-flight Italian clubs have won more points on the road and AC have won just four of their nine away games – losing to Torino and drawing 1-1 at Atalanta in their only two trips to top-half opponents.

Prediction

Milan are priced up as strong favourites for their trip to Rome but it is hard to trust a side who have failed to impress on the road.

The continued absence of outstanding first-choice goalkeeper Maignan has undermined their efforts to retain the Serie A title as much as Ibrahimovic’s injury, leaving Milan looking significantly weaker than in 2021-22.

Adding over one Lazio goal to a Bet Builder looks a solid option given reserve keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu has conceded eight goals in Milan’s last four matches.

Last week’s embarrassing 3-0 defeat to rivals Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana means Milan’s only victory in five matches since the World Cup came in a 2-1 defeat of struggling Salernitana – Pioli’s men are struggling for form and confidence.

Lazio are no world beaters but are solid – compiling the second-best defensive record in the division – and their ability to raise themselves for the big games this season bodes well.

A run of just one defeat in 10 suggest they can get at least a point against Milan and while the double chance market on Lazio-draw is too short to tempt, backing Lazio in the draw no bet market at 11/10 looks the best option with LiveScore Bet.