Premier League
MOURINHO CAN’T TAKE SANCHEZ OFF HIS MIND
Jose Mourinho has become so obsessed with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez that he calls him “Phenomenal”. He has insisted it is difficult to turn down a chance to sign the player and hopes to get his signature when the Chilean will be available at the end of January.
But he will have to struggle with city rivals, Manchester City whose coach, Pep Guardiola hopes to reunite with the player he once handle at FC Barcelona.
There are indications that Sanchez will prefer City to United.
Mourinho said: ‘There are some players in football world if you have the chance to sign them in January, March or July, you have to try and that’s it but in relation to Alexis Sanchez I don’t say a word.
‘The only word I can say is he is a phenomenal player, apart from that Arsenal player and I feel I shouldn’t say much more than this.’
City is understood to have offered £20million for Sanchez, but United’s bid is closer to Arsenal’s asking price of £35m.
Mourinho is also prepared to better City’s personal terms of £250,000 a week.
Pep Guardiola is set to reunite with Alexis Sanchez
United host Stoke City in the Premier League on Monday. One player who will definitely miss the fixture
is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The striker was expected to be out of action for a month when he suffered a recurrence of a knee injury in late December.
Mourinho believes the 36-year-old could be out for longer than he first thought.
He said: ‘Zlatan is injured or is not totally happy with his condition, he fought like a tiger like he likes to say to be back, which he did, he was starting having minutes here and there and had a start and had 60 mins in one game, start another one and had 45 and he was not happy with his feelings.
‘He consulted other doctors, other opinions and we all make the decision to stop, treatment and when feeling really good come back to the work and the date for him to be back to training with the team was around end of January beginning of February so let’s hope his feelings are better and we have him with us as soon as possible.’
United arrived back from a mid-season training camp in Dubai on Friday ahead of the weekend’s Premier League action.
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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