Chelsea's signing of Bertrand Traore under scrutiny

Chelsea's recruitment of young talent is under scrutiny after it emerged Burkina Faso int'l Bertrand Traore played for their U18s side when aged 16, in an apparent breach of FIFA regulations.

Dele Alli signs new £25,000-a-week five-year deal with Spurs after impressive start to career at White Hart Lane

Dele Alli has signed a new five-year deal worth £25,000-per week with Tottenham keeping him at the club until 2021.

‘It’s always ferocious at Liverpool' Wenger

Arsène Wenger is expecting a “ferocious battle” at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Arsenal travel to Merseyside having lost just once on their last seven trips to Liverpool.

Last season’s corresponding fixture finished 2-2 after Martin Skrtel equalised in the seventh minute of stoppage time - and Wenger expects another committed fixture this week.

They had a very strong manager before, they have a very strong one now and Klopp has the personality to do well there

“Every time we go to Anfield, we face a team who is up for it,” he said. “It’s always a ferocious battle, no matter who the manager is.

“They had a very strong manager before, they have a very strong one now and Klopp has the personality to do well there.

“[We need to] play our game at a good pace. We are used to pressing. It is not just Liverpool who do that, everybody in the modern game [does it].

"Pressing has been created in England basically because there is a history of teams who have done that very well so it is part of the modern game to make quick decisions, be very short with your first touch and play your game.”

Arsenal travel to Anfield in good form, with only one defeat in their last 10 matches.

“The momentum creates confidence and confidence is vital at that level,” Wenger said. “In December and now in January we have been consistent and we go into a very important part of the season because we play many games.

“That consistency is a good basis to go into the next game with 

Olivier Giroud scored on Arsenal's last visit to Liverpool

Arsène Wenger and Jurgen Klopp

WENGER - KLOPP IS A GREAT MANAGER

      

Arsène Wenger has described Jurgen Klopp as a "great manager".

The pair will face each other in the Premier League for the first time when Arsenal visit Anfield on Wednesday evening.

Wenger admits he favours a different playing style to Klopp but feels the German's approach deserves both praise and respect.

"I think he is a great manager but we have different styles," he said. "You have to respect that and you can only be successful by [having] your own style and personality, and everybody has a different personality.

"But I think he done very well in the job and he has an opportunity to integrate a big club. That is where people will assess that later.

"You have to play with your style and what you believe is strong. He is a great manager and he will do that.

"We know that Liverpool will be absolutely up for it, we will be up for it.

"It is down to us to be very strong in the challenges to make sure that doesn't happen."

Arsène Wenger reported the following team news ahead of the Premier League game against Liverpool:

on the team news…
We will have to test Ospina who was not available on Saturday. We have Rosicky back in training so the situation is getting better.

on Ospina…
Ospina is a muscular issue and we have to check if he will be available or not. Overall I think he has a 60/40 chance to make it.

on Tomas Rosicky…
He will be back in full training this week, it is fantastic because he has been out for very long and it is good to know that a player of that calibre is back in our squad.

on Alexis…
We think he will be short for Wednesday, he has a chance to be available for Sunday [against Stoke]. He is always keen to play. If you listen to Alexis, he can always play - even when he is injured. We try to be cautious. With a muscular injury you never exactly how big the risk but he is very close. If you look at him training he is very close.

UNITED AIM TO MAINTAIN RECORD AT NEWCASTLE

Manchester United will seek to extend a good recent record at Newcastle United on Tuesday night in the first of back-to-back away games in the Barclays Premier League.

The Reds have won the last three encounters at St James’ Park, scoring eight goals without reply, and overall have only lost four of 21 trips to the Magpies’ home in the Premier League.

Newcastle lie third from bottom in the table after losing their last four games 1-0, including a battling reversal at leaders Arsenal at the start of the month, but may take encouragement from their backs-to-the-wall goalless draw at Old Trafford in August.

Five months before that, it took an 89th-minute Ashley Young goal to snatch the points on United’s most recent visit to Tyneside, during a six-game winning streak that ultimately helped Louis van Gaal’s men seal a top-four place.

Recalling last season’s corresponding fixture, van Gaal told MUTV: "It was a late win and a very important one, but it's not an easy ground. I also think Newcastle played very well at Arsenal [on 2 January] but they lost and that's football – you can lose despite playing a good way of football."

Among several players on the Newcastle sidelines are Dutchmen Vurnon Anita and long-term injury victim Tim Krul, who helped thwart the Reds at the start of the season and was famously brought on by van Gaal to help the Netherlands win their World Cup quarter-final penalty shoot-out against Costa Rica in 2014.

Three other Oranje internationals could start for the Magpies, including Siem de Jong and two other men who were part of van Gaal’s squad in Brazil two years ago.

"They have Darryl Janmaat and Georginio Wijnaldum also, who played for me in the Dutch national team, so I'm happy to see them again," the boss added.

United are bidding to extend the winning run at the start of 2016 to three games, following the victories over Swansea City and, in injury-time in the FA Cup on Saturday, Sheffield United.

And after Tuesday's tussle with Steve McClaren’s side, the Reds’ attentions will turn to Sunday’s big clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

It all adds up to an important few days but van Gaal insists: "It’s always a big week for Manchester United because the expectations are always high, we have to win and the pressure is big."

Who did Messi and Ronaldo vote for?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo kept up their long-running tradition of not voting for each other in the Ballon d'Or as seen in previous years.

Argentina captain Leo Messi, who picked up the award for the fifth time, voted for teammates Luis Suárez, Neymar and Andrés Iniesta, while Cristiano Ronaldo went for Karim Benzema, James and Gareth Bale.

Valbuena tells judge: "Benzema made me fearful"

The French footballer Mathieu Valbuena, who was allegedly subjected to a blackmail plot in which his international teammate Karim Benzema was complicit, revealed to the judge back in November that the Real Madrid striker made him fearful when they talked about the sex tape which the case revolved around.

On 6th October, Benzema told Valbuena that there were no other copies of the video, which he himself had seen, and warned him that the people who had the tape in their possession were "very, very bad", according to reports by 'Le Monde'.

The Lyon player explained that, to begin with, he thought that Benzema only wished to inform him, but he then became suspicious when he realised that the Real Madrid striker insisted on introducing a middleman, although Benzema never urged him to pay or acted aggressively.

As a precautionary measure, French justice has forbidden any contact between the two players and the French FA decided to suspend Benzema from the national team pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Alves Exchanges Words

It was not all smiles at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich. There was a heated verbal exchange between Cristiano Ronaldo and Dani Alves in the build-up to the event in which the two stars did not hold back.

Tensions have been running between the pair since 'El Clásico' in November after which Alves uttered a few choice words during a press conference: "Cristiano Ronaldo is too much of a personality. When you win, you're always in the limelight and when you don't, you have to bear the brunt of it. We have too much to worry about ourselves, I don't care what he does".

It was the players' first encounter since the match at the Bernabéu, with the difference being the nature of the exchange between the Portuguese and Brazilian which was verbal on this occasion.

Neymar frustrated with third place

Neymar has admitted his disappointment with the Ballon d'Or results.

"In all honesty yes, I'd hoped to come second", said the Barcelona striker, who finished third behind the winner, his teammate Lionel Messi, and Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

"But I'm over it now. It's another season and it's time to do things well all over again", said Neymar, who won five out of six possible trophies with his club in 2015.

"Now I have to work a little bit more to be amongst the three finalists again", added the striker, the first Brazilian to make the final three since Kaká won the award back in 2007.

Messi took 41.33% of the votes from the captains, national coaches and reporters from FIFA's member states. Cristiano Ronaldo was second with 27.76%, whilst Neymar came a distant third with 7.86% on the votes.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAY: Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey

Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey

Born Jan 11, 1978 (age 38)
Leicester, England

English striker who played for Liverpool, Birmingham City, and Aston Villa amongst other clubs before joining the Newcastle Jets in 2012; played for the English national team from 1999 to 2010

He made 62 appearances and scored 7 goals in his 11 years with England's national team

Transfer Talk

Bournemouth have submitted a formal bid for Norwich City striker Lewis Grabban.

Aston Villa are one of two Premier League clubs interested in Arsenal full-back Mathieu Debuchy.

Former Hull striker Dame N'Doye is expected at Sunderland for a medical ahead proposed season-long loan move from Trabzonspor.

Liverpool could make a shock bid for West Brom striker Saido Berahino.

*Liverpool have sealed an £11m deal for Brazilian winger Alexandre Pato, 26, who currently plays for Corinthians. 

*Newcastle have renewed their £18m bid for unsettled West Brom striker Saido Berahino, 22.

*Aston Villa duo Joleon Lescott, 33, and Brad Guzan, 31, allegedly swore at their own fans after drawing against Wycombe in the FA Cup.

Messi, Lloyd, Luis Enrique and Ellis triumph at FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015

Lionel Messi has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world for the fifth time, while US midfielder Carli Lloyd has claimed her first-ever FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award. FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique Martínez and US national team coach Jill Ellis have also been named for the first time as FIFA World Coaches of the Year for Men’s and Women’s Football respectively. The winners were chosen by the coaches and captains of the national teams as well as by international media representatives invited by FIFA and France Football. The entire electoral procedure was overseen and monitored by PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland (PwC).

The awards were presented on Monday evening (11 January 2016) during a 90-minute show at Zurich’s Kongresshaus that was hosted by Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt and British journalist Kate Abdo. The musical entertainment for the 1,100 guests and TV viewers in over 190 countries and territories around the world was provided by British pop star Leona Lewis and young Croatian cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser, known as 2CELLOS.

This year’s FIFA Fair Play Award was presented to all the football organisations and clubs around the world that are working to support refugees. Former German international Gerald Asamoah, who campaigns for the welfare of refugees, received the award from former South African icon Lucas Radebe on behalf of all the awardees. This year, the world has witnessed a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe because of conflict in Syria. Many innocent people have fled their homes in desperate conditions to find safety for themselves and their loved ones. Society has responded and the world of football has also contributed to the cause. Clubs and football organisations all over the world have acted to help welcome and support refugees as they integrate into local communities.

International players’ union FIFPro received votes from 26,478 professional players from around the world for the FIFA FIFPro World XI, the best team of 2015, with the following result: Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich) in goal; Dani Alves (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid) and Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) in defence; Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Luka Modrić (Croatia/Real Madrid) and Paul Pogba (France/Juventus) in midfield; and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona) and Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona) in attack.

The FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of the year was also presented after 1.6 million football fans cast their votes on FIFA.com, FIFA on YouTube and francefootball.fr. This award, which is a tribute to Ferenc Puskás, the captain and star of the 1950s Hungary team, was won by Brazilian Wendell Lira from Goianésia, who topped the poll with 46.7 % of the votes ahead of Lionel Messi (33.3 %) and Alessandro Florenzi (7.1%).

The awards at a glance
The FIFA Ballon d’Or was presented for the sixth time since the merging of the FIFA World Player of the Year award and France Football’s Ballon d’Or award in 2010.

• 165 national team coaches, 162 national team captains and 171 media representatives submitted their votes for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. Lionel Messi won the title with 41.33% of all votes ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (27.76%) and Neymar (7.86%).

• 136 national team coaches, 135 national team captains and 106 media representatives voted for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award. Carli Lloyd came out on top with 35.28% of all votes, ahead of German Célia Šašić (12.60%) and Japan’s Aya Miyama (9.88%).

• 167 national team coaches, 161 national team captains and 171 media representatives voted for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football award. Luis Enrique Martínez won the award with 31.08% of all votes after leading FC Barcelona to four titles (La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup) in 2015. Second and third place were claimed by Pep Guardiola (FC Bayern Munich, 22.97%) and Jorge Sampaoli (Chilean national team, 9.47%) respectively.

• 137 national team coaches, 137 national team captains and 106 media representatives voted for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football award. Jill Ellis won this prize after leading the US women’s national team to glory at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Canada. She secured 42.98% of all votes, ahead of Japan coach Norio Sasaki (17.79%) and England women’s national team coach Mark Sampson (10.68%).

FA Cup Highlights 2015/16 Chelsea 2 - 0 Scunthorpe United, Tottenham 2-2 Leicester

 Chelsea 2 - 0 Scunthorpe United

Diego Costa put Chelsea ahead just 13 minutes from Branislav Ivanovic's cross.

Second half substitute, Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored his first Chelsea senior team goal at 68 minutes to put Chelsea in control of the game.

Chelsea secured their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Diego Costa and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

DOWNLOAD @ http://www.gq234.com/video-chelsea-2-0-scunthorpe-united-fa-cup-highlights-201516/

Tottenham 2-2 Leicester

Tottenham took the lead through Eriksen, who followed up Chadli's initial shot to fire home.1-0.

Demarai Gray whipped in a corner for unmarked Wasilewski to head in the equaliser.1-1.

Okazaki put Leicester in front when he dribbled between two defenders & poked in at the second attempt.1-2.

Dyer was deemed to have handled in the box late on, gifting Kane the chance to level things up.2-2.

Leicester have only failed to score in one of their last 17 FA Cup games {a 0-0 draw away to Nottingham Forest in January 2012}

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAY Jamie Richard Vardy

Jamie Richard Vardy

Born Jan 11, 1987 (age 29)
England

Professional footballer who plays striker but can also play winger. He started his senior career with Stocksbridge Park Steels, scoring 66 goals in 107 appearances. In 2012, he began a career with Leicester City

He scored in a record eleven consecutive Premier League matches in 2015, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's record

‘It Should Have Been Me Or Yaya Toure’- Andre Ayew Slams CAF

In an interview with L’Equipe, the 26 year old Ghanaian forward Andre Ayew condemned the decision of CAF on making Gabonese star, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang  the African Footballer of the year few hours after Manchester City star Yaya Toure also criticized Pierre’s emergence..
Andre who is the son of Ghanaian legend, Abedi Pele said he expected either himself or Yaya to have won the award having played in the final of the last AFCON..
He said in the interview:

‘I think that playing the final game of the African cup of nations should be considered. I played this game and so did Yaya. I thought that the winner will be one of us..
However, I think that the Africans should consider their competitions before choosing the winner. To be honest, I think that the winner should have been me or Yaya.’

Andre’s Father Abedi Pele won the award in 1992 which was the last time a Ghanaian footballer did so..

Barça and Real dominate UEFA dream team

Five Barcelona players and three Real Madrid players were selected by UEFA.com users as the best of the year in their respective positions.

Barcelona are the club with the most players in the UEFA Team of the Year, with Neymar, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué, Dani Alves and, of course, Leo Messi making the grade. Notably absent from the 'Azulgranas' contingent is Luis Suárez. Compared to last year, only the Argentinian superstar repeats the feat. Real Madrid, meanwhile, are represented by three players: Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and James Rodríguez. Ramos and Ronaldo made the hypothetical XI in 2014.

The rest of the line-up is completed by Manuel Neuer and David Alaba of Bayern Munich and Paul Pogba of Juventus. It does not feature a single player from the Premier League.

Messi received the most votes, with 70% of over 600,000 respondents picking him as part of their team, ahead of Alaba (68%) and Iniesta (63%). Piqué (40%) andRonaldo (41%) received the fewest votes.

The full UEFA 2015 Team of the Year is as follows:

El once del año para los usuarios de la UEFA:

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Bayern de Múnich y Alemania)

Defender: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid y España)

Defender: Daniel Alves (FC Barcelona y Brasil)

Defender: David Alaba (Bayern de Múnich y Austria)

Defender: Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona y España)

Midfielder: Paul Pogba (Juventus y Francia)

Midfielder: James Rodríguez (Real Madrid y Colombia)

Midfielder: Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona y España)

Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF y Portugal)

Forward: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona y Argentina)

Forward: Neymar (FC Barcelona y Brasil)

DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS SELECTION?

Transfer Talk

New Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic says he has no plans to sell key player Moussa Dembele in January.

Daily Mail
Borussia Dortmund could be tempted if Arsenal bid £60m for newly-crowned African Footballer of the Year Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.

The Sun
Chelsea are tracking Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as a potential replacement for Eden Hazard.

The Sun
Chelsea will go back to Everton with £40m for John Stones in the summer but face competition from Barcelona.

Daily Telegraph
Real Madrid are interested in striker Harry Kane as the club starts to move into a new era with the likely departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer.

Tuttosport, Italy
Crystal Palace have made a £27m euros offer to Juventus to sign striker Simone Zaza

Arsenal will make a bid for Schalke captain
Benedikt Höwedes in the summer.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is interested in bringing his former player Mario Götze to Anfield

Source: SportBild German Publication

West Brom manager Tony Pulis has revealed the club are yet to receive a bid for striker Saido Berahino.

Twelve Liverpool Players Out Injured

Jordon Ibe has joined Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren, Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi, Jordan Rossiter and Martin Skrtel on long list of Liverpool players currently receiving treatment on hamstring injury.

Also out are:
Danny Ings & Joe Gomez(knee ligament)
Kolo Toure(cramp)
Jordan Henderson (heel)&
Mamadou Sakho(knee)



This long injury list has led to scrutiny of Klopp training approach

Opinion Poll: FIFA Balan D'or

Thierry Henry says it would be "madness" if Barcelona star Lionel Messi is denied the Ballon d'Or trophy Along with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barca teammate Neymar, Messi is a finalist for the award, which will be announced on Jan. 11.

QUESTION: Do you agree with Henry that it would be madness if Messi misses out on FIFA Ballon d'Or?

ENGLAND - FA CUP Third Round Results

FT Exeter City 2 - 2 Liverpool
FT Arsenal 3 - 1 Sunderland
FT Birmingham City 1 - 2 AFC Bournemouth
FT Brentford 0 - 1 Walsall
FT Colchester United 2 - 1 Charlton Athletic
FT Doncaster Rovers 1 - 2 Stoke City
FT Eastleigh 1 - 1 Bolton Wanderers
FT Everton 2 - 0 Dagenham & Redbridge
FT Hartlepool United 1 - 2 Derby County
FT Huddersfield Town 2 - 2 Reading
FT Hull City 1 - 0 Brighton & Hove Albion

FT Birmingham City 1-2 AFC Bournemouth

FT Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Stoke City

FT Everton 2-0 Dagenham & Redbridge

FT Norwich City 0-3  Manchester City

FT Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace

FT Watford 1-0 Newcastle United

FT West Bromwich Albion 2 -2 Bristol City

FT West Ham United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
FT Manchester United 1 - 0 Sheffield United

In The Papers

Eden Hazard has made up his mind to leave Chelsea in the summer, with PSG, Bayern Munich & Real Madrid all in for his signature.

Manchester United have failed in a bid to sign Sadio Mane this month but Southampton will listen to offers in the summer.

Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi is discussing a loan move to Reading.


 Source: Daily Mail

Jurgen Klopp is in talks with former club Borussia Dortmund over a loan deal for defender Neven Subotic.

Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy is in talks with Roma over a January move.

Leicester City have made an increased £16m bid for Aleksandar Dragovic, the Dynamo Kiev defender.

Marko Arnautovic's Stoke future is in doubt after talks over a new contract stalled.

Pep Guardiola has been told money is no object at Man City and will target Messi, Pogba, Alaba & Pique when he takes charge.

Real Madrid must fight off interest from Man United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and PSG to keep Gareth Bale.

Juventus & Roma have joined AC Milan in a three-way Serie A fight for Marouane Fellaini.

Odion Ighalo says he will only quit Watford for his boyhood club Man United.

Leicester have made an increased £16m bid for Aleksandar Dragovic,the Dynamo Kiev defender.

Tottenham want to tie down Dele Alli to a new double-your-money deal.

Bournemouth have made a loan enquiry for El Shaarawy, the out-of-favour AC Milan forward who is on loan at Monaco, with a view to a permanent £10m transfer.

Chelsea are refusing to give up hope of making Pep Guardiola their manager.