Jumat, 31 Agustus 2012

Official: Malaga sign Onyewu on loan

Oguchi Onyewu, Malaga
Malaga have signed Oguchi Onyewu on a season-long loan from Sporting Lisbon with a view to a permanent transfer.

The USA international can play in several positions but thrives in a central defensive role and will be added to the ranks already at coach Manuel Pellegrini's disposal.

The capture of Onyewu rounds off a busy day at La Rosaleda, as South American strikers Javier Saviola and Roque Santa Cruz were brought in on deadline day to help fill the void left by Jose Rondon's departure.

Onyewu is a Belgian passport holder from his time at Standard Liege, and thus does not infringe upon Malaga's non-EU allowance.

Selasa, 28 Agustus 2012

Hernandez happy to learn from new Manchester United signing Van Persie

Chicharito
Javier Hernandez is looking forward to working with Robin van Persie, insisting the competition for places will help Manchester United raise their game.

The Red Devils paid 24 million to bring the Dutch forward to Old Trafford, after the former Arsenal man, who netted 30 league goals for the Gunners last season, expressed a desire to leave the Emirates Stadium.

The Mexican stated that he is always keen to learn from his team-mates and that Van Persie, who scored his first goal in a United shirt in his home debut against Fulham on Saturday, will give everyone a boost.

"I think in life you never stop learning, no matter what age you are. I try to learn from all my team-mates, but obviously its great to watch the other strikers in particular," Chicharito told the club's official website.

"They have all helped me a lot and I know I will learn a lot off Robin because he is a world-class striker who has a lot to give to the team a nd a lot to teach us all."

The 24-year-old was left to watch from the bench as Sir Alex Ferguson's men beat the Cottagers 3-2, while the Holland forward and fellow summer signing Shinji Kagawa stole the show, both finding the net.

Hernandez, who saw his season goal tally drop from 20 to 12 last term, remained confident that he will be given a chance to impress in one of the many competitions United will feature in, stating that having to wait is nothing out of the ordinary.

"The great thing about this club is you know you will get opportunities because we play so many games in different tournaments," he continued. "There is competition for places but you always have that.

"I had that in youth teams when I was growing up and we have it here now because you need a big squad of players.

"There are only 11 places each week and you need to do your best to get one of those places, but it's great to have that competition beca use it means every player will have to raise the level of their game."

Sabtu, 25 Agustus 2012

Fulham make official complaint about Liverpool & Brendan Rodgers' pursuit of Dempsey

Clint Dempsey of Fulham
EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey Chief Correspondent

Fulham have made an official complaint to the Premier League about Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, Goal.com can reveal.

The London club have taken action against Rodgers for revealing in a press conference that Liverpool had enquired about buying Clint Dempsey.

Fulham believe that Rodgers has broken Premier League rules by his public courting of the United States international.

The complaint was registered last month and was discussed at the July meeting of the Premier League board, which consists of Richard Scudamore, Sir Dave Richards, Nic Coward and Mike Foster.

Fulhams action is believed to have been made specifically against Rodgers rather than Liverpool or the clubs American owners Fenway Sports Group.

In a statement to Goal.com on Thursday, the Premier League said: The Premier League has received a complaint from Fulham FC regarding certain comments made by Liverpool FC officials and is currently looking into the matter.

The Premier Leagues first step is to write to all parties asking for their viewpoints efore the board decides whether to take further action regarding Fulhams official complaint.

It is believed to relate to Section Q of the Premier League rules, which covers the conduct of managers making direct or indirect approaches to contracted players.

Fulham took exception to comments made by Rodgers to the media last month when he was pressed about his interest in Dempsey.

The United States international had been heavily linked to Liverpool up to that point, culminating in a website belonging to the clubs owners Fenway Sports Group publishing a story on July 18 claiming he was a Liverpool player.

The story was hastily removed but Rodgers addressed the subject at a press conference the same day.

Cli nt is a player we've inquired about, it is as simple as that, Rodgers said. Ian Ayre, our managing director, has spoken with the club to see what the position is. That is where we're at. He's a very talented player but we don't like to talk about other clubs' players.

Fulhams official complaint will do little to smooth negotiations between the two clubs should Liverpool make a formal offer for the American.

Martin Jol said last week that it was embarrassing that the Merseysiders had failed to follow up their sustained interest in Dempsey with a concrete bid.

It is rare for Premier League clubs to make formal complaints to the governing body about what effectively amounts to the tapping up of players. Some recent high profile examples include Tottenham taking action against Manchester United and and Liverpool for their seperate pursuits of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane in 2008.

As revealed by Goal.com earlier this month, Dempsey has been training on his own after making it clear he does not want to play for the Londoners again while waiting for a move to Liverpool to materialise.

The west Londoners have fined Dempsey for refusing to play for the club and Jol has said that it would be impossible to keep their 23-goal scorer from last season at Craven Cottage.

The American has been left in limbo while his future remains up in the air and he will not be involved in the Fulham squad that travels to Manchester United on Saturday.

Dempsey, who moved to west London five-and-a-half years ago, believes that Liverpools interest could be the last opportunity he gets to play for one of the elite Premier League clubs.

Fulham value Dempsey at 9m but a combination of his age 29 and his contract situation he has just entered the final year of his current deal mean that they will settle for a fee of around 6m.

He has also attracted interest from Aston Villa, Everton and Sund erland.

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Kamis, 23 Agustus 2012

'Of course I'd go' - Hector Herrera eager for Manchester United chance after 'official interest' lodged

Hector Herrera, Mexico U23
Pachucamidfielder andManchester United target Hector Herrera has announced his desire to join the Premier League club, following the Mexican club's sporting director announcing there has been official interest.

The 22-year-old has been courted by both the Red Devils and their rivalsLiverpool this summer but the player has not been contacted directly from any clubs yet.

"The truth is that so far I know nothing about what is happening, I am not aware, he told the Raza Deportiva.

"From what I've heard there has been some news, but I have had no approach from the Pachuca club president or the people from Manchester.

"If given the opportunity to emigrate to European football of course I'd go but I have wait to see what the club officials say."

Pachuca chairman Jesus Martinez Patino claimed in May that both Premier League teams had shown interest in the player's signature.

Now, Fassi has revealed that the cl ub have received a written approach from the Red Devils but did not elaborate on how far talks had progressed.

"There is an official interest," Fassi told ESPN. "We have the document [from Manchester United], but there's nothing else to add at this time."

Fassi was keen to keep Herrera at the Estadio Hidalgo but insisted that the Liga MX club would not hold the playmaker back if the right move presented itself, predicting that he would eventually move to England.

"We want him to continue in Pachuca," Fassi added. "We know he's going to emigrate to England, though. Manchester United and Liverpool have talked to us."

"At whatever moment he wants, he can leave Pachuca and the club will give him the opportunity to do so."

Rabu, 22 Agustus 2012

Dempsey: The truth will come out soon over Fulham bust-up

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Clint Dempsey says "the truth will come out soon" after it was revealed on Friday that he is attempting to force a move away from Fulham.

Manager Martin Jol told the media that last seasons top goalscorer is keen to switch to a Champions League-chasing club and has subsequently withdrawn from Saturday's matchday squad to face Norwich City.

However, Dempsey has seemingly rejected these assertions via Twitter.

"There are two sides to the story," Dempsey wrote. "The truth will come out soon."

The 29-year-old's future has been up in the air ever since he pulled out of the club's pre-season tour of Switzerland last month, as exclusivelyrevealed by Goal.com, in an attempt to force through his exit, with Liverpool long-term admirers of the player.

However, Jol confirmed at the same press conference that Brendan Rodgers' side never cemented their interest with a concrete offer - to the disappointment of Dempsey.

"There was never an offer," Jol told reporters. "Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool before he came back, so we really thought there was quite a firm interest in him.

"Even [Rodgers] told everyone he was interested in Clint Dempsey, but our people never had an offer on the table, so it's almost embarrassing. If you have shown interest in a player, especially in England, you have to follow it up with an offer. They didn't."

"Maybe Liverpool will come back. I can assure you that our chairman is strong enough. At first we didn't want to get rid of him, later on we had to change our position - but our view is that we won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap, that's for sure.

"If we get the right price for Clint we will sell him. If not, he will stay. We want to keep him but it's impossible because he wants to go. Clint wants to go to a Champions League club."

Vote for your Goal.com World Player of the Week

World Player of the Week
Goal.com World Player of the Week is our prestigious weekly accolade, awarded to the individual whose performances across the previous seven days are worthy of acclaim. Each Monday at 13:00CET, our worldwide team of editors put forward a candidate worthy of the title, and this is YOUR opportunity to influence our decision.

Simply leave a comment below between 10:00CET every Sunday and 11:00CET every Monday with the name of your winner, and the reasons for your nomination. Alternatively, you can post a message via social media on either Goal.com's Facebook or Twitter pages.

In addition to the victor, we highlight a number of honourable mentions who just missed out on the top prize. It does not have to be a Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi - any star of the global game that you feel deserves recognition, let us know, and the best comments, messages or tweets will be included when our winner i s announced on Goal.com.

Last week's winner was Oribe Peralta, who helped Mexico reach the Olympic final with a goal over Japan in the last four, then led his country to an unlikely gold medal with two goals against Brazil, and saw off competition from the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kwadwo Asamoah and Rodney Sneijder to land the accolade.

Who is your World Player of the Week this week? Get involved!

Former Fulham man McBride: Dempsey would succeed at Liverpool

Brian McBride, Columbus Crew, MLS
EXCLUSIVE
By Shane Evans

Former Fulham striker Brian McBride has insisted current want-away Cottagers star Clint Dempsey would be a success at Liverpool, were he to move to Anfield.

The 29-year-old has attempted to force through a move already this summer by not featuring on a pre-season tour with the club and has now refused to play for Martin Jol's team until ge is transferred.

The dutch manager has insisted he would welcome Dempsey back into his squad readily, and that no bids have been made but the former Fulham striker is sure his compatriot would shine on Merseyside.

"If youre asking me if I think Clint can succeed [at Liverpool]? For sure," McBride told Goal.com. "Hes got not only the talent and the ability but hes a very determined individual. He adapts extremely well to so many different situations.

"Take Fulham for example. Hes had four or five different coaches. H es always put his head down and showed them what hes made of.

"I think thats a sign of not only a very good player but one that is able to adapt and make the transition regardless of who the manager is.

McBride is currently playing with Wembley FC who, in partnership with American beer company Budweiser have been competing in this season's FA Cup with several former stars including David Seaman, Ray Parlour and Graeme Le Saux.

The non-league outfit beat Langford 3-2 in the extra preliminary round clash recently and the former USA international is delighted to be part of the project.

"My mindset going through this is that Ive been trying to get involved with grassroots soccer and Budweiser helped make the connection.

"I get a chance to do some coaching and some mentoring at a lower league level and really get to see the passion that goes into the game itself. These guys go through the same amount of training but sti ll have jobs and have to work through all those different aspects."