Compiled by Ranjika Perera
* Xhaka writes off Roma move
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Granit Xhaka’s much-hyped move to Roma is off the table and he expects the midfielder to be a “key member” he desperately looks for a way to guide his team to glory. The defensive midfielder was at the brink of joining Jose Mourinho at the Serie-A club, but the transfer took a drastic change in the last week when reports emerged that Xhaka would remain with the Gunners. Xhaka recently returned to training before scoring in Arsenal’s 2-1 ‘friendly’ defeat to Chelsea on Sunday (1). Arsenal, speaking to media after the match said, “Granit (Xhaka) is going to stay with us. He is a key member of our squad.”
Xhaka briefly put the Gunners on level terms when he headed home from a Nicolas Pepe corner. Arteta’s team suffered a huge blow in the game when midfielder Thomas Partey had to walk off due to an injury during that match. Arteta added, “At the moment, it’s not looking good because he was in pain and he could not continue.”
* Tuchel experiments with Pulisic
Thomas Tuchel in a surprise formation started Christian Pulisic at wing-back in Sunday’s pre-season friendly against Arsenal. He emphasised on the fact that now is the time to experiment while several players are still on holiday. The American started as a right-wing-back with Callum Hudson-Odoi starting on the left as Chelsea sealed a 2-1 win, thanks to goals from Tammy Abraham and Kai Havertz. The Blues did not have the services of Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Reece James for the friendly match, letting Tuchel the chance to experiment something new with two of his attackers.
* Luke Shaw offered new deal
According UK media reports, Manchester United will offer Luke Shaw a new contract. It claims that after Shaw’s performance over the course of the previous season and his sheer class during England’s Euro 2020, he will be offered an extension for his stay at Old Trafford. The 26-year-old joined the Red Devil’s from Southampton in 2014 but struggled with form and injuries with all of previous Managers until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over at the helm. However his last season was his best for Man United, where his current deal is due to expire in 2023. Shaw will return to training along with other players who were on international duty, including Harry Maguire and Paul Pogba. United’s pre-season training has been somewhat disrupted after their planned friendly with Preston North End was called off due to coronavirus breakout amongst the players or staff on Thursday (29 July). They are scheduled for training on Sunday (8) ahead of a Scottish training camp.
* Bernardo Silva wants exit from Man City
Portuguese and Manchester City winger Bernardo Silva has reportedly decided a move to Spain ahead of the 2021/22 season. He has been strongly linked with a move away from the Premier League champions after losing his starting XI last season. Pep Guardiola is keen on retaining the services of Bernardo but he may need to offload some players to complete deals for Harry Kane and Jack Grealish. According the Daily Mail, the 26-year-old has his eyes on a move to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid while the two clubs are monitoring the situation with interest. With four years left on his current deal, Guardiola is likely to demand in the region of £ 60 m (16.6 b) to kick-start any potential exit talks.
* Juve, Barca, and Real Madrid still hung up on ESL
A court in Madrid has ruled that the Union of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) disciplinary proceedings against the founding 12 clubs of the proposed breakaway league must be scrapped, while the case will now be assessed by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. On 18 April, 12 clubs announced themselves as founder members of the Super League, but the competition crashed down within 72 hours after nine withdrew amid fan protest, opposition from UEFA, FIFA, and domestic leagues, and even the British Govt. and Royal Family. Those nine clubs --Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and AC Milan-- were each handed an approximate £ 7 m (Rs. 1.9 b) fine by UEFA and fined 5% of their prize money. The court order from Spain has ruled those penalties must be removed while ongoing disciplinary proceedings against Barca, Juve, and Madrid, who have always stuck by the project, must also be terminated.
A joint statement from the three clubs on their websites read: “FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid CF welcome today’s Court’s decision enforcing, with immediate effect, UEFA’s obligation to unwind the actions taken against all European Super League founding clubs, including terminating the disciplinary proceedings against the undersigning three clubs and removing the penalties and restrictions imposed on the remaining nine founding clubs for them to avoid UEFA’s disciplinary action.”
* PSG suffer defeat in French Super Cup
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) got off to a worst possible start for the 2021/22 season as Mauricio Pochettino’s men suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Lille in the French Super Cup. Xeka’s first-half goal was enough to defeat PSG, after they managed to lift the domestic title by a solitary point over the latter. Pochettino was without star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Neymar but still managed to field a relatively experienced side with Achraf Hakimi, Ander Herrera, and Mauro Icardi picked in the starting line-up.