:::::FOOTBALL NEWS::::: (21TH AUGUST 2014) ****** Australia coach Ange Postecoglou broadened his base of players ahead of the Asian Cup by selecting fresh faces for upcoming friendlies. The Socceroos face Belgium and Saudi Arabia in September and the 20-man squad announced Thursday contains four uncapped players in Brad Smith, Chris Herd, Trent Sainsbury and Bailey Wright as well as A-League young guns Terry Antonis and Tomi Juric. Squad: Mat Ryan (Club Brugge), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund); Jason Davidson (West Brom), Chris Herd (Aston Villa), Trent Sainsbury (PEC Zwolle), Brad Smith (Swindon Town), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Bailey Wright (Preston North End); Terry Antonis (Sydney FC), Josh Brillante (Fiorentina), Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen), Matthew Leckie (Ingolstadt), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Tommy Oar (Utrecht), Carl Valeri (Melbourne Victory); Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Tomi Juric (Western Sydney Wanderers) ****** Former midfielder Paul Scholes said he fears Manchester United could spiral into obscurity if they do not arrest their decline. After romping home to win the 2012-13 Premier League title, United uncharacteristically finished seventh last season, with manager David Moyes losing his job as a result. Dutchman Louis van Gaal has since taken charge of first-team affairs but old habits were evident at Old Trafford as United lost their Premier League opener 2-1 to Swansea City. And Scholes - an 11-time Premier League winner with the club - believes United could continue to decline just like arch-rivals Liverpool did in the 1990s, having claimed the 1989-90 top-flight title before managing to earn just four runner-up medals in 24 seasons since. Liverpool also finished outside the top three on 15 occasions during that period. I am scared for United. Genuinely scared they could go into the wilderness in the same way Liverpool did in the 1990s, Scholes wrote in his exclusive column for The Independent. If United are to prevent a downward spiral, they must add to their signings of Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera and Marcos Rojo, according to Scholes. ****** Harry Kane is ready to take the Premier League by storm for Tottenham this season after several loan spells away from the club. The 21-year-old striker has risen through the ranks at White Hart Lane, but has often been on the fringes of the first team and has been sent out for temporary spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City over the the past three years. However, Kane broke into the senior squad under former boss Tim Sherwood last term, scoring three goals in 10 Premier League appearances. Those performances convinced the club to hand Kane a new five-year deal last week and he is now ready to continue his progression under head coach Mauricio Pochettino. When I was a bit younger, I thought defenders were a bit stronger in different aspects, but now I feel as I am as strong as any defender out there, Kane said ahead of Tottenhams UEFA Europa League play-off first-leg tie with AEL Limassol on Thursday. I dont feel uncomfortable when Im on the pitch. I feel stronger than ever, faster than ever and hopefully I can impose that on the opposition. ****** Hull City manager Steve Bruce has revealed the club are interested in signing Lorients Cameroon international striker Vincent Aboubakar. Aboubakar scored 16 league goals in a Lorient side that finished eighth in Ligue 1 last season, and the 22-year-old went on to feature in his countrys dismal World Cup campaign in Brazil. Ahead of Hulls UEFA Europa League play-off first leg against Lokeren in Belgium on Thursday, Bruce admitted that the club are in preliminary talks with the forward, although no offer has yet been made. He is someone we are aware of and he is a very good player, but whether something materialises I am not sure, he told the Hull Daily Mail. We havent made an offer, but we have had conversations. But at this stage weve had six or eight conversations with clubs and different players. ******* Cameron Jerome has joined Norwich City for an undisclosed fee from Stoke City and been backed to add power and pace in attack. Norwich manager Neil Adams believes Jerome will prove to be a shrewd signing as the Championship club battle to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. The 28-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Crystal Palace, has penned a three-year deal at Carrow Road to bring to an end a three-year spell at Stoke that produced 12 goals in 67 appearances. Cameron brings power and pace to our attacking options, Adams told Norwichs official website. Hes someone Ive been looking at for a long while and Im delighted he became available to us. ****** Marcos Rojo has penned a five-year contract after completing his €20million (£16m) move from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United. United winger Nani - who signed a five-year deal himself at Old Trafford last September - has returned to his former club as part of the deal, switching to the Estadio Jose Alvalade on a season-long loan. Both clubs confirmed that the protracted transfer had been completed on Tuesday, with statement a released by Sporting revealing that Premier League giants United will make an initial down payment of €10m, followed by further instalments of €5m on December 1 this year and July 1 2015. The deal had been delayed due to the complexity of third-party ownership, but the issues have now been resolved and the Argentina international defender is delighted to have finalised all the formalities. The Premier League is the most exciting league in the world and to have the chance to play in it for the worlds biggest club is a dream for me, the 24-year-old, who caught the eye recently at the World Cup, told Uniteds official website. I am young and am very keen to continue to learn the game, so playing for such an experienced technical coach as Louis van Gaal is a fantastic opportunity for me. ****** Holger Badstuber knows that Bayern Munich are in for a tough test on Friday when they begin their Bundesliga title defence at home to Wolfsburg. Pep Guardiolas men raced to a second successive title in record time last season and were confirmed as champions with seven matches remaining. Bayern eventually finished 19 points clear of nearest challengers Borussia Dortmund, having scored 94 goals and conceding just 23, winning 29 of their 34 matches in total. Before starting in Bayerns 4-1 DFB Pokal win over Preussen Munster on Sunday, Badstubers last competitive appearance for the club came back in December 2012, when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a league clash with Dortmund. Fridays opponents Wolfsburg finished fifth at the end of last season, missing out on UEFA Champions League football by one point. And Badstuber, while excited at the prospect of a return to action, is aware that Bayern must be mindful of the threat posed by their visitors to the Allianz Arena. ****** QPR have confirmed the signing of Netherlands international Leroy Fer from Norwich City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Fer featured at the recent World Cup in Brazil, scoring in a 2-0 win over Chile in Netherlands final Group B clash. The 24-year-old midfielder joined Norwich from Twente ahead of the 2013-14 campaign, but failed to help keep the club in the Premier League as the Carrow Road outfit finished 18th, three points adrift of safety. Fer featured as a substitute in Norwichs 3-0 win over Watford in the Championship on Saturday before completing his move to Loftus Road on Wednesday. I cant wait to get started here, Fer said. It was always my dream to stay in England, in the Premier League. QPR did well last season to come up and the squad is full of top players, so Im delighted to be here. ****** Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has signed a new four-year deal with the defending Premier League champions. The 28-year-old joins Sergio Aguero , Samir Nasri, Aleksandar Kolarov, Vincent Kompany and David Silva in committing their futures to the club. Over the last three and a half years weve made history together, but I feel like we are only at the start of something really special, Dzeko said. Im really happy here at City, its a second home to me. Dzeko has scored 46 goals in 109 Premier League appearances since joining City from Wolfsburg in January 2011. ****** Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has signed a new four-year contract with the Champions League winners. The deal will keep the Croatian international, 28, at the Bernabeu until 2018. The former Tottenham Hotspur player joined Real Madrid from White Hart Lane in August 2012 for about £30m. Modric has made 67 appearances for the La Liga side and started Tuesdays Spanish Super Cup first leg against Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 03:21:43 +0000
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