John Obi Mikel has revealed the atmosphere has improved at Chelsea since Jose Mourinho departed and interim boss Guus Hiddink arrived.

And while he believes Hiddink can't be expected to perform miracles, he believes the reigning champions will climb the table and has not ruled out salvaging a top-four place.

"We've moved on and the atmosphere has improved since the change of manager," he said. "It's fine now, we've just not been getting results.

"Jose is a fantastic manager and will always be a fantastic guy. But sometimes football is a cruel game and you have to move on. He came back to the club a second time and won two trophies, but now he's gone and we have to move on. Is it the right decision? Who knows? We'll only see in the future.

"We're down there in the table for a reason so he [Hiddink] can't come in and perform miracles, but we want to get out of there and climb the table. We've had three games now without losing so are making the right steps.

"He hasn't changed much yet, but he was here before and he knows the place and all the staff. The players are different - only me and John Terry were here before - but he knows what to do.

"I don't think reaching the top four has gone yet. We've got a lot of games left to play and points to catch up. If we keep going in this direction and keep keeping clean sheets then we'll definitely score goals."

TRANSFER GOSSIP....

HIDDINK OR PEP FOR CHELSEA
After being surprisingly told that Juande Ramos was being considered as a potential replacement for Jose Mourinho in the interim period, we couldn’t quite help focusing on the word ‘potential’. That makes us doubt whether it will actually happen, because we’re dreadful cynics.
Thursday brings a couple of different claims of Chelsea’s post-Jose plans. The Sun say that Chelsea will go to Pep Guardiola and tell them to ‘name his price’ in order to appoint him. Hopefully Pep will put ‘55378008’ on a calculator screen and turn it upside down to show Roman Abramovich the joke, before running off into the distance.
Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph say that Guus Hiddink is the likely short-term option, with Diego Simeone the man to take them forward for the long term. Which all sounds very sensible.
If we are good boys and girls from now until next summer, can we have a Premier League in which Van Gaal, Klopp, Guardiola, Wenger and Simeone are all managers, please?

EVERYONE AFTER BOJAN
Ah yes, lovely Bojan. If reports in Spanish newspaper Sport are to be believed (relayed by The Sun), Stoke’s Spaniard is the talk of the town. The claim is that Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are all interested in signing the 25-year-old, who Stoke value at £15m. 
Bojan only cost Stoke £800,000, so that sort of offer would be great business for them. There really isn’t much else to say other than that the player would surely love to get back into the Champions League.

LIVERPOOL TO RAID SCHALKE
Jurgen Klopp raiding Borussia Dortmund would not be that surprising, but going after players of their rivals Schalke would be interesting to say the least. 
The Daily Express report that Liverpool are interested in signing central defender Joel Matip, who would be available on a free transfer next summer. That leaves Liverpool able to sort out a deal from January onwards.
In addition, the Daily Mail say that Klopp would also like to sign Leroy Sane. Wouldn’t we all? Sane is the Bundesliga’s Next Big Thing. Liverpool would be joined by every other big club in Europe in an attempt to prise him away from Germany.
ARSENAL EYE XHAKA
Granit Xhaka isn’t quite the defensive midfielder we had in mind for Arsenal, but he is at least a central midfielder. That’s something. Plus he has a rock hard name.
The Daily Mail believe that Arsenal have been scouting Xhaka ahead of a possible move in January, keeping tabs on him during Borussia Monchengladbach’s Champions League matches against Manchester City.
We’ll say what we normally say here: Big clubs are scouting hundreds of players at a time. It’s not really massive news that they would watch an exciting 23-year-old international in a key position.

AND THE REST
Manchester United are ready to offer Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski £10.9m a year…Liverpool are again considering a move for Basel striker Breel Embolo…Chelsea are likely to bid for Southampton striker Graziano Pelle, 30, in the January transfer window…Tottenham will have to put any move for Marseille’s Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi, 22, on hold until next summer at the earliest…Chelsea captain John Terry, 35, fears he might not be given a new contract.

was a massive disappointment during his spell in England. The 27-year-old scored just 10 goals in 67 games for Spurs, and left after just two years to join Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande earlier this year.
Paulinho has generally hapless during his spell in England, and he has opened up on his time there.
“I was unhappy in England; the last months was the worst moment of my career,” he told Spanish newspaper Sport.
“I was unhappy and my family was not right. The chance to work with Scolari appeared, in a team where there were other Brazilians, and I chose the option of playing in China.”

Stories alleging that Eden Hazard faked a hip injury against Leicester have been rubbished by the Chelsea forward’s father.
Hazard had to be substituted after barely half an hour of the game against table-topping Leicester on Monday, falling heavily under a challenge from Jamie Vardy.
The Belgian limped off the pitch with a hip injury, but reports in his homeland questioned whether or not he was ‘boycotting’ manager Jose Mourinho by faking a knock.
Hazard’s father, Thierry, has rubbished such claims.
“All those stories are invented,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “Do you really think that Eden’s going to fake an injury in such an important game?
“You all know him as someone who likes to play. As much as possible. His hip is really hurting. It’s difficult to say if he’ll play at the weekend. But we hope he’s fit as soon as possible.
“Eden stays pretty cool under his current form,” Hazard continued. “All players have had periods where things went against them. Eden keeps on working. Also for Jose Mourinho. They still get along.”

NEYMAR, MESSI, UNITED, CITY
This is wonderful stuff from The Sun, so just sit back and enjoy.
‘Lionel Messi and Neymar are at centre of a £1billion battle of Manchester United and City,’ screams the headline, not on the back page, but six pages within their edition on Wednesday. Why is such a massive story not given precedence over widely reported quotes from Claudio Ranieri on the futures of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, Phil Taylor eyeing a darts title for his late mum, or an exclusive on how Jose Mourinho is morphing into Rafael Benitez? Weird.
Anyway, back to this groundbreaking news. According to The Sun’s Ken Lawrence, Barcelona forwards Neymar and Lionel Messi are wanted men by both Manchester clubs. The former’s head ‘has been turned’ by United’s offer, while Messi has ‘been blown away’ by the financial packages on offer.
‘Money is no object’ for either clubs, writes Lawrence, who adds how the latest Premier League TV contract, combined with giant sponsorship deals and season ticket sales, means both United and City will soon boast almost £1BILLION (ooo, look at their shiny bold font) a year in revenue. As a result, Messi and Neymar will be at the top of both of their transfer wish lists. They will be joined by ‘the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Thomas Muller and Paul Pogba, plus managers Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti’, according to Lawrence.
Ed Woodward and City’s Khaldoon El Mubarak have ‘done the maths’, which will take into account Neymar’s £165million buy-out clause, his £500,000-a-week salary, Messi’s buy-out clause of over £200million and his weekly wage of around £515,000.
Lawrence reports on ‘top-secret talks’ (clearly not very top-secret) and ‘private’ (clearly not very private) admissions from United that they need a Ballon d’Or contender as he attempts to drag the story out as far as possible.
This is a 5,681 word story, the crux of which is that United and City have a lot of money, and so could buy the world’s best players. This is not claimed as an exclusive, it is not new news, and it is buried within the sports section of the newspaper, as opposed to proudly adorning the back page.
Lawrence concludes with the following paragraph: ‘But there is much more to come from both clubs as they attempt to prove that Manchester really is mad for it.’
Excellent stuff all round.

GIFT OF THE GABBY
Onto The Times now, who report that Aston Villa ‘will consider offers’ for club captain and longest-serving player Gabby Agbonlahor in January.
Agbonlahor, who has made eight appearances for the bottom club so far this season, was pictured ‘outside a London nightclub’ in the aftermath of Villa’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend, so will presumably be granted the same treatment from the British press as team-mate Jack Grealish.
After falling out with manager Remi Garde, Agbonlahor ‘could be sold in January’, The Times add. It’s all well and good, but they seem to be missing one vital point: who in the shuddering f*** is going to want to sign Gabby Agbonlahor?
The 29-year-old, who is reportedly a striker, has not scored in the Premier League since his two goals against Sunderland back in March. Agbonlahor has scored 10 goals in his last 72 Premier League appearances, and has registered six shots this season – the same amount as Charlie Daniels and Gary Cahill, and fewer than Nyom and Steve Cook.

THE TOWNSEND IS NIGH
The gossip goes full circle now, finishing with The Sun. They report that Southampton want Andros Townsend.
Saints, who had a £10million bid rejected for Townsend last summer, are ready to ‘rescue’ him from ‘his Tottenham hell’. By ‘hell’, they presumably mean not being at all good enough, needlessly falling out with a fitness coach, and scoring three goals in 47 career Premier League appearances at the age of 24. Hellish.
Newcastle and Bournemouth will provide competition for Townsend’s signature, epitomising just how far his star has fallen in such a short space of time.

AND THE REST
Arsenal are poised to sign Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic in the January transfer window…Chelsea have reportedly made an offer for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti…Leicester forward Riyad Mahrez, 24, says he is staying at the Foxes until the end of the season despite being linked with Arsenal and Tottenham…Liverpool have agreed a £4.3m deal to sign Red Star Belgrade winger Marko Grujic…Watford are hopeful of signing Roma’s £15m-rated winger Juan Iturbe in January, most likely on loan with a view to a permanent move…Jurgen Klopp has the financial backing of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group to spend in January…Man United are plotting a quick return for striker James Wilson who is currently on loan with Championship high-fliers Brighton…Tottenham have made another check on Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi, who has scored 11 goals in 18 appearances this season, but a price tag of £30m could put them off a move.

CHELSEA FIRES MOURINHO...

After the Blues’ League success last season in his second spell at the helm, the Portuguese manager has endured a disastrous start this season, losing nine of his first 16 games of the season to sit just one point above the relegation zone.
Mourinho’s last game in charge was Monday’s 2-1 loss to Leicester City, who lead the English standings, a mammoth 20 points clear of last year’s champions.
Mourinho signed a four-year deal in August with the London club, yet his poor start and lack of results has seen him ousted from the club with which he won three EPL titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
An official statement on Mourinho's departure is yet to be made by the club.
It is unclear who will take over from the decorated manager, with former coach Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola and former Tottenham Hotspur coach Juande Ramos the early contenders.
Chelsea face fellow strugglers Sunderland in their next league clash on Saturday.

Anthony Ujah, Jude Nworuh & David Abwo Score In Cup Games

Super Eagles striker Anthony Ujah was on target as Werder Bremen came from behind to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 4 - 3 in the DFB Pokal on Tuesday night.

The 25 - year - old’s goal in the 78th minute was his third goal in a row in the Cup, having found the net in the earlier rounds against Würzburger Kickers and Cologne, and his tenth in all competitions this season.

Dele Aiyenugba and Jude Nworuh will compete in the semifinal of the Toto Cup after Bnei Yehuda beat Maccabi Netanya 1 - 0, with the former FC Ebedei starlet scoring the winning goal in the 67th minute.

In the Turkish Cup, former Nigeria youth international David Abwo registered his name on the scoresheet in the fifth minute but could not prevent Giresunspor from losing 2 - 1 to Antalyaspor.

Former Super Eagles skipper Vincent Enyeama kept a clean sheet in Lille’s 1 - 0 victory over Laval in in the League Cup.

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy and Claudio Ranieri win monthly Premier League awards for November

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy and coach Claudio Ranieri have been named the Premier League's player and manager of the month respectively for November.

Vardy, who also won the prize in October, netted in all three of the club's matches last month, as he set a new Premier League record of scoring in 11 straight matches.
Ranieri guided the Foxes - the log leaders and top scorers in the division - to seven points out of a possible nine in November, beating Watford (2-1) and Newcastle (3-0) before drawing 1-1 with Manchester United.
Leicester, who barely survived relegation last season, next host ailing champions Chelsea on Monday.

Cesc Fabregas calls on Chelsea stars to improve

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas feels all the big players at the club need to up their game in order to drag the London side out of their current slump.

The reigning Premier League champions suffered their ninth loss of the campaign as they went down 2-1 to Leicester City on Monday, leaving them just a point above the relegation zone.
And Fabregas feels a big improvement, especially from the star players, are needed in order to lift themselves up.
"We all have to take our responsibility, if you are a big player and are paid like a big player you have to perform and behave like a big player,” he said at a Q&A session at a charity event.
"We all have bad games, but the attitude always has to be spot on and we have to be at the top of our games even when it’s not and not the behaviour that we are seeing right now from every Chelsea player.
"As a player you have pride. Ok, we cannot win right now the Premier League, but come on. We all have to do better.”
The Spaniard refused to comment on where the Blues would finish in the standings come May, insisting the team’s focus is only on winning their next game against Sunderland this weekend.
"Right now it's not the time to think about where we'll finish,” he said. “We've been saying it all season: we draw one game, OK, next game looks easy. But we lose.
"Next game we say the same thing, so at the end of the day I don't think about anything, I just think that I want to beat Sunderland and play my best, and that's it because right now, no-one is easy as it shows.
"We have been putting ourselves in this position and we have to now prove, and again, we've been saying that - prove, prove, prove - since the beginning, and now we really have to start winning."

Glo-CAF Awards: Ayew, Toure, Aubameyang listed

• Amuneke nominated for Coach of the Year
• Nwakali, Osimhen, Etebo also shortlisted
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Abuja on Monday announced the names of three top nominees for the 2015 African Footballer of the Year Award.
The names were announced at a joint press briefing by the CAF, organisers of the most prestigious annual African footballer of the year award and its exclusive sponsor, Globacom, the Next Generation Network at a joint press conference held at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja on Monday.
The three nominees, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon & Borrussia Dortmund of Germany, four-time African Player of the Year, Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire and Manchester City and Andrew Ayew of Ghana and Swansea City FC were announced by CAF Executive Committee Member,  Moucharafou Anjorin, who represented CAF at the event.
CAF also released the names of top three finalists for the Africa-based ‘Player of the Year’ Award. They are: Mbwana Aly Samatta of Tanzania and TP Mazembe, Baghdad Bounedjah of Algeria and Etoile du Sahel and Robert Kidiaba of Dmocratic Republic of Congo and TP Mazembe.

The list was prepared through a vigorous selection process by the Technical, Football and Media Committees of CAF, taking into account the performance of the players for their national teams and clubs from January to November of each year.
The King will be crowned at the Awards Night holding at the International Convention Centre, Abuja on January 7, 2016.
Also released is the list of nominees for other categories of the Awards. Nominated for Women Player of the Year are the duo of Gabrielle Onguene and Gaelle Enganamouit of Cameroon, Ngozi Ebere of Nigeria, N’rehy Tia Ines of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana’s Portia Boakye while the Youth Player of the Year has Adama Traore of Mali, Kelechi Nwakali of Nigeria, Samuel Diarra of Mali, Victor Osimhen of Nigeria and Yaw Yeboha of Ghana as nominees.
For the Coach of the Year Award, Baye Ba of Mali U- 17 team, Emmanuel Amuneke of Nigeria’s U-17 team, Fawzi Benzarti of Etoile Sportive de Sahel, Herve Renard of Cote dIvoire and Patrice Carteron of TPMazembe were nominated while Azubuike Okechukwu of Nigeria, Djigui Diarra of Mali, Etebo Oghenekaro of Nigeria, Mahmoud Abdelmonem of Egypt, and Zinedine Ferhat of Algeria were shortlisted for the Most Promising Player of Year Award.
Others are African Legend Award which will be decided between Charles Kumi Gyamfi of Ghana and Samuel Mbappe Leppe of Cameroon and National Team of the Year Award which will be contested for by Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali U-17, Nigeria U-17 and Nigeria U-23 teams.
USMA of Algeria, TP Mazembe of DR Congo, Orlando Pirates of South Africa and Etoile Sportive du Sahel of Tunisia were nominated for Club of the Year Award while in the Women National Team of the Year category Ghana, Camerron, South Africa and Zimbabwe were shortlisted.
Five referees including Alioum of Cameroon, Bakary Papa Gassama of Gambia, Eric Arnaud Otogo Castane of Gabon, Ghead Zaglol Grisha of Egypt and Janny Sikazwe of Zambia will compete for the Referee of The Year Award. The prestigious Platinum Award will be presented to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria for being the host and for his passionate commitment to the development of football.
The Glo-CAF Awards gala has become one of the world’s most iconic sports awards ceremonies, providing Africa with a reputable forum for recognising and rewarding excellence in the various departments of football.
Globacom Limited and CAF have been in partnership for the past 11 years, and have worked together to make the African Best Football Player Awards glamorous, thereby stimulating the growth of African football.
Speaking at the event, Globacom’ s Business Director, North West,  Kemi Kaka who represented the company at the occasion, said that “This is the 11th year of Glo-CAF partnership and we at Glo take pride in the significant strides our alliance with CAF has achieved in raising the quality and popularity of football in Africa.”
Kaka said: “Globacom will continue to use its clout in sports sponsorships in Africa to encourage people in sports, African Culture and business to excel.”

Mikel wants to play at Rio Olympics

Chelsea star Mikel Obi has expressed his desire to feature at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as one of three over-aged players.
The 28-year-old midfielder has won almost every major trophy at stake including the UEFA Champions League and English Premier League, but has missed out on playing at the Olympics, africanFootball.com reports.
Incidentally, it was Coach Samson Siasia that left him out from the 2008 Olympics after he stayed away from the competition qualifiers.
“He has made it clear he wishes to play at the Rio Olympics,’ a top official of the Nigeria Football Federation told africanFootball.com.
“But it is left for the coach to pick the overage players he will take along to Brazil next year.”

Oliseh to join CHAN EAGLES IN RWANDA

It can exclusively be revealed that Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh will not be joining up with the team when they resume training camp for next year’s CHAN as he continues to recover from a virus infection.


Twenty six players of the home-based Eagles will resume training in Abuja on Monday, December 14, ahead of the CHAN in Rwanda in January.

However, a top official informed Oliseh will only join up with the Eagles in South Africa when they set up training camp there later this month by which time he would have fully recovered.

“Oliseh will not come to Nigeria as he is still recovering from illness in Belgium. He will now join the Eagles in South Africa when they begin training camp there,” disclosed the official.

Oliseh himself has admitted he has not fully recovered from a virus infection, which has seen him lose weight dramatically.

The illness forced him to miss the CHAN Eagles second leg qualifier in Burkina Faso.

Assistant coach Salisu Yusuf is expected to lead the team in the absence of Oliseh as he did in Ouagadougou.

Amaju Pinnick charges Dream Team To Beat Senegal

Senegal on Wednesday afternoon to be certain of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

At the 2015 All Africa Games, both countries met in a Group B fixture and it ended honours even at Stade Municipal de Kintélé, Brazzaville, with left - back Mustapha Abdullahi scoring a last - minute equalizer to tie the game 1 - 1 .

“It is not going to be easy playing against the host nation that is high on confidence, having won all their three group phase matches, ” said Amaju Pinnick in a release published by the official website of the Nigerian Federation, thenff.com.

“Extra effort will be needed in all departments; hardwork and courage are critical virtues that the U-23 boys must take to heart on Wednesday.

 “Our country is on a run of excellent results in international competitions. We are determined that run must continue and that is why the U-23 boys must defeat Senegal to assure of a place in Rio de Janeiro next year.”

Senegal are the only team left in the knockout round with a hundred percent record, while the Dream Team are undefeated at the tourney but drew their last two games with Egypt and Algeria.

 UEFA Champions League results

A round-up of Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League results as Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo make history.

Group A:
Real Madrid 8-0 Malmo
Real Madrid ran riot over their Swedish counterparts as Cristiano Ronaldo bagged four goals in under 20 minutes, with Karim Benzema also grabbing a hatrick while Mateo Kovacic also added to the scoresheet. Benzema opened the scoring as early as the 12th minute and doubled his side's tally 12 minutes later. Ronaldo then joined the party with a free-kick in the 39th minute to hand Madrid a 3-0 half-time lead. The Portuguese star then completed his hatrick within five minutes of the restart, before adding another in the 59th minute. Kovacic got in on the action in the 70th minute before Benzema completed the rout and his hatrick nine minutes later. Ronaldo became the first player to reach double figures in goals during the group stage in Champions League history - scoring 11 in six matches.
PSG 2-0 Shakhtar
Paris Saint Germain came out 2-0 victors over their Ukrainian opponents thanks to second-half goals from Brazilian forward Lucas and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Real Madrid complete Group A undefeated and go through as leaders with 16 points from six games, while PSG advance as clear runners-up with 13 points from six games.
Group B:
PSV 2-1 CSKA Moscow
PSV overcame CSKA in a thrilling encounter which sure caused a rise in blood pressure for their supporters. A 76th minute penalty, which was converted by Sergey Ignashevich, caused some excitement in the group, but Luuk De Jong's equaliser two minutes later quickly restored parity. A stunning goal from Davy Propper secured the win the Dutch side, as well as progression to the knockout phase of the competition.

 Wolfsburg 3-2 Man United Wolfsburg experienced a nervy start as Anthony Martial opened the scoring for United in the 10th minute, however, Naldo quickly pulled one back to pile the pressure on Louis Van Gaal's side. 16 minutes later, the German side were sitting pretty as Vieirinha put Wolfsburg into the lead at half-time. Two late goals turned the group into a virtual rollercoaster as a Josuha Guilavogui own-goal almost saved United's hopes of advancing, but Naldo quickly sent the Premier League side into the Europa League with a 84th minute winner for the home side.

Wolfsburg finished top of Group B with 12 points, while PSV Eindhoven advanced as runners-up with 10 points. It was heartbreak for Man United as they finished in thrid place on eight points.
Group C:
Benfica 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Benfica failed to make use of their home advantage in the battle for top spot in Group C against Atletico, with Saul Niguez and Luciano Vietto netting on either side of half-time, before Konstantinos Mitroglou bagged a consolation for the Portugues outfit.
Galatasaray 1-1 Astana
Galatasaray failed to make it two wins in six as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Kazakhstan's Astana, who scored their first ever away goal in the UEFA Champions League. Patrick Twumasi grabbed the opener for the visitors in the 62nd minute before Selcuk Inan levelled matters two minutes later.
Atletico topped Group C with 13 points, while Benfica finished runners-up with 10 points. Galatasaray fall into the Europa League after finishin third with just five points.
Group D:
Sevilla 1-0 Juventus
A 65th minute Fernando Llorente goal was enough to seal victory for the reigning Europa League champions over Juventus, however, the win was not enough to see the Spanish side advance into the next round of the Champions League.

 Manchester City 4-2 Monchengaldbach City fought back from 2-1 down to register an emphatic 4-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach at the Etihad Stadium. David Silav opened the scoring in the 16th minute before Julian Korb equalised for th visitors. Three minutes before half-time Raffael handed the Germans the lead, but after the break City came out guns blazing as Raheem Sterling bagged a brace within a minute of each other in the 80th and 81st minute. Wilfried Bony completed the results in the 85th minute and ensured the Citizens finish top of the group.
Group D ended with Man City as leaders on 12 points, while Juventus had to settle for second place with 11 points. Sevilla will again join the Europa League after finishing third with six points, ahead of Monchengladbach on five points.

• Paris St G v Shakt Donsk 19:45
•  
• Real Madrid v Malmö FF 19:45
•  
• VfL Wolfsburg v Man Utd 19:45
•  
• Man City v B M'gladbach 19:45
•  
• PSV Eindhoven v CSKA 19:45
•  
• Benfica v Atl Madrid 19:45
•  
• Galatasaray v FC Astana 19:45
•  
• Sevilla v Juventus 19:45

EPL GIST....

Bit slow this afternoon. Sort it out. Email us at theeditor@football365.com

The problem is that it’s Martial or nothing
Van Gaal call for patience for Martial got me thinking about the effect his position as UTD’s main goal scoring hope will affect his career in the long term.
Generally, when a young player with potential is maturing in their younger formative years, managers will have periods when they take them out of the limelight. Sir Alex was great at this approach as can be seen with the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo.
Whilst they were too good not to play in their younger years there were periods when United could afford to leave them on the bench and rely on older more established pros such as Van Nistelrooy for goals.
The fact that Martial has come in and started with such a bang, coupled with the negligence of LVG leaving United with a lack of attacking options, means that he pretty much has to start. Now that he is going through a period where his form has dipped it would be ideal to take him out for a few weeks away from the spotlight.
However, United simply can’t afford to do this and the longer he doesn’t score the more the pressure will build and the more his confidence will dip. This mismanagement of a young talent could ultimately be to the detriment of his progress in the long term.
Long story short, buy a striker to take the pressure off and let Martial develop at a normal rate for a 20 y/o striker.
Mark MUFC

Liverpool: Also need a winger
That list of Top 10 Problems clubs must fix in January is very good and it’s hard to disagree with anything on there.
While I’m a fan of the squad depth we have in other areas (not necessarily the quality level everywhere but that’s another mail for another day) you are right about our need for another full-back but I’d add another winger onto that list.
Carra made a point that it’s borderline negiligent to go into a season with Jordon Ibe as our only “senior” winger and I agree. Ibe has been impressive under Klopp but it can’t last forever. He’s 20 this week and will be due to drop off if he’s consistently played (I mean I hope he doesn’t but I’m being realisitic) so we need another body in that area. Honestly, I don’t mind if it’s recalling Ojo from Wolves (he’s been doing quite well) or buying someone, I’d just feel better about our improving form (Sunday aside).
Kris, LFC, Manchester

English tactics stopping strikers from arriving from abroad?
After reading a couple of articles, one about the changing role of a striker and the other about a lot of clubs needing a striker in January it got me thinking…
The first article pointed out that most clubs used to have two strikers up top and are now generally only having one. I don’t think there’s much argument that many PL clubs would like / need another striker.
However, I’ve always thought goalkeeper was the worst position to be as there is only one place for you on the team sheet unlike outfield players that generally can play in a number of positions.
So my question is… If you are plying your trade a s a striker, would you want to come to the premier league where only one guy gets the nod or would you rather go play in a country where two strikers regularly trot out on the pitch (or you could go to Real or Barca where they have about five strikers in the team who all score a hundred goals a season).
Just looking at the striking ‘rejects’ from the Premier League over the last couple of seasons might put a few possible targets from coming.
Jon, Jo’burg

Explaining how draws work
The reason that Chelsea often get an easy draw in the third round is that at this point in the competition the draw contains more lower league than top division teams.
It’s not a conspiracy. It’s just a load of balls in a goldfish bowl.
Steve – Germany

Actually, Ferguson wasn’t omnipotent
This is regarding the piece titled “English Management – new dawn or slow death?” by Daniel Storey.
My attention was drawn to a particular line where he says that delegation of management is seen as a weakness in a British/English manager, and takes Alex Ferguson’s example.
It was surprising to read, because Ferguson recently emphasised on this aspect, in the case study on him in the Harvard Business Review where he said his performance as a manager improved remarkably since he started to delegate – and this was when he was still at Aberdeen, not even United.
The point of the article may be valid, but Ferguson was an absurd example to use, since almost everyone knows he was one of the least hands on managers in his final years at United. Sure he had the final word on transfers, but that doesn’t mean he saw delegation as a sign of weakness, far from.
Kartik V


On directors of football
The piece on the rise of Directors of Football this morning was interesting and thought-provoking. The idea of the DoF is to ensure continuity, as Les Reed points out, so that should a manager either underperform or overachieve and get poached by someone else, a similar coach can come in. This approach has worked well in recent years with Swansea, for example, even if their progress has arrested of late.
The DoF role is a foreign influence, and the rise of the role is linked to the influx of foreign owners. With North American investors, it’s largely a nod to the General Manager/Head Coach dynamic employed by just about everyone in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB – owners of successful teams in those leagues would naturally want to replicate the recipe for success in a new sport. More generally, it’s a symptom of the amount of money sloshing about it club coffers these days – these businessmen didn’t make their money without being careful about how they spent it.
On the other hand, certain old-fashioned English managers (whose surnames might rhyme with “dead cap” and “pen-a-balls”) have form for taking unilateral control of the club and of the chairman’s chequebook, splurging money ridiculously, then doing one at the first opportunity once the money dries up and leaving everyone else to clear up the mess.
Too many lessons have been learnt the hard way about leaving one person in charge of every aspect of running a football club. We don’t like to think of clubs as businesses but that is what they basically are, multi-million pound businesses. The Manager/Head Coach is in effect a head of department, just as the DoF and Commercial Manager will be heads of different departments.
The sooner the old-fashioned British PFM gaffer-autocrat types realise that the Manager is a very important cog, rather than the whole machine, the sooner they’ll be back in work. Otherwise, they’ll become an irrelevance, and simply reduced to hanging out with Richard Keys, talking about how British managers don’t get opportunities these days, clubs “go foreign” and what do Directors of Football even do?
The literary Ed Quoththeraven

Bournemouth: Better than you think
AFC Bournemouth may have been struggling in this division, but can I please point out that prior to Saturday’s game versus Chelsea, we had actually scored 9 (nine) – in brackets just like the videprinter for avoidance of any doubt – goals away from home in the league this season. Including 4 (four) against the team currently in sixth. And after Saturday, the tally is currently more than 11 (eleven) other teams in the division.
Not quite sure what that says about Chelsea, but it says we are a lot better than you may think. Only time will tell if it’s good enough to avoid relegation. But we’ll give it a damn good go.
And we might even have even more away goals before we’ve left the Emirates later this month.
Robbie (AFCB)

Praise for MOTD
Match of the day has rightly been criticised over the years, the BBC failing to keep pace with Sky’s analysis and the old boys club phoning in their appearances from the 18th green.
But, this season I’ve actually started enjoying it again. They’ve stopped the rot by replacing the moaning serial miserablists and top football haters Hansen and Lawro. Danny Murphy looks like he actually loves watching football.
And, weirdly, I think I saw a glimmer of personality from Alan Shearer on Saturday (admittedly it was the personality of my boring uncle but it’s a start). Combine that with Gary thoroughly enjoying Leicester’s season and we’ve got ourselves a show going.

Neymar to United. For £144m

Date published: Tuesday 8th December 2015 1:18

See, it’s not just us
Shout out to Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo for their list of forwards that Barcelona could sign in January. That list includes Antonio Di Natale, Luca Toni, Dimitar Berbatov, Miroslav Klose and Claudio Pizarro.
They might as well go full Harry Redknapp and get Niko “lovely boy” Kranjcar in.

No more, Neymar
‘Manchester United transfer news and rumours: United up ante for Neymar with staggering bid of £143.9m,’ is the big transfer news from the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday. You have to admit, it’s pretty hot stuff.
You also have to admit that it’s probably piping hot mess. The Telegraph write that ‘today reports are doing the rounds’, but Mediawatch’s rough translation of that is ‘Fichajes.net said yesterday’. No wonder they didn’t quote the source.
That Fichajes story is headlined as ‘Neymar not listen to Manchester United’ when forced through Google translate. It’s fair to say even our favourite bulls**t peddlers intrepid transfer rumour reporters aren’t having this one.
‘Manchester United have €200 million to spend, and their priorities are of course Gareth Bale and Neymar. But the Brazilian international will not hear talk of the Red Devils.’
So Fichajes go with ‘United have €200 million to spend but won’t get Neymar’, and within 24 hours the Telegraph have ‘United up ante for Neymar with staggering bid of £143.9m’? They should be ashamed (but they’re not).

Walk on
‘Sergio Aguero struggling to walk and will miss Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Borussia Monchengladbach but Yaya Toure returns to training,’ reads the catchy headline on MailOnline.
‘Manchester City’s injury problems have worsened with the news that striker Sergio Aguero is struggling to walk,’ a piece by Ian Ladyman begins. ‘City face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Tuesday night looking to recover some form after Saturday’s Barclays Premier League defeat by Stoke City. But manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed on Monday that Aguero will still be missing as he tries to recover from a heel injury.’
Aguero might be struggling to walk, but that’s not what Pellegrini said. As Ladyman’s own piece quotes: “It is an injury that he cannot work on. He needs time to recover from that problem. It is not a serious injury but it is a pain injury. We will have to see how he improves in the next week.”
Lost in translation?

Blame game
‘Blaming him [Van Gaal] for yet another goalless draw – United’s fourth in six home games – doesn’t add up,’ is Adrian Durham’s first big opinion of the day in his MailOnline column. He does like a big opinion.
‘The big stick Van Gaal was being beaten with was that United had only one effort on target in the West Ham game on Saturday. But whether the efforts are on target or not is not down to Van Gaal, it’s down to the player who is aiming for the target.’
That’s all true, of course, as long as you ignore details such as where the players are shooting from, which players are doing the shooting and how the chances are created (ie the style of play), all of which are implemented by the manager.
Why stop there? It isn’t Steve McClaren’s fault that his players have shown little passion, or Tim Sherwood’s fault that his players couldn’t attack or defend properly. Why is any manager sacked at all, when it’s the players who have played badly not them?
To answer the rhetorical question, it’s because the manager is held responsible for the performance of the club’s players on the pitch. If West Ham was a one-off then Van Gaal could avoid censure, but it’s three goals in six home games and seven in ten in all competitions.

I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Mediawatch would like to congratulate Sheffield Wednesday’s Lucas Joao on being named as the Football League Player of the Month in the Championship for November.
Joao played 188 minutes in November, and started one match. He was brought off in the 56th minute of that game. Quite the advert for England’s second tier.

We’re not scared
‘Barca clash would be no hell for Pell,’ reads the headline in the Daily Mirror.
‘Manuel Pellegrini has no fears about Manchester City finishing second in their Champions League group – even if it means facing Barcelona again,’ is the first line of that story.
Number of mentions of Barcelona: None.

Changed your tune
“It is very important to finish top of the group, not just to avoid Barcelona, but to beat a big team like this in Turin” – Manuel Pellegrini, November 24.
“If you do not finish at the top of your group, I do not think it is disappointing. I do not think we have to be always pessimistic about the draw. Maybe if you finish top, you can have a draw against a big team that finished second in its group” – Pellegrini, December 8.
Funny what a defeat to Juventus can do.

Ride together, die together
“What’s good is that he tells us we’re all together, if things are going badly there’s a problem with everyone. He doesn’t leave us, how shall we say, in the s**t, in the poo, and we’re always together” – Kurt Zouma.
Because if there is one thing Jose Mourinho is famous for, it’s not singling people out for blame.

On the same page
“On the positive side we are still in all four competitions, but today we didn’t have the legs to defend as we needed to or attack in the way we liked and we didn’t create many chances. We have had to play the same 12 or 15 players for most of the season” – Manuel Pellegrini, December 6.
“The amount of games is not an excuse, because we have everything around us to make our life easy. We have good facilities and good staff, and as much as we can recover we have to do it” – Bacary Sagna, December 7.

Daniel and Romelu up a tree
Dateline: Leeds, March 2016
Daniel Storey finally leaves Football365, changes his name to Rupel Boom, moves to Liverpool and starts a cult based on the teachings of Romelu Lukaku.  Great significance is given to the number 10, members all wear ebony shoes and Romelu deniers are called ‘Joses’. The cult grows fast.
Dateline: A complex just outside Tranmere, August 2019
Lukaku is sold to Real Madrid for £50m. The COL whipped into a manic frenzy by their charismatic leader, Rupel Boom, tragically follow through on their suicide pact. The note they leave is a little too wordy.
Jeremy Aves


Wake up, Jose
I know that hindsight is a wonderful thing, but seeing De Bruyne lighting up the Etihad and Lukaku scoring his 11^th goal of the season, its maddening knowing that Chelsea allowed them to depart (admittedly for lots of money!)
I have no inside knowledge, but seemingly Jose wanted more defensive work (De Bruyne) and didn’t trust Lukaku to lead the line at his age ?
Now, I’m not in the Jose out camp, although I am peering over the fence watching those guys toasting marshmallows on their bonfire. but I am left hugely disappointed by his lack in looking at the long term.  He’s happy to continue picking players on past glories (Ivanovic, Fabregas, Costa) when its obvious to pretty much everyone that these players aren’t performing.  Surely its time to trust other players. Namely any younger ones.
Loftus-Cheek should be a regular now. If able (clause?) bring Christensen back from his loan (18 games in defence for a Champions League side, who just beat Bayern Munich and are 3^rd in the Bundesliga!) Bamford could easily fill the Falcao role (namely sub with odd game!) and not do any worse.  Nathan Ake offers versatility at LB and CM.  Ola Aina certainly wouldn’t be any worse than Ivanovic at RB, pus there’s Kenedy and Troure.  Not even mentioned the youngster’s at Vitesse.
I’ll caveat the above with the acceptance that, in July it was the correct decision to send players out on loan.  Far better for e.g. Christensen to play in German League, than sit behind Cahill, Zouma and Terry at Chelsea, but things have changed.
I only hope that Jose can change too ?
Neil (happy to finish 12^th with youngsters, than 6^th (?) with current team), Surrey.

Just trust Baba
Does anyone else who been watching Chelsea with Baba Rahman feel that no Chelsea player seems to trust Baba.
In last weeks game against Bournemouth (and other matches before), i noted that Baba was in good position multiple times with acres of space infront of him to run.. but other Chelsea players preferred to pass side ways than to Baba.
Baba has not been very good with ball at his feel but to his credit sent in two good deliveries from the wings when he was given the ball.
Either Mourinho should not play Baba or players should trust Baba when he plays. It otherwise feels like we are playing with an handicap.
Bharni CFC

Death, taxes, and Arsenal needing a midfielder in January
Scrolling down the Top 10 list this morning wondering what was number 1 was like listening to the charts at Christmas. Arsenal’s centre midfield problem = X Factor winner. In a list of problems you just knew that’d be number 1 for the 748th Christmas in a row.
Joe (sign up Tugay) 

Calm it, Brian la
Jeez Brian, LFC, we were not being negative, but cautious, and the point I was trying to make was don’t invoke ‘the commentator’s curse’. .
I applaud you being the optimist in your regular emails, but always saying “We WILL” just leads to trouble, with laughter and abuse from other team’s mailboxers, as you have experienced in the past. As we have learned from recent experience getting too optimistic can lead to crushing blows.
As you say, it is only December and we do have some definite winnable games coming up and all the big teams still to visit us. But we need to raise our home form/atmosphere for the latter to count, and as we have just found out you can’t guarantee anything (and no, that’s not negative, it’s just taking into account the whole season’s home form so far).
Sure keep the excitement and hope going Brian, I will as well, but like many of us, will not shout it from the rooftops. I distinctly remember the 70s and 80s management teams and players constantly emphasizing do the talking on the pitch, not in the media.
Of course if we do manage to do it this year I WILL buy you a pint!!
Mike (I repeat, “in Jurgen we trust”) Woolrich , LFC

Watford thoughts
When asked over the summer by a Chelsea supporting acquaintance my thoughts in Ighalo as a fantasy football selection I said something along the lines of ‘if he plays he’ll score a lot of goals’
This weekend’s victory showed exactly why, he was an absolute menace from start to finish and given that Bassong spent a portion of last season on loan at Watford and I would imagine training against Ighalo, it is quite surprising that he didn’t seem to know what was coming. With a bit of luck he could have had 3 or more.
With Everton and Lukaku next to come for Norwich I’m sure Ryan Bennett and Bassong will surely be looking forward to the relative relief of United’s frontline.
But onto Watford and that was much better, Villa last week was a battle of resilience whereas this week we took the game by the scruff of the neck and controlled it. There was a 15 minute wobble in the middle of the second half but even then we looked capable of scoring at any point. We now sit 9/10^th depending on the result later tonight (Monday) but are as many points from the top as we are from the relegation zone. My heart tells me to look up (at time of writing only a point away from a probable European place) but the head says get to 40 points (36 will probably be enough) as soon as possible and be grateful for any fun you have along the way.
A long trip to Sunderland awaits next weekend, surely an interesting tactical battle between an irresistible force and an immovable object. Not sure if either team will want the ball as both look to keep it tight at the back and grab something on the counter, could be an awful game for the neutrals or it could end up 4-4. 3 points would be incredible but 1 would be nice.
Following that game the fixture list looks a little darker with the next 10 including Liverpool, Man city, Spurs (twice), Chelsea (twice). But based on this weekend would anyone fancy trying to predict scores in those games. (if forced, draw with Spurs at home, 4 points from Chelsea and lose the rest)
Colin (Above Chelsea for Christmas dinner, what a time to be alive) Watford FC

Morning, Ed
Dear Football365,
All right, don’t make a big song and dance about it.
*I thought a draw was a fair result.  Early on in the Guardian’s minute by minute Nick Ames made the point that an early goal would have spoiled the fun, as one team got more defensive, and I think he was right.  With Palace scoring in the 76^th minute, Everton then threw everything at them to get an equaliser.
*Obligatory reference to two F365 recurring themes: Daniel Storey’s love of Romelu Lukaku (how many games? How many goals? How old?), and the site’s assertion that hitting the post/bar is not unlucky, merely inaccurate shooting.  Not sure I fully I agree with that, but you could sympathise with Toffees fans thinking they were cursed, such was the magnetism between the frame of the goal and the ball.
*Yanick Bolasie and Gerard Deulofeu made this into the battle of the jinky wingers, and were their respective team’s main attacking threats throughout the game.  One of football’s great pleasures is watching someone combine speed and skill to make an opponent look foolish, and on nights like last night, these are two of the best at it in the Premier League.
*Lukaku deserves all the plaudits, but at the other end, Connor Wickham put on another quietly decent centre-forward display, creating space and chances for the attacking midfielders behind him.  People will still put him down for his lack of goals, some of which is fair, but the role he plays in the creation of chances for more skilful teammates is important.
*Wayne Hennessey had possibly his best game for Crystal Palace last night.  However, I’m still not convinced he will ever be good enough to take the Glaziers to where they want to be.  Similarly, one of Everton’s main limitations in recent seasons has been Tim Howard.  It’s not that he’s constantly making gaffes, but there are signs of a lack of mobility on occasion.  For example, Bournemouth’s third goal last week – Howard had taken a cheat step towards the near post, to give himself a better chance of getting to a shot there, and was then found miles out of position when the ball was crossed and headed in, because he wasn’t quick enough to react or move.
Howard has found himself in a similar position to David James, late in his career.  His accomplishments in his heyday meant he largely avoided criticism for any poor play, but that same status meant he was effectively undroppable, even when it became glaringly obvious he was a major part of the problem.
Everton have the makings of a very good team, in players like Lukaku, Deulofeu, Galloway, Coleman and Stones (plus others), but it does seem like a new goalkeeper could be one of the answers for when they want to really push for a place at football’s top table.
*Crystal Palace are up to sixth.  Our next two games are against Southampton and Stoke, two sides we should be aiming to be in the mix with come the end of the season.  After that, we’ve got three against teams looking nervously over their shoulders at the relegation zone: Swansea, Bournemouth and Chelsea.
Regards,
The literary Ed Quoththeraven

Insults to injuries
While sitting in a drab econ lecture on a dreary winter evening, my mind couldn’t help but wander towards the whirlwind that has been this season’s Premier League. I know it’s been said time and time again, but you really can’t tell who is going to beat who in the league, even 15 games in, which makes for some fantastic entertainment every damn week. There has been 1 clear overachiever in the league so far- Leicester sitting at the top of the table, with people constantly questioning when they will hit a bad run of form rather than if. I do agree with that questioning, as the big reasons for their overachievement have been free-flowing attacking football coupled with a hit of injuries to all the big clubs below them, and their luck to stay relatively injury-free (not to undermine them at all, they’ve been a joy to watch this season).
For Leicester, they’ve had 7 players- Vardy, Kante, Drinkwater, Albrighton, Huth, Morgan, and Schmeicel- who have featured in every game this season, Mahrez has also just missed 1 game out of 15. That sounds like some sort of fantasy for the perenially injured sides of Arsenal and United who have only had 3 players feature in every game this season- Giroud, Monreal, and Cech for Arsenal, and Mata, Smalling, and Schweini for United. City just can’t seem to get the job done without their backbone of Aguero, Silva, and Kompany who have collectively missed 20 games between them. And Liverpool have had some Henderson, Coutinho, Lallana, and Sakho injuries sprinkled around the glass legs of Sturridge. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see whether Leicester can keep this up when it all gets evened out and Mahrez has to sit out for a few games while Vardy fires blanks; not to be pessimistic, but injuries are inevitable, and when they catch up to the Foxes, and the big teams start firing with relatively fitter squads, then we will be able to see their true character. Till then though, it’s fun to watch them shake up a league that has become a little too complacent , hopefully it’ll set them straight, and this could be the wake up call other English clubs to get their act together, especially if they want to stand a chance of avoiding the continuing trend of embarrassment in Europe.
– HJ (The Epl is the best league in the world), MUFC

Siasia says team have fixed defensive problems

Nigeria coach Samson Siasia has assured his team have fixed their defensive lapses after they posted a clean sheet against Algeria at the weekend.

Nigeria let in four goals in their first two games against Mali and Egypt, before they posted a more assured display back in defence to hold Algeria to a goalless draw.

Siasia said: “We have learnt our lessons. Two games in which the first half looked good and the last half didn’t. We made our corrections and you can see from how we played in the last game.

"We are not going back home empty –handed; it's no retreat, no surrender. We have to get ourselves ready for tomorrow's game (semi-final vs Senegal); it's going to be a difficult one. It’s going to be eleven players against eleven, so we have our chances to qualify."

He also argued that skipper Azubuike Okechukwu’s absence on account of a one-match suspension will give another player the chance to shine on Wednesday.

“We would have loved to have Azubuike because he is the captain and a big motivator, and you have to have a leader on the field. But he’s suspended, so we have to live with that. There is no need crying over spilt milk,” he said.

“In life, you always have to make adjustments in several areas. Azubuike’s absence will give another player the opportunity to prove himself.”

The coach also said he is using FIFA U17 World Cup sensation Victor Osimhen sparingly so that the youngster is not consumed by the occasion.

Neymar wins La Liga Player of the Month

Neymar has been named La Liga’s Player of the Month for November – astonishingly, the first time a Barcelona player has won the award.

Spain’s top-flight first introduced the awards in 2013, but no player from the Nou Camp has lifted the trophy, despite their remarkable success over the years.

"We want to play Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern - we want to play all the big teams and for that we need to win tomorrow."

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is confident his side will continue their participation in this season's UEFA Champions League and rules out the possibility of lifting the Europa League trophy.

Mourinho will come up against his former side FC Porto in Chelsea's final Group G clash on Wednesday evening and, despite their poor form, the Portuguese tactician has ruled out the option to partake in the continent's secondary cup competition.
The London side are currently two points away from the Premier League relegation zone - down in 14th spot with 15 points from 15 games - their worst ever start to a season in England's top flight.
With a top four finish looking more and more unlikely as they continue their poor run of form, it was suggested that perhaps Chelsea's best chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League would be to win the Europa League.
However, Mourinho quickly ruled out the option of taking any such route, and insists they can still qualify if they win the competition they are currently still competing in.
"I know that in this moment, it looks that to win the Europa League would be an easier way to be in the Champions League next season than to finish in the top four," he said.
"But there is another possibility, which is to win the Champions League. Yes, it is harder than winning the Europa League, but this is the competition where we are.
"I was always against the teams that are knocked out of the Champions League going to the Europa League because I think there is such a difference in the level of competition.
"It is not fair for the teams that are in the Europa League to do the group phase then in February to get the teams that are knocked out of the Champions League.
"I think if you are knocked out of the Champions League, you should go home and focus on domestic competitions.
"We want to play Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern - we want to play all the big teams and for that we need to win tomorrow."
Should Chelsea lose against Porto on Wednesday evening and Dynamo Kiev win against Maccabi Tel Aviv, then the Russian and Portuguese outfits would advance from Group G, and Mourinho's side will then drop into the Europa League.

TRANSFER GOSSIP

BAYERN JOIN UNITED IN MANE RACE
First to the Daily Telegraph, whose reporter Jeremy Wilson believes that Bayern Munich have joined the race for Sadio Mane. They join Manchester United in holding a serious interest in the Southampton winger.
Wilson writes that serious injuries to Arjen Robben this year mean that Mane is on Bayern’s wanted list. It’s worth pointing out that both Robben and Ribery are nearing full fitness, and Bayern do also have Kingsley Coman and Douglas Costa in those areas. Both were bought this year.
One thing is for sure; if Mane is to leave Southampton, it will take a whacking great fee. His contract does not expire until 2018, and has performed brilliantly since midway through last season. We’re talking £30m plus.

CHELSEA WANT ZLATAN
Well thank goodness for that, because it’s been a week or so since Zlatan Ibrahimovic was linked with a move to the Premier League. Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been mentioned before. As have Chelsea, to be honest.
The story comes from ESPN Deportes (nope, us neither) via the Metro, who claim that Ibrahimovic will sign a pre-contract agreement at Chelsea in January, with a view to moving on a free transfer next summer when his contract expires at Paris St Germain.
Ibrahimovic having played for Jose Mourinho before is basically the only evidence for the move, so it’s worth pointing out that he’s played for quite a few coaches.
Still, the striker did say this in March: “’We worked together for one year at Inter. The feeling was great between us and my only regret is that we were together for only one year.”
Ibrahimovic turns 35 next year.

ARSENAL TURN TO CARVALHO. AGAIN?
It’s like seeing an old friend’s train enter the station while you wait for them on the platform, itching to catch up and find out how they’ve been. ‘William Carvalho to Arsenal,’ it’s been too long. Come and give us a hug.
This one is actually a Daily Telegraph ‘exclusive’ from Jeremy Wilson; somebody has been busy
‘Arsenal are again interested in Portugal international William Carvalho as they try to solve their central midfield injury crisis but the difficulty of making a major signing in January means they are also focussed on the available loan options,’ the piece reads. Hmmm, which bit is the exclusive here, the loan players or Carvalho?
The Telegraph also say that Carvalho could be available for a fee of around £25m, but that Sporting would be reluctant to sell. If that’s the case, they don’t really have to. Carvalho has a minimum fee release clause of £35m.
To be honest, Ruben Neves feels like a more likely option. Carvalho is set to become the next Leandro Damaio, in that he doesn’t really exist.
BAYERN JOIN UNITED IN MANE RACE
First to the Daily Telegraph, whose reporter Jeremy Wilson believes that Bayern Munich have joined the race for Sadio Mane. They join Manchester United in holding a serious interest in the Southampton winger.
Wilson writes that serious injuries to Arjen Robben this year mean that Mane is on Bayern’s wanted list. It’s worth pointing out that both Robben and Ribery are nearing full fitness, and Bayern do also have Kingsley Coman and Douglas Costa in those areas. Both were bought this year.
One thing is for sure; if Mane is to leave Southampton, it will take a whacking great fee. His contract does not expire until 2018, and has performed brilliantly since midway through last season. We’re talking £30m plus.

CHELSEA WANT ZLATAN
Well thank goodness for that, because it’s been a week or so since Zlatan Ibrahimovic was linked with a move to the Premier League. Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been mentioned before. As have Chelsea, to be honest.
The story comes from ESPN Deportes (nope, us neither) via the Metro, who claim that Ibrahimovic will sign a pre-contract agreement at Chelsea in January, with a view to moving on a free transfer next summer when his contract expires at Paris St Germain.
Ibrahimovic having played for Jose Mourinho before is basically the only evidence for the move, so it’s worth pointing out that he’s played for quite a few coaches.
Still, the striker did say this in March: “’We worked together for one year at Inter. The feeling was great between us and my only regret is that we were together for only one year.”
Ibrahimovic turns 35 next year.

ARSENAL TURN TO CARVALHO. AGAIN?
It’s like seeing an old friend’s train enter the station while you wait for them on the platform, itching to catch up and find out how they’ve been. ‘William Carvalho to Arsenal,’ it’s been too long. Come and give us a hug.
This one is actually a Daily Telegraph ‘exclusive’ from Jeremy Wilson; somebody has been busy
‘Arsenal are again interested in Portugal international William Carvalho as they try to solve their central midfield injury crisis but the difficulty of making a major signing in January means they are also focussed on the available loan options,’ the piece reads. Hmmm, which bit is the exclusive here, the loan players or Carvalho?
The Telegraph also say that Carvalho could be available for a fee of around £25m, but that Sporting would be reluctant to sell. If that’s the case, they don’t really have to. Carvalho has a minimum fee release clause of £35m.
To be honest, Ruben Neves feels like a more likely option. Carvalho is set to become the next Leandro Damaio, in that he doesn’t really exist.

MORENO FANCIES MADRID…
…or to be more exact, Alberto Moreno’s agent says that his player would quite fancy a move to Real Madrid. Wouldn’t we all, squire.
Last week, Marca linked Real with a move for the Liverpool left-back in January, and Moreno’s agent Javier Moya was hardly going to pour cold water on those rumours. We’ve all got Christmas to pay off.
Speaking to Spanish radio station Radio 4G:

“If Real Madrid were to make an offer that would make him really happy, but Liverpool would have to take the first step.
“If a team as important as Real Madrid were to speak with us and Liverpool were satisfied with the operation, we would talk. Inquiring about an important player is logical, that is normal. Important teams from Spain and other places are asking. It’s difficult.
“Everyone knows the importance of Real Madrid but Liverpool have five European Cups.”

And Real Madrid have ten, if we’re counting.

MANCHESTER UNITED ENTER AUBAMEYANG RACE
Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is European football’s hot property. Bayern Munich might be taking the p**s again in the Bundesliga, but the Gabon international has scored 17 goals in 14 league games. Chuck in seven Europa League goals and you have Europe’s top scorer.
The Daily Mirror claim that Manchester United have watched Aubameyang several times this season, which we suspect goes for every big club in Europe with money to spend.
They also mention Aubameyang’s price tag of £42m, which seems about right given his record and age (26). Dortmund paid £9m for him in July 2013.
Yet his AC Milan who should be feeling the most dim. They loaned him out four times before selling him for £1.2m to St Etienne in January 2012. He never even played a game for them.

ARSENAL WANT JAMES McARTHUR
Yeah, we’re not buying this one. Here In The City (us neither) make the claim that Arsenal will look to sign Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur in order to solve their defensive midfield issues. Stop laughing.
Even they describe any potential move as a ‘shock’. Given that Wenger has recently only spent big money on statement signings, it’s be more than a shock.
It must be said that McArthur has been in fine form this season for Palace, but he’s already 28. Is this really the answer to Arsenal’s problems?

AND THE REST
Liverpool to open contract talks with Simon Mignolet… Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic is in the last year of his deal and Inter want to sign him… Newcastle United want to sign 1860 Munich striker Rubin Okotie in January… Gary Neville’s odds of becoming the next Fulham manager have dropped dramatically… Jack Grealish, 20, stayed behind for extra training on Tuesday in a desperate bid to win over new Aston Villa manager Remi Garde… Porto and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, 34, has said he is open to a move to Major League Soccer.
emember that EXCLUSIVE that The Sun’s Neil Custis provided us with just over a fortnight ago, where he claimed Ronaldo was heading to Manchester United? Or Sunday’s similar claims from the Mirror’s Simon Mullock? Well, forget it all, because Antony Kastrinakis has just put his balls on the table.
The man in the know claims that Ronaldo will entertain joining Paris Saint-Germain, and ONLY Paris Saint-Germain, if he leaves Real Madrid in the future. In claims directly opposing that of his colleague Custis, Kastrinakis attributes sources close to the Portuguese star as confirming a return to United is not being entertained.
PSG’s style of play, the way of living in Paris and, in particular, manager Laurent Blanc are all given as reasons for Ronaldo’s decision, and Kastrinakis saves his best line until the end:

‘That, right on queue, the French champs began talks with Blanc over extending his contract says it all really.’

Great stuff.

‘ARRY’S BACK
We’d like to say we’ve missed Harry Redknapp, but football’s white noise has been louder than ever since his last managerial spell with QPR ended in February. Still, Harry the pundit is a different beast to ‘Arry the gaffer. We could be about to see the return of the latter.
That’s according to the Daily Mirror, who claim Redknapp ‘is in the frame’ to replace Steve McClaren if he is sacked by Newcastle. Brendan Rodgers remains the favourite for the post, but Darren Lewis reports that Redknapp ‘is also tipped to be the man to sort out the shambles’ at St James’ Park. Just like he sorted out the shambles at QPR.
For what it’s worth, pretty much every other national newspaper reports that McClaren is in no danger of losing his job at Newcastle, as things stand. That, coupled with Redknapp’s intermittently dodgy knees, Newcastle’s quota of foreigns and the amount of traveling involved means we can file this in the ‘unlikely’ folder.

UNITED, SAINTS AND BARCA HIGHLIGHT BREEL
Time to go a bit continental now, with Swiss newspaper Blick reporting that Manchester United, Southampton and Barcelona are interested in FC Basel striker Breel Embolo.
All three sides sent scouts to watch the 18-year-old in action for the Swiss side against Fiorentina in the Europa League in midweek, with Viola midfielder Borja Valero also a subject of interest. Embolo and Valero played the full 90 minutes on Thursday, with the two sides playing out a 2-2 draw.
Embolo is remarkably highly rated, having scored 24 goals in 67 games for Basel already, earning seven caps and one goal for Switzerland. He only turns 19 in February. Blick add that Embolo was valued at at least £16million in the summer, a price which may well have increased further since.

HERRERA WANTS SHOWDOWN TALKS
Poor Ander Herrera. The Spaniard is currently injured, but he was enduring a difficult time to persuade Louis van Gaal to hand him a regular starting place beforehand. Herrera has played fewer Premier League minutes than Ashley Young and Memphis Depay this season, and only 54 more than Luke Shaw, who has been out since September.
The midfielder has discussed his relationship with his “very demanding” manager previously, but the Daily Star think Herrera is after another talk with Van Gaal. ‘Showdown talks’, no less.
In their EXCLUSIVE, they claim Herrera ‘reckons his career has stalled’ under Van Gaal’s leadership, with a source adding: “Ander is worried about his lack of progress at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal. He feels like he’s lost his identity as a player and doesn’t know what his role is anymore. His situation appears to be getting worse and he’s worried his career is going backwards, so there will have to be a chat with the manager.”
A chat is rather different to ‘showdown talks’, but we digress. Herrera has made 41 appearances for United since signing in the summer of 2014, and is firmly behind Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Carrick in a reserved role, with Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata ahead of him in the pecking order for the No 10 role. Wanting a ‘chat’ is understandable.

CHELSEA CORNER MULLER
Two lines now from the Daily Mirror. They claim, along with most of the British press on Tuesday morning, that Diego Costa will not be punished for his bib-related petulance on Sunday, but that Chelsea are stepping up their hunt for a new striker. The latest man linked is Thomas Muller.
Muller, who was recently crowned the world’s happiest footballer, has scored 20 goals in 21 appearances for Bayern Munich so far this season, and is behind only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski in the Bundesliga scoring charts. He’s quite good, basically, and Chelsea have noticed.
A few points, however:

• Because Muller is quite good, Bayern will want to keep him and have no inclination to sell.
• It will take a lot to tempt Muller to leave his boyhood club where he plays lots of games, scores lots of goals and wins lots of trophies.
• FFP is still a thing (is FFP still a thing?) and Chelsea will need to fund a move for a player who Manchester United reportedly had a £75million bid rejected for in the summer.

It probably won’t happen.

ARSENAL IN FOR NEVES
Will Arsene Wenger replace his broken Coq in January? It’s the question on everyone’s lips, with Francis Coquelin ruled out for three months and Arsenal struggling without him. Wenger has been typically evasive with regards to whether he will sign a replacement, but The Sun have the inside scoop.
Their man Daniel Cutts has a sexy exclusive, which is that the Gunners are interested in Porto midfielder Ruben Neves. The club captain has been scouted by Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham and Real Madrid so far this season, is only 18 and is really rather good.
According to Cutts, Arsenal believe a bid of £22million, with £12million offered up front, will prove sufficient. It won’t; he’s worth far more.

AND THE REST
Tottenham are reportedly willing to offer Harry Kane a new contract, and double his wages to £70,000 a week, to ward off interest from Manchester United and Chelsea…Cristiano Ronaldo’s mum Dolores wants her son to join Manchester United over Paris Saint-Germain if he leaves Real Madrid…Jamie Vardy has all-but ended Manchester United and Chelsea’s hopes of signing him in January by saying he wants to stay at Leicester…Southampton want to sign Brighton wonderkid Solly March…West Ham will step up their interest in Ivory Coast star Gohi Bi Cyriac with fears growing over Diafra Sakho’s long-term fitness…Aston Villa rejected an approach from Birmingham to loan Libor Kozak…Chelsea will not be able to send Radamel Falcao back to Monaco, who are reluctant to accept him back…Tottenham’s Andros Townsend is set for a January exit with Aston Villa, West Brom, Newcastle, Leicester and Swansea interested…Emmanuel Adebayor is set to return to England to find a club, with Chelsea and Watford options.

GUARDIOLA TO UNITED
It’s like a warped version of Groundhog Day, where every day we read that Pep Guardiola is coming to a different Premier League club. In the last week we have read links to Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea. The Sunday Telegraph bring up the Manchester United angle.
New signing Sam Wallace has the big claim, reporting that Pep ‘is understood to see Manchester United as his preferred move’.
Crucially, Wallace only says ‘potentially’ next summer. The obvious thing would be for Guardiola to slum it for another year in Munich, before taking over when Louis van Gaal’s contract ends.

RONALDO READY TO RETURN. YAWN
Fair play to Simon Mullock, who has the 359th different inside track on Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite the Mirror actually having a correspondent living full-time in Madrid, it’s Stammers who has got the big news that Ronaldo ‘is ready’ to return to Manchester United.
That’s despite Ronaldo himself saying that he will stay at Real Madrid for the foreseeable future, and his agent Jorge Mendes saying that he will stay there for the rest of his career.
Mullock really has got all the juicy lines, straight from the horse’s mouth. He says that Ronaldo loves United and the Premier League, and accepts that moving to Paris St Germain will do nothing for his reputation.

ARSENAL IN FOR STONES
Admit it, you were impressed by Simon Mullock’s info in the last section weren’t you? Well he’s not the only on in the Sunday Mirror.
‘Arsenal are set to enter the race for John Stones,’ is Steve Stammers’ line. ‘Set to enter’ is an odd abstract concept to use. Surely the moment you decide you want a player then you’ve effectively ‘entered the race’, given that such a race doesn’t exist. For Stammers to find out that Arsenal want him, the starting gun must already have been sounded? We digress.
The following line did at least make us chuckle: ‘Stones’s emergence as one of the most promising central defenders in the country has been noted at Arsenal’. My my, what a keen eye they have.
Anyway, Stammers says that Arsene Wenger could ‘spend big’ on Stones, who even he accepts Everton don’t want to sell. Not gonna happen, is it?

LIVERPOOL AND EVERTON WANT BUTLAND
Jack Butland’s reputation continues to grow, with the Stoke goalkeeper now firmly established as England’s No. 2. The next step along the road is to move to a big club, and the People (newspaper, rather than England’s entire population) report that Liverpool and Everton are both eyeing a move for him.
A move to Liverpool does make a good deal of sense, with Simon Mignolet still feels like a temporary option at Anfield. Can’t see Everton paying £17m for him though, which is the touted figure.

AND THE REST
Everton, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Swansea and Bournemouth all scouted Bordeaux winger Henri Saivet… Tottenham are willing to use Andros Townsend as part of their deal for West Brom striker Saido Berahino… Fulham are keen on Rangers boss Mark Warburton to become their new manager… Arsenal are favourites to sign Germany midfielder Lars Bender from Bayer Leverkusen… West Ham are reviving their interest in Inter Milan full-back Danilo D’Ambrosio