The Norwegian midfielder was once seen as the future of the Spanish record holders, but now it looks like he will be leaving the Bernabeu sooner rather than later.
Sources told ESPN that the 22-year-old is looking to leave the club this month in search of regular playing time. Odegaard has played just 367 minutes for the Blancos this season after scoring seven goals and nine assists on loan at Real Sociedad last season.
Still, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is looking to strengthen his squad, particularly in attack in midfield, so Odegaard could be a very viable option. However, it could face competition from Leicester and Sociedad.
8:29 P.M. GREENWICH MEAN TIME: Leicester have ended their pursuit of Inter Milan playmaker Christian Eriksen, the Telegraph reports.
With Dennis Preet having been out for three months due to a hamstring injury, Fox are said to have done some research on the attacking midfielder. But a deal was ruled out because Eriksen’s £300,000-a-week salary would have been too high. Eriksen has also been linked with PSG, Aston Villa and his former club Tottenham Hotspur.
19.41 GMT: Celtic are playing in their worst season in years, 20 points behind league leaders Rangers, and are in desperate need of reinforcements.
The Scot says both players could be on their way to Crystal Palace and Irish midfielder James McCarthy and Stoke winger Tom Ince would be hard targets. McCarthy, who grew up a Hoops fan in Glasgow, has already played in Scotland with Hamilton Academical and will provide a central defensive presence, while the versatile Ince, son of Premier League legend Paul, is a player known for his speed, skill and cunning as a wide man.
The Celtics need help and they need it fast, but it might be too late for the nine-time defending champions of the SPL…..
19:05 GMT: Will Arsenal come close to matching Real Madrid star Martin Odegaard?
Spanish broadcaster Sport says the Norwegian is about to move to the Emirates to find regular playing time. Odegaard, 22, broke through at Real Sociedad last season but managed just 367 minutes in all competitions under Zinedine Zidane this season and returned to his home club Real Madrid.
Mikel Arteta is keen to add an attacking midfielder to his squad and an Odegaard would certainly be a welcome addition for the Emirates.
18.33 GMT: Norwich have recalled US international Sebastian Soto from his loan to Telstar.
The 20-year-old, who joined Hannover 96 this summer, scored seven goals in 12 appearances during his time in the Netherlands. The striker’s return is dependent on confirmation of his work permit, which, once obtained, will make him eligible to play at Norwich City.
Soto scored a brace for USMNT in November against Panama in his second appearance for the Stars and Stripes.
18.02 GMT : Everton acquired England international Jill Scott from Manchester City.
The 33-year-old has already played for Everton from 2006 to 2013 and has made 149 appearances for the Three Lionesses, scoring 25 international goals.
17.26 GMT : US international Dwayne Holmes is moving closer to the town of Huddersfield, according to many reports in England.
Wayne Rooney, 26, is currently working at Derby County. He returned to Huddersfield, where he trained at the academy and played for 14 years. Wayne Rooney commented on Holmes’ future to the media on Wednesday: I think he is about to leave the club, but I don’t know all the details yet.
I want players who are committed and fight for the team.
The midfielder, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has been with Derby since 2018 and has made 83 appearances for the Rams.
17:00 GMT: Bayern Munich managing director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says the club is interested in signing RB Leispig defender Dayot Upamekano.
We are definitely going to find a solution, not only with this player, but also, basically, in what positions we want and need to do something, he told Bild.
However, he added that it was too early to assume Upamecano would move to Munich. He said the player will stay at Leipzig at least until the end of the season.
Upamekano, 22, is being pursued by all the big European clubs, including Man United, City, Arsenal, Liverpool, PSG and Bayern. And although he committed his future to Julien Nagelsmann by signing a new contract last year, the German says the new contract includes a €42m buyout clause that could be triggered at the end of the 2020-21 season.
16.28 GMT : Real Madrid want to keep Zinedine Zidane until the end of the season despite the disappointment that followed his early withdrawal from the Copa del Rey, club sources Rodrigo Fayes and Adriana Garcia told ESPN.
Madrid lost 2-1 in stoppage time to Spanish third division side Alcoyano in the final 32 round of the Copa, only to be knocked out of the Copa in the last 32. It is a setback after the 2-1 defeat against Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup last week.
The French coach did not have the same support as on previous occasions when Wednesday’s defeat damaged Zidane’s image.
However, Real Madrid’s board of directors, led by president Florentino Perez, is not considering firing the coach except in the event of a disaster.
Sources tell ESPN that the Frenchman’s decisions are causing a lot of anger within the club. Few understand why Zidane insists on keeping players like Marcelo and Isco, while understanding that the responsibility must be shared.
15:21 GMT: Chelsea’s problems go beyond the management of Frank Lampard. Gab Marcotti explains why they haven’t given up yet.
Last summer, Chelsea made a major decision that went against the conventional wisdom and actions of almost every other major club: They doubled down and spent a lot of money recruiting new players during a pandemic, at a time when they knew revenue would be severely affected (which it was), and they didn’t know for how long. Match revenues fell to zero, media revenues fell as broadcasters asked for (and received) discounts, while commercial partners began to reduce their revenues.
Chelsea’s decision to sign players during the pandemic and Timo Werner, Edouard Mendy, Malang Sarr, Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz (plus Hakeem Ziyeh, whose contract was signed before we knew what COVID-19 was, and Thiago Silva, who came as a free transfer but with a high salary) may have been counterintuitive, but from a certain point of view it made sense. They were building assets at a time when competition was generally waning – assets that would have increased in value if they had played well and, because they were young, would have retained their value if they had fought back.
The problem is that the pandemic has worked both ways.
It would be cheaper to buy, but it has also become very difficult to sell or even borrow players with the kind of salary Chelsea players have. At least 11 players – and their salaries – were still separated at Stamford Bridge, waiting to see what the future holds for them at the start of the season. Some, like Ross Barkley and Reuben Loftus-Cheek, arrived early in the campaign. Lampard, who already had a very limited pre-season, had to deal with a bloated team, which only made the task more difficult. With the injuries of some key players (Ziyech, Christian Pulisic) and the late arrival of Haverz, there was simply no time to make the decisions and experiments that are usually made in pre-season.
14:45 GMT: Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has been linked with a move to PSG, where he is expected to join his former coach Mauricio Pochettino.
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Mark Ogden says Dele Alli is not playing enough and thinks a loan could work well for him and Tottenham.
14:02 GMT: Palmeiras star Gabriel Veron is attracting interest from Manchester United, reports Sport.
The 18-year-old Veron has already been courted by Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester City and Juventus Turin. The contract, which expires in 2025, includes a €60 million exit clause.
The Brazilian U-17 striker has scored 10 goals in 35 appearances for the club and United are reportedly in the running for his signature. But they’re already hot on players named Veron…. named Veron.
14,00 GMT : Borussia Dortmund have signed the Cuadio Cone from the French Ligue 2.
Kone, 19, will return to Toulouse on loan for the rest of the season before joining the Bundesliga side in the summer. The transfer fee for the French Youth International is said to be €9 million, according to Kicker.
Kouadio Koné is a very interesting player who we have been watching for a long time in the French youth teams and at his club, Toulouse, said Borussia Dortmund sporting director Max Eberle. He is a great talent who is wanted by the best clubs all over Europe. We are happy that he has chosen for Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Bundesliga.
– Find out here why League 2 is one of the best places to find new talent.
13:31 GMT: Jordan Morris has left the U.S. national team’s training camp, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Wednesday.
Morris’s departure has been approved by American manager Gregg Berhalter, and a source has confirmed to ESPN that the Seattle Sounders winger is nearing the end of a six-month loan spell with Swansea at the English Premier League side.
Morris, 26, was one of 12 senior players initially invited to the camp, along with 26 other players from the U.S. Under-23 team. The United States is coming up on the 31st. January at Exploria Stadium in Orlando against Trinidad and Tobago. The USSF also announced that New York City FC goaltender Sean Johnson has left training camp due to a knee sprain. None of the players are replaced on the list.
Morris has spent his entire professional career with the Sounders, spurred on by an offer from Werder Bremen when he signed with the Sounders in 2015. He scored 42 goals in 129 league, play-off and cup games. While in Seattle, the Sounders won two MLS Cup titles and reached the final two other times, including in the 2020 season when Seattle lost 3-0 to Columbus Crew.
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Jurgen Klinsmann comments on Jordan Morris’ upcoming move to Swansea City.
12:47 GMT: Everton midfielder Bernard could leave in January, but only if the club reaches the £9m asking price, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Bernard, 28, has dropped down the hierarchy and Everton are looking to cut payroll before looking for new targets.
United Arab Emirates club Al Nasr has been linked to the Brazilian.
12:18 GMT: Tottenham seem to have been looking for a new striker for years, although it has been difficult to find a good one who is happy to play alongside Harry Kane.
The Sun say Danny Ings of Southampton is the man they want because his contract expires in 18 months.
The report said: Ings is keeping all his options open and would like to move to a club that plays in Europe’s elite club competition. Jose Mourinho is said to be a big fan of the Englishman, who has scored 27 goals in the Premier League since the start of last season.
Meanwhile, talkSPORT says Spurs are among the clubs interested in signing Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard.
Lingard and United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are at war over his future, sources told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
Lingard is desperate for a regular first-team role after just three appearances this season. Solskjaer has sympathy for the 28-year-old but is keen to keep him at Old Trafford this month as he prepares for a busy second half of the season, with games in three competitions.
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ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden takes stock of Jesse Lingard’s future at Manchester United.
11:28 GMT: Yaya Toure would take her first steps as a coach at the Ukrainian Olympics in Donetsk.
Toure, 37, has had a distinguished career that has taken him to Barcelona and Manchester City, among others, while playing 97 caps for Ivory Coast. As a player, he was last signed by Qingdao Huanghai in the Chinese Super League, but would begin his coaching career in the country where he played from 2003 to 2005.
In those two seasons he played three times for disbanded club Metallurg Donetsk, but will now join Vicente Gomez’s coaching staff at nearby Olympic Donetsk. Former tour agent Dmitry Selyuk commented on the news on Twitter, saying that Yaya started her football career at the Donetsk club. He will also begin his coaching career at the Donetsk club.
Unfortunately, Metallurg no longer exists. On the way to the Olympics. Thanks to the president and head coach for inviting Yaya to share her experience as an assistant coach with the young players.
11.01 GMT : When Chelsea struggle in mid-season – and make no mistake – there are seven points from a possible 24 in their last eight Premier League games – massive headwinds. And this one revolves around an impatient Roman Abramovich, surrounded by a virtual courtyard (perhaps Zoom or more likely Telegram) of Game of Thrones worthy agents, advisers and friends, lobbying for potential replacements and the urgency of change.
So questions are inevitable. Is Frank Lampard’s work safe? Who should replace him at Chelsea? How long before Lampard leaves?
– Marcotti: Why Chelsea Lampard has not given up yet.
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Craig Burley explains why Frank Lampard can’t keep his job after losing to Leicester City.
10:42 GMT: Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil said Wednesday’s win in Cordoba was not Willian Jose’s last game for the club.
The Brazilian striker, who scored both goals in Real Sociedad’s 2-0 win over ESPN+ in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey in the US, is expected to leave the Basque club during the winter transfer window.
Tottenham made a bid to Real Sociedad for Villian Jose last January that was well below €70m, and the La Liga club are now considering loaning the striker to Wolverhampton Wanderers for the rest of the season (see Paper Talk below).
What I can say is you say he played against Cordoba and scored two goals, Alguacil said. He should be in Saturday’s championship game against Betis. That’s all I can say.
Willian Jose, 29, has a contract with Real Sociedad until 2024. He has scored six goals and one more in 21 appearances this season.
Real Sociedad will sign Sevilla striker Carlos Fernandez for €10m to replace the Brazilian.
10:00 GMT: Arsenal director Mikel Arteta has expressed relief at the reduction in squad size, but hopes to negotiate in a tough market for newcomers before the January transfer window closes.
The Gunners terminated the contracts of Mesut Özil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, allowed Sead Kolasinac to follow the remaining six months of his contract at Schalke and sent William Saliba to Nice.
We could not continue the game with 31 players in the lineup, Artema said at the press conference. He’s out of control. If you then have to leave some foreign actors behind, it becomes even more difficult.
Doing it in a few weeks is good, doing it in a few months and maintaining your health, your ambition and your chemistry is really hard. So one of the biggest challenges was deciding how we were going to compensate for that. We did it. The only thing that matters to me is that everyone feels included, that they have their place and that they have a chance.
Kolasinac’s departure to Arsenal leaves only Kieran Tierney as a natural left-back, and Aretha admitted the club were looking to strengthen that position with a reserve goalkeeper and creative midfielder.
With the departure of the Kola Peninsula, we are missing a piece of the left leg, he says. We can use Ainslie [Maitland-Niles], we can use Bucayo [Saka], we can use Cedric [Suarez] who played that position.
So we have options that are unnatural. Kieran won’t, of course, but we can adjust. This option [to sign someone] is open, and we’ll see what’s available.
– The Arsenal stars have already decided who will get Özil’s number 10.
09.40 GMT : Crystal Palace have announced the signing of French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta on loan from Mainz Bundesliga.
Mateta moves to Selhurst Park on an 18-month contract with the option to make the change permanent, subject to international approval.
The 23-year-old has scored 10 goals in 17 games for Mainz this season. However, he has not scored since his hat-trick in mid-November at Freiburg and has not even been part of the club’s team for the last few games.
Welcome to the palace, Jean-Philippe Mateta. #PCCFC
– Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) 21 January 2021
09.07 GMT : Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino said he was confident the club will do everything possible to keep Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in check.
The French champions are in talks to extend the contracts of their two stars, who expire in June 2022.
Mbappe has reportedly been targeted by Real Madrid in recent seasons, while Neymar has been linked with a return to Barcelona after leaving the Catalan club in 2017 for a transfer fee of €222m.
I think the club is working on it, Mr. Pochettino told Cadena Cir. Clearly they are trying to extend the contracts of players they feel are important not only for the present, but also for the future.
Earlier this week, PSG’s sporting director Leonardo said he felt good about both.
According to Pochettino, he is worried about losing Neymar or Mbappe next summer: You always want to have the best players in your club. Paris [PSG] has the strength and ability to convince and prove the importance of this type of player. I have no doubt that the club will do everything possible to keep the players.
Pochettino is not surprised that many clubs are keeping an eye on Mbappe’s contractual situation.
It is clear that Kylian is a player with great potential, said the Argentine, who took over at PSG earlier this month. He’s 22, and now nobody knows about Mbappe. What coach wouldn’t want a player like Mbappe in his team for a long time!
08.26 GMT : According to TyC Sports, Boca Juniors want to sign Marcos Rojo on loan to Manchester United.
The Argentine defender, whose contract at Old Trafford runs until the summer, has featured in United’s reserves this season.
Thirty-year-old Rojo has reportedly received an offer from the Buenos Aires giants to join the club on a three-year contract. He spent part of last season with Estudiantes de la Plata,
Rojo joined the squad shortly after the 2014 World Cup and played a few games for the club, but has only played 27 games since the 2017-2018 season.
08:00 GMT: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has dismissed accusations that he needs to rebuild the team after results that took them from first to fourth in the Premier League standings.
Klopp’s team won 7-0 after beating Crystal Palace by a score of 13. December finished with four points in the standings, but did not win the last four games, scoring just one goal.
The recent crisis has shown that Liverpool need to modernise their squad, but Klopp is confident they can change the situation.
I think I heard somewhere that we have to rebuild this team, he said at a press conference ahead of Thursday’s Championship game against Burnley.
The world is a crazy place right now, and not just because of the pandemic. No one else has time. In football, we know: I’ve been around long enough to know you never have time.
After last season we didn’t make any steps forward, we know that and we want to change that, but we have to change it by playing, not by talking.
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Gab Marcotti looks back on an exciting Supercoppa final where Juventus just won 2-0 against Napoli.
TALKING OVER PAPER (by Harry Kettle)
Marcel’s deal for Milik is imminent.
According to Fabrizio Romano, a change is coming: Arcadiusz Milik leaves Naples for Marseille.
Final details are currently being negotiated pending official confirmation, which is understood to be a loan agreement with an option to purchase at a later date.
The Polish striker, who has been completely absent from Napoli this season, is looking forward to moving on after four and a half years in Italy and getting fit for Euro 2020.
Wolves agree to negotiations for Willian Jose.
According to Sky Sports, Wolverhampton Wanderers have agreed to sign Real Sociedad striker Willian Jose on loan with an option to buy in the summer.
The 29-year-old, who played for La Real in tonight’s Copa del Rey and scored both goals in the 2-0 victory, is awaiting clearance due to new post-Brexit rules and cannot travel to the country until next week.
Wolves, who have struggled to get their form back in recent weeks, needed another chance to score after Raul Jimenez suffered a serious head injury early in the season.
Type
– Lazio are interested in the signature of Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi, Citta Celeste reports. Lazio’s football director Igli Tare has made contact with the Gunners and Mustafi, who has not even played for Arsenal in the Premier League this season. It looks like the club can add this month to its growing tee-off list.
– Juventus are interested in signing Sint-Truiden’s Liberato Cacace, reports Fabrizio Romano. The deal stipulates that Kakas, who has been with the Belgian club since last year, will transfer to Juve in the U-23 category. Kakas is considered one of New Zealand’s fastest growing players and a move to the Italian champions would certainly confirm this status.
– Sky Sports reports that Fulham are ready to listen to offers from Stephan Johansen, Maxime Le Marchand and Jean Michael Seri in the January transfer window. The Cottagers are showing the first signs of life in their fight for survival this season, and moving forward, it looks like Scott Parker wants to reduce the numbers at the beginning of the year.
