Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has fears over the reception he may receive from Red Devils fans on the first day of the Premier League season amid his ongoing links with a move to Real Madrid.

According to Spanish outlet Marca‘s Ruben Jimenez, United fans are “baying for blood” over the ongoing De Gea transfer saga, while the mooted Sergio Ramos swap-deal that seems to be dead in the water has also riled them up.

The Old Trafford outfit kick off their 2015-16 Premier League campaign at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, and De Gea could be in for a frosty reception should he be playing.

However, he may well not turn out for a number of reasons, not least because the Spaniard may already be gone, as he could complete his transfer to the Bernabeu this week. He could also refuse to play amid fears over the reception, and Real are unlikely to want to see him appear for United ahead of his imminent move to Madrid, per Jimenez’s report.

Talks over De Gea’s transfer are expected to accelerate now that pre-season is drawing to a close.

While United boss Louis van Gaal is resigned to losing De Gea and wants him out as soon as possible, the Old Trafford hierarchy are refusing to lower their asking price of €40 million (£28 million), per Jimenez. 

While the 24-year-old De Gea has only one year left on his contract at Old Trafford, Real may yet be forced to pay such a fee if they want to snap him up.

Per Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and Real’s current crop—Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla—are not up to scratch for a side seeking La Liga and Champions League glory in the coming term:

De Gea proved last season he is truly a world-class goalkeeper, his numerous superlative performances often responsible for handing United three points or saving them one.

It now seems clear he wants the move to Madrid—his birthplace and home to previous club Atletico—but United are not going to let him go without a fight.

Indeed, the Manchester Evening News‘ Samuel Luckhurst suggests United need to keep hold of him no matter what if they wish to challenge for the title:

But the Real transfer machine is formidable, and they usually get their man, president Florentino Perez a particular connoisseur in the art of confirming a deal late in the transfer window, per Marca‘s Olivier Martinez. 

Ronaldo—the Brazilian one—finally made his switch from Inter Milan to the Bernabeu in the dying hours of the transfer window in the summer of 2002. Meanwhile, Gareth Bale‘s deadline-day move in 2013 was also the culmination of protracted negotiations. 

The De Gea transfer could yet be a last-minute deal, as it has already been drawn out longer than many expected.

With United holding firm over their asking price, Real may have to shell out some significant cash, but it will be worth it to claim the services of one of the world’s best goalkeepers this summer. 

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1hf2R51
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Liverpool are apparently poised to land Barcelona winger Adama Traore, but according to reports, the Blaugrana are keen to include Philippe Coutinho as part of any potential deal.

Focusing on Traore first, according to Sport (h/t Joe Rimmer of the Liverpool Echo), the 19-year-old will head to Merseyside for a medical ahead of making a move. The piece claimed a host of young players could leave the Catalan club after Barca B’s relegation to the third tier of Spanish football.

Here’s a look at the kind of quality Traore could bring to Anfield:

The teenager is certainly an exciting talent. Blessed with searing pace and a thunderous shot, Traore is one of the most highly rated players currently developing at the Masia academy. As such, it would be a big surprise to see Barcelona let the youngster leave the club on any kind of permanent deal.

But what would be even more peculiar would be Liverpool agreeing to include Coutinho as part of any deal. Metro cited “reports in Spain” that claim the Brazilian could be key to completing a transfer for Traore and stated it’s “not known” whether Reds boss Brendan Rodgers would be willing to entertain any offers for the former Inter Milan man.

As we can see here, courtesy of WhoScored.com, Coutinho is a key creative player for the Reds:

There seems to be very little in the story too. After all, while Traore is a player who has plenty of potential, it’d be puzzling if the Reds gave up their standout performer from 2014-15 in an attempt to land him.

Big things will be expected of the Brazilian this season. In a squad that has been given a major facelift for the second consecutive summer—with James Milner and Roberto Firmino joining Coutinho in Liverpool’s midfield—the fan favourite is expected to thrive.

Bleacher Report’s Andy Brassell took a look at some potential business the Reds might conduct before the transfer window closes:

With Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard gone, the club needs a new talisman, a role Coutinho will likely be keen to assume. Encouragingly, as we can see here, courtesy of Selecao Brasileira, the 23-year-old looks to be in fine form during pre-season:

Securing Traore on loan would be a strange move for the Reds. The point of these types of deals is to give the youngsters playing time, but Rodgers already has plenty of attacking options, meaning it’s be difficult to see when the Barca man would be needed. Everton, who are also keen on the player, according to Metro, would seem a much more natural fit.

As for Coutinho going the other way? There’s no chance of that happening this summer. You can see why Barcelona would be enamoured by the intricate Brazilian, but with the start of the Premier League season just days away, Liverpool likely wouldn’t entertain any offers for Coutinho, who could establish himself as the most important player at the club.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1IG7ZcL
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The ball sits flat on the pristine green turf. Around three yards away stands Cristiano Ronaldo, shark eyes looking into the middle distance, pose fixed, arms out but pointed downward either side of his torso. Up he strides, making that perfect but almost unnatural contact that provides no spin.

Ronaldo’s victim, the ball, lurches toward the goal and before the man between the posts can blink, let alone move, the ball nestles in the back of his net.

Except, these days, only the first part of that is regularly seen at the Santiago Bernabeu. Too often these days Ronaldo’s free-kicks land in the goalkeeper’s hands, into the wall, wide of the goal or over it.

It has become an issue at the club, with many fans calling for someone else to take these dead-ball situations, with Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez popular shouts. There’s also Isco and Sergio Ramos, among others, who can take a mean free-kick.

But Ronaldo, Bale and James are the team’s poster boys and at Real Madrid, with their galacticos policy, that’s an important factor to take into consideration. Despite this, their sheer ability with a dead ball is enough to accept these three players being the first choices.

Ronaldo’s free-kick statistics can be interpreted in two ways. Unsurprisingly, Real Madrid’s official website goes for a positive spin. After he scored from one against Eibar in April, the club published a news story highlighting his success.

It was his 17^th goal from a free-kick in La Liga, taking his tally for Madrid to 25 in all competitions. The club wrote: “Since moving to Spain, in the 2009-10 season, he has become La Liga’s top free kick marksman. His register of 17 goals far exceeds the tallies of Messi (12) and Benat (7).”

That is, of course, impressive. Ronaldo has scored plenty of excellent free-kicks for his club. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. That goal against Eibar—helped in part by Xabier Irureta’s shoddy goalkeeping—actually ended a horrible run for the forward.

Ronaldo had gone an astonishing 56 efforts without finding the net for Los Blancos, the best part of a calendar year. The Eibar strike, on April 11 2015, was his first goal from a free-kick since April 29, 2014, against Bayern Munich.

The month before he ended his drought, the Daily Mail published an article highlighting his recent lack of success from free-kicks. Pete Jenson explained:

Ronaldo has sent 21 of his efforts straight into the wall and placed 14 high or wide of the target; while keepers or posts and crossbars have done for the rest. Gareth Bale has only scored once this season but it is Real’s only goal scored from a free-kick. …

Bale scores a free-kick every 9.5 attempts while Ronaldo’s ratio is one every 15.6 attempts. Bale also came out ahead of Andrea Pirlo who scores one every 10.5 attempts and Leo Messi who scores every 14 times he takes a free-kick.

So what’s the problem with Ronaldo? Some suggest his knee is a problem. According to Goal, Brazilian set-piece expert Marcos Assuncao thinks the player may be holding back so as not to aggravate it.

“A knee injury can affect things. I had a problem in my right knee and had difficulties because of that. When I was going to hit the ball, the knee movement, with the impact, caused me pain,” he said.

“If he has this problem, it may be also affecting his way of hitting the ball. This problem changes some movements and the ball can go over the crossbar or hit the wall—he may be avoiding impact and pain.”

Although his style looks similar, minor changes can cause big differences in results. If Ronaldo is modifying his technique to suit how his body feels, it may be having an impact.

De jure, the Portugal star shares free-kick duty with Gareth Bale, with the latter taking opportunities on the right, because it suits his left foot, and vice versa. De facto, Ronaldo takes the vast majority of set pieces, including ones in central areas.

Bale scored as many free-kicks as Ronaldo last season despite taking far fewer, with the Welshman burying one against Espanyol as he tried to stake his claim to take more of the set pieces.

At his previous clubs, the Welshman was known as a free-kick wizard. At just 17 he scored his first senior goal for Southampton, in the 2006-07 Championship season, against Derby County.

He carried that on at Tottenham, where his prowess from free-kicks grew further. Bale uses similar technique to Ronaldo, striking the ball without any spin.

“The main thing when I’m running up is I hit the ball as flat as possible with no spin. I open my foot right up. I hit the ball exactly where I want, right in the middle,” he explained in a Lucozade video, h/t the Daily Mail.

“I then have to try and hit it so I’m not curling the ball. I want to get the flight of the ball to move and make it difficult for the keeper.”

According to WhoScored statistics (h/t SkySports) released after Ronaldo finally scored against Eibar, Bale is more accurate than his rival.

Ranking 35 players across Europe’s top five leagues who took more than 10 free-kicks last season, Ronaldo is only 25^th in the list, while Bale is 19^th. And now there is a new contender on the scene.

James scored from a free-kick against Getafe toward the end of last season and continued to show off his talents on the club’s recent preseason tour.

Sealing a comfortable 3-0 win over Inter Milan in the International Champions Cup, James netted his side’s final goal with an exquisite effort, curled into the top left corner. He had previously gone close with another good one in the same game.

Asked about the club’s free-kick situation after that match, Rafa Benitez replied, per Sport: “Cristiano took them in the first half and James did in the second. We’ll see what happens later on.”

This seems to leave the situation open for the season ahead, with the new man seemingly yet to decide who gets to take the set pieces. But who should?

The reality of the situation is that all three players have something to offer. Bale and James use the left foot, while Ronaldo bludgeons it with his right. Keeping the trio in contention for the set pieces means opposition walls and goalkeepers have less of an idea about who will take them.

Ronaldo shouldn’t be stripped of the duties, but he should be forced to share them out more evenly with his team-mates.

If one of the three then starts to prove he can score on a regular basis, then that player should take priority. Of course, the ego game may dictate that this is not how the situation will unfold.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1Dkd6yZ
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Manchester City‘s Stevan Jovetic has sealed a move to Inter Milan after signing a one-and-a-half-year loan with the idea of making it a permanent transfer, per Manchester City.

The move brings to an end a two-year spell for the striker at the Etihad Stadium following his £22 million move from Fiorentina in 2013.

Jovetic’s short-lived City career was plagued by injury, and he made only nine starts for the Sky Blues in the Premier League last term, per WhoScored.com.

However, the Montenegro international is a natural goalscorer, and five seasons in Serie A with Fiorentina should stand him in good stead at the San Siro.

Inter are looking to return to the top of Italian football in the upcoming season after finishing a lowly eighth in Serie A in 2014-15.

Jovetic is just one of several decent purchases the Nerazzurri have made this summer that should give Inter fans some hope of future improvement under manager Roberto Mancini, per David Amoyal of Gianluca Di Marzio’s website:

The 25-year-old Jovetic merely needs a stretch of uninterrupted fitness to prove he is the player City believed him to be when they paid more than £20 million for him.

In Serie A, where he flourished as a youngster in Florence, he could find his form and be a terrific asset for Inter both as a goalscorer and a creator.

Eurosport suggests how Jovetic may fit into the new-look Inter setup:

City will likely be relatively happy to have moved him off their wage bill as his impact has been limited at the Etihad despite his potential.

Jovetic now has an opportunity at Inter to prove he is no flop, and it will be interesting to see how he fares next term.  

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1gtK6uF
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The 2015 International Champions Cup is drawing closer to its end after several exciting matches, lots of clashes between big sides and a number of fantastic goals being scored. Before it all finishes, we have another enticing clash in China as Real Madrid take on AC Milan.

Real started off in Australia before heading over to China, where they have already beaten Inter Milan comfortably by a 3-0 scoreline. This game, against another Milan side, will be their final participation in this year’s ICC.

AC Milan are similarly involved in their last game, having also beaten Inter Milan—a 1-0 win thanks to a stunning Philippe Mexes goal.

The match in Shanghai kicks off at 1 p.m. BST (8 a.m. ET), and our coverage starts shortly beforehand.

Follow @karlmatchett

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1SjsF0t
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Real Madrid will look to claim their second trophy of the pre-season on Thursday, when Los Blancos meet AC Milan in the final match of the Chinese leg of this summer’s International Champions Cup in Shanghai, China. 

After emerging victorious in the Australian leg of the tournament with a dominant 4-1 victory over Manchester City, Rafa Benitez’s men continued their good form in Guangzhou on Monday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Inter Milan.

Thursday’s clash with the Rossoneri is Real’s last before returning to Europe for the Audi Cup, and it will be the latest step in an important pre-season for the Spanish giants. 

Indeed, Madrid are undergoing a significant transitional period under Benitez at present, with the former Napoli boss currently introducing a new system, style and philosophy to the outfit he inherited from Carlo Ancelotti.

After an uninspiring scoreless draw with AS Roma in Melbourne to open this tour, Benitez’s critics were gaining voice. But consecutive victories since featuring flowing football have generated a certain sense of optimism around Los Blancos. 

Thursday’s outing represents a chance to build upon that. 

Date: Thursday, July 30

Time: 1 p.m. BST / 8 a.m. EDT / 8 p.m. local

Venue: Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China

TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), Fox Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), Fox Sports Go (U.S.)

Team News

After sitting out Real Madrid’s meeting with Inter Milan on Monday, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric should be available to Benitez against AC Milan, with the club’s official website reporting that the pair joined the rest of the squad in Wednesday’s open training session in Shanghai. 

The Frenchman and Croatian had picked up knocks against Manchester City in Melbourne, and the club opted for caution on Monday at this early stage of the campaign for two major stars. Both, though, could feature on Thursday. 

Additionally, James Rodriguez can be expected to make his first start of the pre-season in this clash. The Colombian has only recently joined up with the squad after being given extra time off following the Copa America, and he made a second-half substitute appearance against Inter in which he scored with a stunning free-kick.

The only Madrid player still struggling with an injury issue is Asier Illarramendi, who suffered a muscular strain while training in Melbourne and is expected to sit out this meeting with AC Milan. 

Predicted Lineup

Players to Watch

“Keylor Navas ‘locks down’ no. 1 spot… for now,” ran a Marca headline on Wednesday, the Madrid-based daily commenting on the Costa Rican’s delicate position in front of Kiko Casilla and amid the ongoing speculation of David De Gea’s potential arrival from Manchester United. 

Thus, this pre-season is particularly important for Navas, the former Levante shot-stopper still needing to convince Benitez of his worthiness for the No. 1 position following a season largely spent on the sidelines in 2014-15. 

Thursday’s clash is another opportunity to bolster his case.

It will also be intriguing to watch Gareth Bale in action against AC Milan.

Thus far this pre-season, Benitez has used the Welshman in a central role in the hole behind the main striker, clearly wanting to afford Bale greater freedom than that which he saw from his right-sided berth under Ancelotti last season.

So far the positional switch has produced mixed results, with the former Tottenham Hotspur star putting in some encouraging but hardly spectacular displays.

For Bale to make the role his own, he’ll need to start showing he can be a match winner with the greater responsibility. Could this clash with Milan be the first time we see him thrive centrally?

Odds (via OddsChecker)

Real Madrid: 4/9

Draw: 7/2

AC Milan: 11/2

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1gnw4dU
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J