Man United struggling to ship out former £26M signing

Manchester United are eager to offload Brazilian midfielder Anderson, with the DailyMail claiming the club are yet to receive a single offer.


The 26 year-old moved from Porto for just over £26 Million in 2007, and failed to live up to his potential at Old Trafford.

Anderson arrived with Sir Alex Ferguson hoping he could dominate in his midfield for the foreseeable future, but the play maker never managed to earn more than the 16 starts he was given in his debut campaign in England.

The United flop was sent on loan to Fiorentina last January, but only managed to make seven appearances in total.

Wes Brown previously described the former Porto youngster as the least intelligent player he has played alongside in his career, revealing he believes Anderson is still unable to speak fluent English.

Brown said: ‘I’d go Anderson. Just because when I was with him he was there for four years and I honestly still don’t think he can speak English.’

The former United defender also claimed that Ryan Giggs was the best player to have played alongside, and that Nani or Ronaldo was the fastest.

Mason signs five-and-a-half-year Tottenham deal

Ryan Mason has signed a new five-and-a-half-year contact extension at Tottenham, which will see him remain at White Hart Lane until 2020.

The 23-year-old has flourished under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, scoring his first senior goal for the club against Nottingham Forest in September before making his Premier League bow against Arsenal.

Mason joined the club's academy in 2008, coming through the ranks before a series of loan spells at the likes of Swindon, Doncaster and Millwall without making an appearance for Spurs' senior side.

However, under Pochettino, Mason has made 18 appearances this season including starting Wednesday night's League Cup semi-final first-leg win over Sheffield United.

Mason will now be looking for a second consecutive start in cup competitions as Tottenham host Leicester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Official: Niang joins Genoa on loan

AC Milan youngster M'Baye Niang has joined Genoa on loan for the remainder of the season, the club have confirmed.

The Frenchman made inroads into the Rossoneri first team two seasons ago but has since struggled to make an impression at San Siro.

A loan spell at Montpellier last term yielded four goals and he will now get some valuable playing time in Serie A at the Luigi Ferraris.

"Genoa announces that it has signed a deal with AC Milan for the temporary acquisition of the player M'Baye Niang for the remainder of the current season," a club statement read.

Niang has made five appearances for Milan in Serie A this season but has not found the net in any of them.

Genoa currently sit seventh in Serie A on 28 points, two ahead of Milan.

'No chance' of Cuadrado joining Chelsea, insists Montella

Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella is adamant that there is "no chance" of Juan Cuadrado joining Chelsea.

The Colombia winger has been linked with a move to the Premier League title-chasers in the January transfer window and reports claimed he attended their League Cup draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday as a guest of the Blues' kit manufacturer.

However, Jose Mourinho professed to know nothing of such a visit from the 26-year-old, who only completed a switch to full ownership by the Tuscan club in 2014.

Cuadrado underlined his value to Fiorentina with a penalty in the 3-1 Coppa Italia victory over Atalanta on Wednesday, sending his side into the quarter-finals in a game which also saw Mario Gomez score twice to break his goal drought and Montella told the press afterwards that the winger is not going anywhere.

"To date, there is no chance that Cuadrado leaves Fiorentina," the Fiorentina coach stated.

"He knows that some things are exaggerated."

Chelsea are keeping a close eye on the Colombian's situation at the Artemio Franchi due to the uncertainty over the future of Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah at Stamford Bridge.

The Germany international has been linked with a move to Wolfsburg, while the Egyptian attacker has caught the attention of Roma, who are hopeful of bringing him to Serie A on loan until the end of the season.

Mourinho has so far stressed that he's keen to keep his current squad together, but he could turn to Cuadrado if one of the aforementioned attackers were to leave.

The former Udinese man has a contract with Fiorentina until June 2019, but has a buy-out clause of €35 million in his existing deal.

Chelsea can win the quadruple, boasts Courtois

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insists his manager Jose Mourinho is wrong to dismiss his side's chances of landing an unprecedented quadruple this season.

The Belgium international goalkeeper produced a man-of-the-match display at Anfield on Tuesday which helped secure a 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg as the Blues remained on course to secure the first domestic silverware of the new season.

Chelsea, who currently have a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, face lower-league opposition in the fourth round of the FA Cup and have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, 

And, in contradiction to his manager's public stance, Courtois feels confident he is part of a squad that is capable of maintaining a fight on four fronts. 

"It will be hard but we have the team that can win everything," he told reporters. "Obviously there are a lot of teams that can win too. It will be hard, but it’s what we’re aiming for.

"If we can play in a final and win it, you get that feeling to win trophies and you want to win more and more.

"That feeling is in the whole group now, especially after what happened last season when they didn’t win anything and were close to some trophies. You want to win everything that’s possible, starting with the League Cup.

"I think the draw at Liverpool is a good result. Now the second leg will be like a final, in front of our fans I think we have to be able to win.

"Our home record gives us confidence. We know we are strong at home. Liverpool have been playing really well these last few weeks and are really dangerous. We know it will be tough, but I think we are able to do more at home - we have to win that game.

"The new players like myself, Diego Costa, Filipe Luis, Cesc Fabregas and the rest of the team want to win trophies for Chelsea. That starts in the League Cup and until the last game in the Champions League.

“We want to win everything, it will be difficult, but I think we have the team to do it.

"We are playing well and we have passed through in all competitions. Now we are in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup, are top of the League, there is an important game in the FA Cup [against Bradford] on Saturday which we have to win and soon we will be playing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League."

Official: Bielik completes Arsenal move

Arsenal have completed the signing of midfielder Krystian Bielik from Legia Warsaw.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had already confirmed that Bielik, a 17-year-old defensive midfielder who can also play at centre-back, would go straight into the first-team squad.

The Londoners despatched transfer negotiator Dick Law to Warsaw last week in an attempt to fight off rival interest from Bundesliga strugglers Hamburg, and Bielik himself later confessed that the German club's precarious position helped make up his mind.

The youngster also insisted, however, that the chance to work with Wenger, "a legend", was the key factor in his decision to move to England.

Speaking before the move was formally announced, Wenger said: "He's a defensive midfielder, 6ft 2in [tall], has a good energy level and technical level.

"It's a gamble but, on what we saw, it's worth to take the gamble."

Bielik only made his senior debut for Legia in August, aged just 16, and made five league appearances in total before sealing his move to the Emirates Stadium.

Official: Real Madrid confirm Odegaard deal

Real Madrid have confirmed the signing of Norwegian sensation Martin Odegaard.

The 16-year-old has been highly coveted in recent months as he toured Europe to look for the ideal club to continue his development.

Madrid, Bayern Munich and Ajax were considered the favourites to sign him with speculation building in the last week that the teenager was close to a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

And now the European champions have confirmed that they have agreed a fee with Stromsgodset and will present the player to the media on Thursday afternoon.

"Real Madrid C. F. and Stromsgodset Fotball have reached an agreement for the transfer of Martin Odegaard," a statement read.

"After undergoing a medical exam, the player will hold a press conference with the director of Institutional Relations, Emilio Butragueno, on 22 January at 1:30pm CET."

Is Luis Suarez goal-shy? Not justifying his price tag AT ALL!!

It isn't quite happening yet for Luis Suarez. The Uruguay striker missed the best chance of the whole game and endured another frustrating evening in front of goal for Barcelona. And six months on from his expensive summer signing, he is still struggling to live up to his €81 million price tag.

Suarez sat out the early months of this season due to his ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup and only made his Barca bow back in late October as he assisted Neymar for his side's only goal in the 3-1 Clasico defeat at Real Madrid.

Since then, the former Liverpool forward has added eight more assists, but has just five goals so far for his new club in 16 games and only two in 11 appearances in La Liga.

Coach Luis Enrique picked the same side bar goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, keeping faith with the outfield players who had beaten Atleti so convincingly in La Liga (3-1) 10 days ago and then thrashed Deportivo La Coruna last weekend.

Barca bristled with confidence in the opening exchanges and came close on several occasions, but found life more difficult as the game wore on.

"Every minute that passes will be crucial to our chances of getting thrrough the tie," Diego Simeone had said in the lead-up to this match.

And Atleti had Suarez to thank at half-time for a glaring miss when he was teed up by Ivan Rakitic and sent the ball way over the bar with only Jan Oblak to beat nine minutes before the interval.

The Camp Nou crowd immediately got behind their man with chants of "Suarez, Suarez", but the Uruguayan's night did not improve in the second half when he was twice adjudged to have dived by the referee and failed to take up a single scoring position.

In the end, Lionel Messi's missed penalty converted on the rebound proved the difference between the two teams and Suarez was all smiles as he celebrated with the Argentine, but Barca will be expecting much more from their expensive signing.

And so they should. For all his willingness and hard work, Suarez still seems unsure of his role in this team and when he has had chances, they have more often than not been squandered.

"He has the support and the affection of the fans," Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu told Canal Plus after the game. "He is a great player and we have great expectations for him."

And Luis Enrique added: "We have maximum confidence in Suarez. He wasn't lucky enough to score, but he caused their centre-backs problems and created danger. I'm certain he will score goals."

That is of course the idea and with Barca back to winning ways in recent games, the pressure is now off slightly for the 27-year-old. However, the jury is still out on the Catalans' €81m investment and in order to keep the fans and press on his side, the Uruguayan had better start scoring soon.

Wenger expects Coquelin to sign new Arsenal deal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed Francis Coquelin has been offered a new contract and is confident the France midfielder will commit his long-term future to the club.

The 23-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Freiburg, appeared to be heading for the Emirates Stadium exit door when he was sent to Championship side Charlton in November.

Injuries to Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta meant Wenger had little option but to recall the combative midfielder, who has since excelled in the defensive midfield role his manager has struggled to fill in recent times.

Coquelin's current deal is set to expire in the summer but he is set to be rewarded with a new offer following a series of excellent displays, most recently in Arsenal's 2-0 win at Premier League champions Manchester City last Sunday.

"I saw that [Coquelin] made huge improvements in training so I sent him on loan for match practice," said Wenger.

"He took that challenge and he's done very well. We will offer him a new deal We are confident it will be done soon."

Coquelin's defensive diligence has allowed the more creative members of Wenger's team to thrive in recent weeks, with Santi Cazorla the chief beneficiary.

The Spain international has been in spellbinding form and was singled out for special praise by his manager ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie at Brighton.

Wenger said: "He's very talented. He's added another dimension to his game since he's played centrally.

"In the recent games he's been in the best form of his career. He's a perfect example."

Cazorla may well be granted a rest this weekend with Wenger confirming Mesut Ozil will start his first game since October following a long-term knee injury, while there are also fitness doubts over Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Hector Bellerin.

3 Reasons Why an Introvert and Extrovert Make a Great Couple

Do opposites attract?

Read and learn from a marriage from this mix 

Lately there’s been a stream of posts talking about the advantages of being an introvert, so it’s only natural extroverts have shared their own pride as well.

Instead of bickering back and forth about which one is better, why not step across the line and find a potential soul mate?

I’m an extrovert. My wife is an introvert. You can diagnose yourself as an extrovert if large crowds get you revved up. If big groups drain you, you’re an introvert. Crowds invigorate me, while Tracy prefers quality time alone at home.

Being an introvert or an extrovert has nothing to do with your social skills. I can be extremely awkward. Even though Tracy is an introvert, she’s always on point in front of a crowd.

Articles about dating an introvert make it seem like they are a chore, but effort is important in any relationship. Extroverts and introverts can make the perfect couples. According to Myers Briggs, my wife and I are the perfect fit, but we already knew that.

There are 3 reasons why an introvert and extrovert make a great pair for dating and relationships:

• Balance: An extrovert has no balance at a party. Walking into a huge crowd is like crack. I bounce off the walls (sometimes literally) all night. For Kristen, it’s a cess pool. She’s ready to go a couple of hours in. (Unless of course she’s engaged in a deep, one-on-one conversation). The great thing about being with her is she pulls me back to reality. Instead of staying out until 4 a.m., she gives me the cue, and I snap out of my catnip craze.

• Stretch: I’ve stretched her to go to more events, and she’s stretched me to actually enjoy time alone. Growth happens individually and as a couple when you go outside your comfort zones. Just like yoga, stretching doesn’t feel so great at the time, but dang, you feel good afterwards.

• Addition: Together we are more dynamic as a couple. I stay surface, and she goes deep. When I’ve checked out in one-on-one conversations, she asks insightful questions, and keeps the conversation going.

 Introverts and extroverts go together. Even in extrovert-extrovert relationships, one will always be more extroverted than the other at one point or another. The same rules apply. Opposites can and do attract.

YEAH! That's it. you guys can work. remember compromise is very important in all relationship types.

Having problems with your introvert or extrovert partner?

You can either place a comment or send me an email to make the discussion personal.