LIONEL MESSI looks set to miss a number of PSG games after suffering a foot injury.
The Argentina star, who has had a tough start to life in Paris, will miss the trip to Metz but could also be unavailable for their Champions League clash with Manchester City.
Derby County have entered administration and have been deducted 12 points by the English Football League.
But transfer news still rolls on with Arsenal set to make a bid for Noa Lang.
Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso will no longer take the knee before games, with the Spaniard preferring to point to the No Room for Racism badge on his sleeve.
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BARCA COULD BE PRICED OUT OF POGBA DEAL
Manchester United have received a major boost in their bid to keep Paul Pogba at Old Trafford.
Pogba’s contract with United runs out in June and his future appears to be uncertain as some of Europe’s biggest hitters are circling in hoping for a free transfer.
According to Sport, Barcelona are among the star midfielder’s suitors and they have been keeping tabs on him for a long time.
However, the France international would be forced to take a significant pay cut if he agreed to join Barca.
The Blaugrana have endured a major economic fallout during the coronavirus pandemic and struggled to meet LaLiga’s new salary cap rules.
The Catalan giants believe the 28-year-old is the perfect fit for their club’s profile after a tough summer that saw them losing the legendary Lionel Messi on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Barcelona are bound for some tough financial negotiations with the Frenchman and his agent Mino Raiola.
That means Pogba’s other suitors, such as PSG and Juventus, could have an advantage over Ronald Koeman’s side.
KYLIAN MUST BE MORE HUMBLE
Kyllian Mbappe must become ‘more humble’ if he wants to be ‘loved’.
That’s according to Metz boss Frederic Antonetti, who claims the Paris Saint-Germain star must change his behaviour following controversial scenes in Ligue 1 last night.
Ten-man Metz were holding PSG to a draw at home when Achraf Hakimi netted a last-gasp winner.
Furious Metz fans stormed the pitch in anger following PSG’s wild celebrations, while goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja confronted Mbappe in a heated stand-off.
Metz’s anger towards the France striker, 22, stemmed from an incident in the 80th minute. Stopper Oukidja kicked the ball out following an injury stoppage.
And Mbappe cheekily tried lobbing him to put PSG ahead. Metz players and fans were far from pleased with his behaviour.
And tempers exploded moments before PSG’s eventual winner when captain Dylan Bronn was sent off. Metz boss Antonetti was also shown a red card as Hakimi’s second strike of the game sealed all three points for the visitors.
He said: “Mbappe had better behave differently if he wants to be loved.
“I adore this player, he is very, very strong. But he would benefit from showing more humble behaviour.
“In the game he had been non-existent. It happens when he cannot find space.”
JOR HAVING A LAUGH
Three Chelsea stars reacted passionately to a referee decision going against them on Wednesday evening… and fans loved it.
Jorginho, Cesar Azpilicueta and Mateo Kovacic were furious as the referee gave a foul to Aston Villa in the Blues’ League Cup win.
In an image shared on social media by SunSport columnist Simon Phillips, the three players are seen reacting to a decision by ref Graham Scott.
Jorginho, Azpilicueta and Kovacic were all rested for the game as Chelsea went on to beat Villa in a penalty shootout at Stamford Bridge.
And fans were loving the trio’s enthusiasm, with one tweeting: “They look like the lads in the Shed End.”
While another wrote: “What part of ‘take the day off’ do these guys not understand? They just can’t relax for one match. Love that.”
And one tweeted: “They’re fans just like us!”
JUVE MET YOUR MATCH
Spezia winger Emmanuel Gyasi trolled Juventus by copying Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal celebration, but Massimiliano Allegri’s side got the last laugh.
Gyasi beat Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a deflected effort to cancel out Moise Kean’s opener.
Spezia taunts Juventus with Cristiano Ronaldo celebration but Allegri has last laugh withAnd the winger decided to bring out the famous Ronaldo ‘Siu’ celebration, taunting Juve who lost the mega star on deadline day to Manchester United.
Spezia thought their luck was in from that point forward as they took the lead early on in the second half.
Janis Antiste, 19, cut inside off the left flank and beat Szczesny at his near post to hand the Serie A minnows a shock lead.
The celebrations were short-lived though, as Italy’s Euro 2020 hero Federico Chiesa drew Juve level.
And just minutes after Chiesa’s strike, Matthijs de Ligt restored Juve’s lead to win the game.
The taunt that was bound to sting, but Juve got the last laugh and picked up their first win of the league campaign.
NOT KNEELY ENOIUGH
Romelu Lukaku claims the time may have come for players to take stronger action than taking the knee in the fight against discrimination.
Chelsea star Lukaku fears the pre-match gesture may not be doing enough to end racism – just days after team-mate Marcos Alonso revealed he would no longer kneel because it was losing impact.
Lukaku told CNN: “I think we can take stronger positions, basically.
“Yeah, we are taking the knee, but in the end, everybody’s clapping but… sometimes after the game, you see another insult.
“I have to fight, because I’m not fighting only for myself. I’m fighting for my son, for my future kids, for my brother, for all of the other players and their kids, you know, for everybody.
“At the end of the day, football should be an enjoyable game… You cannot kill the game by discrimination. That should never happen.
“Football is joy, it’s happiness and it shouldn’t be a place where you feel unsafe because of the opinion from some uneducated people.”
KLOPP ‘RELUCTANT’ TO MOVE FOR UTD TARGET JUDE
Liverpool have been linked with an £80million move for Jude Bellingham – as have Manchester United.
But according to German outlet Bild, Jurgen Klopp may opt against a move for Bellingham out of loyalty for his old club Borussia Dortmund.
The news comes as a boost to Manchester United, with a central midfielder reportedly top of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wishlist.
Transfermarkt value the 18-year-old at around £50million, but any potential future fee for the England star is expected to be a considerable amount more than that.
RED LIGHT
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has equalled the run of form that saw David Moyes SACKED as Manchester United boss.
United have now won just five of their last ten matches in all competitions – enough for the board to wield the axe and get rid of Moyes back in 2014.
The current streak includes Premier League victories over West Ham, Newcastle, Wolves and Leeds this season – as well as Wolves in the final game of last term.
But they drew with Fulham back in May, then lost the Europa League final on penalties to Villarreal.
This term they had a stalemate with Southampton and suffered shock cup losses to Young Boys and now West Ham to jeopardise their hopes of silverware in the New Year.
And ironically, the latest flop result came with Moyes in the away dugout last night as he piled the pressure on the Norwegian.
JUR THE ONE
Liverpool have entered the race to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, according to reports.
According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Liverpool are one of many top clubs keen on purchasing Haaland in the near future.
The forward’s £64million release clause reportedly became active on September 1.
And Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has admitted it will be very difficult for the club to keep hold of their prized asset.
He told Welt am Sonntag: “Of course it will be difficult. I am not saying, however, that it is completely out of the question.
“We’ll do everything we can to keep our top players loyal to us in the future.”
RED RAMPART
Manchester United have installed a heavy-duty security gate at Carrington.
The move comes after protesting Reds fans stormed the training complex after the club signed up to the European Super League.
In April, around 20 furious supporters targeted the Aon training complex – just hours before the first team squad were due in.
The men bypassed security and made their way to the first team training pitch where they unveiled two banners which read ‘Glazers out’ aimed at club owners the Glazer family.
BAL GAME
Manchester City are likely to enter a bidding war for Real Sociedad star Mikel Oyarzabal, reports suggest.
According to TEAMtalk, City are not giving up on Oyarzabal who has been a long-term target of manager Pep Guardiola.
However, Fichajes report that Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund are also keeping tabs on the highly-rated winger.
The Spain international’s suitors, though, will have to meet Sociedad’s €75million (£63m) asking price.
That means City will first have to sell at least one player before moving for the talented forward.
Guardiola already has the likes of Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres playing in the wing and one of them may have to make way.
The Manchester giants tried to sign the 24-year-old last year but were pushed back by the LaLiga giants.
Getty Images SENS-ING A MOVE
Premier League giants Liverpool are interested in signing Real Madrid star Marco Asensio, according to reports.
The winger, 25, is struggling for minutes under Real boss Carlo Ancelotti and it’s believed he may be available for transfer in the near future.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes.Net, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp wants to rebuild his team and believes Asensio could be the perfect signing.
Reports in August claimed Arsenal were leading the race for Asensio’s signature but Liverpool can offer the player Champions League football.
Getty Images BLUES ALL RIGHT
Chelsea are favourites to wear the Premier League crown this season even if they are not yet at full speed.
That is the view of former Blues winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, who has already tipped them to pip his other previous employers Manchester City to the title.
“Right this second I think Chelsea would pip City to the title,” he told Metro.co.uk.
“The fact that they don’t have to play well and still come away with 3-0 wins is unbelievable and Tuchel has even said they haven’t played well yet.
“He still wants more from his team and wants them to play his way still, but they’re coming away with these wins still.”
DYBALA DEAL
Juventus are close to agreeing a deal with Paulo Dybala for a contract extension.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, it’s only a matter of time before the 27-year-old Argentinian puts pen to paper on a new deal.
He tweeted: “Juventus are close to complete the agreement with Paulo Dybala over new contract.
‘We’re negotiating in the right way – we feel close, optimistic’, Juventus vice president Nedved confirmed. #Juventus #Dybala
“Juventus are also negotiating to extend Juan Cuadrado’s contract.”
Getty Images BREAKING NEWS
Nemanja Matic will NOT face any FA action despite kneeing Vladimir Coufal in the privates, DUNCAN WRIGHT reports.
Manchester United star Matic aimed a shot at the midriff of Coufal after challenge during West Ham’s Carabao Cup win on Wednesday night.
It appeared referee Jon Moss had failed to spot the incident, leaving fears the Serbian would be hit with a retrospective violent conduct charge from the FA.
But SunSport understands Moss’s report landed at Wembley this morning/yesterday where he made it clear he had seen what happened.
And because the match officials saw and dealt with the clash in real time, FA regulations mean no further action can be taken so Matic will escape a three match ban.
RED RECORD
Manchester United’s wage bill will reportedly rise by a record £65MILLION this season due to Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho’s arrivals.
The Red Devils will pay out a staggering £387m – around the same as skint Barcelona shelled out in 2020.
Cristiano Ronaldo is pulling in a cool £480,000-a-week at Old Trafford making him the club’s highest earner.
David De Gea is second on the list on a weekly wage of £375k.
United paid Borussia Dortmund £73m for Sancho and are forking out an additional £350k-a-week in wages to the England winger.
While Raphael Varane’s £42m from Real Madrid completes the summer’s big spends at Old Trafford, with the Frenchman taking home £340k-a-week which is £17.7m annually
KAR-YING ON
Liverpool outcast Loris Karius is being targeted by Basel ahead of the January transfer window.
The Swiss outfit tried to sign Karius in the summer but a move didn’t materialise as they couldn’t agree on wages.
According to Bild, however, the FCB are considering a second bid in the winter before the goalkeeper’s contract runs out in June.
Patrick Rahmen’s side want to sign the German in order to give starting keeper Heinz Lindner some top-class competition.
The 28-year-old joined the Reds from Mainz in 2016 following a £4.7million deal.
But Karius fell out of favour at Anfield following two error-stricken seasons under Jurgen Klopp.
Getty Images DERBY’S DOOM
Andrew Hoskings of Derby administrators Quantuma has confirmed the club is ‘tens of millions of pounds’ in debt.
He said: “We do consider a club of this magnitude has a viable future. “No-one is under-estimating the task ahead and some difficult decisions will be made.
“The club has debts in the tens of millions of pounds.
“There will be cost savings through the administration, sadly a number of redundancies.
“And while we don’t consider it an easy task, it is not insurmountable.
“Already there is a considerable degree of interest in this club.
“A lot of it was expressed prior to the administration order. We consider the position to make a successful conclusion is very practicable.”
‘GIVE ME A CHANCE’
Brave Jack Wilshere has revealed the agony of telling his 10-year-old son why his injury record is stopping him finding a new club.
Wilshere told the Under The Surface podcast: “I’ve got a 10 year-old who is football mad, he loves football and he watches Sky Sports News.
“He sort of understands football and that’s probably one of the toughest parts about explaining to him what’s going on because he’d always ask me if I’ve got a club yet or does anyone want you and I’m like ‘no’.
“I think that’s all you can say – you have to be honest with him.”
Wilshere has been without a club since Bournemouth released him in the summer following a change of management.
And the England international believes potential employers are judging him on his fitness record rather than giving him a fair opportunity.
KNEE-MANJA
Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic kneed Vladimir Coufal in the groin but managed to get away with thanks to VAR not being used in the Carabao Cup.
The Serb lashed out at the Hammers right-back as United lost 1-0 but escaped punishment as ref Jon Moss didn’t see it and VAR wasn’t being used at Old Trafford.
Coufal went down and appealed to the nearby fourth official – though he did not make a meal of it.
Matic ran off as if nothing as happened and got away with it because there was no VAR for the Carabao Cup tie.
He would surely have been sent off in the Premier League and he doubled down on his good fortune with a nasty tackle on matchwinner Lanzini later in the match.
Matic raked his studs down the Argentine’s ankle after a late challenge and the ref missed it again, with Lanzini was subbed off injured as a result soon after.
BROKEN VOW
Thomas Tuchel went back on the deadline day promise he reportedly made to Saul Niguez by playing him out of position on Wednesday.
The Chelsea boss is understood to have vowed to play Saul in his preferred central midfield role in a bid to lure him to Stamford Bridge.
But just two games into his Chelsea career, Saul found himself deployed on the left as the Blues beat Aston Villa on penalties in the Carabao Cup.
Saul endured a tricky debut against Villa in the Premier League earlier this month.
He was hauled off after just 45 minutes following his summer loan move from Atletico Madrid.
Getty Images ‘VERY STRANGE’
And Redknapp has also questioned the decision to play Harry Kane out wide in the 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea.
Redknapp said: “I thought it was a strange one. Son plays there and Harry plays through the middle. Very, very strange.
“For the first 20 minutes, they were bang in the game.
“Second half, Chelsea completely overran them. Chelsea look strong.”
TOP SCORER
Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has predicted Spurs talisman Harry Kane to be top goalscorer this season, as long as the 28-year-old isn’t played out of position.
Redknapp told talkSPORT: “He wants to play all the time.
“From Tottenham’s point of view, they want to win a trophy. They’re not going to win a Premier League and can look at that competition, and the FA Cup and think this is something they can win.
“Harry wants to play all the time now. He’s one of those lads and could well end up being leading goalscorer, as long as they don’t play him on the left wing again.
“He will be right there in the mix.”
LACA-GO
Atletico Madrid are keeping tabs on Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette who is set to run down his contract, reports suggest.
Lacazette’s deal with the Gunners expires next year in June and negotiations with the club’s hierarchy are not moving towards the right direction.
According to Le 10 Sport, Atletico are ready to pounce on the opportunity to sign the striker next summer on a free transfer ahead of his likely departure from the Emirates.
Atleti have been closely monitoring the France international ever since he played for Lyon.
The Spanish champions are still interested in the 30-year-old and appear as a likely destination after he leaves the north Londoners.
The Madrid giants are still in touch with the Frenchman’s representatives and are even preparing the ground for his potential arrival.
Getty Images PATI-NO
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has explained why wonderkid Charlie Patino wasn’t involved in the team’s 3-0 win against AFC Wimbledon.
The talented forward, 17, was expected to play against the League One side but Arteta opted for a more experienced 18-man squad.
When asked by the press about Patino’s omission, Arteta admitted: “He was very close [to being selected].
“But at the end we decided that some players needed minutes. It will happen naturally with time.”
Patino made his senior debut for Arsenal’s U23s against Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy earlier this month but is yet to play for the first team.
Getty Images OU ARE YA?
Manchester United have emerged as a possible destination for Barcelona outcast Ousmane Dembele.
According to ElNacional, the Red Devils have ‘appeared by surprise’ to make a move for the French winger.
The report even states negotiations have even begun with the 24-year-olds representatives.
And with the French international out of contract at Camp Nou at the end of the season, Old Trafford chiefs are eyeing a free transfer that would represent a shrewd bit of business.
Barca though are eager for Demebele to sign a contract extension until 2024 according to Mundo Deportivo, in order to avoid letting the winger leave the cash strapped club on a free.
Getty Images
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
