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YOUSSOUFA MOUKOKO became the Bundesliga’s youngest EVER goalscorer – but couldn’t stop Borussia Dortmund slipping to yet another defeat. The Cameroon-born wonderkid, aged just 16 years and 28 days, became the German top flight’s youngest ever player last month. He topped that by slamming home a left-footed rocket from a tight angle to equalise against Union […] More
JOHN BARNES has stated Liverpool should avoid looking to sign a replacement for Virgil van Dijk as their top two targets are not realistic options.
The Reds are in the market for a centre-back in the New Year following the Dutchman’s ACL injury he suffered in the 2-2 draw against Everton in October.
Napoli centre-back has been linked with a move to Liverpool as a replacement for injured Virgil van DijkCredit: Getty Images – Getty
John Barnes believes the Reds have no hope of bringing Dayot Upamecano to Anfield next monthCredit: Reuters
The Premier League leaders are hoping the defender, 29, returns before the end of the season, though he could well miss the remainder of the campaign.
Jurgen Klopp has spoken of Van Dijk’s horror injury where he revealed that his knee ‘doesn’t look like how a knee should’.
Liverpool have since been linked with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly as well as RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano, but Barnes has stated the Merseyside outfit have no chance of signing them.
Speaking to BonusCodeBets, he said: “If they can get better than what they have, yes [they should buy another centre-back].
“But if they can’t get better, there’s no point in buying for the sake of buying.
“The majority of centre-backs you would want are normally playing at top teams in the Champions League and may not be available.
“So, it’s not a question of looking to buy anybody, because he [Jurgen Klopp] has faith in the youngsters that he’s played.
“If they can get somebody who they feel will improve them, that is obviously a priority, but not just for the sake of it.
How Virgil van Dijk compares to the rest of the PL’s defenders
“Koulibaly – he’s not coming. It would be great if we could have him, but it depends on who you can get.
“RB Leipzig are still in the Champions League and will be playing against Liverpool so [Upemecano] is not going to come.
“It would be great to have him, or Koulibaly and other players, but you have to be realistic about who you can actually get.
“I don’t know anybody out there who is going to be a stopgap – and realistically isn’t going to be a great player. So, Klopp will have to have faith in the squad.”
Liverpool have most recently been linked with a move to bring Inter Milan ace Stefan de Vrij to Anfield next month.
A look back at Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur as it happened from the Premier League More
SICK racist abuse sent to Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and his footballer girlfriend has been slammed by the club’s president.
Davies’ partner Jordyn Huitema plays for Paris Saint-Germain and a picture she uploaded of the couple to Instagram in August received horrific comments.
Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and fellow footballer and girlfriend Jordyn Huitema were left racist abuse in comments on this holiday photo
Davies, 20, and Huitema, 19, have been together for three yearsCredit: Instagram @jordynhuitema
Sickening messages referring to the colour of Davies’ skin were left on the photo of the Ghana-born star, 20, and his 19-year-old girlfriend of three years.
The image of the Canadian internationals on holiday in Ibiza attracted over 14,000 comments and last week both Davis and Huitema highlighted the “disgusting” nature of many of them.
Bayern president Herbert Hainer told Bild: “Our club stands for cosmopolitanism. The racist hostility will not be tolerated by us in any way.
“We founded the ‘Red Against Racism’ initiative some time ago, which we practice very actively throughout the club in all sports and areas.
“Exclusion, discrimination, hatred and violence in every form have no place in our world.
“No matter where you come from – football offers us all a home. Football has the power to connect people. As FC Bayern we always want to contribute to this.”
Davies – whose parents are from Liberia – shared the image from the summer with his 3.2million followers and said: “These are the type of comments that are being put under my girlfriend’s pictures, also in her DMs and mine. This is absolutely disgusting.”
And Huitema also drew the abuse to the attention of her 1million followers by screenshotting some examples and saying: “We will never see the good in the world if all we see is the colour of each other’s skin. We are all part of one race, the human race.”
Canada Soccer released a statement saying they were “disappointed and appalled with the hateful comments”.
It read: “Canada Soccer stands firm against racism and discrimination of any kind both in the game and within all of our communities around the world.
“We are both disappointed and appalled with the hateful comments recently made to members of our National Teams through social media.
“Share love not hate and work together for a better world. #NoToRacism.”
Davies’ Bayern team-mate Jerome Boateng also panned the abuse and said: “I’m totally disgusted.”
On Monday, Davies posted a photo of himself wearing a ‘Red Against Racism’ shirt on Twitter, supporting his club’s campaign.
Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies girlfriend Jordyn Huitema accuses him of always peeing on the toilet floor More
BAYERN MUNICH are monitoring Frenkie de Jong amid Barcelona’s financial crisis, according to reports.
The Dutchman caught the eye of the Bundesliga side during his rise at Ajax, which led to a £68million switch to the Camp Nou.
Frenkie de Jong is seen as a major asset for Barcelona’s short and long-term futureCredit: Reuters
According to ESPN, a speculative offer of £65m was floated by Bayern during the summer, only to be rebuffed by Barcelona.
The German giants were said to be testing the water during their rivals’ economic turmoil.
Stars including Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal were sold as the coronavirus pandemic bit on a club with a notoriously high wage bill.
Two round of pay cuts have been agreed in the past nine months, the latest coming in November and totalling £110m.
De Jong signed a new contract a month earlier, extending his deal to 2026, which reportedly included a 30 per cent wage deferral.
Despite their interest, Bayern are described as highly unlikely to pull off a deal to sign the 23-year-old in January.
The midfielder is one of the key talents Barcelona are determined to hold onto as they come through this crisis.
Reserve goalkeeper Neto and defender Junior Firpo are named as two players up for sale when the window opens, with Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho available for the right price.
In any case, the Blaugrana’s transfer plans may change drastically when a new club president is elected on January 24.
Former chief Joan Laporta is the frontrunner to re-take the helm – and the 58-year-old set up a huge billboard on a huge billboard on the streets of Madrid on Tuesday.
The banner declared his hope that he sees Real Madrid fans soon, in a clear sign of his confidence at not only reclaiming the presidency but also shooting Barcelona up the table.
Ronald Koeman’s side sit eighth before the midweek visit of first-placed Real Sociedad.
Roughly 200m from Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, you can see a banner of Joan Laporta’s presidency campaign.Laporta shared the picture with a “Hello Madrid” caption. pic.twitter.com/NYk1RMgJ2Y
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) December 15, 2020
Frenkie de Jong shows off his shooting skills in Barcelona training More
BORUSSIA DORTMUND star Erling Haaland has celebrated winning the 2020 Golden Boy award.
The striker beat out team-mate Jadon Sancho as well as Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden on the 20-man shortlist.
Erling Haaland has celebrated winning the 2020 Golden Boy award
The Golden Boy award is given to the best young player under the age of 21 across the European Leagues.
Haaland was crowned as this year’s winner following his incredible 2019-20 season and has finally had the chance to celebrate with his award.
The 20-year-old tweeted a picture of himself clutching his trophy with the caption: “Proud.”
His father Alf-Inge shared his own pictures of the pair posing saying: “Congrats – Nice to be there with you.”
Haaland landed the Golden Boy award after scoring an impressive 27 goals in 29 appearances for Dortmund.
He also bagged 28 times for RB Salzburg before he joined the German giants for £17.1million back in January.
Barcelona’s Ansu Fati came second in the voting while Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies finished in third.
SunSport previously reported that despite Haaland’s form, Dortmund are reportedly open to cashing in on the starlet.
He has a £65m release clause in 2022 and the German club could decide it is financially best to sell him earlier for a bigger fee.
The Noway international is already on the radar of some of Europe’s biggest clubs including rivals Manchester United and City.
Real Madrid have also been linked with a move for Haaland as a long-term replacement for Karim Benzema.
Erling Haaland ruled out for rest of year after suffering hamstring injury in bitter blow for Borussia Dortmund More
BORUSSIA DORTMUND reportedly have an agreement with Marco Rose to become their next permanent manager.
Gianluca Di Marzio claims that BVB have a deal in principle for the Borussia Monchengladbach boss to take over at the end of the season in June 2021.
Borussia Dortmund are said to be chasing Marco Rose as their new managerCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Dortmund have already started their hunt for a new manager after confirming that they’d sacked Lucien Favre on Sunday afternoon.
The 63-year-old had guided the club into the Champions League knock-out stages but poor domestic form had put him under pressure.
And Dortmund’s humiliating 5-1 defeat to newly-promoted Stuttgart on Saturday proved to be the final straw, with Favre dismissed less than 24 hours later.
The Westfalenstadion outfit confirmed assistant coach Edin Terzic will now take over as interim boss until the end of the season.
Monchengladbach chief Rose and RB Salzburg’s Jesse Marsch were quickly installed as the frontrunners to take charge in the summer.
Mauricio Pochettino could be another name interested in the role having been out of work for over a year since being sacked by Tottenham.
Since then, the Argentine has been linked with a host of jobs including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Zenit St Petersburg.
But it remains to be seen whether Poch fancies spending another six months out football for the Dortmund vacancy to become available.
Favre meanwhile was axed as a result of Dortmund’s poor start to the season, which has included three losses in their last five games.
BVB now find themselves fifth in the Bundesliga – already five points behind leaders and reigning champions Bayern Munich.
Favre had just six months remaining on the deal he signed to take over the Black and Yellows back in May 2018.
Erling Haaland ruled out for rest of year after suffering hamstring injury in bitter blow for Borussia Dortmund More
BORUSSIA DORTMUND have sacked manager Lucien Favre following the club’s 5-1 thrashing to Stuttgart.
Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has already been installed among the early favourites to take over the Bundesliga giants.
Borussia Dortmund have sacked manager Lucien FavreCredit: EPA
Favre had guided BVB into the Champions League knock-out stages but poor domestic form had put him under pressure.
And the club’s humiliating defeat to newly-promoted Stuttgart at HOME has now proved to be the final straw.
Favre himself had labelled the loss, their fourth this season, a ‘disaster’.
The result compounded Dortmund’s poor start to the season, which has included three losses in their last five games.
The Westfalenstadion outfit now find themselves fifth in the league – already five points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
And Favre – who had just six months remaining on his Dortmund contract – has now paid the price.
The 63-year-old took charge of the Black and Yellows back in May 2018 after taking a two-year career break.
The Athletic claim assistant coach Edin Terzic will now take over until the end of the year.
While Borussia Monchengladback chief Marco Rose and RB Salzburg’s Jesse Marsch have also been named as potential targets.
Pochettino meanwhile will likely be one of the frontrunners having been out of work for over a year since being sacked by Tottenham.
Since then, the Argentine has been linked with a host of jobs including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Zenit St Petersburg.
Erling Haaland ruled out for rest of year after suffering hamstring injury in bitter blow for Borussia Dortmund More
BORUSSIA DORTMUND lost further ground in the Bundesliga title race following a disastrous 5-1 defeat to newly-promoted Stuttgart.
Lucien Favre’s side have now suffered three straight defeats at home in the league for the first time since Jurgen Klopp’s days in charge back in the 2013-14 season.
🤯 Dortmund 1-5 Stuttgart! 🤯A bad day at the office for Dortmund, but what a performance from newly-promoted Stuttgart! 👊🔥 pic.twitter.com/NhhpOBBcgC
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 12, 2020
Dortmund remain in fifth and five points off the top following champions Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw against Union Berlin.
BVB – who were without the injured Erling Haaland – fell behind early on as Silas Wamangituka swept home a 26th-minute penalty, after Emre Can had brought down Mateo Klimowicz.
American teenager Giovanni Reyna then brought the hosts on level terms with a stunning touch and finish from Raphael Guerreiro’s deft pass.
But Stuttgart scored three times in 11 minutes after the break with Wamangituka adding a second before strikes from Philipp Forster and Tanguy Coulibaly.
That was a disaster. It was bad.
Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre
Nicolas Gonzalez then compounded Dortmund’s misery by adding a fifth in injury time.
England starlet Jude Bellingham, 17, was denied his first Bundesliga goal thanks to a Marco Reus offside, while the flag was also up to prevent Reyna from notching a late consolation.
Dortmund boss Favre said: “That was a disaster. It was bad.
“We weren’t good at winning the ball. We made too many big mistakes.
“That’s hard to explain. If you are not good at winning the ball, I mean the whole team, then you have a problem.
“Stuttgart played well, but we were very, very bad. That will not do. Stuttgart played well in the first half, but we made it 1-1.
“Still, we wanted to do better in the second half. We gave up a very stupid goal. That worried the team. We weren’t there today.”
Borussia Dortmund were thumped at home to StuttgartCredit: EPA More
