Premier League

SEVERAL members of the Chelsea squad now regret signing long-term contracts, according to reports.The Blues have welcomed 17 new players since Todd Boehly took over last May.
Boehly has signed 17 new players since taking over ChelseaCredit: PA
Several Chelsea players are said to be unhappyCredit: Getty
Most of those signings penned a long-term deal – stretching beyond five years – upon their arrival in a bid to mitigate the club’s Financial Fair Play status.
However, according to The Athletic, some players have already started to regret committing themselves to such a lengthy term.
That is mainly due to Chelsea’s already-bloated squad – which includes over 30 first team players – as well as the club’s horrific run of form.
The Blues have lost each of their last five games under Frank Lampard, who was announced as the club’s interim boss following the dismissal of Graham Potter earlier this month.
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And they currently sit ten points above the relegation zone with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Newcastle still to play.
With Chelsea’s future still up in the air, several first team players have already expressed their desire to leave this summer.
And many more could also request to leave, especially if the club cannot secure European football.
Each of the club’s most recent signings, as well as those who recently signed a new deal, reportedly have a clause written into their contract which states that their wages could be slashed by at least 30 per cent if Chelsea do not qualify for the Champions League.
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To make matters worse, this is likely to cause more friction among the first team as some players do not have such a clause included in their respective contracts.
A source told The Athletic: “That situation is hardly going to help harmony within the group. You’ll have some players paying the price financially for the bad results this season, and some who are not.”
Chelsea are on the verge of appointing former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
The 51-year-old verbally agreed to take the job earlier this week. More

MANCHESTER UNITED promoted a 15-year-old wonderkid to join in first-team training.The Red Devils’ busy run of fixtures continues at home to Aston Villa tomorrow.
Erik ten Hag welcomed 15-year-old Amir Ibragimov to first-team trainingCredit: Getty
And on Friday, the Manchester Evening News reported Amir Ibragimov joined in with the senior stars despite his tender age.
The rising star only turned 15 a few weeks ago.
But he took to social media with a photo of his United training shorts and red adidas boots.
He captioned the image: “1st team session,” followed by a green tick.
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It is likely those who started on Thursday night at Tottenham, including Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, had a lighter session the day after the 2-2 draw in North London.
Ibragimov is highly-rated within the United academy and seen as one of the hottest young talents, even posing for pictures with Sir Alex Ferguson.
He was born in Russia then joined the Sheffield United youth set-up when his family moved to England.
Since joining the Red Devils, though, he had captained the Under-14s and U15s.
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This term, the exciting midfielder has appeared five times for the U18s.
With interest circling the teenager, United were keen to tie him down to a new deal and he put pen to paper on that contract in August.
He will go through a scholarship at United and is eligible to sign a professional contract when he turns 17.
Ibragimov can represent Russia or England but has already turned out for the Young Lions on the international stage.
He will be hoping to following the footsteps of 18-year-old Alejandro Garnacho, who has broken into the senior squad as a teenager.
With five goals and six assists this term, the Argentina whizzkid signed a new contract until 2028 yesterday and celebrated with a meal out in Hale with his girlfriend and family.
Ibramigov will hope to follow in the footsteps of Alejandro Garnacho at Old TraffordCredit: Getty More

GARY NEVILLE slammed FOUR Arsenal players for failing to “pull the team together” during their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.The Gunners were ripped apart on Wednesday evening as Pep Guardiola’s men took a huge step towards the Premier League title.
Arsenal were destroyed by Manchester City on Wednesday eveningCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Gary Neville hascalled out Arsenal four players for their performancesCredit: Getty
The result leaves Man City just two points behind Arsenal with two games in hand.
And Neville feels the likes of Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka should have done more to arrest the situation at the Etihad.
Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “I look at Martin Odegaard, fantastic professional. Oleksandr Zinchenko, great professional. But when you actually get to the highest pressurised moments in the biggest matches in the crux of the season, are they leaders then?
“Arsenal’s senior players, Partey, Zinchenko, Odegaard, in the most difficult period – when those younger players like Saka and Martinelli needed that guidance, Jesus needed telling to stop running around and just stand up front and be really disciplined in how you play – they didn’t impact the rest of their team-mates on the pitch, I don’t believe.
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“In fact, they contributed to the difficulties they were having in the matches.
“Xhaka at Anfield [referring to the incident with Trent Alexander-Arnold], Partey’s performances in the last few games, I think Zinchenko gave a goal away in one game as well – the Liverpool game and maybe West Ham as well – and Odegaard had probably his most difficult game as well against Manchester City.
“And then if you think of the huddle that Zinchenko did [against Southampton] and then Odegaard came over and said, ‘Break up’.
“So those four players that are the leaders in that team have not been able – at the moment those younger players needed it – to really pull them together and keep them calm and composed. That to me has been apparent these last few weeks.
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“In the first 10 minutes against West Ham, Arsenal’s back four would split, they were deep for a throw in, they’d get on the ball, they’d be in their shape, they’d play out from the back in their pattern.
“What happened in the second half when it got tough, they started just to push up the pitch, they got really clammy and tense, they didn’t do the things they were doing [in the first half].
“So what you then need is someone on the pitch who says, ‘Hang on a minute, slow down, split our back four, get the full-backs wide, get your midfield players split, get Saka and Martinelli high and wide, do the things that you’ve been doing’.
“Now that leadership can come on the pitch or it can come from off the pitch, but someone has to interfere when a game is going against you.
“In the most difficult moments in the last four games Arsenal have had, I’ve not seen anybody really composing the team. They’ve started to do things they hadn’t done all season.”
Arsenal will bid to return to winning ways when they host Chelsea on Tuesday.
But before that Man City can go top of the table with a victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday. More

ARSENAL fans were left divided after an image of the club’s potential new third kit was “leaked” online.Several variations of Arsenal kits for the 2023-24 campaign have been shared online in recent weeks.
Another Arsenal kit has been ‘leaked’ onlineCredit: Twitter@afcstuff
And many of the club’s supporters are not happy with any of them.
A new image of a potential blue third shirt emerged on social media earlier this week.
But many fans are still yet to be wowed.
One person tweeted: “Omggg it got even worse!”
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Another added: “So no good kits for next season.”
A third wrote: “Looking like 3 straight L’s for Adidas next season.”
While another claimed: “Not great but not as bad as I thought it was gonna be.”
Other Arsenal fans appeared to love the new style and design.
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One person took to Twitter to say: “Wonderful kit, will definitely buy it.”
Another chimed in: “Definitely getting this.”
A third joked: “This is gorgeous.”
And another added: “Take my money already!”
Arsenal have already secured Champions League football for the 2023-24 campaign.
Despite Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City, the Gunners were mathematically guaranteed a place in the top four after Brighton suffered a shock 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest. More