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      Joao Felix snubbed two Premier League clubs to join Chelsea despite Graham Potter’s struggles

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      JOAO FELIX has reportedly snubbed Manchester United and Arsenal to join Chelsea – despite the club enduring a torrid season. It emerged earlier today that the Portuguese international is closing in on a shock move to Stamford Bridge after Chelsea verbally agreed a £10million loan for him, according to reports.
      Joao Felix has become one of the most coveted stars of the January windowCredit: Rex
      Felix is unsettled at Atletico Madrid and is believed to be looking for a way out.
      Arsenal and Man United had been strongly linked with a move for the 23-year-old attacker.
      But Felix has reportedly snubbed both of them and already told his current team-mates he is moving to England.
      The Athletic report Chelsea’s “project appealed” to him and was a factor in his decision.
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      The Daily Record also claims that the Blues are attempting to include an option to buy into Felix’s deal.
      Felix joined Atletico Madrid for £113m in 2019, which is still the fourth-highest fee ever paid in football for a transfer.
      But the forward’s relationship with manager Diego Simeone is believed to have deteriorated and left the star desperate for the exit door.
      He was left out of the Atletico team who played Real Oviedo in the Copa del Rey earlier this week but returned to the starting line-up for defeat against Barcelona on the weekend.
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      If the deal was to be completed, he would join a Chelsea side having their worst season in several years.
      Yesterday’s humiliating FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester City was just the latest crisis experienced during Graham Potter’s tenure.
      The ex-Brighton boss is also dealing with a very long injury list while multiple summer signings like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly have yet to meet expectations.
      The Blues are sitting 10th in the table, 10 points off a Champions League spot.
      They have only won one of their last seven in all competitions.
      Felix arguably faces better short-term prospects at the other Premier League clubs who are interested.
      Arsenal are top of the Premier League after an extraordinary first-half of the season and could win the title for the first time since 2004.
      Meanwhile, Man United are a club on the up having won their last seven games and are even being tipped for a title push themselves. More

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      Todd Boehly ‘stands down as Chelsea’s interim sporting director’ with Vivell and Winstanley in charge of transfers

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      TODD BOEHLY has stepped down as Chelsea’s interim sporting director, reports suggest. American businessman Boehly acquired Chelsea after Roman Abramovich had his assets frozen owing to his links with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who the UK government were sanctioning due to the invasion of Ukraine.
      Todd Boehly has stepped aside from his interim director of football roleCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      As he took charge a number of key figures departed including previous transfer chief Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech, leaving the club very short on upstairs personnel.
      Boehly stepped into the void to try and ease the burden and became its interim sporting director, with him proceeding to sign eight players in the summer.
      However, after signing three players already in January to take the total outlay to almost £350million, it has now been reported that Boehly has relinquished this position.
      According to The Telegraph, Boehly will now allow new upstairs recruits Christopher Vivell and Paul Winstanley to take charge of this process.
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      Vivell was brought in as the Blues new technical director last month from RB Leipzig.
      Meanwhile, Winstanley became the club’s new head of global talent and transfers after being pinched from Brighton in November.
      Boehly’s new role will now be that of just being Chelsea’s chairman and Co-owner alongside Behdad Eghbali.
      Regardless of the shift of roles, Chelsea have once again taken the headlines today after they reportedly agreed to pay the £10m fee Atletico Madrid demanded for Joao Felix.
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      Furthermore, despite calls for his head, The Telegraph’s report indicates he remains fully supportive of Graham Potter as the club’s long-term manager.
      While a deal for Felix may now be in the works, transfers for Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk could see Chelsea eclipse the half-a-million spent mark in just seven months of Boehly’s ownership. More

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      Aston Villa edge closer to completing £12.5m transfer signing of Real Betis left-back Alex Moreno

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      REAL BETIS left-back Alex Moreno is set to become Unai Emery’s first signing for Aston Villa.The 29-year-old Spaniard remained in Seville while his Betis teammates travelled to Saudi Arabia to compete for the revamped Spanish Super Cup, where they face Barcelona in Thursday’s semi-final.
      Alex Moreno has made 15 La Liga appearances this seasonCredit: Rex
      Villa are confident they will tie up a £12.5million deal for a player – regarded by many as the best uncapped player in La Liga – in the next 24 hours.
      Emery wants Moreno to add some defensive quality to his back four as he moves away from the Steven Gerrard, Michael Beale model which preferred attacking full-backs to play high and provide width.
      Emery prefers his full-backs to be more defensively sound and support the attack from deeper positions.
      Moreno’s arrival will raise doubts over the future of Lucas Digne who cost Villa £25million from Everton last year as well as his back-up Ludwig Augustinsson, who started against Stevenage in Sunday’s FA Cup humiliation.
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      Nottingham Forest failed to land Moreno for £9million last summer, only to perform an 11th hour U-turn after Betis fans begged him to stay.
      However Emery’s interest in him sparked a change of heart by the Spaniard who won the Copa del Rey with Betis last season.
      The defender has made 121 appearances for Betis in all competitions since signing from Rayo Vallecano for £6m in 2019 on a five-year-deal.
      Now Betis look set to accept double their money on their left-back who has made 15 La Liga appearances this season, although Vallecano are entitled to a percentage of the cash.
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      The defender is set to join a Villa side currently being revived by Emery who has made an instant impact since replacing Steven Gerrard.
      The former Arsenal boss began his reign before the World Cup and started with stunning league wins against Manchester United and then Brighton.
      Villa then lost on Boxing Day to Liverpool before a brilliant win at Tottenham.
      The only major negative of Emery’s time in charge so far was yesterday’s shock FA Cup defeat to League 2 Stevenage. More

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      Man Utd ‘name Harry Kane in stunning three-man summer striker shortlist with Wout Weghorst transfer just short-term fix’

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      MANCHESTER UNITED are hoping a loan for Wout Weghorst will only be a short-term solution for the striker position.And the Red Devils are reportedly planning a summer move for a big-name attacker with three players on their shortlist.
      Harry Kane is reportedly one of the names on Manchester United’s shortlistCredit: Getty
      Serie A star Victor Osimhen is also on the listCredit: EPA
      Red Bull Salzburg striker Benjamin Sesko is another targetCredit: Getty
      Top of that list, according to ESPN is Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
      While they are also keeping an eye on Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and RB Salzburg star Benjamin Sesko.
      United have long been linked with Kane only to be thwarted by Spurs’ sky-high demands.
      That situation remains unlikely to change, but Old Trafford chiefs hope Kane’s dwindling contract might make Tottenham entertain offers.
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      Osimhen would be a different style of striker, but has been prolific for Napoli since joining the club and has continued his form this season with 11 goals in 16 games.
      While Sesko is more of an unknown quantity but is viewed as one of the most exciting prospects in Europe.
      And although Salzburg’s sister club RB Leipzig have reportedly agreed on a £20million deal to sign him, it is believed that the deal could be cancelled should a team come in with a higher offer.
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      United, in the meantime, have been linked with Dutch international Weghorst, who is currently on loan at Turkish side Besiktas.
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      A move for the 30-year-old striker is set to only be a short-term fix for the club, according to the ESPN report.
      Should he arrive at the club, Weghorst will offer manager Erik ten Hag a different option up front as he is more of a traditional number nine.
      United will hope that Weghorst can fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo, who left the club in November.
      He would then compete with more typical wide players such as Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford for the striker role.
      The report says that United are aiming to have a “clean slate” in the summer.
      The report has suggested that United are not able to make moves now as the players that are available are “castoffs who don’t play, strikers who have been injured, or those who just aren’t good enough.”
      The club are cautious about rushing into a long-term commitment with another striker after their recent struggles with players.
      United spent big on Romelu Lukaku, while the likes of Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao joined the club for high wages.
      Wout Weghorst is seen as ‘short-term fix’ for Manchester UnitedCredit: Getty More

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      Gareth Bale retires as most decorated Brit in Champions League history as top five are revealed

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      GARETH BALE has retired from club and international football as the most successful Brit in European Cup history.The Welsh winger made the announcement on social media as he ended his career aged 33.
      Gareth Bale is the most successful British player in European Cup/Champions League history
      Bale scored a vital goal in his first Champions League final victoryCredit: Reuters
      Bale earned his fifth Champions League medal last year as Madrid beat LiverpoolCredit: The Times
      Bale enjoyed a brilliant career in which he was a star in North London for Tottenham, but it was following his move to Real Madrid that he stamped his name in football’s history books.
      The winger helped Madrid win five Champions League titles during his time in Spain.
      This record means that he is the most successful Brit in the competition’s history.
      Here are the five most successful Brits in the European Cup/Champions League
      5. Terry McDermott (3 trophies)
      The midfielder was part of the Liverpool squad that dominated football in the late 1970s and 1980s.
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      He won the competition three times, with his first two victories coming in 1977 and 1978.
      McDermott then won his third European Cup in 1981.
      4. Phil Thompson (3 trophies)
      The 68-year-old was also in the team with McDermott that won three European Cups.
      He captained Liverpool to their victory against Real Madrid in 1981.
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      3. Ray Clemence (3 trophies)
      Goalkeeper for the legendary Liverpool side, Clemence made an important save in the 1977 final against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
      He denied Ulrich Stielike in the second half with the scores at 1-1, before the Reds went on to win the tie 3-1.
      2. Phil Neal (4 trophies)
      Liverpool’s most successful Champions League player, Neal won the tournament on FOUR different occasions.
      He won it in 1977, 1978, 1981, as well as in 1984, as the full-back helped the Reds beat Roma on penalties at the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital.
      1. Gareth Bale (5 trophies)
      His most memorable final came against Liverpool in 2018, as he scored a brace to help Real Madrid to victoryCredit: AP:Associated Press
      Bale won the prestigious competition five times with Real.
      His first win came in 2014 as he scored Madrid’s go-ahead goal in extra-time as they beat city rivals Atletico 4-1 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
      Bale then scored in the shootout of the final in 2016, a repeat of the 2014 final against Atleti.
      Madrid and Bale retained the Champions League for the following two years.
      In 2017 they thrashed Juventus 4-1 at the Millennium Stadium.
      The following year was be Bale’s final, in which he scored a superb double against Liverpool during Madrid’s 3-1 win in the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, which included a spectacular overhead kick.
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      Bale collected his fifth Champions League medal last year as Madrid once again beat Liverpool in the final.
      However, the Welshman had to watch from the bench as Brazilian Vinicius Jr scored the only goal of the game. More

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      Chelsea in Enzo Fernandez transfer blow as Benfica say deal is ‘CLOSED’ after ‘disrespectful’ bid

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      BENFICA have said that Enzo Fernandez’s proposed switch to Chelsea is CLOSED.The Blues have been strongly linked with the Argentina World Cup star in recent weeks following his outstanding form in Qatar.
      Chelsea have been strongly linked with Enzo Fernandez this monthCredit: Getty
      But the Portuguese outfit have been left angry with Chelsea’s latest bid.
      They were negotiating over his £105m buyout clause but saw their offer of cash plus players rejected by Benfica, who want the cash up front.
      Manager Roger Schmidt described the offer as “disrespectful”.
      Fernandez is said to have informed the Primeira Liga that he wants to leave.
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      But despite missing their recent victory over Portimonense, Schmidt has revealed that the deal is now off the table.
      He said: “The Enzo story is closed, there’s nothing left. He’s our player.
      “He’s in a good position, Enzo is happy, training well, he’s part of the team.
      “He’s a key player. That’s all.”
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      Speculation over Fernandez’s future looks likely to continue for the rest of the month despite Benfica’s strong stance.
      Chelsea could continue their pursuit and he’s also been linked with a move to Liverpool and Newcastle.
      As long as he stays at his current club Fernandez could return to action in the Taca de Portugal on Tuesday when Benfica face Varzim.
      That’s before they face a crunch Lisbon derby with Sporting next weekend, knowing victory will see them move 15 points clear of their rivals. More

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      Man Utd legend Steve Bruce, 62, ‘is set to retire from management after 25-year career following West Brom sacking’

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      STEVE BRUCE is set to retire from football management after a 25-year career.The veteran boss, 62, last managed West Brom but was sacked by the Baggies in October.
      Steve Bruce is considering calling time on his managerial careerCredit: Rex
      Bruce won just eight games out of 32 in charge at the Hawthorns and the experience has made him question his future in football.
      The former Manchester United defender admitted he is considering retirement – but did not rule out a potential return in future.
      He said: “I’m looking at it now, the last job in particular hasn’t gone so well. So is it time to say, ‘OK – can I see if I can be without it?’
      “But, certainly, I’ve enjoyed it. Has it been difficult? Of course it has – if you’re going to go into management there is going to be difficult moments ahead.
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      “I don’t think you can ever say never – but at this moment in time I’m bordering on that way (retirement).”
      Bruce has managed 11 clubs in the Premier League, Championship and League One.
      He got both Birmingham City and Hull City promoted to the Prem on two occasions and also guided the latter to the FA Cup final in 2014.
      Bruce’s last stint in the top flight came at Newcastle, who he guided to 13th and 12th-placed finishes in his two full seasons in charge.
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      He also managed Sunderland, Wigan, Hull and Birmingham in the top flight.
      He started his managerial career in the second-tier with Sheffield United and also had spells at Huddersfield, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday. More

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      How Man Utd can still sign RB Salzburg wonderkid Benjamin Sesko despite RB Leipzig having £20m agreement in place

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      MANCHESTER UNITED’S pursuit of a new striker has been handed a boost after it was revealed they are still able to sign RB Salzburg star Benjamin Sesko. Sesko, 19, has a £20million agreement on his head to move to Salzburg’s German sister club RB Leipzig.
      Man Utd could hijack a move for Benjamin Sesko.Credit: Getty
      And while United are not likely not try and sign him in January, they are far more likely to make a move in the summer following the revelation Leipzig could be bought out of the deal.
      According to ESPN, while Leipzig have an agreement in place to sign the Slovenian at the end of the season, a major bid from another club could change the trajectory of his career.
      This gives United a final chance to make a move for the highly-rated striker.
      Of course, the club appears to be prioritising a short-term solution in the January window.
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      Loans for Wout Weghorst and Joao Felix have been earmarked.
      But in the case of Felix, the fee it would cost United to take him on for six months has been a major stumbling block – though Chelsea have just agreed a deal to bring him in according to reports.

      This has seen negotiations for on-loan Burnley star Weghorst accelerate.
      And while he is the exact mould of striker Erik ten Hag wants in a centre forward, any prospective loan for him will depend on Besiktas, where he is currently situated.
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      As well as Sesko, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Tottenham star Harry Kane are being discussed as more long-term solutions.
      England captain Kane is entering the final year of his Spurs contract in the summer and faces a pivotal decision in his career. More