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      Wolves to put Diego Costa through mini pre-season after shock free transfer but ex-Chelsea star could face Man City

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      WOLVES will put new signing Diego Costa through his own mini pre-season in a bid to fast-track his Premier League return.The ex-Chelsea striker has signed a one-year deal at Molineux and will be officially announced as a Wolves player in the next 48 hours.
      Diego Costa hasn’t played since being released by Atletico Mineiro in JanuaryCredit: Reuters
      Former Chelsea ace Costa has already been snapped in Wolves gear ahead of the transfer announcement
      Costa, 33, is yet to play competitive football this year after his contract with Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro was terminated in  January.
      Wolves have moved to bolster their attack after new £15.5million signing Sasa Kalajdzic suffered an ACL injury on his debut against Southampton last week.
      They now plan to put Costa through an intensive training schedule to help him get up to speed.
      It is hoped the former Spain star could feature for what would be a mouth-watering debut against champions Manchester City next Saturday.
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      Costa, himself a two-time Premier League winner with the Blues, will wear the No 29 shirt for Bruno Lage’s men after they won a work-permit appeal to land him.
      Goal-shy Wolves have found the net just three times in the league this term and it is hoped Costa can add some menace to their attack.
      While he earned a bad-boy reputation at Stamford Bridge, he also averaged nearly a goal every other game for the Blues between 2014 and 2017.
      Joao Moutinho admits sharpening up in front of goal is the aim for Wolves, whose wait for a top-flight win this season finally ended against Saints.
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      The midfielder said: “We feel we play good football, we create chances but we haven’t scored sometimes.
      “That’s one of the things we need to improve.
      “That’s what we’re training for every single day, trying to be better or to improve our finishing, to improve everything in our game — and try to put that on the match.
      “We know sometimes it’s difficult but we keep going and keep trying to do our best to get the victories for us and for our supporters.” More

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      Graham Potter will NOT be sacked if Chelsea miss top four this season as Todd Boehly insists boss there for long term

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      GRAHAM POTTER will NOT be sacked if he fails to make the top four.Chelsea’s new manager has been told that while Champions League qualification is a massive target this season, it will not be make or break for his job.
      Graham Potter was appointed as Thomas Tuchel’s successor just one day after the German was sackedCredit: EPA
      Chelsea lost their Champions League opener to Dinamo Zagreb on TuesdayCredit: Rex
      Todd Boehly is thought to be hiring Potter as part of a long term planCredit: AP
      This is a huge departure from tradition at Chelsea where it has been recognised as the bare minimum to remain in employment.
      But new chairman Todd Boehly and his fellow directors are insistent that they are in it for the long term with Potter and that he will be given time.
      The former Brighton chief signed a five-year contract worth over £10million a year and has been told he will get full support from Stamford Bridge bigwigs.
      Chelsea have finished outside the top four just twice in the last ten years — in 2016 and 2018.
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      Both times the manager was sacked.
      Jose Mourinho was axed in December 2015 when the team was spiralling down the table.
      Antonio Conte got the push after falling one place and five points short three years later when he was at loggerheads with the board.
      Boehly and his pals want to move away from Chelsea’s reputation for hiring and firing managers. Potter is the club’s sixth since Mourinho was axed just under seven years ago.
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      But he has been taken on to revamp Chelsea’s style of football and to buy into the “long term” project being introduced from above.
      Chelsea are currently sixth in the Premier League after a shaky start in which they have lost two and drawn one of their six games.
      Potter’s predecessor Thomas Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday morning just hours after an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Croatian minnows Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
      Chelsea were due to face a tough away game at local rivals Fulham today before all football was cancelled due to the death of The Queen.
      Potter led his first training session yesterday.
      The Blues are currently understood to be preparing as normal for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against RB Salzburg at Stamford Bridge.
      Potter, 47, spent Thursday afternoon at Chelsea’s Cobham training base, meeting club staff.
      Co-controlling owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali addressed staff, along with Potter.
      Then the coach met his playing squad for the first time yesterday morning at Cobham, before getting down to work on the training field. More

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      Barcelona have power to ‘unilaterally terminate’ Gerard Pique’s contract despite club legend taking HUGE pay cut to stay

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      GERARD PIQUE could see his Barcelona contract terminated at the end of the season, according to reports.Last month, the 35-year-old Spaniard took a substantial pay cut in order to help the club sign SEVEN players who they were struggling to register.
      Gerard Pique could have his contract terminated at the end of the seasonCredit: AFP
      This was because of Barcelona’s crippling financial crisis.
      Back in July, it was reported that manager Xavi told his former team-mate Pique that it would be best for him to leave.
      Pique wanted to stay and help the team, so took a massive pay-cut instead.
      There were even rumours he was willing to play for free before LaLiga insisted that was not allowed.
      And now reports are claiming that he could be unceremoniously shown the exit door at the end of the campaign.
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      According to Sport, if Pique does not play more than 35 per cent of Barcelona’s matches then they will be able to terminate his contract in the summer.
      The eight-time Spanish champion and three-time Champions League winner has a deal which runs until 2024 at the Nou Camp.
      But that will supposedly end 12 months earlier if his game time is kept to a minimum up until the end of the season.
      Pique has played more than 600 times for Barcelona, winning a remarkable 30 trophies during his time there.
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      But he is now well down the pecking order of centre-backs in the Catalans squad.
      Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia are all ahead of him in Xavi’s side.
      Barca have started the campaign in fine form, winning four out of five matches and scoring 16 goals.
      But Pique has played a total of just 45 minutes – which came in the first half of their Champions League opener against Viktoria Plzen.
      He was replaced by Sergi Roberto at half-time. More

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      Barcelona’s spending cap for season increased by £700m after selling assets as they register Bellerin and Alonso

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      BARCELONA’s spending cap for the season has increased by £700million after leveraging club assets this summer.The Catalan club registered new signings Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso ahead of their clash with Cadiz this weekend.
      LaLiga have confirmed Barcelona have a £700m spending cap now they have sold off assetsCredit: Rex
      The Catalan club signed top striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich during the transfer windowCredit: Rex
      LaLiga confirmed on Friday that Barca had generated the income after a year of financial turmoil at the Nou Camp.
      They sold 25 per cent of their domestic TV rights for the next 25 years and 49 per cent stake of its local TV production ‘Barca Studios’.
      It’s allowed them to spend a whopping £130m on players this summer.
      It is a far cry from the summer of 2021 when the cash situation was so dire they were forced to let Lionel Messi leave for free.
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      The superstar was believed to be close to agreeing a new contract but financial restrictions meant the deal could not be finalised.
      The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner departed for Paris Saint-Germain.
      But thanks to leveraging the club’s assets this term, top marksman Robert Lewandowski confirmed his transfer from Bayern Munich.
      Lewandowski, 33, forced through an exit from the Allianz Arena and put pen to paper on a four-year contract at the Nou Camp.
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      The transfer saw Barcelona pay £38million with a further £4m in add-ons.
      His release clause has been set at a staggering £426m should anyone try and buy the Polish international.
      They also nabbed Jules Kounde away from Chelsea’s grasp.
      The Spanish side beat the Blues to the Sevilla centre-back on a five-year which cost them up to £46million.
      Kounde, 23, claimed team boss Xavi – previously a Nou Camp midfield genius – was a major lure in choosing Barcelona.
      Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso all arrived on free transfers. More

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      Neville slams the Glazers for splashing £230m on ‘panic’ transfers including Antony and Casemiro amid Man Utd fan fury

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      GARY NEVILLE has accused Manchester United of “panic buying” towards the end of the summer transfer window.The Red Devils were beaten by Brighton and Brentford in their opening two games of the Premier League season.
      Antony and Casemiro were two of Manchester United’s final three signingsCredit: PA
      Neville has accused his former club of panic buying at the end of the windowCredit: Rex
      That sparked United chiefs into life during the final weeks of the window as they signed Casemiro for £70million, Antony for £85.5m and Martin Dubravka on loan.
      They were added to the new arrivals who had already been brought in – Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia.
      It saw the Red Devils’ net spend exceed £200m.
      It is something Neville believes was an unplanned reaction to results and protests against the Glazer ownership.
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      Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “Manchester United wanted to spend about £130m-£140m, they ended up spending £230m.
      “Obviously we’ve seen it before with the Glazer family – loads of trouble, protests building, invest the money to try and appease the fans and basically panic-buy.
      “The Casemiro and Antony bids came in two days before the Liverpool game, which was obviously a moment where they just needed to get players in.
      “It wasn’t the strategy at the start of the summer to spend the money they’ve spent.”
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      Since their slow start to the campaign, Ten Hag’s men have won four Premier League matches in a row – their best run since April 2021.
      Victories over Liverpool, Southampton, Leicester and Arsenal have seen United leap up to fifth in the table.

      And Antony hit the ground running with a goal against Arsenal, while fellow new arrival Eriksen produced a player of the match performance in the win over the Gunners.
      However, United did suffer a blow on Thursday night when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Real Sociedad in their opening Europa League game. More

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      Diego Costa pictured in Wolves training gear for the first time as Chelsea legend closes in on sensational free transfer

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      DIEGO COSTA has been pictured wearing Wolverhampton Wanderer’s training attire ahead of his free transfer to the club. The former Chelsea striker has been linked with a move to Wolves, but the deal is yet to be announced while a decision was being made on a work permit.
      Diego Costa has been pictured in Wolves gear
      Costa won two league titles with Chelsea, scoring 52 league goals in 89 appearancesCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Costa had been spotted arriving at Wolves training ground earlier this week ahead of the move.
      His work permit appeal was heard on Wednesday after the Home Office initially rejected it.
      A lack of recent game-time at both club and international level meant Costa did not automatically qualify for a work permit in the UK.
      But as SunSport exclusively revealed on Tuesday, Wolves have remained confident the application would be accepted upon appeal.
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      Following its acceptance, Costa flew to the UK to complete his medical tests – which have also now been concluded.
      It is understood he will sign a one-year deal with Bruno Lage’s side.
      The club’s swoop for Costa has come following the long-term injury of new £15million signing Sasa Kalajdzic, who suffered an ACL injury.
      Andy Carroll did emerge as another target but Costa was always the first choice as an emergency recruit.
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      However, owing to his aforementioned lack of game time, he would not have been expected to be ready to face Liverpool this weekend – but that fixture has been postponed owing to the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
      The Premier League and EFL announced earlier today all fixtures would be postponed this weekend as a mark of respect to pay homage to the Monarch. More

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      ‘I can’t say no to Arsenal’ – Shakhtar star Mykhaylo Mudryk reveals Premier League transfer dream amid Gunners interest

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      ARSENAL transfer target Mykhaylo Mudryk has admitted he “couldn’t say no” to the Gunners if they tried to sign him.The Shakhtar Donetsk winger, 21, has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates.
      Mudryk was linked with Arsenal throughout the summerCredit: Getty
      And he hit the headlines once more on Tuesday night with a stunning performance for the Ukrainian outfit in the Champions League.
      Mudryk scored and assisted two more as Shakhtar thrashed RB Leipzig 4-1 in Germany.
      His fine form comes after Arsenal reportedly agreed personal terms with him towards the end of the summer window.
      However, they failed to complete a deal and will now have to wait until at least January.
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      But Mudryk has claimed he would have to take the opportunity in North London if it arose.
      Speaking to CBS Sports, he said: “My dream is to play in Premier League, of course.
      “Arsenal is a very good team, very good manager – so from my side, I can’t say no to Arsenal!”
      He added: “But a transfer is not just up to my decision.”
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      Mudryk scored two goals and assisted nine in 19 appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk last season.
      He has also already played five times for the Ukraine national team.
      Along with Arsenal, Mudryk’s impressive form has attracted interest from Sevilla. More

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      Galatasaray confirm FIVE new transfers including ex-Man Utd ace Juan Mata and Mauro Icardi in dramatic video

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      GALATASARAY have confirmed FIVE new signings including ex-Manchester United star Juan Mata and Paris Saint-Germain striker Mauro Icardi.The Turkish giants confirmed the news on Thursday night, with the arrivals of defender Matthias Ross, midfielder Milot Rashica and winger Yusuf Demir also announced.

      (L-R) Ross, Demir, Icardi, Mata and Rashica being unveiled by Galatasaray
      The video posted on social media officially unveiling the players was a remarkably bold and unique clip.
      It showed the five players getting out of sports cars while wearing tuxedos.
      At the end, they all met up together and posed in Galatasaray shirts as heavy music was blasted in the background.
      The caption for the video read: “High five! 🙏 No need for the Oscars, here’s the GalaStars! ✨💛❤️ #WeAreTheBest.”
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      Icardi, 29, joins Galatasaray from PSG after being reduced to the bench in Ligue 1 due to the superstar trio of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
      He scored 38 goals in 92 appearances for the French champions and before that netted a breathtaking 124 times in 219 matches for Inter Milan.
      Meanwhile, Mata, 34, departed Manchester United at the end of last season when his contract expired.
      He was one of a number of players to leave Old Trafford for free, with Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Edinson Cavani all joining him.
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      Centre-back Ross, 21, comes into the Galatasaray fold after leaving Danish outfit AaB Aalborg.
      Rashica, 26, has arrived on a loan deal from Championship side Norwich.
      And Demir, 19, has come in on a permanent deal from Rapid Vienna having spent last season on loan at Barcelona. More