Reece James Chelsea BOOST, brilliant Kane’s ‘best Spurs performance’ in City win, Pep eyes Barca kid, Bielsa’s future

Art of the deal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed the reason why no additions were made in the January transfer window.

Arteta said: “Edu and his team did a fantastic job and they continue to do that.

“We only want the best players and the best people in this club.

“When we are in a rush and the reasons are not right for getting a player into the club, we decide not to do it”

This is Gunner sting

Arsenal have been left ‘angry’ after it was revealed that Juventus star signing Dusan Vlahovic’s representatives sabotaged a potential move to the Emirates from Fiorentina.

The Gunners were also keen on using Lucas Torreira in the deal, swapping his loan move for a permanent transfer to the Serie A side.

According to Torreira’s agent, Pablo Bentancur, the north Londoners are furious about the situation.

When speaking to Sport890, Bentancur said: “Now, Arsenal are a bit angry because they wanted Vlahovic.

“Fiorentina wanted to sell him, but the agents said he had to go to Juventus – you always do what the player wants”

Kyl-er Mbappe blow

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe could be about to bring an end to months of transfer speculation by staying put in France.

Mbappe has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid when his PSG contract expires this summer.

Reports also suggested the star striker is open to a possible Liverpool switch in June.

According to The Independent, however, PSG are prepared to make the France international the highest-paid player in the world in order to convince him to stay.

The report claims the Ligue 1 leaders are ready to pay Mbappe a basic wage of close to £1million A WEEK in any new deal – that would far outstrip anything Real could bid

Roy not Keane

Manchester United hero Roy Keane snubbed a return to management with old club Sunderland because of the length of the contract.

SunSport understand that the Black Cats would only guarantee Keane a position for the season.

The legendary United skipper would have needed to shelve his lucrative TV deal to risk it all on gaining League One promotion.

The Irishman was not concerned about the drop in salary but there was no chance for him to plan ahead with the initial suggestion of a short-term stint

Wilshere reacts to move

Jack Wilshere has opened up on his move to Aarhus Gymnastikforening after spending almost a year as a free agent.

Wilshere said: “Since I started training with Arsenal, I have never hidden the fact that it was to be ready for 2022 and for a new club.

“Now the right club is here, and it will be an exciting new challenge for me. I am in a place in my career where I need to get started again after a difficult period and AGF have offered me that opportunity.

“For that I am very grateful, and I will do everything I can to live up to the expectations. I am very much looking forward to contributing to the team”

The Real deal

Real Madrid are planning to release seven players including Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard.

Real are pushing to sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe, whose contract expires in the summer, but the star striker would carry a heavy wage bill.

According to Marca, Bale could leave with Marcelo, Isco, Jesus Vallejo, Mariano Diaz and Dani Ceballos.

It is added that Los Blancos may also try to cash in on Hazard, who in the winter was linked with a return to Chelsea

Alv some of that

Arsenal are interested in landing Juventus loanee Alvaro Morata in a sensational summer swoop.

Morata has been put up for sale by parent club Atletico Madrid and is free to leave from July onwards.

According to Tuttomercarto, the Gunners have made the centre-forward one of their targets going into the summer.

Manager Mikel Arteta is desperate to bring in new striker after losing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona in January.

Arteta is also expected to be without Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah next season, with both out of contract come June.

The Spain international is understood to be open to a move to the Emirates, despite his Premier League struggles while at Chelsea

Gunning for Ru

Arsenal have enquired about Napoli star Fabian Ruiz in the summer.

Ruiz is under contract with the Partenopei until the end of next term.

But he has refused to sign a new contract with the club, so the Serie A side know this summer is the last realistic chance they have to recoup some money for him.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have both been linked with a move for the talented midfielder.

According to The Mirror, however, the Gunners may have joined the race for the Spain international after meeting with his reps in an attempt to understand his demands

Wolves 2-1 Leicester

Wolves defeated Leicester 2-1 in their Premier League encounter at Molineux.

The hosts opened the scoring after just nine minutes with Ruben Neves.

But the Foxes equalised four minutes before half-time thanks to Ademola Lookman.

However, Bruno Lage’s men regained the lead on 66 minutes with Daniel Podence

Ron the go

Manchester United will NOT stand in Cristiano Ronaldo’s way if he decides to leave in the summer.

United face a major battle to even reach the Champions League during another disappointing campaign.

Ronaldo has made his frustrations clear over the Red Devils’ inability to challenge for the Premier League title.

According to the Mirror, the Manchester giants will not stand in the five time Ballon d’Or winner’s way if he opts to leave Old Trafford this summer.

The 37-year-old would still have one-year left on his deal, but United would still let him go

Wilshere finds new club

Former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere has signed for Danish club Aarhus Gymnastikforening.

Wilshere has been without a team ever since leaving Bournemouth last year.

The midfielder had been training with the Gunners and boss Mikel Arteta as his search for a return to football dragged on.

But finally, the ex-England international has found his move with AGF confirming the deal

De Jong blow

Manchester United and Chelsea’s pursuit of Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has been handed a blow as the midfielder revealed his intentions to stay at the Nou Camp for ‘many more years’ to come.

De Jong told The Guardian: “I’m very happy I’m at Barcelona: from a young age I’ve wanted to be here, so in that way it has been a dream come true.

“But I would have liked to win more trophies than we did in my first two years. I expected more in that sense, let’s put it that way.

“But other than that, I’m very happy here and hopefully [will be here] for many more years”

Bielsa’s future in doubt

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa will walk away the moment he decides it is for the good of the club.

And there are fears Bielsa has already decided to end his four-year Elland Road reign in just three months’ time.

The Argentine insists he will know when to go while club insiders acknowledge a noticeable change recently.

The 66-year-old has yet to be offered another one-year contract and on Friday he again dodged questions about his plans, saying: “It is not a subject we should talk about at this moment.”

Yet, while Bielsa remains as committed as ever to securing Leeds’ place in the Premier League, sources close to him hint this will be his final campaign in charge

HT: Wolves 1-1 Leicester

Wolves and Leicester are tied 1-1 during their Premier League clash at the Molineux.

Ruben Neves opened the scoring after just nine minutes.

But Ademola Lookman put the Foxes back in the game with an equaliser on 41 minutes.

The game has reached half-time

Gon the move

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is eyeing Barcelona wonderkid Nico Gonzalez, whose dad used to be a youth coach at City.

Gonzalez, who broke into the Barca first team this season, has a huge £500million release clause but only earns around £10,000-a-week.

The Blaugrana are not out of the woods financially and have delayed a number of contract renewals — including the 20-year-old’s.

The midfielder’s father Fran is pals with Guardiola from their LaLiga playing days while the clubs are on good terms after Ferran Torres’ move from the Citizens to Catalonia in December.

The SPaniard has 20 months left on his deal and City are poised if Barcelona elect to cash in this summer

Leeds 2-4 Man Utd

Manchester United beat Leeds 4-2 in a Premier League encounter at Elland Road.

Under-fire United skipper Harry Maguire opened the scoring on 34 minutes and Bruno Fernandes doubled the visitors’ lead in the fifth minute of stoppage time before half-time.

But the Red Devils surrendered their lead in just 60 seconds when Rodrigo hit the back of the net on 53 minutes and Raphinha equalised.

But United regained the lead with Fred in the 70th minute before Anthony Elanga sealed the win two minutes before full-time

Hurri-Kane Harry

Tottenham superstar Harry Kane led his team to a 3-2 victory against Manchester City at the Etihad.

Kane scored for the first time against City during Pep Guardiola’s reign at the helm – in fact, he found the back of the net twice.

Never before, in nine previous meetings during Guardiola’s time in charge, has the star striker found the net.

It also proved why the Spanish head coach was so keen to sign the England international last summer

Starting Au new

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored his first goal for Barcelona since joining from Arsenal.

The 32-year-old Gabon international scampered onto a long ball over the top in the 23rd minute of a LaLiga game against Valencia on Sunday.

He raced clear and fired an unstoppable strike into the top corner as he hit the back of the net for the first time in Spain.

The ex-Gunner then celebrated with his trademark front flip as he kick-started his career with Barca.

Elanga gets struck by object

Man United youngster Anthony Elanga was hit by an object after celebrating Fred’s second half strike against Leeds.

Elanga as well as Fred were brought on for Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard in order to change United’s fortunes. And they did.

Fred finished off a sweeping counter attack to restore United’s lead and strengthen their grip on fourth place.

And as United’s players celebrated the thumping finish, Elanga was hit by an object coming from the stands.

United’s medical team attended to the teenager and after a quick check over he was cleared to play the rest of the game.

Fred restores United’s lead

Leeds are hosting Manchester United in an absolute thriller at Elland Road.

Super-sub Fred has given United a 3-2 lead after Rodrigo and Rafinha scored in just 59 seconds to level it for Leeds.

With 15 minutes or so remaining Leeds really need to pick themselves up to have another go at the visitors.

No Kidd-ing

Kidderminster Harriers’ FA Cup hero Matt Preston is being treated in hospital after suffering a ‘serious injury’ during a game against Alfreton Town.

The 26-year-old, who was named man of the match in Kidderminster’s 2-1 FA Cup fourth round defeat to West Ham two weeks ago, was injured following a challenge in the 25th minute of their National League North match on Saturday.

Medics worked on him for 25 minutes on the pitch before the game was abandoned.

Preston was then taken to hospital by ambulance as he received more treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

X-rays later showed he has potentially suffered a double leg break.

On Sunday afternoon Preston posted a picture of him giving a thumbs up from his hospital bed.

Ooh ahh Cantona

Man United legend Roy Keane hilariously revealed Eric Cantona was ‘really good on a night out’ while live on air.

Cantona played for both Manchester United and Leeds, with the two teams facing off in a grudge Premier League clash on Sunday.

And during the build up to kick off Sky Sports showed a package of Cantona, in which the Frenchman was enjoying a cold pint.

Keane though was surprised by his choice of drink, as he cracked a smile while sharing stories of their good times guzzling endless bottles of bubbly.

He said: “As I said [he was] a brilliant personality in the dressing room, when you’re travelling with him. A good guy, classy guy.

“And as I said, really, really good on a night out as well.

“I’m surprised we saw him drinking a pint, when we used to go out there was always champagne, he’s obviously made a few bob in his time at United.”

James snubs Shaw’s handshake

Leeds winger Dan James refused to shake hands with his old Manchester United pal Luke Shaw after the left-back checked up on him.

With James down on the deck following a tackle during Leeds vs Manchester United, Shaw came over to offer his hand.

But the Leeds man SNUBBED Shaw’s outstretched peace offering, much to the bemusement of the England star.

James looked at his hand and chose not to take it, with Shaw left red-faced after being completely blanked by the Welsh winger.

The 24-year-old, who spent two unsuccessful years at Old Trafford, simply turned away in spite after taking a blow to the face.

City slam Foden’s mum attack

Man City have slammed the “appalling abuse” suffered by Phil Foden and his family after a horrifying video showing his mum hurt in a brawl emerged overnight.

Claire Foden, 41, was punched in the face during a furious fire extinguisher brawl after Amir Khan’s boxing match.

Man City chiefs have now released a statement telling of their “shock” – and say they will support the star and his loved ones.

“The club is aware of a video which has circulated on social media showing Phil Foden and his family being harassed and abused,” officials said.

“We are shocked and appalled about the nature of the abuse and ensuing assault on one of Phil’s family members.

“We will continue to give Phil and his family all the support and assistance they need.”

Rob’s left a bloody mess

Robin Koch was left in a bloody mess after nastily clashing heads with Scott McTominay in Leeds’ clash with Manchester United.

In the 13th minute of the game the 25-year-old German defender had played the ball before being met head on by the Scottish midfielder.

He went down and it was immediately clear that a nasty gash had formed on his forehead.

The Leeds medics raced on to treat him and Koch was able to carry on after having his head bandaged up.

But not before he changed both his shirt AND shorts as blood had dripped onto them.

The Leeds staff were forced to block the cameras view of Koch while he stripped down and changed his shorts on the sidelines.