Beijing (AFP) – China has been forced to cancel or put off a host of sporting events due to the coronavirus epidemic, from suspending all football in the country to postponing the first badminton tournament of the 2020 world tour season.
The world’s most populous country has increasingly become a powerhouse in hosting international sport in recent years but has had its sporting calendar for the year thrown into chaos.
Here is a wrap-up of events already affected and those at threat:
– Cancelled, postponed or moved –
— Football: China on Thursday suspended all domestic football and postponed indefinitely the top-flight Chinese Super League season kick-off due on February 22 in order to “carry out prevention and control of the pneumonia epidemic,” said the Chinese Football Association.
— Athletics: The World Indoor Championships, scheduled for Nanjing from March 13-15, were postponed for a year. “It is with regret that we have agreed with the organisers … to postpone the event to March 2021,” the sport’s governing body said in a statement Wednesday.
— Football: The Asian Football Confederation announced Wednesday that home Champions League group stage games featuring four Chinese clubs would be switched to away fixtures for the first three match days in February and March. A decision on venues for each club’s three home group matches will be made at a later date.
— Women’s football: A women’s Olympics qualifying event between China, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia scheduled from February 3-9 in Wuhan, the disease epicentre, was moved initially to Nanjing then to Sydney. The China women’s football team were quarantined in a Brisbane hotel on Wednesday after arriving in Australia for the tournament.
— Boxing: A qualification event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics initially scheduled from February 3-14 in Wuhan was rescheduled for Amman in Jordan from March 3-11.
— Women’s basketball: Another Olympic qualifying tournament, a four-team battle for three Tokyo places between China, Great Britain, Spain and South Korea was moved on Monday from Foshan, in southern China, to Belgrade where it will run alongside another four-team group on February 6-9.
— Aquatics: The Chinese leg of the Diving World Series, scheduled for March 7-9 in Beijing, “has been cancelled,” Cornel Marculescu, president of the international swimming federation, told AFP on Monday. He said the World Series of synchronised swimming, scheduled for Suzhou from April 23-25, was also in question.
— Cycling: The Tour of Hainan, due to be promoted to the second-tier ProSeries this year, was scheduled from February 23 to March 1 on the southern island of Hainan. It has been cancelled “due to the health situation in the country”, the International Cycling Union said on Monday but could be rescheduled later in 2020.
If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Man United vs. Wolves on US TV in the Premier League, you’ve come to the right place.
For viewers in the US, Man United vs. Wolves will be shown on TV and streaming (more details below).
Match: Man United vs. Wolves
Kickoff: Saturday, 12:30pm ET
Looking to watch Man United vs. Wolves online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.
We Recommend:
US Only.
Here are all of the details of where you can watch it on television and via legal streaming:
Who: Man United vs. Wolves What: Premier League, gameweek 20 When: Game kicks off at 12:30pm ET / 9:30am PT; Saturday, February 1, 2020 Where: Live on NBC, fuboTV, Hulu Live, Sling Blue and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
With fuboTV, you can watch Man United vs. Wolves and tons more Premier League games with a 7-day trial. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV or hook it up to your TV with Google Chromecast.
Now with fuboTV, you can stream NBCSN, FS1, FS2 as well as beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS Connect, NBC (in select cities), CNBC, USA, FOX (in select cities), FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports Net, RAI Italia, Telemundo, Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMas, Eleven Sports, CBS, CSN, RAI Italia and YES.
Plus fuboTV, the legal streaming service, also streams Serie A, La Liga, Liga MX, World Cup, Women’s World Cup, MLS, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Primeira Liga, Ligue Un, World Cup qualifiers, Bundesliga, select USMNT games, select USWNT games, select Mexico games, select England games and Euro 2020 qualifiers.
The fuboTV app is available for Windows PC, Mac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones, Android tablets, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Kindle.
Here are the steps to take to watch the Man United vs. Wolves game with your free fuboTV trial:
2. Click on the red ‘Start for free’ button (see screengrab below)
3. On the login page, enter your e-mail address to sign up (or you can use your Facebook or Google logins) (see screengrab below)
4. After entering your login details and signing up for the free trial, you’ll be taken to the fuboTV main screen (see screengrab below)
5. From here, you can either scroll down the page to see the TV listings which include the Man United vs. Wolves game (see screengrab below)
6. Or you can click on the ‘Guide’ button at the top to see all of the channels available to you, which will include NBCSN featuring Man United vs. Wolves (see screengrab below)
If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid on US TV in LaLiga, you’ve come to the right place.
With Comcast Xfinity and DIRECTV dropping beIN SPORTS, be sure you don’t miss out on the LaLiga season, which you can watch for free with a trial to fuboTV. More details below.
Match: Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid
Kickoff: Saturday, 10am ET
Looking to watch Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.
We Recommend:
US Only.
Here are all of the details of where you can watch it on television and via legal streaming:
Who: Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid What: LaLiga When: Game kicks off at 10am ET / 7am PT; Saturday, February 1, 2020 Where: Live on beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, fuboTV, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports, Fanatiz and Vidgo (free trial)
With fuboTV, you can watch Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid and tons more LaLiga games with a 7-day trial. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV or hook it up to your TV with Google Chromecast.
Now with fuboTV, you can stream NBCSN, FS1, FS2 as well as beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS Connect, NBC (in select cities), CNBC, USA, FOX (in select cities), FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports Net, RAI Italia, Telemundo, Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMas, Eleven Sports, CBS, CSN and YES.
Plus fuboTV, the legal streaming service, also streams Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Liga MX, World Cup, Women’s World Cup, MLS, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Primeira Liga, Ligue Un, World Cup qualifiers, Bundesliga, select USMNT games, select USWNT games, select Mexico games, select England games and Euro 2020 qualifiers.
The fuboTV app is available for Windows PC, Mac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones, Android tablets, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Kindle.
Here are the steps to take to watch the Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid game with your free fuboTV trial:
2. Click on the red ‘Start for free’ button (see screengrab below)
3. On the login page, enter your e-mail address to sign up (or you can use your Facebook or Google logins) (see screengrab below)
4. After entering your login details and signing up for the free trial, you’ll be taken to the fuboTV main screen (see screengrab below)
5. From here, you can either scroll down the page to see the TV listings which include the Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid game (see screengrab below)
6. Or you can click on the ‘Guide’ button at the top to see all of the channels available to you, which will include beIN SPORTS featuring Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid (see screengrab below)
If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Liverpool vs. Southampton on US TV in the Premier League, you’ve come to the right place.
For viewers in the US, Liverpool vs. Southampton will be shown on TV and streaming (more details below).
Match: Liverpool vs. Southampton
Kickoff: Saturday, 10am ET
Looking to watch Liverpool vs. Southampton online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.
We Recommend:
US Only.
Here are all of the details of where you can watch it on television and via legal streaming:
Who: Liverpool vs. Southampton What: Premier League, gameweek 25 When: Game kicks off at 10am ET / 7am PT; Saturday, February 1, 2020 Where: Live on NBCSN, Universo, fuboTV, Hulu Live, Sling Blue and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
With fuboTV, you can watch Liverpool vs. Southampton and tons more Premier League games with a 7-day trial. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV or hook it up to your TV with Google Chromecast.
Now with fuboTV, you can stream NBCSN, FS1, FS2 as well as beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS Connect, NBC (in select cities), CNBC, USA, FOX (in select cities), FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports Net, RAI Italia, Telemundo, Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMas, Eleven Sports, CBS, CSN, RAI Italia and YES.
Plus fuboTV, the legal streaming service, also streams Serie A, La Liga, Liga MX, World Cup, Women’s World Cup, MLS, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Primeira Liga, Ligue Un, World Cup qualifiers, Bundesliga, select USMNT games, select USWNT games, select Mexico games, select England games and Euro 2020 qualifiers.
The fuboTV app is available for Windows PC, Mac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones, Android tablets, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Kindle.
Here are the steps to take to watch the Liverpool vs. Southampton game with your free fuboTV trial:
2. Click on the red ‘Start for free’ button (see screengrab below)
3. On the login page, enter your e-mail address to sign up (or you can use your Facebook or Google logins) (see screengrab below)
4. After entering your login details and signing up for the free trial, you’ll be taken to the fuboTV main screen (see screengrab below)
5. From here, you can either scroll down the page to see the TV listings which include the Liverpool vs. Southampton game (see screengrab below)
6. Or you can click on the ‘Guide’ button at the top to see all of the channels available to you, which will include NBCSN featuring Liverpool vs. Southampton (see screengrab below)
If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Leicester vs. Chelsea on US TV in the Premier League, you’ve come to the right place.
For viewers in the US, Leicester vs. Chelsea will be shown on TV and streaming (more details below).
Match: Leicester vs. Chelsea
Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30am ET
Looking to watch Leicester vs. Chelsea online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.
We Recommend:
US Only.
Here are all of the details of where you can watch it on television and via legal streaming:
Who: Leicester vs. Chelsea What: Premier League, gameweek 25 When: Game kicks off at 7:30am ET / 4:30am PT; Saturday, February 1, 2020 Where: Live on NBCSN, Universo, fuboTV, Hulu Live, Sling Blue and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
With fuboTV, you can watch Leicester vs. Chelsea and tons more Premier League games with a 7-day trial. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV or hook it up to your TV with Google Chromecast.
Now with fuboTV, you can stream NBCSN, FS1, FS2 as well as beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS Connect, NBC (in select cities), CNBC, USA, FOX (in select cities), FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports Net, RAI Italia, Telemundo, Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMas, Eleven Sports, CBS, CSN, RAI Italia and YES.
Plus fuboTV, the legal streaming service, also streams Serie A, La Liga, Liga MX, World Cup, Women’s World Cup, MLS, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Primeira Liga, Ligue Un, World Cup qualifiers, Bundesliga, select USMNT games, select USWNT games, select Mexico games, select England games and Euro 2020 qualifiers.
The fuboTV app is available for Windows PC, Mac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones, Android tablets, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Kindle.
Here are the steps to take to watch the Leicester vs. Chelsea game with your free fuboTV trial:
2. Click on the red ‘Start for free’ button (see screengrab below)
3. On the login page, enter your e-mail address to sign up (or you can use your Facebook or Google logins) (see screengrab below)
4. After entering your login details and signing up for the free trial, you’ll be taken to the fuboTV main screen (see screengrab below)
5. From here, you can either scroll down the page to see the TV listings which include the Leicester vs. Chelsea game (see screengrab below)
6. Or you can click on the ‘Guide’ button at the top to see all of the channels available to you, which will include NBCSN featuring Leicester vs. Chelsea (see screengrab below)
Although the title race is effectively over in the Premier League, there are still some eye-catching clashes to enjoy from the division this weekend.
English football’s top flight dominates the latest selections, with three of the five matches picked from the competition. Elsewhere, there’s a huge derby in Spain and a clash between two surprise title challengers in the Bundesliga.
All kick-offs are in Eastern time. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the games!
Although Leicester and Chelsea sit third and fourth in the Premier League respectively, it feels like both teams would benefit from a spark.
Inconsistency has crept into the play of both. Leicester were rampant in the early weeks of the season, although they have lost four and won three of their last seven matches. They will also need to lift themselves after a last-gasp loss to Aston Villa in the League Cup semi-final in midweek.
Chelsea are in a similar position, with their season meshing fantastic and frustrating performances. That was epitomised in their previous Premier League outing, when they twice went ahead against 10-man Arsenal, only to end up with a 2-2 draw.
Leicester are secure in third place, with an eight-point lead over Chelsea and a 14-point advantage over Manchester United in fifth. If they were to win here, it would surely be enough to guarantee Brendan Rodgers’ side a position in the Champions League next season.
Real Madrid can move six points clear at the top of La Liga with a win over city rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
With Barcelona slipping up and losing 2-0 to Valencia last weekend, Madrid were able to put some daylight between themselves and their big rivals. A goal from Nacho was enough for Los Blancos to win at Real Valladolid, with Zinedine Zidane’s team continuing their impressive defensive record this term.
Atletico have done well in this fixture in recent years, although their morale will be at rock-bottom before they visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Last week they were beaten by Eibar and Cultural Leonesa, before being held to then-bottom club Leganes on home soil.
Barcelona are in action against Levante at home on Sunday. If Los Blancos can apply some pressure on Saturday with a win after negotiating what is typically one of their biggest fixtures of the season, then it’ll feel like a big step in the title race.
The Bundesliga title race is the most exciting in Europe at the moment. Leipzig and Monchenglabach are two of the underdogs in this encapsulating battle.
Leipzig currently sit top of the pile, although they are now just a point clear of defending champions and favourites Bayern Munich. That was after an uncharacteristically sloppy performance last weekend, as they went down 2-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
While their form before that showdown was exceptional, manager Julian Nagelsmann has been critical of his players’ attitude following that loss and it’ll be intriguing to see what kind of reaction he gets when BMG visit on Sunday.
Borussia are just two points back on the leaders, although they’ve struggled to reach the levels that they showed earlier in the season as of late. A big win, like in Saturday’s match at Leipzig, feels like it’s needed if they are going to remain a genuine contender for the championship in Germany.
Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Saturday, February 1, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Universo, fuboTV, Hulu Live, Sling Blue and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
Manchester United and Wolves will face off for the fourth time this season on Saturday evening, although there does feel like there’ll be an edge to this upcoming fixture.
The Old Trafford crowd will be hoping to get a glimpse of the club’s high-profile January acquisition, with Bruno Fernandes in line to make his debut for the club. The former Sporting CP man should add an exciting dimension to the team, with his dribbling skill and goalscoring making him a huge hit in Portugal.
Wolves will feel confident of picking up a positive result nonetheless. Nuno Santo’s team were knocked out the FA Cup by United earlier in the campaign at Old Trafford, although that elimination has given the team a significant rest period since their last outing.
Both teams are locked on 34 points going into this fixture, six behind Chelsea. If the Blues slip up at Leicester, whoever is victorious in this showdown will feel as though they are in the mix for a top-four berth.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City
Sunday, February 2, 11:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Telemundo, fuboTV, Hulu Live, Sling Blue and AT&T TV Now (free trial)
The Premier League weekend finishes with a heavyweight showdown in north London, with defending champions Manchester City heading to Tottenham.
The match is a more important one for Spurs. Like United and Wolves, they are sat on 34 points and on the brink of a possible challenge for a top-four berth. However, the team haven’t been performing to their best as of late, with Jose Mourinho’s side just edging past Norwich City in their previous home encounter.
City were beaten by United in the Carabao Cup in midweek, although they were still able to progress to the competition final on aggregate. Pep Guardiola watched on as his team created and spurned a host of chances at the Etihad Stadium.
More ruthlessness will be required to take three points from this encounter. City are also likely to be boosted by the return of Aymeric Laporte, who was rested for the match with the Red Devils following his comeback from injury against Sheffield United.
London (AFP) – Manchester United’s late swoop for Nigerian international striker Odion Ighalo was the most striking move of a quiet transfer deadline day for Premier League clubs on Friday.
United looked set to miss out on cover for the injured Marcus Rashford when interest in Josh King was rebuffed by Bournemouth, but Ighalo, 30, will join on loan for the rest of the season from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.
The Red Devils were also responsible for the biggest move of the window with the signing of Portuguese international midfielder Bruno Fernandes for an initial 55 million euros (£47 million, $61 million) that could rise to 80 million euros in add-ons.
However, deals were difficult to do for even some of the world’s richest clubs as Chelsea and Tottenham were frustrated in their search for a striker.
Total spending for the month by English clubs was marginally up from last season’s £180 million ($234 million), but well short of the record £430-million outlay in 2018.
The mid-season window is increasingly seen as an undesirable time to do business for clubs wary of overpaying in a seller’s market.
“We would need a striker to have a better squad to face the great challenges in front of us in three different competitions,” said Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho, who must cope without England captain Harry Kane for most of the remainder of the season.
“But we want to do things not to resolve the problems of today or tomorrow but things that are also good for the future.”
Spurs did make one significant signing in Dutch international winger Steven Bergwijn for £27 million from PSV Eindhoven as well as making Giovani Lo Celso’s loan deal from Real Betis into a permanent move to replace Christian Eriksen, who finally departed for Inter Milan.
– Lampard frustrated –
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard cut the most frustrated figure as the Blues failed to add a single player despite seeing their transfer ban lifted.
“It’s clear we wanted to bring players in and I’ve made that pretty clear over the last weeks but it hasn’t happened,” said Lampard on Friday.
Chelsea’s stumbling form has left the door open for United, Tottenham and Wolves to pip them to fourth and a place in next season’s Champions League.
Wolves pounced by adding to their Portuguese contingent with the signing of Daniel Podence from Olympiakos.
Liverpool had no such need to dive into the market as they sit serenely 19 points clear at the top of the table and on course for a first league title in 30 years.
Despite what Gregg Berhalter, Earnie Stewart, and Carlos Cordeiro have tried to tell US fans, 2019 was a resounding disappointment for the USMNT.
A trio of ugly friendly losses to Jamaica, Venezuela, and Mexico, failing to win the Gold Cup, and then losing to Canada for the first time since Ronald Reagan was president do not constitute a successful calendar year. Nor were any of the wins anything to write home about: a Guyana team ranked 177th in the world, a typical rock fight 1-0 result against Panama, a 1-0 win over Curacao (in which the US was outplayed, out-hustled, outshot, and outworked) and then a pair of blowouts against Cuba in the Nations League. But with the calendar flipping to 2020 there comes that dangerous feeling of optimism that US fans get trapped by all too often. With a new year is the chance to start fresh and see what Gregg Berhalter’s much ballyhooed master plan is made of. The first opponent is a team the US actually managed to beat by more than one goal in 2019: Costa Rica.
The roster for this January Camp is predictably MLS heavy (as it always is for the January Camp). Of the 22 players on the roster for the Costa Rica game, just three are not based in MLS (Christian Cappis of Hobro in Denmark, Uly Llanez of Wolfsburg in Germany, and Bryang Kayo who is currently without a club).
While it seems that Berhalter couldn’t resist calling in a few of his favorite players (Gyasi Zardes, Paul Arriola, and Aaron Long) most of the players here have fewer than ten caps for the US. In fact, 16 of the 22 players have appeared fewer that ten times for the US and of those 16, twelve of them have never played for the US before. Goalscoring (which has already proven very difficult for the US to do against teams with anything resembling talent or a gameplan so far under Berhalter) will be at a premium as only five of the players have scored for the US. Of those five, only Zardes has double digits.
One of the positives of so many young and uncapped players is Berhalter’s stated intention to get these guys some experience at the full international level in order to help prepare them for Olympic Qualifying in March. While many of the decisions and results under the current US Soccer regime can certainly be questioned, they deserve to be applauded (for now) for appearing to prioritize qualifying for the Olympics in Tokyo this summer. Not only are some of these new faces getting experience, but Berhalter has said that it’s possible that a number of the full national team players who are age-eligible could participate in Olympic qualifying as well. Having missed the last two Olympic tournaments in London 2012 and Rio 2016, getting to Tokyo is vital.
Costa Rica had a rough 2019. They finished with a record of 4-6-3 (W-L-D). They got the year started with a 2-0 loss to the US. Their campaign at the Gold Cup was less than stellar (for some reason Costa Rica never performs well at the Gold Cup) as they finished runners-up in Group B and fell to Mexico in the quarter-finals, exiting via a penalty shootout. And while they topped their Nations League group and advanced to the next round (to face Mexico) it wasn’t pretty: 1-1 against Haiti, 0-0 against Curacao, 2-1 over Curacao, and 1-1 against Haiti. Their roster for this game is based entirely in either Costa Rica or MLS. The MLS players are a number of the usual suspects and a few new guys: Giancarlo Gonzalez of LA Galaxy with 80 caps, Ronald Matarrita of NYCFC with 36 caps, Joseph Mora of DC United with 3 caps, Randall Leal of Nashville SC with 15 games, Ulises Segura of DC United with 8 caps, Luis Diaz of the Columbus Crew with 2 caps, and Marvin Loria of the Portland Timbers with 1 cap. But the key guy for the US defense to watch is long-time Tico, Marco Urena, who at ejust 29 has already amassed 65 caps and 15 goals.
Notes:
1. Most of the training for this camp (including a pair of exhibitions against European club teams) was scheduled to take place in Qatar. However due to tensions in the region arising from airstrikes against Iran, the camp was moved back to the US.
2. Saturday’s game against Costa Rica will be the 13th January Camp game at Dignity Health Sports Park for the US.
3. The last time the US played Costa Rica in Carson in September of 2011, the Ticos won 1-0 in Jurgen Klinsmann’s second game in charge.
When, Where
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Dignity Health Sports Park
Carson, California
3:55pm ET
Live on ESPNEWS, UniMas, TUDN, Sling Orange plus Sports Extra and fuboTV (free trial)
All-Time Series
Series tied 16-16-6
Last Meeting
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Earthquakes Stadium
San Jose, California
USA 2-0 Costa Rica
Current FIFA Ranking
USA: 22
Costa Rica: 46
Next Game
International Friendly
Netherlands vs. USA
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Philips Stadion
Eindhoven, Netherlands
London (AFP) – Manchester United signed Nigerian international Odion Ighalo on loan until the end of the season from Shanghai Shenhua in a last-minute move before the January transfer window closed on Friday.
Ighalo, 30, moved to China in 2017, joining Changchun Yatai from Watford, before moving to Shanghai last year.
United are short on striking options due to a back injury suffered by top scorer Marcus Rashford, with the England international expected to be sidelined for at least another month.
Ighalo scored 40 goals in 100 appearances for Watford in his previous spell in English football and United will hope he will be just as prolific as they try to chase down Chelsea for a place in the Premier League top four.
However, the dash to provide Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with another forward with seconds to spare before the deadline has provided more ammunition for fans critical of the club’s recruitment policy.
United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward’s home was targeted by disgruntled supporters with flares and graffiti earlier this week.
An attempt to bring Bournemouth forward Josh King back to Old Trafford, where he started his career, was rejected earlier on Friday.
Ighalo has scored 16 goals in 34 international appearances for Nigeria, including five as top scorer at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund beefed up their midfield on transfer deadline day by signing Germany international Emre Can from Juventus, the Bundesliga club confirmed Friday.
The 26-year-old, who can play as a defender or defensive midfielder, will initially join on loan as cover for injured Danish player Thomas Delaney until the end of the season.
However, the transfer will then become a permanent move, “provided that agreed parameters are met”, according to a statement on the Dortmund website.
“In Emre Can, we are getting a German international who can play in different systems in several positions in both defence and central midfield,” said Dortmund’s sports director Michael Zorc.
“He is a player who also brings his physicality to bear and has a strong will to win.”
According to reports, Dortmund are set to pay around 25 million euros ($27 million) for the ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich central midfielder.
German daily Bild claim Can has taken a pay cut to join Dortmund, where he will earn 8.5 million euros per season, instead of 14 million at Juventus.
His move is said to be motivated by a desire for more game time back in Germany as he pushes for a place in Joachim Loew’s national team at the Euro 2020 finals.
Can has not held down a starting place at Juventus this season and did not feature in any of their Champions League matches.
It has been a busy few days for Dortmund, who sold Spain striker Paco Alcacer to Villarreal on Thursday having already signed Norwegian teenager Erling Braut Haaland.
The 19-year-old striker cost 20 million euros from Salzburg at the start of the month and has made an immediate impact with five goals in his first two games.
NBC Sports’ coverage of the Premier League continues this weekend, headlined by Sergio Aguero and Manchester City visiting Heung-Min Son and Tottenham this Sunday, Feb. 2, at 11:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN and Telemundo.
Manchester City defeated Sheffield United, 1-0, in their most recent PL action and currently sit in second place, three points ahead of third-place Leicester City. Tottenham beat Norwich City, 2-1, last week behind goals from Dele Alli and Son. Spurs are in sixth place and enter the weekend six points outside the top-four. Arlo White and Graeme Le Saux will call the match from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This weekend’s coverage begins on Saturday with Premier League Mornings at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by fourth-place Chelsea visiting third-place Leicester City at 7:30 a.m. ET (NBCSN & Universo). The match features the Premier League’s leading scorer, Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy (17 goals this season), and Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, who ranks sixth with 13 goals.
Then at 10 a.m. ET on NBCSN, Mohamed Salah and first-place Liverpool host Southampton. Liverpool, who defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers, 2-1, last Thursday, are unbeaten in their last 40 PL matches (35 wins, five draws) dating back to last season, and sit 16 points ahead of second-place Manchester City as they aim for their first-ever PL title.
At 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Universo, fifth-place Manchester United host seventh-place Wolverhampton Wanderers. Both clubs are level on points (34) with Tottenham. White and Le Saux will call the match from Old Trafford.
NBC Sports Gold presents exclusive live coverage of five matches this Saturday at 10 a.m. ET – Bournemouth v. Aston Villa; Crystal Palace v. Sheffield United; Newcastle v. Norwich City; Watford v. Everton; and West Ham v. Brighton & Hove Albion.
Rebecca Lowe hosts Goal Zone, Premier League Mornings, and Premier League Live, joined by former USMNT player Kyle Martino, and former Premier League footballer Robbie Mustoe.
Here’s the schedule of soccer commentators for the weekend’s Premier League matches (all times Eastern):
Berlin (AFP) – Hertha Berlin snapped up a second striker within 24 hours by signing Brazil u-20 forward Matheus Cunha from Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig on Friday.
After recruiting Poland striker Krzysztof Piatek, 24, from AC Milan on Thursday for a reported fee of 23 million euros ($25 million), Hertha have shelled out a further transfer fee of around 18 million euros for the 20-year-old Cunha.
“Matheus is a young player with enormous potential who has already demonstrated his skills,” said Hertha manager Michael Preetz.
“He can play up front in the middle or as a centre forward, which makes our attacking game more variable.”
Cunha is not currently available while on national duty with the Brazilian Under-23 team at a qualifying tournament in Colombia for the Tokyo Olympics.
“We wanted more quantity and quality in our attack – we succeeded in doing so with the transfers of Krzysztof Piatek and now Matheus Cunha,” added Preetz.
It has been a busy week of transfers for Hertha.
Piatek is the second most expensive purchase in the club’s history behind France Under-21 midfielder Lucas Tousart, who signed on Monday but was immediately returned to Olympique Lyon for the rest of the season.
Hertha also signed Argentinian midfielder Santiago Ascacibar from VfB Stuttgart for 11 million euros during the winter break.
Under ex-Germany and USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Hertha are currently in mid-table in the Bundesliga.
However, the Berlin club has ambitions of challenging for the German league title after teaming up with global investment company Tennor Holding in 2019.
Paris (AFP) – While Premier League clubs have been relatively subdued in the January transfer window, Germany has led the way on the continent, with Borussia Dortmund’s signing of Erling Braut Haaland the biggest name snapped up in the Bundesliga’s winter shopping spree.
Like in England and Scotland, the transfer window closes in Germany, Spain, Italy and France on Friday evening, but the most notable deals in Europe happened before January had begun.
Haaland, the 19-year-old Norwegian prodigy, agreed his move from RB Salzburg in late December. He has scored five goals in just two appearances for his new club.
“The market is limited, the supply of players is limited and the willingness to let someone go is also limited,” claimed Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc, but they got their man for an initial transfer fee of around 20 million euros ($22 million), not including other payments built into the deal.
Fellow German title contenders RB Leipzig have also splashed out on a promising young talent, recruiting Spanish under-21 star Dani Olmo from Dinamo Zagreb for a similar fee.
German clubs have spent over 150 million euros on transfer fees alone in this window, with much of that coming from the ambitious Hertha Berlin. On Thursday the capital club, coached by Jurgen Klinsmann, announced the signing of Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek from AC Milan.
– Barcelona, Atletico miss out on striker –
In Spain, meanwhile, the window has proved something of a damp squib for La Liga’s leading clubs.
Real Madrid and Barcelona stayed relatively quiet, and the more interesting deals were done elsewhere, including Paco Alcacer moving to Villarreal from Dortmund, and maverick former France international Hatem Ben Arfa surprisingly arriving at Valladolid.
Both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid failed in their pursuit of a striker. Indeed, Barca spent the start of the new year preoccupied with changing their coach, as Quique Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in the dugout.
The Catalans did want Valencia striker Rodrigo Moreno but negotiations broke down, while Atletico’s hopes of signing Edinson Cavani from Paris Saint-Germain also ended in disappointment.
Instead Atletico — 10 points behind La Liga leaders Real and with just 22 goals scored in 21 games — have brought Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco back for a second spell as he joins on loan from Chinese outfit Dalian Yifang.
– PSG hold on to Cavani –
Atletico had been prepared to pay up to 15 million euros for Cavani, but even that amount could not persuade PSG to part with a striker who is out of favour and will be out of contract at the season’s end.
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Japan veteran Keisuke Honda has joined Brazilians Botafogo, the player and club announced on social media on Friday.
The 33-year-old former AC Milan midfielder left Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem in December less than two months after joining the Eredivisie team and playing just four matches.
“Hi, how are you? My name is Keisuke Honda and I play for Botafogo. See you soon in Rio,” Honda said in Portuguese in a video on his Twitter account.
Shortly afterwards, the club confirmed his signing with an animation inspired by Japanese cartoons of the 1980s.
Honda is not the first foreign star to sign for Botafogo at the end of his career.
Dutch great Clarence Seedorf — the only man to win the Champions League with three different clubs — joined in 2012 and enjoyed a successful 18-month stint in Rio de Janeiro, scoring 24 goals in 81 matches.
Botafogo’s most famous son, though, was the wing wizard and two-time World Cup winner Garrincha, who lit up Brazilian pitches in the 1950s and 60s.
Honda is one of Japan’s greatest ever players, having scored 37 goals in 98 international matches.
He helped his country win the 2011 Asian Cup and played in three World Cups, scoring four goals.
Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola says his great rival Jose Mourinho should not be judged solely on his recent record as the two managers prepare to go head-to-head again on Sunday.
Tottenham have taken 20 points from 12 Premier League games since Mourinho took over from Mauricio Pochettino and remain six points off fourth-placed Chelsea.
The Portuguese joined Spurs a year after he was sacked by Manchester United following a period of dressing room unrest and poor results as Guardiola’s City became the dominant side in England.
Mourinho and Guardiola meet for the 23rd time this weekend as City travel to Tottenham and the Catalan said he respected his rival’s record during a long career in the dugout.
“The value of Jose, a manager with a lot of experience and with a lot of success, is not to be judged on one season, or one-and-a-half seasons,” said Guardiola, whose team are second in the Premier League but 19 points behind Liverpool.
“The guys who don’t judge his career on 15 or 20 years don’t understand anything.
“Periods for managers are up and down, everyone has it. You have seasons with good and bad periods, you have to change teams and build things.”
– Spanish rivalry –
The rivalry between Mourinho and Guardiola reached its height when the Portuguese was in charge at Real Madrid and the City manager was at arch-rivals Barcelona.
They ended up in charge of the rival Manchester clubs in 2016.
Things became heated in Spain, although Guardiola insisted it was never personal and that he had huge admiration for Mourinho’s record — league titles in four countries and two Champions League triumphs.
“For 15 or 20 years, Jose has been there all the time and that has to be respected,” he said.
“It is the most difficult thing — to stay for a long time and be there all the time. When you win a lot of titles and the moment you don’t, people think ‘Ah, it’s not good’.
“The exception in sport is when you win a lot… you lose more than you win.
“Michael Jordan is the greatest example of this as he won six NBA titles in 15 or 16 seasons, so he lost more than he won and he was the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Guardiola said Leroy Sane was back in full training with the first-team squad as the German winger works towards full fitness.
