The winger is wanted by the Premier League pair, but the coronavirus pandemic could force him to stay in Germany for at least another year.

Photo by Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund director Michael Zorc says his club are “totally relaxed” about Jadon Sancho’s future despite ongoing reports linking him with a return to England.

Premier League duo Manchester United and Chelsea are said to be leading the chase for the 20-year-old winger, who has proven himself one of Europe’s most promising young players since he moved to Germany from Manchester City in 2017.

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to disrupt clubs’ transfer plans, however, and may force Sancho’s suitors to turn their attention to more affordable targets.

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward recently suggested that the club will not be able to make big money moves in the next transfer window as they look to deal with the financial blow caused by the suspension of football across the world.

Asked if the uncertainty could end any chance of Sancho leaving the Bundesliga side, Zorc says Dortmund’s attitude has not changed in recent months and insists they have bigger things to focus on amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There is no new stance,” Zorc said in an interview with Sport1.

“It is currently the case that no club will risk anything by making a big-money move – even in England! I can’t and don’t want to lean too far out of the window with predictions because the situation is currently changing every day. We’ll see what happens.

“We have a long-term contract with Jadon Sancho [until 2022]. Nothing will change now. We are totally relaxed in that regard.

“I understand the inquiries, but such topics are not the top priority at the moment.”

He added: “The dominant questions that concern us at the moment are rather: How do we go on? When do we play again? It would be of paramount importance for all of us that the season be able to finish.

“Especially given that the proposals and protocols put forward in order for the league to safely resume are viewed positively by many experts.”

Sancho has scored 17 games in 35 appearances in all competitions this season for the German giants, who trailed Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich by four points before the campaign was brought to a halt.

Source – Goal.com

Argentina declared its football season over and said there will be no relegation for two seasons due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Relegation-threatened Gimnasia, led by Diego Maradona, look set to be saved by the season’s cancellation

he decision will be officially ratified on Tuesday with the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia, announcing promotion will continue, although he did not clarify from which divisions.

Tapia told a local news channel on Monday: “We are ending the tournaments.

“The idea is to restart play but when authorities allow it and with maximum security.”

Argentina’s top league – the Primera Division – finished on the first weekend of March as Boca Juniors were crowned champions on a dramatic final day.

Carlos Tevez kisses Diego Maradona before he scored the winner to seal this season’s title for Boca Juniors in March

But the AFA’s decision means the Copa Superliga, a 24-team tournament scheduled to end in a playoff in May, has been cancelled.

Relegation, which is decided by a complicated calculus of points per game taken over a three-year period, will be suspended this season and next.

The decision to suspend relegation will be welcomed by the bottom three clubs, one of whom, Gimnasia, are coached by Diego Maradona.

Maradona took over at Gimnasia in September 2019 when the La Plata club was bottom of the division and although their results have improved they were still destined to fall into the second tier.

On Saturday, Argentina extended its mandatory nationwide quarantine period until May 10, with their coronavirus death toll currently at 192.

Source – Sky Sports

UEFA has released more than £205m in funding to aid its 55 member countries meet the challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

UEFA sending funds to all associations to aid with effects of coronavirus pandemic

The money – working out at around £3.75m per association – will come from UEFA’s HatTrick funding scheme, usually targeted to cover running costs and targeted areas of domestic football.

But the European governing body has decided to allow each association to set its own priorities given the negative impact of the pandemic on football at all levels across the vast majority of the continent.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said:”Our sport is facing an unprecedented challenge brought about by the COVID-19 crisis. UEFA wants to help its members to respond in ways that are appropriate to their specific circumstances.

“As a result, we have agreed that up to €4.3m (£3.75m) per association, paid for the remainder of this season and next, as well as part of the investment funding, can be used as our members see fit to rebuild the football community.

“I believe this is a responsible decision to help as much as we can; and I am proud of the unity that football is showing throughout this crisis.

“Without doubt, football will be at the heart of life returning to normal. When that time comes, football must be ready to answer that call.”

Source – Sky Sports

Teams will be given “temporary dispensation” to make five substitutions to help with the congested schedule they could face when the season resumes, Fifa has proposed.

Fifa says “safety of the players is the main priority”

Most leagues around the world have been halted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The dispensation can be implemented by organisers for competitions scheduled until the end of the 2021 season.

A Fifa spokesman told BBC Sport “health comes first” and no competition is “worth risking a single human life”.

They added: “Football should only resume when the health authorities and governments say it is absolutely safe and non-disruptive of health services being delivered to the populations.

“Safety of the players is one of Fifa’s main priorities. One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload.”

The proposal will need to be approved by the International Football Association Board (Ifab), football’s rule-making body, and whether it is implemented is at the “discretion of the relevant competition organiser”.

BBC Sport understands Ifab will respond positively because this was already being discussed as an important way to assist player welfare.

How it will work

• In competitions where less than five substitutions are currently allowed, teams can now use up to five substitutions during the match.
• The five substitutions would be allowable within a maximum of three slots, as well as during half-time.
• The possibility of an additional sixth substitution during extra-time will remain.
• Dispensation will be given to all national team games until 31 December 2021

Source – BBC News

The Penarol teenager has impressed coach Diego Forlan since his breakthrough last year.

Photo by EITAN ABRAMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Real Madrid are keeping track of Penarol teenager Facundo Pellistri and could swoop in with a bid for him, Goal understands.

The 18-year-old has been watched extensively by the Spanish side’s chief scout Juni Calafat, who also brought Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo to their attention, and they are convinced he has the potential to become a star.

Valued at around €9 million (£8 million/$10 million), the winger signed a new deal in February which ties him to the Uruguayan outfit until 2022, and Madrid are aware they face strong competition for his signature.

Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Boca Juniors and Flamengo have all shown interest in Pellistri, while Wolves, Valencia and Napoli have also been named in recent reports.

But Madrid, having brought Fede Valverde to Madrid from Penarol in 2016, have a good relationship with the club and are confident there will be no problems when negotiations begin.

Pellistri broke into the Penarol senior side last August and quickly sealed his place in the starting XI. He has since made 25 appearances for the club and Madrid believe he is a spectacular talent due to his pace, work rate, confidence and the rapid progress he has made.

He has been praised by former Barcelona and Argentina star Juan Roman Riquelme, who said he “is quite a scoundrel in the way he plays, and that is very important.”

Currently playing under former Atletico Madrid and Uruguay striker Diego Forlan, Pellistri has been hailed as one of his country’s most promising players and has been tipped to make his national team debut in the near future.

“It is a dream [to be playing for Penarol], everything happened very quickly,” Pellistri said earlier this month.

“My family helped me a lot in my journey, I never lacked for anything. When I was a child I was sometimes tired and I didn’t want to go to train, and they took me and that helped me a lot to get where I am now.

“It was very nice to extend my contract, to stay longer at Penarol, it was said that this contract was going to open the doors for more youth players, and that is very nice.”

Source – Goal.com

Clubs are in talks with the Culture Secretary over plans to bring the top-flight back.

Photo by Getty

Premier League clubs will meet on Friday to discuss plans to resume the 2019-20 campaign in June.

The English top-flight, which has been suspended since mid-March because of the spread of the coronavirus, could be back in action as early as June 8  to have the season concluded by the end of July.

UK Secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, says that he is working with clubs to bring the league back next month.

He said during parliamentary questions: “I personally have been in talks with the Premier League with a view to getting football up and running as soon as possible in order to support the whole football community.

“But, of course, any such moves would have to be consistent with public health guidance.”

The timeline being proposed would mean clubs would have to be back in full training by May 18 and some top-flight teams are already easing their way back.

On Monday, Arsenal, Everton and West Ham allowed players to return to their training grounds, but warned that they must continue to abide by social distancing guidelines.

Meanwhile, Tottenham are set to reopen parts of their training ground for the senior squad as of Tuesday.

Matches will likely have to be played behind closed doors initially, a likelihood being explored by most countries looking to conclude the 2019-20 season.

The English Football League (EFL) has pledged to have rigorous coronavirus testing in place before games can be played again and insisted the return must not affect key workers.

The Bundesliga is aiming to kick off again on May 9 pending government approval, according to CEO Christian Seifert, but the German police union has warned that even matches behind closed doors would attract “irresponsible” crowds outside stadiums.

Source – Goal.com

Leagues One and Two could be decided by the top eight sides from each division taking part in a mini-tournament to decide who is promoted.

League One leaders Coventry and Sunderland could take part in a mini-tournament

The idea, one of three plans presently under consideration, was suggested during a meeting of club captains and the League on Friday.

The EFL’s preference remains to finish the season by playing all remaining games over a 56-day period but contingency plans are being discussed in case that plan has to be discarded due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For now, none of the plans under discussion would see any teams relegated.

Matty Godden’s Coventry are currently five points clear at the top of League One

Under the mini-tournament plan, Wycombe Wanderers, presently eighth in League One, could be promoted to the Championship, despite being eight points behind league leaders Coventry City at the moment. Sunderland, seventh in League One, and Port Vale, eighth in League Two, would also be included in the format.

Another plan under discussion would see promotion awarded ‘on merit ‘ – whereby the top two teams are promoted from all three EFL leagues, with two extra teams relegated at the end of next season, in order to return the leagues to their original numbers.

No decisions will be taken until the government sets out plans for how the present lockdown will proceed after May 7.

Joey Barton has guided Fleetwood to fifth in League One

The EFL said in a statement on Saturday: “In consideration of the current challenges, a variety of proposals and ideas have been put forward by EFL clubs in relation to operational and financial matters.

“While these contributions are welcome, it is important to emphasise that there is a range of opinion among our membership and that no decisions have been taken at this stage.”

Friday’s discussion also considered that as many as 100,000 coronavirus tests could be needed to finish all three EFL leagues in the conventional way.

Source – Sky Sports

Football across the globe has been halted but it has not stopped European clubs from planning for next season.

Players who are out of contract this summer

Last summer, Portuguese Joao Felix’s £114m move from Benfica to Atletico Madrid was the biggest deal of the window but because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty around the sport, it seems that free transfers may be the way forward.

“Clubs are already trying to build up some contacts to see if players are interested,” said European football expert Kristof Terreur on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Euro Leagues Show. “I think it will be the window of the free transfers and they will be the new expensive.”

Guillem Balague added: “When you hear Ed Woodward saying in a meeting that even they are affected by it – and Manchester United are considered by agents as the ones they can do with what they want – it means not much will happen.

“There has been talk about Paul Pogba and Neymar to Real Madrid: forget about the big transfers, they will not happen.”

Belgium boys on the move?

Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen has made more than 300 appearances for Tottenham since joining from Ajax in 2012 and the 33-year-old’s contract expires in the summer. Compatriot Thomas Meunier is another whose deal is coming to an end at Paris St-Germain.

Terreur said: “Meunier’s contract is running out with PSG at the end of the season and has been approached by [Tottenham manager] Jose Mourinho who made a phone call to him.

“Those free players will be in a lot of demand and even Vertonghen mentioned in an interview that his contract is running out and I feel he is not staying at Spurs; that was the hint he was giving and he wants to learn a new language.

“You know, then, he is thinking of a move away to Italy or to Spain. They are all starting to look out for opportunities. The players whose contracts are running out are in demand.”

Barca and Real have problems too

Barcelona have been heavily linked with Inter Milan’s 22-year-old Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez, who has a £97m release clause in his contract.

But it seems that transfer activity for La Liga rivals Real Madrid will be much quieter this summer having spent a hefty £300m on new players, including Eden Hazard, last year.

“There will be loan deals and a lot of swap deals but they are so difficult to put together,” said Balague. “Barcelona and Real Madrid will each lose around 120m euros because they will not be able to open their redeveloped stadiums next season. You have to add to that bars, merchandising and VIP boxes.

“Barcelona have got an agreement with Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan, now the thing is how do you convince the club to let him go? Inter will be happy to let him go if they get the right players so maybe Ivan Rakitic, Arthur, Nelson Semedo, Samuel Umtiti – those are the kind of guys Barca will happily let go.

“Bayern Munich are talking about getting a forward, possibly, because they have a deal with Leroy Sane or Timo Werner but when you hear Cristiano Ronaldo going to Manchester United or Real Madrid, it is pure fantasy.

“Having said that, Juventus would not be so unhappy if they let Ronaldo go because of the amount of wages that they have to pay for him and somebody made a call to Real Madrid. Real answered ‘Sorry, no. That is not the kind of player we are after.’

“They won’t get anybody I don’t think, it will be about bringing back the loan deals, perhaps Martin Odegaard or Achraf Hakimi.”

Source – BBC News

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward says speculation about transfers for “hundreds of millions of pounds this summer” is ignoring the “realities that face the sport” because of the coronavirus pandemic.

United were linked with a £200m move for Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane

United were linked with a £200m move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane and potentially spending a further £130m on England and Borussia Dortmund wide-man Jadon Sancho.

“Nobody should be under any illusions about the scale of challenge facing everyone in football and it may not be ‘business as usual’ for any clubs, including ourselves, in the transfer market this summer,” Woodward said in his opening address to a United Fans’ Forum on Friday.

“As ever our priority is the success of team, but we need visibility of the impact across the whole industry, including timings of the transfer window, and the wider financial picture, before we can talk about a return to normality.”

Woodward has been a key figure in many of the discussions among the Premier League and in Europe about how the game is going to deal with the financial impact of coronavirus.

Billions of pounds in TV income is at stake if there is no resumption in the foreseeable future, with most figures within the game anticipating any resumption, when it eventually comes, will be without spectators.

United’s commercial buffer

United’s vast commercial operation has often been viewed with disdain, including by the club’s own supporters, in the belief it shows their owners have got their priorities wrong.

However, Woodward said it was now shielding them from the scale of difficulties being experienced by some of their top-flight rivals as they are continuing to pay their players and staff, in addition to making a number of significant financial gestures to fans and the local community.

Woodward said “30,000 items of food and drink” had been given to local charities in addition to the £100,000 joint donation to the Trussell Trust with Manchester City “for use by 19 food banks across Greater Manchester”.

In addition, club staff, including former players, have made ‘welfare calls’ to season-ticket holders, who are either disabled or aged 70 and over.

“We will continue looking for more ways of supporting those in need for as long as the pandemic continues,” said Woodward.

“Everyone is grappling with the economic realities of the pandemic and we are no different. The longer the crisis continues the greater the impact will be for every club, including ourselves.

“But it is important to acknowledge the part played by our successful business in allowing us to fulfil our social responsibilities. We have always believed that our commercial model gives us greater resilience than most clubs.

“We are eager to see the team return to the field as soon as we are advised it is safe to do so. And while it may be that games need to be played behind closed doors in the shorter term, we all recognise that football will not be fully back to normal until supporters are once again in attendance.”

Source – BBC News