Football rumours: Kylian Mbappe sends entourage for talks with Man City

By Sports Desk February 19, 2024

What the papers say

Kylian Mbappe‘s entourage met with figures at Manchester City last week before the news broke of his impending exit from Paris St Germain this summer, according to Sky Sports.

Former Bayer Leverkusen manager Rudi Voller has pushed for coach Xabi Alonso to stay at the club, with Sky Sports reporting the Spanish coach is scoping out options at Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Manchester United’s shake-up continues as they try to bring in Newcastle director Dan Ashworth, but the Daily Mail has revealed the Magpies will not allow him to join before 2026 unless they get significant compensation.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Marcus Rashford: The Sunday Times reports PSG are eyeing the Manchester United star as a potential replacement for Mbappe.

Kevin Long: The 33-year-old Irishman is on the verge of moving across the pond to join Major League Soccer club Toronto.

Jack Clarke: Southampton are looking to edge out other clubs with a £15million bid to lure the 23-year-old forward to the south coast, according to the Sun.

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  • Haiti secure League A promotion, Gold Cup spot with 8-0 win over Sint Marteen; Grenada, Curacao, Puerto Rico also victorious in League B Haiti secure League A promotion, Gold Cup spot with 8-0 win over Sint Marteen; Grenada, Curacao, Puerto Rico also victorious in League B

    Haiti extended their unbeaten run in the Concacaf Nations League as they secured top spot in Group C of League B when they hammered Sint Marteen 8-0 Friday.

    That win earned Haiti promotion to League A and, by extension, secured their participation in next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup. 

    Meanwhile, the race in Group B took a twist as Grenada defeated leaders Saint Lucia, while Curacao earned a victory to jump into the number one spot.

    Saint Lucia vs. Grenada

    Grenada knocked Saint Lucia out of the top spot in Group B with a 4-0 victory at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao.

    After playing out a goalless first half, Grenada eventually broke the deadlock in the 50th through Jermaine Francis’ header.

    Regan Charles-Cook doubled the lead six minutes later with a firm finish from deep inside the 18-yard box.

    Trevon Williams added a third in the 74th, before Myles Hippolyte struck a blazing left-footed shot from the edge of the box in the 86th to cap Grenada’s win. 

    With the victory, Grenada moved to seven points and assured itself at least a third-place finish to avoid relegation. Saint Lucia dropped to second place on nine points, one point behind Curacao, on 10 points.

     Saint Martin vs. Curaçao

    Curacao registered a 5-0 rout of Saint Martin in the feature game at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad.

    Jearl Margaritha stole the show by scoring four goals, two in each half, in commanding fashion.

    His first came in the 24th as he used good footwork to lose defenders and blast the opener.

    He added a second 10 minutes later, when he pulled off an excellent backheel flick to put Curacao 2-0 up at the break.

    In the 54th, Margaritha sprinted into the box and ripped a loose ball for his hat trick. 

    Juninho Bacuna scored a penalty kick in the 78th, before Margaritha finished off his outstanding performance with another tidy finish in the 80th.

    With one point separating them, Curacao and Saint Lucia will lock horns in an intriguing clash to determine the group winners on Monday. 

    Sint Maarten vs. Haiti

    A hat-trick from Frantzdy Pierrot and a Duckens Nazon brace laid the platform for Haiti’s 8-0 beating of Sint Maarten at Estadio Centroamericano de Mayagüez in Mayagüez in Puerto Rico. 

    It was Attys Christopher who fired home as Haiti made the most of a corner kick.

    Pierrot struck a double blow in the 14th and 25th, with Markhus Lacroix adding a fourth in between in the 19th.

    The onslaught continued in the second half as Haiti tallied three more goals in rapid fashion. Nazon struck in the 49th and 58th as Pierrot completed his hat trick in the 52nd.

    Mondy Prunier capped the win with a 67th-minute strike.

    Haiti, has now scored 26 goals in five matches. They will play second-placed Puerto Rico, who defeated Aruba 5-1 on Monday.

    Puerto Rico remains in the hunt for a Gold Cup preliminary spot as one of the best runners-up.

    Sint Maarten has been relegated.

  • Kane club versus country comments 'just a reminder' to England withdrawals Kane club versus country comments 'just a reminder' to England withdrawals

    Harry Kane says his comments on club versus country got more attention than he expected and were "just a reminder" to his team-mates instead of a criticism.

    England suffered nine injury withdrawals after Lee Carsley's squad was announced, with Kane seemingly questioning the commitment of those who dropped out, saying "England comes before everything".

    Despite their many absences, a young England side recorded a 3-0 win over Greece on Thursday to send them top of their Nations League group.

    However, the Three Lions have since seen a 10th withdrawal from the squad, with Ezri Konsa returning to Aston Villa after going off with a hip complaint in that game.

    Speaking for the first time since that interview, Kane explained he was keen to preserve the team culture Gareth Southgate fostered by using these international breaks effectively.

    "All the players try and give their best whenever they come with England. I know it's a really tough stage of the season," he said in a press conference.

    "Whoever is in the squad is the most important thing. Whatever we have here is all we can work with.

    "Going forward there are always going to be injuries, it is just whoever is with the squad is ready to make a difference."

    On the attention his comments got, Kane added: "I didn't expect it to get as much coverage as it did. The November camp has always been difficult - you're in the heart of a lot of games.

    "So, it's just my opinion that it is really important after a major championship, where September, October, November camps are really important in a year ahead to the World Cup.

    "These are the camps as well where you build that culture and that togetherness that lead you into a World Cup. It was just a reminder that it's really, really special to play for England."

    Kane started the match against Greece on the bench, with Ollie Watkins leading the line in his place. The Villa forward scored seven minutes in, before being replaced by the England captain in the 66th minute.

    Interim boss Carsley, who is taking charge of his final game before Thomas Tuchel takes over on January 1, confirmed that Kane would be back in the starting line-up against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.

    "Yes, he is definitely playing," Carsley said.

    "With Harry Kane, you always think goals, but he brings a lot more to the squad and the team than that. His leadership skills, he's a good guy, which is really important as well.

    "The example he sets to the younger players, he's a crucial part of the England team and also moving forward."

    England and Greece are both level on 12 points after five games, but the former have a better head-to-head goal difference, so a win over Ireland would see them promoted back to League A. 

  • Guyana secures 4-1 victory over Barbados in first leg of Concacaf Nations League Play-In Series Guyana secures 4-1 victory over Barbados in first leg of Concacaf Nations League Play-In Series

    Guyana defeated Barbados 4-1 in the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League Play-In series at the Barbados Football Association Technical Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados on Friday

    The Concacaf Nations League Play-In consists of a home-and-away direct elimination round. The aggregate score winner in each matchup will advance to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims.

    Niall Reid-Stephen opened the scoring for Barbados in the 17th minute, his seventh goal of the current campaign, with a left-footed strike from inside the penalty arc.

    Omari Glasgow equalized for Guyana nine minutes later with a left-footed strike inside the penalty area.

    Then, 14 minutes into Glasgow added a second to his tally in the by pouncing on a deflected ball in the penalty area.

    Osaze de Rosario extended the lead in a minute later with a chip over the goalkeeper to capitalize on an error from the defense.

    Enoch George scored in the 90'+2 to put a bow on the victory, connecting on a timely pass from Isaiah Jones.

    Guyana will host Barbados in the second leg on Tuesday at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, Guyana.

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