Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes Ousmane Dembele already has an agreement to join another club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Speaking on Tuesday, Laporta gave details of the negotiations that took place to renew the winger's contract.

The 24-year-old was then told to find another club in the January transfer window after those talks broke down – he had been linked with a number of Premier League teams, as well as Paris Saint-Germain – but a move never materialised.

Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany told Dembele last week he must leave "immediately", which prompted the player to issue an angry riposte on social media.

Speaking at a news conference where Barca were outlining the details of the forensic review into financial irregularities by the previous regime, Laporta was asked about Dembele's situation.

"Ousmane said that the renewal offer was very good, then it was an economic issue," he explained. "And when we told him that it was already good enough, the agent took a position in not saying anything.

"Dembele wanted to accept a renewal. Then they wanted more and the issue got stuck. His agent didn't say anything and that has consequences. We've done everything possible and he hasn't accepted."

Dembele has struggled since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for an initial €105million, and has suffered several injuries that have kept him from getting a sustained run in the team.

Laporta also revealed the player turned down an opportunity to sign for an unnamed English suitor and believes this was because he already has an agreement with another club for when his contract at the Camp Nou expires at the end of the current campaign.

"We are very surprised that he didn't accept the offer from the English club either, he prefers to stay here," Laporta said. "It's not good for him or for the club.

"What happened with Dembele is difficult to understand. He is now in the squad and Xavi must work on the present but also on the future.

"We think Dembele has an agreement with another club."

Barcelona signed three players in the January transfer window, registering the returning Dani Alves, along with Ferran Torres and the loan of Adama Traore, while it is also expected the club will announce Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free transfer imminently.

Laporta confirmed: "Aubameyang's documents entered with one minute to go before midnight."

Mauricio Pochettino was made to rue Paris Saint-Germain's lack of creativity during their Coupe de France exit to Nice.

The holders crashed out of the competition as they lost 6-5 on penalties following a goalless draw at Parc des Princes.

PSG loanee Marcin Bulka was the hero during the shoot-out, saving penalties from Leandro Paredes and Xavi Simons to end his parent club's 14-match unbeaten streak in the competition.

Despite registering 10 attempts and 68.2 per cent of possession, Pochettino's side failed to score in the competition for the first time since defeat by Lille in the 2011 showpiece.

Pochettino urged his players to switch focus to their domestic and continental endeavours after a disappointing result.

"We were better than Nice overall," he said. "We didn't create enough chances to score goals and win this game before the penalties. 

"We should have been more efficient in the last few metres. Then, it's a lottery.

"Even though we were better, we didn't do what was necessary to win the game. 

"We must remain optimistic: we still have Ligue 1 and the Champions League as objectives."

Pochettino also defended his decision to start Kylian Mbappe on the bench, before introducing the France international in the 64th minute.

"Kylian Mbappe had physical discomfort in the last days few days," he added.

"With the advice of the medical staff, the agreement was that he would not start the match. If he needed to do 30 or 35 minutes in the game, he could do them."

Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Colorado Rapids defender Auston Trusty.

The United States Under-20 international, who has made 41 appearances for the Rapids, will remain on loan with the MLS club until July 17.

Arsenal then intend to loan the 23-year-old out to a European team for the 2022-23 campaign to further his development.

The transfer, which remains subject to the completion of regulatory processes, was confirmed by Arsenal and Colorado – both owned by Stan Kroenke – on Monday.

Trusty made 33 appearances for the Rapids during the 2021 regular season and led the team for minutes played with 2,970.

The tall centre-back chipped in with one goal and three assists, while also ranking joint-fifth for interceptions in MLS last season with 59.

He played a part in 12 clean sheets to help the Rapids finish top of the Western Conference, but they were beaten by the Portland Timbers in the MLS Cup playoffs.

While he has yet to represent USA at senior level, the Pennsylvania-born defender was part of their roster for this month's training camp in Phoenix.

Colorado general manager Padraig Smith told the club's official website: "Auston is coming off an exceptional season in 2021 in which he played a vital role in helping us finish atop the Western Conference for the first time in our history.

"We remain committed to bringing through the top young players from Colorado and across the United States and to providing them with a platform to flourish, achieve success in MLS and earn the chance to make a move to Europe. 

"Auston's outstanding performances caught the eye of several European clubs over the past 12 months and we are privileged to be part of an organisation with the reach and scale of Kroenke Sports Entertainment that allows us to help a player of Auston's potential further his development and career aspirations in Europe."

Arsenal are closing in on another player from MLS, meanwhile, with New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena confirming last week that the Gunners are in advanced talks to sign goalkeeper Matt Turner.

Turner was voted MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021 after helping the Revs to Supporters' Shield success and has been capped 15 times by USA at senior level.

Paris Saint-Germain crashed out of the Coupe de France as they were beaten 6-5 on penalties by Nice after a 0-0 draw at Parc des Princes.

Marcin Bulka was the hero as he denied Leandro Paredes and Xavi Simons in the shoot-out to send the visitors through to the quarter-finals.

The PSG loanee ended the holders' 14-match winning run in the competition, while halting their quest for a third straight triumph.

Mauricio Pochettino's side also failed to score in a Coupe de France tie for the first time since losing 1-0 to Lille in the 2011 final.

Unbeaten in their eight previous meetings with Nice in all competitions, PSG welcomed Lionel Messi back into the starting line-up for the first time in a month.

The Argentina skipper was involved in the hosts' best chance of the first half as he combined with Ander Herrera to tee up Marco Verratti, who swept a shot just wide of the far post.

At the other end, Amine Gouiri tried his luck with an ambitious effort from distance, but it flew straight into the arms of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The Italy international was also called into action just after the restart, producing smart reflexes to deny Justin Kluivert from a tight angle.

Having watched his side register just a single shot on target, Pochettino introduced Kylian Mbappe in the 63rd minute for his 200th PSG appearance.

But it was the visitors who went close to snatching a dramatic winner, Danilo Pereira blocking Kluivert with five minutes remaining, while Jean-Clair Todibo got in the way of Messi's goalbound effort at the other end.

The first five kicks of the subsequent shoot-out were successful before Bulka kept out Paredes' tame effort, although Donnarumma immediately denied Andy Delort in return.

Dante's timely Panenka put Nice in control as it went into sudden death, before Simons' attempt was beaten away by Bulka.

Aaron Ramsey has joined Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers from Juventus on an initial loan deal.

The Wales international has struggled for appearances this season and was told by Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri to find a new club this month.

Ramsey had been linked with a number of Premier League sides, including Wolves, Burnley and Crystal Palace, but he sealed a deadline-day switch to Rangers on Monday.

He will spend the rest of the 2021-22 campaign at Ibrox, with an agreement also reportedly in place for Rangers to sign the midfielder permanently at the end of the season.

"I am really pleased to be joining a club like Rangers, where there is so much to look forward to between now and May," Ramsey told Rangers' official website.

"I had a number of offers on the table, but none matched the magnitude of this club, with European football and the chance to play in front of 50,000 fans every other week.

"I have had some fantastic conversations with the manager and Ross Wilson, and I'm really looking forward to working with both of them, and to meeting the supporters."

 

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst added: "I'm absolutely delighted that we have been able to add a player of Aaron's quality, experience and leadership to our squad.

"As soon as it was mooted as a possibility, I was really keen for us to try everything to get the deal done, and huge credit must go to Ross and to the board for the work they have put in on this.

"I look forward to welcoming Aaron to the training centre tomorrow."

Ramsey will be looking to kick-start his career back in Britain with Rangers following a largely frustrating time of things across his two and a half years with Juventus.

The 31-year-old, who previously spent 11 seasons with Arsenal, has struggled for regular appearances at the Allianz Stadium due to persistent injury problems.

He has started just 34 games in all competitions since making his debut in September 2019, with 16 other players featuring more regularly for Juve over that period.

While his playing time has been limited, Ramsey's 2.07 chances created per 90 minutes during his time in Turin is the best return of any midfielder currently in the squad.

Since Allegri's arrival at the start of the season, Ramsey has been used only five times – and not at all since early November – totalling 111 minutes of action on the field.

The Cardiff City academy product is eligible to make his Rangers debut in Wednesday's Old Firm showdown with Celtic.

The Gers announced the signing of Mateusz Zukowski from Lechia Gdansk earlier on Monday.

Argentina midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has joined Villarreal on loan from Tottenham until the end of the season, with the Yellow Submarine having an option to buy.

The 25-year-old has struggled for game time in the 2021-22 campaign, having only made nine appearances in the Premier League, and only three substitute appearances in the league since the appointment of manager Antonio Conte.

With the deadline-day arrival of Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus adding even more competition for places, Lo Celso will spend the rest of the season in Spain to try to rediscover the form that saw Spurs spend big money to bring him to the club from Real Betis in 2019.

Lo Celso has scored eight goals in 86 appearances for Spurs and was a part of the Argentina squad that won last year's Copa America.

Villarreal are seventh in LaLiga, and travel to Lo Celso's former club Betis on Sunday.

Spain international Bryan Gil has joined Valencia on loan from Tottenham until the end of the season.

The 20-year-old signed for Spurs in July last year from Sevilla for a reported fee of around £21.6million (€25m), with Erik Lamela going the other way.

Bryan has featured 20 times for Tottenham this season, although all nine of his appearances in the Premier League have come from the substitutes' bench.

He has previously played on loan at Eibar and Leganes, and was a part of the Spain side that won silver at last year's Tokyo Olympics.

Bryan also has four caps for Spain's senior team and joins up with Los Che 10th in LaLiga.

Bayern Munich have handed highly rated midfielder Paul Wanner his first professional contract.

At the age of 16 years and 15 days, Wanner became the youngest player to represent Bayern when coming on as a substitute against Borussia Monchengladbach on January 7.

That also made Wanner the second-youngest player to ever feature in the Bundesliga after Youssoufa Moukoko (16 years, one day) for Borussia Dortmund in November 2020. 

Wanner played in all three of Bayern's league matches in January, but his future in Bavaria was uncertain as he was due to become a free agent at the end of the campaign.

However, Bayern confirmed on their official website on Monday that the Germany Under-17s international has now put pen to paper on a new deal at the Allianz Arena.

"I am incredibly proud and happy to have signed my first contract with Bayern," said Wanner, who has appeared for each of Bayern's youth teams from the Under-14s upwards.

"My childhood dream has come true. I've been playing for FC Bayern since I was 12 and always wanted to become a pro here.

"I would like to thank everyone at the FC Bayern Campus, as well as Hasan Salihamidzic and head coach Julian Nagelsmann for their trust."

Bayer Leverkusen are one of a number of clubs, both in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, that had reportedly been interested in signing Wanner in the next transfer window.

And Bayern sporting director Salihamidzic is glad to have brought an end to the speculation surrounding the youngster's future.

"We are very happy that Paul Wanner is continuing his very good development at FC Bayern," he said. 

"Paul has shown in training with the first team that he has the chance to develop in our team thanks to his talent. 

"The fact that he has already been used in the Bundesliga at the age of 16 confirms not only his ability, but also the excellent work being done at the FC Bayern Campus."

Juventus have completed the signing of midfielder Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach.

The fee is in the region of €5million, with a further €3m in add-ons, with the Switzerland international's contract at Borussia Park having been due to expire at the end of the season.

Zakaria, who had also been linked with a move to Manchester United, has signed a deal until 2026 with the Turin club.

The 25-year-old has scored two goals and assisted one in 16 Bundesliga appearances for the Foals this season, and has the third-best pass success percentage of midfielders in the German top flight (90.11), behind only Borussia Dortmund's Axel Witsel (93.17) and RB Leipzig's Kevin Kampl (91.50).

He is also third behind the same two players for pass success percentage in the opposition half (86.36) and sixth in the league for recoveries (134).

In a statement on Gladbach's official website, vice president Rainer Bonhof said: "There has been a lot of work put into this transfer in the last few weeks and Denis has had an important role in pushing the move through.

"He made it clear to us that he wanted to change clubs and also let us know that he wanted to give Borussia a transfer fee for the move. This made sense from our end in terms of the financial implications of the deal, so we agreed to the deal.

"We would like to thank Denis for his honesty and openness, as well as for his performances at Borussia over the last four and a half years. We wish him all the best and good luck for his new journey."

With Zakaria having joined, Juve allowed Rodrigo Bentancur to leave for Tottenham, who have also signed winger Dejan Kulusevski from the Serie A giants.

Tanguy Ndombele has returned to former club Lyon on loan until the end of the season after another frustrating season at Tottenham. 

The midfielder signed for Spurs from Lyon for a reported £63million (€75.8m) in 2019 but has rarely been able to show the quality he produced in France prior to the move.

Ndombele – who was also linked with Paris Saint-Germain – was recently booed off the pitch by his own fans after a disappointing performance against third-tier Morecambe in the FA Cup third round.

The 25-year-old impressed Spurs enough to break their transfer record after a solid 2018-19 season in Ligue 1, when he completed 63 out of his 92 attempted dribbles (68 per cent), more than anyone in Europe's top five leagues who had attempted as many.

Only five midfielders in Ligue 1 made more assists than Ndombele's seven that year, while he also had the 12th best passing accuracy (89.09 per cent) of midfielders who had played more than five games.

However, Ndombele's career at Spurs has never got going, though he did register nine goals and nine assists in his 86 appearances in all competitions for the club.

Lyon have confirmed they will pay a loan fee to Spurs of €1.42m (£1.18m), while there is also an option to buy Ndombele at the end of the loan deal.

The French outfit also announced the signing of attacking midfielder Romain Faivre from Brest earlier on Monday on a four-and-a-half year deal for a fee of around €15m.

Lyon sold midfielder Bruno Guimaraes to Newcastle on Sunday for a fee worth £35m (€42.1m), with bonuses potentially boosting the amount to £41.7m (€50.1m).

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Argentina international forward Julian Alvarez from River Plate in a deal worth a reported £14million ($18.8m).

Alvarez has signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with the Premier League champions but will stay with River on a loan that will last until at least July and could be extended.

He had been linked with a number of Europe's biggest clubs after scoring 24 goals in 46 games for River in all competitions during an impressive 2021.

That form saw him earn his first senior Argentina cap in June and he has gone on to feature a further five times for his national side.

City announced Alvarez's arrival on their official website on Monday, the day the attacker turned 22.

"Julian is a player we have monitored for some time," said Txiki Begiristain, City's director of football.

"He is capable of operating in a number of attacking roles, and we firmly believe he's one of the best young attacking players in South America.

"I am so happy we have managed to bring him to Manchester City. I really believe we can provide him with the right conditions to fulfil his potential and become a top player."

Speaking prior to the deal being announced, River president Jorge Brito said he was hopeful a Copa Libertadores run would see Alvarez stay on loan at the club beyond July.

City are also reportedly open to letting the youngster spend the second half of the year with another team, potentially a sister club within the City Football Group.

Alvarez, who previously had a trial with Real Madrid, is considered one of the hottest young talents in South American football after lighting up the Argentine Primera Division.

He scored 20 and assisted a further 12 goals in 36 games in the division last year, with those 32 direct goal involvements at least six more than any other player in 2021.

Cordoba-born Alvarez has won six trophies during his four seasons with River, including the Primera Division last season when leading the division for goals with 18.

Frank Lampard has been appointed the new manager of Everton.

The former Chelsea star and head coach has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal to succeed Rafael Benitez, who was sacked this month following the 2-1 defeat to Norwich City, which capped a run of one win in 13 Premier League games.

Lampard was said to be one of three final candidates for the role, along with Vitor Pereira and caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson, with the last round of interviews having taken place on Friday.

"It is a huge honour for me to represent and manage a club the size and tradition of Everton Football Club," Lampard said after his appointment was confirmed on Monday.

"I'm very hungry to get started. After speaking to the owner, Chairman and the Board, I very much felt their passion and ambition. I hope they felt my ambition and how hard I want to work to bring it together.

"You can feel the passion Everton fans have for their club. That will be hugely important.

"As a team – the competitive level that the Premier League brings and the position we are in the table – we certainly need that.

"It's a two-way thing. I think Everton is a unique club in that you can really understand what the fans want to see. The first thing they want is fight and desire and that must always be our baseline.

"My first message to the players will be that we have to do this together. We'll try to do our job and I know the fans will be there backing us."

Lampard was sacked by Chelsea in January last year after failing to mount a realistic title challenge despite a pre-season investment of close to £250million in the playing squad.

The former England midfielder won 28 of his 57 league games in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Among Chelsea bosses during the ownership of Roman Abramovich, only Andre Villas-Boas in 2011-12 (48.1 per cent) and Guus Hiddink, in his second spell, in 2015-16 (33.3 per cent) had lower win percentages than Lampard (49.1 per cent).

Thomas Tuchel took over at Chelsea and went on to secure a top-four finish, reach the FA Cup final and win the Champions League.

Lampard's old England team-mate Wayne Rooney was also linked with the role, though the ex-Everton player said on Friday he had declined the opportunity to interview for the job.

Everton are 16th in the table after 20 matches in 2021-22, just four points above the relegation zone.

Wout Weghorst has completed his transfer from Wolfsburg to Burnley for a fee reported to be in the region of £12million (€14.4m).

Weghorst scored 20 goals for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga last season, with only Erling Haaland (27), Andre Silva (28) and Robert Lewandowski (41) netting more.

The 29-year-old Netherlands international also provided eight assists and converted 21.5 per cent (20) of his 93 shots. 

At 6ft, 6in, Weghorst provides a towering presence for Sean Dyche's side, who sold Chris Wood to relegation rivals Newcastle United this month, and the Clarets will be hoping the Dutchman provides the goals needed to stay in the Premier League.

Weghorst has not been as prolific this season, however, scoring just six times across 18 league games for Wolfsburg, netting every 259 minutes on average, while his shot conversion rate has dropped to 15.8 per cent.

 

However, this is still an improvement on the form of Wood, who managed just three league goals in 17 appearances for Burnley this season, converting only three of his 30 attempts, while the New Zealand forward is yet to score for Newcastle.

"Wout is a player that our scouts have been strong on for some time and we feel that he can add to all that we do at Burnley," Dyche told the club's official website.

"His signing is a continued show of the club's and team's development. We wish Wout well as he earns the right to push our group forwards."

Burnley were also hoping to sign Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb to further bolster their attack.

On Saturday, though, Dinamo released a statement confirming Orsic would be staying put. 

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, have drafted in Jonas Wind from FC Copenhagen as Weghorst's replacement.

Burnley sit bottom of the Premier League and are four points from safety, but the Clarets have between two and four games in hand on their fellow strugglers.

They face a huge clash against Watford on Saturday, which could mark Weghorst's debut.

Ousmane Dembele's future at Barcelona has been uncertain for months.

The 24-year-old has stalled on a new deal with the Catalans.

Dembele has attracted interest from several top clubs, meaning his signature looms for deadline day.

TOP STORY – MAN UTD TO HIJACK PSG'S DEMBELE MOVE

Manchester United are set to make a deadline-day move for Barcelona's Dembele, according to Footmercato.

The Red Devils could hijack Paris Saint-Germain's plans, with the Ligue 1 club having already verbally agreed to a deal with the French winger.

United are ready to move, with Anthony Martial loaned out and Donny van de Beek and Jesse Lingard also set to exit.

 

ROUND-UP

- Arsenal outcast Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has agreed to a deal to join Barcelona, according to Sport, but Dembele must exit the Catalans to enable the move to be completed.

- Real Madrid have opted against a January move for Monaco's Aurelien Tchouameni, claims Diario Sport, due to their €80m asking price.

- Talksport claims that Tottenham's Giovani Lo Celso will join Spanish club Villarreal on loan for the rest of the season. Lyon were also interested in the Argentina international.

- Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches has opted against a €25 million move from Lille to Milan, according to Calciomercato.

- Newcastle United's January spending is not over as the club eyes deadline-day deals for Aston Villa's Matt Targett and Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah, reports The Telegraph.

- Newcastle are set to land Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson on loan, claims Talksport.

- Struggling Spanish club Getafe are interested in free agent Diego Costa, according to Marca.

- Dele Alli could join Milan on loan from Tottenham, reports Gazzetta dello Sport.

Panama remained undefeated all-time against Jamaica in World Cup qualification, rallying from a goal down to win 3-2 at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City on Sunday evening.

The visitors were ahead in the fifth minute when Michail Antonio converted from the penalty spot to give Jamaica its first goal against Panama in qualification since Marvin Elliott’s 2013 tally.

Panama pushed, however, and had its efforts rewarded by a penalty of its own in the 18th minute. But they came away empty-handed, as Eric Davis’ shot down the middle was saved by Jamaica GK Andre Blake to keep Jamaica in the lead.

The Panama equalizer came when Blake was beaten by his own defender just before the halftime break, with the goalkeeper trying to punch clear a cross from Edgar Yoel Barcenas, only to send it onto the head of Javain Brown and into his own net.

Davis worked to atone for his penalty miss in the 51st minute, taking advantage of a rebound from another Barcenas shot and sending a low blast past Blake to give Panama the 2-1 advantage.

The advantage was then extended in the 69th minute as Azmahar Ariano Navarro scored with a sweep of his foot after a Panama corner kick fell to him.

Jamaica wasn’t ready to concede defeat, though, with Andre Gray heading a cross past Panama goalkeeper Luis Mejia to put the Caribbean squad within striking distance.

In the end, though, Panama’s defence held tough and got the victory that keeps the Canaleros in sole possession of fourth place in the table.

Panama now travels to meet Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, while Jamaica returns home to square off with Costa Rica.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.