Portsmouth as we all know are now relegated from the Premier Leaguue but still have the chance of FA Cup glory against Chelsea in next month’s FA Cup final.
The likelihood of any of their players still being at Pompey next season is slim.
Finances
The clubs financial difficulties have been well documented and this summer they will have to cut their wage bill down to Championship levels.
That means the few players who are contracted to the club are likely to leave to reduce the still massive wage bill.
Loan
The vast majority of Portsmouth’s best players are only on loan at the club. They will return to their parent clubs this summer. Their star players such as Jamie O’Hara, Frederic Piquionne and Hassan Yebda are likely to find new c…
Ligue 2 side Ajaccio have completed the signing of defender Mody Traore on loan from Valenciennes till the end of the season. The 29 year old right back, elder brother of Lakhwiya defender Dame Traore, joined Valenciennes from AS Nancy back in 2001 but has not made a single appearance for VAFC this season in Ligue 1.
Valenciennes are currently 10th in Ligue 1 at this moment with 31 points from 21 games. Philippe Montanier s men are ahead of the likes of PSG, Sochaux and St.Etienne in the table, and are at home to Sochaux this weekend.
Traore s last league appearance for the club came in May 2009 against St.Etienne, a match that his side lost 4-0.
Ajaccio are currently seventh in Ligue 2. Traore could make his debut for them on Friday against Strasbourg.
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Jose Mourinho expects Zlatan Ibrahimovic s contract extension at Manchester United to be finalised soon.
The 35-year-old striker continued his exceptional recent form with a goal his 50th at club level in 2016 and two assists on Monday as United defeated David Moyes Sunderland 3-1 at Old Trafford.
Mourinho confirmed last month that he was keen to take up the option to extend the Swede s one-season deal by a further yearand he foresees no problem in ironing out the details.
Asked if the agreement to extend his stay had been activated, Mourinho added: Not yet, but it s activated in his brain and in my decisions and also in the owners and the board. So no problem.
I m not really surprised [by his form] because he s a very intelligent guy, a very proud man…
Richard Wright has signed a new one-year deal with Manchester City, .
The former England international moved to the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2012, but is yet to make his debut for the club, with Joe Hart and Willy Caballero currently ahead of him in the pecking order.
Prior to his switch to the Citizens, Wright was at Preston North End though he left the club one week into pre-season training having not played for them either.
He made just shy of three hundred league appearances across three spells with Ipswich Town while he won a Premier League title with Arsenal in 2001/02 – his only season with the club.
The 37 year old has also played for Everton, West Ham United and Sheffield United, as well as having a spell on loan with Southampton se…
Stiliyan Petrov is unsurprised by Aston Villa s struggles in the Premier League this season, believing questionable recruitment is a main factor.
Villa sit 18th in the table ahead of Manchester United s visit on Thursday, with Dean Smith s side four points off safety.
However, ex-Villa captain Petrov is in no way surprised by the club s perilous position, and the former midfielder cited the recruitment of inexperienced players as a major issue for Villa.
I m not surprised. I remember at the start of the season saying it was a big task for them, Petrov told Stats Perform News.
Recruitment and prep, they were way behind everybody else. It was expected. It doesn t look promising.
[These are] challenging times for the club and for fans, like me. I …
Barcelona are interested in signing Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba next summer on a free transfer, according to . Pogba is out of contract at United at the end of next season, although talks are going on over a new deal.
Should the World Cup winner with France decide to leave United next summer, then Barcelona will reportedly try to bring him to Camp Nou on a free transfer. The Spanish and European giants remain keen on signing players on free transfer after landing Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay in the summer transfer window.
Pogba is one of the best midfielders in the world and is at the top of his game at the age of 28. The midfielder would be a great signing for Barcelona, especially as a free transfer.
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(GSM) Brazilian playmaker Kaka has supported Real Madrid s pursuit of his national team-mate Maicon while welcoming new coach Jose Mourinho to the Bernabeu.
Mourinho, who was appointed as Manuel Pellegrini s successor after winning the Treble with Internazionale, has immediately targeted Nerazzurri right-back Maicon as a key transfer target.
The 28-year-old is currently preparing for the World Cup finals and Kaka would be pleased to see his international colleague return with him to Madrid following the conclusion of Brazil s campaign.
The team that signs Maicon has a sure success, Kaka said. I am not the person that has to take this kind of decision at Real but he s one of the best players in the world and if he joins us in Madrid I ll be happy.
Kaka,…
Germany and Spain meet Wednesday in Durban for a World Cup final place against a Netherlands side that believes it can succeed where great Dutch footballers and coaches have twice failed.
The four-goal hammerings of England and Argentina in their last two outings have underlined the potency of rejuvenated Germany and their pace, power and clinical finishing has made a strong impression on Spain.
I think Germany are greatly improved since 2008, said coach Vicente Del Bosque referring to the team beaten 1-0 by Spain in the European championship decider.
Their squad has undergone a renewal with important young players coming through but they have maintained the traditional values of German football. They have players of high quality with good technical skills.
South Sudan earned their first ever competitive victory with a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.
The minnows joined the ranks of international football in 2012 and had not found the net since a 3-1 defeat to Kenya in November 2013, but Atak Lual s 52nd-minute strike was enough to seal a 1-0 win in Juba.
The momentous result lifts Lee Sung-Je s side to second place in Group C ahead of Benin’s clash with Mali on Sunday.
There was similar joy for Liberia, who shocked Group A rivals Tunisia with a 1-0 victory despite being without first-choice goalkeeper Nathaniel Sherman, who reportedly suffered a serious eye injury after inadvertently barging into a glass door at the team s hotel.
But a Francis Forkey Doe…
Schalke are readying a shock winter move for Queens Park Rangers winger Junior Hoillet, .
The twenty-five year old has fallen out of favour under Chris Ramsay, with his only appearances this season so far coming in the League Cup.
The Hoops would be willing to let the former Blackburn Rovers man move on as they look to continue trimming their wage bill following their relegation from the Premier League.
Since moving to Loftus Road in the summer of 2012, Hoillet has racked up ninety-three games in all competitions, scoring six times.
During three seasons with Blackburn, he played just one fewer game and scored fourteen goals while he has also had loan spells with German sides SC Paderborn 07 and FC St. Pauli.
He could now be set for a return …