Tag: England

Liverpool submits bid to Egypt, Senegal and Guinea FAs to delay key departures from Anfield for AFCON tournament in January

Liverpool is under pressure ahead of a crucial run of games in January when Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane will be leaving the squad to participate in the African Cup of Nations with their countries.

The Africa Cup of Nations begins in Cameroon on January 9, and FIFA regulations require players called up for national team tournaments to be available at most 14 days before the start of said tournament.

African players who will be called up by their nations are expected to start leaving their clubs in the coming weeks to join their nations to prepare for the African showpiece tournament, with some nations already making camp preparations.

Liverpool have submitted a bid to the football associations of Egypt, Guinea and Senegal to delay the call-ups of Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane until after the Chelsea game on January 2.

The Egyptian Football Association especially is making Liverpool sweat over Mohamed Salah’s African Nations Cup departure.

Jürgen Klopp is especially hoping to have his top scorer around for the crucial Chelsea clash a day after New Year’s, which is a week before AFCON begins in Cameroon.

The German manager told journalists that Liverpool are still waiting for a response from the Egyptian Football Association to learn whether Salah will have to leave Anfield to link up with the Egyptian national squad before the turn of the year.

Per the FIFA rules, Salah and co will be required to leave Liverpool for their countries’ AFCON camps immediately after the Reds’ Boxing Day match against Leeds United.

However, Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool hope to be able to keep them for a little longer for the games against Leicester on December 28 and Chelsea on January 2.

A decision is yet to be made, says Egypt FA; no word from Senegal and Guinea yet

Egyptian Football Association authorities have acknowledged the receipt of the plea from Liverpool but have not made a decision yet on the issue.

“We already received the request. It is still under consideration, and no answer has been given yet,” the spokesman for the Egyptian Football Association, Osama Ismail, told Ahram Online, an Egyptian news outfit.

Egypt manager Carlos Queiroz is key in making this decision, and according to Ahram Online, is yet to speak on it as well.

Klopp remains optimistic on the issue, regardless. “I am an optimistic person, so I hope so, but it’s not written in stone and not completely in our hands,” he said earlier in November.

Egypt will kick off their Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Nigeria on January 11.

Guinea and Senegal have not sent any word concerning their players Mane and Keita. They will be playing their first African Cup of Nations game on January 10.

Chelsea hapless as defender agrees deal with Spanish giants

Reports have claimed that key centre-back Antonio Rudiger is on his way out of Stamford Bridge after five years at the club as he has reached an informal agreement to join Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer.

The 28-year-old defender and Chelsea have failed to come to an understanding in their contract negotiations, with reports suggesting that Antonio Rudiger is rejecting the club’s offers.

The Germany centre-back is understood to be weighing his options at Chelsea due to receiving more lucrative offers from his home country of Germany as well as Real Madrid, stalling the contract talks with the Blues despite claiming in the past that he would like to continue at the London club.

Real Madrid is now reportedly in pole position to get the UEFA Champions League winner on a free transfer next season to finally replace Sergio Ramos, who left the club at the beginning of this season for Paris Saint-Germain.

According to The Independent, Madrid reached an informal agreement with Rudiger’s brother and agent, Sahr Senesie, for the centre-back’s signature.

Per the reports, negotiations are supposed to begin at the turn of the new year between Rudiger’s entourage and Real Madrid as facilitated by Senesie who met with Los Blancos chiefs a few weeks ago to discuss a potential free transfer for his sibling.

Chelsea now have just under a month to convince Rudiger, who is reported to be looking for a new contract worth £12 million a year, to stay in London or risk losing one of their most important players on a free transfer.

Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern also in the race for Antonio Rudiger

Manchester United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick is a big fan of the defender and is rumoured to have mentioned him to the hierarchy at Old Trafford as one of his preferred transfer targets.

Rudiger’s agent Senesie is also said to have met with Bayern Munich management bigwigs last week as the German champions look to beat Real Madrid to the negotiations.

Tottenham Hotspur is also under pressure from Antonio Conte to get the German as an addition for their very depleted defence, but the reports claim that not much may come out of this rumoured push for Rudiger by Conte as the defender prefers a move abroad if he leaves Chelsea.

Dilemma for Thomas Tuchel

Thomas Tuchel has come to trust his 28-year-old compatriot who was left frozen out of Frank Lampard’s Chelsea a year ago. Rudiger is one of the players with the most minutes in the squad and his departure would be a major blow for Tuchel.

Tuchel commented on the situation last month: “The situation is the situation. We want him to stay, this is very clear and he knows it. 

“But sometimes in these situations, there is a certain delay and, obviously, there is a delay in these talks and his decision.”

Rudiger is not the only headache Tuchel has currently. While the German will be focused on getting Chelsea back on track after a slight dip in form in the last few games, he’ll be worrying about the contracts of most of his defence.

Trevor Chalobah is his only defender without contract issues, as Andreas Christensen, club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva are all out of a contract in the summer.

Backup defender Malang Sarr is also looking for a way out as he has found game time hard to come by at Stamford bridge.

Juventus’ turn to PSG and Manchester United for solutions to attacking problems

Juventus’ have struggled in front of goal this season and have now identified two outcasts at Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United to solve their problem.

They won their last game convincingly but their attacking performances in the course of the season have left much to be considered and desired.

Manager Massimiliano Allegri has had to deal with plenty of issues in the side, including defensive problems, and has struggled to find a solution to any of them as Juventus keep suffering in the league.

They let Cristiano Ronaldo move to Manchester United in the summer, giving up 30 goals a season. Despite having Alvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala and Moise Kean in their squad, however, Juventus only have 20 league goals this season.

This lack of attacking output has kept the Bianconeri out of the top four, and the club’s management, according to reports, are now looking to bring reinforcements in the winter transfer window.

Serie A top scorer, Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored more goals individually than all of Juve’s attackers combined, remains their primary target. The Serbian is currently out of their reach financially, however, making the Bianconeri look elsewhere.

Barcelona target Edinson Cavani and Mauro Icardi are the reported attacking reinforcements, according to Tuttosport.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Juventus to Manchester United has sent Cavani down the pecking order at Old Trafford while Icardi has not replicated his impressive Inter Milan form since joining PSG in 2019.

The Bianconeri hope to secure a loan for one or both strikers in the winter transfer window, as they look to sharpen their fangs up front and begin taking teams out in their usual fashion.

Wanda Nara drops hint of possible Icardi-Juve link up

Mauro Icardi’s wife and manager, Wanda Nara, may have hinted a possible move for the PSG striker back to Italy with Juventus.

In her latest social media post, shared a photo of her wearing a zebra-striped top, with the caption: “I toast for me, for what is coming this year and for you.”

Icardi, 28, joined PSG from Inter in 2019 after initially being linked with Juventus. There is a reported clause in his PSG contract which requires the Parisien club to pay Inter Milan the sum of £12 million if their former captain is moved on from Paris to another Serie A club.

The clause was allegedly installed in the forward’s PSG transfer contract following string interest from the Turin powerhouse club. Yet, Juventus continue to be linked with Icardi and are now rumoured to be discussing with his camp ahead of a winter loan move.

Footmercato in Italy claims that Allegri has already spoken to Icardi’s entourage in recent days and told them he ‘would love to have’ the striker with him in Turin.

Judging by Wanda Nara’s latest post, there might be something concrete on the horizon regarding these rumours. It could yet be another ploy by Icardi’s wife to stir controversy and rumours, as she is known for such antics in the football space.

Juventus rejected Cavani in the summer; now desperate for his signature

Juventus have long admired the Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani since his record-breaking Napoli days. He was the subject of several transfer rumours with Juventus at the centre during his time there and even during his time at PSG after leaving Napoli.

Cavani had rejected the Turin club in the past due to his loyalty to Napoli, choosing to go to Manchester United imafyer his latest rejection of the club.

Following the signing of Ronaldo by Manchester United and the reduction of Cavani’s role in the squad, Manchester United offered Cavani as a replacement for Ronaldo. Juventus declined the offer.

Calciomercato reported that Cavani’s wages at United we’re a lot for Juventus to match, which was the reason for their refusal to sign the one striker they’ve wanted the most in the past decade.

The club had to let Ronaldo go due to his huge financial demands, and bringing Cavani who demanded just as high – £250,000 per week – was going to cripple them further.

This fact, coupled with the new transfer policy within Juventus to sign only youngsters with an average age of 23 years old kept Cavani from moving to Juventus in the summer

Cavani has played just over 200 minutes only for Manchester United in the Premier League this season, which have come across five appearances. The arrival of interim manager Ralf Rangnick doesn’t look to change the situation, and the striker wants out.

Juventus will have to battle with Barcelona for his signature in the winter, just like they did over Matthias De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong three years ago.

Manchester United midfielder Fred feeling ‘blessed’ after scoring the first goal of the Rangnick era

Manchester United midfielder Fred has given Ralf Rangnick a winning start to life at Old Trafford and has come out to state that he feels “very blessed” to be the one to do it.

Ralf Rangnick’s side played some very different football in a 4-2-2-2 formation which showed lots of promise as they dominated the game from start to finish. The narrow scoreline betrays the fact that Manchester United played some of their best defensive and attacking football this season on matchday 15.

It took Fred’s right-footed effort to break the deadlock in the 77th minute as Crystal Palace also magaed to stave off Manchester United’s pressure in the game.

The 28-year-old’s goal was celebrated by his United teammates who were really happy to see the much criticised midfielder get his moment in the spotlight, and Fred feels blessed to be able to have such a moment.

The Brazilian spoke to Manchester United media after the match. “It’s always good to score in a game, but today we win 1-0 and it’s nice that my goal can be so important,” a happy Fred told Stewart Gardner of MUTV.

“Of course, above all, the most important thing is the win to help the team. It was a good performance, we played very well and kept a clean sheet too.

“With it being the first game with our new coach it is so important for us to keep things moving day after day and be ready for the next game.”

Fred also gave some insight into his goal. The midfielder is a left-footer, but tries to make plays and shoot quite often with his weaker right foot.

“With me being left footed, sometimes I try (to shoot) with my right,” Fred explained. “Mason gave me a good ball and in that moment I just looked for the goal and it happened.

“I’m very blessed and so happy to score one more goal here at Old Trafford, in front of our fans.”

Rangnick praises team after impressive display

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick admitted after the match that he did not expect his team to play so well after the events which he witnessed in the past week.

The Red Devils’ impressive performance and win over Crystal Palace came after just one training session under Rangnick who assumed command of the team after caretaker manager Michael Carrick led the team to a 3-2 victory over Arsenal on matchday 14.

In his post-match comments to journalists, Rangnick claimed that he was “surprised” by his players’ performances, who looked like a different team compared to recent weeks.

“I’m more than happy,” the 63-year-old told Sky Sports. “First of all, most importantly, we won the game. Second, we had a clean sheet, third I think we no doubt deserved to win, because we had control of the game.

“I suppose it (the Red Devils’ possession) was more than 60 per cent, and we didn’t give them that many chances to score.

“To be honest I was positively surprised by the performance of the players.

“I didn’t expect us to play at that level after only one-and-a-half training days together with them.”

Rangnick also mentioned the weather from the day before the match, calling it ‘disgusting’ as it afforded the team little chance to train.

“We didn’t have a full training session ahead of this game, yesterday was disgusting weather,” the German said. “It was not even Manchester weather. It [training] was 45 minutes.

“The rest was video footage. I didn’t expect them to play at that kind of level after such a short time.”

Manchester United fans hail Fred

Fred’s goal comes on the back of superb performances in the past eight days, where the Manchester United midfielder showed signs of redemption.

Fred was a mainstay of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United but barely got any praise and barely had any positive things said about him every time he played. Michael Carrick, in his short term as United’s caretaker, pushed the right buttons and Fred began to show the quality which Brazil’s national team have come to rely on in the middle of the park.

Manchester United fans took to social media to praise the 28-year-old for his performance and his goal after the midfielder grabbed the first goal of the Ralf Rangnick era.

Fans have witnessed the many shades of Fred on the pitch and now hope that his recent good form continues as the games start to come hard and fast.

Antonio Conte to go all in for Juventus’ Swedish prodigy

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has thrown his hat in the ring for Juventus’ out of favour Swedish talent, Dejan Kulusevski, reports have now confirmed.

Dejan Kulusevski is one of Mikel Arteta’s targets to help Arsenal’s attack get back into shape and it is understood that the Swede is leaning towards a move to the red half of North London.

But with the latest confirmed reports, Arsenal will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to be able to prevent Kulusevski from wearing the white if their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, in the coming winter or summer transfer window.

Dejan Kulusevski signed for Juventus from Atalanta in the winter of the 2019/20 Serie A season on a four-and-a-half year deal, for a fee in the region of €44 million which includes variables. He was on loan at Parma at the time and was sent back to the club to see out the loan deal.

At Parma, he became the youngest player in the top five European leagues to score at least seven goals and make at least five assists. He won the Serie A Best Young Player for the season, and fully joined his new club, Juventus’, the season after.

Following the sacking of Andrea Pirlo, Kulusevski has now been reduced to a bit-part player, starting only four of his 14 games in the Serie A so far this season. The winger is looking for more playing time, and Antonio Conte is willing to give it to him.

Antonio Conte has stabilised the Spurs ship left in a bit of disarray by sacked coach Nuno Espirito Santo but has made it very clear that he wants new players and wants to ship out a few of his current ones.

And with a reasonable transfer chest available to him in the winter window, Kulusevski’s camp has now begun to consider Tottenham Hotspur as a possible destination for their player.

No permanent transfer offer for the Swede on the books yet

The report by Sportmediaset claims that Kulusevski’s agent Alessandro Lucci is looking at both the Arsenal and Tottenham bids for Kulusevski.

At the moment, however, only loan bids for the £31 million-valued former Serie A young player of the year with an option to buy have reached both agent and club.

Antonio Conte likes the 21-year-old’s tall frame and versatility, as Kulusevski is capable of being deployed in several midfield roles as well as attacking roles. Fast, physically strong, and technically gifted, Kulusevski could come in and comfortably give Giovanni Lo Celso, Dele Alli and a few others a run for their money in the Spurs’ squad.

Antonio Conte’s staff assure Harry Kane of full support

Elsewhere, Antonio Conte and his staff are doing all they can to keep their misfiring striker, Harry Kane, who still remains the centre of transfer speculation, happy at the club.

The Italian’s staff at Tottenham have reportedly been working hard to change the mentality of Harry Kane to ensure he’s ready to stay with the club beyond the January transfer window.

Conte is an expert at transforming players, with Victor Moses and Romelu Lukaku being his biggest examples. Spurs fans still have to worry about Manchester City returning with another tempting bid for the England captain, but can count on Conte to do all he can to bring back the old Harry Kane.

Antonio Conte backs misfiring striker to come good for Tottenham Hotspur soon

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has come out to defend Harry Kane’s poor form in the Premier League while backing him to find his scoring boots in the competition sooner than later.

Harry Kane was the subject of major transfer speculation involving last season’s title winners and UEFA Champions League finalists, Manchester City, who were ready to splash in excess of £100 million to secure his signature.

Manchester City went most of their title-winning 2020/21 season without a central striker due to their main striker and record goalscorer, Sergio Aguero, battling serious fitness issues for most of the season. Gabriel Jesus, Aguero’s backup, played his best football behind a striker or on either flank, leading manager Pep Guardiola to do a lot of tinkering.

In the summer, they lost Aguero on a free transfer to Barcelona and were in dire need of a striker which led to the transfer speculations surrounding Harry Kane. Kane ended up remaining at Spurs but has since starved Spurs fans of the quality which he displayed for the past seven seasons.

The England captain has scored just once in 12 Premier League appearances for Spurs this season. In many games, he has looked unmotivated and his game has felt forced. The reason for his struggles could be narrowed down to all the events of the summer which also included the emotional penalty shootout loss to Italy with England in the final of the Euro 2020 tournament in Wembley.

Conte’s arrival at Spurs has since seen a change in his game this season. However, the goals are still not forthcoming, with the 28-year-old missing chances that he would bury with eyes closed in the past.

Tottenham is first on Harry Kane’s mind, Conte claims

Conte defended his star man’s form to journalists in a news conference ahead of Spurs’ trip to Norwich City on Sunday. “First of all, I’m sure Harry is happy if we win and he doesn’t score. Because Tottenham is the first thought for us and Harry,” the Italian manager said.

“It’s important to have chances to score and we’re improving a lot in this aspect. I’m sure Harry is going to score many goals.

“I’m sure he’s going to have a good performance in the same way he had against Brentford against every team we play. I’m very pleased for the way that he’s playing.

“Then I know the striker wants to score but we want to give him many chances to score. I think we’re on the right path to do this type of situation.”

Kane’s form, however, is limited only to the Premier League, as he has consistently turned up for Spurs in the European Conference League where he has six goals in five games so far in the competition. He also remains England’s most dangerous man upfront, as he scored seven goals in their last three qualifiers.

Conte acknowledged this but defended Kane’s form by comparing the tough games in the league to games against minnow clubs in the Conference League and minnow nations in the qualifiers.

“I think that the Premier League is a very, very tough league and every game that you play is not easy,” the Tottenham boss added. “Sometimes with the national team you can play against teams not so strong.

“Also to have more opportunities to score, not only for him but all the players. This league is very strong, this league is the most difficult league in the world.

“For this reason, it’s not simple to win a game, get three points and to score goals. This is the great difference that you can find between the two different situations.”

Barcelona and Edinson Cavani make contact ahead of summer move

Latest reports from ESPN have claimed that Barcelona and Edinson Cavani have made contact ahead of a summer transfer move for the Manchester United striker.

Cavani, 34, has a contract at United until the end of the 2021/22 season but has fallen down the pecking order at the club, making only eight appearances this season following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The reports suggest that the contact between both parties was to gauge Cavani’s interest following comments from the striker (via The Times) about wanting a Barcelona move earlier in the season.

Barcelona is currently on the hunt for attacking reinforcements due to the fitness issues being suffered by that section of their squad. ESPN sources report that Barcelona are only targeting players who have not played regularly for their clubs this season.

ESPN also reports that while Cavani is very much interested in a Barcelona move, he plans to speak with incoming interim manager Ralf Rangnick about his plans before making a decision.

Barcelona’s financial problems making negotiations difficult

Barcelona are in serious debt and is looking to save money anyhow they can. This includes selling off players and getting in players on loan or on a free transfer in the coming window.

The Catalan club’s financial situation is making most of their endeavours difficult, but Barcelona CEO Ferran Reverter has now confirmed the club will be able to sign players in January, but that they will have to be clever about how they fund any new arrivals.

This is why, according to reports, Barcelona is only going after players who have not played much for their clubs with hopes of getting them on loan without an obligation to make the move permanent or on a short-term contract. 

The 34-year-old Uruguayan fits what the club wants, but the club is also looking at Manchester City’s Ferran Torres and Raheem Sterling, as well as Chelsea’s Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.

Barcelona and Real Madrid battle LaLiga over CVC investment

Elsewhere, Barcelona and Real Madrid, along with Athletic Club Bilbao have written to other LaLiga clubs to support their bid to thwart private equity group CVC’s €2bn cash injection into Spanish football.

Financial Times reports that both clubs, who are still after their European Super League bid which was rejected by football governing bodies, have a counter-offer which they claim is economically superior to the CVC and LaLiga offer.

LaLiga have called the latest moves by Barcelona and Real Madrid “hypothetical”, and labelled it an “improvised proposal elaborated without the minimum rigour required”.

LaLiga will be presenting the full details of the CVC deal to all the clubs in the first and second division of the competition on December 10.

Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are working with Bank of America, JPMorgan and HSBC on their own alternative funding, hope to be able to convince the other clubs to pay no heed to the LaLiga and CVC deal.

Transfer Rumours: Lewandowski offered to Chelsea in potential swap deal for Timo Werner

News coming out of Germany claims that Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia has been offered the chance to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich in a deal that could see Timo Werner head the other way.

Football consultant Ian McGarry made this bit of information known via The Transfer Window Podcast. McGarry claims that Lewandowski’s agent Pini Zahavi is trying to use his Chelsea contacts to seal the move as the 33-year-old striker seeks a different challenge for the last lap of his illustrious career.

Lewandowski, who currently leads the European golden shoe rankings with 14 goals has been the most prolific frontman of the past two seasons, for which he was recognised at the 2021 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony with the Striker of the Year award.

He also finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting behind Lionel Messi, who during his acceptance speech, urged France Football to give the 2020 award (which was cancelled due to Coronavirus) to Lewandowski as he was the clear favourite for the prize last year.

The 33-year-old Polish national team captain is now in the final 18 months of his contract at Bayern Munich but there have been no talks of a renewal just yet.

And Pini Zahavi, in trying to fulfill his client’s wishes, is pushing the buttons he has at Chelsea to initiate a swap deal which will see a long-term Bayern Munich target, Timo Werner, move to Germany.

McGarry told The Transfer Window Podcast: “Pini Zahavi, often described as the original super-agent, represents Lewandowski and has done for more than two years.

“Zahavi is also a close-confidant of Marina Granovskaia and it is certainly the case that he has offered Lewandowski to Chelsea and Granovskaia.

“It’s a move which could include Werner going to Bayern.”

Manchester United throw their hat in the race for Timo Werner

Elsewhere, Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick is now looking forward to a reunion with the striker according to reports.

Werner looked to be heading to Liverpool before the Blues hijacked the transfer for £47.5 million last summer. Things have not quite worked out for the striker at Stamford Bridge but he is still not short of suitors.

Rangnick, who just got his England work permit, is reportedly exploring the possibility of signing Werner for United in the summer.

It is important to note that Rangnick’s deal with United is a six-month interim manager role with a two-year consultancy role following immediately after.

This means that Rangnick will not manage Timo Werner directly if this shock signing happens for United, who will be losing Edinson Cavani at the end of the season and will be shopping for a replacement.

Werner is also a target for Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“Sign the contract now,” Andreas Christensen receives warning on Chelsea contract situation

Andreas Christensen and Chelsea have been in a standoff for a while over the defender’s future at Stamford Bridge, frustrating all parties involved.

The 25-year-old Danish international will be out of a contract with Chelsea in the summer, but the club is doing all they can to keep him.

Chelsea believed they had finalised a five-year £140,000 per week agreement with his representatives in the summer, but Christensen’s demands changed which has clearly frustrated the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.

The defender has refused to put pen to paper over what was offered and is now demanding a four-year contract with a higher pay, to the chagrin of the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.

Simon Jordan, former owner of Crystal Palace, sternly told the Dane in an interview with talkSPORT to stop delaying the negotiations and pen a new contract.

Jordan sternly advised Christensen that he needs to sign a new contract at Chelsea before they go out and sign another “£50 million defender”.

Simon Jordan: It’s degrees of loss for Christensen

The business mogul and former Crystal Palace owner believes that the only party who will lose from this standoff is Christensen, due to Chelsea’s current pull in world football as well as the club’s spending power.

Jordan told talkSPORT: “I think it’s a degree of loss for him [Christensen].

“You’re sitting with arguably one of the best coaches in the world, in arguably one of the biggest clubs in the world, with probably a financial contract in front of you that would make most people’s eyes water as an employee, and you’re sat there going: ‘Well, I’m worried about my next contract’.

“How about you worry about this contract, being good enough to play for Chelsea in five years.

“You might find yourself in a situation where you may not be good enough to play for Chelsea in three years’ time but Chelsea still have to pay you, so what a nice position to be in.

“The problem is for Christensen, with due respect to Christensen being a decent player, Chelsea can replace him with whoever they want.

“If Chelsea lose Christensen on a free transfer, he gets all that money in his next contract because no one has to pay anything for him, and Chelsea will rock out and sign a £50m centre-back.”

Tuchel fires warning to Christensen

The Denmark international has claimed that he would like to continue his career at Chelsea and has professed a love for the club. However, his negotiation antics have all but betrayed other sentiments.

Thomas Tuchel recently froze Christensen out of the side in what is now confirmed to be a ploy to get the defender to make up his mind about the contract.

The Chelsea boss, when speaking at the pre-Watford press conference on Tuesday, said: “I have no good news. It was my understanding weeks ago that Andreas wants the same as me and the club.

“This is why, for me, it was a zero-problem situation because everybody wanted the same as I understood it. We are waiting for a long time now for confirmation.

“It’s on Andreas to act how he acts on the pitch, off the pitch and walk the talk. He tells us he loves Chelsea, that he wants to stay and be a big part, because he is a big part of a big club.

“I think he is the perfect fit, he is not done yet here, his career here is not finished. He can still develop and be a big, big player. But like I said it’s on him. We want the commitment. Hopefully, we get it.”

Christensen was dropped from the side after the 1-1 draw against Burnley at the start of November. Tuchel is hoping the selection decision will push Christensen to agree and sign a new contract. 

“We have the hope it influences the contract situation a little bit,” Tuchel added.

“My understanding was in a very short period we would have good news. I said around the international break that for me, it is a matter of days that we think we can give good news about Andreas.

“As I understood it, the club wants the same, the player wants the same, and the coach wants the same: to stay. That’s why we need the commitment and we can continue.”

Ajax looks to out-of-favour Tottenham winger as attacking reinforcement

Ajax Amsterdam have reportedly expressed an interest in signing academy player and current Tottenham Hotspur forward Steven Bergwijn on loan in January.

Bergwijn spent three years in the famous Ajax Amsterdam academy before moving to PSV Eindhoven to continue his development.

He made his debut for PSV’s senior team in 2014 while still in the PSV youth setup and in 2017 he finally nailed promotion to the senior team where he impressed and became one of the most sought-after wingers in football during his three-year senior team career at the club.

The 24-year-old joined Tottenham Hotspur who fended off interest from Barcelona and Inter Milan to sign the forward from PSV Eindhoven in January 2020 in a deal worth around £26.7million.

He was a mainstay in José Mourinho’s Spurs, getting the Mourinho treatment sometimes but being called upon regularly. However, he has struggled for game-time under new head coach Antonio Conte, who seems not to be keen on using the Dutchman.

Conte doesn’t believe in him, Dutch reporter claims

The Dutch reporter who is the source of this news claims that new Spurs head coach Antonio Conte is not the biggest fan of the 24-year-old.

“Conte doesn’t see it in him at all,” said the Dutch football reporter, Mike Vermeij.

“Conte is also the one who thwarted Bergwijn’s transfer from PSV to Italy. Inter Milan were interested at the time but Conte didn’t need him. 

“Conte has only said two words to Bergwijn in two weeks at Tottenham Hotspur. That is why Ajax can consider (signing) him.”

Bergwijn has not found it as easy as when he first joined the club and could consider a return to a club where he started his youth career, according to Vermeij.

Antonio Conte responds to Bergwijn transfer speculations

In the press conference on Wednesday ahead of the Spurs versus Brentford match, Conte responded to questions about the speculation that Bergwijn could join Ajax in the January transfer window.

“We are talking about a player that has important skills,” the Italian manager said. “It was a pity for me but not for the national team that he scored [during the November international break].

“I would have liked to have had him during the two weeks of the international break to know him much better. But he has great quality – he’s great one-vs-one, very fast, great quality to beat the man and score.

“Now we are working, he is understanding what I want from him. For me he’s one of the three strikers, he can play in every three positions for the strikers.

“He is a player I have to make an important evaluation [of] but he is in our squad and I count on him.

“[Against Brentford] he’s ready and available. Against Mura he had a problem and otherwise he should have played, but tomorrow he’s available.”