Mauricio Pochettino has given short shrift to reports suggesting Eric Dier is set to leave Tottenham Hotspur, saying the England midfielder’s will be staying at White Hart Lane for a good while yet.
Dier has recently been reduced to a bit-part role for Spurs after failing to recapture the form he showed last season, leading to speculation the 22-year-old could move on despite agreeing a new deal with the club in September.
“Absolutely not. Eric Dier is our player. He extended his contract and improved his salary after the Euros. There is no doubt that his future is here at Tottenham,” Pochettino said.
Mourinho says Rojo is ‘clean player’
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has defended Marcos Rojo, saying the defender is a “clean player”, after his Crystal Palace counterpart Alan Pardew said the Argentine should have been sent off for a two-footed tackle on winger Wilfried Zaha.
United’s 2-1 Premier League win against Palace on Wednesday was littered with controversy and referee Craig Pawson’s decision to only book Rojo for the foul has divided opinion so far.
“He’s playing really well, phenomenal. He’s a clean player, aggressive. His nature is emotional but very clean,” Mourinho said.
“I didn’t comment on David Luiz’s challenge on Marouane Fellaini, or Danny Rose on Mkhitaryan. I’m not going to comment on this one,” Mourinho said.
Gundogan set for lengthy lay-off
Pep Guardiola expects Manchester City to be without Ilkay Gundogan for a “long time” after the German midfielder suffered a suspected knee ligament injury in Wednesday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Watford.
Gundogan, who left the pitch in tears, has been dogged by injuries throughout his career and spent a long spell on the sidelines recovering from a knee injury before joining City from Borussia Dortmund in June.
“I’m so sad for Ilkay as it looks like we’ll be without him for a long time – we will know more tomorrow (today) but it doesn’t look good,” Guardiola said.
Schmeichel close to Leicester return
Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is back in training after fracturing his hand at the start of November, giving his side a boost for tomorrow’s Premier League trip to Stoke City.
The Dane, a key figure in Leicester’s title campaign last season, was injured against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.
“Kasper trained very well today,” manager Claudio Ranieri told a news conference yesterday.
“I will check on him tomorrow. He feels good. The hand is okay.”
Sturaro pens new Juventus contract
Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro has signed a new five-year contract.
The Italy international joined the Bianconeri from Genoa in 2014 and has steadily gained more influence in the first team of the Serie A champions, who are targeting a sixth straight title.
A club statement said Sturaro, 23, had committed his future to the Turin club until June 2021.
“I was overjoyed and thought that I’d reached a very important objective, but I know this is still a starting point,” Sturaro said when asked how he felt when the contract was signed.
“After two years I’ve realised that getting here is nothing, the difficulty is staying here and that’s why this renewal is a new achievement for me, but also a starting point and more responsibility.”
Suarez agrees to stay at Barcelona
Prolific striker Luis Suarez has agreed a new contract with Barcelona until 2021, the Spanish champions announced yesterday.
The Uruguay international will sign the new deal, which will keep him at the club until he is 34 years old and contains a release clause of 200 million euros ($207 million), today.
Suarez has scored 97 goals in 116 games for Barcelona since signing from Liverpool in 2014 for a reported 81 million euros ($84 million), and has collected eight major trophies.
“I feel complete happiness because I am where I want to be,” Suarez said yesterday.
Watford, West Brom fined by the FA
Watford and West Brom have both been fined £45,000 by the Football Association after admitting a misconduct charge.
The two clubs were disciplined for failing “to ensure their players and officials conducted themselves in orderly fashion and/or refrained from provocative behaviour”.
The incident occurred in the 84th minute of their Premier League meeting on December 3.
Watford’s Roberto Pereyra rea-cted angrily to a challenge by West Brom winger James McClean, leading to a melee that brought both managers onto the pitch.
Pereyra was sent off, although he subsequently had his ban reduced from three games to one.