West Brom manager Tony Pulis has revealed he could give striker Salomon Rondon a rest over the next few weeks.
The 26-year-old Venezuelan, who was signed for a club-record fee of around £12m from Russian club Zenit St Petersburg last summer, led the Albion line in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa at The Hawthorns.
It was Rondon’s 19th start of the season but he was a peripheral figure before being replaced.
“Salomon looked tired,” Pulis said.
“We gave him blood tests last weekend just to test him because the lad feels tired.
“We’ll check and see where he is. He might just need a couple of weeks off.”
Milan and Inter chase Ben Arfa
French sports magazine L’Equipe reported that San Siro rivals Milan and Inter are in the hunt for Hatem Ben Arfa.
The 28-year-old midfielder is currently on the books of Ligue 1 club Nice and scored 10 goals in 22 matches this season. His contract runs out at the end of the season.
Ben Arfa seems to have finally found his right environment following troubled playing stints at Marseille, Newcastle United and Hull City.
Nice picked him up as a free agent in July after his contract with Newcastle was terminated, but he’ll be back on the market at the end of this season.
Five sent off in violent ‘friendly’
Five players were sent off and Carlos Tevez gave away a penalty that handed River Plate a 1-0 win over Boca Juniors in a far from amicable ‘friendly’ between Argentina’s biggest rivals last weekend.
Argentina striker Tevez blocked a free-kick with his arm in the first half and Leonardo Pisculichi converted the penalty in the traditional off-season clash.
Champions Boca, who had three players dismissed on Saturday, also had two shown the red card in a 4-2 defeat by Racing Club in Mar del Plata last week.
Lallana pays tribute to medical staff
Adam Lallana admits he shook off a knock to earn a winner for Liverpool in the nine-goal thriller at Norwich City.
The England midfielder sustained the blow during the loss to Manchester United, but came off the substitutes’ bench at Carrow Road to net the decisive strike in the Reds’ 5-4 win.
“I had a bit of a knock after the United game,” he said.
“Not just credit to the manager, but credit to the medical team as well. They could easily have said to stay at Melwood.
“Sometimes in football the risks pay off… plenty don’t, but plenty do. I think that risk possibly won us the game.”
Victor Valdes joins Standard Liege
Victor Valdes’s unhappy stay at Manchester United is over after the club confirmed a move to Standard Liege, yesterday.
Valdes is moving to the Belgian club on loan until the end of the season and will become a free agent in the summer.
The former Barcelona goalkeeper has only made two appearances since joining United 12 months ago.
Valdes, 34, becomes the fifth United player to go out on loan this month after fellow goalkeepers Sam Johnstone, Dean Henderson and Kieran O’Hara, and striker Ashley Fletcher.
Allegri shrugs off Chelsea speculation
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has dismissed speculation linking him with Chelsea.
Allegri yesterday told reporters he had no plans to leave Juventus despite British media reports suggesting he could take over at Stamford Bridge next season.
“Just as there’s transfer speculation around players, we get the same as coaches. It’s normal, and I’m proud to be the coach of a big club like Juventus,” Allegri said
“I am under contract with Juventus until 2017 and, as I’ve said many times, I am happy here. So that’s that.”
Agent denies Jose letter to Man. United
Jose Mourinho’s agent has dismissed as “absolutely ridiculous and totally absurd” a report that the Portuguese wrote a ‘love letter’ to Manchester United to trumpet his case to be their next manager.
Mourinho, one of the world’s most successful managers, has been consistently linked with the job at Old Trafford since he was dismissed by Chelsea in December and while United have been labouring under the stewardship of Louis van Gaal.
A report said Mourinho had written a six-page letter to United explaining his strong desire to manage the club and outlining his plans.
Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes strongly denied the claims.
“It does not occur to anyone that a coach like Jose Mourinho can write letters to clubs offering their services. It is absolutely ridiculous and totally absurd,” Mendes said.