Antonio Conte has branded China’s spending power a “danger” to global football as Chelsea star Oscar closes in on a January move to Shanghai SIPG.
Chelsea boss Conte has admitted that the Brazil forward will leave Stamford Bridge next month, in an expected £52 million deal.
Oscar has agreed a wage of £400,000 a week, with Shanghai eclipsing the spending power of most Premier League clubs.
“I don’t know exactly the amount or the situation, but I think in the right moment you will know the situation,” said Conte regarding Oscar’s impending move.
“The Chinese market is a danger for all teams in the world. Not only for Chelsea but all teams.”
Barkley talks not a priority – Koeman
Everton boss Ronald Koeman is planning contract talks with Ross Barkley in the new year but insists tying the playmaker down to a new deal is not a priority.
Leighton Baines, Gareth Barry and defender Mason Holgate all signed new terms yesterday, keeping them at the club until 2018, 2019 and 2021 respectively.
Barkley’s contract runs out in 2018 and the 23-year-old has been linked with a move to Tottenham.
Koeman said: “We know it’s about 18 months of contract. I think it’s not the priority now.
“In the new year, we will have talks about his situation and about his future. But the priority now is playing and winning and we’ll see what happens in January.”
Gundogan suffers cruciate injury
Manchester City’s Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury, the club said yesterday.
He is likely to be ruled out for several months.
“It’s so difficult for him, it’s sad for him,” manager Pep Guardiola said. “We’re going to miss him a lot, but that’s football.
“Now we need him to feel we are there and wait and come back safe. He’s going to be operated (on) and be back as soon as possible.”
La Liga celebrates fall in unpaid wages
Efforts to financially shore up Spanish clubs were hailed by La Liga’s body yesterday with the announcement that no player in Spain’s top two divisions had complained of not receiving their wages in the last year.
Players reporting non-payment to the player’s association, the AFE, has been a common occurrence in Spanish soccer in recent years as clubs struggled to cope with the fallout from the country’s deep economic crisis.
Complaints peaked in the 2014/15 season, with 60 players reporting unpaid wages totalling over €7m, although that number fell to six players in 2015/16.
There have been no complaints for this season and none since December 2015.
Benzema trial to go ahead in France
A French court rejected the request of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema to stop a trial over his alleged attempt to blackmail fellow French international Mathieu Valbuena using a sex video, a judicial source said.
The affair involved phone-recorded sex footage that could prove embarrassing for Valbuena, according to sources close to the inquiry. Benzema’s name came up during phone taps in relation to the inquiry opened last July.
Benzema has denied any wrongdoing.
The appeals court in Versailles also overturned an earlier court decision in favour of former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse in the same affair, sending his case back to a judge who may decide to place him under formal investigation.
Sissoko getting used to Pochettino’s style
Midfielder Moussa Sissoko said he was not hurt by criticism from Mauricio Pochettino but instead used his manager’s comments to motivate himself to find his feet at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 27-year-old has struggled to establish himself at Spurs since his £30 million arrival in August and Pochettino suggested the France international has yet to meet his expectations.
“For me the manager said what he thinks,” Sissoko said. “For me it was the same, just to come into training and try to give my best. I know what I can do for the team. I know what is my level.
“I just needed some time to be ready on everything because it was a big change for me. Now I understand everything and everything is better for me and that’s good.”
River Plate lift Copa Argentina
Striker Lucas Alario scored a hat-trick as River Plate twice came from behind to beat Rosario Central 4-3 in a riveting Copa Argentina final in San Juan on Thursday.
River’s first title in the knockout competition gave them a place in next year’s Copa Libertadores, the elite South American cup competition they won for the third time in 2015.
Defeat was a bitter pill for Central who have now finished as runners up for three years running, having lost the final to Huracan in 2014 and Boca Juniors last year.