Swansea's Andre Ayew still subject of Sunderland interest

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Sunderland are stepping up their interest in Swansea striker Andre Ayew as manager Sam Allardyce attempts to bolster his squad for the fight against relegation, Press Association Sport reports.<br /><br />The Black Cats first registered their interest in the Ayew, 26, earlier this month, but were swiftly rebuffed with the Swans insisting their summer signing was simply not for sale.<br /><br />PA Sport sources on Wearside played down suggestions that the club has returned with an offer of £10 million plus Italian striker Fabio Borini, although it is reported by the news agency there has been further contact and that their interest is firm and ongoing.<br /><br />It remains to be seen whether or not the Welsh outfit are prepared to do business after all with new boss Francesco Guidolin, a compatriot of Borini, having presided over victory in his first game at Everton on Sunday to boost hopes of avoiding the drop.<br /><br />Former Marseille man Ayew scored the decisive goal in that game, his eighth of the season, while Borini, who joined the Black Cats for a fee which could eventually rise to £10m from Liverpool last summer, has managed just two to date.<br /><br />Meanwhile, a Sunderland XI will entertain a Newcastle XI behind closed doors at the Stadium of Light later this week as Allardyce and opposite number Steve McClaren give some of their fringe players and senior men who are short of match fitness a chance to get game-time under their belts.<br /><br />Neither club has a fixture this weekend with both having gone out of the FA Cup at the first attempt.</div>

Swansea's Andre Ayew still subject of Sunderland interest

Sunderland are stepping up their interest in Swansea striker Andre Ayew as manager Sam Allardyce attempts to bolster his squad for the figh...

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Chelsea receive Loic Remy loan enquiry from Newcastle united

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Newcastle have contacted Chelsea about a loan deal for striker Loic Remy, sources have told ESPN FC.<br /><br />The Magpies emerged as the favourites to land Remy after Crystal Palace cooled their interest in the Frenchman.<br /><br />Newcastle have already been busy in this month's transfer window, bringing in Jonjo Shelvey from Swansea, Henri Saviet from Bordeaux and agreeing a fee with Tottenham for Andros Townsend, but Steve McClaren is still keen to bring in a new forward.<br /><br />A host of names have been linked with a move to Newcastle, including West Bromwich Albion's Saido Berahino, but with that deal looking difficult McClaren is ready to switch his focus and try to lure Remy back to St James' Park.<br /><br />Remy, who scored 14 goals during a successful spell on loan at Newcastle from Queens Park Rangers in the 2013-14 season, is thought to be keen on a move away from Chelsea in search of regular first-team football.<br /><br />However, any move for Remy will likely not be finalized until Chelsea complete their proposed loan of striker Alexandre Pato from Corinthians, with sources telling ESPN FC that Brazilian was en route to London on Tuesday afternoon to finalise the deal.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2015%2F1217%2Fr36864_1296x1296_1%2D1.jpg&w=247&h=139&scale=crop&cquality=90&location=origin" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2015%2F1217%2Fr36864_1296x1296_1%2D1.jpg&w=247&h=139&scale=crop&cquality=90&location=origin" /></a></div> <br /></div>

Chelsea receive Loic Remy loan enquiry from Newcastle united

Newcastle have contacted Chelsea about a loan deal for striker Loic Remy, sources have told ESPN FC. The Magpies emerged as the favourites ...

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Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike nears West Ham

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> West Ham United's move for Nigeria international Emmanuel Emenike has moved a step closer after Fenerbahce agreed to loan him out, sources have told ESPN FC.<br /> <br /> The Hammers have made a bid to take Fenerbahce striker Emenike on loan for the rest of the season, but the move needed the agreement of Fenerbahce and Al-Ain as the 28-year-old had been on loan at the United Arab Emirates club.<br /> <br /> Al-Ain have agreed to cut short his loan deal, and sources in Turkey have told ESPN FC that Fenerbahce have agreed to allow Emenike to go out on loan again to West Ham with the option of a permanent deal.<br /> <br /> <br /> West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is looking to add to his striking options before the close of the transfer window with Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho on the sidelines, and the Hammers are hopeful of finalising a move for Emenike.</div>

Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike nears West Ham

West Ham United's move for Nigeria international Emmanuel Emenike has moved a step closer after Fenerbahce agreed to loan him out, sour...

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Arsene Wenger wanted Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Arsene Wenger wanted Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal before Barcelona transferArsene Wenger says he wanted to sign Alexis Sanchez ever since he first saw him play with Udinese, when the forward's energy level hit the Arsenal manager "straight in the face."<br /><br />Wenger finally got his man when he bought Sanchez from Barcelona in 2014 -- after the Spanish club had brought Luis Suarez from Liverpool -- but said in comments posted on Arsenal's Soundcloud account that the Chile international was "always in my mind" since his previous spell in Italy.<br /><br />Asked about his impression from when he first watched Sanchez play, Wenger said: "He was very dynamic, very direct and very straight to the point. He was one of these kinds of players where the energy and the intensity of his energy level hits you straight in the face.<br /><br />Sanchez was Arsenal's top scorer in his first campaign at the Emirates, but missed two months with a hamstring injury this season before making his return in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday -- a result which benefitted the Gunners' Premier League title rivals Leicester and Manchester City.<br /><br />While Sanchez hit the ground running at Arsenal, quickly becoming the focal point of the attack, Wenger said he thought the Chilean struggled to adapt when he first joined Barcelona.<br /><br />When he finally got to work with Sanchez at Arsenal, Wenger was struck by the Chilean's energy levels again, saying: "I think his enthusiasm is absolutely amazing and his desire, and the fact he fears nothing."<br /><br />But managing Sanchez isn't always easy, with Wenger struggling at times to rein in a player who wants to be on the pitch every minute of every game.<br /><br />The Arsenal manager was heavily criticised for starting Sanchez against Norwich in November when he sustained his injury, despite Wenger having admitted before the game that it would be a "gamble" for the Chilean to play.<br /><br />"It's easy and difficult," he added. "It's easy because he's always positive. And difficult because when he needs to be rested you cannot rest him."<br /></div>

Arsene Wenger wanted Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal

Arsene Wenger wanted Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal before Barcelona transferArsene Wenger says he wanted to sign Alexis Sanchez ever since he f...

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Man City ponder Kelechi Iheanacho

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Iheanacho, 19, missed out on selection for the group stage as City had already filled their quota of 17 overseas players in their 25-man squad.<br /><br />It had been suggested the Nigerian, who has impressed since being elevated to the first-team squad this season, could replace the injured Samir Nasri on their roster for the remainder of the competition.<br /><br />But with Nasri -- who has been sidelined since October after thigh muscle and tendon surgery which required nearly 100 stitches -- now expressing hope of returning to training earlier than expected in March, the situation is being monitored.<br /><br />City manager Manuel Pellegrini said: "I have not decided yet but we are thinking about that.<br /><br /><br />City must submit their squad list to competition organisers UEFA by Feb. 2. They face Dynamo Kiev in the last 16 with the first leg in the Ukrainian capital on Feb. 24.</div>

Man City ponder Kelechi Iheanacho

Iheanacho, 19, missed out on selection for the group stage as City had already filled their quota of 17 overseas players in their 25-man sq...

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Manuel Pellegrini: Man City trophy chase boosts

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini admits that Manchester City's busy schedule may give their rivals an advantage in the Premier League title race, but insists chasing trophies on four fronts is good for the club.<br /><br />City play a Capital One Cup semifinal second leg against Everton on Wednesday night before facing Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday.<br /><br />And their Champions League campaign starts again at the end of February when the Blues must complete a 3,000-mile round trip to Ukraine to face Dynamo Kiev in the round of 16.<br /><br />City could potentially play a maximum of 32 games if they were to reach the final of every cup competition and if their FA Cup fixtures were to go to a replay.<br /><br />In contrast, Premier League leaders Leicester City have been knocked out of both the League Cup and FA Cup, and with no European football the Foxes have just their 15 league fixtures to concentrate on.<br /><br />Asked if their rivals have an advantage, Pellegrini told a news conference: "Maybe."<br /><br />City are currently three points behind Leicester at the top of the table and moved above Arsenal into second at the weekend with a 2-2 draw at West Ham United.<br /><br />Pellegrini predicts a close finish in the title race and says whoever is crowned champions will have fewer points than in recent seasons.<br /><br />"It's a very close Premier League -- nobody can take an important advantage against the other teams," he added.<br /><br />"We are still three points from the leaders but we have another 15 games to play -- 45 points is a lot of points. But I think from now until the end will be very close and with less points to win it if you compare it to other seasons."</div>

Manuel Pellegrini: Man City trophy chase boosts

MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini admits that Manchester City's busy schedule may give their rivals an advantage in the Premier League ti...

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English football hurting the Premier League

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Were Jurgen Klopp still the manager of Borussia Dortmund, then he and his players might now be feeling the benefit of a recent winter break in Dubai. Or southern Spain, as was Klopp's chosen destination.<br /><br />Dortmund's hiatus ran from Dec. 19 to Jan. 23, a period in which Klopp's Liverpool played nine matches across three competitions. After drawing 2-2 in the FA Cup at Exeter on Jan. 8, Klopp expressed amazement at the concept of a replay.<br /><br />"I cannot believe we have another game," he said, having been used to drawn German cup games being decided by penalty kicks.<br /><br />Tuesday's Capital One Cup semifinal second leg against Stoke will be Liverpool's 36th game of the season, which is more than most other teams in Europe's top five leagues aside from Barcelona who were at the FIFA Club World Cup and have also played 36. Dortmund, for example, stand at 31. A second cup competition is also new to Klopp; besides England, only French football features a League Cup.<br /><br />The overall workload of Premier League teams significantly outweighs that of their counterparts in Germany, Italy, France, and Spain. Beyond the Bundesliga's five-week interlude, from Dec. 20 clubs in Ligue 1 got to rest their legs until Jan. 8, while Serie A sides had two fewer days off and those in La Liga were idle until Dec. 30.<br /><br />With the Bundesliga featuring just 18 teams, seasons contain 74 fewer matches than their Premier League equivalent. Moreover, the absence of a Christmas schedule contrasts to England, in which top-division clubs had to negotiate three games between Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, before a New Year fixture list that will incorporated two midweek rounds by Feb. 3.<br /><br />Such an onerous workload has forced Klopp to select teams from a collection of the walking wounded, plus, in the FA Cup, teenagers and fringe players.<br /><br />"Hamstring is the s--- word of the year for me," Klopp said on Dec. 26 after Divock Origi pulled up against Leicester City. By Jan. 5, after Dejan Lovren and Philippe Coutinho had limped off at Stoke, the Anfield manager was bemoaning the loss of six players to that same injury: "Maybe we will have to change our training methods," he said. "I am responsible, certainly."<br /><br />Trying to implement high-intensity "gegenpressing" football for three games a week has had Klopp reaching for the drawing board, but he is not alone in bemoaning the rigours of the English game. Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce was scathing after captain John O'Shea had limped from the field with a recurrence of a calf problem on Jan. 9.<br /><br />"I have got to be careful about spouting my mouth off here," Allardyce told reporters at the Emirates. "I have already upset a lot of people but it is only about how passionately I feel about it. I am very professional at what I do, I know what I am talking about and I know what the players are going through because I'm a front-liner.<br /><br />"I look them in the eye every day and I can see all the injuries everybody is picking up year after year, year after year," he continued. "But players are asking for more and more [money] and perhaps there is a bigger demand -- but you can only take so much."<br /><br />Allardyce, who also argued that four days is the minimum time a player needs to recover between games, was making a familiar complaint: that English football might be the richest around, but its concurrent status as the most physically demanding in European football (where players habitually run more than 10K a match) risks the physical well-being of its participants.<br /><br />Dr. Mark Faghy is a tutor in exercise physiology at Loughborough University and has worked as a consultant sports scientist at Premier League and Football League clubs. He explains the science behind the overworked Premier League player.<br /><br />"We know from training and competition studies that physically loading the body results in a disturbance in the biochemistry of the body and some performance-related biochemical markers within the body remain elevated for around 72 hours following performance," Faghy tells ESPN FC. "This is essentially the result of physical stress. Working the body in a fatigued state will not result in an optimum performance, which is what some managers refer to when they play midweek or European games and then have to play again very soon. Over a short period this is probably not too much of problem but if this is sustained over the course of a season, and players are not given sufficient rest, you start to develop symptoms of overreaching, which predisposes players to a greater risk of injury."<br /><br />On Dec. 24, Klopp added his voice to the argument for a winter break in an interview with the BBC.<br /><br />"You have too many games, that's for sure," Klopp said. "You have no break, too many tournaments. I think everybody knows that's not the way to be successful."<br /><br />A Football Association source told ESPN FC that there were no immediate plans to abandon FA Cup replays as they are "critical to the current broadcast deals and format of the competition."<br /><br />Equally, the prospect of the Premier League reducing itself seems distant. "There is no appetite from any of the football authorities or clubs to reduce the Premier League in size," a source told ESPN FC. With stadium occupancy at 95.5 percent and a status of being the most-viewed league in world football, there is a reluctance to cut back.<br /><br />Another factor in the fixture logjam is UEFA's scheduling of the Champions League round of 16 stage over four weeks in February and March. Should Premier League, Football League or FA Cup games clash, then the European governing body can hold back a seven-figure "solidarity payment" paid to participating leagues. In England, the Premier League and FA Cup donate that money to the youth development "pot" which funds academy football.<br /><br />Meanwhile, despite Premier League revenues outstripping those of its counterparts, English clubs' performances in European competition has been on the wane since the high watermark of having three Champions League semifinalists in each of the 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.<br /><br />With none of England's participants -- Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City or Arsenal -- surviving beyond the last 16 in 2014-15, those days and the time when English clubs won the European Cup every year from 1977 to 1982 now appear little more than a dream.<br /><br />ESPN FC analyst Steve Nicol, who won the European Cup in 1984 with Liverpool, says the helter-skelter modern-day Premier League style could be a hindrance to European progress.<br /><br />"You would go out full-throttle and you would try to kill the game," he said of Liverpool's 1980s method of success, when a first-team group of no more than 15 players could conquer the continent. "It seems teams today just don't have the capability to do that. It's harder to do today because of the rule change," says Nicol, referencing the 1992 change to the back pass law. "Being able to just give it back to the goalkeeper was a huge advantage in killing the game."<br /><br />Nicol also feels that one kind of progress may be giving rise to the fatigue and injuries that 25-man squads now struggle to cope with.<br /><br />"I think the pitches that the players train and play on is a huge difference these days," he added. "They are rock-hard, and that makes it easier to pass the ball. Some of the pitches we played on would be considered unplayable in today's game, but they were softer, so it's not as hard on you, physically."<br /><br />"The pressure comes from the game itself, where each club will want to field the strongest team possible to give the best opportunity of success," Faghy said. "In a game where the margins for success are growing ever smaller that puts players and teams under pressure to sustain their physical capabilities for longer periods. By contrast, athletes in other sports will typically peak for certain competitions."<br /><br />Taylor adds: "There is a need to check the pressures imposed by TV and the demands for an ever-increasing number of fixtures, but the model we have in place involves too many vested interests that are too entrenched to affect real change."</div>

English football hurting the Premier League

Were Jurgen Klopp still the manager of Borussia Dortmund, then he and his players might now be feeling the benefit of a recent winter break...

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