Arsenal dealt massive injury blow as star forced off on international duty

Arsenal were dealt a massive injury blow when Martin Odegaard limped off on Wednesday night.

The midfielder, 22, was withdrawn at half-time of Norway’s 3-0 win over Gibraltar with an apparent ankle problem.

And it leaves Gunners boss Mikel Arteta sweating on the fitness of one of his brightest stars in recent months.

Odegaard joined on loan from Real Madrid with a view to making his move permanent.

And his form in a red shirt has gone down well with Gunners fans.

REVEALED: How Thomas Tuchel’s problem with Borussia Dortmund could scuttle Erling Haaland’s Chelsea move

Thomas Tuchel’s sour relationship with Borussia Dortmund could dent Chelsea’s chances of signing Erling Haaland, in a boost to Man Utd.

Bild claim the German left Dortmund on bad terms and club chiefs are reluctant to sell to a side coached by their former manager.

The report adds that it’s ‘very unlikely’ the Bundesliga outfit will allow Haaland to seal a move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Although Tuchel won a German Cup at Dortmund, his time there is best-remembered for the bust-ups he had.

There were disagreements with senior players, including Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Roman Weidenfeller.

While Tuchel also clashed with former chief scout Sven Mislantat, who would later work for Arsenal.

He was then sacked by Dortmund with chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke saying he was ‘worn out’ dealing with the manager.

Thomas Tuchel sweats over Jorginho’s injury ahead of Chelsea’s crucial matches after international break

Chelsea have suffered another injury blow after Italy manager Roberto Mancini confirmed Jorginho is out with a knee problem.

The Blues midfielder has been a first-team regular since Thomas Tuchel’s arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Jorginho didn’t feature in the midweek Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid due to suspension, but, according to football.london, the 29-year-old wouldn’t have been fit to take on the La Liga leaders after picking up a knock in the goalless draw with Leeds United.

The midfielder wasn’t named as an injury concern by Thomas Tuchel in his pre-match or post-match press conferences, but his absence from the 38-man Italy squad was an indicator that the midfielder was dealing with an injury.

The Blues boss is reportedly bothered about Jorginho’s injury, but he’s hopeful the midfielder could recover before the Champions League first leg encounter against Porto.

In his latest press conference, Roberto Mancini lifted the lid on why Jorginho was omitted for the country’s World Cup qualifiers.

He said: “As regards to the midfielders, we are really in a bit of difficulty in the centre.

“We’re missing Jorginho, who wasn’t well. He’d taken a knock to the knee and he wasn’t fit to play in these games so we didn’t risk him.”

Jorginho’s club teammate Emerson Palmieri was called up to the squad while Chelsea will hope no other player suffers an injury during the break.

Man United join Chelsea, Barcelona, others in Sergio Aguero chase as Premier League legend supports move

Manchester City could see Sergio Aguero head straight across town if they don’t renew his contract, Paul Ince has warned.

PSG, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea have all been linked with the Argentine, 32, and Manchester United are the latest club tipped to make an offer.

Former Red Devils midfielder Ince, 53, has told the club to consider Aguero when his contract expires in the summer.

Such a shock swoop could emulate Sir Alex Ferguson’s capture of Eric Cantona from Leeds during Ince’s time at Old Trafford.

He told Ladbrokes: “Sergio Aguero might be leaving Man City, why shouldn’t United make a move for him?

“You could see it now. If he wanted to stay in the Premier League and he’s living in Manchester, then I don’t think it would be a bad thing at all if they went and got Aguero.

“It can happen, who knows? You’ve got to ask the question if you’re United because you never know.”

Stunning Chelsea 2021/2022 home kit leaked, resembles Blues 2003/05 away kit

Chelsea fans could be given fond memories of their 2003/05 away kit, which was worn by legends of the game like Didier Drogba, Hernan Crespo and Frank Lampard… and Claude Makelele, Petr Cech, and pretty much every player on the club’s books at that time.

A proposed kit for next year has been circulating on Twitter, which features the same design, but with a revamp. The updated badge, new kit manufacturer and new sponsor. It’s unclear if this would be the away shirt, third shirt or is genuine at all, but Chelsea fans will be crossing their fingers that it is…

Ordinarily, home kits are announced at the tail end of the season prior to them becoming active, just to give them a little added promo. The rest don’t tend to be confirmed until closer to the start of the next campaign, so it’ll likely be some time before we receive official confirmation as to this particular shirt’s legitimacy.

Manchester City close in on “next Neymar” as Guardiola is desperate to sign Brazilian wonderkid

Manchester City are reportedly locked in talks with Brazilian wonderkid Kayky for months, and are expected to sign the winger in a deal that could be worth as much as £21.5million.

A product of the Fluminense academy, which has produced the likes of Real Madrid legend Marcelo, Liverpool midfielder Fabinho and Manchester United full-backs Rafael and Fabio – big things are expected of Kayky.

Dubbed the ‘next Neymar’ in his homeland, the forward is blessed with pace and close-control.

It’s no wonder Pep Guardiola is desperate to add the 17-year-old to City’s ranks to bolster their attack.

With an ability to frighten his full-back through trickery and his pace, Kayky has drawn comparisons to Neymar, albeit a left-footed one.

He plays mostly on the right, where he cuts in and drives towards the opposition’s defence.

And he also has an eye for goal, as proven by his scoring stats last season.

“Kayky is a player who stands out a lot for his technical quality, especially with regard to one-on-ones, and also in his quality in front of goal,” Fluminense’s U17 coach, Guilherme Torres, told Goal.

Erling Haaland opens up on comparison with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Erling Haaland has revealed his effort as he is working ‘every day to improve’ in order to attain level reached by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Borussia Dortmund star spoke to Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet about his current form and the comparisons with Juventus talisman Ronaldo and Barcelona hero Messi.

“I think only of myself, to improve my game every day,” he said. “I don’t need to talk about Messi and Ronaldo, probably the best players in history.

“I still need a lot to reach them.”

The 20-year-old, who was targeted by Juventus before his move to BVB in January 2020, has continued to impress in 2020-21.

The former RB Salzburg forward has scored 33 goals in 31 competitive games this season and has so far scored 20 goals in 14 Champions League games with Salzburg and Dortmund.

AC Milan set to sign Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori permanently

Chelsea star Fikayo Tomori is reportedly set to join AC Milan in a permanent £27million deal.

The Italian club have decided to activate a clause to clinch the defender’s signing after impressing on loan.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan will sign Tomori on a permanent deal.

The defender will reportedly sign a five-year deal with the Italian side to bring his time at Chelsea to an end.

Man United legend identifies Blues star doing Tuchel’s dirty work, reveals what has changed at Chelsea since Lampard exit

Rio Ferdinand believes a change in ethos and a rebuilding of relationships with experienced players has been the ‘big difference’ for Thomas Tuchel compared to Frank Lampard’s reign as Chelsea boss.

Tuchel, hired to replace Lampard in January, remains unbeaten during his time as Chelsea manager, guiding the club back inside the top-four of the Premier League.

He has also taken them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and, perhaps most impressively, the quarter-finals of the Champions League – beating La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid 3-0 on aggregate.

Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England centre-back, has been hugely impressed by Tuchel’s start to life at Stamford Bridge and how he has created a team who are tough to beat.

“It’s down to coaching on the training pitch, 100%,’ Ferdinand told Vibe with FIVE, via the Metro.

“Being able to translate your ideas and what you need from individuals and as a collective and doing that on the TV screen in the classroom and getting it out on the pitch in training sessions.”

The former England international identified N’Golo Kante as the key player for Tuchel.

Ferdinand added: “One of the key things is having Kante central in midfield. The amount of balls he’s won back for that team to maintain possession and to maintain position on the pitch has been phenomenal.

“I think bringing experience back into the team and giving them more responsibility has been a big difference to Frank’s.

“Frank definitely went with the younger players and I think that knocked a few of the older players’ noses out of joint and they may have reacted negatively towards that.

“That created a problem. But these players have come back in – Tuchel has rounded up the experienced player and told them, you’re here, you’re my mainstay and the younger players you’re going to be a part of that as well.

“But the older players, don’t worry, you’re with me and they’ve all bought back in after not feeling a part of it before.

“I think it’s disappointing a little bit from a professional point of view, you’re thinking how would I react? I wouldn’t be happy but I wouldn’t try and destabilise stuff.

“The murmurings coming out of things were trying to be destabilised by certain players, whether that’s true or not remains to be seen – it’ll come out in the wash.

“You’d hope that wasn’t the case. But tactically he’s got them, he wants his team to be hard to beat, hard to play against. Hard agressive team.

“They lose the ball, everyone gets back behind the ball, there’s an intensity, an understanding that’s the way we want to play, that’s the way we are.

“Frank the team was a bit more fluid going forward and they scored more goals but they conceded more goals.

“He thought I’ve got players that can nick me a result a 1-0 or a 2-0 on the counterattack or at a moment comes in the game, they’ll score us a goal, but I’m not conceding goals. That’s how it’s played out for him, it’s been amazing really.”

Porto hero blasts Chelsea stars, tells Portuguese club’s players “to die on the pitch” in quarter-final tie

Chelsea stars have been slammed for ‘celebrating’ being drawn against Porto in the Champions League.

The Blues will face the Portuguese side in the quarter-finals after Sergio Conceicao’s team knocked out Juventus.

Thomas Tuchel has warned his stars against complacency when the teams meet next month, but Porto legend Paulo Futre learned of a different reaction.

The 55-year-old claimed the Premier League side already thought they had qualified for the next round after the draw, and has called on his old team to ‘sweat blood’ to win the tie.

He told Portugal’s CMTV, via Record: “It’s in the English press and I called later to confirm. Porto players have to run like never before in these two games.

“They think they have already won the tie. They celebrated!

“When I spoke to the person who told me, I was disgusted and would give anything to play against Chelsea.

“Porto’s players have to die on the pitch, [Chelsea] think they are already in the semi-finals.

“They celebrated in the morning when they saw that Porto were drawn against them. [Porto] can qualify, but they have to sweat blood.”

Futre knows what it takes to go all the way in the competition, having won the European Cup with the Portuguese giants in 1987.

The former winger also won two Primeira Liga titles in his three years with the club.

Despite Futre’s claims, Chelsea figures have been keen to distance themselves from the favourites tag ahead of the tie.