Cuadrado In Italy To
Finalise Juventus Loan Move
Juan Cuadrado has hailed Juventus as one of Europe’s best
teams, as he arrived in Turin ahead of his medical with the Serie A club on
Tuesday. Juventus are set to confirm Cuadrado as a loan signing from
Chelsea, with the 27-year-old having been linked with a move away from Stamford
Bridge throughout the current transfer window. Fans of Juventus flocked to
Milan Malpensa Airport on Monday to welcome Cuadrado to Italy, and the former
Fiorentina midfielder claimed it was a pleasant surprise. “I didn’t expect
it but it was a great welcome and something that spurs you on to perform
well,” he told Juventus’ website. “Juventus are a great team and one
of the best in Europe. We’ve got everything it takes to fight for the Scudetto
and we hope to defend our title. I’m here to give 100 per cent, work hard and
prepare well for every game.” Cuadrado has played just one game for
Chelsea this season, coming off the bench in their 3-0 loss at Manchester City,
and if his loan deal goes through, he will temporarily depart Stamford Bridge
with only 13 league appearances and four starts. During his time at Fiorentina,
the Colombia international played 85 Serie A matches and scored 20 goals.
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli arrived at AC Milan for a
medical on Tuesday before his return on a one-season loan deal. Balotelli
is taking a pay cut to move back to Milan, with Liverpool also paying some of
his wages. The Italy striker, 25, could make his second debut for the Rossoneri
against Serie A rivals Empoli on Saturday. He scored just one Premier League
goal for Liverpool after a £16m move from Milan in August 2014. He was left out
of the pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia and has been training away
from the first team. The Reds have signed forwards Christian Benteke, Roberto
Firmino and Danny Ings, while Divock Origi has arrived at Anfield after a year
on loan at Lille. It is understood the deal will be an initial €3-million loan,
with an option to buy for €10-million.
Paul Scholes says
Manchester United lack quality after an uninspiring goalless draw at home to
Newcastle United. The Red Devils have seven points from three games, but
they have been unconvincing all season. They were fortunate to escape with any
points against Newcastle on Saturday after Aleksandar Mitrovic hit the woodwork
and Florian Thauvin came close at the end, and former United legend Scholes
says something needs to be done sooner rather than later. “There’s a real
lack of excitement; a lack of quality more than anything,” he said. “It’s
okay having pace on the pitch, which we don’t tend to have, but a real sense of
quality [is lacking] and a bit of urgency. Newcastle, at home, you should be
beating them. If you’re going to win the league, you need to be winning these
types of games.”
Adidas have confirmed
that the new Manchester United kit has reached record sales since its release
on 1 August. Adidas penned a record deal with The Red Devils worth an
astonishing £750-million to take over from Nike. The German sportswear
manufacturers have since revealed that sales on the new jersey have shattered
both their own and the club’s records. Adidas say the launch of the new home
kit delivered over a month’s worth of forecasted sales within the first five
days of its release. Social media posts also received more than 212m content
impressions, while the launch video has been viewed more than two million
times. Adidas are also expected to release the Premier League side’s
third/alternate kit at the end of August.
Manchester City have been dealt a blow with news that
defender Pablo Zabaleta has been ruled out for one month. Zabaleta
faces four weeks on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury during a City
training session. The Argentine right-back sat out the Citizens’ opening two
matches following his duties with the national team at recent Copa America in
Chile. The wing-back position has since been filled by former Arsenal defender
Bacary Sagna, who is likely to continue in that position.
Manchester United
manager Louis van Gaal has again insisted that wantaway goalkeeper David de Gea
will not be allowed to leave the club. The Spanish international has his heart
set on joining Real Madrid, who have so far been unwilling to meet United’s
£25-million valuation of the player. De Gea has less than a year to run on his
contract, but Van Gaal is adamant the Red Devils will not be bullied into
selling. “I think when Manchester United wants a player he shall come,
[apart from] when a club is not selling,” the Dutchman says. “Okay,
then it is the same with us. We are not selling De Gea. It’s the same.”
New Chelsea signing
Pedro admits he was heartbroken to leave Barcelona, but admits he was left with
very little option. The 28-year-old joined Chelsea last week and made an
immediate impact, scoring one and creating another on debut as the Blues beat
West Brom 3-2 on Sunday. Pedro says he always dreamt of retiring at Barcelona,
but realised last season that that would not be the case. “We knew that it
[leaving] was an option at the end of last season,” he said. “I’ve always
wanted playing time and here, it was difficult for me to have that continuity.
Leaving was the best solution and now I am looking forward to a new challenge. I renewed my contract with the idea of
continuing [at Barcelona] for a few more years. That was my wish. I know that
nowhere else will be quite the same; I am leaving the best club in the world.” The
Spanish international seemed dead set to join Manchester United, only for
Chelsea to hi-jack the deal at the last minute. “I was very flattered by the
interest from some of England’s biggest clubs – United, City and Chelsea;
Chelsea were the quickest to get a deal sorted out and closed. There is a real
chance of winning silverware at Chelsea and that was what convinced me and
motivates me.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks to have given up on
signing Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. Benzema squashed talk of
a move on Twitter, saying: “For all those clowns who want to make believe
things at my fans. Here this is my home ! #HalaMadridYNadaMas.” Wenger
later said Real have no intention of selling the Frenchman, who has also been
linked with a move to Manchester United. “That story is dead,” Wenger
said after his side’s entertaining stalemate with Liverpool at the Emirates
Stadium. “That story has always been created every week. When a player has a
contract it’s the club that decides. Real Madrid have said many times they
don’t want to sell him. It’s the same for us when we have a player under
contract.”
Gerard Pique was
handed a four-match ban for his abusive behaviour towards an assistant referee
last Monday. The Spanish centre-back was red-carded early in the second
half of the 1-1 Supercopa de Espana draw with Athletic Bilbao for allegedly
telling the linesman ‘I suck on your wh*re mother’. Barcelona lost the
two-legged tie 5-1 on aggregate. Pique has pleaded his innocence and teammate
Ivan Rakatic has leapt to his defence, but the Spanish Football Federation has
taken a firm stance. The 28-year-old will miss the games against Malaga,
Atletico Madrid and Levante.
Leicester City have
secured a huge coup after completing the signing of Swiss international
midfielder Gokhan Inler from Italian side Napoli. The 31-year-old, who had
been linked with a move to Arsenal and other European clubs for the past few
seasons, says he chose a three-year contract with the Foxes over several other
options.