Jose Mourinho says Tottenham will be “intelligent” in the January transfer window and there will be no quick fixes at the Premier League club.

Mourinho has repeatedly said that he will not be overhauling his squad this month and that any business could be dependent on players leaving.

One player who appears to be on his way out of the club is midfielder Christian Eriksen, whose contact expires in June, but it is not certain he will depart this month.

Mourinho, whose side have stumbled in recent weeks, walked into the club with his eyes wide open and said he was on the same page as chairman Daniel Levy.

“That was very clear for me and is very important for me to understand that before I came,” said the Portuguese boss, who took over from the sacked Mauricio Pochettino in November.

“This is our first transfer window, not the last,” he added. “We are going to have one in the summer, we are going to have one in 2021 January, we are going to have another one in the summer of 2021.

“We are going to have to try to be intelligent and we have to try to make the right decisions, not just for now, but for the development of a cycle.”

Spurs are struggling for numbers ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup trip to Middlesbrough.

Harry Kane, Tanguy Ndombele, Ben Davies, Danny Rose and Hugo Lloris are all injured and many players have played three games over the Christmas period.

Mourinho said he was likely to call on youth at the Riverside but emphasised that such a move did not mean the FA Cup was not important for the eight-time winners.

“Everybody’s going to be involved,” he said. “If you go to our squad and no Rose, no Davies, no Lloris, no Kane. I don’t know if Eric Dier will be ready but he is still to come back.

“When you say no, no, no, no, no you have to say (Oliver) Skipp, (Japhet) Tanganga, (Troy) Parrott, the young boys in.”

Source: AFP

Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana says he has been overlooked by top clubs because he is black.

The 23-year-old is currently in his fourth season with the Eredivisie giants, and has established himself as Cameroon’s No.1 in the past two years.

Onana joined the Barcelona academy in 2010 having come through Samuel Eto’o’s Foundation in his native Cameroon, before linking up with Ajax in 2015.

He enjoyed a breakout season in 2016/17 when he played 46 times as he helped Ajax reach the Europa League final, where they lost 2-0 to Manchester United in Stockholm.

And he says that it was after that season when he was first approached by one of Europe’s elite clubs, only to be told that the colour of his skin could hinder his chances of a transfer.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have extended their lead at the top of the English Premier League to 13 points with a game in hand, after outclassing their second-placed hosts Leicester City 4-0 on Boxing Day.

Liverpool dominated the first half, and went ahead in the 31st minute, when Brazilian Roberto Firmino nodded home a cross at the back post.

Leicester kept the score-line respectable only until the 71st minute, as James Milner set in motion a 3-goal blitz from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.

Firmino then bagged his second of the night, after firing into the top corner, to finish off a beautiful team effort in the 74th minute.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had helped set-up all of his side’s first 3 goals, rounded off the rout by drilling home the 4th from outside the box.

Liverpool now have 52 points from 18 matches, while Leicester are on 39 from 19.

PSG striker Edinson Cavani is poised to move to Atletico Madrid in a transfer deal which could be inked in the coming days, the Marca sports daily reported Monday.

Rumours of a possible move from Paris Saint-Germain have been on the cards for months, but may be imminent, given the Uruguayan forward’s frustration at being left on the bench, the Spanish paper said.

“The transfer could take place in the coming days. In principle, the agreement would be for two-and-a-half seasons, although it is still up for discussion,” it said of Cavani, whose contract with PSG is up in June.

But securing PSG’s agreement for an immediate transfer of their best-ever goal scorer, which would likely happen during the winter transfer window that opens on January 1, would doubtless be subject to much negotiation.

French radio station RMCsport also said Cavani had inked a deal with the Madrid club, and that PSG were “open to the idea of letting Cavani go this winter”.

Although Cavani is currently not a regular PSG starter, the Parisians are likely to need him from February when they enter the decisive phase for Ligue 1, the Champions League and domestic Cup action, Marca said.

Source: AFP

Mikel Arteta has been given the job of reviving the fortunes of Arsenal after he was appointed head coach of the English Premier League side on Friday.

The 37-year-old Spaniard, who played more than 100 games for the Gunners between 2011-16, signed a three-and-a-half year contract and ends a three-year stay as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.

Arteta, who will be officially presented to the press later on Friday at 1700 GMT, replaces compatriot Unai Emery, who was sacked last month.

The former midfielder, who will sit in the stands for Saturday’s match against another of his former clubs Everton, faces a massive challenge, with Arsenal having won just once in 12 matches — beating West Ham under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg.

“This is a huge honour. Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world,” Arteta said in a statement.

“We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game and that’s been made very clear to me in my discussions with Stan and Josh Kroenke (owner and club director, respectively) and the senior people from the club.

“We all know there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that but I am confident we’ll do it.

“I’m realistic enough to know it won’t happen overnight but the current squad has plenty of talent and there is a great pipeline of young players coming through from the academy.”

Head of football Raul Sanllehi said the club had interviewed other candidates before opting to pursue Arteta.

“We met several top-class candidates and Mikel stood out to every single one of us as the perfect person for us,” he said in a club statement.

“Mikel understands Arsenal Football Club and what it means to our fans around the world. We look forward to him getting down to work and bringing the best out of our squad as we work to get our season back on track.”

Source: AFP