Falcao under intense pressure to perform Forlan believe

Former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan has sympathy for Radamel Falcao over his problems at Old Trafford.

Forlan believes Falcao has been put under too much pressure to perform since returning from his knee injury.

"There was pressure on him to make it back for the World Cup last summer with Colombia," Forlan said in his column in The Nation. "Maybe too much, it was unrealistic.

"Falcao had played very little football when he signed for Manchester United, the world's greatest football club.

"Because Falcao had built this huge reputation and because he was earning a lot of money, great things were expected, but it was never going to be straightforward.

"Nobody comes back from a serious injury and is the same after a month or even three months. Psychologically, you need to build your confidence back up and you hope there are no complications. Even in a settled side it’s hard."

Jose Mourinho could make Real return

The agent of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says he could return to former club Real Madrid.

Jorge Mendes admitted that in the world of football, anything could happen.

He explained: "Mourinho's return to Madrid? We must asked Florentino [Perez]. Mourinho is very happy at Chelsea and Perez is happy with Ancelotti. But that's football and he could return to Real Madrid.

"This is the best. Mourinho is different off the field. I know him from his time at Barcelona with [Sir Bobby] Robson. I began to represent him when he was in Porto."

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Arsenal chose Emirates stadium over signing of Cristiano Ronaldo

The agent of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo says Manchester Unitedbeat Arsenal to the former Sporting CP star due the Gunners' commitment to a new stadium at the time.

The Telegraph reports the new biography of Jorge Mendes claims that Arsenal missed out on Ronaldo because they failed to meet the asking price, and that the amount they could commit was compromised by their move from Highbury to Ashburton Grove.

The book has been written with Mendes’s approval and support and is to be released in English later this year under the title The Agent One, a reference to another of his most famous clients, Jose Mourinho.

Mendes says: “There was a moment in which I really thought he was going to Arsenal. David Dein is a spectacular person but, with the construction of their stadium, they were left with very little money and it wasn’t possible.”

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Pogba: Llorente my Spanish teacher

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba says he's happy with life in Turin.

Pogba has been linked with Real Madrid and Manchester United this month.

"Turin is very calm, and it’s good for me to relax and to focus,” Pogba explained.

“I like to sit and watch TV series like The Walking Dead with [Patrice] Evra, who is my Uncle Pat. Just like in Manchester [United] there’s the French group.

“Then there’s Fernando Llorente, I see him a lot. He’s my Spanish teacher.

“Sometimes we go to eat with the team, and I love spending time with them. I think it’s a good thing which helps the squad stay united and that’s very important.

“I’m find in Turin, I think it’s a city which keeps you focus on the job of playing football.

“In Milan there are too many things to do. There are many restaurants, there’s fashion week… many things to do.”

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Ancelotti want Sergio Ramos stay

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti insists Sergio Ramos must stay.

It's emerged Ramos turned down a new contract offer from Real this week.

"I don't think that it's affecting Ramos' performances. As a player he always tries his hardest, he's motivated and concentrated," said Ancelotti.

"I don't see him dropping off. I see a player who is only growing in stature within the team. I don't think that it's something that bothers him."

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Scholes: This is tough! Liverpool were brilliant

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has paid tribute to Liverpool.

Scholes branded Liverpool as "brilliant" for their Capital One Cup draw with Chelsea.

He wrote in the London Evening Standard: "It is only fair to give credit when it is due and, having criticised Liverpool this season, I have to say I thought they played very well in the second half against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final on Tuesday.

"I would go further than that: at times they were brilliant.

"They looked to me like an energetic, aggressive team. This was their ninth game undefeated so clearly they have been playing better for some time but I would put this one down as their best performance of the season so far, given the quality of the opposition. They could have won it. They probably should have won it."

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Man Utd were Playing long ball at Cambridge

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has defended their performance for the 0-0 draw with FA Cup opponents Cambridge United.

The Reds controlled the majority of possession but could not break down a stubborn defence that was cheered on by a raucous home crowd at the Abbey Stadium. Speaking to MUTV after the match, van Gaal offered his assessment of a disappointing 0-0 draw.

“I was very disappointed at half-time because we made the same error against Yeovil Town and Queens Park Rangers,” the boss explained. “We played in the same style of play [as the opposition] and you don't have to do that.

"In the second half we played much better, we built up the game from behind and played no more long balls. Then we could have scored but we didn't so now we have to play again.

“I know in these matches every aspect of a game is against you. The crowd is against you - that is nice I think - but also the pitch and also the defensive organisation of the opponent. Everything you can imagine is against you.

"Cambridge are the weaker team - everybody knows that - and you have to solve that problem [of how to beat them]. You cannot always solve that problem and I have seen that a lot of times. But fortunately we are still in the FA Cup. We have to play at home and we have to beat them.”

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Expect a better Andy Murray

Grigor Dimitrov expects a tougher test from Andy Murray at the Australian Open on Sunday than when he ended the Briton's Wimbledon reign in July.

The 23-year-old Bulgarian, seeded 10th, won their fourth-round tie at the All England Club in straight sets, with Murray, 27, well below his best.

"That day it was not him out there. I think we all know that," said Dimitrov.

"You hardly ever see top players feel really flat early on in a match. It's a different scenario this time."

Murray made 37 errors as he lost in a little over two hours on Centre Court, and Dimitrov said afterwards that he had known from the knock-up that all was not well.

The Scot was still searching for his very best tennis following back surgery, and had just begun working with coach Amelie Mauresmo following the departure of Ivan Lendl.

Both those issues are long since resolved, and Dimitrov added: "I think he has a lot to look forward to.

"Adding up the new team, it's all fresh. I think it's going to give him a bit more excitement to compete, which I'm certainly aware of.

"But at the same time, I feel that I'm pretty stable around me as well. The only thing I can do is get out there and play my tennis."

Murray, 27, holds a 4-2 lead over Dimitrov in previous meetings and won impressively when the pair last met at the Paris Masters indoor event in November.

That result helped the Briton, seeded sixth in Melbourne, put the disappointment of his Wimbledon defeat behind him.

"I try to look forward," Murray told BBC Sport. "It happens in every job, every part of life - sometimes you have bad days.

"I don't feel like I played my best tennis that day. The first week of Wimbledon I played some really good tennis, it was just unfortunate.

"I've trained hard, I've prepared well to get ready for this event and this year. I feel like I've played some good tennis so far. Hopefully I'll do the same on Sunday."

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Ref. bbc sports

Cambridge Utd forced a Febuary show with Man Utd

Cambridge United have set up a dream trip to Old Trafford after holding Manchester United to a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup.

The League Two outfit defended stoutly at Abbey Stadium on Friday night in the fourth round of the famous cup competition to force a stalemate in front of just under 8,000 fans in Cambridgeshire.

Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils endured a tough night against Richard Money’s U’s despite having the lions’ share of possession but could not breach the defence of the lowest ranked team remaining in the cup.

Cambridge, however, were not to be bullied by the 11-time champions and did everything in their power not to be outclassed by United who currently sit fourth on the Premier League table.

Goalkeeper Chris Dunn was to be thanked though for a brilliant performance in denying at least six shots on target from van Gaal’s side, particularly in injury-time when keeping out efforts from Robin van Persieand Angel Di Maria.

Cambridge will be proud of their showing against their much more fancied rivals and will now relish the opportunity to play at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ during the week beginning February 2.

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January Transfer Table

Check out the latest club-by-club guide to all the Barclays Premier League transfers for the January window.

The list below includes all deals completed by the end of Friday, January 23.

The winter transfer window opened on January 3 and will close at 11pm BST on February 2.

*Includes loan moves

ARSENAL

Ins:

Krystian Bielik (Legia Warsaw, POL – £2m)

Outs:

Lukas Podolski (Inter Milan, ITA – loan)
Yaya Sanogo (Crystal Palace, loan)
Benik Afobe (Wolves – undisclosed)
Matt Macey (Accrington Stanley – loan)

ASTON VILLA

Ins:

Carles Gil (Valencia, SPN – £3.2m)

Outs:

Darren Bent (Derby County – loan)
Gary Gardner (Nottingham Forest – loan)
Jordan Graham (Wolves – undisclosed)
Daniel Johnson (Preston North End – undisclosed)

BURNLEY

Ins:

Michael Keane (Manchester United – £1.9m)

Outs:

CHELSEA

Ins:

Outs:

Mark Schwarzer (Leicester City – free)
Marko Marin (Anderlecht, BEL – loan)
Tomas Kalas (Middlesbrough – loan)
Nathaniel Chalobah (Reading – loan)
Lewis Baker (Shieffield Wednesday – loan)
Todd Kane (Nottingham Forest – loan)
John Swift (Swindon Town – loan)
Alex Kiwomya (Barnsley – loan)

CRYSTAL PALACE

Ins:

Yaya Sanogo (Arsenal – loan)

Outs:

Andrew Johnson (released)
Zeki Fryers (Rotherham United – loan)
Jake Gray (Cheltenham Town – loan)
Lewis Price (Crawley Town – loan)
Jimmy Kebe (released)

EVERTON

Ins:

Outs:

Hallam Hope (Bury – undisclosed)
Mason Springthorpe (Fleetwood Town – loan)
Chris Long (Brentford – loan)

HULL CITY

Ins:

Outs:

LEICESTER CITY

Ins:

Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea – free)
Andrej Kramaric (HNKR Rijeka, CRO – £9.5m)

Outs:

Jack Barmby (Rotherham United – loan)
Tom Hopper (Scunthorpe United – loan)
Callum Elder (Mansfield Town – loan)
Adam Dawson (Bristol Rovers – loan)

LIVERPOOL

Ins:

Outs:

Oussama Assaidi (Al-Ahli, UAE – £4.75m)
Suso (AC Milan, ITA – undisclosed)
Kevin Stewart (Cheltenham – loan)
Lloyd Jones (Cheltenham – loan)
Jack Dunn (Cheltenham – loan)
Connor Randall (Shrewsbury Town – loan)

MANCHESTER CITY

Ins:

Wilfried Bony (Swansea City – £28m)

Outs:

Matija Nastasic (Schalke, GER – loan)
Sinan Bytyqi (SC Cambuur, NED – loan)

MANCHESTER UNITED

Ins:

Victor Valdes (unattached – free)

Outs:

Michael Keane (Burnley – £1.9m)
Sam Johnstone (Preston North End – loan)
Ben Pearson (Barnsley – loan)

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Ins:

Outs:

Hatem Ben Arfa (Nice, FRA – free)

QPR

Ins:

Mauro Zarate (West Ham United – loan)
Ryan Manning (Galway United – free)

Outs:

SOUTHAMPTON

Ins:

Eljero Elia (Werder Bremen, GER – loan)

Outs:

Artur Boruc (AFC Bournemouth – loan)

STOKE CITY

Ins:

Philipp Wollscheid (Bayer Leverkusen, GER – loan)

Outs:

Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union, USA – undisclosed)
Ryan Shotton (Derby County – undisclosed)
George Waring (Barnsley – loan)

SUNDERLAND

Ins:

Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC, USA – undisclosed)

Outs:

Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC, USA – undisclosed)
Scott Harrison (Hartlepool – loan)

SWANSEA CITY

Ins:

Nelson Oliveira (Benfica, POR – loan)
Matt Grimes (Exeter City – undisclosed)
Kyle Naughton (Tottenham – undisclosed)

Outs:

Wilfried Bony (Manchester City – £28m)
Rory Donnelly (Tranmere Rovers – loan)
Ryan Hedges (Leyton Orient – loan)

TOTTENHAM

Ins:

Outs:

Kyle Naughton (Swansea City – undisclosed)
Milos Veljkovic (Charlton Athletic – loan)
Grant Hall (Blackpool – loan)
Dominic Ball (Cambridge United – loan)

WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Ins:

Outs:

Bradley Garmston (Gillingham – loan)
Luke Daniels (Scunthorpe United – undisclosed)

WEST HAM UNITED

Ins:

Doneil Henry (Apollon Limassol, CYP – £1.44m)

Outs:

Mauro Zarate (QPR – loan)
Ricardo Vaz Te (released)
Pal McCallum (Portsmouth – loan)

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De Gea's agent hits at possible Utd exit

The agent of David de Gea has indicated that his client could potentially leave Manchester United.

The 24-year old goalkeeper is being linked with a summer move to Spanish giants Real Madrid once his contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of the season and so far he has failed to commit himself to United.

Regarding his future with the Red Devils, de Gea’s representative Jorge Mendes remained open to any sort of possibility for the former Atletico Madrid young gun.

“David is amazing, he’s brilliant. He’s a Man United player and has a contract there,” Mendes told Marca.

“You have to respect that but things change every five minutes.”

Adding further speculation to de Gea’s career at Old Trafford is the fact that Louis van Gaal signed former Barcelona number one Victor Valdes on a free transfer earlier this month.

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Brendan Roggers insists he wants to keep Johnson, Lucas

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers doesn't want to lose Glen Johnson nor Lucas Leiva.

Rodgers has ruled out letting either player leave Merseyside and has insisted they still have a role to play at the club.

He said: "We can't have three or four leaving next season. The intention will be to keep everyone, partly because of the mix in the group.

"Steven [Gerrard] will obviously be a loss, when you are losing someone of that calibre of man and player it would be a loss to any club, but you move on.

"For the younger players to develop their potential they are going to need that seniority around them. You can't just have a whole group of young players.

"Glen Johnson we want to keep, Lucas we want to keep."

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Be patient with Falcao, Pekerman tell Utd

Colombia boss Jose Pekerman is confident Radamel Falcao will prove a success with Manchester United.

Falcao has failed to hit the heights expected of him since completing a season-long loan switch from Monaco on the final day of the summer transfer window.

"It's a difficult period for him, but he's a proven player with regard to his mentality and he'll keep on working hard," Pekerman told Caracol Radio.

"I'm sure that this [difficult period] will just be temporary and he will come through it, I don't have any doubt.

"The most important thing is that he is well [after his injuries].

"Sometimes these situations are not easy... it's a shame because he's a lad we want to be playing regularly as he's a great player, but I expect it will sort itself out soon."

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Louis van Gaal is fed-up with critics

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is fed-up with criticism from former players.

Old Trafford legend Gary Neville believes United are "too slow" and "predictable" when they play three centre-backs.

And former striker Michael Owen claimed Van Gaal's men were not functioning properly as a team in the 3-5-2 formation.

But Van Gaal has dismissed the criticism from the United old boys.

He said: "The discussion about the system is coming so it is ridiculous.

"I have to communicate with my players and observe my players and analyse my players and my team and my opponent and the quality of my opponent and then I have to make a decision with my staff.

"But I cannot hear or listen to what the media are writing or what other people are saying or writing.

"They are never at the training ground and not attending the meetings.

"My staff is attending the meetings and my players so I have to work with them and a board that believes in the manager and these players."

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Costa admit, It will be a dream come true

Shakhtar Donetsk star Douglas Costa admits he wants to join Chelsea.

The Blues are currently working on a deal to bring the Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder to Stamford Bridge before the close of the winter transfer window.

Costa, 24, has made it clear he is keen on a move to the current Premier League leaders.

"It would be a dream to play for Chelsea," he reportedly told Globo Esporte.

"It's a unique chance. I will try to negotiate."

Man Utd, Chelsea target Reus makes verbal agreement with Real Madrid

Real Madrid have reportedly taken a step closer to signing Marco Reusfrom Borussia Dortmund.

Reports in Spain suggest that Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti has obtained a medical report of the 25-year old German winger who is the subject of frenzied interest from around Europe.

Former Borussia Monchengladbach ace Reus is on the radar of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain while Premier League quartet Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have all been heavily linked.

However, it appears as though 23-time Germany international Reus may be making his to the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season after it became apparent that he made a verbal agreement to join the reigning Champions League winners in the summer.

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Take it easy on Adebayor, Poxhettino tell fans

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has implored fans to rein in their negativity towards Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Togolese striker has been the subject of boos and jeers from Spurs supporters in his past two outings which have been his first pieces of action in nine weeks after being sidelined through injury, illness and a trip back home to tend to family matters.

Adebayor commented in November that perhaps it is easier for Tottenham to play away from north London as the home fans place too much pressure on the players at White Hart Lane which is sure to have brought about the less than desired attention but Pochettino wants it to stop.

“I think this is the best because all players need to feel the support from the stands from our supporters,” he said ahead of the weekend’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Leicester City.

“I think it’s better for him and for the team. We always need to create a great atmosphere to try to get success.”

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