Everton manager Roberto Martinez has confirmed to the media in England that he is very close to pulling off the signing of Belgian youngster David Henen.
The 18 year old youngster, a product of the famed Anderlecht youth academy, spent last season on loan with the B team of AS Monaco and amid interest from several top European clubs including Manchester United and Arsenal, Roberto Martinez is on the verge of pulling off a sensational transfer coup for the Belgian starlet. (more…)
Chicago Fire’s Harry Shipp has been one of the impressive players in the MLS this season. Even though Chicago Fire have been struggling in the decision of late with just two wins out of the 14 matches, the form of Harry Shipp has been positive news for the club. Shipp scored numerous goals and created more through assists at collegiate games, but he was expected to go through a period of adjustment after moving to Chicago Fire. This has not been required for the 22-year-old, as he has started the season on fire with five goals and four assists.
Shipp says that his form with his new club is certainly not surprising because he always had been confident about doing well when he signed for Chicago Fire. Manager Frank Yallop has also not been taking the pressure of the young shoulders by keeping him out of some matches. Instead, he has been thrust into action like every other player in this team. Even though the 22-year-old has been receiving a lot of praise on the manager and players, he says that he will not start working hard and improving.
He has revealed that his game is based upon idols like Thierry Henry, who continue to be a massive influence in his career. “So I think once I was able to do that and gain the trust and focus on getting better and learning and try to improve my game more and more every day, try to make an offensive impact but also work on cleaning up things defensively. Just take the last [league] game against Seattle as a perfect example where I scored two goals and we lost the game [3-2],” said the 22-year-old.
Chicago Fire are down near the bottom of the Eastern conference table, but will be hoping for an improvement in results.
New York City appear to be building a very strong team after they managed to get yet another player in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. After recently managing to secure the signings of David Villa, the club are expected to bring in Jeb Brovsky from Montréal Impact. However, the 25-year-old will not be playing at the club and will be part of a non-MLS team till the end of the 2014 season. New York City are also looking to sign former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who will be available on a free transfer after deciding to leave the London outfit after 13 years.
Partnered by Manchester City, they are expected to have no trouble in meeting the wage demands of players like David Villa and Lampard. Brovsky first moved to Vancouver Whitecaps in 2011. After making almost 23 appearances for them in 2011, he moved to Montréal Impact as part of the expansion draft. He has been a regular starter for the Canadian club during the last two years. He has already played in seven out of the 13 matches for the club this campaign. Speaking about having joint one of the league’s richest teams, Brovsky expressed his delight and said that he is looking forward to winning titles.
“I’m tremendously excited to be joining New York City FC. With the talented coaching and training staff theyv’e put in place, it’s clear that this club is focused on winning. This is a big step in my life and career to be coming to play in the biggest sports city, and I can’t wait to take the field at Yankee Stadium,” said the player. “I feel very fortunate that we are in a position to add a player of Jeb’s quality this early in our process,” said New York City FC manager Jason Kreis.
US star Landon Donovan has revealed that he is extremely disappointed not to be included in the squad for the World Cup 2014. Donovan is widely regarded as one of the best players to have represented the national team in its history. However, he has fallen out of with manager Jurgen Klinsmann in the last few months. This has seen him be in and out of the national team squad during the qualification phase. Despite this, he was included in the provisional squad for the World Cup 2014.
Just days before the manager announced the final squad for this tournament, Donovan said that he does not expect to be included in the squad. Still, he is hoping to give the US team his best if he is picked. The disappointment has been confirmed after the 32-year-old striker has been left out of the squad. Klinsmann has decided to take only five players with previous experience of a major tournament to Brazil. This follows on the policy of the former Germany national team manager to introduce young blood to the team.
After learning about the decision of the manager, Donovan stated that he is really disappointed. It remains to be seen if the LA Galaxy star will announce his retirement after this news.
“It has been an honor and privilege to have represented the US national team in three World Cups. I was looking forward to playing in Brazil and, as you can imagine, I am very disappointed with today’s decision. Regardless, I will be cheering on my friends and teammates this summer, and I remain committed to helping grow soccer in the US in the years to come,” said the former Everton loan star, who has represented the national team in three major world cups. At 32, this may have been his final opportunity.
The possibility of two top England stars making their way to the MLS this summer remains up in the air amid conflicting reports over the future of Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole.
Both players are out of contract at Stamford Bridge and are assessing their options for next season. There is no shortage of interest in either, both in the Premier League and elsewhere, but there is still plenty of optimisim in the US that one or both will end up as the star arrival in MLS before the summer is out. (more…)