100-Goal Kylian Mbappe Close to Paris Saint-Germain Contract Extension

Paris Saint-Germain are ‘going well’ in their attempts to tie 100-goal marksman Kylian Mbappe down to a long-term deal, according to sporting director Leonardo.

Mbappe has delivered on his meteoric potential since he first joined from Monaco in 2017 and seems to be improving every year. He cleared 30 goals despite being hampered by injury last season and already has ten league strikes this term after just nine matches.

Any move away from Paris would surely garner a world record fee and this is largely what has kept the vultures from gathering. Real Madrid and Liverpool have been linked, though only the former have the resources to actually make a move happen without first requiring a substantial departure or two.

January, however, will see Mbappe enter the final 18 months of the contract he signed upon his permanent arrival, so it’s easy to see why they are getting a little skittish over his long-term future.

Yet Leonardo insists they are not panicking just yet and are making good progress in their efforts to commit Mbappe to the club for the long-term.

The sporting director told Canal+: “We’re talking. We want to discuss, and he also wants to discuss. Now is also the time to come to a clearer idea of his future.

“It is going well. We have taken steps forward compared to 10, 15 days ago and we will continue.” 

Mbappe scored his 100th goal for the club in just his 137th appearance in the 3-1 victory over Montpellier on Saturday. His stoppage time finish secured the victory and put the Parisiens four points clear at the top of Ligue 1 – though second-placed Marseille do have two games in hand.

PSG have already lost three league matches this term and it is no coincidence two of those came early on when Mbappe was out with Covid-19. Since his return, they have won seven of nine, with Mbappe hitting the net at least once in all but two league matches in which he has featured.

He has more Ligue 1 braces this term than he does blanks.

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Frank Lampard Uncertain About Extent of Hakim Ziyech Injury

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard lamented the ‘disappointment’ of seeing Hakim Ziyech limp off during the victory against Leeds United as he provided an update on the Morocco international’s injury.

Ziyech was one of several new attacking talents to arrive at Stamford Bridge in the summer, joining from Ajax for a fee in the region of €40m. The 27-year-old missed Chelsea’s first four Premier League games of the campaign after picking up an injury in a pre season friendly against Brighton.

However, in his subsequent appearances, Ziyech has already racked up three assists, the joint-most among the Chelsea squad in the top flight. The left-footed forward may be forced to spend more time on the sidelines after hobbling off half an hour into Chelsea’s 3-1 win at home to Leeds.

Speaking after the game, Lampard provided a vague update on Ziyech’s fitness, saying as quoted by football.london: “With Hakim it’s a hamstring injury which we will find out the severity of in the next couple of days. The disappointment is going into this busy period.”

Having already qualified top of the group, Chelsea have one meaningless Champions League match remaining before the onslaught of Premier League fixtures customarily crammed into the following few weeks. Including their home clash with Krasnodar, Lampard’s side have six more fixtures before the new year.

Yet, after spending more in the summer transfer window than any other side in Europe, Chelsea have made a substantial effort to bolster the squad and their victory against Leeds sent them to the top of the table, sparking talk of genuine title tilt from the west London outfit.

When asked whether fans and the players can start entertaining such lofty ambitions, Lampard delivered a cautious response, saying: “There’s certainly nothing wrong with the fans thinking that. Great to have them back, their input was huge, the noise huge. You can see how excited they are at the end that we are top of the league.

“My job and our job is to know that it’s a long season and the next question is how consistent can we be with this form, how much we can improve, because I believe there is a lot more we can do and there will be a lot of challenges ahead.”

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FA & EFL Condemn Millwall Supporters for Booing Players Taking the Knee on Stadium Return

The Football Association and the English Football League have slammed Millwall supporters for booing players for taking the knee against Derby County on Saturday afternoon, and have offered their full support to those who wish to fight discrimination ‘in a respectful manner’.

Saturday’s meeting was the first time that fans were allowed back in the New Den and some supporters booed and jeer prior to kickoff as the players took a knee in the battle against discrimination, following the unlawful murder of American citizen George Floyd.

Their reaction has received widespread condemnation across the Football League, and the FA and EFL were quick to speak out against the actions taken by the Millwall supporters. A statement from the FA confirmed it ‘strongly condemns’ the fans’ behaviour and will continue to ‘support all players and staff’ who take the knee.

“The FA supports all players and staff who wish to take a stand against discrimination in a respectful manner, which includes taking of the knee, and strongly condemns the behaviours of any spectators that actively voice their opposition to such activities.”

There had been concerns ahead of the fans’ return to the stadium that they may stage a protest against the sign of solidarity, due to its links to the Black Lives Matter movement and potential politicisation.

Millwall released a statement on Sunday morning which reads: “Millwall Football Club was dismayed and saddened by events which marred Saturday’s game against Derby County at The Den.

“The club has worked tirelessly in recent months to prepare for the return of supporters and what should have been a positive and exciting occasion was completely overshadowed, much to the immense disappointment and upset of those who have contributed to those efforts.”

Saturday’s unsavoury scenes have proven those fears to be justified. The EFL also responded to this behaviour, expressing that they are ‘disappointed that a small group of supporters’ have used the return to stadiums to ‘voice their opposition’ in the fight against discrimination.

“We are disappointed that a small group of supporters have today chosen to voice their opposition to such activities directly aimed at raising awareness of the fight against racism.

“We remain committed to working with our clubs, including Millwall, who undertake a significant amount of work on equality and inclusion initiatives, as we continue with our collective objective to eradicate all types of prejudiced behaviour.”

Speaking after the match, Millwall boss Gary Rowett explained that although the players don’t agree with the ‘political aspect’ of the situation, they ‘do support the anti-discrimination’ side, while stressing that the Lions do a lot of anti-racism work in the community.

He said: “The players have come out and said they don’t support the political aspect, but they do support the anti-discrimination aspect of it…the club does an enormous amount of work on anti-racism.”

Gary Rowett, Wayne Rooney
Rowett and Rooney were on the touchline for Saturday’s clash | Jacques Feeney/Getty Images

Interim Derby coach Wayne Rooney described the incident as ‘very surprising,’ and confirmed that ‘no one at Derby condones that behaviour.’

”With everything that has been going on in recent months, it was very surprising. I don’t want to say much about it, but all I can say is that everyone at Derby took the knee, and no one condones that behaviour.”

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Cadiz 2-1 Barcelona: Player Ratings as Blaugrana Suffer Shock Defeat

Newly promoted Cadiz earned a historic 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Saturday night, compounding the Catalans to their worst start to a La Liga campaign for more than 30 years.

Having already defeated Real Madrid this season, Cadiz added Barcelona to their growing list of notable scalps. The hosts took an early lead, with Alvaro Gimenez converting from close range after Barcelona were undone by a simple flick-on at the near post from a corner in the eighth minute.

Ronald Koeman watched on as his side dominated possession but, with Cadiz resolute in their well-drilled 4-5-1 formation, Barcelona struggled to create many openings in the first 45 minutes.

After a double-change at half-time, Barcelona began to carve out some chances yet their equaliser came via an own goal, their third of the season so far. Approaching the hour mark, Lionel Messi found a rare pocket of space on the edge of Cadiz’s box, threaded a pass for Jordi Alba who had his cross deflected into the net by the unwitting Pedro Alcala.

However, just as Barcelona looked to have come back into the contest, second half substitute Alvaro Negredo capitalised upon a slapstick sequence of defending from Clement Lenglet and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to put Cadiz back in front in the 63rd minute.

As Barcelona flooded more and more bodies forward they did create chances – notably through Sergino Dest and Miralem Pjanic – but left themselves incredibly exposed on the counter. In a game where there could have been more goals for both sides, Barcelona were deservedly consigned to their fourth defeat of the season already.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen (GK) – 5/10 – While he wasn’t chiefly to blame for the calamitous second goal, the German shot-stopper didn’t exactly cover himself in glory otherwise.

Sergino Dest (RB) – 6/10 – One of the more threatening Barcelona players going forward but often left to beat two men with Messi drifting in field.

Oscar Mingueza (CB) – 3/10 – A night to forget for the youngster. Having caused the scramble which led to Cadiz’s opener, Mingueza was hauled off at half-time.

Clement Lenglet (CB) – 4/10 – Had the unenviable task as Barcelona’s sole defender for large swathes of second half but woefully at fault for Negredo’s winner.

Jordi Alba (LB) – 5/10 – Much of the zip and speed which defines Alba’s normal game was missing on Saturday, and has been increasingly hard to find for some time now.

FBL-ESP-LIGA-CADIZ-BARCELONA
Sergio Busquets (right) won more aerial duels than any other player on the pitch (six) against Cadiz but was often bypassed in midfield | JORGE GUERRERO/Getty Images

Sergio Busquets (CM) – 6/10 – A regular scapegoat for Barcelona defeats of late, Busquets was one of his side’s more incisive passers, creating two chances. He was often caught out, along with the rest of team, for Cadiz’s counters, however.

Frenkie de Jong (CM) – 5/10 – Struggled to exert an influence on proceedings before shunted into defence for the second half.

Antoine Griezmann (AM) – 5/10 – Not bad when he got on the ball but let sizeable chunks of the game pass by without getting involved.

Alex, Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi racked up ten shots against Cadiz, no other player on the pitch attempted more than two, but he couldn’t score | Soccrates Images/Getty Images

Lionel Messi (RW) – 5/10 – Responsible for almost half of Barcelona’s efforts on goal, Messi dropped deeper and deeper as the game wore on, giving even himself too much to do.

Martin Braithwaite (ST) – 4/10 – Mustered just one shot all game and posed little threat.

Philippe Coutinho (LW) – 3/10 – Never looks natural pigeonholed out wide and was largely anonymous before being hooked at the interval.

Ousmane Dembele (LW) – 4/10

Pedri (CM) – 5/10

Francisco Trincao (RW) – 6/10

Miralem Pjanic (CM) – 5/10

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Man Utd Ready to Double Bruno Fernandes’ Wages With Lucrative New Contract Offer

Manchester United are prepared to offer talisman Bruno Fernandes a brand new lucrative contract, which could see the Portuguese star double his wages to £200,000 a week.

The 26-year-old only joined the Red Devils in January, putting pen to paper on a long-term deal at Old Trafford. But he has proven to be the outstanding player in this side over the past 12 months, scoring 22 goals and providing 14 assists in just 37 games.

Fernandes is easily Man Utd's most important player
Fernandes is easily Man Utd’s most important player | Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images

These numbers are not reflected in his £100,000 a week contract, which currently puts him on a par with similar earners Jesse Lingard and Dean Henderson, both of whom are far from first-team regulars. So, according to The Mirror, United are looking to rectify this issue as soon as possible.

Although Fernandes is only 11 months into a four-and-a-half year deal, which also boasts the option of extending an extra year, the Premier League giants are willing to offer him a much-improved contract to demonstrate his value to the team.

This extension would double the midfielder’s wages, putting him closer to the highest earners in the squad. He will still be quite a way off the top of the pile however, as David de Gea and Paul Pogba currently earn £350,000 and £300,000 a week respectively.

But it feels only fair that Fernandes’ stature within the club is reflected in his salary, given his incredible impact upon the side. He has transformed United’s fortunes since signing for £47m, and the team looks much more solid and unified with him on the pitch.

Fernandes demonstrated this against West Ham on Saturday afternoon, coming on as a half-time substitute with the Red Devils all at sea and trailing by a single goal. His immediate arrival changed the course of the game, as he flipped the result on its head and carried United to a 3-1 victory.

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