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Barcelona targeting special ’emergency transfer’ after Dembele injury

By Nicholas MendolaFeb 11, 2020, 7:39 PM EST
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Ousmane Dembele’s long-term injury will allow Barcelona to make an emergency transfer from inside of Spain.

Dembele’s projected six-month absence will send Barca into the market, where they are mentioned by Marca as suitors of Willian Jose, Lucas Perez, Angel Rodriguez, Loren Moron, and Luis Suarez.

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That’s the other Luis Suarez, as Barcelona waits on the health and fitness of the well-known Uruguayan striker.

Here’s the low down on the list of possible signings:

Willian Jose, Real Sociedad — Currently out of favor with his club and the likeliest to move should Barca pony up the $40-plus million it will take, Jose has eight goals on the season and 52 during his time with the club.

Lucas Perez, Alaves — Yes, the formal Arsenal and West Ham man. Perez remains comfortable in Spanish football, and has nine goals and four assists through 22 matches.

Angel Rodriguez, Getafe — The elder statesman of the group, soon-to-be 33-year-old Rodriguez has 13 goals and two assists this season, including three in six Europa League matches.

Loren Moron, Real Betis — At 26, Moron has bagged 10 goals with three assists in 25 appearances this season.

Luis Suarez, Real Zaragoza — The 22-year-old Colombian’s full name is Luis Javier Suárez Charris and he is on loan from Watford. His LaLiga2 stars are a strong 14 goals and three assists in 25 outings.

Fernandes scores first goal, says Ronaldo backed Manchester United move

Bruno Fernandes Ronaldo
Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
By Nicholas MendolaFeb 23, 2020, 9:51 AM EST
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It’s probably not a surprise that a young Portuguese player would fancy Manchester United given the heroics of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford early his career.

Bruno Fernandes admits that those images danced through his head well before he signed with the Red Devils in January.

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It’s also not a shock that United would turn to their former player for a take on the playmaker before buying him from Sporting Lisbon.

Fernandes says he’s grateful that CR7 endorsed BF18. From Sky Sports:

“I know some people asked Cristiano what he thought of me and what I was like as a player and a person,” Fernandes said. “I know he spoke highly of me and gave me a good reference, so I sent him a message after to thank him for his kind words.”

Fernandes has 19 caps and two goals for Portugal, while Ronaldo has a few more with 164 and 99.

He now has a goal and an assist in four appearances for United. Ronaldo finished with 118 goals and 69 assists in 292 appearances for the Red Devils.

Here’s the finish:

Eden Hazard suffers fracture ahead of Man City in UCL, El Clasico

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By Nicholas MendolaFeb 23, 2020, 8:17 AM EST
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Eden Hazard is set to miss the Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League first leg against Man City with a broken fibula.

Hazard had only returned to the lineup for two matches following a three-month absence with an ankle injury.

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The 29-year-old has made just 15 appearances for Real since arriving in a big-money move from Chelsea, scoring once with five assists.

He has never appeared in less than 30 league matches over the course of his career, five times missing one or zero matches.

Of course, all of his absences show that Real is very comfortable playing and winning without Hazard. Zinedine Zidane’s men lost Sunday to drop behind Barcelona in La Liga, but that was just its second loss of the league season.

Real will be taxed in depth like its rivals, with Wednesday’s visit from Man City followed by an El Clasico at the Bernabeu on March 1. Barcelona hosts Napoli on Tuesday.

Whether you like the playmaker or despise him, there must be some sense of sympathy for his latest ailments (even if Man City and Barca fans will likely offer a Jerry Seinfeld-esque, “That’s a shame”).

Watch Live: Manchester United, Wolves host bottom three battlers

Manchester United Watford live stream link
Photo by Leila Coker/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaFeb 23, 2020, 8:10 AM EST
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A pair of Premier League basement dwellers face stiff tests in their bids to win another season in the top flight.

Manchester United hosts Watford on NBCSN while Wolves welcome Norwich City on CNBC as both home sides aim to improve the health of their top four hopes in 9 a.m. ET kickoffs.

[ WATCH: Man Utd-Watford | Wolves-Norwich ]

Lineups notes from both matches:

LINEUPS

Manchester United

Watford

Wolves

Norwich City

Three Serie A matches suspended due to virus deaths in Italy

coronavirus
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Associated PressFeb 23, 2020, 7:29 AM EST
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ROME (AP) Three Serie A soccer matches scheduled for Sunday in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto were suspended late Saturday after the deaths of two people infected with the virus from China.

On orders from the Italian government, the games called off were: Inter Milan vs. Sampdoria, Atalanta vs. Sassuolo and Hellas Verona vs. Cagliari.

Three other matches in Genoa, Turin and Rome on Sunday are going ahead as scheduled.

[ MORE: Premier League schedule ]

A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown on Saturday after the deaths of two people infected with the coronavirus from China, and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.

“The government is working on urgent measures to decisively confront and contain the cases of coronavirus contagion,” read a letter from Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora to Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago shortly before midnight local time on Saturday. “Those measures also include the sports world in order to prevent risks and to better take care of the health of those involved in the events and competition.

“Following measures taken by the cabinet for protective reasons and maximum precaution, on orders of the government I’m asking you to suspend all sports events of every level and discipline planned for the Lombardy and Veneto regions on Sunday.”

The secondary contagions prompted local authorities in the Lombardy and Veneto regions to close schools, businesses and restaurants and to cancel sporting events and Masses.

The mayor of Milan, Italy’s business capital and the regional capital of Lombardy, shuttered public offices.

A 78-year-old man infected with the virus died in Veneto. A postmortem on a 77-year-old woman in Lombardy came back positive, though it wasn’t clear if illness from the virus caused her death.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

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Andrew Dampf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf