PL : People used to Google 'Pochettino' - Spurs boss

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino concedes he was probably the subject of a few Google searches when he first arrived in the Premier League.

The 45-year-old former Argentina defender turned towards personal experience when assessing the outspoken comments by left-back Danny Rose that threaten to overshadow Spurs'  2017-18 opener at Newcastle United on Sunday.
England international Rose told The Sun he wanted Tottenham to improve their squad with top class players and "not players you have to Google and say, 'Who's that?'".

Rose also suggested he does not earn his full worth under Tottenham's wage structure and questioned the depth of quality in Pochettino's squad – remarks he apologised for on Friday.
Pochettino is happy to draw a line under the controversy but pointed to the achievements of Rose' England colleagues Eric Dier and Dele Alli to underline the folly of the full-back's stance.
"When you sign players like Eric Dier, who are internationals today, nobody knew [who he was]... or Dele Alli, who was in League One," the former Southampton boss told a pre-match news conference.

"I don't think it's a matter to joke about because with some of the international players, maybe one or two years ago, none of us knew them very well.
"Also, when I first arrived here, people wanted to know, 'who is Mauricio Pochettino?' too.
"If you remember five years ago, people said 'who is Pochettino?' I'm sure they used Chrome or Google or Yahoo to find out."

"I think the team are very united. I'm not worried," he added
"I don't want to compare us with other clubs, who have made signings before us in the previous two seasons and we have finished above them."

Tottenham are the only side from the Premier League's top six last season who have not made additions in the transfer market but Pochettino remains confident of the capabilities of a team who stormed to a second-place finish last time around. - Goal

PL : Pellegrino issues Van Dijk warning

Amid growing speculation over captain Virgil van Dijk's desire to leave, Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has insisted no player is bigger than the team.

Van Dijk handed in a transfer request this week, and will miss Southampton's Premier League opener due to a 'virus', Pellegrino stated.
Despite praising the Dutch defender's playing qualities, the manager has placed emphasis on the collective.
"The problem here is that Virgil is one of the most important players. But there is not one player more important than the 11 players playing together," he said.

"Virgil is an important player but the club was clear from the beginning with the player. We cannot control every situation and Virgil is part of our club because he has a contract.
"The player is clear with his position but we have to keep going because I cannot control the thinking of the player at this moment."
The 26-year-old has been training in isolation since stating his intention to depart St. Mary's.
Showing no compromise, Pellegrino confirmed he will not participate against Swansea City on Saturday.

"We are expecting him to come back and hopefully he can change his point of view." 
"He won't be available this weekend as he had some trouble with a virus and has not trained the last two days," Pellegrino said. - Goal

Gary Lineker ex Danielle Bux welcomes baby with boyfriend

Danielle Bux has given birth to a baby girl who she has named Romy Wren Greenwald.

Gary Lineker’s ex announced last night she and boyfriend Nate Greenwald had become parents by sharing a picture of her other daughter, Ella Willis, holding the baby’s hand.
She captioned the adorable image: “Sisters. Our baby girl has arrived Romy Wren Greenwald. A whopper, as expected. 8.5lbs. 8/8/17.”
In the black and white photo, Danielle photographed her teenage daughter Ella clutching onto the hand of her newborn sister.

The model has been inundated with congratulations from fans on sharing the post, with her ex-husband Gary being quick to like the snap on the photo-sharing site.
He penned a congratulations too, adding alongside Danielle’s photo: ‘Congratulations to you both. Chuffed for you x.’
It is the 37-year-old’s first child with her lawyer boyfriend Nate, 41. She is already mum to Ella from a previous relationship.

Danielle moved to LA last year after her six-year marriage to ex-footballer Gary Lineker ended and fell for Nate last year after moving in next door to him.

The former couple, who have always insisted they remain good friends, were back under the same roof in south west London earlier this month while Danielle was temporarily in the UK.
The 56-year-old is already father to four sons from his first marriage.
Lineker also joined Danielle on a property viewing last month.

A source said: “They remain good friends. Danielle is thinking about moving house and wanted Gary’s opinion.”
The Match of the Day host met up with his heavily pregnant ex-wife in Los Angeles on her search for the perfect pad to start family life. - Irish Mirror

We want to win everything - Pogba

Paul Pogba says Manchester United 'want to win everything' in terms of silverware this season and get the club back to where it belongs.

The midfielder made a big money move back to Old Trafford last summer and helped the club to League Cup and Europa League glory, with the latter securing them a spot back in the Champions League.
But with a sixth place finish in the Premier League and a quarter-final exit in the FA Cup, Pogba says the team are aiming to win it all this season and get United back to being regular multiple-trophy winners.

"What's a good season? Winning everything! We are Manchester United and we want to get back to being the big Manchester United," he told Nissan Super Sunday ahead of their clash with West Ham live on Sky Sports this weekend.
"We want to win more trophies and do better in the Premier League and we're obviously happy to be back in the Champions League. We're here to do great things.
"Do I have to be more of a leader? No, I'm just myself. I'm the same, talking, encouraging players. I'm 24 now but when you are on the pitch there is no age.

"When I was young I was doing the same. A good season for me? Winning everything! A player has a great season when the team does great. That's it."
There have been three new arrivals at United so far this summer, including Pogba's friend Romelu Lukaku who made a £90m move from Everton, and the Frenchman is backing the players to succeed.
"He's [Lukaku] had a good pre-season. Scoring goals, that's what we were expecting. [Nemanja] Matic, you can see he's been working hard," Pogba added.

"He's settled in the team like he was there for the whole of pre-season. We're happy. Victor [Lindelof], too, you can see his quality straight away. We have a very good group.
"We [Lukaku and Pogba] talked about it last season, wondering if one day we would play together and it's happened this season so I'm very happy. We all are. We have a good relationship."- Sky

PL : Manchester United still in the market for a winger - Mourinho

 Man United's transfer business is "75 percent" complete but the club is still looking for a winger, manager Jose Mourinho said ahead of their Premier League opener against West Ham on Sunday.

United have added striker Romelu Lukaku, midfielder Nemanja Matic and defender Victor Lindelof to their squad. However, they have been unable to sign a wide player, and a move for Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic, who has been linked in the British media with a transfer to Old Trafford, looks unlikely.

"Twenty-five per cent means one of four," Mourinho told a news conference on Friday. "We got a central defender who can play many other positions which is very important. Victor can play right-back and centre midfield.
"We have a central midfielder and striker, so obviously another player would be one coming from the sides."

Mourinho acknowledged this week that Real Madrid's Gareth Bale was out of reach after the Welshman started for the Spanish side in their 2-1 European Super Cup win over United.
The manager confirmed that the Manchester club is in talks to re-sign striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is recovering from a knee ligament injury.
The 35-year-old, who scored 28 goals for United last season, has been at the club during his rehabilitation and Mourinho said the Swede could feature in the second half of the season.

"You know he's injured, he needs time to recover, he's not ready to play tomorrow," Mourinho said.
"It's not something urgent, that we are desperate to have it done or not done, I just think that he was very clear by showing what he did last year was not enough for him.
"He wants more at the highest level so we are having conversations and we are discussing the possibility of him to stay with us for the second part of the season." - Reuters

Transfer news : Rivaldo endorses 'good option' Coutinho as Barcelona begin life without Neymar

Philippe Coutinho would be a good replacement for Neymar at Barcelona, according to former Camp Nou star Rivaldo.

The Liverpool attacking midfielder has reportedly handed in a transfer request at Anfield after the club made it clear they would not sell him to Barca, who are seeking a replacement for Neymar.
Paris Saint-Germain paid a world-record €222million to meet the Brazil forward's release clause last week, a move Rivaldo hopes will ultimately improve his old club's spirit and resolve. 

Rivaldo believes Coutinho, 25, would be a good addition and also feels some of the cash should be used on another Brazilian target of Barcelona, Guanghzou Evergrande midfielder Paulinho.
"Neymar has left for PSG but, despite his importance to the team, I believe Barca will deal with it," the former World Cup winner said to Betfair.

"It could even reinforce team spirit, showing that players can come and go, but Barca will stay at the top.
"Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho could be a good option to play at Neymar's position but former Spurs man Paulinho could also be an important addition at the centre of the pitch."

Rivaldo is in no doubt Neymar's desire to win the Ballon d'Or played a part in his decision to leave Barca.

"For Barcelona, it's an important financial income that allows them to breathe much easier and also to try new signings."
He added: "It was a tough decision for [Neymar] and his main objective - beside the financial aspect, of course - is to become the best player in the world, leaving his status as Lionel Messi's shadow. - Goal

PL news : Mourinho ready for second-year success

Ahead of their Premier League opener, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is confident his side can maintain his perfect second-season record.

Manchester United begins its league campaign on Sunday, hosting West Ham

The Portuguese manager won the league title in his second full season in charge of FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea again, and feels the sequence can continue.
Stopping short of a guarantee, Mourinho believes an encouraging pre-season and success in the Europa League last season can propel his side to further success.

"It is not because I have always done it (won the league title in his second season) that I am going to do it again," Mourinho said.
"There is no guarantee but naturally a manager in his second season knows the club and the players better.
"We have had a better pre-season than last year and we have the confidence levels of a team that has won a European competition and returned to the Champions League. I have better conditions to deliver a better season than my first one."

To achieve domestic success, however, the 54-year-old is aware his side needs a more balanced distribution of scorers.
United scored the least goals of the seven teams to qualify for Europe from the Premier League last season at 54, 32 fewer than the highest in Tottenham.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the lone player to reach double figures in the league with 17, while Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney were the next best with a mere six.

Despite Romelu Lukaku's arrival, Mourinho knows the Belgian cannot be relied upon solely, and requires more from the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford.
"What I had in other clubs was more players scoring goals, what we had was midfielders, wingers scoring, central defenders scoring goals at set pieces," Mourinho said.

"We always had more goals with wingers, midfielders getting 10 goals, central defenders getting five goals and last season that did not happen much.
"We were focused on the striker getting goals and when it didn't happen we were in trouble." - Goal