Arda Turan 100 per cent fit to play vs Manchester City

The Turkish player completed the full training session and can start against City if Lucho wants him to.

Arda Turan has recovered totally from the pain in his right foot that kept him out of the squad against Granada.

Luis Enrique saw the Turk complete the full training session on Monday at the Etihad Stadium, without any sign of the injury which he sustained after a hard tackle by Martin Demichelis in the Catalan Super Cup in Tarragona. 

SPORT have found out that he finished the session feeling good and is available if Luis Enrique wants to pick him to replace the injured Andres Iniesta. The coach has various options on the table, including Rafinha, Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes. 

On Monday the Asturian coach said that he would take the decision after the training session before the game on Tuesday night. 

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Marcus Rashford picks his most important goal for Manchester United

Give Marcus Rashford his debut and there is a pretty good chance he'll score.

The young striker has found the net on his first appearance for Manchester United, England U-21's and the senior international side all in the last eight months.

On top of that, he can also boast having scored on his debut in the Europa League, Premier League, Manchester derby and EFL Cup.

Rashford is still just 18-years-old but he already has 14 senior goals across all competitions for club and country.

But of those 14 - 13 of which have come for the Red Devils - which one holds the greatest significance for the new English star?

The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer meant Rashford dropped down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho and found early season opportunities hard to come by.

Nevertheless, Rashford grabbed every chance he was given and scored the late winner against Hull a few weeks ago with virtually the last kick of the game.

When describing the 92nd-minute strike, Rashford - perhaps surprisingly - hailed it as the 'most important' goal of his United career to date.

“It was a different moment for me and I don’t think I’ve scored one so late in the game before,” Rashford told United Review.

“It was an amazing feeling to be with the travelling fans as well, a brilliant feeling. It was instinct to go into the crowd in moments like that. You don’t think about it, you just do it!

“I feel like that was the most important goal for me, to get the winner in the last minute away from home. I like the feeling that it gave me and I want more. But on an emotional side the debut goal against Midtjylland is still at the top of the list for me.”

As dramatic as it was, you might have expected his winning goal against rivals Manchester City at the Etihad back in March to pip the close-range finish versus the Tigers.

Rashford did discuss becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in a Manchester derby and revealed that the piece of skill used to take the ball past Martin Demichelis was premeditated.

He added: “We were attacking and then they were attacking. I think they had a bit more of the ball but they weren’t really threatening us. There were two times before the goal when I got on a one-v-one with him Martin Demichelis and he just nicked the ball off me. I knew what I needed to do the next time I got the ball so I did it.

“Then I was against the keeper Joe Hart and it was just about relaxing, composing myself and that was what I did. After it went in, the fans were too far away but it was a good feeling with everyone coming towards you. To win the game 1-0 as well, to hold out as a team was great.”

Manchester City splash the cash on mega defensive line-up

With their 56 million euro signing of John Stones this week, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City made headlines by converting the Everton centre-back into the most expensive defender in English football history.

However, this shelling out of major cash is merely the evolution of a trend at City, who are currently under the reign of highly-rated coach Guardiola, whose spell at Bayern Munich yielded Bundesliga dominance but no European silverware.

Buying Stones brings the Sky Blues' spending on their back line over the last decade to the whopping sum of over 300 million euros.

No less than 19 players have come to the club for the purposes of defending the Man City goal, many of whom have become forgotten names.

Nicolas Otamendi, Eliaquim Mangala, Martin Demichelis, Maicon, Aleksandar Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Jerome Boateng, and Joleon Lescott are among the notable mentions in this illustrious list, which despite all the resources dedicated to it, has yet to produce a solid defensive identity.

This season, the Catalan boss' priority has been shoring up that problem area, with his eyes on Spaniards Dani Carvajal and Aymeric Laporte to fill in some important gaps.

Nonetheless, those prospects withered and Guardiola's attention became fixed on Stones, who is his kind of defender: one who can play the ball.

The former Barcelona coach's teams are known for being stingey with the ball and rarely allowing other teams a chance to score; while known for their possession play they have always featured high-line defending.

Certainly, a change will be welcome, as last season City's goals against tally was the worst of the top six Premier League clubs.

Football Transfer Rumors: Man City close to signing £50M-rated John Stones, set to outbid EPL rivals Man United, Chelsea for Everton defender

Manchester City is reportedly close to signing Everton defender John Stones for £50 million this summer as they are set to outbid English Premier League rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.

The Sun reported that incoming Man City head coach Pep Guardiola is "confident" that the club "has won the £50 million transfer scrap" for the 22-year-old English center back over their more illustrious competitors, the Red Devils and Blues, as the Citizens are currently short on defenders following the release of veteran center back Martin Demichelis earlier this month.

Team captain Vincent Kompany, who also plays center back for the squad, is still sidelined by injury at the moment and there are still no reports about the Belgian's estimated return to the pitch.

Stones almost left Merseyside to transfer to the Stamford Bridge in London last summer when then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho tried to snag him away from Everton. The Toffees remained firm in their decision not to let go of the Barnsley, England native, though, and so they kept him for one more season.

This time, with Mourinho now the head coach of United, the Portuguese mentor is still a fan of the young center back and is rumored to be planning on making an offer for Stones once more this offseason.

Meanwhile, Caught Offside noted that the Stones is "the perfect fit" for Guardiola because of the Englishman's high IQ and skills on the defensive end of the pitch. His "ability on the ball to play out from the back" is said to be highly essential to the former Barça and Bavarian manager.

Everton received three bids from Chelsea last summer - a £20 million, £26 million and £30 million offer - and all were turned down by the Toffees. The 6-foot-2 defender said to have also submitted a request to exit Goodison Park, but it was also denied by the club.

Stones has just finished his third season with the Toffees after he was acquired from Barnsley FC in January 2013 for a reported transfer fee of only £3 million. He spent the second half of the 2012-2013 season as an unused substitute for Everton and made his Premier League debut in August of that year during the following season.

In three years so far with the club, Stones had appeared in 95 games in all competitions and managed to score a single goal during the said time span.

Argentina 23 For 2016 Copa America Team

MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – Here is the Argentina 23-man final team roster for the 2016 Copa America tournament in the United States from June 3-26.

There are doubts over whether Lionel Messi will be available for the start tournament, after the Barcelona forward left last Friday’s friendly international contest against Honduras in the 64th minute with back pains.

It was later revealed that he has suffered from a deep lumbar hematoma.

The 28-year-old revealed this week that those pains have been slowly decreasing, but it is still uncertain as to whether he would be ready in time for his country’s opening group match against Chile on June 6, which is a rematch of the 2015 Copa America final.

Also included in the star-studded Argentine squad are Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero, Napoli FC’s Gonzalo Higuain, Nicolas Gaitan of Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain attacker Angel Di Maria.

The heavy weighted midfield list includes Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano, Sevilla Ever Banega, Lucas Biglia of Lazio and Javier Pastore of Paris Saint-Germain.

English Premier League defenders Nicolas Otamendi of Manchester City and Marcos Rojo from Manchester United are also listed in the squad, with Manchester United backup keeper Sergio Romero also securing a place.

Missing out are Geronimo Real Sociedad goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, Enzo Perez of Valencia, Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez, defender Ezequiel Garay of Zenit St. Petersburg and Manchester United centre-back Martin Demichelis.

Argentina will play in Group D of the tournament against with Chile, Bolivia, and Panama.

Argentina Full Squad For The 2016 Copa America:

Goalkeeper: Andujar, Mariano (Estudiantes La Plata); Guzman, Nahuel (Tigres UANL); Romero, Sergio (Manchester United)

Defenders: Cuesta, Victor (Independiente); Funes Mori, Ramiro (Everton); Maidana, Jonathan (River Plate); Mercado, Gabriel (River Plater); Otamendi, Nicolas (Manchester City); Rojo, Marcos (Manchester United); Roncaglia, Facundo (Fiorentina)

Midfielder: Banega, Ever (Sevilla / Spain)M – Biglia, Lucas (Lazio / Italy)M – Fernandez, Augusto (Atletico Madrid); Kranevitter, Matias (Atletico Madrid); Mascherano, Javier (Barcelona); Pastore, Javier (Paris Saint-Germain)

Forward: Messi, Lionel (Barcelona); Aguero, Sergio (Manchester City); Higuain, Gonzalo (Napoli); Lamela, Erik (Tottenham Hotspur); Di Maria, Angel (Paris Saint-Germain); Gaitan, Nicolas (Benfica); Lavezzi, Ezequiel (Hebeir China Tortune)

Footballers 'unable to function' properly due to gambling fears - study

Premier League footballers' performances are suffering due to worries related to gambling, according to a study reported in the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reports that Graeme Law, of the University of Chester, interviewed 34 current and former professional footballers, including international and Premier League players.

Law carried out the research as part of his PhD study, titled "Pay and conditions in professional football," and will present his conclusions at the British Sociological Association's annual conference in Birmingham on Thursday.

"Players were unable to function to the level expected, and this leads to resentment in the team about their gambling," Law said.

"Players gamble as a way of relieving the boredom on journeys to away games and after training on preseason tours. Contrary to popular opinion, their actions are heavily regulated and constrained, so they get easily bored.

"Previous gambling environments were more social and encouraged group interaction, whereas the internet now allows gambling to be done in private."

One Premier League player told Law: "I have lost a lot and I had a stinker because it's all I thought about during the game."

On Wednesday, Press Association Sport reported that Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis will not contest a Football Association charge over alleged betting offences.

Demichelis, 35, is accused of 12 breaches of FA rule E8 concerning matches played between Jan. 22 and 28 this year.

English FA to ask FIFA to research dementia link to football

LONDON — The English Football Association will ask FIFA to investigate whether former players have dementia as a consequence of brain damage from playing the game.

Three members of England’s 1966 World Cup squad — Martin Peters, Nobby Stiles, Ray Wilson — have Alzheimer’s, family members told Saturday’s Daily Mirror newspaper.

Concerns have grown in Britain about the impact of head injuries after campaigning by the family of former England striker Jeff Astle, whose death in 2002 was attributed to repeatedly heading heavy, leather balls.

English FA medical head Ian Beasley is seeking assistance from world soccer’s governing body to help determine if there are definitive long-term health dangers from playing the game, and if prospective players should be warned.

“We are taking some research questions to FIFA imminently to ask, ‘Can you help us in trying to find out if dementia is more common in ex-professional footballers?’” Beasley told The Associated Press on Saturday.

“The trouble is we just don’t know ... it’s a massive undertaking to try and decide whether there’s an association between having played professional football and cognitive decline, dementia you might call it commonly — brain damage causing functional impairment over time. We just don’t know. It’s always tempting to say ‘It must be.’ But we’re not sure.”

Last year, the U.S. Soccer Federation recommended a ban on headers for players 10 and under in a bid to address concerns about the impact of head injuries.

Beasley, who is also the England team doctor, wants researchers to assess whether the severity of any brain damage depends on which position the person played, how many games they played, and at which level.

“The hope is (FIFA) will tell us one way or another,” Beasley said. “This is a health and safety issue in the end, and that’s what it will come down to. You may still want to be a professional footballer but at least we can advise you what the chances are of something irreversible happening to you.”

FIFA chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak was not aware of the FA seeking specific research into links between footballers’ brain trauma and dementia.

“We have very little evidence that would substantiate that assumption for football players,” Dvorak told the AP at the Football Medicine Strategies conference in London. “But that’s the reason why we are also studying the long-term changes of former professional male and female footballers. Not only for brain dysfunction but also early onset of osteoarthritis.

“We are looking at the long-term changes without having any suspicions yet.”

Sergio Agüero rescues Man City twice at West Ham

West Ham 2 Manchester City 2

Sergio Agüero scored twice to rescue a point for stuttering Manchester City in a 2-2 draw at West Ham.

The title challengers twice fell behind to goals from Enner Valencia and needed Agüero to bale them out with a penalty and a late equaliser.

Valencia fired the Hammers into the lead after just 55 seconds, and put them back in front early in the second half with City’s defence suffering from brain fade again.

But Agüero came to the rescue to deny West Ham an unlikely double over City this season.

City’s defence has come under scrutiny this season and it failed its first test at Upton Park as West Ham scored with their opening attack.

Cheikhou Kouyate strode past a non-existent challenge from Yaya Toure and into the area before cutting the ball back for Valencia to slam under Joe Hart.

City almost hit straight back when Agüero got round the back of James Collins, his clever lob beating Hammers goalkeeper Adrian only to come back off the inside of the far post.

But moments later Agüero did haul the visitors level after he had been tripped in the area by Carl Jenkinson, coolly sending Adrian the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Right back Jenkinson’s evening came to an end moments later when he limped off injured, meaning a quicker-than-expected debut for new signing Sam Byram just three days after completing his switch from Leeds.

Yet despite having been gifted a route back into the game, City’s galaxy of stars were still being outshone by West Ham’s Dimitri Payet.

One clever reverse pass from the French playmaker sent Michail Antonio racing through, and Martin Demichelis earned himself a yellow card for halting the winger’s dart towards goal.

Payet stepped up to take the free-kick and his powerful, curling effort was destined for the top corner until Hart dived full-length to his left to pull off a world-class save.

After the break another sublime touch from Payet sent Mark Noble scampering to the byline before standing up a tempting cross to the far post which Antonio headed narrowly wide.

City were inches from taking the lead, against the run of play, in the 55th minute when Fabian Delph’s low shot hit the foot of Adrian’s post – and moments later West Ham went back in front.

Antonio’s quickly-taken throw-in, of all things, caught the City defence napping and Valencia brushed off Nicolas Otamendi’s feeble challenge before prodding the ball past Hart.

However, with 10 minutes remaining and West Ham defending deeper and deeper, City substitute Kelechi Iheanacho ran unchecked into the area. His shot rebounded into the path of Agüero who was able to steer the ball past Adrian.

Even then West Ham could have stolen the victory but Kouyate’s stoppage-time header from Noble’s free-kick clipped the crossbar, and City escaped with an unconvincing point.

Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid to fight for John Stones next summer

Real Madrid and Barcelona have joined Chelsea and Manchester City in the race to sign Everton defender John Stones in the summer transfer window. The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the most promising defensive prospects in the country and has attracted interest from clubs across Europe.

The Daily Mail has reported that Rafa Benitez was a huge fan of the player and wanted him at Madrid before being sacked. However, the Spanish giants have maintained their interest and may look to sign him should their transfer ban be repealed. Barcelona are also interested in him, but the £50m ($71m) fee being touted for his services may prove too much for the Catalan club.

In the Premier league, Chelsea are Stones' biggest admirers, having had a £38m ($54m) bid rejected for the player last summer. The Blues' insistence led Stones to hand in a transfer request, but Everton manager Roberto Martinez refused to let him leave, something that has worked in the defender's favour this season, as the defending Champions are struggling in the league.

Manchester City are also interested, with Vincent Kompany struggling to stay fit while Eliaquim Mangala, Nicolas Otamendi and Martin Demichelis have flattered to deceive at the back. City have shown that they are willing to pay top dollar for good English talent as has been the case with Fabian Delph and Raheem Sterling last summer.

Everton have maintained that Stones is not for sale at any price but are likely to be more willing to sell to a Spanish club than anyone in England's top flight when an offer comes their way. The defender is expected to make the England squad and travel to France for the European Championships later this year.

The defender has been earmarked as a likely replacement for John Terry while Barcelonacentre-back Gerard Pique has waxed lyrical over the player's defensive nous in a recent interview.