Manchester United set to offer Chicharito five-year deal as Real Madrid target strikerJavier Hernandez is in advanced talks with Manchester United about signing a new contract, Goal.com UK can reveal.
The Premier League leaders are ready to reward ‘Chicharito’ with an improved five-year deal that will tie him to the club until 2016.
Hernandez is expected to negotiate a considerable hike on his current salary, which is believed to be worth around £40,000-a-week, and put pen to paper by the end of the season.
There has been interest in the striker from Real Madrid, triggered by Karim Benzema's slump in form earlier in the season plus the long-term injury to Gonzalo Higuain, and Jose Mourinho is known to be a big admirer.
His current agreement was due to be reviewed at the end of his debut season, although interest from the Spanish giants has led United to move faster and protect their investment.
Hernandez has an impressive strike-rate at Old Trafford since his switch from Mexican club Chivas last summer for an initial fee of around £8 million.
He has scored 10 Premier League goals in 20 appearances, only nine of which have been starts, and netted 13 goals in all competitions for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team to put him behind only Dimitar Berbatov in the club’s leading scorers list this season.
Saturday 12 March 2011
Lucio set to miss Inter's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich
Inter's chances in the Champions League have been dealt a blow after it was reported that defender Lucio is a doubt for Tuesday's crunch last 16 encounter with Bayern Munich.
The Nerazzurri's official website revealed that the Brazilian picked up a muscle strain in last night's 1-1 draw with Brescia, and after tests on Saturday revealed the injury he went straight into physiotherapy.
It has not yet been confirmed by the club if Lucio will make the continental clash but it looks unlikely. Ivan Cordoba is one alternative to fill in at centre-back.
The Beneamata's Champions League chances took a big hit in the first leg, when Mario Gomez's 90th minute strike earned Bayern a 1-0 win in Italy.
Inter must win in Germany on Tuesday to have a chance of progressing through to the quarter-finals, and to thwart the Germans' hopes of gaining revenge for the final defeat of 2010.
The Nerazzurri's official website revealed that the Brazilian picked up a muscle strain in last night's 1-1 draw with Brescia, and after tests on Saturday revealed the injury he went straight into physiotherapy.
It has not yet been confirmed by the club if Lucio will make the continental clash but it looks unlikely. Ivan Cordoba is one alternative to fill in at centre-back.
The Beneamata's Champions League chances took a big hit in the first leg, when Mario Gomez's 90th minute strike earned Bayern a 1-0 win in Italy.
Inter must win in Germany on Tuesday to have a chance of progressing through to the quarter-finals, and to thwart the Germans' hopes of gaining revenge for the final defeat of 2010.
Friday 4 March 2011
Real Madrid CF attacker Cristiano Ronaldo may miss his side's UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg against Olympique Lyonnais after being ruled out for two weeks with a left thigh injury.
The 26-year-old Portugal winger felt soreness in his left leg after completing his hat-trick in Thursday's 7-0 Liga triumph over Málaga CF in the Spanish capital, with tests subsequently showing that he will be sidelined for ten to 15 days.
Midfielder Fernando Gago, meanwhile, is certain to sit out the Lyon match after suffering a right adductor tear during Friday's training session. The 24-year-old Argentinian international – who has been limited to seven appearances in all competitions this term – will be unavailable for three weeks.
Madrid coach José Mourinho must now prepare for the upcoming league encounters with Real Racing Club and Hércules CF, as well as for Lyon's visit to the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday 16 March, without the team's 27-goal Liga top scorer Ronaldo.
There were famous wins for Arsenal FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC in the first legs of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 ties, but the question now is whether the north London pair can finish the job against FC Barcelona and AC Milan respectively.
Arsenal face undoubtedly the tougher challenge as they travel to Catalonia to defend their 2-1 lead against a Barcelona side who have won 18 of 21 home matches this season. Josep Guardiola's men crushed the Premier League team 4-1 at Camp Nou in last year's quarter-finals – Lionel Messi scoring all four – and the Argentinian international is unlikely to be as profligate as he was in the first leg, prior to Arsenal's late revival. Arsène Wenger's hopes of hurting Barça at the back on Tuesday are not helped by the absence of the injured Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott.
Tottenham wrote the most captivating page yet of the fairy tale that has been their debut campaign in the UEFA Champions League when Peter Crouch earned them a 1-0 first-leg success at a rain-soaked San Siro. The omens are positive that they can complete their assignment on Wednesday against opponents missing the suspended Gennaro Gattuso for the White Hart Lane return. Spurs have won all four home games in the competition this term while Milan have recorded only one victory in 14 previous visits to England.
Like Milan, AS Roma must overturn a deficit when they go to FC Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday and history is not on their side – just once in the UEFA Champions League era has a team undone the damage of a first-leg home loss. Shakhtar triumphed 3-2 in Rome to take a big step towards reaching the last eight for the first time and the Ukrainians' 11-match unbeaten home run in Europe underlines further the size of the task facing Roma's rookie coach Vincenzo Montella, who has replaced Claudio Ranieri since the opener.
The only one of this week's ties currently all-square is FC Schalke 04 v Valencia CF, although the German hosts hold a slight advantage following their 1-1 draw at Mestalla last month. Raúl González got Schalke's away goal and will attempt to inflict further punishment on his compatriots. Valencia, however, have their own causes for optimism – namely, their unbeaten away record in the group stage and the uplifting precedent of a 1-0 victory in Gelsenkirchen in the 2007/08 group stage.
Can Arsenal hold out against Barcelona? Will Milan or Roma battle back? Can Raúl take Schalke past Valencia? Have your say on this week's second legs.
Barclays Premier League Podcast
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish reveals why he is expecting his side to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at West Ham as the Reds prepare to renew rivalries with old foe Manchester United this weekend. Steve Bruce explains how he hopes to halt Sunderland's losing streak when they take on Arsenal and despite dropping points at home to Fulham last time out, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says he is happy with the season so far.
HOW IMPORTANT
Aston Villa star Marc Albrighton tells us how important Saturday's match against Blackburn Rovers is and we hear from Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of the big fixture between the sides.
There are details on how to win Barclays Premier League tickets, our weekly trivia teaser, and in our fan of the week section we speak to a Mambwe Chilwesa, a Manchester United fan from Zambia.
The running time of the Barclays Premier League podcast is 36 minutes and 24 seconds.
The podcast will be available every Thursday evening throughout the season. Click here to subscribe via iTunes
Ronaldo to miss a fortnight
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo will miss two weeks of football after injuring a hamstring in his side's 7-0 mauling of Malaga on Thursday.
A Real statement said the 26-year-old had suffered a minor tear in his left hamstring during the game - in which he scored a hat-trick - and would be out for between '10-15' days.
"A magnetic resonance done at Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital has determined Cristiano Ronaldo has a Grade I muscle injury on the left biceps femoris muscle," the statement read.
"The player will miss 10-15 days. His recovery is being monitored."
Ronaldo left the field moments after scoring his third goal, which lifted him level with Barcelona ace Lionel Messi on 27 goals for the season.
Despite posting a message on his Twitter account claiming he was hopeful of being fit for Real's next game against Racing Santander on Sunday, Ronaldo later removed the post.
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