FOOTY BLAZE

The 2018/19 UEFA Europa League has been announced with former champion Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Chelsea, RSC Anderlecht and Sevilla along with heavyweights Lazio, Arsenal and Marseille all vying for the trophy and a spot in the next season's Champions League. Source: GaLaTaMan HD Football Group A Bayer Leverkusen Ludogorets Razgrad FC Zurich AEK Larnaca Group B FC Red Bull Salzburg Celtic Red Bull Leipzig Rosenberg Group C Zenith Saint Petersburg FC Copenhagen FC Girondins de Bordeaux Slavia Prague Group D RSC Anderlecht Fenerbahce SK Dinamo Zagreb Spartak Trnava Group E Arsenal Sporting Lisbon Qarabag Vorskla Poltava Group F Olympiakos FC AC Milan Real Betis F91 Dudelange Group G Villarreal CF SK Rapid Wein Spartak Moscow Rangers Group H SS Lazio Olympique de Marseille Eintracht Frankfurt Apollon Limassol Group I Besiktas JK KRC Genk Malmo FF Sarpsborg 08 FF Group J Sevilla FC FC Krasnodar Standard Liege Akhisar

The 2018/19 Carabao Cup fixtures are out with reigning champions Manchester City starting their title defence away against Oxford United.  Source: The Sportsman Liverpool at Anfield against Chelsea, Manchester United against Frank Lampard managed Derby County seems to be the pick of the lot with a total of 4 all-Premier League ties with Liverpool v Chelsea, Leicester City v Wolves, Tottenham v Watford and Everton v Southampton. West Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace FC Arsenal FC v Brentford FC Burton Albion FC v Burnley FC Wycombe Wanderers FC v Norwich City FC Oxford United FC v Manchester City West Ham United v Macclesfield Town FC Millwall FC v Fulham FC Liverpool FC v Chelsea FC AFC Bournemouth v Blackburn Rovers FC Preston North End FC v Middlesbrough FC Wolverhampton Wanderers FC v Leicester City FC Tottenham Hotspur FC v Watford FC Blackpool FC v Queens Park Rangers FC Everton FC v Southampton FC Manchester Utd v Derby County FC Nottingham

The 2018/19 Champions League draws are out with reigning champions Real Madrid drawn into Group G of the Champions League groups. Source: Daily Post Nigeria Group A Atletico Madrid Borussia Dortmund AS Monaco FC Club Brugge Group B FC Barcelona Tottenham Hotspur PSV Eindhoven FC Internazionale Milano Group C Paris Saint Germain SSC Napoli Liverpool FC FK Crvena Zvezda Group D FC Lokomotiv Moscow FC Porto FC Schalke 04 Galatasaray S.K Group E FC Bayern Munich S.L Benfica AFC Ajax AEK Athens FC Group F Manchester City FC Shakhtar Donetsk Olympique Lyonnais TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Group G Real Madrid AS Roma PFC CSKA Moscow FC Viktoria Plzen Group H Juventus Manchester United Valencia CF BSC Young Boys

Belgium World Cup star Nacer Chadli is set to join French giants AS Monaco from West Bromwich Albion on a proposed fee of around 10 million pounds. Source: Sky Sports The 29-year old former Tottenham Hotspur winger made 37 appearances and scored 6 goals for the Baggies in his 2-year stint with the club.

Spanish giants Real Madrid has re-signed striker Mariano Diaz from Olympique Lyon on a 5-year deal for a reported fee of 33 million pounds with add-ons. Source: Euro Football Rumours The Dominican Republic striker who initially joined Real Madrid in 2012 before switching to Olympique Lyon made 37 appearances and scored 18 goals for the Ligue 1 side in his only season with the club.

Paris Saint Germain is set to sign Spanish international Juan Bernat from Bayern Munich on a 3-year contract for a reported fee of  14 million euros. Source: Bavarian Football Works The 25-year former Valencia defender made 111 appearances and scored 5 goals for the Bavarian giants in a 4-year stint with the German club

FC Barcelona and Spanish international Paco Alcacer is set to join Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan deal. Source: Everything Barca The 24-year old who joined Barcelona from Valencia has made 50 appearances and scored 15 goals for the Blaugrana so far in his 2-year stay with the club.

Valencia has completed the signing of Portuguese international Goncalo Guedes from Paris Saint Germain on a reported fee of 40 million euros. Source: Foot01 The 21-year old former Benfica winger, who played at Valencia on loan from PSG last season made just 13 appearances and scored no goals for the French giants.

FC Schalke has completed the signing of midfielder Sebastian Rudy from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich on a reported fee of around 16 million euros. Source: Bavarian Football Works The 28-year old former Hoffenheim midfielder made 35 appearances for the Bavarian giants in his only year with the club before agreeing to a 4-year deal with FC Schalke.

Everton has decided to loan Congo International Yannick Bolasie to Championship side Aston Villa. Source: Sky Sports The 29-year old former Crystal Palace winger has made 32 appearances and scored 2 goals for the Toffees in his 2-year with the cub.

Dutch playmaker Kevin Strootman is set to sign for former Champions League winners Olympique de Marseille from AS Roma on a reported fee of 25 million euros +3 million euro on bonus, subject to medicals. Source: Bein Sports The Sparta Rotterdam youth product who joined the Italian capital-based side in 2013 has made 137 appearances so far and has scored 13 times.

Liverpool shot-stopper Loris Karius has agreed to join Turkish giants Besiktas on a two-year loan deal. Source: Sky Sports The 25-year old German made 49 appearances for the Merseysiders in his 2-year stint with the club, coming under heavy criticising more than one occasion especially in the Champions League final.

Valencia and Italy striker Simeone Zaza has joined Seria A side Torino on loan from Valencia after 2 seasons with the La Liga side. Source: Forever West Ham The 31-year old former Juventus and West Ham player made 59 appearances and scored 19 goals for the Los Che.

The former Arsenal and AS Roma and Ivory Coast forward Gervinho has joined Seria A side Parma after a 3-year long stay at the Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune FC. The forward joins the Seria A side on a free transfer. Source: Arsenal.com The Ivorian made 29 appearances and scored 4 times for the Chinese Super League side before switching continents to join Seria A side Parma.

Seria A giants AC Milan has announced the signature of Spanish winger Samu Castillejo from Villarreal, on a reportedly 25 million euro deal. Source: AC Milan Offside The 23-year old joins the Seria A giants after 3 seasons with the El Submarino Amarillo that saw the winger making 127 appearances and scoring 11 goals for the La Liga side. The move also sees Colombian World Cup star Carlos Bacca making his stay at the Estadio de la Ceramica permanent after a season with the La Liga side. The 31-year old made 76 appearances and scored 34 times for the Milan based side in a 2-year stint.

Seria A giants AC Milan has announced the capture of Uruguayan World Cup star Diego Laxalt with Gianluca Lapadula making his loan move to Genoa permanent. Source: Internation House Uruguay The Uruguayan and former Inter Milan defender Diego Laxalt joins 7-time Champions League winners, in a reportedly 18million euro deal, after 3 seasons including a season on loan with Genoa that saw the wing-back making 117 appearances and scoring 8 goals for the Seria A side. Italian forward Gianluca Lapadula has made his move to Genoa from Milan, after pending last season on loan at Genoa, after making 29 appearances and 8 goals for Seria A giants.

The first Estonian to play in the Premier League, Ragnar Klavan, has left Liverpool to join Seria A side Cagliari after the Merseyside agreed to a 1.17 million euro bid. Source: Daily Mail The Estonian who joined Liverpool from Bundesliga side FC Augsburg made 53 appearances and scored 2 goals for the 18-time English League champions

Colombia number 1 David Ospina has completed his move to Naples as he joins former Seria A champions Napoli on loan from Arsenal with an option to buy the shot-stopper for 5 million euros. Source:ArsenalCore The arrival of Bernd Leno has seen the goalkeeper going much below the pecking table. The former Nice shot-stopper joined Arsenal in 2014 and has made 70 appearances for the Gunners.

3-time Champions League winner and former Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o has joined his 11th club. Source: FC Barcelona The Cameroonian legend and a veteran of more than 700 matches join the Qatar based football club after making just 3 appearances and scoring once in the only season for the Turkish club Konyaspor.

Valencia has announced the capture of Russian World Cup hero Denis Cheryshev on a season-long loan deal from La Liga side Villarreal. Source: Evening Standard The former Real Madrid youth product joins Los Che on loan after a terrific World Cup display that saw the winger scoring 4 goals for his national team. The winger who joined Villarreal from Sevilla made 90 appearances and scored 11 times for the La Liga side before accepting a season-long loan deal to Valencia.

AS Roma is set to complete the signing of French World Cup-winning midfielder Steven N'Zonzi from Sevilla on a 30million euro deal. Source: Romapress The former Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City midfielder is expected to complete a 30 million euro deal to Seria A side AS Roma from La Liga side Sevilla after a 3-year stint with the Andulasian side that saw the midfielder making 136 appearances and scoring 8 times.

Italian giants, AC Milan are set to sign Chelsea flop Tiemoue Bakayoko on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy the French international Source: Metro The former AS Monaco starlet who joined Premier League giants Chelsea last year in a 40 million pound deal made 43 appearances, mostly failing to perform, and scored 3 times for the Blues. A changing scenario might be what the midfielder wants as the 23-year old tries to revive his young career.

2-time champions league finalists Valencia has confirmed the transfer of French international striker Kevin Gameiro from Atletico Madrid on a 20 million euro deal. Source: Marca The French striker joins the Los Che on a deal that keeps him till 2021. The French end a rather 2-year disappointing stay with the Los Colchoneros. The striker who joined La Liga giants Atletico Madrid from Sevilla made 87 appearances and scored 27 times for the club from the Spanish capital.   

The infamous tag of the most hated club in German football can be credited in RB Leipzig's name. The steep rise of the club from the lower divisions to the apex one can be attributed to the meticulous youth-centered policy of RasenBallsport Leipzig (not Red Bull Leipzig). This has done nothing to ease the heat received by the club from the German football lovers. We look into the short history of the club which has instilled a mixed bag of emotions in Germany.                         It all started in 2009 when Red Bull bought the rights of a club based in East Germany , SSV Markranstadt. R ed Bull were looking to buy a club in Germany to widen their marketing horizon, but weren't successful as buying a club in top tiers of german football is  against DFB regulations . The way the Austrian manufacturers  got around that is by buying a fifth division club based in Leipzig. . East Germany has been traditionally inferior to its western counterpart in most fields. This applies

Source: Sports Interactive Community The very name Wolves thunders from the pages of English football history. It is quite hard to believe that the newly promoted Premier League club is, in fact,  on e of the pioneers in making the English FA as well as the European competitions. But for the past 59 years, since the day captain Billy Wright under the management of the legendary manager Stan Cullis lifted the Football League first division( now the Premier League) trophy at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, the Molineux has been left silent with none of the predecessors yet to come close to emulating their success of their past.  The mid-60s saw the first fall of the mighty Wolves as Stan Cullis was sacked in September 1964 after a disastrous 1964/65 season that saw the 3-time league winners suffering relegation after finishing bottom of the league. The stay in the second tier was short lived as Bill McGarry ushered in a relatively successful 8-years for the Wolves.

Newcastle United has completed the signing of  Swansea City defender Federico Fernandez on a 2-year initial deal after both the clubs agreed to 6 million pound deal for the 29-year old. Source: WalesOnline The 29-year old Argentinian defender who joined Swansea City from Italian giants Napoli has made 126 appearances and scored 2 goals in a 4-year stint with the Welsh side.

Wolverhampton Wanderers has announced the signing of Belgium international Leander Dendoncker from Belgium giants RSC Anderlecht on a season-long deal with an obligation to buy the player for 12 million pounds next season Source: Getty Images The Belgian who is adept at playing both as a defender and defensive midfielder had made 171 appearances and scored 11 goals for his boyhood club.

Fulham has completed the deadline day signing of Spanish international and Sevilla shot-stopper Sergio Rico on a season-long loan deal. Source: Daily Star The 2-time Europa League winner will join the Craven Cottagers from boyhood club Sevilla after making 169 appearances for the La Liga side.

West Ham has completed the signing of former Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez on a 2-year deal from Seria A side Fiorentina. Soccer: West Ham twitter Nicknamed La Roca, the Colombian had made 52 appearances for La Viola and scored 2 goals for the Italian side.

Everton has completed the signing of Portuguese and Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes on a season-long loan deal with Everton paying 2.5 million euros to the Blaugrana. Source: Barca Blaugrana The Portugues midfielder who joined Barcelona from Valencia has made 78 appearances and scored 3 goals in tumultuous 2 year stint at the Nou Camp.

Everton has completed the signing of Colombian World Cup star and Barcelona defender Yerry Mina on 30.25 million euro with 1.5million euro add-ons deal. Source: Goal.com The Colombian international who joined Barcelona during the last winter transfer window made just 6 appearances for the Blaugrana in the 6 months in the squad.

Everton has completed the transfer of Brazilian international Bernard on a free transfer after the 25-year old ran down his contract with Shakhtar Donetsk. www.thetimes.co.uk The winger will join the Toffees on a 4-year contract after 5 years with the Ukranian giants. Bernard who made 157 appearances and scored 28 goals for Shakhtar will be the second Brazilian to sign for the Merseyside in this transfer window.

West Ham has completed the signing of Spanish international Lucas Perez from London rivals Arsenal on a 5 million pound deal. Source :Sky Sports The 29-year old striker joins who joined Arsenal from Deportivo La Coruna, made 21 appearances and scored 7 goals for the English giants.

Leicester City has completed the signing of  Croatian defender Filip Benkovic on a 13 million pound deal Source: sempreinter.com The 21-year old Croatian will join the Foxes from boyhood club Dinamo Zagreb after making 88 appearances and scoring 6 goals for the Croatian giants.