SOCCER SHORTS:ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS will hold talks with Chelsea's chief executive, Ron Gourlay, this week to determine the club's transfer policy, with an improved bid expected to be lodged with Tottenham Hotspur for their unsettled midfielder Luka Modric.
Chelsea’s squad returned home from the Far East yesterday, with Villas-Boas having used the two- week tour as a means of gauging the quality of the players at his disposal.
The Portuguese had suggested after Saturday’s 2-0 Asia Trophy victory over Aston Villa that he might yet opt against re-entering the market, though interest is retained in targets and some level of strengthening is still anticipated.
Two bids for Modric, who was omitted from Spurs’s friendly at Brighton on Saturday through illness, have already been rejected, with Gourlay now to meet Villas-Boas to discuss their next move.
Chelsea have been active while in the Far East. They have completed the signing of Thibault Courtois from Genk – the Belgian goalkeeper has subsequently been loaned to Atletico Madrid – and are close to securing Barcelona B midfielder Oriol Romeu. Talks are also ongoing with Anderlecht over the potential addition of Romelu Lukaku.
Treacy on the way to Burnley
PRESTON North End were last night reported to have accepted an offer from Burnley for Republic of Ireland international Keith Treacy.
The League One outfit had previously turned down an offer of around €1 million for the Dubliner and had been holding out for a figure believed to have been in the region of €1.2 million.
Sneijder leaves United door open
WESLEY Sneijder has left the door open to his proposed move to Manchester United by admitting that “there is always a chance something will happen”.
The Internazionale midfielder is the player Alex Ferguson wants at Old Trafford to replace the retired Paul Scholes and it has emerged that United have sounded him out over personal terms.
Ferguson was quoted yesterday as saying: “If he (Sneijder) wants to come, he must accept our contract offer. If not, we have other options in mind. We’re done talking.”
Sneijder is rated at €40 million and his weekly wage stands at almost €285,000.
Arsenal watch some magic from Henry
THE return of Thierry Henry to the Emirates Stadium yesterday provided a mixture of pleasure and pain for Arsenal fans. They enjoyed welcoming back the player voted the greatest in the club’s history, then watched him pick apart their defence with a single pass as New York Red Bulls stole an unlikely late equaliser to win the Emirates Cup.
So the new season has started as the old one finished, with Arsenal’s defence looking unreliable and their attack less than incisive.
Failing to break down a defensive but limited MLS side was frustrating, but the rearguard remains the more pressing problem. Twice in as many days they have let leads slip in the pre-season tournament’s glorified friendlies, Boca Juniors having come back from 2-0 to force a draw on Saturday.
Dundee United off to a flyer
DUNDEE United recorded a 1-0 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle yesterday as the visitors put the potential departure of David Goodwillie behind them when Jon Daly nodded in Willo Flood’s 38th-minute corner.
In a riveting contest between the teams who finished third and fourth in the SPL last term, John Rankin earlier hit the bar with a free-kick for United after being brought down on the edge of the box.
Schalke begin defence in style
SCHALKE 04 began their defence of the German Cup yesterday with an 11-1 rout of seventh tier Teningen whose players were banned from half-time shirt swapping by their coach.
Freiburg became the fourth Bundesliga team to succumb to lower league opponents when they were beaten 3-2 at Unterhaching with Mijo Tunjic scoring twice for the third division side.
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