SPORTS UPDATE

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New Technical Director will be appointed after world cup at Chelsea #CFC

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Kante: "We know Giroud is a goalscorer, he has scored many goals already in the Premier League for Arsenal and he has still not played that many games for #Chelsea.“ [Mirror]

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Kante: "Even last season, Giroud got a lot of goals and he wasn’t starting all the matches for Arsenal. We are not worried.“ [Mirror]

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Kante: "Giroud will soon start getting goals for #Chelsea in the Premier League, and he should not be worried either. They will come – maybe against Tottenham.“ [Mirror]

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Thomas Tuchel will not be the new Arsenal manager and is likely to take over at Paris Saint-Germain, according to Sport Buzzer .

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Manchester United face competition from Juventus as they look to sign Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, according to The Sun .

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Liverpool are readying a €100 million offer for RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner, reports Bild .

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Griezmann says he would like to play alongside Manchester United midfielder and France international team-mate Paul Pogba but that does not mean he wants to move to Old Trafford. (Mail)

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says calls for him to leave are down to "age discrimination". (Telegraph)

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Inter Milan have beaten Manchester City
and Barcelona to the signing of 26-year-old Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij, who will join from Lazio on a free transfer at the end of the season. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian)

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Burnley defender James Tarkowski, 25, and Swansea centre-back Alfie Mawson, 24, could make their debuts for England against Italy on Tuesday. (Times - subscription required)

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England manager Gareth Southgate is concerned by the fitness of Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana, 29, and is set to leave Chelsea's 32-year-old centre-back Gary Cahill, Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, 28, and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, 26, out of his 2018 World Cup squad. (Sun)

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Brighton and Bournemouth are interested in Celtic's 29-year-old English forward Scott Sinclair. (Mail)

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Swansea are keen to turn the loan signing of 29-year-old Wales midfielder Andy King from Leicester into a permanent deal if they avoid relegation. (Mirror)

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Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper David de Gea says the ball for this summer's World Cup is "really strange" and "could have been made better". (AS)

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Premier League clubs will delay the implementation of VAR for another season when they vote on the issue on 13 April. (Mirror)

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Kante: Chelsea is my home

N'Golo Kante has appeared to confirm that he will stay at Chelsea for the foreseeable future, insisting that the club is his "home".

Kante, who joined the Blues in 2016 after helping Leicester City to their improbable Premier League title triumph, has been linked with a move to big-spending PSG in his homeland of France.

However, he has now insisted that he is solely focused on helping the Blues achieve their goals this season.

"I am at home. It is my club, I am a Chelsea player," Kante told Football Focus, via the London Evening Standard .

"This is my second year at Chelsea. After what happened last season, it was a very good one for us because we got to celebrate winning the title.

"In the second season, I have got to play in the Champions League and we are going again to finish in the top four."

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Former Atletico Madrid and Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan has not taken kindly to reporters questioning his new wife, with the Turkey international threatening one with a broken face.

The 31-year-old, who is now back in his homeland at Istanbul Basaksehir, tied the knot with Aslihan Dogan on March 12.

Arda Turan was out to eat with his wife, brother Okan Turan and his partner, but the evening ended on a sour note.

Upon leaving a restaurant, the group were quickly surrounded by journalists and photographers.

One asked Dogan for her take on a “simple ceremony” and whether it had lived up to her expectations.

When she replied by making a zipping gesture across her mouth, the reporter in question asked: “Has Arda forbidden you from talking?”

The Turkey international hit back angrily, with news outlet NTV among those to report him as saying: “Be respectful, or I will crush your head and eyes! You're talking to my wife.”

Arda Turan and his party then left by taxi before the confrontation escalated.

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•Thibaut admitted after the 3-0 defeat to Barcelona, in which he was nutmegged twice by Lionel Messi which resulted in two goals, that he'd not hide. However, he won't tolerate unneeded criticism, not in the least from a former United boss.

Courtois replied to Van Gaal: "When I hear so-called experts talking, I think they know nothing about goalkeeping. Van Gaal, for example, such people should not talk about goalkeepers. I know that I am doing well and I am growing to be in top form for the World Cup.

"I can laugh with those jokes on social media. After the game I sent to my friends myself: do you have a net for me? Those swear words are of course something else. There is a lot of jealousy."

Despite errors, Thibaut is still resolute to stay at Chelsea beyond this summer.

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It's not easy to pick just one when you already have more than a hundred

Cesc believes his best assist ever was the one touch flick for Andre Schurrle back in 2014, just after he joined the Blues: ''Against Burnley on my debut probably but I would have to remember them all and that is not so easy.''

When asked if he is the assist king of the Premier Leauge, Cesc replied matter-of-factly: ''At the moment second best.''

•Which is true given he has 111 PL assists, the second best result after Ryan Giggs (162). Playing in a deeper role may blunt his record, but it will sit well with him.

''I will always try my best anywhere they ask me to play,'' he replies when asked about a possibility to play deeper in a Pirlo-esque role.

 

Who remembers that sweet pass to set Schurrle up?