Lukaku shortens vacation to help depleted United
BRUSSELS: Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku has curtailed his vacation and will join Manchester United at the start of their Premier League campaign, manager Jose Mourinho has said.
Mourinho called for the club’s World Cup participants to shorten their rest days after last month’s tournament to help United, who have also been hindered by injuries, avoid a poor start to the league season.
England duo Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford were already set to return early and United will now be boosted by Lukaku’s decision as they prepare to host Leicester City in their first league game on August 10.
“We will have (Victor) Lindelof who started training two days ago,” Mourinho said after United’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the pre-season International Champions Cup (ICC) on Wednesday. “Marcus Rashford, Jones and Lukaku, because they gave to the group and to the team three days of their holidays, so they are coming back three days early to try to be available for the team.”
EB-MB DERBY ON SEPT 2
KOLKATA: The season’s first Kolkata derby will be played on September 2 when Mohun Bagan and East Bengal meet in Premier Division A of the Calcutta Football League. This was announced at a media conference by the Indian Football Association (IFA) here on Wednesday.
There are 12 teams in the apex tier of the league which at 120 years is Asia’s oldest. The winners will get Rs 25 lakh and the runners-up Rs 20 lakh. East Bengal are the reigning champions, having won the competition a record eight times in a row from 2010.
TOUCHLINE CARDS
LONDON: Referees are to issue yellow and red cards to English Premier League managers who misbehave on the touchline during FA Cup and League Cup matches in a pilot scheme for season 2018-19, the FA said on Tuesday.
In the Premier League, however, the managers will receive verbal warnings, not cards, for misconduct.
DIGNE IN EVERTON
LONDON:Everton have signed defender Lucas Digne from Spanish champions Barcelona on a five-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old France international joins Everton after two seasons in Barcelona, where he made 46 appearances across all competitions, as the Nou Camp outfit won the La Liga last term and retained the Spanish Cup.