Ox deal cranks up Solanke wrangle
THE tribunal to decide the transfer fee Liverpool must pay Chelsea for England Under 20 World Cup-winning striker Dominic Solanke is expected to be a fraught affair.
And the manoeuvrings around Alex OxladeChamberlain’s £35million move from Arsenal to Liverpool this week, after Chelsea had agreed a fee for the England player, is only going to increase the tension.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was intent on going to Anfield for footballing reasons and Chelsea moving first allowed Liverpool to sign him for an acceptable price from a club never keen to do business with them since Arsenal tried to sign Luis Suarez for £40m plus £1 from them in 2013.
Chelsea have had Solanke on their books since he was seven and were never going to accept Liverpool’s offer of £3m for the best performer at the U20 World Cup in South Korea. Since joining Liverpool, he has come off the bench in the Champions League and Premier League this season.
dysfunctional Football League are shamelessly keeping former Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey on their board by finding him a convenient non-executive directorship role at Burton Albion following his split with Norwich City. Moxey needs a role at a club to remain ‘Championship director’ on the EFL board.
ITV Racing in their wisdom had irritant betting pundit Matt Chapman back doing the trophy presentation announcements at the York Festival. And after Enable won the Yorkshire Oaks, winning trainer John Gosden (right) even encouraged Chapman to call him ‘Johnny G’ — the sobriquet that upset Epsom after Enable’s Oaks victory to the extent they had Chapman replaced as master of ceremonies for the Derby. However, Chapman managed some decorum on this occasion by calling Gosden to the York podium by his full name.
THE FA, despite making numerous trips to Russia, are still far enough away from deciding on a World Cup training base for manager Gareth Southgate to be going back in October to look at fresh options. The Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik, near Sochi, had been the preferred choice but Southgate found the location too hot and humid for his liking when he made a visit during the Confederations Cup. Southgate said: ‘The heat was a concern. I wanted to look at something different.’