EURO GARETH’S Madrid star forces namesake McAuley into cruel own goal
Foxes clause keeps Kante
N’GOLO KANTE may end up staying at Leicester – with the Foxes free to reject offers that meet his buy-out clause.
The France international agreed a special rider limiting his ability to speak to certain clubs when he joined the champions from Caen 12 months ago.
Leicester included the proviso as a form of protection but it remains to be seen which clubs are prohibited from following up their interest.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is the latest to show his hand, hinting this week that he is huge admirer of Kante, 25.
The latest revelation could explain the absence of any stampede for a player who made the PFA team of the year last season. ONE flash of quality from Gareth Bale proved enough to settle Battle of Britain Two – and keep the Welsh fairy tale alive.
For more than an hour the world’s most expensive star had delivered very little of the stardust that’s about to earn him the biggest contract in Real Madrid’s history.
Locked down by a brilliantly executed Northen Ireland game plan, it looked for all the world as if this clash was going to go all the way to penalties.
But Bale suddenly produced a fabulous 75th-minute cross with his left foot into the heart of Northern Ireland’s six-yard area.
Such was the precision of Bale’s cross Gareth McAuley could do nothing but turn the ball past his own keeper Michael McGovern with Hal Robson-Kanu breathing down his neck.
It was heartbreaking for West Brom defender McAuley – and a brutal way for Northern Ireland’s uplifting Euro adventure to end.
The Irish and their green and white army have won plenty of friends for their against-the-odds triumph to reach the last 16 with a squad f armed f rom all corners of football.
And until Bale finally delivered some quality the Irish were dreaming of one more throw of the dice at these finals.
Michael O’Neill’s stars more than held their own in the Parc des Princes and were arguably the more dangerous side, especially in the first half where they kept Bale and Aaron Ramsey quiet. This won’t go down as a classic though, and for the second time in a few days Britain made Europe suffer. Premier League referee Martin Atkinson doesn’t often drop down to the Championship – but the lack of quality on show made this feel at times like a second- rate contest after some of the action elsewhere i n the tournament.
But when you have a player like Bale in your ranks then you are only a split second from a moment of brilliance.
The jubilant scenes after the final whistle with Bale and the rest of the Welsh team celebrating with their kids in front of the massed ranks of their fans will be precious memories.
Sadly for Northern Ireland their dream is over but they can hold their heads high. They