Defoe Completes Spurs Switch

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Jermain Defoe, is set to be pitched straight into the first-team for Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League clash with Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium on Sunday. After the finer details of his move back to White Hart Lane from Portsmouth were completed.

26-year-old Defoe left Spurs for Pompey last January after four-years at the Premiership club, where he scored 64 goals in 177 appearances for Tottenham before deciding to leave for Fratton Park to work under Harry Redknapp.

Redknapp, who left Portsmouth to take charge of Spurs in October had already worked with Defoe at West Ham United and is now set to work with the England International again, with Redknapp likely to start Defoe against the Latics this weekend.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy expressed his delight at having Defoe back at White Hart Lane, with Levy revealing that Defoe is also excited at being back and the prospect of working with Redknapp at Spurs.

“We are delighted to welcome Jermain back to the club,” said Levy.

“We had previously been keen for Jermain to sign a new contract to extend his initial stay but at that point in time he felt it was in his interests to move on in order to guarantee himself more starts.

“I know the club is close to his heart and that he is thrilled to be back and to once again link up with Harry.”

Redknapp echoed the sentiments of Levy and reiterated how highly he thinks of Defoe, who he has just signed for the third time in his career.

“I am pleased to have him here and I am sure the supporters are looking forward to seeing him back in a Spurs shirt,” he said.

“Because I know what a top class player he is as well as a proven goalscorer.”

Wenger Tells Eboue To Win Arsenal Fans Back By Giving 200%

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Ivory Coast International Emmanuel Eboue has vowed to bounce back for Arsenal after being booed by his own fans and suffering the humiliation of being a substituted substitute in the Gunners Premier League clash with Wigan Athletic last weekend.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed at the time that he had hauled 25-year-old Eboue off against the Latics for his own good, but has since backed the versatile right-sided player to come good for the Premiership club.

Despite the backing from Wenger, Eboue started on the bench for Arsenal in the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, but Wenger has told the former Beveren player to play his way back into the hearts of the Emirates faithful by giving 200% in every match for the North London club.

Eboue told The People: "It was sad. I did not expect that reaction from the public because I have always given all for Arsenal.

“But I am a professional and I have respect for the reactions of the crowd.

“The manager has encouraged me in the last few days and told me that you get over these things by working harder and fighting.

“He has promised me that if I give 200 per cent in every game, the fans will applaud me again.”

Can Wigan Keep Hold Of Zaki In January?

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The New Voice Of Football column at FootballFancast.com

With Real Madrid and Chelsea circling Wigan Athletic striker Amr Zaki. Can Latics boss Steve Bruce hold on to the Egyptian International in January if the big clubs come calling?

Since 25-year-old Zaki arrived at the JJB Stadium in the summer on a season-long loan. As a relative unknown from Egyptian side El Zamalek and took the Premier League by storm, with his all-action style and goals in the early part of the campaign. Speculation has grown that the former Lokomotiv Moscow forward will be snapped up by one of the big European sides next month.

While, Bruce insisted today that all the talk has become repetitive and boring and that Zaki belongs to Wigan for the season. Can he really do anything to stop it should Zamalek decide to sell the Egyptian from under his nose?

"It does become a bit repetitive and boring," Bruce said.

"It is Chelsea this week, Real Madrid last week, Liverpool the week before, Man City before that. I think the whole thing needs to be addressed really.

"He is ours for the rest of the season.”

After all Zamalek’s main purpose in loaning Zaki to Wigan and not sell him outright in the first place, was to raise both his profile and price tag. Which, has now happened. So should Los Merengues or the Blues, City or anyone else for that matter turn up at the door of the Egyptian club, with a wheelbarrow full of cash in January? How much thought will be given to the fact that they have an agreement with Wigan until the end of the season?

Yes, Wigan will be compensated in some sort of way, but Bruce didn’t even negotiate the option to be at the front of the queue to buy Zaki should he want him as a permanent fixture at the JJB come May next year.

Now I may be wrong here, but I can’t find anything in the rules, which prevents Zamalek recalling Zaki and selling him to another club. After all Zamalek are the club that own his registration and not Wigan. So from where I’m standing Bruce can huff and puff all he likes, but the fact remains that Zaki is not his player and by the looks of it never will be. Which means that by not having that first option to buy Zaki, Bruce saw the move as taking a punt. Something, that is now surely going to backfire on him.

Arsenal v Wigan Premier League Preview: Can The Gunners End The Latics 5-Game Unbeaten Run?

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Arsenal play, Steve Bruce’s Wigan Athletic in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners side will go into this clash with Wigan full of confidence after a morale boosting win at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, with Arsenal coming from behind to win 2-1 against Chelsea. This will have brought some relief to Wenger, with Arsenal losing their two previous matches to Aston Villa at the Emirates and then were soundly beaten 3-0 by Manchester City at the Eastlands Stadium before their win against the Blues. Arsenal, are 4th in the Premiership and will expect to take all three points against Wigan on Saturday.

The Latics will also be full of confidence for the trip South to Arsenal, with Wigan unbeaten in five games and go into this match with the Gunners on the back of two straight wins at the JJB Stadium against Everton and West Bromwich Albion. Wigan are 11th in the table and Bruce will hope that the Latics can keep their good run going against an Arsenal team that has struggled at times this season against less fancied opposition.

Arsenal will be without long-term injured Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Eduardo (broken leg) and England International Theo Walcott (shoulder) for the visit of the Latics. However, Wenger could have William Gallas (calf), Johan Djourou (thigh), Abou Diaby (abdominal strain), Kolo Toure (calf) and Emmanuel Eboue (knee), who are all struggling to be fit for Saturday’s game. Robin van Persie, who scored both goals against Chelsea, is likely to start, with Emmanuel Adebayor his probable strike-partner for Arsenal.

Bruce has a full squad to choose from for the trip to the Emirates, with the only doubt being top-scorer for the Latics Amr Zaki, who is fighting to shake off a calf strain in time to take to the field against Arsenal.

Arsenal: (from) Almunia, Gallas, Toure, Eboue, Djourou, Clichy, Sagna, Nasri, Fabregas, Denilson, Van Persie, Adebayor, Bendtner, Fanianski, Silvestre, Song, Diaby, Vela, Ramsey, Wilshere, Mannone, Bischoff, Coquelin, Fonte, Gibbs, Hoyte, Lansbury, Merida, Nordtveit, Randall, Rodgers, Simpson

Wigan Athletic: (from) Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Figueroa, Scharner, Taylor, Edman, Cattermole, Palacios, Kilbane, Heskey, Koumas, Brown, Pollitt, Zaki, Valencia, Boyce, de Ridder, Cywka, Kingson, Kapo, Camara, Kupisz, Routledge, Ashworth

Villa To Join Liverpool & Man United In Valencia Hunt?

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Aston Villa, are to join Liverpool and Manchester United in the race for the signature of Wigan Athletic midfielder Luis Antonio Valencia, when the transfer window reopens in January, according to The News of the World.

The Sunday tabloid claims that Villa boss Martin O’Neil is planning to make a £7million offer to lure 23-year-old Valencia from the JJB Stadium to Villa Park. As the former Celtic boss looks to build a squad capable of challenging for a Champions League place in the Premiership at the Midlands club.

Ecuador International Valencia signed permanently for the Latics in the summer, having spent the previous two seasons on loan from La Liga club Villarreal and has made 65 Premier League appearances for Steve Bruce’s side.

Valencia has also attracted the attention of Reds boss Rafa Benitez, with the Liverpool boss keen to bring the right-winger to Anfield as a replacement for Jermaine Pennant, who looks destined to leave the Merseyside club in January.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is also said to be interested in bringing Valencia to the Premier League Champions, with the Red Devils chief also linked with Valencia’s club and International team mate Wilson Palacios.

Wigan v West Brom Premiership Preview: Zaki Out For Latics As Baggies Look To End 7-Game Winless Streak

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Wigan Athletic, play Tony Mowbray’s West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League at the JJB Stadium on Saturday.

Steve Bruce’s Latics side will be boosted by their 1-0 win over Everton at the JJB on Monday, with Wigan unbeaten during November after losing all their Premier League matches in October. Wigan will go into this clash with West Brom full of confidence as the Latics are on a four-game unbeaten streak, but are still just two points outside the relegation zone in 15th place in the Premiership.

The Baggies on the other hand are desperate for some points, with West Brom without a win in the last seven games, which has seen them collect just 1 point from the last 21 available. This poor run has seen the Midlands club slip to the bottom of the Premier League, where West Brom are two points adrift of their nearest rivals Blackburn Rovers, who that point came against at the Hawthorns at the beginning of November.

Wigan will be without their top-scorer this season Egyptian International Amr Zaki, who will miss the visit of the Baggies with a virus. The Latics are also unable to call on captain Mario Melchiot (calf), but long-term injury Erik Edman could be available for Wigan after a knee injury, although it is unlikely that Bruce will risk the former Tottenham Hotspur defender against West Brom.

Mowbray will be without long-term injured Neil Clement (knee), with James Morrison facing a late fitness test on his knee injury ahead of the trip to the JJB Stadium in this must win game for West Brom.

Wigan Athletic: (from) Kirkland, Taylor, Edman, Cattermole, Palacios, Scharner, Kilbane, Heskey, Koumas, Brown, Pollitt, Valencia, Boyce, de Ridder, Bramble, Cywka, Kingson, Kapo, Camara, Kupisz, Figueroa, Routledge, Ashworth

West Bromwich Albion: (from) Carson, Hoefkens, Robinson, Cech, Corbett, Koren, Greening, Bednar, Miller, Brunt, Kim, MacDonald, Moore, Dorrans, Pele, Kiely, Teixeira, Slusarski, Zuiverloon, Meite, Olsson, Morrison, Valero, Donk

Latics Sensation Zaki Joins Adebayor & Babel On Real Wanted List?

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Wigan Athletic striker Amr Zaki (below) has reportedly joined Ryan Babel of Liverpool and Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor on the wish list of Real Madrid boss Bernd Schuster in January. As the Los Merengues coach looks to bolster an injury ravaged frontline at the Bernabeu.

Real have already lost Dutch International Ruud van Nistelrooy for the rest of the season through injury and have now lost Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, who was injured in Madrid’s La Liga clash with Recreativo Huelva on Saturday.

However, the injury to Higuain is not thought to be serious and is only expected to keep the 20-year-old former River Plate player out of Real’s Champions League tie with BATE this week.

Real were linked with a move for Gunners striker Adebayor last week and earlier on Monday were said to be interested in Liverpool winger Ryan Babel, with Schuster desperate to bring a quality forward to the Bernabeu in January after the loss of van Nistelrooy.

Now Egyptian International Zaki has appeared on the Real radar, with the La Liga giants tempted by the Latics striker, who has been a sensation in the Premier League since his arrival at the JJB Stadium. Zaki is also available to play in the Champions League, which makes the on-loan striker a much more viable proposition than Adebayor or Babel, who would both be cup-tied.

In addition to this Wigan manager Steve Bruce has already revealed that the Premiership side do not have first refusal on Zaki from parent club Zamalek. With the Egyptian club sending Zaki on a season-long loan to Wigan to increase the players value.

With 8 goals in 12 Premier League games, Zaki’s value has surely risen, with Wigan apparently unable to do anything should Real Madrid come to an agreement with Zamalek when the transfer window reopens in January.

Newcastle v Wigan Premiership Preview: Barton & Ameobi To Feature For Magpies – Zaki A Doubt For Latics

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Joe Kinnear’s Newcastle United play, Wigan Athletic in the Premier League at St James’ Park on Saturday.

The Magpies lost to Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage last weekend, but won their previous two Premiership matches against Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion, which brought an end to Kinnear’s winless streak at the North East club. However, Newcastle are still in the relegation zone and Kinnear will be hoping that the Toon can pick up all three points against a Wigan side just above them on virtue of goal difference.

Latics manager Steve Bruce will want his side to shake off any side effects of the 3-0 Carling Cup defeat to Arsenal’s youngsters on Tuesday and will be hoping that Wigan can build on the win against Portsmouth at Fratton Park and the 0-0 draw with Stoke City at the JJB Stadium in their last two Premier League outings. Which ended a four-game losing streak for Wigan.

Kinnear is still unable to call on Alan Smith, Mark Viduka and Ignacio Gonzalez, who all have achilles problems for the visit of Wigan. Joey Barton is likely to start in central midfield and Newcastle Player of the Month Shola Ameobi is likely to lead the attack, with Kinnear to decide between Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen as his strike-partner for this must win clash.

The Latics will be without long-term absentee Erik Edman (knee), with doubts over Premiership top-scorer Amr Zaki after his agent claimed that the Egyptian International has been playing with flu and is carrying several other knocks.

“Amr will have a full check-up on Wednesday because of several injury concerns in late,” Saied told FilGoal.

“He played with flu against Stoke and Arsenal, he is also complaining from an old calf injury. Furthermore, he received a knock to his ribs during the Arsenal match.”

Newcastle United: (from) Given, Coloccini, Taylor, N’Zogbia, Barton, Butt, Gutierrez, Enrique, Cacapa, Guthrie, Martins, Owen, Duff, Bassong, Harper, Xisco, Geremi, Beye, Ameobi, Kadar, Edgar, Tozer, LuaLua, Carroll

Wigan Athletic: (from) Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Taylor, Cattermole, Jones, Palacios, Scharner, Kilbane, Heskey, Koumas, Brown, Pollitt, Zaki, Valencia, Boyce, de Ridder, Cywka, Kapo, Camara, Kupisz, Figueroa, Ashworth

Arsenal's Wilshere Set For England Fast-Track?

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshire’s performances in the Carling Cup this season look like propelling the young Gunner into the England Under-21 squad that travels to Sweden next year for the European Championships.

16-year-old, Wilshere had been watched by an England scout in last months 6-0 drubbing of Sheffield United in the Carling Cup. England manager Fabio Capello along with his assistant Franco Baldini and Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce were all in attendance at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to see the young starlet put in a man of the match performance against Wigan Athletic in the North London clubs 3-0 win, which put them through to the quarter finals of the Carling Cup.

The attendance of all the main players in the England management set-up at the Emirates has heightened speculation that Wilshere, who has been hailed as the “New Gazza’ in some quarters is to be fast-tracked into the full International set-up and taken to the EURO’s with the Under-21’s next summer.

Wilshere has already been capped by England at Under-16 and Under-17, with the youngster only recently returning from a training camp in Tenerife for the Under-17 squad before his five star performance humbled the Latics on Tuesday.

Wilshere will not be able to sign his first professional contract until he turns 17 next January, but looks set for a glittering career in the Premier League and with England. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger compared Wilshere to Spanish International Cesc Fabregas after the win against Wigan, with the Frenchman nurturing Fabregas from a 16-year-old arriving from Barcelona five years ago into one of the best and most sought after midfielder’s in Europe that he is today.

Should Wilshere’s progression take a similar path to the one of Fabregas under the guidance of Wenger, then a regular starting place for both club and country is surely not to far off the horizon for the latest young talent to emerge from the Emirates conveyer belt.

Wigan v Stoke Premiership Preview: Heskey & Zaki To Lead Latics Attack? – Lawrence & Davies Missing For Potters

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Wigan Athletic, play Tony Pulis’ Stoke City in the Premier League at the JJB Stadium on Saturday.

Steve Bruce’s Latics will be looking to build on the 2-1 win against Portsmouth at Fratton Park last week, which ended a four-game losing streak in the Premiership. However, Wigan are just outside the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference nothing less than a home win against Premier League debutantes Stoke will please former Manchester United player Bruce.

The Potters will be full of confidence after beating Arsenal 2-1 at the Britannia last weekend, which saw Stoke move out of a relegation spot and up to 13th in the Premier League. However, Pulis will be eager for his Potters side to show they can play good football after Gunners boss Arsene Wenger accused the Potters of fouling their way to victory in their clash last week.

Wigan, almost have a fully fit squad for the visit of Stoke, with only long-term absentee Erik Edman unavailable with a knee injury. Jason Koumas got a rare start against Pompey last week and should keep his place, with Emile Heskey and Amr Zaki likely to start upfront for the Latics.

Pulis is still without Liam Lawrence (ankle) and Andrew Davies (knee), who will both be out for another three weeks, but has no new injury worries ahead of the trip to the JJB.

Wigan Athletic: (from) Kirkland, Scharner, Taylor, Cattermole, Palacios, Kilbane, Heskey, Koumas, Brown, Pollitt, Zaki, Valencia, de Ridder, Bramble, Cywka, Kingson, Kapo, Melchiot, Camara, Kupisz, Figueroa

Stoke City: (from) Sorensen, Griffin, Higginbotham, Olofinjana, Cort, Whelan, Soares, Cresswell, Fuller, Sidibe, Kitson, Pugh, Pericard, Matteo, Shawcross, Diao, A Faye, de Laet, Tonge, Delap, A Diagne-Faye, Phillips, Wilkinson, Simonsen, Dickinson, Sonko