Philippe Coutinho’s dream move to Barcelona might not have panned out this summer, but the Brazilian maestro won’t be in a Diego Costa-esque exile for the season, as Liverpool’s No. 10 was named to Jurgen Klopp’s squad for the 2017-18 Champions League campaign.
Right full-back Nathaniel Clyne was not named among Klopp’s group stage options, however, perhaps indicating a more serious development surrounding the back problem he had been dealing with through pre-season. Clyne played just 45 minutes of pre-season football for Liverpool and has been absent since picking up an injury against Tranmere Rovers.
Fellow Englishman Adam Lallana did make the team despite battling a similar mid-to-long term injury. He’s missed the start of the 2017-18 Premier League season with a thigh injury and will likely be out for another couple of months.
Newcomer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his way into the final selection with no problems, as did the rest of Liverpool’s new recruits in Andy Robertson, Dominic Solanke and star winger Mohamed Salah.
However, Danny Ings and Lazar Markovic were both left out of the team.
If Klopp wants to make any changes, he’ll need to wait until January, when clubs can register three new non-cup tied players.
There are no winners in the wake of Diego Costa’s wantaway demands.
As expected, the bullish striker wasn’t on the list of names in Chelsea’s roster for the 2017-18 Champions League campaign. Both logic and sentiment play into that decision; Blues boss Antonio Conte doesn’t want Costa in the locker room, and cup-tying him would turn off Atletico Madrid from the move entirely.
Costa’s attempts to orchestrate a return to Diego Simeone’s side extend as far back as last January, but nothing could be done in 2017 due to the club’s transfer ban. For the next four months, each party involved must sit and wait, all equal losers in a sour situation with no real happy ending.
Conte’s reported text message to Costa deeming him surplus to requirements at Chelsea was a poor decision on the Italian tactician’s part. If Costa wasn’t to be the long-term option, they should have worked together to reach an amicable solution for the months leading up to January. Chelsea’s depth is an issue and Costa could have played in the FA or League Cup. A loan move wasn’t arranged, either.
Instead, Conte showed his hand as a man who does not react well to being slighted. While he maintained publicly that he was focused on the bigger picture – and, to be fair, was rewarded with a Premier League trophy – he did not do himself any favours in handling Costa dismissively. You can bet Chelsea’s players took note of the whole affair and will keep it in mind moving forward.
Costa is currently in Brazil, in a sort of protest leave, with the club asking him to return and reportedly considering legal action against him if he does not. It’s the last thing Chelsea’s business side needs to be thinking of as the organization continues paying the considerable wages of a player who is not even in the country – not that Chelsea is cash-strapped, but if this arrangement doesn’t change, the club will take an even greater loss on his fee.
Atletico might be the only winner of the bunch by gaining a player for a reduced figure, but that price may come with the caveat that Costa won’t be ready to contribute right away. With Antoine Griezmann also potentially departing next year, Atletico would probably prefer to spend a bit more for match fitness.
While Costa will be hungry to prove his doubters wrong, he won’t launch his personal crusade on solid footing if he spends the next few months in exile. It’ll be even tougher if he’s dealing with fitness concerns, multiple fines, and legal problems.
Fellow wantaway stars Philippe Coutinho and Alexis Sanchez might not have secured their own moves away either, but they’ll be in shape for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Costa was snubbed from Julen Lopetegui’s latest roster in favour of David Villa and isn’t exactly guaranteed a spot next summer.
Come January, an out-of-form Costa will probably sport the red-and-white stripes of Atletico once again. Conte will have moved on as he learns how best to use Alvaro Morata. The two clubs will have completed a deal where neither got what it really wanted, and Spain will continue to prepare without Costa in mind.
Life and football will go on regardless of Costa’s murky circumstances, but January can’t come soon enough for any of the parties involved.
Lucien Favre didn’t hold back when talking with reporters following OGC Nice’s Champions League play-off exit Tuesday, singling out Mario Balotelli and the club’s board for criticism.
Favre, who was approached to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund in the summer, watched several of his players underperform as Napoli completed a 4-0 aggregate victory to reach the Champions League group stages at Nice’s expense.
“I don’t want to comment on Balotelli,” Favre told Brian Homewood from Reuters when asked of his view on what was a distracted and lethargic outing from the Italian marksman. “It wasn’t very satisfactory, it was not good enough.”
Favre added that Balotelli was too slow leaving the pitch when he was substituted.
The Balotelli incident that left Favre most irritated occurred when Jose Callejon made it 1-0 after 48 minutes. The former Manchester City and AC Milan striker wasn’t on the pitch, but instead rowing with the fourth official in the technical area. The arguing appeared to relate to him wearing a white bandage over jewellery on his wrist – which is outlawed in football.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Favre, perhaps ruing the job at Dortmund that could’ve been his, then hinted he was unimpressed with the support he has been given when trying to assemble a team that can compete in Europe’s elite club competition.
“To build, you have to replace the material that was there before. We have not replaced yet, far from it,” Favre complained to beIN Sports, as reported by Get French Football.
“It is difficult to find players 10 days before the end of the window, very difficult.”
So far in the summer transfer window, players have been signed relatively cheaply from fellow French teams, with the exception of Wesley Sneijder, who joined for free after a spell in Turkey. Going the other way have been Dalbert and Valentin Eysseric, both of whom shifted to Serie A, and rumours have stepped up in recent days that Jean Michael Seri is nearing a transfer to Barcelona.
Nice returns to action in Saturday’s Ligue 1 trip to Amiens SC – a match Seri declared his availability for – and will embark on another Europa League escapade from mid-September.
Giorgio Chiellini’s right calf complaint that sees him left out of Italy’s vital World Cup qualifier against Spain on Saturday could also lead him to miss key club clashes.
Following his return to Juventus for further examination, the club announced the defender is doubtful for next Saturday’s visit from Chievo Verona, as well as the Champions League curtain-raiser in Barcelona three days later.
Those not called up for international duty underwent an intense session Saturday overseen by Massimiliano Allegri. Chiellini had started the campaign alongside Daniele Rugani in Juve’s back two, and will likely be replaced by either Andrea Barzagli or new arrival Benedikt Howedes.
On the international stage, Giampiero Ventura may be tempted to call Rugani into the starting lineup and return to the old favoured back-three, although this could be detrimental to the freedom of the Azzurri’s talented wide players higher up the park. In recent outings, Ventura has preferred a 4-2-4 formation, which got the best out of Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne.
