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Fernandes wins EA SPORTS Player of the Month
Bruno Fernandes has been named the EA SPORTS Player of the Month for February.
The Portugal international midfielder, who made his debut for Manchester United on 1 February, made an instant impact after arriving from Sporting Lisbon in the January transfer window.
He impressed in his first match against Wolverhampton Wanderers before getting an assist in a crucial 2-0 victory at top 4 rivals Chelsea.
Fernandes then starred in a 3-0 home win over Watford with a goal and an assist on what he describes as a "special" day.
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Dyche wins Manager of the Month award
Sean Dyche has been named the Barclays Manager of the Month for February.
Dyche claims the prize after going unbeaten during the month and leading Burnley into the top half of the table.
In between draws with Arsenal and Newcastle, the Clarets beat Southampton and Bournemouth.
Dyche says winning at St. Mary's Stadium with an injury-hit attack was the highlight of the month, even if he will not fully enjoy his award until the end of the season.
"The most important of the 4 results was probably Southampton", said Dyche after receiving the award last week, the second time he has done so in his career.
"They were on a good run and we lost a player in Woody (Chris Wood) early on, put Vyds (Matej Vydra) on and it paid off.
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Chelsea exercise Giroud option
Chelsea have exercised an option to extend Olivier Giroud's contract until 2021 to protect against losing the 33-year-old for free to Inter Milano at the end of the season.
The France international could still push for a transfer but the Blues have moved to secure their striker amid uncertainty in the transfer market due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Blues could still look to sell Giroud, who has interest from Inter and Lazio, but they would likely block a move to rivals Tottenham, who explored the option of signing the striker in January.
Indeed, Giroud had looked to leave Stamford Bridge in January after falling out of favour with Chelsea manager Frank Lampard ahead of the transfer window.
Giroud has started Chelsea's 3 most recent league games after starting just 2 between the beginning of the season and mid-February.
Overall, the France international has scored 3 goals in 13 total appearances for the Blues in 2019-2020, eight of which have been starts.
Chelsea remain keen to renew the contract of Abraham, which expires in June 2022. Willian and Pedro Rodriguez's deals also expire at the end of the season but talks have so far not progressed with either player.
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Chelsea announce 3 sponsor deal
Chelsea are back in familiar territory after choosing UK telecommunications firm 3 as its main shirt sponsor from next season.
The side that tore up the Premier League under Jose Mourinho more than a decade ago did so with another telecom giant, Samsung Mobile, splashed across their chests.
Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama Tyres will cease to appear on the club's shirts in the 2020-2021 campaign as their £40million-per-year deal comes to an end this summer.
At the time it was signed by the Blues it was second only to Manchester United's tie-up with Chevrolet in the Premier League in value, and was said to be worth £200 million in full.
However, Yokohama have not entirely severed ties with the club either, staying on as official tyre partner for the west Londoners.
It is unclear how much 3 will be paying but they have sweetened their deal with Chelsea by promising to ensure Stamford Bridge is 5G-enabled within the first year of the partnership, with patchy mobile signature at games a grumble of the modern football fan.
Telecommunication have previously been one of the most dominant sectors in football shirt sponsorship, and the deal with 3 could be something of a resurgence.
The early and mid 2000s were the zenith for the industry in the Premier League, with the 3 most successful sides - Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United - sponsored by O2, Samsung Mobile and Vodafone respectively.
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Chelsea exercise option to extend Caballero's contract
Chelsea have exercised their option to extend Willy Caballero's contract until 2021, Goal has learned.
The goalkeeper's previous deal was due to expire at the end of June, but the Argentina international has impressed manager Frank Lampard with his professionalism this season, with the 38-year-old proving a reliable understudy for Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Caballero's decision to sign on for an additional year represents another boost for Chelsea, having already persuaded Olivier Giroud to turn down the chance to join Inter on a free transfer this summer in favour of remaining at Stamford Bridge.
However, the Blues still have 2 players on contracts that are set to expire on 30 June in Willian and Pedro Rodriguez, and both are attracting interest from elsewhere.
Both could still see out the season at Stamford Bridge, even if the campaign is extended into August because of the coronavirus pandemic, given the Premier League has granted clubs permission to organise temporary, short-term deals with players.
Chelsea would still need to come to an agreement with the pair, however, and Willian's situation could prove particularly difficult to resolve.
The Corinthians academy product is seeking a new, 3-year deal but the Blues are unwilling to grant such a lengthy extension to a player who turns 32-year-old in August.
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Hasenhuttl signs new 4-year contract
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has signed a new 4-year contract to keep him at the club until 2024.
The 52-year-old has been in charge of Saints for 16 months after succeeding Mark Hughes at St. Mary's in December 2018.
Hasenhuttl has established himself as a popular figure on the south coast and impressively steered the ship back on course after October's record-breaking 9-0 home loss to Leicester City.
Southampton sit in 14th place ahead of the Premier League's resumption later this month.
Hasenhuttl's side have a 7-point cushion above the relegation zone with 9 matches remaining.
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Long agrees new 2-year deal
Southampton forward Shane Long has agreed a new 2-year contract extension at St. Mary's.
The Republic of Ireland striker had been approaching the end of his existing deal this summer, but is now set to remain with Saints until the end of the 2021-2022 season.
The 33-year-old, who joined Southampton in August 2014, has been an important part of Ralph Hasenhuttl's squad since the manager took the helm 18 months ago.
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Foster agrees new 2-year deal
Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster has agreed a new 2-year deal to remain at Vicarage Road.
The 37-year-old was heading towards becoming a free agent with his existing contract set to expire this summer.
Foster, who has 8 England caps to his name, moved to Watford on a permanent deal from West Bromwich Albion in 2018.
The goalkeeper first played for Watford almost 15 years ago when he joined the club as a youngster on loan from Manchester United before moves to Birmingham City and then West Bromwich.
Foster has amassed a total of 147 appearances in a Watford shirt in all competitions and replaced Brazilian Heurelho Gomes as the club's number 1 when he signed for the club 2 seasons ago.
Gomes, who has been at Watford since 2014, turned 39 in February and is out of contract in the summer.
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Andy King to leave Leicester at end of season
Wes Morgan, Christian Fuchs and Eldin Jakupovic have signed new one-year contracts with Leicester City, but Andy King will leave the club at the end of the season.
Club captain Morgan and left-back Fuchs were key members of the Foxes' 2016 Premier League-winning side, while Jakupovic has largely served as a back-up goalkeeper since arriving in 2017.
However, King - another key member of Leicester's title-winning side - will leave the King Power Stadium after 16 years.
The midfielder joined Leicester as a 16-year-old and has gone on to make 378 appearances for the Foxes, placing him 10th on the club's all-time list.
He remains the only player to have won the League One, Championship and Premier League titles with the same club.
King will leave Leicester after honouring his loan at Championship side Huddersfield Town, which is due to run to the end of the season.
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Leno ruled out for up to 6 weeks
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has been ruled out for up to 6 weeks with the moderate ligament strain he sustained against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Defender Pablo Mari has been ruled out the rest of the campaign, and will return in 2 or 3 months, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Granit Xhaka have returned to full training.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli sustained a knock during training on Sunday and is ruled out for Thursday's match against Southampton.
The Gunners are suffering from a lack of defensive cover with David Luiz also suspended for another 2 matches, after he was shown a straight red card at the Etihad Stadium on 17 June.
Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding both played the full match against Brighton, with the pair being Mikel Arteta's only centre-backs currently available for selection.
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Baines to stay at Everton until season end
Everton have agreed a short-term deal to keep Leighton Baines for the remainder of the season and have also offered the left-back an additional 12-month contract extension.
Right-back Djibril Sidibe, who is on loan from AS Monaco, will also remain at Goodison Park until the end of the campaign after the two clubs agreed to extend his stay on Merseyside.
Everton will also keep goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg until the end of this season, before he returns to Holland to play for Ajax.
Meanwhile, Oumar Niasse, Cuco Martina and Luke Garbutt will all leave Everton at the end of June when their contracts expire.
Liverpool confirm Nathaniel Clyne will leave
Liverpool have confirmed full-back Nathaniel Clyne will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the month.
Clyne will depart after making 103 appearances over 5 years for Liverpool following his transfer from Southampton in 2015.
After an impressive start to his career at Anfield, the 29-year-old's spell at the club was hindered by injuries, which restricted him to just 10 appearances for the Reds over the past 3 campaigns.
Clyne, who has 14 England caps, spent 6 months on loan at Bournemouth in the second half of the 2018-2019 season, making 14 appearances for the Cherries.
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Aubameyang fastest Arsenal player to 50 Premier League goals
Arsenal ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang notched his 50th Premier League goal for the Gunners against Norwich City to become the club's quickest player to that mark in the modern era, reaching the milestone on the occasion of his 79th appearance.
With his future still very much in doubt, the Gabon international opened the scoring against the relegation strugglers by robbing goalkeeper Tim Krul and then tapping into an unguarded net.
His contribution from the opener fired him into the club's history books as he notched the mark in a quicker time than legendary figures such as Thierry Henry and Ian Wright, who took 87 and 101 games respectively to reach the mark in the red of Arsenal.
Indeed, only 5 players have been quicker to the 50-goal mark in the history of the Premier League.
Andy Cole, who came through the Arsenal youth ranks before achieving fame at Newcastle United and Manchester United, is the fastest to his half century, grabbing it in 65 games, one fewer than Alan Shearer and 3 quicker than another former Old Trafford star in the form of Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Anfield favourites Mohamed Salah and Fernando Torres both reached their 50 in 72 matches, putting the former Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan forward, who turned 31-year-old last month, in illustrious company.
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The best 10 Spanish players in Premier League history
They've not been quite as dominant as French imports but, especially this century, the Spaniards have really left an incredible mark on the Premier League.
And with David Silva's spell in England very close to its end, we thought we'd take stock of the very best of Spanish talent the Premier League has seen since its inception in 1992. So here are the top 10 Spaniards in Premier League history.
10. Santi Cazorla (Arsenal, 2012-2018)
Honours: FA Cup (2), Community Shield (2)
There are other Spaniards who had a good case to make this number 10 spot: the incredibly consistent Mikel Arteta, the magically brief Michu, and then Pedro Rodriguez who is also good. But whilst they are all great players, they're just not as special as Santi Cazorla.
Cazorla arrived at Arsenal and just took off from the start. He played every game in his debut campaign and was crucial in ensuring Arsenal stayed in the Champions League spots. He improved as time went on, being simultaneously an elegant passer and a tenacious tackler - he could also move with the ball if needed.
In the end injuries (and the questionable standards of his team-mates) stopped him from reaching his full height as a Premier League player and potentially moving up this list. But we'll always have the moments of magic; especially the delirious free-kick that started Arsenal's comeback in the 2014 FA Cup Final, allowing them to end their trophy drought.
9. Juan Mata (Chelsea, 2011-2014 and Manchester United, 2014-present)
Honours: FA Cup (2), Champions League (1), Europa League (2), Community Shield (1), EFL Cup (1)
Juan Mata kept his place at Manchester United for the 2019-2020 season basically because he's a really nice guy. No seriously. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke highly of his ability to mentor young players rather than play good football himself when he contract was renewed last summer.
Still, it wasn't always like this. Before David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, Juan Mata was one of the most vibrant and exciting players in the division. He lit it up for Chelsea, less for United, but he nearly always performs when called upon.
8. Pepe Reina (Liverpool, 2005-2013 and Aston Villa 2020-present)
Honours: UEFA SuperCup (1), FA Cup (1), Community Shield (1), EFL Cup (1)
Pepe Reina joined Liverpool when they were European Champions thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of Jerzy Dudek... and then made the team better.
Reina won the golden gloves award in his first season and went on to keep an incredible 134 clean sheets for Liverpool, with a ratio of 0,47 per game, higher than any other goalie with 100 or more clean sheets.
The Spaniard returned to the Premier League in January, with Aston Villa, but has so far been unable to add to his clean sheet tally in 6 appearances.
7. Diego Costa (Chelsea, 2014-2018)
Honours: Premier League (2), EFL Cup (1)
Suffice to say Diego Costa was a controversial figure when playing for Chelsea. He wound up opponents and sometimes even his own team-mates.
He fell out with 2 different managers and came close to leaving multiple times. But when he was focused ? He was deadly, a bully of a striker who defenders hated facing and a huge part of Chelsea's last 2 title wins, scoring 20 goals in each campaign.
6. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea, 2012-present)
Honours: Europa League (2), Premier League (2), EFL Cup (1), FA Cup (1)
It's easy to forget but Cesar Azpilicueta was once a flying wing-back in La Liga at Osasuna. Injuries at Olympique Marseille clipped his wings, and then Jose Mourinho had the plan of turning him into a defensive left-back.
It shouldn't have worked, but in fact transformed Azpilicueta into an absolute beast of a defender. So much so that he was able to take his talents back to right-back, then right centre-back, and finally back to right wing-back. Azpilicueta is a master of the art of defending (and the clipped diagonal cross), challenge him at your peril.
5. Xabi Alonso (Liverpool, 2004-2009)
Honours: Champions League (1), UEFA SuperCup (1), FA Cup (1), Community Shield (1)
It's been a while but hopefully people still remember Xabi Alonso, the impossibly elegant deep-lying playmaker who brought a sense of the impossible to the Premier League.
His first season ended with Liverpool lifting the Champions League and whilst they never reached that high again, the football they played with Alonso pulling the strings was breathtakingly brutal in its defensive resilience and attacking thrust. Xabi Alonso was a master craftsman with an array of spectacular long-range passes and shots that could fill a YouTube highlight reel to bursting. A gift and a treasure to watch.
4. Fernando Torres (Liverpool, 2007-2011 and Chelsea, 2011-2014)
Honours: Champions League (1), Europa League (1)
Fernando Torres won more as a bad player with Chelsea than he did as a great one with Liverpool, but that and the horrible form he displayed on the way out of the Premier League should not mask the way he came into the division swinging with the fury of a young Mike Tyson.
Torres was an almost supernatural blend of pace, power and precision finishing that, when he was fit, recalled the likes of Gabriel Batistuta. He never even hit 30 goals in a single league season but when you think back, all you remember is him brutalising everything in sight - especially Manchester United - and leading the line for a truly phenomenal Liverpool side.
3. David de Gea (Manchester United, 2011-present)
Honours: Community Shield (3), Premier League (1), FA Cup (1), EFL Cup (1), Europa League (1)
For a kid who came into the league thin as a pencil and got so easily buffeted about that even ex-Man United legends were calling him a waster on live TV (and he got dropped for Anders Lindegaard), it seems David de Gea knows how to bounce back.
The Spaniard adapted, won the league in his second season and for the 5 years after that was the only thing keeping Manchester United afloat as a relevant footballing institution (well, he had a little help from Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the end), winning their Player of the Year 4 years in a row. Manchester United's Mr. Wonderful.
2. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal, 2003-2011 and Chelsea, 2014-2019)
Honours: Premier League (2), EFL Cup (1), FA Cup (1), Europa League (1)
The only Spaniard to dominate the Premier League, leave, then come back to dominate it even more. Cesc Fabregas is an absolute phenomenon with two very distinct phases in his career. For Arsenal he emerged as a teen sensation and played a scintillatingly direct variant of Spanish passing football. He thrilled us all even as he won nothing. Then he moved to FC Barcelona, a move which taught him his limits and how to win trophies (if nothing else).
Fabregas then brought that winning mentality back to the Premier League with Chelsea and instantly, with greater clarity and maturity than he showed in the red of Arsenal, helped guide them to 2 league titles in his first 3 seasons. He has had a phenomenal career as a Premier League player and it was a shame that he left quietly mid-season last year with little commotion rather than at the end of a campaign to hysterical fanfare and much fawning in the media. He was incredible.
1. David Silva (Manchester City, 2010-2020)
Honours: FA Cup (2), Premier League (4), Community Shield (2), EFL Cup (5)
There are very few players who can have been said to mark an era in the Premier League, but David Silva is certainly one.
From his arrival alongside Yaya Toure in the summer of 2010, Silva has consistently been one of the best midfielders in the division. A delightful blend of skill, balance, precision passes, timely goals and the odd nasty tackle that let people know he wasn't for bullying.
Silva was always important, especially as Manchester City won their first 2 league titles - but the arrival of Pep Guardiola turned David Silva into an absolute colossus.
The Spaniard was placed at the heart of Guardiola's midfield and given license to control the game from deeper positions in a way he never had before. He took to this role superbly, fought through difficult personal circumstances to continue playing at an absurdly high level, and his reward was to be the first Spaniard to ever retain the Premier League title.
Last summer he announced the 2019-2020 campaign would be his final one in England, leaving after 10 years and while he was unable to leave with a fifth Premier League medal, "El Mago" is comfortably the best Spaniard in the competition's history.
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Vardy joins Premier League 100-goal club
Jamie Vardy has become the latest member of the Premier League 100-goal club and the first Leicester City player to achieve that feat.
Only 3 other players in the Foxes' history have recorded a century of top flight goals for the club.
The last of those, Arthur Lochhead, hit that mark back in 1933-1934.
Vardy now forms part of an illustrious group of stars, with the 33-year-old having been a model of consistency for Leicester.
His meteoric rise to prominence is well-documented, with a stunning surge made from the non-league ranks to a Premier League stage.
The Foxes snapped him up from Fleetwood Town in 2011, with a jump made from the Conference into the Championship.
Vardy helped to secure promotion into the big time, before going on to play a leading role in a remarkable title triumph in 2015-2016.
He hit 24 league goals that season and was named Premier League Player of the Year.
The 20-goal mark has been reached again in the current campaign, with a landmark effort recorded in a meeting with Crystal Palace.
Vardy did not make his debut on a Premier League stage until the age of 27, with Arsenal icon Ian Wright the only centurion to have been older when making his bow.
His first Premier League goal for them was recorded against Manchester United in a 5-3 defeat to the Red Devils in September 2014.
He managed only 5 efforts all season in that campaign, but quickly got to grips with life among the elite.
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