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GONZALO GARCIA INCOMING: LEEDS BOARD CONVINCED TO BID FOR MADRID STAR

Leeds United are preparing a £17m bid for Real Madrid's Gonzalo Garcia. The 21-year-old Spaniard seeks more playing time, but faces competition from Aston Villa, Wolves, and Brighton for his signature.

Gonzalo Garcia Incoming: Leeds Board Convinced to Bid For Madrid Star
Leeds Launching 'Imminent' Bid For Real Madrid Star Now

According to sources, Leeds United is prepared to start its January window with a formal £17 million approach for Real Madrid attacker Gonzalo Garcia, but Los Blancos may insist on including a less-than-ideal clause in his contract, and competition from rival Premier League teams is stiff.

The 21-year-old Spaniard, who made a splash at the Club World Cup this year with four goals, has only played 96 La Liga minutes this season and is currently ranked behind Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, and Kylian Mbappe.

Real Madrid is prepared to approve a permanent departure or loan-with-obligation for about €20 million (£17.6 million / $23.2 million) to ensure the young player regular football, even though he signed a new contract that will last until 2030.

Garcia has long piqued Leeds' interest. They made a similar proposal last summer, and now that the 49ers Enterprises are back in the Premier League and struggling to survive, Daniel Farke has persuaded the board that Garcia is the last component needed to ensure top-flight safety and advance to mid-table respectability.

According to club insiders, the bid is "imminent," maybe increasing to £20 million with add-ons and a sell-on option that Madrid would approve.

But the Whites are up against fierce opposition. Brighton has already begun negotiations for a straight loan, while Aston Villa and Wolves are preparing competing £17 million proposals.

Sunderland, a rival promotion team that considered Garcia to be their star acquisition, is not giving up and may return with a better package.

Leeds United is attempting to sign a Garcia


Garcia must decide between fighting for scraps at the Bernabeu and becoming the centre of attention at Elland Road, where 35,000 supporters would jeer at every move he made.

Leeds would be in a difficult situation if they attempted to re-sign the young player because Real Madrid is anticipated to seek a buy-back option in any long-term agreement. The player's camp is reportedly becoming more receptive to a Premier League transfer, according to sources in Spain.

Leeds thinks they can win the race thanks to Farke's experience with young attackers and first-team guarantees.

One of the most thrilling battles of the winter window is likely to start in earnest if the bid is accepted in the upcoming weeks.

VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE

Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.

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Antoine Semenyo’s clumsy challenge handed Chelsea a vital lifeline

Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.

This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.

What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.

VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."

VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.

At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.

Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.

The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.

Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.

A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.

Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth

Referee: Sam Barrott

VAR: Craig Pawson

What: VAR check for a foul in the box

When: 11th minute

BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW

Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.

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Emery snubs Arteta's handshake

Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.

This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.

Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.

Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.

Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.

After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.

It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.

“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.

“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”

About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.

“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.

“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.

“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.

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