OFFICIAL: TOTTENHAM CONFIRM £35M AGREEMENT WITH CRYSTAL PALACE FOR WINGER BRENNAN JOHNSON
Crystal Palace have agreed a £35m fee with Tottenham for Brennan Johnson, but the player is yet to decide on his 2026 future.
Crystal Palace and Tottenham have agreed on a £35m fee for Brennan Johnson, but the Welsh player hasn't decided if he wants to move.
The 24-year-old got the winning goal against Man United in last season’s Europa League final, which ended Spurs' 17-year trophy wait.
Johnson was Spurs' top scorer last season with 18 goals. He also scored the winner in the Europa League final against Man United.
Since Thomas Frank took over from Ange Postecoglou in June, Johnson has mostly been a substitute for Mohammed Kudus on the right wing, which has led to talk about him leaving Tottenham.
The Press Association says Palace is the frontrunner to sign the 24-year-old after agreeing to a deal with Spurs on Tuesday.
Even though a £35m deal is in place, Johnson hasn't yet approved the transfer to London because other teams are interested, and there's doubt about Oliver Glasner's future as Palace's manager.
Glasner has recently made it clear he's not happy about the lack of transfers last summer, especially after Eberechi Eze was sold in August.
After Sunday's 1-0 home loss to Spurs, the Austrian suggested they needed more attacking players.
Palace seems to be struggling with a tough schedule of games and are missing Ismaila Sarr due to the Africa Cup of Nations, plus Daniel Munoz and Daichi Kamada are injured.
"I don't have enough money to sign players; the transfer fees are too high," Glasner joked when asked if he was promised any signings in January.
I think if you watch our game, it's pretty obvious what we need, but it's up to Crystal Palace to decide.
If we keep struggling to score goals, well, I can only encourage the players, support them, and stay positive.
Palace plays Fulham on Thursday and is hoping to end their five-game winless streak and win at Selhurst Park for the first time since November 6.
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.
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.
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.