All posts by KANKENNEWS

Manchester United star makes huge wage demand over signing new contract

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is reportedly asking for around £300,000 a week to sign a new contract at Old Trafford.

The Spain international is one of the finest players in the world in his position and a hugely important part of this United squad, but his future has been up in the air for some time now.

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De Gea’s current contract is due to expire at the end of next season after the club activated a clause to extend it by a further year, according to the Daily Mail.

The latest on the 28-year-old is that he seems open to remaining with the Red Devils, but they’ll clearly have to pay up if they are to prevent him leaving, according to the Mail.

One imagines De Gea would have offers from all over Europe the sooner he came towards the end of his contract, so United would probably be wise to just get this out of the way and meet his demands.

€100million star open to Manchester United transfer despite recently signing new contract

Manchester United could be in luck in their transfer pursuit of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly as he’s reportedly open to a transfer to Old Trafford.

The Senegal international is one of United’s top defensive targets, according to ESPN, and is seemingly ready to consider joining the Red Devils despite only signing a new contract with Napoli back in September.

MORE: Manchester United consider transfer of Premier League powerhouse to solve problem position

United are also linked in ESPN’s piece with two other Serie A-based centre-backs in Alessio Romagnoli of AC Milan and Milan Skriniar of Inter Milan.

It remains to be seen if United can realistically get any business done this January, with ESPN reporting that Koulibaly is a more realistic target for the summer.

Still, MUFC probably need a defender this winter, so it would be interesting to see how that effects their plans regarding Koulibaly.

Kalidou Koulibaly has been linked with Manchester United

5 PGA Professionals earn PGA Master Professional status

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The PGA of America has announced that five PGA Professionals have achieved PGA Master Professional status, the highest educational designation that can be attained within the Association.

These PGA Professionals, who recently graduated from the PGA Master Professional Program 2.0 (PGA MPP 2.0), are:

  • Richard Brown, PGA Director of Instruction, Quail Valley Golf Course, Missouri City, Texas (Teaching & Coaching)
  • Billy Cleveland, PGA General Manager, Carolina Golf Club, Charlotte, North Carolina (General Management)
  • Timothy Cusick, PGA Director of Golf Instruction, Four Seasons Resort and Club, Irving, Texas (Teaching & Coaching)
  • Charles Powell, PGA Golf Champions Magazine, Fullerton, California (Teaching & Coaching)
  • Stephen Vigiano, PGA Quarter Century Member, Freeport, New York (Player Development)

The PGA Master Professional Program (MPP 2.0), part of the PGA’s Member education curriculum, was established in 1969 to recognize PGA Members who made a significant effort to improve as golf professionals and maintain the highest degree of excellence for themselves and their operations. The PGA MPP 2.0 program also ensures that PGA Members are prepared to meet the growing and changing demands of the marketplace.

Today, the PGA Master Professional Program (MPP 2.0) is available to any of the PGA Member who has a minimum of eight years of Membership and achieved advanced certification through the PGA Certified Professional Program, which was launched in 2004.

The PGA MPP 2.0 curriculum is comprised of an extensive project based on the specific certification previously acquired by the PGA Professional. The project includes a detailed demonstration overseen and evaluated by PGA Master Professionals, PGA Subject Matter Experts and professional testing consultants. Upon approval of the project and successful completion of a presentation, a PGA Member earns PGA Master Professional status.

Since the program’s inception, 372 PGA Professionals have earned the prestigious PGA Master Professional status.

For more information about the PGA of America, visit PGA.org, follow @PGAofAmerica on Twitter, and find us on Facebook.

Barcelona attacker rejects contract extension amid intense transfer speculation

Barcelona forward Munir El Haddadi has turned down a new deal at the club, with Sevilla reportedly close to luring him away from the Camp Nou.

According to ESPN, the Blaugrana offered the 23-year-old the chance to extend his current contract, which is set to expire at the end of the season, but he turned it down due to concerns over regular minutes on the pitch.

The Spaniard has featured in just 11 games across all competitions for Barca this term, scoring two goals, with club boss Ernesto Valverde opting to use the likes of Luis Suarez, Arthur and Philippe Coutinho ahead of him.

El Haddadi has been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent months and Spanish radio station Cope reports that he has already agreed to join Sevilla at the end of the campaign.

Barcelona are currently top of La Liga having won 11 of their 17 matches in the first half of the season, sitting three points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid and seven ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid.

El Haddadi

They are also going well in the Champions League after winning their Group ahead of Tottenham and Inter Milan, to set up a last-16 tie against Ligue 1 giants Lyon.

Unfortunately for El Haddadi, there are many world-class players on the books at the Camp Nou and it is unlikely that he will manage to become a fixture in the starting XI with so much competition for places.

After graduating from the academy in 2014 the mercurial attacker was tipped for a bright future with the first team, but he has since only managed to rack up 56 appearances in total while contributing 14 goals.

For the sake of El Haddadi’s future development, it might be time he moves on and Sevilla would be the ideal place for his talent to grow, especially given the fact that they also compete at the top of La Liga and in the Champions League.

Gonzalo Higuain agent in London as AC Milan star ready to take drastic measures to force Chelsea transfer

Gonzalo Higuain’s transfer to Chelsea could be about to take a significant step forward as he could try to force his way out of AC Milan.

The Argentina international, who is on loan at Milan from Serie A rivals Juventus, is said to be frustrated with club chief Leonardo.

This is according to Corriere dello Sport, as translated by Chelsea reporter Simon Phillips on Twitter, who also tweets of news from Gazzetta dello Sport that Higuain’s brother and agent is in London as speculation hots up over the 31-year-old moving to Stamford Bridge.

Higuain would be a fine signing for Chelsea to replace Alvaro Morata, who has majorly flopped at Stamford Bridge since his move to England from Real Madrid last season.

The Independent are one of a number of outlets reporting on Morata’s potential departure as clubs like Sevilla and Atletico Madrid show an interest in him.

They also link CFC with Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, but this fresh Higuain update sounds extremely promising for fans hoping to see the former Napoli and Real Madrid man move to west London.

Rory McIlroy one shot behind leaders Ross Fisher, Thomas Pieters in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy fired a 7-under 65 Saturday in the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship to sit one shot behind leaders Ross Fisher and Thomas Pieters.

Northern Ireland's McIlroy is on 16-under 200 overall with the former world No. 1 playing his first event since October.

England's Fisher also shot a 65, while overnight leader Pieters added a 67 to reach 17-under 199 on a low-scoring day in the absence of any wind at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club's National Course.

Top-ranked Dustin Johnson (68) is five shots behind the leaders.

Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood (67) was tied fourth on 201 with Matthew Fitzpatrick, whose 9-under 63 is the lowest round of the tournament so far.

McIlroy finally dropped a shot in the tournament on the par-3 15th when he could not get out of the greenside bunker in one attempt. He made up for this with a chipped-in birdie on the 17th and added another on the par-5 18th.

McIlroy has never finished outside the top five in seven of his last eight starts here.

"I've had a lot of close calls here, I think about six top threes or something like that," he said.

Fisher has been in good form since the second half of 2017, and has risen to 31st in the rankings. However, his last win came back at the 2014 Tshwane Open.

On Saturday, he started with three birdies in first four holes before dropping a shot on the fifth, and then played solid golf and made key par saves in his 65.

"I think a good momentum putt was probably the birdie on eighth," Fisher said. "We traded birdies, good shots, and just thoroughly enjoyed the guys' company and look forward to doing it again tomorrow."

Pieters was disappointed at not making a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to stay one ahead of Fisher.

"A lot of really good shots and then finished poorly," the Belgian said. "That was a terrible last hole."

Johnson is tied for 12th with four other players after six birdies and two bogeys.

This article was from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

Bayern Munich set to raid Barcelona for want-away star should pursuit of World Cup winner fall short

Bayern Munich look set to turn their attentions to Barcelona and Spain star Jordi Alba should they fail in their pursuit of French international Lucas Hernandez.

According to Don Balon, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is to pull out all the stops to try and convince Hernandez, who won the World Cup with France this past summer, to stay with Los Rojiblancos, and that if the Argentine is successful in this, Bayern will turn their attentions to Jordi Alba.

Another recent report from Don Balon has noted that Spaniard Alba has decided that he’s to leave the Blaugrana, something that will music to Bayern’s ears.

Alba is debatably the best player in the world in his position, thus it would be a bitter blow for Barca should they end up losing the former Valencia man.

The player’s partnership with Lionel Messi is one of the best in world football, and the Spanish giants would have an extremely difficult time replacing him should he end up departing the Camp Nou.

Alba has decided to leave Barcelona, news that will be positive for Bayern to hear

Bayern fans would surely be over the moon to see Alba seal a move to the Allianz Arena, as the defender’s arrival would give their quality at the back a major boost.

Signing Alba would allow Niko Kovac to do what he pleases with David Alaba, and whether that be move him into midfield or play him at centre back remains to be seen…

Top 10 unsung heroes of the season: Liverpool summer signings join revitalised Man United & Man City stars

It’s arguably getting harder and harder to be an unsung hero in modern football, with access to social media and stats meaning every player is now subject to an almost forensic level of scrutiny in any game in any league all around the world.

Still, we’ve put together a top ten list of some Premier League stars we think could do with a bit more credit than they’ve received this season, featuring some surprise performers at Liverpool and Manchester City who’ve arguably done as much as the glamour names like Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero to spark what looks like being one of the most intriguing and dramatic title races for a long time.

Read on for our top ten, in no particular order…

Fabinho (Liverpool)

It’s taken some time, but Fabinho is fast becoming one of Liverpool’s most important players.

Whether it’s in defensive midfield, a more creative role, or even filling in in defence at either full-back or centre-back, Fabinho is a man of many talents who has done brilliantly to out-shine his more glamorous fellow new-boy Naby Keita this season.

If Liverpool do go on to win the Premier League, this will surely end up looking like a superb piece of business for the kind of no-thrills star every successful team needs.

Barnard Elected LPGA T&CP National President, Curdt Chosen as Vice President


Marvol Barnard (left in the above picture), a Class A member of both the PGA of America and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), has been elected as National President of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professional (T&CP) division in a vote by the members.
 
Barnard, who is Director of Instruction at Haven Golf Course in Green Valley, Ariz., and Director of Player Development at The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., will work alongside fellow teacher Dr. Alison Curdt, who has been voted in as the T&CP's National Vice President. Barnard and Curdt started their three-year terms in office on Jan. 1, 2019.
 
"It is the honor of my professional life to have been recently elected as the next National President of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals," Barnard said. "From the moment I joined this organization in 2002, I have been so inspired by my fellow members and by our leadership and staff, and so to be elected to this position is really a tremendous privilege. I really think there has never been a better or more exciting time to be a woman in the golf industry, and there are so many wonderful possibilities ahead for all of us. Alison and I look very forward to serving our members and continuing to build on the growth and success of all the past leaders who have made the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals such a strong and vibrant women's organization."
 
A PGA Member since 2007, Barnard received the National PGA Player Development Award, an honor that bestows special recognition on a PGA member who has displayed “extraordinary and exemplary contribution and achievement” in player development. The award was given during the PGA's Annual Meeting in Indian Wells, California in November. 
 
She joined the LPGA in 2002 and served three terms as President of the LPGA Central Section. She has piled up an impressive array of accolades and achievements over the years, including the LPGA Marilynn Smith Service Award in 2014 and the LPGA Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award in 2013. Barnard was honored as the LPGA's National Teacher of the Year in 2016 and listed among the LPGA's Top 50 Women Teachers for 2017-2018. She was included as one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Women Teachers in 2012.
 
One of southern Arizona's most accomplished instructors, Barnard was the recipient of the PGA's Southwest Section Player Development Award in 2013 and 2017, and the PGA's Southwest Section Southern Chapter Player Development Award in 2015 and 2016. 
 
Dr. Curdt, who has more than 29 years of golf competition background, turned professional in 2004 and moved to Palm Springs, Calif., to begin her teaching and professional playing career. She is currently the Director of Instruction at Alison Curdt Golf at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, California, where she oversees all programs related to men, women and juniors while also running, coordinating and teaching camps and clinics. 
 
A two-time Academic All American at Florida State University where she attained degrees in psychology and professional golf management, Dr. Curdt last year celebrated a rare double when she became just the second person to earn Master Professional status with both the PGA of America and the LPGA T&CP. She was voted by her LPGA peers as the Western Section Teacher of the Year in 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2018. In 2015, Dr. Curdt was honored as the LPGA's National Teacher of the Year.

Liverpool told they can complete transfer of Premier League star for £50million

Liverpool can reportedly seal the transfer of defender James Tarkowski if they pay Burnley a fee of £50million this January.

The Reds have something of an injury crisis in defence at the moment, with Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez both out.

MORE: Real Madrid consider transfer swoop for Liverpool star with £72million asking price

With Jurgen Klopp’s side four points clear at the top of the Premier League table, one imagines they don’t want to take too many chances in what may well be their best shot yet at winning their first league title since 1990.

With that in mind, Liverpool are being linked with an interest in taking Tarkowski on loan, though his club only want to sanction a permanent transfer and are asking for a big fee of £50m, according to the Sun.

It remains to be seen how this one will pan out, but LFC would probably do well to just pay whatever Burnley want.