Manchester United open talks with agent over potential £135million forward transfer

Manchester United have reportedly contacted the agent of Barcelona attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho over a transfer to Old Trafford.

The Brazil international has struggled for as much playing time at the Nou Camp lately after a generally unconvincing start to life in La Liga.

MORE: Manchester United star opens talks over potential January transfer to Euro giants

Coutinho only left Liverpool for Barcelona this time last year, but considering his dazzling performances during his time in the Premier League, he’s been well below-par in his time with Barca.

United are now linked as having made contact with Coutinho’s representatives over a potential transfer, according to Mundo Deportivo.

This follows reports that the 26-year-old had also been the subject of an opening offer from the Red Devils of around £108million, though Barcelona would ask for more like £135m, according to Don Balon.

Philippe Coutinho celebrates a goal for Barcelona

BREAKING: Chelsea close in on first January signing as player undergoes medical

Chelsea are reportedly closing in on the transfer of Gonzalo Higuain as he has already completed part of his medical.

The Argentina international remains in Italy with loan club AC Milan, but he is now expected to terminate that loan deal early and leave Juventus for a temporary move to Stamford Bridge.

MORE: Chelsea in talks to seal AMBITIOUS €120million transfer ahead of Manchester United & Liverpool

Various sources state Chelsea can either extend the loan for another season beyond this one, or sign Higuain permanently for around £45-50million in the summer.

For now, however, the 31-year-old remains in Milan and has only just started medical procedures over there, according to the Chelsea Echo.

Higuain seems an ideal signing for CFC to solve their problems up front, with Alvaro Morata’s Atletico Madrid transfer also nearly done.

Video: Gonzalo Higuain responds to Chelsea transfer questions at airport

AC Milan striker Gonzalo Higuain was asked about rumours linking him with an imminent transfer to Chelsea at the airport.

The Argentina international, on loan at Milan from Juventus, is expected to become a Chelsea player on loan for the rest of the season, according to tweets last night from reliable Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

MORE: Chelsea star takes to Twitter to respond to rumours he’s set to come out as gay

However, when quizzed about his future, Higuain did not appear keen to give anything away.

His quotes are roughly translated as: ‘Were you waiting for me? Chelsea? If you are looking for a mess with me, you will never find it.’

Chelsea fans will hope something can be made official soon as the 31-year-old looks exactly the kind of striker they need to come in as an upgrade on Alvaro Morata at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal star undergoes medical as transfer away described as a done deal by journalist

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has done the first part of his medical with Juventus ahead of what looks like an all-but-done transfer to Turin.

This update comes from Goal’s Romeo Agresti, who states on Twitter that the Wales international has undergone the first part of medical examinations in a clinic in London ahead of joining Juventus in the summer.

MORE: Talks today: Arsenal to resume negotiations over key January transfer

Ramsey looks a quality signing for the Italian giants on a free transfer, with his contract at Arsenal due to expire at the end of the season.

This is a big loss for the Gunners as well, with Ramsey long one of the team’s most important players in eleven years at the Emirates Stadium.

Juve have a solid recent history of snapping up big players on free transfers, having done so with successful signings like Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Dani Alves, Sami Khedira and Emre Can.

LPGA's Brittany Lincicome set to play in PGA Tour event

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Brittany Lincicome is set to join an elite group — female professionals playing in a PGA Tour event.
 
Lincicome said Friday at the U.S. Women's Open that she was asked to play in the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky July 19-22.
 
"I love competing with the guys," she said. "I feel like I step up my game when I play with them. I play a little harder, try a little harder when I play against them. I always thought it would be cool to try."
 
Her exemption for the event was first reported by Golf Digest.
 
Tom Murray, president and CEO of Perio, which owns the Barbasol and Pure Silk brands, reached out to her a couple of weeks ago, Lincicome said.
 
"I was kind of torn," she said. "Obviously I can already hear people saying you are trying to compare yourself to the men. That's not what it is."
 
Other female pros who have played in a PGA Tour event include Michelle Wie, Babe Zaharias, Annika Sorenstam and Suzy Whaley.
 
The 32-year-old Lincicome is an eight-time winner on the LPGA Tour. She said she's already feeling more nervous about it than she would a major championship and is uncertain what kind of reception she'll get.
 
"I feel like in a major, it's on me because it's what I do," Lincicome said. "That, I feel like every time I walk by one of those guys they are going to look at me like, Why the heck are you here? What are you doing here kind of a look. Hopefully they are really nice."
 
Lincicome is sixth on the LPGA Tour in driving distance.
 
"The golf course sounds like it's pretty wide open," she said. "It's going to be obviously pretty far, but that's nothing I don't think I can handle."
 
 
This article was written by John Zenor from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

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.

MORE: Video: Oxford United’s Gavin Whyte filmed jokingly masturbating in public, club issue formal response to bizarre leaked footage

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.