The Big Friday Premier League Quiz

Eibar coach Jose Luis Mendilibar has signed a new one-year contract extension with the LaLiga club.

The 59-year-old has been in charge since June 2015 and steered Eibar to a 14th-place finish in the 2019-20 season.

Assistants Toni Ruiz, Inaki Bea, Josu Anuzita and Andoni Azkargorta, who has signed a three-year deal, will all stay at the club.

Mendilibar has overseen 250 games across two spells in charge of Eibar, 207 of which have been in the top flight. His record stands at 68 wins, 54 draws and 85 defeats.

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Javi Martinez is looking to leave Bayern Munich after eight years with the German club, chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed.

The 31-year-old midfielder joined Bayern from Athletic Bilbao in 2012 and has won 19 trophies during his time at the Allianz Arena.

However, Martinez has been restricted to just 10 starts in all competitions in 2019-20 and recently entered the final 12 months of his contract.

Rummenigge has opened the door for the Spaniard to move on during the close season, with teams in France and former club Athletic rumoured to be interested.

We know that he would like to leave the club with a suitable offer, Rummenigge told AZ. 

YES 

— Javi Martínez (@Javi8martinez)

We wouldn t put any obstacles …

Manchester United certainly can t be accused of standing still this year. A day after sealing the signing of Jadon Sancho, they confirmed a new contract for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until at least 2024.

But there s still plenty to press on with for Solskjaer and United. While the signing of Sancho addresses one area that has been a problem in recent years, it appears there are still two glaring weaknesses in the first-choice starting XI.

It would seem United have identified the man to take care of one of them, with Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane reportedly set to bolster their defensive options. In one sense it will have been a signing long in the making, given the club were supposedly close to buying him from Lens as a teenager only for Los Blancos to get the deal o…

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said Manchester United, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain should answer questions regarding star defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

Koulibaly has been heavily linked with a move to City, while Premier League rivals United and Ligue 1 champions PSG have also been touted as possible destinations.

The future of the Senegal international has dominated headlines, with Napoli reportedly looking to raise funds in their pursuit of Gabriel Magalhaes, though the Lille defender appears set for Arsenal.

Asked about Koulibaly, De Laurentiis deflected questions on Tuesday.

You should ask Manchester United, City or PSG this question, he said. In other words, those who can afford to pay certain amounts.

With midfielder Allan…

According to a recent report from Corriere dello Sport, talks are continuing to build regarding Arturo Vidal’s potential reunion with Antonio Conte. The two men were together during their days with Italian giants Juventus, but now, Conte is over at Inter Milan whereas Vidal is on the books at the Nou Camp with Barcelona. 

Vidal’s representatives are set to meet with Barcelona in order to discuss what his future may be, and whether or not the club sees him as a vital part of their plans moving forward. On the other end you’ve got Conte claiming that he is desperate to bring the Chilean midfielder to the San Siro as he continues to try and snatch the Serie A title away from his former employers Juventus. 

Vidal has been in the game a long time now and knows ho…

Best odds: 4/6

Bookmaker:

Kazakhstan are set to welcome Denmark to the Astana Arena in the nation s capital on Sunday, withing the second round of the qualifications for the European Championship next year. It s an important clash between the two sides, as they both have hopes of making it into the final tournament.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan didn t make it into the World Cup and are yet to make an appearance in any major international tournament. But in the Nations League, they finished top of League C Group 3, ahead of Azerbaijan, Slovakia and Belarus, thus earning a place in League B of the next edition of the competition.

They may not be the favourites to win this group that title arguably belongs to Denmark but given the setup in which the top two teams…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Christian Pulisic from Premier League rivals Chelsea in the January transfer window, . The report has claimed that the USA international is not part of new Chelsea manager Graham Potter’s plan, and Newcastle are keen to bring the 24-year-old to St James Park.

Pulisic can play as an attacking midfielder or as a winger and has been on the books of Chelsea since 2019. The American star moved to the Blues from German club Borussia Dortmund. Pulisic won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea in 2020-21. The attacker has scored 19 goals and created 12 big chances in 80 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career.

Newcastle are a big and established club in the Premier League and have very wealthy owners in PIF. However, …

Crystal Palace earned a stunning 2-0 win at Manchester City as Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher spoiled the party in Pep Guardiola s 200th Premier League game.

City suffered a first home league defeat of the season and had Aymeric Laporte sent off, the defender having earlier committed the error that gifted Zaha his sixth-minute opening goal his 50th in the league for Palace.

Spain international Laporte struggled to deal with the Eagles star forward and was caught out again in first-half stoppage time, denying Zaha a goalscoring opportunity as the last man with a clumsy challenge and being shown a red card.

Gallagher put the result beyond doubt with two minutes of normal time left to play, emphatically finishing off a counter-attack after good work from Zaha …

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish has denied being disrespectful towards Fluminense during Friday’s Club World Cup final victory.

Tempers briefly flared after the final whistle as City captain Kyle Walker and Fluminense defender Felipe Melo grappled in a heated argument.

Melo subsequently blamed Grealish for stoking tensions, claiming the City winger had shouted ‘ole’.

Not once did I say ole

— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish)

Grealish insisted that was not true, writing on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter: “Not once did I say ole.”

The situation quickly calmed down before City lifted their fifth trophy of the year following a comprehensive 4-0 win over the Brazilian side in Saudi Arabia.

Julian Alvarez …

It has been quite a few weeks for Jarrod Bowen – the family man and England international who welcomed twin daughters into the world last month before delivering Europa League Conference success for West Ham.

Described by his first boss as a “manager’s dream”, Bowen’s last-minute winner in a closely-fought final against Fiorentina on Wednesday night provided an unforgettable end to West Ham’s 43-year wait for a major trophy.

The 26-year-old, whose partner is reality TV star Dani Dyer, has a down-to-earth demeanour which has seen him become a firm favourite among team-mates and the club’s supporters since he relocated to London in 2020.

“The best moment of my career” was how Bowen summed up the 90th minute at Prague’s Fortuna Arena when he latc…