Month: July 2018

Championship outfit Aston Villa are planning to sanction the exit of Mike Jedinak amid his relatively high wages. The Australia international was a key performer for the Villains en route to the Championship play-off final last term but they are now considering his future amid their financial concerns.

According to The Mirror, the west Midlands outfit are planning to part ways with Jedinak, who is one of the top earners at Villa Park. The 33-year-old is presently into the final 12 months of his £50,000-a-week contract and it is suggested that he could be offloaded for a knockdown price with owner Tony Xia concerned about the Financial Fair Play rules.
Jedinak was recently part of the Australia squad at the World Cup where he found the scoresheet on two occasions via the penalty spot but this was not sufficient for them to progress beyond the group stage after securing just a single draw. Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives after a change in management and Jedinak now appears on the cusp of leaving the Villains.

Championship outfit Aston Villa are planning to sanction the exit of Mike Jedinak amid his relatively high wages. The Australia international was a key performer for the Villains en route to the Championship play-off final last term but they are now considering his future amid their financial concerns.

According to The Mirror, the west Midlands outfit are planning to part ways with Jedinak, who is one of the top earners at Villa Park. The 33-year-old is presently into the final 12 months of his £50,000-a-week contract and it is suggested that he could be offloaded for a knockdown price with owner Tony Xia concerned about the Financial Fair Play rules.
Jedinak was recently part of the Australia squad at the World Cup where he found the scoresheet on two occasions via the penalty spot but this was not sufficient for them to progress beyond the group stage after securing just a single draw. Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives after a change in management and Jedinak now appears on the cusp of leaving the Villains.

As per The Mirror, the former Crystal Palace man is deemed to be close to agreeing terms with an unnamed English club and the new few weeks could give an idea on where his future lies. Meanwhile, Jedinak’s exit could be one of many during the latter part of the transfer window with midfielder Jack Grealish also on the radar of several top-flight clubs.

Grealish did miss most of the first half of the season following a kidney damage but he managed to excel during the backend where he was one of the standouts in their run to the playoff final. As such, there has been high demand among the top English clubs and reports suggest that Tottenham could be leading the queue to acquire the Villa graduate.

Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy is calling on his Huddersfield Town experience to produce a strong performance against France. The Socceroos are regarded as the underdogs heading into their opening World Cup game versus France but Mooy has refused to dismiss the team’s chances of picking up a positive result.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Mooy talked up his experience with Huddersfield, who picked up a shock win over Manchester United last season. The 27-year-old added that the Socceroos may have to adopt a similar approach on the playing field whereby they have to build up the frustration by restricting Les Bleus from scoring.

Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy is calling on his Huddersfield Town experience to produce a strong performance against France. The Socceroos are regarded as the underdogs heading into their opening World Cup game versus France but Mooy has refused to dismiss the team’s chances of picking up a positive result.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Mooy talked up his experience with Huddersfield, who picked up a shock win over Manchester United last season. The 27-year-old added that the Socceroos may have to adopt a similar approach on the playing field whereby they have to build up the frustration by restricting Les Bleus from scoring.

He said: “At Huddersfield we were never in a rush when we played the big teams. The more time they’ve got with the ball, the more chances they’ll create. It’s totally different to last year in the Championship. I learned a lot. We were never expected to win or get a point against them, just take your time and it upsets their rhythm a bit. There was lots of game like that for Huddersfield this season. It’s really tough, you don’t have the ball much, you’ve got to stay in the game, try, and create some chances.”

Australia have been pitted against France, Peru and Denmark in Group C of the World Cup and without doubt, they can be regarded as the weakest nation in this bunch. As such, the Asian champions should be eyeing a bit of luck on the playing field but for this, they may need to provide a solid base from the back which has often proved a weakness.

Meanwhile, their opponents France also have plenty of questions to answer following their disappointing 1-1 draw to the United States prior to the tournament. Les Bleus were typically held by a nation, who are on a transition phase and the pressure will most likely mount, should they fail to secure a comfortable win over Australia.

Australia international Tom Rogic has clarified that he always had the ambition of committing his future to Celtic. The midfielder was recently linked with a move to Southampton who have signed former Hoops teammates in James Forster, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk but he has now secured a fresh five-year contract with the Scottish champions.

Speaking after his extension, he said: “There was only ever one thought on my mind. I can’t control what’s going on outside but within my own mind I wanted to stay here. No one had to sell the Celtic vision going forward too much, it sells itself. I’ve been here five years now so I know certainly what the club is about. I didn’t need any more convincing. Obviously over the last couple of years we’ve been successful and the manager (Brendan Rodgers) has been a big part of that, so I’m excited to be working under him.”

Australia international Tom Rogic has clarified that he always had the ambition of committing his future to Celtic. The midfielder was recently linked with a move to Southampton who have signed former Hoops teammates in James Forster, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk but he has now secured a fresh five-year contract with the Scottish champions.

Speaking after his extension, he said: “There was only ever one thought on my mind. I can’t control what’s going on outside but within my own mind I wanted to stay here. No one had to sell the Celtic vision going forward too much, it sells itself. I’ve been here five years now so I know certainly what the club is about. I didn’t need any more convincing. Obviously over the last couple of years we’ve been successful and the manager (Brendan Rodgers) has been a big part of that, so I’m excited to be working under him.”

Rogic had missed valuable gametime between December and February with a knee injury and this had seen him fall down the pecking order. Nevertheless, the Australian won his place back towards the end of the campaign and he was particularly impressive versus Old Firm rivals Rangers against whom he scored three goals in as many matches.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers had managed to restrict many big-name departures since his arrival at Parkhead and the Northern Irishman will now be hoping to take the club to the next level with a better performance in Europe. The Hoops have managed to reach the Champions League group stage in each of the previous two campaigns but unfortunately, they have not able to reach the knockout phase of the competition.

The Scottish heavyweights ended the campaign with their second successive domestic treble but their next aim should undoubtedly lie on making progress in Europe. Celtic will begin their Champions League campaign in the first qualifying round.