Internazionale forward Romelu Lukaku has been named the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season.

The 27-year-old finished ahead of Bruno Fernandes and Éver Banega to win the fourth edition of the award, which was announced during the UEFA Europa League group stage draw in Nyon. His Belgian international team-mate Eden Hazard collected the gong last season.

Lukaku registered in all six of Inter's games after entering the competition in the knockout stage – striking seven goals in total – and also laid on two assists. He opened the scoring from the penalty spot in August's final though he was unfortunate to later deflect in a shot that gave Sevilla the title.

Lukaku nevertheless ended 2019/20 with 34 goals in all competitions for the Nerazzurri, a significant figure as it was also Ronaldo's return in his first campaign at the club in 1997/98. Having found the net in Inter's last two UEFA Champions League matches before transferring to the UEFA Europa League, he scored in eight successive outings in UEFA competition.

Top ten players of the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League

1 Romelu Lukaku (Inter) – 270 points

2 Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP/Manchester United) – 128 points

3 Éver Banega (Sevilla) – 118 points

4 Luuk de Jong (Sevilla) – 64 points

5 Jesús Navas (Sevilla) – 59 points

6 Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla) – 39 points

7 Kai Havertz (Leverkusen) – 17 points

8 Diego Carlos (Sevilla) – 9 points

9 Adama Traoré (Wolves) – 8 points

10 Jules Koundé (Sevilla) – 7 points

https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0262-10836e08a61e-46e10483802f-1000--player-of-2019-20-lukaku/?rss=0262-10836e08a61e-46e10483802f-1000player+of+2019+20+lukaku

Carlos Vinicius will undergo his medical with Tottenham Hotspur on Friday after the club agreed a deal with Benfica for his loan move.

The Brazilian has agreed to the move and will complete his medical at the club's Hotspur Way training complex in Enfield on Friday.

Vinicius to Tottenham is also official. €3m loan, €45m buy option, medicals today, contract until June 2025. Here we go confirmed. ⚪️ #THFC #Spurs
pic.twitter.com/m5b1xAV7sh

Vinicius scored 24 goals in 47 appearances last season and laid on 13 assists for Benfica in a real breakthrough season for him.

The 6ft 3ins striker can also play out wide meaning he will have more chances of minutes under Mourinho in the season ahead.

The Brazilian will fix a problem in Tottenham's squad that has existed since Fernando Llorente left the club 14 months ago as the club finally sign up another natural striker to provide support to Kane.

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UEFA Men's Player of the Year
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI (B. Munich)

UEFA Men's Coach of the Year
Hansl Flick (B. Munich)

Complete Draw

Group G
Juventus
Ferencvaros
Barcelona
Dynamo Kviv

Group B
R. Madrid
S. Donestk
I. Milan
B. Monchegladbach

Group D
Liverpool
Atalanta
Ajax
FC Midtylland

Group E
Sevilla
Chelsea
Krasnodar
Rennes

Group F
Man Utd
PSG
RB Leipzig
Istanbul Basaksehir

Group F
Zenit
B. Dortmund
Lazio
Club Brugge

Group A
B. Munich
A. Madrid
RB Salzburg
L. Moscow

Group C
Man City
FC Porto
Olympiacos
Marseille

Forward of the Season
Robert Lewandowski (B. Munich)

Group B
Real Madrid
Inter Milan
S. Donestk

Group F
Zenit
B. Dortmund
Lazio

Group A
B. Munich
A. Madrid
RB Salzburg

Group G
Juventus
Barcelona
Dynamo kviv

Group C
Man City
FC Porto
Olympiacos

Group D
Liverpool
Ajax
Atalanta

Group F
PSG
Man Utd
RB Leipzig

Group E
Sevilla
Chelsea
Krasnodar

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne on his award: "It's really nice. In the Champions League you play against the best players in world and I want to compete with them.

"In one way I would say my mind [is my best attribute]. As a midfield players you have to think constantly about the game and be ahead of the game."

He says he used to look up to Michael Owen as a kid because he played as a striker.

Midfielder of the Season
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

Aston Villa have signed England midfielder Ross Barkley from Chelsea on a season-long loan.

Barkley, who has 33 international caps, has been at Stamford Bridge since moving from Everton in January 2018.

The 26-year-old has played three times for Chelsea this season, scoring once.

"Capturing a player of Ross's quality is a real coup for our club and I am certain he will thrive here and improve our team," said Villa manager Dean Smith.

Barkley left boyhood club Everton following 179 appearances and 27 goals for the Toffees.

The attacking midfielder has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea after the signings of forwards Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and winger Hakim Ziyech and is yet to start in the Premier League this season.

He scored in Chelsea's 6-0 third-round thrashing of Barnsley in the Carabao Cup.

Barkley is the fifth major signing for Villa this summer following the arrivals of winger Bertrand Traore from Lyon , striker Ollie Watkins from Brentford , goalkeeper
Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal and right-back Matty Cash from Nottingham Forest.

Ygrette:
Someone should answer my question biko. Why is Dorathy a favorite over Nengi? Is it the boobs or her personality?

It is her giant oranges......

lascos912:
what of Hazard parent

Their parents were also footballers. Thierry Hazard was a defensive midfielder who ended up becoming semi-professional. He tried to become professional, but he saw that his future was not in football .

Hazard's Mum, Carine, also played football. She used to be a footballer and in fact, only stopped because she was pregnant with the first of four children .

She was a striker who loved scoring goals and ended up playing in the Women's first division in Belgium.

When she was three months pregnant, she had to call it a day. Although her love and skills at football were passed down to her children.

TEAM NEWS

Tariq Lamptey is expected to be fit for Brighton despite limping off during the 3-0 win at Newcastle last weekend following a series of heavy challenges.
Yves Bissouma serves the second game of his three-match suspension.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 10 changes to his starting line-up for Tuesday's Carabao Cup win over Luton and he has no fresh injury concerns.

United's only absentees are defenders Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones.

MATCH FACTS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Manchester United ended a run of three top-flight defeats in a row away to Brighton by winning this fixture 3-0 in June.

United are vying for a fourth successive victory against the Seagulls.

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION

1. Albion have won two of their past three league games, as many as they had in their previous 17 attempts.

2. Brighton last managed back-to-back league victories in November 2019.

3. The Seagulls have never won more than one of their opening three fixtures in a top-flight campaign, but neither have they lost both of their first two home matches in a season at that level.

4. They have only earned one point from the past five Premier League fixtures at the Amex Stadium, while their only top-flight home win in 10 attempts this year came against Arsenal in June.

5. Brighton are unbeaten in all 11 Premier League fixtures in which Neal Maupay has scored.

6. Pascal Gross has provided either a goal or an assist in each of his past four league appearances against Manchester United. Two of his three goals in this fixture were winners.

MANCHESTER UNITED

1. United could lose their opening two league games in a season for the first time since 1992-93.

2. They haven't won their first away league fixture in either of the past two seasons, including a defeat at Brighton in 2018-19.

3. However, United have won four successive Premier League away matches by an aggregate score of 10-0. They were the most recent Premier League side to earn five consecutive away victories without conceding a goal, back in December 2011.

4. The Red Devils are unbeaten in seven Premier League away matches since a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on 19 January (W5, D2).

5. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Graham Potter were opposition players when Manchester United were beaten 6-3 by Southampton at The Dell in the Premier League in October 1996. They both came on as a substitute in that game.

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1. Alphonso Davies and Jordyn Huitema

Definitely the youngest couples on this list, Treble-winning Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies and PSG's women striker Jordyn Huitema have been together for three-and-a-half years now. Both players are Canadians and the pair have both won Canada's Under 17 Player of the Year award in the male and female category respectively.

Alphonso and Huitema are very exciting prospects and are already playing at top clubs.

Davies is already a superstar player after his achievements with Bayern Munich in his first full season. Davies was part of the Bayern side that ruthlessly tore Barcelona to pieces on their way to Champions League victory. Jordyn scored 4 goals in 4 Champions League appearances. Both players met each other during their time at Vancouver Whitecaps.

Alphonso revealed on a Q&A that he asked Jordyn out in a wierd but spectacular fashion. On the whole, both Canadians are destined for great things.

2. Alex Morgan and Servando Carrasco

One of the most well-known names in American soccer. U.S. Women's World Cup star Alex Morgan is an integral member of the U.S Women's team. The striker has 107 goals and 43 assists to her name. It's no wonder why she is very well known and the most recognized American soccer player.

Servando Carrasco, her partner is a midfielder also plying his trade in the MLS. He plays for L.A. Galaxy. Both players met before they became huge names in the world of sports. The pair first met while they were both playing soccer at the University of California, Berkeley.

The pair eventually got married on New Year's Eve in 2014, Alex and Servando made it official and tied the knot at Rancho Dos Pueblos in Santa Barbara, California.

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Idrissa Gana Gueye (born 26 September 1989) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Senegal national team.

Born in Dakar, Gueye spent his early career in Senegal for Diambars before joining French club Lille in 2008. He broke through into the first team in the 2010–11 season, in which Lille won Ligue 1 , and became a regular starter in the league and the UEFA Champions League over the following four seasons.

An energetic midfielder , known for his ball-winning skills, as well as his ability to press opponents and intercept passes, Gueye completed the most tackles during the 2016–17 Premier League season.

On 30 July 2019 he signed for French side Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £30million. [20][21] On 25 August, he made his debut in a 4–0 victory over Toulouse.

HONOURS

LILLE
Ligue 1 : 2010–11

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
Ligue 1 : 2019–20
Coupe de France : 2019–20

INDIVIDUAL
Everton Players’ Player of the Season: 2018–19
(shared with Lucas Digne )
Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:
2019
CAF Team of the Year: 2019

Source: Wikipedia

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Liam Delap marked his senior debut with a goal as defending champions Manchester City beat Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup third round.

The 17-year-old forward struck in the first half, latching on to Phil Foden's great ball before placing a composed finish beyond the goalkeeper.

Sam Surridge equalised for Bournemouth when he found space to sweep home.

But Foden secured the win late on, stabbing in after Riyad Mahrez's shot hit the post.

Victory means City travel to fellow Premier League side Burnley in the fourth round.
It was a memorable night for Delap, who is the son of former Stoke midfielder Rory.

The forward was one of five teenagers handed a start by Pep Guardiola in a youthful City side that also included two 20-year-olds.

Delap has only been a part of the City youth team since last year after leaving Derby but impressed as he led the line, causing problems with his strength and determined runs.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/54190674

Liverpool thrashed League One Lincoln to set up a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie with Arsenal next week.

Xherdan Shaqiri curled a fine free-kick into the top corner to put them ahead.

Takumi Minamino and Curtis Jones both scored twice as the second-string Reds cruised through - with £41m Diogo Jota one of three debutants in the game.

Tayo Edun pulled one back, Marko Grujic added a sixth for Liverpool, Lewis Montsma scored for Lincoln and Divock Origi got the Reds' seventh.

Liverpool handed debuts to defenders Rhys Williams and Kostas Tsimikas, with former Wolves forward Jota coming on in the second half.

Most of their goals were excellent. After Shaqiri's free-kick, Minamino curled home from outside the box and teenager Jones scored from Origi's cushioned header.

Jones then scored via a slight deflection to give the Reds an unassailable 4-0 half-time lead.

Lincoln boss Michael Appleton would certainly have been happy with his side's second-half resilience, especially after Minamino scored a volley seconds after the restart.

The Imps had won their first five games this season (including a penalty shootout) and had several chances before Edun's goal from Anthony Scully's cross.

The scoring was not finished yet. Grujic drilled home from 20 yards, Montsma scored for the third EFL Cup tie in a row - with a header in via the crossbar - and Origi smashed home from a Minamino pass.