From the Back Pages, January 16: Tottenham to block Lewis Holtby transfer to make Arsenal’s Julian Draxler swoop more difficult

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is set to veto Lewis Holtby’s move to Schalke – because he doesn’t want to help Arsenal land Julian Draxler. (The Mirror)
From the back pagesFrom the back pages
From the back pages

Southampton fear that they could lose Mauricio Pochettino and several key players after Nicola Cortese, the club’s executive chairman, resigned last night at the end of a dramatic day. (The Times)

Manuel Pellegrini promised that his Manchester City goal machine will keep on scoring as they powered into the fourth round of the FA Cup. Sergio Aguero came off the bench to strike 49 seconds into his comeback from injury and Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko claimed two each. It means Pellegrini’s side have scored a staggering 99 goals in all competitions this season, and the Chilean has no intention of letting up. (Daily Mail)

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Old-timer Manuel Pellegrini’s skin is thicker than Yaya Touré’s pay packet so it was no surprise that he made as little as he did about being abused by the Newcastle manager, Alan Pardew, at the weekend. The word among some of his Premier League counterparts is that Manchester City’s manager is not winning any popularity contests. If Sir Alex Ferguson was still in charge at United, we would probably have heard by now about how the City man never stops for a glass of Chilean red after games. (The Independent)

Once in a while, a young prospect comes along who seems to have the whole package. Here in Melbourne, we have seen a startling grand slam debut from Belinda Bencic, a 16-year-old Swiss girl who gave Li Na, a finalist last year, a real jolt on Wednesday. (Telegraph)

The latest enforced departure from England’s tour of Australia could hardly have come as less of a surprise. For Steven Finn this was closer to a merciful release after 11 weeks on tour without playing an international match and some clear evidence in practice last week in Melbourne that the world’s No3 ranked one-day international bowler has regressed to a state where he is un-selectable. (The Guardian)

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has been given an extended three-match break during the one-day international series against England. (The Express)

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