Month: July 2019

The Red Devils have been linked with the likes of Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes and their manager insists they’re working hard behind the scenes

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer again warned there was no “quick fix” at Manchester United, although the Premier League giants are still hoping for further signings.

United are coming off a sixth-place finish last season, a difficult campaign seeing them end up 32 points adrift of champions and rivals Manchester City.

Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have been added to United’s squad from Swansea City and Crystal Palace respectively, while the club are linked with numerous other signings – most notably Leicester City defender Harry Maguire – and have the likes of Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku potentially exiting.

Solskjaer is still hoping for further additions to his squad, but – as he did earlier in the year – again asked for patience as United look to close the gap to the top.

“I know it’s hard getting players in and over the line,” the manager said.

“We’ve been doing our jobs. We’ve been finding, identifying players. Scouting them. But they have got clubs.

“It took time with Aaron, it took time with Dan, but they got it over the line. It’s not like we’re going to sign 10 players. It can’t be a quick fix.

“As I’ve said to you, we’re working on one or two and we’re still hoping but I also understand that the market has changed. Prices have soared.”

Sporting CP midfielder Bruno Fernandes, Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff and Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have also been linked with the Premier League giants.

United’s approach in the transfer market has been criticised at times, but Solskjaer said the club would remain patient.

“We have been linked with so many players. I am sure you don’t believe every single player that we have been linked with,” he said.

“But I think that Man United sometimes have, because of the wealth, maybe we have had to pay more, a bigger premium to get players in and that’s just the world we live in.

“And we have taken our time and we are not going to overpay but we have to get the right people in, the right players.”

Manchester United face Leeds United in their second pre-season friendly in Perth on Wednesday.

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The club boss claimed reports of his side moving for the Real Madrid ace we something of a stretch at this point

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo denied James Rodriguez is poised to join the La Liga side, adding there have not been negotiations for the Real Madrid midfielder. 

Tipped to move to Napoli throughout the off-season, Atletico have reportedly emerged as the favourites to sign James as the Italian outfit and Madrid struggle to reach an agreement. 

James is set to leave Madrid following a two-year loan spell at Bayern Munich, who opted not to make the deal permanent at the end of 2018-19. 

Asked about Colombia star James, Cerezo told reporters: “Atletico are interested in great players and James is a great player, but from that to he’s going to come, there’s some distance. 

“Negotiations? Not that I know of, no.” 

Atletico have been busy in the transfer market, breaking a club record to sign Portuguese sensation Joao Felix, while also adding Marcos Llorente, Hector Herrera, Felipe, Renan Lodi and Ivan Saponjic following the departures of stars like Antoine Griezmann, Rodri, Lucas Hernandez and Diego Godin. 

Diego Simeone’s transfer business is far from over, however, with Tottenham right-back Kieran Trippier and Espanyol defender Mario Hermoso reportedly close to moving to the Spanish capital. 

“We’ve had a few signings and are in negotiations for a few more,” Cerezo said. “Negotiations can end well or badly, but there are negotiations. 

“Everything’s going well, the team is training well, blending in well and very happy at Los Angeles de San Rafael. Now we’re waiting for next season with a month left to go.” 

The summer marks a bit of a rebuild for the club, who have seen a sustained run of success since Simeone took over late in 2011.  

The club have won the Europa League twice, La Liga once, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup and finished as runners-up in the Champions League behind a team built around a fierce defensive unit.  

But with key players leaving the club, bringing in a host of new talent will test the manager’s ability to get a relatively new group up to speed on his intensive style of play ahead of the new campaign.  

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The manager revealed that the club has rejected two bids for the defender, who is thought to be a target for Manchester United

Leicester City have rejected two bids for rumoured Manchester United and Manchester City target Harry Maguire, Brendan Rodgers said on Tuesday.

England international Maguire is thought to be of interest to both Manchester clubs, with United having been linked with the 26-year-old a year ago during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge.

A deal did not materialise then and the defender signed a new five-year contract in September 2018.

However, United are said to have renewed their interest and Leicester boss Rodgers revealed on Tuesday that his club had turned down two offers for a player the Foxes are thought to value at £80 million [$99 million].

In quotes published by the Leicester Mercury after Maguire played 45 minutes in a pre-season friendly against Scunthorpe United, Rodgers said: “It’s pretty simple really and we’re quite relaxed about it.

“Harry is a top-class player. Of course, he has attracted interest with two bids coming in but they nowhere near meet the valuation of the club.

“Harry is relaxed about it – we are. He’s been absolutely brilliant, I have to add, because I’ve been in a similar situation a number of times and it can be very difficult for players, but he’s a special guy.”

Maguire joined Leicester from Hull City in 2017 and has gone on to make 76 appearances for the Foxes while scoring five goals during his time at the King Power Stadium.

He’s also earned 20 caps for England, all during his Leicester stay, including a key role as part of England’s fourth-place squad at the 2014 World Cup in Russia.

There have been reports that Maguire has informed Leicester of his desire to leave and though Rodgers would not comment on those suggestions, he did admit he saw the appeal of the clubs linked with his player.

“Any conversation with me and a player would be private,” he added.

“If a team like Man City or Man United are interested, I understand the attraction.

“We’re relaxed because until the valuation is met, there’s not a decision to be made.”

Leicester are set to face Cheltenham on Saturday as the club continues its pre-season preparations. 

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Tang Dynasty thriller draws comparisons with US action drama 24 for its daylong timeline, suspenseful plot and high production values, Cheng Yuezhu reports.

It is the Lantern Festival, a time when people take to the streets at night to celebrate. But, as the capital faces an imminent enemy attack, the entire city depends on a criminal on death row to save the day.

This is the plot of the current hit thriller series The Longest Day in Chang’an, which stars young singer-actor Yi Yangqianxi, actor Lei Jiayin and Beninese-American actor Djimon Hounsou.

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The SAIC Shanghai Culture Square has announced its offerings for the coming Christmas and New Year season.

Three English language musical productions will be presented at Shanghai’s prime musical theater respectively from Nov 27 to Jan 14, 2020: Titanic the Musical; Matilda and Dream Girls.

Titanic the Musical will be performed in Shanghai from Nov 27 to Dec 1.

It was premiered on Broadway of New York in 1997. And it won five Tony Awards that year including the best musical award, and the best score.

The musical was released in the same year as James Cameron’s blockbuster film of the same title, about the ocean liner Titanic which sank on its maiden voyage.

However, according to actor Matthew Crowe and Chris Jenkins, the musical tells more stories, and is more interesting.

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No matter how long, Wimbledon’s quintessential queues are something to enjoy, not endure, as Associated Press reports

 

For Viv Kean, and thousands of tennis fans like her, the Wimbledon experience always starts in a tent.

In a small park across from the tournament grounds, they gather to camp out for days. The reward is being woken up at 5 am by stewards, then spending hours standing patiently in line to get herded into the All England Club.

And hopefully, after all that waiting, a ticket to Centre Court.

That’s life in “The Queue,” a decades-old Wimbledon tradition that has grown to become its own phenomenon, as much a part of the tournament as strawberries and cream.

Kean, a 69-year-old from northwest London, wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“I’ve been coming every year since 1983, except one,” Kean said, sitting in a camping chair outside her tent. “I spent my 50th birthday and my 60th birthday out here. It’s almost more about the queue than about the tennis these days.”

Kean was among more than 2,000 people who showed up to Wimbledon Park last Friday night hoping to be there early enough to get tickets to one of the top courts. Not for Saturday’s third-round matches – but Monday’s fourth round.

For some of them, even that wasn’t early enough. Only about 500 tickets are made available most days for each of Centre Court, No 1 Court and No 2 Court. Several thousand passes for the smaller courts are also available each day.

Alex Leonidis and Ryan Kirkman, two 23-year-olds from London, were around 250th in line – meaning they were assured of succeeding in their goal of seeing Roger Federer on Centre Court.

“Last year we camped out one night and got tickets to No. 1 Court. But we’re willing to push it to three for Federer,” Leonidis said.

“He’s a must for us,” Kirkman added. “These days you never know when he might retire. It could be our last chance.”

The queuing tradition at Wimbledon dates back to at least the 1920s. Even Richard Lewis, who is now the chief executive of the All England Club, remembers spending a night on the street as a teenager in the 1960s.

“I was 13 at the time. Queued up on the pavement,” Lewis said. “Saw Rod Laver play Tony Roche in the final.”

China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd, the nation’s leading dairy producer in terms of revenue, is banking on innovation to further open the doors for its globalization ambitions, its top official said.

“Innovation is inherent in our DNA and will be our calling card in global markets,” Mengniu CEO Lu Minfang said in an interview with China Daily. “As the first Chinese dairy firm to go overseas, globalization is taken as one of our top priorities.”

Lu made the remarks during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting of New Champions 2019, also known as the Summer Davos. The event was held in Dalian, Liaoning province, earlier this month.

Mengniu announced a strategic cooperation pact with top Uruguayan dairy producer Conaprole, and the pair will cooperate in trading related dairy products in the years ahead.

“The cooperation with Conaprole is part of our goal to leverage international resources to better serve customers both in China and abroad,” said Lu. “With this transformation, Mengniu is now eyeing the global market to produce dairy products that can rival top ones in the foreign markets.”

Industry insiders said the move marks an important step for Mengniu’s expansion overseas, given that Uruguay is the ninth-largest dairy exporter in the world.

Shares of Mengniu in Hong Kong have risen steadily since the news, touching a 52-week high at HK$32.25($4.13) during the session on Thursday.

Lu said Mengniu has expanded its business to over 10 countries and regions such as Southeast Asia and Oceania, with many markets participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. “The BRI has offered us unprecedented opportunities and it will be one of our key business focus in the years ahead,” said Lu.

Southeast Asia’s 600 million people boast a naturally huge business market and the region has great potential in terms of economic growth, he noted.

“While beefing up in the Southeast Asian markets, we want to encourage a healthy style of eating food in the region,” said Lu.

People around the world, especially the young, are paying more attention to their health, taking note of the food they eat and trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

To meet such demand, the company opened a factory in the Cikarang industrial zone in West Java, Indonesia, in November last year, its first factory in the region. The daily capacity of the plant has reached 260 metric tons, and the annual output value is expected to touch $160 million.

The company said it has started to sell its YoyiC liquid yogurt in Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia with more than 200 million people. In five years, the company is expected to offer 1,000 jobs to Indonesians.

Mengniu also has a presence in countries such as Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Analysts said the push by Chinese companies to expand abroad is also due in part to increasingly fierce domestic competition.

“As the bar for the food and beverage industry is relatively lower compared with other segments, the number of such companies is increasing at a very fast pace, making the domestic competition even more fierce,” said a report by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.

To give it an edge in global markets, Lu said the company is pushing its resources into innovation.

“Last year, we have poured a total of 160 million yuan ($23.3 million) in research and development, which was 20 percent more than that of the previous year,” he explained.

Such a large investment will support Mengniu’s business in foreign countries where dairy product markets are already mature.

Liu Peng, a food industry analyst from TF Securities, said the overseas mapping of Chinese dairy companies is to create an ecosystem by integrating resources all over the world.

“But the main challenge lies in whether these firms can succeed in foreign markets and attract local consumers with strong Chinese characteristics.”

To name a few such products with broad appeal, the company has developed Tetra Pak’s eight-sided packaging, which is easy to hold, and boxed dairy products that can be consumed directly from the pack.

It has also launched China’s first high-end milk product Telunsu.

Lu voiced agreement with the analyst from TF Securities.

“Going overseas is never easy and always brings challenges. Running a business in less familiar economies requires us to know better about the local culture, innovate our products and work with the locals,” Lu said.

In New Zealand, 80 percent of Mengniu’s staff are locals who understand domestic demand.

“After we acquired a large company in Australia in 2016, we retained 95 percent of their local employees,” Lu said.

Lu added their products must also meet increasingly diversified demand from quality-conscious consumers.

The dairy maker has seen growth in the sales of yogurt, low-temperature milk and cheese products in the past few years. Products with high added value in terms of flavor, nutrition, packaging and convenience are favored by more customers.

“Branding is our other strategy to make more foreign customers know better about made-in-China brands,” he noted.

That can also be done through sponsorship of sports events.

“Sport is the mutually intelligible language for people of all nationalities and backgrounds. Therefore, sponsorship of sports clubs and international events can be extremely beneficial in assisting a market entry or simply raising a brand’s international profile,” David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy, said in an earlier interview with China Daily.

Mengniu was founded in 1999 in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. It sells liquid milk, yogurt, milk beverages, ice cream and other dairy products.

In the past 20 years, Mengniu grew from a small business in North China into one of the two biggest dairy product companies in the country, the other being the Yili Group.

Mengniu was one of the sponsors of last year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia, which allowed the firm to broadcast a commercial during each of the 64 soccer matches in the tournament.

Lu recalled the founder of Mengniu aimed to be “a leader of dairy products in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, then in China and finally in the world”.

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URUMQI – A new natural gas network in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is making life for residents like Hazret Mamut much more convenient.

“I used to go to the gas station to change the fuel tank when it was empty, which used to take 10 minutes of riding an electric scooter,” Hazret recalled. But now, he only needs to turn the knob of the stove and the flame is lit.

“Using natural gas costs less than 20 yuan ($2.90) every month for cooking,” Hazret added.

Such convenience in Hazret’s life is due to a natural gas project conducted by PetroChina, one of China’s major oil companies.

Since the natural gas pipeline was put into operation in May in Wushi county in Aksu prefecture, Hazret’s home, a natural gas network covering all prefectures in southern Xinjiang has been established.

Remote cities and counties in south Xinjiang have long suffered from poverty, an underdeveloped economy, extreme climate and a fragile environment. Urban and rural residents in this area mainly used firewood and coal as fuel, which was not only costly but had a negative impact on the environment.

To improve living standards, the natural gas project was launched in 2010 and has been operating since 2013. So far, more than 3,000 kilometers of pipes have been installed, providing natural gas to 42 counties and cities and benefiting over 4 million people in south Xinjiang.

“It saved me a lot of money,” said Hawanisahan Jelili, who lives in Moyu county in Hotan prefecture. She said her family would spend nearly 3,500 yuan for heating by burning coal in winter, but that was reduced to 2,000 yuan after natural gas pipes were built in the county in 2016.

Almost 12 years ago, the city of Hotan began supplying natural gas. Since then, PetroChina’s project has gradually stretched its network to more rural areas.

The project has supplied more than 33.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the southern areas of Xinjiang, improving people’s lives and injecting vitality into the local economy and society.

Xinhua

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After finishing 11 points adrift of Juventus last term, the star winger urged his team to reinforce their squad before the new season begins

Dries Mertens said Napoli must buy new and “top level” players if they want to dethrone Serie A champions Juventus.

Napoli have been linked to Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez throughout the transfer window as they look to eclipse back-to-back runners-up finishes.

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Colombia star James is wanted by head coach Carlo Ancelotti and Napoli, though a deal with the Spanish giants is yet to be completed.

As the season edges closer, Napoli – who finished 11 points adrift of Juve last term – need to reinforce their squad, according to veteran forward Mertens.

“I just want to say that I see other teams are buying a lot, we’ve signed Kostas [Manolas],” the 32-year-old Belgium international, who has been linked to the Chinese Super League, said during a Q&A.

“All those we buy must be at the top level and therefore someone like James would be welcome to aim even higher. He could make the difference.

“I think we need to buy great players to raise the level of the team. We already have a strong squad, but if we want to win something, we need to buy in order to raise the level. That is clear.”

Napoli have already boosted their defence with the signing of Greece international Manolas from Italian rivals Roma.

Manolas is set to form one of the best centre-back pairings in Serie A alongside Kalidou Koulibaly following his €36 million (‎£32m/$41m) arrival.

“I found a very good atmosphere and a warm welcome,” Manolas said. “I won’t tell you the reason I left Roma, as it’s personal. The first call I received about Napoli was from my agent, then the director and the coach.

“They made me feel secure about my decision and it was clear straight away that they really wanted me in this team. I never had doubts, that’s why I chose Napoli and I am sure I made the right decision.

“I liked watching the way Napoli played and was eager to become a part of it. I’d give anything to win the Scudetto here.

“Carlo Ancelotti is unique for what he’s won throughout his career. I promise that I’ll do everything I can to help the team achieve their targets and aim as high as possible.”

The England international has joined the Merseysiders on three-year deal

Everton have confirmed the signing of Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph, for a fee believed to be around £8.5 million ($11m), which could rise to £10m ($12m).

The 29-year-old has penned a three-year deal with the Toffees and hopes to enjoy more playing time with his new employers than he did in Manchester.

Having been a key figure during City’s 100-point campaign in 2017/18, the England international was restricted to just 11 Premier League appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side last season, with only one in 2019 after falling behind Oleksandr Zinchenko and Benjamin Mendy in the pecking order for a starting berth at left-back.

As a result, Delph – who can operate in midfield or at full-back – was widely reported to be keen on leaving City after entering the final year of his contract with the club.

“I’m really happy to be here, I’m going to give absolutely everything – nothing less than 100 per cent,” Delph told the club’s website upon signing.

“Every time I have played against Everton, whether it was home or away, straight away the first thing that comes to mind when you see the fans is passion.

“The Everton fans seem to know football, seem to understand it, it seems to be in their blood and they really back the team.

“You are always going to hear Evertonians and I’m excited to play at home and hear them when I am playing.”

Delph departs City having wracked up 89 appearances for the club in four years. The Bradford-born centre-midfielder had previously played for Aston Villa, whom he represented on 134 occasions in six seasons, and boyhood club Leeds United.

The new Everton recruit, therefore, has a wealth of experience, including the 20 England caps he has earned, the last of which came during this summer’s Nations League.

For that reason, Everton manager Marco Silva is delighted with his new acquisition. “When I look to bring a new player into our squad, the first thing I look for above all the other things is quality and Fabian is a player with high quality,” he said.

“But what they can bring to our dressing room is also important and if you can put those two things together then that can only be good for the club.”

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