The positives still outweigh the negative.
After a couple of frustrating tennis and football updates yesterday, the hottest stories today at SBOBET Blog are pretty much all good news.
First is Manchester United who received a boost with the signing of Brazilian midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk. Then there’s Harry Kane who calmed down England fans after a mistake showed that he’s heading to World Cup 2018 as the second heaviest player!
Meanwhile, there’s also a reason for the Cleveland Cavaliers to be optimistic ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals considering their record at home this postseason.
Man United agree to sign Brazilian midfielder Fred
Manchester United got their offseason to a right start.
After finishing second in the Premier League in the 2017/18 campaign, Jose Mourinho knows that he needs to boost his squad to contend with Manchester City. And the Portuguese boss made his first move by signing Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk.
According to reports, it cost Manchester United £50 million to sign the 25-year-old Brazilian midfielder.
“Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Shakhtar Donetsk for the transfer of Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos,” the club said in a statement on their official website.
Fred, who is set to sign a five-year contract to move to Old Trafford, is part of Brazil’s squad that will be sent to Russia for the World Cup. He recently featured as a substitute for the Selecao in their 2-0 friendly win over Croatia at Anfield.
A Belo Horizonte native, Fred moved to Ukraine in 2013 to join Shakhtar Donetsk. He helped the club win three league titles as well as three Ukrainian Cups and four Ukrainian Super Cups.
He was also part of the Shakhtar team that reached the Champions League knockout stages in 2017/18, even scoring one goal in their 2-1 win over Roma in the first leg of their Round of 16 match-up.
Former Barcelona star and Brazilian icon Rivaldo, meanwhile, expressed his delight with Fred’s move and cited that Manchester United are getting a quality player.
“He is a wonderful player,” the 46-year-old former Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year winner said. “Like any other player when you move to a new country, he will need a little bit of time to adapt.”
“But when you are a good player and a brilliant midfielder like he is, he is going to do well and he is going to be good for Manchester United and they will be good for him.”
Kane plays down fitness concerns ahead of World Cup
England fans have nothing to worry about: Harry Kane is, as he said, at his “fighting weight.”
The Three Lions captain made the clarification after a FIFA announcement listed him to be at 98 kilograms (216 pounds). That would have made the 24-year-old the second heaviest player in the tournament, only behind Panama’s Roman Torres.
Kane, whose recent injuries prompted fears about his fitness for the World Cup, was quick to refute the listing and said that he is in top shape for the upcoming summer competition in Russia.
“I don’t know if it’s been changed but I’m definitely not 15-and-a-half-stone,” the Tottenham Hotspur star explained. “I’m normally about 89 or 90 kilos. We weigh most days when we get up and that’s normally my fighting weight.”
“I feel really good and training has been of a high intensity. Obviously everyone is fighting for places and that has pushed everyone along fitness-wise.”
The England FA, meanwhile, said that the listing was an administrative error and clarified that Kane’s weight is 89kg.
Cavs hoping to maintain playoff winning streak at home
There’s still hope for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs are currently trailing the Golden State Warriors 0-2 in the NBA Finals and could go down 0-3 when they play Game 3 at the Quicken Loans Arena.
However, while most NBA Finals predictions expect them to lose in their third meeting with the Warriors, the Cavs could find some confidence from the fact that they are a strong team at home.
In fact, LeBron James and his Cavaliers have won eight straight games at The Q this postseason. As mentioned in our Warriors vs Cavs preview, the Wine & Gold are 29-12 at home in the regular season and improved to 8-1 these playoffs.
The Cavs’ lone defeat came in the hands of the Indiana Pacers in their first-round opener. They have been undefeated since then, sweeping the East top-seed Toronto Raptors in the second round before winning all three of their home matches to force Game 7 and fend off the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Even Golden State All-star point guard Steph Curry acknowledged the difficulty of winning at Cleveland, saying: “We know how Cleveland plays here, with a lot of energy and force. We understand how hard it is to win in this building.”
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