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Mid-Day Ticker: Villas-Boas to manage Chelsea, Young closer to United and more

Villas-Boas (Reuters Pictures)

By FRANCO PANIZO

Chelsea is hoping to turn things around this season after a disappointing 2010-2011 campaign, and the club has turned to a 33-year-old coach to help accomplish that.

Andre Villas-Boas was named manager of Chelsea on Wednesday, making him the youngest manager in the Premier League. Villas-Boas made the move to the English giants after a payment of $21.6 million to his former club, FC Porto, allowed him to exercise the release clause in his contract

Having guided Porto to a treble last season, Villas-Boas will replace Carlo Ancelotti, who was fired in May. Villas-Boas has agreed to a three-year contract with Chelsea.

Here are more stories from Wednesday:

Young close to signing with United

English international midfielder Ashley Young is set to make the switch from Aston Villa to Manchester United in the next 24 hours, according to reports out of England.

Young has to complete medical tests in order to make the move official, but that is all that's left before making the $23 million transfer official. Young is expected to sign a five-year deal.

Hughton to manage Birmingham

Chris Hughton guided Newcastle United to Premier League promotion in 2010, and the powers that be at Birmingham City are hoping he can pull off a repeat performance.

Hughton was appointed manager of Birmingham City, which was relegated to the League Championship this season after an 18th place finish. Hughton, who has been without a job in the sport since last November, is expected to take over immediately at Birmingham, which will compete in the UEFA Europa League after winning the 2011 Carling Cup.

Mexican defender Moreno signs with Espanyol

Hector Moreno has moved from AZ Alkmaar to Espanyol, joining the La Liga club on a five-year deal. The transfer fee for Moreno is believed to be around $5.8 million. The 23-year-old defender is currently playing in the Gold Cup with Mexico.

Garde takes over at Lyon

Former Arsenal midfielder Reme Garde has been given the reins at Lyon. Garde, who was in charge of Lyon's youth academy, will be appointed as the club's new manager on Wednesday.

He'll replace Claude Puel, who was fired earlier this week after a three-year tenure that did not live up to expectations.

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Think Villas-Boas is the man to turn things around at Chelsea? Do you see Young doing well with Manchester United? Think Hughton will bring Birmingham back to the Premier League? Believe Moreno will find a starting spot with Espanyol?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. true that! could Jose “the special one” Mourinho or this guy bring a championship team or a lower table EPL team to a top 10 EPL club.. i doubt it!

    Reply
  2. Sneijder would be wonderful, but they have to make a move, dammit! They can’t put it off like they did with Ozil (although I doubt he would have went to United with Real wanting him). He is a player worth doing whatever it takes to bring him in. Anyway, I can’t see Valenica as a legitimate back. Rafael and Fabio both have great potential as attacking backs…

    Reply
  3. LOVE the Ashley Young signing….

    I say play Valencia at right back (bench O’Shea for good!)

    Young on the right and Nani on the left.

    The pace on those wings would be ridiculous, and provide unreal service for Rooney and Chicha.

    Now, we just need some help in the middle! Sneijder would be a nice fit. Imagine this:

    Chicha

    Rooney

    Nani/Park —– Sneijder——— Young

    Carrick/Fletcher

    Evra —Vidic—–Rio—– Valencia

    Reply
  4. What do you have to base that on? 1 season where Porto did well having probably the highest budget and best talent in the league?

    Sounds a lot like Mourinho. I think he’s a good coach, however, he loves to jump to the deepest pockets in every league and then claim success as a coach. I’d love to see these type of managers do something with a smaller team to see how “good” their tactics really are.

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  5. He’s a extremely talented manager with a great sense of tactics who got the best out of a talented F.C Porto side. How can you not see that?

    Reply
  6. Villas-Boas = liar… don’t expect them to win anything as he’s green as grass and just happened to manage a heck of a Porto team.

    Reply

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