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Mid-Day Ticker: Lampard coy on MLS, Arsenal not bidding for M’Vila and more

Lampard

Frank Lampard isn't ruling out a move across the Atlantic.

The Chelsea midfielder refused to deny a potential move to the MLS when asked about the possibility after Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Paris St. Germain on Sunday. Lampard has repeatedly said that he would prefer to end his career at the English club, where he has played since arriving from West Ham in 2001, but that the decision isn't his.

The 34-year-old has a year left on his contract and said he was willing to talk to Chelsea about his future but isn't expecting a decision until the end of the season. Rumors have linked Lampard to a potential move to the LA Galaxy, though 

Here are some more stories to keep your Monday going.

ARSENAL DENY M'VILA INTEREST

It looks like Yann M'Vila can cross Arsenal off the list of possible destinations.

Arsene Wenger denied interest in the France international after reports linked him with a move to the Emirates, citing an adequate number of central midfielders at his disposal. Rumors linking M'Vila with Arsenal reached a fever pitch during the European Championships last month and were given new life with the news of Jack Wilshere suffering yet another setback in his long recovery from an ankle injry. 

Wenger said that Abou Diaby's clean bill of health and the fitness of Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta is sufficient to begin the season.

PUYOL RETURNS TO TRAINING

Barcelona defender Carles Puyol returned to training on Monday after a two-month absence due to a knee injury.

The Barcelona captain underwent arthroscopic surgery in May and missed the last few weeks of the club season and the entirety of Spain's EURO 2012 campaign. Barcelona heads to Germany on Tuesday to take on Hamburg in the club's first pre-season friendly. Puyol will not participate in the friendly and will undergo a medical examination in a week to determine whether or not he is healthy enough to resume full training.

MEXICAN LEAGUE KICKS OFF

The Mexican Primera Division kicked off the 2012-2013 season over the weekend and Tigres Monterrey began their campaign with a bang. The visitors thrashed Jaguares 4-0 in Friday's opener with four first-half goals. Four different Tigres players, Alan Pulido, Juninho, Lucas Lobos and Manuel Viniegra, contributed goals to the rout.

Leon marked their return to the Primera after a 10-year absence with a 2-0 win over Queretaro in a game where both sides finished with 10 men. Santos Laguna also began with a win as a Herculez Gomez goal resulted in a 2-1 win over San Luis.

Primera Division Results

Tigres Monterrey 4, Jaguares 0
Tijuana 2, Puebla 0
Cruz Azul 0, Morelia 0
Queretaro 0, Leon 2
Monterrey 0, America 0
Santos Languna 2, San Luis Potosi 1
Atlas 1, Pumas 1
Toluca 2, Guadalajara 1
Atlante 0, Pachuca 0 

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What do you think of today's stories? Would you like to see Lampard move to MLS? Do Arsenal need another midfielder? Excited to see Puyol back in the lineup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. if Garber’s comments on China are any indication, it’ll be easier for teams to sign DPs come next season. not only do i think they’ll add a 4th, but i think salary cap rules will change. they’ll still obviously be there, but i think it’ll be raised and somehow less strict than the current set up. how? i do not know. we’ll have to see.

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  2. every spanish channel has an HD version. it’s up to your service provider to carry it. and then you to (possibly) buy it.

    Fios didn’t have FSC HD for awhile until enough people asked for it. Fios still does not offer GolTV HD, but it exists. frankly, i find it annoying the cable providers don’t automatically include it.

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  3. Sounds like you’re not very informed.

    First of all, there are no DPs. Some players earn more than others but nothing like the DPs and everyone else in MLS

    There are also no medium or long term plans to expand the league beyond 18 teams and that was clarified by Decio deMaria.

    Finally, the CopaMX is a reincarnation of Mexico’s Cup tournament, Copa Mexico, which was cancelled in 1997.

    Maybe next time kid.

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  4. The league is now know as liga-mx (google liga Mx and go to their website) they refer to to the league as liga Mx in every game and commercial. The league wants 2 to 3 high signings like DPs style for every team and they don’t have a salary cap. The league wants every team to sign becks style players to increase season tickets sales and TV ratings. By 2026 they wanna host the world cup but by 2016 or 2017 the league wants 20 teams with refurbished stadiums or plans for a new stadium. The Mexican federation has added the league cup like the US open cup as well. So by 2026 its going to be a battle for the world cup between mexico and the US.

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  5. I think Univision is available in HD for the games they carry. Here in San Diego one of the other Mexican channels claims to be in HD but I don’t know if Cox doesn’t carry it or the signal is compressed.

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  6. Lampard would be a great fit on most MLS teams and would be one of those players who can contribute on the field as well as in name (even just a causal player of FIFA on the Xbox or someone who tunes into the EPL a few games a season would know the name). I would much rather someone like him come to MLS then head to the UAE or for crazy high China money.

    Teams are using their DP options in a variety of ways (none, some, big names, more “quiet talent”, US vs not, etc) which is good to see. I would be interested though in a team using all 3 on the young DP slot. (Not so much by one of the big market teams). With an under 23 aged DP the count against the cap is only half as much or so….and odds are they might get in more games then someone with a bit older legs.

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  7. You still have anelka, drogba, who might not last in China and Raul who might not last in the Arabic league. You still have schevsenko, ballack, ronaldiho which mls teams need to look into- plus south American high top players- i forgot all those players looking into Brazil sexy atmosphere and cash

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  8. Donovan is better value than lampard forsr galaxy- why not let go buddle and decrease becks paycheck to bring in lampard – galaxy can not loose donovan, becks is getting older and Keane is going to be a DP for a long time- maybe mls will increase the cap by then- but all mls teams should be using their Dps – as a matter of fact the Mexican first division is now liga-Mx and a wanna be mls now

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  9. Wenger wants to play 3 in midfield, with the packed schedule a team like Arsenal is expected to play, i wouldn’t feel overly safe with 5 midfielders there of a certain quality.

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