United shot stopper David de Gea, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial are the surprise misses from the list.

Napoli has also one player by the names of Kalidou Koulibaly making the shotlist.

Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Roma, Marseille and Tottenham have two players shortlisted.

Barcelona has seven nominees shortlisted. Among these include; Messi, Ivan Rakitic and others.

Liverpool has seven players; Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, James Milner, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

GOALKEEPERS

Alisson, Hugo Lloris, Keylor Navas, Jan Oblak, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen

DEFENDERS

Virgil van Dijk, Raphael, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Diego Godin, Giorgio Chiellini, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Kalidou Koulibaly, Kostas Manolas, Lucas Hernandez, Jose Maria Gimenez, Gerard Pique, Joshua Kimmich, John Stones

MIDFIELDERS

Luka Modric, N’Golo Kante, Kevin De Bruyne, James Milner, Casemiro, Isco, Toni Kroos, Paul Pogba, Ivan Rakitic, David Silva, Miralem Pjanic, Saul Níguez, Eden Hazard, Dimitri Payet, Florian Thauvin

FORWARDS 

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Antoine Griezmann, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Edin Dzeko, Robert Lewandowski, Paulo Dybala, Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Gareth Bale

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According to Nizaar Kinsella of Goal, new Blues manager Maurizio Sarri will be looking to add to his attacking ranks in the coming months as he settles in at Stamford Bridge, and Pulisic could be a key target. 

Chelsea reportedly remain interested in signing Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic

Chelsea endured a disrupted pre-season because many of their players were at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while it took until July 14 for Sarri to be appointed as Antonio Conte‘s replacement.

Jorginho, Rob Green, Mateo Kovacic and Kepa Arrizabalaga were signed during the transfer window, but the most important attacking business Chelsea did was to keep Eden Hazard at the club.

The Belgium international is Chelsea’s most important attacking player, and he was heavily linked to Real Madrid, but the Spanish giants look to have dropped their interest because of Hazard’s huge price tag.

The United States international might find his way to Stamford bridge

Sarri is likely to take some time to implement his methods at Chelsea and work out what is needed for him to build a title-winning squad.

One of the Blues’ obvious deficiencies last term was in front of goal. They only managed to score 62 goals in the Premier League in 2017-18, 23 fewer than they netted while winning the title the season before. A player like Pulisic would be helpful in solving that problem as, despite only being 19, he is brilliantly creative.

The United States international is not himself that prolific just yet. In the past two Bundesliga seasons, during which he has been a key part of the Dortmund first team, he has netted seven goals and provided 11 assists in 61 appearances.

But he has the talent to develop that area of his game. And at Chelsea, he could also help unlock the goal scoring talent of Alvaro Morata, who managed only 11 goals in his debut Premier League season.

Chelsea will likely look to reassess their squad midway through the 2018-19 season when Sarri has had a few months in the job. And whether it be in the January transfer window or next summer, Pulisic looks set to be a prominent target for the west London club.

READ ALSO:

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Cristiano Ronaldo shows off flicks and tricks in latest Juventus training session

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Lukaku struck twice after Dries Mertens cracked the deadlock with a wonderful dipping volley. Three splendid goals, all in the second half, but this was a tie littered with stoppages, insignificant fouls and eight yellow cards. Five were shown to Panama, the most for any one team in a World Cup game since Holland in the 2010 final.

Romelu Lukaku got Belgium off to a roaring start at the World Cup, scoring twice in their 3-0 win over Panama

Roberto Martinez feared for the safety of captain Eden Hazard who limped out of the Fisht Stadium in Sochi with a heavy strapping on his left calf.

The ball by Dries Mertens sent flying across the face of goal and Jaime Penedo, the Panama goalkeeper, could do nothing to stop it

‘You could see the yellow cards were mounting,’ said Belgium manager Martinez. ‘It is a worry that in any of those tackles he could get hurt. ‘It’s one way of trying to stop him, and everyone is allowed to prepare games in the way you can. That’s part of the rules but you run the risk of players sent off.

Lukaku then got his name on the scoresheet, latching on to Kevin De Bruyne’s ball with a fine diving header to double the lead

‘My worry is that we lose the opportunity to enjoy quality of a player like Eden. Not just for Eden. Any player with the ability to take players on. We hope we get lucky in that respect.’ Kevin de Bruyne’s patience snapped late on as he committed the worst tackle of the game, planting his studs into the midriff of substitute Luis Tejada and could have seen red rather than yellow.

Then just six minutes later, the Manchester United marksman found himself clean through before dinking over to make it 3-0

‘Sometimes we look tough,’ said Panama boss Hernan Gomez. ‘But I saw Belgium players going in very hard as well. We never have any intention to be tough. We try not to hurt anybody. We don’t have bad intentions.’

Gareth Southgate will take note. His Panama paper will be a very different sort of test. Belgium passed it, but they required clear minds before the quality won through. Five thousand Panama supporters made the journey to Russia to witness their World Cup debut, neutral support swung their way and the volume went up as they frustrated their illustrious opponents.

Panama’s goalkeeper Jaime Penedo rushes out to smother the ball after Romelu Lukaku attempts to slide one past him

Belgium, with De Bruyne deployed deeper than for Manchester City was unable to drive the tempo higher in the first half. Martinez stopped short of complaining about the pitch but he mentioned the length of the grass for the second time in three days. He thinks it is too long and deterring slick passing.

Panama fell down injured with little encouragement, demanded treatment and took their time on restarts while disrupting the rhythm with a succession of free-kicks. Belgium, for their part, wasted chances and Roman Torres produced remarkable if slightly fortuitous clearance to stop Lukaku tapping in a cross from De Bruyne.

Panama grew in confidence as half-time approached but any momentum ground to a halt after the interval. Roman Torres and Fidel Escobar failed to clear a cross and when the ball dropped to Mertens on the right, the Napoli winger finally beat ‘keeper Jaime Penedo with a volley which looped inside the far post.

READ ALSO:

Uruguay’s Gimenez heads in late winner against Egypt

Anthony Martial wants to leave Manchester United

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Meanwhile, Chelsea had to settle for a 0-0 draw away to Dynamo Kiev but reigning European champions Barcelona won in Belarus and Bayer Leverkusen played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Roma in Germany.

Arsenal striker Oliver Giroud celebrates after scoring his team’s opener in the second-half against Bayern Munich at the Emirates (Picture: Getty)

Bayern arrived in London having won every game this season and they dominated possession for much of an absorbing Group F encounter.

However, they only remained on level terms at the break thanks to a stunning save by Manuel Neuer to keep out a header from point-blank range by the unmarked Theo Walcott.

But Arsenal, in desperate need of a win after defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos in their first two games, took advantage of a howler by Neuer to get the crucial breakthrough with 13 minutes remaining.

The Germany goalkeeper came and missed a free-kick, allowing substitute Giroud to bundle the ball into the net.

Arsenal then secured the points that keep alive their chances of progressing to the last 16 when Ozil’s finish from Hector Bellerin’s assist crossed the line despite Neuer’s best efforts to keep it out.

The Gunners remain bottom of the group with a trip to Bayern to come next, but the four sides are separated by just three points after Olympiakos won 1-0 in Croatia in the night’s other game thanks to a late Brown Ideye goal.

“We had an absolute necessity to win the game and we did it in a disciplined way,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

“Bayern had more possession than us, but we decided to make it tight in our final third and catch them on the break.”

Mourinho targets officials

Chelsea remain in a precarious position in Group G after a 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev in chilly Ukraine as the recalled Eden Hazard and Willian both hit the woodwork for the visitors.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho also felt that his side should have been given a penalty after Cesc Fabregas went down in the Dynamo box during the first half and later told UK television that the referee had been “weak and naive”.

The Premier League champions are third in the group, a point behind Dynamo and three points adrift of Porto, who beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in Portugal thanks to goals by Vincent Aboubakar and Yacine Brahimi.

But with home games against Dynamo and Porto to come, as well as a trip to Israel, Mourinho remains confident his side will go through.

“We have the destiny in our hands,” he said. “We play two matches at home and one in Israel, so the qualification depends clearly on us.”

Barcelona strengthened their position atop Group E with a 2-0 victory away to BATE, secured by two fine second-half goals from substitute Ivan Rakitic, both set up Neymar.

“It was a very good game overall from the team. We pressed well and I don’t think BATE had a single chance,” said Rakitic.

The other match in the group was without doubt the game of the evening, with Leverkusen taking a two-goal lead and then falling 4-2 down before fighting back to snatch a precious point against Roma.

Javier Hernandez opened the scoring from the penalty spot for the Bundesliga side and increased their lead in the 19th minute, but Daniele De Rossi replied with a double for Roma before the break.

A tremendous Miralem Pjanic free-kick put the visitors in front and Iago Falque appeared to have secured a first win of the campaign for the Italians in the 73rd minute.

But Kevin Kampl reduced the deficit and substitute Admir Mehmedi rounded off a breathtaking game by making it 4-4 four minutes from time to keep Leverkusen in second place and leave Roma bottom of the group.

Zenit St Petersburg closed in on a quarter-final place with a third straight win in Group H as Artem Dzyuba, Hulk and Danny netted in a 3-1 victory over Lyon, for whom Alexandre Lacazette had equalised.

Valencia are three points back in second place after beating Gent 2-1 in Spain thanks to a Sofiane Feghouli shot that went in off Lasse Nielsen and a Stefan Mitrovic own goal either side of a Thomas Foket strike for the Belgians.

AFP

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Real Madrid and Barcelona continue their dominance of La liga  with 5 and 6 players from both teams respectively.

The list includes; 2014 winner Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale  the only British player on the list for the third successive year, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos,James Rodriguez for Madrid while Barcelona has  Lionel Messi,Neymar, Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta,Javier Mascherano and Ivan Rakitic.

The premier League is dominated by Manchester City players with a trio of Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure.

Chelsea is represented by winger Eden Hazard and Arsenal by Alexis Sanchez who helped his country Chile to Copa America success in 2015.

The Bundesliga has players  all from Bayern Munich which shows how they are a force in Germany Football. The list has Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Arturo Vidal, while Paul Pogba of Juventus from Seria A and Paris St Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic from the French Ligue 1 complete the list.

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho are both on a 10-man shortlist for the coach of the year award, alongside Barcelona’s Champions League-winning coach Luis Enrique and Bayern Munich’s Pep Guardiola.

Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli is the only national team coach on the list, which also includes Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, Sevilla’s Unai Emery, Laurent Blanc of PSG, Atletico Madridchief Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti, who left Real Madrid in the summer.

England women’s coach Mark Sampson is on the coach of the year for women’s football shortlist, alongside Englishmen Colin Bell (Frankfurt) and John Herdman (Canada), but there are no British footballers on the women’s player of the year list.

FIFA #BALLONDOR 23 candidates, one trophy. Who do you think will be crowned on 11 January? https://t.co/VNSyEfqCqo pic.twitter.com/W0qlYk2FIk

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) October 20, 2015

BALLON D’OR SHORTLIST: Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris St Germain), Andres Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Holland/Bayern Munich), James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Uruguay/Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Bayern Munich).

FIFA #BALLONDOR 10 coaches, but only one FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football https://t.co/VNSyEfqCqo pic.twitter.com/blidRGrqtz — FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) October 20, 2015

COACH OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST: Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus), Carlo Ancelotti (Formerly of Real Madrid), Laurent Blanc (Paris St Germain), Unai Emery (Sevilla), Pep Guardiola (Bayern Munich), Luis Enrique (Barcelona), Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), Jorge Sampaoli (Chile), Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).

The world player and coach of the year will be voted on a ceremony in Zurich on January 11, 2016.

Read more on fifa.com

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck in the first half with a well-taken effort from range to settle the curtain-raiser of the new season with the only goal of the game.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrates after scoring for Arsenal against Chelsea in the Community Shield

The Gunners had not beaten a Blues side managed by Jose Mourinho in 13 previous attempts but Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal secured a 1-0 win over Chelsea.

Ramires headed wide unmarked from Loic Remy’s cross as Chelsea failed to hit the target before the break.
Eden Hazard had a glorious chance to equalize but blasted his shot high under pressure from Laurent Koscielny before Oscar’s free-kick was parried wide by Arsenal debutant Petr Cech. 

Santi Cazorla and Kieran Gibbs were denied by Thibaut Courtois who was very excellent in the Chelsea goal.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stressed how crucial it was for his team to get the win against Chelsea.

“It was important for the team to get that hurdle out of the way,” said Wenger.

“For me? No, because it is Arsenal versus Chelsea, it is not the two managers. It is two teams who play against each other.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said Arsenal had left “their philosophy in the dressing room” by playing defensively in the second half.

“The best team lost. And the defensive team won,” said Mourinho.

The win sets up Arsenal very well for the coming season which starts next weekend aiming to win the English premier League trophy for the first time since 2004.

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