Sports Burst - The Aubameyang Triangle
Aubameyang arrives, and Tom Brady’s Messi confession
By Tim Stannard
1) Aubameyang starts transfer butterfly effect
If ever the stereotype of a stressed out, coffee-splurging, heart-palpating sports agent on five different cellphones at the same time was true, it's Tuesday in the final hours of European soccer's transfer window. Once that window is closed, teams are stuck with the same rabble in the squads until July. Sorry Newcastle United.
There were no agents so busy as the ones organizing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's move from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal as the deal relied on two other moves taking place simultaneously. At time of writing, two thirds of the circle have been completed. Dortmund have agreed a deal with Arsenal for around $80 million after a week of rumors.
But that only happened because Dortmund have landed a replacement with Chelsea forward, Michy Batshuayi joining the Bundesliga club on loan. But that only happened because Chelsea are set to sign Arsenal's Olivier Giroud, but that was only as long as the Aubameyang deal went through. And so on.
All in all, it felt like a complex 1960s spy swap, but the triple deal of the day is all but done.
Tune into a special edition of the XTRA Social on our Facebook live page at 1PM ET / 10AM PT for the ratings of the best and worst deals of the window.
2) Ozil signs new deal with the Gunners
Elsewhere, keep a beady eye on Brazilian winger, Lucas Moura, joining Tottenham Hotspur from PSG after seemingly spending a week in the English capital waiting for the move to take place.
Another PSG player could be on the move with Javier Pastore being linked with Inter, although that deal looks to have cooled a little. As have the stories of King Zlatan joining LA Galaxy with Coach Sigi Schmidt declaring the chatter as rumors.
And in breaking news, some fairly good tidings for Arsenal fans. Mesut Ozil has committed his future to the club after agreeing to extend a contract that runs out this summer to 2021. Someone apparently likes the Europa League.
3) Leganes looks to keep Copa dream alive against Sevilla
It's Copa del Rey day in Spain! To be fair, it has felt like every day in January is Copa del Rey day in Spain.
The competition has reached the semifinal stages. There are two legs. Real Madrid are out. On Thursday, Barcelona are hosting Valencia at the Camp Nou but on Wednesday, the slayers of Real Madrid are returning with Leganes taking on Sevilla with the capital city side promising to make life difficult for their more illustrious visitors and stay alive in next week's second leg.
Leganes v Sevilla is live on beIN SPORTS from 3:25PM ET / 12:25AM PT.
Barcelona's huge clash against Valencia is on Thursday, and beIN SPORTS might have a very special viewer with Tom Brady revealing at the Super Bowl media jamboree that he is a big Leo Messi fan. "I think he's a great player, I'm a little older than him though. I love soccer, I've watched soccer for a long time." Sports Burst salutes you Tom!
4) Spurs to pull a Spurs against Manchester United
Manchester United, complete with Alexis Sanchez, are coming to Wembley Stadium in a match that Tottenham really need to win to keep in touch with the top four.
Runaway leaders will fancy their chances of a hefty win over WBA, while third-placed Chelsea have a home clash against Bournemouth. A Milan with a spring in its step takes on Lazio in a first leg of a Coppa Italia clash while Monaco looks for a win against Montpellier to join PSG in the final of France's Coupe de la Ligue, a game that is live on beIN SPORTS 3 from 2:50PM ET / 11:50AM.
And as a special treat a big clash in the Dutch Cup is on beIN SPORTS 4 as the Eredivisie champions of Feyenoord takes on league leading PSV in a quarterfinal clash. The action starts at 2:30PM ET / 11:30AM PT.
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The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. Sports Burst is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.