Manchester City
Vincent Kompany has warned Manchester United that the Community Shield result means little. The City defender, whose mistake led to Nani's injury-time winner, is not concerned about the outcome and expects the FA Cup winners to provide the champions a stern challenge this term. "I'm sure if we would have won United would have said the same. We are very confident. We have seen here that even when we do not play our best game we can still be very dangerous. Come the league, the Champions League and the FA Cup we will be ready. We are a strong team, an organised team. We might not have been it [on Sunday] but we are going to be for the future."
Chelsea
Romelu Lukaku, the Belgium international, arrived in London yesterday ahead of his medical at Chelsea. The Atamford Bridge club reached a deal to sign the 18-year-old striker from Anderlecht at the weekend. Lukaku, who travelled to London by Eurostar from Brussels, scored 16 goals in 37 league appearances last season and has netted twice in two games in the current campaign. Asked about Andre Villas Boas, the Chelsea manager, he said: "He's a good man." Lukaku has won comparisons with the Chelsea striker Didier Drogba for his power and finishing.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham are urging their fans to continue to book tickets for the Premier League opener against Everton. Rioting erupted on Saturday evening less than a mile from White Hart Lane after a peaceful protest against the fatal shooting of local man, Mark Duggan, turned violent. "Our hope is that calm and order is restored as soon as possible and that we can now look to rebuild the area and the spirit of the community," Daniel Levy, the club chairman, said. The police will monitor the situation and advise whether the game should go ahead. Any decision to call off the game on security grounds will have to be sanctioned by the Premier League. Meanwhile, Kyle Walker, the Spurs defender, has signed a five-year deal with the club.
Bolton Wanderers
Owen Coyle, the manager, remains confident he will get the strikers he feels Bolton need to be a Premier League force before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. Johan Elmander left the club at the end of last season when his contract expired and hopes of getting Daniel Sturridge back on loan from Chelsea have disintegrated following the England Under 21 player's outstanding preseason form. It leaves Bolton light on attacking options, but Coyle said: "I will do my utmost to furnish the club with those signings that will help the team. It is always more difficult if you don't have the finance. I don't get too caught up in what everybody else has got."
Manchester United
Carlisle United last night confirmed that 14-year-old goalkeeper Dean Henderson has joined Manchester United for an undisclosed fee. Positive reports from Old Trafford scouts made it to Sir Alex Ferguson and the United manager made the move to sign him up with an eye on the future. Eric Kinder, Carlisle's head of youth, is sure United have made a great signing. "Manchester United have watched him and they've come in to get him," he told the club's website. "I don't know the specifics, but it's something neither the player or the directors could ignore. They are a massive club and you probably get one chance at signing for a set-up like that. We can't really say no, but I would have loved to have kept him."
