The latest teen sensation to catch the eye of Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea is emerging from the youth academy of French club Rennes, 19 year old Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Bakayoko’s performances this season has seen his stock soaring and his debut goal for the club against Toulouse shows his ability in front of goal. Despite his primary position as a holding midfielder, the France U18 international can also play box-to-box. His 1.84 metre stature provides an excellent cover for Rennes’ defenders. His collection of strengths include ability to predict and intercept passes, tackling prowess, shielding the ball during play and dribbling. Bakayoko has appeared in all international arenas at youth level, from U16 to U18 for France.

Jose Mourinho’s lack of efficient personnel to cover for the John Terry - Gary Cahill partnership at the back, has led the Portuguese manager to identify 19 year old Kurt Zouma as a key transfer target in January, as reported by the Daily Mirror. Zouma is reported to have a host of suitors in line for his signature, including Premier League giants Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United, mega-rich French club Monaco and Italian clubs Napoli and Inter Milan.

Zouma started his footballing journey in Vaulx-en-Velin, located in the Northeast part of the French city of Lyon in 2003. He stayed there till 2009, when he decided to move to the Southwest and joined St. Etienne. His formative years continued for 2 years. He made his debut for the senior team at the end of August 2011 in the French League Cup against Bordeaux, after signing a three year deal before the season began.

David Moyes have agreed to sell Netherlands captain and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie to Spanish giants Barcelona for 38 million pounds, according to reports in Catalan newspaper Sport.

There was a rumour emerging from Old Trafford regarding Van Persie’s dislike of the new Manchester United manager, which was further elevated by Mark Lawrenson, BBC pundit and former Liverpool defender, that the striker could have already submitted a transfer request.

Van Persie’s clash with Moyes is not new, as they had quite an argument, before the season began, with the striker defining the Scotsman’s training regime as too intensive and also questioned Moyes’ management style. Also, the decision to replace Rene Meulensteen, the first team coach under Sir Alex Ferguson, did not sit well with the striker.

The contenders for this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the best player of 2013 and for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2013 award were announced today on FIFA.com, francefootball.fr and YouTube.

In alphabetical order, the FIFA Ballon d’Or nominees are: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Franck Ribéry (France), while Nadine Angerer (Germany), Marta (Brazil) and Abby Wambach (USA) will contest the women’s award.

Arsenal and Tottenham fans will get a third chance this season to cheer their teams against each other with the north London rivals having been drawn against each other in the Third Round of the FA Cup.

The Gunners will be at home and considering their scintillating start to the current season will no doubt be the favourites. Spurs, on the other hand, have been mediocre in their performances, with the graph of the team full of countless crests and troughs. While Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will hope to end the club’s 8 year long wait for a Trophy (their last one incidentally was the FA Cup 2004-05), Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas will be eager to salvage some pride against their more decorated neighbours by notching up a win.

Shakhtar Donetsk visit Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday, for the final match in the UEFA Champions League group stage. United have already qualified, but need at least a draw or a victory to top the group, while Donetsk must equal Bayer Leverkusen’s result to ensure their passage into the last 16. Both teams will be looking to finish the group stage on a high, with their previous victories being emphatic. United thumped Leverkusen 5-0 at the Bay Arena, while Donetsk thrashed Real Sociedad 4-0 at home.

The teams will be entering this fixture in contrasting domestic league form, which may possibly have an impact. United are struggling for consistency and fluidity and are currently languishing in 9th place in the table, whereas Donetsk are in a buoyant mood and are leading the charts in the Ukraine Premier League, with a 5-point cushion over their immediate title rivals. United are still unbeaten in the group stage and they will look to keep the record that way, or they risk facing another European giant if they fail to finish top.

Southampton put in a plucky performance to get a deserved point from their match against Manchester City at the Saint Mary’s Stadium on Saturday. The Saints came into the fixture in poor form, losing three matches on the trot while City had been turning on the style at home, but were poor travellers, winning just 2 of their away matches this season. On the balance of play, Southampton were the dominant team and had the better chances, but they could not make them count and had to settle for a point against the Premier League title contenders.

Mauricio Pochettino was unable to name a full-strength side for the match, with 7 players including regulars Victor Wanyama, Nathaniel Clyne, Morgan Schneiderlin and Artur Boruc nursing injuries. The Saints side had many youth players filling the bench, City meanwhile had no such worries. Manuel Pellegrini made two changes to his lineup from the last match day team at West Bromwich Albion, with James Milner and Alvaro Negredo starting this time out.