According to the Corriere dello Sport, Napoli were interested in signing Lazio forward Ciro Immobile but have now ruled out the move. The 28-year-old Italian has a phenomenal scoring record for Lazio, and since joining in 2016, he s firmly established himself as one of the best natural finishers in all of Europe.
Alas, he has yet to secure a major move to a big European club, and as he approaches his thirties it seems as if time is running out on that. Napoli, who pushed Juventus all the way in the title race last season, already have an excellent squad but are still looking to add reinforcements as they attempt to chase down The Old Lady once again.
Lazio will be attempting to make a statement this season in the wake of the final day from 2017/18, when they came within…
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will not have any input into the appointment of a new sporting director but admits whoever arrives will have to be “on the same page”.
The PA news agency understands the club hope to bring in Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth to fill the vacant role.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to acquire a 25 per cent stake in the Old Trafford giants and take control of football operations is expected to be completed next week and the Ineos chairman’s determination to hit the ground running has seen his team move to strengthen United’s football leadership group, with recruitment a particular area of focus.
It is understood poor player trading is a significant area targeted for improvement, with sales pinpointed as a concern on top of United…
Manchester United scored a stoppage-time winner against 10-woman Manchester City to take the Women’s Super League title fight down to the final day.
Chelsea had put the pressure on their rivals as first-half goals from Guro Reiten and skipper Magda Eriksson earned them a 2-0 home win over Arsenal earlier in the day and a five-point advantage.
The Blues have reeled in previous leaders United and Marc Skinner’s side knew only a first WSL derby victory against their city rivals would be enough to take the fight to the final day next weekend.
In added time, keeps in the title race!
— Barclays Women s Super League (@BarclaysWSL)
Hayley Ladd fired in a long-range shot in only the second minute to give the hosts the lead and City were reduced …
Anti-racism campaigner Piara Powar feels the Football Association (FA) has demonstrated inconsistency when dealing with racist incidents.
West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka was handed a five-match ban and £80,000 fine last week for his controversial quenelle celebration, almost two months to the day after the incident took place.
FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) network executive director Powar has questioned why suspensions of varying lengths have been handed out in different cases over the past three seasons, and why it took the FA so long to reach a decision.
Powar made reference to the eight-match ban handed to Liverpool forward Luis Suarez in December 2011 for racially abusing Patrice Evra and a four-match suspension imposed on John Terry in September 2012 …
Newcastle United have completed the signing of highly-rated teenage forward Ivan Toney from League Two side Northampton Town.
The 19-year-old, who scored 10 goals in all competitions last season, has signed a long-term deal at St James Park after Northampton accepted an undisclosed fee.
Peter Beardsley, Newcastle s football development manager, said: We have been very impressed with Ivan already.
He is a very good player, with great enthusiasm and a first-class attitude, and has all the attributes to have a bright future at the club.
Toney added: I m happy to be here and very excited. The players here are a great standard and I can t wait to get going and show what I m all about.
Being a young lad who is scoring goals in the Football League…
Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad to face Croatia and Spain in the Nations League included a few interesting names. Youngsters like Jadon Sancho, James Maddison and Mason Mount were rewarded with good starts to the season by their first ever call-ups.
Another interesting inclusion in the Three Lions squad was that of Chelsea’s Ross Barkley. The former England star had not played for England since 2016 after injury and problems with form.
Just developing at Chelsea
Barkley mooted as the player to solve England’s creativity void in the centre of the park, the midfielder has struggled to get into the Chelsea squad since a cut-price January window move from Everton.
The 24-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge with a hamstring injury, which contributed to…
I have to admit I was not impressed by the appointment of Gareth Southgate as England boss. I believe I called the former Middlesbrough boss Mr Beige at the time of his appointment. Like many, I thought he was a safe appointment by the FA, as they chose a yes man for the job. However, Southgate has pleasantly surprised everybody with his performance in the job.
An impressive display in Seville
I wrote an article yesterday on how the England boss is right to blood the youngsters in the Nations League. On Monday night, his approach to selecting youngsters paid off handsomely.
The Three Lions produced the best result and display of Southgate’s reign, as his team recorded an impressive 3-2 win against Spain in Seville.
England raced into a three-goal lead before …
Espanyol were relegated from LaLiga after a dramatic draw with fellow strugglers Valencia on Sunday.
Luis Garcia s side will not be playing top-flight football next term after Samuel Lino s 93rd-minute goal snatched a 2-2 draw for Valencia, sending Espanyol down.
The White and Blues will join already relegated Elche in dropping down to the Segunda Division, while a host of other teams, including Real Valladolid, Celta Vigo, Almeria and Valencia, remain in danger.
Valladolid are in 18th place with one game remaining, one point behind Celta and Almeria, and two points adrift of Valencia, Getafe and Cadiz in a congested battle for survival.
Here are the standings after MD37
Plenty to play for ahead of the final game of the season! |
— …
Jurgen Klopp hailed Manchester City as the best team in Europe as Liverpool prepare to host the reigning Premier League champions on Sunday.
Liverpool are the only side still unbeaten in the Premier League after six matches and have not lost in 16 league games as they sit a point clear at the top.
However, City have conceded the fewest top-flight goals this term (one) and the Reds have won just one of their seven games against Pep Guardiola s side in the competition.
Klopp, who has inflicted the most defeats on Guardiola in all competitions (eight), is aware of the challenge that awaits him as two title contenders face off at Anfield.
Manchester City are for me the best team in Europe at the moment, Klopp told reporters at Friday s pre-match news confere…
Spanish giants Real Madrid on Friday failed in a bid to persuade Werder Bremen to part with German World Cup sensation Mesut Ozil, with their offer dismissed as unacceptable .
We have received an unacceptable offer and we will not allow negotiations to open, Werder sports director Klaus Allofs told the SID news agency.
Financial details of the bid were not disclosed but German media reported that a 16-million-euro price tag had been placed on Ozil whose contract with Werder expires in June 2011.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho admitted his great interest in the 21-year-old.
His club said no. No we will have to see what happens. It would be great if he could join us, said Mourinho.
Ozil has been the recent target of clubs such as Arsenal and Man…