MANCHESTER CITY
Defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester City without Fernandinho highlighted the Brazilian s importance to the champions. He is 33 and a successor must be a high priority for City, who have used Ilkay Gundogan and John Stones in that role with little success having missed out on Jorginho to Chelsea. City also have a problem position at left-back, where a succession of injuries to Benjamin Mendy have repeatedly left Pep Guardiola using square pegs to fill a round hole.
TOTTENHAM
Spurs signed nobody in the last transfer window and it does not appear to have harmed Mauricio Pochettino s side. But injuries have since affected his midfield options and a mooted move for Adrien Rabiot, who has made no secret of his desire to leave Paris Saint-Germain, make…
Monaco have further boosted Thierry Henry s midfield options with the signing of William Vainqueur on loan until the end of the season.
The 2016-17 French champions, mired in Ligue 1 s relegation zone, had initially elected not to sign the former Nantes and Roma midfielder from Antalyaspor because of a calf injury.
However, they had a change of heart after being convinced by the 30-year-old, who follows fellow midfielder Cesc Fabregas in moving to the Stade Louis II.
Explaining their decision, Monaco vice-president and general manager Vadim Vasilyev told the club s official website: William showed a determination and a willingness to get involved that led us to reconsider the situation.
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Women’s football in Scotland has been handed a major new source of funding thanks to a sponsorship deal with ScottishPower.
The energy firm has agreed a deal with both the Scottish Women’s Premier League and Scottish Women’s Football.
The company will sponsor both leagues along with the Scottish Youth Challenge Cups at all three age groups and the Scottish Women’s Highlands and Islands League.
We re delighted to announce that we are now Principal Partner for both
We ll be sponsoring the Scottish Youth Challenge Cups and the Scottish Women s Highlands and Islands League too.
— ScottishPower (@ScottishPower)
Fiona McIntyre, managing director of the SWPL, said: “We’ve just enjoyed one of the most dramatic and entertaining …
Borussia Dortmund boss Marco Rose has revealed that a hip flexor injury will rule out talisman Erling Haaland for the next few weeks.
The striker only returned to action in last weekend s win over Mainz after a muscular problem saw him miss three games for Rose s side.
However, the 21-year-old, who has scored 13 goals in 10 appearances across all competitions this season, is now set for another spell on the sidelines.
Addressing reporters ahead of Dortmund s trip to Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday, Rose said: Erling Haaland won t play and will be absent for a few weeks with a hip flexor injury.
Haaland has, of course, been down. He was happy to be back and still felt really good after the Mainz game.
Time to focus on my recovery. I’ll be back …
Kaka has no plans to leave Real Madrid, despite AC Milan chief Silvio Berlusconi urging the Brazilian to re-sign for the Serie A club.
Speaking on radio last week, Berlusconi said he would be willing to sign the Real Madrid midfielder.
Kaka is an extraordinary man, Italy s Prime Minister said.
If he wants to come back to Milan we will welcome him with open arms.
The Brazilian’s future at the Bernabeu has been under a cloud as he has struggled for form and fitness since his move from Milan in 2009.
Kaka has been limited to a handful of appearances this campaign after recovering from major knee surgery.
However, the South American seems to have ruled out the possibility of quitting his Spanish club over the summer.
The two yea…
Grant Hanley has withdrawn from the Scotland squad for the friendlies against Netherlands and Northern Ireland as Norwich strive to get the defender back to full fitness.
The 26-year-old has made nine appearances for the Canaries since returning on Boxing Day after eight months out with an Achilles injury.
However, Hanley has missed his club’s last two matches in the Championship after limping out of their defeat at Middlesbrough earlier this month.
Scotland squad update.
OUT: Grant Hanley. |
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT)
It was confirmed by the Scottish Football Association on Tuesday morning that Hanley will not feature in Scotland’s upcoming friendly double-header, meaning he will not have played for the national team f…
Didier Deschamps said he knows exactly who will be taking to the pitch when France open their FIFA World Cup campaign against Honduras.
France head to the tournament in Brazil keen to banish the ghosts of their performances and behaviour from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The French went winless four years ago, finishing bottom of their group behind Uruguay, Mexico and South Africa, while their campaign was marred by a player revolt.
Four years on and France are unbeaten in five games, having scored 18 goals and kept four clean sheets on the back of Sunday s 8-0 rout of Jamaica.
And barring any unforeseen events, Deschamps seems set on his starting XI for Sunday s Group E clash in Porto Alegre.
I know my best line-up, said Deschamps. Even if I always …
Frickson Erazo has urged Ecuador not to despair after opening their FIFA World Cup campaign with a last-gasp defeat to Switzerland.
Haris Seferovic scored deep into second-half stoppage time to hand the Swiss a 2-1 victory on Sunday, after Enner Valencia had given Ecuador a first-half lead.
And, while admitting his disappointment, defender Erazo says his side should take confidence from the 2010 experience of Spain, who went on to lift the World Cup after losing to Switzerland in their first match.
It s a shame, he said. We know that there were millions of Ecuadorians watching and it hurts to lose like that.
But we re not out. Remember that this same Swiss team won in the World Cup to Spain and Spain finished as champions.
Ecuador face a crunch Group E fix…
Former Sevilla forward Julio Baptista insists coach Unai Emery will be a tough act to follow at the Europa League champions following his departure.
The worst kept secret in football was finally confirmed on Tuesday after Emery was appointed coach of French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Emery guided Spanish outfit Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League crowns in three-and-a-half seasons at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
And Baptista, who made a name for himself during his two years in Seville between 2003-2005, knows replacement boss and former Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli has a difficult task on his hands.
It s a big loss. Emery has shown he can do a very successful job, ex-Brazil international Baptista told Omnisport.
He has got the club to a h…
Sassuolo coach Eusebio Di Francesco has ended months of speculation by signing a new contract, the Serie A club confirmed.
Di Francesco s contract extension will see him remain at Sassuolo until June 2019.
The 46-year-old, who first coached the club in 2012, had been linked with AC Milan and Fiorentina, as well as the Italy job, with Antonio Conte set to vacate the hot seat following Euro 2016.
This agreement confirms the desire of both parties to continue the journey that seen the club grow constantly over these four years and the conviction we can be protagonists in future too, Sassuolo said in a statement.
The project continues, together, to grow and improve. Forza Sasol!!!
Sassuolo are seventh in the Serie A with four matches remaining, fou…