Latest Football News

• Yaya Toure has signed a new one-year deal which keeps him at Manchester City for an eighth season.

• Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Benfica goalkeeper Ederson Moraes for €40 million (£34.7m), on a five-year contract , the Portuguese side have announced.
• Ederson becomes the most expensive goalkeeper in history, surpassing the £33m Juventus paid Parma for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001.

• However, City are keen to stress that it’s not a world record as the amount in Euros, which is how they paid Benfica (€40m), is lower than how much Juve paid for Buffon (€53m) in 2001.

• Ajax have re-signed their former striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on a one-year contract after his departure from German side Schalke.
• Huntelaar, 33, played for the Dutch giants between 2006 and 2008, scoring 105 goals.

• Darren Fletcher will join Stoke when his West Brom contract ends this summer.

• Atletico Madrid have reacted angrily to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) rejection of their appeal of a transfer ban imposed by FIFA, saying they feel “discriminated against” by an “unfair ruling” which causes “irreparable damage” to their club.

• Antoine Griezmann has made an apparent pledge of allegiance to Atletico Madrid hours after Manchester United cooled their interest in a summer transfer. 
• “Now more than ever #Atleti #All together.”

• The transfer ban defeat kills Costa’s bid and ends Manchester United’s Griezmann hopes.

• Liverpool are emerging as favourites to land Alexandre Lacazette after his  chances of joining Atletico Madrid  took a serious nosedive.

• The Anfield club are reportedly in talks for Mohamed Salah in a deal that will set them back a club record £43million.
• The Egypt star struggled during his time in the Premier League with Chelsea, but has become a major asset at Roma, where he struck 19 goals and notched an impressive 12 assists as the club finished as runners-up in Serie A to Juventus.

• Gareth Bale has reportedly threatened to leave Real Madrid this summer if he is not included in their starting line-up in Saturday’s Champions League final.

• ​Franck Kessié is set to complete a €28 million move to AC Milan.

• Stefano Pioli is expected to terminate his Inter contract today, freeing him to take the Fiorentina job.

• There could be a twist in Manchester United’s attempts to sign Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan this summer. The arrival of a new manager at the nerazzurri could throw a spanner in the works – Roma boss Luciano Spalletti.

• Real Madrid are prepared to break the transfer world record to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea for £100 million.

• Chelsea are reportedly preparing an opening offer for Juventus left-back Alex Sandro.

• Chelsea are set to move for Lyon midfielder Corentin Tolisso and could send centre-back Kurt Zouma back to the Ligue 1 side as part of the deal.

• The Juventus, Inter and Napoli target Corentin Tolisso is “ready” to leave Lyon.

• Manchester United have rejected a €60 million bid from Real Madrid for their star goalkeeper David de Gea.

• Jose Mourinho has been in personal contact with Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.

• AC Milan will offer €60 million to Madrid for Alvaro Morata.

• Milan are ready to offer €80 million for Torino striker Andrea Belotti.

• Manchester City have until 2020 to  re-sign Enes Unal after agreeing a  buy-back clause into their deal to sell him to Villarreal.

• Manchester City are set to target Monaco again for their second summer signing in defender Benjamin Mendy – according to his family.

• City will bid more than £50m for Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk and are prepared to offer the 25-year-old Dutch international a five-year contract worth £180,000 a week.

• Liverpool have offered Gael Clichy a two-year deal ahead of the expiry of his Manchester City deal.

• New Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde does not have any interest in signing Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho.

• Paris St-Germain have agreed a £61m deal to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 27, after offering £168,000 a week in wages.

• But, Dortmund has denied the report.

• Gunners forward Alexis Sanchez, 28, and midfielder Mesut Ozil, 28, both want in excess of £350,000 a week to stay at the club. Both players are entering the final year of their contracts.

• Manchester City are increasingly confident they will win the race for Alexis Sanchez – but Pep Guardiola has not ruled out a move for Kylian Mbappe.

• Arsenal are in the race to sign Monaco star Kylian Mbappé.

• However, the Monaco Mbappe, 18, will turn down Pep Guardiola and City this summer for the chance to work with his idol Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.

• Manchester United are leading the race to sign Monaco star Fabinho.

• Jose Mourinho is prioritising moves for both Real Madrid star Alvaro Morata and Everton frontman Romelu Lukaku.

• If Lukaku does leave, Everton want Malaga striker Sandro to replace him.

• Everton’s hopes of landing Sandro Ramirez have been given a boost after Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban was upheld.

• The Toffees are close to completing a deal for Southampton’s 27-year-old right-back Cuco Martina.

• Leicester City are determined to get the best deal possibly for Riyad Mahrez and have slapped a £50 million pricetag on the playmaker’s head.

• Wojchiech Szczesny could be staying in Serie A next season as Juventus consider a £14 million bid for the on-loan Arsenal goalkeeper.

• Current Porto keeper and former Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas has been offered to Paris Saint-Germain.

• Chelsea boss Antonio Conte wants Paris Saint-Germain’s Alphonse Areola as Thibaut Courtois’ backup at Stamford Bridge.

• The Blues are reported to have agreed a £42million fee with Monaco for the signing of midfield powerhouse Tiemoue Bakayoko.

• Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, 28, wants to be reunited with former manager Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

• The Premier League champions are confident of keeping defender Cesar Azpilicueta, 27, who has been linked with a move to La Liga giants Barcelona.

• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger  has been given the task of finding his successor, with Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe in pole position to take over.

• Crystal Palace have contacted Mauricio Pellegrino, 45, about replacing Sam Allardyce as manager. The Argentine, who was Rafael Benitez’s assistant at Liverpool, stepped down as Alaves boss this week.

• Besiktas are still interested in signing out-of-favour Sunderland winger Jeremain Lens, who spent last season on loan at fellow Turkish side Fenerbahce.

• Wolfsburg are set to complete their first transfer of the summer window by signing Hertha Berlin and USA defender John Brooks.

• Pepe Reina’s agent is in talks with Napoli over the goalkeeper’s future at the Serie A side, amid interest from Newcastle United where the 34-year-old Spaniard would be reunited with former boss Rafael Benitez.

• Metz teenager Ismaila Sarr has enjoyed a fine breakthrough season in France’s top flight this season and could make the jump to Newcastle.

• PSG star Angel Di Maria is open to a  move to Barcelona this summer.

• Juventus and Inter are also interested in signing Di Maria.

• ​Radja Nainggolan does not want to leave AS Roma but he is also still waiting on a contract extension.

• Inter Milan are rumoured to have reached a verbal agreement with AS Roma defender Antonio Rudiger, who has also been a target for Chelsea and Man United.

• Italian agent Mino Raiola has revealed that there have been several offers for young AC Milan goalkeeper Gigio Donnarumma.

• Liverpool have reportedly pulled out of the race to sign Fulham youngster Ryan Sessegnon – to seemingly leave Tottenham in pole position to land the player.

• Atletico Madrid’s 19-year-old defender Theo Hernandez failed to turn up for France Under-21 duty, and is apparently on the beach instead.

• West Ham have appointed former Arsenal and England physio Gary Lewin as the club’s head of medical services.

• The Hammers have announced a record number of season ticket renewals for the 2017/18 season.

• The trial for a fourth substitute to be allowed in extra time will be extended to four Uefa tournaments this summer, the governing body has announced.

• Bulgarian Bogdan Dochev – the assistant referee who failed to spot Maradona’s Hand of God goal against England at the 1986 World Cup – has died aged 80.

• The remains of deceased Brazilian football legend Garrincha are missing, members of his family say.
• The remains of the winger, who died in 1983 aged 49, may have been lost in an exhumation, relatives told O  Globo.

EPL results – Alexis Sanches scores twice to keep alive Arsenal’s top four dream; City beat West Brom in Zabaleta’s farewell match

​Arsenal 2 – 0 Sunderland

Manchester City 3 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

• Manchester City 3 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

Manchester City clinched an emphatic win over West Brom to move back up to third place in the Premier League with one game remaining.

City scored two quick first-half goals with Gabriel Jesus opening the scoring in the 27th minute before Kevin de Bruyne added the second two minutes later with a fine curling strike.

Yaya Toure made it 3-0 after the break, exchanging passes with Aguero as he marched into the area to slot past Ben Foster.

West Brom managed a late consolation when substitute Hal Robson-Kanu turned in Allan Nyom’s low cross.

A point in their final game at Watford on Sunday will now be enough to guarantee Pep Guardiola’s side a place in the top four and Champions League football, while a win would see them finish third and go straight into the group stage.

Meanwhile the Baggies have now gone eight games without a victory and remain on 45 points with a trip to Swansea on Sunday.

With the points all but secured by Toure’s goal, attention for many City fans switched to Pablo Zabeleta’s big send-off.

After nine years with City in which he won every domestic trophy, the 32-year-old Argentina defender is leaving the clubat the end of the season.

He started on the bench but the home fans sang his name from kick-off, gave him his first standing ovation of the night in the first half and then exploded into noise when he began warming up.

The ground rose to applaud him on to the pitch when he replaced David Silva on the hour mark, and then cheered every time he touched the ball.

Zabaleta ended the game wearing the captain’s armband after Vincent Kompany was substituted and West Brom’s belated fightback never threatened to ruin his night.

After an emotional farewell speech at the final whistle, when he was joined on the pitch by his wife and young son, Zabaleta was given a guard of honour by his team-mates as he and his family departed down the tunnel.

• ​Arsenal 2 – 0 Sunderland

Alexis Sanchez kept Arsenal in the hunt for a top-four finish as his double secured a 2-0 win over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium.

Alexis Sanchez tapped in Mesut Ozil’s square pass to the relief of those inside a sparsely populated Emirates Stadium.

As Arsenal increased in urgency, Sanchez bundled in Olivier Giroud’s cut-back to renew their hopes of a top-four finish for a 21st successive season.

The Gunners are a point behind fourth-placed Liverpool.

Arsenal will now look to beat Everton in their final match and hope Liverpool drop points against relegated Middlesbrough if they are to maintain their record of finishing in the top-four in each of Wenger’s 21 seasons in charge.

They could mathematically still catch third-placed Manchester City, who beat West Brom 3-1 on Tuesday night, but that scenario would require defeat for Pep Guardiola’s side at Watford with Arsenal enjoying a five-goal swing on the final day.

EPL Result: Arsenal beat City

Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud scored in the first half as Arsenal claimed a deserved 2-1 win over title rivals Manchester City to move two points behind Premier League leaders Leicester.

 

City, who haven’t won away from home in the Premier League since beating Crystal Palace 1-0 in September, pulled one back through Yaya Toure who scored a sublime goal out of almost nothing with 10 minutes left.

 

Manuel Pellegrini’s side are now four points behind Arsenal, and six points behind league leaders Leicester City.

 

Arsenal 2 – 1 Manchester City

 

 

1. Leicester City 17 38

2. Arsenal 17 36

3. Manchester City 17 32

4. Tottenham Hotspur 17 29

5. Manchester United 17 29

6. Crystal Palace 17 29

7. Watford 17 28

8. West Ham United 17 25

9. Liverpool 17 24

10. Everton 17 23

11. Stoke City 17 23

12. Southampton 17 21

13. West Bromwich Albion 17 20

14. AFC Bournemouth 17 19

15. Chelsea 17 18

16. Norwich City 17 17

17. Newcastle United 17 17

18. Swansea City 17 15

19. Sunderland 17 12

20. Aston Villa 17 7

Latest Football News

Real Madrid have been thrown out of the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.

 

Bayern Munich have joined Manchester United in trying to sign 23-year-old Southampton forward Sadio Mane.

 

However, Ronald Koeman claims he would not sell Sadio Mane in January – even if Southampton were offered £100m.

 

Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller has verbally agreed to extend his contract at the Allianz Arena through to 2021 amid reported interest from Man Utd and Chelsea.

 

Former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is high on Manchester United’s shortlist as they begin to think about Louis van Gaal’s successor.

 

However, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has played down reports linking him to the Red Devils job.

 

Manchester City have suffered a new injury setback with the news Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero will miss this weekend’s trip to Stoke.

 

Wayne Rooney has been ruled out of Manchester United’s upcoming games against West Ham and Wolfsburg because of an ankle injury.

 

QPR have confirmed the appointment of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as their new manager on a rolling contract at Loftus Road.

 

The former Leeds and Chelsea striker has left his role at Burton, who are currently top of League One, to make the step up at Rangers.

 

Jurgen Klopp says Philippe Coutinho has failed to recover from a hamstring problem in time for Liverpool’s visit to Newcastle on Sunday.

 

Klopp could give Daniel Sturridge his first Premier League start in two months this weekend after his double against Southampton in midweek.

 

Despite appointing Gary Neville as head coach until the end of the season, Valencia are keen to lure Jose Mourinho to the Mestalla in the summer.

 

Jose Mourinho has lined up a sensational deal to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer transfer window. The Swede’s contract at PSG runs out in 2016.

 

Arsenal sent former player Luis Boa Morte to scout Porto’s Ruben Neves as they beat União da Madeira on Wednesday.

 

The Gunners may move for Sporting Lisbon’s Portuguese international William Carvalho, 23, to solve their midfield injury crisis.

 

Barcelona are in a financial battle to hold on to Messi, Neymar and Suarez. The trio’s wage bill is said to make up an unsustainable 73% of the club’s revenue, with Manchester United & City both ready to pounce.

 

Juventus are ready to swoop for Paris Saint-Germain right-back Gregory van der Wiel. The Bianconeri are on good terms with the player’s agent, though they could face competition from Roma and Inter.

 

The agent for former Brazil international Alexandre Pato has revealed two or three Serie A clubs are in the running to land the Sao Paulo forward in January.

 

Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren has two matches – Sunday’s home game against Liverpool, followed by a trip to Tottenham – to save his job.

 

Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, 68, is close to agreeing a £10m deal to take over United Arab Emirates club Al Jazira.

 

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has refused to rule out making another bid for West Brom striker Saido Berahino, 22, in January.

 

Tottenham trio Nacer Chadli, Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen are set to have contract talks open with the club.

 

Borussia Monchengladbach are interested in Racing Club’s Gustavo Bou, though will face competition from Deportivo La Coruna in the race for the striker. Reports claim Gladbach are willing to pay €5 million.

 

Manchester United midfielders Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini are not suited to the club and should leave Old Trafford, says ex-Red Devils midfielder Paul Ince.

 

Louis van Gaal will watch with intrigue to see how Gary Neville handles a “very difficult” job at Valencia.

 

Valencia have taken a major risk by appointing Gary Neville, according to club legend Santiago Canizares.

 

Diego Costa and his Chelsea team-mates had the full blessing of manager Jose Mourinho to go on their Christmas night out on Wednesday.

 

Aston Villa’s players have been warned by new manager Remi Garde that Christmas is not a time for them “to party”.

 

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, 23, says he donates 10% of his monthly salary to charities.

 

Bournemouth keeper Artur Boruc, 35, could miss the Christmas period with a knee injury, but may delay having surgery.

 

Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Wolves are all keen to take Manchester United defender Paddy McNair on loan in January.

 

Acting Fifa president Issa Hayatou appeared to fall asleep during his own news conference at the Fifa ExCo meeting in Zurich.

 

Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen spread some Christmas cheer by visiting patients at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

 

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville both nominated for Pundit of the Year at Monday’s Football Supporters’ Federation Awards.

 

Teenage Bury defender Matty Foulds, 17, is already training with Everton before a £225,000 move to the Premier League side in January.