Newly promoted Premier League side Stoke City could be in for stiff competition in the race to sign Nikola Zigic from Spanish Premier League side Valencia CF.
Zigic has been central to Stoke City s plans to sign a quality striker for the 2008/9 season.
However Blackburn Rovers new manager Paul Ince has also expressed interest in the twenty seven year old Serbian striker.
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri said he wants to sign Real Madrid loanee Mateo Kovacic on a permanent deal.
Kovacic, 24, arrived from LaLiga giants Madrid on a season-long loan at the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
The Croatia international midfielder has made 28 Premier League appearances, tallying two assists for Chelsea, while he has managed 42 games in all competitions.
And Sarri – speaking ahead of Monday s clash with West Ham – hopes to have Kovacic at Stamford Bridge next season, telling reporters: I want to try with Kovacic.
He is only on loan, of course, but I d like very much that Kovacic will stay with us. You know very well that, in that position, we have some problems because we have only Jorginho.
In my opinion, Kovacic could…
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has insisted his organisation is not blind to the scourge of racism and will implement stronger sanctions on clubs and countries.
European football has been marred by a string of ugly episodes this season, from the monkey noises aimed at Inter striker Romelu Lukaku in a Serie A game against Cagliari to the racist abuse England players suffered during their Euro 2020 qualifier in Bulgaria.
Brescia striker Mario Balotelli and Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Taison both resorted to kicking balls into the stands in separate incidents in Italy and Ukraine last month.
Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out characterised the €75,000 fine handed out to the Bulgarian Football Union as symptomatic of UEFA s weak deterrents and Ceferin admitted…
Jiangsu Suning say they have reached an agreement with Villarreal for the transfer of Roger Martinez to the LaLiga club.
The 23-year-old Colombia international will move to Estadio de la Ceramica for a reported fee of €15million.
Jiangsu Suning s Roger Martinez will be leaving for Villarreal after a transfer agreement was reached between the two parties, a statement released by the Chinese Super League club said.
We would like to thank Martinez for every goal that he scored for us, and we wish him every success in a new environment and bigger stage to fulfil his potential.
Martinez joined Jiangsu from Racing Club in 2016 and had been tipped to move eventually to Inter, who are owned by Suning Holdings Group.
The forward scored 17 goals in 30 …
Christian Eriksen was man of the match in Tottenham s Tuesday night victory against Brighton! Spurs struggled to score and then the Danish playmaker put one past Matt Ryan late into the match to make his team very close to another Champions League qualification.
Mauricio Pochettino spoke after the match this special person , as he called Eriksen, and of his uncertain future.
The timing for him or for the club to be agreeing something are maybe different to another player. I hope and I wish Christian can be with us in the future, but I think Christian and us, we are so open to talking and we will see what happens , Pochettino said.
I think it is so close to the end of the season, [there is] a lot of time to talk after and I think the most important thi…
Nigeria striker Ikechukwu Uche has signed a two-year contract extension with Villarreal to keep him at the La Liga side until 2017.
Uche s deal at El Madrigal had been due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but the former Getafe and Real Zaragoza forward has now committed his future to the Castellon club.
The 30-year-old has scored 14 league goals for Villarreal in each of the last two seasons.
His goalscoring form helped the team to promotion in 2013 and an impressive seventh-placed finish last term.
Uche has managed five goals in all competitions in the current campaign, while Villarreal are unbeaten in nine matches and sit sixth.
Marcelino s men face Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
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He’s very happy, Deila said. I have spoken with him and we are very happy to keep him as well. He’s a top player.
“For me, Virgil’s developing now and taking steps all the time which is very important. I am so happy to have him. He is enjoying his football, playing well. That’s positive. He is such an important player for us.
“He has learned a lot from August. It’s not the first time a player has been affected. Others have been through these things as well. Stefan Johansen was the same.
“He came from the Euro Finals with Norway two years ago and played so badly for Stromsgodset. I had never seen him so bad because his mind was somewhere else.
“You can see a bit of that in John Guidetti now as well. If he can get his mind right, the goa…
Crack striker Didier Drogba could return to action for Ivory Coast Wednesday when they play Guinea near Paris in a friendly international.
A knee injury forced the dreadlocked Chelsea star to miss an Ivorian tour of Japan last May and four 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup qualifiers the following month.
Drogba, who had knee surgery last year, was included in a 23-strong squad for the fixture at Chantilly and fit-again Barcelona enforcer Yaya Toure is another Elephants star to be recalled by Vahid Halilhodzic.
The Serbian coach sprung a surprise by selecting Spain-based Felix Djah, who won the last of three caps seven years ago, and Aruna Dindane, Arouna Kone and Bakary Kone are also back in the squad.
Ivory Coast have fond memories of Guinea, crush…
Joaquin Caparros hopes Vicente Del Bosque continues as Spain coach despite the nation s round of 16 exit from the Euros.
Double-defending champions Spain suffered a 2-0 loss to Italy on Monday, sealing an early elimination in France for the European giants.
Speculation has surrounded the future of Del Bosque, who hinted Euro 2016 could be his last hurrah as Spain coach, with the 65-year-old set to hold talks with Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief Angel Maria Villar.
One of the potential candidates to replace Del Bosque is Caparros, but the 60-year-old would not be upset if the coaching set-up stays the way it is.
I would love if Del Bosque continued and led the team to the [2018] World Cup in Russia, former Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao boss C…
It was November 18, 2015 when then Castilla boss Zinedine Zidane described Toni Kroos as perfect for Real Madrid .
Kroos was in his second season at the Santiago Bernabeu after joining from Bayern Munich – reportedly against the wishes of Bayern boss Pep Guardiola – and starting to put his stamp on the team.
Zidane added: Kroos has changed his game since he got here. Spanish style is about beauty, especially here at Real Madrid. But he immediately adapted to this style.
The Frenchman, who became Madrid boss two months later, was right to a certain extent; Kroos had changed his style but it was a change forced upon him.
A more offensive midfielder at Bayern, Kroos had been shunted into a defensive role at Madrid with Zidane s predecessor Rafael Benite…
Portuguese newspaper that Norwich have agreed to sign Sporting Lisbon striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel.
It is believed that the Canaries will pay around €10 million for the highly rated forward, with the Netherlands international set to join the club in the summer transfer window.
Van Wolfswinkel was followed by a number of England’s top sides, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle, but Norwich seem to have won the race for the player’s signature.
Being in a very difficult financial situation, Sporting Lisbon had no choice but to cash in on their prized asset.
The 24-year-old joined the Lions from Utrecht in the summer of 2011, and really shone in his first season at the club.
After scoring 14 goals in 25 league games last term…