Juventus are working on wrapping up the transfers of Zenit s Axel Witsel and Boca Juniors youngster Rodrigo Bentancur, the club s general director Giuseppe Marotta has claimed.
The reigning Serie A champions missed out on the capture of Witsel during the close season, but they are hopeful Zenit will cash in on the Belgium international to prevent him from leaving on a free transfer when his contract expires in June.
Juventus have an option to buy Bentancur following the transfer of Carlos Tevez to Boca in 2015 and they are keen to lure the midfielder to Turin at the end of the season.
Witsel is a good opportunity for us, Marotta told Radio Anch io Sport.
His contract expires in June and we are in touch with Zenit to see if we purchase him now. While we …
Republic of Ireland remain unbeaten in World Cup qualifying after James McClean s second-half double secured a 3-1 win in Moldova.
Martin O Neill s men had scraped past Georgia at home on Thursday, but appeared to be set for a comfortable victory when Shane Long netted inside two minutes.
However, with Ireland failing to turn their dominance into a second goal, Igor Bugaev struck an equaliser from Moldova s first chance just before the break.
The visitors task was made somewhat harder as Long was withdrawn with an apparent hamstring injury, but they finally found their second goal through McClean, who had been crucial in setting up the opener.
And McClean added another to seal the win, side-footing in from Seamus Coleman s centre.
Although Moldov…
Kylian Mbappe is at the centre of one of the biggest transfer stories as the deadline approaches, but he was still named in Paris Saint-Germain s squad on Sunday as Lionel Messi looks set for his debut.
Mbappe has been the subject of two bids from LaLiga giants Real Madrid, though PSG are reportedly refusing to enter negotiations for the 22-year-old, who only has a season left to run on his deal.
Whether PSG buckle before Tuesday s deadline remains to be seen, but Mbappe trained as usual this week and Mauricio Pochettino insisted on Saturday that the France star had not told him he wished to leave the club.
Pochettino also confirmed Mbappe, along with Messi and fellow superstar forward Neymar, would travel for the clash with Reims and all three were subsequently …
Robinho, Manchester City s unsettled Brazilian forward, is to join his first club Santos on a six-month loan, the English Premier League side confirmed on Thursday.
In a statement on their official website, City said the Brazilian club had agreed to pay all of the player s wages and bonuses for the period, which begins immediately and ends on August 4.
Robinho reportedly earns 160,000 pounds a week.
Manager Roberto Mancini said: Robinho is someone who needs to be playing regularly and we wish him well for the period of his loan.
The 26-year-old, who began his career at Santos, will leave for Brazil on Sunday.
Signed from Real Madrid in 2008 for a British transfer record of 32.5 million pounds, Robinho has failed to make a major impression on Eng…
Serie A trio on PSG radar
Le 10 Sport is reporting that Paris Saint-Germain are showing interest in Matteo Darmian, Ignazio Abate and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
The Saints are in the market for a new right-sided defender considering that coach Laurent Blanc has not been impressed by either Serge Aurier or Gregory van der Wiel.
The mere fact that centre-back Marquinhos has been used on the right hand side of late is enough to suggest the boss does not trust his current right-back options.
As a result, PSG will be signing a high-profile defender in the summer transfer window, with three names currently on their hit-list.
AC Milan full-back Ignazio Abate appears to be high on the wish list, partly due to the fact that his contract at San Siro is set to e…
Galatasaray ended a run of 10 Champions League games without a win as they came from behind to beat Benfica 2-1 at the Turk Telekom Arena.
The Turkish side s last victory in the continental competition came against Juventus in December 2013, with last year s campaign ending without a success.
It looked set to be another tough night for Hamza Hamzaoglu s men when they fell behind after just 74 seconds, with Nicolas Gaitan scoring the fastest Champions League goal of the season.
Galatasaray, though, were unperturbed and they were handed a lifeline in the form of a penalty which Selcuk Inan rifled into the top corner.
The comeback was completed just after the half-hour mark when Lukas Podolski darted into space and slotted a shot beyond Julio Cesar.
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Melbourne City failed to seal a Finals berth ahead of the potential suspension of the A-League season as they lost 2-1 at Newcastle Jets on Monday.
Football Federation Australia has called a news conference for Tuesday as a pause in the 2019-20 campaign seems inevitable amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The postponement of Perth Glory s meeting with Western United made this McDonald Jones Stadium clash the last before the anticipated announcement, and second-placed City could not claim the victory required to clinch a post-season place.
Early openings were few and far between, but the Jets built up a head of steam heading into half-time, and Nick Fitzgerald wasteful with a tame prior effort broke the deadlock in style.
The former City winger controlled on th…
Liverpool are interested in signing Paulo Dybala from Juventus, according to . It has been reported that the defending Premier League champions have wanted the Argentina international before and are still keen on bringing him to Anfield. Juventus, though, want at least €70 million (£60.11 million) as transfer fee for Dybala, who can operate as a forward or as an attacking midfielder.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have a strong attacking unit. Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are world-class players, and the Reds also signed Diojo Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2020. However, Liverpool have not been especially great in front of goal this season, and the midfielder has also lacked creativity at times.
Dybala can play up front or as an attackin…
England midfielder Steven Gerrard reckons that England have nobody to fear in the World Cup. He told Talksport:
It can only be to our advantage being seeded. I don t think we can be afraid of anyone. We ll certainly respect anyone we come up against but, for me, I think it s time other teams started fearing us.
We re going there full of confidence, we are a very good team. We ve still got a lot to learn but, the way we re playing, we re a match for most teamsâ€
Opponents not worried
Now Stevie is right with the fact that we are a good team and we do go into the World Cup full of confidence but I can’t believe the likes of Kaka , Lionel Messi and David Villa are sitting at home worrying about how they can beat us.
Is Diego Maradona a…
Scott Sinclair has returned to full fitness after his summer health scare, and is now looking to secure a move away from Manchester City, .
The winger, who had surgery in May, is looking to end his spell at the Etihad Stadium after just one season having made just two Premier League starts for last season’s runners-up.
West Bromwich Albion are keen to take the 24 year old on a season-long loan, while Everton and Newcastle United are also interested.
However, the former Swansea City man is keen to sign for a club permanently, having already had already been sent out on loan times in his career so far.
He had temporary spells at Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic before moving …