German giants Bayern Munich have no interest in keeping Douglas Costa beyond this season, according to reports from Kicker. Costa joined the Bundesliga champions on loan from Juventus this summer. However, Bayern have no intention to make his loan deal a permanent one. His decision to join Bayern came as a big surprise. Bayern already boast two of the finest young wingers in Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry. On top of that, they also signed Leroy Sane from Manchester City on a big-money deal. Costa, who has made just three starts in Bundesliga, is unwanted at Turin and the Old Lady are looking to offload him in the summer. He is not in Andrea Pirlo’s first-team plans, with the club considering him surplus to requirements. Costa will enter the final year of his contract at the...
Sports agent Jonathan Barnett has rarely been shy about sharing his opinion about his long-time client Gareth Bale. He was at it again during the Financial Times’ Business of Football event, but on this occasion may well have put his foot in it. Bale has failed miserably to make an impact at Spurs since returning to the club on loan from Real Madrid last September. His efforts have infuriated Jose Mourinho, with the Spurs manager making no secret of how unhappy he is with Bale. The latest state-of-play undoubtedly mirrors the Welsman’s fall from grace at Madrid under Zinedine Zidane. Both bosses have come under fire for their handling of Bale, but Barnett’s latest comments have confirmed where the issue lies. When asked why Bale was not playing regularly at Spurs, Barnett said it was becau...
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard revealed earlier today that he was let down by five players from the club who have breached the Coronavirus regulations. Gerrard named the five players responsible and he confirmed to Sky Sports that all of them are now self-isolating and they will be fined in line with the club’s disciplinary code. Bongani Zungu, Nathan Patterson Calvin Bassey, Dapo Medube and Brian Kinnear are the five players who were found breaching the COVID-19 regulations. The actions of the players will certainly rule them out of the club’s midweek game. The likes of Zungu, Patterson and Bassey could have played a part in Thursday’s Europa League clash against Royal Antwerp. It will be interesting to see how their actions affect their long term future at the club. The Rangers manager a...
Juventus youngster Radu Dragusin has been linked with Newcastle United and Crystal Palace. According to Gazzetta, both Premier League clubs are interested in signing the 19-year-old defender at the end of this season. As per the report, the talented young defender wants to make it at the Italian club and is waiting for the club to propose a proper development path for him before he signs a new contract with them. Apparently, the player’s camp is not motivated by economic reasons. The youngster’s contract with the Italian club will expire in June and it remains to be seen whether Juventus can convince him to sign an extension in the coming months. Dragusin is highly rated around Europe and there are no shortage of admirers. The likes of Newcastle and Palace could certainly use a talented yo...
Leicester City make the trip to the Sinobo Stadium for Thursday’s Europa League round of 32 first-leg tie against Slavia Prague. The Foxes are unbeaten in the last four games across all competitions and recently registered a stunning 3-1 comeback win over Liverpool in the Premier League. They will be without as many as seven players for the midweek European tie but are still favourites to come on top against Slavia, who are top of the Czech First League. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: Kasper Schmeichel is set to start in goal against Slavia. He will also take up the leadership duties with Wesley Morgan out injured at the moment. In the backline, there will be one guaranteed change with Ricardo Pereira unlikely to travel with the team to the Czech Republic. The Portuguese has just re...
Arsenal make the trip to Stadio Olimpico for Thursday’s Europa League round of 32 first-leg tie against Benfica. The north London side recently ended a three-match winless streak with a convincing 4-2 Premier League victory over Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium. The victory should boost the confidence of the squad and manager Mikel Arteta will be hoping that his side can replicate the performance against Benfica. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: Arteta handed Alex Runarsson with four appearances in goal during the group stage of the Europa League but the 25-year-old has not been registered for the knockout phase. Mat Ryan is now the deputy goalkeeper for the Gunners but the manager should go with the first-choice in Bernd Leno between the sticks. In the backline, there may be a so...
Celtic are set to hand Callum McGregor the club captaincy when Scott Brown leaves the club as per Football Insider. The 35-year-old’s contract is due to expire in the summer and it is unclear whether the Scottish outfit will hand him an extension. The Celtic star has regressed this season and is clearly not the player he used to be. The Hoops need to move on and bring in better players if they want to progress as a club. McGregor has been a fabulous servant for the club in recent years and he has the qualities to lead them in future. The 27-year-old is an academy product and knows the club inside out. He understands the fanbase and should be able to relate to their values. There is no doubt that McGregor is probably best suited to take over the captaincy role in the current squad. He has t...
Manchester United make the trip to the Juventus Stadium in Turin for the first-leg of the Europa League round of 32 tie against Real Sociedad. The Red Devils have a poor record against Spanish opposition over the past few years and they are winless in the last nine encounters (three draws and six defeats). They have the chance to end the dismal record on Thursday night but will need to step up with their performance after managing just two wins in the previous six games. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: United’s back-up goalkeeper Dean Henderson has been a regular in the cup competitions for United but he was handed just a solitary appearance in the Champions League group stage. We anticipate David de Gea will keep his place in goal. In the backline, there could be a solitary change f...
According to Sunday World, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders is manager Jurgen Klopp’s choice to replace him at Anfield when the time is right. While former skipper and Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is the ‘romantic choice’ to take over from the German, it appears that the Reds boss has other ideas. Sportslens View Gerrard will surely want to manage Liverpool one day, but he might have to wait a little while longer if Klopp gets his wish. The 43-year-old has three years left on his current deal at Ibrox, and Klopp’s contract also expires at the same time. The Liverpool boss was linked with exit rumours a couple of days ago after his side fell to a third straight Premier League defeat, but he has since poured cold water on them. He could remain at Anfield until 2024 or beyond, and t...
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has provided an injury update on midfielder Paul Pogba ahead of the Europa League round of 32 first leg tie against Real Sociedad. Pogba has been sidelined with a thigh injury since the 3-3 Premier League draw against Everton on February 7 and it appears that he won’t return to action until the end of February. Speaking in a press conference earlier today, Solskjaer said that the Pogba is recovering well from the problem, but he won’t be returning to the playing field for the next few weeks. “Paul he is recovering well, starting treatment – still a few weeks, so he won’t be playing in February that’s for sure,” he was quoted as saying by Manchester Evening News. Alongside Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Donny van de Beek are unavailable for the game...
Everton will face Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday night at Goodison Park. The Toffees are heading into this game on the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Fulham. They are up against the Premier League leaders who have won 16 games in a row in all competitions. Team News Ahead of the match, Ancelotti revealed yesterday that striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin won’t take any part in the game. The England striker is still not yet fully fit, but he is expected to return soon. However, the likes of James Rodriguez, Jordan Pickford and Allan could return to the side. Ancelotti also hinted that Josh King, the January signing from Bournemouth, needs more time to get adopt tactically at Everton. He is unlikely to start against Pep Guardiola’s side but could make the benc...
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Sissoko has said that he is not sure whether he will continue at the club beyond the end of his contract. The French midfielder joined Spurs in 2016 and has made 190 appearances in all competitions for the north London club. The versatile central midfielder, who can also play as a right-sided midfielder, has made 18 appearances in the Premier League. He has also featured in the Europa League, League Cup and the FA Cup this season. Sissoko has suggested that he will let his agent deal with his contract situation. The 31-year-old, who is on £80k-per-week wages, has a contract at the club till 2023, and he has suggested that ‘things can go very quickly in football’ although he wishes to continue. Many Spurs fans have taken to Twitter to express their r...