Arsenal eyeing Gyokeres swoop
Booking their Champions League quarter-final ticket earlier in the week following a nail-biting penalties victory against Porto, are enjoying a remarkable purple patch this season.
Really firing on all cylinders and currently leading the chase to get their hands on a first Premier League crown since 2004, the Gunners have also gained a reputation for their free-scoring performances.
However, while the likes of Bukayo Saka might have stolen most of Arsenal s headlines this season, it is no secret that has a new number nine at the top of his summer wishlist.
Although the Gunners might have remained heavily linked with a move for Brentford talisman Ivan Toney, it has been suggested that the red-hot has plenty of admirers in north L…
What the papers say
Manchester United are experiencing mixed fortunes as Erik ten Hag looks to build his squad for next season. On the plus side, the Daily Mail says they are close to agreeing a new, long-term deal with forward Marcus Rashford.
But the Mail also reports that United’s pursuit of Jordan Pickford is not going as smoothly. The paper says the England goalkeeper is happy at Everton, with no approach yet from Old Trafford.
West Ham look to have missed out in their pursuit of Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez from Ajax, according to The Guardian. They continue to press ahead with a move for Joao Palhinha from Fulham.
Several leading clubs will be on alert after news from Napoli about striker Victor Osimhen. The Italian champions hope to extend the 24-y…
Italy have omitted Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi from their final 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Rossi damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in his right leg in January, but recovered to earn a place in Cesare Prandelli s provisional party.
However, the striker has now suffered heartbreak for the second successive World Cup, having also been cut from an initial squad chosen by Marcello Lippi in 2010.
After choosing to overlook Rossi and Roma forward Mattia Destro, Prandelli has five attackers at his disposal.
Torino duo Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci have been retained, together with Milan s Mario Balotelli, Lorenzo Insigne of Napoli and experienced Parma forward Antonio Cassano.
Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivo had already been rul…
SPL giants Glasgow Rangers now have a new owner in the shape of 39 year-old Scottish businessman Craig Whyte.
Whyte’s newly-formed company Wavetower Limited are believed to have paid £52.5million for David Murray’s 85.3 majority share of the club.
Force
Rangers new owner has promised to bring the glory days back to Ibrox.
He released a statement saying: “ After six months of negotiations, I am delighted to confirm that agreement has been reached between myself and Sir David Murray and that Wavetower now holds the controlling interest in Rangers.
As a keen Rangers supporter I now look forward to helping the club secure its future as a leading force in Scottish and European football.
I know the club has gone through some difficult …
Shakhtar Donetsk will hope their formidable UEFA Champions League group-stage home record transfers to the Arena Lviv when Porto visit.
The trip to Ukraine is often seen as one of the toughest in the Champions League calendar, though Shakhtar s home advantage may be watered down as they themselves play on unfamiliar turf.
Shakhtar have not played at their Donbass Arena home since May as civil unrest affects eastern Ukraine the stadium has even been damaged by shelling during the conflict instead playing home fixtures some 760 miles away in Lviv.
Mircea Lucescu s men will be hoping a passionate atmosphere is recreated to help them improve further on an impressive history at this stage.
In their previous 13 group-stage home games, the Ukrainian champions ha…
Sunderland captain John O’Shea has put pen to paper on a new two year deal at the Stadium of Light, .
The 33 year old, who scored a dramatic equaliser on his one hundredth appearance for the Republic of Ireland in their Euro 2016 qualifier against World Champions Germany on Tuesday evening, has been at the Black Cats since July 2011, having previously spent twelve years at Manchester United.
He has racked up one hundred and twenty-one appearances for Sunderland in all competitions, scoring three goals and was part of the squad that reached the Capital One Cup final last season.
Gus Poyet’s side currently sit in thirteenth place in the Premier League, after winning one and drawing five of their seven games thus far.
They travel to Southampton on Saturday…
Mark Hughes is ready to let Bojan Krkic reprise his Stoke City career despite sending the ex-Barcelona forward on a loan exile to Mainz last season.
Bojan moved to the Bundesliga in January after enduring limited opportunities in Hughes starting XI.
He scored once in 11 games in German football s top flight the opening goal in a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich and the 26-year-old has a chance to prove himself again at the bet365 Stadium, where he remains a crowd favourite.
We all have a lot of feelings for Bojan, and it was great to see him back here this morning, Hughes told Stoke City+.
Although it didn t quite work out for him here last year we have to remember that he was still coming back from a serious injury.
We are six months down the lin…
Jose Mourinho made the wrong decision in returning for a second stint at Chelsea, according to Alex Ferguson.
Mourinho has taken over at Manchester United after leaving Stamford Bridge before Christmas last season.
The Portuguese tactician was appointed again at Chelsea in mid-2013, leading the club to a Premier League title.
But it turned sour for Mourinho in London, departing in December last year after losing nine of 16 league games.
Ferguson, a friend of the former Real Madrid and Inter coach as well as a club ambassador at United, believes Mourinho should never have returned to Chelsea.
I thought Jose was wrong to go back to Chelsea, I really do, the legendary former United boss told Sky Sports at a charity event.
I think it s alw…
Having utterly failed to meet the expectations at Barcelona following his €160 million move from Liverpool in January 2018, Philippe Coutinho was sent to Bayern Munich on loan for the 2019/20 season, with the Bundesliga champions given the option of making the deal permanent for €120 million in the summer. However, despite a very good start to the campaign in Germany, the playmaker once again failed to impress and the Bavarians have all but confirmed they wouldn t be exercising the option of turning him into their full-time employee.
Earlier this month, Bayern s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic criticized Coutinho s performance in their DFB-Pokal win over Hoffenheim for overcomplicating things on the pitch, and now CEO Karl-Heniz Rummenigge has added his voice on the ma…
Market: Managua win
Odds:
Once again turning our attention to the Nicaragua Premier League this weekend, league leaders Managua will look to widen their buffer at the top of the table when they make the trip to Real Madriz on Saturday night.
Starting with the hosts, despite appearing to turn a corner with back-to-back wins against Deportivo Ocotal and Municipal Jalapa last month, Real Madriz came crashing back down to earth with what was a shock 2-1 loss away at rock-bottom Sabanas earlier in the week. Still sat outside the top-six and even more worrying for the inconsistent hosts, Real Madriz also hold a woeful record against the league leaders. Including a 3-1 defeat when the two sides faced off back in February, Los Somoteños have lost five of their last si…