Month: January 2025

Liverpool are leading the race to secure the services of Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, .

The Spain international is set to call time on his twenty-two years with Barcelona at the end of the season, having won six league titles, two Spanish Cups, three Champions Leagues and two FIFA World Club Cups whilst internationally, he was part of the squads that won the 2010 World Cup and the European Championships in 2012.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers brought in Simon Mignolet in the summer, though it is thought that he views Valdes as an upgrade on the Belgium international.

Pepe Reina, and international teammate of Valdes, is still on the books of the Merseyside club, but he is set to leave in the summer when his loan deal with Napoli is complete.

Liverpo…

Remy Cabella scored for the second time in as many games as Marseille twice came from behind to salvage a draw 2-2 at home to his former club Montpellier in Ligue 1.

After netting the winner against Rennes in midweek, Cabella who spent five years on the books of local rivals Montpellier and was a key part of their title-winning side in 2012 levelled proceedings shortly after half-time, cancelling out Casimir Ninga s opener for the visitors.

Cabella s work was undone soon after, however, as Ninga doubled his tally and put Montpellier back in front, only for substitute Bouna Sarr to earn Marseille a share of the spoils with his first goal for the club.

Elsewhere, Saint-Etienne came from behind to claim a 1-1 draw against Rennes, courtesy of Valentin Eysseric s pena…

Torino full-back Matteo Darmian is on the radar of both Juventus and Roma, .

The two clubs have been keeping close tabs on the 24-year-old for a while, and they are expected to step up their interest in the coming weeks.

But, while Torino initially wanted around €10 million for the highly rated defender, the price is likely to increase considerably now that Darmian has starred for Italy at the 2014 World Cup.

Granata have no plans to cash in on their star player this summer, but they are unlikely to stand in his way if he expresses desire to join a top Italian club.

Matteo Darmian had started his career at AC Milan, but it was a switch to Torino in the summer of 2011 that proved crucial for his development.

The right-back has since amassed a to…

Italian striker Fabio Quagliarella will be leaving Juventus at the end of the season, .

The 31-year-old currently has no less than five players in front of him in the pecking order, and he has failed to make a single appearance for the Bianconeri since 15th January.

Quagliarella was not even registered for club s Europa League campaign and everything suggests his career in Turin is drawing to a close.

The experienced forward could have left Juventus on several occasions in the past, but after rejecting a move to Genoa in the summer, he also opted against joining Lazio in January.

Nevertheless, it appears he will finally be sold in the summer, with the Biancocelesti reportedly leading the chase for his signature.

Fabio Quagliarella arrived at Juve…

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has voiced his admiration for Zinedine Zidane, but has stressed a return to Real Madrid or another Spanish side is not an option at this stage.

The Germany international left Madrid for Arsenal in 2013 and has since developed into a key figure at Emirates Stadium.

Ozil was reported to be considering his options, with speculation claiming he had lost patience with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, although the 27-year-old has since dismissed those suggestions.

And, speaking to Spox, Ozil said: Zidane was an amazing player. He did not just play football, but lived for the game.

I got to know him after his active career as someone who is always willing to lend a hand.

But that does not say anything about my future. I am o…

Claudio Ranieri hit out at bizarre former France head coach Raymond Domenech as he awaits clearance to take charge of Ligue 1 side Nantes.

Ranieri s move to replace Sergio Conceicao is reportedly being held up due to a Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) regulation stipulating head coaches in Ligue 1 must be under the age of 65.

The 65-year-old Italian – who sensationally guided Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2015-16 – said there is an agreement in place with Nantes as he singled out LFP president Domenech.

We are nearly there, even if it s not yet official. I haven t signed yet, but there is an agreement with the president, Ranieri told Mediaset Premium.

I do my work with passion, professionalism and focus, so what others say does…

Chelsea are set to loan Kurt Zouma out next season in a bid to improve the defender’s fitness, .

Despite racking up thirty-two appearances in all competitions for the Blues last season, the twenty-two year old has started just two Premier League games under Antonio Conte as he has struggled to recover from a knee injury.

There is already set to be a major defensive re-shuffle at Stamford Bridge in the summer with club captain John Terry on his way out of the club and a bid for Southampton’s Virgin van Dijk in the offing and now Zouma could be playing his football elsewhere for the foreseeable future.

Since signing from Saint Etienne in the summer of 2014, Zouma has made sixty-nine appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals and was part of the squ…

Manchester United are ready to move for Southampton winger Sadio Mane after he was left out of Southampton’s starting line-up on Saturday afternoon.

The Senegal international was punished for being late for a team meeting, and his future at the south coast club is once again the subject of speculation.

He was strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer though he remained at St Mary’s and has made twenty-five appearances in all competitions so far this season, scoring seven goals.

Mane moved to England from Salzburg in the summer of 2014 and his appearance yesterday was his fiftieth in the Premier League.

Internationally, he has been capped thirty-one times for his country, scoring nine goals while he was also part of their Olympic…

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed three more players have tested positive for COVID-19, putting their return to Ligue 1 action next week in doubt.

It means six players have now returned positives across the last two rounds of screening, with the first three having been reported on Wednesday.

Thursday s news will likely see PSG s match at Lens, scheduled for September 10, rearranged to a later date, having already been pushed back at the request of the beaten Champions League finalists.

A brief statement from the club said: The latest tests for PCR SarsCoV2 carried out on the Paris Saint-Germain first team confirmed three new positive cases.

The players are following the appropriate health measures.

Thomas Tuchel s men were crowned Ligue 1 cham…

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson said he and his team-mates told each other to stick together during their recent difficult run of form.

The Reds won just two of their first eight Premier League games as they fell away from any talk of the title race in the early weeks of the season.

However, back-to-back 1-0 home wins against Manchester City and West Ham have restored some feel-good factor at Anfield, with the Brazilian s penalty save on Wednesday helping his team narrowly beat the Hammers.

A 22nd-minute header from Darwin Nunez put Liverpool in front, before Jarrod Bowen was brought down in the box by Joe Gomez just before half-time.

However, Alisson dived down to his right to palm Bowen s spot-kick away, before some nervy defending in the second half event…