Van der Vaart waiting for Premier League clearance to sign for Tottenham
In the nick of time, Tottenham have agreed a deal with Real Madrid to sign Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart for £8 million.
The deal was agreed just two hours before the transfer window closed after the lengthy negotiations but the transfer needs to be given clearance by the Premier League chiefs in order to become official.
Harry Redknapp himself was surprised to find out that the Dutchman’s price is mere £8 million.
I thought he was going to Bayern Munich yesterday for 18 million pounds, but his price suddenly decreased a great deal. At four o’clock I have found out that he was available for 8 million pounds and that is not much money for a top-notch player that will d…
French champions Marseille are coming under increasing pressure to kickstart their stuttering league campaign after a night in Europe described as catastrophic by coach Didier Deschamps.
Sticking to recent tradition, France s biggest club lost their Champions League opener on Wednesday, succumbing to a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Spartak Moscow after yet another game of near-misses.
Such error-strewn performances have been Marseille s lot in the league so far. After five games Deschamps side have scored eight goals, conceded eight and, more importantly, won just once while losing twice.
The only consolation for Marseille is that they face Arles-Avignon, the league new boys who have yet to put any points on the board, on Saturday.
While Deschamps claims h…
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been heavily criticised this season, but his players need to take the blame for the Blues poor campaign
Chelsea suffered yet another defeat in the Premier League on Saturday, as Liverpool came to Stamford Bridge and left with a 3-1 victory.
The defeat left reigning Premier League champions Chelsea in 15th position in the table.
The Blues face a crucial Champions League clash with Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday night in a game that could help dictate the future of under-fire boss Jose Mourinho.
Inexplicable fall from grace
This season Chelsea’s struggles are hard to explain. They have nearly the same set of players with the likes of Pedro and Asmir Begovic added in the summer, yet they look like they …
There s no denying Julen Lopetegui is going through a horrible year in his career. He was sacked as the Spanish national team manager a few days before the World Cup in Russia because of Real s announcement of his appointment to replace Zinedine Zidane, and now he s staring the same fate in the eyes at Madrid.
Former Italy, Juventus and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been named among the favorites for the job, should Lopetegui be finally put out of his misery. However, another Chelsea name that has been linked with Real is Eden Hazard, who played two seasons under Conte at Stamford Bridge, winning the 2016/17 Premier League title and the 2017/18 FA Cup in that time.
However, the relationship between the Belgian forward and the Italian manger has reportedly broken dow…
City appear to have emerged as the front-runners due to the presence of former Barcelona head coach Pep Guardiola, as well as their riches, with media reports in Argentina seemingly increasingly confident Messi will move to the Premier League.
Those stories intensified on Wednesday when Argentinian publication La Nacion published quotes it said were from Messi confirming the joint-decision with his wife to leave Barca, while also opting for City next.
However, the Barca talisman s father – who is also his agent – is adamant the quotes were fake and the work of a Messi imitator.
Alongside a screenshot of the story, Jorge Messi wrote on his Instagram story: Hi La Nacion, this is fake. This confession does not exist, it s the audio of an imitator.
La Na…
Wayne Rooney will make his first international appearance for two years after he was named in England s squad to face United States at Wembley.
Former Three Lions captain Rooney last played for England in November 2016 but will make his 120th and final appearance for his country against the United States.
The international friendly, set to take place on November 15, has been dubbed The Wayne Rooney Foundation International and some of the proceeds from the game will go towards the Manchester United great s charity.
Rooney retired from international duty in August 2017 as England s record goalscorer, while he has won more caps than any other outfield player.
He will not be a part of England s squad for a Nations League clash against Croatia at Wembley thre…
Christophe Galtier and Marco Verratti insisted there are no problems in the Paris Saint-Germain dressing room, after fresh speculation linked Kylian Mbappe with a move away from the Ligue 1 giants.
Despite signing a new contract with PSG in May, newspaper claims from Spain in the past week suggested Mbappe wanted to get away from the Parc des Princes.
The France international, who has appeared far from content at times this season, denied after Sunday s 1-0 win over Marseille that he has asked to leave, and said he was in fact very happy in Paris.
Mbappe played the full 90 minutes of the Marseille game.
Head coach Galtier, who fumed at reporters on Friday after rumours of unrest within the squad, insisted the situation was under control.
What s g…
Best Odds: 1/2
Bookmaker:
In a real heavyweight battle on Wednesday night, Manchester United will welcome Tottenham to Old Trafford.
Manchester United
Starting with the hosts, while Manchester United be enjoying a four-match unbeaten run across all competitions, it is fair to say that the Red Devils have struggled to find top gear. Eventually having to settle for a 0-0 stalemate at home against Newcastle over the weekend, Erik ten Hag s side will know that they face another rugged test on Wednesday night. Despite managing to scrape back-to-back victories against Omonia Nicosia while on Europa League duties over the past fortnight, the former Ajax boss knows that he must guide his star-studded squad to a Champions League return this season. Marking their return …
Morocco international Adel Taarabt is keen to secure a permanent move to AC Milan at the end of the season, .
The midfielder moved to the San Siro during the January transfer window, and he has scored four goals in twelve Serie A appearances having spent the first half of the campaign in the Premier League with Fulham.
He moved to his parent club Queens Park Rangers in the summer of 2010 having spent time with them on loan the previous year, making one hundred and fifty six appearances for the club in total, scoring thirty-four goals including nineteen in their Championship winning season of 2010/11 when he was named the division’s player of the season.
Harry Redknapp’s side face Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium in the first leg of their Championship semi…
Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon believes they have the quality and the character to reach the latter stages of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Cesare Prandelli s men appear to have been drawn in one of the toughest groups for next month s tournament in Brazil, and will face England in their opening game in Manaus on June 14 before taking on Costa Rica and Uruguay.
Italy were eliminated in the group stages of the 2010 World Cup, but responded by reaching the final of the UEFA European Championships in 2012.
Goalkeeper Buffon was also part of the side that won the 2006 World Cup and the 36-year-old is confident Italy can progress deep into the competition this time around.
A solid, well organised team that will never lose games on its own, Buffon replied when asked by Gazz…