Ligue 1 outfit Marseille have decided to try and agree a permanent deal for AS Roma midfielder William Vainqueur, according to L Equipe.
The 28-year-old joined l’OM on a season-long loan after a somewhat disappointing spell at Stadio Olimpico and he did well to kick-start his career at Stade Velodrome.
Vainqueur has performed really well in 21 Ligue 1 starts and Marseille now hope to tie him down to a long-term contract.
It is believed that a €3 million price has already been agreed, but AS Roma will wait for soon-to-be new sporting director Monchi to give the all clear.
Vainqueur had begun his career at Nantes, and then enjoyed three successive years at Standard Liege before moving to Dynamo Moscow in July 2014.
A year later he was sold to A…
Andres Iniesta insists Lionel Messi doesn t need to win the World Cup to be regarded as the best player of all time.
Barcelona star Messi took the plaudits once again on Saturday, as his two goals in a 6-0 demolition of Rayo Vallecano took him to 337 strikes for the Catalan giants the highest number scored by any player for a single Spanish club at the age of just 26.
But Barca team-mate Iniesta, who scored Spain s winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final, does not believe Messi requires success on the international stage with Argentina to justify his tag as one of football s greats.
Leo doesn t need to win the World Cup to be considered the best player ever, he is quoted as saying by the Sun on Sunday.
I say that for those who demand he wins the World Cup to be …
Prediction: Netherlands to win 2-1
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
The Netherlands and Scotland will face each other in a friendly international this week. The match at Estádio Algarve is slated to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Wednesday evening and promises to be an exciting game of football.
Netherlands
The Netherlands will fancy their chances of making a big impact at the Euro 2020 finals this summer. The Dutch have been drawn in Group C along with Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia. Frank de Boer’s side are the clear favourites for the group, and they will want to prepare for the group stage with strong performances and positive results in the friendly games in the build-up to the competition.
The Dutchman will head into the match against Scot…
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool (Arsenal win 5-4 on pens): Aubameyang spot-kick seals Community Shield triumph
Arsenal won their second trophy in August as the FA Cup winners beat Premier League champions Liverpool 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Community Shield.
Just 28 days after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck twice to sink Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley, the Gunners triumphed in the new season s curtain-raiser in north London.
Mikel Arteta s side were forced to do it the hard way, with Takumi Minamino s first Liverpool goal having cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s 12th-minute opener.
However, Rhian Brewster – who has enjoyed a fine pre-season for Liverpool – missed his spot-kick, setting the stage for Aubameyang to wrap up another Wembley triumph for the Gunners.
5 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is now Arsenal s joint top scorer in games played…
England’s Manchester City quintet are due to arrive at St George’s Park on Tuesday evening after days celebrating their treble triumph.
Gareth Southgate’s men are preparing for Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Malta and the Old Trafford encounter with North Macedonia on Monday.
The exact availability of City’s players for the doubleheader is unclear given their celebrations following Saturday’s Champions League triumph in Turkey only ended after Monday’s rain-soaked parade.
ICONIC.
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
Jack Grealish was at the heart of the revelry and is due at St George’s Park to link up with England on Tuesday night, as are Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Kalvin Phillips.
Declan Rice was also given ext…
Borussia Dortmund are reportedly monitoring the situation of Mason Greenwood, with a view to offering him a loan with an option to buy him
After reports Jadon Sancho doesn t expect to be picked up permanently by them, he could now be humiliated
— TEAMtalk (@TEAMtalk)
Players to watch
Kieran Tierney: Arsenal are reportedly ready to sell the 26-year-old Scottish defender but the club want £20million for his services.
Jakub Kiwior: AC Milan are in talks with Arsenal over the 24-year-old Polish left-back, according to reports in Spain.
…
Porto s heavy summer recruitment looks set to continue as that Andres Fernandez and Ivan Marcano will be added to the ranks at Estadio do Dragao.
The Dragons have signed Adrian Lopez, Bruno Martins Indi, Casemiro and Cristian Tello, among other players, and they have no plan to stop any time soon.
According to O Jogo, Porto have agreed a deal for Osasuna goalkeeper Andres Fernandez, while they are on the verge of signing Ivan Marcano from Rubin Kazan.
Andres Fernandez is widely regarded as one of La Liga s top goalkeepers and he was previously linked with both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The 27-year-old has spent last seven years at Osasuna, making a total of 113 league appearances for the club.
Meanwhile, Ivan Marcano has played for Rubin Kazan …
PEC Zwolle have completed the signing of Ajax winger Jody Lukoki on a three-year deal.
The 21-year-old came through the ranks at Ajax s famous youth academy and made his first-team debut against Feyenoord in January 2011.
However, the pacy winger has failed to establish himself as a regular at the Amsterdam Arena and spent last season on loan at Cambuur.
Lukoki whose deal with the Dutch champions was due to expire in June 2015 has now penned a contract with Zwolle until 2017.
I am happy that we have succeeded with the contract, Zwolle technical director Gerard Nijkamp told the club s official website.
[Lukoki] constant threat with his speed and individual action, he has the potential to create [chances] from nothing.
Lukoki made 24 appe…
West Ham stormed back from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 in a thrilling contest and win a third straight Premier League game for the first time in two years.
James McArthur had put Palace ahead after just six minutes with his second goal in three games.
But Robert Snodgrass impressive equaliser – his first Premier League goal for 705 days – changed the momentum just after half-time, with Javier Hernandez and Felipe Anderson then striking to wrap up a 17-minute blitz.
Manuel Pellegrini s men held on for a dramatic victory despite a late reply from Palace substitute Jeffrey Schlupp, moving into the top 10 as a result, as struggling Palace, who have one win in 11 top-flight games, slipped to 16th.
5 Felipe Anderson has scored five goals in his last s…
Krzysztof Piatek marked his first AC Milan start by scoring both goals as AC Milan reached the Coppa Italia semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Napoli on Tuesday.
New boy Piatek signed by the Rossoneri from Genoa to replace the departed Gonzalo Higuain quickly endeared himself to Milan fans, striking twice in the first half to become an instant hero with the San Siro faithful.
The Poland international had made his debut off the bench in the 0-0 draw between the teams last Saturday, yet his finishing abilities made sure there was no repeat of that Serie A stalemate.
Both times he capitalised on space available through Napoli s right channel; his opener was tucked home with finesse when clean through but his second was all about power, a right-footed rocket fizzing pas…