Sport

Lautaro Martinez has reportedly agreed a deal in principle on a new contract at Inter Milan which doesn’t include a release clause. That would be a blow to interested parties Arsenal and Tottenham , who were keen on recruiting the 24-year-old in the summer transfer window. Martinez has kicked off the new Serie A season with three goals in three games, and according to the Mirror , both north London clubs are still monitoring the striker. The report states that a potential transfer would be harder to negotiate, though, with Martinez in agreement with the Italian club over a fresh deal in which there is no set release clause. With two years remaining on his current deal in the last transfer window, he was valued in the region of £55million, but that figure is set to increase given the proposed longer contract. Arsenal’s poor start to the season has taken a slight upturn after back-to-back wins against Norwich and Burnley. The Gunners came through a tough …

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained his decision to drop Jadon Sancho for Manchester United’s clash against West Ham, referencing his involvement in Tuesday’s defeat to Young Boys and his ability to make an impact off the bench. The winger, United’s £72.9million summer signing, started in the Red Devils’ last three games – wins over Wolves and Newcastle and the loss to Young Boys in the Champions League . That shock European defeat saw Sancho replaced in the first half following Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card which reduced the team to 10 men. For the Premier League clash against West Ham , Solskjaer made a further two changes from the Young Boys defeat, with Mason Greenwood, Raphael Varane and Scott McTominay coming back into the side as Donny van de Beek and Victor Lindelof dropped out. Solskjaer told Sky Sports of the changes: ‘Jadon’s [Sancho] started the Tuesday game and we found the decision better to leave him here now and the chance to come on and make a …

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Paul Pogba insists his own form is not important, it is only that of the team that he is focussing on ahead of Manchester United ’s trip to West Ham United on Sunday afternoon. Pogba has started all of Manchester United’s Premier League games so far this season and made a blistering start to the campaign when he provided four assists on the opening day against Leeds United. Unsurprisingly he has not kept up that level of performance and could not prevent the Red Devils slumping to a surprise defeat to Young Boys in the Champions League earlier this week. His consistency continues to be questioned as he has always struggled to make his mark on games for United on a regular basis, but he insists his own form is not important, only that the team continue to get results, as they have been in the Premier League with 10 points from their first four matches. ‘This is not important,’ Pogba said when asked about his current form. ‘What is important is the consistency of …

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Roy Keane has encouraged his old club Manchester United to sign West Ham United’s Declan Rice , saying he would improve their midfield and the 22-year-old is a better player than he was at that age. Rice has been linked with a move to Old Trafford, while he has also regularly been touted as a signing for Chelsea , but the Hammers are standing firm and insist any interested parties would have to fork out £100m for Rice. The England international continues to impress for club and country and the transfer talk continues to get louder, especially with a club legend at Manchester United such a big fan of Rice. Asked whether Rice would improve the Man Utd midfield, Keane told Sky Sports: ‘I think he would, I think Declan’s improved as much as any player over the last one or two seasons, I’ve looked at him. ‘I know he’s been linked with United. If you’d asked me a year or two ago I’d have thought, “give him another year or two in terms of maturity.” ‘He’s 22, I …

[Read more...] about Manchester United target Declan Rice ‘way ahead of where I was at 22,’ says Roy Keane

Cristiano Ronaldo has offered his support to Danny Hodgson, the English footballer currently in a coma in Australia after an alleged unprovoked attack. The 26-year-old plays for ECU Joondalup in the National Premier Leagues Western Australia and was out celebrating the end of the local season on Friday when he was allegedly hit from behind when walking into the train station in Perth. His parents, Nicola and Peter, have flown out to Western Australia to be with their son after he was taken to Royal Perth Hospital in critical condition and has been placed in an induced coma after emergency surgery. Hodgson remains in a critical condition, but is now stable. Ronaldo has offered his fellow striker his support amid the tragic circumstances and hopes that he will see Hodgson in Manchester when he recovers. ‘Hi Danny, I just hear about your history, I hope you get well soon,’ Ronaldo said in a video. ‘I invite you to come to one of [our’] games in Manchester, so get well …

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Roy Keane has warned Manchester United ’s players that they still need to step their game up despite Cristiano Ronaldo ’s return to Old Trafford. Ronaldo is back wearing United colours after 12 years away from the club, and has started life back in Manchester in brilliant form. The Portuguese bagged three goals in his first two games but couldn’t stop the Red Devils losing to Young Boys in the Champions League in midweek. And ex-United captain Keane is wary that not everything will come together just because they have Ronaldo in their ranks. ‘ Manchester United need to be careful,’ Keane told Sky Sports . ‘Just because Ronaldo has come to the club, everyone thinks everything is just going to fall into place. ‘No, the players still need to step it up. But Ronaldo is still a world-class player.’ ‘Anything in the box, he [Ronaldo] is the best in the world,’ Keane added. ‘It was no surprise when he produced last week [against Newcastle]. But in midweek …

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Former Tottenham defender Paul Miller has paid a touching tribute to Spurs, Chelsea and England icon Jimmy Greaves, who sadly passed away on Sunday morning, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most gifted goalscorers to grace the beautiful game and a great inspiration to so many. His astonishing record of 357 goals in England’s top flight remains unmatched, with 266 goals in 379 games for his beloved Spurs. A member of Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad, the striker found the back of the net for the Three Lions for fun, having netted 44 goals in 57 games for his country. After retiring at the age of 31, Greaves also went on to forge a successful career in TV, with his hit show alongside Ian St John, Saint and Greavsie, running for seven years. A matter of hours before two of his former sides Tottenham and Chelsea do battle in the Premier League, Greaves passed away having been unwell for a number of years following a major stroke in 2015. Spurs’ top all-time …

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Amir Khan claims that he and his ‘colleague’ were ‘kicked off’ an American Airlines flight and he has been left ‘disgusted and heartbroken’ as he did ‘nothing wrong’ although the airline dispute that. The 34-year-old posted a video on Twitter explaining the situation that occurred as he was trying to fly from New York to Colorado Springs to begin training camp. ‘I was taken off the plane today when I was going to training camp in Colorado Springs by police,’ said Khan. ‘A complaint was made by American Airlines staff, they said my colleague’s mask was not high enough and not up, that they had to stop the plane and take me and my friend off when I did nothing wrong. ‘They kicked us both off. I was sat at 1A and he was sat in 1B. I find it disgusting and disrespectful, I was supposed to go to Colorado Springs for a training camp and now I’m back in New York for another day and I have to reschedule another plane to travel back to training camp. ‘It’s really upsetting; …

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It’s fair to say that Gareth Southgate has become something of a national treasure. Cementing himself as a legendary England manager in the Euros this year , he’s a universally liked character who melted hearts across the country as he comforted the team’s young players with genuine compassion after their devastating defeat to Italy. A certified good egg and all round decent human being. This is why I found his recent comments about the lack of women in certain areas of the English Football Association all the more disappointing. Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention earlier this week, Southgate rightly said that he needs more women working with the men’s national team, acknowledging that the progress that has been made in the women’s game isn’t reflected in the make-up of his back room staff. All good, you might be thinking? Well, not exactly. Southgate went on to say that these comments were partly prompted by a discussion he’d had …

[Read more...] about Dear Gareth Southgate, having a daughter shouldn’t be why you want to see more women in the FA

The football world is paying its respects to Jimmy Greaves after the Tottenham , Chelsea and England legend sadly passed away aged 81 on Sunday. An incredible goal-scorer throughout his career, Greaves netted 266 times for Spurs in all competitions, winning the FA Cup twice and the European Cup Winners Cup with the club. This was after scoring 132 goals for Chelsea from 1957-61 and spending a short spell at AC Milan, where he won the Serie A title. He was also prolific for his country, scoring 44 times for England in just 57 appearances. After his stunning playing career, Greaves went on to host Saint and Greavsie alongside Ian St John from 1985 to 1992 on ITV, a hugely popular football show which saw the two men chat through issues in the game and the day’s action. Greaves remains Tottenham’s all-time greatest goal-scorer and the man trying to hunt down his record, Harry Kane, was quick to pay tribute to the great man. Kane tweeted: ‘RIP Jimmy Greaves. A …

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