Luiz swap deal twist amid Tottenham ‘hijack’ claim as Villa target two alternative Juventus stars

Jose Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic accident at the age of 35, former club Sevilla have confirmed.

Reyes most recently played for Extremadura in Spain s second tier, representing them nine times in the second half of this season.

A former Spain international, Reyes came through Sevilla s academy having grown up in the town of Utrera, a few miles east of Andalusia s capital.

He broke into Sevilla s first-team as a teenager before earning himself a big-money move to Arsenal in 2004, staying there for three years.

A mercurial, talented winger, Reyes went on to feature for Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Benfica, before returning to his boyhood club in 2011 for a five-year spell.

We couldn t be confirming worse news. Beloved Sevilla star José …

Adrien Rabiot is close to finalising his anticipated move to Juventus and will join an esteemed tradition with the Serie A champions in the process.

A contractual dispute contributed to the French midfielder being frozen out of first-team affairs at Paris Saint-Germain last term and he was linked to a host of European heavyweights.

But Juve got their man, as they so often have when it comes to securing high-class free transfers in an ever-inflated market.

With Wales international Aaron Ramsey also arriving for no fee following an 11-year stay at Arsenal, we look at other players who have run their deals down to join the dominant force in Italian football.

ANDREA PIRLO

World Cup winner Pirlo was used sparingly during his final season at…

Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez earned Real Madrid a 2-0 win away to Roma that guarantees the Champions League holders first place in Group G.

Both teams had already qualified thanks to a draw between CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen earlier in the day, but top spot and potentially an easier draw in the first knockout round was up for grabs.

Cengiz Under produced a contender for the worst miss of the season late in Tuesday s first half, the Roma forward blasting a dreadful effort over the crossbar from close range.

Bale s third Champions League goal of the season nudged Madrid in front in an engrossing contest at the Stadio Olimpico, profiting on an error from Federico Fazio, with Vazquez then tapping in the decisive second.

Gareth Bale s record in this com…

According to a recent report from Sky Italy, Ashley Young is in Italy ahead of his medical with Inter Milan. A fee believed to be in the region of £1.3 million has been agreed between Inter and Manchester United. The move has come as something of a surprise to quite a few fans within the spectrum of the Premier League, many of whom haven’t exactly rated all too many of the performances that have been put in so far this season by Young. 

Clearly Inter sees something in him that a lot of others don’t, but even with that being the case, the rumours regarding how Young has been dealing with this news certainly haven’t helped him to come across all too well. 

Nonetheless, this is the perfect opportunity for Young to prove himself outside of the Premier League and tr…

Real Madrid can overcome their indifferent start to the season and deliver a major trophy, according to Kaka.

After finishing 19 points behind LaLiga winners Barcelona and being eliminated from the Champions League by Ajax in the round of 16 last season, Madrid have won just two of their opening five competitive matches of 2019-20.

Draws against Real Valladolid and Villarreal in LaLiga and a 3-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League have left coach Zinedine Zidane s position under threat at a club where he won three consecutive European titles in his first spell as coach.

Kaka, who won the LaLiga title with Madrid in 2011-12 and the Copa del Rey a season earlier, noted the expectation around Santiago Bernabeu, telling Omnisport: For Real Madri…

Tuesday s Champions League schedule presents the chance for Marco Reus to set a new record for Borussia Dortmund, while Erling Haaland will hope to maintain his scoring run.

Reus drew a blank last time out in Europe, the Bundesliga side losing 2-0 to Inter, but will hope to make club history in the return fixture in Germany.

Barcelona are top of the table in the same group and the reigning LaLiga champions will be eager to preserve their unbeaten home run when they take on Slavia Prague at Camp Nou.

Liverpool are another team who seem to relish having home comforts, plus history tells us Chelsea should be feeling confident when Ajax visit Stamford Bridge.

We have picked out some of the notable numbers from Opta ahead of the eight games taking place at t…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Chris Wood from Premier League rivals Burnley in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Wood is travelling to the North East to undergo a medical and will then sign a contract with the Magpies.

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle have met Wood’s release clause of £20 million, and the former Leeds United striker himself is keen on a move to St. James’ Park. The Magpies have been looking for a striker in the wake of the injury to Callum Wilson, with the team in real danger of getting relegated to the Championship at the end of the season.

Wood has scored three goals in 17 Premier League appearances for Newcastle so far this season. The 30-year-old New Zealand international striker scored 12 goals in the l…

Angel Di Maria and an as of yet unnamed Paris Saint-Germain team-mate had their houses broken into during Sunday s game with Nantes.

Di Maria was taken off midway through the second half at Parc des Princes, after a curious discussion between officials – including sporting director Leonardo, who appeared visibly angry – in the stands, and the coaching staff on the touchline over the phone.

The substitution caused confusion not only off the pitch, but also on it. PSG conceded just before Di Maria went off, and then again nine minutes later to throw away their lead and ultimately lose 2-1.

After Di Maria, who signed a new deal with the capital club earlier this week, went off, Mauricio Pochettino spoke to his compatriot in the dressing room before returning t…

Martin Montoya feels lucky to have been coached by Pep Guardiola, who he says is one of the world s best managers.

Montoya came through the Barcelona academy and played under Guardiola during his time at Camp Nou, the Catalan s spell in charge producing a trio of LaLiga titles and a brace of Champions League crowns.

Now at Brighton and Hove Albion, Montoya played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss at Guardiola s Manchester City at the end of September.

And the 27-year-old, who joined Brighton from Valencia, hailed the impact the former Bayern Munich boss has had on his career.

In my opinion, he is one of the best managers in the world, Montoya told Omnisport.

I have been lucky to be coached by him, to have training with him, playing under him …

Antonio Rudiger is no stranger to putting himself in difficult and painful situations for the cause, as evidenced by the defensive lynchpin of Thomas Tuchel s Chelsea revival sporting a protective face mask during matches over recent weeks.

Nevertheless, even as a player who appears to relish a challenge and refuse to back down from a confrontation, Chelsea playing behind closed doors might have done Rudiger a favour earlier in the year.

The Stamford Bridge faithful, for all the success lapped up during the Roman Abramovich era, are certainly not shy when it comes to voicing their displeasure over an unpopular change in the dugout, of which there have been plenty.

There was the vocal backing for Roberto Di Matteo weeks after his sacking in 2012. Interim boss Rafa…