Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Mateo Kovačić from Real Madrid on a permanent basis and by doing so, they ve managed to beat the deadline with a transfer ban looming over their heads, according to Matt Law of .
The Croatia international spent the 2018/19 season on loan at Stamford Bridge and he was scheduled to return to Madrid at the end of this week, and had that happened, the ban would have prevented Chelsea from keeping him. They have therefore pushed hard to speed things up and managed to agree the deal on Wednesday night.
It had been reported on more than one occasion that the Europa League winners were keen on the deal, but the departure of Maurizio Sarri from the position of manager and the likely appointment of Frank Lampard in his place had put the matter…
Real Madrid s lost ground on LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid as their five-game winning streak in the competition came grinding to a halt in a 1-1 draw with Elche.
Luka Modric scored his third league goal of the season to give Zinedine Zidane s men the lead after 20 minutes as Madrid attacked freely while leaving some dangerous gaps at the back.
Elche created numerous good chances before equalising from the penalty spot, Fidel converting after Dani Carvajal s blatant foul on Antonio Barragan.
The result put a dampener on the feel-good factor Zidane had managed to generate around his club after bouncing back from a slow start to the season, with Atletico two points clear at the summit having beaten Getafe 1-0 earlier on Wednesday.
Toni Kroos headed narrowly…
West Ham manager David Moyes made a plea to remain in charge at the club after delivering a 3-1 victory over Everton on the last day of the Premier League season.
Two goals from Manuel Lanzini and one from Marko Arnautovic helped to secure the Hammers three points that left them 13th in the final standings, and Moyes said his side s performance showed a marked improvement on their play from when he took over in November 2017.
Although they ended the season with a run of three unbeaten games, prior to that sequence West Ham had achieved just one win in eight, with Moyes offering no clarity on whether he would be allowed to remain in his job next season.
I can t say because I am no further forward, he told reporters. We will meet and talk next week. We haven t arr…
Talksport understands that West Ham United are eyeing a £10m move for Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
The Hammers are on the lookout for a new shot-stopper, with Joe Hart set to be sent back to Manchester City after a disappointing season-long loan at the London Stadium which ended with him being axed from Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.
On the other hand, Heaton has been named as a back-up for the 23-man party despite having missed the majority of the 2017/18 campaign through injury.
The thirty-two-year-old, who began his career with Manchester United but left before making an appearance, has been at Turf Moor for the past five seasons and has racked up one hundred and seventy-eight appearances in all competitions in that time.
He was handed h…
Libor Kozak s first Aston Villa goal since December 2013 was in vain as Tim Sherwood s side suffered a 3-1 friendly defeat at the hands of Fulham on Saturday.
The Czech striker has missed over 18 months of football after suffering a broken leg in January 2014, before a back injury ended his hopes of a comeback last season.
Kozak s quest to be part of Sherwood s plans for the upcoming campaign made a positive start in Portugal, though, the 26-year-old netting 10 minutes after coming on at half-time.
Villa – who had new signing Micah Richards at centre-half – enjoyed plenty of early possession against Kit Symons men, but found themselves behind midway through the half as Matt Smith converted Thomas Eisfeld s cross.
Richards and Ashley Westwood both sa…
After Antoine Griezmann s long-awaited move to Barcelona, another transfer saga appears close to completion.
Leicester City and England centre-back Harry Maguire is reportedly poised for Manchester.
The red half will be happy…
TOP STORY – UNITED AGREE £80M DEAL FOR MAGUIRE
Manchester United have agreed to pay a world-record fee for a defender to sign Maguire from Leicester City, according to The Sun.
United will reportedly fork out £60million with an additional £20m available in add-ons, to see the England centre-back surpass Liverpool s Virgil van Dijk as the most expensive defender.
Man United agree world-record £80m Harry Maguire transfer
— The Sun Football (@TheSunFootball)
Premier League cham…
A-League leaders Sydney FC played for 65 minutes with 10 men but rallied to beat second-placed Melbourne City 2-1 on Sunday.
Kosta Barbarouses struck late on to extend Sydney s advantage at the summit to nine points, settling a more sedate second half after a gripping first period that featured two goals, a red card and a missed penalty.
That frantic spell was kickstarted by the City opener in the 22nd minute as a short corner from the right saw Craig Noone send a cross towards the back post to Connor Metcalfe, who thundered a header past Andrew Redmayne.
Sydney quickly suffered a second blow when Rhyan Grant was sent off for an awful studs-up challenge into the shins of Nathaniel Atkinson, which was initially punished only with a yellow card before the referee…
As Cristiano Ronaldo contemplated a year that has brought him enough silverware to last a lifetime, the Manchester United winger could have been forgiven for resting on his laurels.
But the Portuguese playmaker is determined to make his star shine even brighter in 2009 after beating Barcelona s Lionel Messi and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres to the Ballon d Or this week.
The award is given to Europe s top footballer and, on the back of a phenomenal 2007-08 season in which he scored 42 goals for his Premier League and Champions League-winning club, there is little doubt that Ronaldo deserved the prize, yet he believes he can get even better.
I always play with pressure because people always expect a lot from me and I don t think that will change, Ronaldo to…
FA Cup third round day is an exciting day for the fans of the little clubs and a often a nervous day for the fans of the Premier League big boys.
There has probably never been a third round in the history of the cup that hasn’t contained at least one giant killing act. This year will be no different.
Rather than doing predictions this week I thought I’d look at the games involving Premier League teams and see if we can find where the inevitable shock or shocks are going to take place.
Friday 2nd January 2009
Tottenham v Wigan
This game was played last night. No possibility of a shock here as both teams are in the top league and would have fancied their chances equally. As it turned out, the current Cup holder, Harry Red…
Wolfsburg, Lazio vying for Pato
Sky Sports is reporting that Wolfsburg and Lazio are locked in the battle for Corinthians forward Alexandre Pato.
It is believed that the Brazilian footballer hopes to return to Europe this summer and that is now a realistic possibility.
According to Sky Sports, Wolfsburg plan to make a move on Pato as soon as they complete the sale of Ivan Perisic to Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, Lazio are keeping close tabs on the former AC Milan hotshot as well, but they are waiting to see whether the team will qualify for the Champions League group stages before making their interest concrete.
The 25-year-old, who is currently on loan at Sao Paulo, is reportedly valued at €10 million by Corinthians.
Alexandre Pato returned …