Manchester United are planning a swoop for AC Milan s Hakan Calhanoglu next season, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The 50-time Turkey international was a product of the youth setup at Karlsruher. He also played for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen before joining the Rossoneri in 2017 for a reported fee of around €23 million. Since then, he has played 137 times for the club in all competitions, scoring 27 goals and laying on 40 assists. In this Serie A campaign, he is yet to find the opposition net after five games, though he has assisted his teammates twice.

Calhanoglu s contract with Milan expires at the end of the season, and the talks over a new deal have reportedly reached an impasse. United are apparently keen to take advantage of the situation and sign t…

Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal are poised to make their long-awaited debuts for Barcelona in Wednesday s Copa del Rey clash with city rivals Espanyol.

Signed from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla during pre-season, the duo have been forced to miss all of Barca s competitive fixtures so far this term due to the FIFA-imposed ban on new signings being registered.

But with that sanction having now expired, Arda and Vidal, given the number seven and 22 shirts respectively, can make their first appearances for Luis Enrique s side in the round-of-16 first leg at Camp Nou.

I am happy that they are almost ready to make their debut, the Barca boss said last week. They have been waiting for this moment for a long time. They will add something extra to the team that we need.

<…

Argentinian football is imploding, and Lionel Messi s international retirement will put more focus than ever on the national Football Association (AFA).

This was supposed to be the year. Argentina s last senior international trophy came in 1993, when a double from Gabriel Batistuta who Messi surpassed as their record goalscorer with his 55th strike in the Copa America Centenario semi-final against United States  guided La Albiceleste to the Copa trophy with a 2-1 win over Mexico.

After the disappointment of losing the 2014 World Cup final to Germany in extra time and the Copa showpiece to Chile the following year, not forgetting defeat at the final hurdle in the 2007 edition, 2016 looked like time to end the 23-year drought.

Messi appeared destined to resto…

Market: Las Palmas double chance

Odds: 4/5 @

Looking to make another La Liga statement on Saturday evening, a high-flying Las Palmas will travel to the El Sadar when they meet Osasuna.

Starting with the hosts, while Osasuna might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign with their sights set on snatching what would be a famous European finish, Los Rojillos find themselves in the midst of a public struggle. Last seen putting in another nightmare performance as they eventually fell to an action-packed 4-2 loss at home against Girona, Jagoba Arrasate’s side have come tumbling out the top-half of the La Liga standings. Losing three of their last four appearances, fans around El Sadar will be hugely concerned by their side’s rather glaring defensive issues. Including …

Verdict: Draw

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

After Sweden denied Denmark a place at the Euro 2016 finals by winning the play-offs, Age Hareide’s side will have an extra motive to get one over their rivals, but the good news is that both neighbouring countries have qualified for the 2018 World Cup finals and this will be their penultimate warm-up game for the tournament in Russia.

Sweden

While they did well to beat their neighbours in said Euro 2016 play-off tie, Sweden largely disappointed in France, taking just one point and crashing out in the group stage. Granted, it was never going to be easy with Italy, Belgium and Republic of Ireland in their group, but there are no doubts Blagult should have done much better. Sweden have since showed some improvement …

Casemiro is living the dream at Real Madrid by playing in the Champions League as his side prepare to take on Wolfsburg in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.

The midfielder, 24, has become a key figure with the Santiago Bernabeu side in recent weeks and impressed in Saturday s victory over Barcelona in El Clasico at Camp Nou.

Casemiro revealed he is delighted to be playing in Europe s elite club competition and expects Wolfsburg to pose a stern test in Germany, but nonetheless wants Madrid to play their own game as they chase glory under Zinedine Zidane.

Every [side] Real Madrid could have faced would have been difficult because there are no easy teams, he told UEFA.

We need to respect Wolfsburg because we know they…

Tottenham got the deal of the century when they signed James Maddison from Leicester City in the summer.

That is the view of their former striker Bobby Zamora, who has been impressed by the start Ange Postecoglou has made as manager after joining from Celtic.

It was a dramatic transfer window for Spurs as they sold talismanic striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, with England international Maddison, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, defender Micky van de Ven and winger Brennan Johnson among the players brought in.

England international Maddison has been ruled out until January with an ankle injury after making a stunning start for Spurs, scoring three goals and five assists in 11 Premier League matches after joining for around £40million.

His form has helped …

Chelsea captain John Terry has praised Guus Hiddink for personally helping him through a season he believes has been unacceptable for the deposed Premier League champions.

Hiddink returned to Stamford Bridge for a second spell as interim manager last December, with any prospect of a title defence off the agenda as Jose Mourinho was sacked with Chelsea hovering above the relegation zone.

Terry is suspended for Sunday s final match of the campaign against new champions Leicester City and his own future remains up in the air.

In February, the 35-year-old announced he would leave the club he has represented throughout his professional career in the absence of a new contract offer.

But this week, Chelsea offered the former England skipper a 12-month extension,…

Inter Milan are interested in signing Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar in the summer of 2023, according to . The France international midfielder is out of contract at Ligue 1 outfit Lyon at the end of the season, and former Serie A and UEFA Champions League winners want to secure the services of the 24-year-old on a free transfer.

The 24-year-old is one of the best players in Ligue 1 and has been superb for Lyon over the years. Aouar has made one appearance in Ligue 1 so far this season. 

The Lyon no. 8 made 29 starts and seven substitute appearances in Ligue 1 last season, scoring six goals and providing four assists in the process. Aouar also made six starts and three substitute appearances in the UEFA Europa League last season, scoring two goals in the process. Back in…

Liverpool were dealt a huge blow in the first half of their FA Cup final clash with Chelsea as Mohamed Salah limped off injured. 

The Egypt forward suddenly sat down inside the Blues half 33 minutes into the contest, walking off gingerly to be replaced by Diogo Jota after receiving attention from the Reds medical team.

Salah s exit marks just the second time he has been substituted during the first half of a Liverpool match, with the first also coming in a major final when he was infamously injured by Sergio Ramos challenge in a 3-1 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in 2018.

Should the 29-year-old s injury prove serious, it would represent a monumental blow to Liverpool s hopes of adding to February s EFL Cup win over the coming weeks, with two Prem…