Ousmane Dembele could become the face of a new Barcelona but his future remains unclear.
Xavi has made it clear how much he rates the France international, but his contract expires at the end of the season.
Barca are keen to extend his stay, though it appears their chances have suffered a setback.
TOP STORY DEMBELE TALKS HIT PROBLEM
Barca s latest meeting with Dembele s agents did not have the expected end , with tension rising in negotiations, according to Sport.
While the Catalan daily claims Barca are still confident of reaching an agreement, with Dembele having previously given the green light over a renewal, the forward will be able to open discussions with other clubs over a free transfer from January 1.
Sky Sport Itali…
David Stockdale is ready to battle Maarten Stekelenburg for the Fulham number one spot.
Stockdale returned to Craven Cottage after spending last season on loan with promoted Hull City and is convinced he can show enough quality to force his way into Martin Jol s side.
Mark Schwarzer was first choice at Fulham last term, but left at the end of his contract in June and joined Chelsea.
Stekelenburg was brought in by Jol in June from Roma, but Stockdale is not going to give his team-mate an easy ride in the battle for regular first-team football.
“I will make Maarten or Neil Etheridge, whoever is in front of me, work for their job, he said. That is what I am going to do, make it hard for them.
“For me, every day I have the chance to show the manager what I…
Daniel Sturridge s rich vein of form continued as his excellent first-half strike gave Liverpool a 1-0 Premier League win at Villa Park.
Sturridge s goal – his eighth in his last seven league matches – was all that separated the two sides on Saturday as Liverpool made it two wins from as many matches to start the new season.
In a fixture where both sides struggled to assert themselves, Liverpool s win saw them make their best start to a Premier League season since the 2008-09 campaign, in which they finished second.
The triumph also extended their superb run at Villa Park, as they notched their 10th win at the venue since 1998.
Of the other six clashes, five have ended in draws, with Liverpool s latest triumph their third in succession.
Close-season sig…
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was notably quiet on the sidelines and admitted he had to give his voice a rest in their Copa del Rey semi-final return leg against Valencia.
While Barca needed an 84th-minute goal from Wilfrid Kaptoum to secure a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Wednesday, the defending champions advanced to the final of competition with an 8-1 aggregate win.
Barca assistant Juan Carlos Unzue was the main man on the sidelines at the Mestalla Stadium, shouting directions to the player s as Luis Enrique took a much-needed break.
It was because of the state of my voice, the 45-year-old revealed.
I don t have a voice every three days.
However, Juan Carlos and I have the same idea and whenever he can help out, I like to let him do …
The sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona in 2014 has helped Liverpool to post a record profit of £60m in their latest set of financial results.
And although the huge fee that took the Uruguay international to Camp Nou has already been spent, the club has pledged to back manager Jurgen Klopp heavily in the transfer market.
Anfield crowd favourite Suarez joined Barcelona for a fee reported to be in the region of £75m, going on to form an irresistible forward trident with Lionel Messi and Neymar.
While Liverpool have failed to scale the heights on the field since the Uruguayan s departure, their financial figures for the year until May 31, 2015 are healthy as a consequence of his big-money transfer.
Owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have increased revenue year-…
I had to say the Spain v Italy clash in World Cup qualifiers on Saturday night fascinated me. How two such big footballing countries ended up in one group is beyond me. The two teams were neck and neck for the one automatic qualification spot. Until Saturday’s game that is.
I expected it to be a rather cagey, niggly game, with Italy providing their usually stout defence. However, Spain playing a striker-less system, as they have done quite a bit in this decade were simply too good for the Italians.
La Roja were in complete control in a commanding 3-0 win at the Bernabeu. Italy had possession at points during the game, but it seemed like that was only when Spain wanted them to have the ball. The Azzurri backline, famous for their toughness had no answer to the Spanish …
Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone rates the mouth-watering Champions League final against city rivals Real Madrid as 50-50 .
Simeone s men saw off two of the tournament favourites in Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the quarter and semi-finals, and a repeat of the 2014 showpiece was set when Real Madrid overcame Manchester City on Wednesday to book their place at San Siro.
Two years ago, an injury-time equaliser from Sergio Ramos forced extra time and Madrid went on to win 4-1 to complete La Decima, but in general it is Atletico who have enjoyed the upper hand in the derby.
In 10 competitive matches since that clash in Lisbon, Atletico have lost just once to their fierce rivals – a 1-0 Champions League reverse last April that sent Real Madrid in the …
Napoli defender Vlad Chiriches will have surgery on Monday after it was confirmed he has torn the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee.
The centre-back came off in the 31st minute of Romania s 0-0 Nations League draw with Montenegro in Ploiesti on Friday.
Medical tests have since shown he suffered a ligament tear and will undergo an operation, Napoli confirmed in a statement on Monday.
Chiriches only made seven Serie A appearances last season and was yet to appear under Carlo Ancelotti in 2018-19.
He joined the club from Tottenham in 2015 for a reported fee of £4.5million.
Forza Vlad. Torna presto
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli)
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Everton s work in the transfer window is not over yet with Ronald Koeman confirming the club are in the market for at least two new signings.
A new striker is top of the Dutchman s wish-list following a lethargic 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on Sunday, the result coming on the back of a gruelling midweek Europa League trip to Croatia.
Forward pair Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez failed to fire at Stamford Bridge, meaning Everton have only once scored more than a single goal in seven competitive matches this term.
Koeman insists the injury-hit Toffees require more firepower to compete with the Premier League s elite.
We need at least two more players, to get numbers in, but most important is to get a striker in and one more player, the Everton boss said at h…
Newcastle United are interested in signing Rob Holding from Premier League rivals Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the Magpies want to secure the services of the 24-year-old central defender on a loan deal.
Arsenal are on the verge of signing Brazilian central defender Gabriel from Lille and are open to offload Holding. Along with Newcastle, Leeds United who will play in the Premier League next season after winning automatic promotion from the Championship are also interested in Holding.
Holding joined Arsenal from Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2016, but the 24-year-old has had injury problems and has yet to established himself as a key figure in the first team. During the 2019-20 campaign, the centre-back made six star…