Luis Enrique backs new boss Koeman to succeed at Barcelona

According to , Rolando Aarons’s proposed move to Huddersfield Town from Newcastle United has fallen through. It has been reported that Huddersfield wanted to sign the 24-year-old on summer transfer deadline day and have been speaking to the Magpies for weeks.

Although there was hope that a transfer would happen before the 5pm deadline on Friday, the necessary paperwork was not submitted in time to the EFL, and Aarons remains a Newcastle player, according to the report. This will come as a disappointment to the 24-year-old, who could struggle to get playing time at Newcastle in the coming weeks and months.

Aarons has been on the books of Newcastle since 2012 and has made only a handful of appearances in the Premier League for the Magpies. The 24-year-old winger has bee…

Carlo Ancelotti snapped back at suggestions Karim Benzema is playing less for Real Madrid as a precautionary measure ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup with France.

The veteran forward has not played since a 3-0 win over Elche in LaLiga almost a fortnight ago, instead reduced to a spectator on the sidelines for Los Blancos with a hamstring problem.

With the World Cup set to start later this month, Benzema – who was omitted from Didier Deschamps title-winning squad at Russia 2018 – is hopeful of making the cut.

Speaking ahead of Madrid s Champions League clash with Celtic on Wednesday, Ancelotti shut down discussions the Ballon d Or winner has been absent in order to facilitate his ticket to Qatar.

Benzema hasn t played because he s picked up a couple …

According to , Anthony Martial could leave Manchester United in the summer of 2021. It has been reported that United as well as Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur are keeping an eye on Paulo Dybala’s situation at Juventus. The report has added that there is a growing possibility that Martial will leave the Red Devils at the end of the season.

Martial has been on the books of United since the summer of 2015 when he joined from AS Monaco. Much was expected of the France international when he arrived at Old Trafford, and although the 25-year-old has played well on occasions and has shown his versatility by playing out wide, he has not been very consistent.

According to , Martial has made six appearances in the Premier League and has scored two goals and provided one…

Villarreal have appointed former Barcelona boss Quique Setien as their new head coach following Unai Emery s decision to leave for Aston Villa.

The Premier League club appointed Villarreal s 2021 Europa League-winning coach on Monday after sacking Steven Gerrard, but the Yellow Submarine have moved quickly to secure a successor.

A statement released on Villarreal s website on Tuesday confirmed Setien had signed a contract to run until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Setien built a reputation for favouring an attractive, possession-based style during a two-year spell with Real Betis, but has not coached since enduring an ill-fated stint at Camp Nou during the 2019-20 campaign.

Setien s final game at Barca was their historic 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in th…

African teams should be confident of going far in the World Cup, and even winning the tournament, according to Senegal boss Aliou Cisse.

Senegal beat hosts Qatar 3-1 on Friday to get their first points on the board in Group A.

The Africa Cup of Nations winners lost star player Sadio Mane to injury before the start of the World Cup, and were unable to put away their chances in an opening loss against the Netherlands.

But Cisse believes his team, as well as other African sides in action in the Middle East – Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia – should have faith they can challenge the top nations.

Cisse pointed to the shock wins for Japan and Saudi Arabia, over Germany and Argentina respectively, as evidence to support his claim.

Just look at …

Manchester United are interested in signing Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Sporting want as much as €100 million for the striker, and that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners are willing to pay that.

Gyokeres has been on the books of Sporting since the summer of 2023 when he joined from Coventry City. The striker has been playing well for the Portuguese giants this season. The 25-year-old has scored 10 goals and given five assists in 13 Portuguese league matches and has scored three goals and given one assist in five UEFA Europa League games this season.

United are seventh in the Premier League table at the moment with 31 points from 19 matches, six points behind fourt…

Leeds United are in advanced talks with RB Salzburg over the proposed transfer of Maximilian Wober, according to Sky Sports.

Born in the Austrian capital, Wober played for several clubs a various youth levels and his emergence as a professional player came with Rapid Vienna in January 2016. He moved on to Ajax 18 months later and played for Sevilla as well before returning to his homeland to join Salzburg in the summer of 2019. Since then, he s made a total of 129 appearances for the club in all competitions, with nine goals and as many assists to his name.

Standing 6 2 tall, Wober is primarily a centre-back, but being left-footed and boasting considerable pace for his frame, he is also well-suited to play on the left defensive flank and that s the role he s mostly been…

Ryan Lowe lauded Emil Riis after the striker scored his first goal in more than 15 months to help Preston win 2-0 at Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Danish forward fired beyond Jak Alnwick in the 30th minute to put the Lilywhites ahead against the run of play at Cardiff City Stadium – with Ben Whiteman notching Preston’s second five minutes before the break.

It was Riis’ first goal since returning from a year-long lay-off due to a knee injury, with his last strike coming against Middlesbrough in October 2022.

And boss Lowe said Preston are doing everything in their power to mould Riis into the “perfect” centre-forward.

“We’ve all been waiting for Emil to come back,” said Lowe. “He looked strong physically, I’m pleased with his…

Liverpool made a winning return to Premier League action as Mohamed Salah starred and Stefan Bajcetic scored his first senior goal in an entertaining 3-1 Boxing Day win at Aston Villa.

Salah handed Liverpool a strong start when he converted Andrew Robertson s delivery from close range – making the left-back the defender with the most Premier League assists in history.

The Egypt star then teed up Virgil van Dijk to steer home a deflected second, though Liverpool came under pressure after Ollie Watkins halved the arrears with just over half an hour remaining.

However, Jurgen Klopp s side made the points safe late on as substitute Bajcetic rounded Robin Olsen to score his first Premier League goal, moving Liverpool within five points of the top four.

goals…

Ange Postecoglou has insisted Champions League qualification is not the equivalent of a Willy Wonka golden ticket and will be meaningless unless Tottenham can build on it this summer.

Spurs travel to Aston Villa on Sunday with both clubs vying for fourth spot, which will guarantee a place in Europe’s elite competition.

Fifth could also secure Champions League football, but Postecoglou – without naming them – cited Manchester United and Newcastle as examples of teams who have failed to kick on after finishing in the top four last season.

Ange provides the latest team news ahead of , including an update on Pedro Porro

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

“There are a couple of teams who got into the Champions League this year from last y…