Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is reportedly set to sign for Besiktas as a free agent after his contract with Liverpool expired at the end of June. According to multiple sources, the 29-year-old is undergoing his medical in Istanbul, having arrived a couple of days ago to try and get to know the historic city on the Bosphorus.
Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool back in 2017 from Arsenal, and his exploits the following season were quite notable. He scored some important goals and played a huge part as Jurgen Klopp s side reached the Champions League final, but he was unable to face Real Madrid in Kyiv after suffering a serious knee injury in the semifinal against AS Roma.
Since then, he s never been the same player, constantly struggling to find any kind of form amid recurring…
Brighton have announced the signing of Matt O Riley from Celtic on a five-year contract.
The Denmark international was signed for a fee believed to be more than £25million, a new record transfer fee received by a Scottish club.
O Riley joined Celtic in January 2022 from MK Dons, going on to make 124 appearances for the Scottish champions. He scored 27 goals and registered 35 assists in all competitions for them.
In the Scottish Premiership last season, only Lawrence Shankland (24) scored more goals than O Riley (18), while he got the most assists (13).
Of his goals, 13 were scored from big chances, while he created the third-most chances of any player in the competition (93), behind only James Tavernier and Danny Armstrong.
We are pleased to conf…
Gareth Southgate knows next year’s Euros will have to go extremely well for it to be a “possibility in anybody’s eyes” for him to stay on as England manager.
The 52-year-old was parachuted into the hotseat following Sam Allardyce’s ignominious exit in 2016 and has gone on to oversee the national team’s best spell since winning the World Cup.
England reached the 2018 semi-finals before losing the delayed Euro 2020 final in an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy at Wembley.
There were more signs of progress as the team were edged out by France at last year’s World Cup, but a challenging year meant Southgate had to weigh up whether to see out his contract until 2024.
The England boss decided to stay on after a week of contemplation foll…
Raphael Varane is expected to miss the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid after the club confirmed he has suffered a thigh injury, which also makes him a doubt for France s Euro 2016 campaign.
Varane underwent tests on Sunday that revealed a grade two muscle injury to his left thigh.
No timeframe has been given for the centre-back s recovery, but reports say Varane will miss Saturday s Champions League final versus city rivals Atleti at San Siro.
The injury also casts doubt on Varane s availability for hosts France at the impending European Championship, which begins when Les Bleus take on Romania on June 10.
After tests today [Sunday] our player Raphael Varane has been diagnosed with a grade two injury in the left biceps femo…
While EURO 24 might continue to steal most of this summer’s attention, we do have another stacked weekend of MLS action.
With 12 separate MLS fixtures throughout the early hours of Sunday, we have a host of eye-catching betting tips.
So, for those of you that are looking to stick on a Sunday flutter, we have taken a look at three of the most appealing MLS betting markets.
Sunday, June 23rd
BST 01:30 New York Red Bulls vs Toronto FC
While New York might have failed to muster a single victory from any of their previous three MLS appearances, the Red Bulls have gained a string of plaudits since opening up the 2024 campaign. Cruising their way to a play-off ticket and still battling it out at the top of the Eastern Conference, Sandro Schwarz’s men w…
Arne Slot is working hard to add goals to Darwin Nunez s game after the Uruguayan opened his account for the season in Liverpool s 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
After Luis Diaz s quickfire double gave the Reds a comfortable advantage at Anfield, Nunez curled home an exquisite third from Mohamed Salah s pass.
Since the start of 2022-23, only Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne (15) have combined for more goals in the Premier League than Nunez and the Egyptian (10).
However, during his Liverpool career, Nunez has been criticised for being wasteful in front of goal, missing 27 big chances last season. Only Haaland missed more in the Premier League (34).
But after the Uruguayan repaid the faith shown in him by Slot on Saturday, the Liverpool head coach is confid…
Fulham captain Tom Cairney has signed a new contract to stay at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2025.
Cairney, 32, has made 304 appearances since joining the Premier League club from Blackburn in June 2015.
“It means everything to me to extend my contract. 10 years is a hell of a long time in football, a very rare thing,” Cairney told the official club website.
Makes me happy, makes me feel this way…
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Phil Foden is hopeful of breaking into the England senior squad in time for Euro 2020 after playing a starring role in Manchester City s EFL Cup triumph on Sunday.
Foden, 19, was the best player on the pitch as City claimed a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa, winning the Man of the Match award as Pep Guardiola s men retained the trophy at Wembley.
The playmaker, who came through City s academy, teed up Sergio Aguero for the opening goal in the final, before generally impressing in his role from the right flank.
England manager Gareth Southgate namechecked Foden in the past, adamant it is only a matter of time before the teenager forces his way into the squad, and the youngster hopes he can do that before this year s tournament.
I want to be there [at the Eur…
Long-serving Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke set a new record for the most league appearances of any player for the club in Sunday s meeting with Celta Vigo.
The 31-year-old featured in Atletico colours for 402nd time in LaLiga to overtake fellow Atleti icon Adelardo Rodriguez outright.
Koke is also the club s record appearance maker in all competitions, a record he set in October when appearing for the 554th time.
Spain international Koke emerged through Los Rojiblancos youth ranks and made his first outing for the senior side in a 5-2 loss at Barcelona in September 2009.
Across his 13 years with Atletico, Koke has won eight major trophies, including LaLiga in 2014 and 2021, while also reaching two Champions League finals.
402 partidos en .
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Tanguy Ndombele is refusing to give up on his chances of representing France at the rescheduled Euro 2020 after starting the season in rejuvenated form for Tottenham.
Spurs splashed out a club-record fee, reported to be £64million, to sign the midfielder from Lyon ahead of last season but injuries and poor form contributed to an underwhelming debut Premier League campaign.
Indeed, a lack of game time under Jose Mourinho led to suggestions Spurs may decide to move Ndombele on and Juventus were linked with an interest earlier this year.
But Ndombele has begun the season in impressive fashion for table-topping Spurs, appearing in each of their nine top-flight games and starting seven of those.
He already has a goal and an assist, managing two in each catego…