Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has challenged Ross Barkley to earn a place in the England squad for the World Cup following his move to Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old completed a transfer to the Premier League champions from Everton last Friday for a reported fee of £15million, despite having missed all of 2017-18 so far while he recovers from hamstring surgery.
Barkley last played for his country in a 2-1 friendly win over Australia in May 2016, but Conte hopes he can produce a level of form this season that will earn him a recall from Gareth Southgate.
We are talking about a player with great talent, he said. Before this bad injury he was with the national team.
I think we have five months to show he deserves a call with the national team for the World…
Celta striker John Guidetti moved to La Liga rivals Deportivo Alaves on loan until the end of the season.
The 25-year-old Swedish international is hoping to revive his career following a disappointing start to the season at Celta which saw him make only 8 La Liga appearances in the 2017/18 season.
Guidetti was expected to spearhead Celta’s attack this campaign but the towering Swede suffered a collarbone injury during preseason which ruled him out for almost two months into the new campaign. Having successfully recovered from injury, he struggled to get back into the squad.
Former Manchester City forward is hoping to gain regular playing time that would boost his chances of making it into Sweden’s World Cup squad.
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El Glorioso are enduring a…
Wherever Marko Arnautovic plays next season, the Stoke City forward wants it to be in the Premier League.
But the Austria international, currently away on international duty at Euro 2016, refused to commit to Stoke with his contract set to expire in 2017.
That might mean Stoke will sell him during the transfer window, should they not be able to negotiate an extension, rather than lose him for nothing at the end of the next season.
I cannot say if I will stay there or not. First of all I want to play a strong European Championships, stay fit and then we will see where I play next season, Arnautovic said.
I cannot rule anything out but my goal is to stay in England.
I feel very comfortable there and I ve performed well. There I would be accepted…
Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon believes that anything less than a quarter-final appearance at the FIFA World Cup would be a failure.
Goalkeeper Buffon helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup, while they also reached the UEFA Euro 2012 final before losing to Spain.
The 36-year-old is confident that his team have the ability to cause upsets throughout the tournament and praised their ability to avoid surprise defeats.
Buffon said on Wednesday: From the quarter-finals onwards we can say it has been a good World Cup and a positive tournament.
But naturally you are never fully satisfied. I don t feel as if I can say today with certainty that we can reach the final.
I think that our national team has become one that is reliable and that manages to win the matches it …
Robbie Keane made his Liverpool debut in a 0-0 friendly draw at Villarreal on Wednesday night following a 20 million-pound (40 million-dollar) transfer from Tottenham Hotspur.
The forward s future had been in the balance since the end of last season with Spurs initially reluctant to let the Irishman leave and lodging a formal complaint when Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez admitted his interest in the player before finally being persuaded to sell by the size of Liverpool s offer.
The deal went through on the same day Benitez and his squad flew out to Spain for this game, the latest stage of the Premier League club s pre-season build-up. Having pursued the striker for so long, the Reds boss wasted no time unveiling his new signing.
And the sight of Keane a self-c…
Former international midfielder Alain Boghossian is to assist France coach Raymond Domenech, a source close to the French camp told AFP on Thursday, confirming a report in French daily Le Parisien.
The French Football Federation would only officially tell AFP that the 37-year-old, who was in the 1988 World Cup-winning squad, was a hypothetical choice to join Domenech s entourage as part of a revamp.
Boghossian, who played for Marseille, as well as Italian sides Parma and Napoli, will join a staff which includes Pierre Mankowski, Domenech s right-hand man and takes up his duties on August 20, when Les Bleus face Sweden in a friendly.
According to Le Parisien, Boghossian will try to breathe a bit of new life into a France which weas sadly lacking in Switzerland…
Real Madrid have slammed UEFA s insufficient plan to refund some supporters who attended last May s Champions League final, calling for the governing body to assume responsibility for the chaos which overshadowed the game.
An independent report released last month found UEFA primarily responsible for the large number of near misses that nearly led to disaster at the Stade de France.
Liverpool fans were initially blamed by French authorities amid shambolic scenes which saw supporters placed at risk of crushes as the kick-off was delayed in Paris.
On Tuesday, UEFA announced plans to refund all 19,618 Liverpool supporters with tickets to the final, with only a section of Madrid fans covered by the measures.
However, a response issued by the European champion…
Marcelo Brozovic has stressed that he is keen to stay at Inter amid reports linking him with a move away from the Serie A side.
The Croatia international joined from Dinamo Zagreb on an initial two-year loan deal in January 2015, with a conditional obligation to buy the 23-year-old.
Brozovic has since developed into an important first-team member at Inter, but his agent recently suggested the versatile midfielder could be on the move if they do not offer him an improved deal.
Clubs such as Chelsea and Arsenal are credited with an interest in the midfielder, who despite that speculation would prefer to remain at San Siro.
Do I want to stay at Inter? That is definitely my intention, Brozovic told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
But to be honest, I…
Arsenal are ready to step up their pursuit of Eintracht Frankfurt s Djibril Sow, according to the Mirror.
The Gunners currently top the Premier League table, eight points ahead of defending champions Manchester City, albeit with one game played more, but manager Mikel Arteta is believed to be keen to add to his midfield ranks when the transfer window opens at the end of the season. The club tried to bring in Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa last summer, as well as Moises Caicedo from Brighton in January, but failed on both accounts.
Going into the January window, German outlet Bild reported Arsenal s interest in Sow, adding Newcastle and Nottingham Forest to the list of contenders for the 26-year-old central midfielder. However, it is believed that Sow s admiration for Swi…
Liverpool are set for a busy off-season with suggestions that Jurgen Klopp and the club s management want a squad overhaul.
Among the key areas to address is their midfield options, leading to links to numerous players.
It was reported last week Liverpool have pulled out of the race for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham.
TOP STORY – REDS TO RAMP UP MOUNT INTEREST
Liverpool will ramp up their efforts to sign Mason Mount, amid a lack of a breakthrough in negotiations between the midfielder and Chelsea, reports The Guardian.
The Reds have now moved on from Bellingham given Dortmund s asking price, with Mount in their sights given he is out of contract at the end of this season.
Mount has offered no signs that he will extend his C…