LaLiga glory for Ronaldo, Pichichi for Messi – how the great rivals compared in 2016-17

Swansea are progressing with talks for Michael Duff to become their new manager.

Discussions are on-going for the Barnsley boss to succeed Russell Martin in Wales.

Swansea have made an approach to the Tykes but no deal has been struck between the clubs yet, the PA news agency understands.

The Swans, who finished 10th in the Championship last season, want the ex-Cheltenham boss with Martin poised to move to Southampton.

Saints are close to officially announcing Martin as their new manager after the 37-year-old agreed to move to St Mary’s last month.

Southampton and Swansea have disagreed over the amount of compensation which should be paid.

They have been haggling over £700,000 with Martin’s release clause for Championship clubs and Pr…

The Premier League’s summer spending of £2.36billion demonstrates the “incredible pace of growth” in the league’s wealth, according to finance company Deloitte.

The £2bn milestone was surpassed for the first time in advance of Friday’s deadline with moves such as Manchester City’s £53million capture of Wolves’ Matheus Nunes then driving the total to new heights.

Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “It took 14 summer transfer windows to exceed £1bn and it’s only taken seven more to surpass £2bn, so that just reflects the incredible pace of growth that we’re seeing.”

Deloitte’s analysis showed the 2023 summer transfer window exceeded the previous record of £1.92bn, set only las…

Harrogate boss Simon Weaver was pleased his half-time rocket fired his side up for a 5-1 FA Cup victory at seventh-tier Marine.

Chris Doyle levelled for the minnows after Abraham Odoh’s early opener, but Sam Folarin’s double as well as further goals from Rodney McDonald and Stephen Dooley completed a comprehensive win.

“I challenged them as a collective to be more ambitious than inviting trouble. It paid off and we ended up with a win,” Weaver said.

“It was fair enough that the fans booed us off at half-time because we’ve got to be better than that as a team to be under siege by Marine, no disrespect, who are a few leagues below.

“It’s the FA Cup, I know that. Poor results can happen, but by and large if the mentality’s right, which the …

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is worried about his future, according to . Oxlade-Chamberlain, who moved Liverpool from Premier Leagu rivals Arsenal in 2017, fears for his future, as manager Jurgen Klopp has not picked up for any competitive game since March 20.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has made  and eight substitute appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool this season. The Liverpool no. 15 has scored two goals and given one assist in those games. The 28-year-old Englishman has also made three starts and three substitute appearances in the Champions League, and three starts and one substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup for the Reds this season.

Liverpool are second in the Premier League table at the moment with 86 points from 36 matches, level on po…

According to Italian outlet , Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee is interested in joining AC Milan this summer, despite interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Juventus.

Apparently, there s no way of guessing what the immediate future holds for the 22-year-old at this stage. A move outside the Serie A cannot be ruled out completely, but his preferred choice is to remain in the Italian top flight, and he believes the Rossoneri are the right club for the next step in his development. He likes the way the seven-time European champions play under Stefano Pioli.

The young Dutchman played for a number of clubs in his homeland before moving to Bayern Munich at the Under-17 level. The Bundesliga giants sent him on loan first to Parma and then Anderlecht, and in th…

Things are not looking good for Chelsea at the moment. With only four Premier League games played, they recorded their second defeat of the season on Saturday, and a rather unexpected one as they lost at Stamford Bridge to Nottingham Forest. As it turned out in the end, a mistake in the middle of the park early in the second half was all that it took for Anthony Elanga, who only just joined Forest from Manchester United, to settle the game.

The game

Chelsea s plan in a game like this, obviously cannot be faulted. They dominated possession with ease (77%) and created a number of moments when they really should ve scored. But there something seriously wrong when a team as full of talented players as the Blues are, hit just two shots on target in over 90 minutes, out of 21 attemp…

England failed to make absolutely certain of a spot in the knockout phase of Euro 2020 as they were held to a 0-0 draw by bitter rivals Scotland at Wembley on Friday.

The Three Lions went into the contest as favourites, particularly given the two teams contrasting fortunes on matchday one, but Scotland produced a spirited performance to secure a point from what was the first goalless match between the old rivals in 33 meetings at Wembley.

Scotland had more clear chances than England in a gruelling – albeit unspectacular – first half, though the best opportunity came the way of John Stones, who nodded onto the upright.

Otherwise, though, England were largely unimpressive going forward, with Harry Kane particularly disappointing as Gareth Southgate s men were u…

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker:

Two camps who will be looking to make a pre-Euro 24 statement on Saturday evening, Portugal will welcome Croatia to Lisbon.

Portugal

Starting with the hosts, while Portugal might have been left frustrated out in Qatar 18 months ago as they had to settle for a World Cup Round of 16 finish, the Navigators have come roaring back in some style. Continuing to shine under the guidance of Roberto Martinez, the former European champions find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. With some tipping them as a potential contender when they open their Euro 24 adventure later in the month, the ex-Belgium boss will be calling on his squad to make one final statement of intent here. Last seen earlier in the week picking up an action-packed 4-2 v…

West Ham are still trying to sign Harry Maguire from Manchester United, according to Sky Sports, despite being rejected by the player himself earlier this summer.

Maguire was stripped of captaincy at United this summer, and the prospect of him ever winning back a starting role at the club appears very slim. And that s putting it mildly. Last season, he started only eight Premier League matches.

West Ham and Manchester United had agreed a deal over a transfer for the 30-year-old centre-back, and the Hammers were willing to pay up to £30 million to secure his services, obviously a huge loss after United paid £80m to sign him from Leicester City in 2019, only for Maguire to refuse the move in order to stay and fight for game-time at Old Trafford.

In all competiti…

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker:

Looking to lay down a heavyweight Premier League marker on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City will travel to Stamford Bridge when they meet Chelsea.

Chelsea

Starting with the hosts, eventually grabbing what was an action-packed 4-1 victory away at a nine-man Tottenham earlier in the month, Chelsea have found a route into the top-half of the table. However, while Mauricio Pochettino’s men might have suffered just a single defeat from their previous six domestic appearances across all formats, the ex-Spurs boss is desperate for his squad to find some Premier League stability. Knowing that they face a real uphill battle in their bid to claim a crucial Champions League return this season, the Blues will know that they face a heavyweight …