that Real Sociedad are set to launch an assault on Anderlecht striker Matias Suarez.
La Real have been keeping close tabs on the player for quite a while now, but they finally appear ready to step up their interest.
After his proposed transfer to CSKA Moscow fell through, Suarez is again available for sale, while he has finally recovered from a serious knee injury.
Real Sociedad have launched an official enquiry into the player s availability and have been told they can sign him for €9 million.
With La Real having qualified for the Champions League through league finish, the Argentine should be well within their price range.
Matias Suarez, 25, joined Anderlecht in 2008 from Belgrano and has since scored 35 goals in 126 league games for the Bel…
Pele will watch Brazil s World Cup last-16 tie against South Korea from hospital, according to a message posted to his social media accounts.
The three-time World Cup winner was hospitalised last Tuesday, though his daughter subsequently said there was no surprise or emergency pertaining to his condition.
Amid unconfirmed reports Pele had been moved to palliative care after failing to respond to chemotherapy treatment, the hospital housing the 82-year-old described his condition as stable .
Pele moved to ease fears surrounding his health with a post to his Instagram account on Saturday, saying he remained strong, with a lot of hope .
A message posted from the legendary forward s Twitter account has now revealed he will be watching on when Tite s side face…
The Cape Verde-born 27-year-old has been with the Portuguese side since 2008 and has experience of playing in Serie A, having been on loan at Napoli last season.
According to Inter, the Portugal international will further strengthen Walter Mazzarri s defensive options ahead of the league campaign, which gets under way on August 25 against Genoa.
The central-half is due to start training with the Nerazzurri when they return from their US tour, the club added in a statement.
Before moving to the Estedio do Dragao, Rolando, who has 18 caps for his country, enjoyed a four-year stint at Belenenses.
During his spell at Napoli under Mazzarri last season, he made just seven appearances, including two in the UEFA Europa League.
…
Italy will be hoping to book a place in the Confederations Cup semi-final with victory over Japan on Wednesday at Arena Pernambuco, with Cesare Prandelli expected to keep faith with the same XI that beat Mexico 2-1 on Sunday.
Gianluigi Buffon is the only player from both sides that survives from the two nations last meeting in an international friendly in 2001, though Prandelli could yet drop Emanuele Giaccherini for Stephan El-Shaarawy.
Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni, meanwhile, will be buoyed with Keisuke Honda s outing against Brazil on Saturday, with the CSKA Moscow player coming through unscathed despite previous injury worries.
With the Samurai Blue side needing a positive result to remain in the competition, Zaccheroni could well deploy Ryoichi Maeda up …
Former Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers would be welcomed back to the Liberty Stadium with open arms, according to full-back Neil Taylor.
Rodgers has been linked with a return to Swansea after he was sacked by Liverpool in October last year.
The 43-year-old spent two years in the Welsh city, guiding Swansea to the Premier League in 2011, before moving to Anfield the following year.
Francesco Guidolin is in charge of Swansea at the moment but Wales international Taylor talked up Rodgers potential return.
He did great things for this football club, so there is no reason why we wouldn t want him back, said Taylor.
We know he is a fantastic manager but we have to do a job.
We can think about that at the end of the season.
Under…
Liverpool claimed a 2-0 advantage over rivals Manchester United in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, with Louis van Gaal s visitors indebted to goalkeeper David de Gea for preventing a heavier loss at Anfield.
Daniel Sturridge converted a 20th-minute penalty after Memphis Depay was adjudged to have fouled Nathaniel Clyne and the industrious Roberto Firmino added a second 17 minutes from time.
Jurgen Klopp s maiden managerial victory in a fixture he referred to as the mother of all games and Liverpool s first win over United in five attempts would have been by a greater margin but for De Gea, who came out on top as Philippe Coutinho and Sturridge lacked conviction from close range.
Coutinho then prompted further acrobatics from De Gea, alth…
England captain Harry Kane insists he will use the World Cup as a platform to prove his quality as he aims to reach the levels of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Kane proved the hero for England on Monday, heading in a late winner his second of the game to secure a 2-1 victory in the Three Lions World Cup opener against Tunisia.
The 24-year-old missed out to Mohamed Salah in the race for the Premier League s Golden Boot, but still netted 41 goals across all competitions for Tottenham last term.
And, having carried that form into the World Cup, Kane who failed to find the net at Euro 2016 claims to have put no limits on what he can achieve.
I had to prove people wrong throughout my career and I love proving to myself I can do it, he said.
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli feels Andrea Barzagli is at the same level as defenders such as Thiago Silva, Gerard Pique and John Terry and deserves more credit for his fine performances.
Barzagli joined Juventus from Wolfsburg in 2011 and has since developed into a key figure at the Turin giants, making close to 200 appearances in all competitions.
I ve often joked with Andrea that he s been the best signing we ve made. I can only emphasise that once again, Agnelli said at a news conference after the Italy international signed a new contract with the Serie A champions until June 2018.
Andrea is another great professional and a reserved character who deserves way more credit than he gets, partly because of his position and partly due to his character.
…
Southampton striker Danny Ings is a guy who I have admired since his days with Burnley when he inspired the Clarets to promotion to the Premier League.
In his debut Premier League campaign, he scored a respectable 11 goals in a team that was simply out of its depth. The Clarets suffered relegation, but Ings’ individual performances impressed enough for Liverpool to snap him up as a free agent.
Injuries fatal to his time on Merseyside
Ings spent a frustrating three seasons with the Reds, making just 14 top-flight appearances, and scoring just three goals in the process. In truth, he was always going to struggle for first-team football simply due to the quality of strikers in the Reds squad.
However, the quality of his competitors for a starting place was not t…
Ilkay Gundogan has allayed fears over another injury blow after revealing he was suffering from cramp during the closing stages of Manchester City s EFL Cup clash with Wolves.
Pep Guardiola s free-scoring Premier League leaders drew a blank across 120 minutes against the Championship table-toppers but prevailed 4-1 on penalties, with goalkeeper Claudio Bravo their shoot-out hero.
Gundogan joined City from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 but his maiden season in England was curtailed by cruciate knee ligament damage last December.
The Germany international suffered a minor setback during a 2-1 win at West Brom in the EFL Cup third round this term and has been limited to substitute cameos in the Premier League and Champions League.
After booking a quarter-fin…