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Manchester City winger Jesus Navas is delighted by Sevilla s progress ahead of Wednesday s Champions League reunion with his former club.

Navas swapped the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for the Etihad Stadium ahead of the 2013-14 season, having twice won the Europa League under its former guise of the UEFA Cup.

Sevilla followed those triumphs with two more in 2014 and 2015 – last season s glory lifting them into the Champions League this time around.

I am very happy, seeing them grow year on year, keep doing well and now enjoying the Champions League – where they ll get to know themselves better, Navas told Omnisport.

It pleases me a lot. I watch their matches on television.

Sevilla and City have three points a piece, having beaten Borussia Mo…

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte could reluctantly allow goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to leave the club during the January transfer window.

Begovic has served as a back-up keeper at Stamford Bridge since arriving from Stoke City in 2015, with Thibaut Courtois having established himself as the club s first choice.

Reports on Friday suggested Bournemouth had seen a £10million bid for the Bosnia-Herzegovina international turned down.

But, while Conte concedes he would prefer Begovic to remain at the club, he also says an offer is still under consideration.

I want to say Asmir is an important player on and off the pitch. He knows this, Conte told a news conference ahead of Sunday s Premier League clash with Hull City.

There is this offer. Me and the clu…

What the papers say

Tottenham are determined to hold on to England captain Harry Kane, according to the Daily Mirror, despite him approaching the final year of his contract. Manchester United have been leading the chase to sign the 29-year-old striker.

Another England player is in Manchester United’s sights as they look for a possible replacement for goalkeeper David de Gea, 32. The Daily Mirror reports they are preparing a move for Jordan Pickford, 29, from Everton.

Bayer Leverkusen’s 23-year-old winger Moussa Diaby has emerged as a possible summer target for Arsenal, according to the Standard. The French international has also been linked with Newcastle and Paris St Germain.

Striker Romelu Lukaku, who turns 30 on Saturday, will return to Chelsea for pre-se…

Rangers trounced Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox as Michael Beale enjoyed his first win over the Hoops as Gers manager.

Midfielder Todd Cantwell fired the home side into the lead after five breathless minutes before returning defender John Souttar headed in his first Light Blues goal from a corner on 34 minutes.

Attacker Fashion Sakala made it 3-0 in the 70th minute to clinch a convincing victory over the below-par cinch Premiership champions.

— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC)

It was Beale’s first success in five attempts against the Parkhead side since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst last November and it ended Celtic’s 34-game unbeaten domestic run – although Ange Postecoglou’s side remain on course for a domestic treble, with the S…

Borussia Dortmund are weighing up a move for Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia, according to Sky Italia.

The Millionaires are hoping to sign a replacement for long-term casualty Neven Subotic and they seem to have made the Italy international their number one target.

The good news is that Inter are prepared to cash in on the stopper in the January window with their asking price being €16 million.

Nevertheless, Sky Italia understands that the Nerazzurri would probably settle for a transfer fee in the region of €12 million.

Andrea Ranocchia joined Inter from Genoa in January 2011 and has since featured in 74 Serie A matches for the club.

He has made a total of 14 league appearances this season, scoring 1 goal in the process, but it appears …

Southampton have announced the release of six first-team players, including Artur Boruc and Jos Hooiveld.

Goalkeeper Boruc joined the Premier League club in September 2012, but fell down the pecking order following the arrival of Fraser Forster.

The Poland international spent the majority of the campaign on loan with Bournemouth  promoted as champions from the Championship  and his release could pave the way for a permanent switch to Dean Court.

Hooiveld has also found himself out of favour at St Mary s Stadium this term and has been shipped out on loan to both Norwich City and Millwall during 2014-15.

Jake Sinclair, Cody Cropper, Omar Rowe and Chris Johns have also been released by the club.

…

Jose Mourinho does not believe Manchester United s three signings in the close season have improved their squad.

United, who finished second in the Premier League last term, brought in goalkeeper Lee Grant, defender Diogo Dalot and midfielder Fred, but Mourinho is thought to have wanted a new centre-back and has openly criticised the club s failure to back him.

Ahead of the Red Devils league opener against Leicester City, Mourinho claimed he is working with essentially the same group as in 2017-18.

It is the same, the same squad as last season, Mourinho told Sky Sports.

We changed the goalkeepers with Lee because Joel [Pereira, loaned to Vitoria de Setubal] is such a good young goalkeeper that he needs to play.

We changed Daley Blind [returned …

Atletico Madrid failed to win for a third successive game in all competitions as an inspired performance from Ruben Blanco secured Celta Vigo an unexpected 0-0 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Diego Simeone s side saw their 100 per cent LaLiga record come to an emphatic end against Real Sociedad last weekend, while they rallied on Wednesday to secure a 2-2 Champions League draw with Juventus.

However, their efforts in clawing back a two-goal deficit against the Serie A champions appeared to have taken a toll judging by their performance against Celta, with a sluggish Atletico failing to score at home in league action for the first time since May 2018.

Hector Herrera was rewarded for his equaliser off the bench in midweek with a first LaLiga start, while Simeone a…

West Ham have appointed Avram Grant as their new manager on a four-year contract, subject to a work permit, the Premier League club confirmed on Thursday.

The Hammers have been searching for a boss since Gianfranco Zola was sacked at the end of an unsuccessful season for the east London outfit.

The 55-year-old Israeli led Portsmouth to last month s FA Cup final before leaving Fratton Park two weeks ago and also coached Chelsea into the 2008 Champions League final.

I m proud and honoured to be the manager of West Ham. It s an exciting challenge and I m ready to do my best, Grant told the club s official website, www.whufc.com.

West Ham narrowly avoided the drop last season as they finished fourth from bottom of the Premier League and the club s co-chairm…

England s big names have rallied around under-fire Robert Green but skipper Steven Gerrard admitted the goalkeeper s error against the United States has made life tougher for Fabio Capello s squad at the World Cup.

A 1-1 draw with the Americans means England could win their two remaining matches and still not top group C and another setback against Algeria in Cape Town on Friday could set the scene for a humiliating early exit from the tournament.

Gerrard, whose fourth minute opener on Saturday night was cancelled out by a Clint Dempsey equaliser that Green should have saved easily, said the draw was not necessarily a disaster.

I wouldn t say it creates a lot of extra pressure (for the Algeria game), the Liverpool midfielder said. It would have been nice to sta…