Blues are reportedly considering a move for Valencia defender and Germany international centre-back Shkodran Mustafi, according to .
Having missed out on Juventus versatile defender Leonardo Bonucci, Antonio Conte has turned his focus towards the World Cup winner Mustafi, a player who has become one of the key players for Los Che in La Liga.
Chelsea are also interested in Mustafi’s teammate Andre Gomes, but Valencia are unwilling to sell the midfielder and could be tempted to let go of the German defender hoping that Blues will give up on the pursuit of the Portuguese talent.
Shkodran Mustafi is likely to command a hefty £25 million transfer fee for the player who left Everton on a free transfer in 2014.
The 24-year-old defender has played 61 La Liga …
Jose Mourinho believes Portugal should not be discounted as potential World Cup challengers because the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo ensures nothing is impossible .
Ronaldo was a key figure and captain as Portugal won Euro 2016, a victory which in itself was a shock given their perceived lack of star quality aside from the Real Madrid forward.
The European champions head into the World Cup ranked fourth in FIFA s rankings, though few consider them to be among the favourites, with Germany, Spain, France and Brazil the most widely fancied.
But Manchester United s Portuguese coach thinks both his country who face Spain, Iran and Morocco in the group stage and Argentina should be considered as in with a chance, purely because they have Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
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Schalke have sacked head coach Jens Keller after a poor start to their Bundesliga campaign, hiring Roberto Di Matteo to replace him.
Keller was promoted to role of head coach in December 2012 after previously working with Schalke s Under-17 team.
The 43-year-old guided the Gelsenkirchen side to fourth place by the end of the 2012-13 campaign, subsequently securing a spot in the UEFA Champions League.
Keller went one better in the previous campaign as Schalke finished third in the Bundesliga and once again ensured a place in Europe s premier competition.
However, Keller has paid the price for an inconsistent start to the season that has seen Schalke take just eight points from seven league matches, while they also exited the DFB-Pokal to Dynamo Dresden in …
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to further put his stamp on the team this summer
Tottenham seem to be in a state of permanent stillness.
Granted last season the club from north London went from sixth place in the previous campaign to fifth place last season in the table, nothing to call a press conference about though.
It must be a frustrating state of affairs for the Spurs fans.
Threat
The season before Gareth Bale left for the Spanish sun of Madrid, Spurs really did look ready to challenge at the top of the Premier League.
Unfortunately like your average Joe punching above his weight with a beauty, Spurs just could not keep hold of Bale and he left for the promise of silverware in Madrid. It seems when the Welshman le…
A cash-rich Japanese football club is interested in acquiring Brazilian superstar Ronaldo on loan as the AC Milan striker recovers from a ruptured tendon, a report said Wednesday.
The unidentified J-League club, rumoured to be in or around the greater Tokyo area, has one billion yen (10 million dollars) a year to spend on players, the daily tabloid Nikkan Gendai reported.
The 31-year-old Ronaldo has ruled out retirement after undergoing surgery in February for a ruptured tendon in his left knee. He is expected to be sidelined for at least nine months.
He is expected to become able to run in May and train with the ball before the summer. That is enough to attract attention because he is Ronaldo, the daily quoted an unnamed Japanese broadcaster as saying.
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Antonio Conte s Chelsea will challenge Manchester City for the 2016-17 Premier League title, according to club legend Frank Lampard.
Now of New York City, Lampard won three Premier League crowns during a trophy-laden 13 years at Stamford Bridge, becoming the club s record goalscorer in the process.
After lifting the trophy for a fourth time at the end of 2014-15, Chelsea endured a miserable defence last season, Jose Mourinho getting the sack in December before Guus Hiddink led the club to 10th.
Conte won three successive Serie A titles at Juventus and impressed in charge of Italy at Euro 2016, guiding his country to the last eight before being eliminated on penalties by Germany, and Lampard believes it will be Chelsea or City – with whom he spent a short …
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressed his support for Olivier Giroud and emphasised the striker is not considered a back-up option at Emirates Stadium.
The France international made 26 Premier League starts in 2015-16, but has yet to feature from the off in the league this campaign, which has been hindered by a toe injury.
In his absence, Alexis Sanchez has been moved into the central striking role and has flourished, netting eight goals in 14 matches across all competitions.
Giroud came off the bench to strike twice in a 4-1 rout of Sunderland on Saturday, before starting and scoring against Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Despite his reduced role this season, Giroud is not thought of as second choice by Wenger.
There is no plan…
San Jose Earthquakes extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches after a 0-0 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps.
The match was as even as the score indicates, with the teams essentially splitting possession and San Jose holding a 12-11 edge in shots with each side putting three on goal.
The best chance came from San Jose s Jeremy Ebobisse in the 62nd minute after Oswaldo Alanis collected a loose ball at midfield.
The former Mexico international sent the ball to Ebobisse on the right and the forward cut back inside before firing a left-footed shot that a diving Maxime Crepeau redirected off the post for the save.
Stretch save from to keep this one level!
— Major League Soccer (@MLS)
It was the first clean sheet in the last eight MLS…
Under-pressure head coach Simone Inzaghi says criticism will help him improve as his Inter side prepare to try and secure a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Nerazzurri have taken just one point from their past five Serie A matches, slipping to fifth place to put Inzaghi under increasing scrutiny.
Inter were beaten 1-0 at home by Monza on Saturday and have been licking their wounds ahead of a second leg against Benfica at San Siro on Wednesday that they will start with a 2-0 lead.
Inzaghi says he will not be affected by flak that comes his way as that is nothing new to him.
He told reporters on Tuesday: I don t think it s strange [for questions to be asked over his future].
Here at Inter, if you read before the Barcelona or Po…
Nigeria was warned by a top FIFA official on Saturday that the country could be stripped of the 2009 world under-17 championship, due to take place here in October.
If Nigeria doesn t get its act together, Nigeria won t host it, warned FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, leading an inspection team.
Technically speaking, only Abuja (the federal capital city) and (south west Ogun State) Ijebu-Ode stadiums are ready.
Warner s team has completed a 10-day inspection of facilities across the country.
Nine stadiums in as many cities were inspected by the officials.
Nigeria first staged a FIFA event in 1999, but Warner said that the standards expected of host countries now are a lot higher than they were 10 years ago.
According to the FIFA chief,…