Harry Wilson is driving Wales’ bid for Euro 2024 success after emerging from the shadow of Gareth Bale, says manager Rob Page.
Wilson kept Wales’ hopes of automatic qualification alive by scoring twice in last month’s stunning 2-1 win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, 10 years to the day since becoming his country’s youngest-ever male player at the age of 16 years and 207 days.
Former captain Bale scored a record 41 goals for Wales before retiring from football in January.
“H has been around for a long time,” Page said ahead of Wales’ final Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey that will determine whether they can secure a top-two spot in Group D and avoid the play-offs in March.
“Because of the players we had available befo…
According to numerous sources, Liverpool are set to complete the transfer of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and Hove Albion this week. Personal terms have been agreed, the medical should be completed within the next 48 hours, and the Merseysiders have agreed to trigger the release clause in the 24-year-old s contract, which now appears to be significantly less than previous reports suggested.
The release clause for Alexis Mac Allister is lower than reported £45/50m.
This is why Liverpool feel this could be a bargain as they want to get documents signed this week after booking medical tests to be completed in 24/48h.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)
The Argentina international, a 2022 World Cup winner, has been one of the most importa…
Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena has joined Getafe on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
The Barca academy product spent the second half of 2019-20 on loan with Real Betis and has struggled to establish himself under Ronald Koeman since returning ahead of this season.
Alena has made five appearances in LaLiga and the Champions League this term, just one of those coming from the start.
Koeman confirmed on Tuesday that Alena was close to departing Camp Nou on a temporary basis after Getafe president Angel Torres had revealed his side s interest.
Barca announced on their official website on Wednesday that the deal had gone through, with Getafe to pick up the player s wages in full until he returns to Catalonia.
Alena has played 43 times for Bar…
Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard has opened up on how he experienced depression during the coronavirus lockdown.
The France international explained in an interview with newspaper Le Parisien that isolation became a heavy burden and he sorely missed normal social contact.
Pavard, now 26, was in his first season with Bayern when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, having joined from Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart.
When players went into isolation in late March of 2020, Pavard said it became a challenge to stay positive.
He said: It was difficult for everyone, for me too. To be alone, in a country other than mine, I was really not well. In my head, something was wrong.
At the beginning, you tell yourself that it s nothing, that it will pass, but …
Barcelona did nothing to ease the pressure on coach Ernesto Valverde as they were held to a 0-0 Champions League draw by Slavia Prague in another uninspiring performance at Camp Nou.
Valverde saw his side stunned 3-1 by Levante in LaLiga at the weekend, and those expecting Slavia to fall victim to a Blaugrana backlash were left disappointed.
Lionel Messi had numerous chances to score and hit the frame of the goal on 35 minutes, but he was frequently frustrated by the excellent Ondrej Kolar in the Slavia goal.
His performance between the posts ensured the visitors earned a point they were good value for, having regularly found ways through the Barca defence at the other end, leaving Valverde s men with work still to do to progress from Group F, though they remain…
Marco Giampaolo has targeted a return to the glory days for AC Milan after being named as head coach on an initial two-year deal.
The former Sampdoria boss was this week confirmed as the successor to Gennaro Gattuso, who quit the San Siro club last month after missing out on Champions League qualification.
He is tasked with reviving the fallen Italian giants, who have not finished in the top four of Serie A since 2013, after earning praise for his style of play at Sampdoria.
Milan s history speaks of a club that always sought the beauty in football and the aesthetics along with the result, he told his new club s official website.
It’s time to meet our new Coach, Marco Giampaolo
La prima intervista di Marco Giampaolo: Sono molto felice e motivato. L…
Bournemouth have been promoted back to the Premier League thanks to their 1-0 win over fellow high-flyers Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
In what was billed as the biggest match of the Championship season so far, Forest could have moved themselves up to second with a victory ahead of the final weekend of the campaign.
But Bournemouth, who went into the game three points clear of third-placed Forest, stole the win late on.
Philip Billing opted for a short pass into the box from his free-kick on the edge of the area in the 83rd minute, with his decision not to shoot seemingly catching Forest off guard.
Kieffer Moore was the recipient of the pass, and his controlled first-time finish found the bottom-right corner as Bournemouth secured their return to the top …
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is keen to keep his international career alive despite Sweden missing out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
Sweden went down 2-0 to Poland in their qualifying play-off final, with Robert Lewandowski converting a penalty after Jesper Karlstrom s foul on Grzegorz Krychowiak and Piotr Zielinski s cool finish completing the success in Chorzow.
Ibrahimovic retired from international duty after Euro 2016 but returned to the fold last year to help in Sweden s quest to reach Qatar.
The 40-year-old is his country s all-time leading scorer with 62 goals to his name but he has failed to find the net in five appearances since making his comeback.
He was only a late substitute in the defeat against Poland yet has no intention of step…
Chelsea will look to collect a sixth Premier League title this season and become the first side since Manchester United in 2008-09 to retain their crown.
They will do so buoyed by the news head coach Antonio Conte has signed an improved two-year contract.
New signing Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko are already in the building but, with a replacement for marginalised hitman Diego Costa still required, how many of these memorable triumphs from last time around will they be able to match or better?
ARSENAL 3-0 CHELSEA (24/09/2016)
A devastating first-half display from Arsenal at Emirates Stadium propelled the Gunners into an early title challenge and left Chelsea fans feeling wretched.
Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil all …
Edinson Cavani hit a hat-trick on his return to the Paris Saint-Germain team as the Ligue 1 champions marched on with a 4-0 demolition of Thierry Henry s injury-hit Monaco.
Cavani missed PSG s last two Ligue 1 wins due to a thigh injury and he was on the bench for a midweek Champions League draw against his old club Napoli.
But the striker was back in the PSG side at Stade Louis II on Sunday, scoring a trio of close-range finishes as Thomas Tuchel s men extended their perfect league record to 13 wins.
Neymar added a fourth from the penalty spot and PSG s lead atop the table already stands at 13 points while Monaco are in the mire, with Henry s side only off the bottom on goal difference.
An extraordinary opening 11 minutes saw Cavani score twice with bo…