Barcelona linked with Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez

Kai Havertz believes Ilkay Gundogan and Manuel Neuer s criticism of Germany s performance against Japan can spur them on in Sunday s do-or-die meeting with Spain.

Germany lost their opening World Cup game for just the third time (W13 D4) on Wednesday as Bundesliga duo Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano came off the bench to fire Japan to a shock 2-1 win.

Captain Neuer lamented Germany s failure to put the game to bed after the defeat, while Gundogan said Asano s goal was one of the most straightforward ever scored at a World Cup.

The shock result leaves Germany facing consecutive World Cup group-stage exits ahead of their meeting with Spain – who are favourites to top Group E after thrashing Costa Rica 7-0.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Havertz ins…

Harry Kane loves Tottenham and there is no suggestion he needs Champions League football in order to remain with the club, according to interim boss Ryan Mason.

Rumours over the club s star striker have been rife amid another disappointing season for Spurs, whose last hope of silverware vanished with Sunday s EFL Cup final loss to Manchester City.

Kane is the leading goalscorer in the Premier League this season with 21 from 30 games, and his 125-minutes-per-goal ratio better than he has achieved in the previous two similarly prolific top-flight campaigns.

The England captain was named Premier League player of the year at the London Football Awards on Tuesday but pointedly said trophies were more important than individual honours.

I want to be winning t…

Santi Cazorla scored twice as Real Madrid failed to take full advantage of their game in hand on LaLiga leaders Barcelona in a frustrating 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Villarreal.

Los Blancos, back in action for the first time since winning the Club World Cup, appeared to be headed for three points as Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane cancelled out Cazorla s crisp early opener by the 20th minute.

But with just eight minutes remaining, Cazorla ghosted in to head Pablo Fornals teasing cross past Thibaut Courtois to secure a share of the spoils.

Madrid, who lost the ineffective Gareth Bale to injury at half-time, are consequently fourth and seven points behind leaders Barcelona after 17 matches, while Villarreal are out of the bottom three but remain level with…

Andrea Barzagli believes the signings of Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria have the potential to make his former club Juventus  great again .

The 41-year-old won Serie A eight times with Juve before retiring in 2019. 

Since then, his old side have only won one of the three Scudetti that have been contested, but Barzagli thinks their business in the transfer market can see them challenge next season.

Barzagli told Tuttosport:  Pogba and Di Maria shift the balance, because that s two arrivals.

…

Olivier Ntcham is on the verge of leaving Celtic and joining AEK Athens, according to . It has been reported that the former Manchester City midfielder has agreed personal terms with the Greek club and a long-term deal.

Celtic have triggered an option to terminate Ntcham’s contract a year earlier, which means that the Frenchman will become a free agent at the end of the month. This has allowed AEK to swoop in and to secure the services of the 25-year-old midfielder on a free transfer.

Ntcham joined Celtic from Premier League club City in 2017. The midfielder won the Scottish Premiership title thrice, the Scottish Cup twice, and the Scottish League Cup on three occasions with the Hoops. The midfielder spent the second half of the past season on loan at Marseille, but h…

According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Rafa Benitez has not yet received any offers to return to the Premier League – despite the fact that both Everton and West Ham United are believed to be on the verge of sacking their managers, with the same being said for Arsenal. 

The veteran has been linked with the Hammers, in particular, but with two years remaining on his £12 million per year contract in the Chinese Super League with Dalian Yifang, many believe he will choose the money over the potential headache of returning to a division as stressful as the Premier League. 

Benitez left Newcastle United during the summer transfer window following the expiration of his contract, with many believing he may never return to English football. Alas, after doing such a…

Manchester United are preparing to launch a new attempt to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo journalist Ferran Martinez. It will apparently be an extremely lucrative proposal, both to the Catalan club and the midfielder himself, and the 20-time English champions are confident of completing the deal by the end of next week.

The saga revolving around De Jong has been a most intriguing one, even if it has been long and wearying as well. United have been pursuing him for months and Barcelona are obviously keen not only to recoup as much of the €85m they paid to sign him from Ajax in 2019, but also to get him off their wage bill to make room for new players. However, the 25-year-old didn t seem interested in going to Old Trafford, being determined t…

Trent Alexander-Arnold acknowledged he has made a slow start to his season with Liverpool but remains optimistic for the remainder of the campaign after silencing his doubters with a great strike against Rangers.

The right-back has come under criticism for his defensive capabilities amid an underwhelming spell of form for Liverpool, with Alexander-Arnold also unused by Gareth Southgate and England in September.

Gary Neville hailed the potential of Alexander-Arnold, likening his ability to Cafu on Sky Sports Monday Night Football, but detailed the defensive failings that are causing repeated problems for the 23-year-old.

Alexander-Arnold responded by curling a seventh-minute opener against Rangers in the Champions League, though he admitted he has been out of form…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that there is “no chance” Juan Foyth will be leaving the club during the January transfer window, indicating that he can “kill it now” in reference to the story. 

The 21 year old has been on the edge of Spurs’ first team throughout the first half to the season, which led many to believe that he’d be leaving either on loan or on some kind of permanent deal during the January window. 

Mourinho has made it clear that he has absolutely no plans whatsoever to allow him to leave the club in the immediate future, as he has big plans to insert Foyth into the first team setup. 

Tottenham are likely to be busy during the January transfer window as a direct result as their start to the campaign, with …

Lionel Messi reached the latest major milestone of his storied career on Thursday as he moved on to 800 goals with a stunning free kick for to seal Argentina s 2-0 friendly win against Panama on Thursday.

The reigning World Cup champions returned to Buenos Aires where they received a thunderous reception from their loyal supporters, but they would have to wait until the final moments for their favourite son to get on the scoresheet.

Messi had hit the crossbar with a free kick in the first half, and after a second free kick was saved by inspired Panama goalkeeper Jose Guerra, he struck the woodwork again with a third free kick, although this one led to the opening goal as Thiago Almada tapped in the rebound.

But his fourth free kick finally curled under the bar an…