Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy insists prized asset Luka Modric is not for sale after holding talks with the Croatia midfielder.
Levy met with Modric at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, addressing the 25-year-old playmaker s apparent interest in moving across London to join Chelsea.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has repeatedly stated his desire to retain star players such as Modric and winger Gareth Bale, with Levy backing his manager s stance.
We had a very good conversation and, as I ve said previously, Luka Modric will not be sold, Levy said.
That s the end of it. As I said a few weeks ago, there s no further discussion on it.
He s been on holiday but we ve now had the conversation and he understands our position.
Levy refused…
Jamie Reid scored just seven minutes into his international debut as Northern Ireland earned an encouraging 1-1 draw away to Romania.
Stevenage striker Reid, getting his first taste of international football at the age of 29, gave Michael O’Neill’s men a dream start in Bucharest.
Euro 2024-bound Romania hit back when Dennis Man beat Conor Hazard for power in the 23rd minute, but O’Neill’s men will take confidence from the way they faced up to a side now unbeaten in 12 games as Conor Bradley shone on his return to Northern Ireland duty.
It s all over in Romania!
…
Santi Cazorla launched a fierce defence of team-mate Xavi as Spain prepare to face Australia in their Group B dead rubber on Monday.
Santi Cazorla launched a fierce defence of team-mate Xavi as Spain prepare to face Australia in their Group B dead rubber on Monday.
Spain s FIFA World Cup title defence failed to progress beyond the group stage after Wednesday s loss to Chile left the country winless from their opening two games.
Xavi has been one of several veterans of the Spain squad to be criticised, with many believing his time on the international stage is up after 133 appearances.
But Cazorla believes the 34-year-old, who is reportedly set to leave Barcelona, is the greatest to have played the game.
In my opinion, there will be no player like…
Miguel Herrera has warned the Netherlands not to underestimate Mexico in their FIFA World Cup second-round match.
Having only qualified for the tournament after a play-off victory over New Zealand, Mexico were unbeaten in securing runners-up spot in Group A behind hosts Brazil.
A 3-1 win over Croatia sealed their progression to the knockout stages and set up a clash with the beaten 2010 finalists in Fortaleza.
Louis van Gaal s side thrashed defending champions Spain on the way to winning Group B with a 100 per cent record, but Herrera believes that Central America now boasts some strong contenders, with Costa Rica having also made the last 16.
CONCACAF has grown, he said. It should stop being seen as weak.
We re ready to fight toe-to-toe with o…
Claudio Ranieri hopes Sassuolo can become the Italian Leicester by continuing their impressive progress this season.
Ranieri led 5,000-1 outsiders Leicester City to a sensational Premier League title triumph last time around but the exploits of minnows back in his homeland also caught his eye.
Sassuolo, who played in the Serie A for the first time in 2013, stormed to a sixth-place last term having secured victories over the likes of Napoli, Lazio, AC Milan, Inter and champions Juventus.
I hope Sassuolo goes beyond the preliminaries of the Europa League, Ranieri said.
Sassuolo could become the Italian Leicester. It makes me think of Udinese a few years ago, with a basic philosophical difference.
In Udine they relied on young foreigners, while i…
Sweden legend Henrik Larsson has backed Zlatan Ibrahimovic to help Manchester United back to the top after three underwhelming seasons.
After winning the title in 2013 at the end of Alex Ferguson s final season in charge, United have finished seventh, fourth and fifth, with Jose Mourinho replacing Louis van Gaal ahead of 2016-17.
Ibrahimovic left Paris Saint-Germain in favour of a move to Old Trafford and Larsson who had a brief loan spell at the club in 2007 has little doubt his compatriot will make a major impact in the Premier League.
I think everybody has seen him play but, for a man that big to have the technique he has and the skills he has, it s a pleasure to watch, Larsson told the official United website.
So I have to hope everything goe…
Bayern Munich have let the option to sign Philippe Coutinho on a permanent basis expire, according to sporting director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The Brazilian went to Bayern last summer on a season-long loan having failed to justify the hefty price Barcelona paid to prize him away from Liverpool in January 2018, and the Bundesliga champions had the option of turning the deal permanent, reportedly for €120 million. However, his performances at the Allianz Arena have been heavily criticized too, and speaking to German magazine Der Spiegel, Rummenigge revealed that the option has now expired.
However, he also said that they would still see if the 27-year-old has a place in their squad for next season, obviously not ruling out a new deal of some sort at this point. Barcelon…
Thomas Lemar hopes Antoine Griezmann will still be an Atletico Madrid player next season, while the winger accepts he has more work to do to fully adapt to life in LaLiga.
Griezmann rejected the overtures of Barcelona to remain with Diego Simeone s side, announcing his decision via a bizarre documentary in June last year.
However, Atleti have once again been off Barca s pace in the fight for the title in LaLiga, while their Champions League hopes were extinguished in the last 16 by Juventus.
That has led to renewed speculation that World Cup-winner Griezmann will depart for Camp Nou in a bid to assuage his desire to win the game s biggest prizes at club level.
Lemar, while urging Griezmann to stay, does not know what his France team-mate has planned, tell…
Jorginho is attracting interest from a number of clubs but will remain a Chelsea player next season unless a serious offer is tabled, according to his agent.
The 29-year-old has spent the past three seasons at Stamford Bridge and has another two years to run on his existing contract with the European champions.
Former Napoli midfielder Jorginho finished the 2020-21 campaign as Chelsea s leading Premier League scorer with seven goals, albeit each of those came from the penalty spot.
He carried that form into Euro 2020, playing every game for Italy in their successful campaign that ended with a penalty shoot-out win over England in Sunday s final at Wembley.
Jorginho has regularly been linked with a return to Italy, while Barcelona were also recently cred…
Liverpool are interested in signing Perr Schuurs from Ajax in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff were impressed by the young central defender’s performance against them in the Champions League this season.
The 20-year-old central defender was on trial at Liverpool when he was 17 years of age, but at the time the Premier League giants thought that it would be better to keep him in the Netherlands for him to progress. The youngster has done well during his time at Ajax and is stating to establish himself as an important player in the team.
According to , Schuurs has played six times in the Eredivisie and has played twice in the Champions League for Ajax so far this season. During th…