Out of favour at Manchester United, Matteo Darmian is likely to leave the Old Trafford club once the transfer window reopens in January.
The Italian right-back has been widely frozen by Jose Mourinho this season, who has only used the 26-year-old defender twice in the Europa League thus far, while Darmian is yet to make an appearance in the Premier League.
Matteo Darmian joined Manchester United at the beginning of 2015-16 season, notching 28 Premier League performances for the club and scoring a single goal during that time.
Frustrated with the lack of minutes for Red Devils, Matteo Darmian is already looking for a solution to his frustrations at Old Trafford.
Inter Milan have already expressed their interest in signing the Manchester United outcast as …
Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti insisted captain Mauro Icardi wants to remain with the Serie A club amid transfer speculation.
Icardi helped Inter qualify for the Champions League but the skipper – who reportedly has a €110million release clause – has been linked with Juventus, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Zanetti was asked about Icardi s future but the former Inter captain said he is not concerned over the 25-year-old forward.
It s disappointing he s not going to the World Cup, as he has proved he fits in with the Argentina squad, Zanetti told reporters.
When you have a champion like him in the team, it s only normal to receive many offers, but Mauro is the captain and a reference point for Inter.
We are…
Teenager Chaka Traore scored his second goal in six days as AC Milan beat Serie A strugglers Empoli 3-0 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.
The 19-year-old Ivorian winger, who had opened his Milan account in Tuesday’s 4-1 Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari, came off the bench to notch a third for Stefano Pioli’s men in the 88th minute.
That added to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 11th-minute opener and an Olivier Giroud penalty just past the half-hour mark.
These celebrations
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Third-placed Milan’s third win in four league games closed the gap to second-placed Juventus to four points ahead of the Turin giants’ match at Salernitana later on Sunday.
Aurelio Andreazzoli’s Empoli remain second bottom as their winless ru…
Wayne Rooney will start his bid to succeed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player on the planet when England face Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Rooney spent the last three years playing second fiddle to Ronaldo at Manchester United as the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year became the driving force behind his side s success.
But, following Ronaldo s move to Real Madrid, Rooney is now the main man for United as well as England.
England coach Fabio Capello had already decided to build his team around Rooney and now United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has restored him to his favoured central striking position.
Rooney would never publicly complain about being shunted to the flanks to allow Portugal winger Ronaldo a free role after all he regards his f…
Zambia have called up Aaron Katebe to their preliminary Africa Cup of Nations squad as a replacement for Nyambe Mulenga.
Mulenga suffered a fractured right leg and several lacerations in a car accident that claimed four lives en route to a pre-tournament training earlier this month.
His place in the squad has been taken by defender Katebe, who plays for Zimbabwean outfit FC Platinum.
Coach Honor Janza has named 12 players from the 2013 AFCON tournament, in which Zambia were eliminated in the group stages after three consecutive draws.
A total of 11 players from the successful 2012 campaign that saw Zambia beat the Ivory Coast on penalties in the final have also been included.
Zambia will attempt to replicate that success at this year s event …
South Africa defeated the Central African Republic 2-0 at home in World Cup qualifying to revive their hopes of reaching Brazil next year.
The hosts of the last FIFA World Cup in 2010, South Africa had made a poor start in CAF Group A, drawing with Ethiopia and Botswana to sit third in the standings.
But they registered their first victory on Saturday, climbing above the Central African Republic and Ethiopia to lead the pool on five points.
Thabo Matlaba opened the scoring for Bafana Bafana in the 34th minute of the match in Cape Town.
The visitors remained within a goal until mid-way through the second half, Brian Parker doubling South Africa s lead and making the point safe in the 70th minute.
Ethiopia can regain top spot in Group A if they win …
Stefano Pioli suffered his first Serie A defeat as Inter coach as they were put to the sword in a 3-0 loss at Napoli on Friday.
Tasked with overseeing a recovery following the end of Frank de Boer s brief and underwhelming stint at San Siro, former Lazio boss Pioli picked up his first victory in Inter s 4-2 triumph over Fiorentina on Monday.
But he and Inter were emphatically brought back down to earth at the Stadio San Paolo, as two goals in the opening five minutes effectively put the game beyond their reach.
Piotr Zielinski opened the scoring inside two minutes and then set up Napoli captain Marek Hamsik to double the hosts advantage.
Napoli had been held to a 1-1 draw by Sassuolo last time out, but there was never any danger of an Inter comeback and…
Market: Uruguay win
Odds:
After a drama-fuelled last matchup against Iran, Portugal will be disappointed not to have secured a last 16 tie against Russia and will instead face off against a Uruguayan side who find their confidence at a tournament high on Saturday evening.
For Uruguay, while many had argued that we were still yet to see the best of Óscar Tabárez s side, La Celeste are coming off the back of a 3-0 win over hosts nation Russia and are yet to be beaten during their time in Group A. In fact, along with winning their last six in all competitions, the South American powerhouses, thanks to captain Diego Godin, have not conceded a single goal in any of those seven appearances. If Uruguay can put on a similar performance to the one that produ…
Juventus progressed to the Coppa Italia final as they kept Inter at bay to secure a goalless draw in the semi-final second leg and a 2-1 aggregate victory.
A mistake-ridden Inter performance had given Juve the advantage in the tie and crucial away goals in the first leg.
The Nerazzurri consequently spent much of the return leg in Turin attacking in search of the goals that would turn the tie on its head.
Impressive work by Juve s rearguard ensured they never arrived and only the reflexes of Samir Handanovic stopped Cristiano Ronaldo from sending the Bianconeri into a final with Atalanta or Napoli in more convincing fashion.
Achraf Hakimi was a constant threat down the right in the opening 45 minutes, and the game s first clear-cut chance came in the 25th…
Real Madrid are one of the top title candidates in the 2019-20 LaLiga season and their top priority is to fight against FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid for the title. Los Merengues will begin their title defence on the road this next Saturday against Celta Vigo at Balaidos. Los Gallegos were one of the worst teams in the league last season, and will try to bounce back with a strong performance in the season opener. The kick-off for this match will be at 16:00 hrs BST.
Celta Vigo
There s no question that Celta Vigo had an underwhelming season during the 2018/19 campaign, and the best reflection of that was the fact they finished in 17th place of the standings. In fact, the Balaidos outfit ended last term winning just one of their last five matches (W1, D3, L1), albeit that lone…