Watford captain Troy Deeney jokingly suggested former team-mate Richarlison can expect some rough treatment when he faces his old club for Everton on Monday.

Brazilian forward Richarlison impressed during his one season at Vicarage Road last term following a switch from Fluminense in August 2017.

It was seen as a real coup for the Hornets when they landed him, and his promising campaign saw Everton pay a figure reported to be in the region of £45million.

Still just 21, Richarlison has been even more impressive at Goodison Park, scoring seven times in his 13 Premier League outings, with Marco Silva playing him in a more central role.

On Monday he will come up against Watford for the first time since departing, but Deeney holds no grudge about his exit, ev…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Sandro Tonali from AC Milan in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Newcastle are in talks over signing the 23-year-old defensive midfielder and are progressing well in those negotiations.

90min have reported that Tonali’s camp have told Newcastle that the Italy international is open to a move to the Magpies in the summer of 2023. Eddie Howe’s side finished in the top four of the Premier League last campaign and will play in the UEFA Champions League next season. Newcastle director of football Dan Ashworth is currently in Italy to personally try to make the deal happen. 

Tonali made 30 starts and four substitute appearances in Serie A for Milan last season, scoring two goals and providing …

Netherlands head coach Frank de Boer is relieved Memphis Depay s free transfer to Barcelona has gone through, because it removes a major distraction.

Barca confirmed on Saturday that the 27-year-old has agreed a two-year deal at Camp Nou that will officially go through when his Lyon contract expires at the end of this month.

Depay s future had been a hot topic of discussion ahead of the Netherlands first two Euro 2020 matches – a 3-2 victory over Ukraine and a 2-0 win against Austria.

De Boer now wants Depay to do his talking on the pitch and is hopeful the forward can become an even better player after joining the Catalan giants.

We are all looking for an improvement from him, De Boer said at a news conference on Sunday, previewing his side s final Gr…

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…