European giants battling for Draxler

Chelsea s busy January is showing no signs of slowing down, despite landing five players already.

The Blues, who are 10th in the Premier League, have brought in Mykhaylo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana and Benoit Badiashile during this window.

Chelsea are 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United and desperate for a top-four finish to bring Champions League football back to Stamford Bridge.

And another signing is now imminent.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA AGREE DEAL FOR LYON S GUSTO

Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea have agreed to a deal with Lyon to sign right-back Malo Gusto.

The 19-year-old will fly to London and undergo medical tests on Saturday, with the player to join the Blues in June 2023.

Lyon will recei…

Excited fans gathered in front of giant outdoor television screens, newspapers ran front pages in the team colour of red and shops planned to close early as Spain was gripped by football fever ahead of the Euro 2008 final Sunday.

Spain has an appointment with history, headlined the sports daily AS, hoping La Roja (The Reds) can end decades of disappointment in international competitions and defeat Germany in Vienna.

Now, we must do it, said the Catalan daily El Publico, against a background of the red team shirt across the front and back pages.

Spain has rid iteself of its ghosts and comes to this match at the height its game, said another sports daily, Marca, which also had a red front page and devoted over 50 pages to Euro 2008 coverage.

Spain s qu…

Gareth Bale has been backed to rediscover his best form at Tottenham by team-mate Ben Davies after Spurs boss Jose Mourinho conceded the forward is lacking in confidence.

The Wales international has one goal and no assists in seven appearances five of those being starts since returning to Tottenham on loan from Real Madrid in September.

He has played less than two hours of Premier League football this term and has been an unused substitute in Spurs last two top-flight outings.

Mourinho is expected to hand Bale his fifth Europa League start in Thursday s trip to LASK and is hopeful the one-time world s most expensive player can continue his  physical evolution .

The only problem with Gareth is to get into the dynamic and the confidence of playing consecu…

RussiaÂ’s hottest footballing property Andrei Arshavin has had another offer since his heroics at Euro 2008.

In the wake of a 12 million bid by FC Barcelona, it is believed that there has been another bid, this time by a Premier League side.

The English club, that has yet to be identified, has apparently made a bid of 19 million.

Arshavin‘s agent Dennis Lachter told the Daily Express that Zenit St Petersburg would not accept any offer less than 24 million.

Beside FC Barcelona Arsenal and Chelsea have shown interest in the striker. Arshavin has stated previously that his first choice would be Spain and then only England.

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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has struck another blow in his war of words with Jose Mourinho, claiming the Manchester United boss is suffering a bit of amnesia .

The Premier League rivals have been involved in a war of words after Mourinho s comments that he preferred to act more mature on the touchline were perceived as a dig at the Chelsea coach.

Mourinho intensified the spat following Manchester United s 2-0 win over Derby County on Friday, referring to Conte s ban over match-fixing allegations for which he was later acquitted.

I consider him a little man, I consider him a man with a very low profile, Conte said of Mourinho after his side s goalless FA Cup draw with Norwich City. There is a story to speak for him and me.

You can change the story…

Arsenal great Robert Pires believes Jamie Vardy has all the qualities to be a success at the Emirates Stadium, should he decide to leave Leicester City. 

The 29-year-old is said to be considering his future while at Euro 2016 with England after Arsenal met a reported £20million release clause in his Leicester contract.

Vardy scored 24 times in the league in 2015-16 as Leicester went on to complete one of the most remarkable triumphs in sporting history by claiming their first Premier League title. 

And Pires, who was part of Arsene Wenger s Invincibles , believes Vardy will thrive at Arsenal should he make the step up in the off-season. 

There is no reason why it couldn t work out for Vardy, the two-time Premier League winner told the Daily Mail.  H…

England manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed Ashley Cole will win his 100th international cap by starting against Brazil on Wednesday.

The Chelsea defender, who made his debut in 2001, will mark a century of appearances for England at Wembley.

While the 32-year-old will feature in the starting 11 at Wembley, Hodgson said he would not take the captain s armband from Steven Gerrard for the game.

Hodgson also defended the controversial full-back.

If you are an England fan and don t respect and love someone for what he s done, that s your problem, he said.

The 65-year-old also described the left-back as the most consistent player over last 10-12 years in our team he deserves to celebrate that.

Meanwhile, Hodgson is keen to see expectations sur…

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has expressed interest in signing Paris Saint-Germain starlet Marco Verratti.

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has expressed interest in signing Paris Saint-Germain starlet Marco Verratti.

The midfielder most recently hit the headlines by equalising in stoppage time during Italy s 1-1 friendly draw with Netherlands, and has played regularly under Carlo Ancelotti in Ligue 1 this season.

Verratti is a player that (Milan) are considering to buy, Berlusconi said.

We need to see if the financial aspects (of any deal) are good enough for us to acquire him.

Verratti has been compared to Azzurri icon Andrea Pirlo due to his fine performances in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt this term, and Berlusconi lamented …

Jose Mourinho says he cannot imagine taking charge of Bayern Munich as he is so settled at new club Tottenham.

Mourinho was appointed by Spurs last month, replacing Mauricio Pochettino, and has steered his side into the next round of the Champions League.

The former Manchester United boss had previously been linked with Bayern, who have also sacked a coach this season, dispensing with Niko Kovac s services after poor domestic displays.

Mourinho s contract at Tottenham runs until the end of the 2022-23 season, and the Portuguese does not expect to join Bayern in the future.

I don t imagine myself in the Bayern job because I m so happy at Tottenham, Mourinho told reporters ahead of Wednesday s Champions League clash between the sides.

Spurs were ha…

Alisson has challenged Liverpool to sustain the defensive focus that has helped them secure back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since September.

The Champions League holders reached the last 16 on Tuesday thanks to a 2-0 win away to Salzburg, with Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah scoring the goals.

It was also Liverpool s second clean sheet in a row, following last Saturday s 3-0 Premier League win at Bournemouth, a result that leaves the Reds eight points clear at the top of the table.

Since losing the Community Shield on penalties in August, Klopp s side have only lost once in all competitions  a 2-0 defeat to Napoli in September but their defence has nonetheless come under scrutiny following a run of 13 matches in which they conceded at least one goal.