Sassuolo replace boss Bucchi with Iachini

Aston Villa defender Ritchie De Laet joined A-League club Melbourne City on a season-long loan.

The two-time Belgium international, 29, reunites with City coach Warren Joyce, who worked with De Laet at Royal Antwerp and while in charge of Manchester United s reserves.

De Laet, who was part of Leicester City s Premier League-winning squad in the first half of 2015-16, has struggled for game time since joining Villa two years ago.

Ritchie has a lot of experience at a very high level and his quality and versatility provides us with a number of options, Joyce said of De Laet, who joins City as a marquee player.

I know Ritchie well having coached him before during my time in England and Belgium. He can play as a defender or across the midfield with quality o…

La Liga powerhouse Atletico Madrid has been credited with an interest in in-form Lazio star Luis Alberto according to reports in Italy.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder has been one of the key members of highly exciting Lazio squad.

Luis Alberto’s impressive performances helped Aquile with the Italian Super Cup and lose only one match this season, whereas his fantastic exploits also gained plenty of attention from Europe’s biggest clubs.

Luis Alberto managed three goals and six assists in 14 appearances across all competitions for Lazio which was more than enough to turn Atletico Madrid’s head.

The Spanish midfielder is contracted to Lazio until the summer of 2021.

He joined the Serie A outfit from Liverpool in 2016 for paltry €4 mill…

Gonzalo Higuain will leave Juventus and join a club outside Serie A, his brother and agent has confirmed.

Juve boss Andrea Pirlo confirmed last month that the striker will be allowed to leave as he will not be part of the first-team picture in 2020-21.

Higuain, who joined from Napoli in 2016 in a €90million deal, has won three Serie A titles and two Coppe Italia with the Bianconeri but spent most of 2018-19 out on loan with Milan and Chelsea.

His brother, Nicolas, says they have agreed to part ways with Juve a year before his contract expires and have already received approaches from clubs in Europe, China and the United States although none of those are of particular interest.

Gonzalo still has one year on his contract, but the club and Pirlo have uni…

Tim Cahill has retired from international football, ending a 107-cap Socceroos career as Australia s all-time leading goalscorer.

The 38-year-old made his final appearance for Australia in a 2-0 defeat to Peru at the World Cup, coming on as a second-half substitute after a frustrating period of limited game time for club and country.

Cahill will perhaps go down as the Socceroos greatest ever player, having scored 50 times for the national team, and appearing in four World Cup tournaments.

Today s the day that I m officially hanging up my boots on my international career with the Socceroos, Cahill tweeted on Tuesday.

Today’s the day that I’m officially hanging up my boots on my international career with the Socceroos.
No words can describe what it ha…

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has suffered another setback in his on-going injury nightmare after undergoing further Achilles tendon surgery.

The Spain international has not featured for Arsenal since a 6-0 Champions League win over Ludogorets last October and revealed earlier this month the extent of an ordeal that almost led to his foot being amputated.

Cazorla has undergone multiple surgeries on his right ankle and lost eight centimetres from the tendon, while he contracted an infection that left him at risk of losing his foot to gangrene.

In the interview with Marca, the 32-year-old said he hoped to return to action for Arsenal in January but those ambitions have now been dashed.

Once again, infection is the source of the problem and Cazorla tweete…

Steven Gerrard says Harry Kane does not need to join another team to find happiness, as it would mean more to win a trophy with Tottenham than any other club.

Kane stayed at Tottenham for the 2021-22 campaign, despite asking to leave the north London side after Manchester City made a bid reportedly in excess of £100million.

Following a slow start to the season, which many put down to his failure to seal a move away, the England skipper has regained top form since mid-December.

Indeed, since December 19, Kane has scored 14 goals and assisted five more in all competitions.

Over that timeframe, only Kylian Mbappe (20) and Karim Benzema (24) have been directly involved in more goals than Kane s 19 among players from Europe s top five leagues.

Despit…

Jurgen Klopp hopes Georginio Wijnaldum extends his stay at Liverpool and the manager remains optimistic.

Wijnaldum is out of contract with the Premier League champions at the end of the season and the midfielder has been linked with a move to Barcelona.

Ahead of Saturday s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion, Klopp had no update on the Netherlands international – but he would like the 30-year-old to remain at Anfield.

I cannot really say a lot about that. I would be happy if he would stay here – that s maybe the only thing, he said.

But sitting here, I m pretty happy with Gini. You see when you look at most of the line-ups.

Wijnaldum arrived at Liverpool from Newcastle United in 2016 and has helped the club win the Premier League, Champions Le…

Chelsea are interested in signing Federico Dimarco from Inter Milan in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners want Dimarco in their squad for next season and are keen on securing his services.

Federico Dimarco has been superb for Inter Milan and is one of the best left wing-backs in Serie A. The 25-year-old has scored one goal and given three assists in six Serie matches and has played 35 minutes in the UEFA Champions League so far this campaign.

Manchester City are at the top of the Premier League table at the moment with 18 points from six matches, two points clear of second-placed Liverpool. Meanwhile, Inter Milan currently find themselves at the top of the Serie A table standing…

Bruno Fernandes has promised Manchester United his best is still to come after signing a new long-term contract at Old Trafford.

United have tied the attacking midfielder down to fresh terms that keep him connected to the club until at least 2026.

The Premier League side also have the option to extend that agreement by a further 12 months, as is common with the contracts they negotiate.

Fernandes still had three and a half years to run on his previous deal, but United were eager not to take any risks with the future of a player who has been a transformative figure since arriving from Sporting CP.

The 27-year-old has racked up 49 goals and 39 assists since arriving in January 2020, but vowed he still has another level to reach with United after his contr…

Gareth Southgate hopes his England team can continue to make the nation a more inclusive place for football fans of all backgrounds.

England face Italy in Sunday s Euro 2020 final at Wembley, their first appearance in a major international showpiece since beating West Germany 4-2 in the 1966 World Cup final.

The Three Lions run to the final follows their semi-final appearance at the 2018 World Cup – a tournament that served to have a transformative effect in terms of the country s dwindling relationship with its national side.

Speaking to UK national newspapers, Southgate explained he was struck by first-hand accounts of people feeling they would be welcome at football stadiums in England after Russia 2018, having previously feared they would be victims of abus…