that Hoffenheim defender Fabian Johnson is set to move to English Premier League at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old will be out of contract in the summer and it is now clear he will leave the Bundesliga side after rejecting a new deal at Rhein-Neckar Arena.
Daily Mirror reports that he is widely expected to join a Premier League club next summer, with Crystal Palace and Stoke locked in the battle for his signature.
Fabian Johnson has spent his entire career in Germany, playing for 1860 Munich, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim, and he has scored a total of 6 goals in 89 Bundesliga appearances.
The defender represented his native country at various youth levels before deciding to switch allegiance to United States back in 2011.
He has since nailed …
Antonio Conte has insisted that his Juventus side will not underestimate UEFA Champions League opponents Copenhagen on Tuesday.
The Italian and Danish champions face each other in a group that also contains Real Madrid and Galatasaray.
While Juve will be heavily fancied to progress after bolstering their title-winning squad by signing the likes of striker Carlos Tevez from Manchester City, Conte is well aware of the threat that Stale Solbakken s men will pose.
Copenhagen finished second to eventual champions Barcelona in the group stages during the 2010-11 Champions League before being knocked out by Chelsea in the round of 16.
Juve, meanwhile, drew 1-1 at Danish side Nordsjaelland in last season s competition and reached the quarter-finals.
Conte said: W…
Seydou Doumbia will play for his sixth team in four years after joining Girona.
The LaLiga club have signed the nomadic Ivory Coast striker on a three-year deal.
Former CSKA Moscow attacker Doumbia leaves Roma after a series of loan spells, most recently with Sporting CP in 2017-18, where he failed to score a league goal.
The 30-year-old also had an unproductive loan spell in the Premier League with Newcastle United during his time with the Serie A outfit.
But Doumbia s loan to Basel was far more successful, his 20 goals firing the team to the 2016-17 Swiss Super League title.
Doumbia also hit 50 league goals across two seasons in Switzerland with Young Boys before joining CSKA.
…
Thibaut Courtois believes competing with Keylor Navas will be good for Real Madrid this season and says his rival wished him luck for his debut on Saturday.
The Belgium international made his first outing for the club following his move from Chelsea in Saturday s 4-1 win over Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Navas has been a key part of Madrid s recent successes, not least their three consecutive Champions League triumphs, but his long-term place in the side appears to be under threat following Courtois arrival.
However, the former Atletico Madrid man insists he and Navas have a positive relationship despite their competition for the number one spot.
The boss told me yesterday [I would be playing] and I was very happy, obviously, Courtois told Movistar…
Giovanni van Bronckhorst says the gap in quality between Rangers and Liverpool was obvious , though he vowed the Scottish Premiership side will learn from a comfortable defeat to the Reds.
Rangers have shipped nine goals in three Champions League games after a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Tuesday, which saw Van Bronckhorst s side remain bottom of Group A at the halfway point.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah struck in either half at Anfield as Rangers failed to find the net in their first three Champions League games for the first time ever.
While Rangers offered little in the way of challenging Alisson, barring a late chance for substitute Rabbi Matondo, Van Bronckhorst hopes his side will use the defeat as a lesson.
The gap is obvious, we are com…
Lionel Messi set another Champions League record but it was not enough for Paris Saint-Germain to beat Benfica, who clinched a 1-1 draw.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe cleverly combined in the 22nd minute to allow Messi to curl home and become the first player to score against 40 teams in the Champions League.
However, Danilo Pereira awkwardly sent Enzo Fernandez cross into his own net to restore parity at Estadio da Luz.
Though PSG had the better second-half chances, boss Christophe Galtier missed the chance to become the third coach in club history to win his first three Champions League games, though his side remain top of Group H on goals scored.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was the busier of the two goalkeepers early on, making important stops to deny Goncalo Ram…
Borussia Dortmund s poor run of form will give Napoli confidence ahead of their trip to Germany for Tuesday s UEFA Champions League clash.
Dortmund have lost three matches in a row – something that has not happened since February 2010 – and have slipped to third in the Bundesliga as a result.
A 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal in Group F was followed by 2-1 and 3-0 league losses to Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich in domestic action, leaving Jurgen Klopp s men off the pace in the German top flight and at risk of missing out on the last 16 in Europe s premier club competition.
Club captain Sebastian Kehl (ankle) and defender Lukasz Piszczek (hip and groin) were selected on the bench against Bayern but Dortmund continue to be plagued by injuries to key players.
First-choi…
Updated team by team guide to the new English Premier League season which kicks-off on Saturday. All transfer fees are listed in pounds:
CHELSEA
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
Last season: Premier League champions, Champions League last 16, FA Cup winners, League Cup quarter-finals
In: Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool) 5m
Out: Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid) 6.7m, Miroslav Stoch (Fenerbahce) undisclosed, Joe Cole (Liverpool) free, Michael Ballack (Bayer Leverkusen) free, Juliano Belletti (Fluminense) free, Rhys Taylor (Crewe) two-month loan, Ryan Bertrand (Nottingham Forest) six month-loan
Outlook: As Carlo Ancelotti soaked up the sun during his close-season holiday, the Italian wrestled with the question that will define his team s campaign: How do yo…
Manchester United defender Guillermo Varela believes he has fully adapted to English football and is hopeful of a long career at Old Trafford.
The Uruguayan has made his first professional appearances for United this season, playing four times for the first team in 2015-16.
Varela had previously spent a loan spell at Real Madrid Castilla following his switch to United from Penarol in June 2013.
But he has played in Premier League games against AFC Bournemouth and West Ham while also featuring in the recent FA Cup win over Derby County and December s Champions League defeat to Wolfsburg that ended United s run in the competition.
Right now, I can say that I have adapted 100 per cent to the English game, Varela told United s website. I m used to the pac…
Leicester City F.C. manager Claudio Ranieri has insisted Jamie Vardy will not be sold when the transfer window re-opens in January.
The England international, who joined Leicester from Fleetwood Town for a reported fee of £1 million in the summer of 2012, has scored nine goals in nine English Premier League matches for the Foxes this season, equaling the output of Bayern Munich s Thomas Muller in the Bundesliga, and Barcelona s Neymar in La Liga.
I hope he can continue, Ranieri said. He is a fantastic player for goals, but it s not important to think about goals or not. It s about how he plays for the team.
We don t sell him. He is very happy here and it s too soon to talk about this. He will stay with us and nobody goes in January not Riyad [Mah…