Bellingham still in demand regardless of superb form, says Dortmund director Kehl

Substitute Gavin Whyte scored late on to earn 10-man Northern Ireland a 1-1 Nations League draw against Romania in Ian Baraclough s first game in charge.

Baraclough officially took over as head coach in June after Michael O Neill stepped aside and his tenure got off to a dramatic start at the National Arena on Friday.

George Puscas put Romania in front after 25 minutes and Josh Magennis was dismissed shortly before half-time to make the visitors task all the more difficult.

But a string of impressive saves from Bailey Peacock-Farrell kept Northern Ireland in the game and Whyte headed in four minutes from time to earn his side a point in their Group B1 opener.

It’s all over in Bucharest. Gavin Whyte’s later header secures a point in Ian Baraclough’s …

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is keen on bringing Edinson Cavani back to the club when his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires in the summer, according to Italian outlet Il Mattino.

The 32-year-old striker spent three years in Naples before joining PSG for around €65 million in 2013, scoring 104 goals in 138 games in all competitions in their shirt. He has done well in France, having been a very important part of the team for the Ligue 1 champions, but he has lost his place to Mauro Icardi, who came from inter during the summer transfer window this year on a season-long loan.

Napoli haven t been doing that well in Serie A this season. They re currently sitting in seventh place, 17 points behind league-topping Inter, and there have been reports of heavy …

Rewind to June 2018 and Atletico Madrid s future looked secure. Antoine Griezmann and Lucas Hernandez had just signed new contracts.

The landscape has drastically changed since then. Star full-back Lucas will join German giants Bayern Munich, while talisman Griezmann – reportedly a target for Barcelona – has announced his intention to leave the Wanda Metropolitano.

News of Griezmann s imminent departure comes after captain Diego Godin revealed he will call time on his Atletico career amid links to Serie A side Inter.

With Griezmann, Godin and Lucas leaving, and doubts over Rodri, Saul Niguez, Diego Costa, Filipe Luis and Juanfran in Madrid, are Diego Simeone s Atletico – who are set to finish second in LaLiga after a run to the Champions League last 16 and …

Franck Kessie s agent denied the Milan star has been offered to city rivals and Serie A champions Inter amid ongoing doubts over his future at San Siro.

Kessie is out of contract at the end of the season and the Milan midfielder is no closer to re-signing with the Rossoneri, despite voicing his desire to remain at the club forever .

There has been speculation linking Kessie with Inter, while the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Arsenal have also emerged as options on a free transfer.

While downplaying the Inter reports, George Atangana warned Milan the 24-year-old Ivory Coast international requires a new deal that reflects his quality.

Shifting back into top gear ahead of  

Alzando i giri in vista del Vero…

Atlanta United have appointed Gabriel Heinze as head coach on a two-year contract, the MLS club announced on Friday.

Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain defender Heinze replaces Frank de Boer, who departed Atlanta by mutual agreement in July.

Heinze arrives after leading Velez Sarsfield to a third-place finish in 2019-20, having joined the Argentine outfit in 2017.

The 42-year-old and 72-time Argentina international also spent time in charge of Argentinos Juniors (2016-17) and Godoy Cruz (2015).

I m excited to be taking on this new challenge with Atlanta United, said Heinze, who won the Premier League with United and LaLiga with Madrid.

I believe that my football philosophy is aligned with the vision of the club and the…

Market: Braga win

Odds: 4/6 @

Looking to claim a first-leg advantage when they open their Taca de Portugal semi-final adventure on Wednesday night, Barga will make the trip to Nacional.

Starting with the hosts, while Nacional might have continued on a famous Taco de Portugal run this season, Felipe Candido finds his side in the midst of an extended rut. Last seen over the weekend putting in a nightmare display on home soil as they were hit with a routine 3-0 drumming at the hands of Oliveirense, the Alvinegros will be more than aware that they face a huge challenge when Braga arrive at the Estadio do Madeira on Wednesday night. Only show a host of recent issues on either side of the international break, the second-tier outfit have now lost each of their last thr…

Hugo Lloris is confident Adrien Rabiot will prove crucial to France s World Cup defence following his impressive display against Australia, while Didier Deschamps wants even more from Ousmane Dembele.

Injuries to Paul Pogba and N Golo Kante opened the door for Rabiot to assume a central role in Qatar, and he did not let Les Bleus down in their 4-1 win over the Socceroos.

The Juventus midfielder grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck before the break, cancelling out Craig Goodwin s earlier strike by scoring the equaliser before assisting the first of Olivier Giroud s two goals.

Rabiot subsequently became the first France player to both score and assist a goal on his World Cup debut since Christophe Dugarry against South Africa in 1998.

Lloris said: A l…

Jan Vertonghen appeared to take a swipe at team-mates Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard following Belgium s shock World Cup defeat by Morocco.

With this tournament regarded as the last shot at glory for the Red Devils golden generation, Roberto Martinez s side were well short of their best as late goals by Romain Saiss and Zakaria Aboukhlal snatched a 2-0 victory for the Atlas Lions.

Prior to the Group F showdown, De Bruyne and Hazard claimed an ageing Belgium were better equipped to win the World Cup four years ago, when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by France in the semi-finals.

We are too old. I think our chance [to win] was in 2018, the Manchester City midfielder said. We have a good team, but it is getting older.

We lost key players. We have good new…

Verdict: Chelsea win and under 3.5 goals

Best Odds: 

Bookmaker: 

Chelsea have been handed a major Premier League top four boost ahead of a pivotal Monday night clash against Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea

Starting with the hosts, although they may have gone about it the hard way last week, Chelsea s 4-3 win over Slavia Prague saw the Blues book their spot in the semi-final of this year s Europa League. With their sights firmly set on securing a return to the top four, the mood in Maurizio Sarri s camp will be on a high following Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal all slipping up over the weekend. Sat just one point adrift of the Champions League positions and with the chance to climb as high as third on Monday night, a huge part of Chelsea …

Manchester United are interested in signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace, according to the .

Olise has been on terrific form lately. Having overcome a hamstring issue which kept him out of action for the first 11 rounds of the Premier League campaign, the 22-year-old winger now has five goals and one assist in nine league appearances for Palace this season. His brace against Brentford on December 30th was particularly important, either side of a goal from Eberechi Eze as the Eagles came back from a goal down to win 1-3 at the Brentford Community Stadium.

United have been struggling greatly upfront, with wingers proving a particularly problematic part of the squad this term. Jadon Sancho remains frozen out and very likely to leave in January, while Antony still hasn…