Michael Essien has rubbished reports that he has failed a medical ahead of his proposed move from Chelsea to Milan.

The clubs agreed a deal to take the Ghana midfielder to Italy on Friday, although rumours of an unsuccessful examination due to long-standing knee issues surfaced soon afterwards.

Essien has struggled for first-team action in recent years at Stamford Bridge, having made just 19 Premier League appearances since the 2011-12 season, and spent last term on loan at Real Madrid under now Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

And his Milan move looks set to go ahead after he claimed to have passed his medical at the Serie A club.

He posted: Haters will broadcast your failure but whisper your success.Medicals done,looking forward to start my new life with AC Milan…

that Liverpool are set to make an improved offer for Southampton full-back Nathaniel Clyne.

The Merseyside club saw a £10m offer for the defender rejected by the Saints last month, and will now make a new bid as they look for a replacement for Glen Johnson, whose contract has not been renewed.

Clyne, who won his fifth senior England cap as Roy Hodgson’s side beat Slovenia 3-2 on Sunday evening, has been valued at around £20m despite having just one year remaining on his current deal.

Since arriving at St Mary’s Stadium from Crystal Palace in July 2012, the 24 year old has racked up over a hundred appearances for the south-coast club, scoring five goals.

Should he make the move, he would reunite with former Southampton trio Adam Lallana, Ricki…

AC Milan failed to bounce back from their derby defeat to Inter, as Andrea Belotti s late brace secured Torino a 2-1 win on Thursday.

Milan coach Marco Giampaolo was left fielding questions about whether he felt at risk of the sack following the Inter loss, and his side s inability to hold on to their lead in Turin will likely increase the uncertainty after just two wins from five in Serie A.

The visitors began the entertaining contest well enough and were good value for the lead when Krzysztof Piatek dispatched a first-half penalty, but they were made to rue not adding to that.

Belotti levelled for a resurgent Torino deep into the second half and then got the winner four minutes later, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma failing to cover himself in glory for ei…

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel feels more new signings are needed for the Ligue 1 champions, who are being linked with Danny Rose.

The Tottenham and England left-back made only 10 Premier League appearances in a 2017-18 campaign that was heavily disrupted by injuries.

Ben Davies appears to have usurped Rose as the first-choice left-back at Spurs, with Mauricio Pochettino selecting the Wales international in both Premier League games this term.

PSG are reportedly keen on 28-year-old Rose and Tuchel confirmed he wants PSG to add more arrivals after a quiet transfer window that has seen only Thilo Kehrer and Gianluigi Buffon join.

I hope the transfer window is not finished for us, Tuchel told a news conference on Friday. I trust my managers …

(GSM) Fiorentina winger Juan Manuel Vargas has revealed that he wants to stay at Viola until the right offer comes along.

The 26-year-old left-back has been linked with a move to the Real Madrid, Internazionale, Juventus or Chelsea and he is currently out of action due to the knee injury.

“If an important offer does come in to the club then I will evaluate it,” the midfielder told the Peruvian media.

“Otherwise I would be very happy to stay at Fiorentina,” he added.

Vargas joined Fiorentina on 5 July 2008 for a fee of €12million and still has a contract tying him to the club until June 2013.

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The Dutch will be the underdogs for the first time at these World Cup finals when they play five-time champions Brazil in the quarter-finals on Friday, Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk said on Tuesday.

The 58-year-old slightly toned down his remarks of Monday when he had said that the Dutch were almost unbeatable to declaring on Tuesday that they posed an enormous challenge .

However, van Marwijk said that his side s target was to be crowned champions of the world for the first time in their history after losing in two finals and they would have to beat sides of the quality of Brazil if they were to achieve that goal.

Brazil presents us with an enormous challenge, but we remain dedicated to our goal of winning the World Cup, said the coach.

Van Marwij…

Craig Bellamy believes the quality of former team-mate Luis Suarez gives Liverpool hope of winning every game they play.

The Uruguayan forward has enjoyed a sensational season and scored a hat-trick in Saturday s 6-3 win at Cardiff City to reach 28 Premier League goals in just 25 appearances this term.

Ex-Liverpool striker Bellamy, who played alongside the 27-year-old at Anfield in the 2011-12 season and was part of the Cardiff team this weekend, believes Suarez is now the leading player in the English top flight.

Indeed, Bellamy feels only two men in the world Barcelona s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo rank above Suarez given the latter s current form.

There s Messi and then Ronaldo that is it for the best, best players (in the world), Be…

Brendan Rodgers feels Liverpool s recent displays against Manchester City may give them an edge in next week s vital Premier League clash.

Liverpool returned to the top of the table with a hard-fought 2-1 win over West Ham at Upton Park on Sunday Steven Gerrard scoring a penalty in each half as a number of decisions made by referee Anthony Taylor came under the microscope.

Rodgers side are two points ahead of Chelsea and four above third-placed City, although Manuel Pellegrini s team have two games in hand ahead of their potentially pivotal trip to Anfield.

Speaking on BBC s Match of the Day programme on Saturday, City captain Vincent Kompany labelled Liverpool as the strongest team he has come across this season.

That caught Rodgers attentions and, although he i…

Ajax striker Kasper Dolberg has committed his future to the club by signing a new contract.

The 21-year-old has been linked with European giants including Real Madrid and Manchester United.

However, after signing a one-year extension to his previous deal, Dolberg will remain with the Eredivisie side until 2022.

We have been talking about a new contract for a while and I m glad it s done, Dolberg told the club s website. I am very happy at Ajax.

I have the feeling that I am back on track and I have to continue what I have shown in the last few weeks.

All smiles!   

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax)

Dolberg hit 16 league goals in a breakthrough 2016-17 campaign to put his name on the radar of Europe s elite.

And while injuries…

Aubameyang has been impressive for Dortmund in recent years, and he s been linked to Milan several times. Image: Getty

With reports of a transfer budget ranging from €50 million to €130 million for the summer transfer window and additional cash coming in from the potential sales of Carlos Bacca and Mattia De Sciglio, Mirabelli should have a lot of work to do during the summer. What can really do in this next transfer window? Let s examine the prospects.

More Goals = More Wins

Most of Milan s rumored prospects are attackers, with names ranging from Alvaro Morata all the way to .

While names like Aubameyang and Belotti may be near-impossible to acquire, Morata could be a viable target. He doesn t get much playing time at Real Madrid, and he s not exactly wor…