Man Utd ‘close in’ on transfer ‘hijack’ to beat Euro giants to sign £34m ‘top target’

Switzerland rubber-stamped their place in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar by emerging deservedly victorious from a difficult and exciting match against Serbia in the last round of Group G.

Xherdan Shaqiri broke the deadlock with a deflected 20th-minute shot, Aleksandar Mitrovic equalized with a perfectly hit header six minutes later, Dusan Vlahovic struck a goal of his own to put Serbia ahead in the 35th, and Breel Embolo set the score back level just before the break. It was eventually Remo Freuler who got on the end of a superb flick from Ruben Vargas to score the winning goal for the Swiss.

The game

Obviously in need of three points to progress from the group, Serbia wanted to attack from the start and take matters into their own hands, but they probably d…

Kevin De Bruyne has given Manchester City a huge boost ahead of their final push for the quadruple, signing a new contract with the club until 2025.

Since De Bruyne signed for City in August 2015, he has won eight trophies including two Premier League titles.

City are still dreaming of winning the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Champions League as part of a memorable 2020-21 season under Pep Guardiola.

They will now do that safe in the knowledge their 29-year-old playmaker has committed the remainder of his peak years to them.

I could not be happier, De Bruyne told the club s official website after the deal was signed on Wednesday.

Since joining City in 2015, I have felt at home. I love the fans, my family are settled here in Manchester and…

Sergio Ramos says Real Madrid s players will have no say in whether Julen Lopetegui will be sacked but reiterated the team are with the under-pressure coach to the death after their Clasico humiliation.

Despite Barcelona being without injured captain Lionel Messi at Camp Nou on Sunday, Ernesto Valverde s men ran out 5-1 winners with Luis Suarez scoring a brilliant hat-trick.

Lopetegui s men trailed 2-0 at the break and a tactical change saw an improvement from Madrid before a trio of late goals consigned Los Blancos to a damaging defeat.

Madrid have now lost five of their last seven matches in all competitions, languishing ninth in the LaLiga table, seven points behind defending champions Barca.

Captain Ramos and his team-mates have consistently backed Lo…

Goalkeeper Jon McCracken said “it feels great” after joining Dundee from Norwich on a season-long loan deal.

The 23-year-old began his career at Hamilton before joining the Canaries in 2016.

McCracken, who has had loan spells at League of Ireland side Bohemians and more recently Stevenage, was recruited by Dundee boss Tony Docherty and the former Scotland under-17 keeper told the club’s official website: “It feels great, there has been a bit of interest for a while now, so I’m glad to get it done and to be here.

“I spoke to the gaffer quite a few times over the last couple of weeks and once I spoke to him my mind was pretty much made up on where I wanted to go and it was just a matter of getting the green light from Norwich to come up.

“The …

Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal s exceptional performance against Liverpool in their EFL Cup last-16 tie and says winning at Anfield is a big step forward for his side.

Three days after losing 3-1 at the same venue in the Premier League, Arsenal prevailed on penalties in Thursday s match following a goalless draw after 90 minutes.

It is the third time Arteta has got the better of Jurgen Klopp in four managerial meetings this year, two of those victories coming via a shoot-out following August s Community Shield success.

And while acknowledging Arsenal still have a long way to go before reaching Liverpool s level, Arteta was delighted with his much-changed side s display on Merseyside.

I am really happy with the performance. I think the boys were exceptional…

Frank de Boer has named his first squad as Netherlands head coach following his appointment last month, with Daley Blind among those recalled.

Former Ajax, Inter and Atlanta United coach De Boer was named Ronald Koeman s replacement after his departure for Barcelona, taking the reins from interim boss Dwight Lodeweges.

The Oranje play Mexico in a friendly on October 7 and then have Nations League meetings against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy.

De Boer claimed at his presentation as coach tthat his group is more talented than Netherlands 2010 World Cup finalists when he was on the staff and he has opted against widescale changes.

Blind is back, though, after being left out in September following a health scare.

The centre-back, who was last year f…

The Premier League will make around 270 matches available for live broadcast in the next domestic television cycle, in what is set to be football’s most lucrative rights sale in history.

The current cycle includes 200 matches across seven packages, but the league is looking to offer more games across just five packages in its next sale.

The Premier League is also breaking from tradition by looking to secure a four-year deal from 2025-26 and 2028-29, instead of the usual three-year deal.

The league’s Invitation To Tender (ITT) on Wednesday evening confirmed the 3pm Saturday afternoon blackout will stay in place, but that every 2pm Sunday kick-off, including those displaced because of clubs being involved in European competition, will now be televised.

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Robert Lewandowski will definitely not leave Bayern Munich in the next two years, according to the German champions president Herbert Hainer.

The prolific striker was crowned Germany’s Footballer of the Year for 2021 last week after scoring 41 Bundesliga goals to break Gerd Muller s long-standing single-season record.

His 48 goals in all competitions were the most scored by any player in Europe s top five league in 2020-21, followed by Kylian Mbappe (42) and Erling Haaland (41).

Lewandowski has netted 294 goals in 329 appearances overall for Bayern since joining from domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2014, including 203 in 219 league games.

But the 32-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Allianz Arena this transfer window, with Real Mad…

Sergio Aguero must prove he deserves a new contract at Manchester City, manager Pep Guardiola warned.

Aguero returned following a four-month absence due to a knee injury as City recorded a 1-0 win at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

But the forward, who is City s all-time leading goalscorer, is out of contract at the end of the season and Guardiola said Aguero had a point to prove if he was to earn a new deal.

Sergio now has to show, like every one of us, that he deserves to continue here – keep playing well, scoring goals and winning games – and after that the club and I will decide, Guardiola told reporters.

But if he is playing in his level we don t have any doubts that he is a player to stay until he decides because he is uniqu…

Arsenal are interested in signing Antonio Silva from Benfica in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Arsenal will send scouts to watch Silva in action for Benfica against Sporting Lisbon in the semi-finals of the Taca de Portugal this week.

Silva is one of the best young defenders in Europe and has been on the books of Benfica since 2016. He has come through the youth system and is now part of the first team. The 20-year-old Portugal international centre-back has scored two goals in 21 Portuguese league appearances this season.

Arsenal are third in the Premier League table at the moment with 58 points from 26 matches, two points behind leaders Liverpool. Meanwhile, Benfica currently find themselves at the top of the Bundesliga table wit…