Football Mag

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri insists that he is yet to make a decision on whether Kepa Arrizabalaga will be recalled for his side's clash with Fulham. Towards the end of extra-time in the Blues's Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, Kepa went to ground seemingly injured on two occasions, with Chelsea subsequently attempting to replace him with Willy Caballero. But Kepa refused to leave the pitch in what Sarri later claimed was a "misunderstanding" , his punishment being a fine and a place on the bench for Wednesday's 2-0 win over Tottenham . "As I said in the press conference after the [Tottenham] match, the Kepa situation is closed," Sarri told reporters. "Kepa is our first goalkeeper, but we are very happy for Willy that he can play in a very difficult match. "Kepa will be on the pitch for one of the next two matches. I have not decided yet, I want to see the last two trainings of course, for every player. "On Su

Gabriel Jesus and John Stones are available for Manchester City's Premier League trip to Bournemouth but Pep Guardiola will not be able to call upon Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte until next month. Jesus and Stones have not featured for City since the 4-1 FA Cup fifth-round win at Newport County due to respective hamstring and groin complaints. The pair are back in training ahead of Saturday's match at the Vitality Stadium but Jesus' Brazilian compatriot Fernandinho and Stones' fellow centre-back Laporte remain sidelined with the injuries they sustained during last weekend's Carabao Cup final triumph over Chelsea. Speaking at a news conference, Guardiola confirmed suggestions he made earlier this week – that Fernandinho's groin problem and Laporte's hamstring setback will keep them out of action until after the March international break. "I think after the international break they will be fit, especially Fernandinho," he said. "M

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Antonio Valencia's Manchester United exit is imminent, with Friday's 5pm GMT (12pm ET) deadline for the club to trigger a one-year contract extension fast approaching. The 33-year-old has only featured in five Premier League games for the Red Devils this season, suffering from a loss of form and a string of niggling injury issues. The United captain is not expected to return to action until the end of March, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the 2018-19 campaign. Solskjaer insists he still hopes that Valencia can contribute on the pitch between now and May, but admitted it is unlikely that his services will be retained beyond the summer. "He’s still not 100% fit, still working to get back fit and he’s had a fantastic career here at Manchester United and England," Solskjaer told a press conference on Friday. "He is one of the Premier League winners left in the dressing room but I’m not sure if Ma

Edinson Cavani is not ready to make his return for Paris Saint-Germain and is likely to miss the second leg of their Champions League clash with Manchester United, according to Thomas Tuchel. Cavani has been out of action since suffering a hip injury against Bordeaux on February 9 and the Uruguay international missed PSG's 2-0 win at Old Trafford as a result. The striker has returned to training with PSG this week but Tuchel told reporters on Friday that the striker is not ready for Saturday's trip to Caen in Ligue 1. Neymar is also expected to be out of Wednesday's second leg in the French capital but while Tuchel accepts the United game will draw attention, he wants full focus on Caen. "I have no news of Ney," Tuchel said at a news conference. "Cavani returns today with the team in training for the first time. I do not know if he will do the whole session but he is unavailable for tomorrow. I was too optimistic last time, it's my fault. We ca

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United remain in talks with David de Gea over a new deal, but admits the matter is out of his hands. United have been in talks with De Gea since the start of the season over extending his deal - which expires at the end of next season - but reports suggest the 'keeper's wage demands may prove to be a stumbling block. In November, former United manager Jose Mourinho, who shares the same agent as De Gea, said the Spaniard wanted to stay at Old Trafford. But Solskjaer, United's caretaker manager, was unable to deliver such positive news ahead of Saturday's visit of Southampton. "No updates from me on that one," Solskjaer said. "Of course, the club and David are in dialogue, so hopefully they'll agree. "It's out of my hands anyway, but I'm sure we'll do what we can. "David's done fantastic since he came. The club really showed how much they wanted him back in the day when Eric

Arsenal are prepared to offer €5 million (£4m/$6m) for 17-year-old Ituano midfielder Gabriel Martinelli, as per reports. Martinelli is also on the radar of Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Palmeiras and Santos, and close to obtaining an Italian passport, though it is thought he is valued at approximately €10m. That is a figure considered beyond the means of the teams in Brazilian football, opening the door to approaches from clubs in Europe. The teenager began his youth career at Corinthians but spent the last four years in Ituano’s academy and went through a trial at Barcelona during that time. Martinelli also has been through a trial at Manchester United in 2017. Though he did not sign, he made a good impression and has since been closely followed by English scouts. However, Arsenal’s board have already signed off on the move for the midfielder and are looking at advancing their offer of €5m for the teenager.

Raheem Sterling says he felt more pressure when he was in the title race with Liverpool than he does with Manchester City. During the 2013/14 season following his breakthrough in a red shirt, Sterling found himself as a key component in Liverpool's title charge under Brendan Rodgers, which came undone in the final weeks of the campaign. Comparing the failed title tilt of five years ago to his successful run last season, Sterling admits the pressure felt was higher during his time on Merseyside. "When I was there I did feel a lot more pressure than when I'm here, with matchdays and the fans. I think that they get to us a little bit. We were in control and we had the opportunity to see it through but we didn't do that. "Here we're completely focused on each game and trying to win each game as it comes. It's a complete different scenario from last year - last year we were a bit more comfortable towards this point of the season. "This year it

Emiliano Sala was "abandoned" by Cardiff City and had to arrange his own travel in a £15m transfer from Nantes, says ex-football agent Willie McKay. McKay's son Mark was Nantes' acting agent in the deal for the footballer, who died in a plane crash last month. Willie McKay arranged the flight that crashed in the English Channel, killing Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson. Cardiff say they "strongly reject" the claim they neglected to provide Sala with travel arrangements. "He was abandoned in a hotel more or less to do his travel arrangements himself," Willie McKay said. But in a statement, Cardiff said: "Our club was in the process of organising a commercial flight for Mr Sala until this offer was declined owing to separate arrangements being made - the planning and specifics of which Cardiff was not privy to. "Cardiff has serious concerns over the potential unlawfulness of the journey following information that has been r

Valencia will face Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey after a 1-0 second-leg win over Real Betis on Thursday secured a 3-2 aggregate semi-final victory. Rodrigo Moreno's goal early in the second half was enough to see off Betis at Mestalla and clinch a first final of any kind for Valencia in 11 years. The result completed an impressive turnaround in the tie for Marcelino's side, who trailed 2-0 after less than an hour of the first leg three weeks ago only to snatch a 2-2 draw thanks to Kevin Gameiro's injury-time equaliser. Their edge on away goals left them in a decent position and they managed the game superbly against a Betis side who sit three points and two places above them in LaLiga but now miss out on the chance to contest a final in their home stadium.

Mauro Icardi has called for "respect" and laid out his sacrifices and struggles with Inter in a post on Instagram in the midst of an ongoing feud with the club that has seen him dropped from the team. The striker has not featured for Inter since February 9, and was not part of the squad named for Friday's contest against Cagliari. Icardi and his wife Wanda Nara, who is also his agent, have been engaged in a contentious feud with club in recent weeks, with a new contract part of the issue, during which time the striker was stripped of the captaincy for reasons that have not been fully explained. “When I felt that with my goals I could help Inter to be stronger, in many ways," Icardi wrote. "Stronger than the problems of Financial Fair Play, stronger than our difficulties, when there were many to judge that as a team we were not worth much. "At Inter, with Inter and despite all, I've always decided to stay, and for the love of these colours, I&

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has been handed an extra one-match Champions League ban by UEFA for deliberately picking up a booking against Ajax earlier this month. Ramos was shown a yellow card in the closing stages of Real's 2-1 victory in Amsterdam, which means he is suspended for the last-16 second leg at Santiago Bernabeu on March 5. The Spain international then suggested in an interview after the match that he had been booked intentionally so as to avoid the risk of a suspension in the quarter-finals, although he later backtracked on those comments. However, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) have now adjudged that Ramos had deliberately got himself booked and have issued an additional ban, meaning he will miss the first leg of the quarter-final should Real progress. “The CEDB has decided to suspend the Real Madrid CF player Sergio Ramos for two UEFA competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible for clearly receiving a yellow car