Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is determined to keep hold of the “limitless potential” of in-form striker Alexander Isak.
The 24-year-old Sweden international scored his 19th goal of the season and his eighth in nine Premier League outings in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Everton hours after headlines suggested North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are ready to battle it out for his signature this summer.
However, the Magpies’ head coach is determined to hang on to his £63million record signing, who arrived on Tyneside during the summer of 2022 after learning his trade at AIK Solna, Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund and Real Sociedad in Spain.
15th goal of the season for Alex Isak!
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)
Asked about Isak, Howe…
AC Milan winger Alexis Saelemaekers has joined Bologna on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
The Belgium international joined the 2021/22 Serie A winners in 2020 and made 98 appearances, scoring five times.
Saelemaekers becomes Thiago Motta’s eighth signing of the summer window and could feature in Bologna’s next league match against Cagliari on Saturday.
…
Hansi Flick admitted his Bayern Munich team were tired and ripe to be punished after a 2-1 defeat at Mainz delayed title celebrations.
Chasing the win that would have clinched a ninth successive Bundesliga title, Bayern gave a lethargic display and a last-gasp goal from Robert Lewandowski was as much as they deserved.
Mainz seized advantage as the one-time strugglers took their points tally to 28 from 16 games under new head coach Bo Svensson, soaring five points clear of the relegation zone.
Bayern boss Flick said: We all know that just as the team has often shown its quality, something like that can happen. It s a shame we couldn t take the step today.
But you have to understand that the team is tired. We were too harmless.
We want to win …
Arsenal are currently negotiating with the representatives of Ben White over a new contract for the defender, according to multiple sources.
White joined Arsenal from Brighton and Hove Albion in 2021 for a reported fee of more than £50 million. He arrived as a versatile defender, playing mostly as a centre-back, but versatile enough to do a good job on the defensive flanks or even as a defensive midfielder. His first season at the Emirates saw him forge a good centre-back partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes, but since William Saliba rejoined the club after his last loan spell, White has been spending the majority of his playing time as a right-back.
The 26-year-old has obviously established himself as a regular starter under Mikel Arteta, and it s no wonder the club are…
Gareth Southgate is now ambivalent towards the constant scrutiny he and England face, unsurprised his team were criticised even after making a winning start to Euro 2024.
England beat Serbia 1-0 on Sunday and have the opportunity to secure their place in the last 16 against Denmark on Thursday.
Victory would mark the first time the Three Lions have started a Euros campaign with back-to-back wins. Indeed, prior to last weekend s match, they had only once won their championship opener – also under Southgate at Euro 2020.
Those facts were relayed to Southgate on the eve of the Denmark match, with the England manager asked if too much was expected of a team whose stuttering second-half performance against Serbia was picked apart by fans and pundits.
But Sou…
With the Champions League once again stealing centre stage on Tuesday night, the likes of Manchester City and PSG will be looking to make their own respective markers.
Ahead of a stacked Champions League schedule, we have found a pair of European betting markets that are worth keeping an eye out for.
20:00 Manchester City vs Young Boys
While Manchester City might have found themselves at the heart of a domestic struggle when heading into October’s international break, the Sky Blues have come roaring back in some style. Picking up some perfect momentum over the weekend as they breezed their way to a 6-1 romp against relegation scrappers Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola’s side are riding a real wave of momentum.
Making major European history last season as…
Norwich City moved into the Championship play-off places by thrashing Hull City 4-0 at Carrow Road, while Burnley were held to a frustrating derby draw by Preston North End.
Borja Sainz scored and provided two assists as the Canaries stretched their unbeaten run to 20 home league games, teeing up strikes by Marcelino Nunez and Josh Sargent within four first-half minutes.
Sargent hit the post with a penalty after Lewis Coyle was penalised for handball, but Kaide Gordon gave them a three-goal lead with a scrappy finish soon afterwards.
Sainz then got in on the act with his eighth league goal of the campaign late on, lobbing Ivor Pandur as Johannes Hoff Thorup s team went sixth in the table, leaving Hull 11th with 12 points.
Some strike! |
— Sky…
Cristhian Stuani scored a 99th-minute penalty to snatch a 2-1 victory for Girona against Athletic Bilbao after Paulo Gazzaniga had saved multiple spot-kicks at the other end.
Alex Berenguer won the first penalty in the 26th minute after being fouled by Arnau Martinez, but the goalkeeper denied him when he stepped up.
Athletic were punished shortly after as Yaser Asprilla sent a dangerous left-footed cross past Alex Padilla into the bottom-left corner.
Oihan Sancet scored the equaliser just two minutes later, but the visitors poor luck from 12 yards continued after the break.
Inaki Williams effort was also stopped but had to be retaken as Gazzaniga s feet were off the line. However, the goalkeeper kept his nerve, as he denied Ander Herrera, who stepped up …
Erling Haaland may have hit unprecedented heights for Manchester City but Marc Skinner believes Manchester United have a similar talisman in Elisabeth Terland.
United boss Skinner likened Women s Super League star Terland to City s Premier League hero Haaland after the Norwegian scored twice in Sunday s 3-0 victory over Tottenham.
That marked her first two goals for United since joining from Brighton, having first blasted a volley home before looping another header over Becky Spencer.
Asked to describe Terland, Skinner said: Intense in a good way. She is a person who is always focused, she doesn t dip off her focus whether it s pressing or whatever the task is, she s all in.
I think she knows Haaland personally and I don t want to compare the two but the…
Thomas Muller has become the first outfield player to reach 600 appearances for Bayern Munich since the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 after featuring against Augsburg on Friday.
Muller came through Bayern s academy and was handed his Bundesliga debut by Jurgen Klinsmann in August 2008 but made only four appearances out of a possible 34 that season.
Louis van Gaal s arrival as coach prompted Muller s breakthrough, and he has missed just 29 Bundesliga matches since the start of 2009-10, while he is the only player to play in at least 28 matches in every campaign in that period.
Friday s match was his 395th Bundesliga outing, a tally bettered by no one since he made his debut. Despite his longevity, Muller s class and influence show no signs of depleting.