أعلن المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد، زين الدين زيدان، عن تشكيل اللاعبين لمواجهة إنتر ميلان في الجولة الرابعة من دور المجموعات لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وتنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت “القاهرة” على ملعب “جوسيبي مياتزا” بقيادة الحكم الإنجليزي الدولي، أنتوني تايلور.

وشهد التشكيل غياب الثنائي، سيرجيو راموس وكريم بنزيما، للإصابة العضلية، مع تواجد كاسيميرو العائد من إصابته بفيروس كورونا على مقاعد البدلاء.

اقرأ أيضًا.. وكيل راموس يثير التكهنات بشأن تجديد عقده مع ريال مدريد

وجاء التشكيل الرسمي لنادي ريال مدريد كما أعلن على “تويتر” كالتالي:

حراسة المرمى: كورتوا.

الدفاع: ميندي، فاران، ناتشو، كارفاخال.

الوسط: كروس، مودريتش، أوديجارد.

الهجوم: هازارد، ماريانو، فاسكيز.

ويجلس على مقاعد البدلاء كلاً من: لونين، ألتوبي، أسينسيو، مارسيلو، كاسيميرو، فينيسيو، إيسكو، رودريجو، تشست، هوجو دورو.

[ad_pod ]

Tottenham Hotspur are lining up a move for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos this summer, per El Des Marque.

What’s the word?

Ceballos, primarily a central midfielder who can also play on the left flank, has enjoyed a productive season at Santiago Bernabeu, making 34 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals.

However, new boss Zinedine Zidane has barely utilised the 22-year-old; he was not included in the squad for the final three games of the Liga season, against Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Real Betis.

He is subsequently likely to leave this summer, with Spurs listed as the “main player” in negotiations; they are reported to be willing to pay up to €50million (£44m) to secure his signature.

This news comes, of course, amid reports that Real are keen to sign Christian Eriksen from Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

A bargaining chip

Spurs could come out of this whole saga with a new midfielder and a bucketload of cash if they play their cards right.

Eriksen, it seems, is poised to move to the Spanish capital, following in the footsteps of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale by swapping north London for Madrid.

But Spurs’ interest in Ceballos adds a layer of intrigue and chairman Daniel Levy could insist on receiving the midfielder in part-exchange.

That gives him the high ground in negotiations; Real would surely like to reduce his asking price for Eriksen, which is reported to stand at over £100m, and they are unlikely to stand in the under-utilised star’s way if he wants to make the move to England.

If Real add some cash on top, Spurs will have the funds to reinvest in other areas of the squad and they will have strengthened their midfield, essentially, for nothing.

He has posted a fairly lengthy post on Instagram, thanking Celtic for giving him a chance to re-establish himself after a difficult time in Manchester.

Celtic legend Craig Gordon was quick to respond to the post.

Boyata was at Celtic for a unique period in the club’s rich history, as they have dominated the entire of Scottish football for the last three years and the 28-year-old was a big part of that.

Overall, he made 135 appearances and scored a respectable 15 goals but when it came to contract negotiations the two parties were unfortunately unable to reach a fresh agreement.

He has signed a long-term deal with the Bundesliga club and will look to use his experience gained at Celtic to help him adapt to life in Germany.

Neil Lennon, meanwhile, will need to find a way to replace Boyata as Celtic go after yet another treble next season.

It was always going to be a hard deal to pull off, but after weeks of speculation, it is looking likely that Matthijs de Ligt won’t be heading to Liverpool this summer.

The Ajax captain has been one of the most talked about players in world football in recent months. With the 19-year-old defender expected to leave his boyhood club this summer, de Ligt’s future has been at the centre of much speculation, with Liverpool one of the front-runners for the teenagers signature, but now, it appears Jurgen Klopp’s side will be missing out.

According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool have opted to drop out of the race for de Ligt, with the report stating that this is due to the club focusing their attention on other areas of the team, namely a versatile attacker.

Although it makes sense for Jurgen Klopp to shift attention from a starting centre-back to an attacker to provide cover for the front three, it is a decision that could come to haunt the club and manager in the future.

Liverpool have been defensively fantastic this season, in large part, to the impact of Virgil van Dijk and emergence and development of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, bit if de Ligt was to be added to the mix, the Reds’ defence would be unbreakable for years to come.

De Ligt and van Dijk have bee good internationally and could have been perfect together at Liverpool, but with Klopp seemingly looking elsewhere for improvements, only time will tell if the club got this decision right.

Liverpool fans, would signing de Ligt take the Reds to the Premier League title? Let us know!

[ad_pod ]

Arsenal are reportedly eyeing 18 year-old centre back William Saliba, but will have to loan him back for a season in order to secure a deal.

What’s the story?

According to The Mirror, the Gunners are keen on the young defender, who enjoyed an eye-catching breakout campaign with Saint-Etienne.

The north Londoners have been keeping tabs on the teenager, per the report, but may be put off by the £25m price tag.

What’s more though, is the French outfit want to loan the defender back for a season after selling him, meaning he would join Arsenal in the summer of 2020, which The Mirror claim could scupper the deal with the Gunners in need of immediate defensive help.

From 6-0 FA Cup final maulings to Mkhitaryan missing the the Europa League final, is football broken? Fans discuss in the video below…

Short-sighted

Saliba is an excellent young player, there’s no doubt about it. Making 19 appearances in all competitions this year, the 18 year-old won two tackles per game and made 1.8 interceptions and 2.7 clearances per game, per Whoscored.

However, his one weakness is also the area Arsenal need the most improvement in. Whoscored list aerial duels as his only weakness, and he does only manage 1.8 wins in the air per game, an extremely low number for a centre back.

Arsenal meanwhile, are crying out for a commanding and physically dominant leader who will whip the defence into shape Virgil van Dijk style.

While it is obviously impossible to find a player of the Dutchman’s quality without breaking the bank, there are other options out there who aren’t £25m teenagers with poor aerial ability. He is also relatively untested having only been in the first team for six months.

Then there is Konstantinos Mavropanos, who has made just seven appearances in north London since arriving from Greece, and whose path to the first team would surely be blocked by the arrival of another young centre-back.

The Gunners and Unai Emery are desperate for defensive reinforcements, but wasting £25m on a player they may not even get to themselves until next summer would be extremely short-sighted and foolish.

[ad_pod ]

It will be an intriguing summer in the transfer market for Everton.

Many supporters will be wondering what the future holds for Andre Gomes and Kurt Zouma, two players who starred for the club last season on loan from Barcelona and Chelsea respectively.

The former, a Portuguese international, has already indicated that he wants to join the Toffees on a permanent deal after snubbing West Ham’s advances, so his future is a bit clearer than Zouma’s. Marco Silva though, has suggested he wants to have Zouma back at Goodison Park next season.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Sadly for the Merseysiders, the French international has returned to Chelsea and things have gone quiet in regards to a permanent switch – however, there may be a perfect alternative in Real Sociedad star Diego Llorente.

The Spaniard, formerly of Real Madrid, is supposedly on Everton’s radar and they have been tipped as the favourites to sign him by a Spanish news outlet – the report indicates that €30m(£26.66m) could be enough to do a deal.

According to WhoScored, the 25-year-old Spaniard had an 84.8% pass success rate in La Liga last season, whereas Zouma recorded a percentage of 83.6% in his 32 Premier League appearances.

Additionally, from a defensive point of view, Llorente has eerily similar stats in comparison to the former Saint-Étienne centre-back in regards to his tackling and the amount of clearances he makes. Llorente made 1.2 tackles per game last year and 3.8 clearances per game, the former being 0.2 more than Zouma whilst the clearances are the same.

Zouma may not even leave Chelsea after the Blues were hit with a transfer ban – this could mean they try and hang on to as many experienced stars as possible. He’s a solid centre-back who the Everton fans have loved having at the club and are hoping for his immediate return, but things aren’t always that easy in football.

If a deal for the Frenchman doesn’t materialise, then Llorente appears to be a strong alternative.

اعترف اللاعب لورنزو إنسيني أن نابولي شعر بدافع إضافي لتكريم دييجو مارادونا، مشيرًا إلى أن الفوز 4-0 على روما يمكن أن يكون أيضًا نقطة انطلاق للفريق.

وفاز نابولي على روما برباعية نظيفة في منافسات الدوري الإيطالي، وحرص الفريق على تكريم أسطورة كرة القدم دييجو مارادونا، الذي رحل عن عمر يناهز 60 عامًا.

طالع تقرير مباراة نابولي وروما وشاهد الأهداف

وقال إنسيني لشبكة “سكاي سبورت إيطاليا”: “لقد منحتنا الأجواء بالتأكيد دافعًا إضافيًا، حيث أردنا تكريم قدوتنا مارادونا، إنه أمر مؤلم وقد حرصنا الليلة أكثر من أي وقت مضى على تقديم أداء رائع له”.

وأضاف: “تعاملنا مع هذه المباراة بأفضل طريقة ممكنة، ودرسنا روما بعناية، لدينا الكثير من الجودة، ولكن في بعض الأحيان نرتكب أخطاء يمكن تجنبها وليس لدينا العقلية الصحيحة”.

وأتم إنسيني: “آمل أن تكون هذه نقطة انطلاق، لأننا إذا لعبنا بهذه الطريقة يمكن أن نتسبب في مشاكل خطيرة لأي شخص، إذا واصلنا ذلك وأقدامنا على الأرض يمكننا تحقيق أشياء عظيمة”.

[ad_pod ]

Following reports that Southampton are after Jordan Ayew, Saints fans have taken to Twitter to voice their despair and concerns with the direction of the board in the transfer market.

And understandably so, seeing as Southampton have flirted with relegation in the previous two seasons and much of that is due to a lack of goalscoring prowess.

Shane Long, Danny Ings and Charlie Austin have not been noted for their ability to find the net regularly recently, and their fortunes going forward are unlikely to change with the signing of Ayew.

The Ghanaian scored just two goals last season in a loan spell at Crystal Palace, one of which came against Grimsby in the FA Cup. It is not exactly a signing that inspires optimism amongst a fanbase that is desperate for signs of ambition, and a return to the top half of the Premier League which they enjoyed just two years ago.

Worse still, Ayew has now underperformed at three different clubs in the Premier League: Aston Villa, Swansea and Crystal Palace. That fact is not lost on Saints fans, who unanimously disapprove of the targeting of Ayew.

Here are some of the reactions from the less than pleased supporters of the south coast outfit:

[ad_pod ]

Rangers are interested in signing Matty Willock this summer after he was released by Manchester United, according to website Football Insider.

What’s the story?

Willock was one of the players announced to be let go by the English giants on Friday having failed to make the breakthrough at Old Trafford.

Football Insider reference Ibrox sources who have told them that the club are preparing a move for the 22-year-old, who is obviously now available on a free transfer this summer.

Willock has playing experience in Scotland having spent time out on loan at St Johnstone and St Mirren in recent seasons, making 26 appearances between the two clubs.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Worth a move?

Players don’t last at Manchester United into their 20s unless they have some sort of talent but it’s fair to say that Willock might be operating at a level lower than Rangers need right now.

His last three loans have been at the two Scottish sides mentioned and in League Two with Crawley Town.

It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence he can make the step up to performing regularly for Rangers, even if he does have a Man United education behind him.

Even on a free transfer a move for him doesn’t make much sense, considering the amount of central midfielders Steven Gerrard already has available.

Gers talents

When you consider a player like Greg Docherty, who was a stand-out in League One with Shrewsbury Town last season, hasn’t been able to break into Gerrard’s plans, it demonstrates how difficult it would be for Willock to.

Other young stars like Ross McCrorie are also more deserving of playing time having made excellent progress in the Rangers team over the last 12 months..

The Gers should be investing playing time in talents like that rather than bringing in failed prospects from other academies.

[ad_pod ]

Fernando Llorente could yet have a future at Tottenham Hotspur.

Indeed, according to Sky Sports News, Spurs are considering opening contract talks with the experienced centre-forward.

Llorente’s current deal with the London club will expire at the end of next month.

It had been thought that the 34-year-old would be leaving the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer in search of pastures news.

However, Sky Sports News have reported that Mauricio Pochettino’s side could yet hand the towering striker a fresh deal.

Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…

Llorente has scored eight times in 34 appearances for Spurs this season.

Just one of those strikes have come in the Premier League, but he has netted twice in the Champions League and caused Ajax a lot of problems off the bench in their second leg of the semi-final.

The Tottenham fans have been on social media offering their views on the report.

And it would be fair to say that there are a lot of differing opinions: