Arsenal sell midfielder Willock to Newcastle

Arsenal have sold midfielder Joe Willock to Newcastle United for a fee reported to be in the region of £25million.

Willock spent the second half of 2020-21 on loan at St James Park and scored eight goals in 14 Premier League appearances for Steve Bruce s side.

The 21-year-old had netted only once in 40 Premier League games for the Gunners before his move to Newcastle, for whom he scored 16 minutes into his debut at home to Southampton.

Willock had an outstanding end to the campaign with goals in successive appearances against Tottenham, West Ham, Liverpool, Leicester City, Manchester City and Sheffield United to become the youngest player to net in six consecutive Premier League games.

In scoring on the final day of the season against Fulham, he matche…

Champions League win would ´change the perspective´ of Manchester City, says De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne says winning the Champions League would change the perspective through which people view Manchester City, as Pep Guardiola s team prepare to face Real Madrid in the second leg of their semi-final tie.

De Bruyne opened the scoring in City s thrilling 4-3 first-leg win over Carlo Ancelotti s team at the Etihad Stadium last week, but Karim Benzema s double means the encounter remains in the balance.

The Belgium international has won 10 domestic trophies since joining the club in 2015, though European success has so far evaded Guardiola s men, who lost last season s final to 1-0 to Chelsea.

Before travelling to the Santiago Bernabeu for Wednesday s second leg, the in-form playmaker, who has contributed 15 goals and 12 assists in all competitions thi…

Manchester United 4-1 Real Betis: What Did We Learn As Erik Ten Hag’s Side Lay Down A Europa League Marker At Old Trafford?

With all eyes falling on Old Trafford on Thursday night, Manchester United opened their Europa League knockout stage adventure with a lively 4-1 victory against Real Betis.

Coming off the back of what was an infamous performance at Anfield last weekend as they were blown away by a stunning 7-0 defeat at the hands of their historic rivals, Erik ten Hag s side certainly had plenty of pressure on their shoulders.

Heading into the half-time break with the score at 1-1 after Marcus Rashford s thunderous sixth-minute opener was struck off by Leicester loanee Ayoze Perez, there was certainly some caution in the Manchester air.

However, while ten Hag s side might have suffered that remarkable collapse on Merseyside last weekend, they came roaring back here as they enjoy…

Napoli´s Insigne offer unacceptable but renewal still possible – agent

Lorenzo Insigne s agent Vincenzo Pisacane said Napoli s contract offer for their star captain was not acceptable nor appropriate , though he insisted it is not too late to sign a renewal.

Insigne, who emerged from the youth team of boyhood club Napoli in 2010, is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

Negotiations over a new deal have proved fruitless so far amid reported interest from Serie A rivals Inter and Milan as well as La Liga giants Barcelona and Premier League quartet Tottenham, West Ham, Arsenal and Newcastle United.

Pisacane was asked about Insigne s future at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

An offer has been made that is not considered acceptable, not considered appropriate, Pisacane told Canale 21. But it doesn t mean we don t…

Van Gaal confident of Euro 2016 qualification

Louis van Gaal feels history is on the Netherlands side as they bid to qualify for UEFA Euro 2016.

The 1988 champions have been drawn in Group A alongside Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia, Iceland and Kazakhstan, with the top two qualifying automatically for the finals in France.

And Van Gaal, who is set to leave his position as head coach following this year s FIFA World Cup, is confident Netherlands will have no problems in making it out of the group.

History has taught us that most of the time we have beaten these opponents, he said.

The Oranje should be able to qualify for the final tournament automatically.

And Latvia boss Marians Pahars echoed those comments, stating his belief that the Netherlands were capable of comfortably winning the group, but was…

Neymar revival sparked by PSG ´artist´ acknowledging his dip, says Galtier

Neymar has roared back to form for Paris Saint-Germain after accepting he fell short of his high standards last season, according to coach Christophe Galtier.

The Brazil star has been PSG s outstanding forward, managing 10 goals and seven assists in eight starts and one substitute appearance so far.

He is close to matching last season s returns already, having scored a modest 13 times and assisted eight goals in 28 games during the 2021-22 campaign.

It has been a return to the Neymar of his prime Barcelona days, and PSG are enjoying the benefits.

I think it would be disrespectful to think it is just down to me and my technical staff, Galtier said. Neymar has an awareness of the fact that his performances were not as good last season.

He has high…

Albania 1 France 0: Kace free-kick shocks Euro 2016 hosts

France s recent faltering form continued as they slumped to a humbling 1-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Albania.

The Euro 2016 hosts have been far from convincing in friendly encounters in the last few months, which have included a 3-1 defeat to Brazil and a 4-3 reverse against Belgium last Sunday.

But their performance on Saturday will have been particularly worrying for coach Didier Deschamps, with France second best to a side of inferior international pedigree.

Albania dictated matters for the majority of the game in Elbasan, showing signs of continued improvement as they bid to qualify for Euro 2016.

A well struck free-kick from midfielder Ergys Kace late in the first half proved to be enough for the eastern European side to claim a surprise …

Liverpool´s front three ´like raptors from Jurassic Park´, says Lijnders

Liverpool assistant head coach Pep Lijnders has described Liverpool s attackers as being like raptors from Jurassic Park after the 5-0 hammering of Manchester United.

The Reds have been potent this season, their tally of 41 goals in all competitions bettered only by Bayern Munich (60) among teams from Europe s top five leagues.

Mohamed Salah has been responsible for 15 of those goals, making him the second-highest goalscorer among Europe s elite this season behind Robert Lewandowski (17).

Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have six each, while, and Diogo Jota – who scored against United on Sunday – has four to his name.

Each of Liverpool s forwards have been in fantastic form and Lijnders puts that down to Jurgen Klopp s men going back to basics.

Eriksen agent says ´it´s not the time´ to discuss Inter midfielder´s future

Christian Eriksen s agent Martin Schoots says it is not the right time to discuss the Inter midfielder s future following his return to training with Danish side Odense.

Denmark international Eriksen has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest during his country s opening Euro 2020 game in June.

The 29-year-old was given CPR before subsequently undergoing successful heart surgery.

He has since been fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), meaning he is unable to play for Inter in Serie A due to not meeting the requirements of achieving sporting fitness in Italy.

Eriksen would be allowed to play in other domestic leagues across Europe, however, and it was revealed on Thursday that he is now training with Odense, the club he represen…

Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United eye Caleb Okoli

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Leicester City midfielder Caleb Okoli, according to a report in . The report has noted that Newcastle United and West Ham United are also keeping tabs on the 23-year-old Turkey international midfielder.

Okoli has been on the books of Leicester since the summer of 2024 when he joined from Atalanta. The 23-year-old central defender has done well for the Foxes and has established himself as an important player in the team. The youngster has played in five Premier League games and has played twice in the Carabao Cup for Steve Cooper’s side this campaign.

Leicester are playing in the Premier League this season after winning promotion from the Championship at the end of the last campaign. The Foxes are 15th in the Premier League t…