Shaw eager to earn Mourinho´s trust at United

Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw is determined to prove his worth to manager Jose Mourinho as he looks to cement his spot in the starting XI.

Shaw has endured plenty of highs and lows following his move from Southampton to United in 2014, evident by his indifferent start to life under Mourinho this season.

Injuries have hampered Shaw at Old Trafford but the 21-year-old England international looked set to make the position his own after impressing in pre-season until his mistake in the 3-1 loss to Watford in September, drawing public criticism from Mourinho.

After missing the 4-0 drubbing at Chelsea, despite being fit, Shaw returned to the line-up for United s 1-0 win over arch-rivals Manchester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday due to an injury to Eric Bailly…

Prediction: Arsenal vs Tottenham

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Arsenal and Tottenham lock horns on Sunday in a much awaited North London Derby which should be another cracking contest between two fierce rivals, who face each other in contrasting form at the Emirates.

Arsenal

The Gunners are enjoying supreme form this season, which saw them embark on a 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions following the 4-3 opening day defeat to Liverpool. Arsene Wenger’s men have been undefeated in their last nine Premier League games and have also won seven of those which makes them firm favourites to emerge victorious from their Sunday’s encounter. The Gunners will most certainly be looking to extend their formidable stretch of results as they at the sa…

France injury woes worsen as Digne withdraws

France continue to be blighted by injury setbacks after Lucas Digne became the latest player to withdraw from their squad for this week s Nations League matches with Austria and Denmark.

Coach Didier Deschamps was already having to cope without Paul Pogba, N Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Lucas Hernandez and Kingsley Coman before Hugo Lloris and Theo Hernandez joined them on the sidelines on Monday.

Now Digne, who was drafted in as Theo Hernandez s replacement, has been ruled out after the Aston Villa defender suffered an ankle problem.

Rennes  Adrien Truffert has been called up in his place with a view to earning his first cap.

France have posted two draws and two defeats in their opening four Group A1 matches and are battling relegation from the top tie…

No Champions League games set to go outside Europe, says UEFA president Cerefin

UEFA president Aleksander Cerefin has shut down rumours the governing body could take Champions League games out of Europe.

Media reports emerged this week suggesting UEFA s executive committee were exploring options to stage marquee group stage encounters in neutral territory, such as the United States, China and the Middle East.

These proposals would come on the back of a dramatic revamp of the competition from 2024 onwards, which would see the group stage replaced by a league format.

But plans to take matches further afield are hokum, according to Cerefin, who shot down such suggestions when asked during a press conference on Wednesday.

With all due respect to the media, it is impossible to imagine what kind of news can get out there, he stated. We…

Liverpool and Tottenham battle for Kalou; Milan bid for Ever Banega

Liverpool and Tottenham battle for Kalou

that Liverpool and Tottenham are prepared to offer Lille forward Salomon Kalou a chance to return to English Premier League.

The Ivorian left Chelsea on a free transfer to join les Dogues in the summer of 2011, and has since impressed in French Ligue 1.

Kalou went on to score 20 goals in 47 league outings, but he has admitted a return to English Premier League would appeal to him.

And Daily Mirror has suggested that Liverpool and Tottenham are showing interest in the 28-year-old footballer.

Both sides are pretty short of options up front and they believe the Ivorian would be a good addition to the squad.

Prior to joining Lille, Kalou had spent six years at Stamford Bridge, scoring 37 goals in 155 …

Manchester City striker Nmecha joins Preston on loan

England Under-21s striker Lukas Nmecha has joined Preston North End on loan after scoring 15 goals for Manchester City Under-23s in 2017-18.

The 19-year-old made two Premier League appearances for the champions last season and is highly rated at the club but he said North End manager Alex Neil played a key role in convincing him to spend a season at Deepdale.

The German-born attacker, who has spent more than a decade moving up through the youth ranks at Eastlands, could feature for Preston when they play Swansea City on Saturday.

He told Preston s official website: Alex Neil has been a big part of my decision to sign.

He is very passionate about the game and I am excited by the style of play that the club have been playing.

This season we can go…

Tottenham won´t change transfer strategy after stadium debt refinancing, admits chairman Levy

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will not change his transfer strategy despite completing a £637million refinancing of loans taken out to support the construction of the club s new stadium.

Spurs supporters were left waiting for over a year for new arrivals after Lucas Moura signed for a reported £25m from Paris Saint-Germain in January 2018, with transfers taking a back seat while Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was completed.

That barren interval ended in July when Jack Clarke was purchased from Leeds United for what was understood to be £8.5m, and a club-record deal worth £62.8m for Lyon s Tanguy Ndombele followed soon after.

Ryan Sessegnon also arrived from Fulham for a reported £25m ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, and Levy has no plans to change his approach in …

City treats Wright-Phillips as ‘youth-team player’

(GSM) Ian Wright has criticised the way Shaun Wright-Phillips is treated by senior Manchester City figures.

The former Arsenal striker claims his adopted son is treated like a youth-team player in contract talks.

Wright-Phillips, who returned to City in 2008 after a disappointing spell at Chelsea, has two years left to run on his deal at the City of Manchester stadium.

The 28 year-old wants to extend his stay but, according to former England international Wright, City are mugging off the winger.

I tell you what was really awkward, they called him in and he wants to sign his deal, wants to sign for the rest of his career so he can be settled and get ready to go (to the World Cup in South Africa), Wright said.

But there s these people like (fo…

Mikel Arteta knows Arsenal are not at Manchester City’s level yet

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta knows it will take time for his side to get to the level Manchester City are at.

The Gunners’ faint Premier League title hopes went with a whimper after a 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest handed City a fifth crown in six years.

Arsenal were insatiable for most of the campaign, spending 248 days on top of the table, and held an eight-point lead over City in March, but an alarming slide has seen them win just two of their last eight games.

That allowed them to be overtaken by Pep Guardiola’s relentless juggernaut, who have won 11 games in a row.

Thank you for an incredible title race, and

— Premier League (@premierleague)

The Spaniard says Arsenal have to find a way to compete with City but it will not be a q…

Atletico Madrid v Rayo Vallecano: Neighbours looking to get back on track

Rayo Vallecano welcome Atletico Madrid in La Liga hoping for a more enjoyable derby experience than the one they endured in their previous outing.

Paco Jemez s team performed with bold ambition to take an early 2-1 lead against Real Madrid last time out before their outing at Santiago Bernabeu caved in spectacularly.

First-half red cards for Tito and Raul Baena left them stricken as Real made merry Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scoring four and three respectively in a punishing 10-2 rout.

Paco has had plenty of time over Christmas to sleep on a result he likened to a bad dream , although his opposite number Diego Simeone also had an outing to rue during the 10-day break from Liga action.

With Barcelona away in Japan en route to Club World Cup glory, Atlet…