Real Madrid s Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy, out injured since last November, says he hopes to play next season, although the team s prospective new management may have other ideas.
I have another year left on my contract and I am very happy. There isn?t a doubt in my mind that I will stay. I will get better and I will play again at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, he said on the club s website.
The team?s pre-season begins around the middle of July, and if everything goes as planned I hope to be back in action with the squad in August. I am so anxious to return.
Van Nistelrooy, who turns 33 in July, underwent an operation in November 2008 on his right knee. The club said he would be out for six to nine months.
The Dutchman, transferred from Manches…
Tottenham defender Steven Caulker wants revenge against Arsenal after suffering a 4-1 defeat in the only north London derby he has played in.
The centre-back played 90 minutes of the heavy loss at White Hart Lane in a third-round League Cup tie back in September 2010.
And Caulker, who scored his first goal for England in midweek, is relishing his first ever Premier League north London derby after stepping up to the Tottenham first team this season.
It will be very surreal knowing that in the space of two years I will be playing them again in a Tottenham shirt in a league game, he told the Spurs website.
Caulker tasted victory against Arsenal in a 3-2 win with Swansea while on loan last season, and is keen for a repeat outcome on Saturday.
That …
Liverpool expect to have 57,000 fans in attendance for the visit of Manchester United providing the new Anfield Road Stand receives a safety certificate this week.
A test event on Monday evening is set to be attended by 7,500-plus supporters, who will watch a LFC Foundation mini-game and listen to a question-and-answer session from manager Jurgen Klopp.
If everything runs smoothly then on Sunday 7,000 seats in the upper tier will be filled for the visit of their arch-rivals, leaving only facilities for 2,000 hospitality guests and some minor work on the lower tier to be completed next month to bring the capacity up to 61,000.
Work on the £80million upgrade was due to be completed for the start of the season but an initial delay was complicated by contractors Buc…
USA striker Mallory Swanson looks set to miss the Women s World Cup after suffering a torn patella tendon in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland.
The defending champions intended to include Swanson prominently in their plans for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, which spans July and August.
However, the Chicago Red Stars forward was hurt in Saturday s 2-0 win over Ireland in Austin. She was taken off on a stretcher after suffering the blow shortly before half-time and taken to hospital.
Tests have revealed the extent of the injury, with a team statement announcing her squad place would be taken by Alyssa Thompson for Tuesday s game in St. Louis, also against Ireland.
The statement added: Swanson tore the patella tendon in her left knee i…
The Guardian understands that Leicester City have completed the permanent signing of Youri Tielemans from Monaco.
The fee, thought to be in the region of £40m and sees the club smash their transfer record for the second time in a week after securing the services of striker Ayoze Perez just four days ago.
Tielemans spent the second half of last season on loan at the King Power Stadium, and impressed with three goals in twelve appearances.
In one-and-a-half-years with Monaco, the twenty-two-year-old racked up sixty-five appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals having spent four seasons in the first team of Anderlecht the club where he began his career.
He has been capped twenty-three times for Belgium and was part of their squad that finis…
Chelsea could be able to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli in the summer of 2024, according to journalist Ben Jacobs. The well-known and well-respected reporter has claimed that among the clubs who want to secure the services of the Nigeria international striker, former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea could be the likeliest to win the race.
Jacobs said on : “Osimhen’s primary concern is to take his time and to move most likely in the summer of 2024, and most likely to the Premier League.
“I don’t think it’s locked in that it’s Chelsea or any other club. I think if there is one club that is audacious and ambitious enough to try their luck in January with a view to a summer that would most likely be Chelsea.”
Osimhen has made…
A decision on George Burley s future or lack of one as Scotland manager will not be made before next week, his employers at the Scottish Football Association (SFA) indicated on Thursday.
A 1-0 defeat by the Netherlands on Wednesday ended Scotland s chances of reaching next year s World Cup finals and is widely expected to trigger the dismissal of Burley, who has ruled out resigning in the wake of what was a deeply disappointing qualifying campaign.
A spokesman for the SFA insisted there would be no rush to pass judgement.
There are no meetings at Hampden today regarding the campaign just passed or the manager, he said. The president (of the SFA, George Peat) spoke to the manager after the game last night and they agreed to meet up next week sometime.
B…
Didier Drogba believes Chelsea are more entertaining than ever, but is aware they will ultimately be judged on how many trophies they secure.
Jose Mourinho s side lead the Premier League by six points, having claimed 10 wins and two draws from 12 outings this season, and booked their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday with an eye-catching 5-0 victory at Schalke.
The win in Gelsenkirchen left Mourinho purring over his team s performance and Drogba who, like the manager, is in his second spell at Stamford Bridge has also been impressed by Chelsea s attacking prowess.
However, the veteran Ivorian striker who inspired Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2012 knows results are key to ensuring a place in the history books.
I th…
Everton will reject Chelsea’s bid of £30m for John Stones, .
The centre-back donned the number five shirt for the Toffees on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by newly promoted Watford, and his manager Roberto Martinez is determined to retain his services.
His appearance at the weekend was his fifty-fifth since signing from Barnsley in the summer of 2013, with his only goal for the club so far coming in a 3-0 win over Manchester United back in April.
Internationally, the twenty-one year old has made four senior appearances for England having won twelve caps for the Under 21s.
The Merseyside club are on the lookout for a new defender regardless of whether Stones stays of not with Manchester United’s Jonny Evans, Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk…
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski will not be sold and reports of a €200million price tag are nonsense, club president Uli Hoeness said.
Lewandowski, 29, is linked with a move away from the Bundesliga giants after his agent said last month the Poland international wanted to leave.
Manchester United and Chelsea have emerged as possible destinations, while Real Madrid were initially reported to be interested.
Amid reports Bayern wanted at least €200m for Lewandowski, Hoeness rubbished those claims and said the forward was going nowhere.
A €200m price tag is nonsense, he told Sky.
Robert will not be sold and will play next season with us. Everything has been said about that.
Lewandowski, who is contracted until 2021, has spent…