PREMIER LEAGUE

Man City spent big money on Aymeric Laporte last month, but according to reports he wasn’t Pep Guardiola’s top choice after a bid for Milan Skriniar was rejected. The 22-year-old only joined Inter last summer, but having previously impressed for Sampdoria, the Slovakian international has continued that form at the San Siro to emerge as a key figure for Luciano Spalletti’s side. According to Calciomercato though, it could have been a very short stay had Guardiola had his way, with Man City said to have launched a €65m for Skriniar during the January transfer window. However, such is his importance to the side, that bid was rejected and City went on to splash out £57m on Laporte instead. The Premier League leaders could still choose to revisit their interest in t...

Thiubaut Courtois is considered to be one of the world’s top goalkeepers and he has played a key role in Chelsea FC’s most recent two Premier League title triumphs. The Belgian is currently in talks with Chelsea FC about the possibility of extending his contract at Stamford Bridge but it remains to be seen if he will commit to a new deal. Courtois lived in the Spanish capital when playing for Atletico between 2011 and 2014 and his ex-girlfriend and two children still live there. And the goalkeeper has now admitted that a possible move back to the Spanish capital could be very tempting for him for personal reasons.Courtois spoke with Belgian magazine Sport, Courtois said: “If Real is really interested, my personal situation could affect, yes.“The family aspect, it is...

Manchester City took the lead as Danilo smashed in a beautiful curling effort to open the scoring in style. Then, Johann Berg Gudmundsson scored a late equaliser as Burnley had a 1-1 draw against Manchester City at Turf Moor. Danilo had looked like proving an unlikely match-winner for Pep Guardiola's side with a fine strike after 22 minutes of an otherwise frustrating day for City.But after Raheem Sterling spurned a gilt-edged chance to put the game beyond doubt, the Clarets grew in confidence and earned their reward when Gudmundsson turned in Matt Lowton's deep cross. Man City will rue their failure to make the most of their openings, with Sterling's opportunity one of a number to pass them by. Burnley, for their part, were well organised throughout and they had already hit the woodwork t...

Romelu Lukaku says Alexis Sanchez was destined to sign for Manchester United but has no fears regarding the competition for places he poses.Lukaku told Sky Sports on a high-profile addition and what it could mean for him: "I work hard and do everything to make sure I am in the starting line-up. It is the manager's choice [if I am picked], but he knows what I can do for the team - I score goals and give assists and I think in my short time here I have been important for the team." Sanchez is a Manchester United player - he was destined to play here. He deserves to be on the big stage. It was something he wanted as well."He has a lot of experience after playing for Barcelona and Arsenal. I admire the quality he has on the ball, but especially his will to win. People were criticising him for ...

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed that Andreas Christensen will not play against Watford on Monday night.While playing with  Bournemouth on Wednesday, Christensen sustained a hamstring injury and was immediately substituted by Conte.At his pre-match press conference, Conte confirmed to reporters that the Dane would be absent from his squad for the fixture at Vicarage Road, but insisted that the 21-year-old's issue was not as bad as first feared.After the Watford encounter, Chelsea face home contests with West Bromwich Albion and Hull City in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively before Barcelona visit Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on February 20.Christensen has made a total of 29 appearances in all competitions during the current campaign.

Tottenham returned back into contention for a top-four finish and made Alexis Sanchez adapt to a miserable return to North London with a comfortable 2-0 victory against Manchester United at Wembley.Sanchez, making his Premier League debut for United following his recent transfer from Arsenal, suffered  frustration as Spurs coasted to the points after taking the lead through Christian Eriksen's goal on 11 seconds. An own goal by Phil Jones on 28 minutes extended Tottenham's lead and United were fortunate not to concede a 31st minute penalty after Antonio Valencia fouled Dele Alli 12 yards from goal.But while Tottenham were hugely impressive, United produced arguably their worst performance of the season, prompting Jose Mourinho to substitute Paul Pogba after 62 minutes following the &#...

Chelsea was defeated by Bournemouth  0-3 at Stamford Bridge this evening. The Blues never got going and Bournemouth opened the scoring shortly after half-time when Callum Wilson raced behind the Chelsea defence to slot past Thibaut Courtois for 0-1 in the 51st minute.The visitors doubled their lead just over ten minutes later when Junior Stanislas poked home from a tight angle to make it 0-2 – although Courtois may feel he should have done better.Chelsea’s night went from bad to worse as Bournemouth made it 3-0 in the 67th minute when former defender Nathan Ake turned home Stanislas’ shot following a corner.There was no way back for Chelsea so they slumped to a shocking home defeat which leaves them three points behind Man Utd in the table while they slip beind Liverpool to fourth pla...

Pep Guardiola is calm about Manchester City's hopes of signing Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao in a club record £57million deal.Man City have agreed to Laporte's contract and are expected to land the 23-year-old French defender before the transfer window closes next week.Guardiola was reluctant to be drawn on the issue, saying: 'He's a player for Bilbao. It's the same as other players in the clubs, I didn't speak about previous players. If it happens, it happens, if not then it doesn't.'There are players in the past who are interesting, in the present there will be and in the future. Always we try to do our best for the squad, knowing the players we have.'I said in the past we are trying to do the best for the squad for now, six months, years. If we are going to do something interesti...

Man United fans have been asking questions this week about where should Alexis Sanchez slot into the team.There are different alternatives for Sanchez to play on the right, left, in a number 10 role or even up front.But in his Thursday presser before Friday’s FA Cup tie at Yeovil, Jose Mourinho gave more details on how he will deploy Alexis in his team.Man United seem to have three clear options of how to line up with Alexis. In the first option, Sanchez could be deployed in a wide left role in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The big losers in that formation are the likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. A second option is to play Sanchez alongside Jesse Lingard in a 4-3-2-1 setup.But again that means there’s no room for Martial or Rashford in Mourinho’s side. The third alternative is for Unit...

Sheffield United have signed Lee Evans Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder and James Wilson, the Manchester United centre-forward. Evans made his club and Football League debut on 3 August 2013 in a goalless draw against Preston North End.[9] He scored his first goal for the club a week later when he netted against Gillingham,[10] as the team went on to win the League One title. While James Wilson made a three league appearances for his team during the 2010–11 season, scoring in the third, a 2–1 home defeat to Everton. After scoring twice in the 2011 Milk Cup, in which Manchester United finished runners-up, Wilson suffered a broken ankle in the second game of the 2011–12 season that kept him out for nearly five months. Evans, who has represented Wales at international level, arrive...