Barcelona interested in Wolves winger Adama Traore

Chelsea are set to step up their pursuit of West Ham s Declan Rice as manager Frank Lampard seeks for defensive reinforcements, according to .

Lampard obviously feels the heart of his defence needs bolstering, and he has identified Rice as a potential addition to the centre-back department.

Having initially started out at Chelsea s youth setup, the 21-year-old switched to West Ham in 2013 and passed through the ranks, eventually reaching the first team after four years at the club. Though he was schooled as a centre-back, Rice has mostly been playing as a defensive midfielder for the Hammers. This season, he has made a total of 34 appearances in all competitions so far. However, Lampard is keen to revert him to his original role in the back line.

Rice is under c…

Mohamed Salah put last season s final heartbreak behind him by setting up a 2-0 win over Tottenham in Madrid and a sixth Champions League triumph for Liverpool.

Egypt star Salah was infamously injured in a challenge with Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos before the Reds subsided to a 3-1 defeat in Kiev 12 months ago but grabbed the opener in a largely forgettable contest at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Premier League Golden Boot winner dispatched a second-minute penalty after Moussa Sissoko was penalised for handball.

Liverpool and their Premier League counterparts played in fits and starts thereafter, with Spurs enjoying their most consistent spell of pressure before substitute Divock Origi added to his semi-final brace against Barcelona by drilling clinically in…

There were plenty of smiles from Liverpool players after their first win over Manchester United at Old Trafford since 2014, but Sadio Mane was obviously not happy with manager Jurgen Klopp after starting the match on the bench.

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Valencia s scattered defenders looked like a collection of punch-drunk strangers after Atalanta wing-back Hans Hateboer tore gleefully down their vacant left flank and smashed home his second goal of the match.

With just over an hour played, Gian Piero Gasperini s blue and black wrecking machine were 4-0 up in the club s first ever Champions League knockout tie.

Blistering long-range strikes from Josip Ilicic and Remo Freuler sparked scenes of delirium in the stands at San Siro Milan s celebrated football coliseum and temporary home to Atalanta s European home matches, with more than 40,000 fans making the pilgrimage from Bergamo for the most significant night in their club s 112-year history.

The other standout victory in the last-16 of Europe s top competi…

Bayern Munich have hit out at Germany coach Joachim Low over the timing of his announcement that Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Thomas Muller will no longer be considered for selection.

Low confirmed in a Bild interview on Tuesday the experienced Bayern trio all part of Germany s triumphant squad at the 2014 World Cup are being dropped ahead of Euro 2020 qualifying.

Germany had an appalling title defence at the World Cup in Russia last year, failing to progress from the group stage, before suffering relegation in their inaugural Nations League campaign.

Boateng, Muller and Hummels have played 246 international matches between them and Bayern complained that Low and Germany s general manager Oliver Bierhoff arrived unannounced at the club s Sabener Strasse t…

Luis Enrique said it was a good thing Gerard Moreno missed a string of chances in Spain s victory against Switzerland rather than Alvaro Morata following the recent criticism aimed at the Juventus striker.

Three-time European champions Spain booked their place in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 on Friday with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over 10-man Switzerland.

La Roja, who needed extra time to overcome Croatia in the last 16, were pegged back by a Xherdan Shaqiri strike in St Petersburg after Denis Zakaria s own goal had put them in front.

Even after Remo Freuler s dismissal with 77 minutes played, Luis Enrique s men could not find a way through due to a mixture of profligacy and a number of Yann Sommer saves – a tournament-high 10 in total.

Ge…

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed that N Golo Kante and Thiago Silva have tested positive for COVID-19.

The pair were left out of Chelsea s starting line-up for Wednesday s EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham and will now serve a period of self-isolation.

Kante has featured in 17 of the Blues 31 matches this season, while Silva – who signed a one-year contract extension on Monday – has been used 22 times.

It is the second time in a little over three months that France international Kante has tested positive for coronavirus.

Asked about the duo s absence from the side to face Tottenham, Tuchel told Sky Sports: Unfortunately, Thiago and N Golo have tested positive.

It s huge for us because they are two huge players. We h…

Vincent Kompany has thanked Pep Guardiola and Manchester City team-mates past and present after it was confirmed he will be leaving the Premier League champions.

Kompany led City to a remarkable domestic treble this season, but the 33-year-old announced on Sunday that his appearance in the 6-0 FA Cup final win over Watford would be his last for the club, ending an 11-year stay.

Guardiola suggested in the build up to Saturday s game at Wembley that he would sit down to discuss Kompany s future at the end of the season.

Injuries have limited Kompany s game time over recent years, with the Belgian playing 26 times in all competitions for Guardiola s team in 2018-19.

He still made a crucial contribution, however, playing in City s final four league games an…

Manchester United are interested in signing Declan Rice from Premier League rivals West Ham United in the summer of 2022, according to . United have already discussed about a potential deal to bring the former Chelsea prospect to Old Trafford.

Rice is under contract at West Ham until 2024 and is not expected to put to paper on a new deal. The England international midfielder has been at the books of the Hammers since 2014 and has established himself as an important player in manager David Moyes’s team.

The 22-year-old, who can also play as a central defender, has established himself as an important player for England. The 22-year-old scored two goals and gave one assist in 32 Premier League appearances for the Hammers , and scored one goal and gave three assists in 38…

David Aganzo was once a teenage strike partner to Raul for Real Madrid in the Champions League, and now the Spaniard has become FIFPro s youngest president.

The 40-year-old head of Spanish players union AFE, Aganzo takes on the FIFPro post from Philippe Piat, who served two four-year terms as head of the global body.

His appointment was confirmed at FIFPro s general assembly in Paris on Tuesday, after Aganzo was put forward by the executive committee.

It means Aganzo will head up FIFPro for the next four years, leading the body that serves as an international players union.

He said, quoted on AFE s website: Without footballers, there is no football, let it be clear to everyone. I take the position with enthusiasm, knowing that it involves a great respo…