Kevin Nolan has warned his West Ham team-mates to prepare for a scrap if they are to secure promotion back to the English Premier League.
West Ham were relegated after finishing bottom last season, ending a six-year stay in the top flight.
The demotion saw Avram Grant sacked following just one campaign in charge, replaced by former Bolton and Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce.
One of Allardyce s first actions was to recruit Nolan, his former captain at Bolton, to spearhead the promotion charge from the Championship.
Nolan was relegated from the Premier League with Newcastle in 2008/09, but led the Magpies to an instant return as second-tier champions the following the season.
And the 29-year-old knows exactly what it takes to conquer the physical chal…
Napoli midfielder Christian Maggio is close to signing a new deal at San Paolo, his agent has revealed.
The Italy international has two years left on his current contract, but he is now set to sign a new long-term deal.
“I spoke with director general Riccardo Bigon about 10 days ago,” Maggio’s agent Massimo Briaschi told Radio Kiss Kiss.
“The signs are good. We are heading towards a positive conclusion, but we’ll just have to see what happens.
“Christian has been playing at high levels for the past few years now. He is an important player for this club.”
Maggio joined Napoli from Sampdoria in June 2008 and has been an integral part of the Partenopei squad ever since.
…
Uruguay forward Luis Suarez made light of the incident with Giorgio Chiellini that landed him at the centre of another biting controversy.
The South American nation secured a battling 1-0 win over Italy to snatch second place in Group D at the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, behind surprise package Costa Rica, as they set up a last-16 class with in-form Colombia.
But Liverpool star Suarez found
00004000
himself in the all-too-familiar position of being under disciplinary scrutiny after appearing to bite Juventus defender Chiellini amid a tangle with his opponent late in the contest.
The 27-year-old has twice previously received lengthy bans at club level for biting.
He first bit PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal during his time in Holland with Ajax in 20…
Turkish daily newspaper Fotomac has learned that Galatasaray are hot on the trail of Benfica star Nicolas Gaitan.
The Turkish giants have big plans ahead of the new season and they want to make the Argentine their marque signing.
Since the deal for Gaitan could prove very difficult to complete, the club plan to use the services of well known agent Jorge Mendes, who is very close to Benfica chiefs.
Nicolas Gaitan has a contract until June 2016 at Estadio da Luz and a €45 million release clause, and everything suggests he will be sold this summer.
The 26-year-old is believed to be on the radar of Europe s top clubs including Manchester United, but his suitors have yet to make their interest concrete.
Nico Gaitan joined Benfica from Boca Juniors i…
Jose Mourinho says Nemanja Matic is desperate to finalise a move to Manchester United but stopped short of confirming that the transfer has been finalised.
The Chelsea midfielder reportedly underwent a medical on Sunday and a picture of him wearing United training gear began to circulate on social media.
Mourinho, who signed Matic as Chelsea boss in 2014, says the 28-year-old is keen on a reunion at Old Trafford but insisted that he will not discuss the matter in detail until the deal is concluded.
I m waiting for news, the United manager said after watching his side beat Valerenga 3-0 in a friendly in Oslo.
I know that he wants it very, very much and when a player wants it very, very much, the chance is bigger.
We have a chance. In football,…
Neymar s time in LaLiga has come to an end after he completed a world-record transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazil international made the move to Ligue 1 after PSG paid his eye-watering release clause of €222million to bring him to the Parc des Princes.
Much of Neymar s motivation to leave Camp Nou reportedly stems from a desire to step out from the shadow of Lionel Messi and make his own push to win the Ballon d Or.
That honour has been claimed by ex-Barca team-mate Messi and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for each of the past nine years, while the latter won the inaugural Best FIFA Men s Player award for 2016.
So, with Neymar blazing his own trail in the French capital in a bid to end their dominance, we look at the Op…
Inter are in a stronger position to fulfil their desire to be contenders in the Champions League, according to Antonio Conte.
Conte s side finished behind Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in last season s group stage but managed to reach the Europa League final, where they were defeated by Sevilla.
The Nerazzurri secured a return to the Champions League by finishing second to Juventus in Serie A last term and begin their new European campaign at home to Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday.
Inter have won just two of their past 10 games in Europe s premier club competition, but Conte believes the experience of 2019-20 will hold them in good stead this time around.
Now we are more experienced for sure, after what we did last term and the Europa League fi…
From strength to strength
With more eyes watching him than ever before the youngster needed to make another step up, and he has certainly done that so far this season. Dybala has scored 10 goals in his opening six Serie A games, including two hat-tricks and a brace in the Turin derby. To put that into perspective it’s a goal every 47 minutes, His goals have helped Juve to a 100% record to start the season and the Bianconeri sit second in the table, behind Napoli on goal difference.
It was the match against Genoa at the end of August that really exemplified the step up that Dybala has taken, and how much he has clearly learned from Lionel Messi. Juventus found themselves 2-0 down after just seven minutes at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris and it took a master class from the young A…
According to a recent report from Sport, Chelsea are leading the charge in the race to potentially sign Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann.
It’s no secret that Griezmann’s tenure at the Nou Camp hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but with a new season right around the corner, many have been left feeling confused as to why the club would contemplate selling him given the potential he still has at the elite level.
Griezmann had a solid enough run with France at Euro 2020 but with Barca being in the midst of a transition phase, it definitely raises more than a few questions about where his future lies.
Chelsea, we shouldn t forget, are the current European champions, and they have far more influence than they re being given credit for. If Thomas Tuchel is se…
Tokyo Olympics: Germany´s men´s football team walk off pitch after Torunarigha allegedly racially ab
Germany s men s football team walked off the pitch in a pre-Tokyo Olympics friendly against Honduras after defender Jordan Torunarigha was allegedly racially abused.
Saturday s match in Wakayama was tied at 1-1 when abandoned with five minutes to go, moments after Felix Uduokhai had cancelled out Douglas Martinez s first-half opener.
The Germany national team s official Twitter account later confirmed the reason for the game, which was split into three 30-minute sessions, being cut short.
The game has ended five minutes early with the score at 1-1, the tweet read. The Germany players left the pitch after Jordan Torunarigha was racially abused.
The game has ended 5 minutes early with the score at 1-1. The Germany players left the pitch after Jordan Toru…