Kovacic to miss Euro 2016 qualifier

Jamie Vardy is looking to add to his growing medal collection with Leicester City after helping the Foxes to win their first FA Cup.

Leicester, who won the Premier League with Vardy in the side in 2015-16, finally got their hands on the cup with a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.

Youri Tielemans scored the sole goal for Brendan Rodgers team at Wembley, with a late own goal from Wes Morgan disallowed following a VAR review.

Vardy has now played in every round in the competition including the preliminary stages, having started his career in non-league football, but had a quiet final.

Neither of the striker s two shots under the arch hit the target, while he lost possession with five of his 14 touches.

It mattered not, though, as Leicester claimed t…

Jose Mourinho hailed Tammy Abraham an important player after the forward assisted twice in Roma s 3-1 defeat of Fiorentina.

Henrik Mkhitarayan s opener was cancelled out by Nikola Milenkovic but a Jordan Veretout brace secured three points for Mourinho on his return to Serie A.

Abraham benefited from VAR twice for his two assists, first rolling in Mkhitaryan before offloading for Veretout to convert his first.

The former Chelsea forward, who only managed one assist in his final 42 league games with the Blues, was preferred ahead of Eldor Shomurdouv but was replaced with just over 20 minutes left.

It’s not easy to leave someone on the bench, but [Eldour] Shomurodov can play on the left, he can be a forward with Tammy [Abraham] as well, Mourinho told DAZ…

Do you remember when Aston Villa hosted Coventry City on February 27, 1999? Unless you re a fan of either club or have an eidetic memory it is unlikely to be a game you can recall.

In case you have forgotten, or never knew in the first place, Coventry won impressively 4-1 at Villa Park thanks to two goals apiece from John Aloisi and George Boateng.

However, the result is not the reason why the fixture is of great interest. Instead, it is the team selected by Villa boss John Gregory, as he fielded a starting XI made up entirely of English players. 

Here is the line-up: Michael Oakes, Steve Watson, Gareth Southgate, Dion Dublin, Simon Grayson, Riccardo Scimeca, Alan Wright, Lee Hendrie, Paul Merson, Ian Taylor, Julian Joachim. 

It was the 55th time an all…

Arsenal want to sell Eddie Nketiah in the summer transfer window, according to . Premier League rivals West Ham United and Crystal Palace are keen on signing the striker, and so are German club Bayer Leverkusen.

Nketiah has been on the books of Arsenal since 2015 when he joined after leaving Chelsea. The former England Under-21 international striker is part of the Gunners’ first-team squad, but he is not a regular in the starting lineup.

During the , Nketiah made four starts and 13 substitute appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal, scoring two goals and providing one assist in the process. The striker also made six starts and two substitute appearances in the Europa League for the North London club, scoring three goals in the process. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang …

Neymar took a route-one approach to attracting the interest of Lionel Messi, but discretion may be order of the day for Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Moments after coming off the pitch after PSG s 3-1 Champions League win at Manchester United, Neymar said he hoped to be reunited in 2021 with former Barcelona team-mate Messi.

That sparked inevitable debate about how it might happen, should Neymar be serious about that wish.

PSG would appear better placed to sign Messi than Barcelona are equipped to re-sign Neymar, given the Camp Nou great could be available on a free transfer at the end of this season.

To land the Argentine forward LaLiga s all-time record scorer would be a remarkable coup for PSG and president Al-Khelaifi.

Sp…

Barcelona have been put in an awkward place by Neymar s revelation that he wants to play with Lionel Messi next season, with presidential candidate Joan Laporta unsurprised by the Brazilian s comments.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar, who left Barcelona when his buy-out clause of €222million was met three years ago, made his stunning comments after scoring twice at Manchester United on Wednesday.

He told ESPN:  What I want most is to play with Messi again. I want to play with him. I ll let him play in my position if he wants! Next year, we have to play together, for sure.

Barcelona s finances, hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are such that launching a big-money bid to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou appears out of the question.

Messi s contract is due t…

Manchester United are interested in signing James Tavernier from Rangers in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Premier League giants looked into the possibility of signing Tavernier in the summer transfer window and remain interested in the 29-year-old right-back.

Tavernier has been on the books of Rangers since 2015 and has established himself as an important player in manger Steven Gerrard’s team. The former Newcastle United right-back helped Rangers win the Scottish Premiership title last season and has also succeeding with the Gers in the Europa League.

United are one of the biggest clubs in the world, and a move to Old Trafford would be a step-up for Tavernier. However, it is unlikely that Rangers will entertain offers for the r…

Substitute Juan Cuadrado struck in added time against his former club as Juventus finally broke down 10-man opponents Fiorentina to win 1-0 in Saturday s Serie A clash.

Juve were on the verge of going a fourth league game without a victory when Cuadrado, on the field for just 13 minutes, beat Pietro Terracciano at his near post late on.

The hosts had struggled for large parts of the contest but momentum swung in their favour when Nikola Milenkovic was sent off 17 minutes from time.

After Federico Chiesa hit the bar and Alvaro Morata had a goal ruled out for offside, Cuadrado found a way through to lift Juve level on points with their opponents in eighth place.

’S CLASS WINS IT LATE!!!

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)

Both sides struggl…

Gareth Bale dismissed the suggestion he has been frustrated during his second stint with Tottenham, insisting he has been happy all season .

Bale marked just his third Premier League start of 2020-21 in style on Sunday, scoring twice and setting up another goal with a superb long pass as Spurs thrashed Burnley 4-0.

The 31-year-old, signed in loan from Real Madrid in September, opened the scoring after 68 seconds – the quickest goal conceded by Burnley in the Premier League – and Bale has now been directly involved in seven goals in his last four appearances for Tottenham in all competitions (four goals, three assists).

It has been far from plain sailing for the Wales star since his return to north London, however, with fitness struggles having made Jose Mou…

Aaron Ramsdale praised Harry Maguire for his continued “outstanding” England displays as the under-fire defender blocks out unrelenting criticism and scrutiny.

The world’s most expensive defender was named in the Euros team of the tournament in 2021, but game time and form at Manchester United have dropped off since then.

Gareth Southgate has stuck by Maguire and brought him on at half-time in Tuesday’s 3-1 friendly win over Scotland, during which he was mocked mercilessly by the Hampden Park crowd before scoring an own goal.

Furious Southgate believes the reaction was as a result of wider “ridiculous” criticism of the defender, which he called “a joke” and said was “beyond anything I’ve ever seen”.

England fans backed Maguire and ch…