Luke Moore completes MLS switch

Italy Football Federation president Carlo Tavecchio hopes Claudio Ranieri can one day guide the four-time champions to success at the World Cup. 

Ranieri and his Leicester City players defied improbable odds this season to claim the Premier League title with two games to spare the club s first top-flight crown in their 132-year history.

Tavecchio was in awe of Ranieri s achievement and hopes he will one day be able to lead Italy to glory.

I hope Ranieri can win a World Cup with Italy, that would be the best, Tavecchio told reporters on Monday.

In Italy the scale of Claudio s success is a unique thing. This means that we export the Italian style with competence, commitment and sense of duty. All are features that are recognised in Ranieri.

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Chelsea number one Thibaut Courtois has ruled out a career-long stay at Stamford Bridge, but admitted he is unsure on his preferred destination.

Courtois, 24, signed for the London club in 2011, before spending three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid.

The goalkeeper is still relatively young for his position but boasts incredible experience having won La Liga and Premier League titles as well as making a Champions League final and, while he is central to Chelsea s long-term plans, it would seem the Belgium international does not hold his club in the same stead.

Courtois has already said he is committed to Chelsea for next season, after being linked to Paris Saint-Germain, but when asked if he was going to spend the rest of his career at the club, Courtois told S…

James McCarthy scored his first Everton goal as they eased to a 2-0 win at Hull City on Sunday to cap a fine season.

McCarthy s strike was added to by Romelu Lukaku just after half-time for Roberto Martinez s side, who controlled the game against a Hull outfit with one eye on next week s FA Cup final.

Everton went in front after eight minutes when McCarthy finished a typically flowing move and they completely dominated, with Steven Naismith firing wide and Lukaku forcing a save just before half-time.

Chances were at a premium for the home side, who saw a Jake Livermore effort go wide and Maynor Figueroa s deflected shot saved.

But any hopes of a Hull fightback were dashed within 60 seconds of the restart as Lukaku got on the end of a fine Leon Osman ball to confi…

Sporting Kansas City are the MLS champions, after surviving an extraordinary penalty shootout with Real Salt Lake to win 7-6.

After normal and extra time finished 1-1, the two sides went to spot kicks and Sporting KC survived giving up a 2-0 lead and Graham Zusi s miss for the title, as Lovel Palmer s penalty for Salt Lake the 20th of the shootout came back off the crossbar to give the hosts the title at Sporting Park in Kansas.

Sebastian Velazquez also had a spot-kick to win it for Real but Sporting goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen proved himself a hero with a diving save to prolong the shootout.

Earlier, Alvaro Saborio gave Salt Lake a 52nd-minute lead as Jason Kreis men closed on what would have been a second title in five seasons.

But Sporting KC, the Eastern Confere…

Vicente del Bosque has received the support of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) after the side s shock exit from the FIFA World Cup.

Spain have enjoyed a golden period in the last six years, with consecutive UEFA European Championship victories in 2008 and 2012 sandwiching a World Cup triumph in South Africa four years ago.

However, this time out in Brazil, the Spaniards became the first side to crash out of the tournament following two almost unrecognisable performances.

Netherlands produced a scintillating attacking display to crush them 5-1 in their Group B opener before Chile s high-energy pressing game stifled Spain s patient passing style as the South Americans ran out 2-0 winners on Wednesday.

That defeat left Spain unable to qualify for the…

Mohamed Salah is joined by Liverpool team-mates Naby Keita and Sadio Mane on the preliminary list of nominees for the 2018 African Player of the Year award.

Salah scooped the individual prize in 2017 after impressing for both club and country, with Egypt reaching the Africa Cup of Nations final and also qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The 26-year-old faces competition for this year s honour from two familiar faces, with Guinea midfielder Keita who moved to Liverpool in the last transfer window after agreeing to join from RB Leipzig the previous year and Senegal forward Mane also in the running.

Riyad Mahrez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who won the award in 2016 and 2015 respectively, are also included on a 34-name shortlist announced by the Con…

West Brom ended their miserable Premier League run on Saturday, beating Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 at the Hawthorns to record their first league triumph in 21 games.

Having won their two opening games of the season, the Baggies soon fell apart, leading to the sacking of Tony Pulis.

The appointment of Alan Pardew failed to spark an immediate turnaround, West Brom lurching into a winless run so long that only the miserable 2007-08 Derby County team possess a longer drought in Premier League history.

Pardew secured his first victory in all competitions at Exeter City in the FA Cup last week, and the visit of the Seagulls offered a fine chance to get on a roll Chris Hughton s men have now failed to score in nine league games on the road this term.

With that…

Borussia Dortmund qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League thanks to a 2-1 win over Slavia Prague on Tuesday.

Inter s 2-1 loss to Barcelona means Lucien Favre s side finished three points above the Italians in Group F and will be in the hat for the knockout draw, which takes place in Nyon on Monday.

The impressive Jadon Sancho opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Tomas Soucek scored a deserved equaliser for the Czech side shortly before half-time.

However, Julian Brandt sealed the win with a powerful strike shortly after the hour mark, although Dortmund had Roman Burki to thank for their progression after a string of stunning saves either side of Julian Weigl s dismissal for a second yellow card with 13 minutes remaining.

*Deep Breath*…

According to reports in England, Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck could well leave the club on a free transfer next year, with no new deal being discussed for the Englishman. In recent months Welbeck has been proving why he s a handy option for Unai Emery to have, putting in a series of good performances for the Gunners. He initially joined the club back in 2014 from Manchester United, and while he s certainly had inconsistent spells, he s certainly one of the more underrated strikers in English football.

Welbeck would likely be following in the footsteps of both Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, although the latter s situation still has yet to be resolved. It appears as if Arsenal are unwilling to offer too many new contracts, which is interesting, as it serves as an indication of …

Liverpool against Manchester City throws up a number of intriguing sub-plots as the only two remaining Premier League sides in the Champions League go head-to-head in the quarter-finals.

Jurgen Klopp is one of the few managers around to have a strong record against City s Pep Guardiola, for example, while the Catalan is seeking his third Champions League title as a coach after relative failure in Europe with previous club Bayern Munich.

But much of the attention will be around the two teams respective star players, with City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne set to face off against Liverpool s Egypt international Mohamed Salah over the two legs.

The pair have been tipped as the two outstanding candidates for this season s major player of the year awards in England  bu…