Captain Keith Watson leaving Ross County after five years

Captain Keith Watson has departed Ross County after five years with the Dingwall club.

The 33-year-old former Dundee United defender joined the Staggies in 2018 and made more than 100 appearances.

County described Watson as “a great servant to the club” as they announced on Thursday that he will be moving on this summer following the expiry of his contract.

“Unfortunately, my time at County has come to an end, what a 5 years it’s been,” Watson said in a statement on the club’s website.

“From winning the Championship to a dramatic play off win to stay in the Premiership – where County belong.

“That last play-off game (against Partick Thistle earlier this month) was one of the craziest games I’ve ever played in and the belief and…

Lopetegui calling for consistency after EFL Cup humiliation

Julen Lopetegui believes West Ham have deserved more than just four points from their opening five Premier League games but called on his players to be more clinical in front of goal.

The Hammers exited the EFL Cup in midweek against Liverpool despite taking the lead, with a second-half collapse seeing them end up on the wrong end of a 5-1 defeat at Anfield.

Lopetegui has endured a frustrating start to his West Ham tenure thus far but is hoping that a victory against Brentford this weekend will kick his side into gear.

I am sure that these players will overcome but it is true that we need one win, and we want to win the next match,” Lopetegui said.

Brentford are a strong team and we have to head into the match with big energy and commitment. In the Pr…

De Bruyne says Haaland´s incredible form is ´just the start´ following Brighton brace

Kevin De Bruyne warned Erling Haaland s spectacular form is just the start after the striker s brace helped Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

Haaland was shut out as City fell to their first defeat of the season at Liverpool last week, leaving them four points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

But normal service was resumed as City downed Brighton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the Norway international latching onto Ederson s long pass to open the scoring before lashing home from the penalty spot.

The 22-year-old became the first City player to score in seven consecutive home games since Sergio Aguero in the 2017-18 season.

Haaland has now scored 17 goals in 11 Premier League appearances and team-mate De Bruyne says t…

Prediction: Turkey vs Azerbaijan

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker:

Getting their preparations underway ahead of this summer s European Championships, Turkey will welcome Azerbaijan to Alanya for a friendly showdown on Thursday evening.

Turkey

Starting with the hosts, while Turkey might have enjoyed a stunning start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, Şenol Güneş side will be desperate to prove their collapse against Latvia was just a minor blip. Shocking many across Europe as they threw away the lead twice and eventually had to settle for a stunning 3-3 draw on home soil, the one-time Trabzonspor boss has still seen his squad gain plenty of plaudits over the past two years. Laying down what was the most eye-catching of markers as they opened their Group G campaign with a 4-2 win against Holla…

Barcelona could not compete financially with Chelsea for Koulibaly, says De Laurentiis

Barcelona could not compete financially with Chelsea for the signing of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, according to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Chelsea confirmed the signing of Koulibaly last weekend in a deal worth a reported £33.8million (€40m), bringing an end to the defender s eight-year stay in Naples.

LaLiga heavyweights Barca, whose financial problems have been well documented over the past year, also had an interest in the Senegal international.

However, De Laurentiis claims the Catalan club could not meet Napoli s valuation for Koulibaly, who was into the final year of his contract at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Barcelona had come in, but they didn t have the money because they are in debt, he told Radio Kiss Kiss. Then Chelse…

Southampton 1-4 Manchester City: Three Things We Learned

Manchester City tore through Southampton yesterday as they continued their push for another Premier League title.

In another David vs Goliath type of battle, City were able to get the best of Southampton on the south coast last night. It was a pretty tight encounter for the majority of the first half but once City were able to get their noses in front, they didn t look back.

Today, we ll be taking a look at a few of our big takeaways from the game.

Haaland is terrifying

Erling Haaland scored a brace, with one of his goals being a bicycle kick, to take his Premier League total to 30 goals for the season. In addition to that, he has scored 44 goals in all competitions. That s the kind of form that is enough to strike fear into the heart of just about anyone, as t…

Former Man Utd goalkeeper Romero joins Venezia

Venezia have announced the signing of former Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero on a free transfer.

Romero ended his six-season stay in Manchester when his contract expired at the end of last season and was a free agent until joining the newly promoted Serie A side, who fended off competition for his signature from fellow Italian outfit Spezia.

The 34-year-old is Argentina s all-time most-capped goalkeeper but did not play a single minute for the Red Devils last season, last featuring in 2019-20 as United s cup shot-stopper, making 17 appearances across all competitions before losing his place when Dean Henderson returned from his loan spell at Sheffield United.

Romero has experience in Serie A, joining Sampdoria in 2011 before his move to Manchester fo…

Euro 2016 Qualifying Review: Spain rout Macedonia, England down Switzerland

Spain s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign began with a 5-1 drubbing of Macedonia, while England overcame a stern test in Switzerland on Monday.

David Silva was the star man for the reigning European champions as they brushed aside minnows Macedonia in the Group C clash at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.

The Manchester City schemer played a part in three of his side s goals, first winning the penalty from which Sergio Ramos dinked home the opener.

Valencia striker Paco Alcacer then grabbed a debut goal at the home of rivals Levante to make it 2-0.

Agim Ibraimi s penalty halved the deficit by scoring from the spot, but Sergio Busquets maiden international goal in his 69th appearance on the stroke of half-time re-opened Spain s two-goal lead.

Silva was r…

Kovacic to miss Euro 2016 qualifier

Croatia chief national team medic Boris Nemec revealed a cruciate knee ligament injury has ruled star midfielder Mateo Kovacic out of action.

Kovacic was expected to play a big part for Group H leaders Croatia against third-placed Norway in Euro 2016 qualifying in Zagreb on Saturday.

But the sought-after Inter player, who has been linked with Premier League outfit Liverpool this week, will miss the qualifier in the Croatian capital.

I saw Kovacic. He has a cruciate knee ligament injury, Nemec told 24sata.hr.

He still feels a lot of pain and there is absolutely no chance he ll be able to play against Norway.

Croatia top the group ahead of Italy on goal difference after four matches, while Norway are a point off the pace.

Wolves linked with West Ham striker Michail Antonio

Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in signing Michail Antonio from Premier League rivals West Ham United in the January transfer window, according to . The well-known and well-respected journalist has claimed that Wolves would be keen on securing the services of Antonio if he became available.

Antonio has been on the books of West Ham since 2015 and has established himself as an important player for the Hammers. The 32-year-old has made seven starts and 10 substitute appearances in the Premier League for West Ham so far this season, scoring two goals and providing one assist in the process.

https://twitter.com/alex_crook/status/1612925781273120769

Wolves are second from bottom in the Premier League table at the moment with 14 points from 18 matches, while We…