New Spain coach Julen Lopetegui concedes he would now be Wolves manager but for prolonged delays in the Chinese consortium completing their buyout of the Championship club.
Former Porto boss Lopetegui was installed as Vicente del Bosque successor this week, having previously overseen Spain teams from under-19 to under-21 level.
However, he was on the verge of joining Wolves, who belatedly confirmed a takeover from the Fosun International investment group on the same day as Lopetegui s Spain appointment was announced.
I was waiting to hear about an agreement that I had in place about what was an incredibly attractive and exciting project at Wolves, the 49-year-old told Sky Sports.
Certainly if the Spanish job hadn t come up, I know I would now be coach a…
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is embracing his ‘hybrid’ role by watching video clips of some of the world’s greatest midfielders in order to gain greater understanding.
Towards the end of last season the 25-year-old was asked to vary his right-back role by stepping into central areas to be able to dictate on the ball more and offer a different attacking dimension.
It is something which was first pioneered with John Stones by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and, while Alexander-Arnold has studied how his England team-mate has performed, he has not limited his learning to ‘hybrid’ players.
. and once again combined for the opener in this afternoon
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
“I enjoy learning about the game, watching th…
Jurgen Klopp has said the one thing he wanted Liverpool to avoid in Friday s Champions League draw was a tie against another Premier League team.
The Reds manager will have been relieved to see them drawn against Portuguese side Benfica for the quarter-finals of Europe s premier competition.
Fellow English representatives, Chelsea and Manchester City, were drawn against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid respectively, while Villarreal will play Bayern Munich.
Should Liverpool get past Benfica, they will face the winner of that latter tie in the semi-finals.
Speaking to the club s official website, Klopp said it would be a mistake to underestimate Benfica, but did say he hoped to avoid more familiar opposition.
The only thing I didn’t want to hav…
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey says Arsene Wenger s determination to sign him was the reason behind his decision to snub an offer from Manchester United.
The Wales international was the subject of a transfer battle between Wenger and Alex Ferguson in 2008 and was thought to be on the brink of signing for United before opting to move to north London.
The former Cardiff City man, whose father is said to be a United fan, says he was ultimately made to feel more wanted by Arsenal after they went to significant lengths to tempt him to Emirates Stadium.
I went up there to see the facilities and I went to see Arsene Wenger, Ramsey told Sky Sports.
He did a lot to try and get me to this club. As a 17-year-old, flying out on a private jet to his hotel [in Switz…
Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool scored two goals each in their Premier League match on Sunday, one of the five that didn t get postponed due to teams missing a number of players through positive COVID-19 tests. Harry Kane opened the scoring for the hosts in the 13th minute, and Diogo Jota equalized in the 35th. Andy Robertson turned the score around in Liverpool s favour in the 69th, but Son Heung-min set it back level five minutes later.
Controversies continue to plague English game
It s never a good thing when refereeing decisions are discussed after a match more than the performances of the two teams, and yet, this has become common practice among those following the Premier League closely. The referees continue to draw unnecessary attention to themselves with poor and inco…
Gibraltar Under-19s suffered a 16-1 defeat to 10-man Switzerland in qualifying for the European Under-19 Championship on Tuesday, rounding off a week in which they have conceded 43 goals.
Following on from a 14-0 loss to Austria and a 13-0 defeat at the hands of Ireland on November 14 and 16 respectively, Gibraltar will have been hoping for a change in fortune in the meeting with the Swiss.
But the youngsters suffered more of the same as Switzerland raced into a 5-0 lead by the 33rd minute Brighton and Hove Albion s Lorent Tolaj helping himself to a hat-trick in Strasswalchen, Austria.
A red card for Switzerland s Noel Wetz enabled Craig Galliano to convert the resulting penalty and give Gibraltar one thing to be pleased about, considering it was their first…
Tottenham have entered talks with Wolfsburg over the signing of centre-back Micky van de Ven.
Spurs are in the market for new central defenders and Netherlands Under-21 international Van de Ven has been high on their list of potential targets.
Talks have now started between Tottenham and Wolfsburg over a deal that could eventually be worth in the region of £30million but no agreement is currently in place, the PA news agency understands.
Despite being without a director of football, chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini and chairman Daniel Levy have taken a lead role on transfers, which has seen Spurs be extremely active since Ange Postecoglou was appointed on June 6.
Dejan Kulusevski’s loan was made into a permanent deal while moves for goalkeeper Guglielmo …
West Ham United are interested in signing Jack Harrison from Premier League rivals Leeds United in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that West Ham are among a number of clubs who are keen on securing the services of the former Manchester City winger.
Harrison, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, initially joined Leeds from Manchester City in 2018. After spending three seasons on loan at Elland Road and helping the Whites win promotion to the Premier League, the 25-year-old made the move to the West Yorkshire club permanent in the summer of 2021.
The winger made 32 starts and three substitute appearances in the Premier League for Leeds this season, scoring eight goals and providing one assist in the process. Harrison made 34 s…
Jurgen Klopp voiced his delight with Liverpool s position in the Premier League after the title hopefuls earned a point against champions Manchester City.
Riyad Mahrez missed a late penalty in Sunday s goalless draw at Anfield as the two Premier League favourites cancelled each other out in a tightly-contested encounter.
Wins for Chelsea and Arsenal earlier on Sunday added extra pressure, and Liverpool now sit third after eight games, with City top courtesy of a stronger goal difference than both the Reds and Maurizio Sarri s side.
And although manager Klopp acknowledged Liverpool were ultimately lucky, he is delighted with their standing heading into the international break.
If somebody would have told me after eight matchdays you have 20 points, I woul…
Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Dani Olmo insisted it has always been his dream to play for Spain, despite interest from Croatia.
Barcelona academy product Olmo joined Zagreb in 2014 and is eligible to represent Croatia, having not yet made a senior appearance for his native Spain.
However, the 21-year-old is in line to earn his first cap this week after being included in Robert Moreno s squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers with Malta and Romania.
Olmo confirmed the prospect of switching allegiance has been discussed in the past, but he has always been intent on representing the nation of his birth.
I am proud that Croatia, one of the best national teams in the world, want me and they have let me know about it, but I am Spanish and playing for Spain has always b…