Kevin Strootman s expected move to Marseille seems to be edging closer after the midfielder was left out of Roma s squad for their Serie A match against Atalanta.
Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco has confirmed discussions are ongoing with Marseille over a move for Strootman, who joined from PSV in 2013.
And it seems the midfielder s switch to the Ligue 1 club is nearing completion, with Di Francesco omitting the Netherlands international out of his squad for Monday s clash at Stadio Olimpico.
Strootman, 28, would be the third star to leave Roma this transfer window, with Radja Nainggolan having joined Serie A rivals Inter and Alisson moving to Liverpool for a then world-record fee for a goalkeeper.
SQUAD LIST | | v Atalanta (h)
Here is our 24…
Nathan Ake has completed his lucrative £20 million move to Bournemouth from Chelsea.
The 22-year-old defender made only 17 appearances for the Blues in the five years he was part of the senior setup, and spent the first half of last season on loan at the Cherries.
Ake has already played twice for Netherlands, and could be in line for a place in the World Cup squad next year if the Dutch get there.
Signed for a fee in the region of £230,000 at the age of 16, Ake represents another player who Chelsea have made a huge profit on.
Indeed, only seven players have been sold for a higher fee from the Blues. Here, we look at their most lucrative sales.
OSCAR TO SHANGHAI SIPG £60M
Signed for just under £20 million back in July 2012, Oscar…
Four teams have the chance to win promotion from the Championship to the Premier League
Earlier this week I wrote an article on Bournemouth and their charge for promotion to the Premier League from the Championship.
The Cherries are now second in the league and the fight for the big money promotion is now tighter than ever.
Four
The finish line is close for the Championship’s top teams and it is now down to four teams for the automatic promotion places.
Middlesbrough went top of the table last night with a crucial 1-0 victory over rivals Norwich on Friday night, after Alexander Tettey scored an own goal.
Watford host Birmingham at Vicarage Road on Saturday and a win will move them above Borough. Bournemouth will go back to the top of th…
Zinedine Zidane revealed he left LaLiga giants Real Madrid as the club no longer has the faith in me I need .
Zidane called time on his second spell with Madrid after Los Blancos were dethroned by city rivals Atletico Madrid in LaLiga this past season.
The 48-year-old Frenchman returned to the Santiago Bernabeu in March 2019, having delivered three successive Champions League titles and one LaLiga trophy between January 2016 and May 2018.
While Zidane led Madrid to LaLiga glory in 2019-20, the Spanish capital side endured a difficult 2020-21 campaign – eliminated by minnows Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey, edged out by Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals, and pipped to back-to-back LaLiga trophies by Atletico.
Zidane lifted the lid on his Madrid e…
Arsenal struck a potentially significant blow in the race for the Premier League top four with a 2-0 win over Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
A Granit Xhaka strike and a second-half penalty from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed from the spot in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham last week, gave the Gunners three valuable points that lift them into fourth.
The result also ends United s nine-game winning run away from home under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, just four days on from their dramatic Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal started positively but should have been behind nine minutes in, when Romelu Lukaku steered Luke Shaw s low cross against the crossbar from six yards out.
The Gunners punished that miss three minute…
With another weekend of action from across England ahead, we here at Soccer News have found a handful of helpful tips that can potentially boost your Saturday acca:
Saturday 1st December
15:00 Newcastle vs West Ham
While it may have been a sluggish start for Newcastle at the start of the season, Rafa Benitez s side appear to have finally found their feet. Picking up a 2-1 win away at Burnley on Monday night, the Magpies are now enjoying three wins on the bounce and are unbeaten in their last four. Putting in their best run of performances in recent memory, fans in the north west will also be boosted by their recent record against the Hammers. Putting three past their guests the last time the two sides met last season, they have also won the last three connective meetin…
Raheem Sterling urged calm and offered some perspective amid criticism of England s 0-0 draw with Scotland in their second game at Euro 2020.
England have come under intense pressure for their underwhelming performance against Scotland, with expectations high about the team s prospects having reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
Sterling said the doom and gloom needed to subside, pointing to previous champions at both European Championships and World Cups who had started slowly.
England have four points from their opening two games in Group D, with Sterling scoring the winner in their opening 1-0 victory over Croatia, ahead of Tuesday s group finale against the Czech Republic.
[England manager] Gareth [Southgate] showed us some stats on teams that hav…
Manchester City playmaker David Silva is set to remain as the Premier League leaders creative fulcrum after signing a contract extension running until 2020.
Silva has dazzled since joining City from Valencia in 2010 and the Spain international is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the club s history.
City director of football Txiki Begiristain welcomed the news by hailing Silva as the best creative midfielder in English football and the numbers produced by the 31-year-old throughout this decade certainly add weight to that claim.
Using Opta data, we take a closer look at the brilliance of a two-time Premier League winner and an enduring fans favourite.
72 David Silva has made 72 assists in the , more than twice as many as any other player in…
Marcus Rashford is really important to Manchester United and the forward is very much in their plans amid reported transfer interest from Paris Saint-Germain, says Erik ten Hag.
The 24-year-old struggled during a tepid 2021-22 campaign at Old Trafford, losing his place in the England set-up and mustering just four goals in 25 league appearances.
Reports have since emerged that he could make a fresh start across the English Channel with Ligue 1 heavyweights PSG.
But speaking ahead of a trip to Brentford this weekend, Ten Hag insists he regards Rashford as a key member of his squad this term.
He is really important, Ten Hag said. You have seen from the first day I am here [that] I am really happy with him.
I do not want to lose him. He is def…
Competition: La Liga
Market: Espanyol to beat Malaga
Odds:
La Liga is back for yet another massive weekend of action as every side in the league looks to build upon the starts they made in 2017. Each team will know the importance of starting the new year in positive fashion, meaning a win, especially if a side is playing at home, is vital. With all of this in mind, Malaga host Espanyol on Monday.
Malaga have been struggling massively this year and they need to improve or they will face relegation. After 17 games they have three wins, two draws and 12 defeats, while they have only scored 13 goals, conceding 31 times. In their last five they have won just once, while they have drawn one game and lost three times, which has seen them onto 11 points…