Wiegman wins UEFA Coach of the Year award, Putellas retains player title

England manager Sarina Wiegman has carried off the UEFA Women s Coach of the Year award after leading the Lionesses to victory at the European Championship.

Wiegman steered England to what was only the nation s second-ever major international honour, the other being the men s victory in the 1966 World Cup final. It saw her win the Euros for the second tournament in a row – previously steering her native Netherlands to glory.

Fresh from naming her first England squad on Wednesday since the Euro 2022 victory, Wiegman was unable to attend the event where she pipped Germany manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and Lyon s Sonia Bompastor to the honour.

Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas took the UEFA Women s Player of the Year honour for the second season in a row – be…

Juventus eye RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku

Juventus are interested in signing Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Italian and European giants Juventus are looking for an attacking midfielder, and one of the names on their list of targets is former Paris Saint-Germain player Nkunku.

Massimiliano Allegri, the head coach of Juventus, wants to sign an attacking midfielder who can be the playmaker for his team. One of the names on Allegri’s list is RB Leipzig’s 24-year-old French attacking midfielder Nkunku.

Nkunku has been on the books of Leipzig since 2019 when he joined from French giants PSG. The 24-year-old has made 21 starts and one substitute appearance in the Bundesliga so far this season, scoring 11 goals and providing seven assists i…

Bournemouth midfielder Adams to miss start of season through injury

Bournemouth and United States midfielder Tyler Adams will miss the start of the Premier League season after undergoing surgery on a back injury.

Adams joined Bournemouth from Leeds United in a deal worth over £20million last year but endured an injury-affected debut season at the Vitality Stadium.

He has only made three Premier League appearances totalling 118 minutes for the Cherries, and he will sit out the start of 2024-25 after aggravating a back issue at the Copa America.

Adams featured in all three of his country s games at their home tournament as they crashed out in the group stage, but Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola now expects to be without him in the early stages of the campaign.

He finished the season with an injury in his back, Iraola said.…

Aaron Ramsdale’s dad criticises Mikel Arteta for not explaining why son dropped

Aaron Ramsdale’s father has criticised Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for not telling his son why he has been dropped in favour of David Raya.

England goalkeeper Ramsdale started in Arsenal’s first four Premier League games, but has been relegated to the bench following Raya’s arrival on loan from Brentford.

Ramsdale’s father, Nick, told The Highbury Corner podcast that his son had “lost his smile” and was finding it difficult after not being given an explanation by Arteta.

Nick Ramsdale said: “Aaron’s lost that smile to when he was holding on to that ball at this moment in time and it is difficult.

“It really is difficult to see him there and we all keep saying ‘you need to keep smiling’.”

He added: “It’s possibly the way i…

England 3-0 Ivory Coast: Sterling stars in easy win as Aurier sees red

Raheem Sterling played a starring role with the captain s armband as England cruised to a 3-0 friendly win over Ivory Coast, who had Serge Aurier sent off in the first half.

Gareth Southgate made 10 changes from the team that beat Switzerland 2-1 on Saturday, though at no point did that look an issue for the Three Lions, whose record unbeaten run was extended to 22 matches – excluding penalty shoot-outs.

Sterling was at the centre of much that was good about England in the first half, teeing up Ollie Watkins for the opener and then providing a finish just before the interval having seen Aurier dismissed moments earlier.

An England penalty was then overturned early in the second half, and the Three Lions looked like settling for a two-goal win during a disjointe…

Man City advance in Gvardiol and Kovacic pursuit

The talks between Manchester City and the representatives of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol over proposed personal terms are progressing well, according to Fabrizio Romano.

It appears that for all the commotion around their alleged 115 breaches of financial rules, the 2022/23 treble winners are about to add another expensive player to their ranks. Leipzig are not prepared to do any kind of cut-price deal, and with Gvardiol s contract set to run until the summer of 2027, they obviously hold all the cards in their hands.

The 21-year-old Croatia international has reportedly been on the radars of several top clubs, such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool, but it seems City have been the most decisive suitor in that race.

The interest comes as no sur…

Dani Alves revels in second Barcelona debut: ´A special day to wear the shirt again´

Dani Alves described playing for Barcelona again as too special a gift  after making his second debut in the Copa del Rey win over Linares Deportivo.

The veteran defender played the full 90 minutes as Xavi s side came from behind at Linarejos, with goals from Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Jutgla sealing a 2-1 win over the third-tier club.

The 38-year-old was officially registered on Monday after re-joining the club on a free transfer in November following his departure from Sao Paulo.

Alves was making his 248th appearance – and first since May 2016 – for the Blaugrana, with whom he won 23 trophies during his first spell.

And he praised the mental strength of his team-mates to recover after Hugo Diaz s header put them on the back foot.

Let s get …

Ajax 3-0 Lille: Ten Hag´s men start Champions League campaign in style

Last season s beaten semi-finalists Ajax opened their 2019-20 Champions League campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Lille on Tuesday.

Erik ten Hag s side – who were denied a place in the final by Tottenham last term – were in dominant mood against their Ligue 1 opponents and looked well placed to claim all three points from the outset in Amsterdam.

Quincy Promes headed them into an 18th-minute lead before Edson Alvarez scored his first goal for the club five minutes after the interval.

Nicolas Tagliafico added a third with a thumping header after 62 minutes as the Dutch champions stormed into pole position in Group H.

Ajax started on the front foot and went agonisingly close to taking the lead in the 14th minute, Hakim Ziyech s thunderous half-voll…

Mourinho turns on misfiring Abraham: ´You should ask him what´s the problem´

Jose Mourinho has taken aim at misfiring Roma striker Tammy Abraham, suggesting the England international may be distracted by the World Cup.

Abraham enjoyed a prolific debut season with the Giallorossi, scoring 27 goals in 53 appearances during the 2021-22 campaign, but he has only netted three times in 18 games this term.

The Roma head coach appeared to question the focus of the former Chelsea forward, whose last Serie A goal came in the 2-1 win over Empoli on September 12.

You should ask him what’s the problem, said Mourinho during his press conference ahead of Wednesday s clash with Sassuolo. If he is distracted, if he has a problem or if he thinks about the World Cup.

However, Mourinho defended Roger Ibanez, who was subjected to criticism after h…

St Juste gets first Dutch call-up with De Vrij out through COVID-19

Stefan de Vrij s positive coronavirus test has ruled him out of the latest Netherlands squad, with Mainz centre-back Jeremiah St Juste included for the first time in his place.

Dutch coach Frank de Boer named a final 24-man squad on Friday, picking from an initial 31-man group selected earlier this month.

Inter defender De Vrij was among those to make way, having contracted COVID-19, prompting a lockdown of the Nerazzurri camp.

Their international players have been banned from joining their national teams, although Belgium still called up Romelu Lukaku while De Boer suggested a delayed arrival was possible for De Vrij.

But that complication has created an opportunity for St Juste, a former youth international.

For Stefan de Vrij, it is of course …