Roma eyeing Szczesny deal

I was not surprised that Craig Shakespeare’s tenure as permanent Leicester boss was not a long one. For me, he was never a long-term appointment. Claudio Ranieri’s former assistant just did not strike me as a Premier League boss.

Leicester have now found a replacement for Shakespeare in former Southampton boss Claude Puel, who was appointed on Wednesday on a three-year deal.

Mixed opinions on the appointment

When Southampton appointed Puel in the summer of 2016, I thought his appointment could have gone either way. In the end, the French did a decent job on the south coast, as the Saints finished eighth in the Premier League table and made it to the League Cup final.

I did not watch Southampton week-in and week-out last season under Puel. However, th…

Motherwell have brought back Mark McGhee as manager for a second spell to replace the sacked Ian Baraclough at Fir Park.

The Scottish Premiership side have handed the 58-year-old, who is part of Gordon Strachan s coaching team with Scotland, a two-year contract.

McGhee s first spell with Motherwell was between 2007 and 2009 and guided them to finishes of third and seventh in the table before moving on to Aberdeen.

McGhee, whose last managerial job with Bristol Rovers ended with him being sacked in 2012, said:  For the last two and half years I have indulged myself in going to Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea and all the London clubs, to watch all the lads with any tenuous link to Scotland.

I have enjoyed that tremendously, it has been a privilege to watch…

Senegal have accused Watford of blocking Ismaila Sarr from linking up with the national team ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.

Sarr has not played for Watford since November 20 due to a knee ligament injury and is not expected to return to fitness until the end of this month at the earliest.

Despite still being out injured, Senegal named the 23-year-old in their squad for the tournament, which runs from January 9 until February 6.

However, Watford informed Senegal earlier this week that Sarr will not be allowed to travel.

It is the second Africa Cup of Nations row Watford have been embroiled in after Nigeria accused the Premier League side of baring fangs after objecting to Emmanuel Dennis being named in the squad.

The Senegalese Footba…

Haris Seferovic claims Switzerland are capable of reaching the final of 2016 as Poland s Michal Pazdan remembers an important lesson in humility ahead of their meeting in the round of 16.

Both countries have advanced to the knockout stages of the European Championship for the first time, Switzerland claiming second in Group A behind France courtesy of a win over Albania and draws with Romania and the hosts.

They narrowly avoided a daunting match against the world champions, but are nevertheless wary of a Poland side headlined by Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.

We could have got Germany, but Poland are [also] very difficult to play, Seferovic was quoted as saying by UEFA s official tournament website.

We have showed our qualities so far, but we…

With a real party atmosphere around the Etihad on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City lifted the 2022/23 Premier League title as they secured a 1-0 victory at home against Chelsea.

While the job might have already been completed yesterday as Nottingham Forest claimed a season-deciding 1-0 win against Arsenal, Pep Guardiola’s side have now extended their unbeaten run to 24 matches.

Getting their hands on five Premier League crowns over the past six seasons and making more domestic history here, it was Julian Alvarez who proved to be the match-winner as the 23-year-old produced a clinical finish in the 12th minute.

With Guardiola electing to make nine changes on Sunday afternoon and leaving out the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, it was certainly an o…

Scotland international Ikechi Anya has urged Scott Bain, Kenny McLean, Kevin McDonald and Tony Watt to grab their chance when they take on the Czech Republic on Thursday.

Bain, McLean, McDonald and Watt are all in line to make their Scotland debuts in Prague as Gordon Strachan s men kick-off preparations for their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign after missing out on Euro 2016. 

Anya won his first cap in September 2013 as a relative unknown, only to go on to become a regular for Scotland, and he hopes the quartet of new faces can make a similar impact on the national team.

This is a brilliant opportunity for the new lads to come in, Anya told Daily Record. I am sure the new boys will be excited. It is always a great privilege to be called up to potentiall…

The Saudi Pro League will target players “of the highest level” in future transfer windows, its head of recruitment has said.

Top-flight Saudi Arabian clubs spent £701million to bring in talent from overseas in the summer,’ according to FIFA.

That figure could have been even bigger if bids from Saudi teams for Paris St Germain striker Kylian Mbappe and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah had been accepted.

Michael Emenalo, the league’s director of football and the man in charge of the country’s Player Acquisition Centre for Excellence (PACE), admitted the Saudi league had “competed aggressively” in the summer window and that the focus was now on top-quality additions.

“I’m hoping (the January transfer window) is not very busy, because I thi…

Chelsea have completed the signing of France international Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.

The 25-year-old forward made a pre-contract agreement to join the club in December but has now completed the move for a reported £63million on a six-year contract.

He scored 23 goals in 36 appearances for the Bundesliga side during the 2022/23 season and becomes the first major arrival since Mauricio Pochettino was confirmed as the club’s new manager.

Nkunku is a Blue!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

The club confirmed the signing via their Twitter account on Tuesday.

Nkunku told the club website: “I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea. A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and tea…

Diego Simeone rued Atletico Madrid s injury problems ahead of Wednesday s clash with Granada after Joao Felix was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Atletico saw their hopes of a top-four finish in LaLiga dealt a blow on Monday when the Portuguese forward announced his season is over after picking up a hamstring injury. 

The 22-year-old has scored eight league goals in 24 games, but just 13 starts for Simeone s team in LaLiga this season, his best return since making a big-money move from Benfica in 2019.

But after going off injured at the halfway point of Atletico s 2-1 win over Espanyol last time out, he will be unable to add to his 10 goals and five assists in all competitions this term, joining the likes of Thomas Lemar on a growing injury list.…

Clara Mateo believes France can put their pre-World Cup difficulties behind them as they look to unite under new head coach Herve Renard.

Les Bleues were embroiled in a pre-tournament saga involving a group of leading players and former coach Corinne Diacre, who oversaw their run to the semi-finals of Euro 2022.

A revolt from several players – including captain Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer – ultimately led to Diacre s dismissal, with two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner Herve Renard installed in her place.

With the drama over, Mateo is hopeful the squad can put their troubles behind them in Australia and New Zealand, where they face Jamaica, Brazil and Panama in the group stage.

I think there s a very good understanding between the players an…