that West Ham United are readying a fresh assault on Saint Etienne defender Kevin Malcuit.

The Hammers attempted to recruit the 25-year-old in the January window, only to have a €10 million bid rejected by les Verts.

for the talented full-back, while West Ham are back in the race as well.

The Hammers have continued to monitor the right-back’s performances over the last couple of months and they seem convinced Malcuit would be a very good addition to the squad.

It remains to be seen though whether West Ham will be able to agree a transfer fee with Saint Etienne, who are proving to drive a hard bargain.

Kevin Malcuit is a kind of a late bloomer having made just one Ligue 1 appearance prior to joining les Verts in the summer of 2015.

…

According to , Kylian Mbappe has agreed to join Real Madrid when his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of the season. Apparently, the France captain has already signed the contract which will make him a Real Madrid player for five years, starting with July 1st this year.

As one of the best players in the world, Mbappe has long been tipped to join Los Blancos, despite being also linked with several Premier League clubs. A while back, he expressed his admiration for Liverpool, and there have been reports claiming his entourage had met with Manchester City, but it seems Real have finally managed to land their primary target.

Last week, the 25-year-old forward met with PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi to inform him he would be leaving the club at the end of …

Andoni Zubizarreta has agreed a new two-year deal to remain as sporting director at La Liga champions Barcelona.

The 52-year-old has been in the role since 2010, when he replaced Txiki Begiristain, and also enjoyed a spell playing for the club as a goalkeeper.

Zubizarreta is expected to put pen to paper in the coming days.

A statement on the club s webiste read: Andoni Zubizarreta will continue as sporting director until the end of the 2015-16 season after terms were agreed for the extension of his contract on Thursday November 7.

His present contract is due to expire at the end of June 2014, but he ll now be staying on an additional two years until June 30, 2016.

Zubizarreta is in his fourth season as sporting director at Camp Nou and has been partly resp…

Sebastian Giovinco scored twice as Toronto FC snapped a three-game winless run in MLS with a 3-1 victory at home to Bastian Schweinsteiger s Chicago Fire.

Former Juventus forward and 2015 MVP Giovinco scored in either half to help Toronto get back to winning ways at BMO Field on Friday.

Toronto welcomed Schweinsteiger and his team-mates to Canada having not won since March 18, following back-to-back draws against Sporting Kansas City and Atlanta United, while they lost at Columbus Crew last time out.

But with Giovinco at his brilliant best, Toronto ensured Schweinsteiger and the Fire returned home to Chicago emptyhanded.

Sit back and enjoy. Vintage Seba. |

— Toronto FC (@torontofc)

Schweinsteiger had scored two goals in three matches …

Roberto Mancini will not recall Mario Balotelli to the Italy squad just to make an anti-racism statement but is adamant the Brescia striker is still young enough to make an impact for the Azzurri.

Balotelli, 29, was subjected to racist abuse by Hellas Verona fans in a 2-1 defeat this month and threatened to walk off the pitch.

Verona were ordered by Serie A to play a match with a partial stadium closure, while the club banned head ultra Luca Castellini for 11 years after he defended the fans actions in a radio interview.

Balotelli returned to the Italy fold in 2018 after a four-year absence but has been back in the international wilderness since a 1-1 draw with Poland last September.

Mancini, the coach who gave him his big break at Inter in 2007, insists …

Liverpool continued their impressive run on all fronts with a crucial victory away to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, courtesy of a very late goal by Darwin Nunez.

Narrow contest

Liverpool dominated the game at the City Ground, with the ball at their feet for 79% of the time, a total of 22 shots compared to eight from the home side, though both teams hit the target just twice apiece.

But for a large part of the game, the Merseysiders looked exactly the way a team severely ravaged by injuries while playing every three or four days would be expected to look, bereft of creativity, struggling to find gaps in the opposition defence, and holding the ball for large spells without causing their opponents any actual problems.

It took just under 15 minutes of the game for…

Spain international Xavi has signed a pre-contract with Qatar Stars League club Al Arabi according to their coach Dan Petrescu.

Xavi, who is with Spain at the FIFA World Cup, has been linked with a move away from Barcelona for the majority of this year, as the pace of La Liga appeared to get away from the 34-year-old midfielder at times last season.

While MLS has previously been mentioned as a possible destination for Xavi, Petrescu, who became Al Arabi s coach on June 5, claimed the veteran midfielder is on his way to Qatar in an interview with Romanian television station Digi Sport.

The former Romania international claimed he has spoken to Xavi on the phone from Brazil and could offer the Barcelona captain a salary of €8million per year.

Xavi has signed a pre…

Verdict: Home win

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

Manchester City are fighting to secure a UEFA Champions League berth for the upcoming season, but they are set to face a tough opponent this weekend. In the game that will kick Saturday s action in the Premier League, the Citizens will host a needy Crystal Palace side that also need the three points to take another step toward avoiding a potential relegation to the Championship.

Manchester City

It is safe to say Manchester City have not lived up to the expectations this season. However, Pep Guardiola s men control their own fate when it comes to securing a berth in the UEFA Champions League next season. The Citizens are coming off a disappointing draw against Middlesbrough, and they know they can t lose anymore…

Gareth Bale is hopeful Wales can use their hard-fought 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their opening Euro 2020 match as a springboard to push on.

Kieffer Moore headed in 16 minutes from time to cancel out Breel Embolo s opener in Saturday s Group A clash at the Baku Olympic Stadium.

Switzerland managed double the number of shots than Wales and had a Mario Gavranovic goal ruled out by VAR late on, but Moore rescued the Dragons a potentially huge point.

Wales have now lost just one of their last 14 competitive games – against Belgium in March – and Bale is pleased with his side s attitude to battle back in the blistering Baku heat.

1-1 SGÔR TERFYNOL

A rollercoaster of a second half! And breathe. | |

— Wales(@Cymru)

Both …

Money doesn’t necessarily buy success

Deloitte calculate the richest football clubs in the world and produce a list of the top twenty clubs annually. The review does not include the cost of transfer fees or player wages, or VAT and other sales taxes, but calculates the income from all football business. This includes money from ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandising and other commercial revenues, television money, corporate hospitality and use of the stadium for things like business conferences.

Surprising

The review probably doesn’t mean a great deal and the results are certainly not very surprising. The top ten clubs from season 2008-09 were exactly the same ten that we find in the latest list for season 2009-10.

The most interesting thing is to see …