What the papers say

The Daily Mail says Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has emerged as a loan option for Barcelona to fill their Gavi-shaped gap. The Spanish side are reportedly unlikely to look for a permanent replacement after they received £6million in compensation from FIFA following the Spain international’s knee injury.

According to the Mirror, Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira could get the green light from Arsenal to join Marseille on loan.

Chelsea are keen to part with Romelu Lukaku in the summer transfer window, with Italian side Roma eager to make the 30-year-old’s loan move permanent, the Evening Standard reports.

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José Mourinho when asked on his deal at AS Roma expiring in June 24: “I still don’t know if I’m…

Massimiliano Allegri wants Juventus to channel their Champions League anger and show the rest of Serie A they remain a force to be reckoned with.

Under-pressure head coach Allegri said Juventus would play an unspectacular game if necessary on Saturday to get the better of Lecce.

After recent wins over Torino and Empoli, Juventus are looking for a third Serie A victory on the bounce, but results in Europe have been dreadful by comparison, with defeats to Maccabi Haifa and Benfica dumping the Bianconeri out at the Champions League group stage.

Italian media have not been slow to link Tottenham boss Antonio Conte with a return to Juventus, possibly at the end of the season when the former Italy coach s contract expires at Spurs, though the Premier League club do hav…

Peter Schmeichel thinks Manchester United made a statement of intent by signing Paul Pogba, adding they make their own money unlike the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.

United initially signed Pogba from Le Havre in 2009, but three years later he left the club for Juventus on a free transfer after finding first-team minutes hard to come by.

After four successive Scuddeti with the Turin giants, the France international returned to Old Trafford in August in a deal worth a record-breaking initial €105million.

Schmeichel believes the signing proves United remain a force to be reckoned with despite their struggles since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013.

The former goalkeeper also praised the club s financial ethos, rather than relying on the backi…

Schalke have appointed Domenico Tedesco as the club s new head coach on a two-year contract, replacing the departed Markus Weinzierl.

Weinzierl was in charge for a single season after signing a three-year deal ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, the club finishing 10th after winning one of their last six top-flight games.

Schalke missed out on European qualification for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign as a result, while they exited the Europa League and DFB-Pokal at the quarter-final stage.

Weinzierl s position was severely weakened when he was strongly criticised by Yevhen Konoplyanka, who described him as a coward for his treatment of the Ukraine winger.

BREAKING: part ways with Markus . Domenico is the new head coach on a 2-year deal! More to …

Paul Pogba is set to leave Manchester United as a free agent this summer, according to .

This decision has apparently been made in the aftermath of the abuse he suffered after the thrilling win over Norwich City. The midfielder was replaced in the 74nd minute by Juan Mata, and as he left the pitch, he was jeered by a section of the United fans in the stands of Old Trafford.

Pogba arrived to United from Juventus back in 2016, and it s fair to say that his contribution over the six years since hasn t exactly lived up to the expectations imposed by the reported €100m fee paid for his services. His initial contract would have expired last year, but the club triggered a 12-month extension included in it. Now, however, they don t have such a mechanism at their disposal, and…

LaLiga club Espanyol have confirmed the appointment of Diego Martinez as their new coach.

Espanyol finished 14th in LaLiga in the 2021-22 season, after gaining promotion back to the Spanish top flight as champions of the second tier.

However, they dismissed Vicente Moreno this month and have now moved for Martinez, who left Granada in May 2021 and has signed a two-year deal.

Martinez spent three seasons at Granada. He led the team back to LaLiga in 2019 before finishing seventh and reaching the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey in the following campaign.

¡Que empiece el partido!

— RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (@RCDEspanyol)

A ninth-placed finish followed in the 2020-21 season, along with a run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, wh…

Paulo Dybala admitted he was close to leaving Juventus in the close season and the star attacker said his future was in the Serie A champions hands.

Dybala was linked with a move to Manchester United and Tottenham, but ended up staying in Turin.

The Argentina international has impressed this season, scoring 11 goals in 26 games, but admitted he almost left Juventus.

I was close to leaving. That was in the club s thinking, I knew. Until the last minute, we were waiting, Dybala told The Guardian.

I have two years left on my contract. That s not a short time but it s not a long one either. We ll see what plans Juventus have, if they think I might leave in the next market or if they want me to stay.

That s a decision for the club to make. It s hard…

Aro Muric was Manchester City s hero as the holders edged into the EFL Cup semi-finals 3-1 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Leicester City.

Kevin De Bruyne, starting for the first time since suffering a medial knee ligament injury in the previous round against Fulham, gave Pep Guardiola s side an early lead with a magnificent strike from outside the box.

A Leicester side featuring seven changes from their weekend defeat to Crystal Palace often lacked fluency but Marc Albrighton thumped home an equaliser 17 minutes from time.

It meant the sides would settle a 1-1 quarter-final draw from the penalty spot, as they did 12 months ago, and Leicester showed little of the poise that had seen them through the previous two rounds via shoot-outs.

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Looking to open the defence of their Premiership campaign with a flurry on Sunday afternoon, Celtic will welcome Aberdeen to Glasgow.

Celtic

Starting with the hosts, managing to reclaim their domestic crown last season after a hugely impressive campaign under Ange Postecoglou, Celtic should find the mood in their camp at a continued high. With a Champions League group stage adventure on the horizon, the one-time Melbourne Victory boss has seen his side catch the eye this summer. Signing off their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 win against Championship outfit Norwich, the Hoops were unbeaten in each of their six friendly matchups. Likewise, drawing a close to the 2021/22 campaign with a thumping 6-0 romp against Motherwell in Glasgo…

Milan director Ricky Massara said the Serie A club are in talks with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Donnarumma over new contracts.

Ibrahimovic has transformed Milan since arriving on a free transfer in January, though the evergreen 38-year-old is out of contract at the end of the 2019-20 season.

The former Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona striker scored two goals in Wednesday s 4-1 Serie A rout of Sampdoria, taking his tally to 10 in 2020.

Asked about Ibrahimovic s future prior to the midweek clash, Massara told Sky Sport Italia: We are talking to Mino Raiola and trying to do it behind the scenes, even if it s difficult to keep anything from the media nowadays.

There are issues that we will evaluate together, including Ibra s spirit…