England defender John Stones will have a direct line to Pep Guardiola during the World Cup as he aims to make up for a difficult Euro 2016.
Now an integral member of Gareth Southgate s back three, Stones is set for his first minutes at a major tournament after going unused by Roy Hodgson two years ago.
The then-Everton player watched from the bench as England scraped through the group stage in France before crashing out to Iceland in a deflating last-16 defeat.
He has since blossomed into a Premier League winner under Guardiola at Manchester City and the 24-year-old will look to his club boss for guidance in Russia.
I will definitely speak to him in the tournament. He s very open, Stones told reporters.
He said we can call him or text him whenev…
St Louis City snapped their two-game losing skid with a statement win where they piled on five goals within an hour in a 5-1 hammering over Eastern Conference-leading Cincinnati on Saturday.
The MLS expansion side had suffered back-to-back losses after creating league history by winning their first five games but responded at CityPark.
Jared Stroud fired in a third-minute opener from a set-piece before Eduard Lowen lashed home a volley in the 39th minute.
Kyle Hiebert glanced in Stroud s cross in first-half stoppage-time and St Louis did not relent after the break, with Nicholas Gioacchini adding another from Rasmus Alm s classy touch in the 53rd minute.
It was five in the 57th minute when Alm s rifled strike from outside the box hit the post and deflecte…
Grimsby will honour 16-year-old youth-team player Cameron Walsh and his father Dave at Saturday’s League Two match with Notts County.
The Mariners have been left “devastated” after the pair died in a car accident on Saturday.
Tributes will be paid ahead of kick-off at the weekend, though the club are yet to announce the full extent of their plans.
— Grimsby Town F.C. (@officialgtfc)
Walsh has been described as an “integral” member of the Mariners’ academy.
The League Two club said in a statement on Monday night: “It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that Grimsby Town Football Club announces the untimely passing of one of our cherished youth-team members, Cameron Walsh, aged 16, and his father Dave.
“Cam…
Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper has called on owner Mike Ashley to invest in the team and engage with fans.
Harper spent 20 years at Newcastle as a player, only leaving in the close-season to join Premier League newcomers Hull City.
Few understand Newcastle United as well as him, and Harper – who has had first-hand experience of Ashley s reign – has urged him to reward the club s long-suffering supporters.
Newcastle last won a major trophy in 1969 and struggled last term, failing to build on their fifth-place finish in the 2011-12 season.
Ahead of his testimonial at St James Park, Harper told The Telegraph: The fans make the club tick, but they feel detached from it.
Whenever the club has done well over, the fans have been on board. They…
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has ruled out a return to Inter Milan next season, but says he would like to rejoin the Serie A club one day.
Mourinho led Inter to an historic treble in 2010, and while he rejected rumours linking him with a return in 2013/14, the Portuguese said he wants to go back to San Siro in the future.
Next season, it is certain that I won t return to Inter, but I d like to go back one day, he was quoted as saying by Marca.
I speak from my heart, as I did when I said I want to return to England one day. But what is certain is that my next club will not be Inter.
Mourinho said in-form goalkeeper Diego Lopez is likely to keep his place in Real s starting line-up for the game at home to Levante, ahead of club captain Iker Casillas.<…
Henrikh Mkhitaryan says he was at fault for taking longer than expected to earn a first-team berth at Manchester United, not Jose Mourinho.
The Armenia international arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund with high expectations after being named the Bundesliga Players Player of the Year for 2015-16.
He struggled to adapt, though, and was hauled off at half-time on his first start for the club, a 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester City, after which Mourinho said Mkhitaryan was guilty of turning in a really poor individual performance .
Mourinho subsequently suggested that Mkhitaryan would struggle under the pressure of a crunch match with Arsenal, but the playmaker insists he did not fall out with his manager.
There was no bad relation with him [Mouri…
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui has named Napoli forward Jose Callejon in his squad for next month s World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Albania.
Callejon has not featured for La Rioja since a pair of substitute appearances in 2014 but has been in superb form this season, with five goals in six Serie A appearances.
Real Madrid defender Nacho and Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico are also in having missed out on Lopetegui s first squad for the September internationals against Belgium and Liechtenstein, while Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta is back from injury.
Isco returns to the national team fold despite playing just 54 LaLiga minutes for Madrid this season but fellow midfielder Cesc Fabregas misses out once more.
Concluye la conferencia de prensa de . Turn…
As reported by the club on social media, have officially confirmed the signing of . The 29-year-old midfielder joined on loan from struggling Swansea City back in January, and in that time, a lot of things have changed. Mesa has been able to quickly establish himself as an important member of the first team squad, whereas the Swans now find themselves back down in the English Championship after suffering relegation from the Premier League.
Mesa initially signed for Swansea back in July 2017 for a deal that was said to be worth around £11 million. Unfortunately, despite making over a dozen appearances for the club, he was unable to adapt to life in Wales and the search began for a place he could go on loan.
If Swansea had been able to maintain their Premier League plac…
Philippe Coutinho wanted to leave Barcelona at the end of last season as he prepares to join Bayern Munich on loan, according to Ernesto Valverde.
Barca and Bayern confirmed on Friday that an agreement is in place for Coutinho to move to the Bundesliga champions for the 2019-20 campaign – the deal including an option to buy the playmaker.
Coutinho had been linked to Paris Saint-Germain as a makeweight in a possible deal for former Barca star Neymar, however, the Brazilian is now set for Munich after watching Friday s shock 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao from the stands.
Asked about Coutinho following Barca s disappointing LaLiga opener, head coach Valverde told Movistar: It is a situation that last season when the league ended the player had it in his head.
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A Saudi investment company are in talks to buy George Gillett s stake in Liverpool. He currently holds 50 per cent of the clubs shares with compatriot Tom Hicks owning the other 50 per cent. If the Saudi company succeed in buying out the co-owner it could lead to a major shift in power in the English game.
Will Liverpool become the new Manchester City?
The company is headed by Saudi prince Faisil bin Fahd bin Abdullah and will be expected to give Rafa the Gaffer the money to take the club to the Premier League title. The question I m now asking myself is will Liverpool now have the same financial clout that Manchester City now have?
Do this Saudi group have big financial muscle?
When groups of middle eastern investors are mentioned it seems…