Mohamed Salah s incredible exploits since joining Liverpool from Roma last year make his £36.9million price tag seem ever more implausible and any debate over the identity of Jurgen Klopp s most important player more or less redundant.

Any murmurs of a relatively quiet start to his second season on Merseyside were emphatically squashed by a stunning hat-trick at Bournemouth last Saturday, with Salah inspiring a 4-0 win that helped to ensure Liverpool finished the weekend at the top of the Premier League table.

The Egypt forward s brilliant winner in the nerve-shredding 1-0 victory over Napoli in the Champions League was an example of a high-grade player operating near the peak of his powers.

Of course, it would have counted for nothing if Alisson had not made …

Following a complaint about the unveiling of a banner by Crystal Palace supporters in their Premier League clash with Newcastle United at Selhurst Park on Saturday, police assessed the concerns and have confirmed that they will be taking no further action.

The banner criticised the Premier League s Owners and Directors Test in light of the recent takeover of the Tyneside club by a Saudi consortium.

A large sheet depicted caricatures including a man in traditional Arab dress holding a sword covered in blood, a mock-checklist of the Owners and Directors Test, a bag of money and the letters P.I.F written on the man s clothes.

The banner also showed a magpie, seemingly representing Newcastle, whose nickname is the Magpies.

A member of the public made a compl…

Pepe Reina is back in the Premier League after joining Aston Villa from Milan on loan, while Bournemouth s Asmir Begovic has moved to San Siro on a short-term deal.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Reina, who spent eight years at Anfield as the Reds first-choice shot-stopper, will spend the remainder of the season at Villa Park.

Villa have moved for the 37-year-old due to the season-ending knee injury England s Tom Heaton suffered earlier this month.

Reina joined Milan from Napoli in 2018 but has been unable to dislodge Gianluigi Donnarumma and has been restricted to five Serie A appearances.

Donnarumma s deputy will now be ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Begovic, who has also moved on a deal that runs until the end of the campaign.

— Aston Villa (…

Market: Both teams to score No

Odds: 4/5 @

Two sides who find themselves scrapping it out at the foot of the League One table, Burton will welcome Port Vale to the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, while Burton might have eventually cruised their way to League One safety last season, the Brewers are enduring another third-tier struggle this time around. Last seen putting in another toothless performance as they slumped to a 1-0 loss away at Exeter, Martin Paterson’s men open Saturday’s showdown holding just a four-point buffer from dropping into the relegation zone. Despite opening March with a 0-0 stalemate away at Cheltenham, that is the only point that they have collected from their previous six League One appearances a run t…

Liverpool push for Szoboszlai deal in race against time as Carvalho completes Leipzig loan

Liverpool are reportedly stepping up their efforts to sign Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig. Apparently, Newcastle have decided to pull out of the race and the Merseysiders are now competing only against time the reported €70 million release clause in Szoboszlai s contract expires when this day (Friday) ends.

The Hungarian attacking midfielder fits the profile Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp wants and it s now up either to the two clubs to find an agreement, or up to Liverpool to trigger the said release clause.

Meanwhile, both clubs have confirmed that Liverpool s Fabio Carvalho has joined Leipzig on a season-long loan, apparently with no option for th…

The 2011/12 Serie A season will get underway this weekend after an agreement was reached between the league and Italian players union.

With a previous collective bargaining agreement expired and no new arrangement reached, players opted to strike last week, meaning the first round of the top-flight season was postponed.

A temporary one-year deal has been signed on Monday, and the league season will now begin with Lazio s visit to champions AC Milan on Friday.

An agreement was signed today by FIGC (Italian Football Federation) president Giancarlo Abete, Lega A president Maurizio Beretta and AIC (Italian Players Union) president Damiano Tommasi for the new collective bargaining agreement, the FIGC said in a statement.

The contract will expire in June 201…

The Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) denied on Wednesday that they have appointed Diego Maradona as their new senior coach.

Maradona is set to visit Venezuela s president Nicolas Maduro after the FIFA World Cup, which sparked rumours the former Argentina international and coach would replace Cesar Farias, who resigned in November.

But in a statement released by the FVF, president Rafael Esquivel denied Venezuela have settled on a new coach for their senior national team.

There has not been a proposal to hire the famous ex athlete and coach Diego Armando Maradona, despite insistence in recent hours by different media and social networks, Esquivel said.

The country will know the name of the new coach once the board of directors … makes the decision,…

Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel will be able to lift Mario Gotze back to his best, according to the club s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke. 

Gotze completed a move back to the Westfalenstadion on Thursday, three years after his controversial transfer to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich. 

The attacking midfielder won back-to-back league titles with Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp but left to join Bayern in 2013 in a deal worth €37million.

However, Gotze was unable to make a telling impression at Allianz Arena, despite holding a better scoring record with the German champions. 

But Watzke believes Tuchel, who replaced Klopp ahead of last season, can bring Gotze the hero of Germany s 2014 World Cup win back to his best. 

We are convinced that our c…

Roma have been dealt a blow ahead of the upcoming Serie A season with the news that defender Mario Rui has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

On Friday, the Portuguese sustained the injury during a training session in Boston where Luciano Spalletti s men are preparing for a friendly against Liverpool.

Medical examinations on Saturday revealed the extent of the issue, and Rui has consequently travelled back to Rome where he is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery this week.

The 25-year-old is a recent arrival at the Stadio Olimpico on an initial loan from Empoli, for whom he had made almost 100 appearances since completing a switch from Parma in 2013.

The left-back was one of a number of defenders brought in by Spalletti in a bid to bolster…

Arsenal are hoping that their good relationship with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s father will help them convince the striker to sign a new contract, according to The Telegraph.

The current deal binding the Gabonese to the Gunners expires in a year, and unless an extension is agreed soon, they may be forced to agree a sale in order to lose him for free at the end of next season. They are keen to keep hold of the man who shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Liverpool s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in 2018/19, and whose contribution on the pitch has often been of vital importance.

Aubameyang arrived to the Emirates from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018, and the name of his father Pierre-Francois, who also acts as his agent, was on the official FA paperwork.

A…