The agent of Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matic has moved to deny speculations linking his client with a January exit from Estadio da Luz.

Matic, 24, has largely impressed in covering for Javi Garcia’s departure and has already seen his name linked to top European clubs.

Media reports in England yesterday suggested Liverpool were planning a January assault on the highly rated midfielder, but the player’s representative says the Serbian player is not yet ready to leave the Eagles.

“He wants to play at least two seasons at the highest level at Benfica before considering other scenarios,” agent Dejan Mitrovic .

Matic already has some Premier League experience, having played for Chelsea during the 2009/2010 season.

Following a loan spell at Vit…

Bayern Munich will play in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals unless Arsenal can do something no club has done in over four years.

Arsenal must score a minimum of three goals at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday and overcome Bayern by a two-goal margin to defeat the Bundesliga leaders in their two-legged round-of-16 tie.

Bayern put one foot in the next round when they embarrassed Arsenal with a 3-1 defeat in the first leg in London with Thomas Mueller scoring one goal and setting up another for the German club.

The last time a team scored three times at the Allianz Arena and knocked off Bayern by two goals was in February 2011 when Borussia Dortmund triumphed 3-1.

But even that result would only mean extra time in Munich.

Werder Bremen were the…

Barcelona have appointed Ernesto Valverde as their new head coach on a two-year contract.

The Catalans were in the market for a new man in charge following Luis Enrique s decision to leave the club at the end of the 2016-17 campaign and they have turned to the former Athletic Bilbao boss.

Valverde will be presented as Barca head coach at a media conference on Thursday.

I have spoken personally with Ernesto Valverde and I told him of our decision, said club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

He said he is very excited and very happy, that it s a great challenge to come in as head coach of Barca. 

There is time to talk about why we chose him. We know he has ability, his knowledge and his experience. 

He loves youth football and he has a s…

Thiago Alcantara believes Pep Guardiola completely changed the way the game is seen in Germany during his time in charge of Bayern Munich.

Spain international Thiago considered the Bundesliga to be primarily focused on power and strength before Guardiola arrived in 2013.

However, following Guardiola s three years in charge of the Bavarian giants, the former Barcelona midfielder now feels possession and domination of the game are of greater importance.

Pep brought greater emphasis on putting value on possession and controlling the game, Thiago told Marca.

The Bundesliga has always been a competition of strength, power and goals.

He changed the concept of German football in general and they found a harmony that saw them go on to become world…

Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane says he has been unfairly put in the bling-bling drawer and will take criticism as an incentive to realise his potential.

Sane was unable to hit the ground running at Bayern after joining the European champions on a five-year deal from Manchester City in July for a fee of €49million, which could rise to €60m.

The winger missed almost the entire 2019-20 season with City due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament before returning to his homeland.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge last month warned Sane must show more desire and says Bayern will be prepared to kick his butt if needed to get the best out of their big-money signing.

Sane has since taken his goal tally to seven for the season, while also providing fiv…

Bayern Munich will be without Kingsley Coman until after the Bundesliga s mid-season break, but the winger suffered no serious damage after sustaining a knee injury against Tottenham.

Coman, who had opened the scoring, went off early in the Champions League encounter at Allianz Arena after appearing to suffer a hyperextension of his left knee while attempting to chase down an errant pass.

Bayern then said Coman had suffered a capsule tear in the left knee but a further update from the club on Thursday delivered a more positive update.

The France international is expected to be fit enough to return to action next month, says the club s chief medical officer Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.

Naturally, we were all extremely worried at first. But Kingsley is…

Xabi Alonso s immediate future has been decided, with the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich star signing a new one-year contract with Real Sociedad.

Alonso first took up a coaching role at Madrid, but left Los Blancos to take over La Real s B team in 2019, penning a two-year deal.

In a season curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, Alonso guided the reserve side to a fifth-placed finish in Segunda Division B.

This week, he was the subject of intense speculation linking him with a switch to Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach, whose current head coach Marco Rose will be joining Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.

Rumours of the move being all but done proved to be premature, however, and though several clubs are said to have bee…

According to a recent report from Bild, Borussia Dortmund are planning a move for Hakim Ziyech.

Chelsea signed the Ajax star in summer 2020 for a fee believed to be around £37 million. Alas, after struggling for playing time under Thomas Tuchel, it would appear as if the time has come for him to move on.

A permanent sale during the January transfer window isn’t likely to be on the horizon, and instead, Dortmund are hoping to land the 28-year-old on a loan deal.

They ll be planning for their own future without some of their top stars and that certainly includes Erling Haaland. The star Norwegian is one of the big names still left in the first team squad for Dortmund and while Ziyech wouldn t serve as a direct replacement, he d be another star to add into the r…

Juventus maintained their unbeaten start to the Serie A season with a 2-0 win at bottom side Empoli.

Danilo fired the visitors in front in the 24th minute and Federico Chiesa made sure of the points late in the second period after Dusan Vlahovic had seen a poor first-half penalty saved by debutant Etrit Berisha.

The win lifts Juve to third in the table, two points behind Inter and AC Milan, while Empoli have now failed to score in any of their three league games this season after crashing out of the Coppa Italia to Serie B Cittadella.

Our 2 goalscorers as we made it 2 from 2 on the road

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)

Vlahovic had the first shot on target in the seventh minute, but his right-footed effort was gathered at his near post at the sec…

What the papers say

The deadline day drama is starting to warm up for a second act in January with the Evening Standard reporting that Bayern Munich look set to launch a fresh bid for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha at the start of the year.

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will be in playing exile until January after the 36-year-old dug in his heels over moving clubs, despite The Guardian reporting Spurs received offers for the French international.

The Daily Telegraph reports Spurs defender Eric Dier has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, shortly after holding talks with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy after boss Ange Postecoglou froze out the England player.

Social media round-up

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