Lazio interested in Ayew

According to a recent report from Gazzetta dello Sport, Italian side Lazio are considering the possibility of a late move for Andre Ayew from Swansea City. Before now they had ruled out the possibility of making any more signings, but now, it appears as if they’re willing to do a U-turn on that.

The 29 year old winger has had two spells with Swansea, dating back to 2015. He spent last season out on loan with Fenerbahce, but now, it seems as if he’s ready to re-enter the big time in European football.

Lazio were able to make a winning start to their Serie A campaign with a convincing win over Sampdoria, but now, the question is whether or not they’re able to sustain that momentum.

There are a lot of high quality teams littered across the top tier of Italian…

Bale not thinking about Premier League return – agent

Gareth Bale is not thinking of a return to the Premier League from Real Madrid, according to his agent, Jonathan Barnett.

Wales star Bale has been linked with a move back to England during a difficult sixth season in the Spanish capital.

The 29-year-old, who has scored 14 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions in 2018-19, was jeered by some fans during last week s unconvincing 2-1 LaLiga win over Eibar.

Zinedine Zidane, who returned as head coach last month, has so far been guarded on Bale s long-term future and refused to offer any guarantees that he will form part of his plans next term.

However, Barnett insists Bale does not want to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.

Nothing better than a late winner!  

— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) …

Cisse and Senegal give cause for African celebration

The celebrations won t be confined to the streets of Dakar on Tuesday night, the African continent will also raise a glass to Aliou Cisse and the Lions of Teranga.

Senegal arrived in Moscow painfully aware they represented the final chance for an African side to claim a win in the first round of World Cup matches after defeats for Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia.

It was a challenge they took up with gusto.

Once Idrissa Gueye opened up a cagey first half-hour with a shot that hit Michal Pazdan and Thiago Cionek before wrongfooting Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, there seemed little doubt as to where the points were heading.

Mbaye Niang added a controversial second, running straight from the touchline, having been ushered back on after injury, to b…

Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa: Ndombele´s debut stunner sets up Kane late show

Tanguy Ndombele scored a sensational debut goal as Tottenham came from behind to beat Premier League new boys Aston Villa 3-1 thanks to Harry Kane s late double.

John McGinn s ninth-minute goal seemed set to mark Villa s return to the top flight in style, with Champions League finalists Spurs – playing without the benched Christian Eriksen for over an hour – struggling to break down Dean Smith s side.

Eriksen s introduction sparked urgency into Tottenham s attack and, after Tom Heaton had made a fantastic stop to deny Davinson Sanchez, Ndombele slammed home a brilliant equaliser at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Another terrific Heaton stop kept Eriksen at bay, but Villa s resistance was ended when Kane capitalised on a mistake from Jack Grealish before ex…

Egypt v Morocco: AFCON expert Renard looks to extend 30-year streak

Egypt have waited over 30 years for a victory over Morocco, a run they are desperate to end in Sunday s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in Port-Gentil.

The Pharaohs have won the competition on each of their last three appearances, in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and hold the overall record of seven titles.

Egypt did not qualify for the following three editions following that famous hat-trick, but Hector Cuper s men finally broke that duck by reaching this tournament.

And after impressively beating Ghana to first place in Group D, the pressure is on to delivery glory.

However, Egypt have not beaten Morocco since March 1986 and now come up against AFCON specialist Herve Renard.

Morocco came through the group stage for the first time in five attempts as…

Bitesize Prediction: Shandong Taishan vs Shanghai Port – 03/08/24

Market: Shanghai Port win

Odds: 3/5 @

Looking to extend their stay at the top of the Super League standings, Shanghai Port. Will travel to the Jinan Olympic Sports Stadium when they meet Shandong on Saturday lunchtime.

Starting with the hosts, while Shandong might have secured a much-welcomed 2-0 victory away at Nantong Zhiyun on July 21st, Choi Kang-In’s men came crashing back down to earth last weekend. Eventually falling to a 1-0 loss at the hands of Henan Songshan Longmen, they have now registered just a single victory from any of their previous seven Super League appearances. Losing pace in the AFC Champions League chase and currently sat 12 points adrift of finding a route into the top-three, the Jinan-based outfit will certainly be bracing themselves fo…

Burnley 1 Watford 3: Hornets end away day woes as Deeney leads destructive display

Watford stunned Burnley to register their first away win under Javi Gracia, maintaining their perfect start to the Premier League season in a 3-1 victory.

The Hornets, who had previously failed to win any of their last 12 games on the road, struck at the start of either half through Burnley old boy Andre Gray, Troy Deeney and Will Hughes.

Burnley appeared in the driving seat after cancelling out Gray s strike Watford s first away from home since January through James Tarkowski, but Watford rallied again after the break to devastating effect.

Sean Dyche s shell-shocked side were incapable of responding a second time, having played 120 minutes of Europa League football in midweek, and Watford breezed to three points.

Burnley 1-3 Watford (70 mins)

I rejected international offers, reveals Eriksson

Sven-Goran Eriksson is still looking for a job in football but revealed he turned down opportunities to coach the national teams of Cameroon and Iraq.

The former Lazio, England, Manchester City and Leicester City coach, who is 70, told Sky Sports that he had private reasons for rejecting the approaches, opting instead to maintain an involvement with his local team while waiting for the right job offer to arrive.

Eriksson, whose managerial honours include a Serie A title with Lazio, and Coppa Italia triumphs with both Roma and Sampdoria, has not worked professionally as a coach since he was sacked by China League One side Shenzhen FC in January 2017.

I said no thank you to the Iraq national team and no thank you to the Cameroon national team, Eriksson said.

Bitesize Prediction: Sacramento Republic vs San Jose Earthquakes – 26/05/22

Market: San Jose Earthquakes win

Odds: 1/1 @

Smelling the chance to extend on their US Open Cup run in midweek, San Jose will make the trip to Sacramento in the early hours of Thursday.

Starting with the hosts, last seen slumping back to losing ways as they were hit with a 1-0 defeat away at El Paso on May 18th, Sacramento will be more than aware that they face a real task here. Still sat outside the Final Series places in the Western Conference, Head Coach Mark Briggs has seen his side win just a pair of their last six outings. While the USL outfit might be enjoying an extended boost on home soil, they will be worried by a downbeat record against their midweek MLS opponents. Blown away thanks to a 6-1 drumming when the two sides faced off in a pre-season showdo…

‘Matter of when not whether’ UK hosts Women’s World Cup – sports minister

Sports minister Stuart Andrew says “it is a matter of when not whether” the UK will submit a bid to host the Women’s World Cup.

The 2023 World Cup is currently being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand and FIFA is scheduled to announce the hosts for the 2027 finals in May next year.

Andrew told the PA news agency: “I would really be looking forward to the day when we can host a World Cup. It’s a matter of when not whether.”

Four bids remain in the race to host the 2027 World Cup – a joint bid from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, a second joint bid from the USA and Mexico, plus separate bids from South Africa and Brazil.

When asked if the UK is considering to apply to host the tournament finals in 2031, Andrew said: “We’ll have t…