Ashley Cole linked with England return

Jurgen Klopp does not expect Naby Keita to be involved in Liverpool s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday after sustaining a hamstring injury.

The Guinea midfielder had to be withdrawn just 19 minutes into Saturday s 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion, for which he had been a doubt after being clattered by Paul Pogba in last weekend s 5-0 hammering of Manchester United.

Klopp could not offer much information about Keita s condition immediately after the match, simply confirming it was a hamstring injury and that he can t say more .

But at the very least, it appears Klopp will be preparing to face Atletico at Anfield without Keita as the Reds look to seal top spot in Champions League Group B with two matches to spare.

Klopp tol…

Jesus Vallejo is adamant he has a future at Real Madrid and plans to stay after overcoming injury problems.

Vallejo joined Madrid from Real Zaragoza in 2015 after emerging as one of Spain s most promising youngsters.

At hometown club Zaragoza, Vallejo was appointed captain as a teenager and impressed with his technical abilities and reading of the game from centre-back.

Madrid loaned him back to Zaragoza and then to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he caught the eye despite fitness problems, which have also interrupted his career since returning to the Santiago Bernabeu for the start of the 2017-18 campaign.

Vallejo made just five LaLiga appearances this term, but all of them were in the last three months and he is feeling optimistic about the future.

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While we might have only just opened the 2020/2021 campaign, strikers up and down the Premier League are desperate to get their year off to a flying start and will undoubtedly have one eye on a certain individual award.

With Jamie Vardy lifting the Golden Boot last season after bagging 23 top-flight strikes for Leicester, the bookmakers have drawn up their list of who the favourites to get their hands on the title this time around.

In a stacked list of striking superstars, who are the three attacking MVP s leading the early odds in the race for this year s Golden Boot?

Mohamed Salah 4/1 with

While Mohamed Salah might have watched on as Sadio Mane s brace helped Liverpool pick up a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the Egyptian superstar has already ope…

Mesut Ozil has no plans to leave Arsenal and expects to stay at least until his contract expires in 2021, despite rumours suggesting he could depart this month, according to the German s agent Dr. Erkut Sogut.

The former Germany international is enduring a difficult season with the Gunners, having been in and out of Unai Emery s team since the coach arrived from Paris Saint-Germain.

He was left out of the EFL Cup quarter-final defeat to Tottenham on December 19, before returning to the team in the Premier League for meetings with Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion, getting injured against the latter.

Ozil s erratic performances have frustrated supporters this term, while some pundits have suggested his style of play simply does not fit into Emery s ideal setup…

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 400th goal since turning 30 with a superb opening strike in Al Nassr’s 2-0 win over Al Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.

Ronaldo, 38, picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area in the 26th minute and turned his marker, who was left on the floor after the Portugal forward then faked to shoot.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star took a touch to set himself before firing the ball into the roof of the net from just outside the penalty arc.

He’s done it again

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN)

It was Ronaldo’s 12th league goal this season, which puts him top of the standings ahead of Aleksandar Mitrovic, who joined Al Hilal from Fulham during August.

Al Nassr had earlier seen a g…

Former Borussia Dortmund coach Matthias Sammer has described the club s players as immature after their shock 2-1 Bundesliga defeat to Augsburg on Friday.

The loss means reigning champions Bayern Munich can move level on points with Dortmund at the league summit if they beat Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.

Lucien Favre s side have now won just once in their last five games and Sammer has warned Dortmund s players that they need to change their mentality swiftly if they are to win a first Bundesliga title since 2012.

Because they have already been German champions, there are expectations on Dortmund, the 51-year-old told Eurosport.

But they are immature. The game was decided in the head. You have seen for a while now that they do not know what to…

According to a recent report from Marca, there are a series of clubs believed to be interested in signing Thomas Partey. The 25 year old has been with Atletico Madrid since 2012, joining the senior team three years later in 2015. He is also a Ghana international, and has been turning heads for quite some time now at the highest level.

The reason that there is so much interest right now is because it was recently revealed that he has a £43 million buyout clause. That’s the kind of figure that many top clubs around Europe are capable of paying, with offers being set to come in from both Italy and England.

Atletico have always made it known that they’ll try and keep hold of their biggest stars by any means necessary, but they may not have a choice in this one – espe…

AC Milan head coach Gennaro Gattuso admitted he ate a live snail before the club s 2010 Champions League last-16 clash against Manchester United to ease tension within the squad.

Gattuso s Milan are preparing for Wednesday s Coppa Italia final against Serie A champions Juventus and talk of the 40-year-old s antics during his playing days emerged.

Andrea Pirlo revealed Gattuso had eaten a snail and asked whether his former team-mate s statement was true, the Milan boss shared the bizarre story.

I ve done worse things than eating a snail alive, Gattuso told reporters on Tuesday. The point is, it was not about the snail anyway.

I m saying this because my point is that in that particular moment there was need to do something to break the tension.

G…

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…

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) …