Dutch legend Marco van Basten will succeed Ron Jans as Heerenveen coach at the end of the season, according to a report.

Jans had already stated that he would stand down when his contract with the club expires in the summer.

However, the appointment of Van Basten has come as a surprise as FC Zwolle boss Art Langeler had been considered the favourite to land the job, while the name of former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal had also been mentioned in connection with the vacancy.

It is Van Basten, though, who will reportedly fill the void, according to Voetbal International.

The former AC Milan striker has been out of the game since parting company with Ajax in 2009.

The 47-year-old former Netherlands international was on the verge of rejoining the…

What the papers say

The Telegraph says Tottenham owner Joe Lewis has told chairman Daniel Levy he must sell Harry Kane if they can not get the England captain to sign a new contract at the club. The Mirror said this means Manchester United could be back in the market for the striker, while the Daily Mail says Bayern Munich are preparing a third bid to try and lure Kane to Germany.

Former Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, now a free agent, is receiving interest from Brentford, Besiktas and Saudi Pro League clubs, the Mirror reports.

Fulham are looking to sign Demarai Gray from Everton for £7million, while the Toffees value the winger at around £10m, the Sun reports.

The Daily Express say Liverpool midfielder Fabinho’s £40m move to Saudi Pro Leagu…

Arsenal have joined the race to sign Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko,.

The midfielder was one of the stand out performers for the France squad that reached the final of the European Championships though he failed to help his club retain their Premier League status last season.

A number of top flight clubs including Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for the twenty-six year old and now the Gunners have thrown their hat in the ring.

Sissoko signed for Newcastle from Toulouse in the summer of 2012 and has so far racked up one hundred and thirty-three appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring twelve goals.

He has been capped forty-four times for his country with his one and only internatio…

Lazio have announced that former Young Boys and Samsunspor coach Vladimir Petkovic has been installed as the club s new coach.

The 48-year-old will take over from Edy Reja, who left the club at the end of the season despite guiding his side to a fourth-placed finish in Serie A.

Petkovic had taken charge of Sion only last month, overseeing the club s two matches in the Swiss League relegation play-offs, but the Stade Tourbillon outfit did not oppose to the coach s decision to move to Italy.

The Bosnian was at the helm of Young Boys between 2008 and 2011 before taking up a coaching position at Samsunspor, who he left in January 2012 following a run of disappointing results.

Lazio, who collected 62 points from 38 matches in Serie A, have secured a place in …

Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in unconvincing fashion as Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata earned a 2-0 LaLiga victory over Celta Vigo.

Diego Simeone s men welcomed Celta to the Wanda Metropolitano following a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona that effectively ended their title hopes.

Diego Costa received an eight-match ban for insulting the referee during that game, and Atletico were often second best against a resurgent Celta, who had taken seven points from their last three matches to boost hopes of survival.

However, Griezmann lashed home a 42nd-minute free-kick and Morata doubled their lead 16 minutes from time as Atletico increased their lead over Real Madrid who play Leganes on Monday to five points in the battle for second. Celta remain two points abov…

Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe has revealed that he could leave Spurs at the end of the season in search of first team football.

The England international has spent last few years warming the bench at White Hart Lane and he admits he was on the verge of leaving last January.

“I didn’t want to leave. I don’t go thinking, ‘I want to go to this club or that club’,” Defoe .

“But in January I just wasn’t playing enough and I did go to the manager and ask to go out on loan.

”He said to me, ‘I don’t want you to go on loan. We are trying to do something special here. Don’t go’. And so I stayed.”

Defoe is now disappointed that nothing seems to have changed as far as his status in the team is regarded.

“But still I ha…

Chelsea have threatened to bring criminal charges against anyone found to have racially abused Nicolas Jackson in the aftermath of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City.

The 22-year-old striker missed a number of chances at Wembley as his side bowed out of the cup with a 1-0 defeat and was subsequently the target of abuse on social media.

The racist comments were left on an Instagram post he had made following last week’s victory over Everton, in which he scored his 10th goal of the season.

Two massive chances for Nicolas Jackson go amiss

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)

In a statement, the club said: “Chelsea Football Club is disgusted by the racial abuse directed towards Nicolas Jackson via social media, following Sat…

Jonathan Walters plans to continue playing beyond the expiry of his Stoke City contract and the Republic of Ireland international wants to extend his stay at the Britannia Stadium.

Walters is out of contract at the end of the 2015-16 Premier League season and Stoke are yet to enter negotiations with the 31-year-old over an extension.

The forward has proved to be a reliable player for Stoke since arriving at Britannia Stadium from Ipswich Town in 2010.

Walters has struggled with a persistent knee injury in recent times, but he suggested that the pain is not affecting him and feels he has plenty more to offer beyond his present deal.

I m coming to one year left soon, Walters said. And it s up to the club to move things forward. I will leave it to them.<…

Israeli striker Ben Sahar is set to leave Espanyol in the summer transfer window.

The 22-year-old failed to hold down a regular place at the Catalan club since joining from Chelsea in 2009, and has spent the last two seasons on loan at Hapoel Tel Aviv and Auxerre.

My agent spoke with Espanyol s directors and after that he informed me that they do not want me to remain at the club, Sahar wrote on his Twitter page.

I am really sorry. I really like this club and its fans. Next week I will know where I will play next.

Sahar, who has 25 Israel caps to his name, made 22 competitive appearances for Auxerre in 2011-12, scoring four goals for the Ligue 1 side.

…

There were mixed fortunes for football s big guns over the last weekend and that s being kind to at least one of them.

The Premier League remains as open as ever, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham failing to win, while Liverpool got back in gear against West Brom, but Jose Mourinho s Manchester United saved a year s worth of errors for their humilitation at Chelsea.

In LaLiga, Barcelona and Real Madrid scraped narrow wins but Atletico Madrid were finally undone by Jorge Sampaoli s sublime Sevilla, while Borussia Dortmund lost further ground to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille drew blanks in a Classique that had millions on the edge of their seats wondering if anybody was going to shoot, but there was considerably more …