Lucas Ocampos offered to Marseille

French daily newspaper Le Parisien has suggested that Marseille were offered an opportunity to sign Argentine winger Lucas Ocampos.

The French giants wanted to recruit the former River Plate starlet last summer and coach Marcelo Bielsa later confirmed his interest in the midfielder.

And with the 20-year-old failing to nail down a regular starting berth at Stade Louis II, the player s agent offered the youngster to Marseille in the January window.

However, Monaco chiefs were not interested in letting their prized asset leave, meaning Marcelo Bielsa will have to wait for another opportunity.

Lucas Ocampos joined the Principality club from River Plate as a teenager in August 2012 and he has since shown a great deal of potential at Stade Louis II.

Th…

Fabregas linked with AC Milan switch

AC Milan are set to make a move for Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas, .

The Italian club have been constantly linked with a bid for the Spain international in recent months and are considering a bid which could see defender Mattia de Scigilo move in the opposite direction.

Fabregas his impressed with the Blues so far this season following the arrival of Antonio Conte as manager though he is currently behind both N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic in the pecking order.

Since signing from Barcelona in the summer of 2014 the twenty-nine year old has made over a hundred appearances in all competitions, scoring thirteen goals while he was part of the squad that won the Premier League and League Cup under Jose Mourinho two seasons ago.

Chelsea bounced back from bac…

France v Croatia: Griezmann striving to keep calm ahead of World Cup final

Antoine Griezmann thinks France have to imagine Sunday s World Cup final is just a normal game if they are to hold their nerve against Croatia in Moscow.

Didier Deschamps took his side to a second major final in consecutive tournaments with a 1-0 win over Belgium in the last four, in which Samuel Umtiti s header was the difference.

Beaten on home soil by Portugal in the Euro 2016 showpiece, Les Bleus are hoping to go one better and get their hands on a trophy this time, just as their coach did in Paris 20 years ago.

Griezmann says their preparations have been giving them confidence but admits their mental fortitude will be key to handling the pressure at the packed Luzhniki Stadium.

I feel good, we are confident, he told FIFA TV. We are now getting into …

Bayern Munich 2-0 Hertha Berlin: Tuchel´s side leapfrog Dortmund at Bundesliga summit

Bayern Munich defeated Hertha Berlin 2-0 at the Allianz Arena on Sunday to leapfrog Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga.

Dortmund s 1-1 draw with Bochum on Friday opened the door for Bayern to pounce, and the 10-in-a-row champions just about took advantage against the division s bottom side.

After being frustrated by their opponents for large parts, Serge Gnabry headed in from Joshua Kimmich s dinked pass to open the scoring in the 69th minute.

Kingsley Coman added a second 10 minutes later as Bayern moved one point ahead of Dortmund with four games to go in the German top flight.

SERGE! THERE IT IS!!

1-0 (69 )

— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)

Bayern have scored the most first-half goals of any Bundesliga side this …

Portugal and Argentina struggle to qualify

In the next week there will be tragedy and ecstasy for some of the top footballing nations. Some big nations are are likely to miss out.The likes of France, Portugal and Argentina are walking the tightrope of not appearing at next years World Cup.

In European qualification usually the bigger teams qualify for the major tournaments but there always seems to one big a nation that misses out on the big showpieces. The most recent example of that being England missing Euro 2008 of course.

This time around the two best players in the world are on the verge of missing on. Two of the stars of La Liga are in very real danger of not taking part in the greatest show on earth as its been described.

Portugal England tormentors

As an England fan I would shed no tears…

Emery wants Sevilla to show ´character´

Unai Emery has called fo Sevilla to be brave  against Manchester City in the Champions League but acknowledges he would be happy with a draw at the Etihad Stadium.

The Europa League holders travel to England having won just three of their 11 matches in all competitions so far this season.

However, one of those victories did come in Europe as they saw off Borussia Monchengladbach 3-0 at home in their opening Group D outing, only to then suffer a defeat against Juventus in the second round of matches.

City have also recorded a win and a loss so far in the competition, meaning the back-to-back fixtures against Sevilla could go a long way to deciding who qualifies for the knockout stages.

Emery said at his pre-match media conference on Tuesday:  …

Mason in stable condition after skull fracture

Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason sustained a fractured skull during Sunday s match against Chelsea, the Premier League club have confirmed.

Mason underwent surgery at St Mary s Hospital in London and is in a stable condition.

The 25-year-old suffered a clash of heads with Chelsea captain Gary Cahill after 13 minutes of the 2-0 defeat to the league leaders at Stamford Bridge and received lengthy treatment on the field.

A statement from Hull explained he is expected to remain in hospital for the next few days .

The statement added: Everyone at the club would like to express their sincere thanks for the excellent and swift care given to Ryan by both the accident and emergency department and neurosurgery unit at St Mary’s Hospital.

A further update …

Real Madrid keeping an eye on four potential ‘galacticos’

According to , Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is determined to launch a new Galactico era at the new Santiago Bernabeu. To that end, the club are keeping an eye on four players, all of whom would fit their plans well.

It s no big surprise that the first name on that list is Kylian Mbappe. Late in the summer window, Paris Saint-Germain rejected three huge offers from Real for the 22-year-old Frenchman who is in the final year of contract at the Parc des Princes   €160m, €180m and €200m. Meanwhile, Mbappe has rejected all offers of a new deal from PSG, and looks set to leave the French capital as a free agent next summer.

Real are also very keen on Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund, but they expect another tussle with PSG on that front, should Mbappe make…

Rashford and Ten Hag up for Premier League prizes

Marcus Rashford and Erik ten Hag have been nominated for the Premier League s Player and Manager of the Month awards respectively for September. 

Manchester United s upturn in form continued thanks to two wins from two this month ahead of the international break.

Rashford was directly involved in a league-high four goals in September, assisting Jadon Sancho in the 1-0 win over Leicester City before scoring twice and setting up another in the 3-1 win over Arsenal. 

The 24-year-old faces competition from Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who assisted three goals and created 10 chances – both league-high tallies – in his side s two fixtures.

Belgium international De Bruyne has now been involved in 150 goals across 217 Premier League appearance…

Liverpool owners dismiss sale suggestions

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have denied rumours that the club has been put up for sale.

Reports emerging in the British media on Saturday suggested that the American investment company were prepared to pull out of the Premier League, with a Saudi Arabian oil firm believed to be interested in purchasing the Anfield side.

However, both the Merseyside club and their owners have moved to strenuously deny the claims.

A spokesperson said in a statement released to Press Association Sport: Fenway Sports Group has made its position clear, Liverpool Football Club is not for sale. There is no truth in this story.

And an FSG spokesperson added: Like so many rumours in the past about a sale of Liverpool Football Club, there is absolutely no truth in this. We have h…