Frankfurt 1-2 Borussia Dortmund: Aubameyang fires BVB to DFB Pokal trophy

Borussia Dortmund ended a run of three successive DFB-Pokal final defeats with a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who reportedly handed in a transfer request this week, scored his 40th goal of the season from the penalty spot for Dortmund midway through the second half to clinch the club's fourth German Cup title and first in five years.
Aubameyang also hit the crossbar late on as Dortmund put the defeats to Bayern Munich (twice) and Wolfsburg behind them in a record fourth-in-a-row final appearance.

Dortmund took the lead after just eight minutes when Ousmane Dembele picked up where he had left off with his semi-final winner against Bayern.
The midfielder reached double figures for the season with a left-footed shot from a tight angle.
However, they could not press home their advantage and on the half-hour, Frankfurt, appearing in their first cup final for 11 years, equalised through Ante Rebic.

Dortmund replaced Marco Reus and Marcel Schmelzer with Gonzalo Castro and Christian Pulisic at half-time and it was the latter who won the penalty after he was fouled by Lukas Hradecky, allowing Aubameyang to his 40th in 46 matches this season.

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FC Barcelona 3-1 Alaves: Messi, Neymar and Alcacer strike to send off Enrique in style

Lionel Messi will celebrate his 30th birthday next month with 30 trophies to his name after winning the Copa del Rey with Barcelona on Saturday night in Madrid.
He became the first player to score in four Spanish Cup finals since Telmo Zarra did it in 1950, winning the trophy for the fifth time in the process.

His contribution on the night was huge. He scored his team's first goal and set-up the third with a divine assist worthy of winning any final.

Neymar also scored as Barcelona beat plucky Alaves. In the first Spanish Cup final in their history they were a match for Barcelona but not for Messi.
Theo Hernandez got the goal of the night for them with a direct free-kick that will have pleased Real Madrid fans almost as much as Alaves supporters. He is set to sign for them this summer from his parent club Atletico Madrid for €30million (£26m).
It was Messi clocking up thirty pieces of silver that was the story of Luis Enrique's last game in charge of Barcelona. The coach leaves with nine trophies won from a possible 13. He will know much of that success is down to Messi – pity the first manager who comes in to this club and cannot rely on the Argentinian number 10.

Barcelona had struggled to sell out their 19,000 allocation for this game while Alaves, in their first ever Copa del Rey final, had brought more than 20,000, many without tickets. They whistled down the Barcelona team as it was read out – it was an XI without Luis Suarez and right-back Sergio Roberto, both suspended.
On nine minutes they lost stand-in right-back Javier Mascherano too. He clashed with Real Madrid loanee Marcos Llorente and while the Alaves player had to be bandaged-up the Barcelona man had to be carried off. Andre Gomes came on in his place.

On 23 minutes we had the first sighting of Messi's genius as he wriggled clear of three Alaves challenges only to be flattened on the edge of the area by Carlos Vigaray. The referee gave only a corner and the resulting kick came to nothing.

From their next counter Ibai Gomez forced a save from Jasper Cillessen at his near post with the ball rolling agonizingly along the goal-line and to safety after his block.
Messi does not, of course, have to be that close to goal to score and when he bent a trademark left-foot finish past Fernando Pacheco after a one-two with Neymar Barcelona were ahead. The lead lasted barely more than a minute.
With their next attack Alaves won a free-kick and Hernandez buried it. He probably won't get to take too many when he joins Real Madrid but this was some calling card to say how capable he is.

Messi had the best chance to restore the lead stinging Pacheco's hands with a free-kick Neymar then converted Andre Gomes' cross on 45 minutes. Barcelona looked like going down the tunnel minus Mascherano and with Samuel Umtiti on a booking after he fouled Deyverson and only one goal to the good. But up popped Messi again.

Time and space are not the same in Messi's universe. And seemingly with neither commodity in his favour, out on the right touchline he slalomed away form three Alaves defenders before slipping a pass into Paco Alcacer's path. The former Valencia man hit it first time, and with the last kick of the first half made it 3-1.
Alaves thought they had scored on 70 minutes but an offside flag cut-short their celebrations after Deyverson had converted.

Messi, who was booked in the second half for protesting, has now won eight league titles, four Champions Leagues, five Spanish Cups, three European Super Cups, three World Club Cups and seven Spanish Super Cups.
Andres Iniesta has the same haul. The pair will be back for another Super Cup in August against Champions Madrid.

In the mean time Messi can take a well-earned rest. Barcelona have fallen short at times this season but nobody has scored more goals than he has in Europe. When they have lost it has been in spite of him. When they have won it has been because of him.

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Manchester City to return to Monaco for Mendy

Manchester City are looking to follow the signing of Bernardo Silva by adding his former teammate Benjamin Mendy, reports, reports suggests.

Pep Guardiola will be rivalled by Jose Mourinho and Manchester United though, with bothclubs prepared to pay £39.3m for the left back

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Chelsea to hand Conte £200m war chest

Antonio Conte will pen a new four-year deal at Chelsea before beign handed a summer budget of £200m to strengthen his squad ahead of Champions League football next season, according to the telegraph.

The Italian will pocket £9.6m per season and immediately set out to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge to add fire power to his side.

Van Dijk is a priority at the back, while Monaco powerhouse Tiemoue Bakayoko is also a target.

Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois could be handed new deals too, as Conte looks to build momentum in a new era at Stamford Bridge.

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Liverpool prepare for summer spending spree

Liverpool set to break transfer record to sign RB Leipzig's Naby Keita, with reports claiming that the Reds are set to big as high as £50m for the box-to-box midfielder.

The Guinea international would command a fee in excess of the £38m they paid for Andy Carroll and could provide extra dynamism at the centre of the park, that has been lacking whenever Jordan Henderson was absent through injury.

The reds are set to tempt Keita with an offer of £120, 000-per-week in wages, and should he swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League, the 22-year old would front a spree that could go beyond £150m and up to £200m.

Similar fees have been mentioned for both Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette -- also linked to Atletico Madrid -- and Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, meaning the Reds could break theuir transfer records on three occassions this season.

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FC Barcelona VS Alaves ; Spanish Copa del Rey FINAL Preview

Luis Enrique takes charge of Barcelona for one final time on Saturday evening, as his side face rank outsiders Alaves in the Copa del Rey final at the Vicente Calderon.
The 47-year-old enjoyed much success in his first two campaigns at the helm but is now relying on this weekend's showpiece to salvage his final term, having failed in both the Champions League and La Liga.

Less than a week on from seeing their title hopes finally put to an end by Real Madrid, ending what felt like a season-long pursuit of their great rivals, this Spanish Cup final has arguably come at the wrong time for Barcelona.
Throw into the mix the arrest of former club president Sandro Rosell for money laundering, combined with the Spanish Supreme Court's decision to uphold Lionel Messi's 21-month jail sentence for tax fraud, and there is a risk of Barca taking their eye off the ball.
If losing out to Madrid at the top of La Liga had a sense of inevitability about it, even after a dramatic 3-2 win at the Bernabeu to extend the title race by an extra month, the resounding Champions League exit to Juventus at the quarter-final stage hammered home that the Catalan club are no longer the force of yesteryear.
This is very much a time of uncertainty at Camp Nou, with recently-departed Athletic Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde widely expected to take over from Enrique as soon as next Monday, and the ex-Barca player will have to get straight into strengthening the squad.
At key times this season Enrique has often been let down when rotating his squad, in contrast to Madrid who seemed to thrive when fringe players were brought in over the closing weeks, while the troublesome right-back slot desperately needs some attention.
Yet all this requires some context. Enrique did win a treble in his first season in charge, after all, and soon followed that up with a domestic league and cup double last time around, meaning that he can still bow out with eight major honours when factoring in the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
While the league season was ultimately a disappointment for Enrique and his charges, they did end it on a high by winning seven games in a row - including that Lionel Messi-inspired Bernabeu triumph that will live long in the memory - and scoring 28 goals in the process.
The nine goals shipped during that time says a lot about their shaky nature at the back, particularly in recent games with Gerard Pique absent, but the bookies are right to mark the record 28-time winners down as strong favourites as they seek a third-successive triumph in the competition.

Standing in Enrique's way for a winning send-off is an Alaves side on a real high, coming off the back of an impressive first campaign back in the Spanish top flight following a near decade-long absence.
During their time away from La Liga, the Babazorros dropped down as far as the third tier before beginning their ascent back up, marking their return by accruing 55 points from their 38 league fixtures - just one fewer than Espanyol in eighth.
It has been a memorable campaign right from the off, when holding Atletico Madrid to a dramatic late draw at this very ground and then beating a rotated Barcelona side at Camp Nou in their third outing, only seeing their unbeaten start come to an end in their fifth match.
It has not been plain sailing throughout but a seven-match unbeaten run to see out the campaign saw them finish comfortably inside the top half which, when factoring in the fact Barca have lost to the likes of Celta Vigo, Deportivo La Coruna, Malaga and indeed Alaves this term, means that they should not be completely written-off.
The best bet for Mauricio Pellegrino is to keep things tight, like in the most recent encounter at Mendizorroza which Barca eventually ran away with, and with one of the best defensive records in the division - 43 conceded all term, just two more than Madrid - they certainly have the ability to frustrate their more superior opponents.
The beaten 2001 UEFA Cup finalists have had far less luck at the other end of the field, however, scoring at a rate of just over a goal-per-game on average, so Barca's potentially makeshift defence should have a quieter evening than they have become accustomed to in recent weeks.
It would be fair to say that Alaves do not boast the same pedigree as Barcelona, with this their first ever appearance in the domestic cup final after previously reaching the semis twice before, most recently in 2004 when losing to eventual winners Real Zaragoza.
As ever, though, anything can happen in an end-of-season final, and having already beaten Barca once this term there will be no fear among those Alaves players as they enter the field for the final match to ever be staged at the Vicente Calderon.



Kick-off Saturday 8.30pm
Venue Vicente Calderon

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Arsenal VS Chelsea : English FA Cup FINAL Preview

The Double is on for Antonio Conte and it is clear Chelsea must be considered favourites, given the season they have had. Arsène Wenger is unconcerned. He knows the underdog can have its day and he referenced the 2005 FA Cup final, when his Arsenal team “had no players available” but somehow beat Manchester United. It could be Diego Costa’s last game in Chelsea colours but probably will not be Wenger’s last at Arsenal

Despite ending their Premier League campaign with seven victories from eight matches ahead of another appearance in the FA Cup final, there is a lingering feeling at the Emirates Stadium that the uncertainty over Arsene Wenger and the ownership battle between Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmnaov will only lead to the club falling behind their rivals.

Wenger could become the first manager in english football history to win seven FA cups, eliminating a bit of the scar that comes with Arsenal failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1998. But given the injuries to their three first-choice centre-backs, a heavy defeat will only lead to more despair for their supporters.
Losing Laurent Koscielny to suspension came as a huge blow to their chances of causing an upset against the league champions, but the absence of Gabriel Paulista will also be felt by Wenger. Shkodran Mustafi still has a chance of featuring as he continues to recover from concussion, but Wenger may decide that it is a risk not worth taking.
That would leave Per Mertesacker to take his place alongside Rob Holding in defence and although it is not the worst combination on paper, the tall German has only played 37 minutes of football all season and while Chelsea's attack are in sublime form, he could get exposed. His selection is not a given but if Kieran Gibbs is out injured as well, it leaves Wenger with very little choice.

Further forward, his players are coming good at the right time. Alexis Sanchez continues to contribute on a game-by-game basis, but Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud have also shown that they still have parts to play in this Gunners side, despite the speculation regarding their future.
Arsenal have been afforded a mixed route to the final with tough ties against Southampton and Manchester City being cancelled out by successive matches against non-league Sutton United and Lincoln City, but while the importance of this competition is sometimes played down, there is no doubting that the result could be pivotal ahead of the decisions which need to be made in the coming days.
A win may lead to a few more supporters accepting that Wenger remaining in the dugout is not as bad as previously perceived, but a defeat - to coincide with a fifth-place finish in the top flight - will only increase hostility as fans grow more concerned about their future both on and off the pitch.


Antonio Conte on the other hand, has used this year's competition has an opportunity to give some minutes to members of his squad who have been forced to remain on the sidelines for much of their league campaign, but expect a change of mindset when it comes to deciding on his starting lineup for the showdown at Wembley.
The Italian has shown that he can be sentimental - his use of  John Terry in Chelsea's final two Premier League matches has shown that - but Conte is a leader who knows when the time is right to be ruthless and there are unlikely to be any alterations from the team he has selected for many of their victories throughout the season.
He still has a couple of selection dilemmas to contend with regarding the centre of his midfield and who features in his front three alongside Eden Hazard, but Conte is aware of the magnitude of achieving a domestic double in his first season in English football.
Arsenal will hope to throw a spanner in the works, despite their injury problems, but for Conte, it is about going out there and winning a football match with minimal fuss and given the number of goals they have scored from all areas of the pitch, is anyone going to back against them?
His suggestion that Arsenal are favourites for this match is pure kidology from a man who knows that he has a system in place which is as efficient as it is effective, and players at his disposal who are of better quality than their opponents in all areas of the pitch.
Blues boss Antonio Conte may have to choose between winger Willian - who has started every FA Cup game this season - and Pedro, who has usually been preferred in league matches.
It also remains to be seen whether Conte picks ex-Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas in midfield or deploys the more defensive-minded Nemanja Matic.
The form of Diego Costa will be of small concern to Conte with his top goalscorer having under-performed during the second half of the campaign, but he may have found a replacement in Michy Batshuayi who has scored four goals in his last 126 minutes on the pitch.

Whoever Conte opts for, he heads into this match in the knowledge that his team have scored 106 goals in 45 matches in all competitions since his arrival and he will be confident that his side can deliver more than that ratio of 2.35 goals per game during their final match before the summer.

Kick-off Saturday 5.30pm
Venue Wembley Stadium
Head-to-head Arsenal 73 Chelsea 62 Draws 54

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "It will not be my last match because whatever happens I will stay in football.
"Would it be a nice farewell? No, what I want is to win the next game. I love to win and I love to do well for my club. I want to win the cup for my club.
"It's not about me, it's about us winning the trophy and giving everything to achieve it."

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte on Arsene Wenger: "When you stay for a long time at the same team - we're talking about a great team, not a small team - we must consider him like one of the best managers in history. He won a lot.
"When you stay a lot for a long time in the same team, someone can forget this. But Arsene Wenger is, for sure, a really good manager for me.
"For sure, I don't [believe] that today will be the last game for Arsene. I think he deserves to work with Arsenal because he showed, in these 20 years, he is a good manager. He did a good job. Only this season they missed out on the Champions League."

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All Premier League Summer Transfers so far...26th August 2016

ARSENAL
IN
Granit Xhaka (Borussia Monchengladbach, £35m)
Rob Holding (Bolton, £2m)
Takuma Asano (Sanfrecce Hiroshima, undisclosed)
OUT
Wojciech Szczesny (Roma, loan)
Isaac Hayden (Newcastle, undisclosed)
Jon Toral (Granada, loan)
Julio Pleguezuelo (Mallorca, loan)
Dan Crowley (Oxford United, loan)
Joel Campbell (Sporting Lisbon, loan)
Mikel Arteta (released)
Tomas Rosicky (released)
Mathieu Flamini (released)


BOURNEMOUTH
IN
Lewis Cook (Leeds United, £6m)
Lys Mousset (Le Havre, £5.4m)
Emerson Hyndman (Fulham, compensation)
Nathan Ake (Chelsea, loan)
Jordon Ibe (Liverpool, £15m)
Brad Smith (Liverpool, £3m rising to £6m)
OUT
Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United, £12m)
Tommy Elphick (Aston Villa, £3.6m)
Lee Tomlin (Bristol City, £2.75m)
Shaun Macdonald (Wigan Athletic, undisclosed)
Sylvain Distin (released)
Stephane Zubar (released)
Josh Carmichael (released)
Josh Wakefield (released)
Harry Cornick (Leyton Orient, loan)
Josh Carmichael (released)
Glenn Murray (Brighton & Hove Albion, loan)

BURNLEY
IN
Steven Defour (Anderlecht, £8m)
Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Charlton, £2.5m)
Nick Pope (Charlton, £1.1m)
Jon Flanagan (Liverpool, loan)
OUT
Daniel Nizic (Morecambe, free)
Josh Ginnelly (Walsall, loan)
Joey Barton (Rangers, free)
Matt Gilks (Rangers, free)
Matt Taylor (released)
Lloyd Dyer (released)

CHELSEA
IN
Michy Batshuayi (Marseille, £33m)
N'Golo Kante (Leicester, £30m)
OUT
Mohamed Salah (Roma, undisclosed)
Reece Mitchell (Chesterfield, free)
John Swift (Reading, free)
Mitchell Beeney (Crawley, loan)
Tomas Kalas (Fulham, loan)
Kasey Palmer (Huddersfield Town, loan)
Tammy Abraham (Bristol City, loan)
Radamel Falcao (end of loan)
Alexandre Pato (end of loan)
Nathan Ake (Bournemouth, loan)
Baba Rahman (Schalke, loan)
Papy Djilobodji (Sunderland, £8m)
Izzy Brown (Rotherham, loan)
Michael Hector (Eintracht Frankfurt, loan)
Marko Marin (Olympiakos, £2.6m)

CRYSTAL PALACE
IN
Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace, £27m rising to £32m)
Andros Townsend (Newcastle United, £13m)
James Tomkins (West Ham United, £10m)
Steve Mandanda (Marseille £1.5m)
OUT
Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United, £10m)
Alex McCarthy (Southampton, undisclosed)
Jake Gray (Luton, undisclosed)
Jermone Binnom-Williams (Peterborough, undisclosed)
Chris Kettings (Oldham, free)
Emmanuel Adebayor (released)
Marouane Chamakh (released)
Brede Hangeland (released - now retired)
Adrian Mariappa (released)
Paddy McCarthy (released)
Yannick Bolasie (Everton, £25m)
Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa, undisclosed)

EVERTON
IN
Maarten Stekelenburg (Fulham, undisclosed)
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa, £7.1m)
Ashley Williams (Swansea City, £12m)
Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace, £25m)
OUT
Russell Griffiths (Cheltenham, loan)
Conor Grant (Ipswich, loan)
Felipe Mattioni (released)
Tim Howard (Colorado, released)
Tony Hibbert (released)
Leon Osman (released)
Steven Pienaar (released)
John Stones (Manchester City, £47m)
Luke Garbutt (Wigan Athletic, loan)

HULL CITY
IN
Will Mannion (AFC Wimbledon, compensation)
OUT
Mo Diame (Newcastle, £4.5m)
Sone Aluko (Fulham, free)
Ryan Taylor (released)

LEICESTER CITY
IN
Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, £18m)
Nampalys Mendy (Nice, £13m)
Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 69, undisclosed)
Luis Hernandez (Sporting Gijon, undisclosed)
Raul Uche Rubio (Rayo Vallecano, undisclosed)
Bartosz Kapustka (Cracovia, undisclosed - reported £7.5m)
OUT
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea, £30m)
Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim, undisclosed)
Joe Dodoo (Rangers, undisclosed)
Liam Moore (Reading, undisclosed - reported £1.5m)
Callum Elder (Brentford, loan)
Michael Cain (Blackpool, loan)
Jacob Blyth (Motherwell, free)
Jonny Maddison (Yeovil, free)
Ryan Watson (Barnet, free)
Dean Hammond (released)
Paul Koncheskey (released)
Harry Panayiotou (released)
Mark Schwarzer (released)

LIVERPOOL
IN
Sadio Mane (Southampton, £30m)
Loris Karius (Mainz, £4.7m)
Joel Matip (Schalke, free)
Ragnar Klavan (Augsburg, £5m)
Alex Manninger (Augsburg, free)
Georginio Wijnaldum (Newcastle, £25m)
OUT
Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace, £27m rising to £32m)
​Jordon Ibe (Bournemouth, £15m)
Joe Allen (Stoke City, £13m)
Brad Smith (Bournemouth, £3m rising to £6m)
Martin Skrtel (Fenerbahce, undisclosed – reported £5.5m)
Jerome Sinclair (Watford, £4m)
Sergi Canos (Norwich, undisclosed - reported £2.5m)
Lawrence Vigouroux (Swindon Town, £400,000)
Jordan Rossiter (Rangers, £250,000)
Jon Flanagan (Burnley, loan)
Danny Ward (Huddersfield, loan)
Ryan Fulton (Chesterfield, loan)
Adam Bogdan (Wigan, loan)
Ryan Kent (Barnsley, loan)
Jack Dunn (Morecambe, loan)
Joao Carlos Teixeira (Porto, free)
Jose Enrique (released)
Kolo Toure (released)
Samed Yesil (released)

MANCHESTER CITY
IN
Ilkay Gundogan (Borussia Dortmund, £21m)
Nolito (Celta Vigo, £14m)
Oleksandr Zinchenko (Ufa, undisclosed)
Aaron Mooy (Melbourne City, swap deal)
Leroy Sane (Schalke, £37m)
Gabriel Jesus (Palmeiras, undisclosed - reported £27m)
Marlos Moreno (Atletico Nacional, £4.75m)
John Stones (Everton, £47m)
Pablo Mari (Gimnastic Tarragona, undisclosed)
Claudio Bravo (Barcelona, £17.1m)
OUT
Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield, loan)
Jack Byrne (Blackburn, loan)
Manu Garcia (Alaves, season-long loan)
Martin Demichelis (released)
Richard Wright (retired)

MANCHESTER UNITED
IN
Eric Bailly (Villarreal, £30m)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Borussia Dortmund, £26m)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain, free)
Paul Pogba (Juventus, £89m)
OUT
Victor Valdes (Middlesbrough, free)
Ashley Fletcher (West Ham, free)
Tyler Reid (Swansea, undisclosed)
Joe Rothwell (Oxford, free)
Nick Powell (Wigan Athletic, free)
Guillermo Varela (Frankfurt, loan)
Paddy McNair (Sunderland, reported £5m)
Donald Love (Sunderland, reported £1m)
Adnan Januzaj (Sunderland, loan)
Tyler Blackett (Reading, undisclosed)

MIDDLESBROUGH
IN
Marten De Roon (Atalanta, £12m)
Viktor Fischer (Ajax, £3.8m)
Victor Valdes (Manchester United, free)
Bernardo Espinosa (Sporting Gijon, free)
Jordan McGhee (Hearts, loan)
Antonio Barragan (Valencia, £3m)
Alvaro Negredo (Valencia, loan)
Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough, free)
Fabio Da Silva (Cardiff City, undisclosed)
OUT
Rhys Williams (Perth Glory, free)
Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock, free)
Jonathan Woodgate (released)
Damia Abella (released)
Connor Ripley (Oldham, loan)

SOUTHAMPTON
IN
Nathan Redmond (Norwich City, £11m)
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Bayern Munich, £12m)
Alex McCarthy (Crystal Palace, undisclosed)
Jeremy Pied (Nice, free)
OUT
Sadio Mane (Liverpool, £30m)
Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur, £11m)
Juanmi (Real Sociedad, undisclosed - reported £3m)
Gaston Ramirez (Middlesbrough, free)
Kelvin Davis (retired)
Jason McCarthy (Walsall, loan)
Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng, £13m)
Paulo Gazzaniga (Rayo Vallecano, loan)

STOKE CITY
IN
Joe Allen (Liverpool, £13m)
Ramadan Sobhi (Al Ahly, fee rising to £5m)
Ryan Sweeney (AFC Wimbledon, undisclosed
OUT
Steve Sidwell (Brighton, free)
Peter Odemwingie (released)

SUNDERLAND
IN
Papy Djilobodji (Chelsea, £8m)
Paddy McNair (Manchester United, reported £5m)
Donald Love (Manchester United, reported £1m)
Steven Pienaar (Everton, free)
Javier Manquillo (Atletico Madrid, loan)
OUT
Younes Kaboul (Watford, reported £3.5m)
Emanuele Giaccherini (Napoli, £2m)
Danny Graham (Blackburn Rovers, free)
Santiago Vergini (Boca Juniors, undisclosed - reported £1.5m)
Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday, free)
Will Buckley (Sheffield Wednesday, loan)
Adam Matthews (Bristol City, loan)
Wes Brown (released)
Steve Harper (released)
Mikael Mandron (released)
Liam Agnew (released)

SWANSEA CITY
IN
Leroy Fer (QPR, £3.5m)
Mike van der Hoorn (Ajax, £2m)
Tyler Reid (Manchester United, undisclosed)
George Byers (Watford, free)
Fernando Llorente (Sevilla, undisclosed)
Borja Baston (Atletico Madrid, £15.5m)
OUT
Alberto Paloschi (Atalanta, £6m)
Eder (Lille, £4m)
Daniel Alfei (released)
Lee Lucas (released)
Bafetimbi Gomis (Marseille, loan)
Matt Grimes (Leeds United, loan)
Kyle Bartley (Leeds United, loan)
Liam Shephard (Yeovil Town, loan)
Ryan Hedges (Yeovil Town, loan)
Kenji Gorre (Northampton, loan)
Andre Ayew (West Ham, £20m)
Ashley Williams (Everton, £12m)

TOTTENHAM
IN
Victor Wanyama (Southampton, £11m)
Vincent Janssen (AZ Alkmaar, £18.5m)
OUT
Grant Ward (Ipswich Town, undisclosed)
Alex Pritchard (Norwich City, £8m)
Federico Fazio (Roma, loan)
DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle, undisclosed)
Nabil Bentaleb (Schalke, loan)

WATFORD
IN
Isaac Success (Granada, £12m)
Daryl Janmaat (Newcastle United, £7.5m)
Christian Kabasele (Racing Genk, £5.8m)
Jerome Sinclair (Liverpool, £4m)
Juan Zuniga (Napoli, loan)
Brice Dja Djédjé (Marseille, £4m)
Younes Kaboul (Sunderland, reported £3.5m)
Roberto Pereyra (Juventus, undisclosed)
OUT
Gabriele Angella (Udinese, undisclosed)
Jurado (Espanyol, undisclosed)
Almen Abdi (Sheffield Wednesday, undisclosed)
Daniel Pudil (Sheffield Wednesday, undisclosed)
Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord, loan)
George Byers (Swansea, free)
Luke Simpson (York City, free)
Uche Ikpeazu (released)
Joel Ekstrand (released)
Josh Doherty (released)

WEST BROMWICH ALBION
IN
Matty Phillips (QPR, £5.5m)
OUT
James Chester (Aston Villa, undisclosed)
Anders Lindegaard (Preston North End, free)
Victor Anichebe (released)
Stephane Sessegnon (released)
Kyle Howkins (Mansfield, loan)

WEST HAM UNITED
IN
Toni Martinez (Valencia, £2.4m)
Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia, free)
Havard Nordtveit (Borussia Monchengladbach, free)
Gokhan Tore (Besiktas, loan)
Ashley Fletcher (Manchester United, free)
Domingos Quina (Chelsea, free)
Arthur Masuaku (Olympiakos, £6m)
Andre Ayew (Swansea City, £20m)
Jonathan Calleri (Deportivo Maldonado, season-long loan)
Edimilson Fernandez (FC Sion, £5.5m)
OUT
James Tomkins (Crystal Palace, £10m)
Elliot Lee (Barnsley, free)
Joey O'Brien (released)
Jordan Brown (released)
Leo Chambers (released)
Stephen Hendrie (Blackburn Rovers, loan)
Kyle Knoyle (Wigan Athletic, loan)
George Dobson (Walsall, loan)

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UEFA Champions League Group stage draw: Pep makes Camp Nou return as Wenger goes to Paris

Pep Guardiola enjoyed himself the last time Manchester City played Barcelona – as a spectator the then Bayern Munich coach was seen laughing uncontrollably as Lionel Messi ‘nutmegged’ James Milner in the last-16 tie in 2015 – but there will have been a wince at the looming prospect of another return to the Nou Camp.

Guardiola’s City were paired with Barcelona – along with Borussia Moenchengladbach and Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic – in one of the more intriguing and eye-catching groups as the Champions League draw was made in Monaco.

For Leicester City, in their first involvement in the competition, there was an attractive and manageable draw of facing Porto, Club Brugge and Copenhagen. It is far from inconceivable that Leicester will actually win Group G while their supporters will be pleased at the away trips they can plan at such attractive destinations.

Arsenal, in Group A, were drawn with seeded Paris St-Germain – the French club have strong links with Arsène Wenger and have, in the past, courted him as their manager – along with Basel and a first-ever trip to Bulgaria, albeit involving a 2,600-mile round trip, where they will face Ludogorets. They should go through although the fear, again, will be finishing as runners-up.


For Tottenham Hotspur, who will play their home matches at Wembley Stadium as White Hart Lane is slowly rebuilt, a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2010-2011, when they reached the last eight, delivered them a group they will be confident of negotiating.

GROUPS

GROUP A

Paris(FRA)

Arsenal(ENG)

Basel(SUI)

Ludogorets(BUL)

GROUP B

Benfica(POR)

Napoli(ITA)

Dynamo Kyiv(UKR)

Beşiktaş(TUR)

GROUP C

Barcelona(ESP)

Man. City(ENG)

Mönchengladbach(GER)

Celtic(SCO)

GROUP D

Bayern(GER)

Atlético(ESP)

PSV(NED)

Rostov(RUS)

GROUP E

CSKA Moskva(RUS)

Leverkusen(GER)

Tottenham(ENG)

Monaco(FRA)

GROUP F

Real Madrid(ESP)

Dortmund(GER)

Sporting CP(POR)

Legia(POL)

GROUP G

Leicester(ENG)

Porto(POR)

Club Brugge(BEL)

København(DEN)

GROUP H

Juventus(ITA)

Sevilla(ESP)

Lyon(FRA)

Dinamo Zagreb(CRO)

As third seeds they could have fared a lot worse than the Russian champions CSKA Moscow, although that is never the easiest of trips, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco although drawing the French club, who reached the group stages through the play-offs, out of pot four did deliver a sting in the tail.

But it is Guardiola, City and Barcelona – and Celtic – which is the headline-grabber. Guardiola’s Bayern were beaten by a Messi-inspired Barcelona in the semi-finals in the same season that City were being schooled and the Spaniard, who won the European Cup as a player with Barca and twice as a coach, will know that the intense focus will be on him once more.

In his six campaigns as a manager, Guardiola has never failed to reach the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition – the stage that City reached last season – and although he will be confident of progressing through this group there may be the prospect of doing so as runners-up to the club who means so much to him and moulded everything he does. City also face Barca in the pivotal middle fixtures.


City will also face the intensity and emotion of having to overcome Celtic and although Rodgers’s side are a pale shadow of the teams that have previously taken part in this competition – and famously beat Barcelona in a group match in Guardiola’s last season with the Catalan club in 2012 – it will be a raucous occasion in Glasgow.

It will also be an opportunity for Rodgers, the former Liverpool manager, whose side includes three former City players – Kolo Touré, Dedryck Boyata and Scott Sinclair – who will not be lacking in motivation and a fourth on-loan in Patrick Roberts although he may not be allowed to play.

City faced Moenchengladbach and beat them home and away in their group last season but, interestingly, André Schubert’s side took four points of Guardiola’s Bayern in the Bundesliga.

For Leicester – with the lowest coefficient of all 32 teams in the Champions League but seeded because they are Premier League champions – the reward was obvious even if, predictably, manager Claudio Ranieri once again claimed they were “underdogs”.

He added: “For this reason we must fight for everything. I want to see my players fight against the best in Europe. Every team in the competition will fight like champions. Last season was wonderful but I want more.”

Porto are seasoned Champions League campaigners but, having avoided the likes of Atlético Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, there is nothing for Leicester to fear beyond the nervousness of being in a new competition.

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Manchester United VS Southampton Preview

Manchester United are set to face Southampton in Jose Mourinho's first competitive home game as manager - so here's everything you need to know about the game.


Key statistics
Mourinho has always made his home ground a fortress and will hope to rebuild the defences that took a hammering during the difficult reigns of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.


The Portuguese boss has lost just nine home league games during his entire 22-year managerial career, while Sir Alex Ferguson lost just 12 in his last eight years at United.


The club have matched that figure in the three years since his departure, a record Mourinho will be desperate to make the fans forget.




Puel will face Mourinho aiming for Saints' third straight win at Old Trafford
The Red Devils also used to boast a stellar record against Southampton, unbeaten at home against them for 27 years, until Dusan Tadic's goal in January 2015 sealed a 1-0 Saints win, a feat they would repeat by the same scoreline 12 months later.


Head-to-head record
All competitions: played 118, Manchester United 61, Southampton 28, drawn 29


Premier League: played 34, Manchester United 23 (73 goals), Southampton 7 (41 goals), drawn 4


What do the managers say?
United boss Jose Mourinho: "The team can [make Old Trafford a fortress again].


"The fans also help.




"Everything starts there: the relationship between team and fans.


"If there's a connection then the factor of being really strong at home has to come back.


"The way we play [helps] and if the fans play [their part] there'll be no chance for the opponent."


Saints manager Claude Puel: "I think Pogba is the price of my team or my squad.


"But I don't give an opinion on their squad.


"I don't prepare my team to play against one player.


"I prepare my team to play against players of United and every opponent we face this season.




"I want my team to make good decisions.


"It is not a good idea to prepare a team for just one player.


"It is important to bring a collective answer for their team."


Kick-Off time 19/08/2016 20:00HRS




Manchester United team news
After serving a suspension on Sunday which stopped him from completing his United return against Bournemouth, Paul Pogba could be in the starting line-up for the first time since his world record return, although he is expected to come off the bench.

Chris Smalling also returns from suspension and Jesse Lingard returns after missing the opening day through injury.

Squad: De Gea, Shaw, Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind, Carrick, Herrera, Lingard, Pogba, Rooney, Martial, Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan, Romero, Rojo, Rashford, Schneiderlin, Fellaini, Mata, Depay, Jones.

Southampton team news
Captain Jose Fonte, understood to be a target for United, could return to the Saints team after missing the 1-1 draw with Watford.

However, Ryan Bertrand has not recovered meaning 20-year-old Matt Targett will continue to deputise at left-back.

Squad: Forster, Martina, Van Dijk, Fonte, Yoshida, Soares, Bertrand, Targett, Clasie, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Tadic, Long, Austin, Juanmi, McCarthy, Redmond.

Match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor

Assistants: Richard West, Adrian Holmes

Fourth official: Andre Marriner

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Nigeria appoint former Burkina Faso boss as Super Eagles head coach

Reports from the  NFF secretariat has revealed that the Nigeria Football Federation has announced the appointment of Gernot Rohr as coach of the Super Eagles after failing to reach an agreement with Frenchman Paul Le Guen.

Based on the agreement reached between the parties, Rohr’s contract with the Nigerian Federation will run out immediately after the 2018 Fifa World Cup, if the Super Eagles qualify for the tournament.

“ Mr. Gernot Rohr signs two-year contract to work with the NFF as Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, ” the NFF stated.

Born in Mannheim, Germany, the 63-year-old Rohr represented Bayern Munich, SV Waldhof Mannheim, Kickers Offenbach and Bordeuax before drawing the curtains on his career in 1989.

He has managed Bordeuax, Nice, Young Boys and the national teams of Niger, Gabon and Burkina Faso in the past.

Gernot Rohr will be in the dugout when the Super Eagles trade tackles with Tanzania in an African Cup of Nations qualifier next month.

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Jose at it already: Manchester United boss blasts Wenger and Klopp

Wenger and Klopp have slammed United's £100m move for Pogba but the Portuguese has claimed their comments are "not ethical"

Jose Mourinho has branded rivals Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klopp “not ethical” for criticising his £100m pursuit of Paul Pogba.
The Manchester United chief wasted no time in launching a season opening skirmish with the Arsenal and Liverpool chiefs.
Mourinho hit out today after Wenger claimed it was “completely crazy” to spend a world record fee on the Juventus star.
And Klopp said of the proposed deal that “the day this is football, I'm not in a job anymore.”
Mourinho expects the transfer of Pogba to complete his squad next week before their Premier League opener.

Mourinho who leads his side in the Charity Shield against Leicester on Sunday, is fuming that two top rivals have commented on his club's business.
He said: “I only speak about us. I heard already two of my colleagues from other clubs speaking about us. I do not like that. It is not ethical.
“There are things that when I do are not ethical and when others do it everything is normal, nobody says that. I do not speak about the others. They can do what they want. Our market was good.
"We made decisions, decide to bring four players not 10, that are Manchester United level. Four that we think can really improve the squad and not just be one more. This is the profile of our market.

A young defender that needs time to be a top one but who has top potential.

“A creative player that we know the quality, a super striker, and we are going to get a very good midfielder. We try for balance. I am happy with my squad. I am happy with the effort of the club. The others it is their problem.”

Asked if fans could expect Pogba to arrive in the coming days Mourinho said: “I am very pragmatic on this. All that matters is what happens in my house and not in my neighbours’ house. Paul Pogba is a Juve player until he isn’t, officially, so we stay like this.

I don’t like to speak about other clubs or players from other clubs. Other managers like to do that, they like to speak about my club and my players.

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