Chelsea close in on Adarabioyo signing

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are on the verge of reaching an agreement with Tosin Adarabioyo over a free transfer when his contract with Fulham expires at the end of the month. The 26-year-old defender is therefore expected to be the first signing for the Blues under Enzo Maresca, whose appointment as the successor to Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly imminent.

This development will come as a sore blow not so much for Fulham, who have been aware that they won t be able to keep hold of Adarabioyo this summer, but more for Newcastle, who had previously been working on bringing him to St. James Park for a while. However, Chelsea have not completed the transfer yet, and at this point, nothing is certain.

Adarabioyo joined Fulham from Manchester City s academy back …

Bayern confirm sale of Mai to FC Lugano

Bayern Munich have confirmed the sale of defender Lars Lukas Mai to Swiss side FC Lugano.

Mai spent eight years at the Bavarian club after joining as a youth player from Dynamo Dresden in 2014 and made two Bundesliga appearances in the 2017-18 season.

The 22-year-old centre-back spent the past two seasons on loan at Darmstadt and Werder Bremen, and he has now sealed a permanent move to Lugano. 

Hasan Salihamidzic, Bayern s sporting director, said in a statement on Saturday:  Lars Lukas joined FC Bayern at the age of 14 and is a good example of the excellent youth development work in our academy.

Lars Lukas Mai has joined FC Lugano after eight years at .

 

— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)

He gained two years of experie…

Prediction: Real Madrid vs Las Palmas

Best Odds: 6/5

Bookmaker:

Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways on Wednesday evening, Real Madrid will welcome Las Palmas to the Spanish capital.

Real Madrid

Starting with the hosts, putting in a nightmare performance over the weekend as they suffered a 3-1 drumming at the hands of bitter local rivals Atletico Madrid, Los Blancos are certainly seeking an immediate response here. Suffering their first defeat since opening up the 2023/24 campaign, Carlo Ancelotti’s men should be smelling a golden chance when they return to the Bernabeu here. Getting their Champions League adventure underway with a last-gasp 1-0 victory at home against German outfit Union Berlin last week, the former AC Milan boss has still seen his superstar squad win seven of the…

Chelsea confirm Christensen departure amid Barcelona links

Chelsea have confirmed that defender Andreas Christensen will leave the club at the end of his contract later this month.

The Denmark international has been linked with a move to Barcelona, and the writing appeared to be on the wall when he recently ruled himself out of Chelsea s FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool for private reasons.

The Premier League side have also confirmed the imminent departures of Danny Drinkwater, Charly Musonda and Jake Clarke-Salter, in addition to Antonio Rudiger who had already been announced to be signing for Real Madrid at the start of next month.

Christensen joined Chelsea as a youth player from Brondby in 2012, before spending two seasons on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach between 2015 and 2017.

Thank you, Andreas.  

Manchester United 1-0 Crystal Palace: Key Talking Points As Ralf Rangnick Gets Off To A Winning Start

With new interim boss Ralf Rangnick making his first appearance in the Old Trafford dugout on Sunday afternoon, Manchester United landed a late 1-0 win against Crystal Palace.

Only having his visa approved earlier in the week, Rangnick s new side did manage to make it back-to-back Premier League wins after an action-packed 3-2 victory against Arsenal on Thursday.

At least briefly finding a route back into the top-six, we have taken a look at the main talking points as United just about came past a rugged Crystal Palace outfit on Sunday.

Fred to the rescue

Dominating large spells of Sunday s meeting and by far the dominant force in the final third, some Manchester United fans could have been expecting a similar tale at Old Trafford.

However, landing maxi…

Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati ease Brighton to Europa League victory over Ajax

Brighton enjoyed a comprehensive first victory in the Europa League as a goal in either half from Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati eased them to a 2-0 win against Ajax at the Amex Stadium.

It took until the final minutes of a first half that Brighton had dominated for the breakthrough to arrive, Pedro tapping home on the rebound after an opening period in which Ajax – second-bottom of the Eredivisie – did little more than look to preserve parity, as Brighton dictated things from the first minute.

The Dutch side have endured their worst-ever start to a league season, and after sacking manager Maurice Steijn on Monday they went down with barely a whimper, Fati’s goal early in the second half laying bare the gulf between Roberto De Zerbi’s team and the four-time European ch…

Bitesize Prediction: Qarabag vs Bayer Leverkusen – 09/11/23

Market: Alejandro Grimaldo to score anytime

Odds: 4/1 @

Looking to extend on their Europa League romp on Thursday evening, Bayer Leverkusen will travel to the Azersun Arena when they meet Qarabag.

Starting with the hosts, while Qarabag might still have their sights set on punching a Europa League knockout stage ticket this season, the Horsemen will be more than aware that they face another heavyweight examination here. Last seen in Group H action getting blown away in Germany as they eventually fell to a 5-1 drumming against Leverkusen, Gurban Gurbanov’s side have shown some continued European issues on home soil. In fact, the Azerbaijani giants have won just three of their last 12 Europa League showdowns in front of their own supporters a run that stems all t…

Torino 0-0 AC Milan: Key Talking Points As The Rossoneri Drop Two Points On The Road

While AC Milan might have managed to add another point to their tally on Sunday night, the Rossoneri put in another toothless display away at a rugged Torino.

Watching Napoli eventually get hit with an action-packed 3-2 defeat against Fiorentina earlier in the day, Stefano Pioli s side knew that they faced a must-win showdown at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.

Although the Italian heavyweights might close the weekend still holding a two-point buffer at the top of the table, there is no doubt that Sunday s meeting in Turin will be considered two points dropped.

In a contest that saw chances come at a real premium, we have taken a look at the main talking points from Sunday s showdown.

Attacking problems haunt AC again

With bitter local rivals Inter Mi…

Clement Turpin appointed as Champions League final referee for Liverpool v Real Madrid clash

The Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool will be refereed by Clement Turpin, UEFA has announced.

Liverpool overcame Villarreal in the semi-finals, while Madrid edged past Manchester City in dramatic fashion to reach the showpiece of UEFA s flagship club competition in Paris on May 28.

Turpin, who has been an international referee since 2010, will officiate his first Champions League final.

The Frenchman previously served as fourth official in the 2018 showpiece in Kyiv, where Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1.

Turpin, who refereed last season s Europa League final in which Villarreal defeated Manchester United on penalties, will be joined by compatriots Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore as his assistants.

Continuing with the Frenc…

´Proud´ Maldini urges Milan to see out Serie A title bid

Milan technical director Paolo Maldini says he is proud of the Rossoneri s impressive season so far, but has urged the team not to let the chance of a first Serie A title since 2011 pass them by.

Stefano Pioli s men lead rivals Inter by two points at the Serie A summit after Sandro Tonali s 92nd-minute winner secured a crucial 2-1 win at Lazio on Sunday, although the Nerazzurri have a game in hand.

Milan recently kept six consecutive league clean sheets to strengthen their Scudetto hopes, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic s opener at the Stadio Olimpico representing the first goal Pioli s men had conceded in 568 minutes of league football.

Such impressive form has raised hopes of Milan winning their first Serie A title since 2010-11 this season, and Maldini is prou…