Patrick Vieira insists there was never any chance of him replacing Unai Emery at Arsenal as he and Nice are 100 per cent committed to one another.
Former Arsenal captain Vieira has been linked with the Gunners job since Arsene Wenger s departure in 2018, but Mikel Arteta instead took over after Emery was sacked in November.
The Frenchman says there were no talks with Arsenal on this occasion, although the Nice coach is adamant he would have turned down any offer regardless.
No, but there is no place in my mind to have those kind of conversations, Vieira told the Daily Mail. My focus is here [at Nice]. This project suits who I am and what I want to achieve.
This rumour about the Arsenal job is not something that bothered me. I don t know what the future …
According to Sky Sports sources, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in the possibility of signing Hoffenheim midfielder Florian Grillitsch. The 23 year old has been with Hoffenheim since back in 2017 when he signed from Werder Bremen, with the report suggesting that Spurs have kept an eye on him throughout the course of the campaign thus far.
Grillitsch has a release clause in his contract which actually still has two and a half years left to run, with the clause believed to be around £18 million.
Spurs are currently looking for successors for Mousa Dembele, who is on the verge of leaving the club after six years of service.
It’s no secret that many Spurs fans are desperate to see their club make some serious moves in the January transfer window after an except…
Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez were back in Bayern Munich training on Monday, with their respective hopes of being fit for the World Cup seemingly receiving a boost.
Bayern captain Neuer had been struggling with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss six games, but he returned to goalkeeper training ahead of Tuesday s Champions League clash with Inter.
As recently as last week Nagelsmann did not want to commit to Neuer being ready to feature for Germany at the World Cup, saying he is not a mystic .
But he appears hopeful of being able to call upon the 36-year-old away to Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
We hope he ll be available again for the weekend. He came through training well and didn t show any reaction. But we ll have to wait and see, Nagelsmann t…
Didier Deschamps has frequently faced accusations that he makes his world champions France unpalatably dull considering the enviable attacking talent at his disposal.
Maybe boredom trumps humiliation.
You could call sending his players out to take on Switzerland in an unfamiliar 3-4-3 formation plenty of things, given very few of them appeared to have the foggiest idea what they were supposed to be doing. But it certainly wasn t dull.
By half-time in a Euro 2020 last-16 tie that looked a formality on paper, France were 1-0 down and had not managed a shot on target.
Even allowing for the disorganisation, uncertainty and flailing team-mates playing out of position behind them, this spoke poorly of the dream Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann…
Striker Dario Cvitanich said Boca Juniors will not celebrate the Apertura title until it is mathematically certain.
Sunday s victory over Godoy Cruz left Boca just one point away from confirming their first championship triumph since 2008.
The 27-year-old scored Boca s first goal and later earned a penalty which was converted by Rolando Schiavi to propel his side to a 2-1 win.
Boca are now nine points clear of closest rivals Tigre, and need just one point from their last three games to win the title.
Cvitanich, however, affirmed that he would be taking nothing for granted, and was already thinking about the club s next game.
After Banfield we will see what happens, Cvitanich said.
We still need one point to say (we are champions). A g…
Chelsea club secretary David Barnard admits the Blues face a very difficult Champions League last-16 tie against Napoli.
But he was hopeful that Andre Villas-Boas previous experience facing the Italian club could be used to their advantage.
Having worked under Jose Mourinho at Inter, the Chelsea manager will be aware of the threats posed by the Serie A side in a tie that will be a new experience for most of the club s players.
I think at this stage we can come up with the clichés about it being difficult, and it will indeed be difficult, Barnard told Sky Sports.
We ve already seen Napoli in the same group as Manchester City and they are unfortunately not with us, so obviously that has some bearing on the quality of Napoli.
I m sure Andre wi…
Premier League champions have submitted a formal proposal for CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa, according to the Russian club.
It is no secret that the Foxes are in the market for attacking reinforcements and it appears they are determined to bring the Nigerian to King Power Stadium.
CSKA Moscow head coach Leonid Slutsky has moved to suggest that Leicester made a €30 million bid for the winger’s services.
“The English club offered €30 million,” Slutsky told Match TV. “Musa came to me few days ago and asked me when Ranieri was returning from vacation, and I told him I didn’t know, because I don’t know Ranieri.”
Ahmed Musa joined the Russian giants from VVV Venlo back in January 2012 and he quickly developed into an important member of the …
Chelsea representatives have travelled to Santiago to hold talks with Universidad de Chile over the proposed sale of Eduardo Vargas.
The Londoners are said to be leading the way for the exciting prospect according to reports from Chilean newspaper La Tercera who has helped his side reach the final of the Copa Sudamericana, scoring eight goals in the process to become the competition s leading goalscorer.
A number of Europe s elite teams have been linked with moves for the 22-year-old, including Milan, Inter, Arsenal and Liverpool, but Chelsea appear to be in the driving seat.
A director from the English club landed in Santiago on Friday to continue negotiations with the Chile international, with Universidad determined to get the best possible price for their yo…
When Real Madrid lured Gareth Bale away from Tottenham in September 2013, the Santiago Bernabeu side were initially adamant they had paid €91million for the Wales international rather than the €100m reported across England, in an attempt to keep Cristiano Ronaldo happy.
The Portugal international had previously held the world record transfer fee following his €94m move from Manchester United and Madrid feared losing the status to his new team-mate would irk Ronaldo.
It later transpired that Madrid had indeed paid €100m to bring in Bale, but the message they had sent out was clear: Ronaldo was the top dog at the Bernabeu and the arrival of the former Southampton man did nothing to change that, irrespective of his transfer fee.
Not that Ronaldo s statisti…
Wilfried Bony has escaped from an unsuccessful spell at Manchester City by joining fellow Premier League outfit Stoke City in a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day.
The 27-year-old will bolster a Stoke squad without a win in three Premier League matches this season as he aims to recapture the prolific form he displayed at Swansea City to earn an ill-fated switch to the Etihad Stadium.
Bony joined Swansea for a then club-record fee from Vitesse in 2013 and scored 35 times in 70 matches.
That return included 20 Premier League goals to stand as the division s top scorer in 2014 but his spell in Manchester has been defined by form and fitness struggles.
He scored 11 goals in 46 appearances for the club and has failed to secure a place in Pep Guardi…