Zenit star Axel Witsel has cast doubt on his chances of joining Juventus in the next transfer window.
Belgium international Witsel had looked poised to join the Serie A champions in August but the move ultimately fell through after Zenit head coach Mircea Lucescu refused to sanction a sale.
Witsel stated last month that he fully expected to move to Turin in 2017, but he has suggested that the five-time Russian champions could veto his departure in January.
For now, I m here and I m playing for Zenit. I don t know if I ll leave the club in January, the 27-year-old told TASS.
It s not my decision, but Zenit s.
In the summer I could have gone to Juventus but coach Lucescu didn t authorise the transfer. It wasn t a good feeling but I went back to…
Zenit have announced that midfielder Axel Witsel has joined Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian.
The Belgium international said this week that he had received a lucrative proposal from the Chinese Super League that was too good for him and his family to turn down.
The Russian giants have since confirmed that Witsel will join newly promoted Tianjin, coached by former Italy star Fabio Cannavaro.
FC Zenit and Tianjin Quanjian have agreed a deal for the Belgian midfielder s move away from St. Petersburg, Zenit said via their official website.
Axel Witsel joined the blue-white-sky blues in September 2012 and spent five seasons in St. Petersburg. During this time Axel played 180 matches, scored 22 goals and made 13 assists.
While at Zenit, Axel won the Rus…
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has been in good form this season
Crystal Palace and Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha has been one of the biggest enigmas of English football in recent years. He made a bright start to his career at Palace and earned a big move to Manchester United in 2013.
The winger made just two Premier League appearances for the Red Devils, before re-joining Palace on loan and also spending a season on loan at Cardiff.
In 2015 the winger returned to Palace on a permanent basis after being considered a flop at United.
Zaha has been more successful back with the Eagles. This season he has been particularly impressive with a new-found consistency.
Finally fulfilling his potential
The 24-year-old has always had talent a…
Tottenham moved back to within four points of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League as they earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over a Crystal Palace side that had seen off a number of their top-six rivals.
Sam Allardyce s Palace have beaten Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool since the start of April, but came up just short against in-form Spurs as Christian Eriksen s 78th-minute goal secured an eighth straight league victory.
With league leaders Chelsea winning against Southampton on Tuesday, Tottenham could afford no hangover from their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Antonio Conte s men, although, for long periods, a winner looked unlikely at Selhurst Park.
Despite a second-half injury to Mamadou Sakho, Palace s defensive blockade stood firm until Eriksen s blast tore up…
Verdict: Egypt win and under 3.5 goals
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Looking to extend their winning start to life in Group A, Mohamed Salah s Egypt will host Congo in Cairo on Wednesday night.
Egypt
Starting with the hosts, while they might not have been at their best in their Group A opener last week, Egypt will be glad to be getting their African Cup of Nations campaign off to a winning start. Picking up a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe last time out, the Pharaohs find their confidence at a high. Looking to go one step further than their Silver medal finish out in Gabon two years ago, Javier Aguirre s side find themselves enjoying a three-match winning run across all competitions and fans around Cairo will be looking for attacking superstar Mohamed Salah to carr…
Lyon have announced the signing of Lille midfielder Thiago Mendes, who will help fill the void left by the departure of Tanguy Ndombele.
Mendes joins fellow Brazilian Jean Lucas at the club after Ndombele became Tottenham s record signing on Tuesday, joining the Premier League team for a fee that could rise to €70million (£62.8m).
Lyon and Lille have not revealed the terms of Mendes transfer, though he is reported to have cost around €25m.
Mendes made 35 Ligue 1 appearances in the 2018-19 season as Lille finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain in the table, a place ahead of Lyon.
Thiago Mendes s engage avec l Olympique Lyonnais !
Bem-vindo
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL)
He becomes Lyon s third signing ahead of the 2019-20 ca…
Stephen Carr has retired from professional football, citing persistent knee problems as the main reason for his decision.
The former Republic of Ireland international who lists Tottenham and Newcastle among his ex-clubs made his professional debut for Spurs back in 1993 before going on to amass more than 400 senior appearances and 44 international caps.
Carr, 36, originally announced his retirement in 2008 when he was released by Newcastle, but went on to captain Birmingham, winning the Carling Cup before suffering relegation from the Premier League in the 2010-11 season.
He told Birmingham s official website that his knee was getting to the stage where he could no longer continue playing.
I am going on 37 and now is the time to bow out, he said.
Market: Racing Santander win
Odds: 11/10 @
Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways on Monday night, Racing Santander will welcome Huesca to Cantabria.
Starting with the hosts, eventually forced to settle for what would have been a disappointing bottom-half finish last season, Jose Alberto’s side are desperate to mount a genuine play-off charge this time around. Although the Cantabria-based outfit might have been last seen slumping to a routine 2-0 defeat ta the hands of Espanyol, there is no doubt that Los Montaneses will be smelling the chance to claim an immediate boost here. Gaining plenty of praise since opening up the 2023/24 campaign and with their eye-catching start underlined by a 4-0 romp against Eibar earlier in the month, Racing will als…
Sinisa Mihajlovic will only allow his AC Milan players one night of celebration after their thumping 3-0 victory over Inter on Sunday.
Goals from Alex, Carlos Bacca and M Baye Niang helped Mihajlovic s team demolish their fierce rivals at San Siro, securing Milan s biggest derby victory since 2011 in the process.
A top-three finish is not out of reach for Milan now, despite their early-season struggles and the speculation surrounding Mihajlovic s own future with the Rossoneri, and therefore the coach does not want his squad losing track of the matter at hand – namely maintaining their impressive recent form.
Finally we gave joy to president [Silvio] Berlusconi. I m happy for him, for the fans, the club and the guys, he said.
Now we celebrate un…
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne feels he would have had a better chance of succeeding at Chelsea had the Stamford Bridge side paid big money for him.
The Belgium international joined Chelsea from Genk in January 2012 for a transfer fee in the region of £7 million, but eventually left the club on a permanent basis for Wolfsburg in 2014 after failing to secure regular first-team action.
He quickly became a key figure at the Bundesliga outfit and earned himself a big-money move to City at the start of this season, where he has wasted no time making a name for himself.
De Bruyne feels his £55m pricetag has been beneficial to him rather than a hindrance and thinks things could have panned out differently at Chelsea had he arrived on the back of mega-money tran…