Juve to complete €46m deal for Costa

Claudio Marchisio feels sympathy for Paulo Dybala, who has been forced into an unfamiliar role at Juventus following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.

After nine trophy-laden seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo joined ahead of 2018-19 in a €112million deal and has continued his prolific form, scoring 24 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions.

While the Portuguese s productivity has earned Juve a 15-point lead atop Serie A and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals – Ronaldo having netted a second-leg hat-trick to see off Atletico Madrid in the last 16 – Dybala s personal fortunes have waned by comparison.

As the focal point of the side in 2017-18, Dybala rattled in 26 goals but so far this season he has just nine, having been deployed in a wide…

What the papers say

West Ham believe they are still in the box seat to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher despite a rejected £40million bid, the Evening Standard reports. Tottenham are also interested in the 23-year-old.

The Mirror says the Bayern Munich’s chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen and technical director Marco Neppe have not joined the club on their trip to Japan to stay behind to work on another bid for Harry Kane. Tottenham want £100million for the England captain.

Liverpool have had their bid for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia rejected with the £35million offer deemed not enough, according to the Guardian. Southampton are hoping for a bid closer to £50million.

Social media round-up

Manchester United ready to sell Scott McTominay if…

Andy Cole has dismissed the prospect of England lifting the Euro 2012 trophy in Poland and Ukraine this year.

Cole argues that Roy Hodgson s men had little chance of winning the tournament even before they were rocked by the loss of several players to injury.

The recent withdrawal of Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Gary Cahill has come as a major blow to a side which will be forced to make do without talismanic striker Wayne Rooney for their opening two games in Group D due to suspension.

However, Cole has played down the significance of the latest fitness issues in the England camp, claiming that they were by no means title contenders to begin with.

England have many injuries but I did not think that they had much chance beforehand anyway, the former Man…

Nancy midfielder Bakaye Traore has announced he has agreed to join AC Milan at the end of the season.

The details of the transfer were not released by the 27-year-old, but it is believed he will join Milan for nothing as his contract with Nancy expires in June.

I am very proud to have signed for a big club, who have some of the best players in the world, Traore told RMC.

I hope that this will go well and that this will be a step forward. I am not afraid of the competition.

Every player that wants to improve must not be afraid. If I am good, I know that I will have my chance, as they told me.

Traore, a Mali international, had also been linked with Newcastle and Marseille after establishing himself as a key player at Nancy since joining the clu…

Former Borussia Dortmund defender Marc Bartra has condemned a banner held by Schalke supporters during Saturday s Revierderby that apparently showed support for the bomb attack on Dortmund s team bus two years ago. 

Schalke won 4-2 at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday, as Dortmund had captain Marco Reus and defender Marius Wolf sent off for second-half lunges on Suat Serdar and saw their Bundesliga title hopes fade significantly.

But a famous victory inspired by two Daniel Caligiuri goals was marred by the appearance of a banner among the travelling supporters that read Still a bombing [good] idea, freedom for Sergej W . 

Sergej W was the identifying name publicly given to the man convicted of 28 counts of attempted murder and sentenced to 14 years in priso…

Sensational comebacks are increasingly a staple of the modern Champions League and Liverpool arguably topped them all on Tuesday.

Heading into the second leg of their semi-final against Barcelona at Anfield nursing a 3-0 deficit and without injured forward Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, Jurgen Klopp s men appeared to be on a hiding to nothing.

However, Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum had not read the script – or maybe they just avidly consumed a few of the plotlines below.

Their heroics place Liverpool s 4-0 win among the greatest Champions League salvage operations of all time. Here it is alongside a few others to jog your memory.

WHAT A SPECIAL NIGHT!!! WE RE GOING TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL!!

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

Barc…

Milan director Paolo Maldini hinted Franck Kessie could be sold, insisting the Serie A club must do what is sustainable amid contract negotiations with the Rossoneri star.

Kessie is in the final year of his Milan contract and the Ivory Coast midfielder appears no closer to re-signing, despite voicing his desire to remain at San Siro forever .

The 24-year-old has been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and even city rivals Inter, while Tottenham reportedly had an offer rejected by Kessie.

Having already lost star pair Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain) and Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter) on free transfers at the end of 2020-21, Milan would like to keep Kessie but Maldini warned not at the expense of the club s economic structure.

I thin…

Pep Guardiola is confident Bernardo Silva will enjoy a strong season for Manchester City after a below-par 2019-20.

Silva scored for Portugal against Sweden in the Nations League on Wednesday, and received backing from Guardiola ahead of City s clash with Arsenal.

While the playmaker was directly involved in 13 goals last Premier League season – compared to 14 in 2018-19 – he created fewer chances.

Silva created 71 chances, including assists, in 2018-19 and that number dropped to 51 last season, when he played 824 fewer minutes.

Guardiola said the 26-year-old was exhausted last season, having helped City win four domestic trophies and Portugal clinch the Nations League the campaign prior.

He was injured in some moments and he didn t reach the…

Birmingham received an inspirational pep talk from NFL great Tom Brady before a last-gasp victory against Leeds that boss John Eustace dedicated to the late Trevor Francis.

A sold-out St Andrew’s celebrated the club’s greatest ever player and an exciting future under new ownership as Daniel Farke’s relegated side came to the second city.

It is a month since American businessman Tom Wagner completed his takeover at Birmingham, who nine days ago saw seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady join as minority owner.

The former NFL star enjoyed a memorable first trip to St Andrew’s, visiting a local pub before meeting the players and watching a 1-0 stoppage-time win.

GET IN THERE!

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady)

“The new owners came into the dr…

Lucas Hernandez has successfully undergone surgery after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in France s 4-1 World Cup opening win against Australia on Tuesday.

Hernandez s club Bayern Munich confirmed he had the operation in Innsbruck on Thursday, with his rehabilitation to commence in Munich in the coming days.

The defender was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup due to the injury that saw him replaced after only 13 minutes.

Bayern did not provide a timeframe on Hernandez s recovery but it is expected he will miss the rest of the 2022-23 season.

has undergone successful knee surgery.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Lucas!

— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)

Hernandez is the latest injury blow for the world champions…