Emenike seals West Ham loan

Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino would welcome Gareth Bale back at White Hart Lane if reports of a first option clause prove to be true.

Documents released by the Football Leaks website appear to show that Madrid paid €101 million to take Bale from Spurs in 2013 and also that the Premier League club have a clause to match any offers received for him.

Bale is enjoying an impressive campaign at Madrid despite Rafael Benitez s sacking in January and the ongoing calf injury that sees him sidelined from Zinedine Zidane s plans.

But Pochettino was open to the possibility of Bale returning, telling reporters with a smile:  I don t know – it s about rumour.

If we have the full option to sign him then why not?

He s a great player and he s a …

aim to add to their defensive line, according to .

There is a feeling of urgency at the Catalan club to add a left back to their ranks. They have no natural replacements for the current occupant of the spot Jordi Alba, and that is a burning issue for them. It seems allowing Lucas Digne to leave this summer has come back to haunt them, even though manager Ernesto Valverde initially trusted Miranda in the role. Now he has changed his mind and he d like a more experienced option than the 18-year-old. Liverpool s Alberto Moreno, Atletico Madrid s Filipe Luis and Arsenal s Nacho Monreal have all been linked with a move to Camp Nou recently, and Barca are expected to make a move to sort the problem out as early as January.

The Blaugrana also want to sign another centre-back,…

Atlanta United boss Gerardo Martino has been named the MLS Coach of the Year for 2018.

The 55-year-old came came top of the poll for this year s prize after guiding his side to an Eastern Conference final against New York Red Bulls, which takes place this month.

Atlanta claimed 21 wins in the regular season, a new record in the post-shootout era (since 2000), and finished as the top-scoring side after netting 70 times in 34 games.

Martino, who took over in September 2016 for the team s inaugural season, beat Los Angeles FC boss Bob Bradley to the award after receiving 32.7 per cent of the votes among active players, selected media representatives and club technical staff.

The former Barcelona and Argentina head coach has been linked with the Mexico natio…

Reece James has added to England s World Cup concerns after sustaining a knee injury during Chelsea s Champions League clash with Milan.

The full-back appeared to jar his knee as he competed with Theo Hernandez for the ball in the 56th minute of the showdown at San Siro.

Although he got to his feet and continued, James subsequently went down again while chasing Rafael Leao six minutes later and was replaced by Cesar Azpilicueta.

The 22-year-old is the latest England right-back to sustain an injury, with Kyle Walker recovering from groin surgery while Trent Alexander-Arnold was withdrawn at half-time during Liverpool s defeat by Arsenal on Sunday due to an ankle complaint.

It has long been a position of real strength for Gareth Southgate s side, but Kieran…

The 2019-20 Champions League was ultimately lifted by the competition s most dominant team when Bayern Munich overcame Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend.

Kingsley Coman s second-half header to seal a 1-0 win was Bayern s 43rd of the season in Europe, securing an 11th victory from as many matches.

Unsurprisingly, Bayern players are very well represented in terms of the individual rankings for the tournament.

Drawing upon Opta data, we have a look at the highest goalscorers, the most prolific creators, the steadiest goalkeepers and more.

LEWANDOWSKI MATCHES RONALDO FEAT

Bayern s triumph was built upon the phenomenal goalscoring exploits of Robert Lewandowski, who became the second player in Champions League history to score 15 goals in a single cam…

Pambos Christodoulou will take charge of his first match as Cyprus coach on Wednesday when Northern Ireland visit Nicosia.

Christodoulou was appointed as the successor to Nikos Nioplias after the Greek oversaw a disappointing Cypriot qualification campaign for the FIFA World Cup.

Under Nioplias, Cyprus finished bottom of Group E after taking only five points from a possible 30, with the side having failed to pick up a win since September 2012.

Cyprus finished their qualification campaign on a relatively positive note, drawing 0-0 with Albania, and Christodoulou will be keen for his charges to begin 2014 in a positive manner against Michael O Neill s men.

Northern Ireland have lost four of their last five matches and former AEL Limassol and Anorthosis coach Chr…

Head coach Silvia Neid said Tuesday Germany s women can afford to take nothing for granted when they defend their World Cup title on home soil in 2011, despite being handed a relatively easy draw.

Germany will face France, Nigeria and Canada in Group A of the 2011 Women s World Cup which starts at Berlin s Olympic Stadium on Sunday June 26 when the hosts face Canada.

We are very pleased with the group, Neid told German daily Bild after the draw in Frankfurt.

But you certainly can not say that we are already in the quarter-finals.

Under no circumstances will we take our opponents lightly.

Having beaten Canada 5-0 in Dresden in September and Nigeria 8-0 in Leverkusen just last week, Germany captain Brigit Prinz said the goal is to defend the ti…

Marko Arnautovic converted from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time as Stoke City won a spectacular match with Everton 4-3.

The Austria international went to ground after a challenge from John Stones with just a few seconds left on the clock at Goodison Park on Monday and then blasted the ball home himself to help Mark Hughes men to all three points in dramatic fashion.

Xherdan Shaqiri had opened the scoring early on for Stoke with his first Premier League goal, only for Romelu Lukaku to hit back as both attackers put in eye-catching performances.

Switzerland international Shaqiri then doubled his personal tally shortly before the interval, but Lukaku was not to be outdone and netted to make it 2-2 after the break, his 15th league goal of the season…

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini made a big decision to drop midfielder Yaya Toure from the starting lineup against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, but was vindicated as City delivered an effective performance that will now raises the question of where the Ivorian’s future lies past this summer.

City finally moving on without troublesome Toure

Toure came on late in the game as Kevin De Bruyne was given a rest for his excursions on the pitch, but City were more than deserving of their narrow victory over the French Ligue 1 without having their long-serving midfielder present. It was a big call to make by the manager as Toure has been a regular in the side for many years, but it appears the club are moving on as the former African Player of the Y…

Lionel Messi s €700million release clause does not apply at all as he seeks to leave Barcelona, his father says, although LaLiga reiterated the captain cannot walk away as a free agent.

Messi last week informed Barca he wants to move on after an 2019-20 season in which they failed to win a trophy and were hammered 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Manchester City quickly emerged as suitors for the six-time Ballon d Or winner but are reportedly only interested in a free transfer.

Messi believed an agreement in his contract meant he could leave Camp Nou at the end of the campaign without the astronomical release clause being paid.

But with the season delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Blaugrana maintained that option has expi…