Abdennour chooses Valencia

Bayern Munich s Joshua Kimmich is not getting carried away following his rise to prominence and is determined to keep on improving.

The versatile 21-year-old joined Bayern from Stuttgart ahead of the 2015-16 campaign and has quickly established himself as an important first-team member at the Allianz Arena.

But despite a return of five goals in nine largely impressive appearances, he remains humble amid his recent success.

I came to Bayern from the second division last year and not too many people knew who I was, but that s all different now,  the Germany international told the DFB website.

I played a few games last season and came back from the Euros as an international player. It s certainly meant that the demands and expectations of me have c…

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is ready to make a £20m bid to bring Gerard Pique back to Old Trafford, .

The Spain international swapped Manchester for Catalonia four years ago having played just twenty-three times under former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, though he was part of the squad that won the Premier League and Champions League in 2007/08.

Since moving to La Liga, the defender has won several major honours including four league titles, two Copa del Reys and two Champions Leagues while internationally, he won the 2012 World Cup in South Africa and the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine two years later.

Van Gaal looks set to make signing a defender his priority when the transfer window reopens in January, with his side shipping no…

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte admits he is not relaxed ahead of his side’s Premier League opener on Monday.  

Fronting the media before his side faces West Ham, the 47-year-old Italian showed an already impressive command of English, but noted there is an element of nervous excitement with the upcoming season.

I am not very relaxed. When you start a new season, it is a fantastic experience because for me this is the first time I have managed a new team in a new league in a new country, Conte said.

It is a fantastic challenge for me. For this reason I am not that relaxed. I know we have to do a lot of work to improve but we have started and I am very happy to start.

Following a disappointing season for the club last time out, Conte said that while he is…

Pep Guardiola says Real Madrid don t need a manager like me following reports the Catalan was sought to coach the European champions nearly a year ago.

Guardiola s biographer and close friend Marti Perarnau made the claims on Spanish radio this week saying Madrid tried to lure Guardiola, who was at Bayern Munich at the time, to the Santiago Bernabeu in November 2015, two months before they sacked then coach Rafael Benitez.

Guardiola subsequently took over at Manchester City ahead of the 2016-17 season, signing a three-year deal.

Asked on Friday about Madrid s apparent interest, the former Barcelona boss told reporters: I am a follower of FC Barcelona.

I don t think Real Madrid need a manager like me and I wouldn t fit there either.

Guardiola won…

Two goals in the space of four minutes from Nacho and Marco Asensio secured a 2-0 LaLiga win for Real Madrid at Cadiz on Saturday.

Los Blancos dominated the game at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla but were wasteful until Nacho opened the scoring with his first goal of the season after 72 minutes.

Asensio added a second soon after as Carlo Ancelotti s side moved 10 points behind leaders Barcelona at the expense of relegation-threatened Cadiz.

Ancelotti omitted Vinicius Junior and Toni Kroos ahead of the Champions League clash at Chelsea on Tuesday, while Luka Modric came off the bench late in an ultimately comfortable win.

Madrid started strongly but they were almost behind against the run of play when Cadiz captain Alfonso Espino let fly with a left-foot strike …

Christian Eriksen expects Manchester United can battle all the way through the rest of a busy season following his full return from injury.

The Denmark international made his first start since January during Sunday s 2-0 win in the Premier League over Nottingham Forest.

After minutes off the bench against Everton and Sevilla, Eriksen is back to help United contend for further silverware in the FA Cup and Europa League.

But he says it is imperative Erik ten Hag s side do not neglect the league, as they aim to secure Champions League football for next season.

Every game now until the end is going to be very important, he told MUTV. Someone is going to drop down, [and] someone s going to go in front.

So if we stay on the front foot like we are now,…

Parma midfielder Cristobal Jorquera is set to join Turkish Eskisehirspor on a season-long loan, .

The Chilean is currently undergoing a medical in Turkey, with the deal likely to be wrapped up well ahead of tonight s transfer deadline.

The interesting thing is that the 25-year-old arrived at Ennio Tardini on transfer deadline day in Italy, as he joined virtually for free from Genoa.

However, having already recruited quite a few players this summer, Parma officials decided to allow the Chilean to spend the next season in Turkey.

Cristobal Jorquera joined Genoa from Colo Colo in the summer of 2011, and went on to make 35 Serie A appearances for the Rossoblu, scoring 2 goals.

However, having started just 8 league games in two years, the talented foo…

US sports apparel giant Nike is in talks with China s beleaguered Super League over a potential 200 million dollar sponsorship deal that could cover the coming decade, state press said Sunday.

Nike has basically agreed to a 15 million dollar deal that will provide 12 league teams 732,000 dollars each in equipment and apparel and 220,000 dollars in cash for the 2009 season, the Beijing Times said.

Remaining funds would go to the league.

An extended agreement calls for a 15 percent annual increase, with the apparel contract to eventually cover all 16 league teams, it said.

If a final deal is reached, Nike could be providing 30 million dollars a year by 2018, with the cumulative sponsorship fee reaching 200 million dollars over 10 years, it said.

No…

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has hailed Arsene Wenger s career as Arsenal manager as fantastic .

The 66-year-old, who has won three Premier League titles and six FA Cups with the Gunners, will celebrate his 20th anniversary in the role on October 1.

Wenger has held onto his position despite a relative lack of success in the last decade, with Arsenal having failed to win the title since 2004 and having only ended a nine-year trophy drought with an FA Cup triumph in 2014.

Jose Mourinho infamously branded Wenger a specialist in failure during his second stint as Chelsea boss, but Conte who will face Arsenal for the first time on Saturday believes the club s faith in the Frenchman is to be commended.

Arsenal have a good story, they re an important team. I thin…

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel defended Neymar after the wantaway star was targeted by the club s own supporters during Sunday s Ligue 1 win over Nimes.

Neymar – tipped to leave the French champions amid links to Barcelona and Real Madrid – sat out the 3-0 victory against Nimes as PSG opened their title defence with three points.

Amid growing speculation over an imminent departure, sections of the Parc des Princes aimed derogatory chants towards Neymar before and during the match.

It s a little difficult, I don t know what to say. I saw [the public s reaction on Neymar] on my colleagues phones because I hadn t heard that during the game, Tuchel said about the chants directed at Neymar.

Can I understand that? Yes and no, that s the way …