Antonio Conte is reportedly ready to say ‘yes’ to Manchester United chiefs should they offer him the club manager’s job.
Gazzetta Dello Sport claims the former Inter Milan and Chelsea boss would be happy to manage the Red Devils’ top stars including Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.
Reports claim Manchester United’s board are keeping faith with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for now.
It is thought the Old Trafford gaffer has been given the next three games to turn things around for his side.
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has announced he is expecting twins with partner Georgina Rodriquez.
Model Georgina, 27, is three months pregnant with the Portugal international’s babies.
Ronaldo, 36, is already a dad of four with three of his children born to two surrogate mothers.
He and Georgina shared a cute snap of themselves holding their baby scans, captioned: “Delighted to announce we are expecting twins. Our hearts are full of love – we can’t wait to meet you”
Ronaldo admitted in 2017 he wanted SEVEN children while Georgina last year said: “My desire for motherhood is stronger than anything.
Sporting director Stuart Webber says Norwich’s 7-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea was “disgraceful” and “embarrassing” for the club’s fans.
Webber said: “They deserve better than that but it wasn’t through lack of work or lack of effort.
“Saturday was disgraceful to be honest and embarrassing for our 1,500 supporters, who made that trek early in the morning.
“When you lose 7-0 everyone says ‘they didn’t try’, it is an easy thing to say but it is not true and we have to turn it around. We can’t go into games writing them off as ‘oh, we’ve got no chance in that game’.”
Norwich’s start to the campaign has already seen them face reigning champions Manchester City, European champions Chelsea and likely title candidates Liverpool.
The Canaries host Leeds on Sunday aiming to put an end to a 19-match winless sequence in the Premier League, with Webber conscious of a barrage of criticism aimed in the direction of head coach Daniel Farke and their approach to player recruitment.
“We’ve not come to this league to be tourists and swapping shirts with other players, we’re here to show we can stay in this league and compete in this league,” Webber added.
“It always annoys me in football that everyone always goes for one person. When we were successful last year, we were not successful just because of Daniel [Farke], we were successful because we have 300 staff working hard, we have fantastic players and we were successful.
“We are being unsuccessful now. That means we have 300 staff that need to do more and players that need to do more. For anyone to say we don’t deserve to be at this level is wrong.
“For people to say that we’ve given up and that we’ve accepted relegation already, I can’t accept that. Everyone at this club works too hard to accept that. It hurts and I’d heard enough and said that I felt I wanted to come out and say something.
“I don’t believe in being bullied and sitting in the corner when people throw punches and insults at us. It’s time to fight back.”
Jose Mourinho has been slammed for his treatment of a Roma player after scandalous defeat to Bodo/Glimt.
The Portuguese coach was furious after his side were thrashed 6-1 by Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League.
That led to the ex-Manchester United and Chelsea manager dropping four players for the next two games.
One of the stars was Amadou Diawara – much to the annoyance of the midfielder’s agent Daniele Piraino.
He said: “If it is for these reasons, rather than just poor fitness, or he feels the player is unable to understand the tactical requirements of the coach, then I think Mourinho is creating an uncomfortable situation.
“I don’t understand the message he’s trying to get across.
“Is Diawara being made a scapegoat? “Is he being made to pay a heavy price for an error?
“Or is it an attempt to force the club into acting on the transfer market?”
Callum Hudson-Odoi is one of three Chelsea aces attracting interest from Borussia Dortmund, according to reports.
TeamTalk claims the German club is mulling over a possible move for the Blues ace as well as his team-mates Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic.
Dortmund are thought to be planning for a future without the services of Erling Haaland with the Norway star emerging as a transfer target for several European giants.
Erling Haaland snubbed an offer from Manchester United on the advice of his agent Mino Raiola – even though they were offering more money.
That’s according to Borussia Dortmund chief exec Hans-Joachim Watzke, who admitted the Bundesliga club came in with a lower offer for the prolific striker.
But the CEO claims super-agent Raiola realised his client would thrive at the German giants, who have a reputation for blooding top young talent.
Watzke told Sport1 as cited by The Sun: “The offer from Manchester United was better. However Mino Raiola realised that Erling is better off with us.”
Haaland moved to Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020 and has gone on to become one of the world’s best strikers at the age of just 21.
United were linked with a £76million bid back in December 2019 but the Norwegian moved to Signal Iduna Park for just £18m instead.
He has since notched 70 goals in 69 appearances for the club and attracted further admirers from just about every one of Europe’s heavyweights.
Watzke recently admitted it would be difficult for Dortmund to hold onto their goalscorer next year.
Reports in Spain claim that Barcelona have reached a deal with Xavi Hernandez as they look to replace Ronald Koeman.
Koeman was sacked in the late hours of Wednesday following Barca‘s defeat to Rayo Vallecano in Vallecas.
The Dutchman was under pressure for months, but defeats to Real Madrid and Rayo have proved the final straw for president Joan Laporta.
And attention now turns to his replacement, which could be a quick search for Barca.
Former midfielder and current Al-Sadd boss Xavi looks to be the man they want, and they are already making headway.
That’s according to Sport, via Football Espana, who report Barca have already agreed a deal with Xavi to become their next head coach.
According to the report, all that remains is to strike a deal with Al-Sadd, where he has been for around two years as a manager, representing the Doha side for four years previously as a player.
It’s claimed Xavi has a release clause of €1million, though it seems Barca could look to negotiate that fee.
Either way, it appears inevitable at this point that Xavi will be the next head coach at Barca.
