Everton are reportedly interested in signing Italian International and former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian this summer, bringing him back to the Premier League where he sometimes flattered to deceive.
Darmian, 30, joined United from Torino in the summer of 2015. He made 60 league appearances for the 20-time English champions, before making the move back to Italy last summer, to join the Gli Emiliani of Parma.
Arsenal football club received a permanent offer for star midfielder, Mesut Ozil, on the last day of the January transfer window from an unknown Qatari based club, but head coach Mikel Arteta stopped the deal from happening.
Reports suggest that the German could have left the gunners for the Middle East if not for the intervention of their manager, though apparently the German star would favour a move to Italy.
Liverpool chief Peter Moor has acknowledged that there has been a change in the style of play since the departure of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona. The Brazil international made the switch to the Camp Nou during the winter of 2018 and there has since been a steady progression at the club, who are presently on course to win their maiden Premier League.
Speaking to the Liverpool Cape Town supporters’ group, Moore accepted that the Reds have played differently since the departure of Coutinho with manager Jurgen Klopp preferring to play three in the midfield. He added that the club also benefited financially from the sale of the Brazilian, given they were able to sign the likes of Fabinho and Alisson Becker.
AC Milan’s chief football officer Zvonimir Boban has said that he has been hurt after the embarrassing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Atalanta. The Rossoneri suffered their worst-ever loss in more than two decades and that sees them 14 points adrift of the Champions League places, heading into the winter break.
Speaking to reporters, Boban said that the Rossoneri simply failed to show up against Atalanta and it was painful to witness the domination from the opponent. He added that the San Siro outfit want to get back to their glory days but that progress will take time with the club still under a cloud.
With the quality of Champions League opposition about to take a drastic hike, what can we already expect from the surviving Serie A clubs’ respective knockout fixtures?
Juventus favourites despite slim margins
In reality, the presence of Juventus in the knockouts was always a given, and they had secured Group D’s top spot even before their final group stage matchday. Cementing that berth via a close-fought 1-0 win over Atlético Madrid showed the full extent of Juventus’ tenacity. It also followed a theme, with 66% of their preceding 2019 Champions League group wins also being settled by a single goal.
The agent of Napoli defender Elseid Hysaj has revealed that Chelsea were interest in signing the Albanian during the summer of 2018. The Blues had recruited Maurizio Sarri as their new manager last year and there were suggestions that he could be reunited with a number of players from the Stadio San Paolo.
However, Jorginho was the only purchase for the Blues from the Naples outfit but it appears that there was an approach from the west London giants for Hysaj. Speaking to Radio Punto Nuovo, agent Marco has revealed that Napoli had received a £43m bid from the Blues for Hysaj but they opted against sanctioning the sale of the versatile defender.
AC Milan boss Marco Giampaolo has taken the responsibility after the Rossoneri continued their poor start to the season with yet another league defeat. The Rossoneri had gone into the home game against Fiorentina after two successive losses and they could not end the streak as the visitors picked up a 3-1 triumph.
That was partly contributed by the Rossoneri receiving a third red card in four matches and the result sees them within one point of the drop zone. Speaking after the game, Giampaolo said that he takes the responsibility for the defeat but remained adamant that he has the right ideas to succeed with the San Siro outfit.
When you look at Europe’s top football leagues, it’s very rare to find a team that’s continually crowned as champions year after year.
Sure, a team may achieve back-to-back titles, even three or four in some cases, yet over in Italy, Juventus are currently gunning for their ninth consecutive Serie A title this season – an incredible feat and testament to their sheer domestic dominance over the past decade.
Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte is confident that Romelu Lukaku will be an excellent signing for the club once he adapts to the demands of the Serie A. The Belgium international was regularly linked with the Nerazzurri throughout the summer and he eventually made the move to the San Siro before the Premier League transfer deadline.
Speaking to Inter TV, Conte said that he has no doubts regarding the quality of the former Anderlecht graduate and he is confident that he can prove his credentials at the club. However, the former Chelsea boss acknowledged that Lukaku needs to work hard on the physical and tactical point of view before commanding a regular place with the team, he quipped: "He also needs to work hard, both from a physical point of view and to get used to the way we're trying to go about things. He'll certainly be an excellent signing, we're really happy. He'll show great desire and commitment to get himself ready."
Inter Milan chairman Steven Zhang has said that the club will aim to reach greater heights during the forthcoming years. The Nerazzurri’s turnover has tripled since the takeover by the Suning group three years ago and that has brought positive results on the field where the club have qualified for the Champions League in the past two seasons.
Speaking to Xinhua, Zhang said that the Nerazzurri have their targets to keep growing in the forthcoming years with the aim of eventually the top side in the world, he told: “In the next three or five years, Inter will keep growing and set higher targets. The value of our players, our brand and the perception of the club will all be significantly improved just by taking part in the Champions League. For sure, the higher we climb the more persevering we’ll have to be, going step by step. In the next three, five and 10 years we need to move towards the objective of being on top of the world.”
