Aston Villa interested in Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette

Jude Bellingham has been fined by UEFA for a gesture made in England s win over Slovakia at Euro 2024, while Turkiye s Merih Demiral has been banned for two games for his goal celebration.

England midfielder Bellingham scored a stunning overhead kick to equalise in stoppage time against Solvakia, keeping his side s tournament hopes alive.

But he was seen kissing his hand and grabbing his crotch after the full-time whistle in a gesture some interpreted as an insult towards Slovakia s fans and bench.

Bellingham later took to social media to rubbish the claims, claiming it was an inside joke gesture .

After an investigation, UEFA has handed him a €30,000 fine, along with a one-match suspended ban, which means he can face Switzerland on Saturday.

Th…

Fabrizio Romano has reported on Twitter that former Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria will sign a contract with Juventus soon. The well-known and well-respected journalist has claimed that Di Maria will undergo a medical on Friday after arriving in Turon on Thursday evening.

Di Maria is a free agent at the moment after leaving French giants PSG at the end of last season. The Argentina international, who can operate as a winger or an attacking midfielder, is a PSG legend. Di Maria is the ninth-highest goalscorer in PSG history and the all-time leader in assists.

New Juventus top signings, coming to Italy this week. ⚪️⚫️

▫️ Ángel Di María will be in Turin tomorrow night as he will undergo medical tests on Friday. Here w…

Luis de la Fuente has no doubt over Kylian Mbappe s threat in Spain s Euro 2024 semi-final on Tuesday, suggesting the France forward at 50% is 100% for anyone else .

Mbappe has scored just one goal from 20 shots at the tournament in Germany, a penalty against Poland in Les Bleus final group game.

The Real Madrid-bound has been hampered by a mask, required after his broken nose against Austria in the opening game, but continues to struggle at the European Championship.

Mbappe has scored just once from 34 attempts in the Euros overall, a contrast to his record at the World Cup, where the former Paris Saint-Germain star has 12 goals from 39 shots.

Yet the Spain boss insists La Roja will not write off the Les Bleus captain, despite his recent underwhelming fo…

Tottenham extended their unbeaten Premier League start under Antonio Conte following a 1-1 draw with 10-man Southampton at St Mary s.

The in-form James Ward-Prowse put Saints ahead with a sweetly struck 16-yard shot in the 25th minute.

Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot 16 minutes later after Mohammed Salisu was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Spurs were also denied goals twice by offside rulings, as Conte became the first manager in the club s history to remain unbeaten through his first seven league games in charge.

Tottenham had lost their final league game in just one of the last 12 calendar years and thought they had taken the lead in the 14th minute, but Ben Davies  header from a Son Heung-min free-kick was ruled out for offside.

Competition: Premier League

Market: Crystal Palace to beat Southampton

Odds:

The new year brings even more footballing action as the players are back out on the pitch almost as soon as they came off it. Every side will know how important it is to start the year with a win, while the managers will be desperately trying to rotate their teams to keep the players as fresh as possible. With all of this in mind, Southampton host Crystal Palace on Tuesday.

Southampton have been in very poor form this season and they are in danger of being forced into a relegation battle. After 21 games they have won four times, drawn eight and lost nine, while they have scored 20 goals and conceded 30 times. The 20 points they have collected sees them sitting just tw…

Napoli have completed the signing of Giacomo Raspadori from Sassuolo, with the 22-year-old initially arriving on a season-long loan ahead of a permanent transfer next year.

Raspadori, who was also targeted by Juventus after scoring 10 Serie A goals last season, follows the likes of Giovanni Simeone, Tanguy Ndombele and Kim Min-jae in sealing a move to Naples during a busy transfer window in southern Italy.

Luciano Spalletti s team threatened to challenge for a first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era before finishing third last season, but they have subsequently been in need of attacking reinforcements following a spate of high-profile departures.

Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne, the two highest goalscorers in Napoli s history, both departed on free transfer…

Tanguy Ndombele has not tried to shift the blame for his underwhelming Tottenham performances as he accepts he is risking his career by returning to Lyon on loan.

Ndombele was a £55.5million (€62m) signing for Spurs in 2019 but re-joined former club Lyon on Monday in a temporary move that could become permanent for €65m.

The midfielder failed to show in England why Tottenham had invested so heavily in his services.

After creating 47 chances and laying on seven assists in his final season in Ligue 1, Ndombele played only 30 key passes and contributed five assists in two and a half years in the Premier League.

There were mitigating factors, with Ndombele signed by Mauricio Pochettino, who soon left to be replaced by Jose Mourinho. Nuno Espirito Santo a…

Olivier Giroud s hot goalscoring form continued as Chelsea came from behind to claim a 3-1 win over Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday, sending the Blues top.

Former Chelsea player Patrick Bamford put Leeds ahead with their first shot of the game as Chelsea were punished on the counterattack.

Giroud, who scored all four of Chelsea s goals in a Champions League win over Sevilla during the week, equalised just before the half-hour with an instinctive close-range finish.

Chelsea went ahead when Kurt Zouma headed in from a corner and the hosts finished Leeds off in stoppage time thanks to Christian Pulisic.

34 At 34 years and 66 days, Olivier Giroud is also the oldest player to ever score in six consecutive Premier League starts. Maturity.

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Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea will approach the rest of the season confident in the knowledge they can compete with the best teams after dramatically drawing 4-4 with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Cole Palmer struck a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to deny the club with whom he won the Premier League title in May and snatch a sensational point at the death in west London.

City thought they had won it via Rodri’s deflected strike four minutes from the end, his effort spinning into the goal past the wrongfooted Robert Sanchez off Thiago Silva’s outstretched foot.

Spoils shared on a breathless afternoon!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

Earlier, the lead had been passed back and forth on a topsy-turvy afternoon, Erling Haalan…