that Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is almost certain to be appointed Valencia head coach for the 2016/2017 season.
The Chilean will become a free agent in the summer as Pep Guardiola has agreed to take over as Man City boss, and it appears he will be returning to Spanish La Liga.
Namely, having been disappointed with Gary Neville s start at Mestalla, Valencia chiefs have approached Pellegrini, offering him the job ahead of the new season.
According to Superdeporte, the Chilean has told his friends that he will probably accept the proposal from Mestalla.
Manuel Pellegrini enjoyed a great deal of success with Villarreal, achieving a top 3 finish in La Liga before narrowly missing out on the Champions League final.
He has also coached R…
Leonardo Bonucci believes Italy are not yet at the same level as Spain, France, Germany and England, but the defender feels they can reach that standard.
Italy won a record 10th straight match with a 3-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Euro 2020 qualifying on Friday and host Armenia on Monday.
Despite their run, Bonucci said Italy – who claimed their only European Championship in 1968 – still had progress to make.
We will reach the level of the top teams in Europe but we still need to improve to compete against those teams who have achieved something important in recent years, the Juventus defender told a news conference.
We are not at the level of Spain, France, Germany and England because of our lack of experience.
They have a lot of w…
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez says the fear of becoming a nobody in football inspires him to fight for success in his career.
The 28-year-old has won league titles with Colo-Colo, River Plate and Barcelona, as well as two Copas America with Chile, though he has lifted only one FA Cup and two Community Shields since joining the Gunners in 2014.
Manager Arsene Wenger has insisted Sanchez wants to stay at the club, despite speculation linking him with a lucrative move to Premier League leaders Chelsea at the end of the season.
But Sanchez has suggested he could be tempted to leave Emirates Stadium if he becomes concerned Arsenal are sliding into obscurity.
Looking at everything I ve done in my career as a footballer, at all the titles, I believe that what…
Germany coach Joachim Loew has admitted he is wary of Turkey ahead of Friday s Euro 2012 qualifier and compared Guus Hiddink s side to Bundesliga surprise package Mainz.
Mainz have shocked the German league with seven straight wins to lead the table by showing a strong team spirit and their young players like Andre Schuerrle and Lewis Holtby are becoming household names here.
Likewise, Turkey have won both of their Group A qualifiers so far, are just behind Loew s side at the top of the table and with Dutch coach Hiddink in charge, they threaten to upset the hosts in the German capital.
The Turks are rested, they did not play at the 2010 World Cup and have had more time for preparation. Turkey is like Mainz, Loew told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung…
According to Florian Plettenberg, Bayern Munich are considering Fiorentina defensive midfielder Sofyan Amrabat as an alternative solution, should their pursuit of West Ham captain Declan Rice prove unsuccessful. The German journalist stresses that Rice remains their preferred target for the role at the base of the midfield, but they appear resigned to the fact that getting the England international is a difficult task at the moment, due to competition from Arsenal.
Amrabat has been on the minds of many clubs since his fine displays for Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar, and regardless of what happens with Bayern and their interest, Fiorentina are likely to find it hard to keep hold of the 26-year-old. He was an important part of the Viola team that reached the Europa Conference…
Turkish-based Australian Ersan Gulum was a surprise selection in Holger Osieck s 50-man provisional Socceroos squad for the Asian Cup.
The details of the squad were meant to remain under wraps, but were leaked by the Asian Football Confederation on Wednesday and spread like wildfire online.
Chief among the talking points was the selection of 23-year-old central defender Gulum, whowas called up to the Turkish national squad by former Australia coach Guus Hiddink for their friendly against the Netherlands in November.
Because of his parent s heritage, Gulum is eligible to play for both Turkey and Australia, the country of his birth. But by having no involvement in the friendly against the Dutch he is not tied to the Turks and Osieck has seized the moment to includ…
Benfica s title-winning champagne remains on ice after Sporting Lisbon secured a hard-fought 1-0 win at lowly Belenenses.
Had Sporting failed to win Saturday s Primeira Liga encounter, their city rivals could have celebrated a first league title since 2010 by taking just a point from their home game against bottom-placed Olhanense on Sunday.
However, Adrien Silva scored from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute and, although Marcos Rojo was dismissed for the visitors in the closing stages, Sporting racked up a sixth straight league win.
It appears to be a case of too little too late for Leonardo Jardim s charges, however, as Benfica can wrap up the title by beating Olhanense.
Elsewhere, Pacos de Ferreira suffered a blow in their relegation battle after being thu…
Some of the best Nintendo Switch exclusives are on sale right now at Amazon. The promotion drops the price of the digital editions of three Switch hits to just $44: Mario Golf: Super Rush, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and New Super Mario Bros. U. While New Super Mario Bros. U is discounted pretty regularly, the other two rarely drop below $50.
If you purchase any of three games at Amazon, a game key will be added to your digital locker that can then be redeemed on the Switch eShop.
Speaking of the Switch eShop, you can also save five bucks on $50 eShop digital gift cards at Amazon right now Come from Sports betting site VPbet . This is essentially free money, and there is no limit on how many codes you can purchase. J…
Sinisa Mihajlovic believes teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma should stay and grow at AC Milan.
Donnarumma, 18, angered Milan fans after it was revealed he would not renew his contract beyond its expiry in 2018.
The shot-stopper was even showered with fake money during Italy s Euro Under-21 clash against Denmark on Sunday.
Mihajlovic, now in charge of Torino, handed Donnarumma his Serie A debut as a 16-year-old in 2015 and believes the goalkeeper should stay at Milan.
Gigio is very strong, but he s still a boy, he told Sky Italia.
To become a champion, he has to grow in an environment that loves him and can help him.
There s no need to rush, although I understand [agent Mino] Raiola doing it for his clients.
I would stay s…
Sky Sports understands that Jermain Defoe has re-signed for Bournemouth after leaving Sunderland.
The England international had a loan spell with the Cherries seventeen years ago where he scored an impressive nineteen goals in thirty-one appearances a tally which included a run of netting in ten consecutive league games.
Since then, the forward has had successful spells with Tottenham Hotspur. Portsmouth and Toronto FC before moving to the Stadium of Light in January 2015.
He made ninety-three appearances for the Black Cats in all competitions, scoring thirty-seven goals including fifteen in each of the last two Premier League campaigns.
However, his goals last season were not enough to save the North East side from relegation following ten years bac…