Faced with a sort of a defensive crisis at the moment, La Liga heavyweights Barcelona are considering their options.

The player who’s long been linked with a move to Camp Nou as a temporary solution – – is once again being mentioned as a possible transfer target although Mundo Deportivo are suggesting Barcelona has a long(er) list of January targets.

Barcelona are said to be monitoring a promising FC Koln centre-back Jorge Mere.

The 21-year-old Spanish youth international has been highly regarded as one of the biggest talents in Spain and Barcelona are allegedly taking a firm interest in his services.

Mere moved to Germany from Sporting Gijon in 2017 and this season he made 9 Bundesliga II appearances.

Apart from Mere, Barcelona are not wi…

Thierry Henry has been sacked by Monaco, with the struggling Ligue 1 side confirming the return of the club s former head coach Leonardo Jardim.

Henry was suspended on Thursday and his sacking was confirmed 24 hours later, with Monaco facing Dijon in a relegation six-pointer on Saturday. Franck Passi will take charge for that game.

Monaco were already deep in trouble when Henry took charge in October but the club s former striker was unable to inspire a turnaround at Stade Louis II.

They exited the Champions League at the group stage and were knocked out of the Coupe de France at home by second-tier side Metz.

Henry s departure comes with the club a point and a place above the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, with Jardim sensationally returning to Monaco in a…

Real Madrid will be without Luka Modric when they face RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Modric did not travel to Germany with the Madrid squad on Monday after he was a late withdrawal from the squad.

The midfielder opened the scoring in a 3-1 LaLiga defeat of Sevilla on Saturday before being substituted after 77 minutes.

The club did not state why Modric will miss the game against Bundesliga side Leipzig.

A club statement said: Luka Modric won t play in tomorrow s Champions League group stage match between Real Madrid and Leipzig, at the RB Arena.

The Croatian had been named in [head coach,Carlo] Ancelotti’s squad for the game, but is a last-minute withdrawal and won t be travelling with the team to Leipzig.

Ballon d Or w…

Wes Brown is confident Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo possesses the temperament to take his rapid ascent to the England squad in his stride.

The 18-year-old was this week called up by England boss Gareth Southgate for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, just four months after making his first Premier League start as Erik ten Hag’s side won 3-0 away to Everton.

Midfielder Mainoo has gone on to make 20 appearances this season and 44-year-old Brown, who has personal experience of coming through the youth ranks at United before going on to play for England, does not expect the youngster to get carried away by his remarkable rise.

“You can see from the way he plays that he’s very calm,” Brown told the PA news agency as he helped promote United…

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Looking to punch their European Championship semi-final ticket and extend on their famous summer romp, Georgia will meet Israel on Saturday evening.

Georgia U21

Starting with Georgia, while the Crusaders might have opened their summer adventure tipped as a real underdog to claw a route out of Group A, Ramaz Svanadze s young squad have only continued on a historic European Championship run. Opening their summer adventure with a stunning 2-0 victory against Portugal, the Whites have gained a string of plaudits from across the continent. Eventually falling England out of Group A and springing an almighty upset, the mood in Georgia’s camp should be at a red-hot high. Likewise, signing off their pre-tournament preparations with a routine…

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea FC are reportedly in negotiations to bring Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho and Uruguayan left-back Alvaro Pereira to Stamford Bridge.

It comes as no surprise that Chelsea are targeting Porto players. Mainly because their knew boss, André Villas-Boas, managed the Portuguese giants last season. He enjoyed tremendous success at FC Porto in 2010-11, winning the Portuguese domestic league, the domestic cup, and the UEFA Cup. Villas-Boas was hired by Roman Abromovich in order to bring the success that Jose Mourinho brought to Chelsea back to West London.

Can he do the job? I think he can, and he may just pull it off sooner than expected. But in order for Villas-Boas to return Chelsea to their past glories, he …

Australian strikers Josh Kennedy and Alex Brosque has credited Japan s J.League for some of the best form of their careers.

The pair was speaking in Sydney ahead of Australia s friendly with Malaysia in Canberra on Friday, and a World Cup qualifier with Oman in Sydney on Tuesday.

Kennedy, 29, joined Nagoya Grampus in 2009 and has scored 15 times this term, leading them to third place in the J.League, and the 194cm front man has been in sterling form for the Australian national side as well.

He has scored three goals in the Socceroos last two World Cup qualifiers, and Kennedy said his time in Japan, after nine years plying his trade in Germany, has improved his international form.

I ve been enjoying my football, Kennedy said. I missed a couple of games a…

Liverpool are set to send out Danny Ward on a season-long loan to Huddersfield Town, .

The twenty-two year old moved to Anfield from Wrexham in January 2012, but only made his Premier League debut in last month’s 2-1 win over Liverpool before getting a second run out in Sunday’s defeat to Liverpool.

He had been on loan at Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen but was recalled by manager Jurgen Klopp, who had no qualms over throwing the shot-stopper in at the deep end.

Ward, who is currently competing with Simon Mignolet and Adam Bogdan with the Merseyside outfit also had a brief spell at Morcambe last season while he spent some time with Tamworth before moving to Liverpool.

Internationally, he has represented Wales at U19 and U21 level before bein…

Chelsea captain John Terry has signed a new one-year deal with the club.

Terry s future had been subject to much speculation, with Chelsea announcing last Friday that they had offered their long-serving captain fresh terms to continue his 18-year playing career at Stamford Bridge.

The former England skipper subsequently revealed that he would take time to consider the different role on offer from his boyhood club before making a decision, before then offering an emotional on-pitch statement after Chelsea s final game of the season on Sunday.

And Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday that the 35-year-old has opted to stay put following discussions with incoming manager Antonio Conte, who will take over after leading Italy at Euro 2016.

Terry told the club s offic…

According to a report from Bild, German giants Bayern Munich are currently tracking the progress of RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano ahead of the summer transfer window. The 20 year old, who has been tipped to be a major player in the France national team over the course of the next few years, joined Leipzig from Red Bull Salzburg back in 2017. Since then he’s been able to establish himself as the kind of defender who is wise beyond his years, which is always going to attract the attention of a club like Bayern.

Manchester United are also said to be interested, whereas Bayern have really doubled down on the idea of signing him. He’s widely considered to be one of the most exciting young defenders in European football right now, and if Bayern play their cards right, they …