Hans-Joachim Watzke claims Real Madrid are tracking coach Thomas Tuchel, not that the Borussia Dortmund CEO is worried about losing the highly-rated German any time soon.
Tuchel s reputation continues to grow following an impressive first season at Westfalenstadion in 2015-16, guiding Dortmund to second in Bundesliga and a berth in the DFB-Pokal final as they returned to the Champions League.
The 43-year-old out of contract in 2018 has Dortmund challenging both domestically and in Europe again this season, which Watzke believes has alerted LaLiga giants Madrid who are also reportedly pursuing star forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
I have a good relationship with Real Madrid and I believe that they are tracking him [Tuchel], Watzke told German TV channel ZDF.
Zinedine Zidane s shock Real Madrid departure means the coach will go out on a high, having led Los Blancos to three consecutive Champions League titles.
Zidane s announcement on Thursday means the Frenchman won the Champions League in each of his three seasons in charge, the first coach to achieve such an honour.
That trio of titles are part of a remarkable record in major finals, with Zidane s Madrid coming out on top in all of the showpieces they played in under his leadership.
Zidane also led Madrid to a record-breaking unbeaten run and we have picked out some of the key Opta numbers behind his two-and-a-half-year spell in charge.
GRACIAS, Zizou!
Champions League
Club World Cup
European Super Cup
La Liga
Spanish Super Cup
— #CHAMP13NS …
Brighton and Hove Albion booked a place in the next round of the FA Cup by beating Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday by 2-4.
The deadlock was broken by an own-goal from Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke in the 16th minute, but Pervis Estupinan equalized with a stunning shot in the first-half stoppage time. Lewis Dunk turned the game around in the 52nd minute, but Lewis Baker restored parity from the spot 11 minutes later. In the end, up stepped Joao Pedro to secure victory for the Seagulls with a brace (71 , 80 ).
But without a doubt, Estupinan s equalizer will be the best remembered moment of the match.
EXCL: Everton are trying to hijack Sevilla loan move for Hannibal Mejbri as contacts are taking place today.
Hannibal picked Sevilla ove…
Switzerland head into the final two World Cup qualifying matches with a three-point lead in Group two this weekend, anxious to wipe out memories of a disastrous Euro 2008 in front of their home crowd.
Since then they have gradually pulled into the reckoning for South Africa after a shaky start in arguably the weakest European qualifying group, thanks to one of Europe s most successful coaches, Ottmar Hitzfeld.
But they are also haunted by memories of a shock 2-1 home defeat last year to Saturday s opponents, lowly Luxembourg, that almost dashed their World Cup hopes.
Hitzfeld was trying to keep his side focused ahead of the away tie and a finale against Israel in Basel next Wednesday, following a rollercoaster ride since he took over the side 14 months ago.
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Ryan Bertand will make his loan move at Southampton permanent either in January or at the end of the season, according to the Mirror.
The 25 year old moved to St Mary’s on a temporary basis from Chelsea in July, and has played every minute of the Saints’ league campaign so far this season with two further appearances coming in the Capital One Cup.
He has turned out fifty-six times for his parent club since turning professional, with one of those outings coming in the 2012 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich though he has spent the majority of this career out on loan.
Prior to his switch to Ronald Koeman’s side, he had spells with no fewer than seven clubs including Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest while internationally he has been capped …
Manchester City target Edinson Cavani is likely to remain at Napoli next season, according to his agent.
A transfer to the Premier League side looks less likely after Cavani s agent, Gennaro Famiglietti, revealed that his client is happy at Napoli and has a strong affection for both the city of Naples and its football club.
Since moving to Napoli from Serie A rivals Palermo in 2010, the striker has netted an impressive 69 times in 96 games.
Cavani loves the club and the city, Famiglietti told Italian radio station Kiss Kiss.
Few clubs can pay the price for Cavani and this will determine his future. There is no agreement with anybody.
However, Famiglietti has urged Napoli to improve their current squad in order to match Cavani s ambition.
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Verdict: Manchester United
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
The Toffees do have a tendency to surprise Manchester United but Ronald Koeman’s men will find it hard to make another upset against the Red Devils, who sent a strong statement of intent with their EFL Cup win over West Ham during the week.
Everton
Only one win in their last eight Premier League matches has been a rather disappointing tally for Everton, who are struggling to get back up on their feet since September. Koeman has had a good start to the new campaign, having gone unbeaten in first six matches across all competitions but the Toffees’ form has hit a wall and they are struggling to recover. Everton remain seventh in the Premier league standings and are seated only one point behi…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic insisted he was very happy to see Sweden into the World Cup knockout stage, saying the nation were taking over just as he once did.
Ibrahimovic, 36, retired from international football after Euro 2016, having scored a record 62 goals in 116 appearances for his country.
There were suggestions the striker could return for the World Cup, but he was overlooked, and Sweden have shown few signs of missing the superstar as they topped Group F to reach the last 16.
Ibrahimovic said he was delighted to see his nation performing so well on the world stage.
I said before the World Cup they ll go far and they ll probably win it, the LA Galaxy striker said on Thursday.
I m very happy, proud to be Swedish, driving around with a Swedish flag…
AC Milan are interested in signing Diogo Dalot from Manchester United on a permanent contract in the summer of 2021, according to . It has been reported by the Italian news outlet that Milan are willing to hold talks with United over the future of the 21-year-old full-back.
Dalot joined Milan on loan from the Red Devils in the summer of 2020. According to , the Portugal Under-21 international right-back has made four starts and four substitute appearances in Serie A, and has scored one goal and provided two assists in six Europa League games for the Rossoneri so far this campaign.
Milan are at the top of the Serie A table at the moment with 49 points from 21 matches, two points clear of second-placed and city rivals Inter Milan. Defending Italian champions Juventus are …
Mauricio Pochettino was delighted to hear Jose Mourinho thinks Tottenham are Premier League title challengers even if he also backed Manchester City s B team .
Former Manchester United and Chelsea boss Mourinho stated last week that reigning champions City can only realistically be stopped by Liverpool or Spurs this season.
He even suggested City s second-string XI would be strong enough to contest for the Premier League, such is the quality in Pep Guardiola s squad.
The comments amused Pochettino ahead of Spurs trip to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, although he was nonetheless grateful to hear Mourinho has such a high opinion of his players.
I love Mou! He s so clever, he is so sarcastic sometimes. That s why he s one of the best managers in the world.…