Smalling: United will return to the Champions League

Real Madrid to bid for Kramer

Champions League holders Real Madrid are hot on the trail of Germany starlet Christoph Kramer, reports Marca.

Los Blancos see the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder as a perfect long-term replacement for Sami Khedira, who is unlikely to remain at Santiago Bernabeu beyond the current season.

According to Marca, Real chiefs have met with player s agent Gerd vom Bruch on two occasions, which is enough to suggest they are set to make their interest concrete.

Christoph Kramer is currently in the final season of a two-year loan at Borussia M gladbach, but his parent club Bayer Leverkusen face a tough task of keeping hold of his services.

It appears that los Blancos have emerged as favourites for Kramer s signature and they are ex…

Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla will all compete for La Liga honours this term, according to Barcelona defender Adriano.

The experienced full-back has rarely featured so far under Luis Enrique this season, with Barca two points off leaders Real Madrid having dropped points on three occasions.

With Barca s next fixture coming against Adriano s former club Sevilla on Saturday, the 30-year-old also feels defending champions Atletico and third-placed Valencia will provide competition in the title race.

Barca have beaten Sevilla on each of their last five attempts and Adriano feels victory on the return from the international break is a must.

The league is not a two-horse race, he told the club s official website.

Valencia, Atletico Madrid and…

Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo has admitted that he has a horrible personality ahead of Saturday night s clash with AC Milan.

The 26-year-old, who moved to Roma from Espanyol in August 2011, has picked up nine red cards in the past six seasons and confessed he is no model professional footballer.

I am a bit of a lunatic. One day I feel strong, the other useless, said the Italian international to La Repubblica.

I fight, I score, I react, but I do everything to excess.

I was forced to grow up, but there s a part of me that rejects the idea of growing up. I make pointless fouls, but at that moment they seem right.

It s true, I have a horrible personality. But I kind of like being like this. I always miss something in life, especially my home in Arge…

This summer has been extraordinary for Zenit St. Petersburg s playmaker Andrei Arshavin. The Russian schemer enjoyed an impressive Euro 2008 campaign and subsequently attracted the interest of some of Europe s top football clubs.

Arsenal and Barcelona were the names consistently linked with the player, but as it turns out neither club was willing to match Zenit s valuation of him. Now Tottenham have sneaked in with a bid for Arshavin, but their bid also comes short of Zenit s asking price.

With Tottenham we have contacts, said Zenit s sporting director according to The Daily Mail.

They are really interested in acquiring Andrei but, as I understand, £21.5m is too high a price for them.

Juande Ramos aims to add attacking forces to his team ahea…

Paul Pogba has been dropped by Juventus for Thursday s Europa League clash with Freiburg in Turin.

The France international was reportedly late for a team meeting on Wednesday and was not included in Massimiliano Allegri s squad when it was circulated on the morning of the last-16, first-leg tie.

Pogba has endured a miserable start to his second spell with Juve after re-joining the club from Manchester United last July.

The 29-year-old midfielder has suffered with multiple injuries and had to wait until February 28 to make his second debut, coming off the bench in the 4-2 derby win against Torino and also appeared as a late substitute in Sunday s 1-0 defeat at Roma.

Thursday s game against Bundesliga club Freiburg had been earmarked as one in which he cou…

Kylian Mbappe believes there is still more to come from Paris Saint-Germain s star-studded strikeforce during the second half of the season.

Mbappe has hit eight Ligue 1 goals, while Neymar has managed 11 and Edinson Cavani has contributed 19 to help PSG sit nine points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand over nearest challengers Marseille.

While the relationship between Cavani and Neymar has not always been smooth the pair rowing on the pitch about who would take set pieces Mbappe has settled in easily after his switch from Monaco.

And the France international thinks 2018 may therefore prove to be an even better year for him despite flourishing during the course of 2017 for club and country.

You always have to aim higher, Mbappe told beIN…

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is open to taking charge of Spanish and European champions Real Madrid as he dismissed the possibility of moving to Barcelona or Arsenal.

Zinedine Zidane guided Madrid to LaLiga and Champions League glory last season but the Frenchman is fighting to keep his job amid the club s struggles in 2017-18.

Madrid s campaign hit a new low Wednesday, bundled out of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals by Leganes.

Pochettino has been linked with Madrid amid uncertainty over Zidane and the former Espanyol boss refused to rule out a switch to the Santiago Bernabeu.

I am so clear, Pochettino said. I am never going to be manager of Barcelona or Arsenal because I am so identified with Tottenham and Espanyol. I grew up in Newell s Old B…

Former Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz believes his old team are over-dependent on star player Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2012.

Ronaldo, 27, powered Portugal to a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands on Sunday, netting both goals in his best performance to date at the competition.

And as Portugal prepare for their quarter-final clash against Czech Republic on Thursday, Queiroz has questioned their reliance on the Real Madrid star.

Portugal have a national team called Cristiano Ronaldo and a group of players who run after him, Queiroz told TVI24.

The approach should be different: Ronaldo being only an asset to the team.

A few years ago, the national team reflected Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Paulo Sousa and Fernando Couto.

When they retired, it bec…

Orlando Pirates are close to signing another rising African star with the news Emmanuel Okwi is likely to join them next week.

Okwi plays for Simba in Tanzania and will arrive at Mayfair in a deal worth a reported 680,000 euros, a record transfer in Tanzanian football.

He had a trial at Kaizer Chiefs before last season and was asked back for a second viewing, but at the time turned down the chance to instead attend a another trial in Turkey which came to nothing.

The 19-year-old already has 11 internationals goals to his name for Uganda, having made his debut at 17.

He was also top-scorer in the 2010 regional CECAFA Championship with four goals in five games, and matched that number in the 2011 tournament.

The deal is already done, but there are…

Hansi Flick feels Bayern Munich paid for the price for being too conservative in the first half of their 1-1 draw against Union Berlin and acknowledged his side can definitely play better .

The Bundesliga champions trailed after just four minutes of Saturday s contest at Alte Forsterei as Grischa Promel headed the underdogs into a shock lead.

Robert Lewandowski s 16th goal in as many games this season levelled proceedings just after the hour but Bayern were unable to find a winner in an entertaining clash.

The first few minutes we were not present on the pitch as we had wanted to be. We could have defended better when we conceded the goal, without question, head coach Flick said in quotes reported by Bayern s official website.

When the first ball become…