Declan Rice deserves to be in contention for the Premier League s Player of the Season award and has proven to be the best signing of the campaign, says former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour.
Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham in a £105million deal last July and has had a transformative impact, helping Mikel Arteta s side push Manchester City all the way in the title race.
On Thursday, Rice – alongside Arsenal team-mate Martin Odegaard – was named as one of eight nominees for the Premier League s Player of the Season prize, with the likes of Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and Virgil van Dijk also on the shortlist.
As well as helping Arsenal maintain the Premier League s best defensive record in 2023-24, Rice has carried the ball further than any other player in t…
Interim Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick hinted there could be up to ten new signings following Tuesday s 4-0 demolition at the hands of Liverpool.
It was effectively game over after 25 minutes with Liverpool already up 2-0 by that point, and United simply were not capable of mounting a tangible fightback.
Following October s 5-0 trashing at Old Trafford, Tuesday s 4-0 loss at Anfield served as a microcosm of where the two clubs are at on and off the pitch.
Rangnick asserted the need for a disjointed United to take on a long-term overhaul in the same vein as Liverpool and Manchester City, who built squads over time on the basis of identity.
If you look at the two clubs who are currently dominating the Premier League, they did exactly that, he said…
Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who was killed in a 2018 helicopter crash, would “never have risked his life in this machine” if he knew safety processes had not been taking place, according to his son.
Mr Vichai and four others died when the Leonardo AW169 plummeted to the ground outside the club’s King Power Stadium on October 27, 2018, shortly after taking off from the pitch.
A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) stated that the crash was caused by the pilot’s pedals becoming disconnected from the tail rotor as a component – a bearing – seized amid a build-up of pressure.
Investigators listed a series of contributory factors, such as Italian company Leonardo failing to share test flight results with the bearing manufac…
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The Premier League returns once again this weekend as we continue through the early stages of the campaign. The opening weekend provided us with plenty of noteworthy moments but with 37 matchday still left to be played, anything can happen between now and May and we ve only just gotten started. Today, we re going to preview what should be an intriguing clash between Nottingham Forest and West Ham.
Nottingham Forest
It s easy enough to write off a team as relegation favourites before the season even gets underway, and in reality, we should be focusing on the fact that a club as historic as Nottingham Forest are finally back in the big time after two decades away. They have work to do in the summer trans…
Robert Lewandowski can consider himself hard done by. The Bayern Munich striker would almost certainly have won his maiden Ballon d Or in 2020, only for France Football to decide not to hand out the award due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, world football s most prestigious individual accolade is back up for grabs this year, with the ceremony set to take place on Monday.
Lewandowski, who scooped The Best FIFA Men s Player award for 2020 and has had another sensational year for Bayern, is among the favourites on a 30-man shortlist.
Will it finally be his time, or will old voting habits die hard to put Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in pole position? Using Opta data, Stats Perform assesses the credentials of the Ballon d Or favourites.
Robert Lewa…
Callum Robinson is convinced the Republic of Ireland are heading in the right direction despite their disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Ireland will not be in Germany for next summer’s finals – barring an unlikely series of results elsewhere which could hand them a second chance via the play-offs – after taking just six points from their first seven Group B fixtures, with just a tough trip to the Netherlands next month to come.
That has left manager Stephen Kenny fighting for his job, but Cardiff striker Robinson believes the foundations the 51-year-old has put in place since succeeding Mick McCarthy in April 2021 could yet pay dividends.
Speaking after Monday night’s 4-0 victory over Gibraltar in Faro, the 28-year-old said: “There’s so muc…
In what was another Europa League classic on Thursday night, Manchester United booked their last-16 ticket after securing a 2-1 victory against Barcelona in their second-leg showdown
Despite entering the half-time break chasing a 1-0 deficit as Robert Lewandowski s penalty snuck past David de Gea, Erik ten Hag s side produced what has become a trademark turnaround on home soil.
Eventually clinching a stellar 4-3 aggregate victory after settling for a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp last week, it was United s Brazilian duo who will still most of the headlines.
With Fred and second-half substitute Antony completing ten Hag s Europa League comeback, the Premier League giants also pilled more pressure onto a Barcelona side who are now enduring another public European strug…
Marc Skinner hopes Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment in Manchester United provides a “springboard” for success for the women’s team.
Ratcliffe last week completed a deal to purchase a 27.7 per cent stake in United that sees his Ineos company take control of football operations at the club.
United’s women’s side, relaunched in 2018 and managed by Skinner since 2021, achieved best finishes of runners-up in the Women’s Super League and FA Cup last term. They currently sit fourth in the WSL, 10 points adrift of leaders Chelsea.
Skinner told a press conference on Friday: “We (he and Ratcliffe) have not managed to meet yet, I know it’s on the horizon very soon.
“But we have our constant kind of feed through our bosses anyway in terms of kind of…
Didier Deschamps and France have agreed not to discuss a new contract until after the World Cup but that does not mean Zinedine Zidane is guaranteed to take charge of Les Blues, says French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet.
Deschamps became France boss in 2012 and has since signed two contract extensions, the latter of which came after World Cup glory at Russia 2018.
The 53-year-old s current deal expires after Les Blues aim to defend their title at Qatar 2022, leading to speculation that former Real Madrid boss Zidane will be appointed after the tournament.
Le Graet suggested the appointment of Zidane has not already been pre-agreed as he placed his support behind Deschamps.
We both agreed not to renew him until after the World Cup, Le Graet …
Serie A champions Inter saw off Roma 3-1 at San Siro on Wednesday to stretch their club-record winning home league run to 15 matches.
Antonio Conte s men had failed to beat Roma on home soil in the league since 2015, but they raced into a two-goal lead in this latest clash inside the opening 20 minutes.
Midfield pair Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino both scored from clinical finishes before Henrikh Mkhitaryan pulled one back just after the half-hour mark.
Edin Dzeko hit the crossbar in the second half but Inter, who were crowned champions with four games remaining, rounded out the win through Romelu Lukaku late on to extend their unbeaten league run to 20 matches.
Brozo certainly enjoyed opening the scoring 2-0
— Inter (@Inter_en)
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