Man Utd ‘seriously considering’ signing ‘unexpected’ PL target as Ratcliffe ‘wants affordable’ deal

Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo said the Serie A champions must learn to win without Cristiano Ronaldo after the superstar missed Saturday s draw against Benevento.

Ronaldo was rested as Juve produced another below-par performance in their 1-1 draw away to Benevento.

Alvaro Morata s 21st-minute opener was cancelled out by Benevento s Gaetano Letizia on the stroke of half-time, before the former was sent off at the death.

Juve are three points adrift of leaders Milan and Pirlo urged his side to improve in the absence of Ronaldo – who has scored eight goals in five Serie A appearances this season.

Ronaldo is a very important player, not only for us, Pirlo told reporters post-match.

He was for Real Madrid and for previous Juventus.

This…

Marco Reus has called for improvement from his Borussia Dortmund team-mates ahead of next month s DFB Pokal final against Bayern Munich.

Jurgen Klopp s Dortmund trailed twice before eventually earning a 2-2 draw against Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena on Saturday.

The result ensured Dortmund stayed seven points clear in second spot, though Schalke have one game in hand, while Leverkusen remain fourth in the race for UEFA Champions League football.

Dortmund were far from their best against Leverkusen, falling behind twice in the opening half and Reus is aware his team must lift if they are to dethrone defending champions Bayern in Berlin on May 17.

It wasn t a great performance from us today, the Germany international said.

It was a very inten…

Chris Smalling expects to play a key role in Roy Hodgson s England defence at the upcoming Euro 2016.

The Manchester United defender has been crucial to his team s efforts, despite another lacklustre season for the club as a whole.

Smalling s efforts at the back have helped United to build the Premier League s second best defensive record and he is expecting that to be reciprocated with a big role for England after describing himself as a passenger at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

I have bigger expectations this time, Smalling said.

Very much so. Hopefully I will be coming off a full season and one where I felt I contributed.

I feel I have put my name right at the forefront and after playing the last two England games I hope I can keep that shi…

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp faces an unusual selection dilemma ahead of Saturday s DFB-Pokal final with Bayern Munich.

Striker Robert Lewandowski has enjoyed another superb season for Dortmund, with his haul of 20 Bundesliga goals enough to earn him the division’s top scorer award as Klopp s side again finished a distant second behind Bayern.

However, this weekend s game in Berlin marks Lewandowski s last in a Dortmund shirt, as the Poland international is joining champions Bayern on a free transfer ahead of the 2014-15 season.

And that means Klopp must make the difficult decision over whether or not to start his leading marksman against his future employers.

The 46-year-old opted to leave Lewandowski on the bench for Dortmund s Bundesliga trip to the …

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Christian Eriksen has not quite delivered on what everyone expected when Tottenham signed him from Ajax in 2013 but he is still ranked in the top 20 of the Premier League shots table and is well ahead of Swansea s Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Danish international Eriksen, who notched 24 goals in 91 Eredivisie appearances for the Amsterdam club, has scored only 12 in 38 in the Premier League for Spurs.

However, he averages nearly three shots per game …

France coach Corinne Diacre has vowed to lead Les Bleues at this year s Women s World Cup, hitting out at a destabilisation operation amid a boycott of the team by several big-name players.

France are in crisis ahead of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, with captain Wendie Renard and forward pair Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto putting their international careers on hold.

The trio will skip the World Cup if major changes are not made by the French Football Federation (FFF), with Katoto saying she feels no longer aligned with the management of the team .

Reports have claimed the players want the FFF to call time on Diacre s six-year stint in charge, but the former France defender insists she is going nowhere.

In view of the shameful…

Roma may have won 2-0 over Real Sociedad in their Europa League last-16 first leg but head coach Jose Mourinho refused to call it a good result.

Goals from Stephan Al Shaarawy and substitute Marash Kumbulla secured the home victory which gives the Giallorossi a significant advantage ahead of the return leg in San Sebastian.

Despite that, Mourinho was not satisfied, urging caution with a quarter-final spot at stake.

This 2-0 is only good if we don t lose by three in the second leg, Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia. I will never say it s a good result after the first leg.

Mourinho acknowledged Roma have a complicated schedule around the second leg on Thursday 16 March, with a Derby della Capitale against Lazio three days later.

Now we have a danger…

Sevilla have rescued Roque Mesa from his disappointing spell with Swansea City after signing him on loan until the end of the season.

Mesa joined Swansea from Las Palmas for a reported fee of €12.5million in July after two excellent seasons in LaLiga.

The 28-year-old has started just nine of rock-bottom Swansea s 24 Premier League games this season, however, with the last coming on December 30 against Watford.

Mesa had been linked with a return to Las Palmas but Sevilla, reportedly keen on signing a back-up to Ever Banega, have won the race and will be able to offer him a first taste of Champions League football.

Vincenzo Montella s side face Manchester United in the last 16, with the first leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan taking place on February 21.

Netherlands international Eljero Elia has agreed to a one-year contract extension at Feyenoord, the Eredivise club have announced.

The 29-year-old, who has won 28 caps for his country, moved to De Kuip from Werder Bremen in 2015 following a loan spell in the Premier League with Southampton.

His deal had been due to expire in 2017, but will now run for another 12 months.

Eljero in his first year as Feyenoord been decisive for the team,  technical director Martin van Geel said in a statement on the club s website.

His contribution has been of great value to us and we are therefore very pleased that we were able to tie him down to Feyenoord.

Elia helped Feyenoord – who have already renewed deals for Kenneth Vermeer, Karim El Ahmadi, Tonny…

Denmark defender Daniel Agger said England should not fear Germany should they play them in the semi-finals of Euro 2012.

The Danish skipper and Liverpool stopper led his country out in their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Joachim Loew s team on Sunday, a result which eliminated Morten Olsen s side from the competition.

Germany were ran close by the Danes, however, needing a late Lars Bender goal to seal victory after Michael Krohn-Dehli had cancelled out Lukas Podolski s opener.

England will face Germany if the two countries come through their quarter-final matches against Italy and Greece respectively.

Germany would be heavy favourites for such a game, having thrashed the Three Lions 4-1 at the 2010 World Cup, but Agger said the England players play agains…