Alvaro Morata has the potential to match the level of Luis Suarez and Robert Lewandowski, according to Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque.

The Juventus striker has enjoyed two promising seasons in Serie A since leaving Real Madrid in 2014, winning back-to-back Serie A and Coppa Italia doubles under Massimiliano Allegri.

Widespread reports claim that Madrid will exercise their buy-back option on Morata before next season, either to bolster their own attacking options or to sell him on to a higher bidder, with Chelsea among the clubs linked with an interest.

And Del Bosque has no doubt that Morata can develop into the same lethal sort of striker as Lewandowski, himself a target for Madrid, or Barcelona star Suarez.

That s his challenge, he told AS when a…

Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan feels reborn as he prepares to return to the international stage following his injury woes. 

A long-term back problem left the Borussia Dortmund man stranded on the sidelines from August 2013 until last October. 

But the 24-year-old has proved his fitness since making his comeback and is hopeful of featuring when Germany take on Australia in a friendly and Georgia in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier over the course of the next week. 

What touches you the most after suffering an injury for so much time, is the fact that you really appreciate your health afterwards when you have recovered, said Gundogan. 

You appreciate that you spend a day without suffering. 

For a long time, I already felt pain when I woke up in…

Gareth Southgate is considering starting Ivan Toney in Sunday s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine, but picking the best possible team to win the game is the top priority.

Toney was called up by Southgate for this month s fixtures, despite the Brentford striker facing a potential ban for breaching the Football Association s betting rules.

The 27-year-old was an unused substitute in Friday s 2-1 win against Italy, as he was in September s Nations League draw against Germany on his only previous call-up.

Southgate is hoping to give Toney some minutes against Ukraine at Wembley, but not at the expense of selecting a player more suited to starting the match.

Ivan Toney has been very good. We really like him, and he s very much in our thoughts, Southgate sai…

Manchester United s Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo has registered the trademark CR9 in a move which Spanish sports daily AS said Wednesday was an obvious sign that the striker will join Real Madrid at the end of the season.

The 23-year-old already operates two clothing stores in Portugal under the CR7 trademark, a combination of his initials and the shirt number he wears for both the English side and the Portuguese national team.

In November his lawyers registered in Portugal the trademark CR9 , a combination of his initials and the number which he would likely be assigned when he joins the Spanish side since the number 7 is already in use by Real captain Raul, the newspaper reported.

The number 9 jersey is currently used by 27-year-old Argentine striker Javi…

It is Monday September 28, 1992, and Sevilla s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan is the location of a media circus rarely seen before or since in the stadium. Bavarian giants Bayern Munich are in town for a hastily arranged friendly.

Prior to the two sides  meeting in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, this friendly 26 years ago is the only previous occasion in which Sevilla faced their illustrious German visitors.

Yet, Bayern were not the focus of the media attention. No, they were there for the first game of Diego Maradona s return to Spain.

The world s most renowned footballer formerly of Barcelona was barely given enough space to take part in the coin toss such was the scrum around him, with microphones and cameras shoved towards his face with little reg…

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed his admiration from Erling Haaland amid strong links to the in-demand Salzburg striker.

United are believed to be among the frontrunners for the teenager s signature thanks to Solskjaer s relationship with the player he coached at Molde.

Haaland s father, Alf-Inge, reportedly visited the Premier League club s training ground in November and the Red Devils are known to be in the market for attacking reinforcements.

Bundesliga sides Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig held talks with Haaland last week and United likewise appear to be plotting a January bid.

He s a player I like, Solskjaer told Viasport reporter and former footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft following Wednesday s EFL Cup quarter-final win over …

Julio Cesar believes his former club Inter Milan are Juventus only rivals for this season s Scudetto.

Inter occupy second place in Serie A, just four points behind Juve, leading to increased expectations that this campaign will be fought out by the northern Italian giants.

And the Brazilian goalkeeper, now at QPR, insists his former club must approach Saturday s clash against Juve with no fear.

Juve must be attacked, Cesar told Gazzetta dello Sport. Why shouldn t they? Inter seem to be their most serious rivals, perhaps the only one. Even more so than Napoli, who cannot find the same consistency as Inter.

I ve had time to learn about the philosophy of (Andrea) Stramaccioni, with whom I wanted to work more. He has a nice way of seeing football in a humb…

Atletico Madrid bid for Nolito

La Liga giants Atletico Madrid are stepping up their efforts to sign Spanish forward Nolito from Celta Vigo, .

It is no secret that los Colchoneros are on the lookout for attacking reinforcements and they appear to be hot on the trail of the former Barcelona starlet.

According to AS, Atletico have submitted a €10 million bid for the 28-year-old footballer, plus offering various performance related bonuses.

However, while Nolito has an €18 million release clause on his contract, Celta have informed their league rivals they would settle for €14 million.

And with the forward enjoying a brilliant season in La Liga, scoring 13 goals and producing as many assists, Atletico should eventually match the asking price.

Pep Guardiola s influence on Mikel Arteta is clear to see at Arsenal this season, former Gunners midfielder Paul Davis has told Stats Perform.

Arsenal are the only Premier League side to have made a perfect start to the 2022-23 campaign with three wins from their opening three matches.

It is the first time the north London club have achieved that in 18 years and has left fans excited about an unlikely title tilt – or a top-four finish at the very least.

Arteta previously spent three years working under Guardiola on the Manchester City coaching staff, which Davis believes has made the Spaniard a better manager.

If you re not going to become a better coach when working with someone like Pep, you shouldn t be there, said Davis, who spent 15 years at Arsen…

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao looks set to be plying his trade at Chelsea next season

A few days ago , amongst others reported that Chelsea were close to reaching agreement with Monaco over the loan signing of Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.

The Mail is reporting that the Blues will pay a £7million loan fee for the striker.

Falcao is currently away on international duty with Colombia at the Copa America and will be hoping his team can claim glory in Chile.

Flop

Falcao will probably be relieved to be in that Colombia squad for the Copa, after such a poor campaign on-loan in the Premier League at Manchester United.

When he arrived at United on-loan from Monaco last summer it was considered a major coup for veteran Dutch boss Louis van…