Los Blank-os! Misfiring Real Madrid break new ground under Zidane

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has sent a message to the club s young players as he prepares to become the new academy manager, saying: Talent means nothing to me .

The 32-year-old remains captain and has a year left on his playing contract at the Emirates Stadium, but the club confirmed in July he will take over as the head of youth development at the end of the 2017-18 season.

Arsene Wenger described Mertesacker as an inspirational figure for everyone connected with the academy when announcing his new role, and the former Germany international has already outlined his approach to bringing through the next generation.

Talent means nothing to me, it s all about hard work, Mertesacker told the Arsenal Magazine.

When asked about his attitude towards youn…

Everton s wait for a Europa League group stage win goes on after a dramatic late Hector Yuste goal secured an unlikely 2-2 draw for 10-man Apollon Limassol at Goodison Park.

The Toffees were thumped 3-0 by Atalanta in their first Group E game and never impressed against a resolute Apollon side.

Adrian Sardinero took advantage of some poor defending from Ashley Williams to give the visitors a deserved lead in the 12th minute before Wayne Rooney equalised after an equally shambolic piece of play from Yuste.
 
Nikola Vlasic, who replaced Idrissa Gueye at the break, then scored his first goal for the club midway through the second half, but, after having Valentin Roberge sent off late on, Apollon secured a point through Yuste s 88th-minute goal.

Everton will h…

Crystal Palace are interested in signing Folarin Balogun from Premier League rivals Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that although the Gunners do not want to sell the striker at the end of the season, if the youngster does push for a move away from the Emirates Stadium, then Arsenal could ask for around £30 million in transfer fees for him.

Balogun is on loan at Reims at the moment. The 21-year-old striker moved to the French club on a loan deal in the summer of 2022 and is scheduled to return to his parent club Arsenal at the end of the season. The England Under-21 international striker has made 27 starts and three substitute appearances in Ligue 1 for Reims so far this season, scoring 18 goals and providing two assists in the proce…

Guus Hiddink has no plans to extend his stay as Chelsea manager even if he manages to win silverware at Stamford Bridge this season.

The Dutchman took over, for the second time in his career, on an interim basis following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho last month, the Portuguese paying the price for overseeing a dreadful start to the club s Premier League title defence.

Hiddink led Chelsea to FA Cup glory in a short spell in charge in 2009 after Luiz Felipe Scolari s departure.

Since he took over in December, Chelsea have drawn two matches and defeated Crystal Palace 3-0 to stretch their unbeaten run to four.

While Chelsea s hopes of retaining the Premier League this season are slim at best, they still have the opportunity to compete for the Champions Lea…

Crystal Palace have signed James Tomkins on a five-year contract after agreeing a £10million deal with West Ham.

Tomkins has been a regular fixture in West Ham squads since making his debut against Everton in 2008, going on to make nearly 250 appearances for the Hammers.

The centre-back becomes the Eagles’ third signing ahead of the new season after Andros Townsend and Steve Mandanda arrived last week.

I am really excited to be joining Crystal Palace, a massive club and a manager in Alan Pardew that I know well and will always be thankful for how he helped me develop in my younger days at Upton Park, Tomkins said.

Palace chairman Steve Parish expressed delight at the club s transfer activity so far.

BREAKING: have completed the signin…

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Japan take on Paraguay in their final warm-up friendly ahead of the World Cup on Tuesday night. The Japanese are polishing form for the opening test against Colombia and will look to gain a valuable insight fighting against another South American country.

Japan

With only three days until the ball gets rolling at the World Cup, Japan national side are performing the final preparations before they kick off the Russian campaign next Tuesday. A week before their first match at the World Cup, the Japanese are playing their final prep game at the Stadion Tivoli in Innsbruck.

The Samurai Blue will be hoping to improve their form following a disheartening 2-0 defeat at the hands of Switzerland on Friday. Akira Nishino’s men have be…

Manchester City s head of academy coaching Jason Wilcox believes the club has an unrivalled quarry of young talent and is adamant Pep Guardiola will soon be spoilt for choice.

Sheikh Mansour pledged to build a football club set on developing for the future when he bought City in 2008 and almost two years on from the completion of their £200 million City Football Academy, things are starting to take shape.

Numerous young players have made their debuts since the facility s opening in December 2014 and former England international Wilcox feels City are well on their way to creating a dynasty built around kids developed within the club.

I m not someone who gets carried away, but I have never seen anything like the talent we have at this academy, Wilcox told The Mir…

New signing Leny Yoro trudged off injured as Manchester United lost 2-1 to Arsenal in a pre-season friendly at SoFi Stadium.

Teenage defender Yoro, signed for big money from Lille earlier this month, suffered an injury in the first half on Saturday.

So too did Rasmus Hojlund, who had put United ahead against their Premier League rivals in the 10th minute.

United s lead lasted only 15 minutes before Gabriel Jesus drew Arsenal level.

And the Gunners grabbed the winner nine minutes from time when Gabriel Martinelli got the better of youngster James Scanlon.

United did, however, win a pre-arranged penalty shootout at full-time. Jadon Sancho scored the winning spot-kick in a 4-3 victory.

Beaten on the night but important pre-season minutes for …

Carlo Ancelotti was not put out by Manchester City being named the team of the year in Monday s Ballon d Or ceremony, saying last season s Champions League glory is proof of Real Madrid s standing.

Madrid finished third in the votes for the team award, despite winning LaLiga and the Champions League last season.

Liverpool finished as runners-up behind City, as they did in the Premier League. The Reds also lost to Madrid in the Champions League final, but won the EFL Cup and FA Cup last term. Indeed, Los Blancos also beat Pep Guardiola s side en route to winning their 14th European crown.

Ancelotti, though, insists Madrid – who won the Super Cup in August and are top of LaLiga after defeating Barcelona in Sunday s Clasico – are still the best.

He said …

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has emphasised the need to make adjustments to his side s defence as he looks to eradicate some bad habits.

The Blues conceded 63 goals last season, which was more than any other side that finished in the top six.

They have leaked goals during this pre-season too, with four conceded in losses to both Celtic and Manchester City, before they went down 2-1 to Real Madrid in their final friendly of their U.S. tour on Tuesday.

And Maresca is aware of the changes that have to be made to avert the issue, mainly concerning the line of defence.

He said: One of my first meetings with the squad was about the amount of goals we conceded last year with the defensive line very high.

We are not working on defensive lines so high.…