Chinese club confirm interest in Lampard

Chinese club Guizhou Renhe have confirmed that they are interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.

The England international is widely tipped to leave Stamford Bridge in the near future, with a move to China being mooted.

Even if Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo moved to deny the speculation, Guizhou Renhe has revealed they are in contact with the veteran midfielder.

Yes, we are in contact with Lampard but so far nothing has been settled, Guizhou deputy board chairman Yang Xiaoyu confessed to China Daily.

Chinese Super League season begins in March, meaning there is every chance they will attempt to acquire the highly rated player during January transfer window.

Lampard is currently out…

Lionel Messi has stressed that Barcelona are desperate to rise to the challenge of Champions League success this season.

The Argentina international previously won the competition in 2006, 2009 and 2011, but was unable to help Barcelona hold on to their title last term as Chelsea proved to be too strong in the semi-final stage.

Barcelona booked their place in the knock-out stage of this year s edition on Tuesday though, when they beat Spartak Moscow 3-0, and Messi has made it clear that the European trophy is their main objective.

The Champions League is a big challenge for us, because of what it means, Messi stated at a press conference.

It’s the hardest competition to win, the best to play in and it’s where the best teams are. We will work hard t…

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has conceded that Paul Pogba s world-record transfer fee has been a burden for the player this season.

Pogba returned to Old Trafford from Juventus last August for an initial fee reported to be £89.3million, one that eclipsed the £86m Real Madrid paid for Gareth Bale in 2013.

The France international has struggled to live up to that sizeable investment in his first season back in English football, with the 24-year-old often accused of trying too hard to impress during an inconsistent campaign on the whole for the club.

Mourinho insists Pogba has performed well, particularly in United s run to the Europa League final, but hopes to see another player become the most expensive in the world so as to alleviate the pressure on the…

Paris Saint-Germain saw off Brest 3-0 to collect their first victory under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino and close the gap on Ligue 1 leaders Lyon.

PSG were held to a 1-1 draw by Saint-Etienne in Pochettino s first game in charge on Wednesday but had too much quality for Brest in Saturday s encounter at the Parc des Princes.

Moise Kean s 11th goal of the campaign in all competitions set the reigning champions on their way with 16 minutes played and substitutes Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia each got on the scoresheet in the final 10 minutes.

The win less emphatic than the scoreline may suggest moved Pochettino s men within a point of pacesetters Lyon, who battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Rennes and retain top spot.

Final whistle! …

Robert Lewandowski is not scared of playing at another World Cup, but the Poland captain acknowledged his side would need a change in tactics.

The forward saw his side beaten 3-1 by France in their last-16 tie, bowing out of Qatar 2022 after a frustrating campaign that saw them struggle in the group stages too.

Having come to this tournament without a World Cup goal in his career, Lewandowski added his second goal of the tournament from the penalty spot late on against Les Bleus.

But when asked if he would still be in the frame to feature at the 2026 edition in just under four years – by which time he will be 37 years old – the veteran Barcelona frontman would not commit.

Physically, I m not scared of it, he said. But there are so many things to mana…

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has claimed the club are close to signing Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.

The Argentine looks set to depart the Etihad Stadium following a turbulent four-year stay, which began with a controversial transfer from City s local rivals Manchester United.
Carlitos won t betray me, Galliani commented when asked about the possibility of a move, before allegedly showing reporters a text message from Tevez s agent Kia Joorabchian.
I like Carlitos a lot, because he s a nasty player. His wages? There will be no problems with Tevez.
Tevez missed large chunks of the 2011-12 season after falling out with then-City manager Roberto Mancini over his refusal to come off the bench during a UEFA Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
However, t…

Andy Carroll s hat-trick was not enough for West Ham to seal a stunning comeback win as Arsenal secured a 3-3 draw in a thriller at Upton Park.

Back-to-back draws had derailed West Ham s top-four ambitions and frustrations began to mount for Slaven Bilic s side as they found themselves two goals behind an Arsenal side still harbouring hopes of the Premier League title.

Manuel Lanzini had a goal harshly ruled out for offside shortly before Mesut Ozil struck his sixth league goal of the season, and Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead 10 minutes before the break.

But Arsenal surrendered their control on the game as Carroll who was perhaps fortunate to receive only a booking for an early lunge on Laurent Koscielny scored twice inside 160 first-half seconds, and his empha…

Watford have completed the signing of Nathaniel Chalobah from Chelsea on a five-year deal.

The 22-year-old has left the Premier League champions to move to Vicarage Road for an undisclosed fee.

Chalobah, who will wear the number 14 shirt, impressed during a loan spell with Watford during the 2012-13 season, scoring five times in 38 appearances in the Championship to help the Hornets to the play-off final.

He played just 15 times under Antonio Conte at Chelsea last season and the club s reported pursuit of Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko prompted speculation that he would be allowed to leave.

Chalobah will wear squad number 14 for

Welcome back, !

— Watford FC (@WatfordFC)

The England youth international is Watford …

West Ham defender Jose Fonte has revealed that Mauricio Pochettino uses cameras everywhere in the training ground as part of his approach to monitoring his players.

Fonte played under Pochettino at Southampton in 2013-14 before the Argentine coach joined Tottenham, where he has built one of the Premier League s best teams.

In an interview with the BBC, Fonte described the unique attention to detail that he feels sets the Spurs boss apart from his peers.

Everywhere in the training ground there are cameras, said Fonte, who played in West Ham s 3-2 home defeat to Spurs in September.

If he was giving the bibs and you were not in the team, and your body language was bad, he would call you in the office and say Listen, this is not the right way .

I…

Oscar Ramirez will not be continuing as Costa Rica coach following the team’s failure to reach the knockout rounds at the World Cup.

Costa Rica, who progressed to the quarter-finals four years ago in Brazil, claimed just one point as they were eliminated from Group E in Russia.

Ramirez, who took over in August 2015, revealed after the 2-2 draw with Switzerland on June 27 that he was unsure of his future, and Fedefutbol president Rodolfo Villalobos confirmed on Wednesday that the 53-year-old will not continue in the role.

Oscar Ramirez s contract is not going to be renewed, Villalobos told a news conference.

After the match in Switzerland we talked internally in the delegation and we are clear that at that moment our process started towards Qatar 2022…