SPORT NEWS

Idrissa Gueye has finally completed his transfer from Everton to Paris Saint-Germain, for a fee believed to be $36.5 million. The Senegalese midfielder has been an awesome destructive force since he arrived in the Premier League at Aston Villa in 2015 and moved to Everton in 2016. He made 108 appearances for Everton and Gueye was one of the PL leaders each season in categories such as most interceptions and tackles made. Everton confirmed the departure of the 29-year-old on Tuesday and thanked him for “always giving everything” for the Toffees. “Thank you! Since my arrival I have felt at home at this club, you have welcomed me and my family with open arms,” Gueye said in a statement on social media. “Everton FC gave me the opportunity to continue in the Premier League and the last 3 years… I have had some amazing experiences which I will cherish forever. I am grateful to have had the love and support of you all throughout this journey and I must say no matter the weath...

  Arsenal are expected to complete a five-year, €80 million deal for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe on Tuesday, according to ESPN FC sources. Pepe is in London for a medical, the sources said, after Arsenal beat four other clubs for the 24-year-old's signature. Napoli, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid had all agreed on the fee with Lille for Pepe, but according to sources, he agreed personal terms with Arsenal, his preferred option. Arsenal had also been linked with a move for Pepe's Ivory Coast teammate Wilfried Zaha but were unable to agree a deal with Crystal Palace, who were holding out for a deal worth £70m. Unai Emery has so far welcomed two new additions for next season in Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli and Dani Ceballos, who joined on loan from Real Madrid. Arsenal have also signed William Saliba from Saint Etienne, but have sent the defender back to his former club on loan. Pepe joined Lille from Angers in 2017 and enjoyed an impressiv...

The former Everton midfielder converted a superb free kick as Chelsea won 4-3 at Championship side Reading on Sunday to make it two goals in an impressive pre-season campaign – and revealed that new manager Frank Lampard has asked him to think like a striker. England star Barkley, now 25, only scored five goals in all competitions last year under Maurizio Sarri, but actually only started 13 league games. Chelsea somehow this season have to replace the 21 goals Hazard scored last term, and the burden looks set to have to be shared around, with midfielders like Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek when fit and Willian, all chipping in to help the strikers. Barkley said: “I’m ready to take the responsibility. Of course. Last season when Eden wasn’t playing we still won games, still created chances. “We know he is an exceptional player, but we have other exceptional players. We have youngsters that will step up and produce the goods. “We have Callum Hudson Odoi coming ba...

PSG look set to secure the signature of a player for whom they had bids rejected in January. The 29-year-old Senegal international joined Everton in 2016 after a season with Aston Villa, having previously been at Lille. He has made 99 Premier League appearances for the Toffees, scoring three goals. Everton boss Marco Silva was quoted by the Liverpool Echo on Saturday as saying of Gueye: "Of course, we don't know what will happen with Gana and there is a lot of speculation but let's see what will happen in the next few days. "We as a club, we hope to keep him because he is a really important player for us but the market is open and like we are trying to buy some players, some clubs can be interested in our players also."

  Former Chelsea ace Eden Hazard is already at the centre of Real Madrid 's notorious internal politics. Sport says the Belgian reported for duty on the club's pre-season tour of North America over a stone overweight. It has caused friction at the club and president Florentino Perez , who hailed Hazard as the player to solve all of Real Madrid 's problems during his unveiling, has distanced himself from playing a part in his acquisition. Instead, it is reported, sources have said Perez now has no confidence in Hazard and signed him only at the request of coach Zinedine Zidane. Hazard was criticised for his quiet performance in their 7-3 defeat by city rivals Atletico last week.

  Lucas Moura respects Mauricio Pochettino's decision to drop him for the Champions League final – and will try to use that disappointment to drive Tottenham to silverware this season. Signed from Paris St Germain in January 2018, the 26-year-old has sealed his place in club folklore with a remarkable hat-trick that propelled Spurs to their first ever European Cup final. But Lucas' semi-final heroics against Ajax did not prove enough for a starting berth in the Madrid finale, with Harry Kane favoured in attack despite a lengthy absence following injury. The Brazil international eventually came on in the 66th minute and was unable to prevent Spurs from succumbing to a 2-0 loss to Liverpool – a case of what could have been for player and the club. "Of course it was difficult because every player wants to play," Lucas said of the Champions League final. "But it was even more to lose the game. "I really think we could do better, could win ...

Sky Sports News understands the Serie A side have offered £63m for the Belgian forward, with the payments structured over several seasons, but United are holding out for more than the £75m they paid for him two years ago. Lukaku is on United's pre-season tour in Asia but is yet to feature, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed he will not play against Inter in their International Champions Cup match on Saturday due to injury. Asked ahead of that game whether he was frustrated by the lack of progress towards signing Lukaku, Conte said: "Frustrated is a big word. Lukaku is United's player and this is the reality. You know very well that I like this player, also in the past when I was Chelsea's coach and I tried to bring him. But I repeat: today Lukaku is a player of United. I have great respect for United. "I consider him an important player for us to have a good improvement. We know which is our situation; we will see what happens." Inter's ...

  Neymar can leave Paris St-Germain "if there is an offer that suits everyone", says sporting director Leonardo. The Brazil forward failed to turn up for the first day of pre-season training on Monday and PSG say they will take "appropriate action". The 27-year-old has been linked with a move back to former club Barcelona. Leonardo added that the French champions had "not received any offers" for Neymar but there had been "very superficial contacts" with Barcelona. What next for Neymar? Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona for a world record 222m euros (£200m) in August 2017. Asked if the player had asked to leave the club, Leonardo - speaking to La Parisien - said: "It's clear to everyone. But in football, you say one thing today and tomorrow another. It's amazing but it's like that. "Yes [I have spoken to Neymar]. I do not want to tell all the details of the conversation. "We talked with his entourage ...

  Brazil winning a Copa América at home cannot be said to be a surprise. They have hosted the tournament five times and, after beating Peru 3-1 in the final on Sunday, they have won it five times. But to suggest this was some sort of procession, a pacing out of the inevitable, would be misleading, and would ignore why, 12 years after Brazil’s last success in a major competition, this felt so significant. It is not just that this showed Brazil could handle being favourites, that they did not choke on the expectation as they did so spectacularly in the World Cup five years ago. It’s that they won with a largely modern, progressive style of play and, most importantly of all, that they did so without the injured Neymar. This was a victory for Tite and all for which he stands. Brazil’s defeat against Peru in Foxborough three years ago, which eliminated them from the Copa América Centenario at the group stage, was the beginning of Brazil’s belated shift into modern...

  Lionel Messi claimed Argentina were treated unfairly at the Copa America and boycotted the medal ceremony to protest the refereeing and "corruption". The Barcelona forward was dismissed towards the end of the first half of Saturday's third-place play-off in Sao Paulo against Chile following a confrontation with midfielder Gary Medel, who was also shown a red card Messi appeared to have been hard done by, with Medel appearing to push his head towards the Argentina playmaker as they squared up, chest to chest.      Lionel Messi get red card in Copa America The Argentina captain suggested he had been singled out following his comments over the "crazy" officiating in the wake of their 2-0 semi-final defeat by hosts Brazil in Belo Horizonte. "We don't need to be part of the corruption that we've suffered at this tournament," Messi said, as quoted by Spanish media outlet AS . "Medel is always right at the limit. With ...

  One of the greatest players in our history during his long and illustrious career, Lampard returns to Stamford Bridge having signed a three-year contract. The 41-year-old said: ‘I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach. Everyone knows my love for this club and the history we have shared, however, my sole focus is on the job in hand and preparing for the season ahead. I am here to work hard, bring further success to the club and I cannot wait to get started.’ Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia (pictured above right) added: ‘It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank back to Chelsea as head coach. Frank possesses fantastic knowledge and understanding of the club and last season, he demonstrated he is one of the most talented young coaches in the game. ‘After 13 years with us as a player, where he became a club legend and our record goalscorer, we believe this is the perfect time for him to return and are delighted he has done so. We will ...

  Marcus Rashford signed a new £200k-per-week contract at Manchester United on Monday, but is the striker worth such a bumper deal? After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge at Old Trafford in December, Rashford featured regularly in the former United frontman's starting lineups and was named as the Premier League player of the month for January 2019. Rashford, who made his debut for United in a Europa League game in February 2016, has contributed 50 goals and 26 assists in 184 appearances in all competitions for his hometown club. The academy product, who is now an England regular with 32 caps, has played for his boyhood team since the age of seven. 'Underwhelming Rashford must up his game' However, having found the net on just 10 occasions as United finished in an unfamiliar sixth place in the Premier League last season, Anton Toloui questioned whether the player was worth a new four-year on Sky Sports' new transfer show ' Good Morning Transf...

  Arsenal have submitted an opening bid of about £40m for Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha. No players have been offered as part of the proposed deal, and the bid will be rejected by Palace. The 26-year-old is keen to leave the club this summer and favours a move to Arsenal, but the Eagles value the Ivory Coast international at up to £80m. The Gunners will have to hope a compromise can be reached on a lower fee and staggered payments. Zaha goal helps Ivory Coast progress to Afcon last 16 Arsenal's summer transfer budget has been restricted by their failure to qualify for next season's Champions League. After an unsuccessful move to Manchester United, Zaha made a permanent return to Palace in 2015 and has four years left on his contract, which he signed last summer. Since he helped Palace earn promotion back to the Premier League in 2012-13, they have finished in the top half just once, coming 10th in 2014-15, when Zaha had returned on a season-long loan ...