Dani Carvajal closing in on new Real contract

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer trimmed his squad ahead of Raphael Varane s arrival by shipping out Axel Tuanzebe on loan to Aston Villa on Sunday.

The announcement of Tuanzebe s switch for a season-long stay at Villa comes as United prepare to finalise the signing of France centre-back Varane from Real Madrid.

The Varane deal looked set to push Tuanzebe further towards the fringes of the Red Devils squad, and the 23-year-old will have more obvious first-team prospects at Villa Park, where he has spent two previous loan stints.

Tuanzebe s spells at Villa came in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, before he looked to establish himself in the United first-team squad under Solskjaer.

Although Tuanzebe has left Old Trafford for now, he has signed…

Paris Saint-Germain are confident of signing Hector Bellerin from Arsenal in this transfer window, according to .

The right-back joined the Gunners first team in 2014 and has made a total of 205 appearances for the club in the five years since.

A bid of around £25 million is believed to be on the table, and both the player and Arsenal are open to the move. Bellerin is one of the three players the Ligue 1 champions are keen to bring in, which, despite some reports suggesting otherwise, does not include Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

PSG boss Thomas Tuchel was forced to make use of Thilo Kehrer on the right defensive flank after the departure of Thomas Meunier to Borussia Dortmund, even though his preferred role is in the middle of the back line. The arrival o…

Fiorentina are taking huge strides upwards in the Serie A at the moment. The latest victim of that magnificent run are Inter Milan, defeated at Guiseppe Meazza by a single goal, scored by Giacomo Bonaventura.

Having made 184 appearances for AC Milan before moving to Florenze in 2020, the 33-year-old midfielder will be extremely happy to have delivered such a blow to the city rivals of his former club.

The teams

Interestingly enough, Inter boss Simone Inzaghi left Lautaro Martinez on the bench at the start of the game, putting Joaquin Correa up to start alongside Romelu Lukaku in his preferred 3-5-2 setup. The rest of the lineup was pretty much expected, with goalkeeper Andre Onana starting at the backs of Alessandro Bastoni, Francesco Acerbi and Matteo Darmian in the b…

Juventus are interested in signing Ramy Bensebaini from Borussia Monchengladbach in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Bensebaini is out of contract at Monchengladbach at the end of the season, and that he could leave the Bundesliga club in the January transfer window.

Bensebaini has been on the books of Monchengladbach since 2019 when he joined from Rennes. The 27-year-old has been brilliant for the German club over the years and is one of the better defenders in the Bundesliga. Bensebaini can operate as a left-back or as a centre-back.

Juventus are eighth in the Serie A table at the moment with 10 points from seven matches, as many as seven points behind leaders Napoli. Meanwhile, Monchengladbach currently find themselves sixth in …

Rangers substitute Ianis Hagi spared Leon Balogun s blushes after the defender s own goal, salvaging a 1-1 draw for Rangers against Brondby in Denmark on Thursday.

The visitors spurned a number of chances in the first half and gave Brondby their first goal in the Europa League this season as Balogun headed into his own net just before the break.

Rangers struggled to find their rhythm in the early stages of the second period, but Steven Gerrard s positive changes paid dividends as Hagi raced in behind to lash home an equaliser in the 77th minute.

The result leaves the defending Scottish champions level on points with second-placed Sparta Prague, who were beaten 3-0 by Lyon, while Brondby remain bottom of Group A.

FULL-TIME: Brøndby 1-1 Rangers

<…

Nick Montgomery expressed “pride” in Jair Tavares over the way the Portuguese winger has seized his second chance at Hibernian after being frozen out under previous boss Lee Johnson.

The 22-year-old spoke this week of the “mental devastation” he endured over his lack of game time following his move to the cinch Premiership club from Benfica in the summer of 2022.

Tavares made just nine appearances for Johnson last term and featured only twice this calendar year – both times as a late sub – before the Englishman was sacked in late August.

However, the winger has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence since Montgomery’s appointment in September, featuring in nine of the current manager’s 11 games in charge and starting each of the last five.

“Jai…

Mohamed Elneny has revealed Mikel Arteta s decision to axe captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last season left the squad scared .

The Gunners parted ways with the Gabon international in January, offloading the forward to Barcelona after disciplinary issues at Emirates Stadium, but have since seen the striker return to the Premier League with Chelsea.

Arteta s side will come face to face with Aubameyang this weekend as they look to maintain their spot at the summit of the table against the Blues and will have no doubts about the threat he poses.

Aubameyang scored 92 goals during his four-year spell in north London, lifting the FA Cup in 2019-20, and Arteta s decision to move away from the forward at the start of the year was a controversial one.

That choice…

Edu has earned a promotion at Arsenal with the Gunners announcing their former midfielder has become the club s first ever sporting director.

The Brazilian played for Arsenal between 2001 and 2005, making 29 league appearances in their 2003-04 Invincibles season, before taking over as the Gunners technical director in 2019.

His time in that role has seen him work with manager Mikel Arteta to improve Arsenal s standing in the Premier League, as their young side head into the World Cup break with a five-point lead at the top of the table.

That success earned Edu a new role, as he takes on responsibility for the academy alongside his existing duties.

In a statement, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said: We are delighted that Edu is recommitting his future …

Barcelona may be strong favourites for their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United, but their recent history in the competition is not the best.

Humiliation against Roma in the quarter-finals a year ago was just the latest disappointment of recent years for the Catalan giants, who have not reached the final since defeating Juventus in 2015.

A mini-drought would be of little concern to most clubs but Barca, with Lionel Messi leading their ranks, are not like most teams and European success is simply demanded at Camp Nou.

United triumphed against the odds in the last round to knock out Paris Saint-Germain and Omnisport has picked out four Barca defeats in the Champions League that can give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side hope.

Manchester Uni…

Christian Eriksen says Manchester United must iron out their inconsistencies after a limp defeat at Nottingham Forest that was “hard to swallow” but “nothing new”.

Erik ten Hag’s side have seen forward momentum followed by setbacks on numerous occasions this season, with the conclusion to 2023 epitomising their ongoing issues.

Old Trafford was rocking on Boxing Day as United secured a brilliant 3-2 comeback against Aston Villa, but their performance regressed on the banks of the Trent on Saturday evening.

Morgan Gibbs-White’s late strike sealed Forest a memorable 2-1 triumph as United suffered a 21st defeat of the calendar year, and 14th in all competitions of a chastening campaign.

Defeat at The City Ground. ||

— Manchester United …