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Montreal Impact announced on Thursday that the club have sold defender Luis Binks to Serie A side Bologna.

Binks has risen to prominence in recent months, having originally joined Impact in February. Prior to his time with the club, he was a member of Tottenham's academy, having joined in 2007 at the age of six.

Despite featuring extensively for Spurs' Under-23 side and getting the chance to train with the first team under Jose Mourinho, Binks moved to Canada in February in search of first-team football.

Binks, who has earned youth caps for both England and Scotland, made a total of eight appearances for the Impact with two of those coming in the CONCACAF Champions League.

The 18-year-old defender also started all four matches at the MLS is Back tournament, having established himself as a regular under new manager Thierry Henry.

“I came here to play football, I didn’t come here to do anything else,” Binks told MLSSoccer.com back in March. “Obviously I had to work hard [and] it wasn’t gifted to me. The two games I had in preseason, I tried to show what I’m about and I have to continue to play well because nothing is a given.

“Some could see why I’ve done it, but some were saying, ‘Why has he done that?’ I’ve got no regrets about coming to play first-team football at the age of 18. It’s better than playing Under-23 football in front of, I don’t know, 200 people.” 

Both Bologna and the Impact are owned by Joey Saputo, with the Canadian purchasing the Italian side in 2014 after bringing MLS to Montreal in 2012.

As part of the deal, Binks will remain with Impact on loan until 2021.

“Thierry Henry and Olivier Renard believe in him. Acquiring him after arriving from Tottenham is a great addition,” said Bologna FC and Montreal Impact global sporting director, Walter Sabatini.

“We had an opportunity to see his quality last winter during his first four games with the Impact and more recently in Florida, and we’re excited for him to join us.

"This transfer once again demonstrates the synergy between the two clubs and the new philosophy in place in Montreal.”

Bologna finished 12th in Serie A in the 2019-20 season, coming 12 points clear of relegation and 16 points off a Europa League spot.

Manchester City’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Lyon is attracting controversy before a ball has even been kicked, with the Ligue 1 side being urged to complain about the choice of match referee.

The game is set to be officiated by 37-year-old Danny Makkelie, a Dutch former police officer who served as the video assistant referee for the 2018 World Cup final.

However, it has been suggested that there could be a conflict of interest, with the match having a potentially profound impact on Dutch giants Ajax.

If Man City win, Ajax will qualify automatically for next season’s Champions League group stage. If Lyon come out on top, however, Ajax will have to through a qualifying play-off, which could put them at risk of losing a huge sum of money if they then fail to qualify.

Former Dutch referee Dick Jol, who oversaw the 2001 Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Valencia, thinks UEFA has put Makkelie in the firing line, potentially ramping up the pressure on his compatriot if there are big decisions to make.

Jol told De Telegraaf: “UEFA should not have put Danny Makkelie in this position. Never! Can you imagine the French newspapers? They are going to be dishing it out about him taking charge of the game before a ball has been kicked.

“Financially – and in a sporting way – there is so much at stake in this game. Makkelie is not to blame. I don't doubt his integrity for one second.

“He has a massive reputation with UEFA and he is making an international career in a great way, but what happens if he gives a penalty to City late in the game? If City win, fingers will get pointed at him.”

Should Lyon choose to make a complaint, it is possible the match referee could be changed, as has happened with a Dutch official before.

The 1994 Champions League final between AC Milan and Barcelona saw Dutchman John Blankenstein replaced by Philip Don, an English referee. It was said that Milan were unhappy Blankenstein had been put in charge with Barcelona managed by Johan Cruyff.

“Milan were very angry back in 1994 because of the presence of Cruyff and Koeman,” Jol said. “I would think that there is now the same mood in Lyon.”

Vitoria Guimaraes have announced the signing South Africa youth international Lyle Foster from AS Monaco.

The 19-year-old striker was on the books of Belgian club Cercle Brugge during the 2019/20 season, while on loan from French Ligue 1 outfit Monaco.

Guimaraes disclosed that they have snapped up Foster from Monaco on a permanent deal which is worth €1.2 million ($1.4 million - R24.4 million).

The club released the following statement on Thursday afternoon.

“Vitória Sport Clube, Futebol SAD announces that it has reached an agreement with AS Monaco for the transfer of Lyle Foster, who signs a contract valid for the next five sports seasons."

"Vitória SC holds 95% of the economic rights of the South African striker for the value of €1,200,000, with goals that can reach up to €300,000 [Translated]."

“Foster, 19 years old, has already represented the national team of his country three times, following a successful path for the youth teams that culminated with the achievement of the COSAFA U-20 of 2017, in which he scored three goals, one of them in the final."

"The striker was part of the shortlist of nominees for the 2020 edition of the prestigious Golden Boy trophy, which distinguishes the best under-21 players playing in Europe."

“The reinforcement of Vitória SC proved to be at the service of the Orlando Pirates, from where he moved to AS Monaco last year."

"After making his debut for the Monegasque team, Foster spent the second half of the season in Belgium, on loan from Cercle Brugge,” read the club’s statement .

Foster has left Monaco having made only two appearances in the Ligue 1 without finding the back of the net and he had joined the club from Orlando Pirates in January 2019.

The Soweto-born player enjoyed some game time during his time with Brugge where he made 18 appearances in the Belgian First Division (also known as the Pro League) and netted once.

Monaco have decided to sell Foster following the arrival of their new manager Niko Kovac, who was in charge of German champions Bayern Munich between 2018 and 2019.

Foster's South African compatriots Bongani Zungu and Haashim Domingo were once on the books of Guimaraes.

Robin van Persie believes Mikel Arteta has the potential to become a "great" coach for Arsenal.

Arteta has already won silverware in his fledgling managerial career, guiding the Gunners to a 2-1 FA Cup final win over Chelsea this month.

Though Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League, that Wembley triumph was enough to secure their place in the Europa League for next season, and former Gunner Van Persie, who spent a season playing alongside Arteta at Arsenal, has backed Pep Guardiola's former assistant to become a top-class coach.

"He was a good player. He was always fit, he connected play, he got his goals. He was good," Van Persie told Stats Perform News.​ "As a coach I do think he has the potential to become great. I said that even after watching the first couple of training sessions, or bits of it.

"The way he comes across in the media, the way he makes his team play. It's very promising, very positive.

"He needs time. Sometimes you look at teams or you look at a coach and think 'okay, this coach could have 200 years and it would not happen'.

"When I look at Mikel, I do see change, I see the positive changes and little things happening. How they work together, how they defend together. They are a shorter distance together. Going forward but defensively too. They have got better at defending set-pieces which was always an issue.

"David Luiz is having his best games. He gives confidence to players and most players are picking up on that, doing really well and they really play for Mikel."

Also backing Arteta for success at Arsenal is former Gunners defender Martin Keown, who thinks they can use the FA Cup triumph as a springboard to further success.

He told football.london: "By winning trophies you demonstrate that when things go well it clicks. You’re good enough to beat the teams that win the leagues.

"What you want to do is win the Premier League, get into that top four. Arteta will be ambitious to do that. It’s a great start and great for his confidence by the way, he’s a rookie manager but not anymore after winning a trophy.

"That’s the next step for Arteta but it’s good for the players to see that they’re capable of winning things, beating a very good Chelsea team in the process, but it’s still a rebuilding project for Arteta and Arsenal Football Club."

Robin van Persie is working with UEFA Europa League partner Enterprise Rent-A-Car. To discover more and to enjoy special rates on car hire across Europe, visit www.enterprise.co.uk

Sevilla have been hit with a €10,000 (£9,000/$12,000) fine by UEFA due to a late kick-off in their Europa League victory over Wolves on August 11.

Manager Julen Lopetegui has also been issued with a warning after it was determined he was responsible for the delay.

The decision comes as the Spanish club were found guilty of a breach of Article 11(2)(h) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations.

Sevilla are perhaps unlikely to spend too much time sweating over the fine after reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League. They qualified at Wolves’ expense thanks to a late header from Lucas Ocampos, after Raul Jimenez had missed an early penalty for the Premier League side.

Lopetegui is now preparing his side for their game with Manchester United on Sunday, at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.

The winner will go on to face either Inter or Shakhtar Donetsk in the final on August 21, also in Cologne.

Inter and Shakhtar play their semi-final a day later than Sevilla and United, meaning the winner of the first tie could have a slight advantage with an extra day’s rest.

Lopetegui will be hoping to keep his players’ minds on the task at hand for the time being, though, with a game against what he says is the biggest club in the world.

"We are going to play against Manchester United in the next match - they're the biggest team in the world but we're going to be prepared for them," Lopetegui told a press conference.

"We're focused on the next game, against a top, historic side, one of the best in the history of the sport who are in great form. We will give our best as we always do. To play against them will be really tough, but we'll go into it believing we can beat them."

Once their European run is concluded, Sevilla are also likely to see some movement in the transfer window.

Left-back Sergio Reguilon, on loan in Seville from Real Madrid, has been heavily linked with Chelsea while two at least bids have come in for fellow defender Diego Carlos – said to be a target for some of the Premier League’s top clubs.

Sevilla have also been linked with a move to bring Ivan Rakitic back to the club from Barcelona, but sporting director Monchi says such a transfer would be almost impossible.

Amidst Paris Saint-Germain’s plethoria of high-profile, big name superstars, there were many contenders for the hero of the night as they took on Atalanta in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Would it be Neymar, the pouting, preening megastar, who so often appears to be playing on a different plain from his teammates in the French capital?

Would it be Kylian Mbappe, returning from injury sustained in the French Cup final, as he stepped off the bench to help turn the tie in PSG’s favour?

Mauro Icardi perhaps? Keylor Navas?

Few, surely, would have predicted that the much maligned Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting would be the man to pop up in the second minute of stoppage time to net a close-range winner and send the French champions through to the final four.

By that point, the momentum was with PSG.

Outplayed during the first half, Atalanta were unfortunate to only be a goal up, and Thomas Tuchel’s side appeared increasingly devoid of ideas or inspiration during the second period as they toiled for an equalised.

The likes of Julian Draxler and Leandro Paredes were introduced to no avail, but a moment of excellence from Neymar set Marquinhos up to equalise in the 90th minute as the Italians failed to clear their lines.

In the immediate aftermath of the goal, Paris sought a winner as Atalanta—stunned by the goal—failed to reset, and Choupo-Moting turned home Mbappe’s cross after some more eye-catching invention from Neymar.

So impressive was the versatile forward, that Neymar even reportedly offered to donate his Man of the Match award to the 31-year-old.

Heading into this fixture, the forward’s most memorable contribution at the capital club appeared destined to be his horror miss against Strasbourg in April 2019, when he got in the way of Christopher Nkunku’s goal-bound effort, and ended up stopping it on the line after being caught in two minds.

It remains a bona fide contender for the worst miss of all time.

Indeed, heading into the final, Choupo-Moting’s main focus appeared to be his post-PSG future; his initial two-year deal ended this summer, and while the Central African penned a new extension to take him up to the end of the UCL campaign, a longer-term deal has not been forthcoming.

He’s been the brunt of some criticism since arriving from Stoke City in a deal that was ridiculed at the time, but in fact made a lot of sense.

Here was an experienced player, a good professional, versatile and multi-talented; good enough to make a difference against Ligue 1’s lesser lights, and content to be a backup option for the biggest games.

For a modern super club like PSG, who sometimes operate in two entirely different spheres, playing Nimes at the weekend and Real Madrid in midweek, it was the kind of acquisition that could represent a valuable asset over the course of a campaign.

It’s the kind of logic that makes their reported interest in Swansea City’s Andre Ayew actually appear a lot more sensible than may first appear.

Choupo-Moting is the kind of player that still has a place at all of the major clubs; hungry, but reluctant to rock the boat, placing himself at the service of the collective and still possessing leadership qualities.

He is still the captain of Cameroon, after all.

"I thought when I was coming on, 'We can't lose, we can't go home like this'. I was confident in myself and the team,” he told BT Sport after the match.

"We had a good feeling in the team. We are enjoying good moments on and off the pitch. We won four trophies but this one is the most important.

"We believe in ourselves,” the forward concluded. “Everyone knows we have top quality individuals but we wanted to show team [work]. I'm very happy we did it today.”

Choupo-Moting’s goal can begin to compensate for what has been a tricky year at PSG, even before the coronavirus pandemic brought the curtain down on French football.

He only netted three goals over the courts of the Ligue 1 campaign—in which he made just five starts—and he enjoyed little over half of the playing time he enjoyed in the top flight in the previous campaign.

His has been a stop-start career, with relegation at Stoke quickly following a long—if unremarkable—tenure at Schalke 04 during which his qualities were somewhat underrated.

As PSG have had their own personal disappointments and frustrations—against Manchester United in 2019, against Barcelona in 2017—so Choupo-Moting has had his fair share of missteps and regrets.

Despite captaining the Indomitable Lions at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, he wasn’t present for their triumphant campaign at the 2017 edition of the tournament after abdicating from international duty for the tournament citing ‘personal reasons’.

Ultimately, he missed the crowning glory of his career, although after his heroics on Wednesday, sending PSG to the final four for the first time since 1995, he remains on course to become the fourth Cameroonian player to win Europe’s grandest prize.

It would be a fitting finale at the highest level for Paris Saint-Germain’s unlikely UCL hero.

Robin van Persie has defended Manchester United's penalty record and hailed Bruno Fernandes as "world-class" from 12 yards.

United were awarded their 21st spot-kick of the season in their Europa League meeting with Copenhagen on Monday night.

The last eight tie went to extra time after a goalless first 90 minutes, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men ultimately needed help from referee Clement Turpin to make the breakthrough.

Turpin pointed to the spot when Anthony Martial went down under minimal contact in the box, with Fernandes stepping up to score his 11th goal for the Red Devils since joining the club from Sporting CP in January.

Seven of those efforts have come from penalties, and United broke the record for the most fouls won inside the area in Premier League history on the final day of the domestic season in July.

It has been suggested that the Old Trafford outfit have benefited from numerous contentious decisions over the course of the campaign, but Van Persie believes they have simply been rewarded for their direct style of play.

"If you get 21 penalties in a season, it shows you that you’re attacking a lot, you know?" the ex-Red Devils striker told 90min.

"Maybe a couple of them could or could not be a penalty, maybe a little bit tricky, but even then you’re attacking and in a situation where the referee can give a penalty. I think it’s a good thing that they’re getting so many."

Van Persie added on how United's penalty taker varies his technique from 12 yards to deceive opposition goalkeepers: "Bruno Fernandes has his very own unique style of taking them, but what I like is that he mixes it up.

"He’s not only doing that funny jump, it looks so strange to me because it’s not the way I used to take penalties, but he’s been doing it for so long. He hasn’t missed for four years.

"What I did like against FC Copenhagen is he changed his style – the keeper waited and he went fast. That shows you as well that he’s a world-class penalty taker, because you have to mix it up.

"You have to go left, you have to go right, he’s doing the jump, but to be able to adjust, even with penalties, it shows you that he’s a world-class player. You have to come up with something new and he’s doing that, and it’s working. As long as it works, perfect."

Barcelona-owned Philippe Coutinho is keen on a return to the Premier League, his agent, Kia Joorabchian has claimed, with the likes of Arsenal, Leicester and Tottenham all reported to have an interest.

The Brazil international is currently on loan with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, who will face Coutinho's parent club in the quarter finals of the Champions League on Friday, but the German side will not endeavour to make his move permanent.

As a result, the former Liverpool favourite finds himself in transfer limbo, with those at Camp Nou seemingly having no plans to give the 28-year-old a second chance to endear himself to the club after failing to impress in a Blaugrana shirt.

While Joorabchian insists his client would relish the chance to turn out for one of England's top clubs again, he admitted that the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic could ultimately see him back in the Barca squad next season.

“At the moment, with Coutinho, he is so focused on getting through the next stage of the Champions League,” Joorabchian told talkSPORT. “He's got a massive game – the club that owns him against the club he is playing for. So he is in a massive situation at the moment.

“He is going to play Barcelona, he is looking forward to it. He is looking forward to winning the Champions League. I think Bayern have a side that has the potential to be there, definitely a potential to be there.

“I think after the Champions League is finished, and whatever happens, then we will sit down. I have even spoken to him about it actually. It could be that Barcelona is the ultimate destination.

“He loves the Premier League, he wants to come to the Premier League, but finances and the numbers and the situation of Covid-19 are all going to play a big part, because he is a big player with big numbers.”

Joorabchian also confirmed that another of his clients, former Chelsea attacker Willian, has found a new club – widely regarded to be Arsenal – and that the 32-year-old will soon reveal the outfit with which he will spend the next chapter of his career.

Lyon centre-forward Karl Toko-Ekambi has revealed his side will give their best when they take on Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Saturday.

The 27-year-old featured prominently as Rudi Garcia’s men stunned Serie A champions Juventus 2-1 in the round of 16 of the European competition.

Lyon have only played two competitive games, against Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de la Ligue and the Old Lady,  since the 2019-20 Ligue 1 campaign was abruptly concluded due to the outbreak of coronavirus in March.

Toko-Ekambi admitted the Citizens are in good shape as the Premier League was only ended last month but promised his side will go all out against Pep Guardiola’s men.

“It goes in two directions. Maybe we are fresher but in the other sense, Manchester City maybe have more rhythm,” Toko-Ekambi told media.

“It will play a little bit on all aspects, like pressure and the mental side as well. You should not draw any conclusions yet. We will have to play by giving it all.”

Toko-Ekambi has made 13 appearances across all competitions since he teamed up with the French side in January from Villarreal, initially on loan before the deal was made permanent in June.

The forward started his career with the youth team of Paris FC before he was promoted to the senior side in 2010 and scored 21 goals in 67 games for the club.

His eye-catching performances earned him a move to Sochaux in 2016 and made a key impact with the ‎Stade Auguste Bonal outfit, scoring 25 league goals in 72 league appearances during his two-year stay with the side.

Toko-Ekambi played for Angers before moving to Spain to join Villarreal, where he featured 52 times for the La Liga club.

The 27-year-old forward has 30 caps for Cameroon and was part of the team that won the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Toko-Ekambi will hope to help Lyon secure a place in the semi-finals of the European competition with a victory over Manchester City.

Highlands Park Park coach Owen Da Gama is "expecting an interesting game" against Mamelodi Sundowns, while at the same time worried that his team is ill-prepared for the showdown at Dobsonville Stadium on Friday.

Da Gama's side are yet to play a match since the Premier Soccer League (PSL) season resumed last Saturday and they come up against opponents who have been involved in two blockbuster fixtures so far.

Sundowns first eliminated Bidvest Wits from the Nedbank Cup on August 8, before Tuesday's 0-0 PSL draw with Orlando Pirates.

It is a situation which concerns Da Gama who feels the disparities in preparedness can work against his side.

“Going into the first match‚ I don’t think there is anyone who will say they are ready and I don’t think that we are prepared," said Da Gama as per Sowetan Live.

“We only started playing 11 versus 11 at training last week because we had to introduce the players gradually due to the health and regulations that we had to follow. I started training with four players‚ moved to six‚ eight‚ ten until we had 22 last week.

“Sundowns have two games under their belt already and they will be much more prepared than us‚ but in saying that there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to be as prepared as we can be.

“We have only played amongst each other at training because we can’t play friendly matches and we will see what happens on Friday."

What also concerns Da Gama is Sundowns' rich in depth as he feels his league-title chasing counterpart Pitso Mosimane can set up strong three teams from his squad.

But the Highlands Park tactician could, however, enjoy the advantage of arriving at Dobsonville armed with vital tactical data after deeply studying Sundowns in action against Wits and Pirates.

“But we have noticed in the match against Pirates on Tuesday‚ Sundowns were getting tired in the second half," Da Gama said.

“I am expecting an interesting game because they have beaten us twice this season and we are not happy about that. It is always very difficult to plan against Sundowns – who would have said that Lebohang Maboe will play right back [against Pirates].

“They can put three teams out there on any given day because they have a big squad and quality players. It is obvious that we will have to plan properly for them because they can introduce anyone from the bench at any time.

“You saw they made five changes against Pirates and they made a number of substitutions against Wits – they have enough depth and quality.”

Highlands Park are positioned eighth on the standings with 18 points off leaders Kaizer Chiefs and 11 above bottom-placed Black Leopards.

They face a Downs side seeking to atone for dropping two points against Pirates.

Manchester United have been given a further hands-off warning from Borussia Dortmund regarding Jadon Sancho, with the club's squad manager Sebastian Kehl confident he will be staying put.

Sancho has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford after another stellar season at Westfalenstadion.

The 20-year-old has been a bright spark in the BVB Squad since arriving in Germany from Manchester City in 2017, scoring 34 goals in 99 appearances.

An impressive 20 of those efforts came during the 2019-20 campaign, and he also provided 20 assists to help Lucien Favre's men finish second in the Bundesliga and reach the Champions League knockout stages.

Sancho has reportedly reached an agreement to join United ahead of the new season, but Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc appeared to rule out any potential sale earlier this week.

Goal has learned that the Red Devils are still chasing the winger's signature despite Zorc's comments, however, they are growing frustrated by the drawn-out nature of ongoing negotiations, which are being mediated by an independent agent.

It has been confirmed that Sancho has travelled with the rest of the BVB squad to Switzerland for their pre-season training camp, with the likes of Axel Wistel and Mats Hummels coming out to express their delight over a team-mate's continued presence in the squad.

Ex-Dortmund midfielder Kehl, who currently serves as the head of the club's licensed player division, believes Sancho's position at Westfalenstadion has now been clarified conclusively, and has talked up the impact he has had in the Bundesliga over the past 12 months.

"It was important to clarify this subject [regarding Sancho's future]," Kehl told German publication Kicker. "Of course, we are aware of Jadon's appeal [in the market] but we also know how important he is for our team.

"He is a player who can make the difference in every game. He had an outstanding past year with 17 goals and 17 assists [in the Bundesliga].

"He gives the team something extra and we are very happy that he is staying, as his team-mates have already stated in recent days."

Sancho still has two years left to run on his current deal with Dortmund, and has admitted to being very "happy" in his current surroundings amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his future.

The agent of former Chelsea winger Willian has claimed that a move to a new club has all but been completed amid strong links with Arsenal.

The Brazilian called an end to his time at Stamford Bridge following the completion of his contract after seven years of service, thanking fans for their support during his stay but conceding that it was time for a new chapter in his career.

It is understood that Willian would have been open to staying at Chelsea, however, but the club would not bend to his request for a three-year contract, instead only offering the 32-year-old a two-season deal.

Goal recently confirmed that Arsenal are actively in the race to sign Willian – whose preference was to move to another club in London as his family are settled – with the Gunners happy to offer the attacker the three years that he was looking for.

Reports have claimed that Willian has already undergone a medical with the Arsenal, but his agent refused to confirm whether the player would be featuring under Mikel Arteta in the 2020-21 Premier League.

“He is a free player. He had a fantastic seven years at Chelsea,” Kia Joorabchian said in an interview with talkSPORT. “He has been under various managers, he has won multiple trophies. He had a fantastic relationship with Frank [Lampard] and he respected Frank a lot.

“But, like every cycle, I think that particular cycle has come to a moment where it is a good moment to leave. At the moment, just for now, I can't say where he is going to go, but we know where he is going. It won't be long before we announce it.”

Another of Joorabchian's clients, Sporting CP's exciting young winger Joelson Fernandes, has been repeatedly linked with a move to north London, but the representative was staunch in his denial of any contact between the two parties.

“He is a young, phenomenal talent, but we have never, ever spoken to him about Arsenal,” he said. “I have probably seen 25 articles about him and Arsenal. It is so untrue because Arsenal have never even spoken about him. We haven't even mentioned him to Arsenal.”

Joao Felix has already shown his quality and will be a success at Atletico Madrid, according to Jan Oblak, who insists that the midfielder is not weighed down by his €126 million (£114m/$149m) price tag.

Felix has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence since graduating to Benfica's first team at the age of just 17 two years ago.

The Portuguese playmaker scored 20 goals and laid on 11 assists across 43 appearances during his first full senior campaign at Estadio da Luz, attracting a number of high profile potential suitors in the process.

The likes of Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayern Munich were all linked with Felix last summer, but he ended up choosing to continue his development at Wanda Metropolitano.

Atletico forked out a club-record fee to win the race for the young midfielder, as he became the third most expensive player of all time behind prized Paris Saint-Germain pair Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

Unfortunately, Felix has been unable to live up to expectations during his first year in Spain, as he's only managed to score eight goals in 35 outings for Diego Simeone's side in 2019-20.

The former Benfica prospect has shown flashes of brilliance, but has yet to prove that he can deliver the goods consistently at the very highest level.

However, Oblak has jumped to the defence of his team-mate ahead of Atletico's Champions League quarter-final showdown against RB Leipzig, expressing his belief that the youngster will eventually prove all of his doubters wrong.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper, who also joined Atletico from Benfica back in 2014, told AS of Felix's tough start to life in La Liga: "The beginnings here are always difficult. I have suffered enough, I know how it is, how it can feel. 

"But with time, if you have quality, patience and a cool mind, your time always comes and then you have to do it well and things go as they should."

Asked if the Portuguese feels any extra pressure to perform due to how much the club invested in his talents, Oblak added: "I don't think about it and I think neither does he. That's just a plus, for your confidence it's good. 

"He has shown the quality he has in many games and I am sure he will succeed. He is young and it is not easy, but he will do it."

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has revealed the extent of Leon Balogun’s injury will be determined on Thursday.

The 32-year-old defender could not complete the Gers’ 3-0 victory over St. Johnstone in Wednesday’s Scottish Premiership game.

Balogun was afforded his third appearance in the encounter since he joined the side last month but only lasted for 46 minutes before he suffered an injury.

The centre-back was subsequently replaced by Filip Helander as goals from Borna Barisic, Ryan Kent and Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo ensured the Gers secured their third league win on the bounce.

Gerrard, who has been in awe of Balogun since teaming up with his side, has provided an update on the injury suffered by the former Brighton and Hove Albion man.

“I think Balogun has a tight quad and we’ll get that looked at [on Thursday] morning,” Gerrard was quoted as saying by Glasgow Times.

The Ibrox Stadium outfit will square off with Livingston at Tony Macaroni Arena in their next league game on Sunday.

The English tactician is uncertain of Balogun’s availability for the game but confidence there will be a good replacement for the defender if he is unable to recover in time for the match.

 “He is definitely a concern for the weekend but we have really strong options in that area. Fil [Helander] came on and played like an international player with experience,” he added.

Balogun has been in top form since joining Rangers as a free agent after leaving Wigan Athletic following the expiration of his contract. 

The defender earned a place in the Premiership Team of the Week for his solid defensive performances in his debut against Aberdeen.

Balogun has been a key member of the Nigeria national team since he made his debut for the three-time African champions against Mexico in 2014.

The defender, who has 32 caps for the West Africans, was part of Gernot Rohr’s side that finished third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

The centre-back will hope to make a return for Rangers when they face Kilmarnock on August 22, should he miss Livingston clash.

Former Barcelona captain Xavi has reiterated his desire to one day become head coach at Camp Nou and stated that he would like to draft in the likes of former team-mates Carles Puyol and Jordi Cruyff to assist him in his duties.

The Catalan club had been in touch with the former midfielder – who is currently in the dugout of Qatari side Al Sadd – before appointing Quique Setien, but Xavi made it clear that the opportunity had come too quickly.

Internal issues also played a part in the 40-year-old's decision, with major questions continuing to be asked of president Josep Maria Bartomeu's running of the club - particularly regarding the Blaugrana's recent poor transfer business.

It is widely believed that Xavi's day will come, however, and the World Cup winner already appears to have plans in mind for who will make up his backroom staff.

“I am delighted to continue gaining coaching experience and challenging myself, but of course it would be a privilege for me to train Barca one day,” he said in an interview with El Pais. “I'd want a dream team, with Jordi Cruyff, Carles Puyol and some current players.

“I would like to make a team with important people who know the club, people who I trust and will be loyal to me.”

For now, however, Barca will have to make do with Setien, a man for whom Xavi admits to having great respect for due to his style of coaching, but admits that the exciting “Cruyffismo” style counts for little if the club doesn't win games.

“In January I told them that it was not the right time and since then they have not contacted me,” he said. “As a 'cule' I wish them the best. I respect Quique Setien a lot, he has a style very similar to what Barca needs, which is 'Cruyffismo', but another thing is the results that accompany...”

The prevailing opinion on Barca at present is that they are overly reliant on Lionel Messi, a player who may well have hung up his boots by the time his old team-mate steps into the Camp Nou dugout, but Xavi still feels the Argentine can lead the club to another Champions League title.

“Messi needs Barca and Barca needs Messi,” he added. “They have to make him happy because with him they will win more titles. I maintain a great friendship with him, I respect him a lot. 

“He's a competitive animal, he always wants to win and for ten years he has been the best footballer in the world. Hopefully, we can meet again on a professional level. Having the best player in history on your team means you always have an ace to win.”

Inter Miami have confirmed the signing of midfielder Blaise Matuidi following the Frenchman's departure from Juventus.

Goal confirmed earlier this week that the 33-year-old had reached an agreement with the Serie A champions to end his contract early - with it having been due to expire in 2021 - and that was made official on Wednesday.

Matuidi has now joined the MLS franchise, co-owned by former England international David Beckham, on a free transfer.

He spent three seasons in Serie A after joining from Paris Saint-Germain - where he played alongside Beckham - winning the Italian title each year and proving an important part of the Juventus squad throughout his time at the club.

In all, he made 133 appearances for Juve, also winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana as well as lifting the World Cup with France in 2018. During his time at the club, Paulo Dybala was the only player to make more appearances for Juventus.

Matuidi, who turned 33 in April, made 45 appearances for Juve in 2019-20 and the MLS side, who have lost all six of their league fixtures since joining the competition at the start of this season, will be hoping to have signed a midfielder still near the top of his game.

Beckham told the club website: "I couldn’t be happier to welcome my friend Blaise to Inter Miami. He is an exciting and gifted player and a great person.

"To have a World Cup winner of Blaise’s quality in our new team is such a proud moment - for us as owners and for our fans. For me personally, to have a former team-mate joining our club is very special and I can’t wait to welcome him and his beautiful family to South Florida.”

Paul McDonough, Inter Miami chief operating officer and sporting director, said: “Blaise is one of the most successful midfielders of his generation and we’re thrilled to have him at Inter Miami. His world-class quality and leadership will be key attributes for the club.”

The club, who will have Matuidi available for their first ever match at their home Inter Miami CF Stadium on August 22, confirmed Matuidi will wear the No.8 shirt.

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Ernst Middendorp has explained why Itumeleng Khune was absent from the team's match-day squad against Bidvest Wits on Wednesday night.

The club captain was a noticeable absence from the Soweto giants' team as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a stubborn Clever Boys side in a PSL match at Orlando Stadium in Soweto. 

Nigeria international Daniel Akpeyi started in goal as he remains the club's first-choice goalkeeper, while Bruce Bvuma is being named on the bench as the reserve shot-stopper. 

Middendorp revealed that Khune’s absence from the squad was not due to injury since the experienced player had struggled with injuries this term.

The German tactician explained Khune missed a few training sessions in the last few weeks without revealing reasons why. 

“He missed some training sessions for different reasons in terms of having a challenge," Middendorp told the media after the encounter.

"I don’t want to put too much in, we are not discussing any injuries, during the entire time we haven’t spoken about any injury.

"It is simple and easy, there were a number of training days where he couldn’t make it," the former Bloemfontein Celtic and Maritzburg United head coach continued.

"And good, you decide and today it was Daniel Akpeyi and Bruce and let’s move forward to the next game."

Khune has fallen out of favour under Middendorp this season with Akpeyi having impressed as Chiefs' first-choice keeper.

Bafana Bafana international Khune has made only four appearances across all competitions including two league matches against AmaZulu FC and Baroka FC in which he kept two clean sheets.

It remains to be seen whether the 33-year-old shot-stopper will return to Amakhosi's matchday squad when they take on Polokwane City at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Soweto giants are sitting at the top of the league standings and they will be hoping to extend their gap over second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a game in hand.

Chiefs are currently four points above Sundowns with the latter set to take on Highlands Park at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on Friday. 

FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon has hit out at the "disgusting" boos that could be heard as his team were joined by Nashville in taking a knee during the United States national anthem on Wednesday.

Despite the global pandemic, Major League Soccer has allowed some teams to permit a limited amount of fans into their stadiums, with around 3,000 supporters gathering at the Toyota Stadium for the clash.

A portion of those fans turned on the players, however, vocalising their frustration at perceived disrespect for their country as the players knelt in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

"How disgraceful is that?" Cannon said, as per the BBC. "You got fans booing you for people taking a stand for what they believe in. 

"Millions of other people support this cause and we discussed with every other team and the league what we're going to do and we've got fans booing us in our own stadium. I think it was absolutely disgusting."

The match, which ended 1-0 to Nashville, was the first major sporting event to have fans present since MLS was suspended in March due to the coronavirus, with widespread protests having taken place in the US during the months of downtime.

Following the death of George Floyd, the protests have brought the subject of racial inequality to the fore and Cannon has been left hurt by the fans' ignorance.

The USMNT man added: "I'm sorry for our fans because we had someone chanting 'USA' when they don't understand what kneeling means. They don't understand why we're kneeling - they can't see the reason, they just think we're the ignorant ones and it's incredibly frustrating.

"When we decided to kneel I knew it was going to happen. That should tell you something. I knew we were going to have some negative pushback from having a unified response over what's going on. That's a problem.

"It hurts me because I love our fans. I love this club and I want to see the support that the league has given us - that everyone has given us - from our fans. As soon as I heard that boo I tried to play on and I knew what to expect. 

"We'll take it one day at a time and again we're unified in this response and everyone stands together."

Dimitar Berbatov says Gareth Bale "is too gifted to sit on the bench" and that "something is not right" with the Real Madrid outcast at the Bernabeu.

Bale hasn't seen a single minute of action since returning from lockdown, having been an unused substitute in eight of Madrid's final 10 La Liga fixtures.

The 31-year-old was also a surprise omission from Zidane's 22-man squad for last week's Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie against Manchester City, which the Blancos lost 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Ahead of that clash, the Frenchman explained that Bale had asked to be left out, but also insisted that he still enjoys "a relationship of respect" with the experienced winger.

Despite Zidane's comments, rumours of a rift in the dressing room have persisted, and Madrid are being tipped to cash in on the Wales international during the summer transfer window.

Berbatov has admitted to being perplexed by Bale's current situation, having seen him win four Champions League crowns and two La Liga titles since moving to Santiago Bernabeu from Spurs in 2013.

The Bulgarian, who also enjoyed a spell at Tottenham at the height of his career, wants to see the Welshman back on the pitch as soon as possible, with his considerable talents going to waste while he remains on the sidelines.

"When I heard that Gareth Bale didn't want to play, I was surprised and even more surprised that Zidane revealed it to the media," Berbatov told Betfair. 

"Something is not right over there with him. If he's fit, it is awful that he doesn't play. When a player refuses to do that, it confuses me a lot.

"Gareth, I want to see you play football! He is too gifted to sit on the bench."

The ex-Spurs star did, however, go on to to defend Zidane in the wake of Madrid's Champions League exit, with a 4-2 aggregate loss to City in the round of 16 considered nothing more than a "blip". 

Berbatov added: "People are so fickle. Zidane has won the Champions League three times in a row, Real had never been eliminated under him until their defeat to Manchester City.

"Now all of a sudden one blip and people are going crazy. People will build you up just to crash you back down again and it's very wrong.

"It's not the end of the world that they got knocked out of the Champions League in this crazy year. City are a very strong team, if you make mistakes you will get punished against them, that's life."