Basel confirm imminent Elneny transfer

Sporting director Max Eberl says Borussia Monchengladbach have no interest in selling Granit Xhaka to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

The Switzerland midfielder has been linked with a move to the Allianz Arena following Bayern s sale of Bastian Schweinsteiger to Manchester United.

Xhaka who signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract in February has been a regular at Borussia-Park since moving from Basel in 2012 and helped the club to a third-placed finish last term.

And Eberl has warned Bayern off the 22-year-old, telling Bild:  Bayern will not get Xhaka.

Under no circumstances will Granit move to Bayern this summer.

The only ones who will perhaps leave us are Peniel Mlapa and Amin Younes. Granit will stay with us no matter what.

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Italian media are reporting that Spanish powerhouse Atletico Madrid are ready to step up their interest in Juventus player Rodrigo Bentancur.

The 21-year-old Uruguay midfielder joined Serie A champions from Boca Juniors in 2017 but has failed to nail a regular first-team spot. He made 20 league appearances in his maiden season in Italy and only got seven minutes of action in the new campaign thus far.

Atletico Madrid are said to have already approached Juventus this summer with an offer worth €30 million and are expected to return for the Uruguayan in January.

Bentancur will find his first-team opportunities limited with the arrival of Emre Can from Liverpool and is widely expected to push for a move away from Turin.

Juventus are looking to get at leas…

Markus Babbel finds Manchester United s situation laughable and unbelievable, insisting the club and not under-fire manager Jose Mourinho are at fault for their struggles.

Beleaguered boss Mourinho is under extreme scrutiny amid United s woes this season, while there have been reports of dressing-room unrest.

Mourinho was reportedly set to be sacked regardless of last week s result against Newcastle United but those rumours were dismissed by the Red Devils prior to their stunning 3-2 comeback in Manchester.

The 55-year-old s relationship with star midfielder Paul Pogba has also dominated headlines as United already sit seven points off the pace in the Premier League.

However, former Liverpool defender Babbel – who won the UEFA Cup and FA Cup among other…

Erik ten Hag insisted Rasmus Hojlund’s injury need not throw Manchester United’s season off course as the club’s failure to sign another striker in January once again came under the spotlight.

Hojlund will miss Saturday’s match against Fulham and the midweek FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest, and is also expected to be out for next Sunday’s derby against Manchester City with a muscle injury that could see him sidelined for up to three weeks and potentially miss five games.

It is a significant blow given Hojlund’s electric form of late – the 21-year-old Dane has scored seven goals in his last six appearances for United – and leaves Ten Hag short of options in attack, with Anthony Martial out until April following surgery on his groin.

Rasmus Hojlund…

Newcastle will look all over the world to find the players that will give them the depth they need to compete next season, according to manager Eddie Howe.

A first season in the Champions League in 20 years means an increased workload for Howe’s squad next term, and conversations have already taken place between the manager and club officials over resources during the transfer window.

Injuries have stretched Newcastle thin at times this season despite recording their highest Premier League finish since 2003.

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— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)

Howe felt his side lacked the quality in reserve to win the game in the second half of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea that brought the curtain down on a memorable first full season in charge for the manag…

Benfica s Nicolas Gaitan is happy with life at the club, despite interest from a number of Europe s top sides.

According to Gaitan s agent, Jose Iribarren, the attacking midfielder is ready to discuss a contract extension at the Estadio de Luz.

Manchester United are among the teams reportedly targeting the Argentina international, but Iribarren has confirmed there have been no bids for Gaitan as yet.

Many European clubs have asked for him, that s true, but I do not have any information in relation to a formal proposal, Iribarren told A Bola.

I have a very good relationship with the president of Benfica, Luis Filipe Vieira, a very respectable person, so we can talk about a contract extension when he desires.

And the player is also available to renew. So far…

Paris Saint Germain stood alone among the so-called giants of the French football league on Saturday with a 4-0 rout of new boys Arles-Avignon.

Only a few days before the start of hostilities in the Champions League, however, former kings Lyon and 2009 runners-up Auxerre were both held to 1-1 draws.

Having notched up only one win in four games since the start of the season, PSG took full advantage of the visitors comparative lack in class to move up to sixth, albeit five points adrift of leaders Toulouse and ahead of the rest of the weekend s fixtures.

In a Parc des Princes stadium that seemed to have been deliberately deserted by fans after a string of three consecutive defeats two in the league and one in Europe that leaked nine goals, PSG finally turned on th…

Pep Guardiola does not believe his tenure at Bayern Munich will be defined by success or failure in the Champions League.

Guardiola will leave Bayern for Manchester City at the end of this season, with the club on course to secure a third Bundesliga title in three seasons under the former Barcelona coach.

But they have fallen short at the semi-final stage of the Champions League in consecutive campaigns, with Real Madrid and then Barca denying Guardiola the chance to lift the famous trophy he hoisted twice during his tenure at Camp Nou.

Given Jupp Heynckes won the Champions League with Bayern in 2013 before handing over the reins to Guardiola, the Catalan s record in Europe with the Bavarian giants could be seen as a relative failure – a viewpoint the 45-year-o…

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has committed his future to Leicester City after signing a new four-year contract.

Schmeichel s previous deal at the newly promoted Premier League side was due to expire at the end of the month, but he has now penned fresh terms.

The Denmark international was an ever-present last season as Leicester booked their return to the top flight, with the 27-year-old only conceding 43 Championship goals.

I m tremendously proud to sign for this great club again, he told Leicester s official website.

I was always confident that my future would be sorted once we achieved our objective of winning promotion to the Premier League and I d like to thank the owners and the manager for making it happen.

I can t wait to play for this club in the Pr…

Jurgen Klopp is delighted with Jose Mourinho s return to the Premier League, but is sure former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will be in line for a top job.

Pochettino who guided Spurs to four successive top-four finishes in the league and last season s Champions League final  which Tottenham lost to Klopp s Liverpool was relieved of his position on Tuesday following a poor start to the campaign.

Spurs moved quickly to appoint ex-Chelsea and Manchester United manager Mourinho as Pochettino s replacement on Wednesday.

Liverpool s 3-1 defeat of United in December 2018 spelled the end of Mourinho s tenure at Old Trafford, and Klopp is thrilled to have his old rival back in the Premier League, though he has no doubt Pochettino will land another big job soon en…