Alonso wants Champions League title

Sunderland are closing in on the signing of Chelsea midfielder Marco Van Ginkel, .

The North East club are on the look-out for a new centre midfielder, and have identified the former Vitesse Arnhem man as their top target.

Newcastle United are also monitoring the situation, though Black Cats’ boss Dick Advocat is confident of winning the race to secure his services.

Van Ginkel, who was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year in his final season in the Eredivise, moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2013, but has made just four appearances for the Blues and spent last season on loan at AC Milan.

Internationally, the twenty-two year old has been capped twice by the Netherlands though hasn’t played for his country since a 1-1 friendly draw …

Bayern Munich s Arjen Robben is considering playing fewer games for Netherlands in an attempt to avoid more injury problems.

The forward has picked up several serious injuries while away on international duty, most notably a hamstring problem at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The 28-year-old could now decide to skip friendlies and other less important games to make sure history does not repeat itself.

The national team and I has been an unfortunate combination. I don t know the reason, but I somehow keep on picking up injuries, Robben told TZ.

Now, before people get the wrong idea, I will not retire from international football, because playing for my country remains an immense honour.

However, if there s a game that s not too important or when we ha…

Erik Lamela is hopeful he will become the next Tottenham star to sign a new contract at White Hart Lane.

Since Spurs impressive 2015-16 campaign, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Tom Carroll and Christian Eriksen have all agreed extensions to their deals.

Now Lamela, who scored five goals in 34 Premier League appearances last season, aims to join his team-mates in committing his future to the London club.

I would like to [sign a new deal], because I am very happy here, he told the Evening Standard.

I feel part of this team which is improving. I have a group of excellent team-mates and I feel very good around them. It would make me happy to play for more years in this shirt.

Will I be the next to sign? Let s hope so. At the moment…

Claudio Ranieri, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique are among the nominees for the Best FIFA Men s Coach award for 2016.

World football s governing body has announced a shortlist of 10 candidates for the prize, which forms part of their new The Best FIFA Football Awards for this year, established following the end of their co-operation with France Football over the Ballon d Or.

Ranieri has been nominated by FIFA s Football Committee after guiding Leicester City to an historic Premier League title, while Pep Guardiola is included after winning a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double with Bayern Munich before a strong start with Manchester City this season.

Luis Enrique, who won the World Coach of the Year award in 2015, took Barcelona to a domestic double and claimed the Cl…

Wolverhampton Wanderers are close to signing Diego Costa as a free agent, according to .

Wolves signed Sasa Kalajdzic from VfB Stuttgart near the end of the summer transfer window, but the Austria international was severely hit by bad luck upon arriving to England, suffering an ACL injury after spending less than 45 minutes of his debut against Southampton on Saturday on the pitch. With the transfer window now closed, the club have no choice but to make a move for a free agent to replace him, and the former Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Atletico Mineiro hitman seems like an excellent option.

The former Spain international, set to turn 34 next month, boasts considerable Premier League experience, having won the title twice and scoring 52 goals in 89 matches in the English…

Real Madrid have taken aim at rivals Barcelona following Joan Laporta s club of the regime allegations with a four-and-a-half-minute video.

Barcelona president Laporta leapt to his club s defence at a Monday press conference amid allegations they made payments to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the technical committee of referees.

The Blaugrana are subject to a UEFA investigation with prosecutors in Spain pursuing charges for alleged corruption. Barca are accused of having paid over €7million to a company owned by Negreira.

Laporta opted to turn the spotlight on Madrid when claiming his club have no case to answer, suggesting Real have historically and currently been favoured by arbitration decisions, attaching it to former Spanish di…

The Football Association has approved the appointment of Greg Dyke as its new chairman subject to further ratification from the FA Council.

Dyke, who held the position of BBC director general between 2000 and 2004, will take over from the departing David Bernstein on July 13.

The 65-year-old former Manchester United director will be required to relinquish his position as a board member with Brentford to meet impartiality requirements.

But he is delighted at the role, insisting he has the relevant experience to succeed with the FA.

Football has always been a big part of my life whether playing 11-a-side on Sunday mornings or six-a-side on Thursday evenings, he told the FA s official website.

I was brought up in a household where my father was muc…

Hamburg put themselves back in the Bundesliga title race on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Energie Cottbus to join the three-strong pack chasing league leaders Hertha Berlin.

Two goals in seven first-half minutes from Croatia striker Ivica Olic and a free-kick by Germany winger Piotr Trochowski mean Hamburg finish the weekend fourth, but level on 45 points with Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg with Hertha on 49 points.

Olic struck with a header on 32 minutes which gave Cottbus goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel no chance before Trochowski caught Tremmel out with a freekick from 22 metres out on 39 minutes to keep Cottbus in the bottom three.

Werder Bremen picked up their first league win of 2009 when they humbled Stuttgart 4-0 and inflicted the first defeat in ten games for VfB …

Gonzalo Higuain has earned a recall to Argentina s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Paraguay.

The Juventus striker missed out on Edgardo Bauza s first squad as Argentina coach, but three goals in as many appearances for Massimiliano Allegri s side has seen the 28-year-old return to the fold for the matches on October 7 and 12.

Higuain is joined in the squad by Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who returned from his short-lived international retirement for the games against Uruguay and Venezuela only to withdraw from the squad through injury.

There is also a return for Sergio Aguero, who missed out last time due to a knock picked up in Manchester City s Premier League victory over West Ham.

Argentina, World Cup finalists in 2014, c…

Valencia will contest their first Champions League group game since 2013 on Wednesday as Nuno Espirito Santo s men host a Zenit side who traditionally struggle in Spain.

Since their run to the last 16 in 2013, Valencia were in Europa League action before missing out on European football altogether last term.

However, Santo will make his managerial debut in the competition against a familiar face in Andre Villas-Boas the pair having worked together as part of Jose Mourinho s backroom staff at Porto.

A 4-3 aggregate victory over Monaco in the qualification play-offs ensured Valencia of their return to the competition proper, with Russian Premier League opponents Zenit having lost their seven previous outings on Spanish soil.

Following back-to-back draws…