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Arsenal reportedly still hold an interest in Real Madrid forward Alvaro  Morata , although any chance they have of signing the striker is said to hinge on Los  Blancos  keeping Karim  Benzema  next summer. According to  Goncalo  Lopes  of the  Evening Standard , there is interest in  Benzema  from Chinese Super League clubs, and if he was to be prised away,  Morata  would move up the pecking order in the Spanish capital. However, should the Frenchman remain at the club, his fellow forward could reportedly be on the move, with Chelsea and the Gunners linked. "Real have told both clubs that  Morata , who they value at £55million, will not be sold in January," added Lopes. It's noted that Chelsea may pursue  Morata  as a replacement for Diego Costa, whose future at Stamford Bridge is said to be uncertain. For both clubs, the 24-year-old would represent something of a coup, as the Spania...

At this point in the season, power rankings begin to feel a lot closer to the actual table than an experiment in form. After all, teams in bad position are playing with mounds of pressure on their shoulders and not always picking up big results. And solid teams might have a poor result here or there, but usually nothing shocking. Well, besides Swansea City and Liverpool Here are this week’s rankings. TEAM RANKING 20 (20) Sunderland:  The loss at West Brom just further proof of a lack of inspiration in the squad. 19 (19) Crystal Palace:  Now in the drop zone, Big Sam needs Wilfried Zaha back from AFCON in a big way. 18 (17) Hull City:  Zero shame in losing at Chelsea, but it doesn’t get easier as Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal are next. 17 (18) Swansea City:  The win at Liverpool is the type that can change a season. 16 (16) Watford:  The Hornets have not won a league game since Dec. 10, its only PL win since mid-Nove...

On August 24th, Joe Hart played his last match for Manchester City. It wasn’t a low key affair, but in the Champions League against Steaua Bucharest. The Manchester City fans said their goodbyes, Hart got emotional, and before long the England goalkeeper was in Turin learning Italian and making friends. Torino have Hart on a season long loan, Manchester City have no recall option, so even if Pep Guardiola did the unexpected and turned his back on Claudio Bravo, there’d be no way of automatically bringing Hart back. At the same time, if Hart was to leave Torino during the current window then he could only sign for Manchester City, he wouldn’t be allowed to play for a third club in the same season. FIFA’s ‘Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players’ details the regulations and rules of footballers moving between clubs. Note 5.3 states:  ‘Players may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season. During this period, the player is only eligible to play...

Manchester United are looking to set up a date with Southampton at Wembley in the EFL Cup final at the end of February as they travel to Hull City in their semi-final second leg this evening. The Red Devils carry a 2-0 lead on aggregate from the first leg against Marco Silva’s relegation battling Tigers. José Mourinho will be hoping for a straightforward route to the final this evening ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup tie at home to Wigan Athletic. The two teams for this evening’s game have been confirmed as: Hull City TBC Substitutes: Manchester United David de Gea; Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo; Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick; Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford; Zlatan Ibrahimović Substitutes:  Sergio Romero, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Luke Shaw, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Wayne Rooney José Mourinho has named a strong starting lineup and substitutes bench this evening, showing respect to the hosts and their manager. Chris Smalling return...

Ahead of Brentford’s FA Cup game with Chelsea, former youth player Josh McEachran believes that his Blues dream ended because he wasn’t Jose Mourinho’s ‘type of player’. The midfielder joined the club at the age of eight and despite enjoying an impressive breakthrough season under Carlo Ancelotti when he featured in 17 games. But he only ever played five more times for the club he grew up supporting once the Italian was sacked by owner Roman Abramovich; spending the latter stages of his Stamford Bridge career out on loan at various clubs. The 23-year-old told the Telegraph: “I said (to Chelsea) that I don’t think I’m Mourinho’s type of player. I said I think I’d like to leave to another Championship club and become settled. I met with the owner and manager at Brentford at the time and felt it would suit how I play.” “I went on pre-season and was told that I could go out on loan (again). So it was obvious that I was not his type of player. I wasn’t like a 17-year...

Once kings of China's football scene, the Bundesliga has fallen behind Europe's star-heavy leagues. But thanks to summer exhibitions and social media engagement, the German league is making a comeback. China is a huge target market for sports leagues around the world. In the late 1980s, the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the US was one of the first western leagues to show how lucrative sports marketing in China can be. Many European football leagues have since followed suit and now they are facilitators of China's drive to become a football superpower. If it seems like European football leagues are jumping on the bandwagon, one should remember that the Bundesliga was the trendsetter. Chinese football fanatics have been able to watch Germany's top league on China Central Television (CCTV) since 1995, and its only competition at the time were Italy's Serie A and the NBA. "Players from the league were well known to Chinese football fans," Liu Siyua...

THE Estadio de la Cerámica was the venue, Villarreal versus Barcelona was the match, and as the pitch action ensued into the 90th minute, Lionel Messi was the target. He had to be neutralised, for it was the hosts, draped in all yellow kits, who were leading 1-0 over the Catalan behemoths. The fruits of their labour needed to be protected. The Yellow Submarine was close to victory, they could taste it. Villarreal’s Bruno Soriano, a product of the club’s youth system and senior player for over a decade, put Messi in his sights. As it happened, the defensive midfielder would be forced to take down the Argentine genius near the edge of the penalty box. The free-kick was awarded, and in the 90th-minute, Messi would strike a gorgeous left-footed effort past Sergio Asenjo and into the stopper’s top-right corner. Asenjo didn’t even make an attempt, he was clearly beaten. After four minutes of added time and Villarreal’s Jaume Costa being sent off, 1-1 read the final score. The hosts were r...