Fiorentina capture Yakovenko

The vice-president of Gremio, Odorico Roman, claims Barcelona target Arthur will not be allowed to leave the club for less than his release clause of €50million.

Earlier this month, the midfielder was forced to deny reports he has agreed to join the LaLiga leaders after he was photographed with representatives of the Catalan club.

Arthur is a rising star and helped Gremio to the 2017 Copa Libertadores title, shortly after which he was snapped in Barca colours during a meeting with sporting director Robert Fernandez.

Roman says Barcelona will have fierce competition for Arthur s signature from fellow European giants Real Madrid, Chelsea and Inter.

Gremio renewed Arthur s contract for three years, his clause is €50million and we do not plan to sel…

Sean Dyche was left frustrated that referee Paul Tierney failed to award Burnley a penalty in the goalless draw at Huddersfield Town, claiming it was impossible not to give the decision.

Burnley midfielder Jeff Hendrick went to ground when attempting to round home goalkeeper Jonas Lossl in the second half of Saturday s Premier League encounter at the John Smith s Stadium.

However, Tierney did not award a spot-kick or a yellow card for diving, and Burnley boss Dyche was bemused as to how a foul was not called.

I don t need to say too much as everyone will see it because it is impossible that it is not given as a penalty, he told BBC Sport. 

I am in a league where penalties are given for all reasons and that is definitely a penalty. 

Jeff has g…

Luis Enrique has urged Barcelona to bounce back immediately after their 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad blew La Liga s title race wide open.

Barca s wait for a first win at the Anoeta Stadium since 2007 was extended by Mikel Oyarzabal, whose fifth-minute header condemned the Catalan club to successive league defeats for the first time since November 2014.

The result leaves Barca just three points ahead of Atletico Madrid and four clear of Real Madrid with six games remaining.

Barca travel to Atletico for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, having come from behind to win last week s first leg 2-1.

The game started in the worst possible way, they scored from their first chance, we had a very bad first half, Luis Enrique sa…

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes Son Heung-min can match David Beckham s superstar status in east Asia as the South Korea international was lauded by his boss.

While Harry Kane has dominated headlines with his record-breaking efforts in the Premier League, having scored 39 in 2017 and 56 in total for the year, Son has impressed for Spurs.

Korean forward Son has scored nine goals in all competitions this season, and five in his past seven appearances.

And Pochettino heaped praise on Son as he talked up the 25-year-old s potential to be a hero in his homeland, even surpassing former Manchester United and Real Madrid winger Beckham – who is a worldwide phenomenon – especially in Asia.

Yes, that is what we think. But we cannot prove this, P…

Southampton are considering a move for out-of-favour Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair, .

Despite uncertainty surrounding the future of manager Mauricio Pochettino, the south coast club are keen to assemble a list of potential transfer targets for the forthcoming campaign.

He moved to the Etihad Stadium from Swansea City in the summer of 2012, but made just two starts for the club in his first season, before moving to West Bromwich Albion on a year-long loan last August.

Despite the Manchester club’s need to fill a quota of home-grown players, Sinclair is one of many English players to be linked with a transfer away in the close season.

Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry, Micah Richards and Jack Rodwell are all likely to be playing their football els…

Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland is keen to play in the Premier League next season after missing out on a FIFA World Cup call-up.

Butland was named is England s squad for the 2012 UEFA European Championships as the third goalkeeper but was omitted from manager Roy Hodgson s plans for the upcoming World Cup.

The 21-year-old made just three Premier League appearances for Stoke last season, serving loan spells in the Championship with Barnsley and Leeds United.

And the former Birmingham City man feels that he needs to be playing more football in the top flight in order to work his way back into the England set-up.

I m gutted I m not going to the World Cup because you always want to be a part of major tournaments, Butland said.

But I can t sit here and be fru…

Real Madrid treated the 93,702 fans at the sold-out Rose Bowl to a strong performance in their 2-0 friendly win against Juventus, thoroughly outplaying the Italian side by every statistical measure.

It was almost the best possible start for the Spanish giants, finding the back of the net just 14 seconds in, but the celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. 

Juventus were the next side to threaten, but Denis Zakaria s hit from the edge of the area found only the woodwork in the 13th minute to keep things tied.

Madrid fans did not have to wait long for the lead, earning a penalty in the 19th minute, and Karim Benzema made no mistake, giving his side a 1-0 advantage.

That score would hold until the 69th minute, when substitutes combined as Jesus Vall…

Mikel Arteta told those who criticised Arsenal s celebrations against Bournemouth last week to go to church instead of attending football matches.

Arsenal players and staff celebrated Reiss Nelson s 97th-minute winner wildly on the pitch as they recovered from two goals down to win 3-2 at Emirates Stadium.

The Football Association opened an investigation into the fervent scenes after they were mentioned in referee Chris Kavanagh s report, but no further action was taken.

Some pundits, including Gary Neville, have questioned Arsenal s celebrations at times this season, but Arteta has no intention of telling his players to rein it in.

If you win in football, you celebrate, he said. If you want passion and emotion, there is nothing better than scoring goals…

Wilfried Zaha has admitted that he would consider making his loan spell at Crystal Palace permanent at the end of the season,.

The winger, who was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final signing at Manchester United, returned to Selhurst Park on a temporary basis in the summer having mad just two league appearances for the Red Devils.

He has made seventeen appearances in all competitions for the Eagles so far this season, scoring his one and only goal in the 3-3 draw at Newcastle United back in August.

With a future at Old Trafford for the two-time England international looking increasingly unlikely, Zaha could well re-sign for Palace permanently in the summer, but if first keen to help the club retain their top flight status.

However, they turn their attention t…

Inter s home defeat to Torino last week may be exactly what the team needed, according to defender Andrea Ranocchia.

Inter defender Andrea Ranocchia feels his side s last-gasp defeat at Torino will serve as motivation for the rest of the season.

The Italian giants travel to Sassuolo on Sunday looking to bounce back from a setback at San Siro last weekend.

Inter controlled the match, but were unable to score before Emiliano Moretti nodded in from three yards for Torino from a 94th-minute corner.

The home loss robbed Inter of momentum after a four-match unbeaten run under new boss Roberto Mancini that showed signs of promise.

New signings Xherdan Shaqiri and Lukas Podolski have lifted the mood at Inter but defeat to Torino was a blow on a day when …