Lautaro Martinez: I was close to joining Messi at Barcelona

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan believes his team can win the Champions League this season thanks to an improved maturity.

Pep Guardiola s men were dominant on their way to the Premier League title last season, but were eliminated by Liverpool in the last eight in Europe.

Gundogan, who has helped City claim seven points from their opening three league games this campaign, feels the English giants are ready to challenge for the European crown.

I dream of winning the Champions League title with Manchester City and a title with Germany, he told WAZ.

In Manchester last season we had the feeling that we are ready for it. It was not enough. This year nothing has changed in this feeling.

I believe that we are even a bit more mature. We …

Reiss Nelson has joined Hoffenheim on a season-long loan after agreeing to a new Arsenal contract.

The 18-year-old, a product of the Gunners youth system, will spend the rest of 2018-19 in the Bundesliga in a bid to enjoy more first-team football.

Reiss is a talented young player and we re pleased that he has signed a new contract with us, boss Unai Emery told the club s website.

This move to Hoffenheim will give him the chance to get regular high-level competition in the Bundesliga and is an important step in his development.

  will now spend this season with

 Good luck in the Bundesliga, Reiss 

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal)

Hoffenheim will also compete in this season s Champions League, having finished third in the Bundesliga…

Andy Pilley has stepped down as chairman and director of Fleetwood as discussions continue surrounding a change of ownership and control at the Sky Bet League One club.

Pilley will be sentenced next month after being convicted on four counts of fraud.

The 52-year-old was found guilty last week of two counts of fraudulent trading, fraud by false representation and being involved in the acquisition, retention, use or control of the proceeds of fraudulently mis-sold energy contracts.

Statement: Board update

— Fleetwood Town FC (@ftfc)

Pilley was remanded in custody and he will be sentenced on July 3.

Also chairman of BES Utilities, Pilley had been involved in High Court litigation with Cheshire West and Chester Council, but lost a civil co…

Celtic must believe they belong at the top level of European football if they are to salvage their Champions League campaign, so says Ange Postecoglou.

The Hoops sit bottom of Group F, having taken just one point from their opening three games after losing 3-1 to RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

Celtic came out strong but went in at half-time 1-0 down courtesy of Christopher Nkunku. Despite Jota grabbing an early equaliser in the second half, a double from Andre Silva secured the three points for the Bundesliga side.

Postecoglou thinks Celtic must show more belief in their own ability, citing their mentality will change with more experience.

He told BT Sport: A lot of it is experience at this level. Guys believing they belong, guys believing they can achieve at t…

West Ham defender Winston Reid has successfully undergone an operation on his injured ankle.

Reid had been an ever-present in the club s Premier League campaign before sustaining the injury in training earlier this month.

While no time scale has been set for his return to action, West Ham s head of sports science and sports medicine, Andy Rolls, confirmed the surgery went according to plan.

Winston had an operation on his ankle injury to stabilise the joint. This procedure went well, he told the club s official website.

He will now convalesce for a few days before starting his rehabilitation.

The New Zealand international has made 92 appearances for the club since joining in 2010 from Danish side FC Midtjylland.

…

Wolfsburg have approached Juventus about signing Brazilian Diego, who has failed to shine since his arrival in Serie A, the Bundesliga side confirmed on Tuesday.

Wolfsburg, the 2009 champions and eighth last season, confirmed that general manager Dieter Hoeness visited Turin at the weekend.

We re not giving any information concerning the topic of discussion, a club spokesman said.

Wolfsburg, coached since July by former England boss Steve McClaren, are ready to spend 16 million euros for the player who spend three seasons in Germany with Werder Bremen (2006-09) before joining Juventus last summer.

Juventus are looking for 18 million euros for a player that they bought for 24.5 million euros.

The Italian club are also ready to exchange Diego and …

Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes winger Aaron Lennon s form is good enough to make him an asset for England at Euro 2016 this year.

The 28-year-old scored for the third consecutive match in his side s impressive 3-0 Premier League win at Stoke City on Saturday.

Lennon, capped 21 times, last played for his country in their friendly win over Brazil in February 2013, but Martinez feels he remains a viable option for the tournament in France.

Obviously it is not down to me but I get the opportunity to work with Aaron day in, day out, and he is such an important player, said the Goodison Park boss when asked about Lennon s international chances.

We all know the quality he brings the pace, the one v one ability, the work-rate, the understanding. Tha…

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His footballing qualities have been overshadowed by the lack of Premier League experience and chronic absence of discipline, so the fans were suspicious. With their beloved club having struggled for years in the striking department, they had every right to feel that way.

Alan Shearer left the legacy so great that most of the players would be afraid to even think of replicating, but Mitrovic wasted no time by announcing upon his very arrival the desire and hope to become the club’s new legend and Shearer’s worthy successor.

His pronouncement to the Premier League world was rather extraordinary. Two yellow cards in his first two games for Newcastle, a booking after only 13 seconds in a 2-2 home draw against Southampton, and another one only three minutes past his …

Usain Bolt has been offered a two-year contract by an unnamed European club, according to the Jamaican s agent.

Eight-time Olympic champion Bolt, who retired from the track in 2017, is currently on trial with Australian side Central Coast Mariners as he bids to fulfil his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

The 32-year-old scored twice on his first start in Friday s friendly against Macarthur South West United to stake his claim for an offer ahead of the Mariners A-League campaign beginning this weekend.

Tony Rallis, who is representing Bolt while he is in Australia, has now said that a European side with ambitions of playing in the Champions League have offered him a deal.

There is a club in Europe that has offered Bolt a two-year deal, the…

Diego Simeone praised the impact of Fernando Torres as Atletico Madrid kept their La Liga title hopes alive with a 3-1 win away to Valencia.

The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker scored Atletico s second less than 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute, after Denis Cheryshev had cancelled out Antoine Griezmann s opener at Mestalla.

A burst of pace from Torres on the break then brought about Aderlan Santos red card after he was given a second yellow for a clumsy foul, before Yannick Ferreira Carrasco struck the third in the closing minutes.

It was unfair for [Matias] Kranevitter to go off since he was having a great game, but the match needed more firepower going forward, more speed, more of a penalty-box player like Fernando Torres, Simeone said of his c…