Southampton have completed the signing of Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, paying a reported £12million for the Republic of Ireland international.
Bazunu, who has 10 caps for his country but never played for City s first team after joining from Shamrock Rovers in 2019, has signed a five-year contract.
The transfer news will be even sweeter for Southampton fans given Bazunu spent the 2021-22 campaign on loan at local rivals Portsmouth, winning the club s Player of the Season award.
Ralph Hasenhuttl s team ended the 2021-22 Premier League season in 15th after failing to win any of their final six games, and will lose the experienced Fraser Forster to Tottenham at the end of his contract this month.
Southampton used three different goalkeepers in t…
Marcos Alonso found a way through Newcastle United s resolute defence to give Chelsea a hard-earned 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The vigour evident in a 4-1 victory over Southampton a fortnight ago largely eluded Frank Lampard s men on their return from the international break but inspiration eventually arrived in the 73rd minute.
Left-back Alonso steadied himself and unleashed a clean strike that proved too powerful for Martin Dubravka, who had not long earlier denied substitute Christian Pulisic at close range.
The victory, Chelsea s fifth straight in all competitions, lifts the Blues to third in the Premier League, at least until Manchester City s visit to Crystal Palace later on Saturday.
ALONSOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
1-0 CHELSEA! [73 ] …
Antonio Conte has told Tottenham to stop dishing out early gifts as World Cup winner Cristian Romero returns for the New Year s Day clash with Aston Villa.
Head coach Conte is fed up with Spurs having to chase games after conceding first, and he desperately wants their nine-game run of shipping the opening goal to be halted.
Tottenham have had some success in battling their way back into games since the trend began, but results have been a mixed bag, with only three wins achieved.
They have been left clinging to a top-four spot in the Premier League as Manchester United and Liverpool threaten to overhaul them.
The last time Tottenham scored first, they went on to beat Everton 2-0 on October 15, and Conte has challenged his players to show more defensive s…
Antonio Conte says Tottenham need to improve further if they are to reach Chelsea s level after a fiery 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg cancelled out Kalidou Koulibaly s superb opener for the Blues, but Thomas Tuchel s men restored their lead when Reece James burst through to score.
A dramatic conclusion followed though, as Harry Kane was on hand to head home in the 96th minute and spark wild celebrations from Conte, before both he and Tuchel were promptly sent off amid a touchline clash.
That followed an earlier argument between the pair after Hojbjerg s strike, with Tuchel furious the goal had not been ruled out for offside against Richarlison.
The result meant Tottenham have won just one of their last 38 away matches aga…
Barcelona star Luis Suarez surpassed Ladislau Kubala for third spot on the club s all-time goalscoring list.
Suarez leapfrogged Kubala with his 195th Barca goal from 278 appearances in Wednesday s 1-0 win over LaLiga rivals Espanyol.
The 33-year-old forward broke the deadlock in the 56th minute to move Barca within a point of leaders Real Madrid, while relegating Espanyol.
Suarez already eclipsed Josep Samitier s 184-goal haul in October, with only two players above him – superstar captain Lionel Messi (630) and Cesar (232).
With the goal, moves past László Kubala and takes sole possession of third place on Barça s all-time scoring list!
Congratulations, Luis!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Since arriving from Premier Lea…
Liverpool wanted a fresh start in 2023 but Andrew Robertson says the Reds have been nowhere near good enough this season and played worse since the World Cup.
The Scotland international captained Jurgen Klopp s side at Brighton and Hove Albion as Kauro Mitoma s last-minute strike dumped the FA Cup holders out in the fourth round.
Liverpool had taken the lead through Harvey Elliot before Lewis Dunk s fortuitous first-half equaliser paved the way for Mitoma s deserved late winner in Sunday s 2-1 triumph.
Klopp s men are out of both domestic cups and sit only ninth in the Premier League, having won just eight of their opening 19 top-flight games.
Having lost nine times already in 31 outings across all competitions this campaign, Robertson bemoaned Liverpool …
Paris Saint-Germain must build a team from their vast array of talent, so says Mauricio Pochettino.
Lionel Messi has headlined five new star recruits at PSG this transfer window, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos and Georginio Wijnaldum also linking up with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Co.
Messi has trained this week, but he and Neymar were not involved as PSG beat Brest 4-2 on Friday.
However, it was once more the absence of Marquinhos who was on the bench after his break following the Copa America and Ramos, who will not be available until September, which was felt the most as PSG conceded twice for the second match running. In total, they have now let in five goals across their three games.
Though it has not stopped them taking all ni…
Chelsea have named retired goalkeeper Petr Cech in their 25-man squad for the Premier League season.
Cech retired in 2019, having spent four seasons with Arsenal following his departure from Chelsea in 2015.
After his retirement, Cech – who spent 11 years as a player at Stamford Bridge – returned to Chelsea as their technical and sporting adviser.
However, in a surprising twist, Chelsea have named the 38-year-old in their squad as emergency cover for the goalkeeper position.
In a statement, Chelsea noted this was a precautionary step due to the unprecedented conditions currently caused by the COVID-19 crisis .
Cech will be a non-contract player.
Chelsea signed Edouard Mendy from Rennes in the transfer window, with Kepa Arrizabalaga…
Roy Keane has hit out at Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk for showing “arrogance” in his post-match interview after Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Manchester United at Anfield.
Van Dijk told Sky Sports after the match that there was “only one team trying to win the game”, suggesting the under-pressure visitors were more than happy with their point.
Former United skipper Keane, now a Sky pundit, immediately responded to Van Dijk’s remarks, saying: “We heard Van Dijk speaking there, obviously a lot of arrogance coming out of him, dissing United like that.
“He needs to be reminded himself, he’s playing for a club that’s won one title in 30-odd years.
That s arrogance. It s not arrogance!
Roy Keane reacting to Virgil van Dijk s intervie…
Manchester United boss Marc Skinner says Ella Toone’s “class is permanent” after she ended her goal drought in a 2-2 draw with Brighton.
Elisabeth Terland gave the hosts the lead on the half-hour before the England international scored her first United goal since November 2022 with a stunning long-range strike in the 78th minute.
Late goals from Guro Bergsvand and substitute Rachel Williams ensured both teams came away with a point at Broadfield Stadium.
Skinner was full of praise for the Lionesses midfielder but felt his team were wasteful in front of goal.
“She is a key player for us regardless but I think Tooney needs to appear in those positions more and she just needs to strike effectively,” he said.
“She scores that goal because …