Despite the coronavirus situation, Real Madrid are still looking to make a splash in the transfer market.

Madrid have long been linked with Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

And if reports are to be believed, the LaLiga champions are planning for the Frenchman.

TOP STORY – MADRID WORKING ON MBAPPE MOVE

Real Madrid are working on a plan to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, according to Tuesday's frontpage of Diario AS.

Mbappe – also linked to Liverpool – has been tipped to join Madrid, though Ligue 1 holders PSG remain committed to trying to re-sign the Frenchman.

Despite the economic fallout caused by coronavirus, Madrid are still looking to prise Mbappe to the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to player sales and revenue generated by the return of fans.

ROUND-UP

- Bayern Munich have identified RB Leipzig star and centre-back Dayot Upamecano as the player to replace David Alaba, reports Sport 1. Alaba is out of contract at season's end and the Bayern star has been linked to the likes of Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City. With Alaba heading for an exit, in-demand Upamecano is wanted in Munich. It comes as Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Barca vie for his signature.

- According to Esporte Interativo, Neymar wants to stay at PSG as the French giants prepare a new contract. Neymar has been linked with a return to Barca.

- Fabrizio Romano says an agreement has been reached between United and Bayer Leverkusen for Timothy Fosu-Mensah to join the Bundesliga side.

- Milan are eyeing a move for Chelsea's Fikayo Tomori, reports Sky Sports. Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan remains the primary target for the Rossoneri. It comes as Fiorentina close in on Milan full-back Andrea Conti.

Robert Lewandowski has paid tribute to Jurgen Klopp for the impact he had on the striker's path to being crowned the best player in the world last month.

Bayern Munich star Lewandowski won The Best FIFA Men's Player award for 2020 after starring as Die Roten claimed a Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal treble.

Between July 20, 2019 and October 7, 2020 – the period considered for the award – Lewandowski scored 60 club goals in 52 appearances across all competitions at a rate of one every 76 minutes.

He beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the prize, with the Pole effectively recognised the best footballer in the world in the absence of a Ballon d'Or winner in 2020.

Lewandowski has enjoyed immense success since joining Bayern in 2014, though he already looked destined for greatness during his time at Borussia Dortmund, where Klopp had begun to mould him into the lethal forward he is now.

Writing in a reflective piece for the Players' Tribune in the wake of his FIFA award win, Lewandowski said of the current Liverpool boss: "Jurgen was not only a father figure to me. As a coach, he was like the 'bad teacher'. And I mean that in the best sense of the word.

"Not the one who made life easy for you and never expected anything from you, but the one who was strict with you. The one who put pressure on you and did everything to get the best out of you. That's the teacher who made you better. Jurgen was like that.

"He was not content to let you be a B-grade student. Jurgen wanted A+ students. He didn't want it for him. He wanted it for you.

"I could talk to Jurgen about anything. I could trust him. He is a family man, and he has so much empathy for what goes on in your private life."

Lewandowski took a season to truly adapt to German football after joining from Lech Poznan in his native Poland, as he only netted eight Bundesliga goals in 33 games during the 2010-11 campaign.

That remains the only season he has failed to reach double figures for league goals during his time in Germany, and Lewandowski considers Klopp's influence to be a major part of his improvement.

"He taught me so much," the striker continued. "When I arrived at Dortmund, I wanted to do everything quickly: strong pass, one touch only. Jurgen showed me to calm down — to take two touches if necessary.

"It was totally against my nature, but soon I was scoring more goals. When I had that down, he challenged me to speed it up again.

"One touch. BANG. Goal. He slowed me down to speed me up. It sounds simple, but it was genius, really."

Lewandowski's shot conversion rate rose from 13.1 per cent to 22.5 after his first season with Klopp and has never dipped below 20 per cent since.

In fact, the 32-year-old appears to be getting better with age, given his best ever return in terms of shot conversion was posted last term (29.8), and he is well on track to obliterate that personal best in 2020-21.

With 20 goals in 14 Bundesliga games, the Polish marksman is converting 44.4 per cent of his opportunities.

Joan Laporta and Victor Font are among four candidates who look set to do battle for the Barcelona presidency later this month. 

Laporta, Font, Toni Freixa and Emili Rousaud all delivered signatures from enough socios on Monday to advance to the election on January 24. 

Laporta, previously president for a decorated period between 2003 and 2010, presented 10,272 signatures, significantly ahead of Font's 4,713, Frexia's 2,822 and Rousand's 2,510.

Validation of these signatures will begin on Tuesday, with confirmation of the final candidates announced on Thursday. 

Jordi Farre, Xavier Vilajoana, Agusti Benedito, Luis Fernandez Ala and Pere Riera were unable to meet the threshold of 2,257 signatures.

Given the small amount by which he passed the cut-off total, Rousand might yet miss out on the final run-off.

Barca last week ratified January 24 as the date for their presidential election despite calls for it to be postponed amid rising cases of coronavirus.

The region of Catalonia has recently imposed new restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 infections, with certain rules tightened for 10 days as of January 7.

While that does not interfere with the previously agreed date for the election, there had been increasing clamour for it to be delayed due to fears some members would not be able to vote.

But Barca confirmed on Thursday that the date of January 24 and "all procedures" have been accepted by the local authorities.

Manchester United will host bitter rivals and Premier League champions Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

United edged past Championship side Watford in the third round as the Reds cruised past a much-changed Aston Villa, who had to field a squad made up entirely of youth players amid a coronavirus outbreak.

While Liverpool have re-established themselves as the standard-bearers in the Premier League in recent years, they are looking to end a lengthy drought in the FA Cup.

The Reds have not won the competition since 2005-06 when they beat West Ham on penalties, with their most-recent final appearance in 2012 a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.

If they are to finally end that wait, they will have to get one over their old nemesis in United, who this season appear to be rising to the challenge set by Liverpool in the Premier League.

United last won the FA Cup in 2015-16 and were beaten by Chelsea in the showpiece two years later – only Arsenal (14) have won the competition more than the Red Devils (12).

Whoever progresses will face either non-league side Stockport County, West Ham or Doncaster Rovers in the fifth round.

Another of the favourites, Manchester City, will expect to cruise through the next couple of rounds given they go to League Two's Cheltenham Town first and then face Swansea City or Nottingham Forest if they avoid a fourth-round shock.

The lowest-ranked side in the draw, sixth-tier Chorley Town, host Wolves, while Tottenham go to Wycombe Wanderers and Chelsea welcome Luton Town to Stamford Bridge.

FA Cup fourth-round draw in full:

Cheltenham Town v Manchester City

Bournemouth v Crawley Town

Swansea City v Nottingham Forest

Manchester United v Liverpool

Southampton/Shrewsbury Town v Arsenal

Barnsley v Norwich City

Chorley Town v Wolves

Millwall v Bristol City

Brighton and Hove Albion v Blackpool

Wycombe Wanderers v Tottenham

Fulham v Burnley

Sheffield United v Plymouth Argyle

Chelsea v Luton Town

Stockport County/West Ham v Doncaster Rovers

Brentford v Leicester City

Everton v Sheffield Wednesday

Full FA Cup fifth-round draw:

Fulham/Burnley v Bournemouth/Crawley Town

Manchester United/Liverpool v Stockport County/West Ham or Doncaster

Barnsley/Norwich City v Chelsea/Luton Town

Everton/Sheffield Wednesday v Wycombe Wanderers/Tottenham

Swansea City/Nottingham Forest v Cheltenham Town/Manchester City

Brentford/Leicester City v Brighton and Hove Albion/Blackpool

FA Cup fifth-round draw in full:

Fulham/Burnley v Bournemouth/Crawley Town

Manchester United/Liverpool v Stockport County/West Ham or Doncaster

Barnsley/Norwich City v Chelsea/Luton Town

Everton/Sheffield Wednesday v Wycombe Wanderers/Tottenham

Swansea City/Nottingham Forest v Cheltenham Town/Manchester City

Brentford/Leicester City v Brighton and Hove Albion/Blackpool

Sheffield United or Plymouth Argyle v Millwall or Bristol City

Chorley or Wolves v Southampton or Shrewsbury Town or Arsenal
 

Manchester United will host bitter rivals and Premier League champions Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Leo Duarte has joined Istanbul Basaksehir on an initial 18-month loan deal from Milan.

The Super Lig side have the option to buy the 24-year-old permanently at the end of his loan deal on June 30, 2022. 

Centre-back Duarte joined Milan in August 2019 in a reported €11million deal from Flamengo. 

He made six appearances for the club last season – all in Serie A – and has appeared only three times this term across the Italian top flight and the Europa League. 

A Milan statement read: "The club would like to thank Leo for his professionalism and wishes him the best for his personal and professional future."

Paulo Dybala could be out for almost three weeks after suffering a knee injury against Sassuolo on Sunday, Juventus have confirmed.

The Argentina international was replaced by Dejan Kulusevski in the 43rd minute of Juve's 3-1 Serie A win at the Allianz Stadium.

The club confirmed on Monday he has suffered a "low-grade lesion of the medial collateral ligament" in his left knee and will be out of action for "approximately 15-20 days".

The 27-year-old looks certain to miss the Coppa Italia clash with Genoa on Wednesday, the Supercoppa Italiana against Napoli next week and Serie A games versus Inter and Bologna. He could also miss another league game against Sampdoria on January 30.

Juve's only Serie A defeat this season came when Dybala was not in the side. Their win ratio without him is 40 per cent compared to 63.6 per when he features.

When going back to the start of the 2019-20 campaign, Juve have lost as many times in the 10 league games without Dybala (four) as they have in the 44 in which he has taken part – their win percentage sliding from 72.7 to 30 in his absence.

Juve also confirmed Weston McKennie and Federico Chiesa underwent tests on Monday, which revealed neither player is suffering from a serious injury.

Atletico Madrid are close to signing Moussa Dembele from Lyon, Diego Simeone has confirmed.

The striker is expected to move to the Wanda Metropolitano on a loan deal with an option to buy, having told Lyon he wanted a new challenge.

The agreement has not yet been finalised but Simeone seems confident the move will be completed sooner rather than later.

"It's still not confirmed, but it's very advanced," the Atletico coach told reporters ahead of Tuesday's match with Sevilla.

"I'm going to turn my head towards the game, which is what interests me, and when there's something [on Dembele], if there is something, I'll give an opinion."

Atleti will reportedly be able to secure Dembele for a €35million fee should he impress on loan before the end of the season.

The former France Under-21 international has scored just once in 16 Ligue 1 games this season, having hit 24 in 46 across all competitions in 2019-20.

Simeone's more pressing concern is Tuesday's match with Julen Lopetegui's side, which comes after Atleti's previous game with Athletic Bilbao was called off.

The match, which was due to take place in Madrid on Saturday, was postponed after Storm Filomena brought significant snowfall to the Spanish capital.

Training was severely disrupted over the weekend and Atleti will hold an extra session before facing Sevilla to make sure they are fully prepared.

"With the difficulties we've had, everyone has been at home," Simeone said. "We had no option of getting together or leaving the house. We worked at home on Saturday; on Sunday, a group was able to train together.

"There are no excuses. They're circumstances to which we have to adapt. The most important thing will be tomorrow and what happened before will not matter in terms of the criticism and opinions we receive.

"There'll be two training sessions because tomorrow we'll have another one at midday to finish fine-tuning what we have to do, making the most of the fact the game is in the evening.

"[The pitch] is very good. It looks really good, with a normal condition to be able to compete and I'm sure there won't be any difficulty with the surface."

Simeone also confirmed Kieran Trippier "is really good, he's really excited to play, focused as ever" after being cleared to play.

The full-back was hit with a 10-game ban by the Football Association due to breaches of betting regulations, but he is allowed to feature again in LaLiga after FIFA put his punishment on hold amid an appeal from Atletico.

Celtic confirmed on Monday that manager Neil Lennon and 13 senior players are self-isolating, but the club are still defending the decision to hold a training camp in Dubai.

Defender Christopher Jullien tested positive for COVID-19 after the team returned to Scotland ahead of Monday's Premiership clash with Hibernian.

Although all other squad and staff members returned negative tests, Lennon, assistant John Kennedy and 13 first-team players are self-isolating after being deemed close contacts.

The reigning champions remain insistent they followed "rigorous" COVID-secure protocols and that the threat of contracting the virus would have been similarly high had they stayed in Scotland.

In a statement, Celtic said: "Clearly we are hugely disappointed, as we know our supporters will be. The contacts were identified during the period from Wednesday last week, primarily around flight and team coach travel, during which time Celtic applied the same rigorous protocols used for pre-season training camps, UEFA match travel and for all domestic match arrangements in Scotland.    

"These protocols have served us well in the past, as the club has not had one positive case in our own 'bubble' until now. As we have already stated, Celtic's decision to travel to Dubai for a training camp was for performance reasons. Whilst we were in Dubai, the announcements made on January 4 significantly changed the COVID landscape.  

"The reality is that a case could well have occurred had the team remained in Scotland, as other cases have done in Scottish football and across UK sport in the past week.
 
"Celtic has done everything it can to ensure we have in place the very best procedures and protocols. From the outset of the pandemic, Celtic has worked closely with the Scottish Government and Scottish football and we will continue to do so."

Neymar resumed Paris Saint-Germain training on Monday in a boost to their preparations for a Trophee des Champions clash with Marseille.

The Brazil star has not yet featured under Mauricio Pochettino, having sustained an ankle injury in December.

According to Le Parisien, the former Barcelona forward is "50-50" to face Marseille in Wednesday's game in Lens.

Neymar has only managed seven Ligue 1 appearances this season, scoring three times and providing three assists.

His most telling performances have been in the Champions League, where six goals in five games helped PSG to win a tough Group H ahead of RB Leipzig and Manchester United.

Leandro Paredes, Danilo Pereira and Presnel Kimpembe, who suffered a hamstring injury last month, also returned to training in Monday's session.

Pochettino, who took over following Thomas Tuchel's sacking in December, is bidding to win his first trophy as a coach this week.

He recorded his first win as PSG boss on Saturday, when Moise Kean, Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia scored in a 3-0 Ligue 1 victory over Brest.

Record-breaking Japanese star Kazuyoshi Miura has signed a new contract with J1 League side Yokohama.

'King Kazu', the oldest goalscorer in Japanese professional football, has committed to his 17th season with the club and the 36th overall in his storied career.

Miura turns 54 on February 26, the day before the J1 League campaign is due to get underway.

Last September, he became the oldest player in the top-flight's history against Kawasaki Frontale at the age of 53 years and 210 days – he went on to make three more appearances that season.

In a statement released via the club, Miura said his "hopes and passion for football are only increasing" despite making only seven league appearances in the past two years.

Miura's last goal came in March 2017, when he scored in a 1-0 win over ThespaKusatsu Gunma in Japan's second tier at the age of 50 years and 14 days. It made him the oldest player to score in a professional league match in Japan.

Having started his career with Santos in 1986, Miura became the face of the J-League after its launch in 1993, having been the first Japanese winner of the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 1992.

Miura, who scored 55 goals in 89 international appearances for Japan, also had spells with Genoa, Dinamo Zagreb and Sydney FC.

He is one of only three men to score more than 50 goals for Japan, along with Kunishige Kamamoto and Shinji Okazaki.

Where will Erling Haaland be playing in 2021-22?

The Borussia Dortmund forward has a long list of admirers, particularly in England.

Both Manchester clubs want Haaland, though City fancy their chances.

TOP STORY – CITY BELIEVE THEY HOLD HAALAND EDGE OVER UTD

Manchester City are hoping to use their Jadon Sancho sell-on clause to beat neighbours Manchester United to the signing of Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland, according to The Sun.

Haaland is a player in demand, linked to the likes of City, United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Liverpool following his exploits for Dortmund.

City have a 15 per cent sell-on clause following Sancho's move to Dortmund in 2017 and they believe it could help in their Haaland pursuit, with the Premier League giants open to waiving or renegotiating the clause.

Sancho was tipped to join United ahead of the 2020-21 season.

ROUND-UP

- French journalist Julien Laurens doubts Paris Saint-Germain will be able to afford Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner has been linked to PSG, City and Inter but Laurens feels the Ligue 1 champions will not be able to financially accommodate Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

- Atletico Madrid are poised to prise Moussa Dembele from Lyon, reports Fabrizio Romano. After Diego Costa's exit, Atletico are set to complete a loan deal with the option to buy.

- Le10Sport claims Manchester United are set to rival PSG for the signing of Brest midfielder Romain Faivre.

- The Telegraph says Napoli are keen on signing Arsenal full-back Kieran Tierney. The Serie A side were keen on the Scotland international before he swapped Celtic for Arsenal in 2019.

Gennaro Gattuso insisted Napoli cannot always be beautiful like Hollywood actor Brad Pitt as he urged his side to be a "bit ugly" like him.

Napoli claimed a last-gasp 2-1 victory at Udinese thanks to Tiemoue Bakayoko's 90th-minute winner in Serie A on Sunday.

Lorenzo Insigne had opened the scoring via a 15th-minute penalty to move level with Careca for seventh place on Napoli's all-time scorers list in Serie A (73) and also seventh position across all competitions (97).

Udinese's Kevin Lasagna equalised 12 minutes later before Bakayoko ensured Napoli bounced back from their shock defeat at home to Spezia.

Napoli are sixth in Serie A – nine points adrift of leaders Milan – and head coach Gattuso told his team to get down and dirty.

"I don't get angry with my players for their technique, it's when they don't smell fear. I think we are a team who repeatedly don't spot the danger when it's coming. I want to see a team that keeps going," Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia.

"I don't want us to miss a chance, then I see immediately the defenders start complaining to each other, oh we missed a goal, that means we're bound to concede one. No! We have to work as a team.

"We have to improve in when we're under pressure, because I know I don't have a side that can soak up pressure for ages, that's not our approach, but we can do better than we are now. You can't tell me that mentality cannot be improved or coached. I don't believe it.

"What happened with Spezia infuriated me, because the ball came off the post, we had five players ball-watching while Tommaso Pobega reacted quicker. That is a lack of determination, that is unacceptable.

"Napoli want to always be beautiful, but sometimes being a bit ugly is a good thing. You can't always be Brad Pitt, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Sometimes you have to be a bit ugly, like me. I look worse than usual now, as I'm all puffed up due to the cortisone shots, but I feel better."

Rennes star Eduardo Camavinga admitted "it is nice when a big club is interested" amid ongoing links with LaLiga champions Real Madrid.

Camavinga has been tipped to make the move from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes to Madrid, who are long-time admirers of the France sensation.

Ligue 1 holders Paris Saint-Germain, Serie A champions Juventus and Manchester United have also been linked to the 18-year-old midfielder.

"Of course it is nice when a big club is interested in you," Camavinga told Canal as speculation mounts over his future. "[But] me, I keep a cool head.

"I am at Stade Rennais. We will wait until the end of the season.

"We will meet around the table and we will weigh the pros and cons [then]."

Camavinga made his debut for boyhood club Rennes in 2019 and he has quickly emerged as one of football's most sought-after talents.

The Frenchman has one goal and an assist in 17 league appearances this season for fifth-placed Rennes, who are seven points adrift of Ligue 1 leaders Lyon following Saturday's 2-2 draw between the clubs.

Jose Mourinho is preparing for Tottenham's Premier League clash against Aston Villa to go ahead as scheduled on Wednesday.

After a significant coronavirus outbreak, Villa used youth players in a 4-1 FA Cup loss to Liverpool on Friday.

The outbreak has put their hosting of Spurs at risk, but a postponement would create more fixture chaos for Tottenham.

After a 5-0 FA Cup win over Marine on Sunday, Mourinho was asked when Tottenham's next game would be and the Spurs head coach responded: "Wednesday."

"No-one has told me any different that I am not going to play so tomorrow morning we'll start preparing that game," he added.

"The same Tuesday, unless we're told different."

Spurs are fourth in the Premier League table, four points behind Liverpool and Manchester United.