Real Madrid are reportedly eager to bolster their full-back options, to upgrade from Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy.

Los Blancos were linked with Manchester City's Joao Cancelo - currently on loan at Bayern Munich - earlier this week by Fichajes.

The Spanish giants are set to miss out on this season's LaLiga title, with Barcelona leading by 10 points.

TOP STORY – MADRID KEEN ON LIVERPOOL'S TAA

Real Madrid will turn to Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold should they fail to land Reece James from Chelsea, claims Ekrem Konur.

Los Blancos are in the market for a new full-back and Konur claims Madrid could also turn to Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong.

Alexander-Arnold has had a mixed campaign for Liverpool, who appear set for a squad revamp in the off-season. The 24-year-old England full-back is contracted with the Reds until 2025.

 

ROUND-UP

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is an admirer of Torino's 21-year-old midfielder Samuele Ricci with Los Blancos keeping tabs on his situation, according to Tuttosport.

– The Sunday Mirror claims Manchester City are leading the race to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham from Real Madrid , with Liverpool having pulled out.

Chelsea are looking to offer Romelu Lukaku as part of a deal with Atletico Madrid to sign Portuguese forward Joao Felix permanently, reports Fichajes. Chelsea are unwilling to pay Atletico's €100m asking fee, but may part with €70m along with the Belgian forward.

Tottenham are tracking Barcelona winger Ansu Fati, reports Mundo Deportivo. The report suggests Spurs are willing to make him their most expensive transfer in club history.

RB Leipzig are considering a move to sign Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun in the close season, claims Todofichajes. Balogun has impressed this season on loan with Reims .

Chelsea have interviewed Sporting boss Ruben Amorim about taking over as manager next season, reports talkSPORT.

Chelsea sacked Graham Potter on Sunday after barely seven months as their manager.

Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in September, led the Blues to 12 wins, eight draws and 11 defeats.

His demise comes amid numerous changes of managers at Premier League clubs, with Tottenham last week parting with Antonio Conte.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA APPROACH TOP CANDIDATE NAGELSMANN

Chelsea have identified ex-Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann as their top candidate and approached him already, claims Fabrizio Romano.

Romano said talks will be ongoing before a final decision, while he added the Blues hierarchy are admirers of Sporting boss Ruben Amorim.

However, Sky Sports Germany claims Nagelsmann is not interested in taking over at Chelsea.

TalkSPORT claims the dismissed Potter could be offered an immediate return to management by Leicester City who sacked Brendan Rodgers earlier on Sunday.

 

ROUND-UP

– AS claims that Paris Saint-Germain winger Kylian Mbappe has told the Real Madrid board that he intends to join Los Blancos as a free agent in 2024. According to the report, Madrid are not willing to negotiate a transfer fee with PSG, following their long-running interest in Mbappe, with the player needing to get out of his contract to move to the Spanish capital.

Liverpool will consider an off-season move for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, reports The Independent.

– Fichajes claims Liverpool are also weighing up a surprise move for Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.

– Football Insider claims Arsenal have identified three midfield targets in Everton's Amadou Onana, West Ham's Declan Rice and Brighton and Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo.

Manchester United's hopes of signing Eintracht Frankfurt forward Randal Kolo Muani have been set back with the Frenchman keen to join Bayern Munich in the off-season.

Ruben Amorim intends to stay as Sporting CP head coach after being linked with a move to Tottenham.

It appears likely Antonio Conte will end his short tenure at Spurs at the end of the season, when his contract expires.

Conte will have spent less than two years at the helm of the north London side, leading them into the Champions League but proving unable to deliver a trophy.

Nottingham Forest's Steve Cooper and Brighton and Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi have also played down links to Tottenham.

Amorim has attracted attention as one of Europe's brightest young coaches, impressing at Braga before joining Sporting in March 2020 and winning a Primeira Liga title in his first full season in charge.

Sporting were runners-up to Porto last season and are only fourth this term, but 38-year-old Amorim remains widely admired.

Asked about reports of Tottenham interest at a press conference on Saturday, Amorim said: "My objective is that I have a contract with Sporting for another three years and in my head is to be champion at least once more in those three years.

"If we win two championships in that time it's a step forward. I'm interested in showing results and not what is said abroad."

The coach, whose team play Boavista on Sunday, last week chalked up his 100th win in charge of Sporting as they beat Portimonense 1-0 on league duty.

Sporting allowed defender Pedro Porro to join Tottenham in January, but Amorim may be more difficult to prise away from Lisbon.

Amorim was quoted in Portuguese media on Saturday as saying: "I've always been treated well in Portugal, they follow my day to day; abroad they watch European games and titles, not the daily context.

"I've always felt recognised. When I'm good, I'm the greatest. My goal is to get back to being very good."

Ruben Amorim has renewed his contract as Sporting CP head coach until 2026, the club announced on Tuesday.

Amorim, 37, had been linked with Premier League clubs Chelsea and Aston Villa earlier this season but no move ever materialised.

The former Portugal international moved to Sporting in 2020 after a positive spell with Braga and went on to guide the club to their first Primeira Liga title in 19 years in 2021.

Last season they finished as runners-up in Portugal's top tier, though after 13 games of the 2022-23 campaign they find themselves fourth and 12 points adrift of bitter rivals Benfica at the summit.

They also finished third in their Champions League group, subsequently dropping into the Europa League.

Nevertheless, Sporting remain committed to stability, convinced in Amorim they have one of the world's premier coaches.

"This renovation demonstrates a lot how Sporting CP works today: with discretion, efficiency and direction," president Frederico Varandas said.

"It is also a very strong sign of how today Sporting CP is a strong and stable club, with stability being the basis of all success.

"A contract of this length always obliges the people who sign it to see themselves 100 per cent in the sporting project and that there is extreme trust between both parties.

"As president of Sporting CP, I can only be very happy that we have a contract until 2026 with one of the best coaches in the world and that we will continue to make Sporting CP grow."

Bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Sporting CP remains the club's "dream", according to head coach Ruben Amorim, though he acknowledges the striker's wage demands make such a move impossible. 

Ronaldo reportedly asked to leave Manchester United following their failure to secure Champions League qualification last season, and Sporting – the club at which he began his career – were touted as a potential destination.

After struggling for minutes following his failure to secure a transfer, Ronaldo reportedly refused to come on as a substitute during United's win over Tottenham last week, leading Erik ten Hag to temporarily banish him from first-team training.

That incident has led to renewed speculation about Ronaldo's future at Old Trafford, but financial concerns will prevent his former side from taking him back. 

"Ronaldo is a top player, a Manchester United player," Amorim said at a news conference ahead of Sporting's Champions League trip to Tottenham.

"I'm going to respond the same way, as a lot of journalists in Portugal ask me that question. He's a Manchester United player.

"At Sporting, everyone dreams of Cristiano's return, but we don't have the money to pay him his salary. I think he's happy in Manchester, but he doesn't play, that's the problem."

With Ronaldo returning to first-team training with United on Tuesday, Amorim was unwilling to pass judgement on Ten Hag's decision to sanction the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"I have my problems with Sporting players," he added. "It's a problem with Ten Hag, I'm happy with my players. I just want to beat Tottenham."

Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim has cooled talk of Cristiano Ronaldo returning to his boyhood club and stated the priority is retaining the likes of Matheus Nunes.

Portugal superstar Ronaldo is reportedly keen on leaving Manchester United just a year after returning to Old Trafford from Juventus, with Champions League football a priority for the competition's all-time leading scorer.

Suitors for Ronaldo's services are few and far between, but Sporting have been touted as a potential destination and a return to Madrid has also been speculated, though this time with Atletico.

Such a move for Sporting would mark a spectacular homecoming for their youth graduate, who has become one of the greatest players of all-time, but Amorim has poured cold water on the speculation.

"I've heard that [Ronaldo rumours]. I don't read anything, I don't see anything," he said after a penalty shoot-out defeat in Sunday's friendly against Sevilla.

"For me the reality is different, it's keeping my players."

Nunes is among those that Sporting face a battle to retain, with the 23-year-old linked with the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea, but Amorim revealed the midfielder has rejected proposals from other clubs in the current window.

"I'm glad Matheus Nunes is still here. I'm glad Sporting players, like Nunes, reject offers that [would] change their lives to remain at Sporting," he added.

"That's my reality. I'm very happy with my squad and my players are the best in the world."

Sporting head coach Ruben Amorim admits he felt a weight which has been lifted after helping the club to their first Portuguese Primeira Liga title in 19 years.

The Lisbon club defeated Boavista 1-0 on Tuesday to secure their 19th league title and first since 2001-02.

Sporting splashed out €10million for Amorim when he was appointed in March last year, becoming the third most expensive coach ever, behind Andre Villas-Boas and Brendan Rodgers.

"I felt a weight and now it's off," Amorim told Sport TV after Sporting's win.

"People really wanted to celebrate this championship for the value and the risk the club took, but I wanted to win for the players, for the club and for other reasons that I won't disclose."

Amorim hailed his group of players who have gone 32 league matches unbeaten.

"I have a group of fantastic players, the merit is for the players," Amorim said.

"They fought, they grew a lot, they are very humble. It was another two hours of suffering.

"It is the reflection of our season. We played better, we were much better, we did not get the second goal and we suffered until the end."

Former Portugal international Amorim, 36, added that he had no plans to leave Sporting, with whom he has a €20 million buyout clause.

"I'm not going anywhere, unless they pay for everything," the ex-Benfica midfielder said.

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