Football News

Newcastle have opened talks with Reims for in-form France U20 striker Hugo Ekitike in their bid to bring in a striker before Saturday’s match against relegation rivals Watford.

Frontman Ekitike, who made his debut for Reims in August, has scored eight goals in 17 Ligue 1 appearances this season and registered three assists.

Aston Villa are in advanced negotiations to sign Lucas Digne from Everton, with the left-back understood to favour a move to Steven Gerrard’s side.

The arrival of Digne would be a coup for Villa, as they appear to have beaten off competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham for

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed concerns Thiago Alcantara could be ruled out for the season after the Liverpool midfielder was absent for Sunday’s FA Cup win over Shrewsbury.

The Spain international was left out of Liverpool’s squad as a Fabinho double and goals from Kaide Gordon and Roberto Firmino sealed a 4-1 victory over Shrewsbury

Zlatan Ibrahimovic matched a Cristiano Ronaldo record as depleted AC Milan won 3-0 at 10-man Venezia to move to the top of Serie A on Sunday.

Ibrahimovic opened the scoring with barely two minutes on the clock. It was the 80th team the veteran forward has scored against in the top five European leagues.

Gareth Bale is considering ending his playing career this summer if Wales fail to qualify for this year’s World Cup, but could consider joining a Championship club if he helps his country make the tournament in Qatar.

Wales face a play-off against Austria in Cardiff in March and, if they win, they will then face a showdown against either Scotland or Ukraine for a place in the finals.

Celtic have rejected an approach from Udinese for defender Stephen Welsh after the Serie A club enquired about a loan move.

Udinese enquired about taking the 21-year-old on loan, with an option to buy, Sky Sports News has been told, but Celtic are keen to keep the promising centre-back.

Antonio Conte says Tottenham have to match his ambition if he is going to be a long-term success at the club, but insists he has no concerns about the short length of his contract.

The Italian, who took over from Nuno Espirito Santo in November and only has 18 months on his deal, has already made it clear how far he thinks Spurs are

Rafael Benitez has confirmed that Lucas Digne has told Everton he wants to leave amid interest from Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham in the France left-back.

Napoli are also keen on striking a deal for the 28-year-old, though the Italian club are only interested in a loan deal with an option to buy, which does not fit with Everton’s demands.

Former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is preparing a formal £50m offer to buy Derby County.

Ashley has been in advanced talks with Derby’s administrators in the last 48 hours – his bid would be the largest received so far by Derby’s administrators, Quantuma.