Former Italy international Alessandro Diamanti has joined Western United in a coup for the A-League newcomers.
Diamanti, 36, has joined the A-League club on a one-year marquee deal, it was confirmed on Thursday.
The playmaker, who made 17 appearances for Italy between 2010 and 2013, enjoyed a fine season with Livorno in Serie B in 2018-19, scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists in 32 games.
I have played all around the world, with world-class clubs and team-mates and Western United stood out to me after speaking with the coaches and staff and hearing how they plan on having an impact in their first season in the A-League, Diamanti said.
See some of ’s goals before the big reveal tomorrow morning!
— Western United FC (@wufcofficial)
Karim Benzema is playing the best football of his career for Real Madrid but can still improve, according to head coach Zinedine Zidane.
Former France forward Benzema scored one goal and created two more in Madrid s 3-1 win at Eibar on Sunday.
The 33-year-old s latest telling contributions, following on from a brace against Athletic Bilbao, took him to seven goals and five assists for the champions in LaLiga this season.
He leads Madrid in both regards, also topping the charts in terms of shots (40), shots on target (18) and big chances created for his team-mates from which they would be expected to score (five, tied with Rodrygo).
Benzema is averaging 1.0 goals or assists per 90 minutes this term, his best rate across a season since 2015-16 (1.4).
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According to a recent report from Sky Italy, Inter Milan are currently in talks with Napoli over the potential signing of forward Fernando Llorente. The 34-year-old veteran is believed to be featured in the plans for a deal that would also see Matteo Politano make his way over to Napoli on an 18-month loan deal with an eventual obligation to buy.
As a direct result of this interest it seems like they aren’t placing quite as much emphasis on the signing of Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, which initially seemed to be one of their primary goals during this window.
In terms of Llorente himself, though, the veteran has never been one to shy away from a big challenge – and that’s certainly what this would be. He wouldn’t be a guaranteed starter within this Inter …
Mason Greenwood scored twice as Manchester United left it late to beat Burnley 3-1 at Old Trafford and make it five Premier League wins in a row for the first time since January 2019.
United had failed to defeat Burnley at home in their last four attempts and could not find a way through in a goalless first half on Sunday that saw Chris Wood have an early goal ruled out.
It was the fourth league game running the Red Devils had failed to score in the first half but Greenwood fired in the opener three minutes into the second period.
James Tarkowski promptly equalised with his first goal of the season, though Greenwood popped up again six minutes from time and substitute Edinson Cavani wrapped up a win that moves United to within eight points of leaders Mancheste…
Atletico Madrid are reportedly ready to part ways with their club-record signing, setting a €100million asking price for Portuguese forward Joao Felix.
Felix, 23, was purchased from Benfica back in 2019 for a fee of €126m – shattering their transfer record by more than €50m.
He helped Atletico to a LaLiga title in the 2020-21 season, before being named the club s Player of the Season for the 2021-22 campaign, but he has now fallen out of favour, starting just five of his side s 14 league games.
Felix has been able to put himself in the shop window during his two starts to begin Portugal s World Cup group stage, including a goal against Ghana, and now Champions League contenders are expected to come calling in January.
TOP STORY – PARIS SAINT-GER…
Ousmane Dembele s Barcelona career appears to be drawing to a close, with the club s director of football Mateu Alemany confirming on Thursday that he is up for sale.
Dembele s representatives have been in talks with Barca since July over a new contract for a player that arrived at Camp Nou in 2017 in the wake of Neymar s departure to Paris Saint-Germain.
Barca splashed the cash – €105million, to be exact – to bring the winger in from Borussia Dortmund, where he had enjoyed a wonderful campaign in 2016-17 after a move from Rennes.
Despite Xavi wanting to keep the player, an agreement between the club and Dembele s camp has not been reached and the stand-off has now resulted in Alemany publicly stating the France international will no longer play for Bar…
Arsenal ended a seven-match Premier League winless run as they came from behind to beat West Ham 3-1 and give Freddie Ljungberg his first victory as interim head coach.
The sacking of Unai Emery had not yielded the expected upturn in fortunes most would have expected, with Ljungberg overseeing a 2-2 draw at Norwich City and a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion in his first two games in charge.
It looked set to be another chastening evening for Ljungberg when Angelo Ogbonna put West Ham ahead in the 38th minute at London Stadium.
Arsenal s display had been limp and lifeless in the first half but Gabriel Martinelli s goal on his full Premier League debut sparked them into life.
A spectacular Nicolas Pepe strike made it 2-1 and Pierre-Emerick Aubam…
Newcastle United have been credited with strong interest in Leicester City star James Maddison, but their attempts to sign the England international haven t produced desired results as of yet. According to the Sunday Mirror, the Magpies are consequently considering a swoop for Nabil Fekir of Real Betis as an alternative target.
Fekir, who took part at the 2018 World Cup and earned himself a winner s medal in Russia with France right after his proposed move to Liverpool fell through at the eleventh hour, left Olympique Lyon for Betis a year later for half the price previously agreed with the Premier League giants.
Since then, the 29-year-old attacking midfielder has gone on to play a total of 129 matches for the Spanish club, scoring 25 goals and producing as many assist…
Tottenham have urged everyone to focus on finishing the 2020-21 season as well as possible amid reports Harry Kane has informed the club he wishes to leave.
Kane is a product of Spurs academy and has developed into one of the world s best strikers, but over the past two years the club have seemingly struggled to match his ambitions.
The England captain has regularly been linked with moves away from Tottenham over the years, though those reports have rarely appeared to carry much substance – until now.
Sky Sports News claimed on Monday that Kane has told the club he wants to leave at the end of the season, with trophies on his agenda.
Spurs have not won silverware since the 2007-08 EFL Cup, with Kane a part of the sides that lost the finals of the 201…
Eugenie Le Sommer set Lyon on their way to a fifth successive Women s Champions League title as the French giants landed a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg.
In San Sebastian, France forward Le Sommer snatched the opening goal, with Japanese midfielder Saki Kumagai and former Wolfsburg player Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir also scoring.
Eleven days after the Lyon men s team bowed out to Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final, Europe s most powerful women s side lifted the trophy they have made their own.
Le Sommer s 22nd-minute strike, tucking home after her first shot was parried, moved the 31-year-old above Brazilian Marta to fourth on the list of the Women s Champions League all-time top scorers with 47 goals.
Since joining Lyon in 2010, Le Sommer ha…