What the papers say

Chelsea are hoping to finally secure the signature of Brighton star Moises Caicedo, the Guardian reports. The club are hoping to finalise the deal as soon as possible so he can be available to play in their opening match against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Manchester United are keen to sign Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, who the Daily Mail says is worth around £30million.

Dutch left-back Ian Maatsen is being chased by Burnley and now West Ham, according to the Daily Mail. The 21-year-old impressed in his pre-season fixtures for Chelsea with West Ham hoping to gain his services on a loan deal.

Italian champions Napoli are interested in Brighton’s 19-year-old forward Julio Enciso, the Telegraph reports.

Social media r…

Former Celtic boss Gordon Strachan believes the Scottish champions face a nearly impossible task to beat Barcelona in the Champions League.

The former Manchester United midfielder took on Barca when he was in charge of Celtic in 2008, and is a fan of their possession-based style of play.

How to beat Barcelona? Well, you visit a church or chapel – whatever your preference is – and just hope, Strachan told the Daily Record.

Everybody has tried to take Barcelona on and they ve all tried different systems. But trust me, it s good players who make the difference. Good men win games.

When we played Barca in 2008, that was when everyone realised this was a special team. It was hypnotic football. It was passing we d never seen before. They just kept the b…

Former Barcelona star Xavi lauded natural leader Iker Casillas after the goalkeeper s departure from Real Madrid.

Casillas ended a 25-year stay with the La Liga giants as his move to Primeira Liga outfit Porto was confirmed.

The 162-time Spain international and Xavi shared plenty of battles, as well as successes with the national team.

I have to publicly recognise that I appreciate Iker a lot, and I sincerely think that we have a strong friendship, Xavi wrote in Marca.

There s a lot of years together, we had passed by a lot of moments, good and bad ones, and these are the ones which stick people together. And he s a very lovable guy.

He has been always a joker, joyful, sincerely and really competitive guy.

Xavi added: He s affectionate…

History is firmly on Atletico Madrid s side as Diego Simeone s men seek to boost their Liga title hopes when they visit struggling Granada this weekend.

It has been 42 years since Granada overcame Atletico, with the capital club enjoying a 13-game unbeaten run against the Andalusian side.

Recent form offers the hosts little cause for optimism either, with Jose Ramon Sandoval s 17th-placed side reeling from Tuesday s shock 2-1 Copa del Rey loss to second-tier Leganes.

Indeed, Sandoval has overseen just two wins this season – away to Getafe and versus Athletic Bilbao at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes – so Atletico, who are unbeaten in 11 and eyeing a sixth victory on the bounce in all competitions, will sense an opportunity.

The visitors have be…

Thiago Silva insisted Brazil deserve more respect after their win over world champions Germany in Berlin.

Brazil gained some revenge for their humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany at the 2014 World Cup on home soil following Tuesday s 1-0 victory.

Gabriel Jesus settled the international friendly at the Olympiastadion as Brazil ended Germany s 22-game undefeated streak.

It was another boost for Brazil in their pursuit of a sixth World Cup crown and veteran centre-back Silva was bullish post-match.

With all due respect to Germany, but this [Brazil] shirt deserves more respect. We re glad to have grabbed this result in front of a great team, Silva told TV Globo.

We re on the right path, we re humble and disciplined, and we showed something more tonight.…

Everton s Premier League trip to Burnley has become the third game to be pulled from Sunday s programme as the COVID-19 crisis continues to hit the competition.

Injuries and coronavirus cases had left Rafael Benitez down to nine outfield first-team players, the Everton manager said on Thursday.

The English Boxing Day line-up has been trimmed from nine to six fixtures, with Liverpool s home game against Leeds United and Wolves clash with Watford having already been called off.

Benitez said that five Everton players had tested positive since the 1-1 draw at Chelsea last week, with a long injury list meaning he had few options available and was considering pushing Dominic Calvert-Lewin back into action ahead of schedule, following his long lay-off.

Everton …

Wigan Athletic have completed the signing of striker Marc-Antoine Fortune,

The Frenchman has put pen to paper on a two-year deal after his contract with West Bromwich Albion came to an end.

Fortune scored eleven Premier League goals in two spells with the Baggies, spending six months on loan during the 2008/09 campaign before signing permanently from Celtic in August 2010.

He becomes new manager Owen Coyle’s sixth signing of the summer, following former West Brom teammate Scott Carson, James Perch, Chris McCann, Stephen Crainey and Thomas Rogne, who he played with during his time in Scotland.

The 32 year old is seen as an ideal replacement for Ivory Coast international Arouna Kone, who is expected to be leaving the DW Stadium in the next few d…

Paulo Dybala s late goal saw Juventus make it 11 Serie A victories in succession with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph against Roma on Sunday.

After a poor start to their quest for a fifth successive Scudetto, a resurgent Juve have roared back into the title race with an impressive run of form that has helped them ascend to second place in the table.

Having seen Napoli extend their advantage at the summit to five points with a 4-2 win at Sampdoria earlier in the day, the pressure was on the champions to respond at Juventus Stadium.

For long periods, it looked as though they would be frustrated by a stubborn Roma outfit in Luciano Spalletti s second game back in charge.

But Dybala continued his own personal purple patch with a clinical finish in the 77th minute f…

Arsenal will face trips to Belarus, Germany and Serbia in the Europa League, while a new-look AC Milan have been handed a favourable-looking draw.

Arsene Wenger s Arsenal missed out on Champions League qualification after finishing fifth in the Premier League last term.

The Gunners are consequently playing in Europe s second-tier competition for the first time since 2000, where they reached the final of the UEFA Cup, and were drawn in Group H with BATE Borisov, Cologne and Red Star Belgrade in Friday s draw in Monaco.

Vincenzo Montella s Milan are back in European competition for the first time since the 2013-14 season and the Rossoneri will fancy their chances of progressing from a Group D also including Austria Vienna, Rijeka and AEK Athens.

Group E pro…

The Mirror understands that Crystal Palace are readying a lucrative contract for Wilfried Zaha as they look to stave off interest from Tottenham Hotpsur.

The winger has been continuously linked with a move to Spurs in recent months after starring for Palace last season though the Eagles are desperate to hold on to their man.

He has played almost one hundred and fifty times since returning to Selhurst Park in the summer of 2014 and his performances last term saw him crowned the clubs Player of the Year for a third consecutive season.

During his first spell at the club the twenty-five-year-old racked up one hundred and forty-three appearances in all competitions, scoring eighteen goals and helping them to promotion to the top flight before becoming Sir Alex Fe…