N Golo Kante s fitness is a more pressing issue than whether the Chelsea midfielder needs a contract extension, says Graham Potter.
The France international, whose current deal runs through the end of this season, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since August.
Kante has struggled with a succession of fitness issues since helping to guide his country to success at the World Cup in 2018, though his experience has been invaluable when fit.
Questions therefore have been asked about his future, but ahead of Chelsea s Champions League clash with Milan on Wednesday, Potter says his main concern is helping the 31-year-old back to full fitness.
My focus at the moment is to help him rehabilitate in a good way so that he is available for us and on the pit…
Miguel Almiron and Eddie Howe have each claimed monthly Premier League awards in a stunning Newcastle United treble.
Almiron is the Player of the Month for October and also takes the Goal of the Month prize, with coach Howe named the Manager of the Month.
Newcastle become the first club to collect all three awards in a single month since November 2016, when Chelsea trio Diego Costa, Pedro and Antonio Conte stood out in their title-winning campaign.
The Magpies wins are reward for an outstanding October, in which Newcastle claimed 16 points from a possible 18 and scored 16 goals in the process – two league highs.
No player contributed more to that success than Almiron, scoring six often spectacular goals in six matches from chances worth just 2.7 expecte…
Alexis Mac Allister is pleased with the development of Liverpool so far under new coach Arne Slot, but knows there is still work to do.
Mac Allister helped Liverpool to their second straight win to start the 2024-25 Premier League season, as the Reds swatted Brentford aside 2-0 at Anfield.
Slot became the first Liverpool boss to win his opening two league matches since April 1991 in the process.
And Mac Allister, who was integral to much of Liverpool s play, believes Liverpool are swiftly adapting to their new coach s approach.
He told Sky Sports: We played a fantastic game.
The team gave everything from the first minute which you could see and it was a good game. In possession and without the ball it was good so we are really pleased.
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Unai Emery stressed the importance of Aston Villa remaining consistent as the season goes on after the 3-1 win over Fulham.
The result at Villa Park saw the midlands outfit make it six wins out of six at home in the Premier League this season and equal the post-war club record for successive top-flight home victories, matching the 13 in a row achieved in 1983.
Boss Emery, whose fifth-placed side are a point outside the top four, said: “We are now (on league match) 12 – there are still 26 matches to play.
“It’s a lot and of course to be consistent is the most important thing, when you are trying to build and to create a team and a structure and mentality.
“It’s the reason of course we can maintain the position like we are now, but it’s going …
Joao Felix has been urged to show focus and wait for his turn to come again at Atletico Madrid as fresh doubts surround his future under Diego Simeone.
The Portugal forward was a teenage prodigy when he arrived from Benfica in July 2019, acquired for an eye-watering €126million and hailed as a future superstar.
He has since managed just a modest 29 goals and 16 assists in 122 games for Atletico, and although he has been a LaLiga winner in that time, Joao Felix has fallen short of expectations.
Head coach Simeone this week looked to take responsibility, saying: All those bad aspects from Joao s performances mean I am doing even worse. All his frustrations are caused because I am not capable to give him everything he needs in order to explode that football talent…
Manchester City are in discussions over offering captain Vincent Kompany a contract extension, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
Kompany joined City from Hamburg in 2008 and has been an integral part of their three subsequent Premier League triumphs.
The Belgium international started back-to-back league games for the first time since August as the reigning champions claimed a vital 2-1 win over Liverpool in the title race last week.
Kompany was arguably fortunate to avoid greater punishment when he was booked for a heavy challenge on Mohamed Salah during the first half but went on to turn in a commanding display at the heart of the City defence.
However, the 32-year-old s withdrawal during the closing minutes was a reminder of the calf injuries that ha…
Currently playing for Girona on loan from Ligue 2 side Troyes, Savio Moreira de Oliveira, sometimes called Savinho, has been catching the eye with excellent performances for La Liga s surprise-of-the-season team. At the age of 19, he has 10 goal involvements (five goals, five assists) in 20 games in all competitions so far.
The Brazilian s potential obviously hasn t gone unnoticed among Europe s top clubs, and according to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City are currently considering whether they should step up their interest and put Savio on their books.
Both City and Girona are owned by the City Group, which obviously puts the reigning Premier League and European champions in pole position to land Savio ahead of all competition. The course of action they re currently dis…
Arsenal are interested in signing Amadou Onana from Premier League rivals Everton, according to a report in . The report has claimed that the Gunners are closely monitoring the 22-year-old Belgium international defensive midfielder. The Gunners have identified Onana as a potential alternative to Aston Villa and Brazil international midfielder Douglas Luiz.
Onana is one of the best young defensive midfielders in the Premier League. The 22-year-old Belgium international has been on the books of Everton since 2022 and has established himself as an important player in manager Sean Dyche’s team. The midfielder has made 46 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. Onana has scored two goals and given two assists in those games.
Everton are 16th in the Premie…
Former UEFA president Michel Platini said Paris Saint-Germain could be called Coca-Cola as he questioned the Ligue 1 champions identity in an outburst over wealth in modern football.
Platini served as the head of UEFA for eight years but was suspended and later banned from all football-related activity in 2015 after an ethics investigation found he received a disloyal payment in 2011.
The former Juventus and France midfielder s ban has now ended and he took aim at the money in today s game during an interview discussing the possibility of clubs having quotas to limit the number of foreign players in their teams.
Today, you buy all the best players and you win, Platini told France Info.
Everything is based on wealth money kills a philosophy of footbal…
Thierry Henry s appointment at Monaco comes with expectations heightened by more than just his stellar achievements on the pitch.
The 41-year-old Arsenal great has returned to the club that gave him his start in professional football and is seeking to join an illustrious group of fellow 1998 World Cup winners to have successfully transitioned into coaching.
Four members of that France squad have already combined for six top-division titles, three Champions League triumphs and a World Cup in their post-playing careers.
Others have enjoyed more limited success – Bernard Lama and Lionel Charbonnier are unlikely to be widely remembered for their coaching achievements – but Henry will certainly hope to match up to the men below
4 Thierry Henry will become…