Watford manager Walter Mazzarri is showing interest in wing-back Davide Santon who is on the books of his former club Inter.

Mazzarri was appointed Watford boss earlier this month following the departure of Quique Sanchez Flores.

According to reports, he wants to strengthen his squad with the signing of Santon, a former Newcastle player, and Juan Jesus, also of Inter.

Both defenders were not among the first choice picks by Inter coach Roberto Mancini and last season were regularly dropped to the bench.

Mourinho, Guardiola set for Beijing clash

The new managers of Manchester United and Manchester City will face an early confrontation when the teams meet in a friendly in Beijing on July 25.

Jose Mourinho and old adversary Pep Guardiola will renew hostilities in the pre-season International Champions Cup.

There was little love lost between the pair when Mourinho was in charge at Real Madrid and Guardiola led Barcelona.

The rivalry is likely to be just as fierce when United attempt to make up ground on their neighbours, who have finished above them in the Premier League for the past three seasons.

United, as FA Cup holders, take on champions Leicester in the annual Community Shield at Wembley on August 7.

Magpies announce price reductions

Newcastle have reduced season ticket prices by 10 per cent after persuading Rafael Benitez to take on the challenge of leading the club back into the Premier League.

A few days after getting the answer they wanted from the 56-year-old Spaniard, the Magpies announced across-the-board reductions in the hope of filling St James’ Park next season.

The reductions mean that category two season ticket holders will pay £520 compared with last season’s £578, meaning that, with four extra home fixtures taken into account, the cost of watching a game has gone down from £30 to around £23.

Hammers keen on Juve’s Pereyra

Juventus midfielder Roberto Pereyra is among a short list of players that West Ham United are seeking to get on board in the off-season, media reports said.

TuttoSport said the Hammers have already made their first move for Pereyra with a bid for the 25-year-old’s signature of €15 million.

The report said Juventus want more for their player who only managed 16 appearances all season in the past campaign.

Pereyra is under contract with the Italian champions until 2020.

Juventus play West Ham in the Londoners’ first match at the new Olympic Stadium on August 7.

Rashford to seal new United deal

A new contract for striker Marcus Rashford is close to being announced by Manchester United, BBC said yesterday.

The 18-year-old has one year left on his current deal – and the new contract is thought to be worth £20,000 a week

Rashford is England’s youngest debut scorer and will find out tomorrow if he is in Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2016 squad.

Since bursting onto the scene three months ago, he has netted eight times in 18 appearances for the Old Trafford club.

Rashford has been represented in negotiations by family members, with advice from Chris and Wayne Welbeck, brothers of former United forward Danny.

US warm up for Copa with 4-0 win

Teenage US midfielder Christian Pulisic grabbed the headlines by scoring his first international goal in a 4-0 win over Bolivia in a Copa America warm-up match last weekend.

The 17-year-old Pulisic came on as a substitute after 63 minutes and five minutes later slotted home the Americans’ fourth goal from 12 metres out.

It was the US’s biggest win over a South American opponent.

The United States will host June’s Centenary Copa America and play Paraguay, Colombia and Costa Rica in Group A.

Boateng ‘unwanted as neighbour’

People in Germany would not want soccer star Jerome Boateng, born in Berlin from a Ghanaian father, as their neighbour, Alexander Gauland, vice chair of anti-immigration party, Alternative for Germany, said yesterday.

“People find him good as a football player but they don’t want a Boateng as their neighbour,” Gauland said.

Bayern Munich defender Boateng is likely to feature in Germany’s starting XI at the European Championship, along with third-generation Turkish-German winger Mesut Ozil and other players with non-exclusively German backgrounds.

Disenchantment with the chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance towards refugees helped to propel the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany to strong results in regional elections this year.

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