Watford captain Troy Deeney should be handed a call-up to the England squad, his manager Walter Mazzarri has claimed.
With Tottenham striker Harry Kane facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, England manager Sam Allardyce will be on the lookout for a replacement ahead of the World Cup qualification double-header against Malta and Slovenia in October.
“I would be proud and really happy if Deeney went to the national team,” Mazzarri said.
“He is a strong striker, he just needs to look after his fitness, but he is international level.”
Lazio are showing interest in Cafu
Lazio have made queries on the availability of attacking midfielder Jonathan Renato Barbosa, also known as Cafu, the player’s agent revealed.
At present, Cafu, 25, is on the books of Ludogorets, the Bulgarian league side who drew 1-1 at Basle in their Champions League group opener earlier this month.
Cafu, who scored the opener against Basle, joined Ludogorets from Sao Paulo last year.
“It’s true, Lazio have been interested for some time,” Cafu’s agent was quoted as saying.
In-form Red Bulls back in play-offs
Daniel Royer’s first MLS goal proved decisive as New York Red Bulls defeated Montreal Impact 1-0 at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night to clinch a play-off spot.
Royer’s downward header from Chris Duvall’s cross found its way past Evan Bush on the hour mark to guarantee the Red Bulls a seventh straight post-season appearance.
The result extended the Red Bull’s unbeaten run to 13 games and put them level on points with Toronto FC and New York City FC at the Eastern Conference summit, with all three teams now through to the play-offs.
Rosenborg romp to Norwegian title
A second-half brace from captain Mike Jensen and a goal from Christian Gytknaer helped Rosenborg secure their third Norwegian title in a row with a superb 3-1 win away to arch-rivals Molde last weekend.
The win for the Trondheim club, who have five matches left to play, puts them on 62 points after 25 games, a whopping 21 points ahead of second-placed Brann Bergen, who have a game in hand.
“It feels fantastic, it’s hard to describe,” a jubilant Jensen said after the final whistle.
“Everyone in the team has been focused on this and to finally stand here as champions is an incredible feeling.”
The league title is the first part of a possible double for Rosenborg, who face Bodo Glimt in the semi-finals of the Norwegian Cup on October 26.
Coach Labbadia sacked by Hamburg
Hamburg have sacked Bruno Labbadia following their 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Labbadia has been shown the door by the northern Germany club after 18 months in charge.
Hamburg dropped into the bottom three following their fourth defeat in a row, having started their campaign with a draw at home to Ingolstadt.
Labbadia saved Hamburg, the only club never once to have been relegated from the Bundesliga, from the drop in a play-off against Karlsruhe after only weeks in charge in 2015. He kept them in the top flight last season with a 10th-placed finish.
Wenger happy to shed Blues hoodoo
For five years, Chelsea were the nemesis of Arsenal and their coach Arsene Wenger, so Saturday’s resounding 3-0 victory in the London derby represented a psychological boost for the Frenchman.
The last time Arsenal beat Chelsea in the league was in October 2011 and for three years they had not even scored a goal against their cross-town rivals, not counting a 1-0 win in the pre-season Community Shield match in 2015.
“I said before the game that we have some inconvenient facts. They were that we couldn’t beat Chelsea for years,” Wenger, who last week marked 20 years in charge of Arsenal, said.
“I think what was important for me is that a psychological hurdle does not stand in your way. We have not to make too much of it, but as well not ignore it.”
Qatar appoint Fossati as coach
Qatar has appointed a new coach to head its national team in a bid to revive fading hopes of qualifying for its first World Cup finals in Russia in 2018.
Uruguayan Jorge Fossati, 63, will head the national team, according to a tweet shared yesterday by the Qatar Football Association.
He replaces Jose Daniel Carreno, who was sacked on Friday after Qatar lost to Iran and Uzbekistan leaving them bottom of a six-team group in the final round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.