Carlo Ancelotti has backed new Swansea City boss Paul Clement to flourish in his role at the Liberty Stadium.
Last week, Ancelotti saw his trusted assistant leave Bayern Munich to take over the struggling Premier League club, having worked under the Italian for seven months in Bavaria.
Although Ancelotti was sorry to see Clement leave, the Bayern boss believes Clement has all of the attributes required to succeed in south Wales.
Ancelotti said: “He had this opportunity and I think he took the right decision to go there. He has absolutely the skills, the quality to be a top manager.”
The pair first teamed up at Chelsea where Clement served as assistant manager under Ancelotti in 2009.
Boufal out
Morocco confirmed Southampton midfielder Sofiane Boufal will not take part in the African Nations Cup because of injury.
The 23-year-old has been released from his country’s training camp ahead of the friendly against Finland in the UAE.
Morocco begin their African Nations Cup campaign against DR Congo on January 16, with the tournament in Gabon set to run until February 5.
Boufal joined Southampton from Lille in a club-record £16m transfer during the summer, but saw his debut delayed as he returned to full fitness.
Rakitic wants to stay at Barcelona
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic is determined to fight for his place at the Spanish champions after falling out of favour with coach Luis Enrique.
The Croatia international has not played a league game since Dec. 3, although he did start in the 2-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in the King’s Cup last week.
Croatian newspaper Jutarnji reported that the midfielder had agreed a move to Manchester City to link up with former Barca coach Pep Guardiola.
Barca coach Luis Enrique said: “Most of the information in the media is not reliable. This has nothing to do with Ivan Rakitic not being in the squad.”
Perin operation
Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin has ruptured the cruciate ligament in his left knee and will undergo surgery in the coming days.
The 24-year-old was injured in Genoa’s 1-0 home loss to Roma in Serie A on Sunday. He suffered a similar problem in his right knee last April.
It took the Italy international more than four months to recover from surgery after the previous injury, which ruled him out of the 2016 European Championship.
“He was one of our goalkeepers at the time of Euro 2016 and he was unlucky. I want to give him my heartfelt wishes,” Italian FA president Carlo Tavecchio said.
Ibrahimovic libelled by athletics chief
A Swedish court found former national track and field team manager Ulf Karlsson guilty of aggravated libel against Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for suggesting he used performance-enhancing substances.
The district court in Karlstad ordered Karlsson to pay a fine of 24,000 Swedish crowns for comments, at an April 2016 panel discussion, about what he called a sudden weight gain by the 35-year-old, who is Sweden’s top goalscorer.
“The court’s opinion is that in the context of what was said Ulf Karlsson gave the impression that Zlatan was doping during his time at Juventus.”
Wolfsburg sign winger Ntep
Struggling Bundesliga club Wolfsburg signed winger Paul-Georges Ntep from Stade Rennes on a deal to 2021 yesterday as they look to boost their attack and avoid relegation.
Ntep is the fourth player to join the Wolves since Jan. 1, following the arrival of Yunus Malli, Riechedly Bazoer and Victor Osimhen and the departure for a reported $40 million of Julian Draxler to Paris St Germain.
The Cameroon-born 24-year-old scored 18 goals in 74 Ligue 1 matches for Stade Rennes after joining midway through the 2013/14 season. He has also won two caps for France.
Ozil wants clarity on Wenger future
Mesut Ozil is ready to sign a new contract with Arsenal but the midfielder wants to know if manager Arsene Wenger is staying at the club beyond this season.
Wenger’s contract expires at the end of the current season, while Ozil and team-mate Alexis Sanchez both have 18 months left on their deals.
“I feel very, very happy at Arsenal and have let the club know I would be willing to extend. The fans want me to stay, and now it’s only down to the club,” Ozil said.
“The club knows I am here mainly because of Arsene Wenger, who brought me here and whose trust I have. The club also knows that I want clarity about what the manager is doing.”