Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel labelled Romelu Lukaku a fantastic player but has refused to be drawn on potentially signing the Internazionale striker.

The European champions have been heavily linked with the Belgium international, who was on Chelsea s books from 2011 to 2014.

Inter reportedly rejected Chelsea s second offer worth £85m (€100m) along with Marcos Alonso for Lukaku, with the Blues set to table another bid believed to be worth £102m (€120m).

Tuchel would not be drawn on the situation following Chelsea s 2-2 friendly draw with Tottenham.

“I will not talk about players who don t play in my squad, Tuchel told reporters. He s a fantastic player but he s an Inter player and I will not talk about him in this situation.

Chelsea are y…

The most wonderful time of the year may not be quite as magical as years gone by due to restrictions on all of our lives caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Christmas is still a special period, though, and the familiarity of a hectic Premier League schedule is sure to be a comfort to fans across the globe.

We appreciate you may be about to tuck into your dinner or snoozing after over-indulging already, but why not digest some tasty Christmas Premier League facts before cracking on with the next beer?

Wondering where you enjoy such a gem? Well we have you covered below, with the help of the happy little elves at Opta.

SANTA SLEIGHED BY SALAH

We ho ho hope you don t mind a little Christmas gag to headline this section to get us cracking…

It s…

Erik ten Hag is expecting Casemiro to emerge as a leader in his Manchester United team after the Brazil midfielder competed his £60million (€70m) move from Real Madrid.

Casemiro, who won 18 major titles during a trophy-laden nine-year spell with the Spanish giants, was unveiled as a United player ahead of their 2-1 Premier League victory over Liverpool on Monday.

The Brazil enforcer is the fourth arrival of a busy transfer window at Old Trafford, following in the footsteps of Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen, all of whom impressed when starting against Liverpool.

Casemiro will likely have been encouraged by a first glimpse of his new team-mates, as United handed Jurgen Klopp s side their first league defeat of 2022 via goals from Jadon …

Liverpool fans will say their team is like a box of chocolates at the moment in that you never know what you re going to get, and also they can be hazardous to your health.

A wobbly start to the campaign looked to have got back on track after wins against Manchester City and West Ham, only for an insipid defeat at Nottingham Forest last week to send Jurgen Klopp s men back into crisis.

A 3-0 win at Ajax on Wednesday to secure their place in the last 16 of the Champions League should boost confidence again, but it is still anyone s guess as to which version of the Reds will turn up when they host Leeds United on Saturday.

Jesse Marsch heads to Anfield under serious pressure himself, with Leeds having not won in eight Premier League games (D2, L6) since beating Che…

Casemiro ended Chelsea s defensive resilience with a 94th-minute header to rescue a dramatic 1-1 draw for Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Jorginho put the Blues in front by converting a penalty with three minutes of normal time remaining following Scott McTominay s foul on Armando Broja.

But United, who left Cristiano Ronaldo out of their squad for disciplinary reasons, found a leveller through Casemiro s first goal for the club in the dying embers after defender Raphael Varane had limped off in tears.

The Red Devils remain a point behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who were unable to hold on for what would have been a sixth consecutive clean sheet, in the Premier League table.

26 No Premier League fixture has been drawn as often as Chelsea a…

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker:

In what could prove to be a cagey affair from the Santa Cruz in the early hours of Thursday, Botafogo will host local rivals Guarani.

Botafogo SP

Starting with the hosts, while Botafogo might have opened September with a much-welcomed boost, the Panthers have come crashing back down to earth in a worrying fashion. Opening the midweek fixtures sat in the drop zone, it is no secret that Paulo Gomes’ camp have a real must-win showdown on their hands here. However, last seen putting in another toothless display as they fell to a 1-0 loss away at Ponte Preta, the Portuguese tactical finds plenty of pressure on his shoulders at the Santa Cruz. Without a win from any of their previous five Serie B appearances, Botafogo have drastically fai…

England have called up uncapped pair Curtis Jones and Tino Livramento to their squad for this week s Nations League matches.

Liverpool midfielder Jones and Newcastle United full-back Livramento have both been part of the senior squad before without being used.

England confirmed the news on Wednesday and added Harry Kane is continuing his individualised programme, while Jack Grealish sat out of training with a knock.

Morgan Gibbs-White, Ezri Konsa and Kobbie Mainoo have each pulled out of the squad since it was announced after sustaining injuries over the weekend.

The Three Lions host Greece at Wembley on Thursday and then travel to Helsinki to face Finland three days later, with both fixtures coming in Group B2.

Tino Livramento and have been adde…

Sarina Wiegman lauded the incredible impact Gareth Southgate has had on English football after the Three Lions manager confirmed his exit on Tuesday.

Southgate walked away from his role with England after their 2-1 defeat against Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.

Having fallen at the same hurdle against Italy, Southgate is the first manager in history to lose two European Championship finals, while England are the first team to suffer defeat at the stage in back-to-back Euros.

England Women s head coach Wiegman knows all too well about the same challenges, though went one further when guiding the Lionesses to Euro 2022 glory on home soil, beating Germany in the final.

The pair will likely no longer see one another around England s headquarters, thou…

Now is all.

That is the peculiar slogan at Qatar 2022. It is a phrase plastered around the streets of Doha, on banners at every stadium, hanging down from the ceiling at the huge media hub at Qatar National Convention Centre. Nobody seems to know who exactly came up with it or what exactly it means.

Nobody, perhaps, but Lionel Messi. Because for Lionel Messi, playing at his final World Cup at the age of 35, now really is all, and he is playing like it. Maybe those marketing gurus were onto something after all?

Messi and Argentina are into the final. They swatted aside Croatia – who themselves had scuppered the chance of an all-South American semi-final by beating Brazil on penalties – 3-0 at Lusail Stadium.

To say Argentina have been entirely convin…

has been attracting high-profile footballers from abroad in recent years and the league is now followed all over the world. Even though MLS clubs rarely disclose the transfer fee involved when recruiting new footballers, the unconventional transfer windows result in transfer dealings in United States generating plenty of interest in Europe and South America. Since not too many media outlets cover MLS, tracking down the latest deals may prove a hassle, but that is where we step in with out MLS transfers section, where you can view all the latest moves shortly after they are announced.

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