Pellegrini hails City squad as best in England

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is glad to see Bruno Fernandes demanding more from his Manchester United team-mates and hopes other players in the squad will learn from the star midfielder.

Fernandes has made a huge impact at Old Trafford since arriving from Portuguese giants Sporting CP in January, playing a direct part in 34 goals in 35 games for United.

No player has scored the winning goal in more different Premier League games than Fernandes this season, the 26-year-old netting the winner in all four of United s victories.

Fernandes is not afraid to bark out instructions on the pitch, either, and has even been trusted with the captain s armband at times in the absence of regular skipper Harry Maguire.

And Solskjaer is more than happy for former Sporting captain…

Schalke defender Sead Kolasinac has revealed he has an offer on the table from Premier League giants Manchester United.

With captain Nemanja Vidic set for Inter, and Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra out of contract at season s end, United are in need of defensive reinforcements.

Although United are without a manager following David Moyes sacking on Tuesday, club officials have identified the 20-year-old Bosnian left back as a transfer target, along with Southampton young gun Luke Shaw.

And Kolasinac, who is the latest Schalke starlet to be linked with a move away from the Bundesliga outfit, said he is considering an offer from the fallen Premier League champions.

Yes, I have offer from Manchester United, Kolasinac told Bosnian newspaper Dnevni Avaz.

But, I wi…

Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio has not ruled out approaching Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri to replace Antonio Conte as Italy boss after Euro 2016.

Ranieri s stock has risen dramatically this season as he has guided Leicester towards a maiden Premier League title – the Foxes currently seven points clear with six games to go.

The 64-year-old replaced Nigel Pearson at the King Power Stadium in July, Ranieri given a chance to rebuild his reputation after a disastrous spell in charge of Greece that saw them lose to the Faroe Islands.

He has grabbed that opportunity with both hands and his achievements could see the FIGC make a move once Conte leaves for Chelsea.

Ranieri? We ll pause and reflect thoughtfully before fi…

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp faces an unusual selection dilemma ahead of Saturday s DFB-Pokal final with Bayern Munich.

Striker Robert Lewandowski has enjoyed another superb season for Dortmund, with his haul of 20 Bundesliga goals enough to earn him the division’s top scorer award as Klopp s side again finished a distant second behind Bayern.

However, this weekend s game in Berlin marks Lewandowski s last in a Dortmund shirt, as the Poland international is joining champions Bayern on a free transfer ahead of the 2014-15 season.

And that means Klopp must make the difficult decision over whether or not to start his leading marksman against his future employers.

The 46-year-old opted to leave Lewandowski on the bench for Dortmund s Bundesliga trip to the …

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri has suggested he will make changes for Sunday s Serie A clash with Sampdoria.

Italian champions Juve secured their progress to the UEFA Champions League last 16 with a 0-0 home draw against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Juve are three points clear at the top of Serie A, but could double that gap at least temporarily as they kick off two-and-a-half hours before second-placed Roma.

Allegri s side are sure to face a tough test at Juventus Stadium, though, as Sampdoria sit fourth in the table having lost just once all season.

But the former Milan boss is still planning on making full use of his squad against Sinisa Mihajlovic s men.

I still need to decide who plays tomorrow but there may be some changes co…

Prediction: Switzerland to win 3-0

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Switzerland and Israel will face each other in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I this week. The match between Murat Yakin’s side and Alon Hazan’s team will be held at Stade de Genève in Geneva and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Tuesday.

Switzerland

Switzerland are starting to establish themselves as a major power in European football and have a very good team. They have players such as Gregor Kobel of Borussia Dortmund, Kevin Mbabu of Servette, Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria of Chelsea and Yann Sommer of Bayern Munich who are brilliant and are big figures.

Murat Yakin’s side are at the top of UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group I at the moment. The…

Market: Both teams to score No

Odds: 3/4 @

In what could prove to be a cagey Championship affair from Deepdale on Saturday afternoon, Preston will welcome Cardiff to Lancashire.

Starting with the hosts, while Preston might have been last seen putting in a gritty display as they snatched yet another 0-0 stalemate away at play-off hopefuls Watford, Ryan Lowe will have a growing headache over his side s issues in the final third. Now having to settle for a single point in four of their last five Championship outings, the Lilywhites have also seen three of their previous four showdowns finish in a goalless draw. Almost finding themselves sat in second-tier limbo and simply looking to pinch a top-half finish in 2023, the Lancashire-based outfit are seeking some recen…

Tottenham striker Harry Kane has been voted England Men s Player of the Year for 2017.

Kane was the clear winner after receiving 75 per cent of the ballots from members of the England Supporters Club.

The 24-year-old made six appearances for Gareth Southgate s team in 2017, scoring seven goals to help England gain automatic qualification to the World Cup.

Kane captained the team in four matches during the course of the calendar year and is a considered a leading contender to wear the armband in Russia.

It s always special to represent your country so to be voted as England s best player of 2017 from such a talented squad is a real honour after what was a memorable year for me personally, said the Tottenham star.

Congratulations to , who our fans…

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed the appointment of Unai Emery as their new head coach.

Emery has been hired on a two-year deal, which can be extended to three, to replace Laurent Blanc, who paid the price for an inability to get beyond the Champions League quarter-finals in any of his three seasons in charge.

Former Sevilla coach Emery has bags of continental pedigree though, having won the Europa League in each of his three full seasons in charge at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

It is with great pride that I agreed to become the Paris-Saint Germain coach, Emery told the club s official website.

The club has become one of the biggest in Europe over the past few seasons and I am both happy and honoured to be able to help realise its great ambitions.

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The agent of Schalke defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos has confirmed reports linking his client with a number of top European clubs.

The 20-year-old has largely impressed playing for the Miners last season and he further established his reputation as one of the hottest prospects in Europe with rock-solid showings for Greece at the European Championship.

The talented defender was recently linked with a host of Europe’s top clubs and his representative now confirms the speculation.

“It is clear that he arouses interest,” agent Paul Koutsoliakos was in Bild.

“Papa is an exceptional player for his age. There are requests from various clubs.”

The Greek international, however, has a contract until June 2015 at Veltins Arena, and Koutsoliakos ex…