Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has insisted that Jack Butland is not for sale, .
The goalkeeper has been linked with a big money move away from the Britannia Stadium though his manager has said that he is not for sale at any price.
Butland moved to Stoke from Birmingham City in January 2013, though he spent much of the following eighteen months out on loan.
However following Asmir Begovic’s move to Chelsea, Butland was installed as the Potters’ first choice and has played every minute for them in the Premier League so far this season.
He won his third senior England cap as Roy Hodgson’s men beat France in a friendly at Wembley last month, and looks certain to be part of the Three Lions’ squad for next summer’s European Championships.
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Real Madrid have had their two-window transfer ban reduced to one by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the club have announced.
Madrid, along with city rivals Atletico, were hit with bans in January 2016 after FIFA s Disciplinary Committee found them to be in breach of regulations relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18 .
Spanish champions Barcelona were hit with a similar sanction in 2014.
An appeal to FIFA failed in September, prompting Madrid to take their claim to CAS.
The two-window ban had been suspended while the investigation continued but Madrid were facing up to the prospect of not being able to register new players for the entirety of 2017.
That punishment has now been halved with the Eur…
Tottenham lost Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn to injury as they played out a 2-2 draw with Ligue 1 side Rennes in Thursday s opening Europa Conference League match.
Lucas played a big part in Tottenham s opener, which was credited as a Loic Bade own goal, before having to make way following a poor challenge from Flavien Tait.
It was Tait who had earlier equalised for Rennes with a curled finish at an atmospheric Roazhon Park, shortly before Bergwijn was withdrawn with an apparent ankle issue.
Gaetan Laborde completed the turnaround 19 minutes from time, only for substitute Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to quickly hit back and earn Spurs a point in the Group G clash.
The points are shared in Rennes.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Tanguy …
Thomas Tuchel insists he will not hide from the challenge of winning trophies at Chelsea as they prepare for a significant Champions League and FA Cup double bill.
The Blues face Porto on Tuesday in the home leg of their quarter-final tie in a commanding position, having won 2-0 in the first fixture.
On Saturday, they will meet quadruple-chasing Manchester City in an FA Cup semi-final, with the prospect of meeting either Leicester City or Southampton in the final.
Chelsea remain in a battle for a top-four finish in the Premier League but head coach Tuchel has his sights set on delivering silverware, despite only taking over from Frank Lampard in January.
Asked if the Champions League is Chelsea s best chance of a trophy in 2020-21, Tuchel replied: Maybe w…
Two of Europe s most successful clubs will go head-to-head when Ajax host Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
Milan have tasted success in Europe s premier club competition on seven occasions second only to Real Madrid while Ajax have won the tournament four times.
But when it comes to recent form, Ajax certainly have the edge ahead of the fixture at the Amsterdam Arena.
The Dutch club currently sit second in the Eredivisie, one point adrift of leaders PSV, having thrashed Go Ahead Eagles 6-0 in their last outing.
On the other hand, Milan have struggled at the start of the new season, with Saturday s narrow 1-0 win over Sampdoria representing just their second in Serie A so far in 2013-14.
The Italians will at least be buoyed by the knowledge tha…
Australia coach Holger Osieck has been sacked just hours after the Socceroos embarrassing 6-0 loss to France on Saturday morning.
The German was under pressure heading into the friendly in Paris after his side s dreadful 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Brazil in early September.
Football Federation Australia had indicated the Socceroos needed to put in a better display against France for Osieck to avoid the sack.
But, after being outplayed and outclassed, Australia were 4-0 down inside 29 minutes in Paris in another listless performance.
The FFA wasted little time in terminating Osieck s contract, with reports suggesting the move was made barely two hours after the loss.
Osieck ignored the speculation surrounding his future heading into the clash …
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas thanked Arsenal and manager Arsene Wenger, adding he would not be a World Cup and European Championship winner without the London club.
Fabregas made over 300 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal and won the 2004-05 Premier League title, having arrived from Barcelona as a raw 16-year-old old in 2003.
The 29-year-old Spain international was also made captain at 21 before returning to Barca in 2014.
Now at London rivals Chelsea where he is a Premier League winner Fabregas is still forever grateful to Wenger and Co. ahead of his reunion with the Frenchman on Saturday.
There s something that will never change. There s many things said about me, about Arsenal, Fabregas said in an interview on Youtube.
I don t r…
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink says striker Radamel Falcao s latest injury is very serious but says the Colombian s season is not necessarily over.
Monaco-owned Falcao has managed just a handful of appearances since swapping a loan spell at Manchester United for Stamford Bridge, suffering a muscular injury in November before a further setback early in Guus Hiddink s spell last month.
Falcao s parent club have opted against bringing him back to the Stade Louis II due to his fitness troubles and Hiddink says he will be out for a number of weeks.
But, asked if Falcao s season was over, Hiddink told reporters: There are still many months to go, so that s too far.
We re almost at the end of January, then February, normally six, seven, eight weeks with ser…
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In a real battle between two sides seeking some much-needed stability, Frosinone will welcome Pordenone to an empty Stadio Benito Stirpe for Sunday s play-off semi-final.
Starting with the hosts, coming from two goals down and snatching a dramatic extra-time winner away at Cittadella last week, there is no doubt that Frosinone will be desperate to build off of that result. However, shipping a pair of strikes on their travels in the quarter-finals and continuing to show some glaring issues at the back, I Canarini have endured a worrying end to the year. Despite managing to just about scrape a play-off finish this summer, Head Coach and former Italy icon Alessandro Nesta has seen his side fail to win any of their last seve…
Claudio Marchisio has revealed details of an armed robbery at his home earlier this week, telling of how five men held the former Juventus star and his wife at gunpoint.
The ex-Italy midfielder, who announced his retirement earlier this month, was targeted by the armed gang at his property in Vinovo, Turin, on Tuesday.
Marchisio was made to hand over valuable possessions but both he and his wife were left physically unharmed.
Reliving the horrific ordeal, the 33-year-old told Corriere della Sera: They had their guns pointed at our heads. It was tough, as I d never seen two real guns before.
Fortunately, we managed to stay clear-headed. There were five men who broke into our home in Vinovo, they were asking me where we kept the safe.
I told …