Lazio to shop for centre-backs

Lazio are looking at potential defensive reinforcements ahead of the January transfer window, .

The Biancocelesti have had their share of problems at the back, with Santiago Gentiletti and Stefan de Vrij picking up injuries, and coach Stefano Pioli is far from happy with his current options.

The coach aims to address the issue in the winter transfer window and add at least another high-quality centre-back to his ranks.

According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Lazio are keeping close tabs on Corinthians defender Felipe Augusto de Almeida Monteiro.

The 26-year-old has spent his entire career up to date in native Brazil, and he has been putting in some very good performances since joining Timao.

Felipe made a total of 63 league appearances for Corinthi…

Referee one of five charged in Belgian corruption probe

A referee and four other people have been charged following an investigation into football corruption in Belgium, the public prosecutor confirmed on Thursday.

Agent Dejan Veljkovic, referee Sebastien Delferiere and officials from Mechelen and Waasland-Beveren had match-fixing charges levelled against them.

Mogi Bayat, also an agent, has been accused of setting up schemes in order to get money out of Belgium to disguise payments received or paid to players, along with Veljkovic.

Top-tier clubs, agents and referees were among those targeted by police on Wednesday, as an anti-corruption investigation – which was started in late 2017 – was ramped up.

It is alleged Veljkovic tried to fix two matches towards the end of the 2017-18 Pro League season in a…

Survival experts Leicester should know it´s not over, Shakespeare warns

Craig Shakespeare has reminded his players of Leicester City s own recent great escape from Premier League relegation as the Foxes seek to avoid the dreaded drop.

The champions have won three top-flight games in a row under Shakespeare s guidance, moving them six points clear of the bottom three.

In the 2014-15 campaign Leicester produced a remarkable late-season revival to stay up and Shakespeare said that should serve as a warning as to what the teams behind them could achieve.

There are a lot of twists and turns to come. We re proof of that, he said ahead of Saturday s visit of Stoke City. Form can turn quickly. There s a lot of points to play for.

We have to make sure Premier League survival is there for us.

When you realise the is back th…

Sheffield United 0-6 Arsenal: What Were The Main Talking Points As The Gunners Make Another Thumping Title Statement?

Putting in what was a stunning performance at Bramall Lane on Monday night, Arsenal breezed their way to a remarkable 6-0 romp against Sheffield United.

Flying out of the traps here and making another statement of intent, the Gunners were remarkably 3-0 up within the opening 15 minutes and entered the half-time break with a 5-0 lead.

In what was a stunning first-half display, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and a Jayden Bogle own goal saw a mass exodus from Bramall Lane.

With Ben White eventually notching Arsenal’s sixth of the night 13 minutes after the restart, the Gunners have certainly hit top gear at a crucial time.

Continuing to gain a fearsome reputation for their astonishing displays in the final third, the Londone…

FA and PFA study finds increased dementia risk in ex-footballers

Former professional footballers are almost three and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population, according to a study commissioned by the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association.

First findings of the FOCUS study, conducted by the University of Nottingham, support previous research that former footballers may be at higher risk of neurocognitive disease.

The new report states that 2.8 per cent of retired professional footballers in their study reported medically diagnosed dementia and other neurodegenerative disease compared to 0.9 percent of controls.

This means former pros in the study were found to be 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases compared to the control group.

Belgian First Division: Advantage Anderlecht

Anderlecht maintained a one-point buffer on top of the Belgian Jupiler league standings with a 2-1 win over Zulte-Waregem on Sunday.

Marcin Wasilewski, returning to form after the horrific leg break he suffered in August 2009, gave the reigning champions the lead three minutes before half-time, only for Zulte to hit back through Remi Mareval on the hour mark.

Zulte striker Ernest Webnje was sent off with 10 minutes remaining and Anderlecht frontman Romelu Lukaku scored the winner two minutes from the final whistle to keep his side s one-point advantage over Racing Genk, who scored a 1-0 win over Germinal Beerschot.

Genk midfielder Marwin Ogunjimi scored the only goal of the game after 68 minutes to ensure his side keep the pressure on the league-leaders.

Allsopp returns home to Victory

Former Major League Soccer striker Danny Allsopp has returned to Australia to play for A-League outfit Melbourne Victory.

Allsopp, a foundation member and championship winner with the Victory, played last season in the United States, but will rejoin his home club in January after signing a two-and-a-half year deal, which runs until the end of the 2012-13 season.

The 32-year-old made 32 appearances for MLS club DC United last campaign, scoring five goals, after an short, ill-fated stint for Al-Rayyan in the Qatari Stars League in 2009.

When things didn t quite work out overseas, there was only once place I wanted to be and that was here at Melbourne Victory, Allsopp said on Friday.

We achieved so much in those first four years, and now I m really keen t…

´King´ Ibrahimovic can be annoying – Forsberg

RB Leipzig s Emil Forsberg has revealed how former Sweden team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic regularly got under his skin during their time together with the national team, but was quick to add how much he admires the Manchester United man.

Forsberg made his Sweden debut in 2014 and featured alongside Ibrahimovic until the latter retired from international football after Euro 2016.

Zlatan can be incredibly annoying, Forsberg told Spox.

When you have had a bad training session, he keeps on approaching you and bothers you with questions why you trained so badly, how it is even possible to train that badly and why you were not focused. Some of it is joking around and some of it is serious.

But that s the way he is, he always wants to win and pushes those around…

Blind desperate for Manchester United stay

Daley Blind is desperate to stay at Manchester United amid growing uncertainty over his long-term future at Old Trafford.

The Netherlands international is no longer an undisputed starter under Jose Mourinho and recent reports suggest United are ready to cash in on Blind during the close-season, with his contract due to expire in 2018.

Nevertheless, the 27-year-old hopes to stay at the Europa League finalists beyond the expiry date of his existing deal.

I do not really know anything yet about my future, Blind was quoted as saying by Mirror.

I have not really thought about it either.

But which player would not want to stay at Manchester United? That is the only thing I can say about it.

A new away shirt for this great club. Retro style!…

Toppmoller hails Bayern reaction to Nagelsmann absence

Dino Toppmoller hailed the way Bayern Munich s players overcame the absence of Julian Nagelsmann to clinch a 4-0 win over Benfica.

Bayern head coach Nagelsmann pulled out of the Champions League Group E game three hours beforehand with flu-like symptoms and handed the reins to assistant Toppmoller.

Two goals from Leroy Sane, one from Robert Lewandowski and an own goal from Benfica s Everton wrapped up a comfortable victory in Lisbon on Wednesday for the six-time winners.

It ensured Bayern have earned nine points from their first three games and are sitting pretty at the top of Group E, five points clear of second-placed Benfica with Barcelona further point behind.

Bayern have scored 12 goals and conceded none to give them their best start to a Champions L…