Jerome Boateng will not be returning to Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions have confirmed, despite returning to train with the his former club as a free agent.

Bayern are believed to be looking to sign a defender, whether in January or next summer, following the departure of Benjamin Pavard to Inter Milan. They were keen on Chelsea s Trevoh Chalobah, but no agreement was reached between the two clubs.

Boateng, who spent a fruitful decade wearing the Bayern shirt and made a total of 363 appearances for them in all competitions, has been a free agent since his contract with Olympique Lyon expired at the end of June this year.

Jerome Boateng will not be returning to the FC Bayern Munich squad. The club made this decision on Friday and informed the long-servin…

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has rejected the club s latest contract offer, describing it as unacceptable .

The Slovakia international is out of contract at the end of next season having been a regular feature at centre-back since arriving at Anfield from Zenit in 2008.

However, the 30-year-old s time with the club looks to be coming to an end after Skrtel turned down Liverpool s latest offer.

It s unacceptable for me, he told Slovakian website Aktualne.  I think that contracts like this are offered to players who are much older than me or the player who had some health problems.

The contract which has been offered to me is unacceptable, so I did not sign it.

I have one year left and there has been some speculation about the interest fr…

Egypt s team doctor has stated Mohamed Salah was still suffering with an injury when he played for Liverpool in the Champions League final.

Liverpool talisman Salah suffered an adductor injury in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea on May 14, and was unavailable for the Reds next Premier League fixture.

The forward came off the bench to score in a 3-1 win over Wolves on the final day before playing the full match against Real Madrid in Paris on May 28, though he was unable to inspire Liverpool to a seventh European crown as Vinicius Junior s second-half goal gave Los Blancos a 1-0 victory.

Salah then captained Egypt in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea on June 5.

After that match, Egypt coach Ehab Galal claimed Liverpool had asked Salah t…

Market: Stuttgart draw no bet

Odds: 20/21 @

Looking to extend on what has been a remarkable Bundesliga flurry this weekend, Stuttgart will make the trip to a struggling Union Berlin on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, while Union Berlin might have gained a string of plaudits last season as they claimed a famous top-four finish, the Iron Ones have come crashing back down to earth since opening up the 2023/24 campaign. Last seen heading into October’s international break with an action-packed 4-2 loss against Borussia Dortmund, Urs Fischer’s side have come under increasing scrutiny. Losing their opening two Champions League appearances against Braga and Real Madrid respectively, the Reds have now lost each of their previous seven straight appearanc…

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker:

Turning their attention back to Premier League duties on Sunday afternoon, Manchester United will welcome Leicester to Old Trafford.

Manchester United

Starting with the hosts, opening their Europa League knockout stage adventure with a thrilling 2-2 draw away at Spanish giants Barcelona in midweek, Manchester United are in the midst of a stellar purple patch. While the Premier League giants might have opened the 2022/23 campaign with a public wobble, they are now flying high under Erik ten Hag. Gaining immediate revenge on Leeds last weekend as they claimed a 2-0 victory at Elland Road, the former Ajax boss has seen his side gain a string of plaudits. While the Red Devils might still be seeking a minor miracle if they re to mount a f…

Manchester City will have to beat their own inconsistency first in order to beat the resilient Toffees and reach the Capital One Cup semi-finals. Everton are heading to the Etihad stadium with the 2-1 lead and will be looking to close the deal in the return leg.

Manchester City

The Citizens are desperate to go back to the Capital One Cup final once again after their victorious campaign two years ago, when they beat Sunderland to lift the trophy. The Blues will however have to over-turn the 2-1 deficit from the first semi-final leg against Everton who came out on top after goals from Ramiro Funes Mori and Romelu Lukaku. Manchester City have been pretty inconsistent lately, failing to notch back-to-back wins since the beginning of December. However, with the exception of the los…

Manchester City s Premier League title hopes hang by a thread after Liverpool gained a measure of revenge for their League Cup final heartache with a 3-0 triumph at Anfield.

Liverpool were beaten in a Wembley shoot-out on Sunday, but Jurgen Klopp s side soothed their penalty pain by completing a top-flight double over a City side who remain 10 points off the summit after a third league loss in a row.

Goals late in the first half from Adam Lallana and James Milner illuminated an opening period that had otherwise felt very much like a hangover from the weekend s encounter for both teams.

City were fourth when they previously won the League Cup in 2013-14 – as they are after Wednesday s loss – and subsequently went on a storming run to claim the league t…

Sevilla may be the most successful side in Europa League history but Taras Stepanenko is confident Shakhtar Donetsk can upset the two-time defending champions.

Unai Emery s side are preparing for the first leg of their third successive semi-final appearance on Thursday, with just one defeat in their last 12 matches in the competition, which they have won four times.

The two sides met in the competition in 2007, then in the guise of the UEFA Cup, when a dramatic conclusion saw Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop score to take the game into extra-time, before Javier Chevanton grabbed the decisive goal.

That stoppage-time header denied Shakhtar a place in the quarter-finals, but they quickly got over the heartache to win the competition two years later – their only Eu…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised Axel Tuanzebe for his display against Paris Saint-Germain and backed the defender to have a long and successful career at Manchester United.

Academy product Tuanzebe earned rave reviews for stifling Angel Di Maria, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in Tuesday s 2-1 Champions League win at the Parc des Princes.

The 22-year-old was playing for the first time in 10 months after battling back from injury and started on the right of a three-man defence, alongside Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw.

He made an unrivalled seven clearances – Layvin Kurzawa and Scott McTominay s four being the next best total on the pitch – and won both of his aerial duels in an impressive defensive performance in Paris.

Solskjaer has now challenged Tuanzeb…

Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi has warned his side they will need to be at their best if they are to get the victory they need at Red Bull Salzburg to clinch qualification for the Champions League knock-out stages.

Inter travel to the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday second in Group D, behind Real Sociedad on goal difference, and knowing a win would ensure progression with two games to spare.

The Serie A side beat Salzburg 2-1 in the reverse fixture last month, but Inzaghi says the Austrians, who lie third in the pool, are capable of causing last season’s beaten finalists problems.

On our way to Salzburg

— Inter (@Inter_en)

“We know the importance of tomorrow night’s match,” he said at a press conference.

“We know that we are …