West Ham United are lining up a bid for Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson, according to the Guardian.

The Hammers are looking to strengthen their back line as they aim to continue their resurgence under new manager David Moyes and have identified Mawson as a potential target.

The twenty-three old is closing in on fifty Premier League appearances after signing from Barnsley in the summer of 2016 and has impressed despite the South Wales’ sides struggles so far this season.

He netted his only goal of this campaign in the 2-1 defeat to Leicester City back in October, having scored four times last season.

Internationally, he has been capped six times by England’s U21s, scoring once and a big money move would surely enhance his chances of gaining rec…

League Two side Mansfield Town have parted company with Paul Cox by mutual consent, ending his three-and-a-half-year stint as manager.

Cox took Mansfield back into the Football League in 2013, winning the Conference title by two points from Kidderminster Harriers.

An 11th-place finish followed last term but Mansfield have exhibited disappointing form so far this season and sit 19th in English football s fourth tier with 19 points from 17 games.

Cox also saw his side held in the FA Cup by non-League outfit Concord Rangers in midweek, Jordan Chiedozie s stunning 18th-minute strike ensuring Mansfield must win a replay if they are to reach the second round.

The disappointing draw at the One Call Stadium, which saw sections of the home support voice their frus…

Lyon coach Remi Garde is determined to keep hold of hot prospect Clement Grenier during the January transfer window.

The Stade Gerland outfit carried out major modifications to the squad after a underwhelming 2011-12 season which saw the club finish fourth, but Garde maintains Grenier s status within the side was never in question.

Grenier is a player for the future of this club, the 46-year-old told L Equipe.

I was adamant in my decision not to allow him to depart for Nice last summer.

I think he showed in the matches before his injury that I was not wrong. We are now trying to work out a suitable contractual extension that would satisfy all parties.

Lyon are joint top of Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille, and Garde has declare…

Zinedine Zidane admitted Real Madrid lacked fluency in their 2-0 win over Espanyol and said the team can do much better , yet he still had saw positives at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Goals from Zidane s French compatriots Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema saw off the lowly visitors from Barcelona.

There were promising performances from the likes of striker Vinicius Junior and midfielder Federico Valverde, two youngsters of whom much is expected in the coming years.

But it was largely an underwhelming display by a team that ultimately ground down their opponents, Madrid s pedigree telling in the end despite Ferland Mendy s late red card.

Today, we have to be happy because we continue on a good run, Zidane said afterwards.

Of course, we can do much …

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for goalkeeper Simon Mignolet after Saturday s 2-0 Premier League win at Aston Villa.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to Simon Mignolet s outstanding display in Saturday s 2-0 Premier League victory at Aston Villa.

Fabio Borini prodded home his first Premier League goal for Liverpool since April 2013 to set the visitors on their way at Villa Park, before substitute Rickie Lambert drilled home a second 11 minutes from time.

Liverpool were forced to withstand sustained pressure in the second half with the score still at 1-0, though, with Christian Benteke forcing one particularly fine save from goalkeeper Mignolet with a close-range half-volley.

Mignolet was dropped in favour of Brad Jone…

Real Madrid are 40 million euros better off after selling Robinho to Manchester City, but his loss leaves the Spanish champions short of firepower in their quest for a third successive title.

Real coach Bernd Schuster was so concerned by the Brazilian s exit that he made two last-ditch offers for Valencia striker David Villa, top-scorer at Euro 2008, before the transfer window shut but the player decided to stay put.

I was really happy when Valencia rejected the offer because it was a true gesture of confidence and I felt really wanted, said Villa.

They preferred me to stay than to take all that money.

After failing to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United it represented another huge setback for Real but they must overcome it ahead of Sunday…

Harry Kane netted his 150th goal in club football as a late header claimed a vital 1-0 victory for Tottenham against Crystal Palace, handing a hammer blow to the Eagles bid for Premier League survival in the process.

Having missed a gilt-edged opportunity earlier in the second half, Kane made amends in the 88th minute of Sunday s clash at Selhurst Park, powering home a brilliant header from Christian Eriksen s corner.

Mauricio Pochettino s side had dominated throughout, but often struggled to break down Palace s stubborn defence.

Eriksen did manage to carve out an opening in the 54th minute, only for Kane to volley wide from inside the six-yard box.

It was Kane s second big opportunity of the game, with Wayne Hennessey having pulled off an excellent stop …

Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung has failed to get the money laundering case against him dismissed.

The Hong Kong businessman was hoping the judge would agree that the absence of some documents would make a fair trial impossible.

However, District Court judge Douglas Yau rejected Yeung s claims over charges of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence between 2001 and 2007.

Defence counsel Graham Harris stated that Yeung could not receive a fair trial as he was unable to secure documents that might be crucial to his case.

The prosecution have claimed that deposits of about 60 million pounds were made to accounts in the name of Yeung and his father, despite a combined income of only 180,000 pounds.

Pro…

Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann has conceded that lots of clubs would want to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, but suggested his wage demands are preventing most from being interested.

The Bavarian giants were linked with a move for the Manchester United forward earlier in the transfer window after reports emerged he wanted to leave Old Trafford in search of Champions League football.

However, Bayern ruled themselves out of a move, with CEO Oliver Kahn saying it would not fit into our philosophy .

Ronaldo has been linked with another Bundesliga side in Borussia Dortmund, though their CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke, also distanced his club from the Portugal international on Friday.

Asked about possible Bundesliga interest in Ronaldo at a press conference, Nag…

Verdict: Liverpool not to Lose

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Manchester City face an uphill battle against Liverpool in their efforts to reach the Champions League semi-finals and to bounce back from back-to-back setbacks which are marring the close-to-perfect season for Pep Guardiola and his men.

Manchester City

The Citizens have been enjoying a sensational season in the Premier League this season. Pep Guardiola has led his team to a tangible lead at the top of the table while at the same time the team did rather well in the Champions League despite the 2-1 loss to Basel in the second leg of the previous round of competition.

As one of the standout teams in England – and Europe for that matter – this term, Manchester City were expected to stage a …