Ralf Rangnick believes Julian Nagelsmann s imminent arrival as head coach will further boost RB Leipzig s bid to join the Bundesliga s elite.

Rangnick guided Leipzig to promotion to the top flight in 2016 and then became sporting director as Ralph Hasenhuttl led the club to second and sixth-placed finishes.

Hoffenheim coach Nagelsmann was then appointed last year, but will not take charge until the end of this season, with Rangnick returning as coach for the interim.

Leipzig finished third under Rangnick in the final standings for 2018-19  behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund yet he expects they will make further strides when Nagelsmann comes in.

We deliberately waited one year for Julian Nagelsmann, he told SPORT1 ahead of the DFB-Pokal final a…

Memphis Depay is confident he can form a balanced front three with Lionel Messi and fellow new signing Sergio Aguero at Barcelona.

Netherlands attacker Depay joined Barca as a free agent when his Lyon contract expired on July 1 and scored a penalty on his debut in Saturday s 3-1 friendly win over Girona.

The 27-year-old got his career back on track at Lyon following a disappointing spell with Manchester United, scoring 76 goals in 178 appearance for the Ligue 1 side.

Depay played mainly as a centre-forward in the French top flight last season and scored 20 goals – only Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe (27) netted more.

He also showed his ability to create for others by laying on 12 assists and creating 94 chances, which were more than any other pl…

The agent of Palermo forward Abel Hernandez has poured cold water on speculations linking Roma with a move for his client.

The Uruguayan striker has missed a big part of the season through injury, but he is still held in high regard by top Italian clubs.

Serie A giants Roma were recently linked with a move for the 21-year-old, but the player’s agent doesn’t think there is any truth in the latest rumours.

“The stories of Roma’s interest in Hernandez are old,” the player s representative Vincenzo D’Ippolito told Rete Sport on Monday.

“Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini is an excellent official who knows Palermo well given his past there.

“However, I don’t understand why this story has re-emerged. I don’t know anything about …

Honduras striker Anthony Lozano has claimed he received racist abuse from an Argentina player before scoring in his side s goal 1-1 draw in the Olympic football tournament.

Lozano struck after 75 minutes to give his side a 1-0 lead in their final Group D game, after Bryan Acosta had missed a first-half spot-kick for Honduras.

Mauricio Martinez grabbed a late equaliser for Argentina, but the result earned Honduras a place in the quarter-finals while the Albiceleste failed to qualify.

After scoring his penalty, Lozano was seen holding his finger to his lips – a gesture he explained was in response to comments made to him by an opponent.

He said: I went to shut up an Argentine who made racist comments and I didn t like it. That s why I made the silence [ge…

Marko Arnautovic claims Manchester United made several attempts to sign him in the last transfer window, but says he opted to remain at Bologna despite his family s desire to return to England.

Former West Ham and Stoke City forward Arnautovic was linked with a move to United as part of the recruitment drive for Erik ten Hag s first season with the club.

The Red Devils reportedly considered a move for Arnautovic after Cristiano Ronaldo outlined his desire to leave Old Trafford, but the 33-year-old insists he is happy with his choice to remain in Italy.

Manchester United tried to sign me several times and it was a difficult decision to stay in Italy, because my family wanted to return to England, Arnautovic told Laola1 ahead of Austria s friendly against Italy o…

Sao Paulo have secured the services of Paulo Assuncao from Atletico Madrid, the club announced on Sunday.

The holding midfielder has signed a one-year deal with the Brazil Serie A club.

The 32-year-old had one year left on his contract with the La Liga side, but was free to negotiate terms with other clubs after having reached an agreement with Atletico to terminate his deal.

Assuncao joined Atletico from Porto in 2008 and had made close to 100 official appearances for the club.

He looked back at his time at the Vicente Calderon but admitted he was eager to return to action in Brazil.

I ve experienced the best moments of my career at Atletico, winning three European titles. I ll always remember my time at Atletico, the midfielder said.

…

Claudio Ranieri feels his spells at Roma and Inter were unsuccessful because he arrived at the Serie A sides when they were past their best.

The current Monaco boss was in charge of Roma between 2009 and 2011, before coaching the Nerazzurri from 2011 until 2012.

Ranieri left both clubs halfway through the season, though, following a string of poor results, and he believes it was a matter of wrong club at the wrong time on both occasions.

I have coached a number of big clubs, but always at the wrong moment. I was there either too soon or too late, Ranieri told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

No-one even knew Valencia when I arrived in Spain, while Chelsea made a name for themselves after making the Champions League semi-finals.

I took charge of Juvent…

Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva has warned his team-mates not to let their minds wander on to Real Madrid ahead of the Ligue 1 encounter with Rennes.

Laurent Blanc s unbeaten defending champions travel to Roazhon Park on Friday with a healthy seven-point advantage at the summit, chasing a sixth consecutive domestic win.

This recent run of victories was punctuated by a goalless draw against Madrid in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes last week and the return clash at the Santiago Bernabeu comes around next Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Silva is firmly focused on the task in hand and believes there would be no better preparation for facing the 10-time European champions than collecting three points at Rennes.

There is a tough match waitin…

Diego Costa has credited club great Didier Drogba for helping to make his Chelsea career a success.

Drogba won 10 major trophies in his first spell at Stamford Bridge, culminating in him scoring the decisive penalty as Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on spot-kicks in the 2012 Champions League final.

He returned for the 2014-15 campaign following brief stints with Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray, alongside Costa  a £32million arrival from Atletico Madrid who consigned the veteran to bench duty as he added League Cup and Premier League medals to his collection.

In an interview with Chelsea TV, the Spain international detailed how Drogba showed no ego and offered plenty of advice when it became clear he would be cast in a supporting role, leaving him to revel in the c…

Diego Costa saw a penalty saved as Sevilla and Atletico Madrid each failed to capitalise on Barcelona s defeat earlier on Saturday, playing out a 1-1 draw in Diego Simeone s 300th game as a LaLiga coach.

Barca had collapsed at Levante and, with Real Madrid not in action until later in the day, the winner of this clash would top the table.

But Atleti hailed as one of the best five teams in the world by Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui this week failed to fire for 45 minutes and trailed to Franco Vazquez s header.

Costa arrived from the bench at half-time and Simeone s men started to turn the screw, equalising through Alvaro Morata.

Then Costa, who earlier saw a goal disallowed by the VAR, was denied by Tomas Vaclik with 18 minutes remaining as Atleti fell sho…