Callum Wilson would not compare himself to England captain Harry Kane but feels he can nail down a regular place in the Three Lions squad.
Bournemouth striker Wilson is in the England team for the first time, having hit six Premier League goals so far this season the same number as Kane while contributing four assists.
Jamie Vardy s retirement from international football has opened a spot up front, while Arsenal s Danny Welbeck faces an extended lay-off after breaking his ankle.
And Wilson, 26, believes he has what it takes to become a firm fixture in the England set-up for many years to come.
I feel like I don t want to come here just to make the numbers, Wilson said in quotes reported by The Telegraph.
I want to impress the manager [Gareth So…
Toni Kroos has hailed the performance of the Shakhtar Donetsk squad following their 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The Ukrainian side came agonisingly close to a remarkable victory against the European champions but Antonio Rudiger s last-gasp header ensured honours would be even, clinching Madrid s spot in the knockout stages.
Shakhtar s valiant display came on the back of more difficult days for Ukraine, with Russia resuming missile strikes across the country, including upon the capital Kyiv, in a further escalation of the conflict.
Kroos was left impressed by the spirit of Shakhtar s squad, praising them for their efforts this season as they play out their campaign in their adopted home of Warsaw.
In general, the last couple of mon…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp accepts a greater focus on defending has impacted his team s attack this season.
Klopp s men are unbeaten in eight Premier League games, but their attack is yet to reach the same heights as 2017-18.
With 15, Liverpool are equal fifth for goals scored, however, they have conceded just three – a league-best alongside Manchester City.
Klopp said a change in approach had contributed to those numbers, but believes his team are still creating enough.
We want to be stronger defensively but we didn t say that means we don t have that much interest in offensive things, the German told UK newspapers.
It s a normal period of adaptation. You need to get used to things closing this gap, this space.
You put the focus …
Zenit are readying a summer bid for Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan, Portuguese daily newspaper .
The Russian giants have been keeping close tabs on the Argentine forward for quite a while, but they finally look ready to step up their interest.
Zenit scouts have been impressed by the player s latest performances and they have instructed the club officials to try and lure Gaitan to St Petersburg.
The 26-year-old has a long list of admirers among Europe s top clubs, but there are not too many of those prepared to pay top dollar like the Russian champions.
Gaitan joined Benfica from Boca Juniors in the summer of 2010 and has since featured in 92 league appearances and scored 15 goals in the process.
The Eagles sit five points clear at the top of Prime…
Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez has refuted suggestions in the German press that his re-found form is only down to having his ego boosted by Bayern s Dutch coach van Gaal.
I m not as sensitive as I am often presented in the media, the Germany forward, who has scored 15 goals in his last ten matches, told German magazine Sport Bild.
I do not need to hear compliments every day. I just do my job the best I can and Louis van Gaal has chosen me when everyone was available.
The 25-year-old became the most expensive signing in Bundesliga history when he moved to Munich from Stuttgart in July 2009 for 30 million euros (39 million US dollars).
Last season, van Gaal preferred to use Croatia s Ivica Olic and Miroslav Klose, but Gomez has taken his chances this…
French daily newspaper that Manchester City are on the verge of signing French defender Eliaquim Mangala from FC Porto.
The Citizens have been hot on the trail of the highly rated stopper for quite a while, and they seem to have finally decided to act.
According to L Equipe, the Premier League side have had a €40 million bid accepted by Porto, meaning all that s left is to agree personal terms with the player.
Manchester City officials plan to pair the Frenchman with Vincent Kompany at the heart of defence at the Etihad and they appear to be close to wrapping up the transfer.
Eliaquim Mangala has been at Estadio do Dragao since the summer of 2011, making 51 league appearances and scoring 6 goals.
The 23-year-old is unlikely to feature in the …
Schalke coach Andre Breitenreiter hopes the addition of Younes Belhanda to his squad will spark an upturn in form by increasing competition for places.
The 25-year-old Morocco international completed a six-month loan move from Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday, heading straight to Orlando to undergo a medical and join up with his new team-mates at their mid-season training camp.
Two wins in their last three Bundesliga matches have seen Schalke show glimpses that they are on the road to recovery following a run of five games without a win and Breitenreiter wants Belhanda to play his part in the club s push for a Champions League place.
We want to increase the competition within the squad, said Breitenreiter. Younes Belhanda can play attacking midfield both centrally and o…
Lionel Messi acknowledged Barcelona are still smarting from the manner of their past two Champions League exits but must start from scratch this season.
Barca were eliminated on away goals in April 2018 after squandering a 4-1 aggregate lead over Roma, losing 3-0 in the second leg of their quarter-final tie at the Stadio Olimpico.
Liverpool then overturned a three-goal deficit to the Blaugrana at the semi-final stage last season courtesy of a dramatic 4-0 victory at Anfield, with Messi admitting the pain of those galling eliminations remains strong.
Having emerged top of the pile from a tricky Group F that included Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Slavia Prague this term, Messi is urging them to forget about what happened in the past when the knockout stages comme…
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has won the Professional Footballers Association Player of the Year award for 2019-20.
City ceded the Premier League title to Liverpool as they finished 18 points behind Jurgen Klopp s champions, in second place, but De Bruyne enjoyed a magnificent individual campaign.
The Belgium international scored 16 goals and provided 23 assists in all competitions, equalling Thierry Henry s record of 20 assists in a single Premier League season.
De Bruyne saw off competition from team-mate Raheem Sterling, along with the Liverpool quartet of Jordan Henderson, Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
England right-back Alexander-Arnold received the PFA Young Player of the Year honour.
De Bruyne, who i…
Huge loss for Birmingham
If I’m honest, I don’t enjoy watching Birmingham. They are far too negative and play with just that one lone striker who is way too isolated to be any threat at all. In short, they are bit boring.
Admire
Having said that, there is a lot to admire about the side and their manager Alex McLeish. They are so well organised that they are really difficult to break down. They are definitely in a relegation battle, sitting just one point above the drop zone, but they have conceded only twenty-six goals in their twenty-one games. That is considerably less than most of the other teams down at the bottom.
One of the main reasons for their decent defensive record is the central defensive partnership of Roger Johnson and Scott Dann who have…