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…
Chelsea s David Barnard believes a quarter-final against Manchester United could become another classic all-English Champions League clash.
West London club Chelsea have experienced some memorable European encounters with Premier League opposition, including a 7-5 aggregate win over Liverpool in 2009.
They will now take on United in a last eight re-match of the 2008 Moscow final, which Chelsea lost on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Obviously we ve got a great rivalry with Manchester United on the domestic scene, club secretary Barnard said.
But when it comes to the Champions League we re experienced in playing other English clubs like Liverpool, we ve played them four times, we ve played Arsenal in a quarter-final.
But the Champions League …
Cesar Azpilicueta knows that Spain will need to adapt quickly to conditions in Brazil to successfully defend their FIFA World Cup title.
Vicente del Bosque s side have been pitted against the Netherlands, Chile and Australia in Group B, with Azpilicueta keen to avoid a sluggish start like in 2010.
In South Africa, Spain lost their opening match against Switzerland, but recovered to claim their first World Cup triumph in Johannesburg against the Netherlands in the final.
Conditions in Brazil will be different to those four years ago and the Chelsea defender, who is playing in his first major international tournament, is relishing the chance to help Spain become only the third nation to retain the trophy.
For every player it s a dream to play in a World Cup, he tol…
Kevin Nolan has completed a transfer from Newcastle United to relegated West Ham for an undisclosed fee.
After passing a medical on Wednesday, Nolan, 28, agreed a five-year contract at Upton Park, where he will be reunited with his former manager at Bolton Wanderers, Sam Allardyce.
Attacking midfielder Nolan is expected to take the captain s armband at West Ham.
He could reportedly end up costing the club as much as four million pounds based on appearances clauses believed to included in the transfer.
The motivation behind Nolan s decision to step down a division has been questioned, with the player claiming West Ham s determination to acquire him was a major factor.
West Ham have shown a certain hunger and desire to make sure that I became t…
Roy Hodgson has never had it so good in his time as England boss – and he knows it.
After winning all 10 of their Euro 2016 qualifiers, England s preparations for the tournament in France continue against Germany and Netherlands with an array of attacking options at the manager s disposal.
It s always nice to announce a squad when you have got some riches in front of you, said Hodgson after announcing his squad. We have a lot of possibilities some very good and different strikers but we need to produce on the pitch.
Captain and record goalscorer Wayne Rooney is out with a knee problem for the games in Berlin and at Wembley, which gives England s other forwards an ideal chance to stake their claims for a starting spot with the national side.
Hodgson …
Forgotten Brazilian striker Adriano is on the verge of sensationally joining Ligue 2 outfit Le Havre, confirmed the player s agent.
Adriano is a free agent following his release by Atletico Paranaense in April but new Le Havre president Christophe Maillol is willing to offer the striker a chance to revive his career, despite only making four league appearances in Brazil since 2012.
Maillol is desperate to secure a marquee signing as he attempts to help Le Havre, who sit seventh in Ligue 2 after 10 rounds, reach France s top-flight.
And the club president sees Adriano once regarded as one of the world s best strikers after helping Italian giants Inter to four successive Serie A titles between 2005-09 as the ideal signing.
Maillot confirmed the veteran fron…
Jonjo Shelvey s moment of petulance was punished by Dele Alli and Ben Davies as Tottenham opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win over 10-man Newcastle United at St James Park.
Newcastle kept Tottenham, who finished runners-up last term, at arm s length during a lacklustre first half, but Shelvey trod on Alli s ankle three minutes into the second period and was shown a straight red card by referee Andre Marriner.
Rafael Benitez s side, who had already lost Paul Dummett and debutant Florian Lejeune to injury, were unable to contain Spurs thereafter, with Alli making the breakthrough when he stretched to volley Christian Eriksen s exquisite delivery into the back of the net.
Davies added Tottenham s second with 20 minutes remaining, finishing a slick mo…
Sergio Ramos now holds the joint-record for most red cards in LaLiga history after receiving his 18th in Real Madrid s victory over Deportivo La Coruna.
Madrid won 3-0 at the Riazor on Sunday, with Gareth Bale, Casemiro and Toni Kroos all scoring in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo.
But the visitors captain Ramos was involved in controversy. He was fortunate only to receive a booking in the 53rd minute for raising his hand to the face of Depor defender Fabian Schar, who was also booked, as the pair argued over whether Madrid should have kicked the ball out of play while Zakaria Bakkali was down injured.
Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, he received a second yellow after being adjudged to have fouled Depor substitute Borja Valle with his arm in an aeria…
Gian Piero Gasperini knows Atalanta will not be able to catch anyone by surprise in this season s Champions League as they aim to qualify from a difficult group that includes Liverpool.
The Serie A side marked their debut campaign in Europe s leading club competition in 2019-20 by reaching the quarter-finals, having fought back impressively from a shocking start to qualify for the knockout stages.
Atalanta overcame three straight defeats to progress behind Manchester City, and will once again come up against the reigning Premier League champions this term.
They have been drawn alongside Liverpool, a team Gasperini describes as extraordinary following their achievements in recent years under Jurgen Klopp, as well as Ajax and Midtjylland.
The aim o…