Valencia preparing for Soldado departure

Laurent Koscielny has compared fellow French international Nabil Fekir to Barcelona star Lionel Messi ahead of his side s World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Netherlands.

After a breakthrough 2014-15 campaign with Lyon, scoring 13 goals in Ligue 1, Fekir missed a large part of last season due to a knee injury, which also saw him miss Euro 2016.

The 23-year-old has impressed in the opening stages of the 2016-17 season, though, and Koscielny has nothing but praise for the winger.

Nabil has got huge technical skills, the Arsenal man said at a news conference.

He s a bit like Messi with his small steps when he runs with the ball in one-on-one.

He was slowed down a bit with his terrible injury, but he s slowly coming back to his best level. H…

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has called on Riyad Mahrez to take inspiration from star duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in a bid to rediscover his best form.

Mahrez PFA Player of the Year and African Footballer of the Year in 2015-16 has struggled to reach the lofty heights of last season after helping Leicester stun the world by winning the Premier League title.

The Algeria international has been a shadow of himself as Leicester flirt with relegation, relegated to the bench for the club s Boxing Day defeat to Everton.

In a challenge to motivate Mahrez ahead of Saturday s clash against West Ham, Ranieri said: Ronaldo and Messi won the Golden Ball and they want to win again and win again. They are always looking forward.

Riyad won a lot of …

Ange Postecoglou lauded Celtic after their hard-fought Scottish Cup win over Rangers offered the Bhoys the chance to do something special in their treble pursuit.

Jota s first-half header was the difference in Sunday s 1-0 semi-final win over Rangers at Hampden Park, teeing up a meeting with Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the final.

Just one win shy from sealing the Scottish Premiership and with the Scottish League Cup already secured, Postecoglou believes Celtic are on the brink of history.

These things you have to earn, the Celtic manager told Viaplay. It s not just rolling up and hoping it happens.

Rangers put in everything to try and stop us. The boys were brilliant in attack when they needed to – and defend when needed to.

You have to e…

They can’t all be like Sir Alex

Being a manager is a very tough job. When we watch players on the pitch we all think we know what they should be doing but in our heart of hearts we know that we ourselves can’t do it. When you look at any professional doing their job, be they a brain surgeon or a plumber, we know that we cannot do what they do.

Better

When it comes to being a football manager absolutely every single football fan thinks they could do that job and do it a bloody sight better than the man in charge currently does! We are all wrong, but we all believe we could pick a better team, come up with better tactics, be better at motivation, buy better players and get better results.

The fact is, of course, that management is very diffi…

Manuel Pellegrini knows Manchester City must improve on their poor home record in the Champions League.

Since Pellegrini joined the club in 2013, City have won just three of their nine Champions League games at Etihad Stadium.

City were beaten 2-1 by last season s finalists Juventus in their first Champions League fixture on home soil this term.

Pellegrini was not aware of the exact numbers but knows City must turn the Etihad into a European fortress if they want to taste success.

I don t know the exact statistics but we must improve, he said.

I don t know what is the home record. It is just statistics or history. That will not help us to win or lose.

City host Sevilla on Wednesday in Group D and Pellegrini said all the focus is on the …

Arda Turan insists he wants to see out his contract at Barcelona amid continued speculation linking him with a move to China.

The attacking midfielder has only started 10 LaLiga matches this season scoring three times and reports in Spain suggest Luis Enrique s side would be willing to accept a large offer if one is forthcoming from a team in the Chinese Super League. 

But Turkey international Turan, who signed from Atletico Madrid in 2015 in a deal that could reach a value of €41million, reiterated he has no plans to leave Barca.

I am very happy at Barcelona, Turan said to BeIN Sports.

I have a contract until I am 33 and I want to see out that contract here.

I am playing in a team where the best players in the world play and I am trying to …

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez believes his country s World Cup qualifier against Brazil was suspended due to political reasons .

Martinez was one of three Premier League players who started Sunday s match between the South American heavyweights at the Neo Quimica Arena.

However, the match was stopped shortly after kick-off when Brazilian health officials came onto the pitch to apprehend Martinez, Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso.

The United Kingdom is a red-listed country in Brazil, restricting the entry of those who have been in the UK in the past 14 days.

Brazil had called up nine players from the Premier League for their September games, but none of the group travelled.

Anvisa, Brazil s health authority, said in a widely released …

Chelsea are interested in signing Harry Kane from London and Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that Chelsea are one of three clubs who are keen on securing the services of the 29-year-old England international striker, Bayern Munich and Manchester United being the other two.

Kane is one of the best strikers in the world and has been on the books of Tottenham his entire professional club career so far. The 29-year-old has established himself as a Premier League goal machine and could end up as the top scorer in English football of all time. Kane currently has 189 goals in the league to his name.

Chelsea and Tottenham are bitter London rivals, and it is hard to see Spurs chairman Daniel Levy sell Kane to t…

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone says Thibaut Courtois would be cheap no matter what price it would take to tie up a permanent deal.

The Belgium international is currently enjoying his third consecutive year on loan at the Liga high-flyers from Premier League title contenders Chelsea.

Courtois left Genk to sign a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge in July 2011, but he has been unable to usurp Petr Cech as the club s first-choice goalkeeper.

Chelsea are understood to be keen on retaining the 21-year-old s services, though rumours have suggested he could move for a fee in the region of €26million.

And Simeone believes the youngster would represent value no matter the cost.

For me anything we pay for Courtois is cheap, he said.

He s a young guy wit…

There has been much debate about what has changed at Arsenal under Unai Emery, but the new man echoed predecessor Arsene Wenger by answering a reporter s phone on Friday.

Wenger jokingly picked up a call during a post-match news conference after a big win over Chelsea in 2016 and this time it was Emery s turn to amuse the assembled media.

In between answering questions on Mesut Ozil s fitness and his ban of fruit juice at the training ground, Emery was interrupted by a phone call.

A mischievous grin stretching across his face, the Arsenal boss answered the phone sat in front of him that had been used as a dictaphone by one of the reporters present.

Okay, good morning or good afternoon, Emery greeted the person on the other end of the line. Hi, I am Unai …