´He could easily score 40´ – Haaland backed to enjoy record-breaking campaign by Heskey

Erling Haaland could reach 40 goals in a record-breaking debut campaign with Manchester City, according to former Liverpool and England striker Emile Heskey.

Haaland has hit the ground running since joining the Premier League champions from Borussia Dortmund, scoring 14 goals in his first 10 games for Pep Guardiola s men in all competitions.

That tally includes 11 goals in seven Premier League appearances, and the Norwegian was named the competition s Player of the Month after scoring nine goals in five outings in August – the best return managed by any player in their first five games in the competition.

The striker s rich vein of form suggests he could trouble the record for most goals in a single Premier League season, which is jointly held by Andrew Cole an…

Barcelona linked with Youssoufa Moukoko

Barcelona are interested in signing Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko in the summer of 2023, according to . Moukoko is out of contract at German club Dortmund at the end of the season, and La Liga outfit Barcelona are keen on securing the services of the 17-year-old striker on a free transfer next summer.

Moukoko has been on the books of Dortmund since 2016 and has broken into the first team. The German striker has made seven starts and six substitute appearances in the Bundesliga so far this season, scoring six goals and providing three assists in the process. The teenager has made two starts and four substitute appearances in the UEFA Champions League so far this campaign, providing one assist in the process.

Barcelona are at the top of the La Liga table at …

Muller makes milestone Bayern Munich appearance

Thomas Muller is now the outright record-holder for Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich.

Muller came off the bench on Sunday to help Bayern come from behind to beat Wolfsburg in Vincent Kompany s first league game in charge.

It marked Muller s 474th Bundesliga match for the club, seeing him overtake Sepp Maier as Bayern s record appearance-maker in the competition.

The 34-year-old made an immediate impact after his introduction, helping to force Jakub Kaminski to turn into his own goal to restore parity.

474 Thomas Müller plays in his 474th Bundesliga match for FC Bayern, overtaking Sepp Maier as Bayern s record appearance maker in the competition. Veteran.

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz)

Muller, who also played a role in the winner on…

Sir Jim Ratcliffe closing in on deal to become minority shareholder at Man Utd

Sir Jim Ratcliffe could finalise a deal to become a minority shareholder at Manchester United during the upcoming international break.

Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group is expected to pay in the region of £1.25billion for a 25 per set stake in the Old Trafford club, while also acquiring significant control over footballing operations.

There is no a firm timetable for the deal to be finalised, but the PA news agency understands it could come as early as next week, with Ineos optimistic it will be done before the Premier League campaign resumes on November 25 after the international break.

Reports that the deal could come as soon as Monday have, however, been dismissed as that is the date of Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral.

It is almost a year since the Glazer fami…

What Ivan Toney’s loss means to Brentford and England as striker starts long ban

Brentford striker Ivan Toney is serving an eight-month ban after admitting 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules.

The 27-year-old – who has scored 68 goals in 124 appearances for Thomas Frank’s side – will not be able to play again until January 17, 2024.

Here, the PA news agency assesses the significance of his loss for Brentford and England.

Bees’ talisman

Toney is enjoying the best season of his career so far, having scored 20 goals in 33 Premier League appearances and making his long-awaited England debut.

His tally represents 37 per cent of Brentford’s total of 54 goals, the third highest share behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (39 per cent) and Tottenham’s Harry Kane (42 per cent).

Toney’s importan…

West Ham 1 Manchester City 4: Hammers hammered by rampant champions

The Manchester City Premier League title party steamed into the London Stadium to reel off a celebratory 4-1 win against an over-matched West Ham.

PFA Young Player of the Year Leroy Sane s 13th minute opener took a decisive deflection off Patrice Evra, whose belated home debut for David Moyes side was generally a torrid experience, and an unfortunate own goal for former City favourite Pablo Zabaleta brought up 100 league goals this season for Pep Guardiola s men.

A touch of complacency crept into City s work before half-time as Aaron Cresswell s fine free-kick punished an error-strewn passage of play but they were rampant once more after the break.

Gabriel Jesus set in motion the move for his 12th top-flight goal of the campaign before fellow Brazil international…

Declan Rice earns controversial second yellow card as Arsenal are held at home by Brighton and Hove Albion (Video)

Arsenal shared the spoils with Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates on Saturday, with Kai Havertz and Joao Pedro scoring each for his club. There was, however, a moment of great controversy in the game, several minutes before Pedro s equalizer.

Already on a yellow card, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice appeared to kick the ball away, preventing Brighton defender Joel Veltman from taking a free-kick awarded, and Veltman kicked him instead. Referee Chris Kavanagh decided the incident warranted a second yellow for Rice.

The ball was indeed moving when Veltman tried to take the free-kick, but Kavanagh obviously missed that and as it wasn t a straight red card, the VAR had no authority to intervene.

So many weird events in Declan Rice red card
1. Is it even a fre…

Prediction: Alaves vs Real Madrid

Best Odds: 4/7

Bookmaker:

Looking to climb back to the top of the La Liga table on Thursday night, Real Madrid will travel to the Mendizorroza when they meet Alaves.

Alaves

Starting with the hosts, while Alaves might have enjoyed a real flurry when returning from November’s international break, the Babazorros have come crashing back down to earth over the week. Last seen putting in a nightmare performance away at Girona as they slumped to a 3-0 drumming, Luis Plaza’s side almost find themselves sat in La Liga limbo. Mustering just a single point from any of their previous three top-flight appearances, the former Mallorca boss will be more than aware that his squad faces a huge examination here. Hit with a 3-0 loss when they last met Real Madrid back in Febr…

Neymar, Mbappe among five PSG players in Ligue 1 TOTS, just two inclusions for champions Lille

Ligue 1 champions Lille had just two players named in the competition s Team of the Season, with runners-up Paris Saint-Germain represented by five.

It was an incredible season for Christophe Galtier s Lille, who had finished fourth in the shortened 2019-20 campaign.

A talented squad full of vibrant, youthful attackers – albeit spearheaded by veteran campaigner Burak Yilmaz – clinched Ligue 1 title number four for the club on Sunday, with their success confirmed when they beat Angers 2-1 on the final day of the season.

PSG finished top in the previous three seasons since Monaco s Kylian Mbappe-inspired win in 2016-17.

Indeed, it is only the second time since 2012-13 that the capital club has not won the title… Not that you would know it when looking…

Brighton want Tavernier

Brighton and Hove Albion are interested in the services of Glasgow Rangers James Tavernier, according to .

The right back s career started at Newcastle in 2009, and during his four-year stint at St. James Park he was sent on loan to a number of lower-division clubs, making only 11 appearances in the Magpies shirt. In 2014 he made a permanent move to Wigan Athletic, but ended up moving on another loan to Bristol City halfway through the season.

In 2015, he joined Rangers and so far he has made a total of 158 appearances in all competitions for the team now led by Steven Gerrard, finding the net 32 times. This summer, a number of offers from West Bromwich Albion were turned down by the club.

The Seagulls are preparing for life without Bruno, a 37-year-old defender…