Real readying bid for Morata

Spanish daily newspaper AS has suggested that Alvaro Morata could be returning to Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Los Blancos surprisingly allowed the Spain international to join Juventus in July 2014 and they have lived to regret that decision.

And with Karim Benzema in all sorts of problems with regards to the blackmailing case, Real Madrid are determined to lure Morata back to Santiago Bernabeu.

According to AS, they have a verbal agreement in place with the striker for a five-year contract worth more than the €2.2 million per year he is currently earning in Turin.

And considering that Real have the option to trigger the €30 million buy-back clause, Juventus would be powerless to prevent their star player…

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane believes Karim Benzema s potential return to France s national team will prove to be a boost for the attacker.

Benzema has been in international exile since being placed under formal investigation by French police in November 2015 over an alleged blackmail plot involving fellow international player Mathieu Valbuena.

However, French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet stated on Friday that the 29-year-old is available for selection by Didier Deschamps and Zidane thinks Benzema will relish the prospect of a France comeback.

Zidane said at a news conference: Karim has been waiting for this for a long time, this public support. For them to open the doors is positive for him.

Today s training session is underway…

Harry Kane said the racist abuse that Tottenham team-mate Richarlison faced this week was unacceptable as he called on FIFA to ensure the right consequences happen.

The Brazil forward had a banana thrown at him while celebrating a goal with team-mates during the Selecao s 5-1 friendly win over Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday.

Richarlison used social media afterwards to appeal for strong punishment, while others including former England defender Rio Ferdinand have come out in support.

Now Kane has added his voice to pleas for the world governing body to get tough on racism, and backed his club-mate.

It was very disappointing to see, Kane told ESPN Brasil. I haven t seen [Richarlison] and had a chance to talk about the racism that he suffered against Tunisia.<…

Jurgen Klopp does not want to continue the debate surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold s England hopes after the right-back again wrote himself into the headlines, this time in front of Gareth Southgate.

Alexander-Arnold was controversially left out of the latest Three Lions squad by Southgate last month, the team s final gathering before a group for Euro 2020 is named.

Liverpool manager Klopp defended his player and said Alexander-Arnold s form widely questioned this season cannot be the reason for his omission.

The 22-year-old has since turned in an influential display at Arsenal, assisting the first goal in a 3-0 win, before his error let Marco Asensio in for one of three Real Madrid goals in the Champions League in midweek.

Back in Premier League action…

Roma will hope to maintain their 100 per cent start to the Serie A season on Sunday, while champions Juventus face local rivals Torino.

Antonio Conte s side have won four of their opening five Serie A matches, dropping just two points in a 1-1 draw away to Inter on September 14.

Their latest triumph came on Wednesday as the Turin outfit came from behind to defeat Chievo 2-1.

Cyril Thereau put the underdogs into a first-half lead, but Juventus came back in the second half thanks to Fabio Quagliarella and an own-goal by Alessandro Bernardini.

Torino have made a solid enough start to their campaign with just one loss, and are sure to provide stern opposition in a hotly-contested fixture.

Alessio Cerci could be crucial to any success Torino have, the forward ha…

Burkina Faso s bid to qualify for their first FIFA World Cup will be tested in the first leg of their play-off against Algeria on Saturday.

Paul Put s side have dramatically improved in recent years and they will take confidence from their showing at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

In a tournament they had traditionally struggled in, Burkina Faso defeated the likes of Ethiopia, Togo and Ghana as they reached the final before losing to Nigeria 1-0.

Making the final represented significant progress for the nation and they carried that form into their qualifying campaign, winning four of their six Group E qualifiers to top the table.

They started slowly, losing to Congo and Gabon, but a 4-0 win over Niger in March proved the catalyst for a run of form that saw them …

Middlesbrough s winless streak in the Premier League was extended to six matches as they drew 1-1 at home to West Brom on Tuesday.

While Aitor Karanka had made his frustration clear prior to the game after the club missed out on a number of transfer targets, the hosts could not offer their manager some respite as their struggles continued.

This was a spirited Boro performance, though, with a fightback required after the early setback of a sixth-minute goal from former player James Morrison.

The game appeared to have turned on Alvaro Negredo s penalty 11 minutes later, with the home support previously criticised by Karanka rallying behind their side as they chased a winner.

However, West Brom came closest to a decisive third goal, with Matt Phillips noddi…

Bayern Munich midfielder Javi Martinez insists comparisons with this year and the treble triumph of 2013 are premature.

Having learned that Pep Guardiola would be replacing Jupp Heynckes at the end of the season, Bayern romped to Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal success and defeated Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final.

The league leaders are on course to repeat that feat in 2016 and news that Guardiola will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti later this year have drawn inevitable links to that triumph three years ago.

Martinez, however, considers such talk to be inaccurate at this stage and has warned of the danger posed by Serie A champions Juventus ahead of their meeting in the last-16 of the Champions League next month.

Speaking at Bayern s training cam…

Lukas Klostermann admits it will hurt to see Julian Nagelsmann and Dayot Upamecano leave RB Leipzig for Bayern Munich – but he hopes they can depart after one last beautiful moment .

Leipzig look set to finish second in the Bundesliga, given they lead Wolfsburg by four points with two rounds to go, and trophy glory could come on Thursday when they tackle Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal final.

A dress rehearsal in the league on Saturday saw Dortmund snatch a 3-2 victory that boosts their hopes of playing in next season s Champions League, but the cup final showdown in Berlin is a tough game to pick.

Coach Nagelsmann and star centre-back Upamecano are both heading for Bayern at the end of the season, so the game represents their final chance of snatching major…

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Peter Bosz joked that Chelsea target Kai Havertz will join Heracles Almelo after the German side lost in the Europa League quarter-finals.

Leverkusen s Europa League campaign came to an end on Monday, beaten 2-1 by Serie A side Inter in Dusseldorf.

Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku had given Inter a commanding lead inside 21 minutes, before Havertz reduced the deficit three minutes later.

Havertz has been tipped to leave Leverkusen for Premier League giants Chelsea once the 2019-20 season has concluded, and Bosz was asked whether the Germany international had played his final match for the club.

 FINAL

Our 2019/20 journey ends here | 2-1

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en)

Yes, I can exclusively a…