Harry Maguire has been included in the Leicester City squad for their first pre-season game of the summer, when they face Scunthorpe United this evening (Tuesday).

The centre-back has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the recent few days, with latest rumours suggesting United were willing to match Leicester s valuation which stands at £80 million. It would be a world-record fee for a defender, surpassing the £75 million Liverpool paid to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in January 2018. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer even went as far as warning his current crop of centre-backs that there would have to be departures as well, should the England international arrive to Old Trafford this summer.

However, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers obviously …

Lyon will hope to take their impressive recent form into their French first division clash at Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday, in what will be the first genuine test of their title aspirations.

Claude Puel s team are Ligue 1 s form side, having won their last four league games, and they made a positive start to their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory at home to Serie A heavyweights Fiorentina on Wednesday.

Bordeaux s title triumph last season left Lyon trophyless for the first time since 2000, but their performances in recent weeks suggest they are well placed to challenge for honours again and they go into Sunday s game level on points with Bordeaux at the top of the table.

The team looks great to me, said PSG goalkeeper Gregory Coupet of his former s…

Manchester United ace Paul Scholes has set his sicghts on ‘winning everything’ with the club this season.

The 34-year-old has just recently returned from a three-month injury absence.

Scholes said in the Daily Star: This year has been a great one for us. We won the league and the European Cup in May and this season has gone well so far.

We are still in four competitions and I m looking forward to next year.

My aim for 2009 is to see United win everything and for me to be a part of a team that goes on to lift trophies at the end of the season.

He continued: Now we can really concentrate on the league, the Champions League and the two domestic cups.

[Source: Daily Star]

…

Michael Carrick has urged Manchester United to build the foundations for their season in Tuesday s UEFA Champions League play-off round first-leg tie against Club Brugge.

United missed out on Europe for the first time in 19 years after a disappointing seventh-placed finish in the 2013-14 Premier League season.

However, manager Louis van Gaal delivered a return to Europe s top table during his debut season in charge, but they must negotiate a tricky tie against the Belgian Pro League side to reach the group stages.

And midfielder Carrick is keen to stress the importance of the double header to United s campaign.

It s going to be a big night on Tuesday. It ll be a big two games in fact they could help set us up for the season, Carrick told United s officia…

Sochaux defender Sebastien Corchia has admitted that he could be moving clubs in the near future.

The highly rated defender has been the subject of interest from top European clubs like Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Lyon, but he has yet to leave les Lionceaux for greener pastures.

Nevertheless, the 23-year-old has hinted that there is a possibility of leaving his current employers in the January transfer window.

I know what I have to do now during matches and I will see what happens in the next windows. But at the moment, I want to work with my club, Corchia explained to French newspaper L Equipe.

(Leaving in the winter) can be a possibility, Sochaux negotiate with interested clubs. I prefer to focus on the present at the moment.

Sebastien Corchi…

According to Mundo Deportivo, Spanish giants would consider a move for under the right circumstances. The 23-year-old defender has been making quite the impression with Olympique Lyonnais, but as he continues his development, it feels like a transfer away from Ligue 1 is imminent. Someone who would likely be in favour of the move is Frenchman Eric Abidal, who is the Director of Football at the Nou Camp.

However, in terms of the circumstances that we referenced, the transfer would likely only be possible if Lucas Digne moved away from Barcelona. That s by no means a guarantee, either, and while Bayern Munich are said to be interested, we re only dealing with speculation right now. Mendy, who was named in the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year, initially signed for Lyon twelve month…

Market: Sheffield United draw no bet

Odds: 7/10 @

With English football making its return on Tuesday night, Swansea will welcome a high-flying Sheffield United to south Wales when the midweek Championship fixtures get underway.

Starting with the hosts, last seen earlier in the month making a much-needed return to winning ways, there is no doubt that Swansea will be desperate to build off of that momentum. However, despite claiming a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home against QPR on September 3rd, Russell Martin s men still find themselves battling it out at the foot of the Championship table. Picking up just a single win from any of their previous five second-tier showdowns, the one-time MK Dons boss has also seen his side pick up a pair of victories from any of th…

As for the visitors, marching on and picking up a 2-0 victory over bitter rivals Manchester United last weekend, Liverpool have continued on what is becoming a famous campaign. Already with one hand on their first Premier League title and knowing that victory on Thursday would see them once again widen their gap to 16 points, the mood in Jurgen Klopp s camp couldn t be any higher. Yet to taste defeat in England s top-tier this season and in the midst of an eight-match winning run across all formats, there is no doubt that the former Borussia Dortmund boss will be most impressed by his side s recent performances at the back. The reigning European champions are yet to pick the ball out of their own net since opening the New Year and have remarkably gone over 650 minutes without conceding …

I watched Aston Villa win 3-1 at Liverpool yesterday and thought just how a team who loses two games out of the first three in the Premier League can really go on and be crowned champions. Liverpool suffered only two defeats in the whole of last seasons campaign and came close to challenging bitter rivals Manchester United. The Reds even managed to go to their deadly rivals and win 4-1, in what was one of the best performances of the season.

Their problem last season was the fact that they slipped up far too much against so-called lesser sides. Tottenham and Aston Villa are not bad sides, but if Liverpool are to claim their first league title in 20 years then they have to defeat these sides.

I have a friend who is a die-hard Liverpool fan and every season before the sea…

Free-scoring Manchester City will be plotting to heap more misery on struggling Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have scored 12 goals in their last two games against Norwich and CSKA Moscow, meaning Sunderland who sit second-bottom in the Premier League are likely to have their work cut out as they go in search of just their second win of the season.

City will be full of confidence having qualified for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time with a 5-2 beating of CSKA in midweek a result that followed up a 7-0 hammering of Norwich last Saturday.

But they must address their away form if they are to challenge for the Premier League title, having won just once in five matches on their travels this term.

Pe…