Street Sports

Germany’s Bundesliga could resume from May 9, regional leaders of the country’s biggest states said on Monday, although games can only take place without spectators to prevent coronavirus contagion. Markus Soeder, state premier of Bavaria which hosts champions Bayern Munich, said it remains “completely unimaginable to have spectators” in the stadiums given the need for social distancing to slow the virus spread. But “we could perhaps from May 9 play such a round of ‘ghost games’,” Soeder told Bild, using the German term “Geisterspiele” for matches played in empty stadiums. “A weekend with football is much more bearable than a weekend without football,” he added. Likewise, Armin Laschet, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia state which is home to Borussia Dortmund, said Germany’s top-flight could resume “on condition that there is a thoroughly thought-out concept”.

The forward is due to complete his €31m move to Barcelona in July and Braga's president expects big things from the attacker. Barcelona have secured the signature of Francisco Trincao and Braga president Antonio Salvador believes the attacker will be one of the world's best in 10 years. Trincao signed a five-year deal with Barca in January, but his €31 million (£27m) move to Camp Nou will not come into effect until July 1. It remains to be seen whether that date will be adhered to due to the suspension of most major sport during the coronavirus pandemic. A €500m (£435m) release clause was included in the deal signed by the Portugal Under-21 international, who has scored seven goals in 29 appearances in all competitions for Braga this season.

SExcitement grows north of the border as two talented midfielders are coming out of two of English football's biggest clubs Billy Gilmour took the football world by storm with two man-of-the-match displays against Liverpool and Everton during Chelsea's injury crisis and those in Scottish football are now growing excited about the emergence of the next generation. The 18-year-old's masterclass for Frank Lampard helped his side reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and to a dominant 4-0 Premier League win before the coronavirus outbreak stopped play. It adds to the excitement around the excellent performances of Scott McTominay at Manchester United this season.

This particular transfer saga is starting to feel like a direct repeat of the one we witnessed during the winter transfer window. Chels ea striker Olivier Giroud looked dead certain to leave the club and join Inter. However, Chelsea could not find a replacement and the France World Cup winner was forced to remain at Stamford Bridge until at least the end of this season. Now, with his contract running out in June the saga has been reignited, and it is Inter who are being heavily linked with signing him once again. According to Tuttosport (as cited by Football Italia), Giroud has ‘already agreed personal terms’ with Antonio Conte’s Inter to move there once his contract is up. They also claim that the 33-year old striker’s mind is made up, and he will leave Chelsea as a free agent despite also being reportedly offered a contract extension to stay in London.

With Chelsea looking to strengthen their squad in the summer, the Blues may need to sell some players to raise funds for Frank Lampard's transfer target. The Chelsea squad are still training behind closed doors as they wait for news on when the Premier League season can resume. All matches in England are currently postponed until at least June, with uncertainty over when it will be safe to continue playing fixtures amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to the  Mirror  June 8 is seen as the best case scenario for Premier League games to resume and clubs have also been told that they may be able to start training again from May 18, although this depends on the government’s social distancing measures.

The Belgium international touched on a host of topics during a Twitter Q&A with fans on Saturday Inter  striker Romelu Lukaku has admitted he is unlikely to ever play in the Premier League again. The 26-year-old spent eight years in  England , joining  Chelsea  in 2011 before also representing  West Brom ,  Everton  and  Manchester United .  In August 2019, Lukaku left the Red Devils to join up with Inter, where he has been a major success in his first season with the  Serie A  club. 

It Liverpool star  Mohamed Salah  has made a generous donation, sending thousands of tons of food and fresh meat to residents of his hometown village Nagrig, near the city of Basyoun. The coronavirus has been spreading rapidly over the last few weeks as the total number of  COVID-19  cases in Egypt has risen to 3032 cases. To support his hometown during the pandemic, Salah sent thousands of tons of food and fresh meat while offering advice on how to stop spreading the coronavirus. Salah has been known for making big donations, as he had previously donated  $3 million to the National Cancer Institute following a terrorist attack last summer.

The Man City star and his immediate relatives had a concerning time, but it appears they are now in the clear Kevin De Bruyne believes he and his family may have contracted coronavirus while on lockdown in Manchester but they were not tested while ill. The Man City playmaker was forced into the social distancing measures - like the rest of the United Kingdom - became of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the area. De Bruyne revealed that there were several members of his household sick for a long period of time - but they recovered before confirming whether the issues were related to coronavirus.

Christian Pulisic was a star for Borussia Dortmund and was linked with a move to Anfield, managed by Jurgen Klopp, but nothing came of it and a transfer to Chelsea later materialised It was a transfer that seemed destined to happen.  Christian Pulisic, a star for Borussia Dortmund, was linked with  Liverpool  and Jurgen Klopp as part of the German’s revolution at Anfield.   Pulisic was no stranger to the United Kingdom. As a child, he lived in England for a year at the age of seven, playing for the youth team of Brackley Town. He returned home to the United States in 2006 before joining Dortmund’s academy in 2015.  He made his non-competitive debut for Dortmund’s first-team in 2016. By the end of the season, he had collected nine Bundesliga appearances, scoring twice. That was when Klopp was first linked with a move for Pulisic. The 52-year-old was keen to reshape his playing squad, with over a dozen first-team players departing Anfield....

Borussia Dortmund winger, Jadon Sancho, will only move to Manchester United if the Red Devils can guarantee UEFA Champions League football next season, according to The Athletic. Man United are currently outside of the Champions League qualification places as they trail fourth-placed Chelsea by three points. There is still plenty of time for the Old Trafford club to close the gap on the top four.

Nelson Semedo  - Manchester City have been given a boost in their pursuit of Barcelona full-back Semedo after contract talks with the Spanish club were put on hold (

The Denmark forward says he is the club's top speedster while also discussing how talented the Argentine really is Martin Braithwaite has said that his time at  Barcelona  has taught him that there isn't anything Lionel Messi can't do, aside from maybe beat the Danish forward in a race. Braithwaite joined Barcelona in February as the Catalan side was allowed to make an emergency injury signing after the transfer window had closed. The  Denmark  striker moved to Camp Nou from  Leganes , having scored eight goals in 26 matches for the club.

Will Mane have an enhanced chance of Ballon d’Or success with the Spanish giants as opposed to the Reds? Real Madrid  have an undisputed appeal within the football community and in the transfer window; just ask Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and recently Eden Hazard, to name a few. The Spanish giants are widely regarded as the biggest club in the world owing to the sheer number of titles won over the years, including 13 European Cups, the club's estimated worth and plethora of supporters worldwide. It is for these reasons that many players dream of playing for  Los Blancos  at some point in their careers, and representing the club is often regarded as the pinnacle for any professional.

Portugal international has struggled in his first season with the Premier League champions and has been linked with a move to Barcelona Manchester City  have spent more than £140 million ($174m/€160m) on full-backs in the past three years and it’s an area that they could look at yet again when the transfer window opens. Full-backis a position that is tactically key to Pep Guardiola’s attacking philosophy but, with the Catalan’s tactical detail, it can be demanding both physically and mentally. Generally, full-backs are asked to play very high and wide, supporting attacks or helping to win the ball back deep in the opposition half. At other times, they are required to step inside and act as an auxiliary central midfielder or, on other occasions, drop deeper to join their central defenders to form a back-three.

It looks pretty certain that Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will be looking to sign a new striker in the summer. He has repeatedly spoken in public about adding attacking reinforcements to his squad, and was disappointed that a new striker was not added in January after a number of failed pursuits. Current options Olivier Giroud is out of contract in June, and Michy Batshuayi has failed to step up. The burden has been left with Tammy Abraham, now Lampard wants to add some top quality competition for the clubs leading goalscorer. According to  SPORT , Lampard has asked the Chelsea board to sign Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic on loan next season. The 22-year old has struggled to hit the ground running since making his big money move to La Liga, and this kind of deal could be something that suits all parties. I am sure we will be hearing more on this pursuit over the coming months.

Sane closing in on Bayern Munich move

The Blaugrana are hoping to revamp their forward line with two stellar signings but their hopes hinge on the success of a post-season clear-out On Tuesday morning, the  Gazzetta dello Sport  claimed  Inter  were ready to send a message to  Barcelona . "You want Lautaro?" the headline ran. "Give us Griezmann." The  Gazzetta  labelled it a "crazy idea" and no such proposal has been made – but, to the outsider, it wouldn't have appeared so far-fetched.

The World Cup winner isn't keen to return to his home city of Paris due to off-field issues that have become a distraction in recent years N'Golo Kante remains keen to stay at Chelsea despite reports in the Spanish media linking him with a transfer to Barcelona and Real Madrid. Kante has missed 20 of Chelsea's 42 games this season due to a host of injuries to his hamstring, knee and ankle, and concerns over his long-term fitness have seen Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho strike up a good partnership in his absence. Meanwhile, Billy Gilmour's emergence and Ruben Loftus-Cheek's return from injury add to Frank Lampard's options with Ross Barkley and Mason Mount also in the squad

England captain has been linked with world-record transfer to Manchester United Kane is likely to leave Tottenham in search of trophies and would be a great signing for Manchester United, says Tony Cottee Harry Kane is likely to leave Tottenham next summer if the club has not won a major trophy, according to Tony Cottee. Kane has spoken openly about his frustration at so far failing to win trophies with Spurs and the England captain says he i s prepared to leave if the team does not progress.

Liverpool deserve Premier League title, says ex-Everton defender Yobo  ex-Everton star claims it would be unfair not to crown the Reds as champions should the Covid-19 pandemic bring the season to a THE Liverpool  deserve to be crowned 2019-20 Premier League champions whether the coronavirus illness brings this season to a premature end or not, according to Joseph Yobo. The Reds were on course to end their 30-year wait for the English top-flight diadem before the Covid-19 outbreak put the league on hold. Recently, Football Association chairman Greg Clarke disclosed it may not be possible to complete this season’s campaign amid the ongoing pandemic.

Barcelona's French forward Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring a second goal during the Spanish League football match between Barcelona and Real Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Sunday. Photo: AFP ‌ Inter Milan are reportedly willing to entertain a straight-swap deal involving Lautaro Martinez and Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann. Throughout the majority of the season, Martinez has been linked with a future switch to Camp Nou as Barcelona look to find a long-term replacement for Luis Suarez. However, as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it remains to be seen whether European football’s top clubs will be able to spend big money in the transfer market.  Inter are prepared to consider exchanging Martinez for World Cup winner Griezmann without involving a fee. Despite netting 14 times during his first campaign at Barcelona, the 29-year-old may be allowed to leave the Catalan giants later in 2020. As it stands, however, the La...

The former Reds frontman sees no reason for a prized asset in Jurgen Klopp’s squad to consider an imminent switch to heavyweight sides in Spain Sadio Mane has no need to leave  Liverpool for  Barcelona , says John Aldridge, as the Reds are better than the Liga giants and the Senegalese would have to “overcome Lionel Messi” if he moved to Camp Nou. Speculation regarding a big-money switch to  Spain  continues to rage around a star turn at Anfield, with  Real Madrid reported to be another of his more high-profile suitors . Mane has achieved plenty in England , with a productive spell on Merseyside delivering  Champions League  glory, a potential Premier League title and a Golden Boot.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard says English-Nigerian midfielder Tino Anjorin may be included in the first team next season. The youngster has been brilliant for the Blues’ youth side in all competitions with five goals and four assists from 11 games. Lampard said, “We’ve had another couple of young players (emerging). Tino Anjorin came on against Everton and played in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season, and Ian Maatsen played some minutes. “I don’t want to leave out too many others because there are so many good young players that have the potential to come through, but we know the ones that are there. “One of the first things that we (the coaching team) tried to do at Chelsea was bring them in, and get an idea that if you train well enough in the academy, you’re not forgotten, it will get flagged, and you will have an opportunity to train with us. “They will be a huge part of how the club is moving forward, for sure.”

Ad Bayern Munich  were unwilling to fork out €5 million (£4.5m) for Raphael Varane while he was on the books of Lens, according to Willy Sagnol, who was powerless to prevent  Real Madrid  from stealing the centre-back's signature. Varane emerged as one of the brightest young talents in European football during his time at Lens, attracting the attention of Jose Mourinho at Santiago Bernabeu in the process. The Portuguese manager managed to lure the Frenchman to Madrid in the summer of 2011, and Varane committed to a six-year contract with the club at the tender age of 18.

Gett The former Chelsea and Galatasaray star has lent a hand to the government in their fight against the pandemic Didier Drogba has donated his foundation's medical facility, Laurent Pokou hospital, to the  Ivory Coast  government in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The hospital is located in Attecoube, Abidjan and was named after former Ivorian player and coach Lauren Pokou, who died in 2016. Drogba made the donation to the Ivorian government on Sunday, in the presence of the Mayor of Abidjan, Vincent Toh Bi Irie and the director of the Drogba Foundation, Mariam Breka.

CORONAVIRUS The organisation has offered a set of recommendations for when leagues return to play following the Covid-19 pandemic. In response to the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on world football, FIFA has announced that the organisation is open to "flexible" transfer window adjustments while recommending the extension of player contracts through to the end of the season. Virtually all of sport is currently sidelined due to the outbreak of Covid-19, with leagues all over the world shutdown indefinitely as governments work to control and combat the virus. As a result, football's return remains up in the air as we head into what should have been a busy summer of matches and tournaments.