Newcastle United in Lennon link

Dedryck Boyata will join Hertha Berlin after his Celtic contract expires at the end of June, the Bundesliga side have confirmed.

Belgium international Boyata joined Celtic from Manchester City in 2015 and made 135 appearances for the Scottish club, including 32 outings this season.

But with his contract at Parkhead up at the end of the campaign, Hertha handed the 28-year-old a long-term deal.

Boyata told his new team s official website: I am pleased that the deal has worked out. It is an ambitious club and we have similar goals. 

I am looking forward to the new season and want to achieve something with the club.

Boyata has not played for Celtic since March because of a knee injury and was not part of their squad for Sunday s Scottish Premier Le…

Mesut Ozil rejected crazy offers from Asian clubs worth a reported £1million a week to stay at Arsenal, according to his agent.

The 30-year-old agreed to a new deal with the Gunners in February which is said to be worth in the region of £300,000 per week, after months of speculation over his future.

His representative, Dr Erkut Sogut, has denied money was the main problem during protracted negotiations with the club and suggested Ozil could have earned world-record sums had he agreed to move away from north London.

We had some really big offers from Asia. There were some crazy offers, he told Standard Sport.  But, for Mesut, money was by no means the biggest factor.

Money is definitely one important thing to consider, but people must remember that f…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola accepts the pressure is on to deliver silverware this season if he is to keep his job at the Premier League heavyweights.

City have enjoyed a flying start to the season in their bid to build on the titles won in 2011-12 and 2013-14, top of the table ahead of neighbours Manchester United on goal difference.

But after failing to land a trophy in his first season in England after arriving from German champions Bayern Munich, expectations are high on Guardiola to deliver this time around.

And the former Barcelona boss is clear on what it will take to remain in charge.

I cannot deny it is to win titles. Everybody expects that, Guardiola told BBC s Gary Lineker on The Premier League Show.

We are going to be judge…

Paul Scholes has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching betting rules.

Former Manchester United and England star Scholes was charged in April in respect to 140 bets placed on football matches between August 2015 and January 2019.

Scholes brief tenure as manager of League Two club Oldham Athletic began in February this year but he fell foul of FA regulations because the bets in question took place when he was a director of Salford City.

Alongside former United team-mates Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and David Beckham, Scholes owns a stake in Salford, who were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history last season.

Eight of Scholes bets were placed on FA Cup matches, a…

Marko Arnautovic is focused again on delivering for Bologna after he was linked with a remarkable move to Manchester United earlier this month.

The Austria international returned to Europe from the Chinese Super League last year, swapping Shanghai Port for the Serie A outfit ahead of the 2021-22 campaign as he signed a two-year deal.

A fine run of form last season saw him net 15 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions and attract the attention of United, who are managed by his former coach Erik ten Hag.

But the left-field bid from the Premier League giants was widely questioned, with the backlash seemingly warning United off a deal.

Speaking ahead of the new Serie A season, Arnautovic sought to move on swiftly from the episode as he looks ahead to …

Competition: La Liga

Market: Valencia to beat Deportivo La Coruna

Odds:

Spain s top league returns for yet another round of games that will surely bring more goals, excitement and controversy. The table has remained very tight with the exception of Barcelona at the top, meaning that a win can quite often see a side climb up a number of places, and with this in mind, Valencia travel to face Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.

Deportivo La Coruna have been struggling this season and they are in need of a number of wins to get out of the situation they have found themselves in. After 18 games they have just four wins, while they have drawn four times and lost 10 games, scoring 20 goals and conceding 35 times. In their last five they have won once, dr…

Mino Raiola has denied offering Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola during the January transfer window.

Ahead of Saturday s derby the Catalan claimed Raiola had given City the chance to take two of his most high-profile clients from rivals Manchester United.

Two months ago [he] offered me Mkhitaryan and Pogba to play with us, Guardiola told a media conference on Friday.

It came as a surprise given a frosty relationship between the pair that is said to be down to Raiola believing Guardiola forced Zlatan Ibrahimovic out of Barcelona in 2010.

But Raiola has denied having any contact with the City boss over either Pogba or Mkhitaryan.

I never spoke to Pep Guardiola, he told BBC Sport. I would not speak to him abou…

Liverpool have handed a trial to former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger, .

The thirty-nine year old has most recently been with German side Ausburg, where he spent four years and racked thirty-four league appearances.

He left Arsenal fourteen years ago and has since had spells in Italy, Spain and his native Austria.

During his time with the Gunners, he played thirty times in the Premier League and was part of the squad that won the double in 1998 while he also won the Serie A title with Juventus in 2012.

He was capped thirty-three times for his country and was part of the squad that played at the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland.

Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp is keen on bringing in further competition for Simon Mignolt a…

According to a recent report from Calciomercato, Juventus are considering the possibility of a deal involving Roma defender Kostas Manolas. The 27 year old has been with Roma since back in 2014, when he made the transition over from Olympiacos. Since then he’s made over 150 appearances for the Italian giants, solidifying his place as a fan favourite. However, if Juve are seriously interested in going after him, it’s going to cost them big money. They’ve already got a strong relationship with Mino Raiola who is his agent, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have to shell out the big bucks in order to lure him away from Roma.

Atletico Madrid are also in the running, but in terms of infrastructure, The Old Lady are much better equipped to make this sort of push.

Man…

Every summer Bayern Munich’s star striker Robert Lewandowski seems to be linked with moves to Spain and England’s top teams. According to AS, via , the Polish striker could well be heading to Spanish giants Real Madrid this summer. The 29-year-old star is believed to be highly interested in making the move, despite interest from Chelsea.

One of the best number nines in the world

Lewandowski is, without doubt, one of the best out-and-out number nines in the world game. The striker guarantees 20-plus goals a season. In fact, the Poland international has now scored 20-plus league goals in his last four seasons for Bayern.

His lowest league tally in the last seven years was back in season 2011/12, in his first season as a Bayern player when he scored a still respectabl…