Fransman considering South Africa return

UEFA vice-president Reinhard Grindel has announced his resignation from the European governing body and the FIFA Executive Committee.

The 57-year-old stood down as president of the German Football Association last week following allegations he had accepted an expensive watch as a gift from a colleague.

Grindel denied any wrongdoing before it was confirmed on Wednesday he had stepped down from his roles in continental and world football.

I am mainly interested in protecting the good name of UEFA, he said in a statement.

I also do not want to burden FIFA on its path to more transparency and good governance.

Grindel came under fire last year following Mesut Ozil s international retirement.

The Arsenal midfielder quit Germany duty in the wa…

Jubilant Sweden star Magdalena Eriksson is targeting the scalp of hosts England in the Euro 2022 semi-finals and admits it would be fun to ruin their party .

Sweden, ranked second in the world by FIFA, have quietly come through the rounds to reach the last-four stage.

They beat Belgium 1-0 in Friday night s quarter-final at Leigh, with near-relentless pressure paying off in stoppage time when Linda Sembrant finally found the net.

Eriksson, who captains Chelsea in the Women s Super League, is set to face club-mates including Fran Kirby and Millie Bright in Tuesday s Bramall Lane semi-final clash.

England have reached the final four for a second consecutive Women s European Championship, and they lost 3-0 to the Netherlands last time.

This time t…

Enzo Zidane has signed a three-year deal with Lausanne after his terminating his contract with Deportivo Alaves.

The 22-year-old managed only two LaLiga appearances this season after leaving Real Madrid and reached a mutual agreement with Alaves to rescind his deal.

Lausanne confirmed on Sunday that the midfielder, son of Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, has agreed a deal until June 2020 with the Swiss Super League side.

Zidane is the first signing made by Lausanne since they were bought by petrochemical giants Ineos in November.

Enzo is a great signing for Lausanne and this transfer is part of our aim to strengthen the spine of the team, a spine around which the team must continue to grow and grow, said club president David Thompson.

Enzo is a tale…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that goalkeeper Alisson is nearing a return from injury, though he will not feature in the Reds friendly with Salzburg on Wednesday.

The Brazil international suffered an abdominal injury in his side s pre-season match with Manchester United two weeks ago, but he is now close to being back between the sticks.

It comes at a good time for Liverpool, with a game on Saturday against Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley rapidly approaching.

Klopp s squad update came ahead of the game with Salzburg, who have already started their league season with a victory and sit top of the table after the opening round of fixtures.

The season in Austria started already so they are obviously at a completely differen…

Arsenal are ready to bid £16m for Newcastle United’s Moussa Sissoko, .

The North London club were put on alert by the midfielder himself, who recently declared his love for them, saying that they were his preferred team when he was younger and naming Gunners legend Patrick Vieira as his idol.

While the France international, who featured for his country at this summer’s World Cup finals, has impressed for Newcastle in an attacking role, Arsene Wenger believes he can flourish in a defensive role, and that is one area he could look to strengthen when the transfer window opens next month.

Since moving to the England in the summer of 2013, the 25 year old has turned out seventy-four times for Alan Pardew’s men in all competitions, scoring eight times.

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Portuguese daily newspaper that Benfica are set to complete the signing of Swiss defender Loris Benito from FC Zurich.

With Guilherme Siqueira unlikely to remain at Estadio da Luz beyond the summer, the Eagles have made a move on the FC Zurich starlet.

And A Bola has suggested that Benfica officials have all but wrapped up the deal for the talented full-back after Sporting Lisbon pulled out of the chase.

The same source claims the Eagles have agreed to pay between €2.5m and €3m for the Swizerland Under-21 international.

Loris Benito, 22, came through the youth ranks at Aarau and went on to make a total of 47 league appearances before moving to FC Zurich in January 2012.

The left-back managed to catch the eye of Europe s top clubs with some i…

A hamstring injury to Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has meant he will miss Wednesday night s Champions League clash at Steve McClaren s FC Twente side in the Netherlands.

Fabregas (hamstring) joins the likes of Kolo Toure (hip), Abou Diaby (thigh), Philippe Senderos (hamstring) and summer signing Samri Nasri (knee/thigh) on the sidelines along with Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo, who are both recovering from long-term injuries.

The number of absentees means Wales Under-21 international Aaron Ramsey, who joined the Gunners in a five-million-pound deal, from Cardiff could be handed a full competitive debut alongside young Brazilian Denilson in midfield in this third qualifying round, first leg clash.

The Gunners travel to the Netherlands for the first leg against…

Valencia have turned down a 47 million euros bid from Real Madrid for striker David Villa, according to Marca.

Spanish media reported on Monday that Real had made a big bid for the Euro 2008 star, but Spanish sports daily Marca says Valencia president Vicente Soriano refused the bid straight away.

Soriano have made it clear that he is not interested in selling neither of his two big stars, David Villa and David Silva.

Marca claims that several directors at Valencia were interested in selling their star striker to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid are keen on signing the Valencia striker as a replacement for Brazilian striker Robinho, who want a move to Premiership giants Chelsea.

Real could make a move for Ajax striker Klas-Jan Huntelaar should they fail …

RB Leipzig forward and reported Real Madrid target Timo Werner will stay with the Bundesliga club through next season, according to sporting director Ralf Rangnick.

The Germany international, 21, has enjoyed another fine campaign, scoring 10 times in 20 league games to back up his 21-goal 2016-17 Bundesliga season.

Werner, who has also netted seven goals in 10 internationals for his country, has previously been linked to Madrid and Liverpool.

But Rangnick said the forward, who is contracted until 2020, would remain at Leipzig.

Timo definitely knows he is still playing with us now and next season, he told Kicker.

We are also in talks to adjust and extend his contract.

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Verdict: Both teams to score

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Hoping that a solid FA Cup run will improve the atmosphere around the Hawthorns, Alan Pardew s bottom of the table Baggies will host fellow relegation candidates Southampton in the FA Cup fifth-round.

West Brom

Despite going three matches unbeaten at the start of the new year, Alan Pardew s West Brom side have recently slumped back to their old ways and are now the firm favorites to be relegated come the end of the season. On Monday night, the Baggies slumped to a 3-0 defeat away at Stamford Bridge and will rue their missed chances. Now sat bottom of the Premier League table, the Midlands side are now seven points adrift of safety and have conceded nine goals in their last three matches. Although Pard…