Conte: Chelsea future clearer next week

Oleksandr Zinchenko was hailed as an exceptional footballer by Mikel Arteta as the Ukraine international prepares to complete his move from Manchester City to Arsenal.

The left-back, who can also play in midfield, has joined up with the Gunners on their United States tour.

His switch from Premier League champions City is yet to be finalised, but it would take something unusual to derail the transfer now.

Zinchenko watched on as Arsenal beat Orlando City 3-1 on Wednesday night, with Gabriel Martinelli s heavily deflected first-half effort followed by goals after the interval from Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson.

Manager Arteta must move on players to ensure Arsenal s squad for the new season is not overloaded, but he is delighted to have Zinchenko s arriv…

Erik ten Hag has warned Manchester United s board the club need to sign an attacker to be competitive this season, though he remains excited to integrate Cristiano Ronaldo into his plans.

United travelled to Thailand and Australia for the first part of their pre-season obligations with reserve left-back Tyrell Malacia the only new signing Ten Hag has been able to work with.

Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez have since agreed switches to Old Trafford, while a move for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong – who worked with Ten Hag at Ajax – is still in the works, albeit that deal is fraught with difficulties.

But Ten Hag wants attacking reinforcements to bolster a forward line including Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho. 

Superst…

Mauricio Pellegrino hopes the funds from the sale of Virgil van Dijk can help Southampton bolster their ranks when the transfer window opens.

Van Dijk will complete his long-awaited move to Liverpool on January 1 after the clubs agreed a reported £75million deal for the Netherlands international.

Such a huge transfer fee – a record outlay for the Reds – will boost Southampton s coffers and Pellegrino intends to use it to lure a number of players to St Mary s Stadium.

Without Virgil we have to try and think about the future and bring to the squad a couple of targets to improve and try to be stronger, he said.

We never know [how busy they will be] because I can t control the market. It depends the possibilities we will have.

It s not easy be…

Italy have been confirmed as hosts of next year s Nations League finals, with Roberto Mancini s team drawn against Spain in the first semi-final.

UEFA confirmed on Thursday what was already widely known as it declared that Group A1 winners Italy would put on the tournament.

Games will be played in Milan and Turin, with San Siro staging the final.

Italy and Spain will play the first semi-final at San Siro on October 6, followed a day later by FIFA s top-ranked team Belgium taking on World Cup holders France at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

The third-place play-off in Turin and the final in Milan will both take place on Sunday, October 10.

Italy won their group without losing a game 

This is the best side since ___________

— U…

Wayne Rooney hopes England can finally live up to the expectations of the country s long-suffering supporters as the team prepare for their Euro 2016 opener against Russia on Saturday.

Despite having had little cheer since their World Cup triumph on home soil in 1966, the Three Lions are always backed by a huge contingent of hopeful fans at home and abroad and it will be no different at the European Championship in France.

Rooney is set to captain his country at a major competition for the first time in what will be his sixth appearance at a finals, although he has never made it past the quarter-finals since making his tournament bow at Euro 2004 in Portugal.

I ve been excited for it, he told FATV when asked about leading the team.

The longest time in…

Dani Carvajal is attempting to look at the bigger picture with Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo struggling with injuries ahead of Real Madrid s La Liga trip to Real Sociedad on Saturday.

The Portugal international has missed his team s last two matches – including the 0-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg draw against Manchester City – with a thigh problem and is still rated day-to-day to make the return match on Wednesday.

Benzema had been deemed fit to play after a knee problem for the match at City, but was replaced at half-time and will, like Ronaldo, be held back from the trip to Anoeta in a bid to make the second leg.

With three La Liga games to go, Madrid sit one point behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of the table as part of a th…

Barcelona have deemed Samuel Eto o s surplus but the Cameroon international stiker s impressive performance in the pre-season has led his teammates and some fans to ask the Spanish club to reconsider.

The entire team backs him. He s one of the best in the world. I don t know what is going on with the club but he s very important to the team, French striker Thierry Henry said Sunday after Barcelona beat Mexican side CD Guadalajara 5-2 in a friendly in Chicago.

Eto o contributed two of the goals after coming on as a substitute in the second half, the first one just four minutes after he hit the pitch.

The 27-year-old, Barcelona s top scorer in the Spanish league last year with 16 goals, has scored three times in four pre-season matches.

Eto o was one o…

Diego Maradona has backed Lionel Messi to continue the impressive start he has made since taking over the Argentina captaincy.

Alejandro Sabella raised a few eyebrows in the South American nation when he gave the Barcelona forward the captain s armband, with some observers worried Messi did not have the right attitude to lead the team.

The 24-year-old has made a great start since replacing Javier Mascherano, however, with the team recording three World Cup qualifying victories out of five and just one defeat against Venezuela.

Writing for Ole as his country prepare to take on Brazil in the United States, Al Wasl coach Maradona repeated his admiration for the player he trained in the 2010 World Cup and said he had more than earned the right to lead the team.

Juventus will take a slender advantage into their Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against Atalanta after securing a 1-0 win at a fog-laden Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.

Massimiliano Allegri s side did not quite show the form that had seen them win their previous eight games a run that has seen them concede just one goal  but comfortably held their hosts at arm s length for much of the match.

Gonzalo Higuain clearly buoyed after ending his six-game goal drought against Chievo on Saturday got them off to a blistering start with a fine goal after just three minutes.

The hosts rarely threatened their more illustrious opponents, but Alejandro Gomez wasted a golden opportunity to pull them level in the 24th minute when his penalty was thwarted by Gianluigi Buf…

West Ham have rubbished a report stating manager David Moyes is likely to leave the club at the end of the season regardless of whether or not they avoid relegation.

The former Manchester United boss took over on a six-month deal after Slaven Bilic was sacked in November and has overseen a mixed bag of results.

Moyes took four points from back-to-back home games against Chelsea and Arsenal in December, but a run of one win in five Premier League matches has left them just three points above the bottom three.

A report in The Daily Telegraph claimed the Hammers are unlikely to extend Moyes deal even if he guides them to safety, but the club insist no such decision has yet been made.

The club would like to place on record that it categorically refutes the…