Soccer (FIFA)

Soccer (FIFA)

Iliman Ndiaye is establishing himself as one of the best attacking talents in the Premier League, and his name is already being pencilled into conversations ahead of the summer transfer window. The Everton winger has enjoyed a strong season at Goodison Park, performances that have not gone unnoticed by some of England's biggest clubs, sources close to the agents industry have informed CaughtOffside. Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Chelsea are all understood to be monitoring the 25-year-old closely.

Real Oviedo captain Santi Cazorla has taken a swipe at LaLiga after his team's league game at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday afternoon was postponed just hours before kickoff. Safety concerns over the pitch at Vallecas Stadium was the reason for LaLiga's decision. Oviedo criticised the short notice, with the team and its fans already in Madrid. The club said in a statement it would consider legal action.

Wednesday's DFB Pokal quarterfinal between FC Bayern and RB Leipzig is in jeopardy due to a planned strike of public transport on the same day in Munich. Buses will be affected, but especially the U-Bahn, which carries numerous fans to and from the Allianz Arena on match days.

I'm proud and honored to partner with my friend @alexisohanian, joining the ownership group of @chelseafcw, a historic club built on passion, excellence, and a winning culture,

In Saturday's game against Millwall Cleworth became the leading appearance-maker of Phil Parkinson's reign, surpassing Paul Mullin's 172 games under the English boss. Cleworth, still only 23, is Wrexham's final on-field survivor of the National League days, though Davis Keillor-Dunn and Ryan Barnett, who has played 12 times in the league this season, have recently returned. Since his debut while a 17-year-old academy player in the Scottish Challenge Cup in 2019, the Chester-born defender has made 175 appearances in red.

According to a report from Fichajes, Chelsea directors are prepared to break the Bank for him, and they could offer close to 100 million. It will be interesting to see if Aston Villa is willing to sanction his departure. The reported offer could be hard for the West Midlands club to turn down if presented in the summer. Meanwhile, the report claims that the player is not averse to joining Chelsea.

Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer was pretty clear abut how he felt regarding the penalty and red card given to Kevin Akpoguma in the 17th minute of his team's 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich. "A clear wrong decision. There's no need to discuss it, everyone saw it. There was absolutely no foul. 75,000 people in the stadium were looking forward to a top match here. I feel a bit sorry for them that it turned into this game with one player less," Ilzer said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

Arsenal are looking to sign a complete forward who will add creativity and goals to the team. On the other hand, Chelsea are looking for someone who can lead the line for them and score goals consistently. Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay around 90 million in order to sign this South American. It will be interesting to see if they come forward with an official offer in the coming months. Alvarez has played in the Premier League with Manchester City in the past and he knows the league well. He should be able to adapt quickly and make an immediate impact.

Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing the Belgian attacker Mika Godts. The 20-year-old is highly rated across Europe and is also a target for Barcelona. The player has 10 goals and 9 assists for Ajax this season and has attracted the attention of top teams. According to a report from Vietbal International (h/t TEAMtalk), Arsenal have made an enquiry for the 20-year-old attacker.

When Arsenal made Olivia Smith the first 1m player player in the history of women's football, they did not think they were signing a striker. The 21-year-old Canadian had earned a reputation as a busy right-sided winger, the kind that hugs the sideline and takes pleasure in turning full-backs inside out. The fee raised eyebrows in some quarters - after all, Chloe Kelly had seemingly made the right flank spot her own during last season's triumphant Champions League campaign. What could Smith offer that she - or Beth Mead - could not? As simple as it seems, the answer may well be versatility.

Sporting booked their place in the semi-finals of the competition with a 3-2 win over AVS, but needed a 117th-minute winner from Geny Catamo in order to make it through to the next round. It was Sporting's sixth consecutive win in all competitions, putting them in a good place for their Classico clash with Porto in the Primeira Liga. Sporting have ground to make up on their rivals, sitting four points adrift of the leaders heading into Monday's game, but Borges expects a high-octane clash at Estadio Do Dragao.