Sean Dyche has paid tribute to Graham Taylor for handing him a start in management after the former England boss died at the age of 72.
Taylor s passing of a suspected heart attack has prompted an outpouring of grief throughout football, with the ex-Watford, Aston Villa and national team boss fondly remembered.
Vicarage Road legend Taylor, who led the Hornets to five promotions in two spells in charge as well as their sole FA Cup final appearance, was chairman when Dyche was appointed Watford manager in 2011 his first crack at management.
And the Burnley manager, who has followed in Taylor s footsteps at Turf Moor with two promotions to the top flight so far, hailed his former mentor s ability to stand back and let him mould his own path.
It s incredibly…
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti insists Martin Odegaard could still have a future at the club amid reported renewed interest from Arsenal.
The Norway international is expected to be left out of Madrid s matchday squad for their LaLiga opener against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday.
After the news emerged in Spain, reports surfaced in England that Arsenal had opened talks with Los Blancos over the prospect of signing Odegaard before the transfer window closes.
The 22-year-old, said to be valued in the region of €40million, made 14 Premier League appearances during a loan spell with the Gunners last season.
However, Ancelotti does not appear to have made a decision on Odegaard s future, or that of fellow fringe players Jesus Vallejo and Dani Ceballos.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola welcomed Thomas Tuchel to the Premier League, labelling the newly appointed Chelsea head coach an exceptional manager .
Tuchel s appointment at Stamford Bridge was confirmed on Tuesday, a day after Chelsea sacked Frank Lampard.
Guardiola and Tuchel previously went head-to-head domestically in the Bundesliga, where the German was in charge of Mainz and Borussia Dortmund while the Spaniard was at the helm of Bayern Munich.
After City moved top of the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of West Brom on Tuesday, Guardiola welcomed Tuchel to England.
Welcome. He s an exceptional manager. I m pretty sure he will have success. Happy to see him here in this country, he told a news conference.
When I was at Bayern Mu…
Shinji Kagawa is eager to leave Borussia Dortmund due to a lack of playing time and hopes to secure a move to LaLiga.
Dortmund are enjoying a fine season and sit comfortably at the top of the Bundesliga with 30 points from 12 matches and are yet to lose in the top flight.
Coach Lucien Favre has received significant praise for putting trust in young players, with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi and Christian Pulisic flourishing.
Some of the team s more experienced individuals have found playing time difficult to come by as a result, with Mario Gotze featuring just five times in the league and Kagawa playing only twice.
Since returning from a somewhat underwhelming two-year spell with Manchester United in 2014, Kagawa has struggled for consistency,…
Darwin Nunez can be a hybrid of fellow Uruguayan strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, according to a former coach of the 22-year-old.
Nunez has been heavily linked with a big-money move from Benfica to Liverpool or Manchester United ahead of next season, with a reported fee of up to €100million (£85m) being touted.
The young forward produced electric form for Benfica in 2021-22, scoring 34 goals in 41 games in all competitions, including six Champions League goals against Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Liverpool.
Leonardo Ramos coached Nunez during his time at Penarol in Uruguay and told Stats Perform of his belief that, while the player still has a lot to learn, he is showing similar traits to legendary La Celeste strikers Suarez and Cavani.
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Substitute Paul Pogba marked his return from injury with the only goal as Manchester United defeated Milan 1-0 at San Siro to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
Pogba had missed United s previous 10 games due to a thigh issue suffered in the 3-3 home draw with Everton in early February, yet he did not take long to make an impact on proceedings in the second leg.
Having replaced Marcus Rashford at the break, the France international cleverly fired in a loose ball in the 48th minute to secure his side a 2-1 aggregate triumph.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic back from injury himself in time to feature off the bench – was unable to help Milan manage a response following his introduction, meaning the Serie A side have now failed to win five in a row at home.…
According to Sky Sports, Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson is having a medical ahead of a proposed move to Fulham. The Premier League newcomers have been steadily improving their squad ahead for the new season, with Mawson being pinpointed as a potential star for them at the back.
Burnley and West Ham United were both said to be interested in acquiring his services, showcasing that the Cottagers could be big players in the transfer market if they re able to solidify their Premier League position this season and beyond.
Fulham are said to be paying £15 million with £5 million in add-ons coming later down the line, as Mawson attempts to prove to the world that he is a Premier League quality player.
Mawson, who is 24 years of age, has bounced around a series of …
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu is confident that the club s main star, six-time Ballon d Or winner Lionel Messi, will sign a new contract with the club, according to .
Messi s current deal reportedly allowed him to leave the Camp Nou at the end of each season as a free agent, but now the last chance to cut the contract short has expired. Nonetheless, he is still free to leave next summer as the contract expires. And even though it feels like we ve been here before only for the world s best player to reconfirm his commitment to Barcelona, numerous reports suggest it might actually happen this time.
Apparently, the Argentinian is extremely unhappy with the way the club is run and the direction it has taken. A lot of money has been spent on incoming transfers sin…
Liverpool won the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 12 years with a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester City following a 1-1 draw in Thursday s final.
With the senior City team on course to deny Liverpool a first Premier League title with three games of the season to go, the Reds at least ensured silverware for their Under-18 side with the triumph at the Etihad Campus.
It is City s fourth final defeat in five seasons, having been denied by Chelsea in 2015, 2016 and 2017, while it is Liverpool s first success since they overcame Manchester United on spot-kicks in 2007.
With Pep Guardiola watching on, the hosts were largely the superior side from the outset and deservedly went ahead when Nabil Touaizi converted Adrian Bernabe s low cross from the left.
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Alvaro Morata does not think it a major problem that some Atletico Madrid fans were against his return to the club, insisting that not even Jesus Christ pleased everybody .
The striker joined Diego Simeone s side in January on an 18-month loan deal from Chelsea, where he had struggled following a reported £57million switch from Real Madrid.
It was his allegiances with the European champions that upset a number of Atleti supporters, while others were frustrated that a deal for Morata was pursued instead of giving youngsters such as Borja Garces the chance to impress in the first team.
There were chants to that effect heard in the home LaLiga match against Getafe just prior to Morata s arrival, but the player says he has been made to feel welcome by the club.