Bayern Munich are looking at Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez as the potential solution to their goalkeeper issue, as Manuel Neuer is expected to miss the second-half of the season through his skiing injury.
Martinez, 30, had an interesting journeyman career before arriving with Villa in 2020, having been contracted to Arsenal, but loaned out to Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves, Getafe and Reading.
In his first two seasons with Villa, Martinez kept 26 Premier League clean sheets, earning his Argentina debut in June 2021.
His ascension to La Albiceleste's number one saw him earn the 2021 Copa America Golden Glove as the tournament's best goalkeeper, and he followed it up with another Golden Glove after securing the World Cup title in a penalty shoot-out.
Neuer's leg fracture leaves Bayern without their first-choice goalkeeper, and with only a four-point gap atop the Bundesliga, they are reportedly desperate to secure a replacement in January.
TOP STORY – ARGENTINA WORLD CUP HERO TARGETED AS BAYERN'S NEUER REPLACEMENT
According to Media Foot, it is "out of the question" for Bayern to leave the January transfer window without a new goalkeeper, and Martinez's World Cup exploits have him at the top of the list.
He remains under contract with Villa until 2027, giving the Premier League side plenty of leverage in negotiations, and after signing him for £17million, will likely have their sights set on a significant profit to part ways with their world-class shot-stopper.
However, he is not the only keeper the German giants are keeping a close eye on from the World Cup, with Sky Sports Germany reporting they also are investigating Croatia's Dominic Livakovic and Morocco's Yassine Bounou.
That report states Bayern will try to tempt 34-year-old Borussia Monchengladbach's Yann Sommer to the club on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season, but that will not address their immediate pressing need.
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– Sport is reporting Barcelona are in advanced negotiations with Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante on personal terms, as he is able to leave Stamford Bridge on a free transfer after the season.
– Journalist Ekrem Konur claims Sevilla are the latest club to enquire about 22-year-old Angers midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, who impressed for Morocco in Qatar.
– According to GiveMeSport, Chelsea are in the race to land 18-year-old Borussia Dortmund phenom Youssoufa Moukoko when his contract expires at the end of the season, while Si Phillips adds they will also try to sign out-of-contract Manchester United prospect Alejandro Garnacho.
– Sky Sports is reporting Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and multiple Premier League clubs have taken a liking to 27-year-old Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic after his performances at the World Cup for Croatia.
– According to Fabrizio Romano, 20-year-old Italian midfielder Ibrahima Bamba will likely leave Vitoria Guimaraes in January amid interest from Atalanta, Club Brugge and unnamed Premier League sides.
Trossard to bring 'best form ever' to Belgium's Nations League matches
Leandro Trossard will be trying to bring his Arsenal form into the international break after coming back into the Belgium squad this month.
The 29-year-old has scored two goals in seven Premier League appearances for the Gunners and is enjoying a positive start to the season.
He has the joint second-best conversion rate (20%) of any Arsenal player to have featured in every league game, with his goals having come from 10 shots.
He also ranks third in the squad for expected goals (xG) generated (1.46) and has averaged 0.15 xG per shot.
When asked about how he has performed so far for his club, Trossard was pleased with how things were going.
"I feel good, yes," he said. "Is this my best form ever? I dare not say, but I think I'm performing quite consistently at Arsenal."
Trossard has played a variety of positions for the club this season, following an injury to captain Martin Odegaard. While his preferred position is on the left, he has also worked well with Kai Havertz as a second attacker.
With Jeremy Doku likely to take the left-hand side for his national team, Trossard could be used centrally to cover for the absence of the injured Kevin De Bruyne.
"That hasn't been discussed with the coach yet, but that will become clear today or tomorrow," Trossard said.
"I don't know yet what position I will play, but it's always nice to be played in your best position. At the European Championship, for example, I had to fill many roles."
Trossard's inclusion in the Belgium squad came after manager Domenico Tedesco surprisingly left him out in September.
They face Italy and France in the Nations League Group A2 over the course of the international break, while the Arsenal man explained he was relaxed about not featuring last month.
"[Tedesco] said he knew my qualities, wanted to try out new guys and give them some experience,” he said.
“The Nations League offers the opportunity for that. I agreed to that. It was a good agreement."
Greenwood excited by Man City playing in 'pinnacle' of football
Manchester City captain Alex Greenwood is excited by the challenge that competing in the Champions League will bring to the club as they aim to win it for the first time.
They face Barcelona at home on Wednesday in their opening match in Group D, having failed make it past the qualifying rounds in the previous two years.
City ensured they would avoid the same fate this time around though, with an emphatic 8-0 aggregate victory over Paris FC.
The significance of being in the competition was not lost on Greenwood.
"It's the pinnacle to win the Champions League. To win this competition is another level," she said.
"It's exciting. I'm looking forward to that. We belong here, we've missed out and been frustrated by that."
Barcelona have won the tournament in three of the last four seasons, while they were beaten finalists in 2021-22, losing 3-1 to Lyon.
City last faced the Spanish giants in their last appearance in the competition, losing 4-2 on aggregate in the 2020-21 quarter-final before Barcelona went on to win their first Champions League.
Despite being knocked out, City did win 2-1 in the home leg in 2021. Of the team that played that day, only England team-mates Greenwood and Chloe Kelly remain at the club.
"I don't remember it clearly, but I do remember the game," said Greenwood.
"Our team has changed so much since then. The way we prepare is different, we look different now and are a lot more prepared."
One familiar face who could line up against Manchester City on Wednesday is Keira Walsh, who moved from them to Barcelona for a then world-record transfer fee of approximately £400,000 in September 2022.
"I could speak about Keira all day, she’s an incredible footballer," said Greenwood.
"What she does off the ball and on the ball, she's an incredible player. She's improved and added assists to her game, hopefully not tomorrow!"
Meanwhile, Gareth Taylor believes his club are about to face the biggest challenge they possibly could.
"I would say they are the best team in the world, especially over the period of the last four or five years," he said.
"Barcelona have really dominated this last three-year period. In terms of that taking the pressure off us, not at all. We've worked tremendously hard to be here.
"The cream always rises to the top. We want to see the best players on the best stage and this is what it is."
Jack Grealish believes he should have been in England's Euro 2024 squad
Jack Grealish thinks that he should have been part of England's Euro 2024 squad.
Grealish was initially called up for the Three Lions' 33-man training squad, but was one of seven players who did not make the final squad for Germany.
England reached the final, losing 2-1 to Spain.
The 29-year-old has been back in the fold under interim manager Lee Carsley, and impressed in September's Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
"I will be honest with you, I didn’t really agree with it," Grealish told BBC Radio 5 Live of Gareth Southgate's decision not to include him among the final 26 players.
"You need a bit of a balance in every position on the pitch and I class myself [as] quite an experienced player now.
"I have won a lot of stuff now so, you asked me should I have gone, yes, I still think I should have, but obviously it wasn't meant to be."
Grealish started just 10 league matches for Manchester City in the 2023-24 season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
While he admitted that he "didn’t have the best season" domestically, he was left "devastated" by his omission and said that missing out on Euro 2024 was "probably the most difficult period of my life".
Grealish scored in England's 2-0 victory over Ireland in Dublin last month, and will be hoping for more of the same against Greece and Finland in the coming week.
Asked if he felt he had a point to prove, Grealish made it clear that he wanted to show people what England were missing at Euro 2024.
"Of course, I wanted to come here and train well and play well," he said.
"I thank Lee Carsley for giving me that chance and having that trust in me.
"It obviously really meant a lot. I think throughout my career when I have played under managers who have shown trust in me and communicated with me the way he has the last two camps, it really helps me.
"It makes me feel that the manager really does rate me and I can't speak highly enough of him since I have been here."
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