Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has accused "disrespectful" Real Madrid of making an "illegal" approach in their pursuit of Kylian Mbappe.

The talismanic forward has reportedly told PSG it is his dream to play for the Spanish giants.

Los Blancos are said to have made a £137million bid to sign the 22-year-old France forward, who has less than a year remaining on his contract at Parc des Princes.

Mbappe has scored 133 goals and provided 63 assists in 174 appearances for PSG since his move from Monaco, winning three Ligue 1 titles.

Leonardo has pointed the finger at Madrid but insists that should the right offer be presented to the club, they will not stand in Mbappe's way.

"We verbally said no to Real Madrid," he said. "This is very far from what is considered to be a sufficient value – far from what we paid for the same player at 18 years old – especially since we will have to pay part of this sum to Monaco.

"The club's position has always been to keep and renew Kylian's contract. There have been several meetings in this regard, and that remains our objective. 

"We made a proposal to Kylian at the level of the other top players and we even did more recently. After that, if a player wants to leave, we're not going to hold him back. But he will leave on our terms. We do not close the door to anyone but we have not received a new offer.

"This proposal seven days from the end of the market looks like a strategy of Real Madrid to get a no from us, and then say that they tried everything to have the player free in less than a year.

"Real have had a disrespectful, incorrect and even illegal attitude since you don't have the right to contact a player directly. This is unacceptable."

Harry Kane is in contention to make his first start of the season against Pacos de Ferreira after confirming he is staying at Tottenham beyond the end of this transfer window.

The Manchester City-linked striker put a temporary end to speculation regarding his future on Wednesday by declaring that he is "100 per cent focused" on Spurs.

England captain Kane was not included in Tottenham's squad for their first two games of the campaign, but he returned as a second-half substitute in Sunday's win at Wolves.

He has been named in Spurs' squad for Thursday's Europa Conference League play-off tie with Pacos, which the north London outfit trail 1-0 from last week's first leg.

Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo is happy to be able to move on from the transfer saga, which has somewhat overshadowed his side's positive start to the new Premier League season.

"It's great news, fantastic news for everybody," Nuno said when asked about Kane committing his future to Spurs.

"I think since Harry returned to us, he's been working hard. This is what we value. His attitude in training has been great. 

"It's now finished – Harry's going to be with us. He worked today and is an option for tomorrow. Like I said, fantastic news for everybody.

"We are all very happy. He is one of the best players in the world. We are all very happy, delighted to have one more option to the season ahead of us."

Kane has scored 221 goals in 337 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions and is second only to Jimmy Graves (266) in the list of the club's all-time top scorers.

The 28-year-old's 37 goal involvements last season were his most across a league campaign to date, while his 14 assists doubled a previous high of seven in 2016-17.

Despite Kane admitting in May that he was at a "crossroads" in his career, Nuno has no doubt over the prolific striker's motivation to continue playing for Spurs.

"I think it's up to us and everybody, the player himself, to get this motivation. There shouldn't be any kind of doubts to pay for Spurs," he said. 

"This is an amazing club, a good team, and we we need everybody involved during this process. It's good hat this issue is over and we can proceed as normal."

Tottenham made 11 changes to their starting line-up for last week's trip to Portugal, which they lost to a first-half strike from Lucas Silva.

Spurs must now turn things around when Pacos visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday, with Nuno expected to name a stronger side this time around.

When further probed on whether Kane is in line to start, Nuno said: "Let's see, we still have to decide. He trained today. It was a fantastic training session.

"But we still have to decide the starting team for tomorrow. There are a lot of things to understand. This week is different, we are all together.

"That allows us to make different decisions, different circumstances. It's a must win game, with the tie to be decided tomorrow."

Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Matheus Cunha from Hertha Berlin for a reported €26million fee.

Cunha, who is Brazil Under-23s' all-time leading goalscorer, joins Diego Simeone's side on a five-year deal and will provide capable support to talisman Luis Suarez up top.

Speculation had linked the 22-year-old to Everton, Atalanta and Napoli, but the reigning LaLiga champions swooped in to secure his services after a move for Dusan Vlahovic fell through.

Cunha initially moved to Europe to play for Swiss side Sion, subsequently joining RB Leipzig before finding a new home with Hertha in 2020.

Last term, the versatile attacker scored eight and assisted six across 28 games in all competitions, leading Hertha's charts ahead of second-place Dodi Lukebakio with 12 goal involvements.

The Brazil striker created 54 chances - 18 more than closest team-mate Vladimir Darida – putting him sixth among forwards playing in Germany.

Solely in the Bundesliga, the former Leipzig man has improved in front of goal in every campaign since 2018-19 and most recently scored a career-high seven goals in the German top-flight, finding the target with 62.5 per cent of shots.

Similarly, Cunha almost doubled his touches in the opposition box in such fixtures last year, producing 98 in comparison to 53 last term and 58 the year before.

However, it is in terms of dribbling where Atletico's new man comes to the fore.

Since his arrival in Berlin on January 31, 2020, only five forwards across Europe's top-five leagues have completed more dribbles than Cunha's 123 – successful in just over 60 per cent of all dribbles he attempted.

No player in the Bundesliga can match that dribbling tally while Yannick Carrasco is the only Atletico player to have completed more than 100 dribbles in the same time frame.

Cunha will likely be tasked with partnering Suarez as a second striker, perhaps replacing the in-form Angel Correa as Los Colchoneros go in search of back-to-back LaLiga titles.

Makeshift forward Correa has scored eight goals in his last 10 across all competitions - including three in his last two - for Simeone's men, having previously netted seven times in his last 73 for the club.

Cunha could feature as early as Sunday against Villarreal for the defending Spanish champions, who have started a new campaign with consecutive wins for the fourth time during the Simeone era.

It is 30 years since the great Michael Schumacher's first race in an incredible Formula One career.

The legendary German driver made his debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, a track where his son will showcase his talents this weekend.

Schumacher went on to claim his maiden F1 victory at the same circuit in 1992 and retired with a staggering 91 victories to his name, having claimed seven world titles.

To mark the anniversary of his bow in Belgium, Stats Perform picks out some of the standout numbers Schumacher racked up in an astonishing 19 F1 seasons. 

JORDAN'S LOSS IS BENETTON'S GAIN

Schumacher stepped in for his first F1 race for Jordan and impressively qualified in seventh before retiring on the first lap due to clutch problems.

He spent the rest of the season driving for Benetton, picking up four points from six races.

Schumacher won once in each of the next two seasons, then won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 before making a lucrative move to Ferrari.

UNPRECEDENTED DOMINANCE

Schumacher established himself as one of the all-time greats during his decade with Ferrari, claiming his third world title in 2000.

That was the start of an unprecedented period of dominance, as he claimed a record five consecutive world titles.

Schumacher broke Juan Manuel Fangio's all-time record of being crowned world champion five times as he went from strength to strength before Fernando Alonso dethroned him in 2005.

SCALING NEW HEIGHTS TO SEVENTH HEAVEN

The 2004 season was Schumacher's most dominant as he won 13 of 18 races and was on the podium 15 times.

No driver has bettered that tally of victories for a season, but Lewis Hamilton last year matched Schumacher's haul of seven world titles.

Schumacher amassed an incredible 148 points in 2004 and that was the last time he won the championship.

RACKING UP THE RECORDS

Schumacher broke the record for F1 victories and finished with 91, a total Mercedes great Hamilton has gone on to surpass.

The 77 fastest laps set by Schumacher is a record, as is his 15 seasons with a victory and his 17 podium finishes in a season, set in 2002.

His 19 consecutive top-three finishes has never been bettered and nor has his 15 top-two finishes in a row, along with the most hat-tricks (pole, win and fastest lap) achieved by a driver with 22.

Schumacher's 181 races with Ferrari is the record for driving with the same constructor.

THRIVING IN FRANCE

The French Grand Prix was the race where Schumacher had the most victories, taking the top step of the podium eight times – another record.

He won at Magny-Cours for the first time in 1994 and his final win at the circuit came 12 years later.

Schumacher also holds the record for most poles at the same race with eight in Japan.

A.J. Pollock pulled off an amazing catch on the wall along with two RBI as the in-form Los Angeles Dodgers won 5-2 over the San Diego Padres in the MLB on Tuesday.

With the Dodgers in the field leading 1-0 at the bottom of the fourth inning, Manny Machado launched a deep shot which appeared home-run bound but Pollock leapt up for an improbable catch.

Machado's shot would have been a go-ahead two-run homer but instead Pollock robbed him and the front row of fans of a memento.

Earlier, Will Smith had put the Dodgers ahead with a solo shot in the second inning.

Pollock continued to play a key role, helping the Dodgers pull further ahead with a two-run single in the seventh inning.

Sacrifice flies from Justin Turner and Corey Seager brought home Trea Turner and Max Muncy respectively, before Jurickson Profar's two-run homer reduced it to 5-2 in the eighth inning.

Emilio Pagan had four strikeouts for the Padres who used their bullpen, while Julio Urias had four K's across five innings for the Dodgers, before Kenley Jansen closed it out.

The victory means the world champions have won 14 of their past 16 games, while the Padres slump to their 10th loss from their past 12.

11 straight for hot Yankees

The New York Yankees continued their hot streak with a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Braves to close their series making it 11 consecutive victories, capped by D.J. LeMahieu's two-run homer in the fifth inning.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was in attendance for the first time as a Milwaukee Brewers investor, cheering on the side to a 7-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds, with Omar Narvaez delivering a go-ahead double to top a four-run seventh inning rally.

Nelson Cruz's eighth inning two-run double led the Tampa Bay Rays to a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. It was Cruz's third hit of the game, taking his season RBI tally to 70.

Rookie of the Year prospect Luis Garcia impressed again on the mound, keeping the Kansas City Royals scoreless across six and two-third innings in the Houston Astros' 4-0 win. Garcia had seven K's and allowed only four hits.

Hunter Renfroe produced a two-homer game to lead the Boston Red Sox past the Minnesota Twins 11-9, while the Seattle Mariners improved their ordinary run differential with a 5-1 win to sweep rival the Oakland Athletics.

Unwanted history beckons for Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles' 14-8 loss to the Los Angeles Angels condemned them to their 19th straight defeat. The Orioles' losing streak is the equal worst in the majors in 16 years, when the Kansas City Royals lost 19 in a row in 2005. The run is also the fourth longest since 1900. The American League record is held by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961 with 23 successive defeats.

Giants' home-run barrage

The San Francisco Giants slammed four home runs on their way to an 8-0 rout of the New York Mets, meaning they lead the majors with 191 homers. Brandon Belt hit two to reach a career-high 19 homers, while LaMonte Wade Hr and Mike Yastrzemski also homered. Yastrzemski's mammoth blast went a projected home-run distance of 451 feet.

Tuesday's results 

Seattle Mariners 5-1 Oakland Athletics
Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Angels 14-8 Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox 5-2 Toronto Blue Jays
San Francisco Giants 8-0 New York Mets
Washington Nationals 5-1 Miami Marlins
Texas Rangers 7-3 Cleveland Indians
Boston Red Sox 11-9 Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees 5-4 Atlanta Braves
Detroit Tigers 4-3 St Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros 4-0 Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers x-x San Diego Padres
Chicago Cubs - Colorado Rockies (postponed)

Giants at Mets

The Mets (61-64) have lost four of their past five games and eight of their past 10, including an 8-0 loss to the Giants (81-44), and need to find form when the two sides meet again in the second game of their three-game series.

Mike Budenholzer has signed a new multi-year contract extension to remain head coach of 2021 NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks announced the deal on Tuesday, with ESPN reporting Budenholzer has committed to a new three-year extension.

The 52-year-old joined the Bucks in 2018 from the Atlanta Hawks and guided the franchise to their first NBA title in 50 years in his third season in charge.

"Bud is a great coach and a fantastic partner to work with every day as we build a team that consistently competes for championships," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said.

"We’re extremely grateful for the leadership Bud provides and we look forward to building on the success we’ve had over the last three years and congratulate Bud on this well-deserved extension."

Under Budenholzer's guidance, the Bucks have topped the NBA in scoring in each of the past three seasons, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Milwaukee averaged a league-high 120.1 points per game, which is also a franchise-best, in the 2020-21 season.

"The appreciation I have for being a part of the Bucks organization is hard to express," Budenholzer said.

"The players make the success happen on and off the court. We have the best players and to them I am grateful. They’ve grown and we’ve grown together during the last three seasons.

"We’ve had success along the way, finishing with an NBA Championship this season!

"We all can’t wait to get back to work and face the great challenge of competing again for an NBA Championship... Let’s keep getting better and building great teams and doing great work on and off the court."

Budenholzer won the NBA Coach of the Year in his first season at Bucks in 2018-19, before being one of three finalists for the award in 2019-20. He also won the award in 2015 at the Hawks.

Pakistan levelled their Test series against the West Indies as a Shaheen Afridi masterclass led them to a 109-run victory in Kingston on Tuesday.

Shaheen's career-best bowling figures of 6-51 helped put the balance firmly in Pakistan's favour heading into the final day, and he was on point again with another four wickets to round off the triumph.

The Windies needed 280 runs at the start of the day's play, with nine wickets remaining, but after meeting initial resistance, Shaheen struck to get the ball rolling.

He finished with figures of 4-43 for the innings, taking his match haul to 10 wickets.

Alzarri Joseph (17) was the first Windies batsman to fall, with Nkrumah Bonner and Roston Chase swiftly following suit, both to Hasan Ali (2-37).

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who scored 39 from 147 deliveries (and 250 minutes at the crease), was dismissed early in the afternoon session, leaving Pakistan on the verge of victory before tea, yet the Windies fought back again, with a rain delay then threatening to halt their procession.

Thankfully for the tourists, the inclement weather did not hold, and when they returned for the final session, it was Shaheen who offered the inspiration, drawing an edge from the impressive Kyle Mayers (32), with Jason Holder's subsequent dismissal on 47 leaving the Windies with little chance.

Shaheen finished things off, sending Kemar Roach and Joshua Da Silva packing in the space of two overs to ensure the series ended on level terms.

West Indies' wait goes on

In 2005, 2011 and now 2021, the Windies have taken the lead in a two-match home Test series against Pakistan, only for the tourists to hit them back on each occasion.

The Windies have now not beaten Pakistan in a Test series – home or away – since 2000.

Real Madrid have made an opening €160million bid for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe that has been rebuffed, according to reports.

The France international has spent the past four seasons at the Parc des Princes but is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

Mbappe is no closer to agreeing a new contract with the Ligue 1 giants, despite the recent high-profile addition of Lionel Messi to a star-studded attack that also includes Neymar.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi recently stressed PSG do not need to cash in on Mbappe, while Mauricio Pochettino last week suggested he expects the Frenchman to stay.

However, widespread reports from Spain and France on Tuesday indicate Madrid have now tested the Parisiens' resolve by tabling a big-money bid for the World Cup winner.

Reports in France claim PSG have rejected the offer, which would make it the third most expensive transfer ever, behind the €222m PSG paid Barcelona for Neymar and €180m handed over to sign Mbappe from Monaco in 2018 after a year on loan.

Mbappe has made 174 appearances for PSG in all competitions since arriving from Monaco in 2017, helping the club to 10 trophies, including three Ligue 1 crowns.

He has scored 133 goals since making his debut in September 2017, placing him behind Cristiano Ronaldo (144), Messi (162) and Robert Lewandowski (182) for goals in all competitions among players in Europe's top five leagues during that period.

The 22-year-old has assisted a further 58 goals for his team-mates, while only Lewandowski (39) has been directly involved in more goals in the Champions League than Mbappe's 37.

Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been ruled out indefinitely with a thigh injury sustained on the opening weekend of the Serie A season.

The 30-year-old started Juve's 2-2 draw against Udinese on Sunday but only lasted an hour before being replaced at the Dacia Arena.

Ramsey will miss Juve's home match against Empoli on Saturday and is also expected to withdraw from Wales' squad for their triple-header of fixtures in September, including World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Estonia.

A statement on Juve's website on Tuesday read: "Ramsey underwent diagnostic tests this morning, which revealed a low-grade injury to the adductor muscle of the right thigh. 

"In 10 days he will undergo new exams in order to precisely define the recovery time."

Despite lasting just 59 minutes against Udinese, Ramsey played the fourth-most passes of any Juve player (47), behind Matthijs de Ligt (68), Danilo (73) and Leonardo Bonucci (74).

He completed 44 of those 47 passes for a pass accuracy of 93.6 per cent, which was the most of any Juve player to start the match.

Ramsey was used 30 times by Juventus in all competitions last season and created more chances per 90 minutes in Serie A (2.55) than any Bianconeri player to feature more than four times.

The former Arsenal midfielder has been linked with a move away from the Allianz Stadium in recent weeks, with Juve reportedly seeking a €10million offer for his services.

Chelsea defender Davide Zappacosta has returned to Atalanta on a permanent deal.

Neither club has confirmed the transfer fee nor the contract length but it is reported the Serie A outfit will pay €10million for the 29-year-old.

Zappacosta started his career with Atalanta, impressing to secure a move to Torino before subsequently signing for Chelsea in 2017, winning the FA Cup and Europa League in his first two seasons.

The wing-back was a standout feature of Antonio Conte's Chelsea, appearing 35 times in 2017-18, before loan spells with Roma and Genoa in the last two campaigns.

During that term under Conte, Zappacosta ranked fourth among Chelsea defenders for chances created (24) while producing 109 recoveries across 2,112 minutes of action.

The Italy defender, who has been capped 13 times, sustained a serious knee injury with Roma but returned encouragingly to form with Genoa, featuring 25 times last term.

Among Genoa defenders, Zappacosta's 11 chances created and 98 duels won placed him second in both aspects – his 119 recoveries also only bettered by two players.

The wing-back could feature as soon as Sunday against Bologna for Atalanta, who defeated Torino 2-1 on the opening day.

Cristiano Ronaldo hinders Juventus' attack and needs to be sold by the Italian giants before the transfer window closes, according to former president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli.

Portugal international Ronaldo joined Juve from Real Madrid in a high-profile €100million transfer ahead of the 2018-19 campaign on a lucrative four-year contract.

He is now into the final year of that deal and has been linked with a move away from Turin after requesting to be named among the substitutes against Udinese on Sunday.

Gigli previously questioned why incumbent president Andrea Agnelli sanctioned the signing of Ronaldo and has once again claimed Juve made a big error when bringing in the superstar forward.

"I've always been honest: signing Ronaldo was a mistake," Gigli, who was in charge between 2006 and 2009, told SerieANews.com. "It's impossible to recoup the investment and it will remain that way. 

"He's a great player, but I have to be honest – the sooner he leaves, the better for him and for Juventus.

"I hope that Massimiliano Allegri knows how to continue using him like he did against Udinese. That is, with intelligence and when the game is in progress. 

"Ronaldo hampers Juventus' attack. Without him, they can do excellent things in collective terms."

Paris Saint-Germain had been tipped to move for Ronaldo prior to signing Lionel Messi earlier this month, while a move to Major League Soccer has also been touted.

However, head coach Allegri recently insisted he has been assured by Ronaldo that he does not intend to go anywhere this month.

With the transfer window set to close in a week's time, Gigli has urged Juve to focus on finding a suitor for Ronaldo while also reaching an agreement with Paulo Dybala over a new deal.

"Renewing Dybala and selling Ronaldo in the next week would be best for all parties," he said. "But I don't believe someone like Ronaldo can be put on the market in seven days." 

Ronaldo has scored 101 goals in 134 appearances since joining Juventus and won five trophies across his first three seasons in Italy.

The Portuguese netted 29 goals in 33 league games last term to top the scoring charts, becoming the first player to win the Golden Boot in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League.

He scored two more the second before, however, which was a 10-goal increase on his first campaign in Italy.

England will hope some fresh faces can help revitalise their series hopes as they look to avoid suffering back-to-back Test defeats against India on home soil for just the second time.

After rain wiped out the prospect of a dramatic finish in the opener at Trent Bridge, India made sure there was final-day drama at Lord's last time out, taking 10 wickets in the final two sessions to go 1-0 up.

The teams have had a brief period of respite before battle resumes in Leeds on Wednesday, with England certain to make changes to their XI.

Dom Sibley was dropped after averaging just 14.25 in the series, meaning Haseeb Hameed seems set to slide up to open and the recalled Dawid Malan will bat at three, a position he has never previously occupied during any of his 15 Test appearances.

However, captain Joe Root is confident Malan – who averages 27.84 in the format, including hitting an Ashes century in Perth – can fill a problem position.

"He's played a lot of red-ball cricket over the course of his career and he's also had great success," Root told the media.

"He's played in a massive series in Australia away and been our leading run-scorer out there, so we know that he's capable of big things in Test match cricket."

England will also have to select a replacement for Mark Wood; the pace bowler is ruled out with the shoulder injury suffered at Lord's. Either Craig Overton or the uncapped Saqib Mahmood will get a chance in the bowling attack.

As for India, they are sitting in a position of strength, not just in terms of the series score but also the options they have available to them.

A pace-heavy bowling unit was the key to their impressive success last time out but the move north could prompt a change in approach, should the Headingley surface look to aid spin. Ravichandran Ashwin - who has just the 413 Test wickets to his name - is waiting in the wings for an opportunity.

The only occasion India have ever recorded successive Test triumphs in England came back in June 1986, when they followed up a victory at Lord's by beating their hosts in Leeds a fortnight later. Could history be set to repeat itself?

Siraj shines as bowlers prosper

Opener KL Rahul was named man of the match at Lord's following a first-innings century, yet it was Mohammed Siraj and his fellow pace bowlers who overwhelmed England on the fifth and final day, skittling them for 120 in 51.5 overs.

India boast a bowling average of 22.4 in Tests since the beginning of 2019, the best by any team in that time. England, in contrast, are ranked sixth in this category with an average of 28.1.

Root still waits for record

Root has been the one England batsman to prosper against India so far, scoring two hundreds and a half-century. His series average of 128.66 is outstanding yet his runs have not provided the foundation for his team to be successful.

This outing at his home venue in Yorkshire will be his 55th as Test captain, the second most by any England player. He has won 26 of those games in charge, leaving him level with Michael Vaughan at the top of the list.

Key match facts

- India have lost only one of their last six Tests (W4, D1), an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship Final (June 2021).

- England are winless in their last seven Tests (D2, L5). The last time they recorded a longer winless run in the format was an eight-match span from November 2017 to May 2018 (D2, L6).

- India (126) and England (110) have hit more sixes than any other teams in Test cricket since the beginning of 2019.

- Rishabh Pant has a batting strike rate of 68.8 in Tests since the beginning of 2019, the second best by any player to face at least 1,000 balls in that time (Quinton de Kock – 71.4).

- James Anderson has an economy rate of 2.4 in the format since the beginning of 2019, the best by any bowler in that time (minimum 500 overs bowled).

Wales caretaker boss Rob Page insists Gareth Bale still has the hunger and desire to play for his country after including the player in his squad for the upcoming international break.

Page's side face Finland in a friendly on September 1, before resuming their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign with a double-header against Belarus and Estonia.

Speculation surrounded Bale's international future following the Dragons' exit from Euro 2020 at the hands of Denmark.

However, the Real Madrid forward, who has 96 caps to his name, could edge closer to becoming Wales' second centurion after being selected by Page.

Bale, who spent last season on loan at Tottenham, has started twice this season under new Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, scoring in Sunday's 3-3 draw at Levante.

And Page is confident his talisman has "got the bug back" for football.

"It's great news. You want all your players playing competitive football when they come to the camp," Page told Sky Sports News.

"To get any of your players playing week in, week out is a bonus.

"But when you've got Gareth playing now and finding he's got the bug back again, which I saw in some of his performances for Tottenham at the back end of last season, is great news for us.

"He's got a hunger to play week in, week out for his club and he's got an absolute hunger and desire to play for Wales.

"As long as I can see that in his performances then there's going to be no issues whatsoever."

Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde has agreed a contract extension that will keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu until June 2027.

The 23-year-old Uruguay international's original agreement ran until 2025 but he signed a deal for a further two years, and it reportedly includes a €1billion release clause.

A statement on Madrid's website on Tuesday said: "Federico Valverde signed a contract renewal at Real Madrid. The Uruguayan midfielder remains linked to our club until June 30, 2027."

Valverde joined Madrid from Uruguayan club Penarol in July 2016, initially playing for Real Madrid Castilla, the club's reserve team.

He joined Deportivo La Coruna on loan for the 2017-18 season before establishing himself in the Madrid first-team setup under Santi Solari.

Valverde won LaLiga in 2019-20 under Zinedine Zidane, making 21 starts. Last season he featured 24 times for Madrid in the league and scored three goals.

The midfielder becomes the latest player to agree new terms at Madrid since Carlo Ancelotti took charge of Los Blancos in June.

Luka Modric, Nacho Fernandez, Karim Benzema, Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois have all recently signed new deals.

Barcelona forward Ansu Fati has returned to training with the LaLiga club's first-team squad following a lengthy lay-off through injury.

The 18-year-old missed the second half of last season after tearing the meniscus in his left knee in November 2020.

Fati sustained the injury during Barcelona’s 5-2 victory over Real Betis at Camp Nou, and has subsequently undergone three operations.

However, the Spain international is closing in on a return to action after he was photographed back on the training pitches at Barcelona's Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training ground on Tuesday.

Although he will not be available for this weekend’s LaLiga showdown with Getafe, Fati could be in contention for Barcelona's trip to Sevilla on September 11.

The forward became the youngest goalscorer in Barca's history when he scored against Osasuna in August 2019 aged 16 years and 304 days.

Fati has since added a further 12 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions for the Blaugrana, who he joined at the age of 10.

The Guinea-Bissau-born youngster has been capped four times by Spain, and scored his first international goal against Ukraine in September 2020.