Ousmane Dembele scored and assisted three others as Barcelona warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich by thrashing Athletic Bilbao 4-0 at Camp Nou.

Xavi's team raced into a three-goal lead before half-time in Thursday's mauling of Villarreal and they repeated the trick on Sunday as Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski joined Dembele on the scoresheet within 22 minutes.

Having set up Roberto and Lewandowski, Dembele continued to terrorise Athletic after the break and helped Barca add some gloss when he teed up Ferran Torres for a neat finish late on.

The result moved Barca back to within three points of leaders Real Madrid in the LaLiga standings, with Los Blancos having moved clear with a 3-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday. 

Dembele opened the scoring after 12 minutes, testing Unai Simon before nodding in Lewandowski's cross after the striker had recycled the loose ball.

There was more fortune about Barca's second, which arrived when Roberto's shot deflected beyond Simon from a tight angle following Dembele's throughball. 

Dembele played a role again in Barca's third as Athletic crumbled, driving inside from the right to feed Lewandowski, who swivelled and lashed into the roof of the net.

Barca suffered a blow when Gavi limped off following a collision with Dani Garcia before the break, but they almost scored a fourth when Garcia's clearance hit Pedri and crashed against the post.

Dembele showcased his creative qualities once again when Barca completed the rout after 73 minutes, drilling a low cross into Torres, who shifted the ball to his right foot before finishing coolly. 

Atletico Madrid are starting to see the Antoine Griezmann of old, according to head coach Diego Simeone.

Griezmann's brace handed Atletico a 2-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday, with his first goal a bizarre effort straight from a corner that somehow found its way in.

The France international scored just three times in 26 LaLiga appearances (21 starts) last season for the Rojiblancos, and started this campaign slowly due to being mostly limited to substitute outings because of an appearance clause in his loan contract from Barcelona.

However, since the move was recently made permanent, the 31-year-old has been able to feature more and he now has five goals in 11 LaLiga games (five starts) this season.

"It seems we are seeing the Griezmann who left, who is a leader," Simeone said post-match. "We need leaders. He understands his team-mates and a good partnership is being formed."

Griezmann's two goals also put him ahead of Paco Campos as Atletico's third-top scorer of all time, with 147 now to his name.

Simeone, meanwhile, was pleased with the effort of his players, who moved up to third in LaLiga with the win and are now unbeaten in eight away league games, winning seven (D1).

"We found an improved attitude," he said. "When you have talent you need attitude. Attitude matters more than talent. The boys have been making a great effort."

Betis head coach Manuel Pellegrini was left frustrated, though almost saw his team draw level after substitute Nabil Fekir scored a late free-kick and Alex Moreno hit the crossbar with a header in stoppage time, but his team's run of six successive home league wins came to an end.

"I don't remember a save from Rui Silva until 1-0," he said, with Griezmann's opening goal coming from a corner resulting from Atletico's first shot on target in the 54th minute.

"Unfortunately, we lacked a little more creativity with such a closed team near their area. We had two or three opportunities in the first half. 

"In the second, already with the score against us, [Atletico] didn't have many chances... but in the end we couldn't tie it."

Antoine Griezmann scored a double, including a goal direct from a corner, as Atletico Madrid won 2-1 at Real Betis on Sunday to move up to third in LaLiga.

The visitors struggled to create chances but took the lead early in the second half when Griezmann's inswinging set-piece somehow found its way into the net, before the France international added a second following a neat move down the right.

Manuel Pellegrini will have been frustrated to lose a game in which his Betis side were arguably on top prior to falling behind, and they gave themselves hope when Nabil Fekir scored a late free-kick, but were unable to find another goal.

The win moves Diego Simeone's Atletico above Real Sociedad after their defeat at Real Valladolid on Saturday.

It was a relatively uneventful first half, though the hosts did suffer a blow when Luiz Felipe was forced off injured after just 20 minutes, replaced by Victor Ruiz.

Borja Iglesias hit a hopeful shot at Jan Oblak's near post five minutes before the break to record the first effort on target of the game. The ball was then in the Atletico net two minutes after the restart when Henrique fired a shot into the top right corner of the net from the edge of the box, but a VAR check found Iglesias to have been offside in the build-up.

Salt was firmly rubbed into the wounds in the 54th minute when the corner from Griezmann made its way through a crowd, with German Pezzella unable to keep it out at the far post.

If that goal was fortunate, the second was well-earned as a move featuring Nahuel Molina, Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha ended with the Brazilian finding Griezmann, who ran through and prodded the ball beneath Rui Silva in the Betis goal.

Substitute Fekir curled a beautiful free-kick into the top-left corner of Oblak's goal to provide late drama, but Atletico were able to hold on for three points.

Leon Goretzka says Robert Lewandowski "was spoiled" at Bayern Munich as he taunted his former team-mate over Barcelona's Champions League struggles.

Barca face being eliminated from the competition in the group stage in successive campaigns for only the second time heading into Wednesday's tie with Bayern at Camp Nou.

The Catalan giants will be unable to advance to the last 16 should they lose or if Inter beat Viktoria Plzen, while they will also be eliminated should both games be drawn.

While Barca have struggled in Europe of late, Bayern have reached at least the quarter-finals in all but one of the past 11 seasons, which Goretzka says can be taken for granted.

"Lewy was very spoiled at Bayern, always being at least in the round of 16 and progressing," Goretzka told reporters. "But now we can no longer take that into account."

Bayern beat Barca 2-0 in last month's reverse fixture, in which Lewandowski missed two presentable opportunities, and are already assured of a place in the knockout stages.

The German side have defeated Barcelona in nine of their 12 Champions League encounters, including the past five in a row.

Only Bayern themselves against Real Madrid (10) have lost more games against a single side in the competition's history, and Goretzka is targeting another victory next week.

"If we play against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, it can be a preparatory game or a Champions League final, it doesn't matter," the Germany international added. 

"It's going to be a super cool game that we're looking forward to. And we will also do everything to win it."

Lewandowski has scored five Champions League goals for Barca, each of those coming at Camp Nou – the most ever by a Barca player after their first two matches.

The prolific striker lifted the famous trophy with Bayern in 2020, but he will have to settle for Europa League football – at best – if results go against his side.

"It's their last chance," Bayern striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting said. "I'm definitely looking forward to the game and to seeing Lewy. 

"He's a world-class player and a great guy. Playing against Barcelona is always something special."

Federico Valverde will miss Real Madrid's Champions League game at RB Leipzig on Tuesday, joining Karim Benzema in being ruled out of the trip to Germany.

Uruguayan midfielder Valverde has been in revelatory form for Madrid this season and scored his seventh goal of the campaign in Saturday's 3-1 win against Sevilla.

However, he took a heavy knock late in that game after being clattered by Papu Gomez, who was booked, and that blow has counted Valverde out of head coach Carlo Ancelotti's midweek plans.

Ballon d'Or winner Benzema was already expected to miss the Leipzig fixture, having been absent against Sevilla due to muscular fatigue in his left leg, and that was confirmed as Madrid announced their travelling squad.

Neither Valverde nor Benzema is expected to be sidelined for long, with reports in Spain indicating both could come back into contention for next Sunday's LaLiga game against Girona.

Madrid have already made sure of a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League, and they will be confirmed as winners of Group F if they avoid defeat at second-placed Leipzig, who sit four points behind Ancelotti's defending champions.

Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Manchester United is coming to a head, having stormed out of their midweek win over Tottenham.

Ronaldo was sanctioned by the club and suspended for Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea, but United boss Erik ten Hag has reiterated the Portuguese has a role to play at the club.

However, the 37-year-old has been frustrated by his status this season after trying to force a move away in the close season.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA FLOAT OFFER TO RONALDO FOR JANUARY

Chelsea are set to offer Cristiano Ronaldo a January lifeline with the club reigniting their interest in the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, according to Sunday World.

Ex-manager Thomas Tuchel was not keen to pursue Blues owner Todd Boehly's interest in Ronaldo in the last transfer window but with the German gone Chelsea are ready to move, drawn in by the Portuguese's huge commercial appeal.

The report claims Chelsea have floated a short-term deal until the end of the season to Ronaldo, with the option of a further year. Ronaldo is prepared to accept a pay cut to make the deal happen too.

ROUND-UP

– Napoli's Georgian whizz Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is being tracked by Manchester City, claim The Sun. The winger only joined Napoli in July but has dazzled with seven goals in 14 appearances.

– Calciomercato claims Chelsea defender Trevor Chalobah is being tracked by Inter as a potential replacement for the soon-to-be out of contract Milan Skriniar.

– Barcelona have an interest in young Borussia Dortmund striker Youssouf Moukoko, according to SPORT.

– The Mirror reports Real Madrid are interested in Manchester United's Portuguese right-back Diogo Dalot. Barcelona are also monitoring him.

– The Sun also reports Manchester United have joined Liverpool in pursuing a move for Chicago Fire's Colombian teenage forward Jhon Duran.

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti believes the current Real Madrid squad may be the best that he has ever coached.

Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde scored in the final 15 minutes to propel Los Blancos to a 3-1 victory over Sevilla, which opened up a six-point lead over Barcelona – who face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Victory at Santiago Bernabeu was Madrid's ninth in 10 LaLiga matches this season, with Ancelotti's side yet to taste defeat across all competitions – only being held twice overall, against Osasuna and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The valiant late surge left Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League in two separate stints with the club, to declare that the current crop of players may well be the best he has ever overseen in his career.

"I don't know if it's the most reliable of my career, but it's a team I like coaching," he said in the post-match press conference.

"It's a team that doesn't give me problems, that is respectful. And as a quality, it's one of the best I've ever had, if not the best."

Victory against Sevilla came alongside a shuffling of the deck as Ancelotti balanced Madrid's frantic schedule ahead of the World Cup in Qatar next month and he praised the performance of those that were brought in.

"These are resources that we have on the bench. The squad is healthy when those who play less enter the field and do very well," he added.

"We have to endure this stretch of the season, we need to continue suffering and win games."

Valverde picked up a knock in the game while Karim Benzema was not part of the matchday squad after a niggle in training, though the Italian coach was not concerned by either issue.

"Karim is very important for us and he will be more important in the second leg of the season. We're not worried, because it's a very small thing," he said.

"Valverde has a blow to the leg, it bothers him a little, we have to see him. I don't know if he's going to be able to recover. Benzema, I think will be back on Sunday."

Carlo Ancelotti's late substitutions paid off as Real Madrid secured a 3-1 LaLiga win over Sevilla on Saturday.

It had initially been a tale of two former Tottenham players as Luka Modric gave Madrid a quick lead on a wet night at the Santiago Bernabeu, before Erik Lamela equalised early in the second half.

Ancelotti's changes made all the difference though, as Lucas Vazquez restored the champions’ advantage just after coming on, with fellow substitute Marco Asensio involved in the build-up, before he also laid on an assist for Federico Valverde to seal victory.

The champions showed they could cope without Karim Benzema, who paraded his Ballon d’Or trophy on the pitch but was only a spectator due to muscular fatigue, as they moved six points clear of Barcelona at the top of the table.

Karim Benzema faces time on the Real Madrid sidelines after the Ballon d'Or winner was revealed to be suffering with muscular fatigue in his left leg.

With one month to go until France begin their World Cup campaign against Australia, the news of Benzema's exertions taking their toll may be of some concern to Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps.

For now, there is no suggestion Benzema will not be fit to play a full role in the Qatar 2022 tournament, but the injury announcement is a reminder all players are susceptible amid a packed fixture schedule for Europe's top clubs.

A Madrid club statement read: "Following tests carried out today on Karim Benzema by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with muscular fatigue in the quadricep muscle of his left leg. His recovery will be monitored."

Reports in Spain said that, as well as missing Saturday's game against Sevilla, Benzema was also expected to be absent for the Champions League fixture at RB Leipzig on Tuesday.

However, Benzema could be back for the LaLiga clash with Girona on Sunday, October 30, sports daily Marca reported.

Benzema won the Ballon d'Or for his feats last season, when his 44 goals in 46 games helped Madrid triumph in LaLiga and the Champions League.

He scored in last Sunday's 3-1 win over Barcelona as Madrid went clear at the top of the Spanish top flight, before netting again on Wednesday in the 3-0 victory at Elche, where he played the full 90 minutes.

Erling Haaland could become the first player in world football to make a transfer worth £1billion, according to his agent Rafaela Pimenta.

Haaland left Borussia Dortmund to join Manchester City after they activated a £51.2million (€60m) release clause in his BVB contract in May, and the striker has already begun to pay that fee back by making an incredible start to life in England.

The Norwegian became the first player to score as many as nine goals in his first five Premier League appearances in August and has already netted three hat-tricks in the competition.

Haaland has hit the net 15 times in 10 league games for City, and Pimenta, who manages the agency built by the late Mino Raiola, believes he could make history with his next move.

Asked to put a price on Haaland by Sky Sport Italia, Pimenta said: "One billion, that's what I think. 

"If you put together his football value, his image value, his sponsorship value, it is one billion, for sure.

"It's also normal to compare Erling with [Kylian] Mbappe, so you have a little bit of an idea of the market. I think Erling will be the first player to achieve a transfer around one billion." 

Haaland's incredible form has coincided with speculation linking him to Real Madrid, but Pimenta would be open to discussing a new contract with City instead of instigating a move away.

Asked whether Haaland could already be in line for a new deal, she said: "I hope so! If they want to discuss it today, I would be happy. Why not?"

However, Pimenta kept her cards close to her chest when questioned on reports claiming Haaland's current contract has a release clause allowing him to join Madrid on favourable terms. 

"The good and bad of being a lawyer is that you know what you cannot say," she added. "You don't need someone poking you, saying; 'Don't say this, don't say that'. I cannot talk about it."

Wolves captain Ruben Neves said it is a "privilege" to be linked with Barcelona as any player in the world would want to join the Catalan giants.

Neves is reportedly a target for Barca after catching the eye with some outstanding displays for Wolves and Portugal.

The midfielder has been a revelation since arriving at Molineux from Porto in 2017, helping the club win promotion and establish themselves in the Premier League.

Neves, who is under contract until 2024, expressed his pride that the Blaugrana could be keen to lure him to Camp Nou.

He told Portuguese broadcaster Canal 11: "Who wouldn't want to try Barcelona? I think it's a common question for all players.

"It's one of the biggest clubs in the world. Of course, it's always a privilege for me to be associated with clubs of this calibre."

However, the 25-year-old says he is focused on turning Wolves' fortunes around after a poor start to the season resulted in head coach Bruno Lage being sacked this month. 

He added: "I'm going to do my job here and I'm sure I have people working with me. I trust these people a lot for these situations.

"I have to focus as much as I can on Wolves. Having a good time here, things will come naturally."

Gavi has added the Golden Boy award to the Kopa Trophy he won earlier this week, following in the footsteps of Barcelona team-mate Pedri by winning both prizes in the same year.

The 18-year-old saw off competition from the likes of Eduardo Camavinga, Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham to land the Kopa Trophy – given to the best player in the world under the age of 21 – at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony.

At a press conference in Palermo on Friday, it was revealed that Gavi had beaten another 19 nominees – including that aforementioned trio – to land the Golden Boy prize, which follows similar rules to the Kopa Trophy,

Gavi has become the third player to win the Golden Boy award while representing Barcelona, after Lionel Messi in 2005 and Pedri in 2021.

The teenager has been a revelation since breaking into the Blaugrana's first team, scoring twice and providing six assists as he made 34 appearances in LaLiga last season.

That form has seen the diminutive midfielder win 12 caps for Spain after becoming the youngest player to represent La Roja's senior side in October last year.

Barcelona had four players shortlisted for the award, with Ansu Fati and Nico Gonzalez – who is currently on loan at Valencia – joining Gavi and Pedri among the final 20 nominees.

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti believes Toni Kroos will extend his stay at the club beyond his current contract.

Kroos has been a core part of Los Blancos' success in the past eight years, lifting the LaLiga title on three occasions and clinching victory in the Champions League four times – including last season.

Now 32, and with fellow midfielder Luka Modric also in his twilight years, Madrid have looked to the future with the signings of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, but Kroos remains crucial for Ancelotti's side.

The Germany international has started seven of Madrid's 10 LaLiga matches this season and, while his current deal is set to expire at the end of the campaign, Ancelotti expects him to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"I've talked to him, he's very calm. He's going to think about it after the World Cup, in January or February. I think he's going to continue," he said in Friday's press conference ahead of the clash against Sevilla.

"His level is better than last year, he had physical problems at the beginning and then he did very well. He's at a very high level."

Kroos is set to represent Germany at the World Cup in Qatar, which begins next month, where Ancelotti expects to see matches played with a higher level of intensity compared to the usual post-season tournament.

"I think this part of the season helps, you can see a World Cup with much more intensity, they will reach the top," he added.

"In the previous ones they arrive exhausted to play the World Cup. Now they will arrive with a lot of energy."

In each of the past two seasons, there were periods where Sevilla could consider themselves genuine threats in LaLiga's title race.

That was perhaps more relevant in 2020-21, though it shouldn't be forgotten that Sevilla looked like the only team capable of stopping Real Madrid in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign.

But much has changed in 2022. They head to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday as bigger outsiders than they've been for years in this fixture.

That's certainly not to say they've ever been considered favourites against Madrid in recent memory, but there will be some Sevilla fans just hoping they can hold on to a respectable scoreline – it's a pretty significant come-down for a club that in the past three years felt they weren't far from establishing themselves as genuine title candidates.

Saturday's game will be new coach Jorge Sampaoli's first trip to either of the big two since his return, and it'll provide the clearest indication yet of what his team's ceiling is.

Jump before you're pushed

Julen Lopetegui should've left Sevilla in pre-season. It was clear even then that the team needed an injection of fresh ideas, and the departures of Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde – Sevilla's bedrock for three seasons – seemed like a natural indicator of the required change.

During Lopetegui's time at the club, Sevilla were solid at the back but fairly unremarkable in attack. He'll have known his go-to centre-back partnership – arguably the best of its kind in Europe – was going to be lost, so Sevilla would either need to sign another exceptional pairing – unlikely – or buy a dependable striker.

Granted, Lopetegui can only work with the group of players provided to him by sporting director Monchi, so it's not all on him. However, in the early weeks of the season there was no sign of an improvement in attack, and the insurance policy represented by a sturdy defence was no longer there.

The result? Sevilla's five points after the first seven league games of the season was their worst at that stage since 1996-97 (four points). They were relegated that campaign.

That was their record following a 2-0 home defeat by Atletico Madrid at the start of October, a loss that essentially ended Lopetegui's reign. A few days later, he was dismissed right after the 4-1 battering by Borussia Dortmund, though it was clear a decision on his future had already been made as he tearfully waved farewell to supporters from the middle of the pitch at full-time.

The 4-1 defeat to BVB was Sevilla's fourth loss by at least two goals this season, three more than in the entirety of 2021-22.

A Europa League title, three successive fourth-placed finishes, a new club-record points total for one season (77) – Lopetegui did a fine job on the whole, but their form in the second half of last season hinted at a decline.

Their haul of 32 points after the turn of the year (20 matches) was only the sixth-most in LaLiga and 13 fewer than Barcelona. Before January, they'd amassed 38 points in two fewer games – only Madrid (46, 19 matches) had more.

That hint of decline proved to be more like a foreshadowing.

Back to the Future

There aren't many players or coaches who return to Sevilla. Those that do generally fall into one of two categories: fan favourite returning to see out their later years in top-level football; individual whose 'big move' away didn't go as planned and is hoping to rebuild their reputation.

The latter category is more fitting for Sampaoli.

French football fans might suggest that's doing his Marseille work a disservice, and maybe it is. After all, he did guide them to only their second runners-up finish in nine seasons last term, steadying the ship after arriving at a time of great unrest.

However, even with that, it's fair to suggest Sampaoli's stock still hasn't fully recovered to where it was when he first left Sevilla in 2017. At that point, he'd been successful in three consecutive jobs with Universidad de Chile, Chile's national team and then Sevilla, whom he guided to a first top-four finish in seven years playing vibrant football – along the way, they were also the team to halt Madrid's Spanish-record unbeaten run of 40 matches.

Argentina came calling, and given the coach's reputation at the time, expectations were sky-high. But turbulence in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup showed Sampaoli and La Albiceleste weren't necessarily a good fit. He just about got them to Russia but their campaign was chaotic, with a 3-0 defeat to Croatia leading to an apparent confrontation between players and coaching staff.

A 2-1 win over Nigeria got Argentina out of the group, but eventual champions France were up next and Les Bleus edged a modern classic 4-3 in Kazan – unsurprisingly it was Sampaoli's final game in charge.

Whether the fiasco made Sampaoli a pariah in European football terms is difficult to prove. But in a little over a year he went from one of the most sought-after and promising coaches in the world to being virtually forgotten in Europe, with his next two jobs coming in Brazil with Santos and Atletico Mineiro.

The aforementioned bright spell with Marseille provided Europe with a reminder of Sampaoli's charms; his boisterous personality, his often-chaotic brand of football. In many ways he was the perfect man for Marseille, a club from a city that is unapologetically itself and intense.

Seville has some similar characteristics, particularly in its deep passion for its football clubs, and there's undoubtedly a sense Sampaoli has unfinished business in LaLiga and at Sevilla.

Four games in and he's yet to lose – a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu is no ordinary task, however. In fact, Sampaoli's last away game during his first spell at Sevilla was a 4-1 defeat to Madrid, who all but wrapped up the 2016-17 title with that victory.

Of course, what happens at the Bernabeu won't define Sevilla's season. They have a long road and rebuild ahead of them; let's not forget, this is a squad built for Lopetegui, yet he and Sampaoli are very different coaches.

Re-energising the team is Sampaoli's task, and if he succeeds, his reputation will be restored. Saturday provides an opportunity for a depleted Sevilla to show they're at least making positive strides. 

Manchester United have reached the end of their tether with Cristiano Ronaldo and want the superstar out of the club as soon as January, reports say.

The apparent refusal by Ronaldo to come on as a substitute against Tottenham on Wednesday, before flouncing off before the final whistle, has led to the striker being barred from playing any part in this weekend's Premier League clash with Chelsea.

Now Ronaldo may have played his last game for the club, unless bridges can be rebuilt.

TOP STORY – RONALDO'S UNITED FUTURE IN DOUBT

Ronaldo's last visible matchday act as a Manchester United player could turn out to be the moment he walked down the tunnel before the final whistle blew in the Spurs game.

That act looks to have been one of rebellion, with widespread reports now stating Ronaldo had declined to come off the bench late in the game.

According to the i newspaper and The Sun, among others, United boss Erik ten Hag has decided enough is enough and the time has come to part ways with the 37-year-old five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Ronaldo's performances in his second United stint have been mixed, and amid diminishing returns Ten Hag is said to want Ronaldo moved on to another club in January, or for his contract to be terminated. Ronaldo's deal runs to the end of this season.

There appeared to be a dearth of suitors during the last transfer window when Ronaldo looked keen on a move, so arranging a transfer for the former Real Madrid star may not be straightforward, unless of course he excels with Portugal at the World Cup.

ROUND-UP

- Ruben Neves has unfinished business at Porto and the 25-year-old Wolves midfielder has revealed he wants to return to the Primeira Liga giants while still in his prime years. He left at the age of 20 to join his current club. Portugal international Neves told Canal 11: "Returning to FC Porto is something I really want to happen, but it's impossible to say when. I hope I'm in the best conditions and that they still want me. I don't know how I'll be in a few years, but my goal is not to go to FC Porto to finish my career, but to win titles. I was there for three years and I didn't win."

- Andriy Lunin has shown himself to be a handy deputy for Thibaut Courtois in the Real Madrid goal, but will he stay at Santiago Bernabeu? Mundo Deportivo says the Ukrainian goalkeeper could leave before the end of his contract, which runs to 2024, if he becomes frustrated with life on the bench, with the newspaper suggesting Madrid would not stand in his way.

- Lazio are said to be looking for back-up for Ciro Immobile, their experienced Italy striker, and have reportedly got their eye on two Spain-based forwards. According to Corriere dello Sport, the players being eyed by Maurizio Sarri are Elche's Argentine frontman Lucas Boye and Sevilla's Spaniard Rafa Mir.