Real Madrid have reportedly agreed a deal with Bayern Munich defender David Alaba.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Alaba, 28, has been linked with Europe's biggest clubs.

And the Austria international looks set for the Santiago Bernabeu.

 

TOP STORY – ALABA AGREES FOUR-YEAR DEAL WITH MADRID

Alaba has agreed a four-year deal with Real Madrid, according to Marca.

The Bayern defender will make the move to the LaLiga giants ahead of 2021-22, the report says.

Alaba was also linked to the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

ROUND-UP

- Staying at Real Madrid and the news is not so good when it comes to Lucas Vazquez. AS reports the midfielder has rejected the club's first contract offer, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season.

- Dele Alli is wanted by Paris Saint-Germain. The Sun reports the Tottenham midfielder is confident of getting a loan move to the Ligue 1 giants in January.

- Jesse Lingard's future at Manchester United is uncertain. ESPN reports the midfielder wants regular game time but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to keep him at the Premier League club. Lingard has made just three appearances in all competitions this season.

- After leaving the club in 2017, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar looks set to return to Schalke. SPORT1 reports the Ajax striker has undergone a medical ahead of a return to Schalke, who are bidding to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga.

Luka Jovic revelled in his two-goal return for Eintracht Frankfurt after struggling at LaLiga champions Real Madrid.

Jovic re-joined Eintracht on loan until the end of the season, having endured a difficult start to his Madrid career – the Serbia international only scored twice in 32 appearances under Zinedine Zidane in the Spanish capital, where he arrived for €60million in 2019.

But a return to Frankfurt appears to be the perfect tonic for Jovic, who came off the bench and scored twice in 28 minutes as Eintracht defeated Schalke 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Jovic matched his Madrid tally in the stunning cameo for Eintracht, where the 23-year-old netted 27 goals in 2018-19 before making the move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

"Amazing feeling! Victory, two goals. Couldn't have imagined a better comeback," Jovic wrote via Instagram post-match.

"I hope this is only the beginning and that the best is yet to come. Thank you all for your support.

"I want to dedicate my first goal to a great professional, an amazing leader, a true friend, a great man that I've been honoured to share the field with, our captain @davidabraham1986 [who retired].

"The second goal I dedicate to a great Eintracht fan that has recently passed away and left his loving wife and three kids. Rest In Peace."

Jovic played a key role in Eintracht's remarkable 2018-19 campaign as the German club reached the Europa League semi-finals, after initially being shipped to Deutsche Bank Park in 2017 on a two-year loan deal from Portuguese powerhouse Benfica.

After scoring nine goals in his first season with Eintracht as the team celebrated DFB-Pokal glory, the Bundesliga club's sporting director Fredi Bobic eventually triggered a purchase option reportedly worth €6m in 2019 to sign Jovic before making a significant profit on that investment.

Eintracht head coach Adi Hutter added: "It was incredibly important for Luka to return to where he had his best period and feels happy. You can tell that's been the case from day one.

"For him to score two such lovely goals speaks volumes about his quality. That sort of thing isn't always easy to explain."

It was as if he had never been away.

Luka Jovic has endured a dismal start to his Real Madrid career but was quickly back among the goals at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Having failed to impress in a season and a half in LaLiga following a €60million transfer from Eintracht to Madrid, Jovic headed back to Frankfurt on loan this week.

And a second debut swiftly followed, with Jovic called from the bench after 62 minutes at home to Schalke.

The game was all square at 1-1 at the time, with Andre Silva's first-half opener immediately cancelled out by Matthew Hoppe, the teenager whose hat-trick last week had secured Schalke's first win in 31 Bundesliga matches.

There was to be no second straight success for the strugglers, however, as Jovic required only 10 minutes to restore Eintracht's lead, hammering Filip Kostic's cutback into the roof of the net.

The loanee then made the points safe in stoppage time as he moved inside past Ozak Kabak to again finish right-footed and clinch a 3-1 win.

"You can tell that the air here is good for him," sporting director Fredi Bobic told Sky Sport afterwards. "The goals were top class, the whole process. That is a great art.

"I always get annoyed that I always have to sell the best players. Now he's back for a short time. That's what I'm most happy about."

With just two LaLiga goals to his name, the brace meant Jovic had netted as many times in 28 minutes back in the Bundesliga as in 32 matches for Madrid in all competitions.

The strikes came from Jovic's only two shots on Sunday, while he also completed 17 of his 18 passes in a lively display.

Teenage striker Matthew Hoppe scored a stunning hat-trick to finally banish Schalke's winless run after 30 Bundesliga matches.

The German giants had not claimed a league victory since January 2020 heading into Saturday's home game against Hoffenheim.

Failure to win again would have seen Schalke equal Tasmania Berlin's record stretch of 31 Bundesliga matches without success from 1965-66.

However, an inspired outing from 19-year-old Hoppe set up a 4-0 triumph at the Veltins-Arena, ending that miserable streak and moving Schalke off the foot of the table.

The American had never previously netted a senior goal but repaid the faith shown in him by Christian Gross, Schalke's fourth coach of the season.

Hoppe's opener came in contentious circumstances three minutes before half-time, with a handball on the edge of the hosts' box unpunished before a rapid counter saw Amine Harit send the forward through to lift a superb finish over Oliver Baumann.

Harit created all three Hoppe goals, although the scorer did the majority of the heavy lifting on each occasion, rounding Baumann for the second in the 57th minute and beating the goalkeeper with another dinked effort six minutes later to complete his treble - the first by an American in the Bundesliga.

The goal Harit deserved completed the scoring 11 minutes from time, drilled beyond Baumann at his near post to end Schalke's drought in spectacular fashion.

Having avoided a share of Tasmania's unwanted piece of history, Schalke are above Mainz and now only three points away from the relegation play-off place, although 16th-placed Arminia Bielefeld play on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Schalke's clean sheet left opponents Hoffenheim as the only side yet to record a shutout in the top flight this term.

Jadon Sancho was once top of Manchester United 's wish list but now Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to move for the Borussia Dortmund star's teammate  Erling Haaland .

Solskjaer had solidified his position at United heading into the January window following a 10-match unbeaten run and the Norwegian manager is determined to recruit his countryman.

After tracking ex-Manchester City youth product Sancho before the season, United are ready to switch their attention to Haaland, with reports suggesting he has a £70million release clause.


TOP STORY – UNITED TO SWITCH ATTENTION TO HAALAND AND CASH IN ON POGBA

The Mirror report Solskjaer is so keen on Haaland, he flew to Salzburg and attempted to hijak the goalscoring sensation’s move to Dortmund last January.

Borussia Dortmund have had no contact from Arsenal over a potential move for Julian Brandt.

The Gunners are looking for midfield reinforcements in the January transfer window and reports in Germany suggest Brandt is one option.

Arsenal technical director Edu craves creativity in the centre of the pitch, with Mikel Arteta's side having fashioned just 120 chances in the Premier League this season, more only than Sheffield United, Newcastle United, Burnley and West Brom.

Brandt would appear to provide that spark, having played a key role in a Dortmund side who have forged 162 opportunities in 2020-21 to lead the Bundesliga in this regard.

The Germany midfielder has accounted 18 of those key passes, ranking third for BVB behind Raphael Guerreiro (26) and Jadon Sancho (22). Left-back Kieran Tierney, with 17 chances, is Arsenal's top creator.

If Brandt is to move this month, though, Dortmund are still waiting to hear more - according to Michael Zorc, their sporting director.

"I read that, too," Zorc said of the Arsenal rumours. "I cannot say more about that. Nobody has contacted us. There is nothing on the table yet or even in the fax machine."

Discussing the January window in general, Zorc added: "We don't have any big plans right now.

"However, my years of activity have taught me that, at the beginning of the transfer window, I don't rule out anything."

Speaking on Saturday, Zorc was also asked about the troubles of rivals Schalke, who are bottom of the Bundesliga and winless in 29 matches, just two shy of Tasmania Berlin's all-time top-flight record.

"We have our own problems, in somewhat higher realms than Schalke," the Dortmund chief said.

"Basically, I would like Schalke to stay in the league. The traditional competition in this region is good for us all. We want that for next year as well."

Zorc was appearing alongside interim head coach Edin Terzic prior to Sunday's meeting with Wolfsburg.

Terzic and Dortmund will be without 16-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko but can welcome back Erling Haaland following a hamstring injury.

Haaland has averaged a goal every 65.1 minutes in the Bundesliga this season yet has not played since November and will not be rushed on his return.

"Erling is known for always being hungry," Terzic said. "So, we still have to be careful, slow it down a bit. But he makes a very good impression.

"Every team in the world depends on the player who has the last touch in front of the goal. Erling is extremely important to us - and not just because of his goals.

"He was missing, of course, but we tried to make up for it. Borussia Dortmund is not just Erling Haaland."

Wolfsburg's visit will be Edin Terzic's first home game in charge of Dortmund. Bert van Marwijk, in 2004, was the last BVB coach to lose on their home bow, although that also came against Wolfsburg.

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