Eddie Howe is aware of the threat posed to AFC Bournemouth by Leicester City star Jamie Vardy, but stressed that his defenders have handled the England striker before.

A late vardy Penalty gave Claudio Ranieri s men – who have since gone on to sit level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League after 19 games – a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium in August.

But Howe felt Bournemouth largely coped with his threat during that match and spoke of the importance of his players – who have only lost once in their last seven games – doing so again when the two teams meet at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Jamie Vardy has unique strengths, the 38-year-old told Sky Sports.

He combines an incredible work ethic with real pace, determin…

Gio Reyna says he is very, very happy at Borussia Dortmund and is enjoying life with Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland as team-mates.

The 17-year-old broke into the BVB first-team squad in the second half of the 2019-20 season and made 18 appearances in all competitions, scoring once.

Reyna is now looking to kick on again in the coming campaign, once more starring alongside fellow youngsters Sancho and Haaland, who have each turned 20 this year.

Sancho has been widely linked with a move to Manchester United, yet Reyna, while discussing his own future, insists Dortmund are no stepping stone.

I m very, very happy here right now, the English-born United States youth international told Bild. That is all that counts.

Dortmund is not a bus stop. This is…

New Everton signing Allan is one of the best defensive midfielders in world football, according to Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Everton confirmed the signing of Allan from Napoli on Saturday, with the 29-year-old having penned a three-year contract at Goodison Park.

Allan was one of the most consistent performers for the Serie A side under both Maurizio Sarri and Ancelotti, but fell out of favour under Gennaro Gattuso.

Ancelotti was keen to be reunited with the Brazil international – who has made nine appearances for his country – at Everton, and a deal reportedly worth £22.2million (€25m) plus add-ons was struck.

While deals for Real Madrid s James Rodriguez and Watford s Abdoulaye Doucoure are thought to be close, Ancelotti has hailed Allan, …

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has praised the talents of new signing Ibrahim Afellay, joining the club from PSV Eindhoven.

The Dutch international is unavailable for the La Liga champions for their Sunday fixture against Levante due to a transfer window technicality, which frustrated Guardiola given the absence of stars Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol.

We knew that the market doesn t open until the third (of January). It s a shame, because he (Afellay) would have been useful to cover for missing people but is good that Afellay has come, he s been well received. Then urgent thing now is for him to learn the language, Guardiola told the club s official site.

Afellay played with PSV from 2003 onwards, making more than 20 league appearances in three o…

Burnley registered their first win in 11 Premier League games as Vincent Kompany’s relegation-threatened side defeated 10-man Brentford 2-1 at Turf Moor.

The Clarets took the lead through a 10th-minute Jacob Bruun Larsen penalty given after a foul on Vitinho by Sergio Reguilon, who received a straight red card.

David Datro Fofana, having been guilty of a remarkable miss late in the first half, then doubled the advantage with a finish just past the hour mark.

Kristoffer Ajer pulled a goal back for Brentford with eight minutes of normal time to go but Burnley were able to see out what was their first victory of 2024, and only their fourth in the league this season.

Boss Kompany had emphasised pre-match that he had not given up hope of avoiding relegation …

Tottenham have agreed a fee with Montpellier for the transfer of midfielder Benjamin Stambouli, the French club confirmed on Friday.

The former France Under-21 international was part of the Ligue 1 title-winning side at Montpellier in 2011-12, having come through the club s youth system.

However, he now looks set to leave for Spurs, having featured regularly for the French club in recent seasons.

Montpellier tweeted: An agreement has been reached between Montpellier and Spurs for the transfer of Benjamin Stambouli.

Making 37 league appearances last term and scoring twice, Stambouli was a rare bright spot in a disappointing campaign that saw Rolland Courbis men finish 15th.

The 24-year-old then caught the eye of several clubs around the continent…

France will be out to rebound from a disappointing draw in Euro 2012 qualifying when they come up against Ukraine in a friendly on Monday.

Laurent Blanc s team were held 1-1 by Belarus on Friday, but remain top of Group D despite only collecting a point.

Blanc blamed the draw on fatigue during the encounter after some players endured long domestic seasons.

The trip to Donetsk is part of a frantic schedule of games for France, who will also meet Poland in a friendly on Thursday.

Blanc will be able to rotate his squad, but he will also have an eye on September s vital qualifying matches in Albania and Romania.

Chelsea winger Florent Malouda was a shining light against Belarus, equalising after Eric Abidal had turned the ball into his own net moment…

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as Borussia Dortmund eased into the Europa League quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane, meaning the Bundesliga side progress 5-1 on aggregate.

Striker Aubameyang ended any slender hopes Tottenham had of overhauling a 3-0 deficit from the first leg when he launched a long-range shot beyond goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 24th minute.

The Gabon international took his tally for the season to 35 with a second goal in the 70th minute, with Lloris failing to keep out a powerful drive that deflected into the net off the Frenchman s right arm.

Neven Subotic s weak back pass allowed Son Heung-min the chance to cut the deficit in half with 17 minutes to play, although his effort was no more tha…

Jordi Cruyff would love to take up a role at former clubs Barcelona or Manchester United, but insists he is not obsessed by the idea.

The 42-year-old spent two years as sporting director of Cypriot side AEK Larnaca before moving to Maccabi Tel Aviv who have won the last three league titles in Israel in 2012. 

Asked if his dream was to return to Camp Nou or Old Trafford in some capacity, Cruyff told Omnisport: I think as a football player I have had the luck and the pride to be at clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United. 

I ve also been very happy in smaller clubs, but of course these are two clubs with a very big stature, big name, big status. It s one of those dream clubs.

Of course one of these clubs would be fantastic, but I ve also learned not…

Jurgen Klopp was very interested in him two and a half years ago and that interested has not died since. Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski is reportedly Liverpool s transfer target for the upcoming summer, Calciomercato reports. The Poland international was allegedly close to joining Merseyside club back in the summer of 2016, ahead of the start of the season, before he opted for Napoli instead.

Report says that Zielinski is now back on Jurgen Klopp s radar and that the club will pursue the Polish player whatever the outcome of this Premier League and Champions League season is. Still, it remains to be seen how realistic all of this will be, as there are some reports in Italy saying Zielinski could be renewing his contract with the club from Naples.

Zielinski i…