Claudio Bravo is set to start for Manchester City in the EFL Cup final against Arsenal after impressing boss Pep Guardiola with his displays in knockout competitions this season.
Chile goalkeeper Bravo endured a torrid debut campaign in England after joining from Barcelona in August 2016, prompting Guardiola to bring in Ederson from Benfica.
The Brazilian has taken Bravo s place for Premier League and Champions League games, winning rave reviews for his performances.
It has left the 34-year-old restricted to a diet of domestic cup action, although he starred in penalty shootout wins over Wolves and Leicester City in the EFL Cup and Guardiola will seemingly resist any temptation to give Ederson the nod at Wembley next weekend.
Speaking ahead of the FA Cup …
Napoli have insisted that Gonzalo Higuain has not asked to leave and say Juventus have not put in a request to sign him.
The Argentina international has been heavily linked with both Serie A champions Juve and Arsenal, with a €94million release clause reportedly tempting those clubs.
Higuain s brother and agent Nicolas said last month that his client would not be renewing his contract with last season s Serie A runners-up Napoli, which has two years left to run.
Despite the frenzied links with domestic rivals Juve, Napoli have stressed that little has changed regarding the 28-year-old striker, who scored a stunning 36 league goals in 2015-16.
Gonzalo never said he wanted to leave, Napoli s head of communications Nicola Lombardo said at a Q A with suppo…
Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has urged David Beckham to extend his stay at the Parc des Princes in order to help the French Ligue 1 giants win the UEFA Champions League next term, .
Beckham, 37, signed a five-month deal with PSG in January, with recent reports suggesting the club including the owner, manager and players want the midfielder to stay in Paris next season.
According to Ibra, the former AC Milan and Real Madrid superstar has had an immeasurable impact on the club and its players.
The 37-year-old has made 11 appearances, including three starts, in all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain this season.
We are going to win the Champions League and David is going to be part of it, said Ibrahimovic.
The owner…
Championship top scorer Glenn Murray has signed a new contract at Crystal Palace to extend his stay for a further two years.
The 29-year-old s contract was due to expire in 2014 but after lengthy negotiations the striker, who has scored 30 goals this season, agreed an extension that will see him remain at the club until 2016.
I m delighted to get it all sorted, he told the club s website.
Obviously it s been mentioned a few months ago but now we ve got to the end of it and signed, so yes, it s good news.
The striker arrived at Selhurst Park in May 2011 but could only register seven goals throughout the season as Palace battled to stay in the division.
The arrival of manager Ian Holloway revitalised the club and has seen the striker flourish al…
Jan Vertonghen praised the turnaround Tottenham have made under Jose Mourinho after his late header earned a 2-1 Premier League win at Wolves.
Adama Traore, who gave Vertonghen a tough match at Molineux on Sunday, had struck to cancel out Lucas Moura s early effort in wet conditions.
But Vertonghen headed home a Christian Eriksen corner in the first minute of added time to give Mourinho s men their fourth win in five league games since the Portuguese replaced Mauricio Pochettino.
Spurs are now within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea, who they host next weekend, with Vertonghen hailing the improvement made by his side in recent weeks.
It was a very difficult game. We know how good Wolves are, said the defender.
People talk about the top six …
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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho lauded star attacking midfielder Eden Hazard for his consistency this season.
Hazard, 24, has been nominated for the PFA Player of the Year Award after another good campaign, helping Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table.
Asked what Hazard had improved this season after a similarly impressive 2013-14, Mourinho said the 24-year-old was more than just glimpses of talent.
Consistency. One thing is the talent but another thing is to be consistent, Mourinho said of Hazard, last season s PFA Young Player of the Year.
In my opinion we want to win the league, he wants to win the league, not the player of the year or something like that.
Obviously on top of collective ambitions, the player deserves something specia…
Louis van Gaal s Manchester United welcome West Brom on Saturday seeking to avoid a third straight Premier League defeat, but may be without captain Wayne Rooney.
Frustrating losses to Chelsea and Everton have hampered United s attempts to ensure automatic qualification for the UEFA Champions League, with Rooney sustaining a knee injury in the clash with his former club.
The England skipper was substituted during the second half of the 3-0 reversal at Goodison Park compounding United s misery and leaving Rooney a doubt for the visit of West Brom.
United were afforded the lion s share of possession at both Stamford Bridge and Goodison but were hit clinically on the counter at both venues.
With Tony Pulis men also likely to sit deep in their bid to clai…
Anzhi star Odil Akhmedov has moved to reveal that Arsenal have been showing interest in his services.
The 25-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best holding midfielders in Russian Premier League and he has seen his name linked with a number of Europe s top clubs.
Akhmedov says that Arsenal have been keeping close tabs on him throughout the season, with the Gunners expected to step up their interest in the player.
“It is true I have interest from Arsenal though – their scouts have watched me in every match this season,” Akhmedov .
“If I move there, I could be a huge success but there is no bid yet.”
The problem is the Gunners are only ready to go up to €4 million, which is significantly lower than the player s actual value.
…
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Denmark international striker Nicklas Helenius from Danish Superliga side Aalborg BK, .
Helenius, 22, joins the likes of Aleksandar Tonev, Leandro Bacuna and compatriot Jores Okore on a three-year contract at Villa Park after becoming the club s fourth new signing of the summer.
Aston Villa will pay an initial transfer fee of £1.2 million which could rise to £2 million for the Danish Superliga Player of the Year, who scored 16 goals in 33 Superligaen appearances for AaB last season.
Nicklas is a young lad but also a full international with a good goalscoring record in Denmark and he ll prove himself in the Premier League, said Villa boss Paul Lambert.
The opportunity will be there for him, as…