Kompany wants to see ´real winners come to life´ at Bayern

Schalke winger Jefferson Farfan claimed he was overwhelmed by the reception he received from fans when he ended what was effectively a year-long injury hiatus at the weekend.

Apart from five minutes off the bench against Eintracht Frankfurt on April 11, 2014, Farfan was out of action for almost 13 months with a knee injury until he was subbed on in Schalke s 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Farfan made his first appearance this term when he replaced Max Meyer at the Veltins Arena, and the Peru international conceded it was an intense moment for him mentally.

I was a bit nervous, which is probably normal after being sidelined for so long, Farfan told Schalke s website.

The reception I received when I came onto the pitch was overwhelming. I quick…

Arsenal youngster Folarin Balogun is keeping all options open with regards to his future after starring on loan at Reims.

Balogun has scored 18 goals in 29 appearances for the French side, making him the highest-scoring player aged 21 or under across Europe s top five leagues this season.

The Arsenal academy product has made just two Premier League appearances for his parent club, who already have strikers Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah on their books.

He still has two years to run on his contract at Emirates Stadium, but Balogun is unsure where he will be playing his football in the 2023-24 campaign.

Contractually I have to go back. The loan was for one year so that was always the agreement, he told Ligue 1 s website. I m not sure what s going to happe…

Chelsea flirted with FA Cup humiliation before coming from behind to beat Southend 4-1 in a third round replay that epitomised the best traditions of the world s oldest knockout competition.

Having been braced for a backlash from Chelsea s 3-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday, League One s Southend stunned the visitors by taking the lead through captain Adam Barrett s 16th-minute header.

Michael Ballack s first goal since Euro 2008 got Luiz Felipe Scolari s side back on level terms just before the break and strikers Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka found the net before Frank Lampard put a flattering gloss on the scoreline with a last-minute effort.

Scolari had reacted to Sunday s 3-0 defeat by Manchester United by announcing that he would ditch man-to-man m…

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is a phenomenon who is better as a coach than he ever was as a player, according to his former Juventus team-mate Alessio Tacchinardi.

Zidane enjoyed a seamless transition to coaching after being promoted from Real Madrid s youth side in January 2016, replacing the dismissed Rafael Benitez and guiding the club to Champions League success the same season.

He then presided over another Champions League-winning campaign the following year, making Madrid the first club to retain their crown, while they also added a LaLiga title.

Things have been a little more difficult for them this season and they sit third in the league, 13 points adrift of rivals Barcelona, with Zidane – who won the Ballon d Or as a player – under pressure a…

Mauricio Pochettino could one day return to Tottenham for a second spell at the helm, chairman Daniel Levy has suggested.

Pochettino – who guided Spurs to four successive top-four finishes in the Premier League, as well as last season s Champions League final – was sacked in November following a poor start to the campaign.

Jose Mourinho was swiftly appointed his successor, with Spurs winning five of their seven matches since in all competitions.

Levy made the call to dismiss Pochettino, but hinted it does not necessarily mean the end of the Argentine s association with Spurs, who established themselves as one of the Premier League s elite clubs under his guidance.

You have to understand I had built up a personal relationship with Mauricio over five …

France captain Patrick Vieira and Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda were recalled to the national squad by coach Raymond Domenech on Monday for the June friendlies with Nigeria and Turkey.

Vieira has had an injury-wracked season and had already missed France s unhappy Euro 2008 campaign because of injury while Malouda was last selected for the friendly with Tunisia last October and then he only came on for six minutes as a substitute.

However, the 44-times capped former Lyon star who has voiced criticism of Domenech has rediscovered his form at Chelsea since Guus Hiddink took over in February as interim manager following the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Domenech insisted that his recalls of Malouda and Vieira who won the last of his 106 caps last November in…

AFC Bournemouth have completed the signing of Chelsea F.C. winger Christian Atsu on a season-long loan deal, according to the club s official website.

The Ghana international, who joined Chelsea from F.C. Porto for a reported £3.5 million in the summer of 2013, has spent the last two seasons on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and Everton.

At Vitesse (in 2013/14), Atsu scored five goals in 28 appearances in the Dutch Eredivisie, subsequently earning a season-long loan deal at English Premier League side Everton.

However, Atsu failed to establish himself in Roberto Martinez s first-team during his loan spell at Goodison Park. 

The Ghanaian, 23, failed to find the back of the net while tallying one assist in just 13 appearances in all competitions, inc…

Arsenal are set to sign Caglar Soyuncu from Freiburg, according to the chairman of the defender s former club Altinordu.

The 21-year-old moved to the Bundesliga club in 2016 and has since established himself as one of the most promising centre-backs in Germany, prompting reported interest from several Premier League clubs.

Seyit Mehmet Ozkan claims Arsenal have beaten Bayern Munich to Soyuncu s signature, though, saying the Gunners have already been in contact with Altinordu as part of the process.

Caglar Soyuncu is set to join Arsenal, he said at the International Football Economic Forum on Thursday. Arsenal asked for his youth information from us. We ll make money from the moment the transfer goes through.

Bayern Munich want him, too, but he s on his …

Ravel Morrison is set to join Championship side Cardiff City on a three month loan from West Ham United, .

The former Manchester United youth player has had just thirty-three minutes game time in the league for the Hammers so far this season, with his only other appearance coming in the Capital One Cup second round penalty shoot-out defeat to Sheffield United.

Since signing for West Ham in January 2012, the 21 year old has made just twenty-two appearances in all competitions, spending much of his time out on loan, first with Birmingham City and then Queens Park Rangers, where he spent the final three months of last season.

His contract with Sam Allardyce’s side expires at the end of the campaign, and it looks unlikely that he will be offered fresh terms.