Argentina snub Icardi as Lavezzi makes cut instead

Chelsea s Brazilian midfielder Ramires says he would be more than willing to re-sign for former club Cruzeiro if given the opportunity.

Since arriving at Stamford Bridge two years ago, the Brazil international has become a key component of the Chelsea team, with his energetic and bustling nature an important characteristic in the club’s run to becoming Champions League winners last season.

Ramires played for Cruzeiro from 2007 until 2009 when he moved to Benfica for a fee of around 7.5 million euros, and is optimistic he will play for them once again, but admits money could be an issue for the Belo Horizonte-based club.

If Cruzeiro are interested, it s possible for me to go back, Ramires told Sportv.

Although it s not a decision I can make and diffic…

Vincent Kompany has been rewarded for captaining Manchester City to their first Premier League title with a six-year contract.

Goal.com exclusively revealed the 26-year-old a key figure under Roberto Mancini and scorer of the crucial winner against Manchester United late in the campaign would be offered a new long-term deal at the club.

Kompany said he felt as though the Blues project was also his own and the Belgian insisted he never dreamed of moving away from the Etihad Stadium.

For me if you are good somewhere then there is no reason to look elsewhere, he told the official City website on Thursday.

Man City as a project is not just a project of the owners or the people employed by the club; it is also my project.

I have been here since the…

Victor Moses is loving life at Chelsea again after being converted into a wing-back under Antonio Conte.

The Nigeria international joined Chelsea from Wigan in 2012, but failed to live up to the high expectations at Stamford Bridge as a winger.

He has been shipped out on loan to Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham United over the course of the past three seasons, but was given a chance to prove his worth again following the arrival of Conte as the club s new manager.

Moses, 25, has impressed with a number of fine performances down the right and he is delighted with his new role.

I m feeling happy, I m feeling excited and right now I m looking forward to every game, Moses told Sky Sports.

I have not played there before but I have just got to liste…

United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann believes his team s wins over Netherlands and Germany in the past week will stand them in good stead for future World Cups.

Klinsmann s men stunned Germany 2-1 on Wednesday, ending their European tour with a perfect record, after they also surprised the Dutch 4-3 on Friday.

Having only won one knockout match at a World Cup since ending a 40-year hiatus at football s premier event in 1990, there has been a sense USA suffer from an inferiority complex when facing the world s best teams.

Klinsmann hopes that will not be the case anymore.

Results like this here and there give us confidence that we will win these games at a World Cup in the knockout stage, he said at his post-match media conference.

At last year s …

Barcelona are considering a move for Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld, according to the Daily Star.

Manchester United have also been linked with the Belgium international, who could be set to leave the North London outfit at the end of the season after contract talks stalled due to his demands.

His current deal isn’t set to expire until 2020 though he will be available for £25m in eighteen months time due to a clause in his contract.

Alderweireld signed for Spurs in the summer of 2015 following a season long with Southampton, where he first worked with manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Since then, he has racked up one hundred and eleven appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals.

Internationally he has been capped sixty-eig…

The Metro understands that it was Roma who pulled the plug on Edin Dzeko’s proposed move to Chelsea in the winter transfer window.

The soon-to-be dethroned Premier League champions were linked with a move for the Bosnia and Herzegovina international in January during their pursuit of a new forward, eventually securing a deal for Olivier Giroud.

Dzeko was on their list of targets though the Serie A outfit pulled out of the deal despite having agreed a fee with the Blues.

The thirty-two year old moved to Roma initially on loan in the summer of 2015 and has since racked up one hundred and twenty-seven appearances in all competitions, scoring sixty-six goals a tally that includes twenty-nine in the league last season which saw him finish as top scorer.