Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski was sad to see Antonio Conte fired by the club but claimed Spurs players support the decision to remove him from his post.

Conte and Spurs parted company on Sunday after a week of intense speculation suggesting he had already taken charge of his final game.

The Italian made headlines last Saturday when he went on a remarkable rant in his post-match press conference after Spurs threw away a two-goal lead at Southampton to draw 3-3.

He called his players selfish and extraordinarily suggested the club s lack of tangible success in recent years was ingrained, saying: Tottenham s story is this – 20 years and they never won something. Why?

Conte was reportedly asked by club chiefs to clarify those comments and he was said to…

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Facing what could be a crucial showdown on Saturday afternoon, Bournemouth will welcome Fulham to the Vitality.

Bournemouth

Starting with the hosts, while Bournemouth might have claimed a famous 1-0 victory at home against Liverpool on March 11th, that could have just been a minor boost for Gary O’Neil’s men. Making an immediate return to losing ways before heading into the international break as they slumped to a 3-0 drumming away at Aston Villa, the Cherries find themselves at the heart of yet another Premier League relegation scrap. Marking their return from the fortnight interval this weekend sat one point adrift of safety, Bournemouth have now lost three of their last four top-flight appearances. With that run highlighted by …

Erling Haaland may be flying to Manchester on Friday, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said the United transfer target is only passing through for a Christmas holiday.

United fans thought they might be getting an early Christmas present when reports emerged in Norway on Friday morning of Salzburg striker Haaland boarding a flight bound for Manchester with his father and former City midfielder Alf-Inge.

Solskjaer, who coached Haaland at Molde, has already confirmed his interest in signing the teenage striker, who has scored 28 goals in 22 games across all competitions this season.

However, while the United boss was aware of his flight, he explained it was not business-related.

I don t think he s en route here [to United], to be fair, not through me anyway, Sols…

Harry Maguire insists he did not mean to like an Instagram comment suggesting he was set to join Manchester United.

England defender Maguire has been linked with an £80million move from Leicester City to United, who are looking for reinforcements after a tough end to the 2018-19 season.

And the 26-year-old prompted speculation on Saturday when he acknowledged a comment from a fan on one of his social media posts.

Maguire publicly liked a message claiming he would be a fan favourite at Old Trafford.

But the former Hull City man took to Twitter to explain away the honest mistake, quietening talk he is nearing a switch to United.

Quoting a report of his social media faux pas, Maguire replied: I didn t mean to guys we ve all been there.

M…

Oscar Grau has been named as Barcelona s new CEO, the club announced on Monday.

The former Barca handball star, who had previously been in charge of the club s football school scheme, has replaced Nacho Mestre as the most senior executive at Camp Nou following a meeting of board members.

Mestre, who is to continue in his role as general director, had requested more time to attend to personal concerns after spending 21 months as CEO.

The board of directors has appointed Oscar Grau as the new CEO of FC Barcelona, after the current incumbent, Nacho Mestre, made a request to the president of the club to be given more time to care for personal matters, the club said in a statement.

Grau, who thus becomes the club s senior executive, was until now the directo…

Rangers have appointed former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard as their new manager on a four-year contract.

The ex-England midfielder will take over for next season after he was confirmed on Friday as the man tasked with breaking Celtic s domination in Scotland.

Though he has no senior managerial experience, the Ibrox outfit have turned to Gerrard in the hope his high profile and extensive contacts can help the club compete against their Glasgow neighbours.

Rangers look set to finish third for a second successive season having struggled to challenge rivals Celtic since returning to the top flight in 2016, including losing four of the five Old Firm derbies this term.

The last of those was a humiliating 5-0 hammering that led to Graeme Murty s dismiss…

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke believes the club should sign Gareth Bale from Real Madrid this summer.

The Wales international, 25, was criticized by both the media and Real Madrid supports last season, fueling speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United.

I would get Gareth Bale in, that s what United need . . . a player who will just take the ball and run, Yorke told The Sun.

He s British, he s exciting, he s quick, fast, he goes past people and that will lift everyone going forward. That would excite everybody. And he will be loved here, he will be far more appreciated because the people here know what to expect.

The Spanish are hard people, they are used to the likes of Romario and Ronaldo — the dribblers w…

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi is giving Saturday s clash with Sudan his full attention despite continuing speculation over his future.

Keshi stepped down after the World Cup campaign in Brazil, in which Nigeria exited in the last 16 to France, before being re-appointed in August.

It was announced that Keshi would take charge for Nigeria s opening two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers before discussing a new contract but after those games a 3-2 defeat to Congo and a 0-0 draw with South Africa his situation remains unclear.

With defending champions Nigeria sitting third in qualifying Group A, they are in desperate need of maximum points from the weekend s encounter in Khartoum.

Nigeria is not the last team for me to coach, Keshi said. There are plenty of team…

French newspaper that Besiktas are closing in on Paris Saint-Germain full-back Siaka Tiene.

The first contacts were established few months ago and they have been intensified now that the January transfer window draws closer.

Besiktas do not want to wait until the summer when the player’s contract is due to expire, but would rather sign him in January and thus improve their chances of winning the Super Lig title race.

Tiene and his representatives will attempt to persuade PSG officials to terminate his contract in the coming weeks so that the defender would be able to move on a free transfer in January.

The Ivorian defender joined the club from Valenciennes back in 2010 and enjoyed a decent start to his career at Parc des Princes.

He lost his p…

Esteban Cambiasso s bizarre own goal gave West Brom a 1-0 win as Leicester City extended their winless Premier League run to five matches.

The toothless hosts struggled to make the most of their chances against Alan Irvine s men on Saturday, with Jamie Vardy in particular guilty of spurning a couple of good opportunities.

But ultimately they were undone by an error two minutes into the second period when Cambiasso inadvertently directed Wes Morgan s clearance into his own net.

Andy King could have earned Leicester a draw in the final 15 minutes but he headed straight at goalkeeper Ben Foster as Leicester s struggles continued.

West Brom, meanwhile, held on for their first win since the end of September.

Leicester struggled to provide service for t…